words, words

Scene 1

Background: Academy, local terrain below it

Characters: Blair, Juniper

Summary: Blair and Juniper are in the academy with graduation fast approaching. They discuss the rumors they’ve heard about impending conflict, and the consequential likely deployment. The two express their desire to stay together.

JUNIPER (triumphant): And… Hah! I rolled 11! That’s three damage to your castle.

BLAIR (grimace): That’s three... out of three… maybe I can-

JUNIPER: Nope, you’re in a corner! Just admit it, I’m the better strategist.

BLAIR (mock angry): Hardly, I was winning that entire match.

BLAIR: I don’t know how you managed that, honestly.

NARRATOR: The two continue bantering over their game until there’s a lull in the conversation. You lean in and drop your voice to a whisper.

BLAIR: Did you hear about [Velgari, unless playing velgari, then Tsubin]?

JUNIPER: Nothing concrete, most of it probably exaggerated.

BLAIR: You know Anoka? She runs the Clearwater Bakery? She told me yesterday that both of her kids were called back home. In not so many words, conscripted.

JUNIPER (curious): Anoka? Isn’t she [If not playing velgari: “Velgaran? They have regional conflicts from time to time don’t they?”. If playing velgari: “Tsubin? They have mandatory military service, don’t they?”]

BLAIR (smile): So you do pay attention in classes besides tactics!

JUNIPER (mock angry):

BLAIR: But it’s true, they do. It could be coincidence. But with everything else going on…

JUNIPER: Well, the brass will let us know soon enough.

NARRATOR: Juniper’s voice quickens with excitement.

JUNIPER: Getting to see action this early in our careers is a real treat! You better not blow it - winding up as my subordinate would be pretty embarrassing.

BLAIR (smile): You? My CO? Come on, we both know you’re gonna mouth off and get yourself blacklisted.

BLAIR: It would be nice to be together though. After all these years I don’t think I could trust any other strategist to have my back.

JUNIPER (smile): You know they can’t put all the rising stars on the same force. Strategists aren’t _that_ common.

NARRATOR: Juniper is suddenly serious.

JUNIPER: This isn’t the sort of job you get old in.

BLAIR: Hey, we both knew what we were getting into when we came here.

NARRATOR: A clock tower sounds in the distance

BLAIR: it’s getting late, wanna play one more and call it a night?

JUNIPER (smile): You’re on!

NARRATOR: It would be several hours before either of them slept.

Scene 2

Background: Office

Characters: Blair, Bruno

Summary: Bruno calls Blair in, tells them that conflict is brewing. Superior then gives the player a choice of which country they want to be deployed in. Blair explains their decision, Bruno cautions them and gives some advice.

NARRATOR: Bruno has just called you into his office. He looks tired, but smiles as you enter.

BRUNO: Blair, good to see you. Sit down, close the door behind you.

BRUNO: Permission finally came down to tell you this: You’re being deployed. Everyone is, really.

NARRATOR: Blair tries to look surprised.

BLAIR (surprised): Wow, conflict, who’s it with this time?

NARRATOR: Bruno looks away, avoiding your eyes.

BRUNO: That’s actually why I called you here. I put in a good word for you, and general Sweyn agreed to let you pick a force to lead.

BLAIR (surprised): Really? That’s awfully thoughtful of her.

BRUNO (smile): Your name carries more weight than you realize, Blair. The generals expect quite a bit from you.

BRUNO: You’ve been assigned to lead a distraction force. The general plan is for you to divert our foes’ attention while a primary force of, ah, less expendable-

BLAIR (mock angry):

BRUNO: It’s the truth! Anyways, the main force will be moving… in a different direction.

BLAIR (curious): Oh? Am i not trusted with our esteemed generals’ secret plans?

BRUNO: I can tell you where we’re going. [Direction of the center of the continent]. I don’t know why we’re going there. Officially it’s defensive maneuvers in response to [Velgari’s, unless velgari, then Tsubin’s] recent mobilization.

BLAIR (suspicious): That seems like kinda the wrong direction.

BRUNO (grimace): All I know is what I’ve been told.

BRUNO: I’ll give you a moment to think about where you want to be deployed, but I do need your decision tonight. They’re expecting your response sent by tomorrow.

(Cut to choice screen, with pros and cons of each choice bulleted out. Blair lays out their reasoning, Bruno points out some drawbacks, but approves)

BRUNO: Either way, watch your back out there. It’s easy to forget, but even the smallest of engagements feels nothing like a practice skirmish.

BLAIR: I’ll be safe and I’ll keep my units safe, don’t worry. We’ll crush any [target country player just picked demonym] forces that come after us.

BRUNO: I trust you. Just remember you’re there to draw their attention, not martyr yourself taking out ten [target demonym]s for every [your country demonym].

“I swear to god,” You spat, “say that again and I’ll snap your neck. Idols are her dream. You’re a throwaway pastime.” Chika had proved to be a very good sore spot to push on. She would have to try this again in the future.

You’s face was pressed close. She could feel her breath on her cheek, hot and uneven. Riko didn’t know exactly how far You would go. But hey, only one way to find out~

“Oh come on, you know it’s just a passing phase, right?”

Sparks flashed across Riko’s vision. Man, she hasn’t even seen You raise her hand to hit her. But yep, there was the sting, a moment delayed. The pressure of You’s elbow doubled, forcing a gasp out her.

“Is that really the best you’ve got?” Riko managed, “She’ll move on from idols, just like she’ll move on from you.” Okay, so it was a low blow. She knew it was something You was afraid of. But god, if You wasn’t so hot when she was pissed they wouldn’t have this problem.

“Shut up shut up shut up!” You shouted. Were there tears in her eyes? Oh. Maybe she’d gone a bit too far.

She felt You’s fingers around her neck. Holy shit. Definitely too far.

She grabbed at You’s wrist, but her grip was steel. Curse her defined, sexy, swimming muscles. The hand jamming into her voice box was seriously uncomfortable. You wouldn’t actually hurt her, right? Looking down at her face, she couldn’t be sure.

You smashed their lips together. Okay okay, this was more familiar territory. The kiss was as painful as nice, but that was kinda the point. A second later You bit down on her lip, hard. Hard enough to draw blood. Riko resisted the urge to twist away; it would only make things worse. She tried to protest, but it died as a choked gasp.

You broke off and pushed her to the floor. Riko was too light headed to resist, but she processed the dull clunk as she hit the futon. Ouch. She had a moment to be glad You hadn’t thrown her directly on the hardwood, and then You was on top of her, pinning her legs.

They both paused for a moment, breath ragged, Riko’s head swimming and You staring down at her like a lion deciding how best to finish off its crippled prey.

She moved in close again, close enough for Riko to see the sweat beading on her upper lip, close enough to see her dark glaring eyes.

0.6k youchikariko

“I’m sorry, I just turned the heat on,” Eli called from around the corner. When had she had time to get over there? Nozomi followed the sound of her girlfriend into the living room. Eli was sprawled out across the couch, bags piled up against it.

“It hasn’t been that long of a day Elichi,” Nozomi said, moving over to Eli and kissing her on the forehead. Eli reached up, trying to catch Nozomi in a backwards hug. It was a bad angle, but Nozomi relented, letting herself be pulled in. “Being home is nice,” Eli mumbled into Nozomi, “I can let my guard down.”

“Careful Elichi,” said Nozomi, “you wouldn’t want a big bad wolf to sneak in and eat you up.”

“Mmmm,” Nozomi felt eli smile against her. “I think it’s too late to escape this wolf’s claws,” said Eli.

Nozomi kissed her girlfriend one last time before standing up and stretching. “I’m gonna put on some tea. Want any?” asked Nozomi. “Sure, sleepytime sounds nice.” Eli whispered, eyes closed.

Nozomi made her way to the kitchen, humming to herself. She put a kettle on the stove and set about rummaging through Eli‘s tea collection. It was a lot neater than hers, but to be fair Nozomi was more of a coffee person anyways. Tea bags located, Nozomi set out two mugs and waited for the kettle to boil. She loved the way the sunset streamed through the kitchen windows, bouncing off the countertops and scattering the room with its orange glow. The kettle’s harsh crescendo (always her least favorite part) dragged her back to the task at hand. She poured two cups of water and brought them back to the living room to seep. Not wanting to disturb Eli, Nozomi sat on the couch’s arm and gently stroked eli’s hair while she slept.

Just as she was was beginning to consider the practicalities of carrying Eli to bed, her eyes fluttered open.

“I’m sleepy,” mumbled Eli.

“I gathered,” said Nozomi, “Come on, let’s get you up and into bed.”

She saw Eli hesitate for a moment, probably considering trying to convince Nozomi to join her on the couch, but realistically it was way too small for the both of them. Nozomi led her sleepy girlfriend upstairs and into her bedroom, but then paused, unsure of herself.

“What’s up?” Eli asked.

“Um. Do you have a spare sleeping bag? I didn’t bring one…” Nozomi trailed off, looking away.

“Don’t be silly, I’m not gonna invite my girlfriend to sleep over and then force her to sleep on the ground”

Nozomi sighed internally. “Thank you,” she said. For understanding. For always making her feel loved. As Nozomi put on her PJs, she heard a fwump that was, presumably, the sound of Eli hitting the mattress. She stifled a laugh, Eli was always this way when she pushed herself too hard.

Nozomi could’ve sworn she wasn’t being especially slow, but an impatient “Nozomiiiii” coming from the mattress suggested someone felt otherwise. “Okay, okay. Just a second,” Nozomi flipped the lights off, and laid down next to Eli.

“Hey Nozomi, if you’re up for it I’d love to cuddle,” said Eli.

“Well… Sure, that’d be nice,” said Nozomi

“You know,” said Eli, extracting one of her arms from the comforter’s embrace to boop nozomi on the nose, “that means you actually have to join me under the blankets.” After a bit of undignified rolling Nozomi managed to find her way under the covers.

“Geeze Nozomi, you’re so cold!” said Eli.

“It’s a good thing I’ve got you to keep me warm,” replied Nozomi, snuggling in even closer. Eli sighed, resigning herself to hot water bottle duty, and wrapping her arms tight around Nozomi. Eventually they warmed up enough to be comfortable, and Nozomi could feel Eli’s breathing growing deeper and more regular.

“I love you,” whispered Nozomi.

“Love you too,” Eli replied, just as soft.

Rating: Very NSFW

Parings: Donald Trump/Mike Pence/Vladimir Putin

Summary:

“A shock ran through Donald, like the sort of shock you get when a climate change denier is placed at the head of the EPA, but good, and tingly.

He had felt this feeling only once before. It was when he’d first met Pence.”

Donald thought he knew what love was until one day, he didn't anymore. Tired of his old relationship with Mike, Donald finds himself falling for a mysterious stranger he meets in a russian cafe. But unbeknownst to Donald, this stranger has a dark and mysterious past. Will Donald be able to save his relationship with Mike? Will this new man repair Donald’s fractured heart? Or will his dark history cost Donald and everyone he loves their lives?

I feel like she’s a little self indulgent but anyways I made my first child:

Name: Althea Age: 20

Design: Base - light grey Accent - light lime/pale mint green Motifs - mint leaves, water.

Physical description: -curly brown shoulder length hair -green eyes -pretty average build, a little bit on the tall side, but just a pinch

Outfit aesthetic: Cold: -{leggings+leg warmers/thigh socks} + skirts -warm and regular boots -knitted sweaters

Warm: -leggings/{normal or knee socks} + skirts -or just skirts -tops w/ colorful abstract designs, some geometric, some organic -can’t decide on footwear? Maybe slip-ons?

The murmurs fade in a steady gradient towards one table. No one interrupts that silence.

They are here, but not present. Gazes in the distance, minds up above, hearts somewhere, but not here. They are empty.

There’s food before them, but their empty stomachs and empty souls will not be filled now, or today, or ever. To eat would be to mock those who no longer can.

You haven’t tried it, but you know her favorite dish would be ashes in your mouth.

Sometimes, you catch a glimpse of her in a passing stranger. Those are the bad days.

You’ve buried so many memories deep inside yourself, chained them in such a complicated web of padlocks, that you can’t be sure which key will open which one.

And then screaming.

screaming.

screaming.

Words: 600

Nicomaki centric, angst with a happy resolution.