#i started it in 2021 but i think i might start adding one more facial piercing to her each year hehehe <3 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

luckcycler · 3 years ago

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Since character design is something you clearly are great at: what are some important things you've learned about it via trial and error?

oh gosh you are making me blush

this ended up being kind of all over the place and long but here goes!

1. Fundamentals

You might have heard this many times already but shape language and silhouettes are important there are many great videos on youtube about these fundamentals!

2. Colors and patterns

Additionally, the human brain has this fun thing where it likes patterns and recognizing patterns

Can you recognize these?

These are literally just different colored blocks but I'm pretty sure you can recognize at least 2 of them if you are a Danganronpa fan. And I bet it's Kokichi and Monokuma. The thing about them is that they have one very strong association in their character design, and that's a checkered pattern and a black and white split. No one else in any of the game casts have this visual quirk. It's their own individual design, which makes them recognizable.

3. Themes and concepts

On the other hand, you can try to make the character be recognized as a concept/theme. Dr is pretty good practice ground for it if you are making ocs since every character is supposed to have a specific skill/career. Let's look at Kirumi.

I see a lot of people say that her design is bland but I think a part of the issue is that a lot of the ndrv3 cast wears white/black/monochrome, which is why she sorta gets lost in the sauce so to speak. (Additionally the black and white could have been more contrasted but I think that was a style choice since the series uses a lot of washed-out colors) imagine if she was the only character in that cast that wears those colors, she would stand out more.

But one thing that's very clear about her is that she is a maid. She has some clothing pieces that make it clear, like the apron dress and the headpiece (I don't know what it's called I'm sorry). And the thing is they could have just put her in a basic french maid outfit but they actually tried to add her personality and what she would wear into it. (WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT BTW MAKE SURE YOUR CHARACTER WOULD ACTUALLY CHOOSE TO WEAR THE OUTFIT UNLESS IT'S NOT THEIR PERSONAL CHOICE)

Something that I cannot stop gushing about is her gloves though. The metal rings make me think of door knockers ("knock knock, housekeeping!") and I think that's very clever that they have been added to her gloves. It is also a detail no other character in any of the other games has, which makes it recognizable to her.

Kirumi does not only have a maid theme, but she also has a spider theme going on. (as you can see with the web design on the apron dress). I think they could have pushed a bit more with the spider theme but I think it still works.

So what I'm trying to say is try to make your character have at least one unique design choice to them, be it a pattern, an accessory, a theme.

4. Don't be afraid to push your characters to look different from one another

one of the main points that I realized at the start is that don't try to make your character look attractive. Sometimes this can hinder you from making an interesting cast of characters. (this is partly about the same face syndrome, but this also goes for body types). It might feel very weird and not look great at the start as you are exaggerating features but trust me. Prioritizing the uniqueness of the character over how much your friends would want to play lip guitar with them really helps in the long run.

Once you get used to it, your characters will start to look prettier again when you are tuned to it but they will also look more diverse with their facial and body features!

(Tetsu from 2018 when I started experimenting with facial features on the left and the same guy from 2021 on the right)

(And my entire cast! I think they look different enough from one another for them not to be mistaken for one another even if you made them bald '<___< hopefully...)

I think those are the most important things that I figured out about character design! Remember that I'm self-taught and my personal experience isn't the one and only way of designing. So don't take my suggestions as the law.

And if there is anything to take to heart from this post, it's that one of the most important parts is to make them recognizable and memorable.

#danganronpa #lc ask #character design #there's so much more I could talk about this but this is getting so long liwjsgljgf #fangame help

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penwrythe · 2 years ago

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I posted 214 times in 2022

That's 91 more posts than 2021!

59 posts created (28%)

155 posts reblogged (72%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@penwrythe

@cym-k

@regal-bones

@gittetj

@sarroora

I tagged 152 of my posts in 2022

Only 29% of my posts had no tags

#queue - 53 posts

#objectxenofiction - 42 posts

#xenofiction - 40 posts

#worldofrelics - 38 posts

#themundanerealm - 32 posts

#object xenofiction - 31 posts

#characterdesign - 29 posts

#xenofiction worldbuilding - 25 posts

#objectoc - 25 posts

#xenofiction art - 25 posts

Longest Tag: 135 characters

#...wait are all objectshows technically xenofiction? or at least the ones that explore objects as objects but not stand-ins for humans?

My Top Posts in 2022:

Update on Sylvania the Elven Ground Staff!

Finally inking her!

Just working through my backlog of WIPs

Initial drawings and refined design

6 notes - Posted March 3, 2022

Feedback Needed on a thingy!

Hi everyone, this is Penwrythe and I would like to get some feedback on something!

Over the past three years, I have been working on my worldbuilding project, World of Relics! This setting has sub-worldbuilding projects: Rise of Relics and the Mundane Realm. World of Relics features living objects in a high fantasy setting. They are kind of like the classic fantasy mimics from RPG games and stories, just without the flesh-eating part, lol.

See the full post

8 notes - Posted January 29, 2022

Update on Pyroblast the War-Torch (Paintbrush II fanart)

I sketched out their facial and head anatomy. I like a naturalistic style with my object characters, so I added a slight curve on Pyroblast's head. I also gave them a fuller pompadour bristle style, too! Details below!

Wing anatomy was something I was stuck on for a bit, mostly because I was bouncing between robotic wings vs a more naturalistic bird-like wing. While designing this, I realized that polearm war-objects like Pyroblast would need some protection on their wing joints and shoulder. So I added a pauldron over the should joint that overlaps with the start of the wing and a segmented couter(?) at the elbow. I also added segmented bands over the metal primary feathers of Pyroblast's wing.

As for the material makeup of a polearm's anatomy: Both flying and ground polearms are made of strong light metals and wood. The wings of a flying polearm are made up of aluminum/thin steel sheets (still researching this) enchanted with spells to strengthen them for combat, flight, and high temperatures. Pyroblast is a Heavy Class General Dread-torch, so their materials need to handle stress from high heat from their fire magic, extreme turbulence from the dynamic flight, and from any attacks from other Dread-torches.

Lower rank war-torches are mostly for aerial attacks on ground armies, while Dread-torches are castle destroyers. Castles would need defense against Dread-torches, either from using Dread-torches of their own (provided from their kingdom's capital, usually for heavily targeted castles) or using other means of anti-air defense.

I'm thinking about using this design for future flying polearms set in the Mundane Realm. For RFR, I might use a more simplified style to show how the first flying polearms still kept most of their original weapon shape before the Inversion Event.

9 notes - Posted January 11, 2022

Broken Mirror - Bygone Era

Feat. Goddess Nikey

Side A

Details!!!

See the full post

10 notes - Posted August 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

18 notes - Posted April 18, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #that last post #I have plans for Sylvania's design....!#let's say it's a long road but the beginning stages of finally putting all my design research together ahahhahahaha

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by-nina · 4 years ago

Text

Exchange

Artwork by @caesurables; do not repost.

AO3 | FFN Royai Week 2021 | Day 1 – King’s gambit/Queen’s gambit Rating: M (light drinking, sexual content) Genre: Lemon Word Count: 3,230

A/N: Happy Royai Week, everyone! Welcome to the spiciest thing I've written so far, which marks the first time I'm starting Royai Week with smut. I hope this feeds you well. Special shoutout to Mica for adding life to this with the gorgeous art! 😍

Something stirs in her; on one hand, it would be easy to call it yearning. But on the other, nothing that concerns Roy Mustang has ever been easy. Riza has always equated these things with methodical moves and calculated risks.

And so, for once, Riza pictures herself playing her game not for Roy’s sake, but for hers. She imagines that the stakes are different, the rules may be broken, and the only person she has ever wanted is both her gamble and her prize. She could have it all now—she need only play her piece.

———

Roy Mustang was made for a night like this. Handsome, stylish dress uniform, hair slicked back like a frame around his striking facial features, an air of dignity in his walk, his posture, even his gaze. He wears it all so well that he stands out from older, more distinguished company in the East City Hotel, where tonight, the Eastern Army is holding an extravagant ball in recognition of its recently promoted officers.

Riza is present as well, of course. For the occasion, she has traded her usual military attire for a blue satin gown with a flatteringly slender silhouette. A sash pinned with the insignia of her rank hangs from her shoulder to her hip. Having gone up the stage much earlier in the program for her own recognition, she has now retreated to the far end of the room, from where she’s got a full view of Roy as he waits to be called in front of the crowd.

Her promotion from Second to First Lieutenant is nowhere near as significant as his becoming Colonel, but it is no less her night than his. Selfish though the thought may be, it’s true that Roy owes this night to her, every title and every honor conferred to him. In every aspect of his life, she has made a crucial choice that allowed him to take a step in the right direction towards their goals—his goals that she has chosen to make her own.

“For the rank of Colonel, Roy Mustang…”

It was Riza’s choice to join him in the military, and it was this choice that has kept him on his path and his eyes on these goals. She has been devoted to his success just as much as to her act of atonement, but she was not subservient to either. Roy also carries with him the burden of their sins in Ishval. Her responsibility over his atonement means that she has more power than a subordinate would normally have under their superior. Anyone could be a dutiful subordinate or competent bodyguard, after all, but only she could be trusted with his life as well as his death.

“… the formidable Flame Alchemist…”

And it was her choice to reveal the secrets of flame alchemy, entrusted to her by her father, that first set him on the path towards his goals for the people and the country in the first place. Had she not trusted him, Roy would have searched further and longer for some other practice of alchemy. Had Riza chosen to die with her father’s secrets, Roy might not have come anywhere near who he is now.

“… and Hero of Ishval.”

Every choice she has made in their intertwined lives has determined the course of his, even when he should have been none of her concern. This was especially true in Ishval. She could have pulled the trigger at any time when she despised him most. She could have reversed the choice that brought him to Ishval. Riza chose instead to be an ally—a friend in a war where every other sense of humanity seemed to have been lost.

The Hero of Ishval was made through her actions; as was the Flame Alchemist; as was this shiny new Colonel Roy Mustang. As he is introduced by Lieutenant General Grumman, he takes his place at the center of the ballroom stage, and his titles and promotion seem all the more impressive due to the fact that he is the only new Colonel being recognized tonight. The crowd erupts in a reverent applause which Riza does not join in.

In different circumstances, if it weren’t for the very cards they have been dealt, tonight could have truly been happy, a cause for celebration. But their plans continue forming and unfolding; this game on which they have staked their lives does not pause. And so Riza watches him as she drinks her champagne, quietly imagining the steps they ought to take next, the moves they must plan, the sacrifices she must make in this gambit where she is both player and piece and he is the king set to take it all.

Her life is a game which she plays for Roy Mustang to win.

When his moment passes and the ceremony moves on, Roy descends from the stage, searching through the crowd for Riza. He finds her and meets her gaze across the room, and for a moment she wavers in her train of thought. She is familiar with this feeling. She has felt its pull before, but never this strongly, never with enough clarity so as to explicitly name him its object. How could she possibly feel it towards someone for whose sake she has forgotten her own needs and her own desires? How could she not be indifferent instead?

Riza leaves her champagne on a nearby table and turns in the opposite direction to walk off its effects. The party thankfully offers plenty enough distraction from the drink and from Roy. She meets a few colleagues here and there, makes small talk, and when she loses sight of Roy, she’s certain that he has been intercepted by people wishing to congratulate him or rub elbows with him for his prodigious rise through the ranks. She soon manages to extricate herself from the crowd and disappear from the ballroom.

———

“You should be celebrating tonight, Lieutenant.”

Riza knows that Roy has found her before he even speaks. She didn’t think that he would. She had wandered around the hotel until she found herself in distant, unfamiliar hallways decorated with beautiful artwork that she could admire until her intoxication had worn off enough to safely drive home. But there is no mistaking the sound of his footsteps or the scent of his perfume tinged with the liquor from the party. Part of her wants to disappear again, but his proximity in an otherwise deserted place seems to further slow down her currently unreliable reflexes.

Riza smiles dryly. “Does it matter if we received our actual promotions a week ago? We all know this is just an excuse to flatter ourselves and have a good time without spending our own money.” Roy smirks as she shakes her head. “Either way, I think I'll enjoy the party much better here, away from the crowd. But you're everyone's darling for the evening. They'll be wanting you back."

Roy sighs and rubs the side of his head, as if the very thought tires him. "I see enough of them at work. And there's going to be more of them around now, especially when we get transferred to Central. This night isn't about them."

The mention of Central causes Riza to bristle with alertness. She whips her head around to ascertain that the hallway is deserted. Behind her, she finds an intricately carved double door, and she quickly strides across the hallway to it. To her surprise, it is unlocked; the room beyond it appears to be dark and deserted. Riza shoots a glance at Roy as she enters. He swiftly follows.

Riza spots a nearby floor lamp just before she locks the door. For a moment, the room is pitch black, then Riza switches on the lamp. Its warm glow is just enough for her to make out Roy’s face and the silhouettes of the furniture in the room. They seem to have found themselves in a lavish parlour with a high-backed sofa and matching armchairs, a handsome tea table for two, a fireplace carved from white marble, and a vintage piano.

“I see you’re already making plans for proceeding to Central,” Riza begins. “We should be more careful about discussing them from now on, Colonel. Everyone has their eyes on you.”

Roy stares at her questioningly. Then, a small laugh breaks through his expression, and he shakes his head. “I’m not. I didn’t come looking for you to talk about our plans.”

She frowns. “What is it, then?”

“It’s just like I said. You should be celebrating tonight.” He draws what sounds like both a nervous breath and a laugh. “It wouldn’t have been right to enjoy the party without you. You’re the reason we’ve both come this far.” He pauses, and then his voice turns softer than before. There is no trace of a smile left in it or on his face. “I know you know that, Lieutenant.”

In the soft light, Roy’s face appears flushed, his features softer than they were when she watched him back at the ballroom. Riza doesn’t realize just how close he is until the scent of champagne on her is lost to his raspberry wine. Something stirs in her; on one hand, it would be easy to call it yearning. But on the other, nothing that concerns Roy Mustang has ever been easy. Riza has always equated these things with methodical moves and calculated risks.

But never in any of their plans or her own did she consider this a possible outcome, that Roy Mustang would be kissing her with one gentle hand on her face and another on her waist, or that the warmth of his body could be such a welcome comfort. He kisses her as if he has known for a long time just how closely he would need to lean in, how to tilt his head to the correct angle so that the curve of his lips would fit perfectly with hers. Riza senses this not because of unrestrained passion—on the contrary, Roy is perfectly still. The kiss is tender, but the rest of him is tense, as if it’s the only thing holding him together now. Or as if it’s the only thing he has held out for all this time.

Roy breaks away from her slowly, and it’s Riza whose heart is thundering in her chest. Perhaps, had the game been hers alone to play, it wouldn’t have led them so far so soon. Had it been she to approach him first, they might have only teetered over their fragile lines and not fully crossed to a point of no return. But Roy has taken her by surprise where the playing field has always seemed to be even between them. This, she cannot accept—she has never made a gamble that she did not see through. This will not change now.

She will play her game on her own terms.

Riza flings her arms over Roy’s shoulders as she kisses him, one hand running through his hair and undoing it back to the style she knows and likes best on him. It makes her want more—thank heavens that he realizes it right away. He responds so ardently that they stumble, so he steers her until she falls back against the piano and dissonant notes blare over their sighs. His hand runs down her side, over her hip and into the slit of her blue dress, where he reaches under her thigh and lifts it up against his leg.

But Riza refuses to give in so easily. She trails her hand down his front, all the way down to where he has started to turn hard. A gasp escapes him when she wraps her fingers around his erection and tugs at it. It gives her an opportunity to push back and reverse their positions so he is seated on the piano—it clangs unpleasantly again—and she is leaning over him as she makes short work of his jacket and his shirt to kiss his chest. The further down Riza drags her lips, the less familiar she is with the territory she is exploring, but she goes on until she brushes against that warm, rough outline. Riza tugs his trousers down, and when he springs free of his clothing, she takes Roy into her mouth.

He is exactly how she wants him right now, inelegant and vulnerable with his head hanging all the way back. Riza starts off slowly, but she is eager to figure out whether she can get him to unravel more quickly with her lips running back and forth along the length of him, or with her fingers massaging the base which her mouth cannot reach. His pleasure seems to build unhurriedly until she twists her tongue around, making him throb and moan quaveringly. She becomes hungry to hear more of him and picks up the pace, never mind that the effort is choking her. Roy grips her hair until it falls out of its pins, ultimately coming loose down her back. She goes, and goes, and she thinks he might be close, but then—

But then Roy pulls her up so he could kiss her, and Riza sighs in pleasure, and it isn’t enough for her just to watch him unravel anymore. She falls into him in a blissful, drunken haze, allowing him to kiss and caress her and unzip her dress. She could burst into flames at every part of her that he touches, even the scars that he had left on her back when their game was at its deadliest. He begins rubbing her between her legs, and there it hardly matters whether his touch flutters over her skin like candlelight or pushes as suddenly as lightning—the sensation just builds and builds, like a storm stirring up the sea.

How could he know so well what to do with her, how to give her just enough and yet leave her wanting more without ever having explored her this way before? The question is quickly lost in Riza’s mind as he finds other ways to arouse her. Now, he’s pulling the top of her dress down, switching positions with her again, alternating between kissing her lips and her breasts. It’s easy to follow him where he goes when he’s leading her through a dazzling trance, easier than it has ever been to follow him in any other way.

The storm slows only once as Roy’s lips brush against her ear with a stammering plea. “Do you want me to—can I keep going?”

Riza hardly recognizes the sound of her own voice when she gasps, “Please.”

Slowly, carefully, he enters her, with her dress hiked up above her hips. Despite the mild ache that comes with it at first, it feels better than anything she could have planned or imagined. Riza is shaking now. She buries her face in Roy’s neck and moans there, where only he can hear her, and she feels his excitement growing at the sound of it. He begins to thrust into her—clang, clang, clang, goes the piano—first at an even pace, which helps ease away her initial discomfort. When the tension disappears from her shoulders, she finds herself swaying against him hungrily. He varies from going exhilaratingly fast to tantalizingly slow—clang, clang, clang!—and at some point, she whimpers—

“Roy—"

It seems to awaken something feral in him. Everything he does with her is greedy now, from his kisses running clumsily from her neck to her lips and back, to his hands grabbing at every part of her that he can reach—and although she likes him like this, unhinged and at the same time in complete control, it makes her want to give him more than she is getting.

Riza pushes herself off the piano and into Roy, and he is more than willing to let her drive him down to the floor. There, she pulls at his hair as she kisses him, then shifts slightly so he can kiss her chest while she slowly sinks down and allows him back into her. Their rhythm is easier to find this time. She starts off at a pace that builds up the heat in her body just right, then later allows his hands and hips to guide her with more fervor and intent. Soon, the pleasure is just too close for her to wait any longer, and they are both overcome with an aching desperation—

“Roy”—she pleads, groans—“oh—"

“Riza—ahh—fuck—”

“Don’t stop, don’t stop—"

Roy climbs over her, snaking his arms around her to grab at her chest, and he enters her from behind without breaking their rhythm, thrusting vigorously until and throughout her release. The rush, the bliss, the high is simply unthinkable—Riza presses her forehead down and bites her own hand hard to keep herself from screaming. She sinks into an ungraceful sprawl on the floor, drenched in sweat and tremors and Roy’s weight all over her body, but also as feeling if she were made purely of her sensations, with no physical body at all.

A moment passes, or two, or an eternity before she turns to lie on her back. Roy has collapsed next to her and entangled with her, so he adjusts to make way for her. She then finds herself looking up at him; Roy is leaning over her, seeming like an entirely different person with his gentle gaze, his tousled hair, his clothes only barely clinging to his body. His clothes—a reminder of who he is, and therefore, the gravity of what they have just done.

The high subsides almost as quickly as it came over her.

The room is piercingly silent as they scramble back to their feet and several meters away from each other. They keep their backs turned as they smooth their clothes back onto themselves and comb their hair into some normal, unquestionable style. Riza’s senses settle back into rationality at last. This was not a different way to play their old game. This was a temporary escape, a rare exception to her life’s unwavering rules.

“Riza.”

It’s unsettling how he says her name as if it were what he normally calls her, so she does not respond. Surely, he understands that what has just transpired between them must remain in the past, in favor of the reality that they left outside the door. Surely, he knows as well as she does that that reality has already resumed before they have even left the room.

He calls her name again. Riza, again, refuses to acknowledge him.

“Lieutenant.”

Her resolve wavers for only a moment. Riza knows exactly what he is doing. She knows her own excuse for this lapse in judgment—she knows how to keep it from happening ever again. But she can tell by his current insistence and his earlier passion that he doesn’t consider this a mistake like she does. This is, after all, exactly how he plays the game—head on, without hesitation. Roy has broken the rules more thoroughly than she has. He would have done so without her instigation. He has made perfectly clear the gamble that he is willing to make for her.

Riza turns, brushing past Roy and out of the room without so much as looking at him—leaving him behind the door, leaving as much of her selfish desires as she can possibly let go of—because she knows she must keep him from gambling everything away.

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princecharmingmendes · 4 years ago

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Heart by Heart | Chapter X | Raul Mendes

*secret agent AU*

Y/N and Raul have been friends ever since they could remember. And falling in love with your best friend can be pretty tricky and messy 99% of the times, add that to the fact they're constantly risking their lives side by side on the field since they're both secret agents, and the best team that's ever existed. Perfect recipe for disaster.

Hi, this chapter is finally here, it's a bit shorter, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for that long anymore and on the cliffhanger, and this was also important for the story development. Anyway, this is the tenth chapter of this series, you can find the first ones here. Please read the warnings on this one, if you don’t feel comfortable with the contents listed on the “warnings” section, please read something else, there are a lot of other works on my masterlist and on the “fic rec” hashtag on my blog. Please give me some feedback and I hope you guys like. Happy Reading!

previous chapter | masterpost | next chapter

*Word Count: 2K+

*Warnings: cursing, violence towards the reader, blood, kidnapping, hostage situation, angst.

Please don’t read it if any of this subjects make you uncomfortable, feel free to check my masterlist for other writings.

*Posted: September 16th, 2021.

-*-

Raul was a mess as soon as he was able to get into an empty room.

He allowed himself to finally let the severity of the situation hit him. He had no idea where Y/N and Tom were, if they were alright or what could Geonoff could possibly win with this. He certainly would’ve tried blackmailing them to get something in return of the two agents he had in his hands.

He’s been pacing back and forth in the tiny room as he tried to remain calm enough to keep his rationality so he could still be helpful. Raul just wanted to punch his way into that base and get the kid and his girl back, but he knew that was completely stupid, even for him. He could practically see the frown on Y/N’s face if she ever heard his brilliant idea, and the vision alone was almost enough to bring him to tears. Instead he shook his head, knowing that letting his feelings take control would only be a waste of time in this situation, and that’s something he learned a long time ago when he first started working with his best friend.

She was a really rational, and maybe even a bit cold on the field. Always with a sharp remark on the tip of her tongue and a thousand of extra plans in case something failed, she could easily slip into the role of the Professor in Money Heist. Constantly analyzing and thinking. And while she was clearly the brain of their duo, Raul was clearly the heart, not thinking twice before jumping head first to save someone or get and intel. And that’s why they worked so well, he pushed her to be more spontaneous while she kept him in his place (and alive) most of the time.

He needed her more than ever right now.

The sound of hushed whispers and two pairs of shoes approaching him, made Raul sharply move in the direction of the door, still on edge, and waiting for it to reveal his visitors. As soon as the handle turned, he was met with his triplet and Celine wearing the same saddened and worried expressions. He might’ve come down to help with the investigation as fast as he learned about his best friend.

Peter sighed taking in the sight of his brother. Raul looked like a lost puppy in distress, eyes on his face but his mind was clearly somewhere else, shoulders sagged and curls a mess from the constant nervous tugging habit he had. One look was enough for him to know he was carrying all the guilt and having no clue how to fix it. It’s the same look he gave his younger self when he accidentally broke his brand knew camera.

“We’re going to find them” was the first thing he said and Raul nodded, looking unconvinced “It’s not your fault” he then added and at that, his gaze finally seemed to snap into place as he stared his brother dead in the eye.

“Whose fault is it then?” his voice sounded a lot smaller and less threatening than he pictured.

“Geonoff’s” Celine mumbled “but not yours, you did what was best, what was right”

Raul shook his head in response, mumbling a quiet ‘yeah, right’ under his breath, but Celine was quick to take three steps closing the distance between them and placing both hands on his shoulders.

“Cut this shit right now” she snapped, catching both him and Peter by surprise “you and I both know I’m not your biggest fan and never truly got what everyone else saw in you, but this past months changed my perspective of things and you’re actually a decent person, a great friend and an amazing agent, and you did the right thing” she said squeezing his shoulder for great measure “and you and I both know Y/N would’ve wanted you to do the same thing, she’d be proud of you”

Raul nodded slowly and Celine let him go at that, as he was still processing her words. Peter finally reached his brother, placing his hand on his shoulder as he turned to face him “I know you’re going through a lot right now, but we need you to help us find her, we need you to hold on a bit and try to think of the places they could possibly take her, everything you heard or saw on the past month is useful”

He nodded again “yeah, okay, I can do that”

“Good, come with me then” Peter said patting his brother’s back “she’ll come back to us, you and I know her enough to know she’s probably making their life a living hell”

Raul snorted a little laugh, that didn’t quite reach his eyes and nodded along, as they dragged him back into the main room. He needed to do what Y/N would in his place, shut his feelings off and analyze every every they took.

-*-

Y/N starts slowing coming back into her senses, feeling her muscles burning, her arms stiff and head hurting, the dark place she was situated doing little to help her regain her memories. She tried looking around to see if she could find something useful to recognize the place, only noticing a slim frame still unconscious close to her. The person had its back to her, but from their clothes and body type, she was able to recognize them as Tommy.

Tommy who was still breathing and almost at arms reach.

That was a good sign, or as good as it could be in this situation. But he was there, breathing and no signs of big blood loss around them, so no external wounds that needed to be taken care of urgently. She tried to reach for him, but the heavy chains attaching her wrists to the cobblestone floor kept her in place.

She tried locating their belongings, or anything that could help them get out of there, but it was all missing. Raul was also nowhere in sight, which probably meant he wasn’t there and probably the info was delivered safely. At least that’s what she hopped with no signs of him around them.

There? Where the hell was there?

That’s when it finally clicked to her, she had no idea where they were or how long was she out. They could be across the ocean as far as she was concerned. She had to get them out of there. But before she could start planning their way out with absolutely nothing and Tommy still out, she heard the grating of the old and rusty hinges coming from the only way in and out of that room, a heavy iron door.

Coming from the source of noise that snatched her attention was the man responsible for all of this. Geonoff Reyes himself. Wearing a button up shirt, with the sleeves rolled back, and a pair of dress pants, and a smug look on his face. He took lazy long strides getting close to her, crouching down in front of her.

Geonoff smirked at her “You know, it’s pretty hard to fool me and you almost got away with it, if it weren’t for your stupid boss you’d be home by now”

Y/N just blinked at him, a completely neutral facial expression on as she stared up at him, making him tsk.

“By the way, how is your little boyfriend? Does he know this relationship is just an act or you manipulate him as well?” he asked and she didn’t even flinch at his statement, noticing that her silence was doing more at getting him upset than clapping back “it must be sad, being such a pathetic agent and letting his little girl and friend get caught as he fled, and in the end discovering this was one sided”

Her gaze shifted quickly to Tommy and then back to Geonoff’s face, that was too close to hers for her taste “don’t worry, he’ll live for now, need him to get you to cooperate” and Y/N felt a little lighter knowing that, taking all the self control she had to not let that show on her face “you know they’ll never find you, right? Thought about sending a little photo as a gift for them, but might do it whenever we move to our next location, better lighting and stuff”

“What do you want?” her voice was hoarse, but she was able to keep her tone steady enough to not seem frightened.

“Oh, sugar, missed that sweet voice of yours, it matches your pretty face, just wish I could see that beautiful smile again, but we’ll get to that” he said patting her cheek with his long fingers, making her insides turn in disgust and she had to swallow the sudden wave of nausea down “I want something simple, just know all the info you’ve been feeding your precious little team for the past weeks, you’re smart enough knowing I wouldn’t mind hurting you to get what I want”

Y/N only stared back at him watching his brow twitch in annoyance “don’t want to hurt your pretty face, so cooperate with me and I might even let you go safely”

But her silent response seemed to be enough for him to loose it, because he took a deep breath before slapping his hand across her face for the first time. The pure shock of the action almost made her react, but she held her face up as she kept staring at him, her face burning but she wouldn’t give him the little taste of a small victory at breaking her neutral mask of indifference.

“This could be so easy” he mumbled slapping the other side a little harder “you didn’t have to do this, you could be free by now” the third one was stronger than she was expecting, making her face turn with the pure force of it, the loud sound coming from the aggression echoing on the empty room and down the large corridor, the echo making her realize there wasn’t much down where they were, mostly just blank empty walls without doors to divide the sound.

“What is it? Anything you’d like to say?” he asked grabbing her chin and yanking her face to look up at him, but her mouth remained closed “well, your choice”

After a few consecutive hits, one being so strong making her face collide with the wall when it turned, and she felt the sticky liquid running down her face. Her skin probably breaking with the brisk contact with the stone wall, cutting her cheek in the process. The seemed to please him, since he let out a loud boisterous laugh, making her lean her head so he could see it better mumbling a quiet “vicious bitch” under his breath “stop fighting back” before going back to it.

After a couple more minutes, her right cheek numb already, Geonoff said grabbing her face roughly in his hands, forcing her to look up at him ��Come on, sugar, you’re really stressing me out here”

“I’m truly sorry you had to kidnap and keep two agents hostage to try and prove you’re better than your sister” she said blinking at him monotonously and that seemed to hit a nerve, because Geonoff squeezed her face harder in his palms before pushing her head against the wall.

Y/N felt her limbs giving out as her vision got blurry, her vision going dark before she felt her body leaning to her side and hitting the floor with a dull thud. The sound of shoes hitting against the rocks and the door being shut closed again a sign that the man lost his patience and left them behind. She tried fighting the numbness getting ahold of her body, but ended up succumbing at the end.

The sounds of waves breaking somewhere near them and the constant throbbing of her head dragging her back into unconsciousness.

-*-

*Please reblog or like this post if you liked it so I’ll know.

*I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.

*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this!

*Hope you guys enjoyed it!

*xoxo

-🌙

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muddywarriorcat · 3 years ago

Text

I posted 1,940 times in 2021

34 posts created (2%)

1906 posts reblogged (98%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 56.1 posts.

I added 1,914 tags in 2021

#michael art 🖤 - 866 posts

#michael 🖤 - 612 posts

#michael fanfic 🖤 - 262 posts

#michael myers - 60 posts

#slashers - 31 posts

#halloween - 29 posts

#dead by daylight - 23 posts

#comfort character - 18 posts

#michael myers x reader - 7 posts

#halloween kills - 6 posts

Longest Tag: 82 characters

#also if any of you love this interpretation of the character that’s perfectly okay

My Top Posts in 2021

Because I can, I’m gonna share two Michael x Reader headcanons I have that I’ve just been thinking about a lot.

So first, if Michael ever takes a shower he will waste most of the hot water. He likes how it feels so he will spend a lot of time just standing under the shower head letting the water fall on top of him. You’d have to tell him to stop doing it. It’s a 50/50 chance if he’ll listen to you.

Second is a hell of a lot more fluffy. If you sleep in the same bed as him, he usually gets up early and leaves. He may stay a little longer but he’ll usually get out of bed before you do so you wake up alone. However, one morning either he wakes up late or you wake up early, either way he’s with you when you wake up. You immediately light up from seeing him there, and he doesn’t show it but seeing you that happy melts him. He then starts to stay in bed a little longer so he’ll be with you when you wake up. Expect morning kisses too.

That’s it! I just wanted to share these really bad.

95 notes • Posted 2021-05-19 17:15:49 GMT

I’m just gonna come out and say it.

Those who write that Michael Myers wouldn’t like cuddles are cowards.

You can take my touch starved Michael Headcanon from my cold dead hands.

110 notes • Posted 2021-03-10 18:03:34 GMT

So very recently, I went to DisneyLand and being the Michael simp that I am, I came up with several Michael headcanons that have to do with taking him to the park.

Michael Myers’ S/O Taking Him to DisneyLand Headcanons

-Let’s pretend this is in a universe where Michael doesn’t have as much of a chance of getting caught by any authorities and you could theoretically take him to Disney

-DisneyLand and parks like it are not Michael’s thing, but you had bought the tickets behind his back and he loves you so he’ll suffer through it

-You would have to tell Michael that he can’t wear his mask in the park, he will be very pouty about it

-Michael isn’t very fond of crowds, so it’s probably best to go on a slow day for DisneyLand

-There are two thing you should never make Michael do while he’s in the park

-One, do not get him ears

-He will rip them off and refuse to wear them so matter how many times you try to put them back on

-Two, never ever take him to meet characters

-It might be tempting to see Michael awkwardly interacting with the various costumed characters around the park

-But unless you want to find yourself trying to reason with park security after your boyfriend has broken the arm of an employee in a Mickey costume, it’s best to keep him at a safe distance from them

-When it comes to rides, Michael doesn’t really fear anything, at least not anything like drops and going fast, so you can take him on pretty much any ride in the park

-Michael would not be a fan of most of the rides in FantasyLand

-To him, they’re just vapid and not worth his time

-The one ride he would despise is Small World

-The repeating song would drive him mad

-His favorite ride would probably be Haunted Mansion

-He likes the darker tone and much more morbid and death-related sense of humor

-He won’t admit it, but he’d think the stretching room section was pretty cool

-When it comes to rides with big drops or that go fast, you won’t hear a reaction out of him

-He’s not going to scream or make noise, this is Michael we’re talking about

-However, he may have a more “facial” reaction to things such as drops

-Let’s just say, his face as he goes down the final drop in Splash Mountain is to die for

-Michael would be more interested to see YOU freak out over the rides you two go on, which is partly why he doesn’t put up a fight when you drag him on one, as much as he may hate it

-The one thing Michael would really like in the park is the food

-Mans has got a big sweet tooth and would love all of the various foods in the park

-Just make sure he doesn’t eat too much of it

-Fireworks would actually be one of the few things to impress him and really catch his attention

-He wouldn’t get emotional over them, but the beautiful colors mixed with sweeping music he will maybe admit are really nice to experience

See the full post

119 notes • Posted 2021-08-27 07:16:25 GMT

This has to have been done before but the word needs to be out there.

I don’t trust bitches who hate Cicero 😤😤😤😤

286 notes • Posted 2021-03-23 06:56:02 GMT

I just saw someone post this picture:

This is a picture featured on the Japanese Halloween Twitter account. And when I say that account is one of my favorite pieces of Halloween media I am not kidding-

Because of my love for it I wanted to share some photos they have posted. All of these were promotions for Halloween(2018) and sadly they didn’t do this exact thing for Kills more than likely due to Covid. But these photos and more still exist on their account for you to find. At the end of this I’ll add a link so you can check out the account yourself but I’ll show off some of my favorite images now. I may reblog this with more in the future but I want more people to know this exists because it is all GOLD

Please Enjoy

See the full post

399 notes • Posted 2021-10-29 08:52:35 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #that’s too much tumblr 😭#michael 🖤#michael art 🖤#michael myers #slashers #halloween #michael fanfic 🖤

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shroomcult · 4 years ago

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Hey folks!

Here’s my Day 1 post for Soma Week 2021. Tooth-rotting fluff towards the end - please enjoy. ^-^

@soulxmakaweek

Maka awoke with an audible groan, first registering the lack of her weapon’s familiar soul wavelength in the room before anything else. Whether she was disappointed or grateful of his absence was difficult to determine in her hazy mindstate.

Soul had been fussing over her for the past day, and while his concern for her comfort was endearing - his mother hen routine got old fast.

His over-attentive behavior was at least understandable. He had little to do cooped up in their hotel room, and ended up alternating between watching cooking shows at a considerately low volume, pacing around what little square footage they had, and laying in his bed beside hers tapping out the rhythm to whatever was blaring from his headphones. He was sure to pester her about how she was feeling at least every 20 minutes and his restlessness had been grinding on her last nerve before she fell into a fitful sleep.

If she had to hear “you okay?” or “need anything?” one more time, she was liable to snap and throw the closest object to her directly at his dumb, fluffy head. Not that he actually deserved it.

If she were being honest with herself, she was mostly frustrated with the situation itself - not Soul.

Well, maybe she was a little frustrated with Soul.

He may have been outwardly kind towards her in her predicament, but she could feel something else beneath the surface of that. She was well-versed in the subtle language of Soul’s facial expressions after all.

He was dying to tease her, and while she commended him for keeping his mouth blessedly shut about the humor in her suffering - she knew it amused him at least a little bit.

Because despite the fact that they had been sent to the bustling beach-side city of Recife, Brazil to take down a particularly cunning and repulsive kishin - she was not stuck in bed over any kind of work-related injury inflicted during their battle with the corrupted beast.

There was no glory or dignity that could be gained from the current state of her weakness. She had not received her injuries from a tense and thrilling battle, but instead from being negligent in her application of sunscreen before falling asleep splayed out on a beach towel under the unforgiving afternoon sun.

Soul had even recommended that she apply sunscreen a second time for her “hella pasty” skin and she responded to his comment in kind by throwing the sunscreen bottle at him with impressive accuracy and force.

Now she was bedridden with what was likely sun poisoning and had a complexion comparable to a hot dog.

Perhaps she should have taken Soul’s advice after all.

She also may have reached her last straw with Soul’s smothering behavior earlier and said something along the lines of “please get the hell out of here and give me at least an hour of peace,” before taking her rather unsatisfying nap.

That certainly explained his absence.

She let out a heavy sigh before deciding she would deal with the pain of moving so that she could re-apply aloe vera for the twentieth time that day. Only this was the first time she would be doing it without Soul’s assistance.

It was difficult to reach most areas of her back without him. She was certainly flexible enough to do it on her own, but the pain that came with stretching her arms was something she would prefer to avoid experiencing if possible.

She started on lathering her arms and chest area first, grounding herself in the way it stung yet soothed at the same time.

She only got through a small portion of her back before the combination of fatigue, nausea, and pain convinced her to give it a rest.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to just figure out where Soul was. She didn’t need him or anything. She was just checking in - making sure he didn’t get himself into any trouble while she was asleep.

She made an awkward hobble across the room to retrieve her phone, careful to avoid bending her scorched appendages on the way there.

It only took a ring and a half for Soul to pick up her call, and she cursed herself for the way her entire body relaxed a little at the sound of his voice.

“Hey. Everything alright?”

He had that pleasant gravelly quality to his voice that usually indicated he either just woke up or he had a few drinks.

“I’m fine, Soul. I just woke up, actually. What have you been up to?” she’d tried to sound casual, but the hitch in her voice when she tried to lower herself back on to the bed betrayed her. The soft cotton sheets felt like they may as well have been a brillo pad against her sensitive flesh.

“Just givin’ you space like you asked. Found a neat little place to drink just down the road from us. To be honest with you, I think it might be a swinger bar or somethin’ - everyone here is middle aged and horny as hell.”

Maka felt a twinge of irritation at that last comment. Was he really off flirting with a bunch of Brazillian cougars while she was stuck in bed?

“S’not like I’m interested, but they keep buyin’ me drinks anyway. I don’t speak very good Portuguese and they seem to think that’s pretty sexy of me,” he added with a throaty chuckle that raised goosebumps across her skin.

“Why don’t you just stay there all night then! I could care less what you do!!”

She felt a bit childish for her outburst, but blamed it on Soul’s innate ability to push every last button she has in very few words.

“If you don’t care, then why’d ya call me in the first place?” She could just tell that his lip was curling into a smirk by his voice alone. Oh, he is so lucky he’s not in book-throwing distance.

“Just wanted to make sure you weren’t dead in a ditch somewhere,” she murmured with only a little bit of edge left in her.

“Oh yeah? That all?”

“.... Also, I guess you can come back to the hotel room.”

“Sorry? Can you speak up a little?”

“I said you can come back to the hotel room! Don’t make me say it again or you can sleep on the streets!”

He responded with an amused snort, “Oh, that’s very gracious of you. What a loving and benevolent meister I have.”

“Yeah, whatever. Don’t fall in a ditch on your way here.”

“Love ya too, Maka. Be there in a few.”

With that the phone call cut off, and she was left staring at the ceiling and feeling an overwhelming warmth in her face.

She decided to blame that on the sunburn rather than her weapon’s comment.

It only took about 20 minutes before she heard the click of the hotel door as it swung open, her partner poking his head in first and flashing her a shark-toothed smile before he kicked the door open the rest of the way. He was carrying an entire pack of drinks under his arm and a plastic CVS bag in the other.

“Stopped by CVS round the corner. Dunno if you’ll like ‘em, but I got these weird electrolyte drinks. S’posed to help hydrate you better or something,” he said as he plopped down at the end of the bed, emptying the contents of the plastic bag.

“Also got you some ibuprofen, more aloe, and a couple snack things. I know you said you weren’t hungry, but you should really try and eat at least a little bit.”

Maka only nodded, slightly overwhelmed by how caring he was being despite her recently sour attitude.

He tilted his head to the side for a moment, regarding her with gentle eyes before he got up and sat closer to her on the bed, being especially careful not to let his legs touch hers.

He slowly placed the back of his hand against her forehead muttering something about a fever, but she was too focused on his close proximity to her to even register what he was saying. He smelled of beer and limes and sunscreen.

His skin was a perfect bronze color, and he was showing off a lot more of it than he usually did. He was clad only in swim trunks, slider sandals, and a loose-hanging tank top that the top of his scar peeked out of.

He had been out in the sun just as long as she had, napping right beside her even, and yet his skin only tanned; never burned. The lucky bastard.

He used the same hand he’d checked her forehead with to brush back a few stray hairs from her face. “Sleep okay?” he asked in a hushed tone, as if he were worried his voice would bother her.

“I slept okay, I guess. Not much else I can do right now anyways.”

He nodded and gave a sympathetic click of his tongue, running his hand through her hair a few times before reaching for the aloe on the nightstand.

“Need me to get your back?”

She ignored his question, opting to rub the short-cropped silver whiskers covering his jaw with her palm.

“You need to shave.”

He rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated huff, squeezing the tube of aloe into his palms and rubbing them together.

“I’ll just take that as a yes and pretend you think I’m roguishly handsome.”

That earned him a laugh from her that clipped short when he placed his hands softly on her back. It only hurt for the first brief moment of contact, but she soon hummed her approval as the stinging sensation in her back felt dulled and soothed wherever his hands caressed her.

He was talented with his hands - knew just the right amount of pressure to give and take at each moment. She really had needed this. Trying to reach that spot between her shoulder blades on her own had been a nightmare.

Minutes passed with only the sounds of their breath and Soul’s practiced hands over her skin. It should have been awkward, but it wasn’t. Everything was just easy with him.

“Hey, Soul?”

He acknowledged her with a noncommittal grunt.

“Thank you. I know I haven’t exactly been pleasant lately, but I really do appreciate all of your help.”

She wanted to say more, it felt as though she hadn’t really expressed to him how much he means to her, but Soul wasn’t one for flowery words and declarations of love. She knew that was enough of a thanks for him.

“You don’t gotta thank me for all that, Maka. We’re partners, this is what we do for each other.”

“Right,” she whispered, a faint smile gracing her lips.

“All done,” he announced, “you gonna hang tight and read for a bit?”

“No - I’d like to, but I just feel too tired and nauseous to focus on anything like that right now. Maybe I’ll just try to take another nap.”

Without a word, he sauntered over to the book she had brought - a period-piece romance novel that he would make fun of at the first given opportunity. After it was in his grasp, he collapsed on his back right next to her. He really did kind of reek of beer, but she didn’t have the heart to push him away.

Once he found her bookmarked spot, he started from the top of the page with a hardy clear of his throat, reading the lead male love interest’s lines in the most posh and ridiculous accent she could have imagined.

She immediately burst into an uncontrollable fit of giggles and snorts, which only encouraged him to continue, smiling from ear to ear as he did.

She nearly ran out of breath when he began reading the female heroine’s dialogue in a shrill voice that sounded more like an old British nanny than a pretty young woman.

He continued this entertainment for an admirable hour and a half before he had to admit that his vocal cords were defeated from the strain of ‘fancy British lady voice.’

By the time he had put the book aside, she had a hand curled around his bicep and her face was buried in his neck.

He’d said he was watching TV, but he fell asleep within 10 minutes of setting her book down much like an old man.

Her skin felt dry and tight, a feeling she was easily able to ignore while Soul was reading for her. She was aware that she’d need to get up soon to re-apply aloe, or she’d regret it later. Yet, it was so difficult to move away from him.

He was breathing deeply, and he smelled less like a bar and more like a beach the closer she was to him. He always looked so peaceful when he slept too. He looked young, like he didn’t carry the exhaustion that he usually does.

Despite the calm, collected demeanor he always tried to hold around others - he carried a lot of weight on his shoulders from pretending to be the person that other people need him to be. From taking the load off other people’s backs, he only strained himself and she felt this tiredness from it all that seeped into the very cracks of his soul.

She wished he didn’t have to try so hard all the time. She wished he could let himself be taken care of for once.

“I know you told me before that I don’t need to thank you. That the things you do for me are what I should expect from a partner, but you really are more than that to me, Soul,” she’d only whispered this into the crook of his neck, but she lifted her head up just to check that he was still unconscious.

He appeared serene, his breathing steady and not a crinkle in his face to indicate her words had disturbed him from his slumber.

“You can always depend on me too. I’d love to take care of you the way you take care of me. You deserve that - you know that, right?”

Not even a twitch.

She sighed, not expecting him to respond in the first place, but a little disappointed she hadn’t had the courage to tell him this while he was awake. She assumed it safe that he was in a deep sleep and began threading her fingers through his thick tufts of hair sticking up from his forehead.

“I know that when you say you love me, you’re talking about as a partner, as a friend. Well, I love you too. I love you a lot, Soul. I’m always afraid to say it back ... because it would carry a different weight when I say it. It’s like I’m afraid you’d just know.”

His breath hitched for a moment and her heart nearly jumped into her throat.

He only readjusted slightly, pressing his cheek against the top of her head and making a small sound akin to a whimper before his breathing evened out again.

She let out the shaky breath she had been holding and turned her head ever so slightly to press a soft kiss to his throat, where she could feel the warmth of his pulse.

“I hope we stay partners for a really long time.”

#SoMaWeek2021 #SoulxMakaweek #soul evans #maka albarn #soul eater

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andrebearakovsky · 4 years ago

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Folks, I promised you an essay with all my thoughts and feelings, and I'm giving you an essay with all my thoughts and feelings. Buckle your seatbelts because we are going on a bumpy ride. My essay, directed to GMBM.

I'm going to start off with: this trade makes absolutely no fucking sense. PARTS of it, maybe, but as a whole? No fucking way. The Caps sent a HUGE package to the Wings. They sent off Vrana, Panik, a 2021 1st, AND a 2022 2nd. For just Mantha. I don't know about you, but that seems EXTREMELY lopsided. Like Mantha's good I guess, but not enough to command ALL that. And he's signed for three more years beyond this, which like as face value demands a little bit more in return, but once again, not ALL that!!!

I'm gonna be honest I could not tell you much of anything about Mantha and how good he is. I see highlights of him sometimes, which means he's got some talent, but like he's still a big question mark. And he's a big power forward, which like on the one hand fits the model of the Caps, but on the other hand you ALREADY have SO MANY dudes on your roster who do exactly what he does. Vrana gave you speed and skill which you didn't have with just about anyone else on the roster, and now you have barely any of that which concerns me.

I have some serious concerns about the direction the team is going with this move. This team is OLD and SLOW. There's something to be said for experience but uhhhhh. The ENTIRE roster can't be old that's not a good move. And by trading Vrana you get rid of someone who is the opposite of both of those things, which was adding balance to your roster. And like Mantha's not old, he's 26, but that's still older than Vrana, who is 25. You're not helping yourself here. AND getting rid of this year's first when your roster is old as dirt is REALLY concerning to me. AND you're gonna be slower, did I mention that? Which also concerns a LOT. The only one here with any speed at all now is Carl Hagelin. Which is like. Alarming. I see teams like the Rangers skate around them and make them look like fools and this is not going to help.

So I guess my main point here on the logic side is that I don't understand the point? How are you improving? You're not getting anything new; everything he brings is something you already have. The fact that they traded Vrana is not exactly surprising, given his diminished ice time and recent scratches, but what they traded him for doesn't make sense.

And like I'm not SUPER upset Richard Panik is gone, he wasn't adding a whole lot to the lineup, but I am gonna be sad about the fucking destruction of the Czechoslovakian Mafia. You took away their leader (Vrana) and destroyed it in one fell swoop. I know all the Czechs and Slovaks were all friends so that aspect in them being gone makes me sad.

NOW it's time for my feelings. FIRST of all, how DARE you!!! How D A R E you!!!!!! I love that sweet boy!!! No thoughts head empty!!! An absolute delight!!!!!! His facial expressions so good, his interviews so funny, and I just!!! Seeing him always made me smile!!!!! And now I am ANGRY and HURT and UPSET and DEPRESSED!!!!! How DARE you take this joy away from me!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK YOU. I have so many good memories of him during the Cup run and now I think of them and want to cry. I get no more Jakub memories now. And you, personally, ruined this.

More hurt feelings: Vitek Vanecek and Jakub Vrana have been very close buddies since they were drafted in the same draft in 2014. They're both Czech, and they both came up in the system together. Joined at the hip in the minors. There was one prospect camp where Jakub fuckin translated everything for Vitek because Vitek like hardly knew any English at that point (there's even a sweet moment in this video when Jakub asks also-a-tiny-prospect-at-that-point Pheonix Copley to make sure Vitek gets to all the right goalie stuff). Jakub made it to the NHL much earlier, but when Vitek finally, finally, FINALLY got his break and made it to the NHL, Jakub was SOOOO happy for him!! And they were finally going to be able to live out the dream and play in the NHL together on the same team and you RIPPED THAT AWAY YOU FUCKING BASTARD.

My feelings are big hurt. You can't just trade Madison Bowey and then Christian Djoos and then Jakub Vrana on THREE CONSECUTIVE TRADE DEADLINES that's just illegal to my feelings. And a hate crime. I remember this article about all three of them coming up together in 2017-18 and now I'm extremely upset again. The ONLY silver lining here is that Christian Djoos is also in Detroit so he and Vrana will get to be reunited (unfortunately they missed Bowey by just a hair; the Wings didn't sign him over the offseason, so he went to Chicago and then today just got traded to Caps West in Vancouver).

You know I really thought the Raffl trade was the trade I was going to get Big Mad over today, but I literally didn't even get a chance to be mad about that. That one's fine I guess, a nothing move really. He's Austrian, and the Caps do love to collect their different nationalities. However I am still concerned about the age; the Caps trade two of their youngest players in Vrana and Siegenthaler for two players in Mantha and Raffle who are older. Mantha's not MUCH older but it's still older and a little bit concerning.

Also, Mantha is signed for SO MANY MORE YEARS. And like ugh I don't know if I want that. I know nothing about him but three more years sounds UGH right now. I don't want it. Go away. I get the feeling I'm gonna feel about him like I feel about Nick Jensen: you were traded for and replaced a sweet boy that I loved, so now you are my enemy. It's no fault of your own, but you're my enemy. I at least hope you're better at hockey than Nick Jensen.

Oh, and one more thing: the deadline came and went, you made all these moves and STILL DIDN'T GET A FUCKING DEPTH CENTER. You got TWO WINGERS. GMBM did you not see the circus that was the "everyone is hurt and we're resorting to having TJ Oshie play center" part of the season? If there was going to be ONE thing I would have asked for at the deadline, it would have been a depth center. Because currently on your roster you have literally no money to call anyone up, and if any one of the four centers go down it's big trouble, and TJ should NOT be playing center again!!!!!! Dear god!!! You failed on your one (1) task!!! Neither of these guys you got are centers!!!! What are you doing!!!!!!!

GMBM…blockbuster moves at the deadline have never been your forte. Remember the disaster that was the Kevin Shattenkirk trade? Stop doing this shit. You know what works? Supplemental moves that don't disrupt the balance of the whole team. Stick to the Brenden Dillon and Carl Hagelin level trades. You know what your gold mine of a deadline trade was? The Michal Kempny trade. Which was, surprise, a supplemental move and not a blockbuster one. And I'm gonna tell you that outright: you're never going to strike oil like that again. Not ever again. A Michal Kempny only happens once. Please stop trying to force something magic to happen by doing something crazy and stupid. You can't just go LOOKING for a Michal Kempny on purpose, and the big trades where you ship off an important, beloved top 6 member of your team is certainly not where you're going to find it. I'm just…stop.

Frankly, GMBM, I'm getting tired of you. You've tested my patience. You emotionally destroyed me to my core with the Marcus Johansson trade (which I STILL have not forgiven you for, and never will), and banishing Vrana to Detroit of all places might be the last straw. I'm gonna say the same thing I always do when trades like this happen: prove me wrong. I fuckin DARE you to prove me wrong. I for one am VERY displeased with this move in every possible way, both in my feelings and my logical hockey brain. Show me that I am wrong, otherwise it's going to be bad news for you in the future. I really think you made the wrong, wrong move here.

#i'm so upset #but mainly angry #enjoy my essay #i worked real hard #jakub vrana #washington capitals #original post

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omegatheunknown · 4 years ago

Text

AEW ALL OUT 2021

In which, not to get ahead of myself here, AEW puts on one of the best major wrestling shows in several years*, following the simple yet effective principle of giving the people what they want and sending everyone home happy and hungry for more.

- The incredibly 'Nitro' ending of the go-home Dynamite, which ran a little long on the 'heels beat everyone up and strut around like assholes almost too in desperate need of comeuppance' bit, short of garbage raining into the ring, did actually increase the heat for both promoted matches. Again, not rocket science, but executed perfectly. Catharsis was on the card, and catharsis went over several times Sunday. - Again, it's time to move on from the Casino theme, shuffling the deck and drawing suits really only detracted from the Battle Royale and seemingly always throws the production crew a curve. If they haven't hammered it by now, it's not going to happen. - Bit unhappy about the PAC/Andrade situation, but still over the moon with Andrade's promo style and Chavito being unhelpful at best.

*Pre-Card

Best Friends and Jurassic Express v The Hardy Family Office and The Hybrid 2 (**) - Not usually much to say about a loaded-up multiteam boondoggle, particularly when the show has yet to begin, but there were some moments worth sitting up to take notice -- there's a lot of talent in the ring, even if Jack Evans/Angelico aren't going to be more than mid-level mooks, little matchups with guys like Luchasaurus and Chuck Taylor are opportunities for innovative/weird spots. - Really this match exists to show-off Jungle Boy, play his theme song twice, and work him in to the aforementioned spots. I don't rightly know what Jungle Jack's ceiling is, but it sort of feels like he's plateauing, at least this version of himself. - Dan Lambert thing is interesting in that it doesn't seem to easily lead to something obvious... I mean who are Scorp and Ethan Page feuding with by proxy here, the concept of contemporary professional wrestling? Orange Cassidy and Kenny Omega?

*Main Card

Miro (C) v Eddie Kingston for the TNT Championship (***1/2) - 'Redeem Deez Nuts' T-shirts now available -- and made immediately redundant now that Miro has graciously redeemed Eddie's nuts. - Imagine looking at Miro, listening to Miro talk, and not really being able to figure out this guy is money. Also imagine panicking when he took a little while to find his groove in AEW. 'The Redeemer' is both entertaining and terrifying, and this match delivered heavily on the promise of two big fellas smacking together repeatedly. - Not only does Eddie's arsenal of power moves target Miro's neck, he may also be quite difficult to put in the full reclined camel clutch. Or he'd quite literally snap in half. It didn't come to that. - Weird heel turn by Bryce's attention span and the overall weirdness of the finish is all that kept this from being an excellent match, otherwise this was a tremendous curtain jerker and started off a dangerously fun run of pure adrenaline.

Jon Moxley v Satoshi Kojima (****) - The stakes were nebulous, the build was abrupt, yet this was a fantastic match and tremendous showcase for an underappreciated great who has been more or less just toiling for a bunch of years as a NJPW Dad. Same deal for Nagata, and I assume Tenzan is the same, Taka Michinoku even -- let's see it. - I have to assume the Cozy Lariat might have put Mox down, but Kojima otherwise played the hits (Koji Cutter, Piledriver, Brainbustaaaa) in a big way and Moxley once again proved he's become a very well-rounded wrestler who can match the intensity of just about any former IWGP champion. - More to the point-- KAZE NI NARE -- out of nowhere, too. Or out of nowhere to those not paying attention to the whereabouts of Minoru Suzuki (Right, he's just over here to fight Daniel Garcia and not Mox?), which I guess is to my own peril. Wow, though. Surprise Number 1- a complete surprise, and a welcome one. Let's have it.

Dr Britt Baker, DMD (C) v Kris Statlander for the AEW Women's Championship (****) - I love Kris and her best friends but she didn't have a prayer of dethroning Britt. She got one promo, several weeks ago, and though she did make a meal of Hayter and Rebel, the chase has been abrupt and not given much discussion, other than Mark Henry and whomever else acknowledging what is extremely evident -- Statlander is stronger than she looks, and she looks really strong. They've got her doing Cesaro-level 'modify your grip while holding your opponent's entire weight' nonsense, and it's amazing and scary. - Even with the reign of the good doctor not being credibly threatened, this was an excellent match that demonstrated the continued growth of the competitors in the women's division, even as it underlined that their storylines remain undercooked and perfunctory: Orange Cassidy whipping off his shades to urge Stat to get up was a beautiful moment. Britt's Panama Sunrise, also, too sweet. Statlander eating shit on her 451 and her pendulum moonsault was properly brutal, as were Britt's curb stomps. Really great match between these two. - Again, if they had bothered to write anything into this story, such as Kris' alien physiology making her immune to the lockjaw or something... actually, maybe that's a terrible idea. it's an idea. Undefeated challenger is defeated, on to the next for Dr Britt. Statlander and OC should tag against some of the boys.

The Young Bucks (C) v The Lucha Bros for the AEW World Tag Team Championship(*****+) - Can't not mention the insane entrance lined up for Fenix and Penta. It was bewildering, it was enchanting, it was aggressive, it was hype. It also reminded everybody how very badly we all wanted the Lucha Bros to win. The crowd has been setting new peaks with their volume since Punk showed up, but things were absolutely thunderous and ecstatic at the end of this match. Absolutely valid response. I yelled on the couch. - Nick's facial hair was a bigger tell that it was time for the Bucks to lose than anything else about this build. There's literally nowhere to go from there -- they've done the hair, the bandanas, the kicks, the animal print, the dangly earrings -- peak visual heel for this time and place. - Sincerely thought this was going to be too much of a full sprint spot-fest (the PWG-esque circle of trading blows is not really 'my thing') but even so they kept finding gears, and ramping and ramping and adding blood and brutality along the way. Even a bit of levity, with the tacked up sneaker, followed by the sincerity of Penta throwing himself in harm's way to protect his brother. Immense match, I think you'd have to go back to the Bucks vs the Addiction and MCMGs Ladder War to find a more thrilling tag team gimmick match. - If there's a single flaw to be found it's in the production not really settling on wide angles for simultaneous action at the start of the match. They figured it out. - Rey Fenix is the best luchador in the world.

Women's Casino Battle Royale (**1/2) - If nothing else, this really shows off that they now have a surplus of women's wrestlers who deserve time to hang in the ring. Unsurprisingly, the match picked right up when Thunder Rosa and then Jamie Hayter got to the ring, with additional props to Tay Conti and Jade Cargill, who was dumped rather unceremoniously given her general booking... - Okay, there was something else. Welcome to the rechristened Ruby Soho, who I've not seen a lot of outside of her extremely limited showcase in WWE, but she has so many friends in the back and in the industry and that's never for nothing, not in wrestling, anyway. Intrigued to see where she fits, and if the women ever get more than a match per show. - Touched on this in the preamble but this was the roughest part of the night for the home viewer, just weird decisions on cutting away from various entrances to show... nothing in particular happening. Also while the commitment to not-kayfabing the countdown clock is... admirable? It makes the pacing hinky. - Almost everyone who got new gear for tonight was looking like the white ranger -- Nyla, Swole, Bunny, someone I'm missing. Except Anna Jay, whose stars and glitter gear looked great.

MJF v Chris Jericho for the fate of Jericho's in-ring career (***) - MJF's unauthorized homage to Y2J's entrance: good. Fozzy's guitarist going off tempo with the instrumental Judas: weak, and would've been sad if this were the end for Jericho. Especially as the build has felt... muted, somehow. - Props to the commentary for continuing to feed the red herring of 'in AEW,' as a caveat to stipulation, it did feel like... a remote possibility that MJF would win. - Credit to Aubrey for calling this one down the middle and not putting the fix in for her friend Jericho, and I guess the Dusty finish will give MJF plenty to gripe about. - MJF wrestles with a pure heel style, holds, chops, blocks, and Jericho is fifty years old, so the level of wrestling on exhibition in these matches is well beside the point. It was solid to good, and I was fighting burn out from the first half of the card's level of excitement.

CM Punk v Darby Allin (***1/2) - There are a couple benefits of Darby as a dance partner, and it's certainly better than having to watch Punk return against like, QT Marshall or Shawn Spears. Darby does make everyone look slow, but he can also be tossed around, and this raises his profile even in defeat, obviously. That said, the stakes here are... meta, at best, in that we want to see the man look good and justify the hype. It's a weird thing to root for. He certainly does look good. (Tights? Tights!) - It's fun to theorize about actually booking an angle where Punk is rusty and needs to regain his prowess, and maybe he'll stumble, but maybe the most we get out of that angle is hitting the GTS a little close to the ropes so Darby falls right out of the ring, in what was, for me, the spot that justified this whole match. - Sting's proud step-dad aura is still a hell of a thing, I really liked the end of the match kudos all around. - Match was good, hard to hang my emotions on. I wasn't watching WWE when Punk was in WWE. Definitely feeding off the excitement of others a bit here, and he sure can talk. I'd like to see him cultivate a stable, certainly.

Paul Wight v QT Marshall (n/r) - ...popcorn match? QT Marshall is like the anti-Daniel Garcia in that while his prominence and presence is just as inexplicable, I don't want it to continue, and he doesn't justify it in the process. - Match was two minutes longer than it needed to be.

Kenny Omega (c) v Christian Cage for the AEW World Championship (****1/2) - Crowd was both burnt out and more or less waiting for the post-match angle. Which I get. it's hard to cruise to the main event and having seen all the different things we've already seen on this card, even a singular performer like Kenny Omega and a legend with whom he (surprisingly? fittingly?) has superb chemistry with in Christian Cage were up against it to deliver something memorable. - Context dependent, I can definitely see rating this below their Rampage match, especially since... I mean Christian isn't winning the AEW title off Kenny at this or probably any other event. - But! It was really good! It was very good! They really do match-up well, and Kenny's v-trigger has rarely looked more devastating than when it knocks Christian flat. Christian got cut open in a novel and initially worrying way, and Kenny followed up a botched moonsault with a harder version of the same move off a rail, but it was a really great match and it deserved more energy than was available.

Post-Show - Calling back and inverting the end of Dynamite, The Elite strut about the ring, slightly less stoked than they were on Wednesday, but with the Bucks smiling through the pain, and Jungle Boy once again subjected to violence for his misguided heroism, Kenny 'not much a promo' Omega lays down a killer line about nobody being fit to challenge him who isn't unavailable, already tired or dead. - The Undertaker ADAM COLE, BAY BAY as Surprise #3 was a minor stroke of brilliance, and a fun swerve because while it's exciting to see him, his appearance at this point in the narrative does nothing to solve the problem of The Elite beating up Christian and Jungle Boy. Unless he's still sore about his unsolved murder, which he isn't. Storytime with Adam Cole is back and it's beautiful. Also Jungle Boy died for this. - Okay. But. Just. Okay. CM Punk and Bryan Danielson are All Elite. They will hopefully tag together. Bryan will head to NJPW, almost definitely. Minoru Suzuki just walked in and started slugging on Mox. The Forbidden Door is wide open. Will Kenny Omega one day return to Wrestle Kingdom? There are so many possibilities and they are all very exciting. This was a phenomenal show and it didn't have Hangman Page, Cody Rhodes, FTR, Santana and Ortiz, PAC, Andrade, Sammy Guevara, Team Taz, and the rest.

- Wrestling is good, actually. Imagine watching like five hours of wrestling and loving wrestling at the end of it.

*What competes- WK11, Dominion 2018, 2019, DoN 2019, 2021.. All-In, probably. Wrestlemania 30. A few Takeovers. Kris Wolf's retirement show...

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heuristicallyinclined · 4 years ago

Text

Mallek Week 2021 Day 1: Robots

1.4k| AO3 Link

Beginning the final diagnostics scan signaled that your life was ending.

Well, this part of it. You think it might depend on how you define “life” and at this point you’ve got too much going on to wax fake philosophical on what it really even means to be alive. Especially when it doesn’t change the fact that you’re wrapping up the wetware portion of it.

Really you didn't see how you didn't think of this sooner. You spent so long looking for robots and studying their programming, figuring out what made them tick and make them do what you wanted. Not for this reason, but a guy can have a hobby that helps pay the bills. It taking this direction definitely fucking added to them.

You branched out from just fucking with other people’s shit and figured out how to make your own robot. It sounds a lot more impressive than it actually is. Basically anyone with the right tools could make one. Grab some hardware, attach a computer to it, string some code together, and give it a power source. Add some sensors if you’re feeling fancy. A simple machine is nothing to brag about.

And you didn’t want this to be a simple machine, you wanted to make it you.

The hardware was the easy part. It was mostly finding and acquiring parts that met your standards and your previous work experience gave you more than enough places to start looking. The more abstract shit like the outer casing was harder. A lot of late mornings researching different alloys trying to understand what percentage of aluminum made something not worth your time and how to get a specific blend without anyone asking too many questions. You had enough of those on your own.

The facial plates had to be more flexible, able to move in tandem and convey expression. It was a lot of extra work to not actually bring much practical benefit, but again, this wasn’t just a machine. This was you.

Maybe you briefly entertained the idea of maybe making some sort of silicone covering for situations where you would want to be more subtle about the robot thing. But that got tossed out pretty quickly. That shit ages fast and ends up looking creepy as fuck. So you decided to steer away from uncanny valley and embrace being a sick looking robot.

Customizing it helped ground you when you had to lean away from the tech side of biotech. Biology was never really your thing and not being gold meant you had put all of your focus in those inorganic skills since you didn’t have any psionics to help back you if you fucked up. It’s weird, looking at biological and artificial neural networks, laser etching in familiar patterns to keep your hands as busy as your pan while you were trying to figure out how to start with one and end with the other only to see how similar they were.

It wasn’t weirder than realizing that this might actually have a solid chance of working and not just frying your pan trying to do some stupid shit you weren’t meant to. This could work.

A chime brings your attention back to your screen. The scan is complete.

This is going to work.

You look away from your screen and look at it, you, lying ready on a table. You did good. It looks great. You wouldn’t mind spending time in that between changing out your outer plates and you even gave it some “piercings.” Figure you might as well keep something familiar on your face to help get used to it becoming made of metal.

And then you look off to the side of it, where the wires connected to it led, down the table and on the other side of the room to a glass recuperacoon for your body to rest indefinitely. You’d probably end up spending more time in there than the amount of time you spent in your actual coon throughout your life. Not really what you think your friends meant when they said you needed more sleep. You’re going to be beyond sleep soon.

You take a deep breath and execute your final program as a living, breathing troll and make your way into it.

You'd probably figure out a way to not need your body at some point. What would you do then? Get rid of it? Probably not. You never really got rid of anything. The mess surrounding you is a testament to that and how much of a sentimental fuck you can be. You’d probably just seal it and use it as another surface to pile things onto. You don’t think any amount of code is going to get you out of that habit.

You step in and lay down in the modified nutritional slime and wait, too wired to really register how cold it felt. Your nerves aren’t really helping either as you start wondering if this was just working out too well for you and you somehow missed something important. Still, you buzzing with the anticipation of something happening, good or bad.

You hear a low hum from around you.

The buzz is now literal as an electric current runs through the slime and you are left paralyzed with a steadily increasing static that encompasses all of you. Despite being submerged in liquid you feel like you are on fire and you are painfully aware of everything in your surroundings. This clarity that only enhances your agony. You feel it. You feel everything so much brighter and louder and more.

Until you don't.

Until your body is no longer able process the amount of stimulus it’s getting and simply chooses not to.

It's dark.

And then there is nothing.

Your vision comes back into focus slowly as you open your eyes and see a familiar crack in the ceiling. You think you're opening your eyes at least. It takes you longer than you want to admit to realize you’re adjusting your lenses.

Oh shit, it actually worked.

Slowly, you lift yourself with a weight that you simultaneously do and don’t recognize as your own. The whole thing is disorienting. At first you wonder if the way you perceive things and the way you understand them are out of sync. But then you get it, they aren’t out of sync, you’ve just have never gotten this much information about your surroundings at the same time before.

The closest comparison is it's like you're playing an fps. You are you, yes, but are above and around you and know things you otherwise wouldn’t if you had only just been perceiving from the perspective of someone seeing only what was in front of them. You’re doing a lot more than that now as even something as innocuous as your block floods you with information and even sitting still you are moving faster than you ever thought possible.

It’s a lot. It’s exhilarating.

You get off the table and check your balance, shifting your weight from one strutpod to the other before moving towards the mirror. Your steps grow more sure as you continue, getting more confident that you aren’t going to break this in the dumbest way possible.

And then you see yourself.

The silhouette matches the one you were expecting even if the features were off. Skin lighter and shinier than you were expecting and eyes glowing a menacing red. Some cobalt glints back at you and you can’t help but smile at the image of a pierced robot.

It works. Your face moves and all of the bullshit and work was worth it.

But there is still one final thing you need to try to know if you’ve really pushed every limit you can.

You go back to your husktop, all of the readings displayed are already known to you, and you minimize the window. You open your browser and click on a bookmark you had saved just for this moment.

A familiar window pops up asking you the same question you had answered hundreds, if not thousands of times before. You click the box, lying for the first time, and wait. A check mark appears and there are no words to describe the sheer amount of power you feel.

“i = in;” you smirk.

Notes: I don't know where you thought this was going, but I'm sorry I used this as a vehicle to make a single joke.

#my writing #mallekweek2021 #mallekweek

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tbr-agency · 4 years ago

Text

Return.

TIMELINE ― April 2021

CHARACTERS ― Bang Nara (The Bloody Roses), Bambam (Got7)

AUTHOR'S NOTE/WARNINGS ― Slight Angst. Nara neglects Bambam. Implied sex. Mention of The Bloody Roses. Mention of Yerina missing.

SUMMARY ― Bambam was surprised seeing Nara right in front of his doorstep, after 3 months not meeting each other due to his girlfriend's circumstances.

Chilling on his sofa with Pudding on his chest, Bambam was scrolling on his phone going to Instagram.

While scrolling through the explore page, one of the posts caught his attention.

It was a post of fan-compiled pictures of him and his girlfriend, during the days where both of them were working with his previous company.

Smiling to himself, Bambam noticed something. He was always smiling and pouting on almost all of the pictures.

Usually he would always have a poker-face when fans took his pictures previously.

Bambam can imagine that if it were taken now, him being in a new company, he would be making faces towards the camera with his girlfriend.

His smile suddenly turned into a sad one, after his fingers went to his girlfriends’ instagram profile.

Bambam honestly misses her. It’s been more than a month that they haven't seen each other.

Nara did visit him after she ended her long meeting with MMG, but since then, she didn’t visit him often. But Bambam is still grateful that she decided to often face-time him.

At the same time, he wanted her by his side physically.

“Are you free this week?”

“I’m sorry, Bam. Not this week. I have a meeting with Eunhee today.”

“Oh.. That’s okay then. I love you.”

“I love you too, Bam! I’ll call you after I finish the meeting okay?”

He still remembers his phone call with her last month, which kind of breaks his heart. He didn’t tell her honestly but he realized that Nara kind of neglected him.

Maybe it was just him, Bambam tried his best not to feel sad.

He knew she was busy with work. Ever since the contract between MMG and JYPE ended, the girls have been very busy.

His fingers lead him to his frequent calls, scrolling down to Nara’s name which was labelled ‘Love’ with a heart shape.

He was hesitant to press it, afraid that he would be disappointed if she didn’t answer his call.

This happens a few times and Bambam was obviously sad and disappointed whenever it happens.

He made his decision and when he was about to press onto her contact, the doorbell rang causing him to shriek slightly - which made the cat jump off from his chest.

“God!” Bambam clutch on his chest dramatically, throwing his phone aside while regaining his calm posture back.

Sighing slightly, Bambam went towards the security camera and his eyes went wide for a second. He had to lean forward to see the screen properly, seeing a familiar figure that he had always thought off.

Bambam didn’t hesitate to press the unlock button, rushing towards the door.

His heart started to race in nervousness as he sighed softly.

Twisting the doorknob, there stood the one that he had been waiting for, the one that he wished to see.

Bambam knows her very well by now, and judging from her facial expression, she wasn’t happy at all.

“I’m sorry.”

Both of them sat side-by-side, silence somehow echoed through the living room. Bambam was honestly surprised at how Nara had changed.

He was confused.

“Nara, I—

“I think I should be the one to apologize. I’m sorry for not calling you often. I know I didn’t give you enough attention, like I always do back when we were working together. I just realized it when the other girls somehow had their moments with their partners. I didn’t want to use work as an excuse, but it really is. God, I’m a bad girlfriend. I’m not surprised if you are mad at me. I can take—

By then Nara was already rambling and Bambam out of nowhere jumped onto Nara, causing both of them to fall onto the sofa. He engulfed her into a tight hug.

When Nara apologized, Bambam’s expression completely turned soft.

He has never met a girl who immediately apologized or admitted their wrongdoings.

Yes, Bambam knew she was 3 months late but Nara did apologize to him, face to face. If it was him, he wouldn’t have the nerve too.

He wouldn’t have the face too.

Bambam quietly had her head on top of his chest, him basically cuddling her while stroking the top of her head.

“You could have told me, babe. I prefer to know what’s going on rather than feeling a lot of emotions. I thought your feelings faded for me.”

Nara had a frown on her face, hearing how Bambam sounded, which was hurt. She immediately sat up from him, her face turning towards Bambam who was taken aback by her sudden movement.

What even got him more surprised is how her hands were cupping onto his cheeks, his eyes immediately went wide and his lips literally puck out in flusteredness.

He looked funny but Nara was too emotional to even see his mixed expressions.

“Bam, my feelings would never fade for you. Even if it did, there’s probably something wrong with me.” Nara whispered at the end before continuing.

“Again, I’m really sorry. I knows actions are better than words, I’m trying to—

Nara’s words were cut off with Bambam abruptly pushing her back, his lips crashing onto hers roughly.

Hearing from Bambam’s seductive moan and him somehow pulling onto her shirt, Nara knew where this leads to and knowing she would have to sleep-over his apartment.

Changed into a more comfortable clothing which Nara wore Bambam’s clothes, laughters were filled in the dining table minutes later with different types of food on the table which made Bambam feel twice as happy as usual.

His girlfriend is finally in front of him, indulging onto his favorite food.

He gets double the happiness.

Since Bambam wanted to know what was going on with Nara’s life, she literally told him from the start then to the end, including what she had felt for the past few months - they were mostly happiness and worries.

Now Bambam felt bad for not spamming her, all this while he thought she had it easy after her group had ended contract with JYPE.

“Now I feel really bad. I’m sorry, baby. Now I am the bad boyfriend.” Bambam pouted, although he sounded like he was joking, he really did feel bad.

To sum it up from Nara’s explanation, Eunhee had made her own agency at the same time, making a separate agency building from MMG. Basically for the whole 3 months, the girls had moved all their things from their own office to the new building.

Till now, they were still ‘decorating’ the new agency building and what’s more chaotic is that Ahrin and Eunhee had asked these girls if they wanted to move out of their old shared-house.

Chaotic because they had asked the girls in a last-minute situation where everyone is having their own breaks - except for some of the girls who are helping Eunhee on a specific task.

So far, Ahrin and Eunhee are staying in the new shared house.

Haejin and Yeonji are currently staying in their parents’ house for their break.

Chaeun and Hyunji currently are somewhere in England right now, for their specific mission. Nara too is helping them but she was being told to work from home - which now she is currently staying with her parents’.

“...What is this specific task? It sounded serious since Hyunji had to go too. I mean usually Chaeun noona would always go alone…” Bambam commented, while having a spoonful bite of his Tom Yum Koong.

Nara sighed, putting down her chopsticks. “I don’t know if you know this but Eunhee is adding a member into our team which I am completely fine with and I am happy because the girls know this specific person.”

“Oh! I didn’t know Eunhee noona was planning to add a new member to the team! But if you say you are fine by it, your face says otherwise…?” Bambam tilted his head slightly, leaning forward as he was very curious.

“...The problem is.. We don’t know where she is currently.”

Bambam’s eyes went somehow wide, somehow too into the conversation.

To him, it was as if they were solving a case.

“Well.. where is she now?” Bambam questioned thrillingly, earning a giggle from Nara. Her eyes travelled towards her phone that was on the side.

“....England. I had a tracker on Chaeun and Hyunji, and they found out that Yerina is somewhere in Oxford. It was weird because she turned off her own tracker right after Chaeun called her number.. Yerina was handling a case there..” Nara muttered the last part.

All employees in MMG had a tracker with them, be it when they are having a break or they are on a mission - although in others’ perspective it's kind of dangerous, this was the safest way of finding the specific employees.

Once the tracker has been deactivated, MMG will immediately know since they tracked all of their employees regularly.

“Do you think something might have happened to her? I know Yerina, we trained together and we know her habits. It’s weird for her to turn it off although she is rebellious sometimes but she is smart enough to think.” Nara questioned worryingly toward Bambam.

Bambam knew how the girl was feeling. Out of nowhere, Bambam cupped her hands, his thumb stroking the top of her hand.

“I know you are worried, I would be worried too if one of the hyungs went missing out of nowhere, but I trust Chaeun noona and Hyunji. Come on, we both know how good they are! All of the noonas plus you and Hyunji are aces on finding people! And I’m sure the new member are somewhere, we just don’t know where she is.” Bambam reassured her, him sounding serious this time - his fingers intertwined with Nara’s causing her to feel warm on her cheeks.

Nara forgets that Bambam would always do this when she is worried.

She didn’t know what to say, because she was too lost in his eyes.

“Yah! Stop staring! You’re making me blush!” Bambam immediately noticed this, his hands already touching his cheeks making Nara to giggle.

A satisfying sigh came from Nara as her eyes went back to Bambam. “I don’t deserve you, Bam. You are so precious.”

Bambam’s smile grew wide, leaning forward as he had his hands to support himself to give a peck on Nara’s lips since she was at the opposite.

“Don’t say that, Nara. We have gone through a lot and I’m not going to waste it in a small misunderstanding! You are precious to me too and after today, I’m going to be extra attentive towards you!”

This time, Nara’s smile out of nowhere showed itself - knowing that it was a genuine smile.

“I love you, Bambam.”

Bambam couldn’t describe how happy he is, it’s been awhile that they said ‘I love you’s to each other that Bambam can’t help but to feel extremely shy and blushy.

“I love you too, Nara. Not a pun from Jackson’s hyungs song but, I love you three thousand.” Bambam joked at the end, while wiggling his eyebrows which made Nara to chuckle seeing how silly he is.

Just when Nara was about to stand up, her phone had a notification sound - a different one.

Her lockscreen showed a message.

Chaewidow

We found Rina and you might need to call for backup, because she isn't alone.

The new member of The Bloody Roses!

masterlist : Got7 Bodyguard Au

#got7 scenarios #newest member : rina #yerina isabella #got7 imagines #got7 bodyguard au #got7 au #got7 bambam scenarios #got7 bambam imagines

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xanderwithanx · 4 years ago

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Chloe does night-time diary posts on HER tumblr, so I'm going to start doing them here, sometimes. It would be nice if you read it, but, please, don't feel obligated! This is more for me to write.

(I got tired of my normal journal, I guess. It's full of bad poetry anyway. Besides, where's the thrill of losing anonymity in a physical notebook?)

I've basically been asleep and depressed for several days, because I had withdrawal after not being able to get my adhd meds. But, I got it today, and DID THINGS. (This is SO much better than before!)

Today, I went to a small café or restaurant (focused on tea) called Alice's Teacup that was Alice in Wonderland themed! My long-standing obsession with Alice in Wonderland knows no bounds. It was a really cute place. I got pumpkin pancakes, and some really good iced tea. Like... REALLY good iced tea.

Still, it seemed like the entire place was geared towards having a pot of tea and snacks with your friends, which left me a bit lonely. The person I asked couldn't come, and by the time I heard back, I was more than halfway there. Still, I read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and watched Monty Python on my phone, so I still had a good time!

I dressed pretty eccentricly and effeminately all day, but, with my facial hair, I was ALWAYS coded as a man, even by people on the street! Pastels, a stupid hat, a crop top, and facial hair was a winning combination.

On my way, I was stopped by some guys soliciting for charity. I don't make a habit of stopping for strangers on the streets of Manhattan. What if it's a scam? What if I'm being pressured to buy something? What if it's a strange political rant? But, I had already taken my earbuds off, I wasn't in a hurry, and I'm terminally polite. The first guy said he liked my energy, which seemed to come from a genuine place, because I liked his too!

They were asking for donations for a breast cancer charity, the United Breast Cancer Foundation. After a discussion, it seems like the charity helps pay medical debt, medical bills, and other practical needs, which is much better than *some* others I could name. I regretted not being able to give their minimum there, as it was pretty high, but told them I'd give what I could when I got on the website.

I... did not. Money is tight, because I'm bad and irresponsible with money, even though this is more than a worthy cause. I didn't NEED to go to that tea place, and I don't NEED to spend so much money on food. Sure, I can justify it: I wanted to go to that place for so long, and it was near the college anyway! But, if I was responsible with money, you KNOW my friends direct fundraising drives would go first, worthy charities second. Still, I feel bad about it.

Then, I went to the college library, to get books to start my thesis research. I have literally been unable to go to the college itself, aside from getting my ID, so this was great! There just wasn't a reason. It was... very empty. I went to the library stacks, which was deathly quiet and deeply haunted by the old books. I half expected something to pop out at me, as I turned the stacks, but I wasn't even paranoid or anxious. It was like I was in something else's house. I was welcome, but on thin ice.

I picked up an irrelevant psychology book on the "schizophrenia problem" from the 1930s, out of morbid fascination, and quickly put it down when it threatened to shatter in my hands.

Some students walked past (which was a suprise in those monastic basement library stacks), and I added something to their conversation, in a totally natural and casual way. But, omg the poor girls, I made them jump! Luckily, I'm the least threatening person on earth, and we laughed it off.

After a lot of hunting, I got 5 out of my 10 books (for the most part)! (The rest are, sadly, online. I like to read physical copies.) Strangely, I only came in with a list to get 3 books out of 6.

Most of the books I got are about art in the AIDS crisis, which is the core of my thesis, I think, all with different value. One about exhibitions, one about the larger narrative of those gay artists, and another contradicting the larger narrative.

I also got a book about "Art and Homosexuality". Just, the parallel construction of both "art" and "homosexuality" across cultures and times, from earliest history to the modern age. It wasn't on my initial list, but I'm really excited to read it.

Finally, I got a book called "The Thief, the Cross and the Wheel", about the pain and spectacle of punishment in Medieval and Renaissance European art. I'm mainly interested in Italian Renaissance art of the crucifixion--and its masochism--for the second quarter of my thesis.

The rest are online, and Should mostly focus on Bacchus in the Italian Renaissance (especially through art) and what I call the art of "gay liberation", concurrent with the AIDS crisis (i.e. The Cockettes). These two topics make up the last half of my thesis.

I'm SO excited to get started!!

I even got to cross the college's sky-bridges! (The college is a few skyscrapers.) Still, the loneliness and novelty were kind of the same thought. Imagine if I had been here before COVID, or, if COVID hadn't happened. Who would I have been able to meet? What would the college buildings mean to me? Because, for now, they're just buildings. But, I got to see the street from above, and that was amazing!

Just walking through New York--the Upper East Side--on a cool, sunny day was beautiful. It takes 20-30 minutes to get from my place to the college (and the tea place), but it was great being able to listen to my music (a lot of They Might Be Giants on the playlist today) and see the city. You know, people, super cool old architecture being pushed out by terrible new architecture, and pigeons.

Oh my god, the pigeons. I took pictures, but none of them are good. I kept thinking about how pigeons and doves are functionally the same. We domesticated pigeons, which is why they're here, and no one is stopping to notice them? Even the ones that were splotched with pure white, like doves? There's only so many pigeons you can take until they're just white noise and a nuisance, I know, so don't think I'm blaming anyone! But it's so hard to look away from these quirky little birds.

Also, at one point my walk, I was vaping very strategicly. The mental task of searching through library stacks will do that to you, when you already have an addiction to nicotine. I made sure no one was around, and no one would be affected. I stopped on a corner next to an old, ornate Catholic church while the traffic light changed, and I almost juuled right next to a priest! I'm glad I stopped. I don't believe in Hell, but, I would have walked down there myself had I vaped at a priest. Still, the church advertised itself as LGBT+ friendly, so maybe they aren't so trigger happy on the damnation. Either way, I DIDN'T vape at a priest today, which is good.

Once I got back, I spent a few hours watching things with my amazing girlfriend Chloe, who you may know here as @cisphobiccommunistopinions. She is so beautiful, and I love her more every day, every time I see her. God, it's almost been 5 years!

I just wish I could spend more time with her. She's in Virginia, and I'm in New York. Like she said to me earlier, I'm flighty at the best of times, and, with my lack of object permanence for the digital world, I find myself not giving her the attention I deserve, or, the full connection I long to have with her. We used to live together. Luckily, someday we will live together again! All these problems won't be forever, and we can live together again.

We watched a lot of things, but we're pretty deep into Serial Experiments Lain right now. It's a postmodern anime from the 90s, and, wow, do I have no idea what's going on in it. It's about the internet, and potentially schizophrenia as well. However, I'm obsessed! One day I'll be able to crack this artistic code, and it's unreality, thematic knots, and double-meanings. I will probably understand it better on the second watch. I don't see myself in Lain, but I see my 14 year old self in her, when I had just developed schizophrenia. Her cyberpunk fate seems like it's railroaded towards tragedy, but I want to save her, even if it's silly and irrational.

I told Chloe that I was scared about spilling apple cider on my library books, and she referred to it as "The Great Apple Juice Disaster of September 11, 2021." To which I said that it was the second worst thing to happen in New York on that date. It was funnier if you were there, and also were in my brain at the time.

Anyway, tomorrow I'm meeting some online acquaintances from the college's "Queer Srudent Union" at a Japanese Culture Fair in a park. (I do not know which park.) It emphasizes "fun"! I don't know them very well, but they're friends with the one person I know irl, so it should be good.

Tomorrow night, I should Probably head downtown to check out a gallery show by MFA (masters of fine arts) students at Hunter! After all, I was in a group project with one of them, and they're absolutely brilliant. I missed the Thursday gallery opening by a landslide, because of the aforementioned lack of adhd meds and Being Asleep, which I infinitely regret. I could have listened to all the artists and curators talk about their art and exhibition! Maybe I could have even talked with the artists and curators. But, it's best for me to go sooner, rather than later, so I don't forget. And, I REALLY want to go.

It's "This dialogue which happened to be present in all other dialogues" at the Alyssa Davis Gallery. From the email I got, "Each of these works observes a threshold of transition. [...] [These] intimations [are] of a frame of mind shared by the artists. These works perform, record, access, engage, document, and entrap, embalming the viewer within the gallery space."

sgp is a really good artist, by the way. Their work is just next-level. Be sure to check out their art, if you have a chance. Let me link their portfolio: https://saragracepowell.com/

(I highly suspect spg and the other member of my group project ghosted me afterwards, but I understand. I was really in over my head. Still, they're both really sweet and kind people, don't get it twisted!)

I ALSO really want to see The Cake Boys. They're performing at the 3 Dollar Bill in Brooklyn on September 26th. (It's only $15!) They're the only all drag king collective in NYC! (Are... there any Other all drag king collectives out there?) Other than the fact that a lot of them are trans or nonbinary, which I love, this show is a totally non-judgmental competition for over 40 drag kings! I've heard their shows are hilarious and unique.

I just have to wait until I have $15 to spare. I... didn't eat dinner tonight, because I'm irresponsible with my money and don't want to ask my parents for money... again. Don't worry, it's literally fine, and I don't make a habit of doing this!

Which reminds me! For my birthday, my parents gave me a gift card to Lush! I'm definitely going to Lush tomorrow, which will be great. I would describe my personality as "Lush store employee acosting you about a bath bomb demonstration", so I'll fit right in.

I also made a transition timeline, to show how much I've changed on testosterone. For the better, I hope! I really believe I'm becoming, if not Have Become, the man I was always meant to be. It's so strange to look back at who I was not too long ago, and to know the absolute pain I was in. It's also strange, in a good way, to see the man looking back at me in the selfies. I'm so much happier now! Much more candid in my pictures, at least. But, I know that I'm so much more comfortable as myself than I was even 6 months ago. It's strange. Sometimes I think to myself, "I don't pass yet; I'm not who I Need To Be yet." Then, I look at my selfie from today, and... I'm THERE. My mind just hasn't caught up with my amazing, natural, normal reality.

The end. I have to get ready for bed, (even though I could be partying on a Saturday night in the city. I'm lame.) If you actually read this, I am kissing you on the mouth right now. I hope it made you calm down tonight, like a terrible bedtime story. If you didn't read it and just skipped to the end, don't worry: you did the rational thing.

#long post #diary entry

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bengalaas · 4 years ago

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A Year In Review: 2020 Writing

This has been a strange year, to say the least, and it's weird to look back at the New Year's resolutions I had for it. Writing has been complicated, with little downtime from work and uni, and the lowkey stress permeating this whole plague situation has taken a bite out of my concentration and inspiration.

But here's a review of what I still managed to get done :)

I’ve seen a different end-of-year format making rounds, but I’m using the one from last year. So if you see this, feel free to either consider yourself tagged, or just take the tag as an expression of love and thanks ♥

Writing

My main writing resolution was to finish A Different Kind of Courage (Hobbit fic, Fili/Tauriel) in summer/autumn, but that didn't work out. I did write 27′500 words for it, and I'm not giving up on that rarepair pool noodle lol. At 43'400 words it's also my second longest fic to date :D

I added a 3800w chapter to Canticle of Chaos (Loki x Dragon Age crossover). By this point I'm pretty sure that fic is kinda cursed, so I'm writing it very slowly and only when I’m feeling lucky lol. Nevertheless, I think it's some of my best writing, and it's been a great exercise in “writing for yourself”.

I also translated a wonderful series, Lucky Heart (American Gods, Laura/Sweeney), 5600 words. I absolutely loved the rich mythological and metaphorical layers of the original, and it was a treat to try and reflect the author's style in English, playing with the rhythm and the word choices. Neither English, nor Russian are my native languages, so I’m double proud of this one!

Sometime in autumn I took an unexpected detour and fell into the tiny Varric/Merrill canoe and started a series Mirrors and Manuscripts, currently featuring 2 works at 6155 w total.

And some smaller things: I polished and posted an old F!Brosca & Zevran oneshot (No Honour in Dust, 1260w), and a curious writing experiment with M!Hawke/Isabela (Asyndeton, 1040w). I'm also slowly filling the “30 Days of OC” challenge with Martin Lavellan (5800w). And there were two other DA Drunk Writing drables, but they disappeared into the void whence they came from (I accidentally deleted them).

So that’s a total of 51′100 words, which I think is not bad, considering this fun year, and actually it’s 20k more than last year :D

Beta thanks

Still no beta, the bengalaas be wild and unspellchecked.

However, I’d like to thank @hollyand-writes for a betaing opportunity :) I’m sure there’s room for improvement in how I communicate my comments, and, being a non-native English speaker, there’s stuff I can’t really comment on, but diving into things critically is something I do enjoy, so — thanks for letting me :)

Progress

I think, this year I'm getting a bit better at finishing things. Oneshots and prompts definitely have forced me to focus on keeping the right amount of tension in my writing up until the end, and then to wrap it up nicely.

I’ve started compiling glossary lists with smut expressions and vocabulary lol, and also body language, facial expressions etc. Because it’s unbelievably frustrating to clearly picture what the character is doing and completely forget what’s that gesture called in English. Glossaries save me some time.

And also... I’m learning to let fics progress at their own pace. A reader reminded me in summer that a slowburn is a slowburn for a reason and it would be wrong to force it to move faster. It would break the authenticity of the story, of the characters. And when I was trying to push and finish a chapter recently, I again realised that the reason it’s not working is because I was ignoring the underlying truth of the story in favour of getting shit done. So. Truth ftw. Even if it takes its sweet time to emerge.

Community

My corner of the fandom has been wonderful, filled with talented, friendly people like @hollyand-writes, @cartadwarfwithaheartofgold, @lucyrne, @barbex, @cafeleningrad, @dorianpink, @serial-chillr, @dafan7711 and others. Thank you for being here and making this an inspiring, positive place! ♥

Additionally, raw respect for D, who made 100 lists x 30 prompts this year, and has been a staunch, supportive, positive voice in the fandom and an overall wonderful person.

I’ve also started talking with people more, and even joined the DA Drunk Writing Circle :D

Comments

I’ve been blown away by the comments I got on the Varric/Merrill oneshots, those were totally unexpected! Comments on the Lucky Heart series have felt so damn gratifying, for having been able to bring those stories to the English-speaking readers. Comments to Courage... they just warm my heart so much :))

Detailed, long-ass responses to the Varric/Merrill shots and to my own comments have been a delight. When discussions in the comment sections flood my email and AO3 starts to feel like a social media site... I live for it :))

2021

I’ll continue working on Courage and maybe puttering away on Canticle of Chaos. Maybe finish the 30 Days of Martin Lavellan series.

I don’t feel like starting any new multi-chapter fics, because I think that the next step for me would be to learn to plot properly and write a first draft before starting posting, and I just can’t see myself doing that next year lol.

I’d like to do more Dragon Age oneshots and prompts. Write something small and whimsical. Maybe Varric/Merill, since people seem to like it. I’d like to learn to write faster, so random prompts it is. Maybe I’ll finish playing DAI, for once. That might give fodder for new fics too.

And here’s a crazy idea lol, but maybe I should try writing something in my own native language next year XD

#beng's writing #bengruminations

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deliciousdetectivestranger · 5 years ago

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Some Rudy snippets

Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes 2020

Rudy’s obnoxious jacket stood in stark contrast to Aiden’s usual somber getup of a dark long-sleeved shirt and darker pants. The cousins were engaged in an argument. “The whole point is to be subtle,” said Aiden. “It’s an undercover mission.” “I was born to stand out,” said Rudy. “Well, you’re going to die that way too, apparently.” Rudy shrugged. “Haters gonna hate.”

Rudy swallowed hard, clutching the outer edge of the chariot. “Can we take the stairs?” Beside him, Mini beamed, which made Rudy recoil a bit. “What is it?” he asked. “I like that you get scared.” “That makes you happy?” asked Rudy, inching farther away.

“So what’s this Mr. V like?” Rudy asked Brynne in a whisper. “Gotta adjust my attitude, you know? Am I going for charming? Rich? Rich and charming? Kinda weird? But, like, intellectually weird? Or—” “Silent?” suggested Aiden. Rudy paused, then tapped his own chin. “Yeahhh. Silent and brooding, like you! Okay, so give me some tips. Do you hate everyone, or is it more like an inward, self-loathing thing?” Aiden glowered. “I don’t hate anyone, but you’re proving to be the exception.” “Okay, so not an inward, self-loathing thing….”

“Are you saying the Sleeper left behind Horcruxes?” Aru demanded. “Yeah, I didn’t sign up for a Horcrux hunt,” said Rudy, looking around for the exit. Mini held out Dee Dee, blocking his way.

“We’re going to die here, aren’t we?” asked Rudy, collapsing against Aiden. “I can’t die like this! There’s things I haven’t seen! Music I haven’t listened to! I still don’t know what a microwave does!”

“That’s not fair!” Mini said. She stepped forward, holding up Dee Dee like a scepter. Behind her, Rudy’s eyebrows shot up. “You can’t just execute us because Rudy is a naga—” “Prince,” whispered Rudy. Then he looked at them innocently. “What? It’s the truth.” “He’s never done anything to you,” Mini said to Garuda. “It’s true.” Rudy nodded. “He can barely defend himself,” continued Mini. “Very true,” said Brynne. Rudy opened his mouth to protest. Aiden reached over and closed it.

The Pandavas regrouped, quickly catching their breath. Aru glanced over at Rudy to see that he was kneeling on the ground, rummaging around in his messenger bag. “Rudy, what are you doing?” demanded Aiden. “Go hide!” “No,” he said. The wooden eagle lay before him on the grass. He pulled out glowing stones with a glimmering mesh overlay—something that looked like the heart of the moon, and a chunk of quartz that wriggled as if it were alive. “Garuda thinks it’s broken, but I can fix it.” “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” asked Aiden. “Of course not!” said Rudy cheerfully. “Then why—?” “Because I’m the only chance you’ve got.”

Rudy had sat next to him, on the far side, despite Aiden pointing to the many empty chairs. “Nah, I’m good,” Rudy had declared, scooting closer. Now Rudy was snoring, his enchanted sleeping jewel in his lap and his cheek on Aiden’s shoulder. Aiden was careful not to disturb him as he adjusted Shadowfax.

“Where is everyone?” asked Aru. “The celestials are super into their time away from ordinary people,” said Rudy, grumbling. “It’s like they think they’re so much better than us just because they have a planet. Like, so what? I could make a planet out of all the jewels we have, but you don’t see me running off into space.” Aiden patted his back. “There, there, rich prince. I’m sorry there’s other rich people in the world.” Rudy sniffed. “It’s really hard.”

“I can’t die now! I haven’t seen enough of the world! I don’t know what Florida is!”

The five of them walked toward the entrance, dragging Rudy behind them as he swiveled his neck around and frowned. “What’s that?” he asked, looking at one of the soda machines outside the store. “A vending machine,” said Aiden. “What does it…‘vend’?” asked Rudy. “Soda,” said Aiden tightly. “What’s soda?” “A drink.” “Can I try one?” asked Rudy. Aru had a brief but vivid image of Rudy after he’d downed a can full of sugar syrup, running in circles around the parking lot. Maybe everybody else had the exact same vision, because as one they responded with a resounding “NO.” Brynne looked at Aiden. “Can I knock him unconscious?”

Rudy clapped and started chanting, “Heist! Heist! Heist!”

“Nice,” said Rudy appreciatively. “Could you make me a blue blazer? I want something with tassels—” “Nope,” said Nikita. “Why not?” Aru asked. “’Cause she’s a life-ruiner,” said Rudy darkly. “She ruins people’s lives.” “Because I think red is more your color,” said Nikita flatly. Rudy perked up, then started preening again. “Oh. Well, obviously.” Aiden snorted back a laugh.

“WAHHHHH!” A huge piercing wail rose from Aiden and Rudy’s section. Nikita held her plant closer and glared at the boys. “I said quiet! You’re scaring this one!” A squat green potato-plant baby with one orange spike on the top of its head sat between Rudy and Aiden, howling. Rudy picked it up and bounced it in his hands. “It’s your fault!” he said to Aiden. “It liked chewing on the jewel, and you took it away!” “Because it could choke!” said Aiden, tossing one of Rudy’s shiny gems over his shoulder. “They’re plants!” “And that jewel could cut its roots!” said Aiden, snatching back the baby and awkwardly patting its spiky head. “Shh…” “You’re so controlling!” said Rudy, reaching for the plant baby. Aiden gripped it harder, giving Rudy his shoulder. “You’re reckless!” “Uh, boys?” tried Aru as the ground began to tremble. “Well you’re boring!” said Rudy. “At least I’m fun—” “Fun? Fatal? What’s the difference to you?” demanded Aiden.

Rudy stood frozen, still stunned. He flailed a hand at Aiden. “You can sing?” asked Rudy, awed. “Sometimes,” said Aiden cagily. “Wait, with my music and your voice—” Aiden winced. “Please don’t—” “We—” “No.” “Should start—” “Rudy. No.” “A BAND.”

“Weird,” Rudy said, poking the asphalt on the street. “You don’t use crushed stars in your pavement?” “Rudy, please get back on the sidewalk,” said Mini. “I’m exploring!” “You’ll be roadkill,” said Brynne. “It has a sort of decrepit charm to it,” said Rudy. “I’ll buy two streets. Who do I pay? Hello?”

“You’re my lead singer,” said Rudy proudly. “Nothing is happening to you.” “I’m also your cousin!” “Second priority, honestly,” said Rudy, but he smiled like he’d just won a prize.

Aru Shah and the City of Gold 2021

They found themselves standing outside a decrepit, musty tunnel. “Ugh, what is this place?” Aru asked, staring around her. “It looks abandoned.” “I think this used to be part of a train station in the Naga realm,” said Mini. “I remember Rudy mentioning something like this. “Oh yeah…” Aiden grimaced. “He once wanted to bring me here so we could take ‘edgy’ pictures for his album cover, Rudy Rocks: The Genesis of Rock.” “He’s in a band?” asked Kara. “I mean, he thinks so,” said Aiden.

Brynne aimed a cloud of steam at the being just as Mini threw off the invisibility sheet. Aru cast her lightning-bolt net. There was a sizzling crack and a howl of pain before a familiar voice shouted, “Again with the demented rope? Really, Shah?” The Potatoes raced forward, and when the fog from Brynne’s attack cleared, Aru spied a garish tie-dyed denim jacket, blinding-white sneakers, and a familiar smirk. Pinned beneath Aru’s net, Prince Rudra of Naga-Loka managed a weak wave. “Sup, fellow Potatoes?” said Rudy.

Rudy, what are you doing here?” asked Aiden. He bent down to hoist the naga off the ground, but Rudy batted away his hand and leaped up, dusting the shoulders of his jacket and pretending like nothing had happened. “That’s a nice way to greet your closest living relative,” said Rudy. “You’re not my only cousin, Rudy,” pointed out Aiden. “I’m the only one who matters.” Aiden groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, which he did a lot whenever he was with Rudy.

“I meant the unconscious chick,” said Rudy. “That’s your first question about her?” demanded Aiden. “She’s not a chick,” said Aru. “A chick is a flightless baby bird, and Kara’s got a sunlight trident….” “And she’s smart and has a ridiculous vocabulary,” said Mini. “And exceptional fighting skills,” added Brynne grudgingly. Rudy frowned. “I wasn’t calling her a bird. I was calling her a chick, like, ‘Cute or Handsome being of Indeterminate origin who might Consider Killing you.’ You know. A chick.” The Potatoes stared at him. “So, what’s this chick’s name?” asked Rudy. “You keep using that word…” said Aru. “I do not think it means what you think it means.”

“See that?” Rudy talked, puffing out his chest a bit. “I’m officially on guard duty, which proves that my family thinks I deserved an upgrade in responsibility. I mean, even I lost count of how many times I saved your lives on the last quest. My parents are calling me by my full title now: Prince Rudra of Naga-Loka, Heir of the Jewel-Strewn Seas. And I even have facial hair.” Rudy angled his face up and Aru saw a single sad hair beneath his nose. “Last time I saw you, your mom called you ‘Baby Snekky-Snake’ and carried you into a fountain,” said Mini with a little edge to her voice. Aru snickered. “Also, that is a hair,” said Aiden. “That’s because I had to shave the rest! It was getting unruly!” Rudy scowled. “And my mom was using my DJ name then….” “DJ Baby Snekky-Snake?” asked Aiden. “The music industry is crowded—I need to distinguish myself,” grumbled Rudy.

“C’mon. I’ll take you back to the palace, and you guys can shower.” Rudy paused, sniffing the air and frowning. “On second thought, you have to shower. You smell like rancid potatoes. And you look—” One glare from Aiden and Rudy coughed loudly. “Tired,” he continued.

Rudy went to the elevator and blocked Mini and Aru from entering. “I…I was hoping I could come and help out?” said Rudy, looking straight at Mini. “Seriously. Tell me what to do!” “You can start by getting out of my way,” said Mini, bored. “I mean, yeah, sure, but what else?” said Rudy, staying put. “I’m a prince….” Mini raised an eyebrow, as if saying So? “And my parents are good friends with Lord Kubera! If something goes wrong, I can totally help smooth it out! And I know you’re down one person because of the unconscious girl, so I can fight in her place. Or I could just watch over her and make sure she’s safe while you guys fight?” “Fine. You can come with us,” said Mini, flipping her hair and pushing past Rudy. “But while you may be a prince, I’m a demigod. So let’s just remember who’s the boss.”

“Looks like we’re in the right place,” said Brynne. “Wrong,” murmured Rudy, whipping on a pair of shades. He flipped up the collar of his jacket. “There’s nothing right about this climate for my skin. I could shrivel up here. Look! My scales are dulling already!” “You’ll be fine. I’m pretty sure Dee Dee offers both UVA and UVB protection,” said Mini with a fond glance at her Death Danda. “Now what do we do?” asked Brynne. “I bet the second we remove the shield, the eye will go straight for the House of the Sun, and we don’t know what will happen.” “My mustache…” groaned Rudy. He patted the single lonely hair on his upper lip. “It’s wilting.” “Here, lemme see?” asked Aiden. Rudy turned to him. “Oh good, you can help me, though I don’t know how, considering there’s nothing on your face except—” Quick as a flash, Aiden grabbed Rudy’s mustache hair and yanked it out. “OW!” said Rudy, clapping his hand over his mouth. “What did you do?” “I put it out of its misery,” said Aiden. “And maybe now I can say the same thing for us.” Rudy glared at him. “You’re a monster!”

Rudy fell backward onto one of the clouds and flapped his arms as if trying to make a snow angel. “Very nice quality,” he said. “At least twelve-hundred-cloud count. I wonder where they got this. I heard only Airavata can make clouds this soft, but he’s very particular about who gets his product.” “Maybe it’s a knockoff,” said Rudy haughtily. “It’s not,” said an unfamiliar voice. Rudy scrambled so fast to get out of the cloud that he fell on the floor.

“I understand that,” said Rudy solemnly. “At least, I did, before someone ripped off my mustache out of jealousy.” “It was a hair,” Aiden said with a sigh. “There would’ve been more!” said Rudy. “Eventually.” Brynne swatted both of them.

“My father will hear about this!” shouted Rudy.

“We need the gods’ favor!” said Aru loudly. “DEAR GODS, I PROMISE I’LL DONATE ALL OF—I MEAN, MOST…WELL, DEFINITELY SOME OF MY TREASURE!” hollered Rudy. “What a sacrifice!” snarked Brynne.

“I don’t want to fall to my death!” moaned Rudy. “Probably impossible, since this is the fall that won’t end,” said Mini serenely. “You’re much more likely to die of dehydration or starvation. Or you might get hypothermia and freeze to death.” “WHAT?!” screamed Rudy.

A loud trumpeting caught their attention, and Aru turned to see Rudy standing in front of Airavata. The naga was draped in clouds, and it kind of looked like Airavata had knitted him into a giant meringue. Airavata made a happy rumbling sound, then patted the top of Rudy’s head with his trunk. “Look upon me and despair, mortals!” he said. “I’m ready to fight in my new cloud armor.” Mini giggled. Brynne glared at him. “You look like a deranged cake topper.” Rudy ignored her, and swept a bow in Kara’s direction. “Hi, I don’t know if you know this, but I’m a prince—” Kara frowned, looking confused. “Kara, Rudy, Rudy, Kara,” said Brynne tersely. “Kara, ignore Rudy.” Rudy scowled.

Urvashi opened her arms to Aiden, her nephew, and he embraced her. Rudy, who looked starstruck by the sight of Urvashi, followed him. “Uh, I’m related to Aiden…. Can I have a hug, too?”

Rudy raised his hand. “Um, can I leave now?” “NO!” said everyone at the same time. “I still don’t know what a microwave does,” said Rudy mournfully. “And now I’m going to die not knowing….” “Well, there’s always reincarnation,” said Mini brightly. Rudy whimpered.

“Uh, what’s going on with you guys?” asked Aiden. “Is it puberty?” whispered Rudy nervously. Aiden swatted him.

“Okay, what about my glow-up?” demanded Rudy, holding out a pocketknife. “HELLO?”

“I need some kind of sound blast,” Aru shouted to Rudy over the din. “Something that will knock the enemy back!” “I got’chu, Aru,” said Rudy. He rummaged through his backpack, then hauled out five bright-orange crystals and hurled them into the sea. Noise like the buzzing of a thousand insects filled the air. The Sleeper’s soldiers ducked, flailed, covered their heads, and ran from the sound, leaving one section of the ocean empty and calm. “Good work, Rudy!” said Aru. He grinned. “I’ll stay on noise control!” Rudy shouted. In a blink, he morphed into his naga form and slithered into the water.

“I’ve known this chick for exactly twelve hours,” announced Rudy, gesturing at Kara, “but I will happily destroy something on her behalf.” Kara scowled. “Chick?” “Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean what you think it does,” muttered Aru.

“Ooh,” said Rudy, holding up his phone to show the Potatoes his screen. “Hashtag-IStandWithThePandavas is trending number one on Chatter!” “What’s Chatter?” asked Aru. “It’s like Twitter for the Otherworld,” said Aiden. “What’s Twitter?” asked Rudy. “A cesspit,” said Brynne darkly.

Except maybe Rudy. He seemed delighted with all the new attention. He walked backward, blowing kisses to the crowd through the glass walls of the hallway. People threw flowers on top of the tunnel. “THANK YOU! THANK YOU! FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA! MY INSTAGRAM HANDLE IS—” Mini sighed, grabbing Rudy’s arm and hauling him forward.

“It’s super fun to have an army. Very imposing. Plus, a great driver of tourism if you’re thinking about opening up an island resort or some such.” “Ooh!” said Rudy, perking up. “Yeah…That’s not exactly a priority at the moment?” said Aru. Rudy deflated.

“Like a Horcrux…” Rudy whispered under his breath. “Why do we always end up with Horcruxes?” “No one’s asking you to wear it,” said Aiden. “Oh, thank gods,” said Rudy, letting out a breath. “That chain would clash with all my outfits.”

Rudy decided to return to his parents’ palace. First he gave the Potatoes multiple, though somewhat unwanted, assurances that he’d find a way to see them every week. “I’m literally a hero,” said Rudy. “And I’m a prince. Who’s going to say no to me now?” He winked. Aru noticed that this time he wasn’t looking at her…but at Mini. Who didn’t seem to notice. Or, if she did, she acted like it didn’t matter.

Last week was Aru’s turn, so she’d made them watch Snakes on a Plane. By the end of it, Rudy was furious. “This is the most disrespectful and inaccurate thing I’ve ever seen,” he’d hissed. “We would never go on a commercial flight!” “Yeah, that’s definitely the biggest inaccuracy of the whole film,” said Aiden.

Rudy’s “posse” of naga friends—who kept getting distracted by products of human ingenuity, like staplers—

They all watched as larger pieces of the Boo egg fell away. “Awww,” said Rudy. “This looks just like my baby photos in the family album.” Everyone went silent. Rudy looked confused. “You guys weren’t hatched in two hundred days?” “No?” said Mini. “Humans are weird.”

It was somehow the best and worst game of Hot Potato between the Potatoes. It ended with Aiden and Rudy fighting over who got to hold the chick longer. “You already had your turn!” said Rudy, trying to wrench Baby Boo out of Aiden’s hands. “Gimme!” “You tried to feed him a diamond!” said Aiden. “I was just showing it to him! Everyone loves shiny things!” “It’s irresponsible,” said Aiden, bouncing Baby Boo in his hands. “Why are you the worst?” grumbled Rudy. “He’s going to like me more anyway when he grows up.”

Mini whispered to Rudy: “Say ‘And you have my bow.’” “But I don’t have a bow?” whispered Rudy. “Just say it. You know how Aru feels about Lord of the Rings.” “Can I have a bow after this?” asked Rudy. “No one else has one. I want my own weapon—” “YES, Rudy, we will get you a bow,” said Aiden. “Now just say the line.” “And you have my bow,” said Rudy smugly.

#roshani chokshi #pandava quartet #aru shah and the tree of wishes #aru shah and the city of gold #aiden acharya #aru shah #brynne rao #kara shah #Mini aka Yamini Kapoor-Mercado-Lopez #nikita jagan #Rudy aka Prince Rudra of Naga-Loka #sheela jagan

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