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justcallmenikki7 · 5 years ago

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BTS Reaction To: Your Son Telling Them That A Newbie Is Flirting with You

Mafia!Au Hyung Line

Summary: having a child is a blessing, especially when it comes to someone flirting with you and them telling your husband, something that your husband loves.

Warnings: mafia au, mentions of assault, sadistic hoseok, fluff, protective bts, yoongi being insecure, angst.

Request: Hi ! Is your request open ? If it is open can I ask a bts mafia reaction of the boys children telling them that a newbie in their gang is flirting w their s/o and they confront the newbie ..? Angst w fluff !! By the way I really loooooooove your writings !! I look forward to your updates everytime !!

W.C.: 1.9k

Notes: I had to make this into two separate posts since it was becoming too long! Hopefully sometime this week I can get the maknae lines up! Plus, I got carried away with Hoseok’s because daaaamn, he is such a sin.

Maknae Line’s Part

Jin:

Breathing heavily, Jin pushed the metal bar up, trying to control the shakiness in his arms.

“Come on, Hyung!” Jungkook, Seokjin’s motivator when working out, “You got this!”

Feeling his arms about to give out, he quickly sat the weight down on the holder, releasing a quick breath. “I think we went too fast on upping the weight.” Seokjin spoke honestly, the new weight being a big challenge for him. Even though he did not need to add muscle, Seokjin wanted to gain some more since he saw that he was losing some from not working out and being out in the field as much ever since he had Braxton with you.

“Probably, but we need to get you back in shape since there has been threats coming from our oh dearest, rival once again. We can’t have an old man running our gang,” Jungkook teased, but also being serious at the same time.

Being out of shape during a time of possible war is a no-go.

“Papa!” Braxton yelled, gaining the two’s attention.

Smiling brightly, Seokjin hopped off of the bench to catch his son in his arms. “Hey buddy, what are you doing out of bed. Aren’t you supposed to be napping?” Seokjin questioned, holding his five-year-old son in his arms.

“Yes! But! Remember Jay-Jay?” Braxton asked, referring to the newbie.

Furrowing his eyebrows together, “yes, why? Is he doing something wrong?”

“No! I mean, yes. He’s getting close to mommy…” He trailed off, remembering how close the newbie was getting to his mom.

It was like he became a whole new person. Standing up straight, shoulders pushed back, Seokjin handed Braxton to a shocked Jungkook before walking away. It did not take Seokjin long to locate you, knowing that in the afternoon you liked baking. Seeing that Jackson, the newbie keeping you company by being just a little too close �� Seokjin could sense that you were not comfortable with the closeness, he cleared his throat. Jackson jumped from the new visitor, and you dropped your tense shoulders, the knowledge of your husband here to rescue you.

“I am going to give you three seconds to explain why you are bothering my wife, or else I’ll shoot you right on the spot.”

Jackson did not waste a single second to start explaining himself, causing Seokjin to smirk. The one thing he could think about awesome it is to have a son that will be a little spy for him.

Yoongi:

“Papa?” A tiny voice called out, scaring Yoongi from his work.

Looking up, he was met with his daughter who was dressed in her night gown, hair tangled up from sleep and eyes barely opened. In her arms, she was holding her teddy bear close to her chest.

“Baby, what are you doing up?” Yoongi cooed, pushing his chair back so he could get up and pick his daughter up.

“I had nightmare,” Chloe spoke, voice still croaky with sleep. “Tyler took mommy away from you.”

The information shocked Yoongi, both primal and worry taking over his body. Primal since you are his and he is yours, the ring on your finger making it a clear picture. But also, the love you two have for one another. Worry being that his insecurities are taking over, insecurities that he has had since you two got together at seventeen years old. The thought of someone taking you and being better for you always has haunted him, even with your constant kisses, reassurances, and reminders on how much you love him, he still feels insecure.

Clearing his throat, trying to stay composed in front his daughter being hard. “Why would you say that sweetie? Mommy will never leave us.”

“Well, Tyler is always talking and being kind to mommy, and he sometimes touches her like you do…” Hearing that someone is trying to woo you in has Yoongi’s blood boiling. Taking a deep breath, “but Mommy always says ‘Stob it!’ and he does, but he doesn’t for long cause he’ll continue doing it again. And I can tell mommy doesn’t wike it.”

Knowing that you are standing your ground has Yoongi feeling relief flowing through his body. It is not that he does not trust you, he trusts you with his life, it is just the insecurities talking and he is trying to push those away. “Well, baby, how about I go talk to mommy. You need to get back to bed, okay?”

“Mommy isn’t leaving us, right? Cause I don’t like Tyler.”

“Mommy isn’t going anywhere okay? I promise.”

After Yoongi put Chloe back to bed, he made his way to your guys shared bedroom. Cuddling up to you, Yoongi kissed the top of you head, his heart fluttering when he felt you cuddle back into him, sleepily placing a kiss on Yoongi’s chest.

“I love you,” you promised, sleep evident in your voice.

Smiling to himself, Yoongi knew that he has nothing to worry about. “I love you too.”

But the one who should be worrying is Tyler, when he wakes up chained to the chair that was placed in the middle of the dungeon that Yoongi has built underneath the headquarters.

Hoseok:

The scary thing about Hosoek, besides him being the most feared mafia bosses in the world, is when he relaxed. Not the relaxed that most people think – the relax where they are sizzling on the inside but is calm on the outside.

You have never witnessed this because Hoseok does not want you apart of the gang life, but the ones who dared to go against him see it. Some may call him sadistic, but Hoseok sees it as making a point. That point being to not go against him.

So, when Max, yours and Hoseok’s son came crying to Hoseok, Hoseok was automatically thinking of ways to eliminate the cause of his sons crying. Once Max had calmed down, he spoke about how he did not like the newbie, Mason, because he was making you upset and uncomfortable to the point where you threatened to call Hoseok.

Besides the ways Hoseok was wanting to murder Mason, the one thought bugged him – why did you not call him or tell him? Deciding to do that later, Hoseok comforted Max, taking him to his playroom, encouraging him to get Monopoly set up so he and Max could play in a little bit. Shutting the door, Hoseok began to make his way to the living room. The sight in front of him had his blood boiling.

There you were, pressed against the wall, voice pleading for Mason to stop bothering you, only for Mason to ignore your pleas. Walking up behind him, Hoseok grabbed Mason’s hair, pulling him off of you aggressively, earning a scream from said man. Pulling out his gun, he shoved it into Mason’s mouth, a sadistic grin on his face.

“My, my, you really asked for a death wish, didn’t you?” Hoseok tsked, enjoying the fear that was evident in the newbie’s eyes. Turning around, he saw your tear stained face, a sight that pushed Hoseok over the edge. Turning back to Mason, Hoseok spoke deadly. “You made her cry and assaulted her. I promise you; you will never see daylight ever again.” Wanting to comfort you before he goes and gets rid of the scum, Hoseok pulled you into his arms, consoling you. “I promise you, he will never mess with you again, my love.”

Feeling comforted by that knowledge, you pressed a kiss to your husbands’ chest, your silent way of thanking him. “Where’s Max?” You asked, knowing that Hoseok will be busy for a while.

“In his playroom, tell him that Daddy will be just a little bit before we play Monopoly, okay? I’ll be done soon.”

Nodding your head, you gave Hoseok a kiss before taking your bag and making your way to Max. Once you were gone, Hoseok turned towards Mason, a deadly grin on his face. “So, where were we?”

Namjoon:

There are rules in the gang that Namjoon has placed:

One of them being to not go against him.

The second one being to respect you, his wife. With that rule comes with some extra bullet points: the main being to not flirt with you.

Obviously, everyone knows that, and the extra bullet points when it comes to you. Truthfully everyone likes you because you are kind, considerate, a good leader, and all together, very likeable. Everyone views you as a second leader, something that makes Namjoon proud because he sees you as a leader, his Queen. You word is law. Namjoon will bow to only you and no one else. He loves how everyone adores you, but the newbie adores you just a bit too much.

And that does not slide with Namjoon.

“A-And then he called Mommy bootiful!!” Chase, yours and Namjoon’s son explained, hands flying in the air as he does so. Taehyung tried to hide his laughter by coughing, finding the situation both innocent and amusing. “Only daddy can call mommy that! Not him!”

“Yeah!” Jungkook agreed, earning a smack on the head from Yoongi and a approved nod from Chase.

Ignoring Jungkook, Namjoon looked down at Chase with a serious look. “What else did Michael do?”

Face morphed into a thinking one, Chase tried to remember if there was anything else that he was leaving out. Coming to the conclusion that nothing else happened, besides his mommy getting a compliment from someone that he does not know, he shook his head. “No, only him calling mommy bootiful.”

“Okay buddy, thank you for telling me. How about Taehyung and Jungkook take you to get ice cream while I go talk to Michael, okay buddy?”

“Okay daddy!” Chase yelled excitedly, bouncing over to the two maknaes.

Namjoon gave Yoongi a serious nod, silently speaking about finding Michael. Namjoon did not plan on hurting Michael, hurting someone because they called you beautiful was ridiculous. But, he wanted to intimidate the newbie just for fun. When both Namjoon and Yoongi found the newbie training with Seokjin in the computer lab, Namjoon made eye contact with Seokjin, giving him a knowing look. Stepping aside, Seokjin made room so Namjoon could sit beside the newbie, while Yoongi stood behind him and Seokjin next to him. The newbie jumped when he found Namjoon sitting beside him.

“Oh, hello sir.” Michael stuttered out, bowing to his boss politely, doing the same with Yoongi.

“So,” Namjoon started off calmly, “I heard from a few people that you were flirting with my wife earlier. Care to explain?” Namjoon tried to keep himself from laughing at the pale look the newbie gave him.

“U-Uh, I only called her beautiful because she looked, she always looks beautiful! B-But, I promise that I won’t ever speak to her again if that’ll make you happy!” Michael was tripping over his words, trying to reply each second in his mind from when he interacted with you ever.

Breaking the seriousness in the room, Seokjin began to laugh from how scared Michael was. Rolling his eyes, a smirk appeared on Namjoon’s lips. “I’m just playing with you. Y/N is indeed very beautiful.” Namjoon hummed truthfully, a small smile taking over the smirk on his face, the thought of you having butterflies erupt in his stomach. Clearing his throat, he looked Michael dead in the eyes, “But, if I ever find out that your thoughts become actions, I will not hesitate to put a bullet through your head, got it?”

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milkplusvn · 2 years ago

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Soundless FV: NVL Mode Reborn

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Today, I’ll show you the nitty-gritty of rebuilding the screens for the port!

NVL in Ren'Py

As I said in the previous issue, I've been working with Ren'Py since middle school. Back during those days, I wanted all of my visual novels to be in NVL mode, because I simply believed it was the superior text display method (I still kind of think that...). I was a super amateurish programming newbie, but I wished to closely replicate how NVL appeared in visual novels that used the NScripter engine regardless of my skill for my own self-satisfaction.

So, I figured out how to do it, in the dumbest way possible. That stupid way persisted all the way to Soundless.

Let me paint the picture that is the old code for you. We'll use the first three sentences from Crime and Punishment to demonstrate what I did.

First, here is what the excerpt is meant to display as in-game. (Sorry for the lack of formatting here—Tumblr refused to let me format it correctly.)

On an exceptionally hot evening early in July a young man came out of the garret in which he lodged in S. Place and walked slowly, as though in hesitation, towards K. bridge.

He had successfully avoided meeting his landlady on the staircase.

His garret was under the roof of a high, five-storied house and was more like a cupboard than a room.

Each sentence gets a line of its own, separated by single line breaks. They are displayed one by one, with two different click to continue indicators nestled at the end of the text: one kind that tells you you're going to the next line, and another line that lets you know the screen will be cleared and the page will "turn".

Because of (what I believe was) certain particulars about how the engine worked when Soundless was first made, in order to get those two different kinds of indicators, I had to write...this.

nar "On an exceptionally hot evening early in July a young man came out of the garret in which he lodged in S. Place and walked slowly, as though in hesitation, towards K. bridge.{w}\nHe had successfully avoided meeting his landlady on the staircase.{w}\nHis garret was under the roof of a high, five-storied house and was more like a cupboard than a room."

nvl clear

Just a giant paragraph of all the page's text shoved into a single string.

But now, the engine has changed, and my knowledge has expanded! I don't need to do this anymore. It's set up so that Ren'Py can automatically tell which of the indicators it's supposed to use whenever the words nvl clear are coming up. All you have to do from there is just tell Ren'Py what the pictures are.

So, now Soundless's code looks more like this:

nar "On an exceptionally hot evening early in July a young man came out of the garret in which he lodged in S. Place and walked slowly, as though in hesitation, towards K. bridge."

nar "He had successfully avoided meeting his landlady on the staircase."

nar "His garret was under the roof of a high, five-storied house and was more like a cupboard than a room."

nvl clear

Looks a lot better, right? This seems really awesome until I tell you that I had to go through the entire script and make sure everything was getting broken up like this. I did do Find and Replace for most of it, so it wasn't too painful, but I still had to comb through it to make sure everything was done correctly. Sometimes, the spacing would get strange and it wouldn't replace correctly, because some of Soundless's old code is, uh, manually word wrapped.

Yes.

I used the enter button to manually word wrap it. In jEdit. Many many years ago.

It hurts.

Couldn't you have just kept it like that?

I actually could have. It still works! But that would've hurt the backlog.

When I hastily gave Soundless an actual backlog and not just Ren'Py's default rollback back during the Version 2.0 update, I just made a simple backlog screen and told Ren'Py to record it page-by-page and not line-by-line and called it a day. My memories of what it actually looks like have been blacked out because all I remember is that it looked pretty bad with a tiny scrollbar, and I don't want to remember it.

Due to strange cuteness that I don't understand despite my efforts to make it not do that, the current backlog can still get a little janky, but it now records things in a sane line-by-line way...but I have to make sure that the lines it records aren't too long. That old way of doing it produces massive paragraphs that go past this limit. Cutting it up is the only way to preserve your mind.

This also meant I had to cut up any instances of text filling up the screen. I did this in a clever way as many times as I could so it still looks like fairly unbroken giant walls of text. When you look at the backlog after reading these parts, you'll find that it was all actually individual lines. Personally, I think this is much better, because your heart gets to sink when you see line after line of "Begone!" as you scroll.

Styling, Ruby Text

When I tell you that styling it was a pain, it was really a pain!!!!!!

I had to keep cross-comparing what I was doing with an old Soundless window open at the same time. It didn't take forever, but going back and forth tweaking the numbers until everything fit on the screen just like how it used to was a pain.

But nothing compares to what I had to do with the ruby text. Oh boy, I hated it. Ruby text in Ren'Py gets its own special style, and in order to make it appear properly, you need to change the line height. Not only did I have to figure out a way to do this without breaking everything, but I also had to make it so the ruby text font changes when you pick a different font.

I eventually settled on making a unique character that holds any lines that include ruby text. I also had to give the font change buttons another action that does some things under the hood that I don't really know how to explain in a simple way. Speaking of those buttons, the action list is incredibly long and ugly...I hate looking at it.

The only little issue I had with it was that sometimes the English translation for a line in Doon Po Sa Amin was longer than the Tagalog. It still looked fine in-game, but when you viewed it in the backlog, the beginning of the translation would be cut off. I had to do some weird solution to make it so it's always readable, whether in-game or in the backlog. It unfortunately...doesn't look the greatest, but I'd rather people be able to read it than go "oh, that's pretty, would be nice if I could read it, though."

This concludes the issue. I'm not sure what I'm going to talk about next, but I was thinking it could either be the first part of the accessibility series or something about the violent images toggle. We'll see!

youtube

#soundless vn #english visual novel #visual novel development #horror vn #yuri vn #Youtube

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mcalhenwrites · 4 years ago

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My OCs, Basil and Cassidy, eat a lot of spicy food. They live on the seaside, in a tourist town just barely south of a volcano. There’s a dragon/sea serpent-like creature that’s said to live in the volcano, and she turns all the creatures white. The rivers might have white pike and white toads, all not natural. (It’s leucism, btw, though they often mistakenly call it “albinism”.) This is the reason for the tourism: everyone would like to see the local sea creature and her effect on the wildlife. The area is mountainous. Cassidy works part-time as one of the tour guides for a cave. The volcano itself is closed off to the public, but there are beaches, an aquarium (Basil works here in the gift shop), and plenty of local cuisine inspired by the volcano! This means there is heat in that food, because... Well, volcanos have heat, right? A lot of food involves peppers. Anyway, I decided to try my hand at crafting one of the popular dishes in the book! This is a fictional world, and I thought it might be fun to make the wraps that they so commonly eat. It’s called a “Nagano wrap” (not to be mistaken with Nagano in Japan, again this is a fictional world I made up, but Nagano is the name of the volcano). It’s a popular street food, but it turns out it takes a ton of preparation time! (Not much time to fix it once the filling is done, though! Easy enough to make a huge batch, too...)

I had to start with soaking the red beans yesterday. Those soaked for a few hours, I rinsed them, and then I put them in with a tender roast, some spices, a tiny bit of water, and some beef broth. That simmered overnight and most of today.

I let it cool a little, but I burnt my fingers a bit on separating the beef from the fat and straining out all the broth into a container to use to cook rice in later! (Add some mushrooms and rice and it’s HEAVENLY.) I did use a little of the strained broth in the mixture, and I added some tomato paste, more spices, and eventually green chilis (I meant to add these sooner, so they’re not pictured in the image I’m about to post). The mixture usually has a lot of fresh peppers in it, but I’m not well-versed in peppers to know what to add, so mostly I used ground varieties.

I let that simmer for about three or four hours before I started making the “wrap”, and I cheated a little because it’s supposed to be fried, and the only thing I’m really familiar with is fry bread. So I used fry bread. They eat plenty of fry bread in this story, anyway. I made the dough, let it sit to rise/fluff a bit, and then spread it out with liberal amounts of vegetable oil on my hands and the cutting board. These are supposed to be less round and more square/rectangle shaped, but I’m a newbie. I’m not an experienced chef from my story!

They were huuuuge! This is about the size I imagine, but I only used one scoop from the spatula per one. It made six of them! Unfortunately, out of the two people I could share these with, one of them doesn’t like roast beef much, and I don’t think he’s big on cumin, either. (Cumin is an important ingredient for this.) So only two of us ate these - and loved them!

Excuse the mess on the counter. I imagine these are usually fixed at a stall or one of those food trucks, where it’s open-aired and everything is already greasy. They’re often wrapped in a paper a bit like a crepe or something, and handed off to eat as more of a finger food than fork/knife, but I eat hamburgers with forks/knives so too fucking bad. :P And that’s just what I made with the fry bread. The filling? I only used a little portion. I’m going to freeze some of it in ziplocks when it’s a little more cooled off, and then thaw and make these in future weeks. I’ll probably make another batch tomorrow or the next day, though. I still have some of the actual wraps leftover, too... This makes a LOT of food! Honestly, I can see what Basil and Cassidy get these while eating out (which they do a lot). Basil makes them as well, but he must be making them for large groups of people! Someday, I’ll know more about peppers and breads to make “true” versions closer to what I imagine in the story, but for now, this works! It’s delicious and easy to eat. It’s also... not super expensive to make, not when it honestly will feed so many. Not to say they’re healthy. Nope, not at all. All that oil, red meat, flour...? Delicious, but not healthy. :’D

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bambigoose · 5 years ago

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Doing Just Fine

An: This has been edited after posting. Thank you to those that reached out to help me correct the ranking changes throughout the story.

Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts 2013

Staff Sergeant Jessica Ham exited the executive office of Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks located on base completely unsure how to tell her airmen deployment was inevitable. The 66th Air Force Group would be oversees shortly after the New Year. Locking eyes with her fellow Staff Sergeant, Andrews, before placing her head into her hands with a sigh, “Give them the next few hours. If we tell them before this visit it’ll hang over everything and ruin everyone’s time.”

Sergeant Andrews nodded along with Jessica’s call, “I’m going to send out word about a meeting before we all head out for the day. You want me to schedule the other room for you and your boys?”

“Yeah.” Jessica nodded at him before they went their separate ways. Three years ago, at eighteen, Jessica graduated high school. With no idea what to do with the rest of her life, and a lack of financial means to go to college while attempting to figure it out, Jessie as her friends call her attended a military interest conference at her school. The Air Force was never something she had previously considered, but after a discussion with an intelligence officer her interest was piqued. The rest as one might say was history. In the course of the past four years she’d busted her ass to prove she could handle it and the rank recognition followed. Clearly her superiors trusted her; Jessica was in charge of one of the largest groups of airmen of any Sergeant. Trust among her men however was a little harder to earn, but once she had it Jessica quickly came to the realization there were plenty of men she was now stuck with for the rest of her life.

Moving quickly through the base, nodding quickly but politely at those who acknowledged her, Jessica rushed to the base entrance. Generals didn’t care what news you were given, you showed up when expected or your ass is reamed. After the previous news of the day so far, that would officially send her into a tailspin pulled by currents. Approaching the group and falling into line Jessica took a moment to observe their guests.

The 2012-2013 Boston Bruins were a formidable team, growing up in Southie rooting for the black and gold was a fact of life. Jessica was pretty sure she knew how to explain the offsides rule before she could do simple addition. An electric energy surged through the base when knowledge of their visit began to spread. The veterans, Patrice Bergeron, Andrew Ference, Shawn Thornton, and Milan Lucic would thrill the long term fans. Young guns Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin would flirt through half of the medical division before the day was out she was sure and rookie Dougie Hamilton was making quite a name for himself at nineteen as a solid defenseman.

“Is he always doom and glow like that?”

Jessica heard behind her. Turning she was meet with the six foot six frame of Dougie Hamilton. Years ago the hairs on the back of her neck would have been standing up, now she yelled at men twice his size half the day and knew for a fact she threw a better punch then every member of the team. Smirking Jessica couldn’t resist the urge to chirp, she’ll forever blame it on being surrounded by guys day in and day out, “I imagine he and coach Julien would get along, I mean he screamed at you for how long after fanning on that shot last game.”

“Ouch Dougie, not impressing the pretty girl.” Seguin chirped with a smug smirk a head of them.

“I don’t know Mr. Seguin, at least Dougie here knows what an alarm clock is.” Jessica snapped back almost immediately after watching Dougie deflate as Tyler attempted to pull him down. Seguin’s eyes widened as Jessica dead stared at him; a move those under her have repeatedly said is increasingly unnerving. He turned quickly, shoulders pulled up to his ears while Jessica nudged Hamilton next to her.

He stood just a little straighter after her quip. Leaning in quietly, “I know you’re a rookie kid, but there’s a difference between being a doormat and becoming one of the guys.”

“And I suppose pretty girl is an expert?” Hamilton responded smiling, eyes crinkling, and an eyebrow raised.

“Pretty girl has name. Staff Sergeant Jessica Ham. Besides, do you really think there’s that much of a difference between military barracks and hockey locker rooms?” She responded in similar fashion.

Laughing he responded “Probably not.”

Smiling while shoving him forward, “Go entertain my men rookie.”

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, Jessica watched her men and the Bruins interact. Spirits we high and she could feel the weight of this afternoon's meeting beginning to feel like a physical pressure on her chest. Inhaling deeply but still feeling like she couldn’t breathe Jessica headed toward the doors before her panic attack could start. Never realizing there were concerned eyes following her progression across the room, before he rose to follow her.

Briskly moving out the door and around the building, Jessica sank down against the wall. Pulling her knees up to her chest and gasping for air. Jumping as someone sank down into a squat in front of her, Jessica looked up at Dougie, concern shining in his eyes. “Hey pretty girl, breathe.” Attempting to match her breath to his, the pressure on her chest finally felt like it was loosening. Dougie smiled, rubbing up his hands up and down her upper arms. “There we go.”

Rubbing her face, Jessica visibly flinched before lowly spilling everything to a relative stranger. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell them. This excitement and good spirits you all brought to base will be erased before they all go home. We’re shipping out in February. I know we all joined the military but it never seemed like this was going to happen.”

Dougie’s eyes went wide, practically bulging out of his head. “I’m sorry.” Instinctively left his mouth, “There’s nothing I can say that’ll make this better I don’t think.”

Sighing, Jessica rose back to her feet. “No there’s not but I appreciate the attempt.” Pulling his elbow and heading back towards the rec hall, “Better get back in there while I can still pass this off has taking a phone call.”

Dougie planted his feet and pulled them to a stop right outside the door. “I can’t make it better, but I could take you out for a distraction this weekend.”

“You do remember the shipping out in a few months part of our conversation, right.” She replied, waving her finger around in a circle between them like it was going to rewind his memory.

“Well, I figure I’d be pretty stupid to let that stop me from asking out the pretty lady Sergeant.”

“I can meet you at Faneuil Hall, Friday at seven? We can go from there Rookie.” She says, throwing her hip into his like a mini check.

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, taking a chance and dropping a kiss on her cheek he hoped would be well received. “Sounds like a plan, Jessica.”

Over her shoulder while walking through the door, “Friends and cute boys taking me on a date can call me Jessie.”

__________________________________________________________________________________

Saddledome, Calgary Alberta Canada 2017

Sergeant Jessica Ham smiled walking through the under belly of the Saddledome. Granted a short furlough she came to surprise her boyfriend of almost three years after his game versus the Bruins. As luck would have it, she remained close with many members of the Bruins and their wives after Dougie signed with Calgary and during her deployment. When her furlough back at Hanscom came up she took it immediately, the fact that the Bruins were heading to Calgary at the same time. Coach Cassidy had graciously allowed her to tag along with the boys on the plane, though she suspected it might have something to do with Stephanie badgering Patrice to make it happen. It was nice to see some of the boys again and meeting some of the newbies.

Feeling stares on her, Jessica just continued on with a smile. The pass Zdeno presented her with before the game wrapped around her neck, clinking every step against her dog tags. Pulling up outside of the locker room she leaned against the wall anxiously waiting for Dougie to appear. She didn’t have to wait long. Dougie was the next person out of the locker room, “Jessie.” Gasped out of him in surprise, “What are you doing here?”

Eyebrows furrowed, Jessica was surprised. That was his reaction? They hadn’t seen each other in almost a year. Writing it off as maybe just shock, she stepped forward to hug him. His arms barley wrapped back around her. “I was granted furlough for a few days, figured I’d come out for a surprise. They boys let me tag along on the team plane.”

“Babe!” A voice explained from behind Jessica. A blonde little bit of a thing, in sky high heels with make-up caked on her face brushed past Jessica before throwing herself into Dougie’s arms and laying a kiss on him. Separating the definition of puck bunny asked Dougie who this was.

Jessica smirked at Dougie, laughing harshly. “I’m an old friend for Boston. Figured since the boys were out here I’d tag along to see mister big shoot, but it was nice to see you Douglas. I better get going so I don’t miss the bus.” Turning on her heel and all but sprinting down the hall Jessica ignored all calls of her name while losing Dougie in the after game commotion. Crashing into the Bruins newbies Sean Kuraly and Jake DeBrusk while staring at the ground, she looked out at them as they both went white. Yells left them both for Z, Bergy, and Marchy. It was the longest plane ride of the season for the bruins and to this day the only one where the unassigned assigned seats were blatantly ignored as the veterans crowded the Lieutenant in the back.

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2019 PNC Arena Raleigh North Carolina

Dougie Hamilton was furious, down four to nil in the third period he could feel his teams Stanley Cups hopes exiting them. Coming to the realization that there run was over it became apparent that they would do everything they could to rough up the Bruins instead. Not all that difficult of a task for him. The resentment he felt for the team grew every time they played each other. He blamed them for the disaster end of his relationship with Jessie, added on to the pitiful offer they made him to resign the anger was real. Scrumming with Sean Kuraly in front of the net was a natural progression. The refs separated them while Chris Wagner braced Kuraly to make sure he didn’t hit the ice, not that Dougie saw. He was to focused on the silver rectangles that popped out of Kuraly’s jersey before he quickly removed his glove and made sure they were secured underneath it again.

Dougie saw white, “Are you serious dude!” he exclaimed trying to puss Jordan Staal out of his way to jump Kuraly.

Kuraly’s eyes light up at the chance, “She’s doing great man!” he yelled out taking his seat on the bench.

The laughter of some of the Bruins ringing in his ears, Dougie’s eyes cut to where some of the Bruins wags were seated that he noticed earlier. His eyes were met by the infamous dead stare. Dougie gulped before she disconnected their eyes as the buzzer rang. Instead she was smiling as Stephanie Bergeron through her arms around her. Blowing a kiss out towards the ice, Dougie was forced to watch as Sean Kuraly laughed and waved back at her.

Master Sergeant Jessica Hamm, the future Mrs. Sean Kuraly if the shine the light of the arena caught coming from her left hand wasn’t just his imagination, was doing just fine.

#nhl fic #nhl imagine #nhl hockey #nhl imagines #dougie hamilton #dougie hamilton imagine #carolina hurricanes #canes #carolina hurricanes imagine #calgary flames #calgary flames imagine #boston bruins imagine #boston bruins #bruins #sean kuraly #sean kuraly imagine

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cass-trash · 6 years ago

Text

Population Control

Summary: After a fatal virus had made its introduction to the world, you create shelter at a campsite in the middle of the woods. Years pass by and you’ve successfully managed to survive the virus. You were becoming a somewhat loved camper by everybody, especially Castiel. AO3 Word count: 5816 Warnings: Blood, gore, guns, weaponry, death, vomit, swearing A/N: This is the first fic I’ve written in a few months, maybe even a year I’m not sure. It’s a little choppy but I’m still learning. REVIEWS ARE VERY APPRECIATED! It helps me improve my writing skills.

Death surrounded the earth in a thick and heavy layer of black and white, the once so vibrant environment dulling with every day the virus remained afoot. The sun hadn’t made an appearance from behind the clouds in weeks, which only left crops at a disadvantage just like the humans who no longer lived normal lives. Three days was all it took for the military to swoop up anybody they could, of course only if they appeared healthy enough which meant a lot of families had been separated. Soldiers ripped children’s arms from their parents and threw them in the back of a truck filled with other sobbing kids, some of them now orphans. This didn’t help the military’s defence in the conspiracy of them creating this virus as a means of population control. It was only an estimate but possibly four billion people had already died within the first month, at least that’s what the news stations said. Technology and electricity soon failed with no operators and the world turned blind without their news source; people refused to leave their house in fear of catching the virus, leaving them to starve in their home.

The virus which caused this supposedly manifested in a science lab in a military station, which was used for testing on human cloning. An outbreak occurred and killed the science team and the ones which survived only helped spread it to the outside world. There was no surreal evidence on whether someone contained the virus, though it had been noticeable people’s tempers often become unstable within the their remaining forty-eight hours.

You had a few run-ins with the unstable before; a man climbed atop your vehicle and attempted to smash the windshield as you refused to allow him a ride. With the news of the virus potentially being within your town, you fled in your Jeep with necessities and headed up north. When you had reached North Dakota you discovered three men - Sam and Dean Winchester and their best friend Castiel - the four of you then helped create a camp in the middle of the woods where you helped survivors recuperate and live without fear of catching a virus.

Things had been good for five years, though the camp ran into issues things always seemed to work out, until Dean had caught the virus. In his last few hours he had become a completely different person; anger and rage had filled his veins unlike you’d ever seen. Castiel and Viktor had to restrain him, and when that didn’t work Sam was the one who shot him in the head. Sam soon fell into a depression though he hid it well, it was obvious to you. Castiel mentioned they’ve never really been separated for long, and with no way to bring him back this was something Sam was going to struggle to cope with. Sam spent a lot of time outside the perimeter walls - hunting for food he claimed - though it wasn’t common for him to return back with anything for the campers to eat.

Castiel had been suffering with his own depression for years and similar to Sam, he didn’t like to burden others with his issues, so he kept himself busy with surveillancing the perimeters in case of an attack. The two of you had gotten extraordinarily close within the past two years, Dean’s death took a toll on him just as much as Sam and you helped him with his grief. The brothers had mentioned the whole Castiel-being-a-celestial-being thing to you, but you didn’t like to intrude; he shared few stories with you. Still, he liked to be alone and protect the others up on the walls. Your eyes darted to the south-east corner where Castiel sat perched on his handmade stool, slightly hunched over with his machine gun beside him which had to have been running low on ammunition by now. Use the bows and spears, hell your fists are still better than wasting ammo on deer, you recalled shouting. Those newbies were restricted to their post inside the walls for seven days as a repercussion. Ammunition was only supposed to be used against humans such as the trespassers you’ve been having issues with for a days now, but now you were forced to stay out past curfew in an attempt to recover ammo. The kids were only trying to impress Sam but they put everybody at risk because of their recklessness.

The camp was located in the middle of the woods, somewhere nobody dared trek in fear of bears. You had been a hunter before all this began, not monster-in-the-dark hunter like the brothers but an ordinary hunter. Thankfully you’ve had your run-in with bears before and knew how to take care of them. A river with clean water was located a kilometre away, which brought the attention of deers, rabbits, and a poor survivor here and there. Twenty-six people lived inside the walls, the population increasing at the hands of Sam who doesn’t have the heart to turn people away. You feared it was going to get the whole camp killed one day.

Sam appointed you with the job of providing rations. You wished you were just another scouter like Castiel or Viktor, which seemed easier than having to be responsible if somebody did not receive their daily food and necessities. Mental battles were fought in your head each day because of the stress. Was equality more important than equity? Should a mother and her child be forced to share food while Old Ossie is supplied with a slab of steak on a golden plate? In the end, you decided whoever benefited the camp should receive more. Old Ossie accused you of favouritism because of this. Ossie - the troll as kids referred - is the camp’s grump. Rough white hair lined his head and chin in a thin layer, and his stained white tank did him no justice. Arthritis claimed his joints at a young age and even more so in his later years; he provided nothing to the camp, though it wasn’t his fault.

‘You’ve returned!’ Leah screamed, alerting the campers of your presence. Her small arms extended and wrapped around your legs, dirt transferring to her body to yours. ‘Did you meet anybody new out there?’

‘No.’ She noticed your concern but didn’t comment. The weight of the supplies dragged you down, knees buckling underneath you causing you to crash into the mud. Bundles of apples rolled followed you into the mud, which Leah quickly picked up and wiped on her dress.

Her small arms and hands couldn’t carry them all but she continued to pick them up, determined to assist. ‘I can’t carry all!’ she exclaimed, lips pursing and eyebrows furrowing.

‘It’s alright,’ you lifted yourself from the ground and threw the remaining apples into your bag, ‘you can keep those ones. Share them with those friends you made!’ One high-pitched squeal later, Leah sprinted home with the apples in her arms; one or two dropping on her journey back home.

‘She’s spoilt.’ The voice was low and almost unrecognisable if it wasn’t for the venomous hate noticeable in it.

‘Ossie.’ you hissed. Ossie sat on his porch of his house - if you could call it that - and glared at you with his pale grey eyes. Bony fingers clenched around a can filled with water sat in his lap, his joints seemingly cooperating with him today. The humid weather must’ve been a nice change of pace for him. A huff of ignorance fled his nose as he turned his head away from you, exposing the military tattoo on his neck. ‘Good talking to you.’

‘Y/n,’ Castiel appeared beside you, his hands immediately reaching for the boxes stuck within the mud, ‘I didn’t see you return.’ Those sapphire eyes watched over you as you returned to your feet, and the scrape on your arm didn’t go unnoticed by him. It was almost impossible to hide things from an angel, especially one who was so persistent on making sure you were okay all the time.

‘I’m fine,’ you assured.

His eyes raised to yours and he nodded in hesitant contempt. ‘Are these to go to Luna?’ You nodded. Luna, the code-word for your house. It didn’t need a code-word but Sam was so persistent on it you finally complied. The campers just called your humble abode the Shitty Yellow One. What could you do with a few pieces of wood? You never took a class in carpentry.

‘Just set it on the table,’ you motioned, ‘I need to go find some cloth to wrap it up.’

Castiel took a moment to have a look around, having never step foot inside your house before. ‘It’s a lot smaller than Dean said.’

‘Yeah, but it��s like a maze. There’s so much crap in here.’ Supplies and rations had taken over your house. Throwing the cuttings of cloth onto the table, you prepared everything and began rationing the fruits. ‘Thanks, Castiel. You can head back to your post if you’d like.’

You wrote different numbers on each cloth to remember which families the supplies go to, and proceeded to place the different fruit in each; there wasn’t much of a selection out in the woods but at least you had found an apple tree and blueberry bush. The other supplies would need to go in the boxes, but you didn’t have enough for everybody. Castiel lowered himself into the opposite chair to you and began helping with the rations, following your steps and setting them off to the side. A smile pulled at your lips, ‘Don’t blame me if Sam takes your gun away from you.’

‘He’d have to replace me, in that case. That’s something he wouldn’t have the energy for.’

‘Well, alright then.’

Dividing fruits and supplies was a tedious job that had to be done, you just wished people didn’t take you for granted so often. With the help of Castiel, it took you an hour less but you still weren’t done. ‘Okay, I think you’re done for the night. Go on home and get some sleep. I’ve gotta go hand these out before dawn.’

‘I’d rather be with you, if that’s okay.’

His behaviour changed at the mention of returning home. You knew he shared the house with Sam, maybe there were some issues with the two of them. ‘Sure, Castiel, you can come.’

‘Thank you, Y/n.’

‘Just do me a quick favour before we head out. There should be a purple box upstairs filled with clean blankets. Can you grab the box and bring them down?’ Castiel nodded and disappeared upstairs, where he would then proceed to get lost. It was only normal for people to get lost up there. It was a complete mess.

A husky voice was heard outside, proceeded by Sam’s. Hearing Sam’s voice surprised you in the least, you could barely remember the last time you heard him say anything to anybody. ‘NO, SAM.’ Danny screamed, rage fuelled in his voice. Of course it was Danny. Who else could it be? No-one was dumb enough to stand up against Sam.

Deciding to ignore the bickering, you called for Castiel, ‘You good up there?’

‘I, um, am having difficulties finding this box.’

You shared a chuckle to yourself. He’ll be up there for a while. Better him than you.

‘FOR FUCK’S SAKE, SAM.’

The metal of the box scraped against the wooden table as you placed it down. ‘What’s happening?’ you asked Sam, peering outside, but he didn’t need to reply. The unfamiliar motionless body laying between him and Danny spoke enough. It wasn’t one of you; the trespasser perhaps. The blankets could wait for now, you decided. Inspecting the body, you noticed the large stab wound in her back which was spurting out glossy silver liquid. She had to have been no older than fifteen, but she looked almost in her late thirties with the wrinkles on her face. She was definitely infected. ‘Who stabbed her?’ you asked, noticing the knife laying on the dirt.

‘Danny!’ Sam snapped. ‘He’s pushed it too far, Y/n. He needs to leave!’

‘Sam, calm down-’

‘Don’t defend him!’ The usually welcoming hazel eyes now filled with disgust and hatred, whether it was towards Danny, you, or both you still weren’t sure. ‘I’ve given him chances time and time again, and he continuous breaking the rules! He just killed a kid!’

Danny’s fingers inches to his thigh, his pistol holder mere centimetres away from him. ‘Hey, wait! This can be talked about after we get this body out of here. If this stays in here any longer, we’re all gonna be dead.’ you motioned to the silver liquid. The effects of it were becoming stronger each minute wasted because of their childish dispute. It’s almost as though they’ve forgotten what the virus did to them.

Sam was at a disadvantage against Danny with no weapons on him currently. Danny must’ve just returned from a supply run and still had his pistol strapped to him, which was almost gripped in his hand at this point. ‘This is all your fault, Samuel! I told you, I fucking told you we need to be careful who we let in! You do remember there’s a deadly virus out there, right? That’s why we’re all fucking stuck in the woods and not home with our families! Did you forget that!?’

‘Fuck me,’ you hissed. This was getting nowhere. Unzipping your jacket, you firmly tied it around your face. It probably wouldn’t provide much protection against the virus at such a close proximity, but somebody had to get the body out here before more people breathed that stench. It was bitter and slightly sweet, but the effects of it definitely wasn’t. Danny’s mossy eyes watched you drag the body past him and Sam. You couldn’t drag it far but it’d be enough overnight. Viktor would help bury it later on, you just hoped the liquid doesn’t worsen. Her arms cracked and popped with each rough movement as you dragged her tiny, but surprisingly heavy, body out of the camp. A trail led off to the right where nobody entered, ghosts supposedly, and you decided that’d be far enough for her to rest for the time being.

Silver liquid continued seeping out the wound and now her ears. The stench was getting stronger you could feel it burn your throat and lungs. Tears pricked your eyes, giving you a sensation like that of cutting an onion. God, it’s been years since you’ve had onions. The corpse let out a final crack as you dumped it to the ground, a pool of glossy silver accumulating underneath it. She seemed different from all the other infected you’ve run into in the past but you couldn’t put your finger on it. The virus usually made them lash out but you didn’t even know she was within the camps walls until Danny’s yelling. Was the virus evolving?

‘Y/n?’ Castiel’s voice rang on the other side of the walls.

‘What?’ The jacket muffled your voice.

‘There’s...an issue.’

The wooden gates to the camp stared down at you hauntingly. You didn’t have a clue what was waiting for you in there. Another dead body? Castiel had his back to you, his arms crossed against his chest. The camouflage shirt he wore was beginning to become a little tight against his biceps, but he daren’t to part with it. A gift from you. ‘What’s wrong now?’ you said, joining his side. A crowd had formed where Danny and Sam where, but you couldn’t see past them.

‘They’ve been informed of Sam’s...mistake. They’re unsure whether they can trust their lives with him as leader anymore.’ Castiel explained.

Great. There were going to be two deaths tonight. Just, you weren’t sure whether it was Sam or Danny who’d claim victory. As much as you love and appreciate Sam as a friend, he wasn’t suited to be leader anymore. Dean’s death was still having its effect on him and he was only becoming increasingly unstable. Danny, on the other hand, isn’t a leader either. Strict rules and bans would be set in place on his order and it’d do more bad than good. ‘Sam needs to step down,’ you said, ‘we need a new leader.’

‘But Danny-’

‘He’s no leader.’ You faced Castiel, observing his stance and expression. He was quiet and kept to himself a lot, but he did resemble a leader of sorts. ‘Well, what about you?’ His mouth fell open at that, and his head shook at a mile an hour. ‘Dean mentioned you ruling Heaven or something, ya know, back then.’

Castiel’s hands gripped his shirt tightly. ‘No. That was my brother just using me. His ways...they aren’t good.’

‘Well you can do it in your own ways.’

‘I don’t think I’d know where to even begin with a job like that.’

A soft smile pulled against your lips. ‘I’m sure you’d figure it out. You’re a smart man, Castiel. I guess it comes with being a celestial. You’re on a whole different level than us. It’s just directing people in the right direction, really. Isn’t that what angels do? Like, um, guardian angels or something like that?’

‘Something like that,’ Castiel said, a toothy grin spreading across his face.

‘That’s it!’ Danny yelled within the crowd. The crowd quickly dispersed in panic, their hands over their head as they ran to cover. Danny and Sam was finally in sight, and you could see a pistol pointing directly at Sam. ‘I won’t let your actions get me infected!’

Castiel stepped forward. It was hesitant, but he worked up the courage to move closer. Mud stuck to his combat boots as he moved slowly, the slush of the ground notifying Danny of his sneaking. ‘Enough is enough! Put the gun down, Danny!’ he ordered. ‘If you cooperate we can figure this out civilly.’

Following behind the angel, you watched as Danny backed away from Sam and Castiel. He was at more of an advantage in this position now. The four of you stood in a triangle. Castiel and yourself opposite of Sam and Danny off to the side with his gun switching from either side continuously. ‘Get the fuck back! I’ll shoot all of you!’ Danny exclaimed, firing off a shot that barely missed Sam.

Screams and hushed voices of shock could be heard from behind wooden structures. ‘We need to get this in control.’ you whispered. ‘The campers are frightened.’ Castiel nodded in agreement, though there was no opening for either of you to accomplish anything.

Danny’s eyes were frantic, searching for a possible way out or a solution to the issue he placed himself in. The gun shook in his hands, his fingers tightening around the trigger to control his nerves. Bang! The pistol fired another shot directly at Sam, hitting him. Castiel’s firm hand gripped your wrist and pulled you behind him, shielding you from Danny’s pistol which had turned to the two of you. ‘I-I didn’t want to shoot him! He forced my hand!’

‘Sam!’ you pleaded, ‘Get up!’ You’re frozen in place with your heart pounding in your chest, vision blurring with tears though you couldn’t see much with Castiel in front. One arm was all it took for you to keep your position. Castiel was determined to keep you shielded and you weren’t going to neglect his wishes in a time like this.

‘Look at what you’ve done!’ Castiel exclaimed, gesturing to the motionless body of Sam, ‘You just shot your leader! Do you understand the punishment you’ll receive for such a vile action?’

‘No...no, I just saved all of you! Sam would’ve been the downfall of this camp. I’m the hero. I deserve to be the leader!’ Danny rambled. This behaviour reminded you of the infected in their last few hours. They’d always become unstable just like this, Dean was similar though more violent. Perhaps Danny caught the virus when he was out on the supply run, but physically he looked healthy like normal.

‘You’re no leader, Danny. You’ve just murdered someone of high priority to these people. Now they’re at risk of outsiders and each other. Rule number one of being a leader is to keep situations under control. Murdering somebody in front of everybody isn’t under control!’ Castiel growled. Fingers dug into Castiel’s shirt as some form of security, almost tearing it with the grip you had. The infected worried you, but nobody had scared you like Danny is. Dean was close but Danny was completely different. You’ve had guns, knives, bows, spears, all sorts of crap pointed at you, but an unstable man with nothing to lose and everything to gain was at the top of the ladder.

Castiel’s shoulders tightened underneath the presence of your fingers. Human emotions tend to combine and form as one, he once said. Castiel could feel your fear, it was overwhelmingly strong. Fear was an emotion he hadn’t often felt radiating off you, which only made him more concerned.

‘If you dare get between me and my rightful position as leader then you leave me no choice but to kill you, too!’ Danny’s hands straightened out and for a moment he seemed to have gained control of his nerves to pull the trigger. Castiel was a tad faster than Danny and had managed to turn his back to him, hunching over to protect his head from being shot. Arms trapped you against his chest, sacrificing himself as a human - or angel - shield for you.

‘Castiel!’ you screeched. Bang! Your skeleton practically jumped out of your body. ‘Castiel, you-you’re grace. It protects you, right?’ The pained groan escaping his throat said otherwise. Bullets and knives and all that stuff doesn’t work on old Cas here, you remembered Dean saying. It was when you had met for the first time; Castiel was only protecting Sam and Dean from your gun pointed at them when he almost dislocated your shoulder. He still profusely apologises to this day.

‘W-what the hell are you?’ Danny stuttered. ‘How are you still standing!?’

Castiel looked to be in a lot of pain; his eyes squeezed shut and his teeth biting down on his lower lip. Staggered exhales tickled your forehead unpleasantly but you were relieved he was still breathing at least. The warmth of his chest was pressing against you and you prayed it wasn’t blood. ‘Castiel, please, look at me. You’re an angel, right? You’ll be fine.’ you sobbed as you pled. He was in this mess because of you. If you hadn’t talked him into standing up against Danny, he’d have joined the campers and hid behind something. If you weren’t here, he wouldn’t use himself to protect you. ‘Cas!’

Sapphire eyes peered at you through eyelashes heavy with tears of pain. With a hoarse voice, Castiel asked, ‘Did you get hurt? I’m-’ Bang! Castiel’s eyes widened and his arms loosened from around your body as his knees buckled beneath him, the mud sloshing underneath his sudden weight.

‘Cas!’ Kneeling beside the fallen angel, you watched as he aimed at holding himself up from the ground. His hands and knees dug into the mud, a thick layer coating the underside of his body. The bullet wounds in his back looked horrific with blood pouring out of them similar to the silver from the corpse. Bang! The gunfire caused you to cringe and squeeze your eyes shut, afraid of seeing Cas get shot once more, only you heard a distant cry of pain. It was Danny who was now on the ground, a hand clamped over his chest as he stared up at the sky.

‘Son of a-’ you heard him groan before everything fell silent.

Viktor stood on top of the perimeter walls with a rifle beside him, signalling Danny was down and he was the one responsible. He rushed down the stairs of the wall, leaving his rifle at his post, and proceeded to assist you with Castiel. Viktor was always one to come to the rescue, especially when it came to you. It was something small he had in common with Castiel; you assumed that was why they were both so fond of each other. ‘This doesn’t look good,’ Viktor commented, ‘we need Abbigail.’

‘Cas-Castiel?’ Leah appeared from behind metal fencing, her hands timidly grasping her dress as she stood over Castiel. ‘Is...is he going to die?’

‘No! No, no, he’s going to be fine.’ you assured, though you weren’t sure.

Leah’s eyes darted over to Sam and Danny, her brown eyes widening in horror. A hand flew to her mouth as she let out a stunned gasp and whispered, ‘Sam? Danny?’

‘Don’t look at them, Leah.’

A lantern in the distance caught your attention and you watched as it trekked to you in the thick mud. ‘Leah, go home now!’ A flat voice ordered. It had to have been Abbigail.

‘But Mum-’

‘Leave now!’ Abbigail kneeled beside you and immediately got to work on Castiel’s wounds, which was uncontrollably bleeding. ‘I won’t be able to stitch them up here. He’s going to be in a lot of pain.’

Castiel raised to his feet with the assistance of Viktor by his side, carrying most of his weight so he didn’t feel more pain than necessary. ‘Fuck, take him to my house.’ Helping Abby with her medical supplies, you followed the two men into your house and placed everything on the floor beside the couch Viktor set Castiel on. ‘Thanks, Viktor. Check on Sam.’ His eyes fell, but he complied.

Abbigail continued treating Castiel, though she couldn’t do much with his shirt in the way of the wounds. She wasted no time by cutting the fabric, receiving a moan of disapproval from Castiel. ‘I liked this shirt.’ he murmured.

‘If you like it so much, I’ll let you die in it.’ Abbigail retorted.

Castiel shut up. The sapphire in his eyes seemed to have dulled to a blue-grey and his skin was becoming pale at an alarming rate. He made eye contact with you briefly before they fell shut. It was better if he was knocked out anyways.

Abbigail used her knife to on his wounds to make them larger to gain access to the bullets, which she then proceeded to fish out with a pair of tweezers. Blood was pouring out of his back and running down to his sides where it stained the couch cushions, which would never be used again; liquid raised in your throat at the sheer sight of it. With a gulp, you swallowed the liquid and your fear back down and helped Abby by applying pressure to the wound as she worked on the opposite one. The continuous rise and fall of his back as he breathed was the only thing keeping you sane for the time being, though your concern for Sam couldn’t help but creep into the back of your mind. Focus on one thing at a time, you reminded yourself. You had faith in Abbigail, she had more successes than failures and she was known to work well under pressure; she had to have been under pressure at this point.

‘Alright. That’s one done, let me see this one.’

Removing your hands, you winced at the sight of the flesh pulling apart and the blood claiming your hands. This one seemed worse and possibly deeper than the last. Castiel was lucky these didn’t paralyse him. ‘Do you have this under control? I have to check on Sam.’ you asked.

‘I’ve got it,’ a sympathetic smile spread across her face for a moment, ‘go see him.’

Returning outside, you noticed a few campers returned to the crime scene. Three men stood over Danny with their arms crossed, while Viktor and two others stood over Sam. ‘Viktor?’

‘Y/n,’ Viktor sighed, ‘he didn’t make it.’

Sam’s body laid in the mud, his eyes closed and his hand resting on his heart just above where he was shot. He looked more at peace when he was dead than he had in the past two years. Tears pricked your eyes. ‘I think he wanted this,’ you said, ‘maybe not in this way but he wasn’t himself since Dean.’

Viktor only nodded and pulled you in for a brief hug, his warmth battled Castiel’s. ‘Go on back to him now,’ Viktor pecked your forehead and offered a smile, ‘I’ll handle Sam. Danny, too.’

‘I owe you one, Viktor. Thank you for saving him.’ you placed a kiss to his cheek before retreating back inside to check on Castiel. ‘How’s he doing?’

‘Ask him yourself,’ Abby smiled.

Castiel was awake and his back was all stitched up with bandages wrapped around his chest. The colour was beginning to return to his face and eyes. He sat on the couch upright, his head thrown backwards in uncomfortable pain. ‘I’m fine.’ Castiel answered. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m fine, Cas. Thanks to you. What were you thinking!?’

‘I’m just going to head on out. I gotta put Leah to sleep.’ Abbigail left before you could get another word in.

‘I just wanted to protect you, Y/n. Danny was unstable and the potential position of power only worsened matters. I made a poor assumption using my grace. It’s not exactly at full power these days and I don’t believe I have long until it’s depleted.’ Castiel’s eyes appeared heavy. ‘Everything appears so much more dull than usual. I hadn’t noticed the rate my grace was vanishing until tonight. I may only have another day or two.’

Your heartbeat increased and pounded against your chest. ‘You’re dying?’

His head shook, not meeting eyes with you. ‘No- No. I’m just turning mortal. Soon the virus will become an issue for me as it is to all of you. I took it for granted earlier but I think it’s dawning on me.’ Sapphire eyes turned misty with tears, he only bowed his head further. ‘I don’t- I don’t know how to be a human.’

The couch complained underneath your sudden weight beside the angel. Fingers danced along his cheek as you pulled him towards you, ‘Come here,’ you whispered, ‘I don’t know a lot about all of this celestial mumbo jumbo but you seem a lot more human than anybody I know. It’s not like you go around with your magic stardust making us worship you or something, and you’re not some cold-blooded killer like a lot of the people out there.’ Castiel’s hearty chuckle resonated within you, his warmth pressing against you like it had earlier only in this situation it was a whole lot more welcoming.

Sapphire returning to his eyes, he glanced you over before he allowed his head to lean into your hand. The stubble on his cheeks pricked against your palm but in the moment you didn’t care as you leaned forward and let the warmth of his lips press against yours. He didn’t hesitate a second, as though he had been waiting for this. One hand laid flat on your thigh while the other rested on the back of your neck, rubbing slow circles with his thumb. His movements warm and smooth, you imagined it to be what angel grace felt like; serenity, warmth, softness, everything beautiful mixed together.

‘I want to thank you,’ he whispered, ‘and apologise for the couch. I’ll be sure to replace the cushions.’

‘Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re okay.’

Castiel’s smile mimicked yours.

‘Sam- Is he…’ You shook your head in response. He remained silent and his eyes stared at a spot on the couch. Dean and Sam had said they’ve known Castiel for years before the whole virus outbreak; it had to have been hard losing not one but both of your best friends.

You ran a hand through his hair, cringing at the mud sticking to your fingers as you moved through it. ‘You should clean up and get some rest.’ you said. ‘We’ll get everybody together tomorrow and say goodbye to Sam. You’ve got a big day ahead of you, Boss.’

Castiel only laughed.

Castiel awoke early in the morning to the sun shining on his eyes through a gap in the wooden structure. After a tough battle, Castiel politely accepted your offer to sleep on the bed while you fashioned a temporary bed on the floor beside him. Soft pink burning his cheeks, he let himself smile as he recalled the kiss you had shared the night before.

He allowed himself to glance down at you. His cheery smile fell to shock then horror as he observed silver liquid dripping out of your ajar mouth, a trail leading down the side of your face and to the floor. His heart fell to his stomach, and for a moment he didn’t care about the wounds on his back as he pushed himself out of bed and knelt beside you. He remembered the young woman from last night; you carried her out by yourself and it must’ve gotten to you. ‘Y/n,’ he whispered, his voice shaking. He didn’t hesitate to check your condition with his grace and pressed his fingertips to your forehead to examine. Castiel could feel the death radiating off your soul, it was toxic and making a beeline to encase you within blackness. The baby blue of your soul had turned to gray overnight. You wouldn’t last until noon.

Castiel hadn’t really used his grace since this all began, not even when Dean was dying. He didn’t know if he even could cure the virus but he was going to make an attempt if it meant saving your life. There was some sort of connection between you two and he doesn’t want to lose that, whether it was selfish or not. He’s never felt such a distinction between a human before. With a shallow inhale, Castiel used the remainder of his grace to heal you. His eyes followed the grace flow to your soul and attack the virus, the black of the virus and the blue of his grace swirled together almost resembling Yin and Yang. It took a few minutes, but the grace barely claimed victory and healed you of the virus.

‘Y/n?’ he whispered, tapping you slightly. ‘Are you alright?’

A groan escaped your throat, ‘What?’ you muttered before falling asleep again.

Castiel smiled knowing you were healthy once more. His grace was gone forever and he was now at risk of being murdered or injected just as much as everybody else, but you weren’t dying and was slowly healing from his wounds. Castiel decided to keep the virus scare a secret to not concern you, and as for his grace there was no sure-fire way of you ever finding out how he truly lost his grace forever.

Castiel tags:

@castiel-savvy18, @magnificent-mantle, @impractical-impala @tacklesackles,

Everything tags:

@disappointeddinosaur, @unknown-chronicles, @marisayouass, @greenappleeyes, @nina-winchester4life, @fanboyswhereare-you, @free-spirit-wolf, @kdfrqqg, @buttercup337, @xsammijoannex, @kitkatgaming, @totally-fandom, @thatshellfiredean, @quantumcheese

Special Tags:

@canyouactuallybelievesomeone, @imgetting2old4diss, @alyssa6marie

If you would like to be added to one of my tag lists, feel free to send me an ‘ask’ or a private message with your preferred tag. If your tag is not there it because tumblr won’t recognise it.

#castiel x reader #cas x reader #supernatural #supernatural fan fiction #fan fiction #castiel #sam winchester #dean winchester #tw death #tw blood #tw vomit #tw guns #tw violence

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jcinknetwork · 6 years ago

Photo

I’ve gotten quite a few asks lately asking to make a tutorial on how to roleplay on jcink, so I’m going to break it down as easily as I can! If you have any other tutorials that you would like me to do, just send me an ask! If you need me to clarify something, just let me know!

PART i: FINDING A SITE

Okay, so the first thing that you’ll probably do is find a site in order to join it. There are a lot of other great directories out there and I know that a lot of people search through resource sites. A lot of these directories have separate categories or tags which you can use to find just the site that you’re looking for. Here are a few examples:

@jcinknetwork - navigation page

@jcinkadverts - navigation page

wecode - advertising section

That’s about easy enough! If you’re looking to make a site and want to know if other people might be interested (ex: a real life site based in Washington, D.C, a post potter era adult era site, a fantasy site completely made up), you can usually find an “interest check” tag or section in order to ask.

PART ii: FORUM BASICS

The majority of sites have a similar layout, so I’m just going to be describing what the general layout is.

Each forum has different categories, which is the main section. Keep in mind that all skins will usually look different in colors, minor structures, and so on, but the overall design for most skins is generally quite similar.

In the image above, it’s the part that says “wecode”. Beneath each category is a forum. In the image above, they are important reads, site announcements, and moderation.

If you click on the forum (we’re going to click on announcements), you’ll see what’s in the picture above (though without all the cool colorful boxes).

PiNK - That’s a subforum.

BLUE - This is just going to tell you what forum it’s in, but technically it’s called a maintitle (though that isn’t crucial knowledge).

GREEN - This is a topic. You can usually see who posted it, the description of the topic, the last person who posted in it and when, and how many views and replies it has.

Now, most sites are set up in a similar way. Here’s a basic rundown of how the forums are structured:

[ Site Name Here ] - Important Reads (member groups, rules, lore, etc) - Announcements (activity checks, announcements) - Moderation / Codes (site codes, topic moderation)

[ Registering ] - Registry (application code, where you post your application) - Claims (canon lists, face claims, other site claims)

[ Development ] - Shippers (where shippers are sorted, usually don’t post here yourself. plot with other characters here!) - Classifieds (requests) - Development (personal character development, post moodboards, aesthetics, etc here) - Communication (quick threads that usually take the form of notes, texts, calls, etc)

[ Location (Hogwarts / Washington, D.C. / DOWNTOWN) ] - The number of location boards varies per site. HP-wise, it might be set between Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and London. If you’re in DC based site, it might be split between DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The locations listed under the location boards are usually located within the location title.

[ Out of Character ] - Usually just advertising and archives

PART III: ROLEPLAY BASICS

There are a few terms that you should know before you get started roleplaying on jcink because there are times when it might be a bit confusing for newbies, but it’s generally quite user friendly.

SHIPPER - (Dossier, Plotter, Plot Page) These are used to plot between characters on the site (though the majority of sites now also allow plotting on Discord channels). There’s often a code you can use on the site to post your shipper as most sites generally like it to be uniform or at least to be using their codes. You fill in the shipper which usually includes a platonic, antagonistic, and romantic section for a short general description. Images are also included in these! If you want to plot with someone, you first post in their shipper. They will usually reply in your shipper, so keep an eye on that!

WANTED AD - (Classifieds, Requests) If you want to request people or a certain plot, this is the place to do it. If you aren’t sure what kind of character you want to make, check this section to see if anyone is looking for anyone.

PROFILE - You can usually click on your name on a site and it will take you to your profile. To access an editing panel, you can usually find the cog in the topbar or someone where on the page and click on edit profile info on the sidebar in order to edit your profile. A lot of sites include multiple images and player or character information on the profile page, so be sure to fill those out.

APPLICATION - Although getting more rare nowadays, applications are where you apply to join a site. Follow the rules outlined in the application code topic for what your title and description should look like and post a new topic in usually one of two different forums: complete, unfinished. Usually there’s a third forum entitled “pending” for character applications that just need a bit more work.

SHIPPER APP - Sometimes sites use shipper apps. Instead of just being an application, it’s a shipper as well! Two birds with one stone, eh?

PROFILE APP - When it comes to profile apps, you have to go to your profile and edit it. There’s usually a large textbox for the actual freeform part of the application, though there’s also a lot of just general information to fill out. Completely a profile app usually also requires people to post their shipper before they join.

MEMBER GROUP - These are groups that your characters are sorted into. These vary depending on the site. A classic example is this: a Harry Potter site is usually separated into Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw. You just pick which group your character goes into. By default, you’ll probably be a “member” or something similar.

PART IV: JOINING A SITE

The first thing that you want to do once you find a site that you like is read the rules. This usually tells you how you’re supposed to register your account. What you register your account as is what everyone else sees, so if you register as Harry J. Potter (with the capitalization), that’s what everyone will see. Most of the time, you just register with your character’s first and last name in proper caps, but this is where reading the rules comes in. Some sites prefer all uppercase, all lowercase, middle initials, and some sites even require you to first register an alias account instead of a character account. Just be sure to read the rules!!!

The next step is to reserve your faces or characters. Most sites only allow one or two reserves at a time, though be sure to read just to make sure. Usually on a site, there’s a code listed as the “reserve code” that you can use. If the face or character is already taken, you can’t use them.

The next step is creating your shipper or application or editing your profile. It depends on the kind of application (see PART iii).

Then, you wait. I know, it totally sucks to wait, but it’s what you gotta do. If you’re pended, you’ll get a PM on the site from the staff letting them know what you missed. If you’re accepted, well get on plotting!

PART V: PLOTTING + THREADING

Visit the shipper forum and plot with other characters. This is totally informal so you can fangirl and sob all you want to. There is usually a code to do this, so be sure to look around before you do so (sometimes it’s just a button). Once you find one that you mesh with or come up with a plot that you absolutely have to do, let the other person know that you want to do a thread with them. If they agree, either start the thread (and let them know that you’ll do it) or ask if they would be willing to start it. Determine the location (ex: Draco and Pansy in Hogsmeade at the Three Broomsticks - I (Draco) would post in the Hogsmeade category in the Three Broomsticks forum.) You would title it anything you want and the description usually tags the person. Example:

Title: ; start a fight Description: pansy parkinson / alias of other person

Then, of course, send the other person a link to the thread you guys are doing. When you guys think that your thread is done, just request to have it archived in the moderation forum.

PART VI: OTHER THINGS

Now, if you want to keep track of all of the threads you’re doing or have all of your character’s shipper pages in one thread, you can go to development and create something called a tracker. You can edit this page however you want to include all of the threads that you’re character or characters are involved in so you can access them quickly.

Don’t forget to join your site’s Discord as well to interact with other players!

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? SUGGESTIONS?

If I missed something (which, tbh, I probably have) or if you need me to clarify something, don’t hesitate to send me an ask. If you want it answered privately, please let me know.

#jcink #jcink rp #jcink site #jcink tutorial #rp tutorial

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nellie-elizabeth · 6 years ago

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The Walking Dead: The Calm Before (9x15)

Oh, for fuck's sake.

Cons:

I'm going to start with some personal context here: when I watched this episode, my DVR recording for some reason cut it off early, at the cliffhanger moment when Alpha sits next to Lydia in the movie theatre. I wasn't paying much attention to how long the episode had been, so I thought that was the final moment of the episode. I was all geared up to write a quite favorable review - lots of tense moments, good character buildup, etc. etc. But then I realized there was still fifteen minutes to go, and now I have to deal with this bullshit.

The problem with The Walking Dead is they have this huge over-bloated cast of people, most of whom we don't really care about, and then periodically in order to make us understand how evil a villain is, some of these characters will get killed off. But there's always some problem with the way they pull off the deaths: either they are way too built up and foreshadowed, and every ounce of drama is wrung out of the moment (Glenn, Carl), or else it's a character we kind of care about, and they're given a bunch of attention and more character development suddenly, and it becomes obvious they're about to die (Jesus), or they're someone I barely know at all and I'm not sure why I'm supposed to be so devastated about it (several of the deaths in this episode).

Really, we should talk about the Big Three Deaths.

Enid. She falls into the "Jesus" category for me, in that we suddenly get all these moments with her being all cute with her boyfriend, and I instantly thought she was going to get killed off. Or he was. One of them, anyway. It's hard to care about this, because I don't really feel like I know Enid at all, especially post time-jump. She's just another random Hilltop community member at this point.

Tara. I'm too exhausted to repeat my tirade about this show killing off all its queer characters. At least there are still those two girls whose names I don't know yet. Or whatever. And at least there's still Aaron. The thing with a big ensemble cast like this is that it's not necessarily the end of the world if some queer characters die, as long as there are plenty of other ones on the show, and that kind-of-sort-of is what's going on here, so I won't repeat myself on explaining why it sucks to kill off queer characters. Instead, let's just talk about how stupid it is to kill off Tara specifically. Hilltop just lost Jesus, and now it's lost Tara, and it all feels so pointless. And I don't mean pointless in the way it's supposed to feel pointless. It feels narratively pointless. Tara has been around for a really long time, and she never really came into her own as a character. I've never disliked her, but I've never felt all that invested in her either. Maybe she was somewhat superfluous to the story that this show wants to be telling. But instead of constantly bringing in new characters and over-extending the cast, and then killing off people who have been around for years to make room for newbies, why not take the time to actually develop these characters? Why not make us care about Tara the way we care about Daryl or Carol or Michonne, so that if she dies, it means something?

Finally, Henry. I will admit, there are some aspects to Henry dying here that I'm going to put in the "pros" section too, because I genuinely did not see it coming, and there are some interesting possibilities coming off of this. But on the other hand... why now? Henry was an annoying brat when this season started, and I had just started to get a bit invested in him... and then he's dead. It would have meant a hell of a lot more if we'd had a whole additional season with him, if we'd seen him grow, if I came to care about him the way I once cared about Carl. This show has this problem of dragging some things out waaaayyyy too far, and then cutting other things off before they've had a chance to develop and mature. It's annoying. I'm always feeling robbed of the better show that we could have had if certain plot threads could be disposed of, and different characters could be given the limelight.

The frustrating thing about this dramatic mass-killing is that so many people had to make mistakes in order for it to happen. It was just so contrived that when various groups started splitting up, Carol, Michonne, and Daryl would be the three together, along with one of the new-ish characters whose name I still don't know. They're idiots to let themselves get surrounded by the Whisperers. After all these years, do they not have any tactical common sense? And also, not to put too fine a point on it, Alpha is an idiot for not killing Daryl, Michonne, and Carol when she had the chance. If she really wanted to punish the various communities for their defiance, that would have been the way to do it. These three characters are protected because they're the most popular characters on the show (they're certainly the only three that I personally care about at this point), not because it makes sense in-universe for them to be the ones to always survive.

Pros:

One of the reasons that I found the deaths to be so unsatisfying is that the rest of this episode was doing some really good work. I was completely drawn in, loving the suspense, enjoying the happiness of the Fair, dreading Alpha's retaliation... it was all great stuff, and even the setup for the deaths, seeing the heads on spikes, would have worked really well for me if it weren't for the buildup resulting in those specific characters' deaths.

The first thing that was awesome about this episode? The Fair. I resisted Carol being a part of the Kingdom for a long time because I didn't like how it separated her from the rest of the group, and I was skeptical of Ezekiel. He just seemed too goofy to me, even though I know that's sort of the whole point. But now? I understand their relationship, I understand the Kingdom, and I believe in it. That scene where the leaders of the various communities signed the Constitution was incredibly moving. I think it's important in a show like this for the characters to have something they're fighting for. Despite all of the loss and pain, they have to remain strong for something bigger than any one person. The Fair was a great symbol of that, and I like the fact that we lingered on it long enough to understand what's really at stake here.

This episode did a great job being genuinely scary, too. As predictable as some of the deaths were, in terms of the character set-up as I've described above, I'll admit I wasn't expecting the slaughter in this episode. I thought maybe it would wait until next week. Everyone thought that Hilltop would be the target of the Whisperer's wrath, and I'll admit that I got caught up in that assumption as well, even though the Kingdom made more sense in terms of the narrative. And when the groups went out to go defend Hilltop, I was scanning their numbers, wondering which among them were going to die, so it was a doubly effective twist that the victims were people supposedly safe at the Fair. When we first see Alpha in that dress, with the wig, just wandering among the people, it genuinely startled me and made me very nervous. That tension kept escalating throughout the whole rest of the episode. The whole scene in the movie theatre freaked me out. I kept waiting for a mass attack to happen, and when it didn't, the tension stayed with me as we saw Lydia and Alpha talking. Great pacing, great acting, great score, all in service of a very frightening atmosphere.

Lydia has really grown on me. Obviously there will be some people who are livid that so much was lost because of her, but I think we're seeing that these communities don't want to give up their values, no matter the cost. They've offered Lydia asylum, and even though the consequences of that decision were devastating, it was still the right thing to do, and I believe that Daryl, Michonne, and the others will continue to protect her, in honor of the people who lost their lives, especially Henry. Lydia has a great moment where she stands up to Alpha. It's important to remember the degree to which this poor girl has been brainwashed throughout her entire life. Escaping an abusive parent is no easy task, and I think we're going to see the trauma play out in interesting ways. Or at least I hope that's where this is going. Lydia could be a really cool and interesting character to explore more deeply.

Oh, Daryl. He was killing it in this episode. I loved the little nod he gave to Carol when Alpha led him away at gunpoint. It was him saying "it's okay" and "goodbye" and everything else all at once. We get two Carol and Daryl hugs, once when Daryl, Lydia, Henry, and Connie show up at the Kingdom, and once again when Daryl returns after his one-on-one with Alpha. He just loves Carol and Michonne both so much. When we see the heads on spikes moment, Daryl notices Henry first and runs to Carol, desperate to save her this pain. He holds her and tells her to just look at him. My heart broke for the both of them. I also liked the little detail of Daryl taking Lydia to the spikes (heads removed, of course), so that Lydia can say goodbye to Henry. Daryl has been isolating himself since losing Rick, but we can see how community-oriented he really is, how much he cares about the people around him and how much he wants to nurture them.

A few other little details that I enjoyed: I surprisingly didn't mind Rosita and Eugene's little moment, even if the whole plot scenario is still a little eye-roll worthy. I liked seeing Judith playing with other kids, enjoying the freedom and fun of the Fair, and I loved when she and Carol had their little moment. It's so sad to think of Carol not being a big part of Rick's daughter's life, but we see that Judith still remembers her, and I'm sure they'll be together again now. Ezekiel's opening speech at the Fair about Rick and Carl was really great, and helped to tie together the themes of this season. Connie and Daryl's goodbye, with Daryl asking Connie to watch the dog... I could see a real friendship developing between those two. Connie and her sister's conversation, hinting at some backstory stuff that I'd be interested to get back to. Luke being buddies with Enid's boyfriend, excited to play music at the Fair. I actually really like Luke and I hope we get to spend more time with him.

Finally, Siddiq's speech at the end. It's taken a whole season to unpack the reasons for Michonne's fear and isolation. It's taken all season to start getting some answers about the communities being estranged from each other, and we still don't have all the pieces of the puzzle. When I saw those heads on those spikes, one of my first reactions was to be worried that we'd backslide on all that character development. Michonne and Aaron would pull back and stay in Alexandria, Ezekiel's dreams of union and trade would collapse, and we'd be back to square one. It's possible that that's where we're going with all of this, but I actually doubt it. We can see how devastated everyone is, obviously, but hopefully this latest challenge will bring them even closer together, and when the Whisperers are gone, harmony can continue to grow.

So yeah. I liked so much of this episode. I liked the build-up and the atmosphere and several of the character beats. And yet here we are with another slaughter, a bunch of characters that were only just getting interesting, suddenly killed off so that we're clear on the fact that the Whisperers are bad guys. Yeesh. Annoying.

7.5/10

#review #walking dead #walking dead review #the walking dead review #twd

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narwhal-writings · 6 years ago

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Meet the Writer

I got tagged in so many of these lmao. All answers are under the cut.

Tagged by: @bluewritesbadly

1. What is your favorite weather to write in?

I don’t have one! As long as it is not melt-your-face-off hot outside, I’m good!

2. Do you draw inspiration from any specific show, movie, or music?

Nothing specific that I can think of, I can draw inspiration from just about anything.

3. Do you have any specific playlists for writing?

Nope.

4. What is your goal as a writer?

To finish a WIP, something I’ve never done. And maybe to be the author of someone’s favorite story one day.

5. How would you describe your current project?

Princesses take matters into their own hands. It’s not as easy as they thought it would be.

6. Do you have a favorite character? If so, describe them?

YES!!! My girl Rosar from Broken Thrones is my fave. She is sweet even though her father is emotionally abusive. She loves being outside, digging her fingers into the soil, and everything about flowers.

7. What is your inspiration for writing?

My mind will drive me insane if I keep all my ideas and storylines in my head, so I write them out and hope someone can get immersed in them the same way I do.

8. Have you had any experiences irl that you have put into your writing?

Not that I can think of.

9. Which of your characters are you most like?

I’m most like Eira when it comes to the way my mind works. Logical not emotional.

10. What is your favorite quote?

“I hope to arrive to my death, late, in love, and a little drunk.” - Atticus

Tagged by: @thepotatowearsprada

1. What inspired you to start writing your current WIP?

I reread one of my fave books and I started getting ideas and I started writing.

2. Is there a chapter/set of chapters that’s your favourite in your WIP? If so, which ones and why?

I am super bad at writing in chapters. I usually just write in a huge chunk of paragraphs and leave separating them into chapters for future me to deal with. But there is a scene from my Dieselpunk WIP that I love. The two MCs are alone together after a traumatizing event and Jax does his best to comfort Amy. It’s adorable.

3. Which of your characters would you take with you into a haunted house?

Amy from my Dieselpunk WIP. She’d be fun.

4. What character would you take with you to supervise a first date from afar?

Rosar from Broken Thrones. She’d be able to monitor the situation without seeming suspicious.

5. Was there a specific book that led you to writing? If so, which one?

I...am not sure. I used to read all the time and any of those could’ve pushed me towards it. I’ll go with any of the Robin McKinley books I’ve read. I love the way I’m able to immerse myself in the worlds she creates and I want to mimic that.

6. What music do you like to listen to while you write?

It varies depending on my mood or what kind of scene I want to write.

7. Where do you like to do most of your writing?

The living room at my house, That’s where the laptop is, and I prefer to use the laptop to type.

8. What book are you reading right now, and what do you think of it?

I am not reading a book right now, sadly. I have several on my list, though.

9. If you had to compare your favourite character to another literary character, who would it be, and why?

I will compare Rosar to....agh....I...don’t know...I’m bad at this...sorry.

10. What font do you like to use when typing up stories?

I use Arial.

Tagged by: @hilunawrites

1. What’s the first thing you ever remember writing?

Oh god. I used to write Warriors fanfic when I was in elementary/middle school.

2. What book or series has affected you the most?

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. It is my all time favorite book and I fell in love with it and the MC Harry.

3. Do you prefer writing dialogue or description?

I like writing description, even though I’m not very good at it.

4. Where do you write?

I can write anywhere, but mainly at my house on the laptop.

5. What is your number one goal as a writer right now?

To finish at least one of my WIPs.

6. What was the last book you read?

Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray. I really enjoyed it!

7. Do you have a writing schedule?

No, but I should make one.

8. What’s an irritating mistake you often make when writing?

I like to use way too many commas.

9. Do you prefer writing the first draft or editing?

Lmao considering I’ve never completed a draft to edit, I’ll go with writing the first draft.

10. What’s your number one tip for newbie writers?

Don’t give up just because you feel like your writing isn’t good. The more you practice, the better you’ll get.

Tagged by: @lillithannemadison

1.How often do you get writers’ block/What do you do to get over it?

I get writers’ block a lot. I usually get over it when I walk the dog. That’s when I put my earbuds in and let my mind wander. That or when I’m a passenger in the car.

2. Do you prefer to write more in the early mornings, late nights, or somewhere in between?

I’m more productive in the evenings and nighttime.

3. If you had the chance, would you hire a publicist right now for all of your finished WIPs, or keep them until you are 1000000000% sure they are perfect?

Seeing as I can be a perfectionist, I’ll keep them until I am sure they are perfect.

4. For those of you who go to school or have a time-consuming job, do you write in your free time at school/work? Or do you only write in the comfort of your own home?

Uh, I will jot down my ideas and think up new storylines at school, but I prefer to write at home.

5. What is the most progress you’ve made on one WIP? (in chapters)

Like I said in an earlier set of q’s, I don’t write chapters very often. However, in my Dieselpunk WIP I have about 56k words, and that’s not nearly finished.

6. If you listen to music while you write, do you listen to instrumental music or music with lyrics as well?

I listen to any type of music when writing.

7. Do you use any types of digital art, art apps, or simply a pencil and paper to visualize your characters?

I try. I am bad at trying to draw my OCs when I try. Sometimes I use apps/games to create my characters, or I pick a faceclaim.

8. If given the chance, would you allow your favorite author to read your WIP, or would you be too nervous about the feedback?

That...is a good question. I’m weird about my writing. I’m sharing bits and pieces here and I’m okay with it, I send them to my friend and I’m okay, but I’d never let my family read it. So I’m not sure. I might let them read it.

9. Which author/poet/etc. influenced your writing the most?

I wish I knew. I’m bad at identifying what influences the way I write.

10. If you had found out someone was plagiarizing your WIP after posting it on Tumblr, Wattpad, etc., how would you react?

Uhhh....report whoever did it, tell my followers what happened? Idk for sure.

Tagged by: @leicawri

1. What do you consider the most special about your setting that sets it apart from other settings?

The way it’s set up, I suppose. I guess in Broken Thrones it’s a bit odd because of how near the forest and desert is without touching. The Stone and the Sea is different because the places/people from them are identified by what they are good at making. Stuff like that, I guess.

2. Do you need to be alone in a room to write or do you need noise around you?

I need noise, but it doesn’t need to be people noise, a TV in the background or music is good. I can write, people or no people.

3. If one character in your story didn’t exist, how would it change the way the story goes? Would it affect the other characters in their development? Would it change the ending?

I like to think that all (named) characters that I make have an impact on the story and is needed in the story. I would say taking a character out would change the story, character growth of others, and the ending.

4. What’s the strangest way you solved a plothole?

I haven’t come across a whole lot of plotholes simply because I haven’t gone back and read everything together. So I’m sure in the future I’ll have an answer for this, but not today.

5. What is your method if you realise that your character acted out of character in the last few scenes?

I leave it for future me to deal with lmao. In all reality, I’m kinda bad at realizing if a character is acting correctly or not, so I’ll leave that work and come back to it later and try to fix it.

6. In your worldbuilding, do you only build as much history as needed or do you create a whole history with little stories that are irrelevant to the plot and no one will ever know them but you and the people that asked about it?

I make just a little more history than needed. Or I don’t make enough and have to make it up as I go.

7. Do you have a time that you dedicate to writing or do you just write whenever inspiration hits you?

I write whenever I want to. Or I stare blankly at the document until I force the words out. No specific time

8. Do you write your story in order, from chapter 1 to chapter 10? Or do you just write first chapter 8, then chapter 3, them chapter 5 and so on?

I try to write chronologically as best I can. However, if I have writers’ block, I’ll skip ahead and work out how to work in that segment.

9. How do you name characters? Spontaneously? Or do you spenf a long time researching definitions and where those names come from? What about placeholder names?

I don’t usually use placeholder names. I usually go looking for a specific type of nae with a specific meaning. Like with Broken Thrones, the three sisters have names relating to nature because their country is very nature-oriented. However, the men from Issera I used a name generator and made a few adjustments. It depends on what I’m looking for.

10. What role does music play in your story? Are there festivals for it? Or is it just there?

Interesting question. I haven’t thought about this too much. Maybe I’ll include more music oriented things in my WIPs...

Tagged by: @quill-and-ink-writer

1. What’s your favorite book?

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley! I love it so much it pains me every time I finish rereading it.

2. Man vs. Society, Man vs. Self, or Man vs. Man?

It depends on the type of plot I have in mind. Of course, all three can happen at the same time.

3. Antiheroes or loveable villains?

I have to choose? Fine. Loveable villains.

4. What’s the worst thing a character of yours has done?

Hmm...I’d have to say that that an upcoming event in Broken Thrones will be pretty bad. I don’t want to post spoilers, though.

5. Favorite trope?

Hmm...villains/antag becoming begrudging friends or weird uncle figures to the hero/protag

6. Are you a pantser of plotter?

I usually have a main plot in mind and just make it up as I go between main plot points in mind. I’ve been trying to get better at plotting.

7. Moodboards or playlists?

Moodboards.

8. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what genre?

I listen to lots of different things when I write, from Mumford & Sons to MCR and a lot in between.

9. Which of your WIPs have you been working on the longest?

My Deiselpunk WIP! I’ve been working on it for about...two years, with several hiatuses in there.

10. How long have you been writing?

Casually since elementary school, more seriously the past couple years.

Okay, I hope that’s everyone! My questions are:

Do you have a character you tend to inflict more angst on than others?

How do you get back on track with writing after getting distracted?

Do you create your whole world and characters before you start to write it down or do you write it down as you go?

Do you have a certain story/poem/etc that has stuck with you for years?

Favorite and least favorite trope?

Are any of your characters artists/Do any of them enjoy art?

How do you go about getting past writers’ block?

Do you write chronologically or do you write little snippets and tie them together? Or do you have a different process?

Writing or editing?

Strange ways you come up with ideas to write?

I will tag: @realashergray @writerofscribbles @plsfeedthewriter @constantlyincosmicconfusion and anyone else who wants to do it! Tag me if you do!

#as usual #no pressure to do it if you dont want to #god this took forever #tag games

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quote-star · 7 years ago

Text

So I guess it’s a series now

Another entry in the SCP: South Park AU! A little longer and bloodier than the last one. Takes place before this.

Title: Breach and Closure

Pairing: Creek

Warnings: Blood, Language

AO3 Link

When the alarm sounds to signal a containment breach, Craig is already on his feet. He pays no mind to the directions over the PA system. He ignores his colleagues rushing past him in the opposite direction. He marches with grim determination towards the employee lounge.

He told them this would happen.

It’s barely been two weeks since the higher-ups had started experimenting on Tweek again. He had been stressed, anxious, terrified. Experiments meant withdrawal. Withdrawal meant transforming. Transforming meant people would die.

Craig had tried to play the voice of reason to the Head Researcher. SCP-████, he reasoned (god he hated calling him that), was getting better; was more calm than ever recorded. The experiments, he continued, would only make things worse; make him less likely to be compliant, make him more likely to break containment.

The Head Researcher had laughed in Craig’s face. Craig was just a Junior Researcher, a newbie, what did he know? And wasn’t he getting too close to SCP-████ anyway? Better that proper scientists keep a professional distance. After all, he had laughed, a knowing sneer on his face, people were getting ideas.

So Craig had flipped him off, thought for a moment, and then punched him in the face for good measure. He had been immediately suspended, and the Head Researcher had threatened to have him fired, perhaps even demoted to D-Class. (That researcher was also probably dead now, though, so Craig supposed it didn’t really matter. It certainly served the sick old fuck right, at any rate.)

As it stands now, the breach has more than likely been caused by Tweek. And Craig knows there’s only one damn thing that’s going to fix this before the fucking security personnel go in there and “neutralize the threat.” So he fills a to-go cup with the strongest coffee the vending machine will give him, and he makes a b-line for the Euclid wing.

It’s bad, when he gets there.

The guard post at the junction of the hallway before Tweek’s cell is abandoned. Most of what’s left of the guards is dripping down the walls and pooling across the floor further off. The body of the Head Researcher is slumped against the wall near the cell door. Anyone else in Craig’s shoes might be rethinking their life choices.

But Craig is too angry, too worried, to be properly terrified. He never for one moment considers that maybe, just maybe, this is a bit of a mistake. (But then, he’s never considered anything to do with Tweek a mistake.) He enters the room without even thinking.

Its (no, Tweek’s) eyes are on him immediately. Huddled in the far corner, blood drips from his talons, and a deep, rattling growl sounds in his throat at Craig’s intrusion.

“Hey,” Craig manages tightly. “Hey, there, Tweek.” He tries to inch forward, but that only pisses Tweek off. The growl becomes more of a snarl, teeth bared. His eyes are pinpricks of light in deep, dark sockets, and they just about seem to burn.

Craig keeps trying. “Come on,” he murmurs. “Just gotta calm down. It’s alright, see?” He steps slowly around a pool of blood, holding the to-go cup out in front of himself like a talisman. “It’s just me, you know? Just me. Craig. Remember?” He taps his chullo hat for emphasis.

Tweek slowly uncurls from the corner, still growling, but his head cocks to the side just so. That’s good, Craig thinks. Interest and not murder is good. “Yeah, sure you do,” he continues. He crouches low against the furthest wall, trying to make himself smaller, less threatening. He sits, sets the coffee down beside him, and reaches out to Tweek, hands empty and open. “I’m not gonna hurt you. You know that. Everything’s gonna be fine.”

Slowly, achingly slowly, Tweek advances. The harsh rattle in his throat never stops, but it isn’t exactly menacing. Craig’s actually pretty sure Tweek is terrified. He wonders how much of these episodes he remembers. He spares a glance at the ruined bodies in the room and in the hall. Hopefully not too much.

It takes long, long seconds, but finally Tweek looms before him, in all his SCP glory. Craig is almost close enough to reach out and touch him, and he considers it—when suddenly one of the fallen guards' radios crackles to life in a horrible burst of harsh static.

“TUCKER?! TUCKER, GET YOUR ASS OUT OF THERE, WHAT ARE YOU—!” Craig grabs for it, scrambles for the switch, but it’s too late— the moment is gone. With an inhuman shriek, Tweek lunges forward those last few feet, and his teeth sink deep into Craig’s shoulder, pinning him to the wall.

Craig barely manages to keep himself from screaming. It’s like someone detonated a bomb in his shoulder, white hot, and he feels teeth grind agonizingly against bone. But if he scares Tweek again, he’ll only make things worse.

So Craig reaches out with his good arm and runs his hand across Tweek’s shoulder.

The action seems to confuse Tweek more than anything; while he doesn’t release Craig, he doesn’t tear him in half, either. It’s a start. “Hey, Tweek.” His voice is choked and raw, but steady. “I’m sorry...That probably scared you real bad, huh?” He strokes his fingers through Tweek’s hair, thinking, through the haze of pain, about how his mom used to take care of him when he was small and scared. “It’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt you. They aren’t gonna hurt you, either. They aren’t gonna fucking touch you, okay? It’s alright, I swear to god, it’s gonna be okay…” His voice wavers, and the touch turns into more of an embrace as Craig clutches at Tweek, trying desperately to keep the edges of his vision from going black. He’s still got some feeling in his left arm, so he angles his wrist to brush his fingers against Tweek’s hand. “It’s okay…”

And somehow, the low rumble of aggression slows, dulls, stops altogether. A shuddering whine takes its place. Something sparks in Tweek’s eyes, and in a wonderful, beautiful moment of relief, he releases Craig. The whine turns into a croaking sob, and Craig feels his heart break a little.

Tweek recognizes him.

“Shhhhh, shhh, shh...” He keeps his voice low, keeps stroking Tweek’s hair. “It’s alright. You didn’t mean it, it’s okay, shhh….” Tweek utters a broken little cry, and Craig brings his ragged arm around in a proper embrace, pain or no.

After a few moments, the adrenaline racing through his system finally connects to his brain, and Craig remembers why he was here in the first place. “Hhhh. Where’s that fucking coffee cup…” He gropes around him with his good hand and finds it miraculously upright. “Hey, Tweek. Hey, here you go. This’ll help, won’t it…?”

Tweek, who has been staring, devastated, at Craig’s wound, looks up sharply, eyes wide. His taloned hands scrabble for it, and Craig is only too willing to give it up. Tweek rips the lid away and brings his maw down around the paper cup, drinking deep and desperate.

It starts to work almost immediately. Tweek’s already noticeably less bulky: tail fading, talons retreating, teeth settling back to their normal size and shape. By his third gulp his voice is recognizable, and for Craig it’s the worst part. He’d prefer the threatening growl to the guilty, aching sobs. He hugs Tweek back to his chest, muttering reassurances into his ear, ignoring the flare of pain and the tacky blood still dripping down his back. The cup’s empty when Tweek finally finds his words, his wet, green eyes slowly fading in from the black sockets.

“Craig, I didn’t— I can’t— God, I’m so sorry—!” And anything else that might be said trails off into shuddering sobs, and Craig just shakes his head, keeps him close.

“No, nono, shhhhh…”

He doesn’t know exactly when people finally come to survey they damage, but come they do. He’s vaguely aware of being separated from Tweek, and he thinks he might lash out as he struggles. Someone yells something about leaving, and infirmaries, and blood, but Craig just wants Tweek safe. He thinks he says so. He hopes he says so. It’s getting hard to think. He’s lying down very suddenly, but someone has his hand, and he thinks it might be Tweek, so he thinks about holding on as hard as he can. Then something jars his shoulder, and the world turns grey, and he doesn’t think about anything at all.

-- -- -- -- --

“He’s going to be alright, you know.”

The voice snaps Tweek out of his daze, makes him jump badly. “W-what?”

The black haired woman sitting in the waiting room with him smiles a bit at that. “Junior Researcher Tucker,” she clarifies. “He’ll be alright.”

Tweek looks down at Craig’s hat in his hands, feeling miserable. “He might not have been...”

The guards had come, finally, to make sure Craig wasn’t dead. It had been a near thing, too. If Tweek had nicked an artery, he’d definitely have died before help arrived. They’d whisked Craig off to the medical bay (though he’d been fairly adamant he stay to protect Tweek; had, in fact, punched another researcher square in the face in the ensuing struggle), and Tweek had stayed there, clothing shredded, covered in blood, still sobbing.

At least until the arrival of the woman in question, dressed in a crisp black suit, who shouted down the head of security who wanted him “neutralized”, who insisted on his changing and showering, who personally escorted him to the waiting room where they’d been ever since.

He assumes she must be one of the staff psychologists. But she has not asked about what happened in his holding cell. She has not even asked about the experiments leading up to it. She has instead asked a lot of questions about him and about Craig, and also gotten up three times to get him more coffee.

Her voice shakes him from his thoughts again. “You didn’t kill him, though.”

“I could have,” he chokes out. “I almost did.”

“But you didn’t,” she says again. “You controlled yourself, in that moment. You recognized him.”

That part is still a little hazy in his mind, though. He remembers the withdrawal starting. He remembers the pressure behind his teeth and the splitting headache. He remembers red, red, red. And somewhere in there, he knows Craig spoke to him, calmed him...and was attacked by him. The memory of the taste of blood in his throat, Craig holding him close, apologizing as if he was the one to blame… And then recovery, blessed caffeine, and realizing fully what he had done.

He has told this strange woman his version of events several times now, though this is the first time he manages it without sobbing. She gave him Craig’s hat to hold on to while they waited. It’s more comforting than it should be.

“You recognized him, SCP-████. I think you should give yourself more credit. Junior Researcher Tucker certainly does.” She smiles at him then, and he thinks suddenly, in the back of his mind, that she’s very young. “He’s helped you immensely, but you’ve done a lot of growing as well.”

He shrugs a bit at this, skeptical. It doesn’t change what he’s done, and not just to Craig. He’s killed people. So, so many.

“You shouldn’t have even been in experiments these past few weeks.” Tweek’s head snaps up, and he’s surprised to see irritation on her face. “Your condition was stable, remarkably so. Junior Researcher Tucker even approached them beforehand. But they went ahead with testing anyway. And for that I’d like to apologize.” She takes a deep breath. “The Foundation is meant for humanity’s protection from objects and creatures such as yourself; but it’s also meant for your protection, from those who would use and harm you.”

Tweek is too stunned to speak. He’s at a complete loss.

“I understand if you don’t trust us, SCP-████, but Junior Researcher Tucker has shown nothing but care and compassion for you.” Her mouth quirks oddly, eyes amused. “Much more than he strictly should.”

Tweek feels his face growing warm, realizing what she’s getting at. He’s tried not to think much about whatever it is he feels for Craig, for Craig’s own sake. But it’s awfully hard when Craig is so gentle when they speak. When he smiles and laughs and looks at Tweek, not through him. He thinks about Craig, gravely injured but still holding him close, and his stomach flip-flops.

“You’ve had quite the effect on him as well, of course.” And that really gets his attention, as much as he hates himself for it. If the woman notices, she doesn’t let on. She simply regards her own cup of coffee as she continues. “He’s an abrasive young man. More inclined to rude gestures than team work. But there’s been a substantive shift in his personality lately. It’s been noted by several researchers and other staff who’ve worked with him. And it seems to have started around the time he was assigned to you, SCP-████.”

And Tweek wants very, very badly to ask more about that, even if it isn’t his place to do so. But right at that moment, one of the medical staff steps into view.

“Ma’am,” he addresses the woman. “He can be seen now.” He eyes Tweek warily, but otherwise ignores him.

“Thank you.” She looks to Tweek. “Shall we?”

Guilty or not, there’s no way he could say no to that invitation. To give himself some much-needed courage, he puts on Craig’s hat. It feels just a little bit like armour.

The room is dim and full of softly beeping machines. When Tweek sees Craig, his eyes well up, and everything warps to a too-bright blur. “Craig…!” His voice breaks, shatters, really, but god it’s so good to see him safe.

And even though he’s doped up on painkillers and hooked to about four different machines, he smiles just a bit through that haze, his good hand struggling weakly against the sheets. Tweek doesn’t hesitate to move and take it, doesn’t think about the waiting room woman’s knowing look, doesn’t think about how the medical staff might react to him grabbing the man he tried to kill only hours before; all he can think of is touching Craig.

“H-hey,” Tweek murmurs.

Craig squeezes his fingers. “Hey...” His voice is raspy and distant. Tweek sits on the bed next to him, reaching a hand to brush his hair out of his face. Craig’s eyes focus slightly. “...Hat,” he manages this time, and Tweek can’t quite help the soft smile that spreads across his face.

“Yeah. It’s mine until you’re better.”

Craig makes a sound that is probably protest; and it’s so familiar, this gentle almost-arguing. He’s still wracked with guilt, but he feels a little lighter like this.

Eventually, though, it’s time to go. Craig is exhausted, and needs rest to heal.

The woman guides him out of the medical room, and escorts him back towards his cell. The floors and walls of the hallway are already clean. He tries not to look at the guards when they wave them through the checkpoint.

They’re silent as they walk, and it’s not companionable silence, not by a long shot, but it isn’t really uncomfortable, either. And since she’s been so understanding, so oddly apologetic, so nice to him, Tweek can’t resist asking. “Can...can I see him again?”

She turns to him, surprised. “Of course you can. Weren’t you listening before in the waiting room?” And that’s the end of that.

They stop outside the door to his cell. He can’t smell blood anymore, which is a blessed relief. She scans her keycard, and he hears the familiar sound of the locks disengaging. His cell is clean, too.

He knows he needs to go back. He hates it. But it’s safe here.

“Um, thank you…” He realizes he has no idea who this woman actually is.

As if sensing this, she smiles, and holds out her hand, which he shakes awkwardly. “Site Director Wendy Testaburger. I hope we meet again under slightly happier circumstances, SCP-████.”

And then he’s inside, and the door is closing, and she’s gone.

He struggles to process that, at first, but puts it aside for the time being. The first thing he does to occupy himself is to start the coffee maker. That’s going to be an obsessive priority-number-one for weeks, just like it always is after an “episode”. And after making sure he has a full pot of coffee in easy reach, he turns off the light and curls up tightly on his cot as the events of the day finally catch up to him.

The tears aren’t long in coming.

#SCP: South Park #scp au #sp creek #Craig Tucker #Tweek Tweak #my writing #why must you hurt me like this #the constant refrain of my readers

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dq108 · 5 years ago

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you’ve got a daddy to find

HELLO. I’m back. Over the holidays I went back to my proverbial womb of [Hometown], Indiana. No, I wasn’t born there, but when people ask me where I’m from, I usually say “[Hometown], Indiana,” and when they passive-aggressively ask where I’m really from, I tell them, “[Hometown], Indiana,” because that is where I spent all of junior high and high school, which is where you are your most obnoxious teenage self and thus is basically where you are from.

I went back to the first post on this Tumblr and was pleasantly surprised to find that I did not lie about my prior gaming experience. Sometimes I tell people that I have never played a video game which is not true! Instead this time I just did a little literary quibble by saying the Nintendo Switch is my first gaming console (other than a PC). “What is a literary quibble?” you might ask. It’s like when Macduff is able to kill Macbeth because his mom had a C-section.

So, yes, I have played video games, a sampling of which is pictured above. I guess in junior high my mom signed us/me up for a software of the month club, through which I got a smattering of educational software, gaming software, and educational gaming software, like this one ‘game’ where you traverse down the Amazon River and learn about frogs (not pictured). It turns out that when you don’t own a gaming console, your “first” video games are kind of bad and weird, actually? (Besides Rockett. Rockett remains amazing, and I still love the ending song of Rockett’s Tricky Decision. Purple Moon never got the love it deserved.) Turns out that Shogo: Mobile Armor Division was, despite its name, not made by a Japanese company but instead a studio called Monolith Productions, which was known for a few games that I personally have never heard of before it was bought up by Warner Bros. I don’t remember most of the gameplay because 1) I died multiple times in the very first mission which is supposed to be a hands-on tutorial and 2) my dad had the computer contrast and brightness turned down so low that I was never able to discern where I was going in the next level, so I just wandered around aimlessly like a chump until I got killed again. I watched some gameplay videos on YouTube to write this blurb and in my infinite wisdom now it’s obvious the things it was trying to copy from, like, Metal Gear Solid, but worse. Much worse. It does still have a bitching soundtrack for 1998 though.

My point is, if I had played maybe a classic platformer or a Zelda game when I was younger, I may have learned that it’s normal for beginners to die multiple times when they try out a new game, especially if they don’t really play games. (I mean, maybe not in the first reconnaissance mission part of Shogo. That’s definitely a newbie move.) But because I never learned that lesson, I just quit. Which is dumb, because it turns out that Shogo had a weird critical hit system and was hard even for people who actually played games to play without dying!

Anyway, when I say I am bad at video games, I don’t mean it like when a pretty girl at a bar tells you they’re bad at ping pong but then you play her and she beats you 11-2. Most people are bad at one video game or they are not as good at video games as other people who are really really good at video games. I am bad at video games in ways that you are not supposed to be bad at video games.

Like, take one point in the Downtown Heliodor level. You meet a man who tells you to climb to the building roof, the idea being that you can use a rope strung between certain buildings to sneak into the Royal Square. The thing is, there are two ropes. And I only got the first one, and I spent probably 15 minutes running up buildings and jumping off rooftops before I finally LOOKED DOWN and saw the second one almost at my feet.

Suffice to say it was this experience that made me want to blog about playing Dragon Quest XI.

Movement is a tricky thing in video games when you are bad at video games. Sometimes, it is not my fault. Like my (very bad video game) horse, that I haven’t named yet. Look at this. Horses are not supposed to stand like this. My god, why is it standing like that? What are its front hooves even standing on? Look at Haruhi gaze upon it in horror. Me too, Haruhi. Me too.

After we get Erik’s glowy orb thing back from two gryphon siblings who are guarding a vault, we head off to Hotto. I kind of forget why and I’m sure it’s not really that important. Hotto is a hot springs resort town, and the first thing that happens when you get to Hotto is that someone implies my boyfriend Erik is stinky (rude!!) and he is whisked off to take a bath. Obviously my first instinct is to make Haruhi follow after him, but this is a video game and more specifically it is Dragon Quest so instead I first do a lot of wandering.

Very, very bad wandering. Physically inept wandering.

vimeo

I don’t know what to say about this. I fall off that ledge like, three separate times. In trying a tricky move where I just swing the camera around to make sure there’s nothing at the end of the porch I need to break, I forget my bearings and fall off. At one point I lose control of which button I am supposed to be hitting so I just jump around like a drunk grasshopper and Haruhi even makes an exhalation like he’s disgusted at me. At the end, Haruhi just gives up and stands with his back towards me because he doesn’t even want to talk to me. Okay, I get it. I’m sorry.

Eventually I am sure I have gathered all the loot and broken pots I’m supposed to and I make it to the baths.

Erik has literally been waiting in (real time) hours for me to join in him. In the bath. I really appreciate this dedication but, like, HOURS. That cannot be good for his skin. Also I have been in Japanese baths like this before and I’m pretty sure we’re both supposed to be naked. But I’m extremely touched and I savor the cut scene that allows me to just chill here, entirely clothed, with my bud. In between this post and the last post I read some wiki entries and I guess Erik is supposed to have a mid-Atlantic accent? For those of you who haven’t watched the Wired dialect coach videos obsessively, that’s the kind of accent that Katharine Hepburn used in old movies. I guess that’s sexy?? But a strange acting choice all the same.

Anyway Erik literally flirts with me through this scene which I did not film because I thought I was hallucinating how extremely, like, flirtatious this scene was?? I tell Erik I’ve been scoping out the town and when I refuse to tell him what I saw he teases me, “I can see by your face there’s something you want to tell me.” IS THERE? IS THERE?? IS THERE SOMETHING HARUHI WANTS TO TELL HIM??

But then it turns out Haruhi is just talking about how we met Veronica looking for her sister outside of a bar. Erik makes some ominous comments about kid sisters before our extremely tender moment is interrupted by a GIRL’S VOICE LOOKING FOR HER DAD. It’s not Veronica, thankfully, just some RANDOM LITTLE GIRL IN THE MALE SIDE OF THE BATH. So that’s why we’re not allowed to be naked for this scene.

Erik and Haruhi are much nicer to this kid than I would be, and decide that she must be the kid sister Veronica is looking for and that we should return her to Veronica. There is a really bizarre sequence where one of the villagers offers you a taste of the sensual pleasure of a “puff-puff” which I think is just marijuana but literally who knows. Afterwards you can barge into the women’s side of the bath and if you do that you get an achievement.

This game is messed up.

I forgot to mention two things which is that everyone in Hotto speaks in haiku syllables and also you do most of your wandering in the bathhouse itself alone. You’re not rejoined by Erik until you actually leave the bathhouse, and then meet up with Veronica, who is exTREMELy English and tells you that 1) Connie is NOT her sister and 2) “You’ve got a daddy to find!”

Connie’s dad is boozing in a bar, and I really don’t think we should have returned her to him, but whatever. Meanwhile we agree to help Veronica find her sister Serena, who is for [mumble] reasons at [mumble] some place westward. Do you know Veronica gives you an option to say no to finding Serena? I’m kind of curious what would happen to the game if you told her no. Can I just stay here forever with Erik raising Connie?

Guess we’ll never find out.

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anoutlandishidea · 7 years ago

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I survived.

Warning: The following post is full of personal opinions and life experiences. If you’d like to scroll thru your dash without the disruptions of another person’s drama, please feel free to do so. The sentence structure, formatting, and grammar of said post below will probably be atrocious. There will be unnecessary gifs. There will be slight rampant exaggeration. There might not even be a point to this post other than my unhealthy need to scream into the void.

Lets start with a little context.

I have three jobs: I nanny for a family three days a week, I nanny-sub*, and I’m a self-employed portrait photographer. I also act whenever I can, but I don’t seem to ever get paid for that.

*I am employed by a nanny service who offers short term (ie, one day) nannies that cover for a nanny who is sick, care for a child who cannot go to their regular childcare provider for a number of reasons, or many other random scenarios. It’s very much like substitute teaching. It’s an on-call position and there’s usually only a day or two notice, sometimes only hours. I tell them when I’m available and they text me jobs. It works well.

Most of the time.

I very rarely know what I’m headed into before I get there, other than the address and ages of the kids, so its completely go-with-the-flow and run with whatever the parents throw at me, which is never dull. The clients are a wide range of income levels and housing situations, but the majority are upper class.

Things usually go bad or get awkward for three reasons: 1. The kids are little monsters. (Or are ill. I don’t do well with bodily fluids other than boogers and drool. Those kind of come with the territory) 2. The house is uncomfortable. (There was one carpet that was so stained you couldn’t even see what color it originally was and it smelled so bad and the kid wanted me to sit on it to play with him. I died. It was my first day. I halfway think they send all the newbies there to test them out.) 3. The parents are still at home. (Sometimes they’re just working from home, and that’s only kind of awkward because they stay out of your way for the most part. Sometimes they’re very much at home and its awkward as all get out.)

Yesterday was due to #3.

When it’s just you and the kids, you can kind of create your own atmosphere and set your own boundaries around the guidelines the parents gave you. When they’re there too, there are no boundaries and its a free for all.

Another point to mention, is that its always 5+ hours at a time. You’re stuck there for the day.

Day before yesterday, I get a text for a job. 5yr old and an 18mo old, 8am-4pm.

Not bad.

I get the contact info and give the mom a call. She explains that her wife is doing chemo and the baby is really attached to her, so they need someone to watch him while she rests. Oh, and by the way, they have family staying with them, so the 5yr old will mostly be hanging with them and their three kids and I’d only need to help help her out with her lunch. The mom I talked to would be at work.

Odd scenario, but ok.

I get there and everyone is in a panic, which is discomforting in and of itself, but they’re all speaking a foreign language. (I’ve worked with a few families who have a different culture/speak a different language than me, and I enjoy it, but) I’m really sensitive to lots of people talking loudly at once, so this was obstacle number one.

The mom I spoke to on the phone (lets call her Mom #1, who is very American, btw) wanders by after a bit and is like “oh, by the way, we got broken into and robbed last night, so that’s what everyone is crazy about right now.”

What?!This family cannot catch a break. Mom #2 is doing chemo and now you’ve had a robbery?! Man. Glad I’m hear to help out a bit.

But... there are five, very capable adults here besides the two moms? Who all have a relationship with this toddler? The toddler who has separation anxiety?

So, yes, lets call in a complete stranger. GREAT idea.

ANYWAY.

Mom #1 brings me upstairs to where Toddler has a death grip on Mom #2. They introduce me to him and the 5yro, who promptly throws her ipad to the floor because she “has no one to play with.” (The cousin sitting next to her is obviously not enough? Or the two others who are still sleeping?)

Mom #2 hands Toddler off to Mom #1 while she explains where everything is, but a code red meltdown has now been triggered in both children.

Lots of screaming. Lots of unhappy children. The horde of cousins are still talking at full volume too.

After much deliberation they decide to put the Toddler in the stroller and send me off on a walk. This seemed like a decent idea. I’d worked with enough toddlers to know that he’d calm down pretty soon once he couldn’t see Mom #2 anymore.

Small problem.

It’d been raining all morning.

But it “wasn’t raining” then.

So, I set off down the driveway with a screaming Toddler. He settled down pretty quickly, as expected, and I felt very much like I dodged a bullet as I strolled thru a nice park with a now sleeping Toddler.

Until it began to rain again.

And by rain, I mean POUR.

Oh, and it was all of 60*. They had sent me and the kid out with a gauzy blanket to cover him, but I snagged a thicker blanket out of my car on the way past as I grabbed my rain coat. You know, “just in case.”

So, I’m standing there, trying to figure out if he’s warm enough and when the torrential rain was going to end.

Cue the first vague text post.

They offered to come pick us up in the car... but I’m like I’d kind of rather be here? In the rain?

It let up pretty soon and I wandered around the park, pushing the stroller. I walked four miles... in a tiny park.

Then he started to wake up and I headed back, not entirely sure what kind of mood he’d be in.

Mom #1′s like “oh, hey, I’m not going to work because I have to deal with all of this robbery stuff” and I’m low key trying to figure out a way to get out of this.

But instead, I feed the Toddler a snack.

His sister and the cousins are completely engaged watching Sing and after he’s done eating he wanders over there too. I don’t blame the kid. It looked fun. (But before she went to watch the movie Sister wandered over and stole half his food?!)

Except, Mom #2 wanders over and is like “since they’re all watching the movie, can you help my mom with the peas?”, so I sit down next to the Grandma and start shelling peas... because I’m a white farm kid from the Midwest and that’s what you do with peas. I had quite the pile going.

Then one of the cousin adults wanders over and tells me in very broken English (but very nicely and politely!) that I’m doing it wrong. I was just supposed to snap the ends off, whatever they’re cooking uses the pods too.

Well, that would have been nice to know.

And that’s when the cops showed up.

NO JOKE.

Cue the next vague text post.

I had a moment of panic before I realized they were there because of the robbery and not because I was getting a parking ticket. (this actually happened to me at a sub job once, except they just left it on my car)

More chaos in a foreign language erupts and I’m hastily shoved out the door to bring the kid to the library. They hand me the diaper bag and put his car seat in the car and my only instructions were to “go to XYZ Library and come back when he gets fussy.”

Its noon. I’m done at four. I have diapers and the kid has snacks. Could I play my cards right and stay at the library all day?

We play until the kid is practically asleep on the floor playing with a truck.

BUT COMPLETELY HAPPY, GOSH DARN IT.

So I text them and they tell me to come back.

Cue the all caps text post.

So I get him in the car and give him a couple goldfish because he hadn’t really eaten lunch and would most likely fall asleep in a matter of minutes.

And he does.

So I pull up to the house and I’m like “he’s asleep, imma just sit here in the car with him.”

So I did.

But then both moms and the 5yro have to leave to go do something for an hour?

And the kid wakes up again before they get back?

So now I’m back in the house with the extended family (who? don’t? speak? English?) and a screaming Toddler who is hungry but won’t eat anything from either me or the mom of the cousin kids. They sang him all sorts of adorable children’s songs in their language. They played play dough. Cousin Mom finally got him to eat some fruit cuz his cousin’s were eating it too... you know, must not be shady if they’re eating it to?

IDK toddler logic sometimes. We should have tried that first.

Cue final text post.

Then the Moms come back and they’re like we still have 15 minutes of your time left, go play outside.

Which on paper makes sense? With any other kid it wouldn’t have been a problem?

Except now they’re moving him away from the cousins who FINALLY had him distracted and content and handing him over to me to go wander about the yard aimlessly for 15 minutes? And he can see his mom inside and he’s outside?

Yeah. That didn’t go well.

So in the end.... they didn’t really do anything bad or ask me to do something that was out line? My day just royally sucked?

Thank you to those who commented/messaged to check in with me. You are appreciated and loved.

Also, I never figured out what language they were speaking? Behind The Name says Mom #2′s name has Arabic and Turkish origins... so I’m going with one of those or something related. Its a beautiful language, whatever it was.

9 notes · View notes

justanothercinemaniac · 8 years ago

Text

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #130 - Veronica Mars

Spoilers below (for the TV show too).

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes!

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: Yes.

Was it a movie I saw since August 22nd, 2009: Yes. #283.

Format: Blu-ray

This post is dedicated to @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer, the best Marshmallow I know.

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

1) Veronica Mars - this film - exists because of a Kickstarter campaign that went live on March 13, 2013. The series ran for three seasons before being cancelled but gained an incredible cult following. Series creator Rob Thomas, Kristen Bell, and the rest of the cast had been hopeful about a movie being made for years before turning to Kickstarter. Their goal was 2 million dollars, they got that in less than 24 hours (breaking most of Kickstarter’s records at the time). They ended up with five million total dollars by the end of their campaign (which was broke the REST of Kickstarter’s records at the time). This movie is made by the fans, for the fans basically, and that’s awesome.

2) I first started watching “Veronica Mars” on Netflix DVDs AFTER the Kickstarter had come and gone, meaning I did not have to wait the seven years many fans did for a resolution to the series’ cliffhanger ending. I fell in love with the show instantly. I binged it as quickly as I could with Netflix DVDs (ie: not very quickly but passionately) and love almost every twist and turn. It is an excellent show and my love for it definitely in part fuels my love for the film.

3) The opening, “I need your help Veronica,” montage is a great way of starting off the film. For fans of the original series it reminds us of everything we’ve been missing for a while, and for people who have never seen a single episode it gives them enough info to understand the movie and its characters. And it has this wink to the fans of the show:

Veronica: “New me? People say I’m a Marshmallow.”

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

For all you newbies, fans of “Veronica Mars” refer to themselves as Marshmallows because of this line from the pilot. It was either that or “twinkies” and you can spell “Marshmallows” without “Mars”.

4) Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars.

It’s difficult for me to talk about Veronica as a character because most of my understanding of her as a character comes from both the film AND the TV Show. A lot of what I have to say is really going to be echoes of what @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer has said in her fantastic recaps for the series. Veronica is strong willed, fiercely loyal, but she’s got some blinders on. If she decides you’re guilty or innocent, it is fact. That is just the way it is and she will not recognize the notion otherwise. But see, that does not come into effect in as huge a way in the film as it has in the show in the past.

Veronica is incredibly sharp. I will speak later on how physical strength is not one of her greatest attributes, but she more than makes up with it in wit and the ability to think on her feet. Tough as nails, with an incredible sense of humor (which in and of itself is probably a defense mechanism of some sort), Veronica is amazing. And Veronica would not be the Veronica we know and love if it were not for the truly perfect Kristen Bell.

There are some character who are just defined as much by the actors who play them as the writers who craft them. Veronica Mars is one of those characters. Kristen Bell inhabits all of Veronica’s qualities perfectly. Her contradictions, her strengths, her weakness, her love, her aggression, her need for intimacy with some people, her ability to be independent with others. Honestly in the same sense that Sarah Michelle Gellar IS Buffy or that Robert Downey Jr. IS Iron Man, Kristen Bell IS Veronica Mars and no other actress could ever play her with the same perfection as Bell.

5) Jamie Lee Curtis.

Understand that even though this film made more than twice what it was asking for in the Kickstarter campaign, five million bucks to make a movie these days is close to nothing. Comparatively speaking at least (although recent best picture winner Moonlight only cost 1.5 million so...). Most of the famous faces in this film - the small bits here and there like Jamie Lee Curtis in the very beginning - have some sort of working relationship with those involved in the movie (usually the actors). For example: Curtis worked with Bell in 2010′s You Again. I’m sure this most be some sort of favor to her.

6) This flip off is very Veronica. You can tell a lot about her way of handling jackasses and her sense of humor from this moment.

Gayle: Fifteen separate articles or briefs in cases ranging from multiple homicides to dognapping.

The season one episode “Hot Dogs” involves Veronica helping what was one of the kindest and most sincerely uncorrupted characters on the show (Mandy) help find her missing dog which she loved so much. I like to tell myself that is Veronica thinking fondly on this case which means little to others (especially when compared to multiple homicides) but one where she helped this really kind girl with something that really mattered to her.

8) Let’s talk briefly about the film’s “sex tape” references. Towards the end of season 3 a “sex tape” was released of Veronica and her then-boyfriend (and current boyfriend, at the start of this film) Piz. Except Veronica said she and Piz were just fooling around and didn’t actually have sex. We see the sex tape very clearly later on in the film, that has clearly been retconned. Painfully, too, as Piz is not exactly the most loved of Veronica’s boyfriends.

9) On that note...Piz.

I cannot get into the intense dislike people have for Piz without getting into how he was written and portrayed in the final season of the TV show (which was the season he was introduced in). In a nutshell, Piz was the Nice Guy™. As in the character who in reality isn’t really a nice guy, but is sort of a privileged manipulative white dude bro who thinks he deserves to be with a woman he basically sees as the female lead in his own personal romantic comedy. But the writers still write him as the “nice guy”. The movie does not have as much of that Nice Guy™ vibe to Piz though. It’s definitely still there though. He tells Veronica that he oversold her to his parents. That, “They cannot believe I landed a creature such as the one I’ve described.” But mostly Piz is kinda sorta not an awful dude. He seems to have some genuine feelings for Veronica but you can tell Veronica is with him just because he’s the safe choice. Because this is the clean life she wants. And that’s never who she was and so Piz isn’t dating the REAL Veronica. Piz is not interested in the REAL Veronica just the kind of girl he expects her to be and wants her to be. Even if he’s not a total dick about it in the film, that’s still what their relationship is.

HOWEVER I will say even though I may have issues with Piz as a character I do truly enjoy Chris Lowell as an actor. My distaste for how Piz has been written in the past is not a reflection on his performance.

10) Veronica talks about how Bonnie DeVille used to be known as Carrie Bishop. Carrie Bishop was featured in a few season one episodes of the show played by “Gossip Girl” actress Leighton Meester. Meester had scheduling conflicts with the show so they recast her part.

11) Never ever think too hard about the timeline or continuity in the Veronica Mars universe. Like...Logan is supposed to be a different age than her but they were still in the same graduating class or his dead girlfriend was a different age because she went to school with her brother who was...just, it’s confusing to think about it too hard. Just know that this film - while released in 2014 - takes place in 2016. Because the characters graduated high school in 2006 and their ten year reunion is featured in the film.

12) The theme of addiction is heavily featured throughout the movie, mainly throughout Veronica’s internal monologue. She constantly mentions her alcoholic mother while comparing her return to Neptune and the world of a PI to that idea. Not to mention Veronica described her past self as a, “possible adrenaline junkie,” within the first five minutes of the film. It’s a neat idea that gives the film a unique arc and helps it feel more than an extended episode.

13) Logan Echolls, ladies and gentlemen.

(GIF originally posted by @veronicaneptunes)

With most of (if not all of) these characters, it is difficult for me to talk about them ONLY as they are presented in the film. Logan is someone who throughout the TV show had a very troubled life. His father beat him, his mother committed suicide, his girlfriend was murdered, the murderer turned out to be his father, he had been manipulated by many people he considered family, but he was good to Veronica (for the most part) when they started dating. He cared for her, truly. There was an honesty to their relationship, an ability to be himself, which he lost when she left. I think the second Veronica Mars book Mr. Kiss & Tell goes into this more (I read it two years ago), but Logan needed to get his life together post-Veronica. So he joined the freaking Navy. That first image of Logan already sets him up as a clean cut, mostly kept together man that is FAR different from the, “obligatory psychotic jackass,” we met in the pilot of the show.

Much like Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring gives Logan a lot of depth. The reason the character was given such a prominent role and more layers - initially - was because of Dohring’s skill as an actor. He is able to present Logan as mostly collected but still vulnerable. Still with a deep sorrow in his soul, still with a darkness to him. But we as an audience are invested in him as a character. We understand Veronica’s trust for him because we see just who he is around Veronica. The chemistry between Dohring and Bell is incredible. It is not just hot steamy chemistry (although it can be, more on that later). It’s a trust, it’s friendship, it’s an ability for these two to truly be themselves around each other in a way they can’t be with pretty much everyone else.

It is a truly wonderful performance and character we get to see in the film and I think the entire franchise of Veronica Mars would be far less without Jason Dohring and Logan Echolls.

14) It is fun how to see how easily Veronica slips into her old routine at her dad’s office. Also it goes into the idea of how an addict is more easy to fall into their addiction when they get into a certain habit. Veronica was addicted to being a PI when she was in Neptune, working with Logan, and helping at her dad’s office. Is it any wonder she can’t fight off the need to go back to that life when she’s in the town for less than a day and all these things have happened already?

15) Keith’s face when he sees Veronica!

We don’t get AS good a look as Keith’s relationship with daughter Veronica in the film as we did in the TV show (we got three seasons to examine it, after all), but it is still one of the best parent/child relationships to ever grace screens and the chemistry between Enrico Colantoni and Kristen Bell is great.

16) Although the film only had a budget from Kickstarter of about five million dollars, Warner Brothers studio was comfortable enough with the film that they paid an extra million (I think it was a million) for some reshoots to help make the story more understandable. The most noteworthy of these reshoots is the scene where Keith and Veronica are driving through town and discover a bunch of kids being framed up by the police, tazzed, basically abused for being “riff raff” and Keith being able to extort the police into letting the kids go by taking a video of them abusing their power. This was all told to the audience in the original shoot at the office scene, but the use of “show don’t tell” not only paints a grim picture of what kind off corrupt place Neptune is but also what kind of man Keith is. He really is - as his daughter says - the George Bailey of Neptune.

17) Mac & Wallace!

Again, if you like what you see of these two in the movie and want more...GO WATCH THE TV SHOW! The friendship Veronica forges with Wallace is one of the strongest in her life, second only to her father and even ahead of her relationship with Logan I think. He is there through it all. Through all the boyfriends, all the drama, all the times she’s a pariah, he is there for her. He helps her out, he does favors with her, and it is just such a beautiful and loving friendship.

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

The relationship Veronica has with Mac - while not necessarily as strong - is still great. Tina Majorino breathed such life into this character from season 1 who could’ve easily been a one off but ended up being second only to Wallace when it came to Veronica’s friends. The trio of them are great, and they’ve always got each other’s backs.

18) Dick Casablancas.

(GIF originally posted by @veronicaneptunes)

Otherwise known as: your problematic fave! Man, I don’t even know where to start with Dick. He’s...well...he’s a dick! But like a likable dick! Somehow Rob Thomas gets away with Dick doing some really awful shit in the show and still have him be Logan’s best friend. Dick in this film is - I think - mostly comedic relief (and, at one point, a suspect) and Hansen is just a lot of fun in the role.

A little note about Dick though. This line has way more significance than you would think:

Dick [after Logan’s potential lawyer makes a remark about his pot brownies]: “Medicine, man. I got my card. Chronic depression. You wouldn’t think, huh?”

That’s actually very telling about Dick. Season two ended with his younger brother being revealed as a mass murderer before killing himself, and there was some fair amount of time devoted in early season three to examining how Dick dealt with this.

19) This scene alone shows a lot of fun back and forth between Veronica, Logan, and the idiots of Neptune.

Logan [after these two Canadian drunks call a girl a crazy bitch at karaoke night]:

(GIFs originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

20) Again with the theme of addiction:

Veronica [internal monologue]: “You know what? It’s a one time deal. A farewell tour, if you will. [Sees hot as fuck Logan] Then again, you ever hear the one about the junkie who was satisfied with just one more taste of the good stuff?”

(GIF originally posted by @veronicaneptunes)

Veronica: “Neither have I.”

21) Chekov’s random trucker hat line...

Veronica [about being able to hide cameras in anything]: “My dad has a trucker hat that’s rigged with a camera -”

22) There’s this rule Pixar has with writing: a coincidence that gets the character into trouble is plot. A coincidence that gets them out of trouble is cheating. The fact that Veronica is able to get into someone’s house by saying she’s doing a location scout for a Clint Eastwood movie only for that person to have a connection to Clint Eastwood falls into the former of those two categories.

23) This film THRIVES on fan service which also serves the plot. For example, Veronica - like she did all the way back in season one - calls Wallace for a favor.

Veronica: “Hey Buddy! I need a favor. Can you get me a student’s permanent file?”

Wallace: “You do realize that I’m a teacher now, Veronica? An educator? This is a position of responsibility.”

Veronica: “So you’re saying it’s gonna be super easy. Good. I did NOT want to put you out.”

The theater I saw this in - with quite a few Marshmallows - all found this scene hysterical.

24) The inclusion of Deputy Sacks is a nice way of bringing in even what some would call the smaller characters into the film. AND it ends up working out really well.

25) Jerry O’Connell as Sheriff Dan Lamb.

The perfect personification of slime and corruption in Neptune. Lamb’s brother Don Lamb was the incompetent (and assholish prick of a) sheriff throughout most of the show, and somehow they made his brother even worse. At least Don Lamb would OCCASIONALLY do his job if presented with enough compelling evidence. Meanwhile Dan is even more egotistical, even says at one point he doesn’t care if Logan is innocent or not, and later in all likelihood tries to have Keith killed. Jerry O’Connell plays Lamb as wonderfully vile. A villain you love to hat.

26) I love that this film brings in so many memorable characters from the TV show, even though some are limited to one scene. But that one scene is enough for us to remember why we love them. This is very true for Daran Norris as Cliff McCormack, Neptune’s resident public appointed attorney.

27) It is interesting seeing how these characters have grown in the seven years since the TV show ended. For example, Veronica is able to show off QUITE clearly that she spent a considerable amount of time at law school when she’s defending herself at the police station.

28) The whole scene at the 09er is very entertaining, if for no other reason than a trio of fun cameos we get. We see exactly the stupidity of the “cool kids” at Neptune, we get the series’ first use of the word, “fuck,” AND we get Veronica’s trademark sass. Also we get this nice moment between husband & wife:

youtube

29) But the 09er scene is NOTHING compared to the reunion at Neptune High.

The entire graduation scene perfectly shows off the film’s ability to balance out fan service AND move the plot forward. It brings back almost all the memorable characters from the TV show, friends and enemies a like. And for you who haven’t seen the show, we get a very clear picture of just how much Veronica “enjoyed” high school.

Veronica: “In a lesser known epic poem, ‘Dante’s Inferno 2: Hell Freezes Over,’ ten years after escaping the nine circles, Dante returns. You know, for old times’ sake. Have a couple shots, catch up with the gang...”

Madison [as Veronica approaches]: “Name?”

Veronica: “See if Lucifer’s still a bitch.”

We get a see of characters in this scene.

Madison Sinclair is still an entitled, judgmental, condescending asshole.

Gia Goodman (played by the incredible Krysten Ritter of “Jessica Jones” fame) is REMARKABLY different from the last time we saw her. Back then she was a chipper, positive (if a little naive) young woman. Then Veronica exposed her dad as a pedophile to the world, he was killed by Dick’s brother in a plane explosion, and some really awful psychotic shit went down where she is basically owned by a man named Cobb (Martin Starr). Gia is likely the most changed character since the TV show and Ritter’s amazing range supports that.

Eli ‘Weevil’ Navarro has gotten his life together, which is an incredible thing to see from the former member of a bike gang. He has a daughter, he has a wife, he is reformed! But of course Neptune is gonna tear him back down.

We even get a chance to see Horny, the recurring comic relief and nice dude from the show, in a little moment which I as a fan appreciate.

Edit: I have had it pointed out to me that the character’s name is Corny, not Horny is I’ve thought for four years. You can find the reply in notes, but I’m going to leave the name as I originally thought so you all know my shame.

30) The high school reunion also serves as a turning point for the story. Veronica realizes that Carrie’s death is tied to the death of her friend Susan Knight YEARS ago on Carrie’s father’s boat. And now her investigation has some more direction.

31) When you watch the works of Rob Thomas (the writer, not the singer) you find he is wonderfully aware of his famous name-twin.

Piz [about talking about some 2006 music]: “Maybe some SOLO Rob Thomas.”

That’s nothing compared to what we got on “iZombie” though.

32) I love this.

(GIFs originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

33) A great peek at how Veronica is not as alone as she may think is after Madison (asshole) shows Veronica’s sex tape at the family reunion. For one thing Wallace is immediately at Veronica’s side, running to turn it off. Then Wallace, Logan, Weevil, Dick, and Piz (at least. Maybe Horny too, I’m not sure.) all jump into a fight with the assholes who want to put the tape back on. A great recall from this line:

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

34) Principal Clemmons is another example of a great supporting character from the show making a brief but appreciate appearance in the film.

35) Veronica at the reunion’s after-party is very much her being in her natural environment. The scene where she’s dancing and it cuts to slow mo is very predatory to me. She is a lion ready to pounce on its prey. This is her in her element and its great to watch.

36) Martin Starr as Cobb is a...unique new character in the film. He was not in the show at all and now he’s part of the group of established characters. In hindsight it’s obvious that he’s the evil mastermind of it all (spoiler alert).

37) Veronica impersonating Martina Vasquez to get info out of Lamb is as nice callback to the series while also showing new viewers just how crafty she can be.

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

38) Leo!!!!

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

Leo was like the best boyfriend Veronica had on the show who wasn’t Logan, an actual nice guy and not Nice Guy™. Max Greenfield has gotten a lot more recognition lately for his memorable turn as Schmidt on “New Girl” but he’s GREAT on the show and in this film. He only has one scene but it’s a bit bigger than say Cliff’s scene or Clemmons’ scene, and him screwing with Veronica by pretending to not remember her is a lot of fun.

39)

Leo: “By the way, I didn’t know the FBI was looking into the Bonnie DeVille case.”

Veronica: “I’m not with the FBI.”

Leo: “You sure? I could’ve SWORN I heard somewhere that you were in the FBI.”

Veronica: “Another life maybe.”

Rob Thomas pitched a drastically altered version of the show which would have seen Veronica join the FBI in season 4. I’m kinda glad it didn’t work it, but they shot this pitch:

youtube

40) So James Franco is in this movie.

Rob Thomas said in an interview:

"My producing partner, Danielle Stokdyk, her husband is an Academy Award-winning visual effects artist who happened to have just done 'Oz the Great and Powerful.' He had become friendly with James, and it really was easy as this: I emailed a script and said we'd love you for this part and honestly five minutes later, five minutes later, he emailed me back and said, 'sounds fun, I'm in.'"

41) Add Vinnie Van Lowe to the list of fun appearances from the show!

42) According to IMDb:

In one of the shots, a man dressed like a gorilla was needed to dance in the foreground while Kristen Bell and Ken Marino played a scene on a bench. Ryan Hansen had just wrapped his last scene in the film a few hours earlier and was hanging out on set and agreed to do the scene. Rob Thomas and Ryan then decided to prank Kristen and Ken, who didn't know it was Ryan in the gorilla suit. The stint made the DVD bloopers reel.

43) Veronica cannot say, “I know what happened,” without me thinking of this:

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

44) Chekov’s random trucker hat line.

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

45) This line that Deputy Sacks has is very telling about who he is as a character, his conflict, and what is up in Neptune.

Sacks: “I saw this thing on, uh, YouTube a few weeks ago, Keith. It’s a funny video. A...uh...two nazi they’re uh...looking at the skulls on their insignias and the piles of dead bodies. And they have this moment of clarity. Wait a minute...we’re the bad guys.”

46) Deputy Sacks’ death is a surprisingly powerful moment. This is a character who has been around since the pilot in 2004. Someone who was always there and who Veronica or anyone else never got super close to. But he was always there, always a good cop, and the sorrow of his loss is seen in one simple unanswered question:

Doctor: “Was he a friend of yours?”

47) The following LoVe love scene (LoVe is the ship name for Logan + Veronica) really shows off how these two not only have a chemistry built on being able to be themselves, but also the fact they’re each INCREDIBLY attracted to each other and just have this raw sexy passion. There is a tenderness, a connection, a heat to them that is just unmatched by any of her other boyfriends.

48) Remember how Veronica is sort of an addict?

Veronica: “The only way I’m not going to spend the day obsessing about my dad is by nailing Gia and Luke to the wall.”

49) One of Veronica’s most defining character traits is that when she decides a person is guilty, they are guilty. And it takes a lot for her to alter her theory or her idea of what is going on. This is seen when she is watching Gia and Cobb hook up, and she comments...

Veronica: “Gia seduced her lap dog into killing Carrie.”

There is NOTHING about that scene that shows Gia initiating sex with Cobb, it’s totally Cobb doing it. But Veronica can’t see that, she only sees what supports her theory. And then there’s this line that shows what she thinks of Gia.

Veronica [after Logan warns her to be careful]: “Child please, it’s Gia Goodman. The day I can’t handle Gia Goodman...”

This is very much a line that would be applied to high school Gia, not this new Gia. Veronica has little to no idea who this new Gia is.

50) The following scene between Veronica and Gia is a great character moment for Gia. Krysten Ritter’s skills as an actor show us just how tortured and trapped this once kindhearted and positive girl was, and it’s heartbreaking.

51) The entire climax (where Cobb has Veronica trapped in Gia’s apartment building) is very tense. Cobb has the upper hand physically and Veronica knows that. She has to play this confrontation by hiding, being patient, and outsmarting Cobb. And she does! It is wonderfully paced and choreographed and just a great moment of tension.

52) My biggest criticism of this film is that I’m always surprised by how quickly it wraps up, but it’s also something I’ve gotten more comfortable with in repeat viewings.

53) The metaphor of Veronica as an addict has never been clearer than her last lines of the film (an internal monologue).

Veronica: “My name is Veronica, and I’m an addict. Hello Veronica.”

54) Logan often had inspirational messages on his voice mail in the show. This message which plays over the end credits is very nice.

Logan: “This is Logan reminding you: if you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask which seat, just get on. Sheryl Sandberg said that. So don’t leave a message. Go get on that rocket ship. Or, leave a message. Your call. Your decision will tell me a lot about you.”

That - to me - seems very telling about the film. They took a chance on asking fans to finance it and it turned out wonderfully! They got on their rocket.

This recap ended up being much longer than I intended. And there’s still a lot here I can talk about which I haven’t. And that is very telling of the film. There is a lot to dissect, a lot that works and is going on in the movie. The writing is incredible, with a good balance of fan service and plot. The acting is as good as it ever was on the show, Rob Thomas’ direction is great, and it is just what fans who were waiting seven years for closure deserved. A great, great film and a fantastic potential finale to the series.

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jedihafren · 8 years ago

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Couples thought meme

I think I’m going to separate these out and do three different posts; we’ll start with Anakin & Nico.

(Note I’ve spent 10 minutes now reblogging stuff trying to figure out what universe to put them in cause I’m that lame).

So, we’re gonna dump them into like an AU SW universe where the Yuuzhan Vong don’t attack and Anakin doesn’t die, because reasons.

15.

At fifteen they spend their breaks for Anakin being at the academy running around with Han, and with Jaina and Jacen and the rest of the gang, doing things like, attending races, getting lost on Dac, and generally getting into mischief in some sort of epic cross between Heroes of Olympus and the Young Jedi Knights books, with fewer gods, and more Sith wannabes.

30.

They adopted a kid. She’s Force sensitive, a twi’lek, precocious, and she’s a constant distraction for Anakin who is supposed to be mature, and Jedi-Mastering all the time. Anakin’s in charge of the second Jedi training temple on Ossus, and Nico likes to see how long he can make the newbies believe he’s a Jedi by raising up bones periodically during morning meditations. Anakin should be more annoyed about this than he is, but mostly he thinks it’s fantastically adorable.

60.

Anakin has reached peak Jedi Master. This means he too has a beard. This also means Nico teases him about that beard regularly (he likes it, secretly, but he likes to tease Anakin about it more). Anakin is very serious, very mature, and is currently Grandmaster of the Jedi Council (this is why the beard, it’s important). They’re daughter has two kids, so that means they have grandkids around now, which delights Nico to no end. And while they spend a lot of time on Coruscant, they’ve also purchased a small cottage on Ossus, far enough removed from the Jedi to not be required to be a part of the proceedings every moment of the day, and they both look forward to those times spent there more than they probably admit to each other.

#wingedcoyotedesigns #Anakin X Nico #RP stuff #my weird RP rare pair ships #Anakin Solo #SW AUs #Ask Sabrina

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lutalicaforever · 7 years ago

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A Tocsin from UNICEF: Cyberbullying.

One of Six Demons.

During the early 1990s when the word “chat room” was used to describe online messaging, insults were simpler, more benign, a learning experience. They were named flaming.

FLAMING (flaming) n. 1. To engage in an inline argument usually involving unfounded personal attacks by one or more parties. [Urban Dictionary]

In an effort to “educate” newbies, a more seasoned user of the particular chat room would send off a sarcastic, sometimes hurtful but often creative comment — known as a flame. Take the case of the 1994 Moby, who asked Usenet group how he was supposed to bring a date home when his two cats were constantly puking or in heat. One user flamed, “Get a sense of humor, or a life. In that order.” followed by a silence and group exit by Moby. This “art of flaming” is illustrated in Virginia Shea’s book Netiquette where she explains in detail how an arrival of flame was signaled.

CYBERBULLYING (cyberbullying) n. 1. An advanced form of bullying; the electronic posting of mean-spirited comment about a person (such as a student) often done anonymously. Often takes a form of a meme, a troll, or even a picture.

[UNICEF (Child Online Protection in India)] & [Merriam-Webster Dictionary]

Megan Meier, a 13-year-old girl, had an online boyfriend named Josh Evans, he suddenly turned on her, writing “You are a bad person and everybody hates you…the world would be a better place without you.” Megan hanged herself in her bedroom wardrobe. A couple of blocks down, Lori Drew reportedly laughed when she heard of the suicide. She was masquerading online as the teenage boy to see if Megan was saying anything bad about her own daughter Sarah. The days following the county prosecutor discovered there was NO LAW on the books to make a case against Lori Drew, though the state of Missouri quickly passed laws on cyber-bullying for the future. For now, Lori Drew is sentenced to three years in prison and a $300,000 fine and the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act is now pending in Congress, which will be too late for a young sad girl.

This is the evolution of flaming, from a decent sarcastic, or a SIGNALED flame to a life threatening and suicide involving comment. Cyberbullying is real, and it’s happening on a worldwide scale, a person sitting in Huston, Texas can make you question your existence in Aligarh, India.

“Cyberbullying is a ‘pernicious’ issue.” ~ Theresa May, UK Home Secretary

India, a developing country, where the DIGITAL ILLITERACY rate is more than 90% of the total population (source), the most common answer to a cyber threat is “ignore it” — the imperfect default due to this illiteracy! Sexting, abusing, violence, rape threats, and stalking is some of the major issues casting a dangerous shadow on Indian children, according to UNICEF.

A class 9 girl sent over 30 sexually explicit pictures to a boy in class 11, which he took as an invite from her and approached her to start a physical relationship. When she got scared and tried to back out, he threatened to make those pictures public. This case was taken to the school counselor where afterward the boy was held guilty and gave a written apology to the girl.

These incidents are easily labeled as privacy or security incidents, but to think of them solely in those terms is a mistake. India being almost digitally illiterate and Internet immature, has failed to address the societal impact of technology and these breaches are a wake-up call for all. We’re at a point where new life skills are needed in order to enjoy the benefits of the Internet. Preparing ourselves for new communications technology, just like when we learn to drive. We go to driving school to improve our safety and the safety of others, why shouldn’t we do the same when we decide to go online? ideas like theses are embodied in growing moment known as digital citizenship. It represents an evolution in our norms — the ways we think about our personal responsibility, and the ways we respect and look out for others online.

“A study commissioned by Microsoft in 2012 ranked India third for high online bullying rates among 25 different countries where survey was conducted.” ~ UNICEF Report

For kids, it’s more than just the general insults and abuse that the anonymity of the Internet permits. When telecommunications were less ubiquitous, the home could represent something of a separate zone for adolescents, where they could switch off their school identities. Even a kid from dysfunctional families generally has some autonomy once they’ve closed their bedroom doors. But kids who come home and look up their Facebook pages face the same problem a celebrity, a blogger, or an Internet writer does: they are always on. The bullies who taunt in school hallways are most likely to be there again, the moment you go into your bedroom and turn on your computer.

Schools are expected to be aware of a student social stigmatization and ostracism and to intervene to do something about it. Mandating an anti-bullying training for schools personnel and making reporting of incidents obligatory to the respective parents. Schools should not involve themselves, rather they should make sure that the parents get to the speed. That will probably mean at least somewhat fewer kids going through cyber bullying, and that’s a very good thing.

A major thing that should be taught to students across schools and border is to STOP, THINK, and CONNECT. Taking their time to understand the risks of use and learning to spot potential problems. Next, considering how actions online could impact the safety of themselves and others. Last, enjoying the benefits of the Internet with greater confidence.

“Kids get on the sofa on Friday and spend the whole weekend on Snapchat, Facebook, Kik or Instagram — their weapons of Mass Destruction.” ~ Jennifer Pagan, Restorative Justice Mediator, On how physical fights result from online spats.

Schools sometimes become a battleground for a feud happened online, If someone makes an ugly remark online and an argument ensues, one kid will tell another, ‘Okay, when we get to school tomorrow, I’m going to handle it.’ this makes Mondays particularly contentious and makes it important for school officials to be aware of the happenings on social media and have to take it seriously and talk to students over and over about it.

There are many initiatives who try to bring forward the witnesses, as per The Teens, Tweens and Technology Survey commissioned by Intel Securities in India in 2015, 43 per cent of children active on social media claimed to have witnessed cruel behavior on social networks, but only a very few of that percent reported it to the officials and took any action for one getting bullied. I Am A Witness Campaign is a very good example of bringing old school awareness campaign to the Internet, where iOS (Apple ecosystem) and Android (Google’s ecosystem) has integrated (👁‍🗨) emoji in the keyboard, symbolizing the phenomenon of witnessing any form of bullying and talking about it.

“Just as we learned to look both ways before crossing the street, we want children to learn to make smart choices when using the Internet.” ~ Michael Busselen, McAfee Senior Vice President of Global External Affairs.

With the World Wide Web now in its third decade, it seems natural that it’s newest consumers learn to cultivate their digital fluency at the start of their online journey, rather than waiting to learn the hard way where their actions can go wrong. Teaching the basics of Digital Citizenship and Internet maturity while young can go a long way into a more secure future of children on the Internet. The online world is young. It’s evolving, and we’re all learning to live in it. In my opinion, both the technology companies and the schools of India must adopt a comprehensive Digital Citizenship & Internet Maturity (DCIM) program urgently. While dot-com companies and smartphone manufacturers must adopt DCIM by building simple, engaging tools to educate their users and work towards a better future, schools must do so by incorporating DCIM into their curricula.

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