#i wasn't replacing her or making her mercs

[ferrarifan4ever]

Oscar's parking space

Oscar Piastri x Fem!Wife!Reader

(This is quite a quick one, primarily because I'm bored)

Warnings: Swearing, Marriage, mention of hospitals{if I missed anything please tell me}

Also,this hasn't been proofread soooooo...

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Y/N had known Oscar basically all of her life, as friends, of course. That was until they turned fourteen when Oscar fell down the stairs and sprained his foot (none of this is true. I think). Him, being the dramatic teenager he was he thought he was going to die. So as he lay there on a random hospital bed in the A&E, [WHAT'S IT CALLED IN AUSTRALIA???] he confesed that he loved you. He didn't end up dying,so no suprise there,but you did end up getting married. Let's skip to the present day shall we?

You were sat in the McLaren motorhome waiting for Oscar to return from his interviews, occasionally twiddling with your rings. You got startled out of your trance by the very man who put those rings on your finger, you glanced up and there he was in all his gorgeous glory. "Take a picture, it'll last longer." Your cheeks blushed red, unaware how long you'd been staring at him. "Ok...let's go!"

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Y/N and Oscar. Against the world. (That would make a banging movie ngl.) As you two walked out of the paddock, occasionally stopping so Oscar could take a picture with a fan, you quickly arrived in the car park. You turned the corner and went to hop into Oscar car, except,it wasn't there. There was no car. This was Oscar's parking space and he made that VERY clear to literally everyone. He swiftly grasped his phone and rung Zac.

"Heya mate,um....yeah. Yeah,I know. Zac. Mate lemme speak. Yeah okay so, basically,my cars gone.Zac,if I knew where it was,would I be calling you right now? Oh shut up,your not funny. Yeah, well how are me and my wife supposed to get back to the hotel. We ain't walking. Okay. Cheers, thanks mate. Yep bye. Love you."

You stared at your his with a confused look on your face."Why'd you say I love you?"

"Because Zac hates when I do it,and it's really funny." It's times like these you wonder why you ever married Oscar."Right so what are they doing about the car?" You said while side-eyeing the empty spot."Oh yeah,their sending out a search party for it. However in the meantime,we have um...a replacement car." As he said this George drove past in a Mercedes branded golf buggy. Oh shit. Where you ridding in the golf buggy? "Hi Oscar and Y/N! I'm your knight in shining Merc." Fuck no, was the exact thought running through your minds. Oh Welp. Might as well.

You hopped onto the back of the buggy and called Oscar on. "For the record George,I hate this." But hey,the end of the day,it was an okay car.

[nilisntgreat]

[howlingday]

Jaune's Shampoo

King Taijitu

"DAMMIT, NORA!" Jaune opened his shower door. As he exited, he noticed his body had drastically changed. Using a mixture of his shampoo and experimental goo found at the fiendish Dr. Merlot's laboratory, Nora had unwittingly created a mutagen just to prank her team leader.

"Brrr! When did it get so cold?!" Jaune asked as his scales slid across the tiled floor. He glanced to his belly and noticed it, along with his hips, legs, and feet had been entirely replaced by a long snake tail. Or was this a snake's hips and legs? As he glanced at his obsidian scales, he noticed the question mattered less and less to him.

"Whatever." Jaune tossed on a shirt and picked up his pants. As he left the bathroom, he noticed the dorm was empty, save for one person. "Oh, hello."

Emerald stood around with a bored look on her face. That is, until she saw Jaune was now half-snake under his shirt. When she was assigned to keep an eye on Team JNPR by Cinder, this was not something she was expecting at all.

"Teammates, am I right?" Jaune sighed.

"Yeah," Emerald agreed, "but I don't think Merc ever thought of anything like this." She stepped aside as he slithered to his closet. Even by her standards, this was a bit too far for a prank.

"Anything I can help you with?" Jaune asked.

"Not really." She replied. "I was basically dragged in here by your pink friend." He scoffed and rolled his eyes as he set his pants inside. "So, uh, what exactly happened to you?"

"I have no idea," he answered, "I was just taking a shower and then this happened." His tail slapped the ground a bit. "I think she did something to my shampoo."

"Really?" Emerald asked, still standing awkwardly to the side.

"Oh, uh, would you like a seat?" Jaune scratched his cheeky with a goofy grin. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel awkward."

"I mean, about as awkward as a ten foot snake-person can make somebody." Emerald took a seat on one of the beds. "So, shampoo swap, huh? Could be worse."

"Worse than shampoo turning me into a snake?" He shut the closet door.

"Yeah," she crossed her legs, "it could make you smell like trash, or worse."

"I guess." Jaune shrugged as he climbed onto his bed. His tail hung off the side as he reached for his comic books. "I don't even know what I smell like."

"You didn't smell your shampoo before using it?" She quirked a brow.

"Am I supposed to?" Judging by the look she gave, he was. "Oh." Then he had a dumb idea. "Uh, I know we don't know each other, but, uh, could you smell me?"

Emerald winced like he just asked her to move a body. She would, but he didn't need to know that. But she would have just been sitting around awkwardly otherwise, so she might as well help this kid out. Steeling her stomach, she got up and moved closer.

As she leaned in, there was strong aroma of amber, accented by the sweeter scents of berries. She gave a soft hum and leaned closer to get a better whiff. As she did, she noticed how glossy his black scales were. She could feel a warmth building in her chest.

"Um," Jaune said in a muffled voice, "I don't know if my hair smells good, but could I keep some personal space?" Emerald looked down and saw she he trapped him against her breast. She stepped away, a rising heat to her face. "Uh, thank you." His own face was flushed.

"No problem." Emerald coughed into her fist. What the hell was that? Just a few seconds ago, he was just some goofy guy Cinder told her to keep an eye on and was locked into a room by his teammate. Now she was pushing him against her tits while huffing his hair? What the hell was in that shampoo?! "Uh, sorry about that. I just... really liked the smell."

"Oh, uh... thanks?" Jaune shrugged awkwardly. He'd never been that close to a woman that wasn't his family, and especially not held in a way that made him feel that uncomfortable. A tinge of pink flushed over his cheeks. "So, uh-"

"Do you want to make out?"

The question came from so far out of left field, Jaune simply stared at her. She was beautiful, sure, but he also barely knew her. In times like these, Jaune had to ask himself, "What would Ren do?"

"I appreciate the offer," Jaune answered, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible, "but I think we should get to know each other more before jumping into this. Otherwise we might regret it." Perfect Ren.

"I'll pay you twenty lien for just one minute." Emerald said, producing the legal tender.

Ren is only human, and even then twenty lien is twenty lien.

"Yeah, that sounds-" Emerald tackled him, pressing her lips into his. As she clutched his face in her hands, her tongue prodded through and began a battle of passion against his. Jaune, high on the adrenaline of the sudden assault, instinctively wrapped his arms and, oddly enough, his tail around the mystery girl.

On his bed, Jaune and Emerald continued to make out, even as his team returned.

"Told ya it would work." Nora winked to Ren.

[fantasyinvader]

Is Shez evil?

The thought occurred to me last night, but I think it's worth discussing. Do we play as an evil character in Hopes? Now, the Hopes!Devs did say that the war wasn't a matter of good vs evil and that it's all a matter of perspective. However, they also said that Hopes wasn't meant to replace Houses, and therefore we can apply the morality of Houses to it.

Shez is implied to be from Shambhala, making them an Agarthan. We all know that the Fodlan games use Buddhist symbolism, and Agartha is where the Asura's were banished by the Bodhisattva when they became drunk on their own power and from there they wage war against the Bodhisattva and the benevolent devas. Tellingly, Shez's unique final class is Asura, cementing this idea.

When I was looking up stuff concerning the Asuras and their world, I found this.

Nichiren defines the characteristic of (The world of the Asuras) as “perverse,” or more literally, “fawning and crooked.” Out of extreme pride or a sense of superiority, people in this condition tend to conceal their real motives and flatter others to win praise. While outwardly courteous, however, they inwardly look down on others. Such a person’s self-image is distorted and unbalanced, colored by extreme pride or a sense of superiority; the self is perceived as extremely large and important, and others as small and unimportant. Those who remain in this state ultimately do harm to themselves through their own conceit.

There was something about this that really hit with Shez. Shez's motivation is to get revenge on Byleth for wiping out their former mercenary unit. It seems like a normal motivation, but Shez also has quotes where they talk about how what happened to them is just the nature of the profession. These quotes make Shez come across as hypocritical. But the nature of the Asura realm would suggest that Shez is just putting on a metaphorical mask, saying things that sound nice while keeping their true motives hidden. It's still on Shez on whether or not they go after Byleth, and Arval not letting go of this motivation, attacking Byleth that leads to Arval's own downfall.

But at the same time, Shez doesn't lose their power like what happens to Byleth at the end of Flower. They don't stop being an Asura. They will still support Edelgard even though her path is supposed to be immoral according to Houses. Shez can confirm that Edelgard is oppressing the commoners under her rule, but unlike Byleth won't lead the BE in opposing her. Their influence on Claude ultimately leads to Claude going down a similar path, meaning it's because of Shez that Claude kills Rhea as he gives into his own hatred. Even with Dimitri, Shez had no problem when Dimitri and company's motives for the war changed to revenge, and Dimitri then continues the war after the defeat of Edelgard and Thales in order to punish the Empire. Then there's Shez's whole “I'm just a merc” gig, he's saying he's nothing more than someone paid to kill others regardless of morality.

With this in mind, we can make a judgement call. Shez, despite appearances, isn't a moral person. Shez might believe that this war is morally ambiguous, who is right or wrong a matter of perspective, but they're someone who kills for money as well as using the war for revenge which could put them into immoral territory, as they're willing to facilitate the suffering of others for their own goals, a big no-no in Buddhism. They don't care if they're the aggressor or playing defence. They're not amoral, ignorant of and not influenced by morality, like Byleth starts off as and from that they end up poisoning Fodlan. Because Shez shows up as the lords flee Kostas, they don't meet Byleth at Remire. They don't lead the lords to a better Fodlan, they just help them fight a war that's not even over at the end of the route.

Shez might appear to be nice, but we should have known better after Edelgard. As to whether they're evil, evil is defined as being “profoundly immoral.” Shez killing Byleth and by extension Sothis, living up to being an Asura, would push them into being evil, and their POV goes against the morality of Houses. That, and the Asura realm is called one of the four evil paths.

[procyo9]

HOLY SHIT I DID IT!!!!!!! JFHEKJGHSKJHFDASHFGSDJK

ok now im getting anxious lol GOTTA GO

WHOLE THING CAN BE ALSO FOUND UNDER THE CUT!! LOVE Y'ALL

as always Crystal belongs to @quaddmgd :3

"Rogue I beg you, please anyone but Palmer? You know I-" "Listen, kid. You come to me asking for help, and I'm giving you help. If you think you're in a position to cherrypick who you 'like' to work with then you either grow up and go talk with Panam or leave." Elegy clenched her fists and stormed out of the booth, bumping shoulders with some stranger on the way out. She was so angry she felt like burning something down; why does it always end up like that? At this point she'll never get her street cred anywhere. She leaned against a wall, not feeling like going home empty-handed. She needed a drink - something to soothe her nerves and give her fuel to think. Elegy raised her sights to look for Claire, who was occupied with-- oh, it's that pretty girl.

She's been coming to Afterlife a lot lately and quickly got recognized among other solos as someone who should not be messed with. Many wanted to work with her, but she prefered working alone; she was an ex-nomad, after all. She probably had to learn to rely only on herself to survive without her family. To be honest, Elegy was a little jealous - she tried really hard to become independent but her ties kept a tight knot on her. No matter how good her skills were, she still was forced to rely on others to help her with matters she couldn't resolve on her own. It can be exhausting sometimes, asking for help - however stupid that sounds.

"Eh, don't worry C, Nix has his days. Afterlife is full of gonks that would pay you just to have a chance of working with you." "I just wish... He didn't need to be so harsh about that." The girl with colorful hair sipped the last of her liquor, soft expression present on her face. At this point Elegy caught herself staring, and she hid her face under her bangs. But did she hear right? Crystal needed Nix's help? Why would she- "Also, you know I prefer working with people who know their stuff. Can't let another gonk die on me," she played with her glass, turning the melting ice cubes inside left and right, much like Elegy's stomach at this moment. She wanted to scream 'I KNOW MY STUFF,' at the top of her lungs, but obviously that wouldn't work. She needed to approach her somehow. She had to.

***

"Heard you need help with some netrunnin'?" Suddenly the seat beside Crystal wasn't empty anymore, and her eyes met with black orbs radiating with confidence. "Did you listen in on us?" She shifted from a relaxed pose to a more stiff, ready-to-act one. Maybe it wasn't the best idea, but it worked! "Listen, Nix knows his shit and all, I get it. But to be honest? I can do anything he can - if not better - not counting the fact that I'm simply just a lot cooler to be around. You should ditch that old ex-corp, he and Rogue can go be pains in the ass together in that shitty booth of hers," Crystal's soft expression was long gone, replaced by way more annoyed and suspicious one. "Huh, you do gigs for Rogue?" "Sometimes. When she doesn't pair me up with assholes, that is." Elegy fiddled with her fingers, watching her hands; somehow her confidence began depleting, so she decided - it's now or never. "So, how about that - you help me, I help you." "Well, since you did listen in; what makes you think I'd just go and risk my life with a random gonk-" "You might wanna tune in and listen to the news then; rerun is about to start." Claire shouted from another end of the counter, serving drinks to a group of young mercs. Crystal's eyes shot back to the blue-haired gal, who just shrugged and turned her head to the TV.

The news lady began going on about the latest case of a corporation being targeted by a cyberterrorist known as The Plague; after their last attack, more than 2000 Biotechnica employees were stalled in their work. All employees on-site were found unconscious and poisoned, with no damage other than their security being compromised - there were traces of some top secret documents being stolen, which seemed more like a nasty joke left by the attacker rather than a slip-up. “The nasty joke being a dick. Drew it myself,” Elegy commented on the news, her hands intertwined behind the back of her head like some laid back anime character. All she got in response was a ‘I am still not convinced’ smirk, as Crystal went back to playing with her - now completely empty - glass. “They’re still clonin’ humans. Got all the evidence backed up on a shard, but got nobody I trust with it yet,” her expression was serious now, and she meant it. “They clone them, force them to think and feel, and then they experiment on them. Playing fucking god… No matter how helpful they were during the energy crisis and food industry, this is beyond fucked up.” "Holy shit,” a small chuckle escaped from Crystal, who seemed rather surprised by the sudden change of tone. “That really does sound fucked up. And you really pulled off something like that all by yourself?” “Well, can’t doubt Claire.” Elegy beamed a smile at the barkeep, who winked back while still working her beverage magic. ”They used to call me The Omen at first, it’s all silly really but still, that’s what I get for having a ‘signature move’ or whatever…” She began to ramble a bit, feeling the heat in her gut rising with every positive reaction she got out of her soon-to-be partner. “Hm. Okay. Tell me what’s up with that gig. I think we might work together quite well.” “...You mean it?” “Yep. So? Gimme something to work with!” “!! Okay, so there’s this new smart link prototype-”

***

“So if I help you steal that prototype for your Ashura, you’re gonna help me with cracking the security? That building is tight as shit you know-” “Yup! You won’t even have to lift a finger. In and out.” “And you need me because… You can’t drive a car?” “Yeah!” Her innocent smile was devastating in a way. Crystal couldn’t believe it at first, but it seemed that this girl was serious. “What the hell. Let’s do it. I’m Crystal, by the way.” She reached to the bubbly one next to her, with the intention of shaking her hand. Elegy returned the gesture with a little bit of hesitation, but quickly pushed all those feelings of doubt away - this was a time for celebration. “Elegy! You know, this calls for a toast. You ever tried David Martinez?”

[kimarisgundam]

(Not irl, just Cyberpunk Red stuff again 🤣)

Omg I am so annoyed by my Netrunner's dad. Our DM is just making him a total nightmare to deal with >:U

When my Netrunner was with Arasaka, her handle was Requiem. But Requiem wasn't one person... Requiem was a group of netrunners that her sponsor (actually her bio dad) hired

(Mako. Requiem. I know it's cheesy! All her handles are shark related 😭)

^ my Netrunner never had a close relationship with the other netrunner NPCs cos they were "disposable". My Netrunner was the only one dad cared about in his own twisted way

But it's precisely cos he "cared", he demanded perfection. My Netrunner just was never good enough 🥲. So she kept "improving" herself

This character arc in our campaign occurred waaay before Phantom Liberty came out, but my character was like Songbird 🥲

That's why I sided with Songbird in the DLC 🥲. As my Netrunner, I was used the same way 🥲

I replaced my insides for dad/Arasaka, I even messed with the Blackwall, killed innocent people, and betrayed my best friend... but it still wasn't enough 🥲

I was lucky cos I somehow rolled very low values for every piece of ware I installed, but my max Humanity was still badly impacted

I packed in so many internal modifications that I was betting on low rolls cos even an average roll would send me straight into cyber psychosis 😭

But Requiem needs a leader... I found out during last night's session that dad has been putting pressure on a kid he's sponsoring in Arasaka Academy to fill my shoes

But the kid couldn't take it and he snapped. He went mad and turned on dad

The other netrunners/mercs couldn't stop him, and if he continues to rampage he'll likely damage important research files (and dad's reputation within Arasaka)

Dad said he knows I've cut him off. But he needs me to help him. I owe it to Arasaka. Arasaka funded my education and made me who I am today

So I caved... he's right. I owe Arasaka. I abandoned my duty when I ran away, but I'm not shameless enough to fully turn my back on the corp (I'm also scared that if I say no, dad will go after my crew...)

My Netrunner is considered a "prodigy" cos of a few feats I pulled, so duh, I can stop him

But I empathise with the NPC... he is like me... he didn't ask for this. He's just a kid. I begged dad (our DM >_>) not to dispose of him 😭

But dad said a dog that bites its master can't be trusted... so they off the kid infront of my Netrunner 😭

I hate my Netrunner's dad omg >:U

Rockerboy was right. Dad is a bad person! I cannot believe I'm related to such a horrible person! I want to leave Night City! I hate it here >:U

[morganlefaye79]

Can I get 1 for everyone; 15 for Vicco; and 17 for Joris pls?

Thank you for the ask 💜. Those are going to be fun!

You can ask me more questions here.

Demons of War: Is there a job that has left a permanent mark on your OC?

We're going for the sweet angst again 🤣

Valaire: He killed as was his job as an assassin, many people. He regrets most of them, all of those left a mark on him. When he became a merc he always tried to get the best outcome without killing, if he ccould. But the one kill that left him with a deep scar was the hit on the parents of his future wife. This was also the hit that made him question his life for the first time, but more would follow.

He didn't know who his victims were and he only found out that this particular kill were Faye's parents when they were already married. So he kept his mouth shut and never told her. Until he thought he would die and had a goodbye email prepared that was sent to her while he has fallen into a coma.

They stayed friends after their divorse in 2078, when he married Kerry instead, since it was a convenience marriage from the start, but she never could forgive him that he killed her parents.

Vicco: Let's see if I can write around it that I don't need to use TWs 😬

With Jackie's help, Vicco cpuld make a name for himself as a thief and merc. When Faye got pregnant, he wanted a better life for his child (Kilian wasn't born yet) and started to take every gig he could get his hands on, even the very bad ones.

The gig he took was actually simple, go in, steal a car, ride out.

He was warned beforehand from several mercs to not take that one, but he didn't listen.

He went into the garage, which was quite big found the car and was nearly sure to succeed as he felt something hitting his head.

After 2 weeks Maelstrom released him, they didn't even had the mercy to kill him for which he had begged at some point.

He was brought to Vik who had to remove both hands because they were damaged beyond repair. Vicco now had lost all his rep and both hands. He needed a very long time to recover from that, even when Vik got him 2 cyberhands, the mental scars remained. It costs him his relationship with Faye and his son, who was now born.

Joris: The worst thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies, but from someone you trust to some degree.

Joris felt betrayed by his own uncle, the person that actually raised him. In hindsight he came to the conclusion that his uncle just took him in out of spite, to use him to get back at his brother (Joris' father). Joris was always told that his parents didn't want him because he was "ugly" and a "failure".

When Joris got into a fight, which wasn't initiated by him he lost his arm and had a surgery to replace his spine with a sandevistan. He was berated by his uncle that he was too weak and that he should have had killed the attacker instead of getting nearly killed himself.

Since it was an emergency surgery, the hospital didn't have a sandevistan that fitted him perfectly so he got one that was longer as it should have been, which causes Joris back pain and is a constant reminder that he was too weak, even though he knows that this isn't true.

Smoke on the Water: What does your OC actually truly think about the sex industry in Night City?

Shitty at best (short answer) The long answer is still that the sex industry in NC is shitty but with more words. It depends on where you work actually, if you're out on the streets you're every day at risk to not survive that day either by clients or gangers that think you need to do them a favor. They highly agree with Judy, that every single sex worker, even if not "useful" at that moment should be able to join the Moxes so that they have at least some kind of protection. Especially those on the streets. Difficult are those that work in dollhouses, brothels, etc. that are owned by gangs. They are safer, as long as they make money, but they are still threated poorly. Vicco was on the streets, that's where they started their "career" as a joytoy, they were just lucky that they knew how life on the streets works, most don't. Besides this they also were a merc sometimes still taking gigs when the chance was given. So they can fight back in extreme situations if everything else fails.

They never worked in a dollhouse or brothel so they can only refer to things they'd heard from victims and others so they avoided this step from the start. They were very popular with their clients and they got more and more clients by recommendation until they could stop going out on the streets. All his clients could now call them and make an appointment.

They joined the Moxes at some point and took gigs from them when a score had to be settled. They do gigs for sex workers at a far lower rate than they would normally get.

Sex workers are also far more endangered to get addicted to drugs and/or alcohol and the suicide rates are rising every year.

Under the Bridge: If your OC is a netrunner, what does their interface look like?

I turned this question into a little practice exercise.

This is Joris' portable interface on his cyberdeck, I could have made it better probably with more time, but I think it turned out well enough to show. If you're curious, here is the clean one:

*disclaimer: Joris didn't give milk to Nibbles, he is just a stinker. And yes in my hc Nibbles is male, because my stinker is male as well.

[crushes-georg]

For the touching asks, I think 17 with Crossy would be interesting huh? > w > @rexscanonwife

17. holding the other’s chin up

Running. Asha had been running for far too long. She was supposed to rendezvous with the squad fifteen minutes ago, but of course, she had gotten hung up when she had nearly lost her rifle in the confusion from the mercenaries that were after them. She had gone back to get it – of course she went back to get it. Why wouldn't she? It was a gift! She had promised to keep it safe...!

That slip-up had cost her – and more importantly, the squad – valuable time. A few bruises from up-close confrontations, one nasty burn on her shoulder from too close of a graze of blaster fire; sure, she wasn't unscathed, but she was alive, and she could run. That was enough.

By the time she had managed to make it back to the ship, the others were already waiting and primed to go airborne. It was all a blur by that point – getting aboard, making sure everything was secure, plopping down on one of the currently unoccupied bunks while Tech got them all spacebound and into hyperspace. Only when all that could be heard was the hum of the engine did Asha finally relax, adrenaline slowing.

She looked at the rifle propped up next to her. It had a few scuffs on it, which she winced at. She had promised to keep it in tip-top shape – she would have to buff those out... as she reached over to grab ahold of it, the mechanic winced, a low grunt of pain breaking the silence in the cabin.

Who else would be at her side in an instant – she would've sworn he practically teleported there – but Crosshair.

"You're hurt," were the first words he all but hissed out. Asha gave a small shrug as best she could, but Crosshair wasn't having it. His hands were quick to rest upon her arm, looking at the burn – it wasn't deep, and it would heal quickly when wrapped. But no doubt it stung like all hell.

Dark, welting bruises bloomed on her crimson skin, and Asha didn't say a word. She felt strongly about pulling her own weight with the group – and that, to her, meant not complaining when she got hurt. But she could feel those tawny eyes all but boring into her, and Asha could hardly stay together under the pressure.

"...I-I went back for the gun," she finally said. "I... one of the mercs yanked it out of my hands before I could get away. I-I couldn't leave it behind, I promised you I'd take care of it, so I–"

"You could've been killed." Crosshair's voice was like a razor dragging across her skin. It was cold, it was sharp. It made Asha flinch. She kept her gaze turned away as he admonished her. "It's a gun. They can be replaced. Lives can't."

Asha said nothing. He was right, and she knew it. She wanted to argue – to say that it was because it was one of his rifles that it was so important to her. That it was because she made a promise to him. That... she didn't want to disappoint him. She wanted him to keep giving her that fond look he was certain no one noticed whenever he saw her carrying it around, practicing with it, mimicking shots while it was disarmed. She never wanted that to stop. And none of that was anything she could possibly vocalize.

Calloused fingers brushed underneath Asha's jaw, making her eyes widen slightly and the smallest of gasps pass between her lips. Crosshair carefully tipped her chin up, handling her face with the utmost care, the most delicate of touches. He held her chin up, examining her face, looking her right in the eyes. He looked ever-stoic, calculating, examining... but this time, with the slightest undertone of genuine worry underneath his perpetual scowl.

"...fix the gun later. Those bruises are going to get worse before they get better," he murmured under his breath in a quiet rasp as he studied the bruising on her face. "I'll get something to wrap your arm with. Don't try moving."

With that he stood, and disappeared down the ladder of the ship; and all Asha could do was sit there, her fingertips gently tracing her jaw, still feeling the sensation of his fingers holding her chin in a way she'd never felt before all her life.

[robotslenderman]

Thinking of how I don't have enough vampires for Sydney by Night and @ryttu3k was talking about how they basically have AU versions of the same OCs and I'm like. fuck it. I'm probably going to do the same. I'll end up changing names and making new OCs as necessary to replace existing connections, but my Sydney vampires need to be populated dammit

I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep my headcanon as congruent as possible with @ryttu3k' and @nevertrustanoracle's, and work with their ideas, or just branch off entirely with my own AU.

If it's my own AU, then Sarrasine is dead, and the SI took over Sydney when the lockout laws happened, and Sydney's vampires have been clawing it back. They have no Prince due to the chaos. Slowly, they've been ejecting the SI and taking it back.

Sullivan Blackmoore -- inspired by his dynamic with his siblings + Alec Cross, I'm thinking his SbN version is one of four siblings (two brothers; not!Alec is Lasombra now whoops and two sisters) who were Embraced very close together and have a very close dynamic. With most vampires you can chip away at them and eventually turn them against each other; with this four, absolutely not. They were a unit back when they were fledglings and nothing can shake that. Of course, they don't let their enemies realise that; they frequently pretend to betray each other in order to flush out their enemies and destroy them. The four of them know that being typical Cainite backstabbers will not allow them to survive long even if they were interested in that; they know that power, true power, lies in unbreakable trust and faith in one another (though they'd all gag at how fluffy that sounds). Because of this, and their (mostly) good relationships with their own childer, they are a very real thorn in the side of the current Prince and many agree it's a matter of when, not if, one of them becomes Prince.

In an AU where Sarrasine is dead, one of them is right on the brink of claiming Praxis and the others keep threats in line by posing as rivals for the Princedom, constantly keeping the city in an eternal stalemate that never ends, allowing them all to hold power.

Wendy Taylor -- her equivalent is the childe of the Nosferatu Spymaster of Sydney. Much like Wendy, she's a prodigy, and she was one of the first Nosferatu in Sydney to start bugging and tracking phones. Unfortunately for her, she's not as powerful as she could be due to some of the major power players of Sydney being a herd of fucking Lasombra. Still, she has a reputation all across the country. She also spearheaded Sarrasine's efforts against the SI, despite her youth, and for amusement fucks with Abrams over in Canberra.

Oliver Stonecreek -- This version of him is orphaned; without his sire and father figure, Sydney!Oliver was forced to fight his childlike instincts and neurology in a way even LA!Oliver wasn't. He's still a Brit, but in this continuity after his predecessor's destruction, he was essentially forced to make a choice -- either step forward as Primogen and do what it takes to lead the local Tremere, or let his sire's enemies dismiss or destroy him. He chose the first. The child in him misses having a parent every night, but he's made himself grow up in order to take the responsibilities he has to. The loneliness of fighting his nature is very isolating.

Elisa Mulgrew -- Her equivalent and her sire/partner are two freelancers; she operates as a spy and a courier, her sire/partner often hires himself out as a merc or a bodyguard. They always travel together, though; her sire's abandoned his post more than once to stay with her.

And ofc my original Sydney by Night characters:

Samir -- The first-ever childe of Mithras; they barely remember each other, and Samir thinks, but isn't completely sure, that he's Mithras's childe, as his Embrace happened when Mithras was still a fledgling and went by another name, and he GTFO because he thought Mithras was weird as shit. Is a trans man. Actually ran into Roger de Camden during Roger's exile from Britain during WWII; Roger is pretty damn sure who he is. Samir is a Methuselah, but has largely squandered his powers in favour of spending most of his time hanging out with humans. Most people are unsure of what his true clan is as he is an accomplished Thaumaturgist but also spent a considerable amount of time learning Vicissitude.

Mariner Gangrel -- Mariner Gangrel who imprinted on a Lasombra Methuselah who succumbed to the call of the sea and has gone borderline Wight since then. Used to hang out a lot at the Great Barrier Reef but got sad at how humans fucked it up since he last visited. Aboriginal man who was Embraced decades before white settlers showed up when a Mariner Gangrel wandered out of the sea for a snack. (Provided this story is a respectful one, anyway; I know certain groups should never be made vampires so I may change this in time.)

Tilly -- A serial killer turned Salubri, her new powers of empathy make her angry-cry a lot, which just makes her angrier, which just makes her cry harder. She is determined to be her old psychopathic self and runs a Sabbat pack, and is frequently made fun of because of how badly she copes with her empathy.

Her sire -- "Some French arsehole" who occasionally turns up and asks Tilly if she's ready to redeem herself yet, and then fucks off again after she cusses him out. They're the only Salubri they both know.

Slimy Tremere -- Dude who totally pillaged a lot of Tremere artefacts after the destruction of S!Oliver's sire and how sells them on the black market, along with some of his own, some of which are fakes and some of which are not. Super dodgy and very sarcastic. The only reason he's still alive is because he also sells information to rival the Nosferatu, and also some people think he's too funny to kill.

Brujah Lawyer -- A Prince-wannabe who's finding the Lasombra group an enormous pain in the ass and is the only person who realises they don't actually hate each other as much as they pretend. He's a major candidate for Prince that most people back on account of hating the Lasombra, but the Lasombra make up for that in power, and he just can't beat the fuckers.

[crossdressingdeath]

Honesty, the most rushed section of the game for me is actually the beginning. Like the explosion of Haven is a loading screen? What? It would've been better to walk around the area + interact with the various factions before everything went boom. Also I would've liked it if they made it so that all the possible Inquisitors were canon, like in DAO. Subtle hints here and there. Like hearing of the tattooed elf sneaking around, the Qunari band hired to be there, the mages from Ostwick and so on.

I believe it's generally accepted that all the possible Inquisitors are canon, but that's through a combination of them all having their own reasons for being present (meaning there's no actual reason for them to be mutually exclusive Conclave attendees) and the precedent set by DAO rather than actual in-game confirmation. But yeah, even a short playable section where you get to actually wander around the Conclave and maybe fulfill a few objectives would've been a better opening. And it wouldn't have been hard to add in hints at the other Inquisitors being present. Trevelyan and Adaar's presence would be easy to bring up (Trevelyan's with the mages/Templars and a Qunari merc band would not be easy to miss so their factions would be well established as there), and maybe someone could mention there being intruders around to suggest the presence of Lavellan and Cadash. It would also allow for some early characterization for Quiz: what do they think of the Conclave's chances? What are their personal goals? How do they feel being in this situation? All that is stuff that gets shoved aside because how Quiz felt about the Conclave doesn't really matter after it blows up, but it could definitely have been explored if the game started at the Conclave. Also I am still thinking about how fantastic it would've been to have the option to play an Inquisitor who absolutely intended to kill Justinia to derail the whole thing if it looked like the Conclave wasn't going their way, just because the roleplay potential of being completely prepared to murder the Chantry's leader only to wind up deciding the course of the Chantry's future in an entire different way than what you intended is absolutely fucking fantastic. Maybe I want to be the cast's resident untrustworthy apostate, Bioware!

But the way the inciting incident of the whole game happens before the game even starts is like... it's like if DAO started at Flemeth's hut and you didn't learn the details of Ostagar until hours into the game. Maybe HLtA would've been more interesting if we saw the Conclave at the start of the game and HLtA was free to do something interesting with the cast being physically in the Fade instead of being stuck playing catch-up over events that there was no real reason to keep from us! You'd lose the crisis of faith aspect of "actually Andraste didn't choose you" by dropping the memory loss angle, but that only matters if you're Andrastian anyway and could easily be replaced by taking the brief post-HLtA question of "you definitely weren't chosen, do you tell people that or do you take advantage of their worship for your own ends" and making that into the big-ticket question for Quiz across the whole game rather than "were you or were you not chosen by Andraste". Plus the "do you tell the truth or take advantage of being worshipped" question would fit with non-Andrastian Inquisitors a lot better, since it can't be brushed aside the way the question of whether you were chosen can; a non-Andrastian Quiz can go "Obviously I wasn't chosen, Andraste was just an ordinary woman and there was nothing holy about her" and on a personal level that's the end of it, but whether or not they take advantage of everyone worshipping them or try to make the truth apparent is something they would have to engage with. And it would've given the player some context for what's been going on since DA2 that brought the rebellion to this point? Because as it is we're left with the uncomfortable question of why the mages and Templars are trying to "compromise" when the Templars want to lock mages up for existing and the mages want to not be locked up for existing. This isn't a situation that really allows for compromise! At least getting an idea of what the people present were thinking would help explain that!

[keldae]

The markets of Baldur's Gate were never silent – even in the dead of night, there were guards moving through the lanes, or people up to no good, or late-night patrons of the taverns. During the day, it was frequently pandemonium, between hawkers and buskers and mercenaries filling the streets. In the chaos, it was easy for a little half-Elf girl with auburn hair and blue eyes to slip between a couple of human mercenaries without being caught by her long ponytail. One of the mercs didn't even flinch when his coin purse was neatly sliced into, and his money was caught by deft fingers.

But Deviali knew from past experience that it would not do her well to linger. Any second, the mercenary would reach for his coins to pay for the meat pies he was in line to get, and realize that he'd been robbed blind. Best to be far away by then. She made her way around a statue of some god or another, and once in the shadows, looked down at her prize. Seven gold pieces, and a couple of silvers, plus a handful of coppers – this would do well. Maybe this would even earn her an approving nod from her father, who hadn't so much as smiled since Mama had left. Jehn at least would be impressed with this little prize.

“Hey!” bellowed a male voice. The human had realized the crime he'd been a victim of. Time for Devi to sneak away in the crowds. Shoving her stolen coin in a pouch under her tunic, she made her way out into the crowds, keen eyes darting around, looking for another easily-grabbed purse or another valuable item. The little dagger up her sleeve felt reassuring, reminding her that she wasn't a helpless eight-year-old, should any of her targets retaliate.

A scuffle in an alley got her attention. Curiosity and caution warred for a moment in her mind before her insatiable curiosity won out. She trotted into the alley to see a ragged-looking tiefling woman, trying to shelter two tiny children behind her, as another human loomed over them. “You didn't make your protection payments, bitch,” he growled. “Pay up.”

“I can't! I have no money! My children and I haven't eaten today!” The tiefling sniffled. “Please, have mercy –”

“The boss’ mercy is at an end. He wants his money, now!” The enforcer sneered. “Course, I could take you to him myself…”

“He'll kill me! I-I-I'll get the money to you, I just need more time–”

“You've had plenty of time. Maybe selling one of those whelps will settle your debt.” The enforcer reached out and snatched one of the tiefling children by their shirt. “Consider the kid a partial payment on what you owe.”

“No!” wailed the mother, as her child screamed in terror. “Please, not my children! Take me, but leave them alone!”

“No, I think I'll take the kid,” the enforcer chuckled. “What are you gonna do about it?” A second later, he swore as a rotten egg pelted the back of his head. “Who the hells–?!”

From her new vantage point atop an overhanging roof, Devi took aim with another egg, lifted from a rotten basket, and threw again. This one hit the enforcer in the eye; he yelled in disgusted pain, dropping the child to claw at his face.

Fortunately, the tiefling mother recognized a good opportunity when she saw one. Snatching her child's hand, she fled down the alley, both children following her as fast as their little legs would take them. Devi grinned, then threw another egg for good measure, this one landing on the enforcer’s face.

Unfortunately, the enforcer saw her a second before rotten goo splattered across his bearded face. Devi winced when she saw the malice in his eyes. Time to go while she could; she raced off over the rooftops, sandal-clad feet carrying her swiftly over the roof tiles.

Once, she dared to look back, and yelped when she realized the enforcer had climbed the wall to the rooftops and was now chasing her. Quite aware that her little dagger wouldn't do much good against a big, armoured human with clear intentions of murdering her, she fled, her earlier glee replaced with alarm. If she could make it to another area of the city, near the temples, she could try to seek refuge with the priests of some deity. The clerics were normally welcoming of little girls who were fleeing for their lives from hulking, murderous thugs.

She slid down a drain pipe and emerged from the alley into another crowded thoroughfare. A coin purse carelessly hanging on someone's belt made her eye it longingly – but she was still being chased. No time to steal from another oblivious shopper. If she cut through another alley, and made it to the drain connecting it to the city sewers, she could make it to the temples and claim refuge for at least a little bit –

She shrieked as a big hand grabbed her ponytail and dragged her into another alley. “Think that was funny, did you?” snarled the enforcer, reeking of rotten egg and radiating rage. “I'm gonna leave you in pieces all over Baldur's Gate. Worthless little brat that you are!”

Devi slipped her dagger out of her sleeve and swiped at the wrist holding her, and a second later, saw stars as she was backhanded. Her nose already felt hot and swollen, and she could feel blood pouring from it.

“You got balls, girlie, trying that stunt!” The enforcer pulled out a club from where it had been stowed on his back. “When I'm done with you there won't–”

There was a grunt, and the hand gripping Devi's hair suddenly let go. She whipped around to see her attacker fall to his knees, eyes wide and hands pressed to an already-bloody section of his leather jerkin. Another hand grabbed Devi's arm and jerked her away from the thug, and her older brother's voice gave a sharp command. “Run.”

Devi took one look at Jehn, wielding his dagger like he was going to stab the enforcer again, and obediently took off in a run. He would make sure that the enforcer couldn't come after her… but Jehn had some strange ideas about what was appropriate for a little girl to see, and a man dying wasn't on that list. And she knew better than to argue with him.

—

Father had not been pleased with Devi’s spoils today, or with the blood staining her face and her shirt. She sniffed as she scrubbed at the ruined shirt, her nose still hurting from the earlier smack. Her father had gruffly declared it to be not broken before throwing her to the front steps to try and fail to clean her tunic. No point wasting money on new clothes that she would just outgrow, after all.

A body dropped to the step beside Devi; she flinched before seeing Jehn's blue eyes looking at her. “Thanks,” she mumbled, looking back at the stupid shirt.

“Any reason you decided to take on a thug like that?” Jehn asked. “I nearly caught shit from the city guard, and they barely believed I was saving you when I knifed him.”

Devi shrugged. “He was stealing a woman's kid an’ roughing her up. ‘Course I got involved. He just… ran faster ‘n I thought.”

“You and your sense of heroism. I'm shocked the old man ain't beat it out of you yet.” Jehn sighed. “You just gotta try an’ help everyone, don't you?”

“Mama would,” Devi quietly said, looking down at the shirt. “She said ‘s the right thing to do.”

“Your mother who left you behind?” Jehn asked.

Devi scowled up at her half-brother. “I bet she's doin’ good things that Father don't like! Savin’ people an’... an’... stuff.”

“She coulda saved us,” Jehn muttered. “Dev, next time you see a thug from one of the crime lords in Baldur's Gate roughin’ someone up, just… don't get involved, yeah? I ain't always gonna be there to save your ass. And we both know Father won't give a damn.”

Angrily, Devi swiped a hand over her eyes and blood-crusted nose. “I can take care of myself,” she mumbled. “Just got unlucky today.”

“Like you got unlucky last tenday and I had to come spring you from the city guard?”

Devi scowled. “I had that sorted out.”

“Didn't look like it.” Sixteen-year-olds were so annoying, and Jehn was among the worst. “Picking the lock on the Grand Duke's carriage like that and gettin’ in shit for it…” Jehn sighed. “One a’ these days, you're gonna get really unlucky and get killed by the guard, or kidnapped by clerics, or become some wizard's live experiment. If that one wizard you tried stealing from a while back finds you, I bet he'll turn you into a sheep for real.”

“... Wizards can't turn people into sheep,” Devi argued.

“I've seen one do it,” Jehn confirmed, nodding. “Some old geezer caught a pickpocket an’ turned him into a sheep, just like that.”

Devi shifted uncomfortably on the step. “... Bein’ a sheep can't be worse than here,” she finally said.

“Sure it can. Some tiefling can get hungry an’ eat you as a sheep,” Jehn pointed out. “An’ then I won't have my favourite baby sister anymore. What ‘m I gonna do then?”

“Father'll be happy anyway, if some wizard kidnaps me an’ turns me into a sheep,” Devi quietly said. “Or the priests take me, or the city guard, or…”

“Yeah, but Father don't like nobody. An' I'll be upset anyway.” Jehn leaned over and ruffled Devi's tangled hair. “Just… be careful, yeah? I don't want you to get hurt or killed or somethin’.”

Devi shrugged noncommittally. “I'll be careful, but I ain't about to stop shit. Ain't nobody helping anyone else, ‘cept you an’ me.”

“You can't change all of Baldur's Gate, or Faerûn, Devi. Even with how big a heart you got.” Jehn smiled affectionately. “But I love that you wanna try. But promise, no throwin’ eggs at bigger, meaner thugs again, yeah?”

“Fine,” Devi sighed. She looked back over at her brother. “Can ya teach me how t’ use the bigger knives like you? Case I gotta stab someone for real?”

Jehn made a face and muttered something about “gonna go to hell for this”, then nodded. “Sure. Better ‘n you tryin’ ta use that little letter opener you call a knife. I'll give you some pointers tomorrow.” The sound of a door slamming in the house made them both flinch. “Meantime, you stay out here an’ don't go finding trouble. I'll go see what Father's so angry about now.”

Devi already knew that answer – Father's latest heist had run into a complication with his lockpick expert ending up in the city stocks. But she let Jehn go inside, and went back to her futile scrubbing at the ruined shirt. No matter what her half-brother said, she felt the compulsive need to help people. She couldn't have let harm come to that poor woman and her children.

Maybe, if she was good enough, the gods would smile on her and give her a way out of this life in the slums, or at least make it a little easier to bear.

[female-buckets]

The Shey Peddy Saga

(thread)

After graduating from Temple, Peddy was selected 23rd in the 2012 draft by the Sky. But Sloot, Epiphanny Prince, and the GOAT Penicheiro were the point guards on the roster, so she was cut early in training camp. 

Peddy went overseas to play in Israel, where she made $4,000 a month. Checks were months late, she had to tape her own ankles, provide her own practice gear, drive to away games. She was incredibly homesick, but kept going. 

Thibault invited her to Mystics training camp in 2013. She was cut in preseason again, and thought her WNBA dreams were dead. That fall, playing in Austria, and was so depressed she didn’t leave her room except for basketball. She told her family and agent she wanted to quit. 

But she gave it one last shot, focusing on Europe, not the WNBA. She played Germany, then in 2017 with TTTRiga in Latvia. She stopped eating junk food and partying, told herself, “Maybe I’m not sacrificing enough, maybe I need to sacrifice more.” The hard work paid off. 

In 2019, TTTRiga played in Euroleague Women, and Peddy was nominated for league MVP and point guard of the year. After 6 years without a bite from the WNBA, Thibault invited her back to Mystics training camp. 

Peddy excelled in camp. She made friends, learned the system, felt she belonged. But on the last day of camp, she was cut. Kim Mestdagh made the final roster instead. Third time wasn't the charm. 

Still, she had her career in Europe. Latvia wanted Peddy to compete for them in 2019 Eurobasket, and thought they could get her a passport. So she flew to Latvia, was ready for practice. Then she got a call from Thibault. 

Meesseman and Mestdagh had left for a few weeks to play in Eurobasket, and Thibault wanted to sign Peddy as a replacement player. She was thrilled. But she was in Latvia, about to play Eurobasket herself! What to do?

The next day, her request for a passport was denied. 

Peddy raced back over the pond and finally signed a WNBA contract. At 30 years old, she made her WNBA debut. She was a garbage-time player. Her roster spot was temporary. It was a dream come true.

This is when I wrote about her:

Peddy played with the Mystics for 3 weeks before Emma and Kim returned, and she was cut again. BUT she was such an asset to the team, Thibault hired her as a coaching + video intern for the remainder of the season. 

So in 2019, Peddy became a WNBA champion as a member of the Mystics coaching staff. Her Instagram post about the whole journey is worth a read.

Then 2020 happened. No teams signed her, even to a camp contract, in the offseason. On her way the Mystics’ ring ceremony, Thibault called. She thought he wanted her to join the coaching staff again.

He had something else in mind: A roster spot for the wubble season. 

The Mystics and Peddy herself struggled with injuries in the wubble. For salary cap finagling reasons, Thibualt waived Peddy midseason. He planned to re-sign her when she cleared waivers.

Only she didn’t clear waivers. The Phoenix Mercury picked her up. 

With Phoenix, Peddy averaged 18 minutes per game in the final 8 games of the season. The Merc made the postseason.

In the playoffs, the Mercury faced the Mystics in a sudden-death game, and Peddy hit the game-winning 3 as time expired. It was mayhem.

She’s played in every game for the Mercury in 2021. She's started 6 games when DT has been injured, including the first playoff game.

She's a key contributor for a team one game from the finals, averaging 20.5 minutes per playoff game. Today she had 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals. 

The WNBA is nearly impossible to break into, and there are so many stories of players overcoming the odds and finding their place. But I don't think any player has a success story with as many improbable twists and turns as Peddy's. It's one to celebrate.

–––

In 2022, Shey Peddy played in all but 2 games. And she started in 24 of those games. She averaged 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3.5 assists.

Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith couldn't play the last four games of the Mercury's impossibly challenging season. Most people believed the Mercury would never make the playoffs without their superstars.

But Shey Peddy stepped up her game. She averaged 17 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists in those last four games. She set career highs in every stat category. And she put together the first double-double game of her WNBA career. Her elevated play got the Mercury into the playoffs.

She led the team with her joy, her grit, and her characteristic craftiness.

Last night, in game 1 of the playoffs, she suffered a major injury. It looked like an Achilles tear. But I know this isn't the last chapter of Shey Peddy's professional basketball saga. There are still more chapters to come.