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microtonalmatt · 8 months

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Redesigning Aife

Hey so it's been a while since I did or said anything with/about Beeknighted. After the launch of the demo disc, I updated the game feverishly for a couple weeks, but I got into some dire financial straits and was looking for more work for a long while. I also took a break from Beeknighted to work on Star Crucible, which was only intended to be a one-month quick little project for a game jam that has spiraled out of control. It's still in the back pocket but I need to let it simmer for a while I refine some of its ideas.

I'm now working on a third project, this time something I'm telling myself I'll actually get done in a short time (I know, I know). But I just couldn't stop thinking about things I wanted to do with Beeknighted. I've been writing characters, chunks of the main quest, designing weapons and items, all just on paper because I haven't really had a chance to properly work on it for a while. But I thought I shouldn't set aside both Beeknighted and Star Crucible without at least dropping a crumb or two, so I've been working on the redesign of Aife, the bee.

First off, why the redesign?

The bee was the first full 3D model I had ever created, textured, and animated. Period. It had...a lot of problems and beginner mistakes. And I didn't just wake up one day and bust out a perfect model of what was in my head. Version 1.0 of the bee was...quite frankly horrifying.

Yeah, it...it was bad. It was made in 3 days for a game jam using youtube tutorials for a guide (which was not the fault of the tutorials at all, simply user error). When I decided to develop the game further, I set about retexturing the model, thinking I could save the geometry. I really just cleaned up the face and body.

But this didn't fix the underlying faults with the model. The rig was just plain bad. There were weird issues with weights where if you bent the character too far forward the head would shrink, the hair couldn't animate well, there are no shoulder bones so no shoulder movement, lots of issues all around. Those weren't easily fixed when I already had made around 40 animations using the rig.

There were also issues with the body geometry. The arms/hands/legs/feet/wings were all fine, but the head, thorax, and abdomen, to get technical, were all imperfect. There's weird shading issues you can see on the body that are a result of bad topology. A failure to properly triangulate the abdomen caused it to look weird at some angles. And the head is just poorly modeled overall. It uses a lot more triangles than necessary and doesn't achieve the intended design goal. Heads are hard, faces even more so. She doesn't even have a nose.

Even if you can excuse the mediocre rigging and amateur geometry, you can't excuse the biggest problem of all: my crime against video game collision shapes:

I shouldn't even be allowed to touch a computer after this atrocity.

It was really important to me that the collision represent the shape of the character for the combat to feel precise. But this disaster meant platforming is all over the place. Not to mention if the character gets horizontally wedged between two walls, there's no escape because the character can't turn around. I had thought "Spyro did it [an oddly shaped character], so can I" but I am not a seasoned Insomniac developer. Even so, I don't know how I was allowed to sneak in this egregious sin against video games for so long.

So in short, these changes had been a long time coming.

The goals of the redesign:

First and foremost, the bee had to stand more upright (or else more horizontal, not diagonal) so that I could use a regular upright collision capsule. At the same time, I wanted to maintain as many bee elements as possible.

The abdomen had to be a bit smaller and more out of the way so the player could always see where the feet were landing for platforming purposes. This was a bigger problem than you'd think.

The character had to appear older but still look small. This was simply a mistake in the old design that the face looked too young by the nature of me struggling to draw faces + the bad geometry. The bangs were meant to hang down more but the model didn't allow for it.

Details needed to be crisper, bolder, and chunkier. When I played the demo on my CRT, I noticed the thinner points of limbs threatened to get lost on screen. N64 characters tend to be noticeably more chunky to compensate.

My inspirations for the initial character came from a range of sources. Obviously with the game being inspired by N64 graphics, I picked inspirational references from contemporary characters, as well as characters from media that had been created/released in the run-up to the N64 that might have inspired later works. I wanted the bee to look like a mix between a silent JRPG protagonist (or, y'know, Link wouldn't be a bad pick) and classic fantasy/horror anime female protagonists (the ones that all have that same long hairstyle, black/dark hair, poofy bangs in the front).

My moodboard included Yuuko from Valis, Utena from Revolutionary Girl Utena, Popful Mail, Aika and Fina from Skies of Arcadia, a handful of leading ladies from late 80s/early 90s horror OVAs (like the kind Madhouse was putting out at the time, but usually worse), and some Fire Emblem characters.

The N64 doesn't really have a lot of 3D "anime" characters to use for references. You've got the oft-maligned Quest 64, some of the bosses from the Goemon games (all the npcs are very chibi), and some of the more anime-inspired characters from the Zelda games and a handful from Megaman 64, though Megaman's art style and way of 3D modelling is fairly unique in its own right.

I suppose I should emphasize that while the main character and some of the side characters are anime-inspired, the point was not to make an anime game per se. I chose the look because of its potential to create expressive and amusing faces because I wanted the bee to have as much character as, say, Link from Wind Waker, who is constantly emoting about anything and everything.

The New Version

Aife's new model sports a totally remade head and body. While using the old limbs, I thickened them up a bit for visibility while still trying to maintain that bug-like spindliness. The abdomen is slightly smaller and the geometry is simplified. I simply didn't need that many triangles. She stands more upright, and the head is in a more natural place above the shoulders, and the human-ish proportions are better. The redone body uses vertex colors, rather than textures, but leaves the option open to texture new costumes. I also redesigned the bangs to drape lower on the face but not get in the way of the expression. The old bangs made the character look too childish, imo. All of the textures have been redrawn, simplified, and cleaned up. She now has a nose.

Despite all of the improvements and added details, the model weighs in at 100 fewer triangles than the old model, for a total of 672 tris.

I'm much more confident that this new Aife will be better suited to the highly animated gameplay required of her, and can't wait to dive into the rigging/animating process. But that's all for now!

#n64 #anime #character design #3d model #retro anime #godot engine

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the-bau-quinjet · 3 years

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My Only Girl

Summary: request! Reader has to decide between keeping her secret and saving the man she loves. In the end, it's not a hard choice.

Warnings: violence/blood

Word count: 3370

a/n: I really enjoyed writing this one! I put a screen shot of the request at the end just because I didn’t want to give away the whole story :)

You never would have guessed that today would change everything. It started the same as any other Thursday.

You were seated at your desk right outside of Tony’s main office working on his schedule for two weeks from now. Your music was playing softly through your earbuds causing you to bob your head as you read email after email.

Suddenly, a Starbucks cup appeared in front of your face, a metal hand wrapped around the cup.

You swiftly pulled the earbuds from your ears, turning in your chair to greet Bucky with a hug.

“Hi.” You whispered into his chest during your hug. “You are truly a gift.” You smiled, taking the cup with your go to order. You press a quick kiss to his lips only to be pulled back in for a deeper kiss by Bucky.

“Y/N, do you know when my next press conference is?” Tony asked, walking out of his office while still looking down at his tablet.

Bucky let you pull back from him just far enough to answer Tony. “Next Thursday. You wanted to announce the new post-mission protocol for ‘Damage Control’.” You chuckled at the title, knowing Pepper was still trying to talk him into changing it.

“Right! Thank you.” He finally looks up, taking in the sight of you in Bucky’s arms. “Barnes! Let her work.” He nearly whined, playing up the annoyance.

“I will.” Tony leveled him with a pointed glare, looking between you and your computer. “I will! I just wanted to say good morning to my best girl.”

You scrunched your nose at the term of endearment, leaning farther back from Bucky to look in his eyes.

“You don’t like being my best girl?” He sounded genuinely concerned, earning a small chuckle from you.

“I like being your only girl. Best implies that there are others, and though I would love to be the best of them, I don’t want there to be others.” You nodded your head resolutely, taking on a serious expression.

“Please, you’ve had this man wrapped around your finger from the second he saw you.” Tony scoffed.

“He’s right, doll. And you are my only girl. I love you.” Bucky pressed a quick kiss to your lips, letting you remove yourself from his arms to continue working.

“I love you too. See you for lunch?” He nodded as he walked backwards to the elevator, keeping his eyes on yours until the doors closed.

“Wrapped around your finger, I swear.” Tony laughed when you glared at him, retreating back into his office to make some phone calls.

Sometimes it’s really easy to pinpoint the exact moment everything went to shit. This was one of those times.

22 minutes before you were due to meet Bucky for lunch, the red emergency lights started flashing with an accompanying alarm blaring in your ears.

Friday announced “The compound is under attack, enacting lockdown protocol.”

“Shit.” Lockdown meant you needed to use specific codes to get into or out of any room. It definitely makes your life harder.

Tony left to meet Pepper 15 minutes ago, so to your knowledge you were the only one on this floor.

Glancing up and down the hall to double check, you swiftly enter Tony’s office, pulling up the security footage to see who you’re dealing with. Three different sides of the compound are surrounded by mercenaries clad in black fighting gear.

You watch the screens, contemplating the best course of action to subtly help when one of the mercenaries pulls out a missile launcher. He aims it quickly, firing into the side of the building.

You feel the walls shake as you watch part of the wall collapse, giving them an opening to enter the compound through.

“Shit.” You run from Tony’s office, heading for the action without another thought even though this is definitely the biggest problem you’ve ever helped them with.

You phase through the walls, doing your best to make sure nobody will see you when you come out on the other side of the wall. If all goes well, you’ll be back at your desk before anyone even notices you were gone.

Your powers are a secret, even from the team. The powers that be, meaning your boss, don’t want the Avengers knowing they have an Angel on their side. It took you enough negotiating to get yourself assigned to this “project”, you were willing to do it without telling anyone that you are a angel.

You basically had to beg your boss to let the Avengers be the people you watched over. Typically, angels are assigned to help those who can’t help themselves. Your logic for this assignment was that keeping the Avengers safe would, in turn, protect millions of other people.

The one stipulation you faced when finally being assigned the the Avengers, was that you couldn’t tell them what you are.

At first, You had no problem keeping the secret. Being Tony’s assistant hardly meant spending ample time with everyone. You didn’t need to befriend them to keep them safe. At least, that’s what you kept telling yourself.

Overtime, Tony broke down your walls. He convinced you to go to one of his galas, ultimately starting your demise. One look at Bucky had your heart soaring. Not telling him the truth has been eating away at you ever since he first asked you to get dinner with him.

You pushed your guilt to the back of your mind, refocusing on getting closer to the attackers so you could figure out what to do.

Typically, you use your powers to slightly change the path of bullets or hold off a bomb for a few extra seconds. It gives the team enough time to escape, not necessary unscathed, but with recoverable injuries. Plus, it keeps your powers hidden.

It’s hard enough to hack into the video feed from various super suits without alerting anyone, you were definitely concerned about how to keep your powers hidden while using them so close to everyone.

You skid to a stop just around the corner, listening as two of the mercenaries instruct the others.

“Split up. You know who we’re looking for. If you find him, report in. First priority is getting out of here with him alive. All else fails, kill him.”

Immediately, you’re mind jumped to Bucky. Of course, Hydra scrum could be looking for anyone to use as a weapon, but Bucky made the most sense. When would they finally realize they can’t control him anymore?

You used your powers to confuse the men, making it look like whatever blueprints they studied were outdated. It would hopefully give everyone else enough time to get here and fight them off.

You hid in a closet when you heard people approaching from behind you.

“Sam, find Wanda and get to the east side. Nat and I will handle these guys.”

You relaxed at the sound of Steve’s voice, waiting for the group to disperse before sliding out of the closet.

You ran back through the compound, heading for the lab. It was the closest place for you to retreat to in order to look through the security cameras again.

“Friday, give me a rundown of what’s happening please.” You looked between the screens, intently listening to the AI’s voice.

“The east side is being secured by Ms. Maximoff and Mr. Wilson. Based on projected outcomes, they will have everything under control in 7 minutes. Captain Rogers and Ms. Romanoff are fighting on the south side, near the blast sight. They will have the area secure in 6 minutes.”

You nodded, following along as you looked between the cameras.

“The west side is secure. Mr. Stark and Mr. Barton have cleared the area and are holding off any additional attacks.”

“Good. Where’s Bucky?” You looked between the cameras, but couldn’t find him.

“Sergeant Barnes is on the roof, engaged in hand to hand.”

“What the hell is he doing on the roof?” You panicked, clicking between camera angles until you could see him.

There were ten Hydra agents on the roof, surrounding Bucky as he did his best to fight them off.

“How did he get singled out so fast?” You mumbled to yourself, trying to think of a plan. They had Bucky backed up to the edge of the roof, slowly pushing him further and further.

You could see what was about to happen nearly in slow motion. You acted quickly, not thinking about keeping your secret, but rather solely focused on helping Bucky.

You broke through the window in the lab, wings appearing on your back as you flew to him. Just as you arrived, one of the agents shot him three times, propelling him backwards off the roof. Sending a shockwave over the roof, you knocked out the remaining agents as you dove, hurtling through the air to catch Bucky before he hit the ground.

You grabbed him around the waist, lugging his body through the air with some difficulty. It wasn’t the most convenient position, plus you were slightly rusty from hiding your wings for so long.

“Doll?” Bucky questioned, glancing at you through fluttering eyelids. “I knew you were my angel.” He whispered before his eyes fell closed, the blood loss getting to him.

You swung around the building, re-entering through the broken lab window and laying Bucky on the lab bench.

“Lifting lockdown protocol.” Friday announced, the noise barely registering in your ears.

“Ms. L/N, Captain Rogers is requesting a check in from everyone on the team, would you like me to update him on yours and the Sergeant’s situation.” Friday asked.

“Yeah, go ahead.” You muttered, not really paying attention to the question as you did your best to slow the bleeding. You haven’t tried healing anyone in years, so it was taking more effort than it should for you to fix this.

You closed your eyes, hands hovering over Bucky’s body. Your wings were still present, although no longer fully extended.

You channelled everything you could into healing Bucky’s wounds, drowning out any outside interference. Your hands began to glow, a warm golden light surrounding Bucky’s body as his bullet wounds healed.

A few minutes passed as his wounds fully healed. You nearly collapsed from the relief of seeing him no longer bleeding out. His color was returning to normal, heartbeat speeding back up.

“Y/N?” You jumped at the noise, turning around to see nearly the entire team staring at you.

Your eyes went wide, hand still clutching Bucky’s as you stuttered in an attempt to come up with an explanation.

“You have wings.” Wanda pointed out the obvious, everyone still wearing matching expressions of shock.

You looked over your shoulder, nearly surprised by their presence on your back yourself. You had been so focused on healing Bucky, you forgot to hide them again.

“Your hands were glowing.” Sam’s brow furrowed, looking between you and Bucky.

You nodded, still unsure of what to say.

Suddenly Steve barged into the room, unaware of the tension. He ran right for Bucky, yelling for someone to get a medic.

“Why are you all just standing there? Friday said he was shot! Three times! Get a medic!” He looked at everyone in a panic before turning to look for wounds on Bucky.

His brow furrowed as he tried to find any of the bullet wounds. “Wha- Where are the bullet wounds... He’s covered in blood, but not bleeding? Even we can’t heal that fast, what’s going on?” Steve turns back to the team, mouth slightly agape.

They all point to you.

Slowly, Steve turns finally noticing your presence. “Y/N?” He looks between the team and you again, a double take so fast it would have been funny if not for the situation.

“You have wings?” He says it with much more confusion than Wanda’s point blank statement.

You nod, voice still eluding you. You finally manage to get the wings to disappear.

“Care to explain...” Tony asks, pointing to where your wings just were, your hands, and Bucky, “All of that?”

Before you can reply, Bucky jolts awake with a groan.

“What the hell?” He looks around the lab, taking everyone’s confused faces. Even Nat looks surprised. “How did I get here?” He rubs his abdomen, slightly sore from the bullets.

Everyone shakes their heads, looking to you for answers.

“Y/N?” He turns to you, hand squeezing yours slightly. “You were an angel. I thought I was dying...” He trailed off, trying to makes sense of everything in his head.

“An angel?” Steve balks. Everyone else nods, various expressions of understanding on their faces.

“I mean, that makes sense.” Nat chimes in, ready to accept it. “Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing that ever happened.”

“What?” Bucky asks, sitting up on the counter. “She’s not actually an angel. I just saw that as my... I don’t know, dying wish?” His face scrunched in confusion, trying to make sense of what he saw.

“Well, I’m not dying and I saw the wings. And the glowing hands.” Clint speaks up, turning all eyes back to you.

A voice in your head is suddenly booming. Your hands fly up to the sides of your head, trying to dull the ache of the screaming voice in your mind.

“Y/N L/N, you have broken the only rule bestowed upon you. According to contract 71, you are no longer permitted to enter the Angel Realm. Any attempts to return here will result in termination of your capabilities. Misuse of your capabilities on Earth or any other planet will result in termination of your capabilities.” Your boss’s voice was instantly recognizable.

You didn’t notice the team crowding around you while you doubled over in pain, rubbing your temples as the message repeated.

“Ugh, why did you have to say it twice?” You suddenly stared up at the sky, annoyed with the whole system.

“Um, who said what twice?” Banner finally entered the lab, having been avoiding any anger inducing scenarios.

Before anyone could jump in with what little knowledge they had, you started talking.

“My Boss.” You winced, looking at Tony as he raised a brow. “My other boss... well, I guess not anymore. My former other boss.”

“Which is...” Tony gestured for you to continue.

“Maybe you should all sit down, this could take a while...”

Everyone followed as you lead them to the kitchen and living room.

“Okay, I’ll just jump into I guess.” You took a deep breath, looking around the room at everyone’s curious and slightly impatient expressions.

“I’m an angel.” You nodded, trying to reassure yourself that it was okay to say out loud.

“Yeah, and? We figured that one out fifteen minutes ago.” Tony huffed, wanting more information.

“Four years ago, I found out about the Avengers.” You looked at all of them, nervous for their reactions. “Angels are supposed to protect those who can’t help themselves, but I wanted to protect you all.”

“Why?” Steve asked, eying you curiously.

“Would you all stop interrupting and let her explain!” Wanda whisper yelled, gesturing for you to continue.

“It’s a valid question. Um, I guess I just thought you all put your lives on the line to help everyone else and I wanted to do what I could to help you. I convinced my former boss to let me come here. I told her protecting you guys would protect all the people you were bound to save, and that’s a lot of people.”

Everyone nodded, seemingly taking in the information.

“I wanted to tell you. I really did, but it was my only rule. I wasn’t allowed to.” You nervously wrung your hands together, biting your lip as everyone took in the information.

“That’s why it’s former boss?” Nat questioned.

“Yes. She fired me?” It was a question to your own ears. “I’ve never heard of an angel being fired before. That kinda sucks.” Everyone chuckled at that.

“And that was why you doubled over in pain in the lab?” Bucky questioned, concern in his voice.

You nodded. “Yeah, she has a habit of yelling in my head. And she always says everything twice.” You glared at the ceiling again, knowing she had probably moved on from you already.

“You’re not mad?” You looked back at Bucky, practically forgetting about everyone else in the room.

“You caught me after I was shot off of a building and then healed my three bullet wounds. I think you’ve made up for the secret.” Bucky smiled, pulling you into his lap for a hug. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

You nearly burst into tears at the relief you were feeling. “Oh thank God.” You squeezed him as tight as you thought he could handle, needing to feel him close to your for a second.

You then turned to face the rest of the team, giving them an equally nervous look. “Are you guys mad?”

“Well, I didn’t get any magic healing.” Sam huffed, a smile on his face.

“Nobody flew me around the compound.” Tony added on.

“But, you can fly?” You gave him a confused expression.

“Dammit” Tony muttered, thinking on his feet. “Tell you what, tell me what else you can do and we’ll call it even.”

“Deal... Maybe we can meet back here in half an hour?” You looked at their bruised and bloody bodies. “You all look like you could use a shower, and I for one would love to get this blood off me.” You gestured to the blood covering your jeans and shirt.

A half hour later, you were back in the living room. Tony ordered pizza, everyone crowding around the coffee tables and couches.

“Alright. Get to it!” Tony called out, excitement clear in his voice.

You stood up, turning to face the crowd. “Well, you know about the wings.” Your wings extended from your back with a woosh, spreading out before settling in a resting position.

You heard various mutterings as everyone took in your wings in their full glory. You then floated slightly above the floor, wings gently flapping to keep you suspended.

“How’s it feel birdman, her wings are part of her.” Bucky jested at Sam, a proud smile on his face.

“Yeah, well mine are bulletproof.” Sam sneered, a smile on his face.

“Actually,” you winced, “Mine can be bulletproof. Basically, I can do whatever I want, but only for short periods of time. Like if someone surprise shot me, it would hurt. But if I was prepared, it would bounce off.”

“Wow.” Steve looked at you, a mixture of surprise and wonder in his eyes.

“Um, I can also walk through walls, create shockwaves, move things with my mind, hack into any computer- although it takes some actual knowledge to not leave a trail... I mean, I’m pretty strong, but I don’t have much training for fighting hand to hand or anything. Oh, and mind manipulation? Not like mind control or anything, that is definitely frowned upon. Just... like earlier I made the Hydra agents forget the blueprints so they wouldn’t be able to get around the compound as quickly.”

Everyone jumped in with questions. You answered every single one, talking well into the night. You did your best to give examples of your powers, like moving the rubble around to fix the giant hole in the south side of the compound.

After a few hours, Bucky cut in. “Guys, she’ll still be here tomorrow. Wait, you will still be here, right?” He looked at you in a panic.

“Yes, unless you all want me gone, I’m here to stay.” You smile at them.

“Good. Now as I was saying, she’ll be here tomorrow. Ask her the rest of your questions then. Hell, make a list if you want. Just let me take my best girl to bed.” Bucky pulled you up from the couch, leading you out of the room.

“Goodnight!” You called back to the team before turning to Bucky. “What did I say about being your best girl?” You playfully hit his side.

He pulled you into his arms, hugging you while you waited for the elevator. “I’m sorry. My only girl.”

“That’s better.”

Permanent taglist:

@averyhotchner @jesuswasnotawhiteman

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x you #bucky barnes x you #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes x y/n #avengers x reader #marvel fic #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes angst #bucky barnes one shot #marvel #mcu

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v-hope · 4 years

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»part nine - designated partner

»tiger flower

»jeon jeongguk x reader | college!au

not many people knew the shy guy who used to do everything alone in high school was the one to secretly leave flowers in your seat every week. you most certainly didn’t know the introvert guy you were just befriending in third year of college was the reason flowers meant so much to you now. and jeongguk? he most definitely didn’t know he would once again be silently aching for you to please love him.

a/n: so! two things! first, i won’t be updating on saturday :( i’m in finals season and the one i have on monday is the most stressful (to me at least lol) out of them all so ☹️ and second, i wrote a smol drabble for this! i hope you enjoy 💕 i’ll leave you with the drabble now 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

“Ugh, the food was so good” you gushed as you stepped outside the restaurant, zipping your black jacket up after feeling the cold air of the night hit your chest.

“It was” Jeongguk agreed with a small nod, digging his hands inside his jacket’s pockets as the two of you started slowly walking on the streets.

“And you know what I just discovered?” the cheeky tone of your voice had him raising his eyebrows in a signal for you to go on. “You become pretty chatty when you drink”.

He rolled his eyes, trying his best not to show just how shy your statement had made him — yes, even more than usual.

“Will I have to wine and dine you every time I want to have you speak like this?” you couldn’t help but jokingly add.

This time, he shook his head in amusement. “Can’t say I would be against it, to be honest...” his sheepish confession got a light giggle out of your mouth, drawing his eyes to you. “I’ve been talking more lately, though... to you, at least”.

“I know!” you agreed cheerfully, wiping a fake happy tear. “But today was way more than usual and I enjoyed it a lot”.

Jeongguk smiled at your statement — the fact of you enjoying his company making him happier than he could bring himself to understand. You were right after all, he had been more chatty than usual that day.

After getting a way better grade than you had been expecting to on the project that had brought you together to begin with, the two of you had followed through with your plans, deciding to go for dinner and drinks somewhere near campus, so you could both get to spend some quality time together and celebrate your achievement. And yes, the fact that he had been talking a little bit more than usual was partially because of the alcohol, but also because he had found himself feeling comfortable enough around you to just talk. About anything and everything.

Or well, about anything and everything but your loves lives, for some reason, which he couldn’t help but be thankful about, for, 1) his love life was absolutely non-existent; and, 2) the biggest romantic event in his life had been the whole weekly-flowers-in-your-table thing, and he felt like he would die if the topic was ever brought up — even more, if you ever found out he used to have quite strong feelings for you back in high school.

Putting that aside, never in his life would’ve he thought he would be spending time alone with you and not feel like he would faint any time.

He liked to think it was because you had made it very clear you wanted to be no other than his friend, and that, believe it or not, did take a huge weight off his shoulders; for it meant he didn’t have to try and act a certain way to impress you, to make you fall for him. He could be himself. And the fact that you actually enjoyed his company as it was, could only make him feel more at ease around you.

Still too caught up on his thoughts, he couldn’t help but be a little startled when you stopped in your tracks right as you were crossing a small bridge to get to the other side of the street.

“What happened?” he wondered, fixing his puzzled eyes on you as yours remained focused ahead of you.

“Look how pretty~” you cooed, pointing to one particular tree that was beautifully displaying a bunch of pink flowers — the lightning on the street only making the whole scenery more attractive to your eyes.

“Ah, I wish I had brought my camera” he lamented, just like you, intently admiring the image in front of you.

That earned a light chuckle from you. “Phones have cameras too, you know?” you teased him.

He pouted. “It’s not the same…”

Although his words had been pretty clear, he found himself not following them — pulling his phone out of his pocket right after, as the two of you got closer to the tree.

Laughing under your breath at his actions, you watched him quietly as he snapped a couple of pictures, admiring the way his eyebrows had furrowed ever so slightly and his lips unconsciously puckered up in what seemed like a small pout as he focused on getting the right angle.

And then, when you thought he was done and wouldn’t block his view anymore, you decided to get closer to the tree —right where its thin branches met the edge of the bridge— so you could admire its blooming flowers.

Now, any other time, you would’ve already been at it taking pictures of them, but, in all honesty, you trusted in Jeongguk’s skills way more than you did yours when it came to photography. You would just ask him for the pictures later.

With that thought in mind, you turned around to face him, right on time to realise he was still taking pictures — the way the phone’s camera was directed at you, however, letting you know his attention was no longer on the flowers, but on you admiring them instead.

“Oh? You took a picture of me?” you wondered, failing to realise how nervous that simple question had made him, for he was well aware of the a answer, yet didn’t know if you would like it. The wide smile that took over your factions at his silence, however, let him know you did. “Let me see!”

Excitedly rushing back next to him, you mindlessly held the phone that was still in his hands —oblivious to the way Jeongguk’s eyes fixed on your cold hands touching his warm ones— so you could take a closer look to the picture he had just taken of you with your back facing him, as you were way too focused on the pink flowers to even notice.

“Aww,” you cooed. “You could’ve taken this as your revenge to take a bad picture of me when I turned around, yet you took an actual nice one”.

He shook his head in amusement at your words, trying his best to conceal the smile that was threatening with taking over his factions. Not like he thought you could ever look bad if you tried to anyway.

“I’ll think of it next time you’re not paying attention”.

You lightly shoved him with your shoulder, squinting your eyes daringly at him yet not saying a word about it. You still kinda owed him anyway after having snatched a couple of casual pictures of him — ones that, although you genuinely thought he looked the cutest in, he would complain to you every single time he got the chance to.

After seeing his shy smile at your small, playful action, your eyes went back to the picture of you on his screen.

“If you’re not posting it, can you send it to me?” you asked, letting go of his phone before the two of you resumed on walking.

“I can post it?” he wondered.

“You’re seriously asking?” you said in disbelief. “It would be my honor”.

The way you had ever so dramatically said that, pressing a hand to your chest to emphasize your words, could do no other than have him let out at snort.

“Okay then… I’ll post it when I get home”.

You smiled, nodding your head in agreement. “I’ll be waiting then”.

Jeongguk smiled sweetly, not being able to bring his eyes away from you for a couple of seconds before shoving his hands back into his pockets as the two of you fell into a rather comfortable silence, enjoying the view of the still quite busy streets at night whilst you made your way to the one main street in which you would have to go different ways to get to your respective homes.

“So… this is where we part ways” you said over dramatically once you reached it, knowing well enough your places were in different directions from then on — thankfully, neither yours nor his being far away from that particular spot, considering how late it was.

“You sure?” he asked, causing your eyebrows to knit together in confusion. “I mean, I don’t have a problem with walking you home if you want…”

Your stare on him softened at the offer, and although you couldn’t help but smile, you found yourself gently shaking your head no. “It’s late, Jeongguk-ie. You should go home”.

“Exactly though… it’s late” he remarked; just like that, letting you know he didn’t quite like the idea of you walking home alone right then. “Really, I wouldn’t mind”.

You pressed your lips together, looking away for a brief moment towards the way you’d have to walk through before your eyes fixed back on his.

“That would make me feel safer, to be honest…” you sheepishly admitted. “Thank you”.

Jeongguk smiled, remaining silent and simply nodding his head for you to start walking and lead the way.

And although a part of him knew what you had meant was that having someone, if not anyone, to walk home with would make you feel safer, he couldn’t help but find joy in the thought of you feeling safe with him.

#bts #bts imagines #jungkook imagines #jeon jungkook #bts fluff #jungkook fluff #kpop #kpop fanfic #bts fanfic #bts scenarios #jungkook scenarios #bts fake texts #jungkook fake texts #bts social media au #jungkook social media au #bts x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #bts jungkook #jungkook

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dingdongitsbees · 3 years

Text

BLACK-EYED SUSAN | LEVI X READER HUNGER GAMES AU

Chapter 12: Together

Previous - Next

Tw: attempted suicide

WC: 5.4k Ao3 link Ask to be added to the taglist! It will be updated weekly on Saturdays

Second person version (“you” pronouns) can be found here

Master List

So please hurry, leave me / I can't breathe / Please don't say you love me / 胸がはち切れそうで (my chest’s about to burst) / One word from you and I would jump off of this ledge I'm on, baby / Tell me "don't" so I can crawl back in

– Mitski; First love / Late Spring

“It’s time.”

He didn’t let those words register in his brain and we both knew it. It was cruel enough for me to still be standing there, to look him in the eye before I stepped backwards into the abyss. It was cruel but I couldn’t help myself. If I was going to die, as sure of that decision as I was, I’d like to see him just one last time. If he hated me for it, hated for his best friend to look him in the eye before voluntarily leaving his life, then that was only good. It would help him get over it quicker, help him move on. I’d be dead anyway; I’d be none the wiser.

“Don’t.”

I exhaled.

“If you jump, I will hate you for the rest of my life, don’t you fucking dare.”

I cracked a little smile. “Only one of us is walking out of here Levi.”

“That doesn’t mean I should.”

“Yeah, it does,” I said softly. “This is the least I can do.”

We were in a checkmate. If he tried to run off the ledge himself then I’d meet the ground before he got there. If he tried to get to me to pull me away, it would only be the same. His only option, and his weakest skill, was talking. And he wasn’t going to be able to convince me that he should die instead. No point of cold logic or an abundance of emotion could change that. I’m the one that’s supposed to die.

But still. I hadn’t stepped off the roof just yet and I wasn’t sure why. No, I did, but it didn’t matter, not in the grand scheme of the inevitable.

I wanted to say that three-word phrase with that stupid four-letter word. But that would be even crueller than staring him in the eyes like I was staring down the barrel of a gun.

Even I wasn’t that evil.

“I love you.”

But he was.

My lip quivered and I dropped my sight to the sandstone. How could he? His eyes softened, hitting the critical hit in such few words. If he didn’t know me as well as he did, none of this would have happened, but he did, didn’t he? So of course, despite his lack of tact and dislike of talking, he knew exactly what to say to get me to crumble.

What an asshole.

“Don’t say that.”

He took a step forward. “What? The truth? That I love you?”

I shook my head frantically, covering my ears with my hands like a child. “Fuck off.”

“You know I’ve never been good at that, brat. I love you.”

He took another step.

“Stop it.”

“I love you.” Another.

“Shut up!”

I screwed my eyes shut. Why wasn’t I jumping? I should be jumping. But I couldn’t, I couldn’t fucking do it. Why? Why? Why? Why?

“I hate you,” I mumbled.

“No you don’t.”

I cracked my eyes open. He was standing right below me, looking up to me with that look he always had.

Asshole.

“I could jump off right now and you wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.”

“But you won’t, will you?”

I gulped. The silence spoke louder than words. He stepped onto the ledge.

“Be careful!” I immediately held onto him with both hands, not letting him out of my grasp. He wasn’t allowed to fall. I was suddenly aware of how far above the ground we truly were. No one could survive this height, that was the plan, but he wasn’t within it.

“I’m not going home if you’re not going to be there.” He held onto my hands tightly, his thumbs brushing over the back of them. “There’s nothing left for me back home anyway.”

My eyebrows sewed together. “What are you talking about?”

“Who do we have at home?”

“What about Hanji-”

“We’ve known her for less than two weeks.”

I was stunned. He was right.

The people that were under Levi’s name in the list of people I cared about were either dead or we had known for only a blip. Hanji, Erwin, even Nick, we hadn’t properly met before two weeks ago. Was the other worth trading for that? Maybe we knew Hannes for a bit, but I couldn’t even kid myself. He was on the list just because he was someone I had talked to, which was far and in between as it was.

My stomach dropped. We really hadn’t had anyone properly in our lives since Farlan and Isabel.

But what sort of an excuse was that? Just because at that exact moment the list of people we cared about was terrifyingly short, it didn’t mean that it couldn’t grow longer for the person who left. The person, Levi, could still have a life.

But then, I thought about if it was me. If I returned, would I be happy? If I had watched his body fall from the tower? Would I be able to move on? Could I deal with everything I had been through without him there? The answer was a resounding no.

And we had always been in sync. I had force myself to accept it would be the same for him.

If I returned without his hand in mine, in all honesty, I probably wouldn’t last very long. It was impossible to know concretely, but the number of things we had experienced, the boat load of trauma dumped on us, would fall like a ton of bricks once one of us got out. And the other wouldn’t be there to help. The amount of grief I would experience would be unmatched by anything in my entire life before or to come.

No one knows the other like we do. No one knows the exact pace of the other’s heart, the exact things that make us tick and the exact things that make us feel safe. No one knows that except for us. And without the other there, we would shatter.

“Then what do we do?”

He tilted his head, his hair falling over half his face as he peered at me.

“Together.”

That lone word shook me to my very core. He had to be joking, surely. There had to be some sort of trick. But when I looked him in those steel-blue eyes, I couldn’t help but believe it.

He’d always been impulsive, always a wrong split-second decision away from death. But he had always made the right one. But now? This wasn’t something purely impulsive, it wasn’t unlikely he had just come up with it, but it was a decision he somehow came to, one I never would have thought would leave his lips.

Together.

Just like we had done everything the in the past years. Where one was, the over was always close by, even here. Maybe that’s why he came in the first place past the reasoning of needing to protect me. It just hadn’t made sense for us to be separated. Where one goes, the other always follows.

Even into the arms of death.

So, we’d face it like we’d faced everything else. Dying was just another challenge for us. Just another room to walk into. It was undoubtedly stupid, but we’d never been ones to be logical when it came to the other. I wouldn’t have an injured leg, he wouldn’t have volunteered, we wouldn’t have kissed each other. I never would have sat on that bench if I had listened to that logic within me, and he wouldn’t have let me stay.

We were both so stupid, but what else was there to expect?

“I love you too, you fucking idiot.”

He chuckled; his lips curled up.

He leant forward and captured my lips with his. He enveloped my waist with his arms while I cupped his hard jaw.

We really were those cliche star-crossed lovers huh?

When he pulled back, he wiped my cheeks with his thumb, taking away tears I hadn’t even realise had spilt. In his lower lashes were some droplets too, ones he didn’t bother to blink away.

Fucking idiots, that’s what we were.

I leant my forehead on his, closing my eyes so all I could feel was him and the breeze. It was just us in this fucked up world.

I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you.

We both chanted it like our life depended on it, tearing those words from our system, hoping it would make up for the years in the past and future we never got to say it. Saying it on loop like if we said it one more time the universe would go easy on us for once. But the universe had never been kind, why would it start now?

In front of me was the boy I had spent the best years of my life with, we had grieved, rebelled, laughed and held each other. He was the boy that held my hand when I was scared to fall, the boy that wasn’t afraid of anything, the boy whose kindness hid under his skin to give to those who deserved it. He invaded every inch of my life and soul and I kept him there as long as I could. Levi was the boy I loved. Levi was my best friend.

Was this really the right thing to do?

“Ready?” he asked, holding my face in the palm of his hand, like I was the most precious thing in the world.

I nodded. “Thank you for letting me spend my life with you.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

I reached out a hand and caressed the petal behind his ear. Finding those flowers felt like a lifetime ago. Those were different people on that hill. He blinked slowly, letting me drink in his presence one last time.

It would never be enough, even if we lived until we were one hundred, it would never be enough. But it was time, nevertheless.

It was time to say goodbye.

I wasn’t sure who was right anymore, me or Hanji. She was probably ripping her hair out while watching the screen, not wanting to believe her eyes. We were just another pair of tributes, she’d live. Maybe she regretted it now, knowing those three words had caused all this.

It was time to go.

I took a deep breath, not looking anywhere but his eyes.

“See you soon,” I said, giving the biggest smile I could muster.

“See you on the other side.”

I kissed him on the forehead.

“Three,” he whispered.

“Two.”

I was about to lean into the void when the speakers crackled into life and the panicked voice of Floch filled the arena.

“And- and here we have the winners of the 67th Hunger Games!”

We froze. The whites of our eyes expanding forever.

Huh?

We looked to the sky, looking for a mutt, a projection in the sky, something, anything that refuted those words. Nothing came.

A laugh escaped me, and then another, and soon I was sobbing on the ledge of the building that was supposed to be my grave.

Levi quickly pulled us back onto the roof, getting to the centre of the tower like being ten metres from the edge was risky enough. His arms constricted my body, arms like chains around me as he buried his face into my shoulder.

I let laughs rip from me as fat tears streamed down my face.

We got to live. We got to fucking live.

I held onto his back for dear life, my fingernails digging into his skin probably causing welts of blood to erupt but neither of us cared. The fact that he could bleed was a miracle enough.

He pulled back, holding me at arm’s length, looking utterly fucking bewildered, and kissed me as hard as he could, smashing our souls together.

We got to fucking live.

He held me by the waist and spun, letting my feet fly into the air. We spun and spun while we cackled, our unrestrained joy taking up the space around us.

We got to fucking live.

The trip back to the Capitol was a whirlwind. We got picked up by a hovercraft, pulled up by masked peacekeepers, and we were immediately deferred to a medical team on board. We sat side by side, hand in hand, as we were looked over and treated, his shoulder and my leg being looked at.

I had forgotten all pain until then, and it finally crashed down as soon as my leg got the medical attention it so desperately needed. I bit into his good shoulder as they put syringes and random shit into my leg, prepping me for surgery when we got back. His shoulder was thankfully fine, only a better diet needed to make a full recovery, something he could now get.

It still hadn’t really kicked in yet. The whole thing felt like a dream. None of it made sense. None of it could be real.

We landed on the top of a skyscraper, now on the roof of the Capitol building we had left a week ago. I was wheeled with haste to the elevator, Levi right on my heels. No one dared to tell him to stay away.

I was pushed through the corridors on the medical centre’s floor and pushed right into a crowd of surgeons and nurses already prepped. They then attempted to get Levi to stay outside the door, but he refused, the Capitol had taken me from him once, he wasn’t going to let them do it a second time no matter how irrational it seemed. They settled for him to sit at the back of the room with a mask on.

I was soon swallowed by darkness as the anaesthesia coursed through my lungs. The last thing I saw was unmoving eyes glued to my face.

I don’t know how long it was until I woke up, light eventually streamed through my eyelids and I winced at its harshness. White light had never been particularly welcoming. When I opened my eyes, it wasn’t just one person I saw waiting for me, but four.

Levi hadn’t even changed yet. Blood was still caked in his hair from my failed attempt of cleaning it out. His stained clothing from the arena still stuck to his form, he hadn’t moved from the room since we came into it. My limp hand was already in his grasp as he sat by my bed, but standing next to him was Hanji, Erwin, and Nick. All three, even the latter, looking overjoyed.

After exploding with thankfulness and happiness and tears, they ripped into us for being idiots despite how tried we clearly were. Levi tried to get them to shut up, but I just laughed. My giggles filled the room, bouncing off sterilised walls and into any passer-by’s ears. The sound of euphoria.

As they smiled at us though, Hanji gnawed her lip, trying to not let whatever was building up in her mind come forward. I was too tired to ask, she’d tell us when she thought it was time, whatever it was. All I wanted to do now was sleep, though not before ordering Levi to go off and have a shower first.

The next day went in and out of consciousness, doctors occasionally came in to check on my progress. I didn’t really care to be honest. They could cut off my leg if they wanted to and I wouldn’t stop them.

I pulled Levi onto the bed around noon, and we laid together, getting the sleep we had desperately missed. The sleep not plagued by fear. We could have been in that ward for hours or days I wouldn’t be able to say. The only thing that gave us a semblance of routine would be when the lights turned off, but I’m not even sure how many times.

Neither of us really talked aside from when doctors or the other three came to visit. We just wanted to hold each other. We hadn’t been hit by nightmares yet, but they were sure to come.

One time when Hanji came in, she asked a question.

“You two definitely don’t have any people you care about at home right?”

We narrowed our eyes and shook our heads.

“No family members? No friends or just general people you were close to?”

We shook our heads again.

“Maybe Hannes?” I said, “But he’s a peacekeeper if that’s relevant?”

She exhaled, her body visibly relaxing. “No, it should be fine then.”

“Hanji?” Levi asked, sitting up.

She swallowed looking between the two of us, unsure whether or not to unload the streams of thoughts running through her mind. She made a decision.

“Not anyone could have pulled off what you guys did without consequences. If you two had people at home…” she paused, looking away, “If you two had people at home, you certainly wouldn’t have got off scot-free.”

I hadn’t even thought about it. Zeke’s face forced itself into my brain, staring down at me like he had during the parade. He was a callous and cruel man, there was no way he didn’t want us dead. To the president, our survival was a blatant fuck you to everything he had built despite the fact it wasn’t our intention. My blood went cold. If we had people back home, they would be dead, no doubt about it.

“You two are the Capitol sweethearts so you’ll be okay. For now.”

“For now?” Levi pressed.

She was at the door, hand on the frame. She looked back over her shoulder. She looked so tired. It was hard to imagine she only barely scraped a few years on us.

“Just…just be careful.”

And with that, she left.

After a few days I was given the all-good and was discharged from the tiny hospital. We went up to the penthouse that we had spent a week in, but it all felt so unfamiliar. I kept squinting my eyes, anticipating sand that never came. I looked to where it seemed the most comfortable on the ground instead of the various pieces of furniture around. It was weird.

It was uneventful for about a day before we were told about the victor ceremony. We’d get our “prize” symbolically through a crown I didn’t care for from the man I did not want to see. I was a ball of anxiety as the date crept closer. Levi seemed unbothered to most, but he was clearly on edge ever since that conversation with Hanji. We had to be perfect, we had to be the most complacent and submissive victors in history otherwise we were screwed. We couldn’t have Zeke hate us more than he probably already did. Not to mention it was Levi’s idea to die together that lead to Floch’s dumb decision to let us both live, and Levi had never been the most agreeable person on earth.

He didn’t want to mess it up for us after everything.

I had asked about Floch, half curious to see if he had been secretly executed, but Zeke had decided to be merciful. Hanji said the gamemaker had looked harrowed and gaunt. He had been expecting to die too.

The morning of the ceremony was almost as stressful as the game countdown. Each event was counting down to our possible doom if we didn’t act perfectly. Erwin had us in black garments, flowy and light to keep in tune with our district yet to make us look softer and more event appropriate.

Levi’s muscles were stone, he hardly ate anything. I had to force feed him to eat something, but even then he was hesitant.

We went down the elevator, our three-person back up in front of us, ready to take on the world on our behalf. We had done enough. We had been through enough. Hopefully Zeke could indulge that sentiment.

Directors waited for us in front of the giant arch. In another life we had gone through on a chariot with clothes that lit on fire. That was someone else.

A single pitch-black chariot with pitch-black horses to match was on standby for us. The horses shuffled around, faces being stroked by keepers and hand fed grain. I bit my tongue before I accidentally asked where the other eleven were. It was just us now.

I should have been thankful it was twenty-two dead not twenty-three, but it was hard to swallow. It should be zero, but the universe isn’t that kind, especially not to people whose names go on paper slips.

That wasn’t how things worked here.

We made our way over to the chariot hand in hand, the other three speaking to everyone on our behalf. Nick had been surprisingly leading the charge, getting the exact timings and instructions in order to relay them to us himself. Something had changed, just slightly, while we were in that arena. I wondered if he noticed it himself.

We were thankful though, not wanting to speak to anyone involved in the process of our attempted execution. We could only trust those three. It didn’t matter if our names had been the only thing exchanged on every Capitol show between every news anchor and host, it didn’t matter that they were screaming our names and throwing yellow flowers outside the giant arch. They had wanted us dead. They did not get our affection.

The horses were alright though, I patted the back of one on top of the mobile platform. Their hair was brushed and shampooed to perfection as if anyone would properly see it or touch it except for us.

Horses got better treatment than us. I couldn’t even smile at my own joke.

The doors to the arch began to swing open and we stood up straight, looking ahead, as the screams tore through the air. They were so fucking loud. I had heard too many screams, my own and others over the past few days, I didn’t need to hear more.

Just shut up.

I wanted to run into the audience and throttle them, get them to understand we weren’t untouchable characters. We were fucking people. We were kids and they had sent us to die. Why couldn’t they fucking get it?

“Do you think they know?”

“Know what?”

“That what they’re doing is wrong? I mean obviously people like Zeke do but… what about just the normal people? Do they know?”

“They should, but no.”

Fucking idiots. Blind and unthinking idiots.

The chariot lurched forward, and his hand laced with mine. Show time. When we passed out of the arch, I stretched my grin until my cheeks began to ache.

Please don’t kill us.

I waved to everyone around us as they threw objects I didn’t even bother to process as long as they didn’t come near my face. Levi peered over the crowd, trapping his scowl from protruding. His fingers tightened around mine.

Please don’t kill us.

We got to the end of road. We looked up to the giant platform that the president and his associates stood upon, staring down at us. Zeke caught my eye and I smiled even wider, my eyes crinkling.

Please don’t kill us.

We exited the chariot, grip bone crushing, as we walked up the stairs. It took all I had to not trip, to not let my mind wander as a coping mechanism. Levi kept me steady, though perhaps I was just a focal point for him.

When we got to the top, we went right to the edge of the platform like we had been told, right in front of Zeke. I wanted to throw up. The height was dizzyingly high with no barrier. It was lower than the towers in the arena, but it was even scarier. If he wanted to, Zeke could push us right off. He looked tempted, but he didn’t.

We both bowed, falling onto one knee, hesitantly letting go of the other. I stared at Zeke’s polished shoes, watching them shift across the ground. I flinched as a circle of coldness met my scalp. The crown was lighter than I expected, but the edges dug into back of my ears. I wondered if Zeke pushed down on it if could it cut my ears clean off. But he didn’t. He moved over to Levi and placed an identical silver crown on top of his head.

The crowd roared as we stood up and faced them, hands instinctually interlocking again. It was so goddamn loud. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and press my hands to my ears and scream at all of them to be quiet. But I didn’t.

Zeke raised a hand, ironically being my hero, and silencing the crowd. He held the mic to his face, his smiling face projecting across screens.

“Today, we celebrate an unforgettable and unprecedented moment in history,” he spoke, “There is not one, but two victors for the 67th Hunger Games. I’m sure no other pair deserves it more than these two right next to me.”

The crowd applauded. I wanted to punch him.

“I, and I assume many of you, learnt much watching the game this year. We learnt the importance and unrivalled power of a strong and trusting bond, a bond forged in iron over years. We learnt the power of love.”

The crowd screamed. Levi looked like he was two second from choking him out.

Zeke looked to us, a smile on his lips but pure distaste and amusement in his eyes. “You two found love in the unlikeliest of place, I hope you learn to use it well.”

His eyes studied us. I didn’t let my eyes waver. We were safe, but we were on thin fucking ice. Had he thought our relationship was an act, if he had even doubted it for a second, if he thought it was one big con as a screw over to the system, we would not be standing there.

“My beloved citizens, can we get another round of applause for the victors of the 67th Hunger Games!”

When we were back inside, I gulped litres of air, desperately trying to get oxygen back into my lungs. Levi held me gently to his chest, hand rubbing my back. Who knew breathing was so hard, huh?

Hanji ran over, bottle of water in hand which we both chugged eagerly.

We didn’t leave each other’s sight. Never. We slept in the same bed, we ate together, we bathed together, we didn’t leave each other’s sight. For all we knew, a hitman or some undercover titan would slit our throats when we least expected it. We couldn’t die. Not yet, not anymore.

I was more certain that death was right around the corner than at any point in the arena. There’s not a designated winner in the game of life, not when Zeke was the gamemaker.

Hanji and Erwin had pulled every string they had to avoid us getting interviews except for Willy’s show, it was the only thing they hadn’t wrestled out of, though it was a given that we needed to go onto it.

I smoothed down Levi’s shirt backstage, fussing over him so I had something to do with my hands. He stood silently, letting me do what I needed to do.

We didn’t want to talk to anyone about what happened in that arena. We hadn’t even spoken to each other about it. I didn’t need to recall the people I killed; they were all I could think about anyway. Hanji had contacted Willy a few days before the show, begging him to not focus on the murders or any of the other tributes. Surprisingly, he had agreed with no complaints.

Maybe not all of the Capitol was bad. Maybe some understood.

He had already sent over a rough run down of the questions he’d ask, but also told us that there would be an audience question time, something that was out of the production team’s control, so we’d have to be ready.

Most of the interview went smoothly as we had practiced in the penthouse. Answers bled from our mouths that we had preprepared and then practiced to make them sound spontaneous and casual. But as it dragged on, questions about what we liked in the other, fond memories, fears of confessing, were just bricks piling on top of each other, ready to collapse when it was the audience’s turn. Levi’s knuckles had gone white in his empty fist.

I took a sharp breath when a microphone was going in between the seats of Capitol watchers. Most copied in style of Willy’s, just being light-hearted, but the last did not follow the trend.

“Were you two really going to jump off the roof together?”

Everyone went silent as the audience member’s eyes peered at us. I swallowed, digesting what I needed to say.

“Well, not really, at least I hope not,” I said. Levi, Willy and everyone looked to me in confusion. “I had planned to push him back onto the roof as I fell, not sure if it would have worked, probably not, but it was the plan.”

The audience gasped melodramatically.

Willy cocked his head to the man next to me. “Levi?”

His hand was shaking, his eyes wouldn’t move from mine. “I was going to do the same thing.”

The audience laughed, Willy laughed, Zeke probably laughed.

We stared at each other wide-eyed, in utter shock as the hall erupted into cackles and giggles, incredibly overwhelming yet it was deafening silent in the centimetres between one another. We really were idiots, weren’t we?

The interview was the last stop on the Capitol showing. It was time to go home. Home.

Erwin and Nick came to say goodbye to us at the station. It had been blocked off from people wanting to get a glimpse of us, our “biggest fans” apparently, so we were left in relative peace as we bid farewell. Erwin brought both of us into soft hugs, his large arms cradling me. Nick shook our hands, stammering out how proud he was of us despite how annoying and disregarding of rules we were. His eyes had been red rimmed, so were Erwin’s now that I thought about it.

Hanji, Levi and I, hopped onto the train, and let the doors to the Capitol slide shut behind us with a hiss. Hoping it would be a long, long time, until we had to see it again.

Hanji left us to our own devices, letting us lounge and eat and sleep and do whatever we wanted, and we did exactly that. We had a lifetime of peace to make up for the weeks of hell. It would never be enough to make up for it.

I leant on Levi’s shoulder as I watched the trees fly by out the window, turning to an abstract green blur. “You do actually love me right?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Just wanted to make sure! Who knows, maybe you became an award-winning actor overnight.”

He flicked me on the forehead and I just laughed. I nestled my head further into the crook of his neck.

“Let’s promise to never do something like this again yeah?” I said, “You’ve given me enough heart attacks for a lifetime.”

“As long as you promise not to do anything stupid.”

“Well, we both know neither of us have been good at that.”

He huffed and crossed his arms but leant his head on mine.

The green outside looked so pretty; trees, flowers, birds, I had missed it. But what we were returning back to would not be the life we had before, for better and for worse. But it would be okay, because we were together, the other in hand like we always had.

It would be okay. It had to be.

Please.

[END OF BOOK ONE]

a/n: well damn we’re now at the end of the first book! i’ll be continuing the series right to end as far as i know so it’s not stopping here! thank you for the support so far i hope you all continue to enjoy it!

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primorcoin · 3 years

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New Post has been published on https://primorcoin.com/walmart-is-seeking-a-crypto-product-lead-the-dogecoin-foundation-is-active-again-after-a-long-break-coinbase-has-amassed-a-4-billion-cash-backed-war-chest-holders-digest-aug-15-21/

Walmart is seeking a crypto product lead, the Dogecoin Foundation is active again after a long break, Coinbase has amassed a $4 billion cash-backed war chest: Holder’s Digest, Aug. 15-21

Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

Top Stories This Week

Walmart seeks crypto product lead to drive digital currency strategy

On Aug. 16, it was reported that U.S. retail giant Walmart was seeking out an experienced crypto expert who can develop and drive a digital currency strategy and product roadmap for the firm.

According to the job listing, Walmart is looking for someone with a track record of leading and scaling businesses. They also want at least 10 years of experience in product/program management and tech-based product commercialization.

Ideally, the candidate should also know a thing or two about crypto, blockchain tech and why JPEGs of poorly drawn pet rocks are selling for absurd prices on Ethereum.

Walmart’s future digital currency and crypto product lead will be based in the company’s home office in Bentonville, Arkansas. The state has produced talents such as Billy Bob Thornton and Johnny Cash, along with Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Team officially reestablishes Dogecoin Foundation after 6 years

There was good news for Doge fanatics this week as the Dogecoin Foundation resurfaced after several years of total media silence.

According to an announcement on Tuesday, the foundation stated it was reestablishing itself in a bid to support the fiery-eyed Dogecoin (DOGE) community. The foundation also said it would be announcing new projects that are centered on encouraging adoption of DOGE and promoting its utility.

The project’s website lists Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Dogecoin co-founder Billy Markus and Dogecoin Core developer Max Keller as advisory board members. Furthermore, Tesla CEO and DOGE proponent Elon Musk’s interests may be catered to from the shadows via Neuralink CEO Jared Birchall.

It is yet to be revealed if Musk’s “toddler hodler” son has loaded up on DOGE in light of the announcement.

Coinbase amasses a $4B war chest so it can outlast ‘crypto winter’

Coinbase, the top U.S. crypto exchange, has amassed a cash-based war chest worth $4 billion on the back of two very productive quarters for the firm.

The company reportedly expected to use the cash to cover costs incurred by a variety of factors, including conforming to new regulations handed down by the United States legislature.

Coinbase has also announced its official launch in Japan in partnership with banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, while also revealing plans to add $500 million worth of crypto to its balance sheet and invest 10% of all generated profits into digital assets moving forward.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin is at $48,778, Ether at $3,282 and XRP at $1.28. The total market cap is at $2.09 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Avalanche (AVAX) at 105.79%, Arweave (AR) at 96.17% and Audius (AUDIO) at 93.78%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are DigiByte (DGB) at -5.06%, Celsius (CEL) at -4.44% and BitTorrent (BTT) at -3.81%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

“Poly Network has no intention of holding Mr. White Hat legally responsible, as we are confident that Mr. White Hat will promptly return full control of the assets to Poly Network and its users. As we have stated in previous announcements and encrypted messages that have been made public, we are grateful for Mr. White Hat’s outstanding contribution to Poly Network’s security enhancements.”

Poly Network team

“Lawmakers and regulators must work together to properly balance protecting innovation with any new regulations to ensure the digital asset marketplace flourishes in the United States.”

Glenn Thompson and Patrick McHenry, U.S. representatives

“The most important thing that can be done today is moving away from the idea that coin voting is the only legitimate form of governance decentralization.”

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum co-founder

“Here at home in America, […] our payments infrastructure is arguably the worst of any developed country in the world, and increasingly falling behind, while China is moving with determination and haste to build an infrastructure that will make the digital yuan a challenger to the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.”

David Marcus, Diem co-creator

“Ethereum is outperforming Bitcoin, and it can be expected to continue this trend for the rest of 2021.”

Nigel Green, CEO of DeVere Group

“This is all about DeFi. […] This is the Treasury Department trying to work out how to get jurisdiction over DeFi […] and also expand its warrantless surveillance over a peer-to-peer financial system.”

Jake Chervinsky, general counsel at Compound

“Frankly, as one of the first pilots, we have on the table the question of paying salaries to employees of the Ministry of Digital Transformation in electronic hryvnia.”

Mykhailo Fedorov, vice prime minister of Ukraine

“It’s important to remember that when we look at the business, the long-term arc of adoption of digital assets in crypto matters far more than the businesses we are building.”

Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital

Prediction of the Week

Ethereum ‘liquidity crisis’ could see new ETH all-time high before Bitcoin — Analyst

Bitcoin, the crypto industry’s largest asset by market cap, and Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest asset, have both posted notable price recoveries over the past several weeks. Although BTC has yet to be surpassed as the crypto industry’s top dog, ETH might tap its own all-time price high near $4,400 sooner than BTC reaches its record level of nearly $65,000, according to thoughts from CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju.

“$ETH might reach its all-time high earlier than $BTC in the long term,” Ju tweeted on Wednesday. “Current $ETH price is closer to ATH compared to $BTC. Higher demand, lower supply. $ETH sell-side liquidity crisis still intensifies, while $BTC exchange reserve stopped its downward trend in May.”

On Friday, BTC fluctuated above the $48,000 mark, and ETH traded above $3,200 — which, however, are both still notably shy of their record highs.

FUD of the Week

JPMorgan Chase reportedly shuts down bank accounts of Bitcoin mining firm

On Aug. 19, U.S. banking behemoth JPMorgan Chase reportedly blocked all account activities of Bitcoin mining firm Compass Mining.

Whit Gibbs, the CEO of Compass Mining, took to Twitter to share the news:

“Shoutout to @Chase for shutting down @compass_mining accounts for doing our part to replace the old guard with self-sovereign, future-focused supporters of hard money. Get behind #Bitcoin or get out of our way.”

It is unclear if the temper tantrum will be enough to sway JPMorgan Chase to change its mind, and it is also unclear how shutting down banking services to one Bitcoin mining firm represents an attack on BTC in any way.

If anything, the banking giant has been upping its exposure to Bitcoin and the crypto sector in 2021.

Liquid exchange hacked to the tune of $80 million

Liquid, a Japanese crypto exchange, was the victim of a $80 million-plus hack this week which made the platform not so… liquid.

Cointelegraph reported on the news quickly after the exchange announced the attack, which compromised digital assets including BTC, Tron (TRX), Ripple (XRP) and Ether.

The exchange explained that only its hot wallets were affected and added that its assets were being moved into cold storage for security purposes.

The platform has since provided an update and revealed the hack totaled $91.35 million. The firm has urged users to not deposit any crypto assets in Liquid wallets until further notice.

T-Mobile looking into potential hack of data on 100 million customers

Speaking of hacks, U.S. telecom giant T-Mobile was looking into an alleged massive data breach at the start of this week that may have compromised the information of more than 100 million users.

According to Vice’s Motherboard, T-Mobile is looking into a potential data breach claimed by an author who posted details on an underground forum. A Sunday report said the hacker claims to have obtained data on more than 100 million customers from T-Mobile servers.

Unlike the Poly Network hacker, who syphoned $600 million worth of digital assets because “cross-chain hacking is hot,” the T-Mobile hacker seems to be displaying entrepreneurial instincts, as they were asking for 6 BTC — worth around $280,000 at current prices — in exchange for some of the data.

Best Cointelegraph Features

Shanghai Special: Crypto crackdown fallout and what happens next

Owning Bitcoin isn’t banned, but many fear for the future of regulations in China. Here’s a look at where we stand and where we might be headed.

Poly Network hack exposes DeFi flaws, but community comes to the rescue

The DeFi hacker’s initial intentions remain unclear, but they refused to accept a $500,000 bounty after returning all funds.

The perfect storm: DeFi hacks will advance the crypto sector moving forward

There is a silver lining from the DeFi hacks as new tech develops to protect the sector: “DeFi will be much safer in 12 months from now.”

Source link

#Blockchain #Coinbase #CoinbaseNews #Crypto #CryptoNews #DOGE #DogeCoin #ElonMusk #RippleNetwork #TraedndingCrypto #TronNetwork #TRX #XRP

#Blockchain #Coinbase #coinbaseNews #Crypto #CryptoNews #DOGE #DogeCoin #ElonMusk #RippleNetwork #TraedndingCrypto #TronNetwork #TRX #XRP #CryptoPress #Trending Cryptos

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popculturebuffet · 3 years

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The Legend of the Three Caballeros: Dope-A-Cabana Review (Commissioned by WeirdKev27)

Salduos Amigos! Since i’m covering a full series, i’d like to welcome any newcomers to the first part of the epic final stretch of THE RIDE OF THE THREE CABLLEROS! For those of you just joining us, a few months back WeirdKev27, easily my biggest supporter as the only one who comissions any reviews from me, asked if I could do a big project for him: a comission of EVERY major american apperance of those three happy chappies in matching serapes. Give i’ve ALWAYS loved the boys ever since house of mouse and had been sitting on Legend of the Three Cablleros for far too long, more on that in a minute obviously, I happily agreed. Plus the rather nice influx of cash from the comissions was very welcome. If your intrested in comissioning your own, hit me up via my direct messages. It’s 5 dolalrs an episode, though I do do discounts on orders of 3 or more, and 10 for a movie, with again discounts for orders of more than one. And yes that plug was very shamless, but again I have no other job than this. Back to the point these reviews have taken me on a wonderful journey: I got to rewatch the movie and revel in the fun songs, acid trips and super horny Donald Duck, got to both revisit one of Don Rosa’s best story and read another all time classic from the man I hadn’t before, took a trip back to the house of mouse to hear some great songs and see some great cartoons.. and some not so great ones, took a small detour to Mickey and The Roadster Racers to be baffled and annoyed though I am proud to say it was my first review back after I came down with Cornovirus and lost a week of work time. And finally I covered the town where everyone was nice, and got to see the boys have a joyous reunion with Donald and be lushly animated while.. Dewey jackassed around in a B-Plot and Webby resisted the urge to throat chop him. It’s been a long ride and you can find all of it is so far RIGHT HERE IN THIS CONVIENT LINK ! CLICK IT NOW IF YOUR CURIOUS. Point is while this was well paid for.. it’s easily one of the projects i’ve been most proud of and while i’m sad to see it winding down, i’m proud of what i’ve done so far, and I just wanted to heartily thank Kevin for the ride and for being so generious as to fund the whole damn thing. Your a good dude man.

Which brings us here, to the grand finale. The Legend of the Three Caballeros! As the boys first starring roll as a group since the movie, there was really no other way this retrospective could end, and since I have a terrible problem with procastination and really hated this series version of daisy I just kept pushing back watching the series until now. I’m not proud of it but I am happy to correct it and hope you’ll all come along with me. Before we get started I could not find much background on the show. It was directred by Matt Danner who was the character designer for the utter classic Xiaoilin Showdown and currently works on the Muppet Babies reboot, so i’m happy he’s still getting work. Otherwise I couldn’t find much. The most I could was on tv tropes, claming the series was orignally meant for Netflix.. and while I have no proof and this could easily be conjecture.. i’m inclined to belivie it. The series was apparently done long before the Ducktales reboot, to the point Frank Angrones was only vaguely aware of it and it didn’t even remotely impact the series, with Panchito and Jose only debuting in Season 2 because the original idea for bringing them in was scrapped. So while I don’t have proof.. I’m inclined to belivie it since it makes sense: Disney DID have a healthy relationship with Netflix once, setting up the MCU shows and likely being happy there.. but eventually they wanted their own corner of the sky, and likely didn’t want one of their shows bolted to the network like all their marvel shows were. The problem this created though is Disney was CLEARLY left with a show they no longer had a place for. But even with that the show was still done, they COULD have put it on the Disney Now app or just aired it on the Disney Channel. See if there was any fan intrest in season 2 or throw one into production to at least beef up the episode count. I mean the Cabs have a built in fanbase, kids would likely love it... it’s the logical choice. But this is Disney. They’ve had to be drug kicking and screaming into representation, to the point they had to be fought for the gay romance subplot in owl house to happen, try to hide that the Sparkshort “Out” is about a gay man struggling with coming out despite having you know reams of content on the service with either gay subtext or out and out gay characters, and their attempts at doing representatoin to score points in other little ways.. have been pathetic, easily missable bits in movies that could , and have been, edited out in more homophobic countries. My point is yeah i’m still sore about how they and a LOT of the animation industry have to be dragged into doing the right thing over profit, and they often make very stupid decisions for seemingly no reason. They are a good company a good chunk of the time.. but Disney has done fucked up quite a bit. This is one of those times. Instead they dumped the show on the Disney Life app in the phillipines and slowly some other countries, basically the Disney Now equilvent over there, and then just sort of forgot about it until Disney Plus launched. And given how many shows they HAVEN’T put on the streamer for again, seemingly no reason, it is a nice suprise the show finally got a release on there in the US. But before that, and proving what a massive mistake just abandoing the show was, the show did gather a massive fanbase via people uploading the episodes online. So yeah the show was treated REALLY shittily for stupid reasons, but thankfully it still has a fanbase to this day and said shabby treatment, as it always does, just encouraged fans to support it harder. So naturally i’m more than happy to give the series some spotlight as fanbase or no, it badly needs it and Disney sure as hell dosen’t want to do it. So if somebody’s gotta do it, might as well be me. This is the Legend of the Three Cablleros. We open on some narration from Xandra, Goddess of Adventure. Granted she hasn’t been identified yet, and won’t be till next episode.. buuuut it’s easier on me to not have to dance around her name so your learning it now. But Xandra narrates that long ago there were epic battles against the good and the evil and all that by epic heroes, and it’s all cumilated in the Legend of the Three Cablleros. Post title drop we’re treated to the boys, in cool looking armor and with neat weapons, fighting a purple monster man as you do in an really beautiful and epic sequence As this scene illustrates the animation for this show is GORGEOUS, a lavish update of the standard disney style with nice use of shadows. It feels almost film quality in it’s work, and it’s an utter treat to watch and opening at the end was a good call: it both ratchets up excitement and allows the first ep to have some action since this one, as part of a two part premiere, is mostly setup. It’s eyecatching, exciting and makes you want to know what the hell is going on. And since Xandra realizes MAYBE starting the story at the climax was a bad idea, she takes us back a bit.

Okay maybe not that far. No we open properly at Donald’s house, where it’s his birthday! And like the movie, it’s Friday the 13th, an excellent call back. Donald’s making his breakfast, boliling some tea and.. talking with the weird foced warped refelection in the kettle who can apparently only say “right back at you handsome, wink”. Seriously I have so many questoins and all of them are about what this guy is, why is Donald so calm about all of this, and is he still alive after Donald destroys his tea kettle later. Donaldo gets a call from Daisy, whose visting to spend the day with him and is waiting patiently int he bad part of town. I didn’t know Duckburg had a bad part of town but given Glomgold has to get his sharks and bombs somewhere, i’m not surprised. Unless he special orders them, but even then what if he needs a shark or a bomb in a hurry? He’s gotta get them somewhere and now we know where. So there’s that. So all’s going well until Donald’s asshole boss calls and forces him to come in despite Donald having the fucking day off and it presumably being on the schedule. So Donald rushes to work, and we do get some great gags but as you’d expect for Donald it goes poorly and he botches a kid’s haircut despite the mother being very rude.. and also a female version of pete. LIke.. did he remarry after the divorce from peg or is that his sister? Does that mean PJ and PIstol have a cousin I never knew about? I want answers dammit.. and picutures of spider-man. Not for any slander job I just really like spider-man.

Eh it’ll do.As i’m doing a full series this time i’m stopping to talk about the main cast as we go soooo.... Tony Anselmo is naturally Donald, even pitching in to consult the crew on Donald’s characterization here, as really what better expert is there? He’s voiced Donald since the original Ducktales and has stuck with the roll since, only taking a break for Mickey and the Roadster racers and that’s likely because between finishing up this series and the Mickey Mouse shorts, and moving on to Ducktales 2017, he likely simply didn’t have the time for it. Granted given how little he was used in the first season of the show, he probably still could’ve done it but regardless, he’s a legend. Daisy is voiced by Tress Macneile, who not only has voiced the character since House of Mouse and is easily the best voice for her, but is also one of the most storied and legendary va’s in the buisness, having been at this since the 80′s with zero signs of stopping. Just to name a few of her more notable roles, in chronological order; Gadget Hackenwrench, Babs Bunny, Agnes Skinner, Charlotte Pickles, Dot Warner (Which as of last year she’s picked up again and will do the same for Babs, just in case you thought i was exagerating on the “zero signs of stopping” thing), Pookie from Hey Arnold, Mom, Hoodsey Bishop, and Queen Oona among MANY, MANY smaller rolls. I didn’t even realize Charlotte or Hodsey were here, she’s that talented and deserves all the praise.. and way better rolls as Daisy than this one but we’ll both get to that and thankfully much like with Tony, the reboot’s giving her character some depth to work with so she gets to reallys tretch her chops. The woman turns 70 here, will likely keep going until she dies, and is wonderful and deserves more respect.

So because this is Donald, life wont’ stop punching him in the face and it turns out his house burned down, the fire people are destroying everything because their assholes, seriously they destroy both a family heirloom and a picture of his parents despite not being on fire. I’d be genuinely suprised if their general strategy wasn’t scremaing “fire, fire fire” and then going “rock rock rock” while they throw rocks on it. Super brucey bonus prize for the first person who gets that refrence and comments on it. I’ll get back to this in a second but SOMEHOW, beisdes loosing his home, all his possesions and his job... it gets even WORSE and Daisy calls, refuses to listen to him despite him having VERY valid excuses and breaks up with him. Oh and then the fire fighters gladly talk about going home to their in tact houses and partners.

So yeah let’s talk about this. This first 6 or 7 minutes.. is why I didn’t return to the show for a while. My brain has a bad habit of glomming onto certain parts of things, so it remembered the rough to sit through and not very funny first act.. and not the rest of the episode which is very good and likely more indiciative about how good the series is. Thankfully it does get better but this first act .. frames things like it’s DONALD’S fault somehow. I mean yes he did burn his house down.. but even that really isn’t his fault. He was called away suddenly, wasn’t thinking and made a mistake. Hell he proabably woudl’ve had more left if the fire department hadn’t gone crazy with the axes. His being called into work? He took the day off, and his boss was just a dick. His screwing up at the job? he was genuinely trying his best and doing his best and the client was just wholly unresonable. Donald did nothing wrong but the episode WANTS to frame him like some sort of screwup.. which he is, it’s Donald.. but not in this case. It was just a string of uncomfortable to watch bad luck that cumilates in him having nothing left. It’s not funny, it’s jsust really sad and it’s REALLY hard to tell the tone their going for as they seem to awkwardly bounce from jokes to Donald being utterly devistated and alone.

And the worst of this.. is Daisy. Daisy is EASILY the most infamous part of the show, as their portryal.. is pretty bad and apparently gets worse. We’ll see as we go but yeah.. her screaming at and breaking up with her boyfriend without listneing to his side and giving the claim we only have HER word on that he’s always screwing up, ON HIS BIRTHDAY no less, when he’s done nothing wrong, does not make a good first impression nor the fact the show seems to AGREE WITH HER. And look Donald is a trainwreck, this is true.. but the show dosen’t remotely portray him as one until AFTER this scene. As I said nothing that happened was his fault. Donald isn’t irresponsible or a screwup or dating a high schooler or anything. He isn’t Scott Pilgrim. He just has really bad luck. Again, we do see some foibles in the scenes to come.. but we don’t see any that would justify her claims, especially since she seemed perfectly happy earlier with him. Now if she’d say brought up some screwups in the first scene, and gently at that, then this would’ve worked.. but as it stands she just comes off as MASSIVELY unsymapthetic.. especially since Donald later calls her nieces over for help, which is objectively weird not gonna lie.. so she now KNOWS he had to move to a new house and his likely burned down.. yet still apparently has nothing good to say about him.

It didn’t help this rubbed me the wrong way in a very special way. As i’ve made plain before I don’t like THIS version of Daisy, the nagging, selfish, vindictive asshole who will gladly try and cheat on donald, dump him at a moments notice and you know PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE. Which just in case you think i’m exagerating...

She fucking upercutted him..and like here for something that isn’t his fault. I mean this Daisy isn’t physically beating Donald.. but that’s a VERY low bar to clear. And emotional abuse is just as bad, so there. My point is too often in the comics when written poorly, Daisy is a pretty terrible person and I REALLY didn’t want a screen adaptation of this form of Daisy. It took a WHILE to recover from not liking daisy over this version, with help from remembering house of mouse, some good barks story with her and the AMAZING Ducktales version and the suprisingly good Quack Pack version.. I did. But yeah.. this is not a good sign of things to come for the character in this show.

So yeah Donald’s heart is in the basement and his week is at an all time low when a post man shows up and gives him a letter.. well puts it in the box for a good gag but semantics. But the letter turns around as his ancestor Clinton Coot left him an inhertance for his 3Xth birthday: a house of some kind in the swanky neighboring town of New Quackmore. And i’ll also say.. it’s REALLY nice that for once, we focus on the Duck side of Donald’s legacy, or rather the coot but semantics, instead of the McDuck part. Don’t get me wrong, I fucking love the clanmcduck, always will and I love Ducktales exploration of it.. but it’s still nice to acknowledge Donald comes from two sides and while one of those may be humble farmers, they still accomplished a lot, including founding Duckburg in most continuities including presumably this one. It’s also a good way to seperate thigns from other properties including the reboot: focusing on a part of Donald’s lineage that isn’t usually touched on and making THEM just as badass as the other side.

So we get a quick montage as Donald takes a cab there and takes in the rich and fancy sights. It’s also a brilliant way to set up New Quackmore and it’s attached instutite as a fancy, upperclass place.. and thus perfectly clash it with Donald. Donald ends up getting dropped off at a big mansion.. which is not his , but belongs to the insittutes head, Baron Von Sheldgoose, played by WAYNE KNIGHT.

Hell. Yes. I freaking love Wayne Knight. In case you don’t know who the man above is, or at least don’t recognize his face, Wayne Knight is a very funny and talented actor and voice actor with a lengthy career primarily in side rolls, with the rolls that he broke out with being loveable asshole and Jerry’s enternal nemisis Newman on Seinfeld and Dennis Nedry, aka “that guy who got sprayed acid in his face by those horrifying frilled dinosaurs that will never not haunt my nightmares”. Seriously that scene fucked me up as a kid and I could not watch that part of the movie. For the most part he’s been a side character man but he has done a LOT of voice work, most notable Zurg in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Dojo for the aformentioned and excellent Xiaolin Showdown, and Mr. Blik for Catscratch and I wish he’d do more. He also recently voiced the penguin in Harley Quin so when I get to that you better belivie i’m looking forward to it. Point is while he may not always get the glory, and had to settle for starring in a mediocre tv land sitcom to get a steady paycheck once, the man is VERY talented, very funny and perfectly cast here.

So Donald makes himself home, finds out it’s not HIS home and gets thrown out by the snooty rich asshole’s bodyguards. As you’d expect. Donald does find HIS home, a run down cabana next door to the mansion with caution tape all over. Still Donald takes it best he can as it’s better than no home at all> What he doesn’t take well is finding out from the executor of the will that he’s not the only one inheriting the house... which is absolutley fair. The guy just had the worst day of his life, and this lady didn’t bother to put in the letter to any of them that they were sharing the house. The Sheldgoose thing was just an average Donald screw up. This is just this lady going...

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But yes we meet our boys.. and the introductions are naturally given this series is about them the best we’ve gotten so far: Jose is thrown off a bus, having ran out of fair, and having wooed all the ladies on board, and quickly charms the executor and is perfectly cordial to Donald, while Panchito parachutes out of a plane and marvels at how he went from nothing to having two new best friends, a run down shack and a sleezy lawyer! In short the two make a great first impression, helped by wonderful casting. Jose is voiced by Eric Bauza, a talented voice actor whose had WAY too many roles to list here, but two of the most notable are being the current voice of Bugs and Daffy, and his most notable role outside that recently has been playing Splinter in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But the guy is endlessly talented, seems really nice, and is easily one of my faviorite Jose’s so far after just one episode. He just.. gets the character perfectly and is thankfully NOT another white guy stepping into the role, so that’s nice. He easily oozes the charm and layabout nature Jose and was a natural in the role and i hope he gets to take it up again at some point. Speaking of naturals we have Jamie Camil as Panchito, who easily steps into the guys boundless energy and the sterotpical bits are swapped out for making him a cloud cuckoolander instead, which I genuinely love and fits the character perfectly. He’s best known for CW Soap Jane the Virgin, where his charcter Rodrigo just sounds like a delight, but has recently picked up a pretty good voice acting career, vocing Don Karnage in the Ducktales reboot, Globgor in Star vs the Forces of Evil and Todd’s Stepdad George in Bojack Horseman. I only hope he gets more voice work as he’s really damn great at it and it’s wonderful to get to see him in a role that’s not limited to a few episodes at best for a change.

So Donald’s less than happy about this, again it’s hard to really be that mad at him when he’s had a really, REALLY bad day and wasn’t told about this, but it’s kept to just the light level of grumpy as to not make him unlikeable. Granted after that intro it’d take a LOT to make him unsympathetic, but after their version of Daisy I really dont’ want to test this series. Our boys also find out they have a groundskeeper, ari, aka THE ARCUAN BIRD! He’s just a delight any time he pops up, doing his usual “ya ta ta ta” bit, and being adorable and hilarioius as always.. and also hilariously failing to fix the boys door. So Donald ends up just accepting he has roomates now, nothing he can do, and the three explore the house finding all sorts of cool old artifacts, feeling they’ve stumbled onto something specail. And you know what that means: YARD SALE! Seriously it feels like a bit out of Wet Hot American Summer or Stella, a series from the same creators you really should check out and that is high praise, trust me.

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I wish this series was streaming somewhere.. I mean we finally got Clone HIgh streaming Viacom, get on that. Anyways, it’s just.. fucking hilarious, and a LOT of this episode is once we walk back from the writers kicking donald in the junk and acting like it was his fault. Once Donald gets his inhertiance, the episode picks up immensley and we see the shows real charm and hilarirty fly, with jokes coming at a rapid and wonderful pace. The show really did impress me with the second half and made me utterly excited for tommrow.. or I guess today’s, look at the follow up. But we’re still in this episode and being a rich asshole, Sheldgoose isn’t happy about a yard sale, though given this series standards, we not only get some great deliveres from Knight of an outraged “A YARD SALE?!”... but a wonderful gag where Sheldgoose out to white guy it up and yell at them over this..accidently takes a wrong turn in his massive house, and turns around, not loosing how upset he is once. Meanwhile, we meet.. April, May and June. Yeah apparnetly Della isn’t dead or lost in this continuity, so the boys are MIA, and are instead replaced by Daisy’s Nieces, who I hope show up in the reboot before it ends. Especially since the show makes them WAY more tolerable than classic huey dewey and louie and instead enjoyable like Ducktales HDL. While not as indvidual as those three, the three are still idendtical outside of outfits, their voice actress Jessica DiCicco uses her consderiable talents and experince to give each one a unique voice, so while they all share a voice actress, none of them sound alike. And to round out our main cast for now, as our last members will be joining us fully next time, let’s talke about Jessica DiCicco. Jessica is a very talented and increasingly prolific voice actor and if you haven’t heard of her, and you probably have, you’ve defintely heard her voice. Starting out with Disney, hence why the probably called on her for this, she did the voices of Maggie for the Buzz on Maggie and Melina for Emperor’s New School before breaking out as Flame Princess on Adventure Time, whose both one of my faviorite characters from the show and one we’ll be digging into starting next month. And not one to rest easily she picked up a second set of iconic rolls vocing Lynn and Lucy Loud on The Loud HOuse, and funnily enough using those voices for two of the girls here. And along with Loud House she’s also currently starring in it’s Pony and is int he main cast of Close Enough as Candace. My point is she’s exceedingly talented.. as is this whole cast, as it’s a DAMN excellent cast and just further sells that this series deserves better. We’ll get into the girls more next time as they don’t do much here other than get called in by Donald for help, with what I saw of episode 2 fleshing them out more. Point is Sheldgoose offers a million dollars for the cabana and all it’s stuff and the boys are glad to sell.. they just have to find something Sheldgoose desperately wants, a mysterious golden atlas encrusted with Jewels. Our heroes head in to find it with Panchito finding it, and being very specific about it. We also get a nice call back to Ari destroying the door as Jose cleverly calls on him to destroy the lock. So our heroes open the book... and a goddess pops out and threatens to kill them all.

Final Thoughts: Dope-A-Cabana is a decent intro the series, but as i’ve said it’s heavily hampered by a weak and mean spirited first act. But once it gets going it REALLY gets going and as part 1 one of a two part pilot, it does it’s job well once it does get going: introducing our three boys and one of our antagonists well and setting up the side cast and preparing for our last to major additions Next Time: The Boys go on their first adventure, Sheldgoose finds a boss and the girls find their voice. Thanks for Reading, Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye.

#the legend of the three caballeros #The Three Caballeros #donald duck #Jose Carioca #panchito romero miguel junipero francisco quintero gonzalez #panchito pistoles #xandra #april duck #may duck #june duck #baron von sheldgoose #daisy duck #pete pete #disney plus #disney channel #animation #disney

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knitcrate · 3 years

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Letter from our CEO

I would like to begin by saying thank you to the many people who have written in via email, through our DMs, or on social media expressing their support, understanding, and compassion as KnitCrate navigates this situation. Whenever we receive one of those messages, we share it internally with the rest of the team, and it helps boost morale and remind us why we enjoy being a part of this community. So again, THANK YOU.

The situation over the past year has been, well…to say it has been messy would be an understatement. The lack of inventory being in stock (particularly in the last 3 months), delayed shipments, and customers understandably being more budget-conscious with the uncertainties of the pandemic have all strongly impacted our sales as a company. We have been doing whatever we can to overcome it. One of the biggest challenges we’ve dealt with as a company during COVID-19 has been our supply chain, both with getting the yarn to our warehouse for kit assembly and for production of the yarn in the first place.

Issue 1: Logistics of receiving the yarn

There are two main problems affecting companies who rely on importing/exporting goods these days.

The first is that, due to COVID, there are less commercial flights. Almost all commercial flights carry the passengers up top and cargo down below. With less commercial flights, there is less opportunity to transport cargo. This causes a backlog of cargo sitting at the airports. For example, we paid our mill in mid-March to try to get what should have been the April yarn now in March (paying it a month ahead of what was planned in our budget), at which point they sent the cargo to the airport in Lima. The cargo sat there for over a week because of the backlog of other cargo waiting to be put on a plane. The airline finally delivered 3 pallets to the US on March 30th. The remaining 9 pallets arrived today on March 31st. Customs wouldn’t let us pick up the first 3 pallets until the other 9 arrived, because they wanted us to pick up the order in its entirety. We finally got clearance to pick it up earlier today.

The second issue companies are facing are capacity constraints at the ports, whether airports or ocean. All ports worldwide are working with far less employees than they were before the pandemic, which causes massive delays in being able to process shipments. This affects us with our large inbound orders but also with shipments to our international customers, as packages sometimes sit at customs in your countries for what may seem to be an eternity.

Issue 2: Production of yarn at the mills

Because of the volume of yarn we are now ordering monthly, we have to contract with our mills 12+ months in advance. For example, as of today, all yarn orders through March 2022 are already contracted. Why the long 12-month lead time? The mills need this amount of lead time to plan their own raw materials purchases and production schedules, not just for our orders, but the orders of all their clients. Every month, we pay our mill at the time of shipment, they proceed to ship the yarn to us. Under normal circumstances, it takes a shipment by air only 1-3 business days to arrive, clear customs, and be delivered to our warehouse. Outside of a worldwide pandemic, this is not usually an issue. The mills have plenty of time to produce yarn and deliver it the first week of each month when we need to assemble your kits and ship to you.

However, the COVID pandemic has complicated things. Both of our main mills in Peru and Italy have had periods of time where they outright closed due to government restrictions on non-essential businesses to help combat the spread of COVID in their respective countries. For example, in April/May of 2020, our Peruvian mill was closed for two months and that left us without yarn to send out in May. Due to the lead times required and the fact that most mills worldwide were (and still are) facing similar issues, looking for alternate yarn was nearly impossible. Thankfully, our team was quick on their feet and we put together a fun dye-it-yourself project using undyed yarn from our Dyer Supplier business.

During this first quarter of 2021, our Italian mill, who was originally supplying yarn from December through February, has been facing stringent lockdowns and closures in response to the recent increase in COVID cases in Italy. This disrupted their ability to produce yarn and has resulted in part of the January yarn and all of the planned February yarn not being delivered. We were horribly disappointed about this, but despite our best efforts as well as the mill’s, the production needs could not be met. Thankfully, our Peruvian mill has been able to come back online with a more regular schedule in the past few months, and we have been working with them to get yarn delivered now that was originally meant for a later month.

While this is a solution to the inventory needed for crate shipment, it presented the company with a new problem. We had to fund the purchase for this yarn outside of our budget and available funding, which has been difficult during a challenging and financially straining year. This is why we have been forced to issue a credit, as opposed to an outright refund, on those purchases. It would be impossible for the company to do both - issue a refund for all those orders at one time while allocating funds to pay for yarn ahead of time.

***

Does this situation absolutely suck? Yes. It absolutely sucks. Am I sorry that this is happening? Of course. Business owners who give a damn about their business, customers, and employees do not set out on a mission to disappoint customers or give a less-than-exceptional experience. It is more heartbreaking to me than I can explain. But we aren’t dealing with normal times. We are doing what we need to do to get the company through this temporary situation to keep delivering yarn each month, keep our team members employed, and continue to be the business so many of you have grown to love.

Unfortunately, this also means streamlining how we offer products to you as well as increasing prices. When we took over KnitCrate in mid-2016, the kits ranged in price between $45 to $65 USD. We lowered those prices significantly to $24.99, including shipping & handling, that same year. We have kept prices there since then, even though shipping costs and wool prices have skyrocketed over the past 4-5 year period. Keeping our prices that low could not continue indefinitely. We had plans to introduce these price increases later in the year, but this situation has forced us to accelerate those changes. However, even at the new prices, we still feel there is superb value for the yarn you are receiving. Moreover, you still have access to the member discounts in the shop which gives you even more value.

I am hoping that most customers know us well enough to understand that we aren’t trying to pull a fast one or go Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde on you. We would never turn into a completely different company who is out to take advantage of you. However, we recognize that these sudden changes and issues have understandably raised concerns. Among them, there have been concerns raised about the products and website that we would like to clarify:

Our Terms and Conditions have not changed since 2019 and our Privacy Policy hasn’t changed since 2017.

We will continue to include 2 skeins per crate for the traditional membership and 1 for the sock membership. The “1+ skeins” wording previously seen on the website was updated back in 2019 when we tested featuring 1 skein of ultra-luxury base in the months we featured Citrus Squeeze and Titmouse. We subsequently sent a survey to our customers asking how they would like us to approach this in the future. The answer was that the majority preferred two skeins, and so we have featured at least two skeins ever since and will continue to do so.

We had seen some comments regarding extras no longer being included in kits. Please rest assured that extras will continue being a part of your kits.

Member Central discounts, Double Down discounts, etc. will continue. These are some of the key benefits of being a member and will continue to be so.

I have come across some hard-to-read comments about how KnitCrate is going out of business or won’t be around in 2 months. Are we going through a tough situation? Yes. That is no secret. Are we disappearing in 2 months? No. Like I said above, the yarn is contracted out through March 2022 with our Peruvian mill. This mill has already come back online and is working with us to push every month contract up by 30 days. We are working overtime and making the necessary changes to get things back on track and get the shipping schedule normalized again.

Ultimately, whether KnitCrate, or any company for that matter, stays in business or not is always in the hands of the customers. Companies can die for many reasons, but there are two overarching reasons.

The company cannot deliver a product the customer wants. The company created a product the customer wants and is willing to pay for, but the company cannot access or deliver it to the customer.

The company cannot get customers. The company developed a product a customer doesn’t care for and isn’t willing to pay for and they go out of business.

As a company, we have predominantly been battling Reason #1 during the pandemic and are actively working on solutions within our team and with our partner mills to address the supply chain issues. Given that our Peruvian mill was able to finish the April yarn by mid-March and ship to us early, we are looking forward to working with them on the future orders already contracted as we bump up each of those months. Going forward, we will not be pre-selling yarn on the shop. Yarn will only be listed for sale once it has been received into our warehouse, quality controlled, and counted. We understand that this may upset some customers who liked the ability to reserve the yarn by pre-buying it, but it is a necessary action.

That leaves us with Reason #2, and this is entirely in your hands as a customer. We offer great products, great value, and fair prices not available in most places. In fact, I encourage anyone who has been a member with us for a long time to look at the yarn they have purchased through us over their lifetime as a customer, either through the kits or in Member Central, and tally up the savings they have earned. I don’t know many other places that can enable you to save on quality yarn as much as KnitCrate.

When it comes to business, the customer is always in charge. You vote with your dollars whether any company you buy from, including KnitCrate, stays in business or not. This is not new, though. This has always been the case, ever since we took over the company in 2016, and will always be the case. We have had to make some tough decisions during a temporarily very sh!tty situation. We made those decisions in order to stay alive and keep delivering yarn to you at affordable prices long into the future. If you will have us, we will be here working to bring you yarn with great projects at great prices.

Thank you for your support. We hope you stay well and keep stitchin’!

- Rob and the KnitCrate Team

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rinharuzine · 4 years

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We're proud to announce the hardworking and talented Mod Team for the upcoming RinHaru/HaruRin Zine! ❤️💙

Meet Julie, the Team Captain and social media master of this project! (That's me! 💖)

Julie | Team Captain, Social Media, Finances Twitter: starstarfairy Tumblr: starstarfairy Instagram: starstarfairy AO3: starstarfairy

“I’ve been a fan of Free! since day one! Occasional fanartist and fanwriter, frequent RH/HR merch collector, always RH/HR lover! (And a member of the RH week mod team for the past 2 years! Yay!)“

Because it’s here, because it’s you, these feelings can be true.

Click through to meet the rest of the mod team!

Nat will be one of the mods in charge of communications, and handling emailing and responses to contributors - you want to stay on her good side! 😉

Nat | Communications Twitter: schangia_ AO3: Schangia

“I’ve been into Free! ever since it was still called Swimming Anime and the best boys didn’t have names yet. No matter how many years pass, RH will always be my otp.“

As always, I can’t make any sense of you.

Jem will also be in charge of communications, and is also our main proofreader. There will be no typos with her on board! 💯

Jem | Proofreading, Quality Control Twitter: JemKingOfSass Tumblr: rin202haru630 AO3: JemTheKingOfSass

“There isn't another anime quite like Free. Rin is painfully relatable, and his relationship with Haru is nuanced, dynamic, and fluid, they make the other shine brighter. I'm a reader and writer in the Free fandom, I've been an on-call beta-reader for multiple (other) fandom events. I will never move on from The Hug.”

Let's swim together, Nanase. If you swim with me, I'll show you a sight you've never seen before!

General organization (and newspaper whacking 🗞) will be up to Hina. Cheerleading free of charge!

Hina | General Organization, Proofreading, Quality Control Twitter: hinalilly Tumblr: hinalilly AO3: Hinalilly

“Here since 2013. Artist, writer, organizer and mod of several RH/HR events (including FOH, RH Week) and mod of the largest RH/HR discord server in the fandom. Motivational bunny!”

From the moment we met, my world has kept expanding.

The Discord server will be modded by the experienced and code-savvy Aenya! Also has dibs on all spreadsheets, do NOT touch 👀

Aenya | Organization, Discord Admin/Moderation Twitter: harukaaqua Tumblr: aenya AO3: Aenya

“Nanase Haruka’s biggest stan. If there's a successful RH fandom event you took part in - odds are I helped organize it. The *other* mod of the largest RH/HR discord server in the fandom. Will work for hamburgers and Haru cheebs!”

I understand now! I found the answer! Why it is I swim, who I'm swimming for!

Seda is one of our two talented graphic designers! We're lucky to have her with us! 🌸

Seda | Graphic Design Twitter: wangxianity Tumblr: rinsuokah AO3: smolandsassy

“I have been a fan of these swimming nerds since the very beginning. A graphic designer, a member of RH week team and most importantly a passionate lover of RH/HR!”

Haruka and Rin just feel like the ‘destined pair’ for one another.

Owing to ample experience in the area, our finances will be in order with Gine at the helm! 💞

Gine | Finances, Proofreading, Communications Twitter: missg1ine Tumblr: missgine Instagram: missg1ne AO3: missgine

“I’ve been a fan of Free! since the beginning - it only took one (1) Haru/water monologue haha. Huge RH/HR lurker. Avid fic reader and occasional fic writer. Love my red/blue boys!”

I’ve always admired you.

The zines themselves will be safe in the hands of Kitty, in charge of shipping and logistics! ❣

Kitty | Shipping & Logistics, Communications Twitter: seekittens Tumblr: seakittens

“I have been a fan of Free! since I first saw Rin’s dubstep entrance back during its early days of airing. I used to write ginormous character/episode analysis essays. I am the creator of the Matsuoka Rin Translations Master List.“

In the end, no matter how far apart they are, no matter how much they clash, they always end up returning to each other.

Last but certainly not least, Yami, our other talented graphic designer, and in charge of putting the actual zine together. Also responsible for creating these adorable Mod Info Cards! 💖 (Thank you!!)

Yami | Print & Graphic Design Twitter: yamisakura012 Instagram: frillyfujoshiyami AO3: frillyfujoshiyami

“I have been in love with Free since day one~ Rin was instantly my favorite character and then Haru swam right in to complete my love for the series. I’m an occasional writer, merch and doujin collector, and part-time translator for anything RH/HR related.”

Rin, it's my turn to show you a sight you’ve never seen before.

That's all of us! We'll do our best during the upcoming months to steer this project to the goal. We look forward to working with you! 🌸

Stay tuned on all our social media accounts for updates: rinharuzine.carrd.co

See you next water time...

#rinharu #harurin #free!#zine #fanzine #mod post

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national-nobody-writes · 3 years

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2020 Creator Wrap

2020 Creator Wrap: Favorite Works

I was tagged by the oh so talented @irolltwenties!

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought to the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I’m not a particularly prolific writer (WIPs for days, but completed projects? Not so much). Somehow in this hell year though, I did manage to complete more fics than in any previous year for a total of seven new works (~49k words, all on ao3), plus a chunky chap of a long running WIP (~20k words) so I’m actually pretty damn proud of myself! I also made some new fandom friends in 2020 which has easily been one of the biggest delights of the year & has definitely helped my creative momentum, so ty all for that. <3

Counting down from 5, here are my favs:

5. Downtime

I have endless love for JayRoy and it felt so good to finally finish something for them for once this year! All of my past WIPs primarily focused on them ended up firmly in my graveyard folder, including the fic that this one shot was originally meant to be connected to. I liked the way this turned out well enough to clean it up and post it on its own though, so at least now I can say that I have something published for them at last.

(Also it got me back into the JayRoy headspace enough to outline a whole YJ/Earth16 JayRoy fic that I’m excited to start drafting in 2021, so we’ll see where that goes...)

2.3k NSFW; A mix of playful sweet and roughness, just like them.

4. Mirror Image

Bluepulse Week really saved me this year in terms of forcing me to just write, damn it! Did I finish all the prompts this year? Nope. Did it get me to complete a handful of fics that I ended up really loving? Yes. This was one of them.

This fic zoomed into existence entirely out of necessity as an alt idea to a prompt that I had a much longer idea for, but didn’t have time to complete. It then got a positive enough reception that I decided to turn it from a crack-adjacent, passable one-shot to a slightly more developed two-shot by request of one of my commenters. Really, it was writing that second chapter that ended up endearing the fic to me.

6.3k Humor, time travel shenanigans & accidental dating. This fic is the sweetness of teenage crushes, the confusing mess of discovering your sexuality, & laughter with your best friend.

3. Soft Wesper One Shots

Would you look at that, another nsfw piece. Could it be that I’m starting to get to the point where I can look back at completed nsfw fics without cringing terribly? Love that for me.

This fic took me by surprise, tbh. I wouldn’t consider myself a part of the grisaverse fandom (I’m utterly ambivalent toward the OG trilogy & have no plans to read them), but I did fall deeply in love with the whole Six of Crows gang earlier this year to the point of having quite the book hangover afterward, unable to pick up anything else except related fanfic for a couple weeks straight. These fluffy, nsfw scenes were born out of that, and I was pleasantly surprised to see such a positive response to them in the comments. The whole SoC gang has my heart, but the dynamic between Jesper and Wylan in particular got my writing fingers itching.

3.7k Domestic, post-canon fluff & tender sex with flirty Jesper & blushing Wylan abound.

2. Stick With Me

Ohh, I still get warm fuzzies thinking about this fic! If I’m only low-key proud of the first three on this list, this is one I’m legitimately very proud of. I had this idea on the docket already from a convo with @ivyxwrites early this year (or maybe last year? who knows, time means nothing anymore) but used Bluepulse Week as the excuse to finally get started, and I ended up adoring the process of writing it far more than I anticipated.

As much as I love planning out meticulously crafted, plotty stories, sometimes all you want to do is pick some well-loved tropes out of a hat instead and run with them (in this case: stuck in a cabin, only one bed, & heated argument leading to confession). It was freeing to just mess around and have fun with this fic, knowing pretty much right from the get-go how I wanted it to unfold and seeing it so vividly in my mind. It also probably helped that I was writing it for Ivy; it’s much easier for me to stay motivated when creating directly for my friends.

Finishing this was also such a serotonin-filled burst of pure victory for me since, as previously stated, I’m terrible at finishing projects--particularly multi-chap fics, particularly within a decent timeframe.

25.5k A showcase of the essence of what I love about the best friends-to-lovers dynamic. Part character study, part wires getting crossed & uncrossed, and whole idiots to lovers. This fic is the warmth in the pit of your stomach from a yearning made real & the sudden clarity of realizing what you were looking for had already been there all along.

1. The Rest Pt 1: Delicate (Remember Me Chap 4)

Oh, Remember Me. Of everything I’ve ever written, this story remains the one I’m most proud of and certainly the closest to my heart (not to mention the longest running, whoops). The first iteration of the beginning of this story was actually drafted back in 2017, but I walked away from it for a couple of years before deciding to dust it off and try again. It has spiraled into something far bigger in scope than I originally planned for, but I’ve come to love the path it’s led me down so far, and finishing this whopping 20k chunkster of a chapter was like breathing a huge (if temporary) sigh of relief.

This chap was particularly cathartic to write because it allowed for a number of convos between the boys that had really needed to happen, and was finally the ‘getting together’ moment the fic had been building toward for a while. It’s also so sappy I could die, but I will not be apologizing for that, lol. I was really hoping to get Chap 5 up this year as well, but y’know. Sometimes things just don’t work out like you plan for and that’s okay.

Chap 5 does have 17k done already (with prob another 5-8k still to go) & I’m itching to share it, but no sense in rushing if the end result would suffer for it. Luckily, everyone in comments has been kind enough to beat me over the head with ‘take your time, we don’t mind/we’ll still be here!!!’ which I’m immensely grateful for. So, at least the pressure to hurry up and get it done is purely self-inflicted.

Of all my works, this fic has not only gotten the most passionate responses, but has also been the main gateway for me to interact with other bluepulse creators, which has been a real joy. Nothing brightens my day like the essays people leave me over there from time to time after discovering the fic. That kind of engagement is the highest praise, & responding is very self indulgent fun for me (bc, clearly, I could go on and on about this fic & YJ in general forever).

54.8k total so far (WIP). Bart & Jaime’s relationship journey from beginning to ‘current day’ (aka the moment the fic begins), using amnesia/memory restoration as a framing device. The high highs and low lows of first love, navigating a 3 yr age difference, and the long, winding road from best friends to lovers as the years roll on. Slow-burn-adjacent (in terms of both the boys’ relationship to each other and reader’s relationship to the fic bc of how long I take between goddamn updates).

Tagging @ivyxwrites, @incorrectbatfam, @paintingwithdarkness, @bluepulsebluepulse

#writing #fanfic #dc #young justice #bluepulse #jayroy #wesper

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norabrice1701 · 4 years

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An Offer Received - Part II

A Jaguar Villain Tom Hiddleston Character (Thomas Conrad) fanfic

Pairing: Thomas Conrad x Fem!reader

Summary: Part II - Mr. Conrad plays five steps ahead of you, baiting his trap, planting his seed...of change, that is.

Rating: Part II - an F-bomb or two, controlling behavior

Previously: Part I - 5 Minutes

A/N: Thank you for all the Part I love! This work of fiction is intentionally free of any direct country references. Conrad’s sights are set bigger than any one nation.

GIF credit to the original poster via the Tumblr search!

Part II - 5 Weeks

The news sent shock waves through the corporation. Even five weeks later, the rumors still hadn’t died down.

The most common theory was that you fucked him for the position. Sure, you didn’t wear the shortest skirts or the tightest blouses, but you were pretty enough and still a woman – and he was just a man. It was an obvious, frustrating assumption. The second prevailing theory was that you just plain fucked up. Why else would someone move from department head to a glorified office assistant?

Of course, no one ever said anything to your face. Your presence brought too much undeniable authority for anyone to make a direct snide remark. But you didn't buy-in to the gossip about Conrad before, and you didn’t buy-in to the theories now. Everyone could speculate on the limits of your ambition, but you held your head high, secure in the truth that you hadn't sacrificed your integrity to get the position. Hell, it wasn't even something you asked for.

But with each week that passed, the noise became easier to drown out as your knowledge of the corporation’s inner workings expanded exponentially. As Head of Production, you had a limited purview – but now, nothing was off-limits. Civil service initiatives. Defense contracts. Private buyer agreements. All in addition to the main consumer technology ‘gadget’ market.

It proved endlessly fascinating. The corporation had branched into so many different industrial and municipal strata that it was no wonder LOKI continued to post record-topping revenue each quarter during Conrad’s reign.

It made you wonder. Had Conrad been the architect of all this? Somehow, you doubted the former CEO had left this grand vision for Conrad to execute. The old guard – largely symbolized by Mrs. Brunhilde – was a thing of the past, and Conrad plainly had eyes for the future.

True to his word, you took very few of his calls and managed very little of his schedule. You knew it, of course, and had turned plenty of people away who hoped to just ‘drop in on him’. You’d note names, numbers and topics, adding them to your list of talking points for your daily meeting with him.

Those meetings proved unforgiving on a good day, and brutal if any fires burned. You had to ace it – an ever-changing status to condense the daily workings of a multi-faceted corporation into a few minutes’ time. But Conrad never missed anything – his questions cut to the chase, distilled issues down to their core, and always looked five moves ahead.

Of course, he had to look flawless all the while. You’d never once seen him with his tie loose or sleeves rolled up. His suit jacket came and went, but it wasn't a tell of his mood. He maintained a professional, even keel and nothing ever seemed to fluster him. Even when production numbers took a dip during the transition – even though you would begrudgingly admit that Jeremy Barton was doing a decent job – and even when a lucrative acquisition contract with Hong Kong fell through, you never saw the man break a sweat.

You sighed, forcing yourself back to focus, thumping another file folder onto the stack, this one named Operation ‘Lily Pad’. Oddly enough, the corporate-level initiatives had the most unprofessional and vague names.You’d received word late in the day that Conrad planned to lead a meeting with the corporate investing committee tomorrow. He hadn’t shared the objective, but he had requested four slides of investment figures and activities from each department, highlighting the corporate-level initiatives.

So, here you were at 7:46 pm on a Wednesday night, reading and typing away. At least, you weren’t alone. Not that you were counting, but Conrad hadn’t emerged from his office in over three hours. And he didn’t really have to – with a private washroom, and probably a hidden kitchenette in the wall paneling, why would he?

Perhaps you would look at getting a mini-fridge for your desk if these late-night tasks continued. Your stomach rumbled again with hunger as you reached for the next folder.

Operation ‘Blue Sea’. By far the largest in the company, and the biggest consumer of resources with little to show for profitability. Of all the initiatives in the portfolio, it did look the oddest, but admittedly, you were still coming up to speed on federally-funded projects. You poured over the funding update, trying to condense the information for the slide.

“I thought you might be hungry.”

You looked up, startled by the sudden mellifluous tone. How had you not heard him exit his office and walk to your desk?

“I…,” you shook your head clear, “I am, sir, but I should really finish this. You have your investing committee meeting up first tomorrow.”

“I do, indeed. And the night is far from over,” he paused, the corner of his mouth lifting as if in regret, “but needs must.”

You eyed him warily, unable to tell if he was making a joke. Had you ever seen him eat? Yes, he’d sipped from coffee mugs, teacups and to-go cups – but you didn’t think you’d ever seen the man ingest food.

“Come on,” he nodded for the suite door, “I know the perfect place.”

His tone told you that he wouldn’t take no for an answer, so you rose, grabbing your purse and scarf. Early autumn had brought a touch of chill to the daily breeze, but not enough to require a coat. Of course, Conrad was all buttoned-up in his perpetual state of perfection.

Following him into the elevator, riding in companionable silence with the knowledge that you two were actually leaving together, getting food together…part of you wasn't convinced that this wasn’t a hunger-induced hallucination, while the schoolgirl part of you was giddy with the prospect of a public outing with such a man.

Not that this was anywhere near a date.

“This way.” He turned in the parking garage, dulcet tones echoing off the concrete surfaces.

Dutifully, you followed, just resisting an eye-roll as he strolled up to a gleaming white car. A Jaguar from the markings.

Of course. Of course, a man in his position would drive such a flashy, sleek, sexy vehicle. He held open the passenger door without further ado, and you didn’t make a fuss about his show of chivalry. As with all things, you knew when to pick your battles. And accepting his dinner not-quite-invitation, sitting in his car, going to a place of his choosing – you knew better to let it play out for now.

He slid with fluid grace into the driver’s seat, closing the door behind him as the car roared to life. The buttery leather of your seat rumbled with the silky purr of the engine for the briefest second before the gears shifted and the car shot out into the night.

One big, seductive power play. How many other women had he poured into this same seat who just opened their legs at the sight of him at the wheel? Admittedly, it was an extremely appealing sight – the effortless ease with which he handled the tightly coiled power and navigated the city traffic. Faint piano music filled the interior, just audible over the engine’s steady growl.

It took you a few measures, but then you recognized it. Your piano teacher would be so proud. “Beethoven,” you glanced over at him with a small smile, “if I’m not mistaken.”

He nodded. “Very good.” The music stretched a little further between you. “Are you a classical music fan, or do you play?”

“A little of both, I suppose. I enjoy a good symphony when I can spare the time. And I took piano lessons through school. Sacrificed it to pursue a more practical career.”

“A shame, really. The world can always use more talented artists.”

You held back a snort. “I wouldn’t say I was a talented artist.”

“Perhaps not, but you’re not the type to accept failure.”

You licked your lips, suddenly uncertain. “And what of yourself? Classical music fan, or do you play?”

“Yes, to both.”

Your gaze dropped to his hands on the steering wheel. Such long, elegant, strong fingers. Perfect pianist’s hands. A blush rose on your cheeks as you turned to look out the windshield. “Well, they do say there’s a correlation between engineering and music.”

“Of course.” He sounded almost bored. “Most of my senior staff are amateur musicians of some kind.”

The thought made you pause. Did he already know that you played piano before asking you? How could he possibly know that? There was no official record of all those years you sat on Mrs. Campbell’s bench with her metronome and stern instructions in your ear. Was there?

Suddenly, the interior felt suffocating and your sense of unease grew. Just what sort of man was Conrad? You knew he was powerful within the walls of LOKI…but just how far did that power extend outside those walls?

He turned off the main street, gliding down a narrow lane that teemed with store and restaurant fronts. You squinted at the passing names, not sure if you’d heard of any of them. Just where exactly were you?

The car rolled to a stop in front of an unassuming building. Unassuming, but not inelegant. Burgundy lacquer coated the front and swooping gold script simply read Sora’s. Conrad exited the vehicle and you closely followed, not giving him the opportunity to come around for your door again. He did, however, hold the restaurant door open for you to pass through first.

Couples sat at the majority of tables as servers bustled about. The air was rich with aromas of spices and savory ramen flavors that made your mouth water. A warm, steady hand ghosted the small of your back and you caught a sudden hint of subtle, woodsy cologne. You chased the scent, taking a deep breath. Conrad brushed by you just as quick as he had stepped close - leaving you reeling in his wake. What was wrong with you? One minute you were drooling over the restaurant smells, and the next, wanting only to smell your boss’ cologne.

God, you needed food. And wine, probably. Lots of wine.

Conrad stepped up to the host, a smile lighting his face as he was obviously recognized. The host smiled wide, speaking in a smooth Japanese dialect as he gestured at your boss. Conrad returned the man’s greeting, Japanese syllables rolling effortlessly off his tongue. The host handed over a menu and Conrad took it with grace.

“Here,” he handed it to you, “choose anything you’d like.”

You skimmed the selections. “What would you recommend?”

He indicated a couple, and it wasn’t a hard choice. Once he relayed your order to the host, and the host scurried off towards the kitchen, you couldn’t hold back, looking to Conrad with a small smile. “I didn’t know you spoke Japanese.”

He looked over with a quirked brow, as if surprised at your boldness. “You haven’t needed to know.”

“Did you learn after becoming CEO? Or was this a skill you brought to the position?”

“You don’t ask such trite questions. I suggest you don’t start now.”

You froze on the sharp remark. What had changed between the conversation in the car, the touch to your back, and right now to warrant such a response? Perhaps he was uncomfortable in a public setting, talking about himself. Perhaps when you got him alone in the car again, you could...no, there would be no could.

In surprisingly short order, a server rushed to the front with a carry-out bag as the host motioned Conrad forward.

“Sir,” you called after him, “please let me pay for my dinner.”

He ignored you, accepting the bag with a nod and parting words that you didn’t understand. Without any further exchange, he turned, easily side-stepping you and holding open the restaurant door in silent expectation.

You didn’t hold back your glare as you brushed by him. All at once, you couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d played you. That he’d orchestrated the entire outing to his exact specifications. It was the only explanation why the food had arrived so quick after placing the order and why he didn't pay in person.

You sighed as you settled back into the passenger seat. “Let me see if I understand this right,” you said as Beethoven’s gentle strains resumed, “you called ahead and paid in advance. Of course, you placed your order over the phone, but as far as my food…how did you know what I would choose?”

The corner of his mouth lifted in the passing streetlight. “It’s commonplace for first-timers to ask a regular for their recommendation. Knowing what I would recommend for you helped narrow the selection so the kitchen could plan in advance.”

“But there was still no guarantee that I would pick from your recommendations.”

“There’s very few guarantees on anything, but there's one predictable truth of humanity – the truth that you crave subjugation. You had the freedom of choice, and yet you chose to defer to my direction, instead.”

“Predictable truth of humanity?” You arched a brow in disbelief, offense prickling along your spine. Who did Conrad think he was? “Is that true of you, too, sir?”

Nothing about Conrad’s demeanor suggested that he enjoyed surrendering control. In fact, he seemed much more the type to enact subjugation than surrender to it.

Nothing about that thought was comforting.

You turned to glare out the window as he offered no answer to your question. A throng of people had gathered outside of a large building – you couldn’t tell what. Some people held signs for peace, equality; others held hands, small candles, offered prayers and songs; each protesting the injustice that ran rampant and the need for a changed world.

Conrad’s voice carried softly. “They say we live in the most developed, advanced civilization in all of human history. Yet society rots around us. Global injustice of those still judged for their race, nationality, gender, creed. The superpowers of the world crumble under the very weight of their titles - divided, conflicted - and fail to learn the lessons from history. The Romans proved that military might is not enough to survive. Internal divisions, squabbles – failure at administrating peace – ate the Persian and Mongol empires from within. Focus cannot just be on one strength with the rest ignored; nor, is it worth the risk of burnout from fortifying all fronts at once as the British Empire once did.”

You turned towards him, brow furrowed in the low light. Where was he going with this?

His gaze focused out the windshield, but there was no mistaking the serene conviction on his face. “With each protest, each bombing, each hungry mouth that starves to death – we are witnessing the decline of the modern age as we know it. The leaders of this world, this realm, have been blind too long to acknowledge the problem. And their arrogant, blind ignorance will be their downfall.”

You swallowed, taking in everything he said. It was certainly an unexpected turn of conversation. “You’ve clearly spent a lot of time thinking about this. It’s almost a wonder you aren’t in politics.”

“Their games are meaningless drivel. Their false promises and continual inability to affect global change drive us further into decay.”

“Then…then what are you suggesting? Yes, I agree – change is needed. But you…you do recognize the throne from which you preach?” You couldn’t help a small scoff of disbelief. “You sneer at powerful people on high, making decisions for the world – but how are you any different? Sitting atop the throne of the largest tech giant in the world? One could argue that almost gives you a more powerful platform. At least, everyone knows that you’re just out to make money for the company.”

“Do not mistake me for a robber baron.” His voice lost none of its clipped calm, despite your words. “The opportunities afforded by this position will be made clear to the world soon enough. As will the knowledge that with the right support, the right drive to succeed – change can be realized. For the good of all.”

You had to admit it was a nice thought. A world for the good of all, not just those who the powerful decided it was for. You turned to the window, not entirely sure what to make of the conversation. It surprised you, honestly. You’d never given Conrad enough credit to consider others beyond himself. Yet here he was…sympathetic to the need for global change.

Maybe, just maybe…you could agree with him. You nodded slowly. “For the good of all.”

Up Next: Part III.1 - 5 Months

#tom hiddleston #villain #the art of villainy #hiddlesedit #good to be bad #world domination #loki #avengers reference #fanfic #an offer received #wannabe writer #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston x you #not rpf

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lyricfulloflight · 5 years

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Rumour Has It: Part 2

A modern Cherik AU, powered, university setting.

If you haven’t read part one, here is a link:

https://lyricfulloflight.tumblr.com/post/188224206227/rumour-has-it

Tagging @gold-from-straw because she kindly asked to be tagged if I kept going. If anyone else wants to be tagged for future additions, let me know!

I will be focusing on my long WIP for the next little bit, so I don’t expect to update this ficlet series for at least a week - fair warning.

Rumour Has It - Part 2

Erik sat in his seat and groaned. He could not believe that Professor Garcia was going torture them this way. Group work. How could he do this? Erik had actually been enjoying this class until two minutes ago. Professor Garcia wasn’t a mutant, but he was married to one and had a mutant child, so he was very much aware of the struggles of mutants in society and was relatively sensitive in how he approached the topics covered in class. He also openly encouraged debate, which made class lively and far more interesting than it would have been in a traditional lecture format. But this, this was cruel.

“I am assigning everyone a random partner. And yes, before you all jump down my throat, the selections were totally random, I used a computer program. Your pairings are final. You will not change partners, I don’t care how much to plead with me about it. You will work on this assignment – together – for the rest of the year. It accounts for thirty percent of your grade, so this is not to be taken lightly. The list of pairings is right here -” Professor Garcia held up one sheet of paper, “and I will post it up front at the end of this class. Now, let’s talk about the Identification Act of 1985...”

Erik spent the rest of the class half listening to the professor and half absorbed in glancing around to look at all his classmates to try and figure out who would be the worst person to be paired up with. There were half a dozen humans in the class who had apparently signed up just to give speeches about how dangerous mutants were and how identification and separation was “essential for national security”. Erik wasn’t sure he could work on an assignment with one of them without it leading to him punching one of them in their smug human face. Otherwise, Erik figured one classmate was pretty much the same as any other. Regardless of who he was paired with, Erik refused to let this stupid group project bring down his grade point average.

The class ended with a rush of students clamoring to the front of the class to get a look at the list of student pairings. Erik sat at his spot and slowly loaded his notes into his backpack. There wasn’t any reason to rush – the list would still be there in five minutes when the crowd cleared, or his partner would find him before he even had to get up and look.

With his head bent over zipping up his bag, the first thing Erik heard was someone clearing their throat.

“Hello. I believe we’re partners.” Said a crisp British voice.

Erik leaned back slowly, something like dread curling in his stomach. He looked up at the man in front of him and found himself looking into the impossibly blue eyes of one Charles Xavier.

“You are Erik Lehnsherr, yes?”

“Yeah.” Erik spoke, determined to react normally – surely it couldn’t that bad to have been paired up with the most promiscuous man on campus. “That’s me.”

“I’m Charles, Charles Xavier.”

Charles held out his hand and Erik found himself reaching out, and having his hand grasped in a surprisingly firm grip.

“I think it best if we meet to talk about the assignment as soon as possible.” Charles continued. “I have to admit my schedule is quite full and it may be difficult for me to arrange time to meet with you if we don’t plan ahead.”

Erik bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from making some sort of snarky comment about Charles ‘schedule’, which the majority of the university seemed to think involved enough sex for about three healthy young men, and instead nodded in agreement.

“I don’t have class until later this afternoon. We could go to the library now and sort something out, maybe pick our first topic from the list Garcia gave out?” Erik suggested.

“Excellent. I have about an hour before my next commitment.”

Erik found himself walking about a step behind Charles as they exited the classroom. Xavier was a startling fast walker and even though Erik had a good five inches on him at least, he found he had to consciously keep himself from falling behind the shorter man.

He was so focused on lengthening his stride to keep up with Charles, he almost ran right into him when the other man stopped abruptly only a few meters outside the humanities building.

“Found a new fuck, have we Charlie?” Sebastian Shaw’s voice dripped with contempt.

“If you’ll excuse us Sebastian, we were headed to the library.” Charles said blandly, head held high.

“You know he’ll have sex with anything that breathes, right Lehnsherr? If you want to join his pussy footed little Mutant Human Alliance, you don’t have to sleep with him, even though everyone knows he’s slept with the entire group.”

Erik glared at Sebastian but said nothing – there was nothing to say to his baseless accusations.

“Fine.” Sebastian shrugged. “Just wrap it up – who’s know what diseases Charlie has by now.”

Sebastian cackled as he walked away, waving his fingers in a jaunty fashion as if he was saying goodbye to a couple friends, not two people he’d just insulted.

Charles didn’t spare a second to look back at Sebastian, he simply soldiered on and Erik followed him in silence until they found an empty study room at the library.

“Does he do that a lot?” Erik asked.

“Hmm, what?” Charles frowned, apparently confused by Erik’s question.

“Shaw – does he go around saying shit about you all the time?”

“Oh, that.” Charles waved a hand dismissively. “Sebastian doesn’t like the fact that I run a Mutant Human Alliance – it clashes far too much with his ‘Brotherhood’ and their belief in mutant superiority. He likes to try to get back at me with petty insults.”

“He’s an asshole.” Erik grumbled. “And his ‘Brotherhood’ is practically a terrorist organization – their blog has a list of all the human politicians they’d like to ‘eliminate’.”

“I’m aware.” Charles sighed. “I feel the less attention I give Sebastian and his efforts, the better. Now, the assignment – was there a particular piece of legislation you wanted to look into first?”

Erik let his desire to dig into Sebastian’s insults about Charles’ sex life drop. It wasn’t really any of his business.

Working with Charles was nothing like Erik had thought it might be. Charles did not flirt – he didn’t so much as bat his eyelashes. He was completely professional and focused the entire hour they’d spent in the library.

It only took about five minutes for it to become clear that Charles was incredibly intelligent and well versed in mutant legislation. He also wasn’t afraid to voice his opinions, or disagree with Erik. They both agreed they wanted to pick the broad topic of ‘Mutant Identification and Suppression in the Education System’, but spent a good fifteen minutes arguing over which specific piece of legislation to analyze first.

Erik was impressed. A lot of people, well most people actually, backed down in the face of Erik’s tirades, but not Charles. In fact, he hadn’t missed a beat – he was ready with a calm rebuttal to every argument Erik offered. Erik finally, after much back and forth with Charles, compromised by agreeing to start with Charles’ top choice (the Dangerous Mutant Identification Act of 1999), but only after Charles explicitly agreed to end with Erik’s top choice (the Mutant Segregation Bill of 1961).

The meeting ended with a quick check of their schedules and a plan to meet every Tuesday for a brief face to face chat after class and to have a longer collaborative work session every Saturday morning.

Erik walked home feeling unexpectedly happy about the whole thing. It seemed that working with Charles was going to be fine, even if he was nothing at all like Erik had expected.

One might think a man described as the biggest slut on campus would look a certain way. Sean had asked if Xavier was pretty and… he was so much more than that, and yet also, strangely less. Today, he’d been wearing an oversized knit sweater, the type you might see a fisherman wear to keep out the cold, paired with rather ill-fitting corduroy pants. The entire ensemble did absolutely nothing to highlight Charles’ body; clearly he had a body somewhere under all that fabric, but Erik couldn’t have told you if he was thin, muscular, pudgy, or somewhere in between. Despite his complete lack of fashion sense, Xavier’s face more than made up for his clothing choices. His face… his face was achingly handsome. It wasn’t quite pretty, not with its slightly too large nose and the freckles, but it was somehow better because of its flaws.

No, Charles Xavier wasn’t pretty. But damn if Erik was going to tell Sean that Charles’ eyes practically glowed when he was talking about something that got him excited, or that his lips looked just as impossibly red up close as they did from across the room, or that he cheeks flushed an enchanting shade of pink when Erik had teased him about how many books he’d had stuff in his book bag. Erik wasn’t going to share any of that with Sean. Sean’s head would probably explode from excitement from the knowledge that Erik had been within five feet of the infamous Charles Xavier.

No, Erik thought, he’d just keep his newfound knowledge of Charles to himself. No need to add fuel to the already raging inferno that was the Charles Xavier rumour mill. How difficult could it possibly be to keep one little secret from his freshmen roommate?

#cherik #cherik fic #rumour has it #cherik univeristy au #lyric writes #lyric writes too many cherik fics at once #part 2

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theculturedmarxist · 4 years

Link

Never in U.S. history has there been a moment like this: Trillion-dollar proposals are pouring forth from Capitol Hill in a mad bid to save the economy from the ravages of a pandemic.

On the other hand, 2008, when toxic mortgage assets made “bailout” a political buzzword, wasn’t so long ago.

Back then, Congress, to revive a financial system paralyzed by devastating mortgage losses, opened the nation’s wallet wide, passing a $700 billion bailout. The following year, as unemployment rose, credit froze and public coffers dried up, it kicked in $840 billion more in a stimulus bill designed to save and create jobs and jump-start consumer spending. Of course, these helicopter drops of taxpayer cash seemed ripe for waste and fraud, so we decided to track where the money went.

What we learned from dogging those massive efforts provides some important lessons for today’s crisis. Many of the proposals lawmakers put forth this week — a grab bag of rescues for affected industries, broad loan programs and cash payments — the U.S. tried not too long ago.

Here’s a key takeaway: The reason we can easily update you on the pitfalls of the 2008-09 bailout is … it never actually ended. (And guess who keeps updating ProPublica’s Bailout Tracker?) Massive interventions have a way of leaving a mark. The government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the giant mortgage finance entities, in 2008, and they remain in conservatorship. Tens of millions each month are still going out under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the bailout’s misleading moniker, through next year. (We’ll get back to what TARP ended up doing in a bit.)

So, while a crisis provoked by a rampaging global virus certainly looks a lot different from one caused by toxic mortgage assets, the proposed solutions already on the table really aren’t.

President Donald Trump’s marquee proposal, also embraced by some Democrats, is a $500 billion plan to send stimulus money to American taxpayers as soon as early April. But history shows that the much-anticipated cash relief might not come as fast, or end up as well targeted, as the Trump administration is promising.

The Bush administration tried a similar stimulus measure in February 2008 when it sent $600 tax rebate checks to middle-class workers, with additional money for parents with children. But workers didn’t get them for three to five months — much longer than the two to three weeks Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is currently promising.

When the checks did arrive, people didn’t run out and buy things. Most of the money was saved or used to pay down debt.

When President Barack Obama took over, he pitched a much larger, but ultimately insufficient stimulus package, designed around “shovel-ready” projects, safety net spending and investments in clean energy. Many people forget that the biggest item was a middle-class tax cut. But instead of sending checks, the administration chose to dribble the money out in paychecks at about $10 a week over two years, hoping that this way consumers would spend more of it. They didn’t.

There’s even more reason to believe that the proposed stimulus checks will be saved this time.

By definition, stimulus programs aim to get people to go out and spend, creating demand that creates jobs. But to slow the spread of the coronavirus, government officials are telling, and in some places ordering, people to stay home. Extra money would certainly help workers who’ve lost their jobs or seen their hours cut. It might even encourage people stuck at home to buy new laptops and TVs, helping foreign manufacturers and domestic warehouse workers and truckers. But as popular as tossing cash from helicopters might be, lack of money is not the reason people with jobs aren’t spending right now.

Economic studies have shown there may be more efficient ways to spend $500 billion to aid those in need, such as expanding food assistance, unemployment benefits and other safety net programs as well as incentives to stem the tide of layoffs.

One of the most effective programs from Obama’s stimulus package was a $50 billion fund to shore up state and local budgets, which has been credited with saving the jobs of more than 300,000 teachers and support staff. Sending money to local governments could help down the line as tax revenues plummet along with the economy.

The Trump administration and Congress could do something similar with private businesses now, encouraging them to pay their workers during shutdowns, as Honda has pledged to do.

One proposal floated in a recent Treasury Department memo obtained by The Washington Post is a program that would guarantee $300 billion in loans to help small businesses meet payroll for eight weeks.

But policymakers should also consider the success that Germany had during the last recession with a program known as “work sharing.”

The idea is that businesses will eventually need to ramp up again whenever this especially unpredictable crisis is over. Under work sharing, instead of laying workers off, employers reduce hours, and the government pays partial unemployment benefits to make up for lost wages. For some workplaces, such a program could also achieve the goal of social distancing or allow people a way to balance the new child care and teaching demands caused by school closures.

But according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, more than 20 states don’t offer work sharing programs.

There’s also a lesson from the bailout about what happens when Congress hands an administration broad authority without clear direction or restrictions.

One clear lasting legacy of the 2008-09 bailout is a chronically flawed mortgage modification program, one launched with the promise of saving millions of people from foreclosure, but characterized by ongoing chaos, lax enforcement of its rules and failure. The program was rolled out months after the Treasury Department had quickly pumped hundreds of billions into banks with few strings attached.

This happened because, with pressure to act quickly in 2008, Congress gave the Treasury Department broad discretion to essentially make things up as it went. That’s how — and why — even though the TARP was conceived as a giant program to buy up toxic mortgage assets, the government almost immediately abandoned that idea. Instead, the Treasury Departments of both Bush and Obama spun out an array of programs, successfully bailing out AIG, large banks and the auto industry — and only later launched a notably unsuccessful program for homeowners. (For a rundown of who paid the money back, see here.)

It’s the kind of freedom Trump’s Treasury Department appears to covet: Its recent proposal suggests giving it the authority to send $50 billion to the airlines and $150 billion to “other severely distressed sectors,” with the Treasury determining the “appropriate interest rate and other terms and conditions.”

The TARP had relatively robust oversight built in, and it’s an aspect that should be repeated, said Neil Barofsky, who served as the special inspector general for the TARP from 2008 to 2011.

“You cannot push out $1 trillion without scandal. There’s going to be crime, there’s going to be fraud,” he said. “But with strong and effective oversight, you can limit it.”

Not only did the TARP have Barofsky’s office, but there was also the Congressional Oversight Panel, which was headed by a Harvard professor named Elizabeth Warren. The SIGTARP, as Barofsky’s office was known, released scathing reports and brought criminal cases against bankers who’d lied on their bailout applications, while Warren’s panel publicly raked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner over the coals for being too generous to banks while doing far too little for ordinary people.

Whatever proposals are ultimately adopted, taxpayers should be able to see how the government is spending their money. In 2009, Obama’s stimulus package created an accountability and transparency board, requiring any entity that received contracts, grants or loans to file quarterly reports that were posted publicly on a government website.

Extending the idea to all federal spending was supported by people as far apart politically as then-Vice President Joe Biden and former Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who chaired the House oversight committee. Some provisions made it into law, but the larger effort failed to get traction, and the board and its website shut down in 2015. Perhaps it’s time to resurrect the idea. Without adequate testing, we may not know the full reach of COVID-19; but at least should be able to track the money spent to respond to the crisis it’s leaving behind.

#economy #trump #tarp #obama #coronavirus #capitalism in decay #capitalism #late stage capitalism #history

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toothpastecanyon · 4 years

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Noie’s Brother, Chapter 20

Nearly finished!! Thank you so much to @feferipeixes for betaing this story!

Fate sometimes rhymed, but Alcor felt like this one was a little on the nose. A newborn Mizar fading away in the hospital and a loving father pleading to him from behind a circle of candles.

Fate sometimes rhymed, but Naomi Argenta just wants this stupid vampire to stop harassing her brother. It’s making him go… weird.

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

______________________________________________________________

“Allie!”

Noie raced around the corner and nearly ran into David. He grabbed her arm.

“Allie?” His face fell as he got a good look at them. “Kids! D-did you hear anything just now, uh, l-like a door slamming, or-”

“No? What’s going on?”

He grit his teeth. “I did something stupid, that’s what’s going on! Allie’s missing!”

“What?”

“No time! Y-you know, I haven’t checked Allie’s office yet, why don’t you two do that while-”

“We already checked that.” Dipper stepped forwards; he was in human form again, Noie noticed. “How long has she been gone for?”

“I… I don’t know!” David gripped his temples. “I just- we were watching TV, and I just let her walk off for some reason! I didn’t think about it!”

“Okay. That’s okay, we’ll just-”

“It’s not okay! I can’t believe I did that! Argh, this is all my fault - ALLIE!”

Dipper gripped his shoulder. “Hey, that’s not important right now. Have you searched the whole house already?”

“Y-yeah? God, that only means one thing.” He looked outside. “Oh, my god. She could be anywhere. This is how people die.”

Noie felt like a bucket of cold water had been dropped on her. “She’s not gonna die.” She stepped back, and shivered when Dipper looked right at her. “She’s not gonna die, right?”

“No, she’s not.” He said, and there was a strange shine in his eye. He turned back to David. “Look, it doesn’t matter if you messed up; we can fix this now.”

“Wh-what?”

“Go call the police!”

“The police?” David blinked. “Right, the police! What’s the number for the police- 911. Ohhh, you idiot, David…”

Dipper nodded at Noie. “While they’re coming, we’re gonna go outside and look for her, okay? Maybe she hasn’t gone far.”

“That-that sounds like a good plan.” David stepped away, digging for his phone. “She’s gonna be okay, she’s gonna be okay, she’s…”

Noie stared at him until she felt a hand on her arm. She shivered a bit at Dipper’s grip; he seemed to notice, and motioned her to follow.

“Come on, Naomi.” He tried for a smile. “Everything’s gonna be okay, okay? We’ll get her back in no time.”

The smile he wore… it seemed so odd on his face now. It was hard to look at it and not see the fangs, his fangs, but- She shook herself.

That wasn’t important right now.

Noie took his hand, and let him lead her into the darkness. They stepped outside, and the crickets started chirping, and suddenly it struck her how utterly normal this night seemed. It wasn’t even that dark; the moon draped itself just above the skyline, watching over everything with a steady silvery glow.

It didn’t seem like a night for Allie to go missing. It didn’t match up with the deep, sinking fear in her chest as she looked up and down the street and saw nothing.

“Where are we looking?” Noie asked. “Should we split up? You go that way, I go this way? I should go back inside to get my phone…”

“We don’t need to look for her. I know where she is.”

“We don’t-” Noie blinked. “What?”

Dipper was standing there, still. “I know exactly where she is. I can get her back.”

“Wh- How do you know that? How on earth do you…”

He looked at her. His eyes weren’t glowing, but there was something shining there that made her questions shrivel up on her tongue.

Of course he knew, she thought. Of course he did. She swallowed.

“Well, don’t just stand there, we have to get to her! Where is she?”

“I’ll tell you. We need to do something first.”

“Need to do what?”

“We need to… make a deal, Naomi.”

“A deal?” A chill went through Noie’s body. She stepped back. “Like… the demon thing? The shaky hands thing?”

He just nodded. She frowned.

“We don’t have time for this, Dipper! Allie’s missing!”

“I know, it’s-”

“Then we gotta go now! Just tell me where she is and-”

“I can’t!” Dipper snapped. “Not without a deal! Do you understand?”

She shrank back at the echo in his voice. She watched Dipper sigh, step back, and compose himself. He looked back at her, and there was a deep guilt written into every line in his face.

“I can’t,” he said, quietly. “I know you’re not… comfortable with me right now, but I need… there’s a part of me that needs something in return. It doesn’t have to be big, b-but it’s been twelve years since I made a deal, I can’t do it for nothing.”

Noie didn’t say anything. She didn’t dare to.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get frustrated, I just…” he clenched his fists. “I can fix this, so please, let me fix this. I know I’ve messed up a lot, so let me fix this one thing for you and your family, okay?”

Dipper looked to her for an answer. Noie hesitated, and then, silently, she gave a nod.

“Okay,” she said, and watched him relax just a little bit. “Okay. What do I need to do? You said I need to, uh, give you something?”

“An offering, yes.”

“Oh.” She looked down at her hand, and struggled to get out the next bit: “...So, um… like blood, or souls, or-”

“No no no no no!” Dipper cut her right off. “No, you are not giving me your soul here! This is not that big a deal! Besides, I already have it - but that’s not important right now-”

“Wait, you have my-”

“Long story, not important! Shouldn’t have mentioned it, sorry!” He drew back. “Sorry, sorry, I’m making this confusing and scary when… I just need a small thing, okay? Think, like, a tub of ice cream. Not soul ice cream, just… yeah.”

She blinked. “Demons take ice cream for deals?”

“I take ice cream for deals.” His smile was quick, nervous. “Or… I know we don’t have any candy in the house right now, but if you buy me some later, you can offer to do that now. That’d be fair.”

“Okay-”

He kept on talking. “Or you don’t have to offer anything physical. You could just offer me something you don’t want anyway. Like unwanted memories.” He didn’t meet her eyes. “Then it wouldn’t even be like I’m taking something away from you. Killing two birds with one stone.”

“What do you mean?” Noie frowned. “Where are you going with this?”

“Give me your memories of the past few weeks, and I’ll find Allie.”

Stunned silence. Even the crickets went silent. Noie felt her stomach drop; she just stared at Dipper, dumbfounded.

She watched him swallow.

“You don’t have to take it.” He said. “But I know… I know you don’t want me to be a demon. You just want me to be Dipper Argenta. So I can do it, I-I can put everything back to normal and make a human body again, it can be like none of this ever happened. If that’s what you want, I’ll give it to you. If you don’t want to know, you don’t have to know.” He looked down. “It’s the least I can do, after… everything.”

Everything… back to normal? Noie shivered as she thought of everything that had happened since that day when Lucy Ann showed up by the school - stars, it felt like a lifetime ago. She could hardly imagine a world where her biggest problem was a group project in school; a world where her biggest frustrations came from occasional clashes with her grandfather.

A world where her biggest comfort was her brother.

She looked up at him, and hated how his face drummed up a mess of conflicting emotions in her - love and hate and fear and anger all mixed together and made things complicated where they used to be so simple. She just wanted to be close to him again. She just wanted to trust him again. She just wanted everything to go back to normal.

Normal. That was what she wanted. And that was what he was offering.

So, wordlessly, Naomi extended a hand. She watched her brother’s face flash through a million expressions before locking into something blank and unreadable. Then, he spoke.

“This is what you want, then.”

It wasn’t a question, but she nodded anyway.

“Alright.” He put out his own hand. “Let’s shake on it, then.”

They grasped each other, and shook, once. A small burst of blue flame startled Noie, but she couldn’t pull away. He was gripping too tight.

“So…” she managed. “It’s… done, then?”

“It’s done.” Dipper released her, and turned away. “I’m going to get Allie first, make sure she’s safe. It won’t take long, and then I can wipe your memories.”

She tried for a nod. “Good… good plan. You need me to come with you?”

“No. You don’t have to do anything.”

“Okay, I’ll just… wait inside, then?” Wordlessly, he dissolved into shadow - Noie took a sharp breath. “A-alright. I’ll wait inside. I’ll wait inside.”

She stepped back, and took one more look out into the night. The crickets were chirping again. The lights were off in all the houses, and the cars lay still in their driveways. It all seemed so incredibly normal.

Hopefully, it would start to feel normal, too. She turned, and walked inside.

Opened the door.

“Yeah, she’s about five foot eight, she’s got- Allie?”

Closed the door. She could hear her grandfather groan, and then turn back to the phone.

“No, that wasn’t her. Yeah, she’s five eight, got white hair, she’s- you’re spelling it with a K, right? A as in Alfa, L as in Lima…”

Noie walked over to the couch, and sat down on the couch. She stared without seeing, and let David’s words wash over her.

Her hands were trembling. She gripped her knees, and waited.

She didn’t have to wait long before there was a knock at the door.

“Huh? Oh, hang on a second!” David rushed over to open it. “Allie, is that- Aaagh!”

Noie watched him jump back with a yell; the phone dropped from his hand and clattered against the tile. He spotted her standing up and shook his head frantically, but she walked over…

And saw Alcor the Dreambender standing in the doorway. The demon was dressed in his finest suit, with a thin gold chain looping up to his folded wings. In one clawed hand, he clutched a top hat to his chest. The other was resting gently on Allie’s shoulder; she lit up when she saw her husband, and he let her walk forwards and embrace him.

“David!” She gave him a peck on the cheek; he was too startled to even register it. “How was your day, honey? Leon and I, we had a wonderfullay, we went shopping!”

“Wh-what?” David managed. Alcor looked down.

“She was walking down the side of the road. I picked her up and took her back here.”

“Why?” He gripped Allie tighter. “What do you want from us?”

The demon stepped away. “I should go now.”

“Yes, you should. We don’t have anything for you.”

David moved to close the door, and Alcor caught Noie’s eye briefly before it was slammed in his face. Allie waved.

“Bye, Leon!” She frowned when David grabbed her hand. “Ow. Where are we going?”

He picked up the phone. “Getting you away from the door. Naomi, Dipper, go to your room. Hello, police? Are you still there?”

Noie looked to the side, but she didn’t see Dipper there. After a moment, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“I said, go to your room.” David growled, and then shoved her towards the hallway. “Hello, yes? I’d like to report a demon sighting…”

Thoughts buzzing in her head, Noie stumbled back and made her way into her bedroom.

She shut the door. She took a deep breath. She let it out, slowly, and then spoke.

“Dipper?”

“I’m here.” The reply was immediate. She turned, and saw a small boy curled up on the bottom bunk. “We should do this before the police get here.”

“Yeah, that sounds… sensible.” She waited for him to get up, but he didn’t move. “Uh, Dipper?”

“Sorry.” He wiped his eyes, and got to his feet. “I’m good now. I’ll do it.”

His face was a little red and blotchy. He didn’t smile. Noie frowned at him.

“Are you… sad because Grandpa told you to go away?” She crossed her arms. “You didn’t have to show up as Alcor. You could’ve just showed up as yourself-” and there she caught herself- “Or, well, not… you know what I mean.”

“Yeah…” he said. “I know what you mean. I don’t know, I just… I wanted to…”

He trailed off. Then he sighed, and gave a shrug.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter now. Are you ready?”

Noie nodded.

“Alright.”

“How, uh… how’s it going to work?” She resisted the urge to step back when he moved towards her. “Is it going to be, like, weird, or…?”

Dipper wrapped his arms around her, and buried his face into her shirt. She stiffened at first, but it felt so, so nice just to have him hug her again; she hugged him back, and closed her eyes, and it was like nothing was wrong.

Nothing was wrong.

Nothing had happened.

Everything was going to be okay.

After the longest moment, Dipper shifted, and Noie pulled back with a smile.

“Alright,” she said, and ruffled his hair. “Good hug. That was a good hug! Got me all the warms and fuzzies.”

Dipper tried for a chuckle back, but Noie raised an eyebrow at him.

“Hey, what’s up with you?” She brought him in for another squeeze. “You’re not allowed to be sad, bro. This is illegal!”

“Is it?”

“Yeah!” She snorted at the sound of sirens. “See? They’re coming for you, bro.”

Dipper had nothing to say to that; he just let her hug him. The sirens kept getting louder.

“Huh, are they… pulling up to our street?” Noie pulled away to look out of the window. “Oh, wow, they are! What’s going on?”

“Don’t freak out.” Dipper stepped away. “I think I heard Da- uh, Grandpa talking about it earlier. I’ll go ask him about it, okay?”

She waved him away. “Yeah, go do that. This is freaky… Come back soon, okay?”

“I will. I promise.”

Alcor closed the door behind him, then sighed, and let his smile drop. He then vanished into the Mindscape to make his new human body, leaving no trace behind.

Back in the bedroom, Noie stepped away from the window. She made a face, shrugged, then wandered over to the desk and sat down in front of her computer.

There was a plain grey USB on her desk. She wiggled her mouse, then looked down at it and raised her eyebrows.

It was probably Dipper’s, she thought. She tossed it into a desk drawer, and resolved to tell him she’d done that whenever he came back.

By the time he did return, familiar and human and with a big genuine smile on his face, it had completely slipped her mind.

#transcendence au #Noie #Noie's Brother #toothwrites #dipper

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