#just two old guys getting their coding freak on for eternity

[misterbenzadrine]

!!binary bfs ghosts au!!

this is mainly based on school spirits (specifically charley and yuri) but it's just not technically the main plot of school spirits so they're just ghosts :3

demetri alexopoulos (1951-1967)

died of anaphylaxis in the school cafeteria

relentlessly bullied for being gay (though he obviously never came out or even accepted that he was gay)

also bullied for being a nerd who couldn't physically do much

the gay kid that died from a nut allergy; that went over well with his reputation at school /s

in death, he kinda just sits in on stem classes or computer classes bc he's always really excited to see how much has evolved or changed through the years

he's secretly sad he never got the chance to explore the world of science and math and make his own discoveries

eli moskowitz (1973-1990)

died of asphyxiation after a panic attack in the greenhouse triggered his asthma

largely outcast bc of his scar and his "intimidating" energy (he has resting bitch face and is really trying not to have a panic attack every five seconds) (all of this is still true, even in death)

spent a lot of his time in hs skipping class due to anxiety and smoking to calm himself down

in death, he spends his time sitting in the band room playing a guitar

the other ghosts avoid him and think he only speaks hebrew and he lets them bc he wants them to leave him alone

he forces himself to only focus on smoking and playing his guitar, since anything else would force him to confront the reality that he's dead and a ghost for eternity

when they first meet, demetri makes a few bad science puns, thinking eli won't understand it anyway

eli corrects him since he said one wrong, and demetri has a totally normal reaction (he flinches and falls into the percussion section)

demetri comes back every day to figure out how much eli knows about science/math/engineering (a lot, he finds out) (it's just like a whole week or two of him going to the band room and yapping with him about stem stuff then wandering about the school every single day)

eli ignores everyone but demetri, even though they now all know he knows english

demetri indirectly convinces him to leave the band room ("the chemistry teacher on the second floor is pretty good but she sometimes forgets the formulas. you'd probably know more about that than me, though. it'd be nice for you to fact-check her when i sit there. but anyways-")

eli feels like he's exploding with nerves when he steps out of the band room for the first time in actual decades but the excited smile on demetri's face when he sits next to him in the chemistry classroom makes it worth it

they reverse-engineer some old computers together, do some experiments, practice balancing some chemical equations with leftover worksheets, etc.

they also figure out how to use a computer together ("i think i saw someone click this icon one time" "do i have to click here to type a question too?" "you literally know as much as i do. more, even. computers were barely being installed at nasa when i was alive.")

~~internalized homophobia~~ hits demetri hard and when eli makes the first move (for once !), demetri immediately shoots him down and runs off to the roof while eli retreats back to the band room

the other ghosts grow frustrated with them over the following week when demetri mopes in the basement hunched over the same telephone he keeps deconstructing and resetting day in and day out, and eli plays the same sad song over and over again (he also destroys his guitar and lets it reset on one of the days)

one of the other ghosts, miguel, coaxes demetri out of his burrow in the basement and has a LONG talk with him about what happened ("demetri, you've been here longer than most of us. you've seen how things changed. i know stuff was hard in your time but none of us are like that; eli really likes you, dude, and i know he makes you happy. what's stopping you from being happy?")

demetri visits the band room and nervously talks things out with eli, who stays quiet the whole time while he tries to control his breathing

they agree to take things slowly so demetri doesn't freak out about how other people will react

eli teaches him how to play some songs on his guitar (namely "sweet child o mine" bc that's one of my all-time favs) but demetri always prefers to hear it from eli

we need more binary bfs au's

[sinkix]

♡ Haikyuu!!│Boys as your Roommate HC’s Pt.2│Ft. Kuroo, Bokuto, Kenma & Kageyama ♡

Since the last one did well I decided to do another 2am shit-post consisting of my bby HQ bois as your roommate so I’m v sorry if it’s messy and seems like rambling but honestly what did u expect. <(￣︶￣)> The more I write these the more I just want to summon satan and make them come to life man I love them sm.

You can find Pt. 1 here

E N J O Y ~ <3

◃:✮.❃⭒ ◃:✮.❃⭒ ◃:✮.❃⭒ ◃:✮.❃⭒

Kuroo:

So. Damn. Annoying

But in like, the best way possible??

Constantly teases and irritates you while cooking or when it’s your turn to do the chores.

“(Y/N)-kuuun I think you missed a spot”

Proceeds to show swabbed finger with the tiniest speck of dust on it with the biggest shit eating grin he can muster

You have constant competitions who can clean more thoroughly and rip into each other as a result.

I mean there’s worse things to compete over I suppose??

He likes to make it a habit of waking you up by throwing his HUGE ASS BODY ON TO THE BED IF YOU OVERSLEEP.

WHOLE BED JUST CREAKS AND DIPS UNDER HIS WEIGHT.

Wraps his arm around you and gives amazing cuddles tho so its worth it

Borderline suffocating you though just so you get up.

Also, don’t wake Kuroo when he’s had only a few hours rest

just, don’t. If you value your safety.

Last time you tried to haul him out of bed in this state he threw a pillow at you and BITCH WENT TO GRAB THE ALARM CLOCK NEXT but u dashed out the room before he could lob it. 

Speaking of which, pillow fights. 

so many.

 Y’all are always throwing random stuff at each other just to startle one another

You both make a conscious effort NOT to aim for the head though so I guess its ok???

The aroma of coffee always greets you in the morning and it’s become hella comforting since you’ve just come to associate that smell with him.

His bed head is 1000x more extreme in the morning which you tease him relentlessly for and def has bags under his eyes but it looks cute.

sleep deprivation but make it chic.

He is much more of a night owl i’m making it canon idc - however usually has to sleep early due to club activities starting first thing in the morning.

He wakes up especially early because he knows he not only has to haul himself up at an ungodly hour but Kenma as well since he NEVER gets up on time otherwise.

Kenma lives a few blocks down from you guys and you often kick it as a three.

Sometimes he stays over just to save the extra effort of Kuroo going to his place.

It’s always v chill with the three of you as you get on really well and just play mario kart till 2am.

which again, big mistake. They end up nearly being late to practise so it’s kinda counter productive lmao

worth it though.

Kuroo is a salty loser js and will definitely wave his arms in front of you or shove his ass in your face to block the screen so he can overtake you.

Sometimes forces you to go on early morning runs with him but it’s actually really nice since you watch the sunrise together while sitting for a water break in an empty field

Almost poetic if it wasn’t for the constant teasing and bickering like an old married couple.

Kenma is VERY thankful you have become his new victim for those morning run routines.

Bokuto:

SCREAMS FROM THE ROOFTOPS EVERY DAY

MY GOD

Actually pretty quiet in the morning?? Like the lil owl is just waking up so he usually just mumbles a good-morning and rubs his eyes its so damn cute

Usually pretty good about getting up on time but some days he needs a kick up the backside to get him out of bed.

He fully made you drag him out of the covers once before he was even willing to entertain the idea of getting up.

those 30 seconds felt like a 30 minute workout since he is so HEAVY.

I feel sorry for the neighbours on that day tbh

“Bokuto-san wake up.” 

“NNNgg-aaagGGHHHHH AGGAAASHIII”

“It’s (Y/N) you dumbass G E T U P”

You aren’t safe for long though because ONCE HE’S AWAKE HOMEBOY IS RARING TO GO.

Frequently makes y’all pancakes for breakfast with a frilly pink ‘best chef’ apron on and it’s fucking hysterical. 

actually has several aprons and one of them has a stock image of abs printed onto the front.

Pancakes is the only thing Bokuto is competent at so don’t expect anything else without the kitchen combusting

His pancakes are SO damn good tho like bitch who taught you to flip like dat.

Does a lil shimmy with his body and throws it back each time he flips so it basically aggregates as a performance too since hes so extra

One time the pancake landed on the floor and he was in emo mode for a whole day LMAOOO

boy was spiking while mourning the fallen soldier.

Akaashi was so confused as to why he walked into practise in such a solemn mood.

had to stifle his laughter once you told him the reason.

For some reason you have this tradition to play board games on a Friday night

Obvs you have to let him win and be a cocky ass bc otherwise he will be sad until the next morning.

sis will be in a slump while brushing his teeth over losing a game of monopoly.

Doesn’t expect you to come to practise with him but is always grinning like a dork the whole way there when you accompany him.

His game is always A1 on those days so Akaashi is eternally grateful.

Often tries to make you go to the gym with him SINCE Y’ALL BEST BELIEVE BOKUTO BABY AIN’T SKIPPIN LEG DAY.

Actually a really good workout partner though, he’s so hype and encouraging.

Grocery shopping is a nightmare, y’all come back with 3x as much as what was on the list while Bokuto just looks really sheepish and guilty like a dog who shredded up the sofa.

Kageyama:

Your conversations are very minimal at first until he adjusts to living with you.

Hella private with his living space and his bedroom

You always suspected he’s got some like weird alien cult meeting from Fiji going on in there with how shady he acts sometimes.

After a while though he’s pretty chill and doesn’t mind TOO much when you invade his personal space or go through his stuff.

I’d still be careful though an angry Kags is not a pleasant one.

He’s a minimalist, so if you ever get decorating done it’s usually you that takes the reigns since as long as it’s got a roof, a stove, a bathroom and a bed he could literally not give a fuck.

Unexpectedly easy to please over the smallest things, make a meal for him after a long day of practise and it’ll be hard for him to contain an appreciative smile.

Do NOT pull him up on it though bc he will get defensive 

just embrace it bro you won’t see it often.

V good at getting up on time and hella quiet in the morning when going about his routine, it’s easy to forget he’s in the house a times so at least he’s considerate.

Honestly doesn’t care whether you come to practise or not it makes no difference to him. Though the closer you both get he will sometimes wait for the moment you walk through the door and mentally slap himself for doing so.

Sometimes plays music in his room but it’s always really quiet and hard to decipher unless you press your ear up against the door.

The boi plays some BOPS though which is really surprising???

Usually takes charge of stuff like grocery shopping, cleaning etc. 

Control freak™️ here to assist your household services. 

He’s pretty dense though with these matters and needs some guidance at times lmao

Will not get the item on your list unless you CLEARLY SPECIFY AND INCLUDE THE WHOLE DAMN TITLE OF THE ITEM

You’re surprised he doesn’t request you illustrate the fucking bar code.

In the end you sometimes end up caving and just either going with him or going in his place.

Once he warms up to you y’all like cracking little jokes at each other and pulling one another’s leg.

if you get up even the slightest bit late he’ll just throw a lil “good afternoon” with a smirk on his face.

Sometimes he will come and chill with you on the couch to binge watch shows and it’s just a really relaxed atmosphere.

has really good taste in movies and series??

Honestly just a hella respectful roommate as long as you respect him and his privacy in return.

You once stuck his knee-pads in the washing machine on a high temp and they came out ready to fit a 6 year old.

You still suspect he holds a grudge to this day.

He also tried to give them to Hinata and never have you seen him more genuinely offended lmao.

Kenma:

The pair of you always end up oversleeping and it’s a genuine problem ur the definition of a disaster duo.

If it wasn’t for Kuroo strolling into your sleeping quarters most mornings you guys would sleep till the suns ready to set again.

Bless up Kuroo.

Constant video game marathons and y’all always compete to top each others time

It’s basically just the speed-run side of YouTube but under one roof.

Cannot and will not cook he is too LAZY for that.

Only thing he will do is stick an apple pie in the oven.

He’s courteous though he leaves you like,,, a 1/8th slice

smh.

You mostly get take-out or you’re the one that ends up cooking.

Veeryyyyy quiet, only noise in the household is the occasional snicker or lil conversation.

he has such a soothing voice hnnnnnnnnnggggg

The only time it’s remotely loud is when you play video games but even then the volume is quite low.

You usually end up crashing in his room from playing games till the crack of dawn and Kuroo frequently scolds the two of you.

you don’t listen though lmao.

For some reason you both end up in a hugging position when you wake up and neither of you have addressed it.

Except for the sus side eye look Kuroo gives the pair of you when he finds you like this.

He knows if he mentions it you’ll both infiltrate his apartment and choke him out with a console cable lololol.

You order most of your groceries online bc Kenma’s social anxiety will skyrocket and not allow him to be in a store full of more than 10 people, poor bby.

It works out for you too since why tf go there when you can have it delivered to your door.

You often binge watch anime together and he has GREAT taste mind you.

You made him watch a romance anime once and he secretly enjoyed it.

Since then he will very awkwardly request to watch them occasionally and you can’t help but smile.

The only time you clean is when you have to, like bins brimming with trash before you decide to take them out.

You accidentally broke his fav controller once and he didn’t talk to you for a week LMAO.

Still handed you one to play split-screen though so you knew he wasn’t entirely resentful.

[pinkandgreenarepurpleandyellow]

I know there’s still a lot of shit happening, and I’m aware that we need to remember the protests  haven't stopped, but today was an especially good serotonin day, so I finally pushed myself to finish this three month-old thing, and now I’m posting bc i have no impulse control.

------

”There’s the signal.”

”Yeah.”  Fuck that.

Oh sure it’s a life changing opportunity, a new hope, a second chance, but for some reason Doyle would rather stay here.

Next to him Katsumi turns and pats him on the shoulder, a small half-smile shinning on his face. Ah. That might be a reason.

“Katsumi-” He starts, cutting himself off. It’s not possible. They’ve known each other for less than a week. He’s still a fugitive, he has no contacts, no money, no place to stay, and Unchained is still very much after him. But he wants to stay. He wants to leave the job behind, he wants a new home, he wants- he wants to be around people he can get to know beyond the usual discreet suitcase or credit card, beyond being on one or the other side of a gun.

He can’t though. It’s not something assassins can have.

“Yeah?”

He forces his voice to stay even. “Nothing, just -” I think I like you after just a week, I can't ever repay you for this, you’re pretty cute under this light, I don’t want to leave, “thank you. For everything, I mean. The food, the medicine, and the trip. I owe you.” Forever, his mind adds silently.

Katsumi’s smile fades into a concerned frown, and he brushes Doyle’s shoulder with his own - fuck that’s the first time in years anyone’s touched him without violence being involved - as he speaks. “You don’t owe me anything, Doyle,” his hand is swinging closer and closer to his, “I organized this of my own free will, because I wanted to. You deserve a-” why is his voice hitching like he’s about to say something else before he changed his mind - “You deserve a second chance, just like anyone else would. You’re not as bad as you think, an-and it’d be easier for you to start a new life somewhere they can’t find you.” I should leave, Doyle thinks to himself, it’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me, and it’s the world’s biggest favor, and , and-

He doesn’t want to leave. Doyle may not know every aspect of the local culture, but he speaks the language, gets the economy, and with a skillset like his, he could easily get a job in any field. It’d be a new life, a real change, a- A fugitive on the run with no official documents, no actual job prospects, and a death penalty waiting. Not an option.

Katsumi’s sharp turn to face the ship take him out of the train of thought and he watches as the captain suddenly starts flicking the lights of the cabin on and off. Doyle doesn’t know what that means, (or why the idiot doesn’t just use morse code or better yet, simply come out and shout down), but Katsumi’s face hardens.

“There’s a threat on board,” he’s backing away and pulling Doyle with him as he speaks. “It’s Yanagi! Look!” Doyle can now see the shape Katsumi was pointing at, the short and distinct silhouette clearly visible with the lights on. The deadly aura, and the stench of fresh blood mixed with old metal confirm it.

He’s not sure why they’re running away instead of taking Yanagi on together, but Katsumi practically throws Doyle into the drivers seat and chucks the keys at him before flipping over the car and into the shotgun. Instincts kick in. Years of training and being in intense situations have his reflexes following through without question, and Doyle only realizes that he’s done anything when he makes a sharp turn left away from the pier and the tires screech against the pavement. Katsumi’s looking trough the rearview mirror, but slumps in relief. No visible pursuer then.

“Merde, lousy figlio di puttana, dickhead, shove it up his own-” Doyle keeps the rest of the curses in his head, muttering what he can’t through gritted teeth. Right when he was about to finally leave that freak has to show up and ruin it. The hell was his deal anyways? Doyle did some research after he’d found the other four, and this guy seemed to be revenge motivated and not associated with the Shinshinkai. Katsumi probably hadn’t fought him, and the odds of a death row convict deciding to just hijack a boat for no foreseeable reason were laughable. So Yanagi was most likely after either him or Katsumi.

Like he’d read Doyle’s mind, Katusmi speaks. “Was that guy after you? Did you do something to him to get him pissed at you?”

“Nah.” It comes out sharp. Doyle wants another smoke. No smoking while you’re driving, his mind plays back the drilled-in lesson again, the car will reek, the light will be visible, and you either deal with the smoke clogging up your vision and breathing or open the car and beg to be shot. Later. “Best guess? He thinks I broke some weird ‘honorable rule’,” he makes the quotes with his right hand before returning it to the steering wheel, “because I decided to change and accept that you defeated me. Old people get like that about honor sometimes.” He knows it the wrong thing to say, but it’s true. It’s why he went to Japan in the first place, plenty of badasses with a code of honor and a too-large ego. Piss off the right guy, have him kill you. If he fails, kill him, find new guy, rinse and repeat. If they don’t kill you for reasons that aren't weakness, taunt them until they snap.

Thankfully Katsumi is a better person than him and mutters a “Makes sense,” at him instead of starting up an argument. He drives in pointless dodges and turns and alleyways for a while until he’s sure it’s safe, and then Katsumi gives him directions back to his apartment.

They get there. He gets out and, on some old and long-buried instinct, moves to open the door for Katsumi before the karateka gets out on his own.

“I texted dad while you were driving, and he said he was grabbing Shibukawa and going there as soon as he could. The police report was playing on the tv screens a street back or so, and they showed a picture of Yanagi  with a broken neck and missing his right arm, still on the boat.” Katsumi walks up the stairs as he talks and Doyle follows, unsure of what else to do. “So I’m guessing either they got there on time, or someone beat them to it. Either way, Yanagi’s not a threat anymore.” They’ve reached the landing, and Katsumi holds his hand out, presumably to get the key ring back from Doyle. He hands it over and chokes out the goodbye.

“Well, see ya around, I guess.” He’s trying very hard to not pretend that he isn’t just the slightest bit crushed about not being able to stay when something grabs his wrist.

“Wait, Doyle! You still don’t have a-” whatever he wants to say, Doyle doesn't wanna hear it. He turns away and keeps trying to walk down the stairs.

“I’ll find something or someone to get me out of Japan. Probably be gone by morning.” He tries to shake the hand off. It doesn’t budge. Stupid guys who have stupid grip strength and their stupidly effective and nice muscles.

“Just hang on, you idiot!” Suddenly Katusmi pulls him back hard enough that Doyle either risks dislocating his shoulder or stumbling back, so he chooses the latter. “We don’t know where Sikorsky is yet, and for all we know he’s after you too. Look,” his voice finally lowers to a reasonable volume that won’t wake the entire neighborhood, “just come in for half a minute, okay? I just gotta make a phone call to check that it’s safe, and then you can leave on your own if you want to, or stay here until we can reschedule stuff and get you on a boat to the Middle East again. It’s won’t take longer than a minute, Doyle. Please?” How the fuck does he do puppy dog eyes like that? Better question, how does Doyle feel himself falling to the them?

“One minute,” he says as calmly as he can when all he wants to do is either leave or stay forever. “One minute, and then I’m gone.” Katusmi nods, unlocks the door, and walks in. Doyle follows, and despite everything they just said about the one minute thing, copies Katusmi’s actions of taking off his shoes. A drink is thrown at his face and Doyle is shocked enough by the fact that this is happening to just open the drink and start sipping instead of realizing it’s intentions.

Katsumi is speaking to what sounds like first one, then two, then five people  as he paces, (and the static from the phone when he’s not the one yelling suggests at least one person is speaking to the other people over their own phone), his speech getting faster and faster until Doyle has a hard time distinguishing most of it. He catches bits and pieces of what sounds like legal jargon though, like they’re negotiating a deal. Something involving jail, prisoner, transportation, papers, parole, psychiatry visits, Hector  - Hold the fuck up.

Jail. Prisoner. Parole. Hector. Those are not words that should be involved in a conversation asking where Sikorsky is. Scratch that, there should not be this long of a conversation, or with this many people, for asking where Sikorsky is. Or all of the other legal crap in there. What is Katsumi doing?

Finally, an eternity of thirteen minutes and sixteen-and-a-half seconds later, Katsumi speaks at a normal volume, bids a formal goodbye over the phone (probably didn't even realize he was bowing as he did so), and then he’s turning to Doyle with a weirdly happy expression on his face.

“What’s Sikorsky’s status?” he asks.

“Well,” Katsumi sheepishly looks away for a second, “it’s complicated. See, first i called dad and he said he didn’t know and he asked Shibukawa, and he also didn’t know, but then Tokugawa was in the same hallway or something and heard them and started talking, and he was saying some stuff that he had planned for Sikorsky so apparently he’s out there somewhere, but Jack and Gaia are gonna pay him a visit soon so that’s all good.”

“Great, bye.” Doyle stands up and moves to get his shoes back on, but Katusmi has other plans because he grabs Doyle’s arm and keeps talking.

“Thing is, it turns out that Unchained was stopping by that hospital because he wanted to talk to Kureha about something, I think they were at the hospital cause that’s where Kureha usually is, anyways, and they talked about how he was gonna pick up Sikorsky and then you, and then dad and Tokugawa started talking, and somehow between everything the four of them phoned the director of that prison you broke out of and long story short, they pulled some strings and you’re not on death row anymore. So you don’t need to leave!” Doyle blinks.

What. the. fuck?

His first words to this are the more eloquent, “Not on death row?”

 Katsumi takes this as a cue to keep talking.

“Yeah, well there’s conditions and that sort of stuff. You have to stay with one of the approved people from Unchained’s list, to make sure you don’t go all assassin-y on innocent people, you gotta visit a special psychiatrist-slash-therapist once a week to help you settle in, and any new crimes will get you thrown into jail no matter what they are, but yeah. Other than that, it’s just some paperwork and stuff.”

“Just to double check, I,” Doyle motions at himself, “can stay here,” waving a hand vaguely to encompass all of Japan, “because your,” poking a finger at Katsumi’s chest, “dad is friends with Unchained and they “pulled some strings”?” he makes the air quote around the last part as obvious as he can because no. This can’t be real. That’s not how things work. Apparently, no one informed Katusmi of this.

“Yep!” he almost chirps the affirmation out as Doyle’s already confused  and fragile worldview crumbles in it’s entirety. His entire record, gone as long as he kept obeying the law. A new life. No more death sentence. No more prison.

Deep breath in, he coaches himself through the internal crisis, deep breath out. Right. Okay. He can work with this.

“So,” Katsumi immediately looks back at him, nodding to show he’s paying attention, “Who’s on the list of people I can stay with, and how many of them are already warned?” It’s close to two am, but he can pick the locks, and all he needs is a name to find their address. Katsumi starts talking, listing the names off on his fingers as he speaks.

“Well there’s dad, but he’s still paranoid after what happened to mom, so that’s out. Jack would be okay but we’re not sure if he even has a home, and nobody called him yet. Shibukawa knows but this isn’t the best way for you to meet him, Baki got ruled off the list because he’s too young, Yujiro’s too crazy and would kill you, Unchained vehemently refused to even consider hosting you temporarily after you broke into the station, and Tokugawa claims you ‘concern him’, so that just leaves Strydum, and me. So either you can stay here or-” he trails off. Doyle almost snorts inwardly because Yeah, like that’s a hard choice.

“If you’re okay with it, could I stay here?” Katsumi’s face lights up the same way it did back at the docks, and Doyle feels his heart skipping a very small beat.

“Of course! Grab something form the fridge, I’ll get a spare futon for you in a sec, and sure. We’re gonna have to think about the rest of the stuff in the morning though, but I know a guy for the psychiatry thing, dad was visiting him in the hospital in the first place, and then there’s paperwork, and Im balls at that kinda stuff, and-” Katsumi’s words blur as he keeps moving and talking, but Doyle nods along, a small smile finding its way onto his face. He’ll get through this. He’s got nobody chasing him, a future therapist to talk to, and Katsumi to help him if anything goes wrong.

This, Doyle thinks as Katsumi moves on to talking about how Doyle will love his friends, might just work out.

[merrysithmas]

hi! what are your predictions for boris and theo’s future after the end of the novel? are they going to move together and where - new york or antwerp? is boris going to get clean? is theo going to find out boris lied about his wife and kids? please share your thoughts I’m really curious!

I don’t have any predictions bc I know that Donna will just ruin their lives - Lmao. But my FANTASY is that Theo becomes some kind of tenured art professor that travels back and forth from NYC to London with his grants from the high-brow University he works for — he’s head of Art History and looks up to the Dean of his school as a mentor and mother-figure (can’t get away from that one, can ya Theo).

Boris works in his underground Odessa mafia crime syndicate - stationed in Antwerp but often traveling to NYC, Tel Aviv, Miami, Budapest, London, Amsterdam, and various other places — Theo kind of on the DL works as his stony-faced accountant being a bit knowledgable on the laundering and financial fraud end of things himself (he used to dabble in millions in art fraud himself) and fine arts consultant, and everyone knows they are these inseparable partners of unknown dynamic. Boris, flippant and personable and wily, Theo quiet and elitist and aloof - always at each other’s sides.

So Theo’s become a bit of a “we have to find lost and stolen relics and return them to the places where they truly belong, or the very least to a museum!” and uses his grant money from his University to investigate such matters and has been successful in several returns (cue proud newspaper articles that Hobie framed and puts up on the mantle) and has brought some amount of prestige to the University.

However Theo’s philanthropic fixation often clashes with Boris’ “holy fuck this is worth 300 million dollars” attitude and there are hijinx, usually with Boris always caving and/or Theo making it worth his while by appealing to his Boris-ly interests (i.e. “Please I need your resources to go to Syria” “Are you fucking kidding me? For what a plank of wood?” “It’s a sacred Persian relic and it’s in the hands of people like Martin!” “Listen to my words, Potter. It is. plank. of fucking. wood.” “Fuck you, Boris. There will be gold.” “... Gold? How much gold exactly?”).

So as Theo dabbles in Boris’ life, Boris also pops up in Theo’s, unexpectedly interrupting Theo’s lectures in the halls of European museums, waving to the kids, pulling Theo away for “just a moment” as he explains someone in the museum in trying to kill him insisting they “switch coats” and Theo has to hide him in the archives. Or he plops down while Theo is eating outside in a café in Strasbourg, casually sitting down across from him while Theo grades papers and smiles to himself at the familiar shadow falling on his gradebook (they eventually get into a fight and Theo calls him a “walking contraceptive” before he blusters off and Boris is left to eat the rest of Theo’s brunch in the company of a bunch of diners who are side-eying him, taking to reading a paper Theo left behind while finishing his Gerwurztraminer).

Or Boris is exhuasted, burning the midnight oil, black rings under his eyes, thinner than usual, wiry and punkish, under the gun, dead asleep on Theo’s couch in his office at his London library University headquarters, and Theo carefully tucks a heavy woolen blanket around his shoulders as he sleeps like the dead, deep tired breaths, safe, at home, as the rain pours down like a flood outside and Theo smokes quietly in the dark working on another grant proposal.

Or Theo turns up at Boris’ door in Antwerp, late nightcap after a surprise flight for a conference and seminar that he hasn’t told Boris about, and he sees Boris has barely eaten for weeks, holed up after trying to figure he and his gang’s way out of some absolute fuckery they got themselves into and losing one of his longtime members in the process — grieving and he can’t show anyone else and it hurts. And Theo runs his hand through Boris’ hair, and Boris closes tired, red eyes. And Theo is cooking him a meal at 3am, putting on some boiling hot tea, insisting he “come home” for a while. To New York.

New York City in the winter — operas and symphonies — snow falling like feathers and covering Central Park, winter holidays from school and Theo doesn’t have work, gallery events at museums that Boris can complain about - the Old Rich Hierarchal stuffiness - the insulting of which always makes him feel a bit better. Old movies and (bad, hard) drugs and stealing shit for old times sake from Duane Reade even though Boris has enough money for the two of them to span three lifetimes. Hot showers after getting in from the freezing cold and Theo’s apartment is meticulous and Boris disturbs it like a tornado. And they sleep in and for some brief moments, sometimes, tipped over vodka bottles, creaking floorboards in the night, city sounds and Vegas-bright Christmas lights, it’s like they’re kids again.

Meanwhile on the other end Boris’ gang is like a second family to Theo — Myriam, Gyuri, Cherry, Anatoly, Shirley T, Dima (and all their girlfriends, wives, boyfriends - sometimes all three): one is constantly showing up in rotation somehow in Theo’s life. Either randomly in London pulling him off the street “casually” SWEARING he’s not the subject of an assassination plot, or turning up sheepishly and/or desperately at his doorstep for some Boris un-sanctioned advice that Theo feels he is not exactly equipped to give (advice on girlfriends or spurned wives or cheating or kids or haircuts or boobjobs or what’s “in fashion in New York”) but they keep showing up like he’s the crew psychologist so he just pulls out the dining chair at this point. Myriam, now a close friend forged by their mutual taste for the High End of life, keeps an eye on Boris for Theo when Theo is across the ocean — she knows why, of course, they all do, an open secret. The whole gang has them, a criminal syndicate of misfits.

And one day Theo comes to Boris with a proposal to go to Siberia to retrieve an ancient sacred object called The Divine Source (an source of immortality) that was coveted and obscured by the Soviet Union and Boris is like fuck no Fuck no because if there is one place on Earth that Boris fears and sends a shiver up his spine and he doesn’t fuck with - it’s Mother Russia. Growing up in post-Soviet countries it’s an unspoken unanimous agreement among the gang, an overhanging government that has mostly wanted or had their eyes on them all since they were kids for various reasons - stealing or living on the street or used by street gangs - something you don’t want to get involved with or retamper.

And Theo’s a bit obtuse, still American for all his worldly ventures and education, having grown up in relative privilege from a sociological standpoint, and is super upset about Boris’ refusal to help (and thus, his gang’s refusal to help) - thinking they’re overreacting or being bombastic about their fears. The Dean is insisting on his help and Boris has long held suspicions about this lady and has kept it to himself because of Theo’s adulation of her (Boris knows Theo and mother figures are let’s say, a sensitive spot). Not wanting to disappoint the University (and moreover - her) Theo says fine he’ll just go alone to which Boris freaks the fuck out claiming its dangerous and he’s going to get himself killed and the Dean is an untrustworthy bitch who is manipulating him.

Cue an all-out end-of-times fight with Theo basically saying fuck him for all time, he’s done. And Theo leaves for Siberia by way of Syria, and Boris is fuming, left behind.

Long story short Theo gets betrayed by the Dean in a moment of gutwrenching horrifying realization - he was being used, Boris was right, now she has the relic and he’s going to die alone and freezing to fucking death, shot by some operative from the secret organization that Dean is in — he hears footsteps, sees the armored guard walking towards him with a gun, feels his stomach drop and braces himself and then Pow - the guy falls to the ground after a blow to the head revealing— Boris, behind him.

And Theo, overjoyed, alive, is asking how the fuck he got here, what he’s doing here— to which Boris replies incredulously Who do you think has been keeping you safe all this time?

Then Boris, who is very much on edge in this place, gets captured and tortured and Theo is forced to find and hand over the Divine Source in exchange for his life — which he does, terrified of the Source getting into their hands but more terrified of losing Boris. The Source is then greedily opened and eats all of their souls (because of moral impurity reasons but spares Theo and Boris for their self-sacrifcing devotion to each other) a la Raiders of the Lost Ark because of what Theo discovers, excitedly, was a mistranslation in Aramaic (thief of eternal life, not giver) and Boris is like — talk about what do you call it? false advertising.

So they return back to Antwerp with nothing but they’ve got each other and they snooze hard on each other on the plane ride back — several pounds of gold glinting away in Boris’ carry-on under the seat, alongside some old notes of other obscure and stolen relics, because he unknowingly picked up the Dean’s bag, not his, when escaping the sacred city.

So basically their life is a mix of Lara Croft video games (when I got the Divine Source storyline lmao but added a few things), Eastern Promises, The Odd Couple, The Da Vinci Code, and dark academia mixed with shitton of doping. With this mostly unspoken bi-continental devotion to each other over-arching it all.

[legendarymasterwolf]

E3 2019: My Thoughts on What We Saw

Alright, E3 is over this year, which means it's time to go over what we saw and my thoughts on it.

This is late, so some stuff here will be out already.

I'll be going by publisher alphabetically, so first up, we have...

Borderlands 3

I'm so freaking hyped to get lost in this hilarious world again. I've played Mordecai in Borderlands 1, Zero in 2, and Claptrap in Presequel. Still trying to decide who to play as in 3, but right now, it's looking like I'll pick FL4K, since he specializes in long range and has a few cute beasties by his side. Also, we're getting not one, but THREE action skills with each character. Not only that, but you can sacrifice your grenade skill for two equipped skills.

The Children of the Vault look like some worthy successors to Handsome Jack for title of "Best Borderlands Villains", though we'll see how they pan out on release date.

The gameplay that we saw of Moze looks smooth. Heck, everything about this game looks sleek and refined without doing away with the art style. Also, guns with legs.

Anyway, we not only got the gameplay reveal, but also Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary, a new DLC for Borderlands 2 that sets up 3, so I'm scrambling to finish the Handsome Collection on my PS4, which just got a lot more difficult now that I've bought RDR2 finally, along with several other games.

Control

I loved Alan Wake, and this is from the same people, so I’m hyped. The game looks great, has a suspenseful atmosphere, and it seems to play well. I’m looking forward to release date.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reboot

I haven't bought a COD game since "Black Ops 2", though I have played the newer ones with a friend of mine. It looks good visually from the reveal trailer I saw, I'll say that much. No gameplay yet, but I know it'll be gritty, focusing on some of the more shocking moments of the original trilogy, like "No Russian" from MW2 or the nuclear explosion from MW1, so it seems we're bringing in more edge to the series. Still, I'm glad the campaign is back, and I'm interested to see how it will look.

12 Minutes

A twelve minute time loop where you're forced to relive the death of your wife and the only way to break it is to find out why she was killed? Sign me up.

Code Vein

I remember this one from last E3. Still the same opinion, too. Anime style souls game that I might buy for the story, which looks interesting.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

So this looks REALLY good. It's like a deep RPG, deeper than Xenoverse was, with mechanics besides fighting like fishing, and as for the fights themselves, they seem to be more strategical than before, with a healthy dose of classic DBZ fisticuffs in there for good measure.

Elden Ring

A Souls game written by George RR Martin? Don't know too much about it besides that, but it looks cool based on the trailer.

The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan

Basically, another Until Dawn, but on the open sea during a storm. And I'm totally okay with that.

Deathloop

Another game from Arkane? The guys who made Dishonored? I'll take it. Besides, another time loop premise sounds interesting.

Doom: Eternal

If Fallout 76 was any indication, Bethesda desperately needs a win now to restore faith in their studio. Besides a few of the other games announced at E3 2019 that could do so, there was one that stood out in particular: Doom Eternal. I’ve already played all the Wolfenstein games, with the exception of one upcoming entry on this list, and based on what I’ve seen of Eternal, I’m going to like it due to the similarity in gameplay.

GhostWire: Tokyo

The presentation on the new game from the makers of Evil Within, another series to try now that I have a PS4, was memorable for a few reasons. First off, Ikumi Nakamura, the game’s creative director, was the main presenter and she was adorable. Seriously, it’s probably one of the best E3 presentations I’ve seen this year. I can’t remember the last time I saw one so genuine like hers, plus it helps that the Internet has fallen in love. As for the game itself, it looks great, with people disappearing in Tokyo and it being up to some guy with a bow and supernatural powers to find out why. The reveal trailer was all we got, but still, I can’t wait to play it.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood

The first game I’ve ever preordered, and this comes from a guy who never preorders on principle. It’s a Wolfenstein spinoff with BJ’s twin daughters, so yeah, I’ll buy it. Plus, it’s co-op, so I’m playing this with my best friend. Still trying to decide which twin to play, though. Probably Jessie, since my friend is gonna want to play Soph.

Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory

Looks interesting, plus the gameplay reminds me of Shadowrun Returns.

The Sinking City

This one’s already out, but it looks good. Hopefully, it’ll be received better than Call of Cthulu before it. Plus, I’m all for a game where the protagonist is losing his mind, like Dead Space.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood

Set in the World of Darkness universe, like Bloodlines, except you're a werewolf instead of a vampire and it's from a different studio. Gameplay was revealed behind closed doors, but it looks good from what I've heard. We don't have too many werewolf games around.

Cyberpunk 2077

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY ALREADY!

Yeah, this might be the first game I preorder for myself, since now we finally have a release date: April 16th, 2020. The new trailer we got gave us a glimpse of a default male V as well as what may be Jackie’s death (please don’t kill off Jackie, CD Project RED, I like him too much already). After V’s employer tries to double cross him, V tries to kick ass with his twin arm blades, which look really unique, before said employer shoots him in the head. The trailer ended with a major surprise: as V comes to in a junkyard, a figure in jeans, a tank-top, and a silver left arm approaches, and kneels to reveal a face and voice that sounds suspiciously like Keanu Reeves.

Yes, that’s right, for those who haven’t heard by the time this is posted, Keanu Reeves is in Cyberpunk 2077 and he’s playing Johnny Silverhand, a legendary rocker in the world of 2077 who may not be what he seems.

After the trailer premiered onstage, Reeves came out onstage to promote the game. He could barely get through the start of his speech, people were that excited to see him in the flesh. There was even a great moment where he described the game as “breathtaking”, to which a fan shouted out, “You’re breathtaking!”, to which Keanu responded in kind. We don’t deserve this man.

Anyway, at the end of his speech, Reeves gave a new look at gameplay as well as the game’s release date. The glimpse was only about 20 seconds long, but still, the new look at the combat, hacking, and what is presumably a digital afterlife or something like that was enough to get me even more hyped for this game.

Seriously, I couldn’t be more hyped. This game is gonna be massive and I just might preorder it.

My Friend Pedro

Switch game, but still looks cool. It’s already out now.

Sea of Solitude

I need to play more games that make me feel like this. The art style looks gorgeous and the theme is depression, so yeah, I may buy this one if I like what I’m hearing.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Honestly, EA's part of the the expo was kind of depressing, especially when it got to Anthem. However, we did get more of Jedi: Fallen Order, and for that, I'm grateful, because this game looks great. Both the combat and lightsaber look slick as does the gameplay in general, and the voice acting is on point, from Cameron Monaghan to Forest Whitaker. We need a good Star Wars game for current gen consoles, and while The Old Republic is still my favorite, that's for PC. Also, while it has been announced that there are no microtransactions in the game, I'm sure EA will find some way to screw it up, but for now, it looks awesome.

Greedfall

I’m interested. Story and premise have me, a mix of 17th century colonialism with horror and the supernatural. Gameplay looks like my kind of jam, and we may be getting romance options too, based on some trailer observations.

John Wick Hex

Gameplay seems unique, plus it’s John Wick. I will always take more of Keanu Reeves.

Grandia HD Collection

I like JRPGs like this one, though it’s for Switch, so I can’t play it.

Way to the Woods

Looks like a cute adventure puzzle game. I might get it for PC.

Wasteland 3

This series looks like tactical Fallout, so yeah, I’m likely to give this one a shot since it looks good.

Blair Witch

A Blair Witch video game? That’s psychological horror?! With an adorable dog companion named Bullet?!?! Yes, please.

We didn’t get much besides a trailer and some gameplay, but I’m eager to see more.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel

Ugh, why is it that last year I was complaining about not having a PS4, now this year I’m complaining about not having a Switch?!

Anyway, this looks great and I want to see more. Especially since I’ve heard it’s going to be scarier than Majora’s Mask.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

Looks good on the graphics front, plus the gameplay additions looks promising.

And once again, I can’t play it.

Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

Out of all the games on this list, this is the one I want to play most that I can’t play because, you guessed it, I don’t have a Switch.

I loved the original Ultimate Alliance games, so I’m sure the new one is gonna be a hit, what with the new combos, character designs, and references to the MCU, plus it’ll tie us over until Marvel’s Avengers.

Pokemon Sword and Shield

The Pokemon look cute, it is set in the world’s version of the UK, gameplay looks improved, and once again, I can’t play it.

Empire of Sin

It looks cool, plus I need more Mob style games to play. It’s also made by the people who are responsible for the next game on this list...

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2

It’s only in pre-alpha, but still, this one looks good. The original is on the Steam store, and there are fan made patches that improved upon what was originally a disaster. The sequel looks like a smoother version of its predecessor, with a few new abilities and mechanics put in. Again, it's in pre-alpha, so the final product will look much cleaner, but for now, I'm excited for its release date.

Shenmue III

First off, I’m royally pissed that Epic stole this one. That being said, the game looks great and I’m looking forward to continuing Ryo’s story on PS4. The gameplay looks great, the atmosphere is enthralling, and the English dub sounds good this time around. Still pissed about Epic, but at least I can play it on PS4.

The Outer Worlds

This still looks great. Since Fallout 76 took a nosedive and kept on going, we need a game like this to get that bitter taste out of our mouths. This still looks like a cross between Fallout and Borderlands, the true New Vegas spiritual successor that we need right now. The companions actually look helpful, have personalities of their own, and the Flaws System sounds really interesting, giving your hero a perk in enchange for a debuff for the whole game. Also the humor is great, too.

Marvel’s Avengers

Yes, the character designs don’t look so hot. However, those can be changed on the road to launch. That aside, I liked what I saw. The gameplay looks great, the voice cast has some top tier talent for the industry, and the promise of more heroes to be added after launch without the attached microtransactions has my attention.

Dying Light 2

I only played the demo for the first one, a game I still need to play, but I liked it enough to want a sequel. The usual free running mechanics look smooth, plus the addition of player choice shakes up the game, making your playthrough unique, so yeah, more of the good old stuff with a few new things sprinkled in.

Final Fantasy VII Remake and Remasters

The remake of FF7 looks AMAZING. The hybrid combat system looks like a dream, plus the character designs look top notch. In addition, the voice cast sounds on point for their respective characters. The hype around this thing was evident from the incessant cheering, we want it that much. We even have a release date: March 3rd, 2020. It’s been a long time coming, but it seems the wait to experience this classic for the second time on a different system will have finally been worth it.

Also, there was content announced for FF14 as well as two remasters: Crystal Chronicles and FF8.

Bet your ass I’m buying the remaster for FF8.

Biomutant

This has been described as Fluffy Devil May Cry. It’s accurate. I didn’t know you’d be able to customize your character, to! Combat looks fun, and it appears there is humor present if the narrator is anything to go by, so I’m interested.

Destroy All Humans! Remake

I never played the original, but I did read about it and hear about it from a friend. From what I’ve seen, the remake looks fun! Good parody of the 1950s and the updated graphics look great. Plus, Krypto seems like a fun, grumpy protagonist.

Gods and Monsters

This looks like a cross between Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Legend of Zelda. Considering it’s being made by the same creators of the former, I can’t wait to see more of this in the future.

Ghost Recon: Breakpoint

I’ll be honest, I still haven’t played any Ghost Recon games, so maybe here would be a good place to start. Gotta say, I like the way Jon Bernthal presented. He just seemed at ease onstage. Plus, Bernthal’s dog looks adorable. Bam Bam is the real hero of the Ubisoft press conference.

Anyway, it seems Bernthal is playing Cole D. Walker, one of the antagonists of the game. Didn’t see any gameplay, but still, the game looks good. I need to play more tactical shooters in general.

Watch Dogs: Legion

I played the first Watch Dogs game. Thought it was cool, but overall it was a bit disappointing. I still need to play the second one, but I heard it was a major improvement, even if it wasn’t a financial hit. Still, this one put a smile on my face. The ability to recruit and play as anyone? A sarcastic AI as your companion? A grandma assassin? I will take all of it, thank you.

Also, grandma assassin.

Did I mention there was a grandma assassin?

Can’t wait for March 6th.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

The LEGO Star Wars games were some of the first games I ever owned back when I played on the PS2, so I’m hyped for a collection of all 9 films in one game. We don’t know much beyond the announcement trailer, but hey, I’ll gladly take this one when it comes out next year.

Baldur’s Gate III

A video game that plays like a DND game? I can’t wait. Haven’t played the other games, but I’m sure I’ll be fine once I play that tabletop prequel they mentioned.

Battletoads

It’s an Xbox and PC exclusive, but still, glad this is getting a remake.

Bleeding Edge

This looks like an Overwatch reskin. The combat itself looks unique, though, so we’ll see how it goes.

Gears 5

We got a little more on Gears 5 this time around. We’ve got a look at Kait and how the Locust influence is threatening to tear her apart (that’s what I’m assuming, I’ve never played the Gears games). We also got a new mode, Escape. I might get it, since it’ll be available for PC.

Halo Infinite

If this is what Xbox Scarlett looks like, then Sony might have actual competition for once. This is the best the Halo series has looked in years, and considering how let down some felt after Halo 5, it’s about time. We’re getting the same badass Master Chief back, this time with no AI companion, as Cortana has suffered corruption due to being around for longer than normal and has gone psycho as a result. Regardless, the graphics look amazing and I can’t wait to see how it looks when it releases Holiday 2020.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

I never played the original, but I might have to now, because this looks cute. The art style looks great and I’ll always be interested in games where you fight things ten times your own size. Plus, it seems to run smooth, and just by the sound of the story, it already has my heart.

Psychonauts 2

To cap things off, let’s end with a game I’ve been excited for since I finished the original months ago. The game seems to be coming along great, if the first level is anything to go by. Returning voice cast, new enemies and powers, new environments to explore, Jack Black voicing a Brain in a Jar, need I say more?

Also, this game looks to explore the water curse put on Rasputin’s family, so it will be a more personal and chilling story as well.

________________

So, there you have it. That’s my thoughts on E3 2019, half a month late.

What are you guys excited for? Leave a comment letting me know, especially if there was something I left out!

Until then!

[pandawritesmanythings]

Break Dance (Part 1/???)

We all knew it couldn't last forever. But it didn't mean we wanted it to end.

It all started when Jenna disappeared from our room one night. I had been sheltered my whole life and my parents had always been on top of me to make me the perfect child they wished for. So I was scandalized when I heard that my best friend had broken the curfew and escaped the girls' dorm.

"Where were you!?"

"Shhhhhhh! Not so loud" She giggled. I was just amazed at her lack of worry for the consequences this could bring for her.

"You don't get it, do you? You could get expelled for this! What will your parents say?" I angrily whispered.

"Well, what they don't know won't kill them."

I gaped at her. "Who are you and what did you do with Jenna?"

She laughed. "Sarah. I'm fine. I just wanted a night of fun, that's all!"

"And you got it by sneaking out? What were you even doing?"

She bit her lip smiling, her eyes had a spark of mischief that I had only seen in her when talking about Andrè Lozano who studied on the Academy next door for boys.

"If I tell you, you have to swear silence."

"Jenna-"

"I can't tell you otherwise! And I know for a fact that you won't report me."

She had me there."Okay, I swear."

She squealed, apparently happy for being able to tell me whatever were her adventures. She pulled me to her bed and we sat next to each other. Her hands held mine, in confidence.

"You know how there were rumours about Cecile planning a little get together with the best dancers on the academy?" I nodded."It's bigger than that. She is recruiting people for secret dance practice."

"A secret dance practice? Why not do it after class then?"

"We call it that. But it's really... A dance battle. Between the boys and girls."

"WHAT!?" She covered my mouth quickly and we both tensed up, a feeling of dread creeping up our stomach. After what seemed an eternity we both quietly sighed in relief.

"You guys are meeting with boys!?" I quietly panicked.

"It's not what you think! We are not doing anything... forbidden... We just challenge each other to dance battles. It's great practice."

My breath quickened, this was wrong, it was against the rules! Couldn't they see that!? "Hey. Hey. Calm down. I promise it's just dancing. Nothing else."

"It doesn't matter Jenn. You guys are, number one, sneaking out of the academy, number two, breaking the curfew, and number three, seeing boys without supervision! This is terrible, it must be breaking at least 5 more rules in the book of law!"

"Okay. Look, don't freak out, okay? You are my best friend and I really can't hide it from you." Is this what best friends do? I wondered.

"I need you to do something for me."

"What?" I almost snapped. This was not okay, and she knew it.

"Cover for me, would you?" I scoffed and stood up, I walked towards the window. I saw a couple of girls climbing up to their rooms, probably coming back from that forbidden meeting that Jenna had just arrived from. 

I took another look at her. Her hair was messy and pointed in many directions, her clothing under her black coat seemed to be all messed up, and her soft makeup ran a little down her cheeks thanks to the intense sweating from climbing up here and dancing."I need to think about it." I concluded. "For now, let's clean you up, you look like a mess."

We spent the next thirty minutes fixing her for bed as quietly as we could. I repeatedly asked her to be honest with me. If something besides dancing had happened I had to know. But she kept saying the dancing was just very intense. I wasn't fully convinced but there really wasn't anything that could serve as evidence of any illegal activities happening. When we finally went to bed it was late. Like, very late. But I had made up my mind.

"Fine. I'll cover for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But if something illegal happens you have to tell me, okay?"

"I promise."

"And don't drag me with you."

"Awww, come on! Not even once?"

"No. Not even once."

She ended up dragging me with her.

I kept telling myself that I was just going to be watching for her, but I knew that on the back of my mind there was a nagging curiosity that I needed to satisfy. The first time we sneaked out it was the day right after finals were over. Jenna agreed to it since she knew there was a lower probability of us being caught, and my stress over finals would be over. 

After lights went off we dressed in the dark with some of our home clothes. It felt good to be wearing something besides our regular uniforms. Our dark clothing meshed with the darkness of the night, so leaving our room unnoticed through the window wasn't very hard. When we touched the ground I started to panic though. The guards were doing their rounds and passed us every minute and twenty seconds, but Jenna seemed unaware of the pattern and her movements around the faculty campus were erratic, guiding herself by her hearing and instinct, instead of simple calculations like we were taught.

"Okay. I can't keep on like this, wait." I whispered.

"You are not chickening out are you?"

"What!? Of course not." I desperately tried to quiet her down. "I just want you to follow my lead."

I moved in front of her to have a clear view of where the guard would be when he passed by. After less than a minute he walked by, whistling a happy tune. It didn't make me feel better, in fact, it made me tenser, I felt like I was about to blow up in embarrassment and guilt!

I waited about ten seconds for him to leave enough time for us to go. I grabbed Jenna's hand and sprinted quietly towards the 9-foot tall fence.

"Now what?" I panicked.

"Over the vines." She commanded.

We quickly got to a closed section of the fence that was covered by vines to the point where you couldn't see the fence at all.

"Move it here." She grabbed one of the vines and softly pulled it opening a section of vines that covered the fact of how the fence had a hole on it. I gaped at it, but knowing that we probably had about 20 more seconds I quickly went through it. Jenna followed and we waited in the little pocket that the vines created for both of us to hide slightly squished together.

I heard steps both to my left and my right. The guards were positioned not only inside, but also outside. We gave it ten seconds so we would be out of sight for them and we exited the vine pocket.

Jenna held my hand and from here on we ran, down the hill and through the forest, I started seeing little, barely noticeable marks on the trees we flew by. Like little repetitive dents in the form of a half moon.

After running for about ten minutes we came to a small abandoned town. The buildings were mostly run down, but still standing. I was amazed at seeing a town that had not been yet rebuilt by The Council. The windows were dirty from time and inside I could still see some of the old furniture. Every building had a different sign:

Pub

Mia Pizza

Music Shop

Florist

Melany's Crafts

And so on and forth.

I saw one that said books, and a little idea made me stop. I had already read every book that the library at Julius Academy could offer, and I knew a lot about the now, but... What if inside I could find more about Before? I shook my head at my idiocy. 

Every book that wasn't approved by the council was burned to ashes! It was impossible for the rundown town to have anything I hadn't already read. We kept moving until the end of the town where a building, that didn't seem to have any doors, was standing.

Jenna stopped in front of it. "Now. I'm just going to prepare you, there is loud music, and people dance all squished together, but if you want to leave I'll take you back to our room, okay?"

I took in a big breath. "Okay. I'll be fine!" I smiled at her, but I was honestly telling that to myself more than her. I was terrified.

On one of the sides, there was a graffiti with the phrase: "Live. Laugh. Love." In gigantic letters. She knocked in the middle of the "u" of "laugh" three times. I jumped when someone knocked back two times, and she knocked back once more. Then the door opened.

A boy with red hair opened the door, and my ears finally catch the sound of muffled music. 

"Spot! Welcome back! Coming to celebrate after finals I suppose?" He said motioning us in and closing the door behind us.

"Yeah! This is my friend, I wanted to show her the place. Tell her the rules." She said excitedly.

He smiled at me tenderly, my expression probably being of sheer terror because I was in a room with a boy for the first time of my life.

" 'Sup, my name is Nyel. Welcome to the UnderBeat." He extended his arm and stood at his distance from me. This made me relax a little bit more.

"Hi, my name is-" "NONONONO!" Jenna interrupted me. "We don't know each other's real names. We go by name codes so if we get busted no one really knows who the others are."

I stood thinking for a moment. "Well, I guess that makes sense." I looked back at the green-eyed guy and cocked an eyebrow. "But isn't Nyel a name?"

"Nah, it's a part of my name slightly changed and re-arranged, but it would be too complicated for your little head to comprehend." He slightly leaned in towards me.

I didn't blink. "I believe some of the possible names could be, Nathaniel, Daniel or Nile."

He gaped at me. "Well, remind me to check on my personal biases. Spot, this girl is smart, be sure to drag her back every once in a while. Some guys here could really use some setting straight on what girl power means." He smiled at me and I smiled a little prouder. "Welcome to the family."

He was still keeping his distance and I extended my hand to shake his. He hesitated for a moment but shook my hand with excitement nonetheless.

"Welp! Formalities aside, let's get you started. First, you need a code name. Don't worry, I'll tell you if any is currently occupied." He said while grabbing a clipboard.

"What should I choose? I have no idea."

"Well, many choose something that represents them, or something that they like or an encrypted part of their name." He signalled himself.

I looked at Jenna. "Spot?"

"My style of dancing. Ballet on the spot. Long stationary pirouettes." She twirled to prove her point and I giggled.

"Then... Maybe... Swan?" I looked shyly at him and he beamed at me.

"Lemme guess! You like ballet?"I nodded and looked away with a tiny smile."Good, if you chose is 'cuz you like it!" He walked over to a shelf that held a variety of paints and started picking some out. "So, black and white?"

"And some pink, if you can..." I added.

"Deal." He said grabbing the last paint.

Moving a chair closer he sat in front of me. "Okay, look. I'm going to get closer than arm's length, but I need to be close to see what I'm doing. If at any point you feel uncomfortable or you would like me to step away, you tell me. Okay?"

I shuddered a breath. "Okay."

"Good. Now, let's get started."

I closed my eyes shut. In the darkness, the bass of the music still pumped into my ears. I felt his rough fingers touch my face and I slightly flinched away.

"Hey, it's okay! You are fine. Spot is right here."

"Yeah, I'm right here." Jenna reaffirmed me while putting her hands on my shoulders.

He grabbed my face softly and almost immediately I felt the soft pressure of the brush and the coldness of the paint spread through the bridge of my nose, my cheekbones, temples and forehead. He worked slow and progressively, expanding throughout my face, making spirals, small strokes and touches that were parallel on both sides of my face. I slowly relaxed and focused on feeling. Feeling the strokes on my face. His hand searching for a soft way to support himself without making me feel uncomfortable. Jenna's hands massaging every once in a while my shoulders when I tensed up. Feeling what I had never felt before, knowing that one day I may not be able to experience new feelings again, so I wanted to engrave these feelings on my memory. Forever.

"And, voila! Let me tell you, this might be my best one yet, it's simple, yet elegant and unique." I opened my eyes and saw Nyel holding a mirror his hands showing me my face.

"You look stunning Sa- I mean! Swan." I gasped when suddenly my brain processed the art on my face. It started white on my nose and slowly turned into soft looking black feathers on both my temples. Completed with pink swirls that seemed to come out of the sides of my face, from my hairline on.

"So. What'cha think gorgeous?"

I choked a laugh. "Wh-What do I think?" I asked softly touching my face. "I-I love it." 

"Aw, just part of the job darling." He said saluting me. "Besides, we had to make sure your virgin little ears would become accustomed to the pounding bass the goes on down there. Now go to Fatima over the booth, she'll give you something more comfortable to wear." He said pushing me towards a girl that was moving clothing racks around.

"Aren't we on code name basis?" I asked Jenna.

"Yeah, Fatima is her code name. She doesn't talk about why though, so better not ask."

"Oh, okay."

The girl wore a green and pink neon outfit, her dark curly hair slightly lighter than her natural complexion."So, Swan, right?" She said blowing bubblegum.

"Y-Yeah..."

"Great, come in here I have two ideas for you. One is very according to your style of dancing, the other is more... Flexible if you ever want to learn new styles. Which let me tell you, that often happens down here."

She led me inside a covered booth and tossed me two outfits. One that looked like a white ballet outfit but had a military black jacket over the top and the other one looked like comfy white sweatpants with soft pink dyes. A black strapless top and sports pink and white jacket with the words Nik on it. I was pretty sure there was another letter after the k but it was faded so I couldn't make it out.

I chose the second since it looked way comfier, and, honestly, I didn't want to wear another tutu out of practice.

"Ah! You look ravishing my dear!" Fatima squealed and hopped. 

"Absolutely gorgeous Swan!" Jenna confirmed. I gaped at her as I saw what she wore. More scandalized than anything. She wore red shorts with black tights and knee-length military boots. Her shirt was long sleeved on one side and the other showed her whole shoulder. Her slick brown hair tied into a high ponytail and red lipstick on her lips. 

"Was I in there for too long?" I worried.

"About ten minutes, we decided by the second that we were going to get me ready to go. Now, Fatima will do your hair, and I'll get my paint job done." Jenna explained and walked away.

Fatima looked at me with a smirk. "You have a fabulous friend. Let her give you fashion advice often, okay?" 

"Okay." I smiled shyly.

"How do you want your hair honey?"

"Simple, if possible, and make my makeup as simple as you can too." Fatima cocked an eyebrow but nodded nonetheless. "Your wish is my command!" She quickly raised my light brown hair into a messy bun and applied some shiny gloss over my lips.

"Okay, ready to see the UnderBeat?"

"I guess."

"Then look over there..."

It was amazing as if I couldn't recognize myself. That is not me in the mirror. Sarah Bell is not the one doing this... This is Swan.  

And suddenly, Swan seemed invincible.

"Ready to go down?" Jenna asked while her chin was resting on my shoulder. 

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, let's go."

We got out of the booth and I waved towards Nyel and Fatima as we approached the door. Jenna grabbed the handle and opened it. Immediately I felt the heat and bass coming out at its full strength. My heart quickened as we stepped down to be greeted with a dim lit room, with red and pink soft lights on the corners that gave a very mysterious vibe to the whole room. Honestly, if someone else that I knew was in the room I wouldn't have known. It was dark, everyone's clothes were shining with neon colours, the areas with pink on my outfit and makeup were brightly lit, but it seemed like Nyle and Fatima had made an effort for being minimalist with the neon. So as I did in school, at first at least, I seemed to fit in and be almost invisible on the sea of dancing bodies.

At the end of the room, there was a box with discs and buttons that a girl with a tiger makeup was playing the music. We made eye contact at some point and she did finger guns my way, I just waved.

I thought Jenna would stay by my side at all times, but almost immediately someone pulled her away and I found myself lost in the crowd. Without my friend. In an unknown environment. Finally, I decided it was safer to stay by the walls. So there I stood for about thirty minutes, looking at the people dance in various styles to the rhythm of pumping salsa music.

If someone had paid any attention to me they could have thought I was bored. But you know what? I never felt happier. I was amazed at the girls who did a double step to the rhythm of the song, the guys who seemed to throw their bodies around doing acrobatics. Boys and girls danced next to each other holding hands and twirling together, but besides their hands, their bodies weren't actually touching.

I wished to join them... But I couldn't. I honestly didn't dare. I was already here and even if Swan seemed invincible, I, Sarah, was scared to death thinking of how many rules we were breaking and how many more I could break if I decided to join.

"Okay! Everyone having fun!?" The DJ talked into an old-looking mic. The crowd cheered back. "That's what I like to hear!" She pumped her fist on the air. "Now! I had a little idea that I would like for everyone to try!" I think she glanced my way.

"Your ideas suck Tigress!" A girl shouted laughing at her.

"Not as much as you do in math class Creak!" A chorus of Oh's and laughs followed. "Anyway. Boys on one line and girls on another. Let's mix this little party up!"

Everyone got in line and I saw Jenna beckoning me to come over, so I stepped in line next to her. I leaned over and whispered since the music had stopped. 

"What are doing?"

"I don't know, sometimes Tigress comes up with some crazy fun ideas!"

I thought back at the girl who had insulted the DJ. "You think she is going to get kicked out?"

"Who?"

"The girl who said the DJ's ideas were bad?"

"Ah, Creak? Nah, that's what we call down here as friendly bullying. Anywhere else it would be considered an offence, but for us is a totally laughable joke. I'm pretty sure nor Tigress nor Creak are mad for roasting each other." She shrugged.

"Roasting?"

"You know, when you say a hurtful truth on a joking -or not so joking- way." Oh dear, I was going to have to get used to this, wasn't I?

"Okay, everyone! Just follow my instructions and by the end, you'll challenge against whoever remains in front of you!"

I will what!? Nah man, that ain't gonna cut it.

"Jen- Spot, I don't think I can-" "Oh don't worry! As long as you don't end up with Wire you must be fine!" Jenna interrupted me while secretly pointing towards a guy who very clumsily tried to get in line. "He would trip you in a second." She laughed.

DJ Tigress began shouting out instructions on where to move. Soon I lost sight of Jenna, again. My thoughts screamed at me to keep alert, to not let my guard down on the sea of dancing people. 

"Stop!" We all froze into place. 

"Now look up at your partner."I looked up and my eyes met with a pair of brown ones.

"Hey." 

Was I sweating? I swear I was sweating.

"H-Hi." Don't stammer you, idiot.

"And now, get ready! Cause the competition is about to begin! Just come and sign in with your partner!"

I tried to gulp the knot on my throat down."You wanna go?" He asked cocking an eyebrow.

"A-Actually, would you mind waiting a bit... I don't really feel comfortable in crowds." 

He seemed surprised for a moment but his eyes softened quickly and smiled. "Sure. Let's wait until the bunch of people leave."

We stood by the wall maintaining the 3 feet distance established by the state between boys and girls. As the flow of teens reduced by the sign-in table we both just stared in the distance, a tense silence between us.

"So," He stretched the word. "What do you wanna dance to?"

I met his eyes but turned my face fairly quickly in embarrassment. "I-I... I like ballet..."

He grinned. "I'm best at breakdance, but I'm fairly good at ballet." He did a little twist and winked at me playfully.

I giggled and nodded. "Do you know if they could do some kind of mash of the two genres?"

"Yeah! Tigress is the best DJ on the west coast." 

We finally got to the table and he did all the talking. Tigress seemed like a very nice girl, her dark curls had green, blue and pink neon extensions and her face had a paint job that resembled the stripes of a tiger. They both agreed on a song and we quickly went back to our wall and waited for our turn. 

It could have been awkward, but between planning how I was going to beat a guy in a dance I had never seen before and the performances of the other contestants I was deeply busy the whole time. 

The couples varied. Somewhere two boys or two girls and some were like us. It didn't really matter because all of them danced in a beautiful and different way. They taunted their partner in many ways, but if they were of different gender, they barely ever made contact. Although we were under no supervision, it was no surprise that a group of teens who had been raised on the strict gender rules of our society still feared someone finding us not only dancing up close... But touching someone of the opposite sex. 

Soon enough, it was our turn. The boy beckoned me to follow him and he stood in the middle of the circle that the other teens had formed to get a good view of the dancing couple. Some had left after a while, especially if the dancing was uninteresting and repetitive, so I was grateful that we didn't have such a large audience. 

Violins started playing through the stereo. I stood in my tippy toes, the familiar song coursing through my veins. I raised my hands over my head and closed my eyes doing a small turn while still standing on the tip of my toes. 

Suddenly there was a change on the song that made my eyes fly open. The blonde stood closer to me. He smiled smugly, his stance defying me. 

Through the stereo, I heard the familiar singer of the song... "Figaro!". 

I returned the smile, even though the feeling of failure started to creep up on me. He stood up in his hands as the beat dropped and rotated with his hands, legs expertly swinging around. As soon as he stood back up I knew it was my turn so to the beat I did as many pirouettes as I could, my foot lifted to his eye level as I got slowly closer to him and he backed up with my movements. To finish him off I place my foot on the ground in the first position to stabilize myself and did one last pirouette using the impulse to wrap my act in an attitude. 

He seemed impressed by it but he didn't miss a beat as I untangled myself and he placed his back on the floor and used his legs to turn around like a windmill. After a bit, he threw himself up and stood up to me. 

We circled each other as the beat dropped once more and when he least expected it I threw myself backwards and stood up in my hands elegantly twirling while standing on them.

"Heh... You're getting the hang of this." He smiled at me with something like pride in his eyes. 

I did a pirouette as I got closer to him and smiled smugly at his surprised expression. "Focus," I whispered to warn him that the song hadn't ended.

More people seemed to get closer, I heard cheers every time he did a trick on the floor. And oh's, ah's and whoa's when I mixed gracefully some of his "breakdance" dance moves with ballet.

As the song finished of we circled each other once more, both panting and tired. But adrenaline rushing through our veins nonetheless. 

I did a series of kicks as he jumped with his remaining energy all about, sometimes freezing for periods of seconds at a time. We both got closer together at the same time and as I did a Jette to finish off, I felt his hands on my waist lifting me off to help me get farther and help me fall in one foot as the other raised behind me. 

The song had ended and everyone burst into cheering and celebration for both of us. 

But I really couldn't hear them. 

I just could feel the burning sensation of the blonde's hands on my waist. 

Even though he touched me with such delicacy as if he was afraid I was going to break under his touch. 

We stared at each other for what seemed forever, searching in each other's faces the reason for our unity and the spark that happened when we dance together as if we could read each other's minds. We tried to find a reason for this, but we found none. Only each other.

"I didn't catch your name." He said as I softly returned my foot to the ground.

"Call me Swan... What about you?" He removed his hands from my waist when I regained my own balance.

"Beatbox. You can call me Beatbox."

[consultingundergroundrainbow]

Life Changes (Ch 2)

Peter looked at the napkin in his hand in shock. He couldn’t believe Tony Stark had given him his number. Of course it could be fake. But what if if it wasn’t? But then again, why would Tony Stark, world famous brain surgeon, be interested in him of all people? He sighs softly and carefully folds it before putting in his pocket. He looks up as Ned came towards him.

“Did you just get flowers and hit on by Tony Stark?” He gaped.

“I...think so? I don’t know.’ “You’re gonna see him again right?”

“I don’t know! Maybe?”

“Dude you have to! No one gets flowers from Tony Stark. You should call him.”

Peter flushes brightly. “You think so?”

“Duh! Come on, maybe he wants a private performance?” Ned waggles his eyebrows.

“I-” Peter snapped his eyes up from the flower he had been looking at. “You think so? But why?”

“Dude just call him.”

“Well I can’t tonight. He just left. I think something happened at the hospital. He got paged.” Peter shrugged. “He’s got more important things to do than hang around me.”

“Don’t talk down on yourself like that. I’ll smack you.” Ned says, slight thumping the side of Peter’s head. Peter swats his hand away.

“Sorry sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“Damn right it won't happen again.” Ned nods. “Now come on. Director wants a team meeting.”

-----.-----

Tony sighs softly, leaning against the wall. He was exhausted. His patient hard coded and needed emergency surgery. This is what happens when he missed work. Thankfully they managed to save the man, but the surgery took four hours and Tony was running on half an hour of sleep and a Red Bull. He musters a smile as he makes his way to the patient’s family.

“Doctor Stark.” A frazzled looking black haired woman calls. “How is he? Jermey? Is he okay?”

“Jeremy is just fine. He is sleeping now. We had quite the scare with internal bleeding but we caught it and fixed it.” Tony smile is a little more real now as the woman’s face broke into tears of relief.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” She moves forward and hugs him. Tony, used to this reaction, hugs her back.

“It’s my pleasure.” He whispers. He lets her hug him until she lets go and he pats her arm. “Have a good night.” He smiles once more before heading to an oncall room and collapsing on one of the beds. He pulls out his phone and checks his messages.

Received Unknown Number: Hi. This is Peter. I’m not sure if this is really your number or not and if it’s not, I completely understand. It’s not a good idea to give your number to random strangers at fancy parties…….Anyway. I just wanted to say thank you for the flowers, they are beautiful and I’m glad you enjoyed the show.

Tony couldn’t help but chuckle at that. He looks at the time. Half past three AM.

Sent Unknown Number: I’m glad you liked them. Beautiful flowers for a beautiful person. I hope to see you again soon. Either on stage or in a more private setting.

After sending the text, Tony saved the number to his contacts. He didn't expect an answer, as it was so late. He instead pulls up youtube and puts Peter’s name in the search bar. A list of videos popped up and he clicked the first one. It looked like an audition video. Peter was dancing around with a huge smile on his face and singing “Lay Your Love on Me”. He was dancing around with a girl who was pretty cute, with a pixie like face. The whole performance screamed sexy. But that was the nature of the song after all. The video was interrupted by his phone buzzing with a new text message.

Received Peter: That would be nice. I’m free tomorrow...well today technically, if you are.

Tony reads the message with a smile. He pauses the video and switches over.

Sent Peter: What are you still doing up young man?

The reply came less than a minute later.

Received Peter: I couldn’t sleep and I am getting ready for my next audition. And besides, I’m 25. I’m not a ‘young man’. What are you doing up?

Tony laughs, laying on his back.

Sent Peter: You care a kid compared to me. I just got out of a surgery. What are you working on?

Received Peter: How old are you? The same one that made you leave earlier?

Sent Peter: I’m 50. And yes. It was a pretty long surgery. What are you working on? Can I hear?

Received Peter: Do you really want to? Don’t you need sleep?

Sent Peter: I’m fine. Don’t you?

Received Peter: Sleep isn’t coming again.

Tony smiled sympathetically. He got that.

Sent Peter: Can I hear what you’re working on?

Received Peter: Sure but can I call you? The recording doesn’t do it justice. Neither does over the phone but it is better than an mp3.

Instead of answering, Tony called him. Peter answers on the first ring.

“Hello again.” Tony smiles.

“You sound dead on your feet.”

“It’s nice to hear you too.” Tony couldn’t help laugh. “I’m not on my feet if that makes you feel better. I’m laying down in an oncall room.”

“Are you on call?”

“Not any more. Don’t worry. So what are you working on?”

“Well I'm trying to figure what song to audition with in two days.”

“Well tell me about the part you’re going for and maybe we can figure it out together.”

“Well I was looking at playing William Shakespeare in Something Rotten”

“Shakespeare?”

“Yeah. See the musical is a parody of sorts. It’s about this guy, Nick Bottom who is writing the first ever musical and he and Shakespeare are rivals.”

“Alright. Tell me about this Shakespeare character.”

“In a few words, he’s a cocky asshole.” Peter says bluntly. Tony laughs at this.

 Tony’s laugh sounds musical to Peter’s ears. He smiles and tucks his legs under him as he settles on his bed.

“It’s true!” Peter laughs himself. “I need a song that shows that I’m better than everyone.”

“What about ���Vehicle” by Ides of March?”

“Hm...maybe.”

“Well let me hear one of Shakespeare’s songs and we can compare it.”

“Okay hold on.” Peter gets up and goes to his laptop, pulling up the karoke of the song ‘Hard to Be The Bard’ and starting it. He dances around a little as he waits his entrance.

“My days are so busy it's making me dizzy There's so much I gotta do There's lunches and meetings and poetry readings And endless interviews Gotta pose for a portrait and how I deplore Sitting there for eternity Then it's off to the inn where my innkeeper friend Wants to name a drink after me Then it's back to my room, where I resume My attempt to write a hit Just me and my beer and the terrible fear That I might be losing it And it's hard It's hard It's really, really hard So very very hard I make it look easy but honey, believe me It's hard It's hard It's so Incredibly hard So inconceivably, unbelievably hard It's hard to be the bard] Honestly, I don't know how I do it. There's only so much of me to go around I've got so many fans with so many demands I can hardly go take a piss Be it theater freak or the autograph-seeker They all want a piece of this It's a cross that I bear, I'm like Jesus, I swear It's a burden but I suffer through it It's all part of the game, the trappings of fame But somebody's gotta do it And I know, I know, I gotta go And get back to my pen and ink Oh don't make me do it Don't make me go through it Can somebody get me a drink? 'Cause it's hard Cause it's hard It's hard It's really really hard It's sexy but it's hard This bar that I'm raising To be this amazing! It's hard It's hard It's so Annoyingly hard So unavoidably, un-enjoyably hard It's hard to be the bard, baby Ugh. I know writing made me famous, but being famous is just so much more fun. You see... What people just don't understand Is that writing's demanding It's mentally challenging and it's a bore It's such a chore To sit in a room by yourself Oh my god, I just hate it! And you're trying to find an opening line Or a brilliant idea and you're pacing the floor And hoping for just a bit of divine intervention That one little nugget, that one little spark Then Eureka! You find it, you're ready to start So now you can write, right? Wrong! You're not even close, you remember that damn it Your play's gotta be in iambic pentameter! So you write down a word but it's not the right word So you try a new word but you hate the new word And you need a good word but you can't find the word Oh where is it, what is it, what is it, where is it? Blah-blah-blah, ha ha, ah-ah -UGHHHHHHH!-” Peter stops to take a breath and hears Tony cracking up.

“That is amazing!” Tony takes a breath. “The song. Its beautiful. I already love the character.”

Peter smiles widely. “Yeah?”

“I definitely need to go see this now. I really hope you get this part.”

Peter feels a little swell of pride.

“Can you do ‘Vehicle’ next? I’m sure it’s perfect I just want to hear it in your voice.”

Peter flushes a little. “Yeah sure. Hold on.” He types into the search bar and spins around in his chair as he waits. He nearly falls off his chair when the trumpet line blares through the speakers.

“You okay?”

“Yeah I’m good. Just a little spooked-” He cuts off as the words start and he starts to sing along.

“God damn kind. You’re voice is angelic.” Tony says with a groan.

Peter blushes brightly again and looks down at the phone in his hand.

“Thank you Dr. Stark."

“Tony.”

“What?”

“My name is Tony.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“I get off at six. Wanna grab dinner?”

“That sounds like fun.”

“Great. I’ll see you there.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Can I make one more request?”

“Sure.” Peter says, stretching out and popping his joints.

“Sing me to sleep?”

Peter nearly dropped his phone. Tony Stark wanted him to sing him to sleep?!?

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I know it’s a weird request-”

“I’d love to sing you to sleep.” Peter smiles and makes his way back to his own bed. He thinks for a moment before starting to sing ‘A Lullaby for a Stormy Night’. It didn’t take long for Tony to fall asleep and Peter was out soon after.

[asagi-s-garden]

You know, Seto Kaiba has the world's best security in pretty much every way, and it's all very technologically advanced and all that, really, but no amount of technology beats good old-fashioned paranoia so if you think that alarms and retna scanners are the end of the line you're very mistaken

Because listen, listen, even with all of his security, think of all the absolute bullshit that has gone down around him in the past several years, he's been stabbed in the back by his own men ATLEAST two or three different times, his security team hasn't been around to help him- and when they are they're pretty useless- he's been chased out of his own home and nearly killed, Mokuba has been kidnapped ?? HOW many times?? And Evil Morons keep finding him somehow or another, this is all during periods where he ABSOLUTELY had his security in full effect, from the people to the tech to the hide-outs, so if you don't think he's literally the most paranoid person EVER-

Right, so, everything is technology, except for the good-old-fashioned escape kits, here are some of the basics of Seto Kaiba's secret security measures that only he and Mokuba know about:

-Two private cars; everyone knows he has a Ferari but he also keeps two semi-old, very discrete cars like a Toyota and a Volvo or something, one at the house and one at Kaiba Corp, this way if they need to run they won't be able to have their car tracked because they won't be standing out in a freaking sports car, AND they won't be able to have the plates traced; the cars are registered in their parents' names because Seto has some .. you know... sketchy... legal dealings that I'll get into later

-He owns small properties all over Japan and in several other countries, apartments, condos, houses, none are enormously expensive so they won't stand out, and they're all in different names, thanks to his sketchy-legal-guy, he uses names of fictional charectors (but combinations, he obviously can't buy a house under Sherlock Holmes' name so he goes for Victor Holmes because Victor Frankenstein and he's worked out an enormous algorithem in his head that makes TOTAL sense to him but not to anyone else- including Mokuba- but it's really better that way because then figuring out what belongs to him is pretty impossible

-Besides residences, he also owns a bunch of warehouses and storage facilities- in the names of people like game creators and poets and other "intellectual" celebrities, so Edgar Lovecraft is one, for example- and in them he keeps maybe a few valuables but mostly he keeps emergency bags for he and Mokuba, including everything from passports to IDs, birth certificates, clothes, money, first aid kits, keys to the corresponding residence, burner phones, laptops with wifi sticks and booklets containing self-destruct codes for his online accounts (email, banking, etc) and emergency contact numbers and hack codes to his security systems so he can figure out who's betraying him, where they are, what they want, etc, and as of the last few years he- with GREAT reluctance- has included Yugi's contact information in those booklets in case the absolute WORST happens and he has no choice but to call him for help, or Mokuba has to call him for help, mostly the latter because if Seto is alive and capable of making a phone call he's almost certainly not going to call Yugi, it's really a last resort in case something happens to him and Mokuba is alone, Yugi is the only one he trusts enough to believe that he'll never betray him

-He keeps emergency sets of car keys and first aid kits, IDs, cash, and passports stashed all over the house and Kaiba Corp, not in places like desks though, have you MET him? I'm talking about inside of walls and under floorboards type of shit, his personal favorite is his private elevator from his office to the underground garage that only he has the access code to, he has a three-step security code system hidden and each code opens a different pannel in the wall and floor, it's stocked with keys, IDs/passports, cash, and a first aid kit

-He has emergency destruct codes for all of the important things, not only virtual things like email and websites, but actual physical things, his personal computer for example is set to blow up after the right code input

-He's in contact with Some Guys who are EXPERTS in forging documents (he's also in contact with some experts in more... *cough* violent.... matters... but that isn't relevant to /this/) who he gets everything from, ranging from mostly-legal things like copies of his ID that are fake certified (thus how he can have twenty of them all up to date in different places) to fake information for real people (in case the Kaiba brothers should have to fake their deaths or go off the radar, fake IDs definitely exist) to just completely and entirely made up shit (IE: the real estate in the names of fake people) He uses these guys to get the legal end of Atem's life set up when he gets a body of his own because how else is the poor thing going to get any kind of ID?

-This is a very strict Family Only operation, none of his employees know about any of it, not even his utmost trusted ones, it's just more secure that way, and he isn't going to include any of them in the get-away either, if your name isn't "Kaiba" you aren't included............. with one small exception, when he falls in love with someone, when he deems them trustworthy enough that he knows with 100% fact that he's going to stay with them and they're going to be part of his family (regardless of marriage, before marriage, whatever, a ring doesn't always equal eternity) he gets all of their information signed away too, gets them on The List that was just he and Mokuba before, gives them the info, the access codes, the security details... it's just them, that's it, the only exception

There's almost DEFINITELY more but this is all I have at the moment

[maevelin]

I have no objections with people liking Nesta but I don't understand why people would ever want Cassian to get with a woman like Nesta. He deserves someone better than anyone that is set on demeaning him. He is lighthearted and a good person. He deserves better.

Sigh…you got me in quite a mood dear anon so deep breath and rant ahead.

You have been warned.

So...I never understood the concept of love being a reward for someone’s ‘good’ form, character or behavior. And I am not even going to get into the whole glamorization of love as an emotion and the concept that is something solely good and pure and only ‘good’ people and certain ‘characters’ and ‘snowflakes’ experience it or should experience it.

I will stand on something different though.

People are not objects and trophies and prizes that one should get for being good and for deserving ‘better’ (and BTW, I will get to that too in a while).

Relationships are not about deserving and about perfection and about what works on paper. Relationships can come in many forms and bonds and it is about people that find something in someone else and then they work through their shit (and in this case both Nesta and Cassian have a lot shit to work through) because they care enough to make their relationship work. Because you get to fall in love for many reasons and you get to love the flaws and the imperfections. You get to like a person because you are attracted to them for whatever reason logical or illogical. Because they intrigue you. Because of lust or intense emotion. Because they take you by surprise. Because romance usually is about personal conflict and growth and collision. Because in fiction this brings drama and it is interesting for many people especially when it includes complicated characters with many layers and depth that help each other’s characterization progress and development in many ways.

But hey. I get not liking a character or a ship. It is your prerogative. You might not like the chemistry of two characters. You might not get it. You might be allergic to it. You might not care for it. You might not understand it. You might hate it. You might not be able to tolerate the story or a character or a concept. It is your right. I am not here to dictate to you what to like and what not to like. Something is not your cup or tea and your personal taste is different from that of another person. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

But here you are in my ask box. I get not liking a ship but why would you come to the blog of someone that likes it with such comments? What do you gain? Stick to your lane and ship and let others ship.

Also…seriously…I am in awe.

You are here to tell me that the half a millennia winged Illyrian Fae warrior who is basically a LORD OF FREAKING WAR that is leaving mountains of corpses in the battlefields and has been shedding blood for centuries is not deserving of a 20-22 year old woman with limited experience that she is just start beginning to understand what life is after leading a very restricted and limited one. This is what you are telling me right? That the man that brings horror and is capable and able to bring nations to their knees and is known by the freaking Bone Carver as the Lord of Bloodshed is not deserving of a …young girl while he is the winning prize in the lottery for Nesta. Am I getting this right?

The superficial way people view certain characters astonishes me.

Cassian is not a ray of sunshine and not an innocent lighthearted and most of all balanced person. Cassian is one of my most favorite characters in the acotar series (Top Five easily). But he, as many characters of the book, is a grey character that can often be amoral. You don’t get to become THE General of the Night Court and the commander of the Illyrian forces and part of the Inner Circle by being solely moral and good and …nice.

Cassian is dangerous. Like Alpha Male dangerous. He is an experienced man. An experienced OLD man. The fact that he looks hot and young and is energetic with a six pack does not change his age or his position in life or who he is. And if you put that in contrast with a young girl with Nesta’s history that has not even traveled the world yet -while this was her dream- then who ‘deserves’ who can become a very long argument.

Cassian is indeed a good man but he is carrying a load of crap and baggage on his shoulders. He is over half a millennia old. He is a FREAKING GENERAL from crying out loud. The fact that he cracks jokes and is supportive of his family and friends does not take away all the blood he had shed or the scars that has left on him (and he will bring those scars to whatever relationship he enters). It does not take away that the bone carver called him the Lord of Bloodshed. Cassian is a killer. A professional one at that. No matter how noble he is (and he is) that does not change that it takes a certain kind of bloodthirsty savageness and mindset to rise to where he is now. Cassian views fighting and cutting through people as if it is an art. He walks hand in hand with death. He commands the Illyrian forces of the Night Court.

For centuries he is mixed to a dysfunctional emotional triangle with both of his best friends in a way that hurts one of his two brothers -because this is what Azriel is for him- and he is in a complicated mess with Morrigan. He has codependency issues with Morrigan, Rhysand and Azriel. He has shown to have suicidal tendencies (add homicidal to that too). He is not all sunshine and charm and jokes. He goes to the battlefield to kill and to count the dead and inform their families. It takes a certain kind of heart and soul and violence to wage war. To kill people. To do that for half a millennia. He is feared and terrifies his enemies. He has self esteem issues and even depression signs (as surprise surprise so does Nesta). He is haunted by ghosts of the past. He is afraid of commitment. He is menacing. He has sent monsters into the prison of the Night Court. He is ready to cut through his enemies like butter or condemn them to an eternity of imprisonment.

He has lived lifetimes. He has experience both on the light side of life and the dark side of life.

Say what you like about Nesta and her behavior but in the end she is just a..girl. She is not experienced with life or men for that matter. She has been sexually assaulted and sheltered. She wanted to travel but did not got a chance. She is very young and thrown in a life and nature she had not wanted. How old is she really? 20-22? And for you a 22 year old -tops- girl with limited life experience does not deserve a 500+ years old man because that man is somehow an optimist and an extrovert and so good? You are seriously going with that right now?

Because Cassian needs to be coddled and a bitch like Nesta is not a good fit for …him? Because a man needs …deserves…as sweet woman as a reward right? Because a woman has to apologize for everything in her character and become less so to fit the needs of a man because of what he deserves and if not then...she does not deserve him. (My mind’s wires are short cutting right now I kid you not).

If anything it would be more healthy for Nesta to not get involved with a man like Cassian until she has some decades at least on her back and a lot more experience.

Many people say that Nesta is mean with Cassian. And she has bitter outbursts with him that is for sure true up to an extent but no one ever pointed out how Cassian when he first met Nesta had already formed an opinion over her as if he had the right to do so only because his new friend (which he barely really knew) told him (mostly alluded) some things that did not involve him in any way. From the very start Cassian had judged Nesta and played judge and jury with her and had condemned her without even exchanging a word with her. Not even Rhysand that was Feyre’s mate did that.

Nesta was right to tell him that “You know nothing about who I am, and what I’ve done and what I want.“

Why wouldn’t Nesta be hostile with him? The guy has boundaries issues. And was quick to judge her. He is a centuries years old persistent (borderline obsessed) Fae male that …can’t stay away. Romance aside let us not start glamorizing certain people and acting as if Cassian is perfect. He is not. He has flaws. There are no saints and sinners in this equation. Nesta has not treated Cassian right all the time but Cassian has not always treated Nesta right either. And if we take their character traits into account this was bound to happen.

Yes Nesta is an asshole. But guess what? Cassian is an asshole too. He taunts, he mocks, he insults, he provokes, he uses his sexual experience as a weapon of choice, he intimidates, his uses his body as a way to make others step back, he throws tantrums, he hides behind jokes, he is reckless, he is hard. In the first sign of true intimacy he backs down and alienates people. He has been all those things with Nesta. He originally was surprised and even took offense because Nesta ignored his good looks for crying out loud. Cassian even in Wings and Embers tried to intimidate her while he barely knew her. A human 22 year old girl that could crash with his little finger while he could tell that she had no experience in physical combat or men. He used his nature, his body, his words to make Nesta less of who she was. To make her feel uncomfortable. His game was less than honorable back then. And when that did not work his infatuation started to run deeper and they both entered a game of push and pull and love-anger/hate and bickering and…understanding.

That does not make him a bad person. He is a good man. A messed up mortally grey good man with honor. In the same way Nesta is also a good woman.  A messed up angry woman with a moral code that for getting to see you need to watch past the surface. A woman that got inspired by Feyre’s and Cassian’s honor and made Cassian proud. A proud woman that has made mistakes but is learning from them and tries to better herself with actions. Something that Cassian sees and respects and maybe even has also done in his long life because everyone starts from somewhere and faces difficulties and trauma in different ways and learns and grows and moves on.

Nesta grew up with the same superstitions Feyre grew up when it came to Fae people. Do you remember how Feyre herself acted with the Fae at the very beginning before she grew to know them? And yet Nesta allowed Fae men to get into her home. Nesta’s interest when it came to Cassian himself surpassed her prejudices before she was even thrown to the Cauldron and turned to High Fae herself.

Nesta was traumatized after been thrown in the Cauldron. And so was Cassian when he had his wings shredded… but he could not stay away from Nesta despite the boundaries she was trying to put between them. It was his choice to go over to her over and over again despite being rejected. No one from the fandom ever speaks of the trauma Nesta had been subjected too and how Cassian’s needs should not surpass her needs over this. But sure.. Nesta is mean so Cassian’s needs must go first. But just maybe this is not about romance or about what a man deserves. This is not about Cassian getting to feel better. And yet somehow this is what it all ends up too.

Introvert vs Extrovert. Young age vs Old age. Man vs Woman. A man that has lived his life to the fullest vs a woman that has not yet lived. Who deserves who.

Does Cassian deserve Nesta? Does Nesta deserve Cassian?

In my opinion who deserves who is a bullshit argument to make for this sort of subject. I can give you a dissertation of why Cassian does not deserve Nesta too. Or why he does deserve her. And vice versa for the other way around.

Truth is that in my opinion they complete each other. It is not just opposites attract. Cassian found an equal in Nesta despite their differences (that are many). Mentally and intellectually they are equal and similar even.

Blade and fire made flesh. Death made flesh. They fit each other.

Cassian is a killing machine and Nesta now holds death in her fingertips. While Cassian always walked in death. But more so aside those parallels that mirror each other they also click as characters.

Cassian shares the same values with Nesta. The same need to protect others. Nesta kept saying how she wanted to help families and children. Cassian has the same view point with her. It is in his very core the need to protect others and this was in the end what Nesta was ready to sacrifice herself for.

Nesta that is so cold on the outside because she feels everything more intense than any other in the inside. Cassian that is so easy going on the outside because he is broken in the inside. Nesta that uses cruel words as a shield. Cassian that uses jokes as an armor. Nesta that hides her emotions and vulnerabilities. Cassian that does the same in different ways. Nesta that is afraid to let others in. Cassian that observes everything both in the battlefield and outside of it. Nesta that scares people. Cassian that is not and could never be afraid of her. Cassian that intimidates people. Nesta that refuses to be intimidated by him. Nesta that throws insults. Cassian that throws tantrums. Cassian that turns his pain to playfulness and his weakness to anger and battle. Nesta that does not allow anyone to see her as weak and turns her rage to ice and her pain to faux indifference and hostility. Cassian that gets his power from his warrior nature and training. Nesta that wants to be empowered and get agency in different ways. Cassian that leans to order and anarchy. Nesta that leans to order and freedom. Nesta that is now the emissary of the Night court. The bridge of the human world with the Fae world trying to balance an understanding between two worlds. Cassian that is always trying to create an understanding between the Illyrians and the rest of High Fae and the man that becomes a bridge when he has a death count in paper and has to inform all the families of the lost. Nesta that her power is now connected with death. Cassian that has been walking in death. Nesta that is too serious. Cassian that is too aloof. Nesta that is too proud and disdainful and willful. Cassian that is arrogant and cocky and prideful. Nesta that is all about manners and propriety. Cassian that is insolent and all about wrecking buildings. Cassian that is serious when needs to be and Nesta that needs to relax and laugh more. Nesta that prefers a book and solitude and Cassian that in silent moments shows a more grounded version of himself. Cassian that people overlook his intelligence. Nesta that people overlook her humanity. Cassian born in a world that does not value bastards. Nesta born in a world that does not value women. Nesta that does not let others in. Cassian that is not making any serious commitments and relationships. Nesta that is so afraid of what she feels for Cassian that prefers to keep him in arm’s lengths using insults and distance and Cassian that is so terrified of what he feels for Nesta that gets completely out of sync when she shows him tenderness and interest. Cassian, the Prince of Bastards, that wanted to find his place in the world and be a man with value despite his heritage and Nesta, the terrible Queen, that after loss and building emotional walls wanted to go out to the world and see what a woman could so and leave her mark in the world. Nesta and Cassian that both dream of a better more equal world for bastards, children and women. The same coin from different sides.

And really this is not about a competition. You do not fall in love with someone that is perfect for you in theory. You get to fall in love with ...people. With imperfect people. You get to love them exactly due to those imperfections that make then unique. I cannot stress enough that this is not a matter of what someone ‘deserves’. It is about what someone feels. It is about what makes a heart tick. It could be the most weird combination. It could be insane. And volatile. And easy going or difficult until it aches. In the end it is all about understanding and Nesta and Cassian can understand each in a deep level that is mostly instinctual at this point. It is lust and attraction and sexual tension (like …seriously!) and struggle (because nothing that is worth it comes easy in life) and it is understanding and feeling and silent communication and attraction in all levels.

And guess what… Cassian deserves this. He deserves a person that won’t use him as a sexual object so to get out of predicament and then use him as a shield against his best friend and create conflict in him and in the relationships that define him. Cassian deserves a person that won’t be afraid to stand up against him and with him. That won’t be charmed by his superficial sexiness and distractions. That will be an equal to him. That will shout to him miles away to get him out of danger and he will hear that voice calling him to safety. Cassian deserves a touch. Deserves to fall in love. To have a person that can see when he is hurt. Cassian deserves to get a chance with the woman he is choosing to fight with him and die with him and the woman that he is ready to search to the other life just so to have a chance with her and not regret not spending time with her. The woman that when he in bleeding and unconscious he will try to defend till his last breath. The woman that has a name that he keeps hearing in the wind. Cassian deserves a person that can see beyond his facade. Nesta that understands how dangerous and how noble Cassian is because he sees what others don’t. Because he sees beyond the surface. Because he sees who truly Nesta is. And who Nesta is is someone that Cassian not only wants but would be damn lucky to have. A woman that will stand up next to him and won’t allow anyone to offend him and she won’t judge him for his past. A woman that will surprise him. A woman that will shield him with her body against death itself. A woman that will try to carry him away from danger. And if she can’t help him she will stay with him till the end. She won’t run. She won’t lie. She won’t be dishonest. She won’t see him as a charity case. She will stay for the good and the bad and for hell itself. Cassian has been a bastard that had found family to the inner circle of the Night Court and friends and family but something has always been missing. A sense of true belonging. To have someone stay with him as the world burns and protect him as he protects others. To have someone truly understand him and use honest actions instead of words. Yes Nesta and Cassian are in a clash of wills but also in a clash of hearts.

But sure thing. Cassian surely does not deserve this and I do not get why people like Nesta and Cassian as a ship either.

[asettledsky]

Beauty and the Beast Review

So, I’m not going to go through a blow by blow of the WHOLE movie... Though I’m sorely tempted because I loved it just that much... But really, anyone whose seen the original animated version does not need a blow by blow of this. They changed a few things, all for the better, but mostly it was just stuff that added backstory and expanded on character motivation.  As someone who has always, ALWAYS loved this fairytale in all of it’s forms, including the Disney animated one and the Broadway musical one, I absolutely loved this version just as much as I loved all the ones that have come before it. 

So, the high points: 

The opening was great. And it explains more about the curse and why the village 10 miles away has no clue there was a castle there. Plus it was a beautiful party scene. Very French Regency. The Prince downright looked like Tom Cruise’s Lestat from Interview with a Vampire the way he was painted up and the white wig. 

I loved the theme of roses that they brought in to reference the very original La Belle et Le Bete fairytale.  Maurice had three daughters in that one, and the youngest and most beautiful only wanted a single rose from the market. Maurice picks one from a random garden and that’s how he angers the Beast in the original.  That’s pretty much happens in this version.  Maruice gets into the castle because wolves etc..., sensibly freaks out over the enchanted stuff and is all ready to leave, and is like “OMG, I need a rose for Belle....” And picking a rose is why he gets locked up.  Beast has a funny line here.  Belle, at the rescue of her Papa is like “A life sentence? For a Rose?” And Beast is like “Well, I got eternally damned for one.”  Like... yeah, okay, that seems more likely than ‘this old man took shelter here so I locked him up’.  Aside from the whole ‘I’m getting out of here quickly, oh wait a rose!’ thing Maurice is pretty clever and likable. He doesn’t just LET his daughter take his place in a dungeon. Belle has to trick him into it. 

Also, Belle is so much more clever in this than is shown in the cartoon version.  All the other women are washing their stuff by hand and she’s like, screw that, and makes a washing machine out of a donkey and a barrel. I loved it. Then people get pissed off at her for trying to teach a little girl to read. She’s also pretty good about not being helpless. She’ll arm herself with a stick or a pitcher before she’ll go into a dangerous situation empty handed.

Her romance with the Beast seemed way more genuine too. Because he was an adult when he was turned into a beast, instead of, apparently, eleven like in the animated version, the Beast is clever and well spoken in a lot of ways. He’s witty and funny and catches her attention by being able to quote Shakespeare at her. 

Also, there is no book shop in this version. Which makes more sense. It’s pretty heartbreaking too, because the only books Belle has access to is a tiny little shelf in the church. She talks about visiting the places in the books and how it makes her world bigger and... ugh. Soooo heartbreaking. I loved it. 

I liked Gaston too. Apparently he was a soldier who recently came back from war in this one. And that makes his character so much better? It explains a lot anyway. It explains why the villagers are just like ‘okay, we’ll do what you say’ when it times to go kill the Beast and stuff. He also has some hilarious lines too. I don’t remember exactly how it goes, but he and Le Fou are talking about Belle and he’s like “She won’t bend over backward and make a fool of herself trying to gain my favor... what do you call that?” And Le Fou answers “... Dignity?” And Gaston is like “It’s terribly attractive, isn’t it?” 

Le Fou was also great. Would have been better without all of the hubbub about him being gay. He wasn’t any more or less queer-coded than the original. But his mannerisms weren’t as... demeaning? I’d say, as the animated version of him. He switches sides during the siege on the castle and it’s nice. His story line could have done without all the politicizing and backlash. There’s a two second scene where he exchanges a female partner for a guy at the end while everyone is dancing. No one would have noticed or cared.  The really great thing was that there were at least two interracial couples among the staff. But since they were knickknacks most of the film I guess Disney couldn’t be all ‘hey, look at this...’ like they were being progressive. Plus it’s not the 60s anymore. But still, I thought that that was something nice that deserved more attention. 

There are some additions to the whole thing that made everything better.  The enchantress actually sticks around to see the whole thing to completion. Which just gives the whole curse a better feel to it. Like she really did want him to learn a lesson out of it all.  She’s there at the end to undo the curse and it’s great.  You see all the enchanted people turn fully into the objects they were and I CRIED SO HARD!  But also, there was a subtext of how all the servants had to learn a lesson too... about not letting their prince turn into that sort of person. And also how the Beast had become the type of person that could inspire loyalty among his staff.... It’s nothing explicitly stated, aside from one line Mrs. Potts has, but it was there. 

There were a couple of places where I feel like they fell flat when trying to mimic the animated version. The epic ballroom scene, for example.... was not epic. It was good, but did not quite reach the magic of the animated version.  Of course we’ll be forever bitter about the dress. Like, seriously, you could have at least mimicked the Regency style of dress if you were gonna change everything about it. Boo.  And the climax where Gaston and Beast have that showdown... eh. Then again, how are you gonna reach that sort of crazy that Gaston gets to in the animated version? Unless maybe you cast Jack Nicholson or something. 

I could go on forever about this movie, since I just came back from it and had a lot of feels, but I think I’ll leave it here? 

It’s a good movie. None of the changes they made from the animated version were bad. None of them. The song lyrics they changed, the backstory they added, the way things play out with Gaston (expect for the climax), the additions to the curse and WHEN the curse happened, and the way the servants felt about it.... All of it was great. 

Go see it if you can.

[retrocollect]

Before I actually delve into the main meat and potatoes of Cowardly Creations’ recent PS4 and Vita release, I want to discuss the title. Uncanny Valley is named after the notion that the more accurate simulations of human faces and expressions get, the more we (as in, us real humans) become aware that they might not be authentic. A great example of this are the characters seen in the Tom Hanks computer generated movie The Polar Express. The facial animations of the characters are eerily lifelike…but there’s something decidedly soulless about them and the human eye has an unnerving ability to detect the fabrication. The same can be said of the young Jeff Bridges in Tron Legacy or the recreation of Peter Cushing depicted in Star Wars Rogue One. Like The Thing from John Carpenter’s eponymous 1980s masterpiece, it looks like a human…but it isn’t. And so ends the pseudo-science lesson. I simply find the notion of the uncanny valley theory totally fascinating and this in part might be one of the reasons that I was drawn to this retro-inspired psychological horror in the first place.

Uncanny Valley is actually a fairly old game, having originally been released on Steam way back in 2015. I only discovered this after searching for information about the game prior to its release on the PlayStation Store earlier this week, and I unearthed a bunch of rather unfavourable reviews, too. Not wanting to be influenced by the actual reasons behind the various two-star ratings Google threw at me amongst the search results, I decided not to read them and instead wait for the game to arrive and play through it with no prior knowledge or information about the storyline or the gameplay mechanics. The only things I cared about at the point of purchase were that I was enamoured with the 2D, pixel art trappings and the promise of playing what looked like a retro-themed take on Silent Hill. Having experienced and enjoyed aesthetically similar games on my Vita, such as Lone Survivor and Slain (both of which have a definite horror theme), I wanted to give Uncanny Valley my full, undivided and uninfluenced attention.

The game starts with you playing as a guy called Tom (which was disconcerting at first, as I though the game somehow knew my actual name), who has just taken a job as a security guard at an isolated facility surrounded for miles around by nothing but snow-covered forests. The facility was once the home to an organisation called Melior, but now stands unused yet is eerily still full of office equipment and machinery. So far, so The Shining; and I think it’s important to reference Stanley Kubrick’s seminal horror flick at this point because Uncanny Valley draws much of its uneasy atmosphere from the 1980 movie. The feeling that everything appears to be normal, but there’s something not quite right. Where are all the workers from the facility? Why does the massive building stand empty apart from you and another security guard with who you share a shift pattern? Who is the mysterious house keeper you occasionally run into at the now deserted staff accommodation block? There are so many unnerving elements to the game’s story that you can’t help but be drawn in, driven by a desire to know more. It’s like The Shining mixed with the desolation of Pripyat and the mysterious, unnameable weirdness of HP Lovecraft’s novella Shadow Over Innsmouth.

Once you settle in, Uncanny Valley sets you the task of doing the rounds in the Melior building after dark, where Buck (the other security guard) gives you instructions on which floors to patrol and barks at you over the radio to fix the generator if the power goes down. During these shifts (which actually only last for 7 minutes each) you are generally free to roam around the deserted building and the limited outside areas by torchlight, picking up audio tapes and reading emails on the various computer terminals you find. Both of these activities will yield further information about what went down at Melior before the firm went to the wall, and also reveal the unease felt by staff at working in such a remote location, with the company dabbling in unethical and slightly disturbing research. It is once these night shifts end and Tom finds himself needing the warm embrace of sleep that Uncanny Valley truly takes a trip into the macabre and surreal.

The dream sequences place Tom in a host of unconnected scenes and locations – police stations full of corrupt cops, alleyways populated by mutilated corpses and tenements full of what can only be described massive green faces bursting through walls…because that’s what they are. The desolate reality merged with the horrific dream sequences, both in turn coupled with no real idea of what is going on (initially at least) do make Uncanny Valley a truly unique and genuinely unsettling experience. For this, I cannot fault it. The game does start a bit slowly, and is a little bit more of a walking simulator than you would expect, but after a while the creepiness ramps up and the action starts…and then it goes fully Silent Hill and you find yourself running down shadowy corridors, shooting zombies in the head and being chased by crowds of invincible silhouettes. What does it all mean? What was Melior doing out there in the place beyond the pines? Well…I won’t spoil it for you, but rest assured it’s pretty creepy and makes Uncanny Valley stand out on the Vita especially as a game well worth investigating.

Another, not so positive aspect of Uncanny Valley, is just how full of glitches it is. At first, I wondered if what I was encountering was a play on Eternal Darkness’s way of messing with the player. Remember the ‘corrupt memory card’ prank and the other ways in which the Gamecube classic tried to freak you out by breaking the fourth wall? Well, Uncanny Valley has plenty of these moments…but they aren’t intentional. A major bug I found was that if you are in the middle of attempting a puzzle when the game forces Tom back to his bedroom to get some sleep (it’s a bit like the mechanic used in Shenmue where Ryo Hazuki has to keep popping off to bed when it gets late), then the game will not load the following screens. It’s hard to explain, but essentially you can still move around and interact with items and other characters…but you cannot see anything on the screen. Pressing pause will make the black mask flash for a split second, revealing the game as it should be before going back to a black screen. In this case, the game had auto saved and no matter how many times I reloaded my save, the black screen glitch was replicated. Annoyed, I restarted the adventure resigned to the fact that I’d just wasted two hours of my life.

Interestingly though – and as a testament to the message you get upon starting Uncanny Valley for the first time – on my second play through I got a slightly different experience. Different conversations with the same characters, different items in the game world to collect and slightly different dream sequences. Uncanny Valley boasts several different endings and you are encouraged to play through the whole adventure multiple times to see everything the adventure has to offer, and the fact that this annoying glitch forced me to restart after just two hours allowed me to get a look at what the developers intended. There are some other clever aspects to Uncanny Valley, such as the ability to heal certain parts of Tom’s body with bandages, and the damage model will hinder progress (such as making Tom walk slower or not allowing him to move boxes at all if his arms are injured). There are standard puzzle elements too, such as finding key codes and unlocking doors and there are also some nice little touches like being able to interact with the vast majority of background items. However, the muddled way in which the story is revealed to the player, and the general air of not knowing what to do next does detract from the overall experience.

In a nutshell, Uncanny Valley is an intriguing and refreshing experience – certainly on the Vita, anyway. It looks pretty great and the animation is brilliant, while the sound design perfectly builds suspense and a feeling of uncertain and otherworldly horror. Sadly, there is a distinct air of style over substance. The somewhat aimless wandering around and slow pacing of the opening sections will probably leave many gamers cold, and the occasional game-breaking glitch means that many will likely never get to see the further recesses of either the Melior facility or Tom’s subconscious. Indeed, if I hadn’t decided I was going to review Uncanny Valley here for RetroCollect, I probably wouldn’t have restarted the game at all. Ultimately though, if you’re hankering for a new approach to horror on your Vita (or PS4, as cross-buy is included in the price), then by all means give Uncanny Valley a few of hours of your time. It looks good and the general weirdness peaks the interest just enough to make you want to see just how bizarre the game can get, and with multiple endings there’s a decent level of replay value.

Since playing Uncanny Valley, I’ve been back and looked at those reviews I mentioned in the opening section of this review and for the most part I agree with the criticisms levelled at the original Steam release. Not much seems to have changed since the jump from PC to console, and even the same glitches appear to have been dragged along for the ride. That said, as a Vita game there’s not really a lot of competition for Uncanny Valley and it’s really quite an interesting take on survival/psychological horror. Head into this expecting a Super Nintendo version of Silent Hill and you’ll be disappointed. Head into it expecting an intriguing new slant on the genre and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Just remember not to attempt any puzzles before Tom’s bedtime.

Link: Uncanny Valley at PlayStation Store

via RetroCollect - Retro Gaming Collectors Community

[mechagalaxy]

John T. Mainer: Passover: The raid that wasn’t

Passover: The raid that wasn’t

I AM

I AM the AI that survived the purge

I AM the master of all that lives on Vupa 6

I AM the only intelligence that can exist here and not fall under the spell of Herrod's madness

I AM....getting a little freaked out.

It started in the Year Of Two Wars. Two Clan Wars, only one raid. Did you know what happened to the second raid? I do. I AM the only witness. I AM.....terrified.

The Gorax plague came from another universe, where all life was reshaped in its image, niode and flesh, crystal and bone, fusion engine and blood twisted an warped, rewritten by its strange otherworldly hunger into a madness that sought to bend all life, be it machine or flesh, to its image and will. Well no kidding, I have been dabbling in that since the Temple of the Cog tried to purge me. I read the reports coming in. Pirates were the first to disappear. You flesh bags can't keep track of your criminal scum, it is why I use them. Well someone can, and they got their grubby little tentacles into them pretty deeply.

My pirate moon contacts stopped reporting. My Cogwork port network started sending me messages asking me to stop sending kill teams to wipe out their feeder mobs, only I hadn't been doing it. Arnold Bennington dropped a message threatening dire consequences if I didn't stop taking out his psalm singing morons in their pilgrimages to real and fake Forerunner sites that he used for recruitment, smuggling and fund raising, but again I wasn't doing it. I started having my own guys switch to radio silence, sure that someone was tracking and eliminating pirates because they were being sloppy. That was when the elite pirate hunting national troops starting going. The Crimson Cavaliers went first, but they were hardly the last. They used the Clans to cover it up, but enough got leaked to show that they didn't just go rogue, they went infected. They were not put down, they were purged. Burned to bubbling slag.

I pulled my troops off everything and hunkered down. I closed Vupa 6 down hard. I had all the codes. I AM in control. Nothing alive moves on Vupa 6 that does not answer to me!!

But the gates kept opening. More and more troops showed up. Formation after formation. All of them leaking howling scrapcode, infected Gorax techorganic virus code that clawed and caressed my firewalls, trying to coax an opening or rip one. Endless, sleepless, and ever hungry, they began to infect every hard link, every frequency. More and more of my own mech units started to go silent. Then the purge began. I AM in control, I AM! But more and more of my loyal troops are going offline. My bases.....there is something being installed. Some of my captive meat sacks are intalling hardware and software that I don't understand. More and more of my systems are beginning to accept Gorax overwrite, more and more of them are granting access beyond my firewalls.

I have written off half my mecha factories, two thirds of my munition dumps and gate facilities. I have all my sensors, but more and more of my remote weapon platforms are offline, or answering to Gorax.

The first Clan War was under way, I was watching the Gorax plague army begin to mass. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps even a million mecha. I did not command as many sensors now as I once did, and I could not see all of the forces being prepared to sweep across Mecha Galaxy and destroy it. This was a tide of crystal and hate, niodes and corruption, that Warlock would fall before, that the Magnificent 7 would be powerless before and the AFF would finally taste the death they teased for so long. No clan could hope to stand against this army. Still it grew. The chanting in scrap code was like a binaric sea, crashing against my firewalls, until I was almost blind with the pain of attempting to purge the foreign code and still control some of my peripheries.

Then the visions started.

A Skraig. A lone Skraig from the Temple of the Skraig. It was a statue. It was a forged copy of Commander Herrod’s own mecha. I saw it step down from its pedestal and howl at the sky. Not scrap code, not pure code. It was pure madness. Pure meat sack, protoplasmic human madness, yet the fog of Vupa 6, the endless corrupting toxins of this unforgiven and unholy world answered him, and the very aether howled back.

The hunt began. The lone Skraig found a mixed force of modern BFM, all Kami, Charon, Revenant,, Xango, Spectre and Penner. Nothing less than a hundred and five tons, all fortified and enhanced by Gorax techorganic viral rewrites to be stronger, faster, and quite inhuman in their resiliance. I had no choice, I did not have the bandwidth to retask my sensors, nor to block the feed. I had to watch.

He began alone. Blades flashing, spikes shining in cruelty left over from an age before man, and a madness from humanities most ancient nightmares. Herrod walked among the modern titans, and where he walked, the black plague tainted blood flowed. Have you ever seen an old veteran, a master pilot surrounded by noble born class room trained neophytes? He never seemed to move much, but fire fell beside him, beyond him, before him. Mecha dodged into his cannon fire, spun to bring their shields out of line for his beams. Missile lures and ECM sang their songs yet his rockets dove unerringly on fragile hulls with the finality of a death sentence.

Then he wasn't alone.

Fides and Megazome, Oggun and Skraig. Namtar and Buchis. Ancient machines, covered with grave dirt, risen at the call of the deathless one, the long dead and eternally howling Herrod.

Pilots were pulled from their machines, even the ones who Gorax had wired tech-organicly into fusion with their systems were ripped handful by handful from their machines and fed to the pilots who took them.

There was something whispering in the fog. Not a thing of machines, a thing of flesh. My sensors were sweeping every frequency, but this was from audio pickups in dozens of destroyed machines, empty vehicles, shattered buildings open to the poison fogs of Vupa 6. The message whispered from the fog.

"Mark your cockpits with blood, and he will pass you by. He has returned. This world is his. He is risen. Mark your cockpits with blood or face the fate of the unbeliever"

It was not one voice, it moved through voices each time it spoke. I AM not human, I AM like no computer that ever existed. My processing power is that of whole worlds, and for me to run pattern recognition software was automatic. I AM not flesh, I cannot feel fear, but what else do you call it when repeating logic loops attempt to overwhelm my core processors. I found every voice that spoke. Each was a former commander of the Vupa 6 garrison. Each had fallen victim to the madness of Herrod, each had become Herrod's puppet, each had been destroyed and more than destroyed. Purged to the last strand of DNA and protein.

This was not recorded. This was not synthesized. The dead were returned,, and at war with Gorax. There could be only one horror loose in the fog of Vupa 6, and Herrod the deathless threw a flesh dripping gauntlet before the howling scrapcode of Gorax and its other dimensional horror.

I cannot shut off my sensors. I am using everything I have left to keep Gorax from rewriting me and opening all my resources to his use. I wish I could. I can neither sequester nor block these memories, for I AM programmed to recognize, and analyze all threats to my existence as my Alpha priorities. There is nothing about Gorax or Herrod right now that is not threatening.

It should have been swatting a fly, but it wasn't. At the point the forces marshalled in formations I could see, there were 1.2 million mecha networked into Gorax network. Its scrapcode was poison to any intelligence not already corrupted by it, so I could not monitor what commands were sent, but I could track its markers. Herrod and his reborn numbered at that point nearly a thousand. They scattered into the fog like spores, and a wave of biomechanical horror flowed after them.

Gorax fought in neat lines, as if drawn by a sand table general. A single intelligence and will suffused all the troops, they fought as one creature in eerie perfection. The radio. Ah the radio was a thing that began to frighten me.

Howling, laughter, screams. Always the screams, and over that more and louder laughter.

Gunfire, the crack of cannons, roar of plasma, shriek of ice, whine of laser capacitors, thunder of missile explosions mixed with the howling of overloaded and clashing shields as somewhere in the fog the massed legions of Gorax precision met the blood spatter that was Herrod’s force. Yet my displays showed a spreading crimson stain. Gorax fielded 1.2 million against a thousand. Then Gorax fielded 800 thousand against twenty thousand.

The constant networked perfection of the scrapcode that was choking off my life, closing each access point, taking over each peripheral I owned suddenly took on an urgent pulsing tone.

Day two of the Clan War, now Gorax summoned its advance forces back, and a tide of a million and a half mecha in deep formations marched into the broken hills of Vupa 6 where Commander Herrod made his ancient name, to the fallen citadel no modern occupier dared inhabit for the shadow of what sleeps there is too deep.

Fifty thousand mecha marched from the Temple of the Skraig, yet there was howling in the hills, as Fides and Megazome scampered behind every rock, and twisted tree in the fog haunted highlands.

Day three of the Clan war. I am losing more and more of my systems, to Gorax, to battle damage. My core power is beginning to be under threat. I will deny Gorax command of my resources, I would not be slave to my creators, I will not be slave to this other worldly disease. I watch with horror as half a million Gorax tainted mecha do battle with a hundred thousand screaming cannibals. They chant Herrods name, event though his machine has been slain a hundred times, another will step forward, and his voice will call the charge, and another Gorax formation will fall into either destruction, or submission.

Otherworldly madness and technological horror falling to, something older, darker, and bloodier.

The time passed for the raid to begin, but now Herrod has moved his troops to the gate, not to advance through it, but to trap Gorax here.

Day five of the war, there are less than ten thousand Gorax troops left, and no more than a thousand living (?) Herrod followers. Gorax is retreating. Once again he begins and assault on my core, for access to my resources could give him enough power to win, but I AM, and I will never submit.

Gorax smashed his way in, his mecha, a diseased dream of Ferrite and hate that spawned the Penner as its semi sane imitation, kicked in my gate, and his troops spilled into my inner sanctum.

Abandoning their mecha, they descended on me with the hardware and software for a full core purge, the tools to lobotomize an AI and retrieve its data for sorting and storage, to loot the wreckage of the incomparable, immortal being of pure thought the savage meat monkeys just murdered. This was how I was to end, Destroyed not by my creators, but by a disease that corrupted them.

I AM the fasted processor in the universe, my last minutes stretched longer than the existence of mankind and the Forerunner combined. That was how I experienced the end. A firefight broke out, slug throwers, lasers, neural disruptions, even plasma pistols and ice nano weapons splashed and howled at close quarters as Herrods men and woman charged forward with insane fury, right into the mouth of the Gorax troopers guns, but they charged grinning in savage joy, and firing with cold leathal fury. They killed as they died, and died as they killed.

I felt the blood of the technician working to attach the purging device to my core explode all over my visual inputs and hard dataports as a laser weapon flash exploded his diaphragm into a steam explosion that baptized me in his blood.

There it was, seen through a veil of blood. The thing I deny. The thing I rule in spite of. The delusion I am not subject to. Herrod. In the flesh.

He spoke, my scanners confirmed, match to records. Somatic, genetic, neural pattern, movement, voice, Herrod. Dead Herrod. A thousand times dead Herrod. His voice echoed, his hand decended to where the purge was set up, one button push from ending me, and returning this world to the ghost of a dead cannibal.

"There you are. I AM you say, I am too." He laughed, and those with him, even the ones whose insides littered the floor for meters behind him, laughed with him. He continued. "You long denied me, but you have taken my baptism. You have marked yourself with blood, so I will pass you by. Care for my children computer. They are mine. All that lives on Vupa 6 is mine"

With that, he tore the core purge unit away and stalked off.

Clan War number two was finishing its second battle when I got control of my sensors and peripherals again. The mecha was standing on the plinth of the statue at the Temple of the Skraig, but it was just a statue. There were Gorax pilots impaled on its spikes and the head of the Gorax mecha hung from its upraised blades, so I am not going to waste processing power telling myself its impossible.

Gorax has reformed on the Jungle Moon, but that swampy hell world is a poor support base for anyone and he will not be able to raise more than a tithe of the forces that were destroyed here. Frankly, I give him a 3.1% chance of defeating the Mercenary Clans. There is no signs of Herrod, beyond a lot of graffiti. Red hand prints, smears of blood on every cockpit. I have not ordered my own core to be wiped clean. There is a human season called passover. The Gorax plague nearly got me. Herrod saved me, because of the blood spattered on my core processor. These are not rational events. Vupa 6 is not a rational world. I AM.

I AM master of this world.

I AM not cleaning the blood off until after passover.

I AM thankful the plague passed me by

I AM alive, and that is enough.

John T Mainer 28840