#the moment that brought this about was from the ultimate computer affair

[theragamuffininitiative]

the thing about tmfu is that with Illya, you can assume his line delivery is pretty much always dry and/or sarcastic enough to be fire kindling and enjoy him wonderfully in quotes and gifs. and it's not quite as great as watching and listening to David's delivery, but you get the gist.

...but there just really isn't any way to get the completely unadulterated, maximum level silliness, insanely weird in a hundred nuances delivery of Robert by any other means than watching and listening to him do his thing. Robert Vaugn's Solo is a gift and he cracks me up every time.

[jiminrings]

petition for stem koo to do all the things for oc he originally said no one does (make her lunchboxes, makes her cheerful...) bc i think that’s a beautiful redemption arc

cold senior!y/n x stem major!koo masterlist :D

jungkook's day one of his redemption agenda doesn't go that well in the end

"namjoon!!! my man. got any updates for me?"

seokjin strolls coolly on the way to his office, hair slicked back and his dress shirt definitely missing more than a few buttons

what's head admin gonna do??? dress-code him???

fire him???? PLS HE'D BE BETTER OFF!!!!

jin makes student affairs his bitch,,, not the other way around

"for the last time, i am nOt your secretary!!" namjoon stresses as he ceases his typing just to glare at him

he's the university registrar and everyone needs to go through him and at this point he's like a historical landmark from how he's made impact in less than two years

and he and seokjin graduated from the same batch!!!! they're the uncanny always pair for the subjects they shared together

it was definitely weird but functional lol cause one is uptight yet hardworking and the other's relaxed yet smart

sue them for working in the same place they swore they'd never go back to after graduation </3

"if you say-"

"some kid's been waiting for you even before i opened the office. made him sit inside but i just told him that he'd be expelled if he even tries to touch your coffee machine."

namjoon says even before jin could finish the sentence, clearly holding that in until the last minute

jin's obviously a lil annoyed because he's starting work as early as now but the way that joon laid all that out on him is a highlight for him

"thanks. knew you're a secretary for me first and a registrar second."

"no. i'm a national citizen before-"

alright alright he's not listening anymore

this bETTER be important because jin has to hold out his morning routine for whoever this kid is

"what can i possibly do for you today?" he rubs his eyes in preparation, intentionally dragging his steps because just looking at how near he is to his work computer gives him vertigo

"mr. kim!!!"

no

there is no way

there is no fATHOMABLE way that this has got to be happening to seokjin right now

"..... jungkook. what a pleasure."

he sits on his chair, voice gritted and monotone and he could just feel his eye twitching, his clenched fist under his deck now flipping off the kid in secret

it's a last-minute realization that he grasps that jungkook doesn't know you're his friend and it presents some really unique vantage points

like the time that seokjin recounted about a ridiculous student's filing for theft of his lunchboxes and he turned out to be your crush

or when he used his student affairs capabilities and pulled up resources left and right when jungkook broke your heart then seriously contemplated about messing up his academic record

or that time when he delivered a high and sleepy you to bed and then heard the entire conversation (if you could even call it that) between yoongi and this fucking nerd

"i need your help, mr. kim. you're the closest one to me i could ask!!" jungkook pleads desperately, the big doe eyes not really inducing an effect on him whatsoever lmao

"mhmm. i may not be the person for the job. counseling is right next door."

jin hums without even attempting to get jungkook to elaborate because for all he knows, his services aren't exactly open for people who hurt his friends >:(

(a guy once bumped shoulders with yoongi twice on the same day with aTTITUDE!!! and seokjin just dismissed the dude's concerns when a prof of his, who's a buddy of jin's, suddenly gave him an F)

seokjin IS student affairs

“no, no. you’re the only one who can help me!! you see, i-i just feel this brotherly connection with you and-“

“we talked once.”

god what did you used to see in this kid??

a crybaby aND an easily-attached personality to him? god it’s like jungkook’s just asking jin to pick on him

jungkook doesn’t seem to pick up how jin’s making it obvious he really doesn’t want to be of help if it has something to do with him

he likes interrupting and jin’s just the perfect match to interrupt him even earlier so now they just sound like one of those dubsmash snippets

“MR. KIM!!! how do you make lunchboxes? i don't know how.”

jeez where are his manners :O aren’t nerds like him supposed to worship the ground that admins walk on,,,

but what did pique his attention is the content of what jungkook just said

.... lunchboxes?

jin doesn’t want to give the kid benefit of the doubt because the last time he did that, you got hurt!!!!

if he has to hear hyeji’s name one more time, he’d really waste no time in stripping jungkook’s name from the honor roll

“remember that time i thought someone was stealing my lunchboxes?” he quizzes jin like it’s his job, clueless how he’s poking the bear even more with where he decides to go with this, “yeah. turns out no one was.”

was that not made clear the first time around!!!!!! he knows for a fact that a uni student would trade a classmate for a pack of gum but nO ONE would go for stealing a lunchbox

no one wakes up one day and decides that they’d steal a lunchbox. literally none

“but then this random girl claimed that it was hers a-and well i-...”

kook pauses to gauge jin’s reaction, clearly seeing now the one brow that’s raised at him

oh so if jungkook just asked him how to make a lunchbox, and he called h-word random,,,, then that would mean-

“i may have hurt the original giver of my lunchboxes at the process.”

.... that means he’s asking how to make a lunchbox for you

well that was a pleasant surprise

seokjin snorts briefly at that, dryly chuckling with his eyes widening to stress out his “non-threat” that’s pretty mUCH a threat

“wow. i might just give you a sanction for that.”

does he think jungkook’s a good person? lol he has to think about that for a month

was he wrong for hurting you that way? ultimately yes

but did he think at some point that jungkook’s completely heartless and wouldn’t try to redeem himself to his senior? no, not completely

but is he still on your team, regardless if the kid begs for mercy and you forgive him? yea a hundred percent :D yoongi and seokjin could never be brought out from your circle

"and you're doing this why?"

this is a no-brainer question for jungkook but the question still spooks him, feeling the chills at his neck that responding to seokjin is like a sTEPPING STONE when it comes to you

lmao if only he knew

"i uh, i just really wanna make this right. i messed up completely and it's pretty much unforgivable, but i atleast wanna try and give my best even if she doesn't forgive me, y'know?"

interesting

"mhmm. right, right."

???

he's still mad but he appreciates that jeon's doing the bare minimum of redeeming himself

speaking of, the poor kid looks like he's pissing himself because he may have just embarrassed himself with how long the silence stretches out

maybe,,, just maybe jin's gonna try and be a bridge this time

but like as soon as jungkook lacks for a fourth of a second, seokjin would BURN that bridge faster than a blink

"well first of all, you buy a lunchbox."

RIGHT RIGHT

:O

jungkook grabs a literal pocket notebook and jin pretends he didn't see that because WHO the hell does that!!!!

"of course... okay, proceed!! i'm taking notes," jungkook nods in understanding, jotting down the very important advice of not ordering from online because you can't smell the material through a screen

p.s. smelling containers before you buy them is a VITAL thing to do!! it already tells you about the quality at the first sniff

"are you buying one?"

"buying one for every day of the week. i'm thinking if i should get extras too-

"good idea. i recommend buying eight."

alright seokjin's mentioning some very specific colors and schemes and jungkook's not complaining!!!

MAYBE HE'S ONTO SOMETHING!!!

"what meals should i make? i don't even know what she likes!! and even if i knew what, how would i make it?"

why is his heart racing

yoongi may have taught you how to do your taxes but jin taught you how to cook food that's more than four steps!!!

he taught you how to not flinch at all when you're frying and that's the equivalent of raising you to be the woman that you are now <3

look at him and yoongi being your best friends!! teaching you about taxes and being unnerved at cooking oil and busting out a smoke ring or two <3

in fact, the lunches you've cooked for jungkook are all inspired and derived by seokjin!!!

the fact that jungkook's plan isn't bad and the way everything pieces together with his insight,,,, goosebumps luv

"....hypothetically? what i think she'd like?"

jungkook eagerly nods with stars in his eyes, fingers gripping onto his pen for dear life as he tries to channel all his listening techniques into this lecture

"get a bigger notepad."

:O

wow

"look at you!!" yoongi gushes the moment he sees you, waiting at you from the front door

you're going back to your classes again :D

you don't look as worse as you did four days ago!! you're not as sluggish and as animated too

"please don't," you snort as yoongi doesn't seem to stop looking at you like you've saved the world, giving no fight when he insists on carrying your backpack to your first class of the day

the past four days,, yeah they were undoubtedly rough

you slept as much as you could and for the moments you weren't dejected enough to be awake, you spent it surrounding yourself with seokjin and yoongi as much as possible

that's the beauty of hanging out them!!! you're not required to have a single thought lmao

except for the time when yoongi wondered aloud how eels even live and die (or if they even do???) in the first place and that sent everyone in a spiral and you didn't think of jungkook for a single seconds

you're not intimidated to go back to regular programming or with the fact that it's nOT unlikely you'd see a glimpse of jungkook in the hall and such

but that does mean that even if you're the bigger person, you're still gonna avoid him for as long as you could

speaking of!!!! you're looking for the person now that you're eager to find

"taehyung!!"

there he is :D you'd recognize that fluffy mop of permed hair anywhere

"y/n!!"

tae jumps over chairs in excitement to finally see you again after being so worried for you, engulfing you in a hug immediately

alright you see why yoongi thinks he's a golden retriever

you're clearly not a touchy-feely person but you'd let this one pass,, tae helped you (even indirectly) throughout your downtime anyways

"thank you so much for the cookies. i tried taking smaller bites just because i didn't wanna have them disappear that easy," you confess sheepishly, knowing how you had to pull the i just got my heart broken like two days ago multiple times so the two menaces would stop stealing from your stash

:D

jungkook's excited!!!! seokjin may have given him a tip that "he felt it in his gut" that you were gonna go to class today

he came a little late because he wanted to perfect the very loaded lunchbox that's in his backpack right now

oh weird

you're not in your usual chair

bUT jungkook sees a glimpse of your hair and he's certain that you're there and his heart may be beating out of his ribcage

a baby peach lunchbox with a sticker (of what seokjin said he thought you'd like) on the middle of the lid :D

pork katsudon with furikake rice aND coffee jelly pudding on the side!!! it was definitely pressure-racking to strictly adhere to jin's recipe but god does it look worth it

jungkook's only did miniature taste tests on it and he had to stop himself from devouring the lunch that he's made specifically for you

the lunchbox itself is tied neatly with a silk wrap, adding his touch of sewing your name visibly on it aND there's a scribble taped to the lid too

god jungkook really can't wait to make it up to you

sheesh that was one of THEE longest lectures you've ever felt you had

it was actually the same amount of time it's always been but maybe you've been out of practice from just staying at your dorm for days

tae's great company but he could be a little bit chatty!!! you just nod when you feel his voice go up and he apparently gets excited by that easily

.... he apparently also has a small bladder and he told you that within the whole hour of class

"hold on. i gotta pee before next period. go without me!!!' taehyung hurriedly slings his backpack to his arm, looking ridiculous in a rush

tae's sometimes unintentionally funny because you don't even share next period anyways

you're on your way to the exit when a shiny scarf catches the corner of your eye, having to squint at it because wow does it look pretty

is that-

is that your nAME???

you pick it up before you could even rationalize it, realizing then what it was wrapping when you feel the warmth on your hands

:")

"sorry i forgot my headband!!!"

taehyung stumbles back into the room, catching his breath to run back to his seat and fetch the headband he took from his hair to play with awhile ago

he looks shocked to see what's on your hands, flicking his gaze between you and the item but he doesn't think much of it

wOW that's a really shiny scarf!!!

"tae?"

"hmm yeah? what's up?"

he's about to jog back to the comfort room because he hasn't really relieved himself yet, not bearing to leave his headband in the room when anyone could snatch it up

you raise your lunchbox, a thankful gaze on your eyes that looks so close to crying which is why tae's mORE than lost now

"thanks for the lunch."

..

.....

jungkook could only helplessly watch.

[cantteachanoldguardnewquotes]

A "Scandal."

Read on AO3

Summary: A lady accuses Nicky of cheating on Joe and Joe thinks they're an idiot.

"Oh, hello." 

Joe grit his teeth just for a moment before turning around with a pleasant smile. "Hi there, Nora." 

"I didn't think you would still be here. Waiting for me?" She winked at him. 

"The boss just wanted me to finish filling out these papers for him, that's all."

"Hmmm, pity." She said trying to be coy.  "It's so late, let me get some dinner for us and we can finish our paper work together." 

It took a lot for Joe not to make a face. "That's alright. Nicky will have food warming for me when I get home." He emphasized the words Nicky and home just a bit. 

"Oh come on, it's my treat." 

He shrugged an apology. "Maybe another time." 

"Well, I hope your leftovers are... Satisfying." She turned on her heel and walked away quickly. 

Joe waited until she was gone and then turned around with an exaggerated eye roll that no one could see. This job had been going on for way to long, and he was sick of it. He went back to his "paperwork" that the boss had definitely not told him to do and continued scanning the files for anything incriminating. They had it on good authority that the head of this company had kidnapped a girl but they still couldn't prove it. He had broken into the bosses office cause he didn't think anyone was still here and brought the papers back to his cubicle. Of course Nora would still be here, she probably sensed his presence and came running. This job wouldn't be nearly as irksome if it wasn't for her. 

He finished looking through the files and then very carefully replaced them in his bosses office. They hadn't been any help but it was worth a shot. 

He texted Nicky he was on his way home, drove to the the little apartment they were renting, and trudged inside. 

Just like he knew he would, Nicky, had dinner warm and waiting, the predictability of it made Joe smile and instead of sitting at the table like Nicky directed him too, he made a bee line for Nicky. 

Nicky laughed at the bear hug Joe gave him, squeezing Joe just as tight as Joe was holding him.

"What's got you in such a clingy mood, hmm?" Nicky teased when Joe didn't let go of him when he usually would have. 

"You're cooking is so much better than takeout." 

Nicky pulled back enough to look at Joe in confusion. "Thank you?" 

"And I knew you would have something waiting for me." 

"Of course, I told you this morning I would make dinner and keep it warm for you." Nicky said still confused. 

"Thank you, my love. I really couldn't ask for more." He kissed Nicky, gently, moving his hands to cradle his neck. "I love you." He said when he pulled back.

"I love you too." Nicky said as he ran his hand through Joe's curls. "But you must be starving. Sit and we can eat." 

Joe glanced at the clock. "You haven't eaten? You didn't have to wait for me, it's late." 

Nicky smiled. "I wanted to." 

Nicky had made a chicken and rice dish and it smelled heavenly. It tasted just as heavenly Joe thought after taking his first bite. 

"What's on your mind?" Nicky asked after they had eaten in silence for a while. 

"That woman, Nora, asked me to eat with her after work again. I swear she has a sixth sense for when I'm by myself, she finds me every time. I don't think I've ever had to turn someone down this many times." 

Nicky smirked. "You're to charming for your own good." 

Joe absently rubbed his ring with his thumb. "I told her you would have food at home for me and she implied it would be terrible leftovers." 

Nicky chuckled "So, the first thing you did when you walked in was compliment it even before you ate any of it." 

"Your cooking is always good." Joe took a large bite, almost like he was trying to prove his words, making Nicky laugh.

"She's bothering you that much?" Nicky said his smile replaced with a look of concern. 

"She's just annoying. The first job in forever where I get to tell people I'm a married man and somehow I'm stuck with the most persistent suiter in years." 

None of this would bother Joe nearly as much if she hadn't met Nicky and still made advances. Joe couldn't decide if he was more insulted that she deemed Nicky an unfit partner or if she thought they weren't going to last. 

"I'm sure we'll be finished soon." Nicky said sympathetically, he'd had his own run ins with this woman since he and Joe were working in the same place. She had taken an instant disliking to him even before she knew they were together. It was certainly making everything harder but she was one of the higher ups and they both needed to be nice to her. 

Joe sighed. "You're right, of course, but it's frustrating." 

"Maybe this will help cheer you up." Nicky stood up and opened the freezer, pulling out Joe's favorite flavor of gelato. 

Joe's eyes lit up and he grinned ear to ear.

Nicky was predictable but he knew how to make a small surprise count. 

******

Joe was taking his lunch break outside on the grass, tucked behind some bushes so it would be difficult to spot him from the parking lot or main entrance. If he had to suffer another lunch break where Nora ate with him, saying anything to drag conversation out of him, he was going to lose it. He was very happily reading on his phone, when he heard someone approaching. 

"It's such a beautiful day I thought I'd eat outside too. I guess great minds think alike." Nora smiled down at him. She didn't even ask just sat down and made herself comfortable. 

"Hello, Nora." Joe said, trying to decide if he should just keep reading and ignore her or not. Ultimately politeness won and he put away his phone, but he started eating a little faster. 

"Why were you eating all alone? If you had asked I would have joined you sooner."

"I like the quiet sometimes." Joe said.

She pursed her lips. "How dreadfully boring." She tilted her head to the side just a bit. "Why doesn't that Nicky fellow ever eat with you? You said the two of you know each other didn't you? Why don't I ever see you together?"

Joe bristled at her tone, like she was dismissing Nicky, like he wasn't the most important person in Joe's world. "My husband." He emphasized the word just a bit. "Works in the warehouse part of the company and takes his lunches earlier because he gets here earlier."

"Oh you did say you two were married didn't you? Silly me, must have slipped my mind." She shook her head in an 'I'm such an airhead' kind of way. "How long have you been together?"

"Almost a millennia." Joe deadpans sarcastically.

She rolls her eyes. "Oh come on. I bet you can't even remember how long you two have been together. Guys never can."

If only she knew. "We've been married twelve years."

"You've been tied down for that long? What a tragedy to get married so young." 

Before Joe can respond she leans in far closer than Joe is comfortable with and places her hand on his knee. "If you ever want to have a little fun just let me know." She slowly walked her hand up his thigh. "Surely, you must want to change things up sometimes." 

Joe ground his teeth together, knocked her hand off of him, and stood quickly. "I would never be unfaithful to my husband." He started gathering up his things. "And I would ask you to not forget that." He quickly walked back into the building trying to hide his anger from the people he passed, wishing for the millionth time he could end this job and put the whole thing behind him.

******

A few days passed and it was Nicky who found the evidence they needed to incriminate the boss. He had broken into the guys house and was able to send Copley some files he'd had saved on his home computer. 

They were waiting for Copley to get back with them, keeping their covers and going about their lives like everything was normal, waiting for the all clear to pull out. 

"Joe, I need you to come with me to my office." Nora said, he hadn't heard her approach and her voice startled him a little. 

As he followed her there, he worried she might have discovered what he and Nicky were really there for, but knew it was more likely she's just using whatever she wants to tell him as an excuse to get them alone. 

Once inside Nora closed the door to her office and gestured for him to sit. Instead of sitting in her chair behind the desk she took the one next to him. 

Joe frowned ever so slightly. This wasn't going to be about work he found himself thinking. 

"Joe I... I hate to be the one to tell you this but... "She stammered out the words like she was about to tell him someone had died. "But I believe Nicky is having an affair."

Her eyes were filled with pity, as she said this, but Joe couldn't help but compare it to a child trying to get another kid in trouble. There was nothing sincere about the look, despite her best efforts to make him believe otherwise.

Joe didn't bother hiding the fact he didn't believe the nonsense she was saying. He crossed his arms and looked at her in an 'oh really' kind of way.

She raised her chin a little, indignant at his response. "I have proof." 

Joe had to swallow a laugh, but he couldn't quite keep all the amusement off his face. Whatever "proof" she had was gonna be good.

She pulled out her phone and brought up a picture for him to look at. 

He took the phone to get a better look.

When he saw who was in the picture, Joe really couldn't hold back and he barked out a laugh. It was a picture of Nicky, and he was giving Nile a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "That's your proof?" 

Andy and Nile had been working on locating the girl and they all had decided to keep their distance from each other for a while. They had located the girl and had gotten her out safely just a day before this was taken. Nicky had mentioned running into Nile yesterday and he couldn't resist a quick hello since they had pretty much everything they needed.

"I wouldn't know what else to call it." She told him, miffed at his response. 

Joe laughed again. "Nora, that's his sister. His adopted younger sister. He told me he ran into her yesterday and they talked for a while." 

Nora's face went red. "Well, then, I'm glad you have nothing to worry about." 

"No, I don't, not with Nicky, but what I am concerned about is, were you following my husband? Or did you hire someone to do it for you?" He quickly deleted the picture and swiped left and right to make sure there weren't more.

"I... of course not! I was just passing through when I saw the two of them and thought you'd want to know. Guess it's the last time I do you any favors." She looked angry and Joe knew she was mad he had turned the question of who was in the wrong on her so fast.

"Yeah ok. I think we're done here." He stood up to go, and he felt his phone buzz. He had a feeling he knew who it was and paused to check.

It was Nicky. All clear we're leaving now. Copley has everything he needed. The text said.

Joe paused his hand resting on the door knob. "You can consider this mine and Nicky's resignation. We won't be back tomorrow or any other day."

"You can't do that you didn't give the company a two weeks notice!" Nora spluttered in disbelief. "You wouldn't quit just because I tried to help you out would you?"

"I would and I am." He opened the door and started walking.

"Thanks for the terrible experience. It's been a displeasure." He said over his shoulder.

Joe walked out of there as fast as he could and didn't bother collecting his things, it wasn't anything important.

He texted back ok, where are we meeting? Once outside.

Nicky called him immediately.

"How far are you from fifth and elm?" Nicky asked.

"About a fifteen minute walk. I'm just leaving the office."

"Ok, Andy has a car. We'll pick you up at the corner of third and elm."

"Great see you soon."

He climbed into the backseat where Nicky was sitting and squeezed in close to him.

Nile was in the front and Andy was driving.

Joe busted out laughing once they were driving and settled. "Nile I'd appreciate it if you would stop flirting with my husband in public." He said, his voice light and teasing.

Nile looked back at him and couldn't help but return his smile even though she had no idea what he was talking about. "What?"

"This lady accused Nicky of having an affair and she showed me a picture of the two of you together, hugging and kissing." He laughed again at how ridiculous the whole thing was.

"Wait what? Nora was following me?" Nicky asked, surprised, he knew immediately that Joe couldn't be talking about anyone else.

"I think it was mostly coincidence. It doesn't matter she won't be bothering us again."

"Wow, Nicky, the two of us will have to be more careful in the future if we want to make this relationship work." Nile teased.

"Yeah, I didn't realize Joe has eyes and ears everywhere on me." Nicky gently tugged on one of Joe's curls.

"Oh, you know I'm always watching you babe." Joe leaned in and kissed him, his heart soared as Nicky tangled his hand in Joe's hair holding him close.

Andy gasped in fake shock. "Right in front of you Nile? How could he!" She said highly amused by the whole situation.

"You wound me Nicky." Nile put the back of her hand on her forehead and fell back in her seat, pretending to faint.

Nicky tisked his tongue at her. "So dramatic."

They all laughed and Nicky and Nile's "affair" became a new running joke between them.

[gaytransgirl]

A Thorough Dissection of Snapcube’s “Sonic The Hedgehog (2006)” Dub and its Recurring Themes and Plots

I have organized this into two main plot threads, one recurring theme that aids both plots, and a series of noteworthy jokes and/or bits that add story cohesion to the dub as a whole. Luckily for me, Shadow T. Hedgehog himself brought about a generic theme message of the dub inside the dub itself, so that was part of my work alleviated from me. For the sake of the post being long as hell, all the information will be placed under a readmore.

STORY THREAD: THE FORTNITE GAMING SAGA

8:00 - The first mention of Fortnite. 8:13 - The introduction of alternate Battle Royales and their existence in the dub. This does not necessarily include real Battle Royales such as PUBG, instead branching off into fictional works, such as Doki Doki Literature Club Battle Royale. 8:55 is where we get the first mention of Tilted Towers. Eggman is revealed to also like Fortnite, and Rouge's username is leaked. 13:43 - It is revealed that Memphis Tennessee is also an avid Fortnite gamer, and we see his gamer pad. 14:49 - "That just makes you a beta cuck." Not FULLY related to the plot, but worth mentioning because it is gold. 16:38 - Sonic defends the integrity of the real best Battle Royale, Tetris 99. 17:28 - The future of Fortnite is revealed. 17:56 - Rouge starts her plan to create her own Battle Royale. 22:52 - The world on fire, seen in Elise’s That’s So Raven moments, is revealed to be caused by Sonic's Battle Royale soundtrack. 25:55 - Eggman sends Sonic and co. into “Fortnite Minecraft” for the PS4. This is never elaborated upon. 26:58 - Alfred somehow predicts Fallout 76 Battle Royale before it was revealed. Because he is Alfred, and that is the magic of the dubs. 27:11 - Elise's key role in the perfect Battle Royale is revealed, establishing a more solid character motive for Eggman. 29:29 - Tails discovers Rouge's Battle Royale, and Sonic inserts himself as the main character. 38:19 - Memphis shows off his new Fortnite map. 41:19 - Omega shows a distaste for Fortnite, the first character thus far to do so, and plans to stop it from being the top game of 2018. 42:02 - Shadow asks Todd Howard to publish his game, and it is revealed that Shadow was made by Todd Howard as part of a Battle Royale. 48:49 - It's revealed that the purple and yellow energies are being used to power Fortnite. 51:55 - The Duke attempts to revive Elise using the gamer gems, but the gamer piss kills her. However, she is revived shortly after. 1:00:22 - Eggman's Fortnite account is hacked, and he has a birth of cactuses out of his asshole. 1:01:33 - Memphis realizes he has more gamer potential than anticipated, and moves far beyond Fortnite, disregarding the new map he made. 1:04:53 - Fortnite is destroyed by anonymous hackers, and Eggman's social security becomes someone else's. 1:21:25 - Elise takes Sonic to see the Flame of Gamers, and they extinguish it together. 1:23:06 - Game over.

Overall conclusion of this thread: No matter how well-intentioned a conflict may be (Fortnite vs PUBG vs Tetris 99), all that a conflict can breed is hate. Casualties may arise (Elise, Eggman’s social security), and outside groups (the hackers) are bound to take advantage of conflicting parties for their own gain.

STORY THREAD: SHADOW'S MARITAL AFFAIRS

30:33 - It is revealed that Shadow and Rouge had a wedding once. 32:16 - Shadow describes this arc before it truly begins. 35:27 - The power of Za Warudo unites Shadow and Sonic in marriage, though chaos ensues at the question of who is the bride. 35:59 - Shadow reveals his love for Memphis Tennessee, and they kiss off screen. 38:24 - Shadow asks Memphis on a date. 39:21 - We see the first sign of strain in Memphis and Shadow's relationship. 40:45 - Omega confesses his feelings for Shadow. 44:42 - Shadow and Silver do A Gay Thing together. 51:12 - Shadow obtains a portable Memphis. And what do you know? The perfect shape. 56:38 - Omega gets his revenge for Memphis for stealing Shadow. 58:29 - Rouge and Omega bond over the friend zone. 1:03:40 - Memphis voices his regret over dating Shadow, and chooses to instead fuck his clones. 1:06:14 - Sonic first recognizes Silver's status as a twink. This comes into play later, when Sonic is revived. 1:13:29 - Memphis unleashes his ultimate gay power, technically making Shadow his boyfriend again. 1:18:28 - The gay gems revive Sonic, and he forms a polyamorous marriage with Silver and Shadow.

Overall conclusion: Being gay is good. Try it some time.

RECURRING THEME: WEED AND VAPING

28:32 - This is the first mention of Knuckles' desire for weed, a joke returning from the first dub. Sonic establishes himself as a weed smoker. 29:39 - Rouge reveals her weed stash to Shadow, firmly cementing that she is not a dealer. If she was, she would’ve given it to Knuckles (for a price). 31:57 - "YOU HAD THE WEED THE WHOLE TIME?!" 36:50 - A robot asks for weed. Yeah. I did notice this. 37:21 - Rouge offers Omega some weed, and once weed.exe downloads, he short circuits in a beautiful display of Alfred’s note-holding capabilities. 40:29 - Omega is revealed to have the ability to inebriate others through his presence, as shown by Memphis’s red eyes. 41:46 - Omega asks for more weed. He does not get it. 43:53 - Shadow uses weed to slow time. This is the first display of weed having supernatural abilities. 54:22 - Shadow encourages young Elise to vape, and ties the themes together into an essential message about freedom... or whatever. 57:32 - Omega once again reveals his incredible dependency on Rouge's weed. He should get his own supplier instead of leeching off Rouge. 1:10:44 - Memphis obtains the Corrupted Weed Gem and uses it to McMurder Sonic. He does it entirely by accident, though.

Thematic message: “All living things deserve freedom... Freedom to weed, to vape, to Fortnite... That’s what we’re all tying into, I think. That’s the central message.”

Other Recurring Jokes of Note: Instant Ramen: 9:35 - 9:58 - 10:12 - 36:46 - 46:15 Finding The Computer Room: 7:55 - 17:49 - 41:59 - 1:00:10 The Ice Cream Air Ship: 7:24 - 55:08 - 1:05:17 My Bed Is Made Of Scorpions: 0:31 - 1:13:50 "One": 2:57 - 7:13 - 22:44 Tell It In Excruciating Detail: 17:00 - 21:45 Amy Making Murder Threats: 24:00 - 34:12 - 1:16:16 Characters Surprised By Their Own Abilities: 5:51 - 7:21 - 1:11:27 - 1:15:40 Pumpkin Hill: 18:11 - 24:39 - 1:14:52 Omega's Counting Habits: 1:00:53 - 1:01:49 - 1:04:26

Overall, Snapcube’s dub of “Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)” delivers a message of self discovery and personal freedoms. We all have issues that might bog us down, and we may suffer from insomnia. But one thing that unites us all (other than Pumpkin Hill) is the idea of personal growth. Whether that comes through game development, an exploration of sexuality, learning that you have hands, or letting a child vape, there’s something for all of us in the Computer Room of Discovery. And once we find the computer room, we can code our future.

[delos-mio]

Death of a Bachelor - Part 17

A/N: I’m on a roll, kids. But with that roll, it’s with a heavy heart I announce that there is only ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT! Well, and an epilogue. But the end of DOAB is fast approaching. Enjoy a chapter with what I think is s fun little something different, and some gratuitous smut (oops). YES you read that right, there are sexy times ahead! Anyways, enjoy, gimme your thoughts, and tags at the end!

PEREZ EXCLUSIVE: Get ALL The Tea From The Delos Family Affair!

We weren’t the only ones caught off guard by Saturday night’s family shake up!

It’s been no secret that Delos patriarch and total Daddy™️ Jim Delos had plans to retire this fall. Recently we’d seen his soon-to-be son in law (maybe not anymore?), William, as the figure head at Delos events. Billionaire playboy and Jim’s own son, Logan Delos, looked like he was OUT of the picture. Poor baby, we’ll be your shoulder to cry on, right Perezcious readers?

So imagine Jim and William’s surprise the night of the retirement party when the Delos heir announces he bought daddy’s company with veteran entrepreneur John Collins?! Consider our wigs snatched!

Inside sources who were at the event Saturday night say a number of arguments broke out immediately after the bombshell was dropped- I can’t imagine Jim was too happy.

But the real fight occurred between William and his fiancé, Delos director Juliet Delos. Witnesses saw William leaving the party with the cute little blonde playing the piano and shards of glass in the hallway. Has William been playing his fiancé to get in good with Delos?! And the same little birdie told us that this affair may not be the first! Umm…no offense, but William? Not exactly on our hot list. Now, Logan, on the other hand…

Logan has a long history of rolling around in the sheets with anyone with a pulse. He’s been linked to everyone from Tristian West to Holly Decker.  But might the perpetual Delos bachelor be off the market?! Attendees of the event say Logan was accompanied by a woman he seemed quite taken with, some going so far as to say he “never left her side” and “looked at her with cartoon hearts in his eyes”.  Well, there’s a first time for everything!

O. M. G! A lover’s quarrel, a family coup d’etat, and Logan with a *gasp* girlfriend? Wish we could have been there!

So what do you think, my Perezcious readers? Will Delos sink or swim under new ownership? And are we witnessing the death of a bachelor with Logan Delos?

-----

“...So then, John gets up front to say thanks or whatever. And he goes ‘oh I’m just half of ownership, why don’t you come up here, L?’ So Logan goes to stand with him and Jim just blows the fuck up,” you smiled, biting down on your lip. You were back in your office with your beloved friend and assistant, dishing to Charles’ slack jaw as you recounted the events from the retirement party just a couple days ago.

“No way,” he laughs.

“Yes. And then William’s all ‘did you fucking know about this?!’ to Jules who is like, completely blindsided at this point. And Logan sees him yelling at her and gets in his face to get away from his sister,” you continued.

“Oh my god.”

“I go check on Logan to make sure he’s ok and he’s like yeah, yeah, but we should find Jules. So, we go back inside and Jules is screaming at the top of her lungs, throwing clothes, throwing vases...”

“Vases?!” Charles squeaked out.

“Vases. Because guess what? William was in there about to fuck the girl he brought in to play piano.” You leaned back in your seat and waited for Charles to process everything you just said. He sat, flabbergasted, for a moment before putting his hand to his mouth to stifle a laugh.

“Your life is more exciting than Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” he giggled. “Oh! When you guys get married, please give your job to me and become a Bravo housewife. You’d be so good at it!” You looked at Charles with an arched eyebrow that he waved off. “But really, that’s insane! I can’t believe all that happened in a night.”

“All of that specifically happened in like, 20 minutes,” you laughed.

“Jesus Lord. I’m so mad I wasn’t there!”

“You would have loved it.” It felt good to be able to laugh about that night with someone a little more removed from the drama. Someone in attendance at the party had to run to almost every gossip blog and tabloid peddling “exclusive” information about the events that unfolded. Most of it was true, some of it was false, but it was in no way a complete picture. Logan was annoyed at first that everything had been made so public so fast, but he was used to media scrutiny by this point in his life.

After William drove off, Logan pulled Juliet aside to talk about Delos. She was furious he didn’t tell her about him buying the company from under their dad’s nose, but given his history with Jim and William, she ultimately understood why Logan kept her out of it for as long as he did. Logan was clear he didn’t want to change anything about the business or take anything from her. No, his goal was to get Jim and William out of there, to make it a safe place for him and his sister to grow and thrive and lead.

“I’m going to be out for the rest of the day starting around 1. I told Logan I’d meet him for lunch. It’s his first day back in his office and I think he’s a little nervous.”

“The handsome, sexy, confident Logan Delos gets nervous?” Charles asked with a smile.

“Yes, he does. And stop hitting on my boyfriend. You’re his type and hot enough to steal him from me,” you laughed and tossed a pen at Charles.

“Yeah right. Like his entire world doesn’t start and end with you.” You looked up from your computer screen at Charles, who was grinning even broader this time.

“Shut up,” you mumbled and blushed.

“Well, have fun and tell the Mrs. I say hello.” Charles stood and moved to your office door, pausing before he let himself out. “Seriously though, tell him I said congrats too.”

“I will. He’ll appreciate that,” you said with a smile, watching as the door shut again behind Charles.

——-

The receptionist you’d come to know as Chloe beamed at you when you walked into the office. She looked like she had a spring in her step and couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

“Good afternoon, Chloe. How are you?”

“I’m excellent, thank you! Coming in today and finding out Mr.— sorry, William was no longer with Delos was a welcome surprise,” she said candidly. You guessed the switch from the formal address to just his first name was her way of saying he no longer warranted the respect. When you quirked your lips at her, she clamped a hand over her mouth. “That was so unprofessional of me. I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me,” you said sweetly. “And I’m sure Logan wouldn’t mind if he overheard you talking shit about William.”

“Thank you,” she exhaled. “Mr. Delos said to send you right in when you got here and that-“ she paused to pull up an email “I have specific orders to ‘always let my princess in directly to me. Do not call me and tell me she’s here. Just send her in. And do not interrupt me while she’s here. If there’s an emergency, make it Juliet or John’s problem’,” she recited directly off her screen.

“He actually put princess in that?” you cringed.

“He did. He told me to follow his memo to the letter.” Her eyes darted back to the screen and you rolled your eyes fondly.

“Thank you, Chloe. Same office as before?”

“Yes, ma’am. And it’s my pleasure.” As you started to walk away, you heard her call out to you quietly.

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to say I’m glad to see you here again.” Her cheeks painted pink and she looked down at her keyboard.

“The feeling is mutual, dear.” You smiled and made your way back to the corner office you knew had belonged to him before his dismissal. You gave a soft knock on the large oak door and heard Logan call from inside.

“That better be my princess.”

You laughed and opened the door just enough to slide in, shutting and locking it behind you. “You really had to use my pet name in a memo?” you asked, setting your bag down on the closest chair. “I get VIP access to the boss?”

“Read that to you, did she?” Logan was already on his feet and sweeping you into his arms. You nodded before his lips found yours and he pulled you into a searing kiss.

“You look good behind that desk,” you said, breathless.

“I think it’d look better with you on it,” he smirked.

“Well, what are you waiting for, Mr. Delos? You’re in charge here, are you not?” You teased, running a finger down his chest.

A feral look flashed in Logan’s eyes before he lifted you into his arms, walking you to his desk in front of the floor to ceiling windows and perching you on the edge. Your legs parted on their own accord so Logan could slot himself between them, pressing close to you as he kissed along your jaw.

“I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to fuck you right here, just like this,” he breathed into your neck.

“Since the first day you met me? When you had that cute little crush on me,” you giggled and Logan nipped right below your ear.

“I still have a crush on you.” It shouldn’t have gotten to you the way it did, but Logan saying those words sent off butterflies in your stomach, making you dig your nails deeper on his back. Logan ran one of his large palms up the inside of your thigh, deftly using his long fingers to push aside the material of your underwear and run them teasingly through your folds. “Fuck, you’re already soaking wet baby,” he groaned, easily sliding his fingers inside you, keeping his thumb rubbing over your clit.

“Want you,” you moaned into his ear before taking the lobe between your teeth and tugging. Logan wasted no time reaching down and pushing up your skirt around your hips and pulling off your panties, letting them dangle crudely around one ankle. You fumbled with his belt and zipper, unwilling to stop kissing him for long enough to look at what you were trying to do. Logan eventually helped you out, pushing his suit pants just below his ass.

“God, you make me so fucking hard,” Logan panted as you fisted his already leaking cock. He couldn’t help looking down and watching you work him, loving the way it looked and felt to have you finally touching him after he fantasized about this very moment all morning. “Gonna let me fuck you right here, baby girl?” He unbuttoned the top few buttons of your blouse, just enough so he could slip a hand inside and palm your breast. The massaging turned you into putty in his hands and he knew it. Logan had definitely learned what to do to you to make sure he got his way.

“Yeah,” you whined, looping your arms over his shoulders and pressing your chest against him. “Please, Lo.”

“Such a good girl,” Logan sighed as he held his base and slid inside you in a single smooth stroke. You bit back a moan as he bottomed out, trying your best to be mindful that the walls were almost certainly not soundproof. “Always so good for me.” Logan shuddered as he pulled back out, really letting you savor the thick drag of him inside you before slamming in once more. His reentrance made you hiccup and pull Logan even closer, as if even a centimeter of space between you was too much space.

As hard as you tried to, you couldn’t stop the moans that bubbled from your lips. Logan felt too good inside you and the idea of him wanting you so bad you were both still mostly clothed was driving you wild. An accidental and particularly loud moan escaped you when Logan hit you just right deep inside. Logan reached up and placed his palm over your mouth, his eyes still full of lust, but now a bit softer. “Shh, shh, I know baby,” he whispered, his hips never relenting in their pace. “You feel so fucking tight and perfect. And trust me, baby, I want to hear you scream so fucking bad. But we have to be quiet, ok?” You nodded and Logan grinned, moving his hand away. “I love you.”

“Love you,” you sighed before kissing him again, desperate for something to keep your mouth occupied. Logan continued slamming into you, his movement becoming more and more erratic. You knew he was close by all those little signs you’d learned over the last year and change- how his breathing got shallow and his fingers dug in deep, how he always bit down on his bottom lip right before he came.

“I’m close, princess,” Logan huffed. His eyebrows were pulling together, trying to hold it off for as long as he could. “Where do you want me?”

“We still going to lunch?” you asked in a breath, rocking your hips against his teasingly.

“Mhmm,” he said with a nod.

“Then you should probably come in my mouth, don’t you think?” you smiled. “I don’t know how comfortable it’d be sitting for an hour with your load dripping out of me.” You knew putting the visual in his head would just push him closer to the edge. Maybe it wasn’t playing fair, but you couldn’t resist teasing him.

“Fuck, fuck,” he groaned, hips snapping even faster. “Knees, baby. Please,” he whined and pulled out of you entirely, gripping tight at his base.

You felt so empty now without him, but quickly dropped off the desk in front of him, opening your mouth for him. Logan ran his hand almost tenderly along your jaw and rested his thumb on your chin, pulling your jaw down just enough for him to enter your mouth and watch as your lips wrapped around his head. You took him all the way to the back of your throat, swallowing him there for a moment before pulling back and flicking your tongue over his slit. That was all it took for Logan to let out a long sigh and spill into your mouth. You waited patiently for every drop before swallowing and releasing his now softening cock. Logan held his hands out to you and helped you back to your feet, immediately kissing you, chasing his own taste with his tongue. You always did love that part of his post-orgasm ritual.

“I wish you knew how sexy you look on your knees like that, swallowing like my perfect girl,” he mused as his fingers reached down and found your pulsing clit, putting just a little pressure and rubbing in small circles. You gasped at the contact and bucked your hips into his hand. With a smirk, Logan used his other hand to hike up your leg, opening you up to him a little more. Truthfully, you weren’t too far from climax yourself. As Logan continued to work you, you clung tightly to him, burying your face in his jacket to muffle the noises you wanted to make. You let Logan know you were close by clawing at his back, sinking even closer to him. “That’s it baby. Just let go,” he whispered.

“Can I come for you?” you asked, your request a little muffled, but Logan knew exactly what you said.

“Fuck, you better,” he growled, pressing down a little harder. The increased pressure and Logan’s encouragement was more than enough to push you over the edge. You gripped his jacket tightly and rode out your high on his fingers, finally going limp against him. Logan placed your foot back on the floor and held you steady as your legs regained the ability to work. Once he was convinced you could hold yourself up, he brought his fingers to his mouth, licking them clean with a shit eating grin. “You good?”

“I’m good,” you smiled and leaned in to peck him sweetly. “I like this whole being able to fuck in your office because you’re the boss deal.”

“Oh, I’m loving that deal. I’m thinking next time, I can press you against the window and take you from behind,” he said nonchalantly, tucking himself back into his pants and smoothing out his jacket.

“It stinks like sex in here, though,” you said with an arched eyebrow. You checked your hair and makeup in the small mirror on the wall and touched up any spots that said ‘yes, I just let the CEO fuck me senseless in his office’.

“Good.” Logan kisses you once and hands you your bag. “Lunch, my dear?”

“Yes, please. Someone made me work up an appetite,” you teased. Logan couldn’t wipe the smug look off his face when he placed his hand on the small of your back and walked with you out to the reception area. You smiled at Chloe as you walk out and Logan took your hand, looking at you as he raised it to his lips, leaving a small kiss on the back of your hand.

“Have a nice lunch, Mr. Delos,” Chloe beamed.

“Thank you, Chloe. We will,” Logan smirked. “Oh, can you please forward any calls to my voicemail? I don’t think I’ll be back today.”

“Oh yeah?” you asked, squeezing his hand.

“Mhmm.” Logan kissed you softly.

“Of course, Mr. Delos. Enjoy your afternoon,” Chloe blushed, looking on at your PDA. It must have been an odd sight, seeing Logan be affectionate with you publicly after months of keeping your relationship on the down low when you first got together. But now Delos was his, and he’d be damned if he couldn’t kiss you whenever and wherever he wanted.

Though you originally made a reservation for lunch, after very quick discussion, you opted for picking up Thai food from the little place on the way home and sharing it out on the deck. Logan had pulled the cushions off the outdoor furniture and made a little nest for the two of you to sit on, practically on top of each other, and feed each other bits of food when something was particularly good. He couldn’t help himself from kissing away the bit of green curry at the corner of your lips, which you told him was disgusting, but Logan only laughed and continued his attack.

Once you finished, boxes set aside in favor of you laying between Logan’s legs with your back to his chest, you melted against him and let your eyes slip closed against the afternoon sun.

“You ready for Wisconsin again?” you asked quietly, tracing a random pattern on his forearm wrapped around your chest. On Wednesday, the two of you would be leaving for your hometown for Emily and Elliot’s wedding. It felt surreal that the day was finally approaching after all of the planning you knew Emily had done. She’d been blowing up your phone for the last couple weeks with questions and complaints and asking for your opinion on damn near everything. You loved your sister with your whole heart, but you were ready to get this wedding over and done with.

“Yeah, I’m getting excited.” Logan kissed your shoulder. “It’ll be nice to get away for a little bit. Not worry about LA or Delos drama.”

“You need a vacation already? I could have sworn you just started the job today,” you teased, poking him gently with your elbow.

“Be nice,” he laughed. “Is it a crime to want to jet set with my beautiful princess?”

“It’s a crime you consider going to Milwaukee jet setting.”

“I liked Milwaukee!”

“It’s ok,” you sighed. You turned in his arms to lay on his chest, looking up at his face. “But I want to go on real vacation. Like to Hawaii or Fiji or something. Em’s wedding is not vacation. She’s going to work me the whole time! You’ve seen her scary ass texts to me.”

“Aw, my poor girl,” Logan pouted, kissing your forehead. “Well, we should go on real vacation. I’m thinking somewhere with a cabana and private beach. Somewhere we don’t have to put clothes on the whole time. We can just, I don’t know, get drunk and fuck and pet sea turtles.”

“I like all those things.” You nod your head, smiling as you watch Logan mentally plan a tropical vacation for the two of you.

Just as he opened his mouth to continue on with the fantasy he was cooking up, you both heard the front door close and someone walking through the house. There were only three people with keys to the house, and two of them were tangled together on the deck. So it wasn’t a huge surprise to see Juliet pop her head out the sliding glass door and push her sunglasses back over her eyes.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” she asked before sitting in one of the table chairs.

“Not yet,” Logan grinned.

“Gross.”

“Well, then perhaps you shouldn’t just let yourself in without notice, hmm?” Logan arched an eyebrow and Juliet just rolled her eyes. It was still odd to see her without her ring. Since the day you’d met, she had an obnoxiously huge engagement ring fixed on her finger. But, that was the first thing to go after Logan chased William out of the party.

“Ignore him,” you said, adjusting to sit up in Logan’s lap so you could actually talk to Juliet. “How are you holding up?”

“Is it weird to say I’m a little relieved?” She bit down on her bottom lip. “I think I loved him on some level, but having him and dad fuck off and to finally be able to breathe on my own? Kinda feels good.”

“I’m glad there’s a silver lining,” you smiled. Juliet nodded and managed an only slightly watery smile. “Were you just in the neighborhood and couldn’t resist our company?”

“Actually, I’m just here to ask a favor,” she laughed. “I know you guys are going to be out of town for a bit and I was wondering if I can stay here while you’re gone? William is supposed to be getting his shit this weekend and I’d rather not be there if I don’t have to be.”

“Yeah. Yeah of course,” Logan said immediately. He didn’t consider his answer for a second. “We won’t be back until Monday, right?” You nodded in confirmation. “You’re free to stay as long as you need to.” Logan was happy to accommodate any request if it got William out of his life and the lives of the people he loved.

“Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. I’ll make sure not to open any random drawers,” she winked.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Logan smiled and you shoved at his shoulder. “Really though, it’s no problem.”

“Cool. Well, I’ll leave you to do…whatever it was you guys were doing.” Juliet got up and gave you both a small salute. “Fly safe, fam.”

With that, she let herself out and you were left alone again, lounging in the slowly sinking sun. Logan was leaning back with his eyes closed, breaths even as he clung to you. He looked peaceful and actually relaxed, which was a rare sight recently. He’d gone through a lot in the last year and a half; maybe now he could finally enjoy some well-earned rest.

TAGGED: @thesandbeneathmytoes​ @marvelcapsicle​ @something-tofightfor​ @songtoyou​ @its-my-little-dumpster-fire​ @abroadcastofthemind​ @gollyderek​ @dylanobrusso​

[aanotheruniverse]

Something close to my heart I wrote a few years ago

THE SUICIDE CLINIC 

CIARAN HARDIE 

 The Waiting Room Nobody made eye contact at the Suicide Clinic. Everybody knew why you were there. If you are about to kill yourself, small talk is not really a high priority. As George craned his neck to take in the high ceiling, he was reminded of the similarly high ceilings in airports, and the Suicide Clinic is a sort of an airport - a temporary drop-off point between life and death. The Clinics all looked the same inside: spacious, fashionably modern, with wide white corridors, littered with suicide prevention signs and pretentiously artistic glass panels. They were the type of place where the floor squeaks as you drag your feet across it. To George's left side was a black man, in his fifties, whose short hair had started to turn white. Chancing a glance at him, George couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to him, and how his life had brought him to this moment. On his left, was an elderly woman clutching a kitsch pink handbag. A man sat in the corner of the room, dressed like a rocker, had his head firmly in his hands. Amidst the waiting room, George felt his individuality and personality slip away; he was just another face in the crowd. He felt, and not just in this moment alone, merely an observant to the world, and not a participant. He was simply being. Nothing happens after death, it’s all just biology and chemistry. Life, George thought, my life, maybe life itself is wholly insignificant objectively, so he had stopped bothering to try to add any subjective meaning to his life either. Although everything is, eventually it will not be, so why bother? Before Emma had taken her own life, George had never really given suicide and the means of suicide much thought, which can be cited as a good thing. Carbon monoxide poisoning is pretty painless, and you could even sleep through it, but there’s a bit of a tedious wait. Best to get it over with as quick as possible with something like hanging, but that’s a tad dark and unpleasant. Suicide bombing would be quick, but George didn’t know the first thing about improvising an explosive. Lethal injection lacks the sex appeal of exploding, or setting yourself on fire, or whatever, and a pill overdose would be too painful. At the Clinics, they provide you with the most sought-after method of suicide - although a difficult commodity to come by in England - a handgun. You would think the handgun would be the ultimate solution to a quick and easy suicide, but all sorts can go wrong. People attempt to shoot themselves from funny angles and often, they shoot only their ears off, or their nose, or part of their chin, and some even miss entirely. If a non-fatal shot were to be fired, there are medics waiting on site at the Clinic, but there would only be one bullet per gun at a time, so you only had one chance to get it right. If you were to miss, you would have to get a new ticket and wait all over again. Once you were dead, the Body Disposers would come and take care of your remains. Afterwards, the room is tidied spotless for the next person. As the unattractive glare from the overly-polished floor caught George’s eye, he was stuck by the institution’s obsession with cleanliness; would people really care if the room they were coming to die in were a little dirty? When George had collected his ticket (Number #227) from the annoyingly pretty receptionist, she had explained the procedure and he had to fill out a form, savouring the Clinic from any responsibility over your imminent death. They also let you choose what you hear before you die. George had known this in advance and had brought with him a CD of himself and Emma talking. One night, a couple of years ago now, Emma had interrupted one of his recording sessions, and he had accidentally left the tape running for hours, and recorded their conversation. They laughed about it and listened to the tape back after realising. Now that she was dead, and things had changed so severely, it felt like a tape from another universe, a relic of a time that now it is over, felt like it had never really existed in the first place. You also got to choose what image was projected in front of you as you die too, and he had brought a photograph of Emma from when he first met her. First there were designer handbags, then designer babies, and now, you could even design your own death. They didn’t want people to kill themselves, but local authorities couldn’t deal with the amount of blood and carcass painting their streets. Washing out the high street every morning, before the foggy-eyed, grey-faced consumers came to... consume, became somewhat of a chore. First there was the Super Hose, which lived up to its name only in its size, and not in efficiency. A team of Body Disposers would hose down the streets and it would all be drained down the newly introduced sewer system - the Bloodstream. The larger pieces, too big to be collanderised, would be put in the back of a lorry and driven off to an infirmary. Naturally, people revolted. They didn’t like the Super Hose, they didn’t like the strewn organs down their high street, and they especially didn’t like the Body Disposers, with their threatening red jumpsuits. George, who was fairly up to date with current affairs, remembered how it all had started: a research team in Europe had been controversially investigating if suicide-prone individuals would be more likely to commit suicide if the process was facilitated for them. George could no longer recall the results of the experiment, and it had become irrelevant now anyway, as the English government had leapt onto the idea, and implemented Suicide Clinics in every major town to cope with the epidemic. A place you could go to kill yourself, and not make so much of a mess for everybody left here still existing once you were gone. 24/7, 365, a place to die. Everywhere had a McDonald’s and a Suicide Clinic. It was supply and demand. People still threw themselves off buildings, however. Some people just refuse to conform to committing in the way they are “supposed” to commit. Drowning maintained a popular alternative too, and it handily came without the dreaded stigma of pavement bombing. There was one case, George remembered, in the news, where one lake was deemed such a spot of idyllic beauty that it had to be dredged due to the sheer number of bodies in it. Of course, the biggest concern to the authorities was simply why were so many people suddenly killing themselves? What had happened in order to make suicide rates increase tenfold? Even now, nobody really knows. As George’s mind wandered the history of the Clinics, he ran in to the question that had driven him in to one of them. Why, like all the other hundreds of thousands of people, had Emma killed herself? She was the one who had handled the break-up; she was the one who’d carried on with her life and her degree and seemed unchanged by things. George was the one who had been made redundant; the one who begged for her back; the one whose life had shrivelled up to being no more than an exercise of misery. Yet two weeks ago to the day, George had received the news: Emma, like all the others, had walked in to a Suicide Clinic, collected her ticket, waited her turn, and ended her life. 14 days of looking for answers had driven George to do the same. Still, in this waiting room, as he anticipated his death, George couldn’t help but wonder why? TPs (Technological People) - “Robots” had been deemed a derogatory term - had certainly had something to do with the other suicides. If there was a TP that could do your job, within a few weeks, you would be out of work. That’s what had happened to George, who was once a recruitment consultant for the IT industry, but now there was a computer that could do his job better, and for free. Conglomerates totally replaced the working human race with TPs. As you would conduct your life; shopping, eating, working, living, you were no longer greeted by human faces, but by metallic, dead-eyed, machines. Technology had sucked all the life out of the world, and days and weeks could go by without seeing another human face. Human social interaction all but died out, and friendship can no longer exist in these conditions, unless it is virtual. George wondered all the time, what is everybody doing? The human race has never been so unproductive. After millennia of rapid evolution in the right direction, we have just ceased. We slowed down, and then we stopped altogether. Nobody is doing anything, they are just existing. Observants, and not participants. That’s the fundamental problem, George thought, people’s lives aren’t worth living anymore, and the people are realising it. Shit, he was realising it after all, and now had come to do the same as all the others. A collective air of nihilism is present at every turning. We are opting out of the game; we just don’t want to play any more. Every day, another lieu of faces at the Clinic, another batch of people who won’t play, if they don’t see the point in playing. The cliches about finding yourself, determining your own happiness, and bringing meaning in to your own life don’t stick anymore, and the futility overwhelms. What’s the fucking point? They want an objective answer to that question. George became aware that he had started breathing heavily, and tried to decelerate his thinking, and calm himself down. He realised he had been clutching his right thigh very hard, and let go. He looked around the room once more; everybody shared the same expression of utter resignation. In the 54th minute since George had collected his ticket (#227), the silence in the room reached a no longer bearable decibel, and his fidgeting could no longer oppress his discomfort. Desperately, George wanted to engage the rest of the room in conversation. He had no idea what he wanted to say to all of these strangers, but the urge was definitely there. Feeling an excruciating sensation rise up in to his chest, George found himself on his feet and then over at the annoyingly pretty ticket- giver’s desk. “Hi”, George spoke, with no idea what he was doing. “Hi”, the ticket-giver looked up at him with an ill-disguised look of animosity. “Er, do you reckon I could, like, wait somewhere else? Is there like a private waiting room?” “Does there seem to be a problem with this waiting room?” “No, it’s not that, it’s just, I feel, uncomfortable waiting around with all these strangers”. “Sir, I can assure you that everybody feels the same. Please take your seat”. “Okay, well that doesn’t make anybody feel any better”. “Sir, please take your seat and wait for your number to be called”. George opened his mouth to respond, but found himself heading back to his seat. Across the room, sitting with her legs crossed, was Emma. George blinked in incredulity, but she was still there. She gave him a flirtatious wave. George got to his feet and tentatively walked across the room. “Yes?”, said the girl, and after a beat, “Can I help you?” “No. Sorry. I just thought you were someone else.” Back in his seat, George mentally kicked himself for being so stupid. She’s dead, he told himself, she’s dead. “Seeing me everywhere are you, George?”, Emma’s voice hit his ears, “Can’t get me out of your head?” The black man was no longer sitting to the left of George. Instead, Emma was there, with her perfect legs and tangled brown mane of hair. Laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of it all, George replied, “Can’t get you out of my head? Well that’s why I’m here isn’t it?” “What if it doesn’t work though?”, said Emma, as if the idea gave her great pleasure, “What if after you kill yourself there’s some sort of afterlife based on your living psychology? What if your eternity is me?” “Then I’ll have to find a a way to kill myself again”. “You can only kill yourself once, silly”. “Oh I know, it’s a grand shame, I would have done it loads by now, if I could. I’d wake up every morning any kill myself” “So dramatic”. Even a hallucinatory image of Emma could still get right under George’s skin. “You always call me dramatic, when you’re the one that’s dramatic” “You’re the one who’s speaking to a dead girl”. Anger swelled in George but before he could release a venomous retort, Emma was gone, and the black man was back in her place. “Okay, number 227, you’re up next”, the ticket-giver’s announcement brought George back to reality. “If you’d like to follow me”. Checking his ticket, George got to his feet yet again and followed her out of the waiting room and down a narrow, white corridor. The gravity of the situation hit George at once, and he felt the need to gag. When they reached the menacing black door, George stifled his queasiness. George resented himself for not wanting to embarrass himself in front of the ticket-giver. “Everything in the room will be exactly as you’ve been told”, she said, “The sound will already be playing, and when you enter the room, the image you’ve chosen will be projected in front of you. The gun is on a platform right in the centre of the room, you can’t miss it”. She held the black door open for him, and George entered the last room he would ever enter. The door closed behind him, and he was left alone. The CD of George and Emma was already playing over the sound system, and his stomach continued to churn unpleasantly. But, there was no image being projected. Rather, Emma herself was standing in front of George, looking as she had in the photo George had chosen. Her school uniform brought out her immaturity, and George felt a twinge as this is how she had looked when he had first fallen in love with her. “Of course you chose to have an image of me where I’m in my school uniform. You’re such a perv”, she said, purposefully emphasising her disdain. “This is how you looked when I first met you”. “Yeah, before you knew me. Before you knew you couldn’t control me, and I wasn’t really just a little girl. You put me in this uniform because you want to keep up the charade of me loving you and you controlling me”. How could she still be torturing me, George thought. Even now, after she’s gone, she’s still hellbent on torturing me. “It wasn’t a charade”, George replied, flatly. “I didn’t love you, George. I never did. I was young, I didn’t know”. “That doesn’t mean anything. You still loved me”. He was yelling already; George was always quick to yell at her, as she had liked to point out when she was still alive. “No I didn’t, George”. At times like these, George didn’t know if he loved her or hated her. Clearly, the more obvious feeling was hate, and every single word she said was like a personal calculated insult to him. And yet, he was so willing to get her to submit to him and admit that she loved him. “I wish I could still kill you. I wish you weren’t dead, purely for that reason. I want to bring you back to life just to choke you with my bare fucking hands”. “Well, I’m here. And hey, you don’t even need to use your hands. There’s a gun”. George was totally disoriented, and things had stopped making sense altogether... maybe he was already dead. He didn’t know, but with immense satisfaction, he picked up with gun and pulled the trigger. It was a perfect shot, hitting her square in the temple, and blood that was so dark it was more black than red, began to gush from the wound. She stayed standing. “What the fuck?” George looked around and hit himself in the face, trying to put a stop to the insanity, “Why aren’t you dead?” “George, silly, you think that’s going to kill me. This isn’t what it looks like; you’re still in the waiting room”. The walls around George warped and blurred until he realised he was in fact, still sitting in his chair in the waiting room. Emma was now sitting in the ticket-giver’s chair behind the desk, and she teased George from across the room, “Think you’re going crazy, George? Think you’re losing it yet?” “I have nothing to lose”, he muttered. “Seriously! All the fucking drama all the fucking time!” She seemed to be completely unaware of the fact that she was provoking him. “Shut the fuck up”. He had to end it, and a force comparable to nothing he had felt before flung him to his feet and he made his way over to the desk. He was going to hit her... he was going to hit her so fucking hard... And she vanished again, out of thin air, leaving George trembling on his feet in the middle of the waiting room. Knowing her next move, he turned around and as he expected, saw her sitting in his chair, looking very casual, and very, very happy. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and lit one. “You can’t smoke in here”. Now, standing outside of the Clinic, each puffing on a cigarette, George racked his brain once more for answers. “You didn’t get this done, I don’t believe you. I know there’s something else going on here; this type of shit wouldn’t make sense to you”. “Because you know me so well?” God, why can’t she just turn it off for one second, George thought to himself. “Okay, maybe you’re right, maybe I don’t know you at all. I think that sometimes, that I just had it wrong the whole time. That we were so close and yet at the same time, we really didn’t know each other at all. But we spent 4 years together, Emma, I know for a fact that you did not kill yourself. You wouldn’t go to once of these places”. He was certain of it. “But you would, I know that. You have, after all”. “Only because you did”. “But you just said I didn’t do it!” “Okay, only because you allegedly did it!” “That’s not fun. You’re just gunna give up? You’re not gunna figure it out?” “I can’t figure you out”. “Draaaaaaamaaaaa”. A sigh escaped George. “Come on, George, if I killed myself, I wouldn’t have used this place. I would have just done it, you know, jumped off a bridge or slit my fucking wrists or something. I wouldn’t have come and sat in a queue and all this shit. Come on, you know I wouldn’t have done that”. “I don’t know why I’m here”. This was the truest thing George had said in recent memory. “You would’ve ended up at this place, whether you thought I had or not. This is so George; it’s got your name written all over it. You were always gonna kill yourself.” “I dunno. I guess, although everything is, eventually it will not be... So why bother?” “Come on, George, think. What happened to me?” George furrowed his brow, and concentrated. He visualised Emma, and his memories of Emma, trying to remember every moment they had shared together, in the hope of something somewhere igniting an epiphany. He remembered walking down his old suburban street with her, hand in hand. She would always instinctively take his hand, and not taking her hand would always cue an argument. He remembered how when she had so suddenly fallen out of love with him, how she had flinched when he had tried to touch her. He longed for the days when she would take his hand, without him having to take hers. Deeper memories... he remembered hugging her late one night down the high street after a comment from a tramp had made her cry. How something so stupid like a comment from a tramp could have shattered her, and made her need him. How truly fragile she had been underneath her tough demeanour. He remembered the smell of her hair, the smooth of her legs, and then, he remembered the sensation of her legs pressed against his head, and his tongue inside her vagina. He remembered how she would wither and moan, and clutch at the bedsheets. Was any of it real? Everything is so brief. Everything feels like it wasn’t true, like it was just a delusion, George thought. To him, everything just felt like some fucked up chemical imbalance in his brain. Too many drugs. Too much TV. But her, such a pretty, perfect thing. She had to have been real, the only real thing in a sea of distortion. Although everything is, eventually it will not be... George jolted in his chair in the waiting room. Emma was gone. The elderly woman sitting to George’s right turned to him, and said, “Were you thinking about eating out my pussy?” “What?!” George said, flabbergasted. It took a moment for Emma to take the place of the elderly woman. “I said were you thinking about eating my pussy? You were, weren’t you? Your lip quivers when you think about cunnilingus, George. I’m dead, you know, isn’t that a bit necrophilic?” “You’re not fucking dead!”, George yelled at the top of his lungs, and as he did, all the lights in the Clinic abruptly turned off, and all the people around George and Emma became immobile. Emma erupted in to tears and teared towards the door to the corridor. He couldn’t let her get away, she had to answer for this, so he pelted after her down the long, white corridor, calling after her. “Emma, wait! Emma! Emma! Come back!” She was impossibly quick, quicker than Emma had really been, quicker than anyone had ever been. George reached another door which had no handle, and began banging on it. “Emma, let me in! Emma, let me in, let me in now!” Emma called back from the other side of the door, her voice thick with authentic terror, “Leave me alone! I’m scared.” “I’m nothing to be fucking scared of Emma!” She had always said she was scared. Knowing she wouldn’t submit to persuasion alone at the time being, George kicked down the door which came off with surprising ease. George found himself in his flat kitchen, just as he had left it this morning before heading out. Emma was darting across the flat towards the front door, but he managed to catch up and grab her arm as she tried to negotiate her way around the furniture. “LET GO OF ME!” she squealed, still crying. “Emma, wait!”, there was tremendous force in George’s voice, “Listen to me”. “You’re fucking hurting me, George”. “How could you do that to me?!”, he screamed square in to her face, “How could you fuck those other guys! You’re fucking evil!” “Then let me go! Let me go, George, now!” Without thinking, he punched her and she fell to the floor. She was still fighting back, and with all his strength, he restrained her and, still without thinking, began to strangle her. She gasped and clawed at his face with her nails, but he wasn’t to be stopped. She pressed her thumbs in to his eye sockets, momentarily blinding him, and when he regained his vision, he was back in the waiting room. The lights were still off, the people around were still all in a dead sleep, and Emma was still in the place of the elderly woman. “Oooh, maybe that’s what happened!”, she said with tantalising excitement, “Maybe you killed me! What if you’re crazy? Like, like actually crazy. What if you killed me and you don’t even remember killing me?” “Emma, shut up. This is serious”. “What? Is it not dramatic enough for you?” The anger George had felt had climaxed with the sensation of asphyxiating her, and now he felt nothing but sad. “Were you scared of me, Emma?”, he asked. “Yes”. “Why?” “You’re obsessive, George. It’s too much. It’s scary”. The words instantly drew tears out of George’s eyes, and he wept. “Don’t you care that you hurt me?” Emma exhaled, and sounded more serious than she was normally capable of being. “You stole my childhood, George. You scandalised me”. “What fucking good is a childhood anyway! Hey! Who wants one!”, the notion of a spoilt childhood brought back George’s anger as if it hadn’t gone anywhere. She looked back at him with the same repulse that he recalled vividly from their last ever encounter. She spoke the same words, “I’m gonna go now”. George clutched her shoulder and searched her eyes for the person he once knew. “No, please, please don’t go Emma, not again. Don’t make me do this, please, please don’t leave me”. “See you on the other side, George” “NOOOO!” She had evaporated. The lights to the Clinic turned back on, and the people around came back to life. But George was really screaming this time, and the people around him jumped back in their seats. He wasn’t able to get out any words, he was just wailing at the top of his lungs. The ticket-giver instantly dashed out of her seat and over to George. “Sir, please, calm down, sir, sir, please, if you’d like to come with me”. “Fuck off!”, George mustered and threw his shoulder away from her as she tried to touch it. Two especially muscly Body Disposers with vacant faces barged in to the waiting area and each grabbed one of George’s arms. George was taken aback by their strength, and started flailing his legs around. The people in the waiting room looked in horror as George shouted, “No! This is wrong! This is all wrong!” The Body Disposers dragged George out of the waiting room, down the white corridor, and through yet another door. This time they had entered a much smaller room than any of the others, and the walls all matched the red of the Disposer’s ghastly jumpsuits. Before George could react, one of the Body Disposers was injecting him with a foul-smelling blue liquid. “What the fuck is that?!” George exclaimed. Nobody responded. After he had been injected, the Body Disposers softened their grip on him and he was able to break free, push the ticketgiver out of the way, and he flung open the door and began sprinting for the waiting room. The Disposers and the ticket-giver gave chase, and his feet slipped on the squeaky corridor floor. George felt as though his legs were filling up with concrete, and movement became an increasing struggle. His back hunched and he felt as though something invisible was pulling him down to the floor. Still, he pushed on and reached the waiting room door, and without a second of conscious-decision making, flung himself at the black man’s feet. “Don’t kill yourself. Please. Please, don’t kill yourself”. A few people jumped to their feet, and even the rocker with his head in his hands looked up at the commotion. The man looked back at him as if George had just asked for his hand in marriage. The concrete sensation as now filling his entire body, and he felt like an anchor was forcing him through the ground. “DON’T KILL YOURSELVES”, George screamed at the rest of the waiting room, and before the Body Disposers grabbed him again, he fell to the floor, unconscious.

[mybiasisexo]

hey hey can we have a bbh angst to fluff with 6 & 8 pls and thank ur an angel

Anon said: Hi I was wondering if you could do 6 and 35 for baekhyun, angst with fluff ending please

DRABBLE GAME 🤞🏻

MASTERLIST

(1. so sorry about the delay. a bitch been uninspired, but im back!! 2. I combined the requests, hope you both don’t mind 😔)

Teeth clenched from restraint, your eyes flickered across the table to where Baekhyun sat with a girl plopped on his lap. A lazy smile adorned his lips as he pulled her back against him, brushing said lips across the expansion of her exposed shoulder.

Usually when you frequented a party it was to have fun, but that was the last word you would use to define having to watch Baekhyun dangle a random girl in front of you.

He was doing it on purpose.

It was hard to ignore the intent with him gauging your reaction with every move he made. It left you wondering why he felt the need to check. Maybe to see if he was making you jealous.

It was. But you refused to let that on.

There was no need when what the two of you had was ultimately nothing.

He called your name and your jaw tightened. It was the first time in the two hours you had been there that he had addressed you.

Reluctantly, you met his eyes across the table and instantly hated whatever was about to come out his mouth. The naughty smirk curling his lips was warning enough.

“Do you think Jinah and I would make a cute couple?”

The girl, who you assumed to be Jinah, giggled obnoxiously on his lap, slapping his chest lightly, but he didn’t seem to register it. It’s as if she wasn’t even there, the way his attention was given solely to you.

Anger ignited within you. Why was he toying with you?

Whatever the reasoning, you refused to play along.

“I think you two are the cutest couple I’ve ever seen,” you sneered before escaping to an empty bedroom. Alone, you calmed yourself, not allowing him to affect you. You were doing a good job until he swung open the door.

He strolled in uninvited, making himself comfortable on the computer chair in front of you. For a moment, you both simply stared, sizing up the other. He was worrying his bottom lip to death, remorseful at least, and your first thought was to snap at him to stop chewing on the poor thing, but you didn’t want to break the silence first.

Finally, he gave up with a sigh, running a hand tiredly down his face. “Are you going to talk to me?”

So, he was aware. It was obvious you were pissed, but did he even care? You thought he might, being he was there in the room. He went out of his way to search and check on you, but… why?

He never cared about you. That wasn’t part of the deal.

“I don’t know,” you replied in a monotone. “Are you going to stop being a jerk?”

He threw you a look before sucking his teeth. “It was a joke, Baby, I swear!”

And that’s why you kept coming back.

Calling Baekhyun a friend was a stretch. You just so happened to have similar friends, but he was handsome, devilishly so. Charming, witty, and knew how to talk his way into anyone’s pants.

Yours included.

He started playing with you one drunken night, three months ago. What you expected to be a one-night stand grew into a full-fledged affair. Most nights spent tangled in sheets with him, gasping for breath and reaching a euphoria only he could take you.

But you only interacted in the dark. Only met up when life got too hectic or too boring, whenever one of you needed distraction or release.

You guessed along the way you fell for him.

There were times, briefly, when he would show you his true self. You had multiple whispered conversations so deep and moving you felt as though you knew him in a way nobody else did.

Just to be acknowledged with a polite nod the next time you saw him. As though he had no clue what parts of your body to touch to make you come undone. As if he didn’t know how his name sounded tumbling out your mouth like a mantra.

You were thankful for those moments. It reminded you that he felt absolutely nothing emotionally towards you.

He was great at pretending, you had to admit. Giving you pet names, alluring you further into the fantasy he created to keep you within arm’s reach.

You were tired of it.

His expression fell as he took you in dejectedly. “Do you really think that girl and I would make a cute couple?”

You bit back the ‘no’ that threatened to come out, refusing to give into him. “The cutest.”

His lips pressed into a thin line before he was marching over to you. His hands were at your waist, pulling you flush against him.

“You’re lying,” He sang pleased, poking your forehead. “Your eyebrows scrunch when you lie.”

You huffed at his observation, but remained stiff in his hold.

“It doesn’t matter anyways because it was a joke, right? Could you explain it to me?”

His head tiled in confusion so you answered his unspoken question. “The joke. Explain it to me, Baekhyun, because I didn’t get it.”

“I just wanted to know,” he murmured, eyes shining despite the darkness.

“Know what?” You asked.

“If you were falling for me as hard as I’m falling for you.”

There it was again. His game.

You shoved him off you, utterly appalled.

“You can’t do that!” You nearly screeched. He stared at you wide eyed, jaw unhinged in surprise. “You can’t just hug me and think everything’s okay! You can’t dangle some girl in front of me and then the next moment say things like that!”

“But I mean it—”

“Just like you mean everything you say when we’re together, right, Baekhyun? I can never tell with you. I never know what’s real and this joke of yours is getting tiring!”

“I’m being completely one hundred percent honest right now!” He answered earnestly, voice raised in alarm. “I only brought her to make you jealous! I needed to know if this meant anything more to you, because that’s all I’ve wanted for the past month! To be with you! Seriously! I know in the beginning it was merely hooking up, but it’s not like that to me anymore.”

“I don’t believe you,” you revealed miserably, lip trembling from how hard you were fighting tears. “I can’t believe you, Baekhyun. You’re so good at saying what you know I want to hear. How do I know you’re being serious right now?”

“Do you want me to tell Minah to leave? Cause I will! I’ll take you out on a date, I’ll make it facebook official! Tell me what I need to do to prove it to you!”

He was yelling. You both stood there once he was done, chests heaving, eyes crazed as you watched the other.

Suddenly, you chuckled, shaking your head. “Isn’t her name Jinah?”

“Fuck if I care.” He shrugged. A smile tentatively broke on his face as well. It vanished just as fast as he hovered over you, hands cupping your face, and warm breath fanning over your mouth. “Let me prove it to you.”

He paused, taking a moment to study you, to search for any ounce of resistance. After finding nothing but anticipation, he leaned in and kissed you.

Baekhyun had kissed you plenty of times before, but for some reason, this one felt like the first time.

[bemused-writer]

The Cain Saga Volume 3 - Kafka

Before we get into this volume I just want to let you all know that I had it all written already and then my computer crashed. Thus, this is the rewrite but hopefully it will be better than what came before. 8D

Also, typical warning for the series: it is rated “Explicit” for its themes. Please bear that in mind as you read the review. Also, there are just tons of spoilers here. For my previous reviews, you can find Volume 1 here and Volume 2 here.

The next thing I want to talk about is the glory of this volume cover:

Look at how exceptionally 90s this thing is. The baggy clothes, the overabundance of wrinkles, the broad shoulders, the poses. It’s incredible. There is the slight problem that, if I didn’t know this story took place in the 19th century, I would probably just assume it took place in the 90s or possibly even the 80s. It has a very Anne Rice vibe to it.

Speaking of Anne Rice, those streams of blood on Cain aren’t just for decoration: vampires are very much our theme this volume. As a brief analysis of the cover (outside of its 90s glory) I will point out that while Cain has been bitten by a vampire (a physical representation of corruption or lost innocence) he is also wearing a cross, indicative of an attempt at preventing this from happening on his part. Yet despite his efforts at keeping himself pure he is still brought back to his curse.

A minor thing: in The Cain Saga Cain is shows as having light brown hair for the most part, or at least light brown highlights. This changes in Godchild where he’s almost exclusively shown as having black hair. This is probably just a stylistic change but we could also interpret it as his life getting darker the further he goes.

And finally, a note on the title of the volume, “Kafka.” I haven’t talked about this at all in the previous two reviews, but each volume has a loose theme. In the first one it was “Forgotten Juliet,” a reference to Suzette who tried to win over her Romeo (and failed). The second volume’s theme is nursery rhymes, which is used primarily to demonstrate the loss of innocence and a corrupted childhood. This volume references Franz Kafka, who was known for his surrealist writings that included themes of losing one’s humanity and things of that nature.

And now into the volume itself. I talked a bit about how Riff is someone Cain trusts implicitly in the last volume and the beginning of this one goes out of its way to reiterate that once more. Upon waking up from a nightmare about his father where he’s led to freedom by someone’s hand, wondering whose it could be we see this:

The implication being it’s Riff that leads him out of darkness and back to the light. However, there’s someone to the left trying to overshadow him, and that’s something that this volume really takes a look at: What if Riff wasn’t so trustworthy? What if someone tried to take his place? 

The doctor, who introduces himself as “Allen” but who we will refer to as Disraeli because that’s who he is immediately inserts himself into Cain’s life and insists he needs to go to the countryside to restore his health. I’ve always enjoyed this bit of Victorian advice. Have you been ill for weeks? You need to breathe some better air. Honestly, that was probably somewhat true all things considered; smog was a force to be reckoned with.

Disraeli tries to assist Cain with his clothes but he refuses and Mary Weather considers this:

We already know from the previous volume that Cain bears horrible scars on his back from his father’s beatings. This is something he does his hardest to hide from everyone, including Mary Weather. The only person he doesn’t make any attempt to shun in this regard is Riff, who already knows all about it.

Cain ultimately goes to the countryside just as Disraeli suggested and one thing I’m happy to see is how much Cain cares about his little sister, Mary Weather.

Cain has a lot of iffy moments in the series where you really question his opinions and mindset but I’m happy to report that his relationship with Mary Weather is always a source of happiness and remains untainted by all the other crazy things that go on around him (as much as that’s possible, that is).

The trip to the countryside quickly goes awry when night falls when Cain discovers a woman who can only be described as a vampire:

Even as he manages to escape her, he’s attacked by an unidentified assailant upon reaching home whom he leaves a scratch on.

And this is where we start to see why Riff’s honesty is being questioned this volume. Was he the one who attacked Cain at night? Who is the vampire?

Personally, I got a kick out of reading Kaori Yuki’s author’s notes on fan reactions to all of this. Apparently, Disraeli was not popular and she was confused as to why everyone was judging him so harshly when he hadn’t done anything wrong. (This is even more amusing when we get to the end only to discover fans were right.) Furthermore, Riff fans were apparently very unhappy with him being “replaced” with Disraeli and that Riff was being portrayed in a negative light whatsoever. It sounds like Yuki had her hands full with keeping fans content. XD

Fans were also unhappy with Cain’s “player” tendencies this volume (there were some dissatisfied readers! XD). The next morning, Cain meets a boy named Dirk who owns Witherby Castle and swiftly meets his sister, Justine, as well. Turns out, Justine looks exactly like the vampire from the other night. The only difference is that while the vampire was bloodthirsty and appeared to be something of a seductress, Justine is sweet and innocent.

I don’t think there’s a single reader who believes she’s actually innocent of the whole affair and that it’s only made more difficult when you realize she’s so delicate she can’t bear to look at mirrors or be under the sun.

...Yeah, sounds like a vampire.

Cain thought so, too, and decided to test his theory in such a way that led to the fan complaints I mentioned earlier:

She doesn’t immediately try to murder him or drink his blood. She has a very bashful reaction instead, so we can safely assume she is not a vampire (except no one is assuming that).

Cain notes she had a faint scar on her face, which doesn’t completely match the vampire from before. Half of her face had suffered extreme burn marks, so once again there is some difference between Justine and the vampire from before.

He promises to meet her again but I personally think the above panel has Cain looking a great deal more like how he’ll look in Godchild, which is the main reason I’ve included it.

At any rate, her brother is outraged at what Cain has done and immediately asks his sister whether they’ll be together forever or not with an insistence that can only be described as “odd.”

I think I’ve mentioned before in my VNC reviews somewhere that vampires are basically always used to explore something forbidden, especially when it comes to love and this story is no exception. I will point out that Yuki doesn’t really need an excuse to explore forbidden love, but having vampires involved increases the chances that she will by a lot. Needless to say, we’re about to get into some uncomfortable territory.

We see Riff behaving oddly once more by discarding Mary Weather’s hat. He rushes home, she’s fine, but he and Riff have a revealing conversation:

Now, I’m just going to let you all know that they are both, technically, acting right now. They both suspect Disraeli, but they’re going along with things and they’re putting on a performance to make it look like Cain is losing faith in Riff.

However, the amount of truth in this statement as well as the relevance of it all in Godchild is immense. I’ll get more into that when we actually reach Godchild but suffice it to say for now that Cain relies on Riff to an almost unhealthy degree and if anything truly threatened that we would see something very different from this.

Also, I just want to point out once more that you can really see some parallels between Cain and Riff with Ciel and Sebastian from Kuroshitsuji. I would genuinely be shocked if Toboso hadn’t read this series previously. There are some noteworthy differences though: Ciel and Sebastian have a far more confrontation relationship where the master/servant dynamic is largely a facade. Sebastion will win in the end, after all, so in many ways they’re equals but there’s no love lost between them, no matter how much Ciel relies on him and orders him to never lie. With Cain and Riff things are a lot softer: it’s a relationship built on genuine trust and affection but the master/servant dynamic is also a great deal more real as well. Riff is a servant and Cain is an aristocrat. It’s hard to separate them from their roles unlike with Sebastian and Ciel. Still, Cain’s need for Riff to be there and to be loyal to him is just as genuine as Ciel’s.

Getting back to the volume at hand, Justine and Mary Weather prove to be fast friends and suddenly Cain and co. are moving into the castle. Needless to say, Dirk is furious. Furthermore, the amount of people being attacked by that vampire is only increasing and paranoia is mounting.

Disraeli himself sees something strange:

Riff appears to be with a vampiric woman himself. Disraeli thinks of how terrifying her eyes are and proceeds to find Cain, telling him of what he saw. Cain refuses to believe Riff would ever betray him (understandably given he’s in on it) but the exchange he and Disraeli share is important:

The meaning behind what Disraeli is saying is extremely layered. On the first, he’s accusing Riff of being untrustworthy and of that he’s not looking after Cain out of the goodness of his heart but out of something far more malicious. On the second, Disraeli is referring to what he himself is doing: he’s getting closer and closer to Cain, Cain is “trusting” him, and doesn’t realize he’s only there to bring more pain. The third layer is by far the most nefarious and is only truly revealed in Godchild, so I won’t discuss it here just yet.

Cain goes to meet with Justine once more, gives her an earring (one that the vampire had dropped previously, I believe) and departs but her brother, Dirk, is in high dudgeon and it’s revealed that he loves Justine and is jealous of how interested she is in Cain. She refuses him and he says, “Have you really forgotten that night? I was the one who protected you from Father!” He follows up with, “It’s not fair! You forget everything in the daytime, Justine!”

We’re finally starting to sort out what is going on here. Their father has been mysteriously absent, there are rumors of a vampire who was burned at the stake, and there had been a fire earlier on.

Things come to a head with Riff and Cain dismisses him from his employ. He then finally meets the vampire once again, who claims her name is Gertrude.

She notes that his eyes mark him as someone who is just as cursed as they and she offers him eternal life. If he’s going to be cursed, why not get to live forever? And Cain is tempted by the idea. We don’t get to see what his ultimate decision would have been as Disraeli bursts in and chases her away with a cross.

Still, I can’t help but wonder. I don’t think Cain would have accepted. He despises himself for his cursed lineage and views his own existence as a sin. In order to prolong his life in the way Gertrude is suggesting he would have to kill more and more people, thus making his life even more cursed than it was before. I don’t think he could bear that, and so I think he would have refused her.

Afterwards he’s comforted by Disraeli and they have another layered conversation:

On one hand, Cain is telling the truth. He doesn’t like people seeing through him and it’s part of why he goes to such pains to conceal how much pain he endures. But he’s also not being wholly honest; he’s nearly always allowed Riff the privilege of both these things. As for Disraeli, he’s also being honest about watching Cain, but it’s hardly out of the caring concern of a doctor. 

Meanwhile, Mary Weather is confronting Riff about leaving. She insists if he only asked, Cain would take him back. That is certainly true if he were actually leaving. But Riff needs to make his departure convincing and so this is what he tells Mary Weather: “Until now I’ve been everything for Lord Cain. I was his mother and his father. We’ve strengthened our bond without even using words.”

He’s laying it pretty thick here but there’s still a lot of truth to it. There would have to be in order for it to be even slightly convincing. Riff is everything to Cain as we’ve talked about before. He’s been there when no one else was. Without him, Cain would be lost.

When Cain next meets with Justine, she begs him to take her away because her brother is looking at her with evil eyes. Cain’s response is a little, uh, not helpful:

Here’s the thing, Cain is not the right person to be talking to about this. He has no idea what a normal relationship even is and as far as he’s concerned, running off with him is not freeing yourself from a cursed relationship.

It would be easy to say he’s thinking of his father and the incestuous relationship he had with his sister that led to Cain’s birth but this appears to be on a different level. Cain isn’t in the habit of defending his father’s horrendous choices in life.

After Dirk reveals the truth of Justine to her (which we’ll talk about momentarily) he and Cain discuss things and it becomes clear why Cain was so particular about what Justine said:

It turns out Suzette wasn’t simply his cousin. I’ll be honest, I completely forgot that tidbit. All I can say is that it’s been awhile since I read this...

At any rate, Cain is admitting he is in no position to be judging Dirk. However, the fact that Cain thinks he’s as bad as his father goes to show how deep his self-loathing is and how much he isn’t considering the entirety of the situation because it honestly isn’t the same. 1) Cain had no idea Suzette was his half-sister until after she’d died. Alexis knew perfectly well what he was doing. 2) Alexis forced himself on Augusta. Cain did no such thing to Suzette.

Cain’s love for Suzette is better likened to Oedipus than to Alexis: he tried really hard to avoid incest but the gods (Yuki) just wouldn’t let him live in peace.

Cain also says “It’s no use. If I’m not related by blood to the woman I’m not capable of loving her. I don’t know how to love.” He declares that he and Dirk both need salvation.

The thing is, Cain doesn’t actually know this for a fact. He’s had multiple flings but he’s never actually stayed in a relationship where he’s in love and his partner loves him in turn. He’s despairing and thinks he knows how things have to be but the fact is he doesn’t.

Honestly, the lack of Riff in this volume becomes pronounced around this point. There’s no one there to try to offer an alternative explanation to Cain or to try to get him to look at things from a different angle. He’s left to his own devices and that means he reaches the worst conclusions possible. 

Anyway, going back to what Dirk revealed, it turns out their stepfather had been abusing Justine and had put her through some kind of dark ritual in an attempt to bring Gertrude to life. In other words, another personality was superimposed over her own.

What I don’t like about this is how the narrative kind of frames this as Justine’s fault. She was the one who manipulated Dirk into killing their stepfather (rather understandably, I’d say!) and she was supposedly the one who seduced Dirk. Furthermore, it’s implied she was the one in control of their stepfather as well. Dirk definitely accuses her as if it’s her fault and Cain doesn’t exactly help. Of course, Cain’s perspectives are so skewed as to be useless in this situation, so...

Regardless, it’s implied that she was never a vampire (which I suppose I could believe) but that this was her true self coming through (which I find much harder to believe).

Ultimately, she and her brother burn to death after she goes on a rampage. It’s hard not to feel bad for both of them despite the awkward way this whole thing has been framed. They were both abused by their stepfather and never given a chance to remake their lives. They were trapped from start to finish.

Cain is understandably upset but when Disraeli comes to “comfort” him it’s revealed at long last what he really is: a soul catcher from Delilah. He also reveals he was the one who set the whole thing up along with their stepfather:

Just as Disraeli goes to remove Cain’s eyes, Riff finally makes his reappearance and everything comes to light once and for all:

They “kill” Disraeli and learn a few things from him as well:

Alexis is still alive and Delilah is an organization he’s a part of. Cain tells Riff never to leave him again and we get an idea of just how hard this has been. He’s been without Riff for a long period of time now and he’s witnessed two siblings die during it. 

On a lighter note, I enjoyed seeing Riff explain to Mary Weather how he was lying:

Up till now I would have assumed he had no sense of humor but clearly I was mistaken. XD He’s teasing her terribly! It’s also revealed that the vampire Riff had been with earlier had been Cain the whole time, which makes things a lot more amusing as well. Lastly, it’s revealed Disraeli survived, which isn’t all that surprising.

Anyway, that wraps the volume up, and what a volume it was! Rather than tackle multiple short stories, this one had one big story! I enjoyed that it was one story that tackled a lot of things relevant to the plot but there were a few points that could have been smoothed out, notably how harshly everyone was in judging Justine compared to Dirk. The other thing I really wish we got more of is who Suzette was as a person. She only showed up in a singular chapter, but she’s having a profound impact on Cain himself. I think we needed to learn a lot more about her.

The Kafka reference is also a little clearer: neither sibling felt human anymore and Cain hasn’t for a while now. While it’s too late for Dirk and Justine, it isn’t yet for Cain. Perhaps we will see him make some progress in the next two volumes.

[zani-is-a-stan]

suzani watches the Sherlock unaired pilot

Opening

-       This version of John looks way more old and way more dad

-       That close shot on the gun tell the viewer that John is suicidal

-       The dark silhouette of the cupid statue kind of stands out. Given how the cinematography and shot framing is a lot sloppier in this version, I don’t think this is intentional. But if it was intentional, this would be a signal to the viewer that this is a love story.

-       Mmm, pass on both Anderson’s beard and this way of introducing the concept of a Sherlock

-       This title & credits sequence is so dated

-       Anderson with no inflection is boring

-       Dinner with wine is not a great place for John to be saying he’s broke

We meet Sherlock & Molly

-       We start to see the beginnings of the geometric and precise framing that are the signature of the show in that one shot of Molly behind the glass

-       Its nice to see that Molly’s character required almost no adjustment between the two versions. Given that she was the first character original to the show instead of the books, it’s nice to see that she stuck the landing so perfectly

-       It’s starting to be really obvious how loose the editing is. There’s a lot of dead air at the beginning and end of every shot before each cut. Much better in the final version.

The lab

-       This version of Sherlock seems a lot more accurate to the book Sherlock from Study in Scarlet than the series ultimately ended up being. He’s softer, more interested in interacting with other people than the antisocial, high functioning ASD (where’s the fic that explores that?) twanging brain haver he is in the first episode of season 1

-       I want to read a take on Sherlock that discusses him as having ASD and interprets the violin playing and the mystery solving as his stimming techniques

-       The camera shots in this scene are really starting to stand out as very different from the show. It’s not just the editing which is kind of thoughtless – these shots are poorly composed and poorly planned. I don’t think it would stand out so much if the final version of the show didn’t make so many deliberate and stylized decisions regarding with the shots and editing.

The apartment

-       The extrapolation of john’s family based on the phone became much cleaner in the aired version

-       Comic sans! I mean, mrs Hudson is better than that.

-       Mrs Hudson definitely checked out john’s butt …

-       “can I just ask … what is your street?” this was very good, if repetitive

-       Sherlock needs an assistant? This sherlock has a need for human connection that the other one doesn’t – and he has a lava lamp.

-       Ugh the apartment at 221B baker st looks so much more vintage in this setup. Not a fan.

-       This sherlock definitely cares more about what other people think than the final version.

-       Mrs Hudson is a much softer, premade character in this version. I like the final version better. She seems stronger that way.

The cab ride

-       So boring. Such greenscreen. Wow.

-       not just the greenscreen. the difference in the shooting and finishing of this sequence in the pilot and the aired episode is so incredibly improved that you can hardly believe there were part of the same thing.

-       TOO MUCH SYNTH

-       Sherlock has a far too human response to john’s compliments and more doubt in how accurate his deductions are

The crime scene

-       Im glad they changed sally’s outfit, and smoothed out sherlock’s taunting of her and Anderson’s affair. Ugh I wish they’d kept sally around. This show needed more normie/casual sherlock opponents. Lack of closeups in this scene do it no favors

-       They cut the Rache/Rachel clue. And btw, I do love how this was inverted from the book presentation in the show.

-       “no, there are two women and three men lying dead, keep talking and there will be more” – this sherlock prioritizes people over mystery solving, and that’s a little more humanizing as well.

-       When he’s deconstructing the scene around the woman in pink, there’s a switch in sherlock’s voice when he’s off camera. I’m wondering if maybe that’s a stat actor reading the script for some reason, or if they recorded the dialogue and the camera angles at the same time and forgot to switch when they were editing that shot? Makes sense given how messy the editing is throughout the pilot.

-       “do you know you do that out loud?” “sorry, I’ll shut up” “No, don’t worry, it’s fine” (pleased smile) --- this exchange is so accurate to book Sherlock and Holmes

-       This is not the same sally as the first episode. I had to check because I have a little bit of face blindness and there weren’t any closeups, but it’s definitely not her. Interesting how the actress who ultimately played her changed the inflection but brought very little new to the blocking.

a bit inbetween and the pink case

-       No Mycroft, hmm. Don’t care for it. It added a lot with a really nice red herring feel.

-       John returns to his place for absolutely no reason narratively.

-       I don’t care for the red herring moment where john looks at the pink case and wonders if sally was right and talks out loud about it.

-       The end exchange of this scene is awesome and should have stayed. “Donovan said you get off on this.” “And I said danger and here you are.” “DAMNIT!” It’s very funny, and it’s a fun spar between the two rather than the ultimate resigned tolerance that series John seems to settle into by season 2.

do you have a girlfriend? a boyfriend?

-       Sherlock not eating is a brilliant touch, I think that should have been there.

-       This version of the girlfriend boyfriend conversation is far more successful than the aired version, although I prefer the setting in the aired version. It’s flirtier, and the “Everything else is transport” line carries implications I prefer to the one we saw on on the official version.

-       Sherlock knowing the cab thing ahead of time really lowers the stakes.

-       Angelo and the headless nun thing is fucking beautiful. (although angelo is a bit of an upstager) But, the change in the plot to the John running and leaving the cane behind in the final version is much more relevant to the story.

-       Ok, so the cabbie drugging Sherlock did show us that John is smart in his own right (we never got enough of that), but it showed us Sherlock fucking up in a way that is inconsistent with the show version of that character. For us to buy that Sherlock is other level super genius instead of just very smart, he can’t make this kind of mistake. If he can’t make a mistake, then John can’t prove his own intelligence. I do think it was a good idea to put the police back in his apartment now, as it gives us more interesting and fun things about those characters, and the ultimate build to the cab ride and the incorporation of modern technology really contributed to the modernizing of the adaption.

which pill

-       WHOA that cabbie did just very much threaten to molest or rape Sherlock. Although if there were no women or gay men on the script team, I can totally see the writers not realizing that this line had that connotation.

-       And this version requires a lot more explaining of plotholes with dialogue in a way that is avoided in the final verion. This is unquestionably good, because there’s nothing more graceless in filmed stories than having plot explained with words, especially by a villain.

-       Taking the pills out of the bottle looks silly.

-       Final version cabbie is better. More self-satified and mean.

-       “Either way, you’re wasted as a cabbie” is a way better line in the final.

-       Taking him out of the apartment and away from the police phone call was A+ the right choice.

-       Everyone know the best cops scream “Who is firing, who is firing?” when someone fires a shot.

i’ve got a blanket

-       Sherlock saying “Yeah, maybe he beat me, but he’s dead” is a far shot from the man who shook a dying man and demanded to know if he was right or not. Again, this Sherlock is far more human and far less computer.

-       That bit with mrs Hudson at the end was unnecessarily mean, I’m glad they cut it

-       “I’m his Doctor.” – this lines should have stayed forever.

Overall thoughts

Ok, so overall changes between the pilot and the aired first episode. Plot was a lot more polished. They scrubbed every trace of human need from Sherlock, which I think was a good choice, at least for the beginning of the show. His literal only love is his own abilities as the show airs, which leaves him with a very interesting and exploitable weakness – his arrogance, where as pilot Sherlock doesn’t seem to care all that much when he makes a mistake. We did lose a couple of scenes that had a lot of good chemistry in them, but I think the plot was much improved overall for the changes. The change of Sherlock from being casually mean to people like Anderson to swatting away an irritating fly is very successful. The focus of Sherlock’s relationship with Lestrade seems of a higher priority than Watsons a little bit, so I’m glad that changed. The lead up to John shooting the cabbie was much better in the final

Honestly the pilot doesn’t look like a pilot as much as it looks like a proof of concept piece. The budget was obviously smaller: that’s why they reused the same restaurant set, it’s why the final confrontation took place in the apartment rather than a second location, that’s why the effects are missing or budgety, that’s why the editing was low-end. This as a pilot was sold on the impact of the actors and the bones of the script, not on any of the look that would ultimately make the show what it was. The color work between the first and second version of this alone was amazing.   I also think that the hair change in Sherlock was an excellent choice. It offsets BC’s face/head structure in a way that plays into the strangeness of the character in a much better way. Similarly, the coat and scarf that he wears in the series do exist in the pilot, but aren’t really a signature of Sherlock’s on-screen shape design in the same way.

I think the only thing I would’ve kept is the inflection, delivery & read on the girlfriend boyfriend scene, and the return of the “I said danger and here you are” exchange.

There’s a lot of talk about Sherlock’s sexuality and what was cannon in the books. TV Sherlock they seem to be confused about (Belgravia as an episode left me really confused about what statement the writers were trying to make there, which implies that they’re either not completely sure either, or they’re too straight to understand what they’re doing). In the books, Holmes chooses not to have romantic relationship because it stops his brain from working clearly – it’s a deliberate choice based on the Victorian concept of sex (and women, because they are clearly only sex objects) diminishing the capacity for clear thought and mental performance. This is not the same as him being asexual or aromantic as we not aro/ace people understand the concept in 2019.

Based on the scene as it airs, the girlfriend/boyfriend scene would leave me with the opinion that Sherlock is not just asexual but also aromantic. Possibly one of these by choice rather than nature. Based as how the scene plays out in the unaired pilot, I would think that Sherlock is celibate and also attracted to John, more likely gay than bisexual. (There was quite a bit of smoldering going on in the Sherlock to John direction.)

[writing-anomaly]

Torn

Fandom:  Jojolion

Summary: Yasuho’s life is tearing at the seams. The volatile Rokakaka trade is catching up to them and when Josuke unravels, Yasuho  is pushed to her limit. She’s left more vulnerable than ever as she struggles to protect two men who barely know her.

This a story in which the protected must become the protector.

Chapter 3

Jobin stood by the window as the sun set on the little town of Morioh.

Peering from his bedroom's second-story floor, he looked down upon the bane of his existence.

Josuke Higashikata.

Jobin knew little about his father's reasonings for adopting the younger man, but it had yanked a thread from the elaborate efforts Jobin had put forth toward obtaining the one miracle that could spell the end of the Higashikata curse.

Groaning loudly, the eldest Higashikata son, allowed himself to process the stress he allowed to pile up during his absence from his hometown. The painkillers he took would do little to alleviate the headache that was his current reality, anyway.

Damo Tamaki had been killed...and on the Higashikata estate.

That little detail equated a HUGE problem.

Tamaki had been a gate keeper in regards to the underground trade of the Rokakaka fruit. He was also the man who ultimately held the door wide enough for Jobin to slip through the ranks of a world that detested humans. Not close enough to get his hands on the coveted fruit, of course, but near enough to pick up on some vital information.

That was motivation enough for the eldest Higashikata son to use the family business to money launder for the deadly Rokakaka smuggling ring. There was no official name for the group, Tamaki-san had detested such flagrancy as an act that would draw too much attention. They were simply there for the spoils.

There was much profit to be made from the misfortune of the fortunate. Wealthy men whose affluence couldn't afford them the one thing that mattered; their lives.

And so they made a business of it.

Damo Tamaki, Yotsuyu Yagiyama, and a few more of their kind; Rock people, as they called themselves. They were an anomaly, as far as Jobin was concerned. A species of man thriving within the rock-like state that would've taken his life as a child. A species that by all means and purposes could slip in and out of the human population, without detection. Rock people existed outside the border of human society. No records meant no identity as far as the feds were concerned. Which left minimal means for Rock People way to function effectively within the dominant culture.

Jobin was scouted specifically because of his ties to the Higashikata fruit company and brought onboard to help them integrate into human society.

In a way, Jobin viewed himself as a reaper, though not a particularly grim one. He never took a life, simply found those who were hanging off the edge between this world and the next. Then he pointed them toward Tamaki and his crew.

Transactions were enacted only within their tight-knit circle. The Rokakaka was exchanged in person, cash-in-hand; A quarter million yen for one piece of fruit. All handled under the table by way of the Higashikata Fruit company. What happened thereafter was not his concern.

They'd get their secound chance at a price. Rokakaka had mysterious properties to restore to the body what was loss. He himself had seen a few clients cured from incurable diseases, snatched back from the abyss, and continue their lives vicariously with a bounce on their step that would ware off as another part of their body started to malfunction. A new set of lungs may be paid for with a kidney. The only constant in the use of the illegal fruit was the rule of equivalency. The healing effects of eating the fruit were never without cost, whether paid for by the client's body or that of another.

It was an undeniable parallel to the Higashikata battle against the Rock disease; a cruel fate passed down from parent to child, most commonly the first born son. Its onset, assured by the age of 10, would lead to rapid deterioration in an otherwise healthy body.

Uncrossing his arms, Jobin raised a steady hand to his face, feeling the softness of his skin, remembering a time when its suppleness had stiffened and its texture became hostile as granite.

He subconsciously scratched the deep vertical ravines of his left cheek, residue from a time when his own father had hesitated to make the brazen decision required from past Higashikata patriarchs.

A sacrifice of equivalent exchange.

One life for another.

It wasn't a gift out of love, so much as an expectation; a duty to ensure the success of the next generation and the longevity of the the family bloodline. When his own time had come, Jobin had been none the wiser. A cheerful lad who simply enjoyed spending quality time with his family on a hot summer day. It wasn't until Jobin noticed his own limitations in running around with his friends that he had asked his mother why he was different.

She never lied to him the way his father did.

Protection is what his father called it, when he refused to tell him the whole truth.

He was brought out of his thoughts as his burner phone began to ring for the 7th time in the past hour. It was a cheap prepaid phone he used in order to separate his business from personal affairs. Truthfully, Jobin's contact had been blowing up his phone for the past 3 days, and he wasn't sure he could avoid him much longer. The business trip to New Zealand had allotted him an allaby, but now that he was back in Morioh, the drama was bound to catch up with him.

Hesitantly, he turned from the window to walk to the prepaid phone that had been haphazardly dumped into the tin can on his computer desk. It was full of the paint brushes he used to stimulate his prized stag beatles. There were so many, trying to dig his hand through them would be useless, so he dumped the whole thing on his king-sized bed. Sure enough, the phone blazed even louder after it hit his red cotton sheets.

Picking it up, he fumbled with the closed flip phone, and failed to answer before the ringing stopped.

Part of him felt relief, the other...dread.

Tamaki had been BOSS as far as he was involved.

Jobin did suspect that there was another above him, but he had never gone so deep that he'd brushed shoulders with the individual that Damo Tamaki reported to..

Ding!

He looked at the screen alert that told him a text message had been recieved.

The caller I.D. said unknown.

Sweat began pool at his temples as seeds of anxiety sprout.

He didn't particularly like dealing with the unknown.

He liked it even less when the 'unknown', 'unknowns' came to introduce themselves.

Taking a deep breath, he stilled his shaky hand.

"Ok, 3, 2, 1...." Jobin counted down to the moment that would decide his immediate future.

He flipped the phone open.

Unknown: I scraped up Damo Tamaki's body from Midori street.

Jobin just stared at the screen. Midori street was the road that ran along the east section of the property. After a moment of thought, he replied.

Jobin: When was this?

After several minutes his phone lit up again.

Unknown: Last week. You know somethin'?

Jobin: No, but that explains why he hasn't been answering my calls..

Of course, the eldest Higashikata already knew that the rock gangsta had been murdered. In fact, he was somewhat pleased that he had been. His family clued him in about the deadly situation involving a love interest his younger sister Hato, brought home. Damo Tamaki preyed on her while on the set of one of her modeling gigs; she was the key he used to access the family estate. The 'Rock man' practically melted everyone in the house with his stand Vitamin C, including the maid.

Jobin assumed it was due to Josuke killing Tamaki's right hand, Yotsuyu Yagiyama, after a failed attempt of trapping him on the Higashikata estate.

So Damo Tamaki decided to murder the whole family.

The aftermath was a vicious brawl.

Hato came out on top.

Damo has killed by the same man as his underling.

And the house was still in need of repairs.

Jobin stood up from the edge of the bed when the light in his room began to noticeably dim. Not bothering to recollect his stag beetle brushes, he returned to the window, absorbing the last bit of warmth as the sun sunk lower into the Japanese horizon.

Ding!

The text message he read made his heart pound.

Unknown: I should kill you.

So they knew..

Guilt by proximity. Two deaths at his family home.. how could the smuggling ring not think he had something to do with it.

Jobin felt himself beginning to sweat. His bedroom was suddenly a hot box.

His stand, Speed King's power must of have been activated by his adrenaline.

"What should I say..." he mumbled to himself.

Jobin: Bring it-

The text was deleted as soon as he pressed the last key.

He knew not to pick a fight with a man he could not see. Jobin was a formidable stand user, but he still had no idea how deep the Rokakaka's roots ran within the Rock-human underground. His everlasting headache pulsed even harder when his phone chimed again.

Unknown: But if you were a rat Damo would have killed you himself.

Another chime.

Unknown: As an act of good faith, I require something from you.

Another.

Unknown: Check your car.

Jobin bolted out of his room.

The wood floor panels creaked with every pound of his footsteps as he made it to the hall and down the stairs.

"Sorry!" Jobin yelled, as he nearly ran over the maid, a very startled Nijimura-san, on his way to the garage.

Cold wind from the open garage door and caused his sweat covered body to shiver involuntarily. Who had opened the door? Josuke never used that exit and Nijimura was not forgetful enough to leave it open.

Jobin gauged his surroundings.

There were no footprints or any other indication that someone had broken in.

Aside from the open door, everything was as it should be.

Cautiously, Jobin peered through the window of his golden lamborghini. His fingers pressed against the cool of the glass as he made out a a small pink box in the passenger seat. It was the size of his hand and wrapped like a present with a purple bow to secure it.

Cute. He chuckled dryly.

He opened the car door, and slid in the driver's seat, eyeing the package warily.

The odds of it not being a bomb?

Slim.

But here was no other option. Whoever messaged him knew where he lived and was most likely hanging around to make sure he obeyed.

Speed king manifested as a pulsing translucent heat wave.

It was a gamble considering it was a close range stand. The further he sent his stand, the weaker it's attack became. But scouting out the perimeter was worth the temporary vulnerability. Besides, it was almost undetectable in that form, aside from the unusual rise in temperature.

He needed to determine if he was in immediate danger.

Jobin reclined in his black leather seat, running his nails along the stitching.

His eyes closed as he willed his mind to connect to the vision of his stand.

Speed King scoped the area within a 10km radius.

It was dark, so the colors of the environment were muted by the blue of the night sky, making it harder to differentiate shapes. Jobin instead focused on finding pockets of heat that were not his own. The nocturnal creatures popped from the monotonous environment, appearing in blobs of yellow and orange as his sensor locked on to their body heat. A rat, owl, and a few bugs were all that came into view.

Nothing alarming.

Jobin retracted his stand and focused on his current dilemma.

The 'gift.'

He reached over the cup holder to the passenger side chair and picked up the box.

It was light as a feather.

He shook it, yet nothing rattled inside.

Jobin held his breath and untied the bow.

When he looked into the box he saw a single note.

Kill Kujo Josefumi

Jobin's eyebrows shot up at the unexpected request. It would have made more sense if the note had mentioned his sister Hato or Josuke, since they were the ones responsible for taking down Damo Tamaki.

He flipped paper to look at the back.

Your wife dies

So he was being given two options.

Kill Josefumi or lose his wife.

Jobin should've expected as much. Forgiveness would not be given freely. He was expected to earn his way out of punishment. Admittedly, it was a very mob boss-like course of action. He'd have to take every precaution from this step forward.

"..Kujo Josefumi." Jobin tested the name on his lips and scowled.

He remembered Tamaki had used the name as an alias but he assumed the identity belonged to someone who was already deceased. From what he'd heard, it was customary for rock people to target a particular human in order to absorb their assets and status when they choose to integrate into society. In any case, this was the best possible outcome. With Tamaki out of the way Jobin was one step closer to whoever was holding the reins on the Rokakaka smuggling world.

Murder was not something he aspired to do, but if it meant advancing his efforts in obtaining the Rokakaka, and a cure to the Higashikata curse, then so be it.

His son, Tsurugi depended on it.

The only issue was, "Who is Kujo Josefumi?"

To be continued...

[letthesleepingdoglie]

The Long Road - 03

Title: Culmination

Part: 03 of 12

Rated: T 

“Stop it, KF.” Dick said through the psychic link, gripping the front his friend’s costume to keep him from J’onn’s throat. “I’ve been scanning for League and Team signals since we got inside. They’re not here. Artemis is gone.”

He let go and turned his back on Wally’s crestfallen expression. With so much at stake, he couldn’t afford to let himself get distracted.

“But our mission still holds purpose: to destroy this mothership.”

Dick led the way forward, towards the power readings his wrist computer had detected. Reluctantly, with a grunt of barely contained anger, Kid Flash followed.

———————————————————————————————————

“This is the power core. Blow this and the whole mothership blows.” Dick sent to his companions. Once they’d accomplished that, a significant portion of the alien’s strength would be destroyed. Any heroes who came after that could take it from there.

“You knew.” Wally’s disbelief resonated in their link. Dick ignored his friend’s statement, too busy setting the timers on the high explosives that he’d brought with in with him. “You knew from the beginning why we were really here.”

Dick gave his friend a look. Of course he knew. From everything they’d seen, it was clear that the invaders weren’t interested in subjugation, but conquest. Pragmatism dictated that any super-powered individuals who could give their forces trouble would be eliminated, rather than contained.

The truth had been evident from the beginning; this was a suicide mission, not a rescue. Dick said none of this. “Four minutes. Let’s go.”

M’gann and the Martian Manhunter lifted them up from the power core and carried them back to the entryway they’d come through. The four of them made their way back to the exterior of the ship as fast as they could.

They caught sight of the outside, right before having the alien blast doors close in their face. “Perfect.” Kid Flash thought.

Dick grabbed Wally and dove for cover as they were fired at by alien drones. “16 seconds and counting.”

He’d entertained the hope that they’d be able to make it away in time, but it becoming clear that escape was no longer an option. It was time to cut their losses. “Manhunter, take Miss Martian and go.” “No!” Megan’s voice was defiant. “We won’t leave you!”

“That’s an order!” Even as he said it, he knew that it wouldn’t convince M’Gann to leave. ”We’ll follow as soon as we blow those doors.” he lied.

Reluctantly, M’gann followed her uncle away from the ship, leaving Kid Flash and Dick crouching behind their makeshift cover. Only 10 seconds left before the charges blew.

Dick met Wally’s eyes. The look in his friend’s eyes told him that KF had finally caught on to what he was doing. And accepted it. In the end, Dick was grateful for that.

Silently, the two friends charged the aliens, determined to spend their last few seconds fighting.

The duo fought side by side for mere seconds before they were ripped apart by the explosion that destroyed the mothership.

———————————————————————————————————

Wayne Manor

July 2nd, 2016

7:12 AM

Dick jerked awake with a gasp. Coming out of the dream left him so disoriented that it took him several seconds to get his bearings. He was back in his old room, at Wayne Manor.

He took a shaky breath as he sat up, head held in his hands, feeling drained and exhausted. Every night since Wally died, he hadn’t been able to sleep. Rather, he had been able to sleep, but was plagued with constant nightmares that left him in a cold sweat. He’d only slept for a few short hours, but recent experience had taught Dick that any attempts at going back to sleep would be futile.

The dream had felt so real, so life-like, that his heart was still pounding in his chest. It took Dick some time to get his breathing under control, as he processed the vivid images he’d seen. He hadn’t thought about that simulation in years, and to have it jump out at him out of the blue like this was unnerving. All of his other nightmares thus far had put him back in the arctic, watching at Wally died, unable to do anything.

After Wally’s memorial, Dick had returned to Wayne Manor and refrained from doing any hero work, seeking to distance himself from the life that had cost him his best friend.

Most of the preparations for leaving had already been put made by Bruce years ago: hidden accounts and false identities for him and his adopted family, ready to be used in case anyone discovered the truth about their secret identities.

The only thing Dick had really needed to do was decide where to go, and when to leave.

The rest of the Team had been called into action alongside the Justice League to ferret out any remaining Reach ships hiding around the world, but it was clear to Dick that the Reach knew it had been defeated. The search was simple, and the few ships they found in hiding had all surrendered without a fight upon being discovered.

There were still hero related responsibilities he had to fulfill, like updating Bruce on several open cases that his mentor had missed while being held on Rimbor, or discussing the Team’s status with Kaldur so that his Atlantean friend knew what to expect as the Team’s new leader, but that was the most Dick allowed himself.

Friends from the League and the Team tried to reach out to him: Barbara and M’gann, of course, along with Rocket, and Dinah. He knew they were trying to see how he was doing, see if they could help him cope somehow. He also knew that they wouldn’t understand.

Apart from sending back simple acknowledgements that he’d received their messages, he ignored them. If there was an emergency, Dick would come running, but otherwise he tried to make it clear that he needed his space.

Day to day, he tried to make himself useful by taking care of Wayne-Tech affairs for Bruce and helping Alfred around the house. Of course, Alfred being Alfred, there wasn’t much to do in terms of house keeping or general maintenance around the Manor, but he pitched in where he could.

Dick knew he couldn’t be a real hero again, not with Wally’s death on his conscience, and he didn’t know how to do anything else.

With a grunt, Dick got out of bed and pulled on his workout clothes, figuring that he’d spend a couple hours in the manor’s gym. Some physical exertion would help him clear his head.

———————————————————————————————————

There were fewer than 10 people in the world who had access to the Zeta Tube located in the Batcave, and Zatanna knew it was a measure of how close her father and Bruce had been that she was one of those trusted few. Ever since her dad had been taken by Dr. Fate, Bruce had revealed his secret identity to her, and made it clear that she was welcome to call upon him for anything that she might need.

While she’d found the idea of staying in Wayne Manor with Bruce and Dick appealing, ultimately she’d decided against it and decided to live at Mount Justice instead. She felt like she’d be giving up on ever recovering her father if she stayed in Gotham.

Still, having been Dick’s girlfriend multiple times over the last six years, she’d spent a fair amount of time at the Manor. Which was why she wasn’t surprised to find Bruce sitting in front of the Bat-computer, fingers steepled in front of his face as he watched the Manor’s security feeds. Alfred stood slightly off to the side behind him.

“Zatanna.” Bruce greeted her without turning around.

“Hi Bruce.” Zatanna said as she moved away from the Zeta Tube. “Alfred.” She favored the old butler with a quick peck on the cheek.

“Miss Zatara.” The faithful servant smiled, giving her a slight bow of welcome. “May I offer you something to eat or drink?”

“No, I’m fine Alfred. Thanks.” She saw that the camera feed Bruce and Alfred were currently watching was from one of the manor’s training rooms. Dick was training hard on a set of gymnastic rings, sweat pouring off of his face as he held himself suspended in mid-air. “How long has he been at it?”

“Hours.” Bruce replied tersely.

She watched the feeds for a few seconds, marveling at the strength and coordination that Dick displayed. “How is he?”

Bruce didn’t answer. He didn’t even turn around.

Key to spending time with any member of the bat-family was the ability to read silence. Having honed her skills over the years, Zatanna knew that this particular stretch of quiet meant that both Bruce and Alfred were worried about Dick.

“Would it be alright if I spoke with him?”

Bruce turned and looked at her for a moment. Despite the semi-paternal relationship Bruce had with her, Zatanna felt herself wilt slightly under his appraising stare.

Some unspoken determination was made, and Bruce leaned forward and keyed the manor’s intercom. “Dick,” He said, startling his former protege from his focused state. “Hit the showers and get changed into your civvies. I need you to take care of something for me. I’ll explain when you’re finished.”

“Got it.” Dick dismounted from the rings with a flourish, somersaulting backwards and landing on his feet. “I’ll be ready in 10.”

Bruce inclined his head at her, as if to say “Your move.”

“Thanks.” Zatanna said, making her way over to the Batcave’s elevator up into the manor.

————————————————————————————————————

The instant Dick saw who was waiting for him after he’d showered, pulled on his clothes and emerged from his room, he knew that he’d been lead into a trap.

Zatanna was standing the in the main foyer of the manor. Instead of the usual vest, coat, and stockings that constituted her crimefighting costume, she was wearing a beautiful sundress, stylish sandals, and a determined look on her face. He considered beating a hasty retreat, but thought better of it. Their history together meant that he knew a losing battle when he saw one.

“Hey Zee.” he said, trying to sound enthusiastic about the rough conversation he knew she was there to have.  “M’gann send you to check on me?”

“Nope.” She replied, crossing her arms. “I came to worry about you all on my own.”

Dick gave her a soft smirk. “I’m whelmed by all the attention.”

A moment of silence passed between them. Dick watched her warily, as if he knew what she was there for. In contrast, Zee looked at him appraisingly, trying to figure out the best way to engage with the former boy wonder.

“C’mon.” She said finally, linking arms with him and gently pulling him towards the garage. “You look like you haven’t been outside in months.”

“Where are we going?” He asked lamely, letting himself be drawn outside.

“You’re taking me out for breakfast.”

————————————————————————————————————

“I know this is a stupid question,” Zatanna said as she sat down at a table at the street side cafe Dick had driven them to. She’d ordered for the both of them and waited for the waitress to leave before speaking. “But I think it’s obligatory at this point. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.” Dick said neutrally as he sat down.

Zatanna gave him an annoyed look, softened somewhat by her obvious concern. “Dick, please, talk to me. You can’t keep shutting people out. Everyone is worried about you.” She placed a hand on her chest. “I’m worried about you.”

He met her eyes and sighed. “I’m not fine. I can’t sleep. I don’t eat. I’m in pain. My best friend died, Zee. How do you think I feel?”

Dick felt disgusted with himself as he caught her slightly hurt expression. He hadn’t meant to snap at her. “I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to help.”

“How’s Artemis?” he asked.

“Artemis is…” Zatanna struggled to find the right word. “Hurting. She tries to put on a tough face about it all, but you can still see how shaken she is.” She met his eyes. “You should see her. Talk to her. I think it would be good for both of you.”

“I want to Zee, I really do, but I can’t face her. Seeing her would remind me of Wally, and thinking about Wally…” His voice trailed off as he remembered his friend. “It’s hard enough for me as it is.”

“We had so many fights during those months that Artemis was undercover, you know? That’s what’s gonna stay with me for the rest of my life. Not all the years that we had as teammates, or all the good times we had on our own, but that he was angry with me, and that I never got him to forgive me before he died.”

“You know that he would have.” Zatanna said softly.

“Maybe.” He said ruefully. “Should he have, though? Pulling him and Artemis back into the life?”

Zatanna watched him, concern written across her face. She hated seeing him like this.

Dick held his head. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore Zee. When Jason died, the only way I thought I could deal with the pain was to channel it into hero work. To making sure none of you had to make the same sacrifice that he did.”

He took a breath before continuing, trying to force the words out. “Everything I did; lying to you and the Team, bringing Artemis back, I did because I wanted to protect everyone. I almost managed to do it, but then Wally died saving the world, and now it feels like everything I’ve done, everything I sacrificed has been for nothing. It hurts.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.

“I know, logically, it wasn’t my fault he died.” He said carefully. “The Reach were going to react badly no matter how we tried to kick them off world. But I’ve spent the last two weeks thinking that if I had done something different… maybe, just maybe, he’d still be alive right now.”

“Hey.” Zatanna said sincerely. “I miss him too.”

The two of them were forced to break off their conversation as the waitress returned, furnishing them with their orders, and cups of hot coffee. Perhaps sensing the mood at the table, she worked quickly, and it wasn’t long before they were free to speak again.

“Dick. Look at me.” She said sternly, not liking how despondent he looked.

Despite her insistence, Dick wouldn’t, couldn’t, meet her eyes. She reached out and took one of his hands with hers, placing them both on the table. “It wasn’t for nothing. You know it, and Wally knew it. You and the Team stopped the terrible future that Bart came from, where Earth was under the control of the Reach. It was a terrible price that we had to pay, but Wally knew that it was worth it.”

She sighed. “I know that doesn’t make it better now that he’s gone, but…”

“Yeah.” Dick pushed some of the food around on his plate with his free hand, suddenly not hungry anymore. Internally, he was debating whether or not to tell her about his plan to leave. He’d originally planned to leave without a word and hope the rest of the Team understood why he’d left, but now that Zatanna was here…

“Don’t tell anybody,” he said hesitantly. “but I’m going to be taking a leave of absence from the Team.”

“You’re leaving the Team?” Zatanna sounded incredulous. “Why? They need you right now, and-“

“I know, Zee, I know.” Dick cut her off quickly. Once again, he knew what she was going to say. “Wally would’ve wanted me to work through it with you and the rest of the Team.”

He took a breath, trying to figure out the best way to explain the combination of logic, guesswork, and instinct that had led to his decision to leave.

“Look, one of the things that Wally always tried to do for me was give me perspective. When we argued, he kept going on and on about how I couldn’t keep taking so much responsibility on my own. He said if I kept doing things this way, I was going to snap. Now that the worst has happened…”

Dick shuddered. “He was right. I can’t remember the last time I just had breakfast with a friend, or a conversation longer than 5 minutes that wasn’t about hero work.” He squeezed her hand. “Wally’s death didn’t break me, Zee. I was already broken, and I just didn’t know it. His death just makes things that much worse. I could stay with the Team, but if I do, I know I’ll just go back to doing things the same way. I can’t be the leader everyone wants me to be, and figure out how to put my life back together at the same time. I owe it to Wally to figure out who I am without the mask.”

He met Zatanna’s eyes as he spoke, trying to show her the absolute determination he felt. “I need to go.”

Finished, Dick watched her expectantly, waiting for her to argue with him, try to talk him out of it. To his surprise, all he saw when he looked at her was understanding.

“OK.” She said simply, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “I understand.”

He was taken aback. “Really?”

“Wally wasn’t the only one who was worried about you.” Zatanna admitted sadly. “Even when we were together I knew you were putting yourself under a lot of pressure, but I couldn’t figure out how to help you. That’s why I broke up with you.”

Tears began to gather in her eyes. “What I do know is that your sacrifices have made a difference, but they’ve also been killing you, slowly. I can’t watch that happen anymore, Dick. I won’t. I love you too much. ”

He gave her a small thankful smile. Gently, he brushed the tears from her face with his thumb before pulling her in for a strong hug. “Look after Artemis for me?”

“I will,” Zatanna said, hugging him back fiercely. “But only if you promise to look after yourself. For me, ok?”

“Of course Zee.” He said gratefully. “Anything for you.”

They held on to each other for a long, long time.

———————————————————————————————————

The Hall of Justice

November 26th, 2015

10:14 EST

Despite how close she was to Dick, and the Bat-Family in general, Zatanna always felt a sense of unease whenever she was in Batman’s presence. There was just something about the way you could feel him watching at you that gave her the creeps.

Zatanna took a calming breath and she entered the conference room alongside Rocket. Nightwing and Batman stood at the head of the table, with Connor and Megan standing on opposite sides of the room. The five of them had been specifically called in for this meeting.

As she entered, Nightwing addressed her. “Zee, could you close the doors please?”

She frowned as she keyed the door controls. Closing the doors usually meant secrets. She hated secrets.

Dick took a breath. “Alright, let’s get started.” He said, nodding towards Batman.

Batman was as impassive as ever. “The League has decided to invite all five of you to join the Justice League.” Typical Batman. He wasn’t a man to use five words if one would do.

There was a high-pitched squeal of joy from Rocket, who embraced Megan before turning to face Zatanna. “Alright! Give me five girls! We did it!”

Dick was smiling as he took in Rocket’s reaction, but Zatanna could see a small twinge of sadness in his voice as he spoke. “Being considered for membership in the League is a great honor, but comes with its own shares of responsibilities, and isn’t a decision to be made lightly. In other words guys, take some time. Sleep on it. We have two weeks before you need to give the League your answers. Batman will answer any questions you have.”

Zatanna managed to catch up with Dick after the meeting, before he could take the Zeta-tube back to Bludhaven.

“You’re not accepting the invitation, are you?” she said, her words coming out as more of a statement rather than a question.

Dick gave her a smile, but shook his head sadly. “No.”

“Is this about you and…” Zatanna gave a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure Batman wasn’t in the vicinity. She knew she wouldn’t have seen him if he didn’t want her to, but the act of checking gave her some comfort. “Him?” she said, dropping her voice down to a whisper.

Dick gave her a smile before shaking his head.

“No, actually. He’s fine with me staying on the Team. He likes that one of us is staying in the shadows, doing the work that needs to be done.”

“Then why aren’t you accepting?” she asked, genuinely curious. When they had been dating, Dick had told her about all of his quiet insecurities about turning into Batman. She knew she didn’t completely understand all the complexities of their dual father-son/crime fighting partner relationship, but surely joining the League as a public figure would have been a step in the right direction for Dick.

“I know I’ve earned it, but, I owe the Team my undivided attention.” Dick shrugged. “It hasn’t even been a year since Robin started, and he needs me around to help him build his confidence. Plus, Cassie’s still getting used to the hero gig, and we’re still thinking about expanding the Team roster.”

“That’s all?” Zatanna asked, sensing that something was being left unsaid. “You could still be a mentor to all of them as a member of the League.”

“I won’t lie to you Zee, there’s another reason I can’t leave the Team just yet. I’ve…” he paused as he took in her expression. Her eyes were wide as she listened intently for his explanation. He wanted to tell her about the plan he had developed with Kaldur, so badly.

But he couldn’t.

“Like I said, I’ve still got some things to take care of here. It’s not the right move for me yet. But I don’t want my decision to affect yours.”

She crossed her arm, as if she was cold, and averted her gaze. Dick resisted the impulse to tilt her head up and kiss her, the way he would’ve if they were still together. He settled for holding her shoulders reassuringly instead. “Should I do it?” she asked quietly.

He shrugged. “Do you want to?”

She sighed loudly, putting her face in her hands. “I don’t know… I really don’t know.”

It was subtle, but Dick could see she was truly scared about making a decision either way. This time, he couldn’t help himself. He pulled her into a hug, and she relaxed slightly into his embrace, leaning her head against his chest.

“I can’t make the decision for you, but…” he said a few moments later, when he felt her calm down slightly.

“Mmm?” she mumbled.

Dick was distracted by the smell of her hair. He still missed her, even after all this time. But he had made his choice, and he wouldn’t turn away from that. That didn’t mean he still couldn’t worry about her though. In a way, that was the whole point.

She looked up at him with her eyebrows raised inquisitively, as if reading his mind.

“I think you should join.” He said quickly, hoping that he’d covered the pause. “Joining the League is the right step for you. You’ve done great work as part of the Team, but you’re never gonna be the hero you should be as part of a stealth squad doing the missions the League can’t be seen doing Zee. You’re better than that.”

Zatanna nodded. Almost guiltily, he felt a surge of relief. By accepting the League’s invitation, she’d be out of the way of any backlash the Team was sure to receive when his plans came to fruition.

“Besides” Dick continued, trying to lighten the mood a little bit. “You’ll get to hang out with Batman a lot more.”

He laughed as she aimed a playful swipe at his head.

[thecinephale]

Best Movies of 2018

My favorite movies of the year were rough around the edges. Ambitious, personal works that were messy and real. There were a lot of big films this year that I personally didn't like that much (or at all), but I really love this list of films and I hope you check them out.

Still need to See: Bird Box, Border, Cold War, Custody, Dark River, I Am Not a Witch, On the Basis of Sex, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, Summer '93, The Third Murder, Tyrel, Unsane, Where Hands Touch, Where is Kyra?

Films I didn't prioritize because someone involved has behaved in a way that makes me uninterested in their work: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, The Death of Stalin, The House That Jack Built, A Simple Favor

Really Liked: -Annihilation (dir. Alex Garland) -Blockers (dir. Kay Cannon) -Crazy Rich Asians (dir. Jon Chu) -Destroyer (dir. Karyn Kusama) -Let the Sunshine In (dir. Claire Denis) -Mary Poppins Returns (dir. Rob Marshall) -Mission: Impossible - Fallout (dir. Christopher McQuarrie) -The Rider (dir. Chloé Zhao) -Private Life (dir. Tamara Jenkins) -Skate Kitchen (dir. Crystal Moselle) -We the Animals (dir. Jeremiah Zagar) -You Were Never Really Here (dir. Lynne Ramsay)

Really Really Liked: -Eighth Grade (dir. Bo Burnham) -Happy as Lazzaro (dir. Alice Rohrwacher) -Leave No Trace (dir. Debra Granik) -Love, Simon (dir. Greg Berlanti) -Mary Queen of Scots (dir. Josie Rourke) -Nancy (dir. Christina Choe) -On Body and Soul (dir. Ildikó Enyedi) -Tully (dir. Jason Reitman)

Loved:

10. Black Panther (dir. Ryan Coogler)

Finally. Proof that Hollywood doesn’t have to choose between style, substance, and entertainment. Black Panther was the biggest film of the year and also one of the best. With stunning cinematography by Rachel Morrison, inspired costumes by Ruth E. Carter, and an album of the year worthy soundtrack by Kendrick Lamar, Ryan Coogler has broken through the Marvel machine to make something truly special. And like all the best superhero movies the supporting cast is incredible, Letitia Wright being the obvious standout, along with moral foils Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong'o. This is everything I want from big budget filmmaking and it's such an exciting relief to be reminded that it's possible.

9. The Tale (dir. Jennifer Fox)

The Hollywood Reporter recently published an article about the 16-year-old girl who inspired Woody Allen's Manhattan. The woman, reflecting on her time with the director and known child molester, is unsure how to frame their time together. She was underage and knowing what she knows now about Allen, their affair feels different. But at the time she was in love. Reading this article, I felt overwhelming gratitude for filmmaker Jennifer Fox and The Tale, a painful and important movie about her own teenage love affair, about her own rape. Fox's vulnerability and skill not only make this a great movie, but a truly life-changing experience. There is one moment in particular that uses cinema in a way I've never seen before. This is by no means an easy film to watch, but it's really worthwhile if you can handle it.

8. Dirty Computer (dir. Janelle Monáe & others)

This "emotion picture" available to watch on YouTube strikes such a moving balance between pure joy, harsh reality, and cautious hope. Its very existence is a sign that its optimism is not misplaced. Musicians have become some of our greatest auteurs with voices and stories Hollywood would otherwise ignore. Janelle Monáe along with Chuck Lightning, Emma Westenberg, Alan Ferguson, and Lacey Duke created a film that is at once a sci-fi epic, a visual album, a public coming out, a celebration of queerness/Blackness/femaleness, and an ode to everybody different. This year was bleak and nothing brought me more comfort than this movie, this album, and obsessing over Monáe and star Tessa Thompson's relationship.

7. Good Manners (dir. Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra)

Come for the lesbian werewolf musical fairy tale genre mashup, stay for the complicated explorations of race, class, and parenthood. This movie is overflowing with so many ideas, cinematically and thematically, it's thrilling to watch it all fit together. It's so rare to watch a movie and have literally no idea where it's going and I will cherish the experience of my first viewing (I literally SCREAMED at one moment in a crowded theatre, seriously) while also hungrily rewatching to unpack everything that's going on. I can't promise it will all work for you, but I can promise you won't be bored.

6. Shirkers (dir. Sandi Tan)

As a teenager Sandi Tan made a feature film with her friends and an enigmatic mentor. Imagined as the start of a Singapore New Wave, their dreams were crushed when the mentor vanished with the film reels. Now decades later, Tan's documentary recalls the experience… with the help of the recovered reels. Part memoir/part mystery/part lost cinema classic, Shirkers is about youthful creativity, exploitation, and so much more. Ultimately this is a portrait of an art form. Within its 95 minutes it encapsulates everything movies can do and everything movies take. It's currently streaming on Netflix and a must-watch for anyone who makes movies or cares about how they're made.

5. Widows (dir. Steve McQueen)

Like a Michael Mann movie if Michael Mann cared about things other than digital cameras, Steve McQueen's cold and stellar heist movie lacks subtlety in all the best ways. Led by Viola Davis this candidate for greatest movie cast ever of all time ever does not disappoint. Everybody is so, so good, and it's thrilling to watch this kind of 1970s American genre film through a point of view that doesn't belong to white men. There's a lot to unpack here, with character, plot, and theme, and I've only seen it once, but that was enough to know that this is a capital G Great movie.

4. The Miseducation of Cameron Post (dir. Desiree Akhavan)

Not every queer person has gone to conversion therapy, but I'd guess most of us have doubted our feelings and our identities. What could have easily been a more serious But I'm a Cheerleader instead finds its own purpose, its own humor, and ultimately exists as a still relevant portrayal of the gaslighting we continue to face for just being ourselves. Chloë Grace Moretz gives one of the best performances of the year as the equal parts cool and vulnerable Cameron and my love for writer/director Desiree Akhavan knows no bounds. NOTE: Sasha Lane plays a character who is disabled and Forrest Goodluck plays a character who is Two-Spirit despite not being so themselves. Considering how good the film is otherwise I dream of a version with a supporting cast who understand the experience of their characters.

3. If Beale Street Could Talk (dir. Barry Jenkins)

Like the masterpiece of a novel it's based on, Barry Jenkins third film is an overwhelming tribute to life in the face of despair. Instead of offering hope, instead of suggesting that being Black in America will someday be easier, Beale Street shows how love, romantic and familial, can provide temporary escape and a reason for being. The entire cast is incredible and gorgeous. Every frame is lush, the score is beautiful, and the moments of joy are as moving as the moments of pain. We are so lucky to be alive while Barry Jenkins is making movies.

2. Shoplifters (dir. Hirokazu Kore-Eda)

I went into Kore-Eda's Palme d'Or winning tribute to chosen family ready to feel grateful for my own chosen family. The friends, mentors, beauticians(!), doctors(!!) who have loved and supported me and made me feel like I wasn't alone these past few years. That happened. But what surprised me was how much it made me appreciate my biological family as well. Like the houses in my favorite TV show of the year, Pose, the makeshift family of Shoplifters ends up being like any other. There are clashing personalities, there are frustrations, there are fights. But more than anything there is care, there is self-sacrifice, there is love. Community is not defined by perfection. Family is not defined by perfection. Kore-Eda has spent much of his career asking the question, "What is family?" and this film provides the least and most satisfying answers.

1. In Between (dir. Maysaloun Hamoud)

I loved my favorite movie of the year so deeply that a one paragraph pitch just won't do. Fortunately, the best site on the entire online, Autostraddle, had me write a gushy review. Read it here or if you're already convinced watch In Between free on Kanopy and then read it: https://www.autostraddle.com/in-between-review-the-super-gay-super-feminist-film-no-ones-talking-about-444114/

Television!

Extremely honorable mentions like how is there so much good TV these all deserve to be in the top ten: BoJack Horseman (S5), High Maintenance (S2), Insecure (S3), Jane the Virgin (S4), Random Acts of Flyness (S1), Sharp Objects, Supergirl (S4), Take My Wife (S2)

10. Killing Eve (S1) 9. Atlanta (S2) 8. The Good Place (S2/3) 7. The Americans (S6) 6. The Bisexual (S1) 5. ACS: The Assassination of Gianni Versace 4. Queen Sugar (S3) 3. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (S3/S4) 2. Vida (S1) 1. Pose (S1)

[outboard02]

Former pro sailor explains how he restored a classic Fairey Swordsman 40

Former expert sailor and windsurfer Stuart Sawyer took on his biggest venture but by means of restoring a Fairey Swordsman 40 returned to mint circumstance.   outboard motor covers

i'm an “inside the blood” waterman, having grown up racing reflect dinghies at country wide and ecu level earlier than turning into a professional windsurfer in my 20s and transferring to Hawaii in which the waves were larger. nowadays i'm again within the united kingdom sailing a J/122 called Black dog III. My crew and that i are the modern-day RORC IRC country wide Champions. None of this would had been feasible without a supportive own family so it appeared simplest right that I began seeking out a ship that my spouse and two grown-up daughters may want to enjoy as much as I did. We desired something round 40ft lengthy that would sleep 4 easily and six at a push for our Black canine “cruises”, which entail a pub or three in Fowey or the Helford. Off the water, i'm CEO of a materials era organisation called D3O, which specialises in effect safety, which include helmet liners for American football gamers and the defence area, covers for cellular phones and defensive clothing for motorcyclists. I had a price range up to £a hundred and fifty,000-£one hundred sixty,00 to spend on a boat and as always I wanted to spend it wisely. I discounted a new boat due to the depreciation and determined i'd be happier with an older conventional anyway. The row-away factor (while you look back at the boat as you row ashore) became vital to me, as changed into impeccable sea-maintaining. I taken into consideration a Dale Nelson 38 – great seakeeping and construct satisfactory – however my daughters felt it changed into ‘too sluggish and vintage for me’. They wanted something quicker and prettier in which we may want to make short passages to the Scillies, France and the Channel Islands. In July 2019, after the RORC IRC prizegiving, I went for a walk to mirror on what we’d executed and stumbled across a stunning Fairey Swordsman 40. some thing connected with me – the iconic lines, corresponding curves, flared bow and open cockpit; everything about it oozed performance. blended with my schoolboy goals of being James Bond (even if it was a Fairey Huntress rather than a Swordsman that changed into used within the From Russia with Love chase scene) it regarded nearly destined to be.  outboard motor covers I realize many of my choice points have been emotive ones but the Swordsman did have the desired 4 berths and a personal proprietor’s cabin aft with its personal heads: our dozing instances are not usually compatible with those of our scholar daughters! when a Swordsman got here up for sale in Falmouth I took my spouse to peer it. the moment she stepped aboard I ought to see she preferred it: the sociable but secure cockpit, the separate cabins and heads however it was whilst she stood again and well-liked the flared bow that she really commenced to smile – it emanated romantic nostalgia. on the time of our viewing, the mouldy green decks, oil-filled bilges and rotting mast have been thrust to the again of my mind – that was concerned with the survey. The preliminary negotiations did not go well. The boat was advertised at £149,000 but simply had troubles. The most obvious changed into a loss of use; it had spent the last  years ashore without the engines being serviced. i discussed this with my brother Andrew, a yacht transport skipper for PYD, and Nigel Musto, who also owns a Swordsman, and all of us agreed that in addition to an amazing survey, a sea trial with a Caterpillar engineer on board would be vital to be able to verify the engines. The survey, achieved through Paul Kerridge at Mylor Yacht Harbour, read a whole lot as expected. The hull and structure were in correct circumstance and extremely nicely built. apparently it turned into one of the ultimate made and had been commissioned by way of the backyard’s owner however for a few cause much of the indoors had in no way been completely completed. The electrics had additionally suffered water ingress. All in all it became a sound boat that became suffering from loss of use and upkeep, but not anything that turned into insurmountable. An preliminary inspection ashore by way of Finnings, the Caterpillar dealers, located a number of issues with the engines – steeply-priced however nothing that regarded terminal. I were given a few indicative pricing for refurbishing the boat and servicing the engines, and agreed on a sale charge of £110,000 concern to sea trials. when the allocated day came, we set out in a blustery force 6, step by step taking the engines up in 500rpm steps. i used to be surprised at the shortage of slamming and how resultseasily she reduce via the four-6ft swell. massive smile. sadly, the equal couldn't be stated for the engines, which were heating up at an alarming charge. All forms of signals and warnings popped up on the Caterpillar agent’s computer, to the factor in which we needed to close down the port engine, simplest to look the starboard engine additionally begin peaking. After half-hour, on the advice of the engineer, we aborted the ocean trial and limped lower back to Falmouth, alternating the engines to prevent overheating. The deal became off and the broker went back to the proprietor to searching for route. a whole lot to-ing and fro-ing ensued; sale on, sale off, in addition sea trials and more charges as we investigated whether the engines will be fixed or might have to be replaced. i was looking at £36,000 + VAT to refurbish the antique automobiles or £70,000 for 2 new ones. ultimately, six weeks after our preliminary offer and a painful negotiation technique for each me and the preceding proprietor, name transferred to me for £85,000. And a steep and luxurious gaining knowledge of curve started out! The venture Tom Redgrave and Sandy Proctor, whom I sail with and work for Falmouth Harbour commission, had just had the pilot boat re-engined via Mylor Yacht Harbour’s Marine team, so advocated them for the engines. I known as Roger Graffy, Chairman of Mylor Yacht Harbour, to explain my plans, and in a manner best Roger can get away with, he showed that a) i was completely mad as I already had two boats, b) He completely understood as he loves being afloat extra than ashore, c) His wife Dinah has a longstanding love affair with the Swordsman and d) Given the background of Fairey marine, it was precisely the type of challenge Mylor might need to be concerned in.  outboard motor covers Off to Mylor she went and at some point of deeper inspection of the antique engines we did have one great wonder – the gearboxes had been in excellent fettle, having accomplished less than four hundred hours of their 14 years. This intended we could preserve the existing gearboxes and ‘bob-tail’ the new engines. That delivered the price right down to £fifty three,000 + VAT for new engines and refurbished gearboxes in comparison to £36,000 + VAT for overhauling the old engines. once I then acquired a suggestion of £12,000 to shop for the vintage engines, I bit the bullet and decided to head for brand new engines. Nigel Musto turned into a mine of facts on which engines to head for, having all of the overall performance information of each Swordsman ever constructed. They might must provide the greatest stability of weight, gas and performance however specially they needed to have that distinctive Swordsman ‘sound’. We agreed that dual 455hp Caterpillar C7.1s have been the way to move. Engines opting for new engines required a structural change to the beds, because the 7.1s have been 40mm taller. as soon as the antique engines have been removed and the gas tanks shifted to permit get right of entry to, Mylor Marine’s team reduce back the beds and strengthened the bearers with metallic and epoxy to take the new engine mounts. After lifting the engines in, they then had to be aligned with the shafts. Chris Powell, the lead engineer, lived in the engine bay for the first-rate part of six weeks and by the time he’d finished the alignment changed into so best (inside 2,000s-of- an-inch) that he needed to upload jubilee clips to forestall them sliding out. Electrics the main dashboard and cockpit control panel had rusted and lacking buttons had allowed water to seep behind it, so that most of the switches and gauges had been not operating. Mylor controlled to supply the authentic provider and organized for new panels to be cut and powder coated a good way to keep the authentic appearance and sense however additionally accommodate the brand new engines’ liquid crystal display control panels and a current chartplotter. We opted for a Raymarine Axiom 9 as I wanted one with difficult controls I ought to use whilst bouncing around at 25 knots. We included this to the prevailing autopilot and after a lot debate decided to eliminate the antique radar and installation an AIS seven-hundred device alternatively, albeit with wiring for a brand new radar to be brought at a later date. I also made two greater non-budgeted decisions. the first became to install new gas sensors into each tanks which fed into the Axiom for unique monitoring. the second one become that on receipt of the brand new engine’s digital manage panels, I felt they seemed out of maintaining with the Swordsman's classic fashion. Mark Howard, Mylor’s senior electrician, managed to supply a few white and chrome analogue dials that would speak to the Cat engines but could appearance extra in maintaining. I recognise this become basically an aesthetic choice however having now used the boat, i am so satisfied we redid this. The final step changed into adding a stereo system and audio system to the cockpit and saloon. With young daughters and their buddies on board, I felt this will be amusing, albeit alternatively extravagant, greater. We opted for a Fusion RA70N as this will be controlled from the Axiom in addition to through Bluetooth without having to head down beneath. indoors components of the original in shape out had never been fully finished – perhaps as it became used particularly as a day boat. This became obtrusive from the paucity of storage and shortage of wear and tear and tear inner. I contacted Rob Holdroff, a local carpenter, who had just set up on his own having previously worked at Pendennis. We met on the boat and drew up a agenda of works. A key request from my daughters was to make the vee berth convertible to a double with the aid of a timber infill and bed. Given the British climate, I additionally desired to create a wet locker in the the front cabin, which drains into the bilges, where damp clothing should dry with the resource of significant heating. The galley was problematic, as the cupboards opened at once onto the GRP structure and lacked any shelves. My spouse Ruth labored out what we'd need for family cruises, purchased the plates, bowls, cups, mugs and glasses, then we designed and fitted out the cabinets especially to match them. We did the same for all of the lockers within the saloon, making spaces and draws for pilot books, safety device, odds and sods, and of path bottle holders! in the aft cabin, Rob made liners and shelves that might shield our garments from condensation, in all instances matching the cherry wooden finish to the authentic. outdoors  outboard motor covers a great deal of the exterior wanted sorting. The teak decks had been included in algae, cut up in places and the caulking turned into shot. The timber rubbing strake at the bow had split and changed into lacking several portions. The anchor locker hatch had warped and wouldn’t near. The gas bottle had left rust streaks down the topsides and inside the locker. The blue transom had dwindled to such an extent that I questioned if it might ever come lower back to its actual shade. as the Mylor group have been focussed on the engines and electrics, I asked Tim Seaman at Formation Marine to take on this. Tim had repaired Black canine when we hit the committee boat at a start in Dartmouth, so I knew how professional he turned into with both wood and GRP. Tim did a incredible activity of reducing back and restoring the transom giving us an early win that helped to reveal how she could come to be looking. together, we labored out which lockers ought to preserve what; lifestyles raft, inflatable smooth and a couple of.5hp outboard, as I didn’t need davits to spoil the boat’s lines. Tim then set approximately repairing, replacing and in which vital recreating the locker lids and liners in addition to refurbishing the decks and rubbing strake. The cockpit shower set up internal one of the deck lockers became also a write off. Tim changed the cracked pipework with flexible hosing to shield it whilst throwing in warps and fenders. final however no longer least, the mast, which i have usually visible as a key part of the Fairey’s iconic layout, became so badly discoloured that it become bordering on the brink of no return. Tim rose to the venture, eliminated the mast, took it domestic and over the winter spent hours drying, sanding and slicing it returned, followed by infinite coats of varnish to repair it to its former glory. It has likely had more TLC than any other single a part of the boat. Frustratingly the new engines arrived at the very day lockdown turned into imposed, causing a put off of virtually three months. once the assignment turned into underway again, it slipped a in addition 3 weeks, in large part right down to desiring to update the risers, which had corroded and break up, unfavorable the old engines. This, the brand new device panel, the stereo and the mast and decks needing more work than expected pushed us over my authentic budget and the ten percentage contingency I’d built onto it by means of a similarly 10 per cent.  ultimately, once we had the boat stripped and the engines taken out, we determined to update as opposed to provider all however  of the thru-hull fittings for peace of mind and ease of protection. The result notwithstanding this I thoroughly loved the refit process. Going over every inch, inner and out, and agreeing the practical element has made me experience greater connected with the boat. operating with tremendous tradespeople become a key part of this. Nathan Percival, the mission supervisor at Mylor Yacht Harbour, made the procedure less complicated for me, despite the fact that it elderly him! Tim Seaman has to be credited for the way proper Freebird now seems. Rob Holdroff has made it so much more practical and nice to live aboard. Mark Howard and Chris Powell worked tirelessly on the brand new engines and electronics. I suppose i used to be lucky that this wasn’t a ordinary task, having a traditional boat which humans without a doubt wanted to paintings on made a important distinction. each of the groups have been fascinated to look how the others had been getting on and everybody appeared to broaden their personal connection with the boat, which is clear in the craftsmanship and high high-quality paintings on show. whether it has paid off financially is tough to say; Swordsman 40s vary among £one hundred fifty,000 and £225,000 relying on their condition and specification. i might say that Freebird is one of, if no longer the first-class, instance available and could be in all likelihood to sit on the better cease of the price bracket. That stated I don’t assume proudly owning any boat should be about getting cash. I knew I needed to be realistic with the prices and even though I were given swept along with some of the extra aesthetic choices, I wasn’t in a function to simply throw money at it and permit someone else control the task. i was heavily worried in all of the choices for the duration of the system and, sarcastically, now not being capable of tour for business intended I might be onsite  or 3 times every week. Now the plan is to apply Freebird with the circle of relatives, starting up with small cruises to mattress the boat in. we've got already enjoyed short journeys and overnights to the Helford River permitting us to undergo some inevitable snagging, which i'm extremely joyful to mention turned into minor! Fowey and the Isles of Scilly are subsequent at the listing of locations to head for, that are all inside short 1-4 hour passages, while L’Aber Wrac'h and Roscoff are on my daughters’ listing to visit as soon as Covid restrictions carry. If this all goes properly we're brewing a plan for 2021 to take the boat round Britain and eire. This has been on my bucket list for a while and at the same time as I had firstly deliberate to do it by way of sail, Freebird is now rising as the suitable craft for the job. My plan for this circumnavigation is to move west from Falmouth to the Scillies, then over to Kinsale and around the West coast of eire. I’d then make my way up the west coast of Scotland around Cape Wrath, down the east coast and into London, earlier than the very last leg alongside the south coast and domestic to Cornwall. Having placed this plenty time and effort into perfecting Freebird, it appears only right to make the most of what she has to offer. I promise to keep you published… The fee indoors lockers and berth conversion – £2,000 Teak decking, topsides, transom, mast, external lockers, glass maintenance and antifoul – £7,800 New engines – £sixty five,200 (£fifty seven,840 + £19,400 fitting, less £12,000 for vintage engines) Electronics – chartplotter, AIS, gas sensors, dials, panels, stereo, LED nav lighting fixtures, rewiring – £9,800 changing thru-hull fittings, servicing all prevent cocks, pipe works, outdoor bathe – £2,four hundred canopy and cockpit cover, repairing antique tonneau – £4,800 New risers, exhaust manifold, welding, moving electric panel and generator – £4,900 Extinguisher improve, tender, outboard, liferaft and many others. – £6,000  outboard motor covers

[videofeed]

Every Superman Movie Ranked From Worst To Best https://youtu.be/4uySYIw3Ofc Here is every Superman movie positioned from worst to perfect. Created by Jerry Siegel as well as additionally Joe Shuster, the Man of Steel came increasing (or leaping) right into comics in 1938, debuting in Action Comics #1. Superman motion pictures have in fact certainly had their increasing highs as well as additionally squashing lows, neverthelessfilmmakerswill likely never ever before give up on finding new approaches of changing the Last Son of Kryptonas well as additionally viewers would definitely miss him if they did. Like different other popular characters - James Bond, Batman, Sherlock Holmes - various celebrities have cycled with the task, nevertheless which Superman made the greatest motion pictures? Superman made his flick introducing in the Kirk Alyn serials, beginning in 1948. The Man of Steel has in fact considered that occurred to appear invarious motion pictures, both computer system computer animated as well as additionally live-action, as well as several beloved television shows. The focus here will be on the hero's live-action theatrical releases. Neither the MCU’s box office domination nor a couple of difficult DC movie outings can dethrone Superman as the most iconic superhero ever created. Even with this in mind, his cinematic adaptations have represented both the best and additionally the worst the genre has to offer - though the same can be said ofBatman’s movies as well. This low ranking is to say nothing negative of George Reeves’ unforgettable portrayal of the Man of Steel for six seasons in Adventures of Superman. However, Superman as well as the Mole Men, released in 1951, was basically a glorified TV pilot, only included here because it did have a theatrical release. Rather than battling the titular Mole Men, Supes defends them from pitchfork-wielding townsfolk, whose fear of the innocent creatures had quickly turned violent. Although Reeves did a fine job, the black and white film isn’t quite sixty minutes long and simply can't compare with Superman’s other movies. It did serve its purpose though, eventually bringing Reeves’ hero to TV screens everywhere. What is there to say about 2017’s Justice League that hasn’t already been said? Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon are both distinctive filmmakers with little common ground.The awkwardly stitched together, tonally incoherent mess of a movie is the result of two conflicting visions that never should’ve been a part of the same film. It’s not, strictly speaking, even a Superman movie, but the Man of Steel was meant to play a pivotal role in it. Sadly,Supes will always be remembered, above all else, for the terrible CGI removal of Cavill's mustache. The movie was meant to be a major superhero team up for DC, but Justice League never really came together. Perhaps the Snyder Cut, coming to HBO Max, will redeem the character. At the very least, it’ll redeem his face. With Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, the most iconic portrayal of Superman ended, not with a bang, but definitely a whimper. It’s heartbreaking to put Christopher Reeve’s final outing in the red cape so low on the list, especially since it was a story that meant so much to the actor. Reeve had hoped to put the Man of Steel back on track after Superman III, a good thought to be sure, but Superman IV: The Quest for Peacestandsas the worst of the original four. Getting rid of the world's nukes was a noble effort, as was making a film that so obviously promoted world peace.Sadly,the 1987 movie suffered massive budget cuts, had a weak villain in the Nuclear Man and was ultimately even more over-the-top than Superman III, which was an impressive feat. While fans were undeniably excited to see the Dark Knight face off against the Man of Steel, Batmanv Superman: Dawn of Justicewas an utterly joyless film in which both heroes are absolutely impossible to like, let alone root for. Released in 2016, Zack Snyder's second DCEU film certainly has its defenders, but the movie didn’t do either character justice. This should not reflect poorly on Cavill or Ben Affleck, who both did the best they could with the material they were given. It does come in ahead ofJustice League, but only because it feels like the singular vision of its director, for good or bad. Like the team-up film, this isn't truly a Superman movie, though it acts as a direct sequel to Man of Steel.Though the movie introduced the world to Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, the bloated runtime (151 minutes), Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor, and the now-infamous "Martha" moment makeBatman v Supermanan overall disappointment. The original plan for Superman IIImight've panned out differently, but the film released in 1983 feels like the result of someone pitching a Superman/Richard Pryor movie but not actually hammering out any of the story details beforehand. Though the movie might be ridiculous, Reeve was still at the top of his game and Pryor is undeniably funny, even if the script is not. Trading in Margot Kidder’s cherished Lois Lane for a subplot in which Clark attempts to woo his high school crush, Lana Lang (Annette O’Toole), was a strange narrative choice in movie absolutely full of them. Directed by Richard Lester, who stepped in to fill Richard Donner’s shoes after he left Superman II, the movie does feature a cool Superman vs.Clark Kentfight, in addition to providingthe basis for the programmers' plotinOffice Space. Exploring the lonelier, more alien side of Superman isn’t a bad idea on a paper. The Last Son of Krypton has often struggled with feelings of isolation, a topic that was thoroughly exploredonSmallville,but a dark, brooding Supermanisn't thebeacon of hope for mankind that many fans expect to see. However, it’s not that easy to be a god among men and Man of Steel shouldn��t be faulted for trying to show a different side of the hero to audiences. Plus, the 2013 film introduced Henry Cavill, who is excellent in the role, and the rest of the cast, including Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Diane Lane as Martha Kent, is great as well. Sadly, Man of Steel failed somewhat in its execution, not only misunderstanding Superman himself, but the Kents as well. The idea that Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) wouldwant Clark to keep his secret at the cost of innocent lives, including his own, completely alters both characters. That, in conjunction with a hero who left a trail of destruction - and a dead body - in his wake, made for a film that left fansfirmly divided. Cavill’s first time stepping into the red bootsdid have some interesting ideas, even if director Zack Snyder's muted color palette could make the film feel like a rather dull affair at times. All that said, it'sa better movie than many of Superman's previous outings. If Superman Returns is guilty of anything, it’s loving the Richard Donner films a little too much. It’s understandable, considering even after all these years, Superman remains a crowning achievement in superhero films. The 2006 movie ignored Superman III and IV, instead continuing on from Superman II. Overall, Bryan Singer's filmwas a pretty solid outing for the Man of Steel. Long before his time as Ray Palmer in the Arrowverse, Brandon Routh proved he had what it took to play an iconic hero. His performance was both understated and confident, paying homage Reeve, but still making the character his own. At its best, Superman Returns captured the essence of the first two films, though the movie sometimes lost itself in all that nostalgia. Inspending so much time honoringDonner’s legacy, it had a difficult time standing on its own.It's also an incredibly vivid movie, in direct contrast with the muted colors of Snyder’s take on the character. The film’s detractors tend to get hung up on the plausibility of Superman having a son, but in a film about a superpowered alien, how much realism does the audience really need? The movie's Lex Luthor anddirector can’t help but slightlymar themovie in light of the allegations against both Kevin Spacey and Singer, but Superman Returns is still the Man of Steel’s most underrated film. Despite its notoriously troubled production, Superman II holds up not only as one of the best movies featuring the Man of Steel, but also as one of the best superhero outings in general. Much like Justice League, the film was the result of two conflicting visions, butSuperman IIstill holds up. The Donner Cut is great too, but the movie’s theatrical release deserves the second slot right right here. The original intent was to shoot Superman and its sequel side by side, but thanks to Lester replacing Donner as director, much of the film was reshot later. This led to a film that may have actually been a bit uneven at times, but still trounces most of the competition. Superman II is an incredibly ambitious film. It upped the stakes and the action and delivered some unforgettable villains.No Superman flick had aBig Bad who posed as much of a threatto the Last Son of Krypton as Terence Stamp’s General Zod and his cronies.Superman II not only built on thecompelling love story between Lois and Clark, but also explored the hero’s human side. Christopher Reeve was already perfect in the role to begin with, but stripping the Man of Steel of his powers gave the actor something different and more relatable to play. Superman II is not only a nonstop thrill ride, but it’s also quite touching. 1978’s Superman introduced the world to Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel, and he remains the actor most closely associated with the role, despite all the time that passed and the many other actors to take up the mantle since. It also brought fans the palpable chemistry between Reeve’s Superman and Margot Kidder’s intrepid reporter, Lois Lane. Superman not onlyfeatured John Williams' amazing score, but also set the gold standard for superhero movies to come. The movie takes its time, giving the Man of Steel’s origin story plenty of room to breathe. Reeve remains the very best in terms of portraying Superman and also Clark Kent as two very different characters, making it slightly more believable that a pair of glasses is enough to keep his identities separate. His comedic timing is impeccable, but much of the movie’s magic comes from the way he inhabits the role of Superman. The movie also gave us the first dose of Gene Hackman’s rather brilliant turn as Lex Luther, memorable, even if he never ever before really felt such as an actual threat to our hero. https://videofeed.tv/movies-upcoming-releases-trailers/the-fifth-element-honest-trailer-its-the-weirdest-90s-sci-fi-movie/

[kronecker-delta]

To Inherit the Future

Mass Effect/Nier: Automata Crossover Fusion

Archive of Our Own Link

Fanfiction Link

Spacebattles Forum Link: (Q/A and related materials in posts)

First part below;

PART 1 -----: “Alright, let’s see if you’re working right. Test 14 of value weighting within cognitive framework. Unit, what is your primary purpose?” -----: “To supply administrative and logistic support so Project Gestalt may be completed.” -----: “Why?” -----: “Project Gestalt will ensure the survival of Mankind.” -----: “Damn it, response unacceptable. That is a definition. Why must Project Gestalt succeed?” -----: “To ensure the survival of Mankind.” -----: “Why must Mankind survive?” -----: “Mankind must survive.” -----: “No! Again, why must Mankind survive?” -----: “Mankind must survive.” -----: “Test cancelled. Another logic loop started.” - Archived Recording, September 5th, 2031. Participants UNKNOWN. Nothing good had ever fallen from the sky. The first such incident brought the apocalypse. The sky cracking open and an abomination that should never have been finding its resting place in a city once called Tokyo. Even dead its decaying flesh carried a profane curse, and the trackless particles of the grotesque creature damned all who inhaled it to death. Or worse. In time that incurable illness would spread across the world. Infecting all who lived and making clear that this was to be the last generation of man. But in their desperation they found an escape from their fate. Hope, however horribly faint and no matter how costly the price, remained. But it would take a long time for their final gambit to return to them a world free of the plague. So they created machines. Artificial beings in their image that would tend for the world while they could not. The androids were to be their loyal caretakers during this millennia of torpor. They would remove the infection, destroy the carriers of the plague… And most important of all; They would ensure that Mankind returned. On this last matter they failed utterly. And in their despair that they had never been meant to feel, they wept tears they should never have been able to cry. They lived on in graveyard cities that would never be reclaimed by their creators and begged for a new purpose. And their unsaid prayers were answered by the second invasion. *** 11945, November 3rd. Six months since the end of the 14th Machine War and Absolute Victory. Even now she still dreamed of war. The wars she had fought, those she had seen, and those she could only have imagined baring witness to. She knew only of the first horrible cataclysm by pieces of historical record. For which she was eternally grateful. It had been hard enough sending her brave soldiers forth do battle and die to preserve the lie of humanity's survival. To see them actually perish, their recorded deaths separated from any aid she could render by ten millennia would have been so much worse. She had seen recordings of the second many times however. The initial confusion as the androids still struggling to preserve what of humanity's legacy they could came under assault by strange merciless invaders from beyond. They hadn't even truly done much to fight off the initial invasion, instead being saved from sudden extermination by other older creations of mankind. By the time the ceaseless wars began the situation had changed and it was now their responsibility to defend the grave of Mankind. Or so she had thought. She knew from what the surviving units had told her that affairs had changed even if she had not witnessed it. Her death came towards the end of what she now understood had supposed to be a war without end. And given the nature of her demise her own secret data backup had been several days behind. To awaken when she did, reconstructed on the surface of Earth at long last free of the machines had been quite a shock. More so to learn that her primary purpose had been rendered quite unnecessary. The fiction of living humans had been corrected, and though the false broadcasts from the lunar server would continue until someone stopped them, the android populace of Earth now knew that it was a lie. And that she had been party to that lie. Perhaps ignorant to the extreme measures that were to be taken to protect it, but she had signed off on numerous deaths to ensure that their deception was maintained. At least one of the surviving YoRHa units had a very good reason to kill her again. "Why did they even bring me back?" the former YoRHa commander White asked herself as she opened her eyes. While she could think of some reasons they might have gone to all the trouble to retrieve backups of the other YoRHa units, her own reactivation remained an enigma. First that the Bunker's systems that had betrayed them had kept safe copies on another server for later use. And second that it had even done so to a non-YoRHa unit such as herself. Not that that was entirely true anymore in a technical sense since her reactivation. Regardless of her slightly altered hardware, here she was. Alive, free to come and go as she wished from their compound. Which they should really settle on naming sometime soon. It was far too large now to be called a mere camp, and the Resistance wasn't much of a resistance as they were the sole intelligence still active on Earth. But for the time being it was just their home. A gradually growing expanse of metal and stone as sturdy utilitarian buildings were constructed in the ruins of one of humanity's once great cities. Nothing like the sterile perfection of the Bunker. But it was theirs at least. White cocked her head slightly to the side as a message came in through the short range network they now had operating. We're having issues with some of the older satellites. Would you still have the codes for them? Standing up she sent a confirmation and left her room. Stepping out into the open air. The night illuminated by rows of glowing electric lights surrounded by insects attracted to the illumination. A painful sense of familiarity came to her for the briefest moments. Some fleeting mix of emotion and memory that did not feel entirely natural. While she didn't have the same anger concerning the secret betrayal of the YoRHa she did share the desire to question those who had started their program. Who had thought it was a good idea to imprint memory data from replicants? Assuming that they hadn't somehow came to possess actual human memories for that purpose. It seemed profane to dishonor their creator’s memories thus. And all in pursuit of objectives she scarcely understood even after being an ignorant participant for centuries. Though most of the rest were far more concerned with the destruction of androids through repeated cycles of refinement caused by the war. That all those deaths had been in service of a lie and to win a battle they had been designed to lose only made the loss more painful. Why then did it not seem to matter as it should? It was clear that the knowledge of humanity's ultimate fate had already been discovered by some other androids which no longer hid their discovery from their fellows. That that revelation had not precipitated panic, disorder, mass chaos, or attempted self-termination by all units exposed to it... Well it left her feeling rather conflicted. Everyone just seemed to accept it and move on. Building a real stable settlement not suited for combat or defense. Others making their distracting hobbies and other interests their new primary focus. She'd seen one offering dance lessons of all things. Part of her just wanted to demand how they could act like this? How could they forget that humanity was gone? That they had failed time and time again to serve their creators? That they hadn't even truly won the war. Not that that had ever been the intention, but it was still grating that everyone seemed to put the past behind them so quickly. Quicker then she could. Perhaps the issue was that her role was no longer necessary. She could no longer command anything. The androids on Earth had long ago created their own personal hierarchies, and while they were officially subordinate to YoRHa there had never been a means of enforcing compliance other than sending an execution unit. And the only one of those nearby to begin with had barely said a word to her in the months since her reactivation. Even as she approached the effective community leader Anemone, 2B had only glanced at her and quickly moved away to one side so as to avoid having to directly speak to her previous commander. Standing by a pair of reactivated operators working to set up the ground based communications and control center. Anemone at least didn't seem to treat her differently than anyone else. "White, I'm glad you came so quickly." "It was no problem. I can only hope that might be able to help." "So do I. We've been trying to get a better satellite network functioning after so many got attacked a few months ago. And 9S mentioned that there were older satellites that had been shunted off but never recovered." "Yes, the earlier ones have likely de-orbited and burned up by now but if they're less than a century or two old we could bring them back online." "That's what I wanted to hear. Having to rely on scouts and aerial spotters has been limiting our efforts. Plus we have lousy communication ranges for the moment too. If you can fix that it would be a great help." "With the proper codes it should be a simple matter." Whitewalked over to the nearest computer terminal and began entering her administrator codes. "I'm surprised you asked me to help though. The systems shouldn't be that strongly encrypted." "Better safe than sorry. I wouldn't want us to have the system lock us out and force us to physically fly up there to fix or replace them if we don't need to." "Yes we don't have many vehicles capable of that anymore,” White said. Focusing more intently on her task as she tried not to think about how she might have died when the Bunker had suddenly opened itself up to enemy infiltration. "For the moment Ma'am. But I've been re-purposing one of the abandoned machine factories to make component parts for more." 9S had come up beside her. He had made more of an effort to put her at ease since her reactivation. Though she couldn't imagine why. How many times had she ordered his death and memory wipe? "That's... good. That's a good idea 9S." "I thought so too. I mean if the machines could use it to construct complicated machinery we should be able to as well." She nodded in response, her attention centered on the problem before her. Her first code had proven incorrect, likely not old enough. And the next had also been wrong, probably removed by a minor security upgrade that she didn't remember. It was considerably harder to do this when she couldn't check against the Bunker's own network. On Earth however there was very little of the constant electric buzz of wireless systems awaiting a response. More than there had been even a few weeks ago, but still a shockingly small number. The public network for the compound and a few others that had been set up for less important uses. Including one that seemed store and to distribute pictures of birds and little else. Some were even password locked and kept private. A gross volition of protocol if Anemone didn't secretly have access. Which she very well might not. Things were so different now. "There. That one was accepted." "Oh! We're getting something," one of the operator units said. Anemone gave White a pat on the shoulder as she stood back up, "Thanks for helping us with that. Now we can hopefully find out how other groups are doing without having to send a messenger to-" "Ah... Commander-Anemone I mean... there's something weird now." Soon the operator was even more flustered, as everyone's attention was focused on her. She turned back to her console and fiddled with the controls. "I mean it's probably nothing... since it really should be nothing now, right? But I'm detecting something and-" "And what? What did you find?" "Well I wasn't sure at first until the second satellite also detected it but... there's something out there." The silence that followed seemed far, far longer than the actual 1.3 seconds. "What do you mean by something?" "It's big... about one hundred and eighty meters long. It's giving off a large amount of thermal radiation and is currently one hundred and fifty thousand kilometers above the Earth's surface." White found herself standing shoulder to shoulder with 2B by necessity as they crowded near the monitor. Using VR imaging would have been preferable but the image they were getting wasn't networked into that system yet. Forcing them all to gaze at the grainy image on the screen as the operator tried to resolve it into something clearer. "That's not one of ours." "I... I don't think we've ever seen a ship like that," 9S said. It was long and narrow, with a soft rounded surface that lacked both the simplicity that machine life tended towards and the angular designs that humanity and androids used. Towards the rear of the vessel where the majority of the heat signature could be seen there were numerous more clearly metallic protrusions about what could only be a colossal engine system. The surface was discolored and pitted in places. Possibly decorative but looking closer to physical damage to the surface structure of the ship. "Is it a machine lifeform?" "... No. There's no sign of their native network signal from it all. If it's one of theirs it's completely dormant." Conversation began to break out among the androids nearby. Though White noticed that 2B had glanced towards Anemone and they had opened a private channel. She swallowed her anger that they would hide their communications from her. Quickly reminding herself that Anemone was the trusted leader here. And that 2B, along with the other surviving YoRHa units were seen as heroes for both freeing the android populace from the threat of the machines and spreading the truth of humanity's fate. She was in no position to demand that they do as she desired. "Oh no..." the operator said, gasping in horror at what she was seeing. "What's happening now?" "It-it's entering the atmosphere. I think it's going to land!" *** "Are you sure about this 2B? We could wait for A2 to come back... or try and reach her again at least. Even if she’s had another unexpected delay she should still be back by tomorrow." "There's no time 9S. The unidentified vessel is going to land in less than an hour," 2B said. Checking over her flight unit as she prepared to leave. "Besides she's in the opposite direction of the estimated landing zone. Someone needs to get there as quickly as possible." "This could be dangerous." "I know. But it's only recon. I don’t intend to engage an unknown alien force on my own." "Then I should go. I'm the Scanner after all." "How's your arm?" 2B asked, turning towards 9S. An unnecessary gesture now that her VR mask was on. "It's... fine. I'm fine." "You're lying. The parts for S units are harder to come by. And the lack of communications between outposts has kept us from getting the necessary materials to fabricate our own replacements." "Even then I should-" "9S. Nines," 2B said. Stepping forward to reassure 9S, half embracing him while hesitating as she noted the uneven damage he had yet to have repaired. "I'll be fine. I have your pod to replace mine for the moment." "We should really go about getting another one of those." "There hasn't really been time to worry about that. And most of the time when we've left the compound it's been in groups of two. It's just bad luck that this happened while A2 was away." "Still..." 9S began to say, clearly trying to find an argument that could be used. Without success. "Good luck 2B. Just stay safe out there." "I intend to." The flight unit rose up into the air, transitioning from bipedal landing mode to long distance flight from and rocketed away. Vanishing over the tops of the ruined skyscrapers as she headed towards the probable landing locations. While 9S quickly headed back towards their now quite active command center. Even if he couldn't join 2B in the field he would at least try and provide support from here. *** "I'm approaching the landing zone now. No signs of the unknown entities yet." "We can't pin down their landing site to a greater level of detail then we already have at the moment. But you should be within a two kilometers,” 9S said over her radio. "Affirmative." 2B continued to fly above the trees of this mountainous forest, skimming not far from the tops. Remaining low and hopefully obscured in case the vessel had some anti-air capability it might reveal at an inopportune moment. Though once she found the ship itself she fully intended to approach on foot. She could at least hope to remain hidden for long enough to identify what had landed. Her flight unit was completely incapable of achieving the same result. "I have visual confirmation of the landing site," 2B said. Magnifying the image and relaying it back through pod 153. The alien ship had landed half a kilometer away on a lightly forested hill. Several trees had broken off from a collision while previously hidden stabilizing legs had extended from the base. It had landed standing up, a great brownish black column. Smoke rose from fires likely started by the enormous heat the ship had been exuding and was only now finally losing in the cold night air. She could also see that the earlier damages were far more severe. Thick armor had been broken off in places and some portions of the ship would have to be exposed to vacuum from the resulting damage. "Well we can definitely say that they didn't get here without a scratch," 9S said over the communication channel as he received her visual data. "I'm landing now for a closer approach." Disembarking from her flight unit, 2B quickly made her way towards the ship. Taking greater and greater precautions as she drew ever closer to the landing site. Eventually darting from one tree to the next to remain out of sight with only her borrowed pod as company hovering close by. Till at last she came near the edge of the trees close to the landing site. The spacecraft looming above her while the fires started slowly burned themselves out among dry grass that had not yet recovered from their long summer. "I... I have visual," "Visual on wh-oh." 2B adjusted her view and magnified the image. Centering on the enormous vaguely insect like creature that had scuttled out of an opening in the ship and climbed to the ground. Mottled brown carapace and four large legs combined with its slightly curved body to give it an appearance somewhere between a shrimp and crab. With another pair of manipulating arms and long whip like tendrils from its back it left her feeling uneasy with the way it moved. Soon it started walking around the ship in a spiral pattern, slowly covering the ground and inspecting it with its antenna. "Could it be one of the aliens?" 2B asked. "The ones that caused the first invasion?" "No. I don't think so. The ships design is too different and there still doesn't appear to be any sign of machine lifeforms." "Maybe they stopped using them after-wait, something's happening." There appeared to be a great deal of activity suddenly. More and more of the aliens were pouring out of the ship. Dozens and dozens till at least a hundred were spread out in the field chittering loudly Or so it had appeared. "Did I count wrong?" 2B thought to herself. Communicating with her pod to get a check on the number of unknown entities. Which only confirmed that some of the ones that had come out of the ship had already vanished. "This isn't good. I need to pull back until we have more information." "2B! We're losing----. They know you're-" 9S’ voice caught off as a static filled the channel until she completely lost all communication ability. She needed to leave now. Her retreat was far quicker, forgoing stealth for speed. Only for her passage to be cut off by others that had somehow sneaked up behind her. And were even now emerging from tunnels in the earth. "They can burrow underground?" *Re-configuring to detect seismic micro-tremors. Warning. Imminent threat.* Responding to the pod's alarm, 2B rolled to one side as she felt the ground under her feet erupt outwards into a thrashing alien monster. Though that was hardly the only one to be charging towards her now. It seemed like every alien in the ship intended chase her down as a swarm. *Hostiles surrounding extraction point. Attempting to corral into close combat engagement. Advise use of long range weaponry.* "I know," 2B said. Still... maybe there was another way? "I don't want to fight you. If you'll ju-" She ducked to one side and rolled away from an ejection of fluid from one of the aliens. Smoke rose from where it impacted and began to burn through the bark of the tree beside her. "That was pointless. Of course we wouldn't share a common language." Another stream of acid narrowly missed her while her pod continued to warn of even more tunneling underneath. "Save for the universal tongue combat."

[beowulfs-booty-call]

3, 7, 13, 20, 48, 53!

Ciao! Hey, so sorry about being late on answering! We had a whole bunch of snow today, and guess who had to do some shoveling? So, thanks for asking, it means a ton to me!

Let’s get started, eh? I wrote a MASS TON and I really wanna apologize in advance for that!

3. do you miss anyone?

Gah, tough question! Truth is, I do miss people a lot, not just one person. There’s the people who I spoke to once before, and slowly, we just drifted apart and just stopped altogether, there are people that I can't exactly speak to without feeling uncomfortable due to what they did to me, and, then there are the friends and family members who moved on with life and I didn’t have the opportunity to catch up or get in contact with them.

But, I realized today, I missed the memories more than I did the people at times, and, I had to accept it, really. In one way, it’s like, I miss Felix, this worker who was my mother’s friend at the Veteran’s Affairs. He was like the father I never had, he inspired me to start drawing, when I got interested in science, he came along and helped me build a robot! Later on, in life, when I was beginning to suffer from emotional problems with my family and I was “banned” from coming to the VA because my mother feared I would tell her coworkers stuff from home, Felix understood. I wasn’t allowed to give my number to any of the staff or patients, which, I respected and understood, but, I always hated that I couldn't call him for support or talk about things on my mind. I was really a super curious kid, and, he’d treat me like an adult, taking me to lunch when he never had to, but he’d always have some topic on his mind to talk on. “Do you ever wonder why the sky is blue?” and I’d respond, “Well, it’s reflecting the sun’s light, right?” at age 8 because he and I were such Nat. Geo fanatics. “Sure, but, when you think about it, why is the ocean blue then?” and he’d go on this amazing lengthy talk about what particles were and even bits of politics. 

People never really “got” my relationship with Felix. He was like a dad, a teacher, and a best friend when I needed him. When the chips were down, he was there, ready and willing to say whatever I needed to hear because that’s all he ever wanted for me. As an 11 year old, I started feeling like I was bothering the guy, he was driving sports car as a working computer technician (IIRC) and I thought he probably had kids and a wife on the side while I was taking all his attention away. When I asked, he just laughed this silly laugh a dad would do, put his hand on my shoulder, and say “I don’t have anyone with me like that. Your my kid whether you like it or not!” 

And, soon, time came for him to retire. I was around 14 at the time, my art started blooming unlike what I had thought at first. I could draw unlike most people used to tell me, the bullies in my catholic school who would draw comics with me as the butt of the joke? Flushed down the drain when I won an art award for outstanding painting in my eight grade year. Felix left the VA, but before he did, I wanted to make it up to him. I painted his favorite cartoon Felix the Cat (That’s how he got his name when he came over from Puerto Rico, we call him Manny as an Americanized name, but Felix was his real name after the cartoon cat.) on canvas and left it at the job so he’d get it during his going away party.

...Sadly, he never did receive it, my mother never brought it to him. And, just like that, the first father I had in my life left to retire, and the only thing I had left of him was the painting he wasn't able to take with him. ...I wanted so bad for him to see how good I grew to impress him, and maybe, get a “You did so great, son!” from him. My father and I have a very strained relationship, and, Felix was one of the only people who pushed me so far to be the best person I can be.

Truth is, I miss him dearly. I missed him showing up out of nowhere just to see me, and ask the big questions to me. I miss when he would hug the kid-me and scruff my hair and ask what my next “major discovery” would be. Sometimes, when I walk around, taking some Photogs, I get a glimpse of him in my pictures. And I’d double take, “Is that...?” and realize my mistake. Before he left, I remember visiting his office for the first time; He had pictures of me and him hung up with the words “Best Kid Ever” written underneath a picture of me and him with my robot (We made it out of plastic bottles!). He even framed a picture I haphazardly drew as a 3 year old, where I painted some mishmash of colors on printing paper. 

He had smooth jazz music playing in the background, and we spoke about things like two old men talking after years apart. “How’s the next presidential candidate doing?” “Only as good as his VP!” We’d joke, but, he knew I wasn’t doing so well with the way my mother and father were being at home. He saw straight through me, and, holding the framed picture he said aloud, “You know, I always joke about how famous you’re going to be someday, but you know what? When you become the president, or whatever you put your mind to; You’ll get an old man coming into your office and he’ll say, “You remember me, sonny?”

I didn’t understand what he had meant by the statement, and so, I laughed it off a bit and just said, “Manny, of course I’ll remember you, how’d I ever forget my first ever friend?” Despite me being so cheery, he smiled a bit sad, placed the framed picture down, and remarked. “I know, kiddo, but I’m not going to be here forever. I wanted to let you know, every time I saw you, I saw myself in you. I didn’t have the same things you did, and sure as heck I didn't have the brain you do, but, you’re one special boy, Chris.” 

I wrote it all in this old ratty journal like some giddy school girl, but, when I look back on it, I miss the fact that there was someone who supported me like he did. Emotionally, I wanted to please someone, I wanted someone to love me when my parents didn’t and tell me “You are needed, you’re special to me. Even if given the choice, I’d never replace you.” 

I miss having someone I could look up to, instead of always being the person everyone looks at as an example, I suppose. I had to take a few moments after writing this part so I can write it just as truthful and legitimate. Turns out, I’ve been keeping it bottled up for so long, I just felt so relieved talking about it!

7. what was your life like last year?

Oh gosh,

Last year was er... Not exactly the best year for me, trust me.

I dealt with a lot of problems besides emotional issues, along with getting more comfortable with myself. I broke up with my ex at the time, and, besides losing contact with people, I had to constantly remind myself not to bottle my emotions. It wasn’t because of my breakup, but more so bottling up my emotions and not giving myself the decency of talking about it or getting it off my chest! I thought I pushed people away because of who I was, when, in reality, it’s just part of life. I took a lot of time out to assess my life, and, life itself. My sociology teacher thought of me as “enlightened” because of that, really! 

To explain, I know now that life is filled with people coming and going in life, but at the same time, there will always be people who gravitate towards you. Usually more than not, they’re the people who stay by you when you least expect it. Things and sayings like that? I’m known for, even when comforting someone or just talking about life in general. I’ve lived a long life filled with both suffering and pleasure, and most people note that with the things I’ve lived with and took up, I’m an old soul in regarding them and observing them.

Besides that, I also had major problems bouncing family duties/issues with an exhausting school schedule that ultimately left me with one class failed and the others at B’s and C’s. My grandfather, who, more or less is my rock besides my grandmother, fell ill with cancer earlier in 2016. It had gotten progressively worse during the school months, and with the emotional issues I got from the problems with my parents such as coming out as Pan/Bi, and a witch, it wasn’t pretty. We also had to deal with financial issues, which, I’ve come to accept. I most likely will have to transfer schools for my four years of school because my college is a tad bit more expensive in the long term than the present. I’m hoping that when I return to the dorms this february it won’t be a tough transfer experience, since because I failed a language class I will either have to retake the course (likely not easy since I do not have my access code to change right now, it’s in the dorms, and, I’ll still be meeting my counselor to discuss the transfer as well) or find something else to satisfy the requirement. I’m also hoping that if anything, if I cannot find a class when I return, I can always then simply take the lesser class filled course I made for myself and simply transfer to my next school and simply then take up whatever needs to be done there, as the transfer school is one of Criminal Justice rather than a liberal arts university I attend now.

In all seriousness, as bad as the last year was, I grew up as well, both in art and in myself! I rewatched and got back into Sailor Moon, and it’s definitely effected me as a persona and understanding my identity, even getting back to my spirituality as a Hindu-Pagan! So, 2016 for me was about learning more about myself while learning to accept myself, flaws and all.

13. how do you feel right now?

Right now? Pretty contemplative, I’m somewhat sad about things that happened in the past, but, I’m more happy that the things that did happen, did, in the end; Had they never, I wouldn't be as strong as I was before. It’s a bit taxing, but, I love that feeling, it reminds me I’m more powerful than I think. I even practiced a bit of some meditation with my goddess, Parvati! It’s a grounding practice I do, so, I’m ready for anything, even if I don’t feel 100%

20. what is your favourite song at the moment?

Actually, it’s Teedra Moses’ “Be Your Girl” ! It speaks a lot about how I feel about someone special I know, if you disregard the whole pronouns thing! I love how smooth it is, but there’s also a remix by Kaytranada here which is more fast paced and techno? Both are pretty dang fluid!

48. turn offs

Easy,

Erotic Beatings, “showers”, “Cleanings”, Assholes (and not the hot kind), Racists, Emo/Grunge? (Like, the whole “I’m better off alone” sort of person, no one loves me/understands me so therefore I must scream. Personally I feel that everyone deserves time alone, but people shouldn't outright push people away unless they hurt them.) Misogyny and classism, People who try to take others down a peg for their religious beliefs (like pagans), aaaand people who hate the idea that mannerisms and lifestyles are “gay” or too “gender” focused. Like when someone thinks a guy who speaks with his hands or crosses his legs are “those™” people.

53. 5 things that make me happy

1.) Getting better at what I do, (Tarot, drawing, writing, etc) and observing it!

2.) Summoning demons/Occult (Gems are an easy way to make me happy!)

3.) Drawing!

4.) Asks, being tagged and tagging my friends,(My friends also counts!) and just knowing I’m acknowledged!

5.) My favorite characters! : Amy Rose/Coco Bandicoot/Beowulf/Princess Peach

Thank you so much for the asks, dude! I sincerely mean it!