#looks a bit wonky now but eh

[nortess]

saint of slay

[highoncatfood]

u were made to love me like you doooo do do do-do

[arielluva]

i just love how when me and my friends were trick or treating there was this kid just going “heeheeheehee” in a high pitched voice really fast so all 5 of us started doing it at the same time with the kid just for the funnies lol

[midnight1nk]

⭐️A few days ago...⭐️

Wow, what a wholesome episode! "The rosemary to my bread", dude, I hope my future partner will say that to me one day. Now that I had my weekly dose of silly, time to check the Puzzlevision website! Eh, I bet it's going to be the same as...

[*SCREAMING*]

WOTFI 2024 PREDICTIONS REVISITED

⚠️ DISCLAIMER IN INTRO POST ⚠️

An eye for an eye...

How are we feeling, SMG4 fandom? It's that time of year and many have speculated about WOTFI as well as what might come afterwards. Myself included with my previous theory posts, suspecting that something big is guaranteed to happen. And we didn't have to wait long.

On the 14th of September, just a few days ago, the channel's latest episode, 'SMG4 and SMG3 come up with an episode' was released. But what truly made the fandom lose their mind was the sudden change of the Puzzlevision website. If you need a refresher, here is what it looked like before:

It had:

[puzzlevision.tv] being the site title and URL

Mr Puzzles' logo

A central image that transitioned between a webp to a gif file and vice versa on certain occasions

(after choosing Save As option) the image already labeled as Now Airing

Now, there was talk about this that wasn't left originally, stating that the image (that used to be larger) now had a black border around it. At least, at the time. As someone who has worked with web design, there's actually a number of reasons why this is.

Depending on the resolution/zoom setting on your device, it might alter the site's layout.

As said earlier, the image alternated between a gif to a webp. All websites require a background color underneath all of its assets so the change in image/file size may have shrunk than what was originally. Especially if you are attempting to make it look seamless between the transitions.

Long story short, It's simply how web layouts are: formatting gets a bit wonky from time to time.

Anyway, as I already mentioned, the website has changed to this,

(supposedly someone said the password was "carnival")

Then, to this:

Changes include:

The title "War of the Fat Italians 2024" with a similar URL [www.wotfi2024.com]

SMG4 logo

A whole new layout design (obviously) which just gives off 'Greatest Showman' energy

And now we've come to the present day: fans have already submitted their minigame challenges and preparing for a carnival-themed adventure. For me and other theorists, though, we're having a field day. From the clues I gathered on the website and a few past episodes, I might be able to put together what the channel has for us this year. Let's revisit my "WOTFI 2024 Predictions"!

I already covered a lot in depth in my "Puzzlevision 2: Now Airing" theory [link] and I'll be referring back to it here, so I recommend looking it over if you haven't already.

THE WEBSITE

I was honestly surprised that I was right about a couple of things. The main one being about the website itself.

The people behind SMG4 didn’t need to put this image in, they didn’t need to keep this website on. But they did.

Well, past Ink, you nailed it. And according to Cube (FM), this is the same website host.

"don't read into it too much"

Cube, with everything going on, I might as well interrogate a website for memes' sake.

Wait, what's wrong with it?

The fact that the website is used for WOTFI of all things is what's so strange. All the previous WOTFI'S asked the fans to submit their challenges through the comment section or social media. No other option was involved until now.

Maybe they wanted to try something different like what they did for WOTFI 2023?

That's a good point. It was stated that they wanted to be more experimental with their episodes. But even then, the '23 stream they hosted was on their channel, on Youtube.

Maybe they didn't want it to go to waste? After all, sites can be expensive.

Again, it's a good point. Depending on the domain they used and the apps connected to the site, it can be costly. However, I do want to iterate what I said earlier: they didn't need to keep this website up. Better yet, if they didn't want to raise any flags, why not keep the site how it originally was with the "That's all folks!" image? Why the change? Which brings us to our next point,

WHO IS THE REAL SMG4?

Let me explain...

After the change of the website, we got this post,

This brings up a lot of questions:

Who sent the letter?

If we can assume that's Four's hand, why did the post say "you" as if there is a narrator?

If Four had no idea about a carnival coming to town, then why would he ask us to submit challenges for a carnival he's supposedly hosting?

Well, they're pretty easy to answer. We already established that Marty would come back to be the most likely antagonist for WOTFI. I mean, this cardboard cutout managed to own a pizza shop, a casino, an airline company, and a spaghetti sauce brand. It wouldn't be a surprise if he also happened to own a carnival. But as I said in previous theories, Marty isn't working alone.

He's working with Mr Puzzles.

Mr Puzzles was the one who sent the letter to SMG4 just as he did for Wren in Western Spaghetti. It hasn't exactly shown if the letter had his seal on it. Not that it needs to anyway, they would recognize his logo and know they can't trust what's inside this envelope.

Remember how I said in my previous theory that one of the ways Mr Puzzles could control SMG4 was for our blue meme lord to be his eyes and ears? In the latest episode, SMG3 comes up with the idea of a carnival coming to the showgrounds for a week, and SMG4 wanting to go on the baby teacup ride.

Mr Puzzles was there, listening to every word they said to each other. He has been since "SMG4: Inside Out".

Could it just be purely by coincidence and just something out of improv? Sure, the SMG4 & SMG3 side episodes aren't really connected to canon. But like, c'mon, the channel knew what they were doing. Everything has to be put into consideration.

If that's true, the narrator could be Mr Puzzles, the second voice inside his head. Or, for those who love the goop!4 theory, the voice could be the demonic goo slowly taking over.

Now, back to the post!Four and site!Four. If we can assume the Four from the post is our Four, then the one impersonating Four would be Mr Puzzles, once again controlling the events in WOTFI. This time, using his website. Like Cube said, Mr Puzzles is the same website host as before. Also, look at these two:

It would be too obvious if we see a PNG of Mr Puzzles on the website again so why not impersonate his narrative foil. Well, at least look dapper while you're at it.

Or, even better, Four does know about the carnival but either the goo or Mr Puzzles are erasing certain memories.

A GAME OF WITS

Speaking of the website, let's analyze the description:

Step right up, WOTFI is coming to town and we need your challenges but this time...WITH A TWIST! We're doing a carnival theme this year and we want challenges named like a minigame and a description of what they are! For example "Whack a Bob - Who can smash bob with a hammer first?" OR "Pizza Pie Peril- Survive giant pizza's raining form the sky' Guidelines - Please only 1 challenge per person - Nothing inappropriate - Please add your internet profile name in the 'name' field below Thank you and see you soon!!! -SMG4

Carnival theme, huh?

Well, last year's theme made sense. Three's notebook was stolen and was risked of getting leaked. With the casino being heavily guarded, Four and Three had to sneak in. A secret mission to take back a secretive object.

If this WOTFI has Marty and Mr Puzzles working together, then It would make sense for a businessman and an entertainer would come up with something like a carnival. The best of two worlds: fun and capitalism. Besides, the Showgrounds would be a perfect place to host it since it used to be an abandoned carnival and Mr Puzzles having something to do with the land ownership.

[SMG4: Our New Home // timestamp: 5:38]

Now, what is peculiar is the use of the term "minigame".

Ink, it's a carnival. You have to stick to the theme of carnival rides and games.

Fair, but this is WOTFI we're talking about here. If you win a challenge, you get closer to the end and win a point for your side. For WOTFI '23, every choice impacted the story and therefore the ending. If the SMG4 crew plays and wins these minigames, what do they get in return? And if they lose, would there be a punishment?

It will entirely depend on how WOTFI would play out, in three scenarios:

Marty is revealed to be behind the carnival at the beginning of WOTFI and the Crew learns that, in order to reach him, they have to win some mini-games.

Marty isn't revealed until the near end. The Crew only came because they wanted to have some fun for the day but learned that this was a sort of trap created by Marty (along with Mr Puzzles but they don't know that yet).

OR BONUS SECRET OPTION Both Marty and Mr Puzzles revealed themselves to be the ones hosting the carnival, meaning it's less likely that Puzzlevision 2 would happen unless something else happens.

Then, there is the phrase "WITH A TWIST". Sure, it could mean that it would be different than our regular old WOTFI, just as it happened in 2023. But WOTFI 2023 also revealed the twist that Mr Puzzles was actually the one orchestrating the whole thing, sending the fax to Marty about the secret recipe and his theme scattered in the background in multiple episodes. We might get a twist by the end of this year's WOTFI as well. Bonus points if we hear a version of his theme again.

Back in my Puzzlevision 2 theory, I predicted that the final battle with Mr Puzzles would happen back where it all started. With the carnival coming into the Showgrounds, it comes back full circle.

ONE STEP CLOSER

There isn't much to change from what I predicted:

Karen would be a key character for WOTFI this year. Maybe Karen just wanted her kids to have fun for the day, or even the corporation, her former workplace, gave her a tip that Marty would be there.

The Crew would have to find Marty's absolute weakness since he's technically invincible.

And possibly Pedro coming back to assist the Crew somehow.

But now I have a new prediction, based on the latest episode:

SMG4's and SMG3's relationship would change to a whole new level. That Four may need Three for something or if Three realizes something about himself, it would change their dynamic regardless.

It's really similar to how it was for WOTFI 2023 with small bits here and there all coming back to a single episode. (The notebook, the duo's meme guardian powers, Four's forklift, Three moving out of the Internet Graveyard, etc.)

It's still too early to confirm anything, but at the very least, we now have some idea what WOTFI may be about as well as evidence to back up some of my theories.

Will we get goop!4? God, I wish. I was listening to "Friends on the Other Side" and I was just imagining scenarios of Mr Puzzles taking complete control of Four with the goo. If it doesn't happen for whatever reason, I'll write it myself.

Oh well, we would just have to wait and see. In the meantime, that’s just a theory…

AN SMG4 THEORY

🎶Thanks for dropping by🎶

[lafeeverte-sims]

💐 4t2 florist set 💐

i've been wanting to get an (ideally 4t2) alternative for the flower arranging station for a while now, and the newest kit gave me the final kick i needed. i wanted something that would maybe look less out of place in an average sim's shed, so maybe just a potting table and a shelf instead of a fridge? and then i decided i might as well make something for more professional florists, so i separated some clutter from the mws flower truck (including the little flower bags that i just realized i instead call 'baskets' throughout the entire post and in the files, just ignore that). it didn't really have any recolors except for 3 different frames for the chalkboard thingy, so i made some quick recolors for some of the items too (i sort of picked the colors at random, not following any wood system or anything, feel free to recolor whatever you want).

more info and pics under the cut! lmk if there are any issues!

🌷 download: 🌷 merged [SFS] 🌷 unmerged [SFS] 🌷

credits: ea

edit: @tvickiesims updated the flower arranging station to be compatible with @picknmixsims’ crafting skills mod, you can get the updated file here. thanks, @tvickiesims!

first of all the workbench:

two subsets (shelf and table), all the original ts4 swatches which i didn't include here bc im lazy; hobby>misc $875. requires OFB!

i went for an empty shelf so you can put whatever you want there with omsps (it doesnt have slots), or, if you don't feel like arranging a bunch of flowers or whatever but dont want an empty shelf, i rearranged the original ts2 flowers and included them so you can just put them over (or under, as they act like a rug) the shelf. they're also in hobby>misc, $10.

unlike the original ts2 version it doesn't have a door to open, so the animation gets a bit wonky:

tbh it's not something i particularly care about so, eh.

then there's some bouquets to put on top of counters (or wherever else); only one swatch as it didn't have recolors and i didn't feel like making any for this, deco>misc $250:

next, wall deco, i put everything on a single tile even if some of this stuff is bigger than that, hopefully this works better for people who have to use omsps!

there's a shop sign and some display bouquets, again with no recolors, both in deco>wall &250:

some boards with ribbons, single subset and 6 swatches (one ts4 original + some quick custom ones by me), deco>wall $250:

next, flower baskets either as a single copy or a set of four, deco>wall, the single one is $60 and the set is $240. both versions have two subsets (flowers and basket) and 6 swatches of the baskets, but the single also has 6 colors of flowers, while the set only has two (a mixed colorful swatch and a fully white one).

and finally, some chalkboard + plant deco that i didn't know what to name, deco>wall $250; two subsets (frame and plant) and 5 recolors each (3 ea ones for the frame and the rest is custom)

[lurkingteapot]

Kidnap ลับ-จ้าง-รัก Ep 2

Held off so I could watch with @galauvant and man, it was a blast! Do I need to check my brain by the door when I watch? Sure do. But when I do, it's fun. Production value is good, which helps; the writing itself feels kind of wonky, but I can ignore that for now because for all the implausible bits, when it's funny, it does genuinely crack me up.

On to the live blog!

starting off on a nightmare, huh

wow James just really has no scruples whatsoever, does he? Doesn't think of rich people as human. Which -- relatable? but. oof.

Sleepwalker! So novel chapter and episode DO share a title

asdfasdfasdf this seems way more menacing

oh, Leng makes EYE CONTACT, good job my boy

oh wow that fake blood looks incredibly fake but we'll take it, eh

adfasdfsdfasdfds

ty for giving us more of a timeline here!

merch discovery

slapkiss!

oh, what are the medals for, Min?

hahaha that acting experience paid off, huh

or maye you just wanted to get him shirtless

FLIRTING

KHAI JIAO

man Ohm's so pretty

debt and more debt. Min, my boy ...

DEAL

MORE MERCH

asdfasdfasdfasdf

nice shot of Q's butt, team

asdfasdf THE EYEBROW

that CANNOT be comfortable

he's also not breathing like someone who's asleep so I'm guessing he's faking it

called it

Min is so FLIRTY wtf, dude, not the time!

awwww

oh, nightmare time

sleeptalking

oh, he cries pretty.

adfasfasdfasdf

oh idk, Q, MAYBE THE TRAUMA???

that's true

SALA WATER

have you met a lot of kidnappers then, Q?

he's so fond I cannot

oh? this is different now

oh, it's Siia Muu

I wish my hair looked that good after sleeping on the couch

Q has his NUMBER I'm laughing my ass off

this would be VERY awkward if it were actually sexytimes (and they ARE both dressed)

asdfasfasfasdfasfasdfasdfasdfasd

JEEN'S HAND OVER MEN'S EYES I cannot, funniest shot of the show right there

ok, continuity: it looks like Min's room is on the same floor as the living room in this shot, but in the next one, it's upstairs? (which tracks with the novel)

Khanomjeen is so pissed

asdfasdfsadfsadfasdfasdfasdfasdfas

MEN IS NOT BUYING IT I love him so much already

He's seen your browser history, Min.

god this show is so FUNNY

she's so smitten and he's so conflicted (and not interested)

this is really cute, actually

he's not five, Min.

Q is like "oh ... family ..."

see, this is why having one blanket per person is the superior option

HE JUST ASKED HIM STRAIGHT OUT and also Min LIED HIS ASS OFF THERE

CUTE

more nightmare? no, just sleepwalking

oop those are stairs

okay dude this sounds made up though. the waist touching, ear whispering bit, anyway. bit too convenient, no?

SPONSORSHIP TIME

also nice to see choco pie still likes to sponsor Ohm's shows

this is so NORMAL XD

ah, this is chapter 1 info

this was a code lock in the book, which imo makes more sense

exact quote, nice

in the book, he already got ambushed here, huh

wtf are you DOING, Min?! looking all over for him like that, fine, but AT HIS HOUSE?

I like how they set this up tbh

why is there no pic of his dead wife up

oof kiddo kiddo

aww he's been crying

Q that's CRAZY talk

oh this is -- oh. Oh.

OH??

Oh next week looks INCREDIBLE

[nervousladytraveler]

Only one bed "Has anyone ever told you that you talk in your sleep?" 😊

Thanks @veryflowerobservation for yet another great prompt! My response isn't quite an "only one bed" situation but I'm hoping you'll forgive me all the same.

------

“Has anyone ever told you that you talk in your sleep?” Demelza asked. She was propped up on an elbow and had been silently watching Ross for quite a while before he’d finally stirred.

Watching Ross was nothing new to her, in fact it was one of her favourite sports and had been for some time. She’d rather fancied herself an expert in AllThingsRoss™–his eyes (stormy), his gait (easy), his body hair (everywhere). She’d come to the conclusion that his forearms were his best feature and after last night, she had further evidence to support that claim. Anyone could hit the gym and build up a bicep or two, it was forearms that were the real indicator of a person’s strength. And Ross’s own did not disappoint, though she now knew he tempered that power with extreme tenderness. She’d also had the chance to stroke the soft hair on those beloved forearms, something she’d never done before.

Yes, this Ross–quiet, vulnerable, snoozy–was new to her. He blinked once or twice as he came to greater wakefulness and licked his lips (still raw from so much kissing). His dark head was visibly mussed from sleeping and of course from the tussling before sleep.

We did roll around a fair bit, didn't we? That part of the night seemed far away though she could still feel its lingering in her back and thighs.

“No...” he said slowly, a smile twitched in the corner of his mouth. “You'd be the first–are you claiming that honour?” 

“Apparently,” she said, winding a strand of her own hair around her long finger when what she really wanted was to play with his curls again. “Don't worry, it wasn't anything embarrassing.”

“Oh?” He still hadn’t moved his body and remained flat on his back (just how she’d left him, spent, only a few hours ago).

“Yes, from what I gathered, you were clearing a field. Mowing? Hoeing? I couldn't quite make out what you were mumbling. But I did catch that you were concerned you didn't have the proper tool.”

“Tool? Did I say that?” He raised a brow and turned his head ever so slightly toward her.

“I think you said scythe.”

“Like Grim Reaper scythe?” he asked.

“You tell me, it was your dream. But whatever it was, you stopped fretting once I got hold of you.”

“Then I suppose a thank you is in order, but tell me, Demelza, are you always so loquacious in the morning?”

“Loquacious, eh?” She laughed and rolled over. She itched to sit up but wasn’t sure if the sheet would come along easily and she didn't want to make a big to-do about staying covered up. She also didn't really want to bare all, not again or at least not until she knew where this was all going. “I haven't been called loquacious since second form. Mr. Reeves–all my mates were so over the moon to have male teacher that they willed themselves into a crush on the man, but I just couldn't see my way to it. And it wasn't that he had wonky teeth and dandruff but that he didn't seem to appreciate me or at least my take on things. Anyway, loquacious, garrulous, voluble–those were all terms he used for me. And now you’re looking at me, Ross, just like he did. Okay then, I’m properly chastened, Sir.…”

As she spoke, Ross’s eyes seemed serious under their heavy lids but he stayed silent. It was apparently his turn to watch.

“You know, Ross, I’m just trying to keep things light–and not awkward,” she finally broke down and said what was on her mind. “It's not exactly my usual practice to wake up next to my boss.”

“What’s the unusual part– waiting it out in your lover’s bed until morning or sleeping with your boss?” Now the dark eyes twinkled (oh, he was awake!) but she didn’t find his tease humourous.

“You know the answer to that question, Ross.”  

“Well, if you are afraid of things being awkward,” he said, this time with a full grin, warm and playful, “Maybe this will help.” He slid one of those forearms she admired so much under her and in one deft move, pulled her close. Then he kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tightly to him.

“Oh, is this how it's going to be then?” she laughed and settled against him (thank god his chest hair was soft too). Then she looked up into his face with a new worry. “Or are you just trying to shut me up?”

“No, Demelza,” he said softly, “this is how it's going to be.” 

[th3-0bjectivist]

MAY 24’ PAGE UPDATE: We’re on Deviant Art now + EPIC INSTAGRAM RANT w/ Springin’ Chip!

Heya folks! It’s your new page mascot, Springin’ Chip, with a page update and this adorable pic of me growling at the camera.

I seem to have a natural penchant for making disturbing and unnatural faces for the camera, so we’re just going to roll with it for this post until the magic runs out! If you wanna know how things are going for me, eh, y’know, I’m fine I suppose. I’m sniffin’ lots of ass n’ crotch these days! I’m also trying to grab food off the kitchen table and counter if I can reach it (I have VERY long legs and I’m a food-aggressive A-hole), and I’m putting every possible thing that’s on the ground directly into my mouth! Being a puppy is awesome, it’s almost like you don’t have to be responsible for anything and everyone just cleans all your messes for you! Carpe diem, folks!

Firstly, thanks for all the likes and reposts out there, this page is officially full steam ahead! It’s beyond full steam ahead; it’s a rusty freight train operated by a perma-drunken operator at breakneck speeds over a shallow ravine!!! One of our paintings (that we thought was a real piece of shit) ended up getting nearly 500 hits within a few weeks! And just a few little house cleaning items; the next few weeks will be SPACE ART WEEK 24’ on this page, meaning everything we post will be space-themed. We do it every year on this blog, sometimes twice a year, and we mostly use it to bridge periods of slow art generation. We’ve got new art coming in about three weeks, for now enjoy the space art gifs and cosmic images.

***** And now for the primary page update: I wanted to draw your attention to the fact that th3-0bjectivist is on Deviant Art now. Earlier this year, we shut down our art store on Poshmark (it was simply not a great place to sell art, good overall site for more practical sales though). We also shut down our gallery page on Instagram. So, if you’re looking for a place to view a full gallery of, AND perhaps purchase th3-0bjectivist’s original art, please check out our Deviant Art page. If you would consider a purchase that would certainly be appreciated, money is TIGHT for us these days, my friends! For a pissed-off but comprehensive rant of Instagram from me, please click just below. *****

I suppose you guys want my review of Instagram in proper English now, then? Y’know, folks…. I busted my dog-ass to learn English for my contributions to this blog. The LEAST you could do for me is go out and learn just a little bit of canine for my sake. But, okay humans, without further ado, here’s the expletive-laden top five reasons th3-0bjectivist left Instagram in GLORIOUS ENGLISH!

1- Instagrams’ UI/UX eats ass with bare hands. I’m a dog, folks. I like ass. I like ass A LOT. You know what I DON’T like!? Having my nose forcibly buried deep inside IG’s plastic, ugly, squarish, basic-bitch design sphincter. I mean, seriously, who came up with this design ethos!? Josef Mengele? Text that you have to squint to see!??? The fact that I have to click on things several times because your wonky-ass click-targets are so small you gotta break out a lens magnifier to see where the hell they begin and end!?? Reminders to follow blogs that you purposefully unfollowed months ago?? Fuck that noise! This isn’t a website, merely looking at Instagram is torture under Geneva statutes and I would seriously advise anyone out there reading this to avoid IG’s horrendous site design at ALL FUCKING COSTS! You’d think over time Instagram would get better at this shit! Nope!! Same bullshit on Instagram, somehow gets WORSE every year. EAT ME, IG!!!

2- Instagram is simply NOT a friendly place for artists anymore. Never really was! Looking to promote your art on our platform!? Too bad, bitch! Sit your ass down and watch the SHITTIEST of shitty videos that our algorithm prioritizes over promoting an actual resurgence of grass-roots American culture because we are desperately trying to keep up with TikTok. Great initiative, IG! Hey next year, why don’t you try to bring EVEN MORE shitty videos of white pre-teen girls trying to dance in sync with Lady Gaga classics! WOOF! WOOF with a burning, acidic bark you clueless dipshits!

3- There is no sense of community on Instagram. We sign on to Deviant Art, for the first full day we are inundated with messages from absolutely everyone that notices we’re new… and they welcome us to the community. We sign on to IG, everyone ignores our profile in unison. Why? Because community is NOT prioritized on Instagram, the INDIVIDUAL is. This is the primary reason why it’s so common to see selfies on IG that depict a veritable slideshow of a ‘perfect life’. We know the whole ‘perfect life’ shtick is an act, folks. Again, I’m a spaniel dog, and even I can recognize you shouldn’t be smiling that much in all your pics… that’s not natural! But then again, if it weren’t for the ’perfect life’ selfie and couples shot, why would Instagram even fucking exist in the first place? Am I right folks!?

4- Too many scammers on Instagram. It’s amazing how, every time we post a painting to IG, we get a message from another motherfucker who wants to purchase our art NFT! WOW! What a deal! So, let me get this straight… I sell my digital art to you at NO COST for our work, and I get… nothing in return! Fuckin’ nothing. No money. No digital rights. No citation for intellectual property. No respect. No nothing. Hey NFT scammers!! Here’s the deal from here on out. You want our art NFT!? We want 10,000 dollars, per piece, up front. We’ll give you our Zelle account, send us 10,000 dollars, up front. No more bullshit. Send us money, send us money now. You want the intellectual property to own!? We’ll trade it for cold, hard, dirty, fatass dollar bills!!! You pay, we provide. You could just buy the physical canvas art and do whatever you want with it afterward! We’ll ship the damn thing to you for a pittance. JUST GIVE US THE LITTLE BIT OF MONEY WE’RE ASKING FOR YOU PEDANTIC, CLUELESS, INTERNET NFT SCAMMER-BITCH!!!

5- Instagram is a property of Meta. Failbook sucks. Instafail sucks. Even Zuckerberg doesn’t have faith in his own properties, to the point where he has cashed out to the tune of hundreds of millions and is actively seeking to hide away, underground, once the economic shit hits the fan in the United States. What a stand-up guy! All of you who are on Facebook and Instagram might want to start jumping ship while it’s still first-and-fashionable to do so.

As bad as Tumblr can be sometimes, at least there’s a community here. At least we have something of a megaphone here. And yes, we have our beloved pornbots, but the artistic community here still has standards, which is why we push for tasteful nudes over full on penetration. Check out th3-0's page on Deviant Art and enjoy SPACE ART WEEK 24' folks!

Thanks for joining me, until the next page update/rant! Springin’ Chip

[darkboysroadtrip]

[this was supposed to be a part of the last ask so it is not drawn.]

"I can listen to almost anything" Remus says, "but the noiser, experimental, trash music is the best" he's shoving the rolled up tent into its bag, "I like loud, wonky, weird, shredding music the best!

"A lot of grunge and any and all other genres of punk can be found in my playlist, you'll also get the random musical, EDM, straight up horror noises" he windmills his hand, "y'know the usual."

"I don't think most people listen to actual screams of terror with flesh ripping, squelching and blood gurgling sounds" Virgil says.

"You don't know that, besides you listen to Doki Doki Literature Club soundtrack stuff, it's the same."

"That's totally different."

"How so My Little Nightmare?"

"That has music to accompany it."

"You... got me there" Remus agrees, "it is a pretty banging soundtrack."

Remus has finally finagled the tent back in its bag and hands it off to Virgil who hauls it on top of the car.

"No surprise to my music taste here but, any kind of emo, punk, rock, you know the stuff."

"You like jazz" Dee says, he's now sitting on the ground with Thomas and Marcy.

"I've come to like jazz because of you."

"True, but you still like it."

Virgil sits down with them, Marcy immediately goes to sit on his shoulder; Thomas in turn goes to sit in his lap to continue playing with her.

"My music taste is hard to pin point" Dee says, "I guess along with the jazz, I like whatever my boyfriends play and some classical in a movie villain type of way."

Virgil snickers, "yeah, sometimes it's scary how accurate that is."

"How do you figure?"

"Dude, sometimes I'll come into the office and you'll be standing at a window with a book in your hands, a glass of wine on the sill with low classical music playing" he laughs, "sometimes I think you're not even reading, it just looks like you're plotting something."

"Maybe I am" Dee wiggles his eyebrows.

"Oooh I love plots!" Remus butts in, "what are we plotting?"

Virgil pats Remus' head, "sorry babe, nothing."

"As far as you know" Dee mutters.

~~~

"As a Broadway Star" Roman starts with a hand fanned to his chest, "I can't see myself loving musicals."

There's a beat of silence.

"Less! I physically can not not love them, they are part of my passion, my very being."

There it is.

"I mean c'mon how can you not love musicals, they're just so enchanting!" he enthuses.

"Fun fact!" Patton pipes up, "Roman has his own recordings from his shows on his phone, so we tend to listen to them quite a bit."

"I can't help it, I'm just so talented" Roman says.

"I don't quite understand musicals, however I do enjoy listening to Roman sing" Logan says.

"Everyone does!" Patton agrees.

Roman, puffed up with all the praise is absolutely beaming.

"Eh, I've heard better" Remus teases.

Roman makes a high pitched and very offended 'ugh', "how dare you!, I can't believe my own broth- actually I can, that's so sad, you make me sad go away."

Remus gets right up next to Roman, his nose practically touching Roman's cheek.

"You'll never be rid of me" he whispers hoarsely.

Roman smacks Remus' forehead when he places it there to shove him away.

"Go finish your packing you gremlin."

Logan stops and looks off like he's looking at a camera in The Office.

"Music of all kinds are wonderful" Roman continues answering the question, "if you have the energy and/or an extensive friend circle-"

"You have other friends?" Virgil yells over.

Roman ignores him.

"-you can find something good in any genre."

"I agree" Patton says and sits next to Roman, "there's so many good music choices out there! And finding new things are always fun!"

He makes a face, "mmm well... there are some things I can't quite listen to, but that's more of a sensory issue."

Logan stops his packing to stand with his partners, "I have an appreciation for rap and I have a soft spot for nerdy educational but funny songs - I don't listen to much music honestly, I do enjoy whatever my partners put on though.

It's not that I don't like music it's just I don't go searching for it" he adjusts his glasses, "besides I like listening to podcasts so that takes up most of my listening to things time."

"You listen to uuuuus" Patton says in a lovey tone.

"I like listening to you, and I would very much like it if you would listen to me."

Patton and Roman glance at each other.

"We - we do though?" Patton says, his head cocked like a confused puppy.

"We've gotten really good at that" Roman agrees.

Logan purses his lips, "yes you have, and it is appreciated greatly"-

"I hear a 'but' coming" Roman stage whispers.

"Mm, yes" Logan says, "your butt specifically Roman, to help pack."

"But I am helping."

Logan blinks slowly just once.

"I'm looking for our next digs" Roman explains waving Logan's phone as added evidence, "and may I add: I am very graciously and humbly taking care of said digs."

"So gracious, so humble" Logan blankly remarks, "can you at least pack your personals?"

"Of course."

"Thank you."

"After I book these hotel suites."

"Fine, I suppose we do need to know where we're going before leaving."

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Main Story: Part 4 - Act 13: Budding Spring - Episode 27: Ba-dump, Crisis

Banri: We’re takin’ a 20-minute break starting now.

Masumi: They uploaded a video for the KniRoun stage.

Sakuya: Woah, they did!

Chikage: Lancelot stands out quite a bit.

Tsuzuru: They also showed the sword fighting practice, looks like it’s been tough.

Banri:  Nah, he seems to be havin’ a ball, he’ll be fine.

Citron: Itaru is having fun~

Rento: Heee~ He’s debutin’ overseas? Great goin’.

Rento: But seriously, comin’ back on the first day of performances is crazy.

Izumi: I suppose you’re right about that…

Izumi: But, even if it was unthinkable before, I think the Spring Troupe can now handle such a tight schedule.

Banri: Well, if they keep this tension going til the first day of the performances, they’ll be fine

Tsumugi: I hope Itaru-kun got to the airport safely.

Sakuya: I think it’s about time for his flight.

Chikage: Let’s look at the chat.

Izumi: Ah, he just sent a message on LIME…

Itaru: “bad news: i can’t get on a plane bc there’s a strike going on”

Tsuzuru: EHHHH!?

Sakuya: A strike won’t end any time soon, will it…!?

Tsumugi: That’s hard to tell. It could end in an hour, but it could also go on for days…

Banri: What do you wanna do? We can go through the first day with an understudy, or postpone it entirely…

Masumi: We chose the first day after careful consideration, so there would be as little competition as possible and our views would increase, so I don’t want to move it if possible.

Izumi: That’s true… And refunds will also impact voting…

Izumi: We would have to deal with refunds if we had to use an understudy, too. But at least then they would be minimal.

Banri: Got no choice but to go for an understudy, do we.

Sakuya: Um, can we wait until the last minute?

Tsuzuru: Please. Let us wait until it seems impossible for Itaru-san to return in time.

Izumi: …

Tsumugi: I’m ready to go any time, so it’s alright with me.

Sakuya: Thank you so much!

Chikage: I’m arranging a flight for him from another airport. If he makes it there, he’ll make it here in the nick of time.

Chikage: Tell Chigasaki to hurry and get to a bus.

Tsuzuru: ‘Kay!

Tsuzuru: “itaru-san, go to the nearest airport from there as soon as you can!”

Chikage: The next bus should be there in–

Citron: “i’ll say a leafage so you’ll make it in time!” (1)

-

Announcer: The plane has arrived at Narita Airport with a two-hour delay.

Announcer: We would like to offer our deepest apologies for this weather-related delay.

Itaru: (Citron used Leafage! It’s super effective…!) (2)

UC: Start running, Chigasaki.

Itaru: (I’m running!)

Saku: You can do it, Itaru-san! Curry: the director said she’ll come pick you up taruchi: it’s ok. going by taxi would be faster

Pedestrian A: Eh, why is the line for taxis so long?

Pedestrian B: Must be tourists~ Let’s take the train.

Itaru: (Huh? The line for the taxis is endless? Are you fr…)

Itaru: (Can I ask Director-san to pick me up now?)

Itaru: (But she’s probably busy with preparations, even if she comes, we won’t make it in time for the show–)

previous episode | masterpost | next episode

NOTES:

(1) citron says 青海苔 (aonori, green dried seaweed), i have absolutely no idea what he actually meant and acted under the assumption he meant お祈り/祈り (oinori/inori, prayer), one thing lead to another, and it became leafage (yes, the pokemon move; bulbapedia link) even though...

(2) ... itaru does not outright make a pokemon reference, because i had no idea how else to translate his line without it sounding extremely wonky

[pastriibunz]

A GIRL, A GHOST, AND A GENERAL - EPISODE ONE: UNCLE MAC

The little Lady in Black finally gets a new playmate after years of waiting.

General John McNamara didn’t know what to do.

It was Black Friday, and one of the Lords in Black, Wiggog Y’rath, codename Wiggly, was causing mass hysteria in the US, concentrated mostly in the city of Hatchetfield. He was saving the US President, Howard Goodman, with a sacrifice of himself. 

He knew his time was up. Nobody escaped the Black.

But he didn’t fade to dust.

Instead, he was being poked and prodded by slimy tentacles, studied by watchful, bright, glowing eyes.

“You’ll do just fine.” Wiggog’s voice boomed sinisterly. 

McNamara felt himself being taken somewhere. Suddenly, he was in a girl’s bedroom, maybe even a nursery, with the way it was styled. His clothes were odd, now. No longer was he in his uniform, now in a short sleeve blouse, bow tie, cartoony gloves, and suspenders. He also wore an odd headband with antennae that ended with a fluffy puff ball, he presumed that they were there to look more like one of the other beings that resided in the Black and White, codename Sniggle.

“Hey, lovely little princess! Papa Wiggly has a surprise for you!” Wiggly coos. His voice is softer, less sinister, yet the weight it held stayed. When McNamara looked, the voice didn’t come from a monstrous eldritch being, but what looked like a human male, other than the various shades of green and the tentacles.

“What is it, Papa?” A girl’s voice comes. Higher pitched, yet posh and formal. Possibly pubescent, it was hard to tell.

“Well, you know how you said you were starting to get bored?”

“Yes, but I believe the term I used was ‘restless’.”

“Ah, yes, you did. Anywho, I have the solution! Meet your new toy! Be good to him now.” Wiggly says before leaving.

John didn’t want to admit it, but he was afraid. Wiggog had a child? They didn’t know about that. How was he supposed to proceed? What-

“Hello!” He’s startled by a child. Bright, blue-teal hair, with 4 streaks of pink, yellow, green, and purple. Brown eyes, a toothy grin, pale skin, and a scar going along her cheek. She was dressed formally, yet childishly at the same time. If he had to place her age, maybe around 12-15.

He was painfully aware of the fact she was human.

“…Hello there.” John said curtly, stumbling a bit. It was hard to stand tall when you were half floating in the air.

The girl noticed.  “Oh, yeah, the gravity here is wonky. You’ve sorta just gotta…trust that the floor is there. Believe that you’re standing on the ground. Here!”

She takes his hands in her smaller ones, shutting her eyes. “Close your eyes.”

He felt a need to oblige. She keeps going after a moment. “Know that the floor is there. Feel the ground beneath your feet. You’re standing on stable ground. Can’t you feel it?”

John did feel it. He felt the soles of his feet on a hard wooden floor, standing on stable ground. He opened his eyes and looked at the girl, who stared back at him with a smile. She was still floating in the air, and in the time he had closed his eyes, she had flipped herself upside down. 

“What are you doing?” He asked. 

She shrugged. “Eh, I enjoy floating. It’s very fun. I've done it for a majority of my life!”

“You…have?” John questioned. Just who was she?

“Yes. For as long as I can remember.” She answered.

John couldn’t lie, he was intrigued. This girl, who they had no idea existed, who had apparently been living in the black and white for practically her entire life, this girl that affectionately referred to arguably the most terrifying of the Lords in Black as ‘Papa’, she was human. He had to know. How it happened, why it happened, who she was, and why she was still here.

“Who are you?” John said after a beat.

“You first!” She replied with a giggle.

John nodded and cleared his throat. He wasn’t going to deny this girl the information she wanted. Give some to get some.

“My name is General John McNamara of the United States Military, special unit PEIP. We call it Peep.” He spoke almost reflexively.

She ‘ooh’ed at the title, clapping for him as if he put on some performance.

“Wow…My name’s Kai Drew!” She grinned toothily.

“Nice to meet you, Kai.” He said, removing the odd headband. She gasped.

“It’s fake?! Huh?! Whu- you aren’t a sniggle?!” She shouted, going over to poke and prod him.

“I am not.” He said, pushing her away. “I’m a human.”

“That doesn’t exist, General! You’re making that up!” She said accusingly. That left him with more questions.

“You…you don’t think humans are real?” He asked slowly, with the cadence used to talk to elementary school students.

“Well…not really…I don’t think. Uncle Wiley says he used to be one, but he’s lying. My papas said so. All my papas say that they aren’t real, and that we can’t talk about them.” Kai said matter of factly.

Now this confused him. What was the goal of manipulating her into thinking humans weren’t real?

“Waaait…if you’re like Uncle Wiley, does that make you my uncle too?!” She asked, a wide smile on her face.

“I-” He started. He was quickly cut off.

“Are you my Uncle General?! Ewgh. Uncle General does not sound nice. You have a weird name, General.” She stated bluntly.

He knew now that this girl didn’t know anything about the world beyond the veil. “…General isn’t my name, it’s my title. My name’s just John. John McNamara.”

Kai makes an ‘o’ shape with her mouth. “So, are you my Uncle John? No. Uncle Johnny? Nah. Uncle Mac?”

Kai immediately brightens. “Uncle Mac! That’s it! You’re my Uncle Mac!”

John begins to refuse, but the girl launches onto him, hugging him tight. He recoils.

“We’re gonna be the bestest friends ever!” She said, clinging onto him.

John had no idea how true that was.

[sortyourlifeoutmate]

I have organized - if obviously not yet actually completed - the orks that I shall be taking to that two-person tournament my associate told me about. I still don't know what he's taking, but hell.

Again, bear in mind that, ignoring three of the meganobz, these are all models I dug out of my mother's loft after having them sit there for over a decade and have been wrangling back into something approaching acceptability.

So that'd be a small mob of shoota boyz and their trukk, a dreadnought, a battlewagon for the big mek and his meganobz to ride in (they're presently mostly in bits up top there) and finally a nice big mob of slugga boyz for my warboss to lead. That's a thousand points!

Obviously it's all incredibly ropey (and will continue to be even when it is 'finished') but here are some personal highlights.

When the new - 'new' from like twenty-plus years ago, so new to me - orks got released, one of the things I remember was a guy who did a conversion of making a big shoota by just snipping off the barrel of one and adding it to another. So I of course copied it.

Naturally, being a child at the time, I did it wonky. I still am very fond of this guy!

My dreadnought was missing his second big shoota so I glued on a burst cannon I had for some reason. I think it works! The original big shoota is stuck way back than it should be but I'm not even going to try and get it off.

(Also note the 'chaos vehicle ornaments' spiky plate stuck on the front for some reason.)

My warboss has an attack squig because that's an option and because the toothy squig with mohawk is one of my favourite models of all time. At some point I decided to paint this one a shiny red and I can't bring myself to go over it again. Might touch up the teeth a little...

I like this guy just because I decided to give him a rather old bolter. Lovely and chunky. It was a tossup between the bolter and a Gorkamorka shoota I had, and the bolter won. It's cute! Also basecoated in white for...

... some reason.

Paint's looking a little thick on this (white metal!) meganob but I was beyond caring at that point. I've actually adjusted his lightning claw, however! I snapped it off and then - using a trick I read about in a white dwarf that I had entirely ignored until just now - stuck it back on with some white tack before gluing it! And it worked! Neat!

The tournament is in the tail-end of September so I think things are going alright, actually! My painting ability hasn't progressed much since I was nine, but at least I have a better idea of what to actually do this time!

I even learned about thinning paints! Better late than never, eh?

[imjulia-andilikecats]

If Mare and Maven become a Couple (Modern Day Setting)

Maven hates rejection, both in an academic or social setting. He is very used to working hard to get what he thinks would get him praise from his mother (and father), knowing that he won't have everything he wanted handed to him like his brother.

So when Mare, his classmate and close friend, casually asked him out. Maven had to do a triple take and demanded a more direct statement from Mare. Cause he was baffled that the person he frustratingly liked, asked him out on a date.

Date went great and they planned for more.

Maven being Mare's boyfriend would start off very cautious when getting physically close to Mare. Like carefully brushing the back of her hand before holding it or slowly pressing himself behind her before embracing her. He wants physically affection from her but he is still at the point where he is not sure of how much Mare liked him and he fears the pain of being denied affection from someone he cares deeply about.

But after a few months, the shy and blushy boyfriend would turn into the annoying one. Not just the noisy, blah blah, boyfriend. The annoyingly observant boyfriend that would strategically annoy you in every way, shape or form.

He'll start small with poking Mare's face when she is busy or just staring off the distance. Lightly tugging the ends of her hair as his form of greeting and getting her attention when he feels that she is not giving him enough. Taking bites off the food on her hand when she is distracted.

Stealing her hair clips and hair ties, clipping them on the back of her head or using it to keep his curls off his face. Using her hair ties as bracelets and insisting on tying her hair (it looks wonky but he is still happy cause he get to touch her hair).

When Mare comes home in her apartment, she would have a mega jumpscare when she sees Maven standing a bit too motionless at the corner of her living room wearing some of her facemask looking like a ghost.

Maven likes to invite himself in Mare's bedroom, he would plop on top of her and just start a conversation about his day and where they should go for their next date and Mare wiggling away from him cause he was heavy. When Mare goes to her part time job, he would just sleep on her bed cause he claims its softer (he gets to sleep longer compared to when he sleeps in his own bed.)

Mare, at first she thought it was cute. Now, she has accepted the fact that her boyfriend is a cat trapped in a pretty twink's body. She still loves him though, being more physically affectionate and sometimes even using words of affirmation to let him know she likes him (even when he is being a little menace.)

Note: I think I went too far with this headcanon. Eh, oh well.

[swiftsaltsweet]

Thief in the Avatar’s Estate: Chapter 4- It gets worse

Characters: Rangi and Kyoshi and Yun (plus whoever appears in Rok)

Pairing: Rangshi

Summary:   Yun decides to head off to bed after his travels from fighting with the Fifth Nation. But as he does, he and his bodyguard, Rangi, hear strange noises coming from Kelsang’s room. When they go to investigate, they are surprised by what they find.

(Canon divergent AU-What if Kyoshi was raised by her parents?)

Prev chapter

Other Sites: AO3 and Fanfic.net

A/N:  “Thief in the Avatar’s Estate” aka “The fanfic where I make Rangi and Yun sweat” ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) They don’t get to know peace anymore. It’s Anxiety Land for them now baby! B)

Since this fic actually predates “The Hunt for Kyoshi,” the format is a taaaaad bit different. HfK has a new POV every chapter, the early chapters for this one switch sometimes mid chapter. Obvie I have breaks but sorry for the wonkiness, I believe it only affects ch 4, 5, and 7 but yeah just wanted to give y’all a warning. 8U (I know SoK/RoK do it too but it bothers me a bit now since I switched formats TT0TT) It might happen again in the future but eh…..we’ll roll with it.

______

It took all of Rangi’s effort to choke down her despair as they walked. 

Yun was wrong, it most definitely got worse. It was bad enough when they thought they were beholden to some common thief, but a daofei? 

She might as well cut her sacred hair and have the spirits take her right then. There was no way for her to recover from the shame. 

A daofei! She nervously tried to smooth the loose strands of her hair back onto her head. Forget owing her anything, if word gets out Yun was saved by a daofei. He’ll never live it down. They’ll think he’s in their pocket! They’ll-

Yun put a hand on his friend’s shoulder to calm her down.

“Rangi, stay focused,” he whispered. “We’ll worry about the consequences when we get out of here.” 

Rangi took a deep breath trying to center herself. This day had just been the worst, just been mistake after mistake. Nothing had gone right since they ran into Lee. 

Her brain began to play all the highlights of the day. If only she hadn’t tripped when they first confronted her. Or maybe if she sped up at a certain corner, or risked throwing a fireblast into the dense woods. 

I shouldn’t have lost my grip, I had her pinned down and- her brain worked against her, reminding her of the very reason why she’d loosened her grip on her target in the first place. Rangi buried her face in her hands and clawed in frustration, while a hidden flush ran down her back.

_____

Little did Rangi know, Yun was experiencing something similar beside her. Something about that Lee woman bothered him. It made him feel off kilter like it had with Rangi. Well, not exactly in the same way she had the effect on Rangi, his was more on the unpleasant side of things. Something like a dark foreboding.

He let out a small sigh, he should heed his own advice. Calm down, stay focused. One step at a time. So many steps, they’d been walking for hours with no sign of getting out of that accursed forest.

Yun looked at Lee who led the charge, she would move the unique Spirit World foliage out of the way with her earthbending every so often. A long wavy flow of her arm, a form that resembled a waterbender’s motions rather than a typical earthbender’s.

Interesting. Yun thought.

“Your form is fairly unique,” he commented.

Rangi lifted her head up from her face, small fingernail indents made in ten different places of her face. For the most part she seemed to have calmed down.

Lee flinched for a moment but didn’t stop her motions. “You don’t like the way I bend?”

“No, no! I just found it to be an interesting style, for an earthbender, you know?” He put his hands up in a friendly manner. “It just looked like a motion a waterbender would use.”

“You come across a few waterbenders in my line of work. Maybe I picked up a few of their moves. What? Is that illegal?”

“No, just….. making small talk.” He said simply. Really he was just trying to fish for information. Which daofei organization was she a part of? Which ones had waterbenders and earthbenders working in unison? Fifth Nation? Iron Fins? Lotus Blossom?

Hopefully it wasn’t the Fifth Nation, she might not like the news of their downfall of her kin caused by him.

Yun looked at the way she walked. Her movements were more delicate, like they had been during the chase. Her airy way of walking on the dust was well…..almost like air. Almost like an airbender. 

No, no that wouldn’t make any sense. Airbenders were a peaceful lot, there’s no way one would get tied up with a daofei. Waterbending and airbending could overlap in movements, so that must’ve been what it was. 

“Lee, I have a question.”

“No, really? Just one? Sigh, what is it?” It seemed like the past few hours of prodding information from her was wearing her patience thin. A lot of the earlier questions revolved around her knowledge on the Spirit World or who she was/why she was doing what she was doing. The former was met with many ‘I don’t knows,’and the latter met with tight lips. Thankfully, those same lips appeared to be loosening up now.

“What are your thoughts on the Fifth Nation?”

The snort turned boisterous laughter that came from the woman made it instantly clear she wasn’t a part of them, nor did she think highly of them.

“Haha, those flaunting peacock cats? Getting too big for their britches I’d say!”

“You don’t like them?” Rangi interjected.

“In the same sense you don’t like a nosy neighbor, sweetie. Or just a neighbor you have beef with.” 

 Rangi narrowed her eyes at Lee. If it was because of Lee’s comment or for the question she was following up with Yun couldn’t tell. “So you’re rivals?”

“I guess you could say that. But isn’t everybody?”

Yun’s eyes scrunched up. “No, what do you mean?”

“Everyone’s fightin’ somebody about somethin’,” Lee continued, swishing some ground to the side to move a small boulder in the way. “‘If you’re not with us, you’re against us.’ Or ‘You have something I want.’ And so on and so on. There’s only so much stuff to go around, people are bound to fight over it.”

“That’s a fairly pessimistic way to look at the world.” Not that Yun disagreed exactly, with the amount of info he was privy to, it was hard to stay optimistic with all the fighting that was going on behind the scenes. He supposed that the daofei world must work on a minor scale compared to the bigger governments around the world. Which both intrigued him, and disheartened him.

“I’d say it’s just realistic,” she said with a grunt, moving giant boulder out of the way with more ease than any average earthbender would. She didn’t even break a sweat!

Yun wasn’t sure what to make of her earthbending, her styles were all over the place. But one thing he did gleam was that she could move very heavy objects easily. Actually, the way she moved the foliage in big clumps was a bit overkill as well. She didn’t have to move trees and rocks that far away, wasn’t she afraid of disturbing the spirits? Or maybe she just lacked control?

“And you have an issue with the Fifth Nation because they’re too powerful? Or because they take too many resources?” Rangi asked. “I’ve also heard you lot really like to follow the ‘might makes right’ ideology. Afraid they’ll eat you up?”

“Depends on the group.” Lee shrugged. “It wasn’t their power that made it an inconvenience. Yeah, someone having more power can always be a problem. But attracting attention is also a real hassle as well.”

“Yeah, I’m sure a thief would hate attention,” Rangi muttered.

Lee stopped walking and turned on them, annoyed. “And I told you about a hundred times already! I’m not just a thief. If you’re going to call me anything then it’s a daofei!”

“Like it matters! You’re a pathetic, low-life criminal regardless!” Rangi took a defiant step forward towards Lee.

“It matters to me!” Lee marched her own way to the smaller firebender. As she did, she put her hand up and started visibly counting on each finger. “I saved your life outta the goodness of my heart. I’m getting you outta here outta the goodness of my heart, and you can’t even respect me!” 

“Oh great! Two whole ‘goods’ that were caused because you got us into this mess in the first place!” Rangi scoffed sarcastically. “And ‘Get us out’?” We’ve been walking for hours! What if you’re just leading us into a trap? Do you even know where you’re going?!”

“I may not know where we are exactly, but at least I have an idea on which way is better! If I let you lead we’d be in Koh ‘The Face Stealer’s’ territory!” She rudely pointed a finger at Rangi, and in a patronizing voice said, “And I bet you wouldn’t want your pretty whittle face stolen would you, princess? Wouldn’t get far in life without it would you?”

Rangi made a lunge for Lee, but Yun grabbed her. Luckily he got in the middle of the two before they were within arm’s reach.

“Yun, move.” Rangi glared over Yun’s shoulder, about to shove the Avatar out of her way. This thief had challenged her honor, and she wasn’t about to let her get away with it.

“No, you two need to stop. Fighting is going to get us nowhere.” He understood why his friend was upset, as pretty as she was, she worked hard to get where she was. Insanely. So Lee’s jab might’ve prodded deeper than she’d realized. But as justified as Rangi’s anger was, fighting wasn’t going to get them out of the Spirit World.

“Oh it’ll get us somewhere,” Rangi made an attempt to get around him, but as she sidestepped him, Yun grabbed her from behind, locking his arms under hers and pulling her back with all his might. He cursed inwardly at how strong she was. “Back at the Fire Academy, fighting was the best way to resolve a dispute.”

Lee gave a cocky grin at the struggling firebender. “Let her go Lil’ Avatar, this girl is finally speaking my language. C’mon Firecracker, I’ll have you on the ground before y…ou….can-”

Lee took a step back, her exposed skin paling to the same pallor as her white makeup.

“Yeah I’d run too if I was you!” Rangi made another lunge but Yun pulled her right back.

Lee’s eyes widened in horror, “S-shut up.” She whispered oh so quietly, Yun almost didn’t hear her at first. 

“I’ll shut up wh-” Lee took the risk of Rangi biting her fingers off, and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Shhhh! Behind you!” she whispered.

Yun and Rangi slowly turned around to see a very giant and very, very angry looking spirit behind them. It looked like a crossover between a Kanga-frog and a deep sea angler snake-fish. It had the head of the more angler fishy side, and the body of the kanga-frog.

It appeared to be blind, its milky eyes drifting off in all different directions, the light hanging off its forehead acting as a means of detection. Black goo pooled and oozed off of the spirit, giving it a tainted appearance. 

Before Yun and Rangi could think about fight or flight, they were both pulled by their collar and were booking down the forest.

Lee had picked them both up like sacks of flour, throwing Yun over her right shoulder, and carrying Rangi under her left arm. The two were still too shocked by the spirit to even marvel at the woman’s strength.

Lee was running at full sprint, forsaking the floor entirely this time. Having only stayed on the ground floor on the hike as a courtesy to the companions who couldn’t walk on dust like she could.

However, despite her soundless flight, it appeared that the dark spirit was still alerted, as a deafening shriek echoed through the forest. Vibrations of its running soon followed.

Lee let out a string of curses that only a daofei would be accustomed to, “Is it following us?!”

Yun and Rangi looked behind them, and they could see the light bobbing ever so closely.

“Yeah it’s gaining!” Yun yelled.

“Then do something about it!”

“What do you expect us to do?!” Rangi yelled back.

“I don’t know! He’s the Avatar-'' Yun braced himself, for the woman to demand something from him that only the Avatar could do. Fire-air-waterbend or use the Avatar state or something along those lines. All the things he wasn’t capable of doing yet. “-build a big Earth wall or something! Just slow it down!”

Yun wasn’t prepared for that, an earthwall. That was something he could do. He flexed his arms and brought up several pillars of walls. Which got knocked down almost instantly. No matter, Yun could keep bringing them up as long as he had earth to work with. 

“And Firecracker-!”

“Wh-what?!”

“-If he gets too close, light his ass up!”

Rangi looked at Lee and smirked. “Can do!”

She proceeded to twist around in Lee’s arm, grabbing at Lee’s waist and trying to climb up the woman.

“W-what are you doing?!” Lee’s cries came out a little more high pitched than she probably wanted.

“I need to get in a better position!” Rangi threw her left leg around Lee’s waist, and then threw both her arms around Lee’s shoulders, almost like a rucksack. Her right leg was almost in position to attack the spirit freely.

“Well hurry it up, you’re making this harder than it already is!” Lee slowed down from stumbling a bit while she tried to readjust her hand on Rangi’s waist, but regained her momentum as Rangi finally got into position.

“Rangi get the blast ready! I don’t think it cares much for earth!” Yun yelled to her as the spirit kept crashing through each of his earth walls, none of them slowing it down. He tried mixing it up with tripping the creature like he did Lee back in the mansion’s forest, by grabbing it by the ankle, but each time it broke through the hold easily.

Rangi took a deep breath while angling and bending back her foot. Right when the spirit was just a human length away she jutted her foot out and unleashed a giant fire stream right into its face. Coincidentally as she did so, a giant gust of wind flew by, causing the stream of fire to expand bigger and rage out of control onto the spirit.

“What? Argh!” Rangi grunted, trying to get the flame under control, but it kept expanding as the wind mixed into it, feeding off the wind’s power, before suddenly cutting off.

The spirit stumbled back from the blast, at the same time the same blast thrusted the trio forward…..right off another cliff.

“Agh! No, no, no, nooooo not again!” Lee complained as they started rapidly descending, this time it was more controlled thanks to her dust. She was taking giant leaps downwards like you would if you lost control running down a mountain. Risky large steps. But she controlled it all the same.

The landing spot was in a grassy meadow, and the second Lee’s feet touched the ground, she collapsed…. Right on top of Rangi, with Yun crushing Lee’s shoulder.

“Mmmrrrphf!” Was all Rangi could make intelligible.

“Sorry Firecracker,” Lee heaved, exhausted. Yun could hear small attempts of shoving being made against the wall of a woman, but Rangi might as well had been trying to push a mountain with her bare hands because it yielded the same effect. “You’re gonna have to blast me off of ya, I’m too beat to move.”

Yun unceremoniously disentangled himself from Lee, before rolling Lee off his friend. Rangi was redder than he’d ever seen her. Her face bore an expression akin to a mouse cat having been caught falling off the furniture. Total and complete embarrassment.

Five. Yun humorously made a mental note to himself as he stared at Rangi’s flushed skin. That makes five… I think?

“What was that?” Yun gasped out, his arms were tired from all the tough bending he had to keep up.

“A dark spirit,” was all Lee could manage to say, and Yun briefly wondered how a child was able to survive this accursed place. 

“Why did it attack us?” Rangi asked, making a point to have her back facing the two, but Yun could still clearly see the redness still creeping up her neck.

Lee shrugged. “No idea, I don’t think they like humans.”

“So we just need to avoid them?” Yun asked.

“Pretty much.”

“What about other spirits?”

“They can be iffy, it’s best to avoid most of them if we can.”

The trio sighed. Escaping the Spirit World was going to be harder than it looked.

Yun looked at the exhausted Lee and realized the literal opportunity that literally laid before him. “Lee, can you get up?”

“I think I need a minute, sorry. You guys are heavy.”

Rangi turned around and gave her a light kick.

“Ow!” Lee gave a half-hearted moan, it sounded more amused than anything else. “Is that how you treat someone who saved your life twice?”

“Sorry,” Rangi muttered, and she almost sounded like she meant it.

“Oh, that’s good,” Yun said cheerfully as he squatted down next to Lee, a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Then I guess that means I can have my stuff back.”

Lee suddenly paled whiter and whiter.

“L-let’s not be so hasty,” she squeaked. She made a futile movement to get up, but exhaustion must not have been a lie as she barely budged.

“Oh c’mon now, this is a great time to return my items that you stole,” he gave her his award winning smile. He figured they were probably in some hidden pocket near the arm sleeve. 

Lee, visibly sweating, put one arm over her chest, “C-c’mon, you wouldn’t do something so lecherous, would you? T-the Avatar isn’t a creep! R-Right?!”

Rangi whipped her head around so fast an audible snap could be heard, her expression horrified. Yun stopped his hand, completely confused. He looked at the arm he thought the items might be, and where Lee’s chest was. Back to the arm, and to her chest. Then to Lee’s panicked face, and then back to Lee’s chest.

As if he was shocked by lightning, he took his hand off Lee’s shoulder, and then scurried back a few feet away from her. It was his turn to blush from head to toe in embarrassment. 

“I-I-I’m not a creep!” he protested, sweating profusely. “I-I thought you’d hide it in the sleeve pocket! H-h-how was I supposed to-Why would you put it there of all places?!”

“Girls have more pockets than boys! Sue me!” Lee protested back. Yun wasn’t entirely sure what she meant by that, but who was he to argue?

“I didn’t know! I’m not a girl!”

“Thank the spirits for that!” Lee threw her hands up in annoyance and relief.

While Yun recovered, upset by the dirty tactics, he noticed Rangi was now sighing in relief. A childish idea ran through his head.

“But you know who is?” Yun put out hand, palm facing upward, as if offering something to Rangi. “It’s true it’d be lecherous if I did such a thing, but the same couldn’t be said if it was Rangi now would it?”

Rangi’s eyes widened bigger than a pai sho board, Lee started sweating even more. Yun suspected that Lee knew she wouldn't have such an easy out, and she was spinning her wheels. 

“W-what do you want me to do?” Rangi asked, taken aback.

“You can retrieve the items!” Yun smiled. “I mean, you’re both girls so it’d be fine right?”

Rangi looked like a panicked cat mouse yet again, her face reddening and fanning down her collar. She, however, made a motion to stand.

Lee crossed both her arms over her chest, “T-that doesn’t matter! It-it’d still be dishonorable!”

Rangi stopped her motion and went rigid at the word. The Fire Nation’s core values were rooted in what was honorable and dishonorable. Yun could see his friend spiraling, weighing the honorable and dishonorable actions in her mind. It’s honorable for her to follow the Avatar, but he’s asking for a dishonorable act. But disobeying would be dishonorable.

Yun realized, in his attempt to take the heat off of him, and to tease Rangi a bit, he may have created an unwinnable scenario for her that deeply shook her to her core.

Lee, however, was willing to grab onto anything that would dissuade Rangi, which would in turn twist the knife deeper.

“T-that’s right! It’s dishonorable! You’ll be dishonoring your family! Your country! Your topknot! Your cow!” Lee wasn’t really making any sense as she continued down the list, but it didn’t matter. Every word made it look like Rangi took another physical blow. 

Finally, just as Lee finally ran out of nouns and adjectives that could be dishonored by Rangi. Rangi stood up.

She was stiffer than a statue, her voice was devoid of any emotion or inflection that Yun had ever heard. “It’s been hours since we last ate. I’m going to go look for some food.” Despite her monotone nature, she still bore a slight flush.

She then turned around and stiffly, but hastily, shimmied off into some nearby foliage, and quickly went out of sight.

Six. Yun thought. 

“Wow, she really negative jinged outta here,” Yun sweatdropped, feeling a little bad for putting his friend in an uncomfortable situation, not that he’d planned for it to be more than a joke. He was going to need to apologize…. And to figure out how to retrieve his stolen items some other time. 

“I thought she’d do it to be honest,” Lee sighed. “She seems like a real hard ass-turtle.”

“She is.” The duo sat in silence for a good long time, while Yun pondered over what to do next. “Lee, can you get up yet?”

Lee sighed, “No, still tired.”

“Ok,” Yun stood up. “I’m going to go talk with Rangi, you stay here.”

Lee gave him a thumbs up as Yun left in the direction Rangi went in.

It didn’t take long to find Rangi, she was crouched near a bush full of berries. She only looked up at him when she heard a branch break behind her. 

She held up a handful of strangely colored berries. “I’m not sure if these are edible, I’ve never seen anything like this…..”

Yun shrugged, “They kinda look like forbidden sweets.” He got closer to her and gave her a sheep goat’s grin, and tried to make sure his voice showcased his pure sincerity, “Hey, sorry, I didn’t mean to put you in a crisis. It wasn’t supposed to be that serious.”

“Oh,” she said while she turned her attention back to the bush. “Don’t worry about it, I’m over it.”

Yun blinked at her and then teased, “Really? Huh, you forgive pretty easily. Do you happen to get over crushes that fast too?”

Rangi whipped her head around, Yun was concerned she was going to have severe whiplash at the rate she was going. “Crush??? I don’t have a crush. What are you talking about?! What would give you such an idea?!”

Yun tapped his chin, “I think I recall someone ogling some very nice abs earlier today, don’t worry, I understand. I was looking too.” He winked at her. Rangi’s eyes bulged a bit, possibly realizing she had been caught staring? He slapped one of his own shoulders with his hand, and then rolled the shoulder. “For your information, her shoulders? Very steady too! Oh wait, you probably already realized that, considering you were clinging to her like a spider monkey a second ago…..” 

“You’re talking about the daofei?! No I wasn’t-That’s not-that wasn’t- I looked away!” she finally said indignantly, and then stopped her foot. “Th-that’s all circumstantial! You have no real proof. Honestly! What would ever make you think this?!”

Yun put his hands up, as if he was in a hostage situation, but his grin said he was going on the attack. “The six intense blushes-that I’ve happened to notice- in the past 13 hours make me think that.” Rangi went ridged where she stood, realizing she’d been caught. Yun’s grin grew wider. “Listen, I get it! She’s a very pretty lady, and maybe you’re into the whole bad girl kind of thing-”

Rangi spluttered at him. “I. Do. Not. Have. A. Crush. I carry no attraction for that criminal!” 

Yun sighed, as fun as it was, he decided not to push his luck any farther. “Fine, fine. But if that’s the not reason, why are you so upset-”

Rangi punched the tree behind her, letting her fist heat up into a flame, and slowly ignited it.

Yun jumped back in surprise, “Ah! Rangi what’s the matter with you?! I stopped, so w-?”

“It’s my firebending!” She yelled at him, shame leaking into her voice. She moved her hand and extinguished the flame on the tree, leaving a smoldering hole. “It’s been messed up since we ran into that criminal!”

Yun recalled how Rangi’s flame extinguished when she’d almost caught Lee, but when were the other times? “What do you mean?”

Rangi began pacing in a perfectly straight line, “First, it’s extinguished out of nowhere! And then with that spirit, I lost control! It just started getting bigger and-”

Rangi continued her rambling, she was quickly wearing a rut in the ground. Yun thought about his training on firebending. Firebending came from within, and emotions could heavily influence how the flame took shape. It’s possible she got surprised by Lee earlier, and then was scared by the spirit. The latter, however, seemed so out of character for the military trained firebender in front of him, but it was the only plausible explanation.

“Maybe your emotions aren’t in check,” he offered.

“My emotions are in check!” The girl yelled, in a tone that showed they were, in fact, not in check.

The two sighed and pondered, at a loss. Sure, it'd only been two instances. But both happening under twenty-four hours and to Rangi of all people? It raised some concerns.

It was highly unlikely Lee herself had anything to directly do with it, she was just an earthbender after all.

Wait, Lee! Yun thought with a shock. They had left her by herself for a bit too long, and fear that she may have slipped away coursed through him. He and Rangi decided to quickly head back, foregoing the little foraging Rangi had found.

When they arrived at the clearing, Lee wasn’t there….but a message dug into the ground was.

You took too long. I got thirsty. Found a river this way.

An arrow pointing in the direction they assumed she’d went.

When they arrived at the river, they saw Lee crouched by the bank, her gloves laid next to her as she appeared to be washing her face in the river. A warm fire was lit nearby, with a few strange large fruits on sticks roasting over it. There were also three haphazard earth beds bent nearby as well. 

Yun wondered how Lee had gotten all this set up, it wasn’t like he and Rangi were gone for that long.

“Ah I was wondering when you two would be back,” Lee said, turning to the two. “I figured this would be a good place to set up camp and get some rest.”

Yun’s breath hitched when she fully faced them. She had pretty chestnut skin, with freckles that starred her face as brightly as the stars shown in her grayish green eyes. The only thing that marred her face was a small crescent shaped puckered line running from her lower lip downwards. Possibly from where Rangi bit her earlier. However, it looked less worse for wear since they had last seen her, and he wondered how that could be possible.

He could feel a slight flush taking over, the girl was very pretty. And she appeared a lot younger than her height had let on.

“C’mon what are you two gawking at?” Lee gave them a lopsided smile that turned both the other two teens’ stomachs lopsided too. “I found us some food, let’s eat”

She walked over to the campsite, beckoning them over.

It took all of Rangi and Yun’s strength to snap out of their daze, and follow the pretty girl.

[koizen404]

Stolen Shots

The giant redwood trees seemed to shrink as the RV rolled down the road. The long haul back to Sunset Bird had already begun, and the RV's seven passengers were ready to head back home.

. . .

The bright rays of sun rest against every visible surface inside the vehicle- especially the sofa. Seeing this, you decide to sit on the counter across from it. After all, you had no idea just how hot it might've become from baking beneath the summer sun for so long.

Cove seemed to have thought the same thing as well. But unlike you, he climbs up to the safety of the heightened loft, releasing a breath of relief as he lays down.

"Tired?" You ask, raising an eyebrow.

He mumbles something incoherent in response, making you smile a bit.

Deciding to let your friend rest, you move your attention to the digital camera in your hands. You had taken tons of photos of everyone during the trip, and you felt like now was the best time to look through them.

. . .

A few hours pass. At this point, your ma and your sister, Elizabeth, walk out of the bedroom on the other end of the RV. Ma sets herself down onto the couch (huh... guess it wasn't that hot after all), and began to read a brochure she picked up as everyone left the park. Kyra approaches her and the two of them start talking.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth yawns into her hand before noticing you on the counter.

"Hey Codey. Did you sleep?"

You shake your head and shoot back your own question, "Good nap?"

"Eh. Could've been better if Mr. Holden wasn't at the wheel."

"Hey," Mr. Holden chimes in. He looks towards Elizabeth through the rearview mirror, his small smile turning into a slight grimace. "I heard that!"

Your sister shrugs indifferently. He obviously meant that in a jesting manner, so- like many other things- his words didn't bother her.

She then turns her attention back to you, crossing her arms. Her eyebrows raise as she leans closer, trying to take a peek at whatever you're doing.

"Are those the photos you took?"

"Mhm." You respond lackadaisically, continuing to click through the gallery.

"Let me see what you got," she says, leaning her head in even closer. "I want to make sure you didn't get any gross stolen shots of me."

"Pfft-" That made you laugh. "Sure. Here."

You let her stand next to you as you tilt the camera to show her the screen. You click through each photo, starting from the ones you took in the beginning of the trip. Elizabeth would sometimes tell you to stop and take a closer look at the photos she's in; and if she thought her face looked weird, ask you to delete it. You easily shrugged off her requests by teasingly saying that you'd just "cut her out of the printed picture anyway." But eventually, when she'd had enough sibling-bonding time, she returned to the bedroom and shut the door.

Hm...

Now that your sister was gone, a sudden wave of boredom washed over you. You look around the RV; Ma was now showing Kyra something in the brochure, Mr. Holden was busy driving, and Mom was quietly listening to the radio in the seat next to him. You had no one to talk to.

So, why not take a few more pictures?

. . .

The first thing that caught your interest was the resting figure of your friend in the loft: Cove.

From where you were sitting, you were unable to tell whether or not he was sleeping. He hadn't removed his glasses, and the way they tilted against his head made him look a tad wonky.

Oh, you just had to take a picture of this... He'd be so embarrassed when you showed this to him later!

You raise your camera, aiming for the perfect shot. The longer you took to aim, the more you noticed just how peaceful your friend seemed to be while asleep. You noticed the way the sun seemed to highlight every distinctive feature of his from behind -- especially his seafoam green hair.

Least to say, through your camera, he looked a little too photogenic-- It was almost surreal...

. . .

Click.

Without realizing it, you had taken the stolen shot. You hastily click through the gallery, staring at the image the second you found it.

It looked perfect. He looked perfect...

'He really is pretty, isn't he?' You thought, smiling to yourself.

... You couldn't wait to see his reaction to this when he woke up.

First writing portion! Not the best, but it was fun to do!

This was lowkey inspired by the way I (irl) like to take stolen shots of my friends. They think they look weird, but I enjoy seeing how natural they all look in each photo <3 :D

[the-himawari]

A3! Hyodo Kumon - Translation [R] sweet☆kiss (1/2)

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set as Izumi

---

Kazunari: We’re starving, huh, Settzer!

Banri: Yep. Let’s head home already.

Kazunari’s friend: Kazu, do you have a second? I need to talk to you about the cultural festival.

Kazunari: No probs. What’s up?

Kazunari’s friend: So you see, we’re going to hold a fashion show again this year. Could we ask that kid from your troupe who helped us last time to lend us a hand again?

Kazunari: Ah. You mean Azamin, right!

Banri: The cultural festival’s fashion show, eh? Last time, Yuki helped with the outfits and Azami with the makeup.

Kazunari’s friend: We’re fine for the outfits, but we’re a bit short on hands for the miscellaneous tasks like the makeup assistant and such. That’s why it’d be a lifesaver if we could ask that kid and one more person to join us.

Kazunari: I see~. I’ll run it by him. Can you press pause on that for a bit?

Kazunari’s friend: Of course. I’ll leave it to you then.

-pause-

Azami: Like that?

Yuki: Yeah. It looks cute, doesn’t it?

Izumi: Ahaha, I feel a bit shy. But thanks.

*door opens*

Banri: We’re back. Oh, if it ain’t Azami.

Kazunari: Ooh, you’re right! It looks hyped up in here. What’re you guys doing?

Kumon: Ah, Kazu-san! Azami was doing Director’s makeup just now!

Banri: Did he ask you to be his model for his new cosmetics again?

Azami: Nah. She said she was gonna go meet with a friend. But she was about to leave with her makeup all wonky so I was just touchin’ it up.

Yuki: That alone made a big difference.

Kazunari: That’s Azamin for you! Say, won’t you use those makeup skills to rescue Amabi’s cultural festival too?

-pause-

Kumon: Awesome! The fashion show at the cultural festival sounds super cool!

Yuki: Like the one we participated in before?

Banri: Yeah. But apparently they have enough helpers for the costumes this time.

Kazunari: And that’s why they said they deffs wants Azami on the makeup again. What do you say?

Azami: Sure, I’ll do it. I don’t have any particular plans that day. It was busy, but I had fun last time.

Kazunari: Woo, thanks!

Banri: What should we do about the other helper? If I recall correctly, the job was doin’ various tasks and helping with the makeup.

Kumon: Here, here! I volunteer as tribute!

Kazunari: Seriously!? We’re saved!

Yuki: Are you sure it’ll be alright? It’s going to be pretty busy.

Izumi: Backstage at that fashion show felt like a battlefield…

Kumon: I’m just doing odd jobs and acting as Azami’s assistant, right? I’m confident in my stamina, so don’t worry about it!

Yuki: Uh, the tasks aside, assisting with makeup isn’t just a matter of strength, you know?

Kumon: Assisting’s just like saying “got it!” and handing them stuff, isn’t it? I’ve seen the tools Azami uses for our plays. I’ll figure it out, I’m sure!

Banri: If you don’t even know their names or uses, then you won’t be very helpful.

Kumon: I’ll know them if he teaches me!

Kazunari: Kumopi’s super fired up!

Kumon: I mean, Amabi’s cultural festival sounds like a super fun time! I wanna go for sure!

Yuki: Oh, so that’s your real intention?

Izumi: I think his willingness to learn is admirable though.

Kazunari: Of course I’ll be your perfect guide around the festival after the fashion show’s over!

Azami: Well, I can teach him without holdin’ back, plus it’ll save me since he’ll be easy to use as a helper…

Kazunari: My friend said they’ll thank you too. Keep that spirit up and do your best, Kumopi!

Kumon: Seriously!? I’m gonna give it my all!

Azami: Director. I’d like to ask for your help while I teach Kumon the makeup tools. You okay with that?

Izumi: You don’t even have to ask! I’ll help in any way I can.

Kumon: I’m gonna study with all my might! Azami, Director, I’m in your hands!

---

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