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rottendollface · 3 years

Text

Dollhouse.

Character: Zhongli.

Warnings: NSFW, female reader, anal play (reader receiving), unprotected sex, oral sex (reader receiving), masturbation, slight somno, Zhongli is: 1) masturbating while sniffing a handkerchief with stains of your blood; 2) marking you with geo mark; 18+.

Summary: Zhongli went to Snezhnaya in Tartaglia’s company to solve some "business" problems. By chance he had met you, an admiral’s daughter.

Word count: ~ 7654.

Reader’s song: “Nostalgia” by Hako Yamasaki (山崎ハコ) (full version with translation is available on YouTube (sorry, for not putting the link, I don’t know if it’s okay to put it without asking!))

Translations: 1) Finita la commedia - the farce is over; 2) papa, papasha and papochka - father, dad (derogative) and daddy (sexual); 3) surname Mýshkina (short Myshka) - little mouse (verbatim).

• ’… So, yeah, for now we are dropping by her parents party for a little and then I’ll guide you wherever you want,’ Childe said, while fixing a red banner over his left shoulder. He looked more presentable than usual in a black formal uniform with Fatui’s golden badge and some medals shining on his chest. Without his mask and with neatly combed hair he made an impression of decent man, Zhongli decided. Childe smelled strongly with lots of perfume he had applied.

‘Are you dating her?’ Zhongli asked without interest to support the conversation.

'Hell no! Have a mercy on my freaking soul. She is an admiral’s daughter, how am I supposed to date her? Also she is super dumb and naive like a child – no excuse for her plainness, she is not a minor anymore. I tutored her in fencing though, maybe for a two years straight, and I can say that she has gotten a good mind, but her papasha wants her to be nothing, but a breeding stock. Sadly, he will just make her marry one of his friends, and that's all. Finita la commedia, as we say ironically here. She treats me like her puppy, and I do my best to please her, so her papasha will solve my problems and needs. I just tell her about my adventures and buy her various dolls. It’s enough to make her happy. She is fucking loves dolls and has a good collection of that shit. We are gonna gift her something today to get her favor; her parents will appreciate it. You just need to do it if you want your journey to be safe and sound.’

It turned out Childe was a chatterbox. He couldn’t keep his dirty mouth shutted up even for a five minutes, always needed to talk or swear. By now he told Zhongli everything about his beloved siblings, showed hand-maded cards from Teucer and poems written by Tonia. Zhongli prayed for Tsaritsa to make Childe lose his voice, but he got a good health and a strong throat.

'I hope she will like a book as a present,’ to his shame Zhongli didn’t have anything else to gift. Childe embarrased him with a sudden invitation to the party and he got nothing but a “Flowers for Princess Fischl” in his suitcase. Fortunately, it was a whole series in a violet and black wooden box — a limited edition. He wanted to read it, but he was glad to give it to you instead.

'Yes, if it’s not some boring stuff like alchemistry,’ Childe was ready to leave finally.

'You shouldn’t insult her while talking to others,’ Zhongli said to shame Childe. 'I’m sure she is a smart and kind, and you got a filthy tongue, Childe.’

'Chill, mister former Archon, I say nothing but truth, and you are not my mother or Tonia to scold me.’ Childe smirked.

'You wouldn’t be glad if someone had told the same things about Tonia.’

'The reason is simple: I would have sliced their throat wide open immediately. Tonia has someone to stood up for her, and our spoiled kitten hasn’t. World is more rougher than you expected.’

'You are just a bastard, Childe.’ Zhongli summed up and climbed into the carriage.

• Zhongli was surprised, when they couldn’t find you in the ballroom, full of guests and fun. Young people in bright luxurious clothes were dancing polka, driven by coquettish music; elders sat at the long table with emerald green coating on it and played poker; the ones who weren’t playing encouraged gamesters on bigger bets with excited screams. Your house was big, furnished with good taste and harmony. Everything was just right and on it’s place, like in an expensive dollhouse. Everyone were happy to party in your manor; Zhongli heard some words about your parents and about you, every word was filled with tenderness and respect. Childe was confused — he had searched everywhere, but still didn’t find you.

'Where the hell is she?’ he was lost.

'Maybe you should acquaint me with her parents instead?’ suggested Zhongli. Childe waved his hand in irritation.

'To hell with them! She has always liked to play hide-and-seek and act like this society disgusts her. I’m sure she is sitting in her room to crave more attention.’ Childe went to the private rooms, but Zhongli stopped him. He saw a lonely female figure on the balcony and guessed that it might be you. He was right: you shuddered and turned around, when Childe called you by your name.

'You made us seek for you, princess,’ Childe hid his negative emotions and gave you a fake smile. You smiled back and quickly closed a book you had been reading.

'Sorry, I just wanted some fresh air,’ you hugged Childe and kissed him in a cheek three times. You didn’t look happy, but still you were smiling. Zhongli took his time to admire you, a beautiful flower from a cold desert. You were in your place: lived a rich life, attended soirees and dinners, got the best dresses and jewelry. Your pastel pink dress looked ideally on you and showed delicious curves of your body. Your hair was tied up in a bun, two curled locks framed your charming face — a living doll, the best one in your collection were you. You lost courage when you saw an unfamiliar man with Childe.

'Thats my good friend from Liyue, Zhongli,’ Childe introduced him and you reached out your hand for a handshake. Zhongli was surprised a little, but shook your tiny palm carefully.

'Thank you for coming,’ your cheeks flushed with a tender pink shade of embarrassment. 'I hope you will enjoy the party. Mama and papa worked hard to arrange it. And, Childe, I can’t find worthy words to express my gratefulness to you. My maid Arisha has already passed the gifts to me. The doll is beyond beauty. She is in my room now, staying with my most favorite girls. Zhongli, I would like to thank you properly after I finish this book. I’m touched with your attention, and the wooden case looks perfect. It reminds me about the Raiden Shogun doll — my pride — so your gift has a special meaning for me.’

'We are waiting for you, come downstairs.’ Childe pat your head.

'Yes, I just… I need more time. I will come soon. Now, please excuse me,’ guilt sparkled in your eyes. You brought a book to your chest with a fast but elegant motion, and Zhongli noticed the familiar purple cover of “Flowers for Princess Fischl”. You left to the private space of your house, and Zhongli was following you with his sight. Your soft, lovely face with no makeup still stayed before his eyes and warmth of your palm burnt his hand through the expensive leather glove.

'You are such a scoundrel, Childe. You better bite your tongue next time you will talk about her.’ Zhongli wanted to give him a good punch in his conceited face.

'Don’t play a knight in shining armor, Zhongli. I have a feeling that it will turn out you are the only one scoundrel in this room.’ Childe chuckled.

• Zhongli met your parents when he came downstairs. They were amazed that a businessman from a faraway country (as he introduced himself) took his time to pay a visit to their party. Your father, Grigoriy, was a heavy-set old admiral with a round face and mustache with curled ends. His steps were heavy as he lost his agility, and medals on his chest jingled with jocular sound when he tried to dance with your mother, Sofia — another doll in the manor. She had a royal cold appearance and no emotions on her prideful face. Thick hair tied up in a bun, too, makeup accentuated her natural beauty. You took after her, but you were softer, while you mother — was aggressive, her beauty outshined every other female in the ballroom. You were gentle and sweet, like a cake, and Zhongli wondered if he could taste you. He remembered the fine days when he had had a bunch of beautiful singers, dancers, and poets, all types of beautiful women that were ready to serve him. He loved, cherished, and fucked all of them. But you looked even more beautiful than them; your purity and shyness asked to ruin you. He should get a taste of you first as an Archon, an incarnation of strength and perfection.

• Everyone wanted you to join dancing, but you declined all invitations from other men and searched for Childe with panic in your eyes. Tartaglia was busy flirting with some girl, so Zhongli took his place and asked to be your partner. Your face lighted with happiness and relief. Orchestra started playing waltz, and you swayed with Zhongli. You looked so perfect around him: little dove, a beautiful bird he wanted to cage. Your movements were feathery, weightless; your pastel pink dress against his black costume made a perfect opposites; your naked palm in his leather glove again. Your brows were slightly furrowed, as you were focused on dance. One touch of yours was enough to make Zhongli felt arousal burning in his golden veins. It took just one moment for him to make a final decision: you would be his little ballerina. He would return to Liyue only with you. He lost his Gnosis, but the amount of his power was enough to make you an adeptus and paint his eternity with bright colours.

• You were marveled with a mysterious visitor from Liyue. He made the boring party better; the night and the day after were filled with happiness, something strange tickled in your chest. It was the first time you had gotten a book as a present. You read the whole series in three days and cried when the final chapter was over. “Flowers for Princess Fischl” became your favorite story. Every day, you traced the wooden box with your fingers to remember the feelings of reading it. Day by day, you wanted to meet Zhongli again, and when your mother told you that he had accepted an invitation to a dinner, you let out a shriek. You didn’t want to know why your parents would invite him to a dinner with your father’s friends — generals of all kinds — so you immediately started to create an outfit. You chose a simple strapless dress in pistachio shade with salmon pink roses on it and white blouse with ruffles to cover your shoulders. For shoes, you preffered ones in the same shade as the dress. You were confident and beautiful in your state; everything felt good and friendly until your father saw you, scratched his mustache, and killed your mood.

'Another silly dress? You are not a kid anymore, you know. Apply some makeup maybe, I don’t know. Just do something with yourself.’ He chewed a tobacco, then went, leaving you confused and downtrodden. You didn’t feel pretty anymore. Tears formed in the corners of your eyes, and you started to rub them, trying to get rid of the stupid uninvited emotions.

'Oh, Tsaritsa, what happened again?’ your mother just messed up all your attempts to calm yourself. No matter how many times you told yourself that everything was fine and there was no need to cry, everything was wrecked. 'You are such a crybaby, darling, try to collect yourself! Guests will arrive soon, c'mon, go wash your face.’

You went to your bathroom and opened a handle with cold water. It didn’t help. Your cheeks were red, and eyes were puffy. Small drops of blood formed on your bitten bottom lip, and you bit it again, trying to calm down and distract yourself. You sat on your bed, pink, and roses welcomed you with warmth and softness. You glanced at your dolls: cute and beautiful creatures. But the one was the most beautiful among the others — the statuette of Almighty God of Thunder, the heart of your collection. You loved her so much! No other doll could compare to Her Excellency Shogun, a painstaking work of masters from Inazuma, the pinnacle of art. Were you as pretty as your dolls? You didn’t know. You noticed all the glances at your face but had never heard someone calling you beautiful. You had always felt as a ghost. No one noticed if you disappeared in the middle of the conversation or spectacle. There was always someone smarter than you to get all the attention. Everyone wanted you to entertain them: they needed you, when they wanted to hear someone singing or reading a poem, they needed you when they wanted to see someone dancing. You were just a clown: always funny, always sunny. You cared about others, but no one cared about you.

• When you saw Zhongli, you felt that everything became right. All the feelings established and smile bloomed on your face again. If your dress was silly, why Zhongli kept glancing at you? His golden eyes made you feel hot, you tried your best not to glance at him back. His mature figure and gentleman’s behaviour couldn’t leave you incurious. You listened to his stories about being a businessman in Liyue with great interest, a selfish desire to be the only one listener to his words rose up in your chest. All the people around were just a puppets to you, only Zhongli seemed to be real. You hated to amuse people, but Zhongli was an exception. He was the one who deserved to be entertained by you. You luxuriated in his attention, basked in the warmth of his glances.

Someone asked you to sing and you happily agreed. Guitar appeared in your hands, and you started to play, catching the mood. Your delicate fingers were gently pinching tough strings, moving with grace — Zhongli caught every motion of your hands. You performed your favourite song, written by Inazuma’s unknown poet about a woman who lost in her feelings: she wasn’t “her” anymore, wished to become a carefree child again. The dialect of the distant islands sounded simply on your tongue: you were in love with Inazuma, with it’s traditions and unic speech features. You had practiced your pronunciation a lot, so you could sound as a native. All the guests, even your parents, were pleasantly surprised, but you didn’t need their approval — you wanted Zhongli to be a judge to your skills. Oh, Tsaritsa, if only you could sing for him only!

Zhongli was delighted by you, the perfect daughter of art. He e needed you as his songbird. He would teach you everything about traditional Liyue art, so you could gratify him. He would also gladly show you the art of love, so beautiful evenings could be changed on passionate nights. He had already imagined how beautiful you would been looking in Liyue’s clothes with expensive exquisite jewelery. He would dote on you, he would do everything for you. He needed just one word… just one word from this talented rosy lips. You would sing to him your favourite Inazuma’s songs and he would tell you the forgotten history of this patient world. Your beauty became more intense when you got a guitar and your entrancing voice started to narrate a story. He was right about you, and this bastard Childe should lose his rotten tongue.

He wished to have you right there on this table. He wanted to see your reaction on his body: his arms and his dick were black, with golden tracery. He wanted to know, what would you do when you get a chance to know that Rex Lapis himself was astonished by your beauty, but for now he only complimented you. He skillfully handled with his words, he made you feel prideful. Zhongli wanted you to know how good and perfect you were, and you believed him.

'Lady Myshkina, you were wonderful!’ One of generals exclaimed. Oh, Celestia! Your surname was too cute to bear. Zhongli felt resistless urge to spoil you — a cute lady should have cute costumes and dresses. He could bet you looked lovely while eating sweets. His mousy… he would call you only like this.

• You had lost a part of your soul when the dinner went over and you returned to your room. Zhongli wasn’t here anymore, but your body was still excited. The familiar heat between your legs made you uncomfortable. You were tired from all the events and needed to wake up early tomorrow because of the lessons in your female gymnasium, but you needed to feel something pressed against your clit. Unsure, you removed your white lace shorts. You had always felt dirty and guilty after touching yourself this way: you were sure that pretty dolls didn't masturbate. As much as you wanted to be a pretty doll, you needed to please your pussy before your wetness would start marking your underwear. Simple circular motions were enough to make your toes curl in pleasure. You covered your mouth to muffle accidental moans. You were imagining Zhongli’s fingers tracing your wet folds, teasing the entrance of your pussy and then sliding two digits inside, thumb still pressed against your puffy clit as you worked up your tight walls. Your nipples hardened, begged to cover them with a mouth, but you didn’t touch them: a friction between sensitive skin and textile made it better. You whispered Zhongli’s name and immediately felt your pussy tightening around your fingers and sucking them deeper. All your holes needed to be stuffed: your mouth, your pussy and ass pleaded for his dick to fuck you deep inside. Your lewd fantasies made you cum over your fingers, your muscles were clenching like it would be no tomorrow. You wished he could see you now: breathing heavy, with legs wide open and welcoming him to use you, already wet, and worked up for him. You didn’t want to leave the bed to clean yourself: soon you would wet again, as a reminder of every dirty thought in your head. Still you found some energy to take a quick shower.

Zhongli heard all your pleas, and even saw you. This ability, that were saved after losing a Gnosis, worked too good to his shame. At first he got scared – did something bad happened to you? But then he heard more interesting sounds. Oh, he shouldn’t let himself to pry in this nasty way, but he didn’t feel any guilt. It was your wish afterall, and he simply fulfilled it. So exposed and vulgar, with legs opened wide and fingers inside your pretty cunny — he accidentally discovered new sides of your personality.

• He appeared in your room as you wanted. You were sleeping, exhausted from cumming so hard for him. Zhongli wouldn’t let you go this easy if he was fucking you. His appetite was big — he was alone for a hundreds of years, but he didn’t search for a fuck-toy, he wished for someone more than a usual sexual partner: an interesting person who could make his human life easier and better. Zhongli went to your bed and sat on the edge to have access to your body. You slept on your back, one hand above your head, and other — hanging out, such a small craddle for a princess like you. You looked like a docile little angel, who found her rest on the cloud. Zhongli was afraid to disturb your dreams, but he traced his fingers on your neck and moved to the white lace top on your chest. Your nipples still were hard, could be easily seen through the clothes: he carefully moved the tissue up to have a look on your bare tits. What a beautiful sight. Zhongli pressed a kiss on both of your breasts, licked a nipple and sucked on it, massaging the sensitive bulge with tip of his tongue and lips — he would gladly decorate your nipples, a true perfection. He was helping his mousy and made her seem joyful dreams. You sighed in your sleep, and his mouth left. Your body was so soft and smooth, like a marshmallow: Zhongli wanted to squeeze it with his hug. So innocent and at the same time so vulgar and ready for his cock — such a good little girl. You hid your pussy from his sight, but he could feel the warmth between your legs. Your thighs needed his head between them; your small hole asked for his long dragon tongue. Zhongli wanted you so bad, but he was a gentleman to his misfortune. He would let himself only place small kisses on your sleeping body; for more, he needed your active consent. He touched your lips with his, couldn’t stop himself from licking them. So sweet — you made him drunk with your body. Soft and submissive — you were created for him.

• Zhongli couldn’t leave you with nothing, so he gifted you with Geo mark on the back of your neck. You were safe with it: only people with elemental sight could see a dull golden glow from it. Also it gave him better access to your body: he could feel your emotions, take your pain and even please you through this mark. Interactions with Geo would send a pleasurable impulses to your muscles. Every time you would decide to play with your pussy Zhongli would know it. If someone had touched you, Zhongli would know it and help you get rid of this person.

Liyue was a country with developed language of love, it was normally for lovers to buy various sex toys and intimated accessories for their needs. Zhongli got a big collection of anal plugs with gems, handcuffs, collars, gags, harnesses of all kinds, even feathers to tickle the most sensitive parts. His favourite were body chains with clips for nipples. He adored bondage, loved his women tied up and fucked properly, with dazzling gems decorating their bodies. Zhongli needed you to join his luxurious lust. It was the only right scenario for your future in his head.

• You weren’t happy with visiting the gymnasium again: you were the youngest in your group and interactions with teachers had always made you nervous. You preffered to study by yourself. What about teachers… You even got nightmares with flashbacks of Childe tutoring you in fencing — he was cruel and forced you to push all your limits to fit his standards. He didn’t care about your health and even got irritated whenever you started to choke and fell off your feet in fatigue. Thanks to Tsaritsa, he became a Harbinger and his busy schedule couldn’t let him tutor you again.

'Nice earrings, Myshka,’ the coolest (and the oldest) girl in your group looked at you, 'Where did you get them?’

'Thank you, it was a present from my papa.’ You smiled to her.

'Papa or papochka?’ She and her friends burst into laughter.

'That’s not funny.’ You weren’t offended with their improper fun, but it made you feel annoyed. Such a vulgarity.

'Oh, c'mon, we all are girls here, no need to sham.’

'I don’t have such a relationships.’ You twisted your lips.

You didn’t plan to find friends here, you just wanted to be nice, but failed. You wished to go home as soon as you could and relish the quiet peace of your room. Of course it would be better if Zhongli had suddenly met you on the streets and took you to a cosy pastry-shop — you would like to eat an extremely creamy buns or cakes with a cup of tasty coffee. You rubbed a back of your neck, as you always did when you were thinking about something, then felt a sudden impulse of pleasure hit your body and almost made you jump.

'But did you have sex at least? You can’t be serious!’

'Why would you ask something like this?!’ Your cheeks flushed, and all the girls cooed tenderly at your innocence. Thanks to Blessed Tsaritsa, your group was small: an oldest pretty from a wealthy family, two of her friends and you. 'That’s toxic!’

'Don’t take it too seriously,’ she smiled and waved her hands with dark red nails, 'I’m just amused, nothing toxic. May I paint your nails for reconciliation?’

'I don’t think it will suit me,’ you looked at your bare nails, short and naturally pink. 'That’s not my style.’

'You should try it.’ She sat near you and opened a small bottle of the nail polish.

'You are so cute, like a living doll!’ said one of her friends. 'Why don’t you wear makeup? You would be like ten times cuter with it.’

'My beauty is enough.’

'You just don’t understand, give me a second.’

Their simplicity surprised you in a good way; still, it was uncomfortable for you. It was cool to experiment with your look, but just once. On the final step, the girl with a lipstick (to your shame, you didn’t remember their names), let your hair down.

'So beautiful! I’m always right, just look at her!’

They were happy to see the result of their work, and you were in a deep shock. You didn’t change, but the little shade of red lipstick on your lips made all of your features more delicate. You liked it too and thanked them, noted in your head to buy a box of cinnamon rolls to show your appreciation.

• Zhongli wated for you not so far enough from the gymnasium. He saw your trendy orange swing coat from far away, smiled to himself: it wouldn’t be easy to have a girl like you. His style was poor — only black formal clothes. When he finally met you, he saw a beret in neutral light brown shade on your small head, but your academic shoes on tiny heels took all his attention: your legs looked wonderfully, he was dying to see your bare feet. Of course, Zhongli took you to the best pastry shop. Thanks to his mark, he could spy a little on you and understand your cravings. You were seductive in your new outfit; your light-red lips took a lot of self-control from Zhongli: he wanted to roughly roam your body and kiss your lips until they swell.

'I’m so happy! Maybe I will sound silly, but I wanted to meet you in informal atmosphere.’ You giggled nervously, curled your lips a little to calm blustering emotions.

'To be honest, I wanted the same.’ Zhongli knew exactly how to make an impression on you. His deep, low voice made your heart beating faster; he could feel your growing arousal through his mark. You didn’t know how embarrassed your face and eyes looked. It seemed his manner of speech and his tone were too sensual, voluptuous even.

'I’m… I’m glad to hear that,’ you looked down on your lavender latte with whipped cream on top. 'Talking about “Flowers for Princess Fischl”, I enjoyed the whole series. I don’t remember last time when a simple book made me so emotional.’

'I knew you would like it,’ Zhongli smiled tenderly. 'I want to know more about you. Don’t you mind share your interests with me?’

'Nothing special… I like to learn new dances, especially traditional one, and play in a gymnasium's theatre. Sometimes I’m searching new songs to play on my guitar, or practicing Inazuma’s dialect. Anyway my interest are related to art. What about you?’

'Similar to yours, but I prefer to behold, not to create. I’m addicted to collecting beautiful things. It could be anything: a poem, a material object and et cetera. In Liyue I’m mostly known as a historical consultant. No one knows it’s traditions and history better than me.’

'That’s so interesting! I hope you will stay in Snezhnaya for a long period of time, so we will have a chance to talk about our countries!’ The elation in your eyes made his heart melt. 'My theatre is going to have a performance in five days. Would you like to visit our play?’

'Of course, my dear friend.’

'Thank you! I will play a nomadic dancer from Sumeru, so I would like to ask you to do something for me.’ Your cheeks turned red, so Zhongli understood what you wanted to ask. 'Do you know Sumeru's history as good as Liyue's?’

'Yes.’

'Well, can you rate my dance? From a historical position, of course! I want everything to be perfect from my part.’

'That’s a great honor for me to judge your mastership. You can count on me.’

You knew what you were doing — Zhongli was sure you didn’t need his judgement and help. You just wanted him to watch you, and finally fulfil your erotic desire to entertain a mature man in a half-sexual way. This idea was great and totally safe for you: no one would shame you for this, because it was just a work.

• You waited for Zhongli in a small gym inside your gymnasium. You told him the safest route and locked the door behind him so no one could disturb you. You were already dressed in your dance cotume: black strapless top from diaphanous textile but not transparent enough to discern your breasts and pants of the same type. On your hips, there was a tassel belt embroidered with gems. Golden bracelets shined on your hands. You took a saber, ready to perform.

'I hope a saber is a props.’ Zhongli strained.

'My papa doesn’t own fake weapon.’ You smiled. 'Please press on the button.’

Zhongli turned on a record player. Driven by the music, you started the dance from working with your belly muscles, rolling them under your velvet skin. Drawing tracery with your free hand (the other kept the saber close to your chest), you involved your hips, shaking them slowly. You waved the saber around your body and then placed it on your head carefully. You kept the perfect balance, light movements of your shoulders, belly, and hips bewitched Zhongli, intoxicated him with desire. Flexible, you wiggled like a snake, showing him all the beautiness of your body and filled the dance with your charm. Again, the saber was in your hands, outlined your delicious figure with a sharp blade — you weren’t afraid of hurting yourself, leaned to the saber, and used it to enhance your loveliness. The costume fitted your curves and showed all the advantages of your petite figure. Near the end of the performance, you accidentally cut your hand but didn’t pay attention. With the final chords, you took the pose as a true master, only then looked at the bleeding cut and curled your lips in irritation.

'Let me do this for you,’ Zhongli wiped off your blood with his handkerchief. 'You were amazing. I’ve never seen such a wonderful dance in my life. Should I find something to disinfect the cut?’

'You flatter me.’ You looked at your cut to avoid his eyes. 'No, it’s fine. It’s not deep.’

Happiness and satisfaction left you, stepped back to let the guilt destroy your tiny heart. You hated yourself every time you did something on your will and not by your parents' instructions; you felt guilty and ungrateful. You weren’t a master of your fate: you were too scared to decide for yourself, preferred to live without changes — because it could become worse. You needed someone to make all the decisions for you, someone older and smarter than you, who would gladly become your daddy. You wanted to hear that everything was okay and you didn’t do something bad. You just needed someone who would save all your secrets. The only thought that you had just disgraced your family burnt you from inside. What would he think about you after this? He knew that you tried to seduce him and wanted to infatuate him. Your dollhouse weren’t perfect anymore; the reputation of your family was in danger — and everything because of the one little doll, who couldn’t hold her lust under her skirt. Suddenly, you felt better; all the thoughts evaporated out of your head. Your heart weren’t aching anymore, and things became alright. Strange euphoria took you, filled your brain with pleasurable thoughts. Zhongli said that you did amazing. He was worrying about you. He wanted to know you better. You felt like he patted your head to calm you, but it was just your imagination.

Zhongli was surprised with your complicated feelings and tried his best to take them away and replace them with good emotions. You were too pure for him; he didn’t deserve to have you. It was time to explain everything to you, but he couldn’t even think about it. He was sure it would scare you, but he was the only man who could give you everything you wanted. You knew this — you felt this.

He saved a handkerchief with the stains of your blood. The color changed, but your scent was strong. This annoying peculiarity was saved from his dragon origin: he was addicted to scents, and blood wasn’t just an iron to him. Blood had different shades and mixes of tastes and fragrances for him. The aroma of your blood was breathtaking – ashamed of himself, Zhongli just buried his nose in the dark stains, filled his lungs with the memories of you. The perfect balance between sweetness and bitterness, the odor of a young nymph. He imagined your aroma on his skin, on his bedsheets, and even on his clothes — lust smelled the same. Zhongli pressed his hand on his crotch and traced his excited erection with fingers slowly. He should hurry with you before another period of heat would cover him. He teased himself for too long: he watched after you, hoping to see your vulgar state again. He loved to watch how you were taking a bath or changed your clothes: it was normal for you to stay fully naked in front of your wardrobe and think about your outfit. How gracefully you put your panties and stockings on, prepared yourself to be a good mousy. Sometimes, you acted naughty, argued with your parents, even refused to eat or talk with them until they succumb to you — Zhongli would gladly punish you for this inappropriate behavior. His dick asked for relief. Zhongli unzipped his pants, pulled off a glove with his teeth, and squeezed a lube on his hand before taking his dick. Pumping it slowly, he imagined your tight cunny satisfying him. Zhongli held back his low growls, massaged his sensitive tip, and replaced his hand with your small fingers in his fantasies. So lewd and scandalous — He, an Archon, was masturbating on memories of a some mortal girl while sniffing to a handkerchief with her blood. His affection towards you was sick: you were a baby to him: his at least six thousand years against your early twenties. Too pure, too naive, and less of life experience compared to his regrets and all the violence he did to become an Archon. He needed just the one word from your innocent lips to destroy you, the one word to force himself inside your tight hole and make you nothing, but a whimpering mess. Memories of your cute noises and your shaking hips made him fuck his fist faster, clench fingers to imitate your walls. He came all over his fingers, but it wasn’t enough – such a waste of his precious cum. He would tell you everything tomorrow, let you perform, and then take you to Liyue. He needed you more than everyone else — he wouldn’t leave you here; such a talented pearl should belong to him. Zhongli was confused why you didn’t have a Vision with your talents. Were the other Archons blind? Sadly, he couldn’t grant you with his Vision anymore, but he would make sure to fill you with Geo energy so you could cast simple spells.

• Zhongli chose his territory to explain you everything. You accepted his invitation, even skipped lessons in your gymnasium to see him – always such a good mousy for him. Your cheeks were blushing: momma had always taught you that a girl shouldn’t visit a man in his apartment. You trusted Zhongli, knew that he was a good man, so you risked and violated her rule.

Another trendy outfit — only Tsaritsa knew how much clothes and fantasy you had. You nervously sat on a couch to see him, played with the hem of your dress with your knees tightly pressed to each other.

'You wanted to talk about something,’ you finally glanced at him.

'Yes,’ you heard his voice and immediately moved your sight on your knees. 'I think you understand that I love you, so I want to know what do you feel about me.’

Zhongli was ready for your refusal — he would simply use his power to affect on your decision. You were shocked: your eyes rounded and pretty lips opened a little. He could see it in your eyes how you tried to understand his words, thinking, that it was a joke.

'I…’ you finally understood that Zhongli was serious, 'Oh fuck…’

It was the first time you let such a rude word escape your mouth. Zhongli was surprised to hear that, but he didn’t judge you.

'So, before your final answer I would like to warn you about something. I’m the former Geo Archon. I needed to tell this to you to explain some peculiarities in my body and behavior.’ Zhongli, as opposite, was calm.

'Does Childe know this?’ You asked him to understand the seriousness of information.

'Yes.’

'Are you joking me? I heard that Rex Lapis is dead, still you can’t just… Tell me you can’t, how is this supposed to be true? A Geo Archon left his duties and took a pleasant trip to Snezhnaya with his bestie Childe, and accidentally fell in love with some girl?’ You furrowed your brows in disbelief. Zhongli giggled — in fact, you were right. Everything was just like you said, despite the fact, that Childe was his bestie.

'Childe… let’s say it like this: Childe did some things in Liyue, and I asked him nicely to be my companion in this business trip. My goal was a pleasant conversation with Tsaritsa. We had a talk yesterday and she had kindly asked me to enjoy her beautiful country as long as I want. Snezhnaya is a very good place, but my heart burns with desire to return to Liyue. This is why I invited you today. I want you to go with me. The burden of my origin won’t hurt you. No one knows that I was an Archon except the people I can trust, and Childe. All of them have signed a non disclosure contract. I understand that I might be your first lover, so I wanted to be honest with you from the very beginning.’

You were silent. Of course you loved him and wanted to accept his suggestion, but you felt so strange and sinful: of course it wasn’t your fault that you had imagined a Geo Archon in your dreams. Still you were a human — a doll, a one of thousands he had had in his life. A doll, that could be easily broken and left behind. Again you felt so small and helpless for him, like a little girl. He spoke so beautifully like his words were made of gold, and you were sure that he knew better what was the best for you. Yes, he left his title, but still he was an Archon — his wise and power would follow him forever.

'Of course I love you too… mister Zhongli!’ Your cheeks reddened. You couldn’t call him only by his name anymore — it wasn’t respectfully.

'You loved me as a human, so no need to be formal, my mousy,’ he opened his arms for you, and you ran into his tight hug.

• Buzzing streets of Liyue were colourful and unusual for you, you didn’t see nothing similar to this in Snezhnaya. Traditional clothes looked perfect on you: Zhongli admired your figure in bright dresses made from the best silk. He spoiled you badly, bought the best jewelry and toiletry for you, so you could shine around and make people look at you in awe. Zhongli weren’t afraid to say that you looked even better than Ningguang. Zhongli taught you traditions of Liyue's art, and every evening you performed for him. He loved when you read him a poem, or narrated a legend about Rex Lapis to please his ego. You were skillful with your sharp tongue and living mind, teased him on purpose so he could punish you for being arrogant and disobeying him. You knew Zhongli had preferred not to hear a reminder of how prideful he was. He took you on every dinner with his business partners, introduced you only like his wife, so all of them would be jealous of him. You did your best to look more beautiful with every meeting to feed his ego. Zhongli smirked to himself every time he had heard someone talking about your pair. Your mind remembered all the information he had told you: you were a beautiful and smart outlander — a mystery to the conservative society of Liyue.

• You craved for him every night, like you were the one in heat. Zhongli guided you with patience and sadistic urge to tease your body. He tested your limits, reduced you to a whimpering mess, made you drunk on his cock. It started sweet and innocent every time: Zhongli placed soft kisses on your cheeks to thank you for another show you had put for him, then found your needy lips. His kisses were slow and sensual, made you wet every time his tongue slipped into your mouth. Zhongli kissed all the sensetive parts of your body: sucked on your nipples gently, traced them with his wet tongue then massaged them with his thumb, preparing them for clips. He loved you on your knees with all of your holes fully exposed to him and ready to take everything he would give. Zhongli usually started from your ass, teasing tight muscles with warmth of his tongue, made them supple so he could slip inside a plug with dazzling gem, and finally moved to your dripping pussy. Zhongli traced your wet folds from entrance up to your sensitive clit, licked it a few times with the tip of his tongue, then fully covered with mouth, sucked on it gently. He moved to your entrance, plunged your hole, and let his tongue deep inside to taste you fully, his hands squeezed soft flesh of your trembling thighs. Your moans and screams, the way you tangled your fingers at his hair were Zhongli’s best reward. He tried his best not to overstimulate you, but it was impossible. Your body was too sensitive for his love; you could cum from the simplest manipulations: your greedy hole clenched around nothing, inviting Zhongli to take you. You were made for him: your legs around his waist looked just right; your pussy that tried so hard to take him in one go, your small body against his strong figure towering on you, his heavy hands pulling the chain of the clips on your tits for better stimulation — it all was magical. Zhongli was pounding in your tight cunt in steady rhythm, his muscles strained in pleasure of feeling wetness and warmness of the female body after hundreds of years he had spent alone. You were too good to feel: the young fairy he had chained and locked inside his golden cage of luxury and lust. Sometimes, he thought that he became addicted to your pussy, to your aroma, to the every motion of your body – you were the beautiful gift he could unwrap and devour again and again. Nothing could replace the sensation of your cunt sucking him deeper and trembling around his dick in your orgasm, trying to milk him and make him stain your insides white. Such a pity he laughed tenderly at your ear only, preparing you for another round.

• Heat covered Zhongli twice a year and rose all primal instincts in him. A gentle and loving Zhongli was gone when time had come. He didn’t even bother with decorating your body, hungrily crumpled your lips with his, hands cupped your breasts, pinched your sensetive nipples as he wanted you to squirm under him, admit a dominant in him. There was no chance for you to refuse or run away: he caged you in his hands, your body — so soft and amenable, it drove him crazy — was pressed under him. Zhongli sucked and bit on your throat to leave hickeys, marked you as his, so everyone could see whom you belonged to. His movements were fast and rough, and you were taking him deep as a good girl. Your moans made him thrust into you harder, your hands tangled in bedsheets — you tried to adjust to his now fast and sinister pace, but it was too much for your cunny. You could feel Zhongli becoming bigger: your pussy was stretching around his dick, tried to fit his size, and make a room for him. He hitted all the right spots and filled all the available space. You creamed so many times you couldn’t even count, a ring of your cream on his cock, your ruined state with your back arching and drool leaking down your chin pleased Zhongli enough to cum inside, fill you to the brim. He needed just a seconds to become ready for another round and rate how beautifully thick shots of his cum were dripping out your abused hole. You rolled on your belly, tried to crawl away, but Zhongli caught you by your thighs, pulled you down on his cock again. He wouldn't stop until your lower belly would be rounded from all the cum he had placed inside your body. His instincts needed to be satisfied, and only you, as his mate, could help him with it. After all, you were his little songbird, that he would toy with forever and ever.

#genshin smut #genshin x reader #genshin impact smut #zhongli smut #zhongli x reader #zhongli x female reader #genshin fic

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bukojuiice · 4 years

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ʚ Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki cramming school works with their S/O ɞ *‧.₊˚*੭*ˊᵕˋ੭.*

izuku, katsuki, and shoto x gn! reader ♡

｡⋆ʚ♡⃛ɞ These are some extremely self-indulgent hcs LMAO i’m currently consumed by a lot of school works and extracurricular activities, so i decided to take the time and write some of these up! this the first batch of hcs i’ve ever made so i hope you bear with some errors! i hope you enjoy!

hopefully i get to write more about the other bnha bois/girls soon so please also stay tuned for that!

if you like to see more from me, i have an ongoing bakugo x fem reader! smau called cuddle buddy! read it here! ( ु•⌄• )

✧ Izuku is very smart and hardworking so you’ve barely seen him cram any school work or tasks since the two of you started going out.

✧ Soft bby boi knows how to balance his workload from school whilst still being able to spend time with you.

✧ Now here were the two of you, partners for a huge science project that would serve as your midterms for the subject.

✧ Both of you were tasked to take care of two chicken eggs and treat them as your children. Draw faces on them, make them wear clothes, give them names and describe their personalities... literally treating them like actual babies.

✧ You were whining about it at first because it felt like an elementary project instead of something first year high school students (and those in the hero program for that matter) would do.

✧ Izuku remained positive however and reassured you that it was going to be a lot of fun.

✧ You were still salty and unimpressed by the project, but you couldn’t help but melt because of how cute Izuku was and how excited he was for this task. He really wanted to spend a lot of time with you and he was so so happy that you two were partnered for this project.

✧ Because it was midterms week, you were swarmed with tons and tons of stuff to do, so the two of you decided to finish everything else first then deal with the science project at the end of the week because it was the “easiest”. Boy.. were the both of you so so wrong.

✧ Izuku goes up to your room in the dorm so that the both of you can work on the project quietly, yet as he enters, he sees you panicking and running around the room, your camera hanging around your neck, holding two half-cracked eggs with weirdly sewn clothes and faces that looked like they were scribbled from sharpies.

✧ “Izu-kun... can you help me take pictures of our kids for the baby photobook?

✧ He was about to faint on the spot from fantasizing about his future with you.

✧ “Of course! hand me All Might Jr. first so you can take a picture of his cute little sister!”

✧ Yes, your first born eggo is named after All Might. It was Izuku’s decision and you wanted to support him.

✧ You spent all day taking pictures, printing them, designing them and pasting them on the photo album. It was finally nighttime and the both of you are terribly exhausted and mentally drained.

✧ You and Izuku had creative minds so you were able to create the perfect photo album.

✧ Several hours have passed and Izuku still can’t stop thinking of the future he was going to have with you. What a cutie.

✧ After submitting and passing the photobook to the drop box Ilda left in the living room, Izuku goes up again to your room and is surprised by the sight of you sleeping soundly on your bed.

✧ He comes up to you, kisses your forehead and whispers these soft words to you:

✧ “I can’t wait to tell our future kids how I met you.”

✧ Bakugo Katsuki has never crammed a school work or project in his entire life.

✧ You on the other hand, procrastinated a lot, yet could still pass tasks on time. Although, Katsuki still reprimands you for it. Calling you “dumb butt” instead of the usual name callings he uses whenever talking to your classmates which is “dumb ass”

✧ He is your boyfriend so it’s not that much of a surprise, it’s just that you’re a bit shocked that he would be really really soft on you. It’s such a sweet gesture though.

✧ After binging a entire series on Netflix the other day, and because he couldn’t resist your pleas of begging him to watch this show with you, it completely slipped from the both of your minds that you had a dance project to work on for your Physical Education class.

✧ You immediately panicked, and Bakugo began to show his usual hot-headed side of him and scolded you for it. Despite him forgetting about it too.

✧ The two of you were going to film yourselves dancing to the Cha Cha dance style and you had a day to create the raw video without edits.

✧ You suggested that the two of you practice by uploading your videos to Tiktok and ask for advice from the professionals who posted their videos there too

✧ “Katsuki-kun do you think we should upload our videos to Tiktok?”

✧ “Absolutely fucking not.”

✧ After watching a few beginner dance practice videos on Youtube, Katsuki immediately got the hang of it.

✧ Your man had the moves. He really was good at everything.

✧ You couldn’t help but stare at him as he continues to sway and follow the steps without missing a beat.

✧ Bakugo smirks at you, “Like what you see?”

✧ “Get your mind out of the gutter.” You threw a pillow at him as his tease came out of nowhere.

✧ Since you were quite a slow-learner, it took a few hours before you got the hang of the first routine.

✧ In those few hours, you probably have stepped on Bakugo’s toes a few hundred times and a few hundred fucks were cursed out of his mouth every time it happened.

✧ He was still patient with you though in his own little way. Constantly scolding you every time you made a mistake, but never made you feel guilty for it.

✧ You were able to finish recording the raw video by evening. A few hours to spare before the deadline. Either way, the both of you were exhausted when the adrenaline finally died down.

✧ “I can’t wait to dance with you again like this. Maybe Waltz or Ballroom next time?”

✧ “You’re a shitty dancer so don’t expect it to happen anytime soon.”

✧ “Then again, I’m dancing with you. So it doesn’t matter if you’re bad. The important thing is, it’s going to be special since I’m with you.”

✧ And at that moment, you could feel your heart explode from all these soft emotions.

✧ Shoto was naturally smart. He could finish a lot of tasks in a few hours without getting distracted. That was his strategy ever since he was in Elementary. Getting things done right away and getting flawless remarks and grades on them.

✧ But ever since the two of you got together, he insisted that the two of you would do your school works together. So, every night, whenever there was homework, you would immediately yeet over to Shoto’s room to answer the tasks with him.

✧ It’s really cute. Not only do the two of you get to bond together but, you were helping each other too. It was the ideal relationship.

✧ Shoto is very particular with a lot of fancy things, so he even has this humidifier in his room with your favorite scent so that the both of you can calmly continue your work. He even has a comforter sprawled upon the floor so that you could sit comfortably. How sweet of him ;w;

✧ This time around though, the two of you were partnered up for to answer a elaborate math problem that you were going to present the next day.

✧ You exceled in your subjects with Math being your weakest point, sometimes even getting unfavorable grades on the subject. Shoto was the exact opposite though. Which wasn’t surprising because he needed to be good for his quirk. How far his fire can go, the trajectory of his ice and all that jazz.

✧ He wasn’t disappointed that he was partnered with you for this though, despite it being your weakness. In fact he couldn’t be happier. As long as he was spending time with you.

✧ After reading through the problem and finding the formula, you were already stressed out. Todoroki took notice of this immediately and decided that the two of you should take a break first. He brings you to the convenience store near the dorm. Your hand holding his as he tells you that you could buy any snack you want.

✧ Using his father’s credit card of course.

✧ After coming back from the store, the two of you decided to head straight back to the math problem. It was very very complicated, especially since the two of you had to divide the work because it was required for the project for the two of you to evenly contribute to it. It was a math problem your braincells couldn’t take anymore.

✧ “Shoto-kun, I can’t take this anymoreee.” You whined, resting your head on his shoulder.

✧ “Come on (Y/N), just a little bit more. We’re almost finished.”

✧ Shoto was finished with his part of the solution, while you were still struggling. It took the whole night to do so but you were able to answer it eventually.

✧ The next day, it was finally time for the presentation. Shoto was able to present his solution perfectly, while you had some slip-ups and mistakes here and there. The both of you didn’t get a good grade because of that... but to him, it didn’t matter.

✧ “I’m sorry for dragging you into this. It’s my fault we got a bad grade.”

✧ “It’s alright (Y/N). It doesn’t matter. As long as I get to experience something different with you and spend time with you every single day, I’m happy and contented.

✧ You were so blessed to have someone like Todoroki Shoto in your life. What did you to deserve such a precious and kind boyfriend?

-End. ♡‧₊˚

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teatimewithhogs · 4 years

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“BHA if it was even wackier and more wholesome” an Epithet Erased Review

Written by Noswald95 20/11/2020

(The Writer is aware that they are writhing this way after the series’s release date and what the writer calls the ‘hyped up’ period in which large quantities of fans and watchers will gush about how great/bad a show is by frequently posting thoughts and meme material on social media within a week’s time after the show has been aired.)

(The Writer is writing this in an attempt to polish their writing skills and hopefully have something to add to their skill portfolio, and now for the review proper)

Epithet Erased is a 7-episode animated Indie show from the whimsical mind of Brendan Blader who has an online presence on Youtube through his Channel Jelloapocaylpse, where he uploads an assortment of animations and animated critiques about various cartoons and anime. But that’s not really important right now.

Epithet Erased stands out from the rest of the animated Indie darlings by being unique in it’s animation style… which is to say it uses less animation. Indeed,with the exception of the shows opening and a handful of scenes in the shows runtime (courtesy of the fine animators from powerhouse studios), Most of show’s format resembles a visual novel or dating sim.

Most surprisingly, this format works very well, and it’s complemented by it’s cast, story and characters that all combines together into something that is truly worth a piece of your time.

The World of Epithet Erased takes place in a world much like our own except that a portion of the world’s population are born with superpowers known as Epithets. (Think My Hero Academia without the focus of institutionalized heroism).

Molly Blyndeff, our initially unwilling protagonist of the show has fallen asleep inside a museum and wakes up to find herself involved in heist of dastardly proportions full of danger, mystery, and heart to heart sewing circles.

Writing wise, the story of Epithet Erased strikes a fine line between wacky and interesting by presenting a great story that would honestly feel right at home with any cartoon television network.

It’s also full of the sort of tongue and cheek humor that tickles that funny bones of millenials who have a refined taste for smart jokes and existential nihilism. Jokes that would not have hit as hard if not for the delivery made by the show’s characters.

Like a box of crayons, the shows cast are a colour bunch characters each with their own charming personality which brought to life by show’s great voice talents. From Molly’s timid yet adorable personality played by seasoned anime dubber Dani Chambers to the unrelentingly loyal and often times dumb muscle that is Indus Tarabella played seasoned non-anime dubber Anthony Sardinha.

Back to the presentation format, as mentioned before, the show uses a visual novel sort of look (minus the text bubbles, but you can turn on the captions for funny lines of narration). Characters are limited to full body sprites that have a set amount of expressions that change depending on what character is saying.

For movement, character “move” their sprite forms from one place to the next or they’re reduced to small portraits on a map when conveying large distances. No fancy shot angles here, no siree.

The latter might sound more like something out of a tabletop game rpg and you’d be right. Blader has admitted that the idea for Epithet Erased came from a modified Dungeons and Dragons that he ran with friends.

The music of Epithet Erased is nothing to scoff at either. True it does not have access to an entire orchestra at their disposal like a certain absorbent yellow sea creature. But what the show does have in the music department is rather catchy to the ear. Such as the various character’s theme music and the show’s outro: “We’re great at crime.”.

In conclusion and if you mind my repeating myself, Epithet Erased is an unconventional animated show that’s a clearly a labour of love what with it’s stellar cast, delightful music and wonderful writing that leaves the audience wanting for more.

Although the show does not a have a definitive release date, or even a production date for that matter for season 2. Blader has a patreon account that fans could contribute to support him and his hopes of getting enough funds for another season.

#epithet erased #review #it'snotjustanotherfiletoaddtomyportfolioidolikethisshow

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kerikaaria · 4 years

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If I Never Met You: Chapter 9

(??? X Reader) Idol!AU, Manager!Reader

Genre: (PG13) Slight fluff

WC: 2.8k

Warnings: Someone’s a bit rude, but it’s not bad

Series Masterlist

Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10

Sejin oppa and I walked into the meeting room where we were meeting the team helping with pre-debut promotion ideas. Sejin gestured for me to introduce myself.

“Hello,” I greeted, bowing. “I’m (L/n) (Y/n), a manager-in-training. Nice to meet you.”

A few people greeted back with hellos, but I am pretty sure I heard someone whisper, “Yeah, we know who you are,” under their breath.

Sejin oppa placed a hand on my back, seeming to notice me tense up and we sat down while the meeting started. The team started discussing some ideas they had thought of, but none seemed to sound like they’d work, either to Sejin oppa or to the woman who seemed to be the head of their team, who I heard being called Ms. Lee.

I wanted to wait until everyone had said their piece, not wanting to just offer something they already came up with. But also because I was still feeling really nervous. When it seemed like there were no more ideas coming from others, Sejin oppa gently nudged me with his elbow.

I gathered all my courage before saying, “If I may, I have an idea.”

All their eyes focused on me, which definitely did not help my case of nerves. “Of course, go ahead,” Ms. Lee said with a smile.

“Well,” I started. “I feel like social media is really crucial. A large amount of people use it, especially teenagers and young adults. Primarily Twitter and YouTube seem to be very useful platforms that could potentially help.”

As I paused to take in a steadying breath, I heard one of the staff mutter, “Of course the college student would think of social media first.”

I watched Ms. Lee give a warning look to the staff, who wasn’t even looking at me. I was definitely shaken up by the comment. I didn’t know how many of these people thought poorly of me for my lack of experience, so my words may have been falling on deaf ears.

Sejin placed a hand on my shoulder for support while I gathered myself and continued. “So, what if the boys upload personal logs on YouTube, and start a Twitter account for the group so they can start posting things about themselves and interacting? I think fan interaction and personability are things very appealing to people, so if we give them whatever outlets we can to do that early that could help build a good base. Not just for early promotions to try to get their names out there, but also for starting a positive image and solid, supportive fanbase.”

As I finished my explanation, I looked over to Sejin oppa who gave me a smile. I glanced around the table, where most eyes were still on me.

Ms. Lee seemed to be contemplating my suggestion. “We’d have to work out the details to do that, but to be honest that’s the best idea I’ve heard today. Thank you for offering your suggestion, (Y/n)-shi.”

I bowed my head and thanked her for the compliment, not ignorant of the quiet scoff coming from, presumably, the staff who had the comment earlier.

“I’m not guaranteeing that it will pass,” she continued, “but we will try to work out the details on it and if we can work out a good plan, I’ll present it to the president. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to tell him whose idea it was.”

“Sounds good, Ms. Lee,” Sejin said. “Is there anything else we need to discuss?”

“Unless someone has any other ideas, I think we’re done here,” she responded. She waited to see if anyone spoke up but when there were no responses, she dismissed everyone.

I walked with Sejin back to his office, and he closed the door behind us. He immediately turned to me and smiled brightly. “(Y/n), you did great. It is kind of surprising none of them thought of using social media for promotion. They probably were thinking it wasn’t good enough compared to other outlets. But with limited money and resources, it’s probably one of the best things we have to work with. And you’re right, being relatable and interacting with fans are really crucial to creating a solid fanbase.”

I smiled shyly. “Thank you, oppa.”

“But not just that,” he continued. “Your idea aside, you did really well. Even though that one woman was being rude, you didn’t let it stop you and you kept going. That’s important, especially for you.” He walked over to his desk. “You’ve probably already learned that a lot of people judge based on appearance and qualifications you can put on a piece of paper.”

Yeah, I definitely have. Not just from hearing whispers around the company and that staff from the meeting today. But even at school, no one wanted to even attempt to approach me, scared that I couldn’t communicate well with them because I’m obviously different. And that would probably be the first thing people judged me on in general.

“I have no doubt in your abilities and know you can do well,” he continued. “But if you want to keep this job right now, you’re going to have to prove yourself to others as well. So ignore what others like that woman say. You just need to have confidence in yourself and push past them. Got it?”

I was taken aback by the sudden speech from him, but really touched that he cared that much. I nodded, letting him know I understood.

“Good.”

Two days later, Seokjin walked into the dance studio when he arrived at the company, where their group dance lesson was due to start in about 15 minutes. On Wednesdays, Jin and (Y/n) always came to the company together so when he walked into the room alone the rest of the group gave him curious looks.

“Hyung, where’s noona?” Namjoon asked. “She always comes in with you.”

“As soon as she got here, Sejin hyung told her to follow him to Bang PD-nim’s office,” Seokjin replied.

“Oh my god,” Hoseok gasped.

“Is it today?” Yoongi asked, his eyes wide.

“I don’t know, but maybe,” Jin replied.

They all shared looks among themselves, silently agreeing on something they needn’t say out loud before rushing out of the room together.

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. This is probably it. The fateful day where I find out if I’m staying or not. Holy crap, I’m not ready for this. Not that I ever would be, but still. There’s no way the butterflies in my stomach are going to stop dancing.

Bang PD-nim’s secretary told us we were allowed to enter his office, holding the door open for us. I walked in, even more nervous than the first time I walked in here for my first interview. “Hello, Bang PD-nim,” I said, dipping into a deep bow and trying to conjure up a smile.

He smiled back at me. “Hello (Y/n). Always a pleasure to see you.”

“Likewise,” I responded nervously as I sat down. I was very thankful Sejin oppa was in the room with us.

“As we established when I hired you, we’d be meeting this month to discuss if we’ll continue your employment or not,” Bang PD-nim said.

Oh my gosh, it is. This is it. Okay, calm down (Y/n). It’s alright, we can do this. I nodded.

“Tell me your thoughts on the job. How are you liking it?” He paused for a second. “And I don’t mean, ‘how are you liking BTS.’ I’m talking about the job itself.”

I took in a deep breath. “I have been enjoying it so far. Of course, I haven’t been able to get much field work done yet, but Sejin oppa has taught me a lot and it’s definitely something I’m interested in continuing.”

“So, you’re saying you would like to continue your employment with us?”

“Yes, sir. If you would permit me to, of course.”

“Well, you are right that you haven’t gotten to really do work outside of company affairs. And while I was hoping you’d be able to get some field work under your belt while you were here, I can’t really fault you for that.” He paused, looking over a paper that sat on his desk. “One thing really caught my eye, though. Earlier today, I spoke with Ms. Lee who told me you were the only one to have a good idea during the meeting on Monday regarding pre-debut promotional activities.”

I nodded in acknowledgement.

“I have to admit, that is a very smart idea and I will be wanting to put this into action. I was already planning on having them use a website called SoundCloud to upload their own personal music, but utilizing Twitter and YouTube early as well will really add to the potential of exposure and add a personal touch into being able to interact with fans and show their personalities. So great job on that suggestion.”

“Thank you very much, sir.” I bowed my head.

“Granted, that’s not necessarily a part of your official job as a manager. But it does show that you put thought and effort into helping BTS. And Sejin has told me how hard you’ve been working with him and how promising he believes you to be. To be honest, I don’t see anything that would lead me to believe official employment isn’t an option for you.”

I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling. Gosh, I wished these butterflies would really settle down already.

“Also, I’ve been watching you myself.”

My eyes widened at the statement. I legitimately had no idea that he personally kept tabs on me.

“I’ve watched how you manage the boys, and it seems that what I hoped from you has indeed happened.”

I blinked. “May I ask what that is?”

“That you can be both a responsible manager who is respected and listened to, but also a reliable friend and confidant to the boys.” He turned his attention to Sejin oppa. “Not that it’s not a similar case with Sejin for them, because it is. But I knew they needed another manager to always be with them, and I hoped I could find another person who would fit both of those roles.” His gaze turned back to me. “Which is why you were so appealing to me from your application and interview.

“You’re in their age group so I figured getting along wouldn’t be a difficult task. But also, the fact that you were able to learn Korean so fluently within just 3 years of independent study and not even an official class, on top of the grades you maintained while doing that showed hard work and dedication. Your leap to come to South Korea on your own at such a young age showed independence and a need for discovery. You seemed hungry for experience and knowledge. You also appeared to be a very open-minded girl who would be able to uphold the ideas and ways of thinking that, interestingly enough, are similar to BTS’ image and that I very much agree with. That’s what made you so interesting to me. And I’d be lying if I said you didn’t hold up to my expectations these last few months.”

I literally didn’t have words. I think the butterflies made their way to my throat.

“So long story short, if you want to continue this journey with us, I’d be delighted to hire you. Full time and not on a temporary contract.”

I couldn’t stop my lips parting in shock, and I thought I heard muffled voices coming from somewhere nearby, but I couldn’t focus on anything at that moment. My mind went black for a few seconds, until Sejin oppa lightly nudged my arm. “That’d be amazing! Thank you so much!” I bowed my head again. Then I realized something. “Although, one thing I do need to mention is that I think I may have to remain part time at school for the next semester. I haven’t signed up for my classes yet, but I’ll be honest, I don’t think there’s a way I can afford my own apartment yet. I’ve looked into it, but it’s just not possible for me right now. I was thinking I’d have to stay part time at school so I can still live at the dorm there until I accumulated enough to find a place to stay.”

“You know, I’ve actually thought about that,” Bang PD-nim said. “And if you’re to be a manager, we need you to be able to be close to the group anyway. That way if we need you, or the boys do, for any reason you’ll be right there. While it is true that sometimes managers will live with the group they manage, I can’t quite do that. Not only is there barely enough room for the seven of them in the dorm, but you’re also a girl and they’re a bunch of boys so that wouldn’t’ be appropriate either. But, there is another room right next door that you could move into.”

“That’d be wonderful. But I’m still not sure I could afford it.”

He shook his head. “It’s paid for by the company.”

My eyes widened in shock. “Wait, are you serious?”

“Consider it my investment into your employment,” he said. “A way for me to say that I expect a lot from you, and this is my way of helping that happen.”

I couldn’t help but feel like the gesture was a double-edged sword. That it actually meant, ‘I expect you to do well, so don’t mess it up.’ But nonetheless, it was a gesture I was extremely thankful for.

“That being said, I’m not saying you need to quit school. You can stay part-time if you want and we’ll continue to work around your schedule. Although it would be tricky for you since BTS is getting rather close to their debut.”

“Oh, I was only planning on staying so I’d have a place to stay,” I confirmed. “If I can continue to work, and have a place to stay as well then I have no desire to continue going to school.”

“Alright then,” Bang PD-nim smiled. “Here’s the contract. Feel free to read through it before signing.”

I didn’t take too long to skim it before signing a contract for the second time, this time as a real, full-time employee.

Bang PD-nim held his hand out for me to shake just like the first time. I took his hand, smiling at him.

“We’re delighted to have you stay.”

“Oh, but I do have a question,” I said. “Am I still going to have to take acting and singing lessons?”

Bang PD-nim chuckled. “That was a backup. If you had any interest and were any good, I was considering signing you on as a trainee if it didn’t work out with you being a manager. So you only need to continue them if you want.”

Oh, so that’s what that was about. I laughed a bit. “Well, I think I’ll just focus on doing the best I can for BTS for now,” I responded.

“I like that answer,” Bang PD-nim smiled.

Sejin and I made our way back to the dance studio where I knew the boys were currently practicing. I slowly opened the door as to not disturb the routine they were doing.

But my efforts were futile because as soon as he saw me, one excited Kim Taehyung yelled “NOONA!” and ran towards me at full force, almost knocking me to the ground when he wrapped his arms around me.

“Oh my… What the heck is that for, Tae?” was the only thing I could manage to say from the shock of the action.

“We’re just so happy!” he exclaimed, a little too close to my ear. “We’re so happy you’re going to be staying with us!”

I gently loosened his grip on me, surprised at his words. “Wait, how do you know?”

“We may have been listening at the door,” Namjoon said, rubbing his hand on the back of his head.

“It’s not nice to eavesdrop,” I said, jokingly serious.

“We just couldn’t wait to know, noona,” Jungkook added.

“Well, as much as I would have liked to tell you the news myself, I guess it’s all the same,” I smiled. “But you really shouldn’t be wasting your teacher’s time by stopping mid-routine. Get back to practice.”

Taehyung frowned at me. “Okay, noona.” He walked back to the rest of the group.

The teacher continued their practice, while I sat on the floor watching the seven members of who would (hopefully) soon be known as BTS work hard. I found myself smiling, happy that I was going to be staying by their side for a long time.

Series Masterlist

Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10

Tags: @calling-dips-on-j-hope

Send me a message or ask if you want tagged!

#BTS fanfic #BTS x reader #thebtswritersclub #Manager!reader #Idol!au #If I Never Met You #IINMY #jin #seokjin #suga #yoongi #j-hope #hoseok #rm #namjoon #jimin #v #taehyung #jungkook

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she-toadmask · 4 years

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I’m kind of in a mood suddenly so below the cut there will be me just talking about fanfics I have read or am reading and why I like fanfic and stuff because I need to just

Fanfiction fucking rocks the basic part before all the stuff about it as the story just...it’s so easy to access and there’s so much and it’s just all there on the internet I don’t have to find a physical book

And on AO3 (where 90% of good currently-updating fic is afaik) there is TAGGING where you will know what you’re getting into (unless the author suddenly adds a sex scene and only then updates the tags but at least they give a warning at the start of the chapter but it doesn’t bother me as much as it did a couple years ago as long as I know it’s coming I know it’s a tool and it has its uses) with character drama and deaths and all that jazz not to mention how Ash being a badass has a specific tag and just other random things having tags that are important parts of the story

Like there are multiple fics I have found (not all of them are living fics sadly) of writing Ash’s journey in the beginning differently, like there was one I saw once that I kind of forgot to keep reading where he went to Sinnoh (and was still rivals with Paul and I think their ship tag was there?) and it said it was following game plot and then there’s one that I definitely don’t have open anymore because it didn’t update for some amount of time where he had a Joltik and then a Ferroseed and it’s really cool and a different one that’s still living and it’s called Pity of the World and Jesse + James (who is genderfluid in this fic) + Meowth are good people and stuff and just steal abused Pokemon and they run into Ash and they all end up being travel buddies and Ash understands Pokemon (not literally of course that’s not this fic) and also just knows what James’ gender is before they say anything and also in one chapter Zapdos is in Gringy City and says something about friendship being for mortals or something??? idk we’ll see and then there’s a different fic that I was reading and lost when switching devices and Ash was raised by Pokemon and literally can speak Pokemon and it was really neat but I haven’t tried to find where I left off because I’m too lazy for that tbh but it is still updating it’s Symbiosis or Symbiotic or something like that

Most things involving Ash that aren’t shippy or weird like that (ok there are some I’m not interested in but whapdfajaldjakjdf) end up being really cool because he’s a fucking legendary magnet which can either be played for laughs or deadly serious or just not be part of the fic if it isn’t relevant and so many fics use Aura it’s really cool (including Pity of the World I think he mega evolves Pidgeot (who evolves before leaving) when he fights Sabrina who does not have a doll in this fic) and there are different ways they do it and the thing I was mentioning about his connection with Pokemon like maybe it’s just a bit more than normal or it’s just yes he is everything and I kinda skipped out on gens 6 and 7 of the anime but I get enough to understand what they mean in chat fics and when referring to it in other fics it’s really cool

I think I mentioned Creepypasta and how there were two Harry Potter Creepypasta fics, one that was one and was slow to update if it wasn’t dead and one that was on the fourth one actually I was wrong about what number it was I think and updates every two weeks the first one is more lighthearted/written by a younger person like Slendy is a character and Harry x a lot of the ‘pastas I guess and it takes place starting before 4th year and the beginning is kinda meh with some weird dialogue and absurd levels of Dumbledore Ron and Hermione bashing but it does call out some of the other legitimate problems like how the lake trial in the tournament just kidnaps people which is very big because it was Ben who was kidnapped so big yikes there and honestly it’s not what you want to read if you want something really high-quality and serious like not that it doesn’t take itself seriously but it feels closer to something I would have read when I was in middle school than most of the Sanders Sides fics I read (just using that as comparison because the vast majority of that is well-written stuff). Then the other one!!!! For one it has a much more realistic/developed take on the Creepypastas’ existence like how the stories are how they exist with Slenderman being a cosmic horror being thing more than a character with character which is always really cool and Jeff kidnaps Harry as a baby (he is Boy when he is with the Creepypasta and Harry when at Hogwarts and there’s some really cool stuff about how they’re different) and, having lived with murderers, Harry gives zero fucks about things and kills Fluffy in the first book long before other stuff happens, Quirrel tries to use him to get the stone but gets annihilated at the mirror because family and then Voldemort is just a giant white snake for the rest of the series so far and also because he sucks Lockhart tries to exorcise Harry because Harry is fucking nuts and it’s great and also Harry is a Hufflepuff and there is probably more Gryffindor bashing than is necessary and pretty much all the adults get bashed for sucking (like in book 3 the boggart stuff is called out for being hella dangerous for them also Harry can’t cast the Patronus charm make of that what you will idk what) though Harry does make for quite the conversation topic among the teachers, Harry x Neville is the main ship and Neville eventually gets resorted into Hufflepuff because the Gryffindors are being massive dicks to him, also Harry flirts with Draco because Harry gives no fucks and it’s great (also both books give Luna lots of love, like the young one she’s a Seer like from Madame Macabre’s old webcomic that’s dead as it gets and the long one she’s just a good character and shit) and Harry makes these books to spread Slenderman’s legend throughout Britain/the Wizarding World and Draco may have gotten one and survived???? but now Neville has one during the summer months (and also through feeding Fanged Geraniums or whatever live stuff and blood instead of bonemeal he is creating Audrey II and straight-up says something about having to call it Harry Jr. but that’s probably just a little joke and isn’t going to stay beyond this but it’s just fun because Little Shop of Horrors slaps) and I have big fear about him doing the stuff and getting hurt and Harry/Boy conflict will be scary

There’s this other fic I found when trying to find good fics involving Ash and it’s kinda weird and seems to be written by a younger author but we’ll see where things go, like Harry got transported by Celebi to the world of Pokemon and Giovanni is Silver and Ash’s dad and they live with him and also Harry does too and he’s in a wheelchair and also is really smart and I wish we had gotten to spend a bit longer seeing their dynamics before when Harry is 14 the Goblet of Fire somehow spits his name out and Celebi helps with getting Harry (and also the other three because of course) safely there without dying because dimensional travel is hard and Celebi is friend and Luna gets to be important here too I think she’s shown up as a named student and guided them to a room and seems to know things about the castle and that’s kinda all there is so far there’s a bit more but it’s not got a lot yet I hope the author keeps going it’s a weird idea but I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes

Oh I forgot to talk about it but there’s this whump Ash fic that was being written under one title but it got dropped and now it’s being rewritten with the same concept but under a new title and going about a lot of things a different way it’s just the same starting premise and the fic is Helpless and Ash almost dies multiple times and there’s this theme of adults failing him and also Gary fucks a thing up and Ash needs support and therapy (a good number of fics have Ash needing therapy but given the shit he’s been through that is not surprising especially from my limited knowledge of Kalos holy shit Lysandre was doing some mad shit) and it’s just good but it is a lot of hospital and Ash being hurt and almost dying so be warned if that isn’t a safe read for you

The reason I don’t just outright block explicit anymore despite the horrors of trying to find safe Pokemon fic on AO3 amidst the consensual porn, incest porn, pokephilia porn, etc., is I randomly decided to try and find some Sonic fanfic on AO3 because a couple people on YouTube have been doing Sonic story stuff (Sonic What If has some good stuff that’s just... what-if scenarios and then there’s Sonic Rewritten which takes a game’s plot and then redoes it but good like the Deadly Six having personalities or Sonic 06 not having maybe bestiality or Generations being more than ‘oh past and present stages now have nostalgia’ and Robotnik and Eggman are significantly different people in that one and it’s really cool) and I thought maybe I would find some good stuff on AO3 (which I have but nothing that I want to ramble about specifically though there was one fic where Eggman does Tails clone and then his original body dies so he’s stuck looking like Tails and it’s kinda wild) and I found a fic that was marked explicit because torture and violence (honestly it wasn’t that bad) and I like it and don’t want to miss something that I might like by accidentally blocking it and now when I try to find Pokemon fic I have to see Leon x Hop and Pokemon x human smut.

There’s one Sanders Sides fic that I was reading and I don’t remember the name nor do I know if it’s updating I think I lost it but it started from the beginning of the series with the Dark Sides being a platonic poly family and when they weren’t in the episode they were talking about it/the Light Sides and it’s honestly really really good and the author just decided to have Deceit’s name be Janus and it was amazing when it turned out that was his real name it was just great but IDK if the fic has been abandoned, I think I lost it in the shift, but it was really good (but sympathetic dark sides and unsympathetic patton and roman and logan for a bit so do be warned if those aren’t comfortable for you)

Oh yeah I remembered another fic I can talk about there was this one Creepypasta fic and it’s completed and it is a Jeff x Reader but it kind of just stops being about the romance after a certain point and just goes way off the rails. It starts like ‘oh this will be a normal x reader with mansion and Slendy is dad and Zalgo is probably evil’ and then NOPE SLENDERMAN HAS BEEN RAISING FAMILIES THAT LOVE HIM TO TURN THEM INTO CRYSTALS TO MAKE HIM MORE POWERFUL AND ZALGO IS AGAINST THAT and it just is great like I never see Zalgo being good, like Slenderman being evil or whatever is plenty common (especially in the innumerable ARG fics I don’t read because I don’t have the attention span to learn what the fuck the source is) but never in tandem with Zalgo being anything but chaotic evil n shit it’s wild and it’s great and also Slenderman’s parents have faces I guess idk that was weird also there is one smut chapter but like the author said you can skip the smut and I did and didn’t feel like I missed any plot stuff so if that’s a no for you just keep an eye out for the author’s warning. It is by a younger writer, as demonstrated by its daily updates while it was being written, tiny chapters, and some general writing style stuff common to younger writers, but honestly I just love it for being something so wildly different, under the guise of a typical x Reader fic.

Speaking of ship stuff and Creepypasta the trilogy of Sans x Creepypasta fics are amazing. The writer definitely improves over time, the beginning of the first book kind of has the weird ‘then I knew I was in love’ stuff from a couple of the pastas (then again I’m ace and demiro so starting romance is just generally weird) but it is just a really good series. Sans ends up with seven kids in the third book and, while everyone else in the Undertale cast is bashed in the first two, Papyrus does seem to get some redemption in the third, so there is that. Also Murderer Sans is a fantastic tag, Gaster made a deal with Zalgo to create the skelebros and Sans is more demon than Papyrus by a lot and Zalgo is trying to kidnap Sans and Sans’ children so he has his family together to destroy the world and wander free and it’s wild and also Chara and Flowey show up and also LJ being an angel is mentioned and relevant to the plot for a bit so that’s neat and I don’t know all the details of how it ends because I lost it when I shifted and didn’t want to find where I was but it’s a great fic (albeit with a few things I can argue on) and the author has also been writing other Sans x Creepypasta stuff but I haven’t read it because idk

I really wish I had a good Minecraft fanfic to gush about but I really don’t it’s hard to find Minecraft fic that isn’t tuber-based, either Dream and friends (which occasionally I find a good one but so much is either Dream SMP which I have no interest in getting into, involves people I don’t know from Dream SMP, or just is shippy or straight-up doesn’t have a premise I’m interested in) or Hermitcraft (I fell behind so I have no idea what’s happening anymore) (but also like Mianite and Aphmau stuff but not as much as used to, but now Dream rules all so), and it just sucks. Like if some of it was Team Crafted fic I would be on board like hell yeah give me that nostalgia juice but it’s so much shit I just don’t know. I love the idea of Minecraft fanfic because there are so many options for the world and you can either make your own characters and you probably have to but then there’s just if you use Steve Alex Herobrine or Notch how they are written depends on the author and I live for that shit it’s a big part of why I read Creepypasta fic it’s because I like when there are different ways characters can be done (not unsympathetic or sympathetic like Patton so much like straight-up different characters) like Herobrine and Notch are the big ones like good vs evil, involved vs not, serious vs comedic, there are so many different ways to play them and I’m so disappointed AO3 doesn’t have much of it and so much of it is just Dream stuff and it usually just isn’t what I’m after in a fic.

The only other fics coming to mind right now are two wildly different fics involving Springtrap x Reader, one of them is being transferred from Wattpad for copy reasons, complete with tiny-ass chapters and that language that’s just so middle-school in the best way possible (like William and Springtrap are different consciousnesses and they way the author describes their struggle at one point is just so similar to a stupid thing I did and I have so much affection for it) and the other is legitimately really really good and the reader-insert has recently found out that Springtrap is William Afton and has murdered many children and they are currently dying multiple times to help his victims pass on because they can see ghosts and it’s actually really good and I have no idea where things are going, reader has currently met up with Michael Afton, currently all purple and dead and stuff, and has learned about remnant (weird-ass shit from modern FNAF lore) and it’s getting wild. I feel like there are two types of FNAF fic, ones in the style of FNAF 3/4 and earlier and ones from maybe 4 onward. Like ones where the lore was basically ‘bad man committed murder against children and they’re possessing the animatronics and that’s why they’re trying to kill you’ and then 4 starts having some more expansive lore ish and then after that it just goes everywhere with remnant and scooping and even more locations and also the books matter probably??? There is this one fic involving Glitchtrap that hasn’t updated in a bit and it’s fun, I like the idea of Glitchtrap and really wish I could read more fic just centered around FNAF VR. Then again, BEN was always one of my favorites and after I stopped being absolutely terrified of Herobrine I really liked his possibilities, maybe I just like the story utility and possible execution of characters with wide-ranging powers over technology and affecting the real world outside of it, IDK.

Ok I’m out of ramble energy, and also topics unless I go more in-depth about specific character options, but my energy is gone so I think that’s the end of it. I typed 3,000 words about fanfictions I’m reading and probably could have talked more about some of them if I wanted. This is my new hyperfixation. I guess. At least I know I have one, it’s reassuring to know for some reason, like for a while I missed how much Pokemon was my life in elementary school and Minecraft was in sixth grade, like it was nice just having something to focus on, though maybe that’s just the college and depression talking.

That was good, I’m glad I did that. Y’all are loved.

If you seriously read this entire thing... Wow. I really appreciate you digitally listening to me talking about random fanfic shit that I like. You’re really really cool.

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hectorandvarian · 5 years

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Who is the father of Cassandra and analysis of video Wotso Video.

Greetings to my favorite readers! I finally watched all the episodes of the first "Rapunzel bomb" and I want to say that it was very good (although some moments could be better). However, for me, as a theorist, these ten series set aside little information, and therefore have to put a lot of effort. And now we will talk about one of the most significant topics - who is the biological father of Cassandra.

So, in the first series of the third season, we learned the terrible truth - Cassandra's mother was Mother Gothel all this time, and it was the witch who abandoned the little girl in favor of her selfish goals. And all would nothing, here is only about father we heard flat-sum game NOTHING. Although the series always gave at least minimal information about other relatives of our heroes, as it was with Eugene's mother and Varian's mother. Therefore, I assume Cass's father will have a much bigger role than we imagined.

Today will be a very unusual post, as I also want to parse a video theory from my fellow theorist - Isaac Carlson. I must say that I like his presentation of theories, and he is an extremely charismatic guy. He is eligible to carry the title of "best RTA theorist on YouTube". However sometimes he offers, on my view, wrong version of underway, as for example was with choice traitor in the finale of the second season. And this time was no exception.

He recently made a video where he suggested all the possible options of who could be Cassandra's father. And I was somewhat puzzled by those he chose as " Cass's fathers." And so I will first analyze all the four main options that Isaac suggested, and then I will offer my own, the fifth option. Chased:

* Zhan-Tiri. Well, we need to start with a few things. First, Zhan-Tiri had been imprisoned in another dimension a thousand years ago. Second, even with his partial presence in our world, why would this character meet with Gothel and, moreover, conceive a child for her? And third, Zhan-Tiri has a huge chance to be a girl. And even if we accept the fact that it can take any possible form, I come back to the second question-why it is necessary. Yes, I promoted the theory of "Zhan-Tiri - Varian's mother", but I understood its absurdity, and just wanted people to catch at least a small laugh from it, too, and here it is served as a serious statement. In General, you understood my thought, we go further.

* Quirin. Here it is turn to the politics of Disney. Maybe my memory is failing me, but I don't remember a single character from this Studio who had multiple wives or cheated on his wife. And I remind you, Quirin has a wife, and by her he had a son Varian. And given the kind of character we've seen, I can't imagine Quirin could have had many women. And besides, Quirin and Cassandra have nothing in common. I see nothing in common between them. Even if he were her father, it's more likely she would look Like Queen Ingvar than the way she looks in the series.

* King Edmund. Again, Disney's politics and the fact that Edmund had a wife by whom he had a son, and for whom he says you had to destroy the Moonstone. In this context, it is impossible to imagine that just two years later, Edmund would "change" his wife. Moreover, he had the most important mission-to protect Opal in the walls of the Dark Kingdom and no one allowed there. Seeing Gothel near his Kingdom, he would rather kill her than court her. And words Eugene about how, that Cassandra has become for him the sister need perceive not as fact, which is truth, and as thought individual, which can prove wrong. And again, except for skin tone, Edmund and Cassandra have nothing in common.

* Hector. I admit, this is the best of the options presented. I myself held to this theory, but then I realized its errors. In the first place, Hector greatly honors the words of his King, and so fiercely guarded the Great Tree. So hardly he could be back in the Gothel, thereby violating the order of Edmund. Secondly, despite some similarities, Hector and Cass have also a lot of different: they are of different height, they have a completely different nose shape, they also have a different face shape, their skin tone is slightly different, and the hair structure also has a difference. So Yes, Hector is hardly Cassandra's father, although he may be a different person, but we'll talk about that theory a little later.

And it turns out, Isaac lied to us, giving absolutely incorrect information? Well, not really, because he also suggested that Cass's father we have not seen in the series and he may be a completely different person, and maybe he will not appear in the series at all. This view can also be supported, since there are a huge number of topics in the series that have not yet been revealed to us. However, I try not to lose hope and think that we will get Cassandra's father. And my version of who Cass's father might be is that he's a Separatist from Saporia.

Yes, we haven't seen this character before, and what I'll tell you is more hypothesis than theory, but still, listen to me:

* Cassandra's father must also, like Gothel, hate Corona. He must be able to keep his mouth shut and keep the secret of Gothel's immortality. And most importantly, it should be useful to Gothel. And I think if the Separatist of Saporia will allow you to use their base as a refuge for witches, he will be able to receive her blessing.

* Such a move will provide an opportunity for artists to show more correctly the father of Cassandra and fit it more or less under the foundations of genetics and the similarity with Cassandra.

* Kinship with Saporia will allow crank such same focus, as this was with "Destinies collide", i.e. through the prism of relatedness hero better disclose the very group separatists Saporia, those thereby gladdened fans, because personally I believe, that theme Saporia - one of the most mysterious and interesting those receives more superficial treatment.

* If it happens this turn, then this may also be the impetus for Cassandra to take the path of revenge. Think about it: what a shock it will be for Cassandra that all her life she fought on the wrong side, served the people who oppressed her ancestors. And given the pressure of The Enchanted girl, the relationship could prove fatal to Corona.

* Again same, through this relatedness can be crank many Parallels and comparisons with lives Cassandra and Saporia, i.e. do something similar with Eugene, when "Lost Princess Sun falls in love in Lost Prince Moon illusion." Cassandra, as Saporia, is in the shadow of the Corona. She is also, like the Separatists, smart, cunning and inventive, able to manipulate people so much so that no one will understand it.

* And in the end, General Champagnier is very similar to Cassandra. Yeah, Cass's mom is a Gothel, but who's to say that round face, small nose, and skin color couldn't pass down through the generations to Cassandra's dad, huh?

Anyway, that was my theory about Cass's father. Stick to it or not, stick to the options from Isaac or not - it's up to you. But personally, I will not deviate from this theory, and I will hope that I will be right. All in all a good and remember - I'm on the way to work!

#tangled the series spoilers #tangled theory #rta spoilers #tangled #tts #tangled the series #tts edmund #tts cassandra #tts zhan tiri #tts gothel #tts quirin #tts hector #tts saporia #tts season 3 #rapunzels tangled adventure #rta #rta quirin #rta cassandra #tts theory

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thesffcorner · 6 years

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Truly Devious

Truly Devious is the first book in a YA mystery/thriller series written by Maureen Johnson. It follows Steve, a high school junior, who gets accepted to Ellingham Academy, a free private high school founded by Mr Ellingham: a newspaper and steel magnate, who viewed learning as a form of play. She gets admitted to the school because of her peculiar interest in true crime and investigations, specifically because she wants to solve the famous Ellingham mystery: who kidnapped and killed his family. This book got rave reviews; people said it was atmospheric, creepy, clever and I went into it with high expectations, but also a lot of skepticism, mostly because me and YA thrillers don’t tend to always agree.

I can happily say that this book delivers on most of the hype. It’s well written, both the case in the past and the case in the present are interesting, and the characters are well developed. However, I can’t fully recommend it, or even really explain how I feel about it because of the ending, or rather the lack thereof. I don’t mean this is an open ending, I mean there isn’t one. This is a part one to the mystery, and neither the past nor the present case are solved. I imagine we will get the answer in the sequel, but I am apprehensive, because I saw on Goodreads that there will be a third book. I just don’t see how this mystery can be stretched out into even just 2 books, let alone more; as such I might come off as a bit more negative than I probably intended, because half of a mystery is the ending, and without that how can you really be satisfied. Before we talk about that, let’s talk about the setting. The plot is set in Ellingham Academy, a private boarding school in Vermont. It was founded in the 30’s by Albert Ellingham, an incredibly wealthy man, who owns American steel, a newspaper and a production studio. He’s a true tycoon, a man clearly inspired by the likes of Howard Hughes, Joseph Pulitzer and Warren Buffet, self-made millionaires, hard core capitalists and people who as his friend Detective Marsh puts it “think they are invincible”. I like the idea of the Academy, this Montessori type establishment where learning is play, and the curriculum is very specifically tailored to the student’s interests. However, as always, I don’t see why it has to be a special high school, and can’t just be a private college or conservatory, and have the characters be 17-18, instead of 15-16. Ellingham Academy is already described as an old, classic style small, private, liberal arts college, down to being set in the middle of nowhere, on a hill, with a mostly inaccessible road and surrounded by woods. This makes for a possibly interesting atmosphere; this old isolated house, full of mystery and haunted by the past, surrounded by nature, full of an secret passages, tunnels, catacombs, etc. It should have made for an excellent backdrop to this murder mystery, but unfortunately I feel the setting just wasn’t fully utilized. Johnson does spend a great deal of time and effort into meticulously describing the Academy, the Minerva house and the grounds, but her descriptions are very sterile. There’s no sense of atmosphere or tension; a lot of the time it’s just paragraphs explaining what is on what wall, or what is what color and long tangents about the Ellinghams. This is also why I kind of shrug in confusion when I hear people say this book is creepy; nothing that happens and nothing that is said on the page is creepy; it lack proper atmosphere. If you want a book set in a small liberal arts mansion, surrounded by woods, that’s even set in Vermont, try If We Were Villains; even the Charlotte Holmes series did a better job with the setting and atmosphere. The plot really is where this book excels. It’s clear to me that Maureen Johnson is a fan of mystery novels and whodunnits; there are tons of references to Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and even noir style detective books. The Ellingham mystery is even reminiscent of the case in Murder on the Orient Express; both set during the Prohibition, and both revolving around a cast of characters implicated in the disappearance and murder of a rich, self-made millionaire’s family. There’s talk of politics of the time, a prominent clash between Mr. Ellingham and the anarchists, and the person who confessed to the crime has clearly not committed it. The way the investigation is lead by Steve too was very old school; she makes deductions based on clues and reasoning that all make sense and we can also pick up on as readers, there are clues in the interview transcripts she reads, and in general the case itself was interesting to keep me invested. The main issue with the plot was actually how the present day mystery and the past mystery intersected, which wasn’t helped by the pacing. It takes a long time before the present day story catches up to the past, and especially at the start, I really didn’t care about Ellingham and his plight, because we quickly find out that his wife and daughter are dead, meaning he never found them. So it was just a slow trudge through the motions he took on the day, and then at one point we just top cutting back to the past, because we have to focus on the present day mystery. We only come back to Ellingham in the very, very last chapter. It’s not well balanced, and it doesn’t feel like the present day story and the past are connected at all, other than Steve being interested in solving both. The present day story is interesting, but even still, I’m not sure what Hayes filming his project had to do with the Ellinghams, other than tangentially being related because they are filming a short about the Ellingham mystery. There is a thematic connection, linking to Steve’s assignment about putting a human face on mystery (which was something that really warmed me to the dean of students as a character), but other than that, even the way Steve figures out what happened, has nothing to do with the past mystery. Speaking of Hayes, this book’s other strong suit are the characters. There are plenty of them so I won’t go over all of them, but they are all developed, and interesting enough to hold my attention. Ellingham and his posse were straight out of an Agatha Christie novel; I honestly wish that the book had maybe split it’s time more evenly, focusing on a core character in the past as well as the present, so I could get more easily invested. From the present day, we have a few of the larger parts: Elle, Janelle, Nathan, Hayes and David. Elle was fine; she was very much the type of person you would find in a private boarding school, and I enjoyed how open she was about her personality, body and sex life. It’s always nice to see female characters who are a bit off and are actually in tune with their confidence and body. Janelle was also fine; I liked she was openly out, gets a girlfriend pretty quickly, and though there’s a little jealousy on Steve’s part, they very quickly move past it, and have a healthy, supportive friendship. I really liked their little trio of Janelle, Nate and Steve. Hayes was the typical Youtube star, or at least the general stereotype of someone who is attractive and charming and uses other people to do the actual difficult work for him. I liked that even though he wasn’t the nicest person, the book didn’t demonize him, and acknowledged that he did indeed have talent and could do at least some of the things he claimed he could. Nate was a surprise to me, because I expected the book to take a different direction with him (which it still might in the sequel, but I’m really hoping it won’t). He’s a writer, so he’s mostly there to discuss how difficult and annoying, while at the same time exhilarating writing can be, and I really enjoyed his banter with the other characters. David was interesting; he was kind of abrasive and an asshole, though I almost think he wasn’t enough of an asshole to Steve after what she does to him, and her horrible, non-apology she gives him. The ending caught me off guard, though in hindsight it makes a lot of sense, so I give this book points for this. I won’t spoil it, but this book does have a romance, and I surprisingly didn’t mind it. I expected someone different to be the love interest, and I was pleasantly surprised at how it actually was. Even when the romance starts, the book doesn’t spend too much time using him as a red herring, which I appreciated; I don’t know if this is just a YA thing, or a genre thing left over from noir stories, but why is the love interest always a suspect, but never actually the perpetrator? Finally Steve, who was the best developed and most complete character. I liked that she had a set personality, while there still being room for her to grow. Even though she’s awkward, and shy, she was still funny, still had good banter with the boys and the rest of the school, and was confident and smart enough to solve the present day mystery. I liked her relationship with Larry, I liked her relationship with the other characters, and enjoyed watching her grow, even if I didn’t always agree with her decisions, and thought what she does to David was horrible (and her being angry at him on the bus for helping, instead of at her parents who are the real reason she had to even be in the situation in the first place, was dumb and never addressed). All in all, a decent start to a possibly interesting mystery, depending on the answers we get in the sequel. Not bad, but as an incomplete story, I can’t in good faith recommend it, or rate it any higher, though I still think that if you like classic style mysteries and detectives, you will probably enjoy it.

#truly devious #truly devious review #moni talks #book review

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bruhn48cates-blog · 6 years

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International Or Bilingual Main Schools Institution And also Specialised Establishments Education and learning

The theorist Air Conditioning Grayling has generated a nonreligious holy book, but its assistance for a good lifestyle fails to entice Genevieve Fox. Volunteers are promoted to carry their personal sand mats, sunlight screen, hats and toys for kids. Actually, Home Page believed he had the ability to book a totally free air travel as a result of a pest on Ryanair's online reservation body. Guide presents readers to many strangers and gives us idea into their lifestyles. As a retired Chief Executive Officer and now college professor, I can certainly not differ more firmly along with the area of the book as well as the methods marketed within. When the book is actually shut and also you consider that, all you observe is oldness and also, depending upon your edition, a cheese photo of a creature ofthe night drinking a female's blood stream. A little woman died violently in this book as well as I was fully unfazed by it. That is actually an unpleasant breakdown. 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Howevered, there are actually loads of distinctions between The Magicians guide series and The Magicians the TELEVISION collection, which officially premieres on Monday at 9 p.m. ET-- some slight, some primary, and also some entirely head-scratching. Psychologically manipulative books that feel as if the writer laid out with a plan to move my soul cords - that would be up there with the most awful. An excellent guideline is to use the Health app for a fast guide from your health and fitness activity, and make use of the Task application to view just how you are actually performing throughout the day. However along with Series 2, Apple is dedicating to exactly what I consider its greatest function: your health and wellness. Unlike theCommon Understanding" executed through skin specialists (which propose you avoid the sunlight), the Primitive Master plan will firmly insist that you get some straight sunshine each day. 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Elemeno Wellness creates that details simply accessible at the aspect of care as well as adds gamification to promote involvement as well as knowing. I check out just recently in a manual about imagination just how Dracula 'blasphemes' against Christianity. Systems underfunded and understaffed without training that were actually largely paid attention to imprisonment as opposed to the demands from anybody with a health and wellness disorder described by mental illness. I indicate, I read a publication about children with cancer, I wasn't intended to become laughing however I performed. Along with the recurring boom in podcasting, there have been actually no scarcity of terrific new programs about publications.. Each are straightforward- along with Readmill you should post the book via its web site- as well as does not need excessive fiddling in my component. Our comics are full of those neo-pagan mythic heroes who exaggerated individual virtues always total up to, whatever else could be true of them, 'beats individuals up good'. Inning accordance with Microsoft last month, Windows 10 was actually working on more than 400 thousand devices around the globe, up from 200 thousand in January. The 1st indicator that this possibly had not been visiting be actually an excellent manual is the fact that the blurb had not been even an ad, but somewhat the opening pages from the story. There is actually mocking, however certainly not without passion ... beyond nationality, guide is about the immigrant's mission: self-invention, which is the American target. We expected to create a counterweight to Notion Magazine's cool and trendy digital company with an even more reflective sequel company as a publication publisher.

As the sea lining from collectivism sinks under the weight of its personal huge ineptitude (a smart idea, yet the leader was inebriated as well as the workers were actually sticky-fingered rascals), you leap over the top, clamber on the only on call boat (commercialism) just to discover that there is actually a large leopard on board which will definitely eat you unless you Oh eventually I get that. I review this a couple of years ago as well as this was actually supposed to become all about The lord. Though that is actually ski run really isn't however open, Doha Celebration City has actually presented a monthlong set from destinations for children 5-12 years of ages. Mentally manipulative manuals that feel as if the author set out with an agenda to tug at my heart strands - that would certainly be actually As long as I just like a really good romance, I wouldn't contact myself an enchanting. Many diet plan think about weight loss that are established through nutritionists and also health and wellness specialists are based on 1200 fats daily. Apple's Wellness application tracks your steps just fine, yet it is actually dreadful at really featuring any helpful relevant information. The Sun is actually Likewise a Celebrity through Nicola Yoon ended up being an excellent shock as I go through the book! I'll Offer You the Sunshine delivers a genuine contemporary check out love as well as relationships. Our experts read LOTR for my dream literature training class and also I had actually intended to read this just before I began FOTR, but I entirely forgot as well as for that reason aimed to cram this in prior to starting the book for class. And through creating English the subject from the book which rarely this is as the girl never possesses a trouble with his english and also its own a love story eventually, CB got an added reason to compose horribly. I'm visiting need to presume you have actually read this book, as if I don't I will not be able to state anything regarding this whatsoever.

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daveg65 · 1 year

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269 - Using TextExpander and iPhone USB-C With Guest Brittany Smith, Jeff Gamet, and Ben Roethig

The latest In Touch With iOS with Dave he is joined by guest Brittany Smith, Jeff Gamet, and Ben Roethig. Jeff talks about what you can do with TexExpander to keep you efficient. Ben has his view on why USB-C on the iPhone is a long time coming. We talk about HomeKit and how it needs improvement. Dave reviews his experience setting up an alternate home with 2 new HomePod Minis. Macstock VII Virtual pass and all the videos are posted. Apple fall event was announced with probable iPhone 15 plus more.

The show notes are at InTouchwithiOS.com

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Beta this week.

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Dave did a set up of a new location of multiple HomePod Mini he reviews the easy of setup.

We all on the panel have homekit set up in one way or another, we talk about our set up. How to Build a Smart Home Around Apple's HomeKit

Using TextExpander Jeff gives us some tips and knowledge.

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Using TextExpander for iPhone & iPad with Other Apps

Textexpander is beta testing a new version for iOS and iPadOS check here to sign up using TestFlight. https://textexpander.com/mobile

Ben talked about his views on the USB-C connector fand its a long time replacing lightning conector. He posted his blog post here: https://roethigtech.blogspot.com/2023/09/apples-usb-c-path-to-iphone-has-been.html

“Honestly, the USB-C connector should have been introduced to the iPhone with the iPhone X. Apple having basically different connectors that do the same thing on the iPhone and Mac for almost a decade is kinda strange. It also would have allowed Apple to dictate cable standards like they're doing with wireless charging with Magsafe forming the basis for Qi 2”

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odanurr87 · 7 years

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My thoughts on... Altered Carbon

Apologies for not posting this review earlier but a few things happened during the week, one of which was the Farewell episode of Life is Strange: Before the Storm and I simply couldn’t not play it right away. Also, as you may have noticed by now, I hadn’t written up this review yet. I’ll try to keep this brief.

Overall, Altered Carbon is a series I enjoyed a great deal due to several factors, the first of which is its length. Much like British TV shows, Altered Carbon’s first season is short, comprised only of ten episodes, what’s good because it doesn’t dilute the narrative and keeps the momentum going. I’ve lost count of how many filler episodes there are in any given American TV show and I’ve often pondered how much better something like, say, The Flash would be if it were given half the number of episodes to tell a story. Not to mention there are only so many times I can be invested in Barry having to defeat yet another evil speedster. Altered Carbon is given 10 hours to make this work and I believe it succeeds.

The second factor that immediately appealed to me was the blend between sci-fi and crime thriller ala Blade Runner (probably leaning more towards 2049 than the original). The main protagonist, Takeshi Kovacs, is introduced to us as a mercenary on the run who is later hired as a private eye to look into a murder given his... colourful background. The investigation is certainly eventful and well-paced although it doesn’t do as good of a job as other murder mysteries, such as Poirot, or Miss Marple, in involving the audience and trying to get them to play detective themselves. By the time Kovacs decided to gather everyone in the traditional “room scene” I had few concrete reasons to suspect any of them for the murder but Takeshi managed to paint a colourful picture as was, indeed, the intention.

Perhaps this is compounded by the fact that, in Altered Carbon’s universe, the body is just a shell (wink wink), a sleeve, a skin that can be worn by anyone, what makes it difficult to guess who may be using a person’s sleeve at any given time, a fact that Altered Carbon takes advantage of throughout the series. This leads to a number of plot threads that introduce new characters and potential allies of Takeshi, such as Kristin Ortega (played by Martha Higareda), a police officer who’s aware of Takeshi’s colourful past and decides to keep tabs on him; and Vernon Elliot (played by Ato Essandoh), a former medic in the Tac Marines who initially becomes a prime suspect in Takeshi’s investigation. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Poe (played by Chris Conner), the Raven hotel’s Artificial Intelligence who takes on the appearance of, you guessed it, Edgar Allan Poe and sees himself as Takeshi’s partner in crime. If only. Poe’s introduction in episode 1 is probably the best in the series (certainly the funniest and a tad creepy as well) and I hope he returns in an eventual sequel.

Poe, one of the best supporting characters.

Since we’re talking cast I should mention a few other names that are tied to Takeshi’s past but for that I need to paint you a picture of the setting. As I mentioned earlier, in this alternate future, humanity has unlocked the means to live forever by storing their consciousness in a chip called a “stack.” In so doing however, humanity has paved the way for further differentiation of the classes, where the rich and powerful can practically live forever in the best and most alluring sleeves while the lower classes either die or often get placed in the cheapest bodies they can afford. At one point, a group of rebels called Envoys decided to rise against this system and tried to put an end to immortality. Needless to say, it did not go well for them and the series explores the events that led to their downfall alongside the murder mystery. In fact, Takeshi was the sole surviving member of their group and he was put on ice for a couple hundred of years. You can imagine he was none too thrilled about being brought back to solve the murder of an immortal, as he embodies everything Takeshi fought against.

Takeshi Kovacs, meet the new Takeshi Kovacs.

This segways nicely into an interesting discussion point as Altered Carbon’s main protagonist is played by two actors (three actually, as he’s briefly played by Byron Mann in the beginning as the above picture shows): Will Yun Lee, during his Envoy days; and Joel Kinnaman (whom you may recognize from Suicide Squad), during the murder investigation. Personally, I liked both their performances and I even felt, at times, that I could see Lee’s Takeshi in Kinnaman’s performance, what is no mean feat. Connecting the two is Quellcrist Falconer (played by Renée Elise Goldsberry), the smart and fearless leader of the Envoys and, incidentally, Takeshi’s love interest. I absolutely loved her interactions with Takeshi, be them past or present. Indeed, Altered Carbon successfully weaves and balances the Envoy storyline with the murder mystery in a way reminiscent of how Arrow used to balance Oliver’s past in the island and his day-to-day as a vigilante in Star City. Some, if not all, of the best moments in the series involve these two in some form or another. Quell is always present in Takeshi’s thoughts, even in death, and her wisdom helps him out of many a tight spot. It’s a rather beautiful, if tragic, love story and I’m a sucker for those. The ending of the series perfectly sets up the sequel playing to Quellcrist’s theme, undoubtedly the most emotional of the music tracks in the series and my personal favourite (sadly, it’s not a part of the OST). Since I mentioned music, I must admit Altered Carbon has some badass scenes that are perfectly enhanced by tracks like PJ Harvey’s “The Wicked Tongue.” Is the soundtrack worth listening to on its own? My first answer would be “no” but let me get back to you on that.

Quell is my favourite supporting character and I hope we see more of her in a sequel.

There are a few other positives and negatives I could mention about the show but I’ll do so in the spoilers section of this post. In general lines, the murder mystery is relegated to a second place after a certain point in the series as it switches to the heist genre once the criminal mastermind has been identified (perhaps somewhat sooner than I would’ve liked in retrospect). The reveal came as a bit of a surprise, even when it really shouldn’t have. Personally, I found the conclusion to the investigation more disappointing than the culprit’s identity as a few things line up rather too conveniently.

The series has also been, to an extent, criticized for its somewhat gratuitous depictions of gore and nudity but, to be fair, it’s nothing we haven’t seen in Game of Thrones before, a series that, if I remember correctly, was praised for that very same fact not too long ago (even though I always felt this was done for the shock value and to attract viewers). However, at least the nudity doesn’t seem too out of place in Altered Carbon when you consider most of the universe’s richer denizens see their bodies, their sleeves, as a sign of their power and would probably waste no opportunity to show off (indeed, one such scene transpires between Takeshi and Miriam Bancroft). Still, I believe the series would work just as well if there was less of it.

Overall, Altered Carbon is a series I would heartily recommend to any fan of science fiction and murder mysteries, not to mention it has a solid romance story between Takeshi and Quell (and maybe between Takeshi and the beautiful Kristin Ortega, you’ll just have to see!). I’m a bit puzzled by the critics’ tepid, if not outright dismissive, reception of this series, but for a while now I’ve had the feeling that critics have become increasingly out of touch with what people look for in entertainment. Their professionalism in analyzing or critiquing a film or a series has, sadly, become more and more influenced by their biases and agendas (be those political or otherwise), as recent releases like Ghostbusters or The Last Jedi would suggest (or the different reception to The Orville vs. Star Trek Discovery insofar TV shows are concerned). In fact, James Raney over at YouTube makes an interesting comparison between reviews for Netflix’s Bright and Disney’s The Last Jedi, highlighting the lack of consistency when reviewing one of the other (you can watch his video here). Erik Kain from Forbes also wrote an article about a month ago arguing some critics didn’t do their due diligence when reviewing Altered Carbon (you can read his article here). Is the takeaway here that I should start watching everything the critics review badly? I should hope not.

With that said, let’s dive into spoiler territory.

I didn’t like the character of Lizzie, Vernon’s daughter. I thought Poe’s therapy took way too long and was meant entirely to have her show up in the last episode to save her parents through Kovacs’ levels of badassery in an outfit that felt out of place, if not out of character. Not to mention she hints at being able to see the future, something that comes entirely out of the left field and certainly adds nothing to this series but perhaps it’s setup for the sequel. It’s also rather convenient that she has the single, most damning, piece of evidence for Takeshi to round up his investigation, something you will probably guess early on and that the show will do its utmost to make you forget (or you will have solved at least half of the puzzle).

Much criticism has also been directed at the character of Reileen Kawahara (played by Dichen Lachman; did I mention the women in this show are all absolutely gorgeous?), Takeshi’s sister. As you can undoubtedly guess, she’s the evil mastermind behind everything that’s going on to the point she even has her version of Oddjob (that’s from James Bond’s Goldfinger in case you didn’t know) to run interference and murder everyone that gets in her way. I personally liked how Lachman played the character as I felt she was very attached to her brother (maybe too much so), to the point I truly believed she was sincere about wanting him back at her side, the two of them against the world, even if it was also crystal clear everyone else was utterly expendable to her. In hindsight, perhaps the flashbacks don’t accurately convey this bond as Takeshi and Reileen have little time to reconnect, after being separated since childhood, before they’re recruited into the Envoys, but Reileen certainly comes across as (overly) protective of her big brother from that point onwards. Props to Joel Kinnaman also as Reileen’s and Takeshi’s last scene aboard the “Head in the Clouds,” is especially poignant as you can see how neither truly wants to harm the other and it tears Takeshi (and the viewer) apart when he finally pulls the trigger and end his sister’s life. As the resort plunges from the skies to its inevitable doom, Takeshi ignores Ortega’s pleas to escape with her and resolves to stay with his little sister to the very end.

Please find a way to reunite brother and sister in a sequel! It’s so sad we spent so little time with her before she was outed as the villain.

I think that about covers it. As you may have noticed, I’ve taken a liking to several of the supporting characters in the show. Sadly, all of these end up dead but I’ve learned not to take death for granted in a sci-fi show, especially one where there a technology exists that can backup a person’s consciousness. Let me add here that I also liked Ortega’s busybody character but I feel her arc was well-rounded at the end of the series so I don’t think it’s necessary for us to see her again in the sequel, but maybe Takeshi will run into Elias Ryker one day? That would be fun to watch.

What did you make of Altered Carbon? Who was your favourite character? Who would you bring back? Also, with the introduction of sleeves, this show could potentially go on for as long as it wants (or has enough material), similarly to Doctor Who. Will Yun Lee could certainly reprise his role as Takeshi Kovacs or perhaps he could be played by someone else. The ending takes every precaution not give away any hint as to his ethnicity, to the point his new sleeve is even wearing gloves. Who would you like to see play Takeshi Kovacs in a sequel?

#altered carbon #netflix #takeshi kovacs #reileen kawahara #quellcrist falconer #kristin ortega #joel kinnaman #will yun lee #dichen lachman #renée elise goldsberry #martha higareda #chris conner

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lancecarr · 5 years

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B2B Video Guide: 8 Must-Dos (and 2 DonҴs) for Success

Want to start creating B2B videos?

Or perhaps you’ve already started making videos, but you’d like to hear some tips from seasoned digital marketing professionals?

You’re in the right place.

Whether you work for a big brand, a small business or yourself, creating a video marketing strategy is a great way to connect customers with your product or service.

In this post, we’ll be providing a recap of a webinar where three industry professionals got together to share their advice about making videos. Their list of Do’s and Don’ts are based on each of their learnings through years of experience making videos in the B2B space.

Prefer video? Check out our webinar below:

When it comes to software, each is a longtime user of TechSmith Camtasia, an all-in-one screen recording and video editing tool. You can download a free trial to test it out.

Meet the speakers

Jay Baer is the Founder of consulting firm Convince and Convert, an author, a Hall of Fame keynote speaker, and the host of The Talk Triggers Show. He has been leveraging video for years throughout his weekly array of B2B activities.

Kerry O’Shea Gorgone is an attorney, a speaker, and the Director of Product Strategy at MarketingProfs. She is also the Host of the Marketing Smarts podcast, and the co-host of Punch Out, and is a regular creator of video content for use in marketing activities.

Andy Crestodina is a speaker, content marketer, author, and co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Orbit Media, a web design and development company. He has ten years of experience creating videos for blog posts he writes, for use on social media, and more.

Must-dos for B2B video success

Do: Think like a TV network

Stop random acts of video.

Often, when it comes to B2B video marketing, people are making one-offs. Perhaps creating one video for social media. And maybe later, one for their website, etc., without a system, sequence, or plan.

Jay advises, instead, to develop a series and produce videos consistently, like a show.

Here’s an example from his YouTube channel:

This ongoing, consistent approach will help you get better as a creator, and also help your audience with brand recognition and allow you to make a bigger impact as you go-to-market with your video content.

Do: Set up consistently

If you are producing video consistently, and this is especially true if you are doing multiple episodes of a show, it’s important to keep your set up consistent, so that the end result is consistent.

Similar lighting, audio, and editing techniques will give you a cohesive look and feel throughout your content.

This, again, helps with branding in general, so that your audience can easily recognize you. Andy shared his own consistent set up in the photo below, noting that he’s actually since swapped the DSLR camera for a webcam.

Andy Crestodina’s video setup

Do: State the premise immediately

When your audience clicks on your video, the first thing they’ll do is make a judgment about whether or not to keep watching. This is especially true if your brand is new to them.

At TechSmith, our research found that the number one reason people stop watching a video is that it doesn’t provide the information they were looking for.

It’s important to do this within the first few seconds of your B2B video (this is true for podcasts as well).

Kerry advises immediately demonstrating that the video will be well-produced, with polished footage (or other visuals) and audio, while hinting at the most compelling aspect of the content itself.

Illustrate the relevance to your audience.

This will let people know the content is relevant and help keep them engaged for the duration of your video.

Do: Keep it short

Most marketing videos should be 2 minutes or less–according to research from Vidyard. This is at least true for higher-in-the-funnel, awareness-type videos.

The majority of users we surveyed prefer informational and instructional videos to be between 3-6 minutes.

People don’t have attention to spare, and if they don’t yet know your brand, they don’t know why they should pay attention to you and care. The appropriate length will depend on where someone is in the customer journey, though.

Once they’ve entered the consideration phase, at that point, your videos can typically be longer since you’re past the point of capturing their interest.

However, you need to plan ahead and continually test and monitor your results to see what works for you.

Do: Use captions

You should use captions with your videos whenever possible. The most important reason for this is so that your content is accessible to anyone who may have a hearing impairment.

There are some additional reasons to use captions, though. They are helpful when you are posting your B2B videos on social media because most people are watching on their mobile devices with the sound turned off.

Andy says this makes your videos a “thumb-stopper” and gives people a reason to turn the sound on.

He has an entire blog post he wrote which goes into captioning for social media more in-depth. Additionally, uploading captions can help make your content more findable by Google and other search engines.

Do: Spice it up with annotations and transitions

When it comes to spicing up your B2B video with annotations, transitions, and other simple edits, Jay shared that Camtasia makes this very simple, since all the effects are drag-n-drop.

Kerry shared that she is a self-taught video creator and that she leveraged the Camtasia tutorials to become fluent.

She relies on arrows and text annotations, to maximize knowledge transfer, and make sure that her message lands with her audience, and explained that the visual reinforcement is key to getting your point across.

Do: Add tracking URLs

Use a URL builder to create a unique link, so that you can understand where traffic that you send back to your website is coming from.

This will help you understand the effectiveness of your B2B video, and that there are dozens of these tools available online.

via Orbit Media

Andy has had lots of success with video on social media but said he wouldn’t know that if he didn’t add campaign tracking codes to the link.

This is applicable if you are using clickable links in your video (in Camtasia, these are called HotSpots), or in the copy that surrounds your YouTube video, this could be in the description box below the video. Or in the link you include alongside your video on Facebook.

Then, you can review results within Google Analytics, and you’ll be able to attribute your video efforts for the traffic it drives.

Do: Track results and tweak accordingly

This builds off the previous point, but in addition to monitoring traffic to your site from any links associated with your video, review other video metrics like video views, engagement, etc.

Regardless if you are new to video in general, or if this is a new type of video series, the first few that you share will give you a starting point.

Think of it as an experiment. Then, based on your results, you can determine areas you’d like to improve, and then plan different approaches you may be able to take to drive those desired improvements. As you track your results, you’ll either win or learn.

This wraps up the list of things you should Do as you create B2B videos. Now, on to the Don’ts!

Don’t: Get discouraged

It takes time and repetition to drive results with video.

And like anything else, you’ll continue to get better at it with practice–faster and more effective. And the ROI will increase because you’ll get to a point where it’s less experimentation and more of a process.

Don’t: Be intimidated about the DIY video process

Most people start making videos not knowing at all what they are doing. And that’s okay. You don’t have to be some sort of video production wizard to make a good video. According to Jay, you just have to dive in and be comfortable that you are going to learn it.

The more you do it, the better you’ll get.

Know that you absolutely can do it. Allow yourself to be a beginner, keep at it, and enjoy the process!

If you’re struggling to find ideas for your videos here is a quick list to help get you started making great videos:

Explainer video

Demo video

Customer success video (aka success story)

Tutorial video

Training video

How-to video

Presentation recording

Social media video

📚Recommended Reading: How to Make a YouTube Video (Beginner’s Guide)

B2B video creation next steps

We hope you’ve found this list from some of the top B2B marketers helpful. Whether you’re completely new to video creation, or you’ve made a few videos on your own, and want to continue to improve.

If you need video creation software, be sure to check out Camtasia–you can download a free trial to test it out. Camtasia is easy-to-use and intuitive to learn. Plus, there are instructional tutorials available to help guide you along, and free tech support if you need help.

Make your own videos with Camtasia

Need a video editor? Download a free trial of Camtasia to quickly and easily make your own DIY videos.

Get My Free Trial

And if you’d like to learn more about the general mechanics of good videos, you can sign up for free courses in the TechSmith Academy. Learn the basics of creating scripts and storyboards, and view exclusive interviews with experienced video creators.

The post B2B Video Guide: 8 Must-Dos (and 2 Don’ts) for Success appeared first on Welcome to the TechSmith Blog.

https://www.techsmith.com/blog/b2b-video-guide/

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theteenagetrickster · 5 years

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The twenty Absolute Best Dubstep Songs of the EDM Years

The EDM.com team put our heads together and organized a listing of the 20 absolute best dubstep tracks released coming from 2010-2019.

UPDATE (12/23/2019): Respectable states were actually included and also "Bangarang" through Skrillex was cleared away and substituted as it was actually erroneously noted as dubstep.It's secure to

mention that this many years has actually been actually the greatest in the past history of dubstep. While thrusting to the best of the digital globe early in the decade and coming to be one of one of the most well-known EDM subgenres for years later on, dubstep surpassed the initial hype as well as came to be a steering interject the electronic popular music arena.

In honor of the fantastic years of dubstep our team've obtained to appreciate, here are the style's 20 finest paths of the years.20.

" Rail Buster" - Trouble 10 ft. Rico Act

An anthem devoted to those who like to make place surveillance fear, "Rail Buster" embodies the sense of the headbangers in the frontal row. Along with a minimalistic overview putting total importance on Rico Action's now-iconic vocals, hardcore supporters of dubstep have discovered on their own embracing the tip of headbanging therefore hard their backs ache.

19. "Experts" - SKisM

In 2012, the Never Claim Perish manager SKisM discharged "Pros," his phone call to upper arms for his fellow dubstep super star allies. His skillful manufacturing skill-sets are actually on total screen as he rips via the monitor offering listeners little bit of opportunity to breathe. Illustrating Zomboy, Skrillex, Excisionas well as himself combating an enabled internet giant, the video following the tune remains one of the finest in the past of the category.18.

" Gold (Foolish Love)" - Excision and Illenium ft. Lagoon

Some of the more unexpected partnerships in bass music, Excision sponsored the help of the superstar future bass manufacturer Illenium for their emotional monitor "Gold (Stupid Passion)" including Lagoon. While the first portion of the tune is much more evocative Illenium's trademark sound, midway with it loses as well as threatening grumbling begins as raw electrical power similar to Excision's precursors erupts. The outcome is actually a smooth blend of the duo's talents, making it look like they have actually been teaming up for decades.

17. "Dead Presidents" - Zomboy and also 12th Planet ft. Jay Fresh

A massive cooperation that found Zomboy join pressures with among the absolute most essential personalities behind the United States dubstep action,, "Dead Presidents" observes the two bass heavyweights at their outright best. With Jay Fresh's vocals as well as a smart take on Zomboy's trademark catch phrase throughout, the duo produced a striking dubstep tune dripping along with style like couple of others.16.

" Behemoth" - SVDDEN DEATH

Launched in 2018 as a portion of the very first access in his atmospherical VOYD-branded EPs, "Behemoth" through SVDDEN FATALITY ended up being an on-the-spot staple in virtually every bass musician's set. Unquestionably heavy in every feeling of the definition, the grinding, pummeling bass coming from the escapement bass manufacturer aided "Mammoth" reside up to its own title.

15. "Like a Bitch" - Zomboy

Zomboy delivered shockwaves via the event circuit with the release of his eruptive tune "Like a Bitch." With one of the best momentous break downs in dubstep history, from the extremely second this path hit the airwaves, enthusiasts and DJs identical recognized it will be a major bargain. Inciting uproars almost each time it is actually in the mix, "Like a Bitch" helped move the already gigantic Zomboy to brand new heights.14.

" Haven Festival" - Enormous Attack (Zeds Dead Remix)

Through 2010, it was actually obvious Zeds Dead will turn into one of bass songs's most appreciated actions. On the heels of their big remix of "Eyes aflame" by Blue Structure, the Toronto duo would certainly release an amazing rework of Gigantic Strike's "Haven Circus." It interests look back at the growling bass and sawing synths to view how the duo had the capacity to develop such appealing sounds with modern technology effectively behind what our team possess today.

Thirteen. "I Needed to have Air" - Magnetic Male ft. Angela Hunte

When legends Skream, Benga, and Artwork unveiled their supergroup, Magnetic Male, the dubstep community understood one thing enormous was actually coming. Helping movie critics definitely discover the mainstream allure dubstep has, "I Needed to have Air" incorporated stand out vocals along with the audios of the underground in a means that had not very been actually done a lot back then. It laid the foundation for artists for the rest of the years and beyond.12.

" Gold Dirt" - DJ Fresh (Change Structure Remix)

Launched in the Spring season of 2010, Motion Structure's flip of "Gold Dust" by DJ Fresh came to be one of the most prominent monitors online in the times where our experts discovered our favorite tracks via YouTube. Featuring his hallmark shrill bass, the way he winds the vocals along with his empowering sound created the tune one that instantly transforms the crowd right into a jumping, disorderly singalong.

11. "Bass Head" - Bassnectar

Launched at the start of the many years, "Bass Head" neighbors and also dear in the hearts of Bassnectar enthusiasts worldwide. Along with being just one of best in the super star bass performer's arsenal, the tune will motivate the title that supporters used when describing on their own. Throughout this monitor and also many more, Bassnectar will take place to amass among the biggest followings in every of digital songs and offer out series nearly everywhere.10.

" Go Yourself In The Shoe Again" - Skream & & Example It is actually secure to claim that without Skream's additions to the style this checklist would certainly not be actually possible. While he released countless dubstep classics in the mid to late '00s, he didn't decrease down in the abiding by many years, launching some of his all-time greats. An ideal illustration of the is his collaboration with vocalist Instance on their keep track of "Try Yourself In The Foot Again." Listening to it years later on works as a history session on the roots of the category we understand and love.

9. "Vermin" - Blade Event

While Timepiece's Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen were no strangers to electronic music, their jump to dubstep became heads. Equal components attribute docudrama as well as dancing floor igniter, "Vermin" off Knife Person's 2nd EP showcased the duo's development chops. It included a number of the best fascinating sound layout as well as gloss around as they headlined celebrations all over the world.

8. "Bass Cannon" - Change Canopy

Coming from the moment the seemingly innocent alarms from "Bass Cannon" are heard, something clicks in listeners' scalps and also they get ready for madness. Flux Canopy carried out not conduct back as he let loose the carte blanche of his toolbox with audio that experiences like it's actually shot coming from a cannon. Even as the track approaches its own tenth special day, it still carries on to electrify dance floorings as if it were a brand new release.7.

" Crave You" - Tour Facilities (Experience Club Remix)

Before melodic dubstep took control of primary stages at primary festivals around the globe, Adventure Nightclub discharged their remix of Air travel Facilities' "Crave You" years in advance of the curve. Completely catching the essence of the authentic, the Montreal duo produced a moody soundscape of impressive, ariose dubstep highlighting the most ideal of Air travel Facilities' emphatic vocals for some of the very best remixes in the past history of bass popular music.

6. "Assures" - NERO

The 4th single off their awesome debut album Invite Reality, "Promises," has a few of the very most popular vocals the style has ever viewed. Also the absolute most informal of EDM fans can easily recite to you the verses coming from the U.K. chart-topping keep track of. In addition to NERO's outstanding authentic mix, the track would certainly later on be actually remixed by Calvin Harris. Afterwards, in collaboration along with Skrillex, the triad will develop a remix that would certainly happen to win a Grammy in 2013 for Ideal Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.

5. "Throwin' Elbows" - Excision and Space Shoelaces

Perhaps the absolute most crucial have a place in modern bass music, Excision would certainly happen to turn into one of the absolute most massive actions in dubstep and also develop Lost Lands, the world's largest celebration of bass songs. Heretofore accomplishment, he participated in manufacturing star Space Entwinesfor "Throwin' Elbows" off of his 3rd studio cd Infection. Recognized to trigger mosh pits to unplanned erupt, the duo's bone-breaking tune is still a staple in dubstep artists' ready to this time.4.

" Terrifying Beasts and also Pleasant Sprites" - Skrillex

At the beginning of the many years, Skrillex released some of the files that transformed digital music as we understand it, "Frightening Monsters and Great Sprites." As the headline path off his sophomore EP, it will win the Grammy for Finest Dance Recording, while the EP will succeed the award for Greatest Dance/Electronica Cd in 2012. Its viral video recording example would happen to end up being engrained in the minds of the entire electronic globe and past, as it was the preface to a lot of audiences' introduction of Skrillex's famous growling basslines.3.

" Woo Improve" - Rusko

A pioneering act that supported dramatically to dubstep's evolution, Rusko genuinely lives up to his nickname, "The Don." While "Woo Improvement" was actually certainly not his 1st attacked whatsoever, it was among his first in the present many years and also still to present an outright supporter fave. Wavy like handful of others, "Woo Improvement" showcases a contemporary take on the audio that pushed artists like himself and also Caspa to the limelight while likewise preparing the bar for the developers of tomorrow.

2. "I Can't Quit" - Motion Pavilion

For his 3rd introduction on this list, Flux Structure's very most widely known song is actually showcased. "I Can't Quit" would almost quickly turn into one of the best recognizable tracks in electronic music past history. Played at primary sporting events worldwide, stated the trendiest history on the planet by Zane Lowe, as well as sampled by Kanye West and also Jay-Z, "I Can not Cease" came to be a lot more than simply a terrific dubstep tune, yet a social phenomenon.1.

" Movie theater" - Benny Benassi ft. Gary Go (Skrillex Remix)

Although the world identified the past emo frontman Skrillex's great skill on 2009's Frightening Monsters and Wonderful Sprites, numerous consider his remix of Benny Benassi's "Cinema" to become the vital Skrillex monitor as well as one deserving of the best respects of the years. Played in spots that bass songs didn't also exist in, for lots of, "Movie theater" was their 1st taste of dubstep. Promptly turning the EDM globe on its head, Skrillex escalated to the top of both the dubstep and also digital globe and is often credited as being one of the best necessary bodies in the American EDM boom of the 2010s. Along with business excellence, the keep track of would win him the Grammy for Greatest Remixed Recording, Non-Classical and also assist further cement his heritage being one of dubstep's ultimate acts.

Honorable Acknowledgments

"Sugary food Store" - Medical Professional P

At the starting point of the many years, Medical professional P discharged one of his most well-known tracks to time, "Sweet Outlet." Beginning off along with uplifting piano to accustom attenders to the track, Doctor P sends out some screeching bass with rich growls throughout generating a melody that right away creates emotions of nostalgia with experienced dubstep followers.

"Yasuo" - Bommer & & Crowell

Seen as a cornerstone for a climbing activity in the bass world, Bommer and Crowell's Organization of Legends-motivated "Yasuo" came to be nothing less than an anthem. Named after a status coming from the enormously preferred video clip game, vocal lines from the assassin are linked with the cutting bass declines as well as haunting tricks throughout. Discharged in 2014, the monitor is going to try to proceed its reign of horror on the bass circuit long right into the next many years.

This content was originally published here.

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velmaemyers88 · 5 years

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Cloud Companies Microsoft, Amazon, and Google Are Competing to Support Video Game Streaming

Satya Nadella has grown used to the naysayers. For years, Wall Street analysts questioned why Microsoft, the company famous for its Windows operating system and Office business suite, would waste money on something so seemingly trivial as video games. The calls grew louder when Nadella took the company’s helm in July 2014. Still smarting from his predecessor’s missteps in mobile devices, Nadella promised to steer Microsoft away from consumer distractions and toward its highly lucrative business services. Some even urged Microsoft to exit the gaming business altogether. “Four to five years ago, we and others were calling for them to divest that piece of the business,” says Daniel Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities and a longtime Microsoft observer. That tune has changed: Last year, Microsoft’s gaming revenue—which includes Xbox, Windows games, and a cut of third-party gaming sales—topped $10 billion for the first time.

When I ask Nadella why the company didn’t drop gaming, he chuckles. “There were a lot of things that a lot of people said Microsoft should be doing,” he says. “If I listened to everything that everybody else on the outside asks me to do, there would be very little innovation in this company.”

To be fair, in years past, Nadella had been hesitant to call gaming business core to Microsoft’s overall strategy. Despite its success, gaming represents about a tenth of Microsoft’s annual revenue. Cloud-computing growth is a big reason that the company’s market capitalization topped $1 trillion this year; its “intelligent cloud” unit, which includes its Azure cloud-computing service, generates as much revenue in a quarter as the gaming group generates in a year. (Hasta la vista, Halo!)

But what if you could hitch gaming’s fortunes to Microsoft’s potent cloud engine? Well, now you’re talking. Nadella’s blockbuster $2.5 billion acquisition of the enormously popular world-building game Minecraft in 2014 was a “bit of a head-scratcher” when it was first announced, says analyst Ives, but it’s now clear that the CEO was “planting the seed of how he viewed gaming as part of the broader business.” Microsoft wouldn’t just retain video games. Much as the company managed with Windows and Office, it would use the flywheel of its cloud-computing infrastructure to dramatically boost the scale of its gaming business—and the fortunes of every video game publisher it works with—far beyond what was previously possible.

Today, gaming is unquestionably “core”; in late 2017, Nadella elevated gaming lead Phil Spencer to the company’s executive leadership team to underscore the point. And executives are bullish on the prospects of cloud-driven gameplay. Julia White, who leads product management for Microsoft’s cloud platform, estimates that the business of selling Azure services to video game publishers is worth $70 billion—about as much as publicly traded transportation darling Uber. Most of today’s Internet-connected video games are developed in, and operated from, private data centers run by game publishers, she says. Technology trends in other industries suggest that won’t last. “Even though game developers are in a very different business,” she says, “they face the same trials and tribulations of a commercial bank or a retail company going to the cloud.”

To the cloudmaster go the spoils: In January, the Xbox maker shocked the gaming world by landing longtime console adversary Sony (of PlayStation fame) as an Azure customer with a promise to collaborate on future unspecified gaming projects. It was as if General Motors and Ford had announced a partnership to take on Tesla—an unmistakable sign that the competitive landscape would rapidly and dramatically change.

It was also an indication that Nadella’s mission for Microsoft would be more expansive than it originally appeared. When I ask him why Microsoft is working so hard to build a consumer entertainment service when it has positioned itself as an enterprise software company, he replies, “It’s a bigger business, right? It’s bigger than any other segment. Why would I not do gaming? It fits with what we do. It has connective tissue to the common platform. We have a point of view that what we can do is unique.”

The problem: so does every other player in this game.

For 39,000 viewers tuned into Twitch, Elvis might as well have entered the building. Richard Tyler Blevins, the 28-year-old celebrity “streamer” known to fans by his moniker Ninja, has logged on to the service to play a few public rounds of the popular “battle royale” game Fortnite with his buddy. As his avatar runs and leaps through the game’s virtual environment, weapon in hand, Blevins barks commands like an NFL quarterback at the snap—and his Twitch viewers hang on every mundanity. Their comments rush by in the chat window accompanying Ninja’s feed. Some viewers respond to every move Blevins’s character makes (“get that delay ninja”); others practically ignore the show to talk among themselves. (One thread of conversation among many: Why Finding Nemo was a “pretty good” Pixar movie.)

In other words, just another day on Twitch. Viewers—overwhelmingly male and mostly 34 or younger—watched a breathtaking 9.36 billion hours of gameplay on the platform last year, according to estimates by production company StreamElements. Twitch launched in 2011 as a spinoff of streaming video site Justin.tv, a pioneer in user-generated content. In 2014, Amazon reportedly spent $970 million to acquire the site, besting YouTube-owner Google in a bidding war. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter estimates that Twitch brought in $400 million in revenue last year.

Twitch, which is housed in Amazon Web Services, the online retailer’s cloud-computing unit, has rapidly become a cornerstone of the company’s broader video gaming strategy. AWS, as Amazon Web Services is known, is already selling computing resources and developer tools to video game publishers. It’s also rumored to be working on a service that would allow it to stream video games themselves rather than merely video of people playing them. (The company declined to comment, though recent job listings for technical roles for “an unannounced AAA games business” suggest its intentions. Like minor league baseball, “AAA” denotes the highest level of play in terms of budget and production.)

Bonnie Ross, head of Microsoft-owned game studio 343 Industries, mugs with a statue of Master Chief, the protagonist of its Halo series, at the studio’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash. Photo by Chona Kasinger

Two major milestones in the gaming industry set the stage for a cloudy future. The first: The massive success of Epic Games’ Fortnite, which brought in an estimated $2.4 billion in sales last year and now claims 250 million registered players. Fortnite demonstrated that “cross-platform” games, playable across competing devices from Microsoft, Sony, Apple, and others, could amass audiences far larger than those of the previous era, when titles were limited to specific ecosystems. “Fortnite was critical in getting the message across to all platforms that they have to lower the barrier of entry to their respective walled gardens,” says Joost van Dreunen, head of games for market researcher SuperData.

The second? Twitch. The service demonstrated that people were just as happy to watch and cheer people playing games—call it the kid-sibling phenomenon—as they were to play the games themselves. That kind of interactivity proved that engagement and gameplay were not one and the same. The dynamic expands the addressable viewership for a given title. “Viewing is eclipsing gaming, and a lot of youth of today would say they played the game when they really viewed the game,” says Bonnie Ross, head of 343 Industries, the Microsoft studio that develops Halo.

For Microsoft’s part, the company never saw the spectatorship aspect coming. “Amazon has Microsoft on a treadmill,” a former executive says. Two years after Amazon bought Twitch, Microsoft acquired competing service Beam for an undisclosed amount. Rechristened Mixer, it has become the means by which Xbox customers can watch one another play games, logging 39.6 million hours of viewing in 2018, per StreamElements—a whopping 179% more than the previous year but still a distant third to Amazon’s Twitch and Google’s YouTube Live.

The summer sun blazes above the thousands of coders assembled for Google’s annual I/O developer conference in Mountain View, Calif., but the anxiety on display in the long line has little to do with the weather. The event’s attendees, who base their livelihoods on building software for as many users as possible, are keen to hear Google’s sales pitch for why they should create games for Stadia, an experimental cloud-gaming service that the search giant promises to debut in November.

Like most Silicon Valley presentations, the executives onstage overwhelm with ambitious assurances of technical prowess. Stadia’s complex cloud architecture will prevent the nasty networking hiccups that cause online gamers to throw down their controllers in frustration, Google’s representatives say. All gamers will need to do is open a tab in the Chrome web browser; with just a few clicks, they can play a high-speed, high-resolution title such as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

Like their counterparts at Microsoft and Amazon, Google brass believe their vast data center empire gives them an edge on the technical demands of streaming high-end video game titles without interruption. Like its peers, Google has encouraged its consumer gaming and enterprise cloud groups to work together to ensure Stadia launches without the problems that have traditionally plagued online games.

Thomas Kurian, a longtime Oracle executive who is now chief executive of Google’s cloud business, says the company’s enterprise engineers built the networking technology that powers Stadia. Cloud gaming is a way for Google to penetrate a multibillion-dollar industry, Kurian says. “Our hope is that it’s expanding the market, not just being a replacement market,” he says. “For every person in the world that games on a professional desktop, there are probably three who can’t afford one.”

In other words: Why fight over a quarter of the market when the rest is greenfield? John Justice, a Microsoft veteran who now leads product development for Google Stadia, agrees. Gamers no longer want to “buy an expensive box every few years,” he says. Stadia, and services like it, are more accessible destinations to engage with games without the high barriers of entry found in the traditional console market.

Even the pricing plays a part: Though Stadia’s $129 bundle plus $9.99 monthly subscription has already been announced, Google says it is also evaluating a free version, with lower-quality graphics, that would debut later. Though the technological trajectory is clear, it’s still “early days” for the business model behind cloud gaming, Justice says. “Some people really do want transaction models, and some people want subscription models,” he says. “I don’t think we will say we will only go with one.”

It could take years to iron out the details. Though consumers would love a gaming model akin to Netflix or Spotify—pay a monthly fee, play titles to your heart’s content—it’s not yet clear that cloud providers have the leverage over game publishers to make that happen. Publishers have seen how platform pressures have changed the business of movies, music, magazines, and more. They don’t want to give up a share of their sales unless they’re certain that there are many more to be had in the long run.

Ubisoft, the French publisher best known for the Assassin’s Creed series, isn’t terribly concerned. “That’s less interesting to us,” says Chris Early, an Ubisoft executive who manages partnerships and revenue. The company in June revealed its own subscription service, called Uplay+, that is playable on personal computers and spans more than 100 titles in its own catalog, including Far Cry and Prince of Persia. It costs $14.99 a month and will also be available on Stadia next year. At this moment, “it makes less sense for a publisher to be part of an aggregated subscription model,” says Early. There are many proposals for how to sustainably monetize cloud gaming, he adds, but it remains unclear “who is going to pay whom.”

For now, publishers are focused on figuring out whether today’s successful titles make sense in the cloud—or whether all-new titles, native to the format, will replace familiar franchises. The interactivity of Twitch and the novelty of so-called freemium mobile games, like Candy Crush, showed that technological leaps could open new paths to gaming engagement. The possibilities that could emerge from running games on the same infrastructure that supports today’s artificial intelligence are something that technologists can only fathom.

“There will probably be evolutions of game design that we can’t even imagine yet,” says Early, “and they’re going to take advantage of the increase of cloud compute.”

Back in Redmond, I stop by Microsoft’s 343 Industries game studio, where employees welcome me to a visitor center—a shrine, really—celebrating the company’s Halo franchise, which has racked up $6 billion in sales since its debut. Statues depicting its heroes and villains tower over my head—a gallery of Greek gods, so to speak, for the gaming set. There are glass museum cases everywhere packed with memorabilia. On one wall is a rack of replicas of the virtual weaponry from the game, as intimidating in person as they appear on the screen. Bright orange tags with the word “prop” hang from their triggers in case someone takes the “incineration cannon” a little too seriously.

Founded in 2007 and named after a Halo character, 343 Industries is one of the older members of the Microsoft game portfolio. Last year alone, Microsoft acquired six game studios; at this year’s E3 industry confab, the company announced that it had picked up one more. Today, its Xbox Game Studios division is a federation of 15 semiautonomous studios that the company believes will be a key asset in the cloud-gaming wars—particularly against Amazon and Google, which lack strong titles of their own.

Not everyone sees it that way. Though Microsoft has won plaudits for successive editions of Halo and the Forza car-racing series, analysts have pointed to the titles’ relative age—Halo debuted in 2001; Forza first appeared four years later—as evidence that Microsoft’s homegrown studios have run out of ideas. “We have work to do there,” acknowledged Spencer, the Microsoft gaming chief. “We haven’t done our best work over the last few years with our first-party output.”

Frames from Halo Infinite, the forthcoming edition of the sci-fi game series, and Forza Horizon 4, a popular car-racing series. Both are published by Microsoft. Courtesy of Xbox Game Studios

That must change if Microsoft, the only video game veteran among the Big Three consumer cloud companies, hopes to maintain its natural advantage against Amazon and Google. After all, in video games, as in other parts of the media industry, content is king—which is why Microsoft’s rivals have moved to hire gaming veterans from top shops such as Electronic Arts (Madden NFL, Need for Speed) and 2K Games (Civilization, NBA 2K20) in an effort to build their own franchises. It is an uncanny echo of the moves by Amazon and Google to build their own premium programming, for Prime and YouTube, respectively, to compete with Netflix.

But Rome wasn’t built in a day. Seven years after establishing a gaming group in 2012, Amazon laid off dozens of game developers as it reorganized itself for a cloud-based future. (Amazon downplayed the news. “Amazon is deeply committed to games and continues to invest heavily in Amazon Game Studios, Twitch, Twitch Prime, AWS, our retail businesses, and other areas within Amazon,” a spokesperson tells Fortune.)

Van Dreunen, the SuperData analyst, believes it will take up to five years before cloud-driven efforts by the Big Three will significantly affect the traditional gaming industry. Until then, look for cloud computing’s leaders to continue investing in their data center infrastructure to support the “gradual rollout” of cloud-gaming services, he says.

Why would Amazon, Google, and Microsoft make so much noise about a future that’s so far away? It’s all a part of the “land and expand” business model familiar to the technology industry, says analyst Pachter: Give a speech, plant a flag, hope that early momentum snowballs into an insurmountable competitive advantage. After all, “Facebook wasn’t a billion-dollar idea until it was,” he says. “Uber wasn’t a billion-dollar idea until it was.”

Microsoft, in particular, has no intention of missing out. The company still regrets losing the mobile war to Google and its Android operating system. (Microsoft “missed being the dominant mobile operating system by a very tiny amount,” cofounder Bill Gates lamented earlier this year.) To underperform in an area where it has a head start of almost two decades would be, in a word, unconscionable.

Time to suit up, then. “We’re in gaming for gaming’s sake,” Nadella says. “It’s not a means to some other end.”

A version of this article appears in the August 2019 issue of Fortune with the headline “Big Tech’s New Street Fight.”