YOU'RE AN ENEMY WHO I'M KEEN TO DEFEND

[feardclight]

skells (she / her) . 30 + yo . gmt + 1 — timeline . main blog (​​)

highly selective, low activity, private multimuse of ocs and canons from the cyberpunk 2077 franchise / follows from #MERCYSOUGHT This is a very low activity blog that has some interconnected ocs. They are all in a (secret) poly relationship between each other and Maxima. I’m not open to shipping. I will write here as I have energy and free time. Enjoy!

Muses:

Trenton Terrel, Head of Artificial Intelligence @ Arasaka Corporation, fc: ian bruce

As eccentric as he is brilliant, Trenton is a figure unlike many. A netrunner of extreme talent with a curious mind and determination to dive down the deepest rabbit holes. Having had his curiosity taunted for all the things that linger just outside of the Blackwall back in his Netwatch days, Arasaka has given him any and all resources a mind such as his could ever ask.

Daisy Mckenzie, Investigative Journalist and Editor @ World News Service (NWS), fc: ajak deng

Ambitious and ruthless. Those are the two necessary descriptors of any journalist that is able to survive within WNS and Daisy is the example to follow. With an eye for reading the writing on the wall before the paint is laid and having an almost unnatural gift to find a good story (that many would prefer to be kept secret), Daisy is not the person you’d want following at your heels.

Reid Walker, Security Expert @ Militech International Armaments, fc: keanu reeves

The last person one likely notice within the room, Reid doesn’t make himself small but has a natural light step and harsh hands. Easy going enough for a man that cleans up much of the dirty work that is required for one that works in the bowls of a megacorp. Lethally effective and old for one in the industry.

[skellsmemes]

Prompts from The Banner Saga 1 game by Stoic Studio - part 1:

❝ I’ve been practicing with it since I was a kid. ❞

❝ And don’t set up camp or make a fire. We’ll take a look and then get out of here before anything else goes wrong. ❞

❝ What is this mess about? Looks like a full-scale battle happened, and recently. ❞

❝ Assume I’m looking out for myself and you’ll figure it out. ❞

❝ I’m where I want to be. ❞

❝ I robbed well-protected merchants for at least one man’s lifetime. ❞

❝ It looks like you’re in charge right now, so do me a favor and don’t get _____ killed. ❞

❝ You could join us. ❞

❝ Whose back will you have if things go wrong? ❞

❝ Don’t poke the anthill. He seems no happier to be here than you. ❞

❝ Spend a few more days with the boy, old friend. You’ll be looking for a tall cliff to hop off, too. ❞

❝ The gods… they won’t listen. ❞

❝ We are all gods! The gods above, and above them! ❞

❝ I didn’t make her do anything! It was her idea. ❞

❝ Down here I’m a glorified bodyguard. You might have a point. Just another reason to get back to _____. ❞

❝ Hah… humans. I guess if I only lived as long as a yox fart I might be desperate to make something of myself, too. ❞

❝ Every year it’s the human settlements that give me trouble. ❞

❝ You already missed the massacre. ❞

❝ I have a habit of recording history. I thought we might talk about your visit. ❞

❝ Oh, a tax collector. Fine company. ❞

❝ Almost gutted in your first encounter and ready for more? ❞

❝ Can we speak? As equals? ❞

❝ Don’t assume only you can fight. Do you understand me?“ ❞

❝ Don’t look down on me again. Don’t you dare. ❞

❝ That doesn’t mean I care what happens to you. ❞

❝ Why the tough act, kid? ❞

❝ Then stop acting like I’m a thorn in your side. ❞

❝ We’ll both be kings some day. ❞

❝ Can I ask one more favor? ❞

❝ Now I have to make sure there are no rotting bodies or pools of entrails still in the great hall before they come by. ❞

❝ The king’s whelp. ❞

❝ What he’s trying to say is the prince is a delight to behold.* ❞

❝ Still bleeding tributes from the poor and stupid, old yox? At what age do you lose a sense of shame? ❞

❝ Anyone I should keep an eye on? ❞

❝ I’d ask how you’re dealing with _____’s death but I already know the answer. ❞

❝ I don’t like being the one to send others to their deaths. I like worrying about myself, and that’s the extent of it. ❞

❝ I’ll worry about the warriors. You worry about not doing something stupid. ❞

❝ I think they’re mostly just afraid of her. ❞

❝ How did _____ die? ❞

❝ It’s the kind of thing that’d get stuck in your head, and you need a clear one. ❞

❝ Just happens sometimes. No big moment. ❞

❝ Any more rope and I’d hang myself. ❞

❝ I’m not interested in command, it’s all yours. ❞

❝ You think we’re walking into a death trap? ❞

❝ Hah, you relic. The gods have been dead a long time. ❞

❝ If it’s the end, I’m ready. ❞

❝ They respect you for your ability to swing an axe. They need to respect you for your actions. ❞

❝ I heard you were a terror in your day. ❞

❝ The fewer words you say the more I’m concerned. ❞

❝ Don’t take the whole burden on yourself, that will not make you more of a champion. That will not buy the others respect. Doing the right thing will. ❞

❝ I know it wasn’t my fault. It was my duty. ❞

❝ Think there’s another war coming our way? ❞

❝ Shut your mouth, or I’ll smash your face in. ❞

❝ Having your blood on my hands would be worse than doing nothing. ❞

❝ I’d rather you stop acting like the one in charge of me! What kind of alliance is this? ❞

❝ Paint me the villain! What do I care? ❞

❝ We’re not watchmen for the world. Watch your tone. ❞

❝ I am the reasonable one! You want to wait until there’s no chance of escape? I won’t! ❞

❝ If you’ve still got any sense we’ll get out now before they bury the rest of us. ❞

❝ I’m leaving! Freeze to death in this tomb if you like. ❞

❝ That’s the worth of my opinion, isn’t it? You had already decided what you were going to do. Any opportunity to insult me. ❞

❝ What difference does it make? We’re all going to die here. ❞

❝ Temper your pride. It won’t be worth a damn in the grave. ❞

❝ That man of yours seemed unreliable at best. ❞

❝ Gods, there’s no joy in politics. ❞

❝ Is it? Or is it because I’m the next in line? These lines are getting muddy. ❞

❝ Don’t tell me not to. ❞

❝ I am a witch. So be careful. ❞

❝ You, protect me? ❞

❝ Get out of my face. ❞

❝ Make a mistake and you’ll get your head caved in. Nobody’ll lose sleep over it. ❞

❝ You left a pile of gold at the bottom of a hill. What are the chances it’ll still be there months from now? The only reason we aren’t each carrying a share is because you don’t trust us. ❞

❝ Give me silence. ❞

❝ When was the last time you slept? ❞

❝ Lie? Tell them everything’s going to be alright? Gods, I don’t know. ❞

❝ Pretend you know what you’re doing. That’s what the rest of us do.” ❞

❝ Probably shouldn’t be looking to me for advice. ❞

❝ Think of how I feel. I’m stuck nursing a bunch of weaklings. ❞

❝ Humans are absurd. Furious when you’re not in control, terrified when you are. ❞

❝ Half the world just tilling soil till they keel over. What kind of life is that? ❞

❝ I like women. They like me. They like the scar. ❞

❝ Oh, they’ve noticed, have they? We’re on the edge of dying daily and you want me to take it easy? ❞

❝ Truthfully? Always thought you were a bit of an ass. ❞

❝ We’re lucky. You could go your whole life with no goals, no purpose, nothing to fight against but boredom and hunger. ❞

❝ You come running every time you hear yelling? Must be why you look so tired. ❞

❝ Don’t take this the wrong way but I don’t want to be known for handling my feelings. ❞

❝ Have you always been this talkative? ❞

❝ If I feel nothing about my husband dying people think I’m strong. If I cry because my insides feel like they’re on fire I’m weak. ❞

❝ I get it. They won’t follow a woman. ❞

❝ I’m not sure if that’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard or the sweetest. ❞

❝ Sometimes when a loved one dies, people say it doesn’t sink in for a while. It sunk in for me right away. ❞

❝ People tell me I’m a “strong woman”. ❞

❝ I think they would follow you. ❞

❝ Maybe this is what it means to be a strong woman. ❞

❝ That’s not being strong, that’s just… being. ❞

❝ What happens when someone thinks they can take advantage of us? ❞

❝ A man will look at you right through his helmet and lie. ❞

❝ You’re the right person for this job. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. ❞

❝ Don’t trust a man, just because they have faces and use their mouths. ❞

❝ Look, I hear what they say behind my back. ❞

❝ Are you mad at me? ❞

❝ Deciding what happens to other people… I’m glad I’m not you. I wouldn’t know what to do. ❞

❝ I don’t want to kill a person. Please. ❞

❝ I didn’t want blood on my hands. ❞

❝ All I’m saying, is don’t ask her to change who she is. ❞

❝ Oh, you know my secret plan? To win _____’s trust so that I can finally put an axe in everyone’s back? ❞

❝ I’m many things, but I’m no liar. I leave that to the traitors. ❞

❝ Every man I’ve ever met thinks he’d rival the gods himself, if only he were in charge. ❞

❝ I am over four hundred years old, and I know that I know little. You are a child, an infant, yet you know everything! ❞

❝ I forget your name. ❞

❝ If you have nothing else to say get out of my damned hall! ❞

❝ If you jumped from that bridge today the world would not change. ❞

❝ Listen. This story is not about you. ❞

[feardclight]

i have come to think of you as a sensible person, but there is something quite unsavory about all this. ( for Trenton or Daisy from V ? )

what moves the dead // accepting // @afraidofchange

   “I don't know that anyone can get to this level of success and remain sensible, Vasquez."

Which was true - Both in his personal circle and in his professional life, there was not really a single sensible soul. Then again, Treton himself would admit that his own perception and reality was far from the typical for the rest of the folks in this continent. Night City itself, the little that Trent was exposed to it, felt like a whole different planet. Exciting, dangerous and full of gold, figuratively speaking, ripe for the reaping. They were entering a new age of discoveries, Trent could feel it more than he could describe it.

   “Then again, seems Night City. Well, it seems that it has its own definition of the word." he looks, dramatically, around the room. It was kept sharply clean; surgically so. It was already in tune with the rest of Arasaka, this bright white, smooth concrete and HAL 9000 vibe. Trent liked it, it fit him the same way that his suits did. The cuts were often outdated, but the materials and details were firmly in the present.

Maxima called it an "aberration of nature"; and Trent took it as a sign of pride. Few people could provoke such a reaction in Maxima and still share a bed with her . He smiles openly, pearly white teeth reflecting in the grey and white surfaces. The lights in his office were turned all the way up, in a blue tone.

   “Unsavory is the part written between the lines on the contract." another truth, though he wasn't surprised to see this. How many more had shared, in one way or another, the same sentiment to him? Not very smart, not many did given his own position within the company. His reputation as an eccentric helped, people tended to feel at ease when standing next to the weirdest man in Arasaka Tower "I'd suggest not causing too many waves, do your job and I'm sure you'll be fine."

For another person, this was likely the best advice. However, for Vasquez in particular it was a lie. His face kept the same tranquillity as before; nonchalant was likely the better word. Jenkins was a fuck head and Arasaka would be better for not having him around, especially since he knew that Abernathy was well aware of what he'd ordered his hireling to do.

Truthfully, he didn't care much about Arasaka and whether it'd be better off or not. The way Trent saw it: the fewer players around trying to climb the ladder the better. Kept him on his toes and kept the tower clean.

A few minutes after Vasquez left, the voice at the other end of the call that he had paused to allow Vasquez to enter his office pipped up again. Trent had almost forgotten up until the point where the velvet British accent spoke up.

   “Why lie, Trent?"

Shrugging, Trent keeps smiling turning on his chair to face the large screens and monitoring the Blackwall. OId habits died hard, especially when they came so naturally. Attached to each of the section a few notes had been added. Patterns; it was impossible fully map out it all, but it was interesting that they were capable to identify some AIs from their signatures, brief glimpses before disappearing again.

Oh it was only a matter of time.

   "This place is as much for the rats as the cats. If another cat is out of the house? Well, more rats for me, hm?"

[jannwrites]

book meme : WHAT MOVES THE DEAD by T. KINGFISHER.

a selection of lines from the novel what moves the dead. modified slightly for rp purposes.

i'm delighted by obscure passions, no matter how unusual.

it's cold and poor and if you don't die from falling in a hole or starving to death, a wolf eats you.

god, but it was a depressing scene.

i am, for the most part, not an imaginative soul.

he was the gentlest of souls, though he did collect rather odd things.

i swear to you, if i had not heard his voice, i would not have recognized him.

you look like you've been dragged arse-first through hell.

you have grown into an outrageous liar.

in some ways, it's rather refreshing to be treated in the same way as a fungus.

i will tell you, this is a recent dissolution.

i think it might be enough to make anyone ill.

i do not know how to deal with this sort of death, the one that comes slow and inevitable and does not let go.

death that simply comes and settles is not a thing i have any experience with.

i knew most of them would die anyway, but if they died in front of me, it felt worse.

we were friends once. i hope we still are.

i hear things now. everything. my own heartbeat. other people's breathing sounds like thunder.

sometimes i fancy i can hear the worms in the rafters.

but this place has made me afraid.

you don't pull punches in the morning, do you?

what sins could you possibly have?

you know i'm not a superstitious soul but i swear there's something wicked here.

they say mushrooms spring up where the devil walks and where the fairies dance.

perhaps they believe that the fungus is part of them.

it's in god's hands, not mine. perhaps not even his.

are you a witch, then?

don't listen to him. the dead carry lanterns down in the deep.

this place breeds nightmares.

he complains of nightmares. says the walls breathe them out.

i begin to think that this place has killed all of us, in its time.

most of us go to the devil without him having to personally oversee things.

the dead don't walk. you of all people know that.

really, what good would it do? have you not seen enough bodies in your time? maybe it helps other people, but it's just one more face to haunt your dreams.

headache is always preferable to heartache.

perhaps this miserable place has weighed down my spirit and left me vulnerable.

they don't fear ghosts where you come from?

i don't believe the dead actually care about those things.

[name], i have come to think of you as a sensible person, but there is something quite unsavory about all this.

you don't believe in possession, of course.

the dead may walk but i will not walk among them.

this thing, whatever it is, it's what's killing you. devouring you alive.

i've been dead for at least a month.

i could never help anything that killed you.

i know exactly where i would place the match.

[feardclight]

‘now you’re just trying to annoy me.’ @ trent !

@demonpunch . before the devil breaks you . accepting  

  "Touchy, touchy." Trent breathes softly, his eyes of a blue so bright it might be confused for white. His face is titled in Nero's direction but eyes that truly do not see. Even his tone, for a man like Trent who was known for his focus and drive, was distant as his fingers continued to toil upon the screens near him.

There weren't that many things that pulled Trenton from his work at Arasaka - and one would be unsurprised to know the reason: Arasaka seemed to have an endless pool of resources that one could always pull from if it meant that the end result could at one point enrich them. And enrich them, Trenton did. It was one matter to create the technology to keep one's mind and memories into, it was a whole different one to allow for that same neural grid to continue to grow and learn as it was once more slotted into a body.

That was where subjects like the man seated before him were truly fascinating. Either from running into an unfortunate event with a rogue AI or having accepted one into their lives, there was so much that one could tell about how the AI dealt with the already existing network "I'm a curious man, a man of science, you can't tell me that all questions annoy you?"

[feardclight]

❝ Stay out of my fucking business. Consider this the only warning you’re ever gonna get. ❞ @ reid !

@cartesianduelist . black sails season 2 . accepting  

He is a man in a black suit talking with a rockstar in a city that despite being called of dreams never truly sleeps. They are talking, standing in a street as the crowd goes on around them. No one pays attention to them, not the men that wear the same type of suits as Reid, not the many others that wear the hectic fashion that Night City seemed to foster. For all the riches in the centre of Night City, attention outside of the small sphere that encompasses people's life was not easily won. Especially not by the two men that seemed to be having a complicated conversation.

Complicated conversations, at any point in this town, often meant that you kept your business to yourself, lest you disappear too.

They are talking and in the next Jakov Collins - or Slavoj Mcallister as he went by these days - was on the ground with a sharp cut on his cheek and a bloody lip.

  "Your business is Militech's business. And it's starting to become mine." Reid gives Jakov a heavy glare, dark eyes moving then to the crowd as they continue on their phones, making their way to the luxury cars around them or on the on-looking traffic - walking around them and giving a wide berth.

The black chrome knuckles are still read at the flexed fingers, and Reid seems more interested in the traffic and the small button that kept the jacket sleeve tighter to his arm than on the man on the ground. Taking a dark red handkerchief from his pocket, he cleans his knuckles. His attention reverts to his suit, flattening the fabric against his frame with his clean hands.

  "A friendly piece of advice, Slavoj: don't be a dumbass. I know it's a hard one for you, but try harder." if that was the new name he preferred to go by Reid'd oblige. Now clean hands, his attention turns to his suit, flattening the fabric against his frame, adjusting the sleeves and placing his hands in his pants "If you want to keep being a stubborn idiot at least make sure your name doesn't end up at my desk."

[feardclight]

So many titles don't know what my image is 'Causе I be leaving them dеad or an invalid Fuck those above me, they're cowards and hypocrites. Fate on my side and I ain't gonna die Look ma no eyes Yeah, but I don't even have to try Look at all the things sacrificed You wanna run, but you can not hide Nothing left, just survive Life is a game and I'm rolling the dice Don't wanna play, then get out of my sight Better make way when I'm running in blind.

— running in blind by rustage

[cartesianduelist-deactivated202]

@feardclight​  sent  :  don’t be surprised when you finally get caught.

𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝓌𝒾𝒹𝒹𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝑔𝑔𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓊𝓇𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑜 𝒾𝓃 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓈, setting it on the table, before a finger hovers over it in circles, poking it as if to wake up whatever is inside. like MOST of the time, slavoj seems to be absent in yet another conversation he should be paying attention to. » are you threatening me, reid? « he’d be lying when he said that he’s certain about the other’s reappearance in his life. he does have a few guesses, for now though, slavoj ʀᴇғᴜsᴇs to crack his head over it, he’s never been good at predicting the future, nor second-guessing.

it’s a game they’re playing, AND that’s one thing which has caught slavoj’s attention and keeps him hooked. » it’s sweet of you that you’re worried about my safety. « finally, his eyes dart up to link with reid’s, holding his chin up, resolutely. » you know, i never once thought i was free. in a way, i’ve already been caught. « he sighs, a play of melodrama unfolds on his features. clearly, he’s exaggerating for reid’s entertainment. » ... in militech’s bony, grubby fist. « his balled hand shoots down on the wrapped food, forcing pressure onto it ─ so much 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝒾𝓇 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒𝒹 in a rather slacking pop.

slavoj doesn’t flinch. he sits steady. shying away from admitting, that once he thought reid would sᴏᴍᴇᴡʜᴀᴛ care about him. nothing too deep or sappy just genuine benevolence. then came the day, where he would lose control. what was real and 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒾𝓂𝒶𝑔𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓇𝓎 began to mingle in the DEPTHS of his consciousness and it would never return to the old normal. » yet, you’re sitting here with me without my brains scattered about. so either my words still hold some value for militech or you have a pinch of compassion in this indifferent heart of yours. « for an outsider, slavoj’s nothing more but the abrasive rock star, dull-spirited, thriving on chaos. they don’t know what he’s running away from 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓃𝑒𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 does he. » the thing that is scary is not being in militech’s clasp but the second they let you go. when you’re just a sack of meat to them. « and only noise is attractive to the hunter.

[feardclight]

Reid’s eyes do not roll. The almost silent sigh that he exhales through his nose and the slight tilt of his head at the first question should be enough of a tell.

He cuts a sharp figure when compared to those around them. The black suit was inconspicuous, not expensive but not cheap either, no real brand shown or identified with the single exception that it was tailored for him and his specific needs. He looks just like any other corporation administrator would after a long day of work. Hair brushed back, tired, and in a part of town that he would likely not have caught himself dead unless it was meant to unwind. But this was not a social call.

It is not in the attire that he seems like a rip in the scene around them, however, it is the posture: Firm to the point where it felt like it split the neon lights that poured from the diner’s windows. While the expression remained neutral, it was clear the weight of the situation only deepened the wrinkles around his eyes.

  "You have always been just a sack of meat.“ he says flatly. A single step is taken to the side, two fingers undoing the single button that had kept the suit jacket together, and he takes the seat in front of him “When you become a unreliable one - that is when you straddle the line.“

But he was preaching to the choir and that much he knew. Perhaps Slavoj didn’t understand how lucky he had been to be allowed to have the life he lead now. Or perhaps he simply wanted someone to put a bullet in his brain for him. It would not be the first time Reid had seen that sort of self destructive behavior be spelled out in that manner. And it would not be the first time that Reid had been sent to clean up the mess and fulfil such wishes.

  "I wonder if the life of a rockstar is making you soft, making it easy to forget what is actually on the line. Or maybe your end goal all along was to end up a bloated corpse in a puddle somewhere.“ a pause, Reid’s eyes fall on Slavoj’s “Is that why you’re making this difficult?“

[captainskells]

Trenton Terrel, Head of Artificial Intelligence @ Arasaka Corporation

this is part of a series of portraits I'm drawing for some of my cyberpunk 2077 original characters 💖

[captainskells]

daisy mckenzie, investigative journalist and editor @ world news service (NWS)

this is part of a series of portraits I'm drawing for some of my cyberpunk 2077 original characters 💖

[feardclight]

New in town hearing rumors Bout a woman with a cutlass for a tongue In a house where she deals Degradation to her patients like a drug A villain to some But a savior to most She's gotta break you down So she can wake up your ghosts Torture your demons To free your soul

holler house by spence hood

[feardclight]

𝖜𝖍𝖆𝖙  𝖋𝖑𝖆𝖛𝖔𝖚𝖗  𝖎𝖘  𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗  𝖘𝖔𝖚𝖑  ?

reid your result is:   salt

ah little kraken, bold are you. restless sailor, dauntless fighter, lower your sword, let me see your shield. ah, of course, they are but the same object. oh wave-tossed ruffian, lend me some of your mettle would you? you have been struck by the sharpest of spears yet you still stand here proudly. but off your guard, elsewhere of the battlefield, you will find your spirit can parch others. your words are but weapons crafted from your soul. little lion, sheathe your claws, or the ones you love the most will suffer. you do not have to be strong all the time love, there's nothing wrong with being soft. vulnerability is not weakness, and if it were, what's wrong with that? strength is not always your greatest tool, your heart is good. put down excalibur, and use your words. you'll find they will carry you much farther. not everything in life is a battle.

tagged by: @cartesianduelist​, thank you!

[lucesolare]

Ajak Deng by Julia Noni for Vogue Germany March 2019

[a-state-of-bliss]

Numero Russia Sept 2017 - Ajak Deng by Egor Tsodov

[the-blackened-dove-archived-dea]

[betty-draper]

Keanu Reeves as John Wick

JOHN WICK (2014) dir. Chad Stahelski

[feardclight]

home // muses // main blog

Good luck on healing your bridge and tunnel blues. Till then here's a drink to our impending doom. You told the sharpest lies, you carved em' in my skin and we say goodnight. I know you'll kill me with a kiss and it goes something like this. - ruby with the sharpest lies by des rocs

credit . .