#OK SO HOW MANY TRADE MARKS DOES THAT MAKE THIS

[basketobread]

your art style is so fun and lively i am always smiling and cheering when i see ur posts on my dash!! big fan of "save us white girl"... think about that every time i go see my barista....

DHSJSJSJJSBEHQJESBWHA PLEAAASSEEE i am DYING at the thought of you just pulling up to your barista one day and saying that LIKE?? 😭😭

BUT ALSO!!! THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!! i hope i can continue to make you smile through my art work!! and thanks for cheering!! :) please have a super lovely day ❤️❤️❤️

[ghouljams]

Viking soap! Viking soap! Viking soap!

Grrrrrrrr Yes ok yes because I am feral for this idea and you're partially engaging a special interest of mine.

You spot him at the same moment he does you. A flash of blue eyes reflecting the shallow river, long hair shorn short on the sides, the fur the edges his clothes marks him as easily as the paint on his face. A viking. He stands as quickly as you step back, his eyes fixed on you. If he's here there must be more at your village. You know well enough that these men don't travel as solitary creatures.

You turn and run towards your home. You hear the crash of him through the forest behind you giving chase. Even knowing the land as well as you do the terrain is uneven, the roots are made to catch your feet, and the branches are low to obscure your vision. You don't have the deer's advantage of darting movement to keep you out of reach. Each step you can hear him getting closer, until you feel his hands grab you.

The man, the viking, catches you around your middle. You kick and scream and make every effort to batter him with your fists, to make yourself difficult prey. You've heard enough stories about what these men do to know you want no part of it. He lifts you, hauls you up off the ground as you fight and twist.

"Would you be still, I'm not going to hurt you," The man tells you in gaelic. You freeze at the familiar tongue.

"You're a liar," You push at him, claw at his grip, "why would you chase me if you weren't hunting me?"

"Why would you run?" He asks, grabbing your wrists to pin them against his chest. You glare at him, your chest heaving as you gather your breath back. He's handsome, for a viking. There's something sort of rakish about the stubble on his face and the set of his brow. "Did I do something to scare you, bonnie?" It's not an honest question, he knows full well why you'd run.

You keep quiet, keep your glare level with him. An easy task with him holding you up, his arm hooked around your thighs. His head tips back to look at you with a smile. "Aren't you pretty," He whispers, hardly phased by the run or your anger. When you don't respond he seems to find his head again, his smile dropping to something more serious.

"Fine, courting later, business now." He sets you back down, keeping a tight grip on your wrists now that you've proven yourself a runner. "I'm here to negotiate a trade, I need an escort," He explains, though you would think a man needing an escort would have a shorter handle on the ax at his hip.

"A bad liar," You amend your previous statement, tugging at his hold.

"Fine," He relents, "I want an escort. Escort me." He insists, tugging you against his chest again. You're really getting tired of bumping into him.

"Why? So you can lead a raiding party back as soon as I turn around?" You spit.

“To what end?” The viking asks, tips his head to the side, his eyes hard on you, “What use do we have for dead healers?” 

You stop your struggling, stunned. He’s not wrong, but he speaks to an understanding of your village you hadn’t expected. How much did this man and his company know about you? How many scouts had walked your paths, watched your neighbors work? He’s right, dead healers are useless, but so are port healers. Vikings are only as strong as their weakest man, wouldn’t they prefer to keep healers on hand?

“You said-” You swallow, “You said you were here to negotiate a trade. What- A trade for what?” He looks away from you, and you have your answer. You were right to run, he’s here for one of you.

“Let’s go,” He doesn’t pull you, but you follow him anyway. Your mind races, thinking through the people your elders would offer up. Who was the most skilled, the most expendable, weighing what you might get in return. What couldn’t these vikings offer you? Safety, rare goods, money, animals, friendship. Invaluable intangible things that would aid all of you, for whatever price they set. It’s still only the illusion of a choice.

Your wrist is still held tight in his grip as you walk beside him. An escort, what a joke. You’re not going to put in a good word for him or do anything more than act as a pass for him to walk your streets. You’re busy working on your escape plan when you smell it.

Smoke, just as you step clear of the forest.

"Gods," the man breathes, both of you standing on top of the hill at the edge of the forest, watching your home burn. Your eyes grow wide watching the fleeing shadows of raiders, the sacrifices of you kin. What are they doing? Why would they- A mass of fire belches from the center of your village, the man covers your eyes, shields you from the heat of it with his cloak. The tattered tartan catches your attention, makes your heart pound in your chest. You recognize it, Mactavish. He was one of you.

"We have to go," He tells you. You try to pull yourself free, scream for your family down the hill. He catches you around the middle again, hauls you back into the safety of the forest. 

"Tell them to stop," you beg. Your sobbing pleas fall on deaf ears.

“Those aren’t my men,” He doesn’t set you down, transfers your squirming to his shoulder with a grunt and keeps his pace. You can still see the lick of flame and smoke through the trees. The only home you’ve ever known, gone in an instant and all you can do is watch. The forest grows thicker around you as you lay against the familiar unfamiliar tartan and let yourself be carried off like a spoil.

[sugutoad]

Matchup Trade for @anni-is-here

↳ Thank you for doing Matchups at Sugutoad

↳ # PROFILE: ANNI | FIRST GRADE SORCERER; a third year sorcerer who has potential to rise to special grade at Tokyo High originating from an esteemed ancient clan, a clan originally part of the big three clans until the Kamo clan earned its current title, her life flipping when she crosses paths with the King of Curses, and as hard she tried to change her fate… she couldn’t.

⨳ SUKUNA RYOMEN; Sometimes, you're a stranger in my bed // Don't know if you love me or you want me dead // Push me away, push me away // Then beg me to stay, beg me to stay, yeah // Call me in the morning to apologise // Every little lie gives me butterflies // Something in the way you're looking through my eyes // Don't know if I'm gonna make it out alive ; Finding one another in each lifetime, a loves that never fades and only grows / a hate you so much / pretty lies / an engulfing inferno / sickly praises whispered / beauty and the beast / a deep, rumbling chuckle / people watching / a drawling voice / partners in crime / menaces to society / ‘hold my flower, I’m going to kill someone’ ‘ok babe’/ haunting memories / crimson red / candles and red lanterns / love me to death / red lipstick marks / black nail polish / He would burn the whole world for you, but won’t let a single flame hurt you

⨳ The King of Curses… how does does manage to even cross paths with him much less hold his heart in their own hands?  Let me tell you how… matching his personality and strength to a degree. And trust me, your powers that will be revealed in the coming section is something to not be messed with.  Although he may never admit it, there is something captivating about your violent tendencies combined with a tender heart that piques Sukuna's interest. It is not necessarily a single reason but rather a combination of your distinct personality traits that attracts Sukuna towards you. You can not convince me that Sukuna doesn’t have dry humour. It’s quite an interesting dynamic with Sukuna, who I wholly believe, enjoys the witty banter and teasing between the two of you, a rare occurrence for him as most people are unable to even look at him, let alone engage in conversation. Sukuna possesses a weird appreciation for your humour and your ability to find joy in various situations, which ultimately prevents overwhelming circumstances from affecting those around the passionate duo. With you, Sukuna is constantly kept on his toes, ensuring that he does not kill and harm too many (to which he calls you a hypocrite ) He might be the King of Curses, but if you asked him to do anything, he would do it within seconds. While you may have your differences, your shared sense of humour, loyalty, and ability to bring out the best in each other is what draws you together. I want you to have someone who understands you, someone who won’t judge you for how you act around them and have an unwavering commitment towards you (even if it is an obsession at times) and Sukuna fits all of those boxes off.

⨳ How does love blossom between the two? Well, I like to imagine that Sukuna was originally born human and later picked up characteristics of curses as he grew up such as the mouth on his hands and stomach. Anni was a girl from an esteemed clan during the Heian period, her clan claiming a spot in the big three. While he was shunned by all, she was loved by all those who resided in the village. Well, I wouldn’t quite say that she was loved by all but rather respect. The villages respected her family far too much to say anything out of line that could possibly result in their death but for her? She was a bother to them with her non-lady-like attitude and violent tendencies. Two sides of the same coin. What baffles the salmon haired boy was how the girl, who grew up exactly opposite of him, never seemed to deem him as a monster but rather a friend. 

⨳ He had first seen Anni when he had been training, I would say around the age of 12, and at the corner of his eyes he couldn’t help but see a glimpse of brown hair. So he went to check it out, in an attempt to confront her. But when he went to find her, he couldn’t seem to find the mysterious girl. The next time he saw her and had an actual conversation, which is something he hadn’t had for a while, it was an awkward accident. He had just been walking near the pond when he saw a figure swimming near the shore. At first, he had ignored her but he had made eye contact by accident. “You shouldn’t be staring at a naked woman, you know?” The brunette smirked at him from afar as he fought back a smile of his own. “I’m afraid I don’t go for ugly women” “So I assume you would go for me if that seems to be the case.” She said while wrapping a towel around herself, never once breaking eye contact. “I don’t go for stalkers” He said with a smug grin, a soft hue of pink rising to Anni’s cheek, standing out greatly from her pale complexion. “I just wanted to see how you trained..” she stuttered, finally breaking eye contact, her eyes currently glued to the floor. “Never seen anyone train before?” “Girls in the clan aren’t allowed in the training room, much less learn how to fight.” The first part of Anni’s sentence nearly stopped Sukuna’s heart. “You are from a clan?” He bit the inside of his cheek. The brunette nodded slowly, she seemed to be displeased with that title instead of boasting it like many Sukuna knew. He let out a breath and sat cross legged in the sand, motioning her to sit beside her to which she didn’t oblige to. “I’m Anni.” “I didn’t ask..” “Rude. You are?” “None of your business.” Anni let out a groan of frustration causing Sukuna to chuckle. “It’s Sukuna.” He waited for her to run away but she smiled at him. “Nice to meet you, Kuna.” “Kuna? Ew, don’t call me that - that horrible nickname ever again. “Why? Aren’t we friends now?” “And what makes you say that?” “You told me your name and I told you mine and we are having a pretty neat conversation. “ Sukuna sighed, it was now Anni’s turn to laugh. And when he went up to leave after a while, he decided to never cross paths with her again. But the gods seemed to have a different plan for him, he knew they hated him but not this much. 

⨳ Wherever he went, she was always there and jogged up to him with a smile. Soon, Sukuna found himself enjoying her company. It was nice to have a friend, though he still wasn’t fond of the name she had given him. The name ‘Kuna’ still runs down the spine, he should be feared by others, not given some cute nickname by Anni. At one point during their blossoming friendship, she convinced him to teach her how to fight and was a natural. No one has ever gotten a hit on her, except… her. Sukuna wasn’t sure when it happened but at one point, he would get furious when he would see Anni happy under the company of a different male. That smile was only for him, not for others. His face would always turn red when she would jump on him from behind. It took him too long, far too long to recognize his feelings for her. A part of him was afraid it was unrequited feelings and didn’t speak up for a long time but simply stayed with her friend. 

⨳That was until one day, 6 years after they became friends (so now they are at the age of 18)  It had started like any day, Sukuna was crossing through the streets to get to where Anni should be waiting for him until he heard whispers around him that got his attention. He was eager to see her, they hadn’t crossed paths for a few days (almost a whole week to Sukuna’s disappointment) The daughter of one of the Big Three clans had been diagnosed with a deadly disease for the last few days, any moment today could be her last. Sukuna’s heart dropped, he almost fell out his chest. No.. it couldn’t be Anni. But the Zenin and Gojo clan leaders both only had sons, no daughter. Only the Spark clan had a daughter - his precious Anni.  He ran as fast as could, pushing everyone out of the way. He didn’t gave a fuck who glared or swore at him, he needed to get to her. Pushing the guards standing at the front of her house, who were bewildered at the sight of the cursed boy confronting them, and ran to her room, sliding the door open. He panted, tears stinging his eyes. She looked so calm, sprawled in bed and her eyes appeared closed. Was he too late?

⨳ He nearly dropped on his knees as he walked to her bed, clutching the white blanket covering her lower body to maintain balance. He wanted to say something, to make sure she was alive and heard her tell him that this was all a prank. But she didn’t move and his voice got to his chest. Brown eyes fluttered open and she muttered at him. “Stalker…” Sukuna's heart raced quickly. He was so happy that he didn’t even say anything back. “I thought you died…” “I will… soon. I just wanted to see you one last time. I’ve been laying all day in bed so I don’t waste energy and knock dead on the floor” she giggled. Sukuna closed his eyes, letting his forehead fall on Anni’s shoulder as he took in a breath. “I love you…” She stayed silent but Sukuna was glad, he was able to take this feeling off his heart and tell her how he felt before she took her final breath. Unexpectedly, salty tears fell down Anni’s face. “Why didn’t you tell me before? Why make me wait so long before I die?” She was practically yelling at him at this point, it broke his heart to hear her voice strained and raspy, filled with so much pain all because of him and his cowardice. “Idiot… I don’t want to die. I want to be with you.. I’m scared, Kuna. I want to live a normal life with you” She hiccuped between words and continued but he couldn’t pick up anything at her words all jumbled together, he gently (as if she was the most gentle thing ever and would shatter under his touch if he was too roughy) rubbed her tears away, never once looking away. Her head fell down on her pillow, sobbing quietly as Sukuna held her hand. He didn’t once let go or say anything, even after she took her final breath hours after. That’s when he broke down, tears slipped down his cheeks as he rubbed his forehead, swearing nonchalantly. “I’m not going to let you die… you can’t. I won’t let you..”

⨳ Little did Sukuna know that the last words of someone or to dead people could turn into a curse for the soul of the deceased. He had just cursed the girl he would erupt the world in flames for. (Sukuna later detaches himself from the world, Anni was his only connection to everything and as a result of this, he slowly build up even more negative emotions and became the curse he is today) It wouldn’t be for another thousand years until the brunette would be reborn once again, 18 years before she would meet Sukuna again. The sad truth is that she wouldn’t even recognize or remember him for quite some time, while Sukuna’s heart breaks upon seeing her. 

(This doesn’t fully depict your romance but rather just a few impactful moments in your life of knowing him so you can let your imagination run free with what happened with the 6 years of your friendship. This relationship means everything to me and breaks my heart. Another lyric that remind me of you and Sukuna is the ending of Enchanted by Taylor Swift, not needed the whole song but just those lyrics: This is me praying that // This was the very first page // Not where the story line ends // My thoughts will echo your name, until I see you again // These are the words I held back, as I was leaving too soon // I was enchanted to meet you // Please don't be in love with someone else // Please don't have somebody waiting on you)

RUNNER UP: NANAMI KENTO AND TOGE INUMAKI

⨳ The Ink Web is a powerful technique possessed by few of those who are born into the Spark clan. When using it, one conjures a web made of ink that ensnares and restricts the movements of their foes. The strength of the technique lies in its ability to immobilise opponents, hindering their ability to fight back. To initiate the Ink Web, the user focuses their energy and channels it into creating the web-like structure. Once formed, it can be directed towards the intended target, entangling them within its inky embrace. It requires skill and precision to effectively utilise this curse technique in battle. In addition to immobilising foes, the Ink Web curse technique can also obscure their opponents vision, enveloping them in a shroud of darkness. This can disorient and confuse them, making it challenging for them to perceive their surroundings and plan their next moves. This technique can also create opportunities for strategic manoeuvres. By ensnaring and restricting the movements of their opponents, the user can seize the advantage and launch attacks or prevent incoming ones. The Ink Web curse technique has two more remarkable abilities. It possesses the power to sap the strength and energy of those caught within its grasp, draining their vitality and leaving them weakened. To add on to the factor of taking away one’s cursed energy and strength, the user who had initiated the attack is able to use that cursed energy as their own. Secondly, the ink used to create the web can be infused with various elemental properties, such as fire or poison like Sukuna’s fire! Another reason you would be amazing with him since your powers benefit one another. 

⨳ Domain Expansion: Also called ‘Arachne’,  the mist of ink that surrounds you and your opponent grants you heightened senses, allowing you to perceive the slightest movements and vibrations, similar to those of a spider. Even one step could be the end of  those captured in this reality. Imagine a swirling sea of dark ink, stretching and weaving like an intricate tapestry. During Domain Expansion, the  range and strength of the Ink Web are magnified, enabling it to cover a larger area and immobilise opponents with even greater force. Within the misty realm, the Ink Web gains the ability to create illusions, disorienting and confusing adversaries as they struggle to discern reality from deception. The Ink Web's tendrils, alongside the user, grow stronger within the domain, allowing them to exert a greater force when ensnaring opponents, making it even more challenging for them to break free. The jujutsu sorcerer who wields the Ink Web gains the power to manipulate the ink itself, shaping it into various forms such as spikes, blades, or shields, providing additional offensive and defensive capabilities. The domain expansion dampens the senses of those trapped within its grasp, making it difficult for them to perceive their surroundings or sense incoming attacks, further increasing the advantage of the Ink Web's wielder. Within the domain, the Ink Web has the ability to regenerate and repair itself, ensuring that it remains a formidable and unyielding force throughout the duration of the battle. Within its expanded realm, the Ink Web grants the jujutsu sorcerer the ability to summon ethereal creatures made of ink. These ink summons can take various forms, ranging from fierce and powerful beasts to agile and elusive spirits. They serve as loyal allies, fighting alongside the sorcerer with each ink summons possessing unique abilities. Users who are a bit more experienced possess a unique power called "Ink Veil." This ability allows the jujutsu sorcerer to create a protective barrier of swirling ink, capable of deflecting and nullifying various attacks. 

⨳ I’m not really sure how I came up with this power for you. I took a mix of your personality and a few of your likes and combined them into one until a power was formed. The more darker theme was certainly chosen due to your love for horror

⨳ The Tachi Blade is a traditional Japanese sword that dates back to ancient times. It supposedly dates back to the Heian Era and you had shown a weird interest in it. The Tachi was primarily used by samurai warriors during battles and important ceremonies. It was known for its long, curved blade and its ability to be wielded with both hands. The Tachi was worn suspended from the waist, with the cutting edge facing downward. The Tachi was also used as a symbol of status and honour, often adorned with intricate designs and symbols representing the samurai's lineage or achievements.

⨳ In battle, the Tachi was used for slashing and cutting motions, allowing the samurai to effectively strike their opponents. Its curved shape and sharp edge made it ideal for powerful and precise cuts. 

⨳ Now with your power, it definitely gives you an advantage in battle. The users of Ink Web could utilise the flexibility and range of the weapon to strike from a distance, wrapping their swords in black tendrils. Another thing any sorcerer, not necessarily from the Spark clan, can infuse Cursed Energy into the sword (similar to what Yuuta did in JJK 0) By focusing their cursed energy into the weapon, they can imbue it with additional power and capabilities. 

⨳ KIRARA AND HAKARI;your best friends. three of you had first met during your first year when you were put under the supervision of Gojo Satoru, the strongest sorcerer, and became quick friends. A thing that certainly puts you guys together is all your rebellious, goofy and bold behaviour. But you do have to scold them at times, such as when those two got expelled and therefore couldn’t participate in the exchange program with you. A lot of your time with them consists of you being a third wheel unfortunately. But they always have your back even during the toughest situations and the three of you shook the jujutsu society. 

⨳ FIRST YEAR STUDENTS; I’m sort of combing them all together because they have similar opinions on you. They respect you a lot, certainly the most in the third year section. Itadori loves watching movies with you and swimming. Nobara wants to be like you, someone even the higher up can’t say much to. Megumi knew you as a child due to both of you being from a high esteemed clan and when you were kings to him, he clinched himself on to you. It wouldn’t be a lie if I said he probably had a childish crush on you before.

⨳ GOJO SATORU; he is your sensei! He wholly believes that you, alongside Hakari and Yuuta, have the ability to surpass him one day. He is one of the reasons why the higher ups are slightly afraid of you (alongside your clan, of course). He sees himself too much in you, he sees bits of Geto too. He wants to protect you from all harm, so when he sees that the King of Curses is obsessed over you, he is willing to do anything it takes to keep you safe. Even if it meant he had to die

⨳ SECOND YEAR STUDENTS; though not a really strong friendship like you have with the third year of the sibling relationship you share with the first years, the second years see you as someone who can guide them. Since you had recently finished second year, they occasionally come to ask help for work and other things. Maki certainly trains with you, you can’t convince me otherwise. Whenever they are on a mission with you, they will look up at you, entrusting everything with you. Because they know the power of Anni Sparks.

[hrodvitnon]

Weighing in on the Bagan/Destroyah stuff with some ideas of my own, because I've heard people mention it a few times:

What if Bagan and Destroyah were divided between routes? Like Destroyah being exclusive to Genocide and Bagan being solely a Coexistence Endgame threat. Here's my thought process for each:

Destroyah fits Genocide perfectly, I think. Godzilla would most likely fight him years after his rampage- and I think it's really telling his final fight would be against a monster created almost solely by a weapon humanity designed to kill him. I almost see Destroyah as a sort of humanity stand in- a grotesque monument to Godzilla's most horrific sin, made up of trillions of microorganisms, perhaps symbolic of everyone he slaughtered, born of perhaps many Oxygen Destroyers humanity kept up their sleeve in case a situation like a rampaging Godzilla happened. However, they were unable to kill Evolved Godzilla, and humanity was wiped out by the billions. It's almost like a karmic inversion of the classic Godzilla tale: where he is a metaphor for humanity's sin of harnessing nuclear energy into a weapon, and Destroyah is a metaphor for the sin of Genocide. Something else important: I think this should be a solo fight for Godzilla. As much as it would hurt Mothra and Abraxas and his family deeply to know that he would not come home from this fight, everyone kinda knows the weight of sin is something he alone must bear and atone for- even if atonement means death, which it ultimately does. It also marks a designated endpoint for Genocide, which I think really suits it as The Bad Ending® (Good Endings in games usually let the characters have a long life for making the proper choices, it's karmic sure but also narratively satisfying. Bad Endings... don't do that). I mean, you totally could have Destroyah be in Coexistence- but major reason why I don't really vibe with it is that he would kind of need to be the end of a major character (basically universally agreed to be Godzilla- it kinda just makes too much sense not to), but a Godzilla death in Coexistence just seems- weird to me. Sorry if this is blunt but like- why? What purpose would it even serve? Thematically he would've been fighting tooth, claw, and nail to build a good relationship with humanity and be a stalwart defender of the planet- despite horrific PTSD from Ghidorah and Xenilla, had taken so much shit from humanity and their crazy bullshit but refused to give up on them and go all murdery, and if Ozzy's alive there'd be the added aspect of him having to save him back when that all happened. I'm not sure how satisfying it would feel to only reward him with a heroic death when all of Coexistence points to a hard-fought happy ending where he gets to grow old with a humanity he's made peace with and a reunited family by his side (ikik; there goes tosho again with his 'no akctually this character should be allowed to live' crap. When's he gonna grow a pair and start letting people die in his HQs? Idk man maybe being a jjk fan has given me an aversion to deaths in stories or something, but to me characters are the beating heart of a story and I value them functionally in writing above every other aspect of a narrative- so whenever I want to kill one off I make sure I have a damn good reason to do so, as a lost character is directly trading off any later plots that could be written with them. lmao death rant in the middle of what's supposed to be a shorter ask, tbh normal behavior of mine at this point)

Ok, Bagan. Gotta credit my guy @zerm2v0hg for a lot of inspiration on this front, as lots of stuff here draws on their posts about Endgame-Abraxas stuff. Like Zerm mentioned he could have more of a personality compared against Des, which I think would suit him as a more sinister antagonist in Coexistence- a more cunning foe the Titans must overcome as opposed to the Icon of Sin lookalike in the other timeline who only cares about sweet bloodshed. A very important detail about Bagan is also that he's canonically made up of both Ghidorah and Godzilla's cells. So- what if this ends up being Ghidorah's next form? One of their asks did mention Ghidorah coming back to destroy London (to further fuck up Vivi, as if she needs further fucking up lol). This could be a kind of Composite Form of his that combines Ichi, Ni, and San's intelligence into a single mind for greater efficiency, merging both his and Godzilla's biology (or- semi-crack idea, he could see himself as kind of like a twisted offspring of Ghidorah and Godzilla; semi-crack because he'd call himself the son of Ghidorah and Godzilla and the entire cast would just deadpan at him while Godzilla tries not to retch at the thought of having a kid with Ghidorah). Either way, Bagan's big gimmick is his Shapeshifting power, where he modifies his body into different forms at will, like a controlled evolution- similar to what Shin does just way faster and efficient at killing his enemies. I feel like you'd need a full cast of fighters to take something like this on- as there's no way he'd be able to counter everyone at once, so when he swaps to counter one person someone else takes point against them, giving the others time to shine against him. Him being a new version of Ghidorah could also be kind of a progress report of how far the world and Titans has come since Boston- and even Russia.

I approve of Bagan and Destoroyah being Route exclusives. It's kind of like Pokemon! But with DEATH AND DESTRUCTION.

[dhampiravidi]

COD MW SoapGhost + 2

I’m imagining my Call of Duty OCs + favorite ship as a polycule & I feel so wrong—

ok but—

Skadi isn’t afraid of Ghost. Ever. She initially thinks Soap is undisciplined, but after seeing him on a mission, she simply finds him endearing. Kili is nice to everyone, but he “flirts” with her by asking to spar with her, after finding out that wrestling is 1 of her many not-so-secret skills (alongside baking, talking to animals & precision kills). She pretends not to know what he’s doing until she realizes he (out of respect) is waiting for her to give him the OK.

Skadi & Kili are happily dating. Ghost & Soap are more subtly dating. But then it’s Soap’s birthday and Kili kisses his cheek, already a bit tipsy. His GF has talked to him about their mutual crush on Soap, so she’s just worried about how Ghost & Price will react…

Ghost shoves Kili up against the wall when he knows they’re alone and tells the younger man to text Skadi. Kili does so, marked down as slightly scared and mischievously horny, then puts his phone away. He sees Skadi and smiles, thinking she’ll free him. Instead, she lifts up Ghost’s mask from the side and kisses him.

Kili watches, transfixed and hard, still pinned against the wall until Soap strolls in. He gently, graciously palms Kili, before he tugs him inside Ghost’s room. They trade quick, sweet kisses for rough, messy ones once Soap’s aroused, and then they’re just panting, grinding against each other. Skadi and Ghost have a short, candid discussion about their and their partners’ kinks, then they join the pair, making sure to lock the door behind them.

[beloved-not-broken]

The "worship leader" drama, explained

I learned a cursed fact on TikTok today: the term "worship leader" is actually trademarked.

An organization called Worship Leader claims its founder came up with the phrase in 1991 (which Christianity Today debunked) and filed for the trademark in 1992. Now it's in a trademark dispute with a social media company that "was using a logo with [Worship Leader's] mark, a similar font, layout, and appearance, [resulting in] confusion at trade shows and other industry events," according to a recent statement.

The fallout is as infuriating and ridiculous as you can imagine.

Online articles have been getting lots of attention with headlines like "Worship Director Discovers Term ‘Worship Leader’ Is Trademarked After His Facebook Page Is Suspended." Many TikTok creators have chimed in with snarky commentary (which is how I found out about this whole situation.)

However, Worship Leader claims that "Christian media outlets sensationalized the story." While there may be a grain of truth there, here's how I see it:

A Christian organization went after another Christian organization for issues unrelated to Christianity.

What I'm seeing in all this infighting is idolatry—and that capitalism and Christianity aren't compatible.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:3 that, "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does."

As Christians, we're supposed to understand that our enemies aren't other people, but spiritual forces that are out to divide the kingdom of God against itself. And what's happening here is just that: division.

In a now-deleted press release, Worship Leader said, "We have 'invested' in our trademarks and so we are compelled to continue to defend all of them and ensure that our investments are protected."

Despite stating that their ultimate mission is about "empowering the church to build a lifestyle of worship," it seems like Worship Leader's #1 priority is actually profit.

"OK, Charlie, but what does all this have to do with capitalism?"

I'm glad you asked.

In the U.S., trademarks exist for financial reasons—namely, to prevent counterfeit products and services from being mistaken for the real deal. However, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states that "you don’t have rights to the word or phrase in general, only to how that word or phrase is used with your specific goods or services."

That's why Worship Leader isn't (and can't) come after people whose job title is "worship leader."

Trademarks are part of the capitalist system because they protect the value of something (in this case, a business—Worship Leader) that can be bought and sold. This is why Worship Leader was so concerned with other companies causing confusion at trade shows: in general, when counterfeits flood the market, the value of the original thing plummets.

Of course, Worship Leader's reputation was also on the line, but so was a whole lot of money.

Now, we'd expect a secular company to be focused on profit. But a Christian one?

Jesus famously said that "you cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6:24). Inevitably, you either fall into idolatry or look to God as the sole source of your happiness and success.

Capitalism is rooted in commerce. Without making a profit, a business will inevitably fail.

But what about Christian businesses? Surely they put their trust God rather than money... right?

Well, as we've seen from this whole trademark dispute between two Christian organizations, clearly not.

Final thoughts:

I'm not saying that Christians shouldn't form businesses. But I do think it's telling that many Christian businesses don't put God first. The whole world looks critically at Christians already, and infighting like this doesn't help us live up to the image of Christ.

As Christians, we should be building each other up, not tearing one another down—least of all attacking each other over trivial things. As Jesus famously said in Matthew 12:25, "a household divided against itself will not stand."

[fox-buried-in-maple-leaves]

wait ok. wait. wait. ok so that social science oc worldbuilding is scratching a tasty itch wtf, can I have some for Kisa? (any or all whichever your preference but please I am fascinated with 4 and 5 i have to know)

Sorry this took so long, I got really focused on my series. also this got SO long by the third q wtf.

1- How does your OC make ends meet? What do they do for a living? How is their occupation viewed in the social context they’re in? Does it come with social prestige or financial comfort, and are these two things aligned in the society you’re writing, or are they separate metrics?

Professionally speaking, Kisa is a tailor. Actuality, we know he's an incredibly respected Fatui spy. Much like other members of the Fatui, Kisa is treated more or less with the same level of caution. However, because he's much more specialized, Kisa is able to get away without too many problems from those who may not like the Fatui. Now, while the Fatui certainly provides, his position before he found himself in Razvedka was never quite 'enough' to get out. Now, however, that has very much changed. However, despite his respected position within the Fatui, there's no real social prestige attached in the eyes of those on the outside. Still he is clearly above regular Fatui.

2- How does your OC communicate? Are they monolingual or multilingual? What is the linguistic environment they’re in? If they’re monolingual, is there a social penalty for only speaking one language, or is it the norm? If they’re multilingual, which of their languages or sociolects has the most/least prestige? Is there a separation between written and oral forms of the language? Can your OC blend in or does their language mark them in some way? What are their levels of fluency, and how do they feel about them?

Kisa most commonly speaks, in well, Common. But he can speak various languages. He isn't as well spoken as Sandrone or Inessa, but he can speak a few languages at least. Among them are Liyuen, Snezhnayan, and the language of his home Natlan. Because of the usage of a common language, Kisa thankfully doesn't run into as many problems in various linguistic settings or various countries he conducts his work in. No language he speaks is more or less prestigious, but due to the lack of Natlan citizens in other countries, his ability to speak the nation's language is often seen as an interest to others. Kisa's accent can sometimes give him away, but given his ability to throw his voice, it doesn't cause issue with his work. As for fluency, the languages he does speak he is fluent in. He knows quite a few curse words in Sumerian though.

3- What is your OC’s concept of social debt? What constitutes a sense of social obligation for your character? Is it based on individual feelings or collective principles? What do they do when they feel like they owe someone? Are they likely to default on a social obligation, or repay it? What are the costs of either approach in the society you’re writing?

Given his upbringing, Kisa doesn't actually believe in social debt. He doesn't believe in owing somebody just because they did something for him. He finds the concept stupid or ridiculous. Now, if there's an agreed upon trade for a favour, then he'll uphold the trade or agreement. But if somebody does something for him then tries to pull in a favour, he most certainly will laugh. Given his outlook is perhaps not the most "accepted" it has caused him some strain in acquaintance relationships with others. Nonetheless, his charm can often wipe any debts clear. His contacts know what he's like, and there is a mutual agreement between him and them that suits both of them, without the need for societal obligation.

4- What does it take for your OC to consider someone a friend? What constitutes friendship in the society you’re writing, what expectations does it come with, and how does your OC fit into that structure of expectations? Do they make friends easily or do they struggle? How intimate is a friendship for them, and what does it include?

Kisa is very interesting about friendships. For the most part, the people he "befriends" are just contacts for later or people to use to further the mission. If you're of use to him, he'll consider you his friend. But friendship, to Kisa, is very shallow. There are few people he'd consider a true friend or somebody actually worth his time. Of course on one hand, his charisma makes befriending others quite easy. But his guarded nature makes deep connections incredibly difficult. The deeper a friendship, the more loyal he becomes, the further he'd go for that person.

5- What does it take for your OC to consider someone kin? What constitutes kinship in the society you’re writing, and how does your OC relate to that set of cultural expectations? Is kinship defined only by blood, or through other forms of social intimacy? Are there symbolic gestures that might establish a kin-like relation? What is family for your OC?

Now, unlike friendships, kinship or family is something Kisa keeps close to his chest. For a man who seemingly wears himself on his sleeve, what Kisa considers family is something very guarded. Society has all sorts of opinions on family, on what it means to be family. Kisa himself believes that family is born from a desire to love and protect another with all that you are. Unconditional care. As someone with no blood relatives, Kisa's family lies in those he's found and those he's put on a familial pedestal. Family is a deep friendship like in the case of he and Galin, or a lover like in the case of he and Lucille. Family is something you make, to Kisa at least.

6- What are your OC’s religious beliefs? Are they aligned with the beliefs of the society you’re writing, or are they orthogonal? Does your OC question their convictions, or do they feel a degree of certainty? Does your OC feel a personal connection to a sense of divinity, or is religion empty social ritual for them?

Kisa is religious, just not in the way one would expect him to be. He'd always known of Gods, of the divine, of what makes up the world around him. For his travels, he's seen how other people believe. He's seen what they give to their Gods and what they get in return. But despite service to a Goddess, despite being from Natlan, despite having seen and witnessed so many various beliefs. It is in Freedom that Kisa puts his heart. When he nearly died, alone and far from a champion. It was the wind that made him it's champion. At one point, he saw ritual and belief as nothing more than a societal standard put forth by the confirmed existence of deities. But as somebody saved and touched by a God, Kisa's view has changed to one of quiet respect and adoration.

7- What does your OC consider unspeakable and/or repugnant? What are the topics or issues your OC finds viscerally difficult or impossible to talk about? Are these topic socially unacceptable, or is it personal? What do they react to with revulsion ahead of any intellectualized response?

Kisa has a very vocal opinion on people who say "pain makes you stronger". He doesn't believe it to be true. And he believes the quest for strength can lead to one's fall faster than other methods. Pain and trauma doesn't make somebody stronger, it leaves lasting marks on the psyche. It's personal to him. Of course there are plenty of topics, some social taboos disgust him as of course they do. Others he doesn't particularly care. However, Kisa also has a strong opinion about children being used as weapons. So much so he's likely to vocalise his opinion before thinking through his words. It has gotten him in trouble with another Harbinger in the past.

8- How does your OC approach the line between public and private? What sorts of things does your OC not share with anyone, what might they share with the people closest to them, and what do they happily share with anyone who might ask? What is their definition of property if they have one? In turn, does your OC think they belong to something as well? (A state, a collective, a cause, a person, etc)

He's very good at seeming like an open book whilst being incredibly closed off. Kisa is just very good at answering questions in ways that aren't really answers. Of course, he doesn't particularly share his past with anybody, and he'll talk about his upbringing in fragments if those closest to him ask. And as for his arm? Well he's got a different cool story every time. As for property, anything he owns is his property. Yes, including the hundreds of feet of fabric. That's his, hands off. Does he belong to something? Of course. But now does he believe in that cause? Well.. Not anymore.

9- What would it take for your OC to change their opinion? Does your OC change their worldview often or are they set in their ways? What does it take for them to change their mind? Do they admit they were wrong, and if so, under what circumstances? How do they handle it? What do they do when their beliefs are threatened?

Kisa is surprisingly stubborn. It's hard to get him to change his views! It's something that happens passively more so than with determined thought. Sometimes all it'll take is the right words from the right person or an event, and other times he'll just dig his heels in and shake his head. Stubborn cat.. Though, if Kisa is wrong, he'll admit he's wrong! Even if he sometimes struggles to apologise, he'll still manage to. But only if somebody he cares about has gotten hurt due to his stubbornness. Otherwise, probably won't say sorry. Again, he tries to be very understanding if its someone he cares about. As for what he does when his beliefs are threatened? Stew quietly in his anger and reaffirm his beliefs if need be.

10- What social persona does your OC perform most frequently, and when do they show other aspects of themselves (and to whom)? Is your OC code-switching between social persona depending on context, or do they stay consistent? Is social adaptation something they feel is necessary or are they uneasy about it? Do they believe that one has to be honest in their self-presentation, and is that aligned with the society you’re writing or is one expected to have multiple social “faces”? Under what circumstances does your OC show a different facet/angle of themselves?

Social adaptation is ABSOLUTELY necessary. Even if Kisa wasn't a spy, who he was before the Fatui and who he is now are wildly different people. Nobody likes a sad orphan with a pitiful story. He's created his persona to be the best version of himself to put forward, and he'll squash any mention of who he was before this persona became a reality. He's consistent in his charisma, consistent on being the best. But he'll switch it up if the mission calls for it, he'll do most things if the mission calls for him. Of course, society always wants you to be honest with yourself. But honesty doesn't get him anywhere, so he lies and continues to parade his persona instead. It's in the quiet of night that his true self starts to show. At least he isn't Sandrone and his hundreds of masks, he tells himself.

[indiafishydish]

You can’t seem to help yourself, Nick, apparently Dr. William J Travis also can’t help himself

How many more tooth will you lose? Well oh excuse me teeth.

Soul vibration. Y’all, they only take and keep taking.

The fact is Stephanie Bryant can still be killed and soak and danielle and all of your other girlfriends and who is the bathtub soaker ha

But you’re not fresh Nick and you’re not ever going to be a star so if you can’t change your behavior, you must be killed

Potato brown and russets of millions

Doctors laughing. Lmao those idiot women

I can go back to Dr. Lang and explain to him that he has an opportunity to be a good doctor but he will more than likely just dick me over the same way that Nick has taught me. Most men are in America.

I can go back to Dr. Nazir and he can take me over some more. I said dick don’t get ahead of yourself. Motherfucker, you’re a nasty piece of shit.

I don’t know why I would even consider going back to you. You’re such a fucking piece of dog shit it’s like oh my God can I show you this artwork and you actually use your brain or are you just going to gaslight me some more gaslight me some more I said probably you will gaslight me more just like you guys try to do all the time I guess like doctor like public I have a very difficult time believing that I would want to be a doctor because I think it’s beneath me intellectually speaking

Nick, this is a horrible horrible thing to say but I’m just gonna tell you right now if I’m not OK your daughter will not be OK and your family will be killed one by one

But since that’s not enough, Nick, we are also going to make sure that we make well on that promise to cut your legs off and all of that horrible stuff horrible, horrible, sarcophagus stuff

But you don’t want to kill the wrong ones because then the technology stops people like Nick don’t want anybody to have anything they want it to be the end of times fundamentalist Christian world where he can say and hallelujah brother I own this house that’s disgusting

Some of the wealthier people who own horse farms yeah, they decided to take some of the toys from the doctors in Kentucky because of genetic abuse. Dr. Lang is really pissed about it.

It’s not just genetic abuse. It’s the fact that they want to intentionally target people from other countries and then say I’m better than you and the reason is that Dr. Lang father is really his daddy uncle brother

Indian did you have anything else to add?

Dental work well I can’t trade people to make them feel better

Genetic abuse. Evelyn Carver is already at target because of people

When I say at target I mean potato.

They want to genetically abuse anybody who they deem superior to them genetically and Stephanie and Next thought that they were going to cross the line to apparently check my genetic information and I’ve been studying genetics since I was a kid but not only that I know a lot of things about genetics that a lot of Americans do not know so I’m a very, very shitty motherfucker because I want Americans to also be OK I said shifty

Bombay what else could I possibly add? What do you want me to talk about kings queens princesses all these other titles that I am hearing come back around and the fact that some of those people have what’s the genetics it’s not your business that’s very confidential information and Dr. Lang does not have that access. Neither does Mark even though that would be the joke check my blood to see if I’m really an Indian person the problem even there is that people are born in India. They are Indians and then idiots like Mark Saderholm and Dr. fuck bag Lang think that they are going to be so cluttered I said clever and that’s not clever

More sucking in fucking know I think that Nick wants something at Denises and I think that Dennis wants something from Nick. It gets really weird there because I’m not a fan of either one of them but I do think that Dennis has a certain left button said lust, cause he wants money.

Say whatever the fuck you want. I was a natural lefty in the first place all day.

You guys all are saying that I’m not a natural lefty even though I got my right hand hurt you know I also got my left hand hurt, right whatever believe whatever but I can tell you guys I’m very much a lefty

You cannot force a person to be a left-handed person and have a cash cow child you can’t do that America that’s not how that works so as far as your genetic abuse of trying to smash the hands of little children, do you need to stop? That’s not a question and I’m not smashing any hands.

I could stop you know because I know that somebody like Dr. Lang would be like oh my gosh I want that kind of royalty I’m gonna pretend to be that other guy and she had to listen to me. It’s still gonna turn against you motherfucker

Genetic abuse our servers can’t handle this Rebecca stop oh my gosh we have to read through all of this not only that but the doctors here don’t have access to my genetic information and this is a complicated shit wreck. No you really don’t. I’m not sure what you think you know but you’re wrong I’m about 99.999% right about that.

[spyoikawa]

still on that saiki k brainrot so hear me out-

metori, saiki, teruhashi, aren and hairo with an s/o who really loves to bake/cook-

no thoughts just Reader learning how to make coffee jelly for saiki (like maybe they make him a tower of coffee jelly for an anniversary or his birthday-). no thoughts just Reader cooking something for metori who pretends to not want to eat it cause it’s ‘peasant food’ but ends up really enjoying their cooking. no thoughts just cooking/baking date with teruhashi. no thoughts just teaching aren how to cook/bake and having a food trade with him, bringing him lunch/a snack to school. and no thoughts just hairo hyping Reader up while they cook/bake and making stuff for him to bring to class rep meetings-

thank you! <3

the excitement I got got I saw teruhasi- i don't see a lot of writing for her and I get happy when I get to do less than common things! Thanks!

I'm running low on creative juices, so please I hope you don't mind if I use the exact scenarios you suggested 💀

Note: some of the things I wrote felt really rude so please don't mind the tone tags in parentheses, also i have not edited this yet

Saiki, Teruhasi, Hairo, Aren, and Saiko with an S/O who can cook/bake

♡romantic♡

Saiki Kusuo (italics = saiki telepathy)

Although it was undeniably tasty, your boyfriend's obsession with coffee jelly was not only getting out of hand but also quite expensive-

I mean he spent 3,000 yen for one serving-

But yanno what it's ok, coffee jelly is easy to make, and this gives you an excuse to hang out (not that you need one)

"Ok Ku, i had an idea"

I like it, just make sure you teach me how to do it too

"Rude. I wasn't finished"

You did in your head

As endearing as it could be sometimes, Saiki's mind-reading could be a pain occasionally

You wound me.

"Good. (/j)"

After a long debate over recipes and serving sizes, there it was, in all its glory, your first batches of coffee jelly

it was heaven

You did end up sharing the recipe with him, but it still became a little tradition to make the coffee jelly together

It just tastes better that way :)

Kokomi Teruhashi

In the midst of your TV and cuddles date, Kokomi huffed and turned off the TV

But of course it was rude to just turn off the TV, so she offered to play a board game instead

You did play with her, but your curiosity was begging as to why she wanted to change the activity

"Hey Kokomi, this game is fun, don't worry... but why'd you turn off the TV so suddenly?"

"Oh, it was nothing! I just thought you would like this game, and I wanted you to enjoy yourself more!"

Now, that's the answer the most perfect girl in the world would give

But Kokomi is still human, there's gotta be something wrong

You spent a while thinking to yourself about what you were watching, you two agreed on a documentary, then after the documentary, the channel played a cooking show with a guest baker/cook Makoto Teruhashi- oh.

So that was it

At the end of the round, you stood up and offered your hand to pull up Kokomi with you.

"Hey, wanna make a bet?"

She looked up with a bit of curiosity.

"I bet you, I can make your favorite dish, far better than Makoto can"

She smiled a bit, "sure!"

Her favorite food was simple, so you taught her to cook it and added in some other things just for fun (and so she can't recreate it without your secret ingredients)

Now you guys have cooking dates often and always find ways to spice up foods (and beat Makoto at whatever he was doing on tv)

Hairo Kineshi

my thoughts and prayers go to you

we all saw what happened when he tried to make crepes

but in his mind, it was a learning opportunity

You guys were taking an after-school stroll, the weather was really nice, it would be a shame if you two just went home and did nothing. Walks like these tend to get sentimental and nostalgic, so your conversation subconsciously started to drift towards school life.

"And do you remember that time we had to get kuboyasu, kaido, and nendo to play on a baseball team? Oh my god thank god it didn't go too poorly, that one player really pulled through at the end..." you laughed out

"Haha I do remember that, I can't believe we got them to play, it really could've gone worse" He smiled as he remembered that day, but then his eyes drifted up to a bakery across the road. "Speaking of poor experiences..."

after he explained to you he and kaido's crepe disaster, you couldn't help but tease fun at him for a bit

but you did agree to teach him more about cooking and baking

he's a bit too passionate about cracking eggs, but hey, at least you can work faster

after many, many burnt crepes and pans, there it was, a fallen appart, incorrectly folded, but still a properly cooked crepe sat there in all its beauty

it kinda looked like this

Although he does learn many different things with you, crepes will be the thing he makes over and over again, even when he has it down to a science, just because it's the first thing you taught him, and he will keep that sweet memory forever (get it. sweet? Cause crepes? Im funny i swear.)

Aren Kuboyasu

He actually knows how to cook pretty well

He's not really sure when he picked up cooking, its kinda just stuck around, but he enjoys it, it makes him seem more goody

and he can treat you :)

I will die on my "aren lives for the most basic/domestic activities hill"

cooking with him is always an experience, he will play music in the background, and pull you aside to dance at random times

also does that really hot thing where he stands behind you, reaches around to hold your hands, and basically has you in a cage while showing you how to do something

it's one of those spontaneous things to do, if there's nothing else to do, might as well make something to eat

firm believer in "if you have to eat to live, you might as well eat delicious foods" so he will always try out new things with you if its healthy and tasty

"bab look at this show" you called out from where you were sitting, there was a cooking show/food documentary on, and it was showing a special food. "it says this chicken has a secret sauce they dip it in"

he walked over to the tv and watched it for a couple seconds, thinking a bit.

"...wanna figure it out?"

"yes. I'll make the chicken if you figure out the sauce?"

"deal."

will you ever know if you got the secret sause? Nope, but you did figure out a chicken recipe that is good as hell

he probably writes down all the recipes you "invented" together for safekeeping and so he can return to it later, but he refuses to show it to anyone

Saiko Metori

as much as I love him, we all saw in that one episode how picky he is while eating, and is probably a bitch to please while cooking/baking

so after a lot of convincing, you got him to sit in the kitchen with you so he can watch you bake for the two of you

in reality, all you have to do is give the dish a fancy rich-sounding name, you just have to be really careful with what you say

like this 💀

you decided to bake for him today, baking is a lot more "by the book" than cooking, so you thought he would take a bit of comfort in knowing it was done in a professional way

"alright tori, so I think I'll make a heavy pastry made with fine cacao and extracts, baked into a rich dessert for a fine sweet palette"

"you're making brownies aren't you"

"🧍‍♂️"

Told you, you have to be as specific as possible

He does eventually get interested in what you're doing though, as he never really sees his personal chef cook, and wants to help you by the end

He really did enjoy it! It quickly became one of his favorite treats

But funny enough, no matter how many bakeries he tried or how many times his chef tried, they never tasted the same

(you put in special spices as your own little mark on the treat)

so he ends up having you over for more cooking dates

Which he really does enjoy btw

as a tsundere he will look all annoyed and probably call you a plebe, but these are his favorite types of dates

[bossmodeplus]

I love how Princess Bubblegum was slowly built up to be a terrifying force in Adventure Time without going for the ‘yeah, she’s a villain’ route. This wasn’t out of the blue either, considering it was always established early on that she does some weird things (i.e. the Decorpsinator Serum, the Paralyzing Potion, the destruction of much of the Rattleballs series). And then there was the surveillance system. 

Oh god, the surveillance system. 

It’s because of the weird, unsettling creations, her omnipotence through the surveillance system, overall conception of the Candy Kingdom, and alliance to powerful creatures (Marceline), that she’s subtly likened to a god.

The mixture of hushed blues and vibrant golds in the mural in The Thin Yellow Line mark the duality of PB. Her visage in the very end subverts the motherly vibe seen in centuries old paintings. PB instead looms over, ambiguously threatening. Her expression is neither entirely warm nor entirely angry. 

Just like Man’s recurring depiction of God, hence the fear.

I love the muted tones in the background of PB, because it can have many interpretations. Behind the maternal glow of Bubblegum, there’s a whole warehouse of skeletons. You can’t always get a proper read on her. I wouldn’t so much as call it cognitive dissonance because PB’s kindness can exist with terror. There’s no need to pick lanes.

What makes the mural even more flooring is how it foreshadows her status as a god-like figure in the Elements miniseries.

She looms over the landscape, this time her status as a deity practically realized.

She isn’t just limited to her own dominion. She uses Marceline’s song to turn other elemental creatures into her own. She even turns Flame King Phoebe into her saccharine servants (Phoebe, the same person who nearly destroyed Ooo from kissing Finn)!

Despite this, there’s a method to her madness.

Again, PB isn’t a stranger to the questionable. But notice how her actions became even more so after her near-fatal run-in with the Lich in season 2′s finale. Three quotes from Goliad, Burning Low, and Varmints offer crucial insight into PB’s darker, but sadder traits.

“As the Princess of the Candy Kingdom I am in charge of a lot of Candy People. They rely on me. I can’t imagine what might happen to them if I was gone. And after my brush with death at the hands of the Lich *yawn* I realized something. I’m not gonna live forever, Finn. *Whisper* I would if I could...but modern science just isn’t there yet.”

She’s so burdened with the wake-up call to her own mortality that she creates Goliad, at the cost of her mental health. She hasn’t slept for 83 hours here, brushing the air as she tells Finn and Jake of how she conceived Goliad.

“Sometimes you want someone and you want to kiss the and be with them, but you can’t. Because responsibility demands sacrifice.”

I’m pretty sure she was hinting at Marceline, but I digress. PB’s cold nature is proof that she takes the concept of sacrifice to extreme degrees. She’s willing to halt her relationships if it means securing the welfare of her people.

PB operates on a mother-driven anxiety, an ever growing vulnerability she copes with by bottling it up. This comes to a head in Varmints, after her and Marceline trade playful verbal blows at each other. Varmints progresses with PB realizing that no, she doesn’t have everything under control. Marcy takes another playful jab at PB until she finally breaks down with this.

“I tried, I really, really tried. I just...I thought that if I could just shut everything out and focus on work, it would all be ok. And look where they landed me...all I managed to do is push everyone away. I pushed you away. I’m sorry, Marceline. I’ve been a real dinger to you.”

Princess Bubblegum is less an unhinged “war-crimes” scientist and more a mother trying to make the world a better place for her kids at the cost of all other relationships. Phoebe calls her out in The Cooler for her unsettling practices, to which PB shows a degree of repentance from hearing someone actively call her bad. 

Bubblegum is the mom who comes home from long, grueling work days. She resents it, but forces a smile because she doesn’t want to worry her kids. Because if she becomes openly vulnerable, they’ll become worried and vulnerable too. She’s been doing the job for hundreds of years with more and more added onto her plate.

You don’t live for 800+ years without someone making attempts on your life...or your people’s.

[warmau]

☆ [nostalgic] summer romance!au jaehyun exactly on time for the valentine boy! ........well....... find others here: johnny | haechan | taeil | taeyong | mark | jaemin | yangyang | yuta | sicheng | chenle | kun | yukhei | doyoung

how you end up here, you don’t know, but you blame johnny suh because when things get weird it’s usually his fault anyway

johnny’s smile is a thousand and one watts - he reaches out to pass you the beat up guitar case and again, you don’t even take it by choice, it’s nudged into your hands before you can really even say a word

“im not joining your band.”

“it’s not mine - it’s ours.”

jungwoo twirls a drum stick between his fingers and grins from his spot on the garage couch

“no johnny - we all know it’s yours.”

your lips thin and the only reason you don’t fling the case to the floor is because you actually like the guitar that’s inside. 

granted you haven’t seen it since middle school and it probably still has that horrible sticker on the back of it that you remember picking at until all the little pieces you got off were uncomfortably stuck under your nails.

“guys - it’s summer. we have nothing better to do.”

“says you, i got an engineering internship at samsung.” 

jungwoo chirps again and you try not to roll your eyes

we all know about the damn samsung internship dude.

“yeah - and i have to work at the family bookstore.”

mark lee walks in, holding as many redbulls as he can fit between his elbows, they spill out and onto the space beside jungwoo

you listen to mark open one and johnny groan

“ok you all have something to do, but we-” he motions behind him at you “don’t have anything to save us from the boredom that is about to take up two months of our youthful lives!”

“hey-”

you cut in and all three sets of eyes focus on you

“i have something i want to do this summer.”

johnny’s long figure straightens in anticipation while jungwoo cocks an eyebrow and mark gives you an encouraging smile

“im not going to tell you what it is, but it’s definitely not starting a band with you guys.”

you lean the guitar case against a nearby wall and add a half-hearted shrug

“sorry.”

the walk from johnny’s house to yours isn’t long, it takes about fifteen minutes if you’re really going slow. 

plus you’ve done it so many times, you basically set your body to autopilot.

you think about it - the thing you want to do this summer before you go away for university and home becomes a new place and a memory at the same time.

you’re not known for being sentimental, johnny has even gone so far as to label you as a bit ‘apathetic’ . but still you know this is your last chance to really enjoy the place you grew up in.

you turn the corner at the street that leads down to where you live and in the hot evening air you hear something

it’s the sound of a bike, the pedaling is light but the frame must be old because it creaks a little when it slows down slightly to maneuver to the left and pass you.

you look up and see a boy

brown hair still wet from the pool or a shower maybe, dimples at the corners of his smile, the two sizes too big white shirt fluttering behind him in the breeze

for what seems like longer than a second - you lock eyes - his match the color of autumn leaves and teddy bear fur 

and for some weird reason can’t stop thinking about them even well after you get back home

is he new in town? i’ve never seen him before?

finally managing to shake off the curiosity, you fish the shoebox you’ve been keeping under your bed out and open it.

inside there’s only three things so far: 

a copy of your graduation photo, a copy of johnny’s graduation photo, and the prom invite ticket that has jungwoo’s chicken scrawl on the back (he was technically your date, because johnny got proportioned by half the seniors and mark was too nervous to ask if you’d take him)

this is what you were talking about. this is what you want to spend summer doing.

you want to spend it remembering, gathering fragments of your life so far in your hometown with your bestfriends, so that when you move on you have a tangible piece of the memories

the reason you were keeping it a secret though was because.....even you had to admit.......this was a little much 

and you had built yourself a little bit of a hard shell so imagining telling the people you knew that this was your summer plan 

well, you could already hear johnny’s voice saying something like ‘hey, this isn’t a hallmark movie you sap and facetime exists. do you think im not gonna call you at 3 am from across the country like i do now anyway?’ 

you close the box and tap your fingers on the top.

tomorrow, i’ll start visiting all the important places.

your phone pings and it sound echoes through the otherwise empty library. 

a harsh shushing sound comes from the front desk and you quickly answer it, sliding down against one of the bookcases

you’d come here to see if you could find that old series you loved as a kid, the magic treehouse, it’s the books you and johnny fought over when you first met each other years ago

you abandon that though because poor mark sounds like he’s having a panic attack over the phone

“hey, you need to get over here - johnny is holding auditions for a guitarist since you said you didn’t want to do the band”

“ok, so what? it’s just auditions?”

mark’s pleading gets louder, “it’s auditions with JOHNNY - he thinks this is eurovision or something i don’t know please i can’t reign him in and jungwoo’s at his internship - i am dying here!”

you sigh, making it long so mark knows how annoyed you are

“put him on.”

mark’s voice drowns and johnny takes the phone from him

“what did i say with conspiring with them? we are shunning them for quitting on the band! what do you mean you had no other options? what do you mean my egomania is coming out? - anyway hey whats up?”

“stop torturing mark and all the poor kids that showed up to audition.”

“first of all, im not torturing anyone. that would be illegal and distasteful, im just giving my constructive criticism. second of all, if you want to give orders like that then let’s make this a fare trade off. come over and help me judge - i mean hold the auditions and then i will cease my so called ‘torturing’ ala my ‘criticizing’.”

you huff - fine, it’s one day out of the whole summer.

“ok. but you better have snacks.”

“do you think i wouldn’t provide refreshments? what kind of monster do you think i am?”

there’s more people than you expect showing up to audition for this band. half of them are just there to sweet talk johnny or mark,  but the others are all just. bad. 

you never knew how bad someone butcher playing an instrument, let alone a guitar, but you’ve had that eye opening experience today

“how many people left?”

you mutter, face first into your palms and looking up with happiness when mark says only one!

“hey, im jung jaehyun.”

you turn and see the boy from the bike, the one with the softest eyes you’ve ever seen, standing in the entry to johnny’s garage

he’s carrying his own guitar case - black leather and well worn but loved

“well jaehyun dude, i hope you can at least play the damn thing because i feel like no one in this town can!”

johnny groans and you straighten up a little as jaehyun comes closer

he sets himself up and you feel something inside your stomach turn when he bends down and you see a bit of the tanned skin of his back

“im not amazing, but i can play some of the classics.”

“wonderwall?” mark asks and johnny snips at him as you try to think of something to say, but suddenly....your brain is fuzzy

“play anything!” 

so jaehyun does, he plays, and he even sings and the fuzziness in your brain turns to white noise and the little drop in your stomach is a whole bundle of butterflies

you barely realize the johnny is already befriending jaehyun and mark is staring at him with those big, impressed eyes

when you get up and jaehyun smiles at you

“so what do you play?”

johnny throws an arm around your shoulder older brother style and rolls his eyes before you get a word in

“you’re actually taking their spot because they’re too busy to be in the band.”

something seems to cast a sad shadow over jaehyun’s features - “oh, you’re not going to play with us?”

words float through your head, none of which you can grasp onto, so you just shake it instead and let johnny ramble on about your so called betrayal

you look at your phone and of course it’s nearing ten and there’s no way you can go to any of the other places on your list so you motion to mark that you’re going to head home

“oh - i have to go too.”

jaehyun slings his guitar case over his shoulder, “but ill come by tomorrow for practice?”

johnny shoots him a big grin and then haggles all the social media jaehyun has out of him

you don’t know why you just don’t start walking - but somehow you end up leaving with jaehyun, making that left turn where you first passed each other

“do you live on this street?”

you jump a little as you nod, “yeah - i think i actually saw you yesterday. you were on your bike so you probably didn’t notice me.”

there’s a polite distance between you two, but jaehyun is smiling when he answers

“oh no, i definitely noticed you.”

you end up thinking about those words the same way you couldn’t stop thinking about his eyes 

except this time, instead of it lasting a day, the thought lasts nearly two and a half weeks

it seems jaehyun is doing a good job fitting in with your friends, considering you don’t get anymore calls from mark 

and you actually start to make progress on your summer project

you manage to get some ticket stubs from old movies, an old science project you did that’s still hanging on the walls of the highschool (open for summer classes), and pressed flowers from ontop of a hill where you almost break your elbow back when you were a freshman

you’re plunging yourself into your past, but weirdly enough every now and then you’ll remember that 

oh no, i definitely noticed you

the six little words make you feel giddier than whatever memento you’re seeking out to tuck into your shoebox

you try to tell yourself it’s just because jaehyun is new - he’s new and the memory of him isn’t old enough to try and find anything to represent him by 

and he kind of represents everything you’re nervous about - new places, new people, new friendships ...... the prospect of a new love

love? 

you look up at the sky as you swing back and forth on the playground you’ve come to collect something from for your memory box 

that’s ridiculous. i’ve had one conversation with him!

you swing your legs back and forth, slowing down and you think twice about jumping off when suddenly you feels someone gently push your back

the swing goes a little higher and you turn your head in surprise to see

“j-jaehyun?”

he smiles and his dimples greet you before he does

“i saw you on my way back from johnny’s.”

he gives you another soft push and you hear that fuzzy noise that always turns the gears in your brain when you try to say something around him

“is - is johnny being nice?”

is all you can muster and jaehyun laughs, the sound melodic but low, just the way the baritone of his voice is when he sang

“very nice, but he is a lot to handle sometimes.”

you kick your legs down and dig your heels into the grass a little, jaehyun grabs the two chains of the swings to help you stop it

when you turn you notice his bike is laying a couple of feet away and so is his guitar

“what about the band stuff?”

“johnny is trying to write songs and stuff, but actually mark is the one that i think has the talent for it.”

you can’t help but feel the corner of your mouth lift up a little, he already knows the two of them pretty well.

“what about you - do you write songs or music?”

jaehyun lifts his bike back up and you take the guitar case to help him

before you know it - you and him are walking side by side again 

“a little, but it’s more about playing the guitar for me. that’s the part that makes me happy.”

you play with your fingers behind your back, old nervous habits rising to the surface

“by the way - why did you not want to be part of the band? johnny said you were busy with something but you didn’t say what.”

you stop 

i should lie, make something up.

jaehyun stops too and the sounds of the bike wheels and footsteps float off into the air

but for some reason, i don’t want to lie. not to him.

“im......leaving after the summer, going to school in another place. so im spending my summer kind of.....im kind of cataloging this place. this town. i’m doing the whole put your memories in a shoebox thing which is so-”

“awesome! i think it’s awesome that you want a part of your home with you, sometimes people are way too excited to get away from their roots.”

you look at jaehyun, who returns the look with a comforting warmth you’ve never experienced before.

it’s a different comfort than the one you get from your friends or your family, it makes your heart beat flutter - slow for a second, then so fast you think your body can’t keep up

he starts walking again and you do too

the silence isn’t weird. it’s a conversation in it’s own way between your two bodies.

when you get to your house - you look at jaehyun again and you have two thoughts

one is that you should kiss him. because he looks so.....kissable.

the second, the one you ultimately choose, is to widen your eyes and go:

“promise you won’t tell the others about it though, they would not let me live it down.”

jaehyun laughs and hooks his pinkie with yours - his skin soft under the setting sun - “i promise.”

and after being caught up in thinking about jaehyun’s eyes, or the way he speaks, you find yourself in the same repeating cycle again

this time. it’s your regret. 

you should have chose option one, because it’s looking like another opportunity to kiss jung jaehyun is not coming any time soon.

and like the two times before, you throw yourself into your summer project to try and not think about it 

(although you do, multiple times throughout the day, at one point blushing at the image of what could have happened if you DID kiss him and then getting snapped at by the angry man at the local deli)

another couple of weeks pass and you swing by johnny’s because it’s a location on your summer memory list and also....

you are curious about how the band is going ...

and you kind of a little want to see jaehyun again......

you arrive and hear jungwoo’s voice to your surprise, followed by the sound of drums and johnny’s sharp “stop, stop, STOP!”

“jungwoo, what is going on - did working at samsung make you into a robot who can only produce code and not drum to save his life?”

“what do you know about drumming johnny? or coding? or anything in general?”

“hey watch the attitude, you’re embarrassing me in front of jaehyun.”

jungwoo snorts and you try to hide your own laugh but everyone turns to you just in time for you to hiccup it back

“ah - the traitor is here!” 

johnny sings and jaehyun gives him a soft elbow to the ribs

“what’s up?” 

mark smiles from his place at the keyboard and you cross your arms

“nothing, hows it going - book any shows? write an album yet?”

“actually, we did book a gig for your information”

johnny waltz his way from the microphone and to a stack of flyers from his couch

he hands you one and this time you do burst out into laughter

the flyer, pink and way over the top, is an invitation to johnny’s end of the summer party

well it’s actually his going away party his parents have planned for him, since he’s also leaving for school

“johnny - you didn’t book a gig. you’re playing your own party.”

“the parents are shelling out twenty dollars to each of us so money makes it a gig.”

you look at jaehyun who secretly rolls his eyes

“sure, sure. can i keep one of these?” 

you fold the flyer and slip it into your pocket, this will make a good addition to the shoebox

“oh are you going to put it in-”

jaehyun starts and you rush over, hand flying over his mouth as the three other people in the garage stare

“going to put it in......the trash. yes. going to throw it right out because really johnny did you use paint-”

johnny flips you off in the kindest, best friend way possible

you let go of jaehyun and throw him a look that he mouths an apology too

somehow, instead of leaving, you end up staying and listening to them practice

you consider it a break from your project and the day is filled with what you’d expect from all of them, laughter and jokes and banter that is only ok between the closest of people

when they finally finish practice and jungwoo and mark accept a gracious ride home from mr. suh 

you say you’ll be off too and jaehyun trots up right behind you, “ill walk with you.”

this time, you hear less of the fuzz in your head and can actually keep up a decent conversation without staring at jaehyun’s lips

you feel closer because of the time you spent today and you almost walk past your house until jaehyun points to the porch

“oh by the way. can i see what you have in the shoebox?”

you look over your shoulder at him, “like right now?”

he gives a casual shrug

“is that ok?”

and now jung jaehyun is standing in your room. well he’s standing in it and then he’s sitting on your bed and rummaging through some of the most personal memories you have.

his long fingers pulling out ticket stubs or notes you passed in class

he chuckles at the graduation photo of johnny and dangles yours over your head when he refuses to give it back 

you tackle him for it and he falls down against your sheets and you make the worst (or arguably best) mistake of your life

when you straddle his hips and rich out to grab it

only to look down and see him splayed open like the pages of a beautiful book

and you remember your regret

it makes your head spin, but you watch in slow motion as the photo falls from between his fingers and you lean down to catch it, but jaehyun presses up and catches your mouth with his.

it’s sloppy, awkward - but only for the first few seconds - until you can both adjust yourselves from your position and do it right and then it is 

astonishing

because it feels like you’re kissing someone you’ve been kissing for years. decades. millennia's. eons. 

it feels like you and jaehyun have been doing this since the big bang.

since humans first came to exist. 

since, gosh you don’t know, since pangea freaking broke apart.

you make out for so long that you lose track of time and it gets late to the point where the darkness of the summer almost makes you ask him to stay over

but jaehyun is just so mannerly that he slips out the back door of your house with a final kiss and a promise to call

which he follows up on earlier than you expect, showing up on your doorstep to take you out for breakfast

only to end up with you two back in your room an hour later, kissing again, and again, and with more hands and less of his shirt or yours.

the only thing that unglues you from him is his phone ringing for what must be the tenth time

“it’s johnny”

you breath against jaehyun’s neck finally

“how do you know?”

“only he calls ten times in a row.”

and like your summer project, you don’t tell your friends about what’s going on between you two

jaehyun says it’s kind of hard to hide the obvious evidence on his body - but you tell him to say it was your other neighbor, or someone from another town

jaehyun agrees just because you pull the doe eye trick on him and he really is learning he can’t say no to that or to you in most situations

but everytime before and after band practice - he’s with you

sometimes he joins you on your little visits to the places still on your lists

when you tell him the sentimental value behind them, you get a little fidgety because being vulnerable is hard 

but jaehyun listens and he says that each memory of yours he gets to watch you relive, helps him learn something about you

you don’t say it out loud - but hearing that makes you want to cry and kiss him and cry again 

an other times, you two don’t do anything heartwarming or special, you just roll around with him, tangled up in one until he has to go

with each day, summer comes closer to 

and end but you fall deeper into each other at a pace that might be alarming if it was any other two humans but the both you

and before you know it - it’s the day of johnny’s end of summer slash going away party 

jaehyun is supposed to be there from like nine in the morning but he stops at your place before he bikes over

kissing your forehead he drops something in your palm

you open it to see his guitar pick 

“won’t you need this for when you play?”

“i’m using my backup. i just thought you might want to put that one in your shoebox........since it could remind you of me......”

he flushes and you bite back your lip, part of you is happy because he’s just so cute it isn’t fair but the other is coming to the daunting idea that 

soon enough - im leaving too, will jaehyun just be another memory to me?

instead of dwelling on it, you peck him again and ask, 

“ill see you at the party?”

the party is most definitely a johnny suh party

the food is amazing, everyone on the planet is invited, and johnny is wearing something so bright it beats out the sun

when you arrive, his mother spends half an hour asking you to take care of him when he finally leaves and you don’t remind her that you’re going to two different places

you don’t see jaehyun or mark or jungwoo around - you assume they’re practicing somewhere for the performance while johnny is juggling both front lead singer and host

the party is fun - it really is - but the words “going away” somehow still make you a little sick

you’re about to escape to somewhere a little quieter, when you hear someone tap the mic on the makeshift stage in johnny’s backyard

you see him - and the rest of the band - gather on as johnny introduces them and shouts excitedly that this song they’re going to perform, written by keyboardist mark, is all about new beginnings!

jaehyun finds you in the crowd, a secret little smile on his lips before the music starts and to your surprise - and probably everyone elses - they actually do pretty good

the lyrics are so very mark, but johnny brings a flare to the way he sings it

jungwoo seems to have remembered how much he adores drumming again and the way jaehyun looks playing guitar is so enticing that you can’t help but feel a little pride in the fact that you’ve been tasting all of that for most of the summer

the sick feeling in your stomach turns into excitement which turns into just pure enjoyment as you watch your friends and your boyfriend up there having fun

when it’s over and they hop down to mingle back into the rest of the party, you really can’t help yourself and throw your arms around jaehyun

you kiss him - which earns a gasp from mark, a half smirk from jungwoo, and a loud clearing of his throat from johnny

you and jaehyun admit what’s been going on and when johnny just whistles you ask him if he’s not mad

“even if i was mad, you would still keep liking each other right - so what’s the point?” 

you hug johnny, and mark, and jungwoo, and like nothing has changed you all fall back into the swing of it

the comfort of being around each other

when you five are the last people in johnny’s messy background you finally decide to tell them all about your summer project

“i knew you’d all say it was lame so i-”

“hey hey hey - it isn’t lame. it’s not what i expect but i get why you’d want to do it.”

johnny pats your shoulder and you feel jaehyun’s hand on the small of your back

it’s the kind of moment you want to never end. 

really, you just want this summer to never end.

but when it does - when the day comes for the temperature to drop and for you to be on your way to a new place

you feel the sadness come in a big wave

johnny, mark, jungwoo, and jaehyun all come to say goodbye and you hold the shoebox in your hands - now heavy and filled to the brim with all your memories

before you say it though, each of them adds something

jungwoo drops his samsung internship ID into it

mark places the paper he wrote the draft of the lyrics to the song they performed at the party into it

and johnny chucks a burned CD version of it into the mix

finally, turning to jaehyun, you take in a deep breath

“i know the distance will be big so if you want to break up and-”

he kisses you before you can finish your sentence and slips a small box that you don’t open until you’re already in your new dorm

inside is a small bracelet, engraved on the inside are the words

“i definitely noticed you. it was love at first sight”

years later - jaehyun says those words again

as he’s reading his vows 

and you’re feeling the fuzziness, the butterflies, the comforting warmth, everything like a tsunami of all the things that are you and jaehyun

and when johnny shows up to present the rings to you two

they’re in that old shoebox 

two little bands at the bottom of all those memories

at the reception, you lean over and whisper to your now husband

“where did you find that old thing by the way?”

jaehyun nuzzles his lips against the cusp of your ear as you watch jungwoo and mark make fools of themselves on the dance floor 

“under the bed, where you put everything you care about.”

[enbde]

ok but nct and that "would you fuck your clone" question

Oh, see now this is the sort of content that is very much needed on this website.

Taeil - Depends. Can his clone sing? Can they harmonize while they are fucking?

Johnny - Do you even need to ask?

Taeyong - Yes of course, he's a very tender lover.

Yuta - Quite frankly I don't want to know what he would do with his clone but I know that him fucking himself would be the least of our worries.

Kun - Would rather use his clones for his business ventures. One of them ends up in jail for insider trading

Doyoung - Is his clone also wearing a black turtleneck? 

Ten - No, he knows how high maintenance he is in bed he doesn't want to deal with that.

Jaehyun - The sight of his own face makes him cry so that's gonna be a hard maybe

Winwin - Why fuck when you can just have twice as many naps?

Jungwoo - He has and he is. He's in a 5 way relationship with all of his clones

Lucas - Fuck? Himself? No, he's finally just happy to have a friend just like him

Xiaojun - Doesn't fuck it but he does get weirdly competitive with it. Almost jealous. Are his clones biceps more toned than his?

Mark - Forced through moral obligation to murder it because it is an abomination and he is on a holy crusade.

Hendery - You know that scene in Silence of the Lambs? Yeah. But with a clone instead of a mirror. 

Renjun - Renjun gets pussy he doesn’t need a clone to fuck. But also yes. 

Jeno - Goes back and forth on it in his mind so much he just ends up paralyzed in the living room staring at the wall and his clone lives his life in his place. 

Haechan - He would rather fuck Renjun's clone

Jaemin - Can never meet his clone. If he does the universe will collapse in on itself like a souffle

Yangyang - Tries to but gets rejected

Shotaro - They don't call him "Osaki ‘Clone-Fucker’ Shotaro" for nothin'

Sungchan - He has never seen his own penis so this is an interesting experiment for him. (Don't tell him about mirrors he might get freaked out)

Chenle - No. But he does videotape the massive NCT clone orgy and makes bank off the proceeds

Jisung - No time to fuck. Uses his clone to fake his own death and escape.

[dystopia-fantasy]

Always read the job description -Part 1

Max was a fit, well built man. He had been body building since he was 14 and now In his early 40s he has the body of a god, but is slowly getting to the age when he needs to find another way to make money. He knows he can't take part in his competitions anymore, and needs to take it easy. He got great grades in school and college, proving people wrong that you can't be a nerd in a jock body.

Max had some money saved and was able to keep up on bills for a few months but needed a job to keep his large house, in the rich area of the city. He got a call from a business he applied to a couple of days ago, telling him to go in for an interview tomorrow, and if it goes well he will be sent straight on a trip for the company. He gets his new blue suit ready to be worn the next day.

The morning arrives, it's 5am, and Max wakes. He does his normal morning routine, making breakfast, working out, taking a shower, then gets his suit on ready for his early morning interview. Driving to the office building in the middle of New York, it's at least 50 stories high, and is made of mostly glass, and is one of the newest modern builds in the city.

On arrival a large man in his late 60s wearing a suit greets him, "hello sir, you must be max, Sir Mammon is on his way down to collect you, may I say what an amazing suit you have on today".

Max looks the man up and down, seeing the man's huge belly flowing out from under his dress shirt, showing a massive W shape, "thanks mate, you might want a bigger shirt" then points to his belly.

"sorry if I offended you sir, but all clothing has been chosen by Sir Mammon himself" Mammon is the big boss of the business "if you would like to make a complaint I can print you a form".

Max laughs, "No thanks, I'm gonna sit over there, tell Mammon im there".

"will do sir, have a great day" the man says while max walks away paying no more attention to him.

About 15 minutes later a young handsome slender man walks over. "Max is it?" He says behind Max.

"yes.." max says confused.

"I'm Mammon, nice to meet you" he smiles holding his hand out for a shake.

"oh hello Mammon, is wasn't expecting someone so young, no offence of course" max shaking his hand.

Mammon let's out a little laugh, with a little grin "it's ok max, people don't expect someone like me to own such a remarkable company like this one would you like to follow me, we can go up to my office, this is Mark by the way, he's my Butler". Mark is another large man aged around 50, he has a massive belly stuffed into his suit, hes huffing and puffing, like he ran a marithon, "don't mind him, most of my staff are..."

Max cuts him off "fat?"

They both laugh, "you could say that Max" the elevator arrives and they all walk in, "now max, you did read the whole advertisement correct?".

Max didn't, it's was 48 pages long, who would read it all? He just looked at the wage he would get, it started at $100,000 per month. "Yes, I did".

"that's good, most guys are more keen to keep their body's but I guess if your struggling you'll do anything."

Max now confused just nod's and watches though the glass elevator as they fly up to the top floor.

"where here sir" Mark the butler says peacefully in his British accent.

They walk into the room, and Mammon sits at his desk pouring himself a glass of wisky, and Max one too. Max looks around in aww, the room was covered in art work, with the walls painted in golds and whites and had its own bar. "How do you have all this money?" Max asked.

"a mix of many things, this company, and a few investments paid for this whole building, I have many other ways but we're not here for that." Mammon points at the seat," take a seat max" Max sits the chair is made from leather and is very comfy. "So, max, I've gone through your file, I think you're perfect for the job."

"so, does that mean I have the job?" Max replies confused, expecting to be asked a question.

"well yes, if you agree to the terms"

"terms?" Max still confused.

"well yes, you expect to be paid 10times the amount the normal person for this job without any terms or conditions?"

"well I didn't know.." Max gets cut off.

"Max let me simplify them for you. You sacrifice your body to the company, and in trade you get, $100k X the amount you weigh paid into your account per month, So if you weigh 450lbs, you get $450k a month."

"what the fuck? That's sick, I'm not doing that, I'm leaving" and with that Max got up from the chair and stood face to face with Mammon, with the desk all that is separating them. "Your sick, you fa**ot".

With that Mammon's eyes glow a bright red. "I'm a what?" Max got through back against the chair by an invisible force. "Max you could have just left with your freedom, but now look what you've gotten yourself into".

"Let me go, What the fuck?" Max says while traped against that chair, it chreeking with the force of his muscle.

"I'm a fucking demon max, I'm never going to 'let you go'" he took a second break to mock max, "now, what did you say? Fa**ot, was it?".

"fuck, I didn't mean it" the force pins him down harder, trapping his arms against the leather chair arms, and pushing his legs against the underboard. "Please let me go home, I won't do it again."

"shut up max, the process is already starting".

Max looks down to see his body deflating, his pecs turning from mountain peaks to a flat surface, his giant powerful arms turning weak and light. And then looking up he sees a whole new man infront of him.

"Not as big as I thought I would get, but boy I'm big" he took a break to admire his new giant arms and pecs.

"what the?" Max looks in confusion, "how did you do that? Give me them back".

"what are you gonna do max? I'm an infinitely powerful being and you, your an old man, or at least your going to be."

"I'm only 42, what do you mean, going to be?"

"you see I don't have my infinite life span on earth, so to stay alive and in this fit body, I absorb anything a guy has and I want. In your case, these massive muscles, but then I need to absorb their life force as well, in order to make sure I don't age."

"what do you mean life force?"

"well, you have roughly 50 years, worth of life left, I'll drain about 20 years leaving you in your future crippled body at around age 60, force you to work for the company for another 20 years, then when your 80 drain the rest of your life, which after you get fat won't be much, then you got to hell."

"man your sick, let me go, LET ME GO!".

A bright red light shoots from Peters hand enveloping Max's whole body, and he starts to age, his face wrinkling, skin dropping, eye sight worsening, hearing getting muffled, and mind changing a little. "Max, you ok old man?".

"yes sir" max was confused in his mind, why did he say sir?

"max, you ready for your Cruise? You can have tones of food for the next 6 months."

"Yes sir, I'm ready" max lifts his head, opening his eyes to see a new blurry room from his new old eyes.

"you're gonna need these from now on" Peters eyes glow and a new pair of glasses appear on Max's face he can now see clear.

"thank you... Sir", max blinks seeing Peter infront of him, "what have you, done to me".

"Max, I've turned you into the perfect office worker, old, brainiac, who is soon going to get fat and live the rest of his life, in an office chair for me, don't worry for accomodation you live here now, we have apartments on floor 30 to 40, all workers live here, it's policy, we have also sent a team to your house to, well, blow it up, that way nobody is going to be looking for you, becuase we can plant a body"

"give me... My.... Body back, give me... My.. life back."

"Max we both know that will never happen, now enjoy a life of gluttony, and prepare yourself for hell, that's gonna be worse then anything I can do to you." Peter snaped his fingers and a red glow enveloped max.

Recovering from the glow max sees two men infront of him with a trolly of sorts between them. "Is he awake" one says,

"I don't know" said the other.

"im- awake" max said in a much older raspy voice.

"good we can now start the feeding" the man on the left said, his body as muscled as a god, ripped from head to toe, and we can see everything.

Max rubs his eyes under his glasses and opens them again, "Fucking hell, put some clothes on both of you".

Both men where nude, one a ripped god, another muscled up but with a big gut. "Clothes are banned here mate" the beefy man said in a type of Australia accent, "you cant say much fella, look at that tiny pecker".

The men laughed pointing at Max's shriveled up old cock and low hanging balls, "what the fuck"max tries to move his arm to cover him but his arm doesn't move, he looks down to see him stuck in a chair, with a cut out hole under his ass, and straps tying him down, trapping him. "What... Are you gonna do to me?" Max asked sceared.

The men laughed at him again, "no need to act to sceared, we're here to feed you for the next 6 months".

"but... Sir said..." Max get cut off.

"he said you'd be going on a cruise? Fucking hell are you dumb? He's a demon, you shouldn't trust a demon" The muscled guy says.

"bro let's start the feeding we have 50 other guys to see and I wanna watch football Tonight." The beefy guys says, and in unison both their eyes glowed a bright red, showing they where demons too.

The trolly between them had several items on top, one long tube, which floated in the air for a few moments before shoving itself down maxes nostril and deep into his stomach, his head flipped back trying to wriggle it out, but it was stuck. Another item moved into his frame, a IV bag holder, holding a giant barrel type object made of glass, and two large bags floated of the table again and started to drain into the barrel, and the tube connected itself to it, starting a flow of the liquid into maxes stomach.

"done" the beffy guy said. "Now we'll be back tomorrow to refill your barrel, and clean you up if you make a mess, but youll basically be unconscious for the next 6 months, due to the drugs were feeding you."

"so enjoy your sleep mate, you'll litterally wake up a different man." The two men laughed and walked out, max tried fighting the restraints but in his crippled form could do nothing. The door slammed and locked, and the room fell dark, max screamed begging into the darkness to be let free, and to have his life back, which he had only an hour before, but nothing happened, nobody came. He felt the drugs taking effect, but tried to fight back, but it was useless, his body slumped and loosened. His mind fell blank as he drifted of into his 6 month hibernation.

[clotpolesonly]

CHAPTER 3

- Violet, my beloved 🥺

- i’mmm thinking about Tom and Devon. Tom is the youngest steward to get the brand, and Violet indicates that he’s being honored because he’s done well in trade, acquiring antiquities for Simon. has he done so well because Devon has told him where to go? that was Devon’s role, apparently, in this organization, wasn’t it? knowing where the ancient artifacts were because he was there? we see them together, very cozy, with Devon kneeling at Tom’s feet, his head on Tom’s knee. i want to know more about their relationship.

- Violet idolizes her brother so much 😭

- it makes more sense now that Tom charges Violet with protecting the cargo. before it just seemed to be to get her out of the way below decks, but now we know that she’s just as strong as he is. she’s actually fully capable of fighting, even if he doesn’t want her to need to.

- poor Violet takes so many blows to her understanding of the world and people around her. everything she thinks she knows is uprooted. seeing her kind gentle loving brother kill a woman without hesitation is only the first. sweetie, it only gets worse, i’m sorry.

CHAPTER 4

- everything about Will is described as dark (except pale skin like Sarcean’s pale crown) i’m so dumb why did i not notice aldfkgj

- “you don’t have Simon’s brand”    .....in chapter 2, i don’t think Will ever indicated that he knew about the brand being Simon’s, or the men his. he asks Matthew who the men are and why they’re following him. it’s plausible that he was told or figured it out after his capture, but he didn’t. he already knew. he knew from the start.

- as much as i love the Stewards’ long hair, i can’t help but think it gets in the way during a fight, wearing it down like that 😂 braids, Justice, lemme introduce you to the wonder of braids

- Will trying to bribe them to let him out lol. sweetheart, what do you have to bribe these people with??

- we do have to wonder how Justice survived being unconscious facedown in water for several minutes with a severe head injury

- “her first instinct had been to save her brother. Will’s had been to save everyone.”   ok but i love him

- “there was a boy who took up the sword”   TOOK UP THE SWORD, IT WAS HIS SWORD, HE TOOK IT UP, I’M GOING FERAL

- have i mentioned yet that i love Violet?

- this is the kind of thing that makes me think that Will can’t be evil at heart. regardless of his previous life, this one, this person, is the kind who risks himself to protect others. who will subject himself to awful pain and terror, in the full knowledge that he’s going to die alone in the dark and the cold, so that others will get to live. there’s a reason we believed Will to be the hero, and it’s because he does act like one. which is gonna make for a fascinating internal conflict moving forward, if he remembers or is influenced by or threatens to re-become Sarcean.

CHAPTER 5

- Katherine, blonde and blue-eyed and remarkably beautiful. at least Will/Sarcean have a consistent type, regardless of gender. (am i remembering Laurent and Jokaste? maybe aldfkjgh) also the resemblance to the Lady in the mirror, which should’ve been a big clue, lol

- i wonder how much the aunt and uncle knew, if anything. i can’t imagine they would arrange her marriage to Simon if they knew everything. also i wonder again about the circumstances of Elizabeth’s birth 😅

- i also question why Elizabeth bears no resemblance to the Lady, or to her sister, but they’re both clearly of the blood. might be half sisters, but the blood comes from the maternal line so that much shouldn’t be different, lol.

- first sign of Katherine being Something™, related somehow to the old world, with the way she reacts to seeing the mark

- honestly i kind of like Katherine. i appreciate the simplicity of someone who knows what they want, and there’s nothing wrong with simply wanting comfort and beauty and esteem. she wants to be a society lady, and she has the opportunity, and she’s over the moon about it. i even like this being the true chosen one, and her failing. blood and lineage isn’t what makes someone into a hero. that’s not enough. some people simply aren’t suited for it, or maybe more importantly, their circumstances don’t prepare them for it. because we see eventually that Katherine has a good heart and some courage of her own. she wants to do what’s right when presented with the choice, and she tries to fight, she really does. she simply didn’t have the knowledge or the skills to follow through because she wasn’t given them. others made the choice to hide her away and keep her in the dark and it ultimately got her killed and put the entire world at risk. and none of that’s her fault. she just wanted pretty dresses and a piano to play after dinner.

[lovenhlboys]

From a Distance (E.Pettersson X Reader)

Chapter 4

Masterlist

Get added to taglist

A/N: hello there!!! here is the next chapter, I'm so so sorry it took me so long, I was sick for 5 days and no feeling unmotivated, but I hope the others will not take nearly as long!! I really hope you like it and please LMK what you think!! And as always, thank you to my babe Ash ( @imagines-r-s ) for helping me with literally everything🥰💕💕

change in POV is signalized by:

Y/N= regular ELIAS= italics

(any other info is on the masterlist)

Warnings: lots of cursing, specifically excessive use of the word "ass", mentions of iCarly , I think thats it, if you think I missed a warning please inform me!!!

Summary: Brocks plan continues... more stuff happens

Word Count: 2.82k

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There was an awkward pause where, to you, it looked like Elias was thinking really hard about something.

“...wait,” he finally spoke.

“Yeah?”

“Okay, like a few weeks ago, we were in the hotel room and, you were upset with Marky because of the whole Gabe Landeskog thing,” he started.

You thought for a second and- oh, “Oh...shit. No. No, no Elias, I'm not having this conversation right now,” you knew exactly what he was talking about since that exact moment had caused about 3 panic attacks in the past month.

“You don't even know what I’m going to say,” he said with a little laugh at how you were reacting.

“Oh yes, I do.”

“Ok, Y/N wait just sit down.”

“BROCK,” you ignored him and got up, shouting at the door that you entered in about, hmm, yep, 5 years ago.

“Y/N,” he seemed like he wanted to talk when you really, truly did not.

“BROCK BOESER OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT FUCKING NOW,” you continued shouting at that damned door.

“Y/N...please,” he sounded sweet and calm. Which kinda calmed you down slightly, so once you realized Brock wasn't going to open that door any time soon, you sat back down on the couch next to where Petey was sitting. You sat a little too close at first, both of you looking into each other's eyes. Your faces were roughly a foot away from each other, as you looked in his eyes, you thought you saw a glimmer of something, something you knew he was seeing in your eyes. You snapped yourself out of it and pulled away, scooching yourself back about a foot. Right then, Elias reached for you and placed his hand on your arm. “Y/N, just...sorry. I was just going to ask what Quinn meant that day when he said ‘you really have a thing for swedes, huh,’” he tried to mimic your other American friend, his impression made you laugh.

You groaned and put your forehead on his shoulder. You stayed like that for a second, taking in his scent. Then you pulled your head back and started to speak, “Yeah, about that. Um, so, yeah, that-that thing, uh,” you cleared your throat.

“Are you going to say anything or is it just ‘um, yeah, so, um?’”

“Shut up” you giggled “I just never thought I’d have to say this to you,” you covered your heated face with your hands.

“Well, I always thought he was talking about Marky, but apparently thats not true. I just didn’t know you knew many other swedes.”

“...yo-,” you sighed. He didn’t realize what Quinn was saying, “oh my god, my dumbass brother is rubbing off on you. Ok, name the other swedes I know.”

“Well there's Marky, Oscar, Loui, Alex, and uh, Brock said you knew uh, Partick Nemeth and Johnny Oduya when you interned in Dallas during college. Oh, and Brock had mentioned you had a crush on Klingberg at one point, right?”

“Yes, but, uh- oh my lord,” you took a deep breath and tried to make sure you didn’t blurt anything out like an idiot would do, “I think you’re missing one.”

“What? Well, Nilsson before he got traded. And Brock was here when the twins were still playing, right?”

“Ok, Elias, you’re missing one person, one fucking person,” you were starting to get frustrated.

“I dont think I understand…”

“Ok, if you were to make it on team Sweden for the winter Olympics, Marky, and Landeskog too, ok?”

“Yeah?”

“Ok, who on that team would know me?”

“Well considering I dont know who else would be on that team it’s hard to say, but me, mark and Gabe would.”

“Ok, perfect. So that list of Swedes earlier was missing…” you gestured for him to finish your sentence.

“Oh, I’m stupid, I forgot myself,” you nodded and waited for him to process, it took longer than one would’ve thought but that's beside the point. His eyes got wide and his face turned red. He didn’t speak, you knew he knew now, but he wasn’t saying anything.

Shit, fuck, it’s exactly what you were afraid of.

WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK??? How did this happen, Elias is so completely and utterly stunned. Y/N Y/M/N Boeser had an actual, real-life crush on him? (God he feels like he’s in middle school again, freaking out about a “crush”)Ok, he’s definitely dreaming, that's the only thing he can think right now because he didn’t think this was a possibility. That’s when he realized, he hadn’t said anything yet, he’d just been staring at her with what he could only assume was an idiotic expression. He took in her expression, she was staring at her lap, her eyes wide, she looked tense, like she needed a hug.

Elias grabbed her and pulled her into his body, she tightened her arms around his waist and tucked her head into his neck. He could feel her heart racing, or was that his? He squeezed her tighter, trying to stall the inevitable. What was he supposed to say? “Yeah, Y/N I’ve had a massive crush on you, even before I met you in person. I’m pretty sure I might just be in love with you, sorry I never said anything. Oh, also, I can’t be with you because your brother and all of our friends would murder me.” Elias knew he wasn’t the smartest, but he wasn’t that much of an idiot.

Just then Y/N pulled back from the hug, looking much happier than before, her eyes met him and they both smiled fondly, just then Elias realized just how close their faces were. Shit, he really wanted to, he could feel her breath and his eyes flickered down to her lips. He unknowingly swiped his tongue over his, and she did the same and bit her lip ever so slightly. His heart was racing, she must be able to hear it. He leans in the slightest bit, to test the waters. To his surprise, she leans in the rest of the way and their lips finally connect.

It’s even more amazing than he ever would have imagined. Every nerve in his body is firing. He grabs her neck and they move together, in unison, and it's almost as if they’ve done this a thousand times before. It feels so easy, so natural, so perfect. He is by every definition, elated. He truly can’t believe this is happening. As he comes back to reality, he feels her hands siding up to his chest, she groans slightly as her hands settle on his shoulders. He slides his tongue across her lips and he can feel her shiver in reaction. They break apart for the first time, both panting into each other’s space, Elias is smiling bigger than he ever has. Their dilated eyes meet, he’s sure she’s probably noticed his flushed skin, his more-than-pale complexion doing no favors to hide it. Elias looks down and notices her smiling. Thank God.

She pulls back suddenly and speaks, “uh, sorry I just- um, I know you didn’t want that.” she stands up, “I-um- I’ll just-”

He touches her arm, making sure not to grab it. He doesn’t want to be controlling. “Hey, who said anything about me not wanting that” he was still smiling and looking up at her fondly, “trust me Y/N, I wanted that. I’ve wanted that for a lot longer than what you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have supposed that I may also have a “crush” on you too.”

“Fredrik? Are you going soft on me?” she teased.

“Ok, one: what is with you and my middle name, and two: I don't know if ‘soft’ is ever a word I would use to describe how I feel about you” he smirks, trying to mess with her. Which works as her expression clearly shows, her eyes widen and she looks away from him.

“Elias shut up, you’re such a douche,” though she’s grinning a little.

“Um, I don't know if you know what douche is, but if you want help, if you opened a dictionary, I’m pretty sure it would have a picture of Thatcher Demko, and Troy Stecher,” she laughs, there it is: that damn laugh. “You have the best laugh,” he says while giggling himself.

She smiles and looks into his eyes, purely beautiful as always. “Ok, well I will have you know, I like to call this a cackle” She eventually sits down next to him on the couch again, they’re facing each other, fully enthralled in each other’s presence. “Uh, so I’m not one to say these things, I have actually built up a reputation to explicitly avoid these conversations, but” she starts, “but- uh- what does all of this mean exactly? I like you, you like me, we kissed, I mean there’s obviously something here and I just- I guess, I’m not opposed to seeing where this could go, but you know, you could feel differently and that's ok-”

“Woah” he cuts her off as he’s laughing, “You’re rambling nervously, which is making me even more nervous than I already was, ok?” he placed his hand on her shoulder, “but I do have to tell you something,” this is where Elias took a pause and thought about what he should say, which he now realizes is a mistake due to how long it takes him to make decisions. But anyway, he had to decide if to tell you the entirety of the story, or to keep it brief and hope it comes up later at some point.

“Elias”

“Ah, yes.” he emerges from his thoughts, “so first I want to say that I also would love to see where this can go. I likes you-uh- more than a lot. But, I really have to figure something out before I can even think about doing anything with you, I just don't want to screw it up.”

“More than a lot, huh Fredrik?” you think about what he said. The fact that he felt the need to preface what he said with the fact that he also likes you and also wants to see where this can go, truly made you feel better. It felt like he wanted to make sure you didn’t misunderstand him, and that he didn’t want to hurt you. And obviously, you couldn’t let him get away with saying something like “I likes you- uh- more than a lot,” you did grow up hanging out with basically a shit ton of hockey guys, so you couldn't just let that slide. Plus, it was so cute how he said ‘likes’, instead of like, due to his language barrier.

“Yes, Y/N, more than a lot.” he rolled his eyes, “but is that ok with you, that I have to wait?”

“Yeah, that's fine. I mean as long as it’s not like a year, then that's fine,” you say, giggling.

“Oh god no, geez, not that long I promise. Maybe a month at most, I promise,” you both sit and laugh for a minute. You truly didn’t think he liked you, even as a friend, let alone as more than.

“You’re not going to go back to ignoring me, are you?”

“No, we can be friends until I figure that out. And I assume the reason we’re in here is that Brock thought I didn’t likes you. I mean he had mentioned it to me a few times but I obviously didn’t tell him why so,” he looked nervous, but you could see him try thinking of a way to change that. “ but hey, since we’re going to be friends now, your idiot brother will be pleased, and maybe he won’t lock us in a room again,” That makes you chuckle. You noticed that when you laughed, you could see Elias’s face light up, just a little bit, “I mean, not that it went horribly this time” and of course that made you laugh harder, which made him smile bigger. Then his face shifted a little bit, he looked more serious, “But hey, speaking of Brock, could you maybe not tell him, what we talked about in here?”

“Well, no shit. I wouldn’t tell him about this kind of thing on any day of the week anyways. He gets so nosey,” he looked relieved and smiled.

“Ok, so seeing as how we probably have some time to kill…” he grabbed a remote off of the table next to the couch and pressed a button. Then from the seemingly inconspicuous piece of furniture, a tv rose.

Your face was shocked, “I’m sorry, has it always done that??” you say, confused.

“Yeah. Y/N, you work here, how did you not know that?”

“Well I had seen a TV in here before but I thought they like took it away or needed to fix it or something, I didn’t know we had a magic tv in here!!” Elias laughed. “Wait, you waited till now to turn on the TV. we could have been watching TV this whole time!?”

“Yeah but then you wouldn’t have condensed your feelings for me.”

“Um, it was a mutual confession, jackass.”

Elias was smiling at your sass, “so what do you want to watch?”

“I know exactly what to watch,” you grab the remote from his hand and navigate to iCarly on the TV.

“Perfect,'' he says with a fond smile, and you both relax on the couch and watch the old nickelodeon classic. At this point, you both are sitting far enough apart so you look more like friends, just to make sure that if someone comes in, they cant think otherwise.

You watch 2 episodes and you are in the middle of the third when brock comes in. you both are laughing at spencer trying to tell everyone that a 13-year-old boy, Chuck, is torturing him, when you are both startled, “well you two seem to be having fun.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Brock,” Elias mutters, obviously scared from the sudden arrival of the jack-ass that you are forced to love and call your brother.

“Well if it isn't the champion of ass-facery, congratulations on the medal bro.”

“Ok, before you yell at me and hit me and tell on me to mom, it looks like it worked,” he says, gesturing to the two of you on the couch.

“Yes, it worked, he no longer hates me, blah blah blah.”

“Hey, I never hated you.”

“Suuuuuure,” you say, and you give him a wink only he can see, “well, either way-”

“Also,” Brock interrupts, “you technically did it to me first.”

“In fucking high school.”

“Y/N/N, high school was only 5 years ago. And technically should have been like 3 years ago for you but you went and graduated early so checkmate.”

“I think he’s got you there,” Elias spoke up.

“Wow, thanks ‘new friend,’” you said sarcastically, feeling teamed upon.

“You have no idea how happy it makes me that you two are friends now” Brock was smiling like an idiot at this point.

“Ok, well as much as I'd love to stay, I have to go and meet Hog, he doesn’t like to go to the store alone.”

“Aww, poor, sweet baby,” you said with a frown, "Tell him I say hi.”

“Will do!”

“Bye Petey.”

“Bye champion of ass-facery,” Elias shouts back

You laughed at that as Elias exited the room, leaving just you and your brother there.

“So are you really mad at me Y/N/N?”

You sigh “no, I guess not. I’m just glad he doesn’t hate me like I thought. And also he’s absolutely hilarious.”

“Right!! He’s so funny, and I just wanted you guys to get along. You’re basically the two most important people in my life and I didn’t want you two to be like you were forever. And if you didn’t notice, you two are so similar!”

“Aww Mr sensitive, you’re so sweeeeeet.”

“You’re such an ass,” he said chuckling.

You pull out your phone and check the time, “well, it’s time for me to depart. I do have a job and all.”

“Wait, that reminds me, why didn’t either of you use your phones and call someone?” he asked, “that was essentially the only flaw in my plan.”

Thought for a second, “shit. I mean we basically talked the whole time I guess neither of us thought to do that.” Brock smiled at you and giggled a little. “What?”

“Nothing, it’s just a little sweet, I guess.”

“Shut up ass-munch,” you shove him as you walk out of the door with a small smile on your face. These past 2-3 hours went much better than you would have thought, and now you have a new friend. And maybe at some point, a little more than that.

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taglist: @habsfan @suffering-canucks-fan @calgarycanuck @suffering-canucks-fan @2manytabsopen @callllumhood @mellany1997 @all-time-fanatic @Fitnessfreak498 @peachyotps @teamcanadasimp @iwantahockeyhimbo @aeyyy-ohhhh @nhlindblom @teenagekook @hockeymockeryandlove

Sorry ☹️ these Won’t tag: @lmao-i-only-know-hockey @predshockeyfan @dolphinahabsfan @starswinheunderwoo @yourlocalgranolagirl54 @peteysimp

[emersonfreepress]

ok ok in the spirit of community, how would the ros fair in a paintball war?

(referring to this ask! like the zombie au post this ended up making me think a lot 😅)

ohh... interesting, interesting... p sure the only paintball wars i’ve really seen were the ones featured in The League, Peep Show, and Community... but let me wrack my lil head...

ok, i ended up coming at this from multiple angles like the zombie au post 😅 always so much to consider in battle environments! and in the spirit of community, I'll stick with the individual player elimination style paintball match. in the woods with other e prep seniors. last one standing wins bragging rights

Gabe

Shooting skill | 6/10 - Experience with shooting and practice with Kile ofc

Stealthiness | 8/10 - He's done a fair amount of sneaking around during his after school activities, is super observant (or just paranoid lol), and naturally light on his feet. Good luck ambushing him.

Strategy | 8/10 - Strike deals. Do favors. Form alliances. Shoot 'em in the back once they’ve outlived their usefulness. ...What? It’s just paintball.

How does he win? | Graciously. Gabe likes winning, and especially via strategic manipulation, so it puts a smile on his face. And he's in a good mood so he treats a bunch of you to ice cream or smth 👀

How does he lose? | Slumps in frustration at being outwitted or taken off-guard, sulks about it for a little while. He's not that sore of a loser but needs time to lick his wounds and stop thinking of the different choices he could have made.

Kile

Shooting | 9 - The most accurate shooter of the cast and easily one of the best shots at E Prep. Lots of practice + talent

Stealth | 10 - They're stupid good at climbing trees and 100% consider that a valid method of ambushing their classmates. People start having flashbacks to 3rd and 4th grade recess and P.E. Scanning the trees. They just start taking people out with such efficiency it quickly starts ruining the game 😂

Strategy | 0? 10?? - “...Strategy? You just stay out of sight and kill 'em all, right?” (immediately scolded by Gabe for word choice 🙄) They really do mainly stay out of sight and pick people off with max stealth, like 😆 they'd be such a terror, people would need to take them out early for anyone else to stand a chance! They spend a lot of the game staking out the most frequented paths in the area and taking out groups quickly, all at once. Then they'll get around to stalking and picking people off one by one. The real fun...

Winner type | Stoic. Likes winning combat but the stakes were non-existent, so... the win is meaningless! this just infuriates the losers more 😅 such disrespect

Loser type | Sucks their teeth and tosses their paintball gun to the ground. "Y'all suck." (they're over it five mins later tho lol)

Jack

Shooting | 3 - This is nothing like shooting light guns... ☹️

Stealth | 5 - Not just due to his size making him an easier target, but homeboy is liable to get distracted by a cute squirrel or some pretty flowers 😂 He's not great at keeping his voice down either so good conversation would make him easy to seek out. He's just out here enjoying a beautiful day 😅

Strategy | 7 - All that movie-watching (and DMing) make him a valuable creative mind for problem-solving, but he needs a cooperative team to be effective. Rescued and recruited by Rupan/Rohan early on in the game ^ ^

Winner type | Disbelief! And everyone’s content and satisfied with him winning. Except Vivian/Vincent, that jealous fool

Loser type | Doesn't mind losing at all! He just hopes he was a good teammate and was glad to have fun ☺️

Jessie

Shooting | 7 - Comes from a family of hunters, girly knows how to shoot.

Stealth | 6 - Familiar enough with woods and stalking prey to be capable of sneaking around. Having too much fun to not giggle and get overly invested in the developing plot of the game. Even more easily distracted by critters and flora than Jack 😅

Strategy | 5 - Oh, she's just here to have fun. She'll go with whatever the person she's teaming up with decides, but can adapt easily enough.

Winner type | Surprised... then elated! Bouncing and happy and it's completely contagious. No hard feelings about a single thing. Convinces Heidi to invite people to the Emerson Estate—it's a hot day and they have a nice pool

Loser type | Same as Jack! Congratulates the winner with a hug because she's sweet like that 🧁

Rain

Shooting | 2 - This... thing is so cumbersome. And ugly. At least it shoots pretty colors.

Stealth | 7 - Small and used to sneaking around different environments and seeking out hiding spots. Their height and frame makes them harder to spot too.

Strategy | 4 - Hide!!! They’re not getting assaulted with paint and pellets!! Especially not after managing to make this ugly jumpsuit look cute?? Waiting it out is perfectly legitimate. Might share snacks if you decide to join them in hiding 😆

Winner type | Falls asleep in an unexpectedly cozy hiding spot and emerges as everyone thought they’d declared the winner. I imagine R and others yelling at them to get their gun while the original winner scrambles to get theirs, just for Rain to win by pure luck of the draw. Won’t stop them bragging about it, though! (I want this spurned runner-up to be Vi bc ofc)

Loser type | "So I can stop holding this thing?" Yawn. "I'm so hungry and bored, we've been at this for hours..."

Rupan/Rohan

Shooting | 4 - Ah, shit. These don't shoot anything like light guns.

Stealth | 7 - They sneak out and around town a lot 😂 They just force themself to be careful about how loud grass and bushes are.

Strategy | 7 - They’re treating this shit like an action movie and banding together a ragtag team of misfits to take down the strongest alliances and players. Savvy enough to reject Gabe’s and Curt’s offers to join, not opposed to strategic backstabs. They're very clearly just as focused on having fun as they are on winning—and playing Predator, which honestly works with Kile runnin around. They even brought war paint and borrowed a tactical vest. Is it mostly packed with snacks and weed? Maybe. Does it prove useful for negotiations? Hell yeah.

Winner type | Raucous celebration, just pure joy and adrenaline ☺️ Celebrates with their team, brags a bit, rubs it into Vi's face, makes fun of Curt, the usual. Then invites allies out to get pizza because it's the obvious next step

Loser type | Mostly disappointed they can't keep playing. They're a little sore about being left out of the action, but soon just start chatting with other marked players about how the game went for them. Plenty entertaining on its own, they want all the details

Vivian/Vincent

Shooting | 5 - They've got a little bit of shooting experience.

Stealth | 4 - They're overly sensitive and hate being in nature. Their skin is sticky, they keep feeling bugs everywhere, they've gotten dirt all over their pants, it's so hot, they keep WALKING into SPIDERWEBS, [flails about, screaming furiously]

Strategy | 8 - They have good ideas, they're just difficult to execute alone, especially since they're getting sunburnt and getting crankier and can't stop swatting at insects 😅 they're one of the first people to figure out that someone's taking out groups from the trees, so they stay solo and try to find a single person to team up with. Really what they need is someone who's a better shot but easy to boss around. They can probably just owe them for an in-school favor...

Winner type | Barely suppressed gloating. Vi somehow finds a way to be an obnoxious winner almost entirely by the look on their face. Once they're in a smaller group, they're passionately discussing the details of the game and happily boasting about their triumphs (while glossing over all of the whining and and slip-ups lol)

Loser type | Booo, such a sore loser. (Especially in the scenario where Rain wins 🤣) If they're outsmarted or outgunned in a clear, transparent way they'll growl and stomp off, then quietly glower and sulk for way too long. If they're double-crossed or beaten in an underhanded way oh lord —they're fighting it to the end. R can't help but get involved either way, reminding them it was a damn game with literally no prize. "C'mon, Vi, chill. You want ice cream? Let's get you ice cream."

Heidi

Shooting | 6 - Some shooting experience.

Stealth | 8 - She's very aware of her surroundings and her body. Perceptive yet quiet. Tactical. All residual traits picked up from her many activities over the years.

Strategy | 9 - Most likely to outsmart everyone. The first one to figure out groups are being targeted from the trees. Goes it alone and only open to trading (unless she sees Curt with Jess in which case she puts a quick pin in her plans to rescue her 😂). She also immediately figures out it's Kile, because ofc it is. Keeps close tabs on what groups are doing, knowing that eventually Kile will come down to ground level to pick off individuals and couples. Predator becomes prey 👀

Winner type | Proud but not boasting. She doesn't need to be. Victory looks good on her, natural and fitting. Thanks everyone for a good game then takes the girls for a long ride in the Cadillac 😎 top down on a bright day, baby

Loser type | Damn. She should have won this. Maybe if she'd... She probably could have... Then she snaps out of it, roped in by the celebratory mood of congratulating the winner. She's over any feelings of frustration or regret after getting to discuss the match with the person that took her out/the winner and there's no hard feelings. If anything this was fun as hell, it should be an annual thing. ☺️

Curt

Shooting | 8 - Some shooting experience and a natural knack for it. Good reflexes.

Stealth | 8 - Curt likes to say he gets along with the woods around these parts. Sneaking around is second nature to him. Really good hearing too. He's an easy target if you manage to seduce him though, having no issue leaving himself vulnerable if it means that kind of fun 😂

Strategy | 7 - Honestly, he's most interested in seeing how long he can get away with using charm and seduction for both protection and double-crossing 😂 Eventually becomes persona non grata and gets all of his ammo stolen by a vengeful mark, barely getting away in the process. Since that jig is up, he finally starts thinking a win might be nice... and so he teams up with the only competent player who would never betray him and also inspires the least vitriol in others: Jessie. What? Is his back-up plan using her as a human shield? No! 😚 Of course not! 👉👈

Winner type | Insufferable and gloating. Rubs it in a lot of people's faces, specifically Heidi, Rupan/Rohan, and any participants who genuinely don't like him. Brags to Gabe (who is completely disinterested in gassing him up 😂), then promises he'll make things up to Jessie (who didn't mind and had fun lol). Then celebrates by asking whoever he's flirting with these days for a quick date—and a ride in the Ferrari. Makes a scene pulling out of the parking lot. Ass.

Loser type | Doesn't care one bit as long as he had fun! And he always finds a way to have fun, it's why he's so carefree 😅