#people get better at the game as time goes on and you need to invent new gimmicks to keep things fresh

[voidedjuice]

My stance on op ak operators will always be "you control the buttons you press"

[triptuckers]

capture the flag - leo valdez

Request: nope Pairing:  leo valdez x apollo!reader Summary:  during capture the flag, no one gets stuck in leo's traps and he wants to find out why Warnings:  none Word count:  800 A/N: this has been sitting in my drafts for a while and now that I'm back in my pjo era time to finish it! enjoy :)

capture the flag is always fun. it's a nice way for people to train together while it feels like a game. even though sometimes people get too competitive.

it gives leo the chance to litter the forest with traps, and to test new inventions. of course, he could test them in the bunker or on his friends. but this is the real deal. no one knows where the traps are, how many there are. it's the perfect conditions to test them.

he's made a new batch of them but for some reason none of the traps work.

whenever he goes to check on them, they're all disabled. no one's activated them, or he would have found a fellow camper near one.

and leo is absolutely sure he activated them. they didn't blow up so there's nothing wrong with them.

and yet they're disabled.

rather than trying to capture the flag, he decides to hide in the bushes near one of his traps to see what - or who - is disabling them.

he listens to the sounds of the woods around him and pulls stuff out of his tool bel two mindlessly build little machines.

after a while, he spots movement out of the corner of his eye.

whoever it is moves quietly and gracefully. so definitely not an ares kid, leo concludes.

the person slowly walks over to leo's trap, careful where they put their feet down on the forrest floor.

leo watches as they walk around the trap, examining it. he shifts to get a better look at who it is.

he frowns slightly. he would have expected someone from the hermes cabin. maybe piper because he's spent a lot of time trying to explain his machines to her.

but he didn't expect it to be a daughter of apollo.

to be fair, leo thought the apollo cabin didn't know anything about traps or machines in general. their skills were mostly archery, medicine and music. not traps built by a hephaestus kid.

leo's eyes follow your hand movements as you carefully prod around the trap. surely you wouldn't be able to- and you disabled it.

smiling to yourself, you straighten your back and us your foot to slide the now useless trap aside.

when you turn around, you hear leaves rustle behind you.

instinctively, you knock an arrow on your bow and turn on your heel.

you are met by leo, who is frantically waving his hands in front of his face.

'don't shoot, don't shoot! I come in peace!' he yells.

you lower your bow. 'leo! gods, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!'

'that's alright.' says leo, lowering his hands. 'I was the one hiding behind you.'

you frown. 'why were you hiding anyway? usually you like to be in the middle of the action.' you say.

'can't help the fact people start fighting over me wherever I go.' says leo, making you chuckle.

'yeah, right, valdez. as if anyone could come near you with the amount of traps you're setting.' you say.

'speaking of which.' says leo, walking over to his trap and picking it up to examine it. 'how did you know where the kill switch was on this?'

you shrug. 'that's a tactical secret I can't reveal.' you say. 'for future capture the flag purposes.'

'or you just got lucky.'

'23 times?'

'yeah, that seems unlikely.'

you smile. 'there's a window in the roof of bunker nine.' you say. 'it's actually a two way mirror. it doesn't let any light through. gives me a perfect view of your workspace, though.'

'so the tactical secret is spying.' says leo.

'can't win if you don't play a little dirty every now and then. plus it's cool to see all the stuff you create.'

you shoulder your bow. 'good luck activating all of the traps again.' you say. 'I need to get back to my cabin.'

you start to walk toward the noise your fellow campers are making, to see if your team is winning and how you can help.

'hey!'

you turn around to see leo is still standing in the clearing with the trap in his hands.

'if you want to, I could show you how to make these? then you will be able to do more than just disable them.' he says.

you smile at him, you've always liked leo.

but you are surprised, you know leo is kind of protective of bunker 9 and usually only Hephaestus kids go inside. it must be a huge deal for someone from another cabin to be invited into the bunker.

and Leo wants you here.

'sure.' you say. 'I'd like that. but first we have to steal your flag.'

'oh no, you won't.' says leo.

with one last smile, you disappear into the woods, leaving leo to reactivate his trap before coming after you.

A/N: If you want to request something, make sure to read my house rulesHere’s the list of characters I write for. Everything that I have written can be found on my masterlist. Please don’t repost my work, as I spend much time and effort on it!! Thank you for reading! Much love, Marit/Max

[milqueandsugar]

🌼☕` Crush, Crush, Soda! ` ☕🌼

Gen / Fluff

Includes / Alastor , Lucifer , Husk

| ALASTOR |

Shock. Horror. Dismay.

Forget wrench this is throwing a hauling truck into his plans

It's very sudden very sharp realization, like getting splashed with cold water

He was obviously aware he had taken to you, how could he not? You were polite, clever and oh so fun to carry a conversation with

Talking to you made radio seem boring!

He was not, however, aware that the other residents had noticed his kinship with you

He had over heard a conversation between Husker and the pink spider demon, where the insectoid sinner complained about how you got special treatment

Husker agreed, which was fair, but then mentioned how Alastor apparently fancied you and that was why

Fucking shock to him and Angel dust

After gripling with that cosmic terror for the night, and visiting Rosie once the clock hit an agreeable hour he had come to the conclusion that despite the impossible, he carried a flame for you

Once he calms down and rearranges his evil vision board to include you in it he lays it on THICK

He's the perfect gentleman, obviously, but he's courting you too so he goes above and beyond

Your chair? Pulled out. Your arm? Linked with his while you stroll. You? The venison steak of his eye baby

| LUCIFER |

Charming comes naturally too him, he won both eve and Lillith over bro he has bublical level rizz

He's very, very comfortable around people he knows or simply doesn't care about, totally normal around Alastor who can kick rocks but a bit antsier and anxious around Charlie

His nerves get worse when he's trying to right himself, he can care very very deeply for someone and never feel nervous around them but the second he does something wrong his anxieties and insecurities come rushing back

He's not subtle, everything he does is flirtatious but in a spur of the moment kind of way he thinks nothing through

Confidence is sexy to him so he tries to show off things he's confident in like inventing/engineering and music!!

The biggest tell he is interested in someone is how excited he is to show off to them, to show how good he could be for them, to show how he betters their life

How he does this depends on you truly, in a rough spot financially? He pays for small things at first, dinner, lunch, something cute you liked at the store then builds to anything you want because you deserve it far more than him or anyone else here

Struggling with control since selling your soul? He puts you in position of power , he shows you what your capable of, what he knows you can do but you don't

He fills your needs faster than you realize you have them, hell is for suffering but it sure does feel like heaven when you're with him

| HUSK |

He's more calculated then the two idiots above, he knows that warmth in his chest when you make his drink, or sit at his bar until he's off or fix an out of place Feather

He's so attracted to you, how real you are, how unapologetically YOU you are, and how you make room for him in everything

He's totally love struck and totally aware of it which makes it even worse

He's doing his best to plan this out while also twirling his whiskers and kicking his feet when talking about you

He's not shy about his feelings but he know being with him is a danger to you, which he can't stand for

He does his best to secure your safety before actively courting you, what's the point of loving someone if you're not putting in the effort, and boy does he put in the EFFORT

Gentlemanly like Alastor but in his own gruff way

Likes to help you do things, teach you how to do things, he likes feeling useful and he likes how you come to him when you have problems

It reminds him a bit of his overlord days, and time with you builds his confidence and back bone back to what it was before Alastor, even if you aren't dating yet

Plays lots of card games with you, won't show you the cheats be knows until your dating, gotta keep you coming back for more yknow?

[prahelika]

Arya Stark Appreciation Week: Day 3

Overlooked Traits : Emotional Intelligence

Game of Thrones massacred Arya's character so badly that to someone who watched the show first (mostly), she appeared downright emotionless.

Safe to say that her emotional intelligence is a criminally underrated trait.

One of Sansa's first mentions of Arya goes like this.

Sansa knew all about the sorts of people Arya liked to talk to: squires and grooms and serving girls, old men and naked children, rough-spoken freeriders of uncertain birth. Arya would make friends with anybody. This Mycah was the worst; a butcher's boy, thirteen and wild, he slept in the meat wagon and smelled of the slaughtering block.

- Sansa I, AGOT

She makes friends with anybody. While she doesn't fit in with the highborn ladies of Winterfell, she is universally adored by the smallfolk there.

Arya had loved nothing better than to sit at her father's table and listen to them talk. She had loved listening to the men on the benches too; to freeriders tough as leather, courtly knights and bold young squires, grizzled old men-at-arms. She used to throw snowballs at them and help them steal pies from the kitchen. Their wives gave her scones and she invented names for their babies and played monsters-and-maidens and hide-the-treasure and come-into-my-castle with their children. Fat Tom used to call her "Arya Underfoot," because he said that was where she always was.

- Arya II, AGOT

The show portrayed Arya as someone who loses her softness and sweetness as her life gets progressively darker. This couldn't be further from the truth. In ACOK, where her father has just died and she is in hiding among the men of the Watch, even then, she tries her best not to take it out on anyone else. When Hot Pie bullies her for Needle, she remains non-confrontational. He instigates both verbally and physically.

Arya slid her practice sword from her belt. "You can have this one," she told Hot Pie, not wanting to fight. "That's just some stick." He rode nearer and tried to reach over for Needle's hilt.

- Arya I, ACOK

Something else worth noticing is that she stays in hiding in various dangerous places skillfully, in both ACOK and ASOS. No one suspects her of being Arya Stark (excluding Jaqen H'ghar). She even serves as cupbearer to Roose Bolton, and manages not to draw his ire.

She filled Roose Bolton's cup, and did not spill a drop.

- Arya IX, ACOK

This, by the way, isn't just a byproduct of the trauma she endured. All the way back in the first book:

It was the scariest thing she'd ever done. She wanted to run and hide, but she made herself walk across the yard, slowly, putting one foot in front of the other as if she had all the time in the world and no reason to be afraid of anyone. She thought she could feel their eyes, like bugs crawling on her skin under her clothes. Arya never looked up. If she saw them watching, all her courage would desert her, she knew, and she would drop the bundle of clothes and run and cry like a baby, and then they would have her. She kept her gaze on the ground. By the time she reached the shadow of the royal sept on the far side of the yard, Arya was cold with sweat, but no one had raised the hue and cry.

- Arya IV, AGOT

Something else of note is her kindness even when she's suffering. The way she takes care of Weasel even when she's starved or scared.

"You leave Weasel alone, she's just scared and hungry is all." Arya glanced back, but the girl was not following for once.

- Arya V, ACOK

This is what she does - she takes care of people, even when she needs taking care of herself. In Braavos:

"He has no coin," mocked the fair-haired bravo. His dark-haired friend grinned and said something in Braavosi. "My friend Terro is chilly. Be our good fat friend and give him your cloak." "Don't do that either," said the barrow girl, "or else they'll ask for your boots next, and before long you'll be naked." "Little cats who howl too loud get drowned in the canals," warned the fair-haired bravo. "Not if they have claws." And suddenly there was a knife in the girl's left hand, a blade as skinny as she was. The one called Terro said something to his fair-haired friend and the two of them moved off, chuckling at one another. "Thank you," Sam told the girl when they were gone.

- Samwell III, AFFC

There's one last point: apologies. This may not seem very important, but sometimes I see discussions where people claim that Arya is a selfish girl, does not take accountability for her mistakes etc. (usually in the context of Sansa). This is, as most anti-Arya sentiments, blatantly untrue.

Arya raised her eyes. "I'm sorry, Father. I was wrong and I beg my sweet sister's forgiveness."

Sansa was so startled that for a moment she was speechless. Finally she found her voice. "What about my dress?"

"Maybe … I could wash it," Arya said doubtfully.

"Washing won't do any good," Sansa said. "Not if you scrubbed all day and all night. The silk is ruined."

"Then I'll … make you a new one," Arya said.

Sansa threw back her head in disdain. "You? You couldn't sew a dress fit to clean the pigsties."

- Sansa III, AGOT

Arya offers a genuine apology here, even after her sister says horrible things. She even speaks perfectly here, remembering her courtesies. (Keep in mind, this is also after Sansa and Jeyne have told Arya that Mycah's death was her fault. She would be well within her rights to demand an apology from Sansa first.)

The last words they exchange here are:

"It won't be so bad, Sansa," Arya said. "We're going to sail on a galley. It will be an adventure, and then we'll be with Bran and Robb again, and Old Nan and Hodor and the rest." She touched her on the arm.

"Hodor!" Sansa yelled. "You ought to marry Hodor, you're just like him, stupid and hairy and ugly!" She wrenched away from her sister's hand, stormed into her bedchamber, and barred the door behind her.

- Sansa III, AGOT

This is self-explanatory, really. Also, she apologises to Lady Smallwood for the torn dress.

Lady Smallwood gave her breeches, belt, and tunic to wear, and a brown doeskin jerkin dotted with iron studs. "They were my son's things," she said. "He died when he was seven."

"I'm sorry, my lady." Arya suddenly felt bad for her, and ashamed. "I'm sorry I tore the acorn dress too. It was pretty."

"Yes, child. And so are you. Be brave."

- Arya IV, ASOS

(Unimportant sidenote: I love how kind Lady Smallwood is to Arya here. She really needed this.)

Basically, Arya of House Stark is one of the most emotionally intelligent characters in ASOIAF and I will not hear otherwise.

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

☠️ Something Dread, Something Red: Chapter Ten

Something Dread, Something Red: Stuck in a proposal to a Marine Commodore, you escape minutes before your wedding in one last ditch effort to avoid getting married to a tyrant. Barely making it to the port of your town, you stumble across a ship just starting to leave and beg for passage off the island. You fail to notice that the people you beg for help, are pirates.

Warnings: Teasing.

To Note: “Red Haired” Shanks x FemReader

Word Count: ~2.9k

Previous | Masterlist | Next

You haven’t been allowed to help with cleanup after dinner; Lucky promptly shooes you out of the kitchen and gives Gab the task of distracting you so you don’t sneak back in to help. You like to think that you know the men pretty well at this point, and they know you too. They know the first chance you get, you’ll put yourself to work. So Gab drags you to Shanks’ room to play a hand or two of cards, however many it takes for the dirty dishes to be done.

Gin rummy is one of the first games the men teach you to whittle away time at sea. You... are not very good at the game. It’s a skill-based card game, and since you are still new to it, you really don’t have any skill at all! You let out a soft growl and nearly throw down your cards in frustration.

“This is pointless,” you complain, dipping your head back and glaring at the ceiling of Shanks’ cabin. It seems that no matter who you play against, you always end up losing! “Who even invented this game?”

“No idea, but you’ll get better with practice,” Gab states, laying out yet another winning hand. You groan and slump in place. “And the point is money, Aria. Gambling. Earning a quick Berry.”

“Or losing a quick Berry,” you huff, knowing that gambling is a treacherous game that many men and women lose themselves in. You’ve seen it from the shadows of Bonn Manor after your mother held a ball. Card games and drinking are popular events post-dancing, and you hadn’t understood the passing of Berry at the time, but you do now. Seeing your expression move to one that’s far away, Gab prompts you.

“Aria?” he calls, pausing in shuffling the cards. You blink and force yourself away from the memories of Bonn Manor.

“Sorry, what were we saying?” you question, your eyes fluttering and fingers drumming on the table. Gab squints at you.

“I lost you for a moment. What is it? What were you thinking about?” He pushes, not liking how you seem to relapse into your shell for a few brief moments. You press your lips together. “Aria?”

“I was just—” you cut yourself off and take a deep breath. “My mother liked to hold monthly balls in Bonn Manor. Card games were a popular activity after dancing. I never understood why they passed Berry around. At least not until now. It seems so frivolous and wasteful, gambling Berry like it was mere pocket change.”

Gab goes back to shuffling the cards, listening to your words and pleased that you are opening up more. He and the rest of the crew know the basics of your situation and what kind of personality you have, but no one has heard much about your past. This is the first time you’re openly offering to speak about it.

“Did she ever let you participate?” Gab asks, having a feeling the answer will be no since you had no idea how Gin rummy worked when they first introduced it to you. You softly snort, remembering the strict timeline your mother enforced.

“No, once the dancing was finished, she always declared that I was in need of retiring to my rooms early. She liked to boast that I spent most of my time practicing how to be a lady. Practicing stitching, etiquette, history. I was a dutiful daughter that strived to be the perfect offspring.” There’s a bitter note in your voice, and the corner of your mouth twitches. “I only know what went on behind the sitting room doors because I snuck through the servants’ halls once.”

“Once?”

“I got caught,” you reply, remembering the week you spent recovering after your mother had beaten you to what felt like one lash away from death. You’ve never tried anything like that again. The flashbacks of the welts and bruises haunt you even to this day. You’ve never seen your mother so angry. You reach for the stack of cards, taking them from Gab. “It’s my turn to deal.”

Dinner has passed, and the dishes are washed, so the men are all laying low for the night. Either nursing a beer, sharpening a blade, or practicing some fancy trick, they have cleared out from the main deck. You have been sitting in one of the lounge chairs reading a book Benn lent you when Shanks approaches. Your gaze lifts from the words in front of you, and you smile pleasantly.

“I thought you would have retired yourself to whatever it is that you do at night,” you speak, observing the red-haired man. You’re fairly sure that he mentioned needing to talk to Building Snake about the Red Force’s current course. “Or at least be busy speaking to Snake about our current course.”

“I did talk to Snake,” Shanks replies, leaning against the railing of the ship. “It turned out to be a simple adjustment with the log pose, weather ahead we want to avoid. As for why I am not returning to my latest book, I’m making good on my promise.” Your eyebrow arches at his mention of a promise, and Shanks offers you his hand. “You are going to want to change into something easy to move in for this.”

Wracking your brain for the promise Shanks supposedly made to you, you close your book and take his hand. Shanks effortlessly pulls you to your feet and directs you to his cabin.

“What promise are you talking about exactly, and why do I need to change clothes?” Shanks glances back at you, lips twitching at the puzzlement on your face.

“You wanted to learn how to use a sword, did you not?” Shanks raises his own eyebrow. “Now’s a good time, full moon with lots of light, and the men are settling down for the night, so you won’t have an audience. You are going to want to wear something that lets you move around. Your pants are a good option. Also, you won’t want a loose shirt. The fabric might get in the way.”

Stopping in front of the door to the cabin, you stare at Shanks with raised eyebrows. He sure gets bossy on occasion. Not that you mind. You find it a rather attractive trait of his. Stop it, Aria. Clearing your throat, you reach for the door and look back at Shanks.

“Pants and a non-loose shirt. I think Anna picked out some clothing items that match that description. Mentioned it was good for working out, but I have no idea how to work out, so…”

“We’ll get there eventually,” Shanks replies before leaving you to change. You watch him disappear before entering the cabin and shutting the door behind you. You haven’t been able to try out the clothes Anna said were good for working out yet, and you’re excited to try something new again. Trotting over to your trunk of clothing, you carefully pull out folded stacks of clothes until you find what you’re looking for: a tank top, sports bra, and comfortable cloth pants.

Stripping yourself out of your day clothes, you wrestle yourself into the sports bra and are surprised to find that while it feels constricting, it doesn’t make you feel like you’re being suffocated. Further pleased with your new clothes, you pull on the soft pants and admire the fact that the cloth hugs your skin close. You have never seen your legs like this before and feel a sliver of shyness. But you’ve seen many women out and about wearing pants like this and even more revealing clothing, so nothing about your outfit is unfit to be worn.

“Stop being such a prude,” you mutter to yourself, putting your arms through the armholes of the tank and dragging it over your head. The tank is loose but not too loose. It’s just airy enough that you’re sure you won’t overheat doing whatever vigorous activities working out constitutes. Knowing Shanks, he isn’t going to overwork you (he certainly still thinks you could do with more meat on your bones), but you still like the idea of dressing for the occasion. Some things never change. Since you’re going to be learning how to use a sword, you figure it’s probably in your best interest to put on your shoes, sneakers rather than your sandals. It would be doubtful Shanks would even humor you wielding a blade with your feet vulnerable, kitchen knives aside.

Reaching for a hair band, you pull back your shoulder-length lavender hair to keep it out of the way and to stop it from blowing in your eyes. After you cut it, you realize that without tying it off, the strands have a habit of flying into your face. Humming to yourself, you slip out of the main cabin and go in search of Shanks. It’s dark out now, but the hanging lanterns on the ship give off plenty of light. Looking around, you search for Shanks but can’t find him anywhere on the main deck. Perhaps he has migrated to the weather deck?

Walking over to the stairs leading to the upper-level deck, you climb them to see Shanks standing in the middle of the deck, sword in hand. The lights from the lanterns highlight his red hair as he swings his sword around methodically and with acute precision. You’re fascinated with the way it looks like the sword is attached to his hand and the way his body moves… He has probably been practicing his whole life! Shanks flicks his wrist over his head while turning and immediately halts in place.

“Aria,” he calls, automatically lowering the sword from your direction and promptly sheathing it at his side. “I can say you finally managed to sneak up on me.” He speaks while drinking in what you’re wearing. It’s by far the most revealing of clothes you’ve worn to date: trousers that hug your legs, a tank top that clearly shows your shoulders, and he’d better stop staring at your body. He looks back into your eyes. “Are you ready?”

“Yes, though it’s hard to be ready for something I have no knowledge of,” you answer, your brows scrunching as you try to imagine exactly what goes into learning how to wield a sword.

“The fact that you’re thinking about it makes you ready.” Shanks says before walking over to the cutlass he’s picked out for you. He picks it up, once again checking its weight and balance, before turning around and offering the handle to you. Your eyes flutter at the man just handing you a sword before telling you about them, then you gingerly reach for the hilt and grasp it in an awkward pinch of your fingers.

“This sword isn’t nearly as heavy as I thought it would be,” you comment, moving the blade around to get a better look at the sharpened edge.

“First things first,” Shanks begins, “Terminology. This is a cutlass. It’s a short sword that is good for quick movements, typically slashing. Not intended for thrusting or stabbing, but slashing. Quick and easy, makes for an easy getaway.” You narrow your eyes.

“Are you insinuating that I will be looking for fights, Captain?” you half-heartedly accuse. Shanks snorts at you and moves to stand next to you.

“Perhaps not looking for them, but they might go looking for you,” he corrects you, reaching over with his hand to show you the correct way to hold the cutlass. “You are slight in stature still, and it would be in your best interest to use that to your advantage. Being large isn’t always an advantage.”

“And here I was under the assumption that men were of the belief that bigger is better,” you say smoothly, blinking innocently. Shanks is half convinced you know exactly what you’re speaking of, and it isn’t size. Don’t open that can of worms, Shanks. He clears his throat and continues.

“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘the bigger you are, the harder you fall’? Use your size to your advantage. Big doesn’t always equate strength, but big doesn’t equate slowness either…” A dismal point he is making.

“So I should simply be faster?” you offer, thinking about size and speed. A light-weight sword would move quickly, unhindered by weight. Shanks smiles, already knowing that your mind will keep you out of trouble if you ever get into trouble.

“Precisely,” he says, his smile turning into a grin. “You are smart and fast. Having a blade to match will be far more fitting than a heavy broadsword. Now you want to hold it like this and not grip it too tight. You’ll get cramps up your arm if you do.” From there, Shanks’ fingers direct your own to wrap around the hilt of the cutlass, showing you how to properly hold it and how to treat it while wielding it.

He stands behind you and reaches out with his arm to show you the motions he wants you to practice, not intentionally swinging the cutlass but moving your entire arm. He makes a point that you should never fight with your wrist because you could injure yourself and that the golden rule of learning how to wield a sword is that it’s an extension of your arm. It’s getting to the point where your arm is beginning to ache from all the repetitive swings you’ve been doing, so Shanks decides to switch you to some footwork. He brings out a broom and begins poking at you. You clearly don’t appreciate the sudden prodding and swiftly move out of range every time he jabs at you.

“This is entirely unfair!” you exclaim, dodging another poke from the broom handle while Shanks grins at you. You are adorably angry and, of course, still holding the cutlass in your hand. But you refuse to swing back at him in revenge and just continue to dodge!

“Wouldn’t be if you swung that sword at me,” he teases, swiping at your side. You growl when the broom taps you and glare at the pirate clearly trying to egg you into swiping the cutlass at his body. “You’re not going to hurt me,”

“Shanks!” you hiss at him when he catches your arm with a tap. Your legs are starting to feel heavy from all the prancing around you’ve been doing, and since you aren’t used to this much exercise, your stamina is running on empty. “If I was the one with that broom, I swear I would—” You trip over your own feet dodging the broom and mid-twist, you begin falling backward with a yelp. Shanks is reacting before you even have a chance to register that he’s moved.

The broom droops from his grasp as his arm shoots to your falling body. He swings you around to brace your body against his, but in a twist of legs, you both end up falling backward. Shanks, at the very least, is glad that he’s going down first and can cushion your fall. So hitting the deck, he makes sure that you land on him rather than the hard wood. You do with a slight ‘oof,’ but thankfully no sounds of pain.

“… I think I’ve reached my limit for the night, lest I stumble overboard,” you speak after a few moments of silence. Shanks chuckles and gives your waist a light squeeze.

“And you think that I wouldn’t immediately go right after you?” he replies, only antagonizing the pitter-patter of your heart further. Oh, when you say things like that, Shanks… You bite your lip and go to roll to the right so you aren’t still lying on top of the red-haired man. He stops you the moment he gets a glimpse of your lower back from your tank riding up. You feel his fingers trace your skin where you once had mottled marks from your mother’s lashing. All that remains are slight echoes of trauma. Marks that will fade in time. Time he wishes you didn’t have to wait on.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” you reassure him, rolling back onto your back next to him and twisting your head to look into his eyes. You’re still tucked against his side and have a brief thought that it feels nice to be there. Only in your deepest of dreams, Linaria. “They stopped hurting two weeks ago.”

“You should never have been hurt in the first place, Aria,” Shanks softly answers, his eyes a storm of conflicting emotions. He still can’t understand how a mother could beat her child to the point of blotched bruises that took weeks to heal. How could any mother beat her child?

“No,” you agree, “But what happened is in the past, and I only wish to look to the future. You gave me that.” Your words are only partially comforting because the longer you stay on the Red Force, the more he doesn’t want to see you go, and the more he wants to continue to protect you. But he puts those thoughts aside for tonight and simply enjoys the time spent with you during your first lesson.

“As you wish, madam,” he finally speaks up, making you roll your eyes once more before looking straight up at the stars.

“They seem especially bright tonight,” you comment, making no motion to move away from his side. Shanks turns his head to admire the stars along with you, enjoying your chosen closeness and comfort. It isn’t until Shanks’ arm begins to fall asleep from your head resting on his bicep that he realizes you’ve dozed off.

Date Published: 2/2/24

Last Edit: 7/29/24

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[supernovasilence]

Narnia headcanons: characters + how they take being sick

Peter: baby. Absolute needy baby. He's sick and he's miserable and everyone needs to feel sorry for him and take care of him. Will put on a good face in public because he knows the High King has to project strength and security but with family and friends he's just absolutely Suffering. The only time he's stoic is when he's seriously injured and doesn't want to scare his siblings (but then they're scared anyway because they can tell it's serious). Also so bad at not scratching scabs, bug bites, etc. All his siblings learn how to automatically say "Peter, don't scratch" whenever he has something they know he's going to pick at.

Peter: *absently starts picking at a scab*

Edmund, chucking a pillow at him from across the room without looking up from his book: peterdon'tscratch

Peter, indignantly: I wasn't!

Susan: the only one of the lot who acts halfway sensibly when sick. As long as she has a good supply of books and tea she will settle down and rest, though she does have a tendency of ignoring when she's starting to get sick. Running Narnia is a full time job; she can't afford to rest today, but tomorrow, or the day after, things will be quieter, and then ofc they never are. The others learn to watch when she starts getting extra snappy, because it means she's feeling bad and muscling through it, and they need to take some of her work off her hands so she can be convinced to go rest

Edmund: Thinks he'll enjoy the chance to lie around doing nothing but gets restless within a day, and then is grumpy and sulky. Like Susan, has a tendency to push himself when he starts getting sick, making it worse in the long run, except he's better at hiding it

Lucy: goes back to running around doing stuff the instant she starts feeling better, and then is worse again the next day. This happens every time and she never learns. Her friends/family make sure at least one of them sits with her when she's sick so they can make sure she stays in bed (imagine Mr. Tumnus playing her lullabies and telling her about all the magical sights and scenes they'll go see once she's better but that means resting first or the Beavers chattering away to her or Susan reading to her or Edmund telling her increasingly wild tales about what's supposedly going on in Narnia without her and occasionally physically sitting on her out of purest duty as an older sibling (Lucy: I can murder you without leaving this bed!) or Peter insisting he has to leave the busy everything that wants the High King's attention right this moment because he has an important matter to attend to and the important matter is cuddling his little sister and promising she can get out of bed soon or poor confused Caspian distracting Lucy by letting her teach him the rules of those hand-clapping games (a 30-second wikipedia dive also leads me to believe rock-paper-scissors would have made it to Britain by the 1940s))

Caspian: probably that one person who never gets sick. Even when a bug's going around and everyone else is hacking and snotty and miserable, he's fine and everyone hates him. The few times he does get sick, it's randomly in the middle of summer when no one else is sick and he hasn't gone out in the rain or done anything differently than usual and no one gets how he's sick now. Caspian is quietly melodramatic and just. resigns himself to death. Guilt trips people into taking care of him almost as much as Peter, except that he's not actually trying. Peter finds it very unfair people are sympathetic to Caspian and not to him

Eustace: whiny whiny baby and hypochondriac that convinces himself he's dying. Is lucky the internet has not been invented yet because he would end up on webMD, certain he has everything

[nevermorgue]

Hii it's the fantasy au anon :)

I like your idea with Will being a changeling, but in my mind he would be skrunkly mechanic with weird inventions (which don't always work).

-Montresor and Ada always laugh at his ideas and he goes "well, yeah they're not good you're right!".

-Prospero is a doctor who always has to deal with injured after testing inventions Will. At first he's annoyed but later he gets invested in his ideas, because some of them are actually very smart.

-And Annabel would be something like a witch who is his bestie ofc, and brings him potions and medicine for his patients. Will often comes by with burns and scrapes and rambles about what didn't go well this time and Prospero would smile when he's not looking and Annabel would go like, "What do you see in that guy?" - "He makes me laugh."

Also, if you have any lennabel headcanons for this au, I would be very happy <3

Ok I totally see your vision. I love the idea of Will having a trait that makes him useful here (in canon its his spectre, here the inventions). But as always, he is dumb and messes things up. - It starts with Will trying to explain himself nervously and Prospero just kinda sighing and dealing with it. But after the millionth time it becomes something Will doesn't even mind, even perking up a bit as he gets to chat with the doctor again. He ends up rambling about some ideas, some that even Prospero is impressed with. He thinks Will would be fully capable in creating something to benefit the medical field. - Ugh I love them. Prospero doesn't LIKE when Will's injured obviously but he likes having the excuse to see him. Stupid gay smile on his face. Annabel knows. She claims he has bad taste despite not being any better. - Annabel has a pretty good thing going for her. Perhaps she was of a respected sorcerer family and ditched because of a disagreement/arranged marriage stuff. She lives on her own, is very skilled in what she does. - Probably looks different from when she left home to avoid being found or caught by whoever her father hires to find her. Think shorter hair, no big fat curls, you get it - Lenore meets her when they go into her place to stock up on potions. Annabel immediately plays the innocent witch act, and Lenore thinks she's super cute. It starts as playful, friendly flirting. - Then Lenore keeps coming back, even when she doesn't need anything. Not wanting Annabel to suspect her gay intentions, she always leaves purchasing SOMETHING. - Duke knows. They all know. It's painfully obvious, but they find it funny when Lenore makes bad excuses and lies. - Eventually, Annabel asks Lenore for a favor. She asks Lenore to test out an unnamed potion for her...but the catch is that she has to take a dose of it every day. - And so it starts. Lenore doesn't feel any effects at first, and she cannot help but wonder what its supposed to do. But whenever she asks, Annabel is ominously vague about it. - Eulalie suggests that it was a love potion. Lenore laughs that off, but now the idea has been placed in her head. What if Annabel Lee is giving her small doses of an experimental love potion every day? - Now with the idea in her head, the placebo effect starts. She feels the symptoms of a crush, thinking it must certainly be a love potion. - Plot twist: the potion was just colored water. She was playing a game, and Lenore ended up falling for her once the idea of it being a love potion was put into her head. - Yes, that is how Lenore ends up confessing - Most of their dates are in Annabel's shop because she's still a little worried about being recognized. - Which is why Lenore gets her a cute cloak so they can take walks and stuff. Gay people.

[kozukatt]

Ninjago x Reader headcanons (Bad Day)

✫Zane✫

✫ Whenever you feel down he would make your favorite food 

✫ If you don’t want to eat then he would save said food until you do

✫ His love language is acts of service so he would clean your room for you, make your favorite food, etc. just to see you smile

✫ Zane believes that the way to the heart is through words so he would constantly give you affirmations

✫ If it’s just one of those days where you can’t get out of bed, that’s fine! He would sit with you and bring you anything you need

✫ Zane is a very respectful guy. If you don’t want to be touched? He won’t. If you want quiet? He’ll be quiet. If you need to be alone? He’ll leave you alone, but will check up on you every hour or so

✫ A lot of times, when he’s on missions, he’ll bring you back a small trinket. Maybe it’s a pretty rock or a picture he found that reminded him of you

✫ As soon as he gets back from being out with the ninja, he goes to check on you. It doesn’t matter how long he’s been gone, you will always be his first priority 

Cole

 Tries to make you laugh all the time but if you don’t, he will gladly sit in silence with you

 An absolute teddy bear when it comes to cuddling. He loves physical affection and will always offer to hold you

 If you don’t like physical touch that’s alright! He will give you space and words of encouragement 

 Whenever you’re feeling down he would try to make you a cake, and inevitably come to ask you for help

 If you have body issues (dysmorphia, eating disorder, etc.) he’s in the same boat as you so he will do anything in his power to make you feel better

 Even if he is a people person, Cole appreciates the quiet things that come with a bad day. Of course he doesn’t want you to have one but is okay and will help you

 If Jay tries to ruin a moment in between you, Cole will glare at him until he leaves before going back and making sure you’re okay 

☯︎︎Jay☯︎︎

☯︎︎ Like Cole,he tries to make you laugh no matter what

☯︎︎ But if you tell him to stop he will always do so

☯︎︎ Won’t ever try to push your limits. If you say that you can’t, he won’t push you

☯︎︎ Even if he is a loud person he’s capable of being quiet when you need it

☯︎︎ Freaks out whenever you have a bad day but quickly gets over it to help you

☯︎︎ A sensitive guy. If you start crying then he’ll start crying

☯︎︎ He’ll offer to play him games with you if you feel up to it and will go easy on you to let you win

☯︎︎ If you want quiet then he’ll be quiet, maybe tinker with some invention he’s working on as quiet as he can

☯︎︎ Boy can’t sit still so he’s constantly moving, which leads him to drag you out of bed and dance when a good song comes on

☯︎︎ If you ever want to play with his hair he will gladly let you

☯︎︎ A very physical person but will respect your boundaries

☼Kai☼

☼ If you don’t want him to bother you he will leave you alone no questions asked

☼ If you just lay on him he won’t object he’ll just let you and rest his arm on your body

☼ He’ll do stupid tricks to try and make you laugh

☼ Will baby you automatically from being big bro Kai for most of his life

☼ Gives death glares to anyone who interrupts your conversation or cuddles

☼ Values quality time over anything else

☼ So. Many. Head. Kisses. 

☼ If you let him he would spike your hair up like his

☼ He’s a hair stylist so he will fix your hair if you impulse cut it but before he’d make sure you’re safe

☼ Sends you memes when he’s out on missions 

𖦹Lloyd𖦹

𖦹 Hes not good at understanding emotions so whenever you’re having a bad day he’ll be confused but understand once you explain

𖦹 Let’s you read his comics when he’s on missions (bro values those things above everything so it’s an honor)

𖦹 Just a kid in an older body so he doesn’t know how to deal with a lot of things but will try his hardest

𖦹 Music is his coping skill so he tries to let you have that too

𖦹 Tries to make you stuff but ends up with glue and paint everywhere

𖦹 The most wholesome guy he will do anything to help you even if it’s just getting you water and food

𖦹 If you want to try on his gi he’ll let you and even let you do a little fashion show for him

𖦹 Buys you thing. Whatever it is you want he gets. No questions asked

༆Nya༆

༆ The aggressive girlfriend we all need but will be soft when it’s needed

༆ Doesn’t take bullshit so you are drinking water and eating food

༆ Brushes your hair for you in bed if you can’t get up 

༆ So many cuddles and affirmations on how good you’re doing and how proud she is of you

༆ If you need to cry? She’s there. You need to scream? She’s there. Whatever you need to do she’ll be there

༆ A massage goddess (if you’re okay with it)

༆ If you start going down that rabbit hole she stops you and aggressively tells you how much you mean to her and may tear up doing so

༆ Can’t stand seeing you like this so she tries to do whatever she can to cheer you up

༆ Won’t let you rot away in your room she will make you come outside if you’ve stayed in bed for more than a day

[shieldofiron]

Shovel Talk (Bury Me)

So many people give Billy the shovel talk, it starts to become kind of a game.

Robin is first, deadly serious but very inventive when it comes to her imagined punishments. Henderson’s is by far the most inventive, spanning centuries of his life with pain and suffering that he’s not entirely sure the little guy could mete out. Nancy’s is to the point, simple. Just a reminder that she has guns, like she hasn’t shot at him already. But when he reminds her with a laugh she goes a little pale and apologizes. Jonathan’s is kind of half assed, and he’s the only one who seems to think Harrington isn’t some porcelain doll ready to shatter at any moment. Hoppers is sort of garbled, it’s clear that he doesn’t have a great footing with these things, with emotions and stuff.

Erica and Lucas deliver theirs at the same time, and it’s possibly the only one he’s really scared of, because that little chick is a firecracker. And as Lucas said, he hasn’t missed Billy once, unlike Nancy. Gotta respect that. Max’s is quick, a barely there mention that he better not hurt Steve, but it hurts worse than the others.

And he gets it. They’ve only been together a few weeks, but soon Steve is gonna wake up and realize that if he likes guys he could like better ones. Healthier ones, who are nicer. Calmer. Steve needs someone like Steve, someone warm and loving, who knows how to treat him right. Billy just happened to be around when Steve figured it all out. Billy just happened to be lucky enough to look like he looks.

It’s the only way this thing between them makes any goddamn sense.

The thing is, he also doesn’t see a future where he can really affect Steve like people think. Sure, Steve is affectionate and stuff. He’s happy when Billy does his best, when Billy opens doors for him and calls him to hear about his day. But surely Steve is just like that with everyone he’s dating.

So Billy just shrugs. Tries to let it roll off his back and remember that he knows what this is. That he knows what he is to Steve. Just a very good looking first experiment with guys. All he can do is keep things light. Keep things relaxed and casual. Open Steve’s doors and enjoy the feeling of being held by him, without expecting more.

He doesn’t push his feelings on Steve. He doesn’t say that when he sees how far people will go for Steve it makes him want to grab a shovel and dig and dig until he knocks on the ceiling of the upside down, until his arms feel like rubber.

He doesn’t get too mushy with Steve, or call when he’s had three shovel talks in a day and it hurts so much. When he wishes his boyfriend could just be there for him.

Because he knows what he is.

“Not hurting Steve” is the slowest death ever, like being buried alive. And then Steve will smile, and reach across the seat and take Billy’s hand… and Billy always decides he can die for one more day if it means being close to Steve.

El takes Billy’s hand when she sees him, and he almost expects another shovel talk. But instead she squeezes his hand.

“He’s hurting you,” she says softly.

“N-no,” Billy can feel his chin tremble.

“Yes, he is.”

She closes her eyes and the emotions wash over Billy like a hurricane. The isolation he’s still feeling. The way he’s terrified to spend time with Steve, the way he’s terrified to be himself.

He pulls his hand away, “Too much, Jane. Too much.”

She nods, “Okay. I’ll stop.”

And then they set down and watch Saturday morning cartoons, and she pretends not to notice that he’s crying.

So imagine his surprise when later that day Steve throws open the door to his car while he’s idling at the arcade waiting for Max. Steve is still in his family video vest, looking a little out of breath.

“Tell me what I did wrong,” Steve gasps.

“Uh, hello to you too,” Billy presses his sunglasses up his nose.

“What did I do wrong?”

“Nothing? What are you talking about?”

“I got a call from El,” Steve frowns, his bangs flopping down his brow, “Like five minutes ago telling me I could find you here to fix this.”

Billy groans, “Sorry. You didn’t do anything. She’s just worrying-“

“Worrying about what?”

“Nothing,” Billy shrugs, “Its fine.”

“What’s fine?”

“Everything.”

“Listen, man,” Steve sucks in a breath. “When a teenage telepath calls telling you to fix stuff with your boyfriend, you listen. What’s wrong?”

Billy snatches his sunglasses off and rubs his eyes, “Look she’s just… I’ve… fuck.”

“Baby,” Steve glances around furtively and must decide that it’s worth it to take Billy’s hand.

“I’ve just… your friends really care about you,” He spits out at last.

“What?”

“And maybe they’re right. Maybe we’re just dragging this out, and we should just… cut our losses,” Billy shakes his head. Because that’s exactly what he doesn’t want. But he would do it, for Steve. He would do just about anything. He’s the only person who can hurt Billy in quite this way. Steve hurts him, that’s how much Billy is in love with him.

“Stop, wait. I don’t understand.”

“They don’t want me to hurt you. Which is just… like the funniest fucking thing,” Billy looks at Steve square in his eyes, even though it fucking hurts, “They don’t know how impossible that is. Like… you don’t even care enough about me to be hurt.”

Steve looks struck, “What the fuck? What?”

Billy shrugs, snorting a little to try to calm the prickling in his eyes, and the tightening in his throat.

“Why would you say that to me? Say that I don’t care… that’s not true, Billy.”

“It’s fine,” Billy shakes his head no, and hates himself. “I know what this is. They just don’t get it.”

“And what is this?”

“An experiment,” Billy shrugs, staring hard at the arcade sign and cursing Max for being late again.

“I’m an experiment to you?”

Billy feels the anger trigger hot in his chest, “No. I’m the experiment. And when you’re done with me, and you find someone who is actually worth all this trouble from your friends, it’ll be over. You know. Someone you could love back.”

Steve is quiet, and when Billy looks over, his eyes are wide.

At just that moment, when all Steve has to do is pull the trigger and leave Billy like he’s supposed to, Max raps on the window.

Steve squeezes Billy’s hand, not moving. “Meet me when I get done with work at nine? Right here, meet me right here.”

“Okay,” Billy says, though he’s not sure why Steve can’t just do it right now.

“Okay,” Steve’s brow furrows, “I’ll be waiting for you.”

Like Billy wouldn’t be counting the minutes.

And then Harrington let’s go, and flashes Billy a strange look before swapping with Max.

“What’s wrong with you?” She frowns at him.

“Oh, you know,” Billy sniffs, “Same old everything.”

“What did Steve want?”

Billy sniffs again, “I’m trying to get him to break up with me.”

“Why the hell would you want to do that?” Max curls her lip up at him.

“I don’t,” Bill reverses and peels out of the lot.

Max just stares at him, which he pretends not to notice as he starts the well worn route back to Susan’s trailer.

“Did he do something?” Max startles him with the vehemence in her voice.

“Nothing but be too good for me, right? I mean that’s what you’ve been saying,” Billy grips the wheel.

“What I’ve been saying?”

And Billy’s just so tired. He’s so tired, and he wants to go to the woods and dig until all he can think about is sweat and dirt. And then he wants to lay down and sleep for a hundred years.

But instead he drowns out whatever Max says next with the music, and when they get home, he ignores Susan’s prodding about lunch and seals himself in his room.

He tries to be late to see Steve, but, embarrassingly, he ends up being early, waiting outside the arcade and video store like some kind of creep.

Finally, Steve exits, waving goodbye to Robin who shoots a warning look over to Billy in Susan’s idling sedan.

“I’ll be out of your hair soon, Buckley.” He whispers, just as Steve gets in next to him.

“Hey.”

“Hi,” Billy whispers.

“So… you love me.”

It’s like a punch to the gut. Billy’s stomach plummets through the mantle of the earth and down to the lava below.

“Fuck you,” He gasps.

“Am I wrong? You said you thought I would leave you for someone I could love back,” Steve doesn’t seem disturbed by Billy’s outburst in the slightest.

“This is by far the worst fucking way to break up with someone-“

“Well good, because I’m not breaking up with you.”

This knocks his stomach around more, though his heart, stupid thing that it was, started rising with dumb hope.

“Robin told me that you guys had a… conversation,” Steve nods, “And apparently she head from Nancy that… well. I had to do some detective work. But the point is, I’m guessing they kinda freaked you out?”

Billy frowned.

“And… I mean I can’t be totally mad at them, Billy. Because I told Robin how in love with you I was before we even dated,” Steve bit his lower lip, “I thought it would be too early to say. But since you said it first… it doesn’t feel so bad.”

“I didn’t,” Billy protests.

“You kinda did, though,” Steve takes Billy’s hand, “You love me.”

Billy tries to take a deep breath through his seized lungs. Like he had a choice. Like he hasn’t been lost for the guy from the moment he saw him across the parking lot, across a crowded party, across a court. It’s a dream now that they’re here, next to each other.

“I’m sorry that they scared you,” Steve brushes the scars on Billy’s palm, like he’s reading the lines for a moment, and then knits their fingers together. “They just know how hurt I can get when I loved someone… who didn’t love me back. No one can really hurt me, not like you can.”

Billy swallows.

“But…” Steve has the softest eyes in the universe, dark and depthless as the sea at night, “You wouldn’t. Right?”

It’s kind of a shovel talk. Billy doesn’t care. Only Steve can bury him this deep.

“No,” Billy gasps, “I wouldn’t. I mean I would try… never to do that.”

Steve leans in, face pink in the light of the arcade sign, “Will you say it? For me?”

“I love you,” Billy gasps.

“I love you too,” Steve smiles, “I love you so much, Billy.”

That night in bed, his spine still tingling, Steve throws him for a loop again.

“Will’s shovel talk was the scariest,” Steve sighs, “Don’t you agree?I mean El is scary and so is Max, don’t get me wrong-“

“Will?”

“Yeah, Will,” Steve shivers, “He told me he’s been to the upside down so he’s not afraid of prison.”

Billy shakes his head a little, “Will didn’t give me one.”

“Oh. What about Mike? His was pretty good. Not that scary but I thought it was really cute,” Steve leans up on his elbows.

“Wheeler?”

“Yeah. He said there’s only so many cool guys in town and I was not one of them,” Steve smirked, “I think he has a little crush on you.”

“First of all, ew,” Billy wrinkled his nose, “Mike didn’t give me one either.”

In the end they make a game of it. They each had a few different, but in the end it evened out.

Jonathan was way less lax when he spoke to Steve, it turned out. Max had threatened to go nuclear.

Billy had people who cared for him. That part wasn't a game, but it was very nice. And he had Steve, so he didn't need to bury himself, after all.

Also on AO3.

[dira333]

love is in the small things

Asahi’s hand is always so big around yours. You remember when you shook it the first time, back when you were almost afraid of not getting back your fingers after the introduction. But you don’t know how it happened, but you’ve learned that he’s just as gentle as he’s tall. He holds your hand when you cross the streets, places cute little apple bunnies in your bento box and has more than once tied your shoelaces for you. 

He’s quick to compliment you and even quicker to blush when you compliment him. He never asks for it but when you sit up in bed to braid his hair or curl around him in the middle of the night in a poor attempt to spoon his giant frame, he falls a little deeper every time.

Kuroo likes to help people just as much as tends to push them away. He’s a master provocator and more often than not he goes a bit too far. 

“Shouldn’t have said that, huh?” Is slowly becoming your catch phrase while “Could you?” becomes extinct in your vocabulary. Kuroo is always on the look out on what needs to be done until he crashes from too many points on his to do list.

You take over his calender, make sure there’s a spot for date night every week, for Kenma and other friends - Tsukki needs to be put in place somehow - and plan a trip to the beach without him catching up. He throws you into the water twice and admits shyly that that was just what he needed when the two of you get back to the city.

Everything is a contest with Hoshiumi. Who gets out of bed earlier? Who’s faster at doing the dishes? Who’s better at stealing surprise kisses? 

He hates loosing just as much as you love inventing new games to play. 

“Bet you can’t get all the items on my shopping list before I get the car through the wash?” or “I bet you can’t massage feet. That’s just not a skill that you possess.” He’s always eager to prove you wrong. 

With every year spent together you find more enjoyment in the quiet times too. Give it two more years and he’ll eventually start counting who can stay in bed longer.

Did I forget someone? Let me know

My Kofi if you want to tip me

[topgunreacts]

please share your thoughts on canon ice with the peanut gallery. character analysis i beg of you. this funky little guy has been shaking in my parlor like a sopping wet chihuahua and i cannot understand him by God. break him down for me. explain him.

what are your thoughts. feelings. complaints, concerns. rude remarks. who is Iceman what’s he about

Omg I'm so bad at these. Please take everything I say with a grain of salt. I will try my best. My real character dissertations are in my stories.

Thots

Tall

Moist

I don't give a shit what color his eyes are; it's running gag of mine (and only funny to me) to switch up his eye color between stories

Stop wearing sunglasses indoors

Great bone structure in the fingers

Fuckable but not by me

Misunderstood

Gum problem

So fucking tired

Incredibly bad at talking about his feelings. So bad. But god he tries his best to make Maverick feel better after Goose goes to the Untitled Game in the sky.

Too smart for his own good

Afraid of emails

Home of sexual

Every time I give him anxiety, I also give him a huge cock as a consolation prize. It's what he deserves.

Could use a good consensual caning. He could learn from Chance Engagement Ice.

Goes to bed at 9 PM

From California or Hawaii or Michigan or Canada or somewhere, a place definitely, with a location that is real

Is NOT a rule follower. Look at his fucking hair. He says YO to Viper. He is unapologetically Doing His Own Thing. Werk.

Concerns

Iceman is regarded as a shallow villain-antagonist by many people. This is very silly. Just because Maverick is The Hero doesn't mean he's right about everything or that what he does is justified. Each and every time Ice calls Maverick out on his behavior, he's (1) correct and (2) motivated by a desire to go home alive at the end of each day. Maverick IS dangerous. He IS unsafe. His behavior SHOULD be regarded with suspicion re: his intentions by his supposed allies. These people are flying around in high-speed metal triangles. Have you ever seen the end result of a mid-air collision between aircraft that AREN'T going mach speeds? Here is an example! [image depicts plane crash debris, no bodies, but...nobody survived this] [TCAS wasn't invented until after the 1956 Grand Canyon collision!!!!!] The DC-7 was the faster jet in the incident, with a max speed of 406 mph (653 km/h, 353 kn). Those little regional jets you might have flown on for short domestic hops can hit speeds of 600 mph in the modern era. A Tomcat, remember, can go supersonic. Ice would become confetti. I'd fucking say something, too!

At no point does Ice come across as cruel when he makes these comments about Maverick's performance, also. He shit talks (cough cough bullshit) but it always struck me as standard issue locker room talk crap. It's not Personal. He's not trying to throw Maverick off his game or anything. Ice isn't there to make FRIENDS he's there to WIN is at TOPGUN ready to do his job and kick ass. And he also, you know, wants to survive to graduation without getting slammed [aerially] by the guy who thinks it's fun to break aviation regulations over an ACTIVE AIRFIELD. People like to compare Ice to Hangman in terms of attitude. A lot. And Ice is not even remotely like Hangman. Asking Maverick whose side he's on after Maverick demonstrates careless piloting--behavior that directly endangers Ice and others--is not the same thing as bringing up somebody's dead dad as like, a dig.

Feelings

Spoonable.

Val Kilmer's little mole is cute.

Complaints

Needs more gay

Needs more lines

Needs more ass shots like the ones Miranda got in Mass Effect 2*

Rude Remarks

Take off your fucking shades in tha club, you absolute square.

*(Did you know the person who made the ME2 mod to remove Miranda's ass shots made a mod for the legendary edition to re-add the ass shots? The studio took out the ass shots on their own for legendary. To be modern and corporate-approved feminist or something. And this modder was like no. Only I can do that. They took Miranda's ass out of this world and they're going to put it back in.)

Conclusion

pussy shot.

[catofadifferentcolor]

Terrible Fic Idea #85: The Old Guard, but make it Assassin's Creed

My brother has always been a big fan of Assassin's Creed, but I never gave the games a shot until recently, when it seemed a natural progression from all the Crusades research I've been doing for The Old Guard fic I want to write but probably never will. Once I realized Isu bullshit could be a perfect explanation for TOG immortality, this (incredibly self-indulgent) crossover was born.

Or: What if Merrick Pharmaceuticals was a competitor of Abstergo Industries?

Just imagine it:

Pharmaceutical research is an expensive, cut-throat business. Viagra is a $2 billion dollar a year industry. Humira, the blockbuster drug of 2018, sold nearly $20 billion in the US alone. So I imagine if you're a pharmaceutical CEO of limited morals and great ambition, it might seem like a better idea to steal ideas from your competitor who seems to hit it out of the ballpark every time instead of pouring billions of dollars into what may turn out to be an unfruitful venture.

Enter Hugh Merrick, father of Steve Merrick and founder of Merrick Pharmaceuticals. Needing a blockbuster and desperate to get one over on Abstergo, he hires a hacker to slip into Abstergo's servers and find him the ripest, juiciest plum they can sometime in the early 2000s, before the (modern) events of the games or the 2019 TOG movie.

The hacker comes back with the schematics for the Animus.

The idea of genetic memories seems absurd, but Hugh figures that if Abstergo has been using the Animus since the 1980s to get ahead, there's no reason he can't do it too - all he needs is a single Piece of Eden and all his problems are solved.

Hugh builds the Animus and has the hacker go back into Abstergo's systems looking for a candidate to put into it. But finding someone with Assassin blood seems dangerous - they're likely to be an assassin too and could be dangerous if they try to escape, plus the Templars killed off nearly all of them. Templar descendants are out because most are Templars themselves and if Hugh's plan is to succeed he heeds to stay off their radar for as long as possible.

The hacker returns with Abstergo's list of people who may be useful if all other avenues fail. It contains a list of people who were peripherally involved during the invents that interest them - mainly high-ranking courtiers close to Popes Alexander VI and Julius II - and their descendants. They might know things about events of Ezio's time.

Enter Joe and Nicky.

For the past few hundred years, their primary cover identities involve being the children or grandchildren of their previous cover story, all the way back to their first deaths. There are fewer questions and you get to "inherit" all your old stuff.

This method has worked quite well for them - until Merrick learns that their "ancestors" were part of the court of Pope Julius II from 1497 (when he was still Bishop of Ostia) until his death in 1513. Nicky was his private secretary, Joe was a court painter, and contemporary sources suggest they were highly placed enough to know whatever Pope Julius II knew about Ezio's apple. Such as where Ezio might have hidden it.

It's not an unreasonable plan, except for the pesky fact of Joe and Nicky's immortality. After all, the animus is designed to draw on genetic memory, not the subject's own memories. And even if it can be used to view memories laid down in their own genes 500 years ago - which is doubtful, - there's a high likelihood of it killing them - and if Hugh were to learn of their immortality, things would only get worse for them. But they have little choice once they're captured and brought to Hugh's secret research bunker somewhere north of Inverness.

What follows is a largely self-indulgent stroll through the more interesting episodes of Joe and Nicky's life together.

Nicky's first go in the animus is a jumbled, confused mess as Hugh's tech minion learns the ropes as she goes. Nicky ends up hopscotching through his early memories - for instance, a memory where he's learning how to use a sword as a young squire jumps to him using the same move during the Siege of Jerusalem. That strand of memory continues on for a bit until another interaction gets him sent into the memory of another battle/training session/conversation with the person in question and so on.

Joe's first time in the animus goes a little better, as Hugh realizes that his minion needs to learn how to program the animus before they put their most valuable subject into it, and so let's her learn with Joe. Hugh's minion (who is really beginning to regret taking this job) succeeds, pulling Joe into the genetic memory of one of his ancestors: al-Kahina, an Amazigh religious and military leader who led indigenous resistance to the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. There should be suggestions of a Sword of Eden somewhere in events, but since they don't share Precursor knowledge, Hugh's not interested in letting the memory play out.

Nicky's second session gets them to the time period they want, but his memories have next to nothing to do with the PoE. The same holds true for Joe, when his second session puts him through his POV of that time period. And though Hugh has his minion take them up and down every memory of that time period searching for the smallest hint of anything that might point them in the right direction, there's nothing to find.

Or, rather: Nicky and Joe did meet Ezio once or twice, in waiting rooms or reception areas or the like, but they spent that time talking about art, or the weather, or philosophy - nothing about politics, or Ezio's travels, or PoEs at all.

Otherwise, most of Nicky and Joe's memories of early 16th century Rome involve Joe's rivalry with Michelangelo, who among other things persisted in flirting with Nicky even after he made it clear he wasn't interested. (Joe was, among other things, responsible for getting Michelangelo the commission for David in Florence to get him out of Rome and away from Nicky.)

There's some Vatican politics as well - Nicky's part in organizing the Swiss Guard, Joe's in organizing the Vatican Museums, and the removal of the Borgias from power - and some global politics - the 1503 dispensation for Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, etc. But most of their memories are largely Joe and Nicky being Joe and Nicky in the High Renaissance (and rather hating their jobs, as neither of them particularly like working for Julius II but were blackmailed into it to avoid being labeled as Ottoman spies.)

This goes on for several days until Hugh orders his minion to start looking for the memories of other "ancestors" - essentially, to refine the animus and her technique while he gets his hacker to find better candidates for the animus. And if this accidentally destroys Joe and Nicky's minds in the process? So be it. The plan was always to kill them at the end of their usefulness anyway.

Hugh's minion spends a day doing as asked - there's a few tantalizing glimpses of Joe and Nicky at the court of Kublai Khan in the 1270s - before she has an opportunity to act on the guilty conscious that's come to plague her.

The minion helps them escape - destroying the animus, wiping the records, and blowing the place sky high to cover the bloody swath they have to cut to get out of the secret research bunker. Amongst the casualties is Hugh Merrick, propelling his son Steve into position as youngest CEO in Pharma.

Joe and Nicky rejoin Andy and Booker - who'd been doing their best to cut their own bloody swath through anyone tangentially related to the mercenaries who kidnapped their brothers - and decide to turn their attention to tracking down PoE and destroying animus technology wherever it can be found, believing there are no peaceful uses for either. As a glad you escaped present, Booker tanks Merrick Pharmaceutical's stocks so badly the company never recovers, eventually going bankrupt.

As for the minion? Maybe she's a young Rebecca Crane prior to her recruitment by the Assassins and it’s her experiences with Hugh's animus that get her recruited by the Assassin Order. Maybe she's just a random OC who sets herself up with a new identity halfway around the world and watches gleefully as Merrick Pharmaceuticals and Abstergo Industries both eventually crash and burn.

Bonuses include: 1) Joe and Nicky being the most passive aggressive kidnapees in the history of kidnappings - on the face of things, going along with exactly what Hugh asks of them, but doing their best to focus on innocuous memories and figuring out how to purposefully make memories "skip" between similar episodes without Hugh ever noticing the glitch. Also, playing up the Bleeding Effect so that by day three they're only speaking in Medieval Italian; 2) Hugh being a better class of villain than his son. Immoral? Unethical? Yes, but in a sophisticated businessman way, not a jacket and hoodie, stab a man with a letter opener type way. For some reason I'm imagining him as Jean-Luc Picard, if Picard ever had a Mirror Universe alternate; and 3) Interludes of Andy and Booker searching for Joe and Nicky after they've been kidnapped. This should be part action-thriller along the lines of Taken, part buddy comedy, and involve an arc wherein Andy learns of Booker's deep unhappiness with his immortality and helps him come to terms with the feelings that would have otherwise eventually led to the events of the 2019 movie.

And that is surprisingly more than I thought I would have had. As always, feel free to adopt this bun, just link back if you decide to do anything with it.

More TOG Fic Ideas | More Terrible Fic Ideas

[theminecraftbee]

oh yeah anyway my further deckbuilding advice for hctcg (and other tcgs) but this time less 'actual talk about ratios' and more 'philosophical advice i guess':

netdeck (copy other people) all you'd like. yes i KNOW people will be rude when you netdeck a popular deck but like... actually who cares, deckbuilding is a skill, it's hard, and netdecking gives you a framework you can be pretty sure is decent to start playing with so you can learn mechanically without losing all the time. later, you can adjust it to use stuff you like more, or adjust it based on what you see other people playing. (this is basically entirely how i build magic decks for mtg:a standard, i find a version of what i want to play that someone else made and then adjust it as i play it to be more what i want to play.)

similarly people will complain a LOT about people who play the meta and just... ignore those guys? if you enjoy playing meta play the meta. learning the meta and, more importantly, why certain strategies are meta will make you better at running off-meta when you want to too. literally any competitive game will have a meta, devs will use banlists/limited lists/errata to try to rebalance and change the meta as needed, players will try to break the meta. that's how it goes. you're not a bad person if you like winning. winning is fun. play meta all you want.

if you like a certain effect just build your deck around that thing you'll have fun with it i promise. yes even if it's bad. yes "is this thing really an optimal choice" is how i do a lot of thinking (hence my deck being so many three-ofs part of my process is "if i'm playing this, is it worth playing at less than three"), but that's not everyone's thing. "does this spark joy" is also important!

(glances back at mtg:a again there's a REASON i refused to play mono-black for like the past three sets and that's because i just don't like it, even if playing a deck that could actually play sheoldred probably would have been better,)

remember that single game format kinda sucks a little bit and there's a reason most tournaments play with a sideboard (set of 8-15 cards that you can swap in between games after seeing what your opponent plays). actually DO recommend sideboarding with friends. sideboarding is fun.

you're allowed to tell your friends you're playing with like, your own invented banlist, that's a thing you can do, have fun with it.

uh. basic items are boring but you need to play a lot of them unless you're playing really low-curve and even then my mono-redstone is the equivalent of 'really low curve' and i still hesitate to cut more items,

did you know i got FTKed by stress the other day? because i'm like this and think people should be allowed to play broken stuff i'll tell you how they did it, it was with a combination of rare stress, opponent flipping going second, and opponent drawing into a efficiency book turn one it was SO FUNNY. i love FTKs. winning before the opponent gets to play is very funny.

that's probably unreliable though and WILL make your friends mad at you if you do it so you know. mileage may vary

i still think "cheap and aggro" is probably the best deck atm; like, doc was complaining that pearl needs to be nerfed but i'm REALLY not convinced. maybe it's because i play the deck with all the status effects though.

idk i'm thinking about all of this. rotating it. because i'm a nerd.

[fromtheboundlesssea]

HotD Season 2 Episode 1 Live Watch Thoughts

Yay recap! I missed you Emily and Milly!

The recap really does make it obvious that Alicent thinks she is following Viserys’ will.

Mysaria you did nothing to put Aegon on the throne. You did diddly squat that season.

I’m still blown they had Rhaenyra’s coronation at her daughter’s funeral.

Now onto the actual episode.

Ooooooo this opening is SOOOOOO MUCH COOLER!

I think it’s showing off what will happen during the season? Last season?

Opening is soooo much cooler than season 1 and all of Game of Thrones!

I beg you HBO! Keep this style of opening next season and all season!!!!!!

Love the contrast of the epicness of the opening to the quiet forest with a crow flying upon the wind.

“Duty is sacrifice” okay Cregan—mister I will show up last minute.

What has the seven kingdoms done for you really?

Was that SARA?!?!?

Is that adding to the watch from lore in the books or…

Random Stark boy be cute though.

Thank god they let Jace’s actor have his natural curls. So much better than that wig.

Cregan really is missing a beard. I think that is what is odd about his appearance.

The Conqueror went North to the Wall? I can’t remember that happening.

Jace… he bent the knee to not let his people burn. It wasn’t because they necessarily believed in the Targaryens and their right to rule.

Jace’s actor is 100% going to be used for Jon Snow faceclaims and gifs from these scenes.

I guess they are going to delete Sara, which kind of sucks tbh. I wanted Jace to have some conflict where he follows in his mother’s idea of lust and duty or goes against it.

“The mother grieves as the Queen shirks her duties” so like Viserys

Call him out Rhaenys. You deserved better when it came to your children.

Rhaenyra has no battle experience on her dragon and Syrax has no battle experience either. Aemond would not be in any trouble.

“Would that you were the king” OOF. He is going to be rattled by that for sure.

Power to Rhaenyra for not scorching Storm’s End tbh.

Honestly, I love the Velaryons so much. I wish we had more content about them in the shows.

I like that Corlys does seem to care about Luke. I just wish he showed just as much care about his granddaughters. I don’t think they’ve had any scenes together thus far.

So, is Alyn Corlys’ son in this or are they making no familial connection? And he married Baela and had an affair with her niece doesn’t he?

Oooo the same gate Otto left Alicent is the same gate the Green soldiers seem to come.

Love the scorpions. I wonder if they were suggested by Criston or if they just had them. They’re Dornish inventions right.

HELAENA MY GIRL! Is that a golden dragon you’re making?

JAEHAERA! MY CHILD!

Aw! Aegon checking on Jaehaera first before asking about Jaehaerys.

Okay, wow. Okay, having Alicent being eaten out. I wish their first time would have been after B&C where they are consumed by a need for comfort.

Interesting how we see Criston put on his armor after and Alicent helping him with his armor (giving him his cloak where Rhaenyra took it) and her clocking his shift in title and setting a boundary as opposed to Rhaenyra allowing him to assume (not fully blaming her btw).

JAEHAERYS! MY OTHER BABY

Aegon smiling at Jaehaerys 🥰

Tyland trying to be kind with he little prince while being annoyed.

Not Alicent blaming Tyland for the interruptions. 🤣

Here comes our new war criminal.

Aegon giving Aemond a place in the same way Viserys gave Daemon a place.

Me too Aegon. I am also like that when Otto talks.

I wish they gave an explanation of the balls. Have they given any in the BTS stuff?

Yes she was indisposed Larys you perverted creep.

Alicent definitely does not like that Larys chose her new staff. It feels controlling.

Why does Rhaenyra have ash on her face?

Appropriate fear of dragon.

That cgi of Rhaenyra getting off Syrax was awkward. Was that just me?

I hope they give Emma better writing this season, because they are an excellent actor.

RHAENYRA BUNCHING UP THE CLOTH TO HER BELLY!!!! 😭😭😭😭

Not Aegon and his crew sashaying in.

Interesting having Aegon being shown to handle matters of the kingdom before Rhaenyra is shown doing so. It’s an odd choice, especially him initially wanting to be helpful.

Hugh? However you spell it? Is it the dragon seed? Just a common name?

Interesting how we do not see him getting cut.

Starting Aegon as listening to the smallfolk in a way Rhaenyra dismissed is also interesting.

Love Aegon ready to dismiss Larys.

No Aegon do not listen to him. Yes I think Otto is not the best person, but Larys is not the best person to listen to either.

I wish we saw Alicent with the children or her with their things in her room.

Alicent defending her kids. That’s right. Because Otto has seemingly done nothing for those kids. He could have taken them under his wing.

The idea of men silencing the voice of mothers in the rearing and council of their children!

Rhys is such a good actor and I have to think about how he was also Mr. Lovegood.

Goats!

Hello Mysaria.

Man. This dynamic between Daemon and Mysaria is definitely giving off book Tyrion and Shae with his immediate act of ready violence.

Man, the idea of the Kingsguard not knowing what to do during Targ x Targ violence spans a the centuries huh.

Wigs are definitely a little better looking.

BAELA! RHAENA! MY DARLINGS!

Rhaena’s wig is soooo much better!

Daemon definitely does not like being silenced. How does it feel to have be treated in the same way Viserys treated Alicent?

Let my girls (Baela and Rhaena) have lines!

The way Jace’s voice is cracking!

Why do I feel we are not going to get any of the similar comforting moments between Alicent and her children? They are allergic to showing positive motherhood with he Greens.

Change in Joffrey actor.

Where are Aegon the Younger and Viserys?

Wish we got to see more of Rhaena interacting with Luke.

AND JOFFREY THROWING IN THE TOY!

Will rhaenyra hold any regret or kinder thoughts/prayers for Jaehaerys in the way Alicent does for Luke?

Same shore that Tyrion and Davos came in on maybe?

Why is Daemon coming in himself? Surely he would be able to just go inside himself if he was going to be traveling through the passages (although I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen in the show)

I guess this is Blood and Cheese.

And the rats were there while Viserys reigned, Daemon.

And they are really going to make the death of Jaehaerys an accident. Is everything going to be an accident in this show? Not let anyone but the Greens be held accountable.

Oh, so Daemon probably told them to go after any of the other Targaryens in the keep if they couldn’t find Aemond.

Like seeing the different types of map this episode.

And I feel like the show has changed Aemond’s characterization because we don’t have Alicent and Aemond directly talking.

Good. The line comes before B&C and not after.

Fabian is so hot. I need him in another period drama—OH him and Olivia in an adaptation of Persuasion by Jane Austen. It would SLAY

Nice to have Otto actually talk to his grandchildren in a way that isn’t violent or outright condescending.

If the rat catcher knows everything about the keep, wouldn’t he freaking know where Aemond is?

And if he’s going through the passages, again why couldn’t Daemon do it?

DOGGY! Little scruffers!

Ugh. I’m not excited for this and how they’re going to change this. (Although I get not wanting to put child actors through difficult situations)

And people were complaining about people paying no attention to the rat catcher, but we saw rat catchers wandering the hall throughout the episode in the background. So it’s not like it would be unusual for them to be there. And someone does notice them. But they’re servants seemingly doing their job. Why would people notice them wandering the castle.

And Aegon is being so casual on that throne.

Okay, but could they not have just waited for Aemond? Come back later?

And that is a cool as heck mural on Aemond’s wall.

I don’t like this. I don’t like this. I don’t like this.

Why does the maid look vaguely like Emma Stone?

NO HELAENA!!!!

Helaena struggling! 😭

I’m surprised they didn’t just kill them both?

THE TEAR!

Baby!!!!!! The necklace!

NO! This is worse!!!!!

Why is the maid not getting someone!!!!!!!!

The sounds!!! NO I DONT LIKE THIS!!!

This is so much worse than Luke!

WHY IS Helaena not screaming!

Why could they not have Helaena say her son’s name?!?!?

AND THATS THE END?!?!?!?

It should have ended with Helaena screaming instead of that!

And I’m glad the Alicole sex scene wasn’t intermixed with the killing of Jaehaerys. How people were describing it made it sound like it was.

Promo Thoughts

Now we see Aegon the Younger and Viserys.

Destroy that stupid Lego set Aegon!

Good! Yell at Daemon!

I wish Addam had white hair! I wanted more Velaryon face claims.

Is Laenor just never going to appear again?

Looks like Baela and Rhaena will do things next episode.

Hopefully we will have Alicent comforting her children in the same way Rhaenyra comforted Jace.

[sagau-my-beloved]

Which corrupted characters would immeadiately go yes murder?

I'm thinking maybe shenhe, perhaps your corruption overpowers her ropes and she goes full murder mode

-Rapid

Oh absolutely, Shenhe is already borderline three steps and a bad day from killing people, corruption would absolutely make her ruthless in order to get your attention. Her irritation is already at an all time high the moment you even insinuate not wanting her around, and that irritation will be taken out on the first person who crosses her path. It's all for you, to show you what she's capable of, how much she needs you to guide her and morph her into what you wish her to be, how ready she is to be thoroughly controlled by the divine and perfect you.

Now obviously Childe, and I'm gonna say everyone in the fatui too, cause duh, but Childe thinks of it just like a game. Surreee he's holding people hostage and threatening/acting on mass genocide, but it's all in your name, see how far he's willing to go to worship you? See how dedicated he is, how much resolve he has? You'll look at him some more won't you? If you still won't then maybe he's just not showcasing his resolve properly. Killing indiscriminately and offering up body parts on your alter shows how he's not phased by that stuff, how he's just the perfect tool for you to use however you please, he'll do it all for you so please just ask him to.

Now this might be a little out of left field but I'd say Albedo. He'd try to win your favor through scientific breakthroughs, futuristic inventions that maybe mimic things in your own world that you miss. Sadly, testing these things ethically just takes so much more time, he needs your attention now, so he might as well kill two birds with one stone and maybe make use of the waste of human life that are your nonbelievers. You'll look past it right? Is not as if he's actually hurting people, those who don't bend to your will are less than human.

Of course I've gotta hit all the angsty characters and say Xiao. His entire existence was proving his worth through slaughter, it's what he knows. If corrupted he'd choose to prove his worth to you by showing how well he can protect you, from monster and human alike. If he sees you have a problem with another human then he'll solve it for you, you'll appreciate him for doing that won't you? He's doing it for you, he'd do anything for you, simply say the word. You rejecting him like this must mean he simply hasn't proven himself enough, he'll do better, anything that moves around you will be dealt with swiftly and mercilessly. A threat can come from anywhere of course, so you'll say his name right? Just once more, he needs to hear it one more time.

I gotta put Ei on this list too, she's simply not known for having the strongest moral compass. Ei would start wars in your name, if only to get you back, as if you were nothing more than simply a trophy, from whoever holds your attention. She has the power of people willing to kill in both her and your name, it would take little more than a sharp look and a few choice words to cause a completely different kind of war, one she will certainly not lose, not with something so precious on the line. She's giving herself up so freely, she's yours, why won't you take her? And Ei is completely prepared to make any sacrifice in your name, so what must she do in order to prove it? Spilling so much blood needlessly is such a waste after all, but it will be done, and it will continue to be done until you grace her with your gaze once again.

[reel-fear]

Honestly, every single time the whole 'poppy playtime is a bendy rip-off' stuff ever shows up I find it all extremely unconvincing and silly.

For one thing, rip-off usually is meant to imply that it's a cheap lazy copy of a better more polished thing, and uh. Sorry but even from chapter 1? Poppy Playtime is a better game than Bendy, it has a simple but understandable story, the game manages to be thrilling, creepy, and very intense at times... I mean that Huggy chase in the vents ALONE puts it way above Batim for me.

I mean BATDR had the most slow stupid chase I've ever seen [and every other encounter with the ink demon is text telling u he's there and then a timer goes down and u get jumpscared] and batim's chases were either silly or just not nearly as theatric or terrifying as that.

When making the vent sequence I mean not only is it absolutely horrifying to realize how fast Huggy is in there but also it's so theatric and cool? The fact that you round a corner after thinking you escaped only to see a terrifying animation of that thing crawling toward you is awesome! I wish Bendy had stuff like that!

And all the stuff it shares with Bendy are generic things Bendy ripped from other horror games/media anyways. I'm not saying Poppy Playtime isn't inspired by Bendy I for sure think it is but Bendy is such a generic story that somehow fails to do tropes 100 other horror games have done any comparison only makes Poppy Playtime look better.

"It has employees being sacrificed for their company" That is not a concept Bendy invented, literally look at any of the sci-fi horror series Bendy is very inspired by. This is literally a twist in the original Alien.

"It has a scary woman forcing you to do tasks for her" Once again, not a concept Bendy invented, a scary mysterious person forcing you to do fetch-quests is a concept found in tons of horror media. And at least Poppy Playtime gave you a chase with her and let you defeat her, look at poor malice. She's barely on screen for more than 10 minutes before she gets stabbed.

"It has a cult worshipping the monster" This is something tons of horror games and media have done too. I mean In The Tall Grass has a guy who worships a giant magical rock in the middle of a grass maze, Bioshock [which Bendy has only been taking more and more direct inspiration from while failing to grab any of the compelling parts] also had a lot of themes of religion and cult-ish behavior, almost every horror media franchise has at one point done a cult thing.

Bendy couldn't even come up with a reason Sammy worships the ink demon, the best motivation we've ever gotten is just that 'he's crazzyyyy the ink made him insaneeee'. Who is the cheap rip-off here?

At least Poppy Playtime gave their cultist a motive for worshipping the monster + a proper boss fight that feels intense and looks awesome! Bendy didn't even let you kill Malice [she got stabbed in front of you and then just collapsed on the floor how thrilling] meanwhile you get to kill three of the villains in Poppy Playtime and the gameplay and action in those scenes have only gotten better as the game went on.

I mean Sammy walks into a room and goes "AAA SCARY I'M BEING MURDERED" then later shows up and for NO REASON sees a normal human man and assumes it's the ink demon before once again someone else kills him for you. In Poppy Playtime you defeat Catnap as he floods the world with this horrible nightmare-inducing gas that intensifies the color palette and his design. Fight off versions of him that are illusions that you need your flare gun for, then watch in a wonderful animation as he mistakes the monster for his savior before getting killed by it, in a brutal way I might add, which game are we accusing of being cheap, lazy garbage again?

I just find this argument to be people who Really Really need to find a reason to hate Poppy Playtime which I think is silly. The devs being weird, shady people is already enough reason to dislike the game, you don't need to invent reasons why secretly every part of the game is malicious or bad. But esp when I see Bendy fans saying they don't support Poppy Playtime or dislike it bc of its devs or even saying its cringe ummmm.

I have bad news about the fact Bendy's devs are worse and it took not one, but TWO over an hour long videos to cover it all. Plus the Bendy games are just the worse games in every aspect, if I could sell my batim copy for a copy of Poppy Playtime I wouldn't hesitate at all.

Saying this as a bendy fan, we have no right to be super judgy towards Poppy Playtime. If Poppy Playtime is embarrassing cringe, Bendy is too and is way more embarrassing of an interest. We shouldn't spread misinformation just because we all want to hate Poppy Playtime, you can dislike Poppy Playtime without making up a bunch of nonsense to justify it.

Honestly seeing people just blatantly be unfairly mean to Poppy Playtime only makes its critics look worse and makes it hard to take any backlash to the games seriously. Because surprise surprise if you spread misinformation to make a point people will quickly stop listening to Anything you have to say bc they won't trust you're telling the truth anymore.