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inhibited-irregularity · 2 years

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Thoughts on Eurovision 2022 that nobody asked for:

*All highly subjective and possibly rude

- Not a fan of the hosts. They're clumsy af, and while they may be cool individually, they made everything a bit awkward. Also tired of the exaggerated flirting. Also, Mika shouldn't be allowed to sing in a low register.

Onto the performances:

🇦🇱 Liked her energy, the beat was catchy, but it was a bit too racey for family TV ngl. Love the parts where she just yells aggressively. Would follow her to battle (ok, as a Serbian, not THAT battle (lol jk hope that stays in the past)) She may not have qualified, but she became a certified icon.

🇱🇻 Eh. Obviously I'm on board with the ICONIQUE moment that made history, but overall, the song wasn't that good, sorry not sorry.

🇱🇹 Monika my lovely! She's beauty and she's grace (and the good kind of crazy) and the song low-key slaps. Also she just did her thing and obviously lived in the moment, and was overall refreshing. Good for her.

🇨🇭 Nothing against the guy personally, but WHY.

🇸🇮 ROBBED. Adorable kiddos with the good song deserved so much better. Also, such a pleasant vocal and sound overall.

🇺🇦 Sorry, doesn't deserve the hype. I love the chorus and the flute, but the rap part is just (???) There. And be mad at it as much as you'd like, but if they score high, it will mostly be political. I am usually a fan of what Ukraine sends, but ngl they had better songs in the past that didn't even get to go to esc. That being said, I don't think they didn't deserve to be in the final. They're just not top 10 material.

🇧🇬 Well, I want that guy's confidence, but it was not proportional to what they were putting out there. They weren't rocking as hard as they think they did. If they were going for classic, they gave us outdated.

🇳🇱 One of the most overrated songs of the year. Indie-pop bands of 2014. want their melody back. The song is so stuck in that particular period of hipster sound that the singer apparently went through entire puberty in the same jacket.

🇲🇩 For the general public, amazing, refreshing, original. As an Eastern-European, a bit shticky. Užičko kolo but make it punk. Not mad at it tho.

🇵🇹 I don't care, it's LOVELY. And all the "puts me to sleep" people need to check their attention spans. It's soothing af, I WANT to fall asleep to it (slight bias cos l have a crush on the singer)

🇭🇷 It wasn't bad? Nothing spectacular, but such a sweet voice and a pleasant melody. But girl, the outfit was... a choice.

🇩🇰 Do not come for them. While I get why they didn't qualify, they're dear to me because 4 middle-aged women having fun on stage? AMAZING. I feel like they achieved what Bulgaria was going for. The drummer made this years "people I have a crush on" list as well.

🇦🇹 I feel like the staging f-ed them over and maybe they got a bit overexcited (and it affected their energy). Wasn't very good live unfortunately, but the song is a certified bop and there I say next big European summer hit. Points for being adorable. The lyrics were also a good kind of quirky. Sad they didn't qualify, was rooting for them.

🇮🇸 Liked the song, but nothing to write home about.

🇬🇷 People love it so much that I'm surely missing something? I'll give it another shot, but it was capital b Bland. The singing wasn't impressive either.

🇳🇴 One of my favorites this year. The idea might have been shticky, but they committed so much that they overcame it and perfected it while not going into overly-produced, and hit the just-the-right-amount of polished. Also you can't convince me that that's actually not What does the fox say guy in disguise.

🇦🇲 Just WHY. Another song stuck in 2014, but unlike the Netherlands who tried to out-hipster the hipsters, this person apparently only listened to the Lumineers.

🇫🇮 To quote a meme, peaked in high-school energy. Sesame street, but make it emo. Expected more. Juvenile lyrics. They slided to the final solely on their past glory. Didn't deserve to qualify.

I*rael - First of all, if Russia is banned from the competition, they shouldn't have the right to compete as well given the shit they do in Palestine, but apparently, the EU is selectively humanitarian, surprise, surprise. Politics aside, that guy is one of the most obnoxiously people ever to grace the esc stage, and overall rude and disrespectful. The performance itself was a "safe" act on RuPauls drag race. (This being said, you can criticize him without being homophobic, and just as the people of Russia don't deserve to be bullied for the actions of their government, there's no excuse to be Anti-semitic or bully regular Israeli folks)

🇷🇸 She should win. Absolute perfection. Immaculate. The lyrics. The layers. The delivery. Godstrakta, everyone. No national bias btw, I hated most of our entries.

🇦🇿 Song was a snooze, but he was the best male vocal of the evening. The singing was perfection. Not mad at it.

🇬🇪 Love that they're always themselves and unconventional. This just wasn't my cup of tea tho, and the buildup was too long. I can see prog-rock fans enjoying it. Nika Kocharov still remains my favorite Georgian weirdo.

🇲🇹 Prefered the first song, it was a decent pop ballad (yes, there is too much ballads). Her voice was on point and she has a great stage presence, but the song was just one pile of PANDERING. Melody goes to the Bulgaria pile. Wishing her luck in the future, she's likeable.

🇸🇲 Didn't think I'd like it, but now I'm lamenting that he didn't qualify. At first I falsely assumed that he was a Måneskin wannabe, but au contraire, Achille is an established artist. Was it shticky? Yes. Did I absolutely fall for it? Also yes. He delivered and left the competition a legend. And yes, it was sexy af. Will download. Shout-out to the guitarist and the brilliance that was the mechanical bull.

🇦🇺 Again, WHY. For such a generic song, I expected better vocals and more drama. Thinking of revoking Australia's esc privileges. Cool outfit tho.

🇨🇾 A perfectly made dish with no seasoning. Trusted formula would've worked, but the energy was tragically lacking. Waiting for Eleni or a Balkan folk diva to cover it properly.

🇮🇪 The song was a generic pop-bop that I knew will depend on the performance and HOLY SHIT she s l a y e d. The voice was there, the energy was there, the SASS was there, and I have no idea why she didn't qualify.

🇲🇰 Sorry, not a fan. Way to nasal for my taste and while she's very pretty, there was something unsettling about her. I do not want to test her limits, so that's good.

🇪🇪 WHY. While they had some great entries (Stig Rasta and Elina, La Forza opera lady), they're on their merry way of becoming the new Sweden. I swear they've been sending the same conventionally attractive white-bread guy in his mid-30s every year. Also, quit sampling/copying Avicii already, we're over it.

🇷🇴 ROMANIA singing in Spanish? Sure to be a bop? Right?... Right? No. Disappointed. I was glad he was going for the golden age of Eurovision sound, but it was flat. I wish Ireland or San Marino qualified over him, and I hope Spain out-spanishes them.

🇵🇱 Surprisingly, I am a fan. Way less generic than I thought it would be, catchy, his voice is wonderful. He did struggle a bit, but hopefully, he sings it to his full potential in the final.

🇲🇪 Boring staging, but not the worst ballad, and the singing was excellent, although I do feel like the nerves got to her. Not mad she didn't qualify, but I think she deserved it more than the guy from Switzerland.

🇧🇪 BABY. Precious. Baby. Yes, not the most original track, yes it does remind me of Cry me a river by Justin Timberlake, but the song is early 2000s nostalgia done properly. And the boy CAN SING! I think he had a cold or sth tho, but he's serious competition if he recovers for the finale.

🇸🇪 Good song. Sweden finally figured out how to do pop without being generic. Like it. Am in love with Cornelia. Her voice makes me happy.

🇨🇿 Not a fan. Mikolas was the last Chezh entry that I liked. Ever since, they've painfully been trying to be *urban*. Tired of that Calvin Harris sound, and the performance wasn't my favorite. I knew it would qualify tho, people seem to eat it up every time.

🇮🇹 The song itself kinda grew on me, especially Blanco's parts. Expected more from Mahmood, both musically and vocally. That being said. It's a bit iffy and creepy. Mahmood, please don't be inappropriate with that kid. Come on, be better than that.

🇬🇧 The guy should be a national treasure. Please vote for him, he deserves more than 0 points. And I've been feeling sorry for British artists in esc lately, lol. If someone should break the curse, it's him. I like it very much. Not top 5 material tho. I guess it will depend on the performance.

🇫🇷 One of my favorites. And I hope they score highly, just to stick it to the French government. There should be a song like this every year (Go_a, you're not forgotten)

🇪🇸 Didn't like it at first, reminded me of americanized Latin pop (think Camila Cabello), but I might change my mind, according to the snippet from yesterday. If she manages to be high-energy, she's golden. It will come to the performance. Not gonna be surprised if she gets to top 10, but not gonna be surprised by 0 points either.

🇩🇪 It's growing on me. Much like Spain, we'll have to wait and see.

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newsiegirlscout · 3 years

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Happy Holidays to the artist formerly known as magnificentdragon123! My sincerest for the belated Wordgirl Secret Santa; the request was for father-daughter fluff between Wordgirl and Dr. Two-Brains, so heck! Now you’re getting all of it! Hope you enjoy, and Happy New Year’s!

The charcuterie was a masterpiece.

Gouda blended with white cheddar exquisitely, swiss paired with gruyere like peppermint with gingerbread, and the miniature cheese fountain was worth the hassle at the hardware store a thousand times over. Dr. Two-Brains stood over it, rubbing his gloved hands together in gleeful anticipation before his thoughts were interrupted by a shout from the parlor.

“Bosssss!”

The scientist sighed. His henchmen had insisted on doing the Christmas tree lights by themselves this year, and predictably enough, they’d gotten tangled up in them trying to sort them out. The big guy, at least, had the decency to look a bit sheepish.

He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, then moved to gingerly unentangle the worst of it.

“Ah, what did I tell you guys? I have a PhD and a biological hardwire in recognizing patterns, I know you both want to bedizen the place, but you’ve gotta ask for help with the harder things.”

The henchmen looked at each other blankly; with a hand on his shoulder, the big guy was able to step out of the snare, but as physics would have it, the weight distribution made the little one lose his balance and fall back, taking the Christmas tree with him. Two-Brains squeaked and slid under the tree, firmly pulling the other side of the Christmas lights back.

“But Boss….” the little guy said softly amidst the blinking lights, “We don’t know what bedizen means.”

The scientist grumbled, shaking the cords off himself and grabbing hold of the tree so his henchman could get free. “Ask Wordgirl next crime. I’m a bit busy, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Sorry, Boss.” the little one said, pulling the last of the blinking lights over his head and righting the tree, “Say, do you think she’d like the holiday cookies we made for her? Charlie an’ I worked really hard on them…”

The henchman in question nodded shyly as they worked together to sort out the now-untangled lights. With one hand, the little one started counting. “We didn’t know what holiday she celebrated, so we got gingersnaps, gingerbread, peppermint bark, ras malai, sufganiyot, an’ balaklava!”

Dr. Two-Brains smiled, laughed softly in the glow of the lights and the fire.

“Aw, that’s really considerate, you two.” he said, ruffling the big one’s hair--or what hair he had, anyway, “I think she’ll really appreciate it, but remember, she’s taking a holiday now too. ‘Sides, I don’t pay you guys to be considerate. Evil thoughts only.”

The two saluted; the scientist turned to the silver garlands nearby and decided just one slice of cheese couldn’t hurt as he decorated the house. As he reached for it, the telephone’s ringtone chimed out across the parlor. Dr. Two-Brains sighed and answered it.

“Hel-lo, the doctor is in.”

“Dr. Two-Brains?” asked a shaky, high, and distinctively know-it-all voice. The man in question dropped the telephone, then scrambled to catch it as the henchmen turned around.

“Woah, woah, kiddo…” he said softly, “What’s goin’ on? Thought you only used that phone for emergencies...say, how’d ya’ get this number anyway?”

“It’s….”

A long pause followed.

“A little bit of an emergency. Can I come over really quickly?”

“My door’s always open, kid. Literally, every lock we’ve ever had’s been busted inside a week.” Then, with a more sympathetic tone, “Take as much time as you need, Wordgirl, I--the henchmen would really like to see you.”

The garage door opened slowly; Wordgirl, breaking a cocky grin in spite of her tone, for once looked at a loss for words. She floated lightly over to perch on the drawing board and ended the call.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” she said.

*******************************************************************************************

“Alright, alright, give her some space.” Two-Brains said sternly to his excited henchmen, “Wordgirl, what brings you here?”

She exhaled slowly. “All the stores are closed and I haven’t slept at all and my science midterm is tomorrow and I still have so much to do and you’re the only one I could think of calling at this hour and AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!” The superheroine waved her arms emphatically, nearly falling off the board; Two-Brains stepped forward, but she caught herself in time. Flying was useful that way, but it did little for the tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Desperately, she shook her head, looked away.

“Can I please study here? This is the only subject I’m still stuck on, but I’ll be really quiet, I promise!”

“Wordgirl, Wordgirl, Wordgirl.” Dr. Two-Brains said, shaking his head. Her grip tightened on her bookbag, embarrassment at asking darkened her face. But wearing a goofy grin, the villain tossed her a reindeer headband and replied, “Call this place a home, let us help with whatever you need, but don’t ya’ dare be quiet!”

Wordgirl laughed, brushed the tears away with the back of her hand.

“Well, then, Doc, you think we have enough road to get up to 88?” she giggled.

“We don’t need roads where we’re going.” he responded cheerfully. “To the kitchen, allons-y!”

*******************************************************************************************

There was a saying that all good stories began in the kitchen; Two-Brains himself certainly fit the bill, chattering absently as he melted the chocolate over the stove.

“So…got anything in there I can help with?” he asked, gesturing to the folder spilling over with old study guides and flashcards. Wordgirl looked up, shook her head.

“Ugh….the definitions are easy enough, but it’s all these reactive properties that are just impossible to get straight. What bonds with what, how much the force of gravity increases over an arctan….” Throwing her arms wide, she did a cartwheel in midair.

“Do I look like someone who knows how gravity should work?”

Two-Brains laughed. “More into the crime-fighting gig, ay?”

She gave a short, humorless bark of laughter, kicking back and reaching for the folder.

“Not doing so well on that, either.”

The scientist mused, pouring the first mug of hot chocolate and handing it to her. With a snap, he suddenly whipped out a blaster and fired it just past her shoulder. Lightning-fast, she dropped her mug and flew in front of it, shuddering as the blast hit her square in the chest. Behind her, the window broke, cracks spiderwebbing outwards.

“Alright! Well, there’s a start.” he said, sipping hot cocoa, “That’s gamma radiation; you stopped it so quickly you had to take the full and centered force of it, while the impact spread out more by the time it reached that window back there. That’s a difference of around 700 joules--since it’s an electromagnetic wave, and ya’ stopped it, you’re as strong as steel. You good, kid?”

She winced.

“You owe me a cookie.”

“I have great news for you!” he said cheerfully, hoisting her onto his shoulders and tossing her one of the henchmen’s cookies, “More science it is, then! What’s next?”

*******************************************************************************************

Wordgirl laughed, and it was music to Two-Brains’s ears after seeing her so out-of-sorts just a few hours earlier. The good mood was contagious, and he laughed as well; the henchmen chuckled softly, gathered up some of the loose pillows from the fight and walked towards their quarters.

“We should probably hit the hay. ‘Night, boss.” said the little one.

“You guys learned enough about forces?” giggled the superheroine, helping absently to gather up the pillows and stack them impossibly high in her arms. They nodded; the bigger one, Two-Brains noted, with an especial air of pride.

“Good, then you two should grasp the gravity of how far it is past your bedtime.” the older scientist said, rolling his eyes and blowing pretend, exaggerated kisses, “Mwah. Night.”

Wordgirl giggled; as soon as they were out of earshot, Dr. Two-Brains leaned in close to her.

“Don’t tell them.” he whispered softly, pulling out a few torn pages from the inside of his labcoat, “But eh, this place is doing a special on cheesecake, I’ve been meaning to use these for some time. You hungry?”

Halfway through a nod, she gestured to her uniform.

“It’s okay, I can’t really….” Wordgirl sighed. “I’d love to, but I’m a bit conspicuous. I should probably be heading home.”

“What, ya’ mean like obvious or easily noticeable?” Two-Brains said, “I get that--gonna say changing into your civilian identity is out of the question too?”

She nodded. “Not to say I don’t trust you, but…”

“But I’m a top-tier criminal and not likely to change that soon.” Suddenly, a thought occurred to him; he snapped his fingers and dashed to the nearest closet.

So now all there was to do was wait.

Snow fell softly outside the windows; a fire flickered in the hearth, and somehow her old friend’s off-key singing had an odd quality of beauty to it. Knowing the doctor, his idea could really have been anything from take-out to a criminal plot of drastic proportions.

Thus it could be concluded, decided Wordgirl as she drifted over to the bookshelf, that the good of Fair City asked--nay, demanded--that she wait just a few more minutes.

*******************************************************************************************

“How do I look?” said Doctor Two-Brains proudly, throwing his arms wide to display the gaudiest Hawaaiian shirt and patterned tie she had ever seen. His knee-length cargo shorts were the most aesthetically satisfying part of his ensemble, had they not been just slightly out of season for the four inches of snow.

“Great!” chirped Wordgirl, giving a thumbs-up. He nodded approvingly, straightened his tie in the nearest mirror, and jerked his thumb towards his van.

“No one’s going to notice ya’ when their eyes are on yours truly.” he declared, giving himself a wink, “I mean, there’s everyday handsome, and then there’s.” Doctor Two-Brains gestured to himself. The superheroine giggled, buckling her seatbelt and scanning over the list of flavors.

“Ooh, they have strawberry…” she mused.

“Goes well with your uniform.” he responded, giving her helmet an affectionate pat, “You sure you wouldn’t prefer red velvet, though?”

“Decisions, decisions.” she laughed, “What are you getting?”

“Mmm…” he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, “I’m thinking espresso.”

“What? No! I’m locking you up just for that.”

“Tssh...I’ll have you a convert in no time.”

*******************************************************************************************

Wordgirl laughed softly as she stepped out of Dr. Two-Brain’s van into the gentle, snowy night.

“Thank you so much, Dr. Two-Brains.” she said with a polite salute, “I still don’t see what you see in espresso cheesecake, but…” with a short, but deep sigh trailing off into a giggle, “It was really nice. Thank you.”

“Any time, kid.” he said, shaking her hand. “Hey, I know it’s a little early, but…”

A smile reddened her face as he lightly tossed a wrapped package to her; it hit her chest and she wrapped her arms around it, grinning as he sheepishly rubbed his neck.

“I don’t know if you’ve read it before or anythin’, but….merry Christmas if ya’ celebrate, happy holidays if ya’ don’t.”

A Hero’s Guide To Saving Your Kingdom. Not only had she never read it, but she’d heard of it and never been able to remember the title long enough to find it. The princes and princesses on the cover promised an exciting read; the four hundred pages or so promised a long one (or at least, an extra few seconds if she used her speedreading powers, but really, midterms took so long….).

Just as Two-Brains’s hopefulness almost fell, she slammed into his chest with the biggest hug he’d ever gotten in….about three years or so. Stumbling back, he wrapped his arms around her, chuckling with just a hint of satisfaction.

“Woah, kiddo, what’cha doing? You almost knocked me over!”

“Good.” she mumbled into his shoulder, squeezing him tighter, “That’d make us even for the particle demonstration.”

He laughed softly. “Alright, well, you better ace that exam, okay?”

She nodded, pulling away and hugging the book to her chest. “I think it’d be tricky not to.”

“See you around, Wordgirl.”

“See you around, Doctor Two-Brains.”

The scientist watched her leave before pulling the garage door closed behind him.

“She never closes it behind her.” he murmured amusedly, “Y’think she’d know better, there are some serious criminals in this part a’ town.”

With a smile, he sat back, poured himself a glass of juice, and sighed.

Yep; he was feeling like good ol’ Stevie B.

#wordgirl secret santa 2020 #wordgirl #waffles to go #dr. two-brains #I really hope this is satisfactory!!#only dad two-brains in this house #wg really appreciated the consideration in the sweets; most are in her bookbag #but two-brains might have sneaked some shhhh #also fun fact! I've had a bit of--#a streak of setting up a word meaning to define it and then not doing that #conspicuous is officially the first word actually defined and it was by 2B

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rumpikerzzzworld · 5 years

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[DRAMA SERIES RESPONSE] It's been a few months i didn't watch korean dramas. I need a mood for watching a long episodes of dramas/series. Here, finally my mood was lifted up after seeing one of my favourite korean actors Ju Ji Hoon's first ever korean series on netflix poster, Kingdom. This series is quite hype on social media. It was released on 25 January 2019 and many people recommended to watch it. So many response saying it was sooooo gooodd, you must watch! A lot of people who are non-korean-drama-lovers watched it too. So, i gave it a try! I binge-watched it. Six episodes in a a few hours. It's been a long time i didn't do this. Maybe because the duration is not as long as korean dramas in general. It just takes around 44-57 minutes per episode.

When i watched episode 1, i felt it's quite boring. On episode 2, i started getting interested. The next episodes are getting better and interesting. Then, on the last episode, AS USUAL they cut it when the scene is so tensed. Errrrrrr. Okay thats the thing the production team must do so that the viewers will wait curiously for the next season. Hull.

There have been several korean movies that took the same background as kingdom series which is a saeguk period with monster and zombie as their main story (monstrum and rampant). I havent watched those movies so that i can't compare.

Yet following the huge hype on social media, i think it's kind of exaggerated. Most saeguk dramas were good since the genre is loved a lot by korean themselves and it was usually produced seriously. Maybe because it's aired specially on netflix which kinda having a higher level than any other tv channel which have different format so that it gets a lot of attention by the hipster viewers. lol. Eh btw, some people compared it to train to busan and said kingdom was more thrilling than train to busan. But as for me, train to busan was way more thrilling since they had to fight with the zombies in a small place which was in a train.

Overall, i like it and have the same feelings like when i watched any other good saeguk drama. I was captivated by Ju Ji Hoon's act. His last character in the movie Along with The Gods 2 which was a witty guy is so different compare to this. His charisma is so errrmmm. It's said Song Joongki was the first one who was offered the role but he declined. Good that Ju Ji Hoon took this offer as it now can be counted as a success korean series. A lot of people who involved in this production must be happy as it gets a good reaction. Another information, it is said one of the production team was dead on 16 January 2019 due to overwork while working on this series. Huhu, rip, you have worked so hard T.T Later on i wish they'll manage the staffs to work hard but still in a healthy proportion. No one getting injured, sick, or dead anymore. See you in Kingdom Season 2!

-mels-

#kingdom #korean series #saeguk #netflix #zombie #monster #jujihoon #킹덤

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yellowroseanddreamstorm · 6 years

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Chapter 2: Gossip

It was an off day at the manufactory. Well, one of the not so rare off days as it were. Edmond was all too familiar with them. It was a Friday, and not just any Friday either. It was the Friday before a big event that was going on in town the following day.

The event in question was the Fall Charity Festival the upper class was holding. Free food and all the like for the working class to enjoy. It was a kind gesture and was one of the few times that even the snobbiest of the upper class were willing to interact with the commoners such as Edmond and his co-workers.

However, Edmond didn’t give much care to events like this. He enjoyed socializing with others and free food wasn’t something he would turn down but he had plenty of other things to worry about at the moment. Mainly, making up the work his co-workers would leave in the wake of calling in on the day before the event.

It was stressful to say the least for Edmond and anyone else who decided to stick to their shifts. It would be double the amount of work and barely any time to rest at all.

Edmond wiped his brow as he finished putting the final touches on a set of gears, packaging them in to a canister and sending them on their way through an air tube. He sighed as another set of metals came in along with blueprints. He gave the blue prints a quick glance, holding back the urge to groan.

More gears. Guess they’re in high demand this week.

Edmond shook his head, pulling his goggles over his eyes, getting straight to work.

It will be over soon. Just keep working and the time will go by quicker.

He glanced at the clock above his station, seeing he still had about another two hours to go before he was off the hook. Two more hours before he could go home and make a meal to fill his growling stomach. Two more hours before he could run like a mad man to the post office to send his reply to Bridget.

He glanced over to his work bag, eyeing the letter canister sticking out of it, Bridget’s name barely visible. He would have gone this morning but the post office was packed to the brim with customers and getting to work on time unfortunately took top priority over sending a letter.

And I have an appointment with Dr. Carter too right after work.

Edmond sighed.

He turned his attention back to his task, working carefully as he formed the metal into gears. Gears that would wind up in some intricate machine at some point in time. Edmond smiled a bit, thinking what kind of purpose they would serve once they left the manufactory.

Maybe it would assist in powering a machine that would help with water flow for a canal system or maybe even be responsible in controlling the flow of said canal system. It was also possible they could be part of some inventor’s next great idea that could help tons of people with certain tasks or maybe even be part of the smallest little thing like a toy for a child to play with.

Who knows, maybe they’ll be part of one of my creations one day.

He chuckled at the thought, bouncing on his heels a little. He could see it now. Working his days away in his own private workshop, creating all manner of inventions that people could use to help with tasks and fun little toys and gadgets children could play with. His workspace would be so much better than the one he was in now. It would be a nicely sized table with all the room he would need for tools and parts. He would have a radio too, playing all the classical music he could enjoy, especially piano music. On top of that, it would be much cleaner, not musty and smokey like his current workstation. Also, there would be more light. He would be determined to have a window right above his workspace so he could get as much natural light as possible during the day before having to use any form of lamps to light his workspace once night rolled in. Most important of all, he would have an actual chair that he could sit in that would be just right for work, not having to stand for hours on end like he was now.

Then, once the day was over, he would retire to his home for rest and there waiting for him would be Bridget. A warm smile on her face and sparkle in her golden brown eyes, welcoming him home from a long day of work.

He sighed wistfully at the thought before straightening up as he heard the break whistle blow.

Oh, sweet mercy! Thank you, Mr. Roberts!

He set down the gear he was working on, quickly grabbing his lunch and hurrying out to the benches in the area. He sat down with a sigh of relief, digging right into his food, not even caring he still had his work gloves on.

He focused mainly on his food, listening here and there to the chatter of other co-workers that were sitting around the area.

“I swear I oughta have a word about this with Mr. Roberts about these lazy bums who basically ditch work for these events. He’s got to have noticed this is causing a problem production wise.” said a co-worker with a frustrated tone.

“Oh, I’m sure he has but not much he can do. Let’s remember, we may be part of a big manufactory but he can’t go firing people willy nilly. We’re all he’s got and well, he can’t really say much to the upper class about those parties. They could easily get him into trouble.” Another said in reply.

“True… Ah well, guess it’s just what we’re going to have to deal with. Hey, you hear about all the weird stuff going on in Central City State or just Lumen Solum in general?”

“Define weird. We always got weird stuff going on in all of Lumen Solum. The good and bad kinds of weird.”

Edmond’s ears perked up at this, raising an eyebrow.

Something abnormal in Central City State?

Worry washed over him as Bridget crossed his mind.

“The weird disappearances. You know, all those missing people cases that have been popping up as of late?”

“Oh yeah, been hearing about that. No one has been able to make any connections either. Every victim has been from all parts of the class scale and well… they basically have nothing in common. It’s just random. It’s one the most bizarre things the forces have seen according to the papers.”

“Yeah, though gotta say, whoever is behind it is quite the mastermind. Not saying I want them to get off scot free, I just find it interesting they’ve gotten this far without being caught. It’s been going on for months now.”

“Well, I’m sure they’ll catch whoever it is eventually.”

Edmond hummed in thought at this but quickly shook his mind of it.

Gossip will be gossip and I know for fact many around here just LOVE exaggerating the truth about stories they hear.

He decided to tune out the conversation, not wanting to think about it anymore. Though he couldn’t help but glance over to his work bag, flickers of worry crossing his mind as he eyed the canister sticking out of it.

oooooo

“Have you been doing the stretches I recommended to you for your hands, Edmond?”

“Yes.”

“Been remembering to take time off at the manufactory?”

“Yes.”

“Been eating enough?”

“... Mostly?”

Edmond cowered a bit as the doctor before him leaned in closer, giving a glare that could freeze anyone’s soul.

“Edmond, you’re scrawny enough as it is. Let’s not make that worse.”

“I-It’s not intentional, Jack! I swear!”

Jack raised an eyebrow.

“Ahuh.”

“No, really! I barely get enough food in while I’m at work sometimes because the breaks are so short or I just get caught up in socializing.”

“What about the beginning meal of the day? Do you at least get that in?”

“Most of the time if I don’t fall out of bed when I realize my alarm clock didn’t go off properly.”

Jack shook his head, walking away from Edmond, picking up a clipboard and jotting some notes down.

“What am I going to do with you?”

“I don’t know. Chop me into bits and sell my parts on the black market?”

Jack looked back to him, giving both a disgusted and amused look.

“Very funny.” Jack turned his attention back to his clipboard. “Well, seems everything checks out and I’m glad you didn’t miss your monthly check up this time.” Jack glanced to him again. “I hope you have an excuse for last time?”

Edmond tilted his head.

“Did my letter not get to you? Work went over time so I had to miss.”

Jack shook his head.

“The mail system can be finicky. I swear we need more phones like they do in Central City State. It would make communication so much easier.”

“Well, maybe I could fix that.”

Jack smiled, seeing the glint in Edmond’s eyes.

“I’m sure you could but you’ve got a lot to worry about right now, like your current job.”

“Not for much longer.” Edmond gave a determined look. “Once this month is over I’ll have enough to open my shop.”

“If you say so.” Jack went back over to him, handing him a piece of paper. “Just some notes and my bill for the month. Also, please be careful when walking out after dark. I know we’re a small little town but things can still happen.”

“Of course.” Edmond gave a confused look. “Though everyone knows that. Did something happen?”

“Eh, don’t know if you read the papers much or if you listen to gossip but there has been a lot of weird disappearances going on around the country. Central City State has been getting hit the hardest but it’s not limited to that area. I just worry about it possibly coming here.”

“I’ve heard about it but I just figured it was blown out of proportion by gossip like every other piece of news.”

“Well, it is real. I can tell you that much.” Jack turned away, hiding the frown on his face as he started looking over the medical supplies in his cabinets.

Edmond’s brow furrowed a little as he got off the exam table, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Jack… Did you lose someone?”

Jack was silent for a moment before he let out a sigh.

“I have a brother who lives in Central City State or I should say lived there. He was filed missing quite a few months ago when this whole thing started. I don’t want to believe he’s linked to the disappearances but… something in my gut tells me otherwise.”

Edmond’s eyes widened before a frown crossed his face.

“Jack I… I’m so sorry.”

“I’ll live.” Jack cringed a bit. “I’m sure he’s somewhere, I know it. I just need to find him. For all I know he probably got lost because he wandered off somewhere.” Jack forced a smile. “He always had a bad habit of wandering off and getting into some kind of trouble. Typical Dante.”

“Is that his name?”

“Yep. Dante Carter.”

“Heh… I wonder why I haven’t heard of him until now.”

“Well, didn’t really have a reason to bring him up.” Jack shrugged. “I’ve only known you for a few months after all. Sure, I don’t mind you calling me Jack but hey, gotta keep some secrets to keep you on your toes.”

“True, very true.” Edmond gave a gentle look. “Tell you what? If I see him, I’ll drag him right back to this medical office or your home ASAP.”

Jack looked to Edmond, smiling a little.

“Heh… Thank you, Edmond. Though, just so you know…” Jack dug into his pocket, pulling out a pocket watch, opening it to show a photo on the inside of the cover. “This is what he looks like.”

Edmond looked, seeing the photo showed Jack next to a man who was a little younger than him that had dark hair and specs, a gentle smile on his face.

“Noted. I’ll do my best to remember that.”

Jack nodded, staring at the photo of him and his brother fondly before pulling away from Edmond, closing the watch. He picked up his clipboard, taking the papers off it and putting them into a file.

“Thank you again, Edmond. Now, get out of here before the post office closes.” Jack eyed canister sticking out of Edmond’s work bag that was sitting on a table off to the side. “It’s rude to keep a lady waiting.”

Edmond looked at the clock, eyes widening before scrambling towards his bag, quickly slipping on his coat and hat.

“Will do! See you next month, Jack!”

Jack shook his head as he watched the man leave before opening his pocket watch again, staring at the photo inside.

I swear, sometimes, Edmond reminds me of you.

#don't make deals with demons #edmond wilkinson #jack w. carter #jack carter #dr. jack carter #dante carter #original concept #original story #story preview #story #aileen rose #yellow rose productions

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precuredaily · 6 years

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Precure Day 033

Episode: Futari wa Precure 33 - “Get the Victory! Find the Path of Light with your Heart!!” Date watched: 12 May 2018 Original air date: 26 September 2004 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/BQc21F8

If your head is larger than your torso, please see a doctor immediately.

Well naturally after promising in the last one that I would try to keep my reviews shorter, I end up with an episode that gives me SO MUCH to talk about. Let’s see if I can do this succinctly.

This is pretty much the plots to episodes 7 and 8 meshed together. Shiho and Rina have a fight, and Nagisa is drawn away from a lacrosse match by someone from the Dark Zone. Is it done well? Absolutely. The biggest problem with this episode is not the reused plot, but the animation. I mentioned in the previous one that in the second half it had so far been so-so? Well this episode averages much lower than so-so animation. The top picture is one of the better shots.

Face shots are still good, anything zoomed out further than that is a bit..... eh. However, they manage to take advantage of their looser art control in this one to produce some much more exaggerated and comedic faces, and really cool-looking action scenes, so while it’s not the most favorable tradeoff, at least you’re not just getting completely awful animation from start to finish. Check the gallery if you want to see more, I don’t want to take up this entire post with that.

The main plot is about Shiho and Rina getting into a fight after an unseen incident in an earlier lacrosse match. Rina has some choice words and Shiho is feeling very self-conscious and it doesn’t go well.

No pressure.

Shiho stays after school to practice her passing all alone, staying so late it gets dark, and she’s doing really well, but as she walks into the locker rooms she overhears some junior members of the team berating her and that really dents her confidence. The next day, she talks more with Rina, expressing that she doesn’t have Nagisa’s skill or Rina’s speed and now she can’t even make a pass. Rina, angrily, says she should just quit, which shakes Shiho even more.

Clearly regretting her words, Rina talks to Honoka who recalls her fight with Nagisa and explains that things will work out if they both realize they lashed out. Meanwhile, Shiho goes to Nagisa’s place to talk with her, and Nagisa similarly recalls her end of the fight with Honoka and says that Rina probably regrets her words right now. The tension is palpable. Nonetheless, Shiho decides she’ll quit after the next game. At the match, she stands apart from the team looking forlorn, when the VP comes up and offers his usual brand of terrible motivation.

Piss off, dude.

Since Shiho blames herself heavily for that loss, this is basically a veiled insult directly to her. However, the plot Dark Zone intervenes and Nagisa ends up away from most of the game, forcing Shiho to play her best instead. She fumbles a bit because of all the pressure on her, but they manage to keep a point behind the other team until Nagisa gets back with 5 minutes left in play. Toei uses this shot AGAIN:

Were they required to use this once every 10 episodes?

Nagisa quickly evens the score and Verone tries for a winning goal, with their usual play of Rina stealing the ball and passing to Shiho who passes to Nagisa to score. Nagisa is blocked off though, so she passes back to Shiho, who has an opening to score. She flashes back to her failure in the last match but Nagisa and Rina both encourage her and she’s able to score the winning goal.

Rina comes over to apologize and they both burst into tears for what they said and did, and it’s very emotional and well done. This is the character development both Shiho and Rina needed, although it might have helped if we’d at least seen the match that she fumbled in beyond flashbacks. Sadly, I think this is also the most focus they get for this series. I could be wrong, we’ll see what the next 16 episodes hold, but most of what I remember are very much NagiHono episodes if anything.

EDIT: A friend of mine pointed out to me that Rina is the only one who really did anything wrong, coming down way too hard on Shiho for one missed shot, and the narrative treats them like they both said or did bad things. I have to agree that I wish they’d leveled blame accordingly.

Anyway the lacrosse match was much closer to what I wanted to see from episode 7, with the team winning almost without Nagisa’s help. It’s good to have your ace but don’t lean too heavily on them, y’know? At least Shiho got to overcome her personal demons and score the winning point. You go, you go, you go, girl!

As for the villains, we get some curious dialog from them in their mansion....

Is Belzei planning to double cross the Dark King?

Then it’s all quiet on the monster front until a girl on the opposing lacrosse team fumbles during warmups, then comes over to Nagisa to ask for a picture. You can probably see exactly where this is going but just in case, here’s a visual aid.

How Regine passes for a middle schooler I’ll never know.

Yeah, it’s Regine in disguise and she draws Nagisa away from the match to fight her and demand to know where the power of the Prism Stones is. Fortunately Honoka is close behind, but Regine doesn’t waste time waiting, she unloads on Nagisa as-is, which is becoming a pattern. This is where the sloppy animation is actually used to great effect: Regine’s punches and kicks are very fluid and her proportions are distorted to emphasize speed, and Nagisa’s darting around avoiding her is also very dynamic. When Honoka DOES show up, Nagisa catches Mepple in her lacrosse stick and straight-up does a somersault in midair to get to Honoka, a feat we’ve never seen her pull off when not transformed.

As soon as they transform, Juna appears and tag teams with Regine, the two evil fighters maintaining the upper hand until Cure Black snaps and attacks them with her wildly changing expressions. (see the gallery) Jokes aside, she yells at them for keeping her from her match, and always trying to steal the power of the stones, reiterating that they’ll never reveal where the power is. Porun, who is not present, is able to feel this emotion and sends the Rainbow Braces, which the girls use to attack Juna and Regine with Rainbow Storm. They try to block but as usual it’s too powerful and they flee.

This episode has no right to be as good as it is. It takes two reused scripts from the early part of the show and combines them with bad animation. And yet, due to the talented people that worked on this show, they manage to take a recipe for disaster and cook up something pretty decent. This is the epitome of “more than the sum of its parts.” I mean it’s not groundbreaking or anything, but it manages to keep the material fresh, and that’s what matters. In the process we learned that Belzei, at least, might be scheming against the Dark King and that Porun can send Precure his power anywhere due to his premonition. In theory this would mean he’s going to stay at home from now on, but obviously this can’t be the case. We’ll find out what happens next time... enjoy!

#Precure #Futari wa Precure #Pretty Cure #FWPC33 #PCD033

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lesbrarians · 7 years

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Junkrat/Roadhog: Voyages Ch 2

I’m so happy you guys enjoyed the first chapter ahhh I hope you continue to like it! I’m gonna go to a Monday-Friday update schedule starting next week :>

Title: Voyages

Characters: Junkrat, Roadhog

Rating: R

Summary: After a rocky start and some ups and downs, Junkrat and Roadhog are officially partners, even if things haven’t progressed quite as far as Junkrat would like. With his treasure at the heart of their grandiose plans, they take their adventures overseas and leave their mark on the world, for better or worse. (Mostly for worse. They’re criminals.) Sequel to “Origins.”

---

He woke up to find that he had drooled all over Roadhog’s arm when he was conked out. “Whoops. Sorry, mate, got a lil’ somethin’ on ya there.” He rubbed off the saliva with his forearm and wiped it on his shorts before climbing to his feet. The alcohol’s effects had worn off in his sleep, leaving him dry-mouthed and slightly achy in the temples, but it was nothing that a few gulps of water couldn’t fix -- one of the packages Ava had mailed alongside them was a slab of flavored mineral water, an obscure Australian brand that she could provide justification for sending overseas. He propped his hands on his hips and scanned the cargo hold for his next conquest.

“Gross,” Roadhog told him, but he didn’t seem to mind.

Junkrat giggled. “Not like yer not used to havin’ my spit all over ya!”

“True,” Roadhog agreed with a huff of amusement. Junkrat was not the neatest of kissers.

“Y’know, there’s somethin’ we can do to pass the time...” Junkrat sniggered as he scrambled on top of a large box. He estimated that sitting on top of it would put him roughly at Roadhog’s eye level. He made grabby motions with his hands in an attempt to lure Roadhog over to him. “Mind takin’ off that mask of yers?”

Roadhog gave a grunt of assent as he stood up. He reached for the straps of his mask, and Junkrat felt his heart quicken. He technically knew what lay beneath, having felt the swathe of twisted, scarred flesh that marked Roadhog as a survivor of a nasty fire, but Roadhog still refused to show him his face entirely. Unfortunately, this time was no different, and he pushed the mask up just far enough to reveal his jaw and mouth.

“Still deprivin’ me of yer beauty, eh?” Junkrat said, unable to stop himself from bemoaning Roadhog’s reticent nature.

Roadhog’s wide grin was lopsided: a crooked grin with crooked teeth, and Junkrat loved it. He wondered how many times Roadhog had smiled without his noticing, shielded by the barrier of his gas mask. “Yeah,” he said. “This is all you get.”

“Good enough for me! All I really need, roight?” Junkrat wrapped his arms around Roadhog’s neck and kissed him with all the fervour of a man starved of intimacy. He was enthusiastic, if sloppy, but his poor technique made for more opportunities to practise.

Roadhog took control of the kiss in the hopes of teaching Junkrat a better technique than all tongue, no temperance. A little restraint went a long way. Junkrat didn't mind relinquishing control, not when it meant Roadhog gripping his face in those two hands and leaving him -- literally -- breathless.

Junkrat gasped into Roadhog’s mouth, grinding up against him. He probably should have been embarrassed that he was already hard after a few minutes of making out with no below the belt touching to speak of, but Roadhog tended to have that effect on him. He didn’t care how he looked, shamelessly rutting against Roadhog’s belly, not when it felt so fucking good.

The last time things had gotten this hot and heavy between them, they'd been interrupted by the sound of approaching police sirens. The time before that, it was an ambush by a scraggly group of Junkers. Before that, their dinner had started burning. There was always a crisis to be dealt with, and Junkrat had nearly given up hope on ever getting laid. Now, however, there were no distractions, nothing to keep them from doing as they pleased. It was positively exhilarating. Junkrat pushed Roadhog away from him, putting just enough distance between them to give him room to hop off the box he was sitting on. He fell onto his knees with a breathless giggle and tugged at Roadhog’s belt, attempting to figure out how to unfasten the custom plate that served as a buckle. It took a great deal of concentration. His tongue poked out of his mouth as he tried to decipher the mechanism, which didn’t catch in quite the same way as his own belt buckle.

“Whole lotta work just to suck yer dick, but -- heh -- worth it!”

His focus was broken when Roadhog pulled on his hair, tugging his head up to look at him. It was too urgent to be sexy, and the odd look that twisted the corner of Roadhog’s mouth only confirmed that.

“No,” Roadhog said.

Junkrat dropped his hands and frowned up at Roadhog. “Whaddya mean, no? Thought y’were into this.”

“I am.”

This made less than zero sense to Junkrat. “Then why not?” he demanded to know.

“Because.”

It was as valid a reason as any, but it wasn’t one Junkrat was satisfied with.

He was still on his knees. “Fine,” he said shortly, climbing to his feet. At least the pressing situation in his pants had lessened in all the confusion. He jerked his head in the opposite direction, nodding at the far end of the cargo hold. “Just gonna dip for a bit, then.”

He slinked off to be alone and process, his mind a jumble of thoughts. He picked his way through the cargo hold to put as much distance as possible between him and Roadhog, and he took out his frustrations on the various packages that stood in his way.

Maybe looking through other people’s mail would help him forget the buzz of indignation and sudden sense of inferiority that clouded his head.

He recoiled in disgust at the first container he broke into. It took him a few moments to realise that he wasn’t looking at an actual omnic, but a detailed, life-sized photograph of one, a diagram depicting the contents of the package being shipped. He inspected it further.

“This a fuckin’ sex bot?” he muttered to himself, simultaneously incredulous and revolted. It wasn’t an omnic, but a “personal pleasure device,” or so the label said. He hadn’t realised that there was a market for functional, non-sentient robots built for the pure purpose of masturbation -- but apparently there was a global demand for them, if some corporation was shipping one from Sydney to Tokyo. It might not have had any consciousness or free will, but it could walk, talk, and fuck. Too close to an omnic for his taste.

It wasn’t like Junkrat didn’t have any perverse ideas of his own, and he had certainly entertained the thought of building a mechanical device to help him get off, but you couldn’t pay him enough to fuck anything that even remotely resembled an omnic.

Rationally, he knew that the robot before him couldn’t think and possessed no artificial intelligence, but still, its visual similarity to the bots who could do so gave him the heebie jeebies. He tore open the box. “Disgusting,” he said aloud, critically eyeing the robot, which had clearly been built as a facsimile of a human woman with ridiculously exaggerated proportions. He raided the husk of the sex bot for any parts that he could repurpose for his own inventions, then vowed to use the box to take care of any personal business, because really, fuck whoever had ordered this.

He stuffed his pockets and the bag slung around his bony hips with various mechanical odds and ends.

Moving on, he thought to himself. Looking at the fake omnic for too long was gonna make him sick. Robots -- proper, non-feeling mechanical devices -- were only good when they didn’t represent the humanoid second-class citizens that he so detested.

He tried another box.

It took him a few moments to figure out what he was looking at. The case was filled with soft, white toys, each with a cartoonish happy face, pink blush markings, and green tendrils.

Junkrat picked up one of the plushies and studied it. He didn’t get it -- was it an onion? A peach? A lump of garlic? Why did it have tentacles? -- but it looked like something Roadhog would like. It was pretty cute.

He stuffed the plush toy behind his back. “Roadhog!” he called out as he started making his way back to their corner of the ship. He had cooled off significantly. So Roadhog wasn’t in the mood tonight. He guessed it made sense, they were in the middle of pulling off a complex operation. He’d try jumping his bones later, once they were settled in Japan.

Roadhog gave a questioning grunt and tilted his head at him. Junkrat climbed over the last box standing in his way. “Gotcha something.” He held out the plushie. “Happy birthday!”

“It’s not my birthday,” Roadhog said, but he accepted the gift. He held it in both of his hands, carefully examining it.

“S’called a pachimari,” Junkrat informed him, having read the label. “Thought maybe y’d like it. Cute stuff’s kinda yer thing, ain’t it?”

Roadhog squeezed it. It squeaked, causing them both to emit small noises of surprise. Junkrat hadn’t anticipated that bonus. Roadhog looked at him. “I love it,” he stated. The tacit approval made Junkrat glow with pride, and a grin threatened to split his face in two.

“I knew ya would! It’s all cuddly, roight? Like you!” He sat down and took the pachimari from Roadhog. He stuffed it behind his head as a makeshift pillow and leaned against their motorcycle crate. Roadhog promptly tugged it away from him, causing the back of his head to crack against the box.

“Ow!” Junkrat rubbed the base of his skull. “Watch it!” Roadhog didn’t apologise, responding only with a vaguely threatening hum. Junkrat shifted to use his his belly as a pillow instead.

“What’re we gonna do first when we land?” he asked Roadhog. Even with a direct path to Japan and the miracles of modern technology, it would still take them the better part of five days until they arrived in Japan. They might as well use the time to strategise.

“Get more of these,” Roadhog replied, tenderly cradling the pachimari in his hands.

Junkrat cackled. “Good a plan as any!”

---

As they neared the last leg of their journey, Junkrat was going stir-crazy. He was used to being cooped up for a week or so; he did it every time he and Roadhog needed to lay low after a particularly successful string of crimes. The key difference between then and now, however, was their choice of shelter: a deserted house in the desolate Outback, long abandoned by Australians who had the sense to get away from the irradiated region, was very different from the storage hold of a cargo ship. There, they could venture outside briefly to get some fresh air and sunshine, or at least crack open a window. Here, not so much.

“I don’t know if I can make it, ‘Hog,” Junkrat moaned. At present, he was draped over a crate, arm flung over his eyes.

“You’re being overdramatic again.”

Junkrat feigned indignance. “What a load of crap, I have never been overdramatic a single day in my life!”

"You are always overdramatic," Roadhog pointed out.

Junkrat popped his head up to glare at him, then sat up straight. "Am not!"

They were too busy bickering to notice when the boat stopped rocking beneath them.

"Hang on," Junkrat said, shoving his hand into the snout of Roadhog's mask in an attempt to silence him. "D'you feel anything, or am I just mental?"

"You’re mental. What am I supposed to be feeling?"

Junkrat pointed to the floor of the ship, and it clicked.

"Get back in the box," Roadhog said, shoving Junkrat off of the crate he had reappropriated as a lounge chair and in the direction of their own crate. "We must be here."

"S'your fault we didn't notice," Junkrat said, being antagonistic purely for the sake of being antagonistic. Roadhog pushed him in response, and he giggled maniacally.

Roadhog hefted the lid of the crate, prepared to seal them both back in once they'd secured their hiding spot, while Junkrat climbed inside.

The door to the cargo hold, a scant few metres from them, slid open, and a slim man trundled in, loading cart in hand.

All involved parties froze: Junkrat mid-climb, one foot still in the air, Roadhog with the massive lid still in his arms, the dock worker still holding onto his trolley.

Junkrat was the first to break the silence. "G'day!" he said with a jaunty salute. Roadhog dropped the lid with a resounding thump. The dock worker responded, clearly nervous, but neither of them could understand Japanese.

Junkrat hopped down from the box and approached the man, who looked at him warily. “Mate, I got not the faintest idea of what yer sayin’, and even if I did, I don’t care. Roadhog?” He held out his hand, fully expecting his bodyguard to understand what he was requesting. Roadhog tossed him his frag launcher. Junkrat promptly fumbled the catch and dropped it to the floor, although he made a quick recovery and pressed it to the man’s temple. “Anyway. So, howsabout you forget what ya saw, and we take our leave?” The man likely understood his words just about as much as they had understood his, but violence was the universal language. He nodded frantically, a droplet of sweat beading on his forehead.

"Righto!" Junkrat said brightly, lowering the grenade launcher and glancing back at his partner in crime.

Roadhog had used his time constructively and torn down the side of the crate, freeing the motorcycle and creating a ramp. Junkrat booked it back to the bike and leapt into the sidecar while Roadhog revved up the engine.

"Outta our way, ya dingus!" Junkrat shouted, and the cargo worker dove to the side, abandoning his trolley, which Roadhog promptly smashed into.

They peeled down the gangway and through a crowd of mail couriers, smashing through the first fence they saw.

"Okay, so we went to all that trouble, what with the rebreathers and all, and yer telling me that we coulda got away with just bargin' on-- camera!" They both smiled for the security feed, Roadhog taking his hand off the handlebars long enough to flash a thumbs-up, while Junkrat struck a dramatic pose. "--board? Forget it mate, I'm not even tryin' anymore. Let's just bludgeon our way through everything, eh? Who's gonna stop the two scary Australian Junkers? Caution's fer chumps."

Roadhog laughed, that deep, low chuckle that always reverberated in Junkrat's bones. "Fair enough," he said. They tore off down the streets of Tokyo, in search of a truck from which they could illegally siphon petrol for their motorcycle.

---

The streets of Tokyo, Japan were vastly different from the wasteland of the Australian Outback. For one, Junkrat had never seen so many people in one place in his life. Even their trip to Sydney hadn't been so saturated with pedestrians. At first, it was overwhelming, all the hustle and bustle turning him skittish. However, once he realised that they could get away with committing crimes a lot easier when they were in crowds, any misgivings he had vanished.

Junkrat had every intention of scouting out the city's omnic population, but first, he felt they deserved a vacation. What better way to unwind than at an arcade?

He was glued to the soft drink machine. “Look, 'Hog, they got all kinds of fizzy drinks here!” He hadn't heard of any of the brands before. Most of them weren’t in English, but he could make out Kiki Cola, Murloc, and Nano. Despite having no idea what they tasted like, they were making him salivate. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Which, oh which, should I try first?” When he didn't get a response, he turned around. “Roadhog?”

Roadhog had abandoned him to check out the machines that dispensed an entirely different kind of loot: stuffed toys. There was one claw machine in particular that Roadhog was fixated on, the one affixed with a sign that read “UFO.” Junkrat recognised the pachimari that they had strapped to the back of their chopper.

Roadhog’s snout was pressed against the window of the machine, much as Junkrat’s tongue had been against the glass of the vending machine. Besides him was a small boy with a tuft of blue hair and a pachimari tank top, quietly sucking on a lollipop as he stared up at Roadhog.

Junkrat shoved the child aside with a shout of, “Move, he’s mine!” and squeezed next to Roadhog. “Looks like you found where baby pachimari come from.”

Roadhog gave a grunt of assent, and they were silent for a split second. Junkrat eyed the crane inside the machine, wishing that he had some yen so he could test it and study the machinery.

Roadhog spoke first. “Are you thinking what I'm thinking?”

“Depends what yer thinkin’, mate. I'm thinkin’ we gotta liberate some of these city wankers of their wallets. I wanna see this beaut in action.”

“Not what I was thinking.”

“Or,” Junkrat continued, raising an imperious finger in the air to silence him, “we liberate these poor souls from their prison. We'd be doin’ ‘em a favour, really, givin’ them all homes. You, me, and a million pachimari. One big happy family!”

He could sense Roadhog's smile through his gas mask. “Yeah! That's more like it.”

Junkrat flashed a grin back at him. “You take care of them, then. I'm gettin’ us some bevvies to celebrate!” He unholstered his frag launcher and bounded off towards the vending machine.

He wasn’t going to discriminate between flavors now -- although he was making it his personal mission to sample them all during their time in Japan -- he simply launched a grenade at the nearest dispenser, causing the thick pane of glass to splinter, cracks spreading out from the point of impact. He finished the job by kicking it in, sending shards and cans flying, and grabbed all the soft drinks he could carry. There was a similar crash behind him as Roadhog punched the claw machine, his spiked brass knuckles absorbing the shock and smashing the window entirely.

Junkrat had overestimated how much he could hold at one time and promptly started spilling cans when he took off running. Roadhog lumbered after him, hot on his heels, and he was doing a much better job at holding onto his purchases than Junkrat was.

Junkrat gave up trying to carry them all and settled for guzzling what he could, letting the other cans fall as they may. “Oh, that’s good,” he said out loud, studying the can to figure out what brand it was -- Kiki Cola -- before tossing the empty can behind him.

They burst out of the arcade into the afternoon sunlight, the small child wailing in the distance at the loss of all the plush toys.

Miraculously, they made it back to their new home base without too much trouble. Most people leapt out of their path, alarmed and intimidated by the two Junkers barrelling down the street.

“Gotta get me a cart or somethin’, next time we do that,” Junkrat said, pushing aside the tarp that served as their front door. “Or make use of them arms of yers! How the heck did ya manage to carry all those?” He gestured at the heap of pachimari still in Roadhog’s arms.

Roadhog shrugged. He carefully set the pile down on the ground. “Practice.”

Junkrat eyed him. “Betcha y’could carry me.”

“Bet I could,” Roadhog agreed. He sat down on the throne of pachimari with a whumph and the sound of a million squeakers going off at once. Junkrat giggled gleefully and joined him, squirming under Roadhog’s arm. He picked up one of the plush toys and squeaked it, over and over, until Roadhog finally ripped it out of his hands. Deprived of entertainment, Junkrat took stock of their new, albeit temporary, home.

It had been impossible for them to find an abandoned place to squat, given their determination to stay within the more urban areas of Tokyo, where concentrations of omnics were highest. An empty apartment did not stay empty for long. They had been ruminating on alternative options -- Roadhog had suggested staying under the bridge, but Junkrat had been adamant that he was “not gonna share with a buncha derros” -- when they stumbled across a portion of the city that had been blocked off with fences and tarps, surrounding several half-built skyscrapers.

They couldn’t read the sign that marked the company that was behind the construction zone, but by the looks of the logo and some general deductions, they had concluded that it was meant to be the site of future residences for omnics.

As it turned out, Japan had a relatively small population of omnics. The country was an island with limited space, and as such, there was a nationwide push to relocate omnics to the mainland. Robots were one thing; omnics were actual citizens who needed resources and living space. With new regulations in place and political, pro-omnic protests, Tokyo was redeveloping a portion of the city to house omnics with no place to go, providing them with dwellings that suited their non-human needs.

It was the stupidest thing Junkrat had ever heard of, and he had had quite a lot of stupid ideas in his lifetime.

The fence had been plastered with signs, mostly likely warning individuals not to trespass and espousing the dangers of entering a construction site with no safety gear. They were all in Japanese, however, and the only sign Junkrat had recognised was a bright red stop sign.

Stop signs didn’t stand in his way, nor Roadhog's: he always had preferred to think of them as “suggestions” rather than “rules,” and Roadhog's command of the road entailed blowing through red lights more often than not. With a brash laugh, Junkrat had immediately instructed Roadhog to toss him over the fence.

They'd found a fairly solid structure with tarp tacked between its pillars to protect the half- finished interior from the elements. It was a risky choice of dwelling, but given the dearth of heavy machinery, they had concluded that construction had been halted due to some bureaucratic nonsense or other.

“Maybe the good people of Tokyo are seein’ sense!” Junkrat had speculated. “Those heaps of junk don't deserve fancy flats.”

It was a good decision, Junkrat thought as he burrowed deeper into the pile of pachimari. Anywhere was home as long as he had Roadhog by his side, but having the basic human comforts of a relatively enclosed, private space made it all the better.

#roadrat #junkrat #roadhog #overwatch #origins #voyages #my fanfiction

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