#no offense to COD fans

[trixree]

in the mood for codywan spicy fics, any recs???

Per my last post, I'm catching up on old Asks, AO3 comments, and messages received during my hiatus! (Psst, go do my Fanfic Poll)

So I play this game in my brain called "the things you love are illegal to enjoy" whenever I am in times of high-stress. The way that this manifested for me during the last, give or take, 5 months??? is that I've thrown myself into fandoms that I AM NOT IN, I DO NOT CARE ABOUT, THESE ARE NOT MY MEOW MEOWS, because the stakes are lower for enjoyment, ya know? Like, it was too stressful to read codywan for awhile because I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS and have VERY STRONG OPINIONS AND FEELINGS ABOUT THEM. So instead I started realling call of duty fanfic. no, i cannot explain that move. I will not even try. my partner keeps jump scaring me by googling what the characters in COD look like and showing them to me. That in fact ruins it for me. I don't want to know what these men look like, the point is that I have less than 0 investment in them and that's why i can fearlessly enjoy them banging across many different surfaces. I call it 0-investment smut.

Now that I am somewhat A Person again, I plan to go back to fandoms that I truly do have lots of investment in.

GIVE ME YOUR CODYWAN RECS!!!!!

(I do want to note with immense sadness that my absolute favorite codywan writer of all time, @glimmerglanger both here and on AO3, removed their fics from AO3 I believe due to harassment they were facing. I wasn't around at the time all this went down so I don't know many [if any] of the relevant details, but I was very sad to see that this happened to them and i would be remiss if I didn't at least mention that the fandom has lost an incredible source of talent with their departure. Many of their fics were personally very impactful on me and I hope that they are doing well and wish them all the very best. And here's your reminder that fanfic writers do what they do out of a love for the craft, out of a love for the universe and its characters, and harassment of a creator you don't like is NEVER justified.)

[spider-stark]

LADY STRONG

Benjicot Blackwood x Velaryon/Strong!Reader

Summary - Stuck in the Riverland's on a marriage tour, you pretend to be Lady Strong when Benjicot Blackwood doesn't recognize you as the Princess of the Seven Kingdoms

Warnings - none except not edited!!

Word Count - 3.1k

!MINORS DNI!

// masterlist // send me your thoughts // comments & reblogs appreciated! //

As if the prospect of a marriage tour was not horrid enough, your first stop was proving to be positively dreadful.  

You had imagined the lands surrounding the Trident to be beautiful. A lush, verdant landscape—filled with fragrant herbs and bright, blooming flowers, painting the Riverlands in rich, colorful hues. You pictured babbling streams and plush grass, stunning castles and, perhaps, some equally as stunning men.  

What you hadn’t imagined, however, was the weather.  

Even from within the confines of Riverrun—the ancestral castle of House Tully—you still feel the effects of the merciless heat beating down upon the sandstone walls.  

Your handmaids had tried to dress you accordingly, stuffing you into your thinnest—and, consequently, your least regal—gown, in hopes that it might prevent sunstroke. Yet still, even as three of Lord Tully’s own servants try fanning you while you sulk in the dining hall, you feel as though every inch of your body is drenched in sticky sweat.  

“This is miserable,” you groan to Ser Lorent, the Kingsguard who had been assigned to your tour. Flanking your right, you spare the knight a pitiful, sidelong glance. “I believe I would sooner die a spinster than be forced to live in this sweltering purgatory!”  

The servants, haphazardly positioned around the table, remain utterly stone-faced, not letting on if they found your comment about their homelands to be humorous or offensive.  

Ser Lorent merely laughs. “The Riverlands are known for their humid summers, princess.” With a wink, he adds, “If you ever bothered with your studies, you would know this.”  

“I study!”  

“With the blade, perhaps,” Ser Lorent muses, his teal eyes twinkling with lighthearted mockery. “But certainly not with books, princess.  

Rolling your eyes, you slump further into your chair, your body practically melting into the upholstery. “Leave the geography lessons to Jace,” you tell him, waving an idle hand. “After all, he's the heir to the Iron Throne. I am merely the prized broodmare—” focusing on your plate, and the half-eaten lunch upon it, you try swallowing the bitter tang now filling your mouth—“a royal womb to be sold off to the highest bidder.”  

And, at times, you aren’t even sure if that is considered an honest truth… You’ve certainly never felt royal.  

Like your brothers, you were born extraordinarily plain-featured. With no silver hair or lilac eyes, you appear more like a common-born peasant than someone of prized Valyrian stock—and it didn’t help that, unlike your brothers, you had no dragon, either.  

Ser Lorent watches as you absently push a piece of seared cod around your plate, sighing. “That isn’t true, my princess.” His words are tinged with sympathy. “You are being sold to no one. Your mother wishes for you to have a marriage born of love—not duty.”  

“Ah, yes,” stabbing the fish with the prongs of your fork, you bring it to your lips, “which is why I’m being forced to spend my summer meeting with the haughty sons of fat country lords—for love.”  

His tongue clicks with disapproval. “Your mother has given you a choice in selecting your own husband, princess; which is a luxury not granted to many women.”  

Frowning, you pop the piece of fish into your mouth, turning his words over in your head.  

Gods.  

You hate it when he’s right.  

“Fine,” you relent, still chewing. Turning sideways in your chair, you raise your fork to him in a mock threat, “But my earlier statement stands! If I must take a husband, then it certainly won’t be anyone from here—lest I become no more than a puddle of sweat.”  

Ser Lorent cracks a smile at you. “Should you turn to a puddle, princess, then I vow to mop you from the floor.”  

“How valiant of you, Ser Lorent,” you laugh. “I’m unsure of how I might ever repay you for such loyalty.”  

“I’m not sure you have to worry about that, princess—I don’t believe that puddles are much concerned with matters of debt.”  

Turning back to the table, another soft laugh spills from your lips. “I suppose you’re right, Ser.”  

All too soon, however, your amusement begins to fade. A warm breeze blows in through the many open windows lining Riverrun’s dining hall, the stifling air only accentuating the stickiness of your skin.  

Sucking in a deep, heavy breath, you ask, “How long do we have?”  

Ser Lorent doesn’t ask for clarification, knowing almost at once what you were asking him. “We’re expected back in the Great Hall in a little under an hour, princess.”  

You blow the breath out, groaning slightly.  

An hour—that's all the time you had left before you would be forced back upon the dais, expected to once again smile and be cordial as men and boys from all across the Riverlands made their case for your hand.  

How many of them could possibly be left? This morning alone you had met with dozens upon dozens of them, their voices all blurring into a monotonous hum as they spoke of the history of their Houses—if one can consider nonsensical legends from the ancient Age of Heroes as true history, that is.  

Noticing the dreadful pall cast over you, Ser Lorent clamps a comforting hand on your shoulder. “How about a walk before we go back? It might help to clear your head,” he suggests. Then, with a wry grin, “Perhaps you might wish to think back on the men from this morning—see if any of them might make you change your tune about life in the Riverlands.”  

You pin him with a playful scowl. “There’s not a man alive that could change that tune,” you vow. “But you’re right—a walk might be nice.”  

Rising from your seat, the servants around you lower their fans, silently dismissing themselves.  

“Will you be accepting my company on this walk?” Ser Lorent teases—though you know what he’s really asking is: will you be accepting my protection.  

“After this morning, I believe I’ve had enough company for a lifetime.”  

The knight’s brow draws tight, an apprehensive frown beginning to pull at the corners of his lips. You roll your eyes.  

“Oh, don’t worry so much, Ser Lorent. It gives you wrinkles,” you tease. Adjusting the slit running along one side of your dress, you reveal the dagger holstered on your thigh. “I assure you that if any of these Riverlanders dare lay a hand on me, they’ll lose some fingers.”  

Ser Lorent snorts, head shaking. “It’s not you I worry about, princess,” he jokingly admits. “Just stay close by, understand? Your mother will have my head if anything happens to you.”  

“Yes, yes—understood,” you dramatically gripe, already walking past him to the exit.  

“Oh, and princess?” He calls out just as the guards pull the doors open for you to leave. You glance over your shoulder at him, brows lifted. “At least try not to injure anyone.”  

With one last roll of your eyes, bright with mischief, you shout on your way out, “No promises, Ser Lorent!”  

Wandering through the outer yards of Riverrun, the blistering sun beating down upon your skin, you find yourself overwhelmed by a sudden ache in your chest.  

You miss home. Desperately.  

You miss Dragonstone’s near-constant cover of clouds, forever shielding you from the heat. You miss the cool breeze rolling in off the Blackwater, the air peppering your cheeks with salty kisses.  

But even as you dream of a reprieve from the muggy Riverlands, you can’t help but miss your family—your brothers—most of all.  

Perhaps it is that feeling that led you here, to the training yard, guided by the familiar lull of splintering wood and steel slicing through the air, the sound offering a much-needed remedy to the homesickness twisting in your gut.  

Smaller than the one at Dragonstone, Riverrun’s yard was no more than a cramped stretch of dusty-dirt, lined with old training dummies and archery targets. Mostly encircled by the towering sun-bleached stones of the castles, only a small part of the yard remained open to the sprawling gardens beyond, sectioned off by ornate iron fencing.  

Striding over the open gate, your attention falls upon the lone boy standing in the yard's center.  

As the sunlight beats down overhead, long shadows dance around his feet as he glides through a set of movements—each step calculated, every strike deliberate.  

You step closer, keeping your steps light as you approach. With his back turned to you, you watch as sweat drips down his neck, glistening. It soaks into his tunic, the thin black material clinging to his lean, muscled back.  

He’s talented—you think, studying his form.  

Talent is something you're familiar with—intimately. You were raised around warriors—trained by the Rogue Prince himself. Yet never before had you found yourself so utterly bewitched by a fighter.  

He didn’t move like other boys.  

He wasted no time on the flowery style displayed by so many summer children—the ones who thought of battle as a performance rather than a matter of life or death.  

Instead, he moved with the lethal prowess of an apex predator—his blade cutting through the air with a controlled ferocity that, while lacking the flourish of other warriors, was undeniably impressive.  

Dirt flies as he throws himself into another set of movements—a series of strikes and parries, executing with unbelievable precision. With every twist and pivot, muscles tense and shift beneath his tunic, his body as powerful a weapon as his sword.  

He lunges forward—and wood cracks! as he slashes his blade along the belly of one of the dummies, a move that would have disemboweled a living opponent.  

Cutting through the sudden stillness, you bring your hands up to your chest, filling the yard with a slow clap. Back still turned to you, the boy's spine goes ramrod straight at the unexpected sound.  

“Impressive,” you muse, taking another step towards him. Mere feet remain between the two of you, now. “You move well—better than most, I’d say.”  

The boy spins around to face you, his once elegant movements now blundering as he nearly trips over his own feet. Biting your tongue, you try to hold in a laugh.  

Big, storm-cloud eyes meet your gaze, pinning you in place as he blinks, visibly thrown-off by your presence. “Sorry-” he stammers, out of breath. “I didn’t think anyone else would be coming out here-”  

You lift a hand, cutting him off with a smile. “Oh, no—don’t apologize on my account! I enjoyed the show,” you tell him. “Seems that you have a real talent for swordplay.”  

His cheeks flush, his lightly sun-kissed skin turning a stark crimson. “Thanks.” His laugh is a nervous, awkward thing—endearing, too. He sticks a hand out towards you, the other still limply holding his sword. “Benjicot. Blackwood,” he introduces himself, fumbling over his words, “but you can call me Ben or Benji—or anything, really.”  

You take his hand, biting your lip to mask your amusement. “Pleasure to meet you, Benji.”  

A beat of silence passes before confusion finally tugs at his features, his hand falling back to his side. “Uhm—” another sweet, awkward laugh— “and you are…?”  

Realization dawns on you, leaving your brows to shoot up to your hairline.  

Seven Hells. He doesn't know, does he?

A sudden speechlessness grabs hold of your tongue.  

You suppose you shouldn’t be surprised—after all, you aren't what many expected of a Targaryen princess.

Plain-featured and dressed in thin, common clothes, you imagine you likely appear no different than the servants surrounding you at lunch, fanning you to keep the heat from going to your head.  

Even so, it's rare that you met someone who doesn't know who you are. And, selfishly, after a morning filled with insincere compliments from haughty Lord’s, you like the idea of remaining nameless—titleless—for the first time in your life.  

“Wow—sorry—that was thoughtless of me, wasn’t it?” Tapping a finger to your temple, you laugh. “I’m Mylissa,” you lie, stealing the name of one of your handmaidens. “Mylissa Strong.”  

“Strong?” He echoes, brow furrowing. “Strange—you don’t sound like you’re from the Riverlands. Your accent is—”  

“Southern?”  

Benji nods.  

“Well, I’ve spent the better part of my life in the Crownlands, so I suppose I’ve picked up their accent,” you explain. “I’m here with the princess, actually—as her lady-in-waiting.”  

The mention of the princess—you—turns his skin a pasty white.  

Keeping a tight leash on your curiosity, you try not to sound too intrigued when you ask, “And what about you? Raventree Hall is a decent ride from here, is it not?” On horseback, the ancestral seat of House Blackwood was two days away from Riverrun, if not three. “Are you here to meet with the princess?”  

Benji shifts his weight, leaning from one foot to the other. “Supposed to,” he begins, his words tumbling out, “but I don’t know—I’m not so sure that I’ll go through with it.”  

Your expression falters, disappointment washing over you like a cold wave, combatting the intolerable warmth of the sun.  

“Why not?”  

He shrugs—a timid, shy gesture that feels so unlike the predator you had snuck up on. “There are over a hundred men in there,” he waves an arm to the castle, to the Great Hall within, “all waiting for an opportunity to impress the princess—meanwhile, I can hardly get out a single sentence without choking on my own spit.”  

Your laughter bubbles up involuntarily, a few giggles spilling past your lips. The Blackwood boy shoots you a playful glare from beneath long, dark lashes.  

“Well,” you begin, absentmindedly toeing the dirt between you, “perhaps the princess might find it endearing, don’t you think?”  

Benji scoffs. “Doubtful. I mean, think about it!—she’s a princess!”  

Your eyes widen, glimmering with mock-offense. “And what is that supposed to mean?”  

Once again, that crimson tinge returns to his skin, crawling up his neck, this time.  

“I meant no offense,” he defends himself, mistaking your expression for one of a Lady meaning to defend her princess. “But what could I possibly offer a princess?”  

You tilt your head, pretending to think on his words. “Well, the Blackwoods do have a history of being valiant warriors, do they not? And you seem to be quite skilled yourself,” you say, daring to let your stare drift down to his arms, the short sleeves of his tunic revealing well-muscled, sweat-slick biceps.  

He snorts. “I’m willing to guess that the princess would likely care naught for my skill with a sword.”  

“Then you would guess wrong,” you retort, a faint, teasing smile on your lips. “Many say that the princess herself is quite skilled with a blade—I imagine she would quite like a boy that’s capable of challenging her.”  

Benji’s eyes darken a shade, an unreadable expression crossing his features. “And what about you, Mylissa?”  

The false name catches you off-guard, but you do your best to hide it.  

“What of me?”  

A bit nervous, he asks, “Would you like a boy that can challenge you?”  

Your heart stutters in your chest—skipping several beats as his stare lowers, dipping past your waist and falling upon your thigh. On the dagger sheathed there, no doubt.  

Heat begins to crawl up your neck, hotter even than the sun's blistering rays. “Oh—” You stutter, words lost upon you.  

It’s true that you were used to the attention of men. After all, your morning has been filled with it, and soon enough the rest of your day will be, too.  

But this was different.  

Benji wasn’t giving you attention because you’re a princess, a mere royal womb to strengthen his House’s bloodline. Rather, he was doing it simply because he wanted to—a feeling that was utterly foreign to you.  

Wiping a clammy hand on his sweaty tunic, Benji misreads your silence, taking a half-step back. “Apologies, my Lady—that was too forward and-”  

You don’t let him finish his rambling. Taking a step forward, you close the gap he sought to create between you. “I’ll make you a deal.”  

“A deal?”  

You nod. “As you know, the princess will be in the Great Hall for the rest of the evening, holding court with the other Lord’s who’ve come for her hand. I'd like for you to meet with her.”  

Benji cocks his head, confusion crinkling the corners of his eyes. “I truly mean no disrespect to your princess, my Lady, but I was asking if you might be interested in–”  

“I know what you’re asking, Benji.” You lift one shoulder in a casual shrug. “And after you meet with the princess, if you still wish to inquire about my hand,” you say, placing a palm to your chest, “then I will happily hear you out.”  

In the distance, a bell sounds out—signaling the time, you realize.  

“If you’ll excuse me,” you start, already taking a few small half-steps backwards. “I’m expected inside.”  

Letting his sword drop to the ground, Benji lunges forward to catch your wrist. “So you agree to meet with me after court, then?”  

“If you’re still interested,” you muse, a tinge of anxiety laced through your tone, “then yes.”  

The corners of his lips twitch into a bashful smile. “I give you my word that–”  

You planned to interrupt him. To tell him not to make oaths he wasn’t certain he could keep, knowing that he may very well change his mind about you once he realizes who you are—that you’re not technically a Strong. But, before you can, another voice intervenes.  

“Princess!” Ser Lorent calls out, exasperated, as he walks through the gate. “We must hurry, princess,” he continues, pausing only to give a wary glance at Benji’s hands wrapped around your wrist. “We’re late.”  

Your pulse begins to pound, a surge of adrenaline coursing through your veins at being exposed as a liar by Ser Lorent. 

Benji’s face goes blank—then his eyes go wide, big as saucers as you snag your wrist from his grip.  

“Princess...” He utters, voice laden with disbelief. “Princess?!”  

You can hardly bring yourself to do anything other than grin stupidly at him, nearly stumbling over yourself as you back-up to where Ser Lorent is waiting impatiently.  

“It was lovely meeting you, Benji!”  

You hope he can hear just how genuine your words are.  

“I’ll see you in the Great Hall,” you call out over your shoulder, sparing him one last glance as Ser Lorent guides you to the gate, watching as he blinks in astonishment, still processing the revelation.  

Walking back towards the inner-castle, Ser Lorent glances down at you with a knowing look. “You seem giddy.” There’s a teasing glint to his words that makes you roll your eyes, cheeks flushing. “So,” he continues, his brisk pace never faltering, “does this mean that your statement from lunch no longer stands? That, perhaps, this sweltering purgatory may yet grow on you?”  

You bite your cheek, a permanent grin still etched onto your face.  

“Let’s just say that I’ve decided it’s best to keep my options open, Ser Lorent.”  

a/n - you may ask yourself: lainie, why would you refer to him as mostly BEN in the last fic and BENJI in this one??

and the answer? I have not ONE clue. my brain is rotting and benji is cute.

anyways, hope you guys enjoy this one! feel like I got to explore more of his personality here. additionally, I need HBO to know that if this boy ends up not being benjicot blackwood then I'm gonna fucking riot

benjicot blackwood tag list - @a-song-for-ages @ghostinvenus

[matchadobo]

KIDD; kiss-proof lipstick review

warning/s: very fluff, fem reader, youtuber/streamer!kidd, shy!s/o, modern au, most nsfw thing could happen is an abrupt makeout

note: based from this -> post, smaller italicized texts are sub-bullets

kidd as a youtuber that normally does metal covers with his band (heat, killer, and wire)

has about a solid following of 100k subs bc they're just so cool

that is until his viewers asked for his makeup tut bc he always looks so bomb

his viewers have also requested fit checks like what he wears in a week

kidd forgot to mention that he has a s/o, which mildly upset a certain demographic who was ahem thirsty for him

you as his gf doesn't really mind if he talks to himself in front of his phone or camera on random times, but he always tells you a quick warning beforehand bc you sometimes appear on the bg of his vids/streamer

i also think that at some point, kidd does game streams bc he's lazy to edit. his fanbase supports any content he does whether it's just yap streams or food streams or band rehearsals

i feel like he always aims for competitive games that are pvp like MK, COD, league, etc. it just feeds his ego, and he enjoys trashtalking 😭 riling his opponent up and all that

it's all so funny, which explains his fanbase that tolerates his insufferable temper and jokes. it takes a certain kind of humor that other people might take as offensive

but the second he got sponsored by a punk make-up line, a pr box arrived at his doorstep bc he rarely checks his emails

he'd ask you to do a makeup stream with him, but you were too shy about it. especially after being the final boss of a certain demographic that is attracted to him 😭 but you never told him that. knowing him, he'll probably flip all of them off and cause drama

he'd start up stream, poorly introducing the products. you laughed to yourself at how bad he was at complimenting or kissing ass to the brand he legit has never heard of😭

kidd knows how to apply his makeup; shadow, liner, and lipstick. he tried on a purple and red shadow combo and his usual full eye liner.

his stream at that point became very chill, his fans loving every bit of his craft and how focused he was doing everything. especially at how he looked like afterward

"now we got- kiss-proof lipstick? they sent me a shit ton of fuckin' shades!" he showed a whole box of liquid lipsticks. laughing at the ridiculous amount.

his fanbase requested a test of the kiss proof on his palm, showing interest in the product

but kidd had different ideas. it might be a good way to hard launch you already.

his ig and twt already had pictures of you during dates, but your face was always hidden most of the time

"a test on my palm? oh boy, i have a better idea for that."

he'd call you, "babe! baby! c'mere a moment, i need ya a bit."

his chat would go: "babe?!?! omg hard launch?!", "omg here is his s/o!", "OH GOD KIDD YOU SLICK CHEEKY FUCK!"

you'd be scared for a bit, but kidd looked really excited. besides you also want to check out his makeup products.

"are we gonna do it together?" you muttered lowly, referring to the review

"kinda." he shrugged. "i just got one lil job for you, you'd love it promise."

you were skeptical at first but oh well. kidd lets you pick the lipstick of your choice, which was a bright red. it always looks good on him.

the chat was highkey going crazy when your body from neck below was showing

they also noticed how kidd started acting differently, he spoke softly and he had this meek smile while looking up at you

he lets you apply it on him. you were now seating with the seat he pulled to let you down. the chat now being able to see you. you waved a hi shyly, and man the view count started going up

twt was already full of you guys 😖

kidd then fanned his lips, waiting for the product to dry.

"ok, what's next?" you asked, popping the lid close

"this." he grabbed the back of your head and kissed you on stream. holding the kiss pretty good in there, smirking through it as he did so, before sucking on your lips open

you were too flustered and frozen but he even had the audacity to angle his head the other way to continue kissing you

it was pretty fucking lewd, he was really getting in there

but you, you melted from his lips and his firm grip on your nape

the chat and stream lagged at the amount of chats and view counts increasing exponentially

once he pulled away after a good 2 minutes, he turned to the screen and said, "so? it really is kiss proof, aye?" he bursted out laughing at your reaction which was the same when he started kissing you 🤣

the chat also went hysterical, both from freaking out with the both of you and your reaction

you honestly didn't mind, you half expected it. it's kidd we're talking about🤣 because kidd did it as a flex and as a fuck you to his haters (especially those who were targeting you)

you had to excuse yourself which resulted to even more comedic response from kidd at how cute you are. you were burning red btw

you later come back to tell kidd and chat that you're okay, and you plan to get back on him for that

JASDHSAJDJSAJDSA I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!! JUST DID THIS LAST NIGHT

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

the way Pearl instantly slammed down her "check out Marina she's so ***ing AWESOME" line so fast and it's the smoothest verse she spits in the rap battle-

she was SO READY to gush about Marina she was SO THERE for the chance and when it came she didn't even have to THINK

her going from casual barely-worth-my-time roasts and boasts (talking over Frye's turn like she isn't even there) to 'did you just call marina an imaginary friend?? YO ARE YOU CRAZY SHES AMAZING'

and THEN instead of getting defensive or pissed at Frye's 'oh so she's your groupie' jab she just turns hype man literally goes AS IF! LISTEN TO THIS! before bowing out so Marina can freeze Shiver solid by cheerfully taking every passive aggressive compliment from Shiver with a smile, a hearts eyes emoji, and an uno reverse card

Shiver: "Your voice is so haunting (possibly in a bad way) must be nice for your fans (implying it isn't so nice for anyone else)"

Marina, mimicking Shiver's singing: "You're far too kind! (i see you insulting me on the sly) Love your vibe! (that's very cute~) I can learn so much from your style! (i'll give you a taste of your own medicine if you want me to~)"

Shiver: "You remind me of my neighbor's daughter- (grow up) what do they say? Octo see octo do? (stop copying me)"

Marina: "Glad you approve- (im rubber you're glue) your praise has left me moved (not saying what KIND of moved tho). Thanks to your notes (you decide if i mean your feedback or your actual ability to hit musical notes) I'll find my own groove! (you're not actually worth copying for real~)"

Shiver: "Oh, look at the time. Isn't it getting late? (if you keep acting like a kid im going to treat you like one)"

Marina: "Not at all! I could go on like this all night long. (what do you mean? im having so much fun right now!) (oh but is this hard for you? ...do YOU need a break...?)"

and then Pearl barges in with a HOW'S THAT? YOU HAD ENOUGH YET??????

like kudos to Shiver and Frye for laying out some slick jabs, but they were working as two solo acts and didn't have a power couple combo move to counter Pearlina's with m(_ _)m ....they spent the whole time on offensive defense, trying to inflict some deep lyrical cuts while Pearl and Marina were happily tossing out hooks and reeling in fresh lines as they floated high up above on their dumb little rainbow cloud together

legit Pearl's only real reaction to Frye is her going <3 <3 <3 at Marina, and Marina not even treating Shiver as someone she needs to fight with while Shiver repeatedly tries poking at her, which Pearl sees and just effing LOVES ....amazing.......

no matter who you think rapped better, it's pretty clear which pair had the most fun and got the most kicks out of this (the wives)

WHICH IS EVEN FUNNIER BC IT'S HONEST TO COD JUST FRYE BURSTING INTO OFF THE HOOK'S GREEN ROOM AND YELLING AT THEM FOR DARING TO HAVE A CONCERT IN HER TOWN ONLY TO GET SMACKED IN THE FACE BY A RAINBOW LASER BEAM OF GAY MUSIC I LOVE IT XD

[k0droid]

would they say the n-word / are they racist: twisted wonderland edition

Inspired by twstowo's taxes headcanon post.

I meant to post this during february but i just didnt.

REMEMBER THAT IS ALL FOR SHITS N GIGGLES. IF YOU THINK YOUR POOKIE IS/IS NOT A RACIST, REBLOG OR LEAVE A COMMENT

4/2 edit: JESUS CHRIST DON'T TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY 😭😭 THESE AREN'T REAL HCS, JUST SOMETHING STUPID FOR BLACK TWST FANS TO ENJOY

GRIM: Yess that's my baby boy my son my son yes I give him the pass

RIDDLE: Couldn't waterboard the n-word outta him. Uses 'Off With Your Head' to punish anyone who uses slurs

TREY: Wouldn't. Not a racist and has no interest in saying the word.

CATER: Researches what's offensive to certain groups so he can stay respectful, no n-word from him

ACE: ace is literally that one white friend who thinks his n-word 'jokes' are funny (they're not) and he walks around with Riddle's collar because of that. He def went to a middle school named after a Confederate, but he's not racist for the most part "I play basketball so-" or "I'm gonna say the n-word: ninja!!" - 🥸

DEUCE: No. He's a good guy. He would never and if he said something remotely offensive, he'd apologize with tears

LEONA: YESS BLACK KING 🗣🔥🔥‼‼‼‼

JACK: Could and he does, but only occasionally. Punches the shit outta Ace's shoulder if he says something distasteful

RUGGIE: YES he just light-skinnted 😕 Ace would make fun of him for eating all the stereotypical foods

AZUL: Slightly racist. Just slightly. Seems like the type to get a lil tense when a tanned, well-built dude walks into the Monstro Lounge. starts clutching his pearls n shit

JADE: No, I don't really see him being racist or saying the n-word

FLOYD: Probably the least likely to say the n-word and would get offended that you even assumed. Like his entire mood would change if you mention it "Ehh Shrimpy? You tryna get squeezed? What made you think I would say that??" *fucking kills you*

KALIM: No, no n-word from Al-Asim. I could see him as a racist though. i think of kalim as purposely ignorant so in my mind, he's INTENTIONAL with his microaggressions but no one really calls him out on it.

JAMIL: Yes but only cuz I give him the pass.

VIL: Doesn't say the n-word (he knows better) but probably screams it in his thoughts. idk guys vil just seems a bit racist.

ROOK: Who's in Paris. LOL but I don't think he'd say the n-word. Also probably one of the least racist here. But he'd bring up eugenics in a convo and ruin the mood completely.

EPEL: I genuinely don't know if he would or not. Like because he from some rural area (to my knowledge, i js started book 5), i feel like he wouldn't because he'd know better. but i also heard that epel is misogynistic and hating black people & hating women go hand in hand (misogynoir)

IDIA: No but it wouldn't be surprising. i can already imagine him in that cod lobby. probably gets his slurs from cater

ORTHO: No my sweet child would not say the n-word. would blast idia out of this world with a charged beam if he said anything offensive

MALLEUS: No.

LILIA: Probably has said it before and is the most educated when it comes to black culture in the diasomnia group other than sebek (my 4c king)

SEBEK: No, in fact i might give him the pass (#mixedking😍❤️)

SILVER: No but probably a little colorist. yk how some black men love to scream from the mountain tops that they love white women? well silver is that white woman. js saying

this was fun to make. pls remember that its just a silly post, dont get mad because only hit dogs will holler.

"what abt the staff/yuus/extras-" send an ask :3

4/2 edit: its crazy cuz the only mad people are white🧍🏾‍♀️

[1800naveen]

The white people of the ACOTAR fandom are odd. Like no offense to the ones that are chill but others need to chill. Those who think Feyre is in the right to fuck up the Spring Court are just ew. Imagine if someone destroyed your country with the idea of revenge in mind, multiple homes get destroyed in the process because war is on the horizon. You have to flee into other Courts so you can be safe and leave your original home behind, not knowing if you will ever come back because of what that person did. Sounds familiar?

What makes this even worse is that SJM is a zionist and what Israel is doing to Palestine is what Feyre did to the Spring Court. She can write her ideologies into her books and people can act like it's fine when it's not!

I'm a person of color, a black woman. Imagine how some black readers found out how A Court of Silver Flames was promoted. If you aren't aware, Sarah took the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26 year old African American woman who was fatally shot by a cop. It's STILL on her Instagram page, just keep scrolling until you find it.

BITCH YOU COULD'VE MAKE ANOTHER POST, ADDRESSING IT BUT NO. I LOVE NESTA BUT BROTHER UGH. The vibe of it is nice but...

The black community is always targeted when it comes to police brutality. This is one of the traumas in our community that we have to deal with, even in modern times where everyone is supposed to be "free". Have we not struggled enough?

It disgusts me that some authors (mainly white authors) will take the pain of a community and use it for their book(s). Or authors that can write a book with a character that will rise up to fight back against the oppressors and still support Israel.

Illyrians in ACOTAR are portrayed as violent, savages, and warmongers. They're apparently supposed to be POC codded, are you fucking kidding me? Is this supposed to be a diss towards brown and black people? Maybe even the indigenous? Feyre wears Illyrian wings like bitch, wear another type of wings. Her or Rhysand haven't done shit for Illyria and while the woman gets their wings clipped, Feyre can fly all she wants.

Imagine how Emerie will feel when she finds out.

Don't get me started on Feyre's hand tattoos. It might just be me but why is this white girl wearing that? Take that off bro. In this world, it's called Mehndi, the traditional art of painting your hands, feet, or the body with paste. In Arabic, what we call it is Henna. It's used in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Like the designs are pretty but I don't want to see the human born, turned fae wearing it. TAKE IT OFF, WHITE GIRL. And another thing, why was Feyre acting like that towards the humans in ACOFAS? You forget where you came from, girlie pop but anyways.

Kendrick Lamar's song Euphoria is me towards the ACOTAR series and SJM. Sarah looks like a nice lady but she's fake as hell.

If you want to read SJM's books, try buying it from a used bookstore or somewhere online that doesn't connect to her. You can download PDFs or read them online.

It's crazy when I see a black person reading her books. On Tik Tok, I saw Jordan Fisher talking about how he's a fan like babes. I love him but...

Me when SJM fans (especially the black fans:

[codcharacterbracket]

Hi.

I love character bracket polls. I'm going to do one myself. Unfortunately god has cursed me with "hyperfixate on the military propaganda series" so I will be doing Call of Duty. Yes. ALL Call of Duty. Yes the old ones, yes the new ones, every single character I can squeeze in: as long as they have a name, and at least one non-generic voice line OR notable characteristic (such as carrying a unique weapon, having an associated achievement, etc).

But I will be going game by game, and then pitting the winners of each against each other. Yes I know this means that I'll be starting with the Original One. Sorry, I know most of the fandom is into Cold War and modern Modern Warfare... we'll get there.

An additional note: Reoccurring characters will not be placed in multiple polls UNLESS there has been significant deviation or separate continuities (ie. 2008 MW characters will be considered separate from 2019 MW characters (continuity example), real Reznov will be considered separate from hallucination Reznov (deviation example), etc), to avoid fan favorites winning for multiple games' best characters and being pitted against themselves. Remastered games will have remaster-only characters included with the original game, since usually there are only 2-4 brand new characters per remaster.

Current Bracket: Call of Duty (2003) + United Offensive & Finest Hour DLCs

Here is the bracket spreadsheet:

Now I'm tagging a few other character poll blogs because I'd love a little promo and these were my direct inspirations, but no worries if you don't do those. Let me know if you want to get untagged. Thank YOU guys for running such fun blogs and inspiring me.

@who-do-i-know-this-man-s3 @who-do-i-know-this-man @ultimate-character-design @do-you-know-this-queer-character @its-to-the-death @video-game-kids-tournament

[simp999]

A New Home Ch. 37

Various! Splatoon Manga x Skilled! Isekai'd! Reader

Wc: 1.2k

Back to the start! Previous Next

"If you are, then tell us what part, hm? Name us two idols that are known from there." He didn't let you answer.

You stood frozen. What was up with this all of a sudden?

He tugged at your arm harshly.

"Answer me!"

"It's-it's not what it seems-"

"Then what is it?! How do you know us so well? Are you a stalker? Are you an otherworldly being? I've seen you lip-syncing some things some of us have said. You couldn't possibly know us that well."

Rider refused to let go of your arm as you attempted to wriggle out of his grasp, terrified. What were they going to do to you? Where was your team?

"I'm-" You took a breath in. In a fit of panic for your safety, you breathed out: "You're right, I'm- I'm from another world."

They held their weapons up, they were afraid of you. But more than you were of them, you weren't too sure at the moment.

"SPIT IT OUT!"

You began to tear up.

Mask is the only slightly understanding one. "Weeeapons down, iiidiotss. They're unarmed. Chill a biiiit. Why does this change anything anywaaay? You all respected theeem without issuesss before Rider brought anything uuuup."

You shook in fear as tears fell freely. You never expected this from your idols. From characters you grew to love so much, even more after meeting them.

Rider let go of you.

"...How do you know us?"

You took a breath in and rubbed your arm where he had held it previously.

"You're from a manga in my world."

"We're... characters?"

You nodded your head, beginning to regret everything.

"You're very real to me, though! And many other fans. I...care a lot about you guys. That's, ah, how I know you so well."

From behind you, you heard the clatter of a weapon against the ground. You quickly spun around, taking on a slight offensive stance- almost a protective one in front of the S4 without so much as a second thought. You froze when you recognized your family.

Now from behind you, Aloha spoke:

"... you made us like you on purpose."

You do a double-take between your family and Aloha. You really didn't want to involve them, but you were panicked and not thinking straight.

"No- I,, actually did my best to avoid you guys as much as possible when I first got here, not wanting to mess with the story."

"What changed?" Army spoke.

"I grew comfortable. I felt safe around you guys...until now."

Army's shoulders slumped a bit at the statement, while Skull's frown faltered. Rider's eyes grew wide, and Aloha's jaw hung open a bit. That broke their hearts. Your family? - No. Your... team, stood frozen.

Leo's voice cracked as he spoke:

"You.. were just using us? Because you wanted to be some main character?"

"NO! .. no, I'm. Cod, no. Absolutely not. You're my family- and you.. mmm,, there's a lot to discuss right now, huh.. well, to put it simply- I never knew you guys existed before our first meeting. I promise you."

"But you just said-"

"You- Tasha, Milo, and Leo- weren't a part of the original story. I have no idea where you came from, in all honesty."

"Is that why you were so nervous about certain battles?"

"...Yes. Goggles was supposed to be in our place, winning against Emperor."

Leo chuckles.

"Hah, sounds like him."

He smiles.

Rider speaks up:

"So you cheated in all your battles?"

"I'm.. not sure what you consider cheating. Here, I should probably explain everything, huh..."

You explain how none of your battles were 'canon'. Obviously, since you and your... team, aren't a part of the original story. You explained everything as best as you could, hands still shaking. You attempted to soothe yourself by toying with the hem of your top.

"..then your skill, where did it come from? Everyone knows that you came outta nowhere."

"That's... something I don't quite understand either. Back in my world there were a few video games that gave me my quick reaction time- but being so good with my main gear specifically? No idea how it worked out that way. Maybe from analyzing your guys' play styles? Just like we did together," You gestured towards your team.

... It would be too much to explain that they were from a game, too. This was the best you could do.

It didn't quite add up, but Rider let it slide once he caught the way your hands were shaking.

"Soooo, what you're saaayiiing is that you've been... isekai'd?"

You chuckle lightheartedly at the idea. You nod, you suppose so.

Everyone has questions on their mind, but nobody dares speak up.

Will your family ditch you now? Does anyone still not believe you? The silence was deadly.

"No matter where you came from, your skill is still impressive." Skull was the first to speak up. As surprised as you should be, he was the first you'd assume would be so nonchalant, with that air-headedness of his.

You sighed out. That was two of them that seemed to at least partially be on your side.

Rider stood silent, while the others began calmly asking you questions.

"We're...characters?"

You freeze in place, attempting to script what you'll say next. Rider looked defeated.

"This world is very real. To you, and everyone else here. Including me. My world-back home almost feels... fake, for me to think about it. Like it no longer exists."

That seemed to relax him a little.

"Don't'chya miss your family?"

"I'm with my favorite characters ever, Leo. You think I miss my family? I mean yeah but..." You gesture towards the S4.

"Oh.. yeah, I guess, huh? Man, meeting them for the first time must've been totally wack compared to how it was for us meeting them. Like...woah. That'd be like meeting Squidsune Miku or some idol like that."

You giggle at the comparison, and nod. Something like that.

"What was the most difficult thing to adapt to?"

Army with the technological questions, of course.

"No taking notes, 'kay? But...cod the texture of the tentacles sure are weird. And why are they so sensitive! Hair shouldn't be like that!"

You do your best to keep everything you say calculated and lighthearted, noticing how they're still not completely certain on you.

Aloha finally speaks up.

"I...think I need to think this over."

His tone was one you never thought you'd hear from the eccentric squid. Thanks to it, the S4 members thought over the reality of the situation. Army's brows furrowed, Rider's shoulders slumped, Skull glanced away when you looked at him, and Mask looked between each of his teammates with an indistinguishable expression. It's almost as if they all realized how completely insane you sound. Since when are they this trustworthy? They're the S4. Nothing should get past them. They then backed away from you, one at a time, leaving you with your team.

They stood stuck in place too. You really did sound insane, didn't you? Were you trying to gaslight them? What if they are just characters, then what? Do their lives even matter?

Why didn't you tell your fam-team, anything? Have you been cheating this whole time?

"I think we need some time alone, too." Milo barely appeared apologetic.

You messed up, haven't you?

Looks like you were back to sleeping on that damned bench.

.

.

.

Next Part

May. 23, 24

[konigsblog]

small question! hope this doesn’t come off as offensive! but, i have a hard time understanding non-con/dub-con. for some reason, this has been on my mind for a few days and for some reason it isn’t going away 😭

so, basically what i’m saying is: “why do people get mad when you write apparently “horrible things” when it’s fan fiction?” aswell as: “what’s the difference between reality and fiction?” because i have a hard time with that too :’)!

cw; RANT

thank you for asking politely, my love !! i may not be the best person to ask, as my opinion isn't that non-con is horrible, but here's my take on it. 🫂💗

fiction and reality :

when i say the difference between reality and fiction, i mean that my work isn't hurting any real human being, as i put appropriate triggers on my work. there's no real person actually getting raped when i write non-con. in reality, there are real people getting raped everyday, people who are actually hurt. they need to focus on the real life SA victims rather than what people headcannon a fictional character to be. i think the issue is, is that the COD fandom has become sensitive. they don't like when someone's headcannon doesn't align with theirs, but that's the whole point about headcannons; they're not all going to be the same. no real person is getting hurt by my work, as the characters are fictional people, and it's not real, it's not actually happening.

fiction is fake, reality is real. there are no real people getting raped or raping others, we put warnings so people don't get triggered at the sound of it though. some people refuse to listen to the triggers, reading it anyways and getting annoyed because they've triggered themselves purposely. it's not my responsibility to cater to everyone's needs, i can't tell you what to read or write, that's not my responsibility. it's your responsibility to be in charge of the media you consume, if you're unable to do so, then get off the internet.

why people get offended :

people get offended that i write about rape because they don't like it, really. i understand, completely, 100%, rape is a triggering and a sensitive topic to talk about, it will make someone uncomfortable. but that's the whole reason we have trigger warnings on our posts; no one is forced to read something they don't want to read, we're giving them warning prior so they don't get triggered or offended. other times, people complain it's harmful to SA victims, but again, they're not forced to read non-con posts, it's 100% the reader's choice to read it.

and i do want to point out, that the people claiming this harms SA victims, don't actually care about ALL SA victims. i mean, these are the same people who claim to support all SA victims, but the second someone uses non-con as a coping mechanism, they think they're ‘disgusting’, or ‘horrible’. the second someone's coping mechanism involves reading non-con, they go badshit crazy. and they don't think about the impact and how HURTFUL what THEY'RE saying is. me writing non-con isn't harming SA victims as i'm not forcing any victim to read it, but telling a SA victim they're ‘disgusting’ for their coping mechanism IS HURTFUL. reading non-con is a coping mechanism THERAPISTS have recommend and said it's a healthy way to deal with trauma (as they would have control over the situation, unlike before), it's ridiculous to see people whining over people having different coping mechanisms, all while claiming they support all SA victims.

you can't say you support all SA victims while claiming some are disgusting for having a different coping mechanism. you either care for all, or you don't at all.

[cloangi]

Get to know me 🔥

**Post may be updated every so often to change wording, to add/delete things, etc

--------------------

Part 1 of Bio - Information for starters⤵️

Fine to interact:

Under my age (15)

A bit over 18

A furry (not the gross kind though. Just the ones who dress up for fun)

Part of LGBTQ+

Overall everyone is welcome‼️

Do NOT interact (I seriously dont want any sort of conflict here):

Homophobic

Transphobic

Racist (if you're going out your way to harass people and be an overall bitch that is)

Phobia against any religion

Into sick activities (you already know what I mean by this 😐)

Against the military in any way (We get the whole propaganda stuff, but don't hate people who are active duty, in the reserves, etc. If someone wants to join, don't hate on them and spread death threats, its sad to see some people sre actually like this)

---

If I see any of yall tweaking out or being problematic over some shit, don't be surprised if I block your ass from here 💀🙏. I'm tryna keep this a "good vibe" type place. And keep in mind that I tolerate most types of behavior, and I literally never block people (very high and bold emphasis on "never").

So if I do happen to block you, you done messed up.

---

General things about me:

15 years old

I'm AROACE 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

ENTJ personality type

Only do art as a hobby (so no money taking or commissions people)

Art consists of my fandom fixations

You can refer to me as either my username or the names Baaz and Keegan. Either one works, I don't care.

Extra: Besides posting low quality drawings of my fixations, I mostly reblog art or anything I can find of the fandoms/fixations I'm in (or know a bit about), such as art, memes, and such. Or you can find some random art that isn't related to any fandom reblogged on here.

I am fine with people + mutuals sending me DM's‼️ Just don't make it weird (you already know what I mean by that)

Also, please do send me asks 🙏‼️. I enjoy responding to them and sadly never get any 😔

---

Note: You can make offensive + dark humor jokes (at least with me in the ask box or DM's) I'm into that shit. Can be racist jokes, sexist, sexual in some way, or whatever. Insulting me in any way doesn't affect me in the slighest as long as it's a joke. The more offensive the better—so go all out (not S/A though, that's something that even I'll never joke about).

---

Social stuff:

Quora Account - [Place where I've spent most of my time online, around 4-5 years or so. I post random things of me yapping of all topics or things I've found/seen].

--------------------

Part 2 of Bio - Fixations⤵️

The list below is color coded based on the fandoms I'm fixated on, or I just like

Orange = Fixated

Green = Like

Rainbow 6 Siege - Don't have the console to play the actual game so I watch it instead.

Call of Duty - Certain campaigns in it, mostly COD Ghosts though (Yes, I have played the OG versions of some of the campaigns on the old ps3 we have, and I do play MP Cod Ghosts).

Hell Divers 2 - Like R6S, I don't have the actual console itself to play it but it's on my wishlist and I really like the concept of the game, plus the community seems pretty fire.

Eddsworld - Used to have a HUGE fixation on this fandom, prob for up to 1-2 years (shit had a strong grip on me)

My Little Pony - I'm surprised this fandom is absolutely booming now. Watched the entire show (forgot everything though 💀), I love the art the fandom makes though, including the AU's.

Saiki K - Started to rewatch it again since I forgot the whole storyline 💀🙏

The Amazing Digital Circus - Caught up on all episodes

Demon Slayer - Watched all seasons

The Amazing World of Gumball - Havent really watched it much, but I really like it including the fan base

Into the Spiderverse - Have never read the comics, but movie-wise I like it

...Damn, you still reading? I mean if you're interested go ahead and drop a follow to this thing (you're likely gonna forget this account anyways, so free follow for me mwhahaha).

[islandtarochips]

You like EPIC: The Musical?! *appearing out of nowhere* :000000000

I love it too! Especially the Cyclops saga and the Ocean saga!

AAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!🤩🤩🤩

Yeah! I do! I started listening to it from TikTok! I’m into some musical music!

And then I saw Jorge on my fyp explaining about his work and I took some interests. So I followed him. And YO! His music is BEAUTIFUL! AMAZING! OUTSTANDING!

I wish he would come out sooner during my high school time because I SUCK at history! No offense to the teachers but it’s kinda boring of how they teach.

And I hardly pay attention because of that or maybe I get distracted easily😅

But anyway, I’ve been listening to his work and it was BREATHTAKING! I just LOVE it!

So I’ve been following him ever since he created an account in TikTok! And I just LOVE it!

I love ALL of the Sagas that he created! And in case, you’re wondering of WHICH songs are my favorite in each Saga! I’ll LIST IT DOWN!

Troy Saga:

Open Arms

Warriors of the Mind

Cyclops Saga:

Polyphemus

My Goodbye

The Ocean Saga:

Ruthlessness (POSEIDON MY FAV!)

The Circe Saga:

Wouldn’t you like (HERMES MY OTHER FAV!)

Underworld Saga:

ALL THREE

And that’s about it! I can’t wait to see more of his wonderful work! And I am DYING to see the part of where the GODS will be coming in! (Bit of a SPOILER) That Athena will be going up against the judgement of the GODS to release Odysseus from Calipso!

I can’t WAIT! And I’m VERY happy to see another Epic: The Musical fan in here!

And to tell you guys, I WAS planning to share about COD x Epic: The Musical! Including some of my Mutuals OCs too! But it’s hard to see which ones fits. It will take time before I get to share some details about it!

So yeah! Very happy to see another fan of this WONDERFUL masterpiece! That is all! Thank you!🥰🥰🥰❤️❤️❤️

[totaldramafan-lauri]

I just wanna vent out about something.. about golden cheese..

I think I'm starting to lose interest in her, I don't know why but I guess it was the lack of content of her, no offense I wasn't getting bored or anything but.. I'm scared I don't wanna lose feelings for Golden cheese cookie.. I dont wanna let go because I love golden cheese cookie for almost a year now.. well not good compare to you but I'm just scared, I don't know why I'm scared when I lost feelings with fictional characters all the time but golden cheese was an exception.. an exception that is bothering me for awhile, I don't wanna lose feelings of her since I still love her but Im getting real bored of her due to the lack of content..

I may seem impatient and all because of the lack of Golden cheese content that's why I'm venting to a more dedicated fan of Golden cheese, it's you Lauri.. what do I do?.. no offense but I just want advice because I don't wanna get stuck on this stage tha might bother me for awhile..

I love her, I don't wanna let go of this love because of how much time and dedication I took I spent on the crk game on her, I do it for fun events too but all the reason I even joined this game because of her.. I joined because of her, I played because of her! I maxed out her level first this last few months but what do I get? Getting stuck on the loading screen where I can see the golden cheese cookie! and now this heck of a connection keeps saying 'network error connection' when my network is strong and fine, my phone too is expensive and new! Like.. Devsis.. you don't want another boycott do you? Because this is getting too far that you aren't even bothering to fix it..

I'm really sorry Lauri but I'm just so frustrated, I want to max out Golden cheese soulstones and all so I just keep playing.. I eventually got mad.. and maybe have taken my anger on Golden cheese cookie.. and after that.. oh how deeply I regret it because I just blame golden cheese for the Devsis doing.. because oh heck no.. I am and I am going to see my wife!! Like.. why aren't you letting me Devsis! It's been weeks since I logged in due to this error!.. I'm stuck at the LOADING SCREEEENNNN!! Ughhh.. I'm crying so much.. I might even have to delete my account and start over... I just wanna cry... T-T) just.. like it is hard to let me see my wife in-game!?..

Sorry for yapping all that Lauri.. just want your advice on what to do since.. I'm so so sorry for saying all that, I just wanna know if I should just give up or continue pressing that 'okay' button on the screen or just make a new account and delete the new account or something.. Im so sorry if this makes you sad or feel bad. I'm really sorry :(((

.. I'm just so bad and frustrated right now.. I can't even log in and check my golden cheese cookie.. all this is making me tired and it's hurting and making my feelings go away from golden cheese cookie.. oh my gosh.. I just don't.. I don't want to deal with that button that pop on my face like 'network connection error' like it was a taunting me.. I just wanna throw my phone on the heck of a wall or something like that!..

I' might take a break from Golden cheese cookie for awhile, glad that I loved her all these months, and these days.. I'm just so proud of myself for even keeping this up.. Still your fan though, I won't stop reading your fics even if it isn't a golden cheese cookie anymore.. and maybe I might move to FPE fandom anytime soon because I'm just tired of Devsis doing all this.. sorry for all the venting I did.. :(((

For the lack of content....I....I actually understand. Th-the same thing happened with me with Affogato, where.....I-I still love him, and he's still my king, but the fact that next to nothing's been done with him since Odyssey made me kinda lose focus on him over time (I was still MIFFED that he didn't appear in the Matcha update with the rest of the CoD tho XD). With Golden Cheese, tho, it's.....it's different.....I-I'm still hooked on her....so.....i-if you wanna know why, uh.....part of it is my fic, but also....

L-look at it this way. There are a lot - like, a LOT - of characters in CRK. It's impossible to focus on one character constantly when they're always adding more. However, the Ancients are the true main characters of this game, so....they're a case where we KNOW more content is COMING eventually. E-especially with the Beasts. So....th-that's what I keep telling myself. More content of her is coming. I dunno when, but it IS coming....e-even if it takes a while, I'll be there, and....i-in the meantime, the rest of the stories they release will keep me occupied til I see her again....

(That being said, there's also no shame in taking a break from the game until an update that reignites your interest. People do that all the time. XD Not everyone is as hyperfocused as me, and that's completely fine. CRK is actually pretty forgiving to returning players)

S-so....yeah.....it's coming. And....j-just like her promise to her subjects that she'll be back for them, the game has promised us that it'll come back to her in time. Like I said, the Ancients ARE the main characters of CRK at this point (Gingerbrave is just a mascot now, let's be real XD) And....y-yeah, that's how I hold on to hope. TBH, once I fall this hard for a character, usually it'll last me a couple years even with a lack of content - I had a crush on one character based on a single pilot last me FOUR years - so this kinda thing, it's.....it's different for everyone. I-I hope you understand my thought process, tho.....

A-and in the meantime....that's kinda what fan content is here for....like my fic.....so.....I-I guess I should apologize that my fic isn't good enough to keep you interested in her.....I-I really do my best to do her justice with my writing and....to be self-indulgent, but also make it still feel like her.....as in, in-character, so....yeah, s-sorry.....I-I understand that it's been going on for a while, and....i-if your interest doesn't last that long, I understand, OK....? ^^ Th-thank you for reading....

A-and finally.....a-about your error screen.....I-I've had similar happen to me. F-for a few months, I've had problems with my game crashing (oddly, it's gotten BETTER these last two updates. The crashing was worst during the Mystic Flour update), and.....d-during that time, I did have a bit of a scary experience....

Here's how I dealt with it.

(for other people who aren't interest in in-game stuff, don't bother reading under the cut)

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS THE ONLY TIME I WILL ANSWER AN ASK THAT DEALS WITH COMPLAINTS AGAINST DEVSIS. I WILL NOT DO THIS AGAIN. I have endless respect for Devsis and all they've done with CRK, and it's a MAJOR pet peeve of mine when players throw unfair complaints at them for things either out of their control or just calling the game P2W or whatever when it's NOT (except for Grandmaster tier in the arena) and it's just a case of kids being too impatient to handle a game with grinding in it. I HATE things like that. The only reasons I'm addressing it this time is not only cuz it's the first, but also cuz I think I have advice on what to do for this one issue. But I WILL NOT tolerate being yelled at about people's issues with CRK or Devsis. I just wanna talk about Golden Cheese, the characters associated with her, and my fic. THAT IS ALL.

N-now, um.....it wasn't the exact same error you're getting. At least....n-not the wording you're giving me. The "network connection is unstable" error has NEVER lasted that long to me, and it doesn't happen on the title screen. This is probably on your end, not the game's, so please don't make comments about boycotting Devsis. It won't help.

HOWEVER, I have gotten AN error on the title screen before, that wouldn't go away no matter how long I waited. The message was "Failed to load data". I dunno if it's the same one you're getting, cuz I dunno if maybe it's worded differently in other languages or if you're playing in English, but....y-yeah, this is what it was spitting at me. I'd close the game and wait a few hours, but it never went away. The problem is that it never reloaded the title screen. It just stayed there. At least with errors that happen during the game, I can wait an hour and come back. Nnnnnot so much with stuff on the title screen. XD

So....I.....I panicked. And....h-here's what I did.

I deleted the game from my phone, and then reinstalled it. This is NOT the same as deleting my ACCOUNT. My account still existed. I deleted the GAME. Then, when I redownloaded it, I simply just logged back in to my DevPlay account and everything was right where I left it. Th-that's how I survived the biggest scare I've had playing this game. XD

I-I dunno how much this'll help you.....cuz I dunno if it's the same error, and I also dunno how you made your account (like I use DevPlay). B-but.....your issue just....sounded similar to that, so I thought I could t-try to help......I-I'm sorry if it doesn't....

F-for what it's worth, I've been playing this game since 2021, so I....I have a lotta patience with it.....^^;

[heystephen]

just curious, as a swiftie how did you feel about taylor’s short lived “relationship” w matty healy? what about her association w him for some years prior? constructive criticism allowed, im a swiftie too lol

my feelings about the entire thing are very complicated and ranty so i'll put them under a cut

i have never felt like taylor was the paragon of social ~wokeness~ or whatever you want to call it, but i did make a lot of excuses for her. i was very cautiously hopeful that while she was a flaky and rather fair-weather activist, she meant well and she meant what she said that she stood for (when she actually chose to speak) at the end of the day and that's what mattered the most. and taylor positioned herself as somebody who was anti-racist, who was anti-misogyny, who was anti-bigot in general, and she did so of her own volition. so it felt very.. bizarre? that she was willing to dismantle her alleged belief system to spend time with a man who prides himself on his cruelty and gets a kick out of punching down. and i fully take responsibility for, i guess, like buying into the persona that she was selling, but at the same time, it was very eye-opening because i was sitting with the fact that she had profited off of promoting herself as "miss americana, the activist" then turned around and started dating a guy who uses slurs for funsies and watches violent racist pornography.

everything about matty made me call taylor's character into question just by association. if he makes racist jokes on podcasts and uses ableist slurs on social media, what's he like to have a conversation with? and she was enjoying his company? last time i hung out with a guy who had a edgy 12-year-old-boy in a COD lobby sense of humor and he made one offensive joke, i got up and left and he never heard from me again. like how do you hang out with someone like that and NOT get the ick? i don't know, it just made me look at taylor kind of differently.

and then while everything is going on and everyone is talking about how her man is a racist and a creep, taylor's busy having her publicist plant inflammatory articles about her ex-boyfriend and how none of the backlash bothers taylor because she's a girlboss and none of it affects her bottom line. it felt very weird. on one side, it felt like joe alwyn was being made a distraction and a scapegoat, and on the other it felt like a middle finger to fans who were rightfully upset with her (and a poor attempt to girlbossify a moment when taylor was truly in the wrong). i don't really see taylor the way that i used to, for better and for worse, and i probably never will. i still love her but i regard her actions of the past and present (and future??) more critically, and no longer make excuses or offer more grace for her being ignorant than i would for anyone else.

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

for the e1 supers au: 7, 14, 23, 24 ?

7-- Imagine your fic/AU is becoming a movie. Share some casting ideas, or ideas on how you would translate the story to the big screen.

is this when i tell you i don't know anything about any celebrities. as for translating it to the screen... hm that's so hard. i feel like it would work best as an animated film, but if it WAS live action every single power set would have to be practical effects. the dragon would be a huge animatronic. it'd be beautiful.

14-- What's the most vivid image you associate with your fic/AU?

big fan of the dragon fight personally. i just really love the image of this monstrous woman who is so far divorced from being a person anymore and the rest of the cast swarming around her, half of them trying to save her from herself and the other half trying to save everyone else from her. especially love the way she dies being pix fully life draining her and his subsequent freak out.

23-- Give us one weird fact about your fic/AU.

ok the cod/salmon war is really funny to me in this au. basically the wither rose alliance and the cod alliance don't like each other very much in costume, but fwhip, sausage, and jimmy also interact pretty frequently at work (fwhip+sausage are camp counselors and jimmy is a life guard at the pool the camp takes the kids to) and are in the middle of a massive prank war because they can never be normal about each other.

so fwhip and sausage break into jimmy's locker one day to steal... something, they're not quite sure, as apart of this war, and they find the codfather head in his bag. they decide to steal it because they don't think it's real at first, and he's just a huge codfather fanboy, but then the codfather starts showing up to fights in a different mask and being visibly weird and they overhear lizzie (who also works at the community pool) teasing him about his secret superhero boyfriend (who he does not have, she is being lied to) and then fwhip and sausage have an ongoing bet about whether jimmy IS the codfather or whether the codfather is the aforementioned boyfriend.

24-- What's a random piece of information about your fic/AU you want to share?

this is making me realize i never really elaborated on the story of this au on here, whoops. uh, let's share character bios, why not? under the cut for the sake of your dash

Fwhip: He/him, 20, vigilante name The Mechanist. He has no powers, but made himself some mechanical wings and a whole lot of explosives to supplement. Pretty new on the scene to hero work. Works as a camp counselor and is an engineering student at the local college when not hero-ing.

Gem: She/her, 20, vigilante name The Sorceress. Her powers basically involve manifesting physical light that she can use to either hit people or as a shield, as well as a set of wings Fwhip made her after one too many falls. One of the better established heroes, having been doing it for about 5 years on and off after she developed her powers when she was 14. English+History double major at the local college and librarian in her not-hero time.

Sausage: He/him, 22, vigilante name Warlock, also his villain name when he goes bad. After he goes good again, he changes his name to Sceptre. Also pretty new on the scene. No powers at first, starts by using mechanical wings that Fwhip made him and a staff that imitates Gem's offensive powers, basically acting like a laser gun. When he starts working under+getting experimented on by Exor, he gets super strength and the ability to manifest and control the corruption tentacles. Once he's no longer being experimented on, he looses the tentacles but keeps the super strength, though he tries not to use it. Works at the same camp as Fwhip during the summer, still not clue what he does in the off season.

Pearl: She/her, 21, vigilante name Valkyrie. Her powers are super strength and near impenetrable skin. Also just a well trained fighter. Solidly in the middle of the WRA in terms of how long she's been doing hero work, but she's the most infamous after Gem. Does some sort of city beautification work as her day job.

Lizzie: She/her, 23, hero name The Ocean Queen. A shapeshifter who can shift into her Ocean Queen form from actual Empires SMP. Meaning 10 feet tall, big tail, sharp teeth and nails, can breathe underwater, and such. She doesn't have to shift into all parts of the Ocean Queen form at once, but tends to only use the gills on their own. Lizzie's been in the hero game for about 5 years as well. Lizzie is a swim instructor at the local pool and is engaged to Joel.

Jimmy: They/he, 20, hero name The Codfather. Powers are super strength and the ability to breathe underwater (it's genetic). Jimmy tends to utilize their strength to protect people rather than fight, unlike Pearl and Sausage. The Codfather Head is apart of their costume, but it's also a magical artifact of some kind that they use as a focus for their strength powers. While he is still quite strong without the Head, it's not quite super strength. Newer to the hero game than Lizzie, but you wouldn't know it from his skill. Works as a life guard and receptionist in their day job.

Joel: He/him, 22, hero name Militia. His powers allow him to make and command hivemind clones of himself. They aren't super strong individually, but they work together well and will die for Joel. Honestly not sure how long he's been doing hero work. Either owns or is a very important employee of an art studio/sculpture place, I haven't entirely decided his role in it.

Pix: He/it, 26, hero name The Phantom. His powers are run of the mill life drain, siphoning other people's strength to make himself stronger (the only person it's ever killed with these powers are The Dragon, but he's gotten close). It's on the nose, but it works at a graveyard as it's day job. Oldest of the cast and the person who's been doing hero work the longest (after Scott and Xornoth).

Katherine: She/her, 20, hero name Empress. "Hero" is a strong word for Katherine; she does pretty strictly hero work until Shrub shows up where she starts leaning a lot more towards vigilante/anti-hero. She's a healer, as well as the ability to grow and command vines, though she needs some amount of dirt to actually use that power. Katherine's been doing hero work in some respect for most of her life, though she's only gotten into the field as anything other than a medic in the last 2 or so years. She's a barista at the Sunflower Cafe (owned by two retired heroes and happens to service a lot of heroes and villains in their civies) as her day job, solely so she can sus out everyone's secret identities. No one knows that she knows, but she knows all their real names.

Shrub: She/he, 17, vigilante name The Wolf Spirit. His powers allow him to communicate with plants and animals. Despite living in a city, she does just have a pack of wolves she hangs out with. Don't worry about where they live when not with her. Very new to hero work, having only been a vigilante for less than a year after his entire life was uprooted and his parents murdered by Xornoth and he had to go on the run. Her day job is at a local animal shelter, as well as attempting to be an investigative journalist at the local paper (despite his references, they are reasonably worried about hiring a very angry 17 year old).

Joey: He/him, 19, vigilante name Alexandros, unsure what his villain name is though. Joey's powers are basically manipulation of fire, earth, water, and air (he's the Avatar). When he's getting experimented on by Exor he also gets the corruption tentacles. He only developed his powers relatively recently, so he's also pretty new to the game. His day job is photography at the local paper, and he is Shrub's aforementioned reference.

Scott: He/they, 21, hero name Fractal. If you couldn't have guessed, he has ice powers. He's had powers since he was a toddler, and his been working as a government sponsored (and government made) hero since he was like, 12. They're also a student at the local college, and I don't remember WHY I said they were a poli sci major and a theater minor but I stick by that. Also a barista as their day job, but at a chain coffee shop. He still goes to the Sunflower Cafe for his actual coffee though, cause Katherine's the only one he trusts to make it.

Xornoth: They/he/it, 21, villain name The Demon. Xornoth can manifest and control the corruption tentacles, as well as make their opponents hallucinate. It usually sticks to just messing with it's opponents vision, but it's not above making them hallucinate their allies in trouble, and he's particularly mean to Shrub since he knows her entire life story basically. Xornoth does not have a day job for the majority of this AU because they've been living as a very sad science experiment for their entire life and, unlike Scott, the slightly happier lab experiment, they aren't allowed to go out into the real world.

[ambergembr]

COD

Gaz showing the captain and the lieutenant at their office to his family on a video call, in a whisper:

Gaz: Those are my commanding officers, one old man, tired, grumpy and fan of cigars and one giant, masked psycho under medication.

Ghost (who has the sharpest hearing of all): Oi! Wanker! I take offense on that!

Gaz: Sorry Sir! You are not a psycho...

Ghost: No! I don't take meds!

[hisaacswrites]

Bake Room in Your Heart for Me? Chapter 5

Summary:

When Simon first interviewed for The Great British Baking Show, he hadn’t expected anything to come of it. He certainly didn’t expect to win. Despite the chaos it brought to his life, he couldn’t really complain. It landed him the best job he could ask for and a close circle of friends who actually seemed to enjoy his company. It also led him to his biggest fan, one John MacTavish, who’s determined to win him over one baked good at a time. — Or, The baking AU that no one asked for

← Chapter 4 】 ⦿ Chapter 5 ⦿ 【 Chapter 6 →

☆ Read on AO3

【 Chapter Specific Warnings: The R slur is used in a purposefully offensive way to describe Simon. There is also vague description of disassociation and a panic attack, though not in any heavy detail. 【 Notes: Split this one in two, please don't kill me. :' ) Thank you all for your kudos and comments; I didn't expect my return to writing to be this well received and it really means a lot to me.

Bake Room in Your Heart for Me? Masterlist ⦿ CoD Library ⦿ Hayden Isaacs Library

🍰 Chapter 5

Cafe 141 was in pure chaos, and considering that most of the staff had survived active war zones, that was saying quite a lot.

While Rudy and Alejandro had enjoyed the long weekend Simon had given them, both had gotten a nasty case of food poisoning that had them incapacitated. It was a shame because they had been celebrating their anniversary, but the remaining staff of the cafe found it hard to sympathize as they struggled to handle the current rush. With Rudy and Alejandro taking the day off to recover on such short notice, only Gaz, Price, and Simon had been available to keep the Cafe up and running.

It was hectic, but the trio had dealt with worse situations. While they had never all served together in the same unit at one time, they had grown familiar enough with one another outside of their military careers to work like a well-oiled machine.

Gaz, charismatic but efficient, manned the register. His cap secured to his head in "focus" mode, he smoothly went from taking orders, to bagging up pastries, to making strategic recommendations (he did not, in fact, order enough coffee the week before. It's not his fault he got distracted by watching Soap and Ghost's flirting through the kitchen window), all with a friendly smile.

Price, the resident beverage expert, made the orders. It was a miracle that his bucket hat didn't fly off of his head with the way he rushed between the machines and juggled multiple mugs, glasses, and containers. And if he turned on his old-fashioned charm to soothe any ruffled feathers when calling out the completed orders and handing them off to customers? Well, that was just good customer service.

That left Simon to bounce between the two, filling the gaps and rushing back to the kitchen when he could. While he refused to man the second register, he helped Gaz retrieve and deliver pastries and worked on the tea orders when Price was catching up on the coffee ones. In the moments he managed to sneak away during the not-so-frequent lulls, he made whatever quick and easy things he could in the kitchen to replenish their display cases as the baked goods continued to fly off of the shelves.

The slammed staff of Cafe 141 hadn't had a free moment to breathe, let alone check the clock, and Simon knew that he wasn't the only one who had to be feeling the exhaustion pile up.

All of that slipped out of his mind when Johnny pushed through the door. The Scot looked surprised by just how busy the cafe was, but he still shouted a cheerful greeting to Gaz, Price, and Simon himself before squeezing his way to the back of the line. Hidden behind the safety of his medical mask, Simon smiled, pleased to see him.

His eyes drifted over to their display case as he hurried to fill the next order.

Simon wasn't sure if it was just luck or if Gaz had given his Scottish best friend a head's up, but he actually had made the mille feuille Johnny had requested. It was definitely lucky that he had gotten up early to make them — there was no way he would have been able to during the day with the constant stream of customers. Easily the most complicated pastry in the case, the delicate layers of flaky puff pastry separated soft pillows of whipped ricotta and rich lemon cream. An elegant drizzle of blueberry sauce curled across the top and if it resembled a cursive "J" at first glance? Well, that was just coincidence.

Johnny's name on them, indeed.

The mille feuille were quite popular, but Simon had made an extra small batch hidden in the kitchen just in case. He handed off the current customer's cup of tea before immediately starting on the next while trying not to worry about whether Johnny would like them.

With he, Gaz, and Price moving at full throttle, the line was steadily moving and Johnny became close enough to take a look into the case. His blue eyes moved quickly over the different options before he did a double take, eyes widening and a huge grin lifting his cheeks when he spotted the mille feuille. Simon almost let out a breath of relief, smiling behind his own mask at Johnny's apparent happiness.

Still smiling to himself, he crouched down and grabbed a small wax sheet to reach into the case with for the current order. Simon was, admittedly, zoning out a bit, so when a harsh slapping sound rattled the glass of the display, he jerked to attention. The sudden movement had him bashing his elbow into the case's door, but before he could even register the pain radiating up his bad arm, he was being scolded by a fuming woman.

Leaning up against the glass, the short woman held a mug of coffee in one hand and was clearly seething. "Finally," She snarled as Simon rose from his bent position, "I've been trying to get your fucking attention for ten minutes now! What, you folks too good to actually talk to the rest of us?"

Simon was completely at a loss, having no idea what the woman's problem was. The sudden whiplash from being hopeful about Johnny's opinion to being screamed at had him off kilter and he struggled to figure out how to respond. This wasn't the kind of yelling one heard in the midst of battle or during training, this was different, was viciously personal in a way that reminded Simon of his childhood. His shoulders curled inward involuntarily as he fell back into years-old placating habits.

"I-" Simon had to clear his throat, his mouth suddenly dry and pulse thumping in his ears, "I a-apologize, ma'am, I was — I was just getting another customer's order and didn't hear-"

The woman's pink painted lips curled into a sneer, her nose wrinkling in disgust as she glared at Simon. The other customers around her shifted uncomfortably, moving away from her as she gestured wildly with her free hand. "No wonder my order is wrong if they have some stuttering idiot working behind the counter," She spat, "I said I wanted toffee nut syrup in my drink, not whatever bullshit this is! What are you? Some kind of fucking retard that doesn't understand simple instructions?"

Simon froze, his entire body stiffening up as if someone had doused him in ice water. The woman continued to yell obscenities, but he couldn't hear them over the high pitched ringing sound in his ears. He could vaguely see both Price and Gaz moving his way from the dark edges of his vision, but he struggled to fully register what was going on and tried his best to diffuse the situation.

"I'm sorry," he said, moving closer to the counter to reach for the woman's mug, "I didn't make your order, but if you tell me what it was, I can have it remade for you."

"Haven't you been fucking listening?" The woman screamed, her cheeks a vivid red as a vein pulsed on her forehead. "If this is how you do things over here, I don't want your disgusting coffee! Take this shit back and give me a goddamn refund!"

Simon barely registered what happened next, only feeling a burning pain splash across his chest and extended arm. And in that moment, he completely shut down.

Price reached Simon a moment too late and frantically wiped at the burning hot coffee that the woman had thrown at him with his own apron. The older man reached for Simon's shoulders, urging the unresponsive man to look at him, but his eyes were dazed and unseeing, trapped in his own mind.

Gaz was talking sternly to the woman, his rich voice dripping with venom, and the rest of the cafe was in chaos as other customers tore into her for her behavior. They were nothing compared to Soap, who shouldered past an older teenager who had pulled his phone out at the first sign of conflict and was silently filming the whole thing. The Scottish man was quaking in rage and stormed right up into the woman's face. His accent made his words nearly indecipherable, but the meaning behind them was quite clear.

"Whit th' actual feckin' hell is yer kinch? Ye think ye kin juist come ower 'ere 'n' treat fowk lik' garbage? This isnae th' states, ye godless cunt!"

Unwilling to back down, even cornered as she was, the woman screeched right back at Soap, jabbing a pointed nail into his chest with every word. To emphasize her point, she threw her empty mug with a huff, stomping her foot in a full-blown tantrum. The mug clipped Price on the shoulder while he was still turned around to try and help Simon, causing the glass to bounce up and smash into Simon's face with a solid thunk. The large man flinched, snapping out of whatever flashback had been holding him hostage, cringing even further when the mug hit the ground with a resounding shatter.

Cafe 141 was suddenly quiet.

Price turned to Gaz, his expression cold but furious. "Call the police."

The barista immediately pulled out his cell phone, quickly and succinctly relaying information to the dispatcher. Behind him, the enraged woman was shoving at the other patrons, storming towards the door. It seemed that with the threat of the authorities looming over her, the woman had decided to finally leave. Unfortunately for her, the faithful customers of the cafe were less than accommodating, outright blocking her path and helping corral her to the far corner of the room.

Things were fuzzy for Simon after that. He registered that things were happening around him, but they were muted and distant as if he was watching them through someone else's eyes.

Gaz had greeted the police at the door, relaying all of the information he had given the dispatcher and directing them towards the still shouting woman in the corner. Her attention was focused on Soap, who was going toe to toe with her, but her eyes quickly widened when she spotted the two policemen stalking her way.

Price stuck by Simon, doing his best to keep the larger man present while doing what he could to tend to his injuries. Gaz was soon by their side, fawning like a mother hen over Simon's busted cheekbone and cut nose as he stared blankly on.

Simon was familiar enough with the feeling of disassociating, but he couldn't seem to break himself out of it. Soon there were more police in the cafe, a pair dragging the still protesting woman out in handcuffs while another took his statement. When the policeman turned his attention to Price to question him as the owner of the cafe, Simon's attention drifted.

Cafe 141 was in chaos. While a bunch of customers had left, the ones that stayed were enthralled with the spectacle, either talking amongst each other or filming what was going on. They were loud, but not loud enough to drown out the abuse that the vile woman was still screaming about him even as she was forced into the back of a cop's car. Price was visibly frustratd, his bucket hat askew and mustache turned down severly as he spoke to the officer in a low, stern voice. Gaz was running around, doing his best to gain some sort of order in the cafe, while sending worried glances Simon's way.  He couldn't see Johnny, didn't know if he had left already or if he was outside talking to another officer or if he was just lost in the crowd. Porcelain shards were strewn across the floor. Sticky coffee dripped sluggishly from the counter. Simon watched as a drop broke from the rest, falling in slow motion to splash into the puddle on the floor.

Everything seemed to snap back into focus at once and he suddenly felt clammy and cold, his breath getting caught in his throat. He needed to get out. It was too much.

Simon bolted, disappearing through the hallway door and rushing into the bathroom. He threw himself at the toilet, the stall door slamming shut behind him and locking automatically as the sounds of his dry heaving echoed around the empty room.

He fell back against the wall with a wheezing gasp, shakily ripping off his mask and throwing it somewhere. He couldn't breathe. He pulled at his hair, mind racing as he struggled to remember his calming exercises.

A bitter, self-deprecating laugh twisted itself from his throat. The fearsome Simon "Ghost" Riley. Curled up like a greenie after being yelled at by a Karen. Fighting off a panic attack on the bathroom floor thanks to repressed trauma and PTSD.

His next laugh was more akin to a sob.

So caught up in his spiraling thoughts, Simon almost missed the creak of the bathroom door opening. He immediately froze and went silent, tracking the shadow of a person as they approached the stall door. He stared at the well worn boots he could see from under the door, holding his breath as he waited for the other person to do... something.

There was a hesitant knock to the door, the faint rustling of cloth as the person shifted behind it.

"Hey Simon, it's Soap."

Oh.

Oh, God.

Johnny had been there. Of course, Simon had seen him, had known he was in the cafe, but he hadn't fully realized what that meant. Johnny had seen him get screamed at by a customer. Johnny had seen him shut down. Had seen him panic, run away, sequester himself in the bathroom like some child.

Johnny had seen.

Simon couldn't fight the wave of embarrassment and shame that washed over him or the burn of self-loathing in his gut that put his coffee-scalded hands to shame.

"I saw ye come back here 'nd just wanted tae make sure ye were okay. Well, I ken you're not okay, not after tha', but if there was anything I could do tae help. Maybe help ye clean up? Patch up your injuries?" Johnny's voice was low and calm, his accent lighter than it was previously, but still present enough to give his words a soothing lilt.

Simon's immediate response was to turn him away. He had tended to worst wounds than this while out on missions and the last thing he wanted was for Johnny to see just how... pitiful he was right now. He wanted to lick his wounds in peace, find his footing, and not feel raw and exposed.

On the other hand, he was just so tired. It had been a long and hectic day without Rudy and Alejandro. His bad arm ached. His chest and arm were on fire. His cheek was sore and the cut on his nose stung as sweat teased its raw edges. He was exhausted and overstimulated and just done.

The Scot was quiet outside of the stall as Simon thought it over, not pressuring him, just silently offering his support.

Johnny had already seen him at his lowest point in a while. What was a bit more vulnerability in the grand scheme of things?

Simon grabbed his dirty, crumpled mask, looping the bands around his ears before reaching up with a shaky hand to unlock the door.