#i actually tried to use ALL the team tools for this set and i'm happy to say i did it!

[skyshipper]

@PSCENTRAL​ EVENT 24: TEAM TOOLS PEDRO PASCAL as JAVIER PEÑA - NARCOS (2015-2017)

[inzuinzudesu]

Please zoom in to see small Kakashi! 😭 He kinda disappeared 😭😭😭

Text translation: "Infinite Tsukuyomi" (無限月読)

Drew these in mid-July - when I started doing digital again actually ����

Took inspo from the Balut - a street food in my country; I hear a lot of people are grossed out by it?? Don't know if this is controversial, but I personally love the dish. Essentially grew up with it after all!

Wanted to draw something that feels a bit creepy but still has a sense of mysticality to it???

Meh, don't know if the feeling got across or not

I thought since Halloween is coming up, might as well post this haha

About the process of drawing these!

These were very fun to draw! I messed around a lot with photoshop to achieve this glowy dusty effect?? From the brushes to the blending options, and maaan the filter gallery 😭😭 Such fun tools to play with.

The main brush I used to achieve the dusty effect is called "KYLE Bonus Chunky Charcoal", in the Kyle Dry Media brush set. If you can, I recommend checking it out! There are definitely other ways to achieve this sort of effect, though. You can probably just use some sort of scatter texture brush and it'd work just fine. Studying is all about trying things out, right? This is like my first experiment with this type of effect, and I was happy at the time. Now looking back, these could most definitely turn out better, no? I really went overboard with just the effect and forgot everything else. The blood and the plate looks horrible man. If you look closely, you can see the sketch lines haha! I got lazy!

Also, for Obito's pose, I relied heavily on a reference I found on pinterest 😭 I wish I'd changed the pose more tbh, it looks really boring.

And I gotta say, these just look underwhelming in this smaller size. Like reaaaaaally underwhelming. Would love to show you the big version, but oh well! 😭😭😭

Brain vomit time!

I love the prospect (??? is that the right word) of Obito being all god-like and powerful after Tsukuyomi, having control over everybody's dream worlds?? And like he jumps from dream to dream, but stops at Kakashi's and picks it apart???? Observing and tormenting Kakashi with his childhood form that has both sharingan???????

Kakashi would probably be confused with Obito's appearance at first, asking questions like "What are you up to this time, Obito?", but then wouldn't receive any answers??? Like little man would just stare at him creepily, and Kakashi would push this to the back of his mind for a while???

Umm below is the technical stuff, I guess??

My headcanon is that the time span in the dream world is the same as the real world. Meaning, 30 years in the dream world feel incredibly real, with no gap of memories. It's essentially a different timeline. Whether this makes sense or not, who knows haha!

Let's talk about the dream events and how they affect Kakashi! Due to Sakumo and team Minato still living, this Kakashi probably wouldn't be as lax nor sad as in canon?? The relationships and personalities would be different huh???? I'm having a headache thinking about this, so let's just say that: 1. Sakumo lived because the villagers weren't as harsh, but the animosity still remained. Kakashi still developed this obsession with rules, but he doesn't blame his dad as much. 2. Kannabi happened, Kakashi was given the sharingan, along with Obito's ninja way. Team Minato thought that Obito died for a while, but Obito is 'rescued' by Madara, same as canon. 3. Rin would still be targeted by Madara, but Obito came in time to help with the situation, blocking Kakashi's chidori from connecting with Rin's chest, but also knocking Kakashi away. Then, a Mist enemy took advantage of the situation to attack Kakashi, injuring him gravely, to the point where everybody thought he died. With this, Obito activated his Mangekyou and exploded on the Mist enemies, killing them all. Meanwhile, Rin tried to heal Kakashi, just barely saving him. As Obito had dealt with the enemies, there was no need to rush back to the village, and the Sanbi wouldn't be released till then. And so, they waited for Minato to come and help with Rin's seal. (About Obito's Mangekyou activating with Kakashi's death - would that be too far-fetched? My reasoning is that Obito would think that it was his fault Kakashi died, because it was Obito who knocked Kakashi away into the enemy, no?) 4. Because there's no one to become 'Madara' now that Obito came back to the village, Naruto is born, Minato and Kushina live.

5. The Uchiha massacre doesn't happen.

(Everything is incredibly convenient, because I don't have the brain power to make it otherwise, please help 😭😭) -> In conclusion, this Kakashi resembles the Kakashi of the real world, but less depressed and self-destructive??? He loves his living comrades. My man still has a massive obsession (more like crush lol) with Obito by the way, just like in canon. He just doesn't show it.

-> About Obito of the dream world (I'mma call him Dreambito), he is all sunshine and brightness, but he exhibits some dark thoughts and deep rage from time to time due to the residual effects of Madara's seal on his heart. The seal has been removed though. And he has this obsession with Kakashi's safety, as he almost pushed him to his death once, albeit accidentally.

-> I was debating whether to just start this dream world at the point where Obito got crushed, or to start it at the beginning of Kakashi's life. In the end, I went with the latter, cuz ya know, I like the idea of Kakashi living through a whole life all over again, just to finally come to the realization that it's all a dream. Does that make any sense at all??

Obito (child form - 13) first appears in front of Kakashi at the start of the Naruto series, when Kakashi has officially become the teacher of team 7. (Let's not change this okay, my brain would fry haha I'm not gonna deny that the idea of Obito and Kakashi becoming co-teachers of team 7 isn't incredibly fun though)

After the first encounter with this child Obito, Kakashi begins to have flashes of memories from the real world, and he hallucinates about people's deaths - mostly about the members of team Minato. This young Obito is always in the corner of his vision, most of the time silent, sometimes saying things like "You trash" to Kakashi whenever he encounters Rin, who is whole and grown up in this world.

Kakashi exhibits more destructive behaviors as this goes on, the line between the dream events and the real events slowly blurring. He takes more dangerous solo missions out of the village, and shows strong signs of PTSD, just like in canon.

The two Obitos would contrast each other?? Like Dreambito would be all concerned with Kakashi's decline in health (both mental and physical) and goes to confront and comfort him, many times over because that's how it is with them??? Dreambito might even move in with Kakashi, being the obsessive and protective Uchiha that he is. Meanwhile young Obito would be an absolute asshole, saying all these horrible things to poison Kakashi's mind haha

At this point, Dreambito'd be in the last stage on the journey of becoming Hokage, gaining the all the trust from the Uchiha clan, the village elders and the villagers as a whole. I don't know about Rin, though? Should she be romantically involved with Dreambito or no? Would Kakashi dream that??

I think Kakashi's dream would somewhat focus more on Dreambito being happy and satisfied, to be honest. I know there's Sakumo and team Minato as a whole, but as a degenerate shipper, I love the obsession between them🥺

I don't think Obito would directly interfere with what Kakashi is dreaming about, i.e. changing Dreambito's behavior, or like the political situation of the villages (?). But he would most definitely insert himself in Kakashi's psyche, no? Mess it up real good.

Kakashi would slowly realize that he is living a dream world, after all the flashes of memories that Obito generates in his mind. He would most definitely deny it at first though, I think? And then it would reach a point where Kakashi remembers everything from the real world, but he has also lived through 30 something years of the dream world, meaning he'd be in his 60s?? Does that make sense or no?

And so, while Kakashi now knows that everything is a dream, his feelings for everybody in the dream are real. If that's the case, is it really that important anymore that he escapes the Tsukuyomi? Can this dream world really be called fake at this point? Is there even anything in the real world for him to return to?

What's to say 'the real world' isn't a dream at this point?

-> Kakashi would completely close in on himself after this. He still does things that he would normally do, but it'd be all an act. He would feel completely isolated.

-> Dreambito would notice and confront him again, now that they live in the same house??? Kakashi would like say everything is fine and try to act more convincingly, but Dreambito would still know something's wrong????

-> Obito is observing from afar, who knows what his motivation is at this point.

Because this is Kakashi's dream world, I suppose he would have the power to change this world to his will, now that he's aware? This is like a lucid dream situation???

The people in the dream have their own will up until this point, but Kakashi can somewhat change their behavior if he really wants to, whether it's subconsciously or not??? Example: He can probably will Dreambito to kiss him or something lol

So on and so forth!

Man, I'm having waaay too much fun imagining the pain. There are probably like a thousand things that doesn't make sense haha! I do wonder how this sort of storyline should end though, does anybody have any ideas? Personally, I prefer slow burn with a (sort of) happy ending, but ya know, angst all the way is good too! I can't write, but I love thinking about all the things that could happen 😭😭 English isn't my first language, so this might have felt weird to read at some point haha

If anybody wants to develop this, please feel free to do so! And if you've read this far, thank you for reading this absolute brain vomit of mine! I love to yap, as you can tell haha Have a good day!

[sonicasura]

Transformers Prime: Toonsanity

Yes, I'm going back to the Weretoons with Transformers idea well specifically the Prime version. Rescue Bots will have it's respective post so don't you worry! Let's get started.

Miko lives in Jasper with her Weretoon foster father instead of canon's host family. She is already Jack and Raf's friend but they don't know about her Weretoon nature. A common rule that's not just for the safety of other Weres but people close to them. Every werecreature has a respective hunter and those for Weretoons are extremely dangerous to put it simply.

The two boys would've been left unaware if wasn't for the fateful encounter with the Autobots. (Miko is still a chaos agent and being a Weretoon just amps it up.) It doesn't really take long for everyone to find out either.

Weretoons tend to carry a small bottle of ink on them as it triggers the Toon transformation instantly. An emergency tool to be precise. What better time to use it than on a hostile alien spaceship full of trigger happy robots?

Like any other Toon, Miko has a hammer space with her preferred cartoony weapon being a giant mallet. Jack pretty much felt like he was going insane at this upon seeing his friend flatten a Vehicon into a metal pancake. Raf is taking it a bit better than him. The bots however...

Ratchet: What in the pits is this?!!! *Points at Toon!Miko*

Miko: *eating a carrot she pulled from her hammerspace* What's up, Doc? Never met a Weretoon before? Congrats on being not only the first non-Weretoon aligned doctor but the first 'normal' doctor I done this joke with!

Jack: *notices everyone staring at him* Hey, don't look at me! I didn't know about this until now!

Ratchet obviously grilled Miko for answers as he barely knows how to treat humans! Now he has to worry about an unknown subspecies getting injured or ill. Miko explaining the whole 'Weretoons' thing so nonchalantly didn't help either. (Optimus wrote everything in stride as the unknown reawakens the archivist within.)

Ratchet shuddered knowing others can be infected and rather not find out if Cybertronians are susceptible. (They are Ratty. It's another reason why Miko wears a mouth guard. A simple bite with their actual teeth is all a Weretoon needs to turn someone even if they don't penetrate skin or metal.)

No one purposely tries to test Miko's squash and stretch capabilities whenever she's in toon form. Doesn't stop a cartoony shenanigan from occuring. Or the fact every single bot on the team has fallen for the inherent gag trying to get Miko outta harm's way like in every other cartoon.

Examples:

Bulkhead got whacked in the face by his own lob ball as it preceded to roll off the shelf after Miko.

Optimus somehow slipped on a banana peel and accidentally falls on Bumblebee from trying not to squish the Weretoon.

Ratchet crashes into the ceiling when Jack's knife set is hurtled at Miko with the medic taking said blades to the aft. (Toon law: Anyone struck by a pointy object always launches upwards.)

Miko reveals her beast form during the Scrapheap episode. She gotten pissed when some Scraplets had munch on a metal custom road plate her dad made for her room. Never anger a toon who can turn into a serpentine dragon like mole cause Miko chased the little pests everywhere with a vengeance.

Jack already resigned to the insanity after this little reveal. He's just glad they got a heavy hitter that the Scraplets couldn't munch on. Optimus and Arcee were really confused about this new development but let Miko help warm them up. (She runs hot as a mole dragon plus long enough to coil around someone OP's size.)

Hostage situations with Miko will always go wrong for the kidnapper. She either slips out their grasp like a snake or go beast mode on their ass. Makeshift learns that moles bite especially if they're half dragon.

Knockout and Starscream doesn't have fun with Miko during their respective encounter either(TMI/Rock Bottom.) Her claws can do more than just dig through dirt as she left behind pretty larges gashes on their frames. Starscream and Knockout constantly about still finding sand in their frame.

The ugliest confrontation between Miko with a Decepticon is Predaking. Dragons aren't exactly friendly towards each other as they are territorial as fuck. (Moles are even moreso.) Especially if it involves a claim. Her friends and the Autobots' can be considered Miko's plus considering Predaking is more dragonlike...

She fucking mauls the Predacon with their respective breath attacks leaving freshly made glass everywhere. Ultra Magnus had to hold Miko like an angry extra long ferret so she didn't fly after the retreating Decepticons. Our girl may be strong but not invincible.

Toons can have their own rules turned against them plus Miko can't sustain her toon form for long. She's got an hour to an 1 hr 30 minutes before reverting back. Then there's the threat born from the film 'Who Framed Rodger Rabbit': The Dip.

It can burn a Weretoon in their human form but becomes truly lethal if they are a toon. Dip is their wolfsbane and is the main tool in a Cartoon Hunter's arsenal. Two things Miko wasn't happy to explain to the bots when movie night came around.(Bumblebee apologized btw.)

It's gonna take awhile for the Decepticons to find out. Sadly a certain mechanical based organization knows about Weretoons...and most are hunters. Or that one particular spider bot might add Miko to her list of targets too.

For Miko's father, he'll remain mostly anonymous. This is because I want to keep the main ides separate from any extra doses of insanity should it peak my interest. Like making her foster father Dynamite Anton from Antonball/Antonblast.

What better way to do the 'Meet the Father' bit than this fucker throwing hands with a bunch of moles, called BALLBUSTERS, because their boss Satan stole his booze. (The literal plot for Antonblast.) It would obviously have the fandom wide headcanon of Anton being a demon and his demon form being usually portrayed like this. (Can't resist the sheer irony when you consider the fact Optimus is basically robot jesus in most iterations of the series.)

Things are gonna be chaotic with Ratchet wanting a drink either way it goes.

[prof-peach]

What would make a good ghost-type starter? My kid's about to turn ten and REALLY wants a Gastly. I think it's because the Ecruteak Gym Leader, Morty, and his Gengar are like, her childhood heroes. She says she even wants to be a ghost-type specialist. Honestly though, I'm kinda reluctant. I mean, you've heard the rumors about ghost-types and children, right?

Your concern as a parent is wholesome, and I can understand your reluctance to dishing out a ghost Pokemon without further investigation first, so let’s put some rumours to bed here.

The dex entries often depict ghost types and tricky, scary, wild and sometimes even dangerous, stealing children away, being living grudges, turning lost kids to Pokemon, and being overall hard to handle, often somewhat lacking in empathy even.

This is what a dex does, it’s built for kids, it’s information is out there to inspire kids to find intrigue in species that are overlooked. When your little, you make up stories, as a parent I’m sure you know, some of those stories your kids tell you seem actually terrifying, horrific, some kids love to indulge in the creepy, the unusual. It’s not to be feared, it’s to be celebrated. The dex is an exaggeration, a base for further learning, and often the gateway to kids wanting to know more. There is a fatal downside, their entries and statements about some species can be unnerving to a regular adult. We are fearful, we see this potentially spooky dangerous thing and of course we want to protect the family from that. But the info given is often a 1% (at most) chance occurrence.

Phantump? They aren’t born of lost kids in the woods. You ask any breeder worth their salt, and they’ll tell you they’ve seen those Pokemon hatch from eggs like everything else.

Drifloon, tries to steal kids apparently? Nah, they’re lighter than air, most of their movements just simply look that way, but it’s usually the wind pushing their bodies about. They’re actually very kind pokemon.

What else, oh, Banette. Born of a discarded toy with an eternal grudge? Haha nope. They aren’t all made that way, at all, many evolve to be perfectly happy healthy Pokemon with a lot of love for their trainers.

The dex focuses in on the unusual, the extraordinary, the facts that statistically will interest their target demographic most, and kids have way less fear than us. Look at yours. She’s been exposed to the same stuff you have, yet she’s not hesitant to want a ghost type, she’s not afraid, not learnt that fear yet, which is an incredibly good thing.

On the very unusual case where a ghost type is like their dex entry, it’s usually captured, aided, and rereleased in a secure location, away from those who could get hurt by it.

Ghost Pokemon do not hatch with a choice of body, a choice of type, or a set of rules to follow. Just like us, they learn and amble through their life trying to find satisfaction, friends, work, family, love and kindness, and to figure out how they fit in it all. They’re highly complex and empathetic Pokemon, often treated differently because of what they are, rather than who they are. When they find people and Pokemon who don’t treat them with hostility and unkindness, they will spend their life with them, they will give everything for them, protecting their loved ones with the ferocity other species can’t muster.

I for one think that as long as your kid knows what to expect, and is responsible and reliable in caring for a Pokemon, then perhaps it’s a good time to start looking. A ghastly is a perfectly fine starter, they have low care requirements, snacking occasionally, but feeding mostly from places of reflection or worship.

You know why ghost types always hang around graves? It’s how they feed. When people reflect, they produce a certain kind of energy, it is not something you can measure easily, or see, but a ghost Pokemon can sense it. They have learnt to live off the energy people expend reflecting, and the most common accessible place to get this for a ghost type, is graves. They also frequent places of worship, monuments beloved by locals, and buildings that once housed a lot of love. You can tell when an abandoned house had something truly terrible happen in it, not even the ghosts will feed there. The energy is bitter to them, and many don’t care for it.

To help your kid, set up a place within the house where you, your family, your other Pokemon, can go to reflect. Some people build this space around the telephone, or computer. When thinking of, or talking to distant loved ones, the same energy is produced, so at home the ghost type can snack and not run low on energy. It’s a nice modern day adaption that’s makes caring for ghost much easier thankfully. Spending 10-20 minutes every other day in the reflection zone will feed the ghost, but will not drain you or your kid. They do not eat up a lot from us, nothing we haven’t already expended.

Along with this, be aware that the ghost line can be somewhat nocturnal, so setting up a regular bedtime might be a little tricky, so that the Pokemon is accounted for, but also so the kids not out all night, that’s not safe at all. Sunset seems to be their peak active hour on average, long shadows mean they can jump around fast between dark patches, a trick ghost show off regularly.

If you are worried, try to make time to go out with your kid and their partner, to a park or maybe a more central street that’s well lit, so they can practice and be trainers in a safe environment. I can totally get not wanting them out in the dark alone, safety always comes first.

What else. She’ll probably have to start carrying an umbrella around. Ghastly aren’t too keen on suuuuper bright light, midday is not easy for them, but some do not want to sit in the pokeball while their trainer is up and awake, they want to play and be around them. An umbrella means they can get some shade no matter the time of day, and have some freedom to move about even in harsh sunlight. Too long in the sun will drain them of energy, and they’ll need to rest and sleep it off, recharge at the reflection station at home, or go spend an hour in a churchyard or something.

They eat most things and sleep anywhere, so there’s not a huge amount of specialist items to be bought for the home. Test different flavours on them, and try to find a ghastly that has a temperament that’ll get along with your whole family. You should definitely check out local adoption centres, they are in undated with ghost types this time of year. People hand them in for all sorts of reasons.

Little tip, if you bring Morty spicy baked goods, like chilli cheese bread or something, he’s more inclined to help you. He hangs out near the burnt tower a lot with his team, and takes trips to the local food festivals too, so if you notice an advert for one, see if you can catch the guy there. He’s reluctant to take on students, but if your kid turns up with a ghastly, and (from what I can assume) and overabundance of energy for Pokemon, plus a spicy treat, the guy melts a little and you can ask questions or request a little time for your kid to get some tips and tricks from a professional gym leader. I think it’d be interesting to investigate at the least, sounds like he’s the closest link between her and the Pokemon she so desperately loves. Plus how cool would that be for her? Gets to talk to her childhood hero. Kind of cool.

As a parent, I advise you get some cleanse tags too. There may be rooms you don’t want them entering, or items you don’t want them messing with (knives/power tools ect) , placing a cleanse tag on each wall, or on the items, will stop them interacting with them, so you can sit knowing things are safe for the Pokemon and your family.

In short, don’t knock the ghost types, they’re just as important, kind and loving as any other Pokemon. I’m not saying naughty troublesome ones don’t exist, but chances are you’ll find one that’s a great match for your family. Thank you for asking questions and not jumping to just get a Pokemon ASAP, you’d be surprised how few people do their homework before inviting in a new Pokemon to the home.

[the-bjd-community-confess]

3D printing (will not be) lowering the cost of BJDs, if made available to print at home

To the anon about 3D printing and everyone else intersted in this matter, here a few points: a) yes, 3D printing will help severally improving the hobby - it already is. It's helping artists bring their ideas to life, especially ones that have a hard time working with the traditional medium to sculpt. b) I tried 3D scanning an MSD sized doll last week at a friend's workplace out of interest - they are too small to give a useable result.

Perhaps there are high quality scanners already capable of scanning details on such a small scale, but those are not that easy to get as of now. c) Resinsoul can sell at a lower price due to their location. Wages are significant different over there and they are kind of located in a country that 'sits at the source' of resources required, thus able to buy them at a cheaper price. Anyone located elsewhere, who are not feeling comfortable to outsource the casting to an asian land will pay much higher production costs due higher wages and higher material costs (import taxes, transport etc.).

d) I'll say this slowly, because apparently it has not been said often enough: With the exception of perhaps Volks and a certain recaster: There. ARE. NO. L A R G E R. COMPANIES. when it comes to BJD. Even those who have been around for 10+ years tend to be a small team, often even singular artists or two, at most around 10, if they are lucky. Look it up, the info has been provided time and time again by various ones. Stop thinking that each 'company' is a 50+ people factory.

e) Your argument of 3D printing making dolls available to more people and cheaper is - sorry the expression - absolute and utter bullshit. I can tell you aren't actually familiar with 3D printing and what it involves. For one, there are several types and materials and each one currently on the market that provides decent quality is already the cost of a less expensive brand (and those can print MSD sized parts at best and will take around 8 runs to get all parts printed at average, each which will likely take a day to finish printing, if you want to have a mostly smooth surface and less work after).

There are of course larger machines, but their price is higher as well. And that doesn't include the cost of electricty or materials yet. (Protection mask against fumes, gloves for handling, sanding and other tools for finishing - just to name a few.) Each of them requires a different type of file, which the maker of the 3D file might not even be albe to provide and a different type of preparation and different after care. The learning curve can be very hard depending on how quickly you take to it and you can end up with a lot of failures. Nevermind the amount of time it eats to figure out what went wrong and why and then needing to set it up all over again and give it another try.

You also need space in a well-ventilated area due to the fumes, noise and depending on what printer you go for. You also need a constant, steady energy source and most need a regular temperature around 15-21 degrees (minimum). Otherwise? Thanks for your hard work, wasted time and material, have fun starting over again, because the likelyhood for this to become a failure print is... very high. And NONE of them, not even resin printers, are on par with resin cast ones in terms of quality when it comes to the end result. If you got money to spare, go a head and buy one and see how it handles for example being dipped into a hot water dye bath.

Most common tools used to remove face-ups also tend to damage the material's surface. If it hasn't been properly cured it should be pointed that it's like slow poison. Worth it for a doll? Personally, I think not. I'm aware some people might just be happy with that kind of quality, perhaps won't even bother with sanding, but let me say it clearly again: Beginners who find it hard to afford e.g. a 300$ doll will not be helped at all with the existence and avaibility of 3D printers due the cost of aquiring a printer. And if you outsource the printing to one of the many services avaible by now? Well... You MAY end up saving... what? 50$? perhaps?

And that's likely to exclude shipping the prints to you and then still need to invest in sanding tools for the finishing if that is not included in the service and depending on what material/printing type you choose. (And needing to buy s-hooks and strings, silicon kips if you want those) I'm not saying 3D printing isn't awesome. I just think that your imagination how it can make BJDs more affordable and accessable is unfortunately far from the reality. This is not meant to discourage anyone from trying to learn it, because being able to sculpt and print even small accessoires for your dolls is A M A Z I N G, okay? But I don't feel comfortable putting this out there as a way to 'save money'.

As for your example with music: Sorry, but comparing something that needs a physical shape to work with something that does not, does not work at all. An artist can make music and distribute it digitally because it is 'sound'. The production happens once and that's all that is needed to make people able to enjoy it. If BJDs could be shared that way, everyone would be able happy just playing with some 3D models and putting digital clothes and styling onto them - like the game The Sims.

Most hobbyists however actually want a doll they can touch and this means production in a physical sense has to happen and that means production costs - least. Remember the artist put a lot of effort into this doll and deserves to be paid for that too? So you'd end up with needing to pay for: The file. The printer. The material. Tools. Electricty to keep the printer going. A PC to prepare the files for the printer unless they happen to come pre-prepared for the printer you have. At this point the initial costs would already likely be more than purchasing a cast doll.

In the long run? Yes, perhaps you'd end up saving, if you can make it work, but it would still require a large investation and dedication first. As for your ideal for this to make bjds cheaper? Not going to work unless you go for mass production and selling at only your production cost and shipping to those less fortunate, thus cheating the creator/artist out of the money for their work unless you or the buyer actually by the file each time. Which would result in higher costs again and go back to the original point, where you'd be close to the price of just buying a cast BJD, saving perhaps only on the shipping time.

~Anonymous

[tundrainafrica]

Hi! What do you think of Hange? I'm curious about your opinion since your analysis are always interesting! I hope that you're doing well 🤗

Thank you so much for your ask. I’m happy to talk about Hange since she is one of my favorite characters in Attack on Titan and even though I still really enjoy the manga, I really think she is one of the characters which was done dirty by Yams, like she did not need to die like that…. AT ALL. 

Anyway, I love Hange it isn't obvious and she is really one of my favorite characters in AoT particularly because of her intelligence. 

I think we all agree that Hange is a genius. She ranked 11/10 in intelligence and she ranks high up there with Erwin and Armin in terms of her planning skills. For some reason though, in the anime, they tend to put in the spotlight Erwin and Armins genius in particular because Erwin for one is a brilliant strategist and Armin is incredibly detail oriented and brilliant strategist and I don't think I have to point these out because they've been proven time and time again in canon. 

Hange’s a different type of genius. She has a special kind of genius which tends to be really overlooked. It's a subtler type than what we see with Armin and Erwin. 

Sure, she has the mad scientist and the research vibe but I don't think these tropes encompass her genius as a whole. Hange is not necessarily a genius as a scientist or a researcher. In fact her skill as a researcher is only an extension of her actual genius. 

She’s a genius at logistics and plan execution. 

The thing is, most of Hange's intelligence is only subtly shown in her sheer mastery of logistics. 

Her section in general is in charge of logistics and research which is INCREDIBLY important. She's literally logistics royalty but logistics is so underrated even in real life that her genius is so glossed over in most of canon. and she ends up reduced to a mad scientist comic relief character. 

It's understandable because the complexity of logistics is so subtle that we tend to ignore it in our everyday life. 

It's not obvious in canon but the details are there in the type of work Hange does, the mission planning. In fact, it’s not shown in detail in the anime since they only ever showed us one full expedition. It’s been confirmed in the video game , the survey corps generally did a lot of base building and creating supply chains where they could refill gas. Although Erwin gives the final say on the overall strategy, who do you think considers the logistics on what bases should go where? What weapons to bring? The sound bombs, the flash bombs? What weapons to put where? Where to put the bases? What types of bases to build? 

Who do you think considered the boring details like transportation and equipment? Who considers the small "hows?" in the grand scheme of messages. 

Hange. 

A lot of the shit which Hange actually did in the first season was pretty much glossed over in exchange for fighting scenes. We get the mini arc about her capturing titans and showing them to Eren. Who figured out the plan with the exploding barrels and arrows to capture titans? 

Hange. 

Erwin plans the big "how's" and Hange has always planned the smaller "how's."

Just think of the 57th Expedition. Literally no one cares about the logistics  which Hange so carefully planned out. I had actual friends who even forgot that Hange was there in the 57th expedition. Even when she was the one who loaded all the barrels and prepared them in the forest when they were to capture the female titan. She’s the one who plans where the refilling stations are too. 

We get major exposition on Erwin’s plans then get major exposition on Levi’s fighting skills but we don’t get much exposition on the refilling stations or the barrels because really who wants to know about that. 

(They show more of this in the video game tbh.) 

So, although Erwin is the mastermind behind plans. Hange plays a huge part in execution by deciding which tools or which weapons should go where in the execution of plans. Tbh, I honestly wouldn’t even be surprised if Hange was the one who modified the colored guns for the long range scouting formation Erwin planned out. 

Proof in Canon aside from the 57th expedition

During the female titan arc, she had the logistics heavy idea of the barrel cannons set up around the Stohess district. It didn’t work in the end but a lot of thought came into placing the cannons there and Hange still managed to trap the female titan for a while. 

This is a small detail but who do you think decided how to transport crystallized Annie? Hange’s squad, possibly Hange made the final call.

When the titans appeared in Wall Rose, who tries to figure out how they got in? It was mostly Hange because Hange knows how shit works, Hange knows what logistics could go into infiltrating a wall, what logistics go into transporting. The reason why Hänge actually comes back with all the theories because she is familiar with the minute details in executing plans. Erwin plans on a large scale, Hange plans the small details that go into the execution. 

That was also the reason why she guessed probably that Reiner and the others  were going to go to the forest and stay overnight. Hange generally plans boring things it was only natural that she would be able to predict their plan to stay the night in the forest better than Erwin. 

In the uprising arc, Hange didn’t do much war strategy or fighting. Where did her skills go? Into PR issues, into  she did know how to get a town together without fighting and how to get them to cooperate. The boring part but still very important part of the uprising.

We were faced with a situation on how to fight the armored titan and the logistics? Who answers that "how" by making the thunder spears? 

HANGE. 

TBH, I honestly think that Hänge as commander was more fitting towards season 4 because with the building of ports and the development needed for Paradis, they needed someone who knew how things work by the small details because by then, everything was run by technology. They needed someone who mastered transportation, schedules and engineering designs to make things work, not someone who can lead. I think Hange probably could have done a better job than Erwin. I can't even think of anyone who could have done a better job than Hange in leading the survey corps post Season 3. 

Hange's works aren't grand but they're important, necessary but they're not flashy and that's why I don't think she gets the praise she deserves. Although it’s complex and requires a special type of genius to plan and figure out, it’s takes a certain perspective to appreciate.

She is the master of logistics, the master of literally every conventionally boring yet necessary thing in life. The equivalent of this in real life would probably be like how she doesn't plan the grand parts of events like the program of an event, or the nitty gritty content or the marketing. She'll be planning the food, the number of tables and chairs, the invitations. She'll hold everything together by the small details people take for granted.

In a company, she probably wouldn't lead a marketing team, HR, CEO which are the stuff people usually consider. She would probably head the supply chain or the manufacturing plant which actually makes the goods people market but most people tend to consider stuff quality by the marketing more than anything. 

Logistics and small details when it comes to execution are not flashy and even when writing fiction they tend to be glossed over. And I guess, this is the reason why Hange never got the recognition she deserved.

Because really, in real life, who praises the person who plans the supply chain? Who praises the person who plans the execution after the leader announces the big plan? Who praises the person who thinks up transportation options? Who thinks up furniture? Food in events?  

And that's the beauty in logistics it's a subtly complex part of life that looks so simple and boring yet requires a certain type of genius to execute perfectly.

That's why I consider Hange --- who has been shown in canon to have mastered it--- a special type of genius, a more subtle genius, and a more subtle brains and I love her for it.

[echo-three-one]

Chapter 39

The Road So Far

Is this still worth it?

The SEVEN Inch Wound

Gary 'Roach' Sanderson

Task Force 141 Base - Gym

Roach finally got his seal of approval. After weeks of physical therapy and daily check ups, he was now finally fit for battle and he was lucky enough that Nero was still under the radar. He wouldn't want to miss out on the battle he started. He was lucky enough that they were exonerated when Shepherd surrendered, because if they continued to be fugitives, Roach would not have access to appropriate medical attention.

It has been almost a month after the events in Afghanistan and Task Force 141 was already re-established, Samantha and Maxine were housed on a nearby compound where veteran's families lived under the safety of government protection. During his time in the infirmary, Maxine was always there to visit, telling him tales about dreams she recovered as time went by. Roach was glad she was returning to normal and that no matter how her memories came back, her treatment towards him was the same.

"Good to see you back on your feet, my man." Rocket went up to him and did their fist bump, a series of elaborate claps then finished off with finger guns accompanied by their almost realistic attempt at pistol fires.

"Haha. Yeah? I'm glad I'm back." He waved as Rocket pointed at his back. Roach turned to see Maxine, carrying a packed lunch, waiting at the end of the hallway.

"Hey you. Just in time for lunch as always." He smiled, wrapping an arm around her as they made their way to the mess hall.

"Glad to see you smiling and walking about." She says, as her palms ran across his firm chest, tracing the scar that changed his life.

"Yeah, finally passed the damn physical test." He grinned as they sat down at their usual table, the only table which consisted of two tables stuck together to form an eight seater.

The rest of Roach's closest comrades were already there. Alex, guessing what Samantha packed for him. Soap and France arguing which meal choice was best for them and Ghost, who was already halfway through his lunch while the rest of his comrades haven't even started yet.

"Good to have you back, buddy." Ghost greeted with a wide grin on his face, well technically only half of his face was shown.

"Hey man. I sure am glad. How have you been doing?" he joked. They constantly visit him in their free time, so there was actually nothing to catch up on.

"The rest of the squad proceeded to badger Roach with questions about everything they wanted to know. Roach enjoyed the hot seat as the military mess hall felt like the university cafeteria.

"So, any news about Nero?" He finally asked as soon as everyone was done with him. The table felt awfully quiet.

"None." France was the first to speak up. Everyone else nodded and frowned.

"Shit. Guess our only choice is to wait." He added.

"Shepherd didn't have any leads towards Nero. Their last contact was the exchange of blueprints and after that, he was gone." Soap explained the situation.

"The missing persons?" Gary asked.

"Still missing." Alex commented.

"And there are still a few additions every other day as indicated by the FBI and DHS." Ghost added.

"Is interpol still involved?" Roach turned to Ghost.

"They're still after the traces of EMP equipment from the missing persons. Their new lead is that Nero's team is trying out a lethal kind of grenade. One that explodes without damaging property. If he's planning invasion, this is actually a good idea without ruining too much of the invaded country." He replied. Roach nodded at the theory. EMPs only damage mechanical equipment and this was a good call for the bad side.

"I never knew they'd think of this kind of weaponry. I always expected bioweapons being the last of modern warfare." Ghost muttered.

"Well, that was what happened in Verdansk and we stopped it. We could do that again." Alex tried to boost morale.

"Yeah. We'll do whatever it takes." Roach agreed and they continued lunch.

By the time he started training, Roach focused back on his Sniper techniques. His wound may have affected his previous breathing training and it was only inevitable that he'd train it again. He wanted to master the long ranged rifle as it was vital towards his development as a soldier.

"Back on the scope huh." Ghost huffed as they reached their 200 yard mark, by the hill just outside the base.

"Glad you could help me on this one." Roach unzipped the sniper bag and began scouting the area.

"You sure this is your spot?" Ghost asked, using his hand as a visor against the hot afternoon sun.

"Yeah. This fits."

"Suit yourself." He chuckled as Roach snapped every attachment of the rifle, from the bipod stand to the clicker adjustments.

He peeked at the scope and looked at his target. Five small cans standing on top of a log 200 yards away.

"Remember what I told you." Ghost mused as he looked at Roach steadying his breathing.

"Damn." He added as he noticed the change in wind.

"Yeah, damn. I just was about to fire it." Roach muttered as he took another deep breath and began to hold still as his crosshairs adjusted to the shift.

A loud fire echoed across the hills as dust scattered on the ground where Roach fired. He was about a few inches off.

"Great. Do that again but change your adjustments." Ghost said as consolation.

"Yeah got it." He rolled his dial once again and accounted for the wind, easing his breath and fired again. The loud sound once again echoed through the hills, followed by a soft metal can flying away from the log.

"There you go! A clean hit." Ghost congratulated as he tapped Roach's back while he reloaded his sniper and aimed again.

Roach stayed at that spot until it was too dark to continue and Ghost accompanied him until such time. On their way back, Ghost opened up to something that has been bothering him ever since.

"Roach. Do you mind if I say something important?" He asked and it made Roach stop on his tracks.

"Yeah. What's up." Roach asked.

"I've already sent my formal letter, but I just wanted you to have a heads up on the matter." Formal letter. Roach's heart started to pound as his mind automatically thought of him quitting or leaving.

"Letter about?" he asked. His mouth almost felt dry. He didn't want him to leave. Not again.

"Transferring department. Alexandra offered me a spot on the Interpol. I told you this first because I knew that if you were on my shoes, you'd go too, right? Do whatever makes you happy?" he said, quoting Roach's famous words.

He isn't wrong about doing what makes him happy, but his decision didn't feel right either, or maybe because he just doesn't want Ghost to go.

"Well, you bet I'd go for that option too!" Roach said, trying to validate his decision despite not wanting it. It was sad to see him go, but for the first time in ages, Ghost actually acknowledged the term happy.

"I knew you'd understand." he smiled and continued their trail back to the base where Roach remained quiet until they reached the base just in time for dinner.

After dinner, Roach opted for a night jog around the base to clear his mind off of Ghost leaving. After the second lap, he soon noticed Alex catching up to him.

"Wonderful weather for an evening run, huh?" He asked all cheery as he's quite used to his heavier and more realistic leg.

"Yeah. It is. Good to see you're liking Samantha's surprise." Gary nodded and removed his earphones.

"You know, it's really a surprise when I'm the only one who doesn't know about it." He commented.

"It feels like a real leg, actually. The wonders of modern technology never ceases to amaze me." He mused as they both took the turn.

"Yeah? That's good to hear. Pretty sure Samantha loved the way you thanked her." Roach teased as Alex chuckled, like he recalled some memory.

"Oh yeah, she did." Alex nodded suggestively, the kind that Roach didn't want to ask anymore.

"This your last lap?" Roach asked as Alex slowed down for his cooldown, turning to the set of exercise bars.

"Yep. See ya!" He waved as he started his cooldown.

Gary took three more laps just to make sure he's exhausted for the night, so that once he got in his bed, no more thoughts would assault his mind, hindering him from sleep.

There was only one way out of it. And it was accepting Ghost's inevitable departure from the 141.

The next morning, the 141 was briefed on a possible lead on Nero. This time, Ghost wasn't in the room and that meant that his letter was now approved.

"Okay lads. We've received word on a supply drop activity from Nero. We intercepted an unencrypted call signal to an abandoned port just off the coast of Sierra Leone, Africa. If intel is correct, we're going to be dealing with someone who goes by 'Volt', Nero's bomb maker." Price paced in front of the huge screen showing details regarding their mission.

"Volt is a high value individual who must not be killed. He's our only hope towards Nero. The intercepted call came from the USA, and it's quite impossible that Nero is here, so he must've used a secure line. Jack will be staying in the base as our new Operations Command as suggested by Laswell. Overlord will continue his role as our commanding officer as well." Price added making clear about the jurisdiction.

"Damp and dry Africa." Soap muttered.

"Have you been there?" France asked.

"Only in Egypt. My mom used to tag me along her trips." he replied.

"Recon suggests a high chance of militia activity, so our standard rules of engagement; treat anyone as hostile. Volt's compound will be surrounded by his own personal army and they're willing to shoot any unwanted visitors. He also has access to a port, so I'm sending the Charlie team to stand by the shore and make sure they're not planning an escape." he added.

"I'm leading the Alpha team and our task is to infiltrate his base and secure Volt for intel. Bravo team, led by Alex, will act as our support when things go south. As bonus, we need to destroy any trace of bomb making equipment.

Roach, I want you to man our new air support tools from above as soon as we confirm that there are no SAMs on his base." He shot his glare on Roach and he nodded. Guess he isn't on the ground tomorrow.

"We leave tomorrow at 0300. Make your necessary preparations especially on our brand new comms equipment. Ones that are immune to EMP blasts. Dismissed." He said as everyone got up and went on their way. Gary purposefully left himself behind so he could ask Price about the Ghost situation.

"Hey there lad. You feeling good?" Price approached as soon as he noticed Roach.

"I just have a question about the mission."

"Sure. What about it? Any suggestions?"

"No no. The plan is fine. Where will Ghost be?" Price gave him a worried stare.

"Ah. Didn't he tell you about his transfer?" He crossed his arms and stared at Roach.

"He did… but why did you allow it?"

"Well, it certainly looked like he was happy to go there. And I had no power over his commendations." Price reasoned as they walked out of the briefing room.

"Oh. I thought he was going to have one last mission with us." Roach smiled as he walked back to the room. Ghost wasn't a fan of goodbyes. Maybe because he knew they'll meet again.

0300H

Sierra Leone, Africa

"This is Hunter One-One requesting sitrep, over." Roach phoned his allies who were already on the ground for support. This mission was their vital lead towards Nero. He wished that the guy Volt was here so that they could finally finish the war before everyone else gets hurt.

Before he could man the air support, he needed to confirm that there were no SAMs present on their base so he could safely provide suppressing fire from above.

Next Chapter : The SIXth Ship

Notification Squad my Beloved

@whimsywispsblog @ricinbach @bumblingbee1 @smokeywhalee @samatedeansbroccoli @enderio

[l1ana]

Imagine being able to hold Thors' hammer

Summary: Yeet, idfk I'm in a car thinking this up so yEAH—

———

You were the main one to usually tidy up after the messes that the rest of the avengers made in the tower; that included repairing destroyed parts of it. After all, it was the least you could do to repay Tony for letting you in as one of the family. Unfortunately, being let into the family also meant being the main target for idiot or cruel pranks cast upon you by the rest of the team. It was hard to get used to at first, but you eventually made way to accept that everyone were just as goofy and carefree on the inside as they were on the outside— They never meant you any harm.

Today was no different. Long story short: some idiot tried to attack the tower, lots of collateral damage to the tower, you going to clean up the tower. “[Name], you know I have money for a reason, right?” Tony asked, walking underneath the ladder you stood on with a coffee mug in hand. “Yeah but fixing things is my specialty. Consider it a second hobby besides helping you guys kick the shit out of bad guys.” “Language.” Steve groaned, relaxing into the couch. A smirk graced your face. “Figured you'd say that.” Tony took a seat at the dining room table.

“That guy was... Tough.” Clint exhaled an aggravated sigh. “Yeah, tell me about it.” Natasha added. “Are you all okay? I can fix you some cup of tea if you'd like.” You said, waving your hand upwards to have a multitude of tools make their way to the walls and initiated the cleanup. “No, no, [Name]. It's quite alright.” Bucky dismissed, still wondering how you could be in such a happy-go-lucky mood after what the hell just happened.

You reached your left hand downwards, expecting one of your tools to fly into hand. “Uhhh, I can't seem to find my hammer. Can someone get an extra from the closet?” At those words, an idea popped into a certain gods mind. Now he sure enough wasn't the mischievous type compared to his brother Loki, but Thor did enjoy teasing you as much as everyone else did. Clint stared at him with that knowing look in his eyes, fully aware of what the deity had in mind. It was quite obvious to everyone what Thor was thinking, and most of them groaned in dismay or laughed in agreement.

“You honestly can't find any other way to act smooth, can you?” Tony remarked with a sip of his drink. Unlike the others, the capabilities of Thors legendary hammer Mjolnir hadn't been leaked to you at all. And since you hadn't the slightest clue to whatever Thor was brainstorming, this only worked to his favor. “Of course he can't. The only way he knows how to is by telling his long tales of being a god and whatever.” Sam stated with a wave of his hand. To elaborate on what they were saying— Thor may have developed a small l̶a̶r̶g̶e̶ liking towards you. Just a little bit. But honestly, he wasn't the only one.

“You guys just can't leave the poor girl alone for one minute, can you?” Wanda laid back into the recliner while making said comment. “Hey, I'm not the one thinking it up.” Bruce waved his hands around in defense. “Nor am I.” Clint added before doubling with a, “But just in case, 30 bucks saying she'll hold it.” Que the loud and obviously ticked off groans from Steve. “That's a really low move,” He grumbled, throwing his left arm atop of his face. “..... 50 saying she will.”

Bucky threw a pillow at his companions stomach, scolding him for indulging in this idiot plan to make you swoon for Thor. “10 on her not holding it.” Until giving in himself for why not sakes.

Before they knew it, the team was all making quiet bets deciding whether or not your palm could properly wrap around the handle of the legendary hammer without falling. The good news if you couldn't hold it was that Thor could catch you —due to the weight of the hammer knocking you off balance and sending you quickly gravitating towards the floor— in one arm and his hammer in another, looking dashing and being seen in your eyes as ‘hero’. And even if you could hold it, to which he HIGHLY doubted, he'd be getting paid. It was a win-win on either side.

Snickers and moans, followed by a few discouraging comments courtesy of Sam, flew around as Thor aproached the ladder you stood at with Mjolnir behind his back. “[Name], I have the hammer you seek-” Once he turned his eyes up, he immediately dragged them back down to the floor with a crimson stroking his usual pale skin, not wanting to come off as ungentlemanly for staring at your rump. A cough came from his mouth as you opened a free hand and held it out, expecting the hammer to be set into your palm. “Thank you Thor.” Oh goodness your voice was like catnip to a catnip-starved street feline. He absolutely adored it with his entire heart and soul. Almost made him feel bad for what he was about to do. “E-ehem! You're deeply welcome, my dear [Name].” He said, pulling his weapon from behind him and holding it by the base, setting the handle within your palm. His head clocked back towards the team, who either gave a look of affirmation or one of disagreement to his action.

Thor sighed, his fingers releasing grip of the iron block and opening his arms out, ready to catch you.

Nothing happened.

It went dead silent in the tower, the only sound being you hammering the nail into the wall to finish hanging the picture. The amount of jaws that dropped was immesurable. Thor turned his head round to witness the shocked expressions written over his team mates faces. Oh yeah, they looked like all hell had been loose. Deciding to dart his gaze upwards to where they all directed their sights, he joined the rest of the avengers in this awestricken state.

There you were, twirling the hammer in your hand innocently as you wiped the sweat glands forming on your forehead. “There we go. Good as new.” You remarked with a chirp, pushing the picture frame to be straight and neat. You slid down the ladder as the tools fell back into your small toolbox, the top closing itself instinctively with a satisfying snap. “This is quite the odd modeling for a hammer. But nevertheless, thank you for the help. If I had moved, it might've been raining wrenches and iron bits, heh.” A gloved hand, your hand exactly, scratched the nape of your neck as you giggled nervously. Due to your close-eyed grin, you were unable to catch glimpse of Thors' undescribable expression that painted his face.

“I’ll get going to the outside now. Y-you all have fun!” With that you dashed through the living room on your way to the balcony, opening your eyes and taking notice of everyone's faces. “What's wrong? I can always lend an ear if need be.” You chuckled, leaving them all in wake of those words.

“She held it.” Clint was the first to speak up amongst the group, putting a wall between the quietness. “She actually held it.” His mouth was wide enough to stuff and entire pie in as he said that. “She actually held it.” Sam took a long hard stare at his drink, eyes furrowing. What the hell was in it? He wasn't drunk right now, right? Oh well, whatever was in it -or left in it- was gone, down his throat. Natasha just smirked in a know-it-all fashion, retorting “That's what you all get for underestimating the power of [Name],” “Aka the power of unrelenting kindness.” Wanda and Nat did a little fist bump. “Name's worthy... Totally didn't see that coming.” Steve said sarcastically with a smug look. He already foresaw the hammer within your threshold long ago after witnessing what a charismatic young lady you were, always willing to help whenever.

“See, this is the part where I wake up because I know I did not just let a 200 go to waste.” Tony said, pinching his cheeks. Everybody was stuck in conversation, dishing out surprised comments or bragging about the money they got simply from the bet. However, Thor wasn't making any comments at all. No gasps, no inhales, nothing. Just nothing. It was blatantly obvious that he was the most stunned of all. Bruce smirked. “What's the matter Thor? Someone finally picked up the claimed ‘unholdable’ hammer and now you're quiet?”

“To be honest, [Name] is probably the worthiest of us all.” Peter said. “I mean, she has a heart of gold. Literal gold.” He fawned over how much of a sweetheart you absolutely were. Pietro nodded in agreement. “She's a gracious girl with nothing but purity within her.”

It goes without saying that this whole idea of ‘worthy’ didn't define as much to everyone as it did to Thor. So many roads were being laid out before his very eyes revolving around you. This had so many different meanings, so many different futures. You could take place as a ruler of Asgard. You could possibly transend and become a goddess. The head attached to the mop of blonde hair was sent into a ditzy. He was in this state of rethinking literally everything that's eved occured in his life. His emotions were a mix of shock, rage, joy, and so much more— all of them swirling n him and creating a feeling he didn't even know existed. There was no way to even give it proper words. “Hey, Thor.” Rhodney snapped his fingers, eliciting the other to awaken from his daydream. “Oh, yes?”

“So, whatcha gonna do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“[Name] held your hammer. This obviously means something besides the fact that she's boiling with love to spread.” Bucky said. “Isn't there something more to it...?”

“I have to marry her.” Thor said without hesitation. “What?” Everyone in the room perked their heads up. “Asgard must be ruled over with those the hammer deems worthy, and [Name] is without a doubt worthy.” Oh how Steve was happy that he didn't pull the hammer off the table that time when they were all drinking. “Awww, so you finally get a shot to kiss wittle old [Name]y-waymey.” Tony mocked, making fake smooching noises. “He wasn't ever going to make a move on his own, I think it's good that the hammer got involved.” Pietro commented.

“Jeez it's blazing hot out there.” Speak of the devil, there you were, emerging from the outside with sweat running down your body, your clothes almost soaked in the substance. “I could use a drink right about now.” Waltzing your way to the fridge, you bent down and picked out a small glass of water, chugging it down in one gulp and releasing an ‘ahhh’ of satisfaction.

Thor felt something hit his head; A pillow. Glaring at the one who threw it, the god sighed at Clints childish act yet got the message. He inhaled, mustering all the courage he could and walking up to you. “Uhm, lady [Name], I could really-” “Hey Thor. Here's your hammer back.” You turned and greeted, opening his palm to place the hammer in it. “W-wait, you knew this was mines...?” He asked questioningly. “Yup. You always walk around with it after all,” A light laugh emitted as he took the time to process this. “It's pretty light for a hammer that only gods can pick up. Does that make me a goddess?” Everyone overhearing this in the living room snickered. No doubt about it, Thor was going to go crazy.

“Wellll, I guess since it's your hammer, that technically makes me your goddess!”

thor.exe has crashed

[greggermeister]

Dependency management for C++ using Maven and Nexus

See https://github.com/bantling/tools/tree/master/depmgmt

Choice of Maven

I tried using Conan, and found it overall good, but a bit disappointing. I used Conan on a project that needed development for a relatively short time, then it would sit for years with very little development. At some point after the development sprint was done, the Jenkins builds started to fail because IT upgraded the server, part of which was upgrading Python applications that are installed via pip, which includes Conan. Turns out the upgraded Conan no longer worked with the build files we had.

Part of the problem was I had originally set it up so that Conan was only for dependencies - while it had the ability to generate CMake recipes, I felt it would more than likely not work out for some unforseeable reason. Somebody else on the team was the kind of guy who liked to go full bore all poker chips in on a tool, and thought it was better to have a one button solution that can pull deps, generate CMake files, use CMake to generate Makefiles and run them, producing an artifact in one command.

It worked for awhile, then didn't (after he was gone, of course!). He is a good developer, and a smart guy, but I guess did not at the time fully appreciate how such decisions can fail in the long run. In the end, it would have been better if he had left it as is. Nobody was clamouring for a better solution as far as I was aware.

So I decided on a future round with C++ on another project to give Maven a try, because:

I know Maven has native archives

I really only need Maven for dependency management, I don't need to tie it into the compile process (let Make do that)

I figured Maven should really be capable of being a general build tool that can build anything (like Ant or Make)

With some research (and the requisite swearing), I found I could use the following facilities of Maven to create a very simple system for managing dependencies for any arbitrary purpose (in this case C++ libraries and executables):

pom packaging type, which essentially can build anything, but you have to explicitly describe most steps

a minimal ~/.m2/settings.xml file that just provides the id, username, and password of a repo to deploy to

declare dependencies in pom as usual with type and scope added (don't usually need these)

declare a profile in pom to specify value of ${project.build.directory} var for usage elsewhere

declare in pom where to unpack dependencies

declare in pom how to compile code (use make)

declare in pom how to package files (use assembly.xml to declare what gets zipped up)

declare in pom that we want to be able to deploy

declare in pom the server id and url to deploy to (the url could probably be moved to settings.xml)

Obviously, the pom.xml contains stuff you don't normally have to provide, but is actually still smaller than your average over bloated Java project pom.xml with 150 transitive dependencies, and quite straight forward to understand.

I really only found one small minor gotcha: although the assembly plugin is capable of using better compression formats like bzip and gzip, the dependency plugin only allows you to say it is a zip format. Since it is just a tiny amount of code that is being zipped, it wouldn't matter anyway. Yes, the jar packaging type loads dependencies via jar files, but in terms of compression, a jar file is literally a zip file with a different extension - you could use Windows Explorer to compress a folder of java compiled code into a zip, rename it .jar, and execute it with java -jar.

Conclusion

I'm quite happy with the result, the usual maven commands can be used to grab dependencies, compile, clean, and deploy. I would definitely use Maven for dependency management for C and C++ projects, or really any other situation where you need it, and it isn't already provided for whatever reason.

Maven is a really good general dependency manager, packager and deployment tool for pretty much anything you want to apply a version to, and shove into an artifact repository.

It's also extremely simple to test the small app that depends on a library that in turn depends on another library. Just run a single short loop in bash:

for i in cpp3 cpp2 cpp1;do ( cd $i && mvn deploy ); done

That's it - each project pulls in any needed deps, gets compiled, packaged, and deployed to nexus in one command. The README.adoc at the url provided at the beginning of this article also provides a few simple commands to get Nexus 3 running in docker, and ready to deploy to.

[withnive]

210804 니브(NIve)_'bollywoodhungama' Interview

EXCLUSIVE: Korean singer-songwriter NIve on piecing together debut EP Broken Kaleidoscope, navigating through tough times and producing for biggest artists In a crowded space of Korean music, every year you come across new musicians trying to leave a mark with their artistry. This year, more artists have taken the plunge to unveil music and one of them is multi-hyphenate NIve. Known primarily for his emotional and sentimental sound in his music and vocals, the musician has challenged himself with a rougher approach to both, laying down the foundation for a new sonic identity and ensuring that he presents a record that is resonating. After releasing his debut international single ‘Getaway’ in 2018, NIve received much global attention spurring his Korean debut with ‘Like a Fool’ featuring R&B singer-songwriter Sam Kim in 2020. NIve capped off 2020 with the smooth and emotional single ‘2easy’, which featured Korean R&B star Heize and marked the beginning of NIve’s full-fledged Korean promotional activities. In addition, NIve marked his debut as a producer and songwriter after composing ‘Beautiful Goodbye’ for EXO member Chen’s solo debut. NIve also has producing and songwriting credits with some of K-Pop’s brightest stars, including NCT U, Super Junior, SF9, CRAVITY, BTS’ V, and more. After a long 7 months since his last single ‘2easy’ feat. Heize in November 2020, NIve is determined to navigate through turbulent times through his debut EP Broken Kaleidoscope and build a soundscape that presents his story. "With this album, I really want people to listen to this album. This album is for people who are feeling things, but not sure if it's only them who are feeling it or if others are feeling the same thing. This is the album that talks about 'Hey, you're not alone!' Some people are feeling similar things’," NIve tells Bollywood Hungama. Befitting of his title as a rising artist and producer, NIve plays with multiple genres in the album including UK hybrid pop-rock, pop-rock, and adds a human element to the storytelling. The raw emotions of the EP bring a sense of relatability. Post the release of the album, NIve sits down with Bollywood Hungama on a beautiful afternoon to talk about it. Dressed in casuals and zooming from his office in South Korea, a happy NIve discusses at length about his EP, what made him pour his heart into it, how he battled some of the most challenging moments in life and how writing music has been his biggest escape. Congratulations on Broken Kaleidoscope. What's the response like from the fans?  Well, thank you first. So far, I'm getting a lot of like, support, and love from all the fans, who was the video they think is very different from what I've been doing. But then they liked it, which I was kind of like scared for, like, scared and worried about if my friends were going to be able to kind of get used to my new image, and the style. But it seems like it's playing along pretty well. So I'd say things are going pretty fine. There is this presumption that you make sentimental music. This debut EP Broken Kaleidoscope is a complete genre jump in that perspective. What was the process like to curate this album?  As you mentioned, I think of my five tracks in the album. And each song except for track number one ‘Escape’, track number three, they share like all songs are different, like genre-wise and message-wise, but then they play along the top bar. But most important importantly, when I started working on this album, I didn't think about making an album so it was kind of intuitive. ‘Escape’ was the very first song that I wrote for this album, but when I was writing it, I wasn't thinking about the album. I was writing it just to express myself. So, we had no plan to work on the album. I had a lot going on in my mind and heart. I just had the feeling that I needed to express myself. I got like nine to 11 songs and then I selected a few that spoke about my heart the best. So that's how the song list for this album was selected because I was like I wanted the songs that express my heart at best.

While I was working on this album, I kind of figured out that I was always talking about the big messages like the messages that heal people. But I thought to myself except for that, I haven't really shared what's going on with me at a certain point. So this album is really about me at a certain point in my life. So it's very kind of like an intuitive album. What is the significance of this album title in your life right now?  Well, the title for this album Broken Kaleidoscope actually, the concept of the idea started back in 2020, March, end of March.  I started a series to express myself; I kind of started writing diaries. I named it to be my Broken Kaleidoscope. From day-to-day, I have tried my best to keep up with my feeling since 2020 March, and I've been writing stuff that I wanted to hear daily. I've been uploading that stuff on Instagram stories. I wasn't going to continue with the idea. But then I got lots of messages via DMs, telling me that they can relate to what I was saying. Since then I felt kind of like some more responsibility. I felt responsible for not keeping up with expressing myself. So I kept going. When I wrote those five songs, and then my team and I decided ‘Hey, we're going to put this into an album’, we had to come up with the title right. Naturally, my team suggested and I thought too that we like the concept that I've been doing since 2020 – Broken Kaleidoscope to my broken kaleidoscope. So we were like ‘Why don't we name our album Broken Kaleidoscope because these are the songs that really talked about myself.’ So that's how the title came to be. I started the concept because I felt that it described me and expressed me in the best way, in my opinion. We felt that naming the album Broken Kaleidoscope will resonate with what I've been doing so far, which is expressing me to the fullest. In the opening credits of the, ‘I'm Alive’ music video, you hold a gun to your head waiting to pull the trigger. The tagline reads “It was only after getting a taste of death that I could feel alive.” The concluding credits end with you pulling the trigger but we never see if you did that or not. Cut to the last scene, you see a cake with ‘I'm Alive’ written on it. What was the idea behind the music video concept - do you reflect on your dark past and see a light and not pull the trigger? What does the storyline signify?  Well, you pick the right point because, in the music video, I get the gun in my head, and then you guys can never tell if I pull the trigger on that, well, whether I pull the trigger or not, I wanted to give out the concept that it's the way I am trying to express liberation. What does it mean to be alive? What if, you are not able to embrace yourself, and live your daily life? I thought that, is it being alive? Is it like staying alive without embracing yourself? Can you really tell you're alive? I felt we need some kind of liberation. So the gun in the music video is just like one of the tools that indicate death. Apart from the gun, I run, I drive, I sing in the hotel, I can express a lot, right? Like my anger, or like stress, and all those gestures. The fact that there are emotions that we have to go through to carry on with our lives, and to stay, and truly be alive, I felt that we are dismissing all those negative thoughts and negative feelings on purpose because we think it's just not like good to feel in a certain way - in a negative way. While you're alive, it's inevitable for you to feel the uncertainty and chaotic feelings. I felt that you have to go through those emotions and then be able to embrace those for you to be alive and liberated. So I purposely made sure that you guys cannot tell if I pulled a trigger or not. When do you feel alive? Well, I mean, I can give you the cliche answer. I feel alive when I'm writing. And when I'm driving, recently, I got into the habit of driving. So you can tell from the music video that I did for I'm alive. Your track ‘Escape’ has a hybrid rock vibe but the music video has a lot of angst and rage. What are, were or are you escaping

from? From myself. When I was working on the song ‘Escape’, I was in a position mentally that I felt like I couldn't feel anything whether it was positive or negative. I felt I was at my limit; feeling anything was just too much for me. I felt like I need to escape from myself thinking in this way. The only way for me to be able to pull that off was to write about it. So, to simply answer your question, I'm trying to escape from myself, my feelings. Since you worked on many songs for the EP, how did you put together these five tracks that only showcase your singing skills but also shone a light on producing and writing skills as well? For this album, especially when I was selecting songs, as I mentioned before, I was really just trying to select messages more so than the song itself. I can write a song about basically anything, but then, for me to make sure the album is the album I set out to make, I had to set a good theme. I was just doing my best to select songs that fit the bigger theme that I set. So while I was trying, and doing that, I think the songs just came to be. I felt that when I selected the songs, for example, when I selected ‘Escape’, I thought it's perfect for the beginning of the album because I started the idea with the feeling of escaping – the feeling like wanting to escape from myself. The second track, ‘Maybe I Will Die’ – it’s really not about death itself. But then, felt that you really have to go through those kinds of thoughts in order for you to really learn and know about how precious it is for you to want to live. With ‘I’m Alive’; I felt this song is perfect for this album because it talks about staying alive. I think this song has the most straightforward message out of all the songs on the album. ‘Perfect Dancer’ – I think one of them is the brightest song out of the album. I also talk about how I am preparing myself to treat the world with my own attitude because even if I'm imperfect, I will carry through. That is how I felt and ‘Perfect Dancer’ is a song that talked about it the best. Lastly, ‘To My Dear Friend’, is a song that punctuates this album. It really is a song that talks about the final thoughts of my agony, magnetized thoughts, and like the journey of my emotional elevator like an emotional rollercoaster, I think it’s a song that really puts an end to all the emotions that I was feeling. The songs had stories, and I felt I can align those five songs and put them into a story, then I had confidence that people will be able to walk through my thought process with me. When did you start working on this EP? Did the pandemic change the way you shaped it? I think it was around mid-February that we decided that we were going to make this into an album. This year, mid-February, and I've been writing about those songs since I think, maybe last year, December. A lot was going on in my life. At that time, career-wise, my personal life, all my relationships, personal relationships, and everything just jumbled together and led me to kinda explode. I just felt like, I don't know if I can continue, and the only way again, for me was to write. So I guess, since then I just started writing to really literally survive spiritually, and mentally. You mentioned you weren't in a good space, mentally. So, what helped you in terms of your mental health? To write about it? I mean, what did I feel and I tried to keep up with my thoughts, and the only way for me to keep myself safe is to write about it, express it. I'm not best at cooking or dancing; so I think I'm better at music than most of the things that I can express myself. I picked music to be my tool to deliver and write about my thoughts. So that's how I kept my mind and spirit safe. Is it difficult to pen your thoughts that are, basically, your diaries in a way? Now that it is out in the open, people are listening to your diary, does it get overwhelming?  Oh, yeah! It's scary. It's a scary experience because you are emotionally getting naked and now it is out in the world. It's a diary, it is supposed to be your thoughts like written

in the book. You don't normally share your diary with anyone unless it's your lover, but even if it's your lover, it's very rare for somebody to share their diary with anyone, even with their parents. For me, I'm literally doing it with the world. So it's a very scary experience. I don't know how people are gonna react to it. In some way, it's pretty liberating. But then, that feeling didn't really last for too long for me as the album release date got closer. I felt like 'Should I do this? I don't know if I can do this.' Like, I felt very scared. While making this album, did you learn something about yourself?  Yeah, I learned about myself, way more. I learned that I'm not perfect. I learned that I'm not that strong. While I was writing songs about this album, especially because I had to reveal my weakness, I felt like 'Wow, I had this side in me, and I was vulnerable.' I'm not as strong as I know, how I thought that I'd be. It's just, it was fascinating. But now I learned that I'm not perfect. So I write this album that's what I learned. After releasing this album, I also learned that I'm not alone. So that's also what I've been learning that you're not alone in this - it's like a journey. You grew up in many places, not just in South Korea. So who were your musical influences growing up? Well, all the countries that I've been around, it's not too many. However, I've indeed been living a nomad lifestyle. I was born in Korea, went to elementary school in Korea, and then I moved to Australia, went to middle school there. I moved to New Jersey, United States, and then I went to college in New York City. All while I was doing that, I got personal musical experiences from everyone in the country, so I cannot pinpoint who influenced me or what influenced me. I think all those countries, all my life experiences, I think everything was just like mixed, together. By the time that I decided - 'Hey, maybe I should start writing a song' - all those experiences became my inspiration. Now, to that inspiration, I'm adding my heart to it. So everything is mixed. I think that's how the music that you guys are hearing from me came to be. Was 'Beautiful Goodbye' by Chen of EXO, a turning point in your career?  Well, definitely! It's the song that started my career as a producer and songwriter. It indeed helped me in the artist aspect and career as well. Thankfully, the company themselves contacted my company, but I think, really working with different artists gave me not only the recognition, but it gave the experience that not many artists can have. It's very hard. I know that people may think that artists have this, like, huge community, and then they talk to themselves, like from day to day, it really doesn't happen that way. It's just the same as our society, if we don't have a connection together, workwise or conversation-wise, the connections don't happen. But for me, it happened through my songwriting, so I had to learn and experience fairly different things from what a lot of it was like which artists may not encounter. Is it true that before you started becoming a songwriter and producer, you were about to become a clarinet player? I majored in classical clarinet in my college, I went there for a year. So yeah, it is true that I tried my career to be a scientist, or, or a professor, teacher, like to be exact. And then I went to college for a year, and I decided, maybe I want to take a year off from college. Because if I continued going to college, I felt like I would end up, I will not have my way out from clarinet. And I wouldn't be able to have more opportunities to do different things. So I felt like at least let's take a year off from college, and then do whatever I want to do, musically. And since then I'm here. Well, life happens. How long did it take for you to reach where you are today?  I think it took me 10 years to be where I am right now - a little more than 10 years to be exact, like 13 years, but then I'll exclude those three years because I was young and didn't know what I was doing. Professionally, I think

10 years for me to reach where I am right now. I cannot say that I like fully succeeded as a musician. To become where I am right now mentally and spiritually. I think it really just took me 10 years to get here. Is it difficult to produce and write for yourself compared to produce and write for other artists? It is equally hard because there are two different things. When I am writing for myself. I listen to myself, my story and that takes effort. When I'm writing for others, I'm listening to them and try to figure out their stories in the right for them. So that's like a different style of writing from the other. So those are equally hard. Those are very, not easy. Broken Kaleidoscope EP is out now. What is next for you? What kind of journey would you like to take now? Well, I take my journey to another broken kaleidoscope. Yeah, another Broken Kaleidoscope, which means I will not know, actually, to correct myself. I will keep up with my writing my heart out daily, what I feel the emotions. They're very different from not too different than they're slightly different. And so I will be writing my diaries about what I'm feeling like these days and the next album will be another broken class. Go with a different theme. So I'll be working on that. You said that it's a 10-year journey, anything looking at the day when you started writing versus now? How do you see your journey? Where do you think in the next 10 years, you would be? If I'm still alive, in 10 years, I think I'm gonna be doing the exact same thing that I'm doing right now. With all their face. Same thing, same thing, just no work on my craft to be a good producer, myself, and for the others, and just continue to express and I will never stop with the music. Maybe I tried to do different things from here to there. But then music within myself will not change. So which means that I myself won't change. So I'll be doing the same thing. Do you have any set goals for yourself? I don't think I will ever reach a point where I'm satisfied, but at the same time, which means my only dream is to continue with what I'm doing. And right now I'm doing it. So I guess I'm living my dream out.

[echo-three-one]

Chapter 25

Make some dentist appointments after this chapter. (I'm not sure it applies to all)

Sorry for being late. It's my little sister's birthday today and I opted to eat food.

Table of Contents

Off the Grid

"Alex"

MacTavish Residence, Glasgow, Scotland

The worst part of being stomped on the face is that at the end of the day, your girlfriend would end up seeing it. This was what Alex was worried about the moment he heard the helicopter approached their location. But a part of him wanted to just lay down by the bed under Samantha's care. 

Alex expected Soap to be the first one greeting the women, but he wasn't around. He guessed that after all the chasing and the climbing, he opted to take a rest instead of facing them tired. The house was very accommodating on it's own. He didn't need to worry about entertaining everyone else.

Just as he expected, he already saw the frown on Samantha's face as soon as her eyes met his. The same frown from his imagination was manifested before him.

"Alex, Are you okay?" she ran towards him and touched his bruised cheek. Alex tried to look okay but he couldn't help but hiss at the pain.

"A little. I couldn't lie to you now, can't I?" he managed a chuckle. Samantha held his hair and that signaled Alex to lower himself a little so she could kiss him on the forehead.

"Let's get you healed up." She muttered.

"Not until I'm done helping unload these." He suggested. Samantha wanted him to skip out on helping but Alex's face was eager and she didn't want to argue with that.

"Fine."

"My room is the third door by the stairs… that is if you want us to stay in one room together."

"Of course I do, Alex." She smiled and blew a kiss on the air as his lip was too bruised to receive it.

Alex couldn't help but smile. He could feel his insides do a little dance of joy while he's carrying luggage to the second floor, placing both their bags beside each other. Inside their room, that they're going to share.

He knew they'd done this before, but the idea of getting the room all to themselves was different. They are able to move freely without worrying what they might do. And he wanted to hug her, kiss her and whisper soft words in her ear without making everyone else around them all judgy.

Dinner flew by and Roach took the girls out for a tour, Alex took this time to shower before Samantha would come nurse his wounds. He stood in front of the sprinkling hot water, his face looked up, letting the warm shower revitalize his tired muscles. It was no doubt relaxing as he closed his eyes, cleared his thoughts and let his mind ease a bit.

They're safe, Samantha's got her memories back, and they're together now. The New York attacks were over and both Shepherd and Nero were off the grid. They're planning something big and all they could do was prepare for the worst. He doesn't have to shoulder anything as of now and he should rest and recover.

After a few minutes of meditation, Alex was interrupted by a smooth touch that embraced him from behind. He could feel her skin sink against his as she tightly held him, her cheek leaned on his back.

"Alex." Samantha whispered, he couldn't barely hear it against the sound of the shower.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" she sobbed. Alex raised an eyebrow and held her hand, turning around to meet her beautiful face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, the question echoed against the glass walls and bounced to the rest of the bathroom.

"On the ride here. I took a nap… then I remembered something. Before I even got to that Russian hotel I…" she sobbed. Alex pulled her closer and hugged her, she didn't have to worry. They're going to fix this together.

"I gave them the I.P. Address…" she cried. Her tears mixed with the sprinkle of the shower. Despite being already wet, Alex still wiped it off with his thumbs.

"You didn't do anything wrong… You didn't give it away… They forcibly took it from you." Alex told her, his face was angry toward Shepherd. One day he'll finally get his revenge.

"B-but…" she tried to retort, but Alex cut her off by kissing her soft lips, his tongue immediately entered her mouth as soon as she gave him permission. He kissed her hoping it would soothe her worries away, making her feel that he was there no matter what. Her moans made him comfortable that he's doing the right thing, that he's telling her that he's going to be there. So he pushed her toward the cold bathroom wall, tilted his head and showed her what he really felt towards her.

The next morning Alex and Samantha were tasked to fly Nikolai back home. The guy was missing the colder environment and since they didn't have anything at the moment, it'd be best to let him go for now. The team still owed him a cargo plane which was left back at the S.A.S. base. They'll have to deal with that after all of this is over.

Alex didn't have anything to do regarding this task, Samantha just made a few special calls and the next thing they knew, they were already waving goodbye to the Russian.

"Glad we have him on our side." Alex chuckled, hovering his arm as it reached her farther shoulder. Samantha leaned toward him as soon as she caught him doing the gesture, as they took short steps, Alex's leg clumped against the cement.

"You okay with that leg?" Samantha wondered, looking down then back to Alex.

"I got used to it, really. It's not much of a bother once you get used to it." He smiled, wiggling the fake leg, almost showing off at how good he was using it. 

"Is there something wrong with it?" He asked. Samantha's cheeks started to blush red and Alex had no actual idea what was going on in her mind.

"No no. I'm just curious. That's all… Still… it must be hard walking like an incomplete part of a whole." She consoled to which Alex replied with a laugh.

"What's funny?" She asked as Alex used his already clinging hand on her shoulder to pull her closer for a kiss.

"You already complete me, Samantha." He said. His face was too serious to be joking and yet Samantha laughed.

"You know what?! All these corny and cheesy dialogue is my thing. You complete me too, Alex. I…" she paused, staring at Alex's eyes. Alex quickly saw through her gaze, there was a particular sparkle in her eyes. The same sparkle he'd been noticing every time they got intimate. It made his heart beat so fast that he could almost predict what she's going to say next.

He placed a finger on her mouth to stop her from talking. He wanted to say it first. He wanted to be the one whose life changed because of her and not the other way around.

"I love you, Samantha Coleman." he said. Tears. Tears were the first thing he saw once he let out those words. 

"How dare you… finish my sentence." she croaked. She had the idea of cracking a joke between the sweetest of moments. He really liked that about her.

"I wanted to say it first." He whispered, inching his face closer once again. Samantha's eyes were already half closed and Alex knew what he needed to do. He planted another chaste kiss on her soft lips, but this time, Samantha surprised him by gently biting his lip, making the former CIA flinch. He chuckled and kissed back once again, pushing her toward the gazebo until they found her pinned on one of its tougher beams.

"Oh." She giggled as Alex's hand trailed on her side, squeezing her soft skin gently. Alex's smile beamed wide as he knew her reaction. 

"Are we really going to cause a scene here? Mr. Alex-?" She teased, her train of thought paused after not knowing his last name.

He chuckled in a lower register, low enough that he could feel Samantha react to it.

"It's Alexander Collins. But please, just call me Alex." he muttered, planting a kiss on her neck, Samantha moaned inappropriately, sending Alex on an excited rush.

"All right Mr. Collins. I think we should stop now. Our audiences are feeling a little uncomfortable right now." she turned to France, Maxine and Roach, who were watching 'respectfully'.

Alex waved and smiled apologetically, noting the almost embarrassed expression on Maxine's face, the slightly smirking Francine and Roach's hidden thumbs up.

"I'm sorry guys. We'll be off now." he said, escorting Samantha back to the house.

The day went by and Alex was more than happy that he got to spend the rest of the day with Samantha. Hell, even the thought of waking up spooning her was more than heavenly. 

Now, he lay gently on his bed while Samantha was out to cleanse his bruises.

"Ow. Careful nurse, I'm quite vulnerable..." he winced playfully.

"Now, now, my little patient. This will just hurt a little." She played along, wiping a soft cotton ball on his bruised cheek.

"Will there be any sort of injection? I hate injections." he groaned, fake sobbing.

"Oh? You hate injections? I personally thought you were amazing administering them?" She teased, slightly blushing at her green joke.

Alex quickly caught wind of her joke about injecting and immediately burst out laughing.

"I can't believe you said that." he said, laughing in between his words, almost choking.

"Kidding aside… I almost forgot something…" She said, setting aside her medical tools. She got up and gently straddling on his body, making Alex groan a little and hold on to her waist.

"What could you have possibly forgotten?" he asked, his face full of curiosity.

She leaned in closer to him and whispered three words that made Alex smile in delight.

"I love you." she whispered and a kiss followed. Alex knew from that moment on that he was more than willing and ready to spend the rest of his life.

Next Chapter : What's Behind Door Number Two?

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