#procession to calvary

[dare-to-dm]

The Procession to Calvary is a hilarious point and click adventure that I almost feel was made for me.  Renaissance art? Classic Music? Gratuitous murder?  It’s got everything.

My only note is that the text wasn’t always super readable.  I wish there were more font options.  But also, that’s kind of on me for playing an indie PC game that was ported to console.

[supergreatfrien]

Trying out The Procession to Calvary for an hour

A tale about the changing times, and how some people are left behind. When violence is no longer needed, what happens to the people who are really good at violence? Makes you think.

[purplestar555]

[queen-mabs-revenge]

lmao the procession to calvary is amazing so far

[duncan-tashi]

MOVIES VS PAINTINGS, Part I..

Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson vs. To Prince Edward Island, Alex Colville.

Pennies From Heaven, Herbert Ross vs Nighthawks, Edward Hopper.

The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen, Terry Gilliam vs The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli.

The Mill and the Cross, Lech Majewski vs The Procession to Calvary, Pieter Bruegel.

Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock vs House by the Railroad, Edward Hopper.

Nostalghia, Andréi Tarkovski vs Golconda, René Magritte.

Melancholia, Lars von Trier vs Ophelia, John Everett Millais.

There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson vs Jeune Homme Nu Assis Au Bord De La Mer, Hippolyte Flandrin.

Carol, Todd Haynes vs Chop Suey, Edward Hopper.

The Cell, Tarsem Singh vs Dawn, Odd Nerdrum.

[useless-catalanfacts]

Idioms in Catalan with a religious origin

There's quite a lot of idioms that we say in everyday life, outside of the context of religion, but that come from religious stories or events.

Most of them come from Christianity, and many of them are shared with other Romance languages or other languages from historically Christian countries. To keep this list accessible to everyone regardless of cultural background, I will include the literal translation to English and also an explanation all of them.

Let's see how many of these you can understand before seeing the explanation. Let us know in the tags!

1. Fer Pasqua abans de Rams = "to do Easter before Palm Sunday", meaning to get pregnant, have a baby, or to have sex before getting married. Nowadays it's used in a more general sense to mean to do something before it's time (like English "put the cart before the horse"). Palm Sunday is a holiday celebrated the week before Easter.

2. Per a més inri = "for more INRI", used to add a bad thing on top of something else, making a situation even worse or more humiliating. It's a reference to the sign that said "INRI" (stands for the initials of "Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews" in Latin) that Roman soldiers hanged on Christ's crucifix to make fun of him.

3. A la babalà = "in the babalà way", meaning to do something without having thought much about it. But what does "babalà" mean? This word doesn't exist in the Catalan language outside of this expression. It comes from the Arabic Alà bâb Allâh which means "in God's hands".

4. On Crist va perdre l'espardenya = "where Christ lost his sandal", or on Crist va perdre el barret = "where Christ lost his hat", meaning somewhere very far away and usually in the middle of nothing. I don't know of any story that has Christ lose his sandal or hat.

5. Perdut de la mà de Déu = "lost by God's hand", meaning a place in the middle of nowhere.

6. Ser un calvari ="to be a calvary", meaning that something is a cause of suffering. You can also hear quin calvari! = "what a calvary!". This is a reference to Mount Calvary, where Christ was crucified.

7. Endavant les atxes = "ahead with the candles!", meaning "keep going!", used to encourage to keep going in a negative situation with difficulties or a situation that you would have preferred to avoid. An atxa is a kind of big candle that the first people in a religious procession carry. This was the shout that would start a procession.

(Note: in recent years, Spanish media has used this idiom as supposed proof that Catalan independentists who said it are calling for violence, using a fake translation that assumed that "atxa" must mean the same as Spanish "hacha", meaning "axe" 🪓, because the pronunciation is almost identical. This is false, when people were saying "endavant les atxes" they did not intend any meaning related to "bring the axes". This was used to justify violence against Catalan activists, but has no ground in reality. "Axe"🪓 in Catalan would be "destral".)

8. Net com una patena = "as clean as a paten", meaning very clean. A paten is a kind of small dish used in Catholic mass, where the blessed sacramental bread in placed on.

9. Acabar com el rosari de l'aurora = "to end up like the dawn rosary", meaning to end very, very badly, usually in violence. The dawn rosary used to be a procession that was done in the early morning of certain holidays while praying the rosary. The idiom (which also exists in Spanish) comes from the year 1868. Around those years, there were many anticlerical riots, while the Catholic church kept doing the dawn rosary on the streets and often assigning it political meaning. In Barcelona and other cities, anticlerical protestors tried to stop the dawn rosary from happening, and it ended in violence and blood.

10. Plorar com una Magdalena = "to cry like a Magdalene", meaning to cry a lot and very desperately. This is a reference to Mary Magdalene, a character from the Bible's New Testament who cried when she met Christ.

11. Déu-n'hi-do! = "God gives!". This expression is difficult to translate because I don't think English has an equivalent (the closest I can think of are "wow!" or even "holy shit!"), but Catalan people use it a lot. It's an exclamation used to show surprise, awe or to mean a big quantity.

12. Ser més vell que Matusalem = "to be older than Methuselah", meaning that someone is very very old. Methuselah is a character from the Bible's Old Testament who is said to have lived for 969 years. This comparison is used for comedic value.

13. Rentar-se'n les mans = "to wash one's hands", meaning to say you're not responsible for what happens. This is a quote from the Bible's New Testament: when Christ is being judged by Pontius Pilate, the crowd is asking him to sentence him to crucifixion. He asks Christ to defend himself, but he doesn't. Pilate doesn't want to sentence him to death, but he sees he has no other option. Then, he sees his hands are stained with Christ's blood, and washes his hands as he decides that this situation will not be his responsibility.

14. Arribar a misses dites = "to arrive to mass [already] said", meaning to arrive late when something has already happened.

15. Ser com les palmes d’Elx, que vingueren el matí de Pasqua = "to be like the Elx palms, that arrived on Easter morning", this is used in the Valencian Country to mean to be late. Elx is a city with the biggest palm groove in Europe ever since the Middle Ages, and many of these palm tree leafs are used for making the palms used for Palm Sunday, the celebration that happens a week before Easter.

16. Va a missa = "goes to mass", meaning whatever is said is exactly what will happen, without complaining or second thoughts.

17. Endiumenjar-se = "to Sunday yourself" or "to Sunday up", meaning to dress up in your best clothes (same as "to wear your Sunday best" in English). Traditionally, people used to wear their best clothes for Sunday mass.

18. Alt com un sant Pau = "as tall as a saint Paul", someone who is very tall. Saint Paul was not tall, in his texts he describes himself as a "little man". The origin of this sentence is in Catalonia centuries ago. People used to celebrate the holiday of Saint Paul's Conversion (January 25th). In the Sant Pau del Camp church area in Barcelona, the tradition for this day had a man yield a huge sword. For this reason, the man had to be tall and strong.

19. Alegre/content com unes pasqües = "as cheerful/happy as Easters", meaning to be very happy and cheerful.

20. Discutir sobre el sexe dels àngels or parlar del sexe dels àngels = "to argue about angels' sex", meaning to endlessly argue heatedly about something insignificant where neither side will ever convince the other to change their minds. Also called una discussió bizantina="a Byzantine argument". This comes from the historical fact that Biblical scholars spent centuries arguing on whether angels can be male or female or not. Legends say that, when the Ottomans were laying siege on Constantinople in 1453 and getting ready to invade it, the Byzantine theologists were arguing about whether angels have sexes instead of doing anything useful.

21. Pagant, sant Pere canta = "if you pay, saint Peter sings". The person who hears it, might answer i sant Joan fa esclops = "and Saint John makes clogs". This means that money will get you anything, even the things that seemed impossible. It might be a reference to the Bible story where saint Peter was asked if he knew Christ after he was taken to crucify, and Peter lied three times and said he didn't know him. "To sing" in Catalan can also mean "to confess". Maybe, if they had paid him he would have confessed.

22. Perdre l'oremus = "to lose the oremus", meaning to lose control of yourself, or to get disoriented or lose memory. "Oremus" (which means "let's pray" in Latin) is the sentence that Catholic priests say during mass to lead a prayer. It's believed that this idiom comes from some incidents where a priest would start the sentence "oremus..." but then couldn't find the prayer he wanted to lead, which he might have misplaced somewhere else in his book. So he would say "oremus... uh... oremus..." while flipping the pages looking for the right one.

23. A bon sant t'encomanes! = "You entrust yourself to a good saint!", said with irony. It's said when you ask for help or rely on someone who is not competent.

24. Ser més papista que el Papa = "To be more Popeist than the Pope", meaning someone who is too dogmatic, too strict or extremist in following the rules, or who believes in or defends something in a more extreme way than the people most affected by it.

25. Qui no coneix Déu, a qualsevol sant li resa = "He who doesn't know God, prays to any saint", used to compare something very good to something worse that someone else likes, usually something worse but that is very popular.

And there's probably others that I forgot.

How many of these are shared with your language?

[blehbet]

Firefly and Sam / the Past and the Present

Hi. Let's take ibuprofen together. And by 'let's take ibuprofen together', I mean that I have a theory and I am tying you down so that I can rant to you about it.

(Unless you don't want to see spoilers so MAJOR SPOILERS FOR HSR 2.1 AHEAD, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!)

Okay, so. Firefly. It's revealed that Firefly is Sam at the end of the quest.

This theory posits that that is very much the case HOWEVER, it is not Firefly wearing a mech suit like some have speculated. Instead, Sam -- *Sam's body* -- his entire mechanical make, IS Firefly.

From story implications, it's alleged that Sam is a "remnant of Glamoth's Iron Calvary". According to Firmament Frontline: Glamoth's relic set, Glamoth's Iron Cavalry are "genetically engineered warriors that possess superhuman abilities" who fought against the Swarm.

"In their short lives..." No wonder her name is Firefly...

That aside, this leads me to believe that these so-called warriors did not start out as robots, but were instead manufactured by way of the disease that Firefly suffers from.

Entropy Loss Syndrome.

I want to emphasise the use of *reality* and *dreams* in this context for my next point. The distinction (or lack thereof) between reality and dreams is fundamental to how the Iron Calvary works. The cavalry was telepathically connected to "Titania", their empress. And according to the Relic Set, these warriors are "woven into dreams." This leads me further on to believe that in order to be woven into dreams, their physical forms have to slowly fade to then occupy and be turned into a mechanical suit that was ultimately built to serve its ruler, and protect its people from the Swarm.

So how does Firefly appear as she does in the Dreamscape?

I think it's Sam simply dreaming and wishing for the form that they once had. In reality, Firefly has either disappeared entirely OR her body's consciousness has completely detached itself to then occupy the mech.

This is further supported by her leaked lightcone image. It doesn't depict her occupying Sam, instead, she's in some kind of shattered vat (the 'icy medical cabin', if you will). A visual metaphor for the shattering of dreams and reality, perhaps?

So, TLDR so far: Firefly is Sam. Firefly was a citizen of Glamoth that was turned into a member of the Iron Calvary by way of Entropy Loss Syndrome in an effort to fight back against the Swarm. In the current reality, there's only Sam; Firefly as we see her in the Dreamscape no longer exists. Sam is dreaming of their old 'human' body whenever they enter the Dreamscape.

Now, at this point, you're probably thinking that I'm contradicting myself here by brushing over the 'icy medical cabin' possibility. Right now with what we know so far, it's only feasible either Firefly no longer physically exists OR she does, but she's trapped. But, stick with me, I'm going to explain how it's possible that both outcomes can 'co-exist'.

In Act 1 of the quest, it seemed like Sam and Firefly were in conflict with each other at one point. At first, I thought this was also evidence that goes against this theory. However -- this opens up an interesting possibility as to how these two interact in the Dreamscape. Firefly acts as the younger and possibly more idealistic version of Sam who brashly charges forth to achieve her goals, meanwhile Sam is Sam, the Stellaron Hunter and seasoned warrior with more experience under his belt.

Now, who runs in parallel to this possible narrative? Who have we, as players, *directly seen* go through an eerily similar Dreamscape experience?

From Aventurine's POV, we actively got to see this process of a person's Past and Present interacting in the Dreamscape.

Meanwhile with Firefly, we only saw glimpses of the process in Act 1 and the results of it in Act 2. It's possible that at the end of Act 2, the Past and Present of Firefly / Sam had come to accept each other and were now ready to confront the Trailblazer, much like how Aventurine had to accept his Past and Future in order to go through with his big gamble at the end of his arc.

So, back to the 'icy medical cabin' contradiction. The Firefly that has manifested in the Dreamscape is a Past version of Sam that was in the process of being turned into a Iron Calvary soldier.

Kakavasha's behaviour supports this notion too, given how he reacts to the Dreamscape in ways that would make sense to him in his current state of mind at the time of being a child.

This possibility also has the potential to explain a lot of what Sam was talking about here...

Is it also possible that these "11 times" he's referring to was Sam's attempts to save his Past self from 'dying' in the Dreamscape? Living vicariously through her, only to find out she was fated to be destroyed from the very beginning?

Another fun bonus! Doesn't help either that both Aventurine and Firefly have experienced 'Death' in the Dreamscape. It's as if the Dreamscape is allowing those who die in its grasp a final glimpse of their life.

"Life is flashing before their eyes" when they "Die" in the Dreamscape.

Anyways. Firefly transmasc canon is also what I'm trying to say YIPPEEE THANKS FOR READING IF YOU'VE COME THIS FAR, MWAH

[fic-heaven]

Fangs (Gus x reader)

Chapter 1. Calvary is here.

[Master list]

Slight gore/ s#xual tension

-Your team is assigned to rescue a valuable contact, things take an ugly turn. The annoying tension between you and Ghost had accompanied you for a very long time, long enough to realize there's someone else paying close attention to you.

You dreamt of mangled skin and blood dripping from your mouth.

Even in the darkness of the room you could taste it. You knew it wasn't real but you could still feel it's texture, the smell and the pained screams of Hassan Zyani. You can feel the weight of Soap's stare as he allows you to go wild ripping the terrorist quite literally to shreds with your own hands and tee, your lieutenant and mentor, Ghost, overlooking at the scene with the visor of his MCPR-300 until he decides to break the silence with a dry "target neutralized."

He was meant to take the killing shot.

Ghost was meant to kill Hassan when the terrorist intended to throw a fatally wounded Johnny out the window, but it was you who after making it to the right floor grabbed Hassan throwing him to the side with force dislocating his shoulder in the process, and instead of using your handgun or your knife to give him the quick death you were trained to give, you took a much more personal approach with a crazed look in your eyes. You ended him by ripping his throat open with your teeth.

"Wake up, Hound. Come on."

His blood was everywhere, you were coated in it. Bathed in a pool of red with your turbulent mind darkened by a thin layer of feelings, confusion about what you did, utter rage because of what he had done and what he tried to do to Johnny, a war's baptism.

(Y/n) died on that building and something else took place. A wilder more primal part of that dead woman you used to be awakened within you.

"Hound."

That's how they started calling you since then. The hound, Price's loyal dog. All because you killed that bastard Hassan as if you were an animal sinking your fangs on your prey's neck.

Larger hands shake you awake by your shoulders, your eyes flutter open and you are quick to spot a giant skull mask glaring down at you.

"Mgh... My god, Simon... Can't you wake me with a kiss? Is this how you wake every lady you sleep with?"You joke referring to your quick nap in separate beds.

Your lieutenant gives you a nasty side-eye hiding his amusement while collecting your gear from the floor and throwing it your way. You catch it with a huff then you put it on as you look around the hotel room Laswell had rented for your unit to crash in while you waited for the backup to arrive so you could begin the mission. Ghost then growled "Not happening. Also don't spill your wishes out loud, Sargeant. I don't have t'remind ya that fraternizing with your lieutenant is strictly prohibited." Ghost hoarsely says looking at himself in the mirror from the vanity near the door. He's probably checking on the black paint around his eyes.

"But are we not allowed to get a boner out of thinking 'bout it, sir?"

"Touché." He clicks his tongue.

Ghost will never say it, but he fucking loves when you get this foxy out of nowhere, out of the lot of you, (aside from Johnny) you are the one who appreciates more his dark humour and he adores the way it perfectly fits yours.

You wheeze out a laugh and rush to meet him at the door of your shared room "Come on, LT. To deny our biological needs SHOULDN'T be a prohibition, don't ya think?"

Ghost snorts, you march down the hall, his bulky body eating up most of your field of view.

"Masturbation between teammates could be an amazing bonding exercise! Picture it!"

He gives you a glance "I can picture that alright..."

You smack his back grinning "No, no, but take this seriously. Imagine the captain-"

Ghost abruptly stops when you reach the stairs to the lower floor making you bump against his back, he turns around, slightly lowers himself to your level and carefully takes your hands with his to then lean in weirdly close.

"You just killed the magic with one word." That earned a laugh from you, he continued.

"Listen. Price, Gaz n' Soap are in the other room with the three other operators from SpecGru. Remember what I told ya?"

You sigh and put on your metallic facemask that resembled a dog's growling snout before listing: "Stay professional, keep a low profile and don't talk unless it's needed."

Ghost nods and you fix him a sassy smile under your mask "Since when did you decide to baby me?"

-"Since you ran yer fucking mouth and confirmed the rumours were true-"

-"That only happend once and I was drunk, come on..''

-"Once is all you need for people to keep bringin' up the bloody topic. Now they know for certain it was you and not me who killed Hassan and how you did it." Ghost spat poking your chest with an accusatory finger.

You looked up at him in challenge, he didn't waver but you notice his breaths turning a bit heavy once you got a step closer.

"I can play nice if you want me to." Ghost's response is silence and you speak lowly and careful this time.

"Simon, you know I can take the cold Sargeant role like I was made for it, right? Come on, don't fret, everything will be alright." You are whispering now because you are not dumb, you know the effect you have on Ghost. Your lieutenant has known you for long enough to know you are just toying with him and yet...

"...I know you can." His biological needs haven't been satiated in nearly a year and never by you. His star pupil and closest friend, someone he could trust yet never had intimated with, not in that level at least. As he said, it's strictly prohibited to fraternize.

You slowly nod taking pride on his dilated pupils and slowly move to take the hand he was using to point at your chest lifting it to your face so that he is now covering your mask over your mouth "You have me muzzled, LT. There's nothing I can do but obey. I'll behave like your favorite Sargeant, as always." He shivered but played it off by shoving your face away annoyed, you crackled maliciously.

"You are Insufferable."

_____

-"They had demonized her..."

-"Demonized her!? She ripped a guy's throat with her fucking mouth, Gustavo-"

-"It wasn't just any guy. Also that's rad as fuck, not gonna lie."

-"Reyes you are not helping!"

-"Good! Because I don't intend to help. Befriend the rabid bitch! The crazier the better right? Considering our line of work answer this: What's better? To have a crazy-dangerous ally or a crazy-dangerous foe?"

Nova pursed her lips as Reyes shot her a look that said "period."

Gus forces a tight-lipped smile "That about answers itself, hermano."

Ghost and you had walked to Price's room door where you were supposed to wait for him and the others but apparently the calvary had gotten in beforehand and decided to wait inside. You shared a look of surprise with the lieutenant, he lowly ordered you to wait outside to go in once the rest of the 141 arrived from the hotel's lobby where they were talking with Kate, but you played dumb and opened the door as casually as you could leaving an irritated Ghost following after you.

You two stand there in the now open door, the three operators sitting on the only bed looked up at you like three kids who just got caught doing something they shouldn't.

"Carry on. I love to eavesdrop." You humored.

The three of them looked your age, maybe a bit younger. A black woman with vitiligo, Nova, looked up at you filled with intimidation and weariness, to her left sat a man of pale skin and dark brown hair smiling widely with dark admiration and next to him there was a South American man with black, curly hair under a beret with a big moustache.

Once he saw your eyes lay upon him, the latin straightened his back. His golden eyes lit with recognition until his face contorted to a mix of his fellow partners' expressions. He looked awestruck, his golden orbes held a very noticeable admiration yet you didn't miss the nervous tremble on his hands before he hid them behind him in order to get up from his sitting position. You couldn't tell if he was excited or frightened.

Probably the latter judging by conversation you heard they were having plus your reputation...

"Sargeant Hound-...! My name's Gustavo Rodriguez, Costa Rican operator from SpecGru's private military company at your- at Captain Price's service." He explained, his body going rigid trying to show his respect.

"Gus, right? I saw your file on our way to Manhattan. What's a cop doing in the military?"

He could have very well turned into a tomato the moment he heard you had seen his file, Gus was quick to respond a little louder than before in order to muffle his partner's laughter at this whole interaction.

"I aimed to protect my country from cartel, mi sargento. But with no army where I live, once I turned of age i had to join la Fuerza Pública for five years until I was invited to join Costa Rica's Special Intervention Unit, which is uh... An Elite team tasked with matters of national security and reporting directly to the Minister of the Presidency."

You smiled amused and a little taken aback by his passionate spirit. "Until?"

You knew there was more to the story, after all he wasn't in Costa Rica. He was shoulder deep in the Terrorist shit your own task force was ordered to clean.

Fuck, SpecGru wasn't even supposed to be involved until Laswell magically appeared with the news that these three fools were contracted to help and support your team on this seemingly tedious mission.

-"Until two years ago when SpecGru was founded."

-"An opportunist, are you?"

-"Bueno, I like to say I'm ambitious. For the good of the people, of course... Not to impress your captain with a good CV."

You laughed at this, Gus smiled in delight instantly enamoured with the sound of your laughter.

Five years as a cop plus three in Costa Rica's SIU and two more years in SpecGru considering he entered the academy fast as hell equals twenty six years... How old was this sexy chunk of meat?

-"And how old are you?"

-"Just turned thirty, señorita."

-"Admirable. Happy birthday." You couldn't help but praise.

Your teasing nature quieted down at the presence of a promising lad working along your unit.

Gus smiled softly then, a sigh of relief scaping his plump lips. It felt good to be acknowledged by your idols.

You heard Ghost scoff behind you, Gus' two companions watch him incredulous because of his short (probably prepared) speech.

You ate up his delighted reaction trying to contain the toothy smile from under your facemask and slowly walked closer to him with a curious glint in your eyes and a small swing in your step. Gus didn't move a muscle, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"What do you specialize in, soldado?"

Hearing his mother's tongue from the one and only Sargeant Hound from the 141 he has heard so much about since he joined SpecGru made a shiver run up his spine.

"In hostage rescue and asset protection..."

Ghost looks down his watch inpatient to get this over with. Reyes, the other operator sees his opportunity to jump into the conversation seemingly as eager to interact with Hassan's butcher.

"Apologies for my brother in arms' fanboy moment. He was excited to meet you, after all... You could say we've got money on our pockets thanks to your bite." The Canadian jest with a teasing tone matching yours, he sounds so sure of himself you knew already this guy was one hot headed mother fucker with an ego that paired up well with Gus' humble nature and Nova's head-on-the-ground attitude.

-"Mind explaining that, um..."

-"Enzo Reyes, ma'am. Reyes for shorts."

You nod expectant. Reyes clears his throat.

"SpecGru and KorTac were founded after Hassan's death, your execution, as diabolical as everyone puts it, benefitted us greatly. So thank you, you crazy, cannibalistic bitch for giving us a job."

Your eyes widen at the crude wording, Gus looks away with a defeated sigh, Nova elbows Reyes' arm with so much force he smacks her arm back with a growl. Ghost did not like that one bit deciding to step up making his presence known in the room, anger emanate from his body mixing with the tense atmosphere.

"I like this guy." You laugh quickly dissipating the tension. You missed Nova's sigh of relief.

All of you quickly got alerted by the dry coughs of Price who stepped inside the crowded room with Gaz and Soap following behind. Ghost left space for his captain but you didn't, resulting in Price gently guiding your careless self to follow him with a hand in your lower back, like a father with a toddler. The captain sighed looking around the room making sure all of you were there.

-"I see we missed first introductions. Whatever, we can get started now that we're all 'ere."

-"About bloody time..." Ghost whispered and you snorted.

As the captain explained the situation, the three SpecGru operators stared analyzing your group.

All of you were attentive to your captain quickly leaving aside your shenanigans to pay attention to every word he said. After the hell all of you had gone through it was clear your loyalty to Price was unbreakable. Lord knows life has given you chances to leave the task force but none of you took them because you believed in what you were doing, because you believed in Johnathan Price, because you were proud to be part of something bigger than yourselves to help people around the world neutralizing threats so the future generations could live a more peaceful life.

Gus couldn't feel more admiration than he already did, his heart swell with pride and eagerness to work along you and he could already picture himself in the future begging Laswell and his Team Leaders to allow Nova, Reyes and himself the chance to work with you again.

The focused look in your beautiful, hypnotic eyes dragged the Rican back to the present.

To summer things up, one of Kate's valuable contacts from New York had gotten captured by an unknown enemy ready to be flown from Manhattan to another location she was still trying to figure.

The reason you needed these three other operators was because their german TL (Team Leader) was related to this particular objective. Stressed about the safety of his family member he sent three operators he personally chose to aid the 141 on the rescue as the hostage was equally important to both teams. Not to mention the amount of crucial information the hostage had.

Laswell had informed Price that the captured victim managed to send her a message saying he had heard something about being transported somewhere near LaGuardia airport until they could escort him to a secured plane.

"The message was sent from this location." Price said.

Gaz shows you the tablet he was tapping on. The pad reveals pictures of an abandoned psychiatric hospital in the middle of a gigantic clearing a few kilometers away from the airport they planned to take the hostage.

-"Easy to spot us in such clearing..." Soap observes.

-"We could infiltrate in the night. Use the darkness to our benefit." Offered Gaz.

-"Nah, that's still too risky, they'd probably had transported the lad by the time we get there." Debated Reyes.

-"Besides, we would be risking the hostage's life if we wait any longer for night to fall..." Nova finally spoke.

The captain cracked his knuckles, his eyes fuxed on the tablet until he shot Gus a look of expectancy. He too had read his file judging by the way he expected him to suggest something, the Rican had enough experience at hostage rescue to know a better strategy. Don't underestimate the captain, he already had a plan to offer but he wanted to give the three new additions some time to prove themselves.

Gus brushes his moustache in thought. "The sewers." He mutters, one gloved finger pointed to one miniature in the sea of images from the tablet, the miniature showed a complete map of the underground tunnels that crossed the area. Soap agreed with a click of his tongue and a nod.

Price smiled widely, his eyes crinkling.

-"We'll use the sewers."

-"I bet they know we'll use 'em to get there." You said, Gus nods and Price replies:

-"They sure as hell know we'll do. But they don't know how many we are."

-"Or who we are." Ghost said with determination.

______

Diving through Manhattan's sewers was like walking around an scenario from one of those old horror games you play with Johnny on his ps2.

Not to mention it was confusing as hell... There were tunnels everywhere, Laswell had warned you about this and to pay careful attention to the map as well as the river of shit that ran through the tunnels, apparently this stinky nightmare of a place was plagued with crocodiles. No joke.

To make the trip even more fun, Soap had spotted a trap at the beginning of one particular tunnel that stink worse than the others and you instantly knew this was the one you had to take to get to the clearing.

-"That tunnel will get you to the parking lot behind the main building. Find a hole to crawl out of and get in there as quick as possible." Laswell's voice resonated from your radios.

-"Understood."

You could feel someone's eyes on you the whole time. And although you always pretended to bask on any attention given, feeling someone's eyes on you constantly made you tick. So multiple times you had turned around only to find Gus looking elsewhere and Ghost keeping watch on the waters in case any croc decided to welcome all of you.

A distant booming sound made you all stop on your tracks pointing your guns ahead. Something had triggered a trap.

-"Probably a crocodile." Said Soap.

-"Or an enemy..." Smirked Reyes.

-"What's the difference?" You asked.

Your earpiece buzzed "For starters, the crocodiles don't have the brains nor the need to kidnap one of my most valuable contacts." Joked Kate.

The captain stopped all of you minutes after.

You all pointed your torches ahead, a litter of corpses spread across the tunnel.

-"We've got corpses 'round here." Gaz informed Laswell.

-"The hostage?" She asked, nervousness lazed on her voice.

The group begun inspecting the dead bodies, clear victims of various traps and mines around the place that the waters had dragged to your direction and got stuck in the junk and shit in the ground.

Most of them were dressing in matching dark clothes, others in casual wear, probably civilians who decided to dive a little too far where they shouldn't.

The ones with dark clothes held fire weapons, other than that they had nothing else.

"No trace of the objective so far..." You informed before the radio caught Laswell's sigh of relief.

Nova spotted one particular body at the further corner of the pit that caught her eye. She sat next to it, inspecting it's pockets with concentration until she stopped to wiggle on her spot.

-"Wot' am I sitting on?" Nova rose her bum only to stumble forwards with a yelp at the realization that she had fully planted her ass on an enemy's corpse. -"Shame it wasn't his face." She blurted out making Reyes snort.

-"The smell would have killed the lad instantly. But nothing compares to the smell of Manhattan's sewers...Worst mission of my fucking life."

-"It's Man-ah-Hatan, idiota" Gus wrongly corrected a few steps behind you. He was so close his sweet cologne almost covered the smell of shit.

"MANHATTAN, DICKHEAD! TWO DAYS HERE AND YOU STILL PRONOUNCE IT LIKE YOU ARE CONSTIPATED."

Reyes' bark echoed through the tunnel making the rest of you turn to them wide-eyed.

The glare Ghost shot them three made you giggle, the captain didn't keep quiet either instantly snapping at them to focus, Soap being Soap resisted the urge to laugh along and Gaz gritted his teeth at the seemingly lack of professionalism. You just smiled widely under your facemask and continued inspecting the place sneaking a wink to Gus' way, he blinked surprised.

-"Forgive their idiotic behavior, cap." Nova sighed "I've found some keys."

-"Keep 'em. We'll probably need them in the future." Price ordered ignoring the apology.

Following the tunnel your group of eight encountered an intersection. Two tunnels that went in different directions made all of you look at the map until another sound of a distant explosion caused your heads to snap to the right, guns loaded and ready.

"I wonder where we should go now..." you sarcastically said.

This time you caught Gus' amber eyes quickly adverting his gaze somewhere else with a contained smile. Curious.

Walking a little further to the right tunnel, you found a monster of a crocodile the size of the old leather couch Gaz had donated to the base a few months ago laying on the ground with an exploded tummy, it's intestines spread all across the ground, brick walls and the black waters. To your horror the animal hissed somehow still alive after triggering a mine.

-"Oh my god."

-"And they said crocodiles in Manhattan's sewers were a myth..."

-"Look at the size of that thing. What the hell do they feed on down here?"

-"Dead bodies of dumb divers probably..."

Reyes laughed "Thank you Mini-Godzilla for eating enough shit to trigger half the traps 'round here."

Ghost surprised you lowly laughing to himself. Surely he had remembered the dog pun he told you and Johnny while being chased in Las Almas.

______

The walk didn't last much longer for when your knees started protesting you found a metal door rotten by the passing of time, as Watcher-1 had said, behind the door you found the parking lot near the main building where they guarded the hostage.

The captain had split the group of eight into four teams since the building was big as hell, and although Laswell had located the signal from the phone the hostage used to send the message, the captain wanted to make sure all the building was clear to proceed with the rescue instead of throwing yourselves directly where they had secluded him.

The building was rotten all over, there weren't any traps like on the sewers and you found little enemies to neutralize in the quietest way possible.

Exploring the abandoned creepy halls in the light of day with the captain wasn't exactly what you had in mind, you felt a tingle of disappointment that he hadn't paired you up with any of the new meat SpecGru had sent.

"You are my right hand. Can't do this without ya." That's the excuse Price gave you. But you suspect he just wants to keep you on a short leash. Because who knows, maybe one day the story will repeat itself, right? Maybe you'll go crazy or run your mouth like you always do... You grit your teeth in anger. The captain and the others will not stop treating you like a radioactive isotope until you get evaluated by a professional on the base and as it turned out he was took a well-deserved vacation before you had the chance to pay him a visit.

Reyes and Ghost encounter a two-way hallway where they parted to the right while Gus and Soap went to the left, the captain and you followed upstairs and Gaz and Nova went to the other set of stairs on the opposite wall. At first you only used knives because packing gun silencers didn't mean you'd kill in total silence, and with the crazy echo this big building had thanks to the lack of forniture and thin paper walls you could easily hear the enemies talking and patrolling around. But things changed when all of you heard a gunshot downstairs followed by pained grunts and an unfamiliar voice.

"Idiot! Watch your fucking aim!"

All of you sigh in relief, shortly after Soap had slit that enemy's throat and Gus had done the same with the other before they joined you on the upper level, though in different halls.

You all cleared the building fast, or so you had thought.

You only took your eyes away for a second inspecting various cushioned rooms infested with rats, Price was a few steps ahead of you on the same hall doing the same thing with the rooms of the opposite wall until he felt hot pain hit his shoulder, he grunts in surprise alerting you instantly.

Looking further from Price was a young man with a pistol, he had this face filled with warn daring price to take another step, he hasn't spot you yet, you took advantage of this crouching a little inside the cushioned room you were previously inspecting.

-"Fatima, Bilal, Mustafa, Omar, Abdul, Salem..." The enemy listed. "I could tell you all the names of the soldiers you and your team had killed and yet you would not care. I stand here with a gun on my hand pointing at your heart and you still look uninterested... You have no souls. Disgusting animals sent to kill us all, but Duke will make you pay for what you've done. For general Ghorbrani, for major Hassan-"

-"HOUND-! KILL HIM!"

You launched forwards at your Captain's command, moving in zigzags dodging the numerous debrils, wires and junk around the floor, the moment the shocked enemy gathered his shit to point his gun at you his jaw cracked at the harsh impact you delivered with the butt of your chosen weapon instantly sending him to the ground. He screamed in pain chocking on his flowing blood but that didn't stop his trembling hands to try repositioning his pistol clearly wanting to go with a fight, though it was too late for the bastard because just as he got up you shot him on the chest at the same time rain of blood splattered to your face. Ghost had shot his head from behind when he heard the commotion. His eyes widened seeing your bloodied form appear behind the falling corpse, he froze thinking he had shot you in the head until-

"Oh come on, LT... I had it under control!" You cleansed your squinting face but you only managed to spread the blood and brain matter further. "UGH-... I need a fucking shower after this..."

Price rushed to you inspecting you pulling an equally worried Ghost aside, you did the same looking at his shoulder alarmed.

"It's just a grace, don't worry honey."

"Whatever old man... Just... Be more aware of your surroundings..."

Price shared a look with Ghost who quickly recomposed focusing on contacting Gaz, Nova and the others to keep their guard up.

"X ray down! And that's why you don't spend an eternity monologuing." Reyes humored walking in. The Canadian pushed the fallen enemy's head with the tip of his boot, his smile widening when he spotted your bloodied face.

"Gus would kill for this view~"

Nova's voice reached your earpiece "Cap. We found some makeshift cells. No enemies down 'ere."

"Copy. On our way..."

______

Walking to Gaz and Nova's position you found Gus and Soap along the way, and as Reyes had previously said, the eyes of the Rican were wide with worry until he realized you were healthy as a rose, yet his amber pearls would not leave your face for a second, not even when Price spoke or when all of you started walking. Was this guy smitten by you? It seems Reyes wasn't joking.

"Over there-" Nova pointed at the last cell to the further corner of the hall.

The Captain ordered Gus and you to investigate and Gaz and Soap to guard the entrance of the hall in case you missed an enemy while him and Ghost opened the door with some shears, Nova and Reyes were the first to go inside the pitch-black cell. Reyes lit the place with his torch and so did the captain and the lieutenant.

The body of the deceased hostage hanged from the ceiling by a metal hook that pierced his ankle. He was facing the wall before Reyes approached to angle the body to the light.

On his chest was a message that said "The hunt have just begun." Carved with a knife, the blood around the letters was dried to a very dark red almost black which meant it was scribbled long before your team arrived the building.

Nova approached the body with a perturbed face.

-"Holy shit, that's Karl... Team leader's son..."

Laswell's voice quickly reached your radios at this.

-"Is he alive?"

Ghost entered the cell. By that time all of you had turned to look inside as well.

-"Negative. He's dead, and by the looks of it, it occurred long before we arrived. The lad probably got caught sending you the text so they killed him."

The captain stomped in frustrated, then proceeded to inspect the body.

-"Sliced throat. They left a message on the body."

Price signaled Gaz to point his laptop's camera to the body letting Laswell see what all of you were seeing. She was quiet until she hummed in understatement.

"Captain!" Gus called from the other cell. Price looked to the right, sighed and left the cell to join the rican. You and Gus were inspecting a stock of documents near a laptop. Gaz entered the cell carrying his own to show Laswell the new cell.

"Sargeant Hound. Plug Garrick's laptop into the other one."

Gaz handed you a cable and you did as told, transferring every archive you could find inside it while the others swallowed the defeat in tense silence.

Soap was the first to speak up.

-"They called a name on their coms... Duke. I dunno, maybe he's the boss."

Now that you recall, the guy who tried to kill Price did mention that name.

"With a name like that he's gonna go mwaha-ha at some point, I just know it." Gus smiled at your humor.

Ghost smacked the cell's bars with frustration. "The bastard wasn't even 'ere. He must have ordered his men to pull this bullshit to call our attention."

Gaz massaged his temple placing down the laptop near you and the enemy's.

-"So he just placed this laptop filled with his malevolent plans near our target for us to find?" The brit said sarcastically.

-"Looks like it. There has to be more this than it might seem." Price hummed.

-"Maybe the target wasn't even Karl..." Nova said and all of you looked at her, her words making sense instantly.

-"Maybe WE were the target." She clarified.

-"If we are the target... Where's the ambush?" Gus voices out his anxious thoughts.

Reyes laughed bitterly.

-"That wit made us fall for it, Fuck! He even left a trail of crumbs for us to find and follow him into the devil's nest."

-"But where is this devil's nest...?" Price asked.

You lifted the laptop once you were done transferring the information and Laswell spoke up.

"Reyes is right. This... Duke, has kept a list of different locations on each archive. We must find which location he really is in and-"

You all waited a beat before the captain worriedly called out Kate whose voice went quiet as she read through the files.

-"This is serious, John. Duke isn't a nobody. He's the head of a mafia called Shiv Ka Haath, (Shiva's hand) from New India. He rules over a chain of different illegal businesses, each of them handled by people he trusts. A madam who owns the 70% of the nightclubs and brothels on the country, the head of a temple who traffics with weapons and drugs and lastly, his son, who has started his own busines organizing spectacles and fights of all kinds going from dogs, immigrants desperate for money to... even children fights. None of their names are mentioned but there's so much illegal activity listed in here...And that isn't all..."

You all listened carefully, realization hitting hard that this mission might hold more depth than you had initially thought.

"There's so much information here to investigate it's clear he wants us to find him. For now, take everything you can and go back to the base ASAP."

Price orders all of you to collect the Intel as he contacts Nikolai to take you and Karl's body back to the base.

_______

The three additions to the group sat in silence staring at the distance. They were aware the moment TL read each of their reports hell will break lose, and although this meant SpecGru will get involved on this matter, Gus allowed himself to feel a greedy relief that he'll possibly work alongside your team again in the future. If TL and Laswell approve, of course.

[claudemblems]

Lipstick Stains | Kaeya + Xiao

Summary: You leave Kaeya and Xiao covered with your lipstick, but for better or worse, you've left marks in places for everyone to see

Notes: I made a set of these headcanons for some of the JJK boys and thought that I should write some for Genshin as well :) But writing this makes me miss using Kaeya T_T I need to put him back on my team!!!

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

Kaeya

He absolutely loves having his skin littered with your lipstick. There's something about being so publicly marked by you that drives him wild

Wears them like a badge, but will unfortunately have to wipe off the marks before he goes to work. He'd wear them all day if he could, but he does have to exercise some sort of restraint. He's representing the knights after all, so he has to be mindful of how he presents himself

But outside of work, he has no problem leaving your lipstick stains on full display. He likes the questions he gets about them or the way Diluc stares at him in disbelief at the Angel's Share. It sparks gossip in the town as everyone is left wondering about who could be the Calvary Captain's lover

Though the stains are your own mark of possession, Kaeya also sees them as his own way of telling the world that he’s yours. He often spots them throughout the day when passing by a mirror or when readjusting his clothes, and the sight always brings a smile to his face. It's a reminder of you, the one that he adores. Just the thought of you makes his heart skip a beat

Yes, he’s still as lovestruck as ever. Sometimes he can’t process how he’s the one that managed to win your heart. Well, he figures you must feel the same way if you ended leaving stains on every inch of him…

When he goes home to you at the end of the day and the marks have faded, he shyly asks you if you would cover him in them all over again. Kaeya, being shy? Oh yes. He has his soft moments. In fact, he still gets butterflies in his stomach every time he sees you <3

But when it comes to him being the one to initiate things…that’s a whole other story

You can practically see the mischief shining in his eyes as he leans next to your ear and coolly whispers, “Perhaps I can return the favor, if you’ll allow me to”

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

Xiao

He's absolutely mortified at first. How careless did you have to be to leave…evidence…of what you’d done for all of Liyue to see?!?!

He was so caught up in the moment (he thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of your lips all over him, but don’t expect him to admit it) that he didn't even stop to consider the damage you'd leave behind

Actually, he didn't even notice he had lipstick marks on him until Verr Goldet pointed them out, all while sporting a pleased smile. I mean, it’s not everyday you see Adeptus Xiao marked by his favorite human…

Xiao sulks the entire day, turning his back to you every time you try to approach him. He’s kind of like an angry cat. Sure, he’s mad at you, but you know he won’t stay that way. He just needs some time to be grumpy and figure out if he’s truly irritated or if, just maybe, he’s only acting out of embarrassment

When he’s finally willing to let you talk to him, you make it clear that you won’t leave him covered in stains again. It seemed like a funny and cute idea to you at first, but you hadn’t really thought through how Xiao might react. So you apologize and promise to keep your emotions in check next time

But it’s Xiao who ends up surprising you. “I don’t really mind…” he whispers, cheeks turning pink as he avoids your gaze, “as long as they're left in places only I can see…”

Oh. It seems that embarrassment isn’t the only reason he wants them hidden. Is this a rare peek into Xiao’s own possessiveness? You can see the gears turning in Xiao’s mind as you ponder his words, and you know he’s already come up with an appropriate way to seek vengeance

“Of course,” you answer, guiding him towards you, “And I gladly accept whatever repercussions my actions may entail…”

[etheries1015]

Asking him about pegging

!! NSFW !!

Featuring: Kaeya

as requested by my co worker (yes, my co worker)

kaeya might be a little OOC? I am not very good at writing him in my opinion...sooo feedback would be much appreciated! 

TW: None! other than, it’s obviously, nsfw! 

Kaeya

- Stares at you for a solid 30 seconds, Drink still in his hand as his mouth is agape. blinks a couple times while processing your request... 

- “You want to...what?” He asked, his voice smooth as usual. Your face reddens as you repeat your request to top the Calvary caption

- it doesn’t take a lot to fluster him, he’s always been rather sensitive to others around him and you were definitely no exception. He always thought of you as the one most able to break down his walls, you always find some sort of way to catch him off guard and make him lose his suave demeanor.

- His face is turning almost just as red as the wine in his hand, before chugging the rest of his drink and slamming it to the counter and nodding firmly. 

- “Let’s do it,” He said with conviction, grabbing your hand and leading you to the bedroom where he crawled onto the bed and stared at you expectantly. 

- lots of foreplay and preparation

- “kaeya, my love, relax,” You try to sooth him, your two fingers separating inside of him in attempt to loosen him up. He needs a lot of attention in his aspect.

- Pay attention to his nipples, they are very sensitive! lick them, bite them a little bit, this causes his back to arch slightly. The sensation of your tongue working on his chest while your fingers skillfully loosen him up, he quickly becomes more confident in this new endeavor. 

- low breathy moans, his arms are holding onto a pillow covering his face and muffling his moans as you glide yourself into him gently as you could. 

- Annoyed at the pillow, you moved it away and pinned his arms above his head much to his surprise. His face was a deep shade of red, before a cocky smirk raised upon his features.

- “I suppose you can’t resist my good looks can you- ah!” He was cut off as you pressed yourself deeper inside of him, hitting just the right angle that made his legs shiver in pleasure.

- He has a lot of stamina, it takes him awhile a cum like this and can go for multiple rounds just fine.

- A pillow princess 100% 

- As he gets accustomed to the feeling, he prefers you to go at a fairly quick pace, thinks the sound of your skin hitting each other is erotic enough when he is inside of you, but when the roles are reversed he for some reason feels much more turned on by this.

- He feels vulnerable in this state, open and bare for your eyes to see him in a state of such disarray...he’s used to being in the position of power, to allow someone else in control of his body just goes to show the amount of trust he has in you.

[purplestar555]

[melozykizzes]

a mark full of love

warnings: abuse, drinking, implied noncon if you squint, burning, manipulation.

summary: dilucs secretly mad fucking obsessed with you

you were at the local tavern, you previously tried convincing your friends, kaeya and venti you aren’t a drinker but here you are now at your 3rd shot, slugging on the seat. venti was laughing his ass off from how you got so lightheaded after two shots.

“oh dear, dont pass out now.” kaeya said, flirtatiously as he took another sip of his wine eyeing you from head to toe. diluc was cleaning some wine glasses that kaeya had previously drunk from and was glaring at the known calvary captain. venti was to oblivious to what was happening, while you could barely comprehend where you were right now. you hear big steps coming up to you.

“kaeya. if you continue having that wine, and if venti keeps making all that ruckus i will kick you both out.” ragnvindr said, you could swear you saw his hair slightly flame up from the tips of his hair.

“oooou i think someone’s jelly!” venti said, giggling. diluc returned his “insult” with a cold glare. kaeya looked at me then diluc “then why does Y/N get to stay? she’s practically drooling.” kaeya said and you looked up to see the two brothers glaring at eachother. “this.. was your guys fault.” you said slurring out your words. venti kept on laughing his ass off. “you guys need to give L/N a break. she’s clearly never drank as much as.. you two.” he said making a annoyed face at venti. “i wanna.. go home” you said before slowly seeing black, last thing you see is a angry diluc. eventually dozing off.

you awake in what seems to be a bedroom, not a familiar one. you have a painful head ache and can’t process where you are. “what.. where am i..?” you hear footsteps from out side of the door and the door opens, and you see diluc at the entrance. “i see you’ve woken up.” he walks in and closes the door behind him. “what happened?” you say slightly panicking. diluc drags a chair from across the room and places it next to the bed your layed on. you sit up to look at him more properly

“those bastards, they were trying to set you up.” diluc says, looking slightly irradiated.

“w-what?.. what do you mean? kaeya would neve-“ you get cut off by diluc glaring at you while his fist tightens. “you don’t get it. you wouldn’t. you don’t know him like it do.” diluc closes his eyes in frustration. “diluc please explain, your starting to scare me.” dilucs eyebrows fury. you slowly move away “diluc i need to get going.” you said looking away from him. “Y/N i saved you. and this is how you’re treating me” what the fuck? you try to get up but find yourself stopped by dilucs hand. “o-ow stop that hurts! what the hell diluc?!” your eyes start tearing up. diluc stands up from the chair and throws you on the bed.

“diluc stop! stop please what are you doing?!” diluc grabs both of your hands and towers over you. he pulls up your sleeve and pins you down with his other hand “diluc please stop!” you say with tears starting to pour. diluc starts a flame on his finger on the hand near your arm. “diluc. diluc nonono stop please don’t.” you plead with tears strolling down your face.

“i warned kaeya to stay away from you. he never listened, now look what’s happening, Y/N you probably enjoy this you fucking slut.” diluc snarled at you. “i don’t even know what i did! i’m sorry diluc, just please, please stop.” you say, trying to get out of his grasp. “this is your fault. you chose him over me” he puts the flame out, although your still panicking. he takes off his glove and grabs your arm with force. you start to feel a burning sensation. “DILUC NO STOP!” you scream out, falling onto deaf ears.

he squeezes your arm and your in agony, your screaming, sobbing. “PLEASE STOP!” diluc let’s go of your arm, which is now a nearly black hand print covering half of your arm. diluc let’s out a chuckle.

“next time it’s your neck.”

[hiswordsarekisses]

“Our vision is so limited we can hardly imagine a love that does not show itself in protection from suffering. The love of God is of a different nature altogether. It does not hate tragedy. It never denies reality. It stands in the very teeth of suffering.

The love of God did not protect His own Son. The cross was the proof of His love - that He gave that Son, that He let Him go to Calvary's cross, though "legions of angels" might have rescued Him. He will not necessarily protect us - not from anything it takes to make us like His Son. A lot of hammering and chiseling and purifying by fire will have to go into the process."

~ Elizabeth Elliot

[the-bi-space-ace]

Another thing that I can’t really get behind in season 3 (aside from the things I’ve already said I disagree with) is how the end rescue from Tantiss actually works out.

Hunter, Crosshair, and Wrecker end up causing more problems than anything else. Everyone else was on their way out when they had to go back to recuse those three and my major issue with this stems from a few things.

1) it made their role in the finale feel… kind of pointless. If they hadn’t gone back for them the stand off on the bridge wouldn’t have happened and Echo, the rest of the clones, and Omega would’ve gotten out without all the extra bloodshed. You could say that ‘Hemlock wouldn’t have died then’ but eh I’m still not really convinced about that. Tarkin still would’ve shown up and probably taken away the funding and imprisoned or killed Hemlock. So. Idk. I certainly wanted them all in the finale but these three didn’t really do much other than get themselves captured and have to have a stand off on a bridge. (Quick side note that the shot of Crosshair and Hunter on the bridge is one of my favorite shots in the entire show and while I wish Wrecker had a bigger role in the show overall and the finale I do love when him and Echo get to team up. Just putting that out there.)

2) Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair never actually complete the arc that they have to not only go back to Tantiss just for Omega but for all of the clones. Sure, Hunter mentions rescuing the clones once somewhere in the last few episodes but it never actually feels like a completed arc where the batch learns to stop separating themselves from the ‘regs’. Actually, the clones imprisoned and tortured and experimented on save the batch and many of them die in the process. This doesn’t actually feel satisfying to me. It makes ‘The Calvary Has Arrived’ fall a little flat. The clones, who we already know are loyal and brave and willing to fight for each other, do just that! They do one of the things I love them for and I think it’s always commendable when it happens. But. I really think the batch’s overall arc and growth would’ve hit more effectively if they’d actually went in to save the clones and succeeded in freeing them instead of essentially mentioning caring about the other clones once and then needing to be saved by them.

I think it still could’ve worked if Wrecker, Crosshair, and Hunter were captured and the rest of the group came to rescue them! But only after those three stuck it out and truly cared about rescuing the other clones. That would’ve hit so. Hard. The mutual aid and rescue of each other to solidify that they are now all part of the same team, same community, and repair what was broken through this action. Without the action coming from the three people who have never showed loyalty to other clones it just kind of feels…. Fine? I guess?

Echo still ends up being the one to truly care about the fate of the clones and the batch still ends up really only focusing on each other. There’s no growth in this area other than a single line and that’s just not really enough in my book.

[hiraya-sa-dilim]

good omens s3 predictions

ye boy jc is a major character. he is west asian and a most wonderfully human Being

and fruity (there will be a joke about his luscious locks)

he doesn't want to do the second coming because of all the suffering it will cause (there will be dialog refering to the calvary and him not wanting anyone to go through the same thing he did), just as adam rejected armaggedon

there will be a scene of ye boi jc and adam (older and ocassional baysitter on roster with the them to anathema and newt's four children, the youngest of which is named agnes) delighting in eating apples under a tree with an old Dog

god face reveal

ye boy jc calls them Mother (he calls mary, who he likes much better, mom)

god is either the biggest bitch alive or is surprise-revealed to be the type the metatron will coup against

ye boy jc somehow gets wind of his archangel's 6k yr old dilemma and goes out of his way to do something about it instead of attending operation second coming logistic meetings

he officiates the ineffable husbands wedding in the finale himself, during which a nightingale sings at berkeley square. there will be extremists shitting themselves irl

weddingsinger!tori amos cameo

wedding band!queen cameo

god and satan are godparents somehow

SHADESLESS KISS SHADESLESS KISS TENDER SHADESLESS AZIRAPHALE-INITIATED KISS IN THE RAIN UNDER A METEOR SHOWER I WILL SHIT MYSELF IRL

aziraphale's one night only apology dance spectacular featuring the modern ladies of camelot and/or ms. sandwich's girls + the shopkeepers association + lower ranking angels + lower ranking demons + ineffable bureaucracy + madame tracey in a special role + what's left of the chattering order

hastur returns semi-majorly and gets one (1) badass moment with shax before being foiled yet again by a narrative in need of a laugh

eric gets the promotion they deserve

muriel gets the promotion they deserve (they get to stay/keep the bookshop)

crowley attempts suicide by holy water; earth friends stop him

crowley gets discorporated (azi already did in s1)

crowley fires a real gun

the plants wilt and crowley spends the whole season trying to revive them but they don't until he and aziraphale get back together. he almost throws them about but holds out until it seems like all hope is lost. he's in the process of throwing them out during The Reckoning

crowley moves into the bookshop. there will be a scene with aziraphale clearing out some prime spots for the plants

aziraphale sets the bookshop on fire to save crowley and/or earth friends

muriel names the bentley

AZIRAPHALE CROWLEY PVP

nina and maggie are ready for a relationship (i will cry)

one of aziraphale's first ordinances as archangel is to miraculously raise population interest in vinyl records

aziraphale v metatron face-off

aziraphale, crowley, and ye boy jc v god

aziraphale and crowley visit gabriel (still in sweaters and faux fur coats) and beelzebub (still punk) on separate occassions, and in both times are told to stop being idiots and get their shit together

aziraphale drives the bentley in crowley's prefered form at breakneck speed (possibly to save crowley at some point)

neil cameo

hillywood show cameo

more tumblr references/representation (the 'wait-and-see' dialog!! why is nobody talking about that?!)

crowley keeps off the first phases of the second coming but gets involved when his earth friends are put in danger

maggie is revealed to be Something Else Entirely

mr. shadwell and/or madam tracey die and go to heaven where they reunite with aziraphale and contribute to his shenaniganery and/or slap some sense into him

anansi boys cast cameo

american gods cast cameo

discworld adaptation announcement post credits

god and satan makeout sloppy style

...BEFORE airaphale and crowley

everything will be okay

[why-am-i-here-someone-save-me]

Hi hello yes.

I saw the post about dead characters reborn and how crepus adopted creator! Reader and my first thought was-

Oh shit Diluc and Kaeya are both (technically) the creators siblings now.

How do they react to this?

Three words.

Complete. System. Crash.

They’re beyond the point of just being confused, they’re both having a fundamental breakdown because how are they supposed to process this new information?!

Though they won’t ever have the same kind of close bond that they had before that fateful day, someone who really knew them would be able to testify that the two had been treating each other a bit more kindly.

It’s not perfect, but it’s something.

If it makes you happy, they’re willing to at least put in the effort to make things better.

They’ll almost certainly be a bit awkward and formal about it all at first, but if you treat them as though they really are your brothers, that won’t last long.

That may not be exactly always going to go in your favor though [Name]~! After all, Kaeya does have a tendency to tease, and after all he’s been through, Diluc can be a bit overprotective.

If you ever encounter anyone rude of unpleasant during your time in the Nation of Freedom, rest assured you won’t have to deal with them again. No no, their not dead, but a firm admonishment from the Calvary Capitan would have been persuasive enough, let alone the ominous letter slipped under the door under the cover of night signed by the Darknight Hero.

If you mention this in front of them, Kaeya will politely find an excuse to slip out and compose himself before returning to the conversation. He’s fine with a lot of things when it comes to you, but showing his embarrassed expression in front of Diluc? Not a chance.

Diluc on the other hand, has one of two responses, and the result is entirely random. Either he’ll turn away with a small huff and claim he has no idea what your referring to, or he’ll just avoid eye contact while blushing heavily.

All in all, they’ll just need a bit to open up to you is all.