#and ended up being at the top of her field. Her interactions with the clients are terrible but whatever she makes always fits perfectly

[ai-higurashi]

AU Where Webby and Gadget go to the same school and Mrs. Beakley and Black Heron are their respective single moms. Webby and Gadget are friends while Beakley and Heron are old high school rivals.

Okay I want to apologise bc I've had this in my drafts since forever but in my defense I loved it and kept adding and deleting things

‌THEY ARE BOTH PROUD MAMAS OKAY.

Beakley is a bit more discreet while still really supportive, but Heron can and will fistfight you right there if you disagree that her kid is the best and she WILL be loud about it.

‌Webby and Gadget's friendship is basically Gadget coming up with crazy inventions and Webby, being the little adventurer she is, wasting no time to try the prototypes out, epic backstory included, and give her feedback and sometimes ideas and they spend countless hours without noticing.

‌Both Webby and Gadget get their interpersonal relationship skills from their respective mom. It goes as well as expected. They do get along because of it tho.

‌Neither Beakley nor Heron know about each other until way after their kids meet and become friends, until one day Webby asks if Gadget can stay over after class bc her mom is busy with work. Now, Beakley is still trying to place where on earth has she heard her surname before, but Gadget is a nice and responsible kid, so surely it won't hurt, right? Cue hours later when her mysterious mom comes to pick her up and it's her.

"What the fuck are you doing here??"

"This?? Is my house??? I live here?? What are YOU doing here???"

"OH, HI MOMMY :DD!!!"

‌They both try to act as if they get along great around their daughters because both Webby and Gadget are super sweet kids and they would be sad otherwise (Also, they both love to help, so worst case scenario, Beakley and Heron would be forced to go through a bunch of made-up shenanigans in an attempt to make them bond and they both would rather not), but also since their girls get along really well, they end up being put together at any school event and they are extremely passive aggressive with each other when that happens.

‌When I think about them being high school rivals, I get not only constant competition but also actively trying to kill each other in P.E, putting weird stuff on each other's backpacks, throwing pencil cases through the window and weeklies "Meet me at the park at 5 you little punk, I'll destroy you" "what, scared to do it right now?" that luckily weren't always brought to term because Bradford was really good at de-escalating. Somehow the teachers never caught wind of that and constantly paired them together to see if Ms. Beakley's more level-headed attitude and tendency to follow the rules would be what kept Ms. Hackwrench from destroying the whole goddamn class for once.

‌Used to call each other Heron and 22 as teenagers bc there's no way they were going to call the enemy by her name and it kinda stuck.

‌Heron gives a lot of questionable advice like "Remember dear, if someone bothers you, stab them on the foot to establish dominance. Have fun!!". Beakley is concerned.

‌When Gadget and Webby discover that their moms knew each other from their high school days, they instantly assume that they were best friends and are really happy bc that means more excursions and activities together. I mean, they even have nicknames for each other!! Neither Beakley nor Heron have the heart to tell them the truth

‌Let's face it, Gadget was probably taught to assemble and disassemble machines before she could walk, and she's usually tinkering with something at class to focus better. None of the teachers want to deal with her mother's anger so no one tells her off, because Gadget might be nice, but Heron takes no shit, specially since her kid is doing nothing wrong, and she WILL know if they upset her girl.

‌The first time Beakley and Heron actually get along is when they learn that some kid messed with Gadget and Webby at school. By the time Beakley finds the kid to give them a stern talk, Heron is already there like "LISTEN THERE YOU LITTLE SHIT-" and Bentina ends up having to drag her away bc as much as she loves Gadget and still can't believe someone this nice, thoughtful and cute is Heron's daughter, she's NOT going to raise her while Heron is in jail for second degree murder, thank you very much. Both end up bonding about being single moms. If someone asks, they'll both deny this last thing ever happened.

‌The first time Heron had Webby over for the afternoon it was because there was literally no other choice and Beakley was panicking.

Okay this is me we're talking about, so their high school rivalry started bc Heron's definetely the kind of kid that didn't know how to deal with her slight crush on the new girl so she sent her a "get out of my school" note and they've been at each other's throats since then.

Bonus shipping points if eventually Gadget and Webby put two and two together and realize that "I have a mom. You have a mom. That means if we pair them together we'll both get two moms!!!" "Omg you're right!!"

Bonus kid Gadget because I love her so much

[shadowywerewolf-main]

Melone Headcanons

Part 1 (Personal Headcanons)

These violent delights have violent ends.

Warning: TW BLOOD/TW TRAUMA

💻 Probably grew up under a toxic mother. The fact that he appreciated Junior's love for his mother despite her repulsion to J's activities may indicate this. Was mostly surrounded by women in his childhood.

💻 An idle brain is devil's workshop. Found reading and learning as a way to escape the reality. Tried engaging himself in reading what laid around his place; magazines, journals, etc. Either this, or overhearing his mother's and her friends' conversations led him to believe in horoscopes.

💻 Had slight interactions with brothels at an young age. His behavior could also be the result of sexual and emotional trauma that he might have had to face in his past. If you are aware about the toxic conditions, you might also be aware of the fact that sometimes workers have to take blood supplies after a particular violent session. Melone's 'blood pseudoscience' might be a result of this. This could also be where his 'sweat analysis' methodology was developed.

💻 He finds himself getting attached to toxic women. For the majority of his life, he had known love to be a mixture of violence and abuse.

💻 Gets confused to genuine affection.

💻 Did not have a formal education. A degree, even though less in demand, generally allows a person to catch up to some job or the other. Lack of one of such achievements despite his intelligence compelled him to join the mafia (could've been one of the 'suggested' candidates, given that someone pointed out the potential within him/probably it was one of the 'regular clients' who had an eye on his behavior, lets not forget, people like that DO exist).

💻 His curiosity and zeal to learn did allowed him to get involved with various science branches; biological sciences being the subject of top interest.

💻 Did not go with the proper sequence of learning process. A student is supposed to take one step at a time during their learning period; clearing the basics and then jumping over the expert level of knowledge. Melone took a different route. He observed the things around him, and connected them with his previous knowledge, or recalled his investigations while he studied something new.

💻 This observation skill went on to help him analyze the 'Mothers' during his missions (drugs and alcohol mentions for instance).

💻 Very interested in Ancient history.

💻 Uses a lot of shampoo. Let's be honest, letting your hair flow a little while you're on a two wheeler does speed up the ruining process. Ofcourse he uses helmet, traffic norms are no jokes.

💻 Has OCD. The way he 'sat' in the field beside the train indicates his repulsion to the idea of getting 'dirty'. Wears gloves to avoid germs.

💻 His eyelid is partially paralyzed. Another manifesto of his trauma; could've suffered a severe punch at his eye. Uses the mask to support it and frequently moisturizes the eyeball (uses eyedrops for instance). The hair growth prevents any foreign particle from entering his eye at a decent level.

💻 BabyFace could be the result of his desire plus his trauma. Genetic engineering was something that might have attracted his attention. At the same time, his trauma that structured many of his habits gave rise to the functioning of BabyFace.

💻 Does not kill the bugs roaming on his bed. He allows them to climb atop a sheet and releases them on the ground.

💻 Has sensitive taste and olfactory receptors. Not in every case, but sometimes those who have sensitive taste buds also possess corresponding olfactory receptors.

💻 Melone is not quite fond of this talent.

💻 Often zones out.

💻 Frequently experiences L'Appel Du Vide. Although he does not have suicidal tendencies, he often finds himself performing something unnatural on impulse.

💻 Gives out genuinely good advice. Ever since he was a child, he developed a habit of reading people.

💻 This trait however proves to be fatal to him sometimes since he doesn't take anything to his heart and forgives those who pass him bitter words or actions (wasn't aggressive after the slap).

💻 The way he set out 'options' to the Mother, could indicate his respect for other's opinions.

💻 Although he acts weirdly around women, he never enforces himself into anyone's personal space (missions being exceptional).

💻 These violent delights have violent ends. Overworks himself sometimes. Oddly, gets a peculiar enjoyment out of the adrenaline rush. Passes out later.

💻 Well-versed in multiple languages. Mostly due to interactions with 'clients'.

💻 Guilty pleasure. Checks the compatibility of the team members. THE RESULTS WILL SHOCK YOU! Will never admit.

💻 Has blood samples of every member, just in case.

💻 "Please switch off the lights and fans before leaving the room. Save the planet."

💻 Has tons of those visual encyclopedias. Carries that 'all in one' book in a slot adjoined to BabyFace's body.

💻 Started using 'Di Molto' to irritate Ghiaccio. Got used to saying it. (Credits to the person who mentioned this somewhere, if I find the source I'll link it).

💻 Has slightly sadistic-like tendencies. A result of 'what if' pattern questions that fuels his curiosity. Although he does not mean any harm, it's the impulse that unknowingly guides him sometimes.

💻 Solves mathematical problems ON THE TEXTBOOK itself. Or any general writing work he has to indulge himself into, he ends up messing with the original copy itself.

💻 Resting bitch face.

💻 Very reserved. Very observant.

💻 Doesn't talk too much. But once he starts talking, he is unable to control himself. La Squadra does not judge him for this nature.

💻 Worrying about things won't help easing them anyway. Carefree. Not careless. Doesn't take stress of anything and goes with the flow. What is ought to happen will happen anyway. Calm mind paves the way. Does get stressed out, that too, very rarely.

💻 Lurks around on deep web only. Dark web is no joke and he understands that. Uses it only in VERY VERY serious cases.

💻 No just because he can perform troubleshooting doesn't mean he can build an entire PC.

💻 Handles squad's accounting. He is also the one who keeps records of every mission. It's his exceptionally extreme honesty and dedication that made Risotto assign this task to him.

💻 "That sock either stays on my foot for 2 days or I'm not wearing it once I take it off."

💻 Aside from Pesci, he was the only one who actually shed tears after Sorbet - Gelato incident.

[dragons-ire]

Unsung Prompts - My Secret Companion

I once traveled with a guide who was taking me to Faya. He didn't speak for nine hours. At the end of it he pointed at the horizon and said, "Faya!"

-Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient

Mehryde's Meyhene saw a steady trickle of customers in the heat of the afternoon. People drifting in and out. Drinks being poured liberally in the wake of world-ending catastophe. Food stirred up in the kitchens in the back. Dancers on the small stage most afternoons to entertain the sparse crowds.

Lots of locals. Not too many travelers, even in the wake of the Tower offshores destruction.

Just a few.

The Raen woman in the far table looked up when Breandan arrived. A little wilted in Thavnair's sweltering heat, but none the worse for wear. She said nothing when he helped himself to a chair. Waited, her hands folded on the table as he ordered a drink from a passing server

Her crimson-colored gaze regarded him, her face betraying little until she spoke.

Thank you for meeting with me. I will admit, it was curious to me that a foreigner would take such an interest in visiting our holy sites.

"My client wants to visit some of these places in the countryside." Breandan replied without missing too much of a beat. "Now that it's …safer to do so."

Your client does understand, yes, that even a small expedition would require a diversion of the Radiant Host's already thin resources?

"I'm not asking the Host to expend any resources." Breandan set his cup down and reached to unroll a map on the table. "I'm a capable fighter, and I'm confident that I can navigate the backcountry with my client intact. I just wanted to know a little background, and -

And it is still not…possible to meet this mysterious client face to face? I would think that an individual with such an interest in culture would at least be willing to interact with the people here.

"I'm afraid not." While the Raen looked back at him with an expression both sereve and confused, Breandan shifted his gaze to the nearest arched window. His gaze followed the arc of a carved peacocks tail ornamentation at the top, the feathers and eyes so promiment in the city's architecture.

"They're very demanding, and one of their demands is that I do all the negotiating." The drink in front of him got picked back up with a kind of resignation.

"I was hoping I could assure you of their sincerity by…offering my assistance to you as well? I'd be happy to liase with the Host in the field if there were any lingering troubles in the area."

This earned him a lifted brow but no real complaint. After a moment to refresh herself with her drink, she leaned over the map and laid one finger to a marker in the southeastern corner.

The pilgrims do not often venture to Purusa. The road there was always perilous, and even moreso now.. Her explanation came quietly and evenly.

Which is a pity, because it is a beautiful place. It is named after a process done by our alchemists, which someone like you may find interesting to learn.

Her red eyes landed on his face again. He looked away, then down at his cup.

However, she continued, if you were to help make the road a little safer on your travel there, the Host batallion stationed in Palaka's Stand would surely be appreciative. I will send word to the commander to expect you.

"Understood." Breandan lowered his head and curled a hand around his cup. "We'll head out for Palaka's Stand as soon as possible."

After that, the conversation turned to little. Some advice about navigating the markets, bits of local trivia about the region Breandan and the client would be headed. And before long, he found himself wandering back through Radz-at-Han's colorful streets, a paper-wrapped package of food from the Meyhene still warm and tucked under one arm.

The small inn room was equally colorful on the inside; a window open to the view of the city below. Breandan took a seat on the bed and opened the parcel to a small assortment of food items.

"Sorry, they didn't have eggs." He spoke aloud to the room as he was peeling a strip of red-coated tandoori chicken off the bone. "We can head out whenever you want to go, though."

The piece of chicken got dangled beneath the bed by his fingers, lightly. At first there was nothing.

Then, a sound of leathery wings flapping, hitting the underside of the bedframe

One claw reached out to curl around his wrist. He felt the little prick of teeth against his fingers. Still a little sharp like the creature it belonged to hadn't yet lost its taste for dragoon along with meats of a tamer kind.

The eyes of the peacock fan carved above the window watched the room and its inhabitants like the all-seeing Eye of the divinity that was said to watch over this entire land.

[youcouldmakealife]

YCMAL Superlatives Write-ins (Pt 6)

And the final round of write-ins! Coming soon: the Finals, in which the top four characters from each category duke it out for bragging rights/cones of shame.

Most Chill:

Chill dad Dan

Oleg, I feel after all this time, nothing rattles him

Gabe, ever the calm and rational one

My main man Kiro (though in truth probably Gabe)

Ulf. I don't like him but I've gotta give this to him

Kiro. Treating everything as a joke helps.

none of them. not even Gabe

Roman but only because of therapy.

Sandro has never been stressed a day in his life

Dan. So resolute in his laid back approach to life, even in the face of Marc's pamphlets.

I have a feeling it's Georgie...

I searched for who Liam would be annoyed at for not giving him a satisfactory reaction, and I came up with Gabe

None of them? I choose none of them

Jake - at least until he realize David would ditch him for patatas bravas.

Mike "I'm so chill I don't even know how the fuck I ended up in a relationship (not that I'm admitting it is a relationship, Liam)" Brouwer

Most chill being +1 chill, Roman

Gabe???? Literally who in this series is even a little chill

Dima Kurmazov (chaotic but chill - like his reaction to seeing Gabe & Stephen? Chillest guy)

Gabe. reliable Gabe. unless there are zucchini latkes

Grace could (and maybe will) run the world

Gabe Markson, coincidentally stuck with Stephen and Jared, the least chill people on earth

Dan Riley! He puts up with so many shenanigans inc Marc/Ulf/Jaya ..Derek/Andy…give the man a medal ffs

Possesses Zero Chill:

*laughs hysterically*

Harry Chalmers. 0 chill about anything ever.

Pretty sure ‘Bryce’ and ‘chill’ are antonyms

Stephen. Jared. David. Dave. Jake (sometimes fakes it better, but Joe knows.) Marc. Charlie. It's a crowded field, is what I'm saying.

Everyone apart from Kiro.

Most folks will nominate Robbie, but I'd also like to put up Luke before his final break with Nikita

Jared "how dare you chirp ME" Matheson

Stephen-no chill ever existed in his body

Dave. But it's not his fault. His clients have no mercy on his stomach lining.

Playoff Willy, any other answer is simply unacceptable

Adam❤️

billion-way tie for everyone else??? but i'm gonna say Dave (and his ulcers)

None of these people have chill, but I'll say Liam because his dedication scares me

David Chapman thinks chill is something you do in a freezer

Harry Chalmers- he was ready to throw hands with a puppy just cause he was jealous of her owner, -1000000/10 chill

Bryce. No chill at all ever for the beautiful light of his life.

Like... 99% of them? Gonna go with Playoff WIlly though. Regular Willy also has negative chill but at least hides it better.

So many choices, but I'm going with Harry Chalmers (it's the ginger in him)

It's a tie between playoff Willy and Marc 'social justice warrior' Lapointe

how is it all of them? but also. Anton? in a very specific way

Stephen, Jared and Julius. AKA the bitchy hobgoblin triumvirate

Best kindergarten teacher:

Vinny has no discipline so… Gabe?

OMG JOEY. I don't know why I just want to see Massive Man Child interact with Tiny Child Children

Other than the canonical first grade teacher? Has to be Vinny.

Vinny. He'd have 30 toddlers eating out of the palm of his hand.

Vinny! All the baby goalies would agree!

Evan Connelly could you imagine that hulk with tiny children. My god I would die.

Vinny, as long as the kids only need to learn about dinosaurs.

Vinny is every child's best friend (myself included)

Andy — he is an educator and a jungle gym

Gabe - he's great with kids, but not a pushover. And he'd totally be down for coloring.

Jake. Or is he just a kindergarten student?

yvette on account of being a teacher and being able to interact with kids as an authority and not as a fun friend (looking at you derek carruthers)

Vinny!! But also Bryce. Bryce can be Vinny's aide

Willy's done pretty well with the de-aged Scouts...

scratch would be awesome at it? except also he would have zero discipline

Bryce please write this AU, Jared is a cranky divorced dad

Perversely, I think it might be Luke Morris?

Best assassin:

I’d say mike but he’s too obviously threatening… lmao maybe Erin, I think she could kill a dude

Trigger. My boy is a little bloodthirsty.

Stephen (actual assassin and character assassin)

You'd think a meanie, but it needs to be someone with a very cool level head. Adam. Or Oleg Kurmazov.

The OG kindergarten/assassin couple: Anton (with Vinny the kindergarten teacher obvs

Stephen. He knows 32 ways to kill a man and leave no trace.

Devon Crane. He'd get the job done with his eyes alone.

Luke all that quietly controlled rage he harnesses to destroy opponents. He would kill, would be good at it, no mercy, no remorse.

Willy can do anything and everything he sets his mind to, up to and including assassination

Who's to say that's not Cranes main job

This category is just Victor and Crane having a terrifying duel. Pray they don't form an alliance.

Adam Rousseau, he possesses the brain and the skills and the demeanor of one

Val, of whom only Harry is (correctly) suspicious

anton wishes (but it's actually his mom)

None of these idiots actually possess the subtlety necessary to be a good assassin

Jared, only because he genuinely dislikes most people besides his sunshine husband and hobgoblin bestie

Stephen, master at finding his target's soft underbelly.

Julius. It's the arsenic, man

Devon Crane. Trigger except those long limbs stick out in a crowd too much.

Trigger? Just pick a goalie and you get a good one, or Julius.

Slava. Possibly really?

Julius could get away with some shit, I think.

I'm going to go dark horse here and say Erin Matheson

Victor "Spider" Kjeldsen, Former Rookie Detective

David. That focus and understated elegance? Please.

Volkie- he is the sneakiest of the Russian mafia

Stephen Petersen would be on the most wanted list in another universe. And no one would ever be able to catch him

Stephen if it’s poison

Mike Brouwer- kills you with his eyes. Also Bryce when someone harms a hair on Jared’s head.

Most disgustingly in love couple:

Bryce and Jared would literally make me gag if I knew them in real life

ScratchMoney. They proposed at the SAME TIME in front of OTHER PEOPLE with their CUP RINGS.

Jared and Bryce "can't be in the same room without people figuring out that they're head over heels with each other" Marcus-Matheson

Bryce and Jared "We are stealthy" Marcus-Matheson

Bryce and Jared. You'd have to be to put up with either of them

Bryce & Jared Marcus-Matheson, aka That Couple

another billion way tie that Seb thinks he's winning (but based on wordcount alone bryce marcus is actually coming out on top😉

Mike/Liam- they complete each other in the best ways

Jared and Bryce come close, but Marc and Dan are still the Gold Standard here.

Jared and Bryce. Say what you will about ScratchnMoney, as far as we know they've never had a "no YOU hang up" conversation in front of other people

Bryce and Jared, Derek tries but Andy isn't giving him enough backup.

Bryce and Jared. Bryce is just gross.

Bryce and Jared for those who Know. Scratch&Money for everyone they see

I feel it's David/Jake but I am biased - anyway, just the fact that they are a couple means that David is disgustingly into it, into Jake. And Jake 'pining for almost a decade' Lourdes without ever stopping?? Please. They are so in love it makes me sick with joy.

J&BJ sorry ScratchnMoney you don’t have tattoos (yet)

Has Joey mentioned that he and Scratch are ENGAGED????

The Marcus-Mathesons. Literally a high school romcom

Most under the radar couple:

ScratchnMoney only because nothing changed not at all because they’re under the radar

erm... Jake and David? Purely by force of will on David's behalf alone

David and Jake. They are also disgustingly in love, but they do fly under the radar outside of a select group.

Hank and Jordan. Both because of profession and temperament.

Luke and Andreas, Dave didn’t even know

Mike and Liam. Even Mike's not sure they're a couple.

Aaron and Matt, which is to say I miss them so much Taylor. Taylor I miss them SO MUCH

adam and cal just cracking beers and huntin' deers

Maybe Andy and Derek because their couple behavior, while full of nonsense, is IDENTICAL to their pre-relationship behavior

Gabe and Stephen - apparently they give off a "brotherly" vibe without even trying....

Mike and Liam, even with many classes of Rookie Detectives on the case.

Gabe and Stephen. I just want to see mushy Stephen okay!!

David wishes it was him but PINING. So it’s Gabe and Stephen.

Roman/Evan/Harry. They are saying Nothing

Not to keep pulling from the scouts, but Owen and Willy literally had an Entire Thing going on and barely anyone noticed.

Mike and Liam, if Mike has anything to say about it

Luke/Andreas - I bet their couple dynamic is amazing, but we wouldn't know, because they're professionals

Most long suffering wingman/bystander:

Joe. No one but Joe can be the answer here.

Oh Raf. What you had to go through….

Joe. Poor man should have his suffering recognized

Raf. Always Raf. He suffered Bryce and Jared. He has to suffer David and Jake.

Victor Holm put up with too much to not be the obvious answer

Poor Joe. He suffered so much and can complain to so few people about it.

i just think chaz and joe would have a lot to talk about

Mike deserves bystander status after having to listen to Liam's North Stars shenanigans

Darryl Rogers and Dave Summers tie for both being the exact definition of long suffering bystander

Probably Marc with his pamphlets

Canonically, Tate Williams, but only because his friends are actual dumbasses

Chaz and Raf think it's a two-way competition, but this prize is all Elliot's. (Sorry, Joe!)

Everyone? Raf "I was just here for a hockey camp" Sanchez, Darryl "let me take in a rookie" Rogers, Playoff Willy and his bloodlust, VAL

Chaz, mostly because he got it from both ends (heyo!)

willy. its fucking painful. get your shit together guys, damn.

Either Trigger or Marc in response to 90% of Ulf's nonsense

David/Jake does not deserve Joe Forster and Joe Forster does not deserve David/Jake

Literally every captain or alternate in the league: Joe, Rogers, Oleg, Quincy etc. With great power comes great responsibility

Most enthusiastic wingman/shipper on deck:

Liam, despite their repeated efforts to dissuade him

Gally. But he's so, so bad at it.

Kiro. Davidson deserves to be happy.

Gally would like a word and shout "ME"

Vinny, for Sandro/Sylvie

Liam will commit felonies to make his ot3 happen!

Does Seb count if the couple he ships is himself and Si?

Liam upgraded from wingman to kidnapper so he wins this prize along with his felony.

i just know and perceive that the Petersen sisters wanted Stephen to lock Gabe down since junior high

Liam is the epitome of the enthusiastic (if unwanted) wingman

Matty for Robbie and Happiness

Liam, but only because he is always horny and wants other people to also be horny

I just know the Rileys manifested Dan/Marc into existence

Liam (I committed felonies for Threesome Love!) vs Chaz (SEVEN DRAFTS OF WEDDING VOWS). Gotta give it to Chaz. And Ash, dammit.

Jessica/Gritty, somehow still more "two separate entities" than ScratchnMoney.

Tate Williams out of desperation

Chaz Rossi - the way he actually took Bryce aside and told him to stop behaving like an asshole and actually improved his and Jared's life?? Legend stuff. Absolutely the most meaningful shipper gesture, if understated.

The entire Scouts roster other than scratch and money

Willy - but not playoff Willy

Gally and the parent trap

Most enthusiastic while pretending he’s not? That would be Stephen.

Your personal favourite character:

David Chapman. Boy tries so hard.

Thomas Vincent!!!!!!!!!! Not only the asexual representation I so desperately crave but he is also my best friend

Gabe. He is the perfect son. Most caring and clearly would give the best cuddles.

David (though both James AND holden are sneaking up)

Crane. I find his murder eyes alarmingly alluring

Don't do this to me. It's Adam, but don't make me /say/ it.

My disaster ginger son with a praise kink, Harry Chalmers

This answer may change in 10 minutes. But right now, Jared.

Ahhh so many! Being autistic, I identify with the ND characters, and so David is my fave because I relate to him so much. But for pure enjoyment, I love Joey, the sweet, dumb, introverted tweedle.

Any of the goalies, really. Except Connors. We don't speak of him.

Willy. I feel like I need to talk to my therapist after reading why he feels like he can’t be in a relationship ????

Aaaaaaa it used to be David but it really might be Joey or Willy now. I just love them all so much.

Stephen, no question. I talk to him in my head sometimes, he has such good sarcastic advice.

Jared, the snark, the personal growth, the lack of perspective, the eyelashes

Gabriel “number 53 for the Canucks” Markson

The ‘I can’t pick--okay yes I can’ votes:

Sorry. Unable to answer. There’s too many. It’s Mike.

Not fair. I hate this. It changes! Rn it’s Stephen though I GUESS. I’m mad.

5. I can't 4. rank them, 3. I love them 2. all equally. 1. David

Too hard…Bryce Marcus

And then the ballot scratches:

I can't choose just one😞

this is TOO HARD

Personal favourite couple/throuple:

<le sigh> Bringing out the eenies and the meenies again….. Jared and Bryce. They make each other better people.

Oh, come on. Do I have to? Most re-read: Bryce and Jared. Most emotionally invested: Liam and Mike. Most happy they got (back) together: David and Jake

Sebastien and Simon - childhood besties, pining, obliviousness - I re-read their stories so often!

Jake and David are so good together and they grow so much as people and I love them

Robbie/Georgie 'they fell in love with each other's hockey first'

David and Jake to read about, Kiro and Emily if I got to meet them.

Moral Support Pioneers Vinny and Tony

Og marc and dan stan

Gah, why must I choose only one?!? Alright, alright, David and Jake. I love seeing the Canadian hockey robot become a real boy.

ScratchnMoney because they're so kind and so nice to each other and so so dumb at the same time

Gabe and Stephen. I desperately want a mini-extension of their story beyond being side characters to Bryce/Jared.

Mike and Liam (I would like to tell you that my phone just tried to change Liam into "Liability" and that's honestly just very accurate

Bryce and Jared. They are my emotional support children okay

I just really want Sven/Yvette/Gérard to live happily ever after and Georgie to undo what he did to Robbie

David/Jake. That’s some deep love man.

The torn:

David and Jake. Or Mike and Liam. Or Dan and Marc. Look - I suck at making decisions OK?

ScratchnMoney AND Anton/Vinny (please don't make me choose)

LIAM AND MIKE, also I’d die for Roman/Harry/Connie

No. Shut up. How dare, how very dare. U G H Vinny/Anton is very important to me and Jared/Bryce is a delight BUT I GUESS Roman/Harry/Evan hits different. This sucks.

I'm torn between David/Jake and Jared/Bryce. So obviously, I really mean Gabe and Stephen. What..?

Similarly difficult, but Gabe/Stephen, but also scratchnmoney, but also Liam/mike

Gabe and Stephen- they travel so far into others lives. And for so long. Followed closely by ScratchMoney, JaredBryce,DavidJake.

And finally...how dare you come for me like this so accurately:

Jared/Bryce has really grown on me over the last 27 years

[miraculousmarifan]

Felinette Month 2020 - Day 22: Tattoo Artist

Happy @felinettenovember! It may almost be the end of November but I’m slowly catching up! Hopefully this longer story full of Felix being awkward makes up for the delay!

Around 3200 words of Felix and Marinette awkwardly trying to flirt. Spoiler, Nino was in fact trying to subtly set them up before then. Also mentions of Gabriel salt but not enough to really tag.

Also, there is one swear word in the entire thing but it was too perfect a spot not to include. Enjoy!

Felix hated going to crowded bars. He couldn't believe he had let his coworker, Nino, talk him into coming to this bar while he DJ’d on the side. Felix didn’t mind spending time with Nino at the tattoo parlor, the two had interesting conversations and Nino was pretty relaxed but it didn’t mean they had become good enough friends for Felix to put up with this. The reek of body odor near the dance floor deterred him and he wondered why he felt like he needed to come to this show. He hadn’t come any other time Nino had invited him. 

Felix wondered if he was overdressed. Most people wore jeans. Here and there he saw a nice blouse or even a dress but many women looked like their primary objective was to entice a date into taking them home, in Felix’s opinion. He saw one or two men wearing button down shirts but most wore flannels or plain t-shirts. His white button down, dark gray vest, and black pants might’ve been a little dressy for the venue.

There was still a little bit of room to sneak in by the bar, near a dark-haired woman on one of the few barstools. He excused himself as he tried to position himself at the bar without bumping anyone. He couldn’t help but wonder if this bar was normally crowded like this or if this was Nino’s influence. It might be a sign that he’s actually a really good DJ.

“I’m sorry. Were you saving this spot for someone?” Felix turned slightly towards the woman, while waiting for the bartender to finish making other customers’ drinks. “I just tried to get into the only opening at the bar I could see.”

“It’s fine! I’m meeting someone and she isn’t here yet. It’s nice to see it so crowded!” the dark-haired woman exclaimed with a smile, glancing up from her phone and placing a hand on the top of her drink glass while talking with him. He felt himself smile back. She wore a pink shirt, casual but stylish, with jeans and black heeled boots. She definitely had good taste, managing to look put together for a night out, while still being casual and comfortable.

“I’m glad I didn’t inconvenience you right now. It’s definitely crowded. Do you come here often? I mean, do you know if it’s normally like this? This is my first time here,” Felix fumbled out. He internally smacked his head. It wasn’t like he never saw pretty girls and he hadn’t even had a drink yet. Why was he forgetting how to speak properly with her sparkling eyes on him? He used to work with models for crying out loud. He felt like the words coming out were too direct. It was like he was a creep hitting on her at the bar and he just wanted to make some small talk! He felt the tension in him relax slightly as she lightly laughed.

“It sometimes gets busy but today is a little more than usual. My friend is the DJ and he tends to draw in more people. I think his girlfriend put something on her blog though, since this is a special show. It may have brought more people than usual. What brings you here, since you clearly aren’t a usual?” she mockingly asked him, after her casual remarks. She had brought her drink closer to her body, hand still on the top, as though she was thinking about getting up and leaving that spot soon.

“I actually came for a coworker… friend… that said he was going to be the DJ tonight. Nino?” Felix replied, wondering if Nino was actually a mutual friend. He hoped so, if only for the chance to chat with her longer tonight.

“Oh! You’re from the tattoo parlor?” she exclaimed, jerking up so her back was straight. Her face flushed lightly and her eyebrows were raised slightly.

“Yes… I take it Nino is your DJ friend. I’m Felix,” he stuck his hand out in introduction with a slight tilt of his head.

“Marinette,” she smiled and shook his hand. The bartender chose this opportunity to come over, apologize for the wait, and take his drink order. Felix asked Marinette if she needed a refill and offered to buy it. She downed the last of her drink and pushed it forward, repeating what she wanted. He gladly covered it, leaving a bill big enough to pay for the drinks with a generous tip. He figured with it being this busy, few customers would leave tips after having to wait and it would be appreciated. He turned slightly, looking over his shoulder to check for an open table with three or four chairs.

“I’m thinking about moving to that table--” Felix gestured to an empty table left of the dance floor, close to the DJ booth with three chairs by it, “-- so the bar has a little more open space. Would you like to join me there while you wait for your friend?”

Marinette smiled at him and nodded, pulling the strap of her small bag over her shoulder and sliding off the chair. He picked up her drink and started to weave through the crowd, walking as quickly as possible towards the table. He reached it a few steps before her, setting the drinks down and then gesturing for her to take the seat with the best view of the entrance. He quickly explained that he wanted her to be able to spot her friend right away.

“So you work with Nino at the tattoo parlor?” Marinette asked again, as though there was more behind the question.

“Yes. I also do tattoos, though I personally think Nino’s are more creative. I typically do by appointment, though I have helped out with walk-ins when we get a group of them. I find that they typically prefer his sketches though, so I don’t typically make my own designs,” Felix gave her more detail than normal, in case he could answer her unspoken question this way.

“I guess I’m just a little surprised. You don’t really look like the type to work there. Do you have any tattoos?” she sheepishly shrugged, kind of explaining the tone behind her previous question. He grinned mischievously and shrugged back at her.

“I actually don’t have any tattoos and didn’t get into this career field because I loved it. It’s a bit of a joke at work but I started there to spite my father. I had steady hands and trained for quite a while before starting working on clients but…” Felix had a bit of a laugh in his voice as he explained this career choice. Marinette studied him a little more closely before leaning forward to respond.

“Not to pry but were you a model when you were younger?” she whispered almost conspiratorially, with a narrowed eye and the tilt of her head. Her hair fell forward with the motion and his hand lifted to push it back behind her ear before he had a chance to think. As he realized what he had done, he flushed and looked away, pulling his hand back swiftly and gripping it in his lap. He completely missed her blushing and putting a hand up to her ear.

“I was actually… not that most people realize it now. I actually changed my last name to my mother’s maiden name when I came of age so people don’t make the connection when they do happen to hear it,” Felix replied and met her intense stare, quietly answering her searching gaze with his own. He wondered if she had really figured him out so quickly. He knew his longer-term coworkers knew about his previous work history but was he just delusional that others didn’t make the connection?

“I’m glad you found a way to fuck with Gabriel Agreste. After reading an article about the standards he held for his models when you suddenly disappeared from the fashion world, I decided I never wanted to treat people like that. I even decided that I didn’t want to take an internship there, even if it would help my career to learn from him. It’s good to know you’re doing well,” Marinette looked away, blushing more as she took a gulp from her glass, gripping it tighter than really necessary. He felt the need to study her closer. Most people didn’t notice or read the article he had helped with, especially when the only publication that would go up against Gabriel was a small independent fashion magazine. This girl must’ve been really invested in fashion to have noticed an article like that.

“So you must be working in fashion?” Felix rested his head on a hand, soaking up her expression. He was startled from his reverie by a hand on his shoulder.

“She’s the best designer of our generation! She’s going to have her name across every headline soon! She is going to blow Gabriel Agreste out of the water… Isn’t that right Mar?” a woman with brown and red hair declared firmly near Felix’s ear, before turning and confirming with Marinette with a grin.

“Alya! You made it! Why didn’t you message me when you got here?” Marinette grinned back, still blushing lightly. 

“Girl I did! Don’t you check your phone? I’m glad you guys chose a table that was easy to spot! Who’s your friend?” Alya lightly bumped their shoulders, before taking the last chair at the table and waggling her eyebrows.

“I’m Felix, and you must be Marinette’s friend,” he jumped in right away, extending a hand and smiling slightly at their interaction.

“Alya. Are you the Felix that works with Nino?” Alya grinned a bit bigger, the mischievous look seeming to grow. He nodded and looked around.

“I am. Do you guys know when he’s planning on being here?” he asked. He figured Nino was supposed to start soon, so he should be there.

“So Felix, you look a little dressed up today. Any specific reason? Like maybe you had a date?” Alya rested her head on her hands, staring across the table at him with slightly narrowed eyes.

“This is how I normally dress… These are my casual clothes…” he stuttered out in confusion. Luckily he didn’t need to stutter too long, as Nino arrived at their table and greeted his girlfriend with a kiss.

“Hey guys! Felix, man! You made it! I’m so glad you made it! Have you all met already?” Nino patted Felix’s shoulder before looking between the three of them. Alya turned and smiled at the two.

“We’ve been getting to know him. You didn’t tell me you had invited your work friend tonight,” Alya raised her eyebrows at Nino and placed a hand on his arm. He looked at her confused, and leaned over to talk with her in a low tone. The two leaned over as Marinette and Felix sat awkwardly, trying not to watch the pair. Finally the two seemed to reach an understanding and noticed their friends' discomfort. 

Nino proceeded to make a little bit of small talk, telling a short story or two about his and Felix’s experiences at the parlor, before he let them know he needed to head up to the booth to start.

With the music blasting, Alya attempted to convince Marinette to come out on the floor and dance with her. She promised to join her once her feet had rested up from her work day. Alya accepted the promise with a declaration that she'd be held to it. Felix felt a small amount of relief at being forgotten here. He was an awkward dancer at best, only really managing to acceptably slow dance for formal events, and this dance floor didn’t appear suitable for that style.

"I actually am kind of interested in getting a tattoo… I have some sketches of what I'm thinking, if you wouldn't mind looking it over…" Marinette pulled a small notepad out of her purse and opened it to a specific page before looking up at him.

"Sure. Are you thinking of making an appointment with Nino or somewhere else?" He gestured towards the notepad to indicate that he'd like to take a look. She slid it over to him and he looked at the line art she had put together for this design. It had some degree of floral swirling but also what appeared to be a small ladybug, a symbol of luck. It was simple but lovely. He looked up at her and leaned closer to point out elements as he spoke, "I imagine you're going to want to fill in the ladybug with red?"

A nod of confirmation. 

"What about these areas? You could have it filled in, make the lines a specific color, or even just put another layer of color on one side of the black so it has more vibrancy. I'm sure this part would look great with a vibrant green and this could be any color you want." Marinette’s eyes got wide with the possibilities. She stated she didn't want it filled in at this point, then started asking about the pros and cons of doing specific line colors versus the layered lines. They discussed what would probably work best for where on her body and what areas are more likely to be painful. Finally she came to a decision, writing down on the paper with her sketch what she wanted.

“So do you have openings for an appointment any time soon?” Marinette asked almost hesitantly. Felix blinked at her a few times before opening his mouth to speak.

“You want me to do it?” he mumbled incredulously, his brain still catching up after discussing the design from a neutral stance up to this point.

“Unless you think I’d be better off going somewhere else, yeah… I kind of thought that’s why you were so open to discussing it…” she replied quietly, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. Her logic made sense. Normally he wouldn’t consult on someone else’s work, but he was caught up in the idea of being able to help the beautiful woman in front of him.

“I could! I just didn’t expect it… would you mind either coming over to the parlor so I can make a copy of this and practice it or you could send me it via email? I normally have my appointments do that when we set up the appointment and design. Then I can give a more accurate time estimate.” he answered enthusiastically, hoping she wouldn’t feel embarrassed by his slow thinking. It was a Friday night after all. He had every reason not to focus well.

“I could give you my number so we can figure out when to make a copy there,” she smiled at him, relief seeming to color her voice. He nodded in agreement, pulling out his phone and bringing up the new contact form, then sliding it over to her. She typed in her name, number, and email address quickly, then returned his phone. He smiled at it, sent a message to her with his name, then returned the phone to his pocket.

“I’m glad we’ll be able to see each other again for this,” the words slipped from his mouth when he watched the lights from the dance floor bounce across her face. She blushed slightly and nodded in response before asking him to dance. He hesitated before leaning forward to answer.

“I will if you ask me to, but I must warn you that I am a terrible dancer. You may end up regretting bringing me there, if it doesn’t make you laugh first,” he whispered near her ear, surprised that even this close to the dance floor his nose registered the sweet smell of her hair, vanilla. Before pulling back, he asked her again, “Are you sure you want me to join you and your friend on the dance floor?”

Her laugh twinkled out before she stood, leaning close to him to reply. “You haven’t seen my dancing yet! It’s not likely you can be worse than me!”

Her hand wrapped around his closest one and gently tugged it so he would get up and follow. The two made their way towards where Alya was dancing. She made a small laughing comment about how long it took the two to join in on the fun. During their second song on the floor, with Felix and Marinette awkwardly swaying and waving their arms near the beat but slightly off, Alya started to laugh.

“I never thought I would see the day that Marinette would find her perfect dance partner! You two dance the exact same! Was this planned?” Her exclamation caused the pair to look at each other, then join in laughing. Marinette exclaimed that they hadn’t planned it and looked a little embarrassed at the “perfect dance partner” comment. The next song was slower, definitely one that suggested partnering up. Alya gave Marinette a light nudge towards Felix and an eye waggle on her way back to the table for a “refreshment break.”

“Would you like to dance? I know we don’t really know each other and neither of us is much for dancing…” Felix awkwardly put a hand to his neck, eyes on her boots. She stepped forward and set a single hand on his shoulder. He brought his arms up, sweeping up her free hand in one of his, then hesitantly started moving. Surprisingly the two managed to stay on beat for more of this song. They were silent through the first chorus, just trying to get into a rhythm together.

“So are you the coworker Nino was trying to set me up with?” Marinette broke the silence, a blush covering her cheeks and eyes cast over his shoulder, rather than at his face.

“I’m not sure. It’s a pretty small parlor and Nino never mentioned setting me up on a date but I’m pretty sure I’m the only single guy there at the moment…” Felix felt a little flustered at the idea. He was sure if Nino had suggested it, he would have rejected on the basis of disliking blind dates. There was too much potential for hurt feelings and uncomfortable meals for his taste. He would’ve hated to find out he missed out on meeting an interesting woman like Marinette due to his own bias though. “Maybe that’s why he kept inviting me to his gigs though. He’s been asking me to come for months and I only got around to it tonight.”

“That’s possible…” Marinette sounded disappointed and Felix felt his stomach drop. He hadn’t meant to say the wrong thing, just state facts as far as he could tell.

“I’m really glad I made it tonight. If I had expected to meet you, I would have come much sooner!” he blurted out quickly, not fully certain if that would help or hurt his case. She blushed more than before and stared at him in surprise.

“I’m glad you came too,” she replied after a long pause. Felix felt relief wash through him.

“Does that mean I can call you sometime? Other than for the tattoo, that is…” he enthusiastically inquired, gazing earnestly at her. The song ended and he hesitated to release her hand, waiting for her answer.

“I think I’d like that.”

[jalapeno-princess]

Case Closed

Lawyer Mark X Reader

Word Count: 9K (I got carried away with this one but I always get carried away when it comes to Mark)

Genre: Angst/Fluff with a hint of sexual themes

Summary: You’re a receptionist at a law firm and you’re currently attending law school in the hopes of becoming a criminal defense lawyer. Unfortunately, one of the lawyers at the law firm already seems to take a disliking to you during the hiring process and you have a hard time understanding why. Little do you know, the reason why Mark seems to hate you so much, is because he’s actually in love with you.

A/N: The idea of lawyer Mark is so hot wtf hahahaha thanks for the request @tuanhood​ I hope you enjoy!

“Thank you for calling James and Dean Law firm, this is y/n how may I be of assistance?” 

Being a receptionist at a law firm was not the ideal job you would’ve wanted after graduating from your university with your bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. However, you had just been accepted in to one of the top law schools in the country and you felt as if the best way you could learn a thing or two about how the law works, was by working alongside other lawyers. 

There were three lawyers that you were currently working for; Park Jinyoung who dealt with family law, Choi Youngjae who dabbled in both bankruptcy and personal injury law and Mark Tuan, a criminal lawyer. When you were first interviewed for the position, all three lawyers had prepared multiple questions for you to make sure you were the right candidate for the job. 

Both Jinyoung and Youngjae made it well aware that they liked you. They would not stop complimenting your bright and bubbly personality, how you’ve accomplished so much in the few years of your college career and how they felt like you had a great head on your shoulders. 

Unfortunately, Mark wasn’t as kind as his two other colleagues. He looked at you like you were the dirt under his expensive dress shoes. He also asked you questions that made you sit and think for a few minutes before actually answering them in fear of saying the wrong thing. 

Throughout the interview, you tried your best to put on a poker face and to make it seem like you were unbothered by the hostile way Mark was acting towards you. Even Youngjae and Jinyoung began to look at him in confusion with how rude and uptight he was being. Mark was an extremely kind and soft spoken kind of guy. That’s why a lot of people had a hard time understanding why he chose criminal law out of the many different types of law there were. However, when it came down to it, Mark was very passionate about his craft. He put in so much time, dedication and hard work in to every single case that he worked on and he wanted to make sure you’d be able to handle the work that you’d have to deal with if you ended up getting the job. 

He’s spent so many hours staying up, studying, reading and doing his research as both an undergrad and a grad student and worked extremely hard to get to where he was today. Law school wasn’t easy. In fact, out of his graduating class, only 8 of the 300 students actually became lawyers. Mark Tuan wanted nothing but the best, so he had to make sure Jinyoung and Youngjae were hiring you for all the right reasons and not just because you were personable and had a college degree. 

When you got the call a few days later that you were hired, as excited as you were, you couldn’t help but feel a little discouraged. You had yet to learn about your future employers, but you couldn’t help but feel as if Mark had already taken a disliking to you. Did you really want to work in a place where you were unwanted by one of the owners of the law firm? At the time, you could only hope that he was coming off as such an asshole in order to get you to take your job seriously. However, after working with the company for almost four months now, you came to learn that Mark Tuan was a selfish, narcissistic asshole who didn’t care about anyone but himself. 

Youngjae and Jinyoung were extremely down to earth people and very patient with you. They took the time to help you get settled in to your position and always offered to help you if and when you had any questions. Mark made it aware that he wanted nothing to do with you unless he really had to and you had a hard time understanding why he was so cold towards you. You saw the way he interacted with the two other lawyers. You didn’t think someone as cold and standoffish as him was capable of such an adorable, contagious and high pitched laugh. Even when his clients came in to see him, he was nothing short of a gentlemen. But when it came to you, he barely even acknowledged your presence. 

You were upset when you found out that he was in the field that you were planning to go in to. Out of all the types of law there were, why did he choose to go in to the one you wanted? You wanted to be able to work one on one with someone in your same field and be able to observe them as they did their job so you could get a taste of what being a criminal justice lawyer was like. But you know there was no way Mark would ever let you sit in on one of his meetings or even show you the ropes of criminal law.

Youngjae and Jinyoung were aware of the fact that you were going in to law and they offered to help you in any way that they could. They were also very kind and apologized to you for the way Mark would treat you, but you accepted it for what it was and got used to Mark’s harsh behavior. What bothered you the most, was that you couldn’t find it in yourself to hate him no matter how badly you wanted to. 

Something about his closed off and cold exterior attracted you. You wanted to know why he seemed to loathe you so much. Was it something you said? Did? You also despised the fact that you were physically attracted to him. Sure, Jinyoung and Youngjae were both extremely good looking and their kind and generous personalities made them look even more attractive than they already were. However, Mark was devastatingly good looking. He was a sight for sore eyes. 

You’d find yourself looking at him whenever he’d leave his office door open and if he came outside to greet one of his clients. He was also very muscular and built. His dress shirts practically clung to his biceps like a second skin and you’ve found yourself daydreaming about him taking out all his anger and hatred for you on you up against his desk on multiple occasions but you couldn’t think like that. This man despised you and treated you inhumanely. There was no way you’d allow yourself to develop feelings for him. He didn’t deserve respect, kindness or love from you since he could barely give that himself. 

As the days went by, you went back and forth between school and work and you were so overwhelmed by the amount of workload that you had. Jinyoung offered to cut down your hours but before you could accept his offer, Mark scoffed and rolled his eyes at you in disgust. 

“If she can’t handle such a small amount of work, what makes her think she’ll last a day being a lawyer? Might as well drop out now.” 

You attempted to hold back the tears from falling but you knew it was impossible. You were doing the best that you could in both your education and your work ethic. How dare he try and make you feel like you weren’t worthy of becoming a lawyer? You apologized to Jinyoung before storming out of the firm and making your way to your apartment. Since you left so abruptly, you failed to witness Jinyoung storm in to Mark’s office nor did you get to hear Jinyoung yelling at his colleague for the way he’s been treating you. 

“Y/n is the best receptionist we’ve had so far. She practically dedicates her life to her studies and to this job. She does everything we ask her to and then some. I’ve never heard her complain once about the stress that she’s under nor has she made any comments about how much of an asshole you’ve been to her. Every time you treat her so cruelly, she never fails to keep a smile on her face and respects you even if your bitch ass doesn’t deserve it. I know it bothers her and I’ve seen the smile fall from her face every time you belittle her and make her feel incompetent. You’ve never been this hostile to any of our other receptionists before, so what could y/n have possibly done for you to hate her so much?” 

She’s gotten me to fall in love with her. 

Since the day that you walked in to their law firm, with your silky, long hair, beautiful brown eyes, porcelain skin, the prettiest heart shape lips and a smile Mark was sure could cure cancer, he knew he was fucked. When he decided to become a lawyer, he felt as his he was sacrificing his entire social life by choosing such an elite career. He didn’t care about anyone or anything other than his profession and he wasn’t going to let anyone, especially someone like you for that matter get in the way of everything he’s worked so hard for. Your bright and extremely positive personality lit up the entire room and it took every bone in his body not to show you how much of an affect you were having on him. 

He knew it was wrong of him to be so mean to you and he hated being so rude to you when you were nothing but polite and gentle with him. Mark thought by being so cold to you, that his feelings for you would disappear and maybe you would hate how hostile he was being towards you and end up paying him no mind; making it easier for him to focus on his job. However, whenever he would lash out on you, you never failed to smile at him and continue to do your tasks like nothing was wrong. Mark didn’t think a perfect person existed, that was until he met you. 

You were everything Mark could want in a significant other and more. So much more. You were hardworking, headstrong, charismatic, fun-loving and a breath of fresh air. He’s witnessed how close you seemed to be with the two other lawyers and he wanted nothing more than to share the same bond with you that you did with them, but his pride and his ego wouldn’t allow him to. But if what Jinyoung said was true and that the way Mark had been treating you for the last few months actually bothered you, he knew something had to change or else their law firm would lose one of their best employees all because of him. 

After receiving an earful from Jinyoung for almost 20 minutes, he began to come up with ways to apologize to you. However, he didn’t want you finding out that he felt bad for the way he’s been acting towards you because he had feelings for you. No matter how much Mark wanted to admit his feelings for you, he couldn’t jeopardize his position and job title for something as unreasonable as a relationship. He also felt that you would consider his feelings to be a joke. How could he be in love with you if he was treating you so rudely?

There was no way you’d believe him if he told you, so he stuck with a simple apology. You didn’t come in to the office for two days and Mark knew he was the reason why. A part of him wanted to reach out to you and to call you, maybe even invite you out for some coffee but he didn’t want to make it known that he cared. 

When you finally returned back to work on Friday, you ignored Mark entirely. You didn’t greet him like you normally did, you avoided eye contact with him and whenever he tried to speak up, you would always try to divert the conversation. Now he understood how you must’ve felt and he hated himself for being the reason you were obviously unhappy. After contemplating his next moves, he decided to call you in to his office when he saw that both Youngjae and Jinyoung had left for the day. He thought you were gone too, but then he saw the light from the little lamp on your desk and took that as the sign to make things right between the two of you. 

When you heard the phone ringing and saw his caller id, you released a frustrated sigh and actually thought about letting the phone ring; but you knew it would make him even more upset with you so you found yourself answering it. 

“Is there something you need sir? I was just about to head home for the day.”

His stern yet raspy voice sent shivers down your spine and although you had negative feelings for him, you knew you’d do anything he’d ask you to. “Come to my office. We need to talk.” 

You could feel the nerves building up inside of you as you furrowed your brows. What exactly did he need to talk to you about? After releasing a few deep breaths, you slowly made your way in to his office. You have never been in to his office before. He never gave you the chance to. If he ever needed something, he’d come outside to you and although it was an unspoken rule, you knew not to go anywhere near his office. For some reason, it was the type of office you expected him to have. It suited him. He was obviously a neat freak unlike Jinyoung and Youngjae. All his books seemed to be in alphabetical order, there was nothing colorful in there but the birds of paradise plant sitting next to the window and he had a nice view of the cityscape.

You weren’t going to lie, he looked alluring. His tie was loose and a few of the buttons on his dress shirt were undone. His hair was also quite messy and it was obvious that he must’ve ran his fingers through it a few times during the day. You bit down on your bottom lip to prevent you from drooling. Why did someone who looked like an actual Greek god have the personality of a jerk?

“Have a seat.” His voice, for the first time since you’ve met him was gentle and soft. Where was the Mark Tuan you knew who hated your guts and who was this imposter? “I’d like to apologize for the way I’ve been acting towards you for the last few months. I’m not a bad guy y/n. I don’t know why I’ve been such an ass—well, I do. But it doesn’t matter. I just want to say I’m sorry, and that I’ll try to work on my attitude. That is all. You’re free to go.” 

You scoffed in disbelief. Out of the three lawyers, Mark had you do the most work. For someone who treated you like shit and like you were incapable of multitasking and completing all the work that they would give you, he expected quite a lot from you. This was the apology that you were receiving? How pathetic. It was extremely half assed and you had a feeling he wasn’t being genuine. When Mark noticed your now frustrated expression, he looked at you in confusion. 

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Really? You think that your pathetic excuse of an apology is going to be enough to replace the mental and verbal abuse you’ve put me through in the last few months? If so, you have another thing coming for you. I’ve done every single thing you’ve asked me to. No matter how hard the task was and no matter how unreasonable the request was. I don’t know what I did for you to hate me so much, especially since I’ve been nothing but nice to you but I’m sorry. For whatever it was that I did. But I won’t apologize for working my ass off to impress you and to be the best employee that I can be. I actually looked up to you. You’re one of the best criminal lawyers in this industry. I work my ass off at school and when I’m working here just so I could be even half of an amazing lawyer as you. I see how determined you are when you plan out your cases and how much time and effort you put in to looking for evidence to support your client and I find it very admirable.” You released a quick breath before continuing. 

“But you’re one of the biggest assholes I’ve ever met. How can you belittle and discourage someone who has the same dream as you? Where is the logic in that huh? I used to question my worth because of you. I used to stay up some nights and cry over the thought of not being adequate enough to become a lawyer because of what you said. You want to know something Mark? I’m not incompetent or any less of a hard worker than you are. I’m one of the most hardworking and determined people in this damn field and you know what else? You can take your apology and shove it up your ass because I don’t need it. I quit.” 

He didn’t know that someone as kind, friendly and full of life was capable of such disgust and anger. But he couldn’t blame you. Anyone in their right minds would’ve quit the minute he treated them the way he treated you. Although it was obvious you were fuming from his lack of words and emotion, he found your attitude to be very hot and extremely sexy. He didn’t care anymore, he was willing to give up his pride if it meant being the lucky man who gets to love you.

Before you could walk out the door, he beat you to it and slammed the door shut. “I’m sorry, what did you say? Take my apology and shove it where?”

He had you trapped in between his hands on either side of your face. He lowered his lips to your ear and chuckled softly against it causing the hairs on the back of your neck to rise at the sensation. “If I’m going to shove anything anywhere, it’s my cock down your tight little throat. You understand me?” 

Your eyes widened at his words and you attempted to push at his chest in order for him to get off of you although you wanted the complete opposite. He didn’t deserve your feelings and you weren’t going to allow him to take advantage of you no matter how badly you wanted him to. 

“Let’s see how good of a criminal lawyer you would be shall we? If a wife murders her husband as an act of self defense but there isn’t enough evidence to prove that this murder was an act of self defense and not preemptive, would the court find her guilty or not guilty? And on what grounds?” You couldn’t believe that he changed the subject so quickly and you couldn’t find it in yourself to respond. Your mind was clouded with what he just said about face fucking you and it seemed to be the only thing you could think about. 

“Hmmmm, too much? Okay, how about this one. A driver is going 40 miles over the speed limit in order to get his pregnant wife to the hospital. Should the judge let him go because he has his obvious reasons for speeding? Or does he go to jail for breaking the law?” As he continued to ask you questions, one of his hands made their way down to your waist as the other one slipped inside the back of your blouse. His fingertips were cold against your skin and it sent a bolt of electricity through your veins. 

“Unlike a court, I would definitely order specific performance of a contract for service. Especially if it were oral. Hmmmm, someone’s being awfully quiet. Should I give you a reason to be loud baby?” Was this all really happening right now? What was going on? You had to be dreaming. “Y/n.” He brought his fingers up to your face and tilted your head so that you were making eye contact with him. 

“You drive me insane you know that? Completely mad. I’m genuinely sorry for how I’ve been treating you and I know it’s no excuse, but it was because I was afraid of falling in love and I’m no longer ashamed to admit that my biggest fear came true. You might have a hard time believing it, especially because my actions and words said otherwise, but I am head over heels in love with you. Ever since you walked in here that day with your head held high and a huge smile on your face, I couldn’t keep my eyes nor my mind off of you. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I’m sorry for being such an asshole to you before even getting to know you. I just thought it’d be easier for me to stay away from you if I continued to be a prick and get you to hate me anyways but no. You never let my bad attitude get in the way of being the hardworking and extremely talented person that you are. I’m sorry if I ever discouraged you or made you feel any less special that you actually are. You are an ethereal being y/n. Whenever I look at you, I see myself when I was a fresh out of college undergraduate with dreams of opening my own law firm.” 

He smiled softly to himself when he felt you relax under his touch and lowered both of his hands to your hips. “You’re one of the most positive, energetic and diligent people I’ve ever met. I see how passionate you are about becoming a lawyer and the light in your eyes never fails to make my heart flutter. You never cease to amaze me y/n. If it’s any consolation, I’m sure you’re going to become a wonderful lawyer. I think you’re wonderful. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met on the inside and out. I think I was so mean to you because I could never get you off of my mind. I lose my sanity whenever I’m around you. I can’t think straight when I see you in these tight pencil skirts and sheer blouses that leave little to the imagination. I’ve been slacking on a lot of these cases because all I can think about is you. I understand if you hate me and think I’m a terrible person. I am. And you have every right to have negative feelings about me. If you don’t feel the same about me, we can forget that this whole conversation happened and I’ll forget about everything that you said. But I’d do anything to repay you for all that you’ve done for me and to earn your forgiveness for all the wrong I’ve done to you. If you want to start over, we can do that too. And you don’t have to make the decision now. I know it will take some time for you to forgive me and to trust me, but I’ll wait for you for as long as you need me to.” 

You looked up at him and you knew by the look in his eyes that he meant every single word that he said. There were so many thoughts going on in your mind about his feelings for you and you weren’t to sure how to respond to all of that. You had a hard time processing the fact that he loved you. How could he treat you so harshly if he loved you? Even if he didn’t want to give up his beliefs of making his job his main priority, why did he have to be so cold towards you? It wasn’t like you’d allow him to give up on everything he’s achieved so far. If anything, you’d be of more help and support to him if he gave you the chance to. 

A part of you wanted to go home and give yourself some time to think before making a decision you’d regret down the line. However, with the way he was looking at you with so much love and admiration in his eyes, you knew he was worth forgiving and risking it all for. Once he saw you nod in agreement, he didn’t give you time to do anything else before connecting your lips together. As much as Mark could irritate you sometimes, you always found yourself wanting to know how it felt like to kiss him and now that you knew, you would never get enough. 

His hands began toying with your blouse as he continued attacking your lips with his. You knew exactly what he had planned for the two of you and you had no plans on stopping him. 

“Mark—“ he grunted against your chest. 

“Yes baby?” You smiled in to the kiss before pulling away to take a good look at him. You brought your fingers up to his hair and playfully ruffled it before taking his bottom lip in between your teeth. 

“Say it again.” 

“Say what?” You gave him the most adorable frown and he snickered at you, knowing exactly what you were referring to. “You haven’t even said it yet.” You crossed your arms in frustration. 

“I think after all these months of putting up with your hostility, I deserve—“ the trace of wet kisses against the juncture of your neck broke you out of your complaint. 

“I—love—you. I’m so fucking in love with you. You’re mine y/n.” You moaned against his chest and the sound went straight to his hardened and extremely painful cock. 

“I love you too—you prick.” He giggled softly before picking you up and bringing you towards his desk. 

“Can I be honest with you? I’ve dreamt about you taking me up against this table on multiple occasions. I’ve always wanted you to take your anger out on me while fucking in to me at a rough pace.” He clenched his jaw at the idea and cupped your cheek with his hand. 

“Trust me baby, there were many naughty scenarios that go on in my head every time I saw you bend over with this beautiful ass of yours on display. Fuck, I can’t process the fact that you’re finally mine. I’ll take good care of you baby, I promise. Now, I believe that it's in our best interest to comply with section 69 of the act. Shall we?”

[doodle-empress66]

Hazbin Hotel: Perma Frost Full Bio

General

“It’s BULLSHIT that I’m down here! Stuck in this ugly ass form! I did the shit I did to SURVIVE! No one has ever watched out for me! So I watched out for myself the best way I knew how!”

- Perma Frost to Charlie

Full/True name: Petra  

Nickname(s) or Alias:  

Perma Frost, Perma

Perm

 The Killer Frost Demon

Kid (By Husk)

Ice Queen (By Angel)

Little Girlie (Niffty)

Young Miss (By Alastor)

Bruja de hielo (By Vaggie)

Gender: Female

Species: Human (formerly), Ice Demon

Age: 14

Birthday: Jan 6th 

Sexuality:   Autochorisexual-Aegoromantic

Nationality: Icelandic

City or town of birth: Vik, Iceland

Currently lives: The Outskirts of Pentagram City

Native language: Icelandic  

Relationship Status: Single  

Appearance  

Height: 5'5   

Figure/build: Slender, somewhat curvy build, with long, dark blue icicle-like fingers. Powder blue skin

Hair color: Light Blue (Normally),   Transparent light blue (when angered or frightened)

Hairstyle: Long and unruly  

Eye color: A glowing icy blue hue that shifts

Tattoos: A snowflake on her back    

Preferred style of clothing: ALWAYS wearing a large hooded jacket/coat that covers the entire top half of her body. Large black snow boats. And navy blue tights

General Past life  

Human Name: Petra (She renounced her last name)

Birthday: 6th Jan 2005

Age of Death: 14

Cause of Death: Froze to death/Blood loss

Death day: 23 Aug 2019

Personality 

Perma is an intense, cautious, volatile, and resentful teenager. She’ll do whatever it takes just to make it through the day regardless of who she has to harm or fight. She loathes adults and doesn’t trust them or their judgement, and always believes they're going to hurt her. Nor does she like being told what to do. So she often gets into a lot of fights with older demons, Perma will at times rush head first into a fight without thinking things through due to being blinded by her violent nature and past trauma. She has little to no friends or acquaintances because of the sheer brute force of her powers, somewhat lack of control and unwillingness to listen to people. Despite being unapproachable most of the time, deep down Perma wants a kind soul to turn to for love and guidance. But, pushes away this feeling due to the bad hand life and death has handed her. 

 History  

Born in Vik, Iceland in 2005, since she could walk; Petra knew nothing but misery and neglect. Abused and mistreated by her egg and sperm donor, growing up in a strange cult certainly didn't help little Petra. Forced to deal with going hungry and cold from the old shredded clothes she was forced to wear. As well as participating in her mother's questionable practices. Her family often took part in the ancient art of Icelandic witchcraft. Writing questionable symbols everywhere in the blood of animals they caught. Reading from old books with disturbing otherworldly images. Even carving up their own bodies as a sign of devotion to some strange dark entity. Petra didn't understand these events but knew only bad things could come from it.

Life didn’t get much better for the young Icelandic when she was set up to be a sacrifice in one of the cult's shamanic ceremonies, she managed to slip away and ran until she arrived at an old rundown village. Only 9 years old at the time. From there, the next 4 years were awful. Petra had to survive on scraps she found in the trash or steal food and clothing from unsuspecting villagers. Years on the street, being treated like dirt from those around her, a child no one wanted around, caused Petra to grow hateful to world and the vile people who inhabited it. No one had any concern for her. No one cared about her. Her life meant nothing to ANYBODY. So after that, the lives of others didn’t mean a damn thing to her.

At 11, Petra committed her first murder. She was low on scraps and slowly starving. Following a frail elderly woman with a bag full of food, Petra took out an ice pick she had swiped from some workers and drove it into the back of the woman’s head. 

Soon after, the dreaded streets Petra wandered were now becoming littered with the bodies of the people she stole from. Little did she realize, these malicious acts were changing in ways that were beyond human understanding. Something malevolent and cold started growing inside her body. Warping her soul.

Two years, this continued...until Petra chose the wrong target. A lanky young man, who looked a few years older than her, was smoking in an alley. Driven by survival, bloodlust and greed to what type of goods the man had on his person, Petra struck with her signature ice pick. Too bad, the man wasn’t unarmed. Nor was he alone. That’s all she remembered from that specific day. And how she wished she just kept walking.

The man was part of a group of sex traffickers looking around for young girls and women to add to their market. And 14 year old Petra was added to that collection.

The following year was a new level of Hell for the young girl. Beaten, abused, used in the most vile of ways by these men and others. Petra resisted at each turn but the suffering increased more and more. Then the vile concoction, meth they called it, they forced her to take each day. Told her that it would make her more “enjoyable company”. Some days and nights blurred into each other. This...drug made her forget the pain, the misery, the horrid existence she was subjected to. But reality came back full throttle to punch her in the face once it wore off. It made Petra feel disgusting and free at the same time. Just like the girls around her, empty shells with blissful smiles on their faces.

  She was right at the edge of just ending it, but the stubborn part of her refuse to give her tormentors the satisfaction. One night, while she was getting prepared for a client, Petra managed to break away and shank one of the guards with an icicle she snatched from outside of a window. That kill was easy, but the second guard managed to let out a shout before Petra rammed the spike into his eye.

Petra rushed out into the winter forest, away from the building she was held captive. Wearing nothing but a pair of booty shorts and a flimsy tank top and armed with a bloody icicle. The traffickers hot on her trail with guns and rope. Each day of hiding, running, and avoiding bullets was made worse with trying to fight the freezing cold. One bullet managed to pierce her side. On that night, Petra finally found a small cave to duck into, her feet and hands black and swollen. She was practically a light blue.

Using the last of her strength to make a small, pitiful fire, Petra packed her bullet wound with snow as a sad attempt to stop the bleeding. She leaned against the cave wall and closed her eyes. Thinking back to all the events that transpired that lead her to this. The memories slowly getting darker and darker...

She woke up abruptly from crashing down onto the ground. The teen shot up, disoriented and looked around. Her eyes fell onto a large sign reading, “Welcome to Hell.”

Sins committed to get into hell: Theft, Murder, Assault, Manslaughter, Prostitution (Not her choice)

Any regrets in what they have done: No...depends 

Likes:  

Doing whatever she wants

Warm food

Parkour

Heavy metal music

Necessary Violence

Beating up adults

Animals

Children

Being left alone

Dislikes:  

Adults

Being touched

Limited freedom

Being told what to do

Guns

Silence

Drugs

Anything sex related

Short clothing

Frozen Food

Fears/phobias:  

Men touching her/being near her

Being tied up

The sight of her own blood

Dark rooms

Cults

Sexual acts of any kind

Being drugged

Favorite color: 

White 

Hobbies:  

Ice/snow surfing

Brawling/Street Fighting

Reading scary stories

Parkouring

Stealing

Talents/skills:

Great at the drums

Ice skating (lol)

Parkouring

Intimidation

Fighting

Very Observant/ Quick Learner

Favorite food(s):  

Skyr (Yougurt)

Harðfiskur (dried fish)

Reykjavik's Hot Dog

Favorite drink(s):  

Slushies

Pineapple Soda

Hot Chocolate

Significant/special belongings:  

Her icepick

Spiked choker

Combat  

Fighting skills/techniques:  

Very good street fighter/brawler

Excellent stabbing and hacking skills

Weapon of choice (if any):  

Ice Pick

Unique Abilities:

Cold Magic- is able to perform a form of magic that allows them to utilize cold, either magically manipulating it

Cryokinesis- can create, shape, move, control, interact and manipulate ice.

Cold manipulation- can create, shape and manipulate cold by reducing the kinetic energy of atoms and thus making things colder

Atmospheric Freezing- an freeze the air/atmosphere itself regardless of air quality, abundant and trace gases, air temperature, etc., allowing her to either convert that air/atmosphere directly to ice or simply super chill it.

Absolute Freezing- can freeze anything, from tangible targets to intangible energy such as fire, or concepts such as time, even a person's mind.

Cold Embodiment- acts as the personification or manifestation of cold in their reality and has limitless control over coldness and can use coldness in different ways.

Cold Breath- able to generate and manipulate cold energy within her in a way that allows her to shape the exhaling of the effect.

Cold Presence- has the ability to project a field that lowers the temperature around her, creating a constant chill.

Cold Weaponry- create or wield weaponry with power over cold, which grants Perma a wide variety of cold-based abilities, including slowing down molecules, freezing a target solid, and limiting healing.

Cryo-Phasing- combines intangibility and ice powers to freeze the objects she passes through.

Cryogenic Bodily Fluids- possesses freezing cold bodily fluids (blood, sweat, saliva, etc.

Cryokinetic Creature Creation- is able to create beings of ice or shape existing ice into wanted shapes and purposes. She can grant the beings varying levels of independence (controlled, automatons/programmed, semi-independent) and existence (momentary to permanent) and delete the creature once she is done with them.

Cryokinetic Claws- can project and retract razor-sharp claws of ice from her fingertips for offensive purposes.

Cryokinetic Combat- able to utilize ice manipulation with her physical combat, allowing her to both create tools and weapons for attack and manipulate the environment for her advantage

Cryokinetic Cloning- can create clones of herself, others and/or objects by using ice.

Cryokinetic Surfing- controls the ice in a way that increases her ability to move and/or maneuver either by granting her abilities she otherwise lack or allowing them to ignore normally needed equipment.

Cryokinetic Regeneration- can use ice to regenerate her bodies with the amount of ice used defining the speed of healing.

Demonic Ice Manipulation- One of her most powerful attacks. She can generate and manipulate mystical demonic ice, which cannot be melted by mortal means, drawn straight from the darkest fears sentient minds have about winter, ice and arctic areas, including the fears of treacherous ice breaking, burying/devouring, damaging or tripping the victim in malicious awareness.

Demonic Ice Breath - able to generate and manipulate demonic ice within her in a way that allows her to shape the exhaling of the effect. These shapes can include bursts, streams, spheres, even a mist of it from the mouth.

Dark Ice Manipulation - More powerful attack. She can create, shape and manipulate the ice of a darker, detrimental nature; that which damages, destroys, and consumes anything/everything she comes across, representing the hazardous destructive side of ice, which in turn ignores most of the limitations and weaknesses of the normal ice. In essence, this is about solely controlling the negative dark powers of ice.

Frostbite- can freeze up any part of an enemy's body where she can turn the tissues and flesh into solid ice making the victim shatter into pieces due to freeze drying, or cause a swelling making it hard to move for the victim.

Frozen Surface- can cause surfaces (often floor) to emit ice/cold, causing ice/cold-damage on anything in contact with her or the ice.

Hail Generation- can generate and project hail.

Ice Aura- can release and surround herself in/with ice/cold for defensive and/or offensive purposes, possibly becoming almost untouchable and granting her various abilities/attacks.

Ice Vortex Creation - can generate spirals/vortices composed of ice. The vortex can be projected as a long ranged attack or as a tornado of ice for both offensive and/or defensive purposes.

Omnidirectional Ice Waves- can release massive amounts of ice in every direction at once for almost unlimited scales. This power allows Perma to dispatch many foes at once and destroy large areas like cities/villages.

Snow Ball Projection- able to launch spheres of snow at targets with varying degrees of force.

Snow Solidification- can solidify or give solid-like properties to snow-based substances with the level of solidity going from loose jelly to metal-like hardness or beyond. Alternatively, Perma can also harden snow to make it denser and harder to break.

Un-melt able Ice- can generate and project snow/ice that is extremely difficult to or cannot by melted by normal means, such as extreme heat or fire.

Weaknesses in combat:  

Intense heat/fire

No control when pushed too far

Turns to solid ice when she goes overboard

Due to her constant chill, she can’t sneak up on people

Strengths in combat:  

Wide and short range attacks

Nearly indestructible ice walls

Hidden demon form 

Wild unpredictable street fighting style

Can create ice creatures, structures, and weapons

Relationships

Past life Relationships

Parents: Unknown 

Siblings: None  

Other Important Relatives: None  

Children: None 

Best Friend:   None yet

Other Important Friends:  None yet

Acquaintances:  None yet

Pets: None  but wants one

Enemies:  

Anyone who tries to mess with her.

Alastor (Frenemy-ish)

Hazbin Relationships: 

Charlie- Put off by her eagerness and determination to redeem sinners. Didn’t trust her at first and kept her distance. Slowly warmed up to Charlie’s kindness and learned to trust her and others.

Vaggie- Disliked her attitude, and authority. Would tick her off with snide comments and constantly freezing her and/or Charlie. Started to bond over their dislike of Alastor and men a bit. Told Vaggie of her life and hardships, now have a big sis/little sis connection.

Angel Dust- Because of his sexual nature, she was terrified of Angel and avoided him. Even freezing him solid a few times out of fear/self-defense. Calm down a little once, she learned that he’s gay. The two became close once Angel shared his own stories of abuse. Also adores Fat Nuggets.

Alastor- Instantly loathes Alastor due to his disregard for personal space and creeper smile. Sees him as a closet pervert and often talks trash about his radio broadcasts and calls him an "a limp dick old man". Perma was unaware of Alastor's reputation, but sees him as a sicko who likes to inflate his own ego and harrass those he sees as beneath him. One of the few demons who doesn't fear Alastor, but that's due to her own ignorance and inexperience. Often tries to start fights with him by crude derogatory comments. Or freezing him.

Husker- Didn't think much of Husk at first, but liked the fact the he's a cat. The two barely interacted until she sang to herself in German and Husk responded back. They slowly began to converse with each other more and more. Husk actually listening to her woes and offering some advice. Vice versa. Due to Husk keeping to himself and respecting boundaries, Perma respects and listens to Husk more than anyone. Calms down whenever he's around. The two soon form a father/daughter like relationship.

Niffty- Was put off by Niffty's persnickety and energetic persona. Also irritated her by the frost she leaves behind. But they grow to tolerate each other over time.

Trivia 

Sin - Wrath

Can speak 5 languages: Icelandic, German, Polish, English, and Dutch. This is due to the men she came in contact with during her time on the streets and while trafficked

The spiked choker she wears was a gift from one of the older trafficked girls. It was the first time she was given ANYTHING nice.

Speaks with a thick Icelandic accent

Her lips are dark  blue from her cold

Given her sexual abuse, Perma doesn’t just hate sex, she’s TERRIFIED of it.

Perma keeps to herself and talks to no one unless confronted. 

She knows nothing about the Overlords or power scale.

She keeps her distance from friendly people. To her, everyone is out to get something.

Perma loves heavy metal, it helps her release the pain and fury she feels

With enough patience and practice, Perma could fight on par with an overlord

She likes animals, they never harm you

She eats warm food, to feel ‘alive’. 

One negative act towards her, no matter how small, can set her off

[pavit88-blog]

Is Your Attitude Blocking Your Blessings?

Why does it seem that some people are luckier than others? The "lucky" folks seem to glide through life racking up enviable opportunities and wonderful relationships. These folks also seem adept at avoiding disasters, but if they hit a pitfall, they're able to quickly turn the situation around. These folks consistently have great jobs, invitations to interesting events, satisfying long-term partnerships and good health. This is in mark contrast to the "unlucky" masses who are always schlepping along feeling that they are a day late and a dollar when it comes to snagging life's big rewards.

Successful people are not usually more talented or educated, but they have a better attitude. Let's look at my hairstylist. Some may call her lucky. She told me that she wanted to do the hair of a high-profile socialite who had just moved to Washington, DC. Unbeknownst to my hairdresser, late one Friday night--just before closing the woman's assistant called the salon asking for an appointment. Although the assistant had never been to the salon before my hairstylist told her to come in. The two women chatted, the assistant discussed that she was going to a photo shoot for a national magazine the next day. Then to the surprise of my hairstylist the assistant revealed the name of her boss, Ms. High Profile Socialite. The assistant left the shop loving her new hairdo and was appreciative to my hairstylist for being so helpful. Without much prompting she said that she would pass on my hairstylist's contact information to Ms. High-Profile Socialite. At minimum my hairstylist gained a new client who will sing her praises, resulting in more business. She however may also hit the jackpot by getting Ms. High-Profile Socialite to also become a client--resulting in her own professional reputation being raised considerably.

So was my hairdresser lucky?

Maybe....

Or perhaps she did not allow her attitude to "block her blessings."

Performance consultant, Dr. Alan Zimmerman says "I've noticed that attitude makes a huge difference in determining a person's level of success in life. In fact, attitude seems to make a bigger difference than age, sex, race, education, circumstances or any other factor. Two people can have the same background and face the same situations, but experience very different outcomes. It's all about attitude

My hairstylist's great attitude may indeed help her get Ms. High-Profile socialite as a client. She could have flat-out declined the assistant's last minute request for appointment. Or should could have reluctantly honored the request, but then been sullen to the assistant. Or should could have done a crappy job on her hair. However my hairstylist is a consummate professional who believes in serving the client. When she got the request for a last minute appointment she was accommodating. When the new client arrived she was pleasant and engaging. Most important she delivered a fabulous hairstyle.

Thomas Edison, the inventor, said, "Most people don't recognize opportunity when it comes, because it's usually dressed in overalls and looks a lot like work." How many times have you said that you said that you wanted something: A better paying job, a more nurturing relationship or even a new apartment. You miss out because the opportunity that is presented to you just doesn't seem that appealing. You find out your dream job requires you to take a temporary pay-cut while you're in a training program. The nice guy that you're introduced to isn't a snazzy dresser. You've found an apartment that you can actually afford with all the amenities that you want---but it's across town away from where all your friends live.

Many of us say that we believe in principles such as: "The Power of Intention," "manifesting" or even the Biblical, "Ask and ye shall receive," and declare that we want major change to occur in our lives YET we don't want to re-vamp our attitude to make a way for the change. We keep getting stuck because we fail to realize that without a new attitude and accompanying new actions, we can only get more of the same, dead-end job, dysfunctional relationship or mediocre apartment. Through our unwillingness to explore the possibilities sent our way, we've told the Universe--I'm not REALLY ready to do what's necessary to improve my life.

So if you are serious about having a better job (making more money) and having better relationships it's time to change your attitude. Having a bad attitude is a contributing factor in why highly qualified people get fired. Bad attitudes are also cited as key reasons why relationships fail. Although most people believe that they have a good attitude, research shows that 85% of the people studied were actually pretty negative. How can you tell whether you have a good or bad attitude? Think about what your first reaction is to any given situation--is it negative and pessimistic or is it optimistic and hopeful? If your boss says she wants to see you are you expecting to be fired or to receive a bonus? If you boyfriend doesn't call for few days do you think he's cheating or just busy?

What I mean by attitude is your preconceived notions or expectations about a person or situation. Without much, if any, information or first hand experience are you quick to decide that a person, event or thing is not your cup of tea? Attitude also involves how you interact with people--generally are you pleasant, curt or totally indifferent? Are you only nice and interested in people whom you think can do something for you? Do you forgo small talk with strangers because you don't see the point because you'll never see them again?

Attitude is a choice that you make everyday. The same way that you choice to have a bad attitude you can choose to have a good one. Now having a good attitude doesn't mean sticking your head in the sand and disregarding bad news or your internal warning bells. It does mean approaching life from the standpoint that the world is welcoming and endlessly abundant, NOT the world is hostile and everything is scarce. Whether you call it luck, good vibes or karma, pleasant people usually attract more opportunities than unpleasant people. It means truly believing that you can dramatically improve your income, quality of your relationships and your life NOW-----despite all the gloom and doom reports about the "bad" economy.

So how can you improve your attitude and your opportunities?

Survey Your Strengths: Many times our bad attitude stems from our own lack of self-love. We think that everyone around us is so much better than we are. However by taking time to identify your strengths, both large and small, you will get a better sense of how wonderful you actually are. This list will boost your morale on challenging days and it will give you confidence to take bold steps toward an improved life. Take 5 minutes or 5 days to think about all of the many things that you are good at and write them all down.

Affirm Yourself: We are our worst critics. The constant chatter in our heads that we are not enough--smart, educated, talented, young, pretty, thin, etc. places limits on what we believe that we should achieve in our lives. It's no mystery that people with low self-esteem often have less than satisfying lives. They don't believe that they deserve more and as a result they don't get life's rewards. Showing yourself self-love through affirmations may sound hokey, but if saying "I love and accept you" once a day to yourself can improve up your life why not try it. There are very few champions in any field who walk around saying, "I'm not so hot." On the contrary, many top athletes regular visualize themselves winning competitions. Boxer Muhammad Ali publicly declared himself, "The Greatest." It's not conceited to affirm to yourself that you are special and worthy--it's rejuvenating!

Broaden Your Perspective: Be open to learning new things and meeting new people. Improving your life requires that you expand your concept of who you are and who you can achieve. Surrounding yourself with new ideas and new perspectives helps you to explore and identify new opportunities for yourself. Get out of your comfort zone by trying something new. Even small changes like driving a different route to and from work or shopping at a different market may provide you with some new experiences or information. Also be open to the possibility that seemingly "bad" situations usually are opportunities for growth that lead to rewards.

Build Your Network: Stay connected to people you know and get to know new people. Be pleasant and genuinely interested in the people you encounter. Start small by just smiling at people on the street or saying hello to someone in your neighborhood or in your office. Also you never know you'll meet at the airport or even at the playground--idle chitchat can sometimes net you big contacts and big opportunities. Interacting with people in a kind manner or at least acknowledging their existence costs you very little each day. It's important to keep in mind that you never know where assistance may come from. People help people---by passing on information, tips or resumes whom they know, like and trust.

[jmflowers]

3, 15, 17 for the fanfic ask 😊

3. Do you prefer canonverse or AUs?

I think for reading, I always lean more towards canonverse. I like those fill-in scene fics and being some place in a story that is ultimately really familiar. Canon fics are the ones I most often go back to and read again.

As for writing, I find myself much more drawn to AUs. I was always very, very driven by character development when in school and required to write my own creations, but I never really felt like I got good at world-building or plot lines. I started writing fanfiction specifically because it gave me established characters and, as such, forced me to get better at the other stuff.

15. Post the last line you wrote without context.

A lighthouse, guiding Charity home to safe harbour.

17. Describe a fic that is still in the ‘ideas’ stage.

I wish this one was more than just an idea because I love the concept so much and it was so cathartic to write the first two parts, but I’ve been stuck on it for months and I’m not sure where to go with it next.

It’s called Hell & Back, inspired by the song of the same name by Maren Morris. I wanted to write something in second person that had an actual plot, as opposed to the usual character analysis style I typically do in second person POV. So far, I have written two interactions: the first and second times Vanessa meets Charity.

I don’t know how to talk about this one without giving it all away… I’m just gonna post part one here and we’ll see what happens...

               You meet Charity on a Thursday, when the sun has finally given way to the storm clouds that have been creeping closer all morning. The rain pelts down in cold, hard slaps as you bend over a sheep that looks about as miserable as you’re starting to feel, examining its hooves for what you’re certain might be the start of foot rot in the herd. Moira won’t be pleased, not in the slightest.

               “Shouldn’t you be ducking for cover?” someone calls over the sound of the rain, their voice slicing through the rising crescendo to reach your ears.

               You twist, startled, looking up quickly to find the source. It’s a woman, stood about four yards away, watching you with her arms crossed atop the fence. There’s a fog that seems to hover around her, rising slowly like the steam above a hot cup of tea. It’s something you should look at closer, you’ll realize later, but in the moment, it flits away from conscious thought in the passing breeze.

               You shiver, the rain well and truly soaked into your coveralls now, bits of hair plastered to your forehead in such a way that you’re sure isn’t flattering. Not like in those movies Tracy keeps making you watch. 

               “Shouldn’t you?” you retort, already turning your attention back to the sheep struggling in your hands. Fickle creatures, them; smart enough to recognize each other but not to see that you’re only there to help. You pull it harder onto its hindquarters, rendering it unable to escape and earning a pathetic bleat in response.

               “Really rather be torturing sheep than cuddled up warm and dry?” It’s the woman again, her voice suddenly closer than it’d been before. You look up just in time to see her leaning over the side of the pen you’re in, pulling a face at the animal in your arms. Your eyes flick to the gate she’d been stood beside before, the chain still wrapped securely around the fence post just as you’d left it.

               “I’m not torturing it,” you murmur, eyes dragging back to her face. Did you miss the sound of her hopping the fence? Are you so tuned out that you wouldn’t be aware of someone approaching like that?

               She laughs, the green of her eyes almost sparkling as she tips her chin up into the air. “Don’t know that he’d agree with that statement, babe.” She’s near enough now that you can count the freckles trailing down her neck, guiding your eyes to the dip at the top of her jacket.

               “She,” you say without thinking, always just a breath from correcting. Like your mother, that; a habit you’d always hated when you were on the receiving end.

               But she doesn’t scrunch up her nose like Tracy does when you do the same to her, voicing annoyance louder than her words ever could. No, Charity just tilts her head and hums out one of those noises that sounds like a question, as though she’d rather you explain further than shut right up.

               “This is a ewe, not a ram,” you offer, trying to pull back that prim and proper tone that seems to appear whenever you’re clarifying something. It’s like a flashback to being sat in the front row at school, pretending you didn’t hear the girls snickering behind you. “Male sheep have horns, females don’t.” Even Rhona’s teased you for it, mimicking after she’d overheard you giving directions to a client.

               “Huh,” Charity says, dropping her gaze to the animal once more, “Guess that’s why everyone always assumes the devil’s a man.”

               It’s a funny thing to say, odd enough that you freeze for a moment before you manage to come up with a response. Later, you’ll understand why she did, when you know her well enough to grasp the twists and turns of her mind. But not right now. No, the first time you meet her, you just think she’s a strange one.

               “Male and female goats both have horns,” you sputter when the quiet between you has stretched on for too long. You want to kick yourself the second her eyes flick back to you, her gaze so clearly telling that it is you – not her – whom she thinks is odd.

               “Is that right?” she asks with a smirk, “Always did like them better.”

               You, too, though you don’t say. Not normal conversation, is it, to tell a stranger that you’ve always preferred that gentle knowingness hidden behind a goat’s eye? Be a vet, Vanessa, if you must, your mother had said, But, don’t be one of those people who only speaks of animals.

               The prim and proper comes from her, you know, all the things you’d been poked and teased for stemming from the ideal daughter she’d tried to craft you into. Not like your father, who laughs when he shouldn’t and smiles when it’s impolite and says the sorts of things you’d never dare to. You wonder, often, how they ever got together long enough to have you.

               “So, what are you doing then?” she asks, lurching her body further over the pen until you can feel her breath beside your head. It’s hot, much hotter than you’re prepared for when the cold is so busy burrowing into your bones. She keeps her eyes trained on your hands, trying to get a good look at the hoof you’re clutching – not a pretty one, either, not the sort you’d ever show anyone other than Paddy or Rhona. You tuck it a little lower, trying to hide the swelling beneath some wool.

               “They’re sick,” you mutter, your brain spiralling backwards to the game plan you’d been formulating before she’d interrupted. You’ll need one, before you head up to the house to tell Moira what’s going on. It’s likely the field, you think, all this low-lying ground and the abundance of rain in the past few weeks has surely not helped the situation.

               “With what?” Charity presses. Her breath feels like fire where it meets your neck, scalding the gooseflesh beneath your ponytail as she speaks.

              You lean away, lowering your arm enough that the sheep squirms hard in your grasp, knocking you off balance. You fall back against the fence, hands grappling behind yourself to grab onto something sturdy. The sheep takes its opportunity, tipping to the side before scrambling to its feet and taking off towards the others. They bleat at the new arrival, corralling themselves into a bunch beneath the only tree at the far edge of the pen.

              You huff, frustrated instantly and unsure where to lay the blame. You can feel your brow furrowing when you turn to meet her eye, catching the twinkle and the smirk that you assume are present at your expense. “Foot rot,” you mutter, pushing away from the fence angrily. Won’t be easy to catch that one again, now that it’s had a taste, especially not when the field’s gone slick with mud.

               “Sounds gross,” she says, dropping down off the fence to follow as you stalk across the pen to your bag. The rain has sent splatters of mud up the side of it, a match to the boots on your feet. “You a farmer, then?” she asks.

               The laugh comes before you can decide whether you mean to or not, a breath bursting across your lips at the notion of you in Moira’s shoes, depending on animals for your livelihood in a different sort of way than you already do. No, you’ve never quite managed to imagine a clean picture of yourself with a farm, always something just slightly off that made you shy away.

               “’Fraid not,” you chuckle, “I’m a vet.”

               She nods knowingly, stepping back out of the way when you open the gate to the outer laneway where she stands. “They’ll be okay, then?” she murmurs, eyes shifting over your shoulder to the herd.

               You shrug, because it’s not a guarantee of course – none of these things ever are – but you’ve caught it early enough that you don’t anticipate too much damage. Some zinc sulfate baths to start, a round of vaccinations if it comes to it, and the sheep will be good as new in no time. “They’ll be fine,” you answer, “Though I might not be, when I tell Moira she’ll have to spend the next few weeks coaxing them into a few feet of solution to stave off the infection.”

               Charity laughs, the sound lighting something low in your belly. The rain feels distant when you’re stood so close to her, the wet of your coveralls barely a blip in your mind though you’ll be desperate for a hot shower the second she’s gone.

               “Well, best be careful, then,” she suggests, the remnants of her smile softening the edges of her words, “Wouldn’t want to miss seeing you again.”

               She turns away before you can formulate an answer, strolling down the laneway toward the open fields at the back of the property. You have half a mind to call after her, to invite her inside for a cuppa and a towel, but she’s over the hill before you can find the courage to shout.

               It’s not until much later, when you’re laid in bed replaying the day in your mind that you realize she hadn’t much seemed like she’d needed a towel. She hadn’t much seemed like the rain had touched her at all.

[chrismalcolmhnd2c]

Something New

©NESPRESSO

©DUALIT

“Learn something new. Try something different. Convince yourself that you have no limits” Brian Tracey

Research the Narrative

Point of sale product shots demand a high degree of photographic finish and quality.  They should represent a product at its highest quality.  

Within your blog/workbook, research product shots and advertising photographers. Demonstrate through annotation, your understanding of detail and presentation of perfection. 

Tell the Story

Choose an item that is brand new and blemish free and photograph it to the highest quality possible.

Your object should be photographed with a plain white background to show maximum quality.

Care should be taken to ensure that the best lens and viewpoint are used to maximize the product shape.

Edit and refine: Complete worksheet

High level retouching will be necessary as the object must be as close to perfect as possible. (even brand-new items will have flaws that need fixed)

Be prepared to use a range of retouching techniques to optimise this final file for use as an advertising shot.

The object should be easily dropped into other background so we will look at ways to cut out and present the object as a vector cut-out.

Submit: Final image on A3 canvas, and the object cut out of the background as a PSD. Upload to my city: Upload to my city.

Research

TOP 5: PRODUCT STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHERS

January 19, 2016 admin Brands

This week, counting down on our TOP 5, I am going to be listing my favourite product still life photographers, these are purely based on their portfolio and on their popularity.

STILL LIFE PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHERS

1. Nori Inoguchi

http://www.norimichi.com/

Born in Japan, NORI Inoguchi was educated in New York where he refined his passion for photography. His love of luxury and desire to create visually stunning images inspired him to become a still-life product photographer; NORI seeks to find beauty in all of the objects he shoots. With his sophisticated eye and minimalistic approach, he has exploded onto the world stage and has earned bookings from the best names in fashion, cosmetics and electronics. His career has brought him to Paris, London, NY and even back to his native home of Japan. Using clean, clear and crisp techniques, NORI has created numerous campaigns since 2009 and he has since become a trusted name in the field.

2. Sam Kaplan

http://www.samkaplan.com/

Since striking out on his own in 2011, the 29-year-old Boston native has eschewed high-concept aesthetics and taken a more hands-on approach built around exacting precision—a sculptor’s finely honed interest in process and material. His approach might seem throwback, but that’s part of Kaplan’s appeal. Unlike many of his photographic peers, he had a rather low-tech schooling, studying fine art and art history at Wesleyan University.

3. Lucas Zarebinski

http://www.lucaszarebinski.com/

Lucas grew up in Bielsko Biala, Poland, a small city famous for goose down comforters. When he was 17, he dated an photographer named Olga who later inspired Lucas to become an artist even though he said ” I always wanted to be an artist but I was horrible at drawing.” In the few months he was around her, he realised that he had a talent for still life photography. He then moved to Michigan when he was 20, got a degree in Fine Arts and Photography while he parked cars at night and learned English from his 3 roommates. Fast forward 10 years later. He now live in New York permanently and creates images for a living.

He says in his biography  ” I love creating conceptual images, pushing the boundaries of still life photography and resolving client’s problems with an inspiring imagery. I still like red beet soup and blueberry pierogis, but I also like beef with broccoli and spicy tuna rolls these days. ”

4. Jonathan Knowles

http://jknowles.co.uk/

Jonathan Knowles is one of the leading photographers of his generation. Specialising in graphic still life, liquid and beauty, Jonathan’s unique photographic style has earned him award-winning advertising commissions worldwide.

In the past ten years, Jonathan has consistently featured in the ‘200 Best Advertising Photographers in the World’ books. He is one of the top 10 all time award winners in the Graphis Annuals.

Notable commissions include campaigns for many globally recognised brands, such as Coca-Cola, Guinness, and Smirnoff. He is also the creator of the famous O2 bubbles.

He shot the Black Sabbath 13 Album cover, as well as directing and filming the footage that is currently played on stage during performances. Black Sabbath loved the imagery and invited Jonathan to the album launch in New York, where he received a friendly strangle of gratitude from Ozzy.

5. Zachary Goulko

http://www.goulko.com/

Like a modern Chiaroscuro master, beauty, product and still life photographer Zachary Goulko harnesses the power of light to infuse two-dimensional images with drama, shape, and volume. His moody, provocative photographs illuminate the power of a single moment: the arresting beauty of a face, the grace of a sculptural curve, the fluid interplay between light and color and form. It is the Moscow-born photographer’s mission to capture the essence of each subject, and to present its beauty to the world in fresh and unexpected ways. He is an exhaustive experimenter, conjuring moods, intertwining lines with rhythm, exploring the architecture of shape and light. His still life and product photographs are clean and precise, yet startlingly intimate. They achieve a level of visual poetry that is unique in the commercial photography world. With a fully equipped high end studio, based in the New York City area, he photographs product and still life images for many world renown beauty and cosmetics brands. Among Goulko’s clients are L’Oréal, Lancôme, Clinique, Estée Lauder, Strivectin, Shu Uemura, Frederic Fekkai, Patek Phillipe, de GRISOGONO, Roger Dubuis, and Zac Posen, . With a background in design and interactive programming, he is constantly seeking new ways to push the technological boundaries of his medium and give full expression to his creative vision.

Source: http://claphamstudiohire.com/top-5-product-still-life-photographers/

PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY IDEAS

Unusual and even extraordinary product photography ideas are what make many leading brands stay demanding and make people talk about their creative product shots and buy their products. Let me tell you how to do product photography like creative product photographers do. I’ve gathered 20 original product photography techniques and ideas for any product.

What Is Product Photography?

Product photos belong to a branch of commercial photography which is about advertising a product. There are several classical ways of shooting products: product photography on a white background, ghost mannequin,  lifestyle product photography, motion images, photos of the product line, tabletop photography, photos of the product being packed, 360 product photography, etc.

Creative Product Photography Ideas

High-quality product photography is important for you and your client. Therefore, it is obligatory to choose the right strategy to demonstrate each product. But many photographers have a moment when they need to diversify the photos or add some creative elements. Here are some different product photography ideas for your inspiration:

1. One Second Before

This is an example of creative product shots that are taken right before something unexpected: an explosion, fall, etc. That is why you as a photographer should manage to catch the moment in the second before it happens.

2. Use Smoke

This product photography idea is a good way to make your product look dramatic. Use the coloured smoke if it is suitable for your product design. To make smoke more accurate, use Photoshop brushes.

3. Floating Products

You may hang some goods to make them look three-dimensional. Hang a product using a line, wire or rope. Then remove background or a line from the photograph of a floating product in Photoshop.

4. Association Game

If you need extraordinary product photo for a fashion magazine or billboard advertising, what can be better than funny surrealistic illustrations. Such photographs are typically taken in the studio using special product photography lighting kit and digital drawing techniques in Photoshop.

5. Motion Product Photography

This creative product photography idea is realized by means of short exposure and quick photographer’s and assistants’ actions. The photos are striking for a lot of reasons, but the thing that sticks out at first is how adding motion makes images pop.

6. Photo with Models

Give your product character and show the features that make it unique. Use different product photography ideas and creative lifestyle to highlight the product usage.

7. Combined Background

In addition to the familiar white background, I frequently use the background tone that is in harmony with the color of my product. These two product photographs are a good example of colors combination. You may combine the background depending on the product color increasing the image contrast.

8. Crashed or Broken Product

It is pretty a specific idea for product photos and not everyone decides to use it. It attracts people’s attention and evokes pity and interest to the product. It is better to get a shot at the beginning of product crash.

9. Use Reflection

You may use smooth plain covers with high reflectivity as the surface. For example, your product photos may be taken on an average ceramic tile. Make sure, you work in good lighting. In order to take such image, it is necessary to choose the right angle and lighting to get excellent reflection.

10. Product Absorption

This product photography idea has something to do with putting an object into the sand, water or other materials when you intend to put an accent. You may also use different tiny thematic items in which the product may drown.

11. Product Series

Grouping product images creates almost the same effect as zooming. Comparing several products in one photo a customer understands their main differences, volume, shape, size and other features. Moreover, it can persuade your potential customers to buy the whole kit.

12. Symmetry and Dynamics

To take this kind of product photos you have to put a camera at different angles. However, you should be careful while shooting obscure angles in order not to misrepresent the product. Put other products relatively symmetrical mixing them up with different small details.

13. Emphasize the Product’s Colour

Showing the contrast between the background and the product looks fashionable. But the main difference of this photo is an angle between the surface and the background, which creates a three-dimensional image of the lipstick. This dimensional curved shimmering paper underlines the color and the dimension of the product.

14. Sand Print

This product photography idea requires a special background. It may be usual clay, snow, sand, mastic or similar material.

15. Use Associations

Be as much creative as you can. Here Photoshop is you best friend who will help to realize even the craziest product photography ideas as to shape ketchup in the form of a tongue or a lipstick in the form of ice-cream.

10 Famous Product Photographers

https://spark.adobe.com/page/98pcx7gV8QkNW/

[silversabl-inova]

( same information beneath the read more if you’d rather click through. ) BIOGRAPHY | BASICS | WANTED ARCS

i can bear any   p a i n   as long as it has meaning.

IC PORTION; BASICS —

CHARACTER NAME/ALIAS: Silvija “Silver” Sablinova

FACECLAIM: Katherina McNamara

AFFILIATIONS: The Wild Pack, ISA 

AGE (physical age as well, if different): Twenty three (23)

SPECIES (human, metahuman, alien, etc): Human

IS YOUR CHARACTER’S IDENTITY SECRET OR PUBLIC?

... Is ‘both’ an okay answer? I’m sure she thinks her identity is secret, but her name is Silver Sablinova, it’s not like... a leap to guess she’s the Silver Sable.  I guess it’s probably secret to the rest of the world because I don’t think she’s “famous” yet, but in her home country and the criminal underworld of eastern Europe, she’s probably pretty well known for her more infamous capabilities.

IF SECRET, OR YOUR CHARACTER IS A CIVILIAN, DO THEY HAVE A CIVILIAN OCCUPATION?

She prefers the term “secular recovery operative” but she’d be most appropriately dubbed a nationalistic bounty hunter.

IF YOUR CHARACTER LIVES IN THE FORTRESS, WHAT ARE THEIR DUTIES?

N/A.

DESCRIBE SIX TRAITS (3 positive, 3 negative) YOUR CHARACTER HAS AND HOW THESE AFFECT THEM:

[ + ]: PROUD - The third generation of Symkarian nationalists, Silver’s childhood was quickly marred by an airstrike that stole her mother’s life and destabilized her entire country, causing a civil war. Ever since, all Silver’s life has felt like a battle: for freedom, for justice, for family, and for peace. She knows her family history like the back of her hand, and because of this, she knows that fateful day was the result of her own family lineage doing everything it can to protect Symkaria & its people - but in the end, they had done anything but. The last surviving member of the Sablinova line, it’s Silver’s duty to restore balance to Symkaria, and she holds this duty deep in her heart, fueling the fire inside her. Everything in her life can be boiled down to ending the war in Symkaria - nothing else matters to her, and Silver’s duty to her country & compassion for her people are, arguably, her best qualities. [ + ]: RESOURCEFUL - There’s nothing in a room that Silver can’t make into a weapon at a moment’s notice. She’s not above fighting dirty to achieve the upperhand, and if her arsenal of gadgets won’t do the trick, than whatever’s closest to her will have to do. Locked in an empty room? No matter - she’s trained her entire life for the inevitable day when that situation arises, and when it does, her foe will be shocked to learn that she is the deadliest weapon of all. [ + ]: UNWAVERING - Devotion is one thing, but Silver is unwavering in her support. Once past her icy exterior, Silver tends to show her devotion with actions rather than words. She’s the first to interject herself into a dangerous situation to protect those she cares about; that circle is too small to allow any harm in its way, and Sable would break any law or commit any crime to safeguard those closest to her. It’s why her heart has such exclusive access - that kind of loyalty is, quite literally, worth dying for.

[ - ]: COLD - There’s a certain sharpness Silver tends to adopt when dealing with... people. Whether it be her version of professionalism, or just a product of her childhood, Silver’s apathetic approach to most interactions may give the impression of aloofness or distance. Bridging that gap is difficult for her, and for what she can’t give people emotionally, she tries to supplement with non-verbal acts of compassion. Not everyone has the ability to see through her stony exterior, or bone dry humor, and she often comes across as unhospitable or unconcerned, even if she’s anything but. [ - ]: DETACHED - Sometimes, you have to be selfish to be selfless. Silver has to remind herself of this fact constantly to keep herself in check; it’s easy to be swept up in the warmth of compassion for all, but a good leader knows when to draw the hard line between what’s good for everyone, and what’s good for your people. Silver has to draw that hard line far more than she’d like to - her one track mind is on brand for the Wild Pack’s affairs, but on a larger scale, this self-centeredness can spell disaster when they’re not careful. She just continues to tell herself that if Symkaria will ever be restored to its former glory, she needs to become as comfortable as she can with restricting big picture empathy. [ - ]: INFALLIBLE - When Silver makes a choice, be it over a contract or a personal matter, she becomes quite obstinate that her decision was the best possible one. In most cases, thankfully, it ends up being true; however, when Silver does make a mistake, she will outright refuse to accept responsibility, instead often blaming all other factors surrounding the situation for impeding her. If the mistake is a deadly error that costs innocent lives, than her adamance  increases tenfold, but in her heart, she knows she’s not free from wrongdoing - she just refuses to relent her headstrong exterior for fear of losing the respect of the Wild Pack.

POWERS AND/OR ABILITIES:

Indomitable Will: unnaturally strong willpower, able to resist all forms of temptation, including subordination manipulation, telepathy, subliminal seduction, & mind control.

Weapons Specialist: skilled with a katana, throwing projectiles, stun guns, & dual-wield fighting.

Master Martial Artist: and gymnast!

Multilingual: Fluent in seven languages - English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Somali, & Symkarian

WEAKNESSES:

Human: Quite literally, she’s human. No level of aptitude with guns, throwing knives, Kevlar bodysuits, or martial arts will help her defeat super-powered foes, and even though she can keep up with the best of them, a well timed sniper would write the end to Silver’s story immediately.

The Wild Pack: One of the last vestiges of her family history, Silver’s pledge to lead the Wild Pack includes protecting them, at all costs. There’s few honors she holds higher than the privilege to be apart of their ranks, let alone their commander in chief. She wouldn’t jeopardize their well-being for any contract, no matter how ludicrous.

Symkaria: It goes without saying that on the global playing field, Symkaria is the beating heart of Silver’s allegiances. She loves her country, and she would do anything to return it to the glory of her childhood - even if that means aligning with the wrong people for the right amount of time. Silver’s compassion for her countrymen - and longing for what used to be - outranks her perception of the bigger picture.

WHAT DREW YOU TO THIS CHARACTER?:

Well. I love Silver Sable, off the bat - the Spiderverse is pretty much my favorite comic conglomerate in the world, so I feel pretty comfortable writing characters derived from it. I dig a good villain, or at least, antagonists, and I just feel like Silver is one of those characters you can really dig your teeth into & flesh out so many different layers. The death of her mother at a young age, the duty to a country she saw prosper & implode within her lifetime, the lineage to uphold within The Wild Pack, and moving forward, the mending of Symkaria & creation of Sable International -- they’re all different strokes of the same woman, and I love poking & prodding around them all to see what sticks!

IC PORTION; DETAILS —

WHAT BROUGHT YOUR CHARACTER TO SOKOVIA?

Money. She’s only there to fulfill a contract - she’s been hired by the ISA to retrieve any powered people she can find. She’s not a big fan of Sokovia as of late, especially given their recent catastrophes. The damage to Sokovia had a ripple effect, upsetting the socioeconomic standard of neighboring countries. This, of course, includes Symkaria; getting powered people out of Sokovia will hopefully halt the continued destabilization she’s watched through her country even further off balance, making it easier for the oppressive regime currently in place to make swooping laws

(I would like to offer your current players the ability to opt into this plot! I don’t want to assume anyone wants her as an antagonist - if no one’s interested, she can certainly creep along the sidelines within the city of Matchak in the name of reconaissance. I would die if she & the Wild Pack were part of the reason why people are going missing in the woods, or at the very least, they begin to provide intelligence as to who or what is causing it.)

DID THEY SIGN THE ACCORDS? WHY OR WHY NOT?

No, Silver & her team aren’t superpowered and thus, outside the scope of the Accords, the ISA, or anybody else, for that matter.

(Well, maybe not Interpol, but that’s not her chief concern... ever.)

PROVIDE 3-5 HEADCANONS RELATED TO YOUR CHARACTER:

Thou Shalt Not Kill: Silver doesn’t consider herself a mercenary, unlike the rest of her crew, and for good reason. She staunchly keeps to a “no kill” rule; her clients pay her for retrieval, not assassination (and even if they did, her price would be too high). Silver specifically accepts contracts that require her to bring the target back alive, preferably to face trial. It’s a moral and economical decision - she believes in the hard lines of justice, and typically, the Wild Pack will get hired to also run security for these high profile trials. It’s a win-win in her eyes, especially because this moral alignment begins & ends with her; she can’t force the Wild Pack, a band of true mercenaries, to abide by that rule unless it’s part of the fine print. Otherwise, they don’t get paid.

I’m Not Your Silver Lining: Silver does not “connect” well with others. Even the Wild Pack, despite being raised within their ranks, has become inexplicably difficult for her to bond with after she assumed a leadership rule over them. She doesn’t put herself on any kind of pedestal; it’s just lonely at the top, and heavy is the head that wears the.. crown? Tactical helmet? Whatever. Regardless, her icy exterior isn’t the result of her pride, but her inability to display outward affection. It makes her quite difficult to befriend, let alone romance.

Anything You Can Do...: She does not do well with being confronted with her own mortality, chiefly the indisputable fact that she is not super powered. She’s quick to start a fight with anyone who dares to say it. Silver has accomodated this woeful transgression of fate in every way she could, keeping a strict training routine that began in her childhood and never letting herself have a “real” life outside of the Wild Pack. Stories of her “powers,” passed in hushed whispers around Symkaria, never failed to bring the smallest of smiles to the Ice Queen’s lips, before quickly melting away. She feels uncomfortable around true superpowered individuals, knowing she’s at a tactical disadvantage at all times, so Silver prefers the company of augmented humans or just normal people.

WANTED CHARACTER CONNECTIONS:

Peter Parker: NEVERENDING PLOTS FOR SPIDEY!!!! I’m partial to Silver being an antagonist against Spiderman; I’m also partial to them being begruding partners, and pretty much everything in between! There’s a lot of back story I would want to establish with Peter’s player, since Silver does have some background in NYC at the Symkarian Embassy. Has she heard of him from her time in America, and can’t believe her eyes when she sees web residue in the forests of Sokovia? Maybe he intrigues her, in the sense of cat-and-mouse, the chase for a target that she can never quite catch. Anyway, I just like that they’re well matched and could endlessly go in circles around one another!

Dick Grayson: Silver will not take well to other mercenaries on her turf, and if she finds herself losing targets - and money - because of some dick in a spandex suit, she’s going to intervene the only way she knows how: a tactical net and a stun gun, to haul his ass off to ISA, or whoever offers the highest bid for his head. Either way, their connection would be openly antagonistic, and it’d be way more enjoyable if he continously slips through her fingers through the fault of only her own.

Tony Stark / Bruce Wayne: Waaaaaay in the future, but right off the bat - I know I’d love to lay the groundwork for Silver to have Tony and/or Bruce help her begin the first drafts of Sable International weaponry, specifically the special red energy blasters they use as well as their unique armor.

I like the idea of Tony trying to spear head any kind of science based project, but obviously, he has his own demons that he’s struggling with re: his inventions, so that would be the slowest of burns for Silver to actually convince him to help her of all people. Potentially, it would be easier to recruit Bruce because she has a hard moral alignment of Justice, which may appeal to him, but it also may not since she doesn’t have an issue breaking other countries’ laws to acquire her target. It really depends! I’m open to either or both options.

POTENTIAL CHARACTER ARCS: ( ohhhhh buddy... )

THE WILD PACK: Silver’s ascenscion to leader of the Wild Pack may not be a new development, but  I don’t think she has quite the handle over her role as her father had. At the moment, she’s still trying to prove herself that she was their best choice. It doesn’t help that she was merely picked for lineages’ sake, the group being “passed on” to her, despite there being members who were more qualified and possibly, even more respected than a Sablinova. It’s caused Silver to retreat within herself, for now, as she tries to feel out what’s the best version of herself to be that can actively command their respect. I want to see her grow within this role, specifically finding her stride and proving herself as not just her father’s daughter, but her own person. I’m mainly focused on her accepting the weight of her father’s death as a “positive” burden to shoulder, because it gave her the Wild Pack, but without anyone to banter off of, I want to remain a little removed from addressing her relationships with individual members until I get a better idea of her.

THE BAD GUY?: At the moment, she’s not very concerned with anyone’s opinion of her, outside of the Wild Pack’s. If that means that she’s comes across as a “villain” for simply doing her job, she doesn’t quite care - everyone has to make a living somehow, and she hasn’t seen these so-called “superheros” do very much to help anyone other than themselves. Sure, individual civilians are great to rescue, but they hold no concern for the bigger picture when it comes to their actions.

THE GLOBAL PEACE AGENCY: I don’t know what the hell is going to happen with this group, but boy am I excited! Regardless of whether their true to their name, I think Silver’s entire personality is tailored to be taken advantage of by them, especially if they promise stability for Symkaria. As long as she’s not exposed to intel that hints at bad intentions, she’d probably operate at their beck and call, until her trust in their motivations becomes fractured.

SABLE INTERNATIONAL: I want Sable International to come to fruition!!! I don’t know how, or why, but I just love that journey for her! Maybe as a retirement plan from “bounty hunting,” so she can lean more into private security consulting? Maybe as a tactical weaponry distributor that could rival Lex Luthor / Trask / Oscorps’ on the global market, but in the name of “good��? Maybe something happens to the Wild Pack and it’s the only way she can keep herself sane in the following months? WHO KNOWS!!! I’m always open to ideas!

CHARACTER BIO —

Silvija Sablinova and her mother, Sacha, were sleeping peacefully in their beds the morning that the Sablinova family was changed forever. It was too early to even be awake, dawn having not yet struck its colorful brilliance across the lavender-grey when the drone peppered the valley. It wasn’t the first time such an act of aggression was lobbed across their way, but this time, her father Ernest wasn’t there to save them, away on an assignment with his Wild Pack. It was the end of February, the winter of 2002. Silver was five, and from that moment on, she never left her father’s side again.

After that, the story sounds the same. Daddy's little girl raised to be his right hand; there's no softness, no grief, only purpose for them both to find vengenance for her mother's killer. Not a border nor an army could keep them from finding whoever ordered the strike, and with the Wild Pack by their side, their path toward retribution knew no limit. In the mean time, they trained, and Silver's entire life began and end at all the same lines as her father's. It would be nice, if the story could stop there, but it never does.

For generations, the Sablinova's served the monarchy that ruled over Symkaria, until World War II threw the entire planet off-kilter and brought their beloved country into turmoil. Her grandfather was a prolific Nazi hunter and a national hero, actively fighting against the civil war threatening to break out across the land. Her father followed in his footsteps, his career more focused on collecting HYDRA agents with terror charges, alongside his infamous band of mercenaries as they brought countless criminals to justice. In 2017, when it was exposed that HYDRA had infiltrated SHIELD, a frequent employer of the Wild Pack...It was no surprise they would be targeted, but once again, Symkaria became the battleground of their disposal; their loved ones targeted, their neighborhoods raided, and soon, they were left no choice but to go underground.

Silver was there the day that her father's tenure as their fearless leader came to a shuddering halt, face to face with the man who hadn't just taken her mother from them. He'd destroyed their homeland in the name of the enemy. He'd taken peace from innocents without a second thought. In his final act of treachery, he stole her father's life and body, slipping through the Wild Pack's clutches as they gave desperate chase, but to no avail. She was the natural choice as his successor; it was a lifetime achievement tainted with sorrow and defeat.

The hunt has never ended, despite what Silver says. She knows her father's dead, and she'll probably never find the man who destroyed her family, but still, she waits. Until then, it was business as usual; catch the bad guys, bring them to justice, rinse & repeat. No duty is monotonous when it serves a greater purpose, but eventually, even Silver couldn't stop herself from pushing the Wild Pack toward Sokovia. Their unrest had begun to bubble over and spill across its borders, eventually displacing refugees and criminal activity into Symkaria's own. Silver Sable may be investigating client contracts, but Silver Sablinova is bidding her time, waiting for something, anything to help her either accept the fate that's been handed to her, or to find the man that caused it.

Until then, all she can do is be stronger than she was the day before.

[becausenoothernameisavailable]

The colour of your skin.

A/n : Week 6 Day 6 Prompt:Sci Fi AU.

This fic ran away from me.

Pairing: Jogan

Marketed as the next best thing to have happened to the human race the Wright humanoids were programmed to serve amongst a whole list of other duties. They were formed to be a major part of the workforce so that that the humans could be freed to do more important stuff such make laws and decisions. Though this was not always the scenario and the majority of the humanoids ended up as toys.

Available in the basic body morph of lean, tall, clear skin and a readily available smile, they could be programmed to suit any field and modified as per necessary requirement and more than often they kept getting request to make the droids more aesthetically pleasing with enhanced genitalia.

Wright Industries was forever in clashes in with the various Human Rights Agencies on the portrayal of service humanoids in the market. Sentient beings with an ability to speak, process, voice opinions and feel, to an extent, the various agencies felt that they should be given the basic dignity and human rights as they were more than just toys or ready labour and Logan wholeheartedly agreed with the same.

His own mother figure was a humanoid herself, his father’s favourite, the first and only of her kind and she looked after him when his own human mother left them.

He was forever in clashes with his father regarding the marketing of the service humanoids. Surely he could understand the need for laws to prevent humanoid abuse, he did love Michelle after all, Logan was sure of it. Hence he couldn’t understand why the Senator couldn’t understand him.

“No.” Logan scratched out yet another request, “Because it’s not right.”

“They’re not human.” his father yelled loudly and Logan glared at him. “They’re more human than you.”

The new line though, the J Series was definitely not human or well too human Logan frowned. Well, it was actually just one model, the new prototype, the first of its kind nicknamed J. Logan was working closely with the technical team and the production team and the new prototype was frustrating all of them.

Clearly, it worked fine. He worked fine. He had usage of all his limbs, emotions, speech, thought process, could assess the situation and provide input and then there were things he was not programmed to do. And he did all of that too. Provided comments on the situation that was not inputted, recharged himself when he felt that he needed to, had opinions on everything and was very vocal about it and currently he was hating Logan’s tie.

Logan threw his hands up in the air and glanced at his head of production. “Don’t look at me,” Derek mumbled where he was busy comparing schematics from the J series. “Jules,” Derek sighed, “What did you now.”

“Jules,” Logan asked in askance, When did that happen.

“It’s what he wants to be called.” Derek frowned and handed Logan the fresh reports of the day. “Take a look at the readings. They are good. Too good.” They both looked at the J Series prototype who was grumpily looking at them from the couch, arms akimbo, dressed in the standard humanoid uniform of full grey.

“Does this mean it’s ready for manufacturing?” Logan asked as he studied the figures and schematics on the console and at the humanoid frowning at them.

“I am right here.” Jules said from the couch, “Stop talking as if I am not here.” He got up from the couch and walked up to Logan and kissed him on the cheek.

“Yeah, that’s a new development today.” Derek groaned and pointed to the console in Logan’s hand, fingers skimming across the screen as he pulled up his observation. “See, he hugged me today in the morning and then he handed me his schematics and proceeded to discuss it with me.”

They both turned to look at Jules who was now hanging on to the both of them, one arm around Derek’s shoulder and the other around Logan’s waist. “What.” Jules asked the two of them, “And while we are still talking about me when are we getting me some clothes.”

*

“I see the new prototype is working fine.” His dad asked during one of their bi-weekly lunches which was more of an unofficial progress report than a father-son lunch. Logan groaned, of course, he would have received Derek’s status reports, as head of production he needed to send the weekly reports to the Top Management which included Logan, his dad, the board of directors and certain key investors.

Logan nodded, “We just need to cross-check a few details but yes, the J series is ready for manufacturing.”

“And the paperwork and licenses.”

“All in place, we have drawn up the patents and claims, everything is ready to go.”

“Good.” His father nodded.

The J series was hit in the market with its high capabilities and reasoning and with the right pricing and marketing Logan ensured that the entire line was placed in roles where they could contribute to the workforce and be involved, not just as mere toys. Months later he was still getting positive feedback on the performance and the quality and demand for the same grew as almost everyone was asking about the J Series and its capabilities. And to think that the line grew and flourished because of Jules and his input on the same.

Logan was forever grateful to Jules who happily threw himself into Logan’s arms when the last of humanoid passed inspection. “I suppose we will be soon dispatched,” Jules said sadly as he helped Derek and him switch off the main control panel and the feedback station that monitored the humanoid activity.

“Yes, soon,” Logan said distractedly looking Jules. He was so different compared to the rest of them. His speech and level of cognitive function still amazed him.

“I am going to miss you,” Jules said sadly and wrapped himself up in Logan’s arms and kissed him on the cheeks and Logan froze. Oh, this cant do.

*

“I see that we need to start manufacturing the second batch of the J Series.“ his dad asked him a few months later.

“Yes,” Logan nodded “We have already started the process. The production was not stopped only slowed down. I would be meeting Derek later today.”

“Good, good.” His father nodded, “I have also noticed that the original prototype is not yet sold, any reason for that.” and this was what Logan was afraid of.  He thought he could distract his father with the high sales figures and forecasted values but his dad, typically, found the one thing he was afraid of.

He took a deep breath and prepared his reply. Jules and he had practised in the morning what he could say to convince his father in the event he was caught and he was glad Jules had him run through the entire spiel just before he could leave.

“I thought I could keep it around. It could work for me“ Logan said carefully, looking at his father. He needed to sell it carefully otherwise Jules could be taken away from him. He did belong to Wright Industries and not Logan’s no matter how many time Jules proclaimed he was Logan’s and Logan was his.

“I could take it during meetings so that the clients could see firsthand the product, interact with it. It would be a good marketing strategy.”

Logan took a deep breath, “I am also prepared to buy it if you feel that we need to sell.”

“It’s okay.” His father waved “I was just curious since I hadn’t heard about the original prototype. It's fine if we don’t sell.” He nodded, “I do like the idea of keeping it around and using it for marketing.”

And Logan breathed a sigh of relief.

*

“How was it,” Jules asked immediately when he picked up Logan’s call. Logan was forever amazed at Jules and his capabilities. He was one of a kind. The other humanoids were most definitely not like him. He was different, he didn’t act like them, like as if he was a glitch in the system. Like as if the other humanoids were normal and he was the faulty one but he was perfect and he was Logan’s. He stared into Julian’s perfect face and animated eyes.“You get to stay and I get to keep to you.”

“Yeay.” Jules cheered, “Now come home, I am hungry.”

They made a home together Jules and he. It started off from that unforgettable day in Derek’s office. To them hanging out together after work. The three of them in Derek’s office, Julian plugged to his cable, charging while Derek and he ordered Chinese take away. They ate and laughed together voicing opinions and thoughts and Derek and he looked amazed every time Julian volunteered new information or his own opinions.

He forever amazed him and when the J series started full production and Derek was busy, it was just the two of them, laughing and talking and eating together. Then one day Jules took his fingers and twined their hands together and just continued talking about his day and Logan leaned and kissed him and that was history.

“I have ordered food from the takeaway.” Julian greeted when Logan walked in. Logan smiled and nodded. “You get to start working with me from tomorrow.” Logan smiled when Jules walked up to him. “Promise,” Jules whispered and Logan kissed him.

*

Working with Jules in an official capacity was amazing. Every day they went to work together, Logan driving them to and fro. It became common knowledge that Jules stayed with him and there were some whispers about the same. But they made a good team and everyone who interacted with Jules was immediately enchanted with him so much so they forgot at times he was humanoid when they offered him food and Jules had to politely decline though he was always happy when he was mistaken.

He took great pride in tricking people he interacted with in the meetings with Logan. Their clients on seeing two relatively young representatives from Wrights Industries thought they could get the better of them but Jules loved getting the edge over them when Logan and he started speaking about technology and numbers and though he didn’t like the times when he had to reveal that he was actually a humanoid. They both didn’t like it as immediately the dynamics in the room would change with interactions with Jules taking on a less than pleasant nature. But they had too, that was the reason he was allowed to be around.

He loved dressing up in suits of highest fabrics and cuts as they felt comfortable on him. Logan called him his marvel when he explained what the different materials felt and Jules had to kiss him in reply especially if Logan had dazzled him earlier with his brilliant mind.

He loved knowing that he had a sense of a purpose and that he drew a salary. The only humanoid to do so though Logan was funding it from his own account. He cried when he came to know and Logan cried too, guiltily. But humanoids had no rights and Jules knew this and recognized the gift Logan was giving him and continued to give him.

“Jules.”

He looked up from his day dreamings to find the love of his life smiling at him. “Look at this please, Derek has sent the new schematics of the new line.”

“Oh, you’re building more me.”

“No, not you.” Logan frowned at Jules’s choice of words, “Never you, you know you’re more than the J series right.” and Jules nodded.

“I sometimes wish I was human like you. More human for you.”

“Hey, hey.” Logan soothed coming to cuddle with Jules, “What's wrong, you know you mean the world to me right. I love you exactly as you are, exactly who you are, my Jules.”

“I know.” sniffled Jules, “It’s just.” He sighed and threw his hands in the air. “Hormones.” and Logan laughed and Julian smiled. “Come let’s go out for lunch.”

*

It all happened in the blink of an eye. They were happily chatting as Logan drove them and then suddenly a vehicle crashed into them and they went spiralling down the street. The force of the impact of the incoming truck completely denting the passenger side.

“Jules.” Logan groaned helplessly. “I.”

Logan escaped with few scratches and bruises and probably few sprained body parts and maybe concussion especially with the wooziness he was feeling. But Jules.

“Look at me Logan,” Jules demanded fearlessly. “Look at me.” when Logan just stared at him and the yellow fluid that was slowly leaking out from him. In few places the outer layer of skin and material that made Jules Jules and not the humanoid he truly was, was torn, missing a couple of layers and the various tech that made up his schematics were visible.

“I love you.” He said fiercely, “Thank you for loving me, Thank you for saving me. Thank you for seeing me as I truly am.”

“Jules.” Logan brokenly whispered as he saw the love of his life slowly dying in front of him. If Jules were truly human he would have already been dead.

“I can fix you.” Logan said brokenly, “D and I, we have your schematics, we can fix you.”

Jules looked down at himself and the slowness he could feel running through his body. “You could try.” he whispered, “But I don’t think I can come back as me.” He glanced down at the leaking fluid coming out of him, “I have lost a lot of, well, blood.” He said sadly. “It’s affecting with my system and I will shut down soon.”

“No.” Logan cried brokenly. “I can’t lose you. Please hold on.”

“Lo, listen to me.” Jules said moving his fingers to curls slowly around Logan’s, “When you’re done grieving ask Derek to show you who I truly am .”

“What,” Logan asked straining to hear him. “Ask Derek.” Jules jerked out, “Ask him to show you who I truly am.” He looked at Logan one last time, “I will always love you.” and closed his eyes.

“Shut down initiated.” came a strange voice as Logan recognized the normal voice box that was available on the J series. “3. 2. 1.”

When the firefighter and medics came to cut them loose from the scrunched up car Jules was already gone and once they realized that the pale, slender man on the passenger seat was a humanoid and that too a destroyed one they left him to focus on the only human in the vehicle who apart from a few bruises, scrapes, cuts and a head wound was unhurt.

“Let go off me.” Logan snarled as they tried to get him away from Jules, “But Sir, it could be dangerous, it’s leaking fluid. The vehicle could blow up.”

“I know that.” snarled Logan angrily. “I made him. And he is not it. He has a name.”

“Of course Sir.” The medic said carefully as they took in Logan’s broken, sad face. He looked at Jules next to him lying peacefully with his eyes closed, face relaxed. He looked as if he was sleeping if one ignored the various cuts and torn pieces that littered his body. “I need an ambulance.”

*

Derek frowned at another late night his friend was pulling as he buried himself the original prototype of the J series that was formerly known as Jules. They were able to put him back together exactly as he was, with all the schematics and inputs but he was just not the same anymore. He looked and sounded exactly like Jules but he was just another droid. He was normal. Spoken only when spoken too, needed to be programmed, input needed to be given via coding. He lost everything that made him Jules.

It was more than a month now and Derek couldn’t take it anymore as he watched his friend tear himself up over and over again when he realized that nothing he did could bring Jules back the way he was before.

“I loved him.” Logan sobbed brokenly, “We made plans to live our lives together.” He threw the socket he had in his hands. “He knew this would happen, he told me this would happen.”

“That he couldn’t return as himself. He freaking said goodbye to me as he lay there dying.”

Derek pulled up a chair and sat beside Logan. He missed Jules too. Missed his friendship. The three of them were best friends; two humans and the android they created and then they all went together to achieve great things; working on perfecting the J series and that line that came after.

They even hung out later after work in Derek’s house or Logan’s and Derek missed him.

“He thanked me, he thanked me for loving him, he thanked me for saving him. “ He turned to his remaining best friend, “He even spoke about you, he asked me to ask you who he truly his.”

“I know who he truly his,” Logan whispered as Derek immediately looked up and frowned. He pulled the tablet next to him, logging in his details and started typing.

“He was my Jules,” Logan whispered as Logan looked at his friend and the tablet in his hands.

“I am going to show you something. But you should not freak out.” Derek whispered softly, still staring at the screen.

“What is it,” Logan said and Derek passed in him the tablet.

“Remember during the beginning days of the J series prototype before Jules was Jules.”

“We had those glitches with the schematics,” Logan said as he remembered the early days when Jules was just a humanoid rebelling with them before he became Jules.

“There were glitches in the voice box, the proportioning of the drawing, input was horribly wrong,”

“He was Jules,” Logan said softly.

“Yes, yes.” Derek said hurriedly “So as head of the department I wanted to know where they got the details from. Did they come by it of their own or did they model if from someone.”

He swiped the tablet in Logan’s hand pulling up a folder. “Meet Julian Larson Armstrong, part-time model and movie actor. The J series was based on him.”

“J series was based on him,” Logan asked softly as he studied the image of the man Derek pulled up on the screen. He looked like his Jules. He was tall, slender, with brown hair and brown eyes, he looked exactly like his Jules but also not like his Jules. He’s real, his brain supplied, a real, live human being, not Jules.

“A bit.” Derek nodded, “They had him come over for a week, studied him, made him do stuff, recite, speak things so as to get good proportions for the mock diagrams and then we took over.“ Logan nodded as that was when he started overseeing when the basic bones were in place.

“I guess they must have inputted his details. Those initial glitches that got smoothed out with the series. But not the original prototype.”

“So he’s Jules.” Logan breathed.

“I don’t know.” Derek said sadly, “I don’t know how much of him was in the actual Jules. He lives here.” swiping over the screen, pulling up an address. “Maybe you should go meet him, for closure at least.

*

Logan looked up dazed at the angry young man who was glaring at him through the screen of his vehicle. He looked similar like Jules but there was a hint of warm flush beneath his skin as he glared angrily at Logan. “I don’t know who you are but if you don’t get off my property I am calling the cops.”

He rolled down his window.  The man looked just like Jules and better since he was alive and talking to him.

“I am Logan. Logan Wright from Wright Industries.”

Julian frowned at the sad young man in front of him.  He looked like he had been crying, He looked like he could cry in any second. He didn't know what he wanted from him. First, he thought he was some kind of a crazy stalker as he just sat there in his hybrid in front of his house and when Julian went to confront him he just stared.

“Wait, Wright Industries, the humanoid makers.”

“Yes.” Logan hiccupped as he watched the man speak. He was exactly like his Jules and also not like his Jules. “I would like to speak with you if possible.”

“And you thought stalking me was the way to go?” Julian snarked and Logan chuckled softly.

“I wasn’t stalking you. I was trying to gather courage. To see if you were like him.”

“Him.” Julian mouthed. “I think you must be confused.”

“I am sorry for taking up your time. But I just.” He turned to the passenger seat and lifted his personal console. “If you could go through this. I would appreciate it.” He handed over his console to Julian who frowned at it. “I don’t think I should –“

“Please.” Logan whispered, “I lost someone whom I cared I deeply and you look just like him.”

Julian blanched, “They told me no one would know, that humanoids won’t look like me.” He frowned at Logan, “I have seen them, apart from a few common features they behave and act like droids.”

“Yes, but except him.” Logan whispered, “He was everything.”

“I think we should have this conversation inside, you should come in.”

Julian invited him into his home and Logan nodded and followed him. He looked sad as glanced at Julian as they walked up the stairs and into his house.

“The bathroom is that way if you want to freshen up.” and Logan nodded gratefully.

Julian glanced at the console which was open to reveal hundreds of images of Logan and what could only be the humanoid he was speaking about, Jules.  While he looked like the other humanoids in the market, this one was different. He carried himself differently, like a human, slouched posture, wide grins, deep knowing looks. They loved one another, one could clearly see from the images. But Julian was not him.

“I am sorry for your loss.” Julian said when Logan entered the room, “But I am not sure what you want of me.”

“I am not sure of myself.” Logan whispered sadly as he took back the console from Julian, smiling sadly at the collage of images. “I just came to know that you existed. I barely know anything about you, except that he was modelled on you and I needed to see.”

Julian’s heart broke for him. He loved so deeply. Julian always wanted to know that felt like to be loved like that. To have somebody who loved you so much.

“Well, I guess,” he looked at Logan who was still looking at the images, “you could keep in touch with me if you need to.”

“I could,” Logan asked as the frown lines slowly left his face and Julian realized how pretty he was as he slowly started to look better.

“Yeah. “ Julian nodded, “I can’t imagine what it must have felt like, to have a love like that only to lose it.”

“It’s the worst,” Logan said sadly, looking at Julian in front of him.

“Just remember though I am Julian, not him.”

*

Julian is not sure what to make of the entire situation. Logan left immediately soon after, he seemed calmer than he was before. They exchanged numbers and he promised to be respectful of Julian’s wishes to not confuse the two of them and slowly their friendship grew.

He realized that Logan was actually smart, funny and capable with a good a head on his shoulders and that he was passionate and he slowly found himself becoming friends.

He even met Derek, the other guy featured in the images that Logan had brought along with him the first time they met. He enquired about him once during their casual hangouts when they shared a couple of beer where he jokingly asked whether Derek missed Jules as well. Luckily Logan had moved passed the stage of grief where Jules’s name would reduce him to tears but now he just smiled fondly albeit a little sad. The pain of losing Jules would always be there for him, Julian realized.

And here he was now with the both of them, goofing off and smiling as Derek shared his latest conquest stories and Jules and Logan groaned and threw peanuts at him.

“Let’s take a picture,” Derek said immediately and drew out his console, tapping at the screen. “You’ll be okay with this.” Julian nodded at Logan, “Us taking a picture, the three of us together.”

“Yes.” Logan nodded, “I know you’re not him. We know you’re not him.” he gestured to Derek and him. “But you have become our best friend Jules.”

Derek looked wide-eyed and Logan backtracked. “Sorry I know you don’t want to be called Jules, but,” he cried out, “your name is so long.”

Julian looked at him deeply in the eye trying to find something which was not there. “It's ok.” He nodded as he took a sip of his beer. “I prefer Jules or J, only my agent and my mother ever calls me Julian.”

“How is the filming of the movie?” Logan asked and Julian smiled and described the antics of his co-stars.

It grew from there, the three of them hanging out together every time Julian was free or was in town and he found himself enjoying their company and they too were slowly becoming his best friends and he slowly realized that he was starting to develop feelings for Logan.

He always happy when Logan visited. The initial visits themselves were rare even though Julian told him that he could visit and Logan always called before he came. They spoke about their day, Logan happy to be in the company of Julian as they chatted about inconsequential things and one horrible time during the anniversary where Logan scared him when he showed up absolutely dejected and broken.

But then he started getting better and he would smile and laugh and make jokes and snark at Julian, sometimes volunteer information about Jules when he remembered something though those were becoming less frequent and that’s how he knew Logan was slowly healing.

And now he showed up uninvited, ringing his doorbell to be let in till Julian gave Derek and him their own set of keys to his place. In fact, they all shared keys to their place to make it easier for them to come and go as they please.

“Jules.” Logan inquired as he walked in and shut the door behind him, “Where are you.”

“In here.” Julian replied, “Where’s Derek.”

“He’s running late, there was a problem in the production line.”

“And why aren’t you with him,” Julian smirked as he hugged Logan in greeting.

“I am his boss.” Logan scoffed and took the offered glass from Julian, “I can leave anytime I want.” And Julian laughed.

“He’s on his way.” Logan smiled and absentmindedly tucked a stray strand of Julian’s hair behind his ear and Julian’s heart skipped a beat.

*

“You know you can tell him right.” Derek gestured at Logan who was ordering their drinks at the bar. “Hmm.” Julian murmured as he watched Logan interact with a service humanoid.

“You’re not as subtle as you think.” Derek laughed and Julian frowned, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Tell him, he would want to know.”

“I don’t know what to say. I don’t even if he’ll ever be open to it.” He glanced at the table and then at Derek, “Logan has not dated since then. Even though he’s better now. It will be three years.” and Derek nodded. “I don’t think he will ever date again. They did love each other, deeply.”

“Did Logan ever told you how he first came to know about you?” Derek asked and Julian frowned, “He told me that you gave him the details.”

“That I did.” Derek acknowledged, “But he first came to know because Jules told him to come and speak to me.”

“What.” Julian looked shocked,

“Jules was very smart.” Derek smiled softly and Julian was forever in awe of the trio’s friendship. “We both came to know about you together. He was working on perfecting himself. Sometimes I think he was trying to turn himself human. He took great pleasure when people mistook him for being human. Anyway,” Derek continued, “there were glitches in his programming system that we found out to be characteristics of the original model. Basically he had a majority of your characteristics in him. It was what made him Jules, different from the other humanoids.” He took a deep breath “So yes he knew about you, well that he was based off a human and when he was dying he told Logan to go search for you. He basically led Logan to you.”

“I, we –“Julian stuttered and saw that Logan was finely done and was coming towards them with their drinks in his hand.

“He didn’t know then. I don’t think he has fully thought about it but I think he is slowly starting to realize it.” and Julian frowned Wait, what

“Talk to him.” Derek rushed and beamed a smile at his friend, “What took you so long.”

“You won’t believe the mess at the counter.” Logan snarked, “It was a nightmare but I finally got them.” He smiled at Julian who was looking a little worried, “Jules, you okay.” He asked and Julian smiled at him softly and then frowned at Derek who was grinning dopily at them.

“Yes, yes,” Julian snarked and took his glass from a beaming Logan, “don’t know what his problem though,” he said pointing at a laughing Derek.

*

“Hey, I got your message. What’s up.” Logan smiled as entered into Julian’s house and found Julian sitting on the couch studying a picture of them.  “I like this photo.” He said as he sat down next to Julian, “Me too.” Julian whispered. It was an image of the two of cuddling, Julian sitting nestled in Logan’s arms and they tried and failed to stay awake watching a movie.

Logan was always close with him, hugging him, cuddling him, soothing him just like now when he pulled Julian close to him rubbing his back.  “What happened?”

“I am sorry for what I am about to say, but I think that you should know,” Julian mumbled and got up from where he was seated. “Derek thinks you should know. He hinted you might feel the same way.” He added and Logan smiled at him and encouraged him with his eyes.

“I think I have feelings for you.” He whispered softly, “No, I know I have feelings for you. But I am afraid that it’s too soon for you. That you might not feel the same way.

“That you would never feel the same way,”  Julian added softly.

“Oh Jules.” Logan whispered brokenly, “I do feel the same for you. I tried not too, I thought I was mixing up my feelings for Jules. But it’s different.”  He stood up walking slowly towards Julian, “You’re strong and capable and amazing and here and human. So very human.” as he ran his fingers gently across Julian’s cheek watching his blush stain his cheek.

“I met you in beginning for Jules but then I stayed for you. Amazing, magical you.” and Julian smiled softly and leaned into Logan’s touch.

“I like if we could date.” Julian smiled and Logan nodded and linked their fingers, “I like that as well.” and pulled Julian close to him nestling his face against his.

The end.

[hneydew]

♡ . ˚ ◝ lee sungkyung, thirty, cis female, she/her ↷ kim hana occupies level seven, apartment 707. you’ll know their home if you hear comfortable by lauv playing through their speakers. they’ve been living here as an attorney for one year. since then the virgo has built a reputation for being candid and guarded. if you want to get on their good side their coffee order is a double espresso. × luna. 23. she/her. est. ×

hey there!! i’m luna and this here is my lil nugget kim hana. you can find some plot ideas at the end but i’m also all for chemistry. im deff down to letting our muses interact and see where it takes us. however if you would like to plot give this a like and ill mssg you

𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒.

full name: kim hana

nicknames: hannie (only by loved ones)

birthdate: september 10th

astrological sign: virgo

preferred pronouns: she/her

sexual orientation: heterosexual

occupation: attorney

religion: atheist

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓.

hana’s parents always wanted a boy and they made it perfectly clear by the way they treated her. from the moment she was born she was a disappointment in her fathers eyes. they come from a family of surgeons and he wanted someone that could follow in his steps.

sexism tw; her parents (mostly her dad) come from a traditional up bringing and have internalized sexism. her father believed that only a boy could properly carry on the family legacy. as such, hana grew up having to continuously prove her worth. 

however she never had a chance to win his love. not long after, her younger brother was born and he became the golden boy. whatever he wanted, he got. her father groomed him to take after him and neglected hana. 

she believed that by excelling at everything she would eventually gain his love and approval but she never did. it was a futile attempt for anything she did would wound up as nothing in his eyes. 

at first her decision to become an attorney was nothing more than ruse to spite her father but the more she learned about the law the more she fell in love with it. she decided to become an attorney and graduated top of her class. 

for her it was 1st place or nothing. failure’s never an option to her and it shows by the amount of cases she’s won. she’s well known in her field for being ruthless. 

she was job hunted from her previous law firm and moved here about a year ago.

fun fact: she chose the apt 707 because she believes 7 to be her lucky number

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘.

hana’s a confident woman. beauty and brains are not mutually exclusive. instead, she believes that there’s beauty in being intelligent. and she damn sure makes sure to drive this point to anyone that underestimates her work

she’s also very independent and blunt. she doesn’t sugar coat her words and calls it and she sees it.

she tends to come off as a smartass around but she can’t help her thirst for knowledge. knowledge is power and for her that’s something she can’t live without. 

having grown up in a dysfunctional family setting (and maybe a nasty breakup? possible wc here) made her outlook on romance bleak. she would rather immerse herself in a case for work than be in a committed relationship

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒.

her brother (26-29; korean fc): i talked about him a bit in her about section but if you’re interested on learning more feel free to mssg me! 

best friend, childhood friend, old neighbour, penpal, workout buddy

a roommate

co worker at the law firm

a client or potential client: your muse could be in need for some legal advice

enemy turned friend, rival

high school/college/coworker ex, one night stand, friends with benefits

[neocab]

Translating the Cyberpunk Future

I'm a video game translator, and I love my job. It's odd work, sometimes stressful, sometimes bewildering, but it always provides interesting and inspiring challenges. Every project brings new words, slang, and cultural trends to discover, but translating also forces me to reflect on language itself. Each job also comes with its own unique set of problems to solve. Some have an exact solution that can be found in grammar or dictionaries, but others require a more... creative approach.

Sometimes, the language we’re translating from uses forms and expressions that simply have no equivalent in the language we’re translating to. To bridge such gaps, a translator must sometimes invent (or circumvent), but most importantly they must understand. Language is ever in flux. It’s an eternal cultural battleground that evolves with the lightning speed of society itself. A single word can hurt a minority, give shape to a new concept, or even win an election. It is humanity’s most powerful weapon, especially in the Internet Age, and I always feel the full weight of responsibility to use it in an informed manner.

One of my go-to ways for explaining the deep complexity of translation is the relationship between gender (masculine and feminine) and grammar. For example, in English this is a simple sentence:

"You are fantastic!"

Pretty basic, right? Easy to translate, no? NOT AT ALL!

Once you render it into a gendered language like Italian, all its facets, its potential meanings, break down like shards.

Sei fantastico! (Singular and masculine)

Sei fantastica! (Singular and feminine)

Siete fantastici! (Plural and masculine)

Siete fantastiche! (Plural and feminine)

If we were translating a movie, selecting the correct translation wouldn't be a big deal. Just like in real life, one look at the speakers would clear out the ambiguity in the English text. Video game translation, however, is a different beast where visual cues or even context is a luxury, especially if a game is still in development. Not only that, but the very nature of many games makes it simply impossible to define clearly who is being addressed in a specific line, even when development has ended. Take an open world title, for example, where characters have whole sets of lines that may be addressed indifferently to single males or females or groups (mixed or not) within a context we don't know and can't control.

In the course of my career as a translator, time and time again this has led into one of the most heated linguistic debates of the past few years: the usage of the they/them pronoun. When I was in grade school, I was taught that they/them acted as the third person plural pronoun, the equivalent of the Italian pronoun "essi." Recently, though, it has established itself as the third person singular neutral, both in written and spoken English. Basically, when we don't know whether we're talking about a he/him or a she/her, we use they/them. In this way, despite the criticism of purists, the English language has brilliantly solved all cases of uncertainty and ambiguity. For instance:

“Somebody forgot their backpack at the party.”

Thanks to the use of the pronoun "their," this sentence does not attribute a specific gender to the person who has forgotten the backpack at the party. It covers all the bases. Smooth, right? Within the LGBT circles, those who don’t recognize themselves in gender binarism have also adopted the use of they/them. Practically speaking, the neutral they/them pronoun is a powerful tool, serving both linguistic accuracy and language inclusiveness. There's just one minor issue: We have no "neutral pronouns" in Italian.

It's quite the opposite, if anything! In our language, gender informs practically everything, from adjectives to verbs. On top of that, masculine is the default gender in case of ambiguity or uncertainty. For instance:

Two male kids > Due bambini

Two female kids > Due bambine

One male kid and one female kid > Due bambini

In the field of translation, this is a major problem that often requires us to find elaborate turns of phrase or different word choices to avoid gender connotations when English maintains ambiguity. As a professional, it’s not only a matter of accuracy but also an aesthetic issue. In a video game, when a character refers to someone using the wrong gender connotation, the illusion of realism is broken. My colleagues and I have been navigating these pitfalls for years as best we can. Have you ever wondered why one of the most common Italian insults in video games is "pezzo di merda"? That's right. "Stronzo" and "bastardo" give a gender connotation, while "pezzo di merda" does not.

A few months ago, together with the Gloc team, I had the pleasure of working on the translation of Neo Cab, a video game set in a not too distant future with a cyberpunk and dystopian backdrop (and, sadly, a very plausible one). The main character is Lina, a cabbie of the "gig economy," who drives for a hypothetical future Uber in a big city during a time of deep social unrest. The story is told mainly through her conversation with the many clients she picks up in her taxi. When the game’s developers gave us the reference materials for our localization, they specified that one of the client characters was "non-binary" and that Lina respectfully uses the neutral "they/them" pronoun when she converses with them.

"Use neutral pronouns or whatever their equivalent is in your language," we were told.

I remember my Skype chat with the rest of the team. What a naive request on the client's part! Neutral pronouns? It would be lovely, but we don't have those in Italian! So what do we do now? The go-to solution in these cases is to use masculine pronouns, but such a workaround would sacrifice part of Lina’s character and the nuance of one of the interactions the game relies on to tell the story. Sad, no? It was the only reasonable choice grammatically-speaking, but also a lazy and ill-inspired one. So what were we to do? Perhaps there was another option...

Faced with losing such an important aspect of Lina’s personality, we decided to forge ahead with a new approach. We had the opportunity to do something different, and we felt like we had to do the character justice. In a game that's completely based on dialogue, such details are crucial. What's more, the game's cyberpunk setting gave us the perfect excuse to experiment and innovate. Language evolves, so why not try to imagine a future where Italian has expanded to include a neutral pronoun in everyday conversations? It might sound a bit weird, sure, but cyberpunk literature has always employed such gimmicks. And rather than take away from a character, we could actually enrich the narrative universe with an act of "world building" instead.

After contacting the developers, who enthusiastically approved of our proposal, we started working on creating a neutral pronoun for our language. But how to go about that was a question in itself. We began by studying essays on the subject, like Alma Sabatini's Raccomandazioni per un uso non sessista della lingua italiana (Recommendations for a non-sexist usage of the Italian language). We also analyzed the solutions currently adopted by some activists, like the use of asterisks, "x," and "u."

Siamo tutt* bellissim*.

Siamo tuttx bellissimx.

Siamo tuttu bellissimu.

I’d seen examples of this on signs before, but it had always seemed to me that asterisks and such were not meant to be a solution, but rather a way to highlight the issue and start a discourse on something that's deeply ingrained in our language. For our cyberpunk future, we wanted a solution that was more readable and pronounceable, so we thought we might use schwa (ə), the mid central vowel sound. What does it sound like? Quite familiar to an English speaker, it's the most common vowel sound. Standard Italian doesn’t have it, but having been separated into smaller countries for most of its history, Italy has an extraordinary variety of regional languages (“dialetti”) and many of them use this sound. We find it in the final "a" of "mammeta" in Neapolitan, for instance (and also in the dialects of Piedmont and Ciociaria, and in several other Romance languages). To pronounce it, with an approximation often seen in other romance languages, an Italian only needs to pretend not to pronounce a word's last vowel.

Schwa was also a perfect choice as a signifier in every possible way. Its central location in phonetics makes it as neutral as possible, and the rolled-over "e" sign "ə" is reminiscent of both a lowercase "a" (the most common feminine ending vowel in Italian) and of an unfinished "o" (the masculine equivalent). The result is:

Siamo tuttə bellissimə.

Not a perfect solution, perhaps, but eminently plausible in a futuristic cyberpunk setting. The player/reader need only look at the context and interactions to figure it out. The fact that we have no "ə" on our keyboards is easily solved with a smartphone system upgrade, and though the pronunciation may be difficult, gender-neutrals wouldn't come up often in spoken language. Indeed, neutral alternatives are most needed in writing, especially in public communication, announcements, and statements. To be extra sure our idea worked as intended and didn't overlook any critical issues, we submitted it to a few LGBT friends, and with their blessing, then sent our translation to the developers.

Fast forward to now, and the game is out. It has some schwas in it, and nobody complained about our proposal for a more inclusive future language. It took us a week to go through half a day's worth of work, but we're happy with the result. Localization is not just translation, it's a creative endeavour, and sometimes it can afford to be somewhat subversive. To sum up the whole affair, I'll let the words of Alma Sabatini wrap things up:

"Language does not simply reflect the society that speaks it, it conditions and limits its thoughts, its imagination, and its social and cultural advancement." — Alma Sabatini

Amen.

[darrenjamesbutterfield101-blog]

Modern Science and Technology and the Challenges of Third World Countries

People live in a highly sophisticated world where everything is almost achievable. There would probably have been no changes between the environment of today and that of three centuries ago if necessity and serendipitous discoveries had not driven males to achieve great things. Science and technology have had huge positive effects on every society. The world today is now digital, even human thought. Our world has been reduced to a global village and is better for it. The benefits of discipline and technology far outweigh every perceived shortcoming. Some of the biggest effects of technology are in the area with communication; through the internet and mobile phones. There is advancement of communication and expansions of economic commerce. Now we hear of information and communication technology (ICT). Any institution worth its name must have the idea in place to be really outstanding. Information technology has become boosted in today's generation; from the field of communication, business, knowledge, and down to the entertainment industry. Through information technology, work performances are boosted with less effort in addition to greater productivity by using various operations. Without computers or the internet, it will be difficult for people all over the world to get their own questions answered. One may use the internet to locate a wealth of information with which to answer an essay issue that may have been assigned at school, communicate with people, conduct transactions, access news, buy and advertise merchandise. The list is endless. The advancement of Science and technology allow mass communication today to make sure that we not only have the television, radio and newspaper, but even mobile phones which renders a multipurpose product; from long distance calls, listening to radio and music, playing games, taking pictures, recording voice and video, and surfing the internet. The benefits we obtain as a result of services from ICT have become widespread in our generation today. It gets better the productive level of individuals and workers because People's knowledge of life beyond the area they lived around is now unlimited. This idea of mass communication also profoundly affects politics as leaders now have many options they talk directly to the people. Apart from going on air to use radio or television, politicians resort to the social networking for some of their political comments and campaign. Information about protests and revolutions are being circulated online, especially as a result of social media. This has caused political upheavals and resulted in change of government in most countries today. Furthermore, up-to-date global issues are much more accessible to the public. Communication has been brought also to the next level because there are actually new ways to be able to communicate with loved ones at home. Science and technology expand society's knowledge. Science helps people gain increased understanding of how the world works, while technology helps scientists make these discoveries. Learning comes with maximized because of different media that are being developed which are all interactive and which bring learning activities to the next level. Businesses have grown and expanded because of breakthroughs in advertising. Modern technology has changed the way several companies produce their goods and handle their business. The idea and use of video and web conferencing, for instance, has helped companies remove geographical barriers and given them the opportunity to reach out to people and clients through out the world. In today's economy, it has helped companies reduce the cost and inconveniences of venturing, allowing them to meet as often as they could like without having to worry about finding the budget to settle it. Modern technology helps agencies reduce their carbon footprint and become green due to the fact that almost anything can be done from a computer. There have been advances inside medical care through the development of science and technology. Advances in medical technology have contributed immensely for extending the life span of people. People with disabilities or health problems are now more and more able to live closer to normal lives. The reason is science contributes to developing medications to enhance health as well as technology such as mobile chairs and even electronics that keep an eye on current body levels. Most devices used by the physically challenged people are customized and user friendly. Science along with technology increase road safety. Nowadays, law enforcement officers use Laser technology to detect when automobiles are generally exceeding speed limits. Technology has led to the development of modern machines such as cars and motor bikes which allow us to be mobile and travel freely and airplanes which travel at a supersonic pace. Another machine, the air- conditioner, provides cool comfort, especially during hot weather. In offices where clothing codes exist, people can afford to wear suits without being worried about the weather. It guarantees convenience even when that climate says otherwise. Moreover, present day factories have modern facilities like machines and soft ware that will facilitate production. These machines work with greater speed and perfection incomparable with human skills. These devices have enabled markets to have surplus products all over the world. For the soft ware, they make it possible for machines to be produced, for production to be regulated, to monitor the progress being recorded and so on. Modern technology indeed has been terrific. For third world countries, however , it has been challenging, especially the area of production. Only consuming and not been able to help manufacture does not favour any country when it comes to balance of trade. The most sensitive parts of technology are the theoretical or conceptual parts and technical parts. These are the backbone of technological development anywhere in the world. Without the options, there will not be technology. Third world counties need to go back to the basics, that is, to the primitive. There must be meeting ground with regard to tradition and modern technological invention. Third world countries engage in import substitution strategy where they import about half finished goods and complete the tail end of the production process domestically. Third world countries started incorrectly. They started with climbing the ladder from the top which is very wrong and difficult. They imagined that being able to purchase and operate modern technological products qualifies for advancement in science and scientific development. This makes third world countries to be a dependent system because working in the factories are routine succeed and this inevitably links to the issue of the idea of technology transfer. They should seek for technological transfer, but the issue is that no nation is ready to transfer her hard earned technological knowledge to any other nation for many certain reasons which drive nations into competition; world politics and economic prowess. That is the struggle to head or dominate other nations technologically, economically and politically. Be the first to invent new gadgets and even latest electronics including those used in modern warfare, use other nations as market for finished items, and to have a strong voice and be able to influence other countries. They should consider embarking on technological espionage so as to choose the rudiments for technological development if they must liberate themselves from the shackles of technological domination.

[animealsonwheelz]

Meet the Blog Team

To help spread the mission for Animeals on Wheels our goal as a blog is to bring attention to anything related to this initiative whether it be news, entertainment, or volunteer information. 

“The AniMeals on Wheels program was founded so that homebound clients on Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston’s Meals on Wheels for Greater Houston program would not feel compelled to share their limited food and resources with their four-legged friends.” 

By spreading awareness, we hope to bring volunteers and/or interest to the program in the hopes we can assist all current and future AniMeals on Wheels clients.

Fayth’s Bio

Fayth Booker is a Public Relations major at the University of Houston where she manages her communication classes and other studies as she works towards becoming a publicist in the future.

Fayth is a strong proponent of compartmentalization in order to become successful. She believes it allows people to establish mental barriers between one priority and another so that one can focus all of their energy into what's right in front of them. Fayth plans to contribute to Animeals on wheel through her creative flow and power to adapt to any given scenario. 

Fayth is a people’s person and delivers genuine interactions with the people around her. You can expect integrity, transparency and no messy surprises when working with Fayth

Erick’s Bio

Erick Morales is a Public Relations major at the University of Houston who believes his skills as a communicator separate himself from fellow peers because of the value he brings to every interaction. Since his birth in 1999 he has possessed a hard working mentality that shows through courageous efforts such as signing up for 18 credit hours in the 2020 spring semester.

Erick believes great communication, writing abilities, and a quick ability to adapt to newly given situations are vital to an aspiring PR practitioner and aims to spread his message to fellow UH students eager to listen. Eric has an ability to see life from different perspectives shown through his enthusiasm to compete in photography competitions in high school. 

Jonathan’s Bio

Jonathan Shyy is an Integrated Communications major with a Business Marketing minor at the University of Houston. Jonathan plans to graduate in 2021 and go into the field of sales in order to utilize his strengths in being able to work with people. He already has plans this summer to intern with a top pharmaceutical company up in New York. 

Jonathan prides himself in being a people’s person as well as a negotiator who always comes well prepared and with a solid plan in mind. His integrity as a student translates to his work ethic and as a volunteer for Animeals on wheels, he plans on giving the elderly and their furry friends lasting and memorable experiences. Jonathan’s strengths do not end short as he is also capable of speaking multiple languages. This gives him an ability to reach a much wider audience.

Kristian’s Bio

Born in Houston Texas with Venezuelan-Colombian roots, Kristian Mantilla is a Junior at the University of Houston majoring in Public Relations and minoring in sales. Mantilla’s long term goal following graduation from College is to work in the auto industry as he is a passionate car enthusiast and can communicate to an expert degree about the ins and outs of the auto industry, whether it be their design, production, similarities, and differences and really contribute a great to the industry with his knowledge. 

Mantilla has built up quite a rapport for himself that includes:Working in logistics for various companies, transporting equipment for the Mexican national team, working as a manager at a fitness place, at H.E.B and at a car shop alongside a friend.

Prior to transferring to the University of Houston, Mantilla attended

Lonestar College where he obtained his associate degree with a 3.8 GPA

Animeals on Wheels

“In 1955, the Houston Council of Churches launched IM’s predecessor organization, the Church Welfare Bureau, to organize the Protestant community to minister to those in need. In 1964, the Bureau was reorganized as Protestant Charities of Houston, a group that was joined and strengthened by the Jewish community. Officially chartered as Houston Metropolitan Ministries in 1969, IM has been a leading force in bringing together people of all faiths to serve people in need in the greater Houston area.

IM was renamed Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston in 1992 to reflect support from increasingly diverse faith traditions.”

Contacts

Interfaith Ministries (Animeals On Wheels)

Email:  volunteerinfo@imgh.org

Address:  3303 Main Street Houston, TX 77002

Ph: 713-533-4900

Fax: 713-520-4663