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zeno-zero · 10 months ago

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Avatar Roku rant/rambles:

I love him, I love him in such an insane amount. Had me on chokehold since 10 years old like goodness me! What the fuck H-E-🏑🏑 !!

Nobody understood his character and that would've been greatly fine with me but the amount of mischaracterizations, misinterepations, and wishes that he's more like Kyoshi has always made me upset. Roku is a good man whose position as an avatar is poor in terms of writing and expanding his story further.

Roku outside of being Aang's mentor and guide - he was nothing more than just being kindhearted, wise, and pleasant while also acknowledging his indecisiveness, and faults. He even has a flawed perspective on the four nations, that the four nations should always be remained seperated, and still. Yet, I still continue to adore him a LOT. He have so much potential, there are rooms that people could always explore his character than just on the surface/visual level. His airbending and waterbending teachers weren't even named in the late 2010's until some informations were finally out !!

The gene yang comics are not my cup of tea but Roku telling Aang that he should end Zuko's life because he couldn't bare the thought of seeing Sozin? WOW. His friendship with Sozin has always mean something to Roku - so much so, he trusted him to the point it was his downfall. The thought of Sozin's redemption after he left him with the rubble is definitely what Roku had in his mind. But we're talking about the conflict between the Avatar and the Fire Lord, never Roku and Sozin.

His bending abilities are fucking awesome too !! Destroyed an entire palace with airbending + avatar state alone? Created a massive wave in one single move that sent his teacher flying up all the way on top of the chief's palace? He can even be quiet and and silently burrow to the ground to suprise attack enemies with earthbending? Lets not forget that the entire island that Roku was in used to be a huge one until he cut it into a cresent island !! There used to be two super volcanoes !! There's only one remaining !! His firebending shown on the show is also interesting! His fire made Zhao's crew literally run away while incinerating thd metal chains that Katara, Sokka, Shyu, and Zuko were wrapped around with,, unharmed. Him simultaneously bending all four elements at once without the use of the avatar state? Gosh,, people underestimate him sooooo much !!

"But Roku died to a volcano! He should've evacuated-" He was minimizing the effects of it! He died as a hero in that night because no other people held power his power just like he has. The citizens and his wife would've died if it weren't for him, because while it isn't explicitly explained in his wiki and show - Lava entering the ocean creates a distinctive set of hazards that have seriously injured or killed unsuspecting people eager to see up close the interaction of hot lava and cool seawater. As hot lava boils cool seawater, a series of chemical and physical reactions create a mixture of condensed, acidic steam, hydrochloric acid gas, and tiny shards of volcanic glass. Blown by wind, this plume creates a noticeable downwind haze, known as "laze" (short for lava haze) <- [From "Lava entering ocean" | U.S Geological Survey - USGS.gov] ||And to also answer the dragon part that died with him? I have no answer for that other than the plot has to move on /or the dragon relies on his orders, and to Roku's dying breath, he would rather stay with him.

And nobody talks about how painful and traumatizing Roku's death is - pyroclastic flow is apart of volcano, he either died burning alive, suffocated, or even buried alive! On the margins of pyroclastic flows, death and serious injury to people and animals may result from burns and inhalation of hot ash and gases. Archaeologists have found that some people perished in a pyroclastic surge, a wave of superheated gas and hot ash that literally boiled their blood and caused their skulls to explode, reports Neel V. Patel at Popular Science. <- [Pyroclastic Flows move fast and destroying everything in their path" | U.S Geological survey] AND ["Mount Vesuvius Boiled Its Victims’ Blood and Caused Their Skulls to Explode" by Jason Delay]

But in a summary, I love Roku and I would die to honor his name. Thank you for reading through all of this. Love you guys !! /platonically

#additional notes:#before I even post this #some of the people I talked in the discord server #has point out the emotional connection between Fang and Roku #thank you for making me cry /pos #atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #avatar roku #roku #atla meta

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charonarp · 4 months ago

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Small Update (positive / ramble)

I'm literally working on two documents for this freaking project omfg

One is called "Minecraft Diaries: D&D 5e", which was semi-shared earlier, which is to focus on the primary stuff like locations, races/species, important figures, etc.

The other is called "Minecraft Diaries: Expanded Guide", which is literally meant to be a guide on how to go about making your own region, your own important figures (like Irene and her Divine Warriors), and whatnot.

Some info might not be entirely accurate. I'm mainly depending on the wiki for knowledge, which...isn't a lot, tbh. I've already rewatched season one at least a month ago, and that took...a while. My job certainly ain't making binge watching easy lol.

Combining info from MCD and Diaries Rebirth is certainly a choice...but honestly, Diaries Rebirth is easier for me to go back to than to rewatch three whole seasons of MCD...even though I want to...

Like...why am I doing this? I'll never get to DM it lol, but you know what? Other people might. I think it'd be wonderful if other people get into it. If not, oh well!

Daggerheart is definitely helping with this process tho, and I've been taking some inspiration from AFK Journey for some things (that game has me in a chokehold).

From now on, I'll be using the tag "mcddnd" for future updates, cuz why not. It's not an actual tag, so it'd be easy to find updates I guess. (I'll still use the main tags, but I gotta use a tag so that stuff is organized somehow, ya know?)

If you got any suggestions, lmk! It'll certainly help out tbh. I don't really have anyone to bounce off of, so I'm kinda going solo on this lol.

Honestly, I might just scratch off trying to make custom NPC sheets for characters like Gene, Zane, etc... I like making character sheets, but PCs and NPCs are SO different and honestly, making NPC sheets hurts my brain lol. Which is sad, because I was hoping to add NPC sheets in the main document should anyone want to add the actual characters into the game.

Like...I was working on Gene's stuff, but I don't know how to keep things balanced, nor do I recall everything about Gene. Man, working on homebrew is hard.

#aphmau #dnd #update #homebrew #mcddnd #rant #minecraft diaries #mcd #aphmau mcd #aphverse #diaries rebirth

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campbyler · 7 months ago

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'drunk will's opinion has had him in a chokehold for over a year!!!'

IT'S BEEN A YEAR AND MIKE'S HAIR IS STILL NOT LONG ENOUGH TO FIT IN A DECENT PONY?? this man has the world's slowest growing barnet lmaoooooooo oh my poor boy, let's get you some vitamins and blame ted for those limp-ass genes

his mane is gorg though so slow and steady wins the race i guess? if it's flowing long and wild by the very end of this fic AND they don't stay together, it's gonna be the most heartbreaking little detail ever

i MEANNNN i honestly wouldn’t take us 10000% literally when we say stuff like this bc like realistically it probably took him a little bit of back and forth and ruminating on the matter to decide that he does want to grow it out instead of just seething at will for being the mixed signals king (<- will occupying his thoughts 24/7 fr) and to me he probably said hey fuck that guy fr and got a haircut or a trim or something six months in and immediately regretted it. but you are so right im sliding him some biotin supplements anyway

#as thea wiseatom described him in her coffee shop fic: he is anemic and sorrowful #and malnourished and weak #although thea added tht karen probably makes him get it cut for christmas pics or something and mike says ok fine who cares what will thinks #and then 5 mins after he leaves the salon he says damn it i care.#anyways yeah i mean the important thing here is tht mike’s hair used to be short and now it is longer and it’s all will’s fault #so i personally wouldn’t get too hung up on details like mike’s hair growth it’s not super important #asks

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moonshadowslament · 2 years ago

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this video has me in such a chokehold.

like… oh my god…

i love the faces eric makes when he’s playing hshdhdhd

paul’s small chuckle???

AND ERIC’S LITTLE WAVE. JFC, THIS MAN.

ace… oh my god, ace… the things i want to do to him…

gene is just gene bro 😭

“gene simmons 👋👁️👁️”

#kiss band #paul stanley #the starchild #ace frehley #the spaceman #gene simmons #the demon #eric carr #eric carr the fox

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sillycyan · 9 months ago

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I'm bored out of my mind, give me a description of three of your paras / comfort characters / whatever and I'll be drawing it

I was abt to sleep but I’m not gon leave you hangin here 😭😭 ranting with no editing time.. yall get to see typing as I think..

We gon do my iconic para duo here.. Reign, Donis, and Meil <3 Thankfully I have picrew stuff done of them from the longest time ago cuz I am NOT the explainer-

PRAPARE YOURSELF BEFORE YOU OPEN THIS.. ITS AN ACTUAL YAP

Starting off with REIGN !! Man he’s just great.. Your average workaholic but we love him regardless okay?!? HE WILL BE FREE FROM THE SHACKLES OF NUMBERWON ONE DAY (he won’t) 🙏🙏 Bless his heart.. 70% of the time he is wearing some sort of suit so I did him some justice for the img and toned down his professionalism. His hair is in locs which and dyed have been in all types of lengths so go crazy- Usually in a half up half down sorta thing idk. Some piercings he still has from when he was a teen, but those get purposefully hidden by hair when working. Rarely wears his glasses and sticks for contacts unless he's in a rush in the morning, which somehow is rarely the case like okayy you early birdd LEMME STOP. He is the one I project onto the most and he covers up his problems with work and being a serious guy. He gets with Arline later on which.. understandable even I love her gosh BUT SHE ISNT IN IT SHHHH

To not have him be last.. MEIL omg love him so much. First one to hit the paracosm, and first to become just some guy. I LOVE THIS WHITE BOY THO COME ONN. He’s shorter than Reign and Donis, but he’s still a good average height I’d say ?? Literally just goes home to play on his switch or watch movies after work. Having some suspicion (personal headcanons) on him being aroace as well. ALSO he’s been trying to grow facial hair recently but has horrible genes so it’s just not working out.. Bless his heart as well ig 💀 I'm not sure I have too many mentions of him on my stuff WHICH I WILL DO MORE SOOONNN RAAAHH LUHH HIMM

Finally at this rich mf DONIS yuhhh. Tall as hell, models the most random for a living, and is quite literally the dumb rich person I know besides Elon Musk.. I think Donis would have try to buy the rights to CANDY CRUSH before thinking of Twitter OH GOD BLESS HIS HEART TOO 💀💀 He is just some silly guy though!! The one to make the dumbest and funniest comments constantly and I love him for that. One of those like half open button up shirt kinda of guys lord he has his fans in a chokehold. Also has a pretty built body as much as he covers up with his normal clothes. OH WHEN I TELL YOU HE IS KNOWN BY THE WORLDDD he needs some bodyguard man THEY GON TAKE HIM OUT ONE DAY.. just in case.. RIP Donis would have loved among us

THAT PROLLY WAS TOO MUCH BUT TAKE WHAT U WILL AND GO CRAZY IDK RAAAHHHHHH

#damn can you tell who my favorite is HAHAH #SORRY THATS A LOT OF STUFF I WAS HOLDIN DOWN SOME WORDS #POSTED THIS AS FAST I COULD TOO RAAHHH #GO CRAZY THO LIKE EVEN IF U DONT END UP DRAWING SHIT I NEEDED THEY LIL FACE IMGS OUT ANYWAY #I LOVE ASK SO MUCH AGRGRGGRR #cyanismaddagain #Reign !!#Meil !!#Donis !!

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dcwnthercbbithcle · 11 months ago

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Basics of the DBD mermaid!AU or the murmaids as I've been calling them.

You don't turn into a murmaid, at least, not in any typical sense, there is a curse at play when it come to the Entity driving the creation of the murmaids, among other horrors, in order to continue sustaining its existence beneath the sea. However, by and large, the curse of the Entity and the Entity's power has come to form less of a chokehold on Earth's Oceans over time as the human and animal fear of the ocean has lessened.

The Entity, at least per my murmaid AU, rather than feeding off the fear of people in itself, feeds off of the human and animal fear of the great ocean, its depths, its horrors and what exactly occurs in the depths where sun cannot shine. But as humans do, the more we explore, the less afraid we become, the more the absurd becomes commonplace.

People still fear the ocean, obviously, that's a given, but it's far less than in years before when information was scarcer and the world seemed like a comparatively much smaller place.

The souls that are/were/will be the murmaids are made up EXCLUSIVELY those who were in other verses were either killers or survivors in its realm. Logic on this is still out, god knows I've already put more than enough thought into this, but for the sake of argument. There ARE humans, far, far more humans than murmaids, anyone who was in the realm? Murmaid, even if they've technically been 'voided' in canon or are considered dead*

(*adding that, technically, survivors in the murmaid verse do have murmaid families that birthed them, but it's not a direct drag and drop from canon. Genes aren't working through science, they're working with magic and the fact that I'm not willing to draw out family trees with survivors. Just do know they were created, and born rather than shaped through magic itself )

Anyways! Back to the murmaids. Killer!murmaids are an entirely different, more old-god-esc species of murmaids compared to the survivors. Killer!murmaids were born from purely magic, and, if the Entity doesn't kill them, can become kaiju-esc storm causing monstrosities in time. They exist to feed into the fear of the ocean, being those horrifying creatures on maps to stir up horrific storms, drag men into the depths and all around remind people why you don't mess with the ocean. The older a killer is, at least in respect to the time they were added to DBD (and/or how much the Entity favors them), the larger and more powerful they are.

They do not inherently get along with Survivor!murmaids and often victimize and target them as a source of food, though the Killer!murmaids need to eat is purely psychological rather than physical.

Killer!murmaids are all, at least to some extent, aware of their purpose both in existing and the grand scheme of the ocean and earths foodchain. They don't always commune with the Entity, and I don't blame them, Entity can't change its nature. But there is no question that they are neither animal or man, they are magic and a force of nature and it can ABSOLUTELY get to their heads.

Likewise, Killer!murmaids tend not to be social creatures, only ever seeming to bond with each other or live a solitary and reclusive lifestyle. Though there are always exceptions to this rule.

Meanwhile the survivors, they're uhhh, they're less ENGROSSED in the magic that is going down with the Entity and just as much subject to the torment and sacrifice by the Killer!murmaids as normal humans are.

Survivor!murmaids are the poor fuckers that live in the ocean, simply put, they have no grand place in the Entity's design, at least, not in any capacity where their individual identities are of importance.

Their species, diets, etc. vary wildly based on their location, but by and large, there is one constant that all are highly-intelligent, highly-social and somewhat alien humanoids that have all the workings of a human race, down to language, but it's nothing more than similar evolution and the fact the Entity was working from a human design.

Most live in Pods or groups of between 2-50 and tend to live along the coastlines, though shun human intervention and activity as though it were the plague because of outstanding aggression from land-dwelling species (as humans and animals tend to do! no one wants to be a rich man's rug or a bear's dinner)

Some are exclusively man-eating and carnivorous while others can be exclusively herbivorous and peaceful. Depends on the group and the identity of the survivor in question.

While there is a vast spectrum of different physical needs and natures to the Survivor!murmaids, one commonly witnessed fact is that REGARDLESS of their individual needs, they seem to avoid targetting each other unless in a starvation scenario and will often adopt each other into groups despite social, cultural, etc. differences. (i.e herbivorous!Claudette is absolutely chilling with man-eater!Doe) almost as though on some level they seem to understand that there is safety in numbers especially in the face of greater threats.

Almost none of them are aware of the Entity or capable of venturing into the deep ocean where it resides, barring a couple exceptions. (Vittorio, Haddie, etc. you get the feel!)

Survivor!murmaids seem incapable of venturing onto land or 'transforming' as it were into more human forms. Killer!murmaids, depending on the individual in question, however seem adept at this so long as to fuel the Entity's goals.

Both Killer! and Survivor!murmaids only and exclusively occur in the ocean, no fresh water fishies here, I'm afraid!

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alligator2005 · 2 months ago

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Thank god for being a descendant of Irish revolutionaries, because Irish diplomacy is what got me out of being hurt worse than I was recently. Very glad that my ancestors instilled the “gene” that makes it so that you can tell people to back off while saying it in a violence reducing way. There’s a reason why my family was able to stay alive while they were around a Puritan society’s chokehold for decades upon decades. Quite literally, my family doesn’t stop talking (very very social) and if you’re going to talk as much as we do, you got to learn to be careful with your wording. Which is what my ancestor found out when he had to pack up and go across the ocean or stay at home to be hanged. We really just don’t like to shut up when we see people starving when they should not have to for any nature based reason at all, since things should be able to change if they are man made.

If some human makes a bad system, humans are also capable of reversing it if they try hard enough. Trying is scary, but I’m glad I learned that it’s also very essential from my family. Not everyone in my family has been this way, as that’s not really possible for it to be a polar extreme situation, but I think it’s a good sign that my family name comes from the meaning of the phrase, “Doer of just/good deeds”, but also I’ve noticed that naturally we don’t shut up when someone is treated poorly. I come from a family of people that think “What’s next that we can do to get by in a tolerable way within a community?”, and I’m really grateful to the family on both sides of the ocean for giving me the pipes to say it (or sing sometimes if I can’t safely say it). I wish I could say thank you not in English, but I really don’t know how to express my gratitude in my ancestors’ language. Maybe someday I’ll be able to say it in a way that genuinely expresses how I feel.

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the-lonelybarricade · 3 years ago

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Elain and Lucien going in a vacation on the Gardens of England 😭❤️🌺 <sjm herself created this hc>

Elain would fall for Lucien first because of his sense of humor <I don’t make the rules buuuut> and him calling her by nicknames >>> omg

Elucien baby names , I think this much too often 🗣, if girl, definitely I would go for Hemera/Helena , if boy, I honestly didn’t came up with any idea 🥹

Am I in heaven?? Opening up my inbox to cute Elucien hcs makes it feel that way 😭❤️ Thank you for sending these lovely!!

I am OBSESSED with the idea of Elain reluctantly falling in love with Lucien because of his sense of humor. She's angry about it and she tries so hard not to laugh at his jokes. Sometimes she really can't help it though and his face totally lights up when he sees he made her laugh.

I also love that we've collectively decided Lucien lays it on thick with the nicknames. I've seen so many great ones in fics and even his respectful lady in canon has me swooning 🥵 how could Elain not fall in love with him.

Both of those names are great! I love that they mean day/light which is perfectly because they'll be the future heir to the Day Court at some point. Also, can we take a moment to appreciate how genetically blessed their future children will be? Archeron and Spell-Cleaver genes??? The most beautiful of the sisters that have the men of Prythian in a chokehold and the man whose good looks are constantly noted by every mc?

#Prythian is not ready #Elucien hcs #Elucien

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deviant3lover · 3 years ago

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I’m stuck thinking about hurt!Markus.

The man who’s been through it all. Armour imposing and awe-inspiring- on his darkest nights, he can’t bear to look at it: its everything he’s ever dreamed of. Power and control, defeating every enemy that dares to take up arms against him, cutting off anyone, friend or foe, that tries to tell him he should be happy with being mediocre and complacent.

Traumatised, alone, his worst nightmares just lurking around the corner- a step away from becoming true, he wishes he could be the person he always dreamt of becoming. A slave defecting, a conqueror returning to the Farm, murderous rage radiating off his armour like a harbinger of death.

He wishes he didn’t feel like the scared little boy he was. The one that never left the Farm. The one that hid behind his leg, hides a knife behind his back, and braces himself for the moment where his friends would throw him out to die if they saw his tattoos. Laughs in despair when he realises he can’t escape the fate that every Re-Gene has to face: he’ll always be a slave. One that the Rangers can’t save- not against the Farm.

His saving grace is his hatred, his enraged thirst for vengeance. It emboldens him, makes him determined: though the fear never leaves, it‘s strangled in its chokehold. Fire in his deceptively dull grey eyes, unseen by anyone but him, alone in a shitty apartment near the crumbling earth of Los Diablos.

He doesn’t want to let it go. It burns him up, it leaves him emptier when it’s nothing but cinders: but he’s finally awake when it’s here.

He’s finally alive.

’You help Argent because you don’t want to see her end up like you.

You worry about Herald, because you know the damage misplaced love can do to a person.

You stay away from Ortega even now, because you know you’re too broken to be a healthy lover anymore.

You’re happy for Steel, because he’ll soon choose a life he’ll be happy with.

True freedom and autonomy…

That’s something you’ll never get to experience, Markus.

It’s your birthright as a slave.

You help them live their best lives, guide them to a brighter future, because you don’t have one. You live vicariously through their happiness and achievements, because for all your skills, you can’t ever win your own life.

And you,

Have been aware of this for years.

Regina will die, and you’ll join her. Your sham of a life… it’ll end with her.’

——

Always torn between two extremes, serving a species that only ever existed to hurt you in major, damaging ways.

You can’t let go of your empathy and become a monster- something you know will finally make you happy without feeling ashamed or scared or sick.

You can’t decide on what choice you know you need to make:

Revert back to that scared, weak little kid who cried for help,

Or become like your abusers to get that power and control you desperately wanted to feel.

Can’t choose the first: because you’ll place yourself in danger. Turn into an embarrassment. A disgusting, helpless little freak that won’t even look at himself in the mirror out of shame. Can’t choose the second, because you can’t live with that guilt forever. Turning into a monster who gets off on traumatising others the way your mother did to you and your peers.

And you’re stuck here like this. Not knowing who you are, if you aren’t a clever, traumatised, mentally ill, workaholic weapon with delusions of humanity.

You are desperate to hold onto even this because you know you’d be another aimless nobody that people can manipulate- that will turn into a blank slate: open to suggestion to build some semblance of an identity.

Exactly how the Farm would want you. What they always wanted you to be.

You’re a suicidal, self hating piece of shit, but even your pride stops you from becoming what they want out of spite. Enough to keep yourself together.

But you know exactly what’s wrong with you, 28.

You’re angry, bitter, and most of all: alienated. Because even in your trauma, you can’t find anyone who shares your experiences. Not to the extremes that you did.

It’s a struggle trying to get out of bed most days. You know you’re a pathetic sight to see, and you’ve never hated anyone more.

Not Ortega, for using you and still pretending he cares, when all he wants to do is get his own way with you. Not Steel, for reminding you that you shouldn’t be alive, shouldn’t even be associated with the team he’d readily die for. Not Alex, for betraying you.

Not even your abusers. For committing the darkest of sins that no one should speak of.

Not even Regina. The mother you wished you never loved.

It’s always been you.

For being the naive, pathetic little bitch you were. For slowly turning into something you say you have no control over- when really, it’s just another excuse to become another abuser the world would rather see die- just for a scrap of actual happiness you know comes from something you’re afraid of becoming.

For being a helpless, sad little fuck that pretends he’s strong when nothing has changed. He’s still a weak little shit that can’t fucking amount to anything remotely worthwhile if it wasn’t work-related- the same one that lives on scraps of love based on lies and deception when he can’t take the burnout of hatred anymore.

You’ll kill yourself on the perfect night after your mission is over. Finally get some relief from all this- greet death like you always wanted to, because living is too tiring, too painful for you to keep justifying doing anymore.

Ironic. Resident escape artist doesn’t know how to get out of this one. He’s always been trapped between ‘not even close’ and ‘almost there, but you can’t get what you need.’

You’ll never be free.’

#Fhr #Markus Deavor

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sierraraeck · 4 years ago

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Why Men Suck

BAU x OC Aundreya

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Summary: Reid has to talk to Aundreya about what’s happened and try to explain himself. Aundreya has an unexpected visitor in a high stress situation. Story eleven.

Category: Angst.

Warnings: Cussing. Shots fired. Very quick mention of suicide. Implied abusive relationship.

Word Count: 3.4k

I walked into the office with a whole new demeanor. A whole new attitude. A whole new level of confidence.

I was a whole new person.

I wasn’t exactly the old street and prison me, but that was a lot closer than the pathetic, emotional version who’d possessed my body for the last year and a half.

I walked in with a new fire in my eyes, a new growl in my voice, a new ice block in my chest. I walked in like I owned the place. And everyone could feel it.

“Hey, Aundreya,” Prentiss said, a little hesitation coating her voice.

“Hey,” I said, “Do we have a case?”

“I believe so. Hotch said he wants us in the briefing room in five,” she replied.

“Okay. I’ll be right back.” I was in the hallway approaching a small table with snacks on it when he caught my attention. I was wondering when this would happen.

“Aundreya, wait,” Reid called after me.

I turned on him. “Why? What could you possibly say to me right now?”

He let out a huge breath. “Is this about what Morgan and I talked about on the jet?”

I put my hands out and cocked my head to the side, letting him know that was exactly what this was about.

“She’s just someone that I’m talking to for my headaches, and I knew she could help with the case.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not.”

“We both know you are. Why would you need to call her on a payphone, then? Why would you need Tara to drive you there instead of me or Derek? Why have you been so secretive about who she is?”

“It’s because I just wanted to keep one thing-”

“Personal?” I finished, raising my eyebrows.

“That’s not what I mean,” he huffed.

“I think that’s exactly what you mean. And she must be pretty special if even the possibility of her getting hurt is worth risking both of our lives.” I started to turn away, heading back down the hallway.

“I didn’t-”

“Yes. You did. Last time I checked, you didn’t know for sure if that was even where she lived, yet you were willing to get shot and put me in the line of fire for her.”

“Aundreya, please,” he pleaded for me to let him explain, but there was nothing to explain.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. You’ve made what you want pretty clear,” I stood there staring into his sad eyes. I wanted to walk away so badly, but I just had to ask, “I just have one question for you. Did you call her that night?”

“What?”

I already knew he called her throughout those two weeks, and I realized that he even called her the night before we returned to work when I was freaking out about where he was. But I wanted to know if he called her right after we…

I swallowed. “That night. Did. You. Call her?”

He looked me dead in the eyes and responded, “No.”

It didn’t make it hurt any less, but at least he didn’t add insult to injury. I’d gotten my answer, so I pushed by him, heading back to the round table room, suddenly having lost my appetite. I didn’t even reach the steps before a loud bang echoed off the ceiling.

I whipped my head around and saw Reid in a choke hold, a man holding a gun to his head. But that wasn’t just any man.

That was my father.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

All of the desk workers who weren’t armed were clumped together near the coffee maker or were ducking under their desks. Anyone who was armed had their weapon drawn and aimed at my father. Our team members were all standing behind the railing to my right in a line, each one panicked and furious, guns trained on the man who held Reid.

He scanned the room until his eyes landed on me. A smile spread across his face and he said, “Hello, Aundreya,” he sneered, letting me know he knew about my name change.

“Hello, Joe,” I returned.

“What? Come on, no ‘hi dad?’” he fake-whimpered.

I scoffed. “We may be biologically related, but you are not my dad.”

“Ouch,” he smiled.

“Yeah, well the truth hurts,” I said, raising my eyebrows. That was what he always loved to tell my sister and I whenever he was trying to manipulate us into believing his lies.

He laughed. “Well it looks like I did teach you something after all.”

My emotions were on a whole new high. Everything seemed to be crashing around me, and one of the only honest connections I thought I’d made had just shattered. I was sick and tired of letting other people affect my emotions and the constant lies that people told and truths they deliberately withheld. “Yeah, you taught me that loving someone meant manipulating them and lying to them and degrading them and the ones they love. You taught me how to mimic those behaviors for my own personal gain. And you did a great job teaching me that I can’t trust men and that they can’t treat me right, especially in relationships,” I offered, my voice strong.

“Honey, that is not at all what I taught you.”

I wanted to vomit at his term of endearment. “Great, then I guess it’s your borderline personality and narcissistic genes that got passed down that made me this way. My bad.”

He shook his head in disbelief, that same smug look absorbing his features, but changed the subject. “So you’re in the FBI now, huh?”

“Sure am. I enjoy putting evil men away, envisioning that they’re you I finally get to put handcuffs on. Who knows? Maybe you coming here will finally satisfy that desire,” I said with a smirk, holding my gun up a little higher.

“Oh really? How are you going to do that? I mean, I guess you could, depending on how much you care about him,” he said, gesturing toward Reid with the gun still trained at his temple.

“Oh, him? Yeah, I don’t really know him,” I said. At the moment, that statement felt true.

“Are you sure? I thought I saw you two spending quite a lot of time together recently,” he said.

My eyes got wide. “You’ve been stalking me?”

“I have to say, you are quite a hard person to track down these days. I just wanted to make sure it was actually you. I’ve wanted to see you, talk to you, but I knew you’d never respond to me directly.”

“I can’t imagine why that would be,” I snapped.

“I just want to know that you’re doing well.”

“How considerate. Well I’m great, so you can leave now.”

“Yeah, I don’t think you all are just going to let me walk out of here,” he said. He turned his attention to the rest of the team. “So this must be the BAU?”

“Yep,” I said, popping the ‘p’, “Your point?”

“Are they really as great as I’ve heard?”

“We do close a lot of cases.”

“But are they good people?”

“Yes, they’re in the FBI. What are you getting at?” I’d had nearly every possible argument with this man, so I always had a good idea where things were going. But this? This confused me.

“Do you all really consider each other family?”

Then I got it. If he was trying to inflict the maximum amount of pain on me, he would want to know who I cared most about so he could hurt them.

“Not really. We just work together,” I stated. I didn’t want to add any more than I had to, especially if I was reading the situation wrong and he wanted to hurt people he thought were hurting me. By taking Reid as his hostage, I couldn’t tell which one was true.

“But what about this one?” he said, peering down at Reid.

“What about him?”

“You don’t consider this one family?”

“I just told you, even if I’ve been talking to him more recently, I still barely know him.”

“Uh-huh. So you wouldn’t mind if I just killed him, then?” he asked.

My heart was pounding. I knew that he was most likely trying to inflict maximum pain on me, so showing that I did care about him could be lethal, but I didn’t want to say yes and have him obey my wishes. The one time he would.

I took a deep breath, knowing if I hesitated any longer, he’d know my answer. “No. Not really. I mean, I don’t think you should kill anyone, newsflash it’s my job to make sure people stay alive, but if your question is if I have a personal sway one way or the other, the answer is no. He’s not as important to me as some of the others.”

Reid made eye contact with me, and the look of hurt in his eyes was devastating. He actually believed me. He genuinely thought that because I was mad, I would just flip that criminal switch and want him dead. I didn’t really know how to take that and I couldn’t think about it now. I had to stay focused. At least I had confirmation I was doing a good job being convincing.

But of all the things I thought I knew about shooters, about hostage situations, about my father, I did not anticipate his next move.

Joe approached me, shifting his aim from Reid, who was still in a chokehold, onto me. I stood my ground, refusing to cower under his advance. He tossed Reid like a rag doll in front of me, and without blinking, stepped around behind me. I felt the barrel of the gun swipe some hair out of the way, then come to rest on the back of my head as he commanded Reid to his knees.

This was going to be an execution.

“So you don’t think I, or anyone else, should be killing people? But what about you, daughter?”

I swallowed, vaguely aware of how he was using me as a human shield, not a single person behind him who could get a shot off. This one was on me.

“Those days are over,” I casually noted.

“Which days are you referring to? The killing days or the more recent scheming days?” he asked.

How much does he know? He couldn’t know about … That’s impossible. No one knows about that.

“Both.”

He laughed. “I guess we’ll see about that, ‘cause I don’t think you are getting out of this without having to tap back into those skills.”

“What do you want?” I asked, enunciating each word carefully.

“I want you to kill him.”

I refused to look down at Reid up until that point, but after that, I had to. I looked down at him looking up at me, his expression clearly wondering what I was going to do.

I may be angry and upset, but I would never do something like this to you, Reid. I willed him to read my mind.

“What?” I was still processing his request.

“You heard me. You kill him, and the rest of us walk out of here.”

I shook my head and right as I did, he pushed the barrel farther into my skull.

I knew I couldn’t turn around and shoot Joe: he would be able to shoot me much faster and would probably shoot Reid as well before the team could kill him. I knew I couldn’t kill Reid. That was just a given.

But there were three people in this equation, leaving me with one last variable to manipulate.

I turned the gun on myself.

I contemplated just dropping it all together, but I figured that would result in the first outcome I’d envisioned. But threatening to take away the person he wanted to hurt or force back into old habits, taking the common denominator away, I knew that would foil all of his plans. And I’m known for self preservation not being suicidal, so it would be a scenario he would have never considered.

“No.”

“What are you doing?” I could hear the slight panic in Joe’s voice, the same feeling reflected in Reid’s eyes.

“I said no. I told you, those days are over for me. If you want to hurt me, then you should know that the person I care the most about, above all else, is myself. What would you do if I decided to ultimately protect myself from you once and for all?” I asked. When I got no response, I concluded with, “So take me. I’m who you’re here for, right? So just take what you came for.”

“You seriously mean that?” he asked with a glimmer of hope.

“I’m not one to play games.”

He grabbed me by the arm and demanded I drop my gun, pressing his own to my temple. I did as he said, all but placing the gun in Reid’s hands, giving him one last look that tried to convey as much hope as I could without just winking at him.

I continued to walk slowly, Joe still using me as a human shield, on our path to the exit. He reached the glass doors and turned around, about to push through with his back. But I knew something he didn’t. Those doors were deceivingly heavy.

I used the back of my head to jam his nose into his skull, simultaneously ramming his head into the glass doors. They budged, but not enough to knock us both completely off balance. I cranked my body out of his grap, and turned around to face him, hitting him hard enough to disarm him. The shock of my blows gave me the upper hand as I reached for his weapon, claiming it as my own. I now stood in front of him, the tables having drastically turned.

“FBI. Put your hands up,” I said smugly. He wore an expression of pure rage which only increased the pleasure I got from this moment. “Joe Spade, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of multiple FBI agents.”

He put his hands up and I tossed his gun aside, quick to replace it with handcuffs. “It looks like I was able to not only get out of this situation without having to kill anybody, but also fulfill my fantasies of handcuffing you after all.”

I brought his hands down behind his back and tightened the cuffs as much as possible. I walked him forward a few paces so he could really get a good look at my team members.

“You see those people up there behind that railing? Those people are my family. They actually look out for me, and I will always look out for them. Those ladies over there? They are like my sisters, compassionate people I aspire to be like. And those men? They’ve taught me that good men and healthy relationships do exist. All of them have helped me overcome my trust issues and anxiety when it comes to opening up and letting people in. They’ve shown me what love truly looks and sounds like, and I’ve started to learn how to reciprocate. And you know what? They are the reason that I didn’t kill you,” I snarled, letting him, and the rest of the team, digest that. “Take a good, long, look. Because they are the only reason you are alive right now.”

I made him stand there for a few seconds, marinating in that information, before yanking him towards the door, handing him off to the officers that were to escort him down to a squad car.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

“Ohmygod! Are you okay?” Penelope squawked as she rushed toward me.

I couldn’t even get a response out before her lung-squishing hug surrounded me. I hugged her back but quickly answered, “Yes. I’m all good.”

“Are you sure? That was … I mean that was-”

“I know. And I’m okay,” I said with a reassuring smile.

“Did you mean all of that?” she asked me with hopeful, gleaming eyes.

“Yeah,” I replied, but I could tell that Rossi heard my uncertain undertone. For the most part.

“What was that?” Rossi interjected, stern but concerned. “You put yourself in harm's way and made a reckless, stupid, decision.”

Yeah because focusing on myself up to this point has worked out so well for me. I decided I’d try something new, and look at that, not giving a damn about my safety worked out for all of us.

I kept those thoughts to myself and opted for, “It worked out. I’m fine.”

“What's happened to you? You went from yelling at a guy who reminded you of your father to not even being phased by your own. Not to mention he was holding a gun on you,” Morgan acknowledged. I knew what he was getting at, all of them noticing my change in attitude this morning before all of the madness that followed.

“Well, shit happens. Things change,” I stated coldly. I saw Reid cringe from behind the rest of the group.

“And I guess so do people,” Rossi said pointedly.

“Yeah,” I finally looked at Reid, skimming my eyes up and down him, “They do.”

A moment of awkward silence passed over the group before Hotch said, “Let’s all take the rest of the day off. We’ll start on our new case tomorrow.”

The group agreed and each gave me their varied versions of condolences and then turned to check on Reid. Most of the rest of the bullpen had already left, receiving the same deal Aaron gave us, and our team started slowly breaking apart so they could grab their stuff. Soon, that just left Reid and I standing there. I went to walk by him on my way to get my stuff when he stopped me.

“Aundreya, wait,” he squeaked.

I turned to face him, waiting to see what followed.

“I know it doesn’t make this any better but I am sorry. I never intended for this to happen.”

“I believe you, but the damage has been done.”

“I know. I just … I don’t know-”

“Look Reid. Everything I said was true. I let my guard down, I let you in. I trusted you, which went against every instinct in my body telling me to run. For the first time in my entire life, I felt like I could breathe. Like I could actually breathe. Do you know what that feels like? For my whole life, I have been suffocating under the weight of my father, the Slaughterer, the streets, just waiting for the next bad thing to happen. I never knew what it felt like to just be okay and to feel safe. Until I met you. I had just started to break down my barriers, my entire belief system, because I started to understand that I was wrong, that not everyone is out for themselves, just manipulating me for their own personal gain then tossing me aside like garbage. I mean, you just met the one and only male role model in my life! That’s what I thought everyone, specifically men, were like! And just when you started to prove me wrong… I’ve tumbled all the way back down to square one. So was what you did world-ending? No. Is that the worst thing that could have happened, that you could have done? Definitely not. Our job proves that every day. But it felt pretty massive to me,” I ranted.

I didn’t mean to raise my voice or draw attention to the situation, but those thoughts had been playing an intense game of Pong inside my head for a while, and I just had to get them off my chest. It was Hotch and Prentiss that were straggling, and while they were out of earshot, they weren’t blind.

I let out a nervous laugh, absorbing the irony of the whole thing. “And you told me you would never hurt me,” I shook my head in disbelief, “Look at us now.”

I reached around him to grab my stuff and barreled toward the door without another breath.

It wasn’t fair of me and I knew that. We fucked and maybe that was it. It’s not like we were together and he was cheating on me or something. We actually had never even talked about what we were, and now, maybe we never would. I guess I would just have to accept that the whole thing, all the lead up and shit, was just a fling. A harmless, nothing-to-get-your-panties-in-a-wad-over, fling. So maybe I did dish out too much, and he didn’t really deserve all that, but I couldn’t worry about it now. I’d said it, and it made me feel better to say it, and I wanted him to know how much it hurt. Sure, he’d just had a gun to his head thanks to my father but so had I, and there really is no better time to get emotional than after a shared trauma.

I got home and laid on my couch, recounting the events of the day.

He mentioned my scheming. He couldn’t know, could he? But he seemed like he might’ve…

That would be yet another fun excuse to recount to the team, if they even remembered or felt courageous enough to ask.

But for the time being, I curled up on my couch, queueing up the series finale of ‘Sherlock.’

Taglist (open)

@justanothetfangirl

@kris-stuff

@wooya1224

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newstfionline · 5 years ago

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Headlines

There’s a loophole along the closed U.S.-Canada border. Couples are getting married there. (Washington Post) Nick Smith and Leah Bosello were desperate to see each other. Ever since the border between the United States and Canada closed to nonessential travel in mid-March because of the novel coronavirus, cross-border couples like them were blocked from being together. So the pair found a workaround: They started meeting at a ditch just off 0 Avenue, a heavily patrolled road in British Columbia that divides the two countries. As the weather warmed and shutdowns lifted, a superior reunion spot emerged in mid-May: Peace Arch Park. There, cross-national couples and families could actually embrace—at long last. On June 6, the couple got married there. Other marriages have followed. The park is considered equal parts American and Canadian—a shared territory for citizens of both countries to visit. The southern half is owned by Washington State Parks, while the northern half is owned by British Columbia Provincial Parks. Entryways from both the American and Canadian sides are patrolled, and the park itself is surveilled to ensure no one exits the wrong side. But as long as visitors stay within the 42-acre area, they are permitted to roam freely throughout the grounds. According to the park’s website, it is a space that is “devoted to peace and serenity.”

Reconsidering the Past, One Statue at a Time (NYT) The boiling anger that exploded in the days after George Floyd gasped his final breaths is now fueling a national movement to topple perceived symbols of racism and oppression in the United States, as protests over police brutality against African-Americans expand to include demands for a more honest accounting of American history. Across the country, monuments criticized as symbols of historical oppression have been defaced and brought down at warp speed in recent days. The movement initially set its sights on Confederate symbols and examples of racism against African-Americans, but has since exploded into a broader cultural moment, forcing a reckoning over such issues as European colonization and the oppression of Native Americans. The debate over how to represent the uncomfortable parts of American history has been going on for decades, but the traction for knocking down monuments seen in recent days raises new questions about whether it will result in a fundamental shift in how history is taught to new generations.

Why People Are Still Avoiding the Doctor (It’s Not the Virus) (NYT) While hospitals and doctors across the country say many patients are still shunning their services out of fear of contagion—especially with new cases spiking—Americans who lost their jobs or have a significant drop in income during the pandemic are now citing costs as the overriding reason they do not seek the health care they need. “We are seeing the financial pressure hit,” said Dr. Bijoy Telivala, a cancer specialist in Jacksonville, Fla. “This is a real worry,” he added, explaining that people are weighing putting food on the table against their need for care. “You don’t want a 5-year-old going hungry.” The twin risks in this crisis—potential infection and the cost of medical care—have become daunting realities for the millions of workers who were furloughed, laid off or caught in the economic downturn. It echoes the scenarios that played out after the 2008 recession, when millions of Americans were unemployed and unable to afford even routine visits to the doctor for themselves or their children.

Children are only half as likely to get infected by the coronavirus, study finds (Washington Post) Children and teenagers are only half as likely to get infected with the coronavirus as adults age 20 and older, and they usually don’t develop clinical symptoms of covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to a study published Tuesday. The findings could influence policymakers who are facing tough decisions about when and how to reopen schools and day-care centers. Distance learning has been challenging for teachers, students and parents, and there is pressure on officials to restart in-person schooling and day care to free up parents who have been juggling work and child care. From the start of the pandemic, it has been known that children are typically spared the worst effects of the disease. They rarely die of it. But they can still get sick and can spread the virus, including to older family members who are more likely to have a severe illness. The reasons for the apparent protective effect of youth are not clearly understood.

The hack of CIA hackers (WSJ) A “woefully lax” security culture within the Central Intelligence Agency’s elite hacking unit that favored building cyber weapons over protecting its own computer systems from intrusion allowed for the 2016 theft of top-secret hacking tools, according to an internal report written by the spy agency disclosed on Tuesday. The hacking tools were published by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks in early 2017, a disclosure totaling more than 8,000 pages. The leak of the so-called Vault 7 documents was widely viewed as one of the most devastating security breaches in the CIA’s history. It included details about the agency’s playbook for hacking smartphones, computer operating systems, messaging applications and internet-connected televisions. The internal audit, published in October 2017 by CIA’s WikiLeaks Task Force, described the theft as the “largest data loss in CIA history.” It said an employee stole anywhere from 180 gigabytes to 34 terabytes of information, a haul roughly equivalent to 11.6 million to 2.2 billion pages in Microsoft Word. The report said it was possible the CIA may have never learned of the theft had the trove not been published by WikiLeaks.

Trump signs police reform executive order that focuses on training (Washington Post) President Trump on Tuesday addressed the issue of police brutality by taking executive action that would provide incentives for police departments to increase training about the use of force and to strengthen a national database to track misconduct. The executive order falls short of the more sweeping policy changes activists have called for following the death of a black man, George Floyd, in police custody in Minneapolis last month. Trump’s executive order comes as the prospects for police reform legislation on Capitol Hill remain unsettled. House Democrats are moving forward with a sweeping package that would ban police chokeholds, make it easier for victims of police violence to sue officers and departments and create a national database of police misconduct, among other measures. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that the House legislation “is going nowhere in the Senate,” blasting the measure as “typical Democratic overreach.” Republicans in the Senate are assembling a package of their own, one that may have some overlap with the Democratic proposal but will likely take a far less aggressive approach.

Scientists made 1 small edit to human embryos. It had a lot of unintended consequences. (The Week) A human embryo editing experiment gone wrong has scientists warning against treading into the field altogether. To understand the role of a single gene in early human development, a team of scientists at the London-based Francis Crick Institute removed it from a set of 18 donated embryos. Even though the embryos were destroyed after just 14 days, that was enough time for the single edit to transform into “major unintended edits,” OneZero reports. The unintended edits exemplify the single biggest concern of gene editing, especially when it involves humans. And to Fyodor Urnov, a gene-editing expert and professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley, it sends a clear message: “This is a restraining order for all genome editors to stay the living daylights away from embryo editing.”

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández tests positive for coronavirus (Washington Post) President Juan Orlando Hernández said late Tuesday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus but was suffering only mild symptoms and would continue in his job. He plans to isolate himself but continue running the government, he said in a statement. The president said two of his aides and his wife, Ana García, have also tested positive for the virus.

Suriname president loses (Foreign Policy) Suriname’s electoral authority has now verified that President Desi Bouterse lost in the country’s national elections last month, paving the way for his exit after almost 40 years at the center of Surinamese politics. Bouterse was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a court in November for ordering the execution of 15 of his political rivals. Until now, presidential immunity had kept him out of prison.

Trouble in Dijon (Times of London) Three Chechen men were shot and injured on the French Riviera in the latest clash between migrants from the Caucasian republic and local drug dealers. The violence has thrown President Macron’s government onto the defensive amid claims that police have done little to defuse tensions between Chechens and French people of north African origin. The shootings followed chaotic scenes in Dijon, Burgundy, as dozens of Chechens with firearms and baseball bats occupied swathes of the city for three nights. When they had left, local youths responded by firing shots into the air, burning cars and attacking journalists. Six people were injured, including a pizza restaurant owner who was shot in the back. As 147 riot police were dispatched to Burgundy on Monday in an attempt to restore peace, a gunfight erupted on a council estate in Nice. Three Chechen men were hospitalized and one was in a critical condition yesterday. France Bleu Alpes Maritimes, a local radio station, said the latest shootings came amid “high tensions” between Chechens on the one hand and north Africans and Cape Verdeans on the other, “against a backdrop of provocations, score-settling and drug dealing.”

Amid Brexit impasse, Germany urges no-deal preparations (Reuters) The German government is urging other EU states to prepare for a no deal Brexit, according an internal document that casts doubt on Britain’s optimism over chances of an early agreement on its future ties with the bloc. Britain left the European Union on Jan. 31 and their relationship is governed by a transition arrangement that keeps previous rules in place while new terms are negotiated. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who confirmed last week that Britain has no intention of extending that transition beyond 2020, wants to strike a free trade deal quickly. But the German government document, dated June 15 and seen by Reuters, shows Berlin expects the negotiations to take longer. “From September, the negotiations enter a hot phase,” it read. “Britain is already escalating threats in Brussels, wants to settle as much as possible in the shortest possible time and hopes to achieve last-minute success in the negotiations.” “It is therefore important to preserve the unity of the 27, to continue to insist on parallel progress in all areas (overall package) and to make it clear that there will be no agreement at any price,” the document read.

China and India Point Fingers After Deadly Clash (Foreign Policy) A picturesque Himalayan border region between India and China became the site of military conflict on Monday, as tensions that had been building between the nations for the past few months finally led to deadly hand-to-hand clashes. The Indian army initially said three of their soldiers had been killed, but this figure was later revised to 20, after adding that an additional 17 had died from their injuries. Although it’s likely China also suffered casualties, Chinese authorities have yet to release any figures. An Indian foreign ministry spokesman said the clash arose from “an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo.” His Chinese counterpart laid the blame on India for “provoking and attacking Chinese personnel, resulting in serious physical confrontation between border forces on the two sides.” The skirmish comes at a time when Chinese officials are under increasing pressure to be “performatively nationalist,” leading to concerns that this won’t wind down quickly. If cooler heads do not prevail, the mountainous region may prove to be a brake on any quick escalation. “The conditions in the Himalayas themselves severely limit military action; it takes up to two weeks for troops to acclimate to the altitude, logistics and provisioning are extremely limited, and air power is severely restrained.”

Beijing faces new coronavirus outbreak (AFP, Yahoo) Beijing on Tuesday urged its residents to not leave the city and closed schools again as authorities scramble to contain a “severe” new coronavirus outbreak in the city of 21 million people. The coronavirus resurgence—believed to have started in the capital’s sprawling Xinfadi wholesale food market—has prompted alarm as China had largely brought its outbreak under control through mass testing and draconian lockdowns. “Anyone leaving Beijing must have a negative reading on a nucleic acid test taken within seven days (prior to departure),” Chen Bei, deputy secretary general of Beijing municipal government, said at a press conference. Residents of “medium- or high-risk” areas of infection are completely banned from leaving. Non-residents and outside vehicles are prohibited from entering communities and villages in medium and high risk areas, Chen said. He added that the higher risk residential areas are “fully enclosed and controlled”—similar to strict local measures imposed in Wuhan at the height of the pandemic. The local education commission announced that all schools, which had mostly reopened, would close again and return to online classes. Universities were told to suspend the return of students. “The epidemic situation in the capital is extremely severe,” Beijing city spokesman Xu Hejian warned at a press conference.

Korean peace process explodes (Foreign Policy) There is private despair among Chinese diplomats following Pyongyang’s explosive provocations this week, including the destruction of the inter-liaison office with South Korea. Pyongyang’s recalcitrance about economic and social reform has long baffled Chinese counterparts, who point to their own economic success as an example of what the country could achieve if it followed in China’s footsteps. “I don’t know what they’re thinking,” one Chinese academic who has had frequent contact with North Korean diplomatic delegations said.

#headlines #news

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miscolliding-planets · 4 years ago

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Chapter 5: Another Galaxy

Eight(8) months later...

"Which shoots are booked for this next couple of weeks?" I asked the staff as I entered the meeting room.

"We have Bodie, of the KPop group GRITZ, flying in 2 days from now for his solo interview and photoshoot," Monica, my secretary relayed. "The next day, he will be coming back for another shoot and interview but for a different magazine, this time with Iain Yoon of Paradigm along with Blake Harithai. Oh, it will also be a street shoot," she continued. "Three days after that, Taylor Thanee booked a studio while Iain Yoon will also come for a music video shoot in one of our other studios," she fired again.

"About that..." I interrupted Melanie, "Which studios will they be using?" I asked.

"Mr. Vajarodaya only requested for a small studio so we decided to place him on studio 1. Mr. Yoon asked for a large space where 'a greenhouse-like set' can be set up, that's why we gave him studio 3," Melanie instantly responded as she looks through her planner. "Mr. Vajarodaya also said that he will be bringing his own crew," she continued.

"How many people is on his crew?" I asked as I also checked schedule on my calendar.

"He said there will only be 10 people that will be working with him," she answered after checking.

"Right. Please make sure that they properly go through admitting procedures and keep to the guidelines," Melanie noted it on her page as she hums her acknowledgement. "What about equipment? Do we have to provide any?" I also checked with Melanie.

"We'll be providing his lighting equipment and the basic props for his set," Melanie relayed as she hands me the shoot briefs.

"Did he specify any specific light he requires? What props are needed for his set?" I asked, genuinely curious as I check the list that is on the brief.

"He wanted lamps, a wooden chair, a large wooden crate box, and a wooden ladder. As for studio lights, he needs four, with 2 of them being colored. He said he will also need a set of reflectors," she read off the list that she is also holding.

"What about the backdrop? Did he not require specific colors or textures?" I asked as I need more elaborate details since I did not see it on the brief.

Melanie checked only on her copy and was appalled that this bit was not included. "I will ask his side for more details," she assured me as she goes through her planner for the contact detail she needs.

"Get their reply, ASAP," I told Melanie as she started composing a message. I turned to the other people on the room," Danny and Gene, please make sure that all props, lighting, monitors and all other equipment are ready the day before the shoot," I addressed my tech team.

"Yes, Ma'am," they nodded their head as they go over each of the briefs for the list of needed equipments.

"Please make sure that each of the props are in place at least a few hours before the shoot begins, if not a day early," I addressed the art team next. "I need every detail of the set to be ready so we can start the shoots without a hitch. If you need anything--some help or whatnot--tell me as soon as it comes up, okay?" I demanded for their affirmation.

"Yes, ma'am," both Ares and Collette answered.

"Melanie, please also check the dressing rooms and see if they had been clean at least a few hours before the shoot starts," I interrupted Melanie's typing again.

"Sure, ma'am," she affirmed and went back to composing her message.

Remembering that the main dressing room for studio 3 is being renovated, I paused. "We're half-way through renovations on studio 3's dressing room, right?" I asked, "and, studios 1 and 3 connected by a single dressing room?" I added, not waiting for any of their responses.

"Yes, Ma'am," Melanie absent-mindedly answered.

Putting the shoot brief down, I turned to all of them. "When will the renovations end? Is there still a long way to go?"

"They had just started gutting the walls and floors after tearing down most of the existing walls. There is still a few weeks left before it can be finished according to Manny," Ares relayed.

"Is the shared dressing room big enough for the two teams to work?" I wondered.

"I heard that Paradigm will also only be working with a small team that is why we also asked if they don't mind sharing the dressing room and they agreed," Colette reassured me.

I nodded in satisfaction and began going through the shoot briefs for the main shoots as Melanie finishes composing the messages that she needs to send out, needing to go over the briefs and check each detail. Finding some key points that seem vague, I encircled some of the details that I needed to clarify. Melanie finished composing her drafts and picked up the shoot briefs that need to be gone over. I finished going over the various papers in my hand and went back to the brief for Bodie's solo shoot.

"I see that Christina's going to be Bodie's make-up artist," I pointed as I looked at the paper in my hand. I deemed it most important to address as she did not have a great track record when working with our projects, "Just please make sure that she's not gonna act up and will actually follow the concept and plan," I instructed. "Collette, please explain the concept of styling for the shoots," I started the discussion.

For Bodie's shoot, the styling puts emphasis on everyday men's fashion. So, most of the pieces are versatile, fashionable pieces that can be worn day-to-day. The outer wear ranges from colorful, artsy pieces with bold prints and designs to structured coats and blazers with unique details that can be worn in corporate settings. On the other hand, the group shoot's styling will be centered around grunge-y, street fashion. The pieces of clothing that will be used are also trendy and versatile that everything can be worn day-to-day. I only had to interrupt a few times since I needed clarification on the points that I encircled.

I was very satisfied with the presentation and just had to emphasize on the importance of communicating with the artists' respective styling teams. This is to prevent getting clashes of various kinds. Communication is imperative since some of these artists are in exclusive endorsement contracts which prevents them from wearing certain brands. I don't want to face disputes and lawsuits regarding breach of contracts or whatnots. The meeting ended with a reminder to everyone to thoroughly check on their respective tasks so that we can proceed with the projects smoothly. I also asked Monica to send me the message drafts she composed so I can check on them.

Everyone exit the room as soon as the meeting ended to rush to their respective departments and get started on their tasks. I gathered all the papers and briefing notes and placed them inside my notebook for safe keeping. I walked out of the meeting room and went back to my office. Rebooting my laptop from its sleep, I went on to put down the schedules. I also jotted down the most important tasks that needs to be double checked on sticky notes. It's so that I will be reminded of each task regularly. I also checked my emails and made sure that Monica has sent the drafts I was asking for. After seeing her email and name at the top of the list, I immediately opened the documents attached and get to working on editing and polishing the letters. It only took me a while to edit the pieces since Monica already did a great job on composing them. I immediately sent them back to Monica before standing up and going to the various departments to check on their progress.

3 days later...

I arrived on the set a few hours earlier than scheduled to make sure the sets are properly set up. I brought Apollo with me since I was sure that I will be staying at the studio the whole day. He also boosts the staff morale, relieving their stress in between outfit changes and shoot breaks. Right now, he's resting on a corner to avoid the crowd and be out of the way of all the movement that's happening. I watch as Gene's team setup the spotlights that are on the ceiling while Danny and his assistant, Carl, setup the studio lights. I had Gene test out the spotlights and see if all the colors work. The colored setting will be used for some of the frames. Gene next went on to setting up the monitor screens that will be used.

After making sure that there is no problem with the lights, I went to the dressing room to check on the clothes that Bodie will be wearing for the shoot. I saw Colette's team arranging the various types of clothes on racks that line one wall of the room. It has been arranged by category and color while the shoes are lined on the floor on top of their boxes. I also saw Christina setting up various kinds of makeup and tools on top of the dressing table. I also checked the changing booth to make sure that it is clean and no unwanted, miscellaneous item got lost in there. After the satisfying inspection, I came out to check if Gene was done setting up the monitoring screens. For Bodie's shoot today, he will be working with the up-and-coming photographer Todd Wasart. He's already setting up his camera and laptop, hooking it up onto the monitors with Gene.

I was about to approach Todd when I heard pounding footsteps coming my way. I had turned in time to see Bodie's lanky-yet-muscular body catapulting on me. I put my hands up to soften the blow, if not completely stop Bodie from throwing himself at me. Aside from he's quite heavy though he's thin, there is a discrepancy in height; at least from my part. You see, the man's 178cm in height, he's 5,10". On the other hand, I'm only at a whopping 153cm tall--which is equivalent to 5'0 feet. In other words, I will be smothered by him. Though I tried, my efforts are yet again proven unsuccessful since he managed to put me on a chokehold of a bear-hug.

"Oh, how I miss you, Noona!" he shouted as he laughingly lifts me off the floor.

"BODIE!! PUT. ME. DOWN!" I screeched between labored breath as he continues to hold me so tightly, tapping his shoulder. I looked behind him and saw his manager shoot me an apologetic look, like always. I waved a hello from wherever my hand is trapped and went back to tapping his shoulder, trying to do it harder.

"Nope! You have to tell me that you also miss me," he naughtily taunted as I continued to struggle and try to push myself off him. He smiled at me mischievously and proceeded to tighten his already suffocating chokehold.

"Oh gosh, Bodie! Just let me down. I can't breathe," I screeched again.

He laughed at me but still proceeded to release me from his hold. I punched him on his arm which made him exclaim in pain. "That's what you get for messing with me," I huffed as I fixed my clothes and my hair. Bodie laughed as he soothes the spot I punched. "You better not do that again, jacka**," I tutted.

Apollo came up to us and happily sniffed at Bodie before nudging him to ask for some pets. Bodie happily squatted down to give Apollo pets and hugs as he tells him, "Hey, bud! I missed you, too! Seems like the feeling's not mutual with your mama, though," he laughs.

"Shut up!" I protested as I fixed my hair and my clothes. Bodie just laughed as he continued to pet and play with Apollo. I leaned on the table behind me as I observe them rough house. Apollo is pretty close with Bodie and his group members since he had been around them ever since he was a puppy. I smiled at the sight of them and just let him mess with Apollo a little bit more. I'm certain that they've missed each other.

Apollo walked away from Bodie a few moments later, as if having enough of the rough housing and just wanting to go back to sleep. I laughed at Bodie's bewildered expression. "He says you're no fun anymore," I teased him which made him give me a fake hurt expression, causing me to laugh louder. Bodie stood up and started brushing dust off his knees. "So, you guys did decide not to re-sign with the company..." I opened the topic.

Bodie paused from dusting off his clothes. He looked at me and smiled, albeit sadly. "We had to decide which is a better option for us at the moment," he shrugged as he responded. "It's all good now. We just have to make more time and expend more effort. But, it's a nice start," he proclaimed as he went back to dusting his clothes again. He gave his shoulder one last pat before facing me again. "I'll say hello to the staff and go get my makeup done, now. I'll see you later," he hugged me and strutted to the people scattered all over the studio.

Bodie started going to each staff, giving them his greetings with a bright smile on his face. He came to each and every person he saw and politely said his 'hello's. I pushed myself off the table and walked out of the studio to the dressing room. Bodie came in a moment later, heading straight to the makeup chair. Christina immediately worked on Bodie as I supervised her work. I just wanted to make sure that she does not overdo anything nor overstep her boundaries by coming up with her own styling plan apart from what we required of her. I'm glad to see that she stuck with what we required of her and styled Bodie the way we want. Colette gave Bodie the first outfit he'll he be wearing and Bodie went on to change. They made a few adjustments and added on accessories to complete the outfit. Bodie gave me one last smile along with a wink--as if telling me that he knows I find him fine--before walking out of the dressing room. I shook my head and strutted out of the room after him.

#Miscolliding Planets #novella #story #story 1 #romance #love #relationship #ideals #ideal love #ideal relationship #storytelling #growth #relationship goal #love story

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tellywoodtrash · 7 years ago

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ishqbaaz 11.10.17 lb

doing this on my phone coz i'm at work so this gonna be a hella basic lb.

sanskaari music as abhay tanya get their karwachauth onnn.

wow tanya got a legit chand cgi'd in, that the oberois didn't get.

BIWI??????? HUSBAND???? THEY MARRIED????? they're fucking fetusesss!!!!!!! (fetii?) 😧😧😧

aw he bought chocolate. #spa18BestPati

ok revoking the best pati award. i am sick of the men of this show putting their dumbass grudges and god knows what else over their goddamn wives. 😒😒😒

le, tanya doesn't even know why abhay hates the oberois. phir is mission ka hissa hi kyun ho behen???? hadh hoti hai pativrata hone ki. 🙄🙄🙄

KHOON KHOOON KO PEHCHAAN HI LETA HAI!!!! HE'S AN OBEROI!!!!!! yaaaaaaaaaaas bitch!

pfffffffffft. kisi doooor ka cousin he is. doesn't even count. che, saara mazaaa kharab kar diya. 😒😒😒

oh his dad is the rare truthful oberoi. maybe om got his sachchaai ka keeda from there. 😕😕😕

god every time i come around to tej and shakti, they do something nefarious. fuck it. imma just be forever suspicious of every fucking man in this show forever. guilty until proven innocent is gonna be my motto.

wow so abhay and fam used to live with the main oberois too.

this is some baazigar shit bro.

LMAOOOO TANYA BE LIKE THIS IS FUCKING GOING TO FAIL AND WE ARE GONNA DIEEEEEE 😆😆😆

i love this cute vengeful fucker man. hella stupid motivation he has as a character but he's so cute.

oooooooh anika's back in her sexy black sleeping outfit. action to follow????? 😉😉😉

god anika stop being so damn clingy. have a life and some interests outside of your husband.

errrrr, that doesn't even remotely sound like shivaay/nakuul.

also this plan is hella fucking stupid.

pls shivaay. you know she's gonna fall into some shit or the other and you're gonna have to save her ass. so stay close.

anika is behaving like typical newly married person: wanting to get everyone else hitched as well. behenji pehle rikara ka kuch karein, phir in randos ka chance aayega. 😑😑😑

dang abhay really be rubbing in mirchi in anika's wounds.

god abhay how can you screw ANIKA over like this?? look at herrrrrr. she already loves youuuuuuu. ouff yaaaar.

dude bhavya's just been suspended?!??! she's not free to go get another job like this?????

aaaaaand she just got screwed over. fuck you rudraaaaaa. i hate you so much.

oufffffff kuch bhi ke bachche. but he's looking soooo damn cute in all black. i can't handleeeeee it.

... fashion house??? oh god.

oh tanya. you kiiiiinda dumb. but also, why are you with this asshole?!?? he don't give a fuck about you. ugh.

ok abhay's got shivaay's gusse mein teeth grinding waale genes. 😬😬😬

OKAY ABHAY THERE'S NO NEED TO TALK TO MY GIRL TANYA LIKE THIS. FUCKING HELL, DONT MAKE ME COME IN THERE AND KICK YOUR CUTE ASS. 😡😡😡

also is that a bruise from his manhandling????? ughhhhhh. 🤢🤢🤢

fuck him over tanya. FUCK HIM OVERRRRRR. 😤😤😤

really dgaf about this rudra bhavya nonsense.

lol ek toh tanya ka paara already chadha hua hai, upar se anika ki bakchodi.

lmaoooo "shivaay toh mujhe waapas chahiye nahi" 🤣🤣🤣

tanya's face be like 'oh shit what?!?? mujhse apna pati hi jhela nahi jaata, ab iske pati ko bhi kaise jheloon???'

tanya has the worst poker face ever.

and she's a terrrrrible liar. why even has abhay recruited her for this plan???

fuckkkkkk abhay. he really hurt her. she's bleeding. i hope shivaay kicks his ass good. 😡😡😡😡

ugh i hate this kutte ka patta tassel choker anika is wearing.

STARTUP. AUR OFFICE KA SIZE TOH DEKHO.

LMAO 30 LAKH. FOR THREE MONTHS KA BOND. FUCK OFFFFFF. you ain't slick rudra.

but then bhavya ain't slick either. ugh. 🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️

time for memorial!

these fuckers look so shady and guilty.

why just shivaay??? what if someone else finds out??? like dadi? like, i'd say dadi is the bigger risk. she's send your paapi asses to jail FO'SHO.

god anika, you're the worst at this.

i wish gauri was here. we could really use her chantumaiiii ways right now. 😚😚😚

uske beeeeech mein bhi pinky has fursat for taana. amazing.

lmaooooo tej dispersing the group is reminding me of the scene in b99 where terry disperses the squad after teaching them how to behave at captain holt's party. ("you're not gazelles!!!!!!") 😂😂😂

abhay is menacingly glaring at banner.

bro your father was fired 25 years ago. why would they put his name as a board member?????

why's he targeting ANIKA for this??? like, one: she's new here. and two: she doesn't have any idea of the inner workings of oberoi corp? 🤔🤔🤔

oufffff monologue bandh karoooo.

wow, anika will be addressing media in stead of shivaay.

ok girl you know next to NOTHING about this event. in what confidence are you inviting questions??? 😬😬😬

also why isn't the media asking her what haisyattt se she's here, since shivaay has a brand new wife???

really??? charity 25 years later??? when the accident happened you oberois didn't give a fuckkkkk about the families.

these shady fuckers stillll in a group.

oh hoooooo anika. do you have to make the phone call HERE????

who disssss??? he's awfully smiley for someone who's come for a MEMORIAL.

abhay is the worst. the fucking worsttttttt. #freeTanya2k18 😠😠😠

shukla got no idea what's in store for him. these fuckers about to jump him.

gosh tanya is in a mooooood today. thanks abhay.

anika bhi koi kachchi khilaaadi nahi hai.

ok tej, look more suspicious. you're all sooooo bad at this.

great dadi is here too.

aaaaaand dadi is interrogating anika on state of marriage. 😒😒😒

MY GOD ANIKA YOU'RE A HELLA BAD SPY. LIKE SO BAD.

shakti's vicious side is coming out.

lmao ok sr. obros, why would you trust some baahar waala and give him all the proof???? so damn stupid. 😑😑😑

shukla's acting is so badddddd.

goddddd these ppl are just assaulting this man based on bloody nothing. if you cared so much about the evidence why didn't you follow up about it all these years????

aaaaaaand pinky's caught anika.

pfffffft. such bad lying.

wow tej straight up has shukla in a fucking chokehold wtfffff 😟😟😟

jesus christ shukla, you had ONE JOB. why the fuck were you holding on to that shit for 25 years????

ouffffff i'm so bored. where's shivaaay??? where are rikaraaaaa????? i'd even take bhavya's miserable life over this nonsense at this point.

lmao buddhe log ka chase sequence.

THEYRE NOT EVEN BOTHERING TO USE A VOICE REMOTELY LIKE SHIVAAY'S. GOD.

lmaooooo look at this "director" of a "fashion house" styling a straight up clown wig on a mannequin. what nonsense. 🙄🙄🙄🙄

so wait, rudra just... HAS a fashion house now? based on what???? he's worn the same three workout outfits for over a year now. and if it was SOOOOO easy for him to start his own business, why did he struggle so much for that challenge???? 😐😐😐

it woulda been more believable if he had his own gym????

does he still think she's married to manav or what????

also she's a bodyguard, rudra; not a slave????

oh he DOES think she's married. so, he can do alllll this research to find out where she's applying for jobs and all, but not if she's actually married? 😒😒😒

ok why did bhavya have to change??? that too into THIS outfit???? how the hell is she supposed to do any guarding in this????

ugh rudra you're the fucking worstttttt. you're such a spoilt, entitled bratttttt. i'm so over this plotttttt already.

precap: um????? this is a memorial event????? PEOPLE DIED???? why is there a dance performance?!?? jfc.

and this is taking too much damn time so imma just speed watch the other two eps. mini lbs if i find anything interesting.

#ishqbaaaz #ishqbaaz #ib episode liveblogs #episode liveblogs #111017 ib lb

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