#trying to see how weapons feel in this game and i really love the movement

[ballad-of-elgado]

Please look at my silly he's my special littol guy

Nayim in his Wilds-ified design. I am OBSESSED WITH HIM

[randombush3]

cool about it

alexia putellas x reader

summary: you can't find inspiration for your play

notes: this was rotting in my drafts and then i got drunk and finished it lolz

i refuse to read it back so have fun

The first time Alexia sees you, you are with your friends; sleeves rolled-up, wide smile on your face, a pool cue in your hand as you wield it like a weapon the minute one of the women beside you opens her mouth. She is drawn into observing, craving the knowledge of what you are being told; what is making you blush so furiously. She sees your mouth open, a blackhole that draws her in without mercy, and she barely survives the sound of your loud, raucous laughter

Suddenly, in the universe of football and media events and her little sister’s embarrassingly active love-life, you appear. Like a new star, burning bright, big and hot and… “You’re staring,” says Mapi with a smile. She knows not to tease, and she treads lightly. “You’ve been staring for a while.” 

“They’re speaking English.” It’s an incriminating sentence, but it would have been futile to deny Mapi’s accusation anyway. 

“I saw her at the bar. She spoke Spanish then.” 

“You’ve been stalking her.” 

Mapi nods, and holds Alexia’s drink in a silent push to get her over to the pool table. To you. “Because you’ve been staring. I was only making sure she wasn’t a psycho.” 

“Thanks,” she scoffs, but, in truth, she is grateful. 

As she saunters over (a newly regained skill, months down the line from her traumatic ACL reconstruction surgery), her confidence a believable façade, she decides that she is going to be Alexia Putellas. She is going to be cool about it, and she is going to impress you, and she is going to make you laugh so that she can hear that sound again. 

Again, again, again. 

“Yeah, sure, you can take over for Soph,” you say, nodding towards the woman who had been on the receiving end of your light prodding with the wooden stick all of friends regret allowing three-drink you to be in charge of. “So you’re spots, I’m stripes. I’ve got two left until I can pot the black, and you, er, you might be at a disadvantage here.” You rub the back of your neck as you peer at the balls on the table, almost all of them left behind by Soph’s inability to play pool. “How about we just, um–” 

“Está bien.” Alexia pretends to understand a lot more of what you said than she really does, regretting her choice to approach you in English, but she gets the jist. And, although you make her feel as though life has only just begun, she remembers her competitiveness very, very clearly. “Voy a ganar,” she scoffs. 

She holds in her celebration as you break out into a grin, immediately rising to the challenge, glad your friends have tired of the pool table so that no one can interrupt the battle you are about to commence. A battle with a very pretty woman, you must admit. 

You lose. 

You blame it on Alexia – she tells you her name as she pots three balls in a row – and try not to acknowledge the taunts from your friends at the bar, most of them having watched the entire game from afar to have something to talk about tomorrow. “You win,” comes your pitiful concession after a brutal defeat. “So, what will your prize be?” 

It’s an easy answer. 

That morning, throat hoarse from the cries that left it the night before, eyes red and tired and way too sensitive to light for you to consider drinking a drop of alcohol ever again, you wrap your arms around the warm body in the unfamiliar bed, finding the intimacy to have lived on longer than it should for a one-night-stand. Barcelona is warm and sunny, the day one to be enjoyed, and the company the best you have had in a while. 

It isn’t just that Alexia is a goddess. It isn’t the Amazonian ridges of her stomach and the firmness of her thighs, nor the softness of her hair or the deft movements of her fingers against your scarred skin. No, that is not what has, in just one evening, made you fall in love with her. (You bite your lip as you are overcome with emotion, chest filling up – with which feeling, you do not know –, heart pounding into your bones as the rhythm of your desire to be in Alexia’s life sets into the very framework of your being.) No! How could it be that? How could it be that when there is more? 

The coarseness of her determination; the slippery confidence, delicate and sharp, as though it is both the petal of a rose and the thorn that will prick you. Her humour, mistranslated at times, but always ready to make fun of idiots (most often, a specific idiot with a neck tattoo, as you come to realise). 

Personally, you believe it to be unfair that Alexia, Alexia Putellas, is simply ‘all that’. 

Getting to know each other fails to feel awkward, though you spend a lot of time waiting for the tension to appear. 

She discovers who you are, how you have moved to Barcelona for inspiration, finding that very thing lacking in dreary Leeds (the most depressing place on Earth, you could argue). She learns of your dream, although you label it as your ‘plan’: to write a play and to see it on the stage, preferably a grand theatre in the West End. Or in Stratford, where upon lies the greatest soil from which a playwright can grow. 

You show her your empty pages, devoid of black print marks. White and white, that goes on until it is clear that you have tired of pressing the ‘enter’ button as though it will ignite a story within. A story that hasn’t yet come, mind. 

“Do you think it will work?” she asks you, her accusation carrying nothing but curiosity once you see past the abrupt manner in which she interrupts your lengthy monologue about your severe case of writer’s block. 

Maybe you intend to be a little vague, for the sake of your racing heart and your delicate emotions, because you only shrug. You have already found your inspiration, not that you are going to tell her. 

Alexia is forward in the sense that she checks how temporary your presence is in her city before asking you out on a date. Your answer of ‘however long this shit takes’ is enough for her to be sure that she wants a second. A third, too. 

Then, before you know it, it has been a year. 

A year of Barcelona, a year of Spanish sun, and, excitingly, a year in which you have been cured; fingers blessed with movement and ideas and words on the tip of your tongue that run free in Alexia’s ear as you talk and talk and talk. She listens and listens and listens, and switches into the focus of your pairing when you go with her to watch her team play and play and play (why the fuck does football have so many matches?!). The final stage direction, all curling italics and sentimentality, sits at the bottom of the page. 

The end of your play. 

It is finished, it is done, and, soon after you have revised it one last time, it is sent to your producer friend with a nervous click of the ‘new email’ button and the hope that he is thankful for the times at university when you cared for him when he drank himself so silly that he barely made it to his lectures two days after the night-out. 

“It feels good,” you tell Ingrid, the girlfriend of the idiot with the neck tattoo, beaming as she inquires about your work. “I feel like I lived through it to get to this moment, you know? All that’s left to do is for him to read it and decide whether he’ll pick it up. Then, table reads and funding, of course. I’d want to direct, but, also, I’m not going to sell this one. Leasing it and taking a percentage of the royalties will make me loads more, because, Ingrid, this one is the best thing I’ve ever written.” 

There is a moment, usually, that comes after you have finished writing. A brief, sharp sort of panic, where you question your worth and your talent; you wonder if you have been lied to your whole life, and that your version of the same twenty-six letters of the alphabet, jumbled up on a white canvas as though you are (after a sleepless, usually) Picasso, is terrible. Or, worse, bad. 

Bad. Bad is so… plain. If it is just ‘bad’, you have failed as a writer. If it is not outrageous or unbelievably horrible, or, as one obviously hopes, incredible and amazing… if it is just ‘bad’, well: “Alexia, I’m terrified.” 

Alexia kisses your neck (you do not feel the finality of it, or maybe it is that you do not want to) because she knows it isn’t bad; she is more than aware that your play, your new creation, is really rather good. Brilliant, even. “Tranquila, mi amor,” she murmurs in your ear, bringing her arms to rest on your tense shoulders, a hand closing your laptop on its journey. “Le va a flipar.” 

“You think so?” 

“Sí.”

“Are you saying that because we’re together and you love me?” Your voice is small and unsure, and its teasing lilt is thrown off-kilter by the croak of your anxiety. “Or do you mean it? Please, I hope you mean it.” 

“I mean it.” She hates that she does. “Yes, of course I mean it. I love you and I am proud of you.” She hates it, she hates this, and she hates the talent your mind wields; something that is going to rip you from her grasp. It was bound to happen.

Your phone rings; soft, electronic trills dancing in the space between you and the coffee table it has been placed on. “I think that’s him,” you whisper, the volume you had intended to speak at smited by the nervous lump in your throat. Alexia nods mournfully, but you are too busy accepting the call to see.

“Let’s do this,” he says. 

…

The first frost of London comes that January. It’s unusual, the locals claim, because the city exists in its own polluted microclimate, but their statistics do not stop the layer of ice from freezing onto the windshield of your car. You are glad London feels just as cold as you do. 

Your play is beloved by the actors who speak your words, and the critics amongst your friend group, who for once, have no criticism to give. There is promise here. It is going very well. 

You drive to the theatre, ready to sit in on another rehearsal. Though your original intention had been to direct, you pawed off the role to an old school friend upon her return from Broadway. Your decision, you tell her, comes from a lack of experience in direction. You pretend to have had an epiphany: you only want to write the plays. 

In truth, this is a lie. 

Of course it is a lie. 

But how can you direct such happiness, such love and romance, if you know that the very thing that inspired each line has ceased to exist? 

Alexia feels like she has ceased to exist. 

On the outside, she seems relatively fine. She trains well, plays well, makes appearances where she should, says what you’d expect of her, hopes to make the world a better place. She walks Nala as though the Pomeranian does not whine for you to hold her leash, and she visits her mother and sister even though they continue to ask her why she did what she did. 

At night, she scrolls through social media, fingers always leading her back to you; your life; your work; your experiences that you no longer share with her. She cries, then, usually: a common occurrence nowadays. 

There is a gaping hole in her chest that has been made by her sticking her fucking foot in it. 

She has questions, naturally; each directed hatefully at herself. Why? Why, why why? Why on Earth did she tell you never to come back? Why did she blame you for leaving? 

You were always going to leave! Alexia knows that, hates that she knows that. 

You came to Barcelona because you couldn’t write, and you wrote. You wrote, you made her fall in love with you, and, when you had finished, you discarded the life you had unexpectedly built all because of some stupid, stupid play. 

A play titled–

A play. 

A… Alexia can’t even bring herself to think about it. 

No, all Alexia can think about is how insignificant she feels when you are no longer in love with her. You: sophisticated, intelligent, brilliant, adoring. Her? 

“Lex, you can’t mope if you’re the one who broke it off.” The words leave Alba’s mouth in jest but Alexia recoils as though she has been whipped by her sister’s tongue. 

“I’m trying to be cool about it,” she replies like it is the most obvious thing in the world.

It seems as though the globe has spun a full circle on its axis by the time Alba formulates her response, dumb-struck by such fucking idiocy. 

Alba hopes her sister feels like a fool – she hopes Alexia looks at herself in the mirror and… laughs, at this point. The whole thing has been ridiculous, in her opinion. 

First, her sister claims she is in love with a playwright with no plays to her name (Alba is examining the facts objectively, here, because she did quite like you); then, poof! Like a rabbit in a magician’s hat played in twisted reverse, away you go, and it somehow isn’t even your fault. 

She’d like to hate you, for her sister’s sake, but she finds herself loathing her own blood as it thins and thins until it trickles just like water. 

Okay, maybe she is being a little dramatic there, but she is still annoyed with Alexia. 

Alexia – whose existence as more-than-a-footballer is fading as she loses herself to waves of futile guilt – hates that she cannot hate you. She is plagued by emotional constipation, and though she tries to squeeze the situation for a drop of cruelty from you, she fails to discover a gram of relief.

It would have been kinder for you to have been cruel. Mercy is getting Alexia nowhere, and she would run to you if it were fast enough. Mercy is what renders her in a perpetual state of regret. Mercy is what keeps her up at night, but maybe mercy is what she likes having because it is yours and, in that way, she carries a piece of you with her. 

To confuse herself even more, to skew her mind further onto a path of unconventional self-destruction, she silently begs the mercy you have left behind to disappear so that she can learn to do without it. It’ll become a crutch and she wants it ripped from her grasp so that she can learn to walk on her own. She’s capable of that, she tells herself. 

(It probably isn’t true.)

…

Opening night. 

You’re wearing something far too nice to be comfortable, and there has been a champagne flute in your hand since the lunch held by the investors of the production company. The bubbles have served their purpose, clouding your mind with thoughts that weren’t to do with Alexia and her Alexia life and her Alexia smile and her Alexia way of making an Alexia-shaped cavity in your heart. 

It gushes quite a bit, because Alexia is strong and big and capable of damaging you to this extent. You reckon your surprise is foolish but fuck off, you’re trying your best. 

Comfortingly, not one scrap of red velvet is visible once the audience is ushered inside the theatre. 

It’s beautiful here; small, old. The perfect place to fall in love, just as you did. Or at least, experience the good part through deliciously talented actors and a stellar script (your horn has been tooted enough times for you to give it a go). 

Fear creeps up your legs as you take your seat in the front row, guarded by friends and family and proud English teachers who’d believe in you, but you take another sip and it simmers down. 

“Careful,” whispers your mum, shoulder nudging yours as you place your plastic cup (no glass in the auditorium) on the patterned carpet just as the show is about to begin. “You’ll not remember this if you don’t take a break.” 

And you’re halfway to announcing you don’t want to remember anything at all when the curtain goes up and a woman walks onto stage. 

It’s sobering. 

The audience is restlessly quiet, anticipating the brilliance they’ve been promised with an impatience that demands to be sated, but the actress takes her sweet time. 

She walks from stage left to stage right, then up and down. She’s passively searching for something. 

Someone. 

(It’s the fucking point, and you knew this would happen because you typed out these exact stage directions once upon a time. Alexia had misplaced a sock – a lucky sock, she claimed – and her passion, her desire to discover it, had weirdly morphed into a scene you could see being played out on a stage.) 

“Figure this out later,” speaks the actress with a satisfied smile, folding her arms over her chest. Finally, the audience’s breaths catch, enraptured by the vaguest cop-out of opening lines you could’ve chosen. 

They love it, though; they lean forwards in their seats as they are plucked from London and dropped into the middle of Barcelona. It’s mildly unnerving that you can’t escape the journey, clearly a member of the audience even if you don’t need to be told the story, but you land without the masses in the rows behind you. 

You land right into Alexia’s arms. 

There she is before you, in all her glory, proudly displaying the blue and red that she is so admirably dedicated to. Muscular and tanned, beautiful in the way that she always is, but shining brighter than just that. 

And you fucking hate it. 

When you imagine Alexia, you imagine her crippled and bed-ridden. Cracked knuckles come to mind, too, and she can barely speak without descending into rattling sobs that hack on and on until she somehow falls into fitful rest. 

You come prepared for absolution, expecting to see her dying just as you are, so it’s no wonder that your fists clench at her blasé declaration of “no regrets”. 

(By the way, Alexia’s not really there. You’d been stalking her Instagram and so that’s why she’s wearing her training kit, and… and you’re drunk!)

There are many things you’d like to say to her. 

Alexia had always been apprehensive of your relationship. She was closed-off to new people, and though she was certain of your importance to her, she was untrusting of much else. It happens when you’re famous; there are many wrong turns to take. And she needed to stay on the right path. 

It was impossible to pass Alexia’s test. 

For you, that is clear. Broken up with, told to leave and never come back, and begged to find someone else are not descriptors of the winner, nor she who achieved full marks. You’re a bit of a stranger to failing, but you’re trying to forget about it so that it never happens again. 

You’re breaking a sweat trying to banish her from your brain, barely registering the applause rippling through the theatre as you reach the interval. Trying to get her out of your head is like tugging at your intestines – a hand down your throat renders you dumb, and pains sears through your stomach as you are emptied and left to be a carcass.

“Is it good?” you ask your mum as you head to the bar in the foyer. 

“I wish you had let me meet her.” 

…

Alexia has never been to London outside of football before. She’s played in the north and in the south – she’s won every time – and it’s summery enough right now, but she is still a foreigner in the city. 

It’s fitting, this feeling of being lost, and it’s acceptable to feel it here because she has an excuse. Lost in Barcelona would be ridiculous. 

(But she is.) 

Why is Alexia in London when she could be in Spain? 

Well the only answer is that she has a ticket to a play in a theatre just off the West End that reminds her of someone she once loved. 

She thought it might help, seeing as she hasn’t scored a goal in four weeks with no assists to excuse the drought. Her manager gladly gave her the weekend to recharge, and she escapes matchday seven of Liga F under the guise of illness. 

While sleeping with your pillow, your t-shirt, she must have absorbed whatever the fuck you were on. By osmosis. 

That block. 

And now she has to act like she can’t read your mind. 

Her ticket, acquired last minute by a friend in high places as a massive favour, means that she has a front row seat to a damned play. She is well-prepared for the dread that wrenches her gut. 

The silence settling over her is uncomfortable and impatient, and the lights go down with a sense of impending doom. It’s a bit like being on death row, Alexia thinks. Here she gets to see the good things – a last meal of whatever she would like (you, of course that’s you) – but it is only because of her inevitable execution that this happens. 

The necklace hanging from her collarbones is a noose, the seat is a wooden box about to be kicked out from underneath her, and she needs to make her decision now: does she scream? Should she– 

She’s pulled out of her insanely dramatic spiral by a woman walking onto the stage. 

Her shoulders are hunched slightly and she has that look in her eye; that pang of hunger. 

The actress is recognisable, sure, but that is not the familiarity that strikes Alexia. 

It’s the character. 

It’s you. 

Walking from right to left, towards the back, down to the front, the actress is desperately searching for something. 

Inspiration, Alexia assumes, a smug smile briefly brushing her lips as the opening line breaks the tense silence. 

“Figure this out later,” you say. 

The actress is experienced but she has never read a script like yours before. It moved her to tears, though you claimed it was very happy. 

She lies awake at night, furiously envying those who could love like you do. 

She pities you, partly, because it’s no secret that the story of this love ended when you came here to put the show on. 

She has had to fall in love with someone – method acting, according to the director. 

It’s not quite the universe exploding and stars being born that your relationship must have been, but it’s alright and she is glad to see him in the audience. 

He’s next to a woman who does not seem to be enamoured by the beauty of the plot. 

A woman who seems absolutely fucking horrified. 

Her eyes are wide, fists clenched.

You – the real you – are watching Alexia with curiosity, more interested in her reaction to the play than the play itself. You wonder if she knows the significance of tonight; the reason you are here once more. 

In one month, the set and costumes will be packed up in boxes and taken onto the main street. 

It’s a dream come true. 

You’re here to announce the good news at the end of the show. 

…

“Alexia.” 

She tries not to turn around but she does. 

The night is cool and fresher than she’d expected the London pollution to allow, and the lamp posts are scarily looming over her as she forces herself to not run into your arms. You don’t wear a coat, although your year in Barcelona has borne a certain nostalgia for a warmer climate, but Alexia is wrapped up warm. 

“How… how are you doing?” 

You cringe at how apologetic it sounds. She broke up with you. 

There is a year that will be forever lost to love and happiness, bliss in Barcelona that was always going to be too good to be true. 

There is a year that you will never get back, but there is a breakup you must deal with. 

It’s not a brick wall, it’s a hurdle to jump over. 

Breaking up won’t be the end of your worlds. 

Knowing this, despite the weakness in her knees and the aching of her heart, Alexia lies. For your sake, she lies. 

“I’m good. It’s nice to see you.” 

You’re drowning but you’ll eventually remember how to swim. 

“You too,” you say with formulated sincerity that one day will grow naturally. “Score a goal next time you play, though.” 

[vinnytotherescue]

Bubbles

Pinocchio x reader

Just fluff because the game is killing me :')

Having the warm water cascade down their sore and tired body is something that most people would crave after a long and arduous day, and of course (y/n) was no exception. She has been running errands for Hotel Krat all day, from helping Eugenie with fixing Pinocchio’s weapons to taking care of Mrs Antonia. When she came across the Hotel she never expected that her life could for once be normal again so she appreciated every sweat and sore muscle she would get from all the work. It is indeed a lot better than fighting for your life everyday and not knowing when Mr death himself was going to be paying you a visit. 

Following the carpeted hallway to her new bedroom she couldn't wait to surrender to the pure bliss that the warm water would give to her aching body. The moment she entered her room she started searching for her bathing products, not much just a vanilla shampoo and body wash, some stuff that she had managed to salvage from a destroyed market. Of course the hotel had such supplies but she figured that she could use hers before returning to the property’s last goods. Grabbing all her stuff she turned to the bathroom but she was suddenly stopped by the creaking sound of the bedroom door opening. Even though she knew who the mysterious intruder was her head still snapped to the source of the sound. Pinocchio stood there his clothes once again stained with the dark black liquid, a proof of his recent battle against more automatons. Even his face was stained by the same substance but his bright blue eyes shone through the darkness of it all.

(Y/n) stared at the boy a smile already plastered on her face. Her an Pinocchio had gotten very close over the past few months, him being her mysterious company and her being his coach to humanity. P offered her a smile as well and entered the room, the dark oil staining the carpet in the process. The girl could only imagine how stained the hallway carpet would be just from seeing the mess created on her carpet in a matter of seconds. 

“P! What have we said about the shoes! You are transferring the oil all over the place!” Pinocchio smiled sheepishly as if saying sorry and his eyes fell on the girl’s bathing products. 

“Are you going for a bath?” P tilted his head still staring at the products. P was always curious about how the water must feel on the skin, he never really showered, there was no reason since he was no human. A little water and a change of clothes would do  before his next trip to Krat.He would get dirty again anyways. But he always loved the way you smelled after a bath, so fresh and airy. He wanted to try it too, but he is a puppet how would his body react? But he ran in the rain, walked in big paddles, he must be fine right? 

“Yeah i was just getting ready-” 

“Can i join you?” P still didnt fully understand the concept of privacy and intimacy. Having a bath with another person just felt normal, he was so hopeful that he didnt notice the embarrassment in the girl’s eyes. 

“A-A date would be nice first-” The boy stared in confusion clearly not understanding the meaning behind it. (Y/n) clutched her stuff tighter and tried to regulate her erratic breathing but to no avail. 

“You know i can shower first and then you can go too” 

“But i don’t know how it works, i have never tried it before” His bright blue eyes stared into her very soul, so hopeful she could not refuse. She had such a crush on him she could not refuse anything really he looked incredibly adorable trying to persuade her. And he managed it. 

“Fine come on let me grab another towel” 

P rushed in the room and followed the girl like a lost puppy as she searched for an extra towel. After she grabbed one she headed toward the bathroom and turned on the faucet, hot water slowly filling the porcelain tub. Pinocchio watched the girl’s movements like he was a painter and he wanted to capture every single detail. 

“What are you doing now?” The water level was rising as the aromatic white liquid left the bottle and filled the tub with unique bubbles of all shapes. P felt like he was dreaming. 

“I am filling it with some shampoo! It makes all those cool bubbles it is perfect for relaxing!” (Y/n) beamed as she watched the bubbles double and triple in amount. P came closer and placed his human fingers over them, each of them disintegrating leaving behind a beautiful light aroma. His smile returned and as he played with the water and the girl just stood there anxious since she was done with the preparations. 

Now comes the hard part, going in.

“I-I think we should get in before the water turns cold” (Y/n) hugged herself anxiously and avoided the boy’s eyes that had settled right on her figure. 

“You can go in first” P left the tub and turned his back to the girl, waiting for her patiently as she undressed and got in. Not going to lie, (Y/n) was pleasantly surprised by this and she climbed in as fast as she could. It was such a nice feeling knowing that she would not be disrespected. P was such a kind soul and that is one reason she fell for him in the first place. 

“You can get in Pino too” thank god the bathtub was big enough for two people. (Y/n) shut her eyes the moment she saw P removing his stained shirt even though she would love to just take a peak. However, Pinocchio was so respectful towards her it was only fair she would act the same. After a few seconds she felt the water rise a bit and her cheeks turned bright red, her hands unable to leave her face.  

“You can open your eyes (y/n), I am done” the girl shook her head and removed her hands hesitantly. Her eyes immediately locked with the blue ones she had fallen in love with and she could feel herself melting, the hot water providing no help to fight it. Pino on the other side was beyond happy, the warm water felt so good against his cold skin and he could see the dense black oil struggling to stay on his body. His hands grazed the bubbles, a game of survival for them and a moment of temporary bliss for him.

While he remained focused on the sight of the fallen bubbles, (y/n) couldn’t help but notice the dark oil tainting his beautiful freckled face. Her hand went up to wipe it before being able to control the movement. The moment it landed on his cheeks his cerulean eyes had already landed on her. The shade of red on her face turned darker and after wiping the dark liquid she snapped her hand back. 

“Sorry you had some oil on you face” Pinocchio held the part of his face that she touched and longed for the warmth. Grabbing her hand he placed it back to his cheek as he leaned on it. (Y/n) was slowly dying by now. The warmth of her body for sure had found the boy and she just stood there like a stone statue. But the closer she looked, his fluffy hair was also stained….Shoot. Impulsive decisions were her forte by now so her other hand reaching to touch his velvet locks was no wonder. 

“Your hair is stained too Pino, did you bathe in oil or something?” Her hands racked through his hair as she tried to remove some knot she found in the process. 

“It just splashes everywhere, i can’t control it” the girl just stared at him sympathetically. It is no secret that every time he would return to hotel Krat she would be worried that under all this oil would be hidden some kind of nasty wound. She knew stuff out there were very difficult. She also knew that Pinocchio was very capable of protecting himself but that did not stop her from worrying like crazy. 

“it’s ok Pino,just… wait” She swiftly turned around and grabbed another bottle smaller in size and poured a generous amount of shampoo in her hands. After making sure to emuslify it she scootched a bit closer to the boy. 

“Can you turn around for me P?” the boy stared at her in question but nevertheless obliged. His back was now at her, thankful that he wasn’t able to see her flustered face anymore. He was much taller than her so she had to sit on her knees to reach properly. Her hands spread the aromatic shampoo all over his locks and she slowly started massaging his scalp. Immediately, she could feel his tense body relax and his head slightly fall towards her. A small smile found its way on her lips as she swept back his hair after rinsing it. His hair reached above his shoulders, the color almost as dark as the color of a raven due to it being wet. He slowly turned his body to face hers, dazed almost by the relaxing massage. He just looked so relaxed for once. (Y/n) could finally see clearly both of his eyes and all the individual freckles adorning his pale face. His eyes stared at her hair and a happy smile returned back to his face. 

“Can i wash your hair too?” The girl smiled and passed him the bottle as she turned her back at him. He carefully tried to imitate the girl’s movements from before but with his legion arm it was always a bit more complicated. He was always afraid that he would hurt her somehow. Like a delicate flower, the moment he would touch it it would crumble like all of the automatons in his way did. So he truly tried to be very careful. The feeling of his legion arm was so different but the cold metal felt so good against your throbbing skull. 

Having both of them washed their hair and the water turning cold was a sign that they should probably get out. Pinocchio was the first one to step out offering the girl a towel right after wearing his. She clearly tried to suppress her urge to look at his upper body as she herself wrapped a towel around her. Emptying the tub they both exited the bathroom and (Y/n) was quick to search for a blowdryer. Pinocchio was already changing into a new pair of clothes, his wet hair dampening his brand new shirt. (Y/n) shook her head giggling as she changed too. 

“Come here silly, we need to dry your hair, your t-shirt got wet” Pinocchio couldn’t get sick so drying his hair felt unnecessary but he would never say no to spending more time with her. He simply sat on the bed in front of her as she blow dryed his hair. The hot air felt so good against his damp hair and the steady noise of the blowdryer was making his eyes droopier minute by minute. His body felt so heavy and he started leaning towards the girl. Finally he was so tired that he couldn’t hold on anymore and let his head fall on her lap. The girl signed in defeat and turned off the blowdryer. His hair was still wet in places but he looked so peaceful sleeping on her lap. She simply let her hands trace over his soft features. 

“You are lucky that i love you” 

“I love you too”

It is fair to say that this was not what (y/n) expected the end of her day to be like, but she was certainly not mad at all. 

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

The end 

A.N: Thank you so much for reading everyone! If you have any other ideas for lies of p x reader just drop them in my inbox, comments or dms!

P.s Let’s pretend that water would not hurt Pinocchio in any way Lmao

[blasphemousclaw]

tanith for the character list thing?

MY GIRLLLL

• favorite thing about them

I love how she occupies this position of power as the proprietress of the Manor, the consort of a demigod, and she’s the sole person in charge of operating their cult movement (since Rykard doesn’t seem to do much except kill eat and sleep these days) and yet she comes from such a humble background as a dancer from a foreign land… she projects this image of ruthlessness and strength, but she actually has really deep insecurities about herself that start to come out during Rya’s quest? her greatest fear is that she’s always been weak, and that Rykard always knew that… I think she clings to the entire structure she’s built up at the Manor because she’s afraid of feeling powerless, maybe because she felt powerless in her past? also her mask is sexy

• least favorite thing about them

I just wish she had more content! the dlc introduced the Dancer of Ranah with almost an identical face to Tanith, which implies Tanith was the same kind of Dancer? was she actually an expert swordswoman who gave up the lifestyle to run a cult with a demigod? I NEED TO KNOW

• favorite line

“Dear Rykard, please find purchase within me, I wish to be your serpent; your family.” eating your beloved’s corpse is what true love looks like <3

also it’s super long but her speech about the Volcano Manor’s goals is really good; you can tell she’s tailored her and Rykard’s goals to appeal to the Tarnished and get them fired up against the Erdtree… queen of public speaking

• brOTP

her relationship with Rya is so sweet and also so emotionally complicated, like they love each other so much but Tanith lies to her about the truth of Volcano Manor and the circumstances of her birth and shatters that trust… :(

I also feel like Tanith would’ve had a great dynamic with Bernahl?? there’s this implication that he’s her most trusted Recusant; he never got eaten by Rykard even though Tanith feeds all the greatest champions to him, and Bernahl seems to know everything about Rykard and his mission after we kill him… and there’s also the fact that he uses a really important weapon to the serpent cult, and it’s implied that he goes to Farum Azula to challenge Maliketh, which was seemingly what Rykard was originally gonna do? so Bernahl and Tanith must have shared their plans and secrets with each other… I wonder if he was the “precocious” guest Tanith mentions having long ago whom we remind her of if we show up to the Manor unannounced?

• ОТР

TANITH/RYKARD. OBVIOUSLY. I won’t write a whole paragraph about them because I already talked about their relationship here

• nОТР

Patches LOL I know he’s trying to keep Tanith from destroying herself and remind her that she has other things in life to live for but what if I WANT her to destroy herself because of her undying love for her serpent god husband who’s prophesied to devour the entire world! like what’s sexier than this!! STAY OUT OF THIS PATCHES

• random headcanon

she braids Rya’s hair to match her own hairstyle :,)

• unpopular opinion

I’m never going to police the kind of content people want to make and enjoy, but it really bothers me when I see serious analysis of the game’s story and interactions with my own content that are like “Tanith is such a good mother!” and “this family is so wholesome!” when the actual story involves her making really questionable decisions that ultimately harm Rya’s wellbeing? there’s no doubt that Tanith loves Rya more than anything, but she’s lied to her about the Manor’s true purpose and the circumstances of her birth for her whole life, and then asks us to drug her so she forgets the truths she’s learned? like… it’s kind of baffling to me how these things are never talked about. I just think it’s such a huge disservice to Tanith’s character to smooth over all the flaws in her relationships, because her flaws are what make her so interesting to me… loving someone doesn’t always mean you’re doing what’s best for them!

• song i associate with them

ok I’m so sorry but I never know how to answer these questions because I only listen to instrumental music so I guess I’m just gonna pass 🙈

• favorite picture of them

I think this one is by @/Zlofsky2nd on twitter? she’s so pretty

also this image I edited

[realcube]

the haikyuu brain rot is BACK in full swing omg and i just had another idea BYE

April… stop sending me shit -you… maybe. Jkjk. Anyway.

I’m Anemic and my hands and feet r always cold lol so the idea goes like this: <insert character here> is working/relaxing and then all of a sudden their anemic SO just like assults them with cold hands on their neck or like down their shirt? i think it’d be really funny. If you wanna do this idea u can pick the boys but Haikyuu (obviously bc we share a braincell and it’s almost always haikyuu) and Tendo has to be involved.

thanks for putting up with me 😍 -April

TENDO SATORI

♡ ok well the first challenge with tendo is actually trying to find him relaxed.. like ever

♡ mans in the embodiment of hyperactivity and hyperawareness

♡ he is the guess monster after all

♡ like the only time you'll ever find him unsuspecting and vulnerable is when he is asleep or trying to sleep

♡ thankfully wtih all the running about he does and all the adventures he takes you on, that is quite frequently

♡ oh and whenever you try to subject him to anything academic or mentally stimulating he falls asleep LMAO

♡ you're like "tendo i found this really good documentary we should watch. it's about climate change and it'll just say it's really interesting and educational because i don't wanna spoil too much. wanna watch with me?"

♡ "only if we can watch together!"

♡ you smile and grab the remote in order to put it on. "you're going to love it, i've heard from all my friends it's really informative. and i've seen trailers for it and they've got hundreds of environmental scientists that have been researching th— tendo?" you look back over at him to see him fast asleep and snoring

♡ BEFORE YOU EVEN PUT THE MOVIE ON

♡ as revenge for that level of disrespect of course you need to deploy your ultra secret weapon of mass destruction final attack: cold hands.

♡ you snake them under his shirt then suddenly press your hands firmly against his chest and he SCREAMS

♡ like his eyes shoot open and he yelps while jumping up from the couch

♡ all while you are just laughing your fecken ass off

♡ "(y/n)?! what was that?" he asks, despite the fact he knows exactly what it was because you've done this to him several times before

♡ "that's what you get for falling asleep after you said you'd watch a movie with me! how would you feel if i fell asleep during one of your volleyball games?"

♡ he rolls his eyes as he reluctantly sits back down on the couch, "that would hurt but that's different. you're actually watching me — your atheletic and impossibly hot boyfriend — play."

♡ you roll your eyes but he continues to explain himself, "but it's not like i'm watching you in this movie."

♡ "i am in this movie!" you argue, just for the fun of it.

♡ "really? who do you play?"

♡ "an icicle." you declare proudly.

♡ "are you sure you don't mean an iceberg— AH! STOP!"

♡ he screams while you chase him around the room, trying to capture his arms and his face in your hands, "never!"

WAKATOSHI USHIJIMA

♡ okay so i firmly believe ushijima is so ice cold on the inside your hands genuinely don't affect him

♡ which is such a shame because you so badly wanted to hear him squeal

♡ but no.. sigh..

♡ it honestly frustrates you to no end up you still don't give up, you know someday you'll get the perfect balance of warm room + element of surprise that you'll get some reaction out of him

♡ but whenever you touch him and he just looks at you like '😐 can i help you?' you get sooo disheartened you can't even be bothered to explain what you're doing so literally he has no idea whats going on

♡ kinda like this:

♡ you see him sitting on the couch, engrossed in this month's issue of Gardening Monthly that you just left on the table as a distraction (he doesn't know anything about gardening)

♡ and you start to creep up to him from behind, holding your breath, each movement perfectly calculated so you don't step on any creaky floorboards. you approach in completely silence and then...

♡ BOOM! cold hands to the face!!

♡ your hands are squishing his cheeks and instead of screaming or even gasping, he just turns to look at you his resting blank expression. "what is this?"

♡ "ughh" you groan, tossing your head back in frustration. everything was so spot on but still nothing. "hmph.. nevermind.." you grunt, storming away.

♡ and because you just randomly touch him so often and refuse to explain it, he just thinks its one of those things couples are supposed to do

♡ so randomly when you are together he'll sneak up behind you and place both his hands on your shoulders, giving YOU a heart attack

♡ or when you're sleeping you'll suddenly feel two hands squish your cheeks and at first your blood will run cold until you realise it's toshi

♡ it's all fun and games and cutesy couple stuff until he does it to you in the hallways of your school/college while you are on your way to class

♡ he'll creep up behind you and place his hands on your waist and because you're in a public place you automatically assume its a stranger and spin around to roundhouse him in the face

♡ he's okay though. your hands made a good temporary ice pack while the nurse got him a real one

YU NISHINOYA

♡ 1000000% screams like a little girl and tries to play it off cool

♡ and because of that you love him too much to ever use your cold hands on him in public or in front of his teammates

♡ (bc you both know tsukishima and yamaguchi would never let him hear the end of it and tell EVERYONE they know and one thing leads to another, now everyone has lost any respect for him they may have had formerly.)

♡ (ok that's an exaggeration but it would still be very embarrassing for him)

♡ so you only do it in private and titter to yourself about it

♡ however you do have it as a form of blackmail if he ever disrespects you which is good

♡ jkjk ofc you'd never blackmail

♡ but you do like to tease him because you both know you have that power

♡ like if you ask him to grab you an extra milk from the vending machine and he says no (idk why he would say no though , he's too whipped to ever do that, but just as an example) you could just raise your hands up menacingly

♡ and the way he would DART towards the vending machine

♡ unreal

♡ if he could pull out that speed on the court, he'd send wakatoshi ushijima home CRYING that's for certain

[microwavedautism]

I don't know if there's a Warframe community on here, but I started playing 3 days ago, and I'm having a lot of fun!!

↓ Rambling Below ↓

I really love how the movement feels, and the gun sounds are very pleasing for some reason.

I only have Volt at the moment, but the Austim has latched onto him and I fear I will not be able to play another frame, his first ability is just so useful AND satisfying 😭

I LOVE the accessibility options this game has, being able to have a permanent highlight on the enemies helps SO much it's actually insane. I can finally play a shooter game without losing track of the enemies, or just not being able to see them, it's great! I do wish there was an option to toggle sneak on and off instead of holding the button down, but it's very rare that I actually use stealth so It's okay.

So far I have only bought the starter weapon pack, and the Rajhin skin pack, but both have been amazing, my Volt looks awesome and he has a cool gun (I spent my platinum on an awesome sword too!!), but I'm tempted to buy the Ember Heirloom pack, for the skin and the platinum, even though I don't have Ember yet. Maybe I'll buy her with the platinum from the pack? Or maybe the 'female heroes' pack I saw. It was named something similar to that anyway.

I'm not really sure what I'm doing, there are a lot of mechanics to learn and I'm trying to avoid spoilers, I've been told the story is really good after all, and I don't want to risk anything by looking at tutorials and such.

I did have a look at all the Warframes though, and I want to build Inaros, Banshee and Hildreyn, they seem interesting! A few of them have abilities that seem just a bit too complicated for me unfortunately. Which is a large part of why I enjoy Volt so much, he's very simple.

I've gotten.. a little bit through the story, I'm like, sworn to the Red Veil or something, and I am at Mastery 3. So, not too far but not just starting out either! I just reached, I think it's called, Deimos. It's the cool red firey planet!

That's all I can think of to say right now, just thought I'd get my thoughts out, if you've read this far I hope you have a nice day !!! :]

[fyeahnix]

I keep forgetting to make my comments here but here's my initial thoughts on the MHWilds demo so far:

Out of the weapons I've tried so far—SnS, IG, SwAx, CB, LS, and HH—they all feel REALLY good so far. Got some good stuff from Iceborne and Sunbreak in there. It's a bit weird trying to relearn weapon button mappings again with the new moves and combos but that's not horrible.

Focus mode. I saw a lot of people complaining about it on Twitter and it doesn't make sense to me tbh. It feels like Dark Souls discourse all over again. I'm still very new to the Monster Hunter series compared to a lot of other players but I'm also not bad at the game and have just over 1400 hours between World and Rise. I know what monster hit zones are, I know what weapon motion values are, and between those I know where would be the most effective places to wail on a monster for the most damage. I know how to manage my positioning, I know how to roll through and guard/counter roars. I know what guard points are. Basically, I know what I'm doing.

HOWEVER, people are acting like Focus mode is the absolute worst thing they've added to the game because it "cheapens" the experience and idk I just don't agree there? I'm seeing it as a way for people who have previously not jived with the game to have a way to help them correct their positioning mistakes on the fly and improve.

I think there's something to be said about the way people love to make themselves feel more self important because they're good at a video game and any attempt to make it more approachable to fans who may otherwise not even try it is...idk embarrassing? I used to have this mindset but when I approached it from the angle of accessibility, I saw the point. Monster Hunter is definitely not an easy game to get into and you absolutely might get filtered out when you hit that first wall monster. To me, focus mode feels like something that players will eventually grow out of relying on once they get better at the game and for the rest of us (or at least how I'm using it), it's a nice way to see wounds on the monster and use move that destroys them. But it's not required!! Like at all! You can destroy wounds by repeatedly attacking them. So for people to get upset about it being included is just weird to me..but that's just my opinion. The devs seem to be including this for the purposes of being more approachable but that doesn't mean the game's difficulty has changed at all.

Anyway moving on. My biggest complaint in the game was the Seikret movement. I LOVE the Seikret a lot, from a design and implementation perspective, but one thing that annoys the FUCK outta me was how hard the game pushes you to be in auto movement mode. I prefer having full control over the thing so I found it annoying. I even tried changing some settings and have realized that exiting out of auto mode into manual actually might be bugged. In any case I decided to give auto mode a fair shot and I'm starting to see why they included it. When chasing the monster, I do want to do things such as sharpen on the run, heal, and grab supplies on the way, and with the changes made to the slinger, that is NOW POSSIBLE. I can multitask on giving chase and I do think that's valuable so my mind might be changed there.

Last thing. My current complaint is that the weapon attacks don't feel super impactful. I feel like I'm slicing through butter. There's no real oomph the hits and I wish there was. Maybe it gets better in the full release idk.

Also the game is a beta but the optimization has to be better on launch. I'm hoping it will be.

[toyota-supra]

My Top 10 Favorite Games I Played In 2023

In chronological order. It's a long one.

Titanfall 2

I've been told to play this for years now, though for most of those I did not really know why, as it never seemed like my kind of game. But, ever since I started really getting into mecha sometime in 2022, I decided to finally give it a try. I'm very glad I did. Titanfall 2 is a criminally short First Person Shooter with a very fun mech/pilot dynamic, really good mechanics of movement and combat for both, and some of my favorite level design of any game I've played in a long while. The platforming is crazy good! The mechanics are tight as hell! The mech is awesome! I recommend Titanfall 2 for literally anyone reading this.

Mega Man Zero

The Zero series is the one that most called to me in the Mega Man franchise every time I looked these games over, and I was right in that judgement. While I couldn't say if I was going to appreciate most of the GBA era action platformer difficulty or not, it was clear from Zero's more agile movement and bite-sized missions with very memorization-heavy bosses that I would enjoy it. And I did enjoy it a lot! Most of the bosses kicked my ass but it was an absolute blast to finally learn their patterns enough to defeat them. The problem is, I went out of my way to not get any of the game's health upgrades or energy tanks, making the final boss so hard for me that after days and days of attempts I gave up. Not beating Mega Man Zero is probably my biggest regret of the year lmao

Fate/Stay Night

Honestly, what do I even say? You can see my Saber icon, right? Fate is a franchise I never bothered to get close to, knowing of its name only through vague images and names of more popular characters (not even from FGO, just in general), and from later on getting to know that Fate/Grand Order was the game it is I felt like it wasn't for me at all and who cares. So when I learned what the original VN was actually about I felt stupid. How could something so fitting to my tastes have gone under my radar for so long...? Despite not being much of a reader in general, F/SN is a very long game that feels like it's just as short as you need it to be. The prose flows so well, every single character is lovable in many ways, and there's so much passion written into them and the situations they're in that it's one of the most smooth-flowing VNs I've read (which granted are not many) even though it's around the high 6 digit wordcounts. I love this game dearly.

Stranger of Paradise - Final Fantasy Origin

I wanted to play this game since the first few trailers! How cruel was it that, not only did I not have a powerful enough machine at the time, but the game wasn't even on Steam until the year after release? Final Fantasy Origin is the game it presents itself to be. There's something about it that's so special to a certain kind of person (which I happen to be one of) and that falls flat for everyone else. The combat and its many Weapons, Jobs and Skills to use are just fantastic in how nice they feel, and I really do like the type of story Stranger tells. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm close to it. I like to describe Stranger of Paradise as everything good about PS2 and PS3 games in a modern title.

Pseudoregalia

An old feeling from a new friend. Pseudoregalia is everything I like in 3D Platforming, and a little bit of what I don't. If you've ever looked at a single gif or video of Super Mario 64 and thought, "this looks pretty fun to play," you should be playing Pseudoregalia. If you like goat ladies with big butts, I can't say I understand if that would sell you on a game or not, but it is a feature everyone mentions. I wrote on this game already, so please do check that out and get it. It's one of the three titles of this list that came out this year, and I have not heard enough people talk about it.

Armored Core VI - Fires of Rubicon

My favorite in this list, which is funny because I don't know what to say about it at all. Armored Core is a series I've been studying up on from the outside for a while, and the announcement for this title was my reason to finally dive in. Unfortunately, I did not get past playing the first mission of AC1 a few times and booting up AC3 once. But I will get to it eventually! Fires of Rubicon is one hell of an action game, that I adored for every single one of my (currently) 67 hours of play. Going through the campaign with builds a little too busted for the AI most of the time was my dishonorable focus of the experience, but there's a lot else to do for every kind of person. The amount of freedom you have for messing with your builds for either single or multiplayer is not to be underestimated. Though it could be better. Here's hoping there will be a game that is.

Midnight Club 3 DUB Edition Remix

I played this game as a kid so much that the main menu and its theme are scarred into my mind, yet this whole time I had no idea what the game was actually like due to the fact that most of my playtime was doing a few races and just cruising around. Once you dive into trying to finish the story, MC3 is a much different experience. One that frustrated me so much, I got actually ill from the stress. Please take breaks, gamers! Your health is more important than finishing an 18 year old game! Still, I did eventually do it. Midnight Club 3's handling model and gameplay structure are really impressive in comparison to the much more popular Need for Speed series, and I have to admit I did enjoy the game a lot. It's just a lot harder than it ever needed to be. I'll probably never forget this game, and that's not really a good or bad thing. Just, advice from me, if it gets too hard, maybe switch to sports bikes. Buy that Ducati.

Test Drive Unlimited

Another car game, but this one I have the least to say about of any on this list. I had played TDU on PS2 multiple times before and thought it was awesome. The atmosphere and immersion of this game are unrivaled by any racing game to this day. But playing the PC version with a steering wheel and pedals made everything so much more incredible. I played the Platinum mod, which adds hundreds more cars and fixes a lot of issues with the original game (but not all of them; the game was still really rough and I hate how much the resolution is a pain to change). Overall, one of my favorite experiences with a steering wheel controller so far. Otherwise, a pretty good game if you like driving.

Super Mario Sunshine

An old friend, and a new feeling. I don't play 3D platformers as much as I wish I did, because they're really not part of my main priorities looking for games lately, but every time I play a Mario game, it's like I found love again. It was not the first time I played Super Mario Sunshine, as I had collected a dozen or so Sprites years before, but playing the whole game in I think two weeks during the latter half of the year was such an incredible experience. Unless for some reason you play it on the Switch, Sunshine is a game that loves you as much as you love it. And you do love it, right? I know I do. I'd love to play this game many other times in the future. Granted, that applies to every game here, I just wanted to say it out loud for this one.

Lethal Company

A fairly recent release! Having played it with many groups of people by now, both modded and vanilla, I think Lethal Company is probably one of my favorite multiplayer experiences ever. It is scary and hilarious, but also just really really good, to a level that surprised me for my quality standards of co-op (horror) games. Lethal Company turns friends into improvised horror movie actors and it's incredible. I'm almost at 30 hours played and will likely get to 40 at minimum. It's also pretty cheap and likely runs well on all sorts of machines, so consider checking this one out too.

Honorable Mentions

Witch on the Holy Night and Story of Seasons - Friends of Mineral Town are games I am adoring and could definitely go on this list, hadn't I started them both quite late into December. Maybe next year I'll give them a shoutout!

[iravaid]

Re; your "English" AU, how do you think Alone would go, if that sort of mission would even occur in this timeline? Would Simon still be trying to get him out alive, or would things be a bit more complicated?

Also, you mentioned parallels between Rodolfo and Valeria? Would love to hear more of your thoughts on that!

Hello! I'm so sorry this took months to respond to. IRL things swept me away and before i knew it, it was almost August 😭 But thank you for the ask!!

So, things for the English AU aren't super developed outside of key events/concepts, I havent sat down and done a proper writeup for plot nor timeline, outside of being insane with @farramint who is the other mother of this competent roba + valeria and simon girlunity thought experiment 🥰🙏 - so things are up in the air, and may be liable to change. But what is written below is what I currently have in mind.

In the English AU, Soap, as part of the 141 cadre, meets Simon as a tout/inside guy for the Las Almas cartel, providing Los Vauqeros with (albeit sparse) important information regarding burial sites and cartel activity. But he has yet to reveal the identity of El Sin Nombre, either out of a personal sense of honour (on account of Valeria dealing with Roba)(and while he can betray her in small ways, a proper actual betrayal may be too far for Simon, after all she did to get him out of Roba's claws), or as a bartering chip to ensure he gets the fuck out of this place without the military pulling the rug out from under him once they get the information they need (whether or not this is just his paranoia speaking is another matter). Price has personal investment in getting Simon, one of their own as an SAS man himself, out of there. Leave no man behind, after all. Gaz and Soap have their own mutual horror over seeing a man like Simon experience the things he has and knowing that could very well have been them, if things had been different. But I don't see the 141 being necessarily hostile to Simon once they get a clue into what exactly he's gone through at the hands of Roba.

The missile subplot may be scrapped entirely, with the main focus being taking down the Las Almas cartel directly, as they've been marked as a collaborator with the growing ultranationalist movement brewing in Russia (with weapon and terrorist smuggling allegedly being facilitated through them), and therefore a threat to the US and the West, ultimately drawing in both the Shadows on Shepherd's side, as well as the 141 - less on the British interference angle, but more that Kate doesn't trust Shepherd and wants 'her' people (like Price) there in with it. Simon is there, having worked with Rudy and Alejandro via tips on where 'missing' people have ended up at, and now as a full-blown informant who realises the wheel is turning once more, wants to get back home with the assurance his family won't be killed by Roba's (now Valeria's) men stationed to watch them.

The Alone mission then may sprout from the reveal of who Simon actually is, and Shepherd realising Simon has very damning evidence of corruption within the US military a la Vernon's betrayal. Shepherd wants Simon snuffed out, Graves pulls his cunty little betrayal moment, and Simon and Soap end up doing the Alone mission together (either via radio before meeting up like in the game, or meeting sooner). Gives them a chance to bond through life or death situations. Heart emoji. I really don't see the appeal in playing with the 141 thinking Simon is an enemy in this AU, because he has been through so much and effectively coerced into cooperating with two cartels for his own survival (and vengeance). It feels unkind to purposefully write the 141 as willingly ignorant to one of their own's suffering for artificial conflict. Not that there isn't any initial trepidation in the initial meetings, and not that this wouldn't work in other AUs, just not this specific one.

Rudy and Valeria!!! Okay, digging up old chats (as in. september of 2023) about this one, but I think with specific characterisation they can have some very interesting parallels. It also depends on one's own interpretation of the characters, so if this feels too far into the fanon headspace, so it goes <3

Rudy, in my eyes, is a man capable of extremes, but won't go past a set line because he has something, or someone, holding him back. He strikes me as a pragmatic man, someone who sees the violence in his home and finds the only way he can face it is with measured aggression of his own. The thing holding him back from going full bloodspatter being Alejandro, and the other man's idealism. I can see something there in Rudy knowing the depths of his own desire for causing pain/the hashtag warcrimes he'd commit for the sake of his home, but also choosing Not to do so, because his commander finds it detrimental to their goals. Alejandro has a compelling magnetism that makes not just Tudy, but Los Vauqeros as a whole rally behind him in the face of monumental odds, even if Rudy can't help but believe that ruling with fear is a lot more efficient than trying to peacefully untangle the institutions that enable organised crime within his home, perhaps he puts too much trust into Alejandro's idealism. And maybe he knows that, but to Rudy that's fine. He's a loyal man, to the very end, and he will let his commander be his moral compass, for the most part.

I think what primarily links Rudy and Valeria are their (in this AU, at least) capacities for ruthlessness. And what divides them is how they act on it. When Valeria looks at Rudy, she sees a weakness in his lack of brutality, and a proximity to Alejandro she once enjoyed, but now doubts the validity of (those two were at each other's Throats in MW2 in a way that doesn't speak to a lack of emotional connection). And with Rudy, he sees an active and irredeemable brutality from Valeria that he knows is also within himself, and that disturbs him. Because he can see the consequence of her actions every day within Las Almas. I think both see in the other a life they could have had, and for their own personal reasons it's a disturbing sight, and also one they simultaneously resent. Valeria refuses to be weak. Rudy refuses to be cruel. Neither will be the first to look away if in deadlock.

Another parallel could be their pragmatism: there can be further parallels pursued in their treatment of English AU Simon, where both characters see Simon as a useful asset. While Valeria is no Roba in how she treats Simon (as in. not an attack dog. he has been upgraded to outdoor cat)(may have been microchipped), Simon is still Her underling. And her weapon. He is as useful so long as she has enemies that need snuffed out. There can be a camaraderie gleaned between them. Valeria isn't so apathetic to Not see that Simon has been through hell a thousand times over and is still somehow not catatonic at this point, and Simon can recognise the ruthlessness and cunning it takes to be someone like Valeria and not be dead in an unmarked grave by the end of the week. Also the hashtag girl recognises girl moments. Rudy can also see the use Simon would have for Los Vaqueros, if he has information of use to them, such as potential operations by the cartel, or hidden burial sites of missing persons. He can at the very least compartmentalise his feelings, and if the hand of Valeria's shadow shakes when he points out an unmarked grave on the map, that's not Rudy's goddamn problem. It also means Rudy won't be all that devastated when another potential ally could end up brutally murdered. But this is Simon Riley. The man is a cockroach. And he has a habit of impressing the most unlikely of people.

Additionally, for better or for worse, in the center of this chaos, Alejandro remains. He has chosen his path in acting against the cartels and, somehow, remains steadfast in it. Valeria knows Alejandro is just one man, and she hates him for it, sees it as weakness and futility. Conversely, Rudy knows Alejandro is just one man, and loves him for it. He knows this is a strength, that if Alejandro is just one man, so are their individual enemies.

So. God. I don't know if i'm making sense. Ultimately, I think if a story has the space for it, there is real space for drawing compelling, tangible parallels and contrasts between Valeria and Rudy that could really flesh out their characters outside of MW2. If i was a little more insane I would talk about their animal associations and counterparts. but alas!

as a bonus ramble. Rudy being a bird ringer is something sooo personal. to me. that's kind of it. I love the idea of Rudy taking a blessed early morning off from the godforsaken meat grinder that is his career, just to set up a couple mistnets somewhere to catch passerines and the occasional kingfisher river netting. This is unfortunately another case of fanfiction write taking the chance to go soooo indepth about a personal passion because I too am a bird ringer (trainee.)(so close to getting my license heehee).

He gets to interact with nature in a non-destructive way, center himself by handling a living being in a methodical, scientific way. And then boom. That fucking pasty brit appears in the river. There is plot surrounding why Simon (unconscious)(couple of bullets lodged in him)(buzzcut) ended up here, but that's for later <3 all we have to worry about is Rudy holding a pissed off bird while staring at some Guy he isn't totally sure is alive washed up on the river bank. Unfortunately he is in fact alive. Rudy sews him up. They go their semi separate ways. Love wins.

[local-hyena]

Kid Icarus Uprising is definitly one of oy favorite 3DS games ! I just finished it and loved every second of it. In this game, you play as Pit, an angel. Helped by Lady Palutena, goddess of light, you will fight the armies of the underworld in order to save the world from Hades. I especially enjoyed the characters in this game. But I'll come back to that later.

Each level is composed of two phases : air battle and land battle. Air battle is a rail shotyer while land battle allows you free movement. Similarly to Star Fox 64's levels. Your objectives is to shoot as many ennemies as possible to obtain hearts (some sort of currency) and a high score. At the beginning of each level you will bet hearts : the more hearts you bet, the harder the level will be, but you'll get better rewards.

You also have a variety of weapons to choose from. I personally like the long-range weapon better, as well as fast ones. I especially enjoy playing with the bow, but staffs and blades are good too. I do not like claws, clubs and arms. I haven't played with palms, orbitars and cannons too much.

You can fuse your weapons to get better ones : weapons in this game don't have stats, but they all have effects, and by fusion weapons, you can get a mix of effects that corresponds better to your playstyle.

The story is 25 chapters long. The dialogues and fighting happen at the same time. Thourought the chapters, you will meet a varued cast of chatacters. Mostly gods.

Speaking of characters ! As much as I love Pit, my favorite character is Magnus. He appears in chapter two as an ally, and you fight with hil for most of the level. He's badass as hell and very strong ! He's also mysterious. We don't know much about him or his past. At some point you even play as Magnus ! Which is insanely cool !! Of course, I like Pit too, as well as Dark Pit (I'm sorry but Pittoo is fuckin ridiculous). Pit's cute. Dark Pit is... kinda there ? But cool. And, well, Hades. The big bad guy. He radiates fun. I always like it when villains are joking around while destroying the world like it's nothing.

However, as enjoyable as this game is, it also has a lot of cons :

This game is essentially a twin stick shooter. On a 3DS. See what's wrong ? The console only has one circle pad. In order to control your camera/aiming, you have to use the touch screen. The controls, overall, are a pain in the ass.

The difficulty is something you can easily manipulate in this game. However, the difference between how difficult the level is and how difficult the bosses are is... astounding. The bosses are way too easy compared to the levels. It takes like, about a minut to finish one, whereas the the regular air and land battles are quite difficult. It's a good challenge, but it's unbalanced.

As I said, the dialogues and fighting happen at the same time, and it's really difficult to follow both. While tou can change where the subtitles (if you want them) are displayed, I took way too much damage when trying to follow the story.

I feel like the characters are under-developped. I'm taking back Magnus as an example. We have very little informations about his motivations, and why he is almost as powerful as an angel is never explained. Dark Pit suffers the wame fate : his whole existence is... pointless. He was kinda accidentally created, and by how he was portrayed at first, we would expect him to become an antagonist, or at least a secondary one. But no. Oh, but then, does he become a good guy ? Not exactly either. He is... kinda neutral. The thing I'm the most annoyed by is that his role is... well, he doesn't really have one. His action don't affe t the story too much. I wish he had been more important.

I also wish there was more bonuses when you finish the game. You do get a boss rush challenge, but I wish we'd at least get the option to change the menu's theme : either Palutena's or Viridi's. I would've LOVED a Hades theme. Oh, one small detail I like about the menu is that you can move the buttons around. It's very fun to play with.

One last thing that disappointed me : the vehicles. Don't get me wrong, I love the vehicles. Cherubot is my favorite one. But the game does not use them to their full potential. They are sometimes found in levels. You can do à section with them. But that's all. I wish there were levels dedicated entirely to these vehicles. For example : I don't remember when this happens, but there's a part in which you have to use the motorcycle on a trail, and this was a good use of the motorcycle.

In conclusion, Kid Icarus : Uprising is an excellent game for all people looking for fun ! It does have cons, but hey all games do, and they don't ruin the gameplay or anything, so it's fine. I enjoyed playing this game, and I think you would too !

[lycanthrope6221]

Sucide Squad: Kill the Justice League

Character Rant

Hi there here’s my thoughts on all the current operatives in Sucide Squad: Kill the Justice League. I’ll probably do another one of these for the Joker when he releases next month

Disclaimer, I’m a artist not a writer I suck I at writing and I really just wanted to get my thoughts down and put them out there also I’m writing this a after playing the game last night and my memory isn’t 100% I might have missed some things but oh well.

Spoilers!!! mostly just for gameplay I don’t really bring up the story.

Tw: Guns and violence

Harley Quinn:

Character-Loving her dialogue right now. Her voice fits well(duh it’s Tara strong), she has funny dialogue and unhinged dialogue she doesn’t feel forced or anything. I’m happy she’s moved on from the Joker and is trying to live her best life despite the bomb planted into her skull.

Movement- I’m going to be completely honest and say I think I might need to redo the tutorial for the bat grapple gun. All I do is fall…. Beside that it’s fun to swing around and grapple to building my brain keeps defaulting to Spider-Man 2 controls lol.

Combat- I know you can equip any weapon for any character but I’m just sticking to the type of gun they started with so my Harley’s only getting SMG’s and revolvers. I like beating aliens to a bloody pulp with Harley’s bat and I love revolvers in games like there so much fun to use.

Deadshot:

Character- So far it looks like Floyd is basically the voice of reason for the team. He has prior experience to mercenary work and it shows in the way he communicates with Waller i think this is a nice detail. He brings up his daughter sometimes and I really hope he gets to see her preferably not in alien invaded metropolis.

Movement- at first I struggled with the jet pack but after a couple stressful missions I finally got used to it. I don’t really have much to say about it, it’s a jetpack. Blast off woo hoo.

Combat- My Deadshot currently has a a sniper rifle and assault rifle. I’m so happy that the sniper rifles in this game aren’t heavy snipers and don’t take 10 years to reload cause I would be so so dead. I just got my first notorious weapon and it’s Black Mask sniper rifle and the floating back skulls were a jump-scare at first but honestly it gives the gun character.

Captain Boomerang-

Character- As a Tim drake fan I apologize for what I’m about to say. He’s slowly becoming harder and harder to hate. The voice actor and writers are just doing to good of a job also shot out to the animators whoever did facial animations for this game deserves double pay. He’s a dick and he sucks but in a funny way. Like ok Boomer rang why would you put a bomb into a child’s head? Yes that child is an omega level Metahuman but still! I would push him down a flight of stairs but I would also throw him down a granola bar.

Movement- When I first saw the trailer I thought this was “just revived from darkest night and now I have powers” Boomerang but no its some speed force copy cat gauntlet I think this was a good decision. I don’t hate his traversal it’s honestly pretty fun to throw boomerangs and go fast. Gotta go fast…

Combat- I love Boomerangs melee attack I love smacking people with a boomerang. I have a sniper rifle and a shotgun equipped. Shotguns are so much fun in this and doing the quick time thingys is really fun with them 10/10 shotgun lover 4lifers.

King Shark:

Character: King shark is such a neat humanoid shark. At first I thought he was just MCU Drax the destroyer in a different font but even though they both share a lot of tropes King Sharks love for learning reminds me more of Strong from fallout. I really like his design too, we don’t see a lot of 3d humanoid sharks out there and they nailed it.

Movement: King Shark uses his claws and glowing shark powers to jump high and run fast. I can’t really tell but I think he may be the fastest character. It might just be how easy he is to use but I don’t really notice any limitations like the others/its not screaming in my face like with dead shots jetpack over heating or Harley’s bat drone having a cool down. It’s also very cool to run around as a giant shark jumping off builds and plowing through crowds of aliens.

Combat- My King Shark is currently equipped with a heavy machine gun and a shotgun. The heavy gun is fine and kinda fun to use it pairs really well with his melee. King sharks melee attack is his 2 daggers that can cut through people and launch them into the sky so you can riddle them with bullets. That’s my favorite combo and you can do that with every character but King Sharks just seems cooler.

[hal-o-ween]

Alright, time for another Monster Hunter wishlist! This time instead of just monsters I would personally like to see, I'm going to try and put a bit more focus on monsters that will fill unique niches in an environment, or interact with the environment in an interesting way. Doing it this way since, if my assumptions based on one very short trailer are correct, that's going to be a focus in Wilds!

List itself under the cut so I can really go in depth! I also have a lot on this wishlist, so it's going to be long regardless.

As some context for how I'm thinking about this game, several of the more recent major monster hunter games have really seemed to hone in on one particular aspect of the game, and worked on expanding or perfecting it.

Generations had an impressive monster roster, with lots of very unique additions and a huge returning roster. Tons of variants, and a some really cool new monsters that didn't use existing skeletons.

World eliminated load times between areas, and made a world that felt connected and more natural. You feel less like you're in a series of arenas, more like you're actually in an environment with these monsters.

Rise focused a lot on controls and mobility/maneuverability. Lots of verticality, as well as tons of new moves and abilities for various weapons, streamlining of certain weapons, and customizable move sets. You are encourage to explore and jump and climb, making it feel like it had another dimension that even world didn't quite have.

With that context for my thinking explained, let's start off with an unsurprising portion of this list; as usual, I want to see underwater combat (and the leviathans and piscene wyverns that go with it) make a comeback! Rise gave us more three dimensional combat and movement that worked beautifully, so I think they're really primed to bring back water combat in a way that feels much less clunky and slow. Specific water monsters I would like to see include:

Gobul: TOP of this list tbh. Not a favorite fight of mine, but I think if you want a monster that's going to make a water environment feel more alive and interactive, Gobul is a great choice. It's also very distinct appearance-wise!

Lagiacrus: a popular choice, and a cool one! I'm biased since Tri was my first monster hunter game, of course, but I want to see Lagiacrus get to shine again with its full move set, including under water moves.

Ceadeus: this one I wouldn't count on even if it was guaranteed that water combat would come back. BUT I love it, this elder dragon that exists at the intersection of whale, slug, and buffalo, is such a majestic monster, and it has great music to boot. My tri bias is showing, but even though it wasn't the most interesting fight, I still love it a lot and would love for it to get another chance in a game where water combat could be so much better.

Now for non-water monsters! I'm hoping for lots of monsters with less used skeletons, and ones that would play around in detailed environments in a fun way. To make the environments feel complete, a diverse cast of monsters will be key. As a result, a lot of my choices are Frontier MonstersSome of my top choices include:

Malfestio: a beautiful monster, and an extremely unique one! I would love to see it make a return, and I think it would really stand out in any monster hunter roster.

Kecha Wacha: really just a funky monster. Weird and memorable, and I think it feels distinct enough from any other monsters to be a worthwhile addition.

Qurupeco: Not only does it look unique, the ability to summon othe large monsters to its location is super interesting, often annoying, and a really unique behavior.

Nerscylla: a giant spider just feels like a surprising monster to not use more often. With how big the "small monster" insects are, it makes sense that there are big spiders around! I honestly just want to see more insectoid/arachnid-like monsters in general. They already have some neat ones, but it feels like they get put on the back burner a lot. On that note...

Seltas Queen and Seltas: a duo! Not many monsters in the series actually function as a duo together in combat, and there definitely aren't any in the main series on the level of these two. Monsters that interact like this are fun, and it feels... not necessarily more realistic, but definitely better than, say, Rathian and Rathalos just sort of beating each other up on accident while both trying to fight you.

Najarala: I think more monsters that feel snake-like would be fun, and Najarala is a good option. It's scales and sound based attacks are cool, and I just like how it looks.

Tetsucabra: the giant tusks and bright colors make it really striking, visually. Plus, there's not many frog-like monsters! Also, I love the armor for Tetsucabra.

Zamtrios: on the topic of frog-like monsters, this one is somewhere between frog and shark! With three different forms it can switch between in battle, it's a really fun fight with a lot of variety. I'd also like to see this guy maybe get a chance to try out underwater combat, but I can live without that for Zamtrios, it already does so much on land.

Bulldrome: A nice low level large monster that would still add a bit of variety to things! A bit annoying to fight at times, but I think it would just work nicely in a game with more focus on the natural aspects of thing.

Nibblesnarf: a really funky looking monster, and one that would be cool to have in that desert from the trailer. Being able to feed it bombs when it charges you is a fun bit of its fight, and I think seeing it ambush small monsters while you explore the desert would be just the right amount of cool and concerning.

Namielle: Genuinely, the fact that Namielle was introduced in a game that gave it almost no attention whatsoever pains me. What a cool elder dragon. It has that deep sea bioluminescent look, and it's fight felt so distinctive.

Gigginox: The little giggi spawner egg sacs it lays are a neat little hazard, and I think Gigginox is just a really distinct looking monster. I personally prefer it to Khezu, but that's purely personal preference. I feel like Gigginox is a fun cave dweller, and a bit more interesting than Khezu is to me.

Gammoth: PLEASE capcom you give us the rest of the fated four but not my BOY? IN THE GAME WITH ADDED VERTICALITY IN COMBAT? This big guy could have been so fun but you are simply cowards who hate him and me.

I decided to make a separate list of Frontier monsters, as well as Monster Hunter Online monsters! These ones are always less likely to make it into a main game, if they stand a chance at all, but still. Frontier's particular penchant for unique monster gimmicks lead to a lot of options with distinct appearances, and abilities that could make use of the environment in fun ways, and generally I would just like to see some monsters that haven't gotten to shine much in the main series. Frontier and Online monsters I would like to see:

Forokururu: a large, hummingbird-esque monster that gains different buffs and abilities based on what color of flower it drinks from. This gimmick would be such a fun way for a monster to interact with the world, plus this is one of my personal top choices, and a monster I would kill to be able to fight for myself.

Baruragaru: the blood sucking ability, which is somewhat similar to Forokururu's nectar drinking in function, would be really fun! I live when monsters have abilities that affect or are affected by other monsters. It makes them feel less like things that happen to be in the same space and more like creatures sharing an environment.

Pokaradon: the only monster that looks like a walrus/seal, so a good way to give a diverse monster roster! This is a monster I would love to see given a shot at underwater combat.

Akura Vashimu: a scorpion! This falls into me wanting more arachnid/insect-like monsters in the games, just to help round out the roster. We have so many reptile and mammal-like monsters, I think more monsters like this one would help things feel more varied.

Caeserber: a big beaver monster could have some really fun environmental interactions! Chewing down trees and building dams would be a really fun behavior to see play out, but even if that's too much, just seeing beaver dams could make the world feel a bit more connected to the monsters. This one is from Online.

Tartaronis: another Online monster, this is an elder dragon that inhabits a desert area and has a body shape similar to a sea turtle! Thinking about it, it feels so odd that we don't have more distinctly turtle-like monsters in this series.

I don't expect to see most, if any, of these monsters in the game. I would love to, as I think all of them would be fun additions, especially for newer players who may not have gotten the chance to fight a lot of these monsters yet. I hope to see a lot of them, especially certain ones that I think can really add a lot to an area, but I don't expect it. Just like I hope for water combat to return, but don't expect it. Either way, I'm already really excited for this game. I may have my gripes about every Monster Hunter game, but I would never say they disappoint me. Even if my assumptions about this game are wrong, I expect to have a lot of fun playing it, and I can't wait to get a good look at any and all new monsters it brings to the series!

[shipmistress9]

Serious Consequences

Fandom: Fourth Wing - The Empyrean

Pairing: Xaden/Violet

Rating: Explicit

Summary: This is the continuation of "Teasing With Serious Consequences" (obviously, haha, I think I'm being funny 😁). After teasing Xaden all day, Violet might push her luck a little too far. Although, given how much she enjoys her 'punishment', that might not be such a bad thing.

AN: I promised I'd finish these last shorts and I will. I had an absolute blast when my (fandom?) bestie visited last week (and I even got her to read Fourth Wing ) but now, I'm back to writing. Enjoy. 😉

AO3

. o O o .

When I reach Xaden’s room that night, the wards recognise me, as always, and with a heartbeat of a smirk, I push the door open and step inside.

Xaden sits at his large table, one of his huge swords propped up on his legs, and runs a whetstone along its blade. As I enter, he glances up for merely a second, one eyebrow raised disapprovingly, before returning his focus to his weapon. “You’re late.”

I shrug, an uncaring smile on my lips. “I didn’t feel like hurrying.”

Xaden snorts. He keeps running the stone along the metal for a couple more times before placing both items onto the table, deliberately and slow. “Apparently, you also forgot your manners along with the time.” His voice is calm, deceivingly so, his eyes still not meeting mine. “The last time I checked, knocking before entering someone else’s room was considered to be the norm.” He finally looks up, a vertical line forming between his brows. “And what about these clothes?”

Blinking innocently, I glance down my body then back at him. “A black shirt and trousers? Rather comfortable, I’ve got to say.”

Xaden’s jaw ticks, and my heart skips a beat before speeding up as he get out of his chair and walks toward me. “When I send a special set of clothes to your room, I expect you to wear them.” He comes closer, and out of reflex, I back away from the cool anger simmering behind his eyes. I gasp when my back hits the wall, sooner than I expected, and his arms—his whole body, really—form a cage around me.

My thoughts slip back to the bit of lingerie that was waiting on my desk when I returned to my room after dinner. It was exactly what I’d teased him with earlier, full-body stockings that cover nothing, yet highlight everything. The intricate lace covering arms and legs did little to distract from the silken bands wrapping around the waist and breasts, highlighting every bit of bare skin. Gods, just looking at it had made my mouth go dry and moisture gather between my legs.

But I’m having far too much fun playing this game to give in just like that.

Lifting my chin and exposing my neck, the dark stone on my collar glinting, I smirk up at him. “Maybe I didn’t feel like following order tonight.”

A growl rumbles in Xaden’s chest as he narrows his eyes at me. “I don’t take disobedience lightly, Violence,” he growls, his hand sliding around my neck like the threat is was. “You will follow my orders or suffer the consequences. Take. These. Clothes. Off.”

A shiver runs through my entire body at the dark promise in his voice. Fuck, why is riling him up so hot? Teasing him until he broke and fucked me between classes earlier had been great, even with how he’d deliberately kept me hanging, and I hope to make him do so much more than that now. My eyes never leave his, challenging him more as I lean into his hand around my throat. “Make me.”

Xaden’s dark eyes flare but his face stays expressionless as his grip tightens, cutting off the blood flowing into my head. His gaze drills into me even as my thoughts grows hazy, without any mercy. I can’t help it as my hands fly up to grab his arms, fruitlessly trying to push him away, and wetness pools between my thighs. Gods, I love it when he’s this rough with me.

There’s movement along my arms and legs, and even though I can’t see it, can’t turn my head, I know it’s Xaden’s shadows, sliding along my limbs in long flexible tendrils. Fuck, he’ll feel how wet he makes me any moment now.

Instead of feeling me up, however, the shadows grow tight, pushing, and a moment later, the sound of ripping fabric echoes into my clogged ears. Cool air caressed over my nearly-naked skin as my shredded clothes flutter to the ground, the lace and silk of the lingerie he sent me doing little to ward it off.

“So, that’s how it is? I see,” Xaden purrs, his hand still tight around y neck. “You think you can play me for a fool, don’t you?”

I whimper, my vision growing dark at the edges, and only when I can’t focus on his face anymore, his grip around my throat eases up again. The rush of oxygen flowing back into my brain is intoxicating, making me feel like flying high even as my knees buckle, and I’m glad his hand is still on my skin, still holding me up. I’m not sure I’d be able to stay on my feet otherwise.

Xaden gives me a few seconds to regain my senses, seconds he uses to let his hand roam over my body, over the sheer fabric more or less covering me from head to toe. And, gods, does his touch feel good through the lace, more intense, somehow, leaving a burning trail in its wake.

“Are you done playing games now, little brat?” he growls into my ear, his breath tickling. “Because you won’t like what happens if you keep pushing me.”

I suck in a breath as lust spikes through my body at his words, the threat woven into the tone of his voice. Fuck, I’m so screwed, yet I can’t help but go on. I turn my head so my lips brush against his just so, his hand sliding away from my neck, and just following an earlier conversation, I murmur, “Or maybe, I will.”

Before he can react, I twist out of his grip and duck away, all but dancing away from where he spins after me. Walking backwards, I let my hands glide over my body, my breasts, the silk and lace, and hum at the way even my own touch feels on my heated skin. “It’s just like I thought, this feels amazing.” Holding his gaze, I sway my hips, smirking at the heat flaring in his eyes. Yep, I should definitely rile him up more often.

Xaden doesn’t follow me though, only turns to keep his eyes on me as I saunter through his room. He doesn’t look angry, either, not even annoyed but more smug, and when my feet get stuck in something, it’s too late to realise my mistake. Xaden doesn’t need to follow me in order to restrain me.

Biting my lip, I glance down at the puddle of darkness I stepped into, at the shadows holding my feet in place and curling their way up my legs. I yelp as they tug my arms behind my back and hold them there, and my heartbeat quickens. Like rope the shadows wrap themselves around my arms, pressing wrists to elbows, pushing out my breasts even more.

My head whips back to Xaden as he slowly walk toward me, but whatever witty comment I might want to throw at him gets cut off by yet another shadow moving across my mouth and effectively silencing me. My heart beats in my throat as he comes closer, slowly, raking his eyes down my body.

“That’s how it is then.” he says, casually, but I can hear the steel in his voice. “An order is an order, Violence. And if you can’t follow orders, there will be consequences.”

I writhe against the shadows holding me in place, trying to escape but there is none. With a quick movement of his fingers, his shadows lift me off the ground and make me float after him, and no matter how much I twist or scream against the shadow gag, I know he has me now. A shudder runs down my back, but it’s not a bad one, anticipation curling into a tight knot in my guts.

He brings us over to his bed, but against my expectations, he doesn’t settle me on top of the blankets but makes me kneel in front of where he sits at the edge instead. His shadows retreat except for the ones binding my arms, and I beam up at him. “What, am I supposed to suck you off now? I should disobey you more often.” This is even better than him fucking me as harshly as he can; he so rarely lets me taste him.

But Xaden’s smirk turns devious and he leans toward me, taking my chin between his fingers and lifts my head up into a slightly uncomfortable angle. “You think I’d reward you for being a naughty brat all day? Come on, Violence, you should know me better than that.” He leans back and motions me to get up onto my feet. “However, I will be lenient this time. If you can manage to count for me, I’ll leave it at ten.”

My eyes widen, but before I can fully grasp what he means, he pulls me down to lie across his thighs. His left hand is between my shoulder blades, pressing me down against his legs and leaving my rear up in the air, and I cry out even before I fully register his other hand coming down onto my ass.

“That’s ‘One’, Violence. Come on, say it, or I’ll make it twenty.”

“O-one,” I gasp, still trying to sort through the pain radiating through me from where he slapped me.

It’s not bad. I’m used to pain by now, am well able to function despite it, to ignore it if I have to. But this is different. This is good pain, the kind of pain I invited, the kind of pain I could stop at any moment if I wanted to. It’s not even pain at all anymore, not to me, but an intense kind of pleasure instead. One that cuts deeper and, somehow, is absolutely impossible to ignore.

“So, you can behave. Let’s see then.” Xaden’s hand comes down on my ass again, a littler harder than the first time, and the sound of skin meeting skin and my outcry are followed by another wave of pleasure-pain, of warmth spreading through my body.

“Aahh! T-two!” Out of reflex, I stick to Xaden’s orders, still trying to get my head around what’s happening.

Another hit. “Three.”

“Very good. If you keep that up, you might earn yourself a reward, after all.”

I whimper, at his words but also at the warmth spreading further through my body, at the rush of wetness between my thighs. Fuck, why is this turning me on so much?

“Fo-Five!” I cry out as he hits me twice in quick succession, each hitting one cheek. My face is burning by now, with arousal but also with embarrassment. I never imagined I’d enjoy being spanked, but here I am, getting wetter and hotter with every time Xaden’s large hand connects with my ass, the sound of skin on skin echoing through his room.

“Violence?”

Xaden’s voice is dark, reprimanding, maybe even threatening, and it takes me far too long to understand why.

“Mmhh…si…six,” I mewl, belatedly, my body singing at the way he caresses my sore rear in preparation for the next blow.

He growls. “Pay attention. I’ll let this one slide but if you miss another hit, I’ll go for twenty.”

I shudder and try to pull myself together. I can do this. I can prove to him that I’m… that I…

“Seven!” I cry out as the next blow hits stronger than all before, my eyes flying open. Gods, my thighs are positively drenched by now.

Another hit, a little lower this time, and I barely manage to gurgle an “Eight,” with how my body seeks even more stimulation. Without my help, I’m trying to grind against Xaden’s leg, seeking friction, just anything.

The next blow has me screaming and going cross-eyed as Xaden hits my cunt. It’s like an electric shock sizzling through my entire body, all muscles locking up in anticipation as that one impact shoves me toward the edge in an instant. Fuck, if he does that again I might come just like this, getting him to fuck me be damned.

“Oh, Violence,” he all but purrs, again rubbing my backside and sending hot darts of pleasure-pain through me. “I nearly thought you could make it.”

Too late I realise what happened, that I missed counting another blow. My eyes widen then roll back into my head as Xaden hits me a tenth time, then I lose count, lose myself entirely in the torturous pleasure his blows rain down on me.

Xaden’s hold on me tightens as I writhe in his lap, the sharp hot pleasure consuming me. Each blow lands at a different bit of skin, surely leaving my ass glowing red but I couldn’t care less. All I care about, all I can care about, is the rising heat, the way my body rocks against his with every impact, how my nipples scrape against his leathers, how every tiny movement makes the lace and silk rub against my skin, usually barely noticeable but enough to drive me insane now. I’m screaming, sobbing, crying out at every new blow, unable to take more yet never wanting it to stop.

At some point, I can’t hold back anymore, rearing up as best I can to… to… I don’t even know. Do something. Grind against his thigh or maybe getting him to fuck me on his fingers, just anything. But I’m no match against Xaden’s strength, and with a disapproving tsk he pushes me off his lap before I can do so much as turn around. I don’t fall as hard as I should, probably his shadows cushioning my fall, but I still hiss as my heated skin hits the cold floor.

“Oh, Violence.” Xaden shakes his head at me. “And here I thought you’d learned your lesson. But you’re still the same disobedient brat as before, it seems. And look at the mess you made.”

He looks at me, expectantly and with one eyebrow raised, until I awkwardly scramble to get up. It’s difficult with my arms still bound behind my back and my body trembling with unresolved desire, but eventually, I manage to kneel before him and see what he means. His thigh is glistening, slick with my arousal, and heat of a different kind makes my cheeks burn.

“Clean it up.”

Xaden’s command it clipped and clear, not allowing any resistance, but it takes me a moment or three before I can follow it. Still bound, I shuffle closer and between his legs, mewling at the constant heat radiating from my abused ass. Leaning forward further strains the skin, my muscles trembling, but I try to ignore the thrumming pleasure as I bring my mouth to his leathers and start licking them clean.

The taste is strange but not unpleasant, the familiar tang of my arousal combined with the tard undertone of leather, smooth against my tongue, and Xaden’s minty scent in my nose. It makes my eyes flutter shut as I wallow in the bliss of the moment, losing myself in it. When Xaden leans back with something of a satisfied sigh, my chest swells, and a shiver runs down my spine as he puts one hand on the back of my head, guiding me.

Once his thigh is mostly clean again, he pushes my head further down toward his crotch. Mewling, I comply despite my muscles trembling in protest. I trace the outline of his cock through the leather, my jaw working to rub against him, and my muscles clench needily every time he twitches against my tongue. Fuck, I want his cock, want him inside me, now, want him to fuck me to completion and beyond, want him to—

“Such an eager little thing you are,” Xaden groans. “But you still have a lot to make up for. Are you ready for the next part of your punishment?” His smirk should tell me to be cautious, but I can’t think straight enough to care, only nod eagerly against where he still holds me against him. Whatever he plans to deal out at me, I can take it if only he’ll fuck me at the end.

Chuckling darkly at my eagerness, he pushes me back, roughly, then undoes the laces at his front and a moment later, his cock springs free. My mouth waters at the sight. He’s completely hard, ready to take me, the tip dark and inviting.

“That’s what you want, isn’t it?” He wraps his fist around his cock, stroking himself until pre-come beads at the tip.

Swallowing, I lick my lips and nod. “Yes,” I gasp, leaning forward. But I can’t reach him, the shadows binding my arms holding me back. I can only watch as he keeps stroking himself until the pearly-white drop falls to the floor.

“Then you’ll have to earn it,” he snarls. “You’ll do exactly as I tell you, no deviation. And only then, after you’ve proven to me that you can behave, only then will you get to come on my cock. Understood?”

Whimpering, I nod. “Y-yes,” I mewl, rubbing my thighs together as I’m unable to sit still. Fuck, fuck, fuck, I’m so fucked. This commanding tone of his usually doesn’t do all that much for me, but right now it’s enough to reignite and fan the simmering desire in my lower belly to a raging flame again. I just hope whatever else he has in mind will be over quickly.

“All right. Then wait here and don’t move.” He gets up and off the bed, walking past me, and I chance a glance to see what he’s doing. Getting something from his armoire? It doesn’t take long, though, and even though I quickly turn my head away again, I’m not fast enough.

“Violence, Violence, Violence,” he reprimands with a heavy sigh, crouching down in front of me. In his hand, he holds a riding crop and lazily drags the soft leather loop at the tip along my thigh. “I thought you’d learned your lesson now and meant to go easy on you. But apparently, that bratty streak still isn’t broken completely.” He stands up, dragging me with him with his shadows, then drops me onto the bed.

“On your front,” he orders, his voice harsh. “Ass up, knees parted. No, further. Yeah, that’s it.”

I hurry to do as he says, biting back any needy sound that might try to escape. I’m a little too desperate to please him, too eager for whatever else he has planned.

“I want you to stay exactly like this,” he says, letting the riding crop glide up and down the inside of my thighs. “You’re allowed to scream as loud as you need to, but not to move. No trying to escape. No flinching away, even.” He drags the crop up to tease my clit. “And no coming until I order you to. Do you understand?”

The implication alone makes my whole body grow tense, but I nod nonetheless. “Yes, I understand.”

Xaden hums, clearly pleased, and gently pats my ass. “Good girl.” I whimper.

“You will receive five strikes. If you manage those without going against my orders, I will reward you. If not…” He leaves the threat hanging and my mind is too much of a mess to come up with what else he might do. But even though a part of me is eager to find out, I know I’ll fight claws and teeth to please him.

He keeps caressing the crop’s tip along my sensitive inner thighs, making me tremble with anticipation. “I’ll count for you this time,” he says, almost casually. “You just focus on your orders.”

I want to reply because it’s what he usually expects of me. But the moment I open my mouth, the crop hits on the inside of my left thigh, hard, and I scream. The pain is different from his spanking before, cutting like a knife, and even though it turns my arousal into a raging fire, burning away every coherent thought except for the orders Xaden gave me, it also causes tears to leak from my eyes. It’s too much, so good, too much to bear.

Once the pain-pleasure ebbs away, my mind clears at least a little again. I’m breathing hard, I realise, my body tensely locked in the position he wanted. “Oh, fuck,” I mewl.

Behind me, Xaden hums. “That was good for a start.” He rubs over my burning ass again, the light pain and the warmth oddly soothing. “Ready for the next blow?”

Whimpering, I tense up even more in anticipation, but when the crop touches the inside of my right thigh, it’s nothing but a light caress. Seconds pass, and I almost believe this might be it when the touch vanishes, then heat sizzles through me at the second impact, lightning flaring outside the window as well as in my veins. I scream again, I think, but my mind is empty.

“That was two. Three more to go. Hold on.”

The next two strikes hit even harder than those before. Some small part of my brain realises that they’re not as harsh as they could be with how little room for momentum he has between my legs and the bed. But that doesn’t change the effect they have on me, leaving me howling as they hit each thigh again, though closer to my core this time, leaving me shaking with the effort to hold still.

“Very good. Just one last time, then you’ll get what you wanted,” Xaden purrs, the crop teasing my cunt, my clit. “And remember your order. No coming until I allow it.”

My body grows even tighter, which I didn’t think was possible, as I can guess what’ll happen next. My breathing is shallow, my eyes screwed shut as I wait for the last impact, my toes and fingers twitching in anticipation. Gods, I hope I can be strong enough, need this to be over, need him to fuck me until I forget everything else. I need—

When the crop hits my clit, it shoves me toward the edge and beyond in an instant. A gurgled howl leaves my throat and my eyes roll back into my head as I fight, clinging to the edge with everything I have, fighting my climax as it tries to drag me under. I can’t—no, mustn’t let myself go, can’t give in to the orgasm looming all around me, ready to drown me. It would be intense, amazing even.

But it’s not what I want.

Sobbing, I claw my way back into reality, trembling. Belatedly, I register the pleasure-pain burning between my legs, unrelenting, and I shudder at how intense it still is, how it still could easily tip me off the edge if I were to let go.

Everything becomes easier, lighter somehow, when I feel movement behind me, Xaden’s weight shifting the mattress beneath me. His hands are soft against my skin, the silk and lace, as he lets them glide up my thighs, my ass, my back. “You did so well,” he groans, a softness in his voice I haven’t heard all day. “Fuck, you’re amazing, Violet.”

The blunt head of his cock nudges against my entrance, and with a low mewl, I push back, taking him in. Fuck, yes, this is it Imlosingmymindohfuckyes!

“So eager,” Xaden chuckles, but all traces of darkness or menace are gone from his voice, his hands gentle as they wrap around my hips. “But you certainly earned your reward after everything you took.” He rocks forward, pushing into me to the hilt, and I moan. Fuck, he feels so good.

“So, how do you want it? Gentle?” He slides in and out a few times, his cock slowly dragging along my inner walls, and I mewl at the sweet torturously slow pace. “Or hard.” Xaden thrusts back into me with enough force to rock my entire body, hitting me so deep that I see stars.

“Hard!” I moan, nearly shouting, my body clenching down tight around him. “Oh, please. Harder. Harder!”

Xaden groans. “As you wish.” He rearranges his hands on my hips, grabbing me tighter and shifting on his knees for a better position, then pulls out and thrusts back in, even harder than before.

And, fuck, does it feel amazing. All the tension and sexual frustration of the entire day, all the build-up over this last hour or so, all the pain-pleasure Xaden poured into me had been worth it with how my body sings as he finally fucks me for real. And it’s even better than I imagined. Every time his pelvis and thighs clash against my sore ass, a new wave of heat washes through me, pushing me even higher still. Within seconds, I’m nothing but a moaning mess beneath him, unable to form coherent words or even thoughts, only chasing the ecstasy looming before me.

“Fuck, Violet. You’re so hot,” he groans. He picks up even more speed, more force, pulling me back into each of his thrusts. Dragging me back and forth as if I weigh nothing, as if I only exist to take his cock. It feels just right, perfect.

The knot in my guts coils even tighter, unbearably so, but I can only cry out as he spears into me, again and again, with no restraints, no mercy. I’m his, entirely, to play with as he pleases, can’t think, don’t want. All I am is lust and desire and need, my entire being reduced to this sensation alone.

“Fuck, yes,” he growls. “You’re close, aren’t you? So fucking tight. Come for me, Violet. Scream for me.” Without taking his hands off me, without faltering in his rhythm for even a second, something moves against my clit, sucking on it, and I shatter.

There’s no build-up, no way for me to prepare, as that knot inside me bursts and a sudden tidal wave of hot pleasure crashes through me. I’m absolutely unable to resist in any way, no chance to fight it this time. Lightning explodes inside me, in my head, my spine, racing down my limbs. My muscles clench unbearably tight, my scream covered by cracking thunder. It destroys me and makes me anew in an instant, again and again, with every powerful thrust.

I have no idea how long it lasts, losing all sense of time as Xaden relentlessly pushes me into one orgasm after the other. I can’t see, can’t move, can only react and take, spasming beneath him, around him, screaming.

Until his shout reaches my ear, warmth of a different kind flooding me, and then everything grows dark.

. o O o .

When I wake, my body feels heavier than I knew could be possible. My bones and muscles feel like they’re made of jelly, and when I attempt to move my arm, it only trembles.

But then, I don’t need to move.

I let out a sigh as I feel Xaden behind me, his mouth brushing against my shoulder, his fingers along my neck, my body. With him watching over me, I don’t need to move, to wake up. I can simply stay in this state between dream and reality for a little longer, can enjoy the softness all around me.

I hum as Xaden undoes my hair, slowly, carefully pulling one pin after the other out until my locks fall free down my back. “Mmh, that feels nice,” I sigh as he runs his fingers through my hair.

Xaden chuckles. “Not sure ‘feeling nice’ is what you deserve. Did you at least enjoy your day of being a bratty nuisance?”

A grin spreads across my face. But I take a moment to think about his question, removing my collar as I do so. “I’m not sure ‘enjoy’ is the right word here,” I muse. “I mean, riling you up all day was a lot of fun, even more so than I expected.”

“Glad you think so,” he snorts. “I’m not sure Garrick—or many other cadets for that matter—share your opinion, though.”

“Then it’s a good thing they all can mind their own business, isn’t it? And it’s not as if you didn’t get your money’s worth of fun out of it, either.”

He huffs a quick laugh. “True. But still, it’s been a long, hard day.”

My lips twitch into a smirk. This was an experiment. I’ve never worn one of my collars—along with the changed attitude—during the day before, and I didn’t exactly talk it through with Xaden, either, as we usually do. But given that he didn’t stop me and how the game ended, I think I’d call it a success.

I roll onto my back to look up at him but wince at the pressure this puts onto my sore ass. “Ouch.”

Xaden’s eyes darken with worry. “Was it too much? The spanking and the crop?”

I grimace, thinking for a moment, but then shake my head. “No, it wasn’t too much. It was…”I gasp a laugh. “Well, it was fucking awesome.” I grin. “So much better than I expected, to be honest. And I’d like to do it more often, but…”

“But?” he asks as I trail off, his fingers brushing the grimace off my face.

I sigh. “But I fear going back to riding a dragon tomorrow will be torture.”

“Which is entirely your own fault,” Tairn buds in, and I can practically feel him rolling his eyes. “I will not be considerate of you just because your ideas of mating rituals are so extra.”

Xaden’s lips twitch into a smirk. Great, so he heard my grumpy dragon as well. “Well, I have a healing salve that should make it at least slightly better. But you did bring that on yourself, you know that, right? Torturing me with those images in my head all day…”

I grin. Despite the discomfort I’m going to be in tomorrow—and a couple of days after that, too, probably—I can’t wait to do it all again. I reach up to pull him into a kiss. “As if you didn’t enjoy every single second of it.”

. o O o .

AN: Experimenting with writing about all these new kinks (new to me, at least) really is quite the experience. I read a post from a mutual about how chronic pain can lead to enjoying pain in sexual situations more, and it was just screaming 'Violet' at me. Aaaaanway, anyone else excited for Iron Flame next week? 😁

* - . - * - . o O o . - * - . - *

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[benjamindisco]

Okay. Huge Guild Wars 2 rant.

I love GW2. I was in the beta test. 3 of my characters are turning 12 real life years old this month. I have played this game for 4,310 hours (or 179.58 DAYS) of my human life. I stopped playing for a bit in the early years, but then came back with a vengeance right around the time Path of Fire was released.

I think it's a good game!!!

I loved the base game. Looking back on it now, and trying to get friends into it later, it was a bit clunky. But it was a new MMO, almost completely different from the original Guild Wars. They needed time to fine tune what they had. I mostly missed Living World Season 1, but LW2 was still very similar to the base game.

With the first expansion, Heart of Thorns, things started to change. They moved away from dungeons, they added new movement options with gliding (no more having to run around cliffs), and overall changed the feel of the game. There were still some issues (I still have trouble navigating Tangled Depths, haha), but the game was finding its stride.

LW3 was excellent. The maps are all so unique, the story more and more engaging with every release. I cannot stress how unique and amazing each map is in LW3!! They put so much care into those maps, which I think is exemplified by the extra long jumping puzzles in Ember Bay and Siren's landing. They didn't have to have such incredibly in depth puzzles showing parts of the maps we never had to see. But so much love and care and attention went into creating all of this.

Which leads to Path of Fire. To me, this is peak GW2. The most beautiful maps and most engaging story yet. The love and passion the devs feel for this game is tangible. The main NPCs are so wonderfully written. The achievements and unlocking the mounts (especially the griffon) were challenging, but it kept you so invested. Every challenge was different, and I felt like I had to keep playing because there was always something new and exciting to do. This continued on beautifully into LW4.

Then ArenaNet announced massive layoffs of the GW2 team in February of 2019. In September of that year, The Icebrood Saga began.

I felt that the writing was still pretty good here.... but the cuts were noticeable. The achievements for each map changed from being incredibly unique challenges to do this event 50 times. The maps started being released in segments instead of all at once. In Champions, they didn't even make new maps, you were just in old maps again.

End Of Dragons. Every map has the achievement touch 1 million lanterns. The maps are large, but feel so empty. New Kaineng is just nearly identical skyscrapers you need to navigate around. Echovald is large swaths of trees with nothing in them. The NPCs aren't particularly memorable. They introduce 3 factions in Echovald that just.... don't matter, and aren't very different. I am a person who loves a fishing mini game (soooo much), and I really dislike the fishing system they introduced here. And skiffs. These things were added to make it feel like more was added to the game, but they were not well thought out or polished. And the Gen 3 legendary weapons. They feel more like a Black Lion set than legendaries. Gen 1&2 legendaries were each unique, with unique animations and footprints to each one. The Gen 3s are all the same thing over and over. Oh but you can get recolors of them, so CLEARLY that makes them good lol.

And now Secrets of the Obscure. The story is oh here's secret Wizards you've literally never heard of, who are protecting the world from secret Demons you also have never heard of. The whole thing was pulled straight out of someone's ass. Like they only have 1 writer now and they're under the world's most massive time crunch. This is a paid expansion, and they released the story in parts. Frankly unacceptable. This is a LW but you need to pay money for it. One of the maps was released in THREE SEPARATE PARTS. They cut it in THIRDS and released it slowly!!!! The whole first map is reused assets again, and the last map is covered in ugly, undistinguishable textures. So many of the achievements in the last two expansions are run around and click on 1 million small things on a map. Instead of anything fun or engaging.

It is so hard to believe the drop in quality that has been happening here. Very clearly because the dev team was eviscerated. There used to be a huge team of people who loved working on this game. Now they have like 3 people who are being forced to churn out """"full expansions"""" in a year.

I haven't been able to bring myself to finish the last release of SotO yet. It's gotten depressing and frustrating to play.

Next is Janthir Wilds, and I do not have high hopes. They're doing Homesteads as the 4th type of home base they've tried to introduce to the game. They're focusing on re-releasing Warclaws, a mount that has been available for 5 and a half years.

I miss when this game was loved.

[elvenbeard]

OKAY SO.

As I'd mentioned back then in my Phantom Liberty Tour post, only a few of those who attended got to playtest the game themselves, while the rest got to see about an hour-long preview. And they didn't showcase much of the new abilities/skills beyond what they were gonna use in combat, and let's say... the V they showed was super flashy, his combat style looked super fun, but couldn't have been further from my playstyle xD Like... the finishers and stuff look amazing, but that's not something I'm gonna have much use for with my low-on-cyberware build that relies heavily on stealth and hacking really (but that I really really enjoy).

So I was a bit worried the whole time, low-key, how the fun would look like for a player like me. And now I finally got to play around in the build planner (https://www.cyberpunk.net/en/build-planner if you wanna have a go, but contains mild PL story spoilers - but again, you're reading this, so maybe you don't care as much for mild spoilers XD)

Looking at everything, especially the new stuff... MAN... :eyes emoji: x1000

I was worried Tech wouldn't be as useful for my low-on-cyberware build anymore, as it is very tied to that now BUT... it's also tied to the health item/ grenade cooldown, and, as before, enhances Tech-Weapons very nicely like... I think along with INT I'd like to make Tech my other 20 Ability. In combination with some of the new hacking abilities (overclocking your cyberdeck?? FUCK YEAH THAT IS... SO ÖAKHSFASDÖASJD that is *such* a thing Vince would do like öasjhdföasf when I saw that I screamed) it's so badass... I think it's gonna work really well together.

The only thing I haven't found that I'm a bit sad about was a Ninjutsu skill that let you pounce on enemies from above (I don't recall the name)... either I overlooked it or it's now integrated into some of the new movement stuff :O but even then, the new movement stuff?? Faster climbing?? Hello, where have you been all my life XDD

Also not to mention the abitlity to queue quickhacks that was teased in one of the trailers already like maaaaaan... Also a lot of counter-hacking abilities against enemy netrunners, CARHACKING... and I get the feeling, from some of the skill descriptions, how cyberware in general works (in the sense that, it reads as if you can upgrade it the way you could upgrade clothing and armour now? but not 100% sure, that would be awesome o.o) was really fundamentally changed.

Also, like... of all the arm cyberware the monowire was always the one where I said "this would be the one Vince *might* consider getting out of all of them, if he was forced to get one", and I don't really know how it was skilled previously... but now it's very closely tied to quickhacking and Intelligence, so one more reason why it would fit him the most XD Still don't think I'd get it cause... yeah, it would just not fit him as a character that much and the way he sees cyberware XD But I love that as a little sidenote.

I'm a little bit... hmm, not quite disappointed, but I would've expected something different from the Relic skilltree actually. I mean, it is very very cool, but also, again, the majority of the skills in there isn't really gonna be useful for my playstyle. And I wonder... if maybe you get advantages or disadvantages beyond extra abilities (read: story-related consequences) if you put a lot of points into it, with how these skills are unlocked >.> *suspicious noises*

But yeah... Usually I'm not looking forward to the updates as much cause... mods break xD But I really am looking forward to trying all of this in game now o.o But it's gonna be... such a difference like hhh...

I'm definitely not gonna start over a new save just to play PL, cause I simply don't have that time atm XD But I'm extremely looking forward to my 3rd fresh playthrough and seeing the skills grow over time instead of setting them all in one go xD

[crest-of-gautier]

i am pleased to say that i have gotten to evp 999 on gone fission hydroplant for the first time! it took a lot of grinding and reflecting to get here, but it was such a fun rotation ✨

some thoughts under the cut....!

i think the best part of this grind was that i could start at EVP 300 rather than EVP 40. i say that, but i still spent a good 124 jobs getting there... whoops!

this wouldn't have been possible without getting the bronze and silver badges first, which i wrote about here! i still stand by what i said in this post about key traits in salmon run players.

i feel that the key to my success can be boiled down to being able to rotate around the map and not overlap with what my teammates are doing- leaning into weapon strengths, all while flexing to other things when things go unaddressed.

for anyone curious about how the journey went, i streamed some of it on twitch!

EVP 575 -> 695 (Day 1) | 1 hour and 56 minutes

EVP 695 -> 865 (Day 2) | 8 hours and 11 minutes

while i did peak at EVP 935 on that second stream- as you can see, i quickly fell off of it (and i think you can figure out why).

i could talk about what i liked about my gameplay as well as what i didn't do well, but i think the vods speak for itself (and i usually made some kind of comment at the end of each shift as to what mistakes i did or what i could've done differently).

but i think the most important reminder of this particular grind was how important it is to take breaks while playing. my push from evp 865 to evp 999 was all done off-stream, after i ate dinner, took a shower to decompress and release tension, etc etc!

this push ended up taking around an hour- and all of the shifts were successful (well, except one). i don't think i can stress enough how important it is to take a break away from the game while doing these pushes, because i performed way better that time around.

i think it is evident to anyone who watches the twitch vod that i start getting really fatigued near the end. my movements aren't as sharp; i'm very sluggish. and the way i talk about the game too, is evident of how tired i was.

i still wanted to give an earnest attempt at grinding because i thought that: "well, if i'm able to clear 333% when fatigued, imagine doing it when my sense are actually sharp!" i had 4-5 hours to spare after the stream, and i'm glad i chose to try again in a better state. it was nice to clear HLM for the first time on a regular rotation!

i also feel pretty well attuned to snatchers on this map too now, which is lovely! i did feel that was something i was weak at, previously, but now it's more of a habit for me now which is good! :3c

anyway! fun rotation. of the weapon loadout, i feel like i've got a lot to learn about the s-blast, especially with ink management (i noticed that i died a lot because i couldnt ink paths to move around...). e-liter, while a bit slow compared to splat charger, can be immensely powerful if you can aim well under pressure. sploosh and splattershot are gods and i dont think i need to elaborate on that.

this is a very positive note for me to end my chill season 2023 on- i'll probably only be playing the chargers only challenge + eggstra work before shifting completely into reload (though i may still hop on from time to time)... i think eggstra work will be a cakewalk after doing a bunch of 333% runs hehe 😎