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ray-gt · 3 months ago

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A Night at the Quasar Cafe [gtgotcha4gaza]

For: @biggnansmol, @gtgotcha4gaza Prompt: First Date (giant/human) Summary: Sabine Ducote is professionally curious, or at least that's how she likes to describe her work. Part private eye, part bounty hunter, she makes a living dealing in other people's business. But when a favour sends her to a sketchy out-of-quadrant "Boundary Bar" to meet with an informant four times her size, Sabine realises just how dangerous curiosity can be.

CW: side character death, descriptions of minor violence

[ao3]

The Informant

Sabine’s ship communicator flashed a bright red and she didn’t know whether to smile or groan when she saw the ID. She decided on both. She ignored it for a while, focussing on navigating to the jump point, hoping the call would die.

On the back of her neck, the hairs pricked.

Let him wait

But when it began bipping incessantly - angry at being ignored, like a toddler pulling at her pant leg - she finally answered.

“With all this cold calling, Jay, I’m beginning to think you’re sweet on me.”

Jay’s voice erupted with something between a cough, a bark, and a laugh. Sabine could imagine the volcanic ash pouring from his thick, scarred lips, and between his black mandibles, as he sat in his office, looking over the bright lights of Blue Marine, the casino empire he built from nothing to cover an entire moon.

No doubt, there was a Nethulyan cigar between his pincers - Sabine could almost smell the smoke through her ship’s speakers.

“Ah, Saba,” He said with a wheeze. “You know me, can’t be tied down. But if I were to go for one of you gross, fleshy humans, you’re first on my list.”

“Every girl’s dream. Though really, Jay, being first hasn’t exactly done me any favours.”

“The Irixes still on your tail?”

She couldn’t help but tense her fists around the ship controls. She fought every instinct in her begging to turn around, to check no one was sneaking up on her. Rationally, she knew it was impossible for the Irixes to be on her ship, but it didn’t stop the slow wave of goosebumps washing over her skin.

“Yeah, yours isn’t the only list I’m top of.” She muttered, reworking her route to accomodate an approaching comet. “Hugo got life.”

“I heard. Took every lawyer within 20 systems to stop him getting a sunset. Well, that’s the business, ain’t it?” She heard Jay’s mandible’s click together over the line - his equivalent of a mother’s disappointed tut. “Lotta money in the Go’oran trade, but it’s a risky market and the competition’s killer.” This earned another laboured laugh, chuffed at his own joke. “Hugo’s top dog. They’ll be lost without him for a while.”

“And they’re channeling all that loss into finding my arse and roasting it on a spit.”

“Come on, Saba. That’s not their style. They’d much rather spaghettify you in a black hole.”

“Which is why I’m getting as far away from Keridian as I can.”

“This is what happens when you take jobs with the authorities. No protection, no thank you - just a lowballed cheque and lot of enemies. Never met anyone more crooked than a judge, I’ll tell you that much for free.”

“About the only thing you’d do for free.”

“I have something you might like.” His voice peaked in a tease, like a used ship salesmen slapping a claw on a vessel that wouldn’t even reach orbit.

“I’m lying low.”

She knew there was no point hinting with him. It wasn’t that he was daft. He’d pick up a hint, but he’d prefer to crush it between his pretty orange pincers than take it seriously.

“I know, but I’ve always said the best way to get over an old job is to pick up a new one.”

“We’re talking about one of the biggest crime families in the galaxy, Jay, not one of your exes.”

“Eh,” He offered in response, taking a long drag of the cigar. She knew he was rolling his head on his neck, unconvinced. “You want a job.”

“I want quiet.”

“Quiet’s boring. You want something that makes you curious.”

“Isn’t that what kills the cat?”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“Earth thing.”

“Ah.”

Her navigator flashed, warning her she was approaching the jump point.

“Look, Jay, I’m about to make a jump and I’m not calling you back.”

Jay clicked his mandibles again and voice became unusually sober.

“I need you to take this job, Saba. I don’t trust anyone else. Consider it the Favour.”

Sabine ground her teeth together and veered her ship off-course, pulling out of the high-trafficked bottleneck leading up to the jump point.

Jay wasn’t a good person but, really, neither was she. He was one of her first clients when she entered the trade and they quickly formed a profitable partnership. Sabine was good at getting information and Jay was good at using it. It wasn’t a question of morality - they’d both happily take money from the sinners and the saints - but there was an unspoken honour code to these things. Once you commit to a job, you finish it. And a favour is always repaid.

She put the ship into an idle orbit around a nearby moon and stood up. Pacing, she took groups of her braids and begun weaving them together into one large plait. She couldn’t speak. It was like she’d been caught snitching by the Moth-Ean cartel and had her jaw sealed shut.

“You still there?”

Sabine rubbed her eyebrows.

“I can’t believe you’re calling in the Favour. With the Irixes sending word to every contact in the Quadrant. I’d be surprised if my face wasn’t slapped on every Keridian bounty board available.”

“Stop acting like this is your first time in hot water. You want safe, Saba? I could’ve given you a job working tables at Blue Marine. The Irixes are no worse than the Tooras, or the Solaris Siblings, the Li Party, or any of the other targets you’ve had.”

Sabine sighed and shook her arms in an effort to rid them of the tickling nerves shivering within. He was right. This wasn’t the first time people had tried to intimidate her and stop her from working - if they killed her or chased her off, that’d be a win for them. She had to keep going like they didn’t scare the living shit out of her.

But, there were very few people as deadly as Hugo Irix. It’d taken more time, resources, and personal sacrifice than she’d like to admit to become a trusted member of his circle, learn the key nodes of the Irixes Go’oran trade network, and systematically turn them in with enough evidence to get Hugo a life sentence in maximum security.

The look she’d shared with him as she stepped up to testify….

“What’s the job?”

“There’s my Saba! I was afraid I’d lost her. Don’t worry, compared to Hugo, this is child’s play.”

Sabine doubted that. Knowing Jay, he wouldn’t use the Favour on something simple. He had a better eye for value than that. She didn’t interrupt him though and he kept going.

“And it’s far enough away from Keridian that the Irixes won’t follow you. They have very little presence.”

“Out of Quadrant?”

“Boundary. Have you ever been to the Quasar Cafe?”

***

Sabine approached the Reeka woman from across the adjusted bar, weaving past other mixed size gatherings. As she passed, she heard snippets of conversations, locking any interesting details away in case they became relevant later.

Mostly, the folk who occupied the mixed size bars wanted to keep their business to themselves. It wasn’t illegal, per se, to mix with other species of such varying sizes, but it definitely wasn’t the norm. The hushed chatter of business deals or awkward flirting floated around her like the gentle thrum of a ship engine.

There was the shabby business woman whose eyes never left her cradled glass as a large, brick wall of a Hexigal slid a black bag across the table with his pinky. It would take her both arms to lift it. As it was nudged, the bag squirmed but made no sound.

“As promised.” Grumbled the Hexigal. The woman neither moved nor spoke.

Then there was the over-confident human, teething a martini olive as the reptilian skin of the large Olura (nearly double his height) opposite him shifted from a deep blue to a brilliant chartreuse. A blush if Sabine could hazard a guess. Or, at least, close enough.

Next to the Reeka, a Zidirin (half Sabine’s height) and a Vojuk (5 times and then some) spoke in low tones over a game of mahjong. Seeing the familiar Earth game in a Boundary Bar half a galaxy away almost made her do a double-take. How did it get there? Where’d they learn it?

Despite the sea of curiosities that flooded the bar, the Reeka woman stood out, and not just because she was four times Sabine’s height. Reekas were a colourful and extravagant species. Jaunty, gaudy, vivacious. It was said Reeka weddings often ended in funerals when someone inevitably laughed, drunk, or danced themselves to death.

Sabine had never met one before. The few she’d seen were only in passing as they rarely ventured outside their territory. Her skin was a pale green and her hair a vibrant candyfloss pink. And despite the attention she garnered simply by existing, she was nervous.

Coy.

Her eyes, like polished peridot, kept glancing around - aware of everyone, focussing on none. Her long, slender fingers knotted themselves in the bright orange fabric of her skirt. She’d clearly come straight from work. The clash of orange and red fabric was harsh, even for the Cafe, and reminded Sabine of the uniforms diner waitresses used to wear in the 1950s.

She looked like a fresh hunt, unsure of the cage. Trusting neither the feeding hand, nor the whip. The patter of rain and the rattle of chains were, to her, equally menacing.

Sabine had met with a lot of informants before - blabber mouths who didn’t know the meaning of ‘relevant’ and the tight-lipped types who’d rather have their teeth pulled than give anything up. The opportunists, cowards, good Samaritans.

The ‘What’s in it for me's…

The ‘Maybe if I’d’s…

The ‘You didn’t hear it from me’s…

But for the most part, they looked like this. Baby giraffes on gangly legs, wide-eyed, wondering how everyone else can walk around normally when the ground was shifting beneath their feet.

Most people in the galaxy didn’t know how to turn on a stunner, let alone fire it. Most people couldn’t fly an interplanetary ship, let alone interstellar. Most people heard Hugo Irix’s name for the first time when he was arrested. They weren’t as tightly woven into the fabric as Sabine. The weren’t aware of the back rooms, back alleys, backstabbing.

This kind of informant both comforted and saddened her. Could she even remember a time when the universe shocked her with its real face?

She rolled her neck on her shoulders as she approached.

There was one part of this job which was different from the others. Her first Reeka. Her first… well, anyone this large.

In principle, the big folk handled the big folk. The same went for Sabine and her circles. People kept to their business, and that business only mingled in the most extraordinary circumstances.

Well, Jay, She thought. Consider me curious.

“Vivara?”

The Reeka’s head snapped up, both over-prepared for and surprised by the interruption. Though her gaze went too high - too used to meeting her own kind at eye-level. It took her a beat to realise the empty space ahead of her and adjust. She seemed, if only just, surprised by just how far her eyes had to travel before they landed on Sabine.

It didn’t matter that she was expecting a human, or that she was meeting a stranger at a Boundary Bar in the mixed section - she still looked surprised. She didn’t even attempt to hide her shock and fascination. Like her childhood doll had suddenly sprung to life and called her name.

She wasn’t alone. Much to Sabine’s own surprise, her skin began to buzz when their eyes met. While she’d dealt with larger folk - mostly walls of flesh valued for the way their arms resembled tree trunks - she could hardly call them ‘big’ now. Here, in a way that was entirely foreign, was a towering creature, both impressive and lithe. Powerful and delicate. Features refined and precise. She existed at scale that should be considered brutish, but there couldn’t be a word less apt. Under her rounded stare - innocent, fascinated, unsure - Sabine was hyper-aware of herself. To be swallowed whole in one glance left her feeling like she was naked with a cold wind tickling across her skin. An odd sensation to be sure, here at the back of an intimate, humid bar in a forgotten corner of the Galaxy.

She cleared her throat, pushing the feeling away with a shake of her head.

Focus.

“Sorry, I’m late.” She said as she sat opposite the Reeka, adjusting her jacket in a stolen moment to compose herself.

From her pocket, she produced a small, round device. It looked like a standard communicator, mid-range and unremarkable, but had been modded with far more sensitive microphones to record their conversation. She pressed a small, indiscernible button on the side and placed it on the table between them

She wasn’t late. She’d been at the bar since before Vivara arrived, tucked into a corner and watching to see if anyone was tailing her or if she truly was alone. Only when she was satisfied, did Sabine make herself known.

“The IH472A was a nightmare.” She continued. “But you know how the end of the week is.”

The Reeka woman didn’t say anything. Despite their difference in size, she seemed intimidated by Sabine - scattered and frozen like the shards of glass that stared back at you after taking a bat to a mirror. Not that Sabine knew anything about that.

It didn’t bother her, she knew how these things started. Now she was seated and ready to interview, she felt that initial buzz begin to fade to a dull, distant hum.

She met the large peridot eyes again and smiled her best smile, which Jay thought still needed work after all these years.

What the fuck is that, Saba? Are you trying to fuck me or kill me?

It wasn’t the first time he’d suggested mandibles would make her face more appealing.

I know a girl - very talented. She did Charley’s second pair. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do anything about Charley’s personality.

“I’m Sabine,” She said. “Thanks of meeting with me, Vivara. I know this all must be overwhelming.”

At the mention of her own name, Vivara’s green cheeks deepened in colour. It was as if it shook her from her trance and made her aware of how much she was staring. Her shoulders ever so slightly relaxed back onto her chair and she untwisted her fingers from her skirt to tuck a loose strange of pink hair behind her ear.

“Sorry,” She muttered, her voice lower than her pointed, elfin features suggested. “I’ve never been to a place like this.”

She gestured around her with jagged movements. From her jumpiness, her waitress uniform, and the neat curl of her pink hair, that was hardly a revelation. But she suspected there was more in the comment.

Sabine nodded. “That’s ok. I’ve been to enough Boundary Bars for the two of us.” Liar. “They’re aren’t as scary as they seem. Jay’s people chose the Quasar for your benefit more than anything else.”

She frowned. “Really?”

“Yes. They figured you would want a place where no one would recognise you, but that wouldn’t require you to leave Reeka territory.”

“I appreciate that. Can you imagine if people knew I was going to a Boundary Bar.” Vivara’s laugh was breathy, and the sound of it made Saba’s buzz spike. “I feel like I’m so out of my depth here. But if I went into your Quadrant, I don’t know if there would be anywhere I could even fit through the door. And if I could, where I wouldn’t be gawked at.”

There was a harmony in the way she spoke, a natural fluidity that took her from one word to the next. Sabine could see the version of her that existed prior to her being involved in this mess. Open. Free. Unburdened. She decided not to tell Vivara that even here, in the Quasar Cafe, where Reekas were regulars and mixed meetings were the norm, she still drew the attention of everyone present. Every now and then, the focus of the mahjong players on the neighbouring table was broken by a glance in her direction. She didn’t blame them, even Sabine had been shocked when she saw Vivara first arrive.

But it did make things difficult for Sabine. With everyone so aware of the beautiful Reeka in the room, either consciously or subconsciously, they’d be suspicious of why someone like her would be in a place like this. As she chipped away at the wall of strangerhood between them, Sabine worked through options. What legitimate reason would she have for being here? With her of all people.

“You’d be surprised.” She said. “The galaxy is much more diverse than you might think.”

“Are most people in your Quadrant as… - sorry, there’s no other word - small as you?”

For reasons unexplained, Sabine felt her blood go hot. There was something about that word, small, that brought the difference in size between them back to the forefront. She’d never been described as small before, being above average height for a human woman. She’d been called weak - even short by a few of the taller species - but never small. Small felt all-encompassing. An assessment. A metric of how little space she took up. Small could be dismissed with a flick of the wrist.

It set her jaw.

“You’ve definitely never been over the border have you?”

Vivara’s cheeks deepened again. “Sorry. No. I haven’t. I don’t really know what I’m meant to do here.”

Sabine rolled her head on her shoulders, enjoying the way the space between the vertebrae popped as she did.

“There’s no rush, we can start when and where you’re most comfortable.”

Saba read the files Jay sent through a few times when they arrived. This wasn’t even her first interview on the matter. Before arriving at the Qasar, she’d spoken to a few cursory people. But this was her most important.

Jay’s son, Jayron, had, without his father’s knowing, began dealing with a powerful Reeka crime syndicate, with the intent to establish his own Blue Marine in Reeka territory. However, before Jay could put a stop to it, Jayron disappeared.

His last known location? Back booth of a diner, served by the only waitress on shift - a green-skinned Reeka with bright pink hair.

Which is why they were there, meeting at the Quasar. Jay didn’t want a Reeka investigating, having little knowledge of their networks and who was on whose payroll. And he didn’t trust the authorities, particularly when it came to inter-quadrant cases.

“I don’t really know if I’ll be of any help.” Vivara rambled. “I didn’t even know anything was wrong until your friends contacted me.”

Saba’s lips twitched at the implication she and Jay’s network were just a group of friends. That she was there for any reason other than professional obligation. It was sweet - the kind of naivety she was always so hesitant to tarnish.

If she could be honest, Sabine never really liked Jayron. Where Jay’s over-confident irreverence painted him as a seasoned and savvy businessman, those same traits were brash and childish in his son.

“Let me be the judge of what is and isn’t relevant. All I need from you is what you remember.”

“Ok.” Vivara nodded. Then she frowned. “So, what are you? A bounty hunter? A private eye?”

“Sometimes.” Sabine shrugged. “I like to think myself as professionally curious.“

She paused. Behind Vivara, she noticed another Reeka walk past and sit himself down at a nearby table. He had bright orange skinned and blue hair, and when he glanced in their direction, his eyes were cerulean. They flicked between her and Vivara. There was a squint in his gaze and tension in his shoulders, and his fingers danced on the rim of his glass. He wasn’t, as some might assume on first inspection, here for leisure.

He was here for Vivara.

There you are.

She knew they’d send someone. Nothing like a Boundary Bar to make everyone think they’re more discrete than they actually are. That was the real reason for the Quasar - information. Some from Vivara herself, and the rest from what her presence would tease out, like mice from the walls.

The last thing she wanted was to make Vivara aware of anything that would make her even more nervous. Sabine’s priority was to diffuse suspicion and collect the information she needed without putting Vivara in any further danger.

In this instance, she had the advantage of anonymity. The Reeka networks didn’t know her name or face. They had no reason to suspect this was anything more than two people having a drink together.

Just then, a waitress walked past them and Sabine waved her down. She was another Reeka woman with deep blue skin and black hair. While her clothes were dark, her smile and demeanour were bright.

At her approach, Vivara’s eyes found the floor - as if she were embarrassed that another of her kind would find her in a place like this. Even though, to the waitress, they were the least interesting patrons she’d served that week, let alone that night. She worked the mixed section of a Boundary Bar between different sized territories, while striking, Vivara was far too vanilla to be anything more to this waitress than a passing thought.

“Welcome folks!” The waitress beamed. “Can I get you anything to start?”

Sabine smiled, “Just the house for me. Vivara?”

She looked over at her informant. The floor must have really taken her because it took Sabine repeating her name to get her attention. And even then, she seemed to refuse to meet the waitress’s eyes.

“Ummm, the same, I guess.”

“Easy!” The waitress said, unperturbed. “And how long have you two been together, if you don’t mind me asking?”

That got Vivara’s attention. Her head shot up, her face, neck and chest flushed a deep forest colour. But before she could protest, Sabine interjected.

“Actually, this is our first date.” She made a point of sending a coy look at Vivara. “A mutual friend set us up. And we picked the Quasar because… well, you know.”

Vivara couldn’t have looked more lost if she tried. The poor thing could only stare, embarrassed, as Sabine took charge of the conversation.

The waitress placed a hand on her chest as she cooed. “Of course, aren’t you lucky! I wish I had friends like that. Well,” She said with a knowing smile. “I’ll get your order sorted. Have a good night, girls. Sing out if you need anything.”

When she was well out of sight, Vivara leant across the table, her size more pronounced the closer she got and Sabine found herself leaning back and away despite herself. She could feel Vivara’s breath wash over her.

“Why’d you say that?” Her whisper was harsh and it sent an unfamiliar thrill through Sabine’s veins.

“What?”

“That we’re on a date!”

Sabine shrugged. “It’s always easiest to go with what people believe. Why would I waste the effort trying to conjure a new lie that would barely convince her. You’re so obviously nervous. You’d sweat less if you were trapped in a tin can on Venus - that’s a planet from my system.” She clarified when Vivara frowned. “-You can barely look me in the eye and you’re stammering through every sentence. And that’s normal.” Sabine added softly. “She thinks you’re acting like that because we’re on a date. Let’s roll with it. We’re on a date and you’re telling me a story.”

Vivara pursed her lips. “Usually my dates are taller.”

Sabine felt her eyebrows raise on their own accord. “And mine are more articulate.”

Vivara’s shoulders sagged.

“Sorry,” She said for the third time that evening and guilt wound it’s way around Sabine’s heart and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’ll tell you everything.”

Sabine’s eyes stole a moment to glance at the shadowing Reeka man. He was typing into a communicator. She raised a hand to Vivara.

“Not yet. Let’s start again. We’re on a date.”

“Right. Yes. Wow, it’s been a while since I was last on a date.”

“You’re joking.” Sabine wasn’t even acting. Even if Vivara turned around and told her exactly where Jayron was and all the contacts involved with his disappearance, that at would be the second most surprising thing she could have revealed that night.

Sabine didn’t date often either. She told herself it was because she was busy, or that it was risky. That she didn’t want to bring innocent people into her world, and that the people in her world were too far gone to ever be in a healthy, trusting relationship. Scavengers and bottom-feeders don’t thrive in partnership. They always end up eating each other.

That was her experience at least. A couple of flings that either burned out pathetically or exploded in a violent supernova. And now, she could hardly claim to be the most appealing piece on the market with her back in the firing line of every Irix contact in the Quadrant. The few beds she was welcome in would turn her away now.

She couldn’t remember the last time she made someone blush. She could barely remember how. And she could hardly take credit for Vivara’s nervousness - for her flustered sentences, her dry-mouthed rambling, her fidgeting fingers. The darkness in her complexion and the avoidant gaze were far more attached to what Sabine did than anything to do with who she was.

That was fine. That was the life she chose. If choice was the word.

But Vivara? Was she falsely interpreting the stares of other patrons? Were Reekas just that otherworldly that Vivara’s smooth, lush skin, gemstone eyes, and bouncy fairy floss bob were just average?

Vivara shook her head. “No, I don’t date often.”

“I can relate.”

“I mean, I get a lot of… approaches.” Vivara clarified and Sabine smirked. “Particularly at work, but the kind of clients I get at the diner are hardly the kind of people you’d want to spend any time with.”

Ah, there it is.

The Reeka man was looking at them again. Sabine made a point of laughing, and began weaving her braids together, eyeing Vivara with intent.

Vivara, unaware of their observer, let out a breathy chuckle. She pressed her hands to her cheeks.

“Is it warm in here, or just me?”

“It’s warm.” Sabine smiled, granting Vivara escape from her own flushing cheeks.

“Ok, good.” Vivara fanned herself with her hands. “I was going to say, you usually have to work harder to get me to blush like this.”

At that moment, their waitress returned with two glasses of a clear spirit - one that fit in her hand and one she pinched between her fingers. Of all things, that’s what made Sabine’s palms go clammy.

“Here you go!” She beamed, placing the glasses in front of them with a wink. “You let me know if I can help out with anything else.”

“Thanks.” Sabine smiled and Vivara echoed it with a low mumble.

Any time she became aware of the crowd at the bar, Vivara closed up. Sabine couldn’t let that happen. She needed her to feel confident enough to speak.

She took a sip of the spirit. It was harsher than she was used to, burning the back of her tongue like she was swallowing lighter fluid. She did her best to hide it, but it made her eye twitch.

Vivara seemed to have no issue. She sipped at her glass as if it were water. She met Sabine’s eyes and laughed.

“Strong?”

Sabine coughed. She didn’t need to, but it did the trick. Vivara laughed harder, resting a gentle hand on her chest. The sound of it, the music, made Sabine’s tongue feel heavy.

“Much stronger than the stuff I’m used to.”

Vivara raised her eyebrows, “Really? I was about to say it’s a bit weak.”

“You’ve got to be joking.”

Vivara shook her head and her pink hair bounced around her shoulders. “No. What we serve at the diner is a lot more intense than this.”

“I think that would probably kill me.” Sabine muttered. Half of her meant it, wondering what kind of battery acid Reekas drank casually at a diner. The other half of her leaned into the hyperbole, itching for another hit of the Reeka’s laughter. She got it and with it, her whole body flooded with a warm hum - much faster than what anything in her glass would achieve.

“I can’t imagine you at the diner.” Vivara said. “This is strange enough.”

Sabine was too focussed to be offended by that. This was her in. Vivara was talking more openly, more naturally. Their conversation was so boring that any inquisitive ear would have turned away.

“Who do you usually see at work?”

Vivara’s expression became serious as she caught on. It wasn’t ideal, but Reekas weren’t known for their stoicism. All emotions were as easy to read as an alphabet picture book. Her brow settled lower over her eyes and she took a swig of her glass.

Her unoccupied hand returned to burying itself in knots in her skirt.

“It’s a busy place.” She started. “Loud. The tables are always full and we’re always understaffed. We get a mix too - families like it because kids eat cheap, lonely folks like to disappear in the noise, people come during their lunch break or after work. We’re open early until late.”

“Regulars, or mostly strangers?”

“Both. Definitely some I know by name, but also plenty I don’t.”

“And in the case of the night two weeks ago?”

Vivara shook her head. “They weren’t regulars, but they didn’t stand out either. They just struck me as normal businessmen. From the way they dressed, I assumed they were workers from a nearby office. Probably higher paid than most. I’ve been working at the diner long enough to know who will and won’t tip.”

“And this group looked like they would?”

Vivara rolled her eyes. “No. The richer they are, they less they tip and the more they expect you to perform. I knew as soon as they walked in that this group was going to be trouble.” She stopped, and bit her tongue. “But not trouble like -“ She waved her hand mostly in Sabine’s direction. “That.”

Sabine smirked. That. Could she blame Vivara for painting everyone associated with Jayron’s disappearance as that? Victim, perpetrators, investigators - they were all, in their own way, trouble.

“Gotcha.” She nodded. “Wealthy, put together. Enough to make you groan, but nothing to set your alarms off.”

Vivara nodded. “That was until I arrived at their booth to take their order, and I saw… well…”

“Jayron.”

“Yes. Though I didn’t know that was his name. When I said we usually serve a mix, I meant a mix of Reekas. It was the first time I’ve ever seen anyone from another species in person.”

Sabine had to make a concerted effort to stop her jaw from dropping.

“You’re not serious.”

“I am.” Vivara’s face flushed again. “I didn’t realise my life was so sheltered.”

Sabine whistled. “So, I must really be a freak of nature to you.” She laughed at Vivara’s appalled expression and waved down her building defence. “Only a joke. You’re doing great for a first timer.”

“Thank you.” Vivara said though she looked bashful, embarrassed by her own naïveté. “If I’d known other species were so pretty, I’d have ventured out sooner.”

Sabine felt her own face warm and suddenly her jacket felt too tight. She couldn’t stop her furrowed brow.

Vivara leant in closet and a tension curled in Sabine’s chest.

“We’re on a date, right?” The Reeka offered in explanation.

The tension released and Sabine let out a long breath. She admonished herself for the small twinge of disappointment she felt now knowing it was just part of the act.

Unaware of her own effect, Vivara continued her account.

“I was so rude when I saw him.” Vivara groaned. “I didn’t know what to do. I just stared. And the others at the booth seemed to think that was funny.”

At that moment, their waitress walked past their table. In response, Sabine made a show of leaning over and placing her hand lightly on Vivara’s. She laughed and pulled her braids over one shoulder.

“Oh my god!” She crooned. “That’s so funny. You have to tell me more about it!”

In the back of her head though, she hyper fixated on the smoothness beneath her fingers, the warmth. The size of the hand beneath her own. Every minute pulse and flinch was on display below her. She could feel them in intense detail.

Vivara stared down at the offending hand - at where the two strangers touched for the first time. The waitress passed and they both pulled their hands away.

Sabine’s gaze flicked to the orange Reeka man. He was, or at least pretending to be, distracted by a game on a high screen above the bar. A few patrons were equally captivated. By the sounds of the spectators, the local team was losing. Sabine didn’t recognise the sport - probably Reekan in origin - but she did recognise the way the man’s head flung back.

“Ummmm,” Vivara said, bringing Sabine back into focus. Vivara was still staring at the space where their hands had met. Her cheeks awash. “Sorry, I forgot what I was saying.”

Sabine smiled. “You saw Jayron for the first time. Can you tell me more about that? How did he look, what were they talking about, how many people were in the booth? Those kinds of details are really helpful.”

“He looked… well, it’s hard to tell because he’s so different. But I’d say he looked overwhelmed. Constantly looking at the others, but I don’t know if it was for reassurance or out of fear. He’s about half your size and he was sitting up on the table, which I don’t think he liked. I mean,” She gestured between the two of them. “At least here, there are mixed sections and we can sit here as equals. But at the diner, the power imbalance was scary and I wasn’t even part of it.”

“That’s probably why they picked the diner. Crowded, loud, full of a species so much bigger with no one else to relate to. They would’ve wanted to isolate him.”

Vivara shivered. “That’s so scary. They stopped talking when I approached and I must have looked so stupid! My usual waitress spiel died as soon as I saw him. Then one of the four men prods Jayron with a thick finger and says, I don’t think she likes our pet, Little Jay…and I laughed!” She buried her face in her hands. “It just came out of me. I laughed. He was in trouble and I just laughed.”

Sabine buried the feeling of secondhand humiliation. But it mingled with her exasperation. Of course Jayron had to pick a Reekan syndicate for his first grand venture. Of course the desperation to out-do his father led him well out of his depth. Led to him going missing. Led his father to getting involved. Led to her getting involved. Vivara getting involved. How long would that list get before he was found? If he was found. And, if he was, Sabine knew he’d just go off and do it again. The cycle would start over.

And beneath all of that, there was her sadness for Jay, who knew his son didn’t have the gumption to take on his empire, and yet encouraged him to dream.

Behind Vivara, the Reeka man sipped his drink and watched the game. Then he paused mid-sip when his communicator flashed. He returned the glass to the table and inspected the new message. After a moment, he began typing furiously.

Once, and so briefly you could argue it didn’t happen, cerulean met obsidian and then both glanced away.

Fuck.

“It’s ok.” She said to Vivara, identifying the easy exits she’d scouted when she first arrived. As always, she had back-ups for the back-ups. “It’s a normal reaction to laugh when we’re stressed. Maybe part of you knew something was amiss, and for your own safety, you played along.”

Vivara glanced up from her palms. Her shoulders relaxed and she nodded, almost desperate for the out Sabine offered. “Yeah. Maybe that was it. I think I suspected something. All conversation died when I came to the table again with their orders but later, I heard more of what they were discussing.” She chewed her cheek. “I don’t usually make a habit of eavesdropping, but for some reason - nosiness, fascination, or fear - I was paying extra attention to whatever I could catch whenever I walked by.”

Sabine nodded, she found herself pulling in closer. This would be the lead. Maybe here would be something she could work with.

“And?”

Vivara took her glass and downed the rest of her drink in a way that would surely burn a hole in Sabine’s throat if she were to do the same.

“It was only snippets.”

“It usually is.” Sabine said, there was an anticipation curling and writhing in her stomach.

“I heard just a few phrases in passing. I remember ’next shipment’, ‘Florean Sector’, ‘Marcho Galvoni’, and ‘each pretty pincer’. But I don’t know if that’s helpful?”

Sabine steepled her fingers and pressed them to her lips. She nodded, committing the snippets to memory. She knew she had the communicator recording everything, but trusted her brain better.

Next shipment.

Florean Sector.

Marcho Galvoni.

Each pretty pincer.

They weren’t answers, but it was enough. She’d worked with less before.

Jayron, you fucking idiot.

“And when they left,” Vivara continued. “I didn’t see Jayron. I remember, despite the rush, looking for him as they left and being confused. But then,” She shrugged. “I didn’t see him when they entered, and the cafe was busy.”

Sabine frowned. “Did they have any bags with them?”

Vivara’s eyes widened like an angel first encountering sin. “Oh yes, they did. I remember. Just a brief case.”

“Would it have..?” She left the question unfinished. Vivara was already nodding.

“I think so.”

“And their colouring? The men in the booth?”

Vivara frowned, and for a second Sabine wondered if there was a better way to phrase that question. Vivara didn’t correct her, but that didn’t mean much.

“One had a deep red complexion and neon yellow hair. Another two were so similar I’m sure if they weren’t twins, they were at least siblings - pale blue skin, mustard hair. But the one who was doing most of the talking was all white - skin, hair, eyes. He was mean - cruel. I struggled to look him in the eye.”

What does that make me? Sabine thought as she could count the few times during their conversation Vivara had actually met her gaze.

She noted the descriptions. This last seemed unique enough for a Reeka that she could get a lead or two. But before she could follow-up, the shadowing man stood from his table, drained his glass, grabbed his communicator and began walking toward their table. She froze and admonished herself when Vivara noticed.

“What?” She frowned, beginning to look around.

“It’s nothing.” Sabine lied.

But then ‘nothing’ stopped beside Vivara at the mixed bar. The two of them together were an impressive sight - all-encompassingly large, dominating her entire view with their bright, saturated colours.

Noticing his presence, Vivara seized. Her whole body when rigid and her gaze once more returned to the floor. Her green face was ashen and Sabine thought she might faint.

But, despite Sabine’s assumption about their shadow, he paid Vivara no mind. Instead, his bright sea-blue eyes bore into Sabine in a way that sent an electric bolt through her nerves and left them sizzling like powerlines in the rain. Now, more than any time before, she was aware of the difference between them - the sheer gap in size, strength, presence. If she were to be cornered by him, there would be little she could do.

She didn’t recognise him but the look in his eye was knowing, which unnerved her even more. She was well-known in some circles. Mostly in circles where being well known did more harm than good.

“Sabine Ducote?” He asked and she didn’t grace him with a reply, simply opting to maintain his stare. If he knew her name and face, this was just performance. “I thought it was you, but had to check with a few contacts to confirm.”

Vivara’s pink curls bounced as her head swung frantically between the two and their silent standoff.

“What’s happening?” Her voice was rising in urgency.

The Reeka man placed a gentle but firm hand on Vivara’s back, making the larger girl freeze. Her eyes when to Sabine’s with some silent plea for comfort. Assurance. Sabine wondered if this was what Jayron looked like at the diner.

“Don’t worry.” She said and knew it was unhelpful. She wasn’t willing to give anything away yet.

“I agree.” The man smiled. His hand still lingered on Vivara’s shoulder and the Reeka woman’s expression was as if she thought it would leave a stain. “You have no need to worry, love. Your girlfriend though?” He smirked down at Sabine who, was calculating whether reaching for her communicator or her stunner first would be wiser. “Well, see for yourself.”

He placed his communicator on the bar between them. It was huge next to Sabine’s own and what she saw on it made her feel as if all her bones had suddenly dissolved - that she’d flop onto the floor to be mopped up by the waitress later.

There, on the display, was her face - her white, thin braids, her dark skin, the scar across her nose. It was a candid photo but she couldn’t place where it was taken. It was too zoomed in to gauge any location. What she did recognise was the Irix sigil stamped in the upper left corner of the photo.

Bounty brand.

Across the bottom of the photo was her name. Another instance where the Hugo prosecutor’s screwed her over. Instead of using her case alias, they, in front of Hugo, called her to the stand by her full name.

She swallowed when she saw ‘PRICE NEGOTIABLE’ underneath her name. Open priced bounties were beyond rare. This would send every money hungry hunter in the Galaxy after her, even well outside Keridian territory.

“Hugo sends his regards.” The Reeka man grinned.

But before his hands could move to the stunner tucked under his coat, she had hers drawn and ready. One quick pull and there was a pretty new red freckle between his surprised brows. His cerulean eyes rolled and as his body crumpled to the floor, his hand slid off Vivara’s shoulders, causing the larger girl to shriek.

Around the bar, all eyes turned to them and Sabine sighed. Her heart pounded. She was in deeper shit than she or Jay could have ever imagined. As patrons began to stir, uncovering the cause of the interruption, Sabine snatched her communicator and quickly deleted the bounty message from the Reeka’s.

“What’s happening?” Vivara’s voice was wavering and panicked.

Sabine looked at her and peridot clung to her gaze desperately. Her chest aches at the sight. She didn’t have time to explain. Their Reeka shadow knew nothing of Jayron business as Sabine assumed, but was instead there for her - for the mess Vivara had nothing to do with.

For reasons she couldn’t explain, she reached over and stole a precious second to place a sure hand on Vivara’s again.

“I’m sorry.” She said, and meant it. “Thank you for everything. I hope you never have to see me again.”

And then she bolted, leaving Vivara in a stunned silence as fellow patrons and staff of the Quasar swarmed around her. They were intrigued more than anything, and did not share Vivara’s horror at the lifeless form beside her. It was, after all, a boundary bar.

As she ran towards the closest exit, Sabine heard their waitress tut her tongue to a couple she was serving.

“Been there.” She said.

Sabine didn’t have time to think about anything except getting as far away from the Quasar Cafe as possible.

Though lingering in the back of her mind was a stupid thought she couldn’t quite shake.

All things considered, not a bad date.

______________________________________________________________

(@biggnansmol - thank you so much for donating! I'm sorry it's been a while coming. I hope you enjoyed xx

I loved this prompt and wanted to put a different spin on it. And let's be real, if it's a story by me it will have two key components: awkward gay flirting and batshit insanity. And added bonus if it's in space.

I had so much fun with this one. Someone sent me an ask recently about there not being enough wlw stories in GT - happy to make another contribution with these girls.

-ray xx)

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ninja-knox-ur-sox-off · 4 months ago

Text

ALRIGHTY IT’S BEEN A HOT SECOND BUT WE ARE BACK LADIES AND GENTLEMEN BOIS AND LASSES LADS AND FOLKS ITS KNOX REACTS TIME AND AHA AHAHAHA OH B O Y HERE WE GO

Knox reacts to Monkie Kid season 5 episode 1

lmk s5 spoilers ahead

so like, to start off, little disclaimer, i don’t know how i’m gonna do with the animation, so bear with me, my brain still hasn’t accepted that this isn’t just new fan animation or something I’m gonna TRY and do my BEST to keep comments on the animation to a minimum but i can make no promises, I watched the first like, ten seconds to make sure the sound was working and I gotta say folks, it hurt me puppet animation is not my vibe I miss 2D heck lego godspeed wildbrain. So yeah, just heads up on that, I shall do my best simple to react to the voice acting and plot, humour, all that kinda stuff HERE WE GO

NAH BRO I’M AFRAID TO PRESS PLAY WHAT DO I DO I’M JUST SITTING HERE

I KEEP LOOKING AT THIS BLANK WHITE SCREEN AAAAAAA

Okayokay keep it together knox u got this you got this it’s just more monkie kid, we’re normal about monkie kid <— is not the least bit normal about monkie kid

on an unrelated side-note my computer keeps autocorrecting monkie to monkey and i’m two seconds from strangling it OKAYBEFOREIPSYCHMYSELFOUTAGAINLETSGO

o u gh

theme song i’m on my hands and knees

Flying Bark i miss YOUUUU WAILS WAILS WAILS WILASGFAWE OH GODS WHAT IS THIS

Hi welcome back to Knox pausing this every four seconds here’s the pre-episode reaction of me reacting to the trailer if you’ve been here a while you probably saw this coming COUGHS HACKS SNEEZES

Okay going back. So, flying bark bits </3 breaking my heart I’m FINE as you can see i totally don’t want to break down lego’s front door and beg for them to accommodate flying back pay them better and give less insane deadlines so i can have them back what are you talking about—

Because we are here for the voice acting and stuff I will NOT make commentary on the still frames in the theme song i will NOT

OKAY SPEED ANALYSIS. Everybody’s intros look p basic, so nothing huge going on yet for personal arcs probably gonna mainly focus on mk and ohhh haha right right circlet right yes, mac and wukong cool beans yeah, I like the little snark monkey king has going on good for him, I am not used to seeing Macaque who’s not animated by animators who sold their souls to make him look like he’s a shiny rock. I’m already pointing and laughing at Nezha, angsty looking fool AND HEYYY THAT’S HIS DAD FROM THE TRAILERRRR WASSUP OLD MAN WHY ARE YOU STANDING LIKE THAT—no comment on all the glowy blue light. Ohhhhh mysterious cloaked figure has teeth now, smiling like that? Gotcha macaque-ish figure. Smug fella? Charismatic? I dunno i’m guessing here, WILL THEY PLAY A BIGGER PART???? WHO KNOWS. PROBABLY. They in the theme song ofc they’re gonna play a bigger part what am i talking about ALRIGHT. Okay lots of eyes, whole lotta eyes. Saw this clip in before i think?? Was it in the trailer? Maybe someone sent it to me, not sure. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM They’ve used that tilted angle twice now, like Mk in the middle with the floor tilted under him. …squints. Eh, no comment, if you want my thoughts on all that junk lemme know I’ll make a separate post where I will probably spend 90% of the time wailing about Flying Bark— [gets hit by a chair]

[REDACTED]

Anyway

Cool cool, giant flaming bird phoenix thing, I don’t know enough mythology anymore to identify what that might be i’ma be real with y’all I used to know a lot more than i do now my brain is EMPTY. Ooookaaayyyy, Turtle, Tiger, Dragon. Sure sure. I don’t know whats going on—

Mmmmmmmm stones…….. what were some theories about these onessssss, something about pillars and holding up the universe? I honestly don’t remember wowza say goodbye to the universe ig ALTHOUGH HEY, I do love the aesthetic of floaty rocks around to show power or whatever, I’ve been drawing Mei with the Samdhi fire rings hovering around her in my notebook and sketches and stuff for AGES, so that’s really neat I do like that I can tell there might be a lot of cool art pieces (at least from me maybe) coming out of that!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM heeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Nuuuuuwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaa hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii a h a h e y I’m sure everything is gonna be fine. I like that her face is shadowed so we don’t know where she’s at i hope she’s impartial i would love that genuinely um MK WEAPON???? REMEMBER THAT??

I’m sure this will not lead to anything in the future ever

Right, and then a uh, multi-headed… thing—oh is that like medusa air on that creature? Is it a snake or a bird? eh, i’m sure i’ll find out eventually maybe its a snake bird, a snake that absorbs that fire bird at the start or something OHHH OR MAYBE THAT TURTLE TOO? HEY CAN YOU LIKE NOM ALL THOSE ANIMALS AND GET THEIR POWERS?? THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING— sorry ahem, theory territory we’re here for reactions MOVING ON—oh

OH THAT’S A WHOLE PILLER. THAT IS. A WHOLE PILLER OF THE UNIVERSE. ISNT’ IT. Dear gods what am I walking into.

Ough <— paused on the end of the theme song

Pigsy my beloved <3 I’ve been staring at him for three minutes. Whoever drew Pigsy standing there with his arms crossed in the theme song… ily <3

OKAY RIGHT, BACK TO IT.

THEM SONG IS OVER, I’VE MANAGED TO STAY NORMAL AND KEEP ANIMATION COMMENTS TO MYSELF LETS GET THIS ROLLING!

MMMMM STRINGS THAT BIND.

I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS SO IMA JUST PRESS PLAY

The um… the expressions don’t match the…voice act..ing…. MMMMMMMMMMMdunnoificandothisguys

Okay this is fine we fine i just have to listen to the reactions going on underneath the constant screaming in my head this is f i n e I’M SO SORRY I’M TRYING MY BEST TO STAY POSITIVE HERE

Ahem

The monkey mountains are cute! Lil goofy, we love that for them. I’ll bet they set a day aside for making those. I do find it funny that monkey king’s stuff looks like he purchased it from a merch street vendor and Mk’s all looks handmade with scraps of old clothing items and string he stole from probably monkey king’s house;lKMGAWEF

Okay so capture the flag! Cool! Capture the flag with the staff thats so silly actuallyLG;KMAWEF

Oh he is sleep deprived

NAH THO I’VE FELT THAT BEFORE THE SLOW ONE EYE THAN THE OTHER BLINK THEN OUGHH AND MUFFLED STATIC AND THEN HEADSHAKE AND ALRIGHT BACK TO IT I HAVE LITERALLY DONE THATGL;KMAFWE who among us has not y’know—

The way Mk throws himself into training to avoid thinking about things is hilarious. I’m guessing he hasn’t had a wink of sleep in days NG;LKMAWEF

I already said the THING

Ough flying bark my beloved <3 I see u reused animation i missed you i’m gonna cry facedown on the floor now

Hm! Mk sounds different actually. Like the voice actor?? Something’s different about the voice, tho that could just be my audio honestlyG;LKAWEF Maybe a little deeper sounding? HMHM INCHRESTING

Wukong just yeeting the staff at Mk was funny HGL;KJSAFD

aHA GOT A HIT IN

Nah the way Wukong is just >:D is nice, we love mentor and student bonding hours

Okayokayokayokay l i s t e n. One kinda negative opinion here, I may bring it up later we’ll see; the expressions don’t match the voice acting energy. Like… the vibes are just different. S I G H S. End comment for now ;-;7

Okay, okay, I laughed. I did laugh. I confess, I laughed, “Here… comes… monkie—“

“KING”

I laughed. That was silly, i liked that, thank you bless <3 That made my day <3 Bless u sir <3 Silly goofy <3

It’s interesting to see Mk and Wukong getting closer in power level tho like, the dynamic is shifting to something else, vibin a little different, I dunno, could be the animation change, writer change, whatever it is the vibe is v different

Glad to see the humour is still there <3

Huh, Mk sounds really different to me IS IT JUST ME?? AM I GOING INSANE?? ??? ? NOBODY ELSE PICKING UP ON THAT??

honestly it could just be because bro is sleep deprived as HECK which honestly would make sense, JUDGEMENT RESERVED FOR LATER!! (could also be my headphones i ain’t even lying)

“yousaidnoholdingbackbutyouheldbackrightuntiltheendrightwheniwasabouttowin—“ BRO U ARE SO SLEEP DEPRVIEDLKGMA;OIEWFM GO TAKE A NAP

Wowza we do love the high-key confirmation monkey king’s holding back all the time tho that’s fun mwahahahahaha VINDICATION

Oooohhh nicely done wildbrain you kept the little spinny guys, y’know those in the background legs and arms out spinning versions of Mk? that’s nice I always loved those with flying bark

[face in hands] bro pls i can’t live with the flashbacks pls UR HURTING ME WHYYYYYYYYYY

Hi and welcome to knox’s live [sniffs] missing flying bark reaction, today we will [snimffles] C RY WAILS

Just two monkeys holding baaaaaaoh okay

sniffs

weird

so confim… share stone?? how does that work?? also fambly confirmed ig, RELATED. Cause if its literally the same stone… that’s a whole related bois right there. Appropriate concern for Mk fr

Kaykay h o ne s t l y ?? ? It doesn’t feel like monkie kid so far—granted we are oNLY three minutes in so I may take that back—but MAN throwing me off quite a bit WILD

Mk avoiding monkey still gotcha, its kinda neat how willing swk is to change the subject n stuff

I’M COMPARTMENTALIZINGNALSK;FMA;WOEIFMSFD

ME TOO MK

ME TOO

IF I STOP I DIE

SO REAL

ME RN

MK MANSPLAINING ABOUT MONKEYS TO THE LITERAL MONKEY KINGSDLFKMAOWEF

P sure that’s sharks bud

NOPE MONKEYS

HELPGNSADFKAMSDF

THE SPEED WITH WHICH

WUKONG IS DISTRACTED

“:OOOOO SURPRISE???? :D?? no wait—“

Mk bro is there really a surprise or are you trying to run away from the subject—

I’m sorry i made the exact same sound as monkey king when macaque showed up don’t look at me—SPEAKING OF MANSPLAINING, HERE WE GO, LEMME GUESS, GONNA LECTURE MONKEY KING ON HOW HE’S NOT DOING A GOOD JOB OR HE NEEDS TO DO THIS AND THAT AND IGNORES THE FACT MONKEY KING IS CLEARLY TRYING WITH WHATEVER IT IS HOW CLOSE AM I GUYS?

Also before i continue, listen I’m NNNOOOT sure how I feel about like… Mk and Wukong “our egg” I dunno feels kinda weird to me for some reason like, so they’re definitely related now, whether that be technically bros or straight up twins. Like i’m a huge fan of found family and now its like… WOW I FOUND AN ACTUAL RELATED FAMILY MEMBER THAT I ALREADY HAD AN ESTABLISHED DYNAMIC WITH AND NOW THAT CHANGES HOW WE INTERACT AHA this is fine, I wasn’t sure about Monkey Mk first either so I’ll probably get over it— G;LAKSDFM I like Sifu and Student better than I do big bro and little bro at this point tho :T might just be me

GOOD GODS WE’RE ONLY THREE MINUTES AND FORTY SECONDS IN SAVE ME

Wow, a lot of things getting confirmed this first ep actually wow. I’m kinda startled. I’m so used to like… biased narration and skirting around the what’s actually being said and everything being carried by the animation but in this first ep we have verbal confirmation that

both mk and monkey king hold back

mk and monkey king are related

Wukong and Macaque have lived on the mountain together since they were born

Oh cool working together huh interesting—AHA. AHA I TOLD YOU. SEE??? TRASH TALKING MONKEY KING AHA SEE? sniffs I’m sorry but

Macaque, after seeing Monkey King try to talk to Mk about stuff and Mk brushing him off so hard he flies off the mountain: you suck as a mentor

SHUT UR MOUTH MACAQUE I LIKED YOU BETTER IN YOUR THEATRE KID PHASE—

Okay no, seriously tho, whats up with all the tilted angles?? I’ve counted what…? Four? Five of them now?? Two in the theme song, at least two in this convo and then one other one I thought but I might’ve been imaging it. Are they trying to bring an off centre vibe?? if the goal is to make us uncomfortable it at the very least is working on me

ANOTHER ONE???

Pls tell me they don’t do this tilting screen thing throughout the whole season

Like, once in a while for dramatic effect is nice, this is the third time in this one convo alone—

Ough. Man godspeed Monkey King trying to give Mk 25 minutes of peace fr

Ig macaque do be having a point tho, there sure do be something else going on with the lad

OHHHH ANOTHER CONFIMRATION??? Wow ask and ye shall receive ig dang

Confirmation 4. Sun Wukong did not know Mk was a monkey

That’s wild that the eyes of truth couldn’t see through Mk’s disguise or whatever it is that’s some pretty powerful stuff then

Also HELPGMALSKFMASDF WHY IS MACAQUE BEING SO AGGRESSIVE I’M WHEEZINGL;KAMSFSD

“It just felt right” ah, I’m sure that won’t be said multiple times throughout this season I’m sure this won’t be a recurring theme, DESTINY, IS THAT YOU?

Every moment of this conversation is tilted and it is distracting me so much helpMLGAOEFMI LISTEN THERE WAS A PICTURE AT THIS LADY’S HOUSE I VISITED TODAY AND IT WAS CROOKED BUT A COULDNT’ FIX IT BECAUSE IT WAS BEHIND HER AND THE COUCH AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN RUDE, THIS GIVES ME THE SAME TWITCHY FEELING JUST A LITTLE BIT BG;KLAMSEWF

Okay, tbf, macaque is definitely mmmm how’s you say this… looking at the bigger picture, a little bit more. Wukong’s priority is Mk and that’s p much it. Is mk okay. Is mk ready. Is mk safe. All that other stuff doesn’t matter to him. Which is silly cause that’s how Mk feels about Monkey King too. Is he here. Is he okay. Who cares about backstory. Which is!! Funky!!

“All your old companions are suddenly here” uhuhuh, so that is weird, and they definitely all did die.

Yeah Macaque how come you back huh—well its LBD obviously but y’know same thing, Macaque I think maybe you’re not saying why you’re actually thinking about all this you’re one of the people who were snatched back bro, bro? bro are you listening—

HELPGKLMASFOI;WMFSADF THE WAY WUKONG DOES NOT CARE ABOUT STRINGS BEING PULLED UNTIL MACAQUE MENTIONS MK.

Sniffs, wowza

“and they’re not finished.”

“Are you?”

HONESTLY FAIR, FAIR, I’M SORRY, I TOO, WOULD BE DONE WITH A GUY WHO KEEPS CALLING ME TERRIBLE AND TELLING ME ALL THE REASONS I’M STUPID, NO MATTER IF HE BRINGS UP ANY GOOD POINTS OR NOT, SERIOUSLY, FAIR MONKEY KING I’LL CHEER YOU ON, GET EM KING—

iNHALES

>:T

“you need to do better” = “if you’re homeless… JUST BUY A HOUSE”

same energy

sniffs LISTEN. Wukong has literally been running around trying to take everything on himself for the past four seasons and steps back when Mk needs to do things himself, literally no matter what this dude does he gets flack for it >:T AS A MONKEY KING FAN WHAT THE HECK—

He sure does look tired dude :(

AND THEN THEY’RE GONNA SLAP THE CIRCLET ON HIM, CAN HE GET A FIVE SECOND BREAK? PLS?? HE COULD USE IT

Mk you sound so incredibly sleep deprived TAKE A NAP

OUGH, seriously tho, I do love how dedicated mk and monkey king are to each other?? its fun

Excuse me sir

sir

sir excuse

sir

sir the stone

sir

why

is it cracking sir

…HA ngl a third monkey would be funny, heck LETS GET ALL THE SPIRITUAL PRIMATES IN HERE, POP EM OUTTA THERE OR SOMETHIN—

okie dokey whats the surprise—PIGSY

TAHT’S MY MAN

Honestly we should have seen Monkey Mk coming with how many times he ends up on Monkey king’s shoulders and vice versa

BRO UR THE ONE THAT CALLED HIM PLEASELK;MG;OAEWF

MEI BELOVED

GRAB HIM

AAAA

BAM

SORRY

great sound effects bravo

Mei ily so much

“AHAHA NOPE WE’RE DOING THIS NOW” i do love him so much with my whole heart ur honour

awww AWWW THEY FIXED HIS

H O U S E

WAILS

BRO TRIED TO MAKE

A HAIR CLONE HOUSE I’M CRYING;LASFMAWOEF

TANG IS CANONLY PRETENDING TO BE A 90YO WOMAN TO GET OUT OF MANUAL LABOUR

IF HE WAS ON THE TITANIC WHEN IT SANK, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST ONE INTO A DRESS AND ONTO A LIFEBOAT

Huh Pigsy also sounds different to me. Mk’s getting more familiar, Pigsy sounds DIFFERENT, it might be my headphones yeahNGKLAWMEF I FEEL LIKE I’M LOSING MY MIND A LITTLE. MEI SOUNDS NORMAL, MY BOIS MK AND PIGSY SOUND OFFOHHHHH OH MY GOODNESS MK’S DOODLES ON THE WALLS EVERYBODY SHUT UP

Return of Buff Mk and two massive smiles we love to see it

ohh AWWW looks like they put some pictures up too awww oh OH LOTS OF PICTURES oh ough… tribute to flying bark real huh

i’m totally fine

these are cute!! mk’s doodles everywhere makes me happy fr tho ough <3

me when a picture of monkey king and his monkeys crawling on him: mwehehehehe

its silly and i love them

KING MOVE MEI

ABSOLUTE QUEEN BEHAVIOUR

PUTTING HER PICTURE WITH MONKEY KING RIGHT ON TOP OF THE TV SO HE HAS TO LOOK AT IT WHENEVER HE SITS DOWN

SHE HAS ADOPTED HIM

ITS HAPPENED FOLKS

HE’S OFFICALLY IN

HE’S UNDER THE MEI FRIENDSHIP UMBRELLA AND WILL NEVER ESCAPE

THEY ARE MK PROTECTION SQUAD BACK OFF

AU WHERE MEI BIG SISTER

THAT IS ALL GOODNIGHT

cH OK I N G

GOING RIGHT FOR THE HUG

WAILS

honestly

really nice of them to do the pictures that was super thoughtful like ough that’s super sweet

PLEEEEAAASEEE PIGSY WITH MK’S THEME SONG AS HIS ALARM, THAT’S SO MUCH FUN I LOVE THAT GAG KEEP IT COMING

Man, it’s tough to be a monkey hated by all who wants to do his best and protect his student/family member but you don’t know how to do that and everyone keeps yelling at you—

Pigsy ily

fr tho a lot of the cast sound off hope they’re all doing okay :(

Pigsy: if you wanna stay, you can stay—

Mk: NOPELETSGOLETSGOLETSGO-

SANDY PLEASE STOP BABYING TANG HE’S LITERALLY FINE—

MK IS NONSTOP RN AND I FEEL THAT

Ah pigsy’s noodles <3

Secret family recipe that technically isn’t secret because Cheng’e aired an ep of Pigsy sharing it on television but okay— /j/j/j GJKA;SDMKFL

…you guys don’t understand. Y’know the next meme i was gonna try to draw? “truth or dare.” and it fits. so well with ep one i’ma draw it right after this actually i WAS ALREADY GONNE DRAW IT I SHOULD HAVE DONE IT IMMEDEATLYG;LKASMFASD

…why did noodles catapult out of her mouth whats happening— ;LKGMAWEF

sleeping with the noodles, nice one nice one

Dad stare. THE DAD STARE

That is what we call PTSD—GMLA,FAWPEF

huh, something different with the dialogue that i’m not used to. Not sure what it is, the rhythm of it feels different, OR I COULD BE LOSING MY MIND DON’T PAY ME ANY ATTENTION FOLKS

I do love Pigsy bonding with his son thank you very much

“…but what?” good job Pigsy he’s teaching his son he’s being silly i do love him still

AHA, i see i see “gotta feel it” “it felt right” we all about the vibes now ig

wow yeah the dialogue is very very different, did we change writing teams? i was so distracted by the animation change i wasn’t paying attention to all that, but the dialogue just… not quite pigsy y’know? i like seeing him soft but i also like him gruff and awkward too? he’s vibin more like how i wrote him in my crackfic for crack purposes. kinda weird

its home, aw that’s sweet

don’t pass out mk

OH BABY MK

SOBS

BABY MK IN THE RECIPE BOOK SHADDUUUUPPPPP WAILS

He’s gonna turn around and mk’s gonna be passed out isn’t he

that is a little silly

I do miss gruff pigsy a lot actually grumpy with a heart of gold is the best pigsy

“still works”

;-; c o o l

PIGSY CARRYING MK UPSTAIRSLKGMA;OISEF;ALKMEFSD

HEY

HEY HOW’D YOU GET THE SCRIPT OF MY SICFIC

HEY

HEY HANG ON I HAVNE’T WRITTEN IT YET WAIT FOR ME—

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

scratches head

y’all can come at me with pitchforks and torches but

this doesn’t feel like Pigsy to me

I dunno if its the dialogue or the pacing or something but its just… v off. For some reason. feels like a different character and not in the “he had an arch” way. …I dunno, ITS THROWING ME OFF FOLKS He feels like a fan fiction pigsy DONT’S STAB ME—

Son in the fourth season hit way harder— I’MSORRYI’MSORRYDON’TKILLME—

awww monkey king origami real

he’s fine as i can see

oop

okay so what’s going on in the dream realm cause they’re all not sleeping good so its probably a shared dream of some ki— AHAHA HANG ON HANG ON

Hang on

if they get

dragged to the underworld

that would be funny

monkey king passed out (technically drunk himself to death but lets say passed out) he woke up to being dragged to the underworld so it would be funny—

Whats he saying??? ECHOY VOICE I CAN’T UNDERSTAND YOU

I understood time to wake up but not the other bit

AHAHAHAH CALLED IT

SUMMONED

SNATCHED

MONKEYS??

OH YEAH ALL OF THEM OKAY

face in hands

its o v e r

THAT FELT LIKE THE LONGEST EPISODE I’VE EVER WATCHED IN MY LIFE

OH GODS ITS SEVEN O’CLOCK I’VE BEEN HERE FOR TWO HOURS AND TWENTY MINUTES I

HELPGKLASMF;OAIWEMFLSADF

Okay, overall consensus of episode 1: you can feel the change in studios and you can feel the change in writers (if there’s new writers, if not i can eat my words.) the animation is about what i expected, they use a lot of tilted angles for reasons I don’t know it’s making me kinda dizzy, some of the VA’s sound very off, I hope they’re doing okay, the dialogue was weirdly hard to focus on, i had to go back and replay bits several times to understand what they were saying, humour still nice, outfits cute, Tang needs to get pushed into some hard manual labour, the house bit was really nice i love that monkey king has been accepted by the group, macaque questioning why the jttw crew is there means that their reincarnations are a weird thing which i’m staring at, uh… and they’re in the underworld now probably!! WOO!! HORRIFYING!!!

Y’know my goal was to watch 2 episodes but I think that’s all i have in me for today so SEE YOU NEXT TIME ON KNOX REACTS UNLESS IS SCARED YOU ALL OFF WITH STARING TOO HARD AT THE DIFFERENCES, JOIN US FOR WHEN KNOX INEVITABLY SHATTERS INTO PEICES AND STARTS YELLING ABOUT HOW MUCH THEY HATE LARGE CORPORATIONS LIKE LEGO AND DISNEY AND HOW MUCH THEY LOVE CREATORS LIKE FLYING BARK AND THE VA’S PEACE OUT AND PLS DON’T COME AT ME WITH PITCHFORKS AND TORCHES—

edit: EATING MY WORDS, sound mixing studios changed, not writers, that would explain some of the difficulty i was having hearing the audio and why a lot of the voices sounded off pls disregard all previous ranting about those things o7

edit 2: i've processed a bit, we got dadsy, i will live forever

#knox rambles #knox reacts #lmk s5 spoilers #hm!#had a trip for this one fr #i do confess i cut a few reactions becuase i started saying something and went mmm you know what no we'll save that for if we make a post #about the animation n stuff its cool #ALRIGHT UH #GL WITH THAT IF YOU DECIDE TO READ #I CAN ONLY DO ONE EP TODAY AND I HAVE MIXED EMOTIONS SO BEWARE

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therealslimshakespeare · 8 months ago

Note

Thrilled to hear there will be more naughty sleepovers! Might there be an entry forthcoming about dear Dougie aka James Douglass? Inquiring minds want to know!

Oooh Dougie my man, yes, yes thank you, I adore this fella! Come on in, bring in the beer and snacks, can’t have a dry slumber party in honor of this fella, that’s for certain. Special thanks to my contributors: @suraemoon @faegoddessog

Cock-versations || James Douglass Edition

nsfw (AF!) below the cut:

Sordid details: Gosh, how many ways can I describe cocks? The thing is that my vocabulary will run out long before the sheer and varied abundance of cock types has been exhausted. So, while fearing becoming a little repetitive here -I must direct you to the fingers and proclaim: girth. A good average in length but he’s got such a lovely stretch to give and the capable tool is set in a bevy of black curls. Which makes it look pale in comparison, with a little pink tinge and a few startlingly blue veins winding around the pillar. He’s got a seemingly small tip again, by comparison. He likes to get his in some kind of kinky manner but frequency, that’s his highest priority. Pretty substantial balls but they're very tight and round.

A note on the wielder of the weapon: here we’ve got another man who will stand alongside Rosie in his ability and need to make you laugh during. “More rubbers than he can count??” Oh this ain’t his first rodeo and his enthusiasm for the sport exceeds his condom count -and sometimes his talent but eh, whatever. An unapologetic little shit, when y’all have time you’d best prepare to get the living daylights edged outta ya, he’s a terrible tease and now he’s become aware of the galgasm he’s all about going after it in typical bombardier style: accuracy and precision but a deep seated capability to adjust as needed and still be accurate -dynamite combo after some initial bumbling.

Ad libbing the pussy: King of the Quickie, he’s a very eager fella and he’s into some kinky shit, into impossible positions for the hilarity of it and happy to contort himself impossibly too. Quickies are a way of life for this guy, not that he doesn’t like to have long excursions into romance and intimacy but he needs his fill on the hour, so to speak, so he’s gotta sneak it in regularly in between. He’s so smooth about it too, can slip you away so quick, slip into you before you can say “Flynn!”. Now, now, it must be said that he asks so sweetly, he’s a real gem, but then when he’s at it it’s like a Labrador puppy humping a leg. His voice so soft and sweet just to ask to fuck you, because you’re so pretty and distracting and it does things to him, he never forgets how lucky he is to have you despite how frequently he makes use of your allowance.

1940’s Fucbois -they don’t make ‘em like they used to.

A Jabberer: he’s such a chatty bastard when he’s inside you too, chatting between grunts and moans. Some of it's downright looney but it’s all very grateful and very flattering. I mean come on Dougie, lemme hear about how you love how this pussy feels and now onto the score and then yes ask me if I’m down to go boating next week like -yes I can handle that, keep talking to me baby boy. Ain’t stingy with his compliments either so, that’s nice, loves to spin a yarn about how fabulous you are -sometimes that brand of fabulousness should not be shared at a funeral with all your aunts around.

A comment on finesse: He lets out a whole lotta “ya like that? ya like that?” and then he’s one of those unicorn men who actually keeps doing the motion you asked him to keep doing. You ask him to do something and immediately you got it just how you want it, he had to be shown a helluva lot initially but hey, we all start somewhere. We love a fast learner. He’s so down to try new things too, never be nervous or embarrassed to ask for something, you could ask if y’all can do it dressed in tiger onesies and he’s gonna be so stoked. It’ll be funny, you’ll probably get some bruises from falling around- what’s not to love?!

Oral: yeah, he’s a snacker- he’ll go down for sure, he’s also a story teller so best believe he’ll be talking to your pussy, anecdotes, mission funnies, all about the latest canned joke he heard -not saying that it’s the best pussy eating you’ve ever had but it certainly has a vibrating mouth action quality to it, lol. Sometimes you might need to tell him to hush and finish the job. Ya know what happens then? “Right right, sorry babe, gotcha,” -and if you forcefully bring his head back down? well, y’all may later need to discuss why that fed-up action made him blow his load untouched.

I’m not saying he wants you to sometimes act unimpressed so he has to work ten times harder and you still tell him he doesn’t deserve to cum but…he does like it, take it up with him I’m just the oracle

End notes: Just don’t bore this man, whatever you do, and you’ll be the one for him -he hopes. And then you can look forward to a life of ad lib pussy skills, impromptu fucking and improv switching.

-Will likely ask you to make him a sandwich after and will pester you to let him watch you and Dorace down the street have a uh…pool fight.

#masters of the air #mota #james douglass #cock-versations #elliot warren #naughty sleepover

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aliypop · 3 months ago

Text

A Long Time Coming

Word count: 1,824

Prompt: April 1955 on a tour in Raleigh North Carolina, Cecelia's hometown, the two end up recounting the footsteps of one of music's greatest love affairs

Warning: age difference

Note: This is a story I've wanted to do for a while the backstory on Cecelia's parents.

Taglist:

@darkmoviesquotespizza

@sissylittlefeather

@richardslady121

@thegettingbyp2

@presleyenterprise

@dkayfixates

@rjmartin11

@thetaoofzoe

@your-nanas-house

@zayurir

@60svintage

@sillybookmarks

@leapresley

@everythingelvispresley

@dreamondina94

@elvismylove04

@pocketfulofpresley

@elvispresley1956

@poeandmoonknightgirl

Raleigh, North Carolina, 1955

"Is this seat taken?" Elvis asked as Rosa, Daphane, and Carlotta all looked at the empty seat next to Cecelia, "Only if you want to start a riot..." She laughed as he shook his head playfully. Cecelia and her band had been on tour alongside Elvis and his band. Tonight's stop was Raleigh, a bit nostalgic for a certain someone, and Elvis could tell, "Eh, ain't gonna hurt me none," He shrugged, sitting next to her as there were gasps.

"Still think we should've gone to the ice cream parlor..." Rosa whispered as Elvis laughed,

"Sweet tooth much?"

"Only for Scotty." Carlotta joked, but Cecelia was still quiet as she took it all in at the diner where she practically grew up. "Somethings wrong with Cil..." Elvis commented as Rosa smiled,

"She's a little melancholic." It wasn't that she wasn't proud of her roots. she just missed it. She missed him. She missed them, seeing the picture of her parents' smiling faces when they were young and in love instead of arguing. "Girls, Elvis, I need some fresh air, please," Cecelia said, leaving from the back door. Elvis chased after her,

"I knew this was a bad idea..."

"Can it, Lotta..." Rosa rolled her eyes.

As Cecelia navigated through the bustling crowd of enthusiastic fans, she graciously signed a few autographs. She couldn't help but acknowledge that this was the inevitable companion to her fame. Continuing her path, Cecelia passed over train tracks and soon found herself in the quaint town of Holly Springs. There, she discovered herself seated on the porch swing of a charming single-story white house, the peaceful surroundings providing a welcome contrast to the whirlwind of her public life.

"I've missed ya..." She cooed softly, the spring breeze blowing,

"Elvis! Did you follow me?!" Cecelia glanced at him as he graced her with a sly smile. "I may have. I was worried about you and..." he trailed off, walking towards the porch swing as she made room for him.

"Where are we?"

"My childhood home," She smiled, still feeling the love of her youth radiating off it. "It ain't much, but..."

"This land is all yours?" He grinned.

"Every inch, except for that tree over there leading back."

"What's back there?"

"Why don't I show you." Taking his hand, the two walked further into the woods, branches in her hair as he swatted away bugs.

"So, with all that land, a girl like you must've-"

"Gotten into a lot of stuff. We weren't rich. We weren't exactly broke. We were comfortable and had a horse and some chickens. My mama had a garden that she never could flourish... The two laughed.

"And what about you?"

"I ran amuck around downtown Raleigh and Fuquay, always in the soda shop getting into something," she laughed.

"You?"

"With coveralls and a ribbon."

"Bet you were a cute kid." He playfully pinched her cheeks as she blushed. The two kept treading deep into the woods as they found a patch of land that had a suspicious-looking building on it. Getting closer to it, Elvis could hear the sultry sounds of rhythm and blues music floating in the air like the scent of an apple pie. "Welcome to Reeds Juke n Jive." She said opening the door to the establishment,

"It's a time capsule in here..." Elvis looked around,

"Hasn't changed since 32," Cecelia smiled, sitting at the table by the stage. Meanwhile, above her head was a picture of a couple,

"Denise Valmos and Alfonso Reed 1932..." Elvis read out loud, inspecting it, "So what's the story behind this here?"

"Well, sit down, and I'll tell you." She grinned, leaning in.

Holly Springs, North Carolina, 1932

"Girl, you worry too much about your mama!" Loretta said, running alongside her sister Nellie. Loretta jogged alongside her sisters Nellie and Natalie, the sound of their footsteps blending with their playful banter. With a hint of exasperation, Loretta turned to her friend and remarked, "Girl, you worry too much about your mama." She continued,

"Well. Excuse me for lying to my mother about a youth revival!"

Loretta playfully teased Denise, "It ain't a sin to party!" Her dress hugged her figure as tightly as her curls, and she added with a mischievous grin, "Besides, that boy you were eyeing during the service will be there..." Nellie chimed in with a wink. It was evident that the northern girl had a soft spot for the charming, guitar-playing singer from the South. "I don't know, girls..." Denise hesitated.

"Hey, wasn't your mama a burlesque dancer?" Natalie teased as Denise rolled her eyes. "She's an acclaimed Gospel singer," Denise retorted. "And I'll follow in her footsteps, we know!" Loretta taunted as Denise frowned. "But for one night, forget about it and cut loose!"

"But first, your suit jacket..."

"What? Why?"

"It screams church."

"Natalie's right." Denise handed over the article of clothing as she walked into the building. The reverberating cadence of Gospel melodies engulfed the atmosphere. Yet, as Denise crossed the threshold, her eyes were met with lascivious, profane movements. Her companions, who were meant to serve as her backup vocalists, had drifted away to engage in flirtatious interactions with the men, leaving Denise isolated in a chaotic environment permeated with smoke, alcohol, and sensuous movements. She found herself encircled by an increasingly dense haze of smoke as the crowd pressed in around her, amplifying her sense of confinement. Frantically seeking an exit, she inadvertently collided with someone in the pulsating crowd.

"Hey, watch it!" Her strong Philadelphian accent cut through the air like a whip, filled with irritation and a hint of vulnerability.

"Hey, yerself, darlin'." He stood leaning against the wall, a white Falcon guitar slung over his shoulder, the faint aroma of cologne wafting from him. A toothpick held between his lips mimicked the swagger of a seasoned cowboy. His accent mirrored the rhythm of a blues song, enchanting and alluring. Her emerald eyes met his hazel gaze in an electrifying moment that seemed to suspend time itself.

"Denise! There you are. We got a table for you!" Natalia's welcoming smile contrasted with Loretta's knowing smirk.

"Someone's lovesick..."

"I don't even know him, Nellie!"

"But you want to~" Natalia teased, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"I-I do not!" Denise protested, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. The enigmatic guitar player's eyes never left her as he continued to strum the strings, the melody wrapping itself around her like a spell. She experienced a whirlwind of emotions, unexpected and thrilling, challenging her preconceived notions of herself as a Christian woman.

"You wanna pitch woo~"

"Retta!" Denise shook her head, trying to quell the fluttering of her heart as she made her way to the bar, acutely aware of the mysterious musician's gaze following her every move. After finishing his set, he sauntered toward her, casually leaning against the wall, admiring every detail of her face.

"You're not from around here, are you?" The stranger's words were thick with a drawl as he sized her up, noting the defiance in her stance and the fire in her eyes. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at his assumption. "What gave it away...?" she retorted. "You look mean and talk funny like you shoot venom," he smirked, enjoying the banter. "Feisty too."

"What do you mean I talk funny? So do you..." she shot back, refusing to be intimidated.

"You ain't no Southern Belle," he observed, a laugh in his voice as her heart skipped a beat. "But I like that." Leaning in, he held her gaze, and she couldn't help but meet his eyes.

"Oh yeah? Mr..."

"Alfonso Reed, sweetheart," he introduced himself with a charming smile before kissing her hand. "And I gotta say, you got pipes on you. How old are you...?"

"17," she huffed, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "But I'm a good kisser!" The words spilled out before she could stop them.

"Carino, you're blushin'~" he chuckled, his tone warm and teasing. "I'm two years older than you."

"I'll be 18 in two months..." she admitted, feeling the tension between them crackle with newfound awareness.

"That's real cute kid,"

"Denise Paloma Valmos..." She let out an exasperated sigh as Alfonso leaned in closer and urged her to return to the stage. "Say you wanna sing with me?" he suggested. "I'd love to," Denise replied with a twinkle in her eye. With a confident stride, Denise approached the stage and turned to the musicians. "Do you know 'Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man'?" she inquired. "But can we pick up the tempo?" The musicians, clearly charmed by Denise, assured her, "Anything for you," with a wink. As she took the microphone, encouraging shouts from the audience filled the air. "Take your time, child!" one lady called out. Denise began to sing, and her captivating performance mesmerized Alfonso, who couldn't help but feel the rhythm as her body swayed along with her dress, her hands gracefully swirling as if absorbed in the melody. When she finished her song, she walked off the stage, attempting to collect her belongings and pretending as if she hadn't just indulged in a night of blissful sin.

"Alright, girls, let's go..." She smiled, putting her suit jacket back on as she adjusted her hair in the mirror. "You should really consider pursuing a career as a jazz singer!" Nellie grinned in agreement.

"I agree," Natalia chimed in with a smile, while Lorretta chuckled.

"She's only got one mission and it's-" Alfonso's urgent voice interrupted with a shout, "Denise! Wait!"

Denise turned to face him, her expression softening as she asked, "Yes?"

"You left without saying goodbye," Denise said, her tone filled with emotion.

"Maybe I don't want to face never seeing you again?" Alfonso confessed, pulling her closer. He kissed her tenderly and then whispered, "Maybe you should run away with me..."

Denise pressed her forehead against his and asked, "When, where?"

"Tonight, Anywhere," he said with a smile.

Holly Springs 1955

"Here's how that picture came to be," Cecelia said, smiling as she sat next to Elvis on the stage. "It's so romantic," she added, blushing. Elvis gently kissed her hand. "There's something about smooth-talking, guitar-playing southern men that drives you Valmos women wild," she chuckled as Elvis leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.

"Can I ask you something?" she said.

"Sure, shoot," Elvis replied.

"Would you run away with me?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

"Faster than a speeding bullet, Cecelia," Elvis said with a confident smile.

#oc #fanfiction #new stuff #new #elvis presley #elvis fanfiction #romance #elvis x oc #cecelia valmos #Spotify

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gren-arlio · 3 months ago

Text

So. Fia and the Mysterious School.

So uh...Yeah, I know I'm seriously late to the party when it comes to this stuff, but I realized that this was mostly done and it was in drafts, so I might as well post it. This might just be filler for the big post, but enjoy nevertheless. ----

Madou 4 is... looking pretty cool, I'm not gonna lie. Really enjoying the art direction they're going for. And the designs of the characters? Amazing.

Like genuinely, even if it doesn't get an official English release, I'm down to watch and learn about it.

(They're so...silly...)

Even the screenshot of the overworld is very charming to boot.

I heard a pal say "It looks like Gen 6 of Pokémon" and I could see it, but we'll have to wait and see for the true experience of this game.

I'll make what I think of the characters a Read More thing. Imo, looking amazing.

You can read about the stuff right here.

---

Fia:

The newest silly girl on the block. Besides me thinking that Witch finally got her name chosen, I genuinely love the design they went for, since small hats are peak character designs.

Apparently she's a bit of an airhead and I'm all for it. Let her get involved into dumb stuff because she's dense and clueless and stupid. We love that in this world.

---

Will:

Tbh, besides the whole crop top thing he has, I absolutely dig the design and color choices they went for. And also excluding the fact that his name is Will in a fantasy game, I do find it curious that he has a twin brother, Roy, who's apparently a teacher.

Oh, and since this is making headlines: Apparently he's got a mix of Lagnus and Rulue in him. So he HAS to be peak.

---

Leena:

I really dig the design, I won't deny it, somehow they made almost all blue look really, really nice. The site says that she's calm and collected, but struggles with speaking to people, which I will most likely hope is just her being shy to talk to people, rather than the whole "She just sounds like a pervert," like Schezo does.

She also apparently reads a lot, if the glasses and the shy personality didn't point at her being quite the reader. So with that, she might be peak.

---

Totto:

Green mage with white hair that covers the eye? Where have I seen that before... Jokes aside, he does open his eyes compared to someone we do know, and he's pretty different. According to the site, he's someone with a lotta info...you just gotta pay the dude for it. So like Anna from Fire Emblem.

Also apparently, there's some promise he made to someone? Who knows about it for now?

---

Eska:

Now this design is pretty unique, yellow and white with pink eyes is an interesting choice of coloring they went for. I genuinely like what they went for with her, AND she's half dragon? I wonder what they're gonna go with her.

She gains interest to Fia (It google translates to Fear, so uh...yeah.) after the start of the game, and she doesn't really have common sense, which is gonna be interesting.

---

Roy:

Besides the fact that he is NOT our boy this time around, Roy is Will's twin brother who went the teacher route in life rather than the hero route. He's basically the antithesis of Will; Cool-headed and prefers to be realistic to Will's optimism.

Also, I think he visually looks better than Will, but eh, that could change in due time.

---

And finally, Jurk:

Besides his kinda bad name IMO, I like his design a lot. A guy who simply travels the world is always a fun concept in any game, and his design is honestly one of the best I've seen from the game. He's also friends with the headmaster of the school, which could be interesting.

My main concern is the person he tags along with, Mew. She's probably going to be an alright character, but I don't have super high hopes of that. Plus, her design isn't selling me at all, it just doesn't look right.

---

But yeah, those are (at least for now), my honest thoughts for the game RN. Maybe when more is covered and shown off sometime. But that'll be all for today.

#madou monogatari #japanese translation #fia and the mysterious school #Tag after the fact of it all. How did I forget to send this? I made this mid August.

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reotacchii · 2 years ago

Note

hiii!! im currently sick n dying from not beinf able to breathe so

can i request shizuku (pjsk) taking care of the reader while they r sick?!?!?

- 🎧”anon” (aka. the anon you totally havent known for two years)

Note : HEYYYY I hope you get well soon and hope this writing would make you feel a lot more better! I'm having a lotta fun here ♡♡

Note : Shizuku x GN!Reader, Fluff, Scenarios

TW : N/A

₊ ➷ Shizuku Hinomori x GN!Reader : Taking Care of Sick Reader

もさを (mosawo) - ぎゅっと (Gyutto) :

“₊ ➷ Call my name with your sweet voice That’s all it takes to make me happy ”

・O’ how screwed this day are... The began of summer that supposedly be y/n days out with Shizuku, however a sudden turns of event made them couldn't keep their promise. None other than the summer heat that stings through y/n body made them feel more weakened than ever, to the point they swear they could feel their body temperature rising drastically.

・Y/n swear to themself, they barely able to walk even an inch from their own bed. Everything are nothing but a spiral going circle inside their head.

・Well, y/n could take the blame to begin with, they made a promises they couldn’t keep and now is just a regretful day with an unmeaningful lesson to learn.

・"UGHH- I screwed up so bad today!" y/n exclaimed to themself following with their head buried in the pillow. The frustration that flowing inside them just truly uncontainable.

・A rush of thoughts would soon haunt over their head... Y/n wondered to themself, is Shizuku going to be mad that they cannot make it today? Would Shizuku be alright outside? She likes to have a walk outside... But she doesn’t know street names and that’s the exact reason why y/n was there to made the promise! It’s getting worser now if y/n couldn’t make it there...

・A sudden knock on y/n bedroom would put them back to a realization. Probably just their mother. In which, once the door is open up it will reveals the person behind the door...

・A Goddess — no, that wasn’t too descriptive. A soft blue haired girl, the hair length itself goes closer to her hip — creating a flowy-like river motion whenever she walks around, it truly captivating. And the most enticing part of her blue eyes soon meet the gaze of y/n. Y/n could thanked the lord to be sick instead of being caught a blushing mess!

・y/n was far too speechless but finally gained the courage to start a conversation before the silence became too loud, "Shi-Shizuku?! Any matter that brought to you here?"

・"Oh?" her airy and light voice replied, "I was looking out for you since my phone died,"

・oh- forgot to mention besides getting lost easily, she also lack of knowledge in technology.

・"I figuring out to ask for your mother to meet you! But she tells me you are sick, so here I am," she explained and soon pulling out a chair to sit beside my bed.

・"O-oh... I'm truly apologize for today, but I promise once i’m fit I will bring you out to the beach, Shizuku!" y/n said assuring her that they totally keep their promises till end.

・"That's my y/n I know!" she exclaimed cheerfully, "say y/n... Let’s speed up your recovery so you can do your promises!"

・in one swift movement, she carefully pour the miso soup out of her thermos to. Maybe her odd act of putting soup in a thermos can be so helpful at this time, huh?

・"Now, say 'aah'..." Shizuku offered to feed y/n.

・"E-eh?! I’m not a baby!"

・"You’ve always been helpful for me, y/n... It's my time to repay your kindness," she insisted. Though in any way, Shizuku only use this advantage to baby-ing y/n. She found it as amusing of how y/n react during this time.

・Ofcourse she would be a bit stubborn here, which y/n couldn’t refuse. Y/n choose to surrender and take the fate of being feed by Shizuku.

・Not longer after the meal, Shizuku would hummed a lullaby. A soft, soft lullaby...

・Her voice soon fill inside the room and it's so harmonious. It feels like an eternal peace to hear her voice right now.

・It’s so soothing and light as a feather. It soon drives y/n to their slumber.

・Before Shizuku noticed that y/n is resting, she would soon prepared to leave the bedroom.

・Putting the blanket to covered y/n body and gives a little kiss on top of their forehead.

・"Feel better soon, my little star," her last words before her leaving.

#shizuku hinomori #project sekai #proseka #x reader #more more jump #fanfic #pjsekai #shizuku hinomori x reader #🍰reo do write

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the-trinket-witch · 1 year ago

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TWISTober Day 6: Broomquet Birthday

(Feat. Lázaro )

Argemone Ochroleuca, Violas, Marigolds, and Tithonia Diversifolia. These all made up the bouquet of one Lázaro Muertinez. Bedecked in blue robes and large hat, he pranced through Ignihyde on a birthday high. In his dorm's lounge, the party had already began. Music blared, dormmates chatted up a storm, and the smell of anise and orange wafted over all else. Blue draped from every corner that would allow, but in stark contrast, the bright marigold yellow truly was what designated this party as Laz's. Tradition said to have a cake present, but per the third year's request, everyone else could have cake. He was more interested in that pan de muerte off to the side.

Ortho zoomed up to the birthday boy the moment he arrived, ever the warm welcoming committee.

"Lázaro Muertinez! You've arrived!" the small mechanical boy declared. "Are you all dressed and ready for your interview?"

"Muy guapo, eh?" Laz asked, giving a moment for his dormmate to drink in his visage with a smirk. "Whenever you're ready, Arthurito."

"Okay! First Question: Do you consider yourself Good or Bad at flying?" Ortho asked.

"I'd like to think I'm not half bad; better than a lotta the fishy folk I have class with!" Laz beamed.

"Speaking of: Next question is 'What is your best class'?"

"You know me, hermano: Music is my life! Can you blame me for wanting to get an easy A on my last year before internships?"

"You also are a part of the Pop Music Club, right?"

"You bet! I feel bad for lil Kalito; he's gonna be the only one left when Cater, me and Lilia take off, next year..."

"Yeah, Brother's taking off next year too. I wonder if I ought to go with him or if he wants me to stay..."

"You'll have to let me know what you decide next year. I might be taking off but I ain't gone! We can still keep in touch, right?"

"Hmhm, Yep!" Ortho cheered. "Last question, then, 'What do you do on your down-time?'."

"Kinda going back to the second question on that one, Arthurito. Gotta keep my playing sharp for when I make it big! You'll stop by one of my shows when I get out there, won't you?" Lázaro asked with a somber hopefulness.

"Of course! I'll see if Brother would be able to show me how to do one of those wotagei dances for when we go!" Ortho nodded.

"Then I better remember to get a stash of glowsticks!" Laz chuckled.

"With that, though, the interview is over. And here I present: your broom, Lázaro Muertinez," Ortho declared.

"Thanks, hermano," Laz said.

He let his eyes wander across the device to admire the handiwork. Ignihyde blue ribbon, bright yellow and orange blooms accented with pops of purple, and a sturdy dark wood stick. He lent it against his shoulder to get a couple photos in as some of the party-goers ushered him deeper into the lounge. In a flourish, the celebrators revealed a large Ignihyde piñata. The third year's marigold eyes shone with anticipation. One of his dormmates snuck up and yanked the birthday boy's hat down over his eyes. Instead of readjusting it, his brain suddenly found another purpose for his newly-appointed broom. Turning it over so the blooms wouldn't take the brunt, Laz drew his broom back in a mighty wind-up.

"Let's get this party started!"

#Trinket's Rattlin' Bones #lazaro muertinez #twst oc #twstファンアート #twisted wonderland #twistober2023

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ask-the-cosmic-duo · 1 year ago

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What... is your name? What... is your quest? What... is your favorite color?

Stella was up a bit later than usual. She just had a bit of an argument with a friend. An argument she lost. No hard feelings at least, but still, she felt a little stupid...

... But then, her PDA started blowing up with notifications. Over twenty of them, in fact.

"Huh?" She pulled it out her mane (hammerspace, basically) and had a look. "Woah... That's a lotta likes! Where's this coming from?" She briefly stared at the screen. Well, she wasn't gonna complain.

Then, a question appeared among those likes, and that intrigued her. Not only a shower of love, but some genuine interest! But it was a little odd... Really, who was this? She decided to have a quick look at the blog.

"Hm... Newest post is about a weird sword..." It looked like some old sword model from a game she used to play, though. Eh, probably unrelated. Not like she can even remember what game she recognized it from, much less what the model was for or called. Oddly, Roblox came to mind first.

She went back to the question she received from them. "My name, quest, and favorite color... Hm... Wait, maybe I should get Sol here. I think he said he was gonna be training late today." She gave him a call, and a couple minutes later, the Prince arrived.

"So, new question?" Sol asked.

"Yep. Looks cool, too."

"Interesting." He had a look for himself, and nodded. "Very well. You first? This blog was your idea, after all."

"Okay." Stella cleared her throat, starting a recording. "My name is Stellar Spirit. I guess I'll save the interesting stuff for last... Favorite color is blue, like my eyes and parts of my mane. And my quest..." She paused. "I dunno. I never really thought about it. I like to explore, make friends, and help anypony I can. I wanna protect those I care about." She then smiled. "And, of course, I wanna have fun doing it!"

With a giggle, she looked over to the side, likely at some photo or other screen. "I've posted sneak peeks at some of the stuff I've been doing, like Project Cyber." She looked back to the camera. "Still ongoing, by the way, just never had the time to post about it again. Besides, I'm using an existing design for the car itself, so there's not much I can really talk about. I can definitely say it's going really well, though."

With a nod, she continued, "I really just want to see how far I can go, whether in my ability to help, my physical and magical capabilities, or the things I can build. I guess that's my quest."

The stallion beside her nodded. "Well said." The camera adjusts to look at him, as he was standing. "I am Solar Ray, Prince of Elysium. I can't choose a favorite colors, because they're all beautiful."

"It's really because of your mom's mane isn't it?" Stella teased with a small smirk.

"Shush," Sol said, lightly bapping her. "And my quest is simply to support this stubborn mare and keep her from getting in trouble."

"H-hey!" Stella whined.

"You know it's true," Sol told her, chuckling. "We agreed on it."

"Yeah, but you didn't need to tell everypony on Tumblr!"

"You don't exactly hide very much of yourself in the first place." He shook his head, taking the young mare's lack of response as a prompt to continue. "Anyways, while I am a Prince, I don't have many duties yet. That's not for another couple hundred years. Yes, I'll live that long, Primordial Elysians are immortal."

"And there's like, only five of you."

Sol nodded again. "Correct. Myself, my parents, who are the King and Queen, and the first commoners, Yin and Yang."

"And yet none of you are alicorns."

He rose an eyebrow. "Yes, you know that."

"Tumblr doesn't."

"Hm. Fair point. In that case..." He cleared his throat. "Elysians are exclusively unicorns, and we have the ability to control an element in nature, such as fire or water. Some of us have more complex elements, like that of an emotion, a material, or simply rarer natural elements." He lit his horn, and it produced a golden flame. "My element is the sun, and the power it holds. I'm the only one attuned to the sun, as it turns out. Trust me, we would've known if there was another."

"In this universe, at least," Stella clarified.

"Yes... The multiverse is vast. Other versions of me exist, as do of you, and of many other ponies." Sol shook his head. "But I'm getting sidetracked, and I've answered the question. If you have more questions for or about either of us, feel free to ask them."

#Equestria Cross #Ask #Ask GadZooks #Stellar Spirit #Solar Ray #Lore #This is kinda long...#Whoops.#Also why am I awake? It's past midnight.

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localguy2 · 1 year ago

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Oml that sounds so much better, your add on inspired me to write some sort of crack fic about it:

"NINJA NEVER QU-" Zane suddenly cut himself off, looking around in confusion at his surroundings, noting the gloomy sky and dark vegetation around them. "Are we..."

"In the Departed Realm?" Nya finished for him.

"Huh, doesn't look as bad as I thought." Kai remarked.

Only for a loud shriek from far away to surprise them, sounding like that of the preeminent. "OKAY IT'S MUCH WORSE THEN I THOUGHT-"

"NINJA NEVER QU-" Zane yet again cut himself off again after noting his snowy surroundings.

"Greeeeat, not what we were looking for again!" Kai sighed as he walked ahead. "Where exactly are we?"

"We're... We're in the Never-realm..." Zane simply muttered in a low voice.

Nya instinctively realised what that meant, she cast Zane a worried look as Kai did the same, while their friend simply looked away in shame.

"Hey..." Nya began approaching him carefully along with Kai. "Zane, it wasn't-"

"WHO DARES TO CHALLENGE KING GRIMFAX'S DOMAIN?" a sudden shout from beyond the hill came.

Without even a moment's hesitation, Zane bolted back inside the temple.

Kai and Nya did the same.

"NINJA NEVER QU-"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Kai shouted. "THE FIRST REALM??? how many times till we just get to WHERE WE WANT?"

Nya chuckled at her brother's frustration. "Hey, I'm not complaining, finally get to see this place with my very own eyes even for just a bit."

Looking around in wonder, Nya caught the glimpse of a small Blue dragon with a Yellow underbelly feasting upon something a few meters ahead, seemingly unaware of her presence.

"Awwww aren't you you a sweet little thing? Look at you!" Nya slowly approached the young dragon, who began backing away upon noticing her.

Kai looked back at Nya, and felt his blood run cold.

"NYA WAIT-"

Before he could finish, a much larger dragon suddenly made it's presence known with a Lightning Strike that barely missed Nya.

She screamed in sudden fear, scrambling to her feet and turning back towards the Monastery, she ran as fast she could while the bigger dragon gave pursuit.

She looked back for a second- SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE LOOKED BACK-

"DUCK!" Zane shouted, throwing a ball of of ice that narrowly went above Nya's head, summoning a small wall of ice behind her. "Quickly, inside!" he shouted again, as they all ran back in again.

"OKAY, new rule." Kai started, catching the other two's attention. "Unless there's a lotta of commotion going on outside, we don't walk out, only a peak, and we try again."

"Seems fine with me." Nya shrugged.

"Great idea Kai." Zane complemented.

"Are we there?" Kai asked from below.

"Negative," Zane responded, peaking through the small gap between the two doors. "From what it looks like, we seem to be the in the Realm of Madness..." he stated.

"Hey! I could use some mug!" Nya commented. "Still surprised by how good it tasted."

Zane had to do a double-take, turning back to Nya. "What?!"

"Does it look like the Kingdom of Imperium?" Zane asked from below.

"Nope," Nya responded with a pop, "there's some.. Weird floating mountain in the distance with a lot of faces on it, one's a Lion... Another looks like a Crocodile, another one looks like an Eagle..." she trailed off, slightly unimpressed by the sight, "Eh, doesn't like our place, Ninjago's got cooler places anyway." she said, walking back towards the other two.

Kai simply gave Zane a shrug.

"Imperium?" Nya asked with a muffled voice.

"Uhhhhhh..." Kai looked in confusion. "Would you guys believe me if I said the Temple of Light?" he asked.

"From what you've both told me about the merge, Yes." Zane answered, as Kai walked back down to meet them again. "It seems like we visited every place BUT The Kingdom of Imperium..." he stated with frustration.

"Ugghhhhh end this night-MARE-" Nya groaned, lying face flat on the ground.

"Please, just let us FIND this place already..." Kai said, collapsing to his knees and then fully to the ground in the same position as his sister.

Zane face plamed with a heavy sigh, "First Master please help me with these two..." he muttered to himself, walking back towards the control panel of the temple.

By this point, Nya could feel the frustration and annoyance in the air itself, 5 hours of constantly checking where they were over and over and over-

"You know, this is the one time where I'm seriously doubting this whole "Ninja Never Quit." thing." Kai perked up, sat in between Nya and Zane, on the stairs leading up to the door.

"I admit, it is been a bit frustrating..." Zane added.

Nya laughed. "Only a bit?"

"But Lloyd needs us, and so does his students as you've told me." Zane continued. "We can't quit."

A sudden loud crash from behind interrupted their conversation, not from inside the temple, but from outside the door.

Instinctively, all three of them turned towards the door, and ran towards it.

Nya could hear a commotion outside, and as they approached the surface and as the sounds outside grew, she felt excitement rush through her whole body. "Wait, are we actually here???" she turned towards Zane.

For his part, Zane kept his eyes focused on the door, or rather beyond it, listening closely for any familiar sound or signal-

"No clue, prepare for anything." suddenly Lloyd's voice came in, just as his tracker suddenly went online as well. "It's Lloyd! We're finally here!" he confirmed.

"ERGHH-YES! ONLY TOOK FOREVER!" Kai suddenly turned towards the both of them. "OKAY OKAY, like how we planned alright? Zane stands infront and jumps out to surprise Lloyd, followed shortly after by me and then Nya, sounds good?"

"Oh yeah."

"VERY good."

Zane patiently waited as he got into position, giving Kai and Nya smug smiles.

And the door flew wide open.

"NINJA NEVER QUIT!"

Rewatching the calm inside made me think about the "Ninja Never Quit!" scene

And I'm left thinking about something, sure the name "The Imperium monastery" sorta gives away where they're gonna end up, but how would they *exactly* know where?

I'm sure that anyone with a sane mind could come up with a reasonable explanation like "They saw through some hidden cameras" or "they had a map of Imperium and knew precisely where they would end up.

BUT, it's much funnier if you take the explanation as:

They randomly guessed they'll end up outside the palace, so they specifically just waited by the front door for a few minutes and all agreed on yelling "Ninja Never Quit!" when they jump out.

#Idk why I imagine Nya as the type to just #Not care about Chima #She's like 'boooooring 🙄'#5 hours of harmless mental torture #Just because #The 3 sillies #The Watercycle trio as I like to call them #guy's writing

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typheus · 5 years ago

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The light in my room sucks but heres what I've been up to

#other #t talks #theres a lotta stuff i dont like bout it #but this is literally only the second thing ive ever knitted before so eh #but also like design wise #i wanna make it bigger next time #add a border to the blue #make the cable on the blue not just zigzag with one cable on top only and add one to the pink with a border as well #and do a saxon braid instead on just a 4 cable braid #itll be hell #but itll also be fun #also #i learned both right and left handed knitting for this lol #moving 10 balls of yarn around every time i flipped the dang needle was too much work #now i just knit it all to one needle then knit it back to the other #so much easier and faster to #also this is the farthest ive gotten on the dang thing #cause the last couple times i kept getting the wrong stitch count n doing the cables wrong (its such a dark black)#and some babies that love grabbing things to give to you :^/#i have finally got it going with the right amount of stitches and a lamp the shine directly into the dang thing while i knit #and no babies cause school season has started #idk when ill finish it but when I do i think I'm gonna give it away #cause as soon as I finish it im gonna start the new version #ill use a smaller needle to. to make up for all the added stitches

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adultswim2021 · 2 years ago

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UPDATE!

Hey everyone! I’m sorta back. If you didn’t read my last update, here’s the rundown: My computer shit the bed and on it I had weeks worth of write-ups that I didn’t wanna have to do-over. I still don’t! And I lucked into taking my computer to the most unresponsive repair shop in the universe. Would you believe I called them last week and they, for the seventh-or-eighth time they told me they were too busy to talk to me and would call me right back and didn’t? I’m literally this close to showing up with a [PARODY/SATIRE] and [PARODY/SATIRE] up the place.

Anyway, this blog has always been about covering Adult Swim comedy originals and ONLY Adult Swim comedy originals, opting to skip acquisitions and anime all together. But, in a perhaps vain attempt to make it seem like the blog isn’t dead, I decided to come back with a little something to hopefully tide the four-or-five people who read this. I’m gonna review the first Adult Swim acquisition: Cowboy Bebop. What? You think I should’ve done Family Guy, maybe?

So strap in for the first installment of: “THIS IS WHY I DON’T REVIEW ANIME”.

Cowboy Bebop #1: “Asteroid Blues” | October 24, 1998 | S01E01 Adult Swim premiere: September 3, 2001 - 12:00AM

Okay, I need to be VERY CLEAR HERE: I’m not even particularly that good at reviewing shows I care about, but I think I am definitely predisposed to wanna talk about genres I actively enjoy more than ones I actively don’t. So I’m guessing my write-ups for Cowboy Bebop won’t be quite as robust as my comedy write-ups. Also, I’m doing my customary thing of making the first episode write-up consist of mostly preamble with a short actual episode synopsis tacked on as an afterthought, so don’t let the length of this one fool you. I’m about to go on a lotta tangents.

Back when Adult Swim was young, an anti-anime sentiment began developing almost immediately. That’s because the block consisted of 80% abrasive comedy shows for fans of somewhat specific comic sensibilities. Then there was anime, which appeared to be the polar opposite in almost every way. Cowboy Bebop was not only beautifully animated, but it was also primarily NOT comedy: It was more traditionally nerdy in that it was about science fiction, brooding badasses performing super-heroics, cool action scenes, etc. etc. These were all things I was specifically NOT into in 2001. I tend to have an aversion to almost anything that is presented as COOL, in the proactive/heroic sense of the word. COOL to me just meant being funny and mean and/or being a shithead punk. To be more succinct with an analogy: I didn’t think Han Solo was cool because he did stuff.

Despite being an obnoxious individualist I got swept up in anti-anime sentiment to the point that I actually identified as anti-anime and gleefully posted about it on a message board called ANIME SUCKS. The board was started by a mentally-deficient online ex-friend of mine who started it on a service called Ezboard. On Ezboard you could start your own message board very easily and would-be posters could register “global” accounts, which meant that you could post on any public Ezboard without having to re-register. That meant if you were a public board you were always a few clicks away from being discovered by a random person who had no barrier of entry from browsing and posting if the mood struck them. There were only about a dozen of us anti-anime heels that posted on ANIME SUCKS, but we attracted literally over 1000 angry anime fans who would come to the message board just to argue with us. The banner for the board was a found photo of a trio of absolute dorks cosplaying as various anime people, taken at an American comic book convention. One of them was Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop albeit doughier, bespectacled, and sporting a flat-looking bowl cut.

Internalized racism much??? Eh, we went to that well sometimes, sure. We were, and still are, huge shitheads. But usually we tried to be as aggressively dumb as possible when we argued with people, which was the best way to frustrate them. Also, I think the single most revolting thing to us was the idea of American anime fans. Dorks who were so alienated by the culture they were born into they gravitated towards what might as well be alien. I too grew up alienated by the culture I was born into, and I only embrace technology to the extent that it can show me my old shows I like to watch from before I lost my heart. Clearly, I’m not the loser here, right? RIGHT???

When that first night of Adult Swim premiered I remember how important it all felt, and how mandatory the viewing of all the shows seemed to me at the time. That is, until I got to about 5 minutes in on the first episode of Cowboy Bebop. Then it was time to turn off the TV. The amount of time that’s passed by between that moment and this moment is now old enough to drink (I missed Adult Swim’s birthday on the 2nd. Sorry!). I’ve done a little bit of growing since then, not to brag. So now I have more patience for media where people don’t get kicked in the nuts and then you see a close-up their face going cross-eyed while they fall. So now it’s time to watch Cowboy Bebop FOR REAL.

In Asteroid Blues we get the premise of the show: Spike is a bounty hunter flying around in Space on a large spacecraft. He and his partner, a burly android type of guy, are scraping by, even though their last job brought in the bacon all the property damage they caused put them back in the red.

This episode is about them going after a fella who is smuggling a synthetic drug that you spray in your eye. It seems to have PCP-esque qualities and it also makes time perception slow down for those who use it, making them almost superhuman. It also gives the user big bloodshot eyes. His pregnant, big-titty GF is also along for the ride.

I’ve seen one other episode of this show and both of them had this in common: it’s the future, and presumably it’s fairly early in the timeline of humans colonizing space; therefore the space colonies (I assume many of them are on asteroids [shoulda paid closer attention, sorry if I’m wrong]) are pretty crude, and resemble the old west. So the show hops back and forth between being on a futuristic spaceship and being on a dusty wild west planet. I don’t know if EVERY EPISODE follows this formula, but the two I saw sure did.

I still maintain that this isn’t entirely my thing. I can appreciate more about this show now than I did then. There are cool actiony moments and I appreciate the craft that went into this. But I’m still waiting to be wowed. But the music is great and the show is fun and I get why people liked it.

I rented the box set from Movie Madness in Portland, OR, and I’ll probably hang onto it long enough that I’ll wind up paying late fees. But--and this is just a heads up--I’ll probably be way briefer on future write-ups so I can get through these quicker on my end. In other words: you’re being cheated. Still, better than nothing, right?

#adult swim #adultswim2021 #cowboy bebop

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askcharaandfriends · 2 years ago

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Can Undyne give us a university-grade lecture on the study of souls? (is there an "ology" word for that?) I'd freaking love that! That kinda stuff is very interesting to me, and I'd love an in depth dive on all sorts of stuff. HP, LoV, if/why a name would be by the hp bar, magical combat from a monster's perspective, souls, magic, magic dynamics, magic applied in mechanisms and machinery, all that!

[Awe geeze, that's a Lotta questions and I'm not a scientist let's see what I can come up with. Too many questions at once for in comic, I'm afraid. ]

Undyne: Woo! Love the enthusiasm! Let’s GO! The study of souls is psychology. The soul is the culmination of your being. Everything that makes you "you". Technically speaking it is the combination of spirit body and mind together that make up a soul. But people often use "spirit" and "soul" interchangeably.

It can get especially confusing with monsters since we like acronyms and one we use for spirit is Spark Of Unique Life. SOUL. [It flowed better than the one for SPIRIT and so we stuck with that one]. SOUL and soul are not exactly the same thing. [Under stand? [Yes] Good! ->[Even less] well too bad, you're in too deep now!]

soul is everything you are. SOUL is that thing in your chest that pops out in the middle of a battle. If you are a monster it looks like a desaturated spade. If you are human, it looks like a super saturated heart shape. Animal SOULS look like desaturated hearts. Wizard SOULS look like saturated hearts that can sometimes be spades. Boss monsters have desaturated spades that can sometimes look like hearts.

Heart SOULS are locked and so they keep all their magic inside (yes, even humans have magic, but because it's locked they can't access it). Wizards are humans with the ability to unlock their SOULS and turn them into spades. They can unleash the magic within! But if it stays like that too long, too much magic leaks out and they can pass out or DIE. The amount of time a wizard can unlock their SOUL honestly depends on the wizard. But no wizard has been able to do it indefinitely.

Spade SOULS are unlocked, allowing magic to flow constantly. This is great for monsters who are made mostly of magic. Boss monsters can lock their SOUL temporarily to Make their bodies stronger. Of course this means they can't use magic during that time, so they have to be pretty strategic about it. There are very little records of what happens if a boss monster locks their SOUL up too long, but one theory suggests that without magic, their body continues to harden and toughen until they completely turn to stone.

SOULS come in seven different base colors: red, orange, yellow, green, teal, blue, and purple. And each color corresponds to a trait: Determination, bravery, justice, kindness, patience, integrity, and perseverance. Each person has a mix of these traits, but the one that shines through the most is their virtue, and the ones that shine through the least is their flaws.

Rarely more than one trait can shine through in mostly equal amounts and create a color mixture. For example, hapstablook's SOUL appears pink. This is because he has nearly equal amounts of Determination and Perseverance. It is said that one who balances their SOUL perfectly will have a shining white SOUL but this has yet to be observed or scientifically documented. But it stands to reason. In contrast, a SOUL with many deficiencies and hardly any virtue will appear dark or even black. Fortunately a truly black soul has also not been observed or scientifically documented. The vast majority of people are neither truly perfect or pure evil, and that is somewhat comforting, imo. We are all responsible for our own actions. No one is 100% beyond saving. And no one is 100% too good to make a mistake. We all make mistakes. And we are all worth saving...

Eh hem... *cough cough* sorry. Got a little bit too philosophical there. But you had more questions right?! Well c'mon! Let's suplex 'em! NYAAAHHHGGG!

HP. Lots of people say it's 'Hope' or the ability to continue after taking physical emotional mental or magical damage. Technically speaking, it stands for "Horse Power" but, lets be real, Hope sounds better. [Who came up with that, anyway?!! Aaron?]. The more HP you have, the more hits you can take before your body can't take it anymore [wait, so Maybe it should be hit points... nah. Too obvious].

Monsters are slightly more tied to their emotional state and can literally die if they start to emotionally lose hope. That's one reason it was so important to find a way to break the barrier. We were losing our Hope. And it was affecting our health in general. This happens to Humans too. But less obviously. You might know this as "depression." And of course it’s deadly for humans too. But um... let's talk about something else.

Let's see... next topic... LoV... huh. Well this discussion just got worse. Oh well. Let's get it over with. LV, LOVE. Level of Violence. [No, seriously, what SICK PUPPY decided LOVE was an acronym for how murderous someone could be?!!] Not to be confused with Execution Points or EXP. EXP is said to be the leftover energy of a person you killed clinging to the person who killed them. EXP stays with you forever. High EXP can increase your Level of Violence. In other words the more you hurt others, the more you become numb to hurting more and more people or getting hurt yourself.

Level of Violence can go down with remorse and time. Truly being sorry for what you did. But since EXP remains, if you were to ever kill again, your LV would shoot up to match your EXP, because if you kill again after being sorry, are you truly sorry? However it is possible to minimize the amount of EXP and LV gained by fighting for a cause you believe to be just, such as protecting life or freedom. Soldiers who kill many people in a war, may not be as tender hearted as a civilian, but they may keep a tenderness in their heart that protects them from the numbness one would usually have from so many kills.

Why is a name by the HP bar? When scanning for stats, I suppose it's just more convenient. Attaching a name to the person you are trying to fight makes it more personal. If you know someone's name and HP, maybe you will reconsider hurting them.

Magical combat from a monster's perspective? Um... I'm pretty sure we see it the same way humans do. It's just magic bullets that go "pew pew pew pew!" And then the human either dodges or gets hit, then they have a chance to do something. Pretty standard stuff.

One interesting thing that is different from a human vs human brawl is the ability to check stats. Even a non-magic human can do it. This phenomenon is a result of the monster's left over magic in the air. If a human wants to know something about a monster, the magic in the air will form an illusion to show them some information about that monster.

Magic dynamics? Well that goes back to the SOUL traits. Each SOUL trait has a different specialty and... hang on, this explanation is all ready too long, let me show you a nifty poster I snagged from the dump one time [credit to Trashqueen for the poster]

There ya go! Nice and concise! With rad graphics too! And planets for some reason? Probably because they're COOL! Anyway, each while a person with certain SOUL traits are better at some types of magic than others, they are by no means limited to just that magic. In fact, it is incredibly common for spells to utilize more than one trait. The caster just has to Get Good. For example Papyrus has a bravery type SOUL but he Got Good and can use patience style attacks.

As for magic applied to machinary..... eh. *shrug* it just makes things simpler. Like things humans think are impossible like dimensional boxes, are just a matter of tweaking known technology with a little bit of magic to make it AWESOME.

That's all I have time for today. Hope you learned something. If not, I don't know what to tell you except look it up on Wikipedia. [Thanks @walterteigan . The afac lore you have stored there has helped me so much. I'm sure there are some differences in my explanations and if so, I'll probably stick with them unless it doesn't make sense]

#long post #SOUL #undyne lecture #hope #hp #horse power #LV #Level of Violence #how magic works #how the world works

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to-be-frank-i-dont-care · 2 years ago

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Thanks for the tag!

1. Are you named after anyone?

Yep, after Elisabeth Elliott! So my name is not spelled with a z, like how most people spell it lol

2. When was the last time you cried?

Uhhhh….we watched The Greatest Showman again recently and I think it was then lol.

3. Do you have kids?

Lol nope, unless you count my OCs

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Way too much, like. An unhealthy amount that confuses people sometimes bc they think I’m genuine :D

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Usually if they have a kind face or if they look untrustworthy

6. What's your eye colour?

Very complex lol, it’s green, but around the pupil it’s gold and the very outer edge of the iris is blue :P

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings, definitely XD

8. Any special talents?

*sweats nervously* uh??? Well. Apparently I’m good at describing weird sounds 😃 like if a character makes a weird sound I can write it down almost exactly and it sounds like it ig. 💀 anyway I’m not too good at a lotta stuff, altho apparently my English teacher thinks I write super well and her entire class agreed with her 🥹

9. Where were you born?

South Carolina!

10. What are your hobbies?

Reading, writing, drawing, making dumb little crafts, knitting, spending too much time on tumblr and Pinterest (story inspo tho…..)

11. Have you any pets?

Two overly lorge cats, a Golden Retriever, and a bay Thoroughbred mare! (She acts like a gelding tho, it’s weird XD )

12. What sports do you play/have played?

Soccer in middle school (I was awful at it and my team didn’t win a single game. I don’t think we ever even scored a goal 💀), cross country, and horseback riding!

13. How tall are you?

5'7!

14. Favorite subject in school?

APAHHHH

(For those who don’t know, that means AP Art History. Best class I ever took. If you can, TAKE IT).

Also history in general and art :P Ig I like English too….eh

15. Dream job?

Equine vet tech!

Tagging @lathalea @weepingpoet @anyone!

15 Questions 15 Mutuals

Thanks for the tag, gray! @the-gray-ghosty

Rules: answer the questions and tag fifteen mutuals.

1. Are you named after anyone?

Very loosely after my great grandmother

2. When was the last time you cried?

Watching The OC a few days ago 😄 I hid it pretty well, but the eyes got watery for sure

Oh, also walking in Bay Area wind today

3. Do you have kids?

Unfortunately no:(

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Inappropriate amount

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

If they're scary or not

6. What's your eye colour?

Brown

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Scary movies with happy endings xd

8. Any special talents?

Somewhat bendy

9. Where were you born?

Long Island, NY 💪

10. What are your hobbies?

Tumblr LOL, fitness, (getting back into) rock climbing, watching gymnastics

11. Have you any pets?

Live-in aunt to Mocha

12. What sports do you play/have played?

Gymnastics, all star cheerleading (dumbass sport), school cheerleading (I consider this a different sport than prev), track and field (pole vault), cross country

13. How tall are you?

5'6 (168 cm)

14. Favorite subject in school?

College: philosophy

High school: choir

15. Dream job?

I don't dream of labor

Tagging from some of my recent notifs @maipareshaan @trials-era-sam @sh1tbewild @gathermybones @finalwoman

@synesindri @abnormalic @mpregspn @lanechester @corpsesam

@moonlightdistractions @youcanchoosefreedom @laertez @babygirlrick @saturnian-dean

Phew.

#I didn’t tag fifteen people but oh well #everyone keeps stealing my tags 😭#like. rdnd #Nat always takes my tags #lol

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cryptidofthekeys · 3 years ago

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Captainsona (ISWM)

I kinda tried to keep him a lil basic so I could add more on in the future if need be but uh I always fail at that, my need to create a sona I know I’ll be happy with in the long run outweighs my need to leave a bit of a blank slate so I could adjust to the story but ANYWAYS uh here he is!

...At this point you can uh REALLY tell I don’t like making human sonas or ocs much, bc I didn’t wanna make him human at all

| Real Name: Xokiniuth (nobody knows his real name and uh let’s keep it that way shall we?)

| Chosen Name: Chase (imma just give him my name lmao)

| Nickname: Sometimes goes by Cryptid for some reason

| Gender: Trans FtM (He/Him)

| Sexuality: Pansexual

| Age: [REDACTED]

| Height: 5’5”

| Species/Race: Demon

| Occupation: Captain of the Invincible II

| Eye Color: (not that you’ll see these two things BUT just bc i like to be descriptive) His eye color is Gunmetal Blue, turns fully black when angered

| Hair Color: Dark Brown (Spiky Quiff, also he dyed it a dark purple on top)

| Body Type: Doesn’t matter what form he’s in for this one, he’s overall pretty chubby

| Appearance: Okay before I get to the descriptive appearance, you’ll most likely NEVER EVER see him without the spacesuit and helmet on- he gets very defensive when asked about it but never explains why he doesn’t wanna take the outfit off but I’ll get to that in a bit, he’s got light purple skin, his fingers, hands, and a bit down his wrists are pitch black, it almost looks like clouds of pure darkness surrounding those areas

The space suit in question on his body is a black one, his entire outfit is black except for his gloves, boots, and the helmet which are dark purple- the suit has a bunch of various patches, one is the trans flag and the other is the pan flag, another few I can name off are a skull hand extending a middle finger, one is of two skeletons kissing in a coffin that says ‘Love wins’ at the bottom, one patch says ‘I’d fuck an alien’ ITS A JOKE PATCH- and then finally he has a red anatomically correct heart patch that has a knife through it with blood on the tip and it says ‘Horror Movies’ in fancy cursive writing, the rest of the patches- eh if anyone ever drew my lad here, you could slap whatever ya want on him, because he’d wear the edgiest or stupidest fucking patches i swear, he’d wear one that just had an ass on it that SAID just the word ‘Ass’

He has pointed ears, razor sharp teeth, black horns that point and curve upwards with dark purple tips, of course he has black claws (he painted his middle claws a dark purple to match his aesthetic lmao), his pupils are slit btw I forgot to mention that (yes, they would do the thing cat’s do when excited), he has a forked tongue bc of course he does, and finally he’s got a long black tail with purple fluff at the tip of it (the tip of his tail is fluffy and soft basically) he wears dark purple gauges on his ears, he has a circle beard bc when it comes to sonas that I make or a lotta OCs in general, usually they have a beard lmao.

He has top surgery scars as well, that’s the only scarring on him pretty much- I’m going to try not to project ENTIRELY onto this dude lmao, I’ll spare him the trauma …Well, for now anyways- ahem- ANYWAYS- yeah that’s uh p much all for appearance.

| Personality: I don’t wanna waste too much time so I’ll try to keep it basic for now, Xo is a little shit who loves to cause trouble, loves to cause problems, he seems to be pretty much carefree, confident and cool, he does seem to get too cocky for his own good from time to time, Xo does whatever he wants WHEN he wants, he might as well after all he’s got ALL the time in the world now doesn’t he? Hahaha- Xo might seem carefree but deep down he cares, he cares a LOT actually, he cares and worries and fears way more than he should …About a lot of things but if I listed them we’d be here all day, the one thing I’ll list him worrying and fearing about is being found out…

Xo has a lot of anxieties deep down and that right there is one of the BIG ones, him being found out, aka someone seeing that he’s not actually a human… He worries how the crew, how his friends, how they’d all react… After all, Xo knows how most humans feel about demons, it’s why he gets so defensive and hostile about taking off the suit and helmet, under NO circumstances is the captain’s suit and or helmet to be removed, no MATTER what the situation may be- That’s literally a rule he made up, Xo will not allow anyone to remove his attire and that’s final. Xo might be a little shit and try to put up as many walls and fronts as he can but there’s always that fear of being found out looming over his head…

He’s very feral, constantly causing a ruckus and problems, loves to jump out of the airlock for some reason multiple times, VERY MUCH loves fixing it from the outside as well, and also finds it funny to toss Mark around. If I could describe Xok with a meme it’d just be the ‘Hey how y’all- *snarling and growling* AHHH!!! GET YO FUCKIN DOG BITCH- it dont bite YES IT DO GET-’ that one

| Side Facts: Xok gets along with a lot of the crew it seems, not so much with Celci but he still respects Cel for sure… He respects them all! I mean they are his friends even if he can be an annoying shithead… I’ll go ahead and say the characters Xo would get along with the MOST would be Burt, Chica, Gunther especially (fuck yeah! Let’s blow some shit the fuck u p!), Mark but only when the ‘HELL YEAH’ choice comes into play more specifically, seems to ESPECIALLY love Wug and Bandit, borderline has a crush on those two but shh-

Xok doesn’t know a LOT about humans, hell, he can’t even remember fully how he got here, he doesn’t remember much about getting into space, but he feels like he’s had other journeys before, he feels like going on this adventure feels oddly… Familiar but it’s probably nothing! Xok is just curious about humans, they seem cool from the friends he has made so far up in space (...has he made friends before, in previous timelines…? …Well- Xok probably doesn’t remember so lmao, his memory is kinda screwed up) as far as Xo knows this is his first time meeting humans and getting to know them! And it’s in space! Hell Yeah!!! Space is awesome, its so vast and such a completely different sight than something like Hell p much!

Xok never learned to hide any of his features, he was never taught to blend in with humans, so he doesn’t have the slightest clue how… He REALLY wishes he did though, he wishes he learned how somewhere along the lines, it’d make this easier and he wouldn’t have to wear this outfit all the time but he can’t take any risks, because he just knows (its what his mind thinks) he k n o w s if the others see him, they’ll either start panicking, try to shun him away, or worse- they’ll turn on him and kill him …But enough angst- let’s have some fun in space and remember! Like I said before! ATTC! Always Trust The Captain! Hahahaha, he knows what he’s doing! <3

#iswm #in space with markiplier #iswm sona #ATTC: Always Trust The Captain #everybody can make such normal and p presentable sonas and then i just come along like #fuck YEAH!! THROW THIS GREASY LIL FUCKER INTO THE MIX #LETS THROW A FERAL ENTITY INTO THE MIX OF ALL THESE COOL SONAS/OCs

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boognish-worshipper · 3 years ago

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Midnight City AU

it took me forever to decide where to go with this chapter and i was literally getting fed up editing it 😭 i’ve been so busy with all the chaos goin on in my life rn too so yeah writing’s been feeling delayed over all but i decided to just finalize this one for rn and uhhh sorry if it seems funky or shortttt

//Chapter 3: Vanished

The next day, Trevor went back to Sterling Lake Park, after spending the night at Wade’s. He agreed to meet up with him there later, walking around the park with his earbuds in. As he threw himself down on his usual bench, he settled on listening to his usual playlist of his favorite songs. He scrolled through nosedivr once again, taking a photo of the lake. It was foggy, and the thick air sat atop the water. He liked when it was like that. A sturdy drumbeat thumped in his ears, making him feel whole. He paused it briefly, just to change it to a different song that was even louder, but with the lack of music he could now hear the crunch of gravel not too far away. He thought he told Wade to come later on? He looked up from his phone, pulling out an earbud. It was the guy from yesterday.

“Hey.”

“Hello.”

“Where’s Amanda?” He asked, glancing around.

“Uhh she’s.. not here today. I kinda came to see if you were here. I wanna get to know more people at this park if I’m gonna hang ‘round here more I guess.”

“But she doesn’t like me?”

“She don’t gotta know.”

“Well aren’t you Boyfriend of the Year.”

“Oh uh, we aren’t dating yet.”

“Thought she was your girl though.”

“She is, she is. But it’s nothing serious. Not yet. And I don’t know what happened between you guys but you don’t seem that bad, so if I wanna talk to you that’s more of a her problem than me.”

“Huh.”

Today Michael wore an eCola shirt, which was obviously made to resemble their old logo, with blue jeans. He had on a pair of red sneakers this time to match the color of the shirt. They looked slightly newer, compared to the pair he wore yesterday. He dressed nice for such a basic style. Trevor on the other hand, threw on an old, frayed Love Fist t-shirt, and messy jeans. He wore a different pair of boots, some kind of knockoff of a popular name brand. A pair of purple lensed circular glasses sat on his head, the nose pieces caught in his hair.

“So.. uh. Mind if I sit there?”

“Not like I own the bench or anything, go right ahead.”

He cautiously sat next to Trevor, hands in his lap. Trevor started one of his other playlists up again, settling on a mix of Paramore and Green Day. He left an earbud out, just so he wouldn’t be completely rude. He mindlessly scrolled, occasionally looking back at the lake or casting a sideways glance at Michael, who was looking at him funny. Sighing, he paused his music, putting his earbuds away.

“What.”

“I.. nothin’ man. I just, I dunno. What is the point of coming here?”

“It’s a public fuckin’ park man.”

“I know, but you said that you don’t even really like the people here, so what’s the point?”

“There is no ‘point’ to it. I just like time to myself is all. These guys don’t bother me, and I don’t bother them. They only start trouble when they see fit.”

“Ah… I see? What were you listening to by the way?”

Trevor stifled a groan, not really wanting to talk to the guy when he had time to freely plot his scheme.

“Pop punk shit. Ever heard of it?”

“Uh, no? I thought punk wasn’t supposed to be popular. Or fit in. Or whatever.”

“That’s merely the ideology, which I do follow, dear Michael. I just like the sound I guess. You know Paramore?”

“Not really. I don’t listen to that stuff much.”

“Then what the fuck do you listen to?”

“Not sure if it has a genre per say, but I like that song Radioactive goin’ around? Songs that sound like that I guess.”

“You like Imagine Dragons?”

“That’s what they’re called?”

Trevor could only stare at him. Was this guy living under a rock?

“Uh.. yeah. Y’know what- never mind, what else do you listen to?”

“80s music?”

No wonder this guy was unaware of who’s popular now.

“Amanda’s been trying to get me into groups like the 1975. I actually kinda like them.”

Trevor rolled his eyes.

“Of course she did.”

“They’re not that bad to be honest. She likes that weird alternative shit.”

“Yeah, I know. By the way, there is a name for that genre. Indie rock. Can’t stand the stuff.”

“How come?”

“You know, you ask a lotta fuckin’ questions.”

“I’m just tryna understand this shit here. I ain’t in the loop of all these trends.”

“Well, for your information I just find the style to be too slow and whiny for my taste. I like fast, upbeat, wild stuff.”

“Any recommendations then? I wanna impress Amanda by at least knowing one artist off that nosedivr thing she goes on.”

He raised a brow, not really wanting to share anything else knowing he would just repeat it back to her, but he shrugged and continued.

“Alright. Besides pop punk, I like experimental songs. Underground groups. Crystal Castles are my favorite.”

“Never heard of ‘em.”

“Wouldn’t expect you to.”

“Right.”

“If you want more indie rock shit though, I suggest listening to I don’t know, the Arctic Monkeys? That seems more like her taste.”

“These bands have such weird names.”

“I think bands have always been like that.”

“Hey wait a sec, I thought you didn’t like that stuff? How do you know the name of one of those groups?”

“Ugh… I guess I might as well say it if you’re gonna get with her, but we were friends at some point. She introduced me to those bands, but even then I didn’t really like it. We had a stupid falling out I’d rather not get into.”

“Oh.. sorry.”

“Eh, don’t be. Shit happens. You definitely seem like her type though, no wonder she got with you.”

“What’s her type?”

“Heh. As if I’d tell you.” He scoffed.

“C’mon man, please?”

“Nope.”

Michael frowned, slumping in his seat.

“Fine. Whatever. Not like I need to know.”

“You could at least pretend you don’t care.”

“I don’t.”

“You clearly do, bro.”

He sat arms crossed, turning a smidge away from Trevor. This was his opportunity to listen to his tunes again, but before he could Michael spoke up.

“Can I… can I listen to whatever you’re listening to?”

“Huh?”

“I wanna hear what you’re into.”

Trevor shot him a puzzled look.

“Uh.. okay.”

Wiping off an earbud, he handed one to Michael. He already had one in.

“Pick your poison cowboy.”

“Cowboy?”

“Just a nickname I give people.” He shrugged.

Michael settled on his experimental music, actually nodding along to the sound. They were closer than a minute ago, and it made Trevor uncomfortable for whatever reason. Maybe because he was never in such close proximity to strangers, but the other part of him didn’t care that much. Michael’s eyes were closed, smiling.

“You like it?”

“Yeah! Reminds me of synth stuff from the 80s, just more modern I guess.”

He smiled back at Michael, appreciating the fact there was someone else who liked the music he liked. The two listened to a couple different playlists he had, up until the moment Wade arrived at the park.

“Trevor! Hey!”

“Woah. Who’s your friend?”

“Hm?” He pulled out the single earbud, turning his head around. Wade had clown makeup on, making Trevor jump in his seat.

“Fucks sake. Hey Wade.”

“Ooh who’s this?”

He wasn’t sure if Wade freaked him out or not, seeing as the guy not only had matted locs, but many facial piercings as well. And the clown shit. He stood up to introduce them to one another.

“Wade, this is Michael. Michael, Wade.”

The way Michael looked at him was like a kid seeing a zoo animal for the first time. He looked bewildered, but not disgusted.

“Hi. What’s with the..?” He wavered a hand in Wade’s direction.

“Oh! It’s jus’ clown face. Not tryna scare ya or nothin’!”

“Uh huh… man. How have I never been around these parts? You guys are real different.”

“You got that right, Mike.”

“Seems like I’ve been missin’ out. I hangout with some dudes who would hate this place if I’m being honest.”

“I’ll have to meet ‘em sometime.” Trevor chuckled.

“They’re real cool guys. Didn’t expect our paths to cross, but anything’s possible in this fuckin’ city.”

“Oh yeah. Land of opportunities, for all types of wackjobs.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

A hand tapped Trevor on the shoulder.

“Uh, excuse me, Trevor, but are we still gonna talk about the Merryweather thingy-”

“Wade! Shut it-”

“What Merryweather thing?”

“Nothing, nothing. Not important.” He said, gritting his teeth, glare strong on Wade.

“Okay..”

“But you said we’d talk about it over icecream!”

“Later, Wade. Not right now.”

“Fiiine. Can we still get icecream though?”

“Sure. Promise. I’ll let you know.”

“Okay! Bye Trevor, bye stranger!”

Michael lifted a hand to haphazardly to wave goodbye.

“What was that about?”

“I told ya man, nothin’. Just going over some plans we’re making.”

“Is it about that special event being held there?”

“How you know about that?”

“Mandy told me.”

“Mandy… yeah. Figures as much.”

“She got an invite, and wants me to go as her plus one. I don’t know if I really wanna go though, I’m still pretty unfamiliar with all this.”

“Trust me, you don’t.”

“Seriously, what is your beef with those guys?”

“I told you, they start shit when they want. Taught ‘em a lesson and that was it. Nearly got me banned from this place, but it was kinda worth the looks on their faces.”

“You are.. quite peculiar y’know. Anyway, you mind showing more of that music? I was honestly gettin’ a kick outta it.”

“Uh, yeah.”

He sat back down next to Michael, handing him the same earbud as before. He clicked on one of his favorite Crystal Castles songs, Vanished. As they were listening, Michael furrowed his eyebrows.

“Hey wait a minute.. I think I’ve heard this before.”

“You have? I thought you didn’t know them.”

“No, I mean yeah I haven’t, but that’s not it. The lyrics. Vocals. I’ve heard them in a different song.”

“Oh.”

“Lemme think, lemme think, ah… I got it! Pass me your phone real quick.”

His fingers typed in the song title fast, pressing play right away. It was an indie rock song, much to Trevor’s dismay. But something stopped him from complaining, seeing how Michael’s face lit up.

“Yeah! This is it, Sex City by Van She. Y’know, I honestly think that’s neat.”

“What is?”

“The fact that a song you like, samples a song I like! Who would’ve guessed?” He said, eyes sparkling. Trevor didn’t notice how bright they were until now. The eye contact, along with the lack of space between them, made him feel stuffy again. He averted his eyes back to his phone, trying to loosen up a bit. As the song played, he savored in the sound, shocking himself a bit. The rock sound was there, but had an 80s sort of feel to it. The song finished before he knew it.

“So.. What’d ya think?”

“You know my thoughts on indie shit. Wasn’t for me, sorry.”

“Oh c’mon, you know you liked it.”

“Nope. Prefer Vanished.”

“Yeah, okay. Keep telling yourself that, but I honestly think they’re both really good. You think that too, I can feel it.”

“Whatever you say bro.”

He switched the song over to that Grimes song he listened to yesterday, the two of them sitting silently. It was a pleasant afternoon they shared. Suddenly Michael’s phone went off, and he yanked the earbud out.

“Ah shit. I gotta take this. Mandy.”

“Gotcha.”

Trevor grabbed the other earbud, putting it back in. He saw Michael wave his free hand around, looking close to hurling his phone right into the lake. Trevor assumed he must’ve been shouting as well, from the way other people were looking at him. Hanging up not much later, he returned to the bench, as Trevor put his earbuds away.

“Fuckin’ Christ.”

“So.. how’d it go?”

“She’s finally not mad at me anymore, but demanded I go take her shopping now. I swear, she’s gonna clear out my bank account or something.”

“How? You guys aren’t even dating.”

“I know, but I just can’t say no to her.”

“Uh huh.”

“Look, I’m sorry to leave so suddenly, but I really gotta go before she goes back to being pissed at me. See ya around?”

“I’ll be here man.”

Michael stood up, storming away. Seemed like he had a short temper, huh? He wondered to himself how long he was gonna stick around, seeing how Amanda’s dating history was… an extensive list. He thought back to last night, when he had seen that post of them, remembering the fact that no guy stayed for longer than a week. It almost made him bummed, seeing as he only had Ron and Wade for friends. Lester too, but that was on rare occasion. Shit. The plans. What time was it?

“Ah, fuck me.” He muttered. How did he let the day go by so quick?

He shot a text to Wade, telling him to grab Ron and meet at some icecream place. He did promise Wade after all.

Ron ended up meeting them there a little bit later, apologizing profusely before Trevor told him to just sit down and shut up. He did just that, almost apologizing once more.

“Now, let’s get down to business. Who do we know that would help us sneak into that club to cause sheer utter mayhem?”

Ron raised his hand excitedly.

“I could get Floyd maybe-”

“Definite fuckin’ no. He would have a heart attack the minute he set foot in there.”

This was getting nowhere. He tossed his head back to look up at the sky. As he did, he saw a couple walking out of the icecream place.

“Oh fucking hell.”

Was this guy following him or something? He snapped his head forward, trying to be a little more hidden.

“What? Trevor what is it?”

“Shh! Keep your fucking voice down Ron!”

He made all three of them lower their heads as the couple walked away, peeking over his shoulder to make sure they were gone. As he did, he could’ve sworn he saw Michael looking back at him. The both of them turned away as quick as possible from the split second of eye contact.

“Trevor?” Ron repeated.

“It was nothing. Just thought I saw someone.”

“Ain’t that the Michael fella I met today?”

“Nope. Don’t think it is.”

“Are ya sure-”

“Pretty fucking positive. Now, back on topic.”

The next hour or so still went nowhere. Wade had gone through two servings of icecream, and Ron started to get restless. Trevor was just bored.

“Ughhh there has to be something we can do!”

“I don’t know what to tell you Trevor. We’ll find someone, soon. There’s enough time isn’t there?”

“Yeah, but I’m not waitin’ til the last possible fuckin’ second to get a guy to help us out here.”

“But we still have time.”

“If you fuckin’ say so Ron.”

The three of them called it a night, as Trevor tossed around the idea of possibly getting Michael involved in his head. On one hand he wanted to out of spite just to make Amanda and the other hipsters mad, and on the other he didn’t want to screw up whatever new friendship he had started with Michael. Ron did say they had time to find someone soon. They weren’t exactly in a rush, but he still wanted to make sure their plan was concrete. They all went back to Wade’s, Trevor deciding to take a walk along the beach. He threw on the same playlist from earlier, watching the sunset. As he walked, he didn’t pay much mind to where he was going, bumping into someone.

“Ah fuck, watch where you’re going-”

“Shit, sorry man-”

As they spun around from the collision, he realized exactly who he had run into.

“Trevor?”

What the fuck?

“What the fuck? Are you following me or something?”

“Huh?”

“This is the third time I’ve seen you today. What are you even doing here?”

“Uh, it’s a public fuckin’ beach man.” He said, mocking the comment Trevor had made earlier.

“Don’t get smart with me.”

“Hey, I’m just tellin’ you how it is. I didn’t purposely search for you, hell I didn’t even know you lived this way.”

“I do. So make like a tree and fuck off.” He said bitterly.

“Woah, chill the fuck out. What’s your deal? I thought we were cool man.”

“I don’t like being followed.”

“I just told you I wasn’t!”

“It doesn’t exactly seem like it. You just so happen to look for me this morning, and just happen to go to the same icecream place I went, and then I find you here? I mean Jesus-”

“I’m telling you, it’s all purely coincidence.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Fuckin’ hell man..” He mumbled.

“Y’know, you’re as fuckin’ stubborn as Amanda is. I already told you-”

Trevor balled his fists, before jabbing a finger into Michael’s chest.

“Don’t fucking compare me to her.”

Michael threw his hands up defensively, not realizing he touched a nerve.

“Woah woah, easy dude. I didn’t think it was that bad between you guys.”

He exhaled loudly, unclenching his hands.

“It wasn’t. Isn’t. Just.. don’t compare me to her.”

Michael pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling hard himself.

“Look, I think you’re cool and all but you can’t flip out on me like that. I mean we are just getting to know each other y’know. I can’t have you wanting to bite my head off like that if I just so happen to keep running into you. I really am just trying to navigate the area better, so forgive me if I came off as some sorta fuckin’ stalker. Amanda went home and I had nothing better to do so I chose to walk over this way.”

“Hmph. Fine. Whatever.”

“So we good?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Now, since we’re already here why don’t we just hangout or something?”

Trevor folded his arms, trying to look like he didn’t want to spend another minute with him. It didn’t really work though, because he actually did want to talk to him more.

“If you insist.”

“Alrighty.”

The two of them started to head in the direction of the boardwalk, neither one speaking yet. After finding a bench to sit on as the sun sunk below the horizon, the silence was still there. This sort of thing was bizarre for both of them in different ways. Michael never really frequented these parts of LS, and Trevor never really hit it off with any kind of stranger. Ron and Wade were exceptions if anything, and he had known Lester for a while now. Yet there was something about this guy that didn’t make him feel like he was spending time with a stranger, even though he knew jack shit about him. He might as well try to make small talk.

“So I-”

“So uhh-”

They spoke over each other while trying to start up a conversation, making things feel a little more awkward.

“Shit sorry, you go first.”

“Nah nah you go.”

“Um. Okay. So.. tell me about yourself? We haven’t really talked about much besides music.”

“Yeah.. right. What do ya wanna know?”

“I just asked you to tell me about yourself, so it’s your job to decide what to say.”

Michael gave him a sardonic smile in response to that, partly because he wasn’t sure what to bring up about himself. It seemed like they were gonna be here a while if they wanted to say the most basic shit you say when getting to know someone.

“Well, I ain’t that interesting if you really need to know. I’m guessing you already know about my whole ‘affinity for the 80s’ thing, like the culture n shit that came from it. Real sick stuff.”

“If you say so.”

“Yeah. Anyway, if you really want to know plain shit about me though, I will tell ya that my favorite color’s blue.”

Trevor snickered at that.

“Pfft, seriously? We’re talking favorite colors now?”

“Hey man, you said you wanted to know more about me.”

“Uh yeah, but that’s so fuckin’ silly.”

“Maybe it is, but what about you? You got one?”

“Favorite color? You kiddin’?”

“I’m waiting..”

“Uh huh… I’ll give. Always liked the color red I guess. Like, in variety. Not picky about something as childish as that.”

“What’s childish about that?”

“Cuz only kids exchange that whole ‘oh what’s your favorite color?’ thing. It’s like if I were to ask you what your favorite dinosaur is.”

“Hmm.. I’d probably say a T-Rex.”

“Oh now you’re just pulling my dick. And no, I’m not telling you what mine is just because you did.”

“Hey, I didn’t ask you though. That was all you.”

“Mm… shut it.”

“You got one though?”

“I’m not telling you!”

“Ah ah, I didn’t ask which one, I asked if you had one.”

“Well I don’t, so knock it off.”

“That’s fair. I won’t push.”

They grew silent for the second time that night, before Trevor mumbled something under his breath.

“It’s a pterodactyl..”

“What was that?”

He forced a breath through his nose, acting annoyed.

“It’s a fuckin’ pterodactyl. That’s mine. Okay?”

“Hah, okay. Any reason why?”

“You’re so nosy.”

“You’re the one who started this conversation about getting to know each other man.”

“Ugh, I know that.” He said, lightly shoving his shoulder.

“I think it’s cool that they could fly and shit. I like flying.”

“You like flying?”

“Loved it.”

“Wait, you tellin’ me you fly? Like, planes and shit?”

Trevor winced at the words, regretting what he just said.

“I did.. at some point. Air Force shit. They said I was one of the best they’d seen in a while but I.. left. Sort of.”

“Then why’d you leave?”

“I didn’t exactly leave on my own accord. More or less got kicked out.”

“How come-”

“I don’t like talking about it. I know we’re opening up or whatever the fuck but that.. that’s still too soon for me to want to bring up. Especially to someone I barely know.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He said, even though it really wasn’t. It’s not like Michael knew though, he really wasn’t trying to prod in a bad way.

It was almost pitch black by the time their conversation got to that point, only distant streetlight and the nearby pier lighting up their surroundings. The whole mood had shifted, and both of them decided to just break it off there.

“Hey uh, I’ll probably see you tomorrow man. If I’m with Amanda I think I’ll just send a wave or something your way.”

“Got it. See ya.”

“Bye.”

Trevor stayed put, watching Michael leave as he turned down a random one way street. This guy was tripping him out and he couldn’t pin point why. It was getting late though, and walked off himself back to Wade’s. He’ll save that vexed question for another night.

//ahhhhhh i rlly did not know what i wanted to do with this….,,., sorry if this wasn’t as good as the first two !! i alrdy know i repeated a bunch of stuff in there and i feel like it got kinda sloppy so again, soz (including typos or whtevr)

but uhhhh anyway yeah i cut it off here bc i wanted to continue some of this shit in the next chapter ig lol,, more stuff to come soon god willing

#gta v #grand theft auto v #grand theft auto 5 #trevor philips #michael townley #ron jakowski #wade hebert #midnight city au

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