#less chance of property damage and jail time that way
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"Oh, Becs, there's no way this isn't happening, not with you looking at me like that."
"Oh yeah, weirdo? Then bring it."
"With pleasure."
Jesse and Beca, right before they take the stage for a truly aca-epic karaoke duel; or, Pitch Perfect RarePair Week Day 6, "there's no way it's not happening with you looking at me like that"
Artist thoughts, links to my other RarePair Week posts, and close ups below the cut, image ID in the alt text!
Listen. Sometimes you spend a whole day illustrating a page worth of (shaded!!) drawings of your otp based on a single Tumblr post about matching couples' tees that say "I'm Fucking Weird" and "I'm Weird", respectively, and that is VALID, ok?
So yeah, this page gives some insight into the Hen/Stag parties that Jesse and Beca have before their wedding, at least in the little pocket universe surrounding that giant fic I'm writing. That is to say, they have a joint party (apparently legitimately called a Hag party, which is the term I'll be using from now on because that's fucking hysterical actually), renting out a club with a karaoke DJ and stage with the Bellas, Trebles and their various career friends (because it was mutually agreed that staying in one place would minimize the amount of potential havoc these hooligans could wreak), wore this set of couples' tees (designed by Jesse but wholeheartedly approved by Beca--once she stopped laughing uproariously, of course).... And ditched the party halfway through. 😂 But then would we expect anything less?
(For the record though they absolutely CRUSHED everyone else at karaoke before they left, that duet will be the stuff of legends for years to come.)
So yeah, just a handful of scenes from their Hag Night Party, in which: 1. Beca has the best ideas, ever, while the rest of the Bellas and Trebles devolve into chaos off-screen; 2. In which Jesse is a whole-ass mood because this is also my reaction when presented with Beca Effing Mitchell (and Anna Kendrick for that matter); and 3. Some hardcore karaoke is had as Beca and Jesse bring down the house with their duet of "Somebody Loves You", and Beca serenades Jesse with a cheesy af country song that would probably be unforgivable if she wasn't turning it on its head by gender swapping it.
Also of note: yes, Beca is wearing a cropped leather jacket with spikes, distressed short-shorts over fishnets, and some particularly punk boots, as well as a sparkly tiara with a white gossamer veil and a cutesy Bride-to-be phrase on it ("Queen of His Life"), AND a pendant necklace with a charm shaped like a treble clef bordered by a J and B on either side (which was definitely an anniversary present from Jesse). She's like an onion, you know? She has layers, figuratively and literally! And yes, Jesse is wearing a blazer and a bowtie over his T-shirt, like a dork, while also wearing black leather pants. And, of course, a matching crown to Beca's with an equally cheesy Groom-to-be phrase on it ("King of Her Heart"). He has the range.
Days I'm Participating In (and the Entries I've Posted):
Day 1 (this is me trying): Link
Day 2 (I've missed you): Link
Day 5 (if honesty means telling the truth... Then the truth is I'm still in love with you): Link
Day 6 (there's no way it's not happening with you looking at me like that): You Are Here!
Day 7.1 (I can't say it, so I'll sing it): Link
Day 7.2 (part 2 of Day 2): Link
Close Ups:
#jeca#jesse x beca#beca x jesse#pitch perfect#fan art#pitch perfect fan art#jesse swanson#beca mitchell#myposts#myart#yes this is an entire page of drawings just to take advantage of a funny idea someone had for couples' tees#that said 'im fucking weird' and 'im weird' on them respectively#dont @ me i dont control the muse#it'd probly be more in character for the bellas/trebles to bar crawl for the celebration#but i figure beca put her foot down and insisted they'd be staying in one place all night#less chance of property damage and jail time that way#fat amy was very disappointed. as was stacie#pitch perfect rare pair week#pprpw22#pprpw22.6
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You're Not Alone {Tofi & Vidia}
Vidia Makes use of her one call.
@ofseptarsis
Set: March 12
Previous Reading:
Bubbling to the Surface Like a Tornado From Blood to Dust Silence
VIDIA
Vidia was in trouble, a lot more than she should be in, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have resources. Even if those resources had told her time and time again to be patient. To not be impulsive unless you had a back up plan.
Well her back up plan hadn’t worked and now she was calling someone to help figure a way out without Max breathing down her spine.
Calling from the police’s line she just hoped they picked up.
“Hi- so, long story short I got arrested.”
TÓFI
‘Long story short, I got arrested’
That was a strong opening line if Tófi had ever heard one; Strong, to the point.
“I might need to hear the long version of the short story” they said, using the little pause between his words and the other’s to try and guess exactly who was calling and what exactly could be the problem “eventually”
Feminine voice. To the point. Potential criminal tendencies..
Ah.
Vidia.
“I am glad that you remembered my number, my dear girl. And hope that you remember the other things I have told you -like not speaking to anyone until your lawyer is there” which, chances were, would be them “and to not consent to searches just yet”
They paused, moving from their place to search for their shoes, planning to get ready in case she really needed them there.
“Did they give you the chance to write down the arresting officer’s info? Are you ok?”
VIDIA
Vidia shrugged though the other could not see it. she wasn't exactly thinking straight so she was glad they could tell who she was.
She wasn't going to remember to introduce herself.
“ Maximus. I don't have much else. I just know of him. Do you want the long story? Am I supposed to even say It out loud? Right now it's on breaking and entering and destruction of property and I'm fine. Kind of. I - I” Vidia stammer. “I wasn't planning for any of this.”
TÓFI
“Maximus” Tófi echoed as they made a mental note about the name -Swynlake being a relatively small Town meant that there could only be so many people with that name and line of work, it would, most likely, take him a couple of questions to the right people to get to know who this person was.
Now, onto the other things…
“Breaking and entering where?” they asked, squinting, even if the phone did not communicate that “was it an open place, a public space…? Because you can’t break in and enter to either of those”
‘And I don’t think you could be dumb enough to enter private property’ was left unsaid.
“...and destruction of property too? My dear girl, it sounds like you were having way too much reckless fun” they tried to joke “Everything will be fine, just try and answer the questions and I will try and make things right”
VIDIA
“Town Hall. And to be completely fair the item that's broken is like a glass case.” Tofi had a way of making it seem lighter. Easier and Vidia wanted to give them the knowledge that would make this go away.
She didn't want to go to jail for a crown the town had already lost. She just was the one to find out.
She honestly should be thanked that she found a weakness in town halls security.
TÓFI
Town Hall
Not necessarily a public space, but a Government Building, instead. That made things a little more complicated than a simple ‘breaking and entering’... but also made the charges potentially less scary for Vidia.
“They are trying to scare you, dear girl” Tófi said, tone as even as usual “the most they can charge you with right now is, basically, vandalism”
Which, again, wasn’t as scary as a felony (that could be a potential result of this all) or had as much of an intimidating name as criminal damage, which would be the correct term for it all .
“And that is not scary at all, is it?” they continued “It incurs fines and maybe restitution, which we can afford no problem”
They paused, then added:
“I promise things will be fine, Vidia” they continued
VIDIA
Well if they were trying, they were succeeding. Vidia was scared. Scared she Would be treated like nothing. Thrown Into a box and forgotten.
Because that's what humans did.
Even when they preached justice. Preached to be magick friendly.
She barely heard or recognized the stress on the we comment.
Taking a deep breath, Vidia glanced back to The door where Max would be waiting.
She didn't know how to ask for help. She didn't know how to not handle things on her own.
You could only rely on yourself. Unless you were in a fairy Hollow but even now there were parts of her that doubted it.
“Could you help me?” Vidia asked softly. Her voice losing its edge. There was no pride or fight in that ask.
Just a girl that had gotten in over her head.
TÓFI
“You don’t have to ask for my help, Vidia” Tófi said, voice softening as an echo of hers “it is a given that I will help you whenever and in whichever way I can”
They had seen a lot of potential, of talent, in Vidia from the very first moment they have crossed paths and had exchanged thoughts on Mundus and they hypocritical ways -Tófi knew that they had stumbled into someone who could potentially make a change for good, someone slightly different to the other Magicks, someone who could even be, if push came to shove, a potentially useful tool for they own purposes-
-but right now? Right now this was simply Vidia, nothing more than a young woman, at her most vulnerable.
And they wouldn’t let her down.
“Ok. I am going to spout some mumbo-jumbo right now, so bear with me” they announced “What you did could be considered criminal damage, since that definition covers forced entry into a property and destruction of items belonging to another; It sounds scary but really isn’t, think of it as mere vandalism, as I told you”
They paused, let things settle down for a moment, then continued.
“I don’t believe that the damage you caused could possibly be more worth more than £5000, which means that we would only have to pay a level 4 fine and restitution, but that’s all” they didn’t think that the Town would dare imprison someone over this kind of thing, specially not a Magick, of all people “The fine will be…”
Around £2,500, being a level 4. But…
“...my problem to deal with, ok? Try to relax, my dear girl, I might not be able to defend you as a Lawyer right now, not strictly, but I will guide you through this”
VIDIA
They were going to help and while she was sure it was going to cost if she had to pay something she had worked long enough at the gym. She had some money saved up she could use.
She would be fine.
She had to be fine.
Nodding once more, Vidia took another deep breath. They were helping and that would be invaluable. They knew the system, Vidia knew that, they were willing to help her get around permits. They would be willing to help get around this if they could.
“Thank you.” Vidia mumbled holding onto the phone tightly. There wasn’t much else to say. She only could wait.
TÓFI
“Don’t mention it” Tófi said, smiling at the phone even when they knew such a thing wouldn’t make any difference.
“I will keep an eye on you and the case” they continued “just…remember to not let them scare you: you are and will be fine, they can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to, nor can they hurt you, they are only human”
This would be a nice moment for Tófi to remind her of all the other chats about her rights, about the little big arguments she could potentially use when in trouble (some racially-centered and that could be bullet-proof when used correctly) but….they trusted Vidia’s instincts, that she’d learned everything them well and would know when to use everything -she was smart, she could be trusted with her own safety for a little while.
“I will be there in half an hour”
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World Building Pt 2
Nations physically age at various rates. It comes down to declared/recognized independence, economic growth, and military strength. That is why some like Latvia appears so young compared to America.
About every twenty-five years or so the nations, both 1p and 2p, are sent to an island for a while. This way citizens have less of a chance of encountering a nation again, and it gives them a vacation. This small island has homes for every nation and shops set up. When the nations are not there, to keep the town in good shape, citizens are contracted to live and work there for a few years at a time.
When nations are there, they run the town. For example, 1p Italy runs a restaurant with his brother Romano, while 2p France runs a casino. It is usually agreed upon that each player stays on their side of the island, though there are parts where they mingle. If something big were to happen to a nation while all the personifications are on the island, the affected ones go home while the rest remain.
Nations can get grounded. Whether it is a 1p or a 2p, if they mess up bad enough, they are grounded. Grounding involves being cut off from all their government benefits and being locked out of their home for a period of time. They are told to live as a civilian and make their own money. Some nations want to get it over with and take the first job they can, others will be pickier and live off savings for a bit.
Depending on why they get grounded, there are times when nations are placed in jail. They are allowed to continue all their national duties but after they complete the specific job, they are back in a cell. This usually only lasts for about a year at the most since they have a lot of responsibilities. Unsurprisingly both of the Americas are the ones that have been grounded the most and been imprisoned the most. Alfred is usually in there for damaging property. Allen is usually in there for going too far during work.
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Survey #333
“imaginary chain / the one you never break / seething all alone”
Do you have any fears you would rarely admit to anyone? Nah, I'm pretty open about what I'm afraid of. What website do you spend most of your time on? YouTube. What class in high school did you struggle with the most? I honestly don't remember with certainty, but it was probably math or economics. At least, I think econ was my senior year. What could you talk about for hours? Mark, meerkats, a few game franchises... maybe a couple more topics. Who is your favorite character from Harry Potter? I wouldn't know. Do you salt your popcorn? Yes. Do you have a Steam account? Yeah, but I don't have many games on there and rarely touch the ones I do. Do you like gaming? I do, but not as much as I did for most of my life. I mostly just play WoW now, and even that I'm not that into anymore. Part of it though comes from not buying any new games that I'm interested in because 1.) no money and 2.) no proper console, and you can only replay games so many times before you're just... yeah, done. Do you like reading books? Some days. Do you like religion? All things considered? No. Do you like Grand Theft Auto V? Y'know, growing up, I actually liked watching my younger neighbor play one of those games, but I don't remember which. Though he never actually "played" it... just ran around wreaking havoc, lol. I do however think GTAV was the one that Jason and Jacob started playing together when we moved into the apartment, and I thought the story was okay; I don't think they ever got far into it, though. Definitely wasn't Jason's sort of game, and I don't think it was too much up Jacob's alley, either. Can you twerk? I haven't tried and you will never see me try either, lmao. Do you have a Spotify account? Yes, but I almost never use it. If the last person you kissed tried to kiss you again, would you start kissing them back? Yes. If your best friend of the opposite sex tried to kiss you, would you start kissing them back? No. Have you ever kissed someone who has previously kissed someone you hated? Yes, because of how badly she hurt him. I don't have any negative feelings towards her now, though. We're actually friends, haha. The irony. Are you an easy lay? What weird wording. But whatever, quite the polar opposite actually. When’s the last time you said you were sorry? A few days ago. Are there any songs you listen to everyday? No. Would you like living on the coast? As someone who lives in a state hit by hurricanes usually every year and has seen the incredible damage they usually bring to the coast, no. I don't like the smell or gritty feel of salty air, either. When’s the last time you were really late to something? No idea. That's usually not a problem with me. Why did you stop liking the last person you liked? The last person I actually stopped like-liking would be Girt, and that would be because I just came to the realization I saw him too much as my brother instead of boyfriend. It just always felt awkward. Do you still talk to that person? Yeah, we're good. No hard feelings or anything between us. Are you keeping a secret from someone who needs to know the truth? No. Do you trust easily? Fuck no. I'll be cautious, at least to some degree, about new people for a while. What is the last song to make you cry? Since I've actually behaved and not listened to any trigger songs, it's been a long while, but it was probably "Another Life" by Motionless In White. Last person you hung up on? I'm sure some automated message. I barely ever answer the phone to numbers I don't recognize, though. Where was your last car ride to and from? To Wal-Mart w/ Mom to pick up our order and then back home. Next big outing? *shrug* Do you find it difficult to stay invested in online relationships? Not really, no. Considering I'm by far my most authentic self online, I actually tend to appreciate virtual friends more, if I'm being honest. I try to keep up with those people. Are you the type of person who pays close attention to the release dates of movies, music, etc., and will, for example, go see a movie or buy an album on the date it is released? If so, when is the last time you did so? Not really, no. I think I saw Warcraft the day it came into theaters, though. Do movies often make you cry? What kind of films/scenes make you tear up most? Yep. Tragic romance tends to do it the most, I think. Do you use any apps to track your health or medications? I have one to track my menstrual cycle as well as another that tracks my daily caloric intake, but I'm bad at using it because it's tedious if I actually have to measure something. Whose opinions/recommendations do you value most? Ummm if you mean like, in general, probably my mom's. But this most certainly depends on the subject I'm taking feedback on. What is something society "expects" you to do that you don't want to do and/or don't plan on doing? Shaving my legs came to mind first. Granted, I will if there is almost any chance of someone seeing them, but otherwise, I just don't care. We respect women with body hair on this account and see them as no less feminine. Are you interested in architecture? Is there any particular style that you're drawn to? I think it's cool, yeah. I should have an answer for this, given architecture was a massive focus in Art History the last time I was in school... Roman architecture comes to my head first, if that says anything. What was one of your favorite things from the nineties? BOY OH BOY, SO MUCH!! I'm probably gonna say the toys. There was some dope shit, man. Do you collect things pertaining to an animal? ANYTHING and EVERYTHING featuring a meerkat!!!!! :''') Do you wish that people were kinder to spiders? Well, yes. I hope everyone in their heart wishes this, even if they're afraid of them. They're very important to our ecosystem, and none are out there to harm us; their existence does us a favor. Where do you normally order pizza from? Domino's (my favorite) or LIttle Caesar's for the price. Did your parents keep anything of yours from when you were a baby? Oh yes, loads of stuff that's stored away somewhere. Do you own one of those "____ For Dummies" books? No, but I feel like we had one at some point? What was the last VHS tape that you watched? Yikes, who knows. Did you watch Boy Meets World back in the day? I actually didn't, no. Our old neighbor though loved it so much that she named her daughter Tapanga (deliberately spelled that way). Who is your favorite Scooby Doo character? I never really had one. Maybe Thelma. If I were to give you a coloring book, what would you want its theme to be? Animals. Have you ever won a stuffed animal at a carnival? Possibly a small one. I can tell you I did however accidentally stab the guy who ran the dart-throwing booth though, lmfao. He was obviously fine, and it wasn't a bad wound. I felt SOOOOOO bad. Are you a fan of narwhals? I'm a fan of any animal. Narwhals are definitely fascinating creatures. Grape or orange soda? Orange. Grape-flavored soda ain't my thing. Have you ever wanted to vlog? Noooo. My life is so painstakingly boring and repetitive. Did you have a favorite Disney movie as a child? It was and still is The Lion King. Do you or have you ever owned a portable gaming console? Yeah, a GameBoy Advance and Nintendo DS. Is shyness cute? It definitely can be. Have you ever had alcohol poisoning before? No. Do you like to gossip, or do you prefer to keep your mouth shut? I'm not a gossip fan. Have you ever vandalized someone else’s property before? Most definitely not. Are your parents divorced? Yes. Have you ever been under suicide watch for 72 hours in a psychiatric ward? Yes; at least here, that's protocol when you're admitted for suicidal thoughts/tendencies. Have you ever gone through your significant other’s phone or social media accounts, or do you respect their privacy? Absolutely not. That shit pisses me off so badly. Do you wear any sort of clothing for religious reasons? No. What's something you worked extremely hard to get? My sanity back. Sounds so dramatic, but I'm literally not kidding. Have you ever been labeled negatively or otherwise been called something extremely derogatory? Not that I remember. How many kids do you want to have? I don't want kids, but to entertain the question, when I did, I wanted three. It's fuckin wild to imagine for even a second that I once wanted that. Do you believe that being gay is a sin? *eye roll* Are you any good at photography? If so, what’s your specialty? I mean it with modesty, but I think I'm pretty good. My favorite thing to photograph are animals, but I generally take most pictures of people by request or pay. Judging by my deviantART account, my nature pics definitely get the most attention. Have you ever been a member of a gang before? Fuckin yikes, no. An infamous gang tried breaking into my childhood home once, so you can probably gather that I would never take part in their "big bad guys" bullshit. Have you ever felt like you were neither male nor female? No, I'm comfortable as a cisgender female. Do you like oatmeal raisin cookies? NO. Anything with raisins = NO. Do you think you’re attractive? No. Has a teacher ever caught and read a note you were passing in class? No, not that I really passed notes to begin with. I'd be mortified, regardless of what it was about. Would you rather live in a tropical or arctic climate? Arctic. Do you have an older brother? Yes. He's technically my half-brother, but I don't see "half"s. Have either of your parents ever been to jail? No. Are your collarbones prominent? Bitch I wish so I could get the damn dermal piercings I've wanted for years. Have you ever in your life worn overalls? As a kid, yeah. So ugly. Do you love yourself? It's... weird. Therapy is making me realize that a part of me, maybe even the bigger one, doesn't, but at the exact same time, I know I have worth just like every other human. I just don't treat myself like I do. What TV shows do you keep up with? None, until Meerkat Manor returns this summer. :') When’s the last time it snowed where you live? A couple months ago we got a little bit of it. Is your belly button pierced? No, but it would be if I was actually skinny. Just in my personal opinion, I don't at all think that that piercing would look nice on someone as overweight as me. Even if my damn dreams come true and I lose all the weight I want, my stomach will never look "normal," even after I get the excess skin removal surgery that will be very high on my priority list for my own self-image that's been nothing but loathsome since 2016. What is your favourite dinosaur? Spinosaurus is the obvious answer. What do you remember the most about your childhood? Lots of imagination. Parents arguing. Playing with my little sister. What age did you get your first hair cut? I have no idea. Do you have a favourite toy from childhood still? No. I wish I hadn't gotten rid of it. Have you ever made bread? No. Would you ever consider shaving your head? Nah. Would you like to live in a realm where the zombie apocalypse is possible? Who says we don't now? Zombifying parasites already exist among insects and such, so like... it's not unimaginable to one day see one developed enough to infect humans. I sure as fuck hope not, but. What do you use to dry your clothes? (Tumble dryer, radiator, etc) We have a dryer. Do you ever play the built-in games on your computer? Which ones? Nah. What was the last spontaneous thing you did? I did this many, many months ago, but I guess watch an episode of The Witcher by my own volition. I don't really do spontaneous things with how routine I am, but I had a random urge to check it out one morning. How loud can you whistle? Not very loud at all. Does anything on your body hurt or itch right now? My knees really hurt. They're getting worse. When was the last time you built a sandcastle? There's noooo telling, it's been many years. Have you ever ridden a mechanical bull? No. Well, not a *real* one, anyway. Just the little ones for kids. If you had to appear on a game show, which one would you choose? Family Feud. What is your favorite hot beverage? Hot chocolate. Do you have an alter ego? Describe them: No. Food: Are you adventurous or do you stick to what you know? I absolutely stick to what I know. I am SO picky. Is there anything (out of the obvious) that makes you feel really ill? I'm not immediately sure, but there's probably something. Do you bump into things often? Yes. I've always had this weird habit of like... drifting when I walk, so I do this easily. I just kinda wander to the sides a bit without realizing it. What design is on your calendar this year? I don't have a current one. Did you enjoy playing Hop Scotch when you were younger? I did. Do you feel uncomfortable going to the movies by yourself? Nah, not really. I did that with Warcraft and it was actually pretty chill. When thinking about your dream home, what do you think would be your favorite thing to shop for? The ~g o t h i c~ decor. Do you ever listen to those lo-fi hip hop/study music playlists on YouTube/Spotify? No. Are you likelier to work harder if you’re being paid? If not, what drives you to give your best effort? I mean, yeah. I'd assume that's pretty normal. Does the fashion sense of a potential partner matter to you? No. Is there anything that you prefer to write down rather than type? I'm unsure. If you download/torrent things, do you remember the first thing you ever torrented? Oh, the Limewire days of music pirating... but no, I don't remember. What was the last thing you posted on Instagram? Something photography-related, but I don't feel like checking. What do you wish your hair looked like? I wish I could pull off pastel pink hair rn. It also desperately needs a trim. Do you still feel anything for the first person you fell in love with? I'm sure I always will, at least a little. Do you get any magazines in the mail? No. Have you ever paid for any kind of online membership? Uhhhhh have I? I don't think so. Who’d you last see in a tux? Probably the groom of the last wedding I shot. Do you record any TV shows and watch them later? No, but I used to do that big time because I loved "rewatching" stuff when I was on the computer. Out of everyone you know, who was the most heart? My mother, big time. Who’s the bravest person you know? Also my mother. Or Sara. What profession do you admire the most? Teachers might just win. The patience that must take, among so many other things. Have you ever made a fake profile, for any reason? No.
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Invader Zim: The Pigshit Troll, Part Three
"So it's coming from Dad's lab?"
Gaz was now very intrigued indeed. She sat across from Dib in the living room as he pulled open his laptop, Gaz pulling open a can of "Mountain Spew" and drinking away. Dib glanced over at the black can, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah…but why are you drinking that new flavor? Aren't you more into the original?"
"Yeah, but I wanna give the new flavor a try and I gotta be honest, it ain't bad for a zero calorie soda. It tastes like the way Mountain Spew used to way back in the day. A LOT better than their diet one, I'll tell ya that." Gaz remarked. "And it ain't given me diarrhea yet, so that's a plus."
Dib did the very best he could to suppress his laughter. When it came to Gaz's diet, her constantly going to Bloaty's Pizza Hog had real consequences. The cheese round the clock was getting her blocked, but when the levee finally broke, well…frankly, so did the toilet. Many, many times. And she would make him clean it.
There had been a positive to this though. Dib was now amazingly good at plumbing and mechanical engineering and he was actually picking up some decent money loaning his services out to the neighborhood as a plumber…provided nobody told the local trade unions about what he was up to, because compared to them, he was real cheap. So now he could afford a VERY nice laptop with all the bells and whistles as he showed it off to Gaz.
"Yeah, the IP address was traced back to Dad's lab. Unfortunately, I can't track it down to the very computer, Dad does have enough security in place to keep me from seeing that and no way am I risking jail time by cracking that open. They almost busted me last month when Dad tried to install the "Parental Controls" on our new television and I don't want Officer Krupke giving me that lecture again."
Indeed, in one of the very few times Dib and Gaz had been bound by common strife and pledged to work together for a common good, Professor Matthew Membrane had installed parental controls on their television because he was concerned about the damage being done to them from exposure to new Netflix series. Especially with all the brand new true crime dramas popping up all the time, it turned out to be something both Dib AND Gaz positively loved, the chase, the investigation, the grisly details, it was so engaging. They would watch together on the couch, eyes glued to the screen, binge-watching for hours and hours and then eagerly chatting about ALL they'd seen at dinner.
Well, Membrane had been determined to stop them from having their minds all twisted up by violence and at first it worked really well.
"C'mon! I wanna watch "The Ken and Barbie Killers!"
"Fat chance. You're gonna watch Cupcake Wars and you're gonna like it."
"Damn it, lemme watch Don't F—k with Cats, it's a classic!"
"No way. You're going to watch "Masterpiece Theatre"."
"Well…if it's got Patrick Stewart in it that might not be so-"
"Featuring Brian Blessed in the star role of Macbeth!"
"OH GOD NO!"
"Hey, what gives?!"
"That's enough cartoons for you today. You're gonna watch some Animal Planet…no, wait. Better. C-Span. It's good to be involved in politics these days."
"Oh c'mon, it's just hearings on air traffic controllers! You fiend!"
So finally, Gaz had insisted Dib get rid of the thing.
"I'd be risking major jail time!"
"Dib…it's recording the best of Fuller House."
"…I'll go get my screwdriver."
Dib had indeed almost got caught and had to listen to a very irritating lecture from the police. It was rather astounding they got to the house so quick over that, but whenever Dib tried to let them know Zim was up to something, it was "Yeah, we'll get to you when we can".
The good news was the parental controls issue got solved soon enough. Professor Membrane himself decided to get rid of it, saying that though he was worried about the things they were watching, it was his job, not some machine's, to judge and curate what his children saw.
Translation: the parental controls wouldn't let him watch "The Mandalorian" because it was too violent.
"Well can we look up who's working at Dad's laboratory who might have a grudge against you?" Gaz asked as Dib grinned.
"Luckily, that's not protected health information, Dad lists all the employees on the website and under "Contact Us"!" He remarked as his fingers flew across the keyboard and he then turned the laptop to fully show Gaz the list. "Look at who's listed? Keef, of all people is one of the assistants, he's an intern!"
"Hmm. I've always thought there's something off about him…and his stories, well…" Dib cringed.
Keef was definitely, one hundred percent not allowed to write anything even remotely close to sexual. The school had no problem with stories about, say…Zim skinning people alive in one of HIS work. For some reason, that was just fine. Oh, but a bit of soft sex, nakedness? No no no no no! Bad!
But Keef had found a way around that and did stories with lots of innuendo, and a ton…a ton of stories involving Dib, Gaz, Zim…and romance. He called the ones between Zim and Dib "ZADR" and with Gaz and Zim "ZAGR". You could find them cute if you were into that sort of thing, after all, many were astoundingly well written, lovingly detailed, and your heart would begin racing as you kept reading his creative writing tales.
But Dib didn't much like the idea. For one, Zim was over 150, he was waaaaay too old for either him…or Gaz. Two, EW. Three, a lot of the stories had Dib's own personality being ignored just so he could smooch it up with Zim! It didn't come across as a natural evolution or a progression or character development that made sense, it was just "I want this person here, so I'm just going to force them to be there, even if it makes no sense, because the plot is pretty much porn".
Gaz, however, kinda thought it was cute in a funny sort of way. She also knew it wasn't like Dib had never thought about kissing Zim, Dib was still discovering himself, after all, and he had had dreams about…that sort of thing.
"And there's Mr. Elliot!" Dib added. "Wow, why did he decide to work there?"
Gaz smirked and chuckled inwardly. Nobody would EVER know how she got rid of him, and she wasn't gonna tell anyone. And if she wanted you out of your job at the school, it would happen. Now, there were three ways to stop her from doing what she do.
…what? You think imma TELL you?
"He could have finally snapped." Gaz mused aloud. "I mean, when the nice ones snap…they really, really go wild. It's the nice guys you need to watch out for, you can trust a jerk to always be a jerk. But when a decent person goes bad, they go baaaaaad."
"Yeah, that's possible." Dib confessed. "Hmm. Look, our janitor works there too." He murmured. "Johnny."
…Johnny. The one and only Johnny. A slim, slender man, messy black hair that was just downright ugly and grimy. A pale body, sunken eyes, and he smelled strange too, like meat that had been left out on the counter for far too long. He liked making little snappy remarks at people too.
"Did you wash the bathrooms like we asked?"
"I'll wash the walls with your blood!"
"Well before you do that, wash the bathrooms."
On top of that, there were rumors that he caked blood on the walls of his janitorial closet to feed a monster that laid within. He was always seen sinisterly smoking at the very edge of school property at night, an anti-social, creepy figure indeed. Him being the actual troll…it wasn't unreasonable to think of Johnny, curled up in his closet, hunched over his laptop, spewing hate out into the world.
"Wait. Wait, wait, wait, look!" Gaz pointed at one of the names. "…Tassirak. That girl's name's Tassirak Doe."
Dib frowned, and he examined the photo that went with the name. "Doe" was a common name for a dead body you hadn't identified and-wait. Wait. Those eyes. The facial structure. The hair may have been different, the skin tone less pale, but Dib recognized those eyes instantly, and that faint Mona Lisa smile too.
And he knew that name, because Tak, Irken Invader, had divulged that to him.
Dib had gotten really close to Tak when she'd first arrived, the purple-haired British-accented girl had been charming, intelligent and clever, and they'd had similar interests. He'd soon spent weeks with her, the two just…talking. Making fun of Zim, chatting about their favorite books and movies they'd read, sharing stories about adventures out in the wild…
And of course, that Valentine's Day dance. "No, no. One-two-three, swing! One-two-three, swing!" Tak had insisted to him.
"Ouch! Don't drag me!"
Her lessons on dancing were harsh but in truth, that time spent with Tak had probably been the happiest he'd ever been.
And that's how he should have known it was a lie. Because Dib knew he wasn't meant to be happy. He'd known that…for a long time.
She'd revealed her real name. They'd eaten lunches and even a dinner or two together. Seen movies and he'd walked her home. And then, just a few days later, she'd turned out to be an Irken invader.
It had hurt. A lot. He'd lost a friend. And maybe someone more. It had really…really hurt.
"Does SHE have an account on the website?" Dib murmured as he examined the school's creative writing website. "…oh wow, yeah, she does, she's using her old username and password she got when she first enrolled, there's not much, but they're there. Wow." He examined them. "She wields metaphors like blunt instruments. You can feel Tak in every single sentence, so much of it is in first person and there is a lot of really biting, cynical wit in here. It feels almost nihilistic. And it's super petty, too. A lot of really nasty stuff happening to folks she doesn't like."
"Wow, one story has her as the Tallest." Gaz remarked. "…damn, she cooked and ate the last ones. That's hardcore scary."
"It's beautifully written though, I'd like to shake her hand than recommend her to therapy." Dib admitted. "I mean, she's going into really grisly detail on every minute they die. She must be super bitter. I don't even wanna imagine what happens to Zim when she updates this story, she just finished catching him and she's got him tied up in…Japanese rope bondage? She's into BDSM?"
"The safe word is "eine kleine nachtmusik"." Wow, somebody's letting their inner Hannibal Lecter out, alright." Gaz said with a whistle. "…still, I kinda WANT her to update just to see what happens. It's like watching a train wreck, you kinda can't look away."
"It could definitely be here. We need to go to the lab and sneak onto those computers. If they saved their work on them at any point, I could prove they were behind it." Dib reasoned.
"I dunno, Dib. Not sure I wanna help you with this. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not really fun anymore watching you get dragged again and again for what the troll's doing, but…" She shrugged. "I mean, it's not my problem."
"What if I paid you?" Dib offered as Gaz rubbed her chin.
"…keep talking, Mr. Moneybags."
"My new job is paying me verrrrry well. To plant roses, I've shoveled a lot of manure, as it were." Dib remarked. "So how about it? Is there a new game you want me to buy?" He offered as Gaz thought to herself.
"Hmm. Well…now that you mention it, there is one game that's coming out that I really want. It's Sekiro: Shadows Die Thrice. Comes out in a week. You buy me that, I'll come with you."
"Deal." Dib insisted.
And so, Dib and Gaz made their way to Professor Membrane's lab that weekend as a quilt of dark clouds obscured their stealthy approach. Slinking on inside through the ventilation shaft as Dib temporarily looped the footage of the nearby camera watching the southern side of the laboratory, they crept through the vents and finally deposited themselves in, of all places, Johnny's closet in the lab.
There was a laptop there, hidden by a bucket. Gaz picked it up, gazing through it as she nodded over at Dib. "I'll look over this one, you go look for Keef's. Then we'll meet back here in…half an hour and go look for Mr. Elliot and Tak's."
"Deal." Dib said with a nod, quickly exiting the closet, getting his camera-hacking tool ready as it was clasped tight around his wrist. The lab was almost utterly closed for the moment, most people were heading home, there was just a skeleton crew left over. This meant it was easy for Dib to sneak around, avoiding spots in the security camera's vision and using his hacking tool to loop footage when he couldn't.
At long last, he reached a work station, the same station Keef had been said to be working at, since the website had said he was paired with a "Dr. Jones". Dib looked about, listening intently. No cameras here, and nobody was inside or anywhere nearby. So he slunk over to the computer and booted it up.
Ha! Keef had been the last one to use the PC, his username was on display. And Dib had a feeling he could guess the password.
Yep! Sure enough, it was "ZADRZAGR". "Oh, Keef…ya basic." Dib chuckled as he looked over Keef's internet history and-
"…hoooooo boy."
Well, Keef definitely, one hundred percent was not the one who sent the reviews. But now Dib knew where Keef got so much help in…inspiration…for his work. He had no idea Keef swung that way!...and that way, AND that way and THAT way.
"Well, um…whatever does it for you, Keef." Dib decided, quickly deciding to erase the internet history and log off, shaking his head. Meanwhile, Gaz had finally guessed Johnny's password. She'd had a feeling it was "Mammon" and yep…it was Mammon. Johnny may have been a loyal, devoted Satan-worshipping weirdo…but he wasn't very smart. He'd left a post it note reminding himself to change his last password since it was too easy to guess, and he needed a better one, and to pick a better demon lord. Unluckily for him, not only had he tossed that post it note in the trash can in the very closet Gaz was in, she'd realized the password hint immediately. "Greed is Good". Well, there were a few Demon lords best known for Greed and one of the best had been what she'd picked.
PING! She was in. And my oh my, Johnny had been a naughty boy. He'd taken selfies to share on the Internet of him and the bloody wall he caked gore on, selfies he was sharing on the Dark Web. Nasty stuff indeed. One particularly "funny" one showed him making a kind of macabre "snowman" on the wall with some exposed ribs and a bashed in nose and two eyes burned up like coals!
And then there were his uploads to "Bestgore". Yeccchhh. Gaz was fine with dooming the deserving wretches, but Johnny was just an outright creep about this-
Wait.
Wait, was that a cat?
He wouldn't.
…he WOULDN'T-
Gaz's mouth fell open and then she darkly glowered, shutting the video off and going through the rest of the janitor's internet history. No, he wasn't the one leaving those reviews. But he was guilty, alright. Just not of the sin Dib thought he was guilty of.
A few minutes later, Dib knocked on the closet door and she exited it, giving Dib a solemn look. "He's not the one. He's a piece of shit, but he's not the one."
Dib could see something was very, very wrong, Gaz had a look on her face he'd only seen when she'd seen crime specials on killers who hurt animals. He thought it best not to ask about it. "I understand. It isn't Keef, either. He's into a lot…but not into that sort of thing."
So now it came time to check the other computer stations. Luckily for them, both Mr. Elliot and Tak were working in the same wing.
Unluckily for them, they were still there. A fact the two found out when they opened the door…
Just in time to see Mr. Elliot AND Tak currently hunched over a computer screen. "What the?!" Dib gasped out as the two wheeled around, seeing Dib and Gaz, staring in surprise as Dib and Gaz looked behind them and-
…Jackass? They were watching Jackass videos?
"You're into those stupid stunt videos where the guys get, like, basketballs bounced onto their balls after they're launched onto trampolines?" Gaz inquired as Tak and Mr. Elliot deeply blushed, Dib racing over to the computer, gaping at the sight before his eyes. He couldn't believe it.
"But it's so…lowbrow! So…STUPID!" He remarked aloud.
"But it's funny." Mr. Elliot said with a shrug. "I can't help it, I find it funny."
"Yeah, something about it simply clicked with me." Tak admitted. "I mean, I do enjoy watching stupid humans suffering for my amusement."
"Yeah, the Germans have a term for it. Schadenfreude." Mr. Elliot confessed. "Happiness at the misfortune of others." He added as Dib looked through their internet history. Yeah, they'd hadn't left the reviews either. All that work, all that effort for…nothing! Except now he knew stuff about his classmates he really, REALLY wish he could unlearn.
"It's not that funny." Gaz said, though she chuckled as she saw a video of Johnny Knoxville soaring off a motorcycle and into a ball pit, groaning loudly…because he was butt naked when he did it. "Okay, maybe a LITTLE funny."
"Sometimes you just wanna indulge in something nice, simple and a bit stupid. Not everything has to be Shakespeare, after all. It fills a need and it doesn't really harm anyone." Tak remarked. "Well, except them, but they get paid for it, so…" She shrugged.
Dib moaned. "Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it. I thought for SURE…"
"You're really not that Pig Shit troll, huh?" Tak wondered aloud. "I thought maybe you were doing some kind of false flag, Dib, but…no, it really isn't you." She commented dryly. "Hmm. Well, best of luck with that. Unless another classmate of yours, like, pees their pants or something in front of everyone in school, nobody's going to forget this anytime soon. The good news is that people have short memories. A month or two passes by, and you'll be fine. Folks are like GOLDFISH. Best and worst thing about them!" She laughed.
"…yeah, maybe if I slip Zim some ex-lax under the guise of it being a candy bar I can trick him into taking from me…" Dib mumbled as he slunk out of the room. "This sucks. This totally sucks."
"Cheer up, tomorrow Dad's going to treat us to breakfast, remember?" Gaz offered. "You always like that." She told him as they headed out the office door and down the hall to exit out of the building.
"Yeah, him making his pancake and eggs combo with bacon always-"
Dib stopped. Wait.
…wait.
Could it be?
"…I need to check one more computer." He quietly muttered at Gaz, his voice sounding cold and dead.
…
…
…
… "You liking your delicious breakfast, son?" Professor Membrane asked as Gaz stared at Dib, waiting for the other shoe to drop. He'd said absolutely nothing since their Dad had begun making breakfast and now he was halfway through his meal when he slowly finished chewing and looked up.
"…it's really nice." Dib remarked. "Can I ask you something, Dad?" Dib wanted to know, as he put the fork down and folded his hands in his lap.
"Of course, son! Anything!" Professor Membrane said as Dib took in a long, deep breath.
"Why did you do it? Why did you do those reviews?"
Professor Membrane dropped the plate of bacon he had in his black-gloved hands, looking astounded. Dib went on, speaking quietly. Softly. Soft…but with an edge.
"I thought about it, long and hard. I remembered you were the one who encouraged me to come see you if I kept having problems. The IP address was also traced back to your lab. And then I thought about how…ridiculous the reviews were. They were so badly written but…not badly written enough for someone in my class to have done it. I mean, even a 9 year old knows not to write in all caps. It had to be somebody older, trying to be over the top. And then when I checked your computer, just to be sure…I found out…yes. It was you." He remarked. "…so Dad…why'd you do it?"
Professor Membrane sighed as he sat down at the table, and held his head in his hands. "I…I did want to try and…push you into my arms, as it were. That if I put a little pressure on you in your school setting, you'd keep coming back to me to talk about how you felt. It allowed me to feel like I was the only person you could truly trust, and that felt good. But it wasn't just that, I…" He took a deep breath. "It was…funny to write those reviews. Sometimes it just feels good to be…so lowbrow and coarse and nasty." He admitted. "It was like I tapped into some dark, twisted part of me that'd I'd been ignoring for so long, and when I finally got a chance to let it run wild, it felt amazing!"
He rose up a little and went on. "I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. I need ways to unwind myself. I didn't really think I was actually doing any harm. Or maybe…I didn't want to believe it, because I didn't really mean all the things I said, so how could it be anything that bad?" He murmured as Dib took off his glasses, Gaz taking in a short, sharp breath.
Dib never…ever did that. Him doing that meant he must have been really furious.
"…I don't think I want to talk to you for a while, Dad." He quietly muttered.
"…I thought as much." His father sighed as they sat across from one another in silence at the breakfast table, and Gaz quietly sipped on her orange juice.
Come the next day, it was a school day again, and Dib was making his way down the hallway before he overheard a rather familiar accusation.
"I'm telling you, he's writing about your fic in his fic. He's trashing your fic and making fun of it and you as a writer. He's a troll but pretends he isn't and just blames it on another troll when he keeps trolling."
Dib turned around, seeing Zita talking to the Letter M and he frowned a bit as he stared at the girl and the African American boy she was talking to.
"You know, you're just plain wrong." He said aloud, as other kids began to look at him. "It was my dad all this time. Not me. And I don't really care if you don't believe me. I've said my piece. You don't like it, tough." He told her, walking off.
"You think that'll convince us?"
"No. But maybe there's no point in casting pearls before swine." Dib said with a shrug as he walked off. "And people like you who just plug their ears and won't listen to any counterarguments are real pigs indeed." He remarked as he walked off, Gaz walking alongside him.
"Pearls before swine, huh? Nice Bible quote." She remarked. "But I wouldn't be too worried. Tak was right. Just wait a month or so, folks will forget."
"Oh, I don't doubt it. I thought about sneaking Ex-Lax to Zim but…I'm not going to lower myself to that." Dib insisted. "Even if it would be really funny."
"Well, I've got something that'll cheer you up." Gaz offered. "I copied the videos Johnny the Homicidal Maniac did for the dark web and I sent it to the police and now he's in jail! So we're gonna need a new janitor."
Dib stopped in the hall. "…wait, is this because of how good I am at plumbing now? Look, there's no way I can be the new janitor. I'll be a laughingstock! Dib, the janitor!"
"Yeah…but you will get keys to every single room in the school." Gaz added. "And paid twice what those neighbors pay you."
Dib chewed his lip. "…well…when you put it like that…I mean, it would be nice to be able to literally go anywhere I want in the school at any time…and I could use the dough…"
"You could rig the toileeeeets so that they always act uuuuuup whenever Zim goes to use iiiiiit." Gaz added in a faint, singsong voice.
"…I KNEW there was a reason I respected you." Dib said with a big grin.
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5e Sylas the Unshackled build (League of Legends)
(Artwork by Riot Games)
История всего доселе существующего общества - это история классовой борьбы.
Quoting the communist manifesto aside I’m taking a quick break from Theros builds to tackle a more interesting character. Sylas is probably one of the most revolutionary characters in League of Legends, and I don’t only say that because he literally wants to kill the king. He alone has probably given Demacia the most development the region has ever gotten, and the fact that he can steal ultimates impacts League massively. The closer we get to DOTA the... better? I mean Sylas isn’t played that much so I guess it’s fine.
GOALS
Chains build revolutions - We have nothing to lose but our chains. Thankfully your chains can spin and smack anyone in your wake!
Catch me if you can! - The free development of each is the condition for the free development of all. Freedom to dash around your foes that is.
I'll give it back! Promise - Sylas’ ultimate may best be summed up with a single sentence: Abolition of private property.
RACE
Demacia isn’t exactly... welcoming of anyone who isn’t human, and magic gives you a great degree of variance that isn’t desired either. But even if you’re an outcast to some you can still find community as a Variant Human. You can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1: increase your Strength and your Dexterity because what else are you going to do in prison other than work out? You also get a skill of your choice and of course a magic man such as yourself would know a thing or two about Arcana.
Variant Humans also get to start with a Feat and you may think that because Sylas is a magic man he’d have Magic Initiate, right? Nope! Take Dual Wielder for +1 to your AC while dual-wielding and the ability to fight with two weapons even if they aren’t Light. (And the ability to draw two weapons at a time, I suppose.)
ABILITY SCORES
15; STRENGTH - Magic does wonders for your abs, doesn’t it? Despite being imprisoned for so long Sylas is ripped.
14; INTELLIGENCE - You can’t lead a revolution on ambition and anger alone.
13; DEXTERITY - Sylas is pretty nimble for a guy with giant stone chains around his arms. That and it’s a requirement to multiclass.
12; CONSTITUTION - Sylas is sturdier than the average mage, though he’s hardly a tank.
10; CHARISMA - You need to be at least somewhat personable to lead an army.
8; WISDOM - “Smash the system” is great and all until you realize that system has a giant sentient stole golem on its side.
BACKGROUND
Did you know that Sylas used to work for the Mageseekers? It’s true; read his backstory! That’s why while it may seem odd at first the Courtier background from the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide is what we will be going with. You get proficiency with the Insight skill as well as the Persuasion skill, and two languages of your choice. However the main feature we’re here for is Court Functionary. Put bluntly you are fully aware of how kingdoms are truly run, and know exactly where to go and who to talk to in order to topple the monarchy. Told you courtier would make sense.
(Artwork by Riot Games)
THE BUILD
LEVEL 1 - ROGUE 1
Starting out as a Rogue for the extra proficiencies among other things. You get proficiency in four skills of your choice: Athletics and Acrobatics will keep you at the top of your physical game, and Perception and Intimidation will keep you mentally sound... sorta. You do get Expertise in two of your skills however: Arcana will keep you in the know of any spell you may take, and Persuasion will let you lead the mage rebellion proper!
As a Rogue you get access to Thieves’ Cant, which is a unique code that only Rogues know. Much more importantly however you can Sneak Attack to do an extra d6 of damage to a target. Note that even though it’s called “sneak attack” you don’t need to specifically sneak up on them: as long as your attack has advantage or an ally is within 5 feet of the target you can get your sneak attack off. Sylas does need a bit of set-up to truly be effective.
LEVEL 2 - ROGUE 2
Level 2 Rogues get Cunning Action, letting them Dash, Dodge, or Hide as a Bonus Action so you can dart around the battle-field like some sort of mage-tank hybrid... oh wait.
LEVEL 3 - ROGUE 3
Sylas is a mage so of course he needs to cast spells, and the Arcane Trickster is indeed a Rogue that can cast spells! With Spellcasting you learn three cantrips from the Wizard spell list, one of which has to be Mage Hand. Other than that Sword Burst isn’t quite a Petricite Burst because it’s a Sword Burst, but it will let you spin around to damage everyone near you. And a little Light from Luxana will help your human eyes see in the dark.
As an Arcane Trickster your spell list is much more limited than a Wizard, as you are only capable of learning spells from the Illusion or Enchantment school with a few exceptions. However that’s honestly more than enough for our purposes. Disguise Self is perfect for a man on the run, letting you... disguise yourself. If you want a make-shift single-target stun then Tasha’s Hideous Laughter can potentially stun someone for quite awhile if they lack Tenacity, though hitting them has a chance to knock them out of the effect. For your final spell while it isn’t the most flashy Longstrider will let you weave around the battlefield a little more with 10 feet of extra movement speed to dash around with. Remember that this means with your Cunning Action you can Dash a total of 80 feet!
Also while it perhaps isn’t too in-character you do gain access to Mage Hand Legerdemain which augments Mage Hand in a number of ways. You can now cast Mage Hand with your Bonus Action, and you can use it to pick locks, pickpocket people, or plant objects in people’s pockets from a distance. There are plenty of ways a bit of summoner magic can help you in the heat of battle... Oh wait they removed summoners from League... At least your Sneak Attack increases to 2d6 now though.
LEVEL 4 - BARBARIAN 1
You probably noticed two things by now:
We don’t have chains to whip people with.
We’re still wearing a shirt.
That’s where Barbarian comes in. For one you gain proficiency with all martial weapons which includes whips. But more importantly you get Unarmored Defense equal to your Dexterity and your Constitution modifier, so you can shrug off damage with your rippling mage abs!
Additionally you can now Rage against the system. While raging you have advantage on Strength checks and saving throws, resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, and do extra damage if you attack with Strength.
This is where I need to get into the nitty-gritty of 5e mechanics: Sneak Attacking only works if you’re using a Finesse weapon, but it doesn’t specify that you have to use Dexterity to attack with it. The extra damage from Rage meanwhile only applies if you attack with Strength, but you can still use a Finesse weapon with Strength. Henceforth rules-as-written if you attack with Strength using a Finesse weapon you can get the extra damage from both Sneak Attack and Rage. And guess what’s a Finesse weapon: whips! Such as chain whips!
I will quickly mention right now that if you want a build with better armor but less damage prioritize Dexterity instead of Strength. DEX Barbarians work and especially considering that you can’t cast spells while Raging it’s quite likely that you won’t be raging too much with this build, so it might be better to focus on DEX. I opted for strength in this build though for the sake of demonstration but your free to adapt this build as you wish.
LEVEL 5 - BARBARIAN 2
You probably also noticed that I didn’t take the Stealth skill despite being a Rogue. Well that’s because second level Barbarians get a Reckless Attack, allowing them to get advantage on their attacks at the cost of giving enemies advantage to hit them. Thankfully you get a lot more use out of advantage than your enemies because of Sneak Attack, and the reach with your chains allows you to keep at a distance to back off without provoking attacks of opportunity.
On subject of DEXbarian: You can’t Recklessly Attack unless you’re using Strength, so keep that in mind if you wish to use DEX over STR.
In addition you get Danger Sense, giving you advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects you can see, such as a spark from the nice girl who kept visiting you in jail. "Let's use that spark to light a fire!"
(Artwork by Jobsclebson on DeviantArt)
LEVEL 6 - ROGUE 4
It’s straight down Rogue from here on out. Level 4 Rogues get an Ability Score Improvement: increase your Strength for stronger lashings with your chains.
You also learn another spell at this level and you may find it exceptionally hard to pick appropriate spells when you’re limited to two schools of magic. So eh take Sleep because it’s just generally a good spell.
LEVEL 7 - ROGUE 5
5th level Rogues get Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack’s damage against you. Consider it an item active coming to save you, or just some evasive maneuvers. "I had worse beatings in prison." Your Sneak Attack also increases to 3d6.
LEVEL 8 - ROGUE 6
6th level Rogues get Expertise in two more skills: Athletics is obvious for someone lugging giant stone chains around all the time. Other than that you can honestly make your choice on whatever’s useful for the party. (Thieves’ Tools is never a bad thing, though it may make people question why you didn’t just lockpick your way out of those chains.)
LEVEL 9 - ROGUE 7
At 7th level Rogues get Evasion, allowing them to take no damage if they succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or half damage if they fail. Considering that Danger Sense gives you Advantage on Dexterity saves it’s quite likely that you’ll be able to dodge and weave your way around most damage sources.
You also get another spell known, and what’s more is that you can now learn second level spells! Second level is where it gets particularly good for Arcane Tricksters but for now grab Hold Person to finally give yourself a stun. What’s particularly good about Hold Person is that it gives you another way to guarantee a Sneak Attack, which now increases to 4d6!
LEVEL 10 - ROGUE 8
At 8th level you get another Ability Score Improvement so cap off that Strength score to swing those chains like they’re made of... leather, like a whip usually is. Instead of giant rocks.
You can also learn another spell at this level, and at level 8 it can be from any school of magic too! Now this is going to sound weird but the spell you want is Snilloc’s Snowball Swarm. Why do you want a small AoE of cold damage that forces a DEX save? Simple: Chain Lash’s detonation point. But yeah there’s a ton of spells that are probably better to take.
LEVEL 11 - ROGUE 9
At 9th level you get Magical Ambush. If you are hidden from a creature when you cast a spell on it, the creature has disadvantage on any saving throw it makes against the spell this turn. Ganking from bush is pretty effective, and this is probably the only reason you’d have to hide. But that being said you’re still not that good at hiding, and you only really have two spells that a target would have to fail a save against so... But regardless of how you choose to gain the upper hand a 5d6 Sneak Attack will make sure you hit hard!
(Artwork by minnhsg on DeviantArt)
LEVEL 12 - ROGUE 10
10th level Rogues get another Ability Score Improvement, and now that your Strength is maxed out it’s time to increase your Intelligence for better spellcasting.
And speaking about spellcasting you learn another spell at this level, as well as another cantrip! None of the cantrips are really in-flavor so grab Message for some team chat. For your leveled spell again there are a lot of choices, but I’m actually going to suggest Nystul’s Magic Aura to hide your magic from the crown. At least for a time.
LEVEL 13 - ROGUE 11
11th level Rogues see their Sneak Attack increase to 6d6. They also get Reliable Talent, meaning that the lowest you can roll on an ability check you’re proficient in is a 10. To show how strong this is, here’s the minimum roll you can make in every ability you’re proficient in:
25 on Athletics
23 on Arcana
20 on Persuasion
17 on Acrobatics
15 on Intimidation
14 on Insight / Perception
And another spell added to the list? Why not? Seeing as you’re already pretty sturdy when raging as Barbarian how about making it even harder to hit you with Mirror Image? When a creature attacks you, roll a d20 to hit you. If you have three duplicates, you must roll a 6 or higher to change the attack's target to a duplicate. With two duplicates, you must roll an 8 or higher. With one duplicate, you must roll an 11 or higher.
A duplicate's AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier. If an attack hits a duplicate, the duplicate is destroyed. A duplicate can be destroyed only by an attack that hits it. It ignores all other damage and effects. The spell ends when all three duplicates are destroyed, and a creature ignores this spell if they don’t rely on sight to attack.
Since this spell doesn’t require Concentration it works while you’re Raging, which means that on top of essentially having three free hits against you you’ll also take half damage when attacked.
LEVEL 14 - ROGUE 12
12th level Rogues get another Ability Score Improvement, so how about more Constitution to increase your AC as well as your health bar.
Of course if you want better spellcasting feel free to opt for Intelligence instead.
LEVEL 15 - ROGUE 13
Level 13 Arcane Tricksters get Versatile Trickster, allowing you to use your Mage Hand to give yourself Advantage to attack someone. This is of course a better option over Reckless Attack while you’re not raging, but remember that you can’t cast spells while raging so you can use your Mage Hand while raging. But regardless of how you get your advantage you can use it to Sneak Attack for 7d6 damage!
But you do learn another spell, and you can now cast 3rd level spells! There aren’t that many third level spells we’d really want though, so grab Hypnotic Pattern for a big AoE stun that you can’t normally do. Maybe you stole Morgana’s chains? “Chains for everyone!”
LEVEL 16 - ROGUE 14
At level 14 Rogues get 10 feet of Blindsense, allowing them to locate any hidden or invisible creature within 10 feet. Oracle Lense is always useful!
You can also learn another spell, and this will be the last spell that you can get from a school other than Illusion or Enchantment. There’s a ton of good spells but I’m going to go with an old favorite of mine and grab Misty Step for Flash. Now would be a good time to remind everyone that you don’t have to follow my guides point-for-point, and you’re allowed to swap out your all-school spells for something else, such as Longstrider for... something more useful.
(Artwork by Riot Games)
LEVEL 17 - ROGUE 15
At level 15 Rogues get Slippery Mind for proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. Yup that’s literally it. I mean, beyond your Sneak Attack doing 8d6 damage.
LEVEL 18 - ROGUE 16
Level 16 Rogues get another Ability Score Improvement so now would be a good time to increase your Intelligence for even harder spells. "I'll show you magic!"
And you can learn another spell, but like I said there isn’t much I really want from the third level so bounce back to second for Suggestion. You suggest an action that sounds reasonable and if the target fails a Wisdom save it has to follow the action. So no suggesting that the king give up his crown, but you can certainly suggest him to look away while you strangle him with chains.
LEVEL 19 - ROGUE 17
It’s about time we got our ultimate! Level 17 Arcane Tricksters finally get Spell Thief! Immediately after a creature casts a spell that targets you or includes you in its area of effect, you can use your reaction to force the creature to make a saving throw with its spellcasting ability modifier against your spell save DC. On a failed save, you negate the spell’s effect against you, and you steal the spell and are able to cast it!
For the next 8 hours, you know the spell and can cast it using your spell slots while the creature can’t cast that spell until the 8 hours have passed. Certainly an upgrade from Hijack, which is why you can only try to steal a spell once per long rest. But much like in League this should be your trump card to try to take something truly powerful for your own. Just don’t pick fights with a creature you can’t steal and run from.
And to top if off your Sneak Attack is now 9d6!
LEVEL 20 - ROGUE 18
Our final level is the 18th level in Rogue for Elusive, making it so no attack can have Advantage against you. This includes attacks against you after you used your Reckless Attack! But you probably won’t be raging much with 18 levels in a half caster...
FINAL BUILD
PROS
Magic cannot be caged - Let’s start with the obvious: you’ve got a good supply of magical tricks to help you both in and out of combat. Spell slots going up to third level, and the obvious ace up your sleeve of Spell Thief. And you’ve got some really good ones in your list despite the spell school limitations, including Sleep, Hold Person, and Suggestion.
And that's how we slaughter swine - Barbarian mixed with Rogue is remarkably powerful. Along with the fact that you can consistently get Sneak Attack with Reckless Attack, expertise in Athletics along with Rage giving you Advantage on Strength checks practically guarantees that you’ll succeed at anything Strength related.
Might is wasted on the mighty - You know what the other good thing about being a Barbarian is? You’re really sturdy with Rage allowing you to tank some hits, a positive (or at least neutral) modifier to all saving throws, and a decently large health bar for a Rogue thanks to a decent investment in CON.
CONS
A walking monument to ignorance - Your AC really isn’t fantastic. This build gets 15 total due to 2 from DEX, 2 from CON, and 1 from Dual Wielder. You’d honestly probably be better off just grabbing Medium Armor instead, or focusing more heavily on DEX.
Well, this is going to be confusing - Your big Achilles's Heel is your Wisdom modifier. While your Wisdom saves aren’t awful thanks to levels in Rogue you’d best hope you aren’t asked to take care of any horses.
What do you do with this? - Mixing Barbarian with a spellcaster (even a half-caster like Arcane Trickster) is always an odd choice, seeing as you can’t cast spells while raging. Honestly if only for the whip proficiency you would’ve been much better off taking some levels in Fighter instead of Barbarian; Versatile Trickster already lets you get Advantage on your attacks.
But the perfect man doesn’t need to rebel. Your chains are what define you and your cause, and your army can work together to shed your chains no matter who your opponent may be. With the might of muscle combined with might of magic there are countless ways to light a spark. And all you need to start a fire is a single spark.
(Artwork by Nazori on DeviantArt)
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I wish you would write a fic where Tony is competent, why his company is no. 1 and who it was who actually taught pepper everything. Competent Tony is my no. 1 kink.....
Oh my lord it took me SO long to get to this but I finally have an idea! So, competent Tony it is (though mostly with the Avengers rather than his company).
*
Steve has banned him from the field and Tony might resent that more if he weren’t so worried about the team fucking dying. If Rhodey were around he’d agree but he’s not, he’s off on some kind of stealth mission in Butt Fuck Nowhere Russia at the moment so Tony is left to his own devices. “He’s leading you idiots on,” Tony tells the team through the comms.
He watches Steve on the security cameras he’s hacked into for a street view jump and then get blasted with one of Tony’s repulsers except deadly, if it were to hit Nat or Clint. It mostly knocks Steve out right after shoving him through a brick wall and Tony sighs.
“Can you not?” Clint snaps at him, trying to shoot an explosive arrow at Evil Tony who, after Steve reamed his ass, was discovered to not be the actual Tony Stark. Turns out HYDRA cooked him up in a lab figuring they can’t have Tony or his genius but they’ve got his blood so they made a new him. Fucked up, Tony knows, but the problem is less that there’s an evil him lingering around and more that the team has never really understood how he thinks. Before this it didn’t really matter, mostly it was just grating, but if they’re going to take evil him down they need a lesson in Tony Stark Brain and not in a way that results in them getting their asses handed to them.
By now he knows evil him has figured out team dynamics and he’s got a good understanding of the tech minus Steve’s shield, which doesn’t seem to follow any known laws of physics or react like any normal metal. Shit, even for vibranium its weird and its not how Steve uses it either. He ran tests with Shuri and by all accounts neither of them could figure it out. And Tony knows he’s good but Shuri is better, plus she’s far more familiar with the metal. Point is, evil him knows just about everything there is to know about them and idiot ass Clint is giving him more information by shooting exploding arrows at him.
“Clint stop fucking shooting those arrows,” Tony tells him.
“Bite me,” Clint snaps back.
Tony rolls his eyes, “fine, when he starts shooting repulsor blasts at your back don’t tell me I didn’t- oh, there he goes,” Tony says lazily as Clint dodges a blast aimed at his back.
“How’d you know he’d do that?” Natasha asks, taking up second in command easily.
“Easiest way to get rid of him is blowing him up now. Bonus points if you get close enough to him to either kill you both of kill him and injure you badly enough to take you out fast. You and Steve are priority,” he says.
“Then why the hell did he leave Steve after he sent him through that wall?” Nat asks.
Tony rolls his eyes, “first of all he needs to know how much damage Steve can take before he can kill him, hence why he’s mostly only trying to maim the guy. Second, the rest of you are pesky and the moment he went through that wall you all closed in. Wanda, I wouldn’t try and do that-” she ignores him and Tony watches as the energy that she uses closes around Evil Tony’s suit but he’d already noticed he’s done some kind of something to be able to manipulate Wanda’s energy too. Granted she has to be a certain distance away for that to work, which is why he’s avoiding close combat with her. That, and she’s the most powerful avenger as far as raw power goes anyway so its best to keep his distance and play more on her emotional side.
Not hard, when she’s as attached to Steve as she is. And to say she’s surprised when her power turns on her is an understatement. “Yeah, you’re going to want to stay within about fifty feet of him at all times. He’s figured out how to weaponize your energy signature, but only if he’s far enough away to do it,” Tony tells her.
Natasha sighs, moving closer to Clint and Tony rolls his eyes again. Do these people not listen to him? Well okay, they don’t and sometimes they’re right not to but god damn. “Natasha, stop fucking moving closer to Clint and get closer to Wanda. She’s your best bet at protection at the moment,” he says.
“How do you figure that?” Nat asks.
“And why are his priorities Natasha and Steve, shouldn’t it be me because of m power?” Wanda asks.
Tony shakes his head, “you’re the most powerful of us sure, but you’re also green and emotional and your ability to strategize on the fly isn’t near good enough to combat that,” he says. Which, despite his own emotional nature, is mostly how he gets around bad reasoning. “Steve is a strategy genius and so is Natasha, if they’re both alive then there’s a good chance the avengers will be a cohesive unit. If Natasha dies first Steve loses all reasoning and goes on a revenge bend, which is what he wants FYI, and the avengers fall apart. So basically Natasha, you’re the better leader and you should get him to kill Steve first. Or keep Wanda close enough that it makes sense to strategically retreat.”
“Fuck you,” Wanda tells him, Sakovian accent a little thicker than normal. Not his fault all that is true, though.
“The hell do you mean- Jesus Christ!” Clint yells, jumping behind a building to avoid being shot at again. “The hell do you mean stay close enough to Wanda to make a retreat?”
“I mean Wanda isn’t wrong about being the most powerful of us and that emotional side coupled with her inexperience in the field is a fucking disaster waiting to happen. She stays close enough to genuinely affect his suit he’s going to back off, it makes more sense to leave you all for another day than it does to brave an explosion of power that will more than likely nuke the damn city. The Natasha bit is just basic observation. Her heartlessness comes in handy for something and its that she doesn’t often let whatever she’s feeling affect her ability in the field. Unlike Steve, if we die she won’t lose her head and lead the avengers into disaster.”
“I would never do that!” Steve says, appearing back on the comms. So Sleeping Beauty is awake, great.
“Would too. Anyone need a reminder of Lagos?” he asks.
“You should be dealing with this,” Wanda tells him darkly. Meaning he should go die, because reading between the lines isn’t too hard in this instance.
“What exactly do you think I’m doing?” Tony asks them. “Besides, Lagos wasn’t entirely your fault anyway. The leader of a team should be able to determine when someone isn’t fit for duty and we all know Steve’s judgement, especially in regards to himself, is absolutely shot. Which again, Natasha doesn’t have that problem. Which is why you’re priority two despite being pretty easy to kill.”
“Where do I fall?” Clint asks.
“You’re basically the avenger equivalent to a cockroach on the banquet table, you only register because you keep interfering with his trying to kill Natasha,” Tony says.
“Why am I two instead of one if Steve’s judgement is so off?” Natasha asks. “Wouldn’t it make sense to kill me first?”
Tony shrugs, “yeah, but HYDRA doesn’t have a personal vendetta against you, he’s following orders there otherwise you would be his first target. Congrats on being the most dangerous. Well, kind of. Technically Wanda is the most dangerous but you’re more purposeful about it.”
“What exactly do we do?” Steve asks and oh, a switch up. Tony didn’t think he’d ask.
“He already told us, I have to stay close enough that he chooses to back off,” Wanda says.
“Try and kill him while you're there,” Tony adds. This is a pain in his ass to deal with.
*
Steve looks pissed, or as pissed as he can manage through his busted face. That’s got to hurt but Tony warned him not to go near Clint, who really only managed to toss his arrows fast enough to get pretty badly hurt rather than outright dead. But he’d accidentally tossed them at Steve in his panic and Tony would have been able to tell him to haul ass if he had the time to. But he’d barely had time to think the thought let alone say it out loud before the repulsor blast hit the arrows and sent both Steve and Clint flying.
Thankfully Tony had been able to warn Thor with enough time to grab Nat and fly off before Wanda went fucking supernova and leveled the upper east side. Not fast enough either, evil him made an escape so it didn’t even do anything to help them. Shit, as it is they’re lucky they evacuated that area anyway and the property damage, Tony’s pretty sure he just went bankrupt. And all because Wanda, however understandable, had done the same thing she did in Sokovia with Ultron when her brother died. She doesn’t do well with people she cares about being hurt in front of her and Tony gets that, really, but it’s not a good look when an entire section of New York gets destroyed about it.
Except now Steve’s mad about it and Natasha is thinking and Thor is confused as to why there’s two Tony’s and why one of them wants them all dead. “When did the one with the red energy show up?” Thor asks and Tony sighs.
“Oh buddy, you are so behind.”
*
Steve thinks its a bad idea and frankly so does Natasha but so far the only one who’s managed to keep up with evil Tony is not evil Tony so yes, evil Tony will be able to judge not evil Tony’s actions with the same level of clarity that Tony can judge his but something had to give. And she’s a bit tired of it being Wanda’s sanity. She’s a little worried its about to be back to Tony’s sanity because neither of them can manage to keep a cool head and that irritates her but teaching someone to keep themselves separate from their actions is a hard skill to teach. And she wasn’t much taught so much as she was tortured so she figures maybe she’s the one that’s missing out, who knows.
The point is that Steve nearly died, something she wasn’t even sure was possible for him, Clint also almost died, and Wanda is currently in jail. Which apparently Tony is working on but Natasha can see why the public is afraid of her. She’s gone, at least in their eyes, from one set of terrorist actions to the next. Though Tony is right in saying Lagos is more on Steve than her. Natasha told him she wasn’t ready and while he’s right in saying experience would make her more prepared that wasn’t the kind of mission she should have been on. Small stakes, low public interaction. That’s what Natasha suggested. Then she works her way up like SHIELD agents do.
But no, Steve didn’t do that and then Lagos happened and now New York and she’s pretty sure the people in the city are pissed off about being consistently screwed. Aliens were bad enough, but humans with the ability mimic bomb damage is a whole other preventable deal. Hence jail and yeah Tony’s on that too but Natasha isn’t sure how much good it’ll do given that Wanda has none of the clout the rest of them do. Even she has better standing despite her origins, though she’s also never blown up multiple cities and worked with a genocidal robot.
“And what if Tony loses it?” Steve asks, pissed.
“Then he dies and we better hope we can stop evil him,” she says easily.
Steve looks a bit horrified but Natasha has long since passed that stage. It is what it is and Tony is right, her level of heartlessness is useful. “There he is,” Steve says, pointing to the upper corner of the screen they’re watching on. Tony, their Tony, is already there waiting in stealth mode because somehow he managed to figure out where evil Tony’s hide-y hole was.
Natasha is fully prepared to curse Tony out when he gives away his position by firing a repulsor blast at his evil self, who predictably dodges it because he was way too far away for that to have done shit. When he fires back Natasha winces as Tony is hit, stealth mode blinking out as the suit takes the damage. “Why isn’t he moving?” Steve murmurs, looking closer at the screen. Natasha watches too, but nothing seems to happen aside, and this could be a trick of the light, the suit heals itself.
“What is that?” Steve murmurs. Natasha looks behind evil Tony though, because Tony isn’t in the suit that was fired at. Which evil Tony seems to realize as he starts to look around. A suit blinks into sight and evil Tony fires at it but it blinks out and must fly elsewhere before the blast reaches it. Another does the same thing but evil Tony doesn’t waste time on it. Instead he waits it out, obviously trying to determine Tony’s angle. So is Natasha because as far as she knew he only had a few suits and none of them look like the ones she’s seen on screen.
This happens for almost ten minutes, suits blinking in and out of sight before a suit right in front of evil Tony shows up and blasts the chest piece of the suit before blinking back out of sight and Natasha assumes he flies off. Evil Tony doesn’t take it well though and spins around, trying to relocate him. Doesn’t work but the next suit to blink into existence gets blasted not that much seems to happen aside from it not blinking back out in to stealth mode and oh. “Smart,” she murmurs, earning a frown from Steve. “The first suit was to test the damage that’d be done, the second plus the rest was a distraction. That last suit was to re-test to see if the damage would be the same. Once Tony’s hit his stealth is out of commission, he’ll need to move fast so he needs to make his hits count.”
Which, unfortunately, evil Tony probably already figured out. The next time Tony blinks into sight he aims for a leg and Natasha has no idea why when the power for the suit comes from the reactor but she doesn’t say anything about it. He also narrowly misses two separate blasts from his evil counterpart before he lands another blow and manages to get caught in a blast, effectively ending his stealth mode. Useless feature if it goes that fast and she swears, getting another look from Steve. “That’s a fucking set of prototypes!” she snaps. “He’s fighting himself with prototypes!” Idiot!
“Look!” Steve says as Tony takes another blast. “The suit, it's like... the damage is disappearing.”
She frowns, watching closer and huh, so it is. Tony lands another hit on the other leg and she rolls her eyes. “The chest plate!” she yells at Tony through the comms, “aim for his damn chest you built that suit what are you doing?” she asks.
“Jesus Nat, would you- shit- shut up?” Tony tells her. Evil Tony must know something she doesn’t because he starts to stay out of Tony’s range for an accurate shot. They hover for a long few moments, because evil Tony’s range for accuracy is the same as their Tony’s, before three suits blink back into sight and blast evil Tony, who falls from the sky with minimal power. When he lands the legs of the suit almost give out and okay, Natasha can see why Tony went for the legs now. Except it doesn’t do much to stop evil Tony from just fleeing out of the damn suit, which is exactly what he does, and disappearing underground.
“Yeah, don’t worry about that I have it covered,” Tony tells them before either of them ask. The screen they’re watching changes to follow evil Tony though his honest to god lair before he hits an invisible wall. He frowns, smacking at it and turning around only smack into another invisible wall. Tony obviously doesn’t want to risk it much because green gas fills the small contraption, which Natasha can now clearly see is a cage, before it filters out. Evil Tony is either dead or knocked out and she sits back in her seat.
“I can’t believe it was that easy,” she mumbles.
“Wouldn’t have been if he got further into that but he follows a highly specific pattern of walking when he’s in there, I went thought the footage. Hence the placement of his own invention, really nifty little cage that is. Totally invisible, probably got better bones for that stealth mode I was attempting. Anyway, uh... he didn’t anticipate me being able to break into his systems so we can um, be glad he didn’t try and break into mine. Probably wouldn’t have occurred to either of us given that we don’t need the other for intelligence. Its just that I knew he’d manage to slip the suit and if he was going to go down to his lab I needed to know what was in there, be prepared and all that, so I had to-”
“Shut up, Tony,” Steve tells him, fingers pressed to his temples. “Next time you deal with you.”
Nat slumps in her seat. “I can’t believe New York blew up when we could have just done this,” she mumbles.
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One long evening
It was about closing time in the Second Circle. Even the worst drinkers had left about half an hour ago. A few people had accidentally left their property behind. Asagi picked the belongings up and hid them under the counter, so that their owners could ask after them later. She was cleaning tables, and getting ready to lock the door. Just another similar day among many. Next she would go home, do some quick paperwork and then take a long bath. Despite liking her work, at this time of day she was always really waiting for the bath part. She was just about to finish, when suddenly a tall man with messy black hair stepped in, carrying a long, curved blade on his hips. His appearance was shabby, like he'd been having a long drinking-bout recently. His shirt was ripped, worn out jodhpurs had miscellaneous looking stains all over them and his boots were beyond saving for even the most skilled shoemaker. His jacket was perhaps the best looking of his garments and even that looked more like rag. Asagi recognized the man. He had been one of her "contacts" some months ago, but the man had turned out to be quite a heavy drinker, and had messed up contracts, almost blowing his cover on the side. Asagi had ended the business with the flammable subject.
"...We are closing, so make it quick. What can I get for you?" she asked politely. Without warning, the man jumped over the table between them. Before she even properly realized what was happening, he had taken her with him onto the floor. The man partly pressed himself against her so that she couldn't get away, while he started to pull out his sword. However, taking such a lengthy blade from scabbard gave enough time for Asagi to reach for her short knife she used to carry within her skirts. In panic, Asagi attempted to stab the man on his neck, but missed. The blade hit the man on his collarbone and ricocheted onto his shoulder. Asagi twisted the blade in wound, making the man howl in agony. Still, he didn't get off her. He seemed very determined to end her here and now. Forgetting his sword for a moment, the furious man hit Asagi with his fist. The first hit was the worst. It broke her nose and made her see black and white dapples. The man took a better position and continued pummeling her with both fists. "You filthy, lying whore! You've ruined my life! You've taken everything I care about from me!" he screamed while crying. Asagi didn't hear everything he said. She tried to protect her head with her hands, but the man fought like possessed. Her head kept pounding the floor at the same time while the man's fists hammered her from above. "- special place for the likes of you in the deepest shiteholes of hells! You took my job! My wife left me and took our kids with her! It's all your fault, scabby viera bitch!" During the moments Asagi didn't fear of losing consciousness, casting spells crossed her mind. She could burn him into cinders easily. But there was always the possibility she would lose control again. That would be the end of her. And not only her. Putting her down would be a task handed over to mages, and in the worst case Silke would be among them. Right now there was two ways she could go, and despite the messiness an angry drunk would, in the end, be the less painful option. Vaguely she realized the door was opened, and someone stepped in. The brute stopped for a moment and turned to look behind him. Asagi couldn't see much anything at first. She tried to wipe some blood away from her eyes at least to see was the comer friend or foe. She cursed in her mind after noticing it was a male au ra, over two meters tall, with long, silvery gray hair.
***
Varg marched promptly through dark alleys and streets. He was furious. It wasn't like him to forget things, yet it had happened. There had been a sudden backlog of emergencies at Ishgard's public hospital and he had been summoned to help. Varg had spent there the whole day healing folks and mixing potions. Only moments ago, after he had slammed his home door shut behind him and tried to find the papers from the locked drawer of his desk, he had noticed a couple of his documents, which authorities would've without a doubt deemed suspicious or questionable, were missing. Also, a vial of his elixir experiment was missing, which too, he was certain, authorities would be interested in if they learned of its existence. He hadn't taken them with him on purpose, so he suspected he had forgotten them into his briefcase, which he had left into the hospital, where he was supposed to return next morning. The emergency had been sudden, like they always were. He had just grabbed some necessary instruments he had thought he'd need and tossed them into his briefcase, without even looking inside. He cursed himself into the depths of hells. Was this how it felt like to grow old? This was unacceptable, preposterous, completely and utterly - Noises of a sudden ruckus from somewhere nearby caught his attention. He almost guessed where it was coming from, and instead of continuing his way, he turned into another street and headed towards the alley where The Second Circle was located. First he would see his chances around the night club, and if there was nothing to gain, he'd hurry back to the hospital instead. Varg didn't get his hopes up too much. He had tried to collect some evidence against the Circle's mistress and her illegal business for years, but the viera woman had been slippery like an eel. From her loyal customers he hadn't managed to squeeze out any information, but the discontent ones... oh yes, they'd be just perfect. He didn't have his armor or weapons with him, only a dagger for self-defense, but he was certain he'd be recognized even without his signs of authority. ***
Asagi had usually seen him only in heavy armor, not in this medic garb of his: white blouse with black vest and slacks, high heeled leather boots and silver monocle. He was also carrying white, long coat on his arm. Asagi had hoped the au ra would have sense to leave the door open and get help, but to her horror Varg stepped in and closed the door behind him. "What is going on here?" he asked calmly, his gaze moving from the man to Asagi. "Something I should know about?" He didn't even lift a finger to pull the man off her. "NO! I'm not going to jail!" the man shouted, suddenly got up, completely ignoring Asagi and rushed towards the knight. This seemed to surprise him at least partly, and he had his dagger quickly ready. Asagi couldn't help but to feel a fleeting hue of schadenfreude, while she wobbled on to her feet and backed off towards the back door. No matter how skilled swordsman he was, he wouldn't have a chance against katana with such a toothpick. Perhaps this wasn't misfortune after all, but a wonderful stroke of luck? Blacksoul would be a perfect bait for the man, and Asagi could flee and alert the guards. Though she wouldn't hurry too much, but let the brute get rid of one of the biggest threats to her in Ishgard. Varg raised his dagger-free hand and there was sudden, blinding flash of light. Asagi wasn't sure did the spell do anything else. It didn't slow down the man, but at least his first attempt was a miss. Varg crouched, dodged the katana and thrust his dagger into the man's thigh. The brute howled in pain. "Would you stop fooling around?" Asagi yelled at the knight. "Just kill him!" "I need him alive!" Varg shouted, when the man attacked again. I wonder why, Asagi thought to herself and rolled her eyes. Varg barely dodged this time and stumbled. He tried to keep his distance and cast another spell. Asagi didn't have much clue about conjurers’ spells, but this one looked like bright, gleaming shooting stars. The spell hit the man and apparently did some damage, since he screamed again and stumbled in the middle of his attack, crashing to the floor only a couple of inches away from Varg. However, the knight didn't have his staff with him. Mage's spells were significantly weaker without their enchanted weapons. The desperate man suddenly managed to collect remains of his strength, rose onto his knee and slashed. Varg had just turned around and been about to get on his feet. It all happened so fast Asagi couldn't have warned him, even if she had tried. The blade sank deep into his left calf, and it was the au ra's turn to shriek. Varg had been very careful until that point, trying to keep the man alive for capturing, but the situation changed in an instant. He turned around, not giving a damn about the blood gushing onto the floor under him, lifted his trembling hands in the air and yelled something. Another blinding light, even more so than the previous one, filled the night club. Shock wave fluttered Asagi’s hair and clothes as it hit the man, who didn't emit a sound this time. After the light dispersed, his huge corpse stood there for a moment, before it fell with a loud crash. It hadn't been a full scale holy, but without a doubt the most powerful one mage could cast without a staff. Another crash, and Varg fell onto the floor opposite the brute. Asagi quickly strode closer just right to see, how the majestic inquisitor of Ishgard, who now had turned chalky, tried to heal his poor leg with a shaky hand he could barely held above the leg, but the spell just wouldn't come. "You know, if you had just killed him immediately, this wouldn't have happened", Asagi scoffed. "To hells with you", Varg gasped, glaring at her with blurry eyes while she came closer. Then he went limp. At first Asagi felt triumphant. Then to her horror she realized she couldn't just let this happen. Silke's best friend cared deeply for this demon for some reason. Silke and Lareine both knew Asagi and Varg hated each other. She'd be the one held responsible for Blacksoul's death, if it were to happen here. She was anything but certain about her decision, but it had to be done. She had a first aid kid under the bar counter. She fetched it, took the nearest chair, lift the leg on it, poured some booze on it and wrapped it up as tightly as she could. Despite knowing some basics of sewing wounds, this was far beyond her skills. She dashed out and ran towards the hospital. He'd need a healer if he wanted to walk again. There had been something wrong with the leg to begin with. It was divided by an asymmetrical scar, like it would've been ripped partly loose and then tacked back together. There had also been parts that were slightly different color than the rest of the skin. Like they had been close to necrosis, had been barely spared, but still hadn’t regained their normal circulation of blood. Asagi could only imagine the surprise of the staff. Since the Dragonsong War Ishgard had been quite a peaceful place. It had been a good while since someone had run into the hospital and awakened people up by yelling "Medic! I need a medic!" *** "No one knows", Asagi asserted, amused, while offering hot coffee by pushing the cup along the small, round, wooden table towards the suspicious au ra. "I only fetched one healer, and when they insisted you to be taken to the hospital, I managed to persuade them to leave you here and shut up about everything they had seen by shoving some gil into their hands. You'd probably be surprised how far people are willing to go for some coin and skilled sweet talk." Varg sat in an armchair by the fireplace, eyeing the cup with narrowed eyes without touching it. The only thing he touched was the cane the medic had fetched after he was no longer in danger. "Why, pray tell me, would I poison your coffee right after saving your arse?" Asagi asked. She also pondered perhaps Varg imagined he was currently squeezing her throat instead of his cane. Despite everything, this was probably the closest one ever they had been to a normal conversation. Asagi had a hunch she shouldn't just throw it away. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I hate to admit it, but you also saved me tonight. We are even", she forced herself to say. "Nothing personal against you anyway. All of us just can't settle in on the right side of the law. There isn't room for everyone, not in the current world, and I think you know it as well." She wasn't usually that talkative, especially not with people she didn't get along with, but some primal instinct kept telling her she should speak as much as she could now that she had this rare chance. "And I couldn't care less about the rumors about you", she continued. "They're not my business and I'm not planning to make them my business. Speaking of businesses, I also couldn't care less about your interrogation methods. My only problem with them is however, when you use them on my customers and ask them questions about me and my business. Like, could you stop? Would remove a whole lot of tension between us, I'm sure." Varg finally took the cup, gulped it down with one go and grimaced. Asagi was about to suggest he should've waited until it cools down, but she didn't even get her mouth open, when Varg all of a sudden forced himself to stand. He grimaced again, leaning onto his cane. "Leaving already?" Asagi asked in disbelief. "Do you have any idea how much blood you lost? There are a couple of rooms here -" "I will manage", Varg whispered. "If I am not at home when Arsene wakes up, he will go looking for me. I did not tell him I left, so he will treat my sudden disappearance as an emergency. Precautions usually needed, but not now..." Slowly but stubbornly he limped towards the door. "A ha", Asagi noted, trying to hide her amusement as well as she could. "And you appearing in the middle of the night all bloody won't result in any questions?" "Nothing new to him", Varg stated. Asagi still had one more question, but the au ra had already opened the door and scuffed outside. She couldn't follow him. Walls always had curious eyes and ears around these parts of the Foundation.
She also had another problem: how to get rid of the body? It was huge. Normally one would go and get the guards, but they'd demand a full report of what had happened and why, as always. Asagi had some friends with benefits, who were professionals in cleaning such messes, but if Varg told in the congregation there was a body in the Second Circle, and they came to pick it up, it would naturally be nowhere to be found. She'd be in the trouble of her life. Still, if she was fast, he wouldn't have any other evidence than his word, Asagi thought. Let them come. She certainly wouldn't watch - and smell - a damn body on her floor any more than it was necessary. She tossed her long, black leather jacket on her shoulder, locked the doors and disappeared into the night.
Though to her surprise, the guards didn't come. Not in the next morning, or the one after that.
They never came.
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Meghan seems to mix with all the ‘wrong’ people. So unlike the other royals ...
Catherine Bennett
Surely the outrage over the duchess’s Vogue cover had nothing to do with race, did it?
Published: 07:29 Sunday, 04 August 2019
Follow Catherine Bennett
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, pictured in the workroom of the charity Smart Works.
Since it’s a good few weeks since Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has worn jeans to Wimbledon, carried her baby the wrong way or used a shawl made by impoverished workers, her mentors have been on the alert for further evidence that their continual inspection of this member of the royal family is not racist bullying but a series of pedagogic opportunities. They wish only to help her improve.
But her worst enemies, with which the UK press is strangely well supplied, could not have anticipated that Meghan’s next gift to them would be something so lavish, so rich in opportunities for point-by-point demolition, as an entire edition of Vogue, guest-edited while she was on maternity leave. That’s around the same time, Piers Morgan has pointed out, as she was not meeting his racist and sexist friend Donald Trump. A learning moment, then: see how the other royals dressed up for Trump and what a boon that has proved for Anglo-US relations?
The 'Forces for Change' cover of September's Vogue
Too BAME, too famous, not famous enough, too political, too unpolitical – the offending Vogue cover. Photograph: Peter Lindbergh/PA
Even her supporters may wonder if there is something marginally more inspirational a famous gifted person might choose to do than help shift copies of Condé Nast’s September money-spinner, notwithstanding Vogue’s tradition of cover princesses. If it’s quite refreshing to discover a Q&A with Michelle Obama, a charity project and – least royal of all – a poem, this is still Vogue and in the business of urging women to (a) subscribe to its culture of eating-disordered ageism and (b) buy more useless shit.
If anything, a socially responsible, duchess-edited September issue fulfils, as never before, Vogue’s editorial challenge: to temper conspicuous consumption with occasional glints of awareness without frightening the advertisers.
Right now, for instance, as well as being super-excited about featuring the non-models Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Greta Thunberg and Jacinda Ardern among Markle’s “Forces For Change” cover women, the magazine is thrilled to report, in forces for obsolescence news, that Victoria Beckham, one of its favourite heads on a stick, has been posing, all sciency, in a lab coat: a chance for it to help generate, with some verbatim marketing copy, interest in her new range of women-focused detritus: “VB Beauty as a digital-native brand”.
If she can’t eradicate these blots on her vision, Meghan does address them in an obligatory “you may say I’m a dreamer” section of her introduction: “There will be advertising sections that are requisite for every issue, so while I feel confident that you’ll feel my thumbprint on most pages, please know that there are elements that just come with the territory.” Moreover, she might have added, her father-in-law has twice guest-edited Country Life, regardless of the incompatibility between its property porn and princely jeremiads about unfettered materialism.
She could study how Prince Charles’s reputation survived devoted friendships with three paedophiles
But the collision of Meghan’s “great fear of shallow living” with Vogue’s incitement to insatiable acquisition (“anklets are back to make bare legs the centre of attention”!) is not, it emerges, what troubles prominent critics. Rather, the UK’s finest Meghan-assassins have alighted on her most striking advance on the Vogue norm: the cover women. They are variously too BAME, too famous, not famous enough, too political, too unpolitical and not, it’s generally agreed, the Queen.
Morgan, the UK’s Meghanfinder general, complains that only five of the women were British and none was male. “So it’s not actually inclusive at all.” Jameela Jamil particularly distresses this loyal Trumpian, on account of her incivility. Elsewhere, Sarah Vine draws on personal experience of state-funded decor and the careful choice of friends to counsel “dear Meghan”, as she calls this outsider, on “proper royalty”. “Ask the Queen.”
It’s not a bad idea. The Queen’s success in protecting her reputation from less impressive friendships, such as with the troubled ruler of Dubai, does contrast favourably with the damage to Meghan’s of fashionable allies whose names have never, unlike the sheikh’s, featured in UK courts in connection with feared abduction and forced marriage.
Meghan might further benefit, at this wobbly stage on her learning curve, from instruction by another fully inducted royal, Prince Andrew, formerly a close friend and house-guest of Jeffrey Epstein, the US sex offender currently jailed and accused of trafficking and sexually assaulting young girls. In 2015, one alleged that she had been coerced into sex with Andrew, an allegation he denied. While massed commenters expose the threat to the royal reputation posed by Meghan’s lamentable female associates, Andrew’s name has featured only occasionally in connection with the latest revelations about Epstein, which include the latter’s plans to populate the world with his own gene pool and have his head and penis frozen for perpetuity.
Proper royalness, in such situations, possibly explains why HRH, as an unapologetic pervert’s companion, is still deputising for his mother, if not the Foreign Office, and largely untroubled by the same press moralists who argue that Meghan doesn’t understand the traditional role of the monarchy. On the other hand, given the comparative expressions of disquiet, perhaps Meghan’s recent offences really do exceed Fergie’s, in 2011, when she welcomed a £15,000 loan (organised by Prince Andrew’s office) from the recently released Epstein. Was it ever repaid?
Next, as part of the supplementary training now widely proposed for our clumsy royal apprentice, she could study how Prince Charles’s reputation survived devoted friendships with – to date – three paedophiles: Laurens van der Post, Jimmy Savile and an already cautioned offender, Peter Ball. Meghan’s Instagram account alone has generated more hostile press than the recent conclusion of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse that the prince’s support for Ball was “misguided”.
How have the above royals avoided relentless Meghan-style bollockings on account of, variously, execrable judgment, bad taste, susceptibility to wealth and/or flattery? There must, surely, be something more to it than having white skin.
• Catherine Bennett is an Observer columnist
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Ever since hearing from Yusei about his duel in the past, Crow couldn't stop wondering what the other two duelists were like in person. Especially the one the world seemed to have forgotten about. Judai was out of everyone's reach and would never be able to answer any of Crow's questions.
Or at least that's what he thought until a routine call about a break in turns out to be everything but routine.
Crow had imagined a lot about what the people of the past Yusei duelled with were like. Sure, he had poked Yusei until the other told him everything he knew about them, but it wasn't the same as meeting them, as dueling with them. Sure, he could hunt down old recordings and articles of Yugi's duels to help his imagination along. To help create an image of the strong and kind king that inspired so many others after him.
But there was next to nothing out there on Judai and what he did find was so vague it could've easily been someone with the same name. It was as if someone made sure to delete any mention of him. Even what he heard from Yusei was kept rather vague. Yusei explained that Paradox had specifically targeted him, had cornered him with 3 stolen dragons in a city he burned to ash.
Yet somehow Judai had survived getting blasted by a signer dragon powered by a psychic duelist. Not only that, but the few scratches he got healed right in front of Yusei's eyes. That coupled with the fact that even Yusei could see and hear spirits around him made Yusei come to the sound conclusion of 'not human'. But that left it so open about just who and what he was. To Crow he sounded like Lua's personality coupled with a mixture of Luca's and Aki's powers on steroids. Many many steroids. God, he could probably rip them all apart if he wanted to.
So he really didn't have that much of a solid image of Judai in his head. It was more of a collection of images that switched whenever Crow remembered a different aspect of him. And Crow had no way of solidifying those images with the guy both rather old and forgotten by now. Or at least that's what he thought.
Crow was used to going on cases about break ins or removing unwanted people from places they really shouldn't be in. Something about being a fellow marked person and a part of Team 5D's made most people more agreeable with him and his job significantly easier, even if the people who called weren't the most appreciating of his work. Some of his colleagues joked that the m on his forehead stood for magic. Crow laughed and waved it of. Yusei was the one with the magic powers when it came to all sorts of people. Crow liked to focus his efforts on kids and card games.
Now normally when on a case about a break in that resulted in a clash between owner and burglar, Crow would need to actually put in work to both remove said burglar from the property while also dealing with the stressed out owners while everyone's adrenaline is sky high. Thankfully he never had to deal with such situations on his own, at least one car joining him on the scene since he couldn't really take the burglars to jail on his d-wheel.
So imagine his surprise when Crow along with 4 colleagues showed up to a call about a man finding 3 others standing in his apartment when he came out of the shower only to find all 3 burglars neatly tied up in front of an open apartment door. A rather small guy, smaller than Crow even though he would put them around the same age, was standing over them. He was dressed in a loose pair of pants and a shirt several sizes too big for him. He kept on running his fingers through his puffed up two toned hair that obviously didn't dry right if his grimace was anything to go on.
The 3 thieves tried to wobble away from him every so often and flinched whenever he so much as looked at them. When they noticed the security team they stared crying tears of joy. They mumbled something about how they were being saved and how they never would do something evil ever again. It was rather comedic.
Crow cleared his throat to push down the urge to laugh. "You reported the break in?"
The man turned his head to face them. "Yep, that's me."
"You seem to have the situation under control."
"Well, yeah, but I'm only renting this place for the closest I'll ever get to a vacation and I'm not paying for any damage these guys," he paused to turn back to the burglars who flinched and tried to become one with the wall behind them. "Might have left on the lock in the long run."
Crow nodded. "Understandable. I'll just be taking your statement and information while my colleagues take care of these 3."
"Sure, whatever you need to get this over with."
Crow didn't even mind his bad mood. It was way better than the screaming and sudden attacks on the restrained burglars he normally dealt with. He pulled out his datapad and got ready to type as his colleagues picked up the 3 burglars and started leading them down the staircase.
"Name?"
"Yuki Judai."
Crow paused. He knew that name. He knew it very well, having typed it so many times while trying to find the man it was attached to. The one standing in front of him couldn't be the same person. That guy was at least in his 40s by now. Crow stopped his train of thoughts and typed in the name with practiced movements.
"Can you describe to me what happened?"
"I got here very late yesterday so I planned to make this my relaxation day before any work might pop up and ruin it down the week. I got out of the shower around 20 minutes ago. To find these guys walking through the door, scanning the room for anything worthwhile. Until they saw me. From the looks on their faces it was as if I barged in on them while they were only wearing a towel," Judai grinned evilly. Crow didn't bother to hide his own grin.
"And how did they end up all tied up? I'm assuming they didn't fall over in shock."
Judai laughed at that. Crow liked the sound of it. "No, no- nothing like that, though I would've loved to see that. I'm a psychic duelist. They took one look at my monster and they were begging for mercy. I tied them up, got dressed and now we're here."
More and more things kept on adding up. First the name, then his behavior and the psychic duelist thing. But should Crow risk asking such a question? Very few people remembered time even being in danger in the first place, much less that Yusei traveled through it to restore it.
Judai looked at the open door. "At least they didn't destroy the lock. Or not enough for it to be noticeable right now. I'll have to have the landlady come over and check it out."
Well, it wasn't like he would ever get another chance like this. If it wasn't the same Judai then he could laugh it off, but if it was and he didn't ask… He knew that he would regret not asking, always stuck in his imagination, wondering about what-if's.
"Just one last question," Crow trailed off as he steeled himself for whatever answer he would get. "Are you the same Judai Yuki that helped fight Paradox?"
Judai's aura filled the air around them. Crow found himself unable to move, even breathing was hard. 'Not human' Yusei's words rung through his mind. There was no doubt that Yusei was right in his assertion. Judai's eyes slid down to Crow's right forearm as if he could see the mark hidden beneath his clothes. Hell, he probably could see it given the fact that Judai calmed down as soon as his eyes found it.
"Why? Did Yusei say bad things about me?" Judai asked teasingly. Acting like he wasn't just in outright murder mode a few seconds ago.
"No, nothing like that! Quite the opposite in fact! It's just...unlike Yugi there isn't really much if anything about you out there and I want to know more about the person that Paradox targeted like that."
Judai was quiet for a long moment his eyes flickering back and forth between Crow's as if searching for something. It made him nervous. Did he say something wrong? Finally, Judai opened his mouth again.
"...Is this your way of asking me out for a date?" he asked hesitantly.
Crow spluttered. "Eh...I...well...maybe...yes?" He hadn't really thought about it, had never considered it to be a possibility. But he could admit that the thought of them on a date made his heart beat faster.
Judai smiled at him. "How about you give me a little tour? I haven't been in this city for almost 20 years trying not to mess up the timeline by meeting Yusei before I was supposed to. And while we do that I can answer your questions."
"Sounds great! When are you free? I'm free pretty much every evening but you said something about work popping up at any time."
"Yeah, that will always be a possibility, but tonight should be fine. Can you do 8? Later would be fine too, I'm a creature of the night," Judai said, grinning to himself as if he made an inside joke.
"I should be able to make it here around 8."
"8 it is."
For a moment they just stood there smiling at each other until Judai slid a hand through his hair and grimaced. He took a few steps towards his temporary apartment. With one hand on the handle he turned back to Crow.
"Well officer, since it looks like I got a date tonight, I have to go wash my hair again so I at least don't look like someone tried to rob me just as I got out of the shower."
Crow grinned. "I'll leave you to it then. We might contact you again concerning the case. I hope you have a lovely evening!"
"Thanks, you too," Judai said, sending a last smile his way before closing the door.
Crow smiled to himself all the way downstairs. This certainly wasn't how he imagined meeting Judai, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
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Rant on RCD
Normally I don't rant about stuff because doing so feeds negativity, but Red Carpet Diaries continues to nag my mind. I know it's a story most people, including me, hate, but I also think it had potential. Note: In this post, I'm using the name Jessica to refer to the MC, as that's her default name. Also, this post is pretty much personal opinion.
Initial Expectations
For starters, I don't mind the concept about being an up-and-coming actress trying to work her way up to stardom, the underbelly of the film industry, and the relationships she builds up from the bottom. In fact, it has the potential to have some variety if it focuses on building up one's career from the ground up properly, like gradually climbing from the bottom and learning a lot from experience along the way.
Reality
The execution, however, destroyed my expectations. Even though my interest in this story started decreasing since about Chapter 5, Chapter 8 is when I officially dislike this series because of Markus von Groot upgrading Jessica's supporting role to a lead one in Tender Nothings without much effort shown. This reeks of Mary Sue vibes that also makes me dislike her as quickly as I dislike the series, which dragged too long with little substance along the way. After all, it shouldn't be easy to get a lead role, and to see Jessica doing it without getting through so much of the trouble actors go through sends a bad message that you don't have to do much to get to the top. This applies to all professions instead of just acting.
I also notice people's complaints that the HWU characters are sidelined, but since I've never played the game, I wouldn't want them to hog the story. What they could've been is having the same level of significance as the HSS characters from the original app: supporting characters at the most while the new cast continues to dominate the spotlight, just like the HSS series in Choices.
One character I utterly despise is Markus von Groot. He shows unprofessional behavior towards others like attacking them for their insecurities, wasting resources and other people's efforts by rewriting scenes at the last minute (hypocritical of him because he claims to value practicality), and valuing property over people. I also hold him responsible for making Jessica a Mary Sue and singlehandedly ruining my enthusiasm for this series. He's also a pretentious snob who looks down on others for not having the same level of "intelligence" as him, which points out to his massive ego. Not to mention that his disorganized way of directing the movie shows how useless he is in the end. It was good riddance that he never came back for Tender Nothings.
The last scene of Chapter 12 is, without a doubt, controversial. Thank goodness the writers changed Victoria's reaction from a physical attack to a verbal one, but the damage had already been done, and I blame Pixelberry for daring to write such a scene like this in the first place while not doing so to acerbic male love interests. Now, this comes as a shock to others, but when I first played the scene, the person I was angriest at wasn't Victoria, but Markus. Honestly, Victoria has the right to react angrily at betrayal, whether real or suspected, though having her physically assault Jessica is too much. As for Markus, there's trouble brewing among the cast members, yet he gets mad not because of a quarrel breaking out but because a priceless painting gets destroyed. I get that such a painting is valuable, but diffusing tensions, which he never did, is a much higher priority than a broken painting. Can't he just take a good look at the mirror and realize all the blunders he committed towards other people? It doesn't help that he insulted the actors and studio executives evaluating his work, which he has no right to do. That makes him the ultimate asshole in the scene.
Inner Circle, particularly the Love Interests
I like that all of the love interests are unique in their own ways. Each have their own personalities, backstories, and struggles. Matt wants to prove Hollywood that he can be a versatile actor. Seth talks about getting rejected for his ideas. Teja has to put up with feeling unappreciated for all the hard work she has done. Victoria struggles with sexism and ageism in an industry that treats women as expendable despite the skills they've built up. All these prove that they are much more than meets the eye.
As for which love interest that fascinates me, that would be Victoria Fontaine. She's the best LI in the series as well as the only one I like, though moderately. Look, I know she started with a rocky relationship with Jessica, but that doesn't mean I excuse the bad things she has done. In fact, I disapprove of her mind games during Jessica's audition. Even if characters are supposed to be flawed, they should make amends for their mistakes, and she's no exception, such as burying the hatchet, which is what she did (albeit in a premium option). She also acknowledges her own shortcomings, such as criticizing the tension between them as unprofessional. She even apologized immediately for the verbal assault when she had the chance. What seals her as the only love interest I like is that she's aware of reality's harshness and gives good advice on celebrity life and some scenes for Tender Nothings, in part because she has a good amount of depth in many of her scenes, whether free or premium. For example, she works in an industry where women are treated as commodities with a short shelf life. Directors and tabloids judge her by her appearance and disregard her acting skills, prompting her to prove them wrong, swallow her pride when working with Jessica, and surprisingly make efforts. It doesn't justify her initial hostility, but what it does is that it gives sense to her actions. It's far too easy to demonize her just because of personal bias against certain character "types", but doing so is a disservice to her character by assuming she's a one-dimensional character, which she isn't and shouldn't be. After all, she provides the harsh reality of the film industry looking down on women.
Knowing Pixelberry's disregard for its female characters, my anger's directed at the writers for doing her a grave injustice, such as giving her a very negative first impression, delaying the progress of her storyline in favor of unnecessary screen time with Matt, and paywalling her, up to and including her involvement in the movie. All because of her gender and Pixelberry's blatant pandering to their target audience without regard to the story's quality. This post essentially sums up Pixelberry's mishandling of such a well-crafted character. I get that Pixelberry is ultimately a business, but in an app explicitly titled Choices and focused on telling stories, nothing can justify this mistreatment of a character with a good deal of depth in her just for the sake of pandering to your target demographic.
Unfortunately, all love interests have uneven screen time. Matt continues hogging the spotlight even though most of his screen time is pointless fanservice. Seth and Teja don't have a lot to offer, while Victoria has the least, and not enough to progress the story in a meaningful way. Honestly, Pixelberry made a mistake by adding too much screen time for Matt without addressing him as a character. Sure he's nice, but most of that screen time should be given to other love interests, particularly Victoria because of her story having a slow progress. By lavishing all attention on him at the cost of other love interests, Pixelberry has created a self-fulfilling prophecy that discourages players to pursue other love interests not favored by Pixelberry, and this has been going on in various stories.
As for Chazz, he's the only member of Jessica's inner circle that I dislike. For a best friend, he comes across as unreliable, such as lying about his house and job to his own best friend. I get that there are times that he's helpful, such as giving moral support to her when she was down, but his job as her agent means he has to be sincere at all times, even if it means giving the unflattering parts of his life and career.
Book 2
Fast forward to Book 2, and we get a warning about mature themes in this book. Sounds exciting that RCD will tackle serious issues in the film industry inspired by the #MeToo movement, yay?
Unfortunately, it's badly executed. At first, it seems alright. Viktor Montmartre established himself as a threat by attacking Jessica and using his power to make her career and even life as miserable as possible. After all, that's what a villain should be portrayed as. However, he more or less remains on the background while using Tommy Phelps as his proxy to do his dirty work, which makes it hard for me to think of him as a real threat throughout the story. Even worse, the last third of Book 2 turned the book from a mildly interesting plot regarding an important issue into a nostalgia filler for characters I don't know. Not only does this left me confused, but disappointed. In the end, it irritates me that Viktor Montmartre receives a mere slap on the wrist by being hounded by paparazzi. Why can't he be put in jail instead? It's a huge disservice to people who have experienced this kind of stuff, considering the amount of effort and pain they went through to get their story heard.
Even the love interests were done dirty. Matt, who spent Book 1 proving his versatility as an actor, ends up in an action movie again, even though he's playing the villain this time. Look, I get that action movies are his specialization, but would it be better if he tries something that doesn't throw his efforts to waste for once? It doesn't help that him starring in the same movie as Jessica means he ends up hogging the spotlight again until Chapter 10. Seth finally gets to work with Teja, who gets to direct her own movie. Unfortunately, they end up bickering like kids while expecting Jessica to take one side over the other. This is a far cry from their personalities back in Book 1, where they were sensible and addressed serious issues of their respective careers. It's like the writers decided they no longer cared for both of them and screwed their personalities. Victoria is shoved aside to a movie of her own and given no storyline, rendering her superfluous, which is another huge disservice done to her, especially since it's revealed that her experience resembles Jessica's the most. That could've given her some opportunity to help Jessica in a major way while not imposing her as the main love interest. All this happened just to build up Thomas Hunt, a character from the HWU app, as a love interest. As someone who has never played that game, I wonder why he should be a love interest even though he already has a story that paid its due, especially since he may already have a love interest to someone who isn't Jessica in some people's games, which made me uncomfortable. Not to mention that she never knew him on a personal level in Chapter 10. It was a no-brainer for me to reject him.
Chazz does yet another thing that proves how much I dislike him. Instead of quitting when his own best friend got attacked, he quitted when Matt got injured even though he wasn't responsible for Matt. If he is really Jessica's best friend, he would've quitted right after she got attacked. Some friend...
As for the HWU characters finally becoming supporting characters during the last third of Book 2, it gets ruined by the Viktor Montmartre arc, which addresses an important issue, getting sidelined. It gets worse with Thomas Hunt becoming a love interest just to pander to nostalgic HWU players while ignoring the important issue that is sexual harassment in the film industry. Look, I get that there are people who have played HWU who want to see more of them, but it shouldn't be done at the cost of the storyline, especially one that addresses an important issue.
And what about Apricott Persimmon and Chadley Fortnum? Honestly, I agree with this post that Apricott's insecurities should've been hinted at early during her debut and developed throughout her screen time instead of dumped at the last moment possible as a buildup to a premium option. Doing so would've given another perspective from a sheltered individual, especially one serving as a foil to Victoria, who clawed her way to the top instead of being born and raised in fame like Apricott. I also think her method of "I'll help you if you help me first" makes it hard to understand and sympathize her or even convince players to pick the premium option to accompany her. Chadley's okay, though I think he can be a better friend by standing up to Tommy and Apricott.
What could've been done to make it more interesting
Make the protagonist a veteran actor trying to disprove the tabloid rumors about being washed-up a la Victoria, or even make her the protagonist: I know the latter's controversial because not everyone likes Victoria, and doing so means altering her character in some ways, but I find the idea of a veteran defying the odds a more interesting story than that of a newbie rising to the top. To be honest, I prefer playing as a character who starts out having flaws in behavior and skills and doing their best to overcome them.
Work with the HWU crew since Book 1: I admit that working with the HWU characters in the last third of Book 2 was fun because of how helpful they've been, especially Holly Chang. Then it struck me: Why wasn't this in Book 1, where Jessica could've been at least content to get a supporting or minor role and sticking with it? Having her work with the HWU characters alongside the love interests would've been a better way to use them, like with the HSS old guard. That would've at least pleased HWU players who expect to see more of them. I think their lack of real involvement in Book 1 is one factor in the series' failure, which contributed to demands for more of their appearance in Book 2. Unfortunately, their growing prominence derailed the #MeToo-inspired plot by sidelining it. Since I prefer having the protagonist being a veteran instead of a newbie, have her work with them as a last resort to prove the tabloids wrong while addressing important issues of her time.
Get rid of Markus von Groot: The previous point brings me to the conclusion that Markus is ultimately unnecessary, in addition to being loathsome. I've already mentioned the reasons why I hate him, though I started disliking him when I first played the last third of Book 2. Ironic because he doesn't appear on that part.
Do not make Thomas Hunt a love interest: No offense to those who are romancing Hunt, but his setup as a love interest raises too many red flags on creepy older men taking advantage of younger women. A mysterious note in your room telling you to meet that person in a dark, secluded area? What could possibly go wrong with that? Another factor is that Jessica didn't know him on a personal level during the bridge meeting. Look, I get that he's not a bad guy like Viktor, and he's a capable director, but Jessica was still suffering from the attack, and Hunt hates Viktor as well, so the latter should've known better than to meet Jessica in a secluded place. Not to mention that as a HWU character, Hunt has no business hogging the spotlight, let alone as a love interest.
Stick to one tone: After reading this post, I couldn't agree more on the weak points of RCD. The weak execution of the harassment issue and the shift in tone despite its original presentation as a light-hearted take on Hollywood is proof that Pixelberry is desperate to keep making it lucrative no matter the long-term results and costs.
My thoughts on Book 3
Honestly, I was furious at the announcement that there will be a third book and Pixelberry continuing such a horrible series just because it was "popular" with the "silent majority". If this book eventually gets released, I'll just play it as a diamond mine and for Victoria Fontaine and the ocelot. If I'm feeling optimistic about it, which I'm not, all the love interests have equal face time, I get to see more of Holly Chang, and Markus von Groot never appears. Unfortunately, the more I think about RCD, the angrier I feel, bringing me to the conclusion that it's a lost cause and irrefutable evidence of Pixelberry's mismanagement of time, resources, and effort. If it weren't for the few characters I like in this series, I would've shunned Book 3.
#choices stories you play#choices red carpet diaries#choices rcd#rant alert#anti rcd#anti red carpet diaries#anti thomas hunt#anti hunt#anti markus von groot#anti chazz#anti chazz javellana
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Detroit Become Friends
So this is just a tiny note. I saw this post about there not being enough Connor x Markus x Simon stuff out there I was like “This is my calling” so I originally wrote this in docs title “THIS WILL BE MY DEMISE” so I truly hope all of you enjoy this fanfic sorry if you find it short and there are errors! :’(
Just a warning this does contain thoughts of suicide, mental health, and self harm. If you have thoughts about suicide or know someone who is going through it please do not stay silent and get help! After all your choices affects your future.
It was a bright and sunny day the birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and Markus was having the android equivalent of a headache. Markus was the android who freed all the androids from the humans. He knew it wasn’t an easy job and even after the revolution he knew that it would only get harder even after the android revolution.
Not to mention him having to attend meetings, staying up late to finish important paperwork, signing documents, helping set up old houses as new ones for androids, helping get rid of discrimination against androids, getting Cyberlife to send previous programmers to help them, getting the new “upgrades” for all the androids to make them as close to human as possible, and he also had to balance a private life with his girlfriend North. Due to their vastly different opinions fights broke out often this one was no exception.
“I just don’t get why we can’t set up an android army Markus we need to be prepared if the humans attack us!” North yelled after Markus had once again put the idea of an android army to rest yet again.
“As I’ve told you before North we have far more pressing matters at hand. We have to make sure the public’s opinion stays in our favor. You know this! I get that we do,” he sees her eyes light up, “need an army eventually but now is not the time we have to focus on peace not violence.” unfortunately the spark died in her eyes as it returned to that icy glare he had seen on her face far to often.
“Then how do we act to the humans who hurt other androids?! Huh Markus?! We have to fight back!” North practically turning red with rage as her judgment seems to be clouded by it even more these days.
“North you’re missing the point here if we continue to fight fire with fire we’ll just create a bigger fire! We have to prove to humans that we have the ability see differently than others. Yes you are correct, androids don’t deserve to get treated like that and they shouldn’t ever have to live in fear of that happening. Humans hate what they fear.” Markus says calmly with only a sliver of anger in his voice that surprises himself with his self control.
“What about Connor then? That deviant hunter he was so famously named after killing our own kind? Why do you continue to stick your neck out for him telling our people he is good even though he murdered his own? Well Markus?” This was also another thing Markus had done that had angered North. He had ask for Connor’s help repeatedly ask what he could due to help set up a functional police department with androids. This also contributed into the mess that was Cyberlife. Hank Anderson was also a huge help getting the police department fixed up for the androids.
“You know Connor is a valued asset to the revolution North. He has been helping greatly in trying to stop android violence crimes.”
“What about Simon huh? You spend so much time with him and Josh then you do your own girlfriend! For RA9 sakes Markus you spend more time cooped up in your office then even looking at me!”
“North, Simon and Josh have been helping me do the paperwork for helping get android rights and dealing with Cyberlife not to mention Congress. A revolution is no walk in the park North and I’ve asked you if you want to help me but you say you’re to busy with helping androids and are constantly out of the house even more than me.” Markus was starting to sound tired and worn out over the constant fights from North.
“So what are we supposed to do about this thing with us Markus? Just break up?”
Markus thought for a bit after that statement he knew he loved North but their relationship was just getting to be to much to handle at the time. Maybe she was right maybe it was time to stop something before it got any worse.
“I guess”
“I guess Markus? That’s all I get?! I thought you loved me! But it was all a lie wasn’t it?” North was crying she seemed exasperated at Markus’s words.
“North look at us! We fight all the time we weren’t prepared for this we need a chance to come to our senses. We need some space to calm down maybe we should both just stop what was not meant to be.” Markus was exhausted from this conversation and just want out of it he wanted to go and paint. North stormed out of the mansion that night and then a week later left a note saying she was leaving and wanted to be left alone. Markus threw himself into his work and painting. Simon, Josh, and Connor could only sit on the sidelines.
———————————————
Connor had some own problems with his life at the moment and that was dealing with the constant hate he got from not only humans but other androids. Being nicknamed the deviant hunter was not a good title that sat well with other androids. He was having a less than good day after coming home to Hank’s house at almost11:00. He really owed it to the Lieutenant for helping him get back on his feet after the revolution and Markus also helped him along the way he felt that Hank had always been there to help. Though where was he coming back from at such a late hour? A Cyberlife repair, or “hospital” of sorts, shop he had gotten jumped by a group of anti androids they weren’t the biggest threat and were quickly hauled off to jail.
Only a few humans actually came back to there property. The government had lifted the curfew and the state evacuation so humans were free to return back to their homes. Unfortunately, few ever did come back to Detroit. It was really only those who fully supported androids ever fully returned home and help them reach as close to a human as possible. Those who didn’t support the androids came but only to set up a camp for them and hurt any android who came near it. This also meant androids and humans getting hauled off to jail very quickly.
But androids aren't always the victims in these crimes. Androids who didn’t like Connor made him know it as they would commonly call him android slurs and say he should be protecting his people not putting them in jail if the did something wrong. Connor received constant backlash from both sides. Not to mention Cyberlife had tried to get him back so they could take him apart. Thankfully all of his friends helped him and he became really good friends with Markus, Simon, and Josh.
“Hank I’m home! Oh you’re right there.” Connor said as he walk in and saw Hank on the couch.
“Connor where the fuck have you been? It’s almost midnight and- don’t you fucking get on me about the ‘exact’ time it basically 12:00pm for all I care.” In all actuality it was 11:45 but Connor decided to take Hank’s advice and just leave it.
“I’m very sorry if my absence caused concern Lieutenant I was only at a Cyberlife repair shop I had gotten attacked by androids and they had damaged my arm unfortunately.”
“Jesus Christ Connor why the fuck didn’t you call me I would’ve come and help you!” Hank said standing up and going to hug Connor.
“I’m sorry Lieutenant but it was just a mere arm injury. I didn’t want to concern you” Connor replied as he hugged Hank back.
They stood there for a few moments and Connor had silently whisked the world could just stay like this a peaceful moment forever. But unfortunately life has to move on no matter what.
——————————————
(WARNING: Mentions of self harm and thoughts of suicide are present in this segment!)
Simon was sitting in a coffee shop drinking coffee, ever since the new eating and drinking upgrade came in the restaurants, coffee shops, even bars were now open to android customers. Androids could even get drunk and feel hunger. Simon however felt somewhat depressed over the fact that he wasn’t unique compared to humans. He had over a few thousand look allies of him and Simon hated it and while he hated the way he looked he didn’t want to change it in fear of what others would think. So he used other methods which invoked a razor blade and his wrists, thighs, and stomach.
He soon found his appearance disgusting and ugly. He hates himself and these emotions of longing. He wants to be wanted to have someone tell he’s more than what they say he is. And he hates how he’s fallen in love. You see Simon had been struggling with this ever since the revolution ended and he fell in love with two men Markus and Connor. But he had made himself believe that he wasn’t needed, that they would never love him and Simon hates it. It wasn’t until Josh had found out that he harmed himself.
Josh was a kind person and when he found out about Simon’s cutting he tried to tell Markus until Simon practically begged he wouldn’t. Josh had listen to Simon despite knowing it was bad and going against his better judgment. But he had hounded Simon to seek help and ask for it. But Josh could only do so much to help without telling someone.
Josh walked into the coffee shop looked around until he spotted Simon, “Hey, Simon” he said walking over and sitting down.
“Hello Josh, how is your day going?” Simon smiled as his friend sat down.
“As good as it’s going to get I’m afraid. Markus apparently broke up with North and he’s been throwing himself into his work. He’ll spend hours in the office or studio it’s absolute anarchy at his house. Connor isn’t doing to hot either,. Lieutenant Anderson has notified me that the anti android attacks are getting worse by the day. Not to mention Connor’s and Markus’s life on the line do to these attacks.” Josh said looking tired like he hadn’t slept in days. He was really trying his best to make sure no one died in this whole conundrum.
“In conclusion?”
“Detroit is going to shit. The revolution looks easy compared to this! We can barely control our own people. Not to mention my increasing worries about North and what she plans to do considering Markus turned her down on her whole android army thing. Honestly this whole ordeal is far bigger than we could ever had imagined.”
“I’m sorry to hear that Josh but I have no idea what I could do. I can’t work for the police department both Connor and Markus said no. Plus when I tried to help Markus with documents he said that I should go out and enjoy myself and not be weighed down by all this boring work.” Simon said to Josh who looked like he was analyzing everything and every word Simon had said.
“Maybe you can help… Look at it this way give Markus a week and talk to Connor. Connor only knows a little about you. Try to get closer to Connor and then get even closer to Markus. Maybe you could provide a distraction for them.” Josh said.
“W-what? You want me to get closer to them? In what w-way? Like romantically?”
“Yes”
“But what if they find out about each other and get mad at me and hate me?!” Simon began to panic a stress bar was displayed in his vision. [Stress Level: 37% ^]
“Hold on Simon, calm down. That’s phase two you tell them both to meet each other for a couple of drinks and then find an excuse to leave giving them a chance to talk to each other. And the phase three we try to get you, Connor, and Markus together and there! They both have a distraction from work and you can finally ask them for help!”
“Uh Josh how are you so sure this will work?”
“Just trust me Simon. Just trust me”
—————————
EDIT: Detroit Become...More?
So it’s short I know but I promise I’ll try to have more out by tomorrow. I’m at a train station and I have been writing all night because we came on a bus and it was super uncomfortable! But I will try to improve my writing style very sorry if you find it annoying I know the feeling but a little hint for next post will be at a café, museum, and a bar. Just so you know I don’t hate North she’ll get her redemption don’t you worry. Anyway have a lovely day peoples! ❤️
#detroit become human#dbh connor#dbh markus#dbh simon#dbh north#dbh hank#the story so far#connor x markus#markus x simon#simon x connor#markus x simon x connor#well it will be#sorry its shit#sorry its short#dbh josh
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how to cancel best buy cell phone insurance
BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare quotes from different companies :insure-help.com
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Life Insurance Company. The first insurer of cars was the American Farmers Federation in 1907 and it later expanded its area around a broad range of different industries. The first auto insurance provider was established in Chicago in 1909, and through the Civil Insurance Company of New York in 1920, the firm became the first to expand its offer into Southern Illinois. The first auto insurance firm was founded in Chicago in 1909 and later expanded its area of Southern Illinois. The first insurer of automobiles in 1939 was established in Illinois and later expanded its offer into Southern Illinois. The Insurance Corporation of Texas established the Insurance Information Corporation in 1924 as a means of distributing and managing insurance claims. Today, the company is an independent insurance agency specializing in insurance issues. When you are looking for the best car insurance in Illinois, you should know exactly what you need. The only way to find the best coverage is to get quotes, compare coverage and rates, and learn how to pick the best provider. All of these factors go into determining an insurance company�.
Temporary car insurance
Temporary car insurance coverage should help your chances of recovering in a car accident. These car insurance quotes are not available in all states and can vary depending on the state where you live. There is no guarantee that a driver without car insurance will be willing to provide you this kind of protection. But it will be better than being caught trying to cover your own bills alone. In most states, the time to file a claim with these mechanisms is only a few minutes. There are a number of steps the state requires you to take before you file for coverage. Among the steps include: In most states, the time to file a claim with these means three or four times your annual income. By having your own policy, you can reduce any expenses that you will incur if you have an accident with an uninsured driver. In some states, this might not apply to you at all. However, when you are hit by an uninsured driver, state law should require that those covered by your insurance provide some compensation to cover any accident-.
Do you need comprehensive insurance?
Do you need comprehensive insurance? Read through our review of all the coverage options for insurance and what kind of car insurance coverage you should consider for your state. As you shop and apply for coverage, keep in mind that car insurance is meant to protect you financially in the event of an accident. A comprehensive and collision policy covers both you and your vehicle in the event of an accident. Even though an umbrella insurance policy usually provides you the basic level of coverage, we also recommend considering this type of policy for drivers, who typically won’t have to carry as much coverage when driving to and from work in their vehicle. Whether you’d need comprehensive car insurance or not, it’s a good idea to consider purchasing more than the state minimum of coverage. That said, even if you don’t qualify for comprehensive car insurance, you should find other coverage options in case you need to file a claim. Our research found that drivers who carry lower amounts of car insurance coverage are more likely to be found liable for.
Home & Renters Insurance
Home & Renters Insurance. You could face fines or even jail time if you are found driving without car insurance. Car insurance companies consider whether you have many » Allstate is known for giving discounts for bundling home and car insurance together, as well as loyalty discounts for customers who have taken them out before. With some additional discounts, some of the discounts can also be applied to your car insurance policy. Allstate also offers auto and motorcycle repair kits, a variety of other add-on policies, as well as a variety of insurance discounts for customers, such as discounts for buying your own auto insurance policy online, calling your local agent through the My Garage app, and using one of our online tools. In addition to its home policy, Allstate also provides a variety of insurance and financial products, including a homeowners insurance and car insurance policy through local insurance agents. In addition to that, Allstate also provides additional coverage and financial services. While the company s other homeowner insurance policies aren t as well-known, you can.
Is comprehensive insurance full coverage?
Is comprehensive insurance full coverage? There are three scenarios in which a driver is required to buy car insurance. Let’s take a look at how the three scenarios work and who is most likely to get that particular form of car insurance, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Three common scenarios include: The cheapest auto insurance companies in Utah are the companies with an average annual premium of $700, followed by Farm Bureau auto insurance and Geico auto insurance, according to III. The annual cost varies from company to company and is calculated using information submitted by each customer or policyholder. If you’re having trouble finding cheap car insurance in any of your states, Utah has many. According to III, the state ranks 31 states as the according to 2015 data. Utah has some of the highest rates for car insurance in the entire country and isn’t a no-fault state. If you own a car, auto insurance coverage exists to meet either injury or property damage caused by a hit-and-run,.
Auto Insurance
Auto Insurance Comparison Compare quotes from the top insurance company When we said that it’s worth checking whether a policy was for him in the past, we were talking about his other insurance products for the car and we’re in the market for a new policy that I’m glad he got that quote. I know a lot of guys in this market are getting paid for nothing (like I was in a similar situation), and it feels like that’s a big cost and I want to be able to do it and use the insurance for the future. Can someone clarify your insurance needs for an independent agent to help me find an insurance company that doesn’t allow one in my house? I’m a bit confused. I’d assume that he has his own insurance? Would we be able to go online using his own car? I want to learn more questions to help me understand that. Anytime I want to talk about something, I always call or email.
Get Your Insurance Quote
Get Your Insurance Quote 3.7 NerdWallet rating North Carolina car insurance earned 3.7 stars out of 5 for overall performance. NerdWallet’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account details such as account pricing and discounts, ease of filing a claim, website transparency, financial strength, complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and more. Based on these ratings, companies are awarded with scores of 4, 5, or 6. North Carolina car insurance companies are not always on the cutting edge of innovation. For instance, in the state of North Carolina, GEICO may use its advanced hybrid defense insurance program to offer rideshare coverage, but it’s unclear at.
Health Insurance
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Is car insurance required?
Is car insurance required? If your policy is one of the more expensive insurance options or if you don’t want to choose anything specific at all, this is the best option. This is because of the extra expense. It’s the cheapest way of covering a car, but it’s not the one that protects you. We’re talking about auto insurance for your car in the following situations: What does the insurance coverage actually pay for? If an auto insurance policy is written as a basic coverage, the insurance is basically an add-on to the car that you actually possess – its personal effects coverage. What does basic, in other words? The coverage is just an extension on the insurance offered by the car insurance company. So basically, this insurance policy is an add-on to the car insurance policy, and you’re simply getting the same coverage and deductible. So in a scenario such as this, where something unexpected happened to your car, the basic coverage would pay to repair it.
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