#this was sort of more about the game than her specifically but ah well it counts

[cerastes]

When Schwarz was new did people complain about her being too overpowered?

See, I've had this ask for two days, and I wanted to have a good chance to sit down and answer it properly, because it's a good springboard into something I find interesting, the zeitgeist back then and how it has evolved into current, modern Arknights. Let's do a little retrospective.

No, that didn't happen. As to why it didn't happen, well, there's a few factors, the first of which being Schwarz is not overpowered, she's a character with very evident flaws and very evident strengths, and these were, depending on the player, immediately understood or not really considered in depth.

See, Schwarz was the fourth 6* released after launch -- After Skadi, Ch'en, and Magallan, in that order -- and the absurd powerhouses back then were all launch Operators and arguably Ch'en: SilverAsh, Eyja, and Exusiai were the most popular back then, with Ch'en being a conditional potent burst damage dealer (her S2M3 was her main selling point, being an instant helidrop burst of damage that also hit air units). Schwarz was in a place similar to Ch'en in that she was conditional in how she blasted things; she has superior firepower but poor, strict range for a Sniper (back then, we had no such thing as categorized archetypes, so we just came up with nicknames, like "duelists" for what are now Dreadnoughts, "Schwarz-types" for Heavyshooters, "Enmity Guard" for Musha, and many others), and if you wanted to use her big killer skill, S3, she was only going to have a straight line worth of range to hit things.

See, the thing is, being strong wasn't an 'issue' back then. We wanted more and stronger units so we could break the monotony of SilverAsh swish swish, Eyja Volcano Hour, and Warfarin's Apple Pie Combo. A monotony that wasn't a monopoly, mind you, because it definitely wasn't the sole end way to deal monstrous amounts of damage and tackle hard content -- I myself was a dedicated Specter, Saria, and Angelina user -- but it was what practically all guide makers and tier lists suggested. Either way, the demand for Cool Strong New Units was definitely healthy back then, ESPECIALLY by the time of Schwarz' release, since Skadi and Magallan had been rather disappointing for 6*s; Skadi was the sole Abyssal Hunter buff that existed back then (Guard Specter had no Module, thus, no AH Buff), and without Modules or other AH buffs, all she could do was basically S2 Helidrop to kill something or use her S3 probably once per stage to become a raid boss and then sort of just stand there, offering nothing that other units couldn't since things back then were patently not strong enough to need her, as her 3* equivalent, Melantha, was pretty much enough to deal with anything that required a Dreadnought specifically, and you had other, stronger options that did more than JUST deal with strong enemies if a bomb of Skadi's caliber was needed, while Magallan suffered the unfortunate fate of being an early Summoner in a game where super instant DPS came free with your Xbox, leading to the vast majority of people to not really want to learn to play around her expensive Deployment Slot costs and dynamic gameplay, which also necessitated Mastery investment to put out numbers, investment that was not easy to make back then, as Masteries were something you REALLY rationed.

Another very important part as to why Schwarz didn't have to deal with this was because she was the only one of her type. She was a new way to play back then, so no one felt their favorite was threatened; Schwarz and Exusiai filled very different roles, with Exusiai being able to wreck high HP low DEF enemies with ease (which was basically 95% of enemies back then, notably All Bosses Except Big Bob, who has a DEF of 800) while Schwarz had HUGE chunky single hits that were meant to squash enemies even if their DEF was huge, but who ultimately would have less DPS than Exusiai in most cases. What's more, you would use Schwarz in plenty of set-ups anyways because she brought DEF Shred with her kit. People celebrated Schwarz back then because not only was she a cool new unit type, she could bring value to pretty much all sorts of parties with Physical damage, in a way that another unit I've omitted so far could for Arts damage, the support powerhouse of the early, mid, and modern game, throughout the years: Saria.

I make the specific comparison with Exusiai because eventually, the zeitgeist would change: Ash, from the R6S collab, made waves because she was strong, but also because it seemed like she'd steal away Exusiai's place as the Fast Shooter DPS Wrecker Supreme. Time would go on to prove that, no, she would not do that, because Ash is more of a Burst damage unit compared to Exusiai, with immense damage tied to a shorter window and the Stun condition, while Exusiai's DPS window isn't contingent on anything except "Does she do real damage or chip damage". But that was an early sign of things to come: Upstaging.

The initial fears of very strong units had more to do with "this unit is powercreeping an older unit" more than anything. Powercreep is inevitable, doubly so in gacha games where they gotta sell you the PNGs one way or another, and I'll always argue that Arknights has been incredibly good with handling powercreep compared to its peers (and just, as a game in general), but again, it's inevitable, so you end up with situations like Degenbrecher existing and Doctor Manhattan Exploding Ch'en and Irene right into niche uses (Ch'en nowadays being at her best as a support sub-DPS with her Module allowing for great party Offensive/Defensive SP charging, while Irene still has her powerful S1/S2/S1 loop combo with Dorothy) or, you know, Texas the Pale and Yato In A Fur Bikini completely obliterating Phantom out of the face of Terra.

All of this, in my opinion and perception, holds true nowadays: When a unit of a new archetype or playstyle releases and they are very strong, you only hear few people complaining about them being very strong, but when a unit could possibly powercreep an older unit, especially an older favorite, that number increases exponentially. Of course, creatures like Wisadel, Degenbrecher, and Ling exist, which blow other units out of the water entirely, and you've also had units like Surtr or Mlynar who aren't really directly powercreeping any specific units as much as powercreeping entire roles and concepts.

Arknights also does have more content creators now, which I also think worsens matters because they have an obligation and a blood oath to the algorithm to always make a video that goes something like "NEW OPERATOR EXTREMELY BROKEN?????" with a crappy clickbait thumbnail and since [GRUMP ALERT] most Arknights players hate thinking for themselves and love looking at The Content Creator to form their opinions on whether Unit Is Strong Or Not [/GRUMP ALERT], these sentiments, whether legitimate or not, tend to flare up more often. By the way, that's also not a good idea, because everyone thought Gnosis was an easy skip back when he released, and then it turned out Gnosis was cracked, and a shitload of CN players regretted not rolling for him, so hey, sometimes this does result in pretty funny things to occur, as it were.

But yeah, this has been a little retrospective of the zeitgeist throughout the years.

[jaegeraether]

Sunsets and footballers (Part 52)

Lucy Bronze x Reader (46) & Alexia Putellas x Character (12)

Masterlist (other parts here)

((**5.3k and a little warning for the end of this one...**))

YFN napped on the flight as she was expecting a long night of celebrations in Spain. She only slept half the flight and used the other half to work. Their preparations and training had been a success, the only negative being a broken camera from a little slip by one of the new staff. She’d called him before she boarded to make sure he was okay and offered to get him seen by a doctor but he’d been more embarrassed than anything. She took her time to make sure she checked on all of the crews from the terminal and had brief phone call debriefs with all of the supervisors.

On the plane, she read through the more in-depth debriefs they’d emailed through as well as the footage from the games. Having an editor in each team meant their content was up much quicker and cleaner. Also they’d sent out the relevant content to the players and teams for their own use.

The thing she’d been most worried about was the interviews, though. She’d spent a lot of time with the staff who’d be conducting the interviews and they’d spoken all things player specificities to who would work well together in an interview. As it was their first round, they picked their players to interview prior to the round, and she watched all of the footage from that – taking notes. Overall she was impressed but being the way she was, she always found a bit of room for improvement. The main thing was that she could see the players had been comfortable and open in front of the camera and with all of the questions asked. From here she was excited to push further and bring the questions a little bit further away from the safe little box they were currently in. She wanted fresh and new. Starting safe was always good, though.

She exchanged a few messages with Joe before her flight about their ‘successful expansion’ though YFN wanted to get a few more good rounds in before she would jump to that same level of excitement.

As they landed, and she turned her phone off of flight mode, she was overwhelmed with messages and videos from a few of her staff and other sources. She watched the video being sent. It was Jordan looking cold and scared as she had a camera shoved into her face asking about her relationship with Leah. She asked to be left alone but they persisted until Leah jumped in and snapped at them, declaring that she was going to only do media through Lumos from then on. She was surprised at that and although she didn’t want to ruin Leah and Jordan’s night, she figured a text would be okay.

YFN: Why am I getting second-hand news that you’re only going to be using Lumos for media from now on? Is everything okay?

Leah: I asked the reporters to not approach Jordan outside of football and they did. Fair punishment for them, I reckon.

YFN: So it’s true?

Leah: Yeah if that’s okay?

YFN: Mate, perfectly fine with me. Everything okay with this little interaction?

She was worried about Jordan, and she knew Leah wanted their night to be perfect.

Leah: Everything’s fine – I sorted them. Jordan’s okay, she has cake.

YFN laughed at that. Oh, Jordan would be loving her cake reward.

YFN: Ah, yes she’s fine then *laughing emoji* I’ll leave you to it. We’ll chat about this later. x

She was waiting for her little suitcase at the bag carousel, somewhere off in her thoughts about work when two strong arms wrapped around her, a warm body pressing against her back and familiar lips finding her cheek in soft kisses.

She hummed happily and leant back into her, tilting her head back.

“Hi Luce,” she hummed at Lucy’s excited cheek kisses.

“Hi little one,” she said between kisses. “Did you sleep?”

“Just an hour. I had work to get done.”

“Mmn, of course you did. There’s a lot of chatter that everything went well…”

She wasn’t surprised Lucy had been keeping up with Lumos and in particular – her.

“Always room for improvements.”

“Take the win, love. How long do I have you for?”

It was just before 10:30pm on Sunday night in Spain. “The first few days this week are the supervisors working with their teams and I’ll be zooming in so… you have me until Wednesday. I fly out Wednesday morning.”

Lucy groaned in relief. “Yes! Three nights and it’s not even my birthday.” Her head found her neck and she let out a big sigh. They were already so sick of not knowing when they’d see each other. YFN was also equally as happy. She stroked Lucy’s hair. “Three nights, two days. Are you training both of those days?”

Lucy groaned from her neck but this time it was a defeated one.

YFN chuckled again. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She turned and kissed her head. “We still have nights. Congrats on El Clasico, Luce. You played really, really well.”

“All ninety-four minutes. I’m dead.”

“Not dead enough for celebrations, I hope.”

“I’m not young like the others… all the celebration I need is with you.”

YFN scoffed. “Don’t be like that, you’re not old.”

“Tell that to the interviewers and the younger players.”

“Luce… you haven’t even lived half of your life. And you’re fitter, more determined and more play-intelligent than every other player. Besides – you’re just a big kid.”

Lucy paused as she took that in. “Thanks, little one. I… I needed to hear that. I just had a tough game, that’s all.”

YFN spun in her arms and looked up at her. “I know… but that’s why we have each other when times are tough. I’ve got you, Bronze.”

Lucy grinned at the use of her last name. “And I’ve got you, YLN.”

Her eyes flicked over her shoulder and she let her go to grab her little suitcase from the carousel. That’s when YFN noticed that there had been a few people staring, obviously having noticed Lucy, though they were giving them their space together. Lucy wheeled her suitcase over and took her hand, interlacing their fingers as they strode through the terminal.

“Luce?”

“Hm?”

“Did you ever get that footage from the airport?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I should have told you, we’ve just both been so busy. I have the footage of her and sent it to the lawyers. There’s…”

She paused and YFN saw her hesitation. “Is it bad?”

“Well, the restraining order was based on stalking and harassment. However they also found footage of her bricking the car from a camera across the road and although you can’t see her clearly, there’s more footage of her walking towards the car from other cameras that match the visual image of her… so that’s good enough evidence to prove it was her. They updated the restraining orders to include aggravated assault. Violating a restraining order that is based on aggravated assault means prison time.”

“Ah.” That’s why she’d hesitated. She knew that YFN would feel guilty that she may go to prison.

“She will go to prison,” Lucy said and as if reading her thoughts, “and it’s not your fault. It’s not my fault. She made this mess.”

“You don’t feel… just a little guilty?”

Lucy shook her head as they walked. “Not at all. If it keeps you safe, then I’m happy. That’s all I care about.”

If YFN withdrew from her empathetic brain far enough, she could see that it was deserved. Well deserved. That didn’t stop her feeling awful about it though.

Lucy squeezed her hand in support as they reached her car, a matte black Cupra. Lucy peeled away towards the boot of the car when the passenger door opened and YFN jumped in fright as Alexia stepped out and both she and Lucy shared a laugh at the unintended jump scare.

“Welcome back to Spain,” she said a little differently after she was done laughing and gave her a typical Spanish greeting of a kiss on either cheek. YFN looked from Alexia to Lucy.

“Um, were you two not supposed to be getting ready?”

“Are you saying we look bad?” Lucy teased. “We actually got a bit carried away talking and Alexia’s been into the wines.”

She looked at Alexia and noticed her flushed cheeks. Ah, that’s why she was speaking differently. She was a little slurred but more uncaring about mistakes when speaking English.

“That… makes sense. Are your cheeks always that red?”

Alexia’s cheeks reddened slightly more and Lucy laughed behind her before they all got back into the car, Alexia sliding into the back.

“Where are the players celebrating?”

“The group chat has been going mental,” Lucy said as she drove, her hand on YFN’s thigh. “They’re at their regular bar in the city but some arrived earlier than others so there’s a mix of drunk and sober messages.”

YFN found amusing the idea of drunk Spanish messages. Surely sober ones were hard enough to translate.

“Do you have something to wear?” Alexia asked in her broken English.

YFN turned to look at her and nodded. “Nothing too fancy but yes. And you?”

“Si.”

“And the excessive wine drinking wouldn’t be about Ridley, would it?”

Alexia was confident about many things, but Ridley was not one of them.

“Maybe.”

“Are you dropping in with us to visit her before the party tonight?”

“I am… not sure. She doesn’t text me back,” Alexia said with a face too neutral – like she was trying to convince herself she wasn’t affected by it when she clearly was. Obviously Lucy had told her about her birthday also.

YFN felt sympathetic. She knew what it was like to be ghosted and barely responded to – though never with Ridley. Ridley was always quick to answer her messages.

“Why she does that?” Alexia asked, a little frustrated. YFN knew she wouldn’t be asking if she weren’t a little tipsy.

“She doesn’t like feeling weak. You make her feel weak.”

She saw the Spaniard’s pupils dilate.

“How you know?”

“Because I’ve known her a long time. And because I’ve seen it.”

“I don’t think-”

Alexia was cut off by YFN’s phone ringing. She looked at the number and rolled her eyes before showing Alexia. She went quiet as YFN answered on speaker. Immediately it was loud in between people talking and yelling and music playing.

“Hey Riddles, you’re on speaker.”

“Heeey baby Blue, I saw you landed and figured you’d be driving by now. Coming by for a birthday cuddle?”

Lucy scoffed, a little jealous, though she knew Ridley well enough that it was more amusement. YFN also wasn’t surprised that Ridley had been using a plane tracker for her flight.

“Yeah of course, we were just going to get dressed and come over.”

“I’m a little bored, Bronze how about you swing by and grab me on the way through? I’ll spend a few hours with YFN before… get the fuck off me you mung bean… before I head back to my party.”

It wasn’t unlike Ridley to skip from place to place, party to party. She was a bit of a drunk wanderer. Before they had a chance to speak, Ridley got involved in a little, amusing argument that they all enjoyed listening to. It sounded like Ridley was scaring a guy away from a girl.

“I’m surprised you’re not chopped up in someone’s freezer by now, Gabby. Your taste in men is awful. Come over to the dark side, we have great clothes and better sex.”

YFN bit her lip and saw Alexia pale. There was some shuffling amongst the loud background noise and Ridley spoke again.

“Fuck, not with me, baby. I’m not your type, trust me.”

YFN had heard that many times before and loved that Ridley always said it that way around rather than ‘you’re not my type’. It was more polite. Her way of refusing someone. YFN could picture the girl must have been someone who became emotionally attached quite easily, otherwise she knew Ridley wouldn’t have turned her away.

More shuffling and then, “Okay I’m back. So?”

YFN looked to Lucy who shrugged and Alexia who looked a little unsure however agreed.

“We’re on our way, Riddles, we’ll be there in twenty.”

“Okay just look for the hot one.”

YFN rolled her eyes and groaned but before she could reply, Ridley had hung up.

They heard Javier’s before they saw it. Even the car park was jammed when they’d arrived.

“No parking,” Lucy murmured as they approached one of the people in a hi-vis vest who were directing the cars in and out of the car park amongst the numerous drunk bodies around.

“Just stop at him,” YFN said.

Lucy stopped and rolled her window down so YFN could unclip her seatbelt and stretch over Lucy to lean against her door. Lucy tickled her tummy that was showing a little and then rested a hand against the back of her thigh, obviously enjoying the view.

“Hi! Do you speak English?”

“A little. Car park is full.” He looked a little grumpy which was normal given how overwhelming his job seemed to be that night.

“We’re here to pick up Ridley.”

“Ridley?!” His face lit up. “Birthday girl?”

“Si, we’ll bring her back soon, I promise,” she couldn’t help but laugh at the excited look on his face.

“Drive over here, I move cones for you.”

“Gracias!”

YFN moved back into her seat and Lucy followed his direction as he stopped the cars.

“How did you know that would work?” Lucy asked.

“Ridley knows everyone. She takes her time to meet all of the workers wherever she goes, and besides, I know she’s a regular celebrity at Javier’s.”

Lucy was impressed. “That’s the first time someone hasn’t had to use Alexia or I to get in somewhere.”

They parked up almost directly out the front and promised to be back soon. He didn’t seem to care if they took all night, he only cared that they knew Ridley.

Lucy led the way inside and they were excitedly yelled at as they passed through the crowds of drunk people throughout the beer gardens outside. YFN had spotted her as soon as they stepped into the building. Although there were more than hundreds of people, most of which were dressed up and incredibly good-looking, Ridley was always the main focal point in a room. Alexia had spotted her immediately also, though Lucy was a bit delayed. “It’s going to be hard to fi-” She cut herself off as she too spotted Ridley on stage. She was wearing a suit with no shirt, her suit jacket covering only some of her body as her abs were on show. She had a few scars and tattoos, though she never cared who saw them. Her bra was black, like her suit, and obviously someone had put a cap on her backwards as she entertained the crowd with a song.

Oh, to be Ridley. It was never something YFN wanted, however she always did wonder how it must have felt to be so popular, so talented, so present, so… Ridley.

The song finished and the DJ started yelling something exciting in Spanish, YFN only recognising the words “La Reina” and “Lucy Bronze”. Alexia gave a polite Captain’s wave while Lucy’s was a bit more exaggerated. She loved the attention. YFN tried to step aside to give her more space but she kept her arm tightly around her body, holding her close and smiling down at her with an expression that said, ‘We’re in this together.’ Ridley grinned at them from afar as she took the cap off and tossed it into the crowd before taking the microphone. She started speaking in her perfect Spanish and there were upset groans from the crowds that ended in yells of approval. For the English speakers, she repeated it in English.

“My party have arrived to pick me up, unfortunately,” she said with fake sadness, the crowd a little upset. “But I will be back soon!” Cheers. “And I’ll be very disappointed if you aren’t all drinking and laughing and fucking while I’m gone!” Louder cheers. “Respect the workers and I’ll return in a few hours, my friends!”

Ridley’s ability to dominate an entire crowd was rare, unique almost. A lot of them weren’t her friends, but she always wanted to make everybody feel good and share the love and excitement at the possibility of knowing her.

Ridley worked her way through the crowd, and when she reached them she took YFN in a massive bear hug, lifting her up and twirling her around like they were kids. Yep, drunk. Though, to be fair, she also did it sober.

“My baby Blue!” She delighted as she spun her around. YFN laughed as she did so.

“Happy birthday Riddles.”

“Thanks, baby,” she gave her a wink and a kiss on the cheek as she put her down. She shared a hand clap and Spanish kisses on the cheeks with Lucy and then turned to Alexia, looking her up and down unashamedly. That was one way to tell that Ridley was drunk, though also she did do that sober too. She stepped forward and gave her a Spanish hello, her hands finding Alexia’s waist and her own finding her biceps. YFN heard her murmur something in Spanish but only understood ‘la Reina’.

Alexia did a great job of holding herself together as she replied. Usually humans tended to melt or malfunction at that level of Ridley’s attention.

Ridley held her gaze a little longer before she led them outside.

“You’re looking good, baby.” Ridley drawled as she slung an arm over YFN’s shoulder, dragging her into her half-naked side as they walked with another kiss to the temple.

YFN chuckled as she put an arm around her waist.

“Don’t lie – I came straight from work and a flight.” And prior to that, sex with Lucy in the airport bathroom…

“I don’t lie, you know that.” She gave a wicked grin that flashed across her eyes.

Ridley had that annoying ability to look and sound passably sober even when she’d consumed enough alcohol to knock out a small elephant.

YFN laced her fingers with Ridley’s half braced hand dangling from her shoulder.

“How’s the hand?”

“Oh, you know, ruining my sex life.”

YFN saw Alexia frown and then nod to herself, as if she’d just confirmed that Ridley was in fact still very much sexually active with people. To be fair to Ridley though, she and Alexia were very far from together. In fact, they’d barely spoken since the broken hand incident and prior to that, before their apology dinner in Valencia.

They reached the car and Ridley slid into the back with Alexia while YFN took the front. The ride was much less awkward than their drive to Valencia; Ridley drunk enough to chat about all sorts.

“Oh, I have a joke for you, Riddles. You’ll love this one.”

“Shoot, Blue.”

“What’s 6.9?”

She tilted her head as she thought. She usually liked to try and figure out the answer. “Nope, nothing but tequila – tell me.”

“A good thing ruined by a period.”

That managed to crack the entire car into hysterical laughter. Lucy was laughing, almost unbelieving that she’d said it; Alexia was chuckling to herself in the corner and Ridley had a good laugh too.

“You’re right, I loved it. Though, a good partner likes their woman at any time of the month…”

“Alright! Alright calm it down.”

Ridley sighed as their laughing died down and turned her attention to the driver. “You’re my friend, Bronze, but I need to say this out loud so you know… if you ever hurt her, I’ll fucking kill you.”

YFN squeezed Lucy’s hand as she assessed her in the rear-view and although she was smiling, Lucy could see just how serious she was. “You’re stuck with me, I’m afraid. I’m not going anywhere.”

A pause as they shared a stare a little longer. “Good.”

The rest of the ride were in pairs with Lucy and YFN talking; Alexia and Ridley murmuring in Spanish in the back. It sounded calm and important so YFN made sure they gave them their space.

They arrived and Lucy carried YFN’s bag up into her apartment while she carried her backpack, the other pair still in a discussion off in their own little Alexia and Ridley world. When they got inside, Narla was excited to see company.

“Narla! Hi, girl. Come here.” YFN picked her up and gave her all of the attention she demanded. “You’re so cute aren’t you? Have you been lonely at home without anyone?”

She introduced Ridley to Narla and Alexia had a pat also, though noticed it was a slightly melancholy one. She’d lost her own Nala, a little Pomeranian, not long ago.

YFN jumped in the shower the first chance she got washed away the stress of the day. She groaned at how good it was. As she stepped out, Lucy was there with a towel to wrap her up like a burrito.

“Your suitcase is unpacked,” she said with a kiss on the forehead.

YFN looked over at her face care and toothbrush laid out near the sink and smiled. “Excited to keep me around, Bronze?”

“Something like that… ” she murmured as her lips found her own. Lucy tasted like she’d just had a sip of wine.

“Already drinking?”

“Just a sip to take the edge off. They’re intense…”

YFN laughed. “Pretty sure we’re the same.”

“Well now I know how everybody else feels around us.”

“Do you really care though?” She asked like she already knew the answer.

“Nope.” Came the response as she kissed her again, this time her tongue finding YFN’s as they eagerly leaned into each other.

YFN was the first one to groan and break the kiss. “I’m starving, Luce.”

“I have food.”

“I was thinking I’d run out for a quick pizza? I think Narla would like a walk.”

“Good idea – there’s a nice little restaurant a few blocks up. I’ll get my shoes.”

“No, Luce, you need to stay.”

Lucy frowned.

“They’re okay talking when someone else is nearby but when they’re alone there’s a lot more pressure. They need someone to be here… and I don’t trust you to behave and not distract me with sex in a park or something.”

“But I want to come.” Lucy groaned, saying the last word in such a way that it sounded like a different sort of come so she knew she was right. She leaned forward and bit her lip, tugging it. “I can be well behaved.”

“I don’t like you well behaved…” she whispered.

Lucy’s eyes twinkled. “I know.”

YFN cleared her throat, reminding herself that if she started anything with Lucy right now, they wouldn’t be making it into town. ���Can you call and order the pizzas please? I’ll be quick and then we’ll eat and get dressed and go.” She paused. “And then we’ll come home and come.”

She said the word just as hard as Lucy had which elicited a needy pout from Lucy with her darkening eyes.

Oh, they’d be coming.

“Fuck yes, I’m starving,” Ridley moaned almost sexually.

Alexia’s eyes widened at that. “You have not eat?”

“Nothing all day,” she said as she smacked her stomach. “All tequila here.”

“Catch.” Lucy threw a packet of cheese rings at her which she tore into.

“Want some company, Blue?” Ridley asked.

“No thanks, I want to talk advice though.”

“Advice?” She sucked a cheese ring from her finger. “You’ve come to the right place.”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed her, dragging her out of Alexia’s earshot while she spoke to Lucy. “Advice for you, not from you.”

She munched on her cheese rings, waiting.

“Open up to her… she’s right here. She’s waiting.”

Ridley sighed. “So that’s your scheme, Blue? You go out so Alexia and I can talk while Lucy stays here and hiding as an intermediary if she’s needed?”

YFN was always impressed by how quickly Ridley managed to decode situations, even ones involving herself.

“Maybe…”

“Blue-”

“You like her.”

“No-”

“Tell that to your face.”

She smirked and put down the packet on cheese rings, sucking her fingers clean. “I was going to say ‘no shit’. But you know I can’t. I… she deserves better than me. I can’t give her what she needs.”

“You haven’t even asked. We’ve been through this, and you’ve been through this with her in Valencia. You’re scared to let her in because it’ll make you feel unsafe.”

“Exactly.”

“News flash. Unsafe is where the real world is. Not these parties and random fucks of yours. In here.” She put a hand over her heart softly and looked up at her.

“I…” she bowed her head. “I don’t feel loveable. I have this unlovable coldness to me.”

“Then what’s this?” She asked, gesturing between them. “This is love. Now imagine this, even more deeply but a different sort of depth. One where you want to work for a future together, want to wake up next to each other and do anything to see the other laugh and be happy.”

“I want you to laugh and be happy.”

“Weak argument, Riddles.” She cupped her cheek with her hand, her thumb touching that scar and reminding her of her dad and how Ridley had been there to protect them.

“Can’t we just be friends?”

“It’s too late for that.”

“We haven’t had sex… I mean not really.”

“That’s not what I meant. It’s too late for that because you two are already more than that.” She sighed and caught eyes with Alexia over her shoulder who looked curious and quickly turned her attention back to her conversation with Lucy. “You look at each other a little too long to be friends.”

“Now I understand why people become villains.” Ridley murmured, almost defeated. She rarely ever accepted defeat. “Have I ever told you how smart you are?”

“Not nearly enough.”

“What if I screw it up? I’m teetering on the edge here. Half of me wants to worship the ground she walks on and half of me wants to give her the best sex she’s ever had in her life. Again. And again. And again.”

Her thumb stroked her cheek and Ridley took her wrist and held it there. She was the only human she allowed physical touch like that from, and so she wasn’t used to the feeling and closed her eyes.

“You always do what’s right, Riddles.” She lowered her hand and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around her. “It’s why I love you.”

“I love you too.” She admitted huskily. There was a happy, warm pause during their hug until Ridley spoke again. “Margarita, extra basil please.”

YFN scoffed and pulled away, slapping her arm. Happy moment over.

“Come on Narla! Come here little girl.”

Narla trotted over, already in her pink harness and Lucy gave her the lead which she clipped up.

“Here’s the address, and I’ve called them already. Just two pizzas. Call me if you need help.”

“I think I’ll be fine getting pizzas, Luce.”

She gave her a lingering kiss on the lips on the way out the door.

She and Narla wandered down the footpath, enjoying their light exercise and looking around. She was a stubborn little dog, typical for a Westie and even more typical of Lucy’s dog. They had a light jog to warm themselves up in the cold weather and it was crazy to YFN just how busy the streets were. It was a Sunday night and getting close to midnight, though all of the restaurants they saw were still open and mostly packed. She reached the restaurant and was happy to see they served through the window. They only spoke Spanish so there was a slightly awkward exchange as she blushed and said, “For Lucy?”

“Ah… Lucia! Lucia Roberta!” The lady smiled and patted her cheek. “YFN?”

YFN nodded. Lucy must have told her about her.

The older lady smiled and said something else to her in Spanish as she paid in the cash Lucy had given her, putting the remainder in her tip jar. Although there was a language barrier, they understood the body language. It was a happy exchange and as she and Narla wandered off with the pizzas, she knew she’d be asking Lucy to bring her back and translate.

They were half-way home when YFN felt a bit strange, as if something were off. She looked around and noticed a man behind her who she’d seen outside of the restaurant. Was he following her? She paused and looked at him and he froze on the spot, their eyes locking. Suddenly he was running and YFN dropped the pizzas, picking up Narla and running. He was much quicker though and grabbed her, dragging her into the alleyway. He shoved her and she stumbled forwards, dropping Narla but the Westie was okay. YFN picked her up again and ran up the alleyway, grabbing her phone and calling Lucy.

Lucy picked up immediately. “Hi, little one!”

“Lucy!” She cried out in fear. “Luce please help-”

She dropped her phone and heard it break on the bitumen as the man caught her and tackled her to the ground, YFN managing to keep Narla safe in her arms as she bore the brunt of the impact with her knees and arms. Before she had a chance to get up, a foot connected hard with her ribs and she heard a crunch and felt a sharp pain that tore a scream from her. Narla was scared and started barking up at the man. He wasn’t the one who’d kicked her though. She looked up and locked eyes with Kristie just before her foot hit her again in the ribs. She screamed again at the blinding pain and her back hit the wall as the force of the kick had launched her into it. The man grabbed Narla’s lead and wrenched her towards him.

“No!” She yelled and tugged on the end of the lead she was still holding, unclipping Narla when she was close enough and shielding her body over the little white Westie.

“We need the dog!” Kristie yelled at him.

“Give us the fucking dog!” He snarled, trying to reach under her to no avail. She couldn’t fight back; she was too small. She had also found out that she wasn’t quick enough to run. And Lucy had no idea where she was. She felt the tears running down her face as the pain from her ribs stabbed her with each scared breath.

The man became frustrated quickly and grabbed her hair, pulling her head up just high enough to be able to connect his fist to her face. Her head snapped sideways and she felt a resounding pain in her jaw, her lip splitting. She tasted blood. She didn’t get much reprieve before Kristie’s foot connected somewhere else on her body.

“I’m not going to prison because of you. Give me Narla!”

Did she think she could blackmail Lucy with Narla to avoid prison? Another blow to the side of her head. Another to her arm. The guy grabbed her and tried to drag her, her knees and elbows scraping across the bitumen but she stayed strong, holding her body over the scared little dog who was now shivering and scaredly yapping beneath her.

“Give us the fucking dog!”

And then another blow.

[icyblogs]

ft. yanderes x fem! reader

cw: obsessive themes, implied murder, implied stalking, uh idk slight NSFW mention a lil bit of self care. wc: 837

author's note: hello this is my first drabble? post? ahem yeah. can realistically be anyone, as no names are specifically mentioned, but i like to think that it's a pair of no good doers from marble hornets + plus a certain lanky man w/ a pair of hatchets.

Thinking about a crybaby reader. One who tries their damnest to be strong- to put up a strong front but once the tears start, they seldom stop.

Thinking about being easily manipulated while you’re like that. A sweet little bunny, staring at them wide eyed as your friends are murdered helplessly in front of you. Thrashing all you want to try and stop it from happening- but in the end, you’re just too weak. Too.. susceptible. It’s truly a shame how easily someone could take advantage of you.

Thinking about them taking advantage of you when you were in a situation you didn’t even realize you were apart of. Of course you didn’t realize that your old friend roped you into a world that you should’ve never been apart of. But alas, your friend had dug too deep into the myths, wandered a little too far into the forests; it was only a matter of time before her and all of her friends, old and new were stalked looked after. Including you of course!

Started off as a simple inquiry into your life- to make sure you didn’t know anything about them. You didn’t, that much was clear but soon they knew all about you. And well, you…you were quite charming. You were a homebody that much was clear- never straying too far from home unless needed. You lived in a cozy apartment- really it was such an adorable place- with all your mugs matching your personality effortlessly- or the books splayed out along your bookshelves that you barely touched. Maybe it was the simplicity of it all- the blankets sprawled out on the couches, clearly in constant use. Or maybe it was your cute little laptop that you always kept on your desk, adorned with characters from media you deemed worthy of blessing the device. It was easy to tell you had a type!

You were so insecure, for lack of a better term, in the way you presented yourself whenever you went outside. Wearing shirts and sweatshirts that were always one or two sizes too big for you- effectively hiding your curves from all who could see you. Tennis shoes on the daily- hair lazily brushed or thrown back into a ponytail. It was .. interesting to see you like this whenever you went out- clearly not dressing to impress anyone rather than yourself and your comfort.

Yet you still caught someone’s eye. Hm. A friend of a friend whom you met at a party. You guys were at a party.. of sorts and hit it off with some mild persuading from your friends. It was easy to tel that it was one of your first relationships and you hung to every word from him- and you guys went on for quite a few months. It was almost humorous watching you follow him around like a lost puppy- and yet a tug in their hearts happened when he broke up with you.

You poor poor thing, all because you didn’t want to warm his bed, so to speak. It’s a shame really- it’s just so sad- you didn’t even realize it wasn’t him that sent a message for you to come over to his place only to find out he was fucking another girl. )= Ah such a shame you had to find out that way.. but it was worth all the videos of your heartbroken expressions!

Thinking about a heartbroken reader. Such a poor thing, resorting to hiding within your shell and barely going outside even more so than usual. Stressing baking and cooking- Your cookies were definitely the best you’ve baked so far! And you even kept them in this cute little cookie jar.. really it was adorable. Resorting to playing little cute video games by yourself or delving into reading to take your mind off of.. him.. and of course not to mention when your hand wanders into your cute little panties to try and get yourself off. Always late at night when you think no one is watching, curtains absentmindedly open- because who would be able to see you on the third floor? Always unsatisfied, even when your fingers find themselves wandering down into your underwear- desperately trying to get yourself off. You never are able to of course, your inexperience shining through, clear as day, the dull pleasure there but never able to peak.

Thinking about a reader who thinks that there is no one out there for her. That she is just not.. right for love. That no one finds her attractive- or worthy for that matter of actually , well, liking her. Alas, time goes on- Time eventually heals as a year passes. Trying to break out of your self imposed shell, you reconnect with old friends- and of course one conveniently going out of her way to make sure you’re going with them for a cute little vacation in the woods for a Halloween get together. Because you guys are such close friends, of course you had to go! And despite every warning bell telling you not to, you accept the offer.

=)

[randomnonsensedragonage]

Runa’s romance(s)!

So, in Veilguard I ran into a problem I've never really had a in a Bioware game before. I literally, could not, choose between one of two romance options for my Rook. Like I've been in a position before where I like two romances almost equally, but usually there's at least a slight lean toward one or the other.

In this case, it was exactly 50-50. Could not choose. Both Harding and Emmrich seemed great for my Rook.

So, here I'm just sharing some screenshots of her looking cute with each of them, and then below the cut I'm gonna talk a little more about why it was hard to choose, and what I ended up doing about it.

Harding:

Emmrich:

First of all, I love Harding for Runa because they look great together with their opposing aesthetics. The cottagecore girly and the goth chick. We love to see it. Also, Runa is a few inches shorter than Harding. So cute. So funny.

Storywise, I thought it was really sweet to see these two dwarves who are both cut off from their cultural background come together and find support in each other. I also thought it was special that they knew each other prior to the start of the game, and formed this all-dwarf party with Varric.

Personality-wise, they also compliment each other in very fun ways. They both try to be cheerful to a fault and hide their anxieties, but they're also good at drawing the other one out and supporting each other through those anxieties. Runa draws Harding out with humor, while Harding draws Runa out with kindness and patience.

But then, I also love Emmrich and Runa together! I thought the Mourn Watch-specific dialogue options were great and really added something special to their convos. Right off the bat, they seemed to have a lot of chemistry as two weird goths who share a bizarre special interest that creeps everyone else out. They match each other's freak, if you will, and it's very funny.

Again, I also thought they had great complimentary aesthetics. They are a goth-goth pairing, but they are each a slightly different flavor of goth. I also found their large height difference both cute and hilarious.

As for the age gap, because Runa is such a team mom I thought the two of them worked well together in that respect too. Runa is in her mid-thirties, but sort of carries herself like she's a bit older, and sees a lot of the younger team members as people she has to protect and mentor, despite them not being that much younger. My joke to myself is that when she meets Emmrich, she is like "Ah yes, finally someone my age." XD

So, anyway, since I couldn't choose what I ended up doing is saving at a key point, and moving ahead with the Harding romance (which was great, 10/10). Now that I've beaten the game though, I'm going to go back to that earlier point and play through the Emmrich romance.

My inclination is that when I eventually write fic about Runa, I'm going to headcanon her as being poly and romancing both of them. Which should also be an interesting thing to explore!

Anyway, thank you for coming to my ted talk XD

[quibbs126]

So I ended up finishing the last two of the concept characters today, so might as well post them

They actually kind of have names, but I’m not sold on them yet. So for now, Radish/Turnip is getting called the mage, and Ophelia the girl/lady

To be honest, I think they turned out a lot better than the other two, but not only did I work on them in class, but their designs didn’t really require much changing or interpretation in the first place

These are the originals by the way

It’s only now that I’ve finished them that I notice that the mage’s skin tone and hair basically just looks like a yellower version of the lady, and meanwhile she looks like the orange/red version of theirs. But ah well, works with the color palettes

It’s mostly just details I simplified, though I think I ended up keeping more than I usually would, especially for the mage. But I think it ended up working fine. Though I do wish I had incorporated more ruffles into the girl, I just didn’t know how to when I tried

The girl already had colors in the concept art, and with the mage I had a particular color scheme already in mind to work with. I don’t know if the color scheme in particular matches the outfit they have, but I think it looks nice like that

Now these two actually have some amount of character in my brain, or at least the mage does, so let me talk about that

So the mage here, first off, doesn’t really have a specified gender. I did that because I personally just couldn’t decide. They’ve got big clothes that make their body hard to see, they’ve got a vegetable name that really doesn’t give away any gender (the party assumes initially that it’s a fake name, but they realize it actually is because they make note of the fact that they don’t really like it), have a generally ambiguous appearance, and don’t really talk much, and on top of that when they do, their voice doesn’t really lean one way or the other. And they don’t really care to tell what their gender is, so they sort of just get referred to as non binary. Whether they are or not, no one really knows. At this rate I feel like maybe there shouldn’t be any sort of gender reveal and they just stay like this

But anyways, so the mage here is supposed to be like a magical student of some sort, and they probably joined the party as some sort of university assignment, like a travel abroad sort of thing or like the Treasure Hunt in ScarVi. And as you can guess by the moniker, they are the mage of the group, though they specifically focus on offensive spells. They’re competent but not super overly skilled or anything, just a bit better than average

They may be quiet and introverted, but they aren’t meek or timid at all really. They just don’t like talking unnecessarily, and don’t really care about a lot of things. They can be a bit of an ass in all honesty. They really only have a game face during battle

Also one other thing in my brain is that they and the green guy have beef, they don’t like each other. I’m not really sure why, and it’s not for backstory reasons (at least not right now), they just don’t like each other

And I think that’s about it, now let’s move on to the girl

To be honest, I don’t have nearly as much on her. She strikes me as the plot important ally, the one you recruit that’s specifically tied to the villain’s overarching goal or some other big thing

But as she is, she’s a dancer, one that quite enjoys her job but isn’t experienced enough to be any sort of big star. She’s prone to wandering and can be a bit air-headed at times, but she’s also probably one of the peppiest members of the party, alongside the main girl. The two probably get along really well

Also, her battle role is “dancer”, which right now I’m taking to mean “healer”. Like she uses her dancing power to heal people somehow

Actually, I think that’s about all I have on her. That went by quick

So yeah, that’s the whole party. It feels uneven being just 5 members, I feel like RPG parties usually have 3, 4, or 6. There is this one last concept I saved, but I’m not sure I’m gonna use it

I might, but I also kind of just envision the group as is. Though I will admit it feels slightly bare, like there’s more roles to fill

Now all I need to do is compile them and put them in a single lineup. Then we’ll see how cohesive the designs are together. And what the height differences all end up being

Also they all need proper names

And so yeah

[desultory-novice]

Hi hello that Yume Nikki Ado post scratched a special itch™️ in my brain so if you don't mind me, I'll ramble a bit.

So most likely no there won't be a specific explication of what's going with Ado as per usual, but I feel like there could be some themes going on there.

Considering she's the only human among whimsical creatures, she probably does feel alienated from everyone else. Maybe they could be vague interpretation of real people on her life, but practically stripping any sort of nuance from them to mostly be these silly creatures who she can just play with all day.

Probably has a possession/dark matter motif going around there for obvious reasons, but since you're making the crystal gun the equivalent to the knife and canonically it repels dark matter, there can be some interesting concept in there. Like possession is sort of the equivalent to whatever happened to her.

Now I've been thinking about the chars, personally I'd make Monoko Gooey cuz my gijinka is inspired of her but there's many other options.

Though the one I'm interested in is Uboa and Poniko. On all accords, Poniko is just a normal human like Madotsuki till you trigger Uboa who then sends you to the shadow realm™️, and I've been thinking who tf could it be, all I know is that the shadow realm™️ reminds me of Miracle Matter/Zero's stages.

I have so many brain worms but I don't wanna bother you about it lolol

PS: KyuuKyuu-kun could be Void, I just feel like they got that funky color scheme going on

'Ey! Welcome to the cookout! XD

I'm liking the concept you're building here extending the metaphor with her Weapon vs Dark Matter. It feels like she could be...sort of working through her fears and possession trauma with it?

(My other thought, at least for the "the Kirby series is all a delusion happening in Adeleine's head" story, was to give her a palette knife, but that triggered my own brain worms - for Ib! XD)

Seeing some of the landscapes take on Dark Matter traits reminds me of...ah, dang. There's no way I'm going to be able to find it again on my own but some savvy fans might remember this gorgeous (yet painful) series of pics a fan drew of various "bad endings" to several of the games game? (The Dream Fountain dried up, the Halberd crashing w/ Kirby in it, etc) and the DL3 one had all the Animal Friends turned into these Dark Matter monstrosities while Ado was huddled up against her sketchbook or something similar.

Basically, like that is what I'm picturing.

(Ooh, nice to hear! I'm quite fond of your Gooey, as well as your amazing insectoid Ribbon and Fairy Queen designs!)

If you were looking to "cast" an Ado Nikki, the easiest (and most predictable route) would be to align the girls + Masada-sensei with the 64 gang. Though you're right about Kyukyu-kun and Void. XD

My brain is torn on wanting to place Kirby and Dedede as the mono sisters, because of Kirby's Dream Land being in b/w on the Gameboy, but Meta Knight is more Monoe-like than Dedede...

As for Poniko + Uboa, Poniko would almost have to be the Fairy Queen. She looks similar, with the same hair and eye color and very similar in-game proportions, fulfilling that "Oh, she's a human like me" but then you hit the light switch and...

...And THERE's your Miracle Matter!

Edit: I seem to have gotten three copies of this ask. Probably just a glitch but thought I'd let you know in case you tried to send a follow-up and Tumblr bl0rped and made it the same post three times.

[bokettochild]

Last one. How did you decide on these?

Legend was both easier and harder, depending on when he woke. If it was the middle of the night the teen usually launched into full panic, scanning their group for whatever injury he might have seen in his visions. The three of them all had different types of visions they’d discovered: Sky saw what was to come, in full, Legend would find himself in the body of another person and live through what was to come or what they currently were dealing with; everything from experiencing a particularly shoddy kidnapping attempt that Fable faced, to once living through getting blown up before Wild had even suggested setting bombs, and Time experienced the world through flashes, through glimpses of what was to come based on the actions of others.

Ah, this is an old one!

In LoZ cannon, there are three heroes who experience prophetic dreams of any sort: Time, Sky and Legend. Legend's are, in part, because of Fable's telepathy, but the fact remains that he still saw her in the dungeon as it was happening.

I didn't want all of them to have the same sort of prophetic dreams, especially all at the same time, because it makes for less interesting story telling if everyone is equally in the know about things, so I looked at the sort of prophetic dreams they have in canon and made up my mind using that.

Sky's dreams in SkSw reveal Demise and coming troubles to him. So, I determined that his visions are often unclear and vague, and usually focus on things that haven't happened yet and are still yet to happen. I think because his vision in SkSw is clearer than some of, say, Time's that it would make sense if he could see a more complete or complex vision.

Time's visions are more flashes and spurts. OoT shows us that he has visions, but they're not easy for him to understand on his own, or else until the thing has already come to pass. I figured it would be best to preserve this by giving him more intense feelings, images and inclinations that lead to increased worry and wariness, rather than letting him know for certain what's to happen. I displayed this a bit more in A Hero Protects His Own when Time has a very vague vision consisting of a bleeding and broken Legend and a shattered Master Sword (I called it before it ever happened in ToTK lol). He doesn't have any idea what leads to the thing so much as he just knows it. Even if he can't understand it. Additionally, Time's visions are prone to change. Unlike Sky ad Legend who just have visions of things that will happen, Time messed with time enough that his visions are more like brief flashes of the future, but from many different realities. Time's visions are triggered by specific actions or things he sees/hears/witnesses, and whatever force grants them these visions shows him the most likely thing to happen as a result of those actions. It can change and isn't set in stone, unlike the other two, but changing the course for things requires being able to identify the cause of the string of events or else directly intercede to prevent them, as I did in the fic you took this passage from (Under Pressure, Whumptober 2021).

Legend's visions were a bit tricky because I didn't want him to know everything like Sky, but I also know it would destroy him if he had vague inclinations of ill fate hanging over him at all times like Time. I chose to instead use the fact that he briefly experiences/sees/hears Zelda's imprisonment in ALttP as my basis for how his premonitions work. Legend has to experience things firsthand as they're going to happen to someone. This is partly caused because he's far more sensitive to dream magic than the others, and partially because he's something of an empath (he's noted to have a pure and caring heart a lot in the games and mangas, and shows great pain on behalf of others as well). He doesn't necessarily know what's happening or why, but he gets to see it through the eyes of the affected individual, seeing the full picture in all of it's emotion and insanity in something of a balance between Time's and Sky's visions; he gets the full brunt of emotion, but clear and full images. His visions don't usually come with a lot of time between them and what is actually going to happen however, if any time at all, and it's more that they serve as a way for him to better understand things that are currently happening than things that are going to happen.

I hope this grants you some more clarity! Thanks for choosing this passage, it's bee a it since I've thought about it!

[spookymystery67]

I Wish I Could Walk In Heels

AN: I didn't re-read once again out of fear I'd hate it, so hopefully this chapter doesn't suck. There is game plot and dialog that I changed here and there. Enjoy!

TW: Violence, mutant bug thing, zombies, language, sort of terrible flirting?, typical Resident Evil things, ect. I don't know, I suck at tags. Sorry if I traumatize anyone. NO MINORS!

Chapter 4:

-September 28th, 1998-

You and Jill were halfway to the surface when a sudden sound filled the air. 

"Jill, Y/n, it's me again. You two topside yet?" Carlos called through the radio.

"Working on it. So what's the plan?" Jill answered, holding the radio in front of her.

"The old tank's got me clearing the tracks. You two mind getting the subway infrastructure back online?" Carlos asked.

"And how do we do that?" Jill asked.

"Let's start by restoring power. I'll navigate you to the substation once you hit the main road."

"Copy that. Let's do this fast." Jill finished, shutting off the radio.

"So, you gonna join the other survivors when the train starts working again?" Jill questioned you, wanting to start a conversation.

You shrugged, "I don't know. I still need to get to the police station." 

"Why? What's at the police station?" 

"Hopefully, Ben. Alive. My guess is that Irons didn't let anyone leave their cells when all this started." 

"I wouldn't put it past him. Were you and Ben, you know, close?" She looked at you with a suggestive look, implying something in her last question.

You snorted, "Me and Ben? Yeah right. He's not my type. Plus, he was dating my friend, Katherine."

"Mmhmm, and what's your type then? Strong and broody? Someone with a goofy side? I know a guy." She joked.

"Are you trying to set me up?" You laughed.

"Well, I kinda owe you one. You have done me more than one favor in the last couple of hours I've known you." You laughed louder. "C'mon, what's your type? Now I'm curious." Jill pressed. You debated in your mind.

You've never really told anyone this before. Well, anyone besides Katherine and Ben. Questions about your sexuality never came up that often in your life.

"Not men." You bluntly responded. Jill nodded in understanding.

"Ah, only have eyes for the fairer sex. I respect that. Am I your type?" Jill asked, the teasing tone bringing a small grin to your face.

You honestly didn't know what your type was. You were never interested in dating in high school. You were too much of an introvert. And you haven't really met anyone that caught your eye or shared similar interests. You just knew that men didn't do it for you.

"Gorgeous. Badass, with a caring side from what I've seen… Yeah, you kinda are." You said, a teasing smile on your face.

"Sweet. So if you save my ass again we can go on a date." She joked.

"You gonna buy me dinner? I'd kill for an extra cheesy supreme pizza right now. And a shower. And a nap."

"We'll have a sleepover. Do you like movies?"

"Love them."

"We'll shower, sleep, then eat pizza and watch movies."

"Sounds like a dream. It's a date." You laughed, Jill joining you.

"Can't wait." 

You made it to the top of the station and gathered supplies. Herbs and ammo. According to Jill, these herbs have healing properties. You had no idea. If you had, you would have been grabbing them sooner.

You two make it to the entrance you used to duck under the half closed shudder to get to the outside. As you did, you noticed there were still people running away. One man, panting in fear, quickly ducked under the shudder you had come from where survivors were beckoned with yellow paint.

"More survivors. We gotta get that train moving." Jill said. As she did, I noticed how many more people have been infected and how much more the fire has spread. This whole city was a horror show. No corner you turned was left unaffected by the last week. By the last few hours specifically. You two carefully maneuvered through the streets, careful of zombies and being extra careful as to not shoot any survivors. 

Once you two reached another blocked off area, Jill took out the radio to contact Carlos.

"Carlos, we've reached the main avenue. Which way do we go?" Jill questioned him on the radio. You had your pistol out and kept your eyes peeled, ready to shoot anything that might try to snap its teeth at you or Jill.

"See a big transmission tower? That's the substation. You'll have to circle around through an alley to your right to get there."

"You mean the alley that's on fire?" Jill deadpanned when she saw the flames. You snorted at her tone.

"Maybe? Surely a tall drink of water like yourself can put out a few flames." Carlos' joking voice said through the speaker.

"Fuck you." Jill sighed as she shut the radio off. Clearly she wasn't in the mood for his flirty jokes. 

"Alright, let's see if we can get this fire out. Hopefully it won't be too much of a hassle." You said. And, as if the universe just loved to torment you, you had to get a tool to get the fire hydrant to work.

"This is gonna be a hassle." Jill sighed. 

"Yeah." You huffed. 

You both walked out of the alley, barely making it fully onto the street again when you saw zombies just full on knocking down and picking up the fences blocking them from getting to the two of you.

"You have got to be kidding me." Jill said as the horde walked closer.

"Those are some weak ass fences. No wonder this outbreak spreaded so fast." You said. You raised your gun, prepared to shoot at any moment.

"Wait, back up with me." Jill said.

You didn't bother questioning her, backing up, away from the zombies walking toward you.

Jill quickly took aim and waited until all the zombies were in one spot, before shooting a red barrel sat next to a crashed car. The barrel exploded, sending debris and zombies flying through the air. You block your face and squint from the heat of the blast. When it faded, you saw all the zombies were dead.

"Huh. How'd you know it would explode?" You asked.

"It's red. Red means flammable."

"Why would someone just leave flammable barrels around?"

"Why would someone create a virus to turn people into monsters? The world is full of questionable people." Jill shrugged.

"More like fucking idiots." You sighed. You were tired. You haven't been able to sleep more than a few minutes since a week ago. You were running on pure adrenaline at this point.

"Well, I guess the bright side is that we have access to a whole new street. We can look for a hose for the fire hydrant." Jill said, gesturing to the somewhat clear street corner, bright neon signs lighting up the area.

"Sure. I suppose. I'm getting tired of all these sidequests." You said. You both began your trek through the brightly lit street.

"Me too." Jill agreed. 

A while later, you both had successfully found a fire hose. Only having to avoid a few zombies in the process. You made it back to the flame filled alley, fire hose in your arms.

"Here, you can do the honors." You said, handing Jill the heavy fire hose.

She huffed from the sudden weight, "Thanks so much. You really shouldn't have." 

"What are friends for?" You joked.

Jill set up the hose and began spraying water onto the flames. It takes a few seconds for the flames to finally go out.

"There." Jill sighs, putting the hose down that was no longer needed.

"See. It would have taken me far longer if I had done it." You said, nudging her arm playfully.

"Mmhmm. Let's go lazy bones." Jill said. You both start forward once more.

"In my defense, I haven't slept in a while. It's honestly a miracle I've made it this far." 

"No, you have some natural survival skills in you. I've seen you shoot that gun. You only miss a couple of times." Jill teased.

"Hey, I do pretty good for someone who had absolutely no experience with guns, thank you very much. And why do you think I try to avoid shooting?"

"Is that why you haven't used your shotgun? You don't know how to?" She asked, pausing in her step in the alley, standing near a building.

"Honestly, yeah. I found it and figured I'd take it in case I lost my handgun or ammo for it. I probably would have figured it out through trial and error." 

"And get yourself killed in the process. Let's stop real quick and I'll show you how to use it."

Jill quickly went through the step by step process of shotgun 101. It's pretty much similar to the handgun. Just have to watch out for more recoil. But it was nice to understand how it worked and how to reload.

You both walked through the back entrance of a repair shop. You immediately saw bolt cutters, shining in a spotlight on a wall.

"Looks like those could be useful." You said.

"Yeah, can you carry them in your backpack?" Jill asked.

"Oh, now I gotta carry everything?" She smirked, nodding. "You need to get your own backpack." You said, grabbing the bolt cutters and slipping them into your backpack.

"Why should I when I have you and your never ending abyss of a backpack. How much stuff can you carry in there anyways? It's not that big of a bag."

"A lot if I put my mind to it. Speaking of where we are putting things. How are you carrying so much stuff?"

She shrugged. "Skills. Now, use the bolt cutters on that yellow chain on the door." She demanded, pointing to the door.

"Alright, bossy. Is this pay back for the fire hose incident?"

"Maybe."

You used the bolt cutters on the chain, causing them to break and unlock the door. You and Jill entered the room, noticing an injured man panting against a car. It's a car repair shop.

You and Jill quickly rushed forward to check on the man. "You're U.B.C.S?" Jill asked, kneeling down to check his wounds. You took your bag off your shoulders and knelt down with her, looking for your med kit.

"Y-yeah. Careful, careful." The young man gasped as Jill touched a painful wound. A bite.

You and Jill shared a glance after looking at the man. "C'mon. Don't look at me like that, alright? I'm not infected." The man said.

"Okay, we'll take care of-" Jill starts.

"No no no, wait! Please!" The man's cut off by a gunshot to the head, killing him instantly.

You and Jill gasped, turning to see the man with graying hair behind you who held the gun. Blood was splattered on your face.

"What the fuck!" Jill exclaimed, standing up in anger. You follow suit, attempting to wipe the blood from your cheeks. Luckily it didn't get in your eyes or mouth.

"He was infected." The Russian man said casually.

"He might have been infected!" Jill shouted.

The man scoffed. "Are all S.T.A.R.S this soft? No wonder so many of you are dead." He said, beginning to walk off.

"And what are you? U.B.C.S? Killing your own people?" 

He huffed and turned to face her from the stairs. "He would have turned. Where is your sense of self-preservation?"

She said nothing and glared. You walked up to stand by her, ready to help fight the man if she needed you to.

He tsked and began walking up the stairs again. "Go back to the subway station. We don't need a bleeding heart like you getting in the way." He shuts the door behind him.

You rubbed Jill's arm in comfort before turning to look at the man. You saw a book sticking out of his pocket and picked it up in case it had information, skimming through it.

It was a training log. The man's name was Murphy. He was apparently in prison for murdering twenty gang members and Umbrella had let him out to work for them. He seemed to have had a motev for the murders as his brother was killed by a gang member. Not that you really approve murder. You just understand why someone would do so when blinded by grief. 

"Find something?" Jill asked you.

"Uh, that guy that just left, his name may be Nicholai. That's just a guess though. But the way Murphy over here described Nicholai using him as a shield during training just screamed it's self-preservation dude." You said.

"Yeah, you may be right." She glanced at the dead man, saddened by another loss. "Let's get out of here. There isn't anything else here that we need." 

You nodded and you two made your way up the stairs and out of the shop. You tried not to look at the body of the man as you left. As sad as it sounded, you've been trying to stay disconnected with your empathetic side since this all started. It's hard to go through the city knowing that all the dead and undead were once people like you. People who had feelings and family. People who you and Ben tried and failed to help.

You made it to a dark alley and looked ahead, seeing dogs and a crashed police car with the lights still flashing. Oh yeah, animals get infected too.

You and Jill did your best to avoid getting bit by the dogs, stunning them and shooting them to put them out of their misery.

Finally, you make it to the entrance of the transmission tower. The door was locked. Figures.

"Great." You sighed.

"Maybe that guy has something that can help." Jill motioned to the man slumped to the ground with a box in his hands.

"Let's check." You walked over and carefully grabbed the box from the dead man's hands. You screeched and jumped away when a bunch of bugs came exploding and crawling out of the man's stomach, guts exposed.

"Oh my god." Jill gasped.

You shivered and gagged. You hate bugs. Hate hate hate!

"Here you open it." You shoved the box in Jill's hands, not wanting to chance it. There could be more bugs in there.

She carefully opened the box, finding a lock pick.

"Nice. You know how to use it?" You asked her.

"Yeah. You?" She asked, you shook your head.

"I'm more of a climb through the window type person." You said. 

She raised a brow at you. Oh yeah, she was a cop. Maybe you shouldn't talk about how you've broken the law during your time as Ben's assistant. "I've locked myself out of my apartment more times than I care to admit. Crowbars were my best friend in those scenarios. Had one left on the ledge."

Not entirely a lie there. You have had to lodge a crowbar through your apartment window after you've locked yourself out. And you hadn't wanted to call a locksmith, thinking you could "do it yourself" for free. You almost had the cops called on you by your neighbor before they realized it was you being an idiot.

"That's not safe. Someone else could have broken in." Jill scolded. You shrugged. "Nevermind. Let's just get this over with." She walked over to the gate lock and began picking it.

"Where did you learn to pick locks?" You asked as you watched her work.

"My father." She deadpanned, you could tell she didn't want to elaborate further.

"Huh. My dad never really taught me anything. Except how to sweet talk my way out of trouble. Very helpful since became Ben's assistant." You said.

"How'd you become his assistant anyways?" Jill asked as she worked on the lock. 

"I found an ad somewhere in the papers. I needed a job that wasn't the fast food place I was working at. So I figured, why not apply. He liked me, I liked his thought process and his goals, and the rest is history."

"Now you're here, stuck with me. In a city wide outbreak where everything is trying to kill you. How's that feel?" She joked weakly.

"Well, it could be worse. I could still be alone. I'm glad I found someone I can trust in all this." The lock clicked and she stood and turned, giving you a smile.

"Ditto. I'm glad I have someone watching my back through this."

"Even though I suck at shooting?" You joked.

"Even though you suck at shooting." She laughed. She walked through the gate, holding it open for you.

You went to walk through the gate when you heard something behind you. You turned to look and saw nothing. As you were about to shrug it off, you saw a slimy substance falling from above. You looked up and saw a giant, mutated bug. The bug shrieked and grabbed you by the neck, still hanging from above. You screamed.

"Y/ n!" Jill yelled, running to help you.

Something slimy and tongue like is shoved down your throat, causing you to choke and gag from disgust. Jill gets it off of you and shoots the bug-like creature, killing it instantly.

"Fucking gross." She grimaced.

You choke and gag trying to get the disgusting sensation out of your throat. Of something crawling within you. A parasite.

"Here, you need an herb. Quickly!" Jill urged, coaxing you to swallow the herb in her hand.

You gasped and shoved the herb in your mouth, swallowing quickly. You immediately felt the urge to throw up and turned away from Jill, puking the parasite on the ground near the dead bug creature. You closed your eyes, trying to regain your breath and calm your beating heart.

"You okay?" Jill asked, rubbing your shoulder in comfort.

"No." You rasped. That was disgusting. You felt disgusting. You hate bugs.

"You know, I won't blame you if you'd want to wait out here. I can get this done alone if I have to." She told you.

"I'm thinking about it." You joked weakly. You shook your head and sighed. "No, I'll come with you. Hang on a second." You reached into your backpack and grabbed a pack of gum from your bag. You stuck a piece in your mouth, the mint refreshing the nasty taste in your mouth. You offered one to Jill and she smirked, taking a piece and sticking it in her mouth.

"Of course you have gum." Jill laughed.

"Well, yeah. I wish I had a toothbrush. My teeth aren't too bad right?" You haven't brushed in two days, having unfortunately lost your toothbrush and your cleaned bottled water when you had to run away from a public bathroom that was suddenly overrun with infected people. Finding out the hard way that the water was infected. Best not to drink the city water. 

"No, you're fine. You surprisingly don't smell as bad as you look." You glared. "I mean, well, you know what I mean. You smell fine. And your teeth are fine. Now get up, we have things to do." She helped you to your feet from your kneeled position.

"Thanks." You deadpanned.

"Don't mention it. Let's get this over with."

You two quickly made your way through the building, shooting any bug that so much as twitched at you, working to get the power back on. There was some kind of disgusting growth covering the walls of the building. You weren't even sure what it was. You didn't want to know.

You finally pulled up the last lever, sighing in relief that you could finally leave.

"Done. Time to get the hell out of here." Jill said. You nodded in agreement, shooting and kicking away the angry giant bugs that ran at you.

"Agreed." You both ran, dodging any creature that lunged at you, until you finally made it outside.

"Okay. All that leaves is the main power switch." Jill panted, running up the stairs to the power station.

You both walked over to the control panel. Jill finds the switch and presses it, starting the power and destroying all the growth and bug-creatures. Mutated cockroaches? You weren't sure what type of bug it was. You just wanted them dead.

"Enjoy that." Jill said, watching the nest crumble.

"Good riddance. Hated those fucking things." You shivered.

"Me too. Come on. We gotta radio, Carlos." Jill said. You nodded.

You two began making your exit as Jill called Carlos.

"Carlos, it's Jill. We've restored power to the subway." Jill said.

"Nice going!" Carlos' voice sounded. "Next up is the traffic control system. It should be in the subway company's offices." 

"Right. I think I know the building." Jill said.

"Really? Way to go partner. One step ahead!" He said.

"Not your partner." Jill finished, shutting the radio off.

You snorted, "Awe, he seems sweet."

"You can have him." She joked.

"I'm good."

You two walked down some stairs, making your way to the offices. You stopped to gather supplies you found lying around and hiding in lockers. They're probably not going to need it anymore. You pushed through an orange door, making it outside once more, then went through a gate and onto a street, following Jill's lead.

As you were walking, you had a sudden feeling of dread in your chest. It was quiet. Too quiet.

"Hey, Jill-" You started.

"I feel it too. Stay close." She said, feeling that something was wrong. 

As you two walked by the police cars with the flashing lights, the wall to your right exploded, bricks flying everywhere. You gasped in shock and saw the tall and strong monster that had been chasing Jill earlier. Guess it recovered.

The monster growled, the sound similar to the word "stars". It started going after Jill once more and you grabbed her arm, pulling her way from getting hit.

"Are you shitting me?" Jill yelled, frustrated and frightened.

You both dodged and ran around it, continuing to your destination. Now with the added problem of that thing chasing you.

As you ran, it lunged forward and smacked at you both, knocking you back. You guess it's not doing the eerily slow walk anymore. You shot at a power generator, making it shock the monster and pulled Jill to a run, dodging zombies while you went.

You made your way back to the repair garage and Jill pulled out her radio. "Carlos, that thing is still alive! It's after me!" Jill yelled.

"What? Run! You both come back to the station!" He told her.

"Not until we get traffic control online." Jill put the radio away and glanced at you questionly.

"You okay to keep helping me? That thing is only after me. You'd be safer away from me."

"No, I'm not going to leave you to fix the train by yourself. And I'm not leaving until I know you're safe. It's the least I can do."

Jill nodded sincerely. "Thank you."

You both finally make it to the offices, careful as to avoid anything trying to kill you. Jill pulled her radio out again.

"Carlos, we're in the control room. Now what?"

"Nice! Now you gotta plot out a route." His voice said through the speaker.

"Okay, gimme a sec." Jill handed you the radio to hold and got to work. "Alright, where are we headed?" She asked through the radio in your hand.

"The train is stopped at Redstone Street. We need to reach Fox Park Station. Can you program that in?" Carlos asked.

"Hey, I'm supercop. Consider it done." She joked. You chuckled and watched as she input the directions. She did so successfully.

"Carlos, it's me. I've finished inputting the subway route." She said, gently taking back the radio from your hand.

"Jill, you are amazing! Tough as nails too. Hurry back to the station. We'll make sure the subway is ready to depart." Carlos said.

Jill put the radio away after that. "He's right. You are amazing. Just thought you should know." You smirked.

"Shut up." She snorted, smiling sheepishly. "We better get going to the station. Thanks for your help, by the way. And the company. It's nice having someone to talk to through all of this." She told you.

"Don't mention it. I couldn't just leave you to do this by yourself. Even supercops need help once in a while." You both laughed and made your way out of the office.

Now you need to make it back to the station in one piece.

[captain-aralias]

randomised trope/tag grading game

clearly today is a day of doing memes (i posted a list of 9 favourite books earlier today). i know it's a tuesday and normal people are at work, but i'm writing some posts, hello!

Rules: Generate your own personal list of 10 AO3 tags to rate. How much do these tags affect your decision to click on a fic? -10 -> very dissuaded 0 - don’t care either way +10 -> very enticed nope -> if it’s a hard no and you’d never click on a fic with that tag or or you even have the tag blocked or you’d insta click out of the fic if it wasn’t tagged Bonus points for explaining the rating and whether it’s conditional.

i was tagged in a very similar post by @bookish-bogwitch a few weeks ago. at the time i read her post, i felt like our opinions were so aligned that there wasn't a good reason for me to write my own post. (well done, great opinions!) the only exception really is that if a snowbaz fic was tagged age gap i might choose to read it - less because the trope is for me, and more because that's kind of weird for snowbaz. so, maybe it would be interesting! and i guess i feel pretty meh about H/C, sorry folks.

anyway - i decided to tweak the meme into the form that you see in this post. here's my 10 random things and what i think about them👇

Amusement Parks: -2

harsh judgement right out of the gate. i've read some good ones but i feel like generally a fic about an amusement park is likely to be some quite gentle fluff, maybe a modern AU, and that's not my favourite.

Unconventional Families: 0

maybe all slash fics that are kidfics are unconventional families? if so - i actually quite like kidfic, a not that secret shame, but i sort of like it less if the fact that they're gay parents is now worth flagging because it makes life difficult - since i am a gay parent. and i dont want to read about how it will be hard. so it averages out to a 0. if the family is more unconventional.... who knows? i would neither click nor not click.

Rough Sex: 8

how sad for me that this is my first clear yes and highest rated. i probably would click unless other tags or the summary put me off.

Public Transportation: 3

i went with a yes here, as i'm intrigued. it's oddly specific and suggests an interest in the specifics, and i am a fan of public transport. i've read some nice fics where snowbaz meet on trains (yes, often modern AU, but i dont dislike them all), like the classic 15-across by @ninemagicks and the equally classic remix 2-Down (A 15-Across remix) by @carryonvisinata (who also wrote a theme park story i like, so the -2 is definitely feeling mean. ah well, press on.) Bickering: 7

i mean - i prefer banter, but i assume if someone has written bickering they kind of mean banter. unless it's like sibling bickering and then maybe not.

Phone Calls & Telephones: 0

this is almost text fic (which i like less than most people like it) but not. i often write in a phonecall, it's part of what i think of as the friendship to lovers arc...... idk. i'm also going to add here that i keep thinking about plots that rely on people not being able to call each other, which is kind of the opposite. or you have to get to a pay phone - i dont know that i would want to read a fic like that, but there are some fun movies and books that you'd have to rework now. most recently i was watching madonna in 'desperately seeking susan'.

Redeemed (character): 7

this really depends on who they are, obviously. i can imagine it being really annoying if they never show any redeemability, but i've given it a strong 7 because i come from a world of redeeming the master from doctor who over and over again, so it would feel silly not to have it as a yes. and i kind of want to redeem the mage....... but it would be weird if he just was redeemed in a fic, and so too the master. it would have to be kind of about it.

Quests: 7

yes. not a 10/10 insta-click , because i can imagine it going on a bit too long if it was a fic about a quest rather than, say, two people realising they loved each other, but i would like it to be in the background. snowbaz has some good quest fics. Song of Sirens (rated E) by @scone-lover is such a fic or A Gift From the Propheseals (rated M) by @skeedelvee and @letraspal another.

Cats: 3

this feels mean, i have 3 cats myself - i like cats to be in a fic because cats are nice, but i also dont have many feelings about animal transformation and if snowbaz adopt a cat in the future... that's fine by me, i hope they do, but i probably don't want to read about it for more than a few lines.

Sociopathy: 2

probably not if it's a serious examination of this, but plenty of my villainous favs could be described as sociopaths, so... i give it a 2!

--

anyone who wants to do the meme in this form - please do!

i tag everyone already tagged in this post, the people i tagged last post, and a few others: @giishu @orange-peony @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @carryonvisinata @alleycat0306 @fight-surrender @cows4247 @messofthejess @mysterioussheep @ivelovedhimthroughworse @nightimedreamersworld @cutestkilla @fatalfangirl @artsyunderstudy @larkral @forabeatofadrum @ileadacharmedlife @facewithoutheart happy tuesday.

[chuckeroo777]

Frieren Liveblog- Chapters 49-52

Welcome back! It's been a bit. Been busy writing smut and making niche mods for niche games. Last we left off, no one we cared about died, so that's nice. And Frieren got got by another mimic, so that's nice.

Good to see the golems are as good at their job as you'd hope. And I see Sense is yet another member of the golem appreciation club.

Frieren, if you had the situation under control, why did you spend a minute screaming and panicking?

The path of least resistance is a great spot to put your favorite traps. (Also, a bonus mimic)

Fern continues to act like Frieren's mom. She's just so glad to see her happy!

Hmm... the other mages will be able to get away with rock-paper-scissoring they way past, but I'm a little frightened what a Frieren doppelganger would do. Then again, if the creation of these clones is fueled from some source, it might not have the juice to make a Frieren clone.

Well, shit. Speak of the devil.

If it is channeling her personality, then they may not have to worry about it going all out. On the other hand, it could make use of all her underhanded tactics.

Rude. Accurate to the original, but rude.

The hell is she up to? I really can't get a read on Ubel's motives.

Ah, of course. She wants his sweet doppelganger magic. Doesn't change the fact that she literally risked her life to pull that off though.

I'm still skeptical about how strong this thing is. It was created by a demon. Unless this is some sort of demon elder god, I'm not sure how it would create a clone stronger than itself.

Gently hug the elf.

Hmm, her wording is oddly specific. If I'm correct about this clone having less of a mana pool, restraint magic might work.

Hmm. Sense said she wouldn't help or hinder any of the contenders. I wonder if this clone will follow the same behavior? Also, apparently she has hair powers? That sounds neat.

Well, so much for that idea. Time for Edel to gtfo, and for the others to come up with another plan. Just lure it to Frieren. That should do the trick.

Well, we know for a fact that Fern is quicker at casting than Frieren. I imagine her idea hinges on that.

I'm glad everyone is in agreement that Frieren is a precious cinnamon roll who could easily destroy them all.

They have every reason to hate you Richter. You literally tried to kill them despite your partner telling you no. Anyway, judging from who is still missing, I'll bet Land and Ubel will be pivotal to beating her.

*Casually blasts her master to bits*

I'm not quite sure I understand what this weakness is, but I have a feeling it will make more sense when they exploit it.

Everyone is openly discussing the best way to kill me! Ain't it grand?

Can't healing magic do something about that? No? Okay.

I vaguely remember an epic mage battle I saw as I clip back when the anime was airing. I wonder if that's about to happen?

Also, clearly you've never seen Tomb of Horrors II: Tomb Harder.

And that's it for now. Next time, we fight the final boss.

But seriously, how does a demon make a clone that powerful?

[dandylovesturtles]

For the writer ask game! Any or all that you'd like to answer? ^_^

🍓 (how did you get into writing fanfiction?)

🛼 (describe your latest wip with five emojis)

🔪 (what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?)

🏜️ (what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?)

already did the emoji one so I'm skipping that

🍓 (how did you get into writing fanfiction?)

so I've been writing since I was a little kid (my mom has a storybook about a fox that I wrote when I was in kindergarten), and I've also been imagining scenarios with my favorite characters since I was a little kid. a lot of it was the normal sort of self-insert stuff kids do lol. I didn't write any of it down at the time though because I didn't think that was like... a thing people did (keep in mind this was the mid-90s and my family did not have the internet)

I think my first actual interaction with fanfiction was a girl showing me her handwritten Inuyasha fankid chatfic (though we probably wouldn't have called it that back then... scriptfic?) in junior high. it was... explicit. to say the least. lol

my first fanfiction that I wrote myself was a quick drabble thing for Over the Hedge, which I posted on a proboards site for some of my friends (ah shit anyone remember proboards???). I still didn't even know the term fanfiction back then though. I was just really into Over the Hedge.

I don't remember how I actually found fanfiction.net, but when I did I remember getting really excited realizing this is a thing people do, en masse. hilariously I started out reading a lot of National Treasure fanfiction on there, but around the same time I was really starting to get into One Piece, and I finally decided to write something and post it.

it did better than I expected it to, I started writing more and making friends with other writers in the OP fandom, and the rest is history.

🔪 (what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?)

well..... it was for another fandom, but uh.... octopus reproductive organs |'D

🏜️ (what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?)

I love all comments but I especially love ones that are trying to guess what happens next or ones that comment on specific lines they liked!

thanks for the ask!

[lovenpeace-pkmn]

It’d be interesting to hear about the differences in iconography etc between Plasma’s Draconism vs more traditional forms of Draconism…

Well, the basic symbols of Draconism are quite common throughout Unova...fire and lightning, the juxtapositions of black and white or orange and cyan. Team Plasma tended more towards lightning imagery than fire, although it is far from the only group to do so so don't go accusing anyone of things based on that alone.

Most of the Plasma-specific symbols were things that Ghetsis introduced from a sense of overblown theatrics, which were then given symbolic significance by Zinzolin (who saw anything vaguely mythological as a kind of game) or by Giallo and the grunts attributing meaning to them over time.

There was, ah...have you noticed Ghetsis' eye motif? Connie believes it had some personal significance to him, but it was popularly seen as symbolizing his wisdom and foresight in bringing together the sages to herald the coming of the king.

The sages all had individual motifs as well, normally based around the colors they were named after but also things such as Zinzolin's association with the Ice type. That actually predated Opelucid.

Concordia and I were associated with Pokémon with folkloric ties to our deific roles--most often togekiss, arboliva, or tranquill for her and luvdisc, woobat, and toucannon for me.

I...have sort of lost track of where I was going with this.

[simplegenius042]

I'd love to know about "Call to Arms" for the WIP round up. FC5 and CoD my beloveds...

Ah yes! I'd love to talk about the Call To Arms duology!

Since there were two versions of CODMW, I had been stuck on doing either the original version or the reboot. Then I remembered, "I'm a fanfic writer, I can have BOTH!" And that's how I ultimately decided to combine both, so that's going to be fun to work out.

Call To Arms is a Call Of Duty Modern Warfare fic which acts as an origin story for Nadi Sinclair, John Seed's second-in-command in my FC5 fics, explaining why Nadi is so willing to sell her soul to John and Eden's Gate and devote herself to their ideals despite the red flags.

Call To Arms is split in two (due to being a duology); the first fic focuses on the first Modern Warfare and setting up the second, acting as a prologue of sorts, while the second fic focuses on both Modern Warfare 2 & 3, where things start taking a turn for the worst. I'll be sticking with the original's timeline (mostly anyway), as the reboot's timeline just doesn't work for Silva's Hope.

Nadi Sinclair is an Iranian-Frenchwoman who joined the French army and eventually got recruited into SAS operations, specifically the 22nd SAS Regiment, due to her exceptional sharpshooting skills, and acts as designated marksman on good days and sniper on bad days. Despite the work she does, she still retains an optimistic and cheerful demeanor, earning her the nickname "Quokka". She's joined alongside one other recruit; Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish, and are both mentored by SAS Captain John Price and Sergeant Kyle "Gaz" Garrick. The dynamics I'm going for in this group is that Nadi and Soap have this vitriolic sibling energy between them, and are considered the "younger" siblings (being in their early and mid 20s), Gaz the well-behaved one, and Price acting as the big brother everyone looks up to even when he commits the occasional war crime.

There's also Kate Laswell who's the mother hen that covers their asses when they do stupid shit, and checks in on them from time to time to make sure they're all okay. Farah and Alex are the favorite long-distant cousins they wish they got to see more of (with Hadir as the least favorite) and Nikolai is the uncle whose been to prison more than once but does get them out of trouble so he gets a pass, and Griggs is just a stand-up guy who showed up sopping wet like a kitten lost in the rain so they kind of adopted him.

Shepherd also appears a little earlier than he does in both canons (though I'm going for the original MW2 Shepherd as I despise the reboot version) who's either the most impressed dad in the world or the most disappointed. Graves and Valeria are the bad kids who the team want to keep Nadi far away from.

Ghost, Roach, Alejandro, Yuri, and all the others will be introduced in the second fic but while I don't have much to share about their relationship with Nadi now (except that Ghost kind of scares her even though he would absolutely kill anyone who bothered her and help hide the body), I must make this adamantly clear. I do not have any romance at all for this duology, the focus is more on brotherhood/sisterhood. The most you'll get is playful flirting, whatever Alejandro and Valeria got going on, and discussions of Nadi's obvious poor tastes in men and women at her expense (which may explain her crush on a certain Seed brother...).

Makarov is still his horrible self and no one wants him around.

I'm still trying to get things together for this one, I'll need to go on the hunt for the original games (it's... been a while) and replay the reboots (I don't have the third one and while I'm hesitant to get it from what I've heard, I'll do it just for the fic).

Anyway, hope you enjoyed.

[xstarlightxstarbrightx]

thoughts on how the Inazuma Archon quest went [4]

Lumi and Kaeya prep for their travel to Inazuma, and are waiting for Beidou's intel. They talk to their old friends in Liyue, they visit Zhongli one last time, and I always saw this as a little tense in terms of goodbyes.

I mean, Lumine just recently learned about Aether's position in the Abyss Order, and she's currently grappling with that and the thought that the Raiden Shogun might be the Unknown God (i mean, Paimon made a brief connection, i don't doubt that she's been thinking about it.) Lumine feels like the sort of person who always maintains a cheery disposition no matter what if she can help it, but Kaeya and Zhongli know. They can feel it.

My personal headcanon is that Zhongli offers them words of ease before they leave to ask Katheryne about their intel. I already have written abt this in personal stuff, but I will share any mini fics I write later on (probably will put it on AO3 eventually, but it's also optional. i just really like these idiots and am considering sharing some of the writing i've already done for them lmao).

Anyway, Kaeya and Lumi have to go to Inazuma!!! (and subsequently suffer in an electric HELL)

Thoma, upon arrival: well if it isn't the Traveler from afar and-- Thoma: Kaeya: Lumine: ? Paimon: ?? Thoma: aaaaaaaaaaanyway. proceeds to yap

the entire intro quest to Inazuma was kinda interesting since it touched on how blatantly fucked up the Ritou situation was to outlanders. Lumine also throwing shade at Zhongli's relationship with Mora made me giggle.

I also liked the part where we got to reflect on Mondstadt and Liyue by reminding that one Werner guy about the places he'd come from. I feel like Kaeya would be the one to really get into him about Mondstadt, and Lumine handles Liyue incredibly well.

Unfortunately, the intro quest to Inazuma also holds one of the things I disliked most about Inazuma; and that is the almost cruel refusal to help when Thoma inevitably asks Lumine for assistance. In the actual game, the way the responses are short and incredibly stiff made me genuinely feel... gross? Like it doesn't feel like something Lumine specifically would say (I can't vouch for Aether players, but I'm sure there have been times where the dialogue options have been off for them, too.) I don't hate the dialogue options we got, especially if people perceive her or Aether as more reluctant and unwilling—my main issue has always been that we never had the option to react ever so slightly differently; even if it was just a way to rephrase a refusal.

So, in my interpretation of Inazuma, I opted for a more hesitant reluctance when Thoma inevitably asks for Lumine's help (something that, I feel, makes FAR more sense, and falls in line with the rest of the Archon quests in Nations after).

Thoma: so... with your help... even the Vision Hunt Decree— Lumine: hold on. Lumine: ... I... didn't really offer to help with that, you know. Lumine: I'm in Inazuma to talk to the Raiden Shogun, after all... Thoma: ... Ah. Yes, of course. I'll do my best to set that up for you.

GAHHH I really should write more about Inazuma and reworking it into something I have more of an interest in. The potential of this story really haunts me, I was just so put off by the approach. I genuinely have envisioned many a discussion between Kaeya and Lumine about this reluctance—I'm of the sound mind that Kaeya's surprised by her reluctance, but at the same time they both know this is just a flimsy attempt to try and focus on meeting Raiden.

I just don't think she would deny it so quickly and coldly; it feels like she would find ways to compromise, rather than shut people down. Something I desperately wish we got, because it feels more compassionate than what we did get. (and not to mention that this is the ONLY time the Traveler shows such a vicious reluctance to helping people. Like in Sumeru, there was VERY little reluctance to help people from what I remember, and Fontaine??? FONTAINE??? Yeah.)

Like, for example, when she goes to Hiiragi Shinsuke, he quite notably points out "One other thing I heard about you is your great zeal for helping other people." It is constantly noted how the Traveler is willing to help others; even if she, herself, sees it as merely a normal and proper thing to do. AHGHH the characterization of the Traveler in Inazuma killed me guys.

Anyway, we all know that Lumine and Kaeya help out Chisato b/c ofc they would (something I feel like is brought up between her and Kaeya when discussing the reluctance to assist with the Decree), and they head off to Narukami Island.

Thoma: sorry about that other little "test" haha Lumi: riight... so, how'd we do? Thoma: I'm guessing you've always been skirting the rules from the very beginning, haven't you? Kaeya: yep. Lumi: yep. Paimon: yep.

also, again; we're learning about the selfishness of the Vision Hunt Decree, and I feel like Lumine hearing the voices of everyone's ambitions would likely be what starts her attempt to compromise. Also "a Vision symbolizes ambition, and not power" is so interesting. i'm kinda obsessed with it—also Lumine 1000% looking to Kaeya as she sort of has this realization, and her just being like "no, I have to at least compromise. I can't deny them assistance."

Ayaka: Traveler, lend us your power, and we can— Lumine: I must meet the Raiden Shogun. Lumine: that is, first and foremost, why I am here. Kaeya: ... Lumine: ... but... once that is done, I don't doubt that I could still help. Ayaka: Oh... Thoma: I told you.

THIS is how I wanted this conversation to go. A compromise; to meet the Raiden and then offer to help after. A completion of a goal and a promise to help. Because it never felt right to me that it was just so cold and harsh. Let there be compromise, plEASE. It still makes it such an interesting story, and it also shows so much more of the compassion that the Traveler has, and just makes it feel more connected when the Traveler meets and develops relationships with other characters in the game, whether NPC or Playable, canon or fanon.

Anyway, Ayaka still offers to get them to meet the Raiden Shogun, but she still has them do the three wishes thing; which completely breaks Lumine. After already showing willingness to help after, Lumine just accepts that she can't watch these people suffer—what if that was Kaeya? what if it was her brother? Show us the trepidation beginning to fade. Show us the wall cracking. Show us Lumine crumbling before she breaks, I'm begging.

I'll be continuing this later, again, dw! I do have a few other things I'm excited to touch on now that I've finally been able to put my disdain for Inazuma into words. Rereading this quest really has reminded me of how fascinating I found some of the points they brought up—like the Visions being physical representations of ambition and what life is like to lose your ambition and memory of it. It has so much potential, and I'm definitely wondering if I should write on it some...

[madhogthymaster]

Down The Cabbit Hole: The Weird World of Klonoa Literature - An Archive (Part 2)

[PART 1]

22 July 2022

As I slowly work my way towards Klonoa media completionism (pending), I find myself drawn to Dream Crusaders, a fan-made continuation to the cancelled Dream Traveller of Noctis Sol webcomic, written and illustrated by Esteban Girolami.

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As you know, my opinions about that officially licensed material are overwhelmingly negative, nevertheless I am curious as to what this adventure may yield under a new direction and vision - which is automatically better than having neither direction nor vision at all.

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To be perfectly blunt, there is absolutely no chance of redemption for that comic. It was a doomed enterprise the second Huepow showed up out of nowhere. Its mere existence is offensive. That said, I'm glad this "sequel" starts off with these two. I'm keenly aware of the hypocrisy.

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Nightmare Klonoa's face game appears to be in top shape, which is swell since the original story did not give me any reason whatsoever to care about this doofus. I only now notice the cute detail of the Pac-Man's ghost hat.

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Actually using loosely established lore from Lunatea's Veil to inform your narrative? Alright, Dream Crusaders, you have my attention.

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Ah, I see. You are using your story as a thinly-veiled excuse to bring back iconic series antagonists for fan-service purposes. I can respect that. At least, you are providing something that your audience might want to see.

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This is how you are choosing to characterize the Goddess Claire, eh? Go on.

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Thou shalt not make Nightmare Klonoa likeable.

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Hurray!

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Honestly, that's a power move on the writer's part.

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Excuse me? How dare you come at me with that expression!? I don't appreciate being specifically targeted!

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Oh no, I love her.

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As far as fanfictions go, this is giving me exactly the kind of inanity I would enjoy from the medium. It is not a good Klonoa story but it's clearly having fun with its dumb premise. Goddess Claire, in full anime super villain mode, is the unquestionable MVP.

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I get the feeling this author does not particularly care about Guntz, which the only acceptable behaviour when it comes to Guntz.

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"Oh don't mind me, I'm just going to Naruto pose in the background of this exposition panel."

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Gasp! It's the bandana-wearing Moo! Legally distinct from the bandana-wearing Waddle Dee!

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"I promise not to obliterate the elderly, metaphorically or otherwise."

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It's Trauma Bunny!

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Ah, an appropriate pairing. Trash belong together, after all.

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"Hyuck!"

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Original Character. Do Not Steal.

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I am a man of simple pleasures.

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He looks just right.

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Well, this is awkward.

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As of this date, that was the last currently available page for Dream Crusaders. I am enjoying this fan-interpretation of a failed project quite a bit. It might be just a load of fan-service and entirely self-indulgent but it's the passionate, dedicated sort of fan-service driven fanfiction.

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It is everything Noctis Sol was not: the exact opposite of a soulless, dull, visionless drivel, one that actually takes the time and care to properly write sufficiently-defined characters and consistent story beats. I will continue to read it in the future.

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Conclusively, it's a fun read and the artwork is high quality, more professionally sequenced and framed than the *official* webcomic series. Unfortunately, you would have to go through that abomination in order to get to the good part.

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With this dream firmly behind us, like a distant memory of childhood, it is time to burrow ourselves down, deeper and deeper, into the Cabbit Hole in order to unearth older, much more obscure materials. Next time, we enter the positively drizzling underworld of Klonoa's "scanlations" and any remaining miscellanea, thus finally bringing my archive up to speed. Stay drowsy, fellow Phantomilians.

[PART 3]

[blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk]

Au terms and service request!!

Reactions to playing Five Night at Freddy's with circus performers plz hehehe

yessss I love it! FNAF has a special place in my heart; I was playing Toy Bonnie, Springtrap, and an OC on RP blogs back when the first games came out! (actually I still play them all, I just moved most of my RP muses to a multimuse... I love my lil fuzzbutt bunnybots and my spooky tour guide lady XD)

I'm super pumped for the movie to come out next month! I currently have the Peacock streaming service and the movie is coming straight to that as well as theaters. soooooo... pizza party and everyone's invited!!!!

anyway this is such a great concept eeeeee

God, she hates it!! Get the door! Wait, no, the other door! Fuck, is that Foxy on the camera?! Aaaaand Mr. Schmidt is dead. Oops. This is definitely not her favorite game, if only because she’s easily freaked out by jumpscares. If you laugh at her reactions, she’ll probably force close the Kuroshitsuji app and sulk for a while… meaning that every time you open it and try to talk to her specifically, she’ll make the app crash. She finally moans that life is hard enough, why couldn’t you pick a nice, wholesome farming game or something?? Gah. She’ll play it with you again, if you really want; just don’t tease her when she screams!

Ah, no, stop checking the camera!! Y’re gonna run down the power! Er… well… okay, y’ can check it this once, but… ugh! He’s hung up on the strategies rather than being too scared of the animatronics. At first, anyway. The first time you let Mike die to a jumpscare, he shrieks like a banshee. Those animations are just too detailed and creepy, as far as he’s concerned. If nothing else, he’s happy to keep playing despite the fear of getting another one of them. Actually, he considers it a point of pride to see all the animations. Come on, he won’t let you wimp out and stop playing until you survive the night!!

Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, turn the lights on! They were so sure they heard one’a those damn robots comin’!! Aaaaah… dead because you guys were too slow to close the door. After the two of you die the first time, they’re urging you to try again. Of course, they screamed at the jumpscare, so you might ask if they really are sure they want to play again. They do, though! They talk about how their heart was racing (even though they, er, don’t have one, do they??), and how it was so much fun. Did it scare them? Absolutely. Did they enjoy it? No doubt! It’s something they love doing with you, so, they’ll play it as many times as you like.

Haha, Lord, this is an awful waste’a time and ‘e couldn’t be ‘appier tae be playin’ it with ye! What ‘appens if th’ lights go out, again…? … Oh. Right, death! He manages to crack jokes the whole time, but some of the content in this game actually sort of gets to him. Being trapped in an enclosed space with no options to just run, and only your own reaction times to keep yourself safe? That’s one of the scariest situations he can imagine to be in. That said, he’s quite fast, so if you’d prefer to give him commands, he can connect to the Five Nights at Freddy’s app itself and do things almost instantly rather than you pressing buttons. He’s helpful if you’ve tried a few times and are just a bit slow to survive. He’ll play with you as much as you want… just maybe play something a little bit more lighthearted before closing the Kuroshitsuji app for the night??

Y’ sure y’ really wanna play this one, eh? The premise is a li’l odd, ain’t it? ‘N’ the mechanics are so simple, is it even a challenge or… FUCK, THAT’S A GIANT ROBOT ANIMAL, CLOSE THE DOOR!! For as much as he isn’t usually rattled by things (in fact, there are times he seems stoic and emotionless), he pays dearly in finding out how scary this game is, because he severely underestimated it. When you let Mike die for the first time, the Kuroshitsuji app crashes; upon opening it back up, Jumbo will bashfully apologize and ask if you want to try playing again. He’s prepared now, he promises! Well, until that music box starts playing. It’s so pretty, isn’t it? … Dammit, okay, try one more time!

Oi, y’ sure this is s’posed t’ be a, y’know, a ‘orror game? From wot ‘e sees, it looks like a game f’r li’l kids ‘r somethin’. All colorful ‘n’ cheesy ‘n’… GOD! Rabbits shouldn’t be that fuckin’ scary!!! After letting Mike die for the first time, Peter just sort of zones out for a second. He’s got the horror game equivalent of a thousand-yard stare, as if he’s trying very hard to comprehend what the hell just happened. After a moment he snaps out of it and demands that the two of you try again. He’s fully committed to playing it until you survive the entire five nights, if only to prove that he’s not scared. In fact, find all the secret stuff! He’ll do those five nights and more! No stupid game gets the better of him!

(Aww, why isn’t there a snake animatronic? That would be so much fun!) Yes, he supposes it would be, Donne. (Let’s jus’ play it, we’ll show ‘em w’o’s boss!) Snake doesn’t share the aggressive enthusiasm, Wilde, but he’s willing to give it a go. He gets spooked quite quickly, though, and comments that he wishes he was a real person so he could hide behind you. (Of course, the snakes do the talking. It’s less embarrassing to admit that way.) He can barely get through one night without getting so scared he crashes the Five Nights at Freddy’s app. If he does manage it, however, his confidence grows a little and he’s able to formulate some better strategies for getting through another. It’s… fun to bond with you like this, even though he gets scared. He’ll keep playing, if you want.

Eep!! Good God, ‘ow do these ‘uge, ‘ulkin’ things move so damn fast?? It don’t seem fair at all! ‘Ow are y’ two s’posed t’ keep from dyin’? Well, she s’poses that’s wot makes it a challenge. That’s the whole point of the game, so she can’t really complain too much that it’s difficult. She jumps at every little sound in the game, and urges you to check the cameras often. This isn’t something she’s good at — she ends up having you check the cameras so often the power runs out, and you don’t last till 6 A.M. It’s a miracle if you last till 3, the way she plays. She at least is the only one to explain that because she’s part of an app inside the phone, it feels so much more… real to her! Thankfully, she’s a good sport. Even if she ends up screaming at every jumpscare, she’s fine playing it until you get bored. It beats just sitting round doing nothing! (Though, even that isn’t so bad with you.)