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thedroneranger · 1 year

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Doggone It

Jake "Hangman" Seresin

Précis: Jake convinces Mrs. Seresin she needs a furry companion.

Note: I needed a serotonin hit, and dogs make me happy. This piece is an imagine in the To-Do List collection.

Warnings: So fluffy you might die, disabled dogs, inaccuracies around how military working dog adoptions work

Word count: 1.1k

Jake was nervous. Although he thought he was hiding it well, he wasn’t. She knew. She always knew. No one read Jake better than she could. Of course, he found it particularly annoying. Especially if he were planning any sort of surprise.

Pretending to be none the wiser, she sipped her latte and hummed along to the music. The wind siphoning through the cracked passenger window, streaming through her hair felt wonderful. Sun was hitting her face as she stared through her aviators at the passing scenery.

All of Jake’s tells were on display: thumbs thrumming on the steering wheel, knee jumping nervously and he wasn’t serenading her to their shared playlist, but instead mumbling to himself under his breath.

Finally, he broke the low lull of the music. “We’re headed to base.”

“I know.” She turned from the window to look at him as he shot her a quick glance before putting his eyes back on the road. She continued to watch his profile, waiting for him to elaborate further.

A breath he didn’t realize he was holding left his body. “We have an appointment,” he added. His bottom lip disappeared between his teeth for a second.

“An appointment?” She prodded, taking another sip of her latte.

“Yes, an appointment. You’ll see when we get there,” Jake finished. Her mind raced as she tried to imagine what would require both their presence on base. Her ID card wasn’t up for renewal. Her vehicle tags were up to date.

Once the truck was parked, Jake came around to the front of the vehicle, hand ready for her to take. They exchanged smiles as their fingers interlaced. Inside the building, nothing appeared familiar as they strode past sterile doors, and the overhead lights glimmered off the well-waxed beige tile.

At the end of the nondescript hallway, Jake pushed open one of the double doors to reveal a gymnasium dotted with dogs and handlers. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers. “You cannot be serious, Jake!” She turned to look at him.

His expression was guilty yet hopeful. “Serious as a heart attack, sweetheart. We’re here to see which dogs are matches for us.” Her mouth hung open for a few seconds but nothing came out.

For months, she and Jake had been going back and forth about getting a dog. Given the uptick in the duration and frequency of his deployments and tours, he wanted her to have a protective companion around when he wasn’t. Plus, he couldn’t always rely on his friends—their assignments were as sporadic as his.

First, Jake looked at breeders, thinking a purebred puppy would be perfect. Although the idea of a pudgy puppy cuddled in her lap with velvet fur, premature wrinkles and unmistakable breath made her melt, she knew they had to adopt. So Jake changed his attack, sending her adoption events from rescues throughout the county.

One day, he was on his way to the mess hall for lunch when a flier on the hallway bulletin board caught his eye. A smile curled his lips as he read the details for an upcoming military working dog adoption event.

He captured the information through the posted QR code and continued on to the lunch room. His squadron buddies ribbed him while he filled out the digital forms to ensure they got on the list as soon as possible.

Jake remembered the day he got the approval email. He’d been incessantly checking. It also took all his willpower not to tell her. So often she did things for him that he really wanted to do this for her.

“Lieutenant Seresin? Mrs. Seresin?” A woman dressed in fatigues addressed them with a warm smile. They nodded in unison and each shook her hand. After introducing herself, she offered them beverages and then took the pair to a small sitting area. Then, she walked through how their application was vetted and they were matched.

“You’re perfect candidates for any of the dogs here,” the woman commended them. They exchanged affectionate looks as Jake slipped his hand into hers and squeezed it. “But there’s a specific dog we think is the best fit for you. Would you like to meet him?”

Jake was out of his chair before the word “yes” left his lips. The soldier smiled at his giddiness and waited for her to also stand. Once all three of them were on their feet, she guided them around the perimeter of the room until they reached another soldier, standing with a brindle Belgian Malinois. “Say hello to Ruck.” She motioned toward the dog.

Jake listened so well to her list of must-haves that they were here, standing in front of a retired military dog in need of a home. She looked at Jake with a genuine smile. He thought his heart might stop. She looked so happy, which made him so happy.

“May I?” She looked at the handler for permission to pet the dog.

“Please!” He looked at Ruck, giving a wordless command. Looking back at her, the handler offered a couple pointers for a successful first impression. Jake listened but watched his wife as she absorbed everything.

Once briefed, she knelt to Ruck’s level and presented the back of her hand to him. Curiously, he nosed it, eventually nuzzling her palm. She smiled as she began to scratch his jaw, and then eventually behind his ears.

While Ruck warmed up to her, they learned he was a six-year-old that had served two tours in the Middle East and has been to almost all 50 states. The timing could not have been more perfect. As the handler finished with Ruck’s list of accolades, the dog excitedly popped up, rushing forward into her arms, revealing he was short a hindleg.

Both she and Jake couldn’t help but smile, and the soldiers sighed in deep relief. Usually a hard sell, the pair was unfazed.

Heck, Jake felt his heart melt a little more.

After a couple hours of socialization, Jake managed to convince the program manager to give a special release so Ruck could leave with them. Usually, they coordinated a home drop-off later, but Ruck had really taken to them.

While they were outside, practicing commands and playing fetch, the handler came toward her only to be warned by Ruck not to come any closer. A smile crept across her face as she looked at the dog and rewarded him with a pat on the head. The handler and program manager were just as pleased.

On the ride home, Jake had a hard time keeping his eyes on the road as she and Ruck sat in the backseat. Ruck laid across the seat with his head in her lap as she stroked between his ears.

She caught Jake staring at her in the rearview mirror and pouted her lips in his direction. He cocked his cheek as though her kiss landed there and winked at her.

Jake’s heart was so full, he thought he might burst.

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#jake seresin x reader #jake seresin imagine #jake seresin #jake hangman #jake hangman fic #jake hangman seresin #jake hangman x reader #jake hangman imagine #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake hangman x you #hangman #the drone ranger #thedroneranger #to do list #to do list series #to do list collection

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hslllot · 1 year

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A Soft Landing

2.2K words | harry x reader

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First, I’d like to thank everyone for their encouragement and patience when it comes to posting for ASPTF. Although I’m not finished the next part, I thought I’d share this blurb that was originally meant to be in part 3 (that hasn’t been posted yet). So, there are things that are mentioned in this that you might either think are a little spoiler-y OR a little bit of a sneak peek of what’s to come! Second, this was the sweet piece I had in mind for the Sweet and Spicy Fic Challenge that I started with @harry-on-broadway and @harrysblackcoat. I will post the inspo at the end! Enjoy!

-----

Harry considered himself a pretty athletic guy.

He was capable of running around stage for hours, engaging proper breathing techniques in order to sing and jump around at the same time. He worked out regularly, went on a run nearly every day, and often went to pilates classes. He liked boxing and was decent at footie (when he actually managed to get to a game).

Even when it came to winter sports, he was pretty confident. He’d gone on plenty of ski trips before and managed to stay upright on a skating rink.

Imagine his surprise when he realized he was shit at snowshoeing.

It all started with dinner with you and your brother and a few glasses of wine. In an effort to embarrass you, your brother brought up your stuffed animal collection. When he mentioned a stuffed elephant that you were extremely attached to, even as you got older, your mouth dropped in embarrassment. You smacked him in the arm before you admitted that you hadn’t seen your elephant, Bubba, since you moved to Vancouver.

“He’s probably somewhere in the shed at the cabin.” Your brother said.

It was nearly imperceptible but Harry noticed the way your eyes lit up for a fraction of a second at the possibility of finding Bubba. And at that moment, Harry commited to finding him.

In fact, after dinner he got back to the cabin and couldn’t get it off his mind. He stood at the back window and looked out at the large wooden shed, lit by the glow of the moonlight. He wondered what else was in there that might’ve belonged to you. Your old belongings, parts of you, waiting to be discovered. He bundled himself up, grabbed the flashlight from the closet, and trudged through the snow and out to the shed.

When he started pulling boxes from the shelves, he realized it was basically a museum of all your old stuff. Books and old movies, scrapbooks filled with photos of your childhood friends, even old clothes. You probably didn’t even know what was in there, but if your mother was anything like his, she probably kept it all for its sentimental value “just-in-case” you might want to revisit your 2nd grade report card.

He spotted the snowshoes on the way out of the shed. He’d seen snowshoes before and knew what they were, yet, it was an activity he’d never tried before. And, maybe, another reason to hang out with you. So he grabbed the contraptions from where they were hung on the wall, along with a few other things he discovered in the shed, and decided to ask you to show him how to use them.

When you came around the next day, Harry chose not to tell you why he had been in the shed in the first place. And you chose not to ask (even though you had an idea why).

You told him that snowshoeing was a fairly easy activity, basically a way to walk through the snow.

“The large surface area of the shoe makes it easier to move on top of deep powder” you explained, showing him the way the straps worked and how it would attach to his boot.

When he asked you if anyone could do it, you responded: “If you can walk, you can snowshoe.” And so he thought, how hard could it be?

The two of you planned to spend the afternoon snowshoeing. The sun was out and you claimed that it was a great way to explore some of the snow covered trails that he hadn’t been able to explore yet.

“Are those ski poles?” he asked, as you pulled all of the necessary equipment out of your parents’ shed. You brought your own shoes from your parents’ house, but grabbed the extra set and some poles that were being stored at the cabin, figuring that they would be a better fit for Harry.

“They’re snowshoe poles,” You replied. “We can adjust them for different snow heights. They’ll probably be helpful when we reach some steeper parts of the trail.”

Harry nodded, deferring to your expertise when it came to anything winter and mountain-related. He thought back to the hike the two of you did last week, the way you guided him through the rough terrain and icy scramble with ease. The way you squeezed his hand when the two of you finally made it to the summit. The way the icy wind painted your cheeks red and made your eyes water while you smiled down at the valley below. The way he couldn’t decide what he liked looking at more, the view from atop the mountain, or you.

The glee you felt at the top of the mountain was contagious, and he couldn’t wait to go on another adventure with you.

----

Harry remembered how cold it was on your hike last week, so he made sure to wear some extra layers, along with the new puffer coat he bought at your parents’ shop the other day.

“What ‘ve you got in there?” He asked, pointing at the bag you were strapping to your back.

“Just some snacks. Figured we might want to find a place to sit along the trail and enjoy the sunshine. Oh, don’t forget your sunglasses.”

Harry nodded and grabbed his sunglasses as you made your way out the door and into the winter wonderland. The pinpricks of the cold mountain air contrasted by the heat of the sunshine beaming down on you. You stopped at the end of the porch to strap into the snowshoes, your eyes on Harry’s hands and the way they deftly attached the straps across his boots, just the way you had shown him how to.

You walked around the snow-covered land surrounding the cabin, encouraging Harry to practice walking around and getting used to the objects strapped to his feet.

“Just like walking, right?” You asked him.

“Yea, seems pretty easy.” You knew Harry would have no trouble walking around with the shoes on flat terrain.

“So when we get to some uphill parts of the trails, you’ll want to make sure you use your toe to kick into the snow,” you demonstrated, prompting him to mirror your movements. “And then strike with your heal when we’re going downhill.”

You asked Harry if he felt ready to hit the trail, and he felt pretty confident that it wouldn’t be much different from a regular hike. Besides that, he felt like you were really good at explaining things and knew you would guide him along the way.

-----

It was as the two of you made your way up a particularly steep part of the trail that he started feeling a bit hot. He bundled up extra warm, not realizing how much of a workout he would be getting with the snowshoes, or that you would be so out in the open under the hot sun. He realized wearing a long sleeve shirt, under the hoodie, under the NorthFace puffer was a bit much. It didn’t help that the muscles in his hips and groin area were starting to burn from having to walk with wider-than-normal strides so that he didn’t step on the insides of the snowshoes.

You were ahead of him on the trail, recounting the conversation you had with your boss yesterday. He tried his best to listen to your story, but was hyper aware of the sweat soaking his back. Why didn’t you look as tired as he was starting to feel? He wondered.

“You ok?” You asked, stopping in your tracks when you noticed it had been a while since he said anything. You looked back to make sure he was OK.

“‘m fine.” He muttered, making an effort to catch up to you. If you were being honest, he looked like he was struggling, but you didn’t want to say anything. Instead you waited for him to meet you where you were and decided you would take it slower the rest of the way up.

When the two of you were side by side, you eyed him to make sure he was actually fine before continuing up the trail.

“So did you remember to FaceTime your mom last night?”

Your question didn’t fully register in his brain. It was like it happened in slow motion, the way his foot kicked out a bit too far and the heel edge of his snow shoe dug into the powder at the wrong angle. He flew backwards, the hiking poles useless when it came to helping him regain his footing. He let himself fall, knowing the fluffiness of the snow protected him, barely feeling the force of gravity in the collision.

You looked to find him on his back, and made sure to hold back laughter until you assessed the situation in case he was hurt. He took his sunglasses off and wiped the snow off his face, wearing a smile that indicated that he was fine - his face tinged a bit red, whether it was from the cold or from embarrassment you were unsure.

After a few seconds, you couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst into laughter. Harry propped himself up, leaning back on his elbows in the snow. He shook the snow from his hair and you noted the stray wet curl that had fallen on his forehead.

Could he get any cuter? You thought to yourself.

“Ah yes, very funny. Keep laughing!” He said. “You just gonna stand there, or help me up?”

“Hey, if you’re going to fall, it might as well be in a foot of powder,” you said as he jokingly rolled his eyes and reached his hand out to you.

Taking his gloved hand in yours, instant regret washed over you.

You should have seen it coming. You should have noticed the glint in his eye and the devilish grin he wore as he reached out to you. By the time you did notice, it was too late, and instead of pulling himself up he dragged you down with him. Unlike him, you didn’t have the reaction time to catch yourself before faceplanting in the snow.

“HA!” He cackled and you could feel the way he shook in laughter while you remained face down in the snow. When you finally turned yourself over onto your back, you feigned annoyance and he muttered an insecere “sorry” with the biggest grin plastered across his face. He could tell you were holding back a smile too, though, your face wet with eyelashes covered in snow.

As his laughter died down he admitted, “if ‘m honest, this is harder than I thought it’d be.”

You nodded. “I probably could have chosen an easier trail…” You didn’t want to admit that you chose the harder trail because it would take longer, allowing you to spend the entire afternoon together. You knew Harry was a fit guy, and that snowshoeing on a normal, flatter trail would have been too easy. Too quick.

“Maybe now’s a good time for a break? Snack time?”

Harry agreed. “Do you have room in your pack for one of my layers?”

Nodding, you pulled two prepared sandwiches out of your bag. You went to hand one to Harry when you looked up and found him undressing next to you. You couldn’t help but stare when he pulled his hoodie over his head, the shirt underneath riding up to reveal his tattooed torso.

Harry caught you staring, but made a conscious effort not to say anything, so not to embarrass you. Instead he said, “trade you?” pulling you out of your stupor.

You handed him a sandwich before taking the hoodie from his hands and stuffing it into the bag. He could tell you were a bit flustered, and he thought it was endearing.

The two of you sat in the snow for a while, eating your snacks under the sun. He told you about the FaceTime call he had with his mother the night before, and asked you to retell the story about your conversation with your boss, since he’d been too distracted to listen before. And as you told your story animatedly, between bites of your sandwich, Harry couldn’t help but think: You were right. If he was going to fall, there’s no better, softer, place to fall than in a foot of powder… with you.

-----

As random as it might seem, my inspiration for this was this photo…

Imagine Harry, leaning back like this, propped up on his elbows surrounded by snow and sunshine, grinning like that because he just dragged you into the snow with him.

Anyways… Thank you so much for reading!! As always, please let me know what you think. You can read the first two parts of ASPTF here. I look forward to posting part 3!! It’s going to be a long one… (ps yes I changed all the ASPTF headers because harry was literally papped wearing the exact puffer that MC and her parents wear in the first two parts!)

COME TALK TO ME!

#a soft place to fall #my writing #harry styles fanfic #harry styles x reader #SweetandSpicyFicChallenge #harry styles writing #harry styles fluff

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roseclaw · 1 month

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ALLSANG BINGO

Who: Nie Huaisang What: AllSang Bingo! When: the entire month of May Where: AO3, tumblr, bluesky, twitter, dw How: any type of media

Download a copy of this bingo card to play!

Rules and FAQ under the cut!

Rules:

1. All prompts are open to interpretation as long as they focus on Nie Huaisang. He can be alone, in a romantic ship, or in a platonic ship. Poly is also okay.

2. The goal is to make a bingo on your card. (Or more than one bingo if you're ambitious.) There are multiple ways of earning a bingo: horizontal, vertical, blackout, four corners, etc.

3. Squares are marked off toward a bingo by filling the prompt within the square. Multiple squares can be combined in one work.

4. You can submit fics, song mixes, art, vids, podfics, picspams, rec lists, icons, and meta. Make sure all items posted to the collection are in line with AO3's ToS.

5. Bingos can be made up of any combination of media. You do not have to do all fic, all art fills, etc. to make bingo - ex: you could submit 2 pieces of art, 1 mix and 2 fics to make a line bingo. Additionally, a bingo does not have to be all in one pairing.

6. Any rating or pairing is allowed as long as it is properly tagged. This includes incest and dark pairings. No character bashing will be allowed.

7. Anything publicly posted previously may not be used to fill a square. Each fill for your bingo must be newly-created media.

8. You can reuse any square on your card as many times as you want.

9. Fills can be posted where you see fit (tumblr, bluesky, twitter (x), dw, AO3, etc.).

10. Posting will be for the entire month of May. The collection on AO3 is open now and will be revealed on May 1 and close June 1.

FAQ

What is accepted? - Anything including Nie Huaisang as the main character - Any rating - Any genre - Crossovers and fusions

What is not allowed? - AI generated media - Character bashing - Previously posted stories

Is a fill limited to fic only? No. While fic is used as a shorthand you are not limited to fic. Bingo squares can be filled with fic, art, icons, recs, picspams, vids, podfic, mixes, or meta. However, only media that does not violate AO3's ToS is allowed in the collection.

Is there a collection on AO3? Yes! It is here! The collection will be revealed on May 1 and close on June 1. Your creations do not need to be posted to this collection.

How should I tag my bingo fills? Tag with #AllSangBingo and any other appropriate tags

Can I write a series? Yes.

Can I write, vid, etc. as part of a team? Yes.

Can I use a story I have co-written as a bingo fill for my own bingo card? If your co-writer doesn’t mind, yes.

I have a story posted previously that fits one of my prompts, can I use it? No, everything for the bingo should be newly written and tagged as written for this event since the goal of the challenge is to create more Nie Huaisang works.

Can I combine my fill with a fill from another challenge? Yes, as long as it has not been posted previously, is clearly labeled as being for AllSang Bingo as well as the other challenge, AND that the mods of the other challenge are okay with it.

#nie huaisang #allsang #sangcheng #xisang #wangsang #sangyao #niecest #sangxian #gusu trio #all the rarepairs #and ships i do not recall the namesmush for #allsangbingo

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tinukis · 2 months

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FINALLY SHOWING OFF MY COLLECTION !!! i finally reorganized a little bit buuut it still feels incomplete... anyway!! it's a mix of one piece and pokemon... ft other things but mostly one piece

FIRST SHELF:

again, mostly pokemon and one piece. i've been collecting pokemon plushies/merch in general since 2018. and to be completely honest with you, i feel like my life didnt start until 2018. i have no recollection of anything at least irl before 2018... i have a bunch of pokemon plushies still that arent even on here or theyre just hiding from sight! (like behind gladion is a steven stone plushie nfmshd) OH AND I HAD MY GLADION AND MIKO PLUSHIE MADE !! i just drew it and then gave the designs to a manufacturer :3 my next goal is to make another two but with their alt outfits this time :D

also on the top shelf, other than the action figures and plushies, are artbooks! for original sun/moon, usum, scarlet/violet, and it's hard to see but artbooks for the great ace attorney/dai gyakuten saiban as well !! also the gladion acrylic standee blends in well with wano zoro jfkdhjd omg do yall think gladion could do a closet cosplay of zoro (miko got him to do it <3)

also im not rlly big on pop funkos, theyre just gifts <3

AND TWO BINDERS OF POKEMON CARDS... i dont play i just collect them bc i like pretty art

SO UM. SECOND SHELF. one shelf dedicated to zolu, asl, and ace and sabo :3 behind the zolu figures are tiny plushies of them and rubber straps but well, its hard to see em </3

i got into one piece since like. early september and now i have an entire display dedicated to one piece 😭 + other things like persona lol

feat my pokemon boxes and unboxed one piece figures. ofc, this isnt Everything i have but it's Mostly everything

the last two things i'll show and the second post wont be posted until i update my stuff more

so heres my poorly made luffy cutout that was literally made with sweat and tears... in fact i startwd this project like a WEEK after starting one piece 😭😭😭 thats how you know i was strapped in for life

and my corkboard!! some cool one piece works and the wano zolu sc :3 it's really cool to have these things hfmhdjd

the ace print, frobin charms, rubber pins, and stickers i just pinned on are stuff i got from a con. everything else from jp mercari !!

tbh, the sealed gladion acrylic standee is like my most prized treasure... not that i dropped hundreds on it but i got it for a lot cheaper compared to the other sealed ones online :'D + his postcards too are one of my most prized possessions... i wonder who my favorite pokemon character is

honestly idk what to fill the empty space in with but i wanna balance out this corkboard with pkmn and OP so maybe i'll try to hunt for more pkmn stuff

this is all i'll share for now but the next post will show my two ita bags that i have :0 !!! and my comically large arcanine plushie that i named ace 😁🫶

#tin talks #dain's collection #(help me)#one piece #pokemon #how am i into like the biggest franchises ever #theyre my biggest wallet drainers considering theyre literally everywhere you go #I ALSO HAVE WHOLE CAKE ISLAND POSTER BUT next time #i want more gear 5 figures too.... my silliest guy ):#this isnt even my first corkboard either lol #but my first coarkboard is just a lot of tgaa/dgs stuff #and... selfship......... Anyway!!!

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thestagsheadsblog · 2 years

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The Layover

Pairing: Robert “Bob” Floyd x Reader, Naval Officer Wife

Word Count: 2.4K

Notes: A quick break from our regularly scheduled program for some smut. NSFW. Read on AO3.

You waited by the baggage claim and checked the arrivals board again. His flight landed 25 minutes ago, but no sign yet of your husband. You were in your khakis with your duffle bag at your feet. You had no bag to collect and a 5-hour layover in Boston. The last remaining piece you needed hadn't yet walked past the security gate.

You politely smiled at the middle-aged men who went out of their way to thank you for your service and checked your watch again. You only had a few hours, and you hadn't seen each other in 3 months. You didn't have a lot of time to kill.

You grabbed your bag as soon as you saw him enter the baggage claim. You trotted over, matching his smile and gave him a quick kiss. Neither of you particularly liked making a scene in public, preferring to save the post-separation affection for when you had a bit of privacy.

"Missed you," he smiled. "Sorry it took me forever. I was in the back of the plane."

"It's okay. Do you have a bag?" you asked.

"Just this," he said, holding up his own duffle.

"Great, let's get a cab," you said, grabbing his hand and making your way to the exit.

You threw your bags into the trunk of a cab at the front of the queue and gave the driver directions to a motel off Route 1 north of Boston; a solid two-star establishment on TripAdvisor that was cheap and close to Logan and exactly what you needed for this quick layover.

"It's not the best place," you murmured to your husband, "but I wasn't going to shell out $350 for a few hours at the airport Hilton."

"At this point you could take me to a used mattress at a landfill and I'd be happy," he laughed back in a quiet voice, his hand reaching out across the seat to wrap around your upper thigh.

It's been a long time since you had seen each other, but not an unusual stretch for two active naval flight officers. It would've been a longer separation had you not planned this mutual layover prior to moving on to your next assignments.

Neither you nor Bob were the type to attack each other in the back of a cab in broad daylight, but you could each sense the other's eager anticipation. Bob's hand squeezed higher on your thigh than he normally would in the presence of another person and your breath was already coming quick, checking your phone to see how much longer you had until reaching your destination.

The cab pulled off the highway to a motel that had certainly seen better days and dropped you off at the front office thanking you for your service with only a touch of irony. The man working the desk asked you in the thickest Massachusetts accent you have ever heard how many nights you would need. You were surprised the place didn't rent by the hour, but Bob quickly handed over his ID and card for the nightly charge. The man glanced at both your hands on the counter and gave you a key.

"Thank you for your ser-"

"Yeah, yeah," you brushed it off and grabbed Bob's hand, hauling him out of the office.

"He definitely thinks we're married to other people," Bob noted as you dragged him to room 304.

"Extramarital affairs are probably 90% of their business," you replied, jamming the key into the room door with shaking hands and pushing inside.

You both took a moment to take in the surroundings; shoddy furniture, outdated TV, a 90's style bedspread that probably wasn't washed after each visit.

You looked at each other.

"Good enough," Bob sighed, pulling you into a passionate kiss that you had been holding back since you had seen each other at the baggage claim. You clumsily kissed back and roam your hands over his shoulders, reminding your body that you weren't a sexless component of an aircraft but a woman with primal appetites that needed satiating now and again. Luckily your body knew Bob's very well, and it only took a few moments to get back into the swing of things.

You tore at Bob's shirt buttons as he sucked on your neck. "God, I missed you," he groaned as you ran your hands down his chest and over the front of his pants.

"I can see that," you smiled before capturing his mouth again and slowly walking him back toward the bed. The back of his legs hit the mattress and he plopped down, looking up at you with pure adoration, his glasses a bit askew on his face.

"God you are so fucking cute," you smiled back, unbuttoning your own top. Once you had shed your undershirt and bra, Bob sat up to kiss your breasts, laving your nipples with his tongue, biting down gently as you crooned encouragement. At the same time, Bob helped you unbuckle your belt and shimmy your pants off, so you were only in your underwear while he remained fully dressed on the bed.

When Bob released your breast, you dropped to your knees between his legs hanging off the bed. He rose to his elbows and looked at you with trepidation.

You ran your hands up his legs to his belt buckle and asked with a quirk of your brow, "yes?"

Bob swallowed, clearly in mental turmoil. He closed his eyes and composed himself and nodded before you attacked his belt buckle. You released his cock and leaned over the edge of the bed giving it a few tentative kisses before taking it into your mouth. Bob groaned like you were killing him, a hand coming up to rake through his own hair, the other gripping into the tacky bedspread.

You slowly stroked him with a combination of your mouth and your hand, peering up to gauge his reaction. His eyes were slammed shut, a crease between his brows that only appeared when he was concentrating on something with all his mental abilities.

You released him momentarily to ask, "you don't want to look?" with an admittedly cheeky smile on your lips.

"If I look this will all be over," he choked.

You laughed and returned to your work, taking note of the small jerks of Bob's hips as he approached the point of no return. Feeling mischievous, you concentrated on a spot that you knew made his toes curl.

"Don't, stop!" he gasped.

You pulled away again. "'Don't comma stop' or 'don't stop' as in 'keep going'?" you asked, waiting for his response.

He seemed to engage in some further mental anguish. "I...don't know," he groaned and you couldn't help but laugh at his tortured state. Soon he was also shaking with laughter.

When his laughter subsided and with some herculean effort he came to a decision. "You need to stop," he sighed. "I'm so close to coming."

If you had more time together you might've been a sly bitch and kept on anyway, letting him finish in your mouth, but you only had less than two hours together before you needed to head back to the airport. You wanted to get fucked by your husband before then, so you showed him some mercy and got to your feet.

You helped Bob remove the rest of his clothes, giving him some time to calm down, and tore the bedspread off the mattress so you wouldn't need to lie on it naked. You joined him on a bed and took some time to just kiss and get reacquainted with each other. He ran a hand lightly down the side of your body, your skin erupting in goose bumps, and he smiled against your lips as he ran his hand back up and between your legs.

"God you're wet," he whispered.

"I've been like that since O'Hare," you exhaled.

You laid back with a contented sigh and let him work you over with an expertise that came from years of marriage.

"Did you do this in your berth?" he asked.

He knew you did. You two had a tradition of getting off on the idea of the other touching themselves when you are separated. You indulge Bob in stories about rubbing one out to him, quickly and quietly in the few moments you would have the stateroom to yourself, or even when your bunkmate was sleeping. Bob in turn told you about his own close calls and what he had been thinking about at the time.

It didn't take long before your back was arching into the mattress and the muscles of your legs and abdomen spasmed with your finish. You snapped your thighs closed over Bob's hand as his touch became too much to handle on your oversensitive flesh.

You breathed through the remaining tremors, watching Bob and his self-satisfied smile.

"Good?"

You smiled back with a breathless laugh. "Better than my own hand."

After 5 years of marriage, he still managed to blush. He looked you up and down and asked, "so, how do you...?"

You considered the surroundings and rolled over onto your hands and knees, cocking your head over your shoulder.

"Yeah?" Bob said a bit surprised. He was mostly an intimate and romantic type, which you typically appreciated, but with the time crunch and the location you didn't really have it in you for long, slow lovemaking.

You shot him an impish smile. "We're in a seedy motel across the highway from a Hooters," you laughed. "No need to romance me here."

He readily agreed and came up behind you, gripping you at your waist and forcing your hips to cant backward. He rubbed your still sensitive flesh, and you wiggled your backside in playful invitation. Bob groaned and gripped his cock as he guided himself into you.

You whined softly as he filled you up. You may have touched yourself regularly while at sea, but a penetrative fuck was out of the question. You had sorely missed the feeling.

Bob dropped all pretences of romance and fucked like a man who was renting a motel room by the hour. Your hands tangled into the sheets, gripping them as though you might fall off Earth's orbit if you were to let go, hissing with gratifying discomfort every time Bob went a bit too deep. Bob's hands threatened to leave bruises on your hips and you half-hoped that they would.

"Pull my hair," you gasped, before you could register the words coming out of your mouth.

Bob kept going but waited a beat before answering. "Really?"

"Yeah," you moaned. "Just grab the back of it."

Without losing his rhythm Bob reached over your back and took your hair, which had since fallen out of it's low bun, into his fist. He held it firmly but not too harsh, just enough to hold you in place.

"Like this?" he gasped, gripping a bit tighter.

"God, yes," you whimpered.

You revelled in this rare, rough side of your husband. Getting him into this headspace was worth the effort, now that he was fucking you like you were an anonymous hook-up on a 5-hour layover and not his wife of 5 years. Just fantasizing about such a scenario would probably be enough to get you off but experiencing this primal fuck in real life meant your second orgasm was all but inevitable.

You pushed your hips back and keened like an animal in heat. He kept going through your climax, bottoming out to the point that you should have felt pain, but which only added to the pleasurable intensity of your finish. Bob released your hair and pulled out of your body with a carnal grunt. You are briefly surprised by the feeling of warmth running down your lower back before Bob slumped on top of you, taking you both down to the mattress.

You laid for a moment, enjoying Bob's weight on top of you, listening to your labored breathing.

"You okay?" he asked in a husky voice. This is where gentle Bob returned and bashfully wonders whether he went too far.

"Never better," you sighed, basking in the kisses that Bob administered to your cheek and neck. He eventually lifted his weight off you and you both grimaced at the cooling stickiness between your bodies.

"That was unexpected," you smiled. You were on birth control and there was no real need for Bob to pull out.

He laughed lightly, now a bit embarrassed by his own enthusiasm. "Seemed like the appropriate time and place."

You grabbed your phone to check the time as Bob retreated to the bathroom to get a cloth.

"I'm going to take a quick shower," you said, jumping up and passing Bob. His flight would leave two hours later than yours and you needed to wash up, so you didn't smell like stale sex and cheap motel rooms.

Fresh out of the shower and getting back into your khakis Bob was still lounging on the bed, under the sheets and naked, watching you fasten your shirt buttons. You wished you could spend all day in bed with him, even in a place like this.

"I have to head back now and go straight to my gate," you said, looking at your watch. "You coming with or staying here?"

"I think I'll stay here a little longer then take a shower. Better than sitting in the terminal for a few hours," he considered.

"Jerk off a bit?" you asked, half-jokingly.

Bob laughed. "Maybe...probably. I'll let you know"

You leaned over the bed and kissed him. He pulled you into a hug and rolled you on to the bed one last time.

"Three weeks?" you asked.

"Three weeks," he confirmed. Less than a month until you would see each other again. "I love you," he whispered, kissing you again. "Let me know when you land?"

You nodded. "Love you too," you replied with a final kiss.

As you gathered your bag and headed for the door, Bob rose to his elbows. "Hey, do you have any cash? I couldn't find an ATM in the airport."

You fished into your pocket and took out your wallet to remove a wad of bills, tossing it on to the cheap motel bed where your husband lounged tired and naked.

"Buy yourself something pretty," you joked with a wink before stepping out the door. "Thank you for your service."

#robert floyd #robert bob floyd #bob top gun #top gun maverick #robert bob floyd x reader #top gun fanfic #bob floyd x f!reader #top gun #lewis pullman #smut #what plot?#bobfucks #layover #get it?

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dbgdbw · 5 months

Text

498.So Then, You Assholes Hand It Over (5)

그러니 댁들이 내놔 (5)

With the opponent in question being a monster estimated to be about SS-rank or so, the Hunters who had managed to secure a queue slot began soliciting the other S-rank Hunters to form an alliance. These were people who had probably never even gone on a Dungeon raid with another S-rank Hunter before. It wouldn’t be a bad thing, to have them give cooperating a go at this juncture. If only to serve as preparation for the events that lay ahead too, in any case.

“You’re telling me to be the support? I’ll have you know that I’ve never had to play lackey for anyone, ever!”

“Please be advised that I shall only be using a portion of my Skills. I have no intention of revealing all the cards I hold, on a stage where so many eyes are watching.”

“Two pieces of S-rank equipment. That should be the bare minimum, wouldn’t you say. Take it or leave it.”

Quarrels seemed to be breaking out among the majority, for the most part. Yeah, that seemed about right. I wondered how many groups would be able to scrape together a usable team comp for their attempt, in the end. One? Perhaps two?

“Let’s go have dinner.”

Yoohyunie said, demeanor showing complete indifference towards the S-ranks brawling it out amongst themselves.

“Not yet. I’ll need to supervise, at least until nighttime.”

I didn’t have any plans to stay up all night, but I should at least stick around for the results of the first round, I figured. Hearing my words, my dongsaeng assumed a displeased expression.

“Then I’ll go and bring back a simple lunchbox, at least. Stay next to Bak Yerim.”

“Just bring some of whatever they have prepared, ‘kay. Most of it’s gonna be things that can be reheated or eaten as-is, anyway.”

Since we couldn’t retain a chef on the premises, most of our dining options were preassembled in nature. There were additional ingredients available on hand as well, but we could just eat what had already been put together. Saying that he would collect Peace on his way as well, Yoohyunie left his post.

“Gyeol-ah, do you want to turn in first?”

At my query, Gyeolie shook his head vigorously. But he couldn’t even talk while like this, and he was probably starting to grow bored. When Yoohyunie got back, I’d at least have to make sure he got something to eat.

“I hear you’re close to my dongsaeng?”

Meanwhile, Liette had approached Myungwoo from the side. Whether it was because she didn’t possess a major need for equipment–having access to the large-scale dragon transformation, unlike Noah, in addition to Kang Soyoung’s Skill–or if it was because of her personality, unlike the other Hunters, she didn’t show any hesitance to engage with him. At the slightly aggressive cast to her words, Myungwoo’s eyes narrowed slightly. However, the one who showed a bigger reaction was surprisingly Noah.

“It is not something that warrants noonim’s concern.”

“I’m trying to be friendly-like too, y’know.”

At Liette’s words, Noah’s expression filled with skepticism. Then, without further ado, he began urging Myungwoo inside.

“Yoojin-ssi, we’ll be turning in first, then. Let’s get going.”

“I’m alright, though.”

But despite Myungwoo’s protest, his hackles still raised towards Liette, Noah half-dragged, half-pulled Myungwoo towards the inside of the building. Left standing by herself, Liette’s lips jutted out in a slight pout.

“It didn’t work.”

“You have to make your approach a touch softer, unnie!”

Kang Soyoung exclaimed, appearing to latch onto Liette’s side.

“My oppas too, they were suuuper nice to my friends. Barring the boys, I mean. And you have to be good at knowing when to make your exit, besides. Dropping in to cover the bill for the food, then slipping right back out!”

Could that exchange, possibly have been Liette trying to make reparations in her relationship with Noah-ssi? In consultation with Soyoung-ssi’s advice? I wasn’t sure if it had been Soyoungj-ssi who had convinced her, or if Liette had come to make the decision on her own volition–but I supposed even Liette was capable of change, after all.

“Before that, why don’t you try complimenting Noah-ssi more?”

At my interjection, Liette turned to look at me.

“But I tell him he’s cute all the time.”

“I’m talking about the things that require effort. Noah-ssi’s proficient at a lot of things, right.”

Liette gave a slow blink. Hey, it can’t be that you really don’t think he excels at anything, right.

“He’s better at cooking than I am.”

“Without judging him by your criteria!”

“That's right, unnie. Please bring the baseline down to ordinary standards!”

Liette’s expression seemed to ask why in the world she’d be expected to do that.

“But he’s my dongsaeng? So of course it should be by my parameters.”

…wasn’t the problem with Liette, not that she held her dongsaeng in low esteem, but rather the opposite. Drawling unnie, that’s not iiiit~, Kang Soyoung hauled Liette away.

“It does seem like Liette holds Noah-ssi near and dear. I suppose there are cases where one’s expectations rise, the more precious they hold someone.”

“Why not–there’re those parents that go to the extreme when it comes to studies, after all, right. The ones that’re like, if it’s our kid, then they should be able to achieve this much as a minimum.”(1)

Yerimie said, nodding her head. And if the parent possessed exceptional ability themself, much like Liette, then the backlash probably would’ve been even worse, huh. Since, even if the child were to simply turn out to be ‘ordinary’, they would still feel as though they’d fallen short regardless. The child should only be judged by their own ‘standards’, but such a thing wouldn’t be easy. People ultimately tended to gravitate towards their own standards, even subconsciously, and parents were people before they were parents, first and foremost.

Additionally, being the adult, it fell to the person who was acting as the guardian to put forth a greater amount of effort, as the adult. Sometimes ignorance was inevitable, and you could make mistakes, but a wrong was a wrong. And even if Noah-ssi were to bounce back completely, it still remained that Liette needed to change.

“Yerim-ah, you, and Yoohyunie too–sometimes I worry because you’re too well-behaved. Whether you might just be going along with what I want, even though you’re opposed to it.”

“Isn’t it the opposite, though? Ahjussi is way too accepting when it comes to Han Yoohy–Guild Leader-nim, I mean.”

“Ehh, if I’d actually given into everything Yoohyunie wanted, I…….”

Probably wouldn’t be here now, huh. Hmm. Well, since Yoohyunie was a special case. The reason he’d lived this far, like a human, was because of me, after all; and the reason he was living now, was owing to me as well. So shouldn’t it only follow, then, that I should concede to my dongsaeng.

Since Yoohyunie had given me everything first. To the point that he’d even balked at it, without leaving any piece of himself behind, all of him.

…thinking about it from that perspective, if he really couldn’t bear it, I could probably easily part with a measly arm, if it came to it.

“Yerim-ah, I hope you’ll always put yourself first. First place should always be reserved for ‘Bak Yerim’.”

“I will, of course.”

Yerimie was quiet for a moment, before continuing.

“Since I’d been the last one left. If I stopped existing, then the people I hold precious would disappear with me as well, I was told. But that, so long as I remembered them, they wouldn’t fade away.”

“...who told you that?”

“My sunsaeng-nim. While I was an elementary schooler.”

“...they were a good person, huh. Let’s have a hug, shall we.”

“Here, ahjussi.”

Yerimie threw her arms open wide. Hugging me back, she clung on tightly. Gyeolie had also latched onto my neck. Though the Hunters around us threw odd looks in our direction, what did I care. For Yerimie, as well as Yoohyunie. I really needed to make sure I’d be able to live on for a long while yet.

“Feels like the kind of atmosphere where you shouldn’t attempt to approach them, doesn’t it.”

Just then, I heard Huanglim’s voice. Even Song Taewon, who had been monitoring the Hunters preparing for their raid from a spot a little ways away, had drawn close by at some point. Loosening the arm I’d wrapped around Yerimie, I turned my head.

“Since I hadn’t spotted hair nor hide of you, I’d ventured to guess that you’d ended up in the belly a monster, and yet.”

“The little Hunter-nim barred my entry on the grounds that my name didn’t match, y’see.”

“But it’s true, isn’t it.”

Yerimie glowered at Huanglim, brows furrowed.

“And you’re dressed improperly, on top of that.”

“Seeing as there was no mention of a dress code on the invitation card, it would hardly be my fault, no.”

Honestly though, what was up with that getup. The Hawaiian shirt and shorts combo, okay–but why was he going around barefoot, too.

“All of your military discipline’s gone to hell since you made a cock-up of things and deserted, I see.(2) And just what exactly did you do with your shoes. I thought cigarettes were the only thing you peddled, but was it that you’d go so far as to sell everything on your person?”

Huanglim, the bastard, made a show of flapping the hem of his half-dry shirt.

“For our Jinie, a mere hundred bucks.”

“No thank you. Piss off.”

“The pants, a thousand dollars.”

“The hell’s it so expensive for? Is it actually a luxury brand, despite its look.”

“The lower half costs more than the top half, don’t y’know.”

The fuck was he saying. As that Huanglim bastard took a step towards me, Section Chief Song-nim’s eyes narrowed. Yerimie, too, her lips pressed tightly together, snatched up my wrist as though preparing to teleport us away at a moment’s notice. Seeing all of that, Huanglim laughed, spreading his hands wide.

“I really am here to sell wares.”

“Does it look like I was born yesterday.”

“Truly, I feel quite wronged–”

Huanglim quickly jumped backwards. In the same instant, a flash of fire struck down on the spot he’d been standing in, charring it black.

- 끼앙!

As Peace appeared, rubbing up against my ankles, Yoohyunie touched down on the scorched patch of blackened earth.

“Is it fine to kill him now?”

“Not while in front of Section Chief Song-nim.”

Huanglim, who had retreated to a position far away, let out a soundless laugh in my direction. Since there was no way he was actually here to just sell cigarettes. Just what was that bastard really up to.

“...let’s go check out the monster instead for now. Section Chief Song-nim, would you like to accompany us as well?”

“I will opt to remain stationed here, at this juncture.”

There were several Hunters still milling about, true–and more importantly, Sung Hyunjae for him to still consider. Peace grew to his full size. Yoohyunie settled in behind me on his back, and Yerimie floated up to hover alongside us as well.

“It’s huge.”

About a hundred meters from shore, the rounded form of a monster could be seen looming above the sea’s surface. It appeared to be a turtle-esque type, after all, and the exposed portion of the monster resembled a massive shell. Glinting tarnished gold below the rays of the setting sun, it certainly looked to be a formidable foe.

“Are all of you ready!”

Moon Hyuna roared, having been the first one to arrive on the beach. A stopwatch was held in her hand. As an S-rank Hunter who was sitting out of the raid attempts, she had been asked to help track the run times for the event.

The first team, a raid team comprising two S-rank Hunters and five A-rank Hunters, all took hold of their respective weapons.

“Without using your Skills yet, line up at the start line! And–go!”

쿵! As Moon Hyuna slammed the end of her spear into the ground, the raid party surged forward towards the monster. Instead of using a flying Skill–촤아악, disk-like constructs floated up above the water’s surface. As they quickly hopped across on the path of disks, the supports began to cast all of their Skills as well. Yoohyunie opened the lid of the lunchbox he had brought over.

“I’ll warm it up for you.”

“Me too, Han Yoohyun, do mine too. I’ll trade you ice for drinks, yeah?”

“No. It’s cold out.”

“Even if it’s chilly, sodas definitely need ice.”

“Hyung can have milk.”

But, I’d wanted something carbonated too....... Just then, the S-rank Hunter who’d managed to reach the monster first, swung their hammer in a powerful arc. The battle hammer, cloaked in a Skill, slammed into the shell of the monster and–

텅!

“Ugh!I”

The Hunter was sent flying high, alongside their hammer. Hmm, significant resilience properties. Most likely a Skill. Tricky, very tricky.

* * *

The sound of running water stopped. Pulling on a dressing gown, Sung Hyunjae stepped out of the bathroom. His hair was still soaked through with water. This kind of approach proved more effective on Han Yoojin, after all. He preferred the ones that showed a gap in their armor, who hinted at needing to be taken care of. Whether the one in question was a human, a monster, or an entity that resembled neither altogether.

“I don’t recall calling for a bath attendant.”

In the center of the living room in his private quarters, stood a figure. Though it had taken on a humanoid form, the feeling it gave off was far from being so. To be precise, it was something reminiscent of a Skill or an Item.

[ Why associate with them. ]

It asked him. Sung Hyunjae approached the thing with measured steps.

“A guest should offer up their name first, no.”

[ When you despise impasse, and rage at impotence. Those lowly things do not suit you. ]

Sung Hyunjae’s hand shot out and seized the thing’s neck. As it squirmed in his grip as though it meant to escape, razor-sharp magical energy tore at the hand squeezing its throat. First hand, then wrist, and then down to his elbow; shallow cuts littered his skin in long, scrawling lines. But even as crimson drops of blood dripped down his arm, Sung Hyunjae fixed the thing clenched in his fist with an unwavering stare.

“Not Chatterbox’s, it seems.”

Sung Hyunjae’s magical energy bore into the ensnared thing. Golden sparks crackled as he made to examine the thing in depth, surgical in his dissection.

“...nor Crescent Moon.”

But Crescent Moon was said to have retained several children. And so, there remained the possibility that it was one of them.

“There are already enough troublesome matters to deal with at hand here, you see.”

Sung Hyunjae mused, lifting his other hand to press against the thing’s head. His finger crooked; it drilled through the skull, into its head. Rather than blood, a black viscous fluid leaked out. And then–지이익, increasing the strength of his grip, he began to tear it to pieces.

[ Why shield them. ]

The thing, as it was slowly ripped apart, continued speaking.

[ An entity, such as yourself. Who would keep those things you deem insignificant beneath your heel. To act on your whims, regardless of the situation at hand. ]

“It appears that you hold some misconceptions.”

찌이익, the strips of what had been torn away collected at his feet. As its struggles increased, the blood that soaked his arms ran down to pool down by his feet as well.

“Pray tell–why should I feel opposed to experiencing rage, frustration, and dissatisfaction, exactly.”

Sung Hyunjae asked, sing-song, as though humming a small tune.

“It is simply what being alive entails, no. To only ever experience enjoyment, would surely be psychotic.”

Could a human being only capable of experiencing a singular emotion, truly be called ‘normal’. Surely, it only followed that what he was experiencing was a slow descent into madness. Or perhaps he had already even passed that threshold, long ago.

“It may be that some persons–or, perhaps, even the majority–wish for me to maintain my lofty position at the top, as an unwavering force.”

Acquiring, eliminating, then reamassing. The countless multitudes that had interacted with him in those many worlds. They were absent from his memories now, but that was how things would have turned out.

“But I’m quite pleased with every aspect of myself, you see.”

Though it might not suit some others’ purposes, it was of no consequence to Sung Hyunjae himself. It enabled for him a vibrant existence.

And so, even if he were to fall down to hit rock bottom, so long as it was something he himself had intended upon. Even that situation would be something he enjoyed to the fullest extent. So long as he still remained ‘Sung Hyunjae’, in whatever form that might entail.

찌이익, the last remaining piece was shredded into two long, tattered strips. The collected pool of disemboweled parts rippled lightly, like a small tar pit.

[ The more you do. ]

[ The faster you will decline. ]

[ So come, and find me. ]

The thing began to grow faint, before soon disappearing altogether. 파직, the small marble that had been left behind let off a spark. The shattered fragments of the marble had been scorched a deep black.

“So many pests, even in this sort of climate.”

Sung Hyunjae murmured, pouring a potion over the arm dripping blood. To wash up once more, or to simply head outside as he was. Both Han Yoojin, as well as Song Taewon, would likely provide him with an entertaining response.

Han Yoojin was likely to fret over him, in particular. Sung Hyunjae let out a long sigh. That Han Yoojin was an F-rank was both unfortunate, as well as a relief. If he had been even a bit stronger, it might’ve proved difficult for him to graciously hold himself in check, as he was doing now.

He intended to squeeze out the full spectrum of experiences Han Yoojin could offer, after all. Not simply the positives, of course, but all of the negatives as well.

“So, do survive a while longer yet.”

Placing a piece of the magical energy he’d just ripped away into the magic stone he’d long maintained, Sung Hyunjae smiled. Whether for Han Yoojin or himself–there was precious little time left.

- - - - -

(1) Student jumps off building on college entrance exam day

Nearly 40,000 Koreans die by suicide over past 3 years: data

Korea's top 30 ranked universities

Thousands of S Korean teachers rally for protection from abusive parents

'I’m a precious daughter': High school video fans public furor

Why the Korean job market is so inhumanly competitive when Korea has become one of the biggest economies in the past decade?

(2) refer to footnote 3 in ch 509 for why what yj said is a grave insult directed towards hl’s integrity as a man etc.

liette -> everyone | informal casual

noah -> liette | formal polite

myungwoo -> noah | informal casual

noah -> myungwoo | informal polite

yerimie -> yoojin | informal polite

yerimie ↔ yoohyunie | impolite casual

yoojin ↔ liette | impolite casual

yoojin -> yerimie | informal casual

yoojin ↔ yoohyunie | intimate casual

Using Korean: A Guide to Contemporary Usage

+ (Q&A)

Q) does water have a ‘fate’ that follows with its attribute too? i became curious after reading in the afterword that yerimie had the potential to grow to become akin to ‘pure’ water A) as fire is not a ‘characteristic’ compatible with living beings, initially, there were no corresponding ‘races’(species) that ‘embodied’ it; and even when they had emerged, they were considered exceedingly rare. however, though they don't present nearly to the extent that it does in ‘fire’, the other attributes have ‘traits’ characteristic of themselves as well. ‘water’, while capable of being ‘vast(open)’(넓게 퍼지며) and ‘enveloping(enfolding)’ many within its embrace (감싸 안지만), simultaneously ‘crushes(pressurizes)’(내리누르기) as well. and the more powerful the water attribute, the greater the instinct to dominate(subjugate)(지배적인 성향) becomes. in addition, as they accumulate more strength, there are cases where they become agitated when confined to more enclosed spaces. there’s a high likelihood that a more grown bak yerim will look to move towards wider pastures^^

+ (Q&A)

Q) yerimie’s initial-stage optimized Skill, ‘White Corpse’–what aspect or characteristic of yerimie was the Skill a manifestation of? A) it was a combination of bak yerim’s own original attributes and the memories of the past that she clung onto–where her parents were still alive–instead of the present, that gave rise to the mentioned outcome. because the bak yerim who existed pre-regression had already made the decision to stand alone by the time she had Awakened at an older age, she never ended up gaining a Skill similar to the ‘White Corpse’.

+ (Q&A)

Q) in the novel, it’s mentioned that, as far as ‘teas kept in the house that’s been boiled then cooled to drink’, yoojinie prefers barley tea, yoohyunie prefers barley tea too (because hyung does), and that yerimie likes brown rice tea; then, i was curious as to what teas the gyeol, seol, and byeol babies might prefer too, respectively! A) all three still prefer either Dungeon-sourced spring water, or the ‘clean’ water that bak yerim summons for them. in particular, han seol is less concerned with the taste associated with any form of sustenance, than its mana content; his sense of taste tends to be fairly dull^^

+ (Q&A)

Q) did yerimie want to be a Hunter even before awakening, or did she have a different future occupation in mind? A) most teenagers long to turn out to be an A-rank or higher Awakened^^ when bak yerim discussed Hunter-related matters with her peers, she would make mention of wanting to Awaken so I can become emancipated~. only, as becoming said A-rank or higher Hunter held odds equivalent to winning the lottery, it wasn’t ever a serious ‘future dream job’ in her mind. in bak yerim’s case, she was less concerned with a ‘dream job’, than she was preoccupied with her desire to escape from her living situation at home.

+ (Q&A)

Q) is Huanglim actually younger than section chief song-nim in age? is he in his 20s? A) he is younger than song taewon, and yes, in his 20s^^ specifically, as he’s unable to accurately pin down his own age (owing to the gap in knowledge re:himself), he considers himself to be somewhere between 20 to 30 years old.

+ (Q&A)

Q) are huanglim’s 18+ jokes and adult references born from experience, or is he just the type to bluster despite being inexperienced? personally, i’m partial to characters like huanglim who are sleazy but refreshing and also kind of empty(hollow)(?), so i was curious–is huanglim a character who has a lot of relationship(sexual) experience? A) re:his premise, the length of time he’s been able to experience things as himself has been brief, but the number of encounters tends to run on the higher side^^ because he couldn’t be certain how long his existence would go on for, he didn’t really restrain himself when it came to anything.

+ (Q&A)

Q) how strong is huanglim among the s-classes? i’m very curious, since there wasn’t a point in the novel where the Skills he holds were shown in full, nor did we see the top equipment in his possession, or a scene with a fight where his life hung in the balance! whether he’s the type to have stats that are min-maxed or more balanced, and how strong of a dps he would be if he'd had the opportunity to study his opponent in advance, and tailor his approach accordingly by ‘renting’ the appropriate counter-Skills etc! since he has a laid-back air that suggests he’s unconcerned about losing his life in a match-up against even a born s-rank, it made me feel even more curious! A) huanglim is akin to a specialist-defense type^^ as the Gardener is a defense-type, both huanglim and song taewon, who have received His influence, possess high defense-type specs. however, as song taewon also holds the Eclipse That Which Swallows All, his close-combat ability charts higher; huanglim’s specialist trait, too, is a product of the environment he’d been brought up in. as a powerful defense-type, huanglim possesses high physical stats. unlike song taewon, who was stunted from reaching his full growth by his self-suppressive tendencies, he’s quite tall, and built as well. but despite being hardy and possessing remarkable recovery abilities, like the Gardener, his offensive capabilities are fairly poor. however, he’s able to gain roundabout access to attack Skills via his copy Skill, and there are several Skills he’s managed to master after repeated practice in his arsenal. as huanglim has done this with many of the Skills belonging to the Hunters he’s allied with, so long as he prepares diligently in advance, he would probably place close to the top of the rankings for s-ranks who are well-balanced in both offense and defense capabilities. particularly, as–once a few conditions are met–he’s able to switch between defense and offense configurations, as well as heal, then switch to using support Skills too, he makes for a particularly difficult opponent.

+ (Q&A)

A) sung hyunjae tends to keep a regular sleep schedule of five hours at minimum, to eight plus hours of sleep per day. while some of this can be attributed to how things are at least less tedious when he’s asleep, his physical state plays a greater hand in it. by dint of the subconscious instinct to ‘defrag’ his accumulated experiences, when he does sleep, he’s a sound sleeper. he is capable of experiencing dreams as well.

#498화 #the s classes that i raised #tsctir #sctir

29 notes · View notes

wynterrolls · 4 months

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Obey Me (OG) Newbie Guide

Author's Note

There are multiple guides for this game existing already. Most could be found in Obey Me sub-Reddit or by searching in Google. Since the game is already 4 years old, this game has finished the main storyline and already moved on to a new prequel game called Obey Me Nightbringer (NB). Obey Me (OG) is still up and running at the time of this writing, since they run the events in both OG and NB, so if you want to still play this game, then that's up to you. Keep in mind though that this game is grindy.

In this post, I'll make a concise guide that will help new players (hopefully) traverse in the game. As always, this guide isn't only from my own experience, because I'm going to include tips from different sources here. The links for the sources could be found at the bottom of this post. I've created this guide with the idea that this is my game notes just in case I forgot about this game.

When starting an account

You can't reroll account in this game thru normal means.

It's not recommended to reroll in this game since you'll get a free UR Asmodeus card in mail but, if you're like other players who want to reroll just to get a card of their favorite guy or you want to get ahead by having more UR cards early in the game, then here are the steps.

Play the tutorial by skipping dialogues until you get a 10-pull. The cards you'll get is fixed.

Keep skipping until you clear 1-6.

Click the home button and go to mail after being bombed with announcements. Claim all. (You'll get enough to do a 10-pull.)

Roll in Nightmare. Preferably in event banner.

If you don't like the results, create transfer code for this account. (Walkthrough on how to setup Transfer Password here.)

Close the app in this phone.

Have a second phone or an emulator (e.g. Bluestacks) with Obey Me app.

Open the Obey Me app in the second phone or emulator.

From the title screen, click Transfer Data > Enter Transfer Code > Input your Transfer Code and Transfer Password > Tap Transfer

Once done, the account is now transferred to the second phone/emulator. Close the app.

You could use the first phone to create another account again.

All about UR or UR+ cards

UR/UR+ cards are the endgame goal to collect in the game. The difference is that UR+ cards either have outfit for character or moving background, while UR cards don't. Both have similar power level.

UR/UR+ card is the highest rarity. SSR cards could work for early game, but would need to be replaced once you reach harder content in game.

There are two types of cards needed to create a team - demon cards and memory cards. Demon cards can be obtained from Chapter A, any event banners, or event reward ladder, while Memory cards from Chapter M, from event reward ladder, or from shard farming in hard mode in lesson 61+. Chapter A and Chapter M are considered standard banners in game.

NOTE: You can't have 2 demon cards of the same character in 1 team. You need to have varying characters for each attribute.

Different ways to obtain UR/UR+ cards:

free pull in Chapter A for demon cards

free pull in Chapter M for memory cards

[RECOMMENDED] pulling in event banners with devil points (DP) or demon vouchers (DV)

[NOT RECOMMENDED] pulling in Chapter A and Chapter M with DP or DV

buying UR card shards in Akuzon with raven (Akuzon > Exchange Raven > Piece of Card)

grinding past events in Lonely Devil for UR cards

UR memory card shard grinding in hard mode of Lesson 61+

UR memory card from limited-time event login rewards (happens during holidays or anniversaries)

UR demon card from 10-pull birthday banner

** It is advised to save up the DP and DV for the limited-time event banners.

** It is advised to save up DP or DV enough for a 10-pull before your birthday. The date you write as your birthday will have a special 10-pull banner that will guarantee a UR card.

NOTE: You need 80 card pieces and 60,000 grimm to form a single UR card.

Surprise Guest

Surprise Guest randomly comes out after you manually battle a stage. One of the 3 guys in the demon cards you used will appear. Getting their 3 interactions right make them gain intimacy points.

Their preferred touch interactions after battles can be found here. Better go look at the list yourself because the options are many.

You can also get gifts when you get a heart reaction for all 3 interactions. You could get 6 gifts per day. Gifts include:

2 AP x10

2 Grimm x1,000

2 Raven x1

There are several ways to obtain gift items for characters during Surprise Guest:

can be bought in Akuzon > Items > Present, costs DP

[RECOMMENDED] can be bought in Akuzon > Exchange Raven > Present, costs raven

reaching certain point requirement in event reward ladders

unlocking gift nodes of Devil's Tree from cards (Click here to find out more.)

possible reward from sending characters in :D Jobs

** To know more about intimacy, click here to check Thal Fox's in-depth guide on intimacy.

** Here's the updated link for the Lesson Intimacy Bonuses.

All about Devil Points (DP)

Devil Points are premium currency used in game and can be bought using real money.

From one-time DP sources [free]:

unlocking gift nodes in Devil's Tree in cards (Click here to know the specific cards.)

clearing the boss stages in each lesson, DP found in To Do > Total > Tasks

reaching certain point requirements in event reward ladder

clearing the missions in To Do > Total

clearing the missions in To Do > Demons

claiming event login rewards (happens during holidays and anniversaries)

From recurring DP sources:

completing To Do > Daily (18 DP)

claiming Day 8 and Day 14 rewards in Attendance card for non-VIP players (10 DP)

claiming Day 8 and Day 14 rewards in VIP Login Bonus for VIP players (30 DP)

TIP: To do the level up card x3 and upgrade devil tree x5 daily mission, do these using N, R, SR, and SSR cards you have. You could easily get these missions done with minimal grimm cost.

All about Demon Vouchers (DV)

Demon vouchers are used to pull in Chapter A and Chapter M in Nightmare. These can also be used in limited-time event banners.

Ways to obtain DV:

unlocking gift nodes in Devil's Tree in cards. (Click here to know the specific cards.)

buying DV in Akuzon > Exchange Raven > Nightmare, costs 45 raven

completing missions in To Do (Click here to know what specific missions rewards DV.)

claiming event login rewards (happens during holidays and anniversaries)

reaching certain point requirement in event reward ladders

buying the flash sales with DP

TIP: Save enough DP to buy these flash sales. To learn more about these sales, click here to check out Thal Fox's comparison guide on different flash sales.

[PRIORITY] Level Up sale - costs 99 DP

Solomon's Summoning Sale - costs 150 DP

You Got This Set L - costs 500 DP

** Congratulations Set Flash Sale (Level Up sale) does not occur until the player has reached level 15. From that point, the sale will appear:

Every five levels from levels 15-40 (15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40)

Every three levels from levels 43-58 (43, 46, 49, 52, 55, 58)

After reaching level 58, the sale will be made available at every level increase.

All about Grimm

Grimm is used for upgrading card level, unlocking Devil's Tree nodes, and pulling in Chapter G. This is a scarce resource if you are a F2P so you need to allocate this carefully on the cards you only want to use and level up.

Ways to obtain grimm:

sending characters in :D Jobs

doing x3 or x5 of the latest battle stages you've cleared

claiming Day 2 and Day 10 rewards in Attendance card for non-VIP players (7,000 grimm)

claiming Day 2 and Day 12 rewards in VIP Login Bonus for VIP players (30,000 grimm)

completing missions in To Do

unlocking Devil's Tree gift nodes in cards (Click here to know the specific cards.)

participating in event ranking

reaching certain point requirement in event reward ladders

buying the Congratulations set flash sale (Level Up sale)

buying the AP recovery set flash sale (appears every 12 hrs)

TIP: Unlock Ristorante Six as fast as you can so you could earn the max grimm you could get.

All about AP

AP is used to battle stages. Without it, you can't do anything in the game. Replenish rate is 1 AP = 5 min.

NOTE: It is strongly advised not to hoard APs by letting your AP bar capped. Better spend the APs to let the AP bar replenish itself.

From one-time AP sources:

buying the Congratulations Set flash sale (Level Up sale)

completing missions in To Do > Total

completing missions in To Do > Demons

participating in event ranking

claiming event login rewards

unlocking Devil's Tree gift nodes in cards (Click here to know what specific cards.)

reaching certain point requirement in event reward ladders

From recurring AP sources:

288 AP from natural regen (if no sleep, awake for 24 hours straight)

20 AP from Surprise Guest gifts

50 AP from watching x5 ads daily

50 AP from AP exchange in Friend list

30 AP from 12pm - 2pm Fridge Mission (local time)

30 AP from 6pm - 8pm Fridge Mission (local time)

30 AP from To Do > Daily

60 AP from claiming Day 4 and Day 12 rewards in Attendance card for non-VIP players

200 AP from claiming Day 3 and Day 13 rewards in VIP Login Bonus for VIP players

200 AP from buying the AP Recovery Set flash sale (appears every 12 hrs)

All about Raven

Raven is used to buy items in Akuzon > Exchange Raven. Pretty good resource to grind for if you need specific items.

Sources to obtain raven:

claiming Day 6 reward in Attendance card for non-VIP players (1 raven)

claiming Day 6 reward in VIP Login Bonus for VIP players (10 raven)

pulling in Chapter G with 27000 grimm until you max the skill level of your N, R, and SR cards, the next pull with max skill level would convert the card into raven

unlocking Devil's Tree gift nodes in cards (Click here to know the specific cards.)

potential reward from sending characters in :D Jobs

reaching certain point requirement in event reward ladders

All about :D Jobs

:D Jobs is where you can obtain grimms, Surprise Guest gifts, raven, keys, and daggers, and increase intimacy points for characters you send.

TIP: Always send the characters in :D Jobs.

All about Daggers

Daggers are used to uncap the max level of card. This is done in order to increase the power level of the card, to be used in harder lessons in main story.

For example, UR/UR+ card has max level of 100. You need 10 daggers of same sin attribute with the card, 100,000 grimm, 100 gems of main sin attribute, and 100 gems of secondary sin attribute of card in order to increase the max level of this card. Each uncapping of max level of card is increased by +10 levels.

Ways to obtain daggers:

potential reward from sending characters in :D Jobs

reaching certain point requirement in event reward ladders

maxing out the Surprise Guest encounters for rewards in To Do (1500 max per character)

participating in Otaku Boot camp (Do they still run this in OM OG?)

All about Devil's Tree Items

Devil's Tree items are needed to unlock the nodes in Devil's Tree.

Ways to obtain the said items:

doing the Akuber orders (each day has corresponding sin attribute)

completing missions in To Do

reaching certain point requirement in event reward ladders

unlocking Devil's Tree gift nodes in cards (Click here to find the cards.)

grinding the hard mode stage for RNG drop of items

All about Lonely Devil

Lonely Devil is a mode where you could rerun the past events in game. You could unlock a past event using LD tickets or by paying 10 DP.

Players who have missed their desired rewards from the event ladders rerun this event in order to continue what they have started. The total points acquired from previous run is saved and could be continued on your next run of same event. The event rerun lasts for 4 days. However, cheat cards don't work in here.

Lonely Devil is a great way to obtain UR memory cards in the game. Daggers could also be obtained here.

Ways to obtain LD tickets:

unlocking Devil's Tree gift nodes in cards (Click here to know the specific cards.)

reaching certain point requirements in event reward ladders

potential event login reward (happens on holidays or anniversaries)

** To know more about Lonely devil, click here to view the in-depth guide of u/SeriousLatte.

All about D-energy

D-energy is used to increase the chances you could have in capped battle stages. Battle stages that have x3 cap are event stages and hard mode stages. Using one D-energy gives 3 battles. If you run out of D-energy, 5 AP will be used to get 3 more battles.

Ways to obtain D-energy:

unlocking Devil's Tree gift nodes in card (Click here to know the specific cards.)

buying the Congratulations set flash sale (Level Up sale)

reaching the certain point requirement in event reward ladders

All about Card Mechanic and Total Power

UR/UR+ cards have max level 100 and could be uncapped until you reach max level 200. SSR cards has max level 80 and could be uncapped until you reach max level 160.

Each card rarity has their own power level that is used in battle stages. This part will be further explained in a separate post (because I think I'm almost reaching the 30 max image cap in a post). I will link the post here later on.

All about Lesson Summaries for Obey Me (OG) Main Story

If you don't want to grind the main story and just want to read the whole story, here's the link for the lesson summaries for lesson 1 to lesson 80.

Miscellaneous Info

You can drag your finger across the hearts that appear on screen during battle instead of tapping them individually. WAY more effective.

Choosing quick clear x3 or x5 on battles only gives EXP to player level, not including the card level, but you still get grimm and rewards.

Save glowsticks. Rainbow glowsticks are the more powerful buffs in battle.

You don't need to complete all daily missions in To Do. Just clear 7 missions in order to get the 18 DP daily.

You can leave your rewards sitting for as long as you want, and collect them whenever.

AP will carry over when you level up.

You can edit the game's graphics settings if you have lag. Just go up to the top right corner and hit the settings gear.

Work towards building a deck that covers all colors with a variety of characters, both demon cards and memory cards alike.

Try to keep your in-use cards (your deck, as opposed to your overall collection) evenly leveled.

Don't forget to level your memory cards. They are also important in total deck power.

Daily server resets at midnight JST or UTC+9. Convert into your local time to know when it will reset in your location.

Useful Resources

Resources to look into to know more about this game.

https://karasu-os.com/

https://obeymewiki.com/

https://obey-me.fandom.com/wiki/Obey_Me!_Wiki

Sources

Banner Image Source

How to reroll in the game using emulator by u/Guilty-Ticket

How to reroll in the game using second phone by u/AngelicaLily

How to setup Transfer Password walkthrough video by Obey Me Official

Transfer Data from Fandom Wiki

Surprise Guest

Devil Tree Rewards from karasu-os.com

Intimacy Guide by Thal Fox

Obey Me Flash Sales by Thal Fox

Flash Sale from Wiki

Obey Me Guide from VN Guides Wordpress

The Hidden 68 DV in OM by Thal Fox

F2P Guide to Obey Me! by u/gniehc

Daily Login Bonus from Wiki

How to obtain daggers? Question by u/Master-Computer4437

Ways to farm daggers by u/kindacutekindapunk

Guide on Lonely Devil by u/SeriousLatte

Unlocking a Card's Maximum Level Cap from obeymewiki.com

Using DP for getting more battles answer by u/Clarasiir

10 Tips for people who are starting out by u/RustyBoyo

Lesson Summaries for Obey Me (OG) from obeymewiki.com

Lesson Intimacy Bonuses from Fandom Wiki

Obey Me advice thread from u/LadyBastilla

➥ Back to my otome game masterlist.

Update Log

12/20/2023 - Uploaded this post.

01/01/2024 - Added Player's birthday info

01/27/2024 - Added the reminder line at the top and server reset in Miscellaneous info

#obey me shall we date #omswd #obey me #obey me guide #obey me tips #guide #tips #guides #obey me (OG)

17 notes · View notes

springbloggy · 3 months

Text

Father Alvin - Gaster Connections

OK, so, hear me out. This is more of a list than the rest of my theories, but the idea won't leave my head.

First, you may remember my theory on how Gaster could be a revived Gerson. This is due to a variety of themes, however the theory was always somewhat loose and iffy for me because there were pieces that just didn't quite fit with me. Mainly the fact that Gerson and Gaster co-existed at the same time and place in Undertale's timeline. While for my first version of revived Gerson theory to work, you'd have to assume they didn't co-exist in the same way in Deltarune, which just doesn't fully sit right for me.

Then a startling realization came to me. What two characters co-exist at the same time, but have one missing half per game? Father Alvin and Gerson.

Now, what does Gaster have to do with either of these turts? Well, a post by @honeybouquets puts down the rundown pretty well. But the basic gist is that Gaster and Gerson both:

Are connected to Goners due to Gerson's name being an anagram to the word

Both start with the letter G making the Undertale FUN event of the mysterious caller ambiguous

Alphys would replace Gaster's job in Undertale. In Deltarune she replaces Gerson's.

Gerson reveals the Deltarune Symbol and its history in Undertale. Gaster is heavily implied to be important in the game Deltarune.

The Gaster Blasters can be interpreted as being a turtle skull.

You might now be wondering now why I am tying Gaster with Father Alvin and not more with the character of Gerson.

The basic reasoning that I came up with is that Father Alvin is a character that doesn't exist in Undertale, while Gerson is alive and well. In Deltarune it's the other way around, Gerson is dead and thus doesn't exist in the narrative, but Alvin does. Similarly, in Undertale, Gaster has no impact in the plot, but Deltarune is shaping up to have major Gaster impact. Both characters will therefore exist/be important in a game where they haven't been before in another.

Using that basic idea, I decided to look up various connections to see if I am onto something and ended up being extremely surprised by the results. What was originally started out as a fun small idea became a long list of various things that I didn't expect.

Below is my collection of all the things I could find that connects the characters of Gaster and Alvin as well as a small theory based on these connections.

==================================================

Waterfall Connections

Various Gaster-related characters: Mystery Man, Redacted , Goner Kid, Riverperson, and Clam Girl can be found at Waterfall. Which is where Gerson can also be found.

Riverperson goes to Hotland, Waterfall, and Snowdin, all locations connected to Gaster-related characters.

The Papyrus AMA has Papyrus remembering his old home having green grass.

Both Hometown and Waterfall have green grass.

Waterfall has two characters named after real people: Temmie and Gerson.

Onison can be found in Waterfall, and in Deltarune he mentions hearing a mysterious song from the sea. The same mysterious song could be tied to Riverperson or ocean.ogg.

Waterfall is the location with the Undyne battle, and in genocide route she becomes "undying" by having Determination, becoming a goopy form in the end. Similar to the amalgamates goopy forms caused by Determination experiments.

Waterfall has a statue of unknown origins and darkners turn to statues when they enter an area where they don't fit.

According to the Undertale wiki "Waterfall resembles the Land of Wind and Shade from Homestuck. The Waterfall leitmotif originates from the song Doctor, which is the Land of Wind and Shade's theme." Doctor is the professional title of Gaster.

One of the tarot cards has the small bird NPC being the Knight of Pentacles. The same bird also appears flying above Papyrus in the Pacifist ending.

From @mirror-ralsei's post the trash zone in Waterfall might have a variety of Deltarune references.

Ralsei's cloak when he introduces himself to Kris and Ralsei closely resembles Riverperson's cloak.

===================================================Religious Connections

In the real world, one of the great debates is science vs. religion. In Undertale, Gaster would go down the path of science, while in Deltarune Alvin would go down the path of religion.

Goners are also referred to as Gaster Followers, people who join a religion are also referred to as followers of that specific religion. Therefore, the hometown would be followers of Alvin's church/religion.

Jesus also had followers in the Bible, and in the Bible Jesus is the son of God, who is referred to as the Holy Father. Alvin is the son of Gerson, who is implied to have possibly had adventures through one of the "holy fountains" and possibly had created the Grand Fountain. Which would make Gerson the "holy father" to the darkners. Gaster could therefore represent the "holy spirit", given his sort of ghostly undead state in Undertale.

Gaster is described as "listening" by one of the goners and in religion, the god(s) are always descried as watching (and therefore listening) over humanity.

In the Snowgrave route there's a lot of marriage/romance symbology, such as giving the Thorn Ring to Noelle, which is similar to how a couple would give each other rings in marriage. Priests are known to officiate marriages in real life. Not to mention the thorn ring could be a reference to Jesus' thorn crown.

Religions often have symbology involving death and rebirth - for example Jesus dying on the cross, then being reborn to the living world. In Undertale, Everyman gets controlled by butterflies, which generally are also used to symbolically represent death and rebirth. The Everyman character could also be connected the religious play called "Everyman" which ends with a doctor character telling the moral of the story.

Gaster is represented by 6s, a number associated with the devil, which would be the opposite of the angel that Alvin preaches about.

In the Bible, there's the father, son, and holy spirit, which are presented as separate, yet the same being. Gaster being split across time and space would also have pieces of him that are technically separate beings, yet still Gaster.

In the Bible, there's a reoccurring motif about speaking in tongues and its ties to God. The riverperson warns about "the man who speaks in hands". ICE-E's catchphrase, giasfclfubrehber, can also be interpreted as speaking in tongues.

God begins with the letter G. As funny as that is, the wrong number call does have the G name be extremely ambiguous. Priests are considered messengers for God, so the wrong caller could be trying to contact a priest for religious purposes.

==================================================

Misc. Theories

Gaster, much like the other goners, is in grayscale. This could be deliberate to hide his true color scheme and species. Alternatively, due to Gaster dying when he fell into his creation, mass amounts of Determination used in his research could have made him turn into a skeleton-like amalgamate instead of dust. Or his dust could have attached to a human skeleton or a prop skeleton (like the ones found at traditional science classes) that then got filled with Determination, Flowey-style. Either way, Gaster's true appearance and species has possibly been altered to hide whatever true connections to characters he may have. Especially if that character connection ended up being much more of a surprise than players anticipated.

If the theory about Knight Alvin is true (or if he at least created/associated with one fountain), then Alvin would be creating dark fountains while Gaster would be (hypothetically) studying them. Scientists study cause and effect and both characters would represent cause and effect retrospectively.

Papyrus mentions feeling the sun on his skin and wind in his hair. Father Alvin is the only monster shown in Deltarune that can definitively have skin and hair, as the rest either have a mix of scales and hair (Susie, Undyne) or fur and hair (the Holiday family). Even though turtle skin is different from what humans generally think of as skin, it is still skin.

Gaster's job/role in Deltarune hasn't been revealed yet. All the other adults in Deltarune have new, yet suitable jobs: Asgore becomes a flower keeper instead of a king, Undyne becomes a cop instead of a royal guard, Alphys becomes a teacher instead of a scientist, etc. Maybe it's to save the surprise reveal that Gaster's job is radically different than what the players expect?

Gerson knows an odd amount of game mechanics, stating that the knowledge he has is how he was able to live so long.

Presumably, that information would pass onto his son. The same otherworldly knowledge that only a few other characters knows about: Sans, Papyrus, Asriel/Flowey, and Chara. All of which have major importance within Undertale's story. Yet Gerson, the character that shares this wider information about Undertale's world, doesn't have any larger importance in the story. Maybe because his family's importance in Undertale is still a mystery that fans haven't caught on yet or because his importance belongs to a different universe/game: Deltarune.

All the enemies in the CORE have both old-timey medieval theming and religious theming, yet the boss there (Mettaton) doesn't fit that theming. Even though the CORE is Gaster's creation, a theoretical boss monster Alvin would fit in more than a boss monster Gaster (or at least Undertale's version of Gaster).

Speaking of Mettaton, he is mostly absent in Deltarune, being locked in his house, yet he has a major role in Undertale being one of the boss monsters. Gaster and Father Alvin are absent in Undertale, but may have a major role in Deltarune.

One of Clover's unused pieces of dialogue include making her argue about politics and religion in battle. This could have been cut because even though her responses aren't about it, it could have potentially hinted at the two most important characters in the story too early. Those being The Mayor and Father Alvin.

Alongside Sans and Papyrus, Gerson is another character shown always smiling no matter what he is truly feeling. The only indicator to his feelings being his right eyelid.

The Holiday Family are being built up to be super important to the plot, especially Noelle and Dess. The Holiday Family are religious and visit Alvin's church. The church doesn't exist in the Undertale universe and the family is less important in that game.

Riverperson and Ralsei's cloak resembles the cloak traditionally worn by the angel of death.

==================================================

Theory to round it out kinda: The Death Theory

The reason why Father Alvin isn't mentioned in Undertale could be because he doesn't exist in that game's universe, but it could also be because Alvin could have died and Monsters react poorly to depression within Undertale.

In the true pacifist ending, Gerson comments on how Boss Monsters cease to age once they no longer have a child when asked if Asgore is a goat.

What is interesting about this is that Gerson enters the question with a segway, which to most players would just seem to be a part of his absent-minded grandpa characterization. However, I checked all his dialogue options in the wiki and this is the only time he does so. It's almost like he's uncomfortable to answer this question. Not to mention this piece comes from the true pacifist route alongside a few other questions and stories that would be too personal for Gerson to answer otherwise.

This is where the theory begins.

Maybe the reason why Gerson knows about how boss monsters age is because Gerson could have lost his son at some point, causing Gerson to stop aging. This could also be the true main reason why Gerson has lived so long in the Undertale universe (besides his odd knowledge of game mechanics), while in Deltarune Gerson is dead. And yes, this would make Gerson a Boss Monster, even if he no longer functions as one.

Gaster in Undertale is also in a sort of existence limbo due to his fall into the CORE, with the only pure mentions of him coming from the Goners. Gaster technically died when he fell into his creation, which could be why his death is treated in a similar way.

Plus when monsters die, the reach a state called "fallen down", so Gaster's origin could have a double meaning. He died in his creation.

However, by not outwardly acknowledging his fall, the monsters are kind of passing off his existence. In fact, Gaster never truly got the traditional monster's funeral. It's probably safe to assume that whatever Gaster fell into is not his favorite object. This could showcase the flaws in how monsters deal with things in normal day-to-day life.

So there would be two monsters that are both presumably dead (or in some sort of weird undead state in Gaster's case) in Undertale, yet might both be alive and well in Deltarune.

To put things in a sorta loosey storytelling perspective that's probably not super accurate:

Once upon a time, a long time ago, one of the Boss Monsters was Gerson. He was brave and strong, using his hammer of justice to save the lives of multiple monsters in the great human-monster war. While it wasn't enough to keep them going underground, his bravery becomes admired by future members of the royal guard.

One day, Gerson's teenage or young adult son becomes royal scientist, following his father's inputs of wisdom that had been passed down. However, Gerson's son had a tough move from his old home of Waterfall to Hotland in order to do so. There, The Son would begin work on ways to improve monster living conditions, creating the CORE to generate electricity as well as studying ways to harness whatever strange power humans had for monster's freedom. During The Son's experiments, he discovers a dark fountain, an endless source of Determination. Could this be the key to freedom without having to use Execution Points or Levels Of Violence? The Son begins to experiment on the fountain, trying to figure out a way to make things go darker than dark, only to die in the process. However, The Son doesn't fully die and his essence ends up in a sort of undead state being split across space-time into multiple forms. Some of which became new monsters who now count kinda as their own people, erm, monsters even though they came from him. After his son's death, Gerson retires from his prior position of being a royal guard. Perhaps out of fear of death, Gerson uses his knowledge of his world to become a shopkeeper, a position that guarantees that no one can kill him.

Meanwhile, in the Deltarune Universe, Gerson's son proceeds a different profession. Instead of becoming a scientist, he becomes a priest telling the prophecy his dad gave him many years ago during a Dark World adventure. Due to The Son's safer job, the event that caused his death in Undertale never happens, leading Gerson to die of old age. However, those Dark World adventures still have an impact on the son's mind years later. Living under the shadow of his father's success, Gerson's son begins to wonder if his father really was proud of him before death.

So The Son begins to wonder: "should I bring my father back?" After all, The Son knows the dark world adventures he had as a child were real, he knows that the dark fountains are made out of pure Determination, and he knows that objects can be brought to life within the dark worlds. Maybe, just maybe, he can bring his father's hammer to a dark world and revive his father from the dead.

Little does he realize, that once he brings back Gerson, Gerson will come back in a way that he will not expect. Like how the amalgamates became terrifying once filled with Determination, Gerson will come back in a similar way. A goopy amalgamate that may look familiar to players. In traditional Underswap fashion, Alvin has swapped with Gerson into becoming

Gaster.

Making the case for a swap

OK, so there's one piece that might catch people off guard and that's the underswap aspect. However, there's one character that showcases this being a plausible possibility and that's Kris.

Kris, despite similar name to Frisk, shares many aspects with Chara. Both have an affinity for dark jokes, both like sweets, and both are shown liking knives.

I think that one of Deltarune's twist reveals is that Kris is the Deltarune universe equivalent to Chara, with the equivalent of Frisk being off elsewhere.

Heck, if you believe in Narra Chara theory, it's possible in Deltarune it's the other way around with a Narra Frisk.

So in a universe with completely different circumstances than Undertale's, it isn't too far out there to assume there's more than just one swap going on.

The Bunker

Final piece of this theory is the bunker. Under my other Gaster theories, there's really no solution for the mysterious bunker. However, this theory gives three really interesting possibilities for the bunker. The bunker could have been created by either Gerson or Alvin.

For Gerson, it's hinted that he had adventures in the dark world, so knowing how dangerous the dark worlds are, Gerson could have created the bunker to further protect the light world from dark world forces.

For Alvin, it could be a place where he experiments on dark fountains, maybe even the Grand Fountain, in order to revive his father.

Of course, there's a possibility of both being true, that at some point in the past Gerson created the bunker as a form of protection and then years later, Alvin returns to the bunker to experiment.

Which brings the question, why did the Hometown allow either of these people to create the bunker? Well, since both have a high place in the Hometown, it's possible the town just let the bunker be created under the guise of being potential emergency relief without any questions.

So, in the hypothetical event where the game ends with the Roaring, the citizens of Hometown would go into the bunker for safety, only to be greeted with the angry darkners who want to escape and want revenge against the lightners.

==================================================

Some of these are admitted stretches, but the amount of connections I was able to think of were surprising. Feel free to comment or reblog with more connections that I missed, I am curious to see what is out there!

#deltarune theory #deltarune #deltarune meta #utdr theory #utdr meta #undertale theory #undertale #undertale meta #gerson #father alvin #gaster #long post #springy thoughts

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incorrect-mtg · 7 months

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Flavor Text Highlights

So, one thing that I did two years ago (and have kept updated since) on twitter was my flavor text thread, where I went through each set in Magic history and picked the top 4 (or, for some exceptional cases, 8) best pieces of flavor text in my opinion.

Since then, I have regreted some choices and very much dislike the fact I can't edit the original tweets to reflect changes on the rules I followed for card selection... So I might as well use Tumblr as the place to correct all that.

Every day from now on, I will re-post a set from the list until I catch up to it, then eventually update it as new magic sets come out. The rules for selection can be seen after the linebreak below (as well as a full list of sets I've already gone through, with links). The first one can be found here.

1- Categorization

I will always try to select a diverse list of cards so as to fill the following 4 categories of flavor text types:

Cool - Boasts and descriptions that serve to make the subject matter of the card seem powerful and/or interesting.

Funny - Dialogue, descriptions or epigrams meant to get a laugh out of you

Worldbuilding - Flavor text whose biggest strength comes not from what it says on its own, but how it helps build upon either the world the set takes place in or the story of the set in question

Emotional - This one could conceivably be separated in two whole categories, but it encompasses cards that would fill the same niche as the "Cool" category but with a specific focus on either sadness or horror.

However, there will be situations where there might be a number of good flavor texts within a certain category while another is found lacking of any truly great options. In such scenarios, I will simply remove one (and in rare cases more) of the categories and repeat one of the remaining options. For an extreme example, the first Un-sets barely had any non-Funny options, so when picking cards from those sets most/all of the picks will be from the Funny category.

2- Card Selection

Cards will be reviewed only if they have new flavor text (using scryfall's "new:flavor" filter) and only if it's original flavor text (aka no real world references or quotes from literature) while sets will either be reviewed alone or grouped up depending on the amount of eligible cards in the set. Although I don't have a hard cut-off point for how many new flavor texts a set needs to be reviewed alone, the general range is around 150.

For sets that don't reach that number, they will either be bundled with an associated set (i.e. reviewing Commander precons with their associated Standard set) or bundled with a lot of other smaller products until a suitable number is reached (i.e. bundling all early Masters sets and Duel Decks together, since the amount of new flavor texts in those products is very low).

2.1 - Cycles

For some sets, a collection of cards (usually a cycle) will have flavor texts that work together, expand on each other or combine into a single theme. If said interaction is particularly good or if there isn't already a good flavor text that can stand up on its own, a cycle might be picked for a specific entry. Below, I will try to set up a list of every post for this, in order:

1. Alpha/Beta/Unlimited

2. Antiquities

3. Legends

4. The Dark

5. Fallen Empires

6. Ice Age

7. Homelands

8. Alliances

9. Mirage

10. Visions

11. Portal

11. Weatherlight

12. Tempest

13. Stronghold

14. Exodus

15. Portal Second Age

16. Unhinged + Unglued

17. Urza's Saga

18. Urza's Legacy

19. Urza's Destiny

20. Mercadian Masques

21. Nemesis

22. Prophecy

23. Invasion

24. Planeshift

25. Apocalypse

26. Odyssey

27. Torment

28. Judgment

29. Onslaught

30. Legions

31. Scourge

32. Mirrodin

33. Darksteel

34. Fifth Dawn

35. Champions of Kamigawa

36. Betrayers of Kamigawa

37. Saviors of Kamigawa

38. Core Sets (4th Edition - 10th Edition)

39. Ravnica: City of Guilds

40. Guildpact

41. Dissension

42. Coldsnap

43. Time Spiral

44. Planar Chaos

45. Future Sight

46. Lorwyn

47. Morningtide

48. Shadowmoor

49. Eventide

50. Duel Decks

51. Shards of Alara

52. Conflux

53. Alara Reborn

54. Magic 2010

55. Zendikar

56. Worldwake

57. Rise of the Eldrazi

58. Magic 2011

59. Scars of Mirrodin

60. Mirrodin Besieged

61. New Phyrexia

62. Commander Precons (Commander 2011 - Commander 2019)

63. Magic 2012

64. Innistrad

65. Dark Ascension

66. Avacyn Restored

67. Magic 2013

68. Return to Ravnica

69. Gatecrash

70. Dragon's Maze

71. Masters Sets

72. Magic 2014

#magic the gathering #flavor text highlights

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weylerwritingevents · 1 year

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Wyler Kink Bingo - Rules and FAQs

Here is everything you need to know about our upcoming summer of smut kink bingo!

Rules: (adapted from the SPNkinkevents tumblr)

You are expected to respect the work of all participants. Anyone caught behaving otherwise will be automatically disqualified from participation and blocked by the blog.

No plagiarism will be tolerated - suspicions of plagiarism should be brought to the attention of this blog so that they can be investigated.

Fills featuring an OT3 are permissible so long as Wednesday and Tyler are both apart of the relationship (Example: Wyclay).

Please tag ships/kinks/ratings appropriately.

Tag each submission with the corresponding kink listed on your card. For example, if you're writing for pain play, tag #pain play.

If you are creating Fanart, Graphics, Gifsets, etc. that are nsfw, it may be helpful to you to host them on another site in place of or in addition to Tumblr due to Tumblr’s anti-p*rn guidelines and then link them - it’s up to you!

If you post your entire fic to Tumblr, please be sure to insert a readmore to keep posts from being overly long

You must tag for Noncon, Underage (under 18), extreme underage (under 13), cannibalism, bestiality, necrophilia, and character death if your work contains them. If you do not tag for those, your work will not be reblogged or considered a fill until you do so.

You may complete more than one bingo card, but only after having finished one in its entirety. We encourage you to explore writing for kinks that you may not normally!

One kink per fic - meaning, you can't write a single piece containing multiple kinks from your card (of course, many kinks overlap, but the fic will be consider a single fill only). You can, however, write a multichapter fic with a different kink for each chapter - and each chapter will be considered a separate fill!

Free space: Fill this space with a kink of your choice.

We highly recommend that you cross-post to another server as well, such as Archive of Our Own. We have a collection on AO3 for your creations.

Examples of acceptable submissions:

Fanfiction and Poetry

Fanart

Graphics

Gifsets

Picspam

Playlists

Fanvids

Point system:

1 fill = 10 pts

Full bingo card (all 9 squares) = 140 pts (90 + extra 50)

FAQs

Q: What if I missed the signups deadline (June 30th)? A: if you miss the deadline, please feel free to message this blog to see if you can still join.

Q: Can I write a fill for another writing event combined with this one? A: Our bingo allows writing one piece for two (or more) events, as long as both prompts are filled. Make sure the other writing event allows that too!

Q: Is there a minimal amount of words per fill? A: There isn't! right as much or as little as you like.

Q: What does competing for points mean? A: When we finish the kink bingo (August 31st), all participants should post a masterlist of their creations, so we could reblog all of your smutty, kinky pieces. However, if you want your creations not only shared but also calculated using the point system above, you need to mention that using the sign up form. You don't have to compete for points if you don't want to!

Q: Can I get more than one card? A: You're more than welcome to claim another card once you finish your first one.

Q: I have Hyde Sex in my bingo card, or plan to write hyde sex with a different kink. Should I tag for bestiality? A: The proper tag/warning for that case would be monsterfucking, monster sex or simply hyde sex.

Q: Where is the ao3 collection for all the creations made for this bingo? A: The ao3 collection can be found here. Make sure you post your works to this collection. Please tag your tumblr post of the story with #wyler kink bingo as well.

Q: Who is running this event? A: The mods are @suchaladyy, @therulerofallpotatos, and @wincestation.

Any other questions or requests? Feel free to drop an ask!

#weyler summer of smut #weyler kink bingo #wyler kink bingo #wyler summer of smut

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mthollowell-writes · 9 months

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Writer Q&A Tag Game

Thanks again to @digital-chance for the tag! You can find their original post here!

1)What motivates you to write?

My own ego (I kid...sorta).

I love creating worlds and giving life to the various voices inside my head. I love teasing out ideas and constructing (too) intricate plots and scenarios. Writing is my escape from the daily grind (for good and bad) and my main outlet for expression. I honestly wouldn't be me without my writing.

2) A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

I'll share something from a short story currently on ice until I get around to editing it. It's tentatively called "Cosmic Self-Serve"

Unfathomable eldritch horrors weren’t on my Tuesday night bingo card but it takes all types to keep a gas station in the black. I took another pack of gum from the rack and popped a stick in my mouth, praying for brain freeze. Cool mint took over my senses and I felt like a person again. Gary won’t be happy with my lack of respect for “stock integrity” but that’s why our corporate gods gave us shrink. Also Gary’s an asshole so screw Gary.

3) Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

I'm going to have to give this to September from my Festival Project WIP. He's such a mess of a character despite his best efforts to keep it together. He has a pretty lengthy backstory for "reasons that drift a smidge into spoiler territory." On the surface, he's calm and collected and can weather any storm with clear head, but that comes from a long history of battling demons (both real and internal). He currently puts these talents towards being the Editor in Chief at his newspaper office.

4) What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

The initial brainstorming and outlining stage. I love plotting out stories free from the expectation of making the words sound pretty. I do still enjoy making the words pretty but sometimes I stall getting too caught up in that.

5) What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

The dialogue, though I will be the first to admit that I can get carried away with it. I also credit myself as a very meticulous plotter, in the actual plot and with character backstories. I've been told that my shorter stories tend to subvert expectation and go in unexpected places (but this too has its pitfalls as my earlier writing has been labelled as confusing by certain peers in writing workshops).

Even when I'm trying to stroke my ego, I keep offering caveats.

6) What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

Honestly, how supportive everyone is! We're always trying to build each other up and the discussions I see on my feed where people excitedly talk about their stories and OCs remind me why writing is so much fun. And the games, of course. My god, these games! I love them!

7) A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

I recently took the plunge and bought Scrivener and I'm liking it so far. It's a bit of a learning curve with all the features you can play with, but I love how you can organize stories and bookmark things within each text section for referencing. Best of all, (and as far as I'm aware) you only have to pay once for it (unlike some other subscription based programs). With that being said, I do love Microsoft Word for smaller projects and its backup feature.

I also use a timer on my computer (I have Windows so there's a clock app that you can adjust). On days that I'm really struggling to motivate myself, dividing my time into smaller increments can get me through the slog.

8) A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

Egad, what a broad question! I have to think about that for a second...

There's a unique Protestant-inspired church branch within Hollow Grove that's known as the Edelhaus Coalition Church. It's also uniquely American, whose foundation is the old Puritan work ethic that emphasizes hard work as a core tenet that guarantees a path to heaven.

Where it diverges is its belief in The Founder and the concept of The Faithful. The Faithful are the true believers that have gained immense favor with God through their hard work and aptitude. As evidence of his favor, he gives The Faithful powers over nature. The Founder (who many believe was the original historical founder of the town, Goodwin Hollow) was the first Faithful and every Festival of Shadows, the evidence of his will is seen in the resurrection of the recently deceased every festival year. This holiday is celebrated by all in the Edelhaus Coalition church for this reason. It's also why many acolytes within the church opt for natural burial for a chance to walk the earth again.

There's more to it but in the spirit of brevity, that's all I'll say for now.

9) What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

I'll say it again, write what you love. There's no point in writing something you don't.

I also want to emphasize the importance of breaks. Sometimes if the words aren't flowing (or there's just so much going in your life), never feel ashamed of putting the pen down and coming back to a story later. The time away can offer fresh perspective. It can divert your attention to something else that you're equally passionate about. I sometimes like to procrastinate on one story with another. If I can't write at all, sometimes reading or watching something can inspire you.

10) Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters

I'm truly inspired by reading the snippets of stories from @digital-chance (that's two mentions now!) @rmgrey-author @palebdot @tabswrites @writingbyricochet and @fatexweaver. I appreciate the support and interactions I've had with @vintagecivet @macabremoons @friendlyshaped @aestatismors @leisoree @words-after-midnight @axl-ul @nai-nty-8 and @nonsenseramble. Seriously, you all rock and I appreciate all of you!

I'm going to go ahead and gently tag all these beautiful folks listed above as well as some newer mutuals who I hope to get to know more @girlfromthecrypt @elhuei @isherwoodj @poemsbymo @robin-writes-a-lot and anyone who would like to participate!

#tag games #tagged #writer's q&a tag #long post #mt writes #writeblr #festival project #cosmic wip

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theinstagrahame · 9 months

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Time again for the Crowdfunding Haul post!

(And I guess another amateurish product photo shoot)

This one's feels slightly different because this is all stuff I pre-ordered, crowdfunded, or otherwise got prior to being laid off at the end of June (so it'd be real nice if people bought some games from me). Coincidentally a dozen or so of them happened to come to completion around June-July of 2023, some of them.

Here's what came in: Top row: Monster of the Week: Codex of Worlds, Runecairn Bestiary, CBR+PNK, Miru and Miru II (or MIIRU)

Middle row: Ritual: A Folk Horror Game, Plant Girl Game, and A Dungeon Game

Bottom row: Sleeping Heart of the Garden, Hard Wired Island: Tales from L5, Broken Heart of the Castle, the Moss Mother's Maze (for a Dungeon Game), and Null

Why I'm hyped for these:

Monster of the Week: Codex of Worlds: MotW is a hugely influential game, but also it is a lot of fun. So it's really hard to pass up an expansion. I've also been noticing a trend of bringing Forged in the Dark-style group sheets to PbtA games, which I think is an interesting one.

Runecairn Bestiary: Who doesn't love a good monster manual? Runecairn is a beautiful game, and the marketing for the bestiary supplement worked on me. Incredible art, stats for monsters. One of the things I've felt is missing from some solo games is a good sense of monsters you can encounter, and this fills that gap nicely.

Miru and Miru II: I was intrigued by Miru and picked up a copy on Itch. I haven't read it yet, but the premise and the art definitely grabbed me. I was a little sad that I'd missed the initial print run, so when there was a crowdfunder for a reprint *and* a sequel, how could I not?

Ritual: A Folk Horror Game: World Champ Game Co is one of several Indie designers that never miss. It also comes with a small deck of ritual cards with really visceral and cool images that I think adds a ton to the game. That said, I am also a huge sucker for limited edition print runs... So when I saw there may only be a handful of these available, well, I jumped.

Plant Girl Game: I learned about this one on @partyofonepod, and was so intrigued by the game, and the creator, and the world that it proposed that I had to know more. It's a game focused on family, on community, and on peaceful resolutions to small-town problems. So it's definitely an odd one out on this list, but the ways in which it's different are also one of the reasons I so love TTRPGs.

A Dungeon Game and the Moss Mother's Maze: I followed the evolution of Bissette's A Dragon Game into A Dungeon Game on Twitter, from shitpost to full-fledged game. It was really fun to watch, and to skim the Designer's Commentary on the original ADG. So, when I heard there'd be an adventure module (aaaand again a limited print run for the main game...) I leapt on it as fast as my email could carry me.

Sleeping Heart of the Garden and Broken Heart of the Castle: I've followed a few of the creators involved in this project on Twitter for a while, and generally was intrigued to see what they could do with a system-agnostic adventure. I was surprised by the size when they arrived, because you get to expect the half-page zine format. But I think these books are beautiful and I can't wait to explore them.

Hard Wired Island: Tales from L5: HWI is a stunning piece of TTRPG content, and I've been wanting to dig into the world further. So, a collection of short adventures? Hell yeah! It even came with a really catchy little soundtrack, the final track for which I think about all the time when considering Cyberpunk content...

Null: Everything Spencer Campbell puts out just shreds. I did nearly sleep on Null, but I was intrigued by the recent trend of Play-to-Lose games that I've seen coming out lately. There is something kind of powerful about going into a game knowing your character won't come out, which I think allows you to make different decisions. I was interested to see where this game fit into Campbell's catalog, as well as into my own play style.

CBR+PNK: Been getting into Forged in the Dark stuff lately. I also nearly let this one pass me by, when I'd heard that it was aimed at one-shot games. But, I was still intrigued to see what could be done with Cyberpunk in the FitD framework (and besides, maybe there's a way an enterprising designer could campaigns in there...). I was glad I picked it up, because I started playing games with some friends over Discord, and I was able to pitch this. We've been enjoying it. It's even serving really well as a prequel to the Beam Saber campaign we're planning (Also really convenient that it arrived before we finished the one-shot). Besides, the physical edition did turn out really nicely:

Bonus game-related stuff:

I picked up Inhuman Conditions (right) because I'd heard it on Friends at the Table. It seems like an extremely fun game, but also the Sangfielle campaign episode(s) where they play it are ones that I think about a lot. Also, one of the things I love about FatT is their ability to wield the power of play to do incredibly powerful things.

The Tears of the Kingdom Strategy Guide I kinda wanted less because I was stuck or wanted tips on playing TotK, but because the bundle I got for my Switch and Breath of the Wild came with one, and I kinda wanted to put both on the shelf. Zelda has been one of those series that I've always had throughout my life, so I've got a lot of emotional investment. The two strategy guides are beautiful, and I will probably end up skimming through it when I've gotten through the main game.

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hold-him-down · 2 years

Note

I don't know how this would work in Leo's story or if you could even use it, and if not feel free to disregard, but I have seen a couple of posts recently about whumpers betting their whumpees during card games and I don't know that just sounds neat.

Nothing Permanent

TW: Implied noncon, mentions of nudity, institutionalized slavery, blood mention, betting a whole ass person in a poker game, fear of noncon, discussions of noncon, references to noncon touch, fucky headspace, references to conditioning... the usual suspects.

Notes: Early in Kylie Smith’s contract. Leo’s first buyer out of training. Not really a linear plot happening but it's words and i wrote em so as promised, they are now everyone else's problem :)

Table of Contents

✥ ✥ ✥

He’s bleeding, he thinks. He’s blindfolded, so he isn’t completely sure if the blood has stopped, but every hand that’s been dealt and won, Leo is forced to take a shot, or lose a piece of clothing, or he’s been touched or he’s forced to touch or he’s… or he’s hurt. There’s no pattern to it.

This… woman, Mrs. Smith, loves his suffering. In a way he wasn’t prepared to handle, she longs for true, genuine agony. And tonight, she’s chased it.

He feels something slice into him and every muscle in Leo’s body locks as he swallows back a scream. “Not too deep,” she says. “The director said no scars.”

“Jesus,” one of the men say. Kyle, Leo thinks. He’s outspoken, he’s handsy. He’s drunk and he’s dangerous and if he wins this game, Leo goes home with–

Liquid is poured along the new cut and Leo wails in spite of his training, curling up as tight as he can on the chair they’ve tied him to, willing the meager contents of his stomach to stay put.

He’s gasping in short, ragged breaths when he feels cool hands come around his neck, pulling his head up.

Her lips are cool against his jaw and he hears himself struggling over each breath as her tongue grazes his neck. Distantly, he knows his arm is being wrapped up, and that they’ll soon start another round. He doesn’t know if he should be grateful for the moment unattended, or dread what follows it.

The blindfold that collects his tears is soaked by now. He’s body is covered in bruises and sweat and blood and he just… he just wants to go home. He just wants–

“He’s okay,” Mrs. Smith says, her teeth grazing his skin as she backs away from him.

“He doesn’t exactly look it,” says another woman.

It earns a laugh from all around him, and then a sort of silence grows, and Leo knows their attention has returned to their game.

✥ ✥ ✥

“Are you going to be a good boy?”

Covered in sweat, still trying to catch his breath, Leo can only nod and hope it’s enough. Mrs. Smith runs her fingers through his hair, letting her nails lightly graze his neck and she pulls him into a hug. His head drops against her shoulder. It’s what she wants, and he thinks if he can delay this next part, for as long as possible, if he can save himself a single moment of misery, it’s worth it.

“See? He’s sweet,” she says to someone that he can’t see. He closes his eyes, pulling in long breaths through his nose. Leo doesn’t think he can stop this from happening, but if he can earn Mrs. Smith’s favor back, maybe she’ll… make him take it easy.

She abruptly breaks the hug, her grip tight on his shoulders as she pushes him back, meeting his eyes.

“Have fun tonight,” she says, and Leo nods, swallowing.

The man, the one who so gleefully tormented him for the past three hours, inclines his head toward the door with a smile.

“Nothing permanent,” she reminds him.

“Nothing permanent.” His voice is thick with desire, Leo thinks. And in an instant, there’s a palm on the small of his back, guiding him out the door and toward the last remaining car in the driveway.

✥ ✥ ✥

The first sign that the night isn’t going to go as expected is when they get to the car. The man, Kyle Montgomery, clears his throat and utters a muffled, “Sit wherever you’re comfortable.”

Leo tenses.

“Sir?” he asks, hand hovering over the rear door handle. He half expected to be folded into the trunk, and he doesn’t want to misstep this early in the evening.

Kyle nods his approval. “That’s fine. I don’t care where you sit.” Kyle’s eyes move to the window, where Mrs. Smith watches them with a smile. “Just get in the fucking car,” he says tersely.

Leo does, stiff, unsure of whether he actually did what he was supposed to do. He would find out soon enough. The next ten minutes are spent in silence, and when Kyle pulls into a drive-up take-out window, Leo finds himself once again taken aback.

“What do you want?” the man asks, meeting his eyes in the rear-view mirror.

“I–” shouldn’t eat, is what Leo wants to say. But, as if the response has been coded into him, he finds himself saying, “I’d like whatever you’re having.” He hates himself for it. He hates every piece of himself that been broken down by the training. And still, once the words have left his mouth, he can breathe a little easier. It hasn’t stopped freaking him out. That his brain was rewired to do this. That his body seems to act on its own accord.

Kyle orders, and they sit in silence as his card is scanned, as the woman hands him the bag, as he drives away. The bag is placed on the passenger seat, the smell hitting Leo in waves, and he wonders idly if it was bought for him as a reward for later. Or to build motivation. It doesn’t matter. He’ll do whatever he’s supposed to do.

The silence lingers, save for the soft humming along to the radio. It makes the hairs on Leo’s arms stick up.

They pull into a gated driveway and make their way toward a looming brick townhome, and Leo is suddenly grateful the food hasn’t been offered to him yet. He doesn’t love the way his stomach is knotting up, or the way his throat is running dry.

He’s led in through the back, but Kyle doesn’t touch him. The moment they enter the main room, the lights turn themselves on, and Leo’s… He’s there, in this man’s house, to do… whatever this man wants him to do. Will he ever get used to the unease?

“Have a seat,” Kyle says, gesturing to the sofa. Leo does, carefully, keeping his eyes down. He wants to see. To see if there are things in this room that will hurt him. To see what kind of man he’s got for company tonight. His heart pounds against his ribcage and he swallows as the weight of the other person falls next to him. “Don’t do that,” Kyle says.

Leo nods. “I’m sorry.”

The man hands him a burger from the bag and Leo regards it carefully. “Are you hurt badly?” he asks.

The confusion must be evident on Leo’s face, because Kyle clarifies, “Your… Your head. And your… arm. Your stomach. Everything, I guess.”

“I’m okay.” Leo takes a deep breath and tries a bite of the sandwich, the smallest bit, just to distract himself. He’s rewarded with a smile, and he smiles back, a little bit. He’s proud of himself, for making this man smile.

“I don’t know if I believe that,” Kyle says quietly, but he smiles again.

After every bite, Leo looks up at the man who watches him, thumb gliding across the rim of his glass, to make sure he’s doing okay.

He chews slowly, and he counts his breaths, and he waits for the other shoe to drop. He’s heard stories of men like this. Of men who pretend to be your friend, who let workers get their guard down. Of men who feed off of their hope, and once they have it, they strike. Of how much worse that feels. But every time Kyle smiles, Leo can’t stop the wave of fucking pride that surges through him.

As midnight rolls around, and Leo is still unscathed, he decides to try to push things along. Kyle sits quietly on the opposite side of the couch, his eyes burning into Leo’s body through every second.

“I’m terribly sorry that I’m such poor company,” he says abruptly. It’s his seventh pass at making conversation, and Leo has done his best to enthusiastically participate, but it keeps faltering. “Truth be told, I– I’m not really interested in this type of thing.”

Leo wants to ask why he fought so hard for it, if he’s not interested in it. He wants to ask why he was so aggressive at Mrs. Smith’s house, if he’s not interested in it. But he doesn’t. Instead, he closes a little bit of the distance between him.

“It’s alright,” he says. “I– Whatever you want, is fine.” When Kyle doesn’t back away, Leo inches closer still.

Kyle’s eyes pinch shut in an instant and he stands, just as Leo sinks into the sofa next to him. “I don’t want this,” he says.

The sudden change in the atmosphere rattles Leo, but he stands, too. His jaw locks, but he doesn’t bite back. He’s practiced this. All of this, so many times. He can do this.

“What do you want?” he says, keeping his tone very carefully neutral.

Kyle glances around his room. “What can you do? That isn’t–” he gestures vaguely toward Leo’s middle “–aggressively nonconsensual.”

And for a moment, Leo feels something close to anger bubbling inside of him. He thought that had been beaten out of him by now, but it’s there, just under the surface. Nothing. The answer, he thinks, is nothing. The word he says though, the picture perfect textbook word, is, “Anything.”

He can almost feel the whisper of a hand on the back of his neck, of a bottle of water being tipped up against his dry lips, a Good, Leo, spoken from just outside of his line of sight. He swallows, and the dopamine surging through him at the absolute rightness of his answer relaxes him. He glances around the room, trying to get an idea of how this temporary pseudo-buyer might like to spend the evening, or at least the warm up.

“I can… draw,” he says softly. “I can… I can play the piano, I can read to you? If you’d like, we can… um, we can just talk, or watch a movie, I’m a good–”

“The piano sounds nice,” Kyle interrupts tersely. He sits back down, gesturing toward the Grand Piano in the corner. “If you’re okay with it, the piano sounds nice.” His voice is less aggressive on the second pass, and Leo nods.

“Of course,” he says.

And that’s how he spends the evening with Kyle Montgomery. Playing the piano, and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

✥ ✥ ✥

The first thing Mrs. Smith asked him to do when he arrived back at her apartment as the sun rose was to strip.

He did, without a word, folding his clothing and setting it on the entry table. She examines every inch of him, checking for damage. She pushes into the bruises and cuts, all reminders of an evening spent suffering before leaving with Kyle, just to watch him tense. He doesn’t want to give her the satisfaction, but when she digs her nail into his arm, he hisses in a breath.

“There you are,” she whispers. She gets a towel from the kitchen and holds if over the newly bleeding wound, then covers it with his free hand. He hates her. He hates this. Every second of it. He longs for the moment that it gets easier, but isn’t sure it ever will.

“Did he hurt you?” Mrs. Smith asks, using the tip of her forefinger to tilt Leo’s chin upward.

“Yes,” Leo whispers.

“Did he fuck you?”

Leo nods. The lie slides easily off of his tongue, with her fingers now lingering on the back of his neck.

“Yes.”

She nods and stands, smiling as she does. “I hope you were good for him, my angel.”

She leans down and plants a kiss against his forehead. And then she leaves, and he leans back on his heels. Leo has been here for just two weeks. If he’s learned anything at all, it’s not to move unless he’s asked to. And so, as the minutes bleed into hours, Leo sits there, waiting for whatever comes next.

tag list: @peachy-panic, @whump-cravings @afabulousmrtake @crystalquartzwhump @maracujatangerine @pumpkin-spice-whump @distinctlywhumpthing @thecyrulik @highwaywhump @batfacedliar-yetagain @finder-of-rings @dont-touch-my-soup @skyhawkwolf @suspicious-whumping-egg @also-finder-of-rings @whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump @prodigal-zoe @melancholy-in-the-morning @urban-dark @nicolepascaline @quietly-by-myself @seasaltandcopper @angstyaches @i-msonotcreative @mylifeisonthebookshelf @anonintrovert @whump-world @bite-down-on-this

#implied noncon #mentions of nudity #institutionalized slavery #blood mention #betting a whole ass person in a poker game #fear of noncon #discussions of noncon #references to noncon touch #fucky headspace #references to conditioning... the usual suspects.#i'm supposed to write tomorrow too #maybe another one of the asks that came #although i think i checked 3 of them off in this one #just going through and adding tropes #ty to all that sent #i appreciate you

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