#i keep track of him in a given scene and where he is in relation to others

[every-sanji]

[future-bog-body]

i just wanna yap about the Walkers and the idea of favoritism with them and why i personally dont subscribe to the idea that Logan is "the favorite" and also just. yap abt Logan and relationships in general.

Logan is a character defined by his relationships. ALL characters are, but Logan is to an extreme degree. lets keep in mind that video games, like tv shows, film, books, and stories are a form of literature, theyre story telling. we must assume that all choices are intentional, especially with regards to the way character's dialogue is phrased. so lets take a look at what Elias says about his boys in that little "one minute interview" and how he phrases it.

obviously that clip is where we get the story about the beach, but Elias also "introduces" his boys in it. heres what he says about Hesh; "There's David, my oldest. He's 28, likes to go by the name "Hesh". He- well, he, he joined up the day he turned 18. He's one of the best soldiers we have in the field today. Then again, maybe I'm biased."

so to start with this, Hesh is defined by HIMSELF. we learn his name first, David, and then his relationship to Elias. we then learn more about Hesh, we learn his age, we learn that he has a nickname that he likes to go by (that he might have given himself, a nickname which can have multiple meanings depending on how u want to read it), we learn that he joined up as soon as he could. its notable that he joined up at 18 because thats the youngest u can join without parental consent. Elias it seems did not give parental consent to join up at 17. this introduction shows us that Elias is proud of his son and likes to brag abt him, but we also learn abt Hesh himself.

in contrast, heres how Logan is introduced; "My youngest, that's Logan. He, uhm. [Chuckle] Well, he reminds me a lot of his mom."

Logan is introduced to us first by his relationship to Elias. we learn that he is Elias' youngest child before we learn his name. then we don't even learn more about him, we learn only that he reminds Elias of his mother. following that, we get the story on the beach. Logan is defined by Elias entirely on how he relates to Elias or Hesh or their mother. Logan's age we only get from different supplementary material, its never stated directly by Elias the way Hesh's is.

throughout the game, Logan is also introduced by his family via his relationship to them. its not "This is Sergeant Walker" its "This is my brother Logan", "this is my youngest". in fact, Logan's name is rarely used in the game. primarily its used by Hesh and Elias and, notably, Rorke. most characters dont actually speak to Logan directly that often, rather they speak to him THRU Hesh. in the amazon after the crash, Elias asks Logan a question, but its Hesh that answers, without even waiting for Logan to do so himself (obviously this is bc Logan is a mute protagonist, and i actually have a theory that hes meant to be mute in the story too, not just as a result of gameplay). Elias gives orders to Hesh for both of them. Merrick speaks to Logan maybe twice in the whole game, primarily speaking to Hesh and assuming Logan is also included. while Keegan does speak directly to Logan more often than others, he almost never uses his name, sticking instead to "kid". Kick never speaks to Logan directly, neither do most other NPCs.

Rorke is, again, an exception to this. Rorke speaks to Logan directly, and while he uses "kid" similar to Keegan, he also uses Logan's name pretty often, or he forgoes a name and just looks at Logan directly when hes speaking. Hesh is the character that speaks to Logan directly the most, and the second most is Rorke. in contrast, Rorke very rarely addresses Hesh directly. he does on the train, but even then, his gaze is almost always fixed on Logan or tracking the player if u move around. he also does during the interrogation scene, but once again his focus is on Logan, and he responds to Hesh primarily to taunt him and Elias. also, Rorke's Vanguard lines imply a genuine affection for Logan but thats neither here nor there

i think the two biggest reasons that Logan is thought of as the "favorite" are bc of Elias' last words and Elias' mask. but the thing with the mask is that as far as we know, up until then, Logan might not even be wearing a mask like the rest of the Ghosts, however. Hesh has his facepaint that is clearly meant to mimic the Ghosts' mask. Logan getting Elias' mask reaffirms his connection as Elias' son, whereas Hesh's facepaint reaffirms his individuality as a person and character.

as for the last words, i mean. Logan was the one who was just forced to shoot his father. Logan is the one who just got shot - who got stabbed not too many missions before - and who Rorke has shown an uncomfortable amount of interest in. while both boys need comfort and are scared in that moment, Logan is to a greater degree. hes been shot and injured, hes actively bleeding out, hes just shot his father, and hes laying on the floor about to watch his father die not even a foot away from him. hes close enough to Elias in that moment to feel Elias' breath, to watch his eyes dilate. Elias' words are aimed at Logan because its Logan who, in that moment, needs to hear them the most

[todostiddies]

Eren Boyfriend Headcanons pt 2

Modern Eren headcanons for GNreader, a continuation of pt 1

*** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ***

Texts you goodnight and good morning without fail, but sometimes the good morning texts come at like 12am bruh

He will buckle your seat belt for you

He will open the door for you and if you forget to buckle right away he'll just tell you to scoot over and do it for you before buckling his own

Thinks it's funny to tighten your hood around your face randomly

Absent-mindingly tracing hearts and shapes on you while cuddling

Will call you brat, which he started as a joke to make fun of Levi and now it is unironically a part of his vocabulary much to his dismay

He thinks you being hangry is the adorable even if you're a total demon because of it, in fact, the meaner you get the cuter because he can just poke all the more fun at you when he buys you food and you immediately switch up all sheepishly (which he also loves)

An extra careful driver with you in the car which can then lead to some road rage towards others who aren't, but it never goes past a mean look, the bird, and a couple insults in the privacy of the car. He also deffo does that hot arm hold to you when he brakes too hard and he'll give a little cheeky smile and apology after

Will play Pokemon Go with you and go on Pokemon Go dates where you guys walk the routes and go on hikes or walks around the city to catch pokemon and he always buys you snacks and lunch/dinner during srry but im still in my pokemon go phase

His favorite pokemon is Psyduck

yknow that video where some womans boyfriend/husband was covering the sharp edge of a table while she was on the verge of bumping into it all distracted?? Yeah, that's him. He will cover corners for you and always makes sure you won't clumsily hurt yourself and will watch your step for you depending on how clumsy you are

but at the same time he is constantly trying to trip you and shoves into you with his whole body while walking and tries to push you into puddles like a child

He is fiercely loyal of all of his loved ones and has/will fight anyone on sight for them, as we all know, but he is also very protective of their dreams

He keeps tracks of all his friends and familys most treasured goals/dreams and behind the scenes he is also helping make them come true if he can and/or congratulating them on their progress that no one else may notice and he even will send related things to them like articles or posts

so naturally, things you're really passionate about he will look into and maybe even get into it too

I feel like his mom would have enrolled Eren and Mikasa as junior life guards, she did amazing and really liked it and Eren had fun and was good but didn't care to do it again. Armin went to the wave/beach every day just to hang out with them still, and sometimes Eren abandoned duty or snuck away during a lesson to pick seashells with him

Speaking of, Eren has a mini seashell collection from him and Armin picking them together. He dates each seashell and has given you a couple that he thought you'd like

Because of the whole lifeguard thing, he knows CPR and some basic first aid and the friend group always goes to him if they need extra medical help and he goes straight into his rare mom mode

Him and Mikasa kissed once in a 7 minutes of heaven game in freshmen year of high school, and afterwards decided they were better as friends and never even told Armin until a drunken night of confessions between the three senior year, the night before graduation

He will and has sacrificed himself in little ways for his friends and family, and would do so in bigger ways if the situation ever called for it

He LOVES kissing you

Kisses every morning, before leaving, coming home, when he's bored, when he's excited, when he's sad, all of it. He could be leaving from the dinner table to go to the bathroom and would still kiss you goodbye

He loves making out with you and puts on a romantic playlist he made when you guys hang out and make out in his car he's so cheesy but in a cool way

He thinks you don't realize it's the same playlist but it only has like six songs that just repeat and you have to wrestle him to make you a partner on the playlist so you could add more

When a song you added comes up he'll stop whatever yall are doing just to tell you it was a good choice lmao

He likes flavored Chapstick, but his favorite is vanilla

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!!

[ceilidho]

1800s mail order bride [price/reader] for da wip game

i haven't yet gotten around to writing more of this fic (it's listed as complete on ao3 because i feel like it leaves off at a good place so if i never get back around to it, im fine with that, but the door is still open enough for me to return.

without having given this too much thought, this is what i would probably write if i were to make this into a proper fic (huge spoilers below because i'm basically outlining the entire plot):

after the scene in the sheriff's office, Price whisks you off to the local judge to be wed; this is where you come back to yourself and start protesting and denying that you're the girl he's waiting for

Price then says something about how "if you're not her, then who are you?" and brutally interrogates you about your identity (he thinks you're lying and he's just trying to make the truth come out) but you're still too nervous to say anything about who you are and where you're from because, remember, you just left a city where you killed someone. you have no idea how much information has been disseminated or whether you're a wanted woman. at one point you make up a lie about being "elizabeth smith from Rhode Island" and he challenges that by saying "we'll contact your kin then and have them confirm" (essentially saying you're under house arrest with him / in the town until someone related to "elizabeth smith" telegrams from R.I. or sends a letter)

you never actually give in and just go "fine, i'm the woman you've been corresponding with" but Price sees all these holes in your story as evidence that you are her and he's convinced that "your guilty heart brought you here to me anyway." There's basically nothing you can do to avoid being married off to him.

you're basically shell shocked the entire time at the court house and then on the trip back to the inn to collect your belongings to bring to Price's house.

the first night at his place is rough. you're basically like a feral cat the whole time - still insisting that he's got the wrong woman, indignant and furious when he thinks he has the right to put his hands on you and touch you (Price just lifts his brow at that because like...you are his wife now so really it's a moot point), and locking yourself in his bedroom the second the two of you are home.

Price finds all of this very amusing. he has stuff to do around the property anyway, so he lets you lock yourself in the room for a couple hours.

eventually he does just unlock the door with a key he has on top of the doorframe (you thought you were safe in there but oops nope). there's some conversation about "wifely duties" that has you screaming and spitting at him before he threatens to put you over his knee again, so you clam up and get a bit teary, which makes Price soften. (good excuse for me to write a soft but firm version of Price shushing you and drawing you into his embrace)

anyway, the middle of this story would be all slow, tender sex and you having to get used to being Price's wife while always keeping one eye out for any news of there being a warrant out for your arrest. you get spooked once by a man in town asking about any newcomers (maybe you're in a shop and you overhear him ask the cashier while you're behind a shelf) and try to flee, but Price tracks you down and he's sooooo mad when the two of you get home. like sex is rough that night.

events i'd want to have happen:

someone comes sniffing around town for you (bounty hunter maybe) and you try running away (unsuccessful, but you're mildly reassured when you hear the man has left town by the next day because everyone thinks of you as Price's wife so no one thinks to mention that a woman arrived in town the other week)

there's an incident on a farm on the outskirts of town that Price has to go to - he makes you promise to be good and you spend the next two days wrestling with whether to take the opportunity to leave or not. you end up staying. Price comes back and he's so happy to see his little wife still home after a few rough days of work. probably the first time he makes you sit on his face to reward you.

your luck finally comes to an end when the same bounty hunter finally comes back (your marriage announcement may have been in the local paper and somehow word got to him about a girl matching the description of the woman he's after) and somehow manages to trap you. the climax of this fic is that he manages to get you on a horse speeding away from town and you're heartbroken/terrified/desperate for John but your situation seems hopeless)

John catches up with the two of you and he, uh....deals with the bounty hunter that took his wife from him. before he "deals" with him, the bounty hunter does basically reveal who you actually are, and there's a moment where you see that John believes him. he looks at you in a strange way for just a second and there's this glint in his eye that says "yeah I either suspected this or this is new information to me but now everything makes sense" and your heart just stops because it's the first time where you actually don't want him to know that you aren't the woman that was supposed to be his wife

then he kills the bounty hunter and takes you home :) and he never ever acknowledges what the other man said. because you're his wife and that's all that matters.

suuupppperrrr tender loving sex that night LMAO probably out in wilderness because you're far outside of town and the two of you are exhausted (plus, John just buried this man's body so you had to diverge from the route home for a bit)

at some point in time, a woman does show up at your doorstep claiming to be John's wife. you slam the door on her face.

ok now i wanna write this again FUCKDJGHSJGVSD

[kei-maki]

Ok so because the Cars fandom has dragged me down like Satan one day will with me to fieriest pits of Hell (/j) , I feel the need to hyper analyze this one segment of Finn’s theme song in relation to Leland Turbo’s death in support of why I ship them because I have nothing else to do

Now I’m not that great with music literacy, so this will be analyzed from a more general perspective

But theme songs, as one would expect, are meant to reflect whoever they are tied to. That’s their point. And without context, preceding and after this clip are the more “upbeat” parts of the song- which already makes this part stand out. It’s one of the only points other than the end where the song truly slows down and breathes for a moment. I like to think this reflects Finn’s life as a spy. Lots of action and stress with little time to decompress. This calmer part is meant to showcase a more vulnerable side to Finn. It’s the same motif, but much more somber rather than when it’s repeated before and after this part. Keep a note on that.

WITH context now, it’s Finn’s only time in the opening of Cars 2 (besides being on the boat) where he can stop and process everything properly. And it’s interesting, because this part of the song kicks in RIGHT AS we hear the static come back in response to Finn trying to communicate with Leland. It’s a small hint to what’s happened to him.

It also has to be noted that background tracks like this should reflect the emotions of the scene it’s playing over, to enhance them. This is already seen before and after this part, with the cords as he’s sneaking in being tense and crescendoing as he finally infiltrates the oil rig, as well as the action packed escape scene right after this. And given the audience can infer that Leland is already dead, it invokes the feeling (at least for me) of “it’s already too late.”

This all means that this part of the song is meant to represent Finn’s grief over losing Leland. He might not know it at that very moment, but it feels like the only time we can silently see him consider he might be dead. Especially as he tries to communicate with him again, almost in denial. Not to mention the way the music literally stops the moment he sees Leland’s mutilated corpse, like the world stops.

And because of the context of the scene, and how this is FINN’s theme song it can sort of be interpreted that by preluding the discovery of Leland’s fate, Leland himself is engrained in Finn’s identity. Whether that be just now after seeing what happened to him, or because they were possibly friends beforehand, he will always be apart of him now.

So in short, they’re gay your honor (but they don’t have to be, you can read this platonically too)

I hope this makes sense to people and that I’m not delusional-

[pythagoras180]

Why "El Toro de Piedra" fails on all fronts

The Letter

The inciting incident of Marinette's side of this episode is that she finds a letter that Gabriel wrote some time before his death, where he confesses to Adrien that he's Monarch. This causes Marinette to question if lying to Adrien is right. In other words, finding this letter causes her to question the thing she's already questioned multiple times. And at the end of the episode, she decides to keep lying to Adrien. So Marinette's entire story this episode is her making the same decision she already made. They keep rehashing this plotline without changing or progressing everything. This is the definition of running in place.

Also, why did reading this letter make Marinette reconsider her decision? Was it because it made her reinterpret what Gabriel's last words meant? Probably not, since it's not like Gabriel wrote this letter immediately before he died, it was clearly written a while before. Honestly, it feels like the only reason the writers added this letter is because they thought Marinette (and the audience) needed to be reminded of the decision she made. Even though she's already talked about it in previous episodes. What a joke.

Villainous Fathers

This episode reveals that Ivan's father is a supervillain who wants Ivan to follow in his footsteps, and Ivan is keeping this a secret because he feels ashamed. This is clearly meant to draw a thematic parallel between Ivan and Adrien. Except, their situations aren't similar at all. Ivan knows what kind of man his father is. It's not like he's in denial about it or anything. Ivan was the one keeping it a secret from others, due to the fact he was ashamed. How is that related to Adrien? Adrien isn't the one keeping a secret, and he isn't ashamed of something. There's also the stuff about Ivan choosing not to be like his father, which is something that could have been relevant to Adrien, but it's not, because Adrien doesn't know who his father really was. So this theme doesn't work at all.

To add insult to injury, this episode once again has a terrible parent be immediately forgiven. Given how often this happens in this show, I'm convinced that if Gabriel hadn't died, the show would have let him get away with everything he did.

The Concert

The whole concert part of the episode felt so disconnected and tacked on to the episode. In fact, the only real connection it has is the fact that Juleka's song mentions her father, connecting to the attempt at a theme. Other than that, this subplot could have been part of any episode.

How come Juleka needed to perform alone? Ivan and Luka may have been absent, but Rose and Adrien were still there (until Adrien had to leave too). Both of them can play the keyboard, why didn't either of them back Juleka up?

Finally, in Juleka's song, she puts more importance in her deadbeat dad, rather than her loving single mother. You might argue, "Well, it's because she's a musician like her father." I'd like to remind anyone who claims this that Juleka's mother is also a musician. Ever since season 4, the show has put more importance on Jagged Stone as parent to Luka and Juleka, rather than their mother. But this is the first time that focusing on the deadbeat has been the character's decision. So, I feel like I can say that Juleka Couffaine has been character assassinated.

The Council

Finally, this episode also sets up the idea that Gabriel and Tomoe's alliance wasn't just the two of them, there are also a bunch of other mysterious figures that knew he was Monarch and are working behind the scenes. And one of these people is Nathalie's father. There's not much to talk about here, it's just something that briefly appears at the end. It's just to tease that something interesting might happen in the future. But considering this show's track record of following through on its setups, I have zero faith that anything good will come from this.

Conclusion

I don't think a single thing that this episode tried to do was well executed, and it showed that not even a minor character like Juleka is safe from being ruined. Still not as bad as "Werepapas" though!

[toastsrambles]

chapter 77 review! (so spoilers)

ok immediately props to the translation team!!! love y’all and tysm \(^^)/

upon seeing the ‘translucent crystal and white powder’ i immediately said ‘is that crystal meth?’ upon further research, the components of meth were first synthesized in japan by nagai nagayoshi in 1885, however was first turned into methamphetamines around 1919/1920. additionally, mycroft mentions that this mystery substance is ‘categorized as a treatment for neurosis’, and methamphetamines are used in the treatment of mental illnesses, so that tracks, too. moniepeny also name dropped a scientist called nagai, so that is also accurate. the time frame is off by a few years, and germany’s intervention is kinda sketch, but i suppose they could just be shoe horning drugs into the lead-up to wwi. mtp is not a good replacement for actual history, as we have seen.

sherlock is conspicuously absent. i predict we’ll start with him in chapter 78, but his absence was particularly felt, especially because he wasn’t even mentioned. but that first page what???? i don’t know if it has any plot significance… it almost seems like a ‘what if sherlock was a criminal?’ or even a ‘what if sherlock was the lord of crime?’ bit, but i could be wrong.

william and the paint gun is a reminder from the writer that no matter how good a leader louis is and how smart he is, william is smarter. however, raw intelligence does not equal situational competence. i predict (or maybe hope) we see a situation in which louis is the only moriarty brother capable of fixing it. i think it’d be a good way of showing how louis is capable of standing on his own.

that being said, he is absolutely the only one with common sense in that family. ‘i checked his pocket for his train tickets to find where he worked’. william ‘shakespeare is an acceptable script for crimes’ moriarty could never. but on a serious note, i think that is primarily what separates louis from william and albert. he is far more practical and less idealistic, which i think are his main strengths in relation to his brothers.

the difference in eye color between william’s damaged eye and his undamaged one implies some degree of vision loss. we could probably have predicted this given the eye patch - and it might’ve been confirmed, but i can’t remember - but it’s nice to see actual confirmation.

’i barely recognize him. i’m proud of my younger brother’ AHHHHHHH. but my damaged heart aside, i really hope we see william and louis reconnecting. the two of them sort of lost sight of each other, as shown by that moment in hunting of the baskervilles. i’d say william doesn't really know louis as a person due to both his absence and his obsession with protecting louis that unintentionally damaged their relationship. (on a side note, does louis actually have hobbies? he cooks but that seems like a necessity because his brothers can’t. he had fish that one time i guess??? at least william had math…)

louis and bonde’s interactions were put there purely for me. in case you were wondering.

they’re definitely teasing world war one here, and this drug issue seems to be setting the scene for it. there was also the remark the man made at the beginning about the struggling economy, which also works to establish growing tensions. this is a strong introduction to this new part of the series: while the first part was about tearing down society so that it could be reborn into something better, this second part is about protecting the peace they’ve managed to build. louis will, i think, be having a strong personal arc this time around, where he didn’t really have that in the first part. i can’t wait to see how the story develops from here!

btw: should i keep doing chapter by chapter reviews? i think it’d be fun ^^

[formulapookie]

🧡💚

See yourself through my eyes mignelli, 2.5k words

The call arrives at around 7 pm, while they’re at the Ranch, Mig luckily isn't racing at that moment. He’s talking with Bez, smiling and waving at the camera, unsure if it’s a pic or a video being taken, his phone left next to him because he had to read a few texts from his family, not actually expecting the call that eventually arrives.

 When the phone rings he expects the caller to be his mother, but as soon as he takes it in hand his face freezes. It’s Laura, the manager of Italtrans Racing, who told him he would get a call, either confirming or denying his attendance to the Barcelona GP as a replacement rider.

He’s nervous, he doesn’t want to pick up. He can’t bear another sport-related delusion, not now that he’s finally managing to almost accept that he’s not racing anymore. Migbabol is not bad. It’s not racing, nothing is, but it’s ok.

They chose someone else.You’re not going to race.Stop believing in fairytales.

He accepts the call, going far from everyone else, Bez saw the contact name, he knows who he’s answering to, but he doesn’t follow, just waits for Mig to come back there.

“Hello?” “Hi andrea it’s Laura, from Kalex” “Yes good morning, I was waiting for the call “We analyzed all the riders we took into consideration” “And you chose?” “Yes, you will be racing in Barcellona together with Stefano Manzi, you will be given leathers and all you need once arrived” “...” “Andrea you there?” “Yes yes I’m here thank you so much I’m preparing everything now, Tuesday I’ll be in Barcellona, thank you so much for the opportunity” “See you Andrea” “Thank you again, see you in Barcellona”

He hangs up, fingers trembling as he presses the red button, a few seconds pass where he stares into the distance, he doesn’t hear either Bez’s or Franky’s step behind him.

He just feels the tears accumulate in his eyes, threatening to fall out, he crouches down to the ground and begins crying, only at that point he realizes he’s not alone anymore, when a pair of hands he knows much too well surround his shoulders, he can feel the tension radiating from the palms.

Franky lifts his chin up to hug him better but when he does he finds the biggest smile he’s seen on Mig in a long while, his eyes widen, a smile starting to grow on his face as well.

“I’m racing. Franky I’m racing” “Oh my God”

Franky hugs him so tight the oxygen gets knocked out of his lungs, they’re both laughing like idiots, Franky actually makes them both fall to the ground, Mig doesn’t even actually understand anything about his surroundings, he just repeats in his mind over and over again he’s gonna race again.

Franky breaks away from the hug just to kiss him, many many times, an unholy amount of lips clashing against each other and Mig laughing at every single touch, tears falling once again from his eyes as his boyfriend keeps kissing his lips and telling him how happy he is they’re both gonna race on Sunday.

“I can’t believe it” “I can, I believed it before the call I can believe it now Andre, you deserve this so much, you deserve this seat more than many other people out there, I just am so fucking happy you’re back on track”

Mig starts crying from happiness again, it’s just to replace another rider, but he doesn’t care, it means being back on the grid, in Moto2, on a fucking bike, racing with other people, two of which he knows very well, Cele and Manzo, and oh god he’s gonna fucking faint.

Him and Franky are now covered in mud and grass, he’s ended up in Franky’s lap and the older is keeping him close, hugging him and unable to let go, Bez is watching them smiling. Cele came over when he saw the scene, happy for Mig as well, and Bez loops a hand around his waist pulling him close, leaving a kiss on his head, before whispering in his ear they should both go back and let the two enjoy a moment alone.

“I’m so happy Andre oh God, when I saw you crying I thought they didn’t sign you for the race and I was about to fucking kill them but then - you were smiling and I just can’t be happier for you” “I’m still not believing this, they chose me” “Because you deserve it Andre, because you’re talented and worth so much more than what you think”

Mig goes back to crying, face buried in Franky’s chest, and he strokes his back gently, continuously telling him he deserves it, that he knew it would come. Mig stays there for minutes, Franky’s progressively calmer heartbeat helping him to calm down his own, tears now drying on his cheeks and Franky’s chest, neither cares, they’re just them right now, he knows the boys will congratulate him , but that will be later on, he’s starting to feel the grass and mud on him.

“Shower? we’re completely stained by everything on the ground” “Yeah definitely”

Mig gets up, pulling his boyfriend up by the hand, walking to the common showers, where the others are washing themselves as well. They cheer for Mig once he gets in, he almost cries again, but tries to keep a certain facade, maybe just because Casey Stoner is in the room as well.

Once they’re all cleaned up he tells everyone he forgot something in his room upstairs, giving an extra glance at Franky, which immediately springs up from the bench he’s sitting on in the changing room and running behind him.

“Come on before they begin serving dinner” “Franky I honestly don’t give a fuck about dinner I just want you” “I love you” “I love you too but please now let’s go I want to get to my room” “Yeah yeah”

They basically stumble in the room, clothes falling to the ground as soon as the door is closed behind them, jackets and shirts hitting the floor at lightspeed, trousers disappearing at the same rhythm, they remain in boxers as Franky cups Mig’s face with his hands and pulls him in for a proper kiss, this time pushing his tongue past his lips, basically devouring him, as Mig works to get off both their underwear as well.

In a matter of seconds they’re both completely naked, Mig’s legs hitting the bed first, Franky laying him down on the mattress and climbing up on it, caging the younger between him and the bed, not wasting any time and immediately beginning to kiss at his neck and jaw, leaving small bruises all over them, planning on going back there later and give him proper hickeys.

“Franky hurry up please” “I’m gonna make you understand how much you deserve that seat Andre” “Fuck please yes”

It’s all very rushed, it’s all heat and heavy breathing and need, but there’s so much more buried under the surface. Franky gets the lube from the nightstand, but eventually leaves it on the side as he tells Mig to move to the center of the bed and open his legs, then he starts stroking his dick, just to tease, and in two split seconds his mouth is on him, at first teasing just the head of Mig’s dick, then swallowing him almost whole.

Mig arches his back, not expecting Franky to go down on him so suddenly, his brain is already overheating, his boyfriend’s lips are just so fucking perfect, they’re soft and big and plump and they feel so good around him. He can’t even suppress his moans, not that he cares, not when Franky looks so fucking hot and he’s on a high for getting the news he’s gonna race once again.

Each sensation is multiplied by a hundred times, each centimeter of skin feels ten times more receptive, each movement Franky makes feels so perfect.

Mig has one hand buried in his boyfriend’s hair, the other gripping at the sheets to keep him attached to the moment, Franky picks up his pace and Mig feels blessed, like everything good ever happened in his life happened in the span of that past half hour he spent accepting reality.

He feels progressively closer to the edge, the heat in his lower stomach pooling there, Franky’s hands holding him down by the hips feel burning now, like they’re leaving marks just by being there, and God does Mig wish to have marks after this.

He opens his mouth to warn Franky he’s close but as soon as he does he’s already there, filling up Franky’s mouth, who doesn’t complain in the slightest, just swallows everything and licks him clean.

“That was - fuck that was the best blowjob you gave me in a while” “Mh are you saying I’m not good usually?” “No no but this- yeah this was by far something else” “Pass me the lube yeah?”

Mig nods and hands him the little bottle, Franky pours some on his fingers, coating them as best as he can before moving back up to kiss him, simultaneously pushing two fingers in, not bothering with starting with just one given they had sex at lunch break because they both needed to release some stress.

Mig is moaning in his mouth, one hand still in his hair and one tight around his bicep, feeling the muscle twitch under his fingertips.

“You’re so beautiful Andre, so beautiful and you’ll look even better on friday on that bike” “I'm gonna come again right now if you keep telling me this”

The two of them laugh in the kiss, Franky keeps his promise to leave hickeys on Mig’s neck, starting to suck blue and purplish bruises all over the sensitive skin there, while adding a third finger, thrusting in and out, scissoring them to get Mig to do his pretty whimpers, which morph into loud moans once he finds his prostate and hits it repetitively.

“Please I’m ready I’m ready”

And normally Franky would go on teasing him for a while more, just because he can, and because it gets Mig stupid, but right now he wants to make him feel so good he can’t think anymore.

He takes out his fingers and immediately pushes his dick in, despite going a few hours prior and opening him up he always feels big inside Mig, and they both love that, especially Mig, and right now, with his sensitivity being much more than normal, he feels the stretch even more, and it makes him go crazy. They both moan once Franky goes all the way in, then stops for a second and just when he’s about to start moving Mig stops him.

“wait wait wait” “Am I hurting you? Do you want to stop?” “No no, it’s all good just- I want to ride you please” “Ok fuck yeah do it please”

Franky slips out and sits on the bed, Mig climbs in his lap and wastes no time in sinking down on his cock, moaning once again at the intrusion as he rests his forehead on Franky’s shoulder.

He bites at the meat there making Franky whine and then he starts moving, letting out little moans every time he sinks back down, ad he leaves a trail of wet kisses all over the older’s neck just to reach his lips once again, and bite them lightly, Franky gladly accepting, then taking back control and guiding his movement with a hand on Mig’s hips and one on the back of his neck, which he uses to pull him closer and once he’s there make out properly with him, swallowing every little sound coming from the younger.

The hand on Mig’s hip leaves his place to go squeeze his ass, Franky goes mad for it, Mig is just perfect, there’s a reason why Franky’s favorite position is doggystyle, he can see that ass jiggle every time he thrusts in, and he can get his hands on it, leaving marks which usually last for days even.

So it’s no surprise when he gives him a light slap there, making Mig bite his lip to contain a moan, because now Franky is kissing at his chest, so there’s no lips quieting down his sounds. The older starts sucking on his pecs, marking him up, dark red hickeys begin to form on his skin, one just under the tattoo Mig has on his left pec, and Mig is just moaning louder and louder, picking up his pace, even if his thighs are trembling already.

He just keeps going, moaning louder and louder as he gets close to his release, Franky starts meeting him halfway, thrusting up his hips and getting deeper inside of Mig, who throws his head back and moans Franky’s name again. At this point the older wraps a hand around his neck, forcing him to look up, the hand on his ass keeping him stable enough to keep riding him.

“I’m close Franky - close very close” “Yeah I feel it, fuck you get so tight when you’re on edge” “Come inside me please” “I love you Andre” “Kiss me”

Their lips are clashing again in one split second, and Franky immediately moves the hand wrapped around Mig’s neck to his dick, stroking it in time with his thrusts, making him come hard all over their abs, and he’s quick to follow, coming inside him, white liquid filling Mig up, and then they’re both collapsing on the bed, a smile painted on their faces as Mig rests his head on Franky’s chest.

“Can’t wait to see you get podium so I can cover you in champagne” “You’re disgusting” “Mh yeah tell me you wouldn’t like it come on” “Would prefer it if we were both on the podium and you soaked me with it” “Fuck amore I’m gonna dream about that now” “I always dream about that”

They kiss again, way less charged, Mig smiling at the contact of lips, Franky stroking his back gently.

“Do you want to go have dinner?” “Nah I don’t care, I want to sleep” “I’ll go downstairs and steal something from the fridge later then ok?” “Sounds nice”

They fall asleep quickly, the sex and the training getting to them, Franky holds him closer than ever before, and Mig couldn’t be happier than he is right now.

[they-breasted-boobily]

Ways the plot of tua s4 could have been improved while including a lot of the same storyline:

It goes without saying that a 6 episode season was too rushed for even the shitty plot we got given, but I'll mention that these ideas would have worked better for an 8-10 episode season. Or maybe you could use them for fics or comics- I'd love to see them!

1. The careers and new lives of non-powered umbrellas: While Lila, Klaus, and Viktor had decent set-ups, the others seemed out of place. Diego's personality and desire to be a hero would have been better suited to a mall cop or traffic cop, where he feels undervalued and underutilised, rather than just beaten down as a delivery driver for jokes about peeing in a bottle. Luther only mentioned Sloane a couple of times in the entire series- with more than 6 episodes, it could have been possible to give flashbacks of him trying to get back to her, but her not recognising him and not being romantically interested. Not sure what changes could be made to his job or housing though. Allison's setup was mostly fine, but we really should have been given an explanation for why Raymond left- maybe lean into the horror of being taken from your time and timeline raising a daughter you suddenly have? Five would not work for the CIA except as a double-agent, either that or he would be retired as a fishing supplies store owner. Ben is his own whole point later in this post.

2. The marigold sake shots: I feel like this plot point added to Ben just being an asshole and scapegoat for the entire season, which could benefit from major changes. If left relatively unchanged, the fact that Klaus threw it over his shoulder could have led to greater implications if it landed on an unknown person behind them and gave them powers. This person could have been the subject of an episode or two as they were tracked down when it was necessary.

3. Ben's character: While s3 Sparrow Ben was a dick, he was not as edgy, conceited, or self-absorbed as he was in s4. I think it's fine to start his arc with him leaving prison, but making the crime as major as crypto fraud (just because you think it's funny) makes it much more difficult for him to seem likeable and relateable to Jessica or anyone else. If the crime was something more minor, or he was framed/unfairly jailed it could set up a revenge/redemption arc from the get-go. With his relationship with Jessica, it would have benefited from being more of a slow burn, or if the gradual unnatural obsession had more than 6 episodes to build up.

4. The subway romance: While I can almost understand why it was Five and Lila due to their history working together and especially using time travel together, I think if Five needed a romance (which I don't but show writers can't stand having one member of the main cast never being in a relationship), it should have been someone he met while on that 7 year subway adventure (probably an older woman) and settled with in Strawberry Tradwife timeline while Lila keeps looking for a way out for the sake of her children. Lila would find the journal a few months later and using both it and the subway map, get back to Five because she still needs his powers to get entirely out of the subway system. Could you imagine a scene with Lila trying to convince Five to leave the peaceful Strawberry Tradwife life he's always wanted after dealing with the trauma of being stuck in time twice?

5. Klaus's return to addiction: I think Klaus's arc could have definitely benefited from the season being longer. If there was a slower burn towards his addiction returning and his confrontation with Claire and if she stressed more that he didn't need to go down this path again, it could have really been impactful. The ghost sex trafficking thing was gross but if that was the only way to get him buried alive then so be it, because having him in a situation where he would have to directly face his trauma from the mausoleum and become stronger would be so good for the sendoff of his character. Maybe that could have been the point where he learned how to levitate?

6. Reginald and false memories: Why was the fact that he's literally not human and crafted this timeline so he could have as much power as possible (including a militia town) not explored at all? The plot should have revolved a lot more around at least verifying what he was saying about marigold and durango, if not about handing him a final defeat for this final season. Everything around him killing Ben led to huge plot holes (why wouldn't Klaus know the truth from Ben's ghost? Ben easily could have been spared and only Jessica shot. Why was Jessica being in a squid never explained?). While it's interesting to see the Umbrellas all give a brainwashed explanation for Ben's death, it couldn't be something as blatant as that, because Klaus would have to know even if everyone else was brainwashed. The brainwashing is an idea with promise, but it should have been something like Ben and Jessica being consumed by the giant squid together because Ben went against orders.

What other things could have been changed? I personally liked the CIA subplot, especially as it taught Diego to appreciate his family more. I also found Jean and Gene and the Cleanse conspiracy theorists to be fun new mini-villains.

[howtosingit]

Tag Game: 911 Lone Star Fandom Edition

Tagged by @rmd-writes and this is probably the first tag game I've done in... *checks calendar* I can't count that high 🤷🏻‍♂️

When did you first start watching Lone Star? Who or what introduced you to the show?

I've been watching since the pilot premiered on Sunday, January 19, 2020 🙃 I actually was still watching OG 911 at that time with @emisfritish and we were trying to decide if we wanted to watch the upcoming spinoff or not, so we checked out the trailer. Saw that first little clip of Carlos Reyes and that moment of Tarlos getting down to business in 1x02 and I was suddenly way more interested in LS than I had ever been in OG (sorry not sorry). And though she never really joined the LS fandom, I do still get to experience @emisfritish watching LS episodes for the first time (even if it's sometimes months after they air) and it's one of my favorite things.

Which season is your favorite?

Season 3, for sure. Best viewing experience of any season, really strong storylines, so much more Carlos than the previous 2 seasons (combined), the full tarlos arc from exes to fiancés and all the really good growth for them in-between those two moments... I don't know that the show will ever reach those heights again, but I'm so glad I got to experience every moment of it in real time.

[Seasons best-to-worst, imho, are: 3, 4, 2, 1]

Who is your favorite character? (Bonus: If you answered TK or Carlos, who is your favorite besides them?)

LOL such a mystery, my favorite character is obviously Caleb. Love that dumbass. (Real answer: my top 3 characters are Carlos, Grace, and Judd.)

Top five episodes. Go!

Oh goodness, okay...

Push Bad Call Saving Grace Riddle of the Sphynx Donors In Sickness and In Health (sorry I know that's six but rafa is just so fucking good)

If you could pick any character to be given a "begins" episode, who would it be and what would that episode look like?

First I will say that I'm really happy that we don't do "Begins" episodes with LS because I remember wanting to skip so many of those when watching OG (never grew attached to any of the characters, maybe I'd like them better in LS but let's not risk it) and I think there are more organic ways to incorporate backstory into the narrative than to say "here's 45 minutes of backstory!"

ANYWAY For a very long time my answer was uncontestedly Carlos Reyes, and I would still love to get every single moment of his life from his birth until now, but also... I don't know, I think at this point in the show we've gotten so much of Carlos's history (through what is sometimes messy writing, sure, but we still got it) that it feels selfish to keep asking for more when a character like Paul still feels really undervalued on the show. So, maybe Paul? But, also Carlos because... I'm me 🤷🏻‍♂️

What is a scenario or storyline that you would like to see in season 5?

Honestly, I would like to see Carlos have to face the consequences of his actions in the s4 finale. I love him, I would die on every damn hill for him, and I fully tracked his rationale for why he did what he did, but it was still really messed up, and I would love to see him battling with those decisions and what they mean for him at the top of the season. I'm not against Carlos struggling and messing up sometimes (two of my favorite episodes are "Cry Wolf" and "In Sickness and In Health"), but it's a way more interesting narrative if we actually see him confronting his mistakes rather than them disappearing into the unknown like most of the consequences on LS... Also, Rafa would destroy scenes like that and I always want to see Rafa at the top of his game.

Would also love to see him get a different job but that seems unlikely and we'd lose that glorious utility belt strut

What do you think is going on in this still?

I do think it's most likely related to Gabriel's murder. It could be an update on where the Rangers are at in the case, it could be them calling Carlos in to assist with something (undercover Carlos mayhaps?), or maybe Carlos got suspended after what he did last season and this is him receiving a call from his boss with an update on his job status... honestly, no idea, but it's making me want to know things so fuck you tim minear

We all know about the elusive 5x05 spicy scene that has been teased, so what is your prediction for how it could possibly top 1x02?

See, I thought elements of the 2x12 sex scene were better than the 1x02 sex scene because there was all of this added intimacy and emotion between them, which just makes every touch and kiss and look and breath that much deeper and richer and sexier. Like, that look Carlos gives TK after taking his shirt off while straddling TK's thighs? That's sex right there. So, honestly, I don't know what they're going to go through between 5x01 and 5x04, but as long as the 5x05 scene contains all of that context that makes the moment about them and how they feel to be with each other, it's already topped 1x02 in my opinion. Rushed, casual, fun sex is great and hot and obviously I didn't hate it, but the combination of lust AND love? You can't ever beat that.

Where was the Tarlos honeymoon in your mind?

You know, I honestly don't know... I haven't really thought about it. Their honeymoon has kind of been a non-thing for me, so I hope wherever it was it was peaceful and exactly what they both needed.

Shoutout one of your favorite fan creations.

I know this says one, but there are so many different types of creations and I won't be able to mention all of them (it's been FOUR YEARS OKAY) but I want to try to share a range...

I absolutely have to start out with all the incredible work that @reyeslonestar gave this fandom: I have this one printed and framed, but I also love this one and this one and this one and THIS ONE. Also love this one by @whatsintheboxmh so much. I also love these two NSFW pieces by @a-kinkajou (but the AO3 links seem to be broken so you'll have to look at the SFW versions here on tumblr and just trust me).

ALSO I really love fanvids and in particular this one and this one (SOBBING) and this one and THIS ONE. While I wish I could list every gifset that has sparked an emotional response for me, it would be impossible, so I'll share this one (@maxbegone) because it makes me smile, these two because the vows are ev-er-y-thing (@danieljradcliffe), and this one because the Carlos Reyes Strut is also everything (@evanzbuck).

I mean, the Teacher AU. It's the teacher au. You don't understand, it's THE TEACHER AU (@three-drink-amy). I'm already so in love with Call Me, but that's no surprise since it's from the writers of iconic works like these (@welcometololaland @rmd-writes) The Knave verse is beyond iconic at this point (@liminalmemories21). This Carlos begins fic is really beautiful (@freneticfloetry) and this early fic has one of my favorite Carlos characterizations ever (@singerofsimplesongs). I'm always down for a firefighter!Carlos AU (@reyesstrand) because the man should be wearing turnouts.

Tagging: I'm not going to tag anyone because I think this game was going around a few days ago and I missed the train, but if anyone likes the questions and wants to answer, they should!

[rainof5]

ward opinions (as of 12.3)

I might start liveblogging (if I do, it'll be tagged as #ward lb, so block that if you want), so I figured I might as well put out my opinions thus far.

Firstly, I went in with very low expectations, given the popular opinion of Ward. And so far, I've been very positively surprised. I really like Victoria as a narrator, and I find it a lot easier to relate to her than I did with Taylor. A lot of her thoughts and actions regarding Amy remind me of myself, and her experiences with and as the wretch sound a lot like how I've experienced dysphoria.

I like Breakthrough as a whole a lot. I find the Capricorn dynamic to be very interesting, and I fucking love Rain. Each of the characters have intriguing storylines that keeps me interesting in their development.

For storyline, I think the Hollow Point fight dragged on a bit, but I've never been super invested in fight scenes. I tend to get distracted and can't keep track of who did what, when, where, etc. I'm not able to visualize well and I can't really "picture" the fight happening as I read it, so I either have to put in a lot of effort to think logically about how things are happening or, more often, it just kind of blends together. I actually ended up taking ~6 months off from reading in the middle of 5.3 or 5.4 I think it was. That's just personal preference, though.

I'm personally much more invested in the character development and interpersonal dynamics, especially with Breakthrough.

I definitely thought the Goddess arc would be bigger and more disastrous, but I don't mind how it went. I knew that Chris eventually left the team and went with Amy, but I didn't expect it to happen like that, nor did I anticipate the Lab Rat reveal.

Currently, I'm loving the Cradle/mall cluster arc. I imagine if you don't like Rain/the mall cluster, their story would seem way too drawn out and obnoxious, but I really like it, with Rain definitely being my favorite character (at least thus far).

So far, my favorite moments have been Rain getting his haircut (I was reading it in class and had to try really hard not to cry during lecture lol. I still get teary-eyed thinking about it). I also really liked the Capricorn interludes. I relate to Byron a lot, and I don't think I've gotten so angry, especially while reading, at something in a while.

Character relationships I'm interested in seeing how they develop include Victoria and Tattletale, Victoria and Ashley, Rain and Tristan, March and Foil, Kenzie and Chicken Little, Vista and Bitch, and Victoria and Byron.

As with Worm, I'm constantly being surprised by moments of foreshadowing or just referencing small details. One example I can think of off the top of my head is the Lab Rat reveal. When it was revealed, I immediately went back to Worm to reread parts of it with this new context in mind, as well as to refresh my memory on who Lab Rat was. In Worm, he's described as "the last person one might expect to be a tinker. He had a mouth full of teeth that were screaming for braces, all crammed towards the very front of his mouth, overlapping and sticking out of lower gums" (27.3). That immediately hits two notes from what we know about Chris: 1) he has braces because him "changing" affects him physically. 2) he hid the fact that he was a tinker, claiming to be a changer instead.

I love these little details, and I'll notice some subtle foreshadowing as I read because of the things I've been spoiled on.

Of course, there are criticisms to be had (do we really need to know this character's chest size, Wildbow?), but overall, I'm really enjoying the story and characters.

[starleska]

just finished watching Megamind vs the Doom Syndicate and i have some thoughts!! please do take this with a grain of salt as i'm just one person; i absolutely do not want to rain on anyone's parade!! if this is your favourite movie, don't worry about the gripes of some stranger on the internet 🥰

let's start with the positive!! despite what some people are saying there are things to enjoy about the film, and i think that lies in the fun of Megamind's old crew. although Behemoth looks a little phoned-in and Pierre Pressure was an easy joke, i really enjoyed the designs for Lady Doppler and Lord Nighty-Knight. the scenes they were in with Megamind were definitely the most engaging!! but that's...about where my enjoyment of the film ends. i think the film's biggest sin is the enormous amount of exposition-dumping and telling rather than showing. there were so many times where characters just...stated things about themselves, or spoke aloud why they were feeling the way they are. they're like...character notes that a writer jots down to keep track of emotional journeys. it really breaks the immersion and makes the characters feel mechanical, clunky, and a bit of a hivemind. Megamind and Roxanne in particular feel quite stripped of their original personalities, which is such a shame. then there's drastic reduction of chemistry between Megamind and Roxanne. canonically, this movie only takes place a couple of days after the events of Megamind, but the two are barely affectionate with one another to the point that it's weird. perhaps it was written as them being comfortable with one another, but at times it almost felt like there was dislike between the two of them...especially from Roxanne's side!! Megamind is hardly recognisable compared to his lovestruck counterpart from the first movie, and Roxanne's bold, caring nature seems to have evaporated. it makes it very hard to get invested in their relationship at all 💔 speaking of Roxanne, i find it such an odd choice to make Roxanne have an existential crisis about being dissatisfied with her life just a few days after the events of the previous film...you'd think she'd want to take it easy for a while! i feel this characterisation of Roxanne does her a lot of disservice, and reduces her more to plot functionality. Roxanne doesn't strike me as the kind of woman who'd be starstruck re: some kid's online following and decide she's inadequate by comparison. again, a lot of the things we love Roxanne for were just quite...absent, from this movie. you could predict what she was going to say well ahead of time, because she was just following the beats of the plot 😓 and the time-retcon...isn't it a bit weird that Megamind is a complete Internet n00b? it's one thing for him to be a bit out-of-touch with Gen Z (as he's relatable to us neurotypicals given his alien grasp on certain concepts), but he seems completely baffled by the concept of streaming and followers at all, and this movie takes place in a post-2020 timeframe. it's odd because Megamind is already established as a tech genius in the first movie, and we know he's somewhat affiliated with Internet slang by his use of LOL : ) when texting Roxanne!! perhaps this is a small nitpick that can be explained away, but it seems like a baffling choice and an excuse to write in a trendy character for the kids to relate to 😵 then, moving onto Keiko...she wasn't terrible by any means! but i wish she was more than a social media influencer to get Megamind with the times. if she's Megamind's number 1 fan, surely she would have been his fan while he was a villain...couldn't that have made for an interesting moral dilemma along with the return of the Doom Syndicate: having a child trying to follow in his previously-villainous footsteps? what about Keiko being taken under the wing of the Doom Syndicate after Megamind became a hero? 👀 those are my thoughts for now...i do hope all those talented Megamind fans will build upon these flaws in the movie and create more compelling stories from it 🙏💖

[dream-thief-forever-amen]

Pit Babe Episode 13 Commentary

The last episode! Here we go!

Surprise, bitch, I’m resurrected!!!

PB is so forgiving. Took him two point five seconds to forgive Charlie (who did not really apologize. again) for this very dumb fake death scam. He’s clearly not a Capricorn. I’d be like “you may be alive… but you’re dead to me, fool.”

These boys rifling through unlocked cabinets and storage boxes as if a crime lord is gonna keep their incriminating evidence lying around the office… I swear they are adorable idiots. Look for the safe or a locked file cabinet!

Winner does not have the henchman vibe but there is something a bit chaotic and dangerous about him. He’s the type to accidentally shoot someone, you know what I mean?

Henchman Kenta saves the day with a usb!!! Honestly snaps to the writer cause I would NEVER have believed Charlie or PB could hack a computer or gather intricate shady business related evidence.

Give me strength! Mr Pete is stunning in his black turtle neck…

North & Sonic letting the netizens descend on Mr Tony is actually a genius idea! Ruin his reputation as a generous benefactor. People love a scandal - that will go viral in seconds!

Child murder too! TONY, you madman. Beheading with a freakin’ sword! Brutal. Upload upload upload!

I love it when a character interrupts an important event to publicly spill the tea. Jeff’s is here to air your dirty laundry, daddy-o!

Tony is a really fun villain. He reminds of Hans Gruber from Die Hard. Kinda pissy and put out when his plan starts going sour, but still too classy (and well armed) to visibly panic.

Sonic slapping the gun away in annoyance like he’s shooing a fly away! Snort.

Aw North and Sonic are clinging to each other so protectively! I love these two so much, sassy little sweethearts

Korean Kim is such a dom! Look at him pulling up like the pack leader!

Everyone watch out, PB has a gun!

Way, ya dummy, that giant rock sculpture was better protection than your fleshy hot body! Is he dead?! Is Mr Pete a widow now?!

Where did all the other armed guards go??? Guess they peaced out. Rats always know when the ship is sinking.

Tony looks kinda sexy when he’s gone crazy.

Kenta! If anyone deserved to murder Tony it’s our pitiful henchman. You’re a free agent now, Kenta…

Awwww Way! I loved you too, you sneaky depressive hottie… RIP.

Save me, Pete is even stunning when he’s at a funeral! Honestly everyone looks stellar in all black. Where is this gravesite? The backyard?

I need Pete to be the main character of season two. I am properly obsessed with him.

Charlie’s dad looks like the type who would abandon you, never pay child support or send a birthday gift, and then show up once you’re of drinking age and try to be your friend. Now that the hard work of raising you has been properly avoided, I am here to be your parent!

Tony looks great in a vanilla suit. They should have dressed him like that more.

PB is such a forgiving guy. Who is gonna protect him from nefarious influences and dumbasses now that Way is not around to screen everyone for him?

They need to do better with the sex scene music. It sounds like someone is solving a crime in a 70s mystery not boning their hot boyfriend. Hopefully Alan & Jeff will not be given such a poor soundtrack season two.

Better music for PB & Charlie at least. And Look! PB is taking hold of his man passionately!!!! Yay! Now this is a vast improvement.

This cheesy pre-race love confession on the race track is too much. Boys you are literally at work. Though the idea of a ton of professional race car drivers kissing and holding hands right before making their laps around the track is soooo fun to contemplate. If only I lived in a gay parallel world.

Well, we have come to the end!

I enjoyed myself. It definitely did not trigger my obsessive compulsive behavior like KinnPorsche or Love in the Air or Fangs of Fortune did. But I’m glad I finally checked it out cause it was a lot more fun than I’d thought it would be.

And I’m definitely excited about the next season.

Friends to lovers with Sonic and North? Awwwww!

And my sub henchman with dom Korean Kim? Yessssss please.

More PB and Charlie? Whatever. It’s not like I’m gonna get tired of seeing PB anytime soon, he’s so handsome.

And I’m rather partial to mother hen Alan.

But of course my focus will remain laser pointed on PETE - the real star of the show for me, as his character and aesthetic just do me in.

More super power shenanigans in season 2 please! And more mad science! I don’t care if we abandon the racing all together, but I suppose it’s inevitable.

May 2nd will be here before you know it…

[gking10]

Liveblogging TMAGP 13: Futures

Here we are in the futures. Here we are in the futures and it's bright!

CAT3RB4622-17092023-14032024Gambling (application) / self-destruction [voicemail]

Nevermind, it's not bright at all. Are the bone dice coming back? Who will be holding them this time? Attempted suicide is a heavy incident element. The one that's different from all the others is SFX: insectoid though. I don't know how bugs are going to get involved but I am not looking forward to it. Why is the title "Futures"? Is someone being shown a vision of their future that acts as a catalyst for their self-destruction? But then why wouldn't the incident be filed with "vision" or "prophecy" or "fate" or something like that? Maybe the voicemail is just from an outside observer and the idea that the victim had a vision is only implied. I don't know, but "Futures" is an interesting title.

2:19 - "Alice was right – it is easy to make you blush.." God, Sam is adorable.

2:36 - "…and that you're an overachiever, obsessive, a bit repressed-" Yeah, this all tracks.

3:09 - "I have a baby. Jack. He’s just over a year old now." Oh! That's who Celia was talking about when she woke up at that motorway. Does Celia have anyone helping her take care of him? I mean, surely she must, Celia doesn't strike me as the kind of person to just leave a baby alone. But like she said herself, she's mysterious. Does she even know any other people? Daycare, maybe? And if Celia is from the TMA timeline, where did Jack come from?

3:22 - "And before you ask, no there’s no dad on the scene. Not even sure who he is. I had a couple of wild years after I moved here. It was a really weird time for me" I was considering the possibility that maybe Celia in this dimension was just going about her normal life and suddenly got given her alternate-timeline memories, but this does sound like Celia literally went through a portal and wound up here.

4:41 - "Well after that it all just went downhill. Didn’t get into Oxford, so I went to Nottingham. I graduated but I missed a first by one mark." "I had a breakdown. Stress. There was an… incident at work. I… freaked out during a presentation." "Gifted" kid burnout. Can relate. I wonder if there's something more to Sam's breakdown. The pauses might mean the incident was stirred by him experiencing something unnatural. Or the pauses could just be the natural apprehension of telling someone you had a breakdown.

5:05 - "I did my best to help her though her parents’ deaths" So Alice and her brother just have each other...

6:04 - "Is it my fault?" Yes and no. You were complicit, but you were just the messenger and you also lacked full information. The OIAR easily could have had someone else send the letter. Still not a great thing to be involved with. If you feel guilty about it, that's a good sign you should get out.

6:50 - "The world is full of opposing forces, some benevolent, most not. In order for the wheels to keep on turning, all these forces need to be monitored and balanced. That is where we come in." You sound like if Robert Smirke were an organization. You think you can balance all the fear. Pit them against one another, maintain order. But you can't. You just can't because its all one multi-limbed thing. "Some benevolent" is also interesting. Gerry in TMA made an explicit point that there were no benevolent supernatural forces, just the Fears.

7:33 - "Welcome to the Zorrotrade customer support line." Huh. Real thing... I think? Zorro, or Zorro Trade, is apparently a software for people to use to do financial trading using algorithms. That fits with the incident involving finance problems, but I don't see it being called Zorrotrade anywhere. Maybe its just a little offness because this is another universe. Or it could just be a whole different thing, I don't know. Also wait INT. QUIET FRENCH HOSPITAL WARD – SUNSET, CLOUDY (CASE RECORDING) Hey yeah um why is the calling in a hospital ward? What's that about? Are they good?

8:28 - "I don’t care about your “suspicious activity” bollocks, I have burnt my entire life to the ground for this stupid bloody app and now you owe me my goddam money. So, you can either pay up or I drop a line to the Ombudsman and tell them all about your little “Projection” trading" "Projection" trading... Is Zorrotrade literally trading people's futures? Or giving people "projections" that encourage them to do reckless things because all the data shows they will get the money in the end? But again, why is this incident not filed under fate then? Whatever happened, it led to this guy getting put in the hospital.

8:47 - "You can’t just take my money, lock me out of your app, and then expect me to roll over. I’ve been a user for years. Hell, I’ve probably invested more via this poxy little program than everyone else put together and what do I have to show for it? Eh?" Hmmm... Putting all your hopes into something only for it to all crumple apart? "Burnt my entire life to the ground"? Desolation vibes? Getting people's hopes up only for it to all go up in smoke?

9:03 - "Is this meant to be, like, punishment or something? I’m not a bad person, all right? Wanting to be rich doesn’t make you a bad person." I was wondering about the app name. Zorrotrader. Zorro, who fought the corrupt and wealthy elite and defended commoners. Are you a bad person, Darrien? You didn't exploit anyone to try to get your wealth, did you? Maybe you might have been acting like a smug insufferable financebro while using the app, but as long as you didn't hurt anyone, I don't think you crossed a line... You did gamble only your own finances, not a friends or family members, right?

9:37 - "I earned everything I got." You see, when you say it like that, it makes me start to think otherwise. Being this defensive makes me think you did something bad.

10:07 - "Made some quick cash shorting failing startup" I do not understand finances in the slightest, so apologies if my brain actually collapses into a blackhole. But it sounds like you're exploiting small businesses trying to get off the ground. Maybe also manipulating the market and cause those businesses to fail harder? I don't know, I don't know how any of this works! But it sounds. Bad.

10:09 - "then used that to broaden into Crypto" Oh my god, he does crypto. It's so over. It's all just pump-and-dump like scheme stuff, isn't it? Buy something, sell it off when you'll get the most profit and the person your selling it to will be left with diddly squat because the prices dropped catastrophically. I guess Darrien was right that he earned all his money. It just involved scamming. All of the hype and raised hopes turned to nothing but loss and ruin. Desolation. "leveraged some EM ETF" Please say words I understand.

11:22 - "That was when I noticed your new: “Personal Projection Short Selling” feature" Borrow stock in your future. Sell it immediately(?). Wait for stock in your own future to get low. Borrow back stock and earn profit from the difference. Is Darrien going to... risk his own life to "lower" his futures stock for profit? Is that were the self-harm starts?

12:05 - "Just that one slider with the warning: “These settings are experimental and may not function as intended, user discretion is advised.” You really think that is enough after what you’ve done to me?" I mean, you were warned. And unless you started getting compelled (this is gambling-related, so Web-type stuff could happen), you could have quit at any time...

12:25 - "Oli kicked me shoreside in “Le Brusc” the next evening. He wasn’t too impressed with the mess I had made of his guest cabin and let’s be honest, we didn’t really get on anyway. He dumped me at the dock with nowhere to stay and told me he’d send me a bill for the TV." You what. You just... um... gotta gloss over going into a drunken frenzy, messing up your friend's cabin, and destroying his TV? Are we just not going to address that?

12:47 - "Apparently, they always knew I’d “end up back in the gutter eventually.”" Your "friends" are assholes. You're an asshole too, again, broken TV, but these are not the "lads" you want to be around in the first place.

13:22 - "They took everything. The case, my watch, my jacket, even my shoes. But not my phone." That sucks. Again, asshole, but no one deserves to get mugged. That rising noise right before mentioning the phone. Zorrotrade is doing its work. Darrien invested money into his own personal projection, and now something bad happened to him. So is he going to get money back from this?

14:10 - "“Congratulations! In recognition of your change in circumstances, you’re Personal Projection Short Sell has now been paid in full. We hope you invest again soon!”" Sell when its high. Buy back when its low. Make a profit. Yeah Darrien is absolutely going to try to game this by hurting himself, isn't he?

14:33 - "Obviously you hadn’t worked the bugs out of this projection thing yet but that's your problem. Not mine. It’s not like I hacked it or anything." No, you probably just tried to rig the betting. I'm sure casinos would be very happy with you using the same excuse.

15:16 - "And no, it wasn't fraud. I’ve checked and there’s no regulations about it or anything, so like I said: your app, your problem…" "No one explicitly said it was wrong, so it's okay! I love following the letter of the law and not the spirit!"

15:40 - "before renting a car (with insurance) and crashing it into a tree at speed." Is that not literally actual insurance fraud? But damn, he really is just willing to wreck his entire life just for more profit. He's not even exactly using the money for anything specific, there's no ambition, outside of a nebulous lavish lifestyle. This isn't greed, it's gluttony, and he's an addict. He just wants to swallow cash and sit on it and it doesn't matter if he has to break his body to do some.

16:32 Hey, uh. Buddy. Where are you walking to? It better not be a high place. You better not be about to throw yourself off of a height just to put your life at maximum risk in hopes this fucking number goes up.

16:38 - "I’d picked out the spot the day before, a cliff" GOD DAMN IT

17:15 - "On the way I made a few phone calls, first to my parents, telling them I never loved them and hoped they died horribly, next I was on the group chat with the lads telling each of them just how many times I slept with their partners, even when I hadn’t. Then it was on to my socials publicly declaring my affiliation with every messed up ideology and psychopath I could find." Gotta burn every bridge, right? Scorched earth policy. And we know Darrien lives this. But he doesn't get the money. He's turned the fertile earth of his life to ash now and nothing will ever grow on that soil again. I really like this aspect of the Desolation, if you can't tell. The recklessness. The need for constant empty thrills to fill something in yourself. Tossing everything into the fire. Rending everything beyond recovery.

18:27 - "I was alive sure, but more than that I was rich, properly rich, untouchably rich. Everything was going to be okay." That's what everyone thinks before Zorro carves a Z into their chest with a rapier. The Desolation, or at least the Cult of the Lightless Flame who mainly represented the Desolation, never really purposefully built up people's hopes before destroying them in TMA. They burned and hurt, but they never took the time to set up any kindling. The only time they even did invest in hope was ironically with Agnes Montague, their own ritual. A life they invested years into only for it to peter out into a hollow loss. It's nice to see hope being built up here. Hope is a seed for despair.

19:04 - "“Your payment has been suspended due to suspicious account activity including potential insider trading. Official bodies have been notified. Please repay your outstanding balance or prepare for Personal Adjustment.”" Insider trading. Trading of security with use of information not accessible to the public. Yeah, no, uh, you literally did that Darrien. That's exactly what you did. Oopsie. And it's not enough for Zorrotrade to literally leave his life physically and social destroyed, they had to turn all his profit into debt just to rub it in.

19:49 - "Thank you. You are being transferred to our adjustments department." Oh he is so dead.

20:07 Did... did bugs start crawling out of his phone? I'm not sure what the significance of bugs here is...

23:07 A little tension forming between Alice and Sam. Alice wants to maintain her friendship with Sam, but Sam starting to date Celia is making things... awkward. And Sam still wants to think about the incidents, while Alice still wants to shut her eyes, cover her ears, and just focus on the fact she's getting paid for this. Also I'm just going to block "bussin" being said on this podcast out of my memory. That's the episode done! It was great, even though all the investment terms made me dizzy. Still wondering about the bugs though. Why bugs? Nothing about this felt connected to the Corruption. What do the bugs symbolize here? Something hungry, biting at whatever it can maybe, just like Darrien relentlessly pursued money? I don't know.

[hyba]

Flashcarding The City of Light - Issues, Troubleshooting, Avoiding Major Edits

I never got the chance to flashcard The City of Light (I was focused on The Pirates of Sissa for quite a while), but now that I am, I'm so glad that I decided to do this.

I'm finding issues with sequence of events, and already considering solutions. And there are elements missing in-between certain plot events, which is really obvious when you look at it from a bird's eye view. And then there are reactive/active scenes, and plot holes that have popped up regarding timeline, and so on.

Example: Someone observes how the mysterious disease works and does end up having a very spot-on theory which they share with Alev. The problem? This doesn't happen until quite late in the story - which isn't an issue in and of itself - but the person makes these observations much earlier on. The flashcards helped me see just how far apart the two events are, when really they should be much closer together. What kept them from telling Alev right away? Why would they have waited that long? Honestly, there's no good reason; so one of the two has to happen:

the observation (& theory) happens later

they tell Alev much sooner in the storyline

This is going to end up shifting some other events, but at least it's going to make sense as far as behaviour goes. This is really important to me because sometimes I have characters behave in ways that are convenient to plot but not true to how they would actually behave, and a lot of the times that I've found myself cornered in my own writing, it generally comes from that.

Another example: At some point, Lucius does something that has him branded as a traitor, and it's directly related to the Festival of Light, which is an annual festival held in Valgus. I never had an issue with this plot point, but now that I'm looking at the events in sequence and making sure that they make sense, I'm second-guessing it. Given that the king has just died, does this make sense? Would they hold the festival still, or would they decide not to out of respect for the mourning period? And then, if that's the case, Lucius never does the thing he does, and he never gets branded a traitor... But he still has to end up in the Black Desert, outside of Valgan walls. So the story shifts significantly.

.

A lot of this is stuff that I would have caught in the revision stage, and laying them out like this probably makes these issues seem glaringly obvious, but it's hard to keep track of it all sometimes, and we overlook things. Catching them early on is helping me avoid major rewrites.

I think that's what I really like about this method, actually. I get to easily identify big issues in the plot (without the clutter of a manuscript, which tends to overwhelm me) and I get to fix those issues directly in the drafting stage. Ideally, if I was a complete plotter, I'd be able to fix the issues before even drafting.

Anyway, highly recommend. You can find my free guide to flashcarding by joining my newsletter if you want to give it a go but aren't sure where/how to get started. Flashcarding is probably one of the easiest-to-use approaches I've stumbled on, so I think every writer can make really good use out of it.

[kamurawaffles5684]

fuck it. More Kal and Nick content because I said so. This one is focused on one: Low Karma/High Karma breakdown scene, and two: romance scenes. (Nothing too graphic tho)

also uhh trigger warning for manipulation and other heavy topics like character death and mental illness

LOW KARMA BREAKDOWN SCENE:

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It was an early morning in Diamond City. Kal had been working on bringing back the Enclave in full swing since her recovery…nobody knew about it. Not even Nick. Her companion. The one she truly thought was going to be the last piece in the puzzle she needed to bring this entire nation back to its former glory. Kal was at Nick’s Terminal, tirelessly searching the internet towers and radio stations for even a morsel of information on where she could find the most valuable item she ever dreamed and laid her hands on. The X02 Black Devil Powered Combat Armor. She had searched for it since she moved to Boston. She wanted it all to herself. Because her father was The Black Devil himself…

Kal’s mother had lied about him dying at Raven Rock. And for so long, Kal had believed it. But no. He didn’t die. He went a-wall. Hodges, Kal’s mother, had watched her husband die as he was gunned down by Enclave forces…all the while stone-faced. But on the inside, she could’ve died that day…that was if she still had her compassion. Hodges was devoid of most things that made mothers special and coveted to society. She had little to no heart. No room to care for Kal outside of Enclave enforcements and safety regulations. And yet…Hodges had the pride for her daughter…that sliver of her heart still felt proud of Kal for being her daughter…how she had grown up to be such a strong and powerful woman of her own. But that was it.

But Kal thought too much about her own callous, determined, battle-ready mother. What about her father…? Lieutenant Oxhorn? Gus Oxhorn? Kal barely remembered a time where her father wasn’t shouting at privates to keep moving as she was training. He only seemed to yell at Kal when he needed to give out orders. Otherwise he was stern. Soft spoken. The warmth her mother never had given to Kal. And then, at the ripe age of 10, she lost it all. But she knew it was for the better. Why would anyone want to love a traitor anyway.

Kal got lost in her thoughts as she typed furiously at a terminal. That was until she heard the clinking of metal feet coming down the stairs. Kal quickly pulled the data she gathered into a holotape, deleting all the info she had on the terminal that was related to The Enclave. Slipping the holotape into her pocket, Kal quickly turned off the terminal, going over to the coffee pot to make it look like she had been up brewing a pot of dark roast coffee for the day.

“Kal…it’s 5 in the morning…the hell are ya doin up, kiddo?” Nick stood in the doorway, his tie askew, his jeans replaced by a pair of flannel-patterned sweatpants and the neckline of his ratted shirt he wore to bed somewhat undone from his restless sleep, that is if he got any, considering he was a synth. Even for a robotic man, he seemed overtly sleep deprived…it wouldn’t be surprising if Nick had the robotic-equivalent of Chronic Insomnia from just how restless he was when cases got serious…which was more often than not.

“Thought I’d brew a pot of coffee before you guys got up…” Kal faked a yawn, trying to make it seem like she had woken up just a few minutes before Nick did, when in reality Kal had been awake since midnight. And that was risky in itself. One wrong move and she could be found out just by being asleep at her desk. But thankfully that never happened…not yet, at least.

As the morning dragged on, Kal became increasingly irritated by the fact that she couldn’t find time alone to track down the armor.

“Are you sure there aren’t any cases where you need to be out and about today, Nick?” Kal asked, almost urgent.

“Nope. Just gotta keep looking at files today…why? Got something important that I don’t need seeing?” Nick joked, not picking up the small flash of fear that crossed Kal’s face as she stared him down, constantly moving and shifting her weight impatiently.

“N-No! Just…I was just curious, that’s all. I don’t got anything else to do today…and if you think otherwise well then check again— Cuz I don’t, m’kay?” Kal seemed to get somewhat defensive and accusatory when Nick asked if she had something secret, the flash of fear across her face reflecting the way she thought Nick had somehow managed to find her out even though she had made extra effort to cover any and all tracks of her past.

“Alright then…y’know, if you wanna clock out for the day you can. You’ve been up since before I got up for the day…I can’t imagine how tired you must be.” Nick absentmindedly flicked through the case files in his hand.

“I’m fine, Nick.” Kal said sternly, heading towards the door. “I’m going for a walk.”

Several hours would pass. Kal had lied about the walk. She had successfully located two of the Enclave radio towers across the commonwealth, and found the coordinates of the last known location of the X02 Black Devil Powered Combat Armor. It was in the bunker her mother and her were originally ordered to go to before the Brotherhood’s ambush. By the time Kal got back from the radio tower she was at, it had started to rain. Storm, even. Kal was exhausted…she couldn’t think straight. And that…that would be her downfall. As she got back to the Agency, she unconsciously put the holotape she had full of Enclave information onto Nick’s desk, falling asleep on the couch nearby. Days had passed. Kal became more irritated the more she fought to stay awake and find more information on her own faction. That was until she finally got Nick to agree to help her find the power armor…she once again, had lied about why she needed it. “It was going to be useful against the Deathclaw in the Witchcraft Museum” she said. But in reality…she wanted to become her father. The Black Devil reincarnate.

As they got to the bunker, Kal saw a slew of bodies lying on the ground, two of them being of Vault 81 origin. The rest being of Enclave...her mother was one of them…taking a moment of silence, she stared down at her mother’s body, and almost felt a sense of sick relief wash over her, knowing that the coldness in her life had finally faded. And then she saw it. She saw IT. The one thing she had been searching for so long…The Black Devil X02 Powered Combat Armor. She opened the locks with a series of tries and lock picks, nearly salivating as she got the door open and slipped into the room containing the Powered Combat Armor. But that wasn’t all. She saw the database for the Enclave’s radio signal. She had memorized the access codes when Raven Rock fell, knowing that somehow, in someway, the Brotherhood would attack her again. And they did. But she never got to use her knowledge before everything was burning around her. Kal could hear voices from the hallway…fearing that it was a pack of raiders or worse, the Brotherhood, she yelled out the access code…she had completely forgotten about Nick in her splendor of finding the armor. And the shock on his face was one that made something in her heart twist as she whipped around, bringing out her gun as the voices bursted in the room…all of them Enclave Remnant privates

“Kal…what the hell did you just do…” Nick said, horrified, and yet also enraged that she had been hiding this for so long.

“I’m saving the commonwealth, Nicholas…can’t you see?” Kal was almost giddy as she answered him, slipping on the powered combat armor beside her. “It’s glorious…knowing that the glory of this former nation will be mine to see again…” Kal giggled…her face was a sickly, twisted expression of glee as she slipped on the helmet, stepping towards the Enclave Privates. Nick was then restrained by Kal, taking him by his tie, her nimble fingers poised on the knot, ready to tighten it around him if he tried to get away. He watched in horror as she began to walk towards the chaos.

“Privates. Tell me why you are here in this bunker right now, or I will shoot.” She walked around the room, almost stalking them as they shot at her, the bullets crinkling against the metal like a mushroom cloud blooming over the pre-war American soil.

“Who are you? Why are you here, lady?” One of the privates said, getting frustrated that she wasn’t getting exhausted from the bullets being pelted against her.

“Me..? You dare ask who I am?! I am Patrol Officer Kal Dunham, you insolent bastard! The one that was presumed dead by the Enclave all those months ago? Well here’s a newsflash…I’m not dead. And I am here to return this godawful excuse of an Enclave branch back to its roots! The remnants are fools! Bring glory back where it should be! Not to just Eden…but to all of those who died fighting for our glorious nation! And if you oppose…well…let’s just say you will end up on the wrong side of this muzzle.” Kal would take a shot at one of the soldiers still trying to shoot her, and he crumpled to the ground, dead.

“I suggest you comply…”

HIGH KARMA BREAKDOWN SCENE:

(Basically the same thing as before but this happens in the bunker instead.)

Kal shouted out the code, frantic. She didn’t know what to do…what was she thinking? Dragging Nick along with her when she knew he could get hurt?

“Kal…what the hell did you just do…you…youre one of them, aren’t you?! No…no I can’t…what the hell…why, kid? After all I’ve done to help you, why would you do this?” Nick yelled…he looked horrified, betrayed, even. She had said it so fast he didn’t have much time to register what she had said. And then…then the soldiers came. They grabbed Nick, holding a gun to his temple.

“Hand over the suit, Mutie!” One of the soldiers shouted. It was Hodges second in command…Sargent Goldstein. As Kal looked up, frozen in her fear, Goldstein smiled. “Ah…I stand corrected…and you…you’re supposed to be dead, aren’t you? I thought I told your mother to have you to stay down…to have you be left behind…” the old man laughed slightly.

“No…no shut up…! Liar! Liar…!” Kal gripped the side of her head, holding her gun out shakily. “My mother may have been callous, but she never wanted me dead! You’re lying! You’re lying I can fucking tell!” Kal would try to attack, but then get held back by soldiers, their grips strong enough that the more they held her, the weaker her grip on her gun would become. It was aimed towards Goldstein and Nick…one wrong move…and she would kill Nick…but if she didn’t do anything…Nick would die anyway…and so would she…

“You’re a heretic, Kal…oh…what your poor…heartless mother would say to you now…mmm…but she can’t…she’s dead…” Goldstein cackled. It made Kal’s blood boil to have someone insult her mother that easily…even if she was cold.

“Shut up! She was not heartless!” Kal struggled against her captors…just a bit more…and she could get a clear shot at Goldstein’s chest. Tears threatened to prick at the corners of her eyes, and she gritted her teeth, trying desperately to keep herself from missing the only shot she had.

“Mm…but she was…she never loved you really…it was all just to fuel her ego…and now look at you…trying to find her again…but too bad history won’t see it as a harrowing tale of familial bonds…oh no…they’ll see it all as it will ever be…heresy…”

As Goldstein was talking, Kal had been able to slowly line up her shot…now was the time…she trained her gaze to meet with the way her arms were pinned at her waist, tilting her head as far as she could. She shot her gun. Goldstein fell to the floor, clutching his heart. Nick instantly got out his gun, firing at the other soldiers.

Kal ran for the Powered Combat Armor, slipping it on as quickly as she could, running over to protect Nick. She shot and hit the soldiers with everything she had, almost like she had been in tunnel vision as soon as Nick had the gun to his head. Most of the soldiers fell, but some scrambled out of the bunker as fast as they could…as if they had angered a mother Yao Guai. Which in a way, Kal was.

As soon as things calmed down and they left the bunker, however, Kal had broken down in front of Nick. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry for all of this! I didn’t mean to lie to you about this and then I did and now look where it’s gotten me! No…no I can’t stay like this! What if word gets out…what if I can’t step foot in Diamond City ever again…I…I can’t lose this, Nick! It’s all I have! You are all I have! A-and I understand if you never want to speak to me ever again after this… but god, please I can’t be found out!”

Kal was able to be calmed down by Nick after a series of upset words from either of them, knowing that this was inevitable. Kal knew she was in the wrong now. But she didn’t then. She was blinded by her own ignorance. And Nick helped her see that.

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ROMANTIC DRABBLES/SCENES/ETC:

• In regards to attachment, Kal is obsessive. This is mainly due to the fact that Nick essentially saved her from becoming the worst version of herself, and she’s afraid that if she isn’t loyal to him to the point of obsession, then she will fall back into that position (Also why I have her voice claim as ABA from guilty gear.)

• Nick on the other hand is VERY romantic and has a more “whoah hey slow down a bit” vibe when it comes to the attachment type of thing. Sure, Nick had Jenny…but that was long before he was a synth. And he doesn’t want to form another attachment to someone like that just to have them ripped away from him the moment he seems at peace with everything he’s got in life.

• Nick and Kal cuddle a lot. And I mean A LOT. Like it’s a nightly thing where as soon as Nick gets into bed Kal will subconsciously find him in her sleep just to curl up next to him and keep him safe.

• Whenever Kal decides to wear something fancy, she goes with either a red dress (kind of like Magnolia’s, but a deeper shade and with black accessories instead) or a black tuxedo. Nick REALLY likes it when she wears the dress, but also loves how the tuxedo brings out her tough and rugged personality and overall battle-worn body.

• They clean eachother’s wounds. Kal insists that she’s fine, but after Nick saw her almost get ripped up by a deathclaw and try to play it off as “Tis but a scratch” Nick can never not worry about her whenever she’s back at the office from fighting off mutants or whatever.

Now onto the actual scene:

It was a rainy night at the Agency. Kal was fixing up her prosthetic leg when Nick came up behind her, giving her a soft kiss on the side of her cheek. The burnt flesh was an odd texture to feel against mechanical lips, and yet Nick cherished every small detail of it. The way the burn scars sprawled across her body like tendrils…snaking up her spine and stomach, along her collarbones, and up to her face, where it looked as if a vine had bloomed across her skin. The way it gently shifted with the way her muscles moved, both in her face and along her body. Every time he looked at Kal, he felt like he was staring into one of the most beautiful paintings he’d ever seen.

As Kal felt the cold, metal lips of Nick against her skin, she nearly dropped the workings of her prosthetic leg, breath hitching in surprise.

“Kallie…it’s late…you’ve been working on that since Ellie left for the day. You gotta get to bed…” Nick’s voice was laced with sleep, his goldenrod yellow eyes shining a soft light against Kal’s peripheral vision. Kal sighed, putting down the prosthetic. “I still have to make sure the ball joint doesn’t stick too much…” Kal tried to say, but a yawn interrupted her. She didn’t realize just how tired she was up until this moment. “…it’s…it’s not that late, is it Nick…?” Kal slowly got up from her chair, using Nick as a temporary crutch as her prosthetic leg was unable to be used, plus her arm prosthetic was unhooked for the night as she stopped working on the leg.

“It’s midnight. So yes…it is that late…” Nick helped her balance as she got up, helping her up the stairs and getting into the bed.

“Mm…I forgot how nice it is when I don’t have to wear any prosthetics…” Kal wrapped her arm around Nick, running her hand along his back soothingly. “Goodnight, dear…” Kal said sleepily as she laid against Nick, exhaustion taking her in its clutches. She kissed his forehead softly before she fully fell asleep.

“Goodnight, doll.”

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Mkloveubai