#and when she wakes up they'll never suspect him

[quitealotofsodapop]

I imagine the Jade Emperor is feeling very, Very Stupid for thinking Wukong's claims of needing those layers of immortality was just an excuse after he gets the report that Wukong gave birth to a healthy baby boy, literally named 'Little Heaven,' only to very nearly die in the process, something no immortal thought was even possible when they consider how many layers of stolen immortality Wukong had. Like, Wukong had the most outrageous claim that was proven true within his own throne room and by his own wife, and now he's in his personal infirmary (Queen Mother insisted after helping Wukong give birth, she gets very attached because of course she does, its MK) just barely hanging onto life. Needless to say, the trial is postponed. Macaque refuses to be separated from Wukong or their cub until Wukong wakes up, which means no mobilizing the army until Wukong is awake, especially since they've confirmed that the same restrained used to keep Wukong down all those centuries ago simply will not work with Macaque.

By all rights, that cub should have been an orphan, and it was only by the sheer audacity, stubborness, and thousands of years of work put through by his parents that he has both Wukong and Macaque to watch over him. Wukong had been right, something nobody outside of his family and friends can really comprehend.

referencing Wukong having the Century Stone Egg in the middle of Heavenly Court + Wukong getting KO'd by it.

The Jade Emperor is feeling Stupid with a capitial S.

The Queen Mother is furious with her husband for not believing Wukong's claim about his reasons for immortality, but also angry with herself for not recognising that the monkey had gone into labor in her own palace. Had she'd known centuries ago that Wukong had wanted to safely have a child, she may have been able to help him with his goal, and would have forgiven the theft of her divine Peaches far earlier.

Plus, the "Little Heaven" is the cutest little furball anyone in the palace has seen in centuries. And if the Queen Mother has been caught cooing over the little cub no bigger than her thumb, then thats her business.

Lao Tzu is monitoring and documenting *everything*; weights, movements, heart rates, blood samples, anything that could give him knowledge of Wukong and the baby's conditon, but also give insight to what he and Gold Star know about Stone Monkeys. It's like having a unicorn at a vets, he can't not be excited!

The Peach Maidens visit Wukong and the baby with prayers of health and of luck. They were the very few in Heaven that suspected their attendant brother had stolen the Peaches for reasons other than gluttony. They're all super bummed out to see him in his deep sleep, and help to change his bedding and apply medicines to give his mate and found family a break.

Macaque is a bit of a gloomy mess at this point. Jumping between a silent vigil over Wukong's sleeping body, or performing a whole shadow play for their newborn cub as a bedtime story. Xiaotian truly is a little piece of Heaven for him, and he understands fully why Wukong risked and sacrificed so much for the chance to meet them.

The reincarnation/noodle shop gang are extremely supportive during this time, finally having a chance to get to know Macaque outside of their less-than-ideal meeting. Tang keeps the shadow monkey busy by telling him stories (fact-checked by Wukong himself) of the Monkey King's journeys after the couple's last meeting. Sandy teaches him ways to relax during these rough times. And Pigsy hasn't let Mac go without a meal since he got there (how the pig got into the royal kitchen, they'll never know).

The Ao Longs are very solemn during this time too. They nearly lost Mei when her egg came early, and they're super protective of Wukong and his baby while the monkey is unconcious. Little Mei met Xiaotian for the first time a few days after he was born, and hasn't lost the enchanted look in her eyes since.

Redson acts out by head-butting any stranger that comes near Wukongs' room, including celestial guards, noblemen, servants, and even his own (unknowning) divine grandparents. He declares The Monkey King and the baby under his protection! Secretly though, he curls up to Wukong at times and whispers not to "go back to long-sleep again" since it would make his Mama and Uncle Mac sad. :(

Wukong finally wakes up after a couple of days, and is overjoyed to awaken to see him and his baby both alive and well. His "Little Heaven" truly is worth all those centuries of planning <3

[bonefall]

can you give us more info on Spottedleaf’s Plague and the events leading up to the beginning of the first book?

Sure! Spottedleaf's Plague is still pretty loose right now, I have an ending in mind but the central theme is still up in the air. It's one of my looser planned SEs, it rotates around in my head like a microwave but it's still uncooked.

(Horrible Histories Plague Song Tune)

The intro is largely Spotty, Red, and Tiger as apprentices.

Whitestorm is a young warrior above them, and the cool older cousin of Red and Spotty

A lot of the dynamic is established. Spotty and Tiger are BESTIES and cradling a mutual crush, Red is kind of a snappish, awkward apprentice

Redtail is trans and is going to transition about midway through this book btw

Thrushpelt is Redtail's mentor. Thistleclaw is Tigerpaw's mentor. Unsure who is Spottedpaw's mentor; looking to pick a molly here.

Growing up, Spotty has to deal with how her crummy uncle Thistleclaw suspects her of being halfclan and has basically become intolerant of his sister, Rosetail, for claiming Queen’s Rights

Tigerpaw is picking up a lot of this

Thistle is a violent, abusive person who subjects Tigerpaw to intense training. Spotty is usually the one patching up his minor injuries

The worst of them happen on the day the Parable of the Thistle is written. He's covered in horrible prickles all over his face, and his paws are cut up

This sends him to the Cleric's Den, which is where Spotty eventually falls in love with the idea of being a cleric.

Featherwhisker is AMAZING, he's so funny and wise, she wants to be like him super badly.

Through hanging out with him, she learns she is absolutely fantastic with rituals. She can draw a perfect circle and has a knack for invoking the warriors of StarClan.

But... more than ever, she is losing Tigerpaw. If she becomes Cleric, they can never be mates, or go to battle training, and they'll spend less time on patrol together

More than a possible romantic partner, she is losing a friend, as he's sucked further down the hole Thistleclaw is digging for him

Bluestar became deputy, and then leader, in less than a month. This was towards the end of Spotty's apprenticeship.

She is overjoyed for this, because Blue is her mom's best friend, and Featherwhisker's choice. (and possibly her mentor's mentor, if her warrior mentor was Frostfur)

Big timeskip at a point, because there are 4.5 years of general peace under Bluestar.

The next big event here is the titular plague, which I'm still unsure of what the disease is specifically. HOWEVER, it is going to be the same plague that Runningnose starts in TPB so I'm planning to play loosely with it, to make its rules easier on myself.

It's either a disease like rabies, or black death.

Possibly a mix of both. Frothing Death?

Info: This disease has some kind of obvious physical symptom but is infectious before that point. It has a survival rate, but can stunt growth. Adults and adolescents are more vulnerable to it than kits and elders.

It spreads first by bat, but is spread further by fleas.

Spottedleaf and Featherwhisker are working themselves to the bone to care for every sick cat

Spottedleaf is taking every waking moment to beg for help from StarClan. They're not totally useless and do manage to get her some good pointers

And then, while tending to Leopardfoot, Featherwhisker gets Anime Blood Cough Disease or whatever I make the symptom LMAO

Tigerclaw loses his mom and Spotty loses her mentor

When she tries to invoke him, StarClan does not send him down.

So... she channels him instead. And he pops up.

StarClan sent him to the Dark Forest even after he died tending to a patient, for his constant disregard of the code and siring a child with a kittypet while on the vow (Frostfur)

That Shakes Her Up A Bit

The final scene, I can see it perfectly in my head:

Tigerclaw finds Spotty while she's still stumbling around, dazed by her revelation, reconsidering everything she's ever thought about morality, StarClan, and the meaning of life. He's furious out of pain and basically trying to provoke her by asking if her path of the Cleric was all worth it

She couldn't save his mom and she couldn't save her mentor, or any of the like 1/4th of ThunderClan that died

And she hears this and like, this Fool. This Stupid Man. He doesn't even know the half of it.

So she starts laughing, because she's Spotty. Shaking her head, returning to her old self, gets her paw on his big ass shoulder (she has to reach up he's so tall)

Paraphrased:

"Nothing matters! Even the things we can change are nothing in the long run! Everyone will forget our names someday and you can be the best clanmate in the world or die trying, we all get buried in the same dirt! My claws can keep us here a little longer but yours can't dig us up and all that matters is what *I* KEEP PEOPLE JUST A LITTLE LONGER AND NO STARS OR WARRIORS WILL TAKE THOSE MOMENTS FROM ME"

Claws dug into his fur Tigerclaw is a bit speechless. Same Old Spotty. "...i apologize, my friend. I was... crass."

Spotty: "s'allright. Im sorry about your mom. Wanna get lunch?"

And that's what I've got so far. I want to keep its ending a bit raw and abrupt, because it's got this budding vibe that Spottedleaf's story is about the life she lived and the moments she's collected within it. Something about the absurdity of it all, how 'wasted' effort isn't totally wasted, and the beauty within just having a person for a little bit longer.

[corvidcrybaby]

Say, after reading your last commentary on Integra, now I need your POV on something I've been wondering.

What do you think will happen to Hellsing once Integra dies? To Alucard and Seras? Integra has expressed no interest in having children, and since she wants to avoid becoming a vampire, we know she won't be alive forever. Does she have a plan for that?

Hi! Omg so sorry to take so long to get to answering this, life has been insane on my end.

To answer your question, I'd wager there's a plan in place. Whether it pans out according to Integra's expectations or not is what remains to be seen. Integra mentions that the Organization will be passed over to the general military once she passes, and the Crown will thus assume direct control of the agency and its vampires. I'm willing to bet good money that the sigils that bind Alucard and Seras could potentially be transferred. If they are, then they'll keep up their job as the UK's resident vampire pest control until something extreme happens to break that bond of servitude. The nature of these sigils is unfortunately never explored fully, nor how they work, which leaves us with naught but speculation. However, this is my educated guess at how they probably work.

On the other hand, let's entertain the more interesting prospect of if those sigils are less malleable than we think, and it becomes impossible to bend Alucard and Seras to the will of someone else. From there? If the British military effectively has to try to keep these two under control through... What, good will? Threat of force? Both ideas are ultimately laughable. If that is the case, then I think Alucard is going to assess the inheritor's character and convictions. If he finds Integra's replacement to be unworthy, and there are no magic spells forcing him to play nice, then I think he probably peaces out to take a nice long nap. I think he probably goes into hibernation after Integra's passing - which, mind you, I think he'll be destitute following. It would be hard to read from him, but he holds Integra in high esteem, and went out of his way to return to her after Schroödinger-gate. That shows a high degree of loyalty, and I think Alucard would be laying low for a minute. After he wakes up, however, is when I suspect he might piss off into the unknown, wandering around the world - perhaps in search of interesting people to meddle with the lives of, secretly hoping he'll find the next Anderson, the next Integra, et cetera. I suspect he'll probably go right back to eating people, though. I'd put money on him perhaps being a bit more Punisher-esque on the humans he kills for food than before, since he has hinted at the idea of humans rubbing off on him in the series before. So less the kind of guy who devours the most innocent and defenseless people imaginable, and more likely he interferes with mortal affairs that he can justify to himself are morally bankrupt so he has a steady supply of enemies to destroy and humans to feed on. I don't see him turning all of England into a necrotizing wasteland with him at the head. I think that would beneath his interest by now. I think harassing and stalking people he deems unique or entertaining would occupy much of his time post-hibernation.

Seras, however, is interesting. I suspect Seras would stick around at Hellsing of her own volition, and would continue aiding Britain in its cause to protect people and slay undead monsters. That's what she became the person she is while doing, and I think with or without Alucard, she'll keep on generally being a goody two-shoes. But I think even she would grow weary of it eventually. With Integra gone, I think it becomes less and less like the home Seras "grew up" in - and if the new commanders are inept, then I think eventually Seras would reach a breaking point where she too, might go rogue. She might tag along with Alucard for a while, and I'd wager they keep regular contact and check in with one another on a semi-frequent basis (which, for vampires, might mean catching up once a decade or some shit). Seras is her own independent person, especially after accepting her vampirism and drinking blood to become autonomous as Alucard always urged her to be. But just as that's true, I feel their relationship was always one of Seras, despite everything, wanting to remain by Alucard's side. Their relationship would no doubt shift, and I suspect they might grow more reserved with one another, but I think they might find a new kind of emotional intimacy with one another - not romantic (I like Aluseras from time to time but this is my baseline read), to be clear, but I think Seras has the vampire equivalent of her late-twenties-development after Teggy passes. And from there? Anybody's game, but I think she keeps on bumping off rogue vampires - although I think with time, it might become more territorial than altruistic in how she carries herself. Less general heroics talk and more like, a vigilante warden type of dealio. She might come to see Britain as HER TERRITORY which would spell doom for any foreign vampires thinking they can feed on "her" humans. I think time as a vampire makes everybody go a little dark, but this is still pretty tame. It's Seras, after all. She'll flay you to ribbons but only if you really, REALLY press her.

Thanks so much for the ask!!!

[alreadyjackbestfriend]

Can I request an angst to fluff? Where the reader suspects Jack is cheating but he's really been planning something for her? (Or vice versa, where Jack thinks the reader is cheating)

Like they'll have an argument but it has a happy, fluffy ending.

reconciliation party

A/N: Hi! thank you for your request, I didn't think it would be that long, but i really hope you like it! For the other people who have also sent me requests, I want to let you know that I will write them as soon as possible too &lt;;3

*

jack had been different the last few weeks, more suspicious, to put it in a way. A couple of times he had tried to show you something on his phone, like a photo that urban had sent him or a cute video of a puppy, but it wouldn't let you hold it, and would immediately swipe the notifications as soon as a message came in, so you couldn't see it.

The first time that happened, you felt a weight drop in your stomach; Jack had always trusted you and didn't care if you accidentally saw a message or any other thing. You immediately felt that something had changed.

Now, you were staring at the ceiling unable to sleep, since the night before you had discovered that Jack had changed his password; sometimes when he was very busy, he would ask you to answer an important message, or to see who was calling so insistently, or even to connect it to a speaker and put on background music; that's why you knew his password, and you also knew that in all this time, he never had it changed.

Your chest felt tight, and silent tears fell from your eyes, as you tried not to wake Jack, who was sleeping next to you. It wasn't something you wanted to think about, but it was inevitable, all these changes indicated that Jack was hiding something from you, and it couldn't be anything good.

It was already one o'clock in the morning, and just when you decided to just sleep, his screen lit up. You bit your lip, trying to resist the temptation; even if you couldn't see the message, you could see who sent it. Perhaps it could give you a clue, considering that someone was writing to him at this hour. You thought and thought, until a minute later two more messages arrived. You sighed, and slowly got up from the bed, walked over to his side, and knelt in front of the nightstand, trying to read the name.

Your stomach dropped; Jessica, you didn't know any Jessica, who was she? You tried to convince yourself that none of this meant anything, Jessica could be a new assistant... "a new assistant that he could be cheating on you with", your mind quickly answered you, as if it wanted to make fun of you. Overthinking was one of your worst flaws, and you could feel like your own thoughts were making you sick.

You went down to the kitchen to pour yourself a glass of water, and you sat on the counter trying to let the liquid calm you down. Finally, you didn't trust your self-control, so you decided to fall asleep on the couch, sobbing all you wanted, without having to worry about waking Jack up.

In the morning, your luck was not on your side, you were usually the one who got up first, but apparently Jack had noticed your absence, and had gotten up to look for you.

"Hey, sleeping beauty," his soft voice said, nuzzling your shoulder. You woke up startled, making Jack more suspicious that you had decided to just sleep away from him, "why are you here?" you stared at him for a moment, confused, until reality hit you.

"I just fell asleep" you said in your morning voice, hoarser from crying the night before. Jack frowned.

"nervous about your first day?" Jack watched as your eyes widened at his question.

"Shit." you said quickly, running to the bathroom, “shit, shit, shit”, you locked the door, and Jack soon heard the shower running.

So, 1. you had decided to sleep on the couch, 2. your eyes were puffy, 3. you hadn't remembered that today was your first day at your new job, and 4. you had locked the door? Obviously, something was wrong.

***

And obviously, your first day didn't go as you expected, as your dream job had decided to come just as your boyfriend had decided to cheat on you.

You almost fell asleep at the first meeting in the morning, and you weren't able to come up with any good ideas; your boss's hopeful look turning into a disappointed one as the day wore on.

you got rid of your heels as soon as your feet crossed the door, sighing and letting yourself fall into the couch.

***

The following days left a bitter taste in your mouth, Jessica kept sending Jack messages in the middle of the night, as the days passed you could feel how the sound of the notifications generated an almost physical response in you, your body tensed, your breath was stuck halfway, and the hair on the back of your neck stood up.

But Jack slept next to you every night, so he probably saw her during the day. On Thursday you decided that you were going to find out whatever the truth was, you could no longer bear the uncertainty.

You dressed like you were going to work, got in your car, parked a couple of blocks away, and called your boss saying you were sick. You waited a couple of hours to make sure it was a safe time when Jack wouldn't be home, and you came back. You turned all the drawers, you checked all the clothes, the wallets, the little home-studio that Jack had in the basement, the office where he had paperwork... but nothing.

When Jack walked into the house, everything was a mess, and in the middle of it all, there was you, staring back at him with eyes bloodshot from crying and sleepless nights.

"what happened?" Jack asked you concerned, walking towards you and kneeling down to look at you.

"Who is Jessica?"

"What?"

"You're better at hiding things than I thought, although you missed changing her name, or maybe it's not even her real name, but who is she?"

Jack looked at you confused for a couple of seconds, until everything clicked in his head.

"Is that why you've been so weird these last few weeks?"

"what do you think?" you responded sarcastically, and jack smirked, letting out a sarcastic laugh as he got back to his feet. but his eyes reflected his disappointment.

"So you think I've been cheating on you" he said, like it was funny, but his humor was dry.

"what else am I supposed to think?" you answered, looking up at him, feeling small.

"mmmm I don't know" he said pretending to think, "maybe... oh, I know! that I was planning something for you because you got your dream job?" he yelled, angry. you looked at him in surprise, realization coming over you, slowly feeling like the dumbest woman in the world. “she's a party planner! i can't believe you, i’m so fucking mad right now”, he confessed.

“Jack, please…”

“I was trying to do something beautiful for you and the first thing you thought was that I was cheating on you!? how could i not be upset? one of the few things I ask of you is that you trust me and you can't even do that!”

“what?!” you squealed standing up, now offended, "what do you mean, "you can't even do that"? are you trying to say that I don't put anything in this relationship? so why the fuck are you with me then? Better go and have a relationship with yourself if I do not contribute anything in this!”

The two of you were silent for a moment, looking at each other, feeling a mix between anger and guilt.

“babe…” jack said, trying to calm down, guilt taking over him, "that's not what I meant"

"so what did you meant jack? because it sounded pretty clear to me"

"I'm mad, y/n, not to mention how sad I am too. I don't even know what I'm saying. Can we talk about this tomorrow, please?"

you could see the weariness in your boyfriend's eyes, probably not only from the fight, but also from all the preparations; preparations for your party, the one you just ruined.

"okay," you said, just loud enough so it wouldn't be mistaken for a whisper. jack nodded, walked up to you and kissed your forehead, before lumbering up the steps to reach the bedroom, leaving you alone in the living room.

***

The next day, you felt awful, you had decided to sleep in the guest room and Jack hadn't come looking for you, although you didn't blame him. You had no idea how you were going to fix things, but you decided to put together a little plan.

When Jack woke up, you were gone, his heart fell into his stomach and as angry as he was, he couldn't stay without knowing where you were, so he sent you a message. You were buying some things when your phone vibrated, and you smiled sadly when you saw his name.

"I'm fine baby, I just went out to buy some things, don't worry about me" you replied, not wanting to go into details.

when you got home, jack was gone, which you were thankful for. you started tidying up the whole house, and once tidy and clean, you filled it with party decorations, made one of his favorite foods, and had a kind of picnic in the living room. It was already 10pm when Jack came through the door, and he saw you sleeping on the couch with a party hat on your head and streamers used as a scarf. he laughed, feeling all the anger and sadness evaporate from his body.

He sat next to your body, and you woke up slowly.

"I'm so sorry" was the first thing you said once you were wide awake, feeling your eyes fill with tears.

"it's ok baby, i forgive you"

"I shouldn't have mistrusted you"

"well, no, but we can't change the past, I just hope that from now on you trust me, y/n" he replied, looking into your eyes

"I will, I promise, I'm sorry. It's just... I've already been through that."

"I know, and that's why I would never do it to you, y/n, I hope you always remember it" you nodded, and Jack smiled.

"what?" you said, feeling shy.

"You look so cute in that party hat," he said, chuckling softly, red forming on your cheeks. you gently tapped his arm.

"don't make fun of it, it's my way of asking for forgiveness"

"I know, and I love it, but you know what I love the most?"

"hmm?"

"The lasagna I know you have in the oven, because I can smell it up from here" he said, and you laughed.

"Come on, gluttonous boy, that lasagna is waiting for you" you said, giving him a peck.

[thefifthsister-notactive]

Taking A Moment

She's laid out on the deck chair, glasses perched atop her nose, watching Lily and Alexis in the pool with one of the boys asleep on her chest and the other tucked into her side and he's can't help but think she's never looked more beautiful. Completely at ease, as much as one can be where the Castle children are involved, but she's content and he suspects if it wasn't for Lily demanding that she watch her canonballs, his wife might be asleep with their boys.

"Staring is creepy, babe."

He chuckles. Approaches her, kneels at her side. Grins at the t-shirt she'd pulled on today. One of her favourite gifts today for the kids. And it was true. She found it hard. To be away from them at work. To balance the time that all three want and need from her. And they'll always remind her that they think she's the best Wife. Mom. Jedi. in the world anytime she needs to here it.

"Get you anything?"

She shakes her head, smiles at him.

"Want me to move them inside?"

"In a minute," She brushes her hands against her boys. "Enjoying this. Though I do want to have some time with the girls."

And his heart. Cause she has always made sure that Alexis never felt left out, never felt like anything less than one of the Castle children. That she loved Alexis and Alexis loved her, after a rocky road and some bad decisions on both sides of it, well to see them now meant so much to him.

"Love you," he tells her, brushes a kiss to her lips. "Tag me in when you wanna swap."

Kate turned to look at Martha lounging next to her with a new book that Kate had gifted her, the two exchanging looks of bemusement as they watched Castle strip down to his swimming shorts and cannonball in with his daughters.

"Time to wake up soon PB & J," she whispered to her boys. "You're gonna help Mommy start a water fight."

Happy Mother's Day Kate

[sapphire-weapon]

a few days ago you mentioned that you headcanon that remake Leon lost his virginity to Claire.

Do you think this is something he would regret or would he still have some lingering feelings there?

Like, I love Ashley but I also really love Claire too and since you mentioned this I've been kinda torn lol!

So basically, care to elaborate?

So, in OG canon, RE2 ends with Leon being all amped up to go after Umbrella. This apparently ends up with him and Claire in an argument about the next steps to take, and he all but shoves her to go in the opposite direction of him and Sherry so that she can find Chris -- and then Leon and Sherry get picked up by the CIA just a few hours later.

Like, that whole thing happens really fucking fast in OG. Leon has not had a chance to sleep in the time between driving into Raccoon City and being kidnapped into CIA custody.

And yet, somehow, despite this, Claire is able to keep in contact with Leon to the point of being able to email him during the events of Code Veronica??? Like, it makes absolutely no fucking sense at all, and Capcom never bothered to try to explain it specifically because it's complete plot convenience nonsense lmao

So I feel like this is one of the changes that Remake is making -- because RE2make did not end with the same tone as OG RE2. RE2make ends with Leon looking at Claire and Sherry as his immediate priority, and if any Umbrella shit pops up, they'll deal with it then.

Leon's wording during the intro of RE4make is suspect, too -- that he was "later asked" by the CIA to join up. That makes me think that this didn't happen right away -- that there was at least a handful of days, or even maybe a full week, in between him escaping Raccoon City and the CIA getting a hold of him. And this is sort of backed up by the lingering nerve damage in his left shoulder in RE4make -- he probably carried that open gunshot wound around for a bit longer in Remake than he did in OG canon.

(side note: I know that the photo of Leon that Krauser has been very uhhhh attached to, let's say, looks like Leon was literally just taken off the streets like he was in OG canon, but like. Capcom wasn't going to make a whole new, cleaned up version of his RE2make character model just for Krauser's jerk off fantasies LMAO it was just easier to put in his endgame RE2make model there)

So this meant that there was a not-insignificant amount of time in Remake canon where Leon, Claire, and Sherry were basically playing house, so to speak, while Leon and Claire tried to figure out what to do next.

I imagine this is when it happened.

You've got these two college-aged kids trapped in a domestic situation together after escaping from an actual literal waking nightmare together. They're hurting not just physically, but emotionally. They've been isolated from the rest of the world and have only each other to trust and confide in and try to figure out a way of coping with any of it and moving forward.

Yeah, that's going to boil over at some point very quickly. Any number of things could have been the trigger point for it.

It could have been Claire helping Leon keep his wound clean and feeling like she's actually helping in a way that matters while he's a little overwhelmed by someone taking care of him.

Or it could have been a melancholic moment where they're both lost and directionless and feeling helpless, and they both end up looking for some comfort in each other, because that's all they have.

Or it could have been a tense moment when one or both of them can't make sense of why they're still alive -- or if they're still alive, and they just need to feel something to remind themselves they're still human.

Or it could have been a quiet moment in the middle of the night, where neither one of them says anything at all, and neither one of them is quite sure just how Claire ended up on Leon's lap while he kisses her as though he's afraid she'll disappear if he stops.

It doesn't really matter what it was. No matter what happened, it happened.

And I don't think that Leon would have told her up front that only the first two fingers on his right hand know what the inside of a vagina feels like. She probably suspected it when she noticed how nervous he was, and she definitely figured it out after the third time he went too far and accidentally pulled out of her completely mid-thrust instead of just pulling back -- but I don't think that this was information that he volunteered.

But Claire was probably the awakening of Leon's praise kink, because I'm sure that once she did figure it out, she literally took him by the hands and walked him through it. And after a few comments along the lines of "You're a fast learner" and "That's it, you've got it" and "Keep going, just like that" and "You're doing so fucking good" -- Leon learned something about himself that he did not know previously.

I don't think he regrets it, and I don't think that he ever will.

Well, I mean, I'm sure he regrets it a little whenever she decides to hold it over his head later in life, because she's Claire Redfield and there's absolutely zero chance that she's going to let him forget that she was the one who taught him how to please a woman.

And he probably regretted it a little bit the first time that he ever had to look Chris in the face.

And then also one other time way later down the line when it hit him that he was now much closer to Chris than he was to Claire, and that weird "oh my god I fucked your sister, and now I'm also kind of attracted to you oh god no why is my life like this" realization came over him.

But. You know.

I don't think he regrets it in a serious way. It was an important moment in both of their lives -- it meant something; it wasn't like he slept with her just for the sake of losing his virginity. It helped both of them get through the worst parts of the darkest time either of them had had to face or endure. Going through Raccoon City itself was the easy part -- fighting was simple, and it kept both of them focused. But it was the aftermath, when the enormity of all that had happened settled down on them -- that was the true nightmare of it all. And they got through it together.

Do I think either of them caught feelings because of it? No, I don't -- so, there was no heartbreak attached to this at any point, either. But it was still emotional and poignant and it mattered, and I think both of them are really glad they did it.

[notyour-valentine]

A Fair Exchange XXXIV ~ Aemond Targaryen x Reader/OC (Angst)

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Notes: So in my absence, tumblr decided to eat this part while it was in the queue, so here it is. I will upload XXXV again after this to avoid confusion. My apologies.

Summary: They have to find a way out

Warning: bullying, blood, mention and threat of violence and death, mutilation, mention of torture and death, childbirth, injury, misogyny. Expect canon conforming tone and language. (18/21+)

[Series Masterlist]

Previously

Part XXXIV

It didn't help to see that she was exhausted; his own arms, hands and back were sore as well, but they weren’t out of danger just yet.

At this point, they were safest if no one could find them.

Thanks to her little ploy of shortening the rope, it had come down with them and at least made it impossible for any pursuers to know where and how they had left the palace but that didn't mean they couldn't suspect it.

And Sunspear was small.

It was obvious to Aemond, they had to get away from the area around the palace and the city itself as quickly as possible.

"Perhaps you three should seek refuge in a sept while I find a way.", He suggested. There were twelve he had read about, but there were bound to be more.

Once they were inside the seven-blessed walls, no good servant of the Faith could harm them.

"I'm not being stuck anywhere.", She argued. "We have to keep moving."

Aemond couldn't help but agree with the sentiment but it was one thing for a man to move amongst a city after dark alone, maybe even the two of them, although it was never a good idea for a woman to walk past nightfall, but they still had Luke and Jaehaera to worry about.

Carrying them would cost both time and energy, things they were already painfully low on.

She glanced up at the cloudless sky.

"That way if we want to head North out of the city.", She stated after a while, pointing towards a street that led away, but without too much enthusiasm.

They couldn't walk to King's Landing, and even if they were let, they’d starve or die of thirst long before they reached the Stormlands.

"They'll expect us to go north.", He whispered.

"Well yes.", She argued. "It's the only way to go."

If you go by foot or horse or carriage, Aemond thought, before turning his attention elsewhere.

"Planky Town is a few hours' sharp ride south. Unlike the Sunspear harbour it's less guarded, and-"

His eyes caught a spark.

"Has all the trading ships from the free cities."

Whatever the Dornish or the Martells or just a fraction of them had been plotting, their schemes were unlikely to extend beyond the Narrow Sea.

They could buy passage there, or at least gather news. It was a safer bet than the harbour of Sunspear, which was far stricter controlled.

And when it came down to it, there were bound to be more Valyrian descendents to blend in.

"Don't delude yourself, Aemond. Jaehaera and your silver hair isn't the problem.”, she scoffed. “Our eyes are or you know…the lack thereof.”

His jaw clenched.

"A silverhaired child, and two one-eyed adults. The only person with any chance to blend in is Luke."

A flash of concern washed over her face. She hadn’t stopped trying to wake him periodically, and had checked his breathing as often as she could, but it was to no avail.

Jaehaera and Luke were fast asleep.

Aemond wanted to argue, lots of sailors had eye injuries, and if it came down to it, he'd shave his hair, though he didn’t like the idea of parting with his sapphire and eyepatch. It would be…unseemly and undignified.

And it would hurt to remove it.

When it came to her, she could remove her dragon eye with more ease. But with or without it, he doubted there were many other one-eyed women in the Seven Kingdoms, or anywhere.

If anyone was going to be the problem it would be her!

She seemed to consider that for half an eternity, too long for Aemond’s peace of mind.

“Planky Town.”, she sighed, a line of concern on her forehead. “And horse riding - we don’t even have horses. Where are we supposed to get them?”

“It can’t be worse than climbing the wall.”, he argued. “And horses we can find.”

There were barracks not too far away, and a few traders he had seen on their way to the castle that sold the animals, so there would be opportunities to get some, even if it wouldn't be the most ethical way.

“There’s rocks on Dragonstone, and not that many horses.”, she argued, but then the fight left her, to reveal a confession.

“I’m not good on horseback, Aemond.”

It wasn’t ideal, but it would have to do. It was their only chance of leaving Sunspear and reaching Planky Town at any sort of speed. If they walked, they wouldn’t make it before daylight, and then the sun of Dorne itself would become their enemy.

“I’d prefer my dragon too, but we have to take what we can and make do with what we’ve got.”

Her nod was a single, disgruntled not, but it was a approval.

~

To his surprise, it wasn’t too difficult to find the barracks. Due to the Rhoynish expansion they had been moved to the outside of the inner castle, as he had suspected, but he hadn’t thought he would find it so quickly.

Then again, they had to have the horses close to the castle but it was preferable to have the stables’ stench nowhere near the more illustrious apartments.

As they had left the palace over the side of the servants’ quarters, it wasn’t that far.

The stables were a longer building than its King’s Landing counterpart, recognisable by the smell of the animals and the style of architecture Aemond remembered from a book. The Rhoynish kept for horses, but the Dornish had to create structures to hold the animals in comparable cool surroundings against the heat.

And like all things belonging to the palace, it was guarded by a few watchmen gathered at the front of the stables.

Aemond could see their shadows moving in the light of the moon, and the few torches kept inside to illuminate the stone structure.

They would find horses there but trouble was just as likely.

Maybe this hadn’t been the best idea after all.

“Aemond,”she said in a whisper, a glint in her eye. “How good are you with horses?”

“What do you mean?”, he whispered.

They were huddled together in an alleyway, having left Jaehaera and Luke in the shadow of a sept, behind a bench, hidden in the darkness.

They had argued about that, with him insisting she stay behind and watch over them, while he went about it on his own. Leaving them hadn’t come easy to her, but simultaneously she thought it better if they moved and worked together to save time.

He had been arguing against it when she had just begun walking away from him, taking any decision in her own hands.

It left him irritated, but they had no time to argue.

“Would you be able to catch and calm them if they were distressed?”

“I suppose so, but there is no need to catch them. They are right there.”

She turned to meet his gaze.

“Yes, and if we want them, we have to sneak past the guards inside, get horses out and they will find it in the count come sunlight at the latest. that sounds…unlikely."

“Well by sunlight they will know we are missing too.”

The horses wouldn’t be the problem.

“But they wouldn’t know the horses are missing if they have no horses to count.”

He could sense that there was a concrete idea forming in her mind, one she was certain of.

“If there are horses, there is hay. And while we don’t have dragons, we do have fire.”

His head snapped over to the windows from which one could see the flickering glimmer of red and gold.

If they were to set the stables on fire the guards would rush to get all the horses out and quench the fire. The frightened beasts would run in all directions, and if he managed to catch and calm just two, they would be long gone before the others were brought back.

Sometimes it took even days.

But while the windows were there, they were up high and narrow.

Maybe one could fit through them, but one had to get up there first.

“Right-”, she said, inhaling sharply, her gaze firmly locked on the stables in front of her. “You’ll need to get me up.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s too far up for any one of us to reach it on our own. You’ll need to help me get up there.”

Aemond felt the muscles at the back of his neck tense in protest.

“And then what?”, he hissed.

“And then I’ll set it on fire.”

“And yourself with it? How will you get out again?”

She shrugged.

“I’ll find something in there to boost me.”

“What if you don’t?”Aemond asked.

“Then I’ll find another way. But unless you have a better idea, it’ll have to be that, won’t it?”

Aemond wished, and maybe even prayed for an epiphany but none came.

Yes, he could get her up there, but then she would be on her own, with only luck to help her.

And to Aemond, it was too risky.

“Let’s just look somewhere else - if we don’t find something, we can still try.”

He reached for her arm and pulled her with him, deaf to her protest.

Sunspear’s unique city structure had been something he seemed worth studying and so now he had a rough idea of where to find the marketplace, where the merchants lived, and where those merchants lived who may or may not be wealthy enough for horses.

There was no curfew in Sunspear, but most nocturnal activity had been concentrated on the taverns and inns, and other more unseemly places, away from the sept they had placed Jaeheara and Luke close to.

Still, every second they were away from her, they couldn’t protect her.

The urgency made him quicken his pace, though they could not run because that would draw too much suspicion from the passer byers.

Instead, they rushed huddled together. He had drawn his cloak deep into his face while she was similar, keeping her gaze down.

They saw traders, merchants, whores, and a few errant children, but the further away from the busy marketplaces they got, the more it quieted down.

The people who lived here had enough money to make sure their streets were quiet and clean, and also enough to fund the upkeep and space for horses.

Just like in the palace, they kept their horses in the proximity but also far enough to avoid the smell.

Without much debate, they settled on a large house with blue tiled decorations on its facade. It was walled and guarded but the three guards they had were focussed on the street-facing manor, and not the mews that led further back.

This, Aemond deemed a far safer option.

The stable door was locked, but like at the palace stables, there were windows for air and light.

“That door may also open from the inside.”, he suggested. At least that was what he hoped. There was no way they could break the lock without waking all of eastern Dorne.

“Now we just need to find something to aid us in reaching the window.”, he mumbled, searching around for a barrel or a box.

“You.”, she said, reaching for his arm and pulling him to stand under the window.

“What?”

“You - if you help me, I can climb in.”

It was a way, but not one Aemond would have preferred as it once again meant sending her into the unknown. But she was smaller, and she was lighter, and while he could help her up, she wouldn’t be able to do the same for him.

“A-alright, how…-”, he crouched down and attempted to wrap his arms around her legs just below her knees in an attempt to lift her.

“What are you doing?”, she hissed, stepping away.

“I’m sorry, but there’s no way for me to lift you without…”

He made a vague gesture towards their now forced proximity.

“I understand this is uncomfortable for you, but we have to do what we must.”

She shook her head.

“Just give my leg a little boost.”, she asked, clearly expecting him to do something specific he was not privy to.

“How…?”

She stared at him with utter disbelief. “Like you would help me on a horse without stirrups.”

Aemond bit back the question of why ever a lady would ride a horse without stirrups, and a horse without stirrups meant a horse without a saddle, specifically side saddle.

It dawned on him that they must have lived close to savages on Dragonstone if she rode horses in any other way but side saddle.

“Just…just bend your knees a little.”; she sighed.

He did, although he nearly fell when she began to climb, treating him as if he was just another wall to scale.

While grabbing his shoulder, she stepped onto his thigh.

Aemond reached up to help steady her, and was glad for the darkness to hide his blush as he released her next step would be to brace her leg on his shoulder.

Closing his eye would be the barest appropriate thing to do at the sight of this, though necessary, debauchery.

But then he wouldn’t be able to see what she was doing and wouldn’t know how to help her, how to steady her, and in the end, how to stabilise her as she pulled herself into the window.

And then, there was only the absence of her weight, and the deafening silence in the wake of his new found solitude.

Every second felt like an hour to him now, as even the Dornish skies itself came crashing down on him.

He just hoped she would hurry up as he listened desperately for any noise.

There were sounds, light clanking and shifting, but it had nothing to do with horses, or doors.

Then finally, after half an eternity, he heard the soft screech of the hinges.

As soon as it was opened a hand width, he pushed himself inside.

“What took you so long?”, he demanded to know, barely containing his anger at her dalliance.

Anything could have happened to her, to him, and to Jaehaera.

“I found something better than your fruit knife.”, she announced, holding up a small workman’s knife.

It was a little crooked and the hilt well worn, but it was longer, and sturdier.

Immediately, he reached for it, but she pulled back.

“I found it, it’s mine.”

“Well I know how to use it!”

She glared at him.

“Want to test if I don’t?”, she snarled. “Or do you want to take a look at the horses so we can leave?”

There were four horses there. They weren’t war or tourney horses and one looked more suitable to carry cargo, but they were horses, and they couldn’t be picky.

Aemond checked at the best of his ability, searched for reigns and opted for a brown and a black horse. The white one was pretty, but she could be seen in the dark.

In the meantime she had searched around for more suitable items, gathering them in a bag she seemed to have no qualms about stealing.

Each of them led two horses out and left the door open. Two animals they would release somewhere, the other two they would take. It slowed them a little, but it may work as a at least temporary distraction.

Just when he saw the blue tiles once more, he felt a pang of guilt.

The merchant had not done them any wrong and now they were stealing his beasts.

He had half a thought of maybe leaving some of her jewels behind as payment but that would make it certain it was them that stole the horses.

By the time they got close to the sept, they had released the horses, and had chosen to walk separately, as not to draw too much attention.

He led the way and as soon as he was in the shadow of the sept, he tied the horse to the tree and rushed to where they had hidden the other two.

Both were still as sound asleep as if they were laying on a featherbed and not the cold stone floor.

He was glad they were safe, but Luke’s obliviousness was irritating.

Once more the boy didn’t realise just how lucky he was.

A hand on Jaehaera’s chest he glanced over his shoulder.

There was still no sign of her.

What in Seven Hells was she doing now?

This was the problem with her - not listening and always going after her own instinct and will.

They had decided to meet here and so Aemond ought to wait, but something told him he had to see, and had to retrace his steps.

As soon as the spark of nerves caught, it turned into a wildfire within moments.

He couldn’t - wouldn’t do this without her.

~

She had never liked horses.

She didn’t mind them, but she never liked them.

When the others had learned as children, she had been too sickly, and later she had only done it from time to time as a kindness to Rhaena.

That was the only reason she ever found herself on horseback when dragonback would do.

It wasn’t that she avoided the animals per se, but she had no use and no favour for them. And now her life would possibly depend on it.

If this had been by any choice but her own and Aemonds, she would have thought this a thinly veiled insult.

Aemond was leading the way in quiet confidence.

This was no challenge to him. Undoubtedly he had trained for tourneys and battle rides, probably with Ser Criston Cole.

Perhaps, if she was lucky he would be dead by now. If he hadn’t drowned in the sea.

The thought of him slowly succumbing to a burning fever, as his blood turned to poisonous fire inside him, was a comforting thought.

He didn’t deserve a painless death. Not after what he had done to Rhaena, and what he would have done to Aegon and Viserys.

The memory of the taste of his blood and his flesh in her mouth made her gag, but with nausea a sense of pride rose inside her.

He had attacked her family, and she had defended it. If that was no reason for pride, what was?

She had been so lost in thought she nearly missed the sound of the whistle coming from the alleyway, but she stopped and turned to look.

A man approached, with a little lamp and an unmistakable sense of authority.

She saw a dagger, a knife, but no spear, no armour.

“Who goes there?”, he demanded to know.

“Who’s asking?”, she mumbled, keeping her gaze downward.

“I have a right to know who walks these streets.”, he snarled.

Her heart was thundering in her chest, as she tried to think, to appear not as she was, but as someone who was unafraid, someone who had done no wrong, and in a way she hadn’t. In the laws of the world, it wasn’t wrong to defend and protect one’s family and that law was above any Dornish one.

“You will look at me when I speak to you, boy!”, he snarled. “I wish to know who your master is to think he has you walking the streets at night with a horse with uncovered hooves.”

It took her a few seconds to realise what he was saying.

He didn’t think her a scoundrel, but an apprentice boy or a servant, simply obeying orders.

And he was no guard, just a neighbour, with too little problems in his life and so he created them on his own.

“Why do you care? Go back to bed old man.”, she sneered, still not looking at him.

“I’ll call the city watch on you, boy, and your master!”, he threatened, huffing and puffing on his insult.

When he grabbed her arm, it was all over. She tore at his grip, but when he didn’t release. She drew the knife.

And slashed.

The man looked as shocked as she was, as he saw blood pouring down his arm.

“You- I’ll make you lose your hand for that!”, he snarled, before taking a deep breath to call for guards or scream for help -

But whatever he intended on doing, no noise left his throat but a gurgle as blood sprayed.

She stared as she watched the red rain fall, black in the night.

The man’s eyes had gone wide and frantic, and empty.

By the time he was released and dropped into a puddle of his own blood, there was no life remaining in them.

The horse began to stumble to the side, neighing frantically.

She could only watch in disbelief more than shock, as Aemond stepped forward, calming the animal with practised touches.

Aemond.

Yes, of course. It couldn’t have been anyone but Aemond.

“Take the horse back to the sept. Jaehaera and Luke are fine. I’ll be there in a moment.”, he ordered once the animal was calm enough.

“But-”

“Go!”, he ordered, and for once she didn’t argue, or question, or doubt, she obeyed.

~

Aemond only breathed again when he saw her make the turn towards the sept.

When he glanced down he saw the wet stains of blood on his hands. Then he reached into his belt and pulled forth the fruit knife. Tip to hilt it was coated in blood.

The blade was so short, he had felt the man’s neck on his thumb as he drew it across with force.

There was no other way with a tool like this - and he had to.

If he had screamed or called or drawn any more attention to himself and others, it would have all been lost.

They would have been lost.

His hand trembled as he wiped the blade clean on his cloak.

But it wouldn’t be clean now, would it? Just like his hand wouldn’t, even if he consulted the finest soapmakers of King’s Landing.

It was a fruit knife, a stupid little thing created for the carving of apples and the slicing of oranges, not the cutting of throats. But now here it was.

He had had no time to think, just to do. And so he had.

Aemond sniffed. He knew he had to hurry, but he had to look too.

The man had stood with his back towards him, and he did not see his face.

A part of him thought this may be a blessing, that he should leave it at that and go - to get back to her and Jaehaera and Luke and get them out to safety as quickly as he could, while praying he wouldn’t have to kill them again.

But the thought made him feel like a coward, and so he knelt down beside the man and pulled him over.

His face was coated in blood, from his throat, and the puddle he had fallen into.

His hair was black like most Dornish, and fell down to his shoulders, but his eyes had almost a hazel colouring.

Beyond that, he looked perfectly ordinary, like a man he would have passed in King’s Landing a hundred times.

He was of middle age, with the clothes and belly that promised a comfortable life. Beside him lay a small lamp, gone out due to his fall.

Aemond did not know if he was a merchant, a tradesman, a salesman, a teacher maybe. He did not know his name, or if a widow or orphans would mourn his loss.

He knew none of these things and doubted he would ever find out.

But when he looked at the man’s face he was certain of one thing - that it would be burned into his memory for all eternity.

Sometimes the men had talked of it, the soldiers, the knights. They all liked to share their glorious stories, their triumphs, their tales. And on one thing, they all agreed. No matter what comes after, no matter how much or how many, above all things, you will never forget your first.

Later, when they had managed to sneak out the city gates and make for Planky Town, he recalled the lessons he had had in his youth, then when he had feared he may never have a dragon to ride and instead focussed his studies on horses and tourney riding.

They were all certain the horses could somehow sense the rider’s state, if they were afraid, or confident, but also if they were a good person, a trustworthy person.

Aemond couldn’t help but wonder if this dark brown horse he had stolen from an unsuspecting merchant, could tell he was now carrying a killer across the Dornish plains.

~

Since this series has continued on AO3 I will now upload a part a day to catch up. I hope you enjoy, and once again I apologise for technical problems and my absence from here.

House of the Dragon Taglist

@crazylokonugget @dangerousbluebirdpoetry @rapoficeandfire @sabii5 @itsdanajane16 @cynic-spirit @dark-night-sky-99 @madislayyy @lightdragonrayne @severewobblerlightdragon

[agonycrossbow]

Remake Claire took Remake Leon's virginity headcanon

So, in OG canon, RE2 ends with Leon being all amped up to go after Umbrella. This apparently ends up with him and Claire in an argument about the next steps to take, and he all but shoves her to go in the opposite direction of him and Sherry so that she can find Chris -- and then Leon and Sherry get picked up by the CIA just a few hours later.

Like, that whole thing happens really fucking fast in OG. Leon has not had a chance to sleep in the time between driving into Raccoon City and being kidnapped into CIA custody.

And yet, somehow, despite this, Claire is able to keep in contact with Leon to the point of being able to email him during the events of Code Veronica??? Like, it makes absolutely no fucking sense at all, and Capcom never bothered to try to explain it specifically because it's complete plot convenience nonsense lmao

So I feel like this is one of the changes that Remake is making -- because RE2make did not end with the same tone as OG RE2. RE2make ends with Leon looking at Claire and Sherry as his immediate priority, and if any Umbrella shit pops up, they'll deal with it then.

Leon's wording during the intro of RE4make is suspect, too -- that he was "later asked" by the CIA to join up. That makes me think that this didn't happen right away -- that there was at least a handful of days, or even maybe a full week, in between him escaping Raccoon City and the CIA getting a hold of him. And this is sort of backed up by the lingering nerve damage in his left shoulder in RE4make -- he probably carried that open gunshot wound around for a bit longer in Remake than he did in OG canon.

(side note: I know that the photo of Leon that Krauser has been very uhhhh attached to, let's say, looks like Leon was literally just taken off the streets like he was in OG canon, but like. Capcom wasn't going to make a whole new, cleaned up version of his RE2make character model just for Krauser's jerk off fantasies LMAO it was just easier to put in his endgame RE2make model there)

So this meant that there was a not-insignificant amount of time in Remake canon where Leon, Claire, and Sherry were basically playing house, so to speak, while Leon and Claire tried to figure out what to do next.

I imagine this is when it happened.

You've got these two college-aged kids trapped in a domestic situation together after escaping from an actual literal waking nightmare together. They're hurting not just physically, but emotionally. They've been isolated from the rest of the world and have only each other to trust and confide in and try to figure out a way of coping with any of it and moving forward.

Yeah, that's going to boil over at some point very quickly. Any number of things could have been the trigger point for it.

It could have been Claire helping Leon keep his wound clean and feeling like she's actually helping in a way that matters while he's a little overwhelmed by someone taking care of him.

Or it could have been a melancholic moment where they're both lost and directionless and feeling helpless, and they both end up looking for some comfort in each other, because that's all they have.

Or it could have been a tense moment when one or both of them can't make sense of why they're still alive -- or if they're still alive, and they just need to feel something to remind themselves they're still human.

Or it could have been a quiet moment in the middle of the night, where neither one of them says anything at all, and neither one of them is quite sure just how Claire ended up on Leon's lap while he kisses her as though he's afraid she'll disappear if he stops.

It doesn't really matter what it was. No matter what happened, it happened.

And I don't think that Leon would have told her up front that only the first two fingers on his right hand know what the inside of a vagina feels like. She probably suspected it when she noticed how nervous he was, and she definitely figured it out after the third time he went too far and accidentally pulled out of her completely mid-thrust instead of just pulling back -- but I don't think that this was information that he volunteered.

But Claire was probably the awakening of Leon's praise kink, because I'm sure that once she did figure it out, she literally took him by the hands and walked him through it. And after a few comments along the lines of "You're a fast learner" and "That's it, you've got it" and "Keep going, just like that" and "You're doing so fucking good" -- Leon learned something about himself that he did not know previously.

I don't think he regrets it, and I don't think that he ever will.

Well, I mean, I'm sure he regrets it a little whenever she decides to hold it over his head later in life, because she's Claire Redfield and there's absolutely zero chance that she's going to let him forget that she was the one who taught him how to please a woman.

And he probably regretted it a little bit the first time that he ever had to look Chris in the face.

And then also one other time way later down the line when it hit him that he was now much closer to Chris than he was to Claire, and that weird "oh my god I fucked your sister, and now I'm also kind of attracted to you oh god no why is my life like this" realization came over him.

But. You know.

I don't think he regrets it in a serious way. It was an important moment in both of their lives -- it meant something; it wasn't like he slept with her just for the sake of losing his virginity. It helped both of them get through the worst parts of the darkest time either of them had had to face or endure. Going through Raccoon City itself was the easy part -- fighting was simple, and it kept both of them focused. But it was the aftermath, when the enormity of all that had happened settled down on them -- that was the true nightmare of it all. And they got through it together.

Do I think either of them caught feelings because of it? No, I don't -- so, there was no heartbreak attached to this at any point, either. But it was still emotional and poignant and it mattered, and I think both of them are really glad they did it.

[themuseandantarctica]

* 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏

sentence starters from christopher isherwood’s novel a single man. change however necessary.

tw: death, drugs, age gaps (between adults, no pedo.philia), some n.sfw text

i'm afraid of being rushed.

why? why? is it some cosmic entity, some arch-tyrant who tries to blind us to his very existence by setting us against our natural allies, the fellow victims of his tyranny?

such questions are hard to take seriously. they seem so academic.

intolerable old [name], always absolutely in the right, and crazy.

oh well, i expect it'll last our time.

the question "is this playacting or does he really hate us?" never occurs to them.

put them back, now! back! put them back!

i never hear the noise children make -- just as long as it's a happy noise.

do they know that they are afraid? no. but they are very afraid.

among many other kinds of monster, they are afraid of little me.

even when they are geniuses in spite of it, their masterpieces are invariably warped.

[name] wasn't a substitute for anything. and there is no substitute for [name], if you'll forgive my saying so, anywhere.

would you possibly be free tonight?

poor man, living there all alone. he has a kind face.

idiots -- fooled them again!

what is he up to?

these people are not amusing. they should never be dealt with amusingly. they understand only one language: brute force.

but does [name] want to be obeyed? doesn't he prefer to be defied so he can go on killing and killing -- since all these people are just vermin and the more of them that die the better?

no time to worry about that now.

it is a slander to say that they are identical.

the only ism i believe in is abstract expressionism.

is this some supersubtlety?

let's see if that old robot'll know the difference.

will any of them make it? oh, sure. one, at least. two or three at most.

you're always paying.

[name] wanted me to ask you, sir -- we were wondering if you could manage to get out to us again before too long?

won't this keep happening to him all through his life? won't he keep getting himself involved in the wrong kind of game, the kind of game he was never born to play, against an opponent who is quick and clever and merciless?

sorry, sir -- i lost you for a minute there.

they look as if they were ready at any minute to switch from studying to ditchdigging or gang fighting.

she has the look of a divorcee.

how can i impress, flatter or otherwise con this cantankerous old thing into giving me a good grade?

i must say, i don't see how anyone can pretend to be interested in a novel when he doesn't even stop to ask himself what its title means.

it's not much fun being beautiful for ever and ever, when you can't even wake up and look at yourself in a mirror.

well, what does [name] want them to say it's about? they'll say it's about anything he likes, anything at all.

wow! i don't dig that jazz.

what do we need eternity for, anyway?

the stupidest text in the bible is, 'they hated me without a cause.'

a minority is only thought of as a minority when it constitutes some kind of threat to the majority, real or imagined.

it's better if we admit to disliking and hating them than if we try to smear our feelings over with pseudo-liberal sentimentality.

why, you wouldn't recognize love if you met it! you'd suspect love!

well, after all, what else can you expect?

is this sheer idiocy or slyness?

i keep remembering that beautiful accent. it's like music.

i have to go down to the book shop.

you don't have any of those capsules left now, do you?

i bet, even if you had seen god, you wouldn't tell us.

someone has to ask you a question before you can answer it. but it's so seldom you find anyone who'll ask the right questions. most people aren't that much interested…

a place where the police are angels has to be an insane asylum.

the not-understanding, the readiness to remain at cross-purposes, is in itself a kind of intimacy.

isn't it some tiny satisfaction to be of use, instead of helping to turn out useless consumer goods?

just the same, it is a deadly bore and, to be frank, a wee bit distasteful.

want to go? we might ask him some awkward questions.

now we have with us a far more terrible fear, the fear of survival.

[name] stood me up. talk to me.

they're being cheated out of their childhood. they're being turned into junior consumers!

how can you talk such incredible nonsense?

that fills them with fury and loathing because they can never understand it.

essentially we're creatures of spirit. our life is all in the mind.

the nurses at the reception desk are pleasant, too. they don't fuss you with a lot of questions.

i am woman. i am bitch-mother nature. the church and the law and the state exist to support me.

i was screaming. they heard me clear down the hall.

it seems as if they can't bear to leave anything the way it used to be.

where's that fucking nurse?

if you'll just step outside for a moment. this won't take any time at all.

did she mean goodbye?

it will be a good christmas, the merchants predict.

i am alive, i am alive!

you old ass, who are you trying to seduce?

there is always an atmosphere of leisureliness in this place.

these things just kill me. man!

nobody is bitchy here, or ill-tempered, or inquisitive.

even up here, they are building dozens of new houses. this area is getting suburban.

the supermarket is still open; it won't close till midnight.

who says i have to be brave? who depends on me now? who cares?

look -- is it too late to change my mind? about tonight?

who can it be at this hour?

they might notice something queer about me, and you'd feel ashamed.

hey -- you can't die here! ain't this heaven?

the author gets slightly vague, so i've had to improvise a bit. i mean, he doesn't come right out and say so, but i have a suspicion that one's supposed to make it with human flesh. actually, i've used leftovers from a joint…

i've already made two new year's resolutions -- only they're effective immediately. the first is, i'm going to admit i loathe bourbon.

you know, i sometimes think, about you, whenever you do something really sweet, you're ashamed of it afterwards!

how many times, when [name] and i came to visit you -- sulking, avoiding each other's eyes, talking to each other only through you -- did you somehow bring us together again by the sheer power of your unawareness that anything was wrong?

he has made up his mind, really and truly. he wants a complete break.

i know you think he hasn't behaved well to me, [name]. i don't blame you for thinking that.

i betrayed you, [name]; i betrayed our life together.

i keep wondering just when it began to go wrong.

so here we are, just the two of us. just you and me.

i mean, until i've done that, i won't feel everything's really over. you have to do something to convince yourself.

i never wanted to live alone, [name].

how can you pretend you don't love it? and you miss it -- you wish you were back there -- you know you do.

i'm not sure how i should like that part of it.

whatever you say about it, darling, you always make it sound so marvelously romantic.

what's the harm? it's fun. it adds a new dimension to being drunk.

[name] not enjoying himself? he was having the ball of his life!

we were always making plans like that. we hardly ever told other people about them, even you. maybe that was because we knew in our hearts they were crazy.

no, [name], cross my heart, i am honestly not being bitchy!

feeling guilty's no reason for staying or going. the point is, do you want to go?

i think i shall go back, [name]. i dread it -- but i'm beginning to think i really shall.

i had to tell her at once, right after it happened. otherwise, i'd have been so afraid she'd find out for herself, in some uncanny way, and that would have been too shaming.

the past is just something that's over.

i can't stand anymore indecision. i've got to burn my boats, this time.

i should hate so to leave you, [name].

we could get drunk and earn money at the same time.

do women ever stop trying?

you are drunk. oh, you stupid old thing, how dare you get so drunk?

oh, the bloody battles and the sidewalk vomitings!

seashells are still less easy to find here than discarded rubbers.

it was nothing. only a poem.

but imagine your happening to pick on this particular bar!

do you really think i'd be such an idiot as to try to buy drinks for a minor?

you could invite him to stay the night at your place. tell him you'll drive him back in the morning.

you can talk about anything and change the subject as often as you like.

that's the trouble. i don't know what is important and what isn't.

the past doesn't really matter to most kids my age. when we talk like it does, we're just being polite.

maybe i will. maybe i'll get mad at you.

if you and i are no different, what do we have to give each other? how can we ever be friends?

whatever made me tell you all that? am i drunk or something?

i, personally, have gotten steadily sillier and sillier and sillier.

well, i'm not bluffing -- so what are we waiting for? you weren't bluffing, were you?

that's enough for now!

they ought not to let you out on your own, ever. you're liable to get into real trouble.

don't be an idiot. you'd get pneumonia.

you don't even have a cat or a dog or anything?

i believe you've discovered the secret of the perfect life!

getting married? no. that's out.

i don't believe you're that much interested whether i marry [name] or not. i think you want to ask me something different.

so now she's called the whole thing off?

you aren't exactly sober, if you don't mind my saying so.

and now get me another drink.

i suppose you've decided i'm a dirty old man?

don't you have a glimmering of how i must feel -- longing to speak?

the point is -- here am i and here are you -- and for once, there' s no one to disturb us.

it's the enormous tragedy of everything nowadays: flirtation. flirtation instead of fucking, if you'll pardon my coarseness.

thought maybe i'd better split, after all.

that was great, this evening. let's do it again, shall we? or don't you believe in repeating things?

quick -- we need a substitute!

yes, i am crazy. that is my secret; my strength. and i'm about to get much crazier.

what if [name] has been scared off? what if he doesn't come back?

this is where he found [name]. he believes he will find another [name] here. he doesn't know it, but he has started looking already.

but is all of [name] altogether present here?

how can such a variety of creatures coexist at all?

both will have to be carted away and disposed of, before too long.

[myalchod]

Silrah, detective and assassin AU

we both know who would be the detective 😌😏

This ... didn't come out the way I expected. Saul-centric more than truly Silrah, no-powers AU.

1. If he didn't know better, he'd think this was a nightmare -- but he's wide awake, and though she looks far the worse for wear and it's been almost sixteen years since he last saw her, there's no mistaking the blonde woman laid out on the metal table before him. It's surreal, to see Rosalind Hale like this, but he just stares instead of saying anything, letting the coroner's words wash over him without truly hearing. (She looks small like this, fragile, human. He's not sure what to make of that.)

2. He should go to his DCI and recuse himself -- it's on a matter of time before their connection is exposed, no matter how deeply the records of the Light Battalion have been buried -- but he doesn't, and he's not exactly sure why. He owes Rosalind nothing; he would have been entirely content to never cross paths with her again. But something about her death teases at his instincts, and they've seldom led him wrong, and so he just accepts the case without comment.

3. She had directed them to go their separate ways the last time they had all met, alongside the insistence for silence. That's why it surprises him to find Andreas' name on one of the interview transcripts. He jots down the number, makes a note to call as soon as he can get a moment where he's sure he won't be overheard. Andreas had always been close to Rosalind; if that had remained true, he's Saul's best chance at an answer, or at the very least at some clue that might let him figure out Rosalind's death.

4. The call comes in the middle of the night, rousing him out of an exhausted slumber. Half an hour later, bleary-eyed and freezing cold, he finds himself standing over the motionless body of Andreas Eraklyon, looking at glassy eyes and red-sheened pavement and the bullet hole placed precisely between his brows. It's not the breeze that makes a shiver crawl up his spine.

5. They'd been told to scatter, but a detective has resources even without dipping into skills from a past he'd rather forget, and he tracks down three names, three numbers, three email addresses. Be careful, he sends them all, one by one. Rosalind and Andreas are dead. He doesn't include anything more. If they've changed as little as he has, they'll read between the lines.

6. Three weeks later, on the steps of Parliament, MP Luna Solaria goes down to a single precisely-placed shot, and Saul Silva feels that same chill of foreboding. This time the air is warm and still, but the past feels only a whisper away.

7. There is an uproar in the wake of Luna's death. He's not surprised when he thinks about it: the scion of an old family, unexpected reformer, she'd been highly visible and more beloved than the woman in his memory could ever have been. Perhaps, he thinks, Aster Dell had changed them all more than he had realised. (He tries not to think about the possible implications of that against what he is beginning to suspect.)

8. "He didn't deserve this," he says, when the passing of another month finds him looking down at Ben's body. Rose and the children had been away; it is the only mercy he can find in the moment as he stands in the lush garden his old compatriot had cultivated, in the middle of a quiet village in the middle of nowhere. Only the wind and the sounds of birds, unruffled by the gunshot a neighbour had called in several hours before, answer him.

9. The message appears on his phone mere moments after he arrives home that evening, the text stark confirmation of all he has tried to ignore from the outset -- all that he cannot ignore any longer, when they are the only ones left standing. Who do you think poisoned Aster Dell? she has asked, and as he thinks back to his words earlier that day, the chill redoubles. At least do me the courtesy of talking face to face, he sends back, though he doesn't know what he'll do if he sees her. She replies with a place, and a time, and that night he can scarcely sleep.

10. "Farah." If he had thought to find her changed from when they had parted ways, he does not -- at least, no more than he would have expected with the years that have passed. When he thinks about it, however, it does not surprise him. She'd had blood on her hands long before the four lives whose case files sit on his desk, before he and she became all that remained of that secret task force. (They'd all had far more blood on their hands by the end than he'd imagined possible, once.) "Saul," she answers, and her voice and her eyes are like ice. "I don't understand." The events of Aster Dell and the cover-up that followed had left him with nightmares and guilt beyond measure, wondering what they could have done to change those events, but she's given him a glimpse of something larger, and he wonders now how much of what he knows has been a lie -- and who had crafted the untruths he'd believed. Her smile sits somewhere between sad and mocking, though her eyes remain opaque. "Of course not. You were always the good soldier." The wind whips around them, teases strands of blonde free from where she's pinned it up. He remembers the feel of it against his hands, desperate stolen nights in the field, whispered confessions in the dark, and wonders how much of that too might have been a lie. This is nothing like what he had imagined meeting her again after all those years might be. (He had loved her; now, looking at her face, he wonders if he'd ever really known Farah Dowling.) "Someone has to put the past to bed. You'll figure out the rest." She takes a step back, and with his heart and the past caught in his throat, he cannot find the breath to cry warning.

11. The cliffs plunge down to where the sea crashes below, fierce rip currents that sweep out when the tide is high. They search for days, but do not find a body.

[ ask me another ] [ all answers ]

[tippenfunkaport]

Glimmer teleports off-world to stop Prime from using The Heart AU

It needs a catchier name, I know. But we're posting this for canon divergent.

Short version: Glimmer teleported off-world to stop Prime from using The Heart, is assume dead, and when they find her years later she doesn't remember them... or does she?

Long version

This AU I came up with right after the finale and I am not entirely sure it makes sense (because of how Prime basically hacks into the Heart of Etheria, the planet no longer needs to be balanced so it wouldn't matter if all the princesses were there or not) but just go with it for a minute.

The idea was, things in space happen differently so we never rescue Glimmer and therefore she never sees that her friends forgive her. When they get back to Etheria, Prime is about to set off the Heart of Etheria and destroy everything so Glimmer, as a way to make amends for trying to set it off in the first place and because she thinks her friends can never forgive her, teleports herself as far away as she possibly can, off the planet entirely, so it's no longer balanced. But she uses up all her power doing and is out of the range of the moonstone, so she can't come back.

It works, buying the rebellion enough time for Adora and Catra to do their thing at the heart, but when Glimmer never returns, everyone assumes she's dead. She's hailed as a hero, her sacrifice memorialized.

(It's occurring to me as I write this that this is a lot like my Bow stays at the library AU but with the roles reversed)

Years later, what remains of the best friend squad is doing their mission to restore magic, visiting planets but Bow is obsessed, keeps coming up with more places he wants them to go. Adora and Catra are ready to stop the space travel and start settling down but they know what he's doing even if he denies it: looking for Glimmer. One more mission, they allow, but then he needs to face that she's gone, start being present in the life he does have (he's seeing someone who is looking for him to make a commitment and he's been using the search for Glimmer as an excuse to not deal with the fact that he isn't really in love with him).

They go to the last planet, She-Ra heals it. They usually stick around for a while, mentor anyone who suddenly has unexpected magic powers. People usually come to them but Bow finds an unexpectedly strong magic signal out in the middle of nowhere so he goes to it and gets attacked by someone, getting knocked unconscious. When he wakes, he's inside a small house and the person tending to his injury is Glimmer! Except she shows no sign of remembering him at all and is very clearly with someone, the woman who attacked him.

Eventually Catra and Adora come to find Bow, also meet Glimmer, and want to bring her home with them but she refuses to go, saying she doesn't remember any of them. Except Bow is increasingly suspecting she is only pretending, afraid to go home because she thinks she still isn't forgiven for what happened with the Heart.

Anyway, long story short, they convince her to come home with them for other reasons (her partner needs something from Etheria) and it becomes harder and harder for her to deny that she remembers and that her friends do forgive her (she just doesn't forgive herself). Her and Bow get closer (she's staying at his place) until one night she accidentally says something that blows her cover. It leads into a fight and then an accidental confession of feelings and them hooking up / cheating on their partners (who aren't even canon characters so f 'em for being in the way of my OTP😤).

Glimmer panics and bails but then it turns out her partner was pulling a shady deal (the details of which I cannot remember and I cannot find my notes for 😂) and ends up going back to stop her. Bow breaks up with his partner bc it isn't fair to them when he's in love with Glimmer even though they think they'll never see Glimmer again... but she saved just enough magic that she teleports back in time for Catra and Adora's wedding where her and Bow dance and decide to try to figure out how to pick up where they left off.

(I originally called this the "No Ship AU" because it had something to do with us never getting Darla but I don't remember why that was important so I left it out.)

[redhead-reporter]

— character info sheet.

name: mary jane "mj" watson parker

name meaning: mary (hebrew: "drop of the sea", beloved) jane (hebrew: "god is gracious"), watson (english/scottish: "son of watt", "powerful ruler")

alias/es: mj, red, and every conceivable pet name in the english language

ethnicity: american, british isles heritage (ireland, scotland, england, etc)

one picture you like best of your chara:

three h/cs you never told anyone:

mj has a multi-step SKIN CARE ROUTINE that she follows every single morning and night. doesn't matter if she's crawling into bed drunk at 2 AM or waking up at the ass crack of dawn, she does it. if you're dating her? say goodbye to your bathroom counter space.

mj sat at aunt may's bedside the ENTIRE time that peter was out trying to defeat otto and get the devil's breath cure. she let miles handle running the F.E.A.S.T center, since she couldn't imagine herself anywhere else and knew peter would WANT someone to stay with her. they talked about everything and nothing, and before she died may reiterated how much she HOPED that mj and peter would work things out. (and yes, she mentioned the 'beautiful babies' thing to mj, who AGREED)

mj has thrown out several of peter's shirts once they got unforgivably ratty and and pretended like she didn't know what happened to them. of course she always bought him REPLACEMENTS, but if new york's greatest hero has ever suspected her of the crime? he's never been able to PROVE it.

three things your character likes doing in their free time: 

TRASHY. REALITY. TV - specifically dating shows like love is blind, 90 day fiancé (and all of its variants), and the ultimatum. she finds them hilarious, and they're frankly a fascinating look into human PSYCHOLOGY. but they also serve a selfish secondary purpose of making her feel really SMUG about her own relationship and how much healthier/better it is than anything on the shows, even on their worst days.

mj is a new yorker who LOVES her city - if she's got spare time she likes to wander in neighborhoods she doesn't know that well, finding cool local restaurants or little street fairs to get lost in. anything to feel like she's part of the city's HEARTBEAT

mj still has a deep love for the THEATER, even if she chose a different career path for herself. whenever there's enough time and spare cash laying around (which is rare) she likes to go see shows. on or off broadway, doesn't matter - she just likes BEING there when the lights go down and the magic begins

eight people your character likes / loves:

peter parker - soulmate is too weak a word ❤️ peter is her everything

great aunt anna - mj credits her with saving her life as a child

harry osborn - best friend, voice of reason, shoulder she cries on

miles morales - surrogate little brother, "team" member, a godsend

gwen stacey - chaotic gremlin bestie / girlfriend / liability

cindy moon - bestie, fellow wine time enthusiast, gossip gal par excellence

aunt may - family, inspirational figure, beloved and missed every day

silver sable - bestie (terrifying), badass, gifted her (when she realized she was never getting it back) the TASER

two things your character regrets:

breaking up with peter instead of TALKING things through like adults - though they both grew immensely in their time apart and learned valuable lessons from it, she can't get over how they wasted so much PRECIOUS time together that they'll never get back.

not paying better attention to her best friend when he NEEDED her most - harry can be a good liar when he wants to be (hi have you met his dad?), but mj's convinced she WOULD'VE noticed his accelerating illness if she'd stopped being so self-centered and taken the time to really clock his odd behavior before he left for "europe". if he hadn't returned? she NEVER would've forgiven herself.

one phobia your character has:

peter's death. that's it, that's the FEAR. it claws at her every single day, so much so that she can't even watch live news footage of his fights. people treat it like a SPORTING EVENT, cheering like a real person's life isn't literally on the line, and it makes her sick.

[nazmazh]

Dead by Daylight Checkpoint Reached!

All characters at Prestige Level 3 or higher!

*[Until Alan Wake is added in a week, anyway]

(All skills unlocked to maximum level for all characters):

(The Knight is temporarily disabled because they're patching a bug with him, but he's at P5 under that notification).

Guess we'll see how long it takes me to get everyone to P9, next.

I generally randomly roll to switch characters every time after I get a prestige level [No playing a character for back-to-back P-Levels, even when catching them up to the current floor], with certain checkpoints in-place so that I'm unlocking everything evenly. With some exceptions [Mainly, The Dredge at this point, because he's my favourite and the Killer that got me to have fun and start really understanding how playing Killer works], once a character reaches that P-Level, I won't actively work on their next P-Level until everyone else has also reached that checkpoint. I will still play them for dailies or if I need them for a specific archive challenge that's in my way. Anyone who gets to Bloodweb Level 45, I finish off their level, because getting them through BW-Level 50 usually is only 1-3 more games. New characters get levelled to the current lowest P-Level/floor among all others in their role (alternating levels between themselves and any other random character). If there's ever a point where two characters are the last ones still at the current floor, and I roll one of them, the other one is automatically next, just so that the floor gets moved up, and it's not a situation of a character getting completely screwed by the random rolls and then having to jump multiple floors to catch up to *everyone* else. The big checkpoints are:

Prestige 1 - Makes their skills accessible for everyone else in their role - They can unlock it in their own bloodwebs.

Prestige 3 - Fully levels up their skills. Nobody else needs to even pull it out of the bloodweb anymore.

Prestige 9 (Current goal for both killers and survivors, now) - Unlocks everything cosmetic that's only available through the levelling system - Bloody cosmetics and skill-charms.

Past this point, at least for now, it's a free-for-all up to P100 - Nothing else gained specifically other than your number going up. I suspect at some point this will change, and they'll fill out some milestones with backgrounds and/or icons for the relatively new player banner system. If/when that's the case, I'll add more checkpoints into the climb.

Current exceptions I have in-place for my rules:

Killers:

Dredge - Because it's my favourite. Dredge also gets all of my monthly ladder-reset bloodploints, for now, it's the character I'm most actively working on getting to P100. If ever there's a Killer that I can't play, I substitute in Dredge to farm for them and split the BP earned every match 50/50. I just recently got over the hump for the last 4 killers I couldn't play [Cannibal/Leatherface, Hillbilly, Blight, and Nurse - Aka the two chainsaw boys and the weird movement rules, steep-learning-curve, two "best" killers in the game], so everyone can earn their own BP now.

Nurse - Her movement was the toughest to figure out, and consequently the last Killer I started actually playing. I'm still not entirely great at playing as her, but I can at least mostly-reliably hit now. I had been dumping my spare BP into her, so that I could get her stuff unlocked and not have to worry about playing her ever again if I never wanted to. But since I had a match where I finally clicked on how she works, I've been trying with her. That being said, she was very close to that checkpoint once I started actually playing her, and since I'm still learning, completely excluding her from the rotation would just mean any skill I'm getting with her would degrade, so I'll keep playing her past P9 to keep practicing with her.

Xenomorph - A recent addition and a favourite for me right away. Just having a lot of fun when I play it. Designated the back-up farmer if I ever run into a scenario where I just did a level with Dredge and roll a killer I need to farm for.

Survivors:

Bill Overbeck - I'm a big Left 4 Dead fan, and the series holds a special place in my heart with regards to gaming and my community of online friends. So of course the old guy's one of my favourites.

Jeff Johansen - A bigger, bearded dude canonically from a small town in Alberta, near the mountains, whose (first) name is my name? Well, naturally I'm gonna put him in the faves zone.

Alan Wake [Once he's released, anyway] - Look, I absolutely adored Control and thus was majorly hyped for AW2 (still have to go back and play AW1, now that I'm finished with the 2, until the DLC is released). So, yeah, Alan's a new favourite character, and I'm majorly hyped for him coming to The Entity's Realm. Bonus points if Saga or Casey are alternate legendary skins for him [Or the Anderson brothers, as a real pie-in-the-sky stretch] - I'll absolutely break my general rule of not spending money on purely cosmetic items in-game. If they ever make Jesse Faden from Control an alternate skin, the is no question I'll get it immediately.

If I've done my math correctly [going only by whole prestige levels, since I don't really want to try to figure out the weighted average value of individual bloodweb levels],

I'm 32.78 % of the way to getting all Survivors to P9, and 2.95 % of the way to getting every Survivor to P100.

I'm 53.60 % of the way to getting all Killers to P9 (2/34 complete - Because the randomizer I use seemed to really like Singularity), and 4.94 % of the way to getting every Killer to P100.

Of course I've got spreadsheets about this - Have you realized how not-normal I am about this?

It started as a way to keep track of where to find Archive/Tome Challenges that were specific to individual characters, since if I'm playing them, I might as well work on those challenges when I can, and do general challenges with anyone who doesn't currently have outstanding challenges, and ballooned out from there.

[talentswaphavoc]

Talent-swap Havoc [Chapter 1 trial: May the future shine bright]

Major suspects: Byakuya Togami.

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

The trial begins and everyone stands on their selective podiums. Monokuma explains the concept of the trial and it sends shivers down everyone's spine. After some small talk from the group, they agree to start talking about how he died.

Kiyotaka and Toko were skeptical about the Monokuma file, acussing Monokuma of lying to them but Junko proves them wrong with Byakuya's statement. Byakuya had checked the body and proved Monokuma to not be lying. Sayaka wonders what the murder weapon was and Junko confirms it must have been the now broken baseball bat to cause the wound.

Yasuhiro points out Byakuya being near the body before anyone else and could have easily killed Hifumi. Makoto points out that with the time of death, Byakuya wouldn't need to be near Hifumi's body for that long. Byakuya's alibi gets further proven by Chihiro who states he did see Byakuya leave at the same time as him. Junko also furthers his innocence over the fact him, Celestia and Kyoko all found the dead body.

No one has an alibi for the time of the murder so they disregard those, only being able to go off of the evidence they found in the morning. Leon ponders as to why the culprit even left the murder weapon in the laundry room when they could've burned it since Hifumi had the key to the incinerator. Makoto points out it was missing to, only deepening Leon's question.

Kyoko pushes that aside, saying we need to deal with what we have first; Everyone agrees. Celestia asks where Hifumi might have been attacked and Aoi thinks it might have been before he went to sleep. Celestia confirmed she was the last one with him and left him alone in the cafeteria. Sayaka asks how it's possible for him to have been attacked in the dorms without anyone hearing Junko proves to her that the dorms are soundproof.

Toko then pushes blame to Celestia; stating that she was the last person with him and the one he trusted the most. He could've easily followed Celestia into a trap with no hesitations. Celestia starts to cry just as Junko and Kyoko begin to back her up. reminding them of Kyoko's alibi and her not knowing about Hifumi even disappearing until they both investigated together. Also the fact that she is one of the people to find his corpse.

Aoi then asks for everyone's alibis/accounts before Hifumi was found dead. Some didn't have one as they'd woken up from the announcement. Makoto brings up his account, stating he woke up and saw Mondo and Kiyotaka in the cafeteria; Chihiro and Junko soon joined before they heard Celestia's scream. Kiyotaka confirms, he was the first to wake up but then remembers he found a small red piece of plastic on the ground. Bits of blood were on one edge he failed to notice.

Mondo is confused and says that doesn't explain anything, cutting of Byakuya who was explaining. Junko proves him wrong, explaining that it could explain the small cut on Hifumi's plam. He could've tried to push the culprit away or hit him but instead missed and it the red plastic. Chihiro asks where it might've come from and she stays silent, Junko doesn't know.

They all start to worry, that's all there is left to talk about. Yasuhiro thinks they'll all die from the time limit and Monokuma laughs. Kyoko pops up that they never full discussed the red plastic or the incinerator room key missing. Byakuya points out that the red plastic does point to only two people. Makoto Naegi and Junko Enoshima.

Junko yells at Byakuya, asking him to explain how it points to them and he begins explaining. Junko and Makoto have hearts on their head that are made from the same red plastic. One of them could've easily changed theirs after the attack and just simply couldn't find the missing piece. Junko freezes, she knows she didn't kill anyone... She knows who the culprit is.

Junko denies it and Makoto calms her down after some talking. Their both suspects and neither are willing to speak badly about the other. Junko is lost in her thoughts and Makoto is scared. Chihiro remembers that Junko didn't gain the heart clip till just before the motive but Makoto always had one. Kyoko asks what that's about and Junko gulps. Makoto is shaking and Junko is ready to cry, Byakuya notices. Byakuya theorizes that Makoto could've given her one and Makoto may have spares.

Makoto admits it, he admits to the crime and Junko isn't happy. She stares at him is disbelief and fear for his life. She tries to say he must be lying but Makoto only proves her wrong again by admitting the truth and what happened. Monokuma starts the voting... and Makoto is found guilty.

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

Junko shouts, asking why'd he'd kill someone and he explains how hurt he was just thinking about his sister Komaru in danger. Junko's sister Mukuro to, he didn't know about the trial part and just couldn't spill he was the culprit till cornered. Junko tries going closer to him, trying to protect him from death but Mondo holds her back once more, worried for her safety to. They try to calm her but she doesn't, she's mad and scared. Everyone is scared, scared for Makoto's punishment...

However, that will never be avoided. As Monokuma starts...

"Let's give it everything we've got! IT'S PUNISHMENT TIMEEEEE!"

[arrestedforhomestuckcrimes]

If I did a Locked Tomb fic

This is a large if

It would be.... Complicated. More so than I really have time for rn

G1deon chasing Wake. They aren't supposed to go to the planets but he _does._

Maybe increase the buffer between them so the Ninth has more time with Gideon. Long enough for that to be Her Name.

G1deon finds her. Hears the story. Sees her hair. This _has_ to be his kid-

(Idk how he reacts to the eyes yet. Mulling that over. Baby's eyes do change color though, so maybe Gideon has John's Initial brown eyes, and as she grows they get the trademark gold?)

Anyway. The Saint of Duty can't walk around with a baby in a papoose, and the person he's been chasing and trying to kill is dead.

Maybe he just. Keeps her at the ninth. Gideon grows up in similar circumstances, but has a connection off planet too.

Maybe... Once a year visits?

Poor kid has a connection off planet but one who _insists_ she stays on the ninth that she hates with such intense vitriol.

Does G1deon hide her from the other Lyctors? Does he hide her from Jod?

Or does he go to one of them in a panic? Imagine him telling any one of them that instead of killing Commander Wake he's been sleeping with her. That he has a kid. Without _seeing_ Gideon's eyes, none of the three would have any reason _not_ to believe she's his. (I mean Mercy and Augustine Do have reason to suspect other reasons for this baby but they had no reason to think Wake would get herself _pregnant,_ you know? As far as they knew the dolls would work. Idk, again it's an AU, maybe there's suspicion but they'll play along for now? They never meant for Jod or G1deon to find out about their plans.)

Jod gives him a pat on the back, and since Wake is dead G1deon gets his sympathy and a little bit of amusement too. "I wish I could say I was surprised, but the fact the only person in thousands of years you've had feelings for was your mortal enemy... I'm sorry but it really does fit you." Probably gives him a gift basket.

Mercy is disgusted. You has a CHILD G1deon?!? An infant, a _cell,_ you've gone through losing your caviler and now you're going to put yourself in the position of watching your own child grow old and die?! Don't you DARE expect her to get anywhere near that _thing._ Would be the one to get the most practical oh shit you have a baby gifts.

Cytherea is delighted with the idea in her morbid, "oh this is going to end terribly, but _what_ a story it is going to be" sort of way. She wants to hear every detail of how the two of them actually got together and G1deon does Not want to talk about it.

Augustine is silent until he knows what he wants to say. Plastic smile and a "Good on you chap! Can't imagine this was the best choice you've ever made but I'm glad to see we're still capable of making new and interesting mistakes."

I think only G1deon keeps in touch with Gideon as she grows up. The others... MAYBE a card. But _everyone_ is furious with Jod when they find out Gideon was Harrow's caviler and JOD is shocked because how was he supposed to know? He didn't MEAN to kill G1deon's child, the paperwork all said it was some guy named Ortus! You can't blame him for something like this :< (Yes you can) So when Harrow goes to the Mithriam only G1deon (and dead Cytherea) have ever seen Gideon's golden eyes.

[lifetimeshipper]

Angel From A Dream

Chapter 8

~~~~~~~~~~

"Fixit, what are you doing?" Bumblebee asks as he and Grimlock walk up to the Alchemor. They just got back from investigating some Decepticon activity and searching for any signs of what happened to Strongarm and where she could be. When they got back into the scrapyard the first thing they saw was Fixit frantically searching through the database.

"Ah, Lieutenant, you're both tack, lack, BACK. I just got a signal from Strongarm and then it disappeared again," Fixit responds as he keeps searching.

"Really? Where?" Bumblebee asks as hope rises that they'll finally find her.

"That's what I'm searching for... Aha got the location. She was in a forest a few miles from a sawmill," Fixit says as he brings up the location.

"Great, let's go!" Bumblebee says as he gets ready to transform and head out. But before they could a ship came flying in and landed. Bumblebee recognized the ship right away, it was Ultra Magnus' ship. The reinforcement has finally arrived.

The three go to welcome their visitors as the platform on the bottom opens up and the 'Bots inside descend from the ship. Ultra Magnus, Arcee, Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Knock Out, Smokescreen, and Ratchet were all there. Bulkhead joined in after hearing what happened and insisted on joining to find the femme who's like a niece to him.

Smokescreen was the first one off the platform as he ran up to Bumblebee, "Where is he!? Where's my son!?" He asks frantically as Knock Out joins them. 

"Before I take you to him I must warn you, you're not gonna like what you see. His condition had worsened over the past four days. We had to hook him up to machines to keep him active," Bumblebee says grimly before leading the way to Med Bay. Smokescreen, Knock Out, and the others follow him. 

When they reached Med Bay, Smokescreen's and Knock Out's sparks almost ceased, they saw what Bumblebee was talking about. Sideswipe was hooked up to all sorts of machines to keep him functioning, there were braces around his wrists to hold them together and cables and wires were attached to his spark chamber.

Knock Out looked over his son as Smokescreen started crying, "Primus, his wrist joints were dislocated and I see the inner circuitry damage you were talking about." Knock Out walks over to Smokescreen and hugs him trying to console him. It's rare to see his mate like this and he hates seeing him this way, "It's alright, Smokes. Ratchet and I will save him."

Smokescreen looks him in the optics, "I know you will."

Knock Out gives him a peck on the lips before turning to face Bumblebee, "Mind telling us which 'Con did this?" 

A loud clanking noise sounded throughout Med Bay as Bulkhead pounded his fist into his servo, "And who took Strongarm? I'm itching to give them a beating they'll never forget."

"As we all are," Magnus added in.

"I won't know for certain until Sideswipe wakes up, but I suspect it's a Decepticon named Steeljaw. He's a Wolf-Con that we had a couple of run-ins with so far and proving to be very tricky to catch. Sideswipe and Strongarm were actually the first ones to counter him. We had an encounter with him at a dam shortly before Strongarm went missing and Sideswipe became injured. Which is why he's number one on my suspect list."

"Have you got any leads yet?" Wheeljack asked.

"We actually just got Strongarm's signal and were just heading out to investigate when you guys arrived," Grimlock replied.

"Bumblebee?" Arcee questions, giving the hint that introductions are needed.

"Right, sorry. This is Grimlock and that Mini-Con is Fixit," Bumblebee introduces.

"Hello," they all greet.

"Ahem!"

Bumblebee looked towards the noise to see Denny and Russell, "Oh, and this is Denny and Russell, our human comrades."

"Hi!" The two humans greeted.

"Hello. Nice to see human faces again," Arcee greeted with a smile as she thought of Jack, she missed that boy and wondered how he was doing. They all miss their human partners and would like to see them again, but for the time being, they need to focus on the task at hand which is getting Strongarm back.

Bumblebee looks at Smokescreen and Knock Out, "Russell is a very close friend to Sideswipe, he's been helping Sideswipe and the others learn about Earth. He has been by Sideswipe's side the whole time he's been unconscious."

Smokescreen and Knock Out look down at the human child and smile, "Thank you for being there and helping him. We appreciate it," Smokescreen said.

"Any friend of Sideswipe is a friend of ours," Knock Out added.

Russell gave them a two-finger salute, "No probs. It's what friends are for."

"Now that we're all acquainted let's head out and search for Strongarm," Wheeljack says as he starts walking out of Med Bay.

"Yeah, let's get going before we lose our opportunity to find her," Arcee says in agreement as she follows her mate. The rest follow them out of Med Bay except Smokescreen, Knock Out, Fixit, and Ratchet.

Knock Out looks at Smokescreen, "You should go with them, Ratchet and I will take care of Sideswipe. Find the Decepticon that did this to our son and beat his aft." 

Smokescreen looks back at Sideswipe before nodding and running out to catch up with the others. He knows his mate and Ratchet will save Sideswipe so he doesn't need to worry, and he also really wants to get his servos on the Decepticon that hurt his baby.

Once they all were outside they transformed and headed out to find the location Fixit had given them. "It's really nice to see you guys again," Bumblebee says to his old teammates as they drive along the road.

"It's really nice to see you again too, 'Bee," Bulkhead responds.

"Just wish it was under better circumstances," Arcee added, "What happened exactly? How was Strongarm taken and why?"

"As I said, we had just had an encounter with the 'Con criminal Steeljaw, he's a dangerous Decepticon who is very conniving. He's become the leader of a small group of Decepticons with only two members, probably three now, and he's been looking to expand it so he can take over this world and make it his empire."

"Sounds a bit like Megatron," Ultra Magnus pointed out.

 "Yes. Anyway, we were heading back after dealing with him when a tree fell in our path and blocked us, so we went to investigate. Sideswipe went one way, Strongarm went another way and I went another. After a few moments of searching and finding nothing, I told Sideswipe and Strongarm to meet me back at the road. Sideswipe returned but Strongarm didn't. I called her comm but got no response so we went to look for her. 

A few minutes into the search I suddenly heard Sideswipe scream out in pain followed by Strongarm screaming out his name, her voice was coated in worry. I knew something was going on. I went running to the location I heard the screams coming from, running into Grimlock along the way. But when we got to the location all we found was Sideswipe laying on the ground unconscious and bleeding out, there was no sign of Strongarm anywhere."

"We wanted to look for her, honest we did," Grimlock cut in, "But we had to get Sideswipe back to the scrapyard so Fixit could work on him." 

"He always worries he's gonna get into trouble for something he did or didn't do."

"I'm hitched to you, 'Bee, I can hear you," Grimlock points out.

"Don't worry, Grimlock, none of us is upset with you. I'm sure you did your best and still are," Arcee says assuringly.

"Yeah, you've done a great job," Smokescreen adds. Grimlock perks up and wags his tail.

"Anyway...," 'Bee continued, "...we did some investigating after we got Sideswipe to the scrapyard but found nothing. We didn't find any leads or anything to indicate where Strongarm could be or what happened to her until her signal suddenly popped up on Fixit's monitor just before you guys arrived."

"So, her signal is your first and only lead since she went missing?" Arcee asked.

"Yes."

"Why hadn't her signal appeared before?" Wheeljack asked.

"Not sure. I suspect that maybe the 'Con used some sort of signal block to keep her hidden. Maybe she somehow escaped and that's why we could see her signal."

"And you think this Steeljaw might have her?" Arcee asks.

"Yes. Though I'm not sure why he might have taken her. I thought that if it was him that took her then we would have heard from him by now, maybe using her as a bargain for the release of his fellow 'Cons. Though it could be that he's been questioning her and trying to get information on us or where we're keeping the other 'Cons or something. But seeing as we haven't heard from him since he took her I'm not so sure."

"Doesn't really matter, if he is the one that took her he's gonna be scrap metal when we get to him," Wheeljack stated with venom in his tone.

"He sure will. Nobody kidnaps our daughter and gets away with it," Arcee added with venom as well.

"I can't wait to get my servos on him if he's the one that hurt Sideswipe," Smokescreen says with complete hatred for the 'Con.

"We're almost to the location Fixit gave me," Bumblebee informs them as they drive through the forests. Arcee, Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Magnus, and Smokescreen all look around enjoying the view they missed so much, it had been so long since they left Earth and they missed everything about it. Seeing the forests brought back so many memories.

~~~~~~~~~~

They finally arrive at the location, transform, and look around, "She's not here," Arcee says with sadness in her tone.

"Well, Fixit did say the signal disappeared. But I wonder what she was doing out here," Bumblebee says just before they hear the sounds of engines. They all look to see Thunderhoof, Underbite, and Fracture pull up.

The three Decepticons stop a few feet from the Autobots and transform, "Eyo, what are you all doin' here?" Thunderhoof asks as he gets ready for a fight.

"Looking for my cadet!" Bumblebee says with a hardened glare, "Did Steeljaw take her?"

"He did. Though we don't know where either of them is right now. We went out scouting for other 'Cons, and when we returned both her and Steeljaw were gone. We assumed she tried to escape and he went after her, but they haven't returned so we figured something must have happened," Fracture explains.

"What does Steeljaw want with her?" Arcee asks as she steps forward.

"He's attracted to her and was determined to mate with her. So he took her to make her his," Thunderhoof responded.

"WHAT!?" They all exclaimed in unison.

"Strongarm will never be with a 'Con like him! He'll never have her!" Arcee yells with anger, she knows her daughter would never fall for a Decepticon.

The three let out a laugh, "Steeljaw doesn't need her to agree to be with him for him to claim her. He's already marked her," Fracture says with a big evil grin.

Wheeljack pulls out his katanas and points them at the 'Con, "You better take that back and say that you're lying!"

Fracture just widened his grin, "But I'm not lying."

"He's not, Steeljaw did mark her," Underbite added. Thunderhoof just nodded in agreement.

Bulkhead pounds his fist into his servo, "He's gonna be turned into scrap when we find him!"

"This news changes things," Bumblebee says as he tries to process everything he just heard.

"How so?" Grimlock asked in confusion.

"Because he's marked her and when a Wolf-Con marks a femme or a mech you can not separate them, if you do the marked femme or mech could offline," Ultra Magnus replies.

"Is he the one that hurt Sideswipe?" Smokescreen asked the three 'Cons.

"Don't know, he didn't say," Thunderhoof replied with a shrug.

Arcee's spark was breaking, her daughter had been marked by a Wolf-Con and she could die if they take her away from him. She couldn't listen to any more of the conversation, it was reminding her too much of what she went through with Megatron, so she went walking around to search for any evidence of what could have happened.

"There are a lot of tire tracks," she says getting the attention of the others. "Which means Strongarm and Steeljaw weren't the only ones here," she added as she continued to look. She came across a piece of metal lying on the ground which seemed to be broken off of something. She squats down to pick it up and examine it.

"What you got there, babe?" Wheeljack asks as he walks over.

"Looks like part of a device used to knock out bots. Like something M.E.C.H used."

"But isn't M.E.C.H all dead?" Bulkhead asks with confusion.

"Yes, they are," Bumblebee responds.

"What's M.E.C.H?" Grimlock asked. He and the 'Cons were confused as they never heard of them before and didn't understand who they were.

"M.E.C.H was a group of humans led by a guy named Silas that found out about us and tried to experiment on us to understand how we worked," Bumblebee explains. "They even stole my T-Cog one time. They were a very dangerous group that had just the right tools to render us helpless."

"You think this M.E.C.H might have them?" Grimlock asked.

"As we said, they're all dead. Silas killed them, then he was killed later by the Decepticons."

"But it seems there's someone that's using their tech, which means bad news," Arcee added.

"Yes. But who?" 'Bee questions as he ponders who the new human threat could be.

"Well, if they took Strongarm we'll find out as we squash them," Wheeljack says as he continues to examine the device they found.

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

The mysterious man had left to take care of some business, leaving Steeljaw and Strongarm alone in their cell. Steeljaw is yelling, demanding that the human come back and explain more of what is going on, and demanding their release. Steeljaw backs up and prepares to ram into the bars to break them, when he does he gets electrocuted. The bars had an electric field around them to keep them from breaking out.

The electricity forces him back and he falls back on his aft. Strongarm just stood there and watched him, when he was knocked back she just rolled her optics and muttered, "Idiot."

Steeljaw heard her and started growling as he got back up, "This is all your fault!"

"My fault!? How is it my fault!?"

"If you didn't escape we wouldn't have been out there for them to catch us!"

"If you didn't kidnap me in the first place I wouldn't have had to escape and be in that spot!"

Steeljaw's growling increased as he started showing his fangs a bit, "If you would stop torturing me I wouldn't have kidnapped you!"

"How am I torturing you!? I don't even want anything to do with you! I just want to get back to my team where I'm away from you! And I assure you when I do get back to my team I will lock you up and get you out of my life even if you are my mate!"

Steeljaw's spark breaks after hearing that which causes him to become even more outraged than he was already. He grabs her and slams her against the wall with a roar, "Don't test me, Cadet! I assure you, you will not like the outcome!" He states in a threatening tone as he continues to growl and show his fangs.

Strongarm looks into his rage-filled optics as fear starts to take over, she doesn't want to move because she is afraid he might maul her if she moves so much as an inch. But Steeljaw started calming down after he sensed her fear and he backed away, still looking at her. He then turns away and heads to another part of the cell to sit down.

Strongarm watched him for a moment, still scared he might attack her and maul her to death. But she soon gets the courage to move and she goes over to the part of the cell where the Energon is, she takes a cube, sits down, and starts drinking it. The two sat in silence on different ends of the cell.

Unknowingly to them, they were being watched. A devilish grin forms on the guy's face, "This is interesting. I do believe I found something good to torture these two, and it will help me learn more about them."

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

Chapter 1

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