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reloha · 1 year ago

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Penelope Featherington and the Quality of Friendship

If Penelope used her wit, even her cruel wit, but any wit, more, out loud in front of the ton, she would have suitors. Philippa found a suitor over cheese, for pity’s sake. “Lady Whistledown’s“ plant puns received praise from her sister’s suitor. Prudence is having trouble because she has neither wit nor wits, not because she is too mean (and they’re all sabotaged by their mother’s “cutting edge” fashion taste). The man Eloise danced with, whom she called out for trying to “not-like-other-girls" her, would probably have gone crazy for mean Penelope. If Penelope were as vocally, publicly mean as Cressida, she would either be in her group or smashing that group. (I am not saying that being mean in public would have been the best of Penelope's available choices, but it would be more honest and, ironically, do less damage.)

Her mother pays only the most cursory lip service to Penelope’s getting married and has probably already begun to think of her as the daughter who will stay with her through her old age. But if Penelope allowed herself to speak and let either her nice or sharp sides (or both) be seen by more people, there would be suitors.

Alas, then she would have to consider other possibilities besides her long-time crush (or love, look at it how you will), and that is what she is most afraid of doing. She cannot let go of the dream of Colin, and so she embraces Whistledown, at first perhaps as a one-time lark (she tries to get out of debuting, remember, but her ability to obtain content for her “blog,” her “great” life’s work, becomes intrinsically tied to being in society). This (possible) lark becomes an identity, perhaps her truest identity, one that allows her wicked thoughts a free rein. Yet Cressida Cowper, the person outside of her family who has the best claim to be Penelope's nemesis, is rarely seen in the Whistledown papers as far as the audience can divine, except for the occasional knock on her fashion choices (with bonus slut shaming). The one time that springs to mind is aimed at running a modiste out of business to curry favor with another modiste, Mme. Delacroix, all in order to eliminate a perceived threat to Whistledown and gain leverage over Delacroix to obtain her assistance with—you guessed it—errands for Whistledown.

At first, Penelope uses Whistledown to lift the Bridgertons up. They are a family of “perfectly handsome sons and perfectly beautiful daughters.” If the audience never finds out who Whistledown is, it scarcely seems to matter at this point; she could just be one of any number of anonymous people in the ton and not part of the story at all. Whistledown uplifts Daphne at her debut. It is Whistledown, not the Queen, who names Daphne “a diamond of the first water” (something apparently forgotten in season two).

But then Anthony gets in the way of Daphne’s suitors, and perhaps Eloise offhandedly mentions it to Penelope (“I can’t think why she wants to deal with them anyway but Anthony is being overbearing” or similar), and Penelope realizes she can criticize Daphne, the pretty Bridgerton who apparently never thought of being friends with her or guiding her. Or the sister Eloise is kind of annoyed with (but would never really want to see hurt, which one would think Penelope has to realize). According to Daphne, Lady Whistledown all but declares her “unmarriageable,” a devastating fate for most Regency ladies and something Penelope fears herself to be. Lady Whistledown is powerful, and Penelope has gotten a taste for that power.

Penelope has crossed over into Whistledown’s dark side as early as this, striking out at someone she perceives as being above her and cutting her down to size. (In the books, nothing on this level occurs, although one cannot go so far as to say Lady Whistledown is a benign force there.) Yes, on the show, she is willing to “help out” by printing the Berbrooke gossip, but is she helping out? It makes good copy for her. It’s actually something of a scoop. But what if it were a lie? Has Lady Whistledown ever fact checked any of the things she has heard people talk about? How, even, could she?

For some reason, she begins to take shots at the Queen, a reckless and nonsensical thing to do. The Queen may have some input with the Prince Regent (this is never clear in Bridgerton but in the prequel-sequel-spinoff series, Queen Charlotte, we see it played out at least on a personal level), but her domain is the social season, and she has the time at least to set others on Whistledown’s trail. And what has Charlotte done to Penelope? Someone posted that the Queen looked at her with disgust (she wasn’t impressed with the three Featheringtons’ joint debut, perhaps, but that was hardly directed at Penelope personally).

While in her first season, Penelope tries to be a little discreet about her secret identity, in her second season, she becomes more obvious. When someone in a group of girls says that Whistledown will not write anything because they are all in the country, Penelope asks if she thinks so and smiles a secretive smile that could not be more blatant.

Lady Bridgerton puts Eloise and Penelope into that group of girls hoping Eloise, and perhaps Penelope too, will make more friends. Eloise asks why the girls can’t say no to their mothers’ edicts regarding suitors and is met with shocked looks. (Eloise is criticized online for this as well, for this apparently means she is inconsiderate of these girls who cannot on any account question anything, but it is entirely possible that one or two of them thought about this later and their lives were changed in even small ways by it. The idea that every woman in the Regency era never questioned anything or did anything is not true anyway, and, if it were, this is still Regency fantasy, even without dragons.)

Neither Eloise nor Penelope makes a new friend. For Penelope, who secretly longs to be part of the social life of the ton, not on the outskirts, this is a huge missed opportunity, if only she would realize it. In addition to friendship to offer, some of these girls probably have brothers or cousins or even a young uncle whom they could introduce to Penelope or even to her annoying sister, Prudence. Perhaps more importantly, Penelope might begin to see the other girls as people, not just fodder for her society pages, and she might come out into the light instead of remaining in the shadows with Lady Whistledown. But she might have to let go of the dream of Colin, the thing she most dreads doing, the thing she cannot bear to do.

When Edwina exchanges a few pleasantries with Penelope, Penelope could also use that as a springboard for a friendship, but she instead walks off to talk with Colin and never sends a note to Edwina or makes any attempt at friendship, even when Edwina is spending a great deal of time with the Bridgertons. Eloise appears to have the beginning of a friendship, or at least a mutual admiration society, with Edwina’s sister, Kate. The only friends Penelope appears to want are Eloise and Colin, and she gets annoyed when the former interrupts her while she is talking with the latter, but she never takes the step of sharing her feelings for Colin with Eloise. Although Eloise might have been puzzled by those feelings had she done so, it is difficult to believe she would be anything other than supportive of her friend, as she was when she divined that Penelope enjoyed all the parties and social whirl—the opposite of what Penelope does for Eloise when she confides her burgeoning feelings to Theo.

There may be several issues of her paper that only reveal engagements prior to the official announcements or critique fashion choices, including the Featheringtons’ (which would work to her benefit if her mother would pay attention—unfortunately, she can’t just write “Penelope Featherington looks better in pink, Lady Featherington”), and maybe she doesn’t write about couples sneaking off to the coat closet, but she is not kind. She does not wield her considerable power to help anyone unless it is in Whistledown’s best interest and will sell more papers or in line with Penelope’s current agenda, the things she believes will achieve what she wants. Breaking up Marina and Colin, getting Eloise away from the print shop and her trail, not letting Eloise do a mock version of Whistledown because Whistledown is hers—these are Penelope’s goals at different points. Penelope could tell Eloise the truth about Marina (at least Marina would not have been publicly shamed and maybe the Bridgertons would have even helped her in some way) before writing about her, the truth about Whistledown before writing about Eloise, but she does not. Before writing about Eloise, she could go to the Queen and confess. She does not.

Penelope claims, rather disingenuously and conveniently, that the Queen will never believe her. It is absurd to think Penelope has left no trail, no evidence that she is Whistledown. Even if she has burned all her drafts after sending the final to the printer’s, the printer will remember her as the person who came to make arrangements in the guise of an Irish servant (particularly as she spoke quite insultingly to him). The Queen can’t execute anyone. She could hire an assassin, in theory, but this isn’t Game of Thrones and Charlotte isn’t a monster. Penelope could go to the Queen and offer to work with her. She could confess to Eloise before Eloise figures it out, and they could come up with a plan together. She could just take the consequences of what she has done and live with them. She had other choices besides throwing her friend under the omnibus (which didn’t exist yet, but, oh, well) to “save” her.

Penelope could confess to the Queen and offer to prove she is Whistledown by having the Queen give her a false piece of gossip and allowing herself to be placed in a room in the palace while she writes it up as a mock Whistledown column. Surely Penelope is clever enough to do that, isn’t she?

Penelope tells Mme. Delacroix that the Queen wants to be flattered, so Penelope knows this. She knows the Queen isn’t out to destroy Whistledown. She could write an issue with something flattering the Queen, but she doesn’t. She writes a post that will separate Eloise from someone she has come to care for and from the people who are not rich but want to do something in the world.

For Eloise to have a cross-class love interest is not madness, although unusual in the world of the story. Theo is a printer’s apprentice and a writer who could very well own his own business someday, and Eloise is working on a novel, or at least was in season one. Both of them could be published someday beyond political pamphlets, although those are fine too. (And, yes, Penelope and Colin both write too.)

Of course, this wouldn’t make Theo a “gentleman” by the definition of the time, but Lady Mary wed a man who was not in the ton, and, although she hoped her daughters would not have to choose between love and security, it is doubtful that she regretted her choice. Her husband also wound up with a very good job in India as secretary to a royal family, and, had he died later, their financial circumstances might have been better. It seems as if Lady Mary's parents refused to put a brave face on things and instead hid away, but the Queen’s only rebuke for Lady Mary is that she did not say goodbye to her, not that she married “down” or against her family’s wishes. Eloise’s family would probably not refuse to see her as the Sheffields did with Lady Mary if she were to marry "down" (Daphne could remind Violet that she said she wished for Daphne to have the very best, not in rank but in love), and not being invited to society parties would hardly be a loss to Eloise.

Many of the people who say this would ruin her younger sisters' chances also argue that every scandal the Bridgertons go through is short-lived (which is somewhat the case) and they can never be truly ruined. (Although it’s unlikely the show will go the Theo route, more's the pity, if it were to do so, one would expect this to be a long enough road that Francesca's first marriage would already have happened, and we know her second husband wouldn't care about her sister's so-called scandal anyway. And Hyacinth, well, Hyacinth is rather similar to Eloise in many ways.)

Theo was an important friendship to Eloise and going to those meetings an important part of her growth, facts Penelope would realize about her friend if she would listen to her instead of gaslighting her.

But Eloise is not Penelope’s best friend. Penelope’s best friend is Lady Whistledown. It is Lady Whistledown whom Penelope protects, and she is the one to whom Penelope always turns when she has a problem. She scarcely shares a problem with Eloise outside of her confusion about where babies come from. She never comes to Eloise about her father’s death (which, to be fair, scarcely seems to faze her, and that is probably understandable); about Marina, the only other person who is close to being Penelope’s friend (and it can’t be because she respects Marina’s secret); about her feelings for Colin; about how to get her mother off this yellow kick. When Eloise asks her about herself, Penelope almost invariably changes the subject. There is one memorable and revealing conversation while they lie on the grass in which Penelope extols the joys and power of not being seen, of being invisible, of being a wallflower. It’s a fascinating speech, and she has every opportunity to tell Eloise about Whistledown after it, for good or ill, to ‘fess up, but she doesn't. Instead, she continues down her dark path.

By the end of the season, Penelope has destroyed her friendship with Eloise, and she has had her illusions of Colin destroyed by overheard words (not staying long enough to hear what follows, whether it’s “Penelope deserves better than me” or “Penelope is like a sister to me” or "Who would want to court Penelope?"). Her bridges are effectively burned and to rebuild them would take meticulous care, diligent work, and more than a little self-reflection, as well as attempts at apology and amends.

Lady Whistledown is the only friend Penelope has left.

Special thanks to @dollypopup and @torchwood-99, who have written so many thoughtful posts.

#anti Penelope Featherington #not really but close enough #Bridgerton spoilers #Bridgerton opinions #this got long #Bridgerton #Bridgeverse #Eloise Bridgerton but kind of incidentally #Penelope villain arc

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archivyrep · 2 years ago

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Archivists are not librarians: Understanding the differences [Part 1]

Ura's supervisor, in Pale Cocoon, asks him if archives are just lies. A very depressing anime, but also connects to a lot of archives issues.

Often in popular culture, archivists are portrayed as the same as librarians, with the worst example being Jocasta Nu in the Star Wars franchise, with other examples including Wan Shi Tong in Avatar The Last Airbender and Emily Quackfaster in DuckTales. Samantha Cross, an archivist who runs POP Archives, a website for which this blog was inspired by, has noted this confusion is present in Amphibia, The Smurfs, and Castlevania with archives being confused with libraries, and vice versa. Even the self-defined library of George and Lance in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power would tend to, as Cross points out, lean more toward something that is a museum or library than a library.

Reprinted from my Wading Through the Cultural Stacks WordPress blog. Originally published on Dec. 9, 2021.

Cross explained the confusion well in a April 2020 interview, saying she spends "a lot of time explaining what exactly it is I do because a lot of movies and television shows don’t understand my profession and treat it as synonymous with librarians." That is what I am going to try and do with this post, to the best of my ability. I know this post isn't truly about pop culture. I could care less about that because this is my blog and I'll write what I want on it, especially since this blog will be extremely scaled back next year as archives or archivists are not really popping up in anything I am watching. As such, I have been seriously questioning whether I should even keep this blog up or just discontinue it altogether, as I really want to keep this blog.

The SAA has broached this question in the past, saying that librarians and archivists both "collect, preserve, and make accessible materials for research, but they differ significantly in the way they arrange, describe, and use the materials in their collections. Materials in archival collections are unique and often irreplaceable, whereas libraries can usually obtain new copies of worn-out or lost books." But, there is more to the differences than this. It is possible, in today's job environment, that someone can have a hybrid position including qualities/responsibilities of being an archivist and a librarian at the same time. As such, in this post, I'm going to go through the generalities of each profession and note their job duties, while acknowledging that responsibilities of archivist can be different from each other, depending on employers, job circumstances, etc.

An archivist can work with paper documents, photographs, maps, films, computer records, manuscripts, and letters. They can also work with financial / legal documents, recordings of public speeches, electronic records, digital records, and reports. Finally, archivists can work with minutes, registers, sound recordings, websites, research data, and data sets. [1] These are just some of the types of records archivists can work with on a day-to-day basis.

A librarian, on the other hand, mainly works with materials like CDs, DVDs, e-books, books, and other materials, usually written. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook also describes librarians as creating and using databases with library materials, organizing library materials, helping library patrons conduct research, researching new materials and books, maintaining existing collections, and planning programs for different audiences. It is also noted that librarians teach classes about information resources, research equipment for purchase, train and supervise other library staff, and prepare library budgets.

Notes

[1] For this paragraph, see "What's an Archivist?" on the NARA website, "What are archives" from the University of Nottingham, "What are archives?" page from the SAA, "What are archives?" page from the UK National Archives, "What Archivists, Curators, and Museum Workers Do" section of the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, and "What are Archives?" page from Archives Hub are where I got this information.

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rfaromance · 2 years ago

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Can I get uhhhhh some RFA + Minor Quartet (because screw it, throw some Rika in there, she gets to join the boys in their little group) with a MC who secretly has magic powers?

You're so right anon. This is a Rika-loving zone. 😤

Yoosung can barely contain his excitement. MC has magic powers? For real? Is he dreaming about LOLOL again? This is his greatest fantasy come to life. He may be a tad overwhelming with all of his questions and requests for demonstrations, because he wants to compare his understanding of magic from LOLOL to the real deal. But his enthusiasm is innocent and almost contagious. MC needs to tell him if they need a break.

Zen is surprised, but in a good way. He's almost relieved, even. He wants to know all about MC's abilities, and then in a hushed whisper, he will ask, "Will you believe me if I tell you about my own powers, too?" Nobody else takes his precongnitive dreams very seriously, but maybe he's found a kindred spirit. Maybe he'll feel less like a freak now.

Jaehee is unamused and skeptical until MC demonstrates for her. After that she's curious, but in a different way from Yoosung. She wants to reconcile her understanding of the world and how it operates with this new information about the existence of magic. She blushes a lot when MC shows her more & more of her powers, and she isn't sure why. Is it awe? Admiration? Respect? Intrigue? Something... else?

Jumin is going to bother MC about their powers. Again, not in a negative way, but in an inquisitive way. He almost wants to study MC and take notes on how their powers operate, differences in strength/quality depending on the weather or time of day, the origin of the powers, alternative uses for the powers, etc. Jumin is fascinated by the occult, so he's validated to find that magic exists after all. He just can't help but get absorbed in MC and their abilities, much like he does with his 100 cat projects.

707 is excited to see what MC can do. He wants to see if he can replicate their powers with his inventions or make a companion who can balance them out. Cue him locking himself away and making gadgets and gizmos and doo-dads until he feels confident in what he has made. He may spy a little too closely on the CCTV to obtain as much data as possible, but-- gaah, MC, don't change your shirt RIGHT THERE in FULL VIEW!!!!

Ray is smitten with MC and everything they can do. Of course, he already knew about their abilities from his spying preparation. He probably knows more about MC's magic than MC does. But he'll still sit and nod politely, hooked on their every word as they explain their powers to him. He makes certain to keep this a secret from his Savior, however, lest she try to snatch his doll away before he's molded them perfectly for paradise.

V is stunned. He's genuinely flabbergasted. He'd probably be quiet for a long moment, not sure of what to say or do to approach the subject. He doesn't want to say something wrong that might offend MC; he knows all too well what happens if you mistreat someone vulnerable. MC might worry that he's disgusted or horrified, but he'd do his best to reassure them that's not the case. He wants MC to feel comfortable, and he won't treat them any differently.

Vanderwood is less than thrilled. Honestly, they're probably annoyed. "I can't catch a break, can I?" But something about MC is charming and captivating, and Vandy can't stay mad at them for something they can't control. "Just don't make any more trouble for me, alright? You're a good kid, and I don't want to see you make a dumb mistake." At this point, after a decade in the agency, they probably shouldn't be surprised to see a magic user.

Rika is intrigued. "If you don't mind... would you tell me more about this gift of yours?" She'd want to learn the details to see if she could use these powers to her advantage, but she'd be genuinely interested in MC as well. Does MC feel like a devil or outcast, or perhaps an angel who was blessed with such a wondrous ability? Rika has a tendency to overthink and overanalyze, so she'd probably question her worldview the more time she spends with MC. Is this a messenger of heaven sent to smite a false Savior? Is this an emissary of hell who will join and strengthen her cause? Or... is this the one who will save Rika?

#mystic messenger #Mysmes #Mysme #Mm #Headcanon #gn!mc #Rfa #Minor trio #Mint Eye #Rfa x mc #Minor trio x mc #Mint Eye x mc #Thanks for the ask!#Anon #I LOVE to think about the cast in an X-men type world as mutants and the agency as a mutant hunting org #The government is very anti-mutant too but lo and behold the prime minister has powers of his own #ANYWAY. cool ask thank you anon.

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artsiwych · 1 year ago

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For the free tarot reading, actually I'm confused about my future and also a bit stuck right now (mentally) and just tryna find a clue or motivation to keep moving forward. Maybe option 3 would be better.

I hope you could find answer for my never ending worries.

You: The Tower (reversed) - Whatever is going on in your life, there is a heavy resistance to change. Right now peace needs to be made with the current situation.

The Situation: The Emperor - Your goal right now is to gain some control over your life. Perhaps you need to become more disciplined, or maybe there's an oppressive force that needs to be cut off. Try to think of the things you can control at the moment and go from there.

Conscious: Two of Pentacles - You're trying to balance your life as much as possible, you may be taking on too many responsibilities at once. Try to slow down and take it easy once in a while.

Subconscious: Ace of Pentacles - I'm guessing your troubles are either career/financial related? Yeah big mood lol I don't want to assume what your situation is but that's what I can interpret here.

Past: Knight of Pentacles - Your life used to be more comfortable, much more stable in wealth. Judging from the reversed Tower in the present whatever changed this was inevitable unfortunately.

Near Future: Queen of Wands - This is a good sign. This card shows that you'll possibly meet someone/someone in your life with the qualities of the Queen of Wands will help you in this situation. It could also mean you obtain control again and learn to flourish with it. It's good to know the bad doesn't last forever y'know?

Self-Perception: 6 of Pentacles - I get a couple meanings from this. It's either you feel in need of help or you feel like you may be giving too much. Just remember not to become too desperate during this time.

Environment: 5 of Pentacles - Unfortunately, there aren't many opportunities to escape the situation, patience is key though and do the best with what you have.

Hopes and Fears: You hope to get a brand new start, to fully recover from what you're going through, even if it's a small change, it would make a world of difference.

Outcome: The Lovers - Whatever happens to you, you'll at the very least be at peace with it. It's possible that someone will be helping you through this, and you can lean on them for support. Or it's more figurative and you strengthen your relationship with work, health, etc.

#tarot reading #free tarot #tarot cards

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officewebmaster315 · 2 months ago

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The Ultimate Guide to Buying LED Shoes Online: Style, Fun, and Versatility

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#Led shoes online

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whatmobile2 · 2 years ago

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Tactics to Consider Before Getting Mobile Phones

Whatmobile

There are lots of mobile phone in the market with the latest models of and specifications. Your mobile phones are designed so that they suit someone; from teenagers so that you can old people. Therefore , what do you commonly consider before choosing a mobile phone? Here are some techniques for you to make sure you obtain the type of phone you want.

Whatmobile

The first tip should be to list down things you need from a phone. Principle functions include helping to make calls, sending text messages, capturing and videos, studying the music while others. After you have listed many of the basic functions, at this moment try to think if you require a 3G cellular or not. 3G phones enable you to create a video call in order that you are able to see the skin of your friends as opposed to hearing their express only. This purpose usually suits number of teenagers or usually family man who does want to make training video calls to this family.

If you are a friend or relative who likes to carry pictures, a digital camera phone would be a first choice. Many of the basic mobiles have got camera. What makes your mobiles different may be the quality of the illustrations or photos taken. The quality of a camera is showed by the megapixel. The more the megapixel valuation, the clearer that pictures snapped. Certain cameras also consist of

There is also another performance which is needed including Bluetooth to distribute files from your mobile or portable to other cellular. With this function, you'll be able to send pictures, clips and music to the friends for free. Following knowing all your simple necessities, do take a look at for the specifications from each function. You might want to arranged the quality of camera, this storage value of one's memory card and others.

In addition to shortlisted the possibilities, lastly compare your model and future of the phones. When you buy mobile phones, ensure that you check all the capabilities properly and assess the accessories made available in the box. Make sure fill up the warranties card on the spot in addition to return a duplicate back to the go shopping.

Price list of best mobile phones in India from different brands & online stores at What Mobile. Compare phone prices and specs according to your budget & buy the cheapest smartphone of your choice.

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midnightscxre · 2 years ago

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talenapalmvein:

Prior to his arrival, several overwhelming thoughts infiltrated and circled Vince’s mind like a flock of vultures, a nonstop prying that eventually led to a breaking point. Having acted on said thought and finding himself at her door, there was no hesitation behind his knocks. A cigarette clamped firmly between his teeth, attempting to take several drags to ease the nerves trying to creep up within. Not expecting her to answer, he hummed softly, sounding as if he were deciding on what he should say.

Clare’s words caused him to quietly chuckle to himself, amusement getting the best of him. “Didn’t know that wanting to see you was such a crime.” He mused, lips pursing together and slightly curving, tone holding smugness behind it. A defense mechanism in order to not look desperate or appear as if he were in a vulnerable state. Propping his arm on the doorframe, azure hues took a quick glance over her shoulder in order to scope out any other sign of life before they returned to meet her gaze in hopes she was alone.

Scarlet haired woman always had a taste for the buffet of danger only the underground world offers. Beauty of violence from which dominance is born, the raw instinct devouring specious manners, masks of moral, control and proper behavior stripped from the flesh and beasts with sharp fangs remained. Power, strength, rulership -- all obtained by the winner of something as simple as an illegal fist fight. Emerald hues absorbed every punch, kick, drop of blood smeared on the floor, resulting in a sensation she rarely had the opportunity to experience - pure thrill, naked excitement and one would dare to say, joy. A show her flawless talents as a biochemist that decided to act as a ‘ doctor ‘ for the wounded allowed her to witness. Paul Castello’s thick wallet could not be less important to the woman with blood waves for hair, but the key he held in those greedy hands of his. A key that opened the door of another rarely found spectacle of the forbidden. Matches that left the fighters just a few steps away from the Grim Reaper’s realm. One of them, presenting qualities which others couldn’t brag about, because they were not blessed with them. Clare remembered the first time she spotted Vince. Handsome, rugged face with a body that reminded one on the spotlessly carved stone statues of Roman gods would be nothing more than an eye candy and potentially a one-night-stand, turned out to be something that started haunting the usually desolate corridors of her attention for another human being. A law she enforced upon herself, never to connect with someone. Being terrified of emotions and what destruction they bring.

So, Vince was bound to be despised when the woman noticed that the intrigue about him continues to grow, heart accelerating when he knocks someone out, the intense eye contact they shared which carried more than simple lust. Clare decided to cut such illusion short, not attending the last few fights in the Castello’s private arena in the basement -- but what she didn’t expect, was the male she was trying to get rid off, would appear right at her doorstep. Sharp nails sank in the soft palms, plump cherry colored lips in a thin line, when she pulled the door knob violently, preventing the male’s curious eyes to wonder around her apartment any longer.

“ Received a fatal blow to the head, Vince? Because it would be the only excuse for you coming here, or better said, even knowing what my damn address is. “ sharp tone slipped from the tongue. Paul Castello promised discretion and privacy of her personal data, and Clare was more than clear she will not tolerate this hobby of hers being ‘ delivered ‘ at her doorstep -- which she always knew was a possibility, after all, her thrill-seeking fingers dived deeper in the world of crime than just tending to the wounded fighters. However, this situation was something entirely different. “ Not coming to the fight means I have no intentions of putting your skeleton back together, so if you have a couple of dislocated parts, Saint Maria’s hospital is two blocks away. “ Funny how mercilessly the redhead roared to protect the high walls of her emotions, even if it was just the beginner’s interest in the man. Well, it’s more than she ever had in her 27 years of life. And interest is that hazardous spark that might consume the logs of solitude that promised sanity so quickly, it would turn everything to dust before one even realizes what happened.

#ABSOLUTELY buddy #thank you so much!#Also--I've read your rules and his bio so I adjusted her and this thread according to Vince's background -- hope it's ok #napalmvien: vince #ft. clare

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kieraelieson · 3 years ago

Text

No Rest for the Deathworlders

Logan had always loved the stars.

Still did, though his love had been dampened by the way in which he was currently seeing them.

He watched out the window, or rather, screen, but it was made to show the outside of the ship, and thinking of it as a window was oddly comforting. A bit of something close to home.

A lump grew in his throat at the thought of home, pressing against the collar. He forced himself back to a neutral, tugging the collar away from the front of his throat as far as it would go. A brief flicker of anger replaced the nostalgia. Anger at the collar, at his own inability to remove it, at the monsters that had forced it onto him, at his own complacency now that it was on.

He didn’t have it as bad as some other humans did, he was well aware. All the collar did was teleport him to the location of the person holding the remote. Granted, it was unpleasant and incredibly disorienting, but nothing like the near-torture he’d heard was the more common method of keeping humans captive.

The captain of the ship was smart in choosing Logan, as far as the welfare of the ship went.

“You’re invested in your own survival,” He’d said through the translators. “If the ship goes down, you’ll go with it. If you sabotage the ship and try to escape on a pod, I can get you back to me immediately, and you’ll meet the same fate as you intended for us. It’s in your best interests to cooperate and to bond with the crew.”

Well, Logan could agree that it was in his best interests to cooperate. But no one could make him get attached to anyone. And no one could stop him from making little problems.

Like ignoring the insistent, “Human, where are you? Human!” that was coming from his communicator.

The window dissolved in front of him, and Logan felt abruptly as if he were on the world’s worst rollercoaster for several seconds. It took him a minute to register the angry captain now in front of him. He was yelling something, but not through the communicator, so Logan couldn’t understand what. And he was far too dizzy and almost nauseous to pay attention even if it was understandable.

He shook his head slowly from side to side and up and down once, hoping to clear the vertigo somewhat.

“You must come when called!” The communicator translated. “Or at least answer!”

Logan stubbornly remained silent, the dizziness gradually clearing.

For an alien that looked more like a slime monster than anything with a real face, the captain still managed to look extremely displeased. Not that Logan cared.

“There are ------ trailing our ship,” the captain said, one of his words not translating properly. “We need to go faster or we’ll get boarded.”

Ok, maybe Logan did care.

“Humans are supposed to be good at making ships go faster, fix it.”

Logan frowned. “I’ve been here three days,” he said into the communicator. “I hardly know how anything in the ship works, much less how to improve any of its functions!”

“I’ve studied humans, I know better than that, fix it.” The captain said shortly.

Logan opened his mouth to protest, but the room around him dissolved, the horrible spinning sensation back. His legs gave out and he dropped onto the floor in a different place.

He swallowed hard, his stomach threatening to upend itself.

“And they call you deathworlders,” someone scoffed. “A transporter has you on your knees.”

Beyond his sick feelings, and the anger at being mocked, he caught onto that plural reference. Was there another human on the ship?

In addition, there were apparently multiple remotes to the teleporter around his throat, which ruined his plan of trying to steal or fight the captain for the one.

He slowly sat up, his head still spinning. He hoped that his body would eventually grow accustomed to the teleportation and the dizziness would stop being so awful.

There was a chittering sound beside him that the translator didn’t attempt to process. He turned to see an alien that would likely be very tall if it wasn’t on all fours. It was very thin, with long arms and legs, which ended in smooth nubs, without hands or feet. The front two, which Logan thought of as arms, though the alien probably would have a different name for them, seemed to be perforated along the last six inches. As Logan watched, one of them was extended towards him slowly, and something softer could be seen on the inside. It was able to be extruded through the holes, and was likely the way in which the alien could grasp things.

He backed away from the limb before it could touch him, and the alien also backed away a step, making a low woody sounding whistle, like air blown over a jug. It’s head looked rather moth-like, with antenna that curled and straightened, and large eyes.

The alien seemed sentient, though Logan was confused that the translator wasn’t picking up on its speech.

Until he saw a very familiar collar, only around their waist. They were also captive then. And possibly, though it disappointed his hopes of meeting another human, they were the other deathworlder, also affected poorly by the teleportation.

The strange attempted touch then, could have potentially been intended as comfort or aid.

“You’ve been sitting long enough, get this ship to move faster,” the other alien in the room grumbled.

Logan glared. “How am I even supposed to do that?” He snapped. “I don’t have training or experience, I don’t know what half this stuff is and I can’t read your labels!”

“You can either fix it now, or we can teleport you between here and the captain until you do.” The alien's tone was disgusting and wet, and Logan was glad he could focus on the robot sound of the translator as his stomach lurched again.

He could try.

If nothing else, he might learn some new things and be able to convince them that he really wasn’t able to just do things he’d never tried before.

The room was smaller than he would’ve expected, presuming he was in a kind of engine room. Around the edges of the room were a number of bins, holding substances ranging from powders to liquids.

In the center of the room was a glass tube that went from floor to ceiling, and seemed to be filled with a glowing crystal stalagmite. From the top of the tube dripped some kind of liquid, and at the bottom it flowed out in small pipes, glowing the same as the crystal and possibly converted into fuel.

He could assume that with all of the powders and liquids that there was a chemical reaction causing the substance to obtain the glowing quality and become fuel. But what that was, and how to know what was safe to change about it, he had no idea.

“Well?” The alien, whom he now assumed to be what served as the ship’s engineer, asked.

He was making so many assumptions, and still was barely anywhere. They could all be wrong.

“Explain to me how it works,” Logan said. “Then I’ll try to ‘fix’ it.”

The alien made an unpleasant sound that the translator interpreted as a sigh. “This is a ——-, the liquid is a mixture of ——, ——, ——-, and ——, but it could be made with any of the ——— family instead of the ———, or you could replace the ———- with ——— for better efficiency at different energy levels. We also have several forms of ———-, which ought to make more potent fuel for higher speeds, but every time we’ve tried the ———- smokes and explodes and there’s residue in the tubing for several rotations which puts us at a standstill.”

Logan grimaced. He had a very small idea of what was being said based on gestures, but he’d much prefer to have names and details. It seemed this was a very large and dangerous version of chemistry experiments, with no textbook, and his only advice coming from someone who hadn’t studied.

Well, there was the other ‘deathworlder’ in the room. He could only hope they knew something about any of this. Though the difficulty in communication might make that knowledge impossible to access.

He turned towards them anyway. “Can you understand me at all?”

They made another low whistling sound, followed by chittering. One arm waved, with… could he call them fingers? gesturing towards Logan.

He hoped desperately that he could consider that to be a yes.

“What would you do in—“

The engineer’s communicator interrupted him. “We thought we’d have a few more rotations but they’re closing in, has the human done anything yet?”

“No,” the engineer said. “It’s just staring at everything.”

“Well get it to hurry!”

The other ‘deathworlder’ made a long series of noises, pointing at one bin in particular and then at a place where it seemed the not-yet-fuel liquid was.

It was a foolish thing. A very foolish thing. But Logan took a scoop from the bin and dumped the powder into the liquid.

It bubbled and fizzed on contact, sending up thick clouds of a dark blue smoke.

An alarm blared.

The ship lurched, knocking them all to the ground.

And then the new ingredient actually hit the crystal, and there was a loud, high pitched ringing.

Logan covered his ears and shut his eyes, feeling like a weight was pressing him to the floor.

Everything was spinning, and loud, and then it was loud in a very different, but no less painful way.

“Protect me!” The captain shrieked.

There was a pained, screeching scream.

Logan was shoved, but he was barely aware of which direction, let alone what he was supposed to do about any of it.

Something grabbed onto his shoulders, and he flailed, hitting and kicking indiscriminately. Something burned on his side, and he kicked into something much more solid, sending a throbbing pain up his leg.

Everything was noise and pain and lights and movement and he didn’t understand any of it!

Logan struck out blindly at anything that came near him.

He thought he’d backed into a wall, but something must’ve been behind him, and it hit him hard over the head. He dropped to the floor, tears swimming in his eyes and blurring everything even further.

Everything dissolved around him and he was falling, spinning, dropping, tossed.

He was grateful more than anything when unconsciousness took him.

•^*^••

He woke slowly, feeling hazy and heavy. It was quiet, and not too bright, nothing was touching him. So he didn’t bother to open his eyes, just laying still.

He wasn’t dead at least.

Probably the pirates had attacked. Definitely he’d ruined the ship he’d been on.

The question was, was being with pirates any better than living on a ruined ship with aliens that considered him to be some kind of hyper-intelligent slave?

Or perhaps the question was, where was he now?

He forced his eyes open.

He was in a relatively large, empty room. The floor and walls seemed bare, though patched, not all of a single material.

He pushed himself up. There was a loud skittering noise away from him, and he yelped, flinging himself away clumsily.

He turned, and saw the other deathworlder, front legs shaking and making a rattling noise. He wasn’t sure if it was a fear response, a method of communication, or even some kind of threat display.

“It’s alright,” he said quietly, backing up a little farther.

The other alien didn’t try to come close again, so he figured it was mostly likely not interested in threatening him. There wasn’t an echo of his words in an alien language though, and he patted his shoulder to discover that the translator had been taken. His hand went to his throat, disappointed to find that they’d left the collar.

It was still there on the other alien also. They were both still prisoners then, wherever they were.

Looking around, it seemed that they were in an empty cargo space, rather than a proper holding cell, so there was a slightly greater possibility of escape.

There was that low whistling sound again. Logan was certain it was meant as a form of communication.

He tried whistling back, as low as he was capable of.

The alien chittered and shook its legs again, but Logan couldn’t tell even if it was a positive or negative reaction.

“I… don’t know how to talk with you,” he said, keeping his tone low and calm. He sat in a comfortable, loose position, hoping to get across the calm in his tone and posture. “But I’d like to try. I’m not sure what anything you’re doing means, and it’s possible you’re in the same situation. I’m hoping that you have more knowledge of humans than I do of your kind, and that you’ll be able to make better inferences than I’m currently capable of.”

The alien cocked its head to the side, watching him as he spoke. It took a tentative step forward on its spindly legs, and then propped itself on three, holding the fourth out to him.

Logan eyed the appendage. The softer inside substance was filling the holes, making it appear to have small bumps, rather than holes. He held out a hand to it, but didn’t try to touch.

The alien bumped the end of its leg into Logan’s palm.

That seemed… good? Perhaps this was a greeting similar to a handshake?

Logan very gently grasped the end of the appendage, the softer inside substance feeling cool to the touch, and almost like a stiff putty, whereas the harder outer shell felt very smooth and rigid, similar to metal, but light.

The alien retracted their arm, and then looked between their arm and his hand. The inner substance reformed, pressing out from several holes into a clear attempt at fingers. It seemed to be fully controlled by the alien, and moveable, albeit much more slowly than Logan could move his own fingers.

“That’s very impressive,” Logan said.

The alien chittered back at him.

Perhaps they could get somewhere through a kind of charades.

•^*^••

“I think that’s all we can carry,” Roman said, looking over the wreckage.

“We can hold more, we aren’t full yet,” Remus protested, still sad that some of the ship’s inhabitants had taken the escape pods. Aside from the power crystal, which was far too unstable to take, they were the best value on the little ship.

“The whole 3rd cargo bay is empty for the two deathworlders, we’re full.” Roman insisted.

“Oh. Forgot about them. Well, if we can hold ‘em, they might be enough to make it worth it.”

“If we can refill,” Roman grumbled. “I was expecting usable power from this ship.”

It had really been a not-very-great raid. They’d lost Aide, and Bill, and Rahgezis, and hadn’t even gotten much of anything good out of it.

And the deathworlders were far too grumpy to join the crew. If they’d had enough room they would’ve separated them, but he just took away the translators and hoped they weren’t already pack-bonded, and wouldn’t become so. Two single deathworlders were bad enough, two together? Their ship would be a wreck from the inside out.

They needed to give them a rotation or two to calm down, try and have a talk, and then drop them off at the nearest Embassy and get away before bad things happened.

Maybe the Embassy would even pay them for handing over deathworlders. Or maybe they’d arrest them for being pirates.

But without Rahgezis, Remus didn’t want to attempt anything on the black market with such a high demand as deathworlders.

And the teleportation bands should make it a little easier on them. They were super old, and no one in their right mind would use them, except as a practical joke, or a way of keeping enemies too off balance to attack. The ones on the two of them had been fused closed, rather than the usual buckle, so he felt more safe trying to hold the deathworlders than he would otherwise.

They’d only found one remote, but Inshes was already working on making a second.

“I’m going to see if the Scraascik is on any registries,” Roman said. “And I’ll check for the Human, but that’s less likely.”

Remus nodded. “I’ll handle getting us moving again. If they’re awake, maybe you could see about dropping some food into the cargo bay.”

“Yeah, I’ll try.” Roman sighed.

Remus set a claw on Roman’s back. Roman grumbled, leaning into Remus’s side, and then went off to do his research.

It’d been a hard day for both of them.

•^*^••

They’d managed to exchange names… sort of. The alien’s name was two notes, whistled lower than Logan was capable of, and likewise there was no way of the alien being able to pronounce the word Logan.

But the alien made a deep, almost resonant sound, that was as close as it seemed they could get to anything involving vocal cords. And that was their version of Logan.

Logan considered the two note sound, and came up with a slightly similar-sounding name. Virgil.

Neither of their names for each other were really very similar to their actual names, but they were able to understand each other, and that was what mattered.

As it turned out, Virgil was stronger than he was at pushing things, or hitting, but they couldn’t pull with any strength.

Logan was focusing his attention on the door, and had been so far unsuccessful in prying it open. It was solidly locked, and the lock seemed to only be on the other side of the door. Which likely meant that this room was detachable from the rest of the ship, in case of emergency or danger.

“Virgil.” Logan said, and Virgil turned to look at him from the patch on the wall they’d been inspecting.

Logan hit the door with his palm, his arm straight, in an imitation of the way he’d seen Virgil hit some of the patches, trying to break them. “Hit here.” He pointed at Virgil, and then at a spot where he suspected the lock was.

Virgil made a chittering sound and shambled over.

Logan again mimicked the strike, and then pointed at Virgil.

Virgil got into position. They were able to balance on three legs and rock their whole body weight forward to strike that small point their arm hit with all their strength and weight together.

They tried three times, but the door held firm.

Logan was impressed that they did not seem hurt by the attempt. Their exoskeleton must be very strong indeed. Which was possibly a part of why they were considered a deathworlder.

Logan wondered what their home planet was like.

The door suddenly opened, an alien clearly holding up one of the remotes to the teleporters.

Virgil backed away, turning and running to the other end of the room.

The alien spoke into a small microphone, which translated. “I brought food. Don’t come near me.”

The alien’s body looked almost bear-like, but with longer legs, clearly bipedal. They were only about half the size of a bear though. The fur also was shorter and sparser, and a very reddish kind of brown. The hands looked more useful than a bear’s paws as well. The head though was very unlike a bear’s. Logan didn’t know what to compare it to.

The alien was wearing clothes, which Logan had learned was entirely optional to most aliens, in bright reds and goldish yellows.

Perhaps this meant that this particular alien was more… Logan hesitated to say civilized. He scarcely knew anything about aliens, and could hardly make such judgements about them. Still, he believed he had a bit more chance reasoning with this one.

“Let us out of here,” he said, grateful that the translator picked it up and interpreted it.

“No.”

“We will leave you alone, we will not harm the ship. Let us go,” Logan said calmly but firmly.

The alien again said no, pushing in a tray of what could be food into the room with their foot, already starting to close the door.

“Wait!” Logan said, stepping forward.

The alien jumped, and pushed the button on the remote.

It didn’t seem to affect Logan, but instead Virgil was teleported close to the door. Virgil stumbled, falling against the wall and letting out what could only be described as a scream.

The alien who had delivered food looked even more scared now, and quickly shut the door. Logan pushed through his shock and alarm to try to open the door before it could be locked, but he was too late.

Virgil slumped to the ground, scream fading to a whistling wheeze.

As bad as the teleportation felt to him, Logan was scared that Virgil was being injured by it. Perhaps on the inside, where they were softer. Or perhaps it put too much strain on their rigid exoskeleton.

Was there anything he could do? He didn’t have any idea about what Virgil could need for medical care, and he didn’t want an attempt at comfort to be construed as an attack, especially while Virgil was vulnerable.

He knelt close to Virgil, a bit farther than an arm's length.

“Virgil?”

Virgil’s eyes opened, and from this close Logan could see the differentiation between pupil and iris. Virgil’s eyes were moving back and forth, like Logan had seen before in children who’d been spun in circles. He was likely still extremely disoriented then.

Virgil lifted one arm and waved it around slowly. It knocked into Logan’s shoulder lightly, and Virgil kept tapping it against his shoulders and head. Logan allowed it without complaint, guessing that it was grounding to Virgil, being able to verify that Logan was in one place and not moving, not spinning.

Virgil gradually steadied, taking their arm back.

Logan wished he had a way to ask ‘are you ok?’, but he didn’t. The best he had was, “Virgil?”

The whistle-clack he got in return seemed more positive than negative, though he had no way of accurately judging alien tones.

“Logan.”

Logan nodded, as it seemed the correct response.

Virgil pointed towards the nearly-forgotten tray, and Logan went to get it. Virgil struggled to their feet, looking something like a very large baby deer first trying to stand. If Logan had to guess, Virgil’s kind didn’t frequently sit or lie down.

The tray had a number of small round roll-like things that Logan was now accustomed to seeing. They were similar to banana bread in texture, but the taste was salty and rather bitter. When he’d asked, he’d been told that they were the standard in rations as they kept for a long time, and held an array of nutrients that was sufficient for the basic needs of a majority of species.

He suspected that he would require some greens or fruit if he continued eating these primarily, but he hadn’t seen any anywhere, only these.

Virgil stood over him and leaned down as much as they seemed easily capable of, which still left their head several feet above the ground. Logan was just wondering if they would need assistance to eat when a very long tongue, or perhaps proboscis, unrolled from their mouth and curled around one of the rolls, pulling it up into their mouth.

“What do you eat natively?” Logan wondered aloud. “And do you need water?”

There was a pitcher of water and two small cups. Logan poured one cup full and held it out to Virgil.

Virgil seemed to still be chewing, however, and incapable of drinking while doing so. Or perhaps they didn’t require water. Though, now that Logan was watching, he didn’t believe they were chewing at all. Certainly there was no jaw movement. They could be massaging the food with their tongue, and have particularly effective saliva perhaps.

Logan started eating a roll, setting Virgil’s cup down and filling the other for himself.

A minute later Virgil’s tongue unrolled again and drained the cup, seemingly effective as a massive straw.

“You really are fascinating,” Logan said softly. “Were we not in such a situation I would love to learn more about you.”

Virgil responded with a series of clicks and whistles.

“As it is though, we probably ought to attempt an escape. They haven’t tried to get anything from us, which makes me think they intend on trafficking us further. Most likely they don’t have the power to force us into work like the last ship did, so I think, despite the danger, that this will be our best chance. Of course, the danger is greater for you, the teleportation seems to hurt you much more than it does me.” Logan thought for a while. “I think our best bet would be to try forcing our way out the door the next time it opens. Perhaps one of us could knock the remote away. It is enlightening to know that the remote only works on one of us at a time.”

Logan sighed. “Of course we don’t know when or if they’ll enter again. It’s possible we’ll be held here until we reach wherever we’re going.”

Virgil made a low, soft whistle.

Logan laid on his back. “I can’t even properly ask you for your partnership. It’s infuriating to not be able to succeed at anything I attempt. There’s such a wealth of knowledge that is necessary, and I have no idea of any of it. Nor a way of learning, save through painful experience. I can’t become complacent, I have to effect change, but I never know when my efforts will be simply overturned.”

Virgil nudged his arm with their own.

Logan turned to look at them. Virgil chittered at him, bobbing up and down on their legs.

“What is it?”

“Logan.” Virgil said, still bobbing up and down.

Logan sat up. “I don’t understand.”

Virgil tapped his legs with their arm. “Logan.”

Logan stood up. “Is this what you want? Oh. If you don’t lay down to sleep, you must’ve been concerned when I did. I’ll have to sleep sometime though, and surely you’ve been exposed to aliens that lay down to sleep.”

But rather than relaxing, as Logan would assume Virgil would do if they were concerned, Virgil stepped closer, almost over Logan. Their antenna tilted towards him.

“Oh I see, this would be how you would confirm that I’m healthy, by feeling with your antenna, yes?” Logan remained still, unsurprised when there was a soft touch on his head.

But he was not at all expecting the sudden mental image of himself tackling the alien who’d delivered the food. It was so vivid it was as if he was already doing it, seeing the door open, tackling the alien, smashing the remote, and running forward to climb onto Virgil’s back as Virgil ran them both through the hallway.

Logan jerked back, falling on his butt. “What was that?! You have telepathy??”

Virgil made a movement that could be best described as a shrug.

Logan stood up again, reaching his hand out, battling his speed from excitement in an attempt not to scare Virgil. “Can we do it again?”

Virgil brushed his hand with their antenna, and the same scene flashed before his mind’s eye.

“Yes, yes I’ll do that! Can you understand my answer?”

Virgil made a whistle that Logan was almost certain was affirmative.

Logan paced back and forth excitedly, thinking out loud. “So you can communicate with me even if I can’t communicate with you well. And you very much want my partnership in escaping. We have a plan now. And a form of communication. Virgil, this is amazing!”

Virgil made an almost trilling noise.

•^*^••

“No, it hurt the Scraascik,” Roman said, already changing the ship’s course. “We can’t hold them safely, we have to get to the Embassy.”

“We didn’t even ask them to join us yet!” Remus protested.

“Would you join a strange crew after they hurt you?” Roman retorted, sending a message to the engine room to increase speed.

“Well what about the other one?”

“Remus. It won’t work.” Roman glared at him. “I don’t want to take chances with deathworlders.”

Remus sighed. “Fine. But let me try talking to them before we get there.”

Roman’s face went hard. “You have until we arrive,” he finally conceded.

Remus hurried down to the cargo bay.

He burst the door open, and it slammed shut behind him. Both deathworlders jolted, staring at him.

He then realized that he’d entirely forgotten the remote and the duplicate, and also that he was locked in a room with two deathworlders.

Well, there was a reason people joked he was addicted to adrenaline.

“Hello!” He said, waving. “I’m wondering if you’ll join my crew.”

The human moved first, standing up to a height decently taller than Remus was. And the Scraascik was even larger.

Perhaps he really was in serious danger.

“We just want to leave,” the human said, sounding rather threatening.

Probably telling them about the plan to hand them over to the Embassy then wasn’t a good idea until he was sure that he wasn’t in attack distance anymore. “You can, leave with us. Join our crew and you can adventure with us, raid ships, explore planets!”

“We want to leave alone,” the human said firmly.

“We? So… you bonded then? I guess that rumor is true, deathworlders all really do bond super fast.”

The human bared its teeth at him. “I will not be bonding to your crew based on your desires. I will not remain here, I want to leave. We want to leave.”

The Scraascik agreed in some of the most heavily accented Common Remus had ever heard. No wonder the translators hadn’t picked up any of his yelling when they’d boarded the ship. He’d probably need a translator to touch his antenna, but good luck getting a Scraascik to let anything touch their antenna.

“So you won’t even consider it?” Remus asked, not yet daunted.

“You’ve essentially kidnapped us, and both can and have hurt us! Why would I consider it?”

Yikes, the human sounded angry.

“Well we didn’t mean to hurt you, really, it’s not meant to be that bad. And we only kidnapped you from other kidnappers, and also I can’t hurt you cause I forgot the remote.”

The two deathworlders looked at each other, and Remus knew he really had gone and shoved his whole fist in his mouth. The human shifted position to a much more threatening crouch, as if it was going to pounce on him.

Remus held his arms out, claws at the ready. He might not have a hope of winning against deathworlders, but he could certainly make himself a pain of a target.

“I know I’m a pirate, but this was supposed to be just a talk,” Remus said, wondering if he’d be able to hit the communicator in time and if rescue was possible. Violent deathworlders in an enclosed space was not something he wanted his crew walking into, even for a rescue.

“It’s not much of a talk when we don’t have a say,” the human said, looking more and more threatening every second.

Iaoth , he wanted this human on his crew.

“Of course you have a say!” Remus said. “Name it, what position do you want, what pay, days off, I’ll give you whatever room in the ship you want as your quarters.”

“I fundamentally disagree with joining people that would knowingly traffic other people,” the human growled.

And then it leapt forward.

Remus yelped, swiping at the human and hitting the communicator with his other hand. “Roman!”

He was tackled to the ground, and the Scraascik pinned one arm while the human sat on his middle and held his other arm down.

“Remus?!” Roman’s voice came through the communicator.

“Let us go,” the human growled. “Once we’re out we’ll let them go.”

There was a tremor to the floor that Remus recognized. Roman must have been overloading the engine, they’d arrived and were docking.

“Is Remus ok?” Roman asked, sounding terrified.

“I’m fine, just a little stuck,” Remus said, trying to not sound scared so Roman wouldn’t get even more worried. “Laying under a deathworlder~ not quite as fun as I always imagined.”

Roman made a sound somewhere between a sob and laugh. “I’m coming to let you out. Don’t hurt him. Please.”

Remus was honestly a bit surprised that he was only pinned. The human was leaking blood from its shoulder and across its chest where Remus’s swipe had connected, but it hadn’t retaliated.

“Hurry,” the human said coldly.

The communicator turned off, and Remus had a strong suspicion Roman was calling the Embassy to have guards outside the ship when the cargo hold was opened.

“You sure you don’t want to join us?” Remus asked. “I know it won’t look like it from your end, but we don’t traffic, we take from ships we attack, but we’d either let them join us or take them to the authorities, we don’t just continue the traffic. And we could use people like you, you could help us take down so many more ships.”

The Scraascik leaned harder on his arm, and Remus grimaced.

“What would the authorities do?” The human asked.

“Uhhhh… well with the Scraascik, probably drop him back on his own planet, or with a Scraascik colony. Your planet though is still restricted, so they’d probably keep you until it’s opened.”

The human’s face contorted into something that did not look good for Remus.

“We’re on our way there, aren’t we?”

Remus wasn’t sure he dared lie, not when he was pinned to the ground with two very angry-seeming deathworlders over him. “Yeah.”

The human hit the communicator. “Listen.”

“I’m listening,” Roman said warily.

“Don’t open the cargo hold,” the human ordered. “You’re a pirate ship. You have smaller ships for scavenging, yes?”

“…yes.”

“Give us one.”

There was a long pause from Roman.

“Put food and fuel and translators in it,” the human said firmly. “We’re taking this one with us until we’re safely inside.”

This was probably wrecking Roman’s plans. There would be authorities involved and now no deathworlders to give them.

“Alright,” Roman said.

•^*^••

The door to the cargo hold was opened. Logan had the bear-alien in a tight hold, and Virgil was above them, looking like they were ready to strike out at anything that got within range.

They managed to walk along the halls until they reached the smaller ship. Logan had no idea how he was going to fly it, but it was the biggest chance by far that he’d had yet.

He shoved the bear alien away and slammed the door shut.

Virgil went immediately to the pilot’s seat, and Logan was amazed to see that there were places in the ceiling that fit their antenna. Soon there was a fast and loud humming, and the tiny ship lurched into motion.

•^*^••

Patton was being sent, since they didn’t really believe that there could be a Human and a Scraascik on the cobbled-together ship that had docked. So it was just him and Janus.

Janus wrapped his long tail around the back of Patton’s neck for balance as Patton walked back and forth, waiting for the ship to open its cargo bay.

It sure was taking a long time. They’d seemed so rushed when they called, but now they just wouldn’t open.

And then there was an engine powering up.

A teeny little scavenging ship took off from the bigger one, flying off. Patton scanned it, alarmed to see that there was indeed a Scraascik and a Human signature on board.

“Hey! Hey wait!”

He pulled out his radio, quickly setting it to the bigger ship’s frequency. “Let me in and go after them! We can’t let a Human go flying around unattended!”

“If they don’t let us in fast, go take the SC Meteor,” Janus said.

Patton wasn’t too surprised when the ship started undocking without answering him.

“We’ll get them!” He yelled, running for the Meteor.

#Forgot I meant to post this on tumblr and never did 😅#my own work #sanders sides #logan sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #patton sanders #humans are space orcs

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lesyasun · 4 years ago

Photo

A while ago I received an interesting question about game aesthetics. The person in that ask really struggles with downloading stuff and finding their own style. They asked me how I came up with what you see on my screenshots. Have you ever thought that you can recognize whose screenshot this is by just a quick glance? Is editing important in photoshop? How to take beautiful screenshots? Today let’s talk about how different one single game could be for each of us and what really makes this mysterious “sims aesthetics”.

EDIT: Sorry, it turned out to be huge with lots of random thoughts :D I hope at least one percent of these is useful!

NOTE: English is not my native language, I apologize for possible grammar or spelling mistakes. I tried my best in writing this!

Ok, let’s imagine that you’re a person who just obtained the sims game or just want a nice fresh start and demolished your download folder. (We all need fresh starts sometimes, right?) The struggle is that you have no idea which style you like the best. There are so many sims blogs. Everyone seems to enjoy what they post but you’re a little bit lost in that jungle. Don’t worry! I’ll try to guide you and share my thoughts.

STEP 1 Choose your general style

I roughly divide all sims blogs that I see on my dashboard into a couple of so-called styles. I’ve been doing it in my mind for ages. I like following different people and seeing diferent editing. None of them are better than others. I hope you understand that it’s just a matter of liking. Ok, here we go. Let me put this sorting hat on you :D

1. Realistic

Screenshot by @luchiatores

Perhaps, it’s the most important thing that you should decide for yourself. Wether you should use realistic textures in your game or you’d prefer to stick to more cartoonish maxis match ones. Why is it so important, to my mind? I like things that match. Just imagine game Witcher 3 where characters and surroundings are realistic. And now imagine Minecraft where things are pixelated. Both games are great, both games have certain beautiful styles. And now imagine Geralt hunting for monsters in a pixelated Minecraft swamp. A bit strange, isn’t it? :D The same applies to Sims. If you put a super realistic skintone on your sim and put a Maxis ponytail, that would probably look strange too. If you choose this style, just try to dig for a good quality content, start following simblrs in this style. Unfortunately, I’m not an expert when it comes to realistic content. So, try to drop an ask to someone whose realistic game you like. There are so many helpful people around in the sims community no matter what style they have :)

2. Trully Maxis Match

screenshot by @whattheskell

This is a complete opposite of a realistic style. I’ve always called people who use a lot of original maxis textures “trully maxis” :D If you can decorate a house without any custom content, if you like the way original hairstyles look, if you like Maxis clothes, you should go this way. From what I’ve spot after being so many years in the sims community, “trully” maxis simblr are so creative when it comes to storytelling. The stories that they write about either their sims/or maxis premades are so breathtaking. So much drama, so much fun. The only thing that I write about my screenshots is “Ok, this is my cat! Look, it can eat flowers and puke afterwardst! Yay! Cute”. If you choose this way, I can recommend you to check out @holleyberry, @didilysims or @moocha-muses. Obviously there are a lot more blogs that I follow. These people are just so sweet and helpful and they’re first who came to my mind.

3. Bright Maxis Matchery

screenshot by @muupi

This is where I refer myself to. This style is still Maxis but what stands out is the use of bright colours and saturated photoshopped pictures. Ah, my love for overedited pictures is endless <3 This is what I’m going to talk a lot below since it’s my cup of tea. It’s all about colours and pallete addiction. If you love looking at super bright/silly/cheery screenshots and they boost up your mood, than join the squad!

Basically, Maxis match (I’ll just shorten for MM from now on) players avoid super shiny skins or hair textures and prefer to have content with Simlish letters instead of English ones. This is a very important factor for me when I choose paintings or prints for T-shirts. I don’t know, I feel like it’s so cute that sims can’t understand our languages, talk this funny gibberish simlish language. It’s cute! There are so so many people that I can recommend. @lina-cherie @keoni-chan @kahlenas They are first who came to my mind <3

4. Grungy/cosmic

screenshot by @lilithpleasant

I don’t know if these are suitable words :D But this is how I describe people’s game who like aliens/supernatural sims/grungy textures with or without bright colours as well. Just think would you prefer a bit of a grungy stuff or less-textured but cleaner MM? You always need to think about textures while you download stuff. I can recommend to check out @pooklet or @furbyq-sims

5. Semi

screenshot by @whysim

You might ask me “Why am I not allowed to put a realistic skintone on a maxis sim? What the hell?” Of course, you are! Do it please, if you want. There are no rules, no restrictions. You CAN go semi-realistic, you CAN mix patterns, you CAN mix colours. There’s only one rule: please, enjoy what you do. Don’t be afraid to share your pictures on the Internet. There will always be people who can judje your style and say: “meh, it’s too dull, meh, it’s too bright, meh, too shiny, meh, too plain meh, meh, meh”. Just don’t pay attention and enjoy your game. As for semi-realistic I can recommend such wonderful people as @marvelann @lilith-sims @falkii @knowledgeaspiration

A bit about my style: I’ve always loved cartoonish/bright style. I’ve never ever played with shiny textures. Before Tumblr era I just played either without CC or with a bunch of maxis recolours. How I came up with the idea of cartoonishness? Pretty simple. It’s a part of my personality, I think :) I’ve always loved Disney/Pixar movies. Cartoons just make life a lot funnier! They make me happy. I’m a pre-school teacher after all :D. You can’t imagine how many cartoons I’ve watched throughout my life. I can quote Peppa Pig and will never be tired of that :D Before Tumblr I just played some funny legacies (I’ve never finished any though :D) When I found out about Tumblr, and such great content that can make my game even more Disney looking, it just blew my mind! Every time when I download stuff, I imagine that I’m watching a Disney/Pixar or whatever studio cartoon. When I create sims, I feel like I’m a cartoon designer. Pretty silly, right? :D

Let’s take a look at my screenshots from the past. I tried to find similar ones with a lot of greenery.

2014

2021

I stil like a lot of greenery. Editing has changed, photo angles have changed. But bright colours and Maxis stuff are forever in my heart <3

Risa (2014)

Gage (2021)

As I’m a big cartoon addict, I love recreating game/anime/cartoon characters. No matter, if they’re my favourite or requested ones. I love when my sims have different traits. I love when they’re funny looking/clumsy/absent-minded or when they’re evil/supernatural. When they are pirates/detectives/vampires or witches. This is my way of playing Sims. I love this game as it gives us possibilities to show your creativity, a chance to recreate our favourite characters. A chance to be a writer of storylines or if you’re bad at telling stories, just being “a cartoon designer” like me :)

STEP 2 Colour palettes

If you’ve chosen the path of “bright maxis matchery” than colour palettes are super important! Oh, you can’t imagine how addicted I am to certain colours. I can download GBs because of it.

Here are some of my favourite colour palettes:

1. Anna’s colours

My absolutely favourite palette. I would download absolutely anything in these pretty colours. Just looking at them makes me so cozy *0* There’s a photoshop action for those who want to recolour CC in this palette.

2. Poppet’s colours

I especially like the latest one. So pretty! @poppet-sims is the queen of lovely recolours. She has some more palettes. But “Back to Basics is my favourite”

3. Eversims colours

@eversims has got a lot of pretty colour palettes. But the most iconic one is Ever So Lovely

So, these are the basic colours that I like downloading furniture/clothes with.

There are a couple more pretty palettes that I like:

Huning’s Pony Colours

Back in the days it was my ultimate favourite one. But these days I edit my pictures in Photoshop excessively and prefer calmer colours and add bright layers in photoshop instead.

Nyren’s Kosmic Colours

If you’re more into pastels, than try to download some stuff in this pretty palette.

You might wonder if I use all of these colours. Of course not! I have a selection of colours that I use: apple green, sky blue, yellow, red, pink, orange, purple, teal, mint. I absolutely love combining 2 or 3 of these in my interior shots. I also love choosing my sims’ favourite colours and dressing them/decorating their bedroom in this certain colour(s).

For example, my sim Mia likes apple green/purple and mint.

I think @deedee-sims can relate. While I prefer choosing a favourite colour per sim, she chooses favourite colour for the whole family!

This is a great idea, I think! :)

STEP 4 Bodyshop stuff

Ok, I hope it’s clear that I’m colour palettes addicted, now let’s move onto actual custom content and what I prefer adding to my game. I decided to divide CC by sections. Let’s start with Bodyshop.

4.1 Skintones

Another important thing that you need to choose for yourself. There are tones ofoptions. I’m going to recommend only MM skins as obviously I have no idea which realistic or semi-realistic ones are high quality.

screenshot by @deedee-sims

If you prefer trully maxis skintones, I recommend you to try Leh’s skintones. It’s super close to original ones in terms of shades. Also look at those button noses! These cute noses is the reason why I started using this skin back in 2014. But later I switched to Lilith’s feather as I wanted more variety and those noses there got a lovely shine.

It was my default skin for a lot of years. These days I own every possible skintone by Lilith and various blends by other people.

Lilith’s Alien Flavor

Lilith’s Android Skin Edit

Lilith’s Apple Pie Skinblend v.2

Lilith’s Apple Pie Skinblend

Lilith’s Apple Pie by Kahlena

Lilith’s Feather Skinblend

Lilith’s Feather Skins

Lilith’s Feather by Sim-Strangers

Lilith’s Feathers Colourful by Berrynooboos

Lilith’s Honey Supernatural Custom

Lilith’s Honey with freckles

Lilith’s Honey with no freckles

Lilith’s Honey Unnatural by Berrynooboos

Pixel-danger-sims pastel skins

Here’s a very handy set-up by Vimpse with Lilith’s skins being townified.

Try to choose one set of skins or download all of them by one certain creator. I need a lot of skins because I love creating tones of sims and I want to make them various looking.

4.2 Eyes

♦ Polaroid ♦ - my favourite

♦ Transcendental ♦

♦ Sleeping Lion ♦

♦ Sharp Eyes ♦

♦ Shallowed in the Sea ♦

♦ Hand Outs and Punch Ups ♦

These are just some of my eyes. There are some more by Poppet, by Kahlena. And I have various addons to these sets that I grabbed over and here. I remember having struggles of choosing only one set. But than I thought: why do I have to choose if I like all of them and want my sims to look as different as possible? I just love when they are cartoonish but high-quality with nice white clean sclera. Just look at Disney Rapunzel. You’ll see what I mean ^_^

There’s one little trick that most mm players do for making sims’ eyes bigger and rounder - adding a whiteline eyeliner by jesstheex. I personaly do it for every single sim of mine.

4.3 Makeup

I use tooooons of blushes, lipsticks and eyeshadows. I have everything by Lilith and Jesstheex. And lots of bits and bobs by various creators. I love using both matte or shiny textures. I sometimes add nose shine or use special nosemasks. There are various lovely things in my collection. What I can recommend you is to download a sim that you like by another creator with the help of Sims Clean Installer and just steal makeup from the sim to add to your collection *evil laughter* I recommend to do it because sometimes there are some mouth corners or various eyebags and etc which are difficult to find. It’s easier to grab them together with sims.

For example, I grabbed the shiny nosemasks from one of Lilith’s sims.

Sometimes I like adding a bit of shine on Sims’ noses. Some sims of mine don’t have shine. It really depends on a sim. But what I definitely like is cute button noses! I like using nosemasks to achieve that. I have all the masks by Lilith and these ones by kahlena.

4.4 Hair textures

Another important decision for you is the hair textures. I recommend you to choose one certain retexture. Back in the days, I used to have Remi’s textures

screenshot by @selenaq13

I liked Remi’s ones because they were non-shiny. They had maxis colours and a really cool yellowish blonde!

Receintly I switched to Simgarooped as I’ve always loved that there are 6 naturals. The yellowish blonde is still there! Plus my favourite Deedee-sims keeps updating every week with the retextures of new meshes <3

There are lots of various textures blends. Just search, download, play test. Think, if you’re ready to look at such type of hair hours of simming.

Also try to decide if you’d like to have more natural looking sims or go crazy and have supernatural/aliens. I used to have really bright sims with colourful skins and hairs.

Even my toddlers had unnatural hairs. It’s a lot of fun! But right now I prefer to create more natural looking sims though I like vampires/witches/aliens anyways!

screenshot by @honeylungsims

If you would like to have colourful supernatural sims, check out Honeylung! She has the brightest and most unusual supernatural sims <3

You’ll need a lot of face masks/bright lips/shadows. Check out @berrynooboos for the cutest alien CC.

4.5 Facial hair and Brows

I don’t think they should really match as long as they look great.

For example, I use eyebrows by @suratan-zir which are super cute and high quality but use Poppet’s textures instead of Simgarooped.

As for facial hair, I use some Poppet’s as well.

by Skoogy

by Poppet #1

by Poppet #2

by Simgaroop

4.6 Clothes

As I already mentioned, I love clothes in my favourite palettes. I love Simlish prints. There are so so many creators who share wonderful clothes.

I love @deedee-sims for age conversions, shoeswaps, morphs. I love @mdpthatsme for really cool 4t2 conversions. I love @moocha-muses for colourful T-shirts <3 Don’t be shy to send me a WCIF about a certain item of clothing.

STEP 5 Buy and Build

Tooons of bright recolours, IKEA items, Maxis add-ons, 3t2 and 4t2 conversions - all these things make my heart beat :D

These days I play in a rural-type world. I download a lot of craftsman-style build things, a lot of plants and garden deco.

I love bright wallpapers and greenhouses, I love clutter and kids CC for nurseries. Patterns with polka dots and plumbobs. Sunflowers and tulips. This is what I usually drop into my download folder :)

STEP 6 Taking screenshots

No matter which recolours and textures you prefer, I think high-quality pictures are important. The first thing that you need to playtest for yourself is a camera mod. It’s upo for you, but I can’t live without Gunmod’s Camera Mod. There are some more available, just check out.

Also lighting is important since Maxis original is terrible. I use Dreadpirate’s mod.

I recommend to take screenshots in a camera man mode. Click Tab to enter it. Use W, A,S,D,E buttons to move right/left/up/down etc. And what’s important, use X and Z for zooming in and out. I always use Z for example, when I take close ups of my cats.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with angles. Try some artistic ones.

You can move your camera down and take a screen from below.

Or vice versa from above.

Sometimes I’ll just take a screen of my sims’ hands or feet. It really depends. I love spending hours on just “walking” in a camera mod around my sims houses.

Another useful feature of this mod is to use Ctrl +4,5,6,7,8,9 buttons.

These can fix the angles for you. And after fixing them, when you click on 4,5,6,7,8,9 you camera will go back to those positions. It’s very handy when you want to screen 2 sims who are talking and there’s no need to constatntly move camera from sidde to side. Just fix it and wait for them to perform cute emotions!

As a bonus, you can fic positions in the life mode too. For example, I always choose a proper angle from above where the wgole house can be seen. And wait for something cute/funny/to happen.

Also there’s such a thing as The Rule of Thirds. It’s the rule of photography composition. I always try to follow it :)

STEP 7 Photoshop Editing

I love oversaturated colours. It can be too much for someone’s eyes, but I like the brightness :) I’ll share some good Photoshop resources. Probably, one thing that I can recommend to absolutely everyone no matter how bright you want your screens to be is sharpening! Seems that Tumblr eats our picture quality for breakfast. Sims screenshots seem so blurry to me. I love sharpening them first.

I use sharpening from Kalekaloo’s action.

After sharpening I run the base from Eversims Action and then add some colour layers from Simburgerr’s one (I like gradients and fluffy lights layers especially). It makes the reds colours a little bit too saturated but I think it’s cute!

There are a some more cute actions and PSD files out there:

OhMySims - Action 1

OhMySims - Action 2

Sterina’s Action

Photoshop PSDs by Pleyita

Snapdragoned PSD

Mandragore PSD by Kiinuu

JellyBeanery’s Action

Roguebotanist

Nnilou - 12:51

A generic PSD by Knowledgeaspiration

Colorize IT by Bonnypixels

Colour Crush by Bonnypixels

Just Like Heaven by Pixeldemographics

For more tips/palettes/cute fonts I recommend you to check out @bepixeled

That’s all that came to my mind. I hope at least something was useful!

#ts2 #sims 2 #the sims 2 #sims 2 tutorial #sims tutorial #sims guide #sims 2 guide

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enchanted-lightning-aes · 2 years ago

Text

Crash a Bash

A/N: a story of a human, who dares to join a party hosted by monsters. it’s set in halloween.^^ 🎃🎃

Word Count: 714

TW: None

***

At a house, people hooted and hollered across from the foyer. They occupied most rooms, immersed in what to do. Multi-colored lights flicked around from a ceiling, leaving some shadows revealed.

Most of them wearing costumes of varying types. Ranging from garish to understated. Highly detailed to totally simple. Either they showed up as creatures from folklore or characters from a media, they all attended the party in an ensemble.

The guest gasped, their attention roaming to what they saw. They steered from other people's lane in an attempt to maintain a low profile.

In honesty, they shouldn't be here. A regular human in a frat house of other creatures. They had been warned of potential harm if they did go. They didn't listen because well. . . they couldn't pass this up.

Not when they could experience what it could be like.

A monster mash, eh? Sounded like their type of party.

Sure, they probably shouldn't take part in supernatural events. But come on? They would be a fool to not join this one. They could pretend to be someone they were not for one night.

What could possibly go wrong?

Thankfully, they didn't need to enter with an invitation. They only discovered this party from a flyer, obtaining the address. They had prepared right then and there, exhilarated by such a fascinating prospect.

Although, they probably should have dressed up as a scarier creature than an alien. They covered most of themself with a tin foil-looking suit. It was based on those sci-fi movies, where most aliens wore

Two partygoers, a harpy and a vampire, pulled up and looked at them. They refused to crumple. They didn't need to fear these people. They probably didn't intend to scare any random guest.

"Yo, sick costume!" the harpy screeched, beaming.

"Thank you," they replied, grinning.

The vampire bared her fangs, pointing at an empty sofa. "Why don't you get over here?"

"No thanks." They waved their hands dismissively. "I can't afford to fail taking advantage of the buffet table."

They both nodded and moved past them. They proceeded to a living room, where music blared from a high quality stereo. Guests crowded a dance floor, their limbs grooving along to it's buoyant tune. Some other guests surrounded a table, chattering and eating food.

As their eyes landed on the buffet table, their jaw dropped.

Score! They must have won a lottery because damn. . . so much food to eat.

So, they plucked a disposable plate and served themself. With some dark chocolate cake, spaghetti, and a bowl of chips. They also poured a glass of punch for themself.

They started digging in, standing near an empty corner. Just paying attention to their food, savoring it's taste.

People gathered around a pool table, calculating on what moves to take.

As they discarded their plate in a trash can, the group let out noises of discontent. They snickered and shook their head.

Compared to humans, they also get riled up during eager competitions.

Someone ran towards them, pulling them towards a group sitting on the floor.

"Bruh, you've got to try this!" the werewolf said, clapping them at the back. "This barrel's awesome! It's got a load of pineapple juice!"

They arched a brow.

"Pineapple juice, huh?"

"Yup! It's gonna taste so good!"

Fine then. If they politely insisted.

As they picked up a cup, they filled it with pineapple juice. People chanted 'chug, chug, chug,' and they complied to their request. They guzzled most of it and they cheered, providing a round of applause.

They crushed the cup against their forehead. The other guests' turned louder, laughing and guffawing. They grinned, propping their hands at their sides.

Damn, they did good. Best of all, they didn't see a human in their midst. Just another partygoer, who got here for some fun.

And it should be that way for tonight. They didn't have much intentions other than to party.

Technically, they didn't fit in then again, they didn't need to. That was what the Halloween spirit was all about, right? Being someone who they weren't for an entire day? Disguising their true selves from anyone, who wouldn't think twice?

Yeah, so they were alright.

Surrounded by several people, music, and good food, they indulged in doing what they could.

***

#writeblr #creative writing #flash fiction friday #fff174 #enchant: original works

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classroomgraffiti · 2 years ago

Text

(inspired by ”The End of Art: An Argument Against Image AIs” by Steven Zapata Art on youtube, watch it please)

If youve already decided ai art is bad for the art environment as a whole or have watched the video i referred to above then dont bother with this post as it was probably better elaborated on in said video, however, if you don’t have the time to watch a 47 minute video or are still either on the fence or a supporter of ai art then i implore you to read the rest of this post as im going to list arguments for ai art and try and counter them

firstly, ai art and people using references is not comparable, a person even if they follow an image as closely as possible will still have slight alterations whereas the ai can copy it exactly. to extend upon this akin to how someone may trace or use someone else’s art as a reference, these ai algorithms have databases which contain billions of images, including ones with copyright which we would normally not have access to in order to use like this, from hundreds of thousands of artists and will precisely and electrically splice your art into its results

corporations and stingy bastards stand to make ridiculous amounts from this, as people who may have hired an artist for a job or commission can now tell their ai to pull up desired images instantaneously, not to mention that the ones who sold these people their ai will be getting paid instead, and they will be getting paid NICELY with your money (openai etc)

finally, and i hope iv saved what i feel is my best point for last, is against those who argue “it gives people who were not gifted the ability to make great art” or “the ai is a tool which is dependant on us feeding it prompts”, starting with the first argument, no artist is “gifted” or “talented”, what artists actually are is determined and hard working and pillars of mental fortitude & work ethic, im no fine arts master but personally i have only gotten to the point i’m at because i would often spend all of brake & lunch at school and then anywhere between 1-3 hours nearly everyday just drawing, the fact that the act of drawing is what i use as a coping mechanism for any stressful times in my life is irrelevant as i and anyone else who partakes in art and the craft have only achieved there skill through effort which is possible and obtainable to absolutely anybody, if you are upset by your perceived inability to draw then either simply improve through practice and documentation until you create works which meet yours standards or just stop drawing until you can do it without becoming overly upset at your quality; do not steal the blood sweat and tears of honest artists so you can LARP about as somebody who is actually willing to put the time in for results (this does not refer however to those who happened to have innocently used ai art before or those who credit the specific artist/just share cool ai art as my anger is only directed at those who use this technology to pretend the work is theirs or avoid paying artists, i myself used dalli.mini to import burt reynolds onto the moon and into RGU some time ago out of pure curiosity); continuing further, referring to how this ai needs human made prompts, allow me to forwards you a question if you believe this to be the case, if algorithms akin to the ones on tiktok or other SM platforms and search engines which are massively capable of monitoring a persons searches and precisely adapt at using this info to show the users stuff that they know the user will enjoy, then what is stopping these algorithms from being applied to these ai art generators? if the ai art generator is given the capability to monitor and act upon your searches and info like the algorithms i just mentioned then what is stopping it from, for example, auto generating some images from your interests for you to look at? now consider that this ai will be making a sweatshops worth of generated images for literally everybody and that while this happens, as the the ai produces more and more, whether the prompts were manually put in or not, that it is perpetually and ALWAYS LEARNING. why stop at simple images? books, poems, animation, music, each medium with which man has used to express themselves since the start of time will receive its own ai with which to steal literally every recorded piece of art or literature ever in order to churn into automatic and spontaneous content, by then all we will be left with is this auto generated primordial pool of content puked up by the ai, you may look up references for a cool drawing you are trying to do and five minutes later youll receive a ping from your phone sayin “heres that drawing you were working on, dont sweat it i already finished it for you in color and everything just as you imagined” just so you can scroll through walls of images which each look like they were pulled from your head, 20 minutes later itll send you the drawings you were going to draw 2 years from now, and 55 minutes later it’s going to send you auto generated pictures of you next to your idealised and perfect partner going kayaking, on a picknick, getting married etc in an album under the name “your hopes and aspirations”; because these computers KNOW us, far better than you or anyone else could ever hope to know yourself or eachother, and if there’s anything that these algorithms and corporations know about the human brain it’s that it loves the quick, dopamine inducing, highly addictive, blitz krieg style content which allows tiktok and other SMs to fester in the modern atmosphere

im not saying we need to all smash our phones in tandem as that would be obviously ridiculous, neither do i have an answer as to how we should get rid of or counteract ai art, all i can say is that i believe ai art is the biggest threat to essential human expression, 2nd only to us all nuking eachother, and the we SHOULD be angry about it and SHOULD not simply sit around and let it ruin us, even if it’s jus by bringing up to someone else via conversation how awful ai art is then thats still fighting back art and i would implore that you do that if possible. thanku for reading my ramblings if ur still interested in the topic of ai art then simply search for the video i referred to at the start or do independent research on they topic outside of that, maybe what youll find may debunk me who knows anyway im very tired gn😑👍 (also again let me reiterate that those who use this technology while crediting the specific artist/ sharing cool ai art they prompted while fully acknowledging its ai art and not there own work are completely innocent, i’d rather you just share the work of actual people but whatever its hardly an issue when confined to this scale)

#ai art generator #ai art #art discussion

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all-an-act · 4 years ago

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Possibly another adopted by tokomaru hcs but if they were all adopted together?

I gotchu~

~ Mod Noire

"We'll Save You"

(TokoMaru x Platonic!Warriors Of Hope)

They heard that they were going to be adopted by Komaru and Toko, and were all instantly ":O" faced.

Masaru and Nagisa immediately take on the protective roles of the rest, stepping in front of them at all times, as if ready to accept a beating in order to protect the others.

This deeply saddens Toko, who reassures all five kids that they have nothing to worry about.

Monaca gets shunned for a while by the other four, despite deeply regretting all she had done to them prior.

This is intervened by Komaru, who stages a mini "intervention", so to speak. She basically allows Monaca to express her regret, and the other Warriors to hear her out.

"Deal with it." - Komaru, in the middle of a peaceful argument with Toko.

Masaru, surprisingly, broke down crying, and the other Warriors were not happy.

Kotoko WAS READY TO THROW HANDS-

Honestly, if it weren't for Monaca and Nagisa, both Komaru and Toko would have probably gotten killed by Kotoko's wrathful self-

Jataro was the comfort to Masaru, and Monaca joined in on that after mediating the fight.

If anyone says the word "gentle", I kid you not, Nagisa socks them in the jaw so fast-

NOBODY gets to hurt HIS little sister. His words, not mine.

Kotoko helps Monaca bedazzle her wheelchair with cute jewels, stickers, and googly eyes!

The first time a Warrior called one of them "mom", it was completely an accident.

And it was, surprisingly enough, Jataro who said it.

Toko was helping Jataro sew up his mask after it had come apart, when he blurted it out.

"Thank you, M-M-Mom."

Toko's heart felt like it could burst right then and there.

But it shattered when he began apologizing for it.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what g-g-got into me... I didn't mean t-to... I'll never s-say it again, I p-p-promise..."

Toko hugged him so tight, she almost squeezed the oxygen out of him.

"N-No! No! I like that you see me as your mom, because that's what I a-am now!"

Jataro was confused. All his life, his mother hadn't wanted him. The idea that someone did, especially someone so kind and sweet, baffled him. It just seemed so foreign to him, and the warm affection almost seemed to burn.

"N-N-Naegi-San, too?"

"Yes! Naegi-San is happy to be your mom, too! We love you! We both love all of you!"

The first secret came from Monaca, where she revealed that she had faked her disability. She was willing to give up the faking, but wanted to keep her wheelchair for comfort. Komaru agreed to this, and allowed her to keep her wheelchair as a comfort item.

Kotoko and Nagisa were a bit upset about that, but they eventually forgave Monaca, understanding that she only used it to obtain sympathy enough to escape from the abuse of her brother and father. Masaru and Jataro forgave her right away.

Nagisa revealed once that he was getting picked on in school, and that he wanted to be homeschooled because of it.

Genocide Jack was NOT HAVING IT.

He showed up at the school, and threatened the kids' lives with scissors had a talk with them.

That was when Nagisa realized that he really could depend on the two women. He did begin to show affection, albeit in his own kuudere way, much more often.

For example, he was a lot less snarky when correcting their grammar, math, etc., and he genuinely smiles and compliments them all the time.

Kotoko gave the first hug. She was so overwhelmed with emotion, that she shamelessly, unapologetically hugged both Komaru and Toko!

Uncle. Makoto. Is. Their. Favorite. Person. In. The. History. Of. Everything.

NOW, LET'S GET INTO HOLIDAYS WITH THIS FAMILY-

Komaru and Toko totally put all five of the kids in therapy for their trauma.

None of them are upset with it, though. They actually appreciate it.

New Year's is a surprisingly fun holiday with this family!

Kotoko, Masaru, and Monaca stay up to watch the ball drop with Komaru!

Nagisa, Jataro, and Toko are all out before eleven o'clock.

The four that are awake do fun things while waiting for the ball to drop!

For example, Monaca reads them her favorite books! She takes requests, though, and if one of them requests a specific story, she will try her best to read it. Komaru makes sure not to request anything too difficult for someone her age.

Masaru gets them all to play ping-pong with spoons and mini cupcakes.

The rounds are as follows: Masaru vs. Monaca, Masaru vs. Kotoko, Masaru vs. Komaru, Komaru vs. Monaca, Komaru vs. Kotoko, and Kotoko vs. Monaca.

Kotoko paints all their nails. Yes, even Masaru's. Masaru genuinely doesn't care, and he wants his the brightest, boldest red color she has. Komaru goes for a paler green. Monaca goes for bright green. Kotoko gets her nails painted by Masaru and Monaca; one hand for each of them.

Kotoko ends up with a half pink, half black handset, courtesy of Monaca and Masaru, respectively.

Toko and the others are disappointed that they missed all the festivities, but Komaru reassures them that there's always next year.

Valentine's Day is another fun holiday for them!

Jataro saves up all his allowance for almost four months in order to buy everyone presents!

Precious babey-

Jataro ends up giving Komaru a Ouija board, tuna eyeballs, and a new electric fan to talk to.

Yes, Jataro has witnessed her strange habits, and is curious of them.

He gets Toko a little clip-on nightlight to help her through her fear of the dark. She clips it to her shirt twenty-four-seven, and always makes sure that it has batteries.

Masaru is given a cool red basketball with his name written in white letters. He never plays with it, though, preferring to keep it in a safe place, where it won't get dirty or broken.

Nagisa is gifted a large encyclopedia. It's a simple gift, but he appreciates it, and gives Jataro a long, genuine hug.

He gifts Kotoko with a cute book with kawaii, adorbs stickers. Surprise, surprise, everybody wakes up with their faces stickered, and there are stickers all along the walls, floors, and appliances. Anybody who comes over thinks it's cute, and that only encourages Kotoko to "spread [her] adorbs-ness everywhere"!

He gives Monaca a sewing machine, because Monaca had brought up her love of fashion. He thought that maybe she would want to design her own. Monaca burst into tears, exclaiming that she felt so selfish for accepting a gift from someone she used to treat so cruelly. Of course, Jataro reassures her that that's in the past, and they're siblings now. Monaca ends up with a soft smile, and hugging the life out of a very blushy, flustered Jataro.

When St. Patrick's Day rolls around, Monaca puts her Valentine’s Day present to use! She makes cute green outfits for everyone, and takes their senses of style into account. Masaru's is designed like a jersey, Kotoko's has lots of glitter and frills, Komaru's and Toko's are designed like schoolgirl uniforms, Nagisa's is formally styled, Jataro's is leathery, and her own looks steampunk.

Kotoko convinces everyone to go look for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, or at least some leprechauns.

They didn't find any. :(

April Fool's Day is a D A N G E R O U S day to exist, as long as they live with Masaru.

Masaru is basically a miniature Kokichi Ouma when it comes to pranks.

He switched the sugar for salt once, and Kotoko ended up sick for two weeks, considering she eats too much of it, and probably eats it in spoonfuls.

Mother's Day is a fun one! They split Mother's Day up into five days, that way each kid got to spend time with each mother.

On the first day, Toko took Masaru to a basketball game that she had scored third-row tickets to prior to Mother's Day. He cheered so loud, and it warmed her heart to see his joy at her surprise. Masaru ended up giving her a pack of colored chalk for her to write on her chalkboard with. Komaru ended up taking Nagisa to watch Harry Potter in a theater with her, after realizing they had both read the book. In return, he gave her a meal of tuna eyeballs that he cooked, himself. They weren't perfect, but... he tried. :'3

On day two, Toko took Nagisa to go write short stories together. They googled writing prompts, and each used the same one to comprise a story of under five thousand words in ten minutes. Then, they judged and gave constructive criticism to one another. He gave her high-quality pens to write down her ideas with. Meanwhile, Komaru took Jataro to plant a garden of vegetables in the backyard, and tend to it everyday. Sometimes, Jataro talks to their plants when he feels lonely. He gave her a pretty rock. Again, he tried. :'3

On day three, Toko took Jataro on a food tour, where she drove around and they got a small snack from every food place they drove past, eventually ending up with a whole big meal! He gave her a pretty flower. All the while, Komaru took Kotoko to a fashion show where they showcased pretty glittery idol clothes and lolita clothes. She gave Komaru a song she had written in her honor. Yes, Kotoko actually spent weeks writing a song for Komaru, and even got the other Warriors to play the instruments for the music. Masaru played guitar, Nagisa played the piano, Jataro played the drums, and Monaca played the bass. Of course, Kotoko was the vocalist. (Band AU?)

On day four, Toko took Kotoko to a Morning Musume concert. I swear, everyone must have had bleeding ears from how loud Kotoko screamed for it. She ended up getting an autograph and a picture with Tanaka Reina, so she was a very, very happy girl. She gave Toko a pink card that had a painted sweet message on it and was practically swimming in pink glitter. Meanwhile, Komaru took Monaca to play video games and order Monaca's favorite food. It was something simple, but something Monaca really appreciated. They played Pac-Man, Super Smash Bros., Sonic The Hedgehog, and Crash Bandicoot. And they had tons of fun. Monaca gave her a cute new outfit, made in steampunk design, that she made, herself.

On day five, Toko took Monaca to a planetarium, where they looked at all the beautiful constellations. Monaca, being the smart cookie she is, told her all their names, what they represented, etc.! And at night, they went stargazing for real, Monaca pointing out her favorite constellations again. Monaca gave Toko an invention of hers: a program she designed that filters out spelling errors, grammar errors, etc., and suggests new ideas when writer's block comes around. Meanwhile, Komaru took Masaru to play laser tag! Komaru got "shot" sixteen times, while Masaru got "shot" three times. The two made jokes about it the entire way home, and it was just an overall fun day. He gave her the baseball that he had batted to hit the final, winning home run in his last game. It was the only winning baseball he had ever hit, so Komaru felt quite special receiving the gift.

Now, onto Father's Day~!

Genocide Jack takes an hour to spend with each kid!

He plays soccer, basketball, and baseball with Masaru for the first hour!

He reads stuffy, boring novels with Nagisa for the second hour.

He cooks the best, most fanciest meal with Jataro for the third hour!

He acts out movie and show scenes with Kotoko for the fourth hour.

He helps Monaca make inventions and sew for the fifth hour!

He refuses all of their gifts in return, however, as he doesn't believe that children who have been hurt in the past, just as Toko herself was, should be allowed to pay homage to adults.

Despite them not technically being his kids, he cares enough to step into that role for them, Toko and Komaru allowing him to do so.

The fourth of July is great!

Genocide Jack brings up the idea of taking the kids to a carnival for it, to which Toko and Komaru agree.

They all get facepaints, funnel cakes, and they ride all the rides!

They play most of the games as well, and win eight or nine stuffed animals!

It becomes an annual tradition to take the kids to the carnival for the Fourth Of July!

For Halloween, of course they're all the cutest things!

Masaru is Yasutaka Okayama. Nagisa is Albert Einstein. Jataro is Frankenstein's Monster. Kotoko is a Fairy Princess. Monaca is female Izuku Midoriya.

Kotoko has no issue using her cuteness to get extra candy.

When Thanksgiving rolls around, it's always fun!

Toko and Komaru prepare dinner the night before, while the Warriors aren't allowed downstairs. They have to call if they want something, like water, and there is a bathroom in the attic.

In the morning, when the actual cooking happens, Kotoko and Masaru beg to help, but only Nagisa is allowed to, because Nagisa is the responsible one.

Even so, they invite their family members that they are still in touch with, such as Uncle Makoto, Aunt Kyoko, Aunt Aoi, Uncle Byakuya, Uncle Yasuhiro, and even Genocide Jack makes his "grand appearance".

Honestly, it shouldn't even be surprising at this point.

Christmas is another fun time!

They do Secret Santa, but Komaru and Toko make sure that they get each other.

Masaru gets Jataro; he ends up getting Jataro a whole new array of spices and flavorings for his cooking hobby! Jataro appreciates this greatly, and uses it whenever he cooks.

Nagisa gets Kotoko; he gets her a toy microphone that works like a real one, just on a smaller scale. Nagisa can now consider himself the reason "One Room Sugar Life" is belted through the house at two in the morning every day.

Jataro gets Monaca; he buys her a whole stack of fashion magazines with her beloved Big Sis Junko in them, along with new fabric to sew with. She appreciates the gifts, and assures Jataro that he can revel in despair with her when she obtains it.

Monaca gets Masaru; she gifts him with a ping-pong set, a table tennis set, and an air hockey set. Masaru is surprised that she cared enough, to which Monaca replies, "Monaca is a changed person now. Monaca cares about you now."

Birthdays are the same as Christmas, but all their efforts focus on that one person.

They grow to all love each other very much, and all of them would happily die in defense of the others.

Monaca even eventually gives up on her obsession with Junko, hope, and despair, with their help.

All the Warriors will forever appreciate everything that Toko and Komaru have done for them.

Overall, just a completely wholesome family.

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thebounty · 4 years ago

Text

Incompatible (Mandalorian x Female!Hunter!Jedi Reader)

Chapter One: The Huntress

Words: 6.5k

Warnings: language, tension? Some grammar errors. That’s about it!

A/N: Hey everyone! Here is chapter one of Incompatible! I hope you all enjoy it, feedback is highly appreciated. This story will be following some typical canon events, but might stray away from it most of the time to have a more unique story and more unpredictable events. Enjoy!

Chapter One: The Huntress

“Kriff. How long could one person hide out in this hell forsaken planet.” You whispered, perched on a dune on the planet Tatooine, waiting for your bounty to leave the cantina they have no doubt been hiding in for the past two hours. You always managed to have bounties here, and for some reason you kept taking them. Even though you hated- no despised- this planet.

Something about Tatooine always got under your skin. Maybe it was the fact that your clothes were black and leather keeping the heat close to your body. Or the fact that you always ran into some sort of trouble here. No matter how many bounties you successfully caught here, you always seemed to leave with a new scar as well. The force was strong here as well, it was more prominent here than any other planet. That might be why as well.

“Well, I hope it won’t be much longer. I’m kriffing starving.” You groaned and looked through your binoculars once more, reading the heat signature of your bounty still in the cantina, and sighed. You mentally slapped yourself in the face for taking this offer Greef Karga gave you. However, the reward was substantial, so you guess you could live. You wondered why the reward was so high, this criminal didn’t seem out of the ordinary for you, no one special. Shrugging you thought of a new plan, since all else seemed to fail at this point.

“Maybe I’ll go pay them a visit. Kill two birds with one stone and hope I don’t break anything else in the cantina.” You shook your head while wiping the sweat off your brow. It wasn’t the worst idea, but it was not the best idea either. This cantina had to have a record of you somewhere, they had to. Because every single bounty on this planet seemed to go to this cantina, and you could not afford to pay for another set of booths, tables, and liquor you destroyed from obtaining a bounty. They probably did it so they could fund the cantina with your destruction. Even though you so could afford a few broken tables and what not, you did not want to waste your credits on something useless, and potentially destroy the food you plan on eating afterwards.

“Alright, I guess this is going to go one of two ways. And I am eating afterwards, that’s always on the table. No matter how this ends.” You spoke into the setting sun, with no one else accompanying you on your hunts, ever, you always spoke to the sun. Or the moon depending on the time of day. Even though you could technically speak to someone through the force, you did not want to waste any energy in a pointless conversation. You might need it later. The setting sun creates a beautiful picture in front of you, almost making you forget what planet you were on. But the ever-present sand that lingers inside your boots makes you remember where you are.

Stuffing your binoculars and your blaster back in the holster you ran a hand over your concealed dagger and hauled yourself up to make your way to the cantina. You were boiling to say the least, your clothes seemed to be way tighter than normal given the heat, so walking was uncomfortable. But you decided that looking menacing was more useful to you than comfort, so you didn’t pay any mind to the way your thighs were chaffing against each other. Your cloak flowed behind you in the wind as you marched through the tiny village, sticking out like a sore thumb among the people here who mostly wore white and tan clothes to go against the unforgiving sun. Well, they had the right idea, you thought as your black boots hit the sand getting closer to the cantina. Taking a deep breath, you stepped on the platform to open the door.

The doors swung open, allowing your cloak to sway in the wind it created to help make you more intimidating. All heads turned towards you, making you smirk. You knew everyone here knew who you were. Based on the history of the cantina for starters and the fact that you were a ruthless bounty hunter of the guild, you loved being intimidating. You walked slowly, making sure to scan the room before your eyes landed on your bounty, a blue Twi’lek male, and gave him a wink before asking for a drink from the bartender.

The Twi’lek tensed, around what seemed to be, possibly, his group of friends. His heart was pounding in his chest. Maybe she was not here for me, he thought, maybe she just thought I was attractive, he told himself while looking at his drink before looking up again at her. However, she was no longer in her seat at the bar. Panic written all over his face, he tensed as he slowly scanned the room but found no trace of her. Maybe she left?

“Looking for someone?” Whispered a voice, and before anyone could so much as breathe in response, you pulled your dagger against his throat. The sight of their expressions alone was enough payment. The shock mixed with confusion was enough to make your ego soar. You always dreamed of being this intimidating, and it was far too easy with this bounty and his companions. His friends all tensed around you while you held your dagger hard against their criminal of a friend’s neck. You chuckled.

“Well, here I am, and I hope you plan to come with me willingly. It has been an awfully long day, and all I want is to stuff your ass in carbonite on my ship and eat some fucking soup.” You insisted while the Twi’lek male shuttered and gulped before speaking. The people around you were deathly still while you held your beautiful dagger. So many people have tried to buy it from you in the past, and you don’t blame them. It was made of beskar, which you just recently realized was exceedingly rare, that your father gave you. So, you always held it tightly to you, but it was so good at slicing through flesh you couldn’t keep it hidden like the lightsaber strapped to your back. That was a different type of concealment.

“I-I…I don’t think you h-have the right guy miss…” He stammered causing you to laugh, almost doubling over. You yanked out the tracking fob before pressing it on the table to show that you in fact had the right person. The blue hologram showing the Twi’leks face, reflected off the steel table and created a nice glow in the dimly lit cantina. Some rays of orange peaked through the windows as the two suns continued to set in the distance. If you had the time to sit back and admire the scenery you probably would have liked the colors, but you were too focused on getting this bounty in carbonite.

“Ah, but sir I do in fact have the right person.” You sneered as you continued.

“Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Which will it be?” You threatened closely to his ear, before awaiting his response. You pressed the dagger a little harder on his throat to edge him on. Looking at his friends tensing up even more with the sight of blood on their companions’ neck, you almost chuckled on how easily it was to read them. You could read people so easily. Having been on this job for so long it was so simple to read someone’s movement and interpret their next move, their face always gave it away.

“We don’t have all day.” You hissed starting to get eager, and your stomach rumbled along with your voice, so that was something to fight against. Your never-ending hunger.

Before you could register their answer, his friends all stood up from the table weapons in their hands now. Ready to defend their friend, how touching, you thought.

“Well, I guess I will have to take all of you down as well.” You made sure to quickly strap the Twi’lek beneath you in hand cuffs, igniting their magnetic qualities into the table before leaping over it. You intertwined your legs around the first man’s throat, twisting around and knocking them onto the hard ground with a thud. You must have knocked him out since there was no noise upon impact. You stood up quickly, grabbing your dagger and fought off the next man who ran at you. They had a small dagger in their hands and aimed for your side first which you quickly blocked. Taking one of your legs you hooked it around their left knee and pushed them backwards, then taking the dagger in your right hand you cut at their side, not killing them, but leaving them on the ground too weak to get up again. There was one remaining, but they had a blaster aimed at your head. You mentally checked yourself for the minor mistake, not being able to forgive yourself with the ruthless training you had to ever let another person have the upper hand.

“Don’t move! Or will blow your brains out! S-Stand up slowly!” The man boomed, causing you to smirk at his little stutter. Raising your hands in the air, and slowly trying to stand up, making it seem like you were giving in to their efforts.

“Alright, alright. Hang on, let me put my dagger down first. Then we can talk. Okay?” You stammered, slightly out of breath, as you lowered your dagger. However, you concealed your left hand under your cloak, gently wrapping your fingers around your blaster and the trigger. You slowly rose to your feet, hearing nothing as the cantina went quiet. You looked at the man holding the blaster with two hands and slightly shaking. Must be his first rodeo, you thought. You stood up to your full height and stared at him, looking deadly into his unforgiving black eyes.

“Show me your other hand, hunter.” He sneered causing you to chuckle. You quickly brought out your left hand and pulled the trigger before he could even sense something was wrong. It didn’t stop him from shooting his own blaster in shock. You hit him dead in the chest, while his blaster grazed your shoulder. You hissed and covered your shoulder with your hand, pulling it away you saw blood, but the pain was not horrible, so it was not of importance right now.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” You whispered knowing you were going to leave this planet with yet another scar. You shook it off and turned towards the Twi’lek man who was still trapped at the table with an unforgiving expression upon his face, making you almost forget the pain in your shoulder. It was funny, looking at his shocked expression. It was nothing concerning to you, you knew you could take all his friends and more to get the bounty. Looking around you didn’t cause as much damage as you thought, so you were happy about the low price to replace the table. The bartender, however, was not as pleased, as always.

“You’ll have to pay- “They started.

“Yeah yeah, I know.” You snickered and tossed them a few credits before sitting down at the table with the Twi’lek. You felt the confusion rolling off of them in waves, obviously not knowing how to react to a bounty hunter sitting with them after a fight.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the friends as well.” You added to the bartender, looking down at the passed out and dead companions of the Twi’lek in front of you. You rested back against the chair and ordered yourself a large soup. Your black clothing seemed to screech as you shuffled along the chair, getting comfortable before relaxing against the cool metal. You liked this part of the job, when everything was taken care of, and you could finally eat some kriffing food. You didn’t need to look to feel the Twi’lek male get impatient at the table.

“Are you kriffing kidding.” The Twi’lek snickered across from you causing you to stop eating momentarily to glare at him. You tilted your head and grinned. You knew how much you could affect people by a single glace, it was so fun seeing how their whole dimeter change in one single look from you, it made you feel possessive and absolutely powerful.

“I’m sorry.” You started, sounding like a sorry schoolgirl as you pouted, obviously a show for the Twi’lek.

“I was starving after waiting for you to leave this stupid cantina. You wouldn’t have to be waiting here if you would have just left this place.” You rolled your eyes and finished your soup before grabbing the cuffs and hauling the Twi’lek to their feet. You took care of his friends by tossing a man at the cantina some credits to take care of it for you. You then left and headed to your ship up and across the sand dunes, to keep yourself hidden from any possible Jawas who wanted to take your parts for themselves.

It was a small ship, but it got the job done. It mostly resembled that of a Razor Crest, slightly smaller but it was perfect for you. The only other person you could think of that had a ship like you was the no other famous Mandalorian…but you had yours first. It had a carbonite chamber, a fresher, a cockpit, and your own bunk. It really is only meant for one person so its tight, but it’s home.

You listened to the Twi’lek trying to persuade you to let him go by bribing you with money, a passage somewhere, a good time, boring boring boring. You’ve heard it all before with countless bounties. They all never wanted to suffer the consequences of their actions yet failed to think about it when they pursued their crime.

“You should have thought about that before you broke the law.” You said before pushing him into the carbonite chamber. You sighed of relief, now having the freedom to take care of your wound and to have some kriffing peace and quiet. You pulled out your med pack before applying a bacta strip to the wound, you instantly felt the cooling of the bacta and the wound healing once it was tightly wrapped. You relaxed and made your way up to the cockpit to set the destination for Nevaro. After piloting out of the atmosphere, you sat down comfortably and punched in the coordinates and took in the sight of lightspeed. It would be a few hours yet, so you dozed off to get a few hours of shut eye. Maker knows you deserved it at least.

…

“No! Please, please don’t take them!”

“Quiet girl, or we’ll shoot them all.”

“My Moon, please listen to them.”

Darkness. Always darkness.

A scream.

…

Bolting awake with a gasp and a hand over your chest, you panted before realizing that it was a dream. The stars in hyperspace still danced around you as you tried to understand what happened. Oh, how you wished that your fathers’ arms were around you to comfort you as you shivered from the nightmare. He always came to you when you needed help, especially with the force. Your other siblings did not know you had this ability, only him. Since he too, had this same ability. He taught you how to wield a sword, how to fight against your enemies, and how to wield the light side of the force. Even though you knew you were using it for the dark side. But you would never admit that to yourself. You knew you only used the force when you needed to. When you needed to choke someone, when you needed to defeat someone, when your emotions were the influencer of the act. You knew that was the dark side, but you did not know how to use the force any differently. Eventually, you accepted the fact that you neither were on the light or dark side of the force, and you were not a Jedi.

“A nightmare.” You muttered, realizing this was nothing new. You gained your bearings before sinking back down into your seat with a slight groan. You were sweating as you calmed down trying to get lost in the scene of hyperspace in front of you as you did before all of this happened. Soon your heartbeat went back to normal and you sighed, running a hand through your hair. These nightmares kept happening. The same one, repeatedly inside your head, you couldn’t remember the last time you had an actual dream, something that was at least comforting even if you didn’t dream at all, it would be nicer than whatever was being created in your mind. You turned to the control panel and read that Nevaro was only a few more minutes away. You decided to jump out of hyperspace and stare down at the grey planet. It was littered with red streaks from the red lava that seeped from it. The planet was semi comfortable. You didn’t feel necessarily safe on it, but it was better than Tatooine that’s for sure.

“Well, at least I slept.” You muttered while cracking your back. It might not have been the best sleep, but you felt a little more rested than before. Your mussels ached from attacking the quarry and his friends, but you didn’t mind the ache at all. The pain in your shoulder was almost down to a dull ache as well when you shifted, testing the waters as you rotated your arm. Afterwards, you guided your ship down into the planet before landing in front of the town Greef was to be in. You shook your head and anticipated the people you might see here. The Mandalorian was one of them, and you did not have the patience to meet with him today or have any kind of interaction whatsoever, you did not like him, or it. Whatever it was hiding under the beskar helmet.

Leaping down from the latter to the hull of your ship, you grabbed anything necessary, like your blaster, dagger, and double checking to make sure your lightsaber was still strapped behind your back before opening the hanger of the ship.

The awful smell of the planet flooded your nose and made you squint to adjust to it. You’ve been here multiple times, but the smell of lava always struck you like you were new here. Gods, you really hated every planet, didn’t you? You shook your head before heading down the ramp and towards the town.

It was bustling with life, like it always was. It was curious to you, since this town operated the most advanced hunter’s guild you’ve ever known, yet the townsfolk had yet to realize this. Heads turned as you strutted through the town. It was normal for you to get a few glances, but the last few times you have had many stares your way. Possibly envy, but you honestly did not mind one bit. Let them stare, you whispered in your mind. Feeling the jealously from every person through the force was almost intoxicating when you reached yet, another cantina. You slightly groaned.

“What is it with the guild and cantinas? I do not understand the importance of meeting here.” You snickered before adjusting your clothing and heading inside. It was like everyone you knew in the guild was present in this cantina at the same time. You scanned the room, trying to understand the significance of everyone’s presence, yet you always came to the same conclusion when the possibilities ran through your mind. They are here because of you.

“There she is!” Shouted Greef Karga from the booth you were to meet him at. You could feel the tension in the room on your shoulders it was almost suffocating. Walking over to the booth everyone watched you, glaring. Interesting, this never usually happens to this extent, you thought. Must be something important.

“Greef.” You responded, nodding once as you sat down across from him in the booth. Reaching for your pack you pulled out the fob. Placing it on the table in front of Karga, he grinned widely. If you didn’t know him, you would have taken that grin as unsettling. Maybe this time it was.

“Ha! That’s my girl! I always can count on you for difficult bounties. I’ll send my team to go get the carbonite from your ship now.” He praised while taking the fob, ushering to his men to take care of the bounty on your ship while placing a pack of credits for you on the table. Only taking a glance at it before stuffing it away, you looked around again when everyone seemed to snicker and go back to what they were previously doing. Frowning you looked back at him, a grin still plastered on his face.

“It actually wasn’t difficult at all. Are you sure you’re thinking of the right one?” You answered slightly confused. You didn’t think this was a hard bounty in the slightest, you’ve had plenty of past jobs that were more difficult than this one. Maybe it was the higher price? Was it supposed to be difficult? You tilted your head at him your eyebrow raising, after hearing Karga boom out a laugh.

“Of course! How could I forget my favorite bounty hunters’ job?” He added causing you to shift in your seat. Straightening your back to make yourself feel bigger than he was, trying to gain the upper hand in this conversation again. You didn’t like where this conversation was going. The feeling of it was just…off. He never praised you this much.

“Well- one of my favorites at least.” He added slowly, winking at you in the process. You snorted shaking your head. You knew who he was talking about, and he knew it got under your skin.

“What the Mandalorian? Please, I could take all of his bounties times ten.” You said rather harshly, feeling the anger boiling in your chest. You hated that the Mandalorian was as good as you, maybe a little better…slightly. It was the stupid beskar helmet he wore, you assured yourself. Karga only chuckled slightly, probably having felt your rising anger.

“Hey, I am not doubting your abilities as a hunter. I can have more than one friend in the guild, can’t I?” He said almost too calmly for your liking. Feeling his energy in waves, he was…excited for something. His excitement felt like that of a child getting a new toy.

“What is this? What is going on? And why is every single guild member in here?” You snapped back at him tilting slightly forward in your seat to intimidate Karga. He was a decent man, but he was not your friend, and you didn’t trust anyone. Not in this business. Karga sighed heavily as he sank back into his seat. He opened his mouth to speak but then suddenly the energy in the room shifted drastically, similar to how it was when you walked into the cantina.

Hearing the door slide open, you and everyone else in the cantina turned towards it. The light was blinding momentarily before the silhouette of the Mandalorian was as clear as day as he walked slowly, so slowly down the stairs into the cantina. The ring of his boots could be heard bouncing off the walls as he scanned the room, like a predator stalking their prey. You could feel the hotness of the cantina grow as everyone’s energy shifted and turned as he walked. He made your lungs burn with how easily he could change the atmosphere of the room. Your nostrils were flaring as he made his way to your booth. I should have known, you said to yourself as you turned back around. Not giving him the pleasure of your gaze as he stood at the table.

“Mando! How nice of you to join us finally. Please sit!” Karga started as he held his hand out to the Mandalorian. Which he did not take, only nodding once. Such a signature move, you scoffed in your head. His helmet slowly turned towards you, his dark visor felt like it was digging a hole in your head as you stubbornly did not look up at him.

“I would but it seems as though there is someone in my way.” His dark voice echoed through the still silent cantina. Your glare slowly racked up his slightly beat-up red armor to the black visor of his shiny beskar helmet. If you were going to be honest, the Mandalorian was built like a kriffing monument, he was something else. He was strong, and he knew it. It gave him this type of strut in his walk, that you were kind of digging and hating at the same time. Giving him a small smirk, you stood up slowly. Extending your arm out to the booth.

“You go ahead and sit on the inside. Since I was here first.” You sneered up at him his helmet tilted down to you, his body caging you in trying to intimidate you. You’re sure it would have worked on others; it did not scare you. You knew that bounty hunters rarely ever sat caged inside of a booth, it made you vulnerable. Which is why you didn’t hesitate to jump on the opportunity to get under his skin.

He knew you despised him, but it didn’t bother him as much since he was not too fond of you either. When you first joined the guild, he thought he would never see you again after the day Karga announced you as a new member. Slowly, you started to gain the upper hand in both the ranks and in respect amongst the guild members. The unspoken competition ever since then had been deafening to him, he had to be better than you of all people, a fierce woman. However, the Mandalorian knew you were strong. You held your own and he, liked it.

He slowly moved to the booth, making sure to keep his visor on you as he sat down and moved to the inside. Allowing you to sit down finally once he was settled. You let out the air you were holding into a sigh, trying not to make it a groan of annoyance, you did not want to give the Mandalorian that type of satisfaction. The air in the cantina slowly settled down and went back to its previous state, now that the two deadliest bounty hunters were sitting down. Karga looked between the two of you beaming. He has something up his sleeve, you could feel it, and you did not like it.

“Mando, you got here a little earlier than I expected. I was going to break the plan to both of you separately before. Nevertheless, I have a job, and I want both of you to work together to obtain it.” You and the Mandalorian stilled in your seat, snapping your heads over to him. Was he serious? The grin that was stapled to his face said everything you needed to hear, of course he was serious.

“What?!” You and the Mandalorian screamed simultaneously, sounding like a blaster shot bouncing off the walls. No absolutely not, you heard a voice echo through the force. You knew who it was.

“I would rather take a Hutt to work with over her.” Mando interjected. The force was screaming at you. You felt every wave of anger, confusion, tension…and something else from the Mandalorian you could not make out. But it was hurting your head. Groaning, you turned and squinted towards the visor, hoping you were making direct eye contact under the black abyss.

“Oh please, like you’re some prize to work with as well. I have to trust you without looking into your real eyes. Who knows, maybe you’re some stupid looking droid under that shiny beskar.” You stabbed back, causing him to stand up abruptly. You stood with him a hand immediately going for your dagger.

“My friends! My friends, please sit. I have yet to discuss the terms. And besides, this job is the most difficult and high rewarding I have ever gotten! That should be enough to get you through this.” He added to hopefully ease some of the tension. You waited for Mando to sit down first, wanting to have the final jab in your little conversation as you sank back down into your seat, never taking your eyes off of him until Karga broke the silence.

“It is a group of people. Not just one bounty, but a whole gang. They’ve been plundering towns and stealing women ever since the Empire fell.” You tensed at the last part looking down at the table. You knew all too well what happens to women when they get stolen like that, from their own homes. You felt your chest tighten slowly so you closed your eyes trying not to let your emotions seep through them. The Mandalorian would probably use that against you later if he saw you.

The Mandalorian turned to you once your head turned down towards the table. His eyebrows knitted together, wondering why you were so distressed. You’re a bounty hunter, killing people is your job. He blinked a few times before looking back at Karga, so you wouldn’t see him looking at you once your eyes looked back up. You would probably use that against him later if you caught him staring. Karga continued.

“I couldn’t send just one of you to obtain them. With you being a woman,” Karga tilted his head towards you, “and you having beskar,” he tilts towards the Mandalorian, “It would be too much of a risk. So, the solution is to send both of my best bounty hunters on the job to watch each other’s backs and split the high reward.” He concluded.

You hated that it made sense. You could feel the Mandalorian coming to that same conclusion. You were both silent not wanting to be the first one to speak up.

“The asking price on their heads are 200,000 credits for the whole gang.” He smirked. Your eyes widened and you saw the Mandalorians back straighten. That’s, that’s a lot of credits. Even splitting it between the Mandalorian, it was enough to buy fuel for at least six months. It would hold you over with rations for at least a full cycle, and maybe even enough left over to get some new updates to your ship. Maybe this wasn’t too terrible.

“Where is this job?” Mando spoke as you felt the deep baritone rumble across your chest.

“Their gang has been hiding out in the Outer Rim ever since the Empire fell. Their last known sighting was on the planet Voss.” Karga answers making you huff.

Voss was an interesting planet. You’ve only been there a few times, but it was always…well all you can really say is don’t get mixed up with the wrong people. There were only two cultures present on the rocky planet. The first type of people known as the Gormak people, who are highly xenophobic and violent to visitors. Unfortunately, they make up most of the planets’ population, hence why you lean with caution, you always got hung up with those type of people. The other, lesser-populated culture on the planet, were called The Voss, hence where the planet gets its name. The Voss people welcome visitors to their mountain city called Voss-Ka which is located on an isolated island to stray away from the rather violent Gormak people. You have yet to visit there, but you’ve heard its quite beautiful. However, you knew of a certain area on that planet called The Nightmare Lands, that even the Gormak people don’t dare to go to. Hopefully, your bounties won’t either. These people, The Voss, are highly ritualistic you’ve heard, and they have an unusual capability with the Force. You know of some lost Jedi and Sith temples that have been spotted scattered across the vast planet. You hope that visiting here with the Mandalorian won’t give anything away about your gift with the Force as well.

“Where was the gang last seen on Voss? I hope we don’t run into the Gormak people there; they suck.” You chimed in causing Karga to chuckle slightly. You caught a glimpse of the Mandalorians head tilt slightly towards your direction. You felt the curiosity roll off of him in waves. He wondered why you ever went to the Outer Rim to obtain bounties, usually those places are lost causes and too dangerous. He felt slightly jealous that you knew of the place Karga was talking about, giving you an advantage over him.

“They were last seen in the city of Voss-Ka, but they were traveling out of it. They most likely went to a small village on the mainland instead of the island where Voss-Ka is. They thrive off of these small towns, so I am guessing they’ll be somewhere in that area.” Karga claimed making you sigh shaking your head.

“Tracking fobs?” Mando piped in. Karga took out one tracking fob causing you to frown. Why is there only one if it’s a whole gang? You thought to yourself. Your eyes looked over to the Mandalorian. Gods, you wish you could see how he was reacting under that stupid helmet. Reading people was second nature to you, maybe that’s why you were always so frustrated with the Mandalorian all the time. Thanking the Maker that you had the Force, you felt the conflict around him though and the uneasiness of the whole situation. Whether that be because he had to work alongside you or just the fact that there was one tracking fob, and not much of a lead on their actual whereabouts.

“There is only one tracking fob. But this gang always stays together, so where one is, they all will be.” You nodded along to his words as you and the Mandalorian both reached for the fob at the same time.

“Excuse me, but I think I’ll hold onto this.” You claimed while snatching it from the table, but in a flash the Mandalorian gripped your wrist. The leather of his gloves made the skin along your wrist sting slightly causing you to suck a breath in.

“I think I was the one who asked for it.” He grumbled taking it from your hand and stuffed it into his pack not allowing room for a peep of protest from you. Groaning you pulled your wrist from his death grip and rolled your sleeve back over the exposed skin.

“This should be fun.” You mumbled under your breath.

“So, it’s settled then?” Karga announces grinning, obviously ecstatic over the whole ordeal. Rolling your eyes and hearing the Mandalorian sigh you nodded.

“Yes, I believe so.” You claimed as you stood up from the booth waiting for the Mandalorian to follow your lead. You didn’t want to stay with a rather excited Karga longer than you had to and you needed to get out of this stupid cantina. Mando eventually got up and out of the inside of the booth. You both glanced at each other momentarily before turning away again. The Mandalorian already started walking away thankfully so all you had to see was his back and not the darkness of his visor. You rolled your eyes again and walked after him when he said nothing.

“I will see you when you get back. Good luck!” Karga shouted when you and Mando got to the door. Both of you nodded at the same time before walking out of the cantina. The air was crisp and didn’t smell of liquor anymore, much to your liking. You wondered if Mando could smell anything under the helmet, or if it took out smells he didn’t like. You caught up to walk next to Mando and fell into step with him. He had such a large stride it felt like you were jogging next to him, you hoped you didn’t look like an idiot. Looking down at his belt you almost snatched the stupid tracking fob from it. You decided against it though. Seeing that you two were to be partners for this job, you might as well try to not get on his bad side. Even though it was really fun to do.

“We’re taking separate ships.” Mando said slowly as you two walked out of the town where both of your ships were parked.

“Perfect, I didn’t want to be stuck on your ship anyways. It probably stinks.” You chuckled to yourself seeing him shake his head and sigh. He turned towards you as you both got to your ships, stopping for a minute. He looked down at you for a moment then back at your face as if he were studying you.

“What happened to your arm?” He asked suddenly making you frown.

“What?”

“The cloth is missing from your shoulder.” He says rather coldly. You looked down at your shoulder and mentally slapped yourself for not putting on another shirt when you got here.

“Oh, a bounty shot me in the shoulder today. No big deal I shot him in the chest.” You say rather bluntly. You looked back up at his visor, waiting for a response that obviously was not going to come. He only nodded and turned towards his ship, the Razor Crest. It was a piece of junk. Whenever you had the chance to look at it there was always something wrong with it, and not to mention the chipped paint that he seemed to just never fully get rid of. You didn’t know how he could operate something that big, you preferred a small ship to maneuver around more easily.

“I’m guessing the trip to Voss will take a few hours, most likely a night’s trip. I’ll see you when you get there. I’ll send you my com link before we take off.” Mando spoke on the ramp of his ship. You nodded as you walked up to your ship, heading inside once the ramp was down for you. After closing your ramp, you headed up to the cockpit, waiting for the com link Mando was sending you. Mando put all of his guns back into his armory and made his way up the ladder to the cockpit. Sitting in the pilots seat he secured a communication line for the two of you to use. He hesitated to press the button and send it to you, he doesn’t know exactly why though, there were a few reasons. For some odd reason he trusted you more than anyone in the guild because he knew that you were an honest hunter. He shook himself out of his thoughts and flipped the switch to send you the com link. After hearing the familiar beep, you pressed it.

“I got it. I’ll keep it saved as a safe line but I’m going to stay on mute until we get there.” You said rather quickly into the com, you did not want to make small talk right now. All you wanted was to get to hyperspace and sleep for a little while. You didn’t wait for his response before pressing the mute button and sinking comfortably in your seat.

“Well, here goes nothing.”

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