#a butcher that's done with mostly everything

[thecrimsonvalley-creates]

~ Someone will die... ~ Behold some of mine and @nattravn-art's Rusty Lake oc's! Mx Grief, the butcher, Mr Mouflon the cleaner and Miss Foxglove a physiotherapist and general helper for the mental resort of the hotel.

[eorzeashan]

it's midnight and i was only awoken by my dog but still thinking about how Eight's entire plan when his mom/mentor was designated for "forced retirement" was to kill everyone responsible. somehow it worked because you can't argue with corpses.

[shhhhimwatchingthis]

Dead Boy Detectives has everything:

Co Dependent queer platonic tough to define Best Freinds who would and have gone to hell for each other. they have an office with a cupboard full of board games, and a long history of Noodle Incident cases of '04, and also a bunch of maneuvers with code names. They are also ghosts who solve mysteries for other ghosts.

One is a sassy well read diva in a stupid little bowtie. he keeps meticulous notes, and went to hell on a technicality. he has no rizz and has a sexual awakening at the hands (paws?) of a supernatural Cat King

the other is a cheerful happy bruiser, the brawn with a pocket demension only he can navigate in his backpack, a magic cricket bat, and wells of anger deep down

they team up with a cool psychic (whos also a pretty tree) dealing with her asshole abusive boyfriend who was literally a demon while also trying to restore her memories (she also has a hilarious hate off off with the nerdy one)

then they add a sweet shut in who isn't very brave but is very inquisitive and has excellent reading comprehension and is actually the most brave

and their landlady is a hot goth Sapphic butcher who is done with their shit (but not really)

and the main antagonist is a cunt serving witch with an iron cane chewing up the scenery, just camp queen obsessed with Beauty and Revenge as she should be

she turns her crow familiar into an astrology loving twink to honeypot the nerdy one but the crow catches feelings whoops

the cat king who deserves his own mention again. he's here to seduce a stuffy British detective/tease, cause problems on purpose, reluctantly help solve those problems and mostly slut it up.

a bureaucrat learns to VERY reluctantly embrace the beautiful power of friendship after being swallowed by a fish

its set in a gorgeous seaside town with a light house! and a malt shop!

because this is all A Scooby Doo homage!

It's an episodic Case Of The Episode format! with strong serialized elements!

and as if that wasn't enough there's even Death of The Endless.

what more could any person possibly want in a show.

oh and there's a lot of really interesting themes around internalized homophpbia, abusive relationships and trauma and toxic anger and learning to love and trust and help other people again in spite of and because of the bad parts.

[hughiecampbelle]

The Boys Preference: Dating After A Toxic Relationship

A/N: Not requested, just an idea I had 😊 Remember, requests are open! Be sure to read my rules and please respect that I'm only interested in writing for these characters. Thank you! Feedback is always appreciated 💜

Butcher is very vocal. He knows you jump and scare easily, so he always makes a point to say where or if he's going to touch you, if he's upset and why (so that you don't worry you're the reason), when he'll be back, etc. This takes a lot of trial and error between the two of you. Butcher is an angry, violent person. You knew this going into the relationship. There's always a worry it could turn on you, and that's what he fears most: that you'd ever be afraid of him. He reassures you constantly he would never, ever hurt you. He knows all about what your ex did. You wanted to be up front and honest, knowing some of your behaviors might seem strange or out of place. The last thing he ever wants to do is emulate your ex and though it takes a lot of rewiring and assessment of his actions, he's trying to be better for you so that he doesn't lose you.

Hughie hates what your ex has done. Bit by bit, you give him the overview of your relationship, what they were like, and how they treated you. Sometimes you jump or flinch and he's reminded all over again that, despite what he does, there will always be this underlying fear and distrust. It took a long time to date him let alone tell him everything. He's patient and gentle and makes sure you're okay with every step you take further into the relationship. He takes every relationship show regardless of past history. When you see your ex again you have to pull Hughie away, not wanting him to start anything. He can't help it. He looks at them and he sees red. He's filled with disgust and hatred. Hughies always been on the timid side, but the thought of someone hurting you like that boils his blood.

Annie never wants you to feel like you have to hide that kind of thing from her. She knows all about power hungry people who take advantage of others. Still, she can't believe it. You're kind and funny and sweet and you always have everyone's best interest at heart. You know what it's like to get hurt, you wouldn't dare hurt someone else. She knows you don't want any trouble with them, you just want to move on, but she can't help but light up when she sees them. Secretly she goes to them and makes it known if they so much as look at you, even think about you, they're done. She's always asking if what you're doing is okay and wants to be as open as possible about boundaries. You're grateful she likes innocent touching, mostly hand holding, and when you're having a hard time you know she'll grab your hand and squeeze it, reminding you she's always here for you.

M.M knows all about your ex. He was the one to help you get out of that relationship in the first place. Since then you've become really close, so close he's now your boyfriend. After your ex shows up at your work one day, Marvin decides to take things into his own hands. The Boys make a special appearance at their apartment where they make it known they are never to go near you ever again. You have a lot of fears about trusting someone again, especially in a relationship, but M.M. is patient. He never wants you to feel like you have to do something you don't want to or aren't ready for. He's more than okay with taking things slow. He actually prefers it that way. He's extremely protective over you and, unfortunately, are his biggest weakness. If Homelander ever found out about you, M.M. would be done for.

Frenchie met your ex a few times before you broke things off. The way they spoke to you, wanted to control you, all the sings were there. He feels awful that he didn't see it sooner, but you could never blame him. You're just glad you got away from them. Frenchie is attentive and devoted and males sure you're comfortable with every step in your relationship. He offers, jokingly though not jokingly, to have your ex killed when they start sending calls and texts and emails. You assure him it's okay, you'll handle it. He knows you're more than capable, but he's always got a back up plan ready just in case they want to try anything more. He's extremely patient when you decide to tell him. He knows there's more to the story than what you're sharing, but he doesn't push it. He's grateful you shared anything at all. It's a big step and means a lot that you'd trust him.

Kimiko is learning to trust just like you are. You've both been through a lot, but you find a great solace in one another. Kimiko isn't sure who this random person is that shows up looking for you, only that the rest of The Boys are suddenly cagey, angry, and very protective. They're grateful you're not there. When she asks about them, you finally tell her. You dated a while ago and it wasn't a safe relationship. You thought you could get away from them, but they seek you out. They like to know they're in control. She feels awful. You're genuine and smart and sweet. Those terrible things that happened to you only made you softer and, unfortunately, more prone to anxiety and distrust. She leaves it up to you to take the next steps in your relationship. You appreciate more than you could ever put into words. You love her, but you need to take things slow.

Bonus! Homelander killed them a long time ago. The moment you showed up in his life, he knew there was someone who'd hurt you. It takes a long time to tell anyone, let alone him. One day the phone calls and texts and emails just stop. They stop showing up at Vought looking for you. You think you've finally scared them off or perhaps they got bored, but it was actually your new boyfriend. Normally he'd like to boast all about how he tortured them, h9w easy it was to kill them, how stupid they looked when he pulled out all their teeth, but he knows you wouldn't like that, so he keeps it to himself. He knows no one will miss them. You certainly don't. You're sleeping better now and getting more comfortable in your relationship without the constant threat of them showing up or following you. Homelander rests easy knowing they can never hurt you again. He lacks a lot of self-awareness in this department.

[papysanzonew]

“He still at least wears Pendragon red though. Maybe it’s alri– nope, he burned it. Nevermind, you’re fucked, princess.”

Some context. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with burn, butcher, burn and since I’m also obsessed with Merlin (you don’t say) I thought about a crossover. So, Arthur and Merlin are attacked by bandits in the forest, Merlin is forced to use magic, and Arthur witnesses it all. Arthur is angry, disappointed, hurt etc and banishes Merlin, leaving him alone in the forest and returning to Camelot. The problem is that Merlin is also angry, because after everything he’s done for Arthur he’s banished, really? So, fuck Destiny, fuck the stupid dragon and his stupid prophecy but, mostly, fuck Arthur Pendragon. Merlin leaves and doesn’t look back. It takes Arthur less than 24 hours to figure out he screwed up and goes looking for Merlin.  Well, he is not amused by what he finds but he knows he deserves it. At first Merlin refuses to go back, but Gwaine’s jokes and Arthur’s pleading eyes (and his apologies) convince him. (That and the patrons begging him to leave. Jaskier may be good at singing but Merlin not so much) Also: “I hear you’re alive, how disappointing I’ve also survived, no thanks to you Did I not bring you some glee Mister, oh, look at me Now I’ll burn all the memories of you“

[caxyanalysis]

Thinking about how Homelander is actually so fucking tragic.

Raised to be the symbol of patriotism. Won the superpower lottery. Durable enough that a nuclear bomb wouldn't kill him, fast enough that nothing can outpace him, full freedom from gravity because of flight, laser vision that he can control the strength of to such a fine degree that he could cook popcorn or cauterize your brain in half and it's not even hard for him to do.

All of this, together, make him a god among men.

And it's so.

Fucking.

Boring.

And it's tragic, too.

It is.

I know, I know, "he's a fascist!!!" I get it, and you're right.

But look at what he's been through.

He was raised in a lab. No parents besides the scientists that studied him to figure out what he could and couldn't survive, what would and wouldn't hurt him, what he was capable of and how he could be useful.

At every turn, he was denied human connection in any meaningful way. His father was never in the picture, his mother was dead, he existed solely as a test subject, and as soon as he was old enough to be on TV, they wheeled him out like a shiny new toy and said "Look! It's the embodiment of America! The peak of human evolution!"

He has never, EVER known anything except two concepts: Fear and Blind Adoration.

The people who love him don't love HIM, they love the idea he represents. The people who know him fear him with all they have.

Spoilers for The Boys below

He finally meets someone who doesn't fear him, and claims to love him, and it's Stillwell. She doesn't fear him. But he doesn't realize the reason she doesn't fear him is because she thinks she has him under control. A little mommy-play here, a little milk there, and he's docile. She thinks she has him in her pocket.

But then she slips up. And out comes the truth. She's never loved him. Ever. She has always, always hated him, always been afraid of him. And suddenly all those happy memories of the only mother-figure he's ever known are tainted, ruined by the idea that she would have rather had him be dead than ever touch her, but she did what she felt she had to do so he would be a good boy.

And he doesn't understand. He was a good boy, wasn't he? His heart was in the right place, wasn't it? He only did what he thought would make her happy, and he tried to be have his best when she asked, didn't he? So why did she hate him so much? Why was she so afraid of him?

And it tears him up inside. It destroys him. He feels hurt, and angry, and scared, and it burns him up until that heat has nowhere to go but out.

And he kills her. And it kills him.

It's with Stillwell's death we see him truly change. He stops being the boy scout, in his own eyes. He just killed someone who meant everything to him. He killed someone he thought genuinely cared about him, saw him as good, and loved.

We watch him die right alongside her, and in that moment he performs one last act of kindness as he loses the final shred of hope in his heart: he saves Billy Butcher and makes sure that Stillwell's baby survives as well.

We see another kick in the head when he visits his "creator", the man in charge of the Homelander experiment that gave birth to him. And this man says he is nothing but a failure. A living embodiment of all that man did wrong, and all that man failed to achieve. He says that Homelander is nothing but one big failed experiment, and is his greatest regret in life.

Flash ahead. He's unchained, mostly. Edgar is still in control of him, but Edgar doesn't care enough to tug the leash. He expects Homelander to tie his own chain, and if he doesn't, then Edgar will yank it and choke the bastard for all he's worth until he sits, heels, like a good little attack dog.

And for the most part this works. Homelander stays under Edgar's radar, his descent hardly noticed, because he doesn't do anything that Vaught can track that he wouldn't have done before Stillwell's death.

All the while, mourning the loss of the only person to ever even pretend to care about him.

And then we meet Ryan, and realize who he is.

And when Homelander learns he has a son, we see something special, something that, until now, didn't seem possible.

We see the light come back into his eyes.

We see him start to hope again.

A son. The perfect opportunity to do better, to prove he is, in fact, a good man. If he can just do right by Ryan, if he can raise him right, be a good dad to him, show him the love, and compassion, and care that he never knew, then Ryan could grow up happy. Well-adjusted. We see that Homelander fully recognizes how broken and mangled a man he is.

Homelander wants Ryan to turn out better than him. He wants Ryan to turn out happier than him.

And we watch Stormfront ruin that pure, beautiful desire.

Stormfront corrupts him. He's vulnerable, he's weak-minded, after Stillwell. He knows what he wants, but he doesn't know how to do it or why, he knows what he desires, but he can't have it. And then Stormfront gives it to him. A supe who can not only take what he can dish out, but give it back just as well. A supe who sees him as good. A supe who seems to love him, truly.

She doesn't.

She, like all of his fans, loves WHAT he is, loves the IDEA of him, not Homelander himself.

He's blond, blue-eyed, white, and an omnipotent powerhouse.

And Stormfront is a nazi. How could she not love what he is and what he represents?

She manipulates him, turns him against his own idea of wanting to be good and convinces him that this brattiness, this pettiness, this immature need to be better than everyone is not a flaw, it's his birthright.

And Ryan is the product of that birthright. Ryan does not need to be better than Homelander, Ryan needs to learn from Homelander, learn to rule, to subjugate, because Homelander is a God, one who should rule the Earth, and Ryan is his Prince, destined to take over one day.

All of this is instilled into Homelander through Stormfront's manipulations. And on the one day every year that he's allowed to be treated like a person, the one day every year he gets a taste of humanity...

She does the one thing that would guarantee her lies stick like glue.

She dies.

She rips away the last person he ever thought he would have to live without, on the one day he never expected to be hurt on.

And we see that light, the one Ryan reignited, flicker.

He gets angry. He gets bitter. He realizes that, aside from Ryan, he is entirely peerless. Alone.

And Ryan must be nurtured, yes? Guided, right? Stormfront wanted the world for Ryan, and Homelander wants the best for his son, and so the world is exactly what Ryan will get. Homelander no longer cares about himself. He doesn't.

Homelander cannot be selfish past this point; he could drop dead then and there and as long as Ryan has the world in his palm, Homelander would die happy.

But he can't die. He won't die. Ryan needs him. Ryan deserves a father. Ryan deserves Homelander's life, his attention, his dedication.

And we see spots of vanity, yes. The preening, the pruning of grey hairs, the bitterness over his noticeable aging.

But these are not the same as selfishness. These are things integral to Homelander. He's supposed to be a God. God's don't age, why is he aging? It's so disgustingly human. That's what he thinks.

But it gives him a sense of urgency. He doesn't know how long he has. A year? Ten? Twenty? A hundred? Two hundred? More? Nobody knows, with supes. Some don't age at all, others age too fast, others age slowly, and Homelander is already a one-in-a-million fluke. Who's to say he won't suddenly age fifty years in the span of the next ten? Who's to say he'll ever age beyond what he is now?

He doesn't know. And he can't control it. He can't fight it. He can't change it. He has to prepare for the possibility he hates most.

He has to prepare for his death.

But then he learns who his father is. He learns that his father is alive, even. Soldier Boy, the idea that inspired Homelander. And he has to meet the man, has to introduce Ryan to his grandfather. We see that light in his eyes grow, because now he doesn't just have a son, he has a father.

The father he needed.

And when he finally meets him, finally gets face-to-face with the man who could so easily give him everything he ever wanted, the man who could fix him, show him what it means to be a parent...

He's rejected.

Soldier Boy tells him that he's pathetic, that he's nothing, that he's hardly even a man. Even the suit Homelander is so proud of isn't free from insult, with Soldier Boy saying "Look at you...You're wearing a goddamn cape..."

He has nothing but disappointment for what Homelander is, and resentment for the way Homelander was raised, but sees him as too far gone, too broken, too weak to fix. The only cure is death.

And once again, we see that light flicker.

He needs to be better than this man, DO better than this man.

And that means securing Ryan's place atop the world. This is why he calls in Sister Sage. Sister Sage is so incredibly intelligent, so beautifully smart, she can guarantee things he would never even figure out are possible. And, begrudgingly, he accepts her help.

But her help isn't giving him what he really wants most, because while putting Ryan atop the pyramid is his end goal, he wants Ryan's love just as badly. He wants to see the fruits of his efforts, to know that what he's doing is good and right, that it's best for Ryan.

And Ryan is showing him, at every turn, that it's not right.

Homelander kills for Ryan, and Ryan doesn't like it.

Homelander makes Ryan the object of public adoration, and Ryan doesn't like it.

Homelander is glad Billy's dying, and Ryan doesn't like it.

Everything Homelander does for Ryan, every effort he makes, is torn apart by the fact that Ryan doesn't want any of it. He wants a dad, not a coach, he wants a parent, not an instructor.

He wants a life, not godhood.

And Homelander has been so corrupted, so broken, so destroyed by every single person in his life that he cannot understand that.

To him, godhood and life are one and the same. Being alive is not a right, in his eyes, it is something that is deserved, earned, a reward, and he is the man to impress, he is the man to earn it from, and one day that man will be Ryan, and why can't Ryan see any of that?

None of this is in defense of Homelander. But I can't see one side of anything without seeing every other side of it.

And in Homelander's mind, he has done everything he can to be loved, to be appreciated, to be known and cared about...

And every single time, his power has caused people to hate him, to fear him. The only love he's ever known is that of the public and that of his son, and with every outburst, every conflict of interests, he is slowly losing that more and more.

And every time Ryan runs away from him, every time Ryan cries because of him, every time Ryan frowns over something Homelander has done, every human Ryan mourns, is a slap in the face. Water on the fire.

And we see that light drain from his eyes a little more each time.

I don't believe anything Homelander has done is justified.

But I do believe that, in his shoes, with his life, under all of the same circumstances...

I believe most of us would be no different than he is.

Broken.

Betrayed.

Abused.

Lashing out at every reminder of the pains of our existence.

A scared, angry child, with the power of a god, who was never shown that a better way does exist.

A wounded animal conditioned from birth to hate humans for what they did to it.

Homelander is tragic.

And I feel so very sorry for him.

[proxablemente]

the way the people who hate what the writers have done to alicent are being called butthurt by other fans is so funny. let's not even talk about what they've done to rhaenyra, i mean the whole point of the show has been trashed this way.

this "feminist" show has repetedly tried to make its female characters the most simpathetic they could, at the cost of butchering these characters and trash their motives, because a complex angry woman CANNOT be liked. oh and while alicent gets an "humbling" arc, blood-thirsty abusive men are getting a REDEMPTION arc! and are never expected to apologize for their crimes (like beheading a child, killing innocents, gr00ming), while alicent has to be humiliated for...being bitter and resentful??

with rhaenyra they're taking the dragon jesus lane, so i guess she might get brutal?? but who knows, they've made her so sensible all season because god forbid she actually wants war😝. women are peaceful! women cannot do war! alicent is no good for regent 'cause WOMAN 'cause EMOTIONAL. rhaenyra is always undermined at the council 'cause WOMAN 'cause REASONABLE.

the only people i'm seeing enjoying this sh1t leaked finale are rhaenicents and indifferents.

i want you to understand that just because rhaenyra and alicent are in the same room it does not mean the writing is good, making alicent oh so stupid! silly alicent keeps humiliating herself, she doesn't know better! is a disgusting character assassination. alicent has become NOTHING: they absolutley could have given her a deeper realization arc, but that was definitively not supposed to happen now nor the AWFUL way they wrote it. they made alicent AN IDIOT. she just knows how to cause herself humiliation, and if you're okay with this as long as rhaenicent happens you clearly don't give a damn about what those sh1t ass writers are doing to my girl.

the writing is BAD. oh SO BAD. it's BAD BAD BAD. please see it!! it's fanfiction level!

and rhaenicent has literally been butchered as well, since the very start of the season! i myself enjoyed rhaenicent prior to season 2, but it just sucks now. they've made alicent a little lost puppy that seeks rhaenyra's approval. last season rhaenicent for them was a memory of better times, when alicent was naive and free of the feeling of fear and remorse that haunts her, and rhaenyra was free of responsabilities and consequences, of the weight of the crown that she will one day wear: it was a pure relationship where they could just be happy with eachother, when none of their lives had been ruined. thinking about it made them nostalgic in s1's later episodes.

now rhaenyra is as stiff as a board with alicent and talks to her coldly, while alicent is mostly listening to her with puppy eyes?? this is what you like???

i am mainly an alicole (and seen the spoilers it looks like it has been butchered too so... bye bye to them too i guess) but even if criston and alicent didn't happen it wouldn't have changed much for me. i have always been interested in ALICENT THE CHARACTER first of all, not her relationship with her children or criston or rhaenyra. what pissed me off about the finale is not what she did to her children, but the fact that it was A STUPID DECISION. THE WRITING AND THE WRITING CHOICES SUCK. THEY SUCK ADMIT IT STOP DEFENDING EVERYTHING THEY CHOOSE TO DO. and it was probably made to be a stupid decision just to make alicent look even more stupid so😂whatever. i'm saying this because a lot of people on twitter are now saying "now they see you alicels as you are, you only care about her because of her relationship with her children :D" MY BROTHER IN CHRIST I DON'T I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THEM. plus these are the same people that threw tantrums and unstanned her when the alicole scenes leaked 🙃. THEY are true alicels.

people need to stop consuming material for the sole sake of shipping. if you're in it for that, at least have the decency to care about both the components of the ship separately PLEASE.

man i just hate this season, i needed to get this off my chest.

(i also tried really badly to like everything they've done up until now, so if i'm just exploding now there is a reason)

[middlingmay]

German Gale AU Part 3

Links to Part 1 | Part 2

Their journey is made in stages. They're given no time, no information, no chance to catch their breath after being whisked away from the safehouse.

They're led through backstreets to a Bäckerei and stuffed into a small, cramped delivery van. This deep into Germany, John is frightened to talk (for the first time in his entire life) in case he gets them caught. Besides, with how tight he's packed behind the crates full of wholegrain flour sacks, he can't draw enough breath to say much of anything anyway.

But he and Gale keep trying to reassure each other through looks and small touches where they can - mostly nudges with their feet when the other one looks life they're drifting away too far into their head.

At one point they stop and they hear German voices shouting and John's breath hitches. Gale brushes the knobble of John's wrist with his finger in slow circles until they move off again.

They're taken to a barn, given coarse bread and a miniscule piece of cheese that definitely wasn't cheese and Gale mumbles something through his exhaustion about quark. John doesn't care though and inhales his food. If it was a bigger portion he'd have made himself sick, and Gale tries to give him his portion, but John glowers at him over the half-pint of beer they were given to wash it down until he eats it. He does take Gale's beer though, when it becomes clear he's not going to so much as touch the glass.

For days they're walked through forests, paddled (if they were lucky) or marched (when they were not) up tiny rivers, and stuffed into more vehicles, all under the order of absolute silence, until finally they arrive in Belgium or the Netherlands (John isn't sure which).

They're put on a ship back to the UK, hidden in some freezing storage unit not intended for people.

They sit almost touching on the floor and Gale shivers from the cold. John slips one arm out his double layer of coats (one Gale's, on his), and throws that half over Gale, dragging him in with an arm around his back, under his shoulders. Gale eyes the sheepskin unhappily but gratefully sinks into the warmth.

John does feel a little bad at dragging Gale away from everything he's ever known, even if it is to save his life, and it's the first chance they've really gotten to talk.

So John starts with a terribly butchered attempt to thank him which comes out as "Dane-ka shown", which makes Gale snort and look at him bewildered and tell John he should be glad he never became a spy. "Shot in five minutes..."

They play a game to pass the time, each asking a question that they both have to answer. It starts with favourite colours, foods, and movies. John learns that Gale has a sweet tooth and originally learned English from movies, and Gale learns about Yankees Blue and a book called Guys and Dolls.

Eventually Gale's blinks get slow and long and his head droops. John directs it to his shoulder with the back of his palm. They haven't showered in days but Gale still smells good and John enjoys the feeling of his hair against his neck and face.

He also has to clamp down to stop himself from trembling when Gale's lips brush his covered collarbone when he tells John some of what he knows about his father:

"He doesn't do things. Du verstehst? He tells people things. He...lies and tells secrets."

"He's an informant?"

"Ja. Ein Informant. And lots of people are dead, because of him. Ich bin sicher. How do I...pay this back?"

John tries to figure out how to explain to Gale that it's not his fault, but Gale's not done and in halting English explains to John that he always wanted to do more, but was frightened; thought that if he looked too suspicious, he'd be next.

And John scoffs and calls Gale the poster boy for Germany, "No offence". But Gale freezes and tries to pull away but John doesn't let him.

Gale knows it's stupid, the kind of stupid that could get him killed, but there's something about John Gale trusts, so he asks (though he is afraid enough still that he can barely ask it in English), "Ihre Luftwaffe - what do they do mit homosexuelle Männer?"

That kicks a few things out of John's chest: curses and swears and a little bit of panic, but he grips Gale close as he can so he knows none of it is aimed at him. But, it's another thing he needs to try and protect German-national, son-of-a-Nazi-informant Gale from when they get to England.

Gale looks up at John where his head rests against his chest, looking calm but for in the eyes, so John tells him, "Well, in my experience promote you to Major. But they don't exactly know about that and they're not going to know about you."

They finally reach port in the UK and the door to their hiding spot is opened by a Colonel and two military police, and John puts himself between them and Gale.

The Colonel gives orders to arrest Gale immediately and John pushes the advancing MP back on his ass and starts yelling for all he's worth.

"He's the only reason I made it back." "He's resistance, not a spy!" "Risked his neck for me--!" And he's about to do something that's going to get him court martialled when Gale grabs his shoulder and pulls him back and murmurs, "Es ist okay. Es ist okay."

Gale carefully and slowly pulls out the piece of paper given to him in the safehouse in Germany and holds it out for the Colonel to take. The Colonel reads it and his demeanour changes from frosty to business.

"Very well. Herr Cleven, with me. Major Egan, you'll be escorted back to Thorpe Abbotts."

And there's nothing John can do as Gale leaves with the Colonel, gifting him a sorry smile as he goes.

When John arrives back at base, he barges into Colonel Harding's office after sprinting all the way there from the jeep, interrupts a meeting, and says,

"I need a favour, sir."

[dailyadventureprompts]

Adventure: Countess Ledrick's (Re)Doubt

You were warned about bandits in your travels through the Kingsfault mountains, but you didn't expect them to be such gracious hosts. It's about after your third stein of ale at their leader's high table that you start to think they might want something from you more than coin.

Even monsters can change, or so thinks Ledrick as she wipes the blood of her latest kill from her blade. A little over a decade ago she was at the vanguard of a mercenary force pillaging through the land clearing the way for an invading army. After the fighting was done while most of her companions were either going home or turning bandit she decided to take over the keep of a minor noble she'd help to butcher.

It was mostly a joke, a commonborn killer like her declaring herself a countess and presiding over a court of outlaws as they drank a dead man's wine. Presiding turned into setting down rules for her gang, which turned into negotiating for food with nearby villages in exchange for protection from monsters and whoever didn't want to follow her rules. Fast forward eight years and Ledrick's being cheered by the people she once came to conquer as she stands between them and and ettin looking to break down their village gates.

Time has a way of changing everything... grudges are buried, children are born, and necromantic cults of dragon worshippers emerge from their tomb sleep... all part of the great cycle.

Adventure Hooks:

Tracking a bounty into the mountains leads the party to the countess's court, where their quarry has thrown himself on Ledrick's mercy as someone who fought alongside her in the early days of securing her lands. Lendrick will let the party plea their case, but conflicted between a soldier's honour and wanting to be a lawful lord will instead send them out searching for the local priestess of Tyr, god of hardwon peace, who has offered the countess wise council in the past and has been missing of late on pilgrimage to a shrine in the wilderness.

The party may also fall into Lendrick's company after their quest or patron sends them to defend against a threat lurking in the mountainous wilderness, where they'll use her fort as a forward operating base. Learning to live alongside the Countess and her retinue of semi-retired killers may take some getting used to, but if the party can win their trust they'll have no truer allies when the threat comes calling.

There have always been drakes roosting in the Kingsfault mountains, but in recent months the countess's domain has seen more attacks than it has in the past twenty years. Something is driving these beasts to attack, and the former merc has put out a call for aid to , knowing herself ill equipped to investigate the causes and that her people would be better served with her managing the monsters.

Background: It was a little over a year ago when one of Ledrick's old warbuddies came calling, a battlemage named Hess who in recent who's post-retirement delving into the more esoteric side of magic has led him down a dark road. Showing up all smiles and grand stories of their shared suffering, Hess convinced the countess to let him and his acolytes apprentices delve an old ruin in her territory, promising to share some the riches they unearthed as repayment.

Hess was good on his word, tribute to the countess's court arrived after just a few weeks of delving and maintained at a steady trickle ever since. Part of this tribute happened to be a cursed idol that unless properly contained attracts the violent attention of dragonkind. Hess neglected to include care instructions when he sent it along, hoping to use the countess's defence of her lands as a means of harvesting drakeflesh under the guise of helping to search for reasons behind the attacks.

Further Adventures:

Several of Ledrick's underlings are beginning to fall under Hess's sway; sure the drakes have killed a few dozen peasants but merchants are willing to pay for their horns and teeth hand over first, to say nothing of the drakescale armor some of the more gifted armorers have been knocking together after their hunts. Would they really let all this stop to all this just because some do-nothing farmers got hurt?

Behind his jockular attitude and harmlessly crass jokes, there's something deeply wrong with Hess. War left wounds in his psyche and now something festers beneith his scars eating away at who he is, driving him to delve deeper into the tomb and unlock its secrets. Pretending to help with the party's investigation, he'll send them on a wild goose chase into the mountains towards a dangerous ruin claiming it as the origin of whatever's causing the drakes to attack.

By the time they realize the deceptio Hess and his followers will have cleared out of the ancient tomb, leaving behind a series of spells that will lock the party inside and reactivate all the traps and guardians the cult spent months disarming. Perhaps most dangerous of all is a construct of Hess's own fevered design; built of drakebone and sinew grafted into armor, a half finished war machine that will stalk the party through the darkened halls.

Art 1 Art 2 Art 3

[rinsoap]

super weird question & it’s totally ok if not but i’m making a suna smau rn! it’s still in the early process of planning but i wanted to kind of set it up where the reader & suna were pretty opposing (& honestly i wanna project into the fic)

so the plan is to make the reader really like pop music like taylor swift & stuff & suna like different music! i saw that you had done a headcanon w suna’s fav songs & i was wondering if you would maybe be willing to elaborate on it or even show me what you think his playlist would look like?

like i said it’s totally fine if not!! i just wanted to get some opinions for his music taste so i didn’t totally butcher his characterization in the smau 😭

SUNA RINTARO'S MUSIC TASTE!

note : OMG SO SWEET U ASKED ME!! i'm so obsessed with that idea i'll be looking out for it for sure 🫡

i think he would be into alternative trap and kpop. he really likes dark alternative trap n rnb, so artists like playboi carti, destroylonely, lucki, chase atlantic, etc.

he'll listen to a lot of different types of music but he lowkey had a weird superiority complex about pop music. like omg ur not too good to listen to espresso by sabrina carpenter stfu don't act different 😭 he was definetely trying to overcompensate for his love for kpop. he likes kpop songs with rnb influences so new jeans, red velvet, iu, and bibi would be right up his alley.

i think a good bridge between hiphop/trap and pop is pinkpantheress! she's pretty well respected in the hiphop scene and a lot of fans of rap (including suna) are also fans of her music despite it being super bubblegum n electronic n girly.

he also likes loud music! i mentioned nu metal in my orginal post, but i think he just gravitates to clean loud music generally. he mostly likes deftones, but i think he also dips into bands like nine inch nails and depeche mode. when he's feeling real sad, maybe joy division or slowdive. where his love for hiphop meets his love for loud alt rock/metal is me and your mama by childish gambino.

here is some songs i think he'd listen to: click here!

he does Not just listen to his liked songs though. he's definitely a playlist maker so he has a lot of different playlists for like literally everything.

[s-che]

reporting from the Dream Library: Apocalypse World

After however many years of games pointing its direction, I finally played Apocalypse Worlds as the first leg of a long series of one- and two-shots I’m running over in the Dream Library, my weekly drop-in-game-and-design-chat discord. We’re starting a unit talking through some of the highs, lows, landmarks, and cul-de-sacs in the now fourteen-year long history of PBTA design — it’s looking something like an actual play book club. 

It’s an interesting journey to be embarking on — and I’ll talk a little bit more about where we’re going next at the end of this post — but, hey, first:

I fucking loved Apocalypse World.

Part 1: Big Thoughts & Caveats

Apocalypse World rules. That isn’t a particularly hot take, and it isn’t a set up for me to tear into the game later. I’m not being polite here. The game fucking rules. Every time I opened the book (I’ve got both a physical copy and a pdf of the second edition), I was confronted by some absolute sick nasty shit that slapped and fucked and went supremely hard. The game is good good good in a way that, tbh, makes me a little disappointed in a whole bunch of PBTA games that come after it and totally miss, imo, where all the cool shit in Apocalypse World came from. 

There’s a way in which, speaking as a mostly casual observer who was mostly not around during the big years of the PBTA boom (for those keeping score at home, I listened to Friends at the Table on and off from about 2016 on and played a handful of Dungeon World and Sprawl sessions as a result, but didn’t start actively participating in the blood machine we call design discourse until after I graduated college in 2021), what seems to get fossilized as the core of PBTA design, especially in the public pitch for various systems, is mostly the simplicity of the dice and resolution systems — make a move, roll 2d6+stat, partial successes, isn’t this so much easier than d20 rollover?

And, sure, those form a part of the marketability of PBTA, especially to a mainline RPG audience. But there’s more than just that in this book — a lot more — in a way which makes me upset that this wasn’t the shit I was hearing about at 17. Meguey & Vincent Baker have skill for designing with what you might call elegant maximalism in mind, a philosophy where you are constantly confronted — especially when handling the physical object — by a book which is impressive both in its length and in its density. 

Apocalypse World (like Under Hollow Hills, which we’ll be playing at the very end of our PBTA unit in the Dream Library) is remarkable both for the number of moving pieces and for the fluidity with which those pieces fit together. I understand why that kind of game, coupled with how easy it is to hack moves into something entirely new, leads to a design moment which emphasizes rules-light play, but — agh! There’s just so much more game in Apocalypse World than in so many of the games which build on it. The text calls for the MC to “barf forth apocalyptica” — and it feels like Vincent and Meguey have done something similar, here, cramming everything which makes the game interesting right into the text.

All that being said, I butchered this game in order to run it as a one-shot. Apocalypse World should not be run as a one-shot. There are lots of very funny forum conversations to be found, if you start looking online for advice on running Apocalypse World as a one-shot, where people tell each other not to run Apocalypse World as a one-shot. In several of them, especially on the old lumpley forums, Vincent chimes in and suggest not running it as a one-shot.

Unfortunately, the limits of trying to run a series of games in conversation with each other, in a reasonable period of time, with a rotating set of players means that I can’t play Apocalypse World the way you’re supposed to. I’m going to host it again later this month, and I may try to run that session as a a little more of an as-written Session 0 (or follow Vince’s advice on playing it con-style to the letter), but that’s getting a little close to what-comes-next talk, which I said I’d save for the end. 

All-in-all, I’m not terribly unhappy with the way my cobbled together one-shot went, but — as I talk through some of the points of friction in a moment — I’m going to try to keep in mind (and I’d like y’all to keep in mind too) that much of this is my fault, for breaking the game before we every played.

That being said...

Part 2: The Session

I had four players, who made characters ahead of time — except for Hx, which we did at the top of the session. None of them, as far as I know, had played Apocalypse World before. We got an angel, a battlebabe, a brainer, a hardholder out of it. 

There were strengths and weaknesses to prepping characters ahead — while it did save time and let us play harder and faster than we would have otherwise, I struggled at times with what felt like an almost immediate divide between player characters: the hardholder and the brainer on one side, the angel and battlebabe on the other. There wasn’t player tension or conflict — just folks interests going in different directions, which is 1. totally fine, and in fact can be fun to play with over a longer time and 2. probably my fault for giving players the full list of playbooks. Hardholder is good shit, but it’s also big and requires more prep than basically any of the others, and then grounds you in a world I wish we’d had time to explore longer. 

I prepped a holding, with the help of our hardholder Mother Superior: the Red Priory, an underground market in the tunnels beneath the ruins of a city-which-was, located on the remains of an interstate highway in the slow process of sinking into the burned and blackened mudflats left behind when the wetlands dried up. I prepped some threats: a gas supplier to the west and a gang called the Crow-Eaters who were picking off caravans to the east. And then we jumped into play, opening in media res. Mother Superior was stranded, hunted by the Crow-Eaters as he tried to make it back to the safety of the Priory, while our other players (Charmer the Brainer, Kerrbox the Angel, and Rapture the Battlebabe) set out looking for their boss. Again, a breach of how the game is supposed to run, but opening with something high-octane felt important when we only had a couple of hours to dick around in the world.

We had a brief encounter at a blockaded highway, some good chats about the safety and feasibility of offroading on a dried up swamp (don’t), and an absolutely miserable (in a good way) knock-down, drag-out shootout between Mother Superior and his pursuers, which ended when an escaping Crow-Eater rode headfirst into our other players’ search party and wound up getting dragged behind a bike some five hundred feet down the road, psychically interrogated, and imprisoned in the Red Priory. Having made it safe — but badly injured — back to the holding, we capped off the session — and our story — with an attack by the full Crow-Eater gang riding a souped up bulldozer and a fleet of bikes which Kerrbox and Rapture road out to deal with while Mother Superior drifted semi-conscious in a hospital bed, dreaming with Charmer about the Crow-Eater’s boss, Lady Magpie — who, at that moment, was dueling Rapture guitar-ax-on-chains on top of the bulldozer. Every step in the process was sick as shit. The combat felt great, the social dynamics felt great, the shifting scales of threat and tension as things amped up felt great — and even with a couple of players with pretty limited RPG experience, the game felt like it had an interesting answer (or a way to find an interesting answer) to every question we hit. As always when playing online, I did wish we were in person (flipping through a book around a table just feels better than flipping through a book on a discord call) and we ran into the usual hiccups with to do the move, do it type games: cases where players had an interesting image of what they wanted to try which the moves didn’t quite cover and cases where players knew what move they were angling for but I had to push them to frame it narratively — but both of those things are solved by familiarity, and would have been smoothed out if we’d gotten to play for longer. 

There’s a slightly paradoxical way in which a one-shot of a GM’d game tends to rely more heavily on the GM than long term play does, especially when the non-GM players haven’t spent a lot of time with the game beforehand. Even if you aren’t expected to have prepped as thoroughly as you might for a campaign, the labor of hosting and facilitating has a tendency to balloon in a first session, and there were a number of times when my players looked to me for answers when, in a longer game, I’d like to think they would have felt comfortable answering the questions themselves. Some of this is just players getting warmed up to the space and to playing with each other, but there’s another edge as well: I think some players have a tricky time feeling like they can claim authorial power in a one-shot. A one-shot is perceived as a kind of bespoke experience, something hosted by me for you — a perception which, I admit, I play into when I end a Dream Library session by thanking my players for joining me. I don’t know why I do that — I certainly don’t feel that need when I GM an ongoing campaign — but I do.

Apocalypse World is a great game for breaking this habit. Even as I over-prepped for the first session, limiting myself to developing threats (and the basic setting details worked out with the hardholder) meant there were moments when not only did my players ask me questions I didn’t have an answer to, but questions which I did not feel I was the right person to answer at all, and I passed authorship off — either back to them or to another player. Breaking up the authorial duties by making it extremely clear what the MC is and is not is a huge part of what makes the Bakers work tick — and something I’ve seen them do in other, even more asymmetrical games (like the excellent Wizards Grimoire zines which are on sale right now). 

On top of that, though, Apocalypse World gives you Agendas, and most importantly the command to “Barf forth apocalyptica” which I mentioned once already. In a one-shot, having a textual instruction to answer questions with the most grotesque, evocative, and apocalyptic answer we could find was an incredible mandate which changed the world in the process of play. The mudflats got muddier as we went, the Red Priory seedier. By the time we met her, Lady Magpie had discarded her original fit for a massive cloak strung with bits of broken metal and glass which clattered and flickered with her every movement. 

Apocalypse World enshrines the call to lean into the obvious answer into its text, reminding us that it is, in fact, fun to play in genre. It is fun to play in the trope. It is fun to make things strange and beautiful and frightening purely for the purpose of being strange and beautiful and frightening. It fucking rules.

I wish, again, that I’d gotten to play it longer, and watched the world get even weirder and more apocalyptic.

Part 3: What Comes Next

I’ve got another session of Apocalypse World that I’ll be recruiting for in the Dream Library basically as soon as this post goes up — then next month we’re moving on to Night Witches and Sagas of the Icelanders to talk a little about historical fiction and genre. The schedule beyond that has been laid out, but only tentatively (at one stage, I had games planned to run until next April, which is absurd, but I’m trying to keep things flexible and let the unit lead us where it does). If you’d like to get in on the action, shoot me a message! I’m not posting the link to the Dream Library anywhere publicly at the moment, but genuinely — if you want in, you should come on in. If you don’t want to play, you don’t have to play — we’ve got a little text-based book club talking through the games simultaneously to our unit, for folks who can’t make it but still want to talk games.

On the other hand, if you want to run a game you should for sure let me know. I’ve already got a few guest hosts lined up, and I can’t wait to see what they do. Is there a game you think is secretly the key to understanding PBTA? Something you’ve been itching to try, but never found a group for? A game you hate, but feel obligated to talk about anyway?

Come and join. We’d love to have you.

We’ve got fourteen years of design to talk shit about, after all.

[devourable]

hello, it's me again. from yesterday? i think it was. hopefully... okay so thank you for answering my questions and all. now i wanted to request the delinquents, the alt kids, and abraham or honestly you can do whoever. though i'm unsure if i need to be specific about the request,, but the only thing i can think of is how far would they go to get reader? to make them stay with them? something like that;; now if this makes no sense then i'm sorry and you can act like this never existed. have a nice day!

❥ the lengths they'll go · yanderes & their limits

❥ the softies

these yanderes prefer to not hurt others or you. their behavior mostly extends to stalking, breaches of privacy if given an opportunity — mostly harmless behaviors that go unnoticed by most, either due to being demure or because others genuinely just can't see them as the type to do the things they do. they will only go as far as to hurt someone if they pose a genuine threat to you/your relationship with them. a relationship with them is one that can be the most akin to normalcy, but don’t be fooled — it’s not hard to goad them into doing something unforgivable. and once they've started down that path, it's simply not possible to get them off.

the church boy | delta | aaron, judas | the widower | the parents

❥ the masqueraders

these yanderes only behave to maintain their connection to you. they don't care about others nor how their actions effect them, but know that acting out could hinder their relationship with you. so they're sneakier with how they work their way into your life. they like how you never notice that people who bother you always seem to get into painful 'accidents' or end up in life ruining incidents; or how you always seem to have no choice but to depend on them for one reason or another. they're masters of manipulation, terrifyingly good at putting up a facade to most and never get caught for their actions because of it. they don't mind the harm done to others if it gets and keeps them closer to you.

the prodigy | the hacker | the gym bunny | faust, anton | dominic, mattias | the mermaids

❥ the monsters

these yanderes care for no one but you. they’ll do whatever they have to in order to have you all to themself and they won’t feel bad about it, either. they’ll maim, sabotage, kidnap, and/or kill just about anyone who gets in their way with little, if any hesitation or guilt. they don't care who knows, and they don't care if they get caught. they want you, need you, and even if you don’t realize it right away, you need them too. to the monsters, the end justifies the means. and they'll do everything they can to get to the end. they'll destroy everyone and everything — including themselves and even you, if they have to — to achieve their goal.

the butcher | the beast | the villains | the hunstman | the coven | the farmer

[materassassino]

The Old Guard Dæmon AU

Probably done before, but I wanted to write one myself, so I thought I'd make a guide to the Guard and their respective dæmons, to go with the fic I just posted for it.

Andy: Hwehnto (Przewalski's horse)

Yeah, a wolf or some other predator might fit, but let's face it, the supreme horse girl should have a horse for a dæmon. *h₂weh₁n̥to- is Proto-Indo-European for "wind", butchered into a modernly comprehensible Hwehnto/Hwento. He is a very serious and stoic dæmon, much like Andy, but his outbursts of emotion are striking. He is vicious in battle and will not hesitate to attack both human and dæmon, if necessary.

I did also consider a tarpan for Andy, but there is literally one photo in existence of one. I generally assume that actually it would be some European wild horse so old it doesn't exist anymore, and we've lost all modern knowledge of it. So Przewalski's horse will do.

Quynh: Minh Nhat (white-lipped pit viper)

Of course our viper would have a viper! Small, quick and venomous. He doesn't have a name yet because, frankly, I don't speak Vietnamese and I want him to have a cool name like most dæmons have. His name is Minh Nhat, which means "bright sunlight", in contrast with Quynh's name. More outgoing than most dæmons, will talk casually with other humans, and is prone to little acts of thievery (thimbles, small nuts, little trinkets), mostly out of delight with the object than any malice. Very tiny! Likes spending his time tucked up Quynh's sleeve. Will not hesitate to bite a human should the need arise, but tucks himself in Quynh's collar or scarf when in battle.

I was torn between this and a red-headed krait, but ultimately went to an actual viper (well, pit viper, close enough).

Joe: Tayyib (scimitar oryx)

(Oddly difficult to find a photo of one alone, with no radio collar, that hasn't been shot by some bastard trophy hunter).

Tayyib (named that way for obvious reasons and chosen by Joe's mother's dæmon) represents everything poetic and artistic about Joe, and is calm and wise. Dislikes fighting, but will if he must: watch out for those horns! Yes, he is a male dæmon, a rarity, another commonality Joe shares with Nicky. I wonder why? A very good listener who gives good advice.

I don't know why I decided on another ungulate for this hapless team (can they even go anywhere?), but I did. I figured a desert antelope of some kind would be good for Joe, and it was a toss-up between this and an addax. I admit I chose it just for the name.

Nicky: Bonamico (Luzon bleeding-heart dove)

Geographically, it doesn't make sense. Symbolically? I had to. Bonamico is quiet, contemplative and kind, barely speaks except to Nicky, Joe or Tayyib, but is always concerned for those about him. He is far more nervous than Nicky, but stores a lot of knowledge, a trait he does share with Nicky. His favourite place to perch, other than Nicky's shoulder, is between Tayyib's horns (although occasionally he likes to sit on Joe's head). He does the scouting for the group, as the only bird dæmon.

This bird is the entire reason I made this damn AU. It's just too perfect. Look at this Catholic-ass bird!

Booker: Amandine (black rat)

*wheezing* I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm not sorry.

Now, the problem with dæmons is that we have rat symbolism, which is of rats as dirty and sneaky, but we're also modern human beings that know perfectly well rats are cute, intelligent and affectionate creatures that make amazing pets. Amandine herself is mostly just shy and quiet, although she does like it when she gets the chance to roast Booker, but then again, who doesn't? She is their little reconnaissance expert, being sent in to buildings and small places to chew through wires and spy. She, unlike Booker, is always supremely well-groomed.

I did consider a ferret or stoat, something a little more noble, but I personally do love rats so much and so I wanted a positive rat dæmon, for once.

Nile: Dakarai (red wolf)

I wanted to give Nile something supremely American, but she was in the Marines, and soldiers of most kinds tend to have dog dæmons, so no stereotypical birds. But Nile is also smart and quick-thinking, and family-oriented, so the red wolf made sense to me. Dakarai is loyal and far more serious than his human, a bit more cynical. Having been trained in a modern Armed Force, post-Geneva Convention, he's never touched another human being and has exclusively fought other dæmons. He is, of course, a good tracker.

Someone had to have a canine in this group. Might as well be Nile!

Bonus (under the cut for cockroach reasons):

James Copley: Vindemiatrix (common raven)

The Odin symbolism of the knowledge-seeker raven, honestly. She perches in odd places, watches everything, and reports back. She is a secret-keeper and prone to keeping her own counsel, not interacting much with other dæmons. She, like Copley, misses his wife and her Pallas's cat dæmon something fierce.

Stephen Merrick: Unnamed (American cockroach)

Need I say more? He deserves it.

Dr Meta Kozak: Unnamed (hagfish)

A disgusting dæmon for a disgusting woman, who burrows into people's bodies and eats them from the inside out. She carries the horrid thing in a lightweight tank backpack, one of the many modern accomodations for people with water-dwelling dæmons.

Keane: Unnamed (Eastern black rhino)

A beautifully noble dæmon, unfortunately wasted on a bastard.

Lykon: Unnamed (melanistic leopard)

She was graceful, majestic and courteous, and absolutely breathtaking in battle. She would dispense affection to daemon and human alike, much like Lykon himself.

[dullgecko]

I am not entirely sure how to word this, this is something that came about while thinking about for an OC that I probably won't be writing anything for, but I have become fond of the idea of Goblin BBQ. I know goblins probably don't cook their food often but, when they cook, they cook.

Riz hasn't been able to get the full experience due to growing up in an apartment but once the Bad Kids learn about it they arrange to cook the array of dishes at Mordred Manor with Sklonda's help.

In the middle of autumn it's tradition for the elder members of a goblin hoard to take some of the stronger kids out into the woods and teach them how to hunt big game. They bring all the kills back and have a massive bonfire where they butcher and preserve as much of the meat as possible for long term storage while gorging themselves on the leftovers.

It's mostly so that if the adults don't survive the winter the kids will still be able to feed themselves. Rizs dad did this a couple times when he was really small (it's how he learned how to shoot) but Sklonda hasn't had the time since Pok died and Riz made such a sad face when she asked if he wanted her to take time off work they haven't done it since. They do get a bunch of cheap meat cuts every year and make sausages though.

The other bad kids find out about it during one of their classes (but it's a kind of racist description so they get all the details from Rizs mum later and organise to set everything up to surprise him). Fabian and Gorgug get Sandra-lynne to take them hunting and help them haul some massive boars back to Mordred for the party.

Sadly, Fabian declines eating the biggest kills raw liver and heart as is tradition since he got the final hit in. He offers it to Riz who laughs, promptly decides NOT to explain the connotations of the gesture to him, and polishes off the raw organs himself to much cheering and laughing.

The amount of smoked meat and sausages made supplements the entire groups groceries for the rest of winter.

[hughiecampbelle]

The Boys Preference: Being Their Weapon

Requested: a preference of femreader being the boys' main weapon, that homelander doesn't even know of..? 😫 dialogue prompt 27 & 60 - anon

A/N: Reminder my loves! Prompts only go with fic requests, no other kind of requests. It's all in the pinned post, please be sure to read! I've updated it recently to be as clear as possible :) I also only write gn!readers as it states in my rules linked in my bio. Hope you can understand! I based it loosely off this fic because I think the Supe abilities would fit perfectly! Feedback is always appreciated 💜💜💜

Butcher didn't like you and you didn't like Butcher. He punched you, he hit you with his gun. He knew you thought about killing him that day, grabbing his wrist and killing him instantly, but Frenchie stopped you. When you agree to help them, you make sure it's known that you're not doing this for Butcher at all. That if it were just him asking you, you'd let him die. He thought you were stupid. Stupid and dangerous and unstable. Kicking them out like that only proved him right. Regardless of what Hughie or Frenchie or Kimiko said, nothing would change the way he felt about you. He would never admit that he was grateful for your help, but he was. If everything went to hell, at least they'd have you. Still, he couldn't help but eye you every time you came in. He didn't like what you could do. If you decided you weren't interested, if you felt threatened even a little bit, you could kill all of them without even trying.

Hughie had no problem with what you could do. It's not like you could control what the V did to you. And you never wanted the V in the first place. It was intimidating sure, but he wasn't scared of you because of it. Underneath the fear, the resistance, was someone who just wanted to be treated with a little kindness. He could do that. He could do more than that. He tried to talk to Annie about why she was so hesitant, but she just couldn't explain it. You warmed up to Hughie pretty quickly. He was curious about your powers. You showed him what you could do with plants, fruits and vegetables mostly. They'd rot in your hands. You could kill everyone and everything. You admitted to him all the things you missed, but were too scared of doing, even with gloves and protection. Hugs mostly, petting animals. He hadn't realized how much your powers would affect you. The least he could do was not be scared of you. The least he could do was be your friend.

Annie tries not to stare. Alongside the whole "killing people with your touch" You were a little cagey. The last time she saw you you were screaming at everyone to get out of your apartment. Now you stood beside Frenchie, trying not to draw attention to yourself. You clung to Frenchie and Kimiko, keeping everyone else at a professional distance. She tried to be nice, she tried not to flinch when you moved too fast or abruptly, but she couldn't help it. Like M.M. she was wary about you. You'd all done things you weren't proud of, but you turned your Supe-ability into a prpfession. A dangerous one that left a lot of innocent (and not so innocent, you'd like to point out) dead. She knows your upbringing wasn't the most traditional, but was that really an excuse? You could tell how she felt just from the way she looked at you. You tried not to take it personally.

M.M likes you, but he doesn't like the idea of you. Killing people just by touching them is just too much. Too dangerous. He makes sure he's never too close to you. Unlike Frenchie who is quote affectionate and far more easygoing than everyone else, Marvin was stressed out. He watched you carefully, keenly, making sure he only came near you when you were wearing gloves or something else that prevented any skin from showing. You know he feels this way and you don't push it. There were tons of people in your life like him, scared of you, petrified even. You knew it was better to keep your distance and not to try anything funny. It was just easier. No jokes, nothing. You didn't mind keeping your relationship professional. Marvin knew how important you were, that it was a big sacrifice given your past to accept this offer, but he couldn't let go of the idea that you could kill any number of them with your pinky alone.

Frenchie is the first person you trust out of the whole group. He comes back to see you alone. If you truly don't want to help, he won't force you. He just wants to talk. Despite yourself, you let him in. Maybe loneliness is finally getting to you. You're still wary, but eventually you let go a little, realizing he was going to keep his word. You become friends. He's the first friend you've had since you were a kid, before being locked up. He wasn't as afraid of you as everyone else was and you were constantly reminding him to be careful around you. You start to ask questions, logistical ones about what it would mean to join the team, what it would mean to take down Homelander. He assured you they would never let anything happen to you. You trust him. When he brings you to meet the team officially, there's a collective sign in relief. If the plan went wrong, if they ran out of options, they would always have you. You were the perfect weapon. To Frenchie though, you were just a new friend, teammate.

Kimiko likes you. If Frenchie likes you, then she does too. You're a little hesitant to start signing with her. Your hands flying everywhere wasn't such a good idea given that you could kill someone. Still, she didn't mind. She understood the fears, your past. The both of you had been used. The both of you had been given Compound V. You both killed people. Kimiko was the second person you trusted and this tome it was immediate. She wasn't scared of you, though she understood your hesitation. Good things were never truly good. There was always something horrible lingering just behind it. Friends were nice. Friends were a good thing. But doing this? Killing Homelander? That could lead to something awful. You had to be hesitant. You had to be careful. She wasn't going to hold this kind of thinking against you. You had as much a right to be afraid as they did.

[stabbyfoxandrew]

Could I have some Guardian Angel please? I love all of them but I can’t get Angel Neil out of my head right now because the way you write all of their interactions (with Andrew hoping this could possibly be something he hasn’t just made up in his head and Neil just genuinely and thoughtfully being there to help) is just so beautiful

WIP Wednesday (7/3) | Guardian Angel Neil AU (Part 202)

Not wanting to deal with Aaron, Andrew doesn’t stay much longer. He finishes a cigarette and says goodbye to Neil, who waves him off with a smile Andrew would like to bite off his face. He settles for etching it into his memory and waving back before heading back downstairs. 

As he sneaks back in, Andrew very deliberately pulls his cigarettes out of his pocket holds them up. Aaron gives him a look but doesn’t say anything so Andrew sits down at his desk. He pulls out a mostly-empty notebook. Glancing over his shoulder, he notices his twin is still staring at him. So Andrew goes to the trouble of pulling out a textbook he’s never once opened and plunks it down on the desk as well, opening it to a random page.

And then, he starts writing. Nothing related to his education. No. 

Instead, Andrew makes a list of Neil things. His memory is infallible, but it’s hard to remember everything at one time. So he notes down everything he can think of. The night Neil first appeared, the night Andrew started actually talking to him, the ankle-fixing miracle, Neil’s wings, the feather, The Butcher of Baltimore, Neil’s knife showing up, Neil wearing Kevin’s hat, the hole in the roof, and half a dozen other things.

As he puts them in the right order, Andrew finds that he’s got quite a list. He does his best to add dates to each one, then sits back and rereads what he’s got. Hm, Andrew lets out a breath. None of this means anything. Just that he’s good at remembering when things might have happened.

Okay. Andrew straightens back out and starts crossing out the things he can’t exactly prove. 

When he’s done with that, Andrew’s only got the feather and the Butcher left on his list. He knows the feather is real, but… He doesn’t know if it really glows or if that’s just in his head. Come to think of it… he could’ve imagined reading that article about Neil’s father as well.

Andrew sighs. Back to the drawing board, he supposes. Unless...