#we're very similar its kinda scary

[writings-of-a-hufflepuff]

Derek [Simon 'Ghost' Riley x Reader]

Fandom: Call of Duty (I haven't been into COD since I was 14 but we're back thanks to COD cosplayers on tiktok...) Collection/Series: N/A Pairing: Simon 'Ghost' Riley x Reader Writer: @writings-of-a-hufflepuff​ aka @little-autumn-serenade​ Rating: G Warnings: This is kinda silly and not my best work but the idea has been hanging around in my head so... Summary: A surprise finds you at work while Simon is away on deployment. Notes: Inspired by my dad, a veteran, who did something very similar for my mum. We still have Derek like 30 years later although he's in the loft being eaten alive by moths probably.

You're at work when you're called down to the front office, a confusing event in and of itself seeing as you weren't expecting anyone or anything to interrupt your working day. You're very rarely called away from your work in general. Your family and friends would never interrupt your working day, being too busy themselves and the only other person would be Simon, but he's away on deployment and isn't one for surprises. You liked the predictability of him and the fact he didn't scare you by randomly turning up places without a warning. You liked a lot about your boyfriend even if he couldn't always understand it. You missed him. A lot. He'd been gone for two months already and you'd only had three or four phone calls in that time, due to schedules not lining up.

Janice, the nice older receptionist, is waiting for you when you finally have five minutes to step away from your desk. She looks over the top of glasses at you from where they're perched on the tip of her nose.

"Did you order something, Lovely?"

"No, I...I never order anything to work, why?"

"You've got a parcel, a rather large parcel." She stands with a groan and a hand to the small of her back as she ushers you into the office and to follow her further back into the office.

You feel bad for her when you see the gigantic cardboard box that she clearly had dragged into the office. It's at least half-your height, reaching about your waist and as wide as you. You run a hand over the top, reading the various labels that suggest it has had quite a journey across the globe and the only thing you can think is that someone ordered some stationary or furniture for work and put it in your name on the requisition form by accident.

"What on earth?" You reach for a pair of scissors, cutting the packaging tape and opening the flaps.

You're greeted by a lot of packing peanuts and the mystery has you almost ferally tearing through the box the moment you have a bin to start dumping packing materials into. The one bin proves not to be enough to hold all of the packing peanuts and you end up having to reach for a second one.

It's not long before you see the top of a fuzzy brown head and struggle to heft the rather heavy stuffed toy out of the box. Poor Janice has to grab the box to slide it off at the other end until the thing is sat in front of you.

It's a...a gorilla. A giant, stuffed gorilla toy with a scrappy bit of lined paper torn out of a notebook pinned to its chest. He's wearing a tactical helmet that's a little too small for the giant thing's head. He's clearly been swashed into it, and his face looks a little off as a result, the sides crushed inwards.

"I take it you didn't order a gorilla, sweetie?"

"I definitely did not order a gorilla..." You're baffled, so utterly baffled that you're almost scared to take the note unless it turns out you've got a stalker or something equally as terrifyingly absurd. Simon's many warnings about strange packages and parcels ringing in your ears in that familiar gruff and protective tone of his.

Still you take the piece of paper and unfold it. The note is short, brief and when you read the sign off you understand why. Because this bizarre package, this ridiculous gift, is from Simon. Simon, the gruff, intimidating, scary dog privileges Lieutenant who could probably kill someone in 100 different ways. That Simon had sent you a gigantic, stuffed gorilla in a tac helmet. Simon Riley. Simon Riley had sent you a stuffed gorilla toy of all things.

Hey, Love.

Meet Derek, found him in Barcelona when we had some free time. Figured he could keep you company since i'm going to be gone for a bit longer than expected.

Looks a bit like Soap to me, so sorry if he gives you nightmares.

Simon

The end of the note has a silly drawing in black biro; Johnny, Simon and Derek at the beach. Simon's drawn himself in full uniform, mask included and Derek has a umbrella cocktail in hand. John looks decidedly annoyed giving the gorilla side eye that is meme worthy.

You kind of hate it. The gorilla. that is...it's stitching is bulging at the seams and it's eyes are looking in two different directions and it really does have something about it that screams John Mactavish, might be the slight mohawk at the top of it's head...but you also love it. You love that Simon of all people, hater of surprises, the most unspontaneous and rigid person you know, decided to surprise you with it. That he took the time to package it and probably spent more money than necessary to get the heavy thing shipped to you. You love how absurd it is and mostly, you love that it's from him because you miss him so freaking much that you're starting to pretend he's holding you at night and you're getting sadder each day because his shirts aren't smelling like him anymore.

You don't realise you're crying over it until Janice, tutts and hushes you and rushes for the tissues.

God, you miss Simon. You miss him a lot, but maybe Derek will help you feel a little bit closer to him...or Derek will give you nightmares. Either way, he's staying because Simon got him for you and no way in hell are you throwing out any gift from him even if it's a really dodgy looking gorilla.

[lunerna21]

I FINALLY CAUGHT UP TO THE UPDATE FOR BOOK 7 AND I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED WITH HOW MUCH I ENJOYED IT

***SPOILERS FOR BOOK 7 JPN SERVER AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!***

***ALSO SLIGHTLY LONG POST AHEAD! MY APOLOGIES!***

UM CAN I MENTION HOW HARD I LAUGHED WHEN SILVER WAS TELLING THE STORY ABOUT FLOYD GRABBING RIDDLE'S HAIR TO SEE IF IT WAS HOT?!

AND JADE HYSTERICALLY LAUGHING WHILE AZUL IGNORES THEM!!!!

If they ever animate that scene, I'm gonna hurl from seeing Floyd just being catapulted off screen and Jade enjoying himself 😂

Floyd being so bored of his dream and just him swaying like the seaweed was freakin hysterical 😂

It just reminded me of this for some reason:

I mean it makes sense since Floyd is always up for a challenge and isn't afraid of basically anything, so of course Malleus's vision for Floyd's dream wasn't going to be very exciting

ALSO WE CAN TALK ABOUT FLOYD HAD THE BALLS TO FIGHT MALLEUS, LEONA AND EVEN FUCKING CATER?! CATER WIPED THE FLOOR FIGHTING FLOYD BUT I WASN'T EXPECTING CATER TO KICK ASS

HELL YES CATER!!

.......And then we jump into Jade's dream...

....The moment I saw how Jade imagined both Azul and Floyd...

AND THEN SOMEONE POSTED THIS ON TWITTER AND I ABSOLUTELY LOST IT

JADE BY FAR IS THE MOST HYSTERICAL CHARACTER IN TWST AND I CAN'T BELIEVE FLOYD HAD TO SEE HIS DOOFY LOOKING FACE LIKE THAT

I don't blame Floyd for duking it out with Jade I would feel the same if thats how my siblings imagined me lol

And finally, Azul's dream!!

First of all, AZUL WAS SOMETHING ELSE DURING HIS DREAMS

Azul being a coral rush player?! AND KINDA BEING JOCKY?! I wasn’t prepared for that! 😂

(special shoutout to Idia for throwing shade at his first image of a cocky player, that was 👌🏻)

JADE JUST GRABBING POOR IDIA'S TABLET AND GETTING AZUL'S SIGNATURE ON IT 😂👏🏻👏🏻

AND IDIA JUST SLOWING MOVING OFF TO THE SIDE THIS POOR GUY HAS BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH 😂

When the mermaids started harassing everyone and knocked us over, I WASNT READY FOR AZUL TO CARE WHEN WE GOT HIT

I WAS A FREAKING MESS IM SO DELUSIONAL AND I KNOW HE'S NOT ALWAYS NICE BUT AHHHHHHHH HE WAS SO CUTE HERE (Ignore me I'm delusional and I've missed Azul so much 🥺❤️)

It was so bizarre to see Azul playing a jocky player and being popular in school, but once Idia explained that any negative moments or lessons Azul had to face (bullying, losing the contracts) were no longer a thought because of it only being a dream with no negative emotions

It’s still mind boggling how detailed everyone’s dreams are but terrifying like damn Malleus has so much power and yet he can juggle so many of them

After Azul invited us to the party and was INCREDIBLY NICE for someone like him, and Idia got suss:

I knew something was up, especially after he made everyone wear the anenomes for the party AND GRIM SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER HE WENT THROUGH THIS BEFORE WHY DID HE BELIEVE THIS

Floyd and Jade bouncing off Azul being a bully was soooo worth it

It's kinda scary how I preferred the old Azul, considering he wasn't a cocky jock straight from a manga/book ICK ICK ICK

AND THEN AFTER AZUL FELL INTO THE BLOT, HE WAS A PAIN IN THE BUTT TO CORNER I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH THE PLANNING AND HOW WE HELPED DESTROY THE CONTRACTS ONCE AGAIN

But this devastated me 😭

It still must've felt pretty shitty having to go through that again, but I started to cry I'm just so happy Azul woke up from his dream 😭❤️❤️❤️

Azul's battle with himself! *chefs kiss* I love how they reference it similar to the battle from The Little Mermaid and how Azul's blot form began to grow

But let me tell you something:

I WOULD DIE IF I COULD FRAME THIS!! JUST SEEING THE GLOWING EYE AND AZUL DOING THIS POSE! PERFECTION!!!

ITS SO GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK AZUL!!!❤️

This chapter was such a fun trip, and I'm so glad we're slowly getting closer to releasing everyone from their dreams

BUT ONE LAST THING! TWST INTENTIONALLY DID THIS TO HURT MY FEELINGS!

HOOOOOWWWWW DARE TWST FOR SHOVING THIS IN MY FACE I WANT MY BEST FRIENDS BACK SO BADLY AND THE FACT THAT THEY DO THIS CONSTANTLY AND ALSO GRIM BRINGING THEM UP IS JUST AWFUL

I MISS THEM SO MUCH I NEED TO SEE THEM AGAIN

NEXT UP, SAVANACLAW!! (RUGGIE I MISS YOU SO SO MUCH!!)

Enjoy the weekend~~!!!❤️

(Screenshots from https://youtube.com/@gasmask01?si=lpin67yaOvHDdg_c )

[saltyspacecat]

Some thoughts about contrasting characteristics and diversion tactics in A Deadly Education (I have not yet read the other two books in the series)

Regarding El, she is described as feeling like its going to rain, and its understandable why people would see that and immediately think "bad", but rain isnt necessarily a bad thing. I think Novik chose that specifically because of the symbolism a coming storm can bring. Its destructive and scary, yeah maybe, but rain is cleansing, it brings new life/growth.

I have a hunch that is going to tie in quite beautifully with her character arc/what ever role she will grow into in the next two books.

And I feel like Novik does a lot of subtle misdirection like this, giving El a description we're meant to immediately interpret as bad, but that can actually be interpreted much differently if you stop to think about it (maybe the only reason people fear her is because they fear the unknown. she's not bringing destruction as death, she's bringing it as change. and people hate change, change is scary in and of itself). I notice this misdirection a lot with how Orion and her are being constantly contrasted. They are very much opposites in a lot of ways--physically: Orion is pale and silver haired and kinda more small of stature for a guy, El has darker skin, dark hair, on her way to being above average in height; socially: orion is well loved and well recieved, kinda socially oblivious tho (very autistic imo) doesnt realize all the structures benefiting him, whereas El is an outcast people take an automatic disliking to, is very socially speculative,extremely good at reading people, and very aware of how everything functions, the structure of the hierarchies, the systems in place and necessary procedures to make it through life at the school, etc. -- but if you stop reading into all the opposites that are being deliberately thrown at you and analyze their relationship and their characters, you see they have a lot of core things in common. like that they both have similar feelings of social isolation (even if it is in opposite directions), theyre both brave and self sacrificing. It almost feels like im not meant to realize that yet, because then i will realize how everything is going to end. (I have a fear that the self-sacrificing bit is reaaalllly going to hurt later on.)

There is also a prevalent theme of ballance in this book, and that ties into the comparing and contrasting of Orion vs El. They are extremely yin yang coded.

I feel like this isnt the kind of thing I'd usually be thinking so deep about in an average book, but this author has already proven that shes is very smart. The ways she writes about the different politics, the realistic characters (looking at you, trauma responses so realistic they triggered my own XD), the rich culture of the school and of the magic itself, etc., it makes it feel completely possible that she'd be doing all of these subtle things very on purpose. Immediately I think of the scene in the library, where the school is using distraction and misdirection to try to keep El from noticing the maw-mouth. And the thought of Novik using this kind of misdirection/distraction literally in the story (like the library scene) but also as writing device (where its not directed at the main character, but at us, the audience/4th wall) is soooooo cool to me wow.

Naomi Novik is a genius.

[decolonize-the-everything]

Antizionist jew here, I so appreciate your post abt being specific abt our use of the term Nazi. When I see ppl using this kind of loaded terminology (I've seen several ppl comparing Israeli politicians to Hitler as well) it feels like they have very little regard for jewish trauma, or are doubting its legitimacy-- I feel like I'm supposed to prove that I'm a "good jew" by just putting up with it if i dont want to be seen as a zionist. Antizionist jews are in a really isolated position right now b/c we're caught between the zionism thats infected mainstream jewish institutions and both left and right wing antisemitism, so again I appreciate you 🤗

It is literally no problem don't mention it ❤️❤️

And 10000% I can see why you'd feel that way

A lot of people are in a similar position and it's a valid position to be in. You don't want to be on the wrong side of history and it's kinda scary to think you could be put there by your "allies" for calling out bigotry.

It's important to remember though that the pushback we get is exactly why we say these things. Showing people that bigotry isn't acceptable in human rights movements is never the wrong thing to do. Standing up for each community to make sure our rights aren't infringing on another's shouldn't be controversial at all.

Pushback is what happens when a boundary is being enforced and gatekeeping our movements from white supremacists is a good gate to keep, imo.

I'd deal with this everyday for u, anon.

Addressing white supremacy, antisemitsm, Zionism, and islamophoba can't be done in comfort.

That goes doubly for anyone calling themselves an ally to Muslim, Jewish, or indigenous ppl right now.

I'm glad my post made a positive impact on you rather than a negative one ❤️❤️

[ravenbloodshot]

Hi, May I asking about The Boyz beef this month?

There are some problems between members. Someone is being fake and manipulative, not owning up to their wrongdoing. The group is making sure to keep things cute on camera (so you guys can suspect who it is that is fighting, but you'll never see anything outright)

The leader is stepping in to keep things under control (if not the leader, a manager). Things could have gotten out of control before the leader/manager stepped in (possibly saying something truly awful, cursing , verbal attacks). Someone feels betrayed as if another member started the conflict bc they shared private info.

Somebody went off on another member, like completely blew up. I have a suspension, but I'm not sure who this is .....either way, this guy said some pretty harsh things

Whoever blew up like this has been holding back a lot and going through a lot. Do you guys know when people blow up from something small and everyone is looking like "where the hell did that come from", but there's been conflict simmering for a while and it finally came out, thats the vibe its giving. It's like, "he just asked you to put the food in the fridge. Why did you curse him out like that??". But the two already were low-key beefing but trying to play it off, so when this smaller altercation happened (like something as petty as putting food in the fridge), all the hidden fury just unveils itself.

I already got the vibe that the boyz could be quite a group filled with mighty tempers (these guys can be scary when upset, makes me kinda wish i was in the room when the showdown happened). If any of you ever watched the show "Baddies" or "Bad girls club", how aggressive the girls fight on that show could be similar to how the boyz members fight.

Four ppl's energy feel like they're a part of this conflict in some way

Sangyeon- He was trying to keep things under control, resolve the conflict

Younghoon- sat back and watched the drama unfold

Kevin- Tried to koombayah the situation "we're all supposed to be brothers, stop fighting!!"

Juyeon- He was also trying to koombayah the situation. He was completely ignored though

Sunwoo- Has beef with someone. This particular conflict may not have anything to do with him, although I think he gave his two sense, which could have made the situation worse. Showed up at the end

New- He was playing dumb, being fake. More likely than not, part of the conflict (if not the reason the fight started)

Jacob- played mediator, was the one asking for receipts, "You say he's acting fake and shiesty, show us that that's the case"

Eric- Mentally drained from the situation. He's a part of the conflict in some way

Q- Distanced himself from the whole situation, likely left the dorms for the night bc of the fight

Hyunjae- He's a part of this conflict. Giving very assertive and masculine energy, not afraid to pipe up and likely the one who blew up. He's embarrassed and feeling betrayed

Haknyeon- Quiet during the whole thing

[rain-ghoul-appreciator]

ok ive the brain was braining and i have ended up with headcannons on how the ghouls died and all the lovely shit

(tagging @ominousposting cause our ideas r so similar its kinda scary) ((super telepathy magic right here kids)) (((cause im like 98% sure ive never seen they're ghoul lore posts before this so i dont really wanna say i got inspo from them but yea its cool we're cool everything is cool 🫶🫶)))

under the cut and obv tw for death, murder, overdose, disease, drowning, fire, suicide, car accidents and poison (wow thats a lot)

phantom

died in 2010 from a car crash

will not get in a car no matter how empty the roads are

was only 17 when he died

youngest ghoul in the band (death year wise)

has all the humor from the 2000s still and it drives everyone absolutely nuts (inspired this post)

aurora

died in 1925 from accidental poisoning

was one of the flapper girls and was from a fairly wealthy family

was 24 when she was accidentally poisoned by a drink that was meant for someone else

3rd oldest band ghoul (death year wise)

still absolutely loves 1920s fashion and experiments with it by adding current trends and basically becoming the fashionista of all time

cumulus

murdered in 1953 by her husband

queen in the kitchen then, queen in the kitchen now (like seriously she can make anything and everything and its kinda scary cause how tf does she do it)

was 33 when she died cause her husband thought that she was to old and not good enough for him anymore (fuck this random guy)

4th oldest band ghoul (death year wise)

found some of her old cook books from before she died and makes nice little homecooked meals for all the ghouls every sunday because it makes her happy seeing all of them happy

rain

died in 2003 from suicide

emo kid emo kid emo kid (that kid was mcr's second fan) ((frank iero was the first obviously)) (((but he was second)))

was 15 when he killed himself, his parents were devastated

2nd youngest band ghoul (death year wise)

was absolutely stoked to find out that mcr was one of the biggest emo bands and influenced so many other bands (he almost passed out listening to music again for the first time)

mountain

died in his sleep from a disease in 1979

was the kindest guy ever but when he got sick everyone kinda avoided him cause they didn't want to get sick and felt bad seeing him like that

was 27 when he died and his whole neighborhood wished they could have done something more

5th oldest band ghoul (death year wise)

was really excited when he was introduced to the greenhouse for the first time because his room was always filled with plants before he died and it felt like his own little piece of home

sunshine

died 1995 from breast cancer

was very lonely because she spent most of her prime socializing years in a hospital bed

eventually died at 29 and was happy when she did

3rd youngest band ghoul (death year wise)

purposefully grows out her hair really long so she can cut it and donate it to make wigs for people with cancer cause she wants to help ppl be more confident with themselves and not end up like she did

dewdrop

died in 1991 from drowning

never really learned how to swim because he lived in the middle of a desert where there was no water so he felt like he didn't have to worry

was 25 when a friend pushed him off a boat as a joke and he was never able to get back up

4th youngest band ghoul (death year wise)

even though the element switch hurt like a bitch and ripped a whole piece of himself out, he felt somewhat relieved because the lingering fear of water was no longer plaguing his mind

aether

died in 1864 from a house fire

had 2 kids and a wife and they lived out in the country side in the middle of no where

was 38 when the house caught fire and he died saving his family from the flames

2nd oldest band ghoul (death year wise)

was still so incredibly british when he was summoned that dew had a heart attack when he started talking

cirrus

died in 1798 after being murdered by an angry mob

was a major activist for womens rights and had her own little rebellion against all the stupid expectations set for women back then

was 32 when an angry mov finally snuffed her out and killed her along with the rest of her little rebellion

oldest band ghoul (death year wise)

is still a hige advocate for women's rights and has to try not to laugh when someone says that she looks like/acts like herself before death (cause they obv dont know thats her lmao she cracks up everytime)

swiss

died in 1981 from a drug overdose

was an addict and wanted to stop but he couldn't afford getting help and his family didn't want to be associated with him so he was kinda on his own

overdosed at age 35 because he couldn't live like this anymore so death was the only option that he believed was available

5th youngest band ghoul (death year wise)

refuses to do any other drug than weed because he is still so extremely paranoid about becoming an addict again or accidentally overdosing

[loki-zen]

re: hair loss, at what point as a man should you just shave it? I have/had long wavy Matthew McConaugh-hair, and I’m decently emotionally invested in the compliments I used to get. Outside of wanting to look good to women I don’t super care though, that and that my dad always wanted to grow his hair long but it didn’t work out for him, so I’m kinda doing it for both of us.

anyway, I’m on the road to approaching the “woody harrelson at the beginning of Natural Born Killers” hairline, and it’s a struggle. Been on finasteride for like 8 months, and I’m pretty sure it’s making me depressed, plus it does weird stuff to your cum, which is both gross and frightening in its implications. I had good results with rogaine, should probably start that again, regardless of what I do.

At what point does a man become sexier with the buzz cut a la Jason Statham, every Russian guy, etc?

it’s also frustrating because there’s so many memes out there about “creepy balding guys”, like it’s just this shorthand for being a coomer or a serial sexual harasser or what have you. I could live with “ugly balding guys”, there have been times in my life when I was hot and times I was ugly, I’m able to cope with that. But creepy just really sucks. I had a lot of female friends in college, and some women I’m very close to were victims of sexual violence, and so I’m probably hyper-sensitive and afraid of being perceived as predatory in any way. It’s good that I’m aware of the problems, but sometimes I wish I was more ignorant, it’d make it a lot less scary to strike up conversations with new people if I wasn’t crushingly aware of how often women are uncomfortable with men they’ve never met.

(I’m not morlock-Holmes, but I think we have some of the same dating issues)

So first off, it is obviously wrong and bigoted to make assumptions about someone's behaviour or intentions based on what they look like unless we're talking about something very specific and intentional like 'they have nazi tattoos'. If it helps any (I'm not sure it does) I don't think that these people necessarily see a balding guy and think that's a sexual predator so much as they are doing that very schoolyard thing of "we don't like this kind of people (sexual predators) and so we're going to stereotype them as being something we think is unattractive" (you see similar things with fatness and 'neckbeards').

If it is the women you actually know who say these sorts of things (that wasn't clear), it literally might not occur to them that they're making you feel this way because it's just a general-purpose insult to them that's become detached from the actual notion of a person they might know and like who happens to be male and balding.

This sort of talk is actually, if anything, dangerous to potential victims of sexual violence, because the idea that you can somehow spot Creepy Guys and they definitely look different to anyone else will tend to help conventionally attractive guys get away with it!

I don't think there are any hard and fast rules about the hair thing. Lots of guys do look cute with a buzzcut, and it is common (but not universal) in the dominant Anglosphere culture for people to find this more attractive than even very nice hair when that hair has visible male-pattern balding going on. I confess I do have this reaction myself sometimes, but I also find that the more I get to know people the more I see the nicer hair and the less I see the "but it's balding" part, but there are levels that will always look a bit odd to me (eg the shakespeare cut). Which, yknow, isn't actually a reason why people should change their hair, though I imagine you're asking because being attractive to other people is important to you.

Your female irl friends are perhaps best-placed to approximate the sort of views that predominate among the sort of women you're likely to be trying to date, and there are now decent AI tools to give you an idea of what you might look with different hairstyles - maybe try one out, see what you think and ask their advice.

Oh, also, in my personal opinion if your hair is fairly voluminous and past shoulder length you can get away with a receding hairline a lot longer - same with certain careful short but long on top looks, although they can be more fiddly.

[slocumjoe]

If Sole wasn't around, who do you think each companion would hook up with? (If anyone)

Since all of them meet through Sole, we're just going to keep that funky guy around...maybe they go moon over Edward Deegan, like a civilized person of taste and class

Cait; i could see her ending up with anyone, but I can't see her ending up happy with most of them. Honestly, I think her best bet would be Piper, maybe Preston. Preston, she'd have to have a lot of character development for...shake off some of her more raider-y traits. As for Piper, that's more her speed, and I think Cait would do well, having Nat around, getting to be Auntie Cait. Piper is more of a troublemaker and spitfire, and I think Cait could easily get bored with Preston. Happy, yes, but Cait gets a little stir crazy, not getting into trouble.

Curie; I fucking love Mac x Curie, I'll admit...but I'm not sure she'd, in text, care much for him. I also really like Curie x Danse, both are very cute to me. I think I like Danse x Curie more, as they're both scientifically minded, care very much about history and preservation of it, and big scary man who loves his small and sweet wife who's actually the weird, unsettling one is top tier.

Danse; Again, I can see him with Curie...and again, Preston as well. I've said before that Danse is very adaptable, romantically, so really, you could make a case for any of the other companions?? Some would absolutely be harder than others, and Gage is an outright fuck no, period. Gage is a fuck no for literally everyone here, spoilers. But Danse...as long as you've got some morals, and will be nice to him, you've got a chance. Low bar? Yeah. Yeah it is.

Deacon; Deacon can't even be romanced by fucking Sole. Bitch needs a crowbar to open up. But...if you have a taste for romantic black comedies...X6 x Deacon is fucking hilarious. Is it possible? No. Not even an inch. But that's not the point. The point is I like it and it's funny. As for what Deacon could actually land? Uh...no one? He's a known liar, he's closed off as shit, and he's prone to identity theft. I think the only one that stands a chance is Nick, but would Nick put up with it enough to fall in love?? Idfk.

Gage; No one. Not even X6. I've seen people say Cait, and I have to ask, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? CAIT WAS A SLAVE. GAGE IS A SLAVER. I LOVE HIM TO BITS BUT HE VERY MUCH IS A SLAVER THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE

Hancock; I kinda like MacCock but Valencock is also pretty good...honestly, Hancock has never struck me as a...romance kinda guy? Like, I get why he's romancable, but...I always felt like he'd be better with a bunch of casual romantic relationships, rather than one super serious one. But, I can see Hancock getting with Nick, Mac, and for a very fun wildcard, that I love for being a shitshow, Danse. Yes. Yes I just supported DanseCock. Its FUNNY AND QUESTIONABLE. OF COURSE I LIKE IT.

MacCready; So, Curie and Hancock I've already said, but if I didn't think Piper was a lesbian, I'd say her. What? They both got kids, both like candy, both have similar values and methods of getting around...but they'd butt heads a lot. A very bickery couple. But MacCock is also cute, though I think they'd have a lot of Very Real Issues. Curie, less so, because Curie is better at communication and doesn't do things Mac is Very Not Okay With. Though, he'd have some shit to stop doing for both MacCurie and MacCock, ei, stealing and murder, etc.

Nick; VALONGFELLOW SQUAD LETS GOOOO. But honestly, no one. Maybe Codsworth. I say Hancock, but pretty unlikely. Nick is a Confirmed Bachelor, man. Thats just how the cookie crumbles. UNLESS YOU GET ANOTHER OLD MYSTERIOUS DEAD WIFE MAN LETS GOOOO

Piper; If not Cait, Ellie, maybe? I always struggle to look at Piper beyond my Very Famous Issues With Her. It's just, Piper is lesbain to me. There are Two Other Girls. Curie is an...okay option? I think Piper would seriously butt heads with Curie in a relationship, though I can't put my finger on why exactly...on the other hand, Piper has genuine chemistry with Cait. Honestly, I don't put much stocks into canon x canon ships, anymore, I prefer the found family thing. Piper really showed that for me, thinking about this, because I don't really go crazy for her with anyone? It doesn't help she's got one option.

Preston; I've said he had a hoe phase and boy howdy, could Preston pull any of these bitches if he put his mind to it. But who would he want to pull? Not Curie, too naive and optimistic. Not MacCready, used to be a Gunner and acts like it. Cait, he wouldn't like her that way, as we know her. Again, personal growth needed there. Gonna have to say Danse as a flat, completely possible possibility. For a non-companion, Sturges. Obvi.

X6-88; I liked Curie x X6 for a time until DeacX6 revealed itself to me in a fever. But neither of these are based in reality. So, much like Gage, no one. Maybe they can hang out as bachelors and make fun of people together, idk. Bromance.

[bluedillylee]

Episode 4 of the Hexer

ooo some similarities with Netflix Witcher (and the books obviously) with these guys trying to rob Geralt and then Borch, Tea, and Vea intervene.

Tea and Vea look terrible honestly like a cheap halloween costume. This Borch is younger than the Netflix version. I wonder if they'll have them all flirt as a nod to the orgy that happens in the book.

AAAA WE HAVE HEADBAND GERALT!!!!! WOO WOO!!!

this is very like the book from what I remember. Geralt upfront warning Borch that people don't like witchers and treat them like lepers. All the smiles Borch is giving Geralt are making me laugh a little. Geralt looks filthy and Borch is smiling at him like he's about to start twirling his hair and giggling.

ok we've got a time-skip from the last episode. Geralt's been on the road for several years now.

Geralt is a sensitive dude huh? i'm really liking this convo with Borch it really reminds me of the books. It might be actual lines from the books i'm not sure i dont have copy with me rn.

talking about his principles and how he works to preserve human life but he doesn't like humanity very much.

pfft Borch telling Vea and Tea not to brawl even tho that dude totally groped her c'mon dragon man don't be such a downer.

drunk Geralt defending dragon omg i think Borch might be in love hahaha

holy shit are we getting the orgy??? goddamn we actually got all four of them in the tub together.

Netflix witcher I am looking at you rn 00 we didn't even get flirting!? and they got to be in a tub together!!! what the hell

DANDELION!!!! (edit JASKIER!!)

ok i thought this when I read the books as well but Dandelion introducing himself as poet, bard and unmatched in the bedroom (wink wink) to Borch is not straight behavior.

Secondly Geralt smiling at Dandelion as he greats him with a happy "Geralt" is very sweet. A wonderful into to their friendship.

oh they call him Jaskier in this too. Is Dandelion only a book name then? wait I remember there being some thing about them localizing the polish name for english readers. hmmm yep he's jaskier in the original polish version.

hold on we're probably going to meet Yennefer in this episode too! It's been very book accurate this episode and Jaskier just said they're waiting on a wizard to arrive.

OMG!! i should've just shutup and watched she's here!!!! aaaaahhh geralt's face haha yes

why is there no equality with nudity? I have seen full on female nudity several times now but have I seen even one dick? its sexism is what it is. I want to see a dick, for feminism!

hmm so Yennefer says he wants a lover and a mother (girl i hear you) and he has no purpose just wandering around killing monsters

aaaa they're hanging from the cliff and the reavers want to let them fall. omg Yennefer tells Geralt to save himself

Jaskier's helping them up (my ot3!!)

ooo scary Geralt begging the reaver to draw his sword so he can kill him. and he's back to looking goofy because wtf kinda kill was that i can't even tell if the other guy is dead or not.

ugh this dragon looks terrible. netflix version was also awful. why is it so difficult to design a kick ass dragon? his head is so small compared to his body as well as having tiny arms. Borch skipped arm day and only jacked up his legs

haha jaskier really is Donkey from shrek, dragon flirting and all

that was all very chaotic but they saved the ugliest baby dragon there ever was. Seriously tho that thing is butt ugly

what does Yennefer mean by saying she is a shard of ice? I'm trying to remember the short story. I felt like in that story she felt like there was a part of her that could never be loved or fully accepted and understood and that's what she meant by it. Hmmm I'll have to go back and read it again.

[toujokaname]

Game master / Episode 10

Author: Akira

Characters: Hiiro, HiMERU, Kohaku, Aira

"What it is ain't important; what's important is that the characters move in pursuit of its existence."

← Previous ✧ Directory ✧ Next →

[ Read on my site for a better viewing experience using Ois~su ♪ ]

Season: Winter

Location: Secluded Village

At the same time. A corner of Amagi Village, the starting point of the test of courage.

Hiiro: Now, let's go over the showdown details again.

It's the fourth match in Matrix, a test of courage.

HiMERU: Right. It's not overly intricate, though. It appears we're in for a literal test of courage.

Kohaku: It's my first time doin' somethin' like a test of courage. It's excitin'~♪

Aira: Kohakucchi can be so innocent sometimes... Cute.

But just the idea of trying out a test of courage in an eerie backward village gives me the creeps.

Hiiro: Again, I wish you'd stop calling someone's hometown a backward village.

As I keep repeating, my hometown is normal.

Well, but, I've been away from here for a while too. It wouldn't be surprising if the "common sense" has changed, so we shouldn't let our guard down, I guess?

Moreover, "this place" seems to be slightly different from the hometown I'm familiar with.

Kohaku: What the heck's with ya, sayin' something so scary. Looks like the test of courage's already in full swing, huh ♪

HiMERU: You seem strangely enthusiastic, Oukawa. Even though we've participated in similar projects before?

Since it's not the first time, is there really a need to get so worked up?

Kohaku: That was an escape game, this here's a test of courage. It's different.

HiMERU: Rather, Oukawa, weren't you supposed to be scared of ghosts? Why do you seem so excited?

Kohaku: It's fun to be scared, right? Ain't that what a test of courage's about?

Aira: I kinda get it... Even though it scares me, sometimes I watch horror movies or go into haunted houses at theme parks.

I always regret it afterward, though.

Hiiro: Well, enjoying fear and thrills in safe circumstances is a hobby I'm aware of.

When humans feel fear, their brains secrete chemicals to alleviate it. It seems some become dependent on the pleasure of easing that tension.

Aira: Hiro-kun, seriously, where do you pick up stuff like that from?

Hiiro: Mainly from books and the internet. For that matter, how come Aira doesn't know anything even though he lives in such an information-rich environment?

Aira: I-I know a lot of things? I'm literally the one always teaching Hiro-kun, who's eternally clueless?

Kohaku: Hehe. Rabu-han, seems you're pretty sassy when Hiiro-han's around.

In front of me, you're always such an innocent, good boy... But even so, this side of Rabu-han's rather captivatin', too ♪

Aira: Ugguh?! It's Hiro-kun's fault! You totally blew my cover in front of Kohakucchi?!

Hiiro: I won't take the blame for that, okay...?

HiMERU: Fufu. Well, let's get back to the topic, shall we? HiMERU apologizes for derailing the conversation, Hiiro-san.

Hiiro: Huh? It didn't seem like HiMERU-san was the one who derailed it... Oh well.

Umm. I don't have any experience with tests of courage either, so I can't speak as if I understand very much, but here goes.

Representatives from each of our units will follow a set route around the Amagi Village.

It seems that the final destination is a certain mansion deep inside the village.

While pressing seals on stamp cards placed along the route, we'll obtain a "treasure" at the final destination.

That's about the gist of it.

Aira: It sounds kinda mysterious, but what's this treasure?

Hiiro: Well... I think it's just a MacGuffin, so we don't have to worry too much about it.

Aira: M-Macffi...n? What's that? A new type of snack?

HiMERU: No one was talking about muffins.

Kohaku: It's a term used in filmmakin'. It refers to somethin' the characters are tryna achieve.

It's only a motive or goal to drive the characters. In practice, anythin' works.

It might be treasure, a briefcase brimmin' with cash, or even somethin' as abstract as a position of power.

What it is ain't important; what's important is that the characters move in pursuit of its existence.

[ ☆ ]

← Previous ✧ Directory ✧ Next →

[oaxleaf]

mag 150 - cul-de-sac

the concept of "suburbs" is something that, whilst having set translations in a lot of languages, can have quite different connotations depending on where your from. economically, architecturaly, culturally, etc. as a kid, i was confused by the english speaking depictions of it as soulless and hellish copy-and-paste labyrinths, because what i consider to be the suburbs here in sweden are not necessarily like that at all. i think that this specific brand of suburbia is much rarer here and something i'm honestly not overly familiar with, and i'm not sure whether that makes this episode more or less terrifying

it is one of the scarier ones though, at least to me. i've always been kinda freaked out by empty urban areas, houses that look lived in but there's no one there. it's far freakier than abandoned countryside. it's something about taking this setting that is quite familiar to a lot of us, some place that could, with a tweek or two, be ours, and then corrupting that. the strange is, after all, far less scary if you don't know how it should look. i feel similarly about episodes centered around the internet. in my mind i refer to it as the horror of familiarity

another thing is that this episode is slow-building. like jon himself mentions, the lonely has it's victims do half its work for them. and it makes sense. it's really hard to actively scare someone with the absence of something. making somebody sad and depressed is quite easy, sure, but at the end of the day, the lonely doesn't feed off of that. it feeds of fear. and it does so by letting its victims pull themselves down a spiral of doubt and desperation. i definitely know i'd be driven insane and break down because of this one

there's also something to be said about it being defeated by a loved one. similar to what happened all the way back in mag 48 where gerry tells andrea nunis to keep her mother in mind. similar to what we're about to see in less than ten episodes now...

melanie is not lashing out here. not once, during their entire interaction. which i'm not sure is a first? but it's one of very few in that case. once again, she is really trying here. and jon isn't. she really wants to get out. jon, quite honestly, does not. and by god will i have a lot to say about that in the next couple episodes or so

[sadistpet]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER.

tagged by: I STOLE.

tagging: curtsies. you may steal from me

Name: frances ! i have gone by Many different names in my time though

Pronouns: she/they !

Preference of communication: UM i have avoidant personality disorder which makes communication in general kind of super scary and hard but i like talking in tags and replies to posts and sometimes dms if i’m confortable !! same with discord

Name of muse(s): my current girlies are ivan raidenovitch raikov (this blogge) and leo kasper (ppravitas) !! my super duper scrungies

Experience/how long (months/years?): um i think 12 years unless you count pretending to be a horse on club penguin as rp

Platforms you’ve used: mainly just tumblr ! i did use skype, fb and twitter Very rarely and i’ve written on discord a few times :3

Pet peeves / dealbreakers: um generally just being a dick or bigoted. or liking weird shit or shipping minors and adults that kinda thing. like oh... naur thank you... get that away from me neow

Fluff, angst, or smut: all of the above and more PLEASE !!!! im not very used to writing smut but i would like to do it more. i love angst i always love angst even if the whole time im going NOOO SOB SOB i love it its so good. and fluff my beloved... everybody needs some sweet stuff sometimes and i love it. so ya tldr any and all and yes.

Plots or memes: looks around frightened i get supar scared plotting honestly cause i never feel like i contribute much RFHJGF but i enjoy like. setting out a general idea type thing :3 umm ask memes tend to be easier though

long or short replies: prrrrobably somewhere in the middle ?? but if i had to choose id say long because i cannot shut up ever and i also love reading long replies so grins.

Best time to write: um i dont really have one honestly ?? usually like 1am or like... the afternoon since that's when i'm mostly free but yeah :3

Are you like your muse(s): i am like raikov to a frightening degree . hes me but if i didn’t have the avpd to keep me in check . like we're both blonde haired, blue eyed, fem. we both like excessive eating, sitting in our rooms and admiring our interests, reading, being cheeky, sleeping. i am not exceedingly similar to leo BUT we are both cluster b so there’s some overlap for sure :3

[cosmicharmonyoc]

warning: what follows is a way too long analysis of With My Tail To The World by patricia taxxon as a den song. and its written kinda badly bc im so sleepy but oh well <3 woe, oc playlists be upon ye

i guess to start - the entire sound of this is SO den. the energy in the synths. the way its pushing forward. there's this bright exciting energy to all of it and it's so so den!! me and den r both stimming to this song :3 and then the way the synths get a bit darker in the chorus but keep up that energy.... OUGH its so cool

ok so lyrics time

You would know me if you saw me on the road / I’m imposing, I’m explosive, I’m precocious, I’m the most

den's whole personality that he presents to the world is the MOST - enthusiastic and silly and energetic and optimistic and positive. now that he's on the elpis, he's crafted a version of himself that is impossible to hide, who is loud and bright and loving.

Can you sing along? / I don’t hold you to the best, but / Can’t you see the lines and dots? / Don’t you feel as if you’re missing something?

a lot of things here. a) can you sing along - music - cosmic harmony. music is a big theme for the story and just :3 . b) this is starting to get to how den perceives the world. he's an artist, and a lot of how he interacts with the world is through that lens. he interprets the world by thinking in terms of art - can you see the lines and dots?

I’m a skeptic of the senses, I don’t think you’ve broke / The terror found in relishing pretention, I don’t think you’ve spoke / To any of your characters, purveyors of your barriers / The scariest it gets is far behind the world you know, so...

ok i wont lie and pretend i understand any of this ghjk i love the lyrics so much though!! what i do think happens here is like... den's this character who calls identity into question. in a story all about identity and figuring out who you want to be, den is all about like... purposefully crafting the Self. im still trying to figure out what this verse means but there's something going on with den calling the world into question - by looking at it through an artistic lens, deconstructing everything. "the scariest it gets is far behind the world you know" is very fun coming from him in his relationship with honeycomb - den is part of this weird, magical, and sometimes scary world that others dont know about.

Can you sing along? / She was looking like a summer / Can’t you see the lines and dots? / And in turn, beget the sun within her

here we start to get a look at den and creation and the Self and his relationships with the space squad. specifically aria. the word sun is in there, i have to :p the idea of seeing the lines and dots - den's art - in order to create the sun within her - DEN IS A NEBULA AND ARIA IS A STAR! nebulas create stars! aria's identity exists without den of course hehe but there's this interesting thing going on where like... den uses his art to show people who they are in his mind. his painting of honeycomb is a prominent plot point - the way den uses his art to turn people into these bright and powerful symbols. and in terms of his friendship with aria, he definitely does something similar - helping her to see herself as a bright burning star, the way he does. helping her to create herself.

You think you know the mistress, well / You see me as I am, but... // Can you see me with the lights off? / The quale I brought to class? / Articulate the beauty of a flower held behind my back

and here we get into the complicated nature of identity - den is a deeper person than that loud energetic optimistic self he presents. its an authentic version of himself, but that light isn't all there is to him. den is optimistic but not entirely naive, energetic but not out of control - he is a force of creation to be reckoned with. idk quite how to describe any of this lol but if we're looking at the self as a creation, den is basically saying here "there's more to me than my surface". and of course turning the lights off here - den has light powers! he's in control of the lights! and so there's this question of. who is he when the lights are off? when he changes the colors? can you see him beyond the surface level paint?

I’m that doggie in the window of your church / Every Sunday, you could see me if your muzzle formed the words / Think absurdly in the evening, think concretely by the dawn / Think along the lines you recognize, but never dared to walk

den fursona when. also den comes from a conservative christian family and so there's something so fun here about him challenging the values and standards of that culture!! and that last line... there's a LOT to it but one thing worth mentioning is like... how much den plays with gender. he's technically cis but he's Cis+. he's fucking with gender and doing what he wants - he recognizes the lines and is walking with them and turning them into absurd concepts :3

ok, last verse before its the chorus again, so final new lyrics to analyze!

Can you sense the gold within a Friendship saved? / Can you lens the lurid lines belied inside On A Clear Day? / Can you grab the squalid square laid bare amongst a Desert Rain? Can you nab the stained stripes entwined a meek Untitled 8? I say!

so With My Tail To The World is about the artist agnes martin, and all of the lines here reference her works. this song actually made me consider making den's art more abstract, which i think works well with his character!! this is just. PERFECTLY how den views the world. all of these abstract art pieces that are easy to dismiss as being simplistic are reflections of the world!! this is questioning those same things about identity and the world and art - can you see the world in these paintings? can you see how i see the world? this verse is just... an anthem for den's view on art and the world and WAUGH I LOVE IT. also this verse is so fun to sing out loud lol. also fun fact Friendship by agnes martin is this giant grid of gold and just... i think its perfect for den's friendship with aria hehe

[katharpy]

The animatic(?) with the Bluey audio (I think with Oli and Reilly) is killing me, I know nothing about them and I want them to be happy but it feels so sad 😭 are they ok? Is their story finished? Is there any chance for a happy reunion?

oh god ok let me. go off for a second shes kinda on my mind 24/7 rn!!!

so Oli is currently my character for a dual solo game we're nicknaming the "timeline game" my friend is running for us. it's been really fun for me so i've also maybe been turning it into a visual novel on the side?? we do a some text rp in between actual sessions and ive been transcribing both for a vn

(lore dump below this aaa)

Oli basically is a tiefling orc who was raised by her grandmother (Loralee) and was given up by her parents/shunned by her peers and was trained by her grandmother instead growing up being a normal kid and stuff. She had never had friends before. But her grandmother taught her the countries morals, which are basically being kind and patient! Which is very funny when you have a very scary resting bitch face like hers.

When she finally joined the military, wanting to become a paladin for her kingdom, she met Riley! Her first friend. (and first crush, but she hasn't realized she was in love with her yet) Riley liked flowers, so she's ended up with a habit of collecting flowers and pressing them in a book she keeps with her. Forget Me Not's were Riley's favorite.

Sadly, when she was given the chance to lead her first mission, something simple like some monster extermination mission, she failed and got Riley (and possibly others) killed. Oli blamed herself, quitting her military service.

Here's where the game comes in though! Oli is technically also an npc in my campaign. As a general. She's not supposed to quit the military, she's supposed to persevere and become a really important paladin. In our timeline game, the characters my and friend are playing are versions of these characters from timelines where they are considered "anomalies" and are snatched from those defunct timelines and are basically indentured servants for a company that's main goal is "preserving the main timeline". Each session we go on little missions and deal with anomalies which generally harken back to characters and stories we're familiar with, the first session being where i had to see a version of one of my own characters (Azalea) who had completely given up on life because of one small difference. With the idea of timelines and stuff she technically could reuinte with Riley somehow? i would not put that past my dm lol

now she's partnered with an agent to take care of her, a sweet pink haired girl named kim who has a similar past as hers that is very much a slow burn romance. Oli rn is lvl 1, so she WILL be a paladin technically! Just not of the Crown subclass like she intended. She'll be the Ancients subclass, but it will be her tiefling bloodline, which is a big thing she's pretty ashamed about after her parents disowning her at birth and stuff! so she's gonna have this character arc of getting over grief and shame and learning to make friends and fall in love and its going to be very very fun and i cant wait to make it into a game for everyone to read both Oli's AND Tithe's story!! (also she has a 20 in str at lvl 1 shes so big and strong)

OK THAT WAS A LOT THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TEDTALK!!!

[your-pal-smoochins]

hello, you two! Yeah, this is the lil mirror cutie. The mirror was. some kinda magical thing and I popped in, met Blutie, and fuckin bolted. Smoochins is making them a room. Be gentle around Tee, they're very timid its been a rather scary day for them.

...day? ...no... more. has to be more... years?? scary years...

Hm. Poor fella. Well, we'll keep ya safe, Blutie! We're just like you, y'know? At least, I think we are. Ya look pretty similar, aside from the uh... Face thing.

[Blutie covers her face in response. Cheshire realizes the mistake.]

Uh, don't worry so much about it! Uhhh... You look cool, man! Really cool.

[Mandi makes a sort of sigh-like noise, then sheathes her swords and approaches Bluetie. Blutie is frozen in fear, until Mandi puts a hand on her shoulder and says something you can't understand.]

She says you're brave for making it through whatever gave you those marks. Couldn't have said it better myself!

[Blutie seems slightly calmer, now. Not much, but better than nothing.]

[gh0strabbit]

HII I HAVENT RELLY BEEN ABLE TO DRAW MUCH FINISHED STUFF RECENTYLY?? ITS BEEN FUNKY MY MOTIVATION IS LIKE GONE BUT I /DO/ HAVE A LOT OF LITTLE DOOLDES,,,,, THROWS THESE AT U ENJOY