#also it should come up again in protocol that would be cool

[morasyframbuesas]

i am experiencing heavy magnus withdrawal symptoms. genuinely considering writing an usher foundation fic just to feel human again.

[lonelychicago]

tease tidbit tuesday! 🩺🩹

i just wanted to share this snippet from my fic and didn't want to wait untill tomorrow jshsjs

rule: share whatever scene or snippet from your fic that has you excited, ig???

anyway this is from my school nurse eddie and gym teacher buck!

interact with this post if you wanna be tagged when i post the fic

As it turns out, Eddie does see Buck again. He doesn't even have to wait days or a week.

He sees him just an hour later after their first introduction.

"Hey again!"

Eddie looks up to see the man standing on the doorway, looking sheepish but also a little bit freaked out.

"Buck? What are you doing here?"

"Uh… so, funny story! I got bitten by a kid and Bobby told me it was protocol to come here and get it looked at?" Buck pulls a face, looking down at his right arm where Eddie can clearly see teeth marks and the skin slightly red and shiny from saliva. "It isn't bleeding, though, so I'm sure it's fine."

Eddie sighs and stands from his desk, guiding Buck once again to one of the stretchers as he pulls on some clean gloves.

"Still, we should clean and disinfect it." Eddie frowns as he gets the foam soap and some wipes. "You would be surprised how much damage a bite by a kid can cause."

"Oh." Buck frowns down to their hands and Eddie suppresses another sigh.

"How did this even happen? Got the kids hating on you already?" He tries to joke.

"No…" Buck huffs out a laugh. "I was introducing myself to the first graders and one of the kids said he was Spider-man."

Eddie stops cleaning the wound and glances up, raises an amused eyebrow at the man.

"So naturally I told him that was so cool and that I wish I could have his powers too."

"Naturally." Eddie says dryly.

"And next thing I know, the little psycho was biting me!" Buck widens his eyes and it's a little hilarious if Eddie's being honest.

"Still, you must have broken a record or something. Your first day and you've been on the sickbay twice in like, what? An hour? Are you gonna be a frequent flier here? Should I put your name in one of the stretchers?"

"Maybe you should." Buck lifts his chin, a small amused grin making his lips curve upwards. "I've been told I'm prone to getting hurt. Hate to break it to you, Eddie, but I think you're gonna see me very often."

"You know, you shouldn't sound as thrilled as you do about that fact." Eddie shakes his head. "Considering that you would be hurt or in pain or whatever.

"Eh, I found out the school nurse is pretty cool so it could be worse."

tagging (no pressure): @buddierights @monsterrae1 @honestlydarkprincess @panbuckley @hippolotamus @thewolvesof1998 @shortsighted-owl @ebdaydreamer @heartshapedvows @prince-buck-diaz @bekkachaos @transbuck @transboybuckley @911onabc @cowboy-buddie @the-likesofus @elvensorceress @barbiediaz @prettyboybuckley @bigfootsmom @911onabc @jesuisici33 @diazblunt @alyxmastershipper @spotsandsocks and anyone else who wants to do it <333

[gaykarstaagforever]

TNG Season 6 certainly has its good episodes. Like Episode 8, "A Fistful of Datas".

Yes, it's another goofy "Holodeck-on-the-fritz" episode. But I goddamn love these. And the writers seem to too, because they usually tend to be well-written. This one in particular focuses on Worf and Data, probably my two favorite TNG characters, which helps. And Spiner and Dorn get to flex their substantial acting chops, dealing with this fantasy situation.

Also they finally let Troi do something cool. I may be a filthy homosexual, but Cowboy Troi still gets it DONE. Hot damn.

This episode raises all kinds of questions about how the Enterprise-D computer works, and why the hell. You'd think after the "Elementary, My Dear Data" incident of Season 2, they would have physically isolated the Holodeck from the rest of the ship's computer, or at least put up some firewalls or memory-access limits. The VR computer game app should not be able to just use ALL of the ship's insane computing power to run games. Like, games are shit when they do that now. This system keeps fresh air flowing in the ship, and makes it so that not everyone explodes immediately every time you move it. Probably should wall-off the thing running Space Fortnite from the bulk of that.

But they certainly don’t. By the end of this episode, the computer has nonchalantly generated FIVE different perfect recreations of Data for its corrupted cowboy simulation. Five. He's the most advanced android in the known universe, and his inner-workings are a mystery even to Starfleet scientists. And the Enterprise-D computer just made 5 clones of him for a video game. Hot damn, this system is scary powerful.

...Of course, in "Elementary, Dear Data", it accidentally created an ENTIRE SENTIENT MAN, just because Geordi asked it to troll Data. And it let that creation seize the rest of the computer with steampunk levers and nearly kill everyone. Again, why don't they have basic code permissions in place to prevent stuff like this? And yes, I know the answer is this was written in the 80s by people who wrote it on typewriters.

And this comes up again in Season 6 in Episode 12, "Ship in a Bottle", where Moriarty breaks out of his digital prison and attacks them again. And tries to force them to make him real! And they only stop him then by tricking him into trapping himself inside a Space iPad!

Starfleet. For God's sake. Basic security protocols, my dudes!

All this said, the Moriarty thing only happened because Data and Geordi were messing around with the computer, and this cowboy mess only happened because...Data and Geordi were messing around with the computer. That's twice now, guys. Picard should at least give them a stern talking-to. You'd think the Chief Engineer and the Android would be smarter about their computer shenanigans. But here we are.

Here we motherfucking are.

Some people are always playing chicken with the train.

[mosneakers]

Coraleye: And so the the little boy realized that because he gave the little frog the freedom to leave, it eventually found its way back home; and the little boy and the little frog lived happily ever after. [Whispers] The end. Good night, sweetheart.

Coraleye gets up to put the storybook away, then curls up into Tycho's lap. Coraleye: What are you thinking about? [Smiles]

Tycho: Well, I was just thinking... I had a feeling Pierce liked you.

Coraleye: [Laughs and playfully taps Tycho on the shoulder] Tycho! Were you listening to us?

Tycho: Only partially. I was on plant-child duty, and that took priority. I thought he and Janie were together?

Coraleye is half distracted as she stands up to find her phone. Tycho hangs on to her, not ready to let go yet.

The game decides that Tycho "likes physical intimacy"

Coraleye: [Disappointed frown] I know. It really seemed like they were such a good match. Tycho: And the wedding... They introduced each other to their families! Coraleye: RIGHT? They were clearly so into each other, the chemistry was palpable! Tycho: You know they got a room together...

The game decides that Tycho "likes gossip" Coraleye: They had to have. But no, apparently they spent all last summer together, she came up and stayed with him and his family in Brindleton Bay. He was even going to... [Coraleye's eyes widen and she grimaces painfully] consider maybe even proposing, but... Janie eventually ended things after she went home because the long distance wasn't working for her, and she wanted to stay in Moonlight Falls. Pierce wasn't willing to leave, and says he thinks a Brindleton Bay girl would be better for him anyway. [Sigh] ...and that's when he said it...

Pierce: So, this is going to sound crazy... I know we're friends and all but...well...okay here it goes, I HAVE A CRUSH ON YOU. Phew. Okay. It's out there. Um... so... would you want to go out with me sometime? You're super cool. I really want to hang out with you more...? Tycho: Well, did you tell him you're my Brindleton Bay girl?

Coraleye: I told him I'm taken, and that we're together, yes. And that I'm actually still married to Mira anyway, ha.

Tycho: Right, that. Did he take it well?

Coraleye: Yeah. Pierce has never been pushy. I told him that I'm also really flattered and stuff, but I think we should just be friends. We agreed to pretend it never happened.

Tycho: [Relieved smile] Well, best of luck to him in his attempt to pretend that never happened. But, I'm glad he took it well. This happens to you a lot, doesn't it?

Coraleye: What? Nah. Just... enough to know the protocol. [Shrugs and smiles] Oh lookie here! [Points at text message on phone] Looks like Alice and Sage are home.

Sage: Wow, they're all sound asleep. You two make a dang good team! Alice: Thanks for watching them again. We totally needed this time away. I hope they didn't make you never want to have kids, I know they're a handful.

Coraleye: Actually, quite the opposite! [Glances at Tycho] After tonight I'm even more certain babies will be in my future. Right, Tyke?

Tycho: ??? Yes, yeah! Yes.

Alice: [Shocked/excited gasp] Oh my mod, babe! Wouldn't they make such adorable babies? How far in the future are we talking? Sage: Okay calm down. We can't just ask others about their plans to have children... But yes theywouldbesofreakingcute, ahhh!

[Hysterical laughter]

This Pierce arc wasn't supposed to happen, but when the game made him send Coraleye a text confessing that he had a crush, we had to take a bit of a tangent. For character building, of course! Now back to our regularly scheduled programming (coming tomorrow 😘)

Previous

[recurring-polynya]

Gin and Isshin open Senkaimon during Deicide, they skim over the cool stick-the-sword-in-the-air bit in the manga but they show it for Gin in the anime

Thank you for this tip! The Deicide chapters are not ones I habitually revisit, and now I have Questions.

(from episode 301)

Is there a reason people are constantly asking their subordinates to open gates for them? Is it tradition? Just an asshole boss power move? The number one thing I wanted to know when I looked this clip up was whether or not one had to be in shikai to perform this move, but Gin is not. (seems like this might be kinda hard for Byakuya if this was the case altho I'm sure he would come up with some extremely extra method of forming his petals into a very fancy, pink key or something). It's probably best that shikai is not required, because it seems like that would be a problem for the low-level shinigami that seem to get sent on Living World missions.

If you had asked me to explain how this worked before these additional examples, I would have guessed that the zanpakutou performs a form of biometric (soul-o-metric? reishi-metric?) identification. Ideally, the boundary between worlds is warded, probably by Squad 12, and there is a white list as to who is allowed to gate into Soul Society, but even if that's technologically infeasible, there should at very least be a log somewhere. It obviously can't be the first case. Taking away senkaimon privileges is the very first thing I would do when a captain defects. (There was also that whole scene in the Soul Society arc right after Urahara sends the Karakura Kids to Soul Society and he touches the gate and it zaps him? What was that, then?) Even if it's just a log, you would think that Isshin might be a little reluctant to use this method, or possibly that there would be some blowback from "SHIBA ISSHIN - MIA - 20 YEARS" really ought to cause someone to get an email alert somewhere. Maybe Kyouraku slipped Akon a cool 20 to "accidentally" delete the logs, who the hell knows? Hold up-- I just read back a few pages, and while it appears Isshin is ultimately the one who opens the senkaimon, he initially tries to make Ichigo do it. It never explains this, but I do not for a second believe that Ichigo knows how to open a gate, based on the fact that Ichigo never seems to know any of the sundry workaday things you probably learn in shinigami school. However, does Isshin ask him to do it to avoid traceability, or is this just another example of "opening the door is the subordinate/son's job"??

3. I thought that summoning a senkaimon this way would send you directly to Soul Society, and that traveling through the dangai was only necessary for cases involving matter conversion. It's a little vague in Urahara's two-gates-taped-together example, but Rukia makes it pretty clear in this scene from the Advance Team arc, which is how Orihime ends up getting kidnapped.

Both Gin & Aizen and Isshin & Ichigo end up traveling through the dangai, and none of them get butterflies. Is this because they don't have proper permissions to open a gate directly to Soul Society? Are senkaimon an acknowledgement based transfer protocol? Hell Butterflies are an ACK and the dangai is the NAK? I can imagine that on a day Soul Society is more functional, a failed zanpakutou checksum would alert some special team of Squad 2 ninja who would meet you at your destination, where you could either provide a different form of credentials (or presumably be taken into custody)?

You know, this ended up a lot more coherent than I expected it to. Hopefully someone else will send me an example from the Bount arc or something that will make all of this nonsense again.

[zafirosreverie]

You belong to us (Proxima x Reader)

a/n: I did this in a hurry, but I hope you still like it!

for @1ntr0v3rt3dsna1l 

_______________________

You sighed as you tried to keep your eyes open and hold back a yawn, praying you wouldn't fall asleep in class, you didn't need another strike just months away from finishing your master's degree.

It had been a long time since you had stopped paying attention, you would simply wait for one of your classmates to lend you their notes later, although from their faces, you doubted that any of them were understanding something. That was what happened when you go to the same school where Crabbles taught, that man could make anything sound insufferably boring.

"Psst, Y/N" someone tapped your shoulder

You turned to look at Miranda with a tired look. You liked her, she was a good friend and the only one you really got along with in the whole school. But she was also a bit... quirky. Her mind was always off the charts and she couldn't go anywhere without her comics. You assumed it was nice, to be able to live in a world where heroes were real and life was a little more fun.

"Did you see the news this morning?" Miranda whispered, almost as if she was conspiring.

"You know I don't watch the news, Mir" you answered "nothing interesting ever happens anyway"

"Oh, but today it did happen!"

"What? Is the president's cat missing again?" you said sarcastically

"A ring appeared in the sky" Miranda replied, not bothered by your tone.

"A what?" you frowned

"A ring! The police say it was just some tank residue from an airplane and the refraction of light made the cameras pick it up a different color, but people are saying it was a portal!"

She seemed strangely happy for someone who was talking about an event that was totally impossible for science and that if it were true, the whole world should probably start to worry.

"Maybe you should stop reading so many comics" you said

"Oh come on, you can't tell me it wouldn't be cool to witness an alien invasion"

"Yeah, sure, except in that case, we'd probably be very, very dead."

"At least we'd leave in a cool way"

"Sometimes you worry me, Mir" you smiled

Your friend just playfully stuck her tongue out at you and turned her attention back to her phone, probably looking for more news about that supposed portal. You envied her being able to distract herself from the world so easily.

You looked out the window, imagining what that "residue of an airplane tank" would have been like, perhaps you would have seen it if you had left home a little earlier.

Without realizing it, your mind began to imagine people in iron armor coming out of the portal, or men turning into big green monsters, sorcerers with weird necklaces that controlled time, and many other things.

"I have to stop watching movies with Mir" you thought

However, you did not have time to lose yourself in your thoughts again. At that moment, the ground began to shake, the walls moved and the ceiling lamps almost fell on three of your classmates. It was a matter of seconds before chaos reigned.

The professor, to his credit, tried to calm everyone down and enforce earthquake protocols, but the truth was, no one was listening. You turned to reach Miranda and pull her under one of the desks.

"great way to die isn't it?" you said upset

"I preferred the aliens" she replied

Right at that moment, a blue light blinded you for a few seconds, before a huge portal opened in the middle of the room. Miranda gasped and tightened her grip on your hand, swallowing back a cry.

"Did you have to say it, Mir?" you whispered, but still clung closer to her as well.

A tall woman with blue hair walked out of the portal and...were those horns?! She was terrifying, imposing and... strangely familiar? You didn't know why, but you felt like you knew her from somewhere, maybe in a dream?

The woman's red eyes scanned the room, as if she was searching for something…or someone. You swallowed hard as her gaze locked on you and she smirked.

"Y/N" she said "get up" she ordered

How did she know your name?! Miranda looked at you fearfully and the way she clung to your arm didn't seem to please the woman at all, so you did as she ordered, not wanting to risk your friend's life.

"You're just like her" the woman said, taking your chin and examining you from head to toe "...you'll do."

You were uncomfortably aware of the stares from your classmates, but you didn't have time to pay attention to them. The words of this terrifyingly pretty woman made no sense to you.

"W-what do you want from me?" you whispered, feeling like you were walking a tightrope

"Y/N...the one from my world, my Y/N...died" she said dryly, but you could catch a glimmer of sadness in her voice "And our daughter, Renma, needs a new mom. You're coming with me"

"W-what?!" you opened your eyes wide

She just grabbed your wrist tightly and started pulling you into the portal. You could hear Miranda calling you, but the woman's grip was too strong for you to break free, besides, your mind was trying to catch up with everything.

"Y/N!!!"

As soon as you passed through the portal, Miranda's voice disappeared, just like your only way to return to your universe. It took you a moment to react and to realize that you were in some kind of strange ship and your heart skipped a beat. You had to be dreaming, this had to be a nightmare.

"Renma will be here any minute" the woman told you "I suggest you put a smile on your face and act like you are a loving mother if you don't want to get in trouble"

"Where am I?" you asked

"In your new home"

"I need to go back" you said "I don't belong here, I don't even know who you are"

The woman looked at you with an impassive face, but in her eyes shone the same sadness that you had heard in her voice a few moments before. At that point it first occurred to you that maybe the daughter she was talking about wasn't the only one who needed a new Y/N.

"You're not coming back" she told you coldly "this is your new home and you'd better get used to it"

Her tone really said that there was no room for negotiations. And to be honest, what did you know about ships, space or aliens? Anything! That was Miranda's specialty, so it's not like you had much hope of escaping either.

But on second thought. Would you want to do it? Sure, you would miss your house, your plants, your city but... what did you really have? No family or friends besides Mir and you weren't going to drag her into this madness.

Deciding that your best option at that moment was to humor her and do as you were told while you found a way to return to or wake up from the nightmare, you worked up the courage to speak again.

"...at least tell me your name" you said "I-it would be ridiculous not to know who you are if we're supposed to have a daughter together" you clarified when she looked at you suspiciously.

The woman studied you again, sweeping her gaze over your entire body, more carefully than when she did it the first time. She at least seemed to find something that she liked because she smiled slightly before looking back at you.

"Proxima Midnight" she said "You're my wife, you were training when the Nova attacked so we'll have to train harder... I hope you're in good physical condition because I'm not going to lose another Y/N"

You opened your mouth to ask but just at that moment the doors of the room you were in opened and a little girl ran in. You didn't even have to ask who she was, because she was the very image of the woman in front of you.

"Mom!" she smiled when she saw you and immediately ran to hug your legs.

Feeling Proxima's penetrating gaze on you, you bent down to take her and let her hide her face in your neck, even though her little horns bothered you a little.

"Hello little dragon" you said, not knowing where you got the nickname from, it just felt natural.

However, Proxima seemed to like it, so you didn't think much of it. The woman moved closer to you and put a hand on your shoulder so she could whisper in your ear, sending a shiver down your spine.

"You belong to us now"

[l0serloki]

Day Off

Chamber x Reader

Genre : Fluff

Summary : Reader finally gets their day off from work. Who knows what will happen when they venture out to the lake?

WC : 800

A/N : It’s 4 am? Time to write brainrotting fluff and cheese. Also artist!chamber lives in my head rent free.

- - - - - -

Today was your day off from protocol and you knew exactly where you were going to spend it. There was a lake not far from base and you were dying to lay down and relax. Maybe even draw or read if you had the energy. This was the first time in months that you were able to feel free from the shackles of agent missions and supporting your friends. It took a toll on your mental health and thankfully Viper had noticed and given you the day off. You loved your friends and helping others but sometimes you have to help yourself first. 

You soon had arrived at said lake with your picnic blanket and bag in hand. Laying down on the soft grass, you look up at the sky. You could always count on it to be constant, no matter what part of the world you were in. Feeling the breeze against your skin you close your eyes and let yourself rest. 

You were stirred awake when you felt a person draw near and jolted up. You turned to check who had walked over and met a familiar face. Your dear friend Chamber smiled and sat down next to you. “Seems you have taste Y/N. I came here to sketch and be alone and yet it seems I cannot get rid of you. Quite the beautiful spot, no?” You nodded back at him as you both glanced out at the body of water. “Very beautiful indeed. And if anything I could say you’re just following me Chamber. Not that I mind much or blame you. I am pretty cool.” You could feel yourself beam when you heard his hearty chuckle. “Ah well I will have to agree there. You are very talented Y/N.” 

Chamber always had a way with words and you knew he was a sweet talker. Whenever he made comments in the past you had rubbed them off and told yourself not to get attached. But as missions went on and you grew closer to the Frenchman you learned more. He didn’t compliment something unless he meant it and he wasn’t as cold hearted as the others made him out to be. Yes, he has his mistakes - much more than he was probably willing to tell you. But then again, didn’t you all? Vincent had slowly warmed your heart and you only ever wanted the best for him. With his random appearance today, you could only imagine what dates would be like with him if you ever made that jump. 

“No no keep looking that way dear. Turn back to stare off at the lake.” You felt Chamber’s pencil tap your cheek as you moved back. “Are you drawing me Vince?” The thought alone of being his muse made your stomach do flips. “Well of course my sweet, I did come out here to draw some beautiful scenery after all. I should be done in just one minute.” You stood your body still as you waited for him to say otherwise.

“Okay, I am done. You can move now ma belle.” You turned to meet his gaze and then looked down. “Can I see the drawing Vince? Don’t feel forced if it’s personal though.” He moved closer so your shoulders were touching and laid the sketchbook in your lap. The drawing itself was impeccable and you were shocked to notice how much detail it had for just a few minutes. “Wow.. This is amazing. You’re so talented Vin.” You turned to look at him and almost gasped at how close he was.

“Excuse my bluntness Y/N. I can’t help but want to kiss you. May I?” Chamber’s eyes felt like they were boring a hole through your skull and it set you on fire. “Yes. A million times yes.” A small laugh left him as you both leaned in. Your lips met and Chamber had set a slow tempo. He ran his thick fingers through your hair as you scooted closer in need of more. You ran your hands down his simple button down and grazed his jean clad thighs. He was so warm to the touch and you never wanted to break away from him. 

After what seemed like forever and only one second at the same time, Chamber broke the kiss. You sighed, putting your head in his neck and his arms held you tight. “Maybe fate is on our side mon trésor. After all, it has given me our first date today. That is if you will have me?” Your hands gripped tighter at his shirt and you smiled against his flesh. “You are stuck with me, remember?” 

Today was definitely a good day off..

[thats-it-im-fallingdown]

So I’ve finally finished season 4 of Clone Wars! Since the episode order is mostly lining up with the chronology, I can put my thoughts down into something resembling organized.

Mon Cala arc

-can that prince please not pronounce his own homeworld’s name like that? he calls it moan cala and i hate it

-it wasn’t necessary for the plot to work, but I’m curious about the history between the cala and the quarren. i wish we got some more details on why relations are tense

-the animators were clearly out of their depth (ha) with the setting. some parts felt like they didn’t know how to translate the usual fighting to an aquatic setting

-the story was satisfying, but I doubt this is anyone’s favorite set of episodes

-i can feel the gungans growing on me. not sure how I feel about that

Shadow Warrior

-how dare this show make gungans tolerable. coming into my home and making me okay with jar jar fucking binks

R2 and C3P0 duology

-some fun moments!

-would show it to my young cousins but at my age, it goes on a little too long. I’m not looking for/expecting deep meditations on war (American War by Omar el Akkad if that’s what you are interested in), but this is more in the kids show category than the family show one most episodes fall under

Umbara arc

-this is what I mean by being a family show vs a kids show

-I love this arc

-and Rex really gets fleshed out as a character in this one

-i didn’t get why people hated krell so much. i get it now. he’s like the umbridge of Star wars

-the tech designs for umbara and umbaran tech are pretty slick, i hope they get a cameo in live action some day

-the krell twist was. okay ig? it comes out of nowhere a bit. sure, he’s very strict on protocol and has a bone to pick with clones, but it’s said explicitly, more than once, that he gets results as a commander (paid for in casualties, but still successful). him being a relentless opportunist gets away from the clone thing, and i think digging into that could have been really interesting

Zygerrian Slave Empire

-hm

-not fond of the orientalist imagery in this one. won’t elaborate. i’ll say it’s personal for me and leave it at that

-how Anakin’s history as someone who was once literally enslaved should have been explored more

-this arc has its redeeming moments, but it also has a lot of wasted potential

-I might make a more in depth post someday, I have a lot of half formed thoughts about this one

Friend in Need

-this was a rewatch for me, I saw it when I was getting Mandalorian context for the Grogu and his working single father show

-I notice now that except for Bo Katan, deathwatch is all male. and to me, were implied to be sexually abusing the local women (the village leader mentions them having “taken” their women) maybe that’s what was meant by that infamous “they all died off years ago” re: exile of the warriors. no women, no offspring.

Crisis on Naboo arc

-ooh, I wish we get some more time on how Anakin was affected by Obi Wans faked death

-man, cad bane looks stupid without his hat. cover up that dome baby boy, you aren’t ventress, you cant pull the bald look off

-cad bane saving kenobi/hardeen in the Box. he’s a bad guy all right, but he isn’t entirely without honor. love that trope

-and I love palpatine’s scheming! glad to see a senior citizen staying active and involved

Ventress/Savage Oppress/Maul arc

-i love Assaj Ventress so much it’s unreal

-idc that the nightsisters are on the dark side. i love sisterhoods, i love witches, i love covens, it broke my heat to watch the separatists massacre them. at least mother talzin is still alive.

-i have so much Feeling for ventress. betrayed and abandoned again and again only to lose her sisters, and to feel like it’s her fault

-saving that girl from a forced marriage… ventress I love you.

-they should have let maul keep the spider legs, they looked cool

-I didn’t get the obsession with maul. I don’t really share it, but I do get it now. the raw drive for vengeance, his madness. I’m looking forward to where the writers take him

-obi wan and ventress are a great combo, their dialogue has a lot of chemistry

[bikananjarrus]

i rewatched episode 4 of ahsoka (bc i wasn’t super focused the first time) so here’s a little review in bullet point form!

(this got kinda long i’m so sorry. i love complaining lol)

starting with things i liked:

-finally seeing sabine actually fighting in her mandalorian armor! it felt like the sabine we know and love

-the ghost!!!!!! THE GHOST MY BELOVED!!!!!!! prettiest ship in star wars fr

-seeing jacen again! literally he is my baby boy 💚 (also the “mom…I’ve got a bad feeling” like yeah 😭)

-ahsoka pulling the ‘obiwan dealing the killing blow to maul a la twin suns’ move on marrok was good and the fight choreography with baylan was solid i thought. you could feel the weight behind him and ahsoka’s moves

-baylan and shin’s outfits are so cool

-i like sabine’s move to go with baylan and shin a lot

-the wbw looks quite pretty in live action, i will admit. like how the path glitters like stars and that fade in shot from the water to the stars? very good

-anakin!!!!!! HAYDEN ANAKIN HI BESTIE HELLO HI! also hearing hayden anakin say “snips” 😭😭😭

things that i didn’t like and am here to complain about:

-ahsoka telling sabine that if they can’t get the map back they should destroy it, and thus destroy the chance at finding Ezra ever. Now. This is practical, and I don’t really dislike it for that reason. And I think as far as it goes for Ahsoka’s character, trying to fall back on old jedi ideals of not choosing attachments, choosing the greater good, this also makes sense. it just, idk. there’s something about it that is irking me

-the absolutely terrible writing for hera’s role as general. there was that whole line about “i’m a general, nothing’s classified to me” in ep2, and now with the disobeying orders and telling that lieutenant to cover for her and telling jacen that when he’s a general he can disobey orders too. that would literally just not fly in a military organization. and character-wise, hera is all about protocol and setting a good example in the rebellion, this is NOT hera and it just makes her look bad.

-baylan’s random “witchcraft” comment towards morgan. a) wouldn’t it have made more sense to put a line like that in ep2 when she first showed him the sphere? and b) just felt like a weird comment in general? the nightsisters have a relationship to the force too, and baylan is old enough and seems old school and sentimental enough to respect that, not look down on it. Just odd.

-the dialogue in general this ep just felt so clunky and shallow to me. There was no depth to hardly any of the conversations, even ones that should’ve had depth. I thought ep3 improved on the dialogue slightly, actually putting emotion into, and making it feel like the characters had relationships with one another. and in this ep it just felt so rehearsed again.

-relatedly, sabine kept saying things in her dialogue that gave away key information (“go get the map”, hera’s name, etc.) and it was so frustrating! on a character level, sabine is smarter than that. on a technical/craft level, the dialogue is just not thought out.

-also related to the lack of emotion, it was written in a way that we get almost no reaction from sabine when ahsoka says that they may have to leave ezra behind for good (despite the fact that we find out later in the ep that ahsoka let sabine down in some capacity when it came to sabine helping her family). And when it came to sabine’s family, almost no reaction there either! absolutely no shade to natasha, i think she’s doing a fine job. i just don’t think filoni knows how to write sabine. Or women in general.

-not sure how i feel about the rest of baylan and ahsoka’s confrontation. i feel like we’re supposed to feel more, especially with the “anakin spoke highly of you” / “everyone in the Order knew anakin skywalker” and baylan mentioning ahsoka “abandoning” anakin (which, starting to beat the dead horse with that one filoni. that theme has come up before and been done better, ie when it was done in rebels!). like maybe if baylan and ahsoka had talked more about being masters themselves or the end of the clone war (since they’re both survivors), something! we could maybe establish more of a connection, since it seems like they’re supposed to be fools (like sabine and shin are being set up to be).

-marrok. The move ahsoka pulled on him was cool, but otherwise, why was he here? Also reanimated nightsister or some other dathomir ghost?? I’m guessing that’s what the green smoke was? weird. fine, i guess. But just like what was the point of having marrok around when we already have baylan and shin and morgan?

-“your legacy, like your master’s, is one of death and destruction.” ???? i’m not sure exactly what this is supposed to mean????? any harm ahsoka has caused (intentionally or unintentionally) in her lifetime is nowhere near, oh idk, the fucking child murder???? and murder of all the jedi???

-the dialogue in this ep is just SO baffling.

-ahsoka automatically assuming sabine was dead when she saw shin (like girl can’t you sense that sabine isn’t dead??) and then getting all angry when she fought back at baylan again. it’s giving copy-pasted kanan (briefly) thinking ezra was dead in fire across the galaxy, but the worse version. kanan did it better <333

-called this before the show even came out, but i fucking knew filoni was just going to write off Sabine’s family as dead (if he mentioned them at all, which tbh i’m a little surprised he didn’t forget about them entirely). i knew it was coming and YET. still disappointing bc i know they’re not going to address the deaths of her family or Sabine’s trauma in a meaningful, well-written way 🙃🥲

-hera being told that the enemy has a giant hyperspace ring and then flying right in its path and then not moving or telling her pilots to take evasive action when it was powering up. fucking ooc she’s a better pilot than that

[timeslugarts]

An Eleven x reader DW fanfiction

You can also find it on AO3

Chapter 1. Queen of Earth

You were going bowling, you loved bowling!

Not only did you love bowling, you were good at it too. So good in fact, you won 3rd place in the jr's tournament back in 2005.

You sighed as you looked at the traffic before you. Why were you so nervous about going bowling?

The cars in front crawled forward slightly, and you groaned along with the sound of the breaks.

"Why the hell is this traffic so bad? I have to go bowling!" You screamed at the vehicle in front of you and as such it proceeded to jump about 20 feet in the air, flip over and land in the bush on the side of the road. You screamed again, but for an entirely different reason.

You stared horrified and very unsure of what just happened as a man in a tweed jacket threw open your car door and politely, but very quickly, asked if you could drive away from here.

"Yes, yes I can." Nodding your head you threw the car in reverse, pulled the most incredible 10 point turn and were on your way. Heading away from the chaos, and heading away from the bowling alley.

The man who now sat in your passenger seat had a fist full of wires in one hand and a large metal cylinder in the other. He was tinkering vigorously with both objects, trying (and seemingly failing) to put both items together.

"So… what was that?" You ask, being suddenly smacked with the reality of a car exploding in front of your eyes and an unknown man with a suspiciously bomb shaped object in his hands. Your stomach started to churn.

"Sontaran army has come to Earth to take over, they keep saying something about how humans have stolen the red orb-" The man began to flitter his fistful of wires around, he was talking so fast and you only understood about half of the words coming out of his mouth. "-which doesn't even make sense because how would you people even get ahold of their precious relic, and WHEN did they even get a precious relic."

Ok, army, alien, hidden object; you played enough video games to get that information out of the man and his ramblings. He had now started talking about being amazed that they didn't land in Cardiff because "aliens seem to like Cardiff."

"And, then… so," you took a deep breath trying to keep your head clear, "does that make you an alien as well?"

The man perked his head up. "Oh you're quick, I like that."

"Well, you didn't exactly make it hard, all things considering." You glanced at the man and saw that he was grinning from ear to ear, "what's all that in your hands then? Something to stop this army? How do I even know I can trust you? What if you were the one that blew up the car in the first place?"

"Alright, alright, those are all very good questions," he spoke a bit less rushed now, trying to be more gentle and a little less, 'scary man in your car'. "Firstly this," he rattled the object in his hands, "is exactly to help stop the Sontarans, see they have to be in these metal suits to function properly on Earth, and these suits have exactly one weakness, a little hole in the back that allows them to breathe." He pointed to the spot right where his neck meets his back. "Now if I can set off this device it should, hypothetically, close off the hole and get them to return to their ships in a bit of a panic, and since I've already set up a teleportation protocol, as soon as they're all on board," he snapped his fingers. "They'll be right back to their home planet and won't know what hit them."

"Sontarans, cool." You licked your lips feeling the panic start to overwhelm you a little bit. Trying to focus on driving, and the strange man, and the words he was saying, IF they were even true. It was all getting a little overwhelming to say the least.

Still, without many other options, you pressed on. "I'm still unsure if I can trust you though, this is all very good and well, but it sounds a bit far fetched I mean-"

Never take your eyes off the road.

You had been looking at the man, or more so his bowtie, (eye Contact has never been your strong suit) when 12 large figures clad all in blue armor stepped out in front of your car.

The man, who was looking back at you, also did not notice the squad of people. That is until the car came to a screeching halt, throwing your head into the steering wheel, and the man's gadget into the windshield, shattering the item to pieces.

Your head hit hard. Fuzzy black spots appeared, and your vision was in a haze. A high pitched ringing in your ears as you tried to focus on what was happening. The doors to your car were being thrown open and you and the man were being dragged out.

In a flash you were somewhere else. Your stomach lurched again. What in the world? You tried to gain your bearings, you were still with the man, he was propped up next to you. Cuffed. You were also cuffed. And… you looked to your left and saw the most incredible site.

Earth.

Shit.

Looks like everything the man was saying was true.

In front of the two of you a line of the blue clad armor men stood, one of them stepped forward and removed his helm.

Ah a potato.

The man was definitely pretty potato looking.

"Doctor you and your companion," he glanced at you, "have been accused of Sontaran crimes and therefore will be put to Sontaran justice." The Sontaran man stood resolutely.

The others behind him began to chant.

Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha!

"Oi, oi, she is not my companion, leave her alone, she has nothing to do with me!" The man yelled, from his position.

"She aided in your escape, therefore she is your companion in crime."

"Ah well that is technically true, which makes that a bit of a problem…" he whispered more to himself than anything.

You leaned over, "what's Sontaran punishment?" Maybe it was just 30 days of community service? On an alien planet? Sounds like a dream.

"Death." He whispered back, "Sontaran are a military race, bred for conquering, they don't take prisoners."

Yeah that sounds about right.

"This mindless talking will cease!" The Sontaran roared, causing the two of you to flinch. "We will return soon to commence with the law."

Ah well that seems bad.

Your mind began to race as you tried to figure out the best mode of escape. The cuffs around your hand seemed "normal" and you could probably get out of them with a bit of force. Once out of the cuffs though, you really had no idea how you'd get off of an alien spaceship. Maybe destroy it? Ultimate hero sacrifice sort of thing?

You glanced at the man next to you, his mind also seemed to be racing. Hopefully he could get you off the ship.

Your friends were probably all bowling right now.

No time like the present, you began to work on removing your hands from the cuffs, tucking your thumbs in and pulling slowly. It hurt, sure, but probably not as bad as dying would. Finally your right hand popped out, only mild scraping.

"Yes!" You hissed standing up. Your friend stared at you in disbelief.

"Hey! How'd you do that?"

"Oh you know… skills." You shrugged with a sly grin.

"Excellent," he smiled broadly, "I need you to reach into my back pocket."

"You want me to WHAT!?" You stood looking at the man incredulously.

"Oh come on, life or death, life or death," he groaned. "Reach in, grab my screw driver, and just point it at the cuffs and think real hard about unlocking it."

Sighing, you reached in as fast as you could. Something was weird, it felt wrong. You snatched your hand back out just as fast.

"What in the?"

"Ah yes. Pockets, bigger on the inside."

"What the hell does that even mean!?" You reached back in and quickly discovered. You couldn't feel him, you couldn't really feel anything, it was like your hand was swirling in a void. After a second you found something. Hoping it was what you needed you wrapped your hands around it and pulled back out.

"Women's pants really need to take a lesson from whoever does your clothes. Is this it?"

The man chuckled. "Yes! Perfect, now just point and shoot, it's psychically linked and should do what you want it to."

You pointed the screwdriver at his cuffs and hit the button. A shrill ringing noise came from it and the cuffs popped open.

He hopped to his feet, rubbing at his sore wrists.

"Some screwdriver," you say as you hand it back to him.

"I know," he grinned yet again. The man couldn't stop smiling. "Here let's get the other one off of you." He gingerly took your wrist and used the screwdriver to open the other cuff, he seemed gentle with you which felt odd considering the circumstances.

"Now what do we do? Crash the ship so they can't take over the world?"

"Ah no, nothing so dramatic," he was giddy. He took your hand and ran to the door, using the screwdriver to open it up. "See now that we're on the ship we can just override the system and return them to it."

The two of you ran through some corridors to a room that was full of computers, they were blocky and big just like the people that created them.

"Oh the Sontarans, excellent conquerors terrible at everything else." He winked, "interior design isn't really their strong suit. All their ships look exactly the same."

He took his screwdriver and began to work, hitting buttons, buzzing things. You had no idea what was going on. Best bet was to stand watch, so you peaked your head out the door, and as if on cue a couple of soldiers were walking directly toward your room.

"Hey," you hissed "they're coming."

"What? Now?"

You threw your hands up, "yes now!"

"We should probably hide then."

You gave him a look that probably said something like, "no duh."

The both of you began to scramble for a hiding space, when finally he grabbed your wrist again and tugged you into a small space between two computer consoles. You were pressed tightly against him, hands pressed on his chest and his hands were wrapped protectively around your shoulders.

His scent was warm and musky, like an old library in the sun. You made a small mental note of it, but as of right now there were more pressing matters.

The two of you peeked around the corner as the Sontarans walked into the computer room and began pressing buttons.

"Ha!" The man yelled in your ear. "That's exactly what I needed, Sontaran DNA to unlock the controls on your computer and-" he grabbed your shoulder and squeezed. You looked up, and there was that grin again, his eyes were shining as they met yours.

In that same flash of light and nauseating jump, you were back on terra. The sun bright in your eyes and the wind cool on your skin. The man grabbed your hand and took off.

You ran with him, not really sure where you were going or why, but you ran anyway.

"See I had already reversed the teleportation protocols on their mainframe. However the actual system was locked out because it needed some sort of bio signature."

"So when they tried to teleport down, it actually teleported us down-"

"And teleported the rest of them up!"

"That was quite clever."

"Oh I know." He laughed, and you joined in. A feeling of freedom and excitement had overcome you. You couldn't believe that just a few hours ago you were stuck in insufferable traffic and anxious over the idea of going bowling.

"Where exactly are we going now?"

"Back to my Tardis, to make sure they never come back."

"Your wh-'' your words were cut short as your friend slid to a stop on his heels. Before you were a small squadron of Sontarans, stockier than the previous ones you had seen and they were wearing red, not the blue you had grown used to.

"Delta X, the elite group sent to take control of any situation." He whispered, "this might be a problem."

Well that didn't sound good. He tugged at your arm and pulled you behind a nearby car… YOUR car. He had known exactly where he was going this whole time.

You watched as he picked up the pieces of the broken machine that were scattered about the passenger seat.

"What do you need me to do?" He glanced at you with a small smile tugging at his lips because of your question. Of course you'd offer to help, who did he think you were?

No one.

He didn't know who you were.

"Nothing, hopefully they didn't notice us and I can get this thing working in time." He whispered back.

"Earthling scum, show yourselves before the glory of the Sontaran empire!" One of Delta X shouted.

"I think it's safe to say they noticed us."

"Shoot, I'm almost done finishing the antiport, I just need a bit more time!" He groaned flicking switches and shoving wires into ports.

You weren't sure what to do, but you knew you needed to do something. Anything.

You stood up suddenly, hands in the air.

"What on Earth are you doing?!"

"Just shut up and keep working on the thing." You hissed as he tugged on your pant leg trying to drag you down.

"Earthling scum, report to me and we will deal you an honorable execution for the Sontaran Empire."

You were scared, that's for sure, but you know… saving the world and all that. You had to think of something.

"Of course great Sontaran, I am but your humble servant." You took a few hesitant steps forward. "We as the human race would be honored to submit to your… glory"

You stumbled. Your friend looked on in awe as you continued.

"And who are you, puny human, to serve our glorious empire?" You couldn't tell if he was going with your lie or not. He looked somewhat angry, which seemed to be his constant state.

"Well… I am… of course the Queen of Earth." Yeah that sounded good right? Empires and queens and all that. The Sontaran looked… interested, which was very good. At least distract them for a little longer.

You glanced back at your friend, he was still plugging away, even more furiously than before.

"Yes, Queen of Earth here. We have much to offer your glory, many riches and… uh… land."

You took a few more steps forward trying to look as confident as you possibly could.

"We would love nothing more than to be slaves to your people."

"Ah, this is very interesting," the Sontaran stroked his chin with his grubby fingers, "surrendering to our glory is perhaps your only option because we would in fact destroy you."

You flinched at that. Jeez these guys really were all about conquering. Sure they would've loved Atilla.

"However-"

"However? No 'however', we have so much to offer you, like ducks and airplanes and… and bandaids!" You were panicking, losing they're attention. Shoot!

"Silence human! Your band aids mean nothing to us, you will be disposed of." The Sontaran flicked those same grubby fingers and the other next to him pointed his wrist at you.

You squeezed your eyes closed, very aware of what was about to happen.

A beat passed. And then another.

You dared to peek. They were gone. Vanished. You whipped your head around and saw your friend standing there with that big grin on his dumb face. He held his tiny machine up and rattled it.

You couldn't believe it! The two of you won! You giggled like a mad man and ran straight into his arms. The two of you bouncing lightly.

"You did it!" You squeaked.

"I know! You did it!" He yelled back.

"I know! That was incredible!"

"I know!"

After a few more bouncing seconds the two of you stilled.

"Now I have to make sure these goobs never come back. I'll be back in a mo!" He said as his hands gripped your shoulders, a big smile on his face.

Before you could even say anything he ran off. Long legs taking off in an unknown direction.

Man that guy could run, you thought watching him disappear. And then it hit you, you didn't even know his name.

Was he actually coming back? You looked at your car, it seemed fine, but maybe you should wait.

Would he really be back?

You bit your lip. Maybe wait an hour? You checked your watch, bowling was definitely out of the question.

You sat in the grass beside your car. Breathing deeply and mulling over today's events. It didn't feel real, it felt like something that only happens in a fairy tale. He left you though, instead of taking you away, like a normal fairy tale prince would.

The night air started to chill, but you continued to sit there gazing at the stars, remembering how you'd just been up. Maybe you were losing your head.

As 1AM came around you decided to get in your car and return home. It was as messy as you had left it, but it was warm and yours.

You made yourself a quick bite to eat, downed a glass of water, laid on the couch and promptly fell asleep.

Bzz. Bzz.

Work.

You can't even believe your phone was still alive.

Had it really all been a dream?

You contemplated everything as you performed your normal morning routines. Body moving on instinct. Showering, brushing your teeth, changing your clothes.

You stopped and studied your reflection in the mirror. You didn't look any different, and yet it felt like everything you were had changed.

What else were you supposed to do other than what you've always done.

You left for work feeling a little more hollow than usual. You waved hi to your friends as you entered. You're sure they would notice your mood shift, it had been only a day since they'd seen you last.

"I can't believe you flaked on us again last night." Eve said as you clocked in. "We even agreed on something you like to do!"

"Listen, I didn't flake, I swear I got caught in some… pretty nasty traffic." Not totally a lie, "I was actually out all night."

"Oh. Is that why you look like… that?"

Now it was your turn to roll your eyes. "Thanks."

The little bell in your shop dinged as a customer entered. You looked up from where you had been scrubbing the counter.

It was him.

"I came back for you! Where'd you go?" He asked incredulously, as if you had been the one that vanished.

"What do you mean!? I waited till well past one in the morning! Was I supposed to wait all night?" He bit his lip at that. You smirked knowing you had won the small argument.

He waved his hands vigorously, dismissing the conversation. "Come with me."

"Where?"

"Everywhere."

"What does that mean?"

He grinned, "You're going to have to find out." He held out his hand. You looked at it for a second, and then checked behind you. Eve was busy doing… whatever. She'd be fine if you left, it was a slow day.

You smiled and took his hand.

Before anyone had a chance to notice the two of you had run out the shop. You didn't know where you were going yet again, but you didn't care. You just knew it was going to be an adventure.

Before long he had begun to slow and looming in front of you was a large blue box.

"So that?" You weren't sure what you were looking at.

"It's my spaceship!" He said excitedly. He snapped his fingers and the doors swung open like magic.

He had walked in and you chose to follow.

It was incredible, massive, and warmly lit. You couldn't believe it. He looked at you with an eagerness that you couldn't pin down.

He was showing off. Good to know aliens and humans really weren't that different. Or at least he wasn't that different.

"Well this is new." His face had and you couldn't help but laugh.

"You're supposed to say it's bigger on the inside, everyone says it's bigger on the inside!" His face turned frumpy and he crossed his arms as you shrugged and mouthed a silent sorry.

"I do have one question for you, if we're going to be adventuring together I should probably know your name." You had taken a few more steps inside the box, you were now standing next to the center console.

His face softened.

"Ah that would be important," he clicked his tongue. "I'm the Doctor."

"The Doctor?" You hesitated a little confused, "Doctor who?"

DOCTOR WHO THEME INTENSIFIES.

[southernmermaidsgrotto]

Hello, I need some help and I think you might have some answers? I went to the river early yesterday and found a bunch of things that the water washed up like jewelry, little statues of elephants and buddha, a statue of a God(?) that says Chango Machu, religious memorabilia and a little red satchet. I got so excited that I picked them all up, thinking this was completely random luck that I found cool stuff. I looked inside the satchet when I got home and there are things that I’m 99% sure are from a spell someone casted- a chocolate heart, coin with the serenity prayer, little clock, tiny metal horse shoe, animal fur etc. I didn’t think twice and threw them out. I’m now realizing I might have done something really bad. Did I mess with this person’s ritual? Am I cursed? I’m completely lost on what to do.

To add on the the previous ask, I still have some of the statues and jewelry. Also, please pardon my ignorance, I searched “Bruja�� on tumblr because a lot of the items are clearly from someone of latin heritage and you’re the first blog that showed up. I apologize in advance for anything I said that might offensive.

"I got so excited that I picked them all up, thinking this was completely random luck that I found cool stuff"

Well you should know better than that. In absolutely no situation is it correct to just pick up whatever things you find laying on the streets unless it seems to be something someone clearly lost and you intend to give it back. But if it's a bunch of spiritual looking stuff? DON'T TOUCH IT. Specially if you find it in your front yard/porch or the entrance to your house or job, or any other place you commonly go to. Specially not in a graveyard either. I'm worried that nowadays people don't often get proper spiritual education as the first thing you get told by anyone ever is NEVER TOUCH ANYTHING IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHO PUT IT THERE OR WHY. It's as simple as don't get candy from strangers in the streets istg

I have an "am i cursed" post coming up but it's long and I thought I'd put here the main points in the meanwhile.

Unless you were the specific target of that working or there was a clause added to it so that if anybody interferes with it, they'd face consequences, you should be fine... but,

if the working involves calling on, or requesting the aid of, certain patron saints, spirits, entities, gods, etc. like the Orishas, for example, you're risking disrespecting that spirit orisha and thus facing repercussions due to that offense.

What should you do then? get rid of it. PUT. IT. BACK. right where you found it. Cleanse yourself (do a good, deep, powerful bath, just in case) and cleanse your home (if you think something could've followed you in...) then DIVINE. If you trust your own divination abilities, do that, but I recommend:

Consult with a priest of the faith involved to know what the next steps should be. Could be a santería priest, a babalawo, whomever respectable authority of that specific faith (in this case, a faith where changó/shangó is present, thus, orisha faiths) you have access to. Santería, Lukumi, Ifá, Isese, etc. African Traditional and Diaspora Religions. Request a consultation with a Priest or Priestess regarding your spiritual health and ask about this specific situation, they would be able to tell you very specific answers and protocols regarding your current situation and how to move forwards, and how to avoid getting in trouble again in the future.

And please for the love of everything holy, just don't pick up, don't even touch, anything that looks like a spiritual working ever, unless you're an experienced practitioner (or know and trust one) who knows how to deal with the possible consequences.

Hope that helps!

[endeavvor]

❛ i never said i was smart. ❜

🌙 * ― 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐃

To this point, Jim's face had been tilted against the cool chrome accent of the hallway paneling. He knows he's marring it's surface with sweat and blood and god knew what else after their weekend out - having earned the passes in a friendly trivia match against another housing floor - but he was trying to sober up for the conversation that was to come with command.

His back is resting heavily against McCoy's side, who has tried, and failed, to dislodge him a few times before finally giving in and letting it happen. Considering it was the only thing keeping the younger man from falling face first onto the floor, Jim took it as the kindness it was, but counted the bruise blossoming on his spine as just another casualty.

The preceding events were a bit of a blur. He remembers starting at a bar right off campus, and his surety he could handle mixing liquors - the doctor had been right beside him, boasting and meeting him one for one. No one told the pair that they had sporadically started ordering alien distilled shots that would burn through their metabolisms faster than they could recite the first ten regulations in Starfleet's codex.

Everything else comes in flashes. The stark red hair and green skin of an Orion female and the way her mouth formed the nickname he had hated since he was a boy, Jimmy. Sneaking in to an admiral's office on a dark and hoisting personal items up one of the flag poles. A large fist rocketing towards his face that had likely broken his nose and McCoy's slurred curses as he fumbled to reset it and stem the bleeding.

It was arguably juvenile, and hard to deny the evidence when it was written across their skin and clothing.

Pike's door swings open then, and Jim's response is an audible groan as the man purposefully lets his perfectly shined boots squeak against the tile. "Please tell me," He begins, his tone stern, but blissfully softer than it should be. If they were to look close enough, they'd find the slightest bit of amusement behind the blue of the captain's eyes. He, too, disliked the admiral that had been the target of the prank. "Why when there is trouble, it always seems to come down to the two of you."

There's an exhale, a moment where Jim isn't entirely sure he can counter without spilling the contents of his stomach, but still parts his lips to try, that it is McCoy that retorts. His response shocking them both into silence before a fit of uncontrolled laughter loosens it. That James Kirk is so utterly surprised and genuinely delighted turns the head of everyone in their vicinity. His body shakes with it, eyes crinkled at the corners, doubled over, and clutching his aching sides.

The captain watches, wondering when, if ever, he'd seen this boy that at ease around someone else.

"To be fair," Jim finally speaks, somewhat breathless to the point of a slight wheeze. "You don't have evidence to prove it was us."

"That may be true, but the list of suspects with the skills to hack into the security system and erase the camera footage is also slim, Cadet Kirk. I suggest you take this conversation as a warning that should more evidence be presented that will allow us to properly discipline the culprit, they will be facing expulsion." A pause, and a pointed look. "As for now, all who were on leave this weekend will be denied passes for the next six months, and mandated a training course on ethics and respecting chain of command."

"Six months is a little harsh - "

"And," Pike barrels on. "You should know they are bringing in someone to rewrite security protocols so this will not happen again. Do I make myself clear?"

Jim didn't need to know that, and he didn't need to take it as a challenge, but a sidelong look at him would be telling enough to know he is. The Captain doesn't wait for acknowledgement before disappearing down the hall.

"Well, that could have been worse." He nudges McCoy beside him, earning a stern grumble. Still amused, he shakes his head. "You're the smartest idiot I know."

And he would know.

@hiippocrates

[clockworksteel]

Well, quarter of the way through the year. Might as well review how the goals are doing.

Overall, despite the lack of any notable bad events, it was kinda a rough start. Too many appointments, perhaps. There's my housemate's ongoing medical issues (probably some sort of appointment every 1-2 weeks on average so far this year, plus trips to the pharmacy), my vehicle safety inspection came due in February, did taxes, had my own doctor appointment, there were dentist appointments that didn't actually happen, plus of course the worse end of daylight savings happens in the first quarter.

Anyway, the goals:

1: Have some sort of exercise habit again

Honestly, nothing to comment on here. I haven't even made plans.

2: Take care of at least one longstanding thing in the house

I put the auto-closer on the back door, although without the chain that it kinda also needs to deal with the wind. Still, reasonable progress on an unambitious goal. Should've probably made it, like, 2-3 tasks. I'd like to get the water heater replaced in the next few months.

3: Clear the stacks of papers from my desk

I've done a couple sessions of cleaning the papers a little, just looking through for anything that was an obvious trash/shred. Mail has come in too, but I think the stacks are overall lower. Still, need to step it up.

4: Make some more progress on gender stuff

Not much concrete progress here. I haven't really sat down and just thought about things at all. (Also there's been a thing that's been bothering me about my parents and religion since my last visit on Christmas break which has kinda consumed my idle thoughts a bit. May need to try to put it all into words at some point.)

Still, I've made notes of various stray thoughts, events, and dreams as relevant. That's resulted in 15 distinct notes so far this year. I won't be sharing all of them in detail.

I think the most meaningful one is that, after earning the Challenge Enthusiasts goal "Void Given Focus" I thought that would be really cool as a gender. And you know what? When I'm gaming, that's what I am. I don't think it applies when not gaming though. So I guess that's just the "Clyceer" gender. They/them pronouns for that still.

The other ones are some variation on "sure wish I was trans", notes about dreams, and also I have another dress now.

5: Earn at least 100 more Challenge Enthusiasts points

I thought this was going to be a whole-year goal, I already have earned 110 points. Perhaps my neglect of other things hasn't entirely been due to exhaustion, but also a lot of these were just done on my weekly Saturday streams.

I'll probably keep going for more points, but may slow down the off-camera stuff. My full notes also include the start times, but here's just the points.

Jan 23: Ittle Dew got a 5 point objective that I'd already completed (won't count for goal, but is a point gain, technically noticed on Jan 29)

Feb 4: Achieved Lone Fungus "Spores and Spells" objective (10 points)

Feb 5: Achieved the Blasphemous' Miracle of Penance (10 points)

Feb 7: Achieved FTL's Federation Victory (15 points)

Feb 10: Achieved Hollow Knight's Void Given Focus (30 points)

Mar 2: Achieved Patch Quest's Monster Hunter (5 points)

Mar 9: Achieved Haiku, the Robot's Anti-Corruption Protocol (15 points)

Mar 23: Achieved ZeroRanger Grapefruit Smasher (15 points)

Mar 23: Cyber Hook's Retrowave Traceur (10 points, and my first First Person points) Full Challenge Enthusiasts profile: https://cedb.me/user/9f1f4644-b3d3-40b7-a348-fb9ce59222c4

6: Finish Factorio and at least one other game that I haven't played in over 4 months

Yeah, the other video game-related goal is done already too. Should probably throw in Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair sometime this year. It's a Challenge Enthusiasts goal, and all I need to do is beat the titular Impossible Lair with the completed bee shield.

Jan 18: Finished Hue, which hadn't been played since May 27 2023

Jan 25: Finished Factorio

Feb 18: Started Psychonauts 2: I'd never started it, but bought it long ago enough that I'm writing it. Probably will take a while because it's a video playthrough, but is basically guaranteed to finish now.

Unrelated to any start of year goal, I've also taken up interest in the Super Mario Maker Team 0%, and have started helping out with Super Mario Maker 2. I've beaten 13 levels from 2020 so far this year. Not any that were particularly impressive, but cleaning up the mere Expert levels and kinda garbage Super Expert levels frees up time for the good players to grind the truly tough ones.

[that-sarcastic-writer]

Safe Haven (3)

Pairing: Soldier Boy X F!Reader

Summary: You and Soldier Boy talk, and you both learn more about each other than you expected.

Warnings: Spoilers for s3, sb being his misogynistic self, cursing, slow burn. This one is honestly tame.

WC: 3.7k Im sorry

A/N: so I kinda lied, I said this would be 4 parts, but I'm making some math here, and they're gonna end up being 5 parts. And yeah heres part 3. Also those who would liked to be added to a taglist please fill out the form below and you'll be tagged in the next part.

Series Masterlist | Soldier Boy Masterlist | Taglist

Comments and reblogs are highly appreciated!

Shit, Shit, Shit. 

You tried to hide the flustered look on yourself and you forced a smile. 

“Jax, hey, what are you…” You cleared your throat, glancing over your shoulder to make sure Ben hadn’t decided to follow you. “Is everything okay?” You asked him, looking at him up and down with a bit of suspicion, he never came to your house unannounced, like ever. 

“I should be asking you the same thing. You took off with the ambulance last night and you weren’t answering your phone, and then I saw the news, I got worried.” He said with this protective tone and he crossed his arms over his chest. You sighed, you knew you wouldn’t get him to leave until you explained. 

You nudged him inside and stepped away from the door so he could come in, “You want some beer?” You asked as you led him to the living room, checking every other second to make sure Ben hadn’t left the kitchen. You heard him say a quick yes, and you nodded. 

You practically sprinted to the kitchen, eyes frantically darting around looking for Ben, you found him, face twisted into an irritated expression as he threw away the pieces of glass he was left to clean up. 

“I’m not cleaning your floor, that’s your job.” He said when he saw you. You ignored his comment, something to unpack later and you shushed him, making him frown at you. 

“Shut the fuck up,” You hissed at him quietly, he opened his mouth to berate you, probably, but you shushed him again, “One of my coworkers is here. He’s in the living room. So stay here and keep your fucking mouth shut while I get him to leave. Do not move.”

“I hope for your sake you don’t get the idea to tell him I’m here, or-”

“Why do you think I’m telling you to stay here? Need I remind you you’re a fugitive? I don’t want to be associated with you in any fucking way, so the last thing I want is for someone to know I’m aiding you.” You reminded him with a sigh. He narrowed his eyes at you, jaw slightly twitching, probably hating that you were right. “So cool it with the hetero macho bullshit, you don’t have to threaten me every other hour, ‘kay? ‘Kay.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but you didn’t stay long enough to listen. You turned your back to him as you grabbed a couple beers from the fridge and walked past him as you went back to the living room. You plastered on a fake smile as you sat next to Jackson on the couch.

You handed him his beer and sighed, “Sorry for worrying you. I found someone in the wreckage last night, uhm, they were hurt pretty bad and I couldn’t wait for another ambulance, and I couldn’t find you. I know it’s not protocol, they were dying, so I took the ambulance and took them to the hospital myself.” You explained, leaving out any details from what actually happened. You didn’t know why you were covering for Ben, you didn’t owe him anything, but part of you had the feeling it wouldn’t end well for him or you if you turned him in. 

“No yeah, you made the right choice. I was just worried because I didn’t see you, you weren’t answering your phone and apparently some supe got away. This dude called Soldier Boy. Everyone is saying he’s pretty dangerous.” You swallowed, taking a long swig of your beer as he explained, your body inevitably tensing up. “They were saying he’s some kind of radioactive weapon that was brainwashed by the Russians for like forty years. He blew up Midtown and Vought Tower as some sort of attack.”

You stared at him, that wasn’t what Ben told you. Either he was lying, or the media was, and last night, it didn’t seem like he was lying to you.

“Seriously? Fucking hell.” You pretended to be shocked, knee bouncing as you grew more and more restless the longer Jackson was here. 

“Yeah, they don’t know how he got away but they’re looking for him. They got his face plastered all over the news, social media, I even saw billboards with his face and a hotline downtown. It’s pretty crazy.” He continued, frowning a bit at your seemingly on edge state. You remembered seeing a billboard or two downtown that morning, but you were hoping it wasn’t as bad as you thought. “So when nobody could find you anywhere I thought..”

“Hey,” You nudged his knee with your own and tried to smile. “I’m fine aren’t I? I didn’t even see the guy last night. But from what you’re telling me, if I had seen him, he probably would’ve killed me on the spot. Don’t worry.” You felt bad for lying, especially to your best friend, but it was for his sake and yours. 

“Yeah I know, I’m just glad you’re okay, a lot of people got hurt by that psycho.” He placed a hand on your knee and sighed. You half smiled and nodded at him, glancing over your shoulder, feeling like you were being watched. 

“Listen, I’m gonna be out of town for a few days, my brother has an emergency so I’m gonna go help him out.” You lied, again, you knew you had to deal with the Soldier Boy situation, and you couldn’t do it if you were on shift. He straightened up and frowned at you. 

“Holy shit, is he okay? Do you need me to come with?”

You shook your head viciously, “No Jax, he’s fine, Something came up and I’m just gonna go help him out. Nothing to worry about okay? I was just letting you know since I won’t be at the station for a few days.” You explained quickly, hoping he would take the hint and wouldn’t push further. 

“Okay… If you say so. But if you need me to go down there you give me a call alright?” You smiled and nodded at him. He smiled in return, glancing at his watch and his eyes widened. “Shit, I gotta head to the station, I’m supposed to be on a coffee run. If you need anything give me a call, and be careful out there, these supes are fucking crazy.” 

“Yeah, tell me about it.” You said under your breath, thinking about the mess you got yourself into. You sighed and led him to the door. You gave him a hug before he was out the door. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

You made sure he was pulling off your driveway before you closed the door, and the second you no longer saw the ambulance, you slammed the door shut, leaned your back against it and closed your eyes, sighing with relief. 

“Someone should teach your boyfriend not to believe everything he hears. So fuckin’ disrespectful to talk about someone you don’t know like that.” You heard Ben’s low voice echo in the room. You jumped, eyes wide when you saw him. 

“Fucking Christ dude,” You placed a hand over your rapidly beating heart and you glared at him. He chuckled as he approached you, slowly and confidently, like he had zero concerns in this world. Yeah well, at least he wasn’t worried about his situation. “And he’s not my boyfriend. And why the fuck were you listening? I told you to stay in the kitchen.” 

“Isn’t that your job?” He joked. He laughed, but sighed in defeat when you glared at him, clearly not amused. “Come on loosen up sweetheart. And I did. Heightened senses, hearing is one of them.” 

You narrowed your eyes at him and side eyed him as you walked past him and went straight for the couch. You flopped right on it with exhaustion and ran your hands over your face, stressed. 

“So you heard what’s going on? You’re public enemy number one.” You heard him scoff. You felt him grab your feet and move them to sit at the end of the couch. You groaned and sat up, glaring at him for invading your personal space. 

“So I’m Russian terrorist and I purposely attacked MIdtown And Vought Tower. Fucking Christ, Vought’s damage control is unbelievable.” He scoffed bitterly and shook his head in disbelief. You could hear anger in tone, but there was something else hidden in there. Something that gave you the feeling that there was so much he wasn’t letting on. 

“Ben,” You said his name firmly. He lifted his head and looked at you. “What the fuck is going on? What aren’t you telling me? You said they were accidents, so why is every single media outlet saying you’re a brainwashed terrorist?” 

“It doesn’t fucking matter, alright?” His voice was authoritative, it was low, but it was stern, like he was giving you a warning. You chewed the inside of your cheek and sat up, keeping your head high and you stood your ground. 

“Listen, I get you have a hard time trusting people now, but as long as you're in my house, whatever shit you did to be here is my business too. And I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what the fuck is really going on.” 

He chuckled in disbelief at you, tongue running over his lips with frustration. He looked at you, green eyes sharp and harsh, but you weren’t backing down, no matter how much he tried to intimate you. He clenched his jaw and scoffed, shaking his head. But ultimately, he gave in. 

“I wasn’t brainwashed, I was tortured.” He finally said, his voice so quiet you barely heard him. Your face slightly fell at his confession. They sure as well never mentioned that in the news. “When I supposedly died, Vought made everyone believe I died a fuckin’ hero. Have you ever seen the musical they made? These guys showed it to me, it was beautiful actually.” 

You stared at him with a blank face and simply shrugged your shoulders, “I only learned about you a few days ago when Starlight went on this rant about you blowing up Midtown and Herogasm, so no.”

“Jesus, what the fuck are they teaching these kids these days?” He pitched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. You stared at him and blinked, not even bothering questioning anymore. So he simply continued. “Whatever, the point is Vought wanted to replace me with this kid…” He paused, like he caught a hiccup and he swallowed, looking down at his hands for a second before he cleared his throat and continued, “So they had my team sell me to the reds during a covert mission in South America. They took me, tortured me for forty years, gave me this radiative thing and Vought just said I died. Can you fuckin’ believe that?” 

You stared at him, lips slightly parted as you tried to process all the information he had just given you. He was clearly an asshole, probably a horrible person, but you almost felt bad for him. “That’s some heavy shit. I’m.. I’m sorry that happened to you. But..” You bit your lip, shifting so that your legs were crossed and you looked down at your hands, “That doesn’t explain why they’re blaming you for all of those explosions. I mean, yes, you did those things, but why say you’re a terrorist?”

“Because I agreed to help some assholes kill another asshole. This supe named Homelander.” His voice faltered a bit at the name, kind of like it had before. You raised an eyebrow at him, but didn’t question it, and simply let him continue. “I didn’t kill him. Some shit happened and the assholes that found me tried to put me back under. It was like 1984 all over again. And suddenly everything started ringing, my chest was glowing and when I came to you found me.” 

“So…” You swallowed, trying to process everything before speaking, “They wanted to get rid of you again and so they made you their scapegoat. You’re collateral damage.” You looked at him, head slightly tilted. 

“I used to be Vought’s Golden Boy, a fuckin’ hero. And now I’m public enemy number one, ain’t that a bitch?” He fiddled with his hands, pink lips curving into a bitter smile. 

You sighed and shrugged, knowing he was pretty much fucked, “So what’s the plan?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ben, that’s a horrible plan.” You said to him as you walked into the living room with two plates, the man following close behind you with the bottle of whiskey he had taken from your cabinet, without asking, of course. 

He scoffed and plopped right on the couch, immediately opening the bottle and he drank straight from it, not even making a face. “No it’s not. It’s a great plan.”

“Fleeing to a different state without knowing where you’re going and hope nobody recognizes you is not a fucking plan.” You argued with him as you sat on the other end of the couch, placing his plate on the coffee table and placing your own on your lap. 

“You would be surprised how easy it can be to keep a low profile. When I came back not a single person in the street recognized me, not one, can you believe that? And to think I was known world fuckin’ wide.” He scoffed as he turned on the TV, having figured out how to work it by now and grabbed his plate, immediately stuffing his mouth. 

You stared at him and shook your head, “Yeah well everybody who knew you back then is probably like fifty or dead so. You’re on the news now, all it takes is one simple search and your face is all over the internet. It won’t be that easy.”

“Again with this internet thing, what the fuck is it?” He asked, his face scrunching up with confusion. 

“You’ll learn someday.” You snorted, hiding it by chewing on your food. He raised an eyebrow at you but simply shrugged, turning his attention to the plate in front of him. 

“For someone as pretty as you, you sure as hell know how to cook. I’m surprised you don’t have a maid or something to do this for you.” He chuckled and shook his head. You looked at him and blinked a few times. The things this man sometimes said left you questioning your life choices. 

“Well,” You cleared your throat and shrugged, “I used to be a firefighter before I was a paramedic. And we took turns in the kitchen at the station, it got pretty competitive at times, so. And it’s just me here, why would I ever need a maid? This isn’t the sixties dude.” 

Ben turned his head in your direction, eyebrows raised and he smiled with pleasant surprise, “Huh. How does a woman with your beautiful looks end up with a man’s job? If I was your man I wouldn’t let you work, let alone do a man’s job. And with those hips, I would've had you pop out a few rug rats by now.” 

You nearly choked on your food at his words. You coughed, downing the food with your beer before you looked at him, eyes big and lips slightly parted in bafflement. You couldn’t believe the words you were hearing, it took you a second to process it. Is that really his he saw women? It took all of your willpower and common sense not to reach over and punch him. He was definitely stuck in the twentieth century. 

“Well good thing that you aren’t. Fucking hell dude, in what century do you think you live in? First of all women do all kinds of jobs now. And second of all, me being a woman or my looks have nothing to do with what my profession is. And why I haven't had kids yet is none of your fucking business. You really need to drop the misogynistic bullshit and adjust to the times.” You frowned and looked down at your food, face serious and your body a bit tense as you crossed your arms over your chest and refused to meet his eye. 

Ben’s expression slightly fell at your reaction, a bit taken aback by it.  He frowned a bit and pursed his lips, setting his plate on the coffee table before he turned his body to face you, “Wiah there, relax, I didn’t… I wasn’t trying to offend you. There’s no need to get defensive, I just.. I don’t know how someone who is supposed to be, y’know, fragile, can put their lives in danger like that. I mean, I’m a superhero, I’m pretty much indestructible, but you, I could easily fling you ten feet across the room with a hand, and yet, you have enough balls to put your life at risk for others. Hell, you didn’t have to put your ass on the line for me, and you did. And that’s… Pretty fucking badass.” 

You lifted your head and your eyes found his green ones, and his pink lips were twisted into a million dollar smile. You almost forgot why he made you mad in the first place. God he was hot, and he made your stomach flip and twist into a knot when he looked at you like that. But then he would open his mouth and would ruin it. He would remind you he was just like the rest of them.

“If you’re trying to flirt and compliment with me to get me to fuck you, it’s not going to work.” You raised your eyebrows at him, you weren’t smiling, but your demeanor was slightly less defensive. He laughed at this and bit his lip, slightly leaning in. 

“I don’t force myself on women, so I won’t insist, but if you change your mind, which I know you will, you just have to ask. Trust me, I’ll be the best fuck you’ll ever have.” His lips curved into a smirk as he leaned closer to you, two fingers coming up under your chin to make sure you were looking at him. 

You felt heat flush to your face and blood rush to your ears. You inhaled sharply as you kept a blank face, despite your heart racing. “You wish.” You pulled your head away and rolled your eyes, hoping he wouldn’t see that despite your act, he made you nervous as hell. 

“Whatever you say sweetheart,” He chuckled and took a swig of the whiskey, downing a third of the bottle in one sitting before he placed it back on the coffee table and sat back on the armrest, arm thrown over the back of the couch, “My question still stands though. How does a pretty thing like you end up running into fires and saving people?” 

You chuckled softly at his question and you sighed, placing your own plate on the coffee table before sitting back against the armrest as well, “It runs in the family. My dad was a fire captain and my older brother is also a firefighter in a different state. So it just felt kinda right to be one as well.” 

Ben raised his eyebrows at you in pleasant surprise, his lips curving up into a half smile, “So the balls of steel run in the family? That explains a lot.” 

Your lips curved into a smile, but they quickly fell into a flat line, not wanting him to see he was actually getting through to you. “Yep, I guess so.”

“But you’re a paramedic, right? What the fuck happened there?” He asked, leaning forward, unconsciously gravitating towards you as he listened, for some reason, he wanted to listen. 

You shifted, straightening your back at the question, you swallowed and looked down, running a hand over the back of your neck, “Things happened. You’re not the only one that has history.” You couldn’t meet his eyes. But you felt his eyes burn on your face, they never left you. 

Ben pursed his lips, eyes slightly narrowed as he looked over your face, he felt familiarity in your apprehension, it was like he was met face first with a brick wall, one not even his super strength could break. You didn’t trust him. Maybe that could be his new plan. 

“Well, whatever it was, I still think you have some balls. The nerve you have to speak to me the way you do, can’t say that I’ve seen it often. But I do like the assertive type,” He smirked, teeth digging into his bottom lip as he leaned over the couch until his face was merely inches away from you. He was so close you could perfectly make out the swirls of green in his eyes and the dust of freckles over his nose and cheeks were like a constellation you couldn’t take your eyes away from. You didn’t want to. “And you’re certainly my type.” 

Suddenly he fell silent, his eyes fell to your lips as his own slightly twitched upwards. He was leaning down, hands on either side of you on the couch. You realized what he was doing, your eyes grew big and you inhaled sharply, feeling like there wasn’t enough air in your lungs right now. The thump of your heart drowned your ears and the rush of blood made you dizzy. You squeezed your eyes shut and held your breath. You could practically feel his lips. God you shouldn’t do this. You couldn’t. You just couldn’t. 

“Get the fuck off me,” You yelled at him, placing both hands flat on his chest, and somehow, you didn’t know how, you shoved him back with enough force to make him land on the opposite armrest. 

You immediately stood up, eyes filling with tears as you breathed shakily. He looked up at you with commotion and confusion, a bit of anger laced in there too. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I swear to God if you ever try that again I will cut your dick off and I will shove it up so far up your ass you’ll feel it in your throat.” 

Ben sat up, eyes big and lips slightly parted as he watched you storm off without saying anything else and he heard a door slam shut so hard it echoed through the walls. He blinked a few times, trying to process what had just happened. Did he push you too far? Was he reading the moment wrong? What did he do wrong? Whatever was going through your head, he wanted to find out.

[agentgumsh0e]

im just kinda throwing this prompt out there but it would be cool if you could write something where the reader has a friendly competition going on with cypher in the battlefield. i just think witty banter between cypher and someone else would be funny :D

battlefield banter (cypher x reader)

summary: cypher and you have a friendly competition during a practice match

word count: 760+

warnings: none

it was just a regular day out on the battlefield. 

well, an artificial one, anyways, seeing as it was a practice match with the other agents of protocol. and because it was a practice match, you and cypher could get away with more antics than you could on a real mission since neither of you were actually in danger.

and because of that, you got comms like this.

“hottie coming from CT!” cypher said into his earpiece, which he made an adjustment to so he could choose to solely speak to you or the whole team. right now, it was the former.

as you exited CT, you chuckled, oblivious. “aww, thanks!”

“not you! brim!”

you paused for a moment, thinking about his words before sighing in response. you walked up behind brimstone, who was also coming from CT, and successfully took him out of the round. 

brim does have a dumpy, you thought in agreement.

cypher gave a playful laugh at your annoyance, one that he usually lets out when he forgets about his worries for just a second. “another point for me.”

this was a game you often liked to play with cypher: who could fluster/distract the other more. of course, this game was not appropriate in actual matches, but here you could get away with all sorts of things with only a slap on the wrist from brim.

so far, the odds were not looking in your favor. against cypher, they never were. the only time you managed to catch him off-guard during this match was by destroying his cam yourself when he kept giving you false callouts. 

“my poor camera!” he had said, but he had distracted you enough with the callouts to count it as a point for him. 

you knew that cypher just didn't get flustered, but that didn't stop you from trying to sneak up on him while he was in position, looking down at something in his hand.

you took slow, silent steps as you neared him. he was still seemingly preoccupied. then, you were close enough to his ear to whisper: “knock knock, amir.”

“ah, who could it be? couldn't have been the person i saw creeping up on me on my camera.” cypher said, turning his head slightly towards you as he put his hand, and his view of his camera, down. 

your face soured as you looked at him exasperatedly. “seriously?”

he laughed again, the eyes of his mask reflecting this action. suddenly, the laughter stopped, and his arm flew out to push you behind him, shielding you with his body. he withdrew his arm to fire his gun. his proximity made you warm and dizzy, your heart pumping a little faster. 

“you should have been looking more closely. jett wasn't too far behind you, you know. did you really want to get me back that bad?” he tsked as he reloaded his gun and turned around to face you. he could tell by your flushed face that he had succeeded in flustering you, and therefore got a point.

as your heart rate settled down, you pursed your lips in embarrassment. “...yes.” 

-

in the ending rounds of the match, cypher decided to play another trick on you. there was really no reason to continue since he was already so far in the lead, but he always liked to push your buttons limits.

“my rose, you really must step up your game if you plan to beat me. the net’s closing in on you~” cypher said, the last part said with a sing-songy voice.

he has a great singing voice, you mused, but you internally swatted away the thought.

“cypher, i swear to god i'm going to kill you!” you said in a hushed voice, just above a whisper.

cypher had messed with your mic, changing it so the whole team could hear your reply. and unfortunately for you, ‘just above a whisper’ was plenty loud in their earpieces.

“(y/n)! focus!” sage said in response, and you whispered an apology. 

making sure that you were speaking to only cypher now, you said, “i hate you.” 

he hummed nonchalantly, accompanied with what you could only assume was a smug smile and a careless shrug. he internally gave himself a point on his mental scoreboard.

“you love me.” he said, stating it like it was irrefutable information. which it was, but now was not the time to admit that.

if that wasn’t embarrassing enough, he continued, “it's written with the red on your face right now. don't try to hide it, i see it. haha, you're so obvious, it's cute.”

there was no winning with cypher, was there?

[cdroloisms]

there is much to be said about what a c!dream healing arc could do to the story. what it could mean, having one of the characters that is - to this point - one of the greatest perpetuators (or at least participants) of the cycle of violence that has become this server’s narrative until this point break free of that. what it could mean for everyone on that server, having someone that has done so many unequivocally bad things turn around and go “okay, i am going to try and Be Better” and then not only improve the lives of those no longer tormented by his actions but himself heal. like that is ,, such a cool message. that’d be so fun. 

but also, i think something really unique abt c!dream’s redemption is that it’s ,, the key to opening the way to the redemption and healing of other characters as well. like, for example, on twitter i’ve stated before that like - c!sam’s redemption, in some ways, directly hinges on whether or not c!dream comes out of the prison just as “evil” as he was before. 

the deal with c!sam (in simplified terms) is that he thinks that he’s right. he thinks that everything that he has done thus far can be justified by the knowledge that letting c!dream out of the prison would be worse. yes, he killed, tortured, and maimed one of the people he loves (and loves him) most. yes, his neglect and fear allowed him to keep a kid in a cramped, inhumane space w/ his abuser for even longer than the protocol written and then prevented him from interfering before he died. yes, he threatened to kill the same kid out of the fear that his actions might let the prisoner free. yes, he has trapped several people in his prison without a trial and threatened to kill several more for just touching a block of his prison. yes, he has not only abused his own authority time and time again, but stepped aside to override all previous protocol to allow a business partner into the prison walls and torture the man he is meant to guard. but to c!sam, all of this doesn’t MATTER because it’s still a lesser evil than whatever c!dream might do when he gets out. it all isn’t important how “bad” his actions might be because c!dream is still, in his mind, worse. 

if c!dream comes out of the prison (relatively) unscathed, or even if he doesnt but he goes right back onto terrorizing people, then like - what’s stopping c!sam from thinking that he was right? what’s stopping him from concluding that “everything i did was necessary and i should’ve done more because c!dream is still more evil than anyone and therefore keeping him locked up should be prioritized above the safety and happiness of everyone else on the server for the greater good” ?? he already thinks that everything he’s done is justified. even when he seems upset, for example, in his interactions w/ c!ponk, he never actually expresses any regret for his actions. he still finds his actions themselves to be 100% necessary. 

but what happens when you dismantle that?

what happens when you, for once, refuse to feed into that cycle of violence and c!dream gets out of the prison and then proceeds to do nothing? what happens if c!dream leaves prison and instead of blowing shit up, or killing people, or whatever, he actually tries to get better? what happens if he succeeds, and does improve himself and the server?

what happens, then, to c!sam? he’s always justified his actions with the idea that keeping c!dream locked up is of utmost importance because c!dream is a greater danger to the server than he ever manages to be, as warden. that no matter what he has done and will do, no matter the cost, it is worth it because it is for the protection of the entire server from a c!dream that will destroy them all. so say that c!dream leaves the prison and he gets better. 

what does that mean for c!sam? 

/dsmp /roleplay