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helvegen-s · 5 months

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Rage, rage | eight

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Pairing: Azriel x Hybern!Princess!OC

Summary: Nimue was a gift for the King of Hybern. His shining jewel, the perfect heir. However, she is clear about who the villain of the story is. When she saves her father's enemies from a tragic end, she realizes that now it's the Cauldron who has a gift for her: a mate.

Warnings: blood, injuries, description of injuries, self harm, bad familiar relationships, PTSD

Nimue and Azriel had bid farewell to everyone else before heading towards the Spring Court.

They had left early in the morning, winnowing themselves to the forest right in front of Tamlin's mansion. There, Nimue had magically bypassed any possible guards that the High Lord or his cousins had placed in the territory, and they waited among the trees, among the bushes.

Beside her, Azriel had shed the calm demeanor the princess had known the night before. Now, with all senses alert, he was the master spy of the Night Court. Nimue, hidden from view with a simple spell, couldn't help but watch as the Shadowsinger blended into the shadows of the trees, sometimes glimpsing only his eyes.

"What's the plan?" Azriel asked. They were waiting, not knowing for what.

"I'll go in, convince them you were torturing me, play dead, and when they least expect it, I'll kill my cousins and Jurian. But first, I'll find out their plans; I'm good at listening behind walls."

Azriel frowned.

He wanted to trust her, to put all his blind faith in her plan. In his right hand, he felt the promise tattoo they made last night pulsing.

"Okay. Keep me informed; every night I'll visit you to hear what you've discovered. Even if you don't see me, rest assured I'll always be there covering your back," Azriel raised a hand from among the shadows and touched Nimue, his hand on the female's muscular shoulder. He felt a shiver run down his spine and immense heat under the glove, the princess's body radiating a warmth so familiar that it made Azriel's bones melt.

Nimue looked at him and with a quick movement, pulled him towards her, a superhuman force making Azriel almost lose his balance. She held onto him, an embrace meant to crush bones that Azriel gladly reciprocated.

They stayed like that for a couple of seconds or a couple of minutes, they weren't sure, sheltered in each other's warmth, in the calmness of the bond between them.

"Thank you for trusting me, Azriel."

Get her out of here. She's in danger, she's scared. We can't let her go with those people.

Azriel squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the warnings of his own shadows, and took a step back, letting go of the female. He stayed there, hidden among the foliage shadows, and under his watchful gaze, Nimue raised a hand on which appeared a knife made of light.

What was she going to...?

Nimue grasped the handle of the knife made of her own magic, and began with her arms: from her wrists to her elbows, she made small but deep cuts from which blood soon began to flow, dripping onto the forest floor.

When the smell of her blood reached his palate, Azriel felt like he was going to vomit. All his senses focused solely on that, on the dripping blood, on how the female was cutting her own flesh. Something inside him, deep within his being, stirred.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" before he was even aware, he had already taken a step forward, grabbing Nimue's hands and pulling them apart, his gloves staining with the red fluid.

"They have to believe that you've hurt me, that you've tortured me and I've escaped. I'll say you drugged me with faebane and that in one of your oversights I managed to flee."

Nimue freed herself from Azriel's grasp, and continued with the task, this time she stabbed herself in her own thigh, staining her clothes with her own blood.

She felt her body starting to heal on its own, so with her magic she kept the wounds open and minimized the pain as much as possible to remain conscious even after losing so much blood. When she removed the knife from her thigh, she only felt a slight tingling.

Azriel felt like he was about to faint. All that blood, flowing in streams over Nimue's precious white skin, over the neat dress she wore and the undergrowth beneath her feet.

Nimue finally tore her clothes and made some final cuts on her face, and looked at Azriel.

Then she realized he was trembling, still as a statue and staring at her, his eyes wide. Around him, those shadows danced frantically from side to side, some bold enough to approach her and hover over her cuts.

"I'll be fine. Wish me luck, pretty face."

Azriel swallowed the bile rising in his throat. He had seen it all, dismembered soldiers and people torn apart. By the Mother, he had done worse things to many people.

But seeing her like this...

They exchanged one last look, and Nimue started walking away, leaving the shelter of the forest.

The sunlight blinded her and she had to squint. She had chosen the perfect moment, as she just saw her cousins cross the mansion door and start descending the stairs. Behind them, the hateful human and the High Lord.

She had to focus on the cuts, on keeping them open, on mitigating the pain. She limped, dragging her right leg, her shoes soaked with all the blood she was losing, and when she saw her cousins looking at her, she let herself fall to the ground.

She searched every small corner of her being, every bit of anger she had suppressed over the last month, and pulled and pulled. She pulled until she felt herself explode, and let herself go.

She began to cry loudly, pretending false relief, letting out sobs typical of someone truly escaping from torture. Although in reality, she was just going back to the torturers.

She feigned relief when her cousins ran towards her and crossed the distance separating them in record time. She feigned relief when she felt them kneel beside her, asking her questions, starting to heal her wounds with their magic. She feigned relief when, between sobs and fake complaints, she began to answer them.

"They tortured me," she said. She took a breath and let out another false sob, this time her gaze fixed on Tamlin and Lucien, who were approaching cautiously. "They drugged me with faebane and tortured me. They're monsters."

Her cousins comforted her and ran their hands over her body, covering the wounds with their hands and closing them with that black and rotten magic that gave Nimue chills.

They kept asking her things and she answered, with little detail and between sobs: they had skipped a dose of faebane and that's how she had managed to escape, they had asked her about the Cauldron and her father's army, they had hurt her so much...

Her cousins bought it the first time, trusting their little innocent cousin, the king's beloved jewel. What reasons would the little princess have to lie?

However, between tears, she could see that Jurian didn't quite believe her. It didn't matter; sooner or later, he would fall too. And if not, she would kill him before he opened his mouth.

When they had healed all her wounds and the tears subsided, her cousins lifted her from the grass and led her carefully into the mansion. The blind faith the twins had in her was impressive, for they had also learned to see her for what she was: the key that would lead them to win the war.

They crossed the gate of the house and reached the vestibule. Before the doors closed behind them, Nimue glanced back, towards the edges of the forest, and with some effort managed to spot him.

Azriel stood there, astonished, following every detail of the scene with his mouth open. It had been so, so easy. And Nimue was so, so good at pretending.

A small pang of suspicion made it hard for him to breathe, but he soon felt the warmth of the tattoo on his right hand, as a reminder that he should trust, that he should trust the princess.

He fixed his gaze on her, on the other side of that clearing and inside the mansion's vestibule, and even at all those meters away, Azriel glimpsed the small cruel and rotten smile that the princess directed at him.

Here Nimue's plan began. Like a slow-acting poison, she would ensure to indirectly harm her father so much that he would think twice about even looking in the direction of Prythian.

The doors finished closing, and she turned her gaze forward, to her cousins, to Tamlin and Jurian, who a few meters away from her were discussing something quietly. She looked around, at the beauty of the house that Feyre had described to her, which, although somewhat neglected, was still just as intoxicating, when she felt a presence behind him.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the tan skin, the reddish hair. She didn't bother to turn around, but Lucien spoke low enough for none of those present to hear but her:

"You're not going to fool me, little princess," he whispered in her ear. Nimue turned slightly to look the male in the eyes. Amazed, she met the mechanical golden orb, while the other eye looked at her with suspicion and scrutiny. "I know no one forced you to escape from Hybern, I know what they're like in the Night Court. The others might not have noticed it, but the disgusting smell of the Shadowsinger was suffocating at the edge of the forest."

Nimue looked at him, a silly smile on her face.

"I like you, Lucien," she whispered back. She turned her gaze forward again, still feeling the male's presence behind her. "But I don't know what you're talking about."

Lucien growled and took a step back.

Nimue couldn't wipe the smile off her face. This was going to be fun.

She had spent the day testing the waters, tempting fate with innocent questions, silently observing how the relationship between the Spring Court and Hybern's people worked. She excused herself from dinner early, and under the watchful gaze of everyone present, she left the huge dining room.

As soon as she was out of sight, she ran through the hallways she had memorized all afternoon. She knew which corners to turn and which corridors to navigate, and she reached the door of what was her new room. When she entered, she closed the huge wooden door and covered all the walls with her magical guards: nothing and no one could see, hear, or feel what happened inside.

She smelled Azriel's scent in the room above the touches of roses and fruits, but still didn't feel his presence. She kept looking and inspecting the room from top to bottom, absorbing every detail, when she saw something on her bed: the same candies that Feyre had offered her in the Night Court.

Nimue felt her body vibrating with joy, feeling seen and loved. That someone, anyone, had thought of her and had managed to get those candies there.

She took the first one and brought it to her mouth, immersed in that intoxicating sensation that eating something so delicious produced in her, and didn't realize that Azriel was there, among the shadows cast by the moonlight in the room.

He simply remained silent, watching her in the midst of that raid she was carrying out on the candies he had left there, so she wouldn't forget. So she wouldn't forget that her place was in Velaris, with them.

With us.

"I'm glad you liked the surprise."

Nimue wasn't even surprised. She just kept enjoying the candies, glancing over her shoulder at Azriel.

"I knew deep down in your heart you'd end up caring for me."

She turned completely towards him, mouth full of sweets, hands sticky, and Azriel could swear he would die right there.

How could he not care for her, when there was something inside him that melted every time he looked in her direction, when their skins brushed against each other?

"How has your day been? Are you alright, have they done anything to you?" Azriel's voice tinged with concern did not go unnoticed by Nimue, who, smiling at him again, dropped onto the bed. She patted the space next to her on the adorned quilt, but the Shadowsinger stood in front of her, looking down at her.

"They haven't done anything to me, don't worry. They wouldn't dare because they know what I'm capable of, and they've played their part well."

Azriel frantically searched for any marks of the wounds and blood he had seen on the princess's skin, but found that the only scars there were the usual ones, those covering the fingers of her hands and caused by all the hours training with weapons. He felt something inside him click again, his most primitive instinct to protect her relaxing when he saw her whole and unharmed.

"Good. I'll pass on everything you tell me to Rhysand, and if you need anything just ask."

Nimue bit her tongue. She needed something, but she wasn't going to ask for it out loud. She wasn't going to ask Azriel to stay there that night, next to her. She wasn't going to tell him that being back with her psychopathic cousins had stirred something inside her, that putting on that mask of the evil princess had brought her back to her former life, where her stay in Velaris would have been nothing but a fever dream.

They looked at each other, in silence, and it seemed that Azriel understood what Nimue wanted to say, even without her uttering a word. He held her hands, which he hadn't let go of all that time, and knelt in front of the princess.

"I'll stay guard while you sleep," he whispered. Nimue swallowed the lump forming in her throat and prayed to the Cauldron not to start crying at that moment. "I'll make sure nothing happens and you won't be alone. You rest."

Nimue nodded and quickly got into bed under Azriel's watchful gaze, and as she drifted off to sleep, she whispered to him:

"In a couple of days, we'll be back in Velaris, and I'll make sure you show me the best bakeries in the city."

Azriel smiled tenderly, watching as Nimue drifted off to sleep, and stood guard until the sun was high in the sky.

Taglist:

@lilah-asteria @agentsofsheilds @leptitlu @just-here-reading @glitterypirateduck @saltedcoffeescotch @krowiathemythologynerd @donttellthecats @annblvd @annamariereads16 @crazylokonugget @smoooothoperator @superspideyparker @bookwormysblog

#acotar #acotar fanfiction #acotar fic #azriel #azriel imagine #azriel x oc #azriel x reader #cassian #rhysand #azriel x female!reader

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cloudlessly-light · 1 month

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hellooooo can u write a sex scene with praise kink but from emily???

Title: Love like mine (9/12) Chapter title: I’ll make you wanna stay up Summary: He wasn’t a cheater. Until her. Word count: 3,4k Rating: Explicit Warnings (for this chapter): Smut, praise kink (I tried okay?) angst, feelings

Her heart is hammering in her chest, anxiety that she’s pretended not to feel only getting worse, spreading through her like something poisonous as she watches the number in the elevator light up. The sixth floor had been her own personal hell for the last couple of days, the place only reminding her of how badly she had messed up.

For two days he had all but ignored her, only spoken to her when he had to and barely looking at her when he did. She didn’t blame him for that, didn’t blame him for not wanting her in his presence. She hurt him, she knew she had and this was the price they she had to pay for it. The irony is not lost on her, that she had gotten involved with him in the first place because he was something that would be uncomplicated, and now here they were, way deeper than complicated.

She had gotten involved with him because he was married, he wasn’t someone who would hurt her. But she hadn’t thought about being the one who did the hurting. And now there they were, stuck. It didn’t help that she couldn’t talk about it, even with Dave’s knowing looks and Derek and Spencer clearly picking up on her sour mood, she couldn’t tell them. She couldn’t tell them because they would hate her.

As she steps out of the elevator she almost crashes into him as he’s heading inside, clearly in a rush. It’s karma, it has to be she thinks when they lock eyes and his hand is out to steady her and own hand rests on his chest for a second.

“Sorry.” She mutters as he steps back from her like she’s something foul. Maybe she was in his mind.

“Excuse me.” He bypasses her into the elevator and doesn’t spare her another glance as he pushes the button to the ninth floor where she knew the budget meetings were held.

It’s their first interaction without anybody else around, and it’s just as bad as she thought it would be.

“Aaron I-” She starts but he’s quick to cut her off..

“No.”

It’s one word, one syllable, and yet it feels like he’s screaming at her. She watches as he disappears behind closing doors.

It wasn’t supposed to be complicated. And yet, here they were.

It’s just about a week later when she’s knocking on the door to his office. She’s holding the files she’s finished for the night but for some reason she can’t bring herself to just drop them off like she normally would. It’s not lost on her that if this was only a few weeks ago she’d probably lock the door behind her, maybe bend over his desk just to get a rise out of him.

Now she just stands there awkwardly until he motions for her to come in.

“Leave them in the pile.” He says, voice sounding close to foreign, stiff in a way he’s never sounded before.

She leaves the files on the pile she knows he’s going to spend the night taking care of silently. It’s not until she’s reached the door again that she stops and turns. Her mouth barely opens before he speaks, like he knows that she’s about to try and apologize again, in fact, of course he did. He knew her better than anybody ever had.

“Emily, not yet.”

With that she closes the door behind her and leaves for the night, ignoring the fact that tears are burning in her eyes. This was her doing, she reminded herself.

“I never meant to hurt you.”

He freezes where he stands in a small conference room in Alabama. They were cleaning up, about to fly back home and she managed to find him alone. It’s been almost a month now, technically twenty-seven days, since they were alone together and he doesn’t know what to say.

“I never meant to hurt you.” She says it again and this time she hears his sharp intake of breath, like he’s trying to control himself. When he turns to face her, she’s almost taken back by the angered look on his face.

“Is that it then?” He can see the confusion on her face for a second but he doesn’t give her the chance to answer. “You come in here to apologize and that’s it?”

“I don’t know what else you want me to say.” She knew he was upset, but the icy tone he had now was a tone he’d never had with her before, not even when she first joined the team. “I never-”

“Meant to hurt me. Yeah I heard you the first two times.” He doesn’t move closer to her and she stays on the other side of small room, like the conference table was some kind of barrier between them. “I know you didn’t. But did it ever occur to you that you did anyways? I know we’re in this mess and I know that you regret it, believe me I know cause you’ve tried to apologize every chance you’ve had. But did it ever occur to you that maybe I don’t want to hear it? That I’m not ready for your apology?” He sees the hurt on her face and hates that his first instinct is to take it back. He hates what they had become, that he can’t seem to be in the same room as her without his chest feeling heavy. He’s wondered if this is what Haley had felt like, realized that maybe this is what he got for hurting her, his own heartbreak.

“You’re right.” She says and when her voice shakes with emotion she sees his dark eyes soften momentarily. She leaves without another word, hides in the bathroom to gather herself for a few minutes. When she looks at her own reflection she wonders when she became the worst version of herself.

It’s another two weeks before he seeks her out, knocks on her hotel room door late at night. It’s been a rough day for all of them, but for her especially. Everyone had noticed how she had bitten her nails even as she shrugged Derek’s supportive touch off and ignored JJ’s gentle words. She wasn’t fine, they all knew it but no one wanted to push, because that’s not how their team worked.

“Hotch, what are you doing here?”

He’s Hotch to her now, and he hates how the name sounds coming from her lips.

“I thought we should talk.” He walks inside her hotel room even though she doesn’t invite him in, ignores the way he’s greeted by creamy skin as he looks at her dressed in nothing but a pink tank and matching shorts.

“Now?” She stays by the door, leans back against it as he stands in the middle of the room. He’s always imposing, even when he tries not to be, but she doesn’t think she’s ever seen him look so uncomfortable. His hands are fisted in the pocket of his sleeves, his hair slightly disheveled and she imagined that he’s run his hand through it as he pondered knocking on her door. “You shouldn’t be here just cause you feel bad.” She tells him then.

“I’m not.” He meets her eye and hopes that she sees that he’s being sincere. “I was going to talk to you when we got home, because I know that we need to. But then today…” His voice drops off and she pushes herself away from the door.

“Today an unsub who rapes and murders women almost took me and now you feel bad that you put me in that situation.” She finishes for him.

“Today you were in danger and I realized that if something did happen to you, things would still be unresolved between us. I don’t want us to be like this anymore, and I don’t think you do either.”

“I don’t.” She agrees. These last months had been agonizing, awkward and tense, clipped words and searching glances. She had gone to bed thinking about him, her first thought when waking up was still him, and everything she wanted to say to him, everything she wanted him to know. Everything she couldn’t tell him.

“I know we said no feelings.” He starts slowly, treading the waters to see how she’ll respond.

“You also said that you weren’t leaving Haley.” She knows it’s her defense immediately kicking into high gear but he doesn’t seem offended.

“I didn’t leave Haley for you, we would have ended anyways I just didn’t see it back then.” He watches as she sits on the bed and he sits on the one chair in the room. “We said no feelings and clearly, we’re past that.” He says again and this time the small glimmer of fight she still had in her seemed to disappear.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” She mumbles, her hair falling over her face slightly as she looks down at the comforter. “I didn’t mean for this.”

“Neither did I.” He says softly. “But now it has. And you’ve been clear that you don’t want more.” When she looks back up at him her eyes are wide, dark orbs shining with sadness.

For a moment everything between them is silent, Aaron giving her the time she needs and then she speaks.

“I just- I don’t know how to be with you in the way you deserve.”

“If that’s how you feel, we need to find a way to get past this. Because I don’t want to do this anymore, I don’t want us stuck in whatever this is, because we can’t work like this.”

“I am sorry, for everything, for all of it.” She stands from the bed just as he stands from the chair. When his hand cups her cheek she doesn’t expect it and she finds herself leaning into his touch. It’s been two months since he’s touched her and she immediately feels the effects of it.

“I’m not.” He tells her, because he isn’t. If this is how they were going to end, he didn’t regret it. She had brought back sides of himself that he had forgotten, had made him remember how it felt to be truly content, even if it only were for a few hours behind the walls of their homes. “I don’t regret a single thing. I just wish it would have ended differently.”

“Me too.” She’s not lying, but she wasn’t ready for what he wanted. She wasn’t ready for the commitment that in her mind would only end up in more heartache. That didn’t mean that she still felt the warmth of his hand on her cheek when he took a step back from her. “Aaron, we will get through this right?”

When he smiles softly she feels some of the anxiety in her chest lessen.

“Yes. We will, in time.” He assures her, because anything else wasn’t enough, not if they were going to stay in the same unit and he wasn’t going to leave, knew that she didn’t want that either. “It might take some time, and I wasn’t ready before, but I want to work through this and if you do too, we can do it.”

She nods, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

“I want to, too.”

It’s not easy, but every day gets a little easier. He talks to Dave about it, still the only one besides Haley who knew, and watches as she gets closer to Derek. It’s not jealousy, not really, but sometimes he found himself wishing that it was him she’d talk to and joke with. Like she did before.

It’s not easy, but every day they’re finding their new normal. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t the occasional look or the longing for more. The attraction was still there, that would probably never change.

It’s not easy and some days Emily wonders if they’re lying to themselves. But then it’s been weeks and they’ve somehow managed to get into a routine where they pretend the last several months hadn’t happened.

Until that night.

It’s pouring down outside, the rain heavy and cold against his skin as he stands outside her building, but he barely feels it. Sometimes the wight of their job really takes its toll and knowing that he’s not enough is a pill too bitter to swallow. Today he wasn’t enough, wasn’t a good enough father because he missed another milestone in Jack’s life, Haleys angry message still on his phone. He wasn’t good enough of a profiler, because a young teenager lost her life. He wasn’t good enough of a leader because Spencer got hurt. He wasn’t good enough and he needed to get away.

The water drips from him when he knocks on her door, soaking the carpet underneath his feet as he waits for the door to swing open. When it does and he sees her, he finally feels like he can breathe again.

“I know I shouldn’t be here. But I needed to see you.” He says immediately.

She takes one look at him before stepping aside. It didn’t take a profiler to see the devastation on him. But even then, she knew why he was here. They had always been each other’s escape, apparently that hadn’t changed.

“Come in.” Her voice is soft, almost gentle and he passes her into her apartment.

He hangs his coat up and hates the fact that he already feels better. It smells the same, smells like Emily.

“I don’t want to talk.” He tells her and when her arms warp around his waist from behind and her soft lips press against the back of her neck he relaxes into it.

“I know.”

He lets her get him undressed before they’re even in the bedroom, her own clothes following and when she kisses him it’s with everything she’s held back for weeks. He groans softly into it, his arms wrapping around her to pull her close as they find their way to the bed, like so many times before.

“One last time?” She whispers in between kisses as he sits down on the edge of the bed and she straddles him.

“One last time.” He agrees, hands moving over familiar curves and soft skin. He breathes in her scent as he kisses down her neck, and when she moans as his hands grab her behind to pull her further into his lap, he licks the vibration of it.

He’s already hard between them, and she grinds into it as he continues to pepper kisses along her body. His lips wrap around her nipple and she gasps, feeling the heat of his touch and mouth quickly spread to settle between her thighs and she feels her own slick coat his shaft.

“Don’t stop, that feels so good.” She lets her fingers twist in his short hair to keep him from stopping, keeping his mouth around her nipples and chuckles breathlessly when his tongue play with the nipple bar. His hips push up against her in response to her breathy sounds and when he pushes against her clit her head falls back and her back arches, so he does it again and again, until she’s dizzy with want and she’s lifting her hips enough to align him with her.

“Fuck, Em.” He hisses at the tight heat of her, his eyes closed tight as she settles above him.

“That’s it, god no one makes me feel like this.” The words are whispered through labored breaths, and they seem to spur him on. She can tell that he needs the reassurance, needs to hear something good after the day he’s had, and she has no problems showing exactly how good he’s making her feel, especially after months of being without him.

She rides him, pushes him down flat on the bed and keeps her hand on his chest to steady herself as her hips twists and grinds on his lap. One of his hands stay on her hip, the other moves between them to toy with her clit and as he circles it she grunts, the sound raspy and low.

“Just like that, fuck Aaron just like that, so good.”

His eyes are dark and heavy-lidded as he watches her, takes in the vision of her as she helps him forget about his day. He didn’t know exactly why he had gone to her, but as she whispered filthy words against his ear and clenched around him, he realized that she knew exactly what he needed. It wasn’t often he would let go, but with her he could and felt safe enough to do so.

It's only a few minutes later that she’s starting to tense, her hips buckling and thighs quivering and he circles her clit faster, pushes his hips up against hers a little harder.

“Come for me.” He tells her and she does. She comes with his name on her lips and body spasming hard in his lap. He barely gives her time to come down before flipping them around until he’s hovering above her.

“You’re so pretty when you come.” He whispers as he starts thrusting, making her feel the entire length of him as he fucks her lazily.

“No one makes me come like you do.” She wraps her legs around him, keeps his face in the crook of his neck as he speeds up. “That’s it, good, you feel so good inside of me.”

He’s pretty sure his teeth will bruise her when he bites down on her shoulder to hold back a loud grunt but she doesn’t seem to mind, in fact she seems to revel in it. He feels her slick walls start to tighten around him again and when her nails start to dig into his back he knows she’s getting close again. She was always so receptive to him, always had been and it only makes him fuck her harder, and she moans louder, her name falling from her lips.

“Don’t stop, you’re going to make me come again.” She pulls him into a breathless kiss, messy and more teeth and tongue than lips but the taste of him is the last push she needs before she’s coming, euphoria spreading through her until she feels like she can barely breathe. He’s close too, his muscles tight and jaw tense as he swears through clenched teeth.

“Let me hear how good it feels, let me hear you baby.” She pleads and he immediately lets out a sound somewhere between a growl and her name. “You fuck me so good.” Her eyes meet his and she’s sure he’s never looked more sexy, dark eyes blown black, sweat dripping down his temple, hair ruffled and hanging over his forehead, evening stubble on his face.

“C-close.” He grunts and she nods, desperate to feel him give in to his own release.

“That’s it Aaron,” She gasps when his fingers interlock with hers. “let me feel it, look at me when you come.”

And he does, his eyes stay on hers as he moans and grunts against her face, his hips jerking against hers as he gives in to the pleasure of his orgasm. They only break eye-contact when he collapses on top of her, his forehead on her shoulder and she carefully strokes his back with the hand that’s not interlocked with his.

“Thank you.” He breathes and she hums softly.

“Anytime.”

They fall asleep intertwined with each other and when he wakes up a couple of hours later he knows that he needs to leave. He doesn’t want to but he knows he needs to. When he gets out of bed she wakes up, bleary eyed as she turns to look at him.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.” He whispers and she shrugs.

“I haven’t been sleeping very well.” She doesn’t need to tell him why, he already knows. “I’ll see you at the office tomorrow.”

He smiles, because he doesn’t want to say goodbye. That felt too final, so instead he takes her hand and squeezes it.

“Tomorrow.”

#hotchniss #hotchniss fanfiction #hotchniss smut #aaron hotchner x emily prentiss smut #aaron hotchner x emily prentiss #hotch x emily #criminal minds smut #criminal minds fanfiction

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viridiave · 4 months

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forced myself into a state where i can actually indulge in 8path for exactly a day and I'll probably fuck back right into the void after this. but hey. hey. if you have octopath 2.

play the update. play the update, it's like god - we were meant to love and fear it

my full notes (live reaction reenactment) on the update under the cut, SPOILERS AHEAD!

NOBLE TEAM

IT'S FUCKING REAL

I STILL CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE IT'S REAL

HHHUH

THEIR SPRITES ARE LOWER RES BUT IT'S NOT STOPPING THEM

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN THEY HAVE COMBO MOVES

WHAT

WHAT IN THE MOTHER OF FUCKING GOD IS THIS

FUCK EVERY POLL YOU'VE EVER SEEN ABOUT THE ORSTERRA CREW VS SOLISTIA CREW AIN'T NOBODY IS FUCKING SAFE

THEY CAN BOOST??????? HELLO???? FUCKING EXCUSE ME?????

god fucking of course Olberic has motherfucking BOLSTER DEFENSE

OPHILIA??? COUNTERS???? ELEMENTAL AND FUCKING PHYSICAL??? SINCE WHEN

OPHILIA AND ALFYN TAG-TEAM FUAOSJAKSAKSKA THEY HAVE MOTHERFUCKIGN COMBO MOVES????

OH MY GOD TRESSA AND OLBERIC TOO

MY ASS IS DEAD IT'S SO DEAD

NO OF COURSE HOLY SHIT OF FUCKING COURSE TRESSA ALSO HAS MOTHERFUCKING HIRED HELP AKJKAS

ophilia's buff rotation is interesting. i can't tell if she's going right-side down or if she's actively prioritizing certain members

WAIT THEY HAVE NEW VOICE LINES

HOLY FUCK????

i NEED to see the battle AI. show me the specs Square Enix I fucking beg you.

ALFYN'S CONCOCTS ARE SO MEAN OH MY GOD

CASTTI CAN DO FIVE AT ONCE BUT IT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER TO ALFYN

why did i try and face them with Noble Team members too

well okay i guess. i guess we'd just be straight-up dead if i didn't have castti teme and partitio here jesus Hikari's carrying damage

too bad i never use him as DPS

TRESSA

TRESSA NO WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN YOU INCREASE DEFENSE WHEN YOU GET BROKEN

TRESSA WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN YOU'LL BUY MY FUCKING WEAPONS

WHA

WAIT YOU DIDN'T EVEN GIVE ME MONEY FOR IT I HAVE TO BUY IT BACK FROM YOU

Therion was a bad influence on her lmao

AND OLBERIC'S NOT WEAK TO STAVES RIP

WHY IS TRESSA WEAK TO STAVES

my ass is so fucking cooked

THEY HAVE FUCKING JOB CHANGES?????

OH MY GOD SCHOLAR OPHILIA IS CANON

THEY HAVE NEW MOVES I'M DEAD I'M SO FUCKING DEADDDDD

WAIT

HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE

HUNTER ALFYN

I FEEL UNREASONABLY FUCKINGVALIDATED AKSJAKSAKSKAS

oh god what are Tressa and Olberic

hOLD UP ALFYN AND HIS ARROWS WAHAHAHAHAHA WHAT THE HELLLLL

oh.

oh my god.

w. warmaster olberic

wARMASTER OLBERIC IS REAL

….NOOOOOOOO I'M SO FUCKING DEAD WARMASTER OLBERIC IS REAL IT'S OVER IT'S SO OVER I'M DEADDDDD TO HIMMMMM

sidenote: i'm writing all of this after the fact, trying VERY hard to recreate my real-time reactions. and uh. this. this made me get up from my fucking chair and scream into a pillow so loud people thought i was getting anal

I didn't

oh. wait. if. if he's real.

and Tressa's on the field.

there she is. the motherfucker herself.

RUNELORD FUCKING TRESSA

I WAS DEAD BEFORE NOW I'M IN MOTHERFUCKING SUPER HELL. THERE WAS NEVER A CHANCE

NO OH GOD HERE IT COMES TRANSFER FUCKING RUNE

WE'RE PAYING FOR OUR HUBIRS WITH BLOOD AND THE SCREAMS OF THE DAMNED

…WAIT HOLY SHIT ALFYN AND OPHILIA ARE IN THE RED

THERE'S A CHANCE

THERE'S A CHANCEEE

HIKARI'S POPPING THE FUCK OFF

oh my god of course Brand's Blade is a 1 hit KO move

i'm scared. i don't want him to wreak havoc on me i need to keep fucking breaking him -

ALFYN'S DOWN

HE WAS THE MOST DANGEROUS ONE THAT'S GOOD

OPHILIA DOWWWWWNNNNNN

ALRIGHT JUST. TIME FOR THE 2 GOD MODE TRAVELERS I GUESS

god it'd be so mean if i saved Olberic for last. but he put that on himself he has motherfucking Physical Prowess as a passive

oh no Temenos is the only thing that can kill him huh.

OF COURSE HE GOES FOR THE FUCKING MAGE EVERY TIME

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN THE RUNES BYPASS SIDESTEP???? THEY'RE ELEMENTAL NOW????

H E L L

OH SHIT TRESSA'S IN THE RED THERE'S A FUCKING CHANCE

TRESSA'S DOWN

alright 4 travelers at full health with sidestep and defense buffs out the ass. we'll be good we'll be good we can weather olberic. thank you Prayer for Plenty

THIS FEELS MEAN I REGRET IT NOW LMAO

THAT DIDN'T KILL HIM

oh no his full buffs

WAIT NO HIRED HELP BEASTLINGS. JUST ONE MORE

FUCK YEEEEE

what

wha wha what the fuck wai

w-wait

H H U H

OPHILIA YOU WERE DEAD HOW THE FUCK DID YOU REVIVE EVERYONE WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?????

WAS THAT JUST PHASE 1???

NOOOOO WE'RE SO DEAD

oh wait they're changing back

…oh no. they're more dangerous like this somehow

WAIT

WHAT'S HAPPENING HUH

WHY DID HE CHALLENGE HIKARI WHAT

WAIT WHY IS IT ONLY THEM

HOW LONG DOES THIS FUCKING LAST FOR?????

they're just in a cycle of countering and evading jesus

oh ok that answers tha -

TRESSA

TRESSA WHAT THE F U C K

TRESSA GIVE ME MY FUCKING MONEY BACK WHAT THE FUCK??? WHAT THE FUCK

HIRED HELP BEASTLINGS WAS THE ONLY WAY I COULD BREAK THEM THAT'S SO MEAN

oh my god i'm dead

TRESSA WHAT THE FUCKA SKAJSAKS SHE CALLED OVER THE FUCKING??? ROGUE CREW??? HOW

WHAT

WHY

WAIT

WAIT SHIT I'M JUST DEAD

…i need to lie down

ROGUE TEAM

okay rogue crew what do you have for me

i'm so scared oh my god

GOD

WAIT

THERION YOU SON OF A BITCH GIVE ME BACK MY ITEMS

THEY HAVE INCIDENTAL ATTACK???? FUCK OFFFFF

LINDE'S HERE

…OH FUCK LINDE'S HERE

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN CYRUS CAN LOCK HIS FUCKING WEAKNESSES

god of course he's DPS in this fight. cyrus is just. too much man

of course Cyrus is weak to Swords. and Daggers apparently

WAIT WHAT

PRIMROSE???

FUCKING HELL

WELL OK PRIMROSE SAID HAPPY PRIDE MONTH SHE JUST ALLURED THRONE

O WAIT POG PRIMROSE AND THERION COMBO

OH THERE IT IS CYRUS AND H'AAN COMBO!!!

…WHY ARE THEY BOTH SO BUSTED

did

did Cyrus just. give me a weakness.

what

what the fuck

AY YO WHAT THE FUCK

yeah ok i'm dead.

i'll. i'll try again later i need to see how Noble Team plays out till the end

ALRIGHT WE'RE BACK IN THERE WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR ME ROGUE CREW

FUCK I FORGOT THIS WAS THE FIGHT WHERE CASTTI'S USELESS

oh my god they're cooking. i feel so unsafe. Therion is even more of a little bitch than usual

ALRIGHT GOD GUESS I'LL FUCK MYSELF WE'RE DEAD IKE 5 MINUTES IN LMAOOOO

MOTHERFUCKER I FORGOT H'AANIT HAS FUCKING PATIENCE

you know what Temenos doesn't need. Salt the Wound. why the hell did I put that on him

HOW LONG DOES ALLURE LAST FOR JESUS

oh my god Ochette. Ochette's Beastly Claws are NASTY damage woah. I need to make her do that more often

WELL ALRIGHT CYRUS IF YOU'RE GONNA BE A BITCH LIKE THAT

i wonder if they had to get chris niosi back for this role or if they just. had all these extra voice lines lying around

still not over the sprite quality being so drastically different lmao

hired help Beastlings save me. save me Hired Help Beastlings

O-OH. OH NOOO…

DAMN WHY CAN'T I HAVE THIS MUCH LUCK WITH BEWILDERING GRACE???

sidestep is saving my ass right now

I love that Primrose keeps piling her buffs onto H'aanit Square Enix said happy pride

HUH

MERCHANT THERION IS REAL LMAO

…OH NO DIVINE WIND

HE JUST STOLE OUR FUCKING LICENSES AKSJAS FUCK YOU THERION

AH THERE HE IS AKSJASK SORCEROR CYRUS - WAIT WE WERE ACTUALLY INTIMIDATED BY THIS STEPHEN STRANGE LOOKING TWINK LMAO

UNFORTUNATE

STARSEER PRIMROSE OF COURSEEEEE

AND THERE'S WARRIOR H'AAN JUST TO ROUND IT OUT

GANG'S ALL HERE SQUARE ENIX HAS SPOKEN

i could say i'm surviving but. the reality is that all 11 of my plums are GONE

alright Grail of Life don't fail me now

GOD OF COURSE SHE'D TARGET PARTITIO WHO HAS THE FUCKING DIFFUSE

alright time to stall

AAAAA THERION'S DOWN THANK FUCK

AIGHT SEE YA PRIM

CYRUS DOWN. STAY DOWN.

H'AAN LEFT ALRIGHT COME AND FUCK ME UP PHASE 3

what

what the fuck

i get ophilia and the aelfric thing but what the fuck happened here

NO FUCKING WAY THERION JUST STOLE OUR EX MOVES

GODDAMNIT TEMENOS IS USELESS NOW

GODDAMNIT TEMENOS IS EVEN MORE USELESS NOW AKSJA PRIMROSE STOP TAKING HIM

oh my god what do you mean H'aanit can also Provoke all

LINDE PHYSICAL PURSUIT I'M IN HELL

and Cyrus has. delayed attacks.

…good thing i never lasted long enough to figure out if that thing 1-hit KOs JESUS

#octopath traveler #octopath traveler 2 #vir rambles about octopath yet again #this time unfiltered #no i'm never fixing these #i'm soooo not tagging everyone lmao #ot2 spoilers #octopath spoilers #crazy update right #G O D #i never touched the last one i could care less about the last one i'm SORRY AKSJAS #alright time to disappear again bye bye #if anyone's curious HELL NAH I didn't manage to beat them lmao do i look like a gamer

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thebiggerbear · 9 months

Text

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - Anael Prompt Response

Summary: Anael calls you to pick her up after she leaves Cas back at the Emporium. Having just come off of a rough hunt, you're really not that inclined to be at the angel's beck and call.

Pairing: Anael x Female!Reader; Anael x Female!Huntress Reader

A/N: Prompt from @creativepromptsforwriting (#941). For Anael's version of this prompt response, I had quite a few ideas that got written but just didn't seem to work out for one reason or another. Eventually, I settled on this and the more I wrote it, the more it felt right to me. So, I hope it's okay.

This is meant to take place right after 14x17.

Unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine.

Warnings: mentions of drug-like usage/using behavior; implied sex; mentions of child death

Word Count: 4186

Taglist: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187; @rieleatiel

Anael Taglist: @nancymcl; @brightlilith

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that."

Soldier Boy version ✨ Beau version ✨ Dean version ✨ Jenny version ✨ Jason version ✨ Tom version ✨ CJ version ✨ Rachel version ✨ Alec version ✨ SDV Leah version

Your phone started to buzz on the table and when you glanced at the screen, you let out a snort. You seriously contemplated letting the call go to voicemail but you figured that would be more trouble than it was worth in the end. You swiped up on the screen and held the phone to your ear.

“Yeah,” You greeted.

“It’s me.”

You rolled your eyes. “I know. What do you want?”

You heard her scoff on the other end. Good, maybe she was finally getting the message. “Wow, bypassing the small talk and getting right to it, huh? Why, I’m doing well, Y/N, and thanks for asking. I’m so glad I called.”

You wiped your hands on a rag. “Cut the crap, Ana. You and I both know you wouldn’t have called if you didn’t need something. So, what do you need?”

She was silent for a moment and you could just imagine the scowl on her face. “I need a ride,” she sniffed.

“A ride?” You nearly laughed. “Last I checked, you’re an angel. Can’t you, you know, fly wherever you need to?” You knew you were being a bit of an ass but you didn’t care; it was better this way.

“You know I can’t fly.” You could practically hear her eyes roll through the phone. “And even if I could, with everything that’s going on right now, it’s better to keep a low profile.”

“Michael’s gone, Ana. Well, that Michael anyway. You don’t need to worry anymore,” you assured her, a bit of compassion leaking from your tone. You couldn’t help it; you’d seen how unsettled she’d been after Michael, who was wearing Dean Winchester at the time, paid her a visit. She’d almost looked scared and as she told you all too often, angels didn’t get scared. It had taken some coaxing (not as much as you expected though) but you managed to finally get her to do the right thing and call Sam Winchester to give him a heads up about his brother’s location as well as Michael’s plan. That was the thing about the angel you were currently on the line with. She talked a big game and pretended she didn’t care, she appeared to only be interested in money, couture, and having the table tilted towards her. However, you knew differently.

For instance, when she counted money, yes she was committing the amount to mind, but she also did it as a nervous tic (which was weird for an angel to have). While as a super-strong celestial being she could brazenly count her money anywhere in front of anyone and never worry, she never did it in front of the people she was helping. “Bad for business.” That’s what she’d told you when you first asked but you noticed that she counted the same bills that she had counted an hour beforehand and the amount hadn’t changed. There was something comforting to her about having the cash in hand, whether because she had been smart and made it on her own, or it gave her a sense of freedom from the existence she had known previously as well as instilling a feeling of value within her. Before she’d been a button pusher and punished for asking questions; now she was a self-made businesswoman and her own boss, answering to no one.

She also appeared to be vain and completely full of herself, thanks to her vessel’s beautiful looks and how she presented herself through the actual Jo. Though through your association together, when she believed you and the others weren’t looking, you caught her healing a hurt child or a sick old woman without asking for any form of payment. You’d gotten to know her and you believed there was a good side to her, when she wasn’t being self-serving that is. But then again what did you know about celestial beings?

Which is what had you straightening up and clearing your throat quietly, removing all softness from your voice. “So you can get someone else to pick you up, hell take an Uber for all I care, but I’m in the middle of something and I can’t just drop everything to come get you whenever the hell you decide to call.”

Silence.

You tossed the rag you had been using onto the workbench. You had been changing the oil on your car, having just arrived back from a particularly brutal case the night before. Maintaining the classic car you drove, keeping to routine, that was your own source of comfort. You waited for her to respond to you, most likely some snippy yet witty reply. Most other hunters might not be willing to risk pissing off an angel, but Ana was no ordinary angel and you weren’t any other hunter. You two might not have the bond Dean Winchester had with Castiel, but you and Ana seemed to share an understanding. Well, most of the time.

“How bad?”

“What?”

“How bad?” She repeated. “The case. How bad was it?”

You hung your head, pressing your lips into a thin line. She definitely knew you more than you gave her credit for. “Pretty bad,” you mumbled.

“Your crew?”

You let out a breath. “Still all accounted for. Though they’ll be taking a well-earned short vacation for the time being.” The truth was you all needed a breather after that.

“Y/N.”

“Yeah?”

“Come pick me up,” she urged, not sounding so demanding this time. “I’m not that far from you.”

This wasn’t a good idea. “Ana, I don’t—”

“Come see me,” she coaxed softly. “You need me, I can tell.”

Your reflex was to automatically protest her words. “I don’t need—” But then you thought about how you hadn’t slept a wink since what happened and how you’d had to consistently bury yourself into something to occupy your mind, trying not to think of the sound of the kids’ screams or how they’d looked after. You also thought about how you were running on fumes, hanging by a thread, and you were struggling really hard to put this one behind you.

“You do,” she insisted, almost as if she heard your thoughts.

You thought it over for a moment. You really could go for a drive, to try to clear your head if for nothing else. But at the same time, you wanted your space and company was the last thing you wanted, especially hers. She had a way of seeing right through you; you supposed it was her being an angel and all. But right now all you wanted to do was curl into yourself and retreat from the world until things in your head made sense again (because the world never would).

“Y/N,” she tried again, her tone still gentle yet also letting you know she wasn’t going to let this go. The more you resisted, the more she was going to push. Even if she did indeed have to get a ride from someone else. You could almost guarantee, somehow, someway, she’d be on your doorstep before the night’s end.

Fuck it. You sighed and moved over to the sink to wash your hands. “What’s the address?”

You watched as Ana approached the old pick-up you’d chosen to drive instead of your car, opting to stay lowkey, and she got in. Her brown eyes were intent on you from the moment she settled into her seat. You knew she could see just how broken you were after last night, how you were barely hanging on, and you hated it.

“Find us a place,” she commanded.

You shot her a look. “Ana…”

“Find one.” Her tone brooked no argument.

You flashed a glare over at her but shifted the truck into gear regardless and did as she said. You knew she wouldn’t let up until you did.

You coasted to a stop and put the truck into park before turning it off. You had found an inconspicuous spot at what looked to be a park for bike riders, power walkers, and wanderers alike. There appeared to be a pond in the middle and ducks were floating along the glassy surface that was studded with flowers and lilypads. The wind rustled through the trees and the sun was just starting to sink down behind the mountains, painting the sky in hues of pink, purple, yellow, and orange — a marriage of shades of color that Man had not been able to replicate entirely, leaving Nature as the sole artist to achieve that palette. It was beautiful and all you could think about was how the family you’d tried to save would never get to see a sky like this ever again (or any sky for that matter). It poured salt into the wound when you spied two young children running around, laughing, as their mother playfully chased after them, smiling wide. You hoped they would stay as happy as they were in this moment and that they would never know the horrors that you knew all too well, that they would never know what existed in the shadows of this world around them, just waiting to gobble them up and snuff them out.

“You’re not injured,” Ana determined, her penetrative gaze still roaming over you. “Not physically at least.”

Your eyes flickered to hers and you gave her a look, but you didn’t say anything before you turned back to the sunset.

You felt her hand begin to cover yours and you moved it quickly away, shifting uncomfortably in your seat. “Ana…”

“Y/N.” She sounded completely unfazed by your pulling away, so much so that you turned to look at her. She was focused on you, her eyes never moving from yours, as she reached out to you. “Let me help,” she urged.

“Ana, I don’t think—”

She huffed out an impatient breath. “That’s your problem. Stop thinking.” She slid closer to you in the bucket seat and her hands framed your face. “Let me help you,” she murmured before leaning in and placing her lips over yours.

As expected, a warm tingly feeling shot through you from where her lips and hands connected to your skin. It was almost like that warm feeling you get in your gut after taking your first shot of liquor that feels like fanning an ember back into a slow-building flame. Though this particular warmth was now throughout every single inch of your body, touching every single cell of your existence. And it grew and grew until a huge wave of warm and light washed over you. Once it did, your head slowly fell back against the headrest and a bright blue-white haze covered your vision. You could see Ana smiling down at you, from her perch on your lap that she had somehow moved into during the kiss. She looked even more beautiful in this light though you still couldn’t see past the face of Jo to Ana’s true form. That disappointed you a little though you expected it. She had told you some time ago that you would never be able to see it, that it was dangerous to humans if they tried and could even prove fatal. It still didn’t mean you didn’t want to see a glimpse of it though someday. You had no idea why you wanted to see it; you just did.

Ana moved some loose strands of hair out of your face. “There. Feel better?”

“Mmm.” You slowly closed your eyes, enjoying the feelings coursing through you. “Much.” It was true. You felt like you could jump out of the truck and go run a 5K or climb the highest mountain without having to take one single break. You even felt like you could swim the English Channel. It was amazing what a little angelic grace could do to the human body.

“Good.” She laid her hands against your cheeks and forced your gaze up to meet hers. You noticed that she was inches from your lips again. “Now, take me somewhere nice.”

The nicest place ended up being a motel on the edge of town (the best room they had of course, one that the clerk assured Ana was cleaned regularly while he looked clearly annoyed that she had the nerve to ask) where you holed up for the next day or so. It was a blur of moans, tender caresses, and grace injections as you’d come to refer to them. Each time you were about to crash, Ana would take your angel blade and cut a tiny slice on the skin of her neck that immediately glowed bluish-white. You loved it when she did that because you would latch your lips to that spot and consume the little bit of grace you could get before the wound closed, and she would arch her back before prettily moaning into your ear, gently holding the back of your head to that spot.

You weren’t a grace junkie as Ana liked to call you sometimes but you couldn’t deny that when she offered up trace amounts of grace like this, especially when you needed a boost, you absolutely took it. In your line of work, with what you’d see on the daily, how could you not take it when offered? The thin thread you’d been hanging on now felt as if it wouldn’t snap so easily, like it had been fortified in steel or something. But at the same time, you hated yourself for allowing the energy into your system, allowing her to be the one to feed it to you, though you would never take it from any other angel.

One of the rare moments in between injections, Ana was laying next to you, holding herself up by her elbow, her head in her hand as she studied you. You were on your back, staring up at the ceiling.

“Feel like talking about it now?”

You briefly glanced over at her, huffing a laugh, as you folded an arm behind your head. “Is that what this was all about? Getting me to talk about it?”

“You were in pain,” she defended.

Your eyes met hers and you could see the tender concern behind them. It always caught you off guard, the genuine care she seemed to have for you. That certainly hadn’t been the case when you two first met. It seemed like a lifetime ago when you’d held an angel blade to her throat, demanding to know where a certain rogue angel was located. And now, here you were…in this very weird space otherwise known as your working relationship.

You supposed she was right; you had been in pain, in a way. You turned your head to stare back up at the ceiling, not wanting to look at Ana for this part. “It was a Rugaru. It got to a family before we could stop it.” You briefly squeezed your eyes shut, not wanting those images to come back. “It was feeding on the two small kids when we got there. The parents were already gone. The screams, Ana…” You shook your head. “We killed it right there. But, um, it was too late for the kids.” You wiped a stray tear that had made its way down your cheek. “They hadn’t even made it to double digits yet.” You clenched your jaw. “We should have figured it out and gotten there sooner.”

Ana tenderly brushed hair away from your face. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Yeah, it is,” you whispered. “Any other hunter would have picked up on what they were dealing with and saved that family.”

“Okay, first off, that’s not true. Second, you were not the only hunter there. And third, who’s to say if other hunters had been in your place that they would have been able to save the family?”

“They would’ve. Had it been the Winchesters, they definitely would’ve.”

Ana gripped your chin and turned you to look at her. “Don’t do this to yourself. The monster killed that family, not you. And you put an end to it so it will never hurt anyone again. You hunters do more for this flawed world in a week than most people do in their lifetimes. You do more than angels or Heaven or God himself even. You put your life on the line every single day to help people you’ve never met before, to keep them safe. You stand in between them and the monsters. You don’t get paid, you hardly get any thanks, you see some of the worst things that most humans will never see, and yet, you still continue to do it.”

“Isn’t that the job? Saving people, hunting things?” You teased.

She frowned down at you. “Don’t do that. Don’t make light of what I’m saying because you feel uncomfortable.”

“I’m not,” you insisted. “I just…” You threw up a hand, shaking your head.

Her expression softened and she stroked your cheek. “You’re a good person, Y/N, and a good hunter. Don’t ever doubt yourself. You can’t save everyone though you try. By killing that monster, you saved many families. Don’t forget that.”

You pressed your lips together and dropped your gaze. You knew she meant well and she was right, you couldn’t save everyone, but it still was going to take you some time to get past this one. You weren’t the only one feeling that way, either. You weren’t entirely sure if all of the hunters in your group would be coming back, two individuals in particular. They’d been the ones to tend to the kids and hold them as they died while you and the others took down the Rugaru. You couldn’t blame them if they decided to hang it up after this.

Ana gripped your chin a little tighter, making your eyes dart up to her face, and you watched as she studied you, appearing to be contemplating something. Before you could ask what she was thinking, she slowly leaned down and pressed her lips to yours. This time, though, you didn’t feel any grace coursing through your skin.

She pulled away after a few moments and you stared up at her in confusion. Giving you a tender smile, she trailed her finger along your jawline. “I like you, Y/N. You’re one of the better humans I’ve met since I’ve been down here.”

“You like me?” You asked in disbelief.

“Does that surprise you?”

“Um, yeah? I thought you couldn’t stand me most of the time.”

“Not most of the time, just sometimes. I certainly can stomach you more than any other human.”

“Wow. I feel special.”

“You should.” She ran her finger down the bridge of your nose to the tip. “Do you think I go around giving my grace to just anyone?”

“Well, there was Lucifer.”

“That was different,” she snapped.

“You heal a lot of people, which I’m all for by the way.”

She leaned back in. “But they don’t get it directly from the source and they don’t get the perks I give you,” she finished right above your lips before kissing you again. This time, you could feel grace being infused into your skin and running rampant through your system. When she broke away from you, you opened your eyes to find that familiar bluish-white haze covering your vision. It was like seeing in 20/20 vision, only a hundred thousand times better.

Ana ran a finger along your lips and as always, you could feel the touch that much more, sending tingles through your body. Glancing up at her, you started thinking about other touches and how they would feel magnified like this. Then you remembered what some people usually did to feel alive again after seeing death and how fleeting life could be.

Within seconds, you were sitting up and you grabbed her and moved her to your lap, very aware that she had let you do it. You saw her smirking down at you as she framed your face with your hands.

“You know, you say you like me but I’m wondering just how much.”

“Oh really?”

“I think we should find out.” You yanked her closer against you and she shook her head, smirking even wider. You tugged the back of her hair, forcing her to arch her neck and she let out a tiny gasp. You knew it was more for theatrical effect than anything else.

“Don’t forget, this is Mulberry silk,” she warned you. “You get blood on it, I’ll kill you, no matter if I like you.”

You used your free hand to place a finger to her lips. “You’re talking way too much. All I want to hear out of this mouth right now are the pretty sounds you make or you begging me for more.” Normally, unless you were in the bedroom you didn’t talk like this, but you could feel the grace fueling everything deep within you, even your ego.

“I won’t be begging.”

“You will,” you whispered into her ear before nibbling on the lobe. “I’ll make sure of it.”

You grabbed the angel blade and created a tiny slice in her skin, seeing the grace peeking out at you from within. Ana placed her hands on your shoulders but she didn’t resist as you swiped your tongue over the wound. “I hate you,” she finished in a moan.

You huffed out a laugh when you felt her pull you closer, her fingers winding into your hair to hold you to her. “You have a weird way of showing that.” You dropped the angel blade on the floor and moved in for the kill.

You had been right; not only did you get Ana to beg, you felt everything a hundred million times more than you normally would. And she had been right; not only did she like you, the shattered glass littering the room and the car horns blaring outside when you were finished proved just how much.

You licked your lips nervously as you parked the pickup, your body having returned to its normal state less than an hour ago. “Listen,” you started. “That was a one time thing.”

Ana turned a smirk onto you, knowing full well how this little back and forth went between you afterwards. “No. It wasn’t.”

“Yeah, it was.”

She turned in her seat to fully face you, laying a hand on your shoulder. “It wasn’t the last few times it happened and it won’t be the next few times. Not to mention we have another motel we nearly destroyed.” She squeezed your shoulder. “I know you don’t want to admit it to yourself, but you like me, too.”

Your jaw tightened and you glared at her, but kept quiet.

She leaned in and you didn’t stop her when she kissed you, no grace involved this time. “Now, you go enjoy your well-deserved break from hunting. Me? I’ve got some business to take care of.” She inclined her head towards the church you were dropping her off at, the sign welcoming Sister Jo, the faith healer. “I’ll call you when I’m finished.”

You watched as she got out of the truck and turned back to you, resting her hand on the open window ledge. Her smirk was cocky, knowing, but her eyes appeared a little softer when she trained them on you. “Until then, Y/N.” She shot you a wink and then walked away.

You watched as she made her way into the church. You thought over what she said. Yeah, you liked her, but you weren’t about to admit that to her. It didn’t matter if she admitted it to you first. She was still an angel, a fallen angel who lied when it suited her and money was the name of the game for her. At least on the outside. But the Ana you’d gotten to know over the last year, ever since you’d crossed her path in your quest for revenge against one of her fallen brothers who had murdered your hunting partner…she was different and she was who you liked. You just wished…well, that things could be different. That she wasn’t an angel and that you could have met some other way. But no matter what you wished, this was your reality and there was no changing it. Ana was an angel and you were having whatever this was with one. If your old hunting partner could see you now…

You shook that thought out of your head and started the pickup, driving away from the church, headed back to your place. You told yourself for the millionth time that the next time Ana called you, you wouldn’t pick up. But a part of you knew that you would, and this scenario would play out again, as it had many times before. You knew she was right and you hated her for that. The disappointment you felt at yourself knew no bounds.

You switched on the radio, picking a familiar song and choosing to get lost in the music instead of your thoughts. Until then.

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badbatchposts · 6 months

Text

Quiet Corners of the Galaxy, Chapter 7

While on a routine mission for Cid, the Bad Batch encounter a woman fleeing from the Empire. Crosshair suspects her seemingly free-spirited, nomadic existence is actually a cover for something else, but struggles to keep his attraction toward her in check as their personalities and ideals clash.

Relevant tags: Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut (it finally starts getting spicy in a couple more chapters!), Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use

Chapters posted 1-2x weekly!

Read the full fic so far on AO3

Read previous chapters on Tumblr: Ch. 1 l Ch. 2 l Ch. 3 l Ch. 4 l Ch. 5 l Ch. 6

Chapter 7 summary: Dara joins them on a mission. She performs a little too coolly under pressure.

“I don’t want her staying on the ship alone,” Crosshair insisted. The Batch was huddled together in the cockpit as they began their approach to the red planet which loomed largely through the Marauder’s viewport. Dara had returned to her makeshift room in the cargo hold just as they were exiting hyperspace, and the sniper meant to take advantage of her temporary absence to continue to voice his protestations against her involvement.

“We need someone to remain behind to provide a pick-up when we make our exit,” Tech insisted impatiently. “And our infiltration strategy requires five.”

“That won’t matter if she takes off with our ship and leaves us stranded,” Crosshair replied angrily. The others considered the dilemma; he had a point.

“Why didn’t you bring that up before we made this plan?!” Hunter protested.

“Why did you insist on bringing a complete stranger with us to break someone out of jail?!” the sniper shot back.

“Hey!” Echo, as always, stepped up to mediate. “Think this through first, fight about it later. Tech and I are needed to access the back entrance. Crosshair is setting up decoy fire at the landing pad and front entrance. Hunter and Wrecker are setting the charges to first draw their attention and later cover our escape. How about Hunter stays with the ship and Dara helps with the charges.”

Dara returned before the issue could be debated further. “Change of plans, boys?” she asked.

Hunter nodded. “Just a small one. How do you feel about helping Wrecker instead? You shouldn’t have to engage with anyone directly. Just a bit of sneaking around and property destruction to keep them occupied while we go after the real target. Not that we doubt your piloting skills, but the Marauder’s a complicated ship, and if things go sideways it might be a bit chaotic getting us out of there.”

“Oh, sure,” Dara agreed affably. “That and you don’t want to have to worry about someone you just met stealing your transport and leaving you for dead.” She chuckled at the squad’s vaguely embarrassed expressions, ignoring Crosshair’s sneer. “It’s okay, I get it. Trust is built, right? I’ll just go with Wrecker.”

“Yeah!” the giant clapped her on the back enthusiastically, nearly knocking her over. “This’ll be way more fun anyway!”

Tech set the Marauder down some distance away from the prison to avoid detection, and Hunter handed Dara a comm before they began the trek toward their destination. The Sergeant looked sternly at Crosshair as the sniper made to exit. “Watch their back,” he instructed.

Crosshair’s expression was disguised behind his helmet, but his voice had lost some of the hostility of their earlier discussion, and now sounded more amused. “Don’t I always?”

“That includes her,” Hunter called insistently after his retreating form.

***

After a short hike, the sniper, dug into position, watched through his scope as the others approached the prison, flanking it from the west. The team moved stealthily amid the gathering dark, pausing only momentarily for Tech to easily bypass the perimeter sensors. Inside the prison, no one would even notice a glitch on their screens as they drew nearer to the building, and the next foot patrol wasn’t due to pass by for another 20 minutes. In the meantime, the group separated, Echo and Tech heading to the back of the building, Dara to the landing pad, and Wrecker to the main entrance. He had no concerns about Wrecker; while he wasn’t the stealthiest among them, Tech had already overwritten any camera feeds with a loop, and his brother would be able to easily stun anyone he came across while planting the first set of explosives, which would draw all attention to the front of the building as Echo and Tech entered and retrieved their target.

Dara, however, was another story. Crosshair watched her closely, his keen eyesight still able to easily detect her shadowy form through his scope even in the failing light. He was not much happier at the decision to bring her along than to leave her with the Marauder, but at least here he could keep an eye on her.

But, of course, there was already a problem. The landing pad was supposed to be empty.

“Dara, you have company. Maintenance tech and a couple of droids just exited the building and are headed to the landing pad. Abort,” he instructed. It wouldn’t be ideal—the landing pad explosion was meant to cover their exit—but they would have to make do.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.” Her voice over the comm was perfectly calm. He felt annoyance bubble up in him; the landing pad was well-lit, and they couldn’t afford to alert anyone to their presence before Wrecker set off the first set of charges.

“That’s an order. Turn the kriff around.”

“I don’t take orders from you.”

Infuriated, Crosshair could only watch as she turned her comm off. He briefly shifted his scope to Wrecker, who had just reached the main entrance. The nearby guard station was empty, apart from the crumpled forms of the two aliens who had been staffing it—at least, up until the moment that Wrecker snuck up behind them and knocked them out. His brother began setting the charges.

“Status update?” he requested over the open comm channel.

“Approximately 1.5 minutes to get the back door open,” Tech reported.

“Front’s gonna go boom in one.”

Crosshair moved his scope back to the landing pad, where Dara was crouching by a cabinet out of sight of the maintenance tech. She opened it, pulling out a vest and hat that matched the worker’s uniform, then stored her larger blaster in the cabinet and pulled the clothing on before straightening up. He grinded his teeth together as she headed straight for the maintenance tech, a look of confusion on her face. After a brief, animated discussion, the tech headed back inside, followed by the droids. She strolled leisurely about the landing pad, placing her own charges at regular intervals.

Wrecker’s explosion at the main entrance rocked the building, and Crosshair returned his attention there. Alarms began blaring throughout the prison, and only minutes later, a wave of guards cautiously filed out of the front doors, guns drawn. It was time for him to make them think they were under attack by nothing short of an invading army. Calmly, he let out shot after shot, letting each of them narrowly miss. From the position he had retreated to, Wrecker did the same, occasionally lobbing stun bombs. The guards scrambled, looking for cover. By now, Tech and Echo were well on their way to the target’s cell.

“Landing pad charges set,” Dara’s voice reported over the open comm channel.

A few minutes later, Echo indicated that they were on their way out, and a second explosion drew the attention of the guards. Even more of them exited the building in the direction of the landing pad as Crosshair alternated his shots between there and the entrance. Now thoroughly distracted on two fronts, the others would be able to make their exit from the prison nearly unchallenged.

“Coming in for a pickup at the rendezvous,” Hunter piped up. First Dara, then Echo, Tech, and the prisoner, and finally Wrecker all converged on Crosshair’s position. He kept the guards pinned down until Hunter landed the Marauder behind them and everyone was on board, then made his way up the ramp himself. They were leaving the atmosphere before the guards even realized it was all over.

“So…who’s this guy?” Wrecker asked. The Rodian they had picked up at the prison stared at them with wide, glassy eyes as they entered hyperspace. He didn’t seem to speak Basic.

Hunter shrugged. “Cid didn’t say. Just said he was scheduled to be transferred from the local authorities to the Empire and her client wanted us to get him out before that happened.”

Dara raised her eyebrow. “You guys just broke someone out of jail without even knowing why he was in there?”

“Yeah, well…Cid isn’t always the most forthcoming about what her jobs entail,” Echo responded, his resentment toward the Trandoshan palpable.

“Mmmhmm…” Turning to the fugitive, she spoke to him in Rodian. They exchanged a few sentences before she reported back in Basic to the squad, pursing her lips critically. “He’s a bounty hunter. Works for the Hutts. They apparently weren’t interested in letting him undergo interrogation.” Crosshair thought she looked like she had more to say, but she bit her tongue.

“You speak Rodian?” inquired Tech, with polite interest. He himself spoke several languages, and had developed his own translation program to help communicate in those he did not.

“Among a few others. I was a linguist, in another life.” A pang of sadness flashed across her eyes before she could tamp it down. “Didn’t work out.”

“Well, hey,” Wrecker announced cheerfully, “you could be in for a long career with us! You did great today!”

Crosshair’s anger, briefly forgotten amid his focus on completing their mission, flared back up. “Actually, what she did was disobey a direct order and put the whole team at risk.”

“I had everything under control. It was just a maintenance tech, not a guard. All I had to do was tell him there must have been some sort of scheduling mix-up because I was already assigned to repairs at the landing pad, and by the time he was inside trying to sort everything out Wrecker’s explosion would have made him forget all about me.”

The sniper pointed angrily at her with his toothpick. “That wasn’t your call to make.”

Her eyes flashed, but her tone remained calm. “Well, it wasn’t yours either.”

“Enough.” Hunter’s serious tone shut them both up. “Dara, that was good thinking on your feet, but next time, listen to Crosshair. We have more experience at this than you. If he says to play it safe, it’s for a reason. We said we’d take your help on a few jobs, but you’re not a soldier. We don’t want to put you in harm’s way if we can avoid it.”

Dara looked chastened. “Of course.” But when Hunter turned her back on them, she glared at Crosshair before retiring to the cargo hold, leaving him there to stew.

Next chapter

Tag List: @stardusthuntress @skellymom

#the bad batch #star wars #bad batch #clone force 99 #clone wars fanfiction #tbb crosshair #tbb hunter #the bad batch fanfiction #star wars the bad batch #sw tbb

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discar · 5 months

Text

HZD Terraforming Base-001 Text Communications Network

Chapter 48 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

[DIVINER] has added [Seyka] to the group

HIMBO: HELLO NEW PERSON!

FlameHairSavior: Erend, if you drive her off, I'm locking you out of the Base.

HIMBO: I JUST SAID HELLO!

MARSHAL Kotallo: Hello, Seyka. It is a pleasure to have a chance to speak with you.

Seyka: Likewise, I guess.

Seyka: Sorry, that sounded rude. I just meant that texts are a little bit of a weird way to first meet people.

ADMIN [Zo]: Maybe, for once, we should do holograms.

[Icarus] has invited [FlameHairSavior] , [DIVINER] , [ HIMBO] , [MARSHAL Kotallo] , ADMIN [Zo ] , [β] , [GAIA] , and [Seyka] to a holo-chat

FlameHairSavior: Dammit, Zo, you just had to give him an opening.

DIVINER: I'm actually a little busy right now!

FlameHairSavior: Is anyone NOT busy right now?

HIMBO: I CAN SPARE TWO MINUTES TO WAVE HELLO.

MARSHAL Kotallo: Agreed. A face to face meeting, for lack of a better word, is worth the slight inconvenience.

β: im still asleep

FlameHairSavior: Let's just get it over with.

----

[β] has left the holo-chat

[Icarus] has ended the holo-chat

Seyka: Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you. You just surprised me.

β: its fine

FlameHairSavior: Okay, now that we're done with that... Alva, how are things looking on your end?

DIVINER: All's good! We should have the two camps reconnected before you know it!

FlameHairSavior: Great.

HIMBO: SO, WAIT, YOU FINISHED EVERYTHING WITH LONDRA, RIGHT? LAST WE HEARD, YOU WERE JUST ABOUT TO GO CHARGING OFF AFTER HIM!

Icarus: She returned just a few minutes before Seyka was added to the chat. I've only heard the very end of the adventure, and I'll admit I'm interested in learning the rest.

MARSHAL Kotallo: I assume you managed to kill Londra.

FlameHairSavior: Yeah. He went down hard, though.

MARSHAL Kotallo: How did you bypass his shields?

FlameHairSavior: He was piloting the Horus, so when I killed it, the feedback killed him too.

HIMBO: WHAT.

ADMIN [Zo]: Wait, the Horus? The Metal Devil? He managed to get it working?

FlameHairSavior: Only partly.

Seyka: It was ripping apart mountains and birthing dozens of machines. If that's partly working, I shudder to imagine one at full strength.

HIMBO: WE TOLD YOU TO TELL US IF A HORUS WENT ACTIVE! I REMEMBER THAT SPECIFICALLY!

ADMIN [Zo]: This alone could be a regional catastrophe. We needed to know.

DIVINER: Right, is everything okay?? Do we need to evacuate??

HIMBO: I CAN HAVE AVAD SEND DOWN THE ARMY, FOR ALL THE GOOD IT WILL DO.

MARSHAL Kotallo: The Tenakth will hold the line as long as we are able.

FlameHairSavior: No, I just said, it's dead. It didn't have a chance to make any more of itself or anything really bad.

HIMBO: YOU STILL SHOULD HAVE TOLD US.

FlameHairSavior: By the time I had a chance, it was already dead.

HIMBO: SO NOW YOU WON'T TEXT WHEN YOU'RE FIGHTING.

Seyka: Why would you text while you're fighting? That sounds dangerous.

FlameHairSavior: It's usually fine.

Seyka: Usually!?

β: what happened with the horus you have to tell us

β: i dont care how long it was buried you cant just blow up a full titan class with some junk arrows

FlameHairSavior: Well, Seyka and the admiral were getting all the survivors organized when Londra brought the Horus online. Dirt, trees falling off it, the whole thing.

Seyka: It destroyed that big sign, too.

FlameHairSavior: Oh, yeah.

DIVINER: Wait... you don't mean the Hollywood sign, do you??

DIVINER: That's a historical landmark!

FlameHairSavior: I think you might be putting too much importance on this.

FlameHairSavior: It was a sign.

β: how was it even still around i would have been surprised if it lasted a hundred years much less a thousand

FlameHairSavior: I found a datapoint about how they treated it with some anti-aging or anti-rust or something.

DIVINER: See!! The Ancestors thought it was important too!

FlameHairSavior: I guess.

FlameHairSavior: Anyway, Londra had to pilot the Horus personally. The AI was too degraded.

Icarus: Are you certain? My experience with the Corruptors and Deathbringers leads me to believe that the AI core was quite robust.

FlameHairSavior: Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to how he was doing it, because a METAL DEVIL was BREAKING OUT OF A MOUNTAIN right next to me.

Icarus: ...fair.

MARSHAL Kotallo: Perhaps Londra chose to pilot it personally because he knew better than to let it rampage.

ADMIN [Zo]: At least when he was nearby.

FlameHairSavior: I don't know. But it was definitely degraded. It couldn't handle its heat generation. I blew up every heat sink I could, and he tried to take it out into the ocean to cool down.

Icarus: Hm. A crude solution, but it could be effective.

FlameHairSavior: He was printing out more Corruptors, shooting missiles at me, trying to stab me with tentacles the size of a Slitherfang. About what you'd expect.

Seyka: "About what you would expect." I was flying above the whole time, and let me tell you, watching her fight a machine the size of a MOUNTAIN was incredible and terrifying at the same time.

Seyka: Do you people do this sort of thing all the time?

HIMBO: IT'S PRETTY MUCH JUST ALOY.

ADMIN [Zo]: And even then, a Horus is certainly a new threat.

Seyka: Well, I tried to distract it while Aloy shot out the heat sinks. It let out big energy blasts every time she destroyed one.

Icarus: Fascinating. Do you think that was a deliberate attack, or some side effect of the heat sink breaking?

Seyka: No idea.

FlameHairSavior: I think it was deliberate.

Seyka: This was all while the Metal Devil was running into the ocean, remember. I guess Londra didn't see her as a threat at first.

Seyka: Once he got to the shallows, he turned around and faced her head-on. That was the fight on the beach.

Seyka: When I saw that first tentacle come down, I was sure she was dead.

FlameHairSavior: But I wasn't and I'm fine.

HIMBO: NORMAL PEOPLE GET WORRIED WHEN THEIR FRIENDS FIGHT MACHINE DEMIGODS.

DIVINER: Is that the terminology we're going with?

HIMBO: I DUNNO.

FlameHairSavior: Well, even with the Horus half in the ocean, it was still overheating. I blew up more heatsinks, eventually made a hole in the hull big enough to get through.

FlameHairSavior: Seyka picked me up, got me to the breach, I got inside.

Icarus: There is no possible way that a HORUS is designed to be human-traversible. Even Londra's pilot override must have required major rewiring.

FlameHairSavior: It was a trial.

FlameHairSavior: But I got through, found Londra. There was a shield, but I blew up the power cables, the overload killed him.

FlameHairSavior: The end.

Seyka: You are terrible at telling stories.

FlameHairSavior: What? Am I supposed to go through a blow by blow of how I cut one power cable, then there was a wave of energy, then I destroyed the processors, repeat?

Seyka: I suppose.

FlameHairSavior: Although Londra did give a bad guy speech. I think every Zenith I spoke to had a speech like this. Did they have classes in the old world?

DIVINER: Every show I've ever watched had a bad guy speech! Okay, not EVERY show. But the point is, they had plenty of examples!

FlameHairSavior: Well, MY point is that it all sort of happened pretty fast. Not a lot to talk about.

β: im watching the video right now you skipped over all the times you were like two seconds from dying

Seyka: Wait, you can see what she saw?

β: the focuses record everything

Seyka: Should I be worried?

β: the old world was a horrifying panopticon of privacy violations

β: and it used to be worse before the claw back

GAIA: We can discuss privacy settings, if you like.

Seyka: Uh, maybe later.

FlameHairSavior: I did scan Londra's brain implant, which might be useful.

Icarus: Yes, when he first left Sirius, he began making a plan to defeat NEMESIS. He soon dismissed this as naive and unfeasible, but he did make a list of various weapons companies that might have useful technology to fight.

MARSHAL Kotallo: A goal for the future, then.

Icarus: Precisely.

FlameHairSavior: I looked over the map, and some of these are pretty far. I think we'll need more than just sunwings to get to them in time.

HIMBO: WAIT.

HIMBO: YOU GAVE SEYKA CONTROL OF A SUNWING.

FlameHairSavior: Waterwing.

HIMBO: WHATEVER.

HIMBO: WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE GIVEN US SUNWINGS?

FlameHairSavior: There's no way any of you could have gotten to the Burning Shores fast enough to help me with the Horus.

HIMBO: NOT THAT! I MEAN WHEN WE LEFT THE BASE TO MEET UP WITH OUR ALLIES!

FlameHairSavior: ...oh.

β: oops

Seyka: So. This is the group that's going to save the world?

ADMIN [Zo]: I realize we seem... idiosyncratic, but there is a method to the madness.

MARSHAL Kotallo: We already did save the world once, after all.

HIMBO: ALOY IS ON NUMBER FOUR!

Seyka: FOUR!?

FlameHairSavior: Wait, four? I only count two.

HIMBO: HADES AT MERIDIAN, HEPHAESTUS AT THE CUT, THE ZENITH, AND THEN LONDRA.

FlameHairSavior: HEPHAESTUS didn't count, that was hardly a world-ending disaster. Same with Londra. The world wouldn't have ended if he had won.

HIMBO: IF YOU SAY SO.

Seyka: I am so confused.

β: welcome to the club we have tshirts

Seyka: Okay?

MARSHAL Kotallo: More to the point, there is an orientation packet. I suspect you will find it quite illuminating.

MARSHAL Kotallo: [HZDorientation_packet.pdf]

MARSHAL Kotallo: This is the version without videos, to keep it light enough to transfer.

Seyka: Thank you.

[β] has changed [Seyka] 's name to [Aloy's_BAE]

DIVINER: !!

Aloy's_BAE: Uh... thanks?

FlameHairSavior: What's a BAE and how insulted should she be?

β: old world term for a significant other

DIVINER: [Squee.gif]

FlameHairSavior: Significant other... what?

β: ladylove

β: sweetheart

β: honeybun

β: your girlfriend

Icarus: More childish teasing?

Aloy's_BAE: How did you know that? Did Aloy tell you?

MARSHAL Kotallo: Wait, what?

ADMIN [Zo]: It's real?

FlameHairSavior: BETA. How did you find out.

β: i watched your adventure to the end

FlameHairSavior: ...shit.

HIMBO: HA!

ADMIN [Zo]: From personal experience, I should tell you to take your focus off during intimate moments.

FlameHairSavior: [WorldsLongestGroan.gif]

Aloy's_BAE: Well, I don't think that will be an issue, because I'm going to go drown myself in the ocean now.

FlameHairSavior: Please don't. I prefer you un-drowned.

HIMBO: AW, SHE'S TURNING YOU INTO A SAPPY ROMANTIC!

Aloy's_BAE: You people are so strange.

β: too late you should have run when you had the chance

β: also everyone i know youre too far away to pay me now but dont think ill forget

FlameHairSavior: Pay you?

ADMIN [Zo]: She won the bet.

FlameHairSavior: What bet?

β: on when youd finally get someone

FlameHairSavior: ...

FlameHairSavior: Sylens, is it too late for us to leave the planet?

Icarus: Yes.

Icarus: That ship is too small for all your drama.

FlameHairSavior: I don't know, it's apparently big enough to carry your ego.

Aloy's_BAE: I really don't know what to make of this.

ADMIN [Zo]: You get used to it.

MARSHAL Kotallo: We promise.

Chapter 48 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

#horizon #horizon forbidden west #horizon zero dawn #HZDBaseChat #aloy #zo #erend vanguardsman #beta horizon #alva #sylens #seyka

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windywriter · 1 year

Note

I mean, MC being Lilith's descendent was to set up their ability to bypass certain wards and such as well as allow them to communicate with her, as far as I'm aware it's the reason they're immune to Asmo's charm as well. MC wouldn't have the ring either if they weren't born with the power of angels.

The game never solved anything by "we have our sister back technically", the entire first season is MC helping the brothers with their problems, including the fact that letting go of the constant grief isn't letting go of Lilith and getting that understanding that moving on isn't bad, you still have her in your heart.

If you're talking about the fandom idea that the brothers only think of MC as Lilith then I'll let you know that was an angst au type thing. If one of the canon brothers treated MC as Lilith or her replacement then I'm almost certain that the others would beat some sense into him and make him apologize.

The brothers love *MC*, not Lilith's descendent. Belphie could be argued but the reveal was more about Lilith getting the life she always wanted in the end (living proof standing in front of him) and that hating *all* humans would be hating her too. And the reason he knows this now, the reason he's back with his brothers, the reason everything's going to be okay is MC. Maybe Lilith's descendent played some part in him wanting to get closer to them at first but I really don't think that'd last, his brothers and even MC would catch on quick and shut that down (saw a fic about that a while ago). After all, he also knew MC before any reveal, they were only "friends" but that meant he did know MC before "Lilith's Descendent".

MC being Lilith's (reincarnation's) descendant just solved certain plot holes with things like their abilities and why Lilith could talk to them but not her brothers.

Sorry if this is messy I'm not great at communicating my points or ideas. I've also got a really bad headache which isn't making it easier--

I actually used to think the same as you in some ways but I've been obsessed with this game for over a year and between rereading the story and reading fandom analysis, I've come to firmly believe that it wouldn't matter if MC wasn't Lilith's descendent, it was just an easy explanation for the plot holes and a typical otome wrap up for what was (iirc) supposed to be a 20 Lesson game.

(Not part of my take but I think the idea of Lilith being so done with the boys' shit and unable to knock some sense into them that she uses "power of fate" to knock around the papers so the boys get to deal with her most chaotic fucking rizzmaster descendent is absolutely hilarious and the entire plot point is worth it just for that)

Hi Anon, Yeah, the whole thing of Lilith being the reason MC can bypass certain stuff could easily be changed with the fact that the divine fruit Lilith gave her lover allowing them immunity against shit, plus my newest post about Lilith as a concept of love protecting MC (check it out here!) I think i mentioned it? idk, but if i didnt here it is.

As for the "technically we have out sister back" because its so ambiguous with the relationships lilith had with the other brothers, its hard to tell, except lucifer who i think mentions holding MC's hand reminds me of when he would hold lilith's hand which is a weird thing to say on a date. As for Belphie's situation, yes it does make sense that if Belphie were to hate MC who is a descendant of lilith he'd be hating her as well, but I think it would be much more interesting if we got him to forgive humanity or at least make steps towards it by confronting the one who he blames for it. And by seeing that they still have lilith's blessing it would mean that Lilith still loves them, and by hurting MC belphie is basically spitting in the face of his beloved sister's wishes.

Also overall, I made this version purely because Lilith being the brother's Sister, and MC being her descendant has some really messed up implications (going back to the lucifer part i pointed out) and technically they arent related by blood but if you have to put "technically" in front of something like that its still pretty strange. But im glad to hear your input! I hope you feel better!

#obey me #answered #i hope i didnt sound too aggressive at the end...#anon #obey me headcanons #obey me lilith #lilith obey me

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ijustreallylikecaptainamericaok · 4 months

Note

How about 4, 5 (Scott), 9, and 16 for the fandom ask game?

Hey! :-)

4. Is there a popular pairing you don't necessarily dislike but aren't too invested in?

Out of the most popular Steve pairings, I'd say ShieldShock. It's not a bad ship by any means. I totally get why people are into it. It just doesn't grab me like that, y'know? Though, oddly enough, I am really into the idea of Steve/Darcy/Wanda. Don't know what that's about, lol.

With MCU in general? Clintasha. Granted, part of this probably comes from being exposed to the MCU first, because nothing about their interactions in The Avengers screamed romance to me and everything after that just solidified that notion. I never understood why folks were so adamant about it being portrayed in the MCU over Bruce/Nat and Clint/Laura until I found out it's a comic thing. Again, not a bad ship, but neither canon version I've seen (MCU and EMH) have done much for me. Though, again, Clint/Laura/Natasha? Totally into.

5. Out of all your fanworks that include [Scott], which is your favourite?

Oh, man, this question has taken me the longest, because I had to go through and reread some stuff. Also, I make so many different things that narrowing it down is a bit tough. Plus, I overthink way too much. Okay. For moodboards, I'd say this Steve/Scott/Hope/Maria one, because it's so pretty to me that I forget I made it, lol. I figure anything that's able to bypass my knee-jerk reaction to be overly critical of my work must have something good going for it. For other graphics, this Scott/Jessica set, which is quite simple, but I really like it.

As for fic, I think overall some of my favorite individual lines and jokes have been written for Scott, such as: "At least I don’t want to fuck a fox, Clint." Though I think my favorite exchange I've written has to be between Scott and Steve in Make Up For Lost Time:

“You’re twice my age!” the brunet sputtered. “More than!”

“Only chronologically,” Steve said, unable to control his shit-eating grin.

“I’ll remember that next time you ask for the senior discount at the movies.” With that, he moved as if to get off of Steve’s lap, but the blond only clutched his hips and plopped him back down with a smile.

“You wouldn’t rat me out, would ya?”

“Course not,” he scoffed. “That shit’s expensive, even with your discount.”

For a full story, I'd say it's a toss-up between The Season of Poultry and Everything Will Turn Out Alright. It's tough to pick a full fic for Scott, since I so often write him from someone else's (usually Steve's) point of view. That, coupled with how my work tends to be pretty short, I think makes it a little hard to maybe get a full picture of Scott. But with those stories, I think (or I'd like to think) they pack a lot in a small space in terms of his characterization and dynamics with others. Plus, I just have a lot of affection for those particular stories.

9. Write a recommendation of someone else's fic you enjoyed!

Do Vibranium Androids Dream of Electric Wandas? by DeconstructedFallenStars on AO3. The summary reads, "He had meant for her to be his Eve." It's a short one-sided Wanda/Ultron fic that takes place toward the end of AOU and is something of a character study of Ultron. I'm probably underselling it, but the execution is very good.

16. Do people irl know you participate in fandom?

Friends do, yes, but not relatives. I don't think they'd really "get" it or approve, if you take my meaning.

Thanks for sending these in! Sorry it took a couple days for me to finish. For whatever reason, my brain really needed the answer to that second question to be thorough. lol.

From Fandom Ask Game

#replies #bulkyphrase #i don't really wanna tag everything mentioned here #so let's keep it to #scott lang #steve x scott #otp: thinks for thanking of me #wanda x ultron #moodboards #graphics #graphical hodgepodge #fanfic #scribbling things #fic rec

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uraharashouten · 1 year

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No offense meant but I really think youre wrong about AI

AI in the context of art and writing HAS to take sources from other people. Online AI generators cant operate without stealing from other creators, and is being used to minimize the work actual artists and writers do. All tech is AN AI but a computer or website isnt going to steal your work, assimilate it and spit it back out for someone else without your knowledge, consent or input. AI in general has ethical issues when implemented into society. And honestly not all progress is good progress. The current AI tech is bad regardless of hows its used and is very different than just being a computer program, its only purpose is to mix up artistic input and spit it out for others benefit

The fact is, even if artists get a say, its tech that fundamentally tries to bypass the hard work and ACTUAL technical aspects of art to mimic it. Maybe it can move forward in the future but its not a good idea to say that the way its being used is the only problem. New tech isn’t automatically bad or good, how people use it does matter. Comparing the real world use of this tech to steal from artists to fictional characters who happen to be artificial creations isn’t ok. You can choose not to have negative consequences in a fictional world, but not in reality. And just because something works out okay in a story doesn't mean its a good idea. Artificial life is itself an entire ethical debate thats gone on for decades and cant be boiled down to good or bad.

It's always nice to know people are reading this blog. Thanks for your thoughtful input.

I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek with the reference to fictional characters, but how AI is applied to real-world creative enterprises is indeed a significant issue. One major problem has been around the data sets used to train various AI models, and those being used to generate 'art' are only one facet of the problem. Take, just for one example, AI used to sift resumes—if the training data favors a particular demographic bias, guess which ones get filtered out a priori? Ethical questions around use and application of AI abound. Use of artificial intelligence is a complex and nuanced issue.

The damage has been done with the most popular tools, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E, but it would be possible for artists and writers to consent to using their works to train AI tools, in which case, there'd be no stealing. (I personally would be intrigued to see what would happen if this blog were used to train an AI, so I'd consent to that.) But if we begin to rely broadly on the AI to generate art, where does that leave artists? Where does that leave innovation and originality? If everything is a mélange and regurgitated hodgepodge that looks good enough, where does that leave our expectations? Our aspirations? That doesn't sound like human flourishing to me.

Now, before we get all high and mighty about how original we are, let me point out that humans have always loved to copy one another. In a sense, all art is derivative; that's why we have archetypes and tropes. We influence one another, but we'll only ever be similar, not identical, and that's part of the beauty of creativity. I can write someone else's characters (thank you Kubo Tite) but I will never exactly replicate perfectly the way the creator did it. And that's a beautiful thing. Likewise, an artifical intelligence won't duplicate an original; it'll just take inspiration from it, in the same way a human would. But it might do that faster and cheaper, if not better. And that's part of the problem. But... we will need to grapple with all this as a society, because it's not going away.

Finally: the real reason for that post? If you've read this far, you deserve to know. I understand that the PSA that's been going around is an attempt to establish a new cultural norm for how artificially-generated content is regarded... by using fear of being replaced by AI to justify ostracizing anyone who uses any form of it, as determined subjectively. And frankly, anything that uses fear, uncertainty and doubt to create in-groups and out-groups in the RPC—or frankly, anywhere else— just rubs me the wrong way.

#[[ look at me bein' problematic on main today ]]#[[ out of lollipops ]]

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fightwing · 2 years

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@inhxuman / cont.

dick's NEVER denied the 'drama' accusations. okay, maybe in his youth he'd push back a bit on anything that wasn't synonymous with 'showmanship', but the titans and general life experiences were quick to put him back in his place. maybe he could be a bit dramatic, and hey maybe it wasn't always warranted. ---- but in this, he'd really and truly thought he'd taken his last bow. even before, even with how many times he's dropped the fated 'never coming back' only to enter the foyer again within the month, even with all the fights with bruce that he swore he'd never forgive him for and then hugged about months later, even with the knowledge he'd never truly leave, not really, he'd thought this was the one. spyral wasn't something you left. if there's anything he learned aside from tiger doesn't like puns it's that spyral was blood in, blood out, and even dick's flimsy plans wouldn't change that. he knew joining spyral meant he'd either die a spy, twice-dead to those who knew him, or he'd never be free. doomed to see the world through warped tech. it was a miracle in and of itself that they'd somehow won. that dick grayson's name was scrubbed from the nightwing legacy AND he was free from the undercover chains. a miracle, maybe, but no bad deed though . . . now, though, it had been some time. enough most people forgot about it. donna and he were calling every friday like they used to, wally was dropping by like he paid even a cent on rent. he'd been back in bludhaven for some months, patrolling and living as normal and most importantly giving space to the people who needed it. like tim, jason, babs . . . he gets their reactions. he gets it more than most, maybe, and if the roles had been reversed he's not sure what position he would've played. but he'd stayed away from gotham until he was sure his presence wouldn't ruin what was already crumbling. now, though, it was time to put that theory to the test. that the foundations were strong enough to not be buried under. it made him nervous in a way he hadn't been since he was robin. the urge to thrum his fingers against his thighs or find some physical exertion outlet stopped only by the presence of his sister there with him. CASS. thank god she was here too. her calm, comforting presence was a tether he was desperately clutching. it's her words, now, that jolt him from the reverie he'd lulled into. and he barely stopped the laugh before it started, WANT was a bit of a hefty request but --- " hey! " he laughs, knocking his shoulder into hers with a smile. " i'll have you know my knees are the youngest thing about me." probably more fuel to the 'you're old' fire, and not entirely true but it's there and he's sticking to it. he ends with his arms crossed against his chest. yeah, it was weird to be back. but maybe it didn't have to be bad. one, two, three seconds to consider his next words. maybe if he used the gargoyle to get him airborne he could use the planter to entirely bypass the long way. oh yeah, game ON. " race you to the door? "

#inhxuman #CASS AND DICK CASS AND DICK CASS AND DICK #it drives me insane how they arent developed more #d/c give me my brother and sister shenanigans you COWARDS!!!!#but also fine we'll do it ourselves bc ur cass is spectacular and thank u for that wonderful starter #v. it's not the waking it's the rising (mv.)#also made it spyr/al because im too small brained to think what else hes being dramadick about #lemme know if u want that changed at all!!!

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ostrobothnianoccultist · 10 months

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OKAY THE THIRD ONE OF ANECDOTE NIGHT! I went all in and got bad stock photos for this one. It’s gonna be a longish one because the whole situation was.. absurd. It’s all funny and stupid nothing bad dw :]

I’ll put it under read more so I don’t flashbang ya’lls dash with a long post!

So. Okay gather around children and let me tell you a story that sometimes comes back to haunt me and makes me cringe inwards like a sponge left to dry on a sunny day

It was late spring the year I was fifteen years old. Me and my best friend were hanging out at my house, bored out of our minds. We’d blogged on myspace already too much and crash bandicoot 3: warped started to grow boring after having played it for too long. So we decided, let’s do something fun.

And being fifteen, we were going trough the infamous ”Rawr O-o XD so RaNdOm lul ^_^” phase that every teenager goes. (You did too you filthy liar.)

So we decided on doing something random that we tought would be really funny. We got two of my mom’s colorful ikea flower vases (pictured below)

And stole my brother’s pepsi max from the fridge. Packed them in a backbag. Then decided to add a metronome I had lying around from earlier. I was practising for my flute matineé as I had to get a good grade on it to qualify to the school orchestra. You know, like all the cool kids. To those not in the realm of music, a metronome is a little machine that ticks on a certain tempo you set it to, to keep you on pace when playing. Example picture below.

Throw that in the backbag too and head out. My house was near this nature path-park-thingy that has statues on it. Fairly popular place for nice afternoon outings for those old couples with matching windbreaker jackets. We found our way to the nature path and set up camp. Set the metronome on the ground ticking, filled up the vases with the stolen pepsi and toasted the drinks. We pretented to greet bypassers like we were in a party, only noice being the goddamn metronome ticking on the ground. All this for the sake of being ”random”. All people walking by looked us weird (because we were being very weird and annoying) and we tought it was absolutely hilarious.

So after a moment this old gentleman approaches us, intrigued. He looked a little peculiar and had a certain oddity vibe to him. A stock photo of a man with his likeness attached below

Well something looking like that anyway.

So he apporaches us and asks, is this a contemporary art installation? Me and my best friend glance each other. What? Is it a whatingy what now? Goes trough our heads. But some GODFORSAKEN REASON we decide it’s a good thing to tell him that YEAH THIS IS EXACTLY THAT. We did not even know what it meant but decided to go with it.

So he starts praising us on the novelty and modernity of it, and giving us constructive critisism. He goes on about some artist who have done something similar and how our constellation differs and what he thinks of the meanings. Me and my best friend just kinda freeze in place and try to look like we know exactly what he’s talking about and we definitely are not just two morons with one shared braincell and too much time on our hands.

So turns out this bearded gentleman was the art professor of our town’s highschool ( we were still in junior high so we didn’t know) He had like, a bajillion degrees in art. How did we find out, you ask?

Well. We did post photos of this whole ordeal on facebook, and our older friend informed us this professor was using our ”installation” as an example on a course she was attending. Like describing it as art. We blackmailed said friend with very heavy implications of stuffing her in a box and mailing it to jamaica if she ever told A SOUL that she saw our photos and knew the story behind this bizarre installation the professor kept referring to. And we kept hearing rumours even years after that this installation was still a reference talked about on an art class. I never dared to check if the rumors were true.

And that concludes of the story on how I became a contemporary artist at the ripe age of fifteen accidentally

#snowanecdote #story time #story #true story #tw art professor #tw teenage idiots #snowpost #me #my life #i enjoy storytelling btw

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getmemymicroscope · 14 days

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Stretch of DNFs

I do write a bunch about the movies I do watch, but I guess I might as well make a quick blurb about why I don't finish some of the movies I start. Mostly cuz, well, why not?

Fukrey 3 (2023)

I really did want to enjoy this. I mean, I really liked Fukrey - movie and songs, and Fukrey 2 wasn't too bad either. Sure, no Ali Zafar hurt a bit, but the rest of the cast remained. Alas, it just wasn't meant to be. I did get in a slight bit, but eventually it just became too much. Somehow, after everything, Choocha remains a complete idiot - it's gone from slightly funny to mostly just frustrating (him with the popcorn-related mess, for example). And then he goes and spoils their 'plan' (didn't anyone tell him not to, or was it just them saying they wouldn't tell him for our own sake?). And the final straw was when they got to the airport and he didn't know how to use the water fountain. It was funny for a second, but then it continued and he never picked it up - and then, the minute I turned it off was when he asked Lali to make his hands into a bowl so that he can drink from it (and, even worse, his 'friend' Hunny just shrugs and is like 'do it'). We're 2+ movies in, now, and if he's still treating you like this, he's not your friend. Lali deserves better. But yeah, that airport scene was my final straw. I didn't really laughed much up to that point, and that was a sign to give up. Bollywood's obsession with friendships where the friends really don't seem to give a shit about each other is just ... not my cup of tea.

The Lady Killer (2023)

Apparently this movie was so mediocre that it flamed out, which isn't new for Bollywood, but also so subpar that it was released without being fully edited. According to Wiki, it only sold 293 tickets on its first day, which is crazy because Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar aren't exactly nobodies. So subpar, in fact, that it bypassed the 'streaming' route after falling out of theaters and immediately got released for free on YouTube. I got a bit into this movie too - it's clearly attempting, at bits, to be a 'gritty thriller' - but really suffers there because it is just slow and boring. I guess some point maybe they were going to address the whole fucked up 'Bhumi doing it with her dad' storyline - but that's just hard to stomach. Sure, sexual assault - but, like, the story doesn't immediately make it out as bad; instead, Arjun Kapoor's character makes it all about "I liked you and then I saw you doing this and now I'm hurt." Which, uh ... okay. And maybe there's a bit of Stockholm syndrome going on (I didn't get in far enough to see), but her immediate reaction isn't 'help me' or anything, but instead she smiles (seductively?) and just teases him. Teasing him!? He just saw you having sex with your dad! There's nothing to be seductive about here. Maybe it eventually picks up. I doubt it though. It feels like the story had some potential, if you get past the ick, but it just gets bogged down in trying to be "look at how dark and gritty and creepy I can be."

Visfot (2024)

Riteish and Fardeen Khan. Really wanted to like this. But then I got afraid this was gonna be some subpar attempt at a Taxi No. 9211 story (which I love), and was worried. Hard to do that well (though Selfiee did a decent job). Luckily, it isn't that - I don't think. On the other hand, it's just a mess to begin with. Fardeen has a friend who is an insult to the idea of friendship, and why he's hanging out with him, no idea. Obviously that leads to shit hitting the fan. Plus there's this completely unnecessary 'sensual' scene between Fardeen and Krystal D'Souza that lasts for like 5 seconds. Pointless. Then Riteish shows up, has an annoying kid, and then finds out his wife is cheating on him. Oh, and there's some weird bullshit going on that leads to Fardeen in a car with Krystal and Riteish's kid - and when he asks her who the kid is, instead of responding, she just stutters and remains silent. I made it to the point where Riteish goes to the hotel where his wife is and just gave up. This type of story requires brilliant story-telling and your ability to care for the characters - and as fucked over as he might be (by his own stupid decision to take the dumb jacket instead of just throwing it out!), you don't feel for Fardeen's character. And that, combined with a bunch of annoying characters (the kid, Krystal's boss person, Fardeen's 'friend') just becomes too much.

Welp, those are the DNFs for the past week. Hopefully this week will be better.

#movies #movieblr #dnf movies #dnf

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nazmulahmednoyon · 1 year

Video

youtube

So VirusTotal. Last week they published a report titled "Deception at Scale," where they laid out the terrain of the malware samples that are uploaded to them more or less constantly to be analyzed. They sit in the perfect place to see what's going on. They've got great scope.

I've explained in the past that signing my own executables, I've discovered the hard way, because people were saying, hey, Windows is saying this is not safe, you've got a virus, it's like, no, I don't. Actually, it didn't say that. It just said this is, you know, you don't have any reputation here. So the point is that signing my executables was not sufficient proof of the integrity of my apps to bypass various of what are now hair-triggered malware cautions.

But VirusTotal reported among other things, get this, that fully 87% of the more than one million malicious samples which were signed at the time they were uploaded to VirusTotal since the start of last year, January 2021, contained a valid signature. 87% had a valid signature, those that were signed. So what that tells us is that signing code no longer means much. It's necessary, but not sufficient. The bad guys are arranging to obtain code-signing credentials, just like any other legitimate code publisher would. Just like I do.

So moving forward, the only thing that can be used, that is, can be relied upon, is the reputation of the hash of a given executable that is earned over time. Any new hash will need to start over from scratch earning the reputation that that specific exact code that it's the hash of is trustworthy.

And there was another little interesting tidbit. If you care to protect yourself somewhat by inspecting the Certificate Authority who issued the Authenticode certificate that was used to sign a program which you're considering running, it's worth noting that more than half, actually more than 58% of the most-often-abused code-signing certificates were all issued by just one company, a Certificate Authority known as Sectigo.

And if the name Sectigo isn't ringing any bells, it's probably because they renamed themselves after their repeated conduct spoiled and soiled their previous name, which was Comodo. We've talked about Comodo quite a bit in the past, all the different mistakes they made like allowing people to create their own certificates through problems in their web interface and giving certificate minting authentication to people who didn't warrant it and so forth.

Anyway, I imagine that they're the favorite of malware authors mostly because their certs are less expensive than the competition. And really it's not their fault that VirusTotal sees most malware signed by their certs, since anyone can purchase a code-signing certificate from any certificate authority, so going to go with the cheapest.

I don't, but I don't want to be signed by Comodo, now named Sectigo. And the whole thing is roughly analogous to what Let's Encrypt did to TLS connections; right? Once upon a time having a web server certificate meant something. Not anymore. Today, everyone needs to have one, and they mean nothing because they're just being minted by automation based on the domain of the server that they're sitting behind. So okay.

Anyway, VirusTotal also revealed that the top three most-often-spoofed programs were Skype, Adobe Reader, and VLC Player. Malware is masquerading as those three utilities - one of those three, Skype, Adobe Reader, and VLC as the top three - as basically, obviously, as a means to abuse the well-earned trust that they've earned, that those apps have earned with users everywhere.

And while those are the top three, the top 10 are rounded out by 7-Zip, TeamViewer, CCleaner, Edge, Steam, Zoom, and WhatsApp. So, yeah, the top of the popular apps that people are needing now to grab wherever they are.

So VirusTotal said in their report last week: "One of the simplest social engineering tricks we've seen involves making malware look like a legitimate program. The icon of these programs is a critical feature used to convince victims that these programs are legitimate." Just the icon. Of course, no one is surprised that threat actors employ a variety of approaches to compromise endpoints by tricking unwitting users into downloading and running seemingly trusted executables.

The other way this is achieved is by taking advantage of genuine domains, at least the top-level or second-level domains, to get around IP-based firewall defenses. Some of the most abused domains which VirusTotal has seen are discordapp.com, squarespace.com, amazonaws.com, mediafire.com, and qq.com. In total, more than 2.5 million suspicious files were downloaded from 101 domains belonging to Alexa's top 1,000 websites. In other words, 10% of the top 100 website domains have been used as sources for malware. And the misuse of Discord has been well-documented, with that platform's content delivery network becoming a fertile ground for hosting malware alongside Telegram, while also offering a perfect communications hub for attackers.

So ultimately, checking anything that's downloaded which might be suspicious against VirusTotal, I think, is the best thing anyone can do. As I mentioned a while ago, back when I was needing to bring old DOS machines onto my network in order to debug SpinRite on them, I was sometimes needing to go to well-off-the-beaten-path driver repositories to locate old drivers for old network adapters. Driver repositories are classic sources of malware.

So in every case, I ran anything that I downloaded past VirusTotal to make sure that it didn't raise any alarms. And normally you get like one or two, some weird obscure, you know, VirusTotal I think scans across or against as many as 75 different virus, you know, antivirus engines. And you'll typically get a couple reds, misfires, false positives from some scanners you've probably never heard of. And so that's not a problem. It's when you see like 20 or 30 of them lighting up red that it's like, okay, do not click this thing so that it's able to run. And stepping back from all this a little bit, it's so annoying that so much energy is being spent holding back the forces of darkness. Look at how much we put in now to doing that. But on balance it's worth it because what can be done with computers today is truly amazing.

#virustotal #security #hashing #certificate #scan #virus #computer virus #alexa ranking #malware

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glados-kisser · 2 years

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okay im warriorsposting JUST a little.

I'm in a discord warriors RP group, and I run two characters right now (Embergaze and Maggotscorn). Since Ember's joined the group, I've had a few things planned for them.

1) I've known Ember is transmasc since they joined at age 4. 2) I've known Ember was going to try and find their mother Ember's mom abandoned them on the outskirts of clan territory when they were pretty young (semi-complex story behind it? their mom was 100% in the wrong, but it was...complicated.), and told them that she was going to come back for them soon. Ember is - god i love them - they are incredibly gullible, and a little stupid. They also tend to deal with issues they're experiencing by entirely denying them. This meant that up until VERY recently, they would still talk about their mom coming back all the time - they'd mention to their friends how they were gonna miss em when their mom came to get them, but maybe they could all come with? Or maybe their mom would be willing to join the clan. As Ember grew up though (sometime into their early warriorhood specifically?), they stopped talking about their mom as much. Very specifically, they didn't want to think about it anymore, because it was becoming clear that their mom wasn't coming back for them. Ember had been thinking of going and finding their mom for...awhile? But then their childhood crush / best friend got pregnant, and asked them to be her mate (the cat she'd had a tryst with wasn't someone she'd wanted to be with long-term). Ember agreed, and ended up parenting the kits - which they were glad to do! Being a parent is honestly something they'd wanted to be for a long time, and even though it was early (the pair of them had JUST become warriors - think of this as a married-with-child-just-after-graduating-highschool kind of situation - BAD.), they were VERY happy to have kits. UNFORTUNATELY at about this time, the leader saddled her with an apprentice too! So suddenly Ember was not only a parent, they were a fuckin mentor too. The pressure this carried with was! a lot! Ember did ... hmm. well! they trained their apprentice, and were able to pick up some of the slack with the kits. Unfortunately, their mate (Daffodilcatcher) is! a girlboss <3 She rejects one of the kits, and begins offering the other kit complexes right off the bat - Ember doesn't notice this much (and when they do, they try not to see it - they're a coward, and avoidant. Instead of protecting their kits, they tried to play damage control and favored the rejected kit).

Now, at the time of writing this, winter's come into full-swing and there's already been a death in the clan, with more cats falling ill now. The last two leafbares Ember's been in the clan for have been ass - the first one, ember got sick !! the second one, one of ember's closest friends got sick and subsequently died (as well as another cat ember didn't know well, but who was VERY important to a sort of father / big brother figure to ember, Shrikefrost - this lead shrike and ember to have a miscommunicative falling out, nixing him from the list of people they'd talk to).

So, with leafbare starting strong with a death, and Ember's apprentice graduated, and both their kids into their apprenticeship, they...decided they needed to go. They gotta get OUTTA here. So they do! They, like the coward they are, wait until the very last second to tell their family, telling each of their kits (and finally their mate) in turn only minutes before they planned on leaving the clan.

In their eyes, it was easier to wait until this moment, because if they said anything sooner, they would have to sit with the discomfort of their family not wanting them to go - being angry or disappointed. So if they just...bypassed that? That'd be perfect, as far as they were concerned.

So! Ember has now followed in the family tradition of abandoning their kids! What next? I spoke with the mods of the server, and got the go-ahead for some REALLY fucking interesting plots, which I won't detail here yet, but that are incredibly exciting to me. Ember is looking for their mom, and if/when they get back to the clan, they'll have officially transed their gender (dumb motherfucker . has been out here with she/her for TWO YEARS. every time i think something will show them that actually they aren't a girl, they've! missed it. they've just fucking missed it lmfao. i love playing a dumbass but playing a trans dumbass has KILLED me . legit they are the reason i brought maggotscorn in at 6 months so i could already have them all fuckin pronouned up.)!

Anyway. that's. what's going on in my wc rp that i've been thinking about SO much in my head :)

#that sounds kinda dark?#hm. it. okay. think of warriors like feral furry sopranos.#OHHHHHHHH #is me #long post #IF u are interested in joining??? i think there's a litter opening soon #but then there wont be more litter openings for a little while??? but also ppl are welcome to lurk #idk if any of yall r like #interested in wc rps . BUT i digress.#I TOLD MY GF THE ENTIRETY OF THE PLOT THE MODS AND I R THINKING ABOUT #AND SHE WAS QUIET FOR A MINUTE AND WAS LIKE #and i was quiet for a moment b4 i was like #and then she was like and we were good again #well. okay so actually SHE'S the one who suggested sopranos. im not very familiar with the media #HIGH DRAMA THOUGH

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