#should also draw some like lineup with the steps

[punkranger]

i have so many ideas that i wanna draw but most of them require panels and while i've gotten more used to that i kinda just wanna work on one piece and have it done without any need for follow-up or repetition...

[sleepiest-otter]

FINALLY finished the lineup for Year 8 lets goooooooooo!

Character breakdown after the cut~

First, new Starclan cats that I didn’t draw and how they died.

Quailstar was captured by an eagle and never seen again. I have to assume she was eaten, tragically. A few months later, Whitebird was bitten by a venomous snake and succumbed to the venom; the same month, Indibreeze died of a broken bone he received fighting a badger. Finally, Daisytail died of complications of wasting disease. They were all pretty big hits.

Onto the living cats!

Dustystar (tom) is now the leader of Dandelionclan. He’s stepped into the role with surprising ease and I hope he’ll go ahead and have kits with Whisperleaf now.

Makini (tom) is now the deputy! I let the leaders pick the deputy, so I was a little surprised when he picked Makini, who is childish. That said, he’s well liked by his clanmates and has done a pretty good job! He and his mate, Nightfleck, should have mates, too.

Fallingarch and Whisperleaf (mollies) are basically like sisters. Whisperleaf viewed Quailstar as a surrogate mother and took her death hard. Fallingarch has matured since taking over the lead healer role and offered Whisperleaf plenty of comfort while she grieved. I love these two and I need DustyWhisper kits immediately please.

Frozendawn (tom) is strange and an excellent mediator. He’s still mute; his favorite way of mediating is dictating who can talk by putting his tail against the listening party’s muzzle. No talk, only hear.

Nightfleck (tom) had a pretty uneventful year aside from some illness. He and Makini are mates and I desperately want them to have kits. For a while, he did have deputy goals, but he’s getting up there in age.

Hazelholly (nonbinary) currently has yellowcough. Aside from that, he struggled with Whitebird’s death to the point of not leaving his nest. Frozendawn was actually the cat most frequently at their side as they recovered.

Bunnyfreckle (molly) is new! She’s playful and an excellent speaker. Dustystar invited her to join while on patrol. Aside from being a sweetheart, she hasn’t had time to do much. She’s the biggest cat in the clan at the moment.

Blossomshimmer (molly) was briefly kidnapped and returned with a spiked leather collar. If that doesn’t scream butch lesbian, I don’t know what does. She has a crush on Icyfade now, but she also gets along really well with Rabiah and Chasingdance too.

Pheasantcrest, Chasingdance, and Tawnyswipe (tom, molly, tom) were devastated by the loss of their mother. The threesome are now orphans, tragically. Chasingdance took it the hardest, but her brothers were always there offering her support. I love them. 

Rabiah (molly) had a pretty quiet year too. She’s absolutely a lesbian, though; she’s got a crush on Chasingdance, Icyfade, and Blossomshimmer and spends like no time with any toms. Just an angry gay baby.

Worm (molly) is new too! She’s confident and a good speaker who was found injured on the road. She’s a munchkin, though that’s hard too tell since she’s laying down. One of her legs is broken, so she hasn’t done much.

Timberfur (molly) is our last new cat. She’s responsible and a good fighter and literally just got here, so I don’t have much to tell you I’m afraid. She’s pretty tho.

Pigeonhop (molly) is childish and has a strong connection to Starclan. An outbreak of whitecough made her a brief healer for the clan, where she wondered if she made the right choice in being a warrior. When Whisperleaf recovered, though, she went back to her warrior duties.

Swishpatch and Eaglebark (molly and trans-molly) are loving life as elders. Swishpatch always has comments and jokes and Eaglebark is always there to chuckle at them. They’re an adorable old couple.

Voltagepatch (molly) spends most of her time eavesdropping on the clan. She has a decently good relationship with Icyfade.

Icyfade (molly) was forced to retire by Quailstar after her blind eye caused her to struggle on patrols. Her personality literally changed to cold when that happened. ;n; I might have Dustystar make her a mediator, which I just use as a general queen-mediator-camp warrior role. She’s got a crush on Blossomshimmer and seems to find comfort with Voltagepatch.

Aaaaaaaand that’s everyone! finally i can more to Year 9 ;v;

[newcricutmachine]

How to Use a Cricut Machine for Beginners?

Are you a beginner with a Cricut machine? This guide is specially dedicated to you all. Here, you will learn how to use a Cricut machine or how you can get started with a Cricut machine. You need to follow the steps carefully to use the machine properly. The Cricut machine comes with all the necessary supplies you need for the setup.

Also, the Cricut lineup is so vast that you may feel a little intimidated to use a Cricut machine. But every machine runs similarly with the help of Design Space, Cricut software, and electricity. So, no matter which machine you have, you need to start with it. We will make it easy for you through this guide. So, here we find out how to use a Cricut machine for beginners.

Cricut Machine: Introduction

A Cricut machine is a DIY cutting machine that provides you with a wide range of materials, such as paper, adhesive vinyl, card stock HTV, etc. You can use the Cricut machine for multiple things, like cutting, drawing, writing, scoring, engraving, and debossing. With the right use of the Cricut machine, you’ll easily utilize it in the best way possible.

How Does a Cricut Machine Work?

Well, you must be thinking about the workings of your Cricut machine. You can compare it with a printer, but the Cricut machine cuts a sheet of paper or vinyl instead of printing an image on paper.

There are various blades inserted in the Cricut machine, and you can see them moving on a carriage. They help in cutting the design you’ve selected. Different Cricut machines use different sets of blades. Hence, each Cricut machine will be used for a different purpose.

Which Cricut Machine Should You Consider?

There are many Cricut machines under the Cricut lineup, like Cricut Explore 3, Cricut Joy, and Cricut Maker 3. All these are the latest machines. However, Cricut also manufactures heat presses. But we’ll emphasize only the cutting machines for now.

Cricut Explore 3

This is one of the brilliant machines in the Cricut lineup. You can cut various different materials and make hundreds of different projects out of them.

Cricut Maker 3

This is another powerful Cricut machine that allows you to cut a wide range of materials, like thick materials such as balsa wood. Also, it is compatible with some other tools like scoring wheels, rotary blades, and knife blades.

Cricut Joy

This is the tiniest Cricut machine, which is portable too. You can set it up easily on your mobile phone or desktop. All the Cricut machines can cut a variety of materials, from vinyl to cardstock.

How to Use a Cricut Machine for Beginners?

When you have a Cricut machine, your first priority is to set it up with the right methods and then take a test cut. You also need to create a free Cricut ID account and install Design Space on your computer. After all this, you’ll be all set to make your first project. Here are the simplified steps for making a first project.

Unbox your Cricut machine and check for all the necessary accessories inside.

Then, plug your Cricut machine into a power source and turn it on.

Connect your Cricut machine to your device, like a desktop or smartphone.

Install the Cricut Design Space on your device.

Now, select a design from the Design Space or upload your own design.

After that, choose your cutting material and fix it on your cutting mat to secure it in place during the cutting process.

Then, press the Load button to insert it into your machine.

Choose the right material settings in the Cricut Design Space. Also, send your desired design to your Cricut machine.

Next, tap the flashing button on your machine to continue cutting.

Once the cutting is done, take off the Cricut mat from your machine and also the material from the mat.

These are the steps to use a new Cricut machine. Now, let’s see what projects you can make with your Cricut machine.

What Can You Make With Cricut Machine?

As the Cricut machine is versatile, it allows you to do multiple projects. Since you’re a beginner, we will tell you some of the easy projects to start with your Cricut machine. Let’s take a look.

Iron-on T-shirts

Stencils

Vinyl decals for windows

Greeting cards or invitation cards

Leather earrings

Bracelet

Customised mug or tumbler

So, these are some of the simple things you can start crafting with.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you understand how to use a Cricut machine for beginners. The Cricut machines are incredible and deliver some of the best features to design a perfect project. You can choose a machine from the wide range of Cricut machines. Hence, you have the full flexibility to use a machine according to your needs. Don’t forget to install the Design Space to upload your designs or use the premade designs from the Design Space. All beginners may be happy to know how simple it is to use a Cricut machine. And now, they can get started with their Cricut machines and start making stuff.

Source :-  How to Use a Cricut Machine for Beginners?

[cricutmachinemaker]

How to Use Cricut Maker 3? [Step-by-step Guide]

Cricut Maker 3 is a brilliant machine from the Cricut lineup. It has incredible features that all users will love. Also, it’s better than its predecessor in terms of cutting pressure and results. If you are a crafter and love making something unique, Maker 3 could be a nice addition to your crafting journey. If you don’t know its uses, you may find trouble in making anything with it. So, here is the guide you need to use your Cricut Maker 3. So, let’s learn how to use Cricut Maker 3.

Cricut Maker 3: Inside the Box

You know how versatile and amazing the Cricut Maker machine is. Now, you should learn what is inside the Maker 3 box. So, when you buy this new machine, you have some accessories you get.

These are some of the accessories you’ll receive inside the Cricut Maker 3 box:

Users must note that this new machine doesn’t include rotary blades and two mats like the original Cricut Maker. The reason is that it promotes matless cutting, and you will have to buy those things separately.

How to Use Cricut Maker 3 Machine?

Before you start using your Cricut Maker 3 machine, you need to set it up with the right methods. Like the other Cricut machines, it also needs Cricut Design Space installed to get started. Let’s learn the complete process in simple steps.

Step 1: Install Your Cricut Maker 3

The first thing you need to do is to install your Cricut Maker 3 on a smooth and comfortable surface. Luckily, this machine is silent, and hence, you will not have any issues with its setup. Unpack your machine, and check if it has all the necessary items.

Step 2: Update the Firmware

Once you have installed the machine and you’re done with the unboxing, it’s time to update the firmware. You’ll need an internet connection to do this. So, connect your Cricut machine to the computer via USB. Then, follow the given steps.

You’ve completed the firmware update. Then, you need to collect all the important items and start with Maker 3.

Step 3: Select the Right Tools

As you know, Maker 3 has some specific tools to use. It has separate blades for cutting delicate and hard materials. So, you need to pick one tool according to your project type. For instance, use Cricut Pens to draw, and for cutting, use Cricut blades. You may not be able to

use the other Cricut accessories with the Maker 3. Hence, be very specific about your tools.

Step 4: Get Ready for Your First Cut

Once you have selected the right materials or tools, you have to insert your Cricut cutting mat into the Cricut machine. Then, remove the mat cover and insert it into the Maker 3 machine. Then, insert your material on your cutting mat and adjust the material so that it doesn’t move.

Now, load the mat and material into your Cricut machine. Plus, ensure that you have used the correct tools, and then your machine will start cutting your material according to the directions.

Step 5: Take off the Excess Material

When you’re done with cutting, the final project may not be polished. The leftovers may remain on your final cut. So, to take them off, you need to use a weeding tool, or you can use your hands too. To not put too much strain on your eyes, you can use a Cricut BrightPad, which will help you to take off the leftover material from your final cut.

But it’s not necessary to buy a BrightPad unless you are a professional crafter. You can use a weeding tool or your hands to pick out the leftovers.

Step 6: Get Ready With Your Project

Once you weed out the material, you can start with your first project. Also, you can use your Cricut heat press to prepare a customized T-shirt or something you want. Vinyl is a common material people use with the Cricut machine. You can cut the vinyl into the expected shape or size and design anything you want.

How is Cricut Maker 3 Different From the Original Cricut Maker?

The new Maker 3 offers you with high-quality features and 2 times faster cutting. Also, with the allowance for Smart materials, it lets you work matless. It comes with the ability to cut 20.22 cm per second. With this new machine, you can complete your project in one pass with a cutting ability of 3.64 meters of material. So, the Cricut Maker 3 is only different in terms of having the Smart materials capability than the original Maker. Also, it is faster and more efficient than the original Maker.

Conclusion

Now, you know how to use Cricut Maker 3. This machine is a new addition to the Cricut family, along with several interesting features. This machine is pretty nice and includes everything you need. To use this machine, you have to set it up. Start by unboxing the machine and then update the firmware and use the compatible tools for your Maker 3 machine. Then, start your first cut with any material of your choice. You can use a Cricut heat press to create a personalized craft.

Visit: cricut.com/setup

cricut.com/setup

Source: https://cricutdesignncut.blogspot.com/2023/10/how-to-use-cricut-maker-3-step-by-step.html

[nahastricks]

Amd firepro w4100 gaming

#Amd firepro w4100 gaming full size#

#Amd firepro w4100 gaming upgrade#

#Amd firepro w4100 gaming pro#

#Amd firepro w4100 gaming professional#

#Amd firepro w4100 gaming series#

However with lower performance and half the VRAM, it’s decidedly a mid-range card and AMD treats it as such.

#Amd firepro w4100 gaming full size#

Speaking of which, with 4 full size DisplayPorts the W5100 has the same 4K display driving capabilities as the W7100.

#Amd firepro w4100 gaming upgrade#

Consequently the biggest upgrade will be found in memory bound scenarios, otherwise the W5100’s greatest improvements would be from its GCN 1.1 lineage. Compute performance is only slightly improved – from 1.28 TFLOPS to 1.4 TFLOPS – and memory bandwidth has actually gone regressed slightly from 102GB/sec. Feeding W5100 is 4GB of VRAM attached to a 128-bit memory bus and clocked at 6GHz.Ĭompared to the outgoing W5000 the W5100 gains the usual VRAM capacity upgrades that the rest of the Wx100 cards have seen, while the other specifications are a mixed bag on paper. It is clocked at approximately 910MHz, which puts its compute performance at 1.4 TFLOPS for single precision. In terms of specifications, the W5100 utilizes a slightly cut-down version of Bonaire with 768 SPs active. W5100 replaces the outgoing W5000, which was a heavily cut-down Pitcairn part. This part is based on AMD’s Bonaire GPU, a GCN 1.1 GPU that has been in AMD’s portfolio for over a year now but has not made it into a FirePro part until now. The second card being introduced today is the W5100. AMD is primarily targeting the engineering and media markets with the W7100, as its compute performance and 8GB of VRAM should be enough for most engineering workloads, or alternatively its VRAM capacity and ability to drive 4 4K displays makes it a good fit for 4K video manipulation. In AMD’s product stack the W7100 is designed be a budget alternative to the W9100 and W8100, offering reduced performance but at a much lower cost. And because it gets AMD's newest GCN display controller, W7100 is particularly well suited for 4K displays, being able to drive 3 displays or 4 4K displays if some operate at 30Hz. Like the W7000 before it, the W7100 is equipped with 4 full size DisplayPorts, allowing for a relatively large number of monitors to be used with the card. 1280), but without clockspeeds we can’t say for sure. Overall compute/rendering performance should also greatly be increased due to the much larger number of stream processors (1792 vs. Along with the doubling W7000’s memory from 4GB to 8GB, the Tonga GPU in W7100 inherits Hawaii’s wider geometry front-end, allowing W7100 to process 4 triangles/clock versus W7000’s 2 tris/clock. The W7100 is designed to be a significant step up compared to the outgoing W7000. Coupled with that is 8GB of GDDR5 clocked at 5GHz sitting on a 256-bit memory bus. However while AMD is announcing the W7100 today they are not disclosing any additional information on Tonga, so while we can draw some basic conclusions from W7100’s specifications a complete breakdown of this new GPU will have to wait for another day.įrom a specification point of view AMD is not disclosing the GPU clockspeed or offering any floating point throughput performance numbers, but we do know that W7100 will feature 1792 stream processors. Named Tonga, this new GPU is a smaller, lower performance part that slots in under the Hawaii GPU used in the W9100 and W8100. Whereas the previous-generation W7000 was based on a second-tier version of AMD’s venerable Tahiti GPU, the W7100 gets a brand new GPU entirely, one that we haven’t seen before. Starting at the top, from a technical perspective the W7100 is the most interesting of the new FirePro cards.

#Amd firepro w4100 gaming series#

With a handful of exceptions, the bulk of these upgrades are straightforward, focused on making AMD’s entire FirePro lineup 4K capable, improving performance across the board, and doubling the amount of VRAM compared to the past generation to allow for larger data sets to be used.ĪMD FirePro W Series Specification Comparison These parts are based on a range of AMD GPUs – including Tonga, a new GPU that has yet to show up in any other AMD products – and are designed to the sub-$2500 market segment that the current W8100 tops out at.

#Amd firepro w4100 gaming pro#

As part of the company’s gradual FirePro refresh that began with the W9100 in April and followed by W8100 in June, today AMD is gearing up to refresh the rest of their FirePro lineup with new products for the mid-range and low-end segments of the pro graphics market.īeing announced today are the FirePro W7100, W5100, W4100, and W2100.

#Amd firepro w4100 gaming professional#

Kicking off a busy day for professional graphics, AMD is first up to announce that they will be launching a quartet of new FirePro cards.

[eug3n362]

Over the summer, we began to see society get back to pre-pandemic times, some of our favorite events and festivals making a return! As Black people navigate returning to some sort of normalcy, we’re always on the look out for ways to celebrate Black joy. What better way to do that than attending a festival? We can gather, celebrate Black culture, and be unapologetically ourselves. There’s all types of events that we hope to attend locally or nationwide each year, such as Pittsburgh’s Soulful Taste that’s meant to celebrate local Black food eateries, or Pharrell’s Something In The Water (SITW) music festival. Here’s seven other Black festivals you should attend at least once, courtesy of Melanin Is Life: Broccoli City Festival:  Washington, D.C’s own Broccoli City Festival was started in 2013 by four friends who wanted to positively impact their community. Through music and food, they aim to spread awareness on environmental justice and sustainability, economic sustainability, culture, access to quality food and shelter, and education in underserved communities. They also saw the festival as just a fun way to bring attention to Earth Day! After two years of COVID-19 cancellations, the concert that draws in thousands of people made a return this past May with a lineup that included Ari Lennox, Masego, Wale, Tems, and more. Other events are hosted throughout the weekend, such as a city 5K marathon...

[volkshore]

sinnoh league headcanons

these hc’s are very centric to my favourite characters so i apologize if most of them only revolve around a few characters (volkner, flint, cynthia, maylene, candice, dawn, lucas).

byron and volkner smoke and the rest of the league hate it. cynthia, maylene, and gardenia, being the biggest advocates for health and the environment in the league, constantly admonish them for it and pull the craziest things to try to get them to stop.

flint and volkner once stayed in the hotel grand lake together (the hotel near valor lakefront, renown as a honeymoon location for couples) and the tabloids caught wind of it, sparking an extreme amount of dating rumours. they still haven’t heard the end of it from the rest of the league.

the elite four all get along surprisingly well for the wide range of ages. flint and aaron occasionally butt heads due to their forward and loud personalities clashing, but bertha talks them down and lucian keeps them sane. the four of them together make quite the unconventional, tight-knit group.

candice and volkner act like brother and sister. they bond over their seclusion (geographically) from the other leaders and their love for complex puzzles, as well as their intense best friends (maylene and flint). their personalities mesh really well and they always protect each other from media rumours and general hate.

the last three gym leaders (byron, candice and volkner) tend to spend more time with the elite four than they do the other gym leaders (though they’re still very close with the others).

the gym leaders, elite four and champion are the closest sinnoh have to any real celebrities, and therefore they attract the most media attention. articles such as “volkner being the problematic gym leader for 5 minutes straight” and “10 times maylene turned a public meeting into a motivational speech” definitely exist.

maylene has a popular tiktok account and she always forces the other leaders to make videos with her.

dawn and lucas are like the adopted children of the league. they always make time to visit the leader of the cities they travel to and make occasional appearances at the battleground when the league decides to meet up there.

flint and volkner have especially taken to dawn and lucas and are the ones they visit most often. they jokingly refer to them as their dads — flint and volkner don’t mind.

even after dawn/lucas beat the league, cynthia stays on as the figurehead champion who takes care of the league’s affairs. dawn and lucas are still young and have so much more of the world to learn and explore before they deal with anything that stressful, though they do take the battles of the occasional challengers.

the sinnoh gym challenge isn’t taken on my many people which leaves the league with a lot of down time, and this is why they’re all so close. only they can empathize with each other regarding the leader experience and the league are the only family that some of them have.

though their most popular hangout spot is the battleground, a lot of the time, they also meet up at someone’s gym/the league building. having so many eyes on you can get exhausting, and they use these hangouts at more protected areas to just be themselves with the people they trust.

during the time of team galactic’s terror, the league often held meetings that turned into group therapy sessions. for the first few hours, they would intensively analyze team galactics actions, movements, and possible motives, but once their energy tanked and the sun went down, most of them would end up lying on the table or floor and they would lay out all of their insecurities to each other. they would often talk about how worried they were that cyrus’ plan would succeed if they weren’t strong enough, or if the region could tell how little control they had over the situation.

i don’t have hc ages for all of them, but here are some:

— cynthia: mid/late 20’s (27?)

— volkner & flint: 24

— candice: 21

— maylene: 20

— aaron: 19

— dawn & lucas: 16

(i know that pokemon has the consistent theme of their mc’s being 10-12, but i just never saw that as viable with the level of maturity needed to go through the situations that they do. read: this is my hc list and i do what i want)

most of the leaders are quite young and i figure that’s why i hc that they all get along so well. bertha, byron, and fantina are the only ones left from the previous lineup of leaders.

this is kind of a big one, but i hc that cyrus was the previous champion of sinnoh. he was very power-hungry and put way too much pressure on the gym leaders / elite four to perform at their highest capacity. it was a huge breath of relief for the whole region when cynthia beat him.

the previous generation of gym leaders / elite four all stepped down from their positions around the same time (within a few years of each other). much like the current lineup, they were all very close, and just couldn’t keep up when the new leaders stared to take on their positions. all of the current leaders are very forward-thinking and fast on their feet while the previous generation still carried the burdens of the league under cyrus’ rule, and decided it was time to let them take the lead.

bertha, byron and fantina all have their own reasons for staying.

bertha: she’s nearing retirement anyway and wanted to see the league be something good before she stepped down. all she knew was cyrus’ rule, and she wanted to end her career on a good note with some years under cynthia.

byron: he decided to stay because of roark getting the leadership position in oreburgh. roark always tells his dad that he shouldn’t stay just for him, but byron does still very much enjoy being a leader, so he stayed for that, too.

fantina: she’s still young and has a huge passion for battling. as close as she was with the past leaders, she still has so many years of her career ahead of her and found it easy to fit in with the new leaders. she also figured that someone with past experience that the younger leaders could relate to should stick around in case any of them needed guidance (being in the middle of sinnoh also helps for visitations sake)

even though dawn and lucas are still very young, they’re wise beyond their years. they’re both extremely empathetic and very good at picking up on other peoples emotions, so when the leaders are feeling off or down, they’re always the first ones to be able to notice what’s wrong and give good advice.

all the leaders feel extremely indebted to lucas and dawn, but all they ever ask for is friends in the leaders and a place to stay when they visit every once in a while.

the league always have a yearly vacation together with each other. it’s chaotic, competitive, and always ends up drawing media attention and making headlines for something crazy that happens during the trip, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.

i’ll stop this list here for now, and i’ll compile all the ones i think of from here on out into a part 2! this headcanon list also gave me the idea to make fake social media profiles for the league, so stay tuned for that coming in the future.

[justsassysworld]

I.H.N.F.T.

Inspired by this post by @obsessive-ego and @saucymangos .

You're just trying to enjoy a peaceful Friday night, but someone else has other plans.

Invisible!Beej x Reader

I tried to keep it gender neutral, so please let me know how I did.

Oral sex, penetrative sex, surprise sex.

I. H. N, F. T

An average Friday night sees you relaxing on the couch, chest down, legs kicking while you kill time. There's a random show up on the tv, you're in some comfy lounging clothes, and you're loving the peace.

A small noise has you looking over your shoulder. It sounded like someone just stepped on a creaky spot, but when you turn to see, there's nothing. Tingles run down your back as a spike of fear shoots through you.

Shaking your head, you refuse to let your mind go down that path. Your doors and windows are locked. This isn't a horror movie. Buildings settle.

Your attention moves back to what you're doing, though the hairs on the back of your neck refuse to settle down.

As the time passes, you settle back down. Your eyes grow heavy, head harder to hold up.

What feels like moments later, you jerk up. Checking your phone, you see it's well after midnight.

Confused, you wonder what woke you, when a heavy force hits your back, forcing your chest into the cushion. You let out a startled squeak. Your hips are yanked up, bottoms and panties pulled off before you can even think to fight back.

"Ah, ah, ah," a dark voice growls from behind you. "Don't bother fightin', breather. You ain't going anywhere before I've had my fill."

Firm palms crack against both ass cheeks, before pulling them apart. The unseen person stares for a moment before you feel a tongue and fingers start to explore.

Moans and squeals are muffled. Your hips jerk, to get closer or a way, you're not sure.

A finger circles your hole as the tongue and mouth lift, suckle, and nip at your most sensitive spots.

"Oh god," you groan into your couch as you're fighting against the pleasure.

"No god here, babe," he growls against you. "This is all me."

The finger he's been using to tease your entrance disappears, only to return a moment later, slicked with his saliva. Instead of a circling tease, there's a probing pressure, before you feel him breach.

At the same time, he doubles the suction at your most sensitive spot. There's no more fighting as the pleasure crashes over you. Your body shudders and shakes as you come, and you notice his grip soften.

Moving quickly, you jerk your hips away, his finger slipping out as you tumble from your couch.

You stumble a few steps before you turn, your back hitting the wall, as you search for your surprise orgasm giver, but no one's there.

"What the?" you whisper.

Before you can figure out what to do, your shirt is shredded down the front as your hands are pinned to the wall.

Your mouth opens in shock right as another one slants over yours, the tongue that played with you earlier now dueling with yours. He has his tongue halfway down your throat, but you still just see your living room.

Shutting your eyes, you surrender.

As suddenly as it slammed onto yours, the mouth is gone. It glides down your neck, stopping to nibble at your collarbone. He draws a wide spiral around your nipple, making you anticipate his next action.

Unable to help yourself, you find yourself watching. Following his movement, a line glistens on your skin.

As you see both his spiral and your bud tighten, he disappears for a moment before something hot and wet latches on to your other nipple. A gasp of shock, and pleasure escapes as you watch your nipple twist and pull, seemingly on its own.

Your attention held elsewhere, you're caught completely off guard when your legs are hoisted up and spread, a thick appendage rubbing and thrusting against you.

He pulls back slightly before you feel the head lineup. "Get ready, my sexy fucking breather," the voice purrs against your ear. "I'm about to rock your fucking world."

With that, he starts thrusting inside you, going-achingly slow, letting you adjust, feel every bump and ridge. Your hips try to thrust, to speed him up, but he stubbornly refuses.

Forfar too long, he teases you with his cock, setting a pace that's just fast enough to build you up, but its not enough to allow another orgasm.

Without conscience thought, you hear yourself mutter, "Please, please, please, please."

Unable to see him, you can't see his reaction, but you know your pleading is getting to him as he picks up his pace. You feel a hand slip between your bodies before you feel him start to play again, stroking you perfectly for your orgasm to start building in earnest.

As he grows more irratic, you start seeing him almost shimmering into existance, almost like a mirage.

The first thing you notice is his bright fuscia hair, then you catch the gleam of his fangs, before your eyes slam shut as your orgasm chrests. Beetlejuice lets out a tremendous growl as you dench around him.

The fangs you had just noticed are buried in your neck as he roars out his climax, his cum shooting deep inside you.

Your hands fall to his hair as your ragged breathing mixes. In an instant the hard wall at your back is replaced by the softness of your bed and you feel the amazing weight of your undead boyfriend against you.

Not only did he effectively get you to bed, he also cleaned you when he did, letting you relax for a moment and process.

"Was that good for you?" he asks, sounding much softer and more like himself.

"Fuck yeah!" is your immediate response before you turn and capture his lips, pouring all your love into the embrace. "You were and are absolutely perfect."

His hair seems to glow in the darkness, showing you his contentment. "So, should we add I. H. N. F. T. to our routine?" he asks.

"I. H. N. F. T.?" you shoot back, brows wrinkled.

"You know, Invisible Happy Naked Fun Time."

A chuckle escapes you, and all you can say is, "God, I love you."

[marvelousstevetony]

If you’re still taking prompts can you do “mission in the rain” for stony with sick steve?

I’m going to apologize in advance, anon, for being so late to answer this, and also for how... not great this is. Tbh, this is a mess, but I’ll post it anyway🥲

Thank you for the prompt, though! Hopefully I’ll get back into the flow of writing soon!

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

“See this,” Tony starts, “this is why I don’t trust Fury.” He’s stomping the ground like a petulant child, arms folded over his chest even though he’s wearing the armour, illustrating just how sulky he is. In addition, the glare he’s sporting almost makes Clint’s arrows seem harmless, and Steve can hear the sharpness in his voice, even over the loud drumming of the rain.

“Tony—“

“I mean,” Steve is interrupted before he has to say anything else, “this was supposed to be easy. Get in quickly, then get the hell out even faster.”

Steve sighs. It’s not like he’s disagreeing with Tony, no, quite the opposite actually. But moping never does any good, so Steve takes a deep breath and continues walking.

Tony is right, though, he thinks. Although Fury hadn’t presented them with a lot of details about the Hydra facility, he had told them that it had recently been abandoned and that all they’d have to do was look it over and hopefully gather information about their new base.

Turns out it wasn’t abandoned, and as soon Tony and Steve had entered the building, they’d been ambushed. Tony had already started cursing Fury when he took out the first Hydra agent, and though none of the agents were particular great fighters (compared to Iron Man and Captain America), there’d been a lot of them.

They’d taken all of them out, but definitely not as easily as if there’d been more than the two of them. ‘That won’t be necessary,’ Fury had said. He might’ve changed his mind if he had known Tony would leave the facility with a malfunctioning armour and no way for them to get away. The car they’d driven there in had been blown up pretty quickly, just like the rest of all the vehicles.

As soon as they’d finished the group of assassins off they’d contacted Fury and the team, but they were a few hours out. The Hydra agents had called for reinforcement when they realized they were losing, but the two Avengers had escaped before a new lineup showed up. There’s no chance of going back, though, and with no other choice, they’d set off on foot.

And that’s how the two of them ended up in the middle of nowhere during one of the worst rainstorms Steve can recall since waking up in the 21st century.

Tony huffs exasperatedly, and steps in a puddle with great force so it splashes.

“They’ll b-be here s-soon,” Steve says, teeth clattering. He’s trying to stay optimistic, but it’s hard, especially with the severe pounding in his head and the full-body chills.

“Yeah, right,” Tony grumbles. “They probably stopped for donuts on their way… Are you cold?” He asks when Steve shivers violently next to him.

“N-no,” Steve replies, but even to him, it sounds unbelievable.

Tony snorts, but he’s tired and his body is achy all over. He doesn’t have the energy to call Steve out on his shit this time, so they continue walking in silence, the only sounds coming from the heavy rain, Steve’s teeth rattling and Tony’s puffs of air from keeping up with Steve’s pace.

At some point, they reach a road on the edge of a forest where Tony’s almost certain that Hydra wouldn’t find them. He just wants to sit down, if only for a few minutes. The suit’s not too heavy, but it’s broken and there’s nothing to lighten the weight, so after walking for miles, Tony could use a break.

From the looks of it, Steve could too. His posture is sloppy, shoulders hunched forward, head ducking low as if to avoid the rain hitting him in the face.

Coming to think of it, Tony’s happy for the suit, despite the slightly increased weight. Although he isn’t wearing the helmet, it keeps his body dry, and that… that can’t be said about Steve’s uniform. The red, white, and blue suit is drenched all the way through. The colors are darker than normal, and it clung even tighter to Steve than it usually does. Tony wonders why it isn’t waterproof, or at least somewhat water-resistant. On the other hand, maybe it is and is simply not able to compete with the tempestuous downpour.

“Don’t you think it’s time for break?” Tony asks, and Steve casts him a questioning glance. “Hydra wouldn’t find us in there,” Tony says and nods at the forest.

Steve looks like he might just argue and say that they should just continue walking. But then he eyes the woodland and sighs. “You’re r-right,” he stammers. “I g-guess there’s n-no real reason to k-keep walking. They’ll f-find us s-soon.”

They settle beneath a tree with large leaves, somewhat shielding them from the rain. Not that it really matters, Steve’s soaked anyway.

They both let out a relieved noise when they slump back against the trunk of the tree, and Steve takes off his cowl, revealing a blond mop of hair that’s just as wet as the rest of him.

They catch their breath for a few minutes, and Tony’s almost starting to relax a bit. Next to him though, Steve’s entire body shudders. He curls into a ball, hugging his knees close to his chest, jaw visibly shaking.

“You can’t seriously tell me you’re not freezing, Steve,” Tony says, but it soft and in no way mocking.

“I’m okay,” Steve forces through clenched teeth. “They’ll b-be here snf! s-s-soon.”

Sighing, Tony rests his head back against the tree, letting his eyes slip shut. He could probably fall asleep, had it not been for the raindrops that hits him right on his closed eyelid every once in a while, making him flinch.

Steve, on the other hand, definitely isn’t on the verge of dropping off. When Tony cracks an eye open to look at him, he’s still trembling violently, but now he’s also scrubbing at his nose and eyes, and at one point he’s overtaken by a harsh coughing fit that leaves him gasping for air.

Tony frowns at him with questioning eyes. Steve either doesn’t understand that Tony was trying to wordlessly ask him if he was okay, or else he just doesn’t want to answer, because as soon as he catching a glimpse of Tony’s face, he looks away and leans forward to rest his forehead on his knees.

Tony, who lost all sense of time long ago, doesn’t know how long they sit like that before he hears the reassuring sound of the Quinjet. When they get on board, Fury and Hill are there, alongside Natasha, who greets them with a sympathetic smile that somehow still manages to be very smirk-like.

“Damn, Steve, you look like a drowned rat,” she states, and it’s not like either of them can argue with that; he’s dripping, leaving puddles after him everywhere he goes, and his hair is clinging to his face like a leech. “There’s spare clothes in the back,” she says and throws a thumb over her shoulder. Steve mumbles a quiet thanks as he leaves, his boots making squeaky noises whenever he takes a step.

By now, Tony’s stepped out of the suit, which, despite its broken parts, kept him surprisingly dry. He winces, however, at how much time he’d spent on upgrading it, only for it to be destroyed a couple of days later. Oh well, he thinks then. It’s not like he doesn’t like having an excuse to work in the lab for a few extra hours.

Although he’s not wet, and not particularly cold wither, Nat offers him a blanket, which he wraps around his shoulders. “He’s really quiet today,” she mumbles as she casts a glance over her shoulder.

Tony hums in agreement. “He’s tired. So am I.”

“That’s reasonable, I guess.” Nat offers a small smile, but her face falls, eyebrows twisting into a frown, as soon they hear the sound of Steve’s gravelly, throat-scraping coughs from the back of the Quinjet. “He seems a little more than just tired, though.”

“Probably,” Tony concurs when Steve comes into sight, now clad in a dry pair of sweats and a Stark Industries hoodie. His hair is still drenched, though, and his for all that Steve’s face is concernedly pale, his cheeks are still flushed from the cold. He’s dragging his feet towards them, slowly, with his shoulders hunched, and Tony think that he must be every bit as exhausted as he looks. “You okay?”

Steve draws in a long breath. Tony waits to hear him say that he’s fine, just like he always does, but when all Steve does is sigh heavily, Tony is immediately alarmed.

Even though it’s nearly imperceptible, Tony does notice, of course he does, that Steve is swaying slightly as he takes the final steps towards them. Ocean blue eyes are unfocused when Tony searches for them with his own, looking glazed over and weary.

Natasha moves nervously when Steve still hasn’t answered and shoots Tony a look. “Steve?” she prompts, and Steve snaps his head to the side to looks at her, but he instantly squeezes his eyes shut as his breath catches.

“Okay,” Tony says, getting to his feet. “You should sit down.” Placing his hands on Steve’s elbows, he guides the blonde to a seat and sits down in the one next to him. Natasha is quickly at his other side and rests a delicate hand of his shoulder.

“So… definitely not okay,” she concludes.

“Sorry,” Steve murmurs, jaw tight. “I-I don’t… I just got dizzy for a minute there. I’m sorry, I think I’m okay now.” Despite saying that he’s okay, his voice is distant, and he still hasn’t opened his eyes.

Tony can feel the tension in his body as he put a hand on Steve’s back, and just moments later, he senses the way Steve is trembling. “Shit, Steve, you’re shaking!” Tony gasps, and if to prove him right, Steve gives a full-body shudder.

Natasha cups the super-soldier’s face and grimaces as she touches the scalding cheeks. “He’s burning up,” she announces, directing the words at Tony, who is now also cradling Steve’s face.

The difference in temperature must feel heavenly to Steve, because he melts into the touch and lets out a sound that’s somewhere between a sigh and a moan.

“Damn,” Tony mutters under his breath. “Guy’s hotter than the sun, in more than one way.” Natasha rolls her eyes, and Tony smirks slightly at her dismay. “Jarvis, give me a rundown of Cap here, please.”

“Certainly, sir,” comes the British accent. “Captain Rogers is currently running a temperature of 103.7 and climbing. Additionally, I detect an inflammation of the respiratory passages. Although I am not programmed to be medically enlightened, I believe Captain Rogers is showing symptoms of influenza.”

“We need to get his fever down,” Natasha says and Tony gives a stiff nod. “I doubt we have anything on the jet that’ll help, but I’ll get him some water.”

Tony nods again, then sighs when he turns back to Steve who is still pressing in face into Tony’s palm, eyes closed and mouth hanging slightly open. He’s also still shaking like a leaf, huddled in on himself with his knees hugged tightly to his chest.

“Steve?” Tony says softly, brushing his thumb over a cut on Steve’s cheek. He gets no response. “Steve, you with me?” He tries again.

Steve opens his eyes slowly and looks at Tony. His are glassy, face is pinched in discomfort, and he looks like he needs about forty-eight hours of sleeps, but at least he isn’t unconscious, Tony thinks.

“Hey, sunshine” the brunette whispers and forces a smile, smoothing a hand over Steve’s hair.

Steve must detect the worry, because he suddenly looks so sad and, in a way, guilty. “I’m sorry,” he croaks. “I’m… I—"

“Shhh… Don’t be sorry, honey. We’re home soon, okay? Then we’ll get you feeling better.”

Steve is looking directly at him with a confused expression, like he didn’t hear a word Tony just said, when Natasha reappears behind Tony with a bottle in her hand.

“How is he?” She asks, sitting down and unscrewing the cap as she holds out the bottle for Steve to take. He eyes it for a couple of seconds, then accepts it with sluggish, shaky movements and brings it to his dry, cracked lips.

“He’s completely out of it,” Tony sighs, and when Steve doesn’t object, Tony figures it’s as much of a confirmation as he’s gonna get.

Natasha, who is known to be the most stoic Avenger, is now decidedly worried. Her mouth is a straight line, and the crease between her brows is deeper than Tony has ever seen it. “Steve,” she says softly. When he lifts his head slightly, she gives him a small smile and brushes a stray strand of hair away from his forehead. “Hey there, soldier.”

Steve’s lips curl just enough to make the weak smile visible. “Hey… I’m—“ Suddenly, Steve is taken over by a harsh, throat-scraping coughing fit that leaves him gasping for air and clutching his chest. “Sorry.”

Tony rubs a comforting hand up and down Steve’s spine as he regains composure. Natasha just shakes her head at him and says, “It’s okay… How long have you been feeling like this?”

“I… I’m not sure. Not long,” he adds when both Natasha and Tony sigh. “I snf! I was fine during the m-mission, but then it just hit me all at once.”

“Definitely the flu, then,” Natasha confirms. “I guess you’re on super-sick-super-soldier duty tonight, Stark.”

“Yeah, I think this one is in desperate need of some TLC,” Tony says, shuffling closer to Steve to let him rest his head against his shoulder. Steve settles in close, his warm breath tickling on Tony’s neck as he lets out a tired yet please sigh. His eyes have slipped shut again, and his body is slowly going slack against Tony’s, melting into the caring hold. “I don’t mind, though,” he mumbles into Steve’s damp hair and places a gentle kiss in there, too.

Natasha smiles fondly at them; cuddled up in the small seats, Steve’s larger body curled into a ball with all his weight against Tony. “I’ll handle debrief,” she says, and Tony’s expression softens immediately with gratitude. “You focus on getting that one,” she looks at Steve, “back to full health.”

“I’ll get him feeling better,” Tony assures her, looks down at Steve whose breath has evened out, and smiles warmly as he kisses Steve’s temple.

[pleaserelaxfc]

Pregame: KC vs. Gotham (October 22)

Background and Momentum:

KC:

Injury Report: Out - Listro, Logarzo, Ship; International Duty - Bowen, Corsie, Franch, Larroquette, V. Pickett, Scott, Silva

Although KC has been eliminated from playoff contention, they seem to be finding their stride a bit, playing Chicago close in their game last weekend, and defeating the Dash pretty soundly the week before. If they win against Gotham tonight, they could keep the hope of ending the season not in dead last alive. However, that will be a bit of a challenge for them, with a significant portion of their lineup out on international duty.

Gotham:

Injury Report: International Duty - Johnson, Lloyd, Sheridan, Viens

Gotham has not lost since August, and they have won three of their four games since the international break (not coincidentally, those are the only four games they have played since Margaret Purce returned to the lineup). They picked up a solid win against the Courage last weekend, and kept a clean sheet.

Gotham has looked very much like a contender over the last few weeks, despite a dip in form during the summer, and a win tonight would clinch their position in the playoffs (they are already guaranteed to finish ahead of KC, Louisville, and the Pride, and a win would guarantee that they at least tie any of the Dash, the Courage, and the Red Stars - they hold the head-to-head tiebreak against each of them).

Head-to-Head:

This is the second and final meeting between these two teams. Their prior meeting ended in a 1-1 draw.

Predictions:

Scoreline: Gotham Win, 3-1

KC XI (4-4-2):

GK: Rowland

4: Weber, Edmonds, Ball, K. Pickett

4: Vincent, Mace, Labonta, McCain

2: Jenkins, Hamilton

Gotham XI (4-3-3):

GK: Haracic

4: Dorsey, Freeman, Lewandowski, Dydasco

3: Long, Kawasumi, Zerboni

3: Monaghan, Onumonu, Purce

Warm-ish Takes and Full Disclosure:

With seven players out on international duty, including several typical starters, there will be some shakeups in the lineup for KC tonight. With Franch out, we should see Rowland back in goal, and KC started Hamilton and Jenkins in the attack last week, and will likely do so again tonight, although they won't have any relieve from Silva or Larroquette. Victoria Pickett has been out with injury but Bowen, who has seemed to step into the attacking midfield in her place recently, will also be out this week, and Edmonds, who has similarly stepped into that role lately, seems more likely move back to the centerback position with Corsie out, so the only sure thing in the attacking midfield seems to be LaBonta. The defensive midfield is also up in the air - Desiree Scott has been playing there since the Olympics, and Bowen held that spot pretty consistently before her return. Gabby Vincent has also played that role earlier in the season, but she hasn't been on the team sheet for a few weeks, and hasn't played since August. Nevertheless, my best guess is that she will fill that role, with Addie McCain at the top of the diamond, and LaBonta out wide and Mace on the other side, assuming Weber and Kiki Pickett are available to cover the center back roles.

Somewhat surprisingly, Gotham has the benefit of the less-depleted roster here - although they are missing two central forward players as well as their starting goalkeeper and one of their centerbacks, they should have adequate coverage in all of those positions with nobody on the injury list. I would be shocked to see anyone other than Haracic in goal (especially since McGlynn was listed as out with a head injury for a couple of weeks). Replacing Lloyd (and Viens), I would expect to see the Monaghan-Onumonu-Purce front line that would have walked all over other teams during the olympic break if Monaghan and Purce hadn't been injured, with Onumonu back in her more natural central role - while we might see Kawasumi on the left wing instead of Monaghan, Kawasumi seems to be more effective in the midfield, and in any case Onumonu should be the one moving centrally. Finally, I think we'll see Freeman back in the starting lineup in place of Johnson, despite her long spell of injury, but it's possible we might see Skroski there instead.

I want KC to be successful, I do, just not against Gotham - but even if I didn't have a rooting interest for Gotham here, I think KC is down too many of its regular players to get much out of tonight's match.

[thebudgetgarden]

The Budget Garden 1: Maiden of Stand Peony (V-Premium)

Hello Cardfighters, I wanted to begin this budget deck series with a deck that is very near and dear to my heart, as it is a deck that is a part of my favorite clan, Neo Nectar, but that is also a deck that can be created with less than 20 euros, or even less depending on how cheap you can find the main boss units of this deck.  Maiden of Stand Peony is a deck that rewards aggressive plays and board advantage, and as such, even though it’s a very cheap deck, it’s a deck that can steal wins even from the strongest decks in the current meta landscape. 

We will begin by discussing the Grade 3 line-up, as well as what choices one can make to make their deck a tad bit more personalized.

This is our main boss unit, Maiden of Stand Peony, and she has the following skill: [AUTO](VC/RC):When placed, call up to one Plant token to (RC). If this unit is on (VC), call up to two Plant tokens instead of one. (Plant tokens are grade 0/[Power]5000/[Critical]1 and have boost) [AUTO](VC):When it attacks, COST [Counter Blast (1) & retire four rear-guards], call four plant tokens to your (RC), and if your opponent's vanguard is grade 3 or greater, this unit and all of your token units get [Power]+10000 until end of turn. Maiden of Stand Peony is a deck that produces board advantage through tokens, while also being a multi-attack engine that gives power to herself and all of her token friends while your opponent’s vanguard is grade 3 or greater. That restriction, however, doesn’t mean that she’s completely useless as a first ride, as putting a force 1 marker on your leftmost or rightmost R circle means that that particular column will hit for 20k, twice, in the worst case scenario.  Maiden of Stand Peony is the main moving piece of this deck, so playing 4 copies of her in your deck is paramount to your deck’s success. Right now, Maiden of Stand Peony will set you back at about 6 euros for a playset. Now, a cardfighter that is familiarized with Peony’s mechanics might choose to just play just 4 copies of her for the entire grade 3 line-up. However, other players might choose to run some back-up grade 3′s for extra power, so these next few choices are for them.

Maiden of Iceberg is a very cheap and strong back-up grade 3 unit, and she has the following skill: [AUTO](VC/RC):When placed, COST [Counter Blast (1) & Soul Blast (1)], call up to two plant tokens to (RC), and this unit gets [Power]+5000 until end of turn for each of your plant tokens. (Plant tokens are grade 0/[Power]5000/[Critical]1 and have boost) More tokens and more power, that is the name of the game in this deck, and Maiden of Iceberg is an excellent candidate for this deck. First and foremost, she is an amazing unit to use in conjunction with force 2, as she is always going to be getting at least 15k-20k power with her own skill, making her especially potent in matchups where getting your opponent’s damage count very high is vital to finish the game off.  Maiden of Iceberg is also exceedingly cheap, as she’s only gonna set you back 0.80 cents for an entire playset.  These 2 grade 3 units might be enough for most cardfighters to build a solid base for the grade 3 line-up, however I’m going to mention a few more cheap options for the players that wanna go a bit beyond. While these options are a great addition to the deck, they usually fall under the category of tech choices, rather than staple cards that you need to play.  The 2 grade 3 units in this category are the following: 

Maiden of the Trailing rose, who has the following effect:  [AUTO](VC/RC):When placed, call up to one plant token to (RC). If this unit is on (VC), call up to two plant tokens instead of one. (Plant tokens are grade 0/[Power]5000/[Critical]1 and have boost) [ACT](VC)1/Turn:COST [Soul Blast (1)], and three of your plant tokens get [Power]+5000 until end of turn.

And last but certainly not least, Maiden of Protea, who has this very unique following effect:

[ACT](RC):COST [Retire this unit], and

call

up to three plant tokens to (RC).

(Plant tokens are grade 0/[Power]5000/[Critical]1 and have boost)

Maiden of Trailing Rose is the first of the Neo Nectar clan, and it shows. Not only is she a powerful Vanguard unit that generates tokens on both the v and the r circles, but her secondary skill allows her to power-up three of your plant tokens, adding a very nice 15k of total power to your board for a single soul blast. 

Maiden of Trailing Rose is an excellent addition for the Cardfighters that feel like they want another boss unit in their deck. If that is the case, Maiden of Trailing Rose is an excellent addition, as it works very well as a first ride target, allowing for magic numbers to be hit from all columns. If you want her to be a part of your deck, she is going to set you back at about 3.25-4.00 euros.

Maiden of Protea is an odd-ball in this line-up. While she was initially noted for her very cute design, she is one of the few Neo Nectar units that saw almost no expermentation. That is because of her unique design. With the advent of Order Cards in the new Vanguard format, Overdress, cards that get used just once for a great effect aren’t that weird, at least not anymore. Maiden of Protea is a unit that doubles as an order, that allows you to get a board full of tokens for no cost whatsoever, apart from retiring herself. 

Maiden of Protea is a very unique addition to the deck’s lineup, and I implore the Cardfighters that will experiment with this deck to try her out. Being an over-looked common card, she wont set you back more than 0.40 cents, at most. 

There are many many more points to be made about the grade 3 line-up, but if your budget allows you to add more expensive cards, replace Maiden of Iceberg and Maiden of Protea with any number of Cornflower Flower Maiden, Ines and Arboros Dragon, Sephirot. These cards are more expensive but they are also the next step to building the competitive version of this deck. 

The grade 2 line-up is also interesting, being a mix of massive power increases, as well as a lot of utility for those who find that they do not have enough value generation in their deck.

We are going to begin with a few choices that turn your token units into cards in your hand, allowing you to survive into the late game and outvalue your opponent in both hand and board advantage. We have three main candidates for this list, as the space for the grade 2 slots is quite tight. 

Those three card-draw connaisseurs are the following: 

Spiritual Tree Sage, Irminsul, a card with the following effect:  [AUTO](RC):When placed, if you have two or more grade 0 rear-guards, COST [Counter Blast (1)], draw a card, and all of your units in the same column as this unit get [Power]+5000 until end of turn. Simply put, Irminsul is excellent. He is a card that has a very easy time fullfilling his condition, and an even easier time giving a column a total of 10k power, as well as a draw, all for the cost of a counter-blast. Irminsul is great for grade 2 rushing, pushing the power level of boards, turning your generations into advantage, as well as allowing for a single column to demand a 20k shield block out of your opponent. In my opinion, Irminsul is a must and should be run at 3-4 copies, which are gonna set you back at less than 1 euro.  Our second candidate, the stunning and beautiful Maiden of Nepenthes, and she has the following effect:

(excuse me for the japanese text, the effect is translated properly.) [ACT](VC/RC)1/Turn:COST [Retire a plant token], draw a card, and until end of turn, this unit gets "Boost", and [Power]+5000. [AUTO](RC):When it boosts a grade 3 rear-guard, you may have the boosted unit get [Critical]+1 until end of that battle. If you do, at the end of that battle, put this unit into your soul. Maiden of Nepenthes follows the exact notion of what this deck can do when faced with a slower, card advantage-based value deck, something along the lines of Megacolony or Oracle Think Tank. This maiden is unique, as she literally turns a token into a card in your hand, but she doesn’t reduce the overall power that is present on the board, effectively giving you advantage for no cost whatsoever. The secondary skill is a bit tougher to use effectively in this deck, but if you’re willing to stick with Neo Nectar in the long run, she has also seen play in Ahsha, which is the most popular Neo Nectar build, as of now. A full playset of her is gonna cost you about 2 euros, and I think that she’s a great card to run at 2 or 3 copies.  The last card in this section that requires a bit of our attention is Maiden of fall Vine, a very unique card which has the following effect: 

[AUTO](RC):When placed from hand to the (RC) with a plant token, draw a card, and this unit get [Power]+5000 until end of turn.  Talk about a unique effect ! Maiden of fall vine is one of those few cases where game mechanics and card interaction is specifically stated on the card text, so some new players may be initially confused. She needs to be called on an R circle that already has a pre-existing plant token unit on it, in which case she will inherit the power of said token, as well as replenish a card in your hand. You might notice a lot of similarities with Maiden of Nepenthes, and you would be 100% correct, however, Fall Vine is usually more favored as she is less restrictive and more cost-effective, allowing for a wider range of plays and combos to be made with her. Maiden of fall vine is a card that is integral to our strategy, therefore it needs to be a 4-of in our deck. She is also going to set you back about 3-4 euros, although she can be found for much cheaper online.  These grade 2 units are very powerful, and should be present in any token-based deck so that they may turn the board advantage that is provided by most Neo Nectar units into hand advantage. However, we have a few more miscallenious grade 2 units that need a quick look-over, those being:  Bad Boy, Walgackey, a grade 2 unit that has a very familiar effect, which reads: 

[ACT](RC):COST [Retire this unit], and call up to two plant tokens to (RC). (Plant tokens are grade 0/[Power]5000/[Critical]1 and have boost) Maiden of Protea’s son has turned out to be quite the bad apple, but he can still be very useful in our deck. Retiring himself for 2 token units basically fullfills the entire condition of Irminsul, sets us up for Maiden of Fall Vine, and also further assists with Maiden of Nepenthes. A card with a simple effect that complements our entire deck. Walgackey is a flex slot, meaning that he’s not necessary, but he is a very cheap card, which is only gonna set you back about 0.40 cents for a playset,  However, grade 2 units can also bring the pain with very high numbers, which is the unique case of Lily of the Valley Musketeer, Kaivant, who has the following effect:

[AUTO](RC):When placed, this unit gets [Power]+5000 until end of turn for each of your grade 0 rear-guards. Apart from being near and dear to my heart, as he is a part of my favorite deck ever, the Musketeers, Kaivan is just an all-around excellent attacker for the Neo Nectar clan. Just like Maiden of Iceberg, Kaivant gets a nice 5k boost for each of your token units. In many board states kaivant gets a massive 20k attack boost just by being called from your hand. Kaivant is also only 20 cents, so an entire playset will not cost you more than 1 euro.  For the non budget options, as well as a few more unique card choices the cards I would recommend are the following: Pansy Musketeer, Sylvia, Osmanthus Maiden, Anelma, Maiden of Fine Ale

[AUTO](VC/RC):When placed, you may call a plant token to (RC). (Plant tokens are grade 0/[Power]5000/[Critical]1 and have boost)

[AUTO](VC/RC):When placed, COST [Counter Blast (1) & Soul Blast (1)], draw a card, and call up to one Plant token to (RC). (Plant tokens are grade 0/[Power]5000/[Critical]1 and have boost) [CONT](RC):If you have a rear-guard on your (RC) with the same card name as your grade 3 or greater vanguard, all of your units get "Boost".

[ACT](RC):COST [Counter Blast (1) & Retire this unit], look at three cards from the top of your deck, call up to two cards from among them to (RC), and put the rest on the bottom of your deck in any order. All of these choices bring some unique elements to this deck. Sylvia is an unconditional token summon, which is excellent for rushing and value plays, while Anelma requires both a counter blast and a soul blast to give you a card that both gives you a token and a card in your hand, both of which are excellent effects. Maiden of Fine Ale is an option that a few select lists run, as it turns herself into one of your high-value and low cost units, as well as thinning out the deck a tiny bit.  The grade 2 units are an integral part of every single Neo Nectar deck, as the majority of grade 2 Neo Nectar units are amazing cards both in conjuction with other cards and just by themselves. 

Moving forward, we have some very nice options for our grade 1 units, as the Neo Nectar grade 1 units are known for being power-houses in the early phases of the game.

We begin our grade 1 escapades with the most vital units of the deck, which are going to be 2 very high power grade 1 units that will give us value, and close out the game for us, those being Maiden of Flower Carpet and Maiden of Dream Shower. 

[AUTO](VC/RC):When placed, you may call a Plant token to (RC). (Plant tokens are grade 0/[Power]5000/[Critical]1 and have boost) [AUTO](Drop Zone):At the end of your turn, COST [retire two Plant tokens], and return this card to your hand. This ability may only be used by a card with the same card name once a turn.

[AUTO](RC):When placed, if your vanguard is grade 3 or greater, COST [Counter Blast (1)], and all of your token units on (RC) get [Power]+10000 until end of turn.  Wow. Where to begin with both of these units? They are both quite excellent at what they do, but let’s begin with the more unique out of the pair, Maiden of Flower carpet. Flower Carpet is, by far, the best grade 1 Neo Nectar unit, as the token generation works on both V and R circles, it is unconditional with no cost, and she recycles herself by retiring 2 token units, effectively turning 2 useless units, that have little to no usage on your opponent’s turn into a 10k shield blocker, that can also be used for even more value next turn. She is a tiny bit pricier than the rest of the cards at about 4 euros for a playset, but it is well worth it for such an effect.  Maiden of Dream Shower is a win condition, plain and simple. Her effect has a few caveats, requiring both a counter blast and your vanguard being a grade 3 unit. However, the power she provides is game-winning. She is a card that, in many cases, with provide a whopping 40k power on your board, and paired with multiple copies she mades even your weak initial attacks before Peony’s skill quite deadly. She pairs fabulously with force 2, and in many circumstances she can blow your opponent out of the game. A glass cannon, to be sure, but a cannon nontheless. She is also exceedingly cheap, a common that is 10 cents per copy.  Our Grade 1 line-up continues to impress with our next few entries, as we take a look at 3 more token generators, as well as a very unique board buff. Our token generators are: Fruits Basket Elf, Maiden of Sweet Berry, and blowball squire.

[AUTO](VC/RC):When placed, call up to one Plant token to (RC), and if your vanguard is grade 3 or greater, Soul Charge (1). [CONT](RC):During your turn, if your vanguard is grade 3 or greater, this unit gets [Power]+5000.

[AUTO](RC):When placed, if you have no plant tokens, call up to two plant tokens to (RC). (Plant tokens are grade 0/[Power]5000/[Critical]1 and have boost)

[ACT](RC):COST [Soul Blast (1) & retire this unit], call up to two plant tokens to (RC), and if your vanguard is grade 3 or greater, those plant tokens get [Power]+5000 until end of turn. (Plant tokens are grade 0/[Power]5000/[Critical]1 and have boost) There is not a lot to be said here, Cardfighters. What you see is what you get, cheap, strong, easy to use token generation, with some different varieties of spice. Blowball is a very unique sort of token generation, being insanely strong but only really being “active” on the first few turns of the game. Maiden of sweet berry is an excellent booster and a soul charge engine. Fruits basket is 2 tokens, as well as a nice power boost for said tokens. All of these cards have merit, however In the example list that is going to be provided, Fruits Basket Elf is the card that I have decided to run. All of these cards are excellent for what they do, and they are gonna set you back at about the same price, 20 cents for a copy. 

General overview of the deck, example decklist.

I truly do believe that Maiden of Stand Peony is one of the strongest Budget decks that you can make for a very low price. We haven’t even scratched the surface of what you can do with this deck, and I have neglected to mention quite a few options for all of the grades, as the ones that I mention are both a combination of being very cheap and very affordable.

I will showcase the list that I am currently using, which cost me less than 20 euros. 

Grade 3 

4x Maiden of Stand Peony

2x Maiden of Protea

Grade 2

4x Maiden of Fall Vine 

4x Spiritual Tree Sage, Irminsul

2x Lily of the Valley Musketeer, Kaivant

2x Maiden of Nepenthes 

3x Bad Boy, Walgackey 

Grade 1

4x Maiden of Dream Shower

4x Fruits Basket Elf

4x Maiden of Flower Carpet

Grade 0

1 Starter

8 Critical Triggers

4 Heal Triggers

4 Draw Triggers (Perfect guards)

This is a very basic list that is easy to pick up, easy to play and very very fun. Not to mention that once you learn how to use the deck effectively, you can steal wins off of very powerful decks.

Closing thoughts and special thanks. 

Thank you all for reading, especially if you have read this far. Sharing my thoughts and deck ideas with you guys has been proven to be great fun, and I would love to hear any constructive criticism about the formatting, any ideas that you may have or any Deck Recommendations that you might have for me. If you do, or you just want someone to talk vanguard with, please dont hesitate to contact my Discord (Bloom#8890), I would love to hear your thoughts of any of these topics.  Special thanks to my best friend Ophelia for pushing me to make this blog in the first place, you’re the best buddy :) .  That’s all for now, Cardfighters, see you in the next blog post ! Bloom aka thebudgetgarden.

[seeminglyseph]

putting together an incredibly optimistic lineup of poses I want to make for the sequence of Lake and Lucio fucking... (Though I admit it’s tempting to make it generic ‘ych’ stuff entirely because I do not want to draw all the details on his prosthetic. If everything is totally drawn out and for some reason he just has a golden hand is if I start trying I’ll spend 4 days making accurate arms for all frames and then I will hate the project and never finish it so his hand is just gold because I’m absolutely garbage at mechanisms. also I would have to deal with the details of ‘would it be more than the regular level of painful if he stuck his thumb up Lake’s ass?’ which I don’t want to. all things considered I should make it some super fuckable anime girl and use ych as a raffle but I want to draw Lake in a bunch of sex positions. other plans for Gawain as well but I gotta check some things. right now I cannot muster the energy to try and focus on drawing so I’m playing ‘collect references until I don’t feel like chewing off my own fingers’ right now.

if I did ych stuff do you think anyone would be interested in buying a slot? I’ve made some decent steps lately in art improvement so I think someone might be interested. idk gotta get some finished projects before I get too ahead of myself.... So many ideas and no time or motivation. the choose your own adventure idea I had was gonna be like do the Lake sequence as a series of audience choices like ‘ass or pussy’ ‘fast or slow’ ‘inside or outside’ kinda business and have the pov figure do the voted action but I don’t think enough people would vote.... But it’s a decent plan for a future game if I get my interaction back up (I know I’ve been distant lately. I’ve been so damn tired lol. and I keep losing too much time trying to catch up on tumblr, so I’m letting a lot of things go, but as a result I miss a bunch lol. feel free to send an ask or message if you wanna ask me something. I have a discord I can share with people but right now I’m not feeling like engaging in active conversation. might chat about smutty ship picture ideas? if you have thoughts please feel free to share them, I am not sure what I’ll get done but if nothing else I can start putting together reference pictures and make a collage monster like I did yesterday lol.

also anyone have a podcast rec that’s fast paced and entertaining enough that I don’t phase it out while I look for stuff but does have enough of a backlog that I can listen for a while without having to take a break and look for something new? bonus points for some kind of horror or mystery element? I haven’t been able to get into something enough to play it as my side media while I work and somehow that has seriously hindered my ability to work. =/ adhd problems? anyway I’ve listened to the magnus archive so not that one.

[dropintomanga]

On Kodansha US’s New Tagline

One of the North American manga publishers recently got a new revamp as Kodansha Comics became consolidated into a more centralized Kodansha with a new logo and also a new tagline.

That new tagline is “Inspire Impossible Stories.” I know for most fans, taglines are taglines. But I’m somehow emotionally drawn to it due to my own relationship with Kodansha-published manga series for more than a decade.

Where do I start with this? I think the 1st Kodansha series I ever truly read was Chobits when Tokyopop released it back in the day. But the first actual Kodansha-published series that really drew my interest was Great Teacher Onizuka. After watching all of the anime in the early 2000s’, I jumped in on the Tokyopop volumes. I still consider GTO to be one of the best “high school teacher” anime/manga series of all-time. Now that I think about it, GTO did something very notable and maybe impossible compared to a typical Shonen Jump story. It was a story about a former young adult gangster who decided to be a teacher in a high school class full of troublemakers. GTO went deep into real-life issues plaguing youth in high school. It made caring about the mental health of youth a thing before it really became a thing this past decade.

Also, I just remembered that Initial D (which is another Kodansha title) was a series I loved when I was a young adult. This is starting to sound like a Tokyopop appreciation post, but I know who the real MVP is here.

I remember a famous line in Gintama about Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine. There’s a code in the Shinsengumi that states all members should read Magazine instead of Jump. 

“Shinsengumi Regulation #17: No manga other than (Weekly Shonen) Magazine are allowed to be read within the confines of the station.'”

While it’s a joke poking fun at Magazine for publishing stories about delinquents and appealing more to older youth/young adults, it felt like Jump was for babies.

I browsed issues of Shonen Magazine in the past at a Japanese comfort food restaurant many years ago and it was full of series that I didn’t recognize or couldn’t get into. I did recognize a few titles like Fairy Tail and Air Gear, but the fact that it also had pin-up girls on their covers from time-to-time made me realize that Magazine was different from Jump. I remember one issue had a large fan poll on which AKB48 girl was the best.

A few years ago, Kodansha interviewed Hiroya Oku of GANTZ fame, who drew Inuyashiki for Kodansha’s Evening (a seinen manga magazine). When asked about how he came up with the idea of having a robotic alien superhero in the form of an old man, Oku mentions his former publisher, Shueisha, while describing his initial thought process. He says,

“When I was working on GANTZ on Shueisha’s Young Jump Magazine, I was more concerned about the popularity and sales figures of my manga. In that magazine’s culture, there’s an unspoken rule to make the main characters visually attractive. When I started work for Kodansha’s Evening (the magazine Inuyashiki is published in), there was more freedom. So I suggested going with the not-so-good-looking teenager as a main character. They green-lit the idea, so I started drawing the character in the manga.”

Let me put this out before we go a bit further - I love Shueisha manga series. I grew up on Shonen Jump. Their material always seems to captivate me somehow. They kept me interested in shonen for a long time. But because the fact shonen is the mainstream genre, I might get sick of it when the time comes. It’s why I also started following Young Jump series since they sounded more appealing. However, I do notice that with series like Tokyo Ghoul, Kingdom and Golden Kamuy, to name a few, the magazine is filled with stylish-looking characters that have greater appeal to a younger audience despite whatever mature tones they have.

But when it comes to Kodansha, their manga series are mature from the start and I don’t mean in a fanservice kind of way. Can you see series like A Silent Voice or Your Lie in April published in Shonen Jump or one of Shueisha’s other notable magazines? I'm not sure I can. It’s also noted that Hajime Isayama, creator of Attack on Titan, tried to get his series into Shonen Jump. Shueisha thought the series was a bit too dark for their tastes, and Isayama decided to try out for Kodansha instead and that’s where he’s been ever since as the series is published in Bessatsu Shonen Magazine.

So why appeal to that older shonen demographic? Probably because life isn’t some battle manga with friends that are there for you every step of the way. Hard work doesn’t always get rewarded. The idea of victory can also get very gray. You see more delinquents than overpowered ninjas/pirates in life. While Fairy Tail and The Seven Deadly Sins are two of Kodansha’s popular “battle manga” series ever, both series seem to subvert some of shonen’s popular tropes and/or have a certain edge to them. What’s funny is that both series involve a bar/pub/restaurant location where all the heroes meet up. Many older teens start to hang out in places like restaurants as their after-school hangouts.

There’s a lot of Kodansha series that I feel seemed impossible to tell for other publishers. I can think of titles like Tokyo Revengers, Blue Period, Land of the Lustrous, Witch Hat Atelier, Cells at Work!, Knights of Sidonia, etc. The lineup of shojo and josei titles is also incredible as well (Princess Jellyfish, Wotakoi and Chihayafuru are the best examples I can give here) Hell, Akira is a Kodansha title that’s still groundbreaking and evergreen as ever. Their tagline, “Inspire Impossible Stories,” makes sense as while it applies to their U.S. operations, a lot of job hunting students in Japan really want to work for Kodansha Japan.

While Shueisha does have a good share of its own “impossible” stories (Chainsaw Man was a title that impressed me), Shonen Jump is mainstream-friendly and safe to a certain degree. The stories I discovered through Kodansha made me realize how big the world of manga really was and what kind of stories were possible. While they may not have the biggest fandoms compared to Shonen Jump series, I can feel a certain vibe when I read Kodansha-published manga in that any mangaka working under them has their vision unleashed in a way that pleases both readers and the mangaka themselves. There might be a certain bias though as I’ve gotten to see editors from Kodansha Japan in person when they showed up for manga-related events in my area.

Kodansha showed me that there’s more to the manga world than just Jump. That’s why I love their new tag line of inspiring impossible stories. I think we need more exposure to new kinds of stories that speak to all kinds of people. I know people don’t like different stuff outside of what they usually like, but I believe those differences are beneficial in learning how to appreciate nuances in life when one gets older. Being challenged isn’t as frightening as it sounds. Those differences are trying to tell us something about ourselves. For me, it was “I really want something that isn’t about fighting super-powered villains and rivalries all the time.”

I have ambivalent feelings about my life during my 20s’, but Kodansha-published stories helped me appreciate possibility at the time when I didn’t feel there was anything to keep me going. So go on, Kodansha. Keep putting out impossible stories that are thoughtful and inspiring future generations of manga readers. Tell the world that impossible is nothing.

[hunter-the-sad-skeleton]

First chapter of my Hlvrv fanfic I’ve been working on since August 24th! Hlvrv and its Gordons belong to @year2000electronics​(Hope y’all enjoy!)

Admin P wandered around, looking in at various AUs that he passed, freezing as he passed one and backing up and looking in. His eyes shrank in panic as he registered what was happening. They may not have been a Gordon, but he would be DAMNED if he let a kid die to a barnacle. Gordon or not, he’d save them from a Bad Ending. Stepping into the AU, he moved swiftly, rescuing the small child from the barnacle.

“Hm…..? Pop pop…? Wh-What are you wearing…? That’s not your usual lab coat…” Justin peeped, shaking slightly.

“It’s alright, Amya, you go on and take a little nap, I have a surprise for you…!” Admin P smiled.

“Okay…wait, hang on, I thought you guys said you got rid of all the barnacles in the lab….” Justin yawned.

“A few just...Slipped under the radar...Plus, you slipped away from the main sector.” Admin P explained.

“Right...I’m sorry, Pop Pop…” Justin yawned.

“It’s alright, dear...Now, take a nap..” Admin P hummed.

“Okay…” Justin yawned, dozing off.

Admin P sighed in relief, returning to the others.

(later, with everyone else.)

While sneaking in, hoping not to get noticed right away, Admin P jumped as a voice peeped up behind him. “P, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! THE BOSS WAS SO WORRIED HE GOT TEMPTED TO GO LOOKING FOR YOU TO MAKE SURE HE DIDN’T GET YOU!”

“Sorry, I needed some fresh air, so I stopped by an au.” Admin P explained.

“And WITHOUT leaving a NOTE?!” Admin F chimed in. “You CAN’T just do stuff like that, P; that’s not how this works!” Admin F added on.

“What are all of you yelling about now?!” Boss sighed, walking out, finally noticing P was back.

“Well….Where have you been?” Boss asked, extremely calmly compared to the other two.

“Okay, so I stopped by an AU or two to get some fresh air-well, as fresh as the air can GET around Black Mesa-And I noticed that instead of spawning OUTSIDE one of the locations, I spawned INSIDE one of the locations. Confused, I took a look around to see what was different, I didn’t see much different, so I was gonna leave. Then, as I was about to leave, I heard a voice-Now, not a voice in my HEAD, if it were that, I’d have freaked out, no, I mean an actual person-” Admin P said.

“Okay, so….What’s that mean? What’s that gotta do with anything?” Admin F asked.

“Well, I searched around a bit and I found-” Admin P said, holding up a glove. “This.” Admin P said, frowning slightly. “It appears he stuck with a theme; Bad endings.” Admin P said.

“Wait, what’s so bad about THIS one? All of their characters are still alive, right?” Admin F asked.

“Not really...I looked a bit more into the AU while hiding somewhere safe around the area I spawned in and realized that one of their characters HAS died.” Admin P explained. “One of the main guards of the group-maybe one of the worst, but still a main guard because they really cared for this one nonetheless.” Admin P added.

“Oh? Really now?” Admin F asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, really.” Admin P nodded. “Anyways, that dead guard was really close to the Tommy of this AU. And Tommy didn’t seem to take their death very well. And ended up using some of his own Dna and some of the deceased guard’s dna to make a tube-clone of sorts-more like a child than anything.” Admin P explained.

“Wow.” Admin C grimaced. “I mean I know I take stuff badly but….Heck!” Admin C winced.

“And the child seems to have um...wandered too far from the main area of this lab.” Admin P said.

“I don’t like where this is goin’.” Admin F stated.

“And uh...Apparently there is a Barnacle in the room this child hid in.” Admin P said. “And I-I-I may or may not….Have uh...Anyways, this is Amya Coolatta!” Admin P said, pulling them out of his coat.

“.......” Admin C’s jaw dropped.

“I’M SORRY, YOU KIDNAPPED A CHILD?!?” Admin F coughed, choking on his coffee.

“Okay, now hear me out! If I didn’t take the child, they were going to die a gruesome death! I saved them!” Admin P defended.

“You made sure to pause their AU, right?” Admin F asked.

“Most definitely, we don’t need an accident happening.” Admin P nodded.

“Good. The others in their AU don’t need to panic.” Admin F nodded.

“Right. I know that that specific Tommy has….separation anxiety, so pausing the AU is a necessity.” Admin P said.

“So….What, do we take care of the kid now?” Admin F asked.

“We’re helping them get their good ending so they don’t get murdered by a Barnacle in the most INHUMANE WAY possible.” Admin P said.

“P, you SCARE me sometimes.” Admin C grimaced.

The group fell silent at the adorable little yawn that came from the child. “C, go get the room ready for them.” Boss said quietly.

“Right away.” C said, nodding and slinking off to go do as he was told.

(The next morning.)

Loverboy slowly got up, tiredly walking down the hall to the lounge. “Good morning, everyone!” Loverboy smiled.

“Morning.” Swap nodded.

“Salutations.” Freeman nodded.

“Good morning, LB!!” Doc grinned.

“Where’s Kittle?” LB Asked.

“Well, I haven’t seen him yet.” Swap shrugged.

“I think he went back to his room.” Freeman suggested.

“Probably! He tends to go there when he needs alone time!” Doc agreed. The four’s conversation was cut off by the sound of a door opening, followed by a shriek of “WAIT, WHAT?!?” which was ALSO followed by fast footsteps into the lounge.

“Ah! There he is!” Doc laughed.

“Good morning, Kit-” LB started.

“GUYS, WHEN THE FUCK WAS THERE A SIXTH DOOR?!” Kittle snapped.

Everyone froze, falling silent. “A…….SIXTH….door?” Swap repeated slowly.

“YES.” Kittle growled.

“I don’t remember there being a sixth door….Gaaasp! You realize what this means, right?!” LB grinned in a way that filled most’s stomach with dread.

“Yeah!! I do!! Someone new’s here!!” Kittle snapped.

“Show me the door!” LB asked gently. Kittle gestured for him to follow, LB following like an excited puppy.

(at the door.) “Here we are.” Kittle said, gesturing at the door.

“Huh….’The Adorabean?” LB said, head cocking to the side in confusion.

“Probably a typo.” Kittle scoffed, going to knock on the door.

“Be gentle! They could still be asleep!” LB warned. Kittle looked at LB as if he was just told not to touch a burning hot stove.

“It’s almost the afternoon, LB. They need to wake up at some point.” Kittle sighed before banging on the door.

Before LB could object, Kittle opened the door, walking in.

“Kittle, wait!” LB called out, hesitantly following him in.

Kittle looked around the room, taking the details in for what they were like. In the room, he found; a notebook, a box of crayons of sorts, some more drawing supplies, a few stuffed animals, a pillow fort, and a small golden retriever backpack. “So she’s….a kid?” Kittle grimaced.

“Kittle, we can’t just barge in!” LB scolded.

“Why’s a room here if we can’t go in?” Kittle asked smugly.

“We need to respect privacy!” LB scolded. The two froze, falling dead silent as a ‘mrrp’ sound was heard in the pillow fort.

“Uh…...actually, I don’t wanna get in trouble, let’s move.” Kittle said, rushing LB out. As the two left and got into the lounge,  Swap noticed the two Gordons returning from the sixth room, raising an eyebrow at the vigor with which they returned. “So?” Swap asked. But before anyone could answer, crying could be heard down the hall.

“HOLD LOVERBOY BACK.” Admin P announced over the intercom.

Swap grabbed Loverboy instantly, holding him back. “No.” Swap said.

“BUT THEY’RE CRYING, SWAP!! THEY NEED HUGS!! AFFECTION!! AND COMFORT!!” Loverboy whimpered.

“Okay, they’re awake...Admin C, please go explain what’s happening.” Admin P said.

“Wait, why not F?” Admin C asked.

“You know exactly why not F, and they’d probably feel more comfortable hearing it from you.” Admin P started. “And don’t use the voice modifier; it’ll just scare them” Admin P whispered.

“Wait, what?” Admin F asked, confused.

“No more questions. Now get moving, C.” Admin P dismissed.

“Fine, fine…” Admin C sighed.

“Alright, everyone, I have an announcement to make.” Admin P announced.

“We are listening.” Freeman responded curtly.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve already guessed, but I found a sixth person to help last night, so I want each of you to meet them one-by-one. One at a time.” Admin P continued.

“Okay! Am I going first? I wanna go first Cause they really need a hug right now!” LB nodded.

“No. I’m very sorry LB, but no.” Admin P declined.

“Now, there is one condition.” Admin P added.

“What’s that?” Kittle asked sarcastically.

“Until all have met the new person, no sharing anything about them. Especially with Loverboy. We know how...Enthusiastic, he gets about new people and we do not wish to overwhelm this new member here due to various mental health problems that they have.” Admin P said sternly.

“Understood.” Freeman nodded.

“10-4.” Swap said seriously.

“Sure.” Kittle shrugged.

“As you wish!” Doc grinned.

“Aww….Fine!” LB agreed.

“Good. We’ll go from the most tame to least, to warm them up to people. Admin C is waking them up right now, so I’m here to choose who goes up first. We’re changing the lineup here though, to add a bit of...FUN to the order. Because children enjoy fun.” Admin P explained.

“WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, STOP!! IT’S A CHILD?! LIKE A FULL-GROWN-HUMAN CHILD?!?” Swap exclaimed, looking like he was seconds away from cardiac arrest. “I THOUGHT WE WERE HERE TO FIX ‘BAD ENDINGS’ WHY IS THERE A HUMAN CHILD HERE?!” Swap demanded, suddenly making the entire room fall dead silent, every other Gordon in the room looking just as shocked.

“Um….I feel like we should wait a bit to answer that question.” Admin P winced.

“I DON’T FEEL GOOD ABOUT THAT-THAT MAKES ME WORRIED!” Swap exclaimed.

“It’s fine, anyway, let’s continue. Everyone understand?” Admin P asked.

“Yes.” They all said simultaneously.

“Well, Doc will go first. Doc, head into the new door labeled ‘adorabean’; when you head in, you will be faced with a blank room so that there is nothing that can harm the new subject here. When you interact with the new subject, be as calm and tame as possible, we do not wish to scare them into believing we will harm them; that is not what we are here to do.” Admin P explained.

“Alright, I’ll do my best!” Doc agreed.

“I mean it, Doc. They’re VERY skittish and easy to spook. Plus, their mental health issues could cause a panic attack, which NONE of us are equipped to deal with, especially none of you in the room.” Admin P stressed.

“Okay, okay, okay! I will, I will, I will!” Doc nodded.

“Good.” Admin P nodded. “Now please proceed.” Admin P instructed.

Doc nodded, going into the room.

(In the room.)

Justin waited patiently, staring at the wall, pretty much dozing off into the void, tail swooshing back and forth as though ready to attack something, not noticing the other person in the room. “Hello?” Doc called softly, staring at the feline person that was most definitely NOT a Gordon.

Doc jumped as a whack was heard against the wall. Justin sat back up, shaking their head, realizing what they did. “Ow…” Justin winced.

“Whoa, are you okay?” Doc asked, concerned.

“.....” Justin sat there, staring at him for a moment, processing everything.

Doc stood there awkwardly, realizing he was in absolutely, 100 percent, ZERO danger. But the Kid staring blankly at him made him feel a sense of unease. Did he break them?

“Are you a doctor?” Justin asked suddenly.

“Wait, what?” Doc asked, confused.

Justin walked over casually. “You look like a doctor!” Justin explained. “Or...A mad scientist!” Justin added, tail swooshing back and forth still.

“Oh, uh, yes! People call me Doc!” Doc explained.

“Well, you look like Unca Go-Go, so I’m gonna call you Unca Doc!” Justin grinned, booping his nose, ears and tail perking up instantly out of happiness.

“....Hug?” Doc asked.

Justin’s eyes lit up. “Yes pwease!” Justin nodded, hugging him tightly, Doc picking them up for the hug.

“Whee!” Justin smiled when being pulled into the hug.

“You’re an excitable little fella ain’t ya?” Doc grinned.

“Yep!” Justin giggled. Okay. THAT WAS CUTE. “Oh, you’re just a PRECIOUS little thing!” Doc laughed.

Justin purred, tail sticking upright.

“Okay, Kittle’s going to go next, Doc, please exit the room.” Admin P said over the intercom.

“Okay! Bye-bye, Amya!” Doc waved.

“Buh-Bye Unca Doc!” Justin waved.

Doc walked out, giggling as soon as he was out. Upon spotting this, everyone else was filled with confusion. “Kittle, you’re up next!” Doc beamed.

“....I leave everything to my roommate if I don’t come back.” Kittle said, going to walk into the room.

“Drama king.” Admin P sighed.

“Wait, you have a roommate? Meaning people actually ya know...Like you?” Swap asked, confused.

“OH, BUZZ OFF.” Kittle growled, immediately walking into the room, noticing the emptiness of the room unlike before.

“Hmm….” Justin hummed, staring at the wall, getting ready to pounce with intent.

“Uh….Hell-OH NO!” Kittle yelped, immediately rushing over and picking the child up before they hit the wall.

“Huh? Dad said flight was impawsible...How am I flying?” Justin asked, tilting their head in confusion.

Kittle set them down, jumping away and gripping the wall, shaking slightly.

“Hm? Oh! New person! Hello!” Justin waved excitedly.

“Demon….!” Kittle whispered to himself.

“Are you okay?” Justin asked, worried at the reaction.

“Did I spook you…?” Justin asked, ears flopping down.

“N-No!” Kittle peeped.

(Timeskip later.)

“So your name was….Amya, right?” Kittle asked.

“.........L….Legally…..Yeah…” Justin winced.

“It’s a nice name!” Kittle complemented.

“...Th…….Thanks…” Justin smiled weakly.

Kittle tilted his head in concern. “Are...You okay?” Kittle asked, worried at the response.

“Y-Yeah, I-I’m fine..!” Justin assured weakly.

“...You don’t wanna be called Amya, do you?” Kittle asked gently.

“I…….no…..” Justin frowned slightly.

“Well, what wouldja prefer?” Kittle asked. “Something gender neutral? Masculine? Something less feminine but still has feminine vibes to it?” Kittle added.

“.........Justin…?” Justin asked gently.

“Justin it is! He/him pronouns I’m assuming?” Kittle asked.

“Y-Yeah….If it’s no trouble…!” Justin nodded. “I-If it’s too much trouble, I-I don’t mind she/her pronouns…” Justin added.

“No no, that don’t matter! My comfort don’t matter, yours does!” Kittle said. “Now let’s get ya outta that skirt, I….doubt you’re enjoying that!” Kittle said, standing up and walking over to the closet. “Favorite color?” Kittle asked.

“Uh….Purple?” Justin said, confused.

“Hm….They don’t got any boy clothes in here...all of these are too feminine for your comfort...They DO have a sewing kit though! So….let’s just say it may take a while...Don’t worry, just hang out in this tank top and shorts for a while!” Kittle said, turning away. Kittle started pulling all the materials needed to make a jacket, Justin quickly changing into the tank top and shorts, already feeling slightly more comfortable.

“This is nice….” Justin gasped.

“Okay, I’m gonna sit here and work, PLEASE do not touch the machine, I do NOT need you getting pricked.” Kittle said, sitting down at the sewing machine.

(Thirty minutes later.)

“Okay, time to flip it rightside in to see if the seams worked properly…” Kittle sighed, turning it rightside in. “Yes….it works…! Okay…!” Kittle said, looking at the now asleep child. Kittle quickly slid it on him, smiling as he heard him start purring.

(Timeskip to later in the lounge.)

“He’s been in there a while. Is everything okay?” Swap asked.

“He doesn’t wanna leave.” Admin P replied.

“What?” Swap asked.

“He refuses to leave the room.” Admin P clarified. “This child sparks joy. So he’s refusing.” Admin P added.

“I’ll go grab him!” Doc said, going off.

Doc returned a few moments later, dragging Kittle by the back of the HEV suit. “Come on, Kittle, it’s the next person’s turn.” Doc sighed.

“But-But-But child!” Kittle argued.

“But nothing. Now sit down.” Doc said sternly.

“Okay, but hear me out-” Kittle started. “The child sparks joy!” Kittle finished.

“I know, but everyone else still has to meet them.” Doc argued.

“Swap, it’s your turn. Hurry before Kittle runs back in.” Admin P instructed. Swap nodded, hurrying in.

(In the room.)

Justin played around with a plushie like a cat would, waiting for their next visitor.

“Hello?” Swap called, catching Justin’s attention immediately.

“New person!” Justin peeped, bouncing up onto their feet, still holding the toy in their mouth like a cat.

“uh….Can I see your-your passport?” Swap asked. Justin perked up, running to their backpack and pulling out a small, beaten up notebook, running back to present it to Swap.

“Here it is, sir!” Justin said, opening it to show a poorly drawn variation of a passport.

“..........” Swap was silent while reading over it. None of the writing was legible, which made sense, due to them being a child.

“Is everything in order?” Justin asked, fidgeting with the stuffy from earlier nervously.

“...Yup.” Swap said, handing it back.

“Yay!” Justin squeaked, hugging the stuffy tightly, immediately attacking it again, once they realized what it was.

“So you’re...Amya, right?” Swap asked.

“...............Yeah…...” Justin said hesitantly, still playing with the toy, probably more now.

“Huh……...I can see why Kittle and Doc like you so much.” Swap nodded.

“Yeah! Unca Doc and Unca Kit are nice!” Justin grinned.

“Unca Doc and Unca Kit, huh?” Swap hummed.

“Yeah! Doc’s name is easy to say, but Kit’s name takes too long, ya know?” Justin asked.

“Well, I’m Swap, pleased to meet you.” Swap smiled.

“Nice to meet you, Swap! I’m gonna call you Unca Swap!” Justin giggled.

“That’s….Adorable.” Swap said softly.

“Hee hee hee!” Justin giggled.

“Can I mess with the hat?” Justin asked.

“..........Sure….” Swap said, removing the helmet and placing it on Justin’s head.

“Oooh! Rooomy!” Justin squeaked, running around in a circle excitedly.

Kittle peeked in through the door, taking a photo. Blackmail; GOT.

Justin eventually stopped running around, taking the helmet off and shaking their head. “Whoa...That’s cool!” Justin squeaked, ears now visible.

��...........do you have cat ears?” Swap asked.

“Oh! Yeah! Papa says he doesn’t know where I got them!” Justin giggled. “He thinks it mighta been because he pet a cat!” Justin giggled.

Swap grabbed the helmet, putting it back on. “....Are you human?” Swap asked very quietly.

“I mean….I think? Papa’s human and I don’t know my other dad, so…..” Justin hummed. “I can’t think of any reason for me not to be human!” Justin smiled.

“Ah.” Swap nodded.

“What about you?” Justin asked. “Are you human?” Justin added.

“Um, yes!” Swap said swiftly. Justin raised an eyebrow.

“Are ya sure?” Justin asked.

“Yes!” Swap said.

“Hmm….Okay!” Justin grinned. “Are you SUPERhuman?!” Justin asked, eyes lighting up.

“Super...Human…?” Swap asked, confused.

“Ya know, a-a human with superpowers! Or powers that humans don’t normally have!” Justin explained. “Like shapeshifting! Or flying! Or...Ya know...Stuff like that!” Justin explained excitedly.

“....................Sorta.” Swap said.

“Sorta?” Justin asked, head tilting in confusion.

“I can do this…” Swap said, grabbing Justin with his hair tendril, picking them up by the ankle and lifting them up.

“Whee!” Justin grinned, giggling happily. “That tickles!” Justin giggled.

“Oh, you mean like this?” Swap asked, moving another to tickle their stomach.

“Eee! Ah! I’m under attack!” Justin giggled.

“Alright, Swap, time’s up. Freeman’s up next.” Admin P announced over the intercom.

“Freeman?” Justin asked, squeaking as they were set down.

“You’ll see. See you later, Amya!” Swap waved, walking out.

“Bye-Bye, Unca Swap!” Justin waved back.

“Freeman, you’re up.” Swap called, heading back to the lounge. Freeman nodded, walking in.

Justin was now making a nest out of various blankets and pillows and stuffed animals. “Hello, little one.” Freeman waved.

“I’m not little! I’m a big boy! But hello!” Justin waved.

“Ah. My mistake.” Freeman shrugged. Justin grinned, hopping out to meet him.

“You’re...Freeman, right?” Justin asked. Freeman nodded.

“Indeed. And you’re Amya?” He asked.

“The one and only...!” Justin grinned weakly, nodding hesitantly.

“Pleasure to meet you, Amya. You seem to be a….Joy, to converse with.” Freeman stated.

“You too!” Justin grinned eagerly.

“So what do you like to do in your spare time?” Freeman asked.

“I like to dra-” Justin started, staring at the wall blankly.

“........A-Amya-” Freeman started, getting startled as Justin whacked their head into the wall.

“Dang it, not agaaaaain! Mmm….” Justin grimaced, rubbing their head.

“....heh…..” Freeman chuckled quietly, standing up the child, gently rubbing their head.

“Purrr….” Justin purred, ears going back.

(An hour later)

“Okay, Freeman, time’s up.” Admin C announced.

“Oh! Bye Uncle Freeman!” Justin waved.

“See you later, Amya!” Freeman smiled, walking out.

(Meanwhile, with the Admins.)

“I-I-I-I-I need to go…! I-I don’t know where, but I need to go!” Boss stuttered, turning around on his heel and starting to walk away.

“Awww! I haven’t seen him smile in forever!” Admin C smiled.

Admin F burst out laughing at The Boss’s reaction, resorting to holding onto a table ledge to not fall over.

“What the-” Admin P said as the Boss ran into him. “Are you okay?” He asked, concerned.

“I-I-I-I need to go…! I ju-I just-pbbht!! I just need to go!” Boss said, hurrying out.

“...................What happened?” Admin P asked.

“I’M TOO GAY FOR THIS SHIT!!!” Boss screamed outside the room.

“AH HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!” Admin F cackled, finally falling off the table.

“Gordon smiled and Boss wasn’t ready!” Admin C chuckled.

“Ah. The Gay panic. Understood.” Admin P said, then paused, realization hitting him. “ARE YOU SAYING I MISSED HIM SMILE?!” Admin P asked.

“Yep!” Admin C nodded.

“MOTHER-”

“Loverboy, you’re up.” Admin C announced. “Please, do not get too excited when entering the room.” He added.

“Okay!” Loverboy nodded.

“Like, I really mean this; she gets startled REALLY EASILY and either scream or cry if you scare her.” Admin C stressed heavily.

“I woooooon’t!” Loverboy groaned.

“Promise?” Admin C asked.

“Pinky promise!” Loverboy said.

“Okay. You may proceed. CAREFULLY.” Admin C repeated.

“Sounding kinda like an overprotective father there, C! But I will, I will!” Loverboy promised, walking in.

Inside the room, Loverboy looked around for the new inhabitant, not spotting them. Thinking they were hiding, he went to look around, freezing when he heard the sound of something running around in a circle. “Hm? Hello?” Loverboy called out.

Loverboy spotted a small kitten trying to chase its tail on the carpet of the room, tumbling over on occasion. “Oh! Hello!” Loverboy waved. The kitten looked towards him, mewing at him, causing Loverboy’s eyes to light up in happiness. Lb got down on the floor, holding a hand out to the kitten for them to sniff. The kitten sniffed his hand, gently licking it.

“Awwww….!” Loverboy awed. Loverboy gently patted the kitten on the head, getting it to start purring.

“Are you the new guy I was told to meet?” Loverboy asked gently, expecting a response. The kitten started meowing, like, a lot, almost like it was calling out for its mother or something. Loverboy gently picked up the kitten, hushing them to attempt to calm them down.

The small kitten started suckeling on his thumb, showing that they were hungry. Loverboy looked around the room, finding a water bottle, a bottle warmer, kitten formula, and a bottle.

“Huh….Convenient!” Loverboy grinned. Reading the instructions, he started making the formula.

(A few minutes later.)

LB set a heating disc on his lap, putting a blanket over it so as to not burn the kitten on accident and set the kitten on it, putting his hand on the back of the kitten and one of his fingers on their throat to make sure they’re actually swallowing their food.

Afterwards, LB noticed a chart of sorts, noticing that it had time, date, and weight on it. Putting two and two together, LB got up, finding a scale, and writing down the date and the kitten’s weight.

“So you are….273 grams...” Loverboy said, writing down the info required.

LB put the kitten down, gently booping them on the nose. “Tchoo!” The kitten sneezed. LB’s eyes lit up, sparkling in adoration at the tiny sneeze.

“asdfghjkl-Gesundheit!” LB said, stumbling over his words. The kitten yawned, giving LB the signal that they were tired. Shrugging, he put the kitten down, laying down with them, falling asleep alongside them.

(Timeskip a few hours.)

“Okay, LB, that’s good enough. You can leave now.” Admin P announced.

LB slowly woke up, noticing the kitten curled into his side. LB slowly sat up, so as to not disturb the kitten’s slumber.

“LB, get up, we need to get moving, progress has been stalled.” Admin P repeated.

“Aww….Okay!” LB frowned. LB patted the kitten on the head, getting up and walking out.

(With the other Gordons.)

Loverboy walked out to meet the other Gordons, sitting down on the couch. “So? How’d it go?” Doc asked.

“I met a kitten!” LB smiled.

“A humahooha?” Doc asked, quirking an eyebrow in confusion.

“When’d we get a kitten?” Kittle asked, confused.

“What’s a kitten?” Swap asked.

“It’s a small baby cat. Where did it come from?” Freeman asked.

“I don’t know, but it was chasing its little tail and it stumbled and it was just so adorable!!” LB grinned.

“That sounds….Alarming.” Freeman said, raising an eyebrow in concern.

“Uh…” LB started, getting cut off by loud meowing. “Oh! It’s hungry!!” LB said, getting up and rushing to go feed the kitten.

“Okay, Gordons-where did-where’s Loverboy?” Admin P asked.

“He went to go feed the kitten….?” Swap explained.

“Kitten? What-What-What kitten?!” Admin P stammered.

“The one in Amya’s room, apparently!” Doc added. Kittle flinched, recovering as soon as possible, not wanting to clue anyone in on anything yet.

“C, could you go check on Amya, see what’s going on?” Admin P asked.

“Sorry, uh, a little busy at the moment!” Admin C replied.

“Okay, how about you Gordons go check?” Admin P sighed.

“Okay!” Doc nodded.

“Sure.” Freeman nodded.

“Arright.” Kittle shrugged.

“Okay.” Swap nodded.

The Gordons went to the room, leaning in slightly. “You’re a good little kitten, aren’t you?” Loverboy grinned, putting the kitten down. The kitten mewed up at him, as if responding to him.

“Awww! You’re adorable!” LB Grinned.

The kitten purred, rubbing its head against Loverboy’s leg. “Aww….!” LB chuckled, patting them on the head. LB picked up the kitten, the kitten’s limbs pretty much ragdolling in their spot. “Okay, let’s weigh you~!” LB smiled, walking over to the scale to weigh them. “You weigh….280 grams!” LB said, writing down the numbers on the chart.

“You’re a chunk boy, huh?” LB gently teased, scratching them behind the ears, getting loud mews of what seemed to be protest.

“What? Are you saying I’m wrong?” LB asked. The kitten, not mad about getting called chunky, waddled towards LB, mewing loudly as they nuzzled his hand. “Oh?” LB hummed, looking down at them.

“Does someone want cuddles?” LB asked, already gently picking them up, getting happy meows in response.

LB sat down, placing the kitten in his lap, the kitten already kneading in his lap. “Oh! You’re gettin’ all cozy, huh, bud?” LB joked.

The kitten purred, finally settling down in his lap, falling asleep fairly quickly. “Well, guess I’m stuck for a while, huh…?” LB smiled gently.

The other Gordons decided to leave the two alone, returning to the lounge area. “Well? What’s the verdict?” Admin P asked.

“They’re sleeping.” Freeman said.

“Oh?” Admin P asked.

“Yep. Out cold.” Kittle added.

“So her test is gonna be postponed…” Admin P hummed.

“Well, who CAN do their test?” Kittle asked.

“Hm...I...Don’t know...Let’s wait for them to wake up again. That’ll make it easier.” Admin P suggested.

“Right.” Freeman nodded, everyone else following suit in agreement.

(Timeskip an hour later.)

LB woke up to find that the small kitten had turned into Justin, almost instantly hugging them and spewing nonsense, causing a sickening crack to come from the room, startling pretty much everyone who wasn’t in there.

Swap got up, about to run in before Doc pushed him back down. “No. Loverboy probably just gave her a hug.” Doc explained.

Loverboy walked out to the lounge holding Justin’s hand, sitting down on the couch. “Huh? Where’d the kitten go?” Swap asked, confused.

“Oh! He’s right here!” LB smiled, gesturing towards Justin.

“So…..She’s a cat AND a person…?” Swap asked, confused. Freeman looked up from his book, nodding as he closed it and set it down.

“Shapeshifting. Since she’s still a child, however, I’m certain that she can only change into a kitten and gets stuck for quite some time.” Freeman explained.

“Oooh!” Doc said, snapping his fingers as he understood it. “That’s a cool ability, Amya!” Doc complimented.

“Th...Thanks, Unca Doc…!” Justin said, faking a smile.

“I see you two are back.” Admin P said over the intercom.

“Yep!” Loverboy nodded.

“Yep…!” Justin added.

“Excellent. Amya, we’re here to help you get past your ‘bad ending’. To do so, we have spent countless hours researching your AU, researching your ending, everything under the sun.” Admin P started. “We’ve gathered enough knowledge to be able to create a simulatory experience of your bad ending.” Admin P added.

“Ooh…!” Justin gasped.

“BUT!!! Just because it is a simulator does NOT mean there is no danger: it is still your BAD ENDING.” Admin P warned. “You are to be careful. You are to be aware of your surroundings at all times. You are to be ready to scream if needed. You are to be ready to defend yourself. This is still Black Mesa, Amya. It is still inCREDIBLY dangerous. If you get in danger and cannot get out of it, you are to call out for help IMMEDIATELY.” Admin P stressed.

“Oh, okay…!” Justin nodded.

“I mean it, Amya. I don’t want you thinking you can take on something that you truly cannot.” Admin P stressed.

“I will!” Justin sighed.

“Will you?” Admin P asked.

“Yes!” Justin groaned.

“Promise?” Admin P asked.

“Yes! I Puppy promise!” Justin nodded, pretty much melting everyone’s heart.

“Alright. Please proceed through the door.” Admin P said.

“Okay!” Justin nodded, walking through the door.

“I’ll be right back, I’m gonna go do something really quick.” Admin P said.

“Okay, we’ll keep watch for you.” Admin F nodded.

“Good. Make sure it goes according to plan.” Admin P instructed.

“We will.” Admin F nodded. With that, Admin P walked out of the room to go deal with whatever he needed to deal with.

“Be careful!” LB warned.

“I will be!” Justin waved, walking in, door closing behind him.

As Justin walked in, the room turned into the forbidden room at Black Mesa. Justin walked around, looking at the room and observing everything inside. They soon came across a hallway that was empty. They felt nervous for a moment before remembering that it was Black Mesa; they had empty hallways everywhere. They shrugged it off, proceeding forward through the hallway, not noticing the feeling of something wrapping around their leg, thankfully, Admin F noticed and immediately rushed to the intercom to shout into it.

“AMYA, LOOK OUT!!!!” Admin F yelled into the mic, catching Justin’s attention.

“Why’s it grabbing her?!?” Admin C asked, panicking.

“I DON’T KNOW, IT SHOULDN’T BE ABLE TO DO THAT!! IT SHOULD BE JUST A HOLOGRAM!!” Admin F snapped back, shaking slightly.

“Let go!!!” Justin whined, trying to pull his leg away, grip on his leg only tightening, causing pain to shoot through his leg.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s going on in there?!” Kittle asked, temper slowly growing.

“SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH THE SIMULATION!” Admin F panicked.

“What is?!” Kittle demanded.

“THE BARNACLE-I-IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE PHYSICAL!! IT’S SU-IT’S SUPPOSED TO-IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE A HOLOGRAM!!” Admin F explained in a panic.

“So open the door and cut the simulation off!” Kittle snapped.

“I….” Admin F stammered.

“Well?!” Kittle snapped.

“I-I-I can’t…” Admin F said shakily, face going pale and shaking becoming slightly more obvious.

“What do you mean, F?” Admin C asked.

“I-I-I-I-I can’t cut off the simulation or open the door-I-I-I-I-I-I-It won’t let me…!” Admin F stuttered, trying everything he could.

“What…?” Kittle gasped.

“Move.” Swap said, backing up.

“What?” Kittle asked, shaking out of it.

“I. Said.” Swap started, getting a running start. “MOVE!!” Swap yelled, ramming against the door as hard as possible, breaking it down with a loud crash.

“SWAP!!” Kittle yelped.

Swap got up, tentacles already at work to get Justin free. “LET. MY. NIECE. GO.” Swap growled, tentacles prying the Barnacle tentacle off, Swap diving to catch the small child, Kittle quickly grabbing something and throwing it at the Barnacle to kill it.

“Hey, Amya, look at me, look at me.” Swap said, gently guiding Justin’s chin up to look at him. “There you are...I’m here.” Swap said, gently hugging Justin as LB showed him how to earlier.

Justin melted into the hug, sobbing into Swap’s chest, Swap gently patting him on the head. “I was so scared, Unca Swap….” Justin hiccupped.

“I know, I know...It’s okay…” Swap hushed.

(In the Admin room.)

Admin P walked into the Admin room, feeling confusion at seeing C comforting F.

“What happened while I was gone?” Admin P asked, concerned.

“It-something happened and-” F started.

“I can explain, you take a breather.” Admin C hushed. “Someone or someTHING sabotaged the test for Amya and she got hurt because of it.” Admin C explained calmly.

“Oh my! How did she get hurt?” Admin P asked worriedly.

“The Barnacle grabbed her leg and she started fighting to escape which only tightened its grip.” Admin C answered. The two turned to look at the screen focusing on the group, Justin sobbing into Swap as his lower leg was getting bandaged up. “It had an Iron Grip, P.” Admin C frowned.

“Oh my God…” Admin P gasped.

Admin C turned to P, face full of sadness. “We can’t risk her getting hurt again. Her test needs to wait a bit longer.” Admin C said, half begging, half stating fact.

“I…...Agree. She does need time to heal anyway.” Admin P agreed.

(With the others.)

Doc leaned into the room, curious as to what was happening. “Is everything alright?”

Doc froze at noticing that Justin’s lower leg was bandaged and that he was sobbing into Swap’s chest. “It’s okay, kid…” Swap hummed.

“What happened?” Doc asked, worried about the scene before him.

“A Barnacle got ahold of Amya during her test. The grip gave her a nasty injury.” Freeman explained.

“Oh my God...My poor niece..!!” Doc squeaked, running over and trying to  take Amya from Swap to hug her, Swap immediately giving him a glare and a slight growl, immediately causing Doc to back up.

“Indeed.” Freeman nodded sadly.

Swap slowly got up, carrying Justin out to the lounge. “Unca Swap, can I sit with you for a while…?” Justin asked shyly.

“As long as you need to recover.” Swap nodded.

Swap reached the couch, sitting down with Justin in his lap, sweet voicing softly to calm the small one down. Justin eventually fell asleep in that position, curling up slightly. Swap smiled slightly.

“Want me to move ‘em to their room?” Kittle asked, voice a whisper.

“Nah. they’re fine here.” Swap declined.

“Ya sure?” Kittle asked.

“Yeah. I don’t need to get up for anything.” Swap explained. Kittle nodded.

“Well, I’m heading off for bed. Night, Swap.” Kittle yawned.

Swap nodded, waving goodnight as Kittle walked back to his room. Swap gently pet Justin on the head, being careful not to wake him up. It felt weird; he’d barely known the child for a day, yet there was this...Instinct to protect them. He shrugged it off, thinking it would be over in a day.

[psychopersonified]

Three Little Words

Post Are we ever going to talk about this? and Where was the wooing? (AO3)

Highly recommended to read the series first to get emotionally invested in their story arc. This short piece will feel a lot more satisfying once you know their backstory. But you can still read this as a stand alone. 

Mallory cottons on and worries, Bond tries bubble tea (sorry, I couldn't resist), very important words that haven't been said are said...

Tags: Sharing food, some groping, newly established relationship, humour, fluff with feeling, tiny mention of PTSD, minor hurt/comfort.

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

London, Air Street - Hawksmoor

They arrived together, Mallory was sure of it. He knows because he saw them leave their Vauxhall HQ together. What was even more unexpected was that 007 was in the passenger seat of Q’s red Hyundai at the time. Rumours abound about those two; but M had chosen to ignore them up to now for the sake of his own sanity. Sorting fact from fiction would take up all his time. Even Q’s new car was subject to gossip - some preposterous story about it being a gift from 007. 

However, now partway through the evening of Agent 008’s retirement party at a seafood and steak restaurant on Air Street - Mallory can’t ignore the rumours any longer.

Moneypenny had organised the event, booking out the entire floor of the glamorous art deco restaurant. Dark wood panelling matched with emerald green upholstery and decorated with gold accents, it oozed perfectly understated style. 150 or so people were invited, all part of the MI6 community with more or less direct involvement in the Double-0 Program. So practically everyone knows everyone, making it a safe and comfortable setting to let loose a little. Which might be why M is noticing behaviours that were not usually on display within the SIS building among general population. 

Which brings M back to his observation. The pair is ensconced in one of the semi circle booths with Eve, Jenny, Mark and Dr Chen. Bond is seated on the outer edge, an arm slung casually over the back of the booth with the Quartermaster sitting much close than propriety would deem necessary -  practically nestled in the crook of the agent’s arm. They are laughing along and joining in free flowing conversation with the other occupants of their table and generally having a good time. 

No one on the table appears to find the unusually close proximity odd. In fact no one in the entire party seems to have given their behaviour a second glance except for Mallory.

As the evening progressed, M sees more and more that worries him. He’d caught them sharing food, eating right off each other’s plates. Bond cutting bits off his steak and setting the pieces aside for Q to pick off. Even offering Q his red wine, chosen specially to pair with the steak, holding it up to his nose for a sniff. Then instead of getting the server to pour a new glass, he just lets Q drink from his, keeping the glass between them throughout the main course. 

Then there was the seafood pasta, and the utter ridiculousness of it. Q eats half of it and hands it over, cutlery and all for Bond to finish. The agent obliges without hesitation, and couldn’t be bothered to get a fresh set of cutlery.

At one point the young quartermaster places a hand on 007’s thigh to draw his attention. Bond is immediately attentive, pausing to lean close so Q can whisper something privately. Whatever Q says makes him nod and smile. 

M panics internally, perhaps he’s been ignoring the rumours for too long and wonders if it might be too late to do something about it now. Alec making his way round a willing secretarial pool is one thing, but this does not look ‘no strings attached’. However on the plus side, 007 has been a lot more manageable lately. 

Sure, he still had problems with authority and argues incessantly about his orders, then goes off improvising his missions and continues to destroy things that he shouldn’t have… BUT he hasn’t gone dark for a while now - regularly checking in with HQ before he decides to execute a high risk strategy. Not for approval mind you, just to let them know where they might recover his body… which is a step up considering his track record. And he hasn’t absconded in a while, always returning to London immediately once the job is done, without MI6 needing to use the threat of arrest as motivation.

If whatever this is between them is the root of the behavioural change in 007, then taking it away is a sure way of inciting rebellion. Considering their combined skillsets, it would be impudent to underestimate them. However, should the relationship sour, it would cause a whole set of other problems. It puts M in quite a bit of a conundrum. How long has this been going on and why hasn’t Psych highlighted this. 

—

“How are you with driving?” Q asks as he holds up the coat for Bond after retrieving it from the coat check

“Still good,” the agent answers as he slips his arms into the coat. 

“Excellent, because I’m decidedly not.” Q declares, emphasis on the T in the ‘not’. Bond can tell, Q’s a little giggly and handsier than usual. And he’s had to help Q down the stairs from the first floor restaurant. 

“Keys?” Bond asks as he turns around to return the favour, helping Q into his jacket and scarf. 

“Left poc— *yawn*—ket” Q yawns midway though his answer, using his hands to cover his mouth as Bond dips a hand into his trouser pocket from behind to fish for the car keys. 

Once they dispense with the goodbyes to those lingering in the lobby, they head out. Q’s car is parked in an hourly garage a short walk away. 

—

Unknown to the pair, their little interaction was overheard by Mallory and Tanner. 

M turns to Tanner, levelling him with a serious look, “Those two, I want to know what’s going on. How serious is it?”

“Sir?” Tanner hesitates, then smiles tightly, unsure if the next thing he says will get the pair in trouble, “Fairly serious…”

“Why wasn’t I told?” M huffs annoyed, though more at himself than anyone. 

Tanner looks genuinely perplexed, “Sir?… I believe there was a general assumption that you knew? And because you haven’t reprimanded them that you were willing to… look the other way?”

Mallory sighs, “So the rumour about the car is true then?”

“Ah... yes. They’ve also been seen coming and going from HQ together whenever Bond is in London.” 

“Ahh… shit.” M sounds resigned. 

“What are you going to do sir? You’re not going to stop them are you?” Tanner’s looks like someone just kicked his puppy. He wants to add -that would be beyond cruel-. 

“I can’t very well do that anymore can I? Not if it’s that serious. Not if 007 has found his reason to keep himself alive.” Mallory knows first hand what that psychological incentive can do for men and women in their line of work. 

“I want to talk to Dr Epstein next week. If I’m going to allow this, I want to know what I’m getting into and how we can make sure this stays to our advantage.” 

“Yes sir.”  

——————————-

London, Knightsbridge - Saturday 

The garishly colourful interior is the first thing that strikes him as they enter. Pastel primary colours splashed everywhere. Next is the crowd; they are both much older than the average customer with Bond likely being 20yrs senior than most everyone including the staff. 

The menu is a cheery if confusing list of options. The drinks equally colourful, befitting the kindergarten decor. He lets Q place an order on his behalf, because otherwise he wouldn’t even know where to begin.

“What is this place?” Bond asks when Q is done placing their needlessly complicated order. 

“It’s called bubble tea, because of the toppings you can have them add to your drink. I’m told it’s a cultural phenomenon sweeping the student scene.” Q explains.  

“How do you even know about this?”

“Marcus introduced us to it. He has the whole of Q-Branch hooked on this. It’s become a Friday night Cyberwar games staple. Bubble tea, fried chicken and curry,” he updates Bond.

“I see Agent Park has been busy giving all of you diabetes.” Bond remarks rather unkindly.

Agent Marcus Park is the new 008, the latest recruit and by that token the youngest in the current lineup of Double-0s. Dripping with cool, savvy with social media current affairs - he’d quickly ingratiated himself with the boffins in Q-Branch who were mostly around the his age.

In the short time since he’s arrived, Marcus has managed to affect the culture and language in Q-Branch. He’s even developed some idiotic ‘special’ handshake that everyone was keen to get in on - officially making him the coolest agent and everyone’s new favourite. So if Agent Park says bubble tea is cool, then officially, it’s cool. 

All this annoyed Bond more than he cared to admit because it meant Marcus spent more time in Q-Branch than any of the other agents save himself. Aside from his early faux pas of mistakenly using Q’s mug (which 008 has since learned NOT to because no one in Q-Branch liked that), what Bond particularly disliked was Park taking up -his- sofa in the lounge. He can tolerate 008 swanning about the place, but draws the line at the sofa. Every time he sees the upstart stretched across it, he gets an irrational flare of temper.

Q smiles indulgently at him, aware of the minor quarel between the two agents, “Oh don’t be jealous James. Besides, it’s better than the horrid energy drinks.” Their order comes up then and Q goes to collect it. 

When Q gets back, Bond is presented with a monstrously large Roasted Oolong Milk Tea with tapioca pearl toppings, half sugar and one-third ice. The drink comes with a supersized straw whereby he is expected to siphon out the dubiously coloured pearls resting at the bottom of the cup (why they are called toppings when they sink is question for another time). Bond isn’t a particularly picky eater, he can’t be for survival - so he’s open to trying anything. He’s not impressed, still a too sweet and far too milky for his liking, and he could have done without the weirdly chewy pearls that had a tendency to get stuck in his teeth.

“How’s your tea? Feeling hip with the crowd yet?” Q pokes, waiting for his response.

Bond gives his verdict on the tea then the establishment, “…. but these stools are incredibly uncomfortable. And the height of these tables; ridiculous.  My hip joints are aching.” Bond grouses. Also the excited high pitched chatter of the other patrons, is starting to give him a headache. 

Halfway through, Bond switches drinks - curious about Q’s pale green Honeydew Melon Tea with black herbal jelly, three-quarter sugar and half ice. The drink is interesting, lighter than the tea, but the texture and taste of the soft slightly medicinal jelly takes some getting used to. 

Inexplicably, Bond feels his mood start to slip, “What are they nattering on about?” Bond pinches the bridge of his nose and tilts his head in the direction of the largest and noisiest group. 

Every so often, one of them would explode with shrill laughter that was closer to a hysterical scream than anything resembling normal mirth. It was grating on his nerves in more was than one. God, when did children get so annoying? 

Q shrugs, looking up from an incoming notification on his phone.  He’s not really caught up on pop culture himself. What a pair they made - the basement geek and his curmudgeon. Q returns to his phone and the unusual forwarded notification from the Smart Blood implant. One of the agents is experiencing a spike in heart rate not associated with any physical activity ::Agent 007::.

Bond takes sip of his drink, expression still pinched. Another teen suddenly wails like a banshee about to be murdered before peeling off into laughter. Q is about to show him the readout from the app when in a surprise move, Bond reaches out to take Q’s hands in his. 

The agent shifts seats to sit alongside Q. He then gathers him close, the entire length of their sides, from shoulder to knee pressed together - before burying his nose in Q’s temple and taking a deep breath. Despite Bond’s penchant for peacocking himself, as a couple they’re not one for flagrant public displays of affection, so the unusual move sends Q’s mind ticking with concern.

There is a slight tremor that runs through Bond, muscles twitching, not quite relaxed as it should - a precursor to fight or flight perhaps. It triggers Q’s memory, something in 007’s  psych file as with most of the Double-0s; a mention about higher risk of experiencing PTSD - and it clicks. The screaming teens were enough to send a fright through normal people, how must it feel like for a veteran of violence like Bond.  

Q squeezes back in understanding, “Let’s get out of here shall we? These kids are giving me a headache.” 

“Excellent suggestion,” Bond agrees without hesitation, pulling Q along as he gets up. They retrieve their shopping and drinks, and head out into the open air. 

Once outside, Bond starts to cheer up significantly but nevertheless, he clings to Q with a tight arm around the shoulder. Q reciprocates with an arm around Bond’s waist; letting him know that he’s there and he understands; without coddling the agent or challenging his ego.

Occasionally Bond would slow their pace, the hand clutching Q’s shoulder would shift to stroke the back of his head, pulling Q close to nuzzle his hair - always taking deep slow breaths. They meander around Knightsbridge before Q suggests taking a turn inside The Natural History Museum. By the time their walk takes them there, Bond is for the most part back to normal. 

Q had always loved the natural history museum. The large echoey stone galleries, the ornate architecture and of course the prehistoric displays in their modern glass cases. The hushed space provides Bond with some respite to recover as well. 

They wander around aimlessly for the first twenty minutes - Q steering them down one gallery after another, providing soothing commentary about one display or another and Bond was happy just to tag along stuck to his side. 

But at the first deserted corner they find, Bond unexpectedly jerks him close - sending Q colliding into a wall of muscle. The kiss that follows is deep, emotionally brimming with gratitude and affection. The hand that’s buried in his hair and roaming his back is not salacious but reverential. The kiss lasts an eternity. When they part, they are both breathless - noses and mouths rubbed pink. 

Bond steals several more brief kisses after that before looking Q right in the eye. What he says next, floors Q. In a venerated whisper, James declares with every fibre of his being, “I love you.”

It’s the first time either of them has said it. They’ve made it this far into their dizzying convoluted dance, circling one another with playful oblique references to their relationship without ever once saying these words. They’re living together now for christssake!

Q reaches up to cradle Bond’s face in his hands, thumbs stroking the craggy cheeks and worn crows feet around the eyes. “Likewise…,” Q thinks to leave it at that, but it feels like he’d be shortchanging something so significant. So he pulls Bond in for another deep kiss and mumbles against his mouth, ”I love you, I love you, I love you”. 

Simple. Uncomplicated. Love. 

When they part again, the gallery isn’t deserted anymore. An elderly couple had wandered in and was nearby, viewing the exhibit they were standing adjacent to. Bond bends down to collect their shopping bags. Q smiles apologetically at the couple as he tries to make himself presentable again. 

“No worries dear. I remember how it was like on our honeymoon,” the lady tells him with a wink. 

Honey-what-now?! That catches Q completely off guard. Did  he just miss another milestone? Q nods awkwardly just as Bond tugs on his hand, “Uh… Please excuse us.” 

—

Outside again and the street is awash with light as the sun peeks out from behind a bank of clouds. Bond is back to normal, without a trace of his earlier vulnerability. But he does continue to rest an arm on Q’s shoulder. 

They decide to walk home. Unhurried, just enjoying each other, not a care in the world, even if it was just for the afternoon. Strolling along the streets, window shopping until dinnertime, before popping into a restaurant close to home. 

Bond spies a discarded bubble tea cup as they pass by a street bin and is reminded of Marcus. 

“Do me a favour? Could you kick Park out of the lab once in a while?” 

That earns him a sarcastic reply, “Oh yes, because I’ve been highly successful at kicking agents out so far. Besides, on what grounds?” 

“He’s taking up my sofa,” Bond grumbles petulantly.

“Hardly grounds for expulsion. And it’s not your sofa. If anyone has the right to be upset, it should be me. That was my kip out sofa before the two of you decided to install your arses on it.”

“Ahh… so its -our- sofa then. He has no business being there.” Bond looks for a loophole he can exploit, “Surely sleeping with the Quartermaster has its perks?”

“You’re a right bastard you know that?” Q admonishes. “Besides, you sleeping with the quartermaster is precisely why I can’t kick him out.”

Bond still doesn’t get it so Q has to spell it out for him, “Haven’t you noticed that Marcus is sweet on Jenny? I can’t kick him out or I’ll be accused of double-standards.”

“Huh… Is he now?” Blonde eyebrows climb to the hairline in surprise, “And how does she feel about him?“ 

“We’re not sure yet. She went out with him a couple of times. But then just this Friday, she threw a half drunk cup of bubble tea in his face. At the moment she thinks he’s a bit of a prick… I can understand exactly how she feels,” Q looks over at Bond pointedly. 

James grins unashamed, “M is really going to love this development.”

Q hums in agreement, “Hmm… if she files a complaint against him, I suspect M will put a moratorium on Double-0s dating Q-Branch techs.” 

A thoughtful smile spreads across James’s face, “Well then, I suppose we’d better set a good example.” 

——FIN——

Notes: If you liked this story, there’s more on the blog or AO3. Please like, reblog, comment etc. Enjoy!

[pleaserelaxfc]

Pregame: Gotham vs. Spirit (October 6)

Background and Momentum:

Gotham:

This game was originally meant to be played at Gotham's home stadium in New Jersey, but when Carli Lloyd announced her impending retirement, this game was moved to Philadelphia, close to where Lloyd is from and also about halfway between New York and Washington.

Gotham had a pretty rough run through August in September, with a seven-game winless streak that was only snapped in the very last game of September. However, that was a resounding win for them over the North Carolina Courage, which has been fairly strong throughout the season, although they have been in a bit of a scoring drought. Gotham will probably be coming into this game with a good amount of confidence.

Likely one of the decisive factors for Gotham in their previous win was the return of several players from injury - notably, wingers Margaret Purce (who started) and Paige Monaghan (who replaced her off of the bench) both played for the first time since the beginning of the winless streak, and both scored, with Purce also drawing the foul that led to Lloyd's initial penalty goal. Both should be available tonight, with Mandy Freeman, a centerback who had played every minute of the season until her injury in late June, the only player still out.

Gotham is currently in eighth place in the table, but is only one point behind the sixth-place cutoff (currently held by the Spirit), but they have at least one game in hand over all of the teams in front of them, and will play the last three games of the season against the two teams with the worst records. I think that they should be able to make the playoffs if they win those three games, but they won't want to rely on those, and will be looking to get a win here.

A win here would guarantee that they move at least into seventh, and possibly sixth, depending on the Dash's results; a draw combined with a loss for the Dash would move them into seventh as well, based on tiebreaks.

Spirit:

Turmoil has continued for the Spirit off the field - last week, following an NWSL investigation that determined that the Spirit did not act in the best interests of the league, Richie Burke was fired and barred from working with NWSL players, the Spirit ownership was indefinitely suspended from participating in league governance, and the league issued a notice of violation and gave the team 14 days to respond. The players also sent Steve Baldwin a letter, asking him to withdraw from any form of management of the team, and Baldwin did step down from his role as CEO and managing partner of the Spirit, leaving Ben Olsen, whom Baldwin had hired unilaterally, in charge. However, this did not fully meet the requests of the players, who publicly released a follow-up letter to him, strongly stating that they wanted him to withdraw from all forms of management with the team and to sell his shares to Y. Michele Kang, in order to end the off-field distractions that have been plaguing the team. He has not yet responded to that letter.

On the field, it's difficult to say much about trends for the Spirit, since they had to forfeit two of their last three games following positive COVID tests and determinations that players had violated COVID policies. Their last game (the only one they played in all of September) was a 2-1 win against KC, made slightly more impressive by the fact that they had to come from a goal down to win, and that they were playing at Segra Field (a poor surface in general, and particularly detrimental for the Spirit's playing style) with Ashley Hatch out of the lineup for a family commitment.

In the game against KC, they used a different shape than they usually do in the first half of that game, and had several players who would usually start coming off the bench between the first and second halves. Hatch should be back in the lineup today, however, and the only players on the injury report are those with season-ending injuries - Bailey Feist and Averie Collins, who have been out all season, as well as Jordan DiBiasi, who hasn't played since early June.

The Spirit currently hold sixth place in the league, the final playoff spot, but would be knocked out of it, at least for the time being, with a loss to Gotham. They probably need at least two wins and a draw, if not three wins, in the five games remaining in the season (including tonight's) in order to make the playoffs - with games against Louisville and the Dash remaining, as well as another matchup with the Courage, against whom the Spirit have done surprisingly well this season, a loss wouldn't put that out of reach, but it would become significantly more difficult. The Spirit will certainly be looking for a win tonight, and would probably accept a draw, but as the season winds down, I don't think they will consider a loss tonight to be acceptable.

Head-to-Head:

This is the second and final meeting for these two teams. The previous game was played at Segra, the Spirit's secondary home field, and some poor refereeing contributed to a 3-2 win for Gotham.

Both teams will be looking to maintain their momentum after wins in their last games, following a long winless streak for Gotham and two forfeits for the Spirit.

Predictions:

Scoreline: Draw, 2-2

Gotham XI (4-3-3):

GK: Sheridan

4: Dorsey, Johnson, Lewandowski, Dydasco

3: Long, Kawasumi, Zerboni

3: Onumonu, Lloyd, Purce

Spirit XI (4-3-3):

GK: Bledsoe

4: O'Hara, Staab, Sonnett, Nielsen

3: Sullivan, Bailey, Huster

3: Sanchez, Hatch, Rodman

Warm-ish Takes and Full Disclosure:

I'll be honest, I'm rooting for a Spirit win here. In part that's because I'd like both teams to make the playoffs and I think the Spirit need this win more, but mostly that's because I think they got a pretty poor call in the previous matchup that significantly affected the result there.

Gotham came back with a vengeance in their last game against the Courage, taking a top team down in a convincing 3-1 win. I think they will continue with the same lineup, although they might make a couple of tweaks. Since this is a Lloyd sendoff game, I think she will stay in the starting lineup as the central forward player, and will likely stay in for the full 90 minutes. Purce is a star for this team and her presence on the field seems to be a necessary component for their success, so I would expect her to be in the forward line as well. Ify Onumonu also started against the Courage, and has been having an outstanding season with the Olympians and injured players out, so I think she will continue to round out that line, although since she is at her most effective in the central role that Lloyd will likely be occupying tonight and Monaghan is at her most effective as a left-sided winger, it's possible Monaghan will start in Onumonu's place.

The midfield seemed to work fairly well together last week, although Gotham has done some rotation there recently - I think they'll continue with the same line, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see Lee or Cudjoe in in place of Kawasumi. The four defenders have been pretty solid when playing in a line together all season, so I don't see any changes being made to that to start, although they did sub Johnson out for Erika Skroski late in the game last week.

The Spirit came out in a 4-2-3-1 against KC in their last game, and it didn't work out very will for them. They left Trinity Rodman, Tori Huster, Dorian Bailey, and Tara McKeown on the bench, bringing them on at half time as they switched back to a much more successful 4-3-3. I think their lineup tonight will be similar to the lineup in that second half, although with Ashley Hatch available I think she will be in in place of McKeown.

One player that they seem not to know what to do with is Julia Roddar, the Swedish international. She's clearly a solid player, but with several solid players in the defensive and midfield positions that she plays, I'm not sure that she has a starting place. I thought she was pretty good off the bench at outside back (right back, I think?) against the Courage, but had a few mistakes at left back against KC. If they do start her, I'd rather see her in a midfield role.

I'm also still not entirely sold on the Sonnett as center back/Nielsen as right back structure - while I do prefer Sonnett as a center back to an outside back, I'd also like to see what she can do as a defensive midfielder with the Nielsen-Staab center back pairing that worked so well for most of the season.