#THIS ISNT PART OF MY JOB DESCRIPTION

[only-active-at-night]

If one more doctor asks me to take care of their damn dog I'm gonna lose my fucking mind

[terrorbirb]

Guess who doesn't have to report variance and efficiency numbers for manufacturing!!!🎉🎉🎉

[badgertracksart]

Portfolio advice, from a lead who hires Concept Artists

(This was originally a twitter thread I wrote before the site self imolated, hense it's strange structure.) I wrote this after a weekend of portfolio reviews - 1. Like a maths exam, please please show your working. I want to see thumbs options, mid options and of course a final design.

2. Arrange your portfolio, I don't want to bounce about between subject matter and pipeline. Your portfolio's narrative should be as strong as your work... 3. Please make worlds that excite the viewer, make them want to go in and explore them, explain to them the interesting parts of the town, or the way the character's hat unfolds. How will this draw the viewer in? 4. As I've said before the majority of your project work is explanatory not mood, make sure your portfolio contains explanatory work. Explained here -

5. A lot of beautiful post apocolyptic paintings, , but 80% of realistic games and film, we just give the environment artists photo ref, they are capable artists in their own right. Different work in stylised where you do need to create rules for how things can be translated. 6. Production art contains call out sheets, material references and flat graphics. This doesn't have to be your final image, but it should support it.

7. Design characters on a swatch(es) of the environment they will be viewed in. Not on white. I make swatch backgrounds from screenshots, it avoids assumptions that damage readability. 8. Reverse of this, put people in your environments, show me the scale.

9. It's not a deal breaker for a review, but if you intend to get a job, please show me your work on a screen larger than a smartphone (print outs probably the cheapest option with the best battery life). 10. Please have your contact details clearly visible, and by that I mean email address, I will not pass your social media contact on, I cannot input your form into my tracking system. EMAIL ADDRESS emblazoned and bake it in, sometimes recruiters do funky stuff to pdfs

11. Your portfolio will never feel done, not to you anyway. You will have learnt from your latest pieces and want to apply it to older work. But we know art is a journey. Send your portfolio anyway. I've been in the industry 10+ years and my portfolio is still not 'finished'. 12. If you are applying to an environment centric Concept Art position then please vary your times of day! Golden hour is cool but show me some happy sunny days, looming overcast days, what about at night? Vary your weather too! Sunny snowy day? Rainy Spring day? Stormy night?

13. If you are applying for a character centric Concept Art role then please ensure your portfolio shows a variety of body types and ethnicities. 14. Designing characters for games? Please show back views and feet (!) Many potfolios contain only front views. This is a problem because:

You haven't shown you are considering the design from all angles.

In many games rear view is the main view.

Stop cropping feet.

15. If you are entry / graduating and looking at Portfolios to compare content and standard of yr own work too, look at hired grad/junior artists as opposed to seniors Seniors and leads often have old or personal work in their portfolio which isnt representative of the day job. 16a. Show clearly the intended use case for your Concept Art. Mention the game type in the description. Are these player character designs for a 3rd person adventure game? Then more back views please. Bonus points for diagetic ways of showing health / equipment / role etc.

16b. Are these designs for an FPS? Then really the player view of the gun needs to sell the player style/ choices, in an FPS your weapons are almost your character. Are these world designs? What's the view distance? For an RTS your shapes need to read from above & a distance. 16c. The lack of clarification means I am judging the design in isolation, which both harms the design (you might be considering the backview of a char as the main adventure character.) Or an NPC, their waist up expressions may be important for conveying exposition and mechanics.

16d. Concept art is not separate from gameplay, great concept art serves the game team before it is a good illustration.

17. Play games. A variety of games. Think about them. IMO to be a good concept artist you need to understand the common language & references used by your peers. Also understand the principles and common language your audience are used to. FPS design rules are v.diff from RTS.

18. There are many skills that are needed in concept art, please show them. For example: Graphic design - logos, liveries, typographic use etc. VFX concepts - Abilities, Ambience, motion concepts. Architectural knowledge - How buildings are built! & more but I'm out of space :O

[christmasjade]

My thoughts on Married in Red+ My general thoughts on Studio Investigrave !

So I really like this game

It was fun to be able to play it on my own with no help from Youtubers and stuff ^^

The game has 1 ending, though you can have 2 different kinds of game overs lol (I'll get to that later)

The mc (Bok-su) and her relationship with the bride (Da-Jeong) is sad , but not shocking lol. You can kind of tell from the promotional art (and the theme of atonement said in the itch.io description) that Da-Jeong and Bok-Su are not on good terms.

I like that Bok-su was able to get her revenge on Da-Jeong. Obviously her way of doing it is horrible, and the groom (Myeong-hoon) being a main part of her revenge is sad, because he had nothing to do with this.

However, I dont feel that bad for Da-Jeong at all. Yeah, two wrongs dont make a right, and people panic, but she essentially ruined Bok-Su's life and reputation to save her own ass, so I really can't bring myself to feel too bad for her.

Sure you can argue that the situations are different, with Bok-Su purposefully killing Myeong-Hoon meanwhile what Da-Jeong did was a mistake, but I personally am a firm believer of getting your lick back, so 🤗..

I also like how the deaths and reactions are the exact same lmao.

The patient Da-Jeong killed was a man, and his mother said something along the lines of like.. "You killed my son" (I dont exactly remember, depsite me literally just playing LMAOO) and Myeong-Hoons mom literally says the same thing/something adjacting to that too Da-Jeong.

Da-Jeong runs off and during her break down says "I didn't do it-", which is what Bok-Su says when shes retelling the story of what Da-Jeong did to her.

Bok-Su had to goal of getting her payback to make Da-Jeong atone and she accomplished it. And the crazy thing is, despite everything that happened, Da-Jeong never said sorry.

She never said sorry. Not when Bok-Su showed up to the wedding, not when the two of them where alone in the garden, and damn sure not when Da-Jeong had "enough" of Bok-Su being there.

She never said sorry, not even when she pointed the blame onto Bok-Su. In fact, Bok-Su repeats a line that Da-Jeong said to her when (I'm assuming so anyway) the incident happened. Da-Jeong told her that she didnt have anything to worry/be mad about.

The ending of the game, obviously, isnt really a happy ending. Bok-Su gets her revenge and makes Da-Jeong go through what she did but 10× worst. So sure its happy for her,but its still horrific lol

Which is why I love endings for the games that Studio Investigrave makes. With the exception of Cold Front, all of the endings across all the games arent truly happy ever after kind of endings.

With Dead Plate, Rody either has to kill Vincent after finding out his ex was killed and turned into food by him AND after he tried to do the same to Rody.

Yeah Rody makes it out alive, but theres still a horrible and traumatic incident that happened. He knows why Vince did it, and was able to get rid of him, but it doesn't erase the fact that Manon is still dead. (Or with the other ending he leaves the restaurant and never find Manon, because shes in the fridge "missing".)

With Elevator Hitch, the cycle repeats for Protag. When he finally gets the chance to leave the Elevator and the building, hes stopped by some..guy ?? (Who looks like an alternate lmao) and is convinced that he needs the job. The exit doors then open up into the elevator again. He never leaves that building, and is probably stuck in a time loop.

With Eloquent Countenance, Angelica either gets the ritual redone on her by the cult, or is stuck in the cult with the knowledge that shes not the only one in her body. But that she shares it with an angel pretending to be the dead wife of the cults pastor.

Yeah, she lives, but she has to wait until Forcas can fully save her from her possession by said angel. The ending, like Dead Plate and Married in Red, is horrific.

And then with the other ending of Cold Front , if you push Winnie off the stairs, he dies in the crash and Auggie takes his place. It's a happy ending for Auggie, sure, but he never gets the closure or the realization that Winnie was never the wicked and mean person he made him out to be in his head. Its disturbing how content he is with it, with the fact that his former best friend is dead and how he replaces him.

But yeah, erm... the game was fun, 10/10 ^^

[betweenblackberrybranches]

So i wrote a little thing for the RLGL au

Its a prologue of sorts, the first actual meeting between the guys and y/n at work before they become neighbours

Be warned though i am not a writer and typed this out quickly on my phone while i was supposed to work so it is probably not that good (i think i just randomly switch between present tense and past tense so it just be like that)

Warning for suggestive themes. But nothing explicit is mentioned

There you stood, one hand grabbing the handle of the sleek chrome and wooden door. This was not part of your job description. And this was really not something you wanted to do. You were a janotor. Fixing minor electrical things, looking after the plumming, washing all sheets that the cleaners brought into the washing room and fixing and cleaning up the rough stuff. Every day was busy and you had always kept to yourself and the many staff only hallways, away from the rich red and black velvet and the polished wooden floors, raw concret where the eyes of the customers wouldnt see.

You felt safe in your domain, the low humming of the heating filling the basement rooms like the breathing of a sleeping dragon. Or atleast that was what you liked to imagine it as. It made your work seem atleast a little more exciting and kept your mind of the various fluids you had to painstakingly rinse out of the white and burgundy sheets.

You straighten your sleeves, a black turtleneck black slacks and a black baseball cap with fazCOs logo, not really the usual uniform for the people interacting with customers, worlds away from the white button up and vest you should be wearing. But this was an emergency. Well as far as the rich bozo in this room was concearned atleast. So who knows on what level the "mess" was, this could be anything from some spilling to..... well no need to think about worst case szenarios.

Straightening your cap one last time you enter the dimmly lit room. You immidiatly regret every single choice that led you to this specific sight. The hairs on your arms rising in protest as you try to nonchalantly step further into the mess, the customer having left apparently, not even waiting for the emergency roomservice to arrive after calling for it. Red wine and some gunk that looked like it had been food once that had been chewed and spit out again smeared all over the couch and carpet. You call out to make sure the coast is clear, trying very hard to not gag.

As soon as you are sure there is no human in the room you rush to a lifeless form of satin metal and plastic on the ground, swallowing hard as salvia and gall rise up in your throat. You find the second one bundeled up on the bed, lanky arms and legs positioned in a way that sent a shiver down your spine, one of his arms was popped out of the shoulder, only hanging by the many thin cables running under the outer casing.

Shaking hands finding the small power button at the base of the blue ones head you wait, counting five and then ten seconds. This isnt something you should be doing. This is against company policies, and yet you cant just leave them like this for a technician to find after you cleaned up. The soft hum of the reboot sent your hand back as if burned and you kneel down to repeat the action on the yellow one. You knew they had names, pretty obvious ones at that.. sun and moon. You had only seen them from afar until now. Especally because you were not a waiter or maid, someone who would walk past them regularly in the flashy suits and club rooms, no you were someone working in the shadows. A shame that the one time you saw them this closely it felt like you should avert your gaze, because even under the questionable liquids and gunk they still looked stunning. The yellow one started humming under your touch and you hurridly got up, starting the cleaning process and ignoring the two stiring bodies like you were supposed to.

Moon sat up straight, unfurling from his nothing but explicit position, his left arm dragging on the bed. No mind was given to the worker bustleing around the furthest corner as moon leaped forwards and down to the ground, shaking arm immidiatly finding his bright counterpart who was in the process of opening his eyes. Sun looked up and welcomed the soft embrace of moon, foreheads pressed together best they could with their orbish heads, giving themselves just one moment of comfort before dealing with the situation at hand.

You had started to clean the bathroom first, wanting to give the two robots enough time to regain their baring and hide their bodies away if they so wished. A bitter taste on your lips you reenter the main suite with two steaming hot towels and a big box of wet wipes, wordlessly pressing them in the hands of the two, now sitting on the bed encased in a thin sheet. With any interaction between general staff and escorts being prohibited you were pretty much towing the line of doing something that could get you fired, but you felt like this needed to be done.

Moving on you cleaned the carpet, trying to ignore the two bots meticulously wiping down eachother. You sigh. This all felt so wrong. You grab the cleaning rag tight as you rub at the carpet and wish you could do more for the two than gracefully ignoring them and their disheviled apearances, assuming theyd even want any help from a random janitor.

They are still cleaning and fixing up eachother when you put away the last stained pillowcase and wipe down the low table one last time. You swallow dryly. All you can think of doing for them is grabing two small post it notes from your cart and make small origami flowers, one of like three things you know how to fold. Leaving them behind on the stack of clean clothing you plop down on one edge of the bed. It is hard not to sneak one last look at the two, hovering around eachother, deeply concentrated on reapplying eachothers makeup with gentle brushstrokes.

The most beautiful constelation. But you feel like this is not something you are supposed to whitness.

You leave the room, softly dragging the door shut behind you and the cleaning cart with a click, disappearing back into the concrete lined corridors of the staff only areas, back to whatever you were doing before, the two robots in their gentle embrace at the border of your mind.

Cream fingers close around the neon colored paper flowers, to be carefully deposited in an inner jacket pocket and transported home. To be kept safe in a small cardboard box under their bed. To be forgotten but never lost.

[spaceyprincely]

Boothill observations and theorys(?):

⚠️‼️Cw// leaks + possible 2.1 spoilers‼️⚠️

Hello tumblr I thought I’d share some observations I’ve made about boothill, an upcoming 5 star character. Particularly his name and how it relates to his cowboy aesthetic as well as his possible backstory. I also want to theorize his situation with Acheron as well. Well I’m not exactly an expert on theory’s so I doubt mine counts but I’ll share what interests me on boothill!

Boot Hill, Name origin:

First off, what is a “boothill”?

“Boothill” or “Boot Hill” are a type of cemetery most commonly referred to in western parts of the United States and America. What makes this cemetery unique is its association with cowboys, specifically ones that died in violent non natural fashion like shooting or hanging, “died with their boots on”.

How does this relate to Honkai star rail boothill.

- boothill is based of the typical western American cowboy , with the outfit, his accent , usage of guns, etc. so we have that connection .

- The HSR wiki says that he’s specifically a cyberborg. Cyborgs are typically depicted as robot human hybrid characters. Some cyborg characters like robocop and cyborg (dc comics) have backstories of becoming a cyborg by having had either died and came back to life through technology or damaged their human body greatly to the point they replace with artificial robot tech.

- Boothill in leaked eilodons shows his naked body. However you can quickly noticed his body is human. Not robotic like what we’ve been officially shown.

- Contrast this with his lightcone art, boothill has only part of his robot body. It looks like he’s being operated on.

- So how does this his name relate to his possible backstory

- As previously iterated, boothill is a name for cemetery of cowboys that died in violent ways. Pair this with how the leaked content having a human body which insinuates that he was at some point a human.

- So what I theorize: Most likely case is that boothill died/ got heavily injured, most likely due to a fight, so much that his only chance to survive was to make him a cyborg. The name boothill fits because he probably died in his boots (I’ll assume for now it happened on the job, maybe his job was the same before and after?).

- Interestingly There’s a leaked description of his lightcones. I’m not 100% sure about how true it is so I’ll have to take it with a grain of salt. However it details on him coming back to life after almost embracing death.

- - If boothill died, who killed him?

There isnt much to hint at who is to blame for cause of him becoming cyborg so far, given he’s a new character with little information.

At this moment, my best guess is the ipc which characters including topaz and aventurine are in. Boothill is revealed to not like the IPC as revealed in his introduction post. However there’s an interesting thing we need to observe.

- Notice how it states “the target of his revenge”, meaning the ipc most likely wronged him in some. I wonder if the ipc is the ones responsible for his death and transformation to being a cyberborg. But it’s likely it could be another reason for his distaste.

About Acheron

Cw/ this part gets into partial spoilers for 2.1 trailblazer main story quest

black swan receives a call from boothill. The call is immediately clear he is threatening Acheron with death.

- his tension with her seems very extreme to the point where hell even go after people affiliated with her when he threatened black swan under the impression she’s was working with her. And saying she shouldn’t exist.

do I think she was behind his death?

Unlike with the ipc one, I’m not really sure. I personally think that this possibility has less weight to it and there might be another reason for his dislike towards her. But it wouldn’t be surprising considering aventurine claims she brings death and finality.

- like aventurine, Boothill knows that Acheron isn’t an actual galaxy ranger however boothill himself is a galaxy ranger. Since Acheron is falsely claiming she’s a galaxy ranger, could this possibly cause tension with the actual galaxy rangers and her to be a target for them? I don’t really have much to theorize much more but would like to hear what others think

[dullgecko]

Goblins dont have traditional gender/pronouns, or care about any difference between sexes, even when raised in places where that is a thing they're kind of just like 'the people around you will decide for you, just go with it'. The closest to the concept of gender they have is sometimes a goblin will really like on object or concept or something and just go 'yeah, im this thing'.

So Riz is kind of used to it, but the first time they visit a goblin village the goblins keep trying to remind the other bad kids of their names because 'you keep calling me He or Him, i do not know those people, my name isn't hard to pronounce, please :('

Biological sex is just sortof an afterthought to most goblins, and only really thought of in the sense that one of the two can carry children and the other sires them (and if you want to swap or be neither or both at once goblins have spells to change you to whatever you want just go ask one of the elders and they'll sort you out). You wouldnt even know anothers sex unless you asked because there isnt much difference (females dont have breasts unless activily child rearing to make it more obvious so Sklonda wears a padded bra in Elmsville to make it easier for people to clock she's female).

Most matchmaking for breeding purposes is organised by the elders as well (because they're the ones aware of what each persons biology is, especially if some are swapping backwards and forwards) and its considered a little gauche to bring up in conversation.

Its part of the reason why, in terms of monster eradication, it was always reccomended that you wipe out the entire horde if you come across one. Just two goblins, no matter their gender, can repopulate and you'll end up with an 'infestation' again.

The whole 'others with choose for you' things is partially why Riz goes for the whole suit-and-tie getup. His dad told him when he younger that he would get catagorised as male and Solesians seem to be obsessed with pronouns. Riz decided at that point that if he's a 'male' he needs to dress the part and did research to find out what the most 'male' clothing was. Hilariously, Fabian is being the most polite in terms of goblin pronouns unintentionally by defaulting to 'The Ball'. Riz called himself 'The Ball' once so yeah Fabian is correct, that is his pronoun good job buddy, you're such a good friend you're doing so well.

It does mean that most goblins when speaking common do badly with pronouns, always refering to themselves or other people by name, race or general description (The Orc, The Tall One, The Pretty Elf) or defaulting to they/them unless they are told specifically 'this is what im referred to as'.

[popcornforone]

Two faced

A Max Lord Fic

Day 19 of Pedrotober (SDCC Prompt)

Masterlist

If I’m honest when I write the first fic a month ago today, I was like I can do this, & then I realised how much I’d need to write & I was like there’s no way I’ll get to 19, but here we are. So I though sending a DC villain (he’s not though) to comic con would be cool.

Synopsis:- you’ve put effort into your SDCC outfit, Max not so much.

Word count:- 950

Warnings over & above:- promise of oral, descriptive nature, swearing. Shower pleasure.Other than that this is rather tame.

Thanks for the read peoples. I’m genuinely blow away by your likes & shares over the month so far & it’s all down to @alyssamariag & @norththelemon prompt list.

“Babes a little help please” you shout as you come out of the bathroom. “I need this to be zipped up so I can properly go to comic con as Hela from Thor Ragnarok.” Youd spent months & 3 pay cheques on this outfit. That’s even before the price of the tickets & the hotel you are staying in. He booked the hotel, said it would be his treat. You’d been to the gym to make sure you were as trim as possible. You’d even died your hair black & brought an expensive straightener. You were gonna look the part. Your head piece was lying on the bed so you could have the horns.

“Coming sweetie” you hear not looking in his direction. You hold your breath as he zips up the leather from behind you. “You gotta breathe my love otherwise this is gonna keep popping open all day” he says & you sigh & breathe out. He’s right. You might look extrodinary but if that’s the case, what good is it if you pass out. You let it go & suddenly the zip on your outfit doesn’t feel so bad. It fits perfectly.

“Thanks baby” your turn around to smile but then your in shock. “What are you wearing?” Because you had been so preoccupied with your outfit you hadn’t even double checked his. Your disappointed face says it all.

“I’m Harvey Dent” you laugh & shake your head at Maxs answer. “what?”

“Max baby” you sit on the bed as you laugh. “That’s not Harvey Dent, you’ve just picked out your most mob style suit & brushed your hair back. You’ve come as yourself. People are going to think you’ve come to comic con cosplaying as Max Lord business man of the year, not Harvey Dent”

“But I look good…”

“… but it can be better” you say his catchphrase back to him & then lean across the bed & grab your make up pallet.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing” he shrieks as you grab a sponge to start applying some red make up.

“Max trust me”

“I do but”

“No if no buts, do this for me & I’ll give you a blow job every night for the next week” you are not a fan of going down stairs. For special occasions you do it for Max. You see him lick his lips. He loves having the ultimate power over you. Watching your head bob as you take him fully into your mouth. He lets out a little moan just thinking about it.

“Morning, evening?”

“Whenever, please Max,let me make you look the part” he sighs, his mind however is already thinking of how good your mouth will feel on his length.

“Okay” he mumbles & closes his eyes as you start to work your make up magic.

Everyone loved your Hela outfit & everyone really thought Maxs make up was cool at comic con. He did get a few people stop him to ask who he had come from, when he was just side profile without the make up.

“See, ive made my point” you say after the 6th person asks him.

“Okay okay you were right” he says as he leads you into a huge hall & you walk past lots of people, to find your seats in the 3rd row.

“Max why are we here”you say. You had no idea he had got to you hall tickets for a presentation.

“You’ll see” he says as you both sit down. You take your head piece off, it’s not fair on those in the rows behind that their view would be ruined by that’s. They paid for this experience too.

After a few moments the lights go off & up it pops in the screen.

“Holy shit this is hall H isnt it?” You start to shake knowing what it means.

“Yes baby”

You scream in delight, you’re here for the MCU presentation. You don’t care if it ruins yours or his make up you give Max a huge kiss on the cheek.

“How did you sort this out”

“I have my ways” he winks.

Out everyone comes for all the very different film presentations & news, leaving in your opinion the best til last.

“WE LOVE YOU PEDRO!!!!” You stand up & shout along with most of the room as Pedro Pascal is finally revealed as Mr Fantastic, your life complete, this is even more of a big deal in your opinion than Robert coming back to be Doctor Doom. You scream until you run out of air & the scream some more. Max looks up at you, wondering why he’s in love with this crazy woman, but that’s completely why. He loves your obsessions, & love of pop culture & nerdiness. You match his freak & he wouldn’t have it any other way.

You eventually get back to the hotel room after a long day & both flop on the bed & sigh completely spent.

“Ready to do that all again tomorrow Max”

“You betcha” he says. & you giggle.

“Can you help me out of this costume with the zip baby”

“Been waiting for you to say that all day” he says as he slowly unzips it & then starts kissing your bear back as you wriggle out of your costume. “I think we both need a shower to get clean & sort ourselves out”

“You’re right” you reply. “Let’s get all hot & steamy shall we”

“Yes baby”

“& I promise to live up to my promise straight away” he growls as you say that & then leads you to the bathroom. The only noise other than the water filling the air is when he screams as he spills down your throat.

[rise-my-angel]

Matching Insecurity

Pairing: Marcus Moreno x Female Reader

Length: 7.8k words

Warnings: angst, angst with a happy ending, fluff, mild smut, implied smut, teasing, masterbation

Notes: Takes place after the movie but isnt integral to the plot of this story

Was it really worth it? Having the wool pulled out from over your eyes worth the coziness of the job? You were surprised honestly to get the call that you had been hired, even thought it was just a low level position it was still in the cities most secure building with the largest of names attached to it. You had applied to a nondescript secretary job, only to show up for your first day to find out it was part secretary work, and part personal assistant work to one specific boss. 

The illusion though? Was gone totally the more weeks that passed. The media and online view of the Heroics was one of grandiose importance, larger than life people with attitudes superior to the citizens they protect, only to realize that most times, it was basically just a fancy office. At least where you worked. Your boss, the biggest name of them all mostly worked out of a cozy office and if you didn’t know any better, you’d never have guessed he was famous. 

Finding out you would work almost exclusively for Marcus Moreno on your first day almost sent you into a panic attack just out of shock. 

You later were informed that extensive checks on you were done to ensure you were a good fit and that’s why little description was given, so they could learn about you without your personal bias. But you were quiet, polite, and way too hard of a worker for what you were being paid, and so they placed you with the head of the Heroics. 

Marcus was, so strangely normal. So far you never saw him in anything that wasn’t casually business, and the weapons on his office wall looked more like expensive decoration than an integral part of his power. Always busy with mountains of work, phone calls that had him sharing exasperated looks whenever you walked in on one of them, and late nights where he pestered you to go home already. Saying you didn’t need to stay and work longer, on the days he did. 

He mostly stayed late the days his daughter Missy came in after school for junior training. She was always amusing. She’d plop her arms dramatically onto your desk in exhaustion only to lift up with her palm up against her cheek and ask you things. What did you like to eat, do you live alone, what did you like to do outside of work as she compared them to what she and her dad’s answers would be. 

“You’re lucky you can bake, my dad and I always try but we always end up just wishing we had someone else there to help us.” There was a twinkly in her eye that said more than what she was letting on, but you chalked it up to her being surrounded constantly by Heroics or ones in training that talking to another normal person probably was a nice break for her. 

Marcus finally came out of his office, leather jacket in his hand as he and Missy shared a hug. “Everything go well this time?” His voice was so comfortingly deep you caught yourself thinking. 

Missy nodded, “Sort of, at least I got her to agree to give me her water when she gets too upset finally.” Marcus chuckled and smoothed out the top of her hair in a soothing manner. “I’m just glad its leftovers night, I’m way too tired to do anything.” 

Marcus leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head, “You say that as if it’ll get you out of doing the dishes.” He shared a playful grin at her mock glare. She turned to you and waved her arm out to point at him.

“You see what I have to put up with?” Marcus flicked her hair, causing her to nudge his hand away from her in jest as she pretended she wasn’t going to laugh. 

You raised your eyebrows and leaned on your arms resting on top of the desk and squinted slightly, whispering as if in secret. “Bring him a coffee with a little more sugar then he normally takes, the extra sweetness calms him right down.” 

While you and Missy shared a little laugh, Marcus’s eyes flickered to look at you a little closer. He hadn’t realized you did that, but the pieces started to get put together. On his bad days, or just frustrated moments you tended to bring him something sweeter then normal, or innocently suggest you take up a task that normally would add an extra hour onto his workload. Little things he never once actually asked of you. All it did, was add more fuel to the ever growing emotions he was having more and more trouble keeping at bay.

He couldn’t help but watch you whispering with his daughter, and have his mind flash back to the comments she always ended up making on the drive home, how much she weirdly pushed him on certain things. He had to pull himself out of it as Missy called for him. “Are we ready to go?” 

He shook the thoughts away one more. You were just good at your job, and generous just out of who you were as a person. It had nothing to do with him, and he already knew he’d have to distract Missy in the car from trying to bring it up again. He’d ultimately think about it again later tonight, but in a far more inappropriate way that he was starting to feel more and more guilty about the better it felt when you were at the forefront of his mind

Marcus nodded, grabbing her bag to carry himself, and leaned in to you pointing at the jacket hanging on the hook in the corner. “That goes for you too, it’s Friday you shouldn’t be wasting your evening when you’ve been here all day.” 

Giving in, you nodded and stood up, stretching your arms up a bit to shake out the stiffness not noticing any eyes on you. “I’m not a big Friday night’s plan with other people kind of girl-” you hesitated just slightly when Marcus’s eyes narrowed at you. To you, you saw what looked like disappointment in a lack of social life, not realizing it was anything drawn from his heart. “Fine, I’ll do..something. I promise, sir.” 

Marcus stood unmoving for a moment you didn’t quite get. You wondered if the look he was giving you was just analyzing what a boring assistant he was realizing you were. Getting your stuff ready to leave, you hadn’t noticed Marcus and Missy quietly talking still at your desk until you turned around with your bag. Raising your eyebrows, Marcus waves his hand for you to follow. 

Oh. They waited for you to join them as they left? You spent the elevator ride trying not to listen to their conversation, but the deep bass of his voice seemed to echo in the tiny space. Marcus again made the same wave when you tried to stand back so they could leave first, instead forcing you out in step with them. 

Your brain focused on the click of your shoes against the lobby floor as you all stepped outside. The chilly air felt both stinging and refreshing on your face. The later seasons always blew in a crisp kind of air that felt somehow fresher than the heavy summertime, your less then thick coat however disagreed with your assessment of the temperature. The conversation next to you catching your attention enough to stay before you decided to try and slip away quietly. 

“He kept talking about something something self promotion? I mean I’ve never even been on those sites, where would I even start?” Missy was standing, arms flinging out in exasperation as Marcus leaned down to actually zip her coat up with a flat expression to Missy’s bemused one. Always complaining about getting cold too easily but too lazy to do anything about it, it clearly was a common occurrence but drove Marcus’s protective instinct nuts. 

Staying bent down to her level, he sighed, looking at the floor before giving her an earnest look. “I don’t like it. Call me old fashioned dad I know,” Marcus placed a comforting hand on her upper arm. “but that kind of attention at your age is too much for you to handle alone. You’ll have too many eyes always ready to judge you.” 

Missy scrunched her face as she thought it over, before her body sagged in a shrug, “I don’t even know how he posts that often, how much could Miracle Guy of all people have that much to say?” 

Your breathy laugh caught their attention, Marcus standing back up straight as he looked at you while Missy turned. “You want to know his secret?” Missy furrowed her brows with a tilt of her head in curiosity. “He just gets people like me to post for him, he knows he’s not that creative.” 

While Missy laughed at how typical that was for him, Marcus’s look was far more uncertain. That scrutinizing look once more, “He hired you to post for him?” 

His train of thought wasn’t anywhere near yours. You shrugged, half not looking at him. “No he just kind of dumped his passwords on me and just requested to make him look good. It’s fun, he’s not exactly hard to figure out.” 

You really didn’t see the issue with it, it hadn’t crossed your mind. Technically he was also your superior just giving you another task. Realizing you should have brought gloves, you shove your hands into your pockets and take a few steps downwards, away from the direction of the auto shuttle leading to the secure parking lot. Marcus called your name just before you got away. “You aren’t going this way?” 

You felt a little sheepish as he nodded his head in a backwards motion. Your hands clenched and unclenched in a sudden insecurity. “Uh, no..just thought I’d stretch my legs today.” 

Marcus almost took a step towards you but seemed to restrain himself. “It’s late though, we can take you home no problem.” 

In your chest you felt another pang of insecurity, but brushed it off casually with a smile and shake of your head. “No please, don’t go out of your way it’s fine.” Your legs were asking you to just leave but Marcus’s almost concerned expression pinned you where you were almost by force. If you were thinking clearer, you might have remembered the metal buckles on your shoes that suddenly felt heavier than normal.

“It’s late and it’s freezing, really neither of us mind the detour.” 

This time Missy was the one who interjected. “Do you normally walk home?” Oh god her expression matched her fathers perfectly. The last thing you needed was the Moreno duo trying to break your defences down and going out of their way to help you. 

You stammered a bit, caught off guard as to why they seemed to care. “Just sometimes..most of the time..” By most of the time you meant every day, but you didn’t feel as if that's the answer they wanted to hear. Marcus’s face grew more tense with every word and you weren’t sure you wanted to hear what he was thinking. “I should go, I uh, I’ll see you...have a good weekend.” 

You didn’t turn back as you walked away. Taking the long path to the smaller security gate on the complete opposite side of the lawn than your path home was. If you looked just to the side you could see the shuttle to the parking lot pass, and you instantly bent your head down to stare at the sidewalk below you. 

It was embarrassing. That Marcus Moreno, leader of the Heroics with his nice tech filled car and his surprisingly humble sized but still gorgeous house finding out his assistant doesn’t even have a car. At least not driving you home meant you spared yourself the further humiliation of him seeing the run down apartment building you lived in. The outside usually with a few loud, drunk or high smokers making a racket, and the chipped paint and lack of any effort look of the buildings outside. 

You didn’t hate it, not even the muffled yelling usually heard through the narrow halls. Tinged in an ugly yellow and orange from the light bulbs partially exposed from their lamp encasement. The building wasn’t nice and you didn’t feel inclined to get to know anyone else living here, but stepping into your own apartment at least relaxed you. It felt lived in and cozy, took a lot of effort to get it like that but the rent was as cheap as you could find and afford so moving wasn’t on your list. 

Turns out you lied. To be fair, you did pace around mindlessly to come up with anything fun to do. Even scrolling through yelp to see if anything struck your fancy, but going to a restaurant alone felt embarrassing. You didn’t really drink so a bar wasn’t much of an option either. Being new in this city and putting so much into proving your worth as an assistant really left you terrible at making friends. 

It wasn’t until your walk to work on Monday morning that you tried to come up with a convincing fake story so your boss didn’t think you were a complete piece of cardboard. It also struck you why you even cared. He wasn’t just your boss, he was a national hero essentially, helping to run the biggest organization of powered people in the world, what in the world would entice him about you? Deep down you knew why, but admitting what that feeling deep in your heart was would be more difficult than you wanted to deal with.

All morning you had prepared this creative story of a fun, impressive outing with your friends, but by the time you reached your floor, it all became pointless. Instead, you just quietly got settled at your desk without even popping your head into his office to say good morning like usual. Only talking to Marcus when he came to you with work things and just gave short polite answers to anything else. May as well stop daydreaming. 

It wasn’t until you finally went through your personal mail stack when you found a contract along with a paycheck. Marcus’s eyes were bright and endearing behind those glasses that framed his face so nicely when you knocked. 

Walking in somewhat timidly you put the contract facing him on the desk. “I just saw this now, but uh, I’m not sure exactly what it’s for.” Your hands clasped together in front of you as you tried to discreetly twist your fingers around in anxiety. 

Marcus only took one glance at it, before he let out a breathe of a laugh and a smile. “It’s an amendment to your existing contract.” You only furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. “I- we added a clause that if you are to have an active role in controlling Miracle Guy’s social media than you should be getting paid extra for it.” 

He held the paper up in the air and tapped at the check paper clipped to it with his fingers. “This is the back payment for what you’ve already done.” He tried to look you in the eye as you approached to take it back, but you were actively avoiding it. So he murmured your name to force you to look at him, “You deserve to get paid for your work, okay? You’re great and you should be rewarded for it.” 

His gaze was penetrating. Something deep swirling behind it that once again felt as if he was putting a puzzle together. Grasping it gently you avoided your hand getting close to his, your sudden realization and subsequent insecurity of being seen as nothing more than an employee was influencing you to be as distant as possible. “Thank you.” 

Marcus tugged it back ever so slightly as he looked at you again, only to let it go just as quick. You only got to the door before he called your name once again. “Your weekend. Did you have a good time?” 

No use in lying he was just being polite. So you shrugged one shoulder as your hand gripped the open door, “Not much going on in my circles.” You couldn’t look at him right now, you felt too much like you were six again. A quiet little girl with a crush on your teacher only this time if you get caught, you won’t get a quiet kind conversation about adults and children aren’t compatible that way, you’re just going to find yourself out of a job. 

You hadn’t sat down for more than 30 seconds before Marcus barrels out his office, flickering his hand to pull the door closed as he was preoccupied putting his jacket on. He leaned onto the front of your desk and it struck you how he had a soft look about him. “I’ll be out for a while, so uhm, please take a long lunch for yourself, no need to worry yourself until I get back, okay?” 

You nodded gently, “Will do, sir.” 

Marcus’s eyes narrowed at the formality, but he tapped at your desk before pushing off and heading directly for the elevator, only catching a glimpse of him suddenly pulling his phone out urgently before the doors shut. 

You were terrible at this, by the time Marcus got back you were so engrossed in a report that your food sat in it’s container, untouched and not even warmed up yet. He approached much more calm than he left, so you didn’t catch his soft footsteps until his large frame shadowed your desk. “You’re back, is everything okay?” 

Marcus looked at you before looking at the container. Letting out a loud sigh and his head tilted to the side in an unreadable irritation. He opened and shut his mouth a few times before relenting. He simply reached over and shut off your monitor. 

You spun in your chair and raised your arms in question, but he only gestured to your food. He didn’t even have to say it, you just let out a deep breathe and grabbed it. Walking past his warm frame, he laid a gently hand on your waist before pulling away as soon as you turned. “Please just sit down and enjoy yourself, stop trying to do everything in one day.” 

Maybe if this wasn’t the day you were plagued with sudden insecurity, you wouldn’t have completely misread his tone. You lowered your gaze and nodded before walking away. Worried thoughts swimming through your head that maybe you were doing too much, and that you weren’t performing up to standards because of it and this was his polite frustration in your work quality. 

Marcus on the other hand has never seen you so downtrodden. Your normally quiet disposition now bordered on shy or uncomfortable. Biting the inside of his cheek, he once again reminded himself of the plan. It might be too abrasive if he did it, he just had to reel in this growing impatience and let Missy play the part she seemed suspiciously eager to do. 

Truth be told, he was out of his depth on this one. He had been on his own for quite a few years now and in that time he had very little interest in anything or anyone besides raising his daughter. When he was told he’d they had hired someone to be his personal assistant and secretary he didn’t expect anything. 

It wasn’t until you walked into the meeting room and Marcus felt that tightening in his stomach that felt foreign at that point. You were so easy to be smitten with, you were quiet, always happy to help or support anyone, you were so incredibly pretty with eyes he would fall into every time you spoke to him. 

He was conflicted though, for more than one reason. First he was your boss and the last thing he wanted was for you to feel taken advantage of, but also his own guilt. Realizing he was starting to emotionally move on from that stage of grief, that he was finally having those feelings again felt strange. Especially when he thought of Missy. 

The one thing that dating again always scared him was the idea that Missy would think he’s trying to replace her mother, or forget about her. She was much younger when they both lost her, and Missy has mostly grown up solely with Marcus. Would introducing someone else interrupt that harmony? The weirdest part really was how much she pushed as soon as she got out of him one day to admit he liked you. 

Thankfully, she had more tact than him in being direct. Coming in after school, Missy came right up to your floor and loudly dropped her bag right beside your desk. Head shooting up, you had a real smile finally at the sight of her arms crossed on the wood with her head fitted neatly into the middle of them. “Is there something I can do for you, miss?” 

You were returned a mischievous grin, pushing up a bit on her palms and tilting her head with wide eyes in a very Marcus manner. “So I’ve heard that restaurant you like is doing pretty well..” 

Raising your eyebrows you put your elbows on the desk, hands tucked under your chin as your eyes narrowed playfully. “Oh? And which one would that be exactly?” You could see the temporary panic as the gears in her head turned. For a brief moment she looked behind you for a second, to quick to turn your own head before she found her answer. 

“That ugly one shoved between the old bookstore and some empty building that somehow always smells like fresh bread.” The cheeky grin was enough to almost make you laugh. You circled in your chair as she came around to the side to see you better. 

“And what per say Missy, are you suggesting I do about it?” 

Her answer was immediate and confident. “You come to dinner with us.” That wasn’t what you expected honestly. As you were taken back, Marcus appeared by you two as he and Missy greeted each other before he turned to you with a soft look. 

“We’d love to have you join us.” Seeing your hesitant look he clarified. “Only if you’re comfortable, but we just thought it’d be nice to take you out, outside of work.” 

Missy leaned into her fathers side in a nudge, “He might feel that way, but I’m certainly not taking no for an answer.” Marcus scolded her quietly with a rush of her name as she stood with no shame. His head leaned down to her suddenly look up at you, and those wide eyes suckered your dumb self back in. 

You inhaled a noticeable breathe, “Only if you guys are sure, you know for me to join-” 

Marcus interrupted before a continued train of thought could doubt you more. “I- we’re absolutely sure.” 

Missy didn’t skip a beat. “Great, we can all go together when my lesson wraps up?” 

Oh absolutely not, you needed time to shake off this gloom over your head that followed you all day. You shook your head with a tight lipped smile. “I uhm, I have a few things at home I have to do first, I can just meet you there it’s not far.” Marcus was about to object but you insisted. “Really, I know when she about wraps up, I’ll just meet you two.” 

Curious doubt was plastered on both Moreno’s faces, but Missy did have to leave and Marcus didn’t want to linger in case you started to feel pressured to go. You left early, but not before a gentle reminder from Marcus of the time, and once again asking if you were sure he couldn’t pick you up. 

Denied again. The reminder of the run down cheapness of your apartment still lingered your feelings of inadequacy. 

It had taken about five shirts tossed carelessly onto your bed before landing on the one you hated the least out of the bunch. It almost felt stupid to try and do yourself up, what point would spending extra time making your hair look pretty, or fussing with what makeup didn’t make you just look like you were trying too hard. A change of clothes you suppose was all that was worth it. 

The walk was cold, the evenings dropping to almost freezing temperatures as soon as it gets dark. Your cheeks stung from the cold and no doubt your eyes looked a little red from walking in the winds path. You were the first to get there, not really a surprise, you had a tendency to get anywhere early. It was though, a thought of if you should wait inside or out. Worrying if you waited inside you’d look impatient or uncaring, you leaned partially against the prick wall, hands shoved into your pockets firmly as your body fidgeted on its own accord trying to keep from getting too cold. 

You heard them before you saw them, a laughing back and forth as they turned a corner. Missy tucked purposely into Marcus’s side no doubt shielding her from the wind. As soon as you were spotted, a concerned look splashed over his features and he rushed in front of you. “Jesus, it’s freezing you didn’t need to wait out here for us like this.” 

You tried laughing it off but his concern remained. “I’m okay, I barley noticed it.” 

In a move you didn’t expect, Marcus almost without thinking reached to gently cup your cheek, his thumb running over the obviously cold skin. “Your body says otherwise.” Oh boy, did he even realize what this combination felt like? Those words coming out of his deep voice mixed with a gentle touch? You felt almost overwhelmed, his large hand was so comfortingly warm on your face, his finger tips rough from so many years leading his team in the field. Your mouth opened slightly with a tiny intake of a gasp, too engrossed in a touch you had never really gotten to give him an answer. 

When you didn’t immediately respond, Marcus pulled his hand away, but did only drop it to your side and slid to your lower back to start moving you to go inside where it’s warm. As you talked briefly to the hostess, you missed Missy and Marcus sharing a look that spoke a language all on it’s own. 

Dinner, was surprisingly normal. There wasn’t any stiff formality or undertones of being at work or with your boss. No it just felt like having dinner with two people you’ve known for a while. There was a strategy at play here, Missy talked and prompted things to smooth out any awkwardness, but always handed the reigns over to her dad and let the two of you get engrossed in whatever you were talking about. 

It was really nice, the anxiety and insecurity fading more and more with every laugh or smile you shared with him, and for a while you got to forget the things that plagued you all day. You both made fun of how big the portions were, than laughed together in success when Missy finally gave in and admitted she needed a take out box for the rest of it after stuffing herself past full. 

Taking off unceremoniously to the washroom, the quiet between you and Marcus matched with the coziness of the booth and dim lighting above felt much more intimate than anything you shared with him at work. He rubbed his hands together for a moment, taking a peek around to see if anyone was watching before turning back to you with a gentle murmur of your name. 

“Listen I, Missy shouldn’t have been the one to ask you here. I wanted to ask you myself, but..I’m just, not used to this anymore.” Your face went from a gentle confusion quickly to a look of pain. Seeing him in such a domestic setting, you realized it was so easy to forget that a giant part of their hearts were missing. 

“Really, it was very sweet of you-both of you. I’m still new so I don’t have many in the friend department, but you’re my boss I didn’t think I should be bothering you with that. You were just asking to be polite, you didn’t have to do any of this.” Your voice was quiet, a bit timid but with an underlining confidence that you knew telling him the truth was the best. 

Marcus put an arm flat across the table almost about to gently grasp your wrist, “Wait that’s not-” 

In a small rushed out sentence you threw your hands out almost defensively, “No it’s fine really, I get it. If I burn myself out, I’m not doing you much good am I?” 

Marcus was quiet. His brown eyes looking deep into yours as he stewed in his thoughts. Your hands had fallen back down, fingers fidgeting against each other much like you did when you were nervous in his office. His gaze finally made a slow path down from your eyes. Not a linger that felt creepy, his eyes barley even focused on anything but staring down at your nervous hands. 

“Marcus, sir, I- I apologize I didn’t mean make things uncomfortable.” 

Marcus’s breath hitched noticeably at being called sir, but for reasons you wouldn’t discover tonight at least. He watched your hands as he slowly murmured to you in a soft, delicate tone. “You always do that.” His hands slid forward a tad on the table, “You finally open up, and I get to see you just as you are until you remind yourself of your job, and you clam right back up like the first day we met.” 

Finally his slow moving hands reached their destination. His fingers hovering so lightly over yours you could almost feel his touch yet not at all. “I didn’t want to ask you out for anything other than wanting to spend time with you.” 

When you didn’t pull away he finally inched the final stretch and let his fingers trace over the skin of your wrist and hand. He was so warm it almost felt like he left a burn of his touch whenever his hand moved to another spot. His sudden raise of his head caught your attention. “I’m sorry about today. I just started overthinking things, and I guess I was...” 

Your eyes trailed away with your voice, you hadn’t noticed your pinky reaching out and like the weight of a feather, traced over Marcus’s own hand. All you could feel was the harshness in your throat at opening up. “I was doubting myself, maybe I was reading into things but we just-” 

“Get along perfectly.” Your eyes met again, yours bordering on a bit of the sting that was typically followed by a feeling of choked up. Marcus’s was more warm this time. Unable to hide your gasp when he finally grasped your hand, just at your fingers as his thumb ran over them. “I haven’t felt anything for someone like this since her mom, I was worried today when you were so distant that I was overstepping. It’s easy to forget you work for me when I just look forward to seeing you everyday.” 

You whispered his name, and it was almost obvious your heart was racing more. “I know it’s complicated, and you don’t talk to anyone else there the way you did me, and I didn’t know if I just fooled myself into seeing something that wasn’t there.” 

“I like you.” His hand gripped yours tighter, unwilling to let go of your softness in that moment as he laid his heart out for you. “You can tell me no or to piss off if you want, but I do like you. A lot. The last thing I want is to scare you off, but if you ever decide your comfortable with it, I want to take you out. Properly like you deserve.” 

Your heart filled up, it was such an odd feeling. This strange new life, and job and a whirlwind of emotions towards Marcus that realizing that this small intimate bubble you two worked in wasn’t just a childish fantasy you made up. You almost jumped when moving to cross your thumb with his only to be interrupted by someone knocking into your table as they passed by without so much as a sorry. 

Your jump knocked yourself out of his hands, but Marcus stayed regardless. His head turning to watch Missy’s incredulous face at the people who had walked by only to realize what she may have walked in on. About to make an excuse to give you more time alone, Marcus beckoned her over with a fake annoyed tone. Yanking her into his side he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, mumbling something in Spanish that you couldn’t quite make out as she responded with a look you could only describe as proud of herself. 

It made you laugh honestly. The tense overload of emotion simmered down back to a domesticity that seemed to very naturally fit all three of you. Finally relenting it was time to leave, Marcus had paid before you got the chance to even get your card out. 

You turned and looked at him with a wide eyed amused look, and he was close enough to feel his breath on your face as he smiled back as he spoke. “You’re not paying even if you’re the one who asks me out next, okay? I was supposed to be treating you.” 

A lightness in your chest filled you up, as you found the courage to smirk back. “If we’re playing by those rules, technically it was Missy who asked me out.” Your voice had lowered to a mocking whispered taunt and if his bemused eyebrow raise was anything to go on, you might be starting to accept he does at the very least enjoy you for you. 

Missy on the other hand had her hands on her hips with a little pout, “I played matchmaker, if anything you should be paying me for my services.” Missing the incredulous look on Marcus’ face you knelt down to her eye level. 

“Instead how about I pay you a free fresh baked dessert of your choice? I know you’re a sucker for soft cookies.” You and Missy both focused on each other, you definitely missed Marcus’s eyes flowing down to your ass before blinking whatever thoughts arose out of his expression and moving to stand beside both of you. 

Her eyes narrowed as she contemplated the bargain. “Only if I get to eat some of the batter before you use it all.” 

Marcus taking advantage of the offer as a hopeful plea of being able to spend more time with you. “La cocina de Morales is fully stocked and open all weekdays and weekends.” Your head looked up to him, before standing to your full height to better see his gentle eyes towards you. “You’re welcome over any day of the week.” 

His tone less joking and sounding much more like an offer had warmth flowing from your heart out into your veins. You intended to answer jokingly, but what came out first was far from it. “You really don’t have to do that, I don’t want to intrude.” 

Marcus took a small step forward, “Never.” 

Both of you noticing more of a crowd starting to enter the lobby, you three quickly made your way back onto the cold streets. Without realizing it, you had begun to walk with them to the parking lot as if you were unwilling to let go of this little world you had finally felt with him. 

It wasn’t until you were standing beside his car, as Missy opened the door to slide inside keeping the door open, asking Marcus if she could turn on the heat. Saying yes, he turned back to you as you looked up to him nervously before starting to fidget in place. “I guess uh, I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

Your face was wide eyed and hesitant, not at all matching the introspective gears turning inside Marcus’s head. “Let me at least drive you home.” His hand finding a home on your upper arm as he leaned closer, your name slipping from his mouth. “Please, it’s freezing out. I’d feel better knowing you can get home safe.” 

“Marcus, I uhm...it’s not that I don’t- I mean I’m just not sure you-” 

Cut off by his hand, somehow still warm despite the cold air, finding a place on your cheek. “You know I don’t look down on you for where you live right? It’s not at all what I would call a safe area but that doesn’t change how I see you.” 

By your confused look, Marcus’s face turned sheepish. “Your address is in your file, I may have taken a look at the place a few weeks ago.” His hand slid from you cheek down to the side of your neck with only his thumb high enough to stroke the skin of your jaw under it. “I overheard you saying once that your neighbors made you uncomfortable but it was the only thing you could afford. I just wanted to know if you were okay or not.” 

Missy at this point had poked her head out of the open door, “You could always come home with us and take advantage of the fireplace?” 

Marcus turned his head saying her name in a warning. Grimacing she relented and got back into the car.  You nodded when he looked back at you with an apology on his lips. “Okay, driving me home doesn’t sound too bad.” 

A relieved smile graced his face, lighting up every handsome feature in an instant. “Good, great. Come on, Missy’s probably cranked the heat enough it’ll be a sauna at his point.” His hand fell to your waist as he turned you and opened the door for you. 

Sure enough it was comically warm in the car. Marcus on the drive commenting how he didn’t understand how Missy could stand having the seat warmers on max for so long. It was a nice drive, but you knew you were being quiet. Not only did he know where you live, but that it wasn’t what you would call a decent area. You felt your stomach whirl at the prospect of being embarrassed once more by your differences, and wanting to feel giddy that he checked it out of worrying for your well being. 

Luckily when you drove up, the outside was mostly empty spare a lone smoker desperately trying to get his lighter to cooperate. Missy turning partially to look at you with a smile, but this time less mischievous and much more small and shy. “I’m really happy you had fun with us tonight.” 

Smiling at her you undid your seat belt and stroked the hair at the top of her head for just a second. “Me too. I’ll see you soon, okay?” 

You weren’t sure of you meant just the days she comes up to her father’s office or if the invite to their house was genuine. Part of you still felt that insecurity of taking a place in their lives that you had no right too. 

“Let me walk you over.” Marcus getting out as you walked side by side, arms brushing against the other. Your head down slightly shaking away the conflict rising inside, as Marcus eyed the rough state of the building with a harder scrutinizing look. He didn’t feel good leaving you in an unsafe area and a less than reliable apartment complex, but he knew his protective feelings towards you needed to be eased in slowly. He didn’t quite think it would scare you off completely, but he also didn’t want to come across  as possessive about where you lived. 

Getting to the front door, you turned to thank him for the evening only to discover he was much closer to you than before. “I had a good time Marcus, really.” 

A more gentle smile graced his features, his palm one again filling your cheek with a thrilling warmth. “Listen, I know me being your boss could complicate somethings, but I need you to still know that I’m not trying to take advantage of you. This isn’t about what you do, it’s just...I’m not used to having feelings for someone again, but I don’t want to go back to pretending they don’t exist for you.” 

Your own hand raised to cover part of his wrist and your hand. “If you want to stop, or take things slow I completely understand. The last thing I want is for you to feel like I’m trying to replace-” 

He stepped in even closer, his lips so close to brushing against yours as he spoke. “You’re not. I promise you, sweetheart. You’re not.” 

Watching his eyes flicker down to your lips, you held your breathe. The need in your heart feeling overwhelming yet unreal. Marcus though, didn’t quite have the same resistance. 

At first his lips just barley brushed over yours, testing how okay you were with him, but as soon as he felt you start to lightly kiss him back it was as if a spark was lit inside of him. His grasp on your cheek held firmer as his other hand grasped at your waist pulling you in slightly. 

His kiss was greedy but his mouth was unbearably soft and addictive. By instinct your hands gravitated to him. One hand sliding barley over his neck and collarbones while the other sat at his waist just keeping you upright against his growing need. 

Marcus lost himself in your lips, his tongue gently teasing at you, giving your bottom lip a nip and taking advantage of the high pitched gasp to slip his tongue into your mouth. You let him dominate the kiss, the only brush you returned was as he explored your own. 

It was only when his grip slipped to your hips, and stopped himself before he pulled them into his own. Taking your time to slow back down to a simmer, Marcus only pulled away after going back for one last small kiss. 

Your eyes shut and chest heaving to catch the breathe he stole from you, Marcus tilted your head up to look him in the eye. “Be safe, please. I’ll pick you up in the morning, okay?” 

Trying to resist you pulled away only to find yourself unable to overpower his strength. “Marcus, it’s okay, you don’t need to go out of your way just for me.” 

Instead of any annoyance he smiled. Leaning in to brush his lips against yours as he spoke. “Quite the opposite. I just need a little extra time alone with you before I have to share your company again.” 

Finally agreeing, he set the time he’d be there. You noting it was earlier then either of you needed to arrive there, you couldn’t help but feel a growing heat at his eyes looking over you. He left one last kiss on your lips. 

He watched you at the door until you disappeared from sight up the stairs. No doubt he was about to hear it from Missy. Whatever inside of him kept flashing back to her mother, it seemed to be buried deeper down inside her. Marcus at first thought it was the feeling of betraying his wife when he no longer could deny how much he liked you.

But now he knew it was something a bit different. It was getting used to feeling alright in finding love again, getting used to the freedom to find happiness again after so many years of pushing it away. Missy might be more complicated, she was young when they lost her and she’s grown up mostly without a mother. That might be something to slowly be unpacked later. For now he felt happy, and so did she and for the Morales duo that was all that mattered right now. 

It wasn’t until after you got out of the shower you saw a text from Marcus. He had never texted you before, only ever called. You bit your lip as you approached, a child like glee as you opened the message. 

“Tell me if it’s too much, but I already started to miss you.” 

It wasn’t too much. Something about him felt different, like he wouldn’t hurt you in ways others had before. So you kept him at ease, not wanting him to think you were apprehensive about it. The insecurity existed, but putting that on him wasn’t what you wanted. 

“Missing me, or just missing my lips?” 

He responded right away, as if at the ready for when you finally opened his first text. “Trust me I miss more than just your lips right now.” 

There was a smile as you typed this out, it was a risk but you could still feel the weight of his tongue sliding over yours and it had kept your body in a state. “So you’re saying I shouldn’t tell you that I only read this right after getting out of the shower?” 

Once again, right away. “Don’t start, baby. I’ll give you what you need, but only if you’re good enough to wait for it.” There certainly was more to this man then his kind look gave away.

You almost fell back onto the couch. How on earth were you supposed to just act like nothings changed tomorrow morning? “Do I get rewarded if behave like a good girl?” 

Marcus’s resolve would shatter the next morning when he sees you. His original plan was to take you out for coffee, but after that message shot straight down to his cock, he wasn’t going to be able to resist the need to feel your lips and your bare skin against his. Luckily you had a boss that wouldn’t care if you were late. 

“You tread carefully, sweetheart. You have no idea what kind of talk that’s going to get you into.” 

“I’m looking forward to finding out, Marcus.” 

“Me too. Now go get some sleep, I want you to feel refreshed when I finally get you all to myself tomorrow morning.” 

If only you knew just how much both of you would take full advantage of being alone together. 

Marcus Moreno was afterall, a constant surprise.

[zelenbug]

more rayman headcanons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i wrote a LOT here

some general descriptions of like 31 whole characters in my headcanon lore. at least those i had much of note to say about. so like, some pretty important characters are missing sorry

rayman - hes cool and a doofus at the same time. hes also a little bit stupid. he values having friends so so much and has no clue what romance is because hes never felt any kind of romantic attraction. he was raised by his fairy mom (betilla has her exact r1 design btw.) and theyre still on good terms : ) favorite activities: inventing ridiculous fun new things to do with globox

globox - he is exactly like in rayman 3 aside from the odd parts in the first map of hoodlum headquarters. silly idiot with a big ego, plays himself up to be mega competent and awesome at everything despite also being a coward. loves his family and haveing fun and his friends. hes good at coming up with ridiculous stupid conclusions. he dislikes glutes (I MEAN THE BIRDS IT IS WHAT THE BIRDS IS CALLED) because they kept biting him and stealing his lunch when he was a kid. he is terrified of rabbids. hes a red wizard but hes bad at being one (due to being tall, bald, not red (anymore) and not much of a wizard (he knows like 2 spells (hes really good at making rain happen though!!!))). his parents dont like him very much for being too much of a silly idiot

uglette - basically globox 2 in a lot of ways. not a coward but is averse to adventuring so she doesnt do that (also isnt as arrogant). kicks your ass if you threaten her kids though. not as much of an active participant in various fun activities despite being fully supportive of it BUT DONT GET IT WRONG she is still also a silly idiot. she doesnt like math either but is surprisingly good at counting which is the only reason her and globox know how many kids they have (globox was barred from helping out with counting, hes so bad at it which is why they were miscounting as over 650 for a while, its really just 651). uglettes parents dont like her very much for unclear reasons (hwy do you think shes named that)

their kids - allowed to run everywhere and have as much fun as possible which includes them punting every other glade inhabitant they can get to like the ball. they are UNRESTRICTED MENACES. if confronted about it (usually by murfy) both globox and uglette would go "its good parenting". at worst they get told off like "hey dont be mean please". andre is one of the kids btw

murfy - he is exactly like in rayman 3. hes actually really good at different voices which is why hes really squeaky at times (he puts on an act and pretends to be nice when polokus is around, that includes making a stupid squeaky voice). has flirted with rayman who remains completely oblivious to this. attempted to date a lot of people otherwise, didnt go so well, one of them was a literal girl with great big eyes though (a mosquito). also he would rather pursue acting than whatever his job ended up being

goth teensy - i wrote a post about him already. nice naive little man. his memory is awful for no reason. he doesnt remember how he got this watching over the dead door job either and he barely does it because he keeps getting distracted (and justifies it with "well how likely are the nightmares to get out anyways?")

raymesis - his one goal in life is to be raymans greatest rival and make sure everyone knows how bad rayman is (raymesis fails horribly at this. when he pretensd to be rayman literally everytone can tell that is not rayman). he is a giant cringefail loser. he wears cringy gamer shirts (like. over his hoodie) at home, which is a horrible dingy apartment. has several other embarrassing interests he doesnt even let glombrox know (who basically lives in his apartment due to constantly finding new ways of breaking in)

glombrox - claimed by raymesis to be his sidekick, actually just goes along with it because hes smart and can also kick raymesis in the back once his own plan goes awry. raymesis is both his favorite target to mess with and the closest thing he has to a friend. he smells horribly and hates baths, he loves beating up people for fun, he writes in cursive so fancy its legit unreadable. he was also an asshole as a kid (hes no longer allowed anywhere near his relatively normal family) and found more company with darktoons who only slightly influenced him. somehow everyone keeps thinking hes globox. he hates it. he can eat mold

teensy queen - honestly kudos to my friend for coming up with most of this because this is like really good. teensy queen is just kind of nuts and also a giant drama queen (lmao), like fake fainting with back of hand on her forehead. her targets of attraction consist exciuslvely of women and rayman. she has probably spoken with ghosts

andre - unfortunately for him, stuck at globoxs village permanently after being turned back into a black lum at some point (during rrr's events). globox and uglette and their kids literally all consider andy a family member, he hates it and he hates everyone here. he doesnt even try to escape anymore because SOMEONE will inexplicably get him back there (ie his siblings catching him in a bug net. they kick him around too btw). hes still trying to plot some evil plan that he hopes to execute eventually. hes terrified of rayman more than literally anyone else in the glade

ales mansay - NOT the magician, just pretended to be him to try and get on the heroes' good side. ales is slightly taller than him actually. anyway ales likes mr dark very very much (this is not reciprocated whatsoever). hes really bad at magic for a teensy (his organ thing that works with magic just doesnt work right?) and he got bullied as a kid relentlessly for it, he was already mean but this just made him worse. hes the closest thing the glade can get to a techbro (if he makes all hte tech himself). was even more mean to goth teensy in particular (who was just trying to reach out and become friends maybe) when they were classmates

polokus - hes seen even by the other gods as a weird little silly man. he can shapeshift between pretty much any kind of look (he has to remain beige though) but the design in origins is his "true" form i guess. he created the glade and its inhabitants long long ago and set them loose, he created globoxs spcecies in his own image but thought itd be funny if they didnt have legs. when hes not vacationing god knows where (like himself) (anyway he went there during rayman 3) hes pretty easy to talk to and become best friends with. he is divorced (over teensies)

voodoo mama (NOT THE NYMPH this is literally not what the nymph is called ignore raywiki IM TALKING ABOUT mama hite) - God's Ex. she thinks hes too much of a silly idiot too. she literally only likes one teensy (romeo patti), thinks all the other ones are ugly as hell. nowadays (aside from hanging out in land of the livid dead briefly before getting kicked in the eyes. yknow. big mama.) lives at the sea of serendipity with red wizards, offering her weird concoctions and whatever else to people, usually they do some magic effect they want (ie how rayman recolored himself like globox for fun) but with Side Effects. all the red wizards are convinced shes just some tall lady thats really good at magic and not literally, like. another god. even though she doesnt bother to hide it that much. sorta acted like a better mom to globox than the one he actually had, it took him a long time to also learn she was, in fact, God's Ex

LIGHTNING ROUND,!? the (unique) BABYS!!! brainox is obviously the smart one, a polite little guy, he has albinism and thus doesnt like sunlight, looking at it OR being in it. so hes more nocturnal bimbette is just cutie pants (from fancy pants) basically. she is a huge brat. lacks eyelashes for some reason zikox (remember hes the yellow one this is a canon name from the dreamcast localization file) pursues rap sure he secretly really likes poetry. wouldnt let anyone know. oktette is obviously the other smart one but shes REALLY smug about it. she literally looks down on people shes the tallest of the babys. (actually theyd be like teenagers by now almost?) hardrox isnt mean but hes just annoyed all the time by everything. he has a cool rock band, his dad is the only other member (as you know globoxs rayman arena desc says he likes rock music) catastrox is confused about everything constantly he has a hard time understanding anything. actually one of the least chaotic kids. he also just didnt really understand robo pirates were bad because he didnt know morals yet (also bc he hatched with the pirates somehow)

flaming teensy is the cool old (not that old, hes in like his 40s equivalent) man. despite appearances (and whatever happened in mini) hes actually pretty nice. looks over the tricky treasure as a job. hes in a relationship with another teensy but hes from the cold part of gourmand land this time

(i didnt intend to pick images of both magicians (i guess. you can see i refuse to call ales that) with no hats on. i just thought they were funny. this one is from an educational game btw)

the first king is the actual old. hes oldest teensy that has ever been alive, he refuses to die out of sheer stubbornness and just constantly complains about "kids these days". hes like cranky kong with less video game references

jano - one of the more minor gods, only one created by polokus (it was an accident). then he made a mess and now nightmares and the scary part of land of the livid dead exist. hes gotten more neutral over time, but not exactly nice and he doesnt regret making nightmares happen. nowadays he actually guards the way to land of the livid dead (cave of bad dreams is just a part of it), which is a somewhat different job from goth teensy

(side note r3 and origins land of the livid dead exist in the same "space", but the origins one is in a sort of pocket dimension. pocket dimensions have mostly been created by group efforts of powerful teensies for convenient travel purposes, ie the highways or the hall of doors, or some other purpose like the tower also in (r3) land of the livid dead. anyway nightmares reside in the origins land of the livid dead. and it wasnr created by teensies just to be clear, its that most of the other pocket dimensions were)

dark globox - nobody invited him to these races one time he just showed up. everyones scared of him, hes not even mean or evil he just throws people into walls for some reason. he speaks in BFGKBLFBDKFHMMDFKS but hes like, a sapient person with thoughts in SOME form? still the same species as globox but hes the most weird shaped one. everyone just called him that due to approximate similarities to the only other competitor who was also the same species (unless you count globette) anyway dark globox is literally the only person glombrox genuinely respects

tily - like a cat (full of mischief) that can fly. unstoppable, chaotic, bites people (mostly globox. for no reason). if caught in the act (for example, pushing fragile objects off tables for no reason) she acts like shes entirely innocent and hasnt done a single thing wrong or bad at all. which keeps working, every time. but she can be persuaded to stop for a little bit with some treats of candy (thats a difference from cats, cats cant taste anything sweet at all!). i dont know what her relation to ly is but theyre both cats in some way

the magician (the real one this time) - has always been a rayperson. hes a grown man but is shorter than most teensies for no reason. obviously great at magic but anything involving technology confuses him to no end. hes maybe just a bit mischievous at times, hes nice he just messes with people a little bit sometimes for fun. Ok so i can really only describe this best with an image also from an educational game

red wizards arent like. one character but i could go into more detail on them. so they live mostly around sea of serendipity and mystical pique. at least the older ones are absolutely committed to being always serious and never having fun or being silly ever, and they hope to also teach the same values to god with their boring mantras. you can understand why globox didnt fit with the other red wizards like at all. ALSO red wizards gossip a LOT, htey end up knowing about everything remotely adjacent to them (but nothing outside of that, they had no idea there were robo pirates at all for example)

romeo patti - why did he decide to live in land of the livid dead?? anyway he kind of has the easiest job in the world because most of his patients are already ghosts and you cant do much about that. so he spends all his time smoking all kinds of stuff, thats kind of why hes the only teensy voodoo mama likes. hes also one of the tallest known teensies, its hard to tell because he also has the worst posture of all the known teensies

TOOK LONG ENOUGH TO GET TO MINIMUSES I GUESS? talking in plural because i think its mostly a set of teensies that steal the crown from one another. being The King is mostly meaningless but it makes them feel important and they get to shout commands at people. only one of them was brave enough to participate on some fun adventures with rayman and globox and goth teensy, he acts like the leader of the team which makes the other three go "?"

sir globrax - he keeps getting stuck in absolutely unreal situations. nobody knows how he does this. murfy for a time got assigned by polokus to watch over this poor chainmail wearing idiot and, while he wouldnt show it, murfy has never genuinely hated anyone more than this guy and his penchant for trapping himself in ways nobody on the planet can decipher. meanwhile his view on murfy is like. My assisant murfy who helps me when im in trouble : )

globteen and teensy ray together i guess - theyre like. friends but they mostly focus on being the number one biggest fan of whoever their respective favorite guy is. and they both run fanclubs but the globox fanclubs only members are globteen and globox. teensy ray will try and fight anyone who is mean to rayman, also hes one of the few teensies that isnt bald (he made himself not bald)

globteen is a funny little guy overall. his age is a mystery. most people find him kind of weird and a bit nuts so he doesnt have a lot of friends but he doesnt seem to mind that much. hes actually REALLY pale for a teensy for some reason, being a very light yellow color. its a bit hard to tell because he never goes out without his face painted blue (like globox). also he is literally this

might do more of this if i come up with things to write about other characters

[expendables-ropg]

THE EXPENDABLES: R O P G

So who we are? we are a group of expendables sended down here to get the cristal

''so you all are trying your hardest to get the cristal and not die, right?''

....weeeeell, no, we just are messing around the facility :p

But here's the

Redy

Sup its me, redy!

Im a 19 years old idiot, i was accused of second degree murder and kidnapping 4 innocents, other people say i shouldnt be here and that my crimes are faked, which the worse part is that its true

i like strawberries and Poyo, but i dont like Diving (EVEN THOUGH IM OBLIGATED TO DO SO)

i like talking with others and looking at everything, others call me curious (and stupid), but who knows if theres a little drawer with research somewhere?

Also i have a gun (:

And here's the

Orany

Hello everyone my name is Orany, im the 22 year old kind of girl that if you stop watching for a second is gonna fucking stab you in the back

why? it would be fun

I like grewy (because hes my boyfriend ) and baked potatoes, and im terrified of heights, have you never felt scared of being so high that you feel how your body could at any moment fall to the floor and die?

So here's the

(she asked for a more formal Divider)

Piky

yeaaa...so im Piky, the smartest one of these guys-

''thats a lie one of the many deaths you had you literally died to Searchlights because you-''

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT I UNDERSTAND

Im just trying to do my job here, tho being silly like these idiots isnt that bad, sometimes is fun, makes me forget my crimes lmao

I dont like nothing or no one at the moment

i fucking hate @asksearchlights, and her stupid wife

Anyways, here we founded the

Grewy

howdy, im Grewy!

i have been sentenced to death penalty because of Murdering 6 people because of an explosion i caused and arson

yea no balls, im telling my crimes

I like Orany (Orany my beloved❤️) and pizza, i dont like darkness....

I like being silly even thought other people looks at me scared, im sure they will eventually get used to it, but i can also be S E R I U S when i need to be

QUICK REMINDER!:

This is a vague description of the characters, theres a lot more about them that you will figure out in rps

How to apply to the new blog

Rules:

-I dont want politics in this askblog

-NO NSFW

-im okay with suggestive things but remember theres a limit

-Im fine with gore, and i love rping

-Anyone can ask, and better if its asked by a askblog

RP guide:

''Redy talks in a red color''

''Orany talks in a orange color''

''Piky talks in a pink color''

''Grewy talks in a green color''

[This means ooc/mod talking]

*This is how to say an action*

If you want to do a rp, start your ask with ''{RP}'' or ''{RolePlay}''

Tags:

#Expendables ropg responds - (answers to your asks)

#Expendables ropg art - (share art, theres no drawings of them yet so go wild!)

#OC to ROPG interactions - (any interaction of your OC to any ROPG member)

Inspiration:

This whole blog is inspired by @asksearchlights blog, which was also inspired by @ask-eyefestation blog

Also the game from this blog is Pressure from Roblox

Quick mod notes/edits:

-Mod native language isnt english, so i will probably do grammar mistakes, sorry ):

[ mod is He/Him]

This blog was supposed to be done to rp with @asksearchlights blog, but at this point i dont understand whats going on so i stopped rping there, so i guess this is now its own thing?

I have indeed reached the final part of the game, but died unfortunately

this blog is probably not related to the original game, so expect silly stuff/theories / any headcanon / and funny momments to happend here, after all the point is to have fun :)

@Aeott is the mod of this blog

Thanks for seeing all of this, i hope you enjoy this askblog as much as i enjoyed making it ^ ^

[unpopularshipbracket]

Round 2b Match 1

Rashmi Jamil/Amelie Macon (Entropic Float)

Fic count: 0

Milo/Piers (Pokemon)

fic count: 29

"COUNTRY BOY X EMO CITY BOY, HIMBO X GOTH, SHORT AND STRONG X TALL AND SKINNY, SUNSHINE ONE X GRUMPY ONE C'MON GUYS THEY'RE EVERYTHING it is MIND boggling they aren't more popular"

Rashmelie propaganda under cut!

Rashmelie:

"this essay is going to be reused whole cloth from the submission of them to the 17 million years of pining poll! because unfortunately i do not have the energy to go insane enough to write up anything new oh.

my god. where the fuck do i start with them for real.

okay so, theyve been friends since early childhood, and before either of them came out (Rashmi is agender, they/them, while Amelie is a trans girl, she/her, and they are both mspec which is a bit less relevant but is also there). the earliest time that we know that they have feelings for each other is when theyre both 14, and Rashmi - already out, with their entire family (parents and grandma) supporting them without question - is moving. uhhh 90% of american geography names are the same to me so i might lie there. from Nevada, where they both grew up, to New York, where Rashmi is planning on studying dance further, which has always been their plan; around 14 is when they ran out of teachers at home.

they quietly hope Amelie doesnt confess her feelings for them, as they fear it might tempt them to stay, which they cannot allow themself to do. Amelie, meanwhile, is very carefully not thinking about gender, because her parents are quite frankly the worst. over the course of the years before they meet back up, Amelie has had some dates, but each time, they dont work out, and in her own words, put logs on the flame she carries for Rashmi.

Rashmi, meanwhile. gets married. one of Rashmi's biggest struggles in their romantic pursuits has been the fact that they are both Indian and queer. it has been a struggle for them to find someone who respects both - someone who respects their gender identity while not throwing their culture under the bus. that is one of the factors contributing to the way their relationship with "Ajay" (we learn that this name isnt his real one, but it was magically replaced in Rashmi's memories of him and we dont know it) played out: he is also Indian, and the first thing he asked them upon meeting them was what their pronouns were. and it was all good.

until it wasnt.

i would love to get into that deeper, but the important point is that "Ajay" is kind of a piece of garbage, whose crimes include finding Rashmi's address when they didnt give it out, deliberately not sending Amelie her wedding invitation because Rashmi told him they used to have a crush on her, driving them to drop out of dance school, and general possessiveness (notable being the fact that, whenever he is home, he always asks them to stay home too, which leads to them dropping their social circle and their hobbies). one of the places it grows from is "Ajay" being ace and not quite believing that Rashmi accepts that. he also has a substance abuse problem.

all of that culminates as they return from a short visit to their parents, and he in a fit pushes them down a long flight of stairs.

in the meantime... god, i cant even figure out what parts of information are important about Amelie here. i would put as notable the fact that she only figured out she was a girl something like a year before the events of the game - and only ever came out to Rashmi, who in turn told their parents...

and who didnt realize that Amelie's workplace didnt know. her workplace is just. terrible in social terms. she loves the work itself (its food industry, a restaurant in a casino, dont remember the exact job description) but her coworkers are being the absolute worst. a cesspool of toxic masculinity. also an environment for Amelie's undiagnosed psychosis. she is prone to auditory hallucinations.

after being outed to her boss while also hearing from Rashmi's parents that their husband is... lets just say bad for them, she, while safely at home, hallucinates that her boss or maybe her father is breaking down the door.

simultaneously with Rashmi as they are falling down the stairs, they make Wishes.

these are not widely understood; from the context of the game, it seems as though some people get a Wish when in significant peril, or in distress. you do not need to use the Wish immediately as you get it, but they both did.

essentially, what Rashmi Wishes for is a way to escape from their husband that wouldnt raise a fuss; and Amelie Wishes for a place where she and Rashmi can both be safe. (i am very muddly on the details there) their Wishes create the anomalous clocktower where the game takes place."

[uriekukistan]

how do you … hhow do yiu start writjng. like how do you. opening paragraph…. how do you begin..

sksjdj sorry this took so long, i genuinely rewrote my answer 3-4 times 💀 took me a few hours to figure out how i wanted to answer this tbh bc usually i don't even know what im doing either

also im by no means a perfect writer, i’m still working to improve with every fic, so pls take this w a grain of salt, everyone writes their own way as well…hopefully this isnt too long or annoying or preachy or anything.

i always have an outline of my fic ready before i start writing, regardless of if it's super vague or highly detailed, i also try to think about what the character(s) want from the situation(s) and potential ways that could create conflict (not in an angsty way per se but in a plot moving way). knowing this is super helpful for deciding where to start because different types of openings are good for different stories.

ideas i use a lot!

-> character intro! this is my most commonly used way to start a new story. i like to make sure my MC is in the first sentence so the reader knows who the story is going to focus on. this does have a potential to go wrong, bc essentially, there's the good way and then there's my immortal 💀

when i say to use a character intro, i mean like their mindset/beliefs as they pertain to the plot, main conflict they're facing, or how they're feeling at that moment, rather than "basic info"

ex: megumi fushiguro is 15, has black hair and green eyes, and he's a jujutsu sorcerer and is in his first year at jujutsu tech. in his free time, he reads. he loves animals. he was abandoned by his parents at a young age, so he's wary of others <- boring, bland, sparks 0 interest

VS: Megumi was never a fan of love. Not in books, not in TV shows, not in movies, and certainly not in real life. He hadn’t so much as considered having romantic feelings for someone in fifteen years of living, and he wasn’t about to start now. Definitely not now. Not after what had happened. <- interesting, gives insight into how megumi thinks (and how strongly), sparks interest bc what happened??

hsiao doesn't want to date a coworker because she has a dangerous job, but has a crush on saiko. urie can't express his feelings because he's spent ages bottling them up, and now he needs to grieve someone he didn't realize he cared for until it's too late. establishing these things is really important, and should be done eventually either way.

i think this method works best for stories focusing on a conflict that's more internal because it sets up the characters psyche, but can still be used for external conflict effectively!

-> dialogue: another one that can be tricky, and gets a bad wrap sometimes, but it can very much be used well. it's good to use if the story is focusing on interpersonal conflict, especially if it involves a lot of arguing. usually, i throw the reader into a high tension, fast moving scene with dialogue, sometimes one with a confrontational start, sometimes in the middle of an already brewing interaction.

-> strong feelings: this works best with negative feelings, so i use it mostly for reeeeaaaallly angsty fics. physical pain, extreme sadness or guilt, grief, rage, or high stress work really well for this, because they're feelings that tend to consume everything else. you gotta be ready to dedicate a few paragraphs to really good descriptions that make readers feel. it's a bit intimidating to write and has the potential to overwhelm readers as well, so i tend to reserve it for fics that i intend to be really heavy and upsetting, no happy ending/comfort type fics

-> straight into action: gonna be honest, i try to avoid this one as much as possible unless it's in a multi-chapter fic where the characters/conflict have been firmly established. used outside of this, i think it works best with actions that are literal beginnings, or it feels like part of the story is missing. things like waking up, opening a door (staring at a blank page trying to write..........)

lil tips ig

★ shorter sentences: my usual writing style has a lot of lengthy sentences, but when it's the first thing a reader sees, it slows down the pace immediately. of course, there's a place for long sentences as well, but the average reader is going to go for something that grabs their attention quickly.

★ u don't have to start from the beginning!! honestly i get this from writing academic essays, but sometimes it's easier to write the beginning after you wrote the rest because even if u think u know where ur going, it can change as u write it. tbh once i wrote fic almost entirely backwards 💀

slfkjgnkjnsfglk i hope this was at least somewhat helpful, honestly i wasn't sure what to say, but i'm really excited to see ur fic!!! ik u have a lot of things planned, so i'm sure once you get the first words out there, the rest will start flowing !!!

[curio-queries]

Run BTS: 045 | BTS Cafe

Original Air Date: 20 MAR 2018 Episode Length: 32:39 Total Parts: 1 YouTube English Subtitles: Yes Title Song: Blood Sweat & Tears

Synopsis: At a cafe, learning to make various drinks

Production: I do think this was a really great idea, they just had a location that wasn't the best for filming. Jin even made a cute moment of it but trying to show this kind of skill to both the guys and present to camera, not ideal with the set up they had, they really missed not having top-down footage as well. i will say the editors did great with keeping the pace going. it's not easy when there's 7 guys repeating the same thing over but I don't feel like we missed TOO much even though we know there's a lot that had to be cut.

Endearment: I've always watched this kind of content of people showing skills and trying out things they've never done before. So i realize I'm biased but I do think the guys did a good job with it. they didn't get too caught up with what they were doing that they forgot the perspective of the audience. and they're always so curious and amazed that it's easy to get drawn into the experience with them.

Winner: JN

Loser: RM

Best Cheater: I didn't see any shenanigans but it seems like there was a lot that needed to be cut for time/pacing.

Member Moments:

RM: awww, RM being proud of that lil latte. how adorable!

JN: Jin's jokes getting the staff to laugh but BTS isnt impressed until the 2nd one, then theyre all laughing too.

YG: Yoongi's quiet competence is one of my favorite traits and it shines so well in the episodes where they're learning something.

JH: is it just me or was Hobi more present during the trivia part than he usually is?

JM: of course! jimin getting rushed for being too slow. Should we be concerned about how much caffiene Jimin was getting? he was sipping on ALL of the drinks lol

V: Poor V. an entire episode about coffee when he doesnt like it. I'm there with you buddy, i dont like it either.

JK: JKs face when he tries the espresso! you can tell he WANTS to like it but he just doesn't. OF COURSE JK has too much strength tamping!

Bonus Content: Awww, Hobi said he hoped someone wore Mang's costume...🥹 Make sure you check out the bonus footage if you wanna see some of the guys taste the fancy drinks they made. Seems like they were in a rush to get to whatever they were doing after though and that's why we didn't get footage of this in the ep.

CQ Rank: 3

(CQ Eval Date: 24 JAN 2024)

Check out this post for my Masterlist of all episodes and descriptions of how I'm evaluating these.

Previous Episode: 044

Next Episode: 046

[ratsoh-writes]

Personality wise i can very sarcastic most of the time and sound mean even when it isnt my intention. I'll speak up for people if they can't or are afraid and even with this :tough exterior" I have my soft times were I craft trinkets and stuff for people i like. I can be kind but damnit i can be obvious and I have a hard time with understanding emotions sometimes. I grew up half my life on a farm in the middle of fucking no where, we are blunt as fuck there.

Slurp a soup next to me and I'll spoon out your eyes. I hate it. I hate the sounds of slurping. it makes me twitch like a fish on land.

Also I need honesty and directness, I don't like guessing how someone feels and walk on egg shells. If you can't communicate with me then its pretty much over. I'll be patient but it'll run out quickly. also cheating pretty much is a very much dealbreaker, like, sir, leave. my standards are looooow damnit

some of my favourite items are my stitch plushy i cuddle with and my figurine collection. I love collection stuff of all sorts, dead animals, teeth, toys, special transformers stuff. I love transformers, who ever bing watches Transformers Prime with me, I'll marry you.

My hobbies are drawing, reading, writing, exploring the city or the woods. Also committing various gremlin crimes and vanishing into thin air at comic cons. blink and im gone. For being 5'9ft n chubby, i move incredibly quietly tehehe.

have fun, rody rodent~

Ehehehhe I’m so excited to do this matchup for you! Your description is way different from the first one you sent me, I think it was G I matched you with..? He definitely doesn’t fit anymore either way. Now I think you’re better suited to…. WEASEL! Lustswapfell papyrus!

Weasel is a chaotic little f*ck, but one who knows limits and can read people well. He can tell when a joke he makes went over your head, or the difference between you being snarky, and you being genuinely angry. Weasel is great at correcting misunderstandings and is a great partner for oblivious or blunt people!

You like figurines? He too loves them! Mostly it’s creepy dolls and clowns he collects, but he can also appreciate your transformers collection! He’s the kind of guy to mix the collections together and leave the figures in goofy positions to make you laugh. And while he may not be a robot fan himself, he does his damn research when he gifts people. He’ll never give you a repeat figurine

He’s so playful! And while he is adventurous, he’s also rather cautious. Weasel is full of both adventure and common sense. You can explore anywhere with him and not worry about him dying in a ditch somewhere. He’s much too smart for that.

The cheating thing… well is his job cheating? Weasel is a prostitute. He also works as a waiter, but the biggest part of his income comes from tips from his more intimate services. He’d never romantically cheat on a SO, but anyone being with him needs to understand what his work is.

[aristotels]

What do you think the outcome of the AI debate will be? Does this differ from what you think it should be?

Do you consider it worth engaging in/with at all?

i dont think there will be any actual outcome because the debate in *this* form about whether it is or isnt art is useless precisely because its philosophical and doesnt have an actual answer. it also doesnt rly change anything in context of art being "expression of human emotion" or whatever. the only context i can see where ai status as art matters is the context in regards to art as a profession and that doesnt affect people making gay sex cats on their laptop or hobbyists who make art out of love. im talking about things like if ai should be allowed in applications for state fundings for visual artists, if it could be basis for joining artist guilds etc.

(p.s. you cant actually just show up and join the guild, at least not in my country - you need to have like 5 years of public activity as an artist, certain number of solo and collective and juried exhibitions completed with documentation, and your art has to meet some standard for you to be accepted.)

these are things concerning visual art as profession, not human soul or whatever. i think people keep using artist as a professional status and human activity interchangably, and it creates confusion. art as expression is humane and holy and all that, art as work and a profession is simply a category defining labour and has no moral value. same way like teaching, nursing, etc are job descriptions. artists shouldnt be above the working class. thats how arts were treated in ex-yugoslavia, where artists werent separated or holier than other people, but were a part of proleteriat. a lot of funding was being given to artists because art was supposed to be for everyone and cultural soul and food for people. (the "art is a luxury" argument has genuinly been getting on my nerves; idk who the fuck came up w it but art is a service like any other. i also believe artists have duties to their own compatriots, to provide art to the public and not just burgeoise. this is going to be taken out of context btw, but it does make sense under a communist state).

i think that this whole ai discussion is trying to elevate artists to something "grander than ordinary humans" when its rly not. the yearning wish to be acknowledged as an artist instead of prompter is a part of it as well, making the "artist" status to be the only way creativity can be recognized as worthy. i think the same of people who talk about art needing to have SOUL btw. in both cases the artist status becomes something soo special and important, when it rly shouldnt be.

the individualism of artist as an independent creator instead of a part of proleteriat collective is problematic.

anyway why do i care if ai art has art status or not? the closest example i can come up with are comics in croatian national funding, where things arent very clear. comics belong both to visual media... and literature. so for example, instead of applying for visual arts, we are required to apply comic books to the literary works funding. however, the commission prefers writers - so you have more money allocated to the writers than comic book artists, and theyre disproportionately granted. the grants are also the same amount. you get 21,000kn to write a book or draw a long form comic.

then, for example, i have an official artist status in croatia. comics are my primary activity - but see, there is no category for that. i can only be a sculptor, a painter, or a multimedia artist. and the closest thing to a comic artist is........a painter. and the requirements for the painter status require a set number of solo and collective juried exhibitions - in gallery and all. why should a comic artist who draws comics be required to participate in juried gallery exhibitions? the commission doesnt care about hundreds of pages ive drawn and the publications ive been a part of - they want exhibitions.

anyway sry for a horribly long post, but my point is that the art status of ai needs to be defined for *things like these*. in context of creative value it doesnt matter, but in context of craftmanship it might.

this might ALSO be because "umjetnik" (artist) in my language is mostly used as a defined status, while hobbyists will usually say "i dabble in art/drawing" instead of assigning themselves the label. its rarely used by someone who just likes to draw on the side. my official academic title is "diplomirani umjetnik", my national status is "samostalni umjetnik". to me the word "artist" is simply a descriptor of my job, so thats how i see and understand that word, but im realizing it might be different in the english language.