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primofate · 3 years

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HI BESTIEEEE🧚‍♀️ i'm the anon who asked for the small chest s/o x childe! it can be either nsfw or sfw. whatever is best for you🤠 (maybe one part sfw and other nsfw, that would work just fine👍) THANKS AGAIN

You got it :D

Scenario: Fem Reader with a small chest x Childe

Warning: BOTH SFW and smut. Smut will be separated and you’ll see another warning. NOT proofread.

SFW Part:

You look at yourself in the dress. You stare at your reflection for a while. You twirl once, eyes furrowing. Something’s missing.

The dress hugs your waist perfectly, but you still don’t know why you feel so...insecure.

And then it hits you, your eyes trail up to your not-so-well-endowed chest. You just hate...HATE how small they were and then you see people like Ningguang walking around with their chins up chests out and it really doesn’t do a lot for your self-esteem.

‘I wonder if Childe prefers bigger...’ you start getting into that spiral of thinking about how inadequate you are. ‘Of course he does... Who wouldn’t? It’s sexy as all hell,’

“What are you frowning for sweetheart?”

You flinch in surprise at Childe’s sudden appearance behind you, his arms suddenly encircling your waist and smiling straight at your reflection.

You can’t help but smile back, he has that effect on you. However, you just shake your head “Nothing, I was just wondering if this dress even suited me,” not completely a lie.

You feel his gaze on you, his eyes sweeping you from head to toe and a thoughtful sound escapes his lips. “It looks absolutely stunning on you,” and by the way his eyes shine, his look softens, you know he’s not lying.

Oh, how in the world did this man even choose you? You think, melting in his arms.

“Hmmm... So are you going to tell me what’s wrong?,” You blink up at him, alarmed because you thought that you’d conceal your disappointment quite well.

You think for a bit before looking down, playing with your fingers and starting nervously. “We-Well... Cause...” You glance up at your reflection again.

He’s surprisingly patient and waits for you to explain, also looking at your reflection curiously.

“...I’m not very...I mean, my chest... is tiny,” you feel embarrassed just saying it out loud. He only blinks at you until you throw your hands up and rant. “My boobs are tiny, okay? That’s what’s getting me. They’re... They’re like mosquito bites! I look like a man in this dress and....and... it’s ugly. Don’t you want them bigger?”

Childe chuckles, though not to mock you but because he thought it was cute how you worried about that. “You’re exaggerating a little there, sweetheart.” but he turns you around by the shoulders and tilts your chin up to look at him.

“But that is the furthest thing from the truth, again, you’re absolutely stunning. I don’t really care about that, besides...it’s adorable,” he smirks that smirk of his that makes you feel like jelly.

“Every part, every strand of you is magnificent and I’m a bit worried that I haven’t made you feel that way, I’m not doing a very good job as your boyfriend then, aren’t I?”

You are about to protest but he has wrapped an arm around your waist again and pressed a gentle kiss on your forehead. “Whenever you feel like that just come to me, I’ll make sure to keep your worries at bay,”

Taglist: @larkspyrr @outlet-0 @rim0na

SFW PART END. SMUT PART AFTER THE LINKS.

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WARNING: SMUT. Turn away now if it’s not your thing <3

“But you know... if you ask me honestly...” Childe’s voice dips and he pulls away a little to meet your eyes. “About the dress... It’s looks better...” his hand suddenly finds the zip at the back “...on the floor,”

He slowly unzips it while leaning in to capture your lips in a more hungry kiss. You don’t resist and you don’t really know why. His kisses were always so intoxicating. So persuasive.

He pulls away to whisper in your ear as he continues to unzip it, nearing the end. “Let me show you, how ravishing your body really is,” and the dress drops on the floor, leaving you in your undergarments.

He makes quick work of that too, joining the dress on the floor.

He kisses your lips, gently at first, his hand roaming up to your hips, gripping it tightly and pulling you flush against him. He pulls back only for a second, only for a breath and dives back in, this time tasting your lips as if he hadn’t eaten in days. His hand now trailing down to grab your ass, earning a surprised squeal from you.

He pulls away, a low chuckle under his breath at your reaction and mumbles, voice husky with desire “I swear you don’t even know how much you turn me on,” as if making a point, he turns you around, both of you now facing the mirror and his hard-on pressed against your back.

He uses his hand to force your head up to look at yourself in the mirror, and with his leg hooks a chair that was behind the two of you, dragging it closer, behind him. “Watch me worship you, Y/N,” You only whimper, feeling a pool of heat start to gather in between your legs as he sits down and maneuvers you over his lap, reflection still clear in the mirror.

He is so much taller than you, and his body encases yours. You watch as one of his hands trail up your stomach, and covers your entire right breast, his fingers moving expertly to pinch at your nipples. “Ch-Childe!”

“Hmmm?” he teases, his other hand grabbing your inner thigh and pulling it open, then using his leg to keep it in place, freeing his hand to start touching your wet folds. “Oh? Wet already, Y/N?”

There’s a slight squelch as his fingers start running up and down your folds and you lean your head back against his chest at the sensation but he yet again takes your face and makes you look at the reflection. “Uh-uh, you have to look, dearest.” He nips at your neck, “This is how I see you, beautiful and sexy,”

Both his hands then give attention to your breasts, rubbing both nipples and gathering, squeezing what he could in his hands, “N-No, not too hard,” you whimper, watching as his grin just widens. “They might be small, Y/N, but they’re always so sensitive,”

He dips his head sideways to capture one in his mouth, his tongue flicking the small nub and all you could see in the reflection is his tuft of brown hair. Electricity running through you. “Aaah!” and yet you don’t break your gaze from the mirror.

“Ch-Childe! Please...” your other leg starts to open up and he complies, still latched on to your breast, now sucking on it as his hand sinks into your wet folds.

“Nnghhh!” You feel a finger sink in and he’s deliberately slow with it. His slow but forceful sucking on your breast feels like an incredible vacuum and he switches to the other side giving the other the same attention. “M-More...” You feel the need push your hips forward and his chest rumbles in a low growl, pushing another finger in.

His fingers start a steady in and out, you could feel it sliding in you and barely grazing your sensitive spots. “H-Harder... Childe!” He finally lets go of your breasts, picks his head up to look at your reflection. You’re flushed red and your legs are wide open for him. “Hm? Just a while ago you told me I was going too hard,” so he slows his pace on purpose, eyes glued to your glistening slit.

“N-No, please,” your hips wriggle again and his smirk is devilish. This time, he hooks his fingers up to touch at your sensitive spot and thrusts on it vigorously. His other hand joins to rub on your clit, the squelching sounds are loud now.

“Oooohhh!” You throw your head back, legs feeling like jelly, but he immediately stops, fingers just resting inside you. “Ch-Childe?” You pick your head up immediately at the loss of sensation.

“Look at the mirror sweetheart, or I won’t be continuing,” you immediately turn your head to your reflection just as his fingers slam back in. “Nnghhh-ah!” His pace quickens, your clit is on fire and you feel the sensations rolling over you wave after wave. “Ah! AhhHH! Y-YEs...C-cumming...!”

He starts rubbing your clit up and down, fingers at a steady in and out pace, ramming into your sensitive crevices. “CHildee, Mmmmm!” Your body starts to tremble and he knows you’re close, he dips his head in again to give your nipple a bite, the action sending you over the edge.

“Aghhhhg! F-Fuck...” He doesn’t stop even when you release, the sensitivity of it has you squirming and a moaning mess in his lap but he continues until you completely ride out the wave of pleasure.

You slump back against him, chest heaving up and down at your release. He smiles down at your vulnerable form, his for the taking. “Well then, let’s continue in the bedroom, shall we?”

He takes you in his arms and stands, and just before entering the room for what you think is going to be a long session, he gets a soft gaze in his eyes. “Y/N, you’re beautiful,” you look up at him, still blown away by the orgasm but sees the sincerity in his eyes.

“...and I don’t mind making you feel that every single day and every single second,”

Yeap, gunna be a loooooong day.

Taglist: @larkspyrr @mommykodaa (I can’t seem to tag you?)

#childe #tartaglia #smut #childe x reader #tartaglia x reader #request #genshin fics #genshin headcanon #genshin fanfics #genshin fanfictions #genshin reader insert #genshin smut #childe smut #genshin hc #genshin heacanons

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word-addict-lisette · 3 years

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I can’t believe this!!!

So, something very weird and crazy happened yesterday night. I got i to little debate with my mom. It started from feminism and we ended on the LGBTQ community. But either way it was chaotic.

But the argument ended in me realizing that older generations... As in our parents, don't actually care about this feminism thingy at all. They don't care at all. They want good lives and want equality but it's for themselves, they fail to see that there are different types of women out there too. And even worse is that my mother has no idea of what the LGBTQ community is. And that's sick!

The only thing she is aware of is that gay is a bad word to call some like. What the hell? It sure as hell isn't! So it was like late night, and my mother was randomly scrolling through her phone while me and my sister were just cracking random jokes and laughing among ourselves.

That’s when my mother made this comment on seeing a post, “Women don’t look good until they have good hair.” I gave it some thought, not in the mood for an argument at 11 in the night. But my sister felt the need to speak so she retorted with, “Not necessarily, everyone looks good, and I don’t see how a person’s hair matters.” I agreed, my mother didn’t.

She said, “Not necessarily everyone looks good, we just say everyone is beautiful for the sake of it, but i don’t really think people look good with bad hair. And i don’t think really really short hair suits people either.” I didn’t like that comment one bit, so i stepped in.

“Not everyone says that everyone is beautiful just for the sake of it. Everyone truly is beautiful, and A lot of people look good with really short hair too, you can’t judge them like that.” She threw me a look for that.

“At that rate, you will say that even bald people look good. They don’t necessarily look good. they are people like that.” I shot back at her, cause now it was getting on my nerves. I told her, “Who said bald people don’t look good, i thought i just specified the fact that everyone looks good, and there are no exceptions to that case, even my sister had gotten my bald she was very young, you didn’t call her ugly. Then why others?”

“She said fine, I am not gonna argue with that, not necessarily all women and men look good. I don’t think that everyone is good looking. Beautiful doesn’t mean human, you need to have some things in you to be termed beautiful.”

My sister contradicted with, “I don’t think anyone set the parameters for beauty yet, if anyone has, they are crazy. Everyone is beautiful and if you don’t feel so, i’m sorry i can’t change that. But i’m with my sister in this.”

But i had a whole different topic to discuss after that, “This whole conversion was carried out as if it was pointed towards women, I don’t see why women don’t look good with short hair. Men look good in short hair, men and women are equal, and if men can have short hair and not be judged, it can be the same with women.”

That seemed to put my mother to think, but she didn’t change her thought one bit. she responded with, “Women and men are different, sure women and men are equal, but there are some differences, and by the way women are built differently and they ought to look good. That’s when you feel like a women.”

my sister felt differently, “Men and women are equal, at least they should be. And the word equal, doesn’t come with any exceptions like beauty or anything, so equal means equal. That’s what feminism is for.”

My mother looked confused at the last sentence, she looked like she didn’t know what feminism is. But then she automatically assumed it to have something to do with women being superior than men. She clarified that she didn’t think women ought to be on a higher position in the world, like unless the women actually deserved it with all right. But men had the higher position and the best we ought to get was gender equality, between females and males.

Until a few years back, i would have agreed with her, just the way my sister did after explaining the real meaning of feminism to my mother. But, I didn’t agree with that statement either. Gender equality did not mean equality between males and females, it meant equality between all the genders. That is when i got in the LGBTQ+ community. My mother had literally 0% idea of what that was. And i felt like digging my own grave and burying myself alive.

I did not even ask her to google the community like i had asked her to google feminism. I simply asked her what was her view on the transgenders. She said, “not much, they are like okay though i am not sure i really support them. I am still dicy about them.”

That reminded of something that happened long back. When I was in Class 7, one of my classmates accidentally called a guy in our class gay, because he used to make fun of them in class a lot. I truly used to resent it when they used to make fun of transgenders in my school, I wasn’t aware of the the LGBTQ+ community back then, but still I hated it.

When the fact a guy had called a friend of his gay in school spread around and our parents got to know, the kid got suspended for two days, and got a diary note. Moreover my mother told me then that I hope you don’t use such bad words and vulgarized language in school. If I hear you calling anyone such a foul word anytime, consider yourself grounded for a year.

That day stuck with me forever, How the heck was GAY a bad word?

So last night during the argument, I told her that gender equality meant it was for all the genders, literally all the genders. And i literally told her about the fact that she told me gay was a bad word whereas it wasn’t. I told her that there are homosexual people as well and just told her about the LGBTQ+ community. She didn’t seem to support them much. But at least she knew about it.

She still didn’t agree about the lgbtq+ community thingy and different genders. she also mentioned that she didn’t know anything about this community, and she wondered if she could have cared less about it before. And she was very shocked about the fact that i supported them, and that I was a feminist. she said that she never taught me any of this and was thoroughly surprised when she found out I knew so many things, that she thought that I shouldn’t.

It sucked that she thought of all of it in such a manner, But before i could go further with the convo, my sister just asked us to cut it out... Though i was so not pleased to know that my mom didn’t even know that there is something called the LGBTQ+ community and feminism. A similar thing had happened a few month ago, where i told her about black lives matter. Turns out our generation is quite more socially knowledgeable and mature than our parents.

But then again, this morning i was called lazy, and again made to feel like crap. my mother termed that i ought to study and not spend so much time on my laptop and mobile, because, they aren’t going to get me anywhere and social media is poisoning my mind. Interesting part.... TUMBLR is my only source of socializing on the internet! She isn’t even aware of that. But yeah... at the end: I am the stuck up kid in the house.

#from liz's thoughts #this is from my experience #i still can't believe it #lgbt #everyday feminism #feminismisequality #socialist feminism #feminist #debates in the house #im so done #we are really in it now #stuck up?#i can't belive this #ughhhh #my sister doesn't know about the lgbtq community #either of them #why is it like this

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betweentheracks · 4 years

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Heyo! Not to be too nosy here but you mentioned you're in bad health and recovering, and I just wondered what happened? Also how would it impact your career since, from how you've made it all seem thus far, it's a highly active and demanding job?

Hope you take care and get well! You appear quite strong and not like you'd take whatever has happened just lying down, so here's to you!! 🙏💓

No sweat and no worries here, I dont find this particularly invasive. If anything, I'm flattered you care to ask after me lol. 😁

A few weeks back I met a friend I hadn't seen in some time for lunch. This was against my better sense of caution that I've held firmly to throughout the pandemic, but I would feel regretful and dismissive if I didnt agree to see her while I had the chance. I should've listened my gut and stayed safely at work because this "friend" failed to mention she had tested positive (she knew already by the time of our lunch date, she has since admitted) and had figured since she had no symptoms there was no harm in being in public.

FF only a few days later and I was feeling a little unwell but had put it off as an effect of the winter blast that had just hit where I live. I'd spent half a day out in the cold and snow for a photoshoot only the day before and thought it was probably due to that since I'm susceptible to weather influenced head colds and bronchitis. Fortunately, my job mandates a rigid COVID-19 screening twice a week due to our high profile clientele and as an assurance of health and safety for us all. Mine read back with a positive and with the way I had been feeling I was immediately sent home and the company closed its doors while the building was sterilized and our clients notified.

Thankfully I managed not to infect anyone I work with nor my son. Regrettably, I did infect my best friend since we're horrifically incapable of maintaining personal space and have weak shit immune systems. We both agree it is a wonder we made it this far into plague times without it catching us.

So I went and got looked over and sent on my way with my prescription of potent anti-virals and steroids. I was well prepared to abide the quarantine guidelines and had sent my son to my mother's home for the duration so that he was out of the danger zone. It was fine, I was kinda cool and keen on getting a few days to myself to rest up and all that jazz. But it wasn't meant to last and I found trouble in the form of being unable to remain conscious much at all and would pass out constantly. After a few times of this I gave my brother (he's a doctor and vaccinated) a ring and told him that my fatigue was no joke dude and needed him to come give me a better once over than the one I'd gotten before bc I was sure I was not meant to feel this badly. He found me unconscious in the shower that night, my head battered from crashing to the basin.

After ensuring I wasn't concussed and jokes on what a hard head I have to take such a beating and show no signs of registering it beyond bruising (a joke between us due to him having once accidentally put a golf club into my forehead and fracturing my skull but that's a different story) he told me to call him regularly so that he can review how I feel and the progression of my symptoms and left. By the morning I had already had two more instances of sudden fatigue and collapsing in on myself. I had been posting on my main blog here about how I was doing and due to this I caught the concern of @peekbackstage and upon their suggestion to have my O2 levels tested it was revealed that I was having issues with my blood not circulating oxygen as it should and nearing hypoxia.

Here's the rub. I have a heart condition that is already very dangerous and bleak which limits my heart's capability of delivering blood through my body as it should. Cardiomyopathy or, as it seems better known, congestive heart failure. I've had surgery for it and it has been a while since it caused me any real issues as long as I stick to my routine of care and manage my health, but when COVID-19 infiltrated my body it immediately snagged upon this weak heart of mine and sank its fangs in.

Within a day of being admitted to the hospital I had a grand mal seizure due to the constant fluctuations of oxygen in my blood and the way my body was working double time to supplement for it. And only 2 days after that and when my nervous system had finally quieted down, I went into full cardiac arrest with a heart attack at my young age.

My next weeks were spent connected to machines doing more for me than my own body could. I developed pneumonia in my lungs, acute though it was it was still another complication that my wrecked body had to overcome as it made my already ragged breathing even worse. I was steadily shedding muscle tone and definition due to a lack of mobility and the fact that my body felt like a deadweight I could hardly take command of, and generally very weakened. My heart, the horrible thing, was inflamed and trying too hard by beating too fast, too hard.

FF some more and I was doing fairly well and treatments were showing some improvement. My heart was still being an ugly and gnarled beast in my chest and throwing weird spikes on the monitor that raised alarms. The pneumonia was retreating and I had no further seizures. It was the dawning light of my first signs that I was recovering!

It took a while more and so fucking many tests day in and day out for me get cleared for release. I tested negative for COVID-19 and was ashamed that I actually forgot that that was why I was even in the hospital to begin with, given all that happened. I have to undergo physical therapy and counseling; PT for heart happy exercises as well as to manage to my depleted muscles, counseling bc I was rocked mentally from all the almost dying and the depressive haze of being holed up in the hospital and surrounded by people who, like me, came in with COVID-19 but unlike me did not come out of it.

I'm home now. I had to have a pacemaker implanted and must stay vigilant for any showing that my heart is not performing as it should. I still have some severe inflammation and chest restriction in my airways as well as my blood vessels but nothing too daunting. I also have a full battalion of prescriptions, most for my heart, and a nebulizer to ease any breathing issues. The worst is honestly that I still am very weak and have severely limited reserves of energy.

My job is required to make me take 12 weeks of leave for rest and recuperation. This is very upsetting since I had been requested by name to be an assistant stylist at the Grammys this year which is truly a dream (especially with BTS in the mix 😩😩) and also bc I'm just a workaholic by nature and love my job. When I return I am expected to learn how to properly delegate tasks that do not directly require me to handle and slow down the pacing of my projects. My boss terminated a contract with a client that was nearing the scheduled end of our agreement and was also incredibly problematic to help lighten my workload. It's imperative that I reign in my stress levels or my heart will not last until the next surgery I'll need, so I'm gritting my teeth and letting my job be picked apart to reduce my responsibilities.

My post awaits my return but I will not be returning to full activity for a while after, which means no rifling through the racks for hours alongside the archivists in search of the perfect piece. I'll be welcome to meet with my clients and oversee the glam teams, will still be the command tower for final verdicts on which styles to use. But I will not be running around showrooms nor personally handling matters any competent trainee could be tasked with like I've always done. I will no longer be able to fly out anywhere for destination shoots or fashion shows.

If, after my next surgery, things are better and my heart stable to the point that they are hopeful of things will be reevaluated. While it is difficult beyond measure for me to relinquish the reigns of my career and be restricted in what I can do now, I am very thankful to be alive and upright when that wasn't a certainty just a little while ago. This is such a humbling experience to have survived when my stats kept dropping every day. I've been told to expect that I will never make a full 100% recovery and to expect to stall out around the 70%-90% range, with 70% being the most realistic.

My best friend (the one I gave the plague to) will be moving in with me so that I am never on my own if things go tits up and to assist in wrangling a toddler since I am currently without the energy to do so as my child is, sincerely, a crazy gremlin spawn with limitless battery life. Slowly, my life will regain some normalcy 💖

#racks asks #personal and long winded - read at own risk

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concussed-to-pieces · 4 years

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The Mettle Of A Man; Part Four

Fandom: Fallout (4)

Pairing: Eventual Paladin Danse/Female Sole Survivor

Rating: Holy shit M.

AN: Hey there my broskis! I figured I would start backing this up over here as well, cross-posting from my AO3. The chapters got somewhat restructured, so there may be some retreaded ground. Hopefully this will also give me a bit of incentive to actually finish this tale ;-;

Enjoy!

Part One: ArcJet

Part Two: The Prydwen

Part Three: Orders

Paladin Danse, pride of the Brotherhood of Steel, found himself incredibly nervous as he watched Backhand suit up for the first time. She gave him no real reason to be, of course, climbing into her power armor with veteran grace. She had forgone their jumpsuit in favor of her Vault suit so she was short a few of the securing clips, but it was her call. She did put on a hood though, stating that she wasn’t a fan of getting chunks of her hair ripped out by the helmet.

Danse barely hid his grin at the way she shook herself all over once she was in the suit, metal clanking loudly as pieces fell into place. “What do you think, Knight Vega?” He asked cautiously.

“I think I’m gonna’ have a lot of fun with this.” Backhand sounded like she was smiling.

Proctor Ingram sighed. “Yeah yeah, just try not to fuck up your actuators. Damn kids and your Prydwen jumps.”

Danse flipped his helmet and smoothly clicked it into place in his suit’s gorget, then blinked in confusion at the HUD. “Proctor, did you change the-”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry Danse. The yellow HUD makes me queasy.” Ingram apologized. Danse sighed, bringing up the internal options screen and readjusting the HUD color back to the warm amber he preferred. “Don’t be that way, Paladin, I have to look at a million of these helmets every day.”

“What? How do you change the…oh, I got it.” Backhand paused, obviously fiddling with the HUD in her own suit. “ Purple .” She said firmly.

Danse tried to mask his chuckle by clearing his throat, but the look Ingram shot him told him the attempt was unsuccessful. “Well, uh, I think it’s about time we begin our maneuvers.” He said hurriedly.

“You two take as long as you need. Bring Brandis back safe. Backhand, remember what I told you.” Ingram said sternly, saluting the two of them.

Backhand nodded solemnly, returning the salute. “Ad Victoriam, Proctor Ingram.” Danse saluted as well, curious about Ingram's mysterious statement.

Maxson hadn’t cleared them for vertibird transport to a general location. Danse could see why to an extent, the elder probably needed all the aerial support he could get while they sent out scouts to find more clues about the Institute. The reason Maxson had given was...still logical, but a little different.

“ With you on foot, there will be less warning for Brandis. ” Arthur had said in his briefing, arms behind his back as always. “ If he is alive, we don’t know what shape he’ll be in mentally. Use extreme caution. If you fear for your lives, do not hesitate to kill him .” He glared at Danse when he said that and Danse had swallowed hard.

Do not hesitate. Do not hesitate like you did with Cutler, Paladin.

Danse let Backhand set a pace she was comfortable with once they were on the ground and he followed her lead, the paladin silent as they marched. His thoughts churned and roiled, scratching to escape his head in a frenzy of uncertainty. He almost didn’t notice Backhand skipping , aside from how ridiculously loud her sabatons were on the remains of the road. “Knight Vega, what on earth .”

“ Finally! I’ve been trying to ask you something for five minutes. Figured I would opt for a different approach.” She laughed, knuckling his shoulder with her gauntlet. “After we find Paladin Brandis, I have-”

“ If we find Paladin Brandis.” Danse corrected her grimly.

Backhand paused, tilting her head to the side. “Sir?”

“I said, if we find Brandis. There’s no guarantee that he’s alive after all this time. It’s entirely possible that we’re simply on a remains retrieval detail.” Danse warned her.

Backhand shook her head after a moment. “Paladin, you really think I don’t know that? Damn.” She grumbled. “You’d rather find him alive, right? That’s the hope?” Danse nodded reluctantly. Brandis was an incredibly skilled survivalist, a respected squadron leader and free thinker of the highest caliber. He would be a phenomenal asset to the Brotherhood if…

If he was still alive.

“I apologize for my pessimistic outlook.” Danse said after a moment. “I have not had…exceptional luck when it comes to search and rescue details.”

“Hey, first time for everything.” He was almost positive that she was grinning at him under her helmet. “You’ve got me here. You can't say the homeland doesn't take care of their own; I’m practically the embodiment of a four-leaf clover.”

“We can hope.” Danse murmured, half to himself. “You certainly came through previously.”

“Maybe I’m your good luck charm.”

The notion that he had outlived his men because of luck left a bitter taste in Danse’s mouth and he fell silent once more. She at least seemed to understand not to poke him and simply carried on down the road at an easily-managed pace.

Danse couldn’t decide whether he personally wanted to find Brandis or not. On the one hand, of course he was a valuable asset. But on the other, Brandis had a penchant for… noticing things. Arthur had butted heads with the older man numerous times, usually over what Maxson labeled ‘ trivial issues ’.

And Danse still hadn’t forgotten the nasty rumors he’d heard about the real reason for Recon Squadron Artemis being sent to scout the Commonwealth…

“ Brandis overreaches, connects well with young recruits. The elder fears his influence. ”

“ Brandis was sent to die and you know it! ”

The atmosphere in the barracks had turned ugly fast when Arthur had dropped the tidbit that the Brotherhood lost contact with Squadron Artemis almost immediately upon their arrival in the Commonwealth.

Aspirants got into shouting matches; several scuffles broke out. Danse ended up wading through the midst of a pitched fistfight, throwing one knight over his shoulder and pinning the other beneath his arm momentarily.

“ This is behavior unbecoming of a soldier, knights! ” He had shouted over the ruckus. “ Stop the childish antics, use your brains and think! ” His voice carried in the cramped bunk room, and due to his massive height he was easily visible through the swirling hurricane of young men and women. “ Paladin Brandis would be ashamed of every one of you for losing sight of what is truly important in the Brotherhood! Your brothers and sisters are all you have in the world, you cannot set into them at the first sign of trouble! ”

“ Elder Maxson wanted Paladin Brandis to die! ” One brave scribe cried. “ That’s why he sent him! ”

“ He is the elder and you will show him the respect he deserves! ” Danse admonished the young man. “ I will not tolerate this insubordination! ”

“ You’re only on his side because you’re fucking him! ” The knight over his shoulder yelled furiously, beating his fists against Danse’s shoulder blade.

The entirety of the barracks went dead quiet and Danse was certain his face must have been an ungodly shade of purple from his insinuation. “ What did you just say, Knight? ”

The young man slowed to a stop, and then suddenly burst into tears. Danse set him down on his feet and the knight stood in front of him, his shoulders hunched. “ I ap-pologize, Palad-d-din Danse sir. ” He had hiccupped, saluting him without looking up.

“ Knight, you cannot lash out with harsh words or actions just because something isn’t going your way. ” Danse had known he was letting him off too easy, but the young knight was still weeping. “ You will go to Knight-Captain Cade in the morning. He is…far better at managing situations like these than I am. I fear I will do nothing but cause more damage. ”

“ Paladin Danse, have they told you anything about Paladin Brandis? Anything at all? ” A tiny squire had piped up from the door, her hair already braided for sleep.

Danse shook his head regretfully. “ All I know is what you’ve already been told. I have no other information at this time .”

“ Will…will you tell us if you learn anything new? ” She had continued hesitantly, glancing up at the aspirant holding her hand for confirmation. Murmuring rippled through the crowd, all eyes on Danse as he stood there silent, stoic. The knight's words echoed in his mind over and over, on his side, on his side...

“ You have my word as a Brotherhood paladin, Squire .”

It had been a simple thing to promise then. Almost negligibly simple. Danse shook his head, trying to disperse the memories. This rumination would get him nowhere. Thank goodness he had Knight Vega with him, at least she could keep an eye out for threats while he wandered down his proverbial Memory Lane.

Speaking of Knight Vega…

Danse swung his head around, perplexed. She had just been here, it wasn’t exactly like she could sneak in all that plating. He spotted her finally as he came over the next rise in the road. She appeared to be speaking to a civilian, the ragged-looking man gesturing wildly off to the side.

“…idea how many of them there are in the facility?” Backhand was asking.

“Usually we only see three to five, b-but sometimes there’s loads more! Hounds too! Please, General, if you can spare the men, we really need your help.” The man begged.

General? Danse thought with confusion. Why is he calling her General?

“Currently, we’re focusing our efforts on rebuilding Fort Independence…er, I mean, the Castle. We have mobile cells but they are few and far between. I will send word that-” Backhand was cut off by the man shaking his head rapidly.

“I knew it, I knew you would refuse! That’s how it always is! Say anything about super mutants and everyone pusses out!” The man shook his fist in Backhand’s impassive face. “I had hoped that you of all people would be able to help us, but I guess I was wrong.” He spat, “should have known better than to trust things would be alright with your group back on the playing field.”

Danse had heard enough, practically stomping down the road towards the man yelling at his charge. “Civilian, I suggest you watch your tone.” He uttered the words curtly, his eyes narrowed behind his visor.

The man huffed out a breath at him, obviously unimpressed. “So you have a bodyguard now, General?”

“Hardly.” Backhand replied dryly.

Danse got the feeling he had just been insulted, but he brushed it off. “Where is the nest of vermin?” He queried instead, making a considerable effort to try and keep his tone neutral. “You mentioned super mutants.”

“They’re in Weston. The pre-war water treatment plant. Are… you’re going to help?” The man asked uncertainly.

“There are other, more important matters that currently take priority, civilian. When we have the time, we will investigate. Now I would advise you to be on your way before I have to assist you in making the choice of departure.” Danse ordered, his laser rifle not quite at the ready, but high enough that to the untrained eye it would look like he was poised to strike.

The man grumbled something under his breath and then announced, “I'd better see you later, General. Oberland would be a good spot to spiff up, y'know, but it's so close to Weston no one will touch it.”

“Thank you, Rob. Hey, tell your wife I said hello. I hope your little one is doing well.” Backhand's face had gone strangely soft.

For some reason, the man's shoulders relaxed. “She is, she's doing really good. Her mom is teachin' her everything that she knows. She's wicked smart for her age.” He bragged.

“No doubt there. Take care of yourself, and tell people to steer clear until we can get to Weston.” Backhand gave the man a nod in reply to the tip of his hat. “Thanks for helping.” She said out of the corner of her mouth to Danse, who straightened up.

“I don’t recall doing anything helpful, Knight Vega.” He was startled when she knocked her pauldron against his own in a playful gesture.

“Rob loves to puff himself up and talk about how no one’s ever done anything for him ever. It’s harmless, but he’ll drag on for ages unless you nip it in the bud.” She grinned at him. “Thanks for going on the offensive and heading him off at the pass. Lots of people are like him out here. When the Minutemen disbanded, it meant that the simple people had to take the full load of raider assaults and super mutant attacks. Still plenty of distrust for me and my crew.”

“Your ‘crew’?” Danse echoed, thoroughly confused. Why did he call her General? What is she talking about?

Backhand just nodded, putting her helmet back on. “You want to take point? You were kind of spacing out back there, Paladin. Might help you get centered. Run down the list of objectives?” She suggested.

“I must be worse than I thought if you noticed my thousand-yard stare.” Danse realized it was a sarcastic quip the second after the words left his mouth, and he felt horribly awkward.

That is, until there was an undignified guffaw from the knight. She clunked her whole forearm against his own in a makeshift nudge, still snickering. “How incredibly rude of you, Paladin! I’ve got bad eyesight, but it’s still there. Kinda’. Didn’t need twenty-twenty to see that you were deep in thought.”

“Knight Vega, I appreciate your attention to detail. And…” Danse hesitated, biting his lip. “And thank you for… humoring my wandering mind.”

“I’m not humoring anything. You’ve been through a lot recently and you’ve had no breathing room at all. You’re allowed to have time to process.” When she put it like that ...

Danse made a noise of acknowledgement. Backhand cleared her throat, stepping aside and letting him go ahead of her.

…

Do me a favor and try to limit his time on board this rustbucket, okay? I don't know what's going on and it's not my place to ask. But Danse is a good man and he shouldn't be getting jerked around, Elder or no.

Ingram's words spurred Backhand to speak up. “Paladin Danse, sir?” When he turned to face her, she wished that he wasn’t wearing his helmet. “Sir, I meant what I said before.”

“What?”

“When I said I was available if you needed someone to talk to. I’m serious. It’ll all be off the record, just between us. The only person I report to is you.” Backhand said firmly.

“And the elder.” Danse reminded her, his voice soft.

“Nope.” Backhand grinned, trying to lighten his obviously bleak mood. “Just you. You might answer to the elder, but I don’t.”

“That’s tantamount to treason, Knight.”

“He’s not a sovereign , for--”

“Elder Maxson’s orders are law in this chapter of the Brotherhood, Knight Vega.” Danse sounded like he was repeating the words from memory, clearly used to defending the young elder. “I suggest you cease your needlessly-flippant flouting of Brotherhood practices.”

Backhand knew she was on thin ice. “Of course, sir. I apologize. Forgive me my misstep.” She saluted loosely. “My previous military experiences were a little more lax. When out on patrol we spoke to each other and our superiors as equals. It was common to poke fun at the higher-ups, as well.”

“I wouldn’t begrudge you a joke or two, but not at the expense of the elder.” Danse replied tersely. “He works exceptionally hard to keep everything in line and running smoothly. I will not tolerate any disrespect towards him.”

“Understood, Paladin.” Her suspicion only thickened at Danse’s rebuke. What is Maxson doing to him? Normally, soldiers gleefully took the opportunity to joke about their superiors. But Danse was acting like it was a cardinal sin to so much as tease about the young elder. No wonder Ingram had told her to take her time. Danse was obviously kept on an incredibly short leash. The longer he was away from Maxson, the better.

They continued down the road in silence for nearly an hour before Danse finally sighed heavily. “Knight Vega, I must apologize again. You were not raised in the Brotherhood, it’s not as if you would know any better. My shortness of temper is unrelated to you.”

“It’s okay. You’re worried about Brandis, right?” Backhand asked. “A little scared, a little hopeful?”

“For being a relic of a bygone age, you are remarkably perceptive.” Backhand sputtered a little at being called a relic but Danse carried on gravely, “I am concerned about the state Brandis may be in when we reach him. If he is mentally compromised…dealing with a man who was Brotherhood but has lost his senses is not a task I take lightly.” He turned to her. “The younger recruits love Brandis. He was a father figure to a multitude of them.”

“You promised them you would bring him back.” She realized. Danse didn’t reply immediately, instead focusing his attention to the road in front of them.

“I could not feasibly promise anything.” He muttered, quiet enough that she was unsure if she was supposed to hear him. “It was not within my power to promise.”

“But you did anyway. On that slim hope that Brandis was alive and in one piece.” Backhand’s heart ached as she thought of the paladin trying to decide what to tell a group of young recruits, a group of kids .

“…Yes, Knight. I did.” Danse admitted after a long pause. “My motivations are irrelevant. I lied to children, because I…I cannot see the little ones as soldiers. They begged for news of Brandis and I had nothing to offer them except my word as a paladin.”

“That’s okay.” Backhand said simply. “We’re going to find him.”

“I suppose we are.” Danse sounded a little surprised. His shoulders straightened up. “One way or another.”

The asphalt had dissolved into nothing a mile back, leaving the two of them to continue trekking through the wilderness on the remains of the flattened earth that was once a road. Backhand was used to the booby-trapped state of everything at this point, so she didn’t even bat an eyelash when she heard the warning beep of a landmine.

Danse on the other hand stopped dead, helmet swinging rapidly back and forth as he tried to locate the mine before it went off. “Wait, Knight Vega-!” He began as she knelt, trailing off when he realized that she had deactivated the landmine. “Oh.”

“Impromptu bomb squad.” Backhand replied by way of explanation, tucking the salvaged mine into her satchel. “I got pretty good at working in gauntlets.”

His worry was touching all the same, the paladin letting out an awkward chuckle. “Hell, maybe you are lucky.” He shifted his weight nervously, pauldrons clattering in the relative stillness. “I should have known better than to think Brandis would make it easy. There’s a reason that old codger lived through everything.”

“You can either think I'm lucky, or you can just attribute it to the Sarge's bandanna like I usually do.” Backhand grinned, flexing her fingers experimentally. “Keep your eyes open for more and point them out if you see ‘em. These gauntlets are way better than the ones in my old suit. The mines won’t know what hit them.”

“Affirmative, Knight Vega.”

With both of them on guard, their progress was slowed somewhat. But they found three more mines thanks to their diligence, and Backhand carefully deactivated every one before the timer ran out. She was so focused on scanning the ground that she almost walked into Danse’s back when the paladin stopped in the middle of the path. “Danse?” Inwardly, she cursed herself for not addressing him properly.

Danse didn’t even seem to notice though, his attention fixed on a bunker built into the side of the shallow valley they were in. “Recon bunker Theta…of course .” He hissed like he was talking to himself. “How could I have forgotten?”

“Is this the place?” Backhand asked, peering over his shoulder warily. The armored man nodded, already striding towards the door of the bunker.

“It must be.”

…

There was a terminal affixed to the outer concrete of the building and the paladin wasted little time painstakingly manipulating his huge gauntlets to press the correct keys on the keyboard. There was a loud clunk! when the lock on the door disengaged, but the door itself remained shut tight. Danse swore under his breath, firmly rapping his knuckles on the metal door. “Paladin Brandis!” He called. “Can you hear me, sir?”

“Paladin Danse? Are you sure you should-” Backhand started to ask, sounding nervous.

“ Quiet , Vega.” Danse ordered brusquely. To her credit, she immediately fell silent. He could still hear her shifting back and forth behind him though, and he wondered what on earth could have her so antsy. Surely it couldn’t be that she was worried about what Brandis might do? “ Paladin Brandis! If you’re in there-”

“Uh, D-Danse, I don’t think you should be so loud.”

“Vega, he will not hear me otherwise.” Danse, losing his limited patience, hammered his fist on the door. “ Brandis! ”

He heard a flurry of motion behind the door. “Who’s out there? How did you get that keycode? Never mind, never mind, just go away! I’m not letting you in here!”

Danse’s throat tightened at the elderly officer’s voice. “Paladin Brandis, sir! It’s me, Pal--"

In his distress over finding Brandis, Danse had forgotten to be wary of his surroundings. Heavy footsteps shook the ground and Backhand’s cry of surprise was the only warning he had, the paladin halfway through turning around when he was thrown against the door of the bunker by a thunderous blow from a behemoth’s improvised club. His shoulder protested violently at the rough treatment but Danse shrugged off the pain. He was so used to getting pummeled by the inside of his armor, he practically anticipated the bruises. He raised his head and got a good eyeful of the ugly brute inches from his face.

Suddenly he couldn’t breathe. There was a dull roaring in his ears, static pounding at his temples like a hammer while he stared at the creature and it stared right through him. Bloody spittle foamed around its mouth, eyes wide and pupils nothing but pinpricks. Nostrils flared to take in his scent.

This thing was once human . Danse felt sick to his stomach.

“ Paladin! ” Backhand yelled, firing a glancing shot off the beast’s shoulder that made it rear back. She was giving him time again, Danse realized dimly, his body refusing to cooperate as he remembered Dawes’ horrific death at the hands of a super mutant, remembered Cutler, Cutler like a punch to the face. And this mutant was a behemoth .

His laser rifle, unnamed as of yet, shook in one slack, trembling hand.

Backhand flanked the massive creature to end up back at his side, her pauldron clanking into his own. “Paladin!” She barked and Danse instantly straightened up, his grip snapping tight on his gun.

“Ma’am!”

“Attack the enemy, soldier!” She sounded almost like Krieg, all righteous authority and fury inches from detonation.

An order, an order. Danse felt his body refocus on the here and now, banishing the horrific images of Dawes’ demise for later contemplation. “Yes ma’am!” He replied automatically, pulling the trigger and spraying laser shots into the behemoth’s massive chest. Backhand slung Righteous Authority back out of the way to dangle from its strap, her shotgun in her hands now. Danse was so used to the comparatively quiet report of laser weaponry that he actually flinched when she fired the shotgun. The drum-fed gun bolted to life at her touch, heavy slugs making the behemoth pause.

“ Eat hot lead, freak! ” Backhand shouted over the weapon, her words punctuating her shots. Danse got the feeling that pairing her with a Fat Man would make her nigh unstoppable.

Behind him, he heard something swing open. The door to the bunker! Brandis! “Knight Vega, maintain this position!” He demanded, not bothering to look back.

“A paladin…?” Brandis’ voice had an unfamiliar tremor in it.

“ Now , Vega!” Danse snapped.

“Sir, yes sir!” Backhand replied quickly, sliding into place where he had been a second ago. Her power armor frame filled the doorway as well as his had, and Danse brandished his rifle. The behemoth brayed deafeningly loud, seeming perturbed that its prey refused to cooperate.

“Not today, you giant freak!” Danse announced firmly.

…

Backhand had barely caught a glimpse of a worn face with an unkempt beard peering around the side of the doorway before she moved herself in front of the opening. She braced her shotgun against her plating and continued to hammer away at the behemoth, shell after shell ripping the creature’s thick hide.

Danse kept up his own attack, a seemingly endless stream of mutant-related verbal abuse pouring from him in time with his laser shots. Backhand almost wished she could hear him clearer, certain that he was swearing a blue streak that could put Sergeant Cathan to shame.

That club swept low, knocked Danse’s legs out from beneath him. The paladin landed on his back with a grunt of pain and the behemoth (in a surprising show of intelligence) picked up one of the nearby boulders and dropped it onto Danse’s chest. Danse gritted out an infuriated curse and started struggling to lift the boulder, actuators in his armor shrieking under the strain when the behemoth started pushing down on the rock. Clearly it was either trying to crack Danse’s armor or crush the paladin inside it.

“Shut the door.” Backhand said calmly. There was the sound of fidgeting behind her. “It’s going to be alright. Just shut the door.”

At the loud clunk! of the door closing, the behemoth looked up from Danse. Backhand barely had a moment to inhale before she was snatched up by a massive hand, the creature roaring triumphantly.

“Knight Vega!” Danse shouted, the paladin still trying to shift the massive rock enough to get free.

Backhand squirmed desperately in the beast’s grip, arms pinned to her sides and her shotgun pointed towards the ground. Well kid, you gave it a good try . She pumped her trigger out of desperation, not sure if she even had any shells left, and blew a hole through the behemoth’s foot. The gargantuan mutant howled in pain, flinging her through the air when it toppled over. She hit the ground hard enough to lose consciousness briefly, her head slamming against the inside of the helmet.

When she blinked her eyes open again, all she could see was a power armor sabaton inches from her face. There was a muffled report to her right and super mutant skull fragments and brain tissue abruptly sprayed across her helmet visor. “ Tango down .” Danse snarled.

“Jesus.” Backhand muttered, her gauntlet clanking loudly against her helmet. “What a hit.”

“Are you injured, Knight?” Danse sounded like his teeth were clenched.

“Blacked out for a second is all. You alright?”

“That’s irrelevant. We need to see to Paladin Brandis.” Danse said sharply.

“It’s been so long since I’ve heard my name.” Said a quivering voice. “I imagine I’m hallucinating at this point. Going mad from seclusion.”

“It’s Danse, sir, Paladin Danse. Don’t you recognize me?” Danse asked, and Backhand was sure she wasn’t supposed to hear the uncertainty in his tone.

Danse pulled her to her feet and she took in the sight of the elderly man in badly-worn combat armor across from them. He was studying Danse hard, his eyes widening when Danse unfastened his helmet and took it off. “ Danse? You…is it really you?” Brandis asked, his voice still shaking. “Oh my God, is it true?”

“It’s me, sir.” Danse replied stiffly. “Knight Vega and I were tasked with reacquiring you. Elder Maxson-”

“Maxson? It’s his fault that I’m even…my squadron…” Brandis’ words grew disjointed, choked with emotion.

“ The elder believes that you are still a valuable asset to the war effort, Paladin Brandis.” If Danse had been stiff before, he was outright stony now.

Brandis, entertainingly, waved off Danse’s chastising attitude. “Yes yes, praise be to the elder. I suppose it’s you two that I ought to be thanking, though. After all, you’re the ones who risked life and limb to come find me.”

“It was Knight Vega’s first assignment as a member of the Brotherhood. She was honored beyond measure.”

“I don’t suppose she can talk , can she?” Brandis asked dryly. Backhand decided that she liked Brandis. “Why all this trouble for me, though? And so suddenly? I’ve been sending distress signals for years , Danse.”

“It was only through sheer luck and our acquisition of Knight Vega’s skillset that we even managed to signal the Brotherhood for support.” Danse replied curtly. “Over half of Recon Squad Gladius is dead, their lives claimed in the line of duty. Much like your own squadron.”

“Oh, Danse.” Brandis said helplessly. “It’s such a heavy burden to carry. Their lives…and Astlin , I know you were so fond of her.”

“She was a good soldier. Best marksman I ever knew.” Danse gritted out.

“I’ll bet she was an even better friend.” Backhand said tentatively.

“She died with honor.”

“I don’t doubt it.” What the hell was going on? Danse sounded livid , the set of his shoulders visibly tense even through the power armor. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

“Danse, what does the Brotherhood even expect to get out of me? I’m too old, I’ve…I’ve been away for too long.” Brandis floundered.

“Elder Max-”

“ Fuck Arthur, Danse!” Brandis exploded. “I’m asking you . What do you believe that the Brotherhood can get out of me?”

“Intimate knowledge of the Commonwealth.” Danse snapped. “You’re a survivor, Brandis, and your skills could be indispensable to our troops.”

“There’s nothing I could teach that the locals couldn’t Danse, you and Maxson know that.”

“Yes, and you’re not a filthy local. You’re Brotherhood.”

“Am I?” Brandis mused, glancing towards Backhand. “And I’ll assume that Knight Vega is one of the so-called ‘ filthy locals ’?”

Danse paused, his hand still up in the air in the beginning of an irritated gesture. Backhand barely kept her snort in check. “Knight Vega is a…special case.” He said finally.

“Typical Brotherhood. You’re filthy, you’re garbage, you’re nothing . And then, you’re a special case if you’re useful. Sound familiar, Danse?” Brandis grumbled. “Sleep with one eye open, Vega. Maxson is a little boy in a much larger man’s battle coat.”

“Paladin!” Danse barked. “There is no need for this insubordinate behavior in front of my ward!”

Brandis drew himself up to his full height (which, next to Danse in full armor, wasn’t exactly intimidating ) and jabbed his index finger into the larger paladin’s breastplate. “Don’t you dare speak to me about insubordination, Danse.” He hissed, his green eyes snapping with fury. “My squadron is dead because of Arthur and you still want to play Lancelot?”

“The Brotherhood will honor their memory.” Danse intoned dully.

“I’ll honor your memory if you keep this up, you damn fool.” Brandis growled. “No, no , I won’t go back to that madman. Better that I stay in isolation.”

“I’m relatively certain that you staying here isn’t an option.” Backhand interjected. “Look, if the elder is as tricky as you say, he’s not going to let you live out your days in peace. You’re Brotherhood, or you were once, and you know too much. It was the same with the army.” Danse looked horrified and Backhand hurried to finish, sure that her opening wouldn’t last. “You should be as close to him as possible, if anything. Make it more difficult for him to do something shady by keeping an eye on him.”

“Knight Vega! ” Danse sputtered indignantly.

But Brandis was nodding his head, looking intently at her. “Take that helmet off, Vega. I make it a point to know my allies.”

“Yes sir.” Backhand undid the helm and pulled it over her head, tucking it under her arm as an afterthought. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir.”

“You’re bleeding, Knight Vega.” Brandis pointed out after she saluted him and Danse fairly pounced on her, a huge finger looped through the pauldron on her shoulder jerking her around to face him. His gauntlet grazed her temple and she winced, grimacing when the metal returned brick-red.

“Just a scrape. I’ll be fine.” She insisted.

“I’m certain you will, Knight. How long have you been in Danse’s care?” Brandis asked genteelly.

“Ah, about t…two, three days?” Backhand answered cautiously.

“But Danse said that-”

“Knight Vega did not immediately accept the offer. I imagine that our ranks did not strike her as particularly impressive.” Danse cut Brandis off, his tone incredibly bitter.

“It wasn’t that. I had other obligations to deal with.” Backhand corrected him, trying to be gentle. “You guys were in a worse situation than most, but my responsibilities took me elsewhere.”

“True, I did not…I apologize, Knight Vega. That was unnecessarily harsh of me.” Danse admitted after a second.

“Be still my heart. You got him to apologize! Never thought I’d see the day.” Brandis said with a hint of faked bewilderment. Backhand decided to keep the fact that Danse had apologized to her three times in the same day to herself. “Alright Danse, I’ll return to that rustbucket . But only because Knight Vega makes an excellent point.”

“Shall I signal us a vertibird?” Danse asked, his hands clenched tightly at his sides.

“ Ha! And let Maxson get the drop on me? No, no, it’ll be better for me to show up on foot, alone. Provided you two have been discreet, this place will still serve its purpose as a fallback point. I’ll meander for a few days and then make my way…hmm.” Brandis’ eyes rested on Backhand.

“Can I loan you my suit for your journey if you won’t accept an escort?” Backhand offered, following his train of thought. “My combat armor is functional and on standby. May I loan him my power armor, Paladin Danse sir?” She knew she was spreading it on thick, but Danse was obviously a stickler for protocol. “He is a senior ranking officer, and I…I mean if I’m with you, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” It couldn’t hurt to flatter him a bit.

Danse’s face pinked up endearingly and he cleared his throat. “I don’t see why not. If you hope to arrive safely Brandis, this is the least we can do. I would prefer, of course, to accompany you sir. But it’s your decision.”

“How gracious of you to permit an old man his preferences.” Brandis replied dryly. Backhand couldn’t stifle her hiccup of laughter and Danse ‘ harrumph ’ed, obviously embarrassed by her behavior.

“Knight Vega and I will busy ourselves with other tasks in the Commonwealth until you make your return to the Brotherhood, Paladin.” Danse said sternly. “You realize that my knight cannot return without her armor and empty-handed.”

“Understood, Danse.”

Backhand fought the excited leap in her chest at the way Danse referred to her as ‘his’ knight, choosing instead to extract herself from her power armor and start strapping on her heavy combat gear. It’s only because he’s sponsoring you. Don’t be ridiculous , she scolded herself while she donned her breastplate and greaves.

“My thanks, Knight Vega. When you return, I’ll see that your armor is waiting in the bay for you.” Paladin Brandis promised, a heavy hand landing on her shoulder. “As well as a frazzled Maxson, if I play my cards right.” The old man grinned, his eyes still sad. “You two can help yourselves to anything in the bunker. I’ve collected some odds and ends over the years, so if you see something you need it’s yours.”

“Much obliged, sir.” Backhand said gratefully, struggling to recall what Preston had asked her to pick up in her travels. Well, we can always use more aluminum ...

Part Five

#fallout 4 #fallout four #paladin danse #paladin danse x sole survivor #paladin danse/sole survivor #paladin danse x f!sole #fallout #bethesda #video games #BOS #brotherhood of steel #enjoy!

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juiceboxesheadcanons · 4 years

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I finally figured out how to send asks on mobile :D Got any headcanons for how Illumi, Hisoka, (plus gon and Killua if it's not too much trouble) would decorate for Christmas? I just think that would be kinda poggers UwU

YESSSS I DO ACTUALLY! CANT WAIT TILL CHRISTMAS GUYS! I decided to just pin this post until the end of December so if anybody else wants any Christmas headcanons I’ll just add it here and I did put extra characters/headcanons because of that reason and if you want me to add anybody else just send in a request about it! (also dont mind the random juiceboxes I just left them out bc I don’t feel like adding new ones when adding random hc’s.) THANKS SO MUCH FOR REQUESTING! I’ll finish illumi and hisoka later but my food just arrived so I’m gonna go start on that first :)

Hunter x Hunter Christmas Event! This Event Includes The Main 4, The Adult Trio, The Phantom Troupe, The Zoldyck Family, The Freecss Family, And The Minor Characters!

Illumi

🧃 rich kid is gonna be the one with either nothing but a tree or literally is gonna go to the point of fake snow on the stair rails

🧃 it’s either nerf or nothing for this man. either go all out or don’t go at all mf

🧃 he likes Christmas except the fact it’s cold, girlie isn’t a fan of cold weather

🧃 he’ll probably do the jazz with the gingerbread cookies tho :’)

🧃 but yeah his tree’s gonna look like the ones in the movies with like all the height and the little balls with the perfect star on top bc babie is perfect so his tree should be too ✨

🧃 he says he doesn’t want anything but if you actually get him something he’ll be so touched-

🧃 he maybe will take a day off of fuck knows what to spend Christmas with anybody-

🧃 okay we all know he’s spending Christmas with hisoka and we can’t change that

🧃 poor baby he just wants to be held and feel the feeling of warmth again so he is a fan of hot chocolate

🧃 will not go out in the snow but he will go with you or anybody that wants to go outside and play

🧃 he isn’t a fan of dressing up but he’ll take his s/o out on a Christmas date (I will do a mini scenario/hc’s for this if you guys want.)

Hisoka

🧃 I feel if he wasn’t a pedophile or mass murderer they would hire him to work as a mall Santa Claus.

🧃 he’d probably do a color coded thing and the whole house would be that color

🧃 this mf would buy a gift for himself-

🧃 he wouldn’t do anything to his room and the biggest ick about him I have is that he has nothing in his room but a bed, dresser, desk, lamp, and nightstand like only the necessities so he wouldn’t do that much.

🧃 if he had a kid he’d 100% to elf on the shelf until they were like 16 years old and even use his nen ability to secretly make them move so the kid would believe in the magic for a while

🧃 he’s forcing illumi to come over cause he doesn’t want the little shit to be alone and sad on Christmas.

🧃 he got illumi a present

🧃 not a fan of those childish Christmas films but he’s pretty fond of the romance ones tbh

🧃 he literally never ends up under the mistletoe because everybody’s avoiding it so they won’t have to kiss the scary guy-

🧃 he can COOK asf so he’ll def make a feast for him and his s/o or just friends :)

Killua

🧃 he’s gonna be the most fun with all this, he want everything either blue, purple, or white. Literally he hates doing shit and not perfecting it (nikki minaj??)

🧃 he’d be the one to act like a mom saying “stupid I’m not buying that it’s too expensive!” and then you wake up with it under the tree- “you thought you weren’t getting it didn’t you?” I stg he is literally EVERY SINGLE MOTHER ON EARTH and it’s not even funny.

🧃 he wants to go play in the snow and make snow angels but he won’t say anything until you say something

🧃 hc that his ears and nose turn kinda red when it’s cold

🧃 he’s literally cooking a red velvet cake and there is no point in stopping him

🧃 he probably isn’t a morning christmas guy, he’s all for around 11-12 gifts so then you guys can bake cookies and play in the snow a ton because you got some energy stored up

🧃 this mf wants chocolate robots for Christmas and probably at one point in his life asked Santa for a new family but he didn’t deliver ig. (Illumi probably wrote him a fake Santa note saying that his family was better than everybody else’s.)

🧃 his parents forced him to go sing those fucking Christmas songs when they know damn well those kids sound ratchet.

🧃 he ALWAYS ends up under the mistletoe with somebody. Even if it’s unintentional it always happens.

🧃 a giant fan of wreaths for some reason? He puts one on every door.

Gon

🧃 his favorite holiday is Christmas so ohhh boy this is gonna be magical-

🧃 red green and white colors. you cannot change his mind literally that is what colors are in his head as soon as he hears the word Christmas.

🧃 the tree’s gonna be HUGE and he’s gonna want to decorate every room in the house. The bathroom, your room, his room, and yes he is that one neighbor with the fucking big ass lights outside-

🧃 he is a firm Santa believer he doesn’t take criticism.

🧃 literally is going to wake everybody up at 6 fucking am to open gifts and everybody is gonna do it because can we really resist his pouty face? no.

🧃 the joy on his face opening any gifts make it a fucking can of baked beans makes it all worth losing about 3-4 hours of sleep :,)

🧃 he probably wants toys for Christmas, I get he’s 14 but hxh doesn’t exactly have too much social media so he wouldn’t be trying to grow up too fast

🧃 he would get matching sleepwear for everybody except for some fucking reason it actually will look cute and he won’t just settle for a ugly ass tight suffocating elf sweater.

🧃 he believes Christmas is about spending time with your family and probably donated his old toys to a center so kids who didn’t have toys got some :)

🧃 he’s gonna make sure everybody has a good time, like every single person. it’s a main protagonist thing I guess but I mean I applaud him for it.

🧃 doesn’t quite ever end up under the mistletoe with anybody but if he happened to he’d giggle and kiss their cheek in a friendly way.

Leorio

🧃 he’s gonna reuse the same fucking plastic wrinkled tree he’s been using for 12 years because the tree prices are “insane” even on sale.

🧃 he would be the one a Walmart ringing the little bell and forcing kurapika to sing with him because he needs the money.

🧃 his house is the one with rainbow colored little balls and it’s so ghetto but at the same time adorable

🧃 he is literally that one neighbor who gets the most snow and it’s the snow that’s basically ice and will take around 6 good days to shovel up.

🧃 maybe wont shovel out the snow too early because he wants killua and gon to have fun.

🧃 he wants money for Christmas and nothing more, but kurapika tells him money isn’t a real gift and to ask for something else

🧃 even not being a morning person, he LIVES for morning Christmas.

🧃 probably eats snow.

🧃 he would try to cook and it might work actually

🧃 miss girl is plopped right down right next to gon watching elf on the shelf movies

🧃 he wears the Santa hat and is lowkey twinning with kurapika-

Kurapika

🧃 this bitch is gonna make you wait all fucking day to open gifts 😀

🧃 he thinks afternoon/nigh Christmas is the best. On Christmas eve he would literally sit down and watch movies with killua and gon for exactly 2 hours while leorio waits outside because kurapika wants him to sound like there’s somebody on the roof and kurapika can put the two children to bed and get a break for the rest of the night to finish gift wrapping and food making

🧃 hella good at wrapping gifts- commercial wrapping mf.

🧃 he thinks a white color coded Christmas looks best

🧃 he’d give killua and gon like 150$ to buy Christmas stuff for their rooms and that’s lowkey just him trying his best he doesn’t know what the fuck else to do he isn’t a mom-

🧃 he might teach the other 3 traditional kurta songs his clan and him sung on Christmas.

🧃 he’s twinning with leorio cause he got the reindeer ears I mean get it ig-

🧃 leorio is BEGGING kurapika to let him get a couple of drinks and kurapika’s like “YOURE GONNA STAY SOBER AND YOURE GONNA LIKE IT BITCH.”

🧃 he may or may not boys whatever they asked for and accidently on purpose use leorio’s credit card-

🧃 he just wants everybody to be happy, but can we blame him? it’s Christmas why wouldn’t he?

🧃 okay all wholesomeness aside he’s making leorio shovel the driveway.

Chrollo

🧃 he thinks this is like a romance thing

🧃 he’ll probably steal a gift or 2 for you ya know

🧃 I feel he’s the mf to have a black Christmas tree or a white one theres no in between

🧃 cookies are a yes

🧃 just go watch a classic romance movie one with him, it’ll give ya clear skin ma

🧃 he won’t decorate outside but inside will look magical asf

🧃 I think personally he’d wear a santa hat

🧃 probably would make a big phat juicy meal just for the two of you and he’d get gifts for the troupe if they cared about celebration

🧃 I feel the troupe isn’t big on that holiday stuff but if you felt like celebrating with him he’d be over the moon

🧃 he got that big tree though for no reason, he also takes the tree down the day after Christmas

🧃 Probably would give you a gift everyday leading up to christmas

Feitan

🧃 He probably was forced to sing carols and ring the bell on christmas as a kid-

🧃 he doesn’t really care much and won’t care to decorate but may or may not get you gifts

🧃 if you get him something he’ll have a small smile behind his mask

🧃 he doesn’t wanna be in the cold just make some hot chocolate and watch a movie with him jeez

🧃 probably will wear reindeer horns if you insist

🧃 his favorite holiday is halloween but christmas is nice I guess

🧃 he probably would spend his entire day if he didn’t have a s/o with shalnark seeing who could figure out the christmas word find fastest

🧃 he’s gonna just see if theres anything he could steal for anybody

🧃 doesn’t bother with snow at all if there is snow he just doesn’t care to go outside when we got a perfectly nice house

🧃 firm believer in christmas isn’t about family it’s about gifts

🧃 he’s gonna get you something expensive though

Alluka

🧃 alluka the sweet princess is literally the neighbor that has the biggest brightest lights

🧃 she probably had her big brother killua come help her

🧃 her christmas tree is pink and white, and she decorated every square foot of her house

🧃 Christmas is her favorite holiday :)

🧃 she get’s everybody gifts and for christmas she wants some toys maybe to go shopping or something

🧃 snow angels are a must 100%

🧃 firm santa believer doesn’t take criticism.

🧃 she’s gonna be so happy just to spend time with people honestly even if nanika comes out she’s just gonna be happy

🧃 her gingerbread houses look absolutely amazing like please become a house builder sis-

🧃 she’s wearing matching sleepwear with killua and gon, probably doing a elf santa and reindeer theme which is adorable

🧃 this is the best day of her life and I’m living for it.

machi

🧃 This bitch is not a fan of anything

🧃 she want’s to paint those little christmas ball things and yeah

🧃 probably says she doesn’t want anything but some jewels or bracelets would be nice

🧃 also isn’t a fan of snow but her house doesn’t get much to be honest

🧃 for the troupe she gives them like some bakery idem she made because why not that’s her family after all

🧃 probably wears fluffy socks on christmas and they’re like really adorable she just doesn’t realize it

🧃 she probably got something extra for shizuku idk I head canon them to be friends :)

🧃 she wont steal anything probably will buy or make it

🧃 omg machi stitching little christmas sweaters and socks omg that’s the highlight of my mother fucking day

🧃 her house if she decorates, is red and white.

Pakunoda

🧃 omg this beautiful woman I love so much

🧃 her house is white and blue and it’s all pretty

🧃 she has lights and stuff but doesn’t like overdo it or anything because she isn’t that jolly but might decorate a tree or two

🧃 she donates to animal shelters on christmas and literally it’s so cute

🧃 will probably get the troupe something specific that fits them or that they like because she isn’t trying to get somebody useless shit

🧃 for her s/o she’ll go out in the snow with them if they’d want

🧃 she buys the best gifts like that one aunt you don’t wanna give kisses but they always come through except we do wanna kiss her asf

🧃 she’ll wear machis socks that machi made her :,)

🧃 probably is the best person to have on christmas because just look at her

🧃 cuddles are everything just let’s just hug her while she watching a movie yes

Shalnark

🧃

Phinks

🧃

Uvo

🧃

Shizuku

🧃

Mito

🧃 yes

🧃 she thinks christmas is all about family

🧃 def an adult who says that they don’t want anything

🧃 she loves gons little handmade gifts or cards though

🧃 she decorates the house whatever way gon would want to cause you know he’s the only kid in the house

🧃 so basically her family has like a huge feast and everything and the food slaps

🧃 she makes gon wear this adorable sleepwear thing cause she thinks its cute

🧃 won’t let gon near any gifts before christmas

🧃 she’ll bundle gon up like a burrito if he wants to play in the snow which is adorable

🧃 she’s the mom like “you thought you wasn’t gonna get that huh? oh you welcome baby.”

Kalluto

🧃 this small little boy omg

🧃 he loves christmas but nobody really pays attention to him so he’s a little sad

🧃 with the troupe if they get him something he’ll be so excited but you won’t be able to tell :(

🧃 he’ll give people stuff because to him this is probably the most spirt he gets

🧃 he might just go sit out in the snow to enjoy the scenery

🧃 he enjoys christmas eve most because of the vibes

🧃 doesn’t believe in santa but you know he’ll let alluka believe in it

🧃 probably a bit hurt killua wants to celebrate with alluka but not him tho

🧃 will ask killua if he wants anything def

🧃 might get illumi and milluki something if they let him

Milluki

🧃 he is always cooped up in the zoldyck house so they probably don’t decorate or celebrate but he still enjoys it

🧃 if illumi or something gets him a new game he’ll pretend he doesn’t care but he’ll appreciate it :)

🧃 he loves snow like yes

🧃 he might ask his siblings for something because his bitch ass parents wont buy him anything

🧃 yeah he doesn’t rlly give af but like yes

🧃 he probably just wants a new game or figure

🧃 he might go online and talk to his online friends to see what they got and watch hauls on yt

🧃 probably the mf to want something that arrives in like july like damn pick something else

🧃 wont get anybody else anything sadly

🧃 we stan milluki here

THATS IT FOR NOW!! IM PLANNING ON ADDING SHALNARK, PHINKS, UVO, SHIZUKU SO IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER CHARACTERS YOU WANT JUST SEND IN REQUESTS! 😁🧃 this event does not include nsfw.

#christmas #hunter x hunter #hxh #christmas event

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reliciron · 4 years

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Rattataki Headcanons

Rattataki, the rowdy bastards of the galaxy.

There isn’t very much on them, canon or otherwise, but a lot of my own personal headcanon aligns with what @spookthespy laid out in this post.

Rattataki evolved on their own, they are not descendant from humans, but as a near-human species, they CAN inter-breed with them, so an ancient lost Republic expedition would have either died or been assimilated into the gene pool. However, while human DNA is very widespread among the Rattataki population, the amount is very small and rarely causes much structural differences to their body.

Their blood is a grey-ish blue, and their skin is a combination of chalk white and translucent depending on how much time they spend in the sun.

Their rock hewn villages makes me think that originally they were cave dwellers, thus the pale complexion and eyes. The chalky white is their version of melanin, so the more translucent their skin is, the less sun they’re getting. The sun on Rattatak is very dim and diffuse, so the day there looks more like twilight to us, and their sun lights the sky up in a deep red from sunrise to sunset. Still, it is common to wear protective shawls and scarves over your head to protect it from the harsh UV rays. During battle, these head coverings are taken off or replaced by helmets, but it is preferable to leave the face uncovered at all times so their clan tattoos can be recognized.

I agree with spook in that their ink is basically gang tattoos, meant to help them recognize allies and enemies. And I also agree that piercings are a mixture of decoration and status. You get them because you want them and the more you have the more well off you seem because you can afford them.

They tend to have a low body mass, often short and stocky or average height and lanky, large individuals are fairly rare. While they are not any physically tougher than other species, their pain response is generally duller than other races, and in the midst of a rage, it’s nearly nonexistent. A berserk Rattataki will. not. stop. until you’re dead, they’re dead, or they pass out, whichever happens first.

They are an extremely healthy people, thanks to their ugly habit of culling the weaker members. They rarely get sick, but when they do, it is cause for immediate panic and isolation. To be caught in a weakened state could mean death, so even when out in the greater galaxy, illness produces almost paralyzing anxiety. This goes for just about anything that might hinder their ability to defend themselves: injury, illness, pregnancy, all of them lead to a constant state of anxiety until it is resolved. Miscarriage is a common problem on Rattatak. However, once healed, scars are a major source of pride to Rattataki, very much a ‘hey, look at me, I was tough enough to live through the injury AND the healing process without dying/ being murdered so you should think twice about messing with me’.

I totally agree with spook about their diet and iron stomach, and I’d add that this goes for drinks too. It takes A LOT to get a Rattataki drunk, and they are capable of drinking water that is far too brackish for other species to tolerate. Beggars can’t be choosers is a major mindset on Rattatak.

And I love their idea of Rattataki being very grabby about their food, especially the stuff they like, and being very uncomfortable with eating in public.

They’re generally kind of selfish, and very slow to trust, but once you DO get there, they’re pretty loyal. But if you stab them in the back after they trust you, there will be absolutely NO SECOND CHANCES, they may even go out of their way to be aggressive if not kill you outright, depending on the nature of your betrayal.

Very very opportunistic. If they see something they can get away with grabbing, they will grab it, even if they don’t really need it. Stuff is useful, someone will always want something, and the more stuff you have, the more you can trade for. A random thing you took a week ago could save your life because you traded it for medicine or food.

They’re particularly head strong and willful. They want to do things the way they want to do them. Their way or the highway. They CAN listen to other people, but it needs to happen before they make up their minds, after that they’ll probably just get mad at you because it will infer that they’re doing it wrong or they’re stupid for doing it that way. If you try to impose your will on them too often, you will be lumped into the ‘that asshole’ category, and you will never climb out. That’s why they tend to be so resistant to authority. Someone telling them what to do, even if it’s in a kind way, when they’ve already decided how they’re going to do it, pisses them off. Backtalk helps them establish just how strong the authority figure is, and weak leaders/bosses don’t last long.

Adaptability is definitely the name of the game on Rattatak. Being able to roll with the punches is a matter of life and death. Backup plans are a must, but if everything goes to hell you need to be able to think on your feet. Yet another reason to have a lot of stuff. You never know if the thing you grabbed the other day might come in handy, or could be made into a different thing that would save the day. Creativity is a prized trait, especially in regards to jury-rigging stuff. If you know how to cobble together a generator from 3 paper clips and a roll of tape, you are very valuable.

Notes on Appearance:

[Yet another example of me being grumpy that so many swtor aliens look like reskinned humans, so dammit, I’m going to tweak their appearance to fix that.]

I’ve drawn my consulars before, and while they have an atypical body shape, their general facial features are pretty standard for my version of Rattataki.

Their eyes are wider set than most near-human species and slightly turned outward, sort of a sweet spot between front facing and side facing eyes. This gives them a very wide field of vision while still having binocular vision in front, so it’s very difficult to sneak up on them. The down side is that the binocular field is narrower and the blind spot directly in front of them is larger. But if an enemy has already managed to get into your blind spot, you’re dead meat anyways. It also means that it’s common for a Rattataki to look at you a little more side on instead of directly facing you.

Their ears are small, pointed, and mobile. They have very good hearing, and a decent sense of smell.

Since they’ve had to adapt to eating just about anything, they tend to have small fangs for gripping food, the equivalent of carnasal teeth instead of premolars for shearing, and heavy molars for crushing. Their jaw muscles are very strong, so if they bite you, you better plan on losing whatever they’ve gotten a hold of.

And like spook said, there is generally little difference visually and culturally, between genders.

#swtor #star wars #rattataki #alien biology #rattataki biology #this is the fourth swtor alien bio i've done apparently this is a habit now #go read spookthespy's post it's very good

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craftloading57 · 3 years

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Camtasia Loop Video

I’m in the process of creating DVD videos from Camtasia Videos. I ran into a pretty hefty obstacle, though. My converted DVD’s looked blurry and low-quality. Using the software and settings below, I was able to create a sharp and well-focused DVD that played perfectly in my DVD player and allowed me to read rather fine text on my LCD TV.

The Software I Used

Zoom your video Select Animations in the tools panel and switch to the Animations tab. Click and drag the Scale Up animation to the clip you want to zoom. This adds an animation to the clip, with a default zoom already applied. To preview the animation, click and drag the playhead. I have a Camtasia project named aaa.camrec and want to capture an image in the middle of the video. How can I do it with highest possible original recording resolution? In Camtasia 2020, there is a new icon that looks like a camera in the timeline tools. The Loop: Our Community & Public Platform Roadmap for Q2 2021.

The video cutter in Camtasia allows you to trim the video and audio files separately. Cropping, zooming, and splitting are great techniques to have in your video editing tool belt! What is scaling? Scaling an image will change the overall size of that image. It is always best to display media at 100% scale in Camtasia.

Camtasia Studio 6 (for capturing the video and creating easy pan and zooms)

Sony Vegas Pro 8.0c (critical for getting a crisp AVI file)

Sony DVD Architect 4.5 (critical for creating the crisp, DVD ready folder structure)

Believe it or not, I’m using all the above on Windows 7 (64 bit) successfully.

Export Settings for Camtasia Studio

In my case, I’m using an AVI video that was already created. It’s 640×480 in size. If you’re recording your own Camtasia videos, shoot the originals in 1280 x 720 for 16:9 video according to John’s instructions. This will allow you the maximum potential for leveraging your video in various mediums (YouTube, DVD, BluRay, etc).

Go ahead and edit your video in Camtasia to your liking. You’ll need to use Pan ‘n Zoom quite a bit to show detail on the DVD. Once you’re done editing and saving your project, it’s time to export the video.

In Camtasia Studio, go to File > Produce Video As…

Select DVD Ready, then click the drop-down again and select Add/Edit Preset.

Make sure DVD-Ready is selected on the top drop-down and click Edit right below it.

Give the Preset a New Name. I used DVD-Ready AVI (NTSC). In hindsight, I should have named it “Sony DVD Architect Ready“.

Below are the settings I used.

Go ahead and export the file. This could take a while depending on the size of your video. Once it’s done, it’s time to load up Sony Vegas Pro.

How to Create a Crisp, DVD-Ready Video File in Sony Vegas Pro

Ok, we have the AVI file exported out of Camtasia Studio. You’re probably asking, “why don’t I just burn that file”? Firstly, we need to convert the AVI file into a DVD compliant structure.Secondly, most software the converts AVI’s to DVD structures compress the video into blurry, unreadable messes. AVS4You Video Editor, for example, did a terrible job rendering sharp files.

I got the best results using Sony Vegas Pro 8.0c and Sony DVD Architect 4.5. Basically, I’m using Sony Vegas Pro to create a crisp, new AVI file with minor tweaks that will make a huge difference on a DVD. Then I’m creating the DVD folder with Sony DVD Architect.

Here are the steps to Export the Detailed DVD AVI from Sony Vegas Pro:

Open Sony Vegas Pro. Go to File > Import > Media… and locate the AVI that Camtasia exported.

Right click the video in the Project Media window and select Properties.

Change the Pixel Aspect Ratio to 0.9091 (NTSC DV). Click OK.

Drag it into the Main timeline on the bottom.

Go to File > Render As… and use the settings below:

Then click “Custom…”

You’ll notice there are Tabs on the bottom of this window. Use the following settings on the tabs indicated below:

On the Project Tab, select “Best”.

On the Audio Tab, check “Include Audio Stream”.

Optionally, type in a new name for the template and press the “Save” icon. This makes it easy to select later.

Click OK.

Click Save to Render the MP2 (.mpg) file.

How to Create the DVD File in Sony Architect 4.5

Now you have a DVD Architect Compliant MP2 file that’s ready for DVD folder creation. If you didn’t do the step above, DVD Architect would insist on re-compressing the video file again to make it DVD compliant. By using the settings above, DVD architect will simply create the necessary DVD folders and “package everything up” for a Burning program like Nero, AVS Disc Creator, etc.

Camtasia Loop Video Editor

Open Sony DVD Architect.

On the bottom left panel there’s a tab called Explorer. Click it and find the previously created AVI file.

Once you find the file, it will appear in the right window. Right click it and select Insert Media.

It will be added to your DVD Menu.

Now go to File > Make DVD.

Click Prepare and in the next window, find a folder to save the DVD folder to. Click Next.

You should only see 1 Warning message about Audio being compressed. If you see a warning about video being compressed, you messed up somewhere.

Click Next. There should be “No Messages to Display” again.

Click Finish to create the DVD Folder. Warning: this will create an UGLY DVD disc menu. Creating pretty menus is outside the scope of this article.

Burn Your DVD

For the last step, you simply need to burn your DVD folder to a DVD. You can use Nero, AVS4You Disc Creator, CDBurnerXP or whatever else you wish. However, make sure you burn it as slow as possible to be sure it will play on all DVD players. Car DVD’s are especially sensitive and need to be burned at a max of 4x.

That’s it, enjoy your new, crisp DVD on your TV.

P.S. There’s also a really good course on converting Camtasia to DVD by John Rofrano. It goes into much greater detail.

Need to change the focus of your video clip but you don’t want to re-shoot your footage? The crop tool can help!

Cropping is the process of moving or adjusting the edges of an image or video clip.

Often used for photo editing, it is also helpful when editing video. With cropping, you can remove unnecessary or distracting portions of a video clip or change its dimensions to fit within a certain area.

Whether you’re working with footage from a camera or screen video, you will likely run into times when you need to crop these clips. Camera footage is often cropped to change the emphasis of a shot or remove unwanted and distracting portions.

Camtasia Video Editor

How to crop a video

Here are step-by-step instructions to crop a video using Camtasia.

Start cropping your own videos with Camtasia!

Download a free trial and get started today!

Step 1:

With a video clip or image selected on the canvas, you can select the crop tool button.

Step 2:

With the crop button selected, select the video clip or image that you want to crop.

Step 3:

A thin blue line and handles will appear on your media, signifying that crop mode is enabled.

Click and hold the handles to drag the edges of the clip or image until the desired shot is achieved.

Step 4:

When you’re finished, toggle back to the cursor by clicking the pointer option above the canvas.

After a clip is cropped, you can move it wherever you need on the canvas.

How to un-crop a clip

Using Camtasia to crop a clip is particularly convenient because it’s “non-destructive.” This means that when a clip is cropped, the original clip remains intact.

Camtasia Free Download Windows 10

So, if you’re working later on and realize you need to change how the clip has been cropped, you can!

Simply use the steps earlier in this post to toggle crop mode and make the necessary changes by adjusting the edges.

How is cropping different from zooming and trimming?

As we discussed above, cropping is the process of moving or adjusting the edges of an image. Of course, there are other ways to edit your video that don’t involve cropping images or parts of your video. Splitting and trimming are two common techniques.

Zooming is perfect for software tutorials and demonstrations when you need to display a detailed view of a user interface. Camtasia lets you zoom in or out in your videos by changing the size or scale of clips and images.

Trimming usually refers to removing part of the beginning or end of a video clip. Sometimes, this is referred to as trimming the top or tail (beginning or end). Trimming is critical to making sure that your video starts quickly and you don’t lose your audience’s attention. The video cutter in Camtasia allows you to trim the video and audio files separately.

Cropping, zooming, and splitting are great techniques to have in your video editing tool belt!

What is scaling?

Scaling an image will change the overall size of that image. It is always best to display media at 100% scale in Camtasia. Camera footage can sometimes be scaled down without losing as much clarity.

In either case, stretching a video or image larger than its natural size can cause pixelation. The scale of a clip or image in Camtasia can be viewed and edited in the Properties panel.

When you should crop a video

Here are a few ways that cropping can be a helpful technique to have in your toolbox:

Fitting footage in a specific space or frame – like a device frame

Patching a mistake or irregularity in a screen recording

Removing black bars from mobile video

Showing simultaneous actions happening in separate areas of your screen

Displaying multiple clips on screen simultaneously

Isolating part of a user interface

Camtasia Video Editor Download Free

Now that you have learned how to crop a video in Camtasia, get out there and work some video magic!

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hobiorbit · 5 years

Note

omg imagine not knowing how to masturbate or whatever and then jungkook teaches u how finger urself😳

((omg i got way too carried away w this one so i hope u like it,, also sorry if the format is ugly i’m posting on mobile and have no idea what i’m doing lol))

“You’ve never what?”

God, you wished you’d never answered Jungkook’s stupid question. You two had been friends forever, and when he stopped talking about his own sexual experiences and started asking about yours, you didn’t have much to say.

Sadly, you were a virgin who hadn’t even masturbated before.

“I’m not repeating myself, Jungkook,” You huffed in embarrassment, crossing your arms. He shook his head at your words.

“I’m shocked. You’ve really never fingered your pussy?” He asked you in crude amazement, making you gasp and throw a pillow at him. “Don’t say it like that! And no, I haven’t!” You exclaimed in response.

The boy giggled at your shyness. “Why not?” He asked once more. You rolled your eyes in response.

“I don’t know.” You shrugged, cheeks puffed outward. Jungkook cocked an eyebrow at you, letting you know he didn’t believe your miserable lie.

“It’s just kind of scary… I don’t know how, so I don’t do it.” You said shyly, fully preparing yourself to hear Jungkook laugh at you and call you dumb for not knowing how to masturbate. Instead, you were met with silence that made you lift your gaze to him in curiosity.

He was staring at you with interest and another emotion you couldn’t quite decipher.

“I’ll teach you.” He said nonchalantly, though his voice was deeper than it was a few moments ago. It had you bringing your thighs together, only for him to smirk when he noticed.

Pouting, you responded. “This isn’t the time for jokes, Jungkook.”

He leaned forward, face so close to yours you could feel his breath fanning across your lips. “Who said I was joking?”

Feeling your resolve crumble, you nodded quickly with wide eyes. Jungkook seemed to be pleased, smirking at you. “Words, Y/N.”

Frowning, you obeyed. “Okay… Please teach me.” You said shyly. Nodding, Jungkook leaned away from you, allowing you to release a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

“You need to work yourself up first.” Jungkook says as he gets off his bed only to turn the lights off, everything slightly illuminated by his computer in the corner of the room. You exhaled shakily as he came back. “How?” You asked innocently.

“Play with your tits.” He answered huskily, causing you to bite back a whimper. You obey, hands slipping under your slightly baggy shirt to fiddle with your bra, pulling the cups down enough to free your breasts.

Even though he couldn’t see it, the thought of everything you were doing and feeling was making Jungkook feel starved.

“Play with your nipples. Rub them, pull at them.” He spoke darkly, head resting on his hand as he observed you. You bit your lip and tweaked at your nipples, back arching and tiny moans leaving your throat at the sensation.

“Fuck.” Jungkook breathed, only making you continue your actions. By now you were sure you were wet enough, you could feel the fabric of your panties sticking to you, leggings no doubt damp as well.

“Take your leggings off.” Jungkook ordered and you almost cried in relief. Shrugging off the pants, you looked at him with wide eyes for more instruction. If you weren’t so worked up, you might’ve had half a mind to be embarrassed.

Jungkook loved the way you were looking at him, like you wanted to do everything he said.

Truthfully, you did.

“Let your fingers dip into your hole. Not all the way- get them wet and take them up to your clit.” Jungkook told you, watching as you tentatively teased your hole, fluttering at the intrusion. Slowly, you trailed them back up your pussy, fingers touching at your swollen clit.

Jungkook groaned at the way your hips canted upwards. You were sensitive, and he loved it. “Shit… Don’t rub it too hard yet. Touch it lightly, you’re so fucking sensitive, aren’t you?”

Not trusting your words, you only whined, nodding your head furiously. Jungkook watched as your sweat-damp hair bobbed against your forehead.

Using all of your willpower, you did as Jungkook told you and played with your clit using fleeting touches. It felt so good, you felt foolish for never having tried before.

“You can rub a little harder now.” Jungkook told you, using his free hand and resting it on the upper part of your thigh, magnifying your experience tenfold. He radiated so much dominance, it curled around your being and almost suffocated you.

You understood why people liked hands around their necks.

Using the pads of your fingers you rubbed at the sensitive flesh of your clit, a choked moan leaving your lips as your legs spread even wider. Jungkook sucked jus bottom lip in between his teeth, pressure so hard he was sure he could make himself bleed.

“Is it good, baby? Haven’t even stuffed yourself yet and you look like you’re in heaven. So fucked out you can probably barely understand me.” Jungkook’s words only fueled the lust that clouded your mind.

Desperate whines and meals left your saliva coated lips as your back arched off the boy’s bed, your arousal no doubt coating his sheets. It would remind him of you later on, when his cock was in his hand as he was chasing release, thinking about how you would feel around him.

“Stuff a finger inside your pussy.” Jungkook signed, watching as you took your free hand and trailed down to your wetness. circling your entrance before putting it in.

“S-so good, Jungkook, ah-,” You moaned, moving your finger at a slow pace to allow yourself to get used to the feeling. Jungkook loved the way his name fell from your lips, entirely enjoying how desperate your were.

“Falling apart with one tiny finger inside your tight pussy. I’d love to see you on a fat cock, sweetheart.” Jungkook growled, making you clench on your finger.

“I want it,” You keened. Jungkook chuckled darkly. “Maybe next time, baby. You need to practice before you take a cock.” He told you pitifully.

“Jungkook,” You moaned loudly, increasing the pace of both of your hands. “I think I’m gonna- oh god,” You whined incoherently, but Jungkook understood your perfectly.

“Cum, Y/N. Cream all over your fingers, soak my fucking bed. Say my name.” Jungkook told you, leaning over you as he observed your face carefully, wanting to carve it into his mind and never forget it.

“Jungkook, Jungkook, Jungkook!” You all but screamed, release hitting you like a truck. Jungkook took a shaky hand to your head, petting your hair as you went through the motions, only being able to whine as your muscles contracted.

When you came to, you looked up at the boy above you and gave him a sheepish smile. He wouldn’t admit it, but he felt like he into a deeper love in that moment.

“Thank you,” You whispered cutely, causing Jungkook’s lips to spread into a wide smile. “Anything for you.” He answered with finality.

#bts #bts fanfic #bts smut #jungkook smut #jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook #jeon jungkook x reader #bts jungkook #jungkook fluff

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beesonestopcurioshop · 4 years

Text

Safe

Note: This is my second Drabble attempt. I actually like this one better than the first. This one was for my dear friend @boogiewrites I hope you all like it! The prompt I was given is number 14 from this list. I’m also posting from mobile again, so disclaimer I can’t add a keep reading bar lol.

Warnings: Some violence. Yelling. Knives. Guns. Alfie Solomons.

Word count: 1410. Oops. I got carried away. 😂

Photo Credit: Quick google search.

••

Josephine took a deep breath. The smell of London infiltrated her nose. It was very harsh and city-like. She loved it. It made her feel at home. Safe. Even in the midst of the chaotic bustling energy. She wanted to go for a walk and see where her feet led her. It hadn’t been long since she had been back. Just long enough for things to change. It would be nice to get acclimated again.

Something felt different than before. Unstable. Kinetic. Combustible if handled incorrectly. New hands laid in power for different sections of the city. There were whispers of three brothers coming in and taking over a nightclub. The Shelby brothers making a grand entrance into London life. If they were anything like what she had heard, they would fit right in.

Walking through Little Italy was a dangerous game to be played. Especially when the Italians knew your face and didn’t approve of the company you kept. She had to fight off the urge to roll her eyes into her next life. Darby Sabini had always been around. He probably would be, or at the very least his legacy, until the end of time. He was an insufferable little man. He was definitely a thorn in a lot of people’s sides.

The one rise to power that did not surprise her one bit, was one Captain Alfred Solomons. Or Alfie as he liked to be addressed. Alfie ran a tight ship. He always had. She was excited to see him again. In his element, but in a different manner.

Jo walked around taking in the things that had changed, and things that stayed the same. In this day and age, businesses came and went. Especially with the people who actually ran the city versus the elected officials.

The bakery she was looking for wasn’t far. She had noticed a tail on her a while ago in little Italy. Sabini most likely already knew she was back. She was surprised he didn’t know the moment her feet touched London soil.

Josephine was livid at the audacity of Sabini’s men following her into Alfie’s territory. These were newer faces, so they probably only had the shadow of a story about her. So she let them tailing her slide. They appeared to have been employed long enough that they should have known their boundary lines better.

Coming up on the bakeshop she could see that there was a side alley. It was perfect for making her point. She made a quick duck into the side street and placed her back up against the bakery wall. She reached into the waist belt on her dress for her knife while she patiently waited.

One of them jogged by. She let him pass. They were panicking that they had lost her. ‘Good. Let those fucks flounder.’ She moved to the other wall of the alley. If they circled back around, which she was sure they would, she wanted to get the jump on them.

Hearing one set of dress shoes slapping against the walkway she counted the seconds as he got closer. ‘Three, two,’ she struck out onto the walkway and gripped his collar tight. She pulled him violently into the side street and pushed him against the wall with her knife at his throat.

“Why the fuck does Darby Sabini have a shitty tail on my heels? Huh?!” The edge of her knife pushed into his neck harder the more she jumped toward him. He pleaded in Italian. He honestly seemed like he was about seventeen.

“Oh, are you the one they sent without a gun? You haven’t even lost your training wheels yet, boy.” Jo leaned backward with a light laugh as his eyes widened.

“They really didn’t tell you a damn thing about who you were following, did they?” She heard a door open and close behind her. It must have been the big side door to the bakery. Alfie would most certainly be out here in two minutes flat.

“Hey! Let him go! I’ll shoot you and not think twice!” A quivering voice shouted from the mouth of the alley.

“Oh, will you? Did Darby tell you to do so on another man’s land? Stupid move boy.” Jo backed up, allowing the other boy to move to safety.

She watched as the one with the gun assessed his partner to make sure he was okay. They had to have been brothers. The slightly older one was worried sick. He didn’t hide it well. His worry told her he could very well have pulled that trigger. She felt sympathy for the boys. That was until the older one opened his mouth.

“Sabini will hear of this! Your head will be on a pike in front of Alfie Solomons’s business by tomorrow morning.”

“Oh plea…,” she didn’t get the chance to finish. The doors behind her opened up with a cacophony of sliding and slamming. There was a fury behind the motion.

“Gentlemen! Right, you know you’re not supposed to be over this way, right? I have a meeting with this lovely lady here, and I don’t think Sabini would like hearing that his… boys got caught would he?!” Josephine smiled darkly pleased at the voice booming through the lane. It sounded like a god had descended upon the passageway ready to pass judgment.

“Boys, if I were you? I would toddle along. You can say I went out for a walk, and then went home to my flat. Darby doesn’t have to know any different.” Ollie came up beside her to gently usher her backward toward the side door. Normally this would aggravate her, but she let him lead her to Alfie’s office. She hadn’t even been back for 24 hours and she had already caused a stir. She calmly took a seat on the couch in his office.

“Thanks, Ollie. Good to see you again, mate.” Jo smiled and Ollie looked helpless. He knew she was in for it. The thundering footsteps that climbed the stairs confirmed just as much.

“Fuck off Ollie! Right fucking now.” Alfie commanded. Josephine gave Ollie a wink to let him know she would indeed be okay through the storm she had created.

“You know, yeah. When I told you last to get my attention when you got back to the city, right, I did not mean almost START A FUCKING WAR.” Alfie roared. His eyebrows came down over the bridge of his nose and his lips curled inward in a snarl. She sat there determining her next move. A small huff of a laugh escaped her.

“You think this is funny?” The roar continued.

“No, Alfie. I don’t. If Darby didn’t have children doin’ his grunt work, maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about someone noticing and potentially causing a problem. Especially someone he knows can, will, and has caused issues before when slighted.”

“Look if you wanna get shot so bad, I'll shoot you, right?!” His hand landed on his gun. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought he would shoot her right where she sat.

“Look, Alfie. I wasn’t actually going to hurt them. I was just getting a point across that I don’t appreciate being followed.” Jo stood and made her way over to Alfie. She gently placed her hand over the top of his on his gun. She ran her fingers across the back of his tattooed hand hoping to reign in the beast.

“You and I both know that I’ve suffered worse than a gunshot.”

“Yeah, well I’ll be damned if you have to ever again under my rule. Right outside of my bakery, yeah.” He sighed heavily through his nose. Josephine would be the death of him one of these days. He called it back in the war, and it still stood to this day.

She grinned at his grumpy face. The dimples in her cheeks peeking out, melting his irate nature the smallest bit.

“If there’s anywhere I know I’m safe, it’s here.” She raised her right hand, “I, Josephine the magnet for trouble, solemnly swear that I’ll behave to the hardest degree of my ability.” She paused and took in his cantankerous visage. “Now hug me, you grouchy man.” She pulled him in, gripping him tightly. She hadn’t realized how much she missed him.

The door opened behind them, Ollie peeking through. “Sorry to interrupt, but Thomas Shelby is here to see you, Alfie.”

••

I hope you all enjoyed this as well!! 🧡🐝

Taglist: @boogiewrites @ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes @deanscroissant @justanothershelby @parochialism @hazelnmae @reyloshipper-starwars @smallheathgangsters

#peaky blinders writing #peaky blinders #peaky blinder fanfic #thomas shelby #alfie solomons x oc #peaky blinders alfie #alfie solomons #drabble #peaky blinders drabble

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kaiju-z · 4 years

Text

Seon Adventures: Episode 32 - Chain of Command

There was a victory. A bitter, bitter, ugly victory, from wherein our heroes were left amidst piles of bodies, surrounding the lake of Stren.

From hundreds, if not thousands of dead, there were 34 survivors. Among whom were Dak and Kit. We come back to the scene as our heroes get their bearings of this ordeal...

Bodies. So many corpses. And among them, the party of five stand. Tired. Weary. Hurt. Covered in blood, gunk and lake shit. Stren’s gook sticking to the soles of their footwear as they ponder on where to carry on to from here.

A decision is raised. While half the party ;Belli, Jun and Mournimar go to the nearest town to get help with the bodies, Luctan opts to join Malak on the daunting task to bury the fallen. As long as it’ll take.

From Bavorum, the elite guard make smoke signals, signing that they are drawing near to the scene as the less armored trio, followed by the trusty Morgan go off, carrying Kit to the town of Askrivium.

Kit, who had been one of those luckily spared by the death curse. Kit, was slowly coming to, in her own cheeky way. Much to the amusement of Jun, who watches the half-orc bard bicker at the “sleeping” changeling rogue.

And while their group head for Askrivium, the two changeling having a little back and forth, the armored duo of Luck and Malak get to work. Steadily, taking shifts, on agreement, to do this deed.

2 hours pass. A large shadow comes over the horizon. That of the Darksbane Army, finally arriving at the scene, led by Laila Duststone. Joined by Terrowin the Half-Orc and Kraag the Orc Barbarian. Full force and mobilized, they approach the scene and one after the other, Terrowin and Laila talk with Luck and Malak.

Mournfully, Luctan retells the story of what happened, first to Terrowin, then to Laila. Each of whom at the very least are glad that the party is in full form, having lost no one among them. Laila encourages Luck to not blame himself over what had transpired, even as he does so.

Laila explains that the people, who touched the crystal orb will be gathering within a week to discuss what’s happening. Savron included. So it’s serious. Laila had come into contact with the crystal and born witness to what would happen.

Luctan wants to join them, if possible. But Laila declines, as they had done enough. She hands him a note with a certain number. A collective 25,000 Gold for the party, should they travel east next, before their work up north.

Still, the two holy fighters carry on with what they decided upon the end of the battle.

Among the bodies, a pondering Luck finds a familiar face. But it’s not who he was expecting. It’s one of the younger priests in the temple of Sa Doma. A tiny little Halfling woman.

The boys bond over sadness and emotions. Luck’s always here if Malak wants to talk.

Malak will remember this.

Luck tries to heal Malak. Nothing happens, but it’s the thought that counts.

Fastforwarding to Ascrovium!...

The squishy half of the party, and honorary member Kit, enter the grounds and... It’s a small town, definitely more of a stopping point for travelers than anything else. What’s shocking about the town, however, is the amount of people that are currently gathered.

The town is remarkably packed. These are families of people, who walked off in the middle of the night. Partners, etc .Everyone seems particularly tense, no one is sure where everyone is.

It is at this moment that Belli decides to bring out her Thaumaturgy stone and get everyone’s attention...

Without mincing words, she tells everyone what happened. How their loved ones were gathered at the lake. How tragiclaly most of them met their end there, if, but for 34 among them. A small light of hope in the constricting darkness.

Most of the crowd is in shock. Some just start running. 10-15 minutes later, the town is cleared from the exess folk, everyone that could afford to make a run, heading there immediatelly.

“This broughtcast was brought to you by Peppery Pete.”

Jun commends Belli for her way of handling the encounter. Belli thanks her, attributing her skill to it either being her maturing or adding another layer of trauma to herself.

... yeah....

They check for a possible morgue and find a thin Half-Orc girl, who guards the graveyard with a pike, for her aunt, who had gone to find her father. Possibly among the people, who met their end.

The party quickly assess that the graveyard is too small for the capacity of bodies. 10% of the bodies seen at lake Stren could probably fit in and that’s probably without counting the ones, already occupying the dirt.

Their group end up heading for the nearest tavern, discussing Ficus’ relationship status as Jun finds him handsome, but Belli protects her brother, claiming he is “spoken for”. Which brings Jun to ponder on Ficus’ thoughts on relationships of a kind.

As they take to a tavern, get cleaned and find their rest in their own respective way, the armored boys are still at it. 1 AM. They are still working. Aided by the army, but are still going about it and watching out, just in case someone tries to nick something from the bodies. Which almost happens. But Malak’s stern fatherly disapproval brings Kraag to return the watch.

Morning comes. One half of the party wake up and have breakfast. The other has been working all evening, through the waking hours and have exhausted themselves physically. But by gum, so much work had been done.

As Jun gets the diggers food in a basket, Belli checks with her brother, updating him on Kit.

Ficus had been running all night, after what Belli had told him previously, making his way to lake Stren. Which. Is probably a long way, given that he probably started off at a different location.

“Welp. I’m sure that won’t come back to haunt me!” - Belli says, before burrying her face in Orion’s fur. (gross cat noises commence).

The party reconnects at the lake, where Luctan and Malak finally get to eat, while catching up their party on what had occured, while they were gone.

Once done eating, they gather their things and travel by carriage eastward. Luck gives Malak permission to take the holy axe from the bag of holding and Malak attunes to it on the travel. While the boys have themselves a good long rest after what they had been through.

(Also Belli is Stress Knitting. Headcanon time: The reason why the party’s clothes tend to look mostly fine after battle, is because Belli fixes the cuts).

Over the next couple of days, the party bond over battle strategies and counters to what they had just witnessed and Malak learns about a bit more about the battle axe he now has in his possession. The axe, a union of Radience and Hellishness carries celestial runes, speaking of holy vengeance.

On the 3rd day of our travel, the group take a different road, ‘cause for some of them this has been a familiar road already. Along the path, they notice stables. 2 men posted outside the door. But it’s just some stables.

Suspicious, the group stops as night approaches.

And, while Mournimar speaks with Morgan and Orion, this is how the Cultbusters would meet Henry and Ronald, a cute couple, doing some sort of business (speaking in heavy New York accents)

Henry, the beefier of the two and Ronald, an orange haired man with freckled cheeks.

The two sides come together and agree on casting Zone of Truth on each other, as a means to learn about one another, so less suspicion could be had.

They are here to guard the room and it’s contents. They won’t say what the room they guard holds within it, but they won’t hurt the adventurers, if they don’t mess with the room.

The truth is being said. And Belli creatively speaks what she has to say. “You’re a tricksy little bitch and I like you!” one of the men admits, under the effects of the spell and Belli just has a laugh. She wants no drama.

Also, like it has to be said, but Henry finds Malak a pretty man. (We all do, but come on).

Once everyone gets coasy with one another, the party and the couple of Henry and Ronald join together for a happy dinner together.

The food is nice. The mood is high. Henry and Ronald seem to be delightful. Complimentary as heck about Belli’s cooking. The lads are the poifect gentlemen, basically.

Once the dinner is done, the party find places to spend their longrests in, but before the actual long rest occurs, Luck pulls Belli aside and suggests she send a bug-shifted Orion into the couple’s room. Just to be sure they were on the up and up.

Something felt off this night and he wasn’t sure what.

That was the gameplan!

And as the night progresses...

Luctan goes into his dreams again. Like multiple times before.

And... things happen. Sad things. And he sleeps.

In the meanwhile, Jun also has a dream of her own. Whether it’s anything like Luck’s is it’s own story.

In the middle of the night, something happens. 6 hours in, as the party have had their full rest, the flutter of wings awake Henry and Ronald, the latter of whom silently calls over Belli to witness what they were seeing.

.What Belli joins in on watching...

Is 5 imps.

Carrying Luck away. Each holding a limb, the 5th his head.

And Luck is sleeping.

Belli gets Mournimar’s attention and the digitigraded tiefling bolts through the door, upon hearing that. Screaming his loudest “WTF?!”

Which wakes everyone up.

Belli wastes no time. And casts Sleep on one of the imps, causing it to let go of one of Luck’s arms as it drops on the ground.

ROLL FOR INITIATIVE!

All the commotion that follow brings a red flash behind the board.

Just behind said board, a red creature with curled horns and 4 chains being wrapped behind it appears, hovering behind the imps. Glaring at the group.

Belli casts Polymorph on Luck. But Luck, sleeping, unfortunatelly counters it.

Annoyed, Belli chants a Vicious Mockery on one of the imps, while Chain Devil takes a stance.

Moves in close and attacks most of the party with his chains.

One chain smacks Jun and she gets restrained, grappled. Unable to move form her spot as the sickle at the end of the Devil’s chain stabs into her.

Another chain grapples Malak and a third misses Mournimar, which luckily takes the tension off of Belli as the 4th chain goes for the archer, stabbing hinto him like with the other two.

Jun uses all her acrobatic skill to free herself and do so easily from the chains. All her time as a dominatrix pays off as that is an easy feat for her. She immediatelly Hexes their attacker and moves in, ready to attack with her Gambler’s Blade.

And Luck’s still asleep.

Sadly, Mournimar isn’t as flexible as Jun and can’t find freedom from the chains. So instead, shouts at the Fiend in Infernal. He DEMANDS to know where they are trying to take Luctan.

This distraction gives Malak the chance to attack the imps, without having to move. Malak casts Toll The Dead on the imps on the right. While one is more stable, the other’s head outright explodes.

Because... “For Whom The Bell Tolls, Time Marches on.”

And before you ask, YES! THIS IS A DBZ REFERENCE!

Luck’s leg is free as Malak brings out his Spiritual Weapon. And smashes it into the nearest imp he can see, the sleeping one, messing him up visibly.

As the remaining 3 Imps try to escape with Luctan, Belli runs around from the other entrance of the barn and casts Dispell Magic on Luctan, putting all her Arcane skill into it.

And Luck wakes. glaring at his captors.

Your friends don’t care about you, they only like what you can offer them.” She gives an imp Anxiety. How much anxiety? Well, it straight up dies. So that’s the amount!

The Chain Devil attacks Jun again. Misses. Then grabs her and pierces her body with his thick hook again, causing bodily harm to the changeling. As she, Malak and Mournimar take continual damage from the chains wrapped around them, Mournimar’s pain response kicks in and he casts Hellish Rebuke at the Fiend.

Much to his shagrin, however, that doesn’t work out. As the devil is not even tickled from this effort.

It’s form starts to shift. It’s face taking a resemblence to Harker, Mournimar’s father, as he had last seen him. Face mangled. Burned. Aching.

The stress seems to be too much... but Mournimar steels his mind to the mental attack of the Devil. He will not be fooled by the mental projection of this Fiend!

Jun escapes. Again. Takes her rapier and dramatically cuts her thigh open.

After last night she got brave. Bringing forth an electric stabbing upon the Devil with the power of her Blood Rites.

Luctan Teleports behind the devil, swings twice, misses. But then strikes a gash at the back of the creature.

And Luck heals Jun some. In Infernal, he tells the Devil to leave.

Mournimar struggles to free himself and Malak acknowledges that, casting Freedom of Movement on Mournimar. And then attacks the Devil with the Spiritual weapon, clobbering onto him.

The imps try to attack Luck from behind. But neither manages quite to get purching on the fighter/sorcerer’s armor, pathetically gnawing at the material. But nothing much else.

Belli attempts to dispell one of the chains, the one holding Malak. And succeeds, after which she mocks again. “You’re a cowardly little cunt. You will die alone and no one will love you.” sending waves of psychic damage to the fiend.

Frustrated, he looks between the two tieflings. It looks between Mournimar and Luck and finally speaks, determined: “ He’s coming home. Now!”

As Malak gets freed, Jun gets snatched up again and soon Luctan catches the bane of the chains on his body.

Unlike Luck, however, all the pain causes Jun to go limp and unconscious in the grasp of the metal, much to Luctan’s shock.

The Devil shifts his face again, glaring at Malak. Taking the form of one of his late comrades.

But Malak is used to this sort of thing by now. He’s seen far worse in his nightmares. So he keeps his mind strong and defended.

As the two get carried away, Luck notices life in Jun’s unconscious frame, giving him strength to free himself from the chains, one of which goes limp. Then Luctan wakes her up again, wishing some vitality into her form, while Mournimar brings out his arrows and Marks the devil for the Hunt.

Fires, misses twice, but that’s quite ok.

Malak attacks, but misses by a few inches as his powerful Guiding Bolt blasts elsewhere.

He still has an attack, however, splatting one of the remaining imps.

Scared and alone, the singular awake imp turns invisible. And the party knows not where it’d go. (DAMN YOU, COTTON EYE JOE!)

Which is bad, because it stings Jun. Who almost drops again.

Ah. But in this moment you forget about the bard.

NO ONE DARE FORGET ABOUT THE BARD!!!

With Jun’s consent, Belli transforms Jun...

Then she mocks the Devil. “Luck’s our friend. If you’re that lonely just drill a hole in the wall.” But the Devil takes it in stride.

“He’s not my friend. I serve him. He just doesn’t know what’s best for him right now.” Luck gets smacked around. Hard! And this chained hellman starts to chant in a mix of Infernal and Arcane.

As the Devil tries to teleport away with the grappled Luctan, a thick shadow comes from his left. And before he can react, the Chain Devil gets chomped on by a monochromatic Spinosaurus Seonipticus.

As Belli draws closer, Jun gets the HDYWTDT with her Jawsy-Wawsies. And she tears him to shreds.

Very easily she shreds this Devil and gently plucks the chains off of Luck’s body. And puts him down on the ground. The duality of Jun. She will tear you asunder, but she will also bleed on you and be nice.

As for the last of the awoken imps... Jun distractedly swings her tail and the Imp just gets punted into Hell. All that is left is a splatter on the wall, before Belli turns Jun back to her general fine self.

As Luctan and Jun catch their bearings,Malak and Mournimar join the bard over the body of the sleeping, if fucked up, imp. Deciding on a gameplan on questioning him, Belli stabs it through the foot.

Which. Um. Unfortunately kills it?!

Moments pass. Henry and Ronald still inside, the group convenes around Luck to get a better idea of what just happened. Jun asks the disguised tiefling if he’s ok, keeping an eye on him as she asks. He is. Feels oddly free. And he heals Jun once again as he confirms.

When asked to explain what this was all about, how the Devil knew him, where it was planning on taking him, a tired and less reluctant Luck encourages them to think of what he’s already said about himself.

“I’m not from Seon. I ran away from home after freeing my mother’s slaves. A Chain Devil and Imps tried to take me “home”.”

Belli and Malak begin putting two and two together real fast. They would know that the things the party just saw and dealt with were and are devils, not demons. Devils serve Potencia. Demons serve Quorrin.

With a tired smile, Luctan admits it.

“I guess, I’m the son of Potencia.” and he says this, his gaze never faltering from Malak’s face.

He proceeds to give them the briefest description of his recent interaction with her, in his dreams. Meeting her in her office. In a form he hadn’t often seen her in. Her disappointment in him for not allout killing the Traveling Gentlemen. Having expected “better” of him.

Wanting him to become an Arch Devil to one of the hells, who’s leader was missing. His refusal. And then, her doing something, before he woke up, being carried away.

And he looked at Malak, the whole time, having taken off his ring during the talk.

Whatever Malak was thinking, he was keeping inside and away from any insight that could be made on him.

Jun acts very flustered at first, when Luck spills the beans as he does. She had seemingly been in contact with someone and mentions “The Evenchord Boy”, something that subtly catches Luck’s attention...

As Luck takes a moment to catch his breath again from what happened, he takes a seat on the ground. Mournimar and Belli, surprisingly, were encouraging of him. Rather than judginess from Mournimar, given said Ranger’s history with the cult of Potencia and Luctan’s heavy connection... He had expected an earful. At the fucking least. But that hadn’t happened.

Luck could all but laugh. Pitifully laugh and ponder. More surprisingly, Jun would kneel beside him, arm over his shoulders and offers him an ear to listen to his troubles if he needs it. Somehow she understands. However that works, she understands and makes it a point to tell him some important words:

“Your roots don’t make you. You make you.”

Then he receives a kiss on the forehead from the changeling woman as he slowly realizes that he may have human relatives somewhere...

After a night of devilry and a slight argument with the duo of Henry and Ronald, the party finally get their second long rest. It would become revealed that Henry and Ronald were actually clerics, possibly of Dyunificus, who were protecting a bunch of kids and silver foxes and were keeping them secret from the party (understandably so) as Adventurers came in many moral colors.

Belli would pay them to ease their tensions, too tired and frustrated from the combat to argue with the men.

Some time passes again as the party carries on on the road. Luctan often looking to Malak, but giving him space.

Eventually they’d draw near to Crystalgate.

And take shifts in a campsight of their making.

1st Luctan, 2nd Jun, 3rd Malak, 4th Mournimar. All this to help Belli have a full rest to prepare meals in the morning.

Sure enough, the night is peaceful and when Belli gets her turn, she makes a perception check... She sweeps the area and-

She feels pretty alright, as she cooks. “These times are easy to appreciate the world. All six of us are safe.”

SIX?!

Wait. Something’s wrong. She looks and at the fire is an half-elf man with strong black curly hair. Deep brown eyes in the campfire light. Dark skin? He’s relaxed and casually pokes at the fire with a stick.

“Hi?!”

“Oh, Morning.”

“Oh, you can wake the rest of your friends, if you’d like. I believe we have some catching up to do.”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Akar’niel.”

Belli wakes the rest of the party and, well. He introduces himself to the group.

For the most part, it seems that he knows the names, though he’s not quite as familiar with Jun and Malak, nor does he seem to be aware of Luck’s true name.

He knows what the party have been doing and have been up against. He represents a higher power.

Before he disappears in purple smoke, he whispers something.

Luctan would look at his journal and read the mantra that he had sewn into the pages:

“ When the Western Fields lie sundered, blackened with ash.

When Lake Stren turns red with the blood of your allies

When brother turns against brother in the North

When the Giants of the East flee from demons bigger than they

When the Council lie with their throats slit

That is when I will come for you. And it will be the End."

And as the episode ends, the party levels up.

Previous Episode / Next Episode

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shernoel · 5 years

Note

May I request a romantic moment between Erik and Christine ?? uwu please and thank you

I’m not sure if you wanted art or writing, so I just chose whatever. Hopefully this counts as romantic enough! I do have a drawing in the works that will also cover this prompt, which will he posted soon. Also I’m on mobile so hopefully the cut works, if not I sincerely apologize!

[[MORE]]

Erik was not an anxious man. He liked to do things at his own pace, and do them well at that. His music took hold of his body and he worked frantically for days at a time, but he was not anxious over its flaws. He knew he could mold and polish it until it shone with beauty. He had all the time in the world for his Don Juan, for example. Quite literally.

But when it came to Christine, things were different. He was sure if the Daroga could see him now, hurriedly preparing Earl Grey tea and biscuits for a tiny blonde soprano, he would die of shock and amusement combined. A scowl crossed Erik’s devil’s mouth at the thought. Meddlesome booby. He had no right to even think of his life, let alone Christine! But it was of no matter, the Daroga was not here.

He smoothed his long hands over his clothing, trying to fix imaginary wrinkles and flaws. If he were to have this damned horror of a face, he must make up for it in all other aspects! His fingers found his mask, and he quickly ran them over it to calm his racing heart. The horror is hidden and safely tucked away where no soul would witness its terror. Erik’s yellow eyes flickered to the clock on the mantle—installed there at Christine’s insistence that “I cannot tell the time here without light, Erik, and I think I’m going mad!”, and he certainly didn’t want that, so he quickly created a beautifully crafted gold clock for her—and he saw that he still had roughly half an hour before she was to come. Unsure of what to do with all of this spare time, Erik decided to do a sweep through of the home—never her room, though, that was hers alone. Heaven knows how much he himself valued privacy. He would not invade hers. The cushions of every couch were fluffled, the fireplace lit comfortably, and the tables shone with cleanliness. When it was still ten minutes until her arrival, he was quite sure he would drive himself insane if his hands were not busy, and so he set himself to the task of fixing the books in the bookshelf until they were all straightened and dusted. Ten minutes became five, and five became none. Still Christine was not there. Anger and concern flared to life in Erik’s heart. Did she not want to visit anymore? Did she value him so little? Was she with that boy—

His thoughts were cut off by a ringing chime throughout the house. His doorbell! She was crossing over now!

Sweeping his scrutinizing gaze over the room one last time, he nodded once and strode to the door to open it for her—he truly wanted to show her he could be gentlemanly and kind, and gentlemen opened doors, did they not?

As he unlocked the door and stepped back to allow his beloved girl in, he was quite literally struck still by shock. Christine stood before him, white flakes stuck all over her hair, her face wet and flushed red over her pretty cheeks. Her eyelashes weren’t even spared from the snow, little droplets collecting on the delicate hairs.

He realized a little too late that one of his long, bony fingers were reaching out to that delicate eyelash, and quickly threw himself backwards.

“Come on in, Christine,” he choked out.

“I’m ever so sorry for being late! The snow outside made it hard for me to catch a brougham—it’s a blizzard out there!” The dear girl seemed blissfully unaware of his turmoil over her unkempt beauty as she chattered on, entering his domain.

“Is it now?” He humored her, inwardly berating himself. Use your wit, you dumb fool! Stop standing there like an idiot. Christine hummed in affirmation, taking her gloves off and huffing when they stuck to her hands.

“Truly! I don’t think I’ve seen a snowstorm like this since…” and here she trailed off, and Erik looked to her rosy face as it turned downcast. He scrambled for something to distract her from the difficult memories of her past.

“Tea! I have made us tea! And biscuits! You enjoy those, don’t you Christine?”

She looked up at him then, and her blue eyes seemed to return with a bit of light. Then the angel smiled at him, and his heart melted into a puddle at his feet.

“I’d love that, Erik. And I do. May I shed my coat? It is much warmer here than out there, thank goodness.”

Erik nodded once, and his mouth dried as she removed her thick cloak and hung it up, a bit of her hair falling loose from its pins and curling down her back. His dear girl was so polite. How he wished he could be the one to remove her coat for her—Tea, Erik.

He hurriedly turned and set to arranging the teacups and biscuits, and before long they were seated in their respective chairs as they drank the warm beverage. Christine was looking much more normal and dry now, and Erik took in all of her presence he could. She sipped delicately at her tea, and seemed to be avoiding his burning gaze—she had confessed in the past that his constant stare unnerved her, and though he tried to fix it, sometimes he was unaware he was even doing it—so he quickly turned his yellow gaze to the fireplace.

“Did you change the bookshelf?” She suddenly asked, a hint of humor in her tone. His dear girl was nothing if not observant. He stiffened a bit awkwardly.

“Yes...is it to your liking?”

Christine laughed, her voice sounding like tinkling bells as she responded,”not everything you do must be to my taste, dear Erik.”

While he normally would have protested that she hadn’t answered his question, the term of endearment floored him. If it wasn’t for the feeling of warmth the teacup gave his fingers, he would’ve sworn he had died and gone to heaven. Erik hadn’t realized he had gone still and silent like the corpse he was until Christine’s worried hand touched his shoulder gently and he jumped.

“Erik? I love the bookshelf—you always have the best taste in books. Even those boring architecture ones...please don’t be upset.”

“Why would I be upset, Christine?” He asked, still dazed that she had called him dear. If he were to perish now, he would die a happy man, her gentle touch on his shoulder causing his heart to spasm.

“I called your name a few times but you didn’t respond...I thought I did something wrong…”

Here he looked up and quickly saw her upset eyes avoiding his gaze, her lip being chewed as she always does when she is worried.

“Christine!” He exclaimed, and she jumped, and he cursed his sudden action. His hand caught hers in desperation.

“I apologize! Your Erik gets caught up in his own head, sometimes he forgets he is even here! Please do not blame yourself for his own shortcomings!”

Her gaze softened, and she briefly squeezed his hand.

“I’m glad I didn’t upset you, but…”

She continued her endearing habit of nibbling on her lip. He couldn’t tear his golden gaze away this time from her pink lips.

“What were you thinking so hard about?”

Erik’s brain fizzed out when he needed it most. He most certainly was not going to tell her he was thinking about her and her words and how much they truly affected him...

“Oh. Um. Thoughts...yes. Many of those, Christine. Finish your tea.”

He waved his hand towards her seat, and to his surprise as he watched her retreating form...was that disappointment in her eyes? Drat. He had upset her.

“It is nothing of importance, my Christine. Please don’t trouble yourself with Erik’s madness,” he pleaded, knowing the poor girl somehow still blames herself for his awkward detachment.

Christine turned her gaze to the fire and sipped her tea, a stray blonde curl falling onto her cheek. An awkward silence followed, only interrupted by the crackle of the hearth, and then;”you aren’t mad, Erik. Not completely, anyway. Madness can be...nice, sometimes. Different. Genius.”

His yellow eyes bore into her very soul as he tried to comprehend her words. Was this a roundabout compliment? A simple way to appease him? Or just his kind Christine? She turned her gaze to his, but then quickly looked away, seeming to flush and smile a bit under his stare.

“But onto different topics...this tea is lovely.”

He smiled his ugly smile under the mask.

“I am very happy you say so, Christine.”

“Very lovely. Where do you get your tea?”

At this he only let the twinkle in his eyes tell her. Her smile grew in understanding. His girl was clever, she would comprehend his hidden meanings. Things went missing in the Opera House all the time.

“Erik, you shouldn’t!” She scolded, but the smile told him she found his mischief fun.

“How else is a ghost supposed to get his tea? Now, my turn for a subject change. Would you like to sing? Of course if you’re too tired, I can play for you.” He stood quickly, placing his drained cup to the side. He seemed to have a renewed vigor at the sight of her smile, and knowing that he was the cause of it.

Christine set her cup down and stood up, and as she crossed the room to him he realized just how small she was compared to him. So soft, so delicate, his darling…

“Shall we go, Erik? I’d like to sing...well...if it isn’t too much to ask…”

Erik retorted perhaps a bit too quickly as he walked ahead of her;”Nothing you ask is too much, my dear.”

Christine stopped for a second, then smiled shyly up at him, continuing the walk to the music room.

“Could we sing a few Christmas songs? Duets, even?”

He stilled as he came to sit on the piano bench, but the pleading look in her eyes made him feel a warmth in his heart no drug could compare to.

“I suppose there wouldn’t be any harm in it…” he trailed off, and she gave a squeal of excitement.

“Oh thank you, Erik!” She exclaimed, and to his complete and utter surprise, she bent down and hugged him. Too frozen with shock to comprehend what was happening, his hands remained frozen just shy of her back, trembling a bit with want. She does not see you in that way, you fool, his inner voice reminded him. But why not enjoy the gifts she does give us? Another voice added. And so Erik slowly lowered his cold hands to the warmth of her back, and closed his eyes. The hug was over all too soon, and he straightened himself up on the bench as she shyly ducked back into her spot by the piano, her head almost as red as it was when she arrived.

“What shall we start with?” He asked, and then Christine replied and the music began.

Her voice was just as lovely and pure as he remembered, and all he could feel was the lovely sound emitting from her throat and the piano for hours. Soon he joined her, to her obvious delight, and they sang carols until Christine had to pause.

“I’m quite tired, Erik dear,” she started, and he once again allowed the happy feeling to wash over him at being referred to as dear,”and the weather is awful...may I stay here tonight?”

He stood from the bench, making his way over to her to lightly guide her back into the sitting room.

“Of course Christine! You are always welcome to stay in Erik’s home.”

But something else seemed to be on her mind, her face becoming even redder than before. He likened her to a tomato, or a fine red wine, but much prettier and more dear to him. He shook himself from his lovesick thoughts as she spoke again.

“Could you...read to me? Or just speak? I do so enjoy your voice.” She laughed a bit nervously.

“Perhaps it’s silly…”

“Of course I’ll read to you, my dear Christine.”

His long fingers gestured for her to sit, and to his surprise she chose the couch. That was fine, he would kneel before her and read. Just to be in her presence was a blessing.

After choosing a book from the shelf—fairytales, her favorite—he walked over and knelt before her sitting form. Christine leaned forward and caught his hand with her own, and his eyes were glued to her soft fingers intertwined in his own.

“Please, don’t do that Erik. Sit with me...please…”

How could he deny his angel?

And so that is how Erik found himself sitting next to —not too close of course, but next to!— his beloved on the couch in the sitting room while the fire burnt before them. He opened the book and began to speak in the most soothing tones his voice could produce—quite effective, he knew. His voice was powerful. Soon, Christine was drifting off, and she laid her head on his bony shoulder as she nuzzled in for warmth. Her blonde hair tickled his neck and he gasped for air. He must be dreaming!

But the house by the lake was indeed inhabited by two people that night, and though Erik was not an anxious man, he held Christine carefully and protectively, making sure she could never have an uncomfortable moment throughout her time in dreamland.

#my writing #in case this isn’t clear enough Christine does return his affections they just havent said it to each other yet #poto fanfiction #poto fanfic #poto #christine x erik #leroux christine #leroux phantom #leroux erik #phantom of the opera #erik/christine

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isa-ghost · 5 years

Text

Important: Read & Reblog!

So that jse-communi-tea blog is getting even more out of hand than it already was, on a more than disturbing level. It’s not just toxic, it’s getting straight up hateful and dangerous towards not just community members, but people outside the community, Sean himself, Gab, and their friends. I’ve even seen people saying transphobic things about other community members and apparently the owner of the blog had to actually make a post warning these ugly anons on the blog not to tell people to kill themselves. Sooo... Yeah, its getting that bad.

So I think it’d be a good idea to give some advice to combat it:

DO NOT INTERACT WITH IT. Don’t send anon hate towards people or the blog owner, don’t try and tell them they’re wrong or anything, don’t send anons defending people/your friends if you see hate about them on the blog. Don’t even send positive things about people to the blog. Just do not interact with the blog AT ALL. If it doesn’t get attention, it’ll go away eventually. -----

CONTINUE TO BLOCK AND REPORT IT. If you’ve already reported, don’t do so more than once because that’ll only clog up the staff’s systems and take them longer to get rid of the blog. BUT if you haven’t reported it yet, do so! Reporting as spam or harassment is best. Literally just use the blog’s URL for the source or whatever the report page will ask you for. You can elaborate in the explanation section for the staff to just look at the entire blog as well, since its all proof the blog needs to be terminated. If you haven’t blocked it already, block it immediately. ----

BLACKLIST THE BLOG’S URL. If you use Tumblr Savior like me (highly recommend getting it btw, it IS free too but idk if it’s available for mobile), blacklist “jse-communi-tea” and the posts will not show up for you anymore. You can also go under your Tumblr settings and filter the URL there as well. It will block any posts that blocking the blog or blacklisting it on Tumblr Savior doesn’t. ----

DON’T LOOK AT THE BLOG. I’m guilty of doing this, but for the sake of your own mental health, mood, anything, DON’T look at the blog. Don’t check to see if you’re being talked about, as tempting as that might be. Don’t check to see if your friends or someone you know is being talked about. Just. Don’t. Look. It’s unhealthy, it’s risky, it might even be triggering for some people. If you’ve been checking on the blog occasionally, STOP doing it for your own sake. ----

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT TAG SEAN IN ANY POSTS FROM OR ABOUT THE BLOG. Don’t tag ANYONE in posts from the blog. Don’t tag Sean, Gab, their friends, your friends. NOBODY. That’d only cause more upset, hurt, drama, and give the blog the attention its looking for, which is NOT what we want. Don’t bring the blog to Sean’s attention AT ALL. Don’t tag him in posts, don’t send him asks about it, don’t message him anywhere about it, don’t talk about it in the official Discord server if you’re in it, don’t talk about it outside of Tumblr anywhere he might see it. Just don’t talk about the blog at all, the less attention the better. The blog posts in the main tag(s) already so there’s a chance he’s seen or might see it but he’s a grown man and knows how to ignore or otherwise handle it himself; again, that’s only a chance, we don’t want to increase the likelihood he’ll see it. Don’t force him to get involved, don’t expect him to, don’t drag him into it. This post is going in the main tag only because it needs to reach as many people as possible before someone gets hurt or things get worse. ----

IF NECESSARY, AVOID THE MAIN TAGS. By necessary, I mean if you see the posts in the tag even after doing all you can to block and blacklist it, just don’t look at the main tags for a while. It’s awful that this might be necessary because the whole point of the art weeks is to try and liven up the tags again and the last thing we want is to kill them again but if the posts from the blog appear in the tag for you and it bothers you in any form that badly, avoid the tag for a while. How long? I can’t say. But its for the best. Put your mental and emotional health first!

----

I feel like there could be more I wanted to say here and more advice I could add but for now, this is the big important stuff. Signal boost this the best you can without bringing it to Sean’s attention, and stay safe from the drama.

I might add more to this later on, but I have to go to work so I can’t sit here and brainstorm more advice atm. For now, just signal boost.

#jacksepticeye #jse community #signal boost

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jbhoneydew · 4 years

Text

My first attempt at writing something M*A*S*H related, or writing anything in years. Please message me if you have any suggestions! I might post this to AO3 later.

The 4077th is faced with another cold, winter night and BJ isn’t handling the cold-snap too well. Hawkeye is there to help him out. (2.2K words)

(References to Baby Its Cold Outside (7x10) & Mail Call (2x23) )

__________________________________________________________

“Attention all personnel! Bundle up and grab some coffee in the mess while it lasts. It’s going to be a cold one tonight, folks!”

The bitter wind whipped in the air that would send a strong shiver down one’s spine. It seemed like yesterday the camp was soaking in the rays of the warm summer sun, but those days were long gone.

Time flies when you waste your days doing meatball surgery on wounded men and boys from the front lines - hoping they’ll live to see another day.

It was now the middle of November and the 4077th mobile hospital in Uijeongbu, South Korea was faced with a premature winter storm. The forecast called for flurries, strong winds, and below freezing temperatures that were not welcomed by the unit.

It was the second winter blast of the week and supplies were now low in stock. Extra blankets were non-existent in the supply room. They were either wrapped around patients in post-op or wrapped around the personnel like mummies. Firewood was also scarce due to the last storm. This left the unit scrambling to find supplies they would need to keep themselves warm.

The unlucky personnel would have to find other means of warmth.

____________________________________________________________

Hawkeye sprinted across the compound towards the Swamp. He just finished his evening post-op shift and Charles had finally arrived to relieve him after being 20 minutes late. Hawk was bundled up from head to toe with his arms wrapped tightly around himself to preserve body head as he ran, a few curse words escaping his lips. The cold air was biting at his exposed face and all he wanted to do was curl up next to the furnace and sleep.

He finally made it to the Swamp and swung the door open, practically throwing himself inside.

“Hawk, the door!” His bunk-mate BJ greeted him from his own cot, trying to shield himself away from the bitter cold wind Hawkeye let in by burrowing deeper into his blanket.

“I got it, Beej. Cool it.” he muttered as he slammed the door shut.

“Mother Nature beat me to it.” muttered BJ as he adjusted the army-issued toque on his head. His teeth chattering in the process. The winter storm was making him miserable. He wasn’t used to the sub-zero temperatures in Korea. It was a new concept.

Before being drafted, he spent his entire life living in California and rarely had to worry about being cold. Living in Korea for the past year reminded him that not everywhere was sunny and warm like California. He knew it would be cold - but the draft board didn’t tell him it would be this cold.

Hawk wrapped the blanket on his cot around himself and crouched down in the middle of the tent where the gas stove usually was. He raised his hands out in front of it, expecting it to warm his cold and tired body.

He raised an eyebrow when he realized no heat emitted from the unit. He then realized the gas stove was missing.

“Don’t tell me i’m going crazy. Could’ve sworn we had a gas stove in here. ” Hawk said in confusion.

“We did, until about 10 minutes ago. Radar took it. He said post-op needs all the gas stoves they can find to keep the patients warm.” explained BJ as he shivered in his bunk. “The last time he did it, I hid his glasses in the meat-loaf. I think i’ll hide them in the latrine this time.”

“This is just perfect.” Hawk said sarcastically. He stood up and paced around the tent in an attempt to keep himself warm without the gas stove.

“I’m already frozen from my head down to my toes and our good friend, Chuckles, is now sitting in post-op probably bathing in the warmth of OUR gas stove. Now we’re stuck here to freeze our butts off in this flimsy tent!” Hawkeye ranted. “He could’ve at least left his ugly polar suit or gloves to keep us warm! That little-”

Hawk stopped himself when his eyes landed on BJ for a second time, noticing something different.

“Wait a minute….Is that my sweater?”

“Mhm.” BJ mumbled as he lifted the collar of the sweater up to keep his neck warm.

The navy blue wool sweater his dad sent him last year was currently wrapped around BJ’s semi-slim frame, the collar of the fabric peeking out from under his olive green coat.

“First you steal my socks, and now my sweater. What’s next? My pants?”

“I was cold and I found it under your cot. You can have it back if you want if you want.” BJ replied as he began to undo the top buttons of the sweater.

“No, no.” Hawk replied as he placed a hand on BJ’s shoulder. “Keep it. I’m just kidding.”

“You sure?” BJ paused.

“Yeah...it’s just, I can’t believe you’re actually wearing my clothes. Not just my socks this time.”

“Good. Because it’s very warm. Tell your dad I said thanks.”

“Your regards will be in my next letter to Crabapple Cove. Dad will appreciate it.”

“You know..I wish Peg thought of sending me a sweater. Instead she sent more rum cookies instead of something warm to wear. This is Korea we’re talking about. It’s freezing.” BJ half-joked.

“Keep it, Beej. I mean it. Besides, you look really good in my sweater.”

BJ raised an eyebrow at him. “How can you tell?”

“Just trust me. You look good.” he winked.

Hawk laid down on his cot, pulling the thin army-issued blanket over his body to block out the frigid air with little success. He was cold, tired, and all he wanted to do was sleep.

Hawk turned onto his side towards BJ. He was now sitting up in his bunk, his legs pulled towards his chest with his blanket wrapped around himself. He felt sympathetic for his younger bunk mate. He knew BJ wasn’t experienced in handling cold snaps unlike himself; who grew up in Maine and experienced cold snaps like this every winter.

He watched BJ pick up his most recent letter from Peg that sat on his footlocker and read it for what seemed like the fifth time this week.

“Can’t get enough of that letter, huh?” Hawk asked, letting out a yawn.

“Huh? Oh yeah. Keeps my mind off the cold.” BJ replied as he shivered again.

“What’s new in Mill Valley?”

“She says that they had six warm days in a row. In fact, it was so nice she and my parents took Erin to San Francisco for the day. It says that Erin’s favorite part of the trip was seeing the Golden Gate Bridge. It says ‘I wish you were here to see it, BJ. Her eyes lit up like she was handed the moon. It was the cutest thing i’ve seen.’ Damn. I should’ve been there to see it too. I miss the warmth of San Francisco but instead I'm here about to catch hypothermia.”

“You will be there, Beej. We’ll get out of this dump. It won’t last forever.”

“The peace talks say otherwise.”

“Listen to me.” Hawk said as he raised his head from his pillow. “I will personally march myself up to MacArthur’s doorstep to personally stop this war if I have too. Just for you. You’ll make it out of here in one piece and you’ll see your wife and kid again. You’ll be back in sunny California in no time, and then you can come visit me in Crabapple Cove anytime you wish.”

“Who says i’ll visit?” he teased.

“Says me. It’s only been a year but we’ve been through hell and back together. This isn’t a bond that can be thrown away once this war is over and we all go home. Trapper left without saying goodbye before you showed up and I haven’t heard a word from him since. I’m not letting you do the same. Besides, how am I supposed to live without Peg’s baking? It’s to die for.” he explained. He knew he was rambling on to BJ but he didn’t care - he needed a distraction from the cold.

“It’s a deal, Hawk.” BJ smiled, placing the letter back on his footlocker. He was lucky to have met Hawkeye, even in one of the worst circumstances possible. It was the only luck he seemed to have since he was drafted.

BJ laid down on his cot again and curled up onto his side.“I have post-op in the morning, see ya then, if we survive the night.” he said as he closed his eyes.

“Night BJ, don’t let the frost-bite get ya.”

BJ grinned. “Yes mom. Goodnight, Hawk.”

____________________________________________________________________________

A particularly strong gust of wind blew against the tent, waking Hawkeye in the process. It felt like the temperature dropped another ten degrees in the matter of hours. He was about to tug his blanket over his head when he heard someone’s teeth chattering. Hawk lifted his head up and noticed BJ visibly shiver in his cot.

“Beej? You alright?” he half-whispered to him, wondering if he was awake or not.

He didn’t get a response for a few moments until BJ popped his head out from under his blanket.

“Yeah. Just cold. Go back to sleep.” he mumbled as his teeth chattered more.

Hawk shook his head. Sleep was now a lost cause for Hawk at this point. The cold temperature and howling wind now made it nearly impossible.

Hawk was concerned for his friend who was shivering on the other side of the tent. He knew that he was having a tough time dealing with the frigid cold. It would’ve been a lot easier if the gas stove was here, but they sacrificed it for the patients.

Suddenly, he had an idea to help both of them.

Hawk wrapped his blanket around himself and made his way over to BJ’s cot.

“Move over, Beej.” Hawk mumbled to the younger man, who moved over as much as he could without a complaint.

Hawk settled himself half on top of BJ and wrapped his arms around the younger man, their legs becoming entangled in one another. He then threw his blanket over top both of them.

“What’re you doin’?” BJ mumbled half-asleep, his teeth chattering once again.

“You’re shivering, so I’m keeping you warm. Damn it, BJ. You’re like an icicle.”

“Mmm. And you’re like a personal body heater”

“Glad I can be useful,” he smiled. “Come here.”

Hawk pulled BJ even closer to him, if it was even possible, and rubbed his arm gently in an attempt to warm him up.

They laid in silence for a while. They eventually rolled onto their sides and had their arms wrapped tightly around each other. BJ rested his forehead against Hawkeye’s shoulder, who had his chin rested on top of BJ’s head. They both fit perfectly in eachothers arms. Hawk smiled when he noticed BJ’s shivering had died down.

“Hawk?”

“Mhm?”

“Thanks for this. Feeling warmer already.”

“No problem, Beej. I’m here for you. No matter what. We’ll get through this.”

They both fell asleep moments later, the storm already long forgotten as they curled up in eachothers arms.

—————————————————-------------------------------------------------

“Captain Pierce! Captain Hunnicutt! You in there?”

The swamp door creaked open, allowing the morning sunlight to illuminate the tent, and Radar timidly stepped inside the tent.

“Oh good. There you are, sirs.”

He found Hawkeye and BJ cuddled up together on one cot in the back right corner of the tent. BJ was snoring softly, dead to the world. His arms were wrapped tightly around Hawkeye like an octopus and his cheek was resting against his shoulder.

“Radar? What is it?” Hawkeye suddenly asked, startling the young corporel.

“I’m sorry sirs but Winchester told me to tell you that he wants Captain Hunnicutt in post-op right away. He’s supposed to cover for him and he’s already 10 minutes late.”

“Hmm. Five more minutes.”

“But sir-“

“I said five more minutes, Radar. I’ll make it an order if I have too.”

Radar stared at them with his mouth opened slightly and huffed.

“Oh boy. You’re gonna owe Winchester for this. He’s already on my back as it is and I'm not the one who's late!”

“Go, Radar. We’ll be there soon. I’ll leave last month’s volleyball nudes under your door for you if you tell Winchester to wait a few more minutes.” Hawk smiled.

“Yes sir!” and Radar was gone seconds later.

Hawk then turned his attention back to BJ. He didn’t have the heart to wake him up. He looked so peaceful curled up in his arms and honestly - it felt nice.

Sure, Hawk spent the night with many of the nurses on the compound and girls back in his hometown but BJ was different. There was something about another man laying against him, seeking comfort that Hawk was more than willing to provide. He realized that he liked taking care of BJ.

Hawk ran a hand through BJ’s hair and sighed happily. He could get used to this. For the first time in his life, he wished for more wintery cold nights like this.

#writing #ngl this is kinda bad

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