#TORRES- The Exchange

[pardonmystardust]

When Little Green Cars said There's more people out there to love than people who love you

Or when or when tøp said I'm just worried my loyalty will bore you

Or when Ben Folds said Life barrels on like a runaway train where the passengers change, they don't change anything; you get off, someone else can get on

Or when Sir Sly said I don't want to settle down but I'd like to fall in love

Or when Lydia said It's still not quite the way it was, but you promised me this is love

Or when You Won't said Back when I was young enough to know from where I came, I saw my love be spat upon and shouted down in shame

Or when Jared & the Mill said Life is getting faster and I miss the way she'd make it move so slow

Or when The Glass Child said Now I see that I went blind for you, hide the truth, made us up inside my head like I always do

Or when The Decemberists said You rise to me and I'll blow you down

Or when Ditch Lily said It's all so foggy from remembering correctly

Or when Margot & The Nuclear So And So's said If my woman was a fire she'd burn out before I wake

Or when The XX said Maybe I had said something that was wrong- can I make it better with the lights turned on?

Or when OWEL said If there's ever been a single thing worth keeping, Like some memory, it's not to be repeated

Or when The Paper Kites said You left me living with a lingering soul, how little you know

Or when Twin Shadow said Sometimes we don't feel right / Sometimes we don't fall at all

Or when TORRES said If you're not here I cannot be here for you / If you're not here I cannot be alone

They got me

[bumblingbabooshka]

St Voyager Crew's Casual Chats: X

[thyminell]

Gift exchange for @captainkjaneway1 ! Also thanks to @startrekwintergiftexchange for hosting this!

The prompt I did was Janeway/Torres in the past so I did Discovery!

Live Michael Reaction

[nightwingshero]

Leon Kennedy - Brianna Torres - Ashley Graham

2/2 gift for @gummibrit for the Resident Evil Gift Exchange by @sstewyhosseini

[bitcoinversus]

XRP Price Drops Amid SEC Appeal in Ripple Lawsuit

XRP experienced a sharp drop, losing over 10% of its value following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) latest move to appeal a pivotal court ruling in its lawsuit against Ripple Labs. The legal battle between Ripple and the SEC has been ongoing since 2020, with the regulatory body asserting that XRP should be classified as a security. Despite a favorable ruling for Ripple in…

[accirax]

okay, i wasn't originally going to reblog with a written section of my own (though i was obviously always going to with tags) just for the secrecy of it all, but there was something you brought up that tickled me, and i wanted to share. specifically, it's about number Ten.

at the end of your section about him, you said:

I wonder if "Ultimate Romantic" could be a valid talent, because that's the vibe he's giving me. Hey, I've seen weirder! If not, then I don't have many guesses of what he could be :p

on that front, i have good and bad news.

if you were Deep In The Accirax Lore (by which i mean you were following me in *checks notes* february 2020 and somehow remembered this post, which by all accounts would literally just be me), you might recall this post in which i talked about "obsessing over my own fanganronpa game." and, the first character depicted in that post...

was Aika Agatsuma, the Ultimate Romantic! she was part of the Ultimate Couple with Nobuyuki, the Ultimate Lover :)

(in terms of future av-multifangan lore, we'll call this game our 0th fangan. it was never written, and it never will be for reasons i could explain, but won't on this post because that's neither here or there. sorry, characters!)

so while the good news is that you were totally on the right track with determining that "weirder" talents are totally ones that we would come up with, the bad news is that i'll have to de-confirm the exact phrasing of "Ultimate Romantic" for #10. we haven't repeated ourselves on talents that the main series didn't use multiple times yet!

also, while i'm in this reblog...

Wizardry 8 is a video game that was released by SirTech in 2001. In it, you play as a party of adventurers that crash land during as escort mission and have to quickly train themselves in order to beat the bad guy, the Dark Savant, to a legendary location so that he doesn't achieve legendary cosmic power-- basically, standard JRPG stuff.

Venus and i grew up watching our mom play it, and, when she was old enough, Venus got it for herself to play. after beating the game normally multiple times, she also started assigning herself challenge runs, like ones where she only has one party member or no one can use any magic. i just asked Venus how many hours she has put into the game on Steam, and she said, "idk like 1000 or something." our family often jokes that Venus is the foremost expert on Wizardry 8 in the entire world, because who else is religiously playing a 2001 release that looks like this

in the year of our lord 2024?

so, tl;dr, Wizardry 8 has absolutely nothing to do with #8 and only has to do with Venus shouting out one of her favorite niche video games. as a bonus fun fact, the Wizardry video game series were part of what inspired Ryoko Kui to make Dungeon Meshi! play them if you wish; i'm sure it would make Venus very happy.

Danganronpa One Shot: Pre-Release Analysis

Let's gooo!

In case you're not aware, for the last sixteen days, there's been a countdown of sorts going on in venus-is-thinking's account, and I've been excitedly following it along! The big reveal happened today: a fangan called Danganronpa: One Shot, hosted in the account av-multifangan!

For now, we have little more than a title, an announcement post, an FAQ and an About Page. Which I hope don't have secrets in source code or anything because I don't know how to chekc that :p

But is that going to stop me from talking about it? Hell no! I'm going to follow this from the start, and that includes early theories based on literally two pictures and a countdown. Mainly character talents and the such. Let's get into it!

What we Have

As stated earlier, literally two images and a countdown.

So... yeah not a lot. However, I feel like the poster with the wheel could give us an idea of tone, at least. Seems on the more lighthearted side from first impression, even if a killing game will inevitably have some pretty sad moments to go along with it. At least that's the impression I get, could be wrong! There's a big theme of games of chance with all the imagery of wheels, money, poker chips... as well as weapons like guns, knives and nooses, as expected of a killing game. Particularly, we see American-looking $100 bills, which combined with the names of the characters, could suggest an American setting. But hey, it's a prediction post; if I get things wrong, I get things wrong!

The comment on the names is a nice segue for the reveal that the tags of the announcement post include the names of the characters!

Now, venus specifically claims the names are secret, but I actually have a guess of what each name refers to. I could be completely off, but I think the names might be listed in Countdown Order. So Sixteen is Vanessa Bravo, Fifteen is Jeff Breeze, etc. It fits decently well, makes some sense, and I have exactly two evidence points for it, which could very well be coincidences. So again, I might be completely wrong on this :v

There's also a surprising amount of last names which... are just words? "Love," "Breeze," "Bravo," "Hall," "Long," "Walker," "Young." Hell, "Rey" and "Torres" are words in Spanish ("king" and "towers" respectively). I assume it means nothing, but I do find it amusing.

But there's one name that's interesting to me above all others. "Mark Dros." Because it just so happens that "dros" is the acronym of Danganronpa: One Shot. Now, this could just be a coincidence, or even a very meta hint of a fake name/mastermind/something like that, but if it's not a coincidence, what I find likeliest is that Mark's last name is not revealed at the start of the series. Be it because Mark doesn't remember it, or because Mark's hiding it, or something else; if Mark's name is not initially revealed, then venus and accirax would be forced to tag Mark alongside the acronym of the fangan to differentiate this Mark from the countless other Marks out there.

Am I cooking? Am I burning down the kitchen? Who knows.

Anyways, let's actually get to so-called "character analysis." I'll refer to them by their number in the countdown (I'm not confident in the name guesses as you can see :p), which can be tied to the cards by color, and from the cards to the wheel via face recognition. It's going to be extremely embarrassing if I somehow get the wrong wheel sprite from the card drawing, so let's hope that doesn't happen!

I'll mostly go in Countdown Order for organization, though... it'd feel wrong not to start at the beginning, no?

Seven - Ace of Hearts [The Protagonist]

Pronouns: Any

Color: Hot Pink*

Countdown Symbol: Penny

Card Frame Symbol: Pennies

Wheel Color: N/A

More-or-less Confirmed Name: Ellis Ortiz

*(Note: These colors are taken from the ALT text of the countdown pictures. None of them use "plum" so they're acceptable in my eyes /ref :))

Those deep in the DROS lore (so, me and maybe two or three other people so far :p) know that Seven's countdown post was the only one accirax reblogged apart from 16 and 1, saying she did it for "no reason in particular." This is one of the things that made me think Seven could be the protagonist, which I was seemingly right about, but I could have never expected her to actually be played by accirax! This sort of roleplay format is really interesting, and I'm very curious to see how it plays out!

Well, I should point out that Seven isn't technically confirmed as the protagonist, but he may as well be. That means they're the only one with a confirmed name, as both the About post and the FAQ state accirax played Ellis. Ortiz comes from the tag. This is evidence point Nº1 for the names being in Countdown Order, as Ellis is listed seventh to last.

Apart from that, my previous guess of Seven being the Ultimate Lucky Student (based on the coins and the number seven being considered lucky) seems to hold up pretty well. The theme of chance and luck has only been made more prevalent with the announcement post, though it's to the point I almost wonder if Seven might be the Ultimate Game Show Contestant or something to that effect instead. However, since the About page claims some knowledge from THH is required, it's not unreasonable to assume this is a Hope's Peak class and thus needs a Lucky Student.

Plus, Ellis being Lucky would continue the age old tradition of Lucky Student protagonists: your Makoto Naegis (THH), your Yuki Maedas (DR Another), your Teruko Tawakis (DR Despair Time), etc. What this luck looks like is impossible to know so far, but since Seven seems like a relatively confident person at first glance, my best assumption is that he's aware of his good luck and uses it for their benefit. That's probably the guess I'm least confident about btw.

Seven's also connected to the Ace of Hearts, and looking at their glasses, yeah that makes sense :v The card is connected to new beginnings and love, which seems pretty in line for a protag.

Anyways, as a final note, I really love Seven's design and Vibe. Really fun looking protag, and since she's played by accirax, I would be foolish to expect anything but peak from them :D

Then again, the rest of the characters were written by venus, so I would be foolish to anything but peak from them either ;)

Alright, now we can start with-

Mascot

Pronouns: He/him

Color: N/A

Countdown Symbol: N/A

Card Frame Symbol: N/A

Wheel Color: Pink

Suspected Name: N/A (but probs Mono-something :p)

Right, this guy. Not included in the countdown, this little cameo in the announcement post is the only reference we have of this thing's existence. That means I genuinely have no guesses on what's going on with him.

I can't even know what I'm looking at, necessarily. It looks like a gem, maybe? I'm very curious to see this guy's full design, because I feel there's a lot being lost in translation to the wheel sprite :v

Alright, now we can start with Countdown Order. Jeez.

Sixteen - Queen of Clubs

Pronouns: She/her

Color: Lime Green

Countdown Symbol: Headphones

Card Frame Symbol: Headphones

Wheel Color: Pink

Suspected Name: Vanessa Bravo

Although headphones by themselves are a bit too vague for me to have made a guess from them alone back during countdown ages, the addition of a microphone in her card makes it seem that Sixteen is the Ultimate Singer! Or something to that effect, obviously exact wording is impossible for me to guess. In any case, I’m sure watching her perform would get anyone to say “bravo!”

… I’m very unfunny.

On top of that, while card symbolism is always pretty hard to pin down due to the large variety of possible interpretations, the queen of clubs' association with confidence and self-love seem in line with Sixteen's seemingly animated stage presence... I say, having exactly one picture of her. As always in these fangans, the persona of any performer will always come into question, so whether or not she's really as confident as she seems is yet to be seen. First impressions can be wrong, after all!

Anyways, I really like her design, her little hair accessory is everything :D

Fifteen - Jack of Hearts

Pronouns: He/they

Color: Teal

Countdown Symbol: Umbrella

Card Frame Symbol: Umbrellas

Wheel Color: Red

Suspected Name: Jeff Breeze

A cool looking guy to be sure, I... have no clue what Fifteen's talent may be. The towel they're holding makes me think the umbrellas are actually parasols, so maybe something like Ultimate Resort/Hotel Manager, Ultimate Tour Guide, Ultimate Vacationer, something to that effect?

Regardless, Fifteen looks like a relatively chill guy, which certainly fits the Jack of Hearts' connections to youthful love, passion, honesty and adventure. Seems like the sort of guy you'd really love to "shoot the breeze" with, huh?

... I gotta stop. These names are all gonna be wrong and this is gonna go from unfunny to straight up silly-

Fourteen - Queen of Spades

Pronouns: She/her

Color: Red

Countdown Symbol: Spade

Card Frame Symbol: Clubs, hearts, diamonds, spades

Wheel Color: Red

Suspected Name: Antonia Cisneros

Oh... oh she looks cool... and vaguely evil... Chat I fear I might have found a future favorite. Her smug little smile and and appealing design have enraptured me lol.

I particularly love the fact all four suits of the French deck are represented in her design; the club and spade accessories in her hair and belt (maybe?) respectively, the heart shaped dress, and the (I think) diamond earrings, she slays so much I worry she might "slay" a bit too literally if you catch my drift.

That aside, it seems my original guess of Ultimate Gambler or Poker Player or something to that effect remains solid, what with all the card imagery in her accessories and the cards she's holding. Especially notable given the series itself has quite a large theming around games of chance. Hell, all the characters are represented by cards in the French deck in the Header picture.

That could certainly imply a larger degree of importance for Fourteen than other characters. I expect her to be a common mastermind guess, but I personally think it'd be cool if she was the main killing game "antagonist," a la Byakuya. Of course, she doesn't have to be, but she's currently my best guess of who the "antag" might be, if there even is one at all.

This is especially so since the Queen of Spades can be associated with intelligence and logical judgement, which makes it seem like we might have a bit of a girlboss in our hands. As much as I'm excited to see all the characters, Fourteen is one that particularly intrigues me. Can't wait to meet her!

Thirteen - Queen of Hearts

Pronouns: She/her

Color: Gold

Countdown Symbol: Teacup

Card Frame Symbol: Laurel leaves, crown?, undetermined

Wheel Color: Pink

Suspected Name: Paris Hall

Speaking of girlbosses, Thirteen seems to be actively telling me to "spill the tea, sis" in her card, which is awesome. She looks like she'll be fun.

I originally didn't have much of a guess of what talent she might have, though Ultimate Tea Maker or something to that effect might still be the best guess. However, the combination of her color being gold, the crown-looking thing at the top right of her card, and the Laurus Nobilis leaves at the top make me consider she might be royalty? Ultimate Queen/Princess? Not impossible for sure. Though it would be pretty funny to call a monarch after the capital city of one of the most notoriously anti-monarchy countries in history, assuming I got the name right of course.

(...Should I mention that Cisneros, which could be Fourteen's last name, is the name of a historically important viceroy? Does this imply a thematic connection to Thirteen? I almost wanna look a bit deeper into it, but that's speculation on top of theories on top of speculation on top of theories, so I'll hold off for now)

In any case, I'm sure she'll be quite fun. The Queen of Hearts is associated with compassion and emotional intelligence, so I'm sure she'll be a good person to have around during the killing game! ... Provided we ignore the associations 13 has with bad luck :v

Twelve - King of Spades

Pronouns: He/any

Color: Dark Red

Countdown Symbol: X

Card Frame Symbol: X

Wheel Color: Red

Suspected Name: Aidan Ho

I didn't know what the X could represent on Countdown Day Twelve, and that hasn't changed just because we've added more Xs to the situation :v

Indeed, Twelve is one of the people for whom I have no guess of a talent. He's so weird that I don't even know what's happening with his hoodie??? Is Twelve wearing a half-blue, half-red thing??? What is this.

To be fair, though, the duality might be the point. The 12 in the countdown image was also split down the middle, although what this duality theming could imply is beyond me for now.

Very emo looking, though, I'm sure it'll be fun to see what his Deal is. The King of Spades holds similar meanings to the Queen of Spades, so I could see Twelve and Fourteen being a pair of sorts. Also potentially not, you know how this works.

Very mysterious dude... I'm excited to see where Twelve goes!

Eleven - Jack of Spades

Pronouns: They/them

Color: Orange

Countdown Symbol: Theater Masks

Card Frame Symbol: Theater Masks

Wheel Color: Orange

Suspected Name: Taylor Long

Really love the design of this Ultimate Actor (or something else theater-related)! They look pretty befuddled by that book, I wonder what they're reading?

I found conflicting reports on what the Jack of Spades symbolizes, but it's something along the lines of cleverness and hard work. Possibly a smart individual, then, and the fact they seem to be studying something in a killing game seems to corroborate the "hard working" thing. I'm interested in seeing them in action! It won't be "long" until we get to see how well that applies-

I gotta... I gotta stop.

Ten - King of Hearts

Pronouns: He/him (I really hope I'm not wrongly assigning the wheel things lol :v)

Color: Pink

Countdown Symbol: Rose

Card Frame Symbol: Roses

Wheel Color: Blue

Suspected Name: Davis Love

Ah, the classic trope of the "sopping wet cat guy," I suspect this one will be a big hit in the Tumblr crowd! Definitely connected to romantic love in some capacity, not just because I'm suspecting his last name is "Love," but more so because of the "they love me-they love me not" game he's playing in the Header image and the roses he's always accompanied by. Not to mention the King of Heart's connections to love and empathy and deep emotions.

Can't exactly tell what the pin he's wearing is, but it might be a rose too. Very Crystal Gem coded, this guy.

I wonder if "Ultimate Romantic" could be a valid talent, because that's the vibe he's giving me. Hey, I've seen weirder! If not, then I don't have many guesses of what he could be :p

Nine - Ace of Spades

Pronouns: They/them

Color: Purple

Countdown Symbol: Question mark

Card Frame Symbol: Question marks

Wheel Color: Orange

Suspected Name: Mark [Dros]

Ah, the classic Ultimate ???, huh? Well, maybe not, but that's my best guess for Nine! The mirror they're holding up could be a representation of them trying to remember their own identity, their talent... and possibly, their last name.

Indeed, the fact that "Mark Dros" happens to fall on Nine is my second evidence point for the name order I'm using. It's a theory built on top of a theory built on top of a guess, but it's what I have for now :v

In any case, I'm sure I'll love them. I'm always a sucker for mystery characters, be it in the form of weirdos like Okazaki Hanano (Tetro DR Pink), cryptids like Mai Akasaki (DR Despair Time), or as seems to be the case here, amnesiacs like Izanami Hoshimiya (DR (He)artless Deceit). And the mystery with this guy is exacerbated by the fact that the Ace of Spades has the most conflicting interpretations we've seen so far. It can represent power, authority, success, and good luck... or bad luck, defeat, and death. Quite literally impossible to tell what's going on, which is only fitting. Very intrigued by this one...

Eight - Queen of Diamonds

Pronouns: She/they

Color: Bright Blue

Countdown Symbol: Scalpel + Wizardry 8 reference

Card Frame Symbol: Scalpel

Wheel Color: Red

Suspected Name: Vivi Mitchell

Ah, my archnemesis.

The backstory here is that Eight's countdown image released after I had spent the entire day, from eight in the morning to five in the afternoon, in uni, and my brain was a bit fried from several hours of class and three hours of lab work. That's my excuse for fucking up not once, but twice with that image. Not only did I first think their symbol was a paintbrush (despite having checked ALT text for every day prior), I then proceeded to confuse the word "scalpel" for "chisel" and therefore assumed Eight would be a sculptor. You're allowed to laugh at me.

Anyways, third time's the charm, Eight is likely the Ultimate Surgeon/Doctor or something to that effect, and will most likely be our designated autopsy performer for at least the first few trials. They seem to be pretty upbeat from the one (1) image we have of them, so I'm sure they'll be fun to have around. The Queen of Diamonds seems to mostly represent wealth and power, which means... I don't know. Eight makes good money? :v

Also, still no idea what Wizardry 8 is, if anyone has any guesses on why that reference exists, please tell me pretty please?

Six - Ace of Diamonds

Pronouns: Any

Color: Brown

Countdown Symbol: Illuminati Symbol

Card Frame Symbol: Illuminati Symbols, but radiant

Wheel Color: Blue

Suspected Name: Kennedy Rey

It looks like Scott Smajor got a little too obsessed with Bill Cipher and turned into a Drew Flamboni kinnie. I wonder how many references it takes for no one but me to understand a sentence :v

In case the illuminati symbol wasn't enough, the red string she's holding, associated with insane cork boards filled with random connections, fully cements Six in my mind as the Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist, or something to that effect. Not sure what the rectangle in their shirt is meant to be, but I guess that'll have to wait for the actual release.

The Ace of Diamonds generally represents wealth and success, which makes me wonder how it could connect to Six. I guess... he might just be rich. Final note, while I'm still uncertain if I got the names right or not, if I am right, venus would be kinda crazy for calling the conspiracy theorist Kennedy, knowing the conspiracy theories surrounding JFK xD It would be iconic of her I think.

Five - Jack of Clubs

Pronouns: He/him

Color: Light Blue

Countdown Symbol: Page

Card Frame Symbol: None

Wheel Color: Orange

Suspected Name: Robert Smith

Now this one's interesting. While Five's countdown symbol of a page with a bent top right corner is etched into his design, being the pin he wears, he's the only character not to have any symbols on the frame of his card. I already had no good guesses for his talent before, just kinda throwing in Ultimate Writer or Ultimate Coder or equivalents as provisional guesses, but now they seem even less likely. Because the lack of symbols on the frame of his card could actually mean the page represents something different.

I think it's possible Five is meant to be a "blank slate," which could mean he has no talent at all. Of course, there's also the possibility that his average-ness is actually his talent, something like Ultimate Blank Slate or Ultimate Regular Person or Ultimate Guy. I'm probably way off, but who knows!

The Jack of Clubs has a few different meanings, but they're generally positive. Creativity, intelligence and sincerity seem to be the main themes. So I'm sure Five will be Perfectly Normal and have Nothing Wrong with him :)

Really curious to see this one!

Four - Jack of Diamonds

Pronouns: They/them

Color: Dark Green

Countdown Symbol: Gear

Card Frame Symbol: Gears

Wheel Color: Blue

Suspected Name: Grace Thomas

Another design I love at first sight, I really dig Four's vibe. They seem pretty straightforward so far; an Ultimate Mechanic or something to that effect (I am overusing that phrase so much), they give me the impression that they'll be a voice of reason within the killing game. The Jack of Diamonds seems to reference a "messenger" who helps people achieve financial goals, which extrapolated to the killing game, could imply Four will be some kind of important support. Probably will be helpful in trials, they seem smart. Entirely possible I might be off, but that kinda fits the vibe I'm getting from them.

Let's just hope the associations the number four has with death and misfortune aren't relevant...

Three - Ace of Clubs

Pronouns: She/they

Color: Light Gray

Countdown Symbol: Fountain Pen

Card Frame Symbol: Fountain Pen

Wheel Color: Blue

Suspected Name: Cass Torres

Another one that looks like they know what they're doing, Three seems to be some kind of Ultimate Writer or something to that- you know what the phrase is. The Ace of Clubs is connected to creativity, prosperity and good fortune, which certainly fits an Ultimate Writer. Bit ironic I don't have much else to write about Three, but what we have of her seems pretty straightforward so far. We'll see how much of that is wrong later!

Two - King of Clubs

Pronouns: He/him

Color: Orange**

Countdown Symbol: Omega (uppercase), 2 stylized as Lambda (uppercase)

Card Frame Symbol: Omega, Lambda, Phi, Psi, Theta, Sigma; all uppercase

Wheel Color: Pink

Suspected Name: Noah Walker

**(Yes, the ALT text for Two and Eleven describe their colors the exact same way. That's kinda funny)

If I had no idea what the hell the Greek letters were about in the countdown image, I have even less of an idea of what they mean here. Is Two the Ultimate Hellenic Scholar? As in, a scholar focused on studying Greece? Certainly kinda gives frat bro vibes. Surely, if he was the Ultimate Linguist or something, there'd be more than Greek letters, right? Why is he so confusing?

Anyways, he seems like a pretty positive person, but who knows. The King of Clubs represents leadership, intelligence and authority. I mean... sure? Maybe that applies to him? Yeah I have no idea. Two's a bit of an enigma for me :v We'll have to wait and see!

One - King of Diamonds

Pronouns: Ve/ver

Color: Dark Blue

Countdown Symbol: Heart in Hands

Card Frame Symbol: Heart in Hands, hearts, people holding hands, peace symbol

Wheel Color: Orange

Suspected Name: Harper Young

While I originally thought One might join ver apparent distant cousin Whit Young (DR Despair Time) as an Ultimate Matchmaker, the inclusion of the peace symbol in the card frame and One giving out sweets (kinda funny, given ver countdown image came out in Halloween) makes me think it's something more along the lines of... Ultimate Pacifist? Ultimate Activist? Ultimate Make-Other-People-Feel-Good-Person? Some vague title that refers to helping others with love and peace in ver heart, be it through volunteer work, activism, whatever. I'm thinking something along the lines of Tsuno Manami's Ultimate Superhero (Tetro DR Pink), if you catch my drift.

In any case, what I'm certain of is that One seems to be a very sweet and kind person! Even if the King of Diamonds, representing mostly material wealth and authority, seems like a weird fit for ver (btw if I use these pronouns wrong please tell me. I looked them up but I'm still not entirely confident I'm using them right :v). However, the King of Diamonds can also represent ethical success and bring positive energy to a reading (?), so it might not be completely off from what the rest of the information we have of One.

Finally, there's one variable I've been listing for these characters which I haven't really addressed yet, and that's the wheel color. Here are the full groups for each color:

N/A: Seven

Pink: Mascot, Sixteen, Thirteen, Two

Red: Fifteen, Fourteen, Twelve, Eight

Orange: Eleven, Nine, Five, One

Blue: Ten, Six, Four, Three

What could this mean? Well, uh... anything. Friend groups, shared themes, simple coincidence... I have no way of knowing what the connections could be, or if they're even relevant at all. I'm just noting them down for future reference :)

Anyways, that's all folks! Geez, how the hell did I write so much about a fangan that has practically no content so far? No wonder my other posts reach such ridiculous word lengths.

Hope you enjoyed! If you made it this far, you deserve a little treat! You can ask One, heard ve's passing them out. See you later!

[strawberryblue-blog]

Kisses —FC BARCELONA.

summary: What are their kisses like or how do they like to kiss you?

warnings: none. cute, soft, fluff, headcanon.

—Pedri Gonzalez.

His kisses are too long and affectionate. He likes the sensation of feeling you close to him, he thinks it is intimate and the most tender way to show love.

He could spend hours kissing your lips, soft and delicate, showing you how much he likes your lips. He is very shy at times but if you kiss him first, he will not be able to stop.

Your soft and full lips are like an addiction for Pedri, he loves the sensation of feeling them on his skin at any time. Whether on his cheeks or forehead. During sex, he also kisses your lips a lot, especially to silence his squeals and to make you feel loved. Because he really loves you and your lips a lot.

—Pablo Gavi.

One of the most amateur kissers in history, not of your lips but of your neck and jaw. He likes your lips but is obsessed with the soft, supple skin of your neck.

Especially because he likes to mark his trails, so when his lips are on your neck, he will play with you until you turn red. He loves the sensation of hearing you gasp and laugh at the same time.

During sex, he prefers not so much to kiss as to watch. Watching you is more his thing, but, after the action he is very affectionate and caring. Maybe there he kisses you too much to make up for what he couldn't kiss you before.

—Ferran Torres.

Ferran knows what a good kisser he is, he always received compliments about it and you always remind him of it. So when he is with you he likes to kiss you all the time because he knows how much you like his kisses.

He kisses you anywhere, no matter where it is, he knows how to make your skin bristle with so little. On your lips, neck and shoulders. Your shoulders are his weakness.

When you are having sex he doesn't kiss so much because he likes to concentrate on you but from time to time he seeks your lips. His kisses are very long and seductive.

—Fermin López.

Fermín loves kissing, loves kissing you and loves to be kissed by you. An exchange of mutual love which, for Fermín, is heaven itself. He loves to feel your lips on his, short or long, he doesn't care.

He could kiss you all day long, on your lips, your thighs, your belly, your neck or your face. He's super cheesy and tender. He knows you like it and he will take advantage of it to feel you.

Not necessarily during sex, because sometimes he can't hold back the moans and has to let them out but after he's done, he'll be a ball of love. He will kiss you so much, until you fall asleep. Just like the next morning, he will wake you up with his kisses.

—Alejandro Balde.

Although he loves to kiss your lips, his lips always find your hands to kiss them delicately. He is so tender and delicate, he loves to make you feel like a princess.

Although your lips are his favorite, he will kiss them whenever you can. Every now and then he will give you a peck on your lips. He finds it fun and romantic. He is obsessed with your mouth, so lips and tongue for him.

When you are having sex, he likes to kiss you even more. It's a different kind of connection and he loves to feel your warm lips on his.

—Hector Fort.

He's definitely a kisser, a lot. Too much. And not only that, he kisses like the gods. Hector has a gift and he knows how to use it on you.

Kissing your neck, chest and shoulders is his favorite pastime while you're together. No matter what you do he will come and take his time with you. He concentrates on you, kissing your skin delicately with that seductive and haughty touch he has.

During sex he kisses much more your breasts or shoulders than your lips. But when you're done, he'll take care of leaving you with lungs and lips asleep.

—Lamine Yamal.

He is overconfident and despite being young, he has a certain amount of experience. He loves to kiss you either on the lips or on your forehead, he finds it protective and tender.

He likes to kiss your nose too, as a little detail he has with you. But sometimes he plays rough and wants you to kiss him and take the initiative.

In sex he is a little kisser but not so much, maybe more your neck or bite your shoulders but he will definitely do it when he finishes and kiss you for a while afterwards.

—Pau Cubarsí.

He is not a big fan of kissing on the lips because he thinks he doesn't give them correctly. He's still young and just learning, he's also a bit insecure.

Clearly he doesn't agree with that, Pau is a good kisser and when he kisses you he is intense and fiery. But he likes it when you kiss him long and deep.

He prefers to kiss your face how, forehead, nose, cheeks and ears. He finds it tender and that is his way of showing his love. In bed he may be a little more kissy to show his love for you, he likes to be gentle and soft with you.

[magical-reid]

Caught in the Spotlight

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Word Count: 1.6K

Summary: After being reassigned to assist the BAU, you go undercover as a bartender at a bar where a killer has been targeting women, hoping to lure him out. When the unsub attacks, Spencer and Morgan rescue you, and later, at a celebratory bar, you perform for Spencer, teasing him with a flirtatious whisper that leaves him flustered.

The meeting room at Quantico was buzzing with energy when your unit arrived. You’d been in the middle of wrapping up another case in Virginia when the call came—your specialized undercover team was being reassigned to assist the BAU on a particularly troubling case. There wasn’t much time for pleasantries before you were seated alongside the Behavioral Analysis Unit, their unit chief, Aaron Hotchner, standing at the head of the room with a case file in hand.

���This unsub has been active for the past three months,” Hotch began, flipping through the slides on the screen. “Three women have been abducted and killed, all matching the same general type: y/h/c, mid-twenties, lean build. All were last seen at the Coyote Den, a bar in Atlanta known for its high-energy performances.”

You exchanged a glance with your unit chief, Rachel Torres, noting the way she was already sizing up the details. The BAU was known for their profiles, but your team brought a different set of skills to the table—stealth, adaptability, and the ability to blend in without a trace.

“We believe the unsub is targeting women he considers perfect performers,” Dr. Spencer Reid interjected, his voice soft yet commanding attention. He gestured to a series of images on the screen: all three victims dressed in tight, eye-catching clothing, caught mid-laughter or dancing in the bar. “He appears to be watching them for several nights before striking. He’s a meticulous planner, but he also has a tendency to escalate once he selects his victim.”

Morgan leaned forward in his chair, addressing your unit. “We need someone to go undercover as a bartender. Someone who fits his type.”

Torres nodded slowly, her gaze sweeping across her team before landing on you. “Looks like we’ve got the perfect candidate.”

Your stomach flipped.

“Wait, me?” You sat up straighter, your voice coming out more defensive than you intended. “I don’t know if I’m the best choice. I usually work undercover as… someone else. Wigs, makeup, costumes. Not just… me.”

Hotch’s expression softened, but only slightly. “You match the unsub’s type almost exactly, Agent Y/L/N. It’s the fastest way to gain his attention without raising suspicion.”

Torres placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder. “You’ve gone undercover a dozen times before. You’re the best at what you do.”

You hesitated, looking toward the photos of the victims again. Your usual roles involved creating characters—adopting new personalities, new looks. This was different. This was you, stripped of the usual disguises, exposed in a way that felt raw and unfamiliar.

“I’ll do it,” you said finally, your voice quieter now. “But I’m going to need backup.”

“That’s where we come in,” Morgan said with a confident grin, gesturing to himself and Spencer. “We’ll be at the bar, blending in like regulars. Pretty boy here’s a pro at pretending to drink beer.”

Spencer shot him a glare, and a small, nervous laugh escaped your lips, breaking some of the tension.

Hotch handed you the case file. “We’ll keep you as safe as possible, Agent Y/L/N. But we need you to be convincing. If the unsub approaches you, it’s critical that you keep him engaged long enough for us to make a move.”

You nodded, gripping the file tightly. “Understood.”

The next day, the transformation began. The BAU arranged for you to slip into the bartender role seamlessly, arriving at the Coyote Den as the “new girl.” But first came the part you dreaded most—the wardrobe.

“Alright, Y/L/N, here’s your uniform,” Torres said, handing you a bag with a smirk.

You opened it and froze. Black leather shorts, a cropped tank top with the bar’s logo stretched across the chest, and knee-high boots with just enough heel to ensure discomfort.

“Oh, no,” you muttered, holding up the pieces like they might burn you.

Morgan’s laugh echoed across the room. “Looks like you’re about to make some serious tips.”

You shot him a glare before turning to Spencer, who had been unusually quiet. His eyes were glued to the floor, and he seemed to be making a concerted effort not to look at you or the outfit.

“I’ll survive,” you said eventually, trying to inject some humor into your tone. “It’s just clothes, right?”

The Coyote Den was alive with pulsing music and neon lights, its atmosphere thick with the scent of cheap whiskey, sweat, and the faintest hint of desperation. It was obvious that the bar was the type of place that thrived on chaos and spectacle, which made it the perfect hunting ground for the unsub who had already taken three lives.

The bar staff greeted you with a mix of curiosity and enthusiasm, quickly showing you the ropes and handing you a tray of cocktail glasses to start. The revealing outfit clung to your skin, a constant reminder of how exposed you were, but you kept your focus on the mission.

“Looking good,” Morgan teased as you slid a beer across the counter to him.

“Shut up,” you muttered, shooting him a look before turning to Spencer, who was nursing what looked like a whiskey neat.

“Are you doing okay?” Spencer asked quietly, his brow furrowed in concern.

You nodded, forcing a smile. “I’m fine. It’s just… not what I’m used to.”

“You’re doing great,” he assured you, his voice carrying a genuine warmth that helped ease some of your nerves.

The night passed in a blur of drink orders and rowdy patrons. When one of the bartenders called out that it was your turn to perform, your stomach dropped.

“Let’s see what you’ve got new girl!”

You froze for a second, your heart pounding as your coworkers and the patrons cheered, urging you to get going.

“You’ll be great,” Morgan said with a confident smirk, tilting his beer towards you, “We’ve got your back, alright? Pretty boy here and I am going to blend right in as your ‘regulars.’”

“Because nothing says regular like the two of you,” you muttered with a small, forced smile as you climb up on the bar. The heat of the spotlight was overwhelming, and for a moment, you regretted agreeing to this entire mission.

Your heart was loud in your ears as the crowd erupted into cheers. Your boots clicked against the wood as your balanced yourself. The music shifted, and you moved to the rhythm, your movements initially stiff as it wasn’t easy when you felt so exposed, but you did it anyway, twisting and swaying under the lights, loosening up with each beat. You tossed your hair and smiled, doing your best to embody the carefree energy expected of you. The crowd ate it up, cheering louder with every turn of your hips and toss of your hair.

When your eyes found Spencer in the crowd, your heart skipped. He was watching you with wide eyes, his hand frozen around his glass, his expression unreadable.

After your performance, you stepped away from the bar, claiming you needed the bathroom. The moment you entered the dimly lit hallway, you felt a presence behind you.

It was him.

The unsub’s hand was like a vice around your wrist, yanking you further into the hallway as you struggled against him. He muttered something about you being “perfect,” but the words were a blur of terror and adrenaline.

You twisted, kicked, and managed to bite his hand, earning a shout of pain that gave you just enough time to scream before he covered your mouth.

Spencer was the first to notice you’d been gone too long.

“She’s not back yet,” he said, his voice sharp with worry.

Morgan was already on his feet, scanning the bar. “Let’s move.”

Spencer’s mind worked quickly, his eyes darting around until he spotted the trail of clues: a scuff mark near the back hallway, the faintest hint of red smeared on the wall, and a door slightly ajar. He motioned for Morgan to follow, fully pushing open the door and finding the alley just in time to see the unsub dragging you toward a car.

“FBI! Let her go!” Spencer shouted, his gun drawn.

The unsub froze, giving you the opportunity to elbow him hard in the stomach. You stumbled away, running straight into Spencer’s arms as Morgan tackled the unsub to the ground.

Hours later, after the unsub was in custody and the adrenaline had faded, the two units gathered at a quieter bar to celebrate the successful operation.

“Come on, Y/N,” Torres urged, nudging you toward the makeshift stage. “One more performance for the road.”

“No way,” you said, laughing nervously.

“Oh, come one, do it for us!” Morgan added, grinning. “You’ve already got the outfit. And I think genius over here wouldn’t mind seeing an encore.” He nodded toward Spencer, whose face turned bright red.

You hesitated for a moment, then stood, the playful glint in your eyes returning. “Fine. But only because I feel like showing someone what they missed the first time.”

The music started, and as you moved to the beat, your eyes found Spencer’s. This time, your performance was deliberate—a wink here, a playful smirk there, each move designed to fluster him. By the time you finished, Spencer looked like he might combust.

When you finally sat down beside him, breathless but grinning, he cleared his throat, avoiding your gaze.

“You’re, uh…really good at that,” he managed, his voice soft.

“Thanks, genius.” You leaned closer, your lips brushing his ear as you whispered, “Maybe next time I’ll give you a private show.”

His eyes widened, and you laughed, feeling lighter than you had all day.

[inbabylontheywept]

Someone had to go first.

In an odd first, I forgot to post this HFY story here until after it was voiced by BirbletonVA. Their channel actually did such an insanely good job that I would actually strongly recommend listening to it over reading it. Nonetheless, the text is provided below.

Please like and subscribe to their channel if you like their work.

The first ship that arrived was pretty matter of fact about its fate. The pilot introduced himself as Eric, and told us he was part of the first sublight resupply attempt in modern history. He then gave me and the ground control team his bad news.

“So,” he said. “Without real time telemetry, we weren’t even sure which half of your orbit you’d be in. That’s half a solar system’s worth of wiggle room. Decelerating enough to survive contact with your low orbit would take me two weeks, which, you know, it looks like we don’t have. That means that in order to get the second ship in before you lose orbital control to the Kresh, I’m gonna have to make a sacrificial flyby. Ten to the negative four torr is good enough for a lot of things, but at point-seven c it’s gonna be like sandblasting a soup cracker. Good news is that all the expensive toys are in the next ship, so this really ain’t costing you more than a ship and a pilot.”

“You knew,” I said. If they put the expensive toys in the second ship, they knew that the first was likely a sacrifice. No one smart enough to handle orbital physics would miss that.

“I did,” he said. “But someone had to go first.”

That was, of course, a lie. No one had to go first. No else had had, at least. When our connection to the FTL network was lost, we’d understood that as the end of our reinforcements. Doing resupplies via sublight was just too risky. It was a testament to Earth that it had accepted the risk and continued anyway.

“Is there anything we can do for you?” I asked. This man had come here to die for us. I wasn’t sure how much I could give, but what I had was his.

“I do have a few requests,” he said. “First up, I need as much high-orbital data as you got. The whole lot.”

I began directing tightbeam resources to him immediately. It was an easy resource to exchange - it wasn’t like there was anyone else out to talk to anymore. When we lost FTL, we found ourselves very, very alone.

“Second,” he said. “Right, I know I’m gonna sound like a princess right now, but I have been stuck in this stupid tin-can for almost two-years now, and I seriously overestimated how much I like synth music. If you have anything that’s analog - I don’t care what kind of string or drum or brass you play, but I’d kill to hear something without a beep in it.”

I jumped my own queue in the tightbeam, and added a short playlist that I ripped from the local web. Human Music, it was labeled. 3 Terabytes. I prayed there was something on it that he’d like.

“And third,” he said. “Third. The uh, next pilot is pretty mad at me. Turns out this will just be one of those things left unfinished. That’s all death really is, I guess - a lot of unfinished things. Let him know that he was right: He is a better pilot than me. But tell him that wouldn’t have made a difference here. Bad luck beats skill, and this luck was shit.”

I promised, and he went silent after that. We could see what data he was analyzing, and the short answer was all of it - everything from atmospheric density to troop positions and his own ship’s blueprints. He knew he had one shot at this, and that if the price wasn’t paid here, it would be paid by whoever came next.

---

Ground control didn’t get a verbal warning that he’d entered atmosphere. Just a ping. A little here-I-am, whispered in the dark.

After that, we could keep track with visuals alone.

He hit the outskirts of the exoatmosphere in his first pass, burning bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. He caught the sparse particles like a kite, trying to shed enough speed to hit actual low orbit. Automatic telemetry updates gave us the grim news for the ship: Thermals were holding up decently, but the ablative was wearing out fast.

The entire descent brought us more than two hour’s reprieve. The Kresh hadn’t expected to see a resupply, but they knew what one meant: Get it now, get it fast, or deal with a stream of new troops. They could buy themselves ten days' time by shooting this one ship down now. That was an eternity during a siege.

The first loop lowered the speed by about a twentieth of light. The pilot responded by pulling the ship in tighter, burning trying to preserve more ablative plating by trading off with thermal. Seven fighters were close enough to fire off heat seekers. I don’t think the Kresh had ever anticipated shooting down a craft coming in that hot - the missile's decoy avoidance countermeasure actually made it steer around the thing, chasing down loose pieces of shrapnel. Cooled fragments, still hotter than an engine, should be at full blast. The simple mistakes bought it enough time to enter pre-orbit, and the fighters had to stop their pursuit. They weren’t willing to die to stop the ship.

Our man, on the other hand, was already committed to that course.

A third loop followed a fourth. Ablative coating went from 65% integrity, to 30%, to 5%. Telemetry scans were exceptionally detailed - the pilot was making the flyby count. The last message we got from him was simple:

Are you EMP shielded? he asked, not even bothering to encrypt the text stream. He didn’t have time to process more than that.

Yes, we replied. We knew what he was thinking, but it was still a shock to see it. The fusion torch flared hot, burning through the nozzle and feeding directly into the craft’s dueterium supply. The reaction went super critical, and the resulting neutron pulse set off everything in the ship with a z-count higher than iron. Three continuous seconds of EM interference screamed through the comms as the hulk burned through orbit.

The explosion itself wasn’t powerful enough to kill the Kresh ships still in high orbit, but it made enough broadband radiation to blind both sides LADAR. The man must have been a hell of a pilot - half the shrapnel went down and got burned up as it entered the standard atmosphere, traded as the cost of moving the other half past lagrange. Standard evasion would’ve made the pieces easy to dodge, but with LADAR down, all the Kresh could do was sit still and cower as the wrath of a dead man riddled them full of holes. Our best ace had managed to shoot down seven ships before this before getting shot down himself. The wreckage of the freighter took down six.

---

The second ship came in stealth. One second, we were holding attrition in high orbit, the next, something the size of a small station came ripping through the atmosphere.

It did the same trick as the former - swapping between ablative and thermal loads, coming down at a speed that the Kresh fighters didn’t even try to match. Armies could be built in years, but skills like this took decades.

Telemetry connection was established almost as an afterthought. The way the ship casually ate through ablative armoring made my eyes water, but the pilot himself seemed pretty non-plussed.

“You’re down to fifteen percent coverage. You need-

“What I need,” he said, “is to see the previous ship’s telemetry. If there’s one thing you can trust, it’s that this bird is going to come down gentle.”

He cut off my chance to reply by flicking the channel off. We watched, and we wrang our hands, but sure enough he came in six minutes later with 4% of the ablative left.

I met him on the landing pad. Under normal circumstances, we’d have needed twenty-four hours for the craft to cool enough to even approach, but we’d had cryo ready just in case. Three tankers of nitrogen, and the loading area, at least, was cool enough to touch. Safety would have to take a backseat to speed here - we needed the supplies fast.

But those both would take a backseat to a promised conversation with the second pilot. He was out of the craft as soon as the air was cool enough to avoid scalding his lungs, picking through the workers to try and find who had the telemetry data.

I found him first. The drive went into his hands, but I needed to keep my promise with Eric before letting go.

“You’re better than the first pilot,” I said, and I wasn’t lying. If the previous flier had been a saint, this one was a god. “But you wouldn’t have been able to manage the landing either. There just wasn’t time.”

“Let me see,” he said, tugging on the drive. “Just let me see. I have to know I couldn’t do it either. I have to know that someone had to die.”

I let go of the drive and he stalked back into his ship. I didn’t follow. I figured I’d pushed things far enough as it was.

---

The second pilot left the ship six hours later. He looked bleary in a way that put me at ease. I’d been up the last six hours directing supplies from the ship. Everything from ground-to-orbit rails to AGI targeting systems was inside, and to say it was gamechanging would be an understatement. It was good work, but I was tired, and I didn’t want to have to pretend otherwise. Seeing the other man with bags under his eyes meant we could just be frank with each other.

“I couldn’t have managed it,” he said, half-ashamed, half-relieved.

“It just wasn’t possible,” I agreed.

We sat there a moment longer. I didn’t mind the break. This was time well spent.

“Did it hurt?” he asked finally.

“Ablative failed before heating,” I said, which was the technical way of saying no. “He overloaded the reactor before the ship actually broke up and did some kind of slingshot maneuver - hit the main body of the Kresh fleet with half a space station’s worth of shrapnel.”

“Good,” he said.

I knew the signs. The tremor in his cheek, the way his jaw clenched - it wasn’t professional, but I hugged him anyway. Let him have the dignity of choosing to weep instead of having it wrenched out of him.

It was a gift we’d all been given at some point in this war. At least now, there was the hope it could be over soon.

[calif0rnia-lovers]

heartbeats - prologue.

series masterlist

pairing: joaquin torres x mutant!reader

sum: When a highly sought-after mutant's safe house is compromised, Sam Wilson entrusts her protection to the unassuming Lieutenant Joaquin Torres. Tasked with transporting her to a rendezvous point, Joaquin is unaware of the full extent of her importance. Convincing her he's the man for the job proves to be a difficult task.

“You’re not getting her.��

“Do you realize the kind of shit your friend got you into?” Kane taunted. "Huh? I bet he didn't even tell you what she can do."

Kane’s dark chuckle echoed ominously through the town square, an unsettling contrast to the distant sounds of the festival you and Joaquin had escaped.

A memory flashed in Joaquin’s mind, a brief but intense exchange with Sam Wilson merely a week and half ago.

Sam studied Joaquin's face. For the first time, in the time he'd known him, Joaquin was silent. His focus, not spent on studying your file but, on your picture.

“So…she's a mutant. Like Wolverine?” Joaquin had asked, his voice edged with concern.

“It's complicated," Sam had replied, shaking his head. “She’s—there’s no one like her.”

“What’s that mean?” Joaquin pressed, seeking clarity. Trying to find answers in the pair of innocent eyes looking back at him. In your hastily taken photo you appeared normal.

Sam had sighed deeply, his gaze serious. “Can’t say.”

“Come on, man. You can trust me,” Joaquin had urged. "I'm not gonna tell anyone--"

“I know, kid. And I do. That’s why you’re the only one I’ve asked to do this. But the less you know, about her abilities, the better.”

The memory dissolved as Joaquin refocused, his gun shifting with precision to point directly at Kane’s heart. The muzzle gleamed ominously in the dim light.

“I know she's important, and you can't take her," Joaquin challenged. "Just like I know if you take one more step in her direction, a bullet's coming. I'll empty the entire clip if I have to."

Kane studied Joaquin with a dismissive tilt of his head, a sneer playing at his lips. To anyone who glanced quickly, Joaquin might have seemed inexperienced, but his eyes burned with a fierce determination that belied his appearance.

"You're willing to stake your life on the words of Sam Wilson?" Kane scoffed, motioning around tbe quickly emptying time square. "A man who isn't even here to help you protect her?"

“For her,” Joaquin said, his voice cold and unwavering, “I’ll stake my life, and lay you down, for good.”

The man’s grin widened, and he whistled sharply. The sound sliced through the tension like a sinister signal, prompting more figures to emerge from the shadows. Their faces were obscured, wearing masks similar to Kane's, but their intentions were clear.

Joaquin stepped back once, his movements precise, and you followed, your hand pressing firmly against his back. He shifted a second time, and then a third. Until cold stone met your shoulders. He had you positioned against the wall, giving him a clear vantage point to monitor every angle and anticipate any surprise.

"Stay behind me, no matter what happens," Joaquin ordered, his voice low. "Understand?"

He didn't leave room for a response. For once, in the time you've been together, there was not a protest.

Joaquin’s grip on his gun tightened, his entire stance radiating unyielding resolve. The square seemed to constrict around you, but amid the chaos, you felt a strange calm, knowing Joaquin was resolute in his defense.

“Last chance,” Kane chuckled, eyes drifting to his soldiers waiting to pounce. "You don't know who you're dealing with, kid."

Joaquin’s finger tightened on the trigger, his eyes locked on the man with piercing intensity. “Neither do you.”

Kane motioned for his men to advance, a cold smile curving his lips. Joaquin’s gaze remained locked on Kane, despite the figures rushing your way, his resolve unshakable.

Kane’s eyes narrowed as he took a deliberate step forward, Joaquin’s gun fired with a sharp, decisive crack.

[andromeda-pleiades]

Captain's Favorite

WORD COUNT: 2,183

PAIRING: John Price x NB!Oc

This is a rewrite that I felt I could do justice. I also am releasing an OC list and writing this longer story help with ideas

In one of the more secluded briefing rooms, Captain John Price stood at the head of the table, his commanding presence unshaken by the dim, flickering light above. The mission had taken an unexpected turn when the terrorist organization relocated their base to a fortified ship in international waters. The Navy intervened, sending one of their best—Captain Bee.

Price had already dealt with Bee in the past. They were capable, yes, but their constant need to challenge him grated on his patience, while beneficial in some cases it usually ended with the both of them making a fool of themselves. Beside him, Captain Bee leaned against the table, their arms crossed and expression tight. Though they often came across as confident and collected, their narrowed eyes betrayed a flicker of unease at standing so close to Price.

“John,” Bee began, their voice sharper than usual, “my team and I are clearly better suited to lead this mission. We've already reviewed the terrain, the approach, and the objectives.”

Price raised an eyebrow. “And I’m supposed to just step back and follow orders, yeah?” He crossed his arms, his gaze meeting theirs. “This isn’t about who’s better suited. We’re both here. Get on board.”

Bee bristled, their cheeks heating slightly as they looked away. “You’re impossible.” they muttered, messing with the jewelry that adorned thier fingers.

Why does he always get under my skin?

“You’ve said that before,” Price replied, his tone gruff but with a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Didn’t bother me then, either.”

Bee glared at him, their frustration bubbling over. “You’re so full of yourself. Just stay out of my way.”

“I’ll do my job,” Price shot back, his voice firm. “You focus on doing yours.”

The room fell silent as the two locked eyes, their teams exchanging awkward glances. Ghost, Soap, and Gaz sat on one side, while Bee’s five—Coma, Harpy, Hold em', Torres, and Quinn—occupied the other. Soap leaned toward Ghost, muttering, “Think we’ll make it outta here before they kill each other?”

Ghost didn’t bother responding, his masked face unreadable.

Bee eventually turned back to the table, taking a deep breath. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.” They went over the plan in clipped tones, detailing the approach to the ship, the entry points, and the objective: securing the stolen intel and disabling the ship's communications.

Price listened silently, occasionally nodding, but his stern expression never wavered. When Bee finally finished, he leaned forward slightly, his voice cutting through the tension. “One thing, Bee. My team doesn’t sit back and watch. We’ll take point on the comms. You can handle the extraction.”

Bee’s eyes flashed. “Fine. Just don’t slow us down.”

Price gave a short, gruff laugh. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

The room emptied quickly, soldiers moving with practiced efficiency. Bee lingered, adjusting the straps of their gear as Price’s heavy footsteps echoed behind them. “Hope you’re ready,” he murmured, voice low.

The moon hung low over the dark sea as the teams approached the ship in separate boats. Bee’s five-member team cut through the water silently, their movements precise and rehearsed. Price’s trio followed close behind, Soap keeping an eye on the horizon while Gaz and Ghost prepped their gear.

As they reached the ship’s hull, Bee gave a quick signal to their team. “Harper, Torres, up first. Clear the Deck.”

Price watched from his boat, his jaw tightening. “Ghost, Soap, cover them. Gaz, with me.”

Bee shot him a glare as they started climbing the rope ladder. “Didn’t I say my team would handle the Deck?”

“And I said we don’t sit back,” Price replied evenly, hoisting himself up behind Ghost.

The Deck was cleared in seconds, Bee’s team securing the perimeter while Price’s team moved toward the communications tower. Bee followed, keeping a wary eye on Price. His movements were steady and efficient, and as much as they hated to admit it, he made it look easy.

“Torres, Hold em',” Bee whispered into their comms. “Stay sharp. Let’s show them how it’s done.”

Price’s voice crackled over the shared channel. “Ghost, get those comms down. We’ll sweep the upper levels.”

Bee clicked their tongue, irritation flaring. He’s always got to take charge, doesn’t he?

As the teams moved closer to the ship the energry started to get a little more competitive

“Got two hostiles down in the control room,” Gaz reported.

“Already cleared three in the storage bay,”Harpy countered smugly.

Price shot a glance at Bee, who scowled. “Don’t look at me. Just because my team’s better doesn’t mean I’m keeping track,” they muttered, though their tone was laced with pride.

“Could’ve fooled me,” Price muttered under his breath.

The teams had split momentarily, each taking different routes through the ship. Bee led their team down a narrow corridor toward the engine room while Price’s trio moved to secure the communications tower.

As Bee rounded a corner, their comm crackled to life. “Bee,” Price’s gruff voice came through. “How’s your end looking?”

“Fine,” Bee replied curtly, pausing to let Harpy and Hold ‘Em clear the next section. “We’ve taken out five hostiles already. You?”

“Seven,” Price answered, his tone laced with challenge.

Bee scoffed. “Yeah, sure you did.”

“Think I’m lying?” Price’s voice was firm, but Bee knew the subtle tease hidden in his tone. That familiar mix of irritation and something else—something they didn’t want to acknowledge—tightened their chest.

“Doesn’t matter,” Bee shot back. “Odds are in our favor.”

A beat of silence, then Price spoke again, his voice low and deliberate. “Tell you what—let’s make it interesting. Whoever racks up the most head counts owes the other. Call it... rights to brag for the next op.”

Bee smirked despite the heat creeping up their neck. “Bragging rights? That’s dull. If I win, I want something better. I want the ‘Ole Special.’”

For the first time, Price chuckled—deep, rough, and unexpectedly warm. “The ‘Ole Special’? You serious?”

“Dead serious.” Bee adjusted their grip on their weapon, willing their pulse to steady. Why does he always have this effect on me?

Price laughed again, the sound crackling through the comms. “Alright, fine. But when I win, you’re gonna swallow those words.”

Bee rolled their eyes but couldn’t suppress a small smile. “Big talk, John. Let’s see if you can back it up.”

“Always do,” Price replied gruffly, before the comms went silent.

The bet fueled the tension as the mission progressed. Bee’s team was meticulous, moving with precision and clearing each section swiftly.

“Two down in the engine room,” Torres reported over the comms.

“Three more in the storage bay,” Harpy added smugly.

Bee smirked despite themself. “Let’s keep it up. We’re not losing to them.”

Their comm crackled with Price’s voice. “Nineteen so far. How about you?”

Bee froze. “What? That’s not possible.”

“Calling me a liar again, Bee?” Price’s tone was sharp, his gravelly voice carrying that faint trace of humor that made Bee’s blood boil.

“I’m calling you delusional,” Bee snapped, even as their stomach flipped at the sound of his voice.

“Careful,” Price warned, his voice dropping an octave. “You’ve still got time to catch up—barely.”

Bee growled under their breath. “Coma, Quinn, double-time it. We’re not losing to them."

By the time the safe was cracked and the intel secured, the teams gathered at the extraction point. Bee approached Price, their jaw tight and their pulse annoyingly erratic.

“Well?” they demanded, arms crossed on their chest “What’s the count?”

Price looked up from his weapon, his smirk barely visible under his thick beard. “Twenty-four for us. You?”

Bee hesitated. “…Twenty-three.”

Soap let out a whistle, grinning as he looked between the two captains. “Close one, eh?”

Price’s eyes twinkled as he stepped closer to Bee, his imposing frame cutting through the tension like a blade. “Looks like you owe me, Captain.”

Bee glared, heat rising to their cheeks. “Don’t push it, John.”

Price leaned in, his voice dropping to a low rumble. “Told you you’d swallow those words.”

Bee’s face burned as they turned away, muttering, “You’re insufferable.”

Price’s low chuckle followed them into the chopper, settling in their chest like an ache they couldn’t quite shake.

The debrief room emptied quickly, chairs scraping against the floor as soldiers rushed out for their evening meal. Only Bee remained,a habit they picked up over the years, absently twirling the silver ring on their index finger. The familiar sound of Price's heavy boots stopped directly behind them.

"Come on, Bee," he murmured, voice low enough that only they could hear.

The walk to John's office would have been humiliating for anyone else—Price following close behind like a guard walking a prisoner to judgment. But Bee felt their pulse quicken with each step, trying to maintain their composure despite the anticipation building in their chest. It had been weeks since they'd been alone with John, and the tension between them had only grown.

Price settled against his desk when they arrived, arms crossed over his chest. The same knowing smirk from the debrief played at the corners of his mouth. "Well then," he drawled, "going to hold your end of the bet, or are you going to talk your way out of it again?"

Bee's eyes fell on the worn leather couch, memories of previous encounters flooding back. They grabbed one of the cushions and sank to their knees, having learned from experience that the hard floor left marks that were difficult to explain later. Their heart raced as they looked up at John, fighting to keep their expression neutral despite the heat building under their skin.

"I'm not going to do all the work for you, John," they said, proud of how steady their voice remained. Good, they thought, let him think I'm not excited.

John's smirk bloomed into a full smile as he began unbuckling his belt, the soft leather sliding through the loops with a whisper. "You know," he mused, "when you said you wanted the 'Ole Special,' I thought you would have tried harder to win." He traced their bottom lip with his thumb. "Guess you just love taking it."

The way Price's voice dropped when aroused sent shivers down Bee's spine, but they wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing how much power he held over them. Instead of responding, they maintained eye contact and ran their tongue along his length, satisfaction coursing through them when his words caught in his throat.

Their initial plan was to tease, to draw out the moment and maintain some semblance of control, but desire won out. Still, they forced themselves to move slowly, unwilling to reveal just how eager they truly were.

"Getting sloppy, Lieutenant," Price growled, his fingers holding the side of their head. The gentle grip turned firm as he took control, guiding their movements with increasing urgency.

Bee braced their hands against his thighs as he set a steady rhythm, the solid wood of his desk at their back. The office filled with a symphony of sounds—his low grunts, their muffled moans, and the wet sounds of their enthusiasm.

"Bloody hell, Lieutenant," Price gasped, holding them close until their nose brushed against him. "So tight and wet and obedient. So desperate you don't even care that our men are right outside

A moan vibrated in Bee's throat at his words, drawing a breathless groan from above as Price's grip tightened further.

His movements grew erratic, desperate, as he held them in place. With a final, deep thrust, Price stilled, his warmth flooding their throat as a guttural groan escaped him. Bee waited until his grip loosened before sliding back, a silvery strand briefly connecting them before breaking.

They coughed a few times, clearing their throat, then looked up at him with a cocky smirk. "You used to last so much longer," they teased, voice slightly hoarse. "Getting old, John?"

John tucked himself away, fastening his belt with practiced ease. His breathing was still slightly uneven as he looked down at them, noting the flush in their cheeks and the way their pupils were still blown wide. "Need any help with your... situation?" he offered, gesturing vaguely toward them.

Bee pushed themselves to their feet, brushing off their knees with affected casualness. "I think I'll save it," they said, smoothing down their uniform. "For next time." They stepped closer, close enough that Price could feel their breath against his ear. "When I'll have you on your knees for me."

They turned toward the door, hiding their situation. Before they could reach for the handle, Price's voice stopped them.

"Bee," he called softly, making them pause. "It was... nice to see you again. Like this."

Heat bloomed across Bee's cheeks at the unexpected tenderness in his voice. They didn't trust themselves to turn around, knowing the boyish smile spreading across their face would give away too much. Instead, they gave a quick nod and slipped out the door, their heart hammering against their ribs as they hurried down the corridor.

Only when they were safely around the corner did they allow themselves to smile

All banners by @cafekitsune

[whileiamdying]

‘I’m Still Here’ Review: Walter Salles Returns Home With the Powerful Story of a Broken Family’s Resistance

Premiering at Venice, the film stars Fernanda Torres as a mother of five children who reinvents herself as a lawyer and activist after suffering a devastating loss at the height of Brazil’s military dictatorship.

BY DAVID ROONEY SEPTEMBER 1, 2024 @ 11:48AM

Fernanda Torres in 'I'm Still Here.' COURTESY OF VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

Walter Salles’ 1998 international breakthrough, Central Station, earned an Oscar nomination for the magnificent Fernanda Montenegro. Now in her 90s, the actress turns up toward the end of the director’s first feature in his native Brazil in 16 years, the shattering I’m Still Here(Ainda Estou Aqui), in a role that requires her to speak only through her expressive eyes. What makes the connection even more poignant is that she appears as the elderly, infirm version of the protagonist — a woman of quiet strength and resistance played by Montenegro’s daughter, Fernanda Torres, with extraordinary grace and dignity in the face of emotional suffering.

Many powerful films have been made about the 21 years of military dictatorship in Brazil, from 1964 through 1985, just as they have about similar oppressive regimes in neighboring South American countries like Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. The human rights abuses of systematic torture, murder and forced disappearances represent an open wound on the psyches of those nations, for which cinema has often served as a vessel for collective memory.

It’s not often, however, that the spirit of protest against the horrors of junta rule is viewed through such an intimate lens as I’m Still Here. That aspect is deepened by evidence throughout the film of Salles’ personal investment in the true story of the Paiva family after patriarch Rubens (Selton Mello), a former congressman, was taken from his Rio de Janeiro house in 1971, ostensibly to give a deposition, and never seen or heard from again.

Salles met the family in the late 1960s and spent a significant part of his youth in their home, which he credits as foundational to his cultural and political development. That accounts for the coursing vitality of the early scenes, as the five Paiva siblings dash back and forth between the house and the beach, and an extended family of friends of all ages seems to be constantly dropping by for drinks and meals and music and lively conversation.

There are sweet throwaway moments like two of the sisters dancing and singing along to the Serge Gainsbourg-Jane Birkin wispy make-out classic “Je t’aime … moi non plus,” without understanding the words. Just watching how one of the youngest kids, Marcelo (Guilherme Silveira), sweet-talks his way into keeping a stray dog they found on the beach conveys the warmth, spontaneity and affectionate scrappiness of the Paiva household dynamic. The young actors playing the kids are all disarmingly natural and appealing.

The first blunt intrusion into the family’s bubble of closeness and comfort comes when eldest daughter Vera (Valentina Herszage) is out with a group of friends and their car is pulled over at a tunnel roadblock. It’s a disturbing scene in which we see teenagers — just minutes earlier cruising along, sharing a joint and laughing — ordered at gunpoint to stand against a wall while military officers question them, searching their faces for any resemblance to the “terrorist killers” they’re looking to apprehend.

An occasional hushed phone conversation or private exchange with a friend suggests Rubens’ involvement in something that needs to be kept quiet. But the script by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega, based on the book by Marcelo Rubens Paiva, saves those details until long after Rubens is taken into custody. That puts us in the same position as his wife and children, wondering what their father could possibly have done to place him in the regime’s crosshairs.

The chill of uncertainty is hardest on Rubens’ wife Eunice (Torres), who does what she can to hide what’s going on from the youngest kids. But having armed strangers in their house and a car parked across the street to keep a constant eye on them is tough to explain, and the older siblings are aware something is very wrong.

The situation escalates when Eunice is hauled off for interrogation. With Vera away in London with family friends, the next oldest, 15-year-old Eliana (Luiza Kozovski), is forced to accompany her mother, with bags put over their heads to keep them from knowing where they are being taken.

The interrogation scenes, set in a grim building with confinement cells, are harrowing. Eunice is sequestered for 12 days. Denied contact with the family lawyer, she’s kept completely in the dark about what’s happening to her daughter and is unable to learn where her husband is being held. She’s coerced over and over to identify people in photo files as possible insurgents, but aside from her husband, she recognizes only one woman who teaches at her daughter’s school. Her isolation and fear are made worse by the constant screams of people being tortured coming through the walls.

There are many moments of raw tenderness after Eunice is released — notably when one of her daughters watches from the bathroom doorway, her face a mix of sorrow and terror, as her mother showers away 12 days of grime.

With the government refusing to acknowledge even that her husband was arrested, Eunice continues fishing for information, talking to Rubens’ friends who tell her the military is “shooting blind,” going after random people based on almost nothing concrete. Unable to make bank withdrawals without her husband’s signature, she struggles to keep up with expenses. At the same time, she begins studying the family lawyer’s case file, foreshadowing her eventual decision to relocate with the five children to São Paulo and return to college.

The chief focus of Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s book is essentially his mother’s quiet heroism — first as she single-handedly shoulders the responsibility of keeping the family together and protected, concealing her grief when the inevitable is confirmed, and subsequently when she earns a law degree at 48 and becomes active in a number of causes. That includes pushing for full acknowledgment from authorities of disappeared people like Rubens after democracy is returned to the country.

Salles’ heartfelt film jumps forward 25 years and then by almost 20 more, allowing us to absorb Eunice’s self-reinvention not in big crusading speeches but simply in her dedication to the work of keeping memories alive and not letting the abuses of the past be swept away.

Perhaps the most beautifully observed arc of the film is the gradual rebuilding of the family. As the children grow up and marry and grandchildren come along, they transition back into a noisy, joyful clan much like the one depicted in carefree scenes at the start. Even the simple process of sorting through boxes of family photos is viewed as a loving act of reclamation in a final stretch that will have many audiences in tears.

Torres (one of the stars of Salles’ terrific early film, Foreign Land, co-directed with Daniela Thomas) is a model of eloquent restraint, showing Eunice’s private pain and her necessary fortitude by the subtlest of means. Only once during the film does she raise her voice in anger after a sad occurrence, beating on the windows of the parked car watching the house in Rio and screaming at the two stone-faced men inside.

The final scenes in which Montenegro steps into the role are bittersweet, as Eunice has become nonverbal and uses a wheelchair, in steep decline with Alzheimer’s. The poignancy is almost overwhelming as we watch her gently lean in, her eyes lighting up and a hint of a smile forming, when Rubens’ photograph appears in a television program on the heroes of the resistance.

The movie looks gorgeous. Adrian Teijido’s agile cinematography uses 35mm to great grainy effect to evoke the ‘70s and Super 8mm home movies shot during that decade provide lovely punctuation. The other key asset to the film is Warren Ellis’ score, which starts out pensive and quietly troubling before shifting almost imperceptibly into a much more emotional vein with the surge of feeling that accompanies the forward time jumps.

While it could use a less generic international title that’s not also a well-known Stephen Sondheim song, I’m Still Here is a gripping, profoundly touching film with a deep well of pathos. It’s one of Salles’ best.

[marymoss1971]

Tom & B’Elanna! Thank you so much for this! I love it. 

For @marymoss1971 and @startrekwintergiftexchange ! B’Elanna and Tom and weddings. ✨

[zalizam516]

new zalfriend torres ref sheet + lore what the f

Zal didn’t always live in the Castle Crashers kingdom. Her childhood was spent in another realm, one that also possessed a magical crystal, a powerful relic that, just like in her current kingdom, served to protect its population from dark threats. But this crystal had a shadowed side as well, as it had the ability to neutralize magical abilities, a trait some in the kingdom saw as a blessing and others as a curse.

Zal was the daughter of a human knight and a demon, a unique heritage that gave her special abilities, making her both feared and shunned by certain people in the kingdom. Her father, a brave warrior, fought in the royal militia against the evil wizard, a dark force attempting to seize the crystals for his own purposes. In the battle that would decide the kingdom's fate, her father fell, sacrificing his life in a desperate attempt to hold back the darkness.

With her father gone, Zal’s only protection lay in the hands of her mother, a demon with a strong heart who, despite the challenges, had chosen to stay in the human world out of love for her family. However, her demonic nature and powers stirred fear and superstition among the people, who saw her as a lurking threat. When the army returned defeated and without its hero, the townspeople, consumed by anger and grief, decided to take justice into their own hands. They believed that eliminating Zal’s demon mother would purify their kingdom and prevent future tragedies.

One night, the villagers invaded their home. Zal’s mother, seeing that escape was impossible, used her last breath to save her daughter. Holding Zal by the shoulders, she looked at her with a mix of love and despair, and ordered her to flee as far as possible. In a soft but firm voice, she said, “Run, Zal. Don’t let them find you. My love for you will last forever, but my power can no longer protect you.”

Zal fled into the forest in the dead of night, hiding her tracks while the furious villagers neutralized her mother’s powers with the crystal and burned her alive. From a distant hiding place, Zal could see the flames consuming the last connection she had to her family and home. The echo of her mother’s screams remained etched in her heart, turning it into a cold, painful void. That day, Zal swore never to let anyone break through her defenses again, locking her pain and rage behind a silent, unbreakable shell.

Years passed, and Zal became a strong warrior, trained by loneliness and the need to survive. Her sole mission was to track down the evil wizard and avenge her family. But one day, in a decisive encounter with him, their forces clashed, and the wizard, in a cruel act, cast a curse that struck her face. Zal felt a dark energy wrapping around her skin, like a veil of shadow, and when she managed to look up, she discovered with horror that her face had become an entire shadow. Her eyes, her features, even her expression had disappeared; only her mouth, with its sharp, distorted teeth, remained visible.

The wizard’s curse had not only robbed her of her face but also isolated her further from the world. Now, any attempt to connect with others was met with fear and rejection. People avoided her, viewing her as a cursed creature. With each passing day, Zal felt the cold of loneliness and the weight of hatred consume her a little more, turning her into someone reserved, distant, and nearly impenetrable.

Eventually, Zal arrived in the kingdom of Castle Crashers, where she decided to stay, though her purpose remained focused on revenge. She spent most of her time near the blacksmith’s shop, where she had formed a single significant connection with the kingdom’s blacksmith. He was a warm, quiet person who, unlike others, never showed fear of her appearance. Over time, through exchanged words and shared silences, an unexpected friendship began to grow, and perhaps something deeper.

In the blacksmith, Zal found a strange companionship, someone who didn’t demand answers or pretend to fully understand her. Gradually, Zal allowed herself to lower her guard in his presence, sharing moments of peace in a world that had taken everything from her. Though they rarely spoke of her past, the blacksmith seemed to understand the burden she carried, and in his company, Zal discovered a faint possibility of redemption, a warmth that threatened to melt the ice she had built around her heart.

However, her desire for revenge continued to be her guiding light. Every time she heard news of the evil wizard or her memories of her family returned, the fire of her fury reignited. Zal knew her path was still dark and that the final battle was yet to come, but now there was a faint light that reminded her she wasn’t entirely alone. The image of the blacksmith lingered in her mind as an anchor, someone who kept her grounded in this world while her heart continued to long for justice and peace.

[nightwingshero]

Leon Kennedy - Brianna Torres - Ashley Graham

1/2 gift for @gummibrit for the Resident Evil Exchange Event by @sstewyhosseini

[stuckinsquahamish]

Here's my vision of Seven becoming a captain (note that I am disregarding pretty much everything that happened in Star Trek: Picard because I simply do not like it. If you are wedded to nuTrek canon escape now)

-Seven of Nine becomes captain of an intrepid class ship. Maybe call it Voyager-B. There is still exploring to do out there. It's primarily a science vessel. I have more thoughts about why this would be a good character choice but I will save that for another time.

-She calls B'elanna Torres and says, Commander, I need a Chief Engineer and these people will not suffice. They are not...as efficient as you. And I need someone to help me modify this ship the way we did Voyager. This Starfleet tech is hopeless without us. And it would be imprudent to trust a senior staff of only die-hard Federation bootlickers. Join me.

-B'elanna says, are you insane. And then B'elanna says I will be there in 2 days don't fuck up my engines before I get there.

-First Officer Raffi Musiker quickly becomes accustomed to the fact that most staff meetings and communications with engineering involve a lot of yelling from B'elanna and a lot of snark from Seven. Since the ship runs like a dream she concludes that this is simply how they work and decides as first officer to classify this Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys. She does get used to getting an earful from B'elanna about catching Seven fucking with something in the Jeffries Tubes at 2 in the morning without consulting her, and she is impressed Seven manages to find time to step on B'elanna's toes what with all her captainly duties, but she is beginning to think this is what constitutes fun for these two and decides not to probe further.

-The first command Seven gives, which becomes her trademark phrase, is "Proceed." It's the most efficient word. Some habits die hard.

-There is an exchange like this:

"The Enterprise is hailing us, Captain."

"Onscreen."

Captain Seven inclines her head, raises her ocular implant, and smiles.

"Naomi Wildman, Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise-G."

On the screen, Captain Wildman grins.