#Mari probably gets sparrows

[stephdrawsjohnlock]

SH – :More Every Minute: (FTH #3 for @totallysilvergirl) Procreate on iPad Pro

 [...] In Ch. 4 [of my fic Both Sides Now], John unexpectedly announces that after the night they’ve spent TOGETHER together, he has to break up with Mary. Sherlock didn’t see that coming, didn’t dare to hope for it, and flings himself to his knees and embraces John around the waist (John’s sitting in a hotel armchair). They’ve both still got their dyed hair etc. and are wearing white hotel bathrobes.

FINALLY, at zero hour with 2 days to spare, here's pic three of three for my @fandomtrumpshate pieces for 2023! The AMAZING @totallysilvergirl gave me a selection of scenes I could try to draw from their BEAUTIFUL fanfic, Both Sides Now, Of course I chose the HARDEST one to draw because I SUCK at background elements, but I was determined to give them something that would do their story some justice, because it is VERY sweet (the other options probably would have been easier to draw, but this scene specifically made me melt) and I love it!

So yes, this is John and Sherlock, after spending a night together... they're undercover hence why their hairs are different colours, and in the story John has brown contacts as well, but I really wanted to MAKE this John, so decided he took them out LOL (I genuinely don't remember if Silver wrote that he took them out, but they didn't mind I made this creative choice).

As I mentioned, I have a hard time with scenery and such, so I lately try to do things a bit more complex for other people so I can get comfy with doing it. Silver seemed to really like the piece though, despite my reservations about it, so I'm happy that they're happy.

AND I am shocked I got this done on time... I was SO nitpicky with the colours on this one, so I am glad I got it done within deadline of December 31, LOL.

Title is from this beautiful line in the scene being depicted:

John’s moral compass isn’t blind, no, it’s as pragmatic as it is honourable, and Sherlock loves him more every minute, more than he knew he could love anyone, even John.

Everyone please go give Silver's fic Both Sides Now a read, it's really lovely and can be done in one sitting!! It's just a bit over 14K w. <3

Thank you everyone for letting me draw your scenes for you, and I hope you guys like my final art piece being posted for 2023 <3

🖼 I’M ON INSTAGRAM at stephdrawsfanart 🎨 @stephratte is my Primary Fanart Blog! Art © to S.G.M. Ratté. Do not repost or sell.

(Tags below cut, dm to be added/removed)

@totallysilvergirl

@queerbeess

@ayryn-art

@antisocial-otaku

@havetardiswilltimetravel

@yorkiepug

@tea-and-gingernuts

@quantum-sparrow

@chinike

@chained-to-the-mirror

@almosttomorocco

@loveismyrevolution

#johnlock fanart #johnlock #sherlock fanart #sherlock #fandom trumps hate 2023 #fandom trumps hate #fth 2023 #sdjl myart #sdjl johnlock #sdjl sherlock #fanart #my art

[missroserose]

13 books meme

@introvertia tagged me in this (thank you, lovely, you're such a positive influence on my reading consistency <3) So let's talk books!

1) The Last book I read:

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Absolutely destroyed me—90's science fiction, examining the paradoxes of faith and the difficulties of cross-culture exploration, seasoned with a hefty dose of grief and frustrated desire. Might as well have been written for me.

2) A book I recommend:

The Wicked & The Divine, by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. A sprawling examination of the celebrity-industrial complex, cultural and individual objectification, and the dark side of fandom culture. Well worth reading through in its entirety.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

Starling House, by Alix E. Harrow. I'm a sucker for a fierce and driven heroine who makes things happen by sheer force of will, despite the odds being against her. Between that and the deliciously spooky atmosphere, I adored this book.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

<i>Good Omens</i>, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Hardly an original answer on this website, but it's a classic for a reason <3

5) A book on my TBR:

Victor Lavalle's The Changeling, thanks to @introvertia's recommendation. I know nothing about it but I'm looking forward to reading it!

6) A book I’ve put down:

The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield. I know that the accepted formula for self-help books is to present your one theory and explain why it solves every problem in the known universe, and I hate it, which is probably why I don't read a lot of self-help books. Needless to say, around the time this dude claimed that Hitler wouldn't have become a mass murderer if he'd followed the book's advice, I gave up in disgust.

7) A book on my wish list:

Honestly, I don't have many? I've been enjoying reading from the library, in part because my bedroom is already showing the strain of previous book-buying sprees.

8) A favorite book from childhood:

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man, by Tamora Pierce. I read the entire Alanna series numerous times but I think this was my favorite—I really loved seeing her come into her own independence and learn a new culture (and one that accepted her unusual gender presentation).

9) A book you would give to a friend:

Again, depends strongly on the friend...but I can think of more than a few who'd enjoy the old-school gothic fairytale setting and viciously driven heroine of A. G. Slatter's All the Murmuring Bones.

10) A book of Poetry or Lyrics you own:

Hm...does the script to Hedwig and the Angry Inch count?

11) A nonfiction book you own:

The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson—they practically issue you a copy when you move to Chicago. (In fairness, it's a cracking read.)

12) What are you currently reading:

Skin Folk, a collection of short stories by Nalo Hopkinson. I'm also rereading (or re-listening to) Mike Carey's The Devil You Know, and enjoying it rather better this time around—I think the first time I tried it, almost ten years ago, I was expecting something more along the lines of The Dresden Files and wasn't quite old enough to appreciate the more emotionally battered and worn-down middle-aged protagonist. Now, being a decade older and having lived through a global pandemic and seen rather more of just how terrible people can be to each other...I think it's more my speed. And possibly good research for if I ever get my angel noir story off the ground.

13) What are you planning on reading next?

Definitely The Changeling.

Bonus Round Shelfie?

I'm at a library right now but I might add one later!

Tagging: @klove0511, @sirsparklepants, @emiliosandozsequence, @skybound2, @ihni, @callieb, @lord-angelfish, @redmyeyes, @misschinablue, and @sea-salted-wolverine—no pressure, obviously, but I'd be interested in your answers!

#bookblr #reading #books #tag games

[fragileizywriting]

she is nearly the splitting image of her mother, with dark hair and shining eyes, and when she first approaches, hands hidden behind her back, mischievious in a way that reminds him so dearly of adrien, luka can't help but smile.

"hi, emma."

"hi, bampas!"

he picks her up before she can duck out of his grasp, and just like the old man he is, a grunt comes out of him when he moves back to sit in his dining chair. laughter peels out of her like it's the funniest thing she's ever heard.

she's a squirmer, made a little bit harder to hold because her dress balloons out similar to the shape of a cupcake— her shoes are shiny and rather tough on his pants, with tiny ridiculous buckles that he spends a good time fussing with to get on her in the mornings when it's his turn to dress her, and emma wants to choose to wear a dress. it was adrien's turn this time, which is why her socks are frilly and her mary janes are polished and she's wearing a plastic hairband, because adrien doesn't know how to fix her bangs in a way that marinette makes look simple.

"what are you up to?" he asks her. she's still small enough where she only needs to sit on one of his thighs. "are you hungry? it's almost dinner time."

"not yet! i have something for you!" her voice is tinny like a house sparrow, and one of her hands touches his wrist. in her other, a little package, wrapped hastily with tissue paper and a significant amount of clear tape. "i gave presents to papa and mama, already. i couldn't find you, but mama said you'd be in here."

the princess is never alone. not only is it dangerous to her, but it is also dangerous to everyone else; she's not in control of her magic, not yet, and though she's good at glamour, she's not good at everything else. a sneeze could make something catch fire. they've already gotten the unfortunate problem where adrien's books will disappear if she says something innocuous. which is why when luka looks up, there is a caretaker all the way at the doorframe, attempting to be quiet and out of the way— but luka wasn't raised in a place where servers blended into the landscape of a room, so he greets them, and all the while emma continues to stir in anticipation.

"where'd you get me a present from? school?"

"today was money day! i learned how to use money."

"oh, yeah?"

"it was fun!"

she goes on to explain the little room the class had been taken to, with many colorful books and low tables filled with baskets of stuff. pencils, rulers, erasers, shiny things that caught her eyes— all of it were accessible provided they had enough money— he doesn't recall ever seeing this letter from the school, but then again, it was probably marinette that filled it out. he knows that if adrien had seen the envelope, he would've sent far too much money, because he spoils their child like the princess she is. then, they would take their little basket to the cash register, where every cent is counted, right up to the total.

all that to say... "i got you something!"

"what'd you get me?"

"open it!" she says with a giggle. "please? i want you to open it."

i want bampas to open it!

well, that's an easy contract.

he struggles a bit, because the tape is sticky and the tissue paper is lilac colored— her favorite color, because it's the color that jules has in her wings— but inevitably he finds himself unwrapping it to reveal a little, tiny, plastic kalimba.

oh.

"oh," luka says, picking it up. it's smaller than his palm, child sized, with bigger tines made for children learning a new instrument, rainbow colored to get their attention. it's perfect. "emma... this is beautiful."

she's glowing like a star. "do you like it?"

"i love it."

#speakizys #demon lovin

[shiroikabocha]

late new year’s resolution: get to a place emotionally where I can pick The Sparrow back up where I left off with it. without having another stupid anxiety attack.

maybe a sticky note inside the front cover that says “yeah that one person on the internet said you were a stupid christian supremacist for reading this book and appreciating it in the context of your catholic upbringing rather than appreciating it in the context of jewishness, since that’s, you know, not a context you have; but mary doria russell would almost certainly not agree with that internet person, and she probably doesn’t think you’re an asshole for the crime of reading her book and enjoying it”

#is this that trauma thing all the kids are talking about these days #I hate it #it’s so stupid and it sucks and I don’t want it #no thank you

[slicesofapple]

My Twelve Favorite (Children’s) (Chapter) Books (in no particular order and without regard for genre or intended age) and then some

Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones. If you are looking for perfection (and if you love fantasy), you will find it here. This also serves as a placeholder for the rest of Diana Wynne Jones’s body of work. You can’t go wrong with anything she wrote, although I do have my favorites. The audiobooks read by Gerard Doyle are fabulous.

Tashi and the Big Stinker by Anna Fienberg and Barbara Fienberg . It was like this… (The whole series is phenomenal; picked this particular one because it’s my kids’ favorite of the lot). Probably written for children on the younger side (quite a bit younger, lol) but that’s never stopped me…

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes.     If you want your heart torn out in less than a hundred pages.

The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm, by Nancy Farmer. Each time I read this I find it just as thrilling as the last time.

The Grey King, by Susan Cooper.   While each book in this series is spectacularly written, this one is particularly haunting.  Again, be prepared to have your heart torn out by the roots.

Is Underground by Joan Aiken. An absolute gem by one of the most wildly inventive and fantastic authors to ever write for children (which obviously is saying a lot).

Lionboy by Zizou Corder.   A favorite in this household. The audiobook is – chef’s kiss.

Danny, the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl.    This book also serves as a placeholder for Roald Dahl, whose mastery goes without saying. The audiobook read by Peter Serafinowicz is terrific.

The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope.   Perfectly crafted. (lol cw: quite sweet heterosexual romance)

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Every time I read it, I love it all over again.

The Superlative Horse, by Jean Merrill. What is the price, and what is the value?

Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey. One of my kids' favorites, and mine too. The later books get a bit convoluted, but this one is so much fun.

Runners up (again, in no particular order): Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Keeper of the Isis Light by Monica Hughes, The Moon in the Cloud by Rosemary Harris, The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by L. Pichon, Dorrie's Magic by Patricia Coombs, The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy, The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley, Holes by Louis Sachar, Jack Holborn by Leon Garfield, Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, Merlin’s Mistake by Robert Newman, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary, Grandpa’s Great Escape by David Walliams, The Changeover by Margaret Mahy, Sabriel by Garth Nix, An Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden, The Kidnapping of Suzie Q by Martin Waddell, The Adventures of Odysseus by Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden, You're a Bad Man Mr. Gum by Andy Stanton (the audiobook read by the author is wildly hilarious), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling, Knight's Castle by Edward Eager, The Book of Dragons by E. Nesbit.

I consider all the stories listed above to be treasures.

#children's fic list #mostly fantasy #my favorite authors #diana wynne jones #nancy farmer #susan cooper #joan aiken #margaret mahy #dav pilkey #zizou corder #roald dahl #I keep adding more #Huge shout out to the children's librarian at my local library when I was growing up. She was amazing. #edward eager #e. nesbit

[steele-soulmate]

Tattooed Wings, CHAPTER 584, Peter Steele & OFC, Soulmate AU

SUMMARY: Mary Claire Bradley meets her soulmate- literally- the famous Peter Steele of metal group Type O Negative. But will obstacles including trauma, stalkers, and toxic family members get in the way of their life?

WARNING: mentions of child rape (nothing graphic) PTSD, milk kink, soft smut, grinding, assault, fingering, hand jobs, blow jobs, 69, P in V sex, blood, noncon rape, violence, death, vandalism, graffiti, attempted kidnapping, break-ins, wild animal attacks, terrorist attack (sabotage) consensual impregnation, bareback, impregnation kink, creampies, terrorist attacks (shootings) hit and run pedestrian accident, precipitous labor, neonatal death, abandoned baby, child intoxication, death of a minor character

WORDS: 1158

“Thank goodness today was the last day of school!” Katie bemoaned, slouching backwards into her car seat. “What are we going to do this summer, anyways?”

“The triplets’ first birthday’s on the thirteenth of September!” I reminded her in a gentle tone of voice. “So naturally, a little get together will be held for them- we will invite Daddy’s sisters and Mommy’s brothers and sister and little girl and her daddies and we will ask for donations made out to Superheroes Love Heroes.”

“And will there be smash cakies?” Katie continued to prattle on.

“I do think so, yes probably!” I answered her, removing the now full bag from my milk pump and handing it over to my daughter to be sealed. I then fitted a fresh baggie onto the milk pump before relaxing into my throne of pillows once more. Mittens was curled up to my side, purring loudly as she took a kitty nap, totally at peace as Primrose tussled with one of Daisy’s doggie toys under the bed.

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD went Jack Sparrow and Daisy, the two Ratajczyk critters playing a rather rambunctious game of tag up and down the stairs.

“Are we doing anything else this summer?” Katie asked me, her crossed legged position on the bed that I shared with my husband relaxed and happy.“You and Elizabeth will spend two weeks away at the Great Wolf Lodge summer camp,” I reminded her with a soft hum. “And you both are also signed up for a week pf day camp down at the lakes in July. And rehersals for Ken Anderson’s latest musical. Remember, mo stór?”

“Oh, right!” she brightened up, the smile on her face almost infectious. “I can’t wait!”“I would imagine so!” I removed another baggie of mommy milk from my breast pump, handing it over to Katie to seal before fitting a fresh baggie onto the machine and leaning back. “Gramercy.”“Bù kèqì, mommy!” she chirped, snugging herself into my side. “What will you and daddy and the babies do while Lizz Lizz, myself and our American Girl dollies are at camp?”

“Well-” Here, I felt my face heat up, knowing perfectly well what trouble my handsome silver daddy and I would get into, but didn’t want to shatter her sense of childlike innocence. “Your father and I both have many little projects around the house that we have both been procrastinating on. I do think that with you girls out of the house, we can dump the babies at Mr. James’ and Mr. Aaron’s house with little girl.”

“Speaking of little girl, she turns five years old this year!” Katie smacked her hands against her cheeks in a startled look. “Mommy, little girl won’t be so little anymore!”

“Yes, but no matter what- little girl will always be her mommy’s little girl!” I frowned, passing off yet another full baggie of mommy milk.

“Makes sense,” she shrugged, looking up at a muffled curse, which turned out to be Peter having his legs rammed into by Daisy, only doing doggie zoomies things.

“My love, are you alright?” I called out as he limped into our bedroom, the three tiny triplets curled up into his burly chest. “Daisy, you should be ashamed of yourself!”

The mixed breed mutt let out an apologetic whine before slinking off with her ears flattened to her head and her tail tucked in between her hind legs. The Doberman/ mastiff mix understood that she had just been naughty, and was now trying to be back in the family’s good graces again.

“You need to be careful Daisy!” I gently chided her. “Only imagine if you accidently plow into one of the babies and seriously hurt them!”

Mittens opened one eye and just said MEOW, as though saying not on my watch!

Primrose let out a skunkish chitter before volting herself from underneath the bed, skidding across the floor and then leaping onto Daisy. The mild tempered dog took a startled step backwards before quickly submitting to her newfound role to her not a puppy’s throne, laying down in the corner as she eyeballed the fluffy black and white cat, who had puffed herself up as she meandered up to the large breed dog.

MEOW

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the pissy cat started to bap the dog’s nose over and over again, hissing furiously all the while doing so.

HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISS

Just at that very moment, Baby Teddy let out an extremely violent sneeze, and I noticed a tiny dribble of blood beginning to dribble out from his tiny baby nostril.

Wah… wah… wah… whimpered Baby Teddy before erupting into a sudden WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH…

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… screamed Baby Mattie, both babies screaming their heads off as Baby Jojo slept on as only an extremely sleepy little almost one year old baby could do.

“Jesus-” Peter swore, handing Baby Mattie and Baby Jojo to tend to his son’s bloody nose. “Hey hey hey there now Baby Teddy- do you have a drippy nosies?”

HIC

I looked over at the sweet baby boy, who had his nose tightly plugged by his father.

HIC

The tiny redheaded baby’s hiccups were quickly interpressed in between screams.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC  WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC

“It’s okay Baby Teddy, it’s okay,” he murmured as he bounced his son gently in his arms. “Can you please stop crying now?”

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC  WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH… HIC

Mo stór, my dear, Irish Gaelic Gramercy, thank you, old French? Bù kèqì, you’re welcome, Chinese

TAGLISTS ARE OPEN/ ASK BOX IS OPEN/ REQUESTS ARE OPEN/ PLOT BUNNIES ARE WELCOMED

If you liked this, then please consider buying me a coffee HERE It only costs $3!!!

PETER STEELE TAGLIST

@rock-a-noodle

@ch3rry-c01a

#Real person fiction (RPF) #Tattooed Wings #Peter Thomas Ratajczyk #Type O Negative #Vanessa Rose Pickings/ little girl #Special needs baby #Aria Bradley #Evie Bradley #Deaf #American Sign Language (ASL) #Elizabeth Ratajczyk #Alopecia #Thomas Joseph Ratajczyk/ Baby Tommy #Autism #Katie Ratajczyk #Down’s Syndrome #Baby Violet Marie #Neonatal death #Baby Eve Lynn Ratajczyk #Abandoned baby #Matthew James Ratajczyk/ Baby Mattie #Brandon Edward Ratajczyk/ Baby Teddy #Josephine Rose Ratajczyk/ Baby Jojo #Matching tattoos soulmate AU

[marilostfieldblog]

[Video transcript begin.]

[The camera is in someone's front shirt pocket, two sets of footsteps are heard alongside the clicking of a metal object. One of the two people takes a deep breath before sighing.]

?: Listen I uh… I'm still sorry about… y'know… failing to get Sparrow out.

[Voice identified: Mari.]

?: You tried, Mari. That's all anyone could ask for. You shouldn't blame yourself for how things happened.

[Voice Identified: William Keane.]

M: I'm the reason Rose is back, though! She shouldn't have to be here!

W: Whilst I agree that Rose shouldn't be anywhere near here, they made their own choice. You didn't force her hand.

[Mari begins silently crying. Barely picked up by the microphone.]

M: I fucked up Will… If I had just tried harder, I…

W: Oi. Don't go on about the self-sacrifice bullshit on me now, Mari. Anyone who would have tried would likely have the same outcome.

M: If I had just stopped Sparrow from running off I… besides you and I both know what my plan was… you caught me the day before.

W: Mm. I did. Sparrow is a child, Mari, they don't listen to what people older than them say. Or younger, actually.

M: They had a good reason for it… Cassidy getting caught. I just… I wish I could've kept my promise with Edgar.

[There appears to be a slight sigh from the other, as it begins speaking again.]

W: I do too. But, you know what? You fucking tried. That's what matters, you actually tried.

M: God… if Sarah heard me still feeling bad… she'd kick my ass. Hell… she also told me it wasn't my fault.

W: You know, if more than one person says it isn't your fault, it most likely isn't your fault. If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, feels like a duck, and in every other aspect is a duck, mate, its probably a fucking duck.

M: It… it feels like my fault…

W: And it will, for a while. A long, long while. But it shows you care. Ness said that to me.

M: God… no offense but, I didn't expect to hear that from you.

W: I do not practice what I preach, mate.

[There's a chuckle from William.]

[Mari begins humming a song as they walk, identified as "My grandfather's clock".]

M: Ugh… that damn song is stuck in my fuckin head.

W: Is the music box still there?

M: No, Sparrow has it.

W: … Where do you think they are?

M: Somewhere with Rose… I don't fuckin’ remember where.

[Mari stops humming.]

M: Why do you ask?

W: … the song's soothing, is all.

M: Yeah uh… I haven't… tried talking to Rose or Sparrow. I'm sure Rose isn't mad but… Sparrow.

W: Once Sparrow realizes you were trying to keep 'em safe, they… could understand. We can cover the ground we haven't checked later, if you want.

M: William… We lied to them for months… About their mother. You, me, Edgar… Jenny seems to be the only one they aren't mad at.

W: In my defense, I didn't actually lie. The file does state she wasn't entirely dead. But… I don't think they'd care for technicalities.

[Mari stops, their feet firm in place.]

M: Ruby is dead. None of what that thing was is Ruby.

W: But–

M: No buts, William. Ruby is dead.

[There is no reply from the other, just a glance downwards]

M: Trust me. I wish this was some fairy tale where all we have to do is hug Ruby and she’d turn back into a human. But it isn't.

W: if you would read how they're created, then–

M: There was a fucking bullet wound in her head. I'm sorry, and I know Rose would hate me for saying this. RUBY. IS. DEAD.

[A sudden loud bang is heard nearby. Followed by another, and then another.]

M: WHAT THE FUCK?

[Mari falls backwards. Landing with a loud thud.]

W: HOLY SHIT. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?

[Will stays still, seemingly frozen in place]

M: SECURITY? A DEAD BODY? I DON'T FUCKIN' KNOW!

[Another series of bangs.]

M: CAN WE JUST GO? I'D LIKE NOT TO DIE TODAY!

W: DEAD PEOPLE DON'T BANG ON DOORS. NOR DOES SECURITY. I think..?

M: MOTHERFUCKER, I DON'T CARE! COME ON!

[Another loud bang. This one not followed up by a second.]

W: uh… okay… wait.

[William's voice raises, still staring in the direction of the bangs]

W: Hello? Are you… not security? One bang for yes! [Aside] This is not gonna work.

[A pause. Then an extremely loud, singular bang. William gasps.]

M: God damn it… I don't have a choice here, do I?

W: No. We're helping. Right! Random person, 1 bang for if you're human!

[Another singular bang.]

M: [Whispered.] God damn it…

[Mari tries to stand up, only to fall right back down.]

M: Help?

W: Right, right, sorry.

[It reaches out, grabbing Mari's forearm. He pulls the other up to their feet.]

W: Okay. Right. Person banging on the wall, will you hurt us if we come near? 1 for yes, 2 for no?

[Two bangs.]

M: Come on then.

[Mari starts running in the direction of the banging.]

[There's a second pair of footsteps with the high pitched clicking, presumably Will's. He's a slight blur to the camera.]

M: RANDOM PERSON BANGING ON THE WALL! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?

[A pause, before the banging continues, getting louder as the two approach.]

W: Those bangs sound like they fucking hurt, man! How the hells can someone even do that?!

M: I DON'T KNOW! LET'S JUST HURRY UP!

[Mari speeds forward, the sound of heavy breathing is also heard.]

W: Fucking hell, wait up!

M: NO! RANDOM PERSON, ARE YOU IN PAIN? 1 FOR YES, 2 FOR NO?

[A loud bang. Followed by a quiet thud.]

W: OKAY, NO FUCKING WAITING UP. I'LL CATCH UP.

M: YEP. THIS IS GONNA HURT!

[Mari runs fast enough to make the camera a black blur, they scream in pain every time their foot hits the ground.]

M: SON OF A BITCH!

W: WE'RE CLOSE DUDE, YOU GOT THIS!

M: KEEP BANGING ON THE DOOR, DUDE! WE'RE GONNA FIND YOU!

[The banging continues, but the space between each one grows longer as time goes on. They start to get slightly quieter.]

M: FOUND IT!

[Mari stops in front of a door, they try to open it only for the doorknob to barely even jiggle.]

M: Fuck… Locked…

[Will catches up, his panting and clanking leg audible with the pipe it used for walking.]

W: Idea! Person stuck, please push against the door?

[William grabs the door handle, and attempts to pull at it.]

W: What the hell do they put in these doors?

M: I do not know.

[Will backs off for a second and places the pipe aside, before warning the trapped person, and attempting again.]

M: Let me try.

[Mari slowly walks over to the door, limping. They look down for a moment, blood visibly leaking from their foot, which is slightly in frame.]

W: Dude, you’ll need serious care after this.

M: Yeah. Don't care.

[Mari grabs the door handle and tries to pull at it, still nothing. They step back before shouting and landing on the floor.]

M: FUCK! I STEPPED ON ONE OF THE BROKEN BONES IN MY FOOT!

W: OH FUCK.

M: THAT HURT!

W: I don't know how to help or what to do fuck, fuck–

M: Just… Get the fucking door open.

W: On it, I'm on it!

[He gets back into position, before pulling once more with all of its strength, the strain visible in its expression.]

M: You can do it!

[There is a loud sound of something breaking as the door finally flings open, and someone tumbles out. Landing face first on the floor, coughing violently.]

W: Oh, shit! Are yo–

M: Who the fuck–

[The man attempts to push himself off the ground with one hand, ultimately failing. He appears to be covered in blood. Some dried. Some a little more fresh. His white dress shirt is torn. And his brown hair is matted with more blood. He twitches slightly.]

M: E– Edgar?

[William is still holding itself against the door, staring down at the figure on the floor. It doesn't move a muscle.]

M: EDGAR? [To themselves.] No, no, I'm fucking losing it… he’s dead, he can’t be… can he?

[Mari hops up, their arms seen with the sound of hair being moved.]

[The man on the ground attempts to push himself up again, this time successfully being able to get onto his knees. He does not look up at the two. Not yet.]

M: Dude… Is… No fucking way… I… Do you need help?

[As Mari speaks, Will moves slowly towards the man. It reaches out an arm, and gently grasps a bit of his shirt. After a few seconds, he grasps it tighter, pulling on it slightly. Testing to see if the man in front of them is real.]

M: Dude…

?: [Quietly.] You…

[Voice identified: Edgar Elliot Pression.]

M: Edgar…

W: H– how…?

E: [Slightly louder.] I… you actually… I’m… is this…

M: Hello?

[Will's arm retreats, and curls his hand into a fist, to stop the sudden onslaught of shaking.]

[Instead of responding, Edgar begins to laugh, just loud enough for the software to be sure that the shaking isn’t from crying. Although that appears to be in the mix as well. His voice is slightly raspy and it sounds a little painful for him to speak.]

W: Ed– Edgar?...

M: Edgar… Y– you…

[He finally turns over, now sitting on the ground. His face is also covered in blood, dried streaks of it trail down from his mouth, the lines continue on, making their way down his neck and vanishing where his shirt collar begins. Dark bags sit under his eyes, which are full of tears. He stares at the two, a relieved smile on his face. His eyes jitter between the two, unsure who to focus on.]

E: You’re here! You– you’re actually here! And I’m–

[His voice falters, and he coughs a few times.]

M: I…

[Mari falls to the ground, wrapping their arms around Edgar, he attempts to raise his arms to return the gesture, but he doesn’t seem to be able to. The phone is angled towards Will.]

[William stands there, simultaneously aghast and agape, absolutely in shock, before copying Mari's movements, although he hugs both of the people on the ground. Its head is turned away, both to not hit the two with his "accessory", and to not cry on them.]

M: I… I thought… We thought we lost you.

E: No, I’ve– I’ve been here. I–

M: We haven't seen anything… Heard anything… Nothing.

W: I… l– looked for… gods k– know how long…

E: I’ve b– been in there for so long, I honestly th– thought you didn’t care. I t– thought you all left me t– to rot.

M: W– we didn’t leave y– you… we wouldn’t! We just didn't know… it– like I said, we haven't seen anything. Nothing. Like showfall was… blocking us, or some shit.

W: But… how? I thought H– Hetch shot you? We all saw. On that show.

E: T– they cut the broadcast. For anyone w– who cared. Made it seem like I– I got shot.

M: I…

[Mari stops, they take a deep breath, before laughing.]

M: I'm sorry…

E: Don’t.

M: I told you I wouldn't be here… I'm so sorry…

E: And I told you the show was on the 19th. I– I think we’re even now.

M: Sparrow… ugh… never min–

[Slightly noticed by the camera, Will's grip in the hug has heightened, properly hugging them both.]

[Edgar stays silent for 10 seconds.]

E: … I’ve really missed you guys.

[He shudders, covering his mouth with his arm. Possibly holding back vomit. He moves his arm away to speak.]

E: I haven’t been able to contact anybody. [Muttered.] Except Iris.

[Will jolts slightly.]

W: WET. CAT.

M: What? William, we're having a moment, is now really the time to describe all of us at any given moment?

E: Wait a minute. I remember being informed of that nickname.

W: SHE– SHE FUCKING KNEW! SHE WAS T– TALKING ABOUT YOU ON THAT FUCKING BLOG!

[Edgar laughs again. His tone becomes slightly frustrated for a moment.]

E: Yeah. She also threw pebbles at me.

M: I… Will, let me go, I need something out of my pocket… Edgar needs help.

[Mari pulls away fully. Will does as it's told, solely hugging Edgar now. Their arms tight around him. Edgar leans into it.]

M: Ok… hope these batteries still work.

[Mari pulls something out of their pocket, an old walkie-talkie. Scratched and chipped, they press a button and for the first 5 seconds nothing but static until…]

M: Hello, do you copy?

?: Mari! You and Will ok? You guys didn't die did you?

[IDENTITY REDACTED.]

M: We… found Edgar…

?: Wh– I THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD!?

M: Will, you’re up.

W: … hm? Oh, u– uh, he's… he's alive!

?: HA! FUCKING BRILLIANT!

[The person clears their throat.]

?: Hi, Edgar, hope you’re uh… Well, at least kinda okay.

E: I’m uh… I’m really not. [A pause.] I’m sorry, I need to throw up. I think.

?: Don't fucking apologize! You've been through so much, it makes sense.

E: … Hm.

M: Hey um, get bread, blankets, and the first aid kit. We'll be there soon.

[Another click as the walkie-talkie shuts off.]

E: I, um… I do actually need to throw up. Can I…?

[Will moves away quickly, giving him space.]

W: Yeah, yeah, of course. I'm sorry.

[Edgar leans over away from the two and throws up, before looking back at Will, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.]

E: Don’t apologize.

M: Edgar do you… do you want to come back to my hideout? At least for a few days?

W: If not, w– we can always find you a quick way out? If that exists.

E: The hideout sounds… nice. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to really, uh. Walk. Or run. Or stand.

M: Hm… [Quietly.] adrenaline, please be my friend here.

[Mari slowly stands up, shaking slightly, the tremors appear noticeably in the video.]

M: Wait… should we tell Rose or… well… she wouldn't believe us, would she?

W: D– don't know. Not my place to say.

M: Edgar?

E: Hm? Sorry. I think I missed that. What?

M: Should we tell Rose? Or will she not believe us?

E: Oh. I… that’s your call. I don’t know if she will.

M: There's also everyone else…

E: Wait.

M: Yes? What is it?

E: How’s– how’s Jenny?

M: She um… Well… Um… Not great… Alive, but not great… Especially because…

[Mari stops, Extending their hand to Edgar.]

M: Never mind, we need to get going.

[Edgar nods, shakily raising his left hand. As he does so, one of the pieces of cloth tied around his arm slides down just enough to reveal the wound underneath, it looks like a deep bite mark, he rushes to cover it. Eyes wide with terror. His gaze flicks to both Mari and Will quickly.]

M: Edgar… what the fuck is that wound.

[Will is simply staring, his face unreadable, but it holds a subtle sadness in his eyes.]

E: It’s– I– ah, it’s um. Nothing.

M: Bullshit. What is it.

[Edgar looks away from Mari, and mutters something too quiet to hear.]

M: Please.

[He still doesn’t make eye contact.]

E: I didn’t… have anything to eat in there.

[Mari tenses.]

E: … I did what I had to.

M: Edgar…

E: Please don’t be mad at m–

[Mari picks the man up and braces him on their shoulders, interrupting his sentence.]

M: Soup and bread. We're getting you soup and bread.

E: … Thank you.

[He sounds as if he’s holding back more tears.]

M: You helped me, now it's my turn.

[Mari starts walking.]

M: William, you're coming too. Should we… update you on the way? Or do you want to wait?

E: I need to know what’s happened. I…

[He stops mid sentence.]

E: How long has it been…? I stopped looking at the date a while ago. Seemed… pointless.

M: Three weeks? I think? A little under? Maybe two and a half? Uh… Will?

W: Y– yeah. The latter.

M: Can I…

[Mari suddenly jolts, a choked sound escaping from their mouth.]

M: I… I really can't keep this up… should I say now or later?

E: I’d rather know now. If it’s important.

W: … Yeah, it’s very important.

M: I um… the escape failed… Sparrow ran off and found Ruby's corpse… and– it fucking stood up… Sparrow…

[Mari keeps walking, slowing down slightly, now sobbing.]

M: Rose is… I… I…

E: Mari. Did something happen to her? Y– you need to tell me. Please.

M: She ran in… She's in here with Sparrow… I'm so fucking sorry.

[Edgar stays silent.]

W: T-this is not Mari's fault, at all.

E: … Yes, I know.

[Will nods, fiddling with a cut on his hand.]

M: I'm sorry… I didn't mean for her to be here.

E: Mari. Stop it. It’s not your fault.

M: But it is… If I just kept hold of the wagon… or went a different direction–

E: Hindsight is always 20/20.

M: Yeah… But that does mean one thing… William.

[Mari turns to face William, the camera somewhat following.]

W: Y– yeah?

M: Remember our deal? If the escape failed?

W: I… do. Wait. Mari. No.

M: Ugh… Yeah… Really wish I didn't have to break that promise.

[Will sighs, but he nods.]

M: Still gonna try and get us all out of here… I won't have it any other way.

W: Pfft. Whatever you say, Drill Sergeant.

[Will does a mock salute with its free hand as a playful gesture, before readjusting its grip on the pipe. Edgar chuckles.]

M: Anyway… I'm gonna–

[Mari pulls out their phone, the camera facing the floor. They sigh after 10 seconds.]

M: Y'know what? Record this, I don’t care. Buh Bye!

[End transcript.]

#((OOC) YOU SAW NOTHING THE FIRST TIME >:( ) #((OOC) TW emetophobia) #((OOC) TW mentioned/implied cannibalism) #showfall ask blog #encoreverse blog

[rosetheex-editor]

[Video transcript begin.]

[The transcript begins from the front jacket pocket as someone sits at a table seemingly waiting on something, or someone. After another minute some can be heard humming a song identified as “Sympathy for the devil.” Then seconds later. A pair of legs in bloody cut up jeans pop into frame.]

?: You've seen better days! Huh Rosie?

[Voice identified: Emi Henderson.]

Em: So bitch, shall we march to your death yet?

?: Sit down. We have a few minutes, so sit down.

[Voice identified: Rose Elizabeth Henderson.]

Em: Sure, why not.

[Emi sits down at the same makeshift table, her pink hair hanging down her shoulders. Her eye focused on Rose, a look of success shining across her face.]

R: You’re mad I killed you right?

Em: Yuh huh.

R: I'm sorry, genuinely I am so so so fucking sorry… If I could go back, stop what I did… I would.

[Emi's smile fades, she looks at Rose. Anger now boiling over, though she remains able to keep her cool.]

Em: Too bad you can't, it was too late to apologize years ago Rose. Now today is the day this all ends.

R: Emi… Please listen to m-

[Rose is cut off by the sound of an alarm going off on Rose's side, after a few seconds it shuts off and Emi stands up. As does Rose.]

Em: Grab the kid.

?: I…

[Voice identified: Sparrow.]

[Rose turns to face the voice, a child with medium length brown hair sitting in a red wagon. They are holding a purple music box in their hands.]

R: Come on kid… You're going to see Jenny, I promised.

Sp: What about you..?

R: I'll be fine ok? I promise you.

Em: Hurry up stupid.

[Rose grabs the handle of the wagon beginning to follow Emi who stops at the exit.]

R: W- What?

Em: You first.

R: I… Um

Em: Oh please, I know you aren't scared.

R: Right… I uh… Sorry.

[Rose walks past Emi, it’s unclear if she's actually following behind. The sound of Sparrow's wagon tones out the footsteps as they are seemingly sped up by Sparrow themselves.]

R: Sparrow calm down.

Sp: Don't trust her. Neither should you.

R: I don't fucking trust her Sparrow. I never said that.

Sp: Then why apologize?

R: I can apologize and not trust someone all the same.

Sp: No. Not her.

R: Sparrow it's going to be fine. Nothing bad will happen… At least not to you.

Sp: Please. Don't die here.

R: I won't… Not here.

Sp: That's good… Don't want to tell Jenny that. No way.

R: Yeah uh… Yeah.

[The two move in silence for a few seconds. Before Sparrow sighs.]

Sp: If anything happens. I'll find Mari and the others while you run to get the window open.

R: Sparro-

Sp: You heard me. Do what you have to do.

[Rose sighs, seemingly annoyed.]

R: Fine. Whatever.

Sp: Thank you, I appreciate it.

R: So… What are you going to do when you get out?

Sp: Give mama a hug, ask for a sandwich. Probably take a nap. Beds seem comfy.

R: Fair honestly.

Sp: You?

R: Order pizza, maybe ask Edgar if he wants to watch a movie. Dunno.

[The two continue moving through the mall for a few seconds until they reach a darker area, Rose begins moving slowly.]

R: Sparrow slow your breathing for a second…

[A very faint humming is heard, the song cannot be identified. It is seemingly not heard by Rose. She keeps walking very slowly, after a few seconds the humming stops.]

R: Nothing… Nothing at all…

[It remains quiet as Rose continues walking, the only sounds from the wagon and Rose's breathing that’s until… A loud scream is heard from Sparrow, followed by Sparrow attempting to speed off ripping Rose down to the ground. Sparrow gets free and can be heard rolling their wheels to get away from someone running. The sound of someone being chased is heard as Sparrow screams at Rose.]

Sp: RUN I'LL FIND MARI I SWEAR JUST PLEASE RUN!

R: [Pained.] S- Sparrow… I- I…

Sp: RUN!

[The wagon and the other person seemingly continue moving away until they can't be heard as Rose quickly gets up and repositions the camera.]

R: Run… Run…

[Rose slowly begins running the way she was going, a limp in her run as she gains speed and gets back into an area with some light. No words spoken for 3 minutes as she runs.]

R: FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!

[Rose continues to run, passing multiple blurry areas as she does. This lasts for 5 minutes until Rose seemingly sees someone stopping.]

R: Sparrow doesn't know…

[Rose slowly begins running again, this time a set of blurry people are in frame. Seemingly 5 people, Rose runs up to the group. making it close enough to see a child with curly blue hair.]

[TRANSCRIPT OVERLAP ERROR! AUTOMATICALLY ENDING TRANSCRIPT.]

#showfall ask blog #encoreverse blog #transcript

[10millionotters]

Shelter from the Rain

Rating: Mature

Characters: Simon "Ghost" Riley, Original female Character

Relationship: Simon "Ghost" Riley/Original female Character

Word Count: 3354

Additional information: First meeting, Mission Fic, Action/Adventure, Gunshot Wounds, Developing Relationship, Pre-Canon

“We should arrive at our destination right on time,” he had expected her to slow him down, but she didn’t.

She only nodded.

Had he scared her into silence?

He just didn’t like the stiffness of her tone, but maybe it was for the better if they stood quiet.

She quietly scaled up a ledge and extended a hand to Ghost, he didn’t deny her help.

Read it on AO3 or under the cut

“Lieutenant.”

The girl saluted him, her hand was shaking.

“Sergeant Rosales.”

How old was she even? 25?

He had read her file. Quite impressive.

Captain Price had a talent for picking up people like her.

“You can call me Sparrow.”

“Ghost.”

Cat got her tongue, huh?

There was a confused expression on her face, as if she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how to formulate any coherent thought.

“So. Uh…”

Special forces medic for the SAS.

Ghost squinted as he fixated on the deep scar on her right cheek.

Did that happen in action?

Added a little something to her appearance at least. She was a pretty girl.

Such a shame she joined the military.

It wasn’t a place for people with futures.

“Captain Price told me you usually work alone, but I reckon given the current circumstances -“

Marie felt a little nervous. Did he even listen to anything she said?

“I was there for the briefing.”

Jesus.

She was just trying to make smalltalk.

He probably wasn’t one for it, of course he wasn’t. Given that they were somewhat forced together by Price.

She couldn’t blame the old man. His heart was way too soft when it came to his teams.

Normally, she would still be deployed with her own unit, but she had been moved as per Captain Price’s request.

Instead of feeling burning desert heat, they were now moving through deep thickets trying to find their target.

Somewhere deep in these woods was an old factory, long abandoned and probably overgrown.

It would have been a beautiful place under any circumstance, but now it was nothing but a hideout for a terrorist group.

Price hadn’t lost too many words. Apparently an exchange of important intel was bound to happen.

Intel on AQ that they desperately needed.

This could have been a one man job.

But no…

Ghost listened intently to the sound of Sparrow’s footsteps behind him. She had field practice.

This wasn’t meant to be him babysitting a newbie.

Sometimes - all the time - the thought processes that lead to Price’s decision making were a mystery to Ghost.

In all his time in service, Ghost had never needed backup in the field. It felt like Price was planning something.

“Can you keep up?”

“Yes Sir.”

God she was stiff.

He could hear her shudder, all he did was ask her a question. There was no need to be so formal.

… at least she was agile.

Every now and then Ghost turned around to check on her, she kept up with his pace, her firm gaze meeting his.

“We should arrive at our destination right on time,” he had expected her to slow him down, but she didn’t.

She only nodded.

Had he scared her into silence?

He just didn’t like the stiffness of her tone, but maybe it was for the better if they stood quiet.

She quietly scaled up a ledge and extended a hand to Ghost, he didn’t deny her help.

Sparrow had a firm grip, she was stronger than he anticipated.

Even some of the men at base struggled to support his weight at times. Then again, she was a medic. She was probably used to moving bodies heavier than his.

The awkward silence between them still wouldn’t lift, Sparrow now walking ahead of him.

There was no reason to tell her to stop being so stubborn. No soldier should get caught up in arbitrary feelings so easily.

That was something Sparrow had to learn sooner or later. The sooner the better.

It would save her life one day.

“We’re 3 clicks away.”

“Roger.”

Good eyes, huh?

Ghost felt the corners of his mouth twitch.

If it weren’t for this fake politeness, the stiffness in her voice and body, she might even be a good companion.

Price seemed to like her, appreciated her work but also enjoyed her company. The old man had lost a few words about the girl before, how she made her whole squad laugh at times.

That she played music for them.

Whoever that was, Ghost couldn’t see a trace of her in Sparrow.

This stiff, anxious, creature that froze up when he spoke.

Did his reputation precede him again?

It was useful at times but when he was supposed to work with someone it could spell out trouble.

They walked in silence.

This time Sparrow turned to check in on Ghost, her face didn’t betray any thought she had.

“It should be safe but we should check for …”

Sparrow stopped herself, her voice died down in her throat as she just shook her head and walked on without saying anything else.

Ghost quietly followed her.

She did check for tripwires and any form of trap.

She was attentive.

But Ghost found himself pulling her back.

“Piano wire, it’s hard to spot.”

For the first time in what felt like forever, he could feel her body relax under his touch.

“Fucking hell… I didn’t see that one.”

Oh? The little bird could swear?

Ghost let go of her arm and defused the trap.

“We should be good to go now.”

The medic nodded and continued on, a heavy feeling sinking in her stomach.

“Say… do you think this is normal? Just… there’s a few traps and all, but should their guards patrol this area if the exchange of intel is this important?”

She had a point.

“We’re still at a safe distance from the actual exchange, Sergeant,” but he felt himself grow a little agitated too.

This was new to most of them. They couldn’t read AQ’s movement patterns as well as they’d liked to.

It’s not that Price would let them run into an obvious ambush.

“Keep going, we will scout out the area when we get to the roof,” maybe the terrorists were ill prepared for operation in these parts.

But they had secured this area, there was no way they got reckless now.

Maybe they felt safe enough to make the exchange happen quietly.

Too many guards in these parts would draw negative attention.

An old abandoned factory should stay that way unless you were banking on someone finding you.

The sudden sound of footsteps and voices alerted the duo.

They were speaking normally at first but the defused traps alerted them to the presence of someone else.

Frantically, they began searching the premises for the intruders.

Sparrow grabbed her knife, a gun wouldn’t do her any good in this place, she waited.

Every now and then she looked over to Ghost, they couldn’t really coordinate their actions but he seemed to be pleased with her initiative to take up a knife.

They could meet them halfway, make sure that they didn’t call for backup, but if nobody would find anything…

… it was a gamble.

Lying in wait, the soldiers could hear a discussion ensue.

But it didn’t seem to deter the guards from approaching their location.

Sparrow bit her bottom lip.

It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

They should have guessed that much.

Did they arrive too early?

She trusted Price’s informants to be trustworthy. No. This was probably some oversight on her end.

… Ghost had only followed her, maybe he would have done things differently without her.

He wouldn’t have ended up in a situation like this.

The noise of footsteps grew louder.

There were two guards.

Ghost gestured to Sparrow to lay low until they were close enough to sneak up on them and take them out with their knives.

She nodded and felt her body relax.

Why in the world was she more relaxed now than she was meeting her superior for the first time?

Maybe killing came way too easily to her now.

There was something feline about her moments as she darted out of her hiding spot, knife in hand, slicing the unsuspecting man’s jugular.

She watched his body drop.

Ghost only watched her stare as the guard bled out.

“We need to get rid of the bodies before they are spotted.”

Her voice sounded hollow as it bounced off the walls.

“Time isn’t on our side.”

Their eyes met, she looked different.

“I know.”

But she still made a good point.

She wasn’t perfect by any means, she would be ranking higher if she was, but she could learn.

They watched the bodies vanish between a pair of empty containers and continued on their way up the empty building.

This time, they would make sure to take their time to assess their surroundings.

“We only have so much time before they’ll realise that their patrol is not responding, our best bet is that the exchange will happen before they notice their missing men,” Ghost waited for a response, she only nodded at him firmly before positioning her sniper rifle.

“… we can’t go in hot, they’d easily outnumber us, but we don’t have time to pick them off like this. Unless…”

Was she really in a position to make suggestions? After all, she was the reason this operation nearly went downhill.

“…”

No. She couldn’t keep doing that to herself, it would be up to Ghost to decide.

His gaze was fixed on her, waiting for her to speak.

“Cover me from up here, I will take down as many as I can below. I will try to get as close to the exchange without blowing the cover, once it is finished, it’s time to clean house.”

If anything happened to her, he wouldn’t be able to intervene quick enough.

“Does your throat microphone work?”

Ghost watched her remove her scarf, “If I turn it on I’m sure it will.”

Hearing her voice directly in his head, he noticed that she had gotten softer in tone. A lot more relaxed than she was before.

“Do you need directions?”

“I’m a big girl, I can handle myself.”

Ghost shook his head as he watched her sneak off.

Godspeed, soldier.

If anything would happen to her, he didn’t know how to explain it to Price.

For now, all he could do was trust in her skill and the confidence she had in it.

“I think I’m in your blind spot right now.”

“Check.”

“There are three guards ahead of me.”

“Wait for them to split up.”

“Roger.”

He heard the guards talk to each other, once the conversation ended he was on high alert.

Only one of them came in sight, that meant Sparrow was still left with two.

Ghost felt his finger twitch on the trigger, but he had to wait for her signal before he could pull it.

“Clear.”

The body dropped and he watched it being dragged off into his blind spot.

They gave her the wrong name, that was for sure.

That wasn’t a bird, especially not a little sparrow.

Ghost watched the catlike creature sneak up to a lonesome guard.

Where she had been clean before, she was meticulous now.

Never expected to see a medic go against their job description in such a way, but he didn’t mind.

“I got this.”

Another two down.

“That was impressive, Sir.”

“…”

Impressive wouldn’t save her ass in case the tide would turn against them.

“Two trucks approaching your position, either stay low or get out now. They’re 2 clicks out.”

She was brave, he had to give her that.

But bravery was the end of so many comrades before her.

Ghost was fixated on her as she darted across the open space between the buildings, hiding away behind a few crates again.

“I need you to be my eyes, Sir.”

“Roger. You should be safe. I’ll cover your position.”

For a few moments, he could have sworn he heard her breathing speed up, was she nervous?

“You’re safe.”

Silence.

Smart girl.

They could talk later.

Car engines came to a screeching halt.

Heavily armed guards excited the vehicle.

What kind of intel did they have to guard like this?

Ghost felt his stomach drop.

There was no way she would be able to handle this on her own, she was quietly waiting in her position; the guards began to split up.

They would find the bodies soon, no matter how well hidden they were.

It was do or die.

“I will try to take out as many of the armed guards as I can, keep your knife at the ready, aim for their knees and necks but only if they get close to you.”

Time wasn’t on their side.

No response.

He knew very well why as he watched the first body drop.

She was no longer safe in her position, no matter what Ghost said now, she would have to follow her own command if she wanted to live.

“They’re holding the exchange.”

“Stay low!”

Where the hell did she sneak off to -

Ghost cursed under his breath and continued to pick off every stray guard he could find.

His pulse was racing through his ears, that’s why he preferred to work alone.

25 wasn’t an age at which a life should be cut short.

If she would go hot he would have to interfere.

There were still too many guards for her to handle alone.

Her gear was meant to make navigation through the woods easier, not to protect her from heavy gunfire.

“Sparrow. How copy?”

No response.

Ghost took a deep breath, now it was on him to decide how to proceed.

If he would stay put for too long she might be compromised but if he intervened the entire operation could go belly up.

“Package secured. I need to get out before they spot the corpses, I’m going over the roof, cover me.”

“Roger.”

Did she have a deathwish?

The remaining guards began to move more frantically about the premises, the first corpse had been spotted, they might have to go hot.

Ghost was keeping close watch on the roofs, one of the old windows was lifted carefully as Sparrow snuck out.

Just as she lowered it the glass shattered in her hands, she tumbled back as she barely avoided the bullet.

“Run! Get out of there!”

The sound of her footsteps would easily give her away, but it didn’t matter. She was fast.

Ghost had to reevaluate the situation, he couldn’t cover her anymore. They had to go hot and most importantly - they had to get out there.

Alive.

In a haste, Ghost gathered his rifle and assessed the area. He needed to jump down on a few containers to get off the roof fast enough to reach Sparrow.

It would attract the enemy but they could either be fast or end up dead.

The noise the metal made as he crashed into it was deafening.

Voices began to frantically shout curses and directions. He would have loved to take one or more out but they had to keep moving.

A moving target was harder to hit..

“Sparrow!”

There was panic in her eyes, she knew that they had to stay separated so at least one of them would make it.

“Ghost take my backpack the intel -“

“I am not leaving without you!”

It was a split second.

She watched the bullet rip through Ghost’s mask, cracking the skull plate, she felt his hand pull on her arm as they fell to the ground.

He quickly rolled onto his back and began shooting the approaching enemies.

Sparrow desperalty kicked her feet in order to create distance before pulling her own gun.

How did she panic, why why why?

Why now of all times?

She didn’t react as a bullet dug into her arm, instead she kept shooting until the sound around them died down.

Little trickles began covering her face, her lashes.

Was she crying or was it rain?

“Ghost?”

“I’m here.”

It took them a moment to recollect.

This hadn’t just been close, it was a miracle they were still alive.

“We won’t be able to get out of this forest until the rain stops, Sparrow -“

“What?”

Wordlessly, Ghost lifted her up, she had no idea what was going on.

He looked at her worried, carrying her into a nearby building.

“We can’t stay here -“

“You’re bleeding.”

“What…?”

“Your arm.”

There was an emptiness to her eyes as she examined it.

Her backpack fell on the floor, so did she.

Wordlessly, she unpacked her gloves.

Sparrow didn’t flinch as she cleaned the wound as deep as she could go.

He watched her stuff cotton into the hole, tying up her arm. For a moment, she only stared at it.

“You didn’t feel it?”

“No…”

Ghost watched her intently.

There was a familiar feeling in the way she looked at the wound, it would scar.

After a few moments she snapped out of whatever state she had been in, her eyes now focused on Ghost.

“You’re bleeding -“

Her hands cupped his cheeks, he flinched. Not under her touch, but the pain in his cheek began to sting.

“I need to disinfect it, take off your mask.”

“No.”

“What do you mean, no?”

“I won’t take it off.”

“I can’t treat your wound if you don’t take that mask off.”

For a few moments they just stared at each other.

Ghost in unwavering defiance and Sparrow in growing agitation.

“You can’t be fucking serious, I risked my life to get the fucking intel and you can’t even take off that fucking mask so I can treat your bullet wound? Is this some weird ego trip you’re on or are you just -“

“Ugly?”

Sparrow pulled her hands back, they now rested on her thighs, “No… that’s… that’s not what I was insinuating.”

Ghost watched her intently.

So this is who she really was, huh?

“You know, I never do this, but I also want to know how badly they fucked up my mask.”

Rain gently tapped against the windows.

The faint smell of metal lingered in the air.

For a moment, Sparrow could have sworn that thunder struck.

Somewhere.

Deeper in the forest.

“If you keep looking at me like that you might end up falling in love,” Ghost wanted to laugh but he felt a fist bump into his arm.

“You’re not exactly Pedro Pascal, my friend. I’m not one for white British dudes.”

“That’s a shame.”

Her eyes widened before she started laughing, “You’re horrible.”

It was nice to watch her finally act more like a person around him.

“I can’t numb the area in case you’ll need stitches but let me check first,” she cupped his cheeks and gently moved his head towards the only source of light she could find.

His eyes were fixed on her while she went to work.

“I don’t want this to leave a scar.”

“How did you end up with yours? That’s a pretty bad one.”

Her hands were gentle, skilled. She cleaned out his wound while her voice began to shake.

“First time… in the field. During a hostage situation. I rushed in too fast, the kid was so scared they didn’t know who I was and attacked me,” a small chuckle escaped her, “I was bleeding all over the poor thing while I was treating them. There was no other medic around. I didn’t even realise half of my cheek was sliced open.”

“How old were they?”

“9.”

Ghost flinched as she applied an antiseptic to his wound, “I don’t trust anything out here not to infect your wound.”

“What about yours?”

For a moment the corners of her mouth twitched, nearly curling into a smile, “If I pass out, will you carry me back to base?”

“Shouldn’t I buy you dinner first?”

She laughed again, “I swear to God if you don’t stop that...”

But her smile died as quickly as it appeared, “I risked this operation and our lives by rushing in again today, Sir. I’m sorry.”

“We all make mistakes, Marie.”

How odd.

The rain had stopped but she could have sworn thunder struck again.

“Thank you.”

He pulled his mask back over his face, “We should be good to go.”

Ghost got up and extended his hand to the medic.

She grasped it firmly, maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.

#my writing #ghost x oc #simon ghost riley #cod oc maria katharina rosales #cod oc marie #call of duty mw2 #finally a fic that properly introduces marie lmao #and yes...... #this is the canon timeline #the one where she and könig are a thing is not the canon one #i make aus of aus #but yeaaahh #anyway #if you ever wanted to know about her this is a good start

[the-everqueen]

Hello! I’m interested in any book recs you have 💕

this is going to be some of my favorites, but if you want specific recs, let me know what things you've enjoyed/are looking for and i can tailor a shortlist (open offer):

fiction

mongrels, stephen graham jones - a coming of age story about an Indigenous teen descended from werewolves. jones is mostly known for the only good indians, which is also very good, but this book touched my monster-loving heart.

the sparrow, mary doria russel - a jesuit missionary is the only survivor of the first crew to travel to an alien planet. i read this book for the first time last year and i haven't stopped thinking about it. the sequel children of god made me even crazier (affectionate).

kindred, octavia butler - a black woman gets pulled back in time where she has to repeatedly save her white ancestor in antebellum maryland. time loops! the past as an actor on our present! what are you willing to do in order to survive! i think if you only read one octavia butler book, it should probably be either this one or dawn.

dead astronauts, jeff vandermeer - a trio from the future is traveling through loopholes in spacetime in an attempt to save the universe from latest-possible-stage capitalism. it's weird and experimental and more like a spoken word poem than a novel.

far sector, nk jemisin - this is a graphic novel about a black femme green lantern trying to prevent social collapse on another planet. gerard way wrote the preface. the art is excellent.

nonfiction

queer times, black futures, kara keeling - each chapter looks at an afrofuturist artist/art work to discuss black queer liberation. i read a lot of academic texts, so take this with a grain of salt, but i think keeling is very readable and if you're unfamiliar with the afrofuturist movement, this book provides a great starting point for artists to look into.

scenes of subjection: terror, slavery, and self-making in nineteenth century america, saidiya hartman - i'm not gonna lie to you, this book is dense. but hartman articulates how slavery in america shaped discourse around subjectivity and this discourse lives on. who gets to be recognized as a person, and under what conditions?

go ahead in the rain: notes to a tribe called quest, hanif abdurraqib - this is the Most Readable book in this section. it's part memoir, part music criticism, part archive. short but poetic. hanif is such a generous writer, and you feel his love for the subject. i'm so excited for his book on basketball that comes out next year and i have never seen a basketball game in my life.

poetry

postcolonial love poem, natalie diaz - this book aches like a bruise.

time is a mother, ocean vuong - like critical race theory but as poems. time is a flat circle and a spiral and a loop and a trap. (i actually like night sky with exit wounds better, but this one fits whatever theme i have going on here)

soft science, franny choi - robots are people, too. if you liked janelle monae's album dirty computer, you will like this book.

#ask games #ama #this was really hard and i did not let myself put stephen king on this list lmao #the theme was supposed to be like. what books would intro someone to this blog's vibe but actually. #in hindsight this list is I Like Time Fuckery

[just-sp-in-inginthevoid]

@tihaari, as promised, here it is

The songs with a * means I think about several characters individually (2, most of the time) for these songs

The songs with a ¤ means there is an english translation in the comments (the other non-english songs have subtitles)

Almost every songs have lyrics (in the video, in the description, or in the top comments)

As you will notice, my music taste is quite wide. Hope you’ll find some song you’ll like

(just thought about it but i think like only 1 or 2 are ‘happy’/not angsty songs)

Shinichiro :

- 4:00AM by Taeko Ohnuki*

- Fourth of July by Sufjan Stevens

- Euthanasia by Will Wood

- Coma Baby by Nicole Doppelganger

- 最愛なるあなたは花葬 by 虻瀬犬 (Flowers, Mountains and Funerals by Abuseken)¤ (’Today, I’m just getting older. Today, you’re just getting older too.’, everything’s fine. ‘I’m getting older. Now, I’m getting older.’ no sign of the pronoun ‘you’, Mikey’s dead. ‘Today, I cannot grow old, yet since you can grow old today,’, Shinichiro’s dead, not Mikey)

- Birthday Kid by Mili

- I hold you by CLANN (this one’s over 9mins long. Just so you know if you wanna skip it lol)

- You are my sunshine - The Phamtoms version

- Don’t worry by Mr.Kitty (The lyrics fit as a whole but. 2:33)

- John and Nancy by Jack Stauber

- Telephones by VACATIONS

- Pale Machine by bo en (most of the song lyrics are in english but someone put the lyrics in the comments with the translation of the japanese bits)

- Secret by The Pierces (to sanzu ofc ofc. Also asked mikey if he wanted to start ridding bike… probably cuz mikey always wanted to but also shin never accepted but then. Then.) (first verse, OG timeline, second verse.. not-OG timeline)

- Mother Mary by Mr.Kitty

- Neverending Nights by Mr.Kitty

- Karma by AJR (OG timeline, before he knew about time leaping)(he does say in a chapter to wakasa that he spent a lot of money on suspicious religious groups and he did a lot of therapies)

- Youth by Glass Animal

- Lemonade by Mili*

         + Mockingbird by Eminem

Mikey :

- Sometimes by Nick Lutsko*

- Achilles come down by GANGOFYOUTHSBAND

- sister by Eve*

- Tout Petit Moineau (Very small sparrow) by Igorr (youll hear the pure despair in the screams | mikey loosing all of his loved ones one by one. Also parallels between a bird taking flight for the first time | bonten mikey jumping off the building. Probably the song/music i’m the less confident in)

- Poison Tree by Grouper

- Hurting for a Very Painful Pain (prehaps with kisaki singing the more feminine parts)

- Aesthetic ? More like Ass-Pathetic by Panucci’s Pizza

- I rather sleep by Kero Kero Bonito

- You are an Awful person by R.I.P*

- Sing to me by MISSIO

- Why didn’t stop me ? By Mitski

- Riptide by grandson

- Still Life by sitcom

- Between two worlds by Mili

-Cigarette Ahego by Penelope Scott (‘oh I don’t smoke, I just like how it smells’ → memories of Shinichiro - ‘In my defense I wasn’t suppose to be around this long’ → reference to the OG timeline ofc ofc)

- A sadness runs through him by The Hoosiers (Takemichi’s pov)

- HELP by PINK GUY

- Destroy me by Mr.Kitty

- Romantic Homicide by d4vd

- Suicide by Midnight To Monaco (the title is misleading. Its a hopeful song, okay ? Dont- don’t worry about it)

- 1985 by Bo Burnham (just for the 1:44-2:29 part)

- 不浄の世/The Impure World by Shitoo

- ハッピーエンド/Happy end by Shitoo (first part is final timeline mikey, second im not so sure. Perhaps og timeline shinichiro?)

- 棺の舟/Coffin arc by Shitoo (Manila timeline. Although I guess all of them work)

- Monster by Fight the Fade

- Bad Things by Cults

- Heart Nonsense

- Same Man I Was Before by Oingo Boingo

- Jesus don’t like im gay but satans cool with it by lil boodang (once again, you can ignore the title when listening to it) (‘summer’s always awful’ → Shinichiro’s death ‘winter is the one that breaks me down’ → his mom’s, emma’s and izana’s death)

-  物をぱらぱら壊す/breaking things to pieces by Kikuo

- 光よ/oh light (Hatsune Miku version) by Kikuo and here’s Hanatan’s version

- What i deserve by the remedy

- 降伏論 (Koufukuron) sung by Miyashita Yuu

- 悪い人 (a bad person) by syudou sung by すとぷり (sutopuri) (valhalla arc. To Kazutora. the ‘i’ve known it all along that you’re a horrible person’ may go to kisaki tho)

- 13th floor by Jade Lyel

- The mind electric by Miracle Musical

- 内臓ありますか by ピノキオピー (What’s inside ?by PinnochioP)

- Bulbel by Mili

- Oyasumi by bo en

- A New Hour by Mr.Kitty

- Bleed Black by Mr.Kitty (Bonten timeline)

- You’re somebody else by flora cash (can’t decide whose POV it fits best but it definitely describes Mikey)

- 大大大キライ/DAI DAI DAI KIRAI by DennokoP (Mikey’s words when there’s color, when it’s grey it’s Kazutora, from 2:43 to the end it’s Shinichiro)

- Mr.Fear by SIAMES

- CLOSET by Yoh Kamiyama*

(So. I love Kagerou Days. That’s like one of the first song i’ve got to heard when I went on youtube for the first time years ago. And it doesn’t work with TR timeline/story. But it could so much be an AU--) (Mikey plays the role of the boy and Takemichi the girl. Or Takemichi and Hina (with whatever role for each of them). Actually, picks two characters you wish to be stuck in a time loop, it’ll probably work ; You can imagine PekeJ as the cat idk if it adds anything)

Takemichi :

- 4:00AM by Taeko Ohnuki*

- the 1st opening of Owari No Seraph (to mikey) (different stories. Different context. Still works tho)

- I’d find you by phendste (about Hina)

Sanzu :

- Happy Pills by Weathers

- Blow my brains out by Tikkle me

- Do it for him/her (Sanzu singing it to takemichi) (also ive never watched stevens universe and this cover is the only version i can listen to the song so excuse me for ‘stronger than you’ following it)

- Room 401 by Shitoo (Sanzu thinking about the OG timeline)

- とんねる大冒険 (Great tunel adventure) by Kikuo (‘the you who is never anywhere’ is OG mikey ‘the you who should have vanished’ not-og mikey)

- p.h. sung by Miyashita Yuu

- Hyperdontia by GHOST (not all the lyrics work for this one. For example i have no idea what to do with ‘i’m pulling teeth for what seems like an eternity’ – but ‘i don’t want the infection spending’ first for his own scars then looking at mikey’s dark impulses, ‘pull ‘em out and wash ‘em off the memories – tear ‘em out and make up for forgotten years’ for the og timeline ofc, and ‘your hands in my mouth, 1,2,1,2, they never came out’ – how he got his scars. Plus ‘ahahaha’ for how mikey ordered him to laughed. 3:19 to 3:32 is (kanto manji) mikey speaking to sanzu – after learning shin was a time leaper from wakasa or something)

Takeomi :

- You are an awful person by R.I.P* (the first ‘him’ are for Shinichiro, ‘and soon he’ll realize he doesn’t need you – sooner or later he is gonna leave you’ is for sanzu tho)

- Everybody likes you by Lemon Demon (this man is the definition of wanting to feel important because he knows he isnt i swear-)

Chifuyu :

- Just take my wallet by Jack Stauber

- I can’t decide by Scissor Sisters (bad Toman timeline)

- Propaganda by Crusher (Bad Toman timeline)

- Mon amie la rose by Françoise Hardy (Bad Toman (or Manila) timeline. ‘my friend, the rose’ is Mitsuya cuz he’s the only one I can imagine - with what we’ve seen of the other Toman members of this timeline – not going full on evil)(‘you admired me yesterday – and i’ll turn into dust forever tomorrow’ for baji tho..) (btw ‘on est bien peu de chose’ while meaning, yes, in fact, ‘we don’t mean much’ also carries the meaning of ‘the person who’s in charge of us doesn’t care much about us’)

- なきそ – げのげ (Genoge by Nakiso) (genoge might mean ‘the lowest (of its kind) ; the poorest’ i don’t know japanese tho so..) (still bad toman timeline too)

Draken :

- Dark Red by Steve Lacy

- I’ll Never Smile Again by Frank Sinatra

Mitsuya :

- ビターチョコデコレーション (bitter choco decoration) by syudou sung by Miyashita Yuu (Manila timeline. Could work with Bad Toman too ig but i like the idea of Ran being the one saying ‘I remember now ! You’re that serious-looking person from back then… On second thought, nevermind’ about the festival in Roppongi where Mitsuya saw the brothers for the first time (and Ran saw him too))

Taiju :

- Saint Bernard by Lincoln Vlogs

- キリスト by 虻瀬犬 (Christ by Abuseken) (cw : repeated mentions of rape and child born out of rape) (ALRIGHT ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN THIS ONE. While i don’t specially believe the shiba siblings were born out of rape (even tho it is implied their father was (physically) abusive toward their mother) the rest of the song fits. Taiju became catholic since he didn’t have anyone to ask what he had to do – so this song of someone asking again and again things without them being ever answered fit. There’s also the ‘I’ll kill you’ at 2:52 which can so easily be said by either Taiju, Hakkai or even Yuzuha) (if you don’t see where i’m coming from interpreting taiju this way – i made a post ive pinned about it)

Izana :

- sister by eve*

- Treehouse by Alex G (with Kakucho ofc)

-🔪、🔪、🔪 ///ナイフ、ナイフ、ナイフ/// (Knife, Knife, Knife) by Kikuo

- CLOSET by Yoh Kamiyama*

Inui :

- sister by Eve*

- Washing Machine heart by Mitski (to Koko)

Koko :

- Feel dead inside by Younger Hunger

- Money by The Drums

- 요단강 (Jordan river) by Natsyona (Vivinos’s video) (well basically change the video to him making money rather than sewing a doll)

Baji’s mom :

- Lemonade by Mili*

Senju :

- Brutus by the Buttress (i like to think she was bitter about being left behind by Mikey, Baji and Sanzu. And since she kicks asses she deserves a song that does too)

Kazutora :

- YELLOW by Yoh Kamiyama

- Two birds by Regina Spektor (with Baji ofc ofc)

- No children by The Mountains Goats (still w/ Baji)

- Sigh sung by Kagamine Rin (STILL with Baji)

Kisaki :

- Dumb dumb by Mazie

Hanma :

- No one lives forever by Oingo Boingo (the lyrics fit but ngl, it’s mostly for the VibesTM)

Hinata :

- 一ツ眼リッパー殺人事件/One-Eyed Ripper Murder Case by Shitoo (this one also fit in an AU rather than the canon story (where basically Kisaki stays in contact with Hinata – everything else is the same. Naoto knows Hinata is going to die in the future). Also watch until the end, don’t be mad at the ‘little brother’ ;) )

It fits too many characters individualy OR I think of several characters at once (like Sunflower by Michele Leigh):

- Scars by Mr.Kitty (I always end up thinking about the original quartet (Mikey, Sanzu, Baji, Senju) for this one. But it works for Toman)

- Look What You Make Me Do by Taylor Swift

- Sometimes by Nick Lutsko*

- Teen Pregnancy by BLANK BANSHEE (ignoring the title -)

- Summer Nights by SIAMES

- いかないで (Ikanaide) (almost every character lost someone they hold dear)(although thinking about Mikey/Draken loosing Emma-)

- Sunflower by Michele Leigh (ex-toman members to kanto Manji/bonten Mikey... im not crying)

- Nowhere to run by Stegosaurus Rex

- Trauma by Mr.Kitty

- Fight your friends by Mr.Kitty (Three deities/Kanto manji arcs lets gooo)

- Oh Klahoma by Jack Stauber

- AaAaAaAAaAaAAa by NashimotoP

- Welcome to Paradise by grandson

- Pain Shopping by grandson

- Forgive yourself by xojira (lyrics in comments)

- 愛を探して (searching for your love) by Kikuo (ngl, it fits mikey a lot)

- あなぐらぐらし(Anagura Gurashi) by Kikuo

- 猫の食卓 (the cat’s dining table) by Kikuo

- わたあめ (cotton candy) by Kikuo

- 君が死んでも許してあげるよ (I’ll forgive you even if you die) by Kikuo

- 哀悼、そして日常は続く(Condolences, and then the everydays continue) sung by Miyashita Yuu¤

- How it ended by the drums (ex-toman members wondering about Mikey – Bonten timeline or Kanto Manji)

- Evelyn Evelyn by Evelyn Evelyn (choose your fighter among the different siblings) (honestly i mostly do with the akashi –)

- Francis Forever by Mitski

- We’ll meet again by Vera Lynn

- I’m sorry by Brenda Lee

Other audios/songs which are too shorts :

- What am I without you ? - Baji & Kazutora/Shinichiro & Takeomi (if you read toilet-bound hanako-kun and you havent finished/if you dont wanna be spoiled even if you dont know the story at all - avoid looking at the video/skip this one. couldnt find this audio by itself but for this one)

- Have we gone wrong ? from Don’t Hug Me I’m scared - Bad Toman/Manila timeline (one of toman member telling mikey he’s ‘gone wrong’, the others getting between them and brushing it off. Sanzu asking if they went wrong, Mikey answering)

- Peppermint by Jack Stauber – Takeomi & Sanzu cuz Sanzu’s hated food is anything spicy

- Hope by Jack Stauber – Shinichiro

- Rain by Jack Stauber – Shinichiro/Takemichi

- $ 4.99 by Jack Stauber – Kokonoi

- Library by Jack Stauber – Every character who has lost their mother/sister

- Big Brother i’m just like you – you know who :’)

- Is it cold outside – Izana & Kakucho

- Daisy Bell - Draken & Emma

- BMO always bounces back – Baji (‘but i’m supposed to save the rift. That’s my job’ → baji thinking he could save the founding members’ relationship by himself) (couldnt find a video with only this audio and no song - only with animatics)

- This but with Sanzu

- It’s not Michael – Takemichi when meeting one of the future Mikey

- One’s a genius, the other’s insane – Kisaki & Hanma. That made me laughed so hard the first time I thought about it

- Where did the year go – Takemichi with Manila/Bonten Mikey

#how do i tag this #dont judge my music taste pls #if you knew the number of times i listened to them to be sure they actually fit.. #i still doubt for some of them

[hannahhook7744]

Betrayal Is Something You Never Forget (Prologue);

Summary; In which Gwaine wasn't completely honest with Merlin about his heritage and the others all find out exactly why he hates royalty so much.

Trigger warnings include; Death (adult and maybe child), implied/mentioned Child abuse, swearing, magic,(implied?) Self-hatred, alcoholism, unhealthy coping mechanisms, witch hunting, dark themes, headcanons, alterations to canon, adaptions of fairy tales, crossovers, piracy and witch craft, and LGBTQ+ themes. Don't like, don't read.

🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔

MERLIN: Right. What is it with you and nobles?

GWAINE: Oh, nothing. My father was a knight in Caerleon's army. He died in battle, leaving my mother penniless. And when she went to the King for help, he turned her away.

MERLIN: You didn't know him?

GWAINE:Just some stories I've been told.

MERLIN: Yeah, I know how that feels.

🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔🗡⚔

Gwaine remembered that day well and he was sure that Merlin did as well. After all, it would have been shocking for him to hear. But little did Merlin know that he had lied when he told him that. At least partially.

Because while Gwaine was telling the truth about his father being a knight, he wasn't telling the truth about him dying and his reasoning for hating nobles. Because Gwaine didn't want to tell Merlin-- sweet, sweet Merlin who had already seen so much bad in the world--  about the darkest parts of his life.

He didn't want his first and only true friend to know that he was the son of disgraced knight Brennan Jones or that he was the grandson of 4 pirates, a possible witch, and a technical desertie. Didn't want him to know that he came from a family of pirates and nobles. People who found out about his family always judged him.

And while he didn't think Merlin would, he didn't want to put him in the position of having to choose between him and Arthur, if Arthur ever were to find out and expose the truth. So Gwaine figured that if he lied, then Merlin wouldn't even think about choosing him because he'd be too angry and betrayed to.

He didn't want to be responsible for Merlin giving up his new home and his job and friends. He didn't want to ruin his friend's life. He was sure he had ruined enough of the people he cared about's lives already.

Because he was the son of disgraced knight Brennan Jones and Portal Hopper Alice Jones. The grandson of James Flint, Thomas Hamilton, Miranda Barlow, Mary Read, Anne Bonny, and John "Calico Jack" Rackham. Great nephew of Davy Jones. Cousin of Romeo Montague, Benvolio Montague, and Jack Sparrow.

His family was big and cursed. They took what they wanted and did what they had to, to save their own asses despite what his mother tried to instill in them. They hurt people, went to jail, spent their lives on the run, or got screwed over and died young or died horrible deaths. And those closest to them always seemed to get hurt. And Gwaine just...hated it...

Because his mother had raised him and his 5 siblings better than that, even though she had died when he was only 12. And even though she herself wasn't entirely perfect. But hey, when you're raised by three pirates with nearly 10 siblings how close to perfect can one be expected to get?

God knows that Gwaine couldn't judge. He had actually had a parent with a hyperfocused consensus on being a good, law abiding citizen and had still turned out a screw up. A drunk. A vagabond. A womanizer. A crappy knight. A parent's worst nightmare. Everything his mother had tried so desperately to avoid him becoming.

He seriously doubted that she'd be impressed. Then again, knowing his mother, she probably wouldn't be surprised or hold it against him. He had been a little menace when he was younger. Running around town, causing trouble. Pulling pranks. Getting into fights. Stealing. Fighting with his siblings.. including his literal toddler brother... Teasing his older sister about how camelot's knights were coming for her.

Gwaine winced in shame everytime he thought about it. Because despite being a knight of Camelot, he didn't agree with their laws and views on magic. He couldn't. He and his sister might not have gotten along and she might have been a bit mean but he didn't think that she was evil. That her magic was evil. That every magic user was evil. Because it just went against everything he was taught growing up and what he had seen while on the road.

And looking back, he regretted every single joke he had made about Camelot coming for his sister. Because those 'jokes' weren't funny. They were mean and vile words of a foolish, angry child who didn't realize just how terrifying Camelot could be when it came to magic users. Mean and vile words of a child who had been angry that they had, had to move everytime someone had seen his sister use magic and took it out on her despite her having no say. Words of a child who didn't realize just how horrible he was being until his sister was gone and it was too late.

Gwaine would take it back if he could. He'd take alot of things back if he could. He'd do alot of things differently if he could, actually. He'd help his mom take care of his two younger brothers. He'd be nicer to his sister and not fight with his brothers as often. He'd stay home and take care of his mother, and not leave her home alone with only his youngest brother as company. He'd take his siblings and run. If only he could turn back time.

But he couldn't and would forever be left to deal with the consequences of his younger self's actions. As well as his family legacy. Alone. Because he'd never tell Merlin the truth unless he was telling a large group of people the truth at the same time, which he'd never do unless he had to or felt comfortable enough to. Which would never happen because he was never able to stay in one place for too long. Which was fine by him.

Because he didn't need anyone.....

And no one ever needed or wanted him.

Until they did.

#ouat #onceuponatime #once upon a time #bbc merlin #merlin bbc #potc #pirates of the caribbean #black sails #romeo and juliet #this is full of my headcanons #gwaine centric #merlin gwaine #gwaine merlin #sir gwaine #sir gwaine of camelot #sir gwaine of the round table #sir gwaine and captain hook #merlin fanfiction #sir gwaine centric #gwaine centric fic #brennan jones is a terrible father #killian jones and gwaine are brothers #you don't have to agree #just don't be mean #gwaine angst #alice jones tried her best #killian's mother was a version of alice in wonderland #fairy tales and legends

[showfallmediamaintenance]

Sparrow is probably gonna find out soon anyway, it took Rose... What 20 something escape attempts before she finally got out? You REALLY think mari will get out with 2 other people on attempt one? And if the mechanical beep ruby's corpse made is any indication...

Shut up. Shut the fuck up.

#showfall ask blog #showfall media #showfall #encoreverse blog

[supercantaloupe]

happy sleepover Saturday Sasha!! I hope you’re having a lovely day, I’ve been unironically loving your food blogger arc. Do you have any books you reach for to recommend to people (whether or not they’re your personal favorites?) 💕

happy sleepover saturday :) don't encourage me sola or i'll become even more obnoxious and start posting pics of everything i eat...

fiction wise: i read a lot of sci fi so this is going to be mostly that. the martian is probably my all time favorite novel and i will always recommend it. i also really liked andy weir's other novels artemis and project hail mary, the latter of which i just recently reread and the former i think i might over the winter. the sparrow (mary doria russell) is another book i absolutely love, a friend in my group chat got me into it a few years back and it's been really fun seeing other people in the group chat one by one read and fall for it with us. i'm not wild about its sequel children of god though. finally i don't necessarily recommend this one per se cause i think it's a very acquired taste of a series and definitely won't be for everyone, but if you want to dip your toes into something Different and Dense and kind of high concept, you might check out the terra ignota series by ada palmer. it took me about a month to really get through the first book, the experience of which i likened to "watching a chess game being played in the dark," but once it was through i finished the next three books in about a two week span, so. if this one is for you it'll definitely be for you

nonfiction: the anthropocene reviewed is a wonderful essay collection and easily my favorite of john green's books, speaking as a big fan of his YA novels in my t(w)een years and a still current fan of his writing style. tara westover's memoir educated has been stuck in my brain for like four years now. ingredients by george zaidan is a pretty good and entertaining primer on some of the chemicals we use in our everyday lives, and even though i'm secretly a bit of a chemistry geek i think the way it tackles the science-y stuff is very approachable.

[ask meme]

#sasha answers #sleepover saturday #ask meme #tempestclerics #ty!!

[hardly-an-escape]

Ten Books to Know Me – I was tagged by the lovely @landwriter and @valeriianz to share 10 (non-ancient) books for people to get to know me better, or that I just really like.

it was practically impossible for me to choose just ten (and in fact I didn't) and I definitely provide WAY more background info than probably anyone is interested in, so this got looong and I'm gonna put my commentary under a cut! but here is my list, in no particular order:

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkein

Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith

Momo, Michael Ende

The Blue Castle, LM Montgomery

The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell

Gaudy Night, Dorothy L Sayers

The Great and Terrible Quest, Margaret Lovett

yes I know there are eleven shut up

(1) Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë if you physically forced me to choose one book that is my favorite of all time, it might be Jane Eyre. I can't swear to that, but it's a good contender. I couldn't even tell you when I first read it, but it was some time before my sophomore year of high school (we were assigned it in an English lit class and I was already intimately familiar with it). I just adore Jane so much. she's so smart and stubborn and weird and self-aware and strong in a way that young Nora identified with and envied in equal parts. I frequently re-read this book when my life was feeling overwhelmingly negative, because it comforted me to think that if everything could turn out okay for Jane in the end, it might turn out okay for me, too. would I love it as much if I read it for the first time now, as an adult? maybe not. the whole crazy-wife-in-the-attic is... not a good look. I get why people don't love it. but I do and I always will.

(2) East of Eden, John Steinbeck I can pick this book up, open it to any page, and there's a better-than-even chance it will immediately make me burst into tears. (actually, as I'm writing this I'm realizing that I'm really due for a re-read.) listen.. I come from a sprawling dysfunctional family and I love a good sprawling epic about a dysfunctional family. I love religious metaphors. I love detailed and loving descriptions of nature and beloved land. is it a bit heavy handed at times? yes. is it still one of the great American novels? yes. timshel.

(3) The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkein (insert Gimli gif "That still only counts as one!!") I associate these books very closely with my family, especially my dad. one of my earliest memories is of my dad reading The Hobbit out loud to me when I was very young – I remember crying so hard when Thorin died that I just about made myself sick. look, you know why I love these books. you love them for the same reason. everyone loves them. they're perfect. the movies all came out around my dad's birthday and we went to see them as a family every year. my sister and brother and I have literally gotten drunk and cried on the couch whilst holding hands during our millionth rewatch of Return of the King. I don't know who I would be if these books weren't on my list.

(4) Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein this is one of those books I read under exactly the right circumstances, during my senior year of high school, in a literature of fantasy class filled with a bunch of other intense artsy nerds; we were all figuring ourselves out and finding our places in the world and learning how to be humans and to develop those deep, intense friendships that you can only form when you're 17 or 18 years old. we all wholeheartedly adopted the concepts of grokking and sharing water and we would go around telling each other thou art God. it's dated, as is a lot of sci fi from the early 60s; the casual sexism and homophobia are not pleasant to read and in retrospect some of the religious symbolism is a little heavy handed. but I still have a soft space in my heart for it (in fact I just loaned a friend my copy this winter). I also love the concept of a Fair Witness.

(5) The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett this has been one of my favorite books since I was about six years old. as a kid I was obsessed with the idea of secret worlds, and especially when kids had things going on that grownups didn't know about or couldn't access. (I loooved stories like Narnia.) it's just such a sweet book. let's all heal our trauma with the power of pale green points and singing the Doxology to a bunch of birds.

(6) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith I was probably just a little bit too young to read this book the first time I picked it up. I didn't know novels could tell stories like this. I didn't know you could write a book that was so painful and beautiful at the same time, or that things that are true can be so ugly and so beautiful at the same time. it cracked open something inside me when I finished it. I think I actually woke my mom up so I could cry at her about it. I think Francie is another protagonist that I identified with to an almost uncomfortable degree, and I think a big part of the power of this book is how accurately it depicts the inner life of a weird little kid in an intense world she's only just beginning to understand.

(7) Momo oder Die seltsame Geschichte von den Zeit-Dieben und von dem Kind, das den Menschen die gestohlene Zeit zurückbrachte, Michael Ende (the older English translation is titled The Grey Gentlemen, but I think a newer translation uses the original title) definitely another children-save-the-day-with-their-secret-child-knowledge story; one that also makes incredibly insightful commentary about consumerism and technology and the speed of modern life – a message that's only gotten more and more relevant since it was first published in 1973. Momo herself is a one of my favorite members in the pantheon of weird little kid characters whom I adore. and the Grey Gentlemen are one of the creepiest, most inexorable antagonists I can think of from children's literature. I haven't read the English translation and I'm not sure how it compares to the original, or how difficult it is to find in the US. but it's absolutely worth tracking down a copy.

(8) The Blue Castle, LM Montgomery as much as I adore the Anne books, and really all of LMM's work, my absolute favorite of hers is this one. it might even be the book on this list that I've re-read most often, and as you might have gathered, I re-read books a lot. (there was a time during the peak of the pandemic when I was having trouble sleeping and I probably read this book, or parts of it, about every week or two. it was like eating my favorite food, it just made me feel better.) it's one of her few more adult works, and a straight-up romance, and it's CRIMINALLY unknown and underappreciated.

(9) The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell this book has it all. aliens. linguistics. space travel. Jesuits. philosophical questions about what it means to be a child of God. like... the main character is a space traveling polyglot linguist priest. that hits ALL my buttons. anyway this is an absolutely gorgeously written sci fi novel that's not really a sci fi novel, kind of the way Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mandel and another honorable mention on this list) is a post-apocalyptic novel that's not really about the apocalypse. it's one of those books that I'm just constantly recommending to other people because it's so so good. (it is also kind of heartbreakingly tragic and involves some fairly serious trauma of both the physical and psychological/religious varieties, so if you pick it up be aware of that.)

(10) Gaudy Night, Dorothy L Sayers I adore all of Lord Peter Wimsey (except maybe Whose Body? and even that has its merits) but Gaudy Night is my favorite, although Murder Must Advertise is a very close runner-up. I have such an enormous crush on Harriet Vane, you don't even KNOW. I want to be best friends with her and also steal her away from Lord Peter and marry her myself. she is such a perfectly imperfect heroine AND she is absolutely his intellectual equal and that's why he's madly in love with her. swoon. again, this is a book that has it all. mystery. romance. esoteric academic rituals. philosophical questions about what it means to be a woman in a world where your gender will always be the most important thing people perceive about you no matter what you do. life imitating art imitating life imitating art. WWI changing the fabric of society. consider my buttons pushed.

(11) The Great and Terrible Quest, Margaret Lovett yes, I'm adding an extra eleventh book. I can't help it. this is another criminally unknown and underappreciated book and since nobody's ever heard of it I am required to shout from the rooftops about how great it is. it's a classic fantasy story (I guess you could call it a fairy tale, but there isn't really anything magical about it, just knights and kings and stuff) about a young boy who lives with his cruel grandfather. he saves a mysterious man from a terrible head wound and gets swept along in the man's quest. it's simple and beautiful and has one of the best endings of any book I've ever read. Lovett only published a handful of books, but they're all marvelous. please find them if you can.

I really haven't been online this week so I have no idea who's already done this and who hasn't and I don't know who to tag, so I'm going to take the coward's way out and just say if you're seeing this and looking for an excuse to answer these questions, consider this your sign.

#sorry this is so long #I actually haven't been reading much lately and I kinda forgot how much I love talking about books #also I'm realizing there's a lot of crying mentioned in this post #I cry a lot what can I say #it's like... my primary emotional reaction no matter what's happening #books #tag game #about me

[doecreature]

Uncommon questions for OCs! For Noel: 27. What causes them to feel dread?  For Marie: 7. What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling? For Hawk: 39. How easy is it for them to ignore flaws in other people? And for the creator: E) Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you?

haiii!!! thank you so much for asking these!! <3

27. What causes them to feel dread?  OH a lot of things, Noel could give you a whole list! uncomfortable in every situation syndrome. but probably.... her whole thing is that she's trying to resurrect her brother (she feels responsible for his death, she sees his life as more 'deserving' than hers etc etc), and she knows her necromancy magic works on a principle of equivalent exchange. so she would have to die so that he can live. not bringing him back isn't an option. and whilst she's slowly starting to realise she's afraid to die, she's even more afraid of having to face her brother. since deep down she knows she's resurrecting him as her own (slightly warped) way of 'making things right' rather than what's best for her brother (her brother's really nice btw, it's just that noel (and everyone else tbh) puts him on a pedestal)

7. What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling? Marie's from a little fishing village so the smell of salty sea air (particularly on a cold day) is very nostalgic for her! it's a little bittersweet, she comes from a big, close knit family and it's a long way for her to go home. but the memories are happy ones, even if she can never quite recapture that same happiness :'] 39. How easy is it for them to ignore flaws in other people?  not so much ignore, but Hawk's very forgiving of flaws in other people. he's reluctant to ask of others more than he's able to expect of himself, and he's very aware of his flaws (maybe sees himself as more flawed than he is) so he doesn't feel he can expect others to be completely flawless. Sparrow gets a free pass from Hawk more than he should though

E) Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you? (i'm going to answer for all three!!) AWWW i hope so, these three are the niceys!! i'd like to hang out with Marie the most i think, she's so cool, she's cooler than me <3 i think all three of them would get on with each other very well though!

#sorry for answering so slow!! i moved to a different city + i've been working a lot #so it was nice to be able to take a break to answer them :D thank you!!! #wrenwrask #oc:noel #oc:marie #oc:hawk