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#back at it again with the purple subtitles
staarboyyy · 6 months
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People will talk
frenchie x reader | no pronouns
18+ characters / scenarios - minors dni
tags / warnings ; weed smoking, alcohol references, fluff, intoxication, cozy fic, oneshot
summary ; late night meetings between you, frenchie and a joint
word count ; 1.1k
a/n ; a reworked soft frenchie fic thats been collecting dust in my docs - a mini gift for @starfalling00 :)
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       “Is Butcher always - Like that?”
     “If you mean “like that” as in insufferable, then yes.” 
     Frenchie tossed you a loose smile, eyebrows raising briefly before nodding towards the space on the sofa beside him. Nights like these had grown over the passing months, tension rising within the stuffy walls of Frenchie’s safe house, and sleep ridding itself of those who had needed it most. Frenchie typically found himself lounging on the sofa, a lit joint perched between his lips, eyebrows furrowed as he focused on the television - And somehow you were always the one to find him like this at night. The meetings were quiet, occasionally consisting of small banter and passing the last of the joint between you both, before one decided to head off to bed. It was simpler than dealing with Butcher or trying for small talk with Hughie.
     The clock read 3:42 A.M. Restlessness shackled itself on your bones in the night, seeming to puppet you into pacing back and forth or attempting to sleep to no avail - Surely the sun had risen, and yet every time you peered behind the curtain, night still seemed to stretch on. The soft noise of the television is was roused you to get out of the lumpy mattress, wrapping a jacket over your shoulders before treading quietly to the main area. The smell of weed veiled the air, the television bright and flicking needlessly through channels and a soft humming met you as you walked towards the couch, taking a seat. 
     Frenchie seemed - Exhausted. Bruised streaks of purple pillowed his half-lidded eyes, his gaze vacant and glued to the television, only moving his attention to you when the couch creaked when you sat.
     “It’s far past your bedtime, is it not?” His voice was lower during the night, the rasp of his throat letting a soft purr carry his words, smoke drifting steadily from between his lips. You can’t help but give a small smile, tugging the corners of your lips as he returned the same expression. 
     “We’ve gotta stop meeting like this. People will talk, y’know.”
     Frenchie sucked his teeth, a soft chuckle leaving him as he shook his head slightly. It was comforting to see the man so easily melt from exhaustion into a gentle expression, his eyes softening as they met yours, pulling the joint from his lips. 
     “Oh, Ma Douce, I’m sure they already do.” 
     You smile softly again at his words as he ashed the joint in the ashtray, a small hill of old filters and roaches filling the ceramic dish. Your eyebrows furrow a bit before giving a glace back to Frenchie, who took a slow inhale, shaking his head with a slight grin. 
     "Oh please. Judge me for smoking, and Butcher gets to drink more whiskey than he does water?"
     Frenchie tsked at you as he took a half empty beer bottle from the table in front of you, taking a sip qs he leaned back into the old sofa. For the first time in the agonizingly slow night, you find yourself able to relax your tense shoulders, mindlessly watching the television for a moment. It was easy to fall into a state of empty thought during tense times among the group, all of them seeming to part ways for days at a time. You subconsciously wrung your hands together, folding them in your lap as you watch on. It was one of Frenchie's soap operas, entirely in French, with no subtitles. Of course. With the raise of an eyebrow you look back to Frenchie, whom had already been looking at you. His eyes were dark in the dim lighting, his lids heavy and lips parted slightly, as if taking you in like a work of art hung on the wall. It was mindless for him, as if his eyes seemed to magnetize towards you despite your silence. You tried for another kind smile, and yet he didn't return it, still just watching as your expression shifts and changes - He seemed utterly fascinated.
     "You alright?"
     "Oui,"
His voice was unlike you've heard before - It was rare for him to speak so kindly, so genuinely. Even in moments like this, a silent company between you two; He could never find the words. Perhaps they hadn't existed yet, no word discovered by man could be used to describe you. Not when he sees you as something to be worshiped, something electric with color that the human eye could never capture for more than a moment. Just that moment, eyes locking with each other, your lips still tilted into a smile as he shifted closer to you.
     "May I ask you something?"
     "Mhm,"
You hummed the response as Frenchie leaned forward abit, hands moving to the table to fish a joint filter from a small bag. He began rolling as he spoke, plucking the paper carefully from the small carton and scooting the silver grinder closer. It gave him something to focus on, something for his hazy mind to fixate upon while his heart thrummed against his chest at a growing pace.
      "Do you trust me?"
     "Far too much, all things considered, but yes."
You attempted to keep the mood light as you watched Frenchie carefully begin to fill the paper with grinded weed like muscle memory. He hardly had to keep his eyes on it, his gaze darting from the joint up to the quiet television a few times. He did appreciate the joke at least, a crack of a smile reaching his painfully serious and tired expression as he tossed a glance over his shoulder toward you.
     "You have a quick wit - Perhaps you can assist me with something,"
Frenchie spoke before grunting abit, leaning back once more into the sofa with a freshly rolled joint resting between his middle and forefinger. With an exhale, his head tilted back, eyes still on you as if waiting for a response to the vague comment. You raised your eyebrows slightly, giving a cock of your head, only further entertaining the French man.
     "What do you mean?"
     "We'll talk about it later, hm?"
Your eyebrows furrowed, pushing your confusion only more as he brought the joint to his lips, pulling a small box of matches from his pocket with a wry smile. Playing with your mind must have helped him cheer up; What an asshole. In the kindest way possible, of course.
     "When?"
     "You ask so many questions. I'm giving you free weed, how about a thank you, hm?"
    "Fuck off,"
    You could feel your own smile beginning to pull at the corners of your lips, hand reaching out to push his shoulder playfully. His arm was strong, your gentle shove hardly budging his frame as he quietly chuckled along beside you. Had Butcher been there, he would have already come out with twenty different complaints of you two being too loud - Yet you two sat quietly laughing, Frenchie striking a match and lighting the joint to pass it off to you. The world, Butcher, Supes, everything melted away as you exhaled a plume of grey into the dingy "living room" air.
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georgies-ftts · 7 months
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my genuine thoughts and reactions watching One Piece as someone who has never consumed a different piece of One Piece media before
spoilers… obviously…
Episode 1:
thick glaswegian accent straight away you’ve won me over
this guys moustache is immaculate kinda looks like every version of captain hook ever mushed into one
i recognise the scottish guy
random guy #374’s sideburns are… definitely there
slay drop a bomb before you’re executed horribly
cracker opening theme actually 9/10 should’ve been longer
fourth wall break?
nope he’s talking to a bird
okay funky trouser man you shout into the abyss
this birds got better drip than me
‘Mutiny’ funny actually
he’s not having a good time
what the actual fuck is that ship
aldiva? love of my life?
Koby needs a fresh trim… probably… idk
love me some cheeky windmills
i recognise red hair hat man too
that kids fully gonna die
luffy is fuckin nuts
is he eating… raw??? steak???
australian pink haired harrypotter is about to shit himself
dudes about to get his shit rocked
funky hat man??? is fucking??? elastic
rope burn doesn’t exist in this universe
elastic head is genuinely fuckin horrific
but also slay
think i’m gonna like depressed green hair man
Mr 7 is wearing two ruffs….
‘My favourite is number 1’ fuck him up emotionally i like it
and then fuck him physically this is going grand actually
sword fights that are choreographed immaculately and with fluid camera movements truly do hold a very special place in my heart
oh wait is the luffy kid funky straw hat man
“your mug” yes get that slang in there
wait but luffy has a steady american accent with no twangs
purple orb i’d eat it
oh so would he apparently
what the fuck it’s green
who the fuck is red haired hat man i can’t be bothered to pull up imdb
don’t kill shanks he treats the bar staff with respect
he was in ‘fresh meat’ i found him
he’s so gonna die
i’d slap man bun guy so fuckin hard
luffy needs to like… have a nap or something
woah luffy straight in there with the insults
he had a munch and now he’s a bit bendy
now i recognise koby jesus christ
didn’t need to slap the poor guy jesus
koby is cute i like them
ginger woman floating in the sea
“sweetheart” fucking get rid of them
is she gonna fuck em up
slay queen found a new love of my life and she’s wearing funky socks
‘where’s my face?’ bruvva i could squish your cheeks like a toddler that wall is not for you
it’s green haired sword guy love him
“one for my friend” dude that is a body. in a sack.
it’s ginger sock girl, marry me
blonde british man is gonna catch these fists, sir that is a child leave her alone
lucious malfoy looking ass
yes Zoro (the subtitles are the only reason i know what’s goi-)
did he just eat that off the floor.
blonde british man is fucking terrifying
another sword fight???????
kolby you are me actually
fuck them up fuck them up fuck them up
i’m a lesbian but i do think green haired man just turned me bisexual
“my father” jesus fuckin christ they hired draco malfoy
like the rum???
jesus christ daddy’s boy needs a fuckin gag or some shit
i want Zoro’s earrings please
why does this man have a metal plate bolted into his face
“where does it even go” i think you know
koby realising not everything that’s made out to be ‘good’ is always good slay, we love a little bit of depth
i love a cgi sewer pipe
jesus chrrriiiiiiist draco malfoy is back
kick him in the balls
“when i get down” dude you are literally half on the floor already….
my wife ginger socks girl is back everything is good
she’s gone again, devastated
luffy kinda has the percy jackson cockiness yknow?
luffy 10/10 would do a phycology gcse
fucking english bastards ruining everything
it’s fine she fucked em up again
what is the grand line may i ask
her eyes are stunning
i think she just shat herself
draco malfoy needs to go what the-
that’s his bare arse
chop his dick off
please
i beg you
i think luffy just wants some friends
she’s a pickpocket too holy fuck-
“i’m never joining” yuh huh sure
why’s she searching the papers on the desk surely they would be in a draw or some shit or like a secret message or something
win for luffy
153rd marines really doesn’t sound all that threatening
so he’s like… hench as fuck too?
protect the hat luffy as you should
green haired man’s just pitched up c’mon
slay, literally and figuratively
is he wearing zebra trousers?
not where i thought the sword went…
yeaaahhh fuck him up
that kick was fucking immaculate
so green man is also fuckin hench???
oi listen to the queen
HA MALFOYS HAIR REMINDS ME OF MY WEIRD BARBIE
zoro smiled that’s it life is good
KOBY MY SON
koby no don’t
okay koby you slay love you
you keep them massive fuck off glasses safe
do they meet again? please tell my they meet again and they both live and are happy i will cry-
ooo action music my favourite kind of tv music
what the fuck is that snail and why is it also a phone
SCOTTISH MAN IS BACK
they took your mum actually
a pirate in a straw hat who’s skin is made of rubber thankyou
ooo new emo green haired man
they infact we’re not planning anything ever
that’s that one guy from agents of shield
jesus he’s fuckin creepy
oh that’s terrifying actually
FUCKIN TUNE
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rocketturtle4 · 8 months
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Why Kawi Felt Inentionally Ace Coded
This is the second post I am making about this show for this week, the first was about what I think went down around time travel in this ep and I will directly reference those theories.
Also I just think the way this episode was playing with flash forwards and backs (with both Piseang’s conversation with his mum AND Max’s convo with Kawi – ALSO A FLASHBACK FYI) is VERY INTENTIONAL. (for the purpose of keeping us both in and out of the loop)
Okay so, for the record I really didn’t plan to actively engage in BMF this week, I am mid spiral on an entirely different TV show and this show did not have my full focus while I watched it this morning.
HOWEVER
This moment
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[Image ID: Kawi saying "Do you think it's possible for two people dating to have no sexual activity at all]
Took my attention and kept it, I was yelling and I made 2 quick reaction posts about the fact that I was yelling (1, 2)
I will add here that @dropthedemiurge posted about Kawi being definitely ace coded LAST WEEK (I couldn't find it sorry but I remember reading it) as well as this week 2 and @heretherebedork had two different posts about this this week.
Also there is legit evidence for this being about touch starvation and intimacy issues (@shouldiusemyname) and if they do this well I wont be mad but…
It Felt VERY ACE CODED To me
And it felt a bit smack in your face ace coded in a way that to me was throwing up giant WE ARE GOING THERE flags. These flags, to me, were primarily in the LANGUAGE that was used more than Kawi’s physical body langue (which was more ambiguous between the two theories), and this is even trickier because of the layers of translation involved.
So lets talk about those flags
(Also I’m demisexual and demiromantic so my own lens is definitely colouring my view)
Max’s convo with Kawi
I actually loved this convo FOR Max’s response, not because he responded well (if Kawi is ace) but because he DIDN’T respond well. This show is doing a really good job of allowing it’s characters to be flawed and I reckon both Max and Piseang got to be flawed in this episode.
Max has been our gay Yoda
Max has been on point with all his advice
Kawi and Piseang are together in part due to Max’s advice,
But do you know what else Max is?
A 20 YEAR OLD
Max isn’t the person Kawi needs to talk to in this moment, because Kawi’s experiences are no longer aligning with his, and all of his advice thus far has been based on HIS OWN EXPERIENCE (which he literally says by the way):
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[Image ID: Max speaking while the subtitles translate the start of his sentence as "Personally,"]
Kawi’s language in this convo was REAL SUS
On top of the first line pictured above, their conversation includes
Max: You’ve already crossed the line, what are you afraid of?
Kawi responds
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[Image ID: Kawi saying "I'm not afraid. I just don't think it's that significant."]
Then we get Maxs scoff (SCOFF!!): "Right, The word from someone who’s never had sex"
And his positive take on how important sex is for a relationship and an Individual
And the implication that doing it with someone you love is even better
Then
Max: Are you going to sleep next to each other holding hands forever?
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[Image ID: Kawi saying "That's good." with an acesexual black, grey, white and purple flag added to the image]
@sparklyeyedhimbo I like the flag one so I borrowed it.
Then Max points out that it will only work out if Piseang feels the same way.
my thoughts:
Max is very dismissive of Kawi in this convo, there is a real disconnect with Kawi’s tentative questions and Max’s certain responses. Again I THINK THIS IS INTENTIONAL as per above. (For anyone who wants to check again its part 3/4 from around the 2 minute mark)
Kawi doesn’t seem afraid, he seems genuinely confused about not wanting sex. And personally, I’ve BEEN THERE.
Back in the bedroom
Now here we get some fear as Kawi finds condoms, panics and pretends to sleep.
Something I find interesting about this is he doesn’t pretend to sleep facing away from where Piseang would lie or curled up, he is still placed fairly centrally on the bed. His body language isn’t overly defensive (in my uninformed opinion). Now this could just be that he trusts Piseang regardless but I wanted to point it out.
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[Image ID: Piseang standing at the foot of the bed look at Kawi apparently asleep in bed]
Then Piseang Time Travels (Full clown, I’m committed)
(I just watched the scene again and Kawi opens his eyes and we don’t see Piseang while the music plays, this scene is legit from Kawi’s point of view and we’ve already seen that the travel isn’t visible to the person not holding the magic globe so I AM EVEN MORE CERTAIN)
Anyway back to this post
Piseang goes to bed and looks at kawi like this
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[Image ID: Piseang staring at Kawi]
(I’m just putting this here and choosing to interpret it as weighted with future knowledge lol)
Which post is this again?
Ah yes Ace!Kawi
So we get bed in the morning and Kawi pretending to sleep and then Piseang goes
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[Image ID: Piseang rolls to lie on top of Kawi]
And Kawi informs him that he’s heavy.
There’s no recoil
There’s no fear
Until
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[Image ID: Piseang says "Would you like to get on top instead then?"]
Even then he’s startled more than scared in my humble opinion
Until Piseang tries to kiss him
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[Image ID: Kawi making a very surprised/scared face]
Then Kawi pushes him off and leaves
Piseang continues to try and encourage intimacy
HOLD ON I HAVE A SECOND CLOWN THEORY ABOUT THE FUTURE
(I’m less convinced about my projections for what happens in the future, Piseang looks so content, maybe he just get’s a glimpse of domestic bliss…It needs to be next week already. FOR THE RECORD I’m sticking with clown theory 1 if I have to choose).
We get this moment
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[Image ID: Two images of Kawi as Piseang wipes something off the corner of his mouth and Kawi's expression goes from anger to something softer]
And Kawi’s change of experession here is so tender, I feel like this could be coded either way intimacy issues or strong romantic feelings, it’s not lust though that’s for sure. (I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be using coded for intamacy but *shrugs*)
(oooo I wonder if the language play came from his glimpse into the future)
I’m going to skip ahead to the theme park or this will go forever
The bits in between feel more ambiguous to me
THESE LINES FELT SUPER ACE CODED
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[Image ID: Piseang saying "If you just wanted to eat, why did you ask me to take you to a theme park? then Kawi saying "I just wanted to get the vibes. The thing that can make me the happiest is eating"]
Food over sex is a legit part of the ace community (the same way tucked in shirts and clear phone cases are part of the bi community from what I understand)
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[Image ID: Kawi still saying "The thing that can make me the happiest is eating" now holding up a corn cob]
(If Kawi had held up cake here I would be ALL IN)
Then we get the rollercoaster metaphor!
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[Image ID: Kawi and Piseang both looking at the rollercoarster, Piseang looks excited Kawi looks concerned/apprehensive/is making a woah face]
I’m just going to transcribe here it’s quicker and I’m running out of time before I go out tonight:
K: This is too much. Not this ride
P: Come on, Let’s try it first
K: No, I don’t like it.
P: You haven’t tried it yet. How do you know if you like It or not. You said you’d never been to a theme park.
P: If you don’t try it, it’s the same as if you’ve never been here
e.g. Coming to a theme park isn’t the same as enjoying the ride
Then P holds out his hand
P: If you’re scared, just hold onto my hand, Okay?
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[Image ID: Kawi looking at Piseang]
K looks at Piseangs hand, Looks at Piseang, Looks at the ride and says
K: No! I won’t get on it. You can go alone if you want to. I’ll just wait here
And walks off
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[Image ID: Piseang looks disapointed]
This again felt to me like a rejection of the fear as the primary motivation, he directly says he’s not afraid but he still doesn’t want to
I’m not sure about this scene in the car, it mostly just felt like Kawi was fed up at this point.
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[Image ID: Kawi and Piseang in the car]
Possibly this scene highlights the different places there in and how Piseang is open to new experience and Kawi’s not? This feels more intimacy coded than ace.
Restaurant Scene
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[Image ID: Kawi and Piseang looking tired in the restaurant]
Both Kawi and Piseang look so worn out in this scene, they both spent the whole day not communicating their true wants and fears and it’s left them all worn down
But Piseang doesn’t give up
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[Image ID: Piseang saying "Whatever I did wrong today, you can tell me." and Kawi responding "Today was great."]
Kawi responds to this sincerity and reaches out to hold Piseang’s hand.
KAWI is the one WHO REACHES OUT, again this reads as specifically felt to me as a reason against touch starved.
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[Image ID: Two images of Piseang and Kawi holding hands in the restaurant]
And then we’re in the bedroom (time skip anyone).
I’m actually not going to analyse this scene at all much. If Kawi is ace then he can still choose to have sex provided he and Piseang have communicated and if it’s intimacy issues then I also think it’s okay provided they’ve communicated first. ( idon't actually currently think Kawi is demi for the record)
(even when Piseang takes his shirt off, Kawi’s eyes stay on Piseangs face)
(although Piseangs do too actually…)
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[Image ID: Two images of Kawi and Piseang after they have removed their shirts staring at each other. The first image contains the subtitle of Piseang saying "are you sure?"
(god his eyes are so big here compared to their often squintiness)
He doesn’t pull back but leans into the kiss. He’s clearly sure of his decision. I’m just not sure about his reasons.
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[Image ID: Piseang and Kawi kissing]
Both Piseangs hands are on Kawi, but Kawi’s hands are straight down, I think this could go with either theory but personally on the few occasions I’ve made out with someone “what do I do with my hands?” loops in my head lol so I found this relatable.
Make of this what you will!!
Thoughts on Kawi and Kissing Piseang while he’s drunk
Honestly this doesn't feel weird to me, romantic attraction can involve kissing and drunk!kawi is just giving in to his confused thoughts and feelings, Aesthetic attraction can trick you too if you're not aware of your own identity (lol I had sex with someone before I experienced sexual attraction for the first time and felt very confused about why I didn't really feel like doing it again after even though it had been a positive experience, It was WILD), Kawi kisses Piseang because he likes him and is then confused about Why TF it doesn't feel like it's "supposed" to, *shrugs* make of that what you will.
Additional Thoughts
I’m reading into past future events now but I wonder about Pear and Kawi’s relationship.
Did they have sex?
There was clearly something fundamentally wrong with it, and the show talks about Kawi prioritising work, but it’s all a bit ambiguous and we never got any impression of intimacy. The fact that Pear is pregnant and Kawi doesn’t question if he’s the father, how long have they been broken up? Why did Pear seek out Not in the first place? Did Pear assume Kawi was gay because they didn't have sex??
ALSO
The scene where Kawi stares at Piseang while he was sleeping (Ep 9) I'm not going back to find it now or this won't get posted for like another 14 hours but it also felt ace-coded but I shrugged it off.
ALSO I HIT THE IMAGE LIMIT LOL
(@lurkingshan and @clairificusrex since you helped with my thoughts)
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hovershiplogos · 13 days
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Guess who's doing rewatches again? It's me, and well, not entirely a rewatch:
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Yes, that's right, it's Enter the Matrix. Because it's criminal that for a blog named for the little ship that could, I've haven't actually done a deep dive on the game itself! So I'm going to fix that!
I'm also going to play through as both Niobe and Ghost, as depending on who you're playing, the missions play out slightly different, and the cutscene dialogue varies as well. Also, not going to do like a  blow by blow kinda thing. Only going to comment on things that caught my  interest, or seem rather amusing to me.  If you want a little more context, I suggest checking out the couple of playthroughs/cut scene compilations on youtube.
Also of note, the game picks up right after the Animatrix short Final Flight of the Osiris.
Anyway, let's get to it!
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AND IT'S THE MAIN REASON I'M STILL HERE, BECAUSE OF THIS PESSIMISTIC SNARKY COWARD RIGHT HERE. And he's self aware about it as well.
Also interesting to note is that according to this cutscene, Sparks has been operating on board the Logos for 3 years. Now, a standard US navy tour of duty (and I'm going with Navy rather than Army as Zion's army is referred to as a Navy fleet) is between 2-3 years. Not really going anywhere with this, but it's interesting to note.
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Niobe is a 'my way or the highway' kinda person. No wonder it didn't work between her and Morpheus. It's also telling that Ghost has known Niobe for long enough to know that this is what she's like. I wonder if Ghost is the glue in this ship dynamic? As in, he knew Niobe and Sparks separately before they knew each other, if that makes sense?
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And it's the little hovership that could, the little lightning bug of the fleet! Those red lights on the ship look like they're the same as the ones on the sentinels. I wonder if a bulb blows or something they scavenge one from a deactivated squiddie as a replacement?
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It's not particularly clear, but I never realised that Niobe's hair is tied with what looks like string with gold in it? Maybe a metal band with gold on it? I'm not sure, but it's pretty!
Also, I appreciate that they give a reason why Niobe is going after this drop, rather than waiting for someone else (ie: Neo) to go get it.
Also, saying are you red or blue on this is a very cool in universe way of saying are you with me or not?
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The subtitles are missing here, but what he says:
"You know me Niobe. It's not a choice, it's a way of life."
Ghost, you're awesome, you know that, right?
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I get Sparks' complaint here, there are only two of them, and it would be a lot safer to wait for back up to help them out. But nope, you know what Niobe's like, get it done.
Also, as I remarked earlier, the fact that Niobe is willing to risk going in without support , especially given what she says about Thaddeus not using the drops unless he had no choice? And now they're all dead? They definitely need to get that package before the agents do.
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I personally love Niobe's little eye roll here.
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I also love that Ghost is more chill and amused by Sparks than exasperated like Niobe is. Yeah, Ghost is the glue holding the team together.
Also, a little mention of Zion funerary practices. As someone pointed out to me years ago, I suspect that the gardens is similar to the Exodus fleet's method of burial, but who knows?
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Yup, words to live by!
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Once again, Niobe is rolling her eyes behind the sunnies. This is what she has to put up with. Also, I would love to think that one time Sparks pranked Ghost by running some program that sent his guns soaring upward.
I always used to think that Ghost was the serious, no nonsense one in the crew, but I'm beginning to think I'm wrong on that front.
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Sparks, why do you want his boots? They're too small for your big feet!
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Niobe has great taste in old muscle cars. Good old 1967 Pontiac Firebird, in eggplant purple instead of black. Very stylish!
That's all for now, next up will be the post office. See you then!
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whirld-of-color · 10 months
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previous update
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(plaintext: You won't succeed.)
The voice reverberates around the train, bouncing off of the metal walls and echoing back in a chorus of voices- some low, some high. Two are screaming.
Bright orange graffiti scrawls itself across the windows behind them- the words the figure across from him just said, as if in a mimicry of subtitling. As soon as they're written, they disappear again, vanishing like illusory spots in Purple's eyes. He fumbles for his tape recorder, switching it on after a momentary struggle.
"Who- do you know me? What are you talking about, what do you want?"
Ah.
The light cupped in their hands wavers as they fidget.
I'm... Orange. You can call me Orange.
I don't know you, but... I can guess your story. I've seen it enough times before.
I was one iteration of it.
Orange tilts their head consideringly at Purple.
No one has ever succeeded on the quest you're embarking on. I suggest you turn back.
"I can't. I- I'm not leaving her there."
I thought you would say that.
You won't succeed. You drag them. Her. Out of the ground, and she'll never be the same. The dead aren't meant to come back.
Mine begged me to let them die, at the end. I had to kill them myself.
It isn't worth it. Turn back.
Purple flinches.
"I know. I- I know, okay? You know I can't turn back."
Orange sighs, rattling the train.
I do.
...Alright, then.
Orange sounds so, so tired.
Let's make a bet. Let's... play a game.
Here are the wagers: I bet your dead- that is, in this case... Orchid. You bet something important to you- if you don't have anything left to bet, that's your life.
...
Orchid. Hm.
She's...not dead or alive enough to...
I... what did you do...?
A terrified silence.
If you make it back to this station with Orchid in three days, you can bring her fully back to life and keep whatever you bet. She'll be free. If you don't, I take both for myself, and she dies for good. Back to the ground.
"I... okay. Okay, I."
"Okay, I... alright. Alright."
Purple nods to himself and opens up his backpack with shaking hands, getting up and crossing the distance to Orange. He hands the backpack to them.
Within is every tape Purple's recorded after he left the house- there must be around fifty or more of them, all crammed in together. As Purple speaks, he finds his gaze darting away from Orange's not-face. Anything is better than that... emptiness.
"I... I'd like to trade these. They're... important to me. It's- they're... like, my voice. Like- if-"
"They're... I- I'm trading my voice, it's just- not the one in my throat."
Oh.
Wait, why are you... oh.
Hehe. That's... clever. I have to say.
"Is that... good?"
The phrasing is clever, is all.
Maybe not... I don't think you know what you're trading here, or you wouldn't have bothered. But that's as good a way to get around it as any. Maybe if...
Orange shrugs again, zipping up the backpack.
A voice is more than enough. The fact that it's only recorded, well... I'm not keeping score.
Right.
The train stops with an ear-piercing screech as Orange pushes the backpack over to Purple.
We have a deal, then?
Purple nods, pulling the tapes close to his chest as the train doors slide open.
"Yeah- yeah, we... we do."
Alright. This is your stop. Once you step out of the station, your timer starts. Make the most of it, will you?
And... remember.
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(plaintext: The house always wins.)
-----
(masterpost link!)
(ah, writing. for the record, the colored text dotted throughout is pretty much just to put emphasis on certain words, there's no deeper meaning.)
(also, "the house always wins" is a dumbass pun. im aware it's a dumbass pun. just. fucking roll with it okay. i have to get my kicks from somewhere)
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ohforficsakelibrary · 6 months
Text
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You Brought Me Poison Flowers
Chapter 1: Larkspur - The larkspur keeps away ghosts.
series masterlist / masterlist
Summary: Joel and Ellie settle into life in Jackson, one more easily than the other, until Joel is reminded of what normal feels like. The kind of normal that he perhaps never had. A series of one-shot glimpses into a relationship (no true plot here, people.) Soft!Joel. Two touch-starved babes. Slow-ish burn.
Chapter subtitles taken from Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham. Although herbal preparations are consistent with historic uses, nothing herein is to be construed as medical advice.
Pairing: Joel Miller x Herbalist!OFC (age-appropriate age gap)
Word Count: 3.1K
Rating: Eventually explicit 18+ / Minors DNI. tw blood.
A/N: At a Fourth of July celebration in Jackson, Joel starts to feel a little more human again.
It had been three months since they returned to Jackson.
Since they were given a home. A community. Three squares a day and as much whiskey as Joel wanted. 
Which, admittedly, is more than he should have.
And, how had Maria put it—integrating—into the community, well. 
Not quite yet.
Sure, he had been given a position out on patrols. Something he was good at. A way he could earn his keep. And working alongside Tommy again felt more comfortable than he anticipated. 
Familiar, even.
Ellie, on the other hand, had been eager to integrate into the group of other kids her age. She hadn’t much wanted to fall back into the rhythm of school and Joel hadn’t pushed. But she made quick work of finding her niche on her own, helping out at shops in town, tending the animals in the early hours, working the farm and pestering Mitchell with her questions in the heat of the afternoon sun. 
Eventually she graduated to farmhand. Integration achieved.
Tommy and Maria had convinced him to leave the cabin for tonight’s Fourth of July festivities. Independence Day.
Irony doesn’t step lightly among the adult members of the town.
Those who remembered The Before and the abject failure that led to The After.
The scent of freshly grilled meat wafts through the street and a band had set up on the steps of the old bank. Mess Hall tables had been dragged out into the street and kids raced between them, their laughter ringing clear in harmony with the music.
Nights were still cold, he’d yet to learn they nearly always were in Jackson, and Joel kept his arms crossed to keep the chill at bay.
It kept everyone else at bay too.
“You know if you got out there and danced, you wouldn’t feel so cold.” Tommy grinned as he fell back into his seat.
“I don’t fuckin’ dance.”
“You used to.”
“Used to do a lot.” Joel shoots his whiskey and his eyes snap back to the crowd.
The habit of constantly searching for Ellie hadn’t abated. She’s dancing with a woman he’s seen around who runs a store in town.
No threat detected.
The song ends and Ellie returns to the table, grabbing a handful of tortilla chips before adjusting the flower crown on her head. A few of the school teachers had taken the kids out into a nearby meadow this afternoon and taught them how to weave delicate stems. Ellie’s was a blood red shock of paintbrush plant, nearly glowing against her brown hair.
She’s off again just as quickly as she sat down.
Joel’s stare follows her out into the crowd and he notices most of the kids have one along with a handful of adults. Some teachers, some guards. That lady Ellie had been dancing with though was neither.
Speak of the devil.
“Alright, Maria,” she breezes in, haloed in a wreath of purple larkspur and grabbing for a chip, “let’s get you out there.”
“Lennie!” Maria rises with a smile, “Let me introduce you, this is Joel,” Maria casts over her shoulder as she hands the baby off to Tommy. “We finally got him out of the house.”
“It took the promise of whiskey to do it,” Tommy quips, adjusting his daughter into a more comfortable position against his chest. 
“Joel is Tommy’s brother,” Maria continued, “and…”
“Ellie’s dad,” Joel finishes as he stands. Lennie brushes salt off on her overalls and holds out her hand with a grin. Joel takes it, surprised to find a firm grip. 
“Nice to meet you, Joel. Ellie’s real sharp. Helps me out with little things at the store sometimes.” 
“Thanks.”
He doesn’t realize he takes the compliment with a scowl on his face.
She nods at the younger man, hands on her hips, “how’s that gin treatin’ you Tommy?”
“It’s a great blend, Len. I still owe you a bottle of mine, I’ll bring it by this week.”
“No rush, I’m happy you’re enjoying.”
“You guys coming or what?” Ellie yells and Lennie presses her lips together and raises her eyebrows.
“I’m being summoned. Joel, nice to finally meet you.”
“Likewise.”
It takes Joel two and a half songs of silence and a fresh pour of whiskey before he finally opens his mouth again.
“What kind of shop does she have?” 
“Who? Len?” Tommy looks over at him.
Joel grunts something that could mean anything.
“Oh she’s got herbs, teas, soaps, lotions, that kind of stuff.”
“Plant shit.”
“Yeah, but not like…”
“A hippie.”
“Nah not like a hippie, man, she knows her stuff. She’s also responsible for that,” Tommy nods at his glass. Joel directs his scowl towards the glass before appropriating it for a sip. It’s gin, unmistakably, and far more complex than whatever homemade corn swill he’s been throwing back. Tommy’s stock was low and the town default wasn’t exactly cutting it. 
Now he was almost considering switching to gin.
“It’s good, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, don’t go showing too much enthusiasm.”
“Better’n your shit,” he adds. Just to rile Tommy up.
Joel cracks a hint of a smile before turning his gaze back to the crowd of people as the band starts up with Bob Marley.
He recognizes Lennie, but in this town it’s impossible not to see anyone around. He can’t say he’s ever paid her attention. He can’t say he really pays anyone attention beyond evaluating them for a threat. 
He should probably ease up on that. At least while he’s here.
He settles for uncrossing his arms, fingers drumming against his thigh in time with the music.
He spares a glance at Tommy, baby girl cradled to his chest, fingers gently tapping against her back on beat. His own heart starts to clench.
Fingernails dig into denim.
And Joel settles for clearing his throat and gazing back out into the crowd, eyes drawn to a flash of purple.
Ellie's dancing with another girl about her age and Lennie and Maria's hands are locked, each singing to each other. She's about Maria’s height, dark bronze skin and a head of black ringlets that reach the middle of her back. He can’t really pick up anything else at this distance.
She’s pretty though.
Got a pretty mouth.
He’s old, not blind.
"What's that song called? It's good." Ellie slips back into her chair as the band launches into a Rolling Stones cover.
"Never would have took you for a Bob Marley fan," Tommy smiles.
"'S called Is This Love."
"I like it. Words are good."
Curiosity quirks Joel's brow and he manages to hide a hint of a smirk behind a sip of whiskey.
_____
Out of sheer curiosity he stops into Lennie's shop the next day.
“WILEY’S” the sign out front proclaims in black painted letters. Large windows flank the door and the afternoon sun shines on thick bundles of foliage mounted on racks that span the length of them.
He steps inside and is immediately greeted by the scent of something unmistakably green.
A younger couple sits on a bench at a long dining table to the right, engrossed in conversation and laughing over mugs of tea.
They don’t look like much of a threat. 
They look. Happy.
Lennie stands behind a long wooden bar counter with three large jars spread across the top, chatting with a man he recognizes from the café. 
“Hey, Joel!” She calls. “Give me three and I’ll be right with you. Feel free to have a look around.”
He holds up a hand and tells her to take her time before stuffing his fingers in his pockets and taking a lap. There’s a floor-to-ceiling bookcase along the right wall behind the heavy oak table. The shelves nearest the windows are jammed tight with books, the ones towards the back adorned with heavy jars of some kind of liquid in shades of green, amber, rust, and earth. He comes to a smaller bookcase along the back wall and an array of smaller mismatched jars, their contents opaque. There’s a generous farmhouse sink installed in wooden countertop beneath a window flanked by more shelving on which mason jars and metal bowls sit drying. Shelves to the left of the sink house baskets of fresher plant material yet to be processed. A dormant wood stove sits tucked into the back corner.
As he starts to make his way back around to the bar he notes that the shelving along this wall is stocked floor to ceiling with dried herbs, many of which have smaller jars of liquid beside them in the same array of shades as whatever’s next to the books. 
And finally he makes his way back to the woman herself. Blue flannel and overall-clad, a too-worn canvas apron tied around her hips. Wild black hair is thrown up without care as to what’s falling out. 
“What can I help you with, Joel?” Full lips part in a warm smile.
“I uh,” and suddenly he realizes that he hadn’t actually given thought to what brought him here. “Actually," his voice drops an octave as if to hide his ask, "have you got any coffee?
“If I had coffee, my friend, I’d be the most popular girl in town.” She mirrors his tone. “But, if you don’t mind squinting and overlooking…nearly everything...I have a few options that might hold you over. You looking for a caffeine hit or just the taste?”
He thinks on it for a moment, never quite having had to parse the preference.
“Taste, I guess.”
“Alright,” she wheels around to the dried material behind her and pulls a hefty jar off of a higher shelf. “Forgive me if this is too on the nose, but are you allergic to any mushrooms?”
“Only the kind you’re thinking of.” The distant relative of a smile tries to tug at the corner of his mouth.
“How about I make you a cup to try and then you tell me whether you want it or not.”
“Sounds good, yeah.”
She pulls a french press from underneath the bar and starts up a hot plate before moving easily across old wide planks that creak under her feet to fill the kettle at the sink.
There’s a massive leather-holstered hunting knife snapped into a belt loop on the back of her overalls.
Not a threat yet, though.
“Go ahead and take a seat,” she nods at a bar stool when she returns, scooping a few spoonfuls of what could be wood chips for all Joel knows into the french press. Only then does he realize he’s just been standing there, hands stuffed in his pockets. 
Looming. 
“This has to hang out for ten.” 
He’s noticed she does that. Throws numbers out there without units to keep them company.
“Thanks for the tea, Lennie!” The couple behind him at the table gets up to place their mugs in the sink and she throws them a wave and a big smile.
“Any time, good to see you Jamal. And Sheila, I just did up a batch of that face cream, let me know when you need a restock, yeah?”
“Will do, Lennie. I swear it takes 10 years off.”
“Happy to hear you like it, love. Y’all take care, alright?”
“Later, Len!” The man calls and suddenly it’s just the two of them. Joel runs his hands over the wooden bar top, noticing that at some point it must have been just that given the array of drink rings and cigarette burns marring its surface. 
She grabs two mismatched mugs and splits the pour between both. 
“You take it with…”
“Just black, thanks.”
“Alright then, cheers.” She passes one over to him and taps hers on the side. “Now remember…”
Joel brings it to his lips and downs a gulp before she finishes. 
“Fuck.”
“I warned you it’s not the same. But I haven’t…”
“No. No, I mean…” He takes another sip and holds it in his mouth before swallowing.
“It’s ok,” she laughs and leans down to rest her elbows on the bar with a grin.
“No, Lennie, it’s—good.” 
“Joel, I know you just met me, but I gotta tell you that you don’t actually have to lie to make me feel better, yeah?” She’s still smiling.
“No, I actually mean that.” 
She would have doubted him if this wasn’t the first time she’s actually seen him smile. With teeth, no less.
“This is just plants? And mushrooms?” The look in those big brown eyes is actually sincere.
“Well, coffee is a plant, so,” she straightens with a wink. “It’s chicory and dandelion mostly, with a few secrets thrown in.”.
Joel throws his head back and drains his cup.
I could fuckin kiss you right now.
He quickly casts his eyes up at her to make sure he hasn’t said it out loud.
Being out in the wilds for that long tends to degrade your filter.
“Let me get a bag.”
A bag?
“Haven’t got any bags, but I can give it to you by jar if that’ll do.”
“Yeah. Yeah that’ll do just fine.” 
“MISS LENNIE” erupts from the doorway and Joel is already clear out of his seat, reaching to his waistband for a gun he hasn’t brought.
Good thing, because this is a kid. 
Not an Ellie-kid. Just a kid-kid.
“Miss Lennie, it won’t stop.” 
The kid’s nose is gushing enough blood to stain his teeth. Can’t be more than seven? Eight?
She reaches behind her for a jar of golden liquid and under the bar for a two small scraps of cloth, one of which she rolls up.
“You get hit?” She grabs a metal straw and uses it to suction up some of the liquid to drench the rolled cloth.
“No, it just started and it won’t stop. Like last time.”
“Alright Benny, I got you.” Lennie swings around the corner of the bar and kneels down, gingerly wiping excess blood from his face before gently guiding Benny’s head backward.
“Might sting a little, but you’re brave, right?” She asks him as much with her eyes as her words.
“I’m brave, Miss Lennie.”
“Darn right you are. Alright, one, two…”
She slides the cloth into the offending nostril on “two” and Benny makes a noise like a startled dog.
“Alright, you’re ok,” she coos. “You ok?”
Benny finally opens his eyes and blinks hard a few times.
At least he isn’t screaming.
“You alright there Benny?” She repeats.
“Yeah. Yeah, it’s not that bad.”
“Ok, good,” she chuckles. “Keep holding that there.” Lennie slips behind the bar again to grab a fresh mug and fills it a third of the way with still-warm water from the kettle. She adds a few drops of the same liquid and stirs before drawing some up in the straw and letting drips fall on the inside of her wrist.
“Alright, Bennie,” she kneels again, “can I get you to drink some of that there for me?”
Benny takes the mug and Joel notices the kid’s fingers and arms are streaked red where he had tried to rub the blood away.
“Alright, great job, Benny. Now come on, let’s get you washed up.”
Lennie gently guides him to the sink, hooking her toe under a short wooden step stool that’s slotted under there and yanking it out for Benny to stand on. She helps him to wash his hands and arms before she gingerly removes the rolled-up cloth and inspects his face. 
“You’re all good, Benny. Now go ahead and get your face washed up, I’ll grab you a towel.”
Joel watches as the boy scrubs his face with soap and takes the towel Lennie offers, rubbing gently, and returns to the front of the shop. There isn’t a drop of blood in sight. Benny reaches up on tip toes to hand the towel back to Lennie over the bar. 
“Thanks, Miss Lennie. I’ll bring you a rock tomorrow.”
“Sounds good, Benny. And hey, tell your momma to stop by when she has a chance, ok?”
“Ok, Miss Lennie!” He calls as he bounds out of the door.
A lot just happened, but the first thing out of Joel’s mouth is “a rock?”
“Yeah,” she smiles to herself. “Kids in this town don’t have to trade, but a lot of them still want to. To be like the grownups.” She takes a sip of her tea. “I always tell them to bring me something they find outside that feels special to them, but more importantly to tell me why they chose it.”
Joel smiles again. No teeth this time.
“Plus I like rocks. Pine cones too,” with a grin.
Teeth again now.
“What is that, what did you use?” he motions towards the jar. 
“Yarrow tincture. It’s astringent, but yarrow, she just understands blood. Too much blood? Yarrow. Not bleeding when you’re supposed to? Yarrow. She’s got other uses too, but that’s a big one around here.” Lennie returns the tincture jar to the shelf. “Alright, let’s get you that tea.”
She scoops the coffee mixture into a smaller mason jar, caps it and slides it over to him. Out of habit, Joel reaches into his back pocket before realizing. 
Things aren’t like that anymore, and yet this feels so. Normal.
“I uh, haven’t brought anything to trade.”
She begins to brush it off, call it a thanks for stopping in.
“Is there anything you need?” He points up at the herb shelf. “Figure I probably come across some of this stuff out on patrol, happy to help save you the trip.”
“I could some more of that, actually,” she nods back in the direction of the jar she just returned.
“Yarrow?” He repeats. “What’s it look like?”
“It grows pretty plentiful outside of town. It’s maybe yay high” she gestures near her waist, “tiny white flowers borne in a cluster. The key to it though is these lacy little leaves that…”
She can see the exact moment he glazes over. 
“Gimme one,” and she disappears through a door at the back of the shop, returning with a fresh sprig of white blooms. “I keep a small garden of a few things it helps to have fresh, but not nearly at the volume I need for everyone. But that’s what you’re looking for.” Lennie hands it over. “These leaves here.” 
Joel rubs the soft feathery flush between his fingers.
“Achillea millefolium. Thousand leaves.” She says softly.
“What’s the first part?”
“Achillea. Legend has it that Achilles’ mother dipped him in a bath of yarrow to grant him immortality.”
“I thought that was the River Styx.”
“Yeah that’s what I heard too, but the guy who named that,” she nods at the flowers in his hand, “apparently didn’t.” 
He smiles, grabbing his precious jar of fake coffee. “Alright, Lennie. Thank you.” He extends a hand out of habit.
And most definitely not because her hands are soft.
“Thanks for stopping in, Joel. Don’t be a stranger,” she returns a firm shake.
And with that he’s gone.
next
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thenextgenderation · 1 year
Video
i made this in june and then procrastinated adding subtitles until now aghdfhadg. anyway, it’s just supposed to be a fun little video with some queer scenes i thought of off the top of my head. hope you enjoy!
[Video Description: White text on a dark grey background that says: "Star Trek Pride - LGBT by cupcakKe. some queer star trek scenes (definitely not all or most of them). In the top left corner is an illustration of the progress flag with rainbow horizontal stripes and with more stripes on the left side of the flag in a V-formation. The outmost stripe being black, then brown, light blue, light pink, white; followed by a yellow triangle with a purple line forming a circle in the middle.
Benjamin Sisko saying: "We're coming out". The song LGBT begins to play. It's instrumental.
Quark saying: "This is time for a pride demonstration."
A woman has her arms crossed. She is standing next to a man who is looking up at her. She says: "Our library is far too sophisticated for a man to comprehend." Cut to Riker who looks away. Behind him are Troi and Yar and Data. Data steps forward as he says: "I'm an android, mistress." The genderqueer flag appears in front of Data's torso, accompanied by three sparkles.
Kirk and Spock are standing in front of each other. Spock says: "I have been and always shall be yours." As Spock speaks it, the word "yours" appears on screen in cursive and surrounded by three sparkles.
Spock sits down on the captain's chair, looking puzzled. In the background nurse Chapel and Uhura walk into frame. They give each other a small hug and they kiss. A heart line appears around them. Chapel walks off into the turbolift. Uhura just stands there for a moment with one hand near her mouth. Three small hearts surround her.
Picard and Riker power-walk with serious expressions through a corridor on the Enterprise. The lyrics of the song go: "fuck out my way when you see me / I'm rollin' with the LGBT"
La Forge and Worf run through a corridor on the Enterprise. The lyrics of the song again: "fuck out my way when you see me"
Spock is lying in a bed in sick bay. McCoy and Kirk stand next to the bed. Kirk has a very concerned expression. He leans over Spock and has his hand on Spock's shoulder while Spock's hand rests on Kirk's arm. Song: "I'm rollin' with the LGBT". The camera angle changes so the viewer looks at Spock from over Kirk's shoulder. Kirk and Spock now hold hands. Song: "I'm rollin' with the LGBT / I'm rollin' with the LGBT"
Jadzia Dax passionately kissing her ex wife. Song: "I'm rollin' with the LGBT / lookin' like we belong on TV / I'm rollin' with the LGBT"
A short shot of Lieutenant Yar, then cut to Counselor Troi who says to Picard: "Lt. Yar is physically very attractive." The song is just instrumental again. Bashir sitting on a couch. Behind him is O'Brien sitting on something else. Bashir looks at O'Brien who says: "Well, people either love... or hate you". The words "love you" appear on-screen in a soft pink font as they are spoken and the words "hate you" appear in a hard red font as they are spoken.
Cut to a different scene featuring Bashir and O'Brien. They are sitting right next to each other leaning against a wall. Bashir says: "...and I love Ezri. Passionately." There a vocals of the song heard faintly in the background.
Cut back to the first scene. O'Brien is now leaning on the couch near Bashir and says: "I really do!" Bashir looks at him expectantly. O'Brien says: "...not hate you anymore." The words "not hate you" appear on-screen in a soft pink font.
Cut back to the second scene. Bashir says: "It's just that I... like you... a bit more."
Kirk, Spock and a yeoman are on the bridge. Kirk is sitting in the captain's chair. The other two are standing behind him. The yeoman is touching Kirk's lower back. Kirk says: "Dig it in there, Mr.Sp-" but cuts himself off as he notices Spock who stepped next to him so that Kirk can see him standing there.  Kirk and Spock exchange a look. The yeoman takes her hand away.
Jadzia Dax and a klingon are hugging. The klingon laughs and says: "Oh Curzon! My beloved old friend." Jadzia answers: "I'm Jadzia now". Light blue, light pink and white hearts appear around her face. They let the hug go and are now holding onto each others' arms. An illustration of a worm on the string coloured as the trans flag appears on screen. The klingon says: "Ah, well, Jadzia! My beloved old friend."
Data walking through the corridors of the Enterprise. There are other officers walking towards him. He changes direction and walks into a corridor on the right. When the other officers get close to him a force-field appears and two of the officers walk into it and fall to the ground. Data keeps walking unfazed. Data has left the frame and the two officers are still on the ground. The song is louder again and the lyrics go: "fuck out my way when you see me / I'm rollin' with the LGBT"
Tuvok jogs through a corridor on the Voyager followed by a couple of crewmembers jogging behind him. Other officers who were walking there have to make space for them and stand with their backs by the wall. Song: "fuck out my way when you see me / I'm rollin' with the LGBT"
Data and Geordi look at each other and give each other a nod. Geordi smiles and his hand rests on Data's shoulder. Song: "I'm rollin' with the LGBT"
Mirror!Kira and Mirror!Ezri standing in front of each other. Kira holds Ezri's chin in her hand. Then they kiss. Song: "I'm rollin' with the LGBT / lookin' like we belong on TV / I'm rollin' with the LGBT"
Odo scoffs, turns and walks away. Song: "I'm rollin' with the LGBT" Cut to Quark standing next to Kira. Quark says: "That man loves me!" The song faintly goes: "I'm rollin' with the LGBT" and then fades out. Quark, turning to Kira, says: "Couldn't you see? It was written all over his back" He then raises a glass he's holding to where Odo had been standing and walks out of frame as well. Description End]
@startrekdescribed
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ppnuggie · 1 year
Text
𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀 𝙈𝙀
  『 mtmte various + gender neutral reader 』
  — gameplay 002
  — second chapter 💪🫡 this one is a bit longer
       — taglist  ::  @astridkolch ,, @i-starcreamed ,, @absolutelysmittensimp ,, @elliethedragon ,, @porkcracker  ,, 
  < one , three , four , five >
you hit the button ,, listening in as rodimus spoke again . the subtitles popped up ,, lighting up with every word he spoke . " lets go then ! i'll introduce you to the crew ." he pointed to himself ,, " firstly ,, i am rodimus prime . the co-captain and original captain of this ship !" he pointed towards one of the mechs beside him . " this is megatron ,, but no need to worry ! he wont hurt you ! and that over there is ultra magnus ,, though hes usually stuck up most the time . dont mind him . next is the rest of the crew ,, come on !" the screen faded out ,, before reappearing in front of a new room .
" this is the medibay ! we have our medics here ,, if you feel unwell theyre your go to !" he winked ,, his servo waving along in the air as he talked . the two of you walked inside ,, taking a glimpse around . there were a few patients in already ,, a few drones flying around and messes on the counters everywhere . must've been quite the busy day .
" here is ratchet ,, our chief medical officer ! he knows the most about you humans so dont be shy to approach him if you don't feel too good . dont worry ,, he doesnt bite !" rodimus had swung his arm around the bot . ratchet groaned ,, pushing rodimus off him . he stood at 7'8 ,, holding his servo out to shake your hand . " its nice to meet you ,, liason (y/n) ." another bot came over ,, datapad in his servo . " this here is first aid ,, he'll soon become the new chief medical officer when im done teaching him ." first aid stood around the same height as rodimus ,, by just an inch shorter .
" hello !" he waved to you before turning to ratchet ,, the two of them walking away and discussing whatever it was they needed to . " that over there ,," rodimus pointed to another bot ,, who was almost exactly 8 foot ,, " is ambulon ! hes also a medic here ." ambulon looked up from the patient he was tending to ,, then looked towards you . he gave a slight smile and wave before going back to work . " that concludes the medibay ,, we'll stop by the lab and see whats going on there ." the screen faded once more before appearing at the lab .
inside were pristine white walls ,, and beakers everywhere . there was a lot of equipment ,, watching where you walked as though it were real and not wanting to trip over any or damage them . a purple bot looked up from her wrench ,, smile on her face when she saw you . " hello ! you must be the new liason . i'm nautica ,, its nice to meet you !" you gave her a small wave ,, before turning to where rodimus was talking to a few other bots . " this here ,," rodimus turned around and began to speak , " is perceptor . hes one of our scientists here . and this is brainstorm ,, hes a weapons engineer ,, dont let him give you anything though ." brainstorm chuckled ,, waving him off .
" dont mind him ,, im quite nice ,, and charming !" brainstorm stood a little taller than rodimus ,, about 7'9 and perceptor looked to be 8'2 . you guessed nautica was about 7'4 ,, as she was the shortest of the group when she stood beside them . " this is nautica ,, shes our quantum mechanic ." rodimus introduced ,, the purple bot raising a servo to her mouth as she laughed a little .
" this is getaway ,, hes not a scientist or engineer ,, hes just loitering around ." rodimus crossed his arms as he gave a harsh look to the bot . getaway stood a little taller than rodimus ,, 7'7 ,, shaking his head at the prime . " it is nice to meet you liason ,," he greeted you . rodimus eyed the two of you before shoving getaway a bit and returning to you . " we'll hit up swerves now ,, and pay a trip rung ." was all he said before the screen faded out and in .
" swerves is a bar on the ship ,, where we all go whenever our shifts are done or whenever in general ." rodimus shrugged ,, walking through the doorway . all around were bots ,, seated and standing ,, leaning against walls and tables as they chatted and slurped at their drinks . they all seem preoccupied ,, not once turning their helms to see who just walked in .
" over there are a few bots ,," rodimus pointed ,, and you both walked over . behind the counter was a tall mech ,, standing at 8'3 and colored with mostly greyish blue metal . " this is bluestreak ,, he helps tend to the bar with swerve ." bluestreak flashed you a wink and a smile as he polished a glass ,, before turning to a bot with an order . " and the minibot right there is swerve . he runs the bar ,," before rodimus could fully introduce the bot he was already rushing over with a wide smile on his face .
" hello ! you must be the new liason ! welcome to swerves !! im ,, uh ,, swerve ,, heh . anyways ,, what can i get ya ? wait ,, nevermind ,, i forgot ,, i dont think i have any human safe drinks for you . im sorry about that ,, ill have to find some for you soon though !" rodimus raised his hand ,, sighing as he stopped the minibot . " thank you for the introduction swerve ,, but we have other bots to meet ." the red minibot shrunk back a bit ,, watching as rodimus turned and looked out on the room .
" hey ,," swerve whispered ,, sliding a paper towards you . " i'm hiring ,, if youre ever free for an extra shift by chance . you can rack up some shanix and stuff ,, yknow ,, if you wanna !" he gave you finger guns before turning to take a bot's order like bluestreak . you took the paper ,, stuffing it away in your inventory . he seemed like a nice guy .
" over here ,, (y/n) ! theres a few bots id like you to meet ." rodimus said before you two walked over to a table . " hey ,," rodimus leaned against the table ,, " (y/n) ,, id like you to meet chromedome and rewind !" said bots waved at you . rewind ,, who you guessed was the shorter of the two ,, started to speak . " well ,, its nice to meet you (y/n) ! im rewind ,, and this is my conjunx chromedome . how are you liking the lost light so far ?" he tilted his head ,, a read glare coming from the side .
" its been great so far ! im excited to start working ,," you answered ,, smiling at the minibot . " thats lovely ,, it'll be nice to work alongside you ." chromedome said . " nice to meet you (y/n) ,," a white minibot raised his servo at you . " i'm tailgate ! you humans are so interesting . this is my first time seeing one ,," he chuckled as he reached over to touch you . you werent able to feel it ,, but it seemed like he was touching your head .
" enough of that tailgate ,," rodimus pushed his servo off you . " this is trailcutter ,," he pointed to another bot . trailcutter raised his servo at you ,, dipping his helm in a 'hello' as he started to take a swig at his drink . " and thats skids ." skids flashed a smile towards you ,, " nice to meet you ." he raised his servo as well . " uh oh ,," tailgate murmured ,, casting his gaze towards the door .
a cyan colored bot ,, standing at around 9'3 ,, walked in and marched right over to the counter . you werent too sure on what he was saying but he didnt sound too pleased . " thats whirl ,, you'd do best to stay away from him ." rodimus said . " hes known for causing trouble everywhere he goes ." the prime sighed . " how about we go see ring now yeah ?" before you could answer the screen faded before reappearing at an office .
the door slid open ,, revealing the inside . it was a calming yellow ,, and in a chair sat an orange bot ,, admiring his little figures . " oh ! rodimus !" his helm perked up upon seeing the prime . " and the liason . hello ,, its nice to meet you . i'm rung ,, the ship's psychiatrist ." he waved at you ,, " if you ever feel the need to talk about your frustrations ,, feel free to book an appointment with me ." he smiled softly . you gave a nod ,, before the screen started to fade once again .
" that concludes it ! here ,," rodimus handed you an item . " its a datapad ,, it has mine ,, mags and megs ,, rungs ,, ratchets comm links . if you ever need help with anything ,, just give us a headsup ! here is your habsuite ,, you dont start work until tomorrow . so make sure youre up by 10 am !" he waved before he left .
the inside of the room was quite plain . a bed ,, some bookshelves and cabinets . a closet for your clothes and a couple of doors that led to other places like a bathroom and kitchen . you pulled out that paper swerve gave you ,, and pondered . should you give it a try ? working at his bar ?
117 notes · View notes
kanmom51 · 1 year
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Jikook Vlives Masterlist
2013-2015 Vlives
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JK log 18 Jul 2013 - Bangtan
JK 2015 Vlive
JK birthday Vlive - the 50 Tshirt gift
RM 2015 birthday Vlive
2016 Vlives
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Paris Vlive June 2016
Paris 2016 Vlive twisted by TKK’s
Osaka Vlive - was Jimin there?
Tokyo Vlive
Tokyo Vlive yet again
Yes, again with the Tokyo Vlive
Jikook hickies?
Jin/JM talking JK out of quitting?
2017 vlives
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February 2017 Vlive - what JK would do for a girl/boy he liked...
May 2017 BBMA’s ot7 Vlive
BTS Vlive BBMA’s
20 November 2017 post AMA’s performance Vlive
so mangae - Jin eats Vlive
Global Vlive top 10 BTS
2018 Vlives
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24 May 2018 comeback show pre-live
BTS live from 10 June 2018
Comeback live May 2018 - Jimin-ssi
JK’s nose boop mission 2018 and the repercussions (?)
The behind mission for the comeback show preview Vlive
2019 Vlives
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Tae’s Paris Vlive January 2019
The New Jersey Vlive - “Tae get the f**k out of here already” vibe
New Jersey Vlive
Happy 3 year anniversary to the New Jersey Vlive
Jimin Busan Vlive 2019
Jimin’s Saudi Arabia Vlive
JM flying back for JK’s birthday 2019 - his Saudi Vlive
When JK tried to feed JM
2020 Vlives
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Jimin’s Vlive conversation with Jin - did JK interrupt?
Hobi Vlive - JK’s comment he didn’t think he would fall in love with a man...
Was it a kiss?
BTS Seven special party
BTS Seven special party Vlive - dalgona coffee metion
Dynamite Vlive
Carnation Vlive
JM Vlive 20 April 2020
11 May 2020 live log
Oh, Kookie...
RM birthday Vlive 2020
Purple radio live comeback special
Bangtan Bomb Black swan VCR behind
2021 Vlives
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BTS OT7 live 19 Feb 2021, so what did we have?
Butter Vlive - JK & JM fasting together?
Just putting it out there
When Jikook are not sat together in lives
Jimin 2021 birthday masterlist
Hobi spilling the beans
No translation needed, but if it is, JK’s not a kangaroo, lol
Another no translation needed, but just in case we shared it, lol
JM when telling us JK is on his way
JM’s phone call to JK
JK recommending JM’s mom’s cooking
I think JM is happy
K-army adding fuel to the Jikook fire (reblog)
Vlive decorations and the use of JM
6 years apart and yet
Jikook on camera in a nutshell (reblog)
Again Jimin is happy
They just have to hold hands, don’t they?
JM is genuine
Jimin is human
Was JM hinting to JK “don’t order food babe we have dinner plans”?
Was JK joining JM for dinner with his parents?
The birthday cake
JM’s birthday Vlive 2021 one more time
BTS Vlive 20 October 2021
BTS Vlive 20 October 2021
BTS Vlive 20 October 2021 - again with the handshaking
BTS Vlive 20 October 2021 - if only we knew what they were saying
BTS Vlive 20 October 2021 - so soft
BTS Vlive 20 October 2021 - Tae’s “Excuse me...”
BTS Vlive 20 October 2021 - JK not worrying about noise complaints
BTS Vlive 20 October 2021 - why Tae switched places with JM
Jimin being affectionate during ot7 lives - nothing new
Vminkook Vlive 28 Nov 2021 Masterlist
3 Vlives
Sit on my lap?
Minkook from now on?
JK was nervous
Who is JM checking out?
Today’s TMI
No words needed line of communication
From now on it’s Minkook or Minkookie
Minkook/Jikook/Kookmin TMI during the Vlive explained
1+1 in Minkookland/Jikookland
“We” was used multiple times
The couple in the room was evident
“we laugh to sleep every night
2022 Vlives
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BTS Vlive 19 March 2022 - why does this look so familiar?
BTS Vlive 19 March 2022 - what kind of food are you eating now days JM?
Jungkook Vlive 16 June 2022
Jungkook Vlive 5 April 2022
JK be: I told you you’d be jealous...
JK is talking
JK prey tell us who has complained about your moving and snoring in your sleep
JK being loud - where is it coming from?
Problematic Vlive subtitles
Vlive post Grammy’s 2022
JK dropping honorifics with JM, yet again
They were in each other’s ears
Do we have to address this one more time?
And if we already on it...
JK just hanging there
JK practiced alone in his room during quarantine, and JM is the one to tell us
Jikook and the Itaewon class reference
VminHopekook Vlive after concert day 3
JK joining the live
JK joining the live - a better translation (wrong link)
Looking comfy
JM, what ya doing?
Of course JM knew about JK’s live
Vminhope telling how V, Hobi, JM & JK spend spare time together
Finally JK will have someone to box with
JK knowing JM’s maternal grandmother’s birthday
Spot the couple
JK moving Hobi to take his place by JM - yet again
Spot the difference
Waiting for the JM Traitor edit
We moved on too fast from this Vlive
JM - JK - Hobi - Tae Weverse live post concert
It was too short
JK’s mom made seaweed soup for JM’s birthday
The ramen bowl
JK farts are definitely a subject to be discussed in a live broadcast
JK marry me - JK’s bad decisions, lol
I cannot and will not let this go
I’m back real fast
Just JK thinking JM is so adorable
JK’s mom and the seaweed soup
JM’s lock screen
I get it
Please pretty please
JM’s necklace again
Too spicy Jjyaman?
JikookVhope live summery
Jimin Vlive 27 September 2022
27 September 2022 JM is live
JM Weverse live 18 September 2022
JM’s live and mentioning JK
And again the use of Jungkookie
Yes, he definitely said Jungkookie
2023 lives
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The Feb-Mar 2023 Wlives masterlist
April Vlives
Jimin W-live 4 April 2023
JK live 8 April 2023 - initial thoughts
JK live 8 April 2023
JK live 25 April 2023
Karma isn’t a bitch, karma is JK
JK's White day live, JM's Angel pt. 1 and all that's in between...
JK the crowned 👑 spoiler king
May lives
Jakay what you doing - live 25 May 23
JK live 25.5.2023 12:03 am KST
So JVKE has named our boys angelboys?
So JK did this
June lives
JK is live and I’m awake 5 June 2023
Nah, this man he is something special
The connections are connecting
Do I need to say anymore?
JK live 5 June 2023 7:03 am KST
JK live 12 June 2023 7:02 am KST
JM live 15 June 2023 20:46 or 8:46pm KST
JK's live 30 June 2023 12:38 am KST
Does JK live at Brunnen full time?
July lives
JK live 5 July 2023 4:02 am KST
JK live 18 July 2023
Relationships 101: What we can learn from JK's live
JK live 21 July 2023 part 1
JK live 21 July 2023 part 2
JK live 27 July 2023 - JK singing Letter
JK has JM on the brain
JK live 27 July 2023 0:00 KST
JK live 28 July 2023 - reblog
JK live 28 July 2023 post
Just play it on repeat - JK Inkigayo live 30 July 2023
JK live 30 July 2023 - Part 1
JK live 30 July 2023 - Part 2 + live 31 July 2023
August lives
JK live 8/3/2023 10:26 pm or 22:26 KST
JK live 5 August 2023 - I slept through it all
JK live 5 August 2023 1:41 am KST - Part 1
JK live 5 August 2023 1:41 am KST - Part 2
JK live 5 August 2023
September lives
Ahm...happy birthday JK (post includes JK’s 1 Sep live)
JM live 1 September 2023  20:54 or 8:54 pm KST - Part 1
JM live 1 September 2023 20:54 or 8:54 pm KST - Part 2
JK live 23 September 2023 (NYC)
JK live 23 September 2023 (NYC) - full post
October lives
JK live 4 October 2023 summed up in 50 seconds
JK live 4 October 2023
JM Production diary live - Nah I couldn’t wait for my post for you guys to see this
Just me or same vibes?
We just lost him at that point
JM production diary documentary and live 23 October 2023
Muscle memory
75 notes · View notes
myrfing · 21 days
Note
hi!!! sorry this might be a bit of an odd ask, but i saw that you get some comms from the crepe site (the eating gif one is sooooo cute) and i wanted to ask what the process was like to use that site to order commissions? is knowledge of korean needed? is it like skeb where you can enter comm details in english and it auto translates it for the artist? thank you for your time!
HI not odd at all! I hope more people use crepe, there's many talented artists on there. There is no auto-translate like on skeb. I run everything through the DeepL translator or good old google translate. I also use the Simple Translate extension for Firefox to make this a lot easier. I have 0 knowledge of Korean so I like to double check back and forth & try to use simple, straightforward phrases. Thankfully the website is also designed pretty intuitively, it's just a lot double checking on my end :J...
I pay via stocking up on Points via Paypal and use that to pay artists. In short: you select a commission type from the artist's page, fill out and send in their request form (it seems to be customizable on their end so they differ between artists), and if they accept your commission, they will invoice you via the site's chat system. They will also likely ask any questions they have about your request in here. Once the site confirms your payment, then it's relayed to them to begin working on your commission. Some artists offer check sketch, etc., stages that are facilitated by the site in the same chat, some don't. When they finish, the site will notify you via email & that chat thread, you receive the file, review it, and confirm the completion. At that point, no changes can be made, and the transaction is complete.
Here's a shitty mspaint guide:
To sign up via email:
Follow this link. Enter your email and hit the link to send an authentication email.
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2. In the email from crepe, hit the verify button.
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3. Fill out your new credentials, then hit the create account button. You can review the terms & services via the subtitle link.
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4. This next page asks you what your account is for. The left box = I'm here to commission artists. The right box = I'm here to take commissions as an artist. Make sure the left box is selected and hit next. (Text below informs you you can swap to an artist account later, and artists can commission from other artists)
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5. It then scrolls you to the option to verify your identity. This lets you communicate via kakaotalk, adds a layer of security, and verifies your age for 18+ commissions, but unless you have some form of S. Korean ID, hit "I want to do it later". Then hit the "I don't want to verify now" option again on the confirmation popup. I'll add on to this post on how to verify via passport as an overseas user, but it's not necessary unless you want to get hole & pole commissions.
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6. Account creation complete :~)! the button just takes you to the front page which displays random commissions you can browse.
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To commission an artist:
I'll use the artist who did the snacking animation for me as an example! Say you find an artist you really like, and you go on their page. Here's an overview.
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Let's say I click on the top one. It will take me to this page. Scroll down and review all the information and terms about this particular commission type. Artists will tell you what you get, what they will and won't draw, pricing caveats, what you're allowed to do with the commission, and whatever other pertinent info here.
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2. Once you've reviewed everything, scroll back up and hit apply. The price is a range; artists will tend to charge more for high detail/addons!
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3. You will be taken to their application form. Again, this is different for each artist, and you're gonna need to carefully fill it out case-by-case. Once you've filled out everything required, scroll all the way down and the submit button should no longer be greyed out. It's purple like all the buttons so far. Hit that, and it will show you your completed application and send it to the artist.
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4. At this point, you wait for them to either accept or deny your commission. Here's an overview of your header bar menu, click on your icon to access it. You can check commission progress history, the application you submitted, and your messages here. Your messages are where you're going to be alerted if the artist accepts or not, it will have a notif mark. You can also stock up on points, but you can also do that when they invoice you.
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5. Once the artist accepts, you'll get a message. It's in the messages where you'll deal with all communication and the procession of your commission. If you're not completing your steps (i.e. paying, checking the sketches) by hitting the purple buttons, the commission can't continue. These buttons will sometimes take you to different pages, i.e. charging points for the invoice, to the comm timeline page to receive your files and confirm steps...U Must play it by ear here and translate on your own because I'd need an ongoing commission to show you & I'm on ice soup week right now
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But that's pretty much it! Some things:
I usually begin my applications with a blurb specifying I'm using a translator as an overseas customer in case they are not comfortable working with the language barrier or I start saying some crazy ass mistranslated shit to them. Ex: 안녕하세요! 저는 기계 번역을 사용하는 해외 고객입니다. 번역이 제대로 되지 않은 텍스트에 대해 사과드립니다. 해외 고객은 받지 않는지 알려주세요.
I tried asking if an artist takes tips once, but there's no built-in system for it and Paypal seems to be the only avenue for it, which I think the site disallows you from sharing (?) to keep transactions moderated by the site. They said "don't worry about it", but I dunno if this is universal
Try to not leave descriptions in your ref images, it's hard to read in your application. Enter it as text in the boxes.
I leave a review once per artist within a month, I am nooot sure about the etiquette about leaving multiple reviews. I don't think it would hurt but uhhh I haven't checked
"Omakase" = artist's choice for most of the image composition. You can still give refs of course and make a simple request, but this means you can't nitpick/have total control over what the artist draws.
"Water level" = NSFW 18+ stuff. I habe no idea what a better translation for the term is yahoo mario water level
👍 enjoy your beautofial art
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cbsghostsdaily · 1 year
Photo
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Meet the Ghosts: Alberta Haynes Click on each image for higher quality + image ID is under the cut!
[Image ID: A still graphic of three photos, all with a red gradient with black.
Graphic 1: A Spotify Podcast template. The podcast section is labeled: “Meet the Residents: Alberta Haynes”. The cover itself is a red gradient. There is a photo of Alberta from the 1920s in black and white, with a white outline behind her image. The cover photo states: “THE ULSTER COUNTY REVIEW PRESENTS: RATS, JAZZ, & MURDER: WHO KILLED ALBERTA HAYNES?” Underneath, it says: “Hosted by: Samantha Arondekar & Todd Pearlman”
Graphic 2: A purple-pink table top containing: 
A pink pen
A cup of coffee
Next to the coffee cup, a paper that says: “From the desk of Todd Pearlman” in blocky writing. There are three notes underneath it that say:
“There’s some beautiful, ethereal humming. Sam’s weird assistant said it’s off-tune but it reminds me of Alberta. Maybe it’s her cheering us on from beyond the grave...”
“Need to double check Sam’s sources. Yesterday she said Alberta liked Dungeons & Dragons, which wasn’t even around then? Then when I pointed it out she said “Uh...I mean...I think she’d like it.’“ 
“Alberta Clone plan is still in Phase 1. Sadly.” 
Under the cup of coffee is a phone, with a photo of Alberta on it. 
Under the phone are two notepads. The one on the left says “TODD’S THOUGHTS: Sam joked this photo has Alberta in it. Obviously, it’s empty but I feel inspired whenever I look at it...” The one on the right in neat handwriting says. “Hey Todd! Just slipping htis under your door where you’ve been doing hte podcast notes. For days. Just a hunch that you’re listening to Alberta’s songs again. But we have guests coming so you can come back next week for more Alberta research instead! Just at your earliest con-” from here, the word trails off with a scribbled line, and new handwriting is seen, saying: “GET OUT BRO - JAY.” 
Graphic 3: A community forum page that says “Ulster County Review Community Forum. Underneath it says: “Selected topic > Alberta Haynes > Most viewed”. Five posts follow in varying red-pink gradients: 
4.8k upvotes: Posted by albertafan101, 6 months ago. Title: ALBERTA HAYNES: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR. Subtitle: “Ignore what that guy was saying, ther edefinitely wasn’t any “Thor” or “Pete’s” around in Alberta’s circle. Now, something that IS interesting, however, is a note found in the Woodstone B&B...
0 upvotes: Posted by fortheloveofpete, 6 months ago. Title: SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS. Subtitle: “Don’t ask me how I know this, but I can give my word it’s true! - Pete: Friend (and hopefully more?) | Lizzo: descendant? - Sam: “bestie” } Thor: enemy whenever he says landship
1.2k upvotes: posted by toddhaynes, 2 weeks ago. Title: SONGS. Subtitle: “Alberta did not get the chance to perform a lot of her songs, but there are some notable ones. - “Don’t Be a Rat (ironically, Alberta had ratted out a singer...”
90 upvotes: posted by sam_arondekar, 1 day ago. Title: NOTABLE QUOTES. Subtitle: Hypothetically. I’d like to imagine she’d say these! “My death, like my life, was spectacular. Had to be! No way I went out from something boring like a busted ticker.” 
56 upvotes: posted by pickleballover, 30 minutes ago. Title: WHY ARE THE HOSTS SO STRANGE? Subtitle: He sounds like a stalker. And let me tell you, that Sam woman...
/end image ID]
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skydalorian · 1 month
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I was tagged by the ever-great @post-futurism, and am thrilled to jump back into one of these!
Last Song: Go On - The Tights. I'm listening to their discography after moving on from the near-entirety of XTC. Jury is still out, but I appreciate that they brought late-90s and Y2K moody nostalgia even before the gurnge-goth of that era was even close to being dated.
Favourite colour: Burgundy! All shades! No exceptions! I'm also fond of deep emerald greens, olive greens, navy blue, and dusty rose pinks. Historically I adored purple, but I'm less into it now, and am not into it when it veers into blue territory (though I'm definitely into indigo).
Last movie/TV show: The last film I completed was The Holdovers and I was a predictably easy target. It nigh instantaneously became a favourite. Technically, my last watched film was The Moon by Takashi Ito, but I wouldn't call that a movie, per se, as much as it's an impressionistic short and abstraction of thoughts, images, and memory.
I usually watch multiple films simultaneously, but my go-to streaming sites all lost the option for subtitles within the last 24 hours. I have never experienced anything more miserable. How else am I supposed to be able to watch these at 4x speed?!?!
Telveision-wise, I've been watching Fargo season one, Twin Peaks (1989), and keeping up with the new season of Abbott Elementary.
Sweet/spicy/savoury: Spicy and Savoury. Separate and combined, they are both dear lovers.
Relationship status: non pertinet
Last thing that I googled: Tofu marinade recipe for airfryer. Also Hal Ashby. Both in the same google session. Weird day.
Current obsession: I've returned to Garth Nix's work and am indulging my dive back into The Old Kingdom series. I'm also refreshing my grasp of criminal law, Contitutional Law, and police misconduct. I finished a read-through of the Constitution and am trying to solidify my mnemonics for the Bill of Rights! Also, most recently, hating Larian and grieving for my prior high opinion of them and my naivete.
Last book: Last completed was Lirael (Garth Nix) and I'm currently reading Piranesi (Susanna Clarke) and Orientalism (Edward Said)
Looking forward to: Getting my financial assistance for medical bills situated (again), and an upcoming chili/soup cook-off at my place of work (which I intend to sweep, with the promised assistance of my team).
I'm so glad you tagged me! Your blog has been a constant inspiration and your taste is both fire and the terrifying depths of the ocean to me, it's fantastic, your posts never fail to have a dreamlike quality!
Tagging @honeybite @phasesixer @regenerating @wizardpink @notwiselybuttoowell @lordgroose @iwilleatyourenglish @baddiez @bubble-bobble @purplefairies@wine-dark-sea@cursedamulet@scarletswalking@antidoteforreality
and any other mutual I neglected (I am so, so sorry, I have been sleepless and my memory has been fuzzier than usual)
also feel free to do this even if you're not tagged, I am not trying to be exclusive necessarily!
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open-hearth-rpg · 8 months
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#RPGCovers Week Eleven Voidheart Symphony (2021) Adrian Stone
I’ve mentioned Adrian Stone’s work before back in Week Two (Spire/Strata/Sin). As I talked about there, one of the things I love is how he uses color and hue to create depth. This does that again with the combination of purple & red in blocks and glowing elements that evoke a sense of stacks and distance. 
One of the other interesting things here is a shift from Stone’s other work. The earlier covers often use strongly tilted angles to create an effect– instead here the safety tape-like logo, subtitle, and author banners do that work. This image is much more rigidly up and down, echoing the look of a tarot card. Our figure in the center feels like a combination of The Tower and The World, with decorative elements like the crown referencing other cards. 
Following up from that crown we get the top of the tower– our apparent source of illumination but one which still shrouds things in darkness. The building layers behind our floating figure angle upwards like mountains, the lines again reinforcing the emphasis on what’s clearly the foe. 
It’s strong enough that you might not even notice the protagonists. The art here makes them look shaken and uncertain. They look upwards, clearly in a subordinate position before our crucifixion-echoing enemy. It’s a little detail but the way the PC stand-ins are posed, staring up, means that we’re unsure if they’ve seen the other enemies, closer to them, emerging from the haze.
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silversimp · 2 years
Text
A Night In (ReinerxReader)
A short little drabble about dating Reiner <3
SFW-Gender neutral reader-fluff
As usual you had a shit day at work, but at least it's Friday. Annie and Hitch invited you to go out for a few drinks at a local college bar, but you just didn't feel like going. Sure they were your two closest friends, but going to some busy bar just sounded like hell. Plus after a few drinks the two of them get sucked into their own little world, and you just don't have the energy to try to keep up with them.
The only downside to turning down their offer would be that your live-in boyfriend, Reiner, was going out with Bertholdt that night. Though you didn't want to be in a crowd you also didn't want to be home alone. 
In the end, you turned them down and got cozy in some pj's. Reiner was already out when you got home from work, so you brought a pillow from the bed out to the couch and snuggled into it. After flipping around on the various streaming services you've collected you landed on the same anime you've seen probably twenty times now. Funny how that always happens. 
About half way through the second episode you heard the door to your apartment open, a nervous sinking feeling filled your lungs as you slowly turned to see if a murderer was about to come in. 
"You're home?" Reiner walked inside, confusion obvious on his face. 
"You're back early" you smiled, pleased it was your boyfriend and not death. 
"The bar was too loud, " he shrugged, plopping down next to you. He started taking off his shoes and looked up at the TV, "this again?" He chuckled, "do you even need the subtitles anymore?" Reiner leaned back and pulled you against his chest, softly kissing the top of your head as you got comfortable. 
"You can put something else on if you want" you nuzzled into him, barely paying attention to the show now that he was there. 
"I'm close to falling asleep, so just watch whatever you want," he said quietly, slinking back deeper into the couch. In a few moments, the sound of his snoring began to overpower the sound of the TV, with a giggle you turned the show off and decided to join him. 
It was easy to lay him back on the couch, he woke up a little but just smiled and watched as you pulled his legs up and covered them in a blanket. Once he was adjusted you laid on top of him, his strong arms quickly pulling you into a warm embrace. Being wrapped up in his love made it easy to fall asleep, the weight of the day melting away as he provided you with safety and warmth. 
You woke up the next morning before the sunrise and excitedly woke up Reiner to have him watch it with you. Groggy, he got up and started brewing coffee as you checked what time the sun was supposed to rise on your weather app. With two mugs of coffee in hand, Reiner walked out to the balcony to sit with you. The chill of the morning air was whisked away by the coffee, made exactly how you like it and full of love, and Reiner's arms wrapping around you from behind. 
"Sky's so purple" he murmured into his mug before sipping his coffee. You leaned your weight into him as you drank your coffee, eyes glued to the hues of the morning sky. It was the prettiest sunrise you'd ever seen, though maybe what made it so special had less to do with the sun and more to do with the sleepy man softly kissing the side of your neck with hot coffee breath. 
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Neutralised (1994): S01 E01 [1/5]
(Meant to be read like a TV show, or the description of a TV show)
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Warnings: Shitty writing (I'm rusty on television writing), death & dead bodies, 90s fashion decisions (can you tell I don't know what to mention), misunderstandings & perceived abuse, cheesy nicknames, violence & Swearing.
2000 ish words. Please tell me if you want to be tagged.
~~💀💀~~
The scene opens on a graveyard at dawn, a figure holds a shovel and attempts to dig, but the ground is too cold and hard. Next to him is a completely black golf-cart type vehicle.
A small subtitle appears at the bottom of the screen, it reads 'January 1st 1994, Chicago, Illinois'.
As the camera gets closer to the figure we can see them in more detail, blonde hair and glasses wearing a denim shirt and jeans under a dark brown winter coat, along with black boots, the faint hint of stubble colours his jawline in a tint of gold. This is Caleb 'Cal' willow, head grave-digger, 32 years old, British-American, six-foot tall and good-looking even though he doesn't wish to be anyone's eye-candy.
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The figure (Cal) stops, leaving the shovel standing straight up in the frozen ground as he leans on it and looks towards something off-camera.
The camera shifts to behind the man in denim and we see truck, a beat-up, old, purple, 1989 Ford F-150.
The shot gets closer and the couple in the car are suddenly clearer.
The man in the driver's seat is hefty and has a smug smirk on his face, his leather jacket covers a stained off-white tank-top, a baseball cap covers most of his curly brown hair, except for the week-old beard and puts his blue eyes in shadow. This is Lance Carter, an electrician, 30 years old, originally from Mississippi, six-foot-two and a former college athlete.
"You gotta stop trippin' over yer feet, Mona." He grumbles as he leans over to kiss the woman.
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The woman, 'Mona' is paler than her lover, light blonde hair, styled into bangs and a ponytail, and bright blue eyes contrast with her black painted lips and dark crimson eyeshadow, her red V-neck sweater vest and black long-sleeve shirt show a hint of cleavage and a black heart necklace. Her bangs barely hide a poorly covered bruise from that earlier morning. This is Monday 'Mona' Duke, the youngest grave-digger, 26 years old, born and raised in Eloia, five-foot-one and deceptively lean.
"I'll try not to, my Lancelot. I'ma go hand Cal his coffee, I love you and I'll see you later." Mona whispers, kissing his cheek and pulling away to get out of the truck.
Mona takes a set of three paper cups and a black satchel bag with her, the camera shifts to show her walking, with a slight but noticeable limp on her right side, towards Cal, his figure standing in the graveyard, and we see she's wearing black cargo pants and black heavy boots with inch-thick platforms on the bottom.
"Bram not here yet?" She calls as she walks over.
"Not yet, Mona, waiting for the call to say he's got religious reasons." Cal breathes out a cloud as he sighs, happily taking a cup from his female co-worker.
"We should have taken today off, but then again, you don't care about New Year's Day, and I don't want to be in the same apartment as my dumbass boyfriend."
"Go send Prince Charming away then, Princess." Cal chuckles softly.
Mona jogs back to the car, which isn't easy with her limp being made worse by the freezing weather.
"Lance, I'm at work now, you can leave."
Lance leans out of the window to kiss Mona, when they pull away a man can be seen between them, about six feet from the car.
The man is tall, broad shoulders with a black trench-coat draped over them, his pale blue jumper clashes slightly with the dark green colour of his trousers, and the maroon brown shade of his boots. His curly black hair comes to rest just above his dark brown eyes and aquiline nose, his scowling lips are framed by a neatly trimmed goatee. This is Abraham 'Bram' Machado, the tallest grave-digger, 30 years old, born and raised in Idaho, six-foot-three and easily angered.
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He glares at Lance as the man drives away, his rage vanishes as he looks at Mona.
"Morning, Mona, sorry I'm late Cal… car troubles." The tallest member of the trio nervously explains, gesturing to his car parked neatly in its place, the only hint of damage is a cracked passenger window.
"Lateness I expect from Mona, not from you, Bram." Cal huffs as he once again tries to dig the frozen dirt.
Mona limps a couple paces before sitting in the black golf-cart.
"Are you doing okay, Mona?" Bram raises an eyebrow in concern, taking a swig from the final cup of coffee to hide the scowl on his lips.
She nods, taking a sip from her coffee before she turns to scan across the graveyard, her eyes widen when she spots something.
Cal gestures for Bram to put his drink down and focus on the work. Bram nods but stares at Mona as he continues working.
"Excuse me, sir," Mona starts walking towards a slumped figure, "you can't sleep out here, you'll catch your demise, mister?" She pokes the figure with her foot, dropping down to check their pulse.
Cal and Bram stop and silently watch as Mona slowly stands and starts carefully walking backwards towards them.
"Monday, are you alright?" Cal's voice waivers slightly as he starts to realise what the lady grave-digger has seen.
"Monday, come here, you shouldn't look at that. Mona, Mona come here." Bram pulls Mona towards him, making her squeak as her smaller frame collides with his chest, he shields her body with his.
Cal grabs his phone from his back pocket and dials a number, the scene starts to fade out as Cal says, "Hey, Boss…"
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The next scene fades in, an office, cramped and claustrophobic.
An older gentleman, his black hair balding, short of both stature and temper, wearing an all black suit more at home in the 70s, along with black leather gloves on his hands. He sits at an old wooden desk and shakes his head as he grabs a small pile of paperwork.
"These are your witness reports," He looks at the trio, annoyed at them, "I'm not letting you three get off of work just because you found a body. Miss Duke, shift's over, I'll see you later. Out." The older man, Mr Mortimer according to the name plaque on his desk, grumbles in an Italian accent, waving the three grave-diggers out of his tiny office.
They step out into a larger room, past a young black man sitting with his feet on his desk reading 'Funeral Monthly', and through another door into what almost looks like a gothic hotel lobby. At the desk sits a larger, blond gentleman, downing an energy drink with an obvious 'I don't want to be here' attitude.
Cal strikes up a conversation with him with a casual, "Hey, King." Then the conversation fades into background noise.
"Hey, Monday… Are, are you sure you're okay, Mona?" Bram whispers as he sits down with her on one of the benches in the lobby.
"Yeah I'm fine, Bram, it's nothing I haven't seen before," She shrugs, "Lance should be here soon to take me to the café anyway." Mona's voice is a mile a minute, it's clear that this is just how she talks, fast-paced with little time to relax, as is her lifestyle.
But at the mention of Lance, Bram's soft, caring smile drops, replaced with a scowl full of hate as he hunkers down, placing his forearms against his thighs, he glares at the entrance and his jaw clenches tight, hands already balled into fists.
He's shaken from the mist of blind anger by Mona gently patting his shoulder as a gesture of thanks.
Mona heads outside, lighting up a cigarette as Bram stands, stopping himself from following her, he waits for Cal to leave first.
Bram glares at Lance as Mona kisses her boyfriend and leaves with him, Bram continues glaring until he can't see the truck anymore.
"Drop the glare, we have work to do. You can fight him when Mona isn't around him," Cal nudges Bram's arm, "c'mon Romeo."
The two men climb into the golf-cart and head back to the grave they were digging.
Meanwhile, Mona and Lance share an awkward moment of silence before Lance huffs a hefty sigh.
"Are we gonna talk about it?" He grumbles.
"What? The dead frozen guy?" Mona raises an eyebrow at the gruff tone of her boyfriend's voice.
"No, Mona. Are we gonna talk about him, the tall guy you work with?"
"Bram? What about him?" She shrugs, not understanding the question.
"He glares at me, every time I drop you off or pick you up. Hell, Mona, he glares at me when I visit you at work."
"He's just protective, it's not every day that someone shows up with bruises and a limp."
Mona checks her hairline in a compact mirror, showing the bruises, which can't be older than a week or less, she attempts to cover them with makeup and fixes her bangs to hide them again.
"I know that, but it's every time, not just today." Lance slams hard on the horn and silently mouths a couple curse words at another driver.
Mona jumps at the noise of the horn, Lance notices and takes her hand to press a reassuring kiss to the back of her palm.
"I didn't realise that, Lancelot, but pay him no attention. I'm your girl, not his." Mona whispers as Lance parks the truck.
As soon as Mona steps out of the truck, the back door of the café swings open and a young man, in white clothes and an apron, with jet black hair comes rushing out, stopping when he sees Mona and rushing over to hug her.
"Fry, down baby brother, down." Mona chuckles softly.
Fry puts his hands up and takes a step back, "Estelle's here. She's mad at Angelo."
"Why's she mad at Angelo for?"
As Mona steps through the door the camera follows her and when it swings back the screen goes black.
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The scene fades back and the camera raises diagonally out of the grave Cal and Bram have been digging. Cal and Bram have both ditched their jackets by this point, Cal's denim shirt has sweat stains in the armpits. Bram is in the process of taking his jumper off, revealing a long-sleeved beige undershirt and suspenders.
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"So, what's the deal with you and Mona?" Cal asks, watching as Bram's shoulders drop as he sighs.
"The deal with me and Monday," Bram murmurs as he places his jumper in the cart, "From the day she got hired, I thought me and her would be friends, or maybe more, but she doesn't see me in that way. If she truly wants Lance, then the lord better fix him fast." Bram grumbles as he avoids looking Cal in the eyes.
Cal goes to speak, falling silent as both men look towards the sound of tires screeching to a halt.
Lance's truck pulls up beside the row of headstones, the driver's side door swings open and he steps out, scowling as he looks at Cal and Bram.
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The passenger door swings open and a young, golden haired man in a dark blue security uniform steps out and rushes over to Lance's side. The name tag on his chest reads 'Kane Carter'. This is Kane 'K.C' Carter, the day-shift security guard, 27 years old, the younger brother of Lance, five-foot-nine and a man who is usually late due to being a heavy sleeper.
"Piss off, Kane." Lance growls, taking off his jacket and throwing it onto the seat before slamming the car door.
"Lance, don't. Think about what Monday would want." K.C tries to push his brother towards the car as Lance storms towards the grave-diggers.
"Don't you dare." Cal whispers as he pries Bram's hand off the shovel, chucking both potential weapons in the back of the cart.
Bram stands his ground, glaring daggers at Lance as the, slightly shorter, tall man advances.
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alectoperdita · 1 year
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i’m watching love between fairy and devil on netflix. i do think kaiba should be cursed to be nice to jounouchi and nurture his heart and feel his emotions and fall in love with him because he’s learned to be a human being again in jounouchi’s presence. i want a thousand fics just like that
I just looked up the synopsis for that one, and oh boy! Patricide? Forced psychic/mystical bond? On top of everything else you described? That is one delicious setup for this ship. <3
Gotta admit reading that did inspire me a bit. I didn't have time to watch the show itself (will maybe give it a try when I have the time to read subtitles), but I took a stab at writing a short drabble inspired by that premise. I'm sorry if I've missed the mark due to my unfamiliarity with the original source material, but I hope it entertains you.
Flower imagery, classical Chinese poetry, and plenty of footnotes ahead.
🌕🌻🌕🌻🌕🌻🌕🌻🌕🌻🌕🌻🌕🌻🌕🌻
The Moon Supreme.
What a pompous title for a pompous blowhard.
With a name like Kaiba, he should've been one of the Dragon King's retinue. But otherwise, the epithet was a fitting one for the ethereal being—cold, distant, and unfeeling. And if the legends bore truth, a cold-blooded killer down to his core.
All that stood between the tall, imperious creature and the destruction of the Three Realms was Katsuya. Plain, old Katsuya, the lowest of the blossom xians [1]. While the others of his kin bore heads of lovely reds and blues and purples, as vibrant as plum, peony, irises in bloom, his hair was colored yellow like wheat.
Hay-head, the other blossom xians had mocked him in their youths.
Nor was he delicate and slim-limbed. His arms were sturdy as tree trunks, his palm as broad as lotus pads. His face, perhaps handsome enough for mortals, didn't carry the same dignified features that greater painters drove themselves into a frenzy to capture.
Hardly beautiful.
A xian in mere name.
His temper flared. He kicked a stray stone into the pond, disrupting the reflection that gazed up from the water.
"You're moping." A deep voice piped next to him.
Katsuya jumped and spun to face the intruder that dared to impinge on his solitary reflection. Speak of the devil. Kaiba loomed, a lanky monolith in his ice blue hanfu, in the shadow of the nearby willow tree. The slender vines and verdant leaves swayed in the warm breeze. The same wind ruffled Kaiba's chestnut locks, pulling back the curtain of long bangs to bear his ocean blue eyes.
The verse rose within Katsuya's mind, unbidden.
"Green, green, the riverside grass, Dense, dense, the garden willow." [2]
Kaiba arched an elegant brow at the sudden couplet, but he answered with the next lines.
"Dainty is the maiden upstairs, Shining bright through the window." [3]
Just as quickly, Katsuya's mood soured again. Dainty maidens, his ass.
Kaiba winced. A grimace cracking the flawless marble of his handsome face.
Faintly, Katsuya wondered how the man processed those feelings of inadequacies that didn't belong to him. A superior asshole like Kaiba probably never felt deficient, even before he sacrificed his ability to feel emotions. But he pinned Katsuya as moping before, so he learned enough to put a name to that feeling.
Perhaps their time together wasn't a complete waste. Kaiba could learn, however slowly. But would it be enough to stave off his thirst for vengeance?
He turned his back on Kaiba, bending down to sort through the stones on the rocky banks. Kaiba hung back, safe from the mortal realm's sun under the willow tree's protection. It took a few seconds, but Katsuya finally found a suitable flat stone. He wound his arm back, throwing all his strength into launching the stone across the water's surface. It skipped no less than a dozen times before sinking into the center of the sizable pond.
Pride bloomed in Katsuya's chest before it withered twice as quickly.
That finally spurred Kaiba into action.
Katsuya listened as the man stomped forward, grabbed his elbow, and hauled him to his feet. Soon, he was dragging him away from the riverbed and uphill toward a grassy knoll.
Katsuya fought. But even his strength failed when matched up against the Moon Supreme's stubbornness. "What are you doing? Lemme go!"
Kaiba did not let him go. He seemed intent on bodily dragging Katsuya, if it came down to it.
"Where are you taking me?" he snarled.
This time, Katsuya threw a punch with his free hand. It collided solidly with Kaiba's shoulder, and had he been something other than a cold-blooded bastard, it would've hurt. But as it was, he merely shrugged off the hit.
"To the city. To feed you. Distract your simple mind with simple amusements. Whatever needs to be done to rid you of this wretched malaise," Kaiba spat out past his gritted teeth.
"Leave me alone. Maybe I wanna mope. Maybe I want you to feel as bad as I do!" he shouted.
With teeth bared, Kaiba stopped and spun toward him. He dropped his inhuman grip to Katsuya's wrist and squeezed. Were Katsuya not divine or weaker in constitution, it would've crushed his bones. Instead, his wrists twinged.
"As long as I'm stuck with you—as long as we're entangled like this—I'll do what I must. You don't get a choice," snapped Kaiba.
Katsuya glared back. He supposed if another of his kin were subjected to this, they'd burst into tears. He'd do no such thing, though. "You still don't get it, do you? You can't just force people out of their bad moods. You can't just snap your fingers and make them feel better. Especially when the only reason you're trying is for your own sake!"
Theirs was a wretched arrangement. It may be Kaiba's curse, but Katsuya was being no less punished for it. It wasn't fair.
Everyone expected Katsuya to fail. That hurt more than anything.
Never being enough.
His pain sharpened. Kaiba grunted and dropped his hand like hot coal. Katsuya hugged his wrists close and sank to the ground again.
He stared at the grass, heaving heavy breaths. "You think I wanna feel like this? You think I enjoy this?"
Kaiba said nothing. His feet remained locked in place on the periphery of Katsuya's vision. "Then why won't you let me make this better?"
"Because this isn't something you can fix. You can't fix me, Kaiba. You can't make me a proper blossom xian," he muttered.
The wind picked up again. A lark sang in the bushes. They said nothing to each other in the wake of Katsuya's declaration. The pain dulled to an ache inside Katsuya's chest. A worn and familiar feeling that pressed on his heart.
Grass crunched as Kaiba shifted. To his surprise, Kaiba joined him on the ground. "Who's to say you're not a proper blossom xian? You are one because it's your nature."
His gaze snapped up to Kaiba's face. "Please, you've seen me, you've seen the others. I mean, just look at this—" He tugged a tuft of yellow hair at his temple. "The color's so plain. So common in flowers. They used to call me 'hay-head.' Some of them still do."
"Chrysanthemums are among the Four Gentlemen," argued Kaiba. [4]
Chrysanthemums also came in shades of white, pink, and violets. But as soon as he opened his mouth to argue, his temple stung. He gaped as Kaiba withdrew his hand with several strands of Katsuya's hair clasped between his lithe fingers.
Kaiba looked him straight in the eyes, entirely serious and without a hint of mocking. "You're the only blossom xian I've spent time with. As far as I'm concerned, you're the only proper one."
Something in Katsuya's chest fluttered.
An odd expression flashed across Kaiba's face. He surely felt it, too. Without breaking eye contact, Kaiba transferred the hairs into his palm and made a fist before drawing from his considerable well of qi. Katsuya stiffened, alarmed by the overt use of power. But he was even more shocked by what Kaiba revealed when he unclenched his hand.
A sprig of osmanthus blossoms in the exact shade as Katsuya's hair. [5]
His breath hitched when Kaiba next spoke, low and melodious in his recitations.
"A pale wash of light yellow, gentle in substance and character. Aloof by nature, yet its fragrance carries afar. What need is there of light cyan or pale red blossoms? This one ranks first among all the flowers." [6]
Despite himself, warmth flooded Katsuya's cheeks. He could only dumbly accept the flowers when Kaiba offered them to him. He could feel the frosted bite of Kaiba's qi within them. But it didn't make them any less beautiful.
A slow smirk spread across Kaiba's lips. It was impossible to hide the fact that Katsuya was charmed when he literally felt what Katsuya did. But Katsuya couldn't find it within himself to be annoyed or mad. He twirled the sprig in his fingers.
"Is there really an osmanthus tree on the moon?" he asked instead.
Kaiba's smile turned mysterious. "Perhaps you'll find out one day."
------
[1] I've never been very hot on the translation of xian to fairy. Not that I have a much better suggestion, but thankfully, the rise of western C-Drama fandom has made it easier to use the original terms.
[2] [3] Translations of lines 1-4 of 《青青河畔草》 from 《古詩十九首》, an anthology of classic Chinese poems with no attributed authors. Lines 1-2 were taken from Pleco’s translation because I really like their alliteration. Lines 3-4 was translated by me since I couldn’t find better ones. ^^;;;
青青河畔草,鬱郁園中柳。 盈盈樓上女,皎皎當窗牖。
[4] The Four Gentlemen are the plants most commonly depicted in traditional ink paintings. They include the plum blossom, the orchid, bamboo, and the chrysanthemum.
[5] Osmanthus flowers are often associated with lunar legends in Chinese tradition. It's said that an osmanthus tree grows on the moon, which is why Katsuya asks Kaiba that at the end of the story. It was just too perfect of an association to pass up! Jounouchi's blond! Kaiba's from the moon! It writes itself!
[6] Ronald Egan's translation of a poem about osmanthus flowers by Li Qingzhao.
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