#or really; ricocheting off of it. classic

[unproduciblesmackdown]

set out to create a serious, canonesque drawing with which to say "feel free to go in my lackadaisy tag and help me mystery speculate" but only got going when i made it bowling and the rarepair agenda

[bakugou-katsukis-wife]

Pairing: bakugou katsuki x fem!Reader

Genre: fluff.

Summary: you've been caught singing and dancing in your room, you thought you were alone? Just you and your guilty pleasure? Nuh uh, your roommate, aka your boyfriend of 2 months, is still at home.

Warnings: none, just fluff ♡. (Reader is a swifty?) (Also, it's not proof read. Spare me-)

Here you were, having the time of your life; You danced across the room singing your heart out... your hair brush a make-shift mic for now.

You jammed to the most random Playlist of songs, not that it mattered. You felt free and yourself. Especially now that you were alone, you could sing and be all giddy over love songs you now imagine to be you and katsuki♡.

One second your singing 'my tears ricochet' by taylor swift doing the classic:

'I can go anywhere I want... anywhere I want,

Just. Not. Home.'

While sobbing your eyes out on top of your bed as you fail to do the movement due the blanket being too heavy on your back-

And then there's this other mood minutes after, here you're jumping around like a 5 year old singing 'Nonsense ' by Sabrina carpenter. All the while thinking of your one and only, katsuki.

As you tire out, and sad songs... well the song 'if the world was ending' came on,

You just sat there, an ugly crying mess while you sang your heart out, wether you were in tune or not you just cried thinking if katsuki left you... will this be the two of you?

As you spent your good time while thinking in your dilemma, you were all the while oblivious of a certain pair of vermilion eyes who watched all of these mood changes during the past 3 hours... which he had said he'd be out training.

Katsuki was about to leave, he was just by the door going to unlock it and go out. But that's when he heard your speakers start playing songs that you'd listen to in the car often.

He was obviously curious as to what was going on cause a few seconds later, sounds of thumping around came from inside your room.

He crept his way slowly, and stood right outside your door. He was gonna knock with his knuckles but as soon as he laid his knuckles on the door it creeked open just a bit, giving him some space to see through... and he did.

He saw you going around your room grabbing your hair brush as it it were a mic and he saw how big your smile was and just how happy you looked enjoying your own company.

He chuckled to himself...

He could train later. This is better entertainment.

He watched his girlfriend go through the 7 stages of grief, fall in love, fall off her bed, slip into her blanket as she still continued to sing though muffled. And he saw her sob.

Was it fun watching her do her thing? Fuck yeah.

But is it worth seeing her cry? The fuck do ya mean? He is going in there to smash this stupid speaker, that caused his pretty girl to be in tears.

Rest be assured, the speaker did get thrown on the floor and you were hundred percent taken care of that night.

Even if you were embarrassed at first, you explained how you were just having fun and weren't really heartbroken.

He's gonna buy multiple more speakers. You know it, He knows it too.

Comments and reblogs are highly appreciated!

(Asks open!)

Masterlist

© BAKUGOU-KATSUKIS-WIFE 2024, DO NOT COPY OR REPOST ANYWHERE

[definitelynotstable]

Matching [Ghost x fem!Reader]

AN: My essay is due tomorrow at 5pm and I still haven’t started. I’m really trying my luck here. 

Synopsis: You and your Lieutenant manage to get matching wounds. A certain Scottish sergeant finds it amusing. Word count: 930 Warnings: Canon compliant violence, blood, guns, field medicine etc Ghost x fem!reader (callsign Red): No explicit romance but the chemistry is there babes. Veeeeery slight angst but mostly fluff. 

[][][][][][][][][][]

“You’re an idiot,” the Lieutenant gritted out as he tore your pant leg. If you hadn’t been so out of it you might’ve found it hot.

“Save the lecture for later, LT.” You groan as he wraps his belt around your upper thigh, pulling it tight as a makeshift tourniquet. “Suffering enough as is, yeah?”

He mutters something intelligible under his breath, shaking his head as he gives the belt one last tug. You hiss in surprise, batting weakly at his firm grip. He defends himself easily, shoving your arms back against your sides.

“Hold still,” he growls sternly and you still your wriggling. His eyes sharp and hard. No room for argument. 

Bullets thud and ricochet off of the crate the Lieutenant has dragged you behind. Happy with the tourniquet, he settles you against the wall, leg stretched out in front of you. 

“Stay.”

You scoff at the order but do as he says. Ghost turns his back to you, inching forwards to fire a round back at the hostiles. There’s a yell and a thump. The constant fire ceases. The Lieutenant edges around the crate, gun poised. 

“Bravo, this is Ghost. Main atrium is clear.”

“Copy, LT. We heard disturbance through Red’s comms, you seen her?”

You reach for your comms before the Lieutenant has a chance to reply. “I’m with the LT, nothing major, Gaz.”

Ghost scoffs, you glare at him. 

“Copy that, Red. Moving in now, LT.”

Ghost nods, hand against his ear. “Copy. We’ll cover you.”

You press your hands against the cool brick behind you, stumbling to your feet. You grab the ACR leaning against the wall next to you, slinging it over your shoulder. 

“Think you’ll last, sergeant?” The Lieutenant’s eyes are questioning, watching as you limp over to his side. He’d call EXFIL if you even gave him the slightest indication you couldn’t soldier on. 

So you grin, giving the stoic man a clap on the back. “We’ve got a terrorist to catch, LT.”

[][][][][][][][][][]

The Lieutenant’s pace is fast and unwavering. Bodies fall and bullets ping as you clear the hallways of the compound, providing cover for Bravo team who were attempting to secure the HVT. 

“On my six, Red.” Ghost barks, sending a round into the second atrium. The room is teaming with hostiles. Your leg throbs with a heartbeat of its own but do as your asked while the Lieutenant readies a flashbang. He lobs it into the room, ducking around the corner to take cover. You step past him, firing a couple of rounds at the flailing hostiles. 

A classic stun-’n-gun. 

Ghost joins you, providing cover as you together clear the room. 

“Bravo this is Red,” you pant in exertion, pressing a gloved finger to your comms, “second atrium is clear, copy?”

“Copy.” Soap’s accent is strong as he responds, “Target acquired, heading to EXFIL now.”

You raise your hand to reply when you catch a movement out of the corner of your eyes, a hostile on the floor fumbles for his gun. Someone barrels into you. Pain flares through your leg you hit the ground. You manage to send a bullet into his skull, the man slumps back, dead.

Ghost groans from where he lies atop you. You grit your teeth, shoving him over. “Christ, LT. Buy a girl a drink first.”

The Lieutenant huffs, clutching at his leg. “Noted.”

You notice the crimson soaking his right thigh, swearing under your breath and ignoring the pain in your own leg, you bat his hands away. Loosing your belt, you work it up his leg; just as he’d done for you earlier. 

“Eager to match, hm?” You joke, pulling the belt tight around his upper thigh. Exactly where his own belt sat on your own leg. Ghost doesn’t make a sound but his jaw clenches beneath his mask. The blood flow slows and you sigh.

“Fuckin’ hell.” He breathes, clambering to his feet, “Johnny’ll have a right laugh when he sees us.”

You nod, breathing sharply as you put pressure on your leg. Ghost takes note immediately, kneeling back at your side. He grips the belt around your own thigh, meeting your eyes with a questioning gaze. You bite your lip but give him quick jut of your chin. The Lieutenant gives the make-shift tourniquet a sharp yank and you yelp, grasping his shoulder to prevent yourself from falling over. 

“Sorry,” he mumbles, squeezing your calf for a second before dusting off his hands and returning to his feet once again. 

“Don’t worry about it, LT,” you assure him with a quick quirk of your lips, “matching, remember?”

[][][][][][][][][][]

Soap’s guffaw as he spots you both stumble towards the heli is music to your ears. 

“Now this’ll be a good story,” he chortles, racing over with Gaz who wraps an arm behind your back. Soap deposits Ghost in the seat opposite you, kneeling at the Lieutenant’s side as Gaz kneels at yours - a medkit open beside them. 

You sigh, resting your head against the rattling metal of the chopper as it starts its ascent. Your tired eyes meet Ghost’s, his cobalt irises twinkling. The Lieutenant pulls his mask up slightly, revealing his smirking mouth.

“Told you,” He mouths before yanking it back down, mirroring you and leaning back as Soap cuts away at his pant leg. 

You roll your eyes but can’t stop the tired smile from settling over your lips.

[][][][][][][][][][]

Masterlist

[noellie-writes217]

Proposition (Pt 1)

Pairing: mcu!spiderman x blackcat

Warnings: post nwh, lonely Peter Parker, alterations to canon comics, mature themes, violence, mentions of death, maybe smut? Minors dni

Summary: after infiltrating the avengers records, Felicia finds out Spider-Man’s identity after the memory wipe, and offers to help him in exchange for…

“Fucking hell!” Peter groans as he enters his apartment through the window. He crawls over to his freezer to get something to use as an ice pack. He sets it on the counter and shoots a web to turn on the light and pulls off his mask with a sigh. He flinches once he hears an unfamiliar voice. “You know you really should think about getting a better lock for your door… or at least a deadbolt. It was way too easy to get in here.”

The Intruder was a woman with white hair in all black. She had a mask on (which barely concealed anything— in Peter’s opinion at least).

“Who the hell are you?” As she stood up he shot a web at one hand to keep her where she sat but it ricocheted and got his hand on the fridge. “Struggling with your webs, Parker?” He clenched his jaw.

“Just the only person who really knows who you are… but don’t worry; I won’t tell.” She walked to him and slid one finger along his jawline.

“What do you want?” She spun around to grab the pack of frozen vegetables and wrapped it in a towel, afterwards turning to get a rag and running it under cold water. “How do you know where everything is?” Peter asked. She shrugs, “I’ve been here for a while, a few porn videos worth- not that I’ve been watching porn! That would be totally unladylike.” She starts to ramble, admittedly, Peter thinks it’s cute.

She shakes her head and gets back to what she was originally talking about, “That’s not why I came here— look, I know who you are. Peter Parker: attended Midtown High, orphaned and raised by his aunt May who recently passed— my condolences, by the way, she seemed amazing— you also are extremely intelligent, inventive, kinda nerdy, thinks of classic movies as old, mentored by Tony Stark, asked to join the Avengers at only 15– somehow Tony wasn’t charged with child endangerment— but refused the offer, you’re also the primary reason Tony Stark agreed to help the Avengers ‘unblip’ everyone, but most importantly: you are Spiderman.”

Peter’s mind spins, “how do you know that?” Strange casted the spell only a few months ago, but there’s no way she could have figured out his identity that quickly. “Does that really matter?” She tilts her chin. “Yes!”

Peter runs his had through his hair with a sigh, “Sorry… I just… How do you know who I am?”

She straightened out her hoodie, “I hacks into the Avengers secret files. And I’m not a bad guy…” she sighs.

“Could’ve fooled me.” Peter scoffs and puts the bag of frozen peas on his brow.

The girl hesitates, “Please Peter, I need your help.”

“You gotta funny way of showing it.”

“Desperate times.”

“Why are you so desperate?” Peter pulls a beer from his fridge. No, he’s 21, but the guy he got the fake ID from was perfectly willing to give him one in exchange for an autograph from Spider-Man for his kid.

“Aren’t you 18— never mind,” she starts, “I want you to put my dad in jail.” At that, Peter nearly spits out his beer.

“And why should I do that?” He asks as he sits at his table with the girl quickly following.

“Because he’s a criminal!” She pleads. “His name is Walter Hardy and he’s not a pleasant guy. He’s a burglar.”

Peter looks her up and down skeptically, “I suspect the apple doesn’t fall far?”

The girl groans, “Peter, please! I can’t keep living with him! If he makes me hack into one more security system I might die— or worse— I won’t be able to graduate!”

“How old are you?”

“I’m supposed to graduate high school this year, and I’ve been saving up for college but if he finds out he’ll take it from me! Please!”

Peter remembers that desperation to get to college, all the work it takes to save up— and he knows what it’s like for all the hard work to be worthless. So he’s thinking about it. “What did you say your name was?”

“Felicia.”

“Alright, Felicia Hardy. Why haven’t you called the police?”

She rolls her eyes, “The police have been after him for years— at least since my mom went back to Russia… or England— I’m not sure where she ran to, but that’s besides the point.” She tangents quite a bit, Peter notices.

“Your mom left?”

Felicia nods, “During the blip. I started learning to code and Dad got the bright idea to use my newfound skill to break into the Starks’. Mom said that was the last straw and left. But I guess she forgot about me or something…” It’s silent for a moment. “I was 15.”

This girl and Peter had led two very different lives. Hers was full of lies and red since she was young; and even though Peter was an orphan, before and after his parents death he always had someone there for him to help him out.

“Please just think about it. I’ll do anything.” She begs with her hands together.

Peter just takes another sip of beer. He still thinks beer is absolutely disgusting but he’s not gonna let his face show that.

“I can’t make you a new suit— one that doesn’t get ripped up so easily, o-or give you leads on over criminals— like scorpion! Or Jackel, or Rhino, or—”

“Or some other animal?”

“Peter, please.” She grabs her bag and pulls out a ripped piece of paper with a phone number scribbled on it and some cash and puts them on the table. “Just think about it.” And with that, she gets up to leave.

“I’m not gonna do it for money!” Peter calls out as she opens the door

“It’s not for that, it’s for you to buy a deadbolt.” She winks before shutting the door behind her.

Peter goes to lock the door and uses his web shooter to seal it shut before grabbing his glasses, one of the few things that survived Goblin’s attacks.

“Edith?”

“Hello Peter. How can I help you today?” Edith asks.

“Give any information you have on Walter Hardy.”

[sourwolf-sterek32]

Broken Without You

Summary: After witnessing the death of your best friend Henry and his little brother, you're close to giving up and ending it all. Until Joel asks you to join him and Ellie on their journey across the country and gives you a reason to keep fighting.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: language, blood, gun violence

Previous Chapter

Chapter 14-

Blood. It was everywhere. It was all you could see and feel. Your bloodied footprints marking the once pristine white tiles of the hospital. The classic cream paint over the walls now sprayed a bright crimson.

You stepped over the bodies of the Fireflies sprawled out over the floor. Pools of blood circling around them.

Joel marched forward down the corridor, the carnage the two of you had left behind not phasing him in the slightest. He hadn't spoken a word since the stairwell, you weren't sure if he could even if he wanted to. He was zeroed in on one thing, and one thing only, saving Ellie and killing anyone that stood in his way.

You couldn't tear your eyes away from the abundant mass of dead bodies scattered over the hospital floor. Your mind flashing back to Henry and Sam, their lifeless bodies unmoving in that motel room.

For a moment, you were so lost in thought that you hadn't notice Joel circle back until his hand grasped your shoulder, startling you back to the present moment.

Those beautiful brown eyes were scanning your body up and down, searching for any injuries, but when he found none, he met your gaze. His eyes had a faraway look about them, like he wasn't entirely there, but there was a flash of concern amongst the rage brewing inside him.

"I'm good. Let's go." You reassured.

Joel gave you a small nod, actioning the bolt on his rifle, ejecting the bullet casing and reloading the weapon before the two of you strode down the corridor side-by-side, taking down anyone who tried to stop you.

Gunshots suddenly burst from somewhere down the corridor behind you, the bullets flying past your body and ricocheting off the walls. Joel was quick to step in front of you, shielding your body with his own before he raised his rifle and squeezed the trigger, silencing the rapid fire of a machine gun instantly. One shot, one kill.

He turned back towards you with a questioning look, and you nodded knowing what he was silently trying to ask. You were fine. Your head felt like it was going to split open, and you couldn't really read the writing on the walls, but you were fine.

You continued marching down the corridor, your assault rifle out of bullets and left behind ages ago as you held the Glock up in front of you, Joel right beside you.

A man suddenly appeared around the corner with a gun raised and you quickly grabbed Joel and pulled him behind cover. He was breathing heavily from beside you, his eyes hard and focused before he peaked out and shot the man easily.

He led the way further down the corridor before encountering a man with his hands raised in surrender, his gun dropped to the ground.

Joel didn't even hesitate when he pulled the trigger, and you didn't blame him. You couldn't leave any of them alive, they would just come after Ellie.

As you walked past a door to a room someone tried to shoot at you from inside, but had shitty aim. The bullet flew straight past you, and you spun around, moving way too quickly, but you lined the man up and pulled the trigger.

Your head was spinning from the sudden movement, and your shot missed its mark, clipping the man in the side of his stomach, but it sent him to the ground, nonetheless.

Gunfire erupted from further down the corridor and you and Joel both quickly raised your weapons and fired, taking them down with ease. Joel looked down at his rifle and you realised that it was out of ammo, but he didn't seem phased as he dropped the gun and pulled out Ellie's switch blade from his pocket and walked into the room to your left.

You stood guard by the door while Joel knelt next to the man who you had injured before he stabbed the blade into the side of his neck and yanked it back out before picking up the mans dropped rifle and pocketing the knife.

Once that floor of the hospital was cleared, you returned to the stairwell and went up another level.

Shot, after shot, after shot. You and Joel worked around each other in sync without having to communicate verbally. Head nods and body language was all you needed.

Joel killed the last man to your left and you finished off the one on your right, the slide of your handgun locking back indicating that you were out of bullets.

Joel glanced over at you, hearing the familiar click of an empty firearm, but you were quick to eject the magazine and replaced it with a spare one from your pocket before racking the slide, loading a bullet in the chamber.

A gunshot fired directly behind you, the gunman so close that your ears started to ring from the blast, but by some miracle he missed, and Joel didn't waste any time and used his last bullet to kill him.

You grabbed your head with your free hand, wincing at the pain the loud gunshot caused, your ears ringing so loudly it was almost painful.

Joel quickly picked up the dead man's handgun, checking the chamber before he appeared in front of you with worried eyes. You were about to tell him that you were fine, but then your eyes landed on a sign over his shoulder and although the words were blurry you could just make out what it spelt.

'Paediatric Surgery'

You pointed at the sign, catching Joels attention as he spun around with the handgun raised, but then he paused when he read the words.

Neither of you said anything before you were walking through the door, the pain in your head long forgotten when you saw a light shining through a door further down the corridor. The only sign of life in the area. That had to be it.

Joel noticed it as well and picked up his pace while you quickly followed, constantly checking your six for any soldiers' you guys had somehow missed because Joel had tunnel vision right now and wasn't looking at anything else except for that door.

No other soldiers came through and a few seconds later, you were walking through the door to find Ellie laying on an operating table with two nurses and a doctor hovering above her.

"Unhook her." Joel ordered, speaking for the first time in a while.

The doctor spun around, his eyes wide above the face mask as he stared at the two of you in alarm.

"How did you get in here?"

"He told you to unhook her." You repeated, raising your handgun in the doctor's direction. "Do it. Now."

"I won't let you take her." He responded, picking up a small scalpel off the table and holding it out defensively.

Joel didn't hesitate before he squeezed the trigger. The nurses all screamed as the doctor fell to the ground, dead.

"Unhook her." Joel repeated, now looking at the two nurses. "Move!"

"Oh, my God." One of them whimpered, as they frantically pulled out Ellies IV drip and unclipped the heartrate monitor from her finger.

"Cover her arm. Fast." Joel ordered, looking down at the small trail of blood falling down Ellies arm from the needle before the nurse covered it with a Band-Aid. "Turn around."

The nurses turned around, their hands still raised in surrender and bodies trembling with fear.

Joel held his handgun out to you which you took without hesitation before he walked over to the table and picked up Ellie, carrying her bridal style. He didn't say anything, but he gave you a small nod and you quickly opened up the door, letting him walk out with Ellie.

You glanced back at the nurses, their backs still turned before you closed the door behind you and followed Joel down the hallway.

He pressed the button for the elevator which you weren't too keen on taking. Had these elevators even been used in the last 20 years? But your head was really hurting, and you weren't sure if you would make it back down those stairs, so you followed him without a word.

To your relief, the elevator held. It did make a few concerning noises, but it held and soon you were stepping out into what looked to be the basement parking lot.

Smart.

The Fireflies probably had working vehicles.

Joel was quick to spot a vehicle across the parking lot with the hood up and headlights on and that was good enough for you. The two of you quickly made your way towards it before a familiar voice suddenly called out from behind you.

"You can't keep her safe forever."

You spun around, raising both handguns at Marlene, blinking away the sudden blurriness in your eyes at the fast movement before you saw the gun in her hand that was aimed at Joel.

"Drop the gun. Now!" You ordered, stepping forward in front of Joel and Ellie, blocking them from the weapon.

"No matter how hard you try, no matter how many people you kill, she's gonna grow up, Joel. And then you'll die. She'll leave. Then what?" Marlene continued to say, looking over your shoulder at Joel as if you weren't even there. "How long till she's torn apart by Infected or murdered by raiders? Because she lives in a broken world that you could have saved."

"Maybe. But it isn't for you to decide." Joel responded from behind you.

"Or you. So what would she decide, huh? 'Cause I think she'd wanna do what's right. And you know it."

"Say the word." You whispered, your voice only loud enough for Joel to hear.

You kept both guns aimed at her, waiting for Joel's signal.

"It's not too late. Even now... even after what you two have done. We can still find a way." Marlene added, looking between the two of you desperately as she lowered her gun.

"Do it." Joel instructed and you didn't hesitate before you shot her.

You followed Joel across the parking lot to the car, the adrenaline in your veins starting to ware out as you sat down in the passenger seat, resting your head back against the head rest and closing your eyes for a moment while he gently placed Ellie on the backseat.

The sound of Marlene gasping and groaning echoed across the parking lot, and you sighed. Wasn't that woman dead?

You opened your eyes about to climb back out the car and finish the job, but Joel appeared beside you and held out his hand.

"I got it. Give me the gun."

You handed over his handgun and watched him march back across the parking lot as Marlene laid in a pool of her blood, raising her hand up at him in a pleading motion.

"No, wait. Wait, wait, wait. Please. Let me go." She begged.

"You'd just come after her."

Joel raised the gun and squeezed the trigger, putting a bullet through her skull and finishing the job.

-

"Hey, don't fall asleep on me. Stay awake." Joel's voice suddenly said, his hand grabbing your thigh and squeezing it gently.

You reopened your eyes, not realising that you had even closed them in the first place. You blinked at the shear brightness of the sky before reaching up and pulling the sun visor down trying to block some of it out.

Your head was still hurting something awful, but after sitting down in the car for a while, it had gotten better and reduced the sharp edge of pain to a constant ache.

"Is she...?" You trailed off and turned in your chair to check on Ellie, but the movement did nothing but make the pain in your head spike. "Ah, fuck." You winced, grabbing your head, realising that the bandage was still wrapped around it.

"Easy, easy. Ellie is still unconscious, she's okay." Joel reassured, his hand still on your thigh as he glanced over at you. "Are you okay?"

"Been better."

You flicked open the mirror on the sun visor, wiping away the dust as you stared at your reflection before reaching up and untying the bandage from your forehead.

"Whoa, hey, I don't think you should-" Joel started to say, but it was too late because the bandage was already off. "Shit, that doesn't look good."

"Just what every girl wants to hear." You mumbled, staring at the mirror and taking in the angry gash on your forehead.

The Fireflies must have stitched the wound because that was definitely not your handy work. The skin around the cut was red and bruised, but the blood that was once down the side of your face and in your hair had been cleaned off, the only evidence that it was ever there in the first place was the blood stain on your shirt collar.

"W-What...?" Ellie suddenly groaned from the backseat.

"It's alright. You're with us." Joel quickly reassured, looking at her through the revision mirror as he drove. "Take it slow. The drugs are still wearin' off."

You tilted the sun visor a little so you could see Ellie to find her still laying down on the backseat, but her eyes were now open.

"I was with the Fireflies and then... what drugs?" She asked softly, still trying to wake up.

You remained silent, unsure how Joel was going to explain what the two of you just did.

"They were runnin' some tests on you... and some others. Turns out there's a whole lot more like you, people that are immune. Dozens of 'em. And the doctors, they couldn't make any of it work. They've actually... they've stopped lookin' for a cure."

You repeated Joels words through your mind so you would remember it, not wanting to slip up and say the wrong thing to Ellie and for her to realise that it was all a lie.

Ellie didn't say anything for a few moments, and you watched her through the mirror as a look of sadness washed over her features.

"Where are my clothes?" She eventually asked quietly.

"Raiders attacked the hospital. Y/N got hurt. I barely got ya both outta there. We'll find you some new ones on the way."

"Is she okay?”

“Just a scratch, kid. I’m fine.” You tried to reassure.

“Those stitches would say otherwise.” Joel muttered from behind the wheel causing you to glare at his side profile.

“Were other people hurt?"

Joel met your gaze briefly before he focused back on the road in front of him, his hands tightening around the steering wheel.

"Yes."

"Is Marlene okay?"

Nope.

"I'm takin' us home." Joel said, instead of answering the question. Ellie didn't say anything to that and simply rolled over on the backseat until her back was facing you. "I'm sorry." Joel whispered, staring at her through the revision mirror.

You rested your hand over his that was still on your thigh and squeezed it gently for comfort. Ellie might be angry and annoyed that she couldn't help save the world, but Joel did the right thing. You both did.

-

Next Chapter 

-

MASTERLIST pinned to profile. 

Commissions open! Link in bio & DM for enquiries ❤️

[thegeminisage]

wow it is star trek update time. last night we watched ds9's "blood oath" and tng's "journey's end," which is one of the strongest quality ricochets we've had yet.

blood oath (ds9):

okay, so the summary said "three klingon legends" but what i didn't realize is that they were all REAL KLINGONS FROM THE ORIGINAL SERIES

i have to pain this picture for you, whoever is reading this. the three klingons in this episode appeared in "errand or mercy" "the trouble with tribbles" and "day of the dove." like, they really came back to reprise their roles almost 30 years later. i'm going to paste a picture but uhtw 60s blackface

now, if you're a tos viewer, you may recognize that fella in the middle as also having played the titular squire of gothos in. "squire of gothos." now, as an episode, i find "squire of gothos" to be pretty mid, but there is one specific scene that really did something for me. to me? it did something TO me. what it did to me was send me off the fucking deep end, i wish i could convey the depths of my madness with human words

(still screenshot grabbed from this infinitely more amazing gifset, give it up for @maulthots for enabling me, no literally please go through her gif tag and reblog her gifs)

anyway, before my good and wonderful friend so kindly made this gifset for me, i did maybe sit in front of my pc and replay the clip upwards of [mumble] times a day because i was very, very unwell. when i watched this scene for the very first time what happened to me in that single instant was the bone-deep realization that james t kirk (tos and aos) ate fascists on tarsus iv, probably, and he'd fucking do it again because nobody tastes better than a fascist! i wrote an entire fanfic about it, sorry for the spoilers.

what does squire of gothos and tarsus iv have to do with ds9? well first of all every star trek episode is secretly about tarsus iv so jot that down

but secondly, i've watched this clip so many times i have to hide my face when this man shows up in trouble with tribbles. now, i'm not so good with faces, but i KNOW THAT VOICE. but i know him AS the squire of gothos. i frequently forget entirely that he also plays a klingon, so i didn't recognize his name. so when i heard the squire of gothos's voice come out of a random klingon's mouth in ds9 my immediate kneejerk reaction was "no i am hearing things that can't be--" BUT IT WAS. i PAUSED the episode so i could look iy up, realized that the guy in the drunk tank was kor or "do you have a tongue you will be taught to use it" fame, and then to my eternal glee, kang shows up next

i remembered reading once that kang came back later and i was like ??? no one comes back later on tos BUT HE DID! I JUST HAD TO WAIT FOR IT!!!!! mystery finally solved...........

once i recognized them this episode was a blast. absolutely loving these 100 year old klingons getting ready for a rip roaring rampage of supercentenarian revenge. i was VERY sad that they died at the end but at least presumably they all died together (didnt see the last one go down but im just assuming he lived long enough to eat the albino's heart and then die)

(the albino is a really funny concept by the way like he's not even albino he's just a white klingon)

other notable things about this episode: firstly, quark hiding behind odo at the beginning. classic. secondly, dax actually being a good fighter ?!?!?! and finally, a true passing of the bechdel test where dax asked kira some alarming and upsetting questions about killing people and kira immediately took her aside and MADE her talk. i love. Women. and also women who murder people. i support womens wrongs.

i even love that the ONE time sisko doesn't back up one of his people it's for a good reason (doesn't want the 27yo reincarnation of his father figure to die on a klingon suicide mission)

10000/10, absolutely stellar ep, zero complaints

journey's end (tng):

oh boy.

just about the coldest bucket of fucking water...

you know, we tried to give this episode the benefit of the doubt actually. we were like "maybe this was progressive in 1994. i mean they ARE saying that moving these guys forcibly would be bad" and i mean like what would we know about what was progressive in 94? we were 5. so we checked and um i don't think anybody liked it in 1994 either

devastating that THIS has to be a wesley episode bc i wanted a better sendoff for my boy. "i had a vision and now i'm leaving starfleet" and yes they said the word vision in the most derogatory way possible. jesus christ

TRAVELER ALIEN RACEFAKING? HE PRETENDED TO BE NATIVE AMERICAN TO GIVE WESLEY THE VISION? and then he was like haha don't you know all that stuff is fake. (picard earlier in this episode "i am sooo respectful of your beliefs")

furthermore when picard was like "oh yeah this guy blames me for the crimes of my colonizer ancestor" girl at no point did he say that. idk if white people should go around accusing other white people of white guilt so i don't say this lightly but jesus christ captain picard can you tone it the fuck down buddy

i came across a gifset today of picard from season 5 (idr the episode) going "starfleet doesn't want officers who blindly follow orders sayign you're just following orders has been used to justify too many tragedies in our history" and then smash cut to this episode where he's like "well i tried but yeah i'm gonna have to move you sowwy :/" like good lord.

anyway it's a bummer these last few eps of tng have been less than great bc ik tng is capable of good episodes and i was hoping this series would go out on a high note. but it's going to end the same way it began with us waiting for something good to happen and throwing popcorn at picard

TONIGHT: ds9's "the maquis part i" and tng's "firstborn." i am Braced. for trouble.

[shuttershocky]

fuck yea mate!

Hope you have a blast with the game, the depth of movement techs and weapon combos is honestly the best part imo.

Plus I'm sure you'll destroy v2 later on, the best thing abt this game is how it makes you want to feel the improvements in the way you use your arsenal, it actively pushes you to not only feel powerful but be powerful.

Also Gabriel n1 babygirl covered in gore

You know what's one thing I love apart from everything you've already mentioned?

For a game with story as a low priority, there's so much thought put into its presentation. Ultrakill is bursting with so much unspoken character in all its design choices I can't really call it anything other than brilliant.

The idea behind the first V2 fight is a video game classic: include a boss who is basically just you, such that fighting them feels like fighting another player. V2 has all of V1's movement, their Piercer Revolver, and the Core Eject shotgun. Your only real edge in the bossfight is that you found a Nailgun in the Limbo layer so you have one weapon they don't, and that shots ricocheted off coins won't miss. With that in mind, one of the simplest techniques to beating V2 for the first time is hosing them down with the nailgun and then using coins to hit them while they're zipping all over the arena for easy damage. You win, V2 flees with their life, and you get a new Knuckleblaster arm.

But Ultrakill is completely aware of this, and uses that knowledge for sheer dramatic effect. In the 2nd V2 fight, you go up a massive pyramid as a familiar bass line starts to play. You enter the throne room, and V2 is there, waiting. They stand up, crack their knuckles, and reveal a new trick: they got a nailgun now too, and can hose you down just as fast as you did to them back in Limbo. You panic a bit, toss a coin for the old reliable trick to hitting a fast moving target, and V2 whips out their revolver and ricochets a shot off of YOUR coin as you think "Oh. Fuck."

It makes the chase down the pyramid so intense. You HAVE to end this rivalry here— V2 learns fast and there's no guarantee V1 can come out on top if a third duel were to happen—but at the same time V2 fucked up by coming back for another round in the first place. Their life was already spared back in Limbo; chasing V1 deeper into hell just to exact vengeance was NOT a smart move, and that's why the climactic duel takes place in the Greed layer baby. It's thematic!

[shittinggold]

🎵 FUFFY!!!!!!!

Okay. OKAY. You have to have known that I would never be able to narrow it down to just one song. I am going to have to dump about a dozen songs on you, each corresponding to a different era of Fuffy. If that's a problem - tough, you knew what you were getting into.

To start us off, both Bodybag by Chloe Moriondo and Saccharine by Jazmin Bean capture that early-Fuffy feeling of "I'm not sure if I want to fight you or fuck you and frankly I think it might be the same thing".

I could cry when I hear you speak but that just makes me angry Wanna kiss you on your cheeks but I also wanna punch your teeth I just don't get it, I just don't know Don't know if I hate you or if I wanna date you Put you in a body bag instead of my bed

You make me afraid Come closer, wait no, go away Disgusted at the fact I care Cut you the fuck off like dead hair

Speak Your Mind by Alice Merton is the anthem for That final scene in Revelations. I saw her in London a couple of months ago and she was great, but I need to see her again until she performs this song.

And you know that it's hard for me To look at you and realize you're part of me But nowadays you seem so far away from me So out of reach Won't you speak your mind? There's a silence in the room and it is killing me Won't you speak your mind?

If you wanted something for their wild nights bonding in Bad Girls, then Untouched by The Veronicas is a classic, and 100% captures that vibe: horny, but perpetually unconsummated. Speaking of Bad Girls, the song that plays when they dance in the Bronze - Chinese Burn by Curve - is a very Faith song.

She burns friends like a piece of wood And she's jealous of me because she never could Hold herself up without a spine And she'll look me up when she's doing fine Because the rage it burns like Chinese torture She's just someone's favorite daughter Spoilt and ugly as she willingly slaughters Friends and enemies they're all the same

I know they're TSwift, and putting Taylor Swift songs on a fanmix is a cliche beyond parody at this point, but I have to shout out three songs from Folklore - Hoax, My Tears Ricochet and The 1 - for being unavoidably great Fuffy songs.

For what it's worth, any song that references "the one" instantly rings Fuffy bells in my head, because "the one" is SUCH a loaded term for them (being soulmates who are in direct competition to be The One). As such, I present Uno by Muse, which gets at that post-Enemies feeling thy both have of feeling like the other really messed up by not following them.

You could have been number one And you could have ruled the whole world And we could have had so much fun But you blew it away

For the same period, but more focused on the rage and denial that comes with self-recognition through another, we have Anything Like Me by Poppy, which is definitely up there as one of the most Fuffy songs around.

I'm everything she never was Now everyone's out for my blood Stop, you're making a scene You're coming at me with blood in your teeth You shouldn't be anything like me You shouldn't be anything like me You'll never be anything like me You shouldn't be anything like me I feel her heart beating in me Get her out of me Love is never-ending in me Take it out of me

While we're doing cliches, I obviously have to mention that Kiss With A Fist and Girlfriend In A Coma both exist. They're like the complimentary breadsticks of Fuffy mixes - they're not what you're there for, but their exclusion would be a choice. Knife Going In by Tegan and Sara is also another surprisingly appropriate set of lyrics given how on-the-nose the title is.

I feel the knife going in I'm feeling like she's not enough to kill me I thought it up and fast But I'm feeling it now And I feel like she's sleeping inches from me I let it pass

Before we finish, I wanna take us to S7, which is just a goldmine - so many songs about that specific feeling of "we were once friends and now we're so far apart". I'll shout out Bad Blood by Bastille, I Want You by Mitski, and Maria by AliceBand, but most of all a slight wildcard - Forget About What I Said by The Killers.

We used to tear it down But now we just exist. The things that I did wrong, I bet you got a list. Now I know how you remember And those moments that you choose Will define me as a traitor Stealing everything you lose.

If S4!Fuffy is more your thing, then we have When I Needed You by Carly Rae Jepsen and Crash and Burn by Maggie Lindemann to both capture Faith's jealousy and anger after waking up.

You picked him over me And you left with no apology Felt a knife in your back Yeah, you thought I was the killer You're looking in the mirror

Or for the Who Are You body-swapping soul-muddying you-and-I-have-begun-to-blur of it all: Bloodstream by Stateless.

Words can be like knives They can cut you open And the silence surrounds you And haunts you I think I might've inhaled you I can feel you behind my eyes You've gotten into my bloodstream I can feel you floating in me

(Yeah, knives is another trigger word for the Fuffy bells)

To finish off, I'd like to bring us back to S3, and Graduation Day Part II. For me, this is the absolute peak of love and tragedy that makes their story what it is. Strawberry Gashes by Jack Off Jill is a great Buffy-POV song that expresses her feelings of wishing she have reached out and done something different to save Faith, while also understanding that it was Faith's choices that led them to this.

Scold me, failed her If only I'd held on tighter To her pale white skin That twisted and withered away from me, way from me Watch me lose her It's almost like losing myself Give her my soul And let them take somebody else, get away from me Watch me fault her "You're living like a disaster" She said, "kill me faster" With strawberry gashes all over, all over me

But if there's one song that works for both of them at this moment, it's Switchblade by LP. If I had a gun to my head and was forced to pick one song to sum up Fuffy, it would be Switchblade by LP. Both the mood and lyrics manage to capture the soul of it - the wistfulness and melancholy, the lost love and lost innocence, the doom and destiny, the pain that comes intertwined with affection. The homosexual yearning. Seriously, go listen to Switchblade by LP.

We were electric We were wild, we were free And I thought that you meant it It's hard to accept it That it's not meant to be But I'll never regret it I don't, I don't No, I don't, I don't Long live the beautiful hearts Who find love and tear it apart Long live the beautiful hearts Who find love and tear it apart All of the hurt you've been hiding away Cuts me at once like a switchblade So take every stab you can take And I'll give it to ya, give it to ya I always knew that you'd cut me someday I fell in love with a switchblade And I know that you did the same And I'll give it to ya, give it to ya

[minuy600]

Review #0011: Combat (Atari 2600)

I may have made a mistake with the ordering of this one. Various sources cite that the 2600 initially shipped to stores in August 1977, rather than September 11th like the remainder of the launch titles. That would predate not only those, but also Super Bug. So consider this a slight backtrack if those sources are telling the truth.

This is the original pack-in for the 2600, and for good reason. The console was made to essentially run home versions of Atari's old arcade games, Pong and Tank. Everything else was therefore technically a bonus to what this and Video Olympics started.

Does it hold up now? Not in singleplayer, that's for sure.

Graphics (3/5)

Although this game looks visually inferior to Air-Sea Battle due to a lack of gradient and rudimentary squares depicting the mazes, it's still not bad at all. The tanks and biplanes look as they should, which is a compliment when compared to some other games we'll soon be taking a look at. The clouds in biplane modes are a nice touch and has the distinction of being able to hide behind them.

Oh and it's funny to have a HUGE biplane when you play 1 vs. 3 in that mode. Not that you *want* to play it for other reasons than that.

Sound (5/5)

Ahhh, welcome to quality central. I absolutely adore the Combat sounds, I cannot help it. Actual engine noises that change depending on whether you're using tanks, biplanes or jets, satisfying shooting noises and even better explosion noises, Pong noises when playing Tank Pong, it's bliss.

Many people enjoy the Atari 2600's sound chip, and I wholeheartedly agree, these noises just make me feel GOOD. Top of my personal list so far.

Gameplay (3/5)

Is this the first game with actual 'tank controls'? Hell if I know. All I know is that that takes a lot of time to get used to. It doesn't really get better with the other vehicles too, it seems needlessly complex to control for a game this simple. At least since it's multiplayer only and you have a ton of modes to select from, you both tend to struggle and eventually find the thing that is right for you.

Tank Pong is by far my favorite game of them all. It's enjoyable to have the ammo ricochet off walls and aim to take out your opponent rather than directly strike them down. It's not a surprise that this mode is the one that has an achievement on Flashback Classics attached to it.

This game is also quite glitchy! Me and my friend had it happen that we zoomed over the screen seemingly at random, and you can easily clip through the wall and cycle to the other end of the screen as you get shot. I assume the latter was because it'd be far too easy to get stuck that way- not that that helps cuz you still do so frequently. Still, hilarity ensued and that is what counts.

Longevity (4/5)

Let's get the negative out of the way, there is absolutely no singleplayer in this game. Almost every other game (that I can play) of the time had that option, but you won't find it here. You HAVE to have a family member or friend ready in order to have the right to Combat.

In this early era of video games, games WERE mostly built around that concept, however. As you'll soon see, a lot of these games lose their luster when you play alone even when they had that option.

So when you put that blemish aside, there is a LOT to this one. The aforementioned 27 modes really change things up unlike Air-Sea Battle. This really seems to utilise the tiny amount of space the cartridge had to the maximum. And that for a pack-in!

Truly the Wii Sports of 1977- hard to run out of fun if you have a very retro mindset and I doubt you'd need to return to the store for more carts for the first couple weeks.

Overall

Yyyyeah, this mostly deserves it's high praise. It's aged, it doesn't control amazingly, and if you are a solo guy, there literally is nothing to it. But the multiplayer still got a chuckle out of me and my friend, it has solid variety and the sounds are perfect for the time. You cannot get much better at all as the first game most 70s and early 80s kids saw in their homes. I'd almost argue it's the best Atari 2600 game untill Adventure and Space Invaders come along- but let's not go that far yet.

[ra1ndrop5-on-ro5e5]

2 New Years Resolutions // Fairn

Finn didn't really know what to do with himself sometimes with how quiet the Greek court could get. Might as well go for a classic New Years resolutions and hit the gym. He couldn't do it as Rose though. He had to run the risk to go to the gym in basket ball shorts and a muscle top to be comfortable. He could do this, he could even cover himself if worse came to worse. He think about who was even left he really had to keep convinced.

Rosanna probably would never challenge Rose even if she read Jude's file front to back. Suzy was of not of interest, and the rest of alpha were old friends. Schlatt and Max were like two sides of the same coin, both knowing but both unbelievable if they tried to tell anyone else. Wilbur was blissfully indifferent, all other thetas were not of interest, most of them old dog. Same with almost all of Gamma, even the ones who knew like Matt and Ryan were not viable men of interests.

"Finn!" the shout snapped his brain out of it less like a trace and more like a rubber band, losing his focus on not just his thought spiral but the excirsize he had been doing. "Rest is over princess, let's go!" Arin taunts him, hitting him on the side of his arm with the target pads on his hands before holding them back up in front of him. "Jab!"

This is one of the reasons Finn had agreed to do this with Arin regularly. It demands his attention. Working out was a good way to do that, but especially with someone on his case if he lost focus. Arin was understanding about everything. Everything. He had been an ear to all the woes and in return, Finn let Arin teach him boxing. It worked great the first few times, but today whenever a rest happened Finn's brain took it as an opportunity to take stock of his situation.

Ethan. Ethan was the only one left who was truly being deceived, and prehaps the least deserving of it. Schlatt and Wilbur both know where they stood with him and still stuck around. Maybe Ethan would too... but he didn't want that with Ethan....

"Do you need to call it for today?" Arin asks before bitting the strap around his head and shaking the pad off his hand before getting the other normally. "You're head really isn't in it, I don't want you to get hurt."

"No! No please I just need- need like one thing to get me in the zone and I'll be good." He huffs and holds up his fists, shadow boxing at Arin. "Com'on then! Be a good coach!" Finn is playful with him, looking the other in the chest like they were eye to eye as he boxed since Arin had some height on him. Arin crosses his arms and looks down at Finn with pursed lips, thinking. "Wot?"

"Theres one thing... that always gets my attention when I'm out of during training... but it usually happen during sparing." He hums the a final realization hits him then shakes his head. "Nah, I cant do that to you."

"No cone on! What is it? At least tell me."

"If I tell you I don't think it work the same."

"Then just do it."

"If you lose focus again." He agreed with the idea that some looming threat would keep Finn in focus. Finn may have considered at some point that it was a threat, but he was so curious he forgot to be scared. Maybe that was why when Finn lost his place in combination because he was thinking about his last date with Ethan, Arin smacked him across the face.

"Fuck!" The sound followed by Finn's yelp ricochet through the gym and a silece fills the air. The sting slowly set in and Finn's heart raced. As he looked back to Arin, his breathing is faster, wrapped hand over the spot the other man struck. "Holy shit..." He huffed out.

"I told you! Geez and biscuits fuck! I didn't want to punch you like you'd get in sparing, I thought that wouldn't be as bad!"

"I think a punch would have been much worse." Finn says though a few more pants, feeling the initial fear subside and settling back into his body. He had imagined a guy here would hit him one day, but it was the worst case scenario whenever he played it out. Now here Arin was, just after smacking him, groveling, trying to look small, and Finn couldn't bother to even but annoyed. "That was good."

"What?!"

"No yeah, you should definitely do that when I slip up. It will-" his throat is rather dry feeling suddenly and he tries to swallow to alleviate it "It will keep me in the moment and my head clear and- and- and I'm so hard riggt now." He blurts out, hands quickly going over his mouth and looking up in horror.

"Uh... scuse me?" Arin blinked at him a fee times and his eyes scan the room quickly.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Finn turns and tries to find his things to running out of there but his head was so scrambled he couldn’t even see it when he looked around the room. "I'll leave I just- if I had my bag I-"

"Get it together, princess!" Arin barks at him, successfully pulling his attention back. Arin gives a much lighter and playful smack to the same cheek. Finn turns his head with it and let's out a whimper. "I didn't know you were cool like that." He chuckles, even as Finn looks at him with stary eyes. "You okay? Too far?"

"You wanna make out in the locker room?"

"The locker room?"

"You want to do it here?" Finn asks biting his lip and looking the other man over. Arin face gets rosey and he has to take a steadying breath.

"Hit the showers! Great job out there today!" he rushes out, throwing a giggling Finn over his shoulder and striking him on the ass as he rushed hulled him to on of the changing rooms.

[shopcat]

I personally think Steve getting beat up still works really well as a catalyst to apologizing because I think he was sitting there trying to be angry at Jonathan and Nancy but he just... couldn't be. And he was mad at himself for not being angry, maybe? And then Tommy and Carol started talking shit and it made things click for him, which only made him angrier.

yeah exactly!!!! i think that entire sort of um self-mandated judgement by fire moment for him post the alley way fight scene is like entirely what MAKES his character at that point in time at least and i think it was definitely the right choice to have the sequence of events play out that way... like he expected nancy to confront him by lashing out in a very childish way but i still think he didn't fully conceptualise what they really did or maybe what TOMMY did even while he just stood by and what he really was saying with his actions until he actually SAW her reaction. like just a classic instance of lashing out and not realising the impact until it's too late then lashing out some more. and also the literal impact (i love that she hit him it was so funny <3).

so then like, that ricochets so he picks a fight to try and soothe his own wounded feelings bc of course jonathan is RIGHT THERE, goes too far and gets his face busted for it, then has to run from the police while jonathan (the victim) is taken to the station, and the only people he has left are fucking... tommy and carol. who STARTED it all. i think if steve was the one to be quote unquote Winning that fight and beating the shit out of jonathan it wouldn't have been as... narratively satisifying? or something as the moment that he was able to recognise that his friends are not his friends and that he drove away a good thing in his life by succumbing to their level of stupid pettiness, and they are intolerable of change reflected in both himself and the people around him in a way that defines THEIR character that he doesn't want to be a part of because it's rotting them all. and he doesn't want to be associated with that kind of asshole anymore.

cuz like whilst the fight was the kicking off point for his narrative arc i suppose..? i think that incredibly internalised sort of social uh calamity he was going through in his HEAD alone that year is something that some people imo attribute TOO MUCH to other characters and not enough to himself, and he HIMSELF concedes it to like, nancy or even some part jonathan for giving him a "bump on the head". and i understand and it's actually very sweet on his part at least that he sees the world that way but from the like, very beginning the tension between steve and his friends was always nancy until it eventually just became steve and nancy vs tommy and carol. there are a lot of moments throughout season 1 where steve is just like genuinely trying to keep on the same road and coast by on normalcy and happiness and tommy and carol are acting as speed bumps along the way and you can see him reacting to it more and more as it builds. i think it's obv in no small part they're not just reacting to Nancy as someone he likes, they're reacting to a part of Himself that they don't like, that he's "changing" in a way THEY don't like, and therefore he takes the initiative himself to defend them both and change ANYWAY in spite of it. he gave himself the bump on the head the moment he even decided to start dating nancy wheeler age 17 and not a moment later... and that is BEAUTIFUL!

[medtech-mara]

For any OC you wanna gush about! What is more important to them, friends or family?

Would they ever betray someone for money?

How would they want to die?

Do they have any enemies?

Let's talk about Amber "Pacifica" Fox.

This is my first nomad, the adopted daughter of the pack master for the Desert Foxes, a nomad clan I made, i even have like 15 or so of the clan of 120 named, personalities so on. I've spent a lot of time falling IN LOVE with this clan. As you are aware, I do have two nomads, both with the last name Fox. They are not related. Everyone in the clan has to have the last name Fox.

This is my second most played character in the timeline of Legends of Night City.

What is more important to them, friends or family?

Family, always always always will choose family over anyone else. Though, things have been getting murky as now Amber is starting a family of her own. So the time will come where she must choose her pack or her family

Would they ever betray someone for money?

No, money means nothing to Amber. Before Titus, She was always able to get by with her natural ability to find rare collectables. That's all she's really wanted anyway, to just get by, no responsibilities to anything but putting food in her tummy. Boy did life smack her in the face hard.

tw: death

How would they want to die?

Amber doesn't have a preference in how she dies, just as long as its not something stupid like a ricochet bullet bouncing off a car hood and hitting her in the throat.

She just wants it to be with the ones she loves the most, without fear, she wants her last moment to be filled with love.

Do they have any enemies?

Yes, and it's the classic disapproving mother.

Helen Atredies, resents Amber for bewitching Titus and distracting him from his goals of furthering the families empire that is Atredies Space. How could someone who looks and smells of dirt ever amount the worth of carrying the Atredies name?

Lord if she ever found out about the pregnancy, she'd lose her mind.

[imabillyami]

Thoughts on Summerslam?

Hey lovely anon! Thanks for asking and being interested as always 💜 I appreciate you! 

A little warning: this contains a lot more complaining and bitching than my opinion pieces usually do, but I honestly expected more from this PLE and I’m feeling a little meh about it, cause a lot of it didn’t live up to the hype for me personally (if you wanna read mostly positive things start reading from the Gunther vs Drew portion onwards). 

As always, these are my personal views, other's might differ from that and that’s completely fine and valid. We all enjoy different things and it’s good that we do. (Disclaimer, cause I don't want any drama in my inbox from anyone reading this.)

I thought the first half of the show pretty much sucked. I wasn’t invested in it at all and had a tough time sitting through all of it. 

Match by match under the cut:

Logan vs Ricochet: Anyone who knows me or has been following me for a while knows that I fucking hate LP’s guts. I wish he’d walk out and never come back, cause yes, he’s a fucking terrible human being and a quick google search will tell you all the reasons why. He doesn’t deserve the spotlight he gets, he deserves jail time. I’m glad Ricochet got an opening match at a big PLE though. He’s one of the best in-ring guys of this generation and seeing him perform is always a blessing. I fucking hate that he lost, but we all knew he would, didn’t we? And Samantha having to announce LP as the winner had me 🤢🤢🤢 As for the match: It was okay. Too much posing and showing off for my taste. Classic LP. And don’t get me started on that screwy finish or the commentary about Samantha. (+ As much as I’m happy Ricochet got to be on the card in that manner, I’d rather have seen Becky vs. Trish or a Rhea title defense in that spot.)

Brock vs Cody: Y’all know my stance on Cody. I don’t like him. I don’t care about him. I fucking hate the “finish the story” narrative and how he forcefully inserts himself into shit all the time. He’s not as great or talented or charismatic as he thinks he is and I cringe so hard every time he opens his mouth. I don’t know what other people see in him, but I guess to each their own. I for one wish he’d leave and never come back. But that’s just me. He called himself “the best wrestler in the world” in an interview recently and I’m sorry, you’re not the best wrestler in this company and there’s many more wrestlers from other promotions who are way above you on that list, sir. Plus your acting and selling sucks. Sorry, sorry, this wasn’t supposed to be an anti Cody rant. If you like him, go ahead, but I’m not gonna hide my dislike for the man. Brock is awesome, I’ve always respected him immensely as an athlete. He’s always been very legitimate and very protected and rightfully so. I don’t know when opponents (other than Roman) started getting up and walking off an F5 through the table, but apparently that’s a thing now… The highlight of that match for me was seeing all of Daddy Brock’s good parts lmao 😂 

(I’m still bitter about Becky vs Trish not being on the card. They had time for 10 minute video packages between all the matches, but they didn’t have time for this highly anticipated match? If I speak 😶 That feud could have been one for the ages if it had gotten the proper booking it deserved)

Battle Royal: I know they had to do this one for sponsorship reasons (and probably to give LA Knight a win and appease the audience, which don’t get me wrong, I LOVE LA Knight, but what good does that win do him?), but I could’ve done without it. Again on my women’s matches agenda here. With how over he is, the crowd wouldn’t have accepted another winner, so it was predictable. It gave the audience a feel-good moment though, so I’ll take it. 

Shayna vs Ronda: I love Shayna ❤️ 100%, no questions asked. As for Ronda… I’m not gonna say much, other than I hope this really was her last match in WWE. I still don’t get why we got an MMA rules fight instead of a proper wrestling match, but then I haven’t been following the build to this very closely. I’m glad Shayna won and I hope she gets to move on to bigger and better things in WWE now that she’s out of Ronda’s shadow. But that’s probably wishful thinking. 

Drew vs Gunther: Was exactly what I wanted it to be. Just two big meaty men hitting and chopping away at each other, manhandling and throwing each other around. Beautiful. I knew I was gonna like this and I did. I love seeing both of these men in the ring. Gunther winning was no surprise, but this time I didn’t mind. He deserves breaking that record. He’s been doing incredible incredible work for a long time and he deserves all the good things he gets.

Seth vs Finn: You have no idea how much I love Seth and Finn, no idea 😭 These two (+Sami +Bryan Danielson) to me are the best technical wrestlers of this generation. No matter what, they will always be able to put on a banger wrestling match, so I’m always always always loving it when they get into the ring together. It’s just beautiful to watch them move. Art art art. I love Seth’s mind games, I love the whole arena singing Seth’s song, I love the history between them. I love everything about it. Either of them deserved that win and that title, I’m glad Seth retained though, he deserves a good long title run. (Also can’t wait to see what TJD getting involved in the match will stir up. That ever growing tension between Damien and Finn is delicious to watch 👀)

Asuka vs Bianca vs Charlotte: The build to this match was terrible, not gonna lie. The match delivered though! The crowd didn’t appreciate it enough, which is a big L on their part. These three did amazing! Sure it wasn’t all smooth sailing and some of it was visible (also thanks to some not so great camera angles), but the quality of the match was still awesome! 

Cash-In: I’m so so fucking happy for Iyo!!! She deserved this for such a long time and I’m so glad they made the decision to put that title on her (I was fully expecting Bayley to cost her that title, so it was a nice surprise that she didn’t and that she was actually the one taking everyone out, so that the path was clear for Iyo. A beautiful showing of friendship 😭 And I loved seeing Dakota and the sweetness that was these three friends celebrating together ❤️ For me this was the highlight of the night!)

I’m also hoping this will be the final straw in turning Bianca heel. She looked like she reached her breaking point during all this, so I’m carefully optimistic. I’ve been wanting it for a long time and with the Profits now having turned heel the dream of heel!Bianca feels closer than ever 👀 WWE I’m begging you! 

Jey vs Roman (aka Jey vs everyone in Tribal Combat): Moment of deep deep appreciation for Jey’s beautiful beautiful back ink and the man who put it on him. Incredible 😍 As for the match: I’m not gonna lie, I had my difficulties with this match. The buildup was so epic, the match itself felt a little disappointing to me in comparison to their earlier bouts. I adored Jey vs Roman at Clash of Champions and HIAC and I loved the tag match at MITB, so I had very high expectations for this match and maybe they were too high. Idk to me it felt a little off and very much not like Jey’s usual pace and what these two are usually capable of.

Don’t get me wrong, it had some very good spots and some very emotional moments (and some highly comedic ones too, Jey telling Paul to grab the other side of that table? I was cackling! Solo screaming at Roman and looking seconds away from murder after that spear? I was pretty much on the floor, cause it was too damn hilarious!), but overall it felt to me like something was missing. Plus most of us saw that Jimmy return and him turning on Jey and costing him the match, the championship and the tribal chief position weeks ago and from a million miles away. I still think it’s too soon for this and I would’ve loved to actually see this for WM40 next year, just the way Josh and Jon have been dreaming about, but we’ll see.

Seeing it coming doesn’t mean I’m not devastated about it. That ending with Jey crying and screaming all alone in the ring? OH MY GOD. I’ve been watching them as a tag team from the day they arrived in WWE with Tamina and I never thought we’d see the day they break up, but I guess I’m comforted by the knowledge that Josh and Jon are going to have the time of their lives with this feud. For us though? Emotional pain awaits, but what else is new

I’m very curious to hear Jimmy’s reasoning (I'm guessing jealousy or Jey leaving his side when he got hurt to challnge Roman) and to see where Solo fits into all of this if Roman is really taking a break for longer. I can’t see Jimmy realigning himself with Roman or Solo tbh, cause that would make everything that happened since NOC pretty much useless. I’m pretty happy if he goes down the lone wolf route for a while. As for Jey? We know that man had deep trust issues before, but now that his entire family has turned on him, imagine how bad it’s gonna get. Sami come help your man! He needs you and you’ve got nothing going on anyway. WWE please make it happen! We need this! Give Jey back the only person who never turned on him! It could be epic! (doesn't convince you? it could make you loads of money!!) Don’t fumble this, idiots!

All in all: Hated the first half, loved most of the second half. And the parts I didn’t love… well, it is what it is and we’ll deal with the aftermath of it as we always do - by being delulu while writing copious amounts of fix-it fic and crying about it 🤷

Hugs to you anon 💜

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | The Color of Money (Scorsese, 1986)

I don't believe most people think of Martin Scorsese as an action director, but one can find plenty of examples that suggest his talents in that area. There's the Rube Goldberg machine of violent comeuppance that closes The Departed, the splatterific climax of Taxi Driver, the bruising boxing matches of Raging Bull, the thunderous final moments of Boxcar Bertha. These aren't exactly intended to deliver the thrills we associate with action movies (except maybe Bertha), but they display a sure sense of how to stage and cut action to generate precise effects. In that sense, The Color of Money offers ample more evidence of such abilities in its numerous pool matches. The best thing about these scenes is the way Scorsese captures their sense of geometry, moving his camera in kinetic bursts along angles that evoke the ricocheting of the balls off each other and the edges of the table. The climax of the movie is a tournament match between Paul Newman and his protege Tom Cruise, the camera snapping along, the editing whipping us back and forth, masterfully capturing the energy of not just the match but the sense of personal conflict between the two characters. Scorsese has delivered us so many great sequences that I wouldn't dare rank this near the top, but in that long, long list, I think we can carve out a well deserved spot for this.

The movie is not regarded as one of his best and I understand it was seen as something of a sellout assignment. Now, I have two perhaps contradictory responses to this. One is: so what? Perhaps I've grown weary of our modern studio environment where big money generally gets thrown only at increasingly bland projects and where actual star power seems harder and harder to come by, but going back a few decades and seeing a mass-marketed commercial movie made with this standard of craft and this level of personality and confident execution of tropes, it's easy to find things to enjoy here. The fact is, Scorsese is a master director, and even a more overtly commercial project by him is going to be extremely well made. I happen to think Cape Fear and the aforementioned Boxcar Bertha are both pretty good too. As far as selling out goes, one could do a lot worse.

My other response is that I don't think he's really selling out here. Yes, there are formulas, but Scorsese finds ways to either subvert them or colour them with additional human interest. The fallout from the big match isn't what we expect, and the resonance of these scenes come from how specifically these characters have been developed. The movie is a long gap sequel to Robert Rossen's The Hustler, and while it initially seems to lack the same psychological claustrophobia as the earlier movie, developments later in the movie wring a sense of trauma from our memories of our earlier movie. One of the best scenes in the movie show astutely how deeply shaken Newman's character is after being conned by a pool hall hustler (an electric Forest Whitaker, threatening to run away with the movie). The tension in his voice is palpable when he asks repeatedly, "Are you a hustler, Amos?"

And Scorsese has a deep appreciation for his actors' star qualities, particularly Newman, who combines his classic Hollywood charm with a sense of fallibility and fraught psychological realism. Probably the greatest thing about Newman's performance is its sense of texture, effortlessly evoking a sense of being at this for too long, and having picked up a certain amount of wisdom but maybe not enough. It's a quality that extends to his wardrobe: Newman is one of the most stylish people to ever grace this planet, and in this movie wears one of the greatest collection of sunglasses I've seen in a movie. (In contrast, Cruise gets an amusingly high pompadour that feels like a joke Scorsese played on him, although it works for the character. Just because he's got a story to tell doesn't mean he can't have some fun.) And it's extends even to his voice, simultaneously smooth and gravelly, aged like the whiskey he's been hawking, and Scorsese complements it with the sense of texture he brings to his direction. This doesn't have the intense B&W look of the original, but from the opening shots, a pan across the bar where you can practically feel the wood underneath your hands, smell the cigarettes in the air, taste the booze in those half-empty glasses, it's quite evocative in its own way. This movie is coloured by a deep love of these milieus and the characters who make their way through them.

[buginateacup]

1, 16, 29 for the ao3 wrapped

@whovianhalfblood thank you for the ask!

How many words have you written this year?

Okay so I had to check AO3 for this and it's telling me 719,233 which seems a bit off because its counting ALL of Rings and Tea with Topsy which is not right so taking most of Rings and 200K of Topsy and add on all the WIP stuff this year I'm going to say around 400-450,000 words ish? Which is frankly absurd now I look at it.

16. What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

Once again we turn to AO3 and it's....Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot. Ahahahaha! I''m actually quite delighted by that. Clearly I still need to get disguise watch shenanigans to be more of a thing so ao3 can make it an official tag for me.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Oooh there were a few but Ricochet, Recoil, Rebound definitely takes the cake for the one I go back to again and again, specifically this scene here where Megamind and Roxanne, in the middle of slowly and teasingly undressing for some no strings attached, for fun and science sex get distracted and have a pillowfight:

"Gyah!" She wriggled and kicked and flung a pillow that went sailing over his head, one corner grazing his foot as it fell off the end of the bed.

Megamind looked up with a wicked gleam in his eyes, "Oho, so it's going to be like that is it?"

He snatched up the bolster discarded to one side of the bed and held in front of him, "En garde!"

"Allez!" Roxanne twisted and swung a pillow at his face. He batted it away with the bolster and bopped her lightly on the shoulder "No no no! It's en garde, prets? Allez! Really Miss Ritchi haven't you ever fenced before?"

"Nope!" She laughed, aiming for his ribs, "Haven't you ever had a pillow fight before?"

"I never even had a pillow!" He retorted lightly, brandishing his bolster as they flung bedding back and forth at one another.

"What?" Roxanne's next attack faltered in mid air and Megamind caught her full in the face with another pillow, "Seriously?"

"Classic mistake!" Terror flashed on Megamind's face then disappeared under a mask of triumph, "Falling for the villain's misdirection, oh how the mighty have been brought low!Victory is finally mi- Pleh!" The decorative cushion nailed him right between the eyes and fell away to reveal a half naked Roxanne crouched by the headboard, "Got caught monologuing," She smirked.

"Defeated in my moment of triumph!" He threw himself down dramatically and Roxanne sprawled on top of him with a bright laugh, "You haven't seen the last of me!"

They're just so happy and having so much fun together it was my favourite part of that entire fic.

[animebw]

And that’s a wrap on Thunderbolt Fantasy! Post-season 1, there are two more seasons, as well as two movies that are meant to be watched in the gaps between seasons. That’s a grand total of 39 episodes and 2 movies of content for this incredibly obscure franchise; you don’t stick with something like that for so long unless you’re really dedicated to it. And if nothing else, it was great to see so many passionate creators just having fun doing the things they loved. But how did the future seasons and movies turn out? Read on, gentle audience, and you shall know...

The first movie, meant to be watched between seasons 1 and 2, is less a movie and more two OVA episodes awkwardly stapled together. The first episode details the backstory of the villainous Setsu Mu Shou and how he developed the grudge against Rin Setsu A that drove his actions in season 1. The second episode, meanwhile, is a classic “some dumbass pretends to be the protagonist to piggyback off their fame“ storyline, which also serves as an Ember Island Players-style cracked recap of the first season as Shou Fu Kan listens to the fictionalized version of his exploits spouted by the faker he comes across. Neither of these episodes have much to do with each other, but they’re both good on their own; I particularly love how nasty the battles in Mu Shou’s backstory get, and there’s a very smart, thematically rich twist in the second part that elevates the story a lot. 6/10.

Season 2, sadly, is the start of will become this franchise’s biggest Achilles Heel: overly long, draggy pacing with too many long-winded conversations. Season 1 was pretty talky as well, but it balanced that talkiness with interesting characterization and a plot that moved forward at a constant clip. Season 2, on the other hand, spends way too much time on characters just talking about the plot in between all the (still incredible) action. As a result, it drags on for a long while, and it’s not until the final few episodes that it really kicks into high gear. On the bright side, it also has a new deuteragonist who literally has the power to unleash epic Sawano Drops upon his foes and Aoi Yuuki voicing an evil ASMR demon sword, so there’s still plenty to like here, even if it’s spaced between way too much padding for its own good. 5.5/10.

The second movie, which you should watch between seasons 2 and 3 and details the backstory of said Sawano-Dropping badass Rou Fu You, is the peak of Thunderbolt Fantasy. Since it’s a proper movie rather than a TV series or two OVAs shoved together, it’s able to craft a compelling story from beginning to end, with no time wasted on long-winded conversations and enough space to build a rich character arc for Fu You to undergo. Every little moment is meaningful, and the way it ties back to the present of TF’s ongoing narrative (including future developments in season 3) makes for a deeply satisfying addition to the story. Also, like, it’s an entire movie centered on a guy who’s special ability is to literally weaponize the power of one of anime’s most fist-pumping composers, and you better believe it takes full advantage of that fact. The fights in this thing kick fucking ass, y’all. 7/10.

Unfortunately, season 3 ricochets right back around to being the weakest entry so far. That issue season 2 had with too much boring talking is even more pronounced here; I swear like 50% of this season just bad guys standing around and monologuing about their plans. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the action- you know, the highlight of this series, what makes it worth sitting through the slower parts to get to- is just so much weaker than usual. Not only are there fewer fights overall- most of them jammed into an action-heavy opening stretch, which makes the pacing even more lopsided- but it feels like those fights have been neutered. I can barely remember a single dismembered limb or bisected body being tossed through the air in an explosion of blood that paints the dirt a deep crimson. And that’s, like, 80% of what makes Thunderbolt Fantasy great in the first place! That’s where the craft of this series comes through and shows why it was worth watching in the first place! I didn’t come here to see puppets standing around rambling about plot stuff, I came here to see them rip each other to fucking shreds. But overall, this season just felt like the worst of Urobuchi’s Fate/Zero writing instincts came back with a vengeance, and the many delightfully weird directions this season ends up going in aren’t enough to salvage a score above 5/10.

When will we get more Thunderbolt Fantasy? I don’t know; Anilist has a fourth season listen, but only time will tell when it finally sees the light of day. Until then, I’m content to leave this franchise behind and return to it when it’s ready for another go, hopefully back in its best dancing shoes once more. In the meantime, I have adorable post-apocalypse girls to check out. See you then!