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LITG S5 — Volume III E08 Script

!Spoilers Ahead!

Loose Lips

Two unlikely Islanders look to be cracking on in a kissing challenge.

——————————————————————————————

NARRATOR: Welcome back to Love Island, where Dana just admitted she wants to get to know [MC]’s ex!

NARRATOR: The last time I made such a sudden 180 I got 3 points on my licence and a stern talking to!

NARRATOR: Dana’s face has gone ex-tremely red as she thinks she’s in for a similar telling off.

NARRATOR: Let’s find out if she’s right!

You're on the bean bags with Dana, who’s just dropped some big news: She wants to crack on with Suresh!

DANA: [MC], so what do you think about me cracking on with Suresh?

DANA: I know it might be weird.

DANA: Your best friend in here, getting to know your ex from out there.

{If expressed interest in Dana}

DANA: Plus, me getting to know him while I'm still very interested in getting to know you.

{If expressed no interest in Dana}

DANA: Your friend in here, getting to know your ex from out there.

MC: Yeah, when you put it like that...

DANA: What do you honestly think about me going for Suresh?

MC: Honestly…

CHOICE

①. You crack on, girl!

②. That would be TOO weird

③. I don't know how I feel yet. It's too early

①.

MC: Go for it! I get that you want to get to know all the boys, including Suresh.

MC: You should def crack on with Suresh if you're into him.

DANA: Really? You don't mind?

{If expressed no interest in Dana}

MC: I don’t want to stand in your way of finding love.

{If expressed interest in Dana}

MC: We can still get to get to know each other, even if you’re exploring things with Suresh too.

DANA: Phew! I'm so relieved!

MC: Girl, you know what they say: Hashtag crack on!

②.

MC: What?! No, it's too weird!

MC: No way I could deal with watching you crack on with Suresh right in front of me.

DANA: Well, I'd be respectful. I wouldn't jump him right in front of you.

MC: Still. We've all got to live together in this villa. I'd be uncomfortable.

DANA: Well, if that's how you feel.

She doesn't look happy.

③.

MC: I wish I had an answer for you, but it's just too early for me to know how I feel.

MC: This is all a lot, you know?

DANA: Of course. I can appreciate that.

{If expressed interest in Dana}

DANA: But what about us?

MC: I'm unsure there too!

MC: I don’t know if I’m ready to shut the door on you and me!

DANA: So what are you saying?

MC: I guess I'll let you know how I feel when I know?

DANA: Fair enough.

—

MC: Well that was a big chat.

MC: Thanks so much for coming to me with this.

MC: I’m glad we can talk about stuff like this.

DANA: Thanks for being so great about this.

{If gave Dana your blessing}

DANA: It's made me even more excited to crack on with Suresh.

{If expressed interest in Dana}

MC: And you!

MC: I'm excited for that too.

{If unsure about Dana & Suresh}

MC: It will be interesting to see how you get on with Suresh.

Dana beams at you.

{If Dana going for Suresh weird}

MC: I respect that you were honest with me.

MC: I was honest back. Hope you see that, even if you aren’t thrilled with my opinion.

DANA: Well, you're entitled to your opinion.

DANA: Even if it's not great news for me.

DANA: Like my granny says: Life’s as fair as an arm wrestle with a bear.

DANA: I know me being into Suresh might have been a shock. So I want to explain.

CHOICE

①. Go on and spill!

②. It’s none of my business

①.

MC: Good, I want to hear!

DANA: It all goes back to my own ex.

MC: What happened?

DANA: Well, you’ve got more important things to think about. So, I’ll give you the edited version.

DANA: I was starting to catch feelings, which doesn’t happen easily with me.

DANA: I was about to have the girlfriend chat. But then I saw their DMs.

DANA: They were basically seeing everyone in Manchester.

MC: No way!

DANA: So I totally lost my cool and blurted out a load of embarrassing feelings stuff.

DANA: I ended up ugly crying in front of them and their mum. Nightmare.

MC: Wait, their mum was there too?

DANA: Yeah! Really not my coolest moment. Don’t be like Dana.

MC: What does this have to do with Suresh?

DANA: Well, my ex never owned it. I know they’re still doing the same stuff now and hurting someone else.

DANA: Cheaters are everywhere. But someone who owns his mistakes and changes their ways…

DANA: Like Suresh might be doing, could be special.

DANA: I’ve made mistakes in the past and learnt from each one. I want a partner that can do that too.

MC: And you think that’s Suresh?

DANA: I don’t know yet, my head’s a bit all over the place, but I want to find out.

MC: Well, thanks for telling me this. I understand where you’re coming from more now.

Dana looks over your shoulder and waves across the garden at Suresh! He waves back giving her one of his suave, mysterious smiles.

MC: Did you and Suresh already talk about getting to know each other?

MC: I mean, before you pulled me for a chat just now?

DANA: I wouldn’t say Suresh and I had a full-on chat about getting to know each other.

MC: Ok, so what WOULD you say?

DANA: Suresh has been dropping hints that he wants to get to know me.

MC: And what did you say when he sent you these ‘hints’?

DANA: I hinted back that I was open to seeing if there was anything between us.

MC: So lemme get this straight. You and Suresh talked about cracking on BEFORE you came to chat with me?

DANA: I guess we did. I didn’t plan it to happen like this.

DANA: Is this a problem?

CHOICE

❶. It sure is a problem!

❷. No problem

➌. Maybe? I’m not sure

❶.

MC: Of course it’s a problem, Dana. You should have come and spoken to me first.

DANA: I didn’t think it was a big deal.

MC: Of course it’s a big deal! It totally goes against girl-code.

DANA: Sorry! I didn’t think about that.

MC: I can’t with this right now. I need some time to cool off.

❷.

MC: It’s all good, girl.

MC: I wanted to know all about it.

DANA: Oh, phew! I’m so relieved you’re not angry with me.

➌.

MC: I’m not sure how I feel, Dana.

MC: You should’ve spoken to me BEFORE Suresh.

DANA: Yeah, I get that, and I’m sorry. Like I said I didn’t plan it.

MC: I think maybe I need some time alone to figure out how I’m feeling about things.

②.

MC: You don’t owe me an explanation.

DANA: I really want to tell you. I think you’ll understand when I give you all the deets.

CHOICE

❶. Give me the deets!

❷. Not interested

❶.

MC: Alright, you’ve twisted my arm. Tell me everything!

(directs to scene above from choice ①)

❷.

MC: I don’t need to know.

—

You leave Dana on the bean bags, a sudden awkward tension between you.

——————————————————————————————

Later, you're enjoying a quick nap on the sun loungers when Kat subtly nudges you awake.

She's lying next to you on the sun lounger, wearing big, dark sunglasses and a hat. She whispers to you.

KAT: Close your eyes.

MC: What?

KAT: Shh! Close your eyes and keep them closed, like you're sleeping.

MC: I WAS sleeping before YOU woke me up.

KAT: Babe, forget your nap! Don’t look, but Alfie and Finn are by the pool dishing hot goss...

KAT: About you.

MC: Me?

KAT: Yeah. Listen.

You listen in to Alfie and Finn's conversation.

ALFIE: Lower your voice, mate. They'll hear us.

Finn glances over at you and Kat on the sun loungers. You both pretend to be asleep.

FINN: Relax, man. The sleeping beauties are seriously getting their beauty sleep.

FINN: So, my man. Talk to me. You're into [MC]?

ALFIE: Yeah, mate. She's special, innit?

Omg, Alfie's really into you! You keep listening in, intently.

ALFIE: I'm not sure how to play it with her though.

FINN: Alfie, fella. You've come to the right man.

ALFIE: I don't usually need relationship advice, but this is a tricky situation with Suresh.

FINN: No sweat, man. You're my boy. Time to launch Operation [MC]!

ALFIE: Love it! Thanks, man.

FINN: So listen up. This is serious, man. Your tactic: play hard to get.

ALFIE: Not sure that's my style.

FINN: It's a sure fire way to draw her in. Always works.

You and Kat look at each other. Kat whispers to you.

KAT: It’s a good thing that boy is hot.

KAT: His face and body are grade A, but the stuff that comes out of his mouth sometimes, honestly.

KAT: He’s clueless about what women want. Am I right or am I right?

CHOICE

①. You are SO right

②. No, I think you’re wrong

③. Ummm, I don’t know about that

①.

MC: I don’t always agree with you, Kat, but I’m soooo with you on this one.

MC: Finn is way off on this one. As if that’s what women want!

KAT: One hundred million percent.

Kat hesitates for a second.

KAT: Hey, babe. Look at us getting along.

MC: Hey look at that.

You and Kat share a smile.

KAT: Stranger things have happened, babe.

②.

MC: Kat, you’re way off on this.

KAT: Oh is that so, babe?

MC: Yeah, actually. Finn has a point.

KAT: A stupid point.

③.

MC: I don’t know if I agree with you on this.

KAT: Well you should, ‘cos I’m right. Like always.

—

MC: Sh! We’re missing what the boys are saying.

You listen in.

ALFIE: I'm not gonna resort to playing games.

FINN: Oh Alfie, Alfie. Sweet innocent Alfie.

ALFIE: I’m not into all the head games and plays. That’s Suresh’s bag. I'm gonna be myself.

FINN: That's noble, but it's not a level playing field in here, man. You got to factor in Suresh.

FINN: Suresh is a smooth customer. He'll play dirty to get [MC].

ALFIE: True. He's dining out on that bad boy vibe.

FINN: Come on, mate. Chest up, shoulders back, balls forward. Don’t let Suresh intimidate you.

ALFIE: I won't play dirty, but I won't shy away from conflict with Suresh either!

Kat subtly nudges you again and whispers.

KAT: What are you saying, babe? Time to interrupt their little bro-chat?

CHOICE

①. I'm going to keep eavesdropping

②. Time to crash their chat

①.

You whisper back to Kat.

MC: I'm not done listening in.

MC: I want to hear all the goss I can.

You and Kat stay on the sun loungers, pretending to nap as you eavesdrop on the boys.

ALFIE: Next time I get the chance, I'm gonna try to chat with [MC], obviously, only if she’s up for it.

FINN: I tell you what, man? We're going to accelerate Operation [MC].

FINN: I'll distract Suresh now so you can chat to [MC] without him watching.

The boys fist bump. Finn goes to find Suresh and take him inside.

Alfie comes over to the sun loungers. You and Kat sit up, blinking your eyes open. You yawn and stretch as if you just woke up.

ALFIE: Good morning, sunshines! Good nap, girls?

MC: I was out cold.

KAT: Didn’t you hear [MC] snoring? Hikers on Mt. Everest could hear her.

You shoot Kat a look.

ALFIE: [MC], could we have a chat?

MC: Kat, could you give us a minute?

KAT: Fine.

Kat sassily leaves.

You sit up.

②.

MC: Time to stick my beak into this boy convo.

You walk over to Finn and Alfie and sit down.

MC: So what are we talking about?

ALFIE: Just lad bants.

MC: Such as?

FINN: I was giving Alfie some gym tips.

MC: Really? ‘Cos when I walked over here, you boys looked pretty serious about your chat.

ALFIE: Excuse, me?! Are you suggesting gym tips AREN’T serious?

FINN: How dare you, [MC]! We are very serious about gym tips.

FINN: As I was saying, Alfie, the key is to squeeze the glutes as you bend.

MC: Suuuurrrre. You boys were having a full-on heart to heart about glutes?

FINN: Absolutely. In fact, I’m off to spread the glute gospel. I'm out.

He goes off to find Suresh and take him inside.

—

ALFIE: How much of that did you hear?

CHOICE

①. Hear what?

②. Wouldn't you like to know?

③. I *def* didn’t hear about a certain Operation

①.

You pretend to be confused.

MC: How much did I hear of what?

ALFIE: Of mine and Finn’s chat just now.

MC: I was having a nap.

ALFIE: Good.

MC: Good?

ALFIE: You were spared having to listen to a massive pile of boy bants.

②.

You play coy.

MC: That's for me to know and you to find out.

ALFIE: Oh, really?

ALFIE: Well I am trying to find out. I’m asking you, aren’t I?

ALFIE: I know, I know. I’m such a super sleuth.

ALFIE: So? You gonna give me a clue?

MC: Maybe I overhead some things. Maybe I didn't.

③.

You playful tease Alfie.

MC: I totally didn’t catch anything about any silly boys’ plan.

You smirk.

ALFIE: Oh, really?

MC: Nope, nothing whatsoever about you and Finn plotting to charm me.

ALFIE: Oh good. Because if you did, that would have been incredibly embarrassing for yours truly.

Alfie grins.

—

MC: Go on then. What was so important you were about to wake me up from my nap?

Alfie sits down.

ALFIE: I do want to check in with you, though.

ALFIE: About last night…

MC: You mean your kiss with Kat.

ALFIE: Yeah.

MC: But it wasn’t just the kiss, was it?

Alfie looks sheepishly down at his feet.

MC: You told Kat you only had eyes for her.

{If not turned of Alfie E07}

ALFIE: Last night you said you understood. That it hadn’t turned you off me.

{If Alfie hasn’t helped chances E07}

ALFIE: Last night you said I hurt my chances with you.

{If not sure about Alfie e07}

ALFIE: Last night you said you weren’t sure how you felt about that yet.

ALFIE: How are you feeling now? Do you trust me?

CHOICE

①. Yes, I trust you

②. Sorry, I don’t trust you yet

③. I can’t tell if I trust you or not

①.

MC: I totally trust you, Alfie.

ALFIE: Phew! That is a massive relief.

MC: People make mistakes, but I know you’re a good guy.

MC: I trust you going forward.

ALFIE: You know what you are, [MC]? A top girl.

②.

MC: Trust takes time, and I’m not there with you yet.

ALFIE: I hate that I’ve been stupid enough to lose your trust.

MC: Well, lost for now, at least.

MC: Trust can be lost, but it can also be gained.

③.

MC: I’m still not sure how I feel yet. Trust is hard after what happened.

ALFIE: Fair. I get that. Don’t like it, of course, but I understand.

MC: I need more time to get to see what kind of person you really are.

—

ALFIE: I promise you, [MC]... I’m gonna work overtime to get the trust into high gear.

ALFIE: I feel like we're developing a genuine connection…. Maybe you feel that, too…?

Before you can answer, you get a text!

LITEXT: Pucker up Islanders! It’s time to get your snog on. Please head to the challenge stage for a game of ‘Kiss The Islander Who…’ #GettingLippy #SecretCrush

ALFIE: Maybe I’ll find out in the kissing game.

ALFIE: They say a kiss is worth a thousand words.

MC: That’s not how that expression goes.

ALFIE: Well, if a kiss did equal a thousand words, this challenge is going to be pretty chatty!

——————————————————————————————

You and the Islanders gather on the challenge stage. Your phone chimes.

MC: I got a text!

Dana claps her hands and hops up and down.

DANA: I’m so excited I’m going to explode!

MC: Should I tell you or should I let you squirm a bit longer?

KAT: Cut the joking around and read the text already, babe.

You read it out to everyone.

LITEXT: Islanders, you will take it in turns to pick a card from the board. Written on each card is a statement about one of your fellow Islanders. Please kiss the person you think the statement is about.

FINN: I’m here for it!

SURESH: This is my kind of challenge.

DANA: Mine too!

ALFIE: Watch out, boys. I have an advanced degree in kiss-ology.

KAT: Please. You might be a student, but I’m a pro, babe.

DANA: Let’s go, let’s go! I’m ready to play!

ALFIE: Ladies, form an orderly queue. No pushing or cutting. You all might be lucky to get a turn on Alfie’s-Lips-O’-Magic.

EDDIE: But hopefully, girls, you’ll be lucky enough to avoid kissing a man who refers to his mouth as a carnival ride.

DANA: Awwww, were you one of those kids who got sick on the Ferris wheel, Eddie?

EDDIE: I will neither confirm nor deny that. Focus on the game, everyone.

FINN: I’ll kick us off.

Suresh rolls his eyes.

SURESH: You love being the centre of attention, don’t you?

FINN: That’s just nature’s way, mate. The universe revolves around the sun.

ALFIE: Well, you are full of hot air.

SURESH: And gas.

FINN: Moving on...

FINN: Girls, try to control yourselves. Kidding, that’s Finn-possible around me.

You and Dana giggle. Kat turns to you both.

KAT: No joke. You girls really better control yourselves around my man.

KAT: I’m as serious as a librarian when you get a bit too rowdy.

DANA: This is a game, Kat. Don’t take it so seriously. Right, [MC]?

CHOICE

①. I’m with Dana. It’s all a laugh

②. I’m with Kat. This is no joke, girls

①.

MC: It’s all in good fun.

MC: Can’t take these games too seriously.

DANA: Woman after my own heart.

②.

MC: This might be a ‘game,’ but I’m not going to overlook something just because it took place in a ‘game’.

DANA: You two need some chill.

—

Finn swaggers to the centre of the stage and picks up a card. He reads it aloud.

FINN: ‘Kiss the Islander who has the best chat.’

FINN: Technically, I should kiss Alfie. My man’s a banter-saurus.

ALFIE: Oi! Puns are my thing, geezer.

FINN: Maybe they were, but I’ve been throwing down some sick puns lately.

ALFIE: I taught him everything he knows.

FINN: The student has become the master.

FINN: Anyway, as sick as Alfie’s chat is, I’m kissing a girl.

FINN: This girl can chat me up and down…

He swaggers up to Kat and snogs her. Kat goes full-on tongue!

Kat grins at Finn.

KAT: Smart choice, babe.

Kat takes the next card and reads it.

KAT: ‘Kiss the Islander with the best abs.’

She bats her eyes at Finn. He grins back.

KAT: Only polite to return the favour...

She struts toward Finn but at the last second she gives him the shoulder.

KAT: Politeness is overrated.

She kisses Suresh instead! And Suresh is hardly complaining!

FINN: Whaaaaaaaaat?

When Kat is finally done kissing Suresh, she struts over to you.

KAT: Don't be upset. I'm just playing the game.

CHOICE

①. Don’t wind me up!

②. I’m calm

①.

MC: You did that just to rile me up. Why else would you kiss, Suresh?

SURESH: Because I’m devastatingly handsome. Obviously.

Kat throws up her hands and innocently blinks her eyes.

KAT: How could I not kiss, Suresh?

She lifts Suresh’s shirt.

KAT: There’s no denying those abs are lush.

②.

You just smile at Kat.

MC: It’s chill. I’m not upset.

KAT: Tell that to your face, babe.

—

MC: Sorry to disappoint you, Kat, but I’m not bothered.

KAT: Oh that’s right. I guess you’re used to Suresh kissing other girls.

FINN: Kat! That was savage, even for you.

MC: Whatever, Kat. You can’t get under my skin that easily.

MC: Your turn, Suresh.

Suresh swaggers over and picks up a card nonchalantly.

EDDIE: Bro! I hate to admit this…

EDDIE: Even the way you hold a card is cool.

SURESH: Some of us have a gift.

ALFIE: He looks like a movie star presenting an award.

FINN: Yes, Suresh is a suave fella. We know. Get on with it, Suresh.

Suresh reads the card out.

SURESH: ‘Kiss the funniest Islander.’

Everyone looks at you.

You hold your breath, wondering if Suresh will take the chance to kiss you.

Suresh smiles an unreadable smile. He very calmly and cooly strides past you and kisses Dana!

Dana doesn’t shy away from kissing him back.

Kat elbows you.

KAT: Looks like he’s finally given up on you, babe.

CHOICE

①. Good!

②. Never, and I don’t want him to

③. Maybe he has; maybe he hasn’t. Early days

①.

MC: About time!

KAT: Oh, babe. You don’t have to pretend to be happy about it.

MC: Looks like the boy’s finally taken the hint and moved on.

MC: Suresh doesn’t give up that easy.

KAT: I like a determined man.

②.

MC: This is probably another one of his games. Maybe he’s trying to make me jealous to get me back.

KAT: Maybe it’s working.

③.

MC: I can’t tell if he’s given up or not.

MC: Maybe he really has had his head turned by Dana.

KAT: Dana’s not me, but she is cute.

MC: On the other hand, Suresh could be playing games to get to me. He can be so hard to read sometimes!

KAT: He’s so mysterious. It’s sexy.

—

Dana unlocks her lips from Suresh’s and looks at you.

DANA: Yeahhhhhhh, I just kissed your ex. This is awkward.

DANA: Well, I can see why you liked him, [MC]. Good kisser.

EDDIE: Not that good, though, right Dana?

DANA: Ummm…

EDDIE: Ugh! Is there anything Suresh ISN’T good at?!

KAT: Being faithful?

Alfie laughs, Suresh ignores her coolly.

DANA: And before I dig myself any deeper… Time for another card!

Dana heads for the centre of the stage. Eddie mischievously sprints to the stack of cards ahead of her.

DANA: What’s got into you, speedy pants?

MC: Yeah, what happened to chilled out Eddie?

EDDIE: Chilled out Eddie goes out the window when it comes to sport and games.

EDDIE: Brings out the competitive five year old in me.

FINN: Or maybe he didn’t appreciate his girl getting lipsy with Suresh.

ALFIE: It’s Dana’s turn. She was the last one to be kissed.

DANA: Nah, I want to see the cute, competitive five-year-old go.

Eddie reads the card out loud.

EDDIE: ‘Kiss the Islander with the best body.’

EDDIE: Hey, Suresh, watch how it’s done then.

Eddie comes to kiss you!

CHOICE

①. Turn away and deny him a kiss

②. Let him have a cute little peck on the lips

③. Give him a full-on snog

①.

You turn your face away from Eddie.

MC: Sorry, Eddie. Not happening at the mo.

SURESH: Oohhhh, Eddie, mate. That’s gotta sting!

MC: Ignore him, Eddie.

MC: I may not have snogged you, but everyone knows you’re a handsome fella.

②.

You let him peck you sensually on the lips. Eddie beams with pride.

EDDIE: That’s how it’s done, boys!

SURESH: That was hardly a game of tonsil tennis, Eddie.

MC: Ignore him, Eddie.

EDDIE: He’s just jealous.

③.

You go in for a full snog. You part your lips and give Eddie a long, juicy kiss.

FINN: Oo! Suresh, man, you got shown!

SURESH: Whatever. It’s just a challenge.

EDDIE: Don’t be jealous, Suresh.

—

Dana laughs.

DANA: Boys are so competitive. Ok, it’s finally my turn, after Eddie so childishly stole mine.

She picks up a card and reads it aloud.

DANA: ‘Kiss the Islander you fancy most.’

DANA: Watch out, boys. The girls are back in the driving seat.

The group cheer her on. Everyone except Eddie, who looks a little anxious to see if she picks him.

DANA: Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Dana skips over to kiss you!

FINN: This challenge is heating up!

CHOICE

①. Snog

②. Peck

③. Jokey smooch

④. Cheek kiss

①.

You give Dana a long, sexy kiss. When you two part lips, you smile coyly at her.

MC: Nice lips.

DANA: You too.

Suresh nudges Eddie, playfully teasing him.

SURESH: You catch that, pal?

EDDIE: Yeah, yeah.

②.

You meet Dana’s lips with a tasteful peck.

DANA: Nice style, [MC]. Give a girl just enough to leave her wanting more.

DANA: I like a classy gal.

MC: Got to keep some things to the imagination.

Suresh nudges Eddie, playfully teasing him.

SURESH: That turn you on or make you jealous?

EDDIE: Both.

③.

You give Dana an over the top, jokey kiss on her neck. Dana laughs and gives your neck an equally hammy smooch.

Everyone laughs except Eddie. Suresh playfully nudges him.

SURESH: Don’t tell me you’re upset about that, pal.

ALFIE: Here, Eddie. So you don’t feel left out…

Alfie jumps on Eddie, wrapping his legs around him. He nuzzles in Eddie’s neck pretending to kiss him. Eddie plays along.

④.

You give Dana a kiss on the cheek. She looks a little disappointed but laughs it off.

—

Alfie excitedly rushes up to grab a card.

ALFIE: ‘Kiss the nicest Islander.’

Everyone awws. Finn gives Alfie a wink.

FINN: Remember Operation [MC]?

Alfie goes for a full snog.

CHOICE

①. Snog for the win!

②. Peck on the lips

③. Brush him off

①.

You passionately press your lips against Alfie’s, wrapping your arms around his neck.

FINN: My man!

②.

You kiss Alfie back, just letting your lips caress against his.

DANA: Awww, cute.

③.

You give Alfie your cheek, denying him a kiss.

FINN: Walk it off, fella!

—

MC: My turn!

You go and collect a card.

MC: ‘Kiss the Islander with the best hair.’

EDDIE: Not to brag, but my hair is very popular with the ladies.

KAT: Oh really, babe? Was there a survey?

SURESH: If there was, I’d have come out on top.

DANA: So, [MC], who do you want to snog most?

CHOICE

①. Suresh

②. Alfie

③. Finn

④. Eddie

⑤. Dana

⑥. Kat

①.

You walk over to Suresh and look into his eyes.

CHOICE

❶. Passionate snog

❷. Peck on the lips

❸. Kiss on the cheek

❶.

You snog Suresh passionately. Most of your fellow Islanders gasp and whoop in surprise.

MC: Sometimes you gotta shake things up.

SURESH: I‘m stirred, not shaken.

❷.

You peck Suresh on the lips. He looks happy but seems like he may have hoped for more.

❸.

You peck Suresh on the cheek, he looks a little disappointed. Most of the Islanders seem to have expected more fireworks.

②.

You walk over to Alfie and look into his eyes.

CHOICE

❶. Passionate snog

❷. Peck on the lips

❸. Kiss on the cheek

❶.

You snog Alfie passionately letting the moment take you. Most of your fellow Islanders whoop. When you release Alfie from the kiss, Finn squeezes Alfie’s shoulders.

MC: Sometimes you gotta shake things up.

ALFIE: I‘m very stirred up.

FINN: My man! Operation [MC] is a go!

Suresh rolls his eyes.

SURESH: Boy being the key word there, not man.

Dana pokes Suresh in the ribs, playfully.

DANA: Maybe you need to grow up, Suresh. You’re sounding a little jealous.

❷.

You peck Alfie on the lips. He looks happy but you sense he may have hoped for more.

❸.

You peck Alfie on the cheek, he looks a little disappointed. Most of the Islanders seem to have expected more fireworks.

③.

You look the boys over, grinning mischievously. Finally, you go to kiss Finn.

CHOICE

❶. Passionate snog

❷. Peck on the lips

❸. Kiss on the cheek

❶.

You snog Finn passionately letting the moment take you, he doesn’t hold back. Most of your fellow Islanders whoop, Kat glares at you.

KAT: Oi!

MC: What? Finn has the best hair.

You run your fingers through it.

KAT: Hands off, babe.

She pulls Finn away from you.

FINN: I can’t help that I have the luscious locks of an Irish Thor-male model hybrid.

ALFIE: In-Finn-itely better than any of ours.

SURESH: Speak for yourself.

He runs a hand through his own hair. He tries to play it cool, but you think maybe he’s jealous of Finn.

FINN: Pun master Alfie is back!

Alfie laughs it up, but you sense he’s masking some hurt.

❷.

You peck Finn on the lips. He looks happy but you sense he may have hoped for more.

KAT: Oi!

MC: What? Finn has the best hair.

You run your fingers through it.

KAT: Hands off, babe.

She pulls Finn away from you.

FINN: I can’t help that I have the luscious locks of an Irish Thor-male model hybrid.

ALFIE: In-Finn-itely better than any of ours.

SURESH: Speak for yourself.

He runs a hand through his own hair. He tries to play it cool, but you think maybe he’s jealous of Finn.

FINN: Pun master Alfie is back!

Alfie laughs it up, but you sense he’s masking some hurt.

❸.

You peck Finn on the cheek, he laughs it off. Kat looks relieved.

④.

You look the boys over, grinning mischievously. Finally, you go to kiss Eddie.

CHOICE

❶. Passionate snog

❷. Peck on the lips

❸. Kiss on the cheek

❶.

You snog Eddie passionately letting the moment take you, he doesn’t hold back. Most of your fellow Islanders whoop, Dana looks a little surprised.

KAT: Where did that come from?

MC: Got to keep everyone on their toes.

MC: Besides, Dana can stand a little competition.

DANA: Do I look worried?

She’s being jokey, but you think that she actually does look a little worried.

❷.

You peck Eddie on the lips. He looks happy but you sense he may have hoped for more.

❸.

You peck Eddie on the cheek, he laughs it off but you can tell he’s stung…

⑤.

You walk past the boys and go to kiss Dana.

CHOICE

❶. Passionate snog

❷. Peck on the lips

❸. Kiss on the cheek

❶.

You snog Dana passionately letting the moment take you, she doesn’t hold back. Most of your fellow Islanders whoop.

Most of the Islanders cheer you on.

KAT: Yeah, more Dana, less Finn, please [MC].

❷.

You peck Dana on the lips. She looks happy but you sense he may have hoped for more.

KAT: Yeah, more Dana, less Finn, please [MC].

❸.

You peck Dana on the cheek, she laughs it off but you can tell she’s stung…

⑥.

You walk past the boys and go to kiss Kat.

CHOICE

❶. Passionate snog

❷. Peck on the lips

❸. Kiss on the cheek

❶.

You go to snog Kat, who kisses you back happily. Most of your fellow Islanders whoop.

❷.

You peck Kat on the lips. She happily pecks you back.

❸.

You peck Kat on the cheek, who grins at the boys.

—

Suresh interrupts the moment by clearing his throat dramatically.

SURESH: You know what they say. Save the best for last.

He reads out the last card.

SURESH: ‘Kiss the one girl you'd want to take home to meet your family.’

All eyes are on you, including Suresh's.

Suresh swaggers over to kiss you.

CHOICE

①. Bring on the kiss!

②. No thanks!

①.

You tilt your head up to his. You close your eyes and pucker up. His lips meet yours

KAT: That’s twice now, you two!

CHOICE

❶. It feels so natural

❷. Omg, it's exciting!

❸. This feels weird

❶.

You kiss him back. You two immediately slip into your familiar style of kissing. He nibbles your lip, just like he used to. Kissing him feels comfortable.

ALFIE: Well this isn’t awkward at all.

❷.

You kiss him back. You immediately feel a spark. It's so exciting to taste his lips again.

KAT: You look like you liked the taste of that, [MC].

❸.

You scrunch up your lips. The kiss feels weird. You're not into it, so you pull away. Suresh steps back.

ALFIE: Well that could have been worse.

②.

You turn your head to the side, avoiding his kiss. Suresh quickly steps back.

SURESH: Fair enough.

EDDIE: That’s twice, bro. Stinger!

SURESH: Stop chipping in, Eddie.

—

When you pull away, you see everyone is watching you and Suresh.

SURESH: The answer had to be you, [MC].

SURESH: I've already introduced you to my family, and they adored you.

He's speaking so honestly.

SURESH: You seemed so close to them. The way you made pancakes with my mum. How you helped my little sister with her homework.

SURESH: Even Pickles, the cat who hated everyone, curled up on your lap.

Suresh is being frank and vulnerable in front of everyone.

SURESH: My family is tight and don't let many people in, but with you… They hung up a stocking for you every Christmas.

You look at your fellow Islanders, they haven't seen this side of Suresh before.

They looked moved... except maybe for Alfie.

SURESH: They loved that you’re as strong and bold as they are. They considered you family.

DANA: Aww!

KAT: Yeah, even I give that an ‘aww.’

KAT: And I don’t ‘aww’ lightly.

SURESH: My family fell in love with you. Seeing that made me fall in love with you even more.

Kat dramatically throws her hands in the air.

KAT: Ugh! Stop! You’re gonna give me a cavity with all the sappy sap.

DANA: That is super sweet. [MC], aren’t you going to say something?

CHOICE

①. You sure can put on a show

②. You really sound like you care

①.

You give Suresh a slow clap.

MC: You always could put on a show.

ALFIE: A hammy performance, if you ask me.

EDDIE: I wouldn't have done the things Suresh did, but even I can tell he's being genuine here.

②.

You study Suresh's face.

MC: You sound so... sincere.

SURESH: I am.

MC: I haven't thought about the good times in a long time.

SURESH: No matter how badly we ended, you can't deny our history, the connection we shared.

You notice Alfie looking jealous and maybe upset.

—

Everyone watches you, unsure what to say, or what will happen next.

ALFIE: Well, this is awkward.

KAT: Yeah the villa vibe’s going to be interesting after all the sap Suresh just spilled.

Suddenly embarrassed, Suresh legs it back to the villa. Alfie hurries after him.

ALFIE: I think we need a chat, geezer.

Dana rushes over to you.

DANA: What do you think Alfie's going to say to Suresh?

You hear raised voices coming from the villa.

ALFIE: Oi! Don’t walk away from me, Suresh!

You all rush over to see the commotion.

——————————————————————————————

You and the other Islanders rush into the garden to find Alfie and Suresh arguing.

ALFIE: You’re a player, Suresh! A game player and a manipulator!

SURESH: No one talks to me like that!

ALFIE: You used the challenge to get in [MC]'s head about your past.

ALFIE: I’m not buying this sudden sensitive act!

SURESH: It’s not an act! Now get out my face.

Both boys’ tempers are about to boil over.

CHOICE

①. Oi, pack it in!

②. Talk it out like adults, boys

①.

You run over to Suresh and Alfie.

MC: Break it up!

SURESH: Why don't you tell Alfie to grow a pair.

ALFIE: YOU grow a pair, Suresh! You’re a joke.

②.

MC: Enough! Both of you!

MC: You two need to talk through this stuff and squash it once and for all.

Suresh and Alfie ignore you and stare at each other.

—

Finn and Eddie hurry over and pull Alfie and Suresh away from each other. Kat rushes over too, thirsty for the goss.

Finn and Kat go to calm Alfie down, while Eddie leads Suresh away from the commotion. With the other Islanders distracted, Dana gently pulls you aside.

DANA: Sorry, this timing sucks, but I didn’t get to ask you earlier and I don’t want to leave it any longer.

DANA: Did you mind me kissing Suresh?

CHOICE

①. I actually did

②. Heck no, girl!

③. I’m not sure

①.

MC: I didn’t like having to watch that.

MC: I’m upset that you kissed him.

DANA: I get that.

MC: I know I gave you my blessing to crack on in our chat this morning.

{If gave Dana your blessing}

MC: But when I actually saw you two kiss, I hated it.

{If Dana going for Suresh weird}

MC: I can’t believe you did that after our chat this morning.

MC: I told you that’d it’d be too weird for me to see you and Suresh cracking on.

{If unsure about Dana & Suresh}

MC: I can’t believe you did that after our chat this morning.

MC: I told you I wasn’t sure how I felt yet. I thought you were going to give me time to get my head sorted before you cracked on.

DANA: I’m sorry, [MC].

②.

MC: You do you, girl!

MC: You kissed him in a challenge. I can’t get upset over it.

DANA: Thanks, [MC]. Relieved to hear that.

{If gave Dana your blessing}

MC: I gave you my blessing to crack on in our chat this morning, and I meant it!

{If Dana going for Suresh weird}

MC: I told you that’d it’d be too weird for me to see you and Suresh cracking on.

MC: I really thought it would, but when it happened in the challenge, I was ok with it.

{If unsure about Dana & Suresh}

MC: I know I said in our chat this morning that I wasn’t sure yet how I felt.

MC: Well, seeing you kiss Suresh actually helped me figure out how I feel.

MC: Turns out, it’s not a big deal for me.

③.

MC: I don’t know how I feel about it.

MC: It’s not everyday you watch someone kiss your ex.

DANA: Totally get that.

{If gave Dana your blessing}

MC: I know I gave you my blessing to crack on in our chat this morning…

MC: But now I’m not so sure that was the right thing to have told you.

{If Dana going for Suresh weird}

MC: I told you that’d it’d be too weird for me to see you and Suresh cracking on.

MC: I really thought it would, but when it happened in the challenge…

MC: Well, now I’m not sure how I feel.

{If unsure about Dana & Suresh}

MC: I said in our chat this morning that I wasn’t sure yet how I felt.

MC: I wasn’t expecting you to crack on with Suresh until I’d figured things out and spoken to you again.

MC: You kissing him in the challenge has left me as unsure as I ever was.

—

You hear Alfie and Suresh kick off again. You and Dana rush over to see Alfie and Suresh glaring at each other.

KAT: This is ridiculous.

SURESH: He’s ridiculous! Hasn’t got a clue but keeps sticking his nose in!

Alfie looks ready to reignite the row.

SURESH: Move on, Alfie.

ALFIE: You’re the one who needs to move on, geezer.

SURESH: Shut up, will you, geezer?

KAT: Suresh, babe, he might be right?

SURESH: What?

KAT: All this agro with you and [MC]? You seriously need to cool it now.

Kat isn’t messing around and Suresh calms slightly.

KAT: You two need to hear this and no one else is gonna say it right now. You’re exes for a reason.

KAT: And if you think it would ever work like it used to after all your drama, soz babes, but you’re dreaming.

KAT: Going back to an ex might feel right, but it ain’t. Trust me, I’ve done it enough.

Everyone waits awkwardly for someone to speak, Suresh takes this in.

KAT: Seriously, Suresh, don’t you think you’d be happier if you forgot about [MC]?

Everyone stares at Suresh. You could hear a pin drop.

SURESH: I never thought I’d say this but… maybe I would be.

The Islanders are shocked. Even Suresh seems surprised by what he’s just said.

Suresh storms off. Meanwhile, Finn takes Alfie aside for a cool-down chat.

Eddie turns to you, Kat, and Dana.

EDDIE: Bro, I think Suresh is actually for real. This is, like, a new leaf for him.

DANA: Seriously? After his emotional trip down memory lane just then?

KAT: There's only one way to find out...

KAT: Put him to the test.

Kat follows Suresh into the villa, her hips swaying. You wonder if Suresh has given up on you finally… and if he will crack on with Kat?

NARRATOR: Well, that escalated faster than the time I Mansplained Mansplaining to a girlfriend. She’s now an ex. Weird.

NARRATOR: Anyhow, Alfie’s unsure whether Suresh’s sensitive side is genuine. And Suresh is unsure whether to move on from [MC].

NARRATOR: Come on guys, have some conviction like me! Or not. It’s up to you.

NARRATOR: But with Kat putting Suresh’s intentions to the test, how will the unpredictable ladies man respond?

NARRATOR: Find out in the next episode of Love Island.

#litg #litg 2 #litg s5 #litg season 5 #litg ex in the villa #litg spoilers #love island the game #fusebox games #Well I'm exhausted #At this point Suresh has been mentioned so many times he's going to crawl out of my screen at any second #My sanity is waning send help

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givehimthemedicine · 8 months

Text

a few more bloodstain thoughts: Brenner / Test Room 2 edition

(this is an easier one and there's no crime scene pics, fear not)

TLDR; main takeaways: 1) the blood on Brenner is screwy and 2) there's possible evidence of two unknown players entering Test Room 2 while Brenner was unconscious

I don't get Brenner's shirt blood any more than I get One's shirt blood

sir, why and how are wounds on the right side of your face bleeding onto your left collar? you don't appear to be injured there. like at all.

"maybe it dripped when his head was turned-" he hasn't bled enough for it to even run down to his chin. also, he woke up like that.

he would've had to be vertical when these drips happened. but the door knocked him right down, and he hasn't stood up yet, and the blood is already there.

"what if those aren't drips, but transfer?"

ok sure. could be. he does hug Ten's bloody face, after all. that's a great way to transfer blood.

but he hugs Ten into his right shoulder. and, we see it doesn't transfer any blood.

but those stains are sooo transferry. suspiciously like he already did hug Ten on his left side when the blood was fresher. blood tracks down his face and dripped onto his chest would line up decently with the Brenner shirt blood.

no matter how you explain it, the events that put that blood on Brenner's shirt are missing.

and something about them both having blood on their left collar is. idk. I mean One's is spatter and Brenner's is either passive or transfer so they def happened differently but still. I'm itchy

whose blood is on the EEG machine?

obviously, somebody fell and hit the sharp metal corner of this EEG machine.

but we saw Brenner get hit straight on by the door. his face wounds should just be from the door. he didn't spin around and hit his face on this thing too.

arrow pointing to the corner that winds up with blood on it. just to understand its position in the room.

it's possible the door knocked Brenner back and the cart spun a little and he hit his head on that corner of that thing. but the back of his head isn't bleeding. his hair is white enough that we'd see it easily.

could be Ten's blood I guess, although he wasn't very directly in the blast path. I suppose the blood puddle under the EEG net is a vote for that - OOPS no, wait, we get a very good look at Ten's head and it's not bloody, nor is the back of his gown.

can that EEG tell us anything else?

the paper feeds out continuously, in fact it's still on and feeding out a flat line reading when Brenner wakes up.

we know it flatlines when you take the thing off your head.

I'll bet some smart person could take the rate at which that paper comes out and approximate how much paper is coiled up on the floor and do the monster math about how much time has elapsed. not me tho

I'd like to know another means of measuring how much time has elapsed. because according to the RR clock, 45 minutes pass between Brenner taking Ten for lessons and Brenner coming into the RR to say "what have you done". but that clock doesn't always tell the truth. so idk.

Test Room 2 and the cat room

there is that cage in the background.

and that is the same EEG as El's in the cat scene. like the exact same one, you can tell by these dings in the paint:

@henrysglock you've just been all over Test Room 2 - what do you think about this being the same room?

I mean, It's Not. the hallways outside these two rooms aren't remotely the same, and the whole s1 and s4 labs are wholly different. but I mean like, in a timelines way...? is there anything here?

(no point really, I'm just throwing things at the wall. I don't know why but I want this to be the room El drew)

Test Room 2 doorway blood stain

in pondering james' creature attack theory I was wondering whether I could blame the same impact that blew the door in for leaving that blood stain. in other words, could a creature have physically busted that door with a swipe of a bloody hand.

I'm gonna say no, separate event, because

the door looks bent in the middle (looks at the sparks fly off that center hinge), not so low to the ground. if force at the bottom blew the door off it wouldn't have flown in top-first when it hit Brenner

if the blood goes as far in as the stop moulding, it would have touched the door too, had the door been closed when that happened. I don't see any blood on the door

so this blood got transferred after the door was off.

I wanna know who or what was bouncing from wall to wall all down these halls sooooo bloody but not bloody enough to leave blood trails on the floor.

say you're mortally wounded and dragging yourself aaaggh down the hallway, leaning against the wall because you can't stand upright, and you pass across an open doorway - wouldn't you tend to kinda fall into it?

maybe no one slid across it. maybe it fits better with someone getting dragged into it, kinda like this:

of course then we're missing other evidence that should go along with that idea though (you'd think there might be bloody hand streaks on the floor; Ten's and Brenner's hands aren't bloody) (can I blame this on El's bloody hands?)

this other doorway-oriented bloodstain also looks like someone with bloody hands being dragged towards the doorway/into the room, but once again the dead occupant's hands are clean:

we know SOMEBODY entered Test Room 2 and killed Ten while Brenner was knocked out. but the killer wouldn't be the bloody hands person, because the bloody hands person was dragged in there against their will. the killer would enter freely, voluntarily.

so if those are hand-grab-smears on those doorways, that gives us TWO unknown entities entering those rooms.

why are there no footprints?

boy they really wanted me to see what it looks like for a demodog to bust down a metal door. and granted the prison door is probably a lot heavier than the lab door, but it took him a few tries and the door didn't seem to dent.

anyway going to get that gif to compare to the Test Room 2 door caused me to notice this demodog leaving its bloody footprints on the floor. Russian demogorgon also has very bloody hands and face after killing.

we can conclude from the massacre stains that at least one person, somewhere, is VERY injured and catastrophically bleeding. if I blame this on a creature, that means said creature is also very bloody. which made me realize I don't see any creature tracks in the lab.

this is not anti-creature-theory though, because there are other creatures besides demodogs, and because whatever dragged Billy didn't leave tracks, and because I also don't see bloody shoeprints even though we know there were many people present.

like, especially this splatter in the RR for which the easiest explanation is that somebody stomped in it. where did that person's next step land?

(lol 007 please come to a full and complete stop. you are dead.)

NOBODY stepped in ANYTHING? this feels staged. I mean, it is. but staged-by-the-lab or something too.

#I mean I guess that isn't that remarkable #there are only so many test rooms in the lab #givehimthemedicine analysis #mine #massacre stuff #lab stuff #tw blood #bloodstain pattern analysis #martin brenner #btw I'm intentionally NOT studying the details of yalls theories when making these blood analysis posts #because I don't want to go into these with conclusions already in mind I'm just letting the evidence point where it may

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ace-aro-taku · 2 years

Text

Kuro 193 In Depth

So this will be more of my further thoughts on the details and some theories of what's going to happen in this Arc.

Welcome to the F.O.L. Orphanage aka Funtom Orphan Lab!

Replica

At this point now, this orphanage is a replica of the Phantomhive Manor.

The staircase, a window where the family portrait should be, too elegant for an orphanage. This was def. R!Ciel's base of operation (literally coming back to life type operation and learning now to be human again).

Blood Test

So I figured there was going to be a blood test as this manga is focusing on blood types (which is also a common thing in Japan much like horoscopes) but now there is an aptitude test?

Snake has every right to be curious since really Sebastian only taught him and Finny the basics. But then when he asks and she looks at him, already something is up when she says

Appropriate answers? Like how intelligent someone is or is this for mental health? Almost as if they need a certain brain capacity to function.

Somehow, this "aptitude" is tied in with blood meaning there must be a certain trait for this experiment for the Bizarre Dolls to work. If they are healthy and lack a "sickness" to be taken in. Or like I said, something with their mental health.

Edit: It's possible that Finny and Snake's blood don't match the blood they are 'harvesting' thus failing this 'Aptitude' test. So they could be missing an enzyme or a specific cell count, etc.

I need to theorize more on this.

P R E C I O U S

Snake

There are 2 ideas I have in mind for Snake in this Arc.

He is going to have to kill Doll or ask Finny to do it

Or, he's going to realize O!Ciel lied to him this whole time, betray him, and run away with Doll

I'm leaning more towards option 2 of Snake running away since so far there isn't a sign of Shinigami around.

I am happy for Snake, but at the same time, shit is going to hit the fan. Finny is downright terrified and I hope scared for Snake.

Circus & Doll

Aw yeah we are back in my fave Arc!

So Doll is either a legit Bizarre or she just wasn't all the way killed back when O!Ciel went and burned Kelvin Estate where Doll found them and is still alive. But because Sebastian was there, she was most likely killed in the fire or again, almost dead, enough for Sebastian to confirm and then Undie came in and took her.

Which leads to possibly, the fresher the dead body, the easier it is to make a Bizarre Doll.

I do feel bad for Finny because seeing Doll and the Circus possibly coming back to life, that he sees it as a mission failed.

So he knows who she is and upon hearing Doll hearing his name, the knife is twisted further for her in O!Ciel's lies.

There's still more to uncover in this chapter so I look forward to others' ideas, thoughts, and theories.

#kuro 193 #kuroshitsuji 193 #kuroshitsuji spoilers #black butler #black butler 193 #black butler spoilers

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stelladess · 6 months

Text

Since I had not seen anyone do a breakdown comparing Schwarz and Typhon I decided to do some math because I personally think that Typhon shares more the same roll (on skill 3) as Schwarz does as opposed to Rosa who is more crowd control then pure damage, obviously on skill 2 Typhon is more of a laneholder so Im not comparing that, im not including Pozy for the sake of my brain, might do a comparison later but from other people´s analysis I already know Pozy has higher damager then Schwarz except against very high defense enemies (with things like attack down and enemy defense buffs making Schwarz more and more valuable) The math coming here might not be fully accurate (decimals are a thing), but the point here is more to illustrate a rough estimate mostly for my own benefit and I do not think most people need to know exact numbers down to the last digit for general play or even most high difficulty play. This all assumes fully upgraded on both, max trust, M3, etc. and Schwarz module Y because it has higher damage then module X (which gives her some fast redeploy and support utility for snipers instead) Also as a reminder the physical damage formula basically means that enemy defense is a flat minus to the outgoing attack damage value, there are some good videos out there explaining the way you count damage in this game (the channel Yii has a two parter on it), this is not the most rigorous and double checked math session, I am merely doing some quick math for the sake of helping inform people (and for my own sake) about how good Typhon is at what she does. Also because I think its fun.

Schwarz atk 940+120=1060 1113 while attacking enemies in front (all of them on skill) (has 105% atk while attacking in a line in front) +1908 on skill 2968 atk on skill Does 170% damage on every hit while on skill (talent triggers 100% of the time on skill) 5046 damage per hit with a 25% def shred 2 second attack interval on skill DPS is 5046/2=2523 against a 0 defense enemy

Typhon atk 1045+110=1155 1155+90=1245 Ignores up to 60% defense atk upped to 2117 during first hit on skill on a target 5 hits for 175% damage each arrow rain 2178 damage per hit on the arrows except first hit which is 3704 on hit If all 5 hit that is either 10890 or 12416 against 0 defense enemy (each hit would get lowered by defense individually as they are separate hits) 2,4 second attack interval, 3,1 interval increase on skill for 5,5 interval DPS is 10890/5=5445 against 0 defense enemy after the first burst EDIT: This was incorrect here, its not divided by 5 it should be 10890/5,5=1980dps This actually impacts the end result as it means Typhon has LOWER DPS then Schwarz instead of higher, I still think that Typhon is overall the stronger unit for the reasons I put in later but it means Schwarz is even more still totally viable So done right, Typhon is better? While I do think she is overall better due to ease of use, ammo skill and can better deal with higher defense (60% ignore vs 25% shred) and more of her skills being worth mastering... There are certainly still advantages to Schwarz For one, each of Typhon´s individual hits get their damage lowered by defense, so the bigger ignore could be argued as mainly to make up for that (would need to more calculations to know who wins out against really high defense enemies as such). Also more importantly since her 5 hits will hit random enemies in the range large groups of enemies can absolutely wreck her damage, this is easily fixed by gamebreaker units like Texas the gangstar or Mlynar in most situations though, but it is worth keeping in mind. She also needs to hit multiple times before she gets her maximum ignore while Schwarz has it guaranteed on each hit. Furthermore Schwarz can ignore physical dodge and she gets her skill back faster (she has like 50% uptime on her skill potentially), wether that or the ammo skill is a more useful benefit will of course vary depending on the situation. I do think the dodge ignore will prove quite valuable in certain situations but it may be something people will often ignore because most enemies do not have any dodge. EDIT: Forgot to mention it but Schwarz doing def shred instead of ignore CAN in certain situations be a big benefit as other units benefit from it and not JUST herself

#arknights #typhon arknights #schwarz arknights #mathknights #i promise dodge ignore is actually really good #its the main advantage of true damage #typhon would be balanced if not for nukers

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wolfblood-of-anubis · 11 months

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somethings to say about the Nina tribute video:

i originally planned on her video maybe being 5 minutes long

def was not my plan to have a 15 minute video. (14:50 if you wanna get technical)

wowza.

and im STILL missing the uncut version (yep there's more!)

but im honestly okay with it bc well the thing about nina is that she had SO much going on:

navigating a new school and residence, dodging false accusations from an angry girl, meeting this mysterious woman that sends her on a quest, becoming the de-facto leader of a new group and people looking to her for what to do next, sarah dying, hearing voices around the house, thinking she may be going insane, rufus zeno threatening not just her life but her friends’ lives as well, learning she’s the chosen one and assembling a magical cup all in less than five minutes, an evil spirit threatening her life and now her bf’s life and now her friends’ and grandmother’s life unless she finds some mystical mask in a set of tunnels under the house, accidentally hexing her friends leading to alfie regressing to a child and baby; and amber aging to a very scary point, choosing to put on the mask of anubis in order to save her friends and gran’s lives which meant her going into the field of rushes and just flat out die basically. all the while deal with romance drama and joy’s villain era.

so to put all of that in a five minute video would not suffice it nor do her justice

i did try and do parts for each song

power of the mind is and always will be a nina song, it was the first song i picked out for her and i just think it really fits her

like the first song is mainly her introduction, the most important bits like meeting sarah, getting the locket, her parallels to sarah and her ingenuity as well as smarts and recklessness too, just her character overall and then we slowly moved to chosen one stuff in the next song and then senkhara's hold over her as well as why she wants the mask after that

i didnt show a lot of rufus going down bc it's nina's story to tell, rufus is a whole other thing and at the end, i really tried to focus on nina specifically

that being said, it does end with fabian (and amber) missing her, the last bit of her being the hand written letter (not the locket, that's another thing entirely) i wanted to focus on something nina did rather than what she was given

i used imovie for the software, dont really have anything to say about it bc its free for me so i dont really know other video editing software *shrug*

the penultimate song (the way by zack hemsey) was almost this song called dwell on dreams and i changed it bc it was just too uplifting, like nope, we gotta go down darkness right now

i listened to like eight different songs trying to decide what fit fabina in the end, and i think last kiss by taylor swift really does summarize them in majority, if anyone else has another song please let me know

there’s seriously enough recorded content to make a senkhara video im ngl

also a victor video would be fun too but i’d have to go back and record his scenes again bc i was mainly focused on sibuna stuff

at one point nina’s video has over 54 minutes of content. yep. (thats not including the fabina scenes. in total it should come around to an hour and thirteen minutes. yep.)

15 doesnt sound like a lot now, does it?

i just realized while i didnt end up publishing it on July 7th, i managed to get it out there on July 17 which i think is a fun win!

my favorite part of the video is prob when vera asks victor “what is it about that girl? she makes you nervous, decidedly nervous.” i love it, i wished more characters talked about nina and what she can do, like idk rufus or some of the teachers smth like “dont underestimate them. especially nina martin.” and shit.

like for example in the s1 ending for HHA victor’s on the phone w the real bad guy or whatever, and he’s asking who’s responsible for all this shit and victor answers, “Her name… is Nienke. Nienke Martens.” or smth like that i cant remember

the next video is Alfie’s and i hope his does remain with five minutes bc the song i have for him is perfect and unlike Nina he does have one direct line of evolution from class clown to traumatized to untrustworthy sibuna to brave sibuna, proving to us and to his friends but most importantly to himself that he’s the bravest sibuna no matter what.

#house of anubis #hoa #sibuna #nina martin #nina tribute

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caltropspress · 10 months

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RAPS + CRAFTS #17: PremRock

1. Introduce yourself. Past projects? Current projects?

My name is PremRock, I’m a solo artist but ½ of ShrapKnel, ¼ Wrecking Crew. I’m currently working mostly with Backwoodz Studioz, but also with Ockham’s Blazer in conjunction with Fake Four and will always put out projects on my own when I deem that fit. I’ve been releasing music since 2010 I suppose officially.

2. Where do you write? Do you have a routine time you write? Do you discipline yourself, or just let the words come when they will? Do you typically write on a daily basis?

I would say the best way to describe my process is chipping away. I am always thinking of phrases and “bars” so to speak and often don’t have control over when they come. For that, it’s on the notes app and later I’ll comb it for things I feel are usable or something to expand on. I work a full-time night job so days off typically start late but I like to use them for the bulk of writing practices but the muse often strikes at late hours. Deadlines make things different and are absolutely necessary and most are self-imposed. I wish there was more of a routine or structure but the schedule is a balance between carving out time through discipline and when inspiration strikes.

3. What’s your medium—pen and paper, laptop, on your phone? Or do you compose a verse in your head and keep it there until it’s time to record?

iPhone notes, Gdocs, pen and Moleskine in that order. My iPhone notes are full of couplets at all times. Typically I will try to compile them all into one place at some point, but they are pretty piecemeal at first a lot of the time.

4. Do you write in bars, or is it more disorganized than that?

I just write and hopefully it fits a four count. I’ll work it out either way.

5. How long into writing a verse or a song do you know it’s not working out the way you had in mind? Do you trash the material forever, or do you keep the discarded material to be reworked later?

I think pretty soon at times and sometimes it’ll take months. I don’t think I ever trash anything forever. Good writing should find a home.

6. Have you engaged with any other type of writing, whether presently or in the past? Fiction? Poetry? Playwriting? If so, how has that mode influenced your songwriting?

Playwriting is a def. Or screenwriting rather. I have a couple outlines of screenplays I pick up and put back down depending on my mood. I think it’d make for an exciting second act (pun!?). Fiction I think plays a role in that. I’ve mostly sought out fictional work when I’ve read, save for autobiographies or historical things that interest me. Poetry and rap are pretty intertwined to me so perhaps down the line I’ll compile a list of things that don’t fit the song structure I’m into making. Who knows? A lot is certainly on the table.

7. How much editing do you do after initially writing a verse/song? Do you labor over verses, working on them over a long period of time, or do you start and finish a piece in a quick burst?

I always revise and edit. At least once but usually twice and sometimes more. This all depends on what the work calls for. A guest verse will typically see less revisions simply because the assignment is often laid out in plain terms so I grasp it quickly. Solo work will be revised more as I whittle down a lot - I write too much there it needs refinement. ShrapKnel or Wrecking Crew stuff comes easiest. Spirit of both competition and collaboration makes the work really enjoyable and easy. I labor over solo stuff more than I would like. Maybe I’ll change that!

8. Do you write to a beat, or do you adjust and tweak lyrics to fit a beat?

Def write to a beat unless it’s a weird circumstance but couplets are always being written and sometimes when I’m at work so they’ll be grafted and fit to a beat later. No writing is definitively assigned to a particular beat unless it’s very clear at first or that’s the distinct job I have to do. I will move verses around if I see that fit.

9. What dictates the direction of your lyrics? Are you led by an idea or topic you have in mind beforehand? Is it stream-of-consciousness? Is what you come up with determined by the constraint of the rhymes?

A theme will carry and pallbearers vary.

I love a strong idea and interconnectivity. Death, love, life are heavy so if I address those I like to build trusses to support my claim. A lot of it is stream-of-consciousness for certain. It’s interconnected in my mind for a reason and sometimes that reason isn’t clear at first. It takes time to see why I thought of that. All of it makes sense to me in its own way. Even if it starts out very knotty I like to untangle it. When you’ve been rhyming for a long time, rhymes appear as guardrails and sometimes accidentally. It’s up to you to keep, polish, or discard, I suppose. Some people can write a 100 songs a year and they all sound like they’re keepers. I don’t really work that way, but I suppose if people heard a lot of what I cut they’d ask why I cut it. My answer would be rooted somewhere between “vibes” and “quality control.”

10. Do you like to experiment with different forms and rhyme schemes, or do you keep your bars free and flexible?

I don’t believe in 16 bars. Unless that’s what you pay for or ask for. I don’t believe in a lot of structure in general. When the rhyme is finished the rhyme is finished, but I understand metrics and not everyone should go beyond 16 bars simply because there’s not more to say in an interesting way. But I think we are past the point or need for defined structure. Just write until the writing is finished to you. Jazz and prog rock began taking things far out and you should take things as far as you feel.

11. What’s a verse you’re particularly proud of, one where you met the vision for what you desire to do with your lyrics?

I am definitely proud of “Gravity Falls” on the most recent ShrapKnel album (that people have heard, that is). Felt like I captured a very particular mood and stylistically took some chances. Sometimes that connects and sometimes it doesn’t, but here it did. Certainly validated by the fan and peer response!

12. Can you pick a favorite bar of yours and describe the genesis of it?

Nobody planning to leave…Context to come in '24.

13. Do you feel strongly one way or another about punch-ins? Will you whittle a bar down in order to account for breath control, or are you comfortable punching-in so you don’t have to sacrifice any words?

Whatever best serves the record. Twenty years from now you will be awarded no points for one-takes, only the quality of the records you left behind.

14. What non-hiphop material do you turn to for inspiration? What non-music has influenced your work recently?

Phil Elverum, David Berman, Big Thief, Japanese Breakfast, lots of SAULT...Jason Isbell, Alton Ellis.

Ocean Vuong...Kurt Vonnegut, Clarice Lispector…recently.

15. Writers are often saddled with self-doubt. Do you struggle to like your own shit, or does it all sound dope to you?

It's because we are sensitive to everything. The good, bad, beautiful, and hideous. We are also the most observant. That’s a dangerous cocktail in general. Couple that with societal pressure to conform to something we are not and a self-imposed barometer hard to match and you have a struggle on your hands. I labor over my work, but ultimately I have a healthy respect for myself and my output. So when I doubt myself, I don't languish for long. I hope others who struggle get there too. Most writers have great triumphs and poignant lulls. The triumphs are a reminder of your brilliance. I try to hold onto those.

16. Who’s a rapper you listen to with such a distinguishable style that you need to resist the urge to imitate them?

Would say Saafir but that’s past tense…I think. I used to imitate unwittingly in freestyles. Perhaps early Del was one, and the way Tash from Tha Liks rode beats, plus Daz. Always fancied myself an East Coast rhymer with West Coast sensibilities. Like stepchild of Wu and Hiero…Boot Camp…Death Row.

Current? I think I am a pretty good appreciator of art at this stage of my life. I can observe and admire without picking up tendencies. I feel bad for people who say they can’t listen to much music while creating because it will influence theirs. I think that’s part of the point. You’re not supposed to jack their style. Rather, it’s like one of those sticky-hand things kids used to play with, but except for dust, dirt, and grime, you pick up bits of inspiration and process it through your filter. Nobody has or can change your filter.

17. Do you have an agenda as an artist? Are there overarching concerns you want to communicate to the listener?

My agenda as an artist is to be remembered as a writer who took the craft very seriously and left behind a wealth of work to sort through. It’s to be remembered as a kind spirited artist who sought to empower others if I was lucky enough to get the chance. It’s to have practiced tolerance, inclusion, and used the privilege I’ve had in a way that hopefully spread this exact sentiment. To be useful in the tool of collaboration and have seen a great deal of the world and left behind an imprint that you remembered. To have been as great a performer as I possibly could be. Maybe, folks leave the show and know they have to get to the woodshed. As grandiose or idealized as that sounds, that is what I want. I want people to feel proud to have known me. And above all I want people to have said, “He sure was a motherfucker with the pen.”

RAPS + CRAFTS is a series of questions posed to rappers about their craft and process. It is designed to give respect and credit to their engagement with the art of songwriting. The format is inspired, in part, by Rob McLennan’s 12 or 20 interview series.

Photo credit: Edwina Hay

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yourolddunsparce · 4 months

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Benny the Butcher - Everybody Can't Go

Y.O.D, signing on,

WE ARE SO (kinda) BACK BABY

Alright, before I get into this, I gotta apologize for not dropping part 2 of my other post. I got like zero interaction and was massively discouraged, but after talking with other tumblr people I learned a very valuable lesson. Reblog all your shit. I told myself I was going to react to this album as soon as I could and not wait for the weekend, and I've had it on repeat for all of my work day, so I'm massively excited. Especially because I quite enjoy this album! This will act as my first "review", but I don't have the musical knowledge nor background to elaborate on what I really want to describe, so I'll be saying a lot of "I like this, I don't like this". If you want some actual in-depth critique from a huge Griselda fan, go watch B-Side Rap Reviews when he eventually drops a reaction video, if he even does. He's not a particularly huge fan of Hit-Boy, so he may skip on this all together, but who knows? It looks like he still has to react to Boldy James's latest project as well, but I like his content, so I hope he does. Let's get back into this though, for real.

(EDIT: Okay fine, I dropped it Saturday, sue me)

Background

As a small introduction, you should know that Benny the Butcher is an absolute fraud, because his real name is Jeremie. Carving out a niche in Buffalo, NY with his cousins Alvin and Demond, he's since started his own label, Black Soprano Family. The majority of his output for last year were features with many of his B$F crew, as well as some higher profile appearances on various projects with his Griselda brothers and a Smoke DZA + Flying Lotus collaboration album (I still need to check that one out). This followed up a huge 2022 when he dropped the latest installment to his critically acclaimed Tana Talk series, culminating in Griselda Records collectively receiving their first ever GOLD certified record. Safe to say, the Butcher has kept busy these past couple of years, especially with the crafting of his Def Jam debut in the new album. Originally set to release as early as August of last year, it got pushed back to this first month of this year. With dual production from Hit-Boy and The Alchemist, it's easy to be concerned with the lack of credits from Daringer and the Griselda stable of producers fans are used to hearing. As you'll soon find out, however, it makes for a mostly solid debut album on his first major label, so I think it all worked out well enough! No, we will not be talking about his mediocre Freddie Gibbs beef.

Track by Track

Jermanie's Graduation - The first Alchemist beat, and holy shit does it hit. Benny the Butcher has quite frankly never missed on intro tracks, and this is no different. A classic piano loop accompanied by a 3 minute verse and no hooks, Benny at his finest. He spits about his come up and keeping his clique together (and emphatically dispels any rumors of leaving his Griselda ties behind on his path to the mainstream), going from the streets to private jets as he flows over the beat. I could definitely do without the poop bars though ("So I'm shitting around these pussies just like a all-gender restroom"), but it's a top tier intro track that sets up new listeners for what's to come while exciting Griselda fans.

BRON - The first Hit-Boy beat, and probably my favorite one, but I don't think it holds much of a candle to Alchemist's beats. You'll see my point later on, but the layered horns make you bounce in your seat while Benny flexes about rich people things. Third single off the album, but I'm confused as to why it wasn't the first. Lebron has been seen vibing out to Burden of Proof and many other Benny projects before, dropping this as the first single probably gets this much more hype then the Lil Wayne feature. I know he's probably going to post a clip of him working out to this though, this track bangs hard.

Big Dog (w/Lil Wayne) - The big single off the album, I like just about everything except the hook and the outro. Benny and Tunechi are sliding on this beat with no effort, and Wayne especially delivers a great verse. The sample sounds like this synth being reversed accompanied by clattering piano chords that pop in occasionally. Not my favorite Alchemist beat, but the dog barks he adds lend to the theme well. The only thing I'm really caught up on is that stressed hook, I'm not convinced Benny can make it work. I especially dislike the outro being a refrain of the hook, and I don't think it adds much to the track, but overall it's an enjoyable listen. Wayne shouts out the Suns too, but they're barely clinging on to the 6th seed, come on.

Everybody Can't Go (w/Kyle Banks) - By far my least favorite track, it's a definite skip for me. The actual song itself isn't that bad, but I think the chipmunk sample is tuned up way too much, to the point where it actively annoys me. It sounds eerily similar to Burden of Proof's Thank God I Made It, which is where I think most of my frustration comes from. It's got a better sample, a better hook, and Benny delivers a sweet tribute to both his mother and shouts out his deceased brother Machine Gun Blak (a very important footnote in Griselda history). Not that this track's lyrical content is lacking, but he's setting himself up for some terribly aged bars depending on this year's election cycle ("Know ima win, like the election if Trump run again").

TMVTL - Griselda fans, this is the one. Vintage storytelling from the Butcher on a double beat switch from The Alchemist. Benny switches up his flow in the first beat switch before reverting back when the second one rolls around, and the eerie soundscapes provided let him tell some haunting stories, with a repeating sentiment of trust over love in some chilling bars. It really turns up in the third half, when he's rapping about himself in third person in a story mirroring a real-life incident where he got shot in the leg. I'm not sure if Benny's done any post release interviews to confirm my speculation, but it would add another layer to the highlight of the album if it were intentional. If you're not into Hit-Boy and the mainstream direction Benny may be headed, this is the first track you'll want to hit up.

Back Again (w/Snoop Dogg) - Probably tied for my favorite hook on the album with a little help from the Doggfather. Snoop doesn't pen an actual verse, but his catchy hook fits in this bass driven beat, courtesy of Hit-Boy. The drums hit nice, and the little xylophones in this sample bring this shit together. Nothing special from Benny as far as rapping here, but he flows well on the track for a solid performance. I wish Snoop could have dropped a verse at the end to cap everything off, but I've now added "boogie" back into my lexicon, so thank you Snoop. I could easily see this track sliding into Burden of Proof, and it's a nice change of pace being placed immediately after the grimy TMVTL. Dub for the sequencing.

One Foot In (w/Stove God Cooks) - 2nd single off the album, and it is a damn shame we don't have Stove on the hook. The adlibs Benny throws in the hook feel way too wordy to work, I think keeping the empty space between his bars would have been fine. Either shorten the adlibs or have Stove come in, but it really takes the song from potentially being great to being just good for me, like with Big Dog before. Everything else about the track is great though, and I love hearing Stove over Hit-Boy as opposed to drumless loops or chaotic Conductor Williams beats (I love Conductor though, check out his new video on his YouTube channel). His verse is funny as hell too, and Benny continues to display his chemistry with Hit-Boy in the beginning verse.

Buffalo Kitchen Club (w/Armani Caesar) - THEY AIN'T FUCKIN WITH LIZ AND THE BUTCH. Tied with Back Again for my favorite hook, I think this is probably my favorite track on the whole album. Armani Caesar fucking murders the hook, and she has a nice verse before Benny comes in to finish the job. I'm not generally a fan of sex bars in general, especially if they're older dudes (looking at you Drake, Nas), but Benny doesn't try to hammer it in, and it feels natural with his flow. This is also probably my favorite Alchemist beat on the song, the bass is absolutely perfect with those piano loops. Low key would add this to the workout playlist as well, but I'll be bumping this regardless.

Pillow Talk & Slander (w/Babyface Ray & Jadakiss) - I've listened to this song maybe 20 times now, and I still don't know what to think about it. It is by far Benny's best hook by himself on the album, I feel like he should lean more into simply 4 bar hooks then try and do what he did on Big Dog and One Foot In. I understand he wants to get in his bag though (And he really does try his hardest, believe me), and he's really showing off his versatility throughout the entire album. The beat itself is this chopped string sample with some hi-hat stutters and a piano? I feel like I've heard this melody in JRPG before, but I know I'm wrong. Babyface Ray is a really interesting artist to me, he could easily have shown up with fellow Michigander Babytron on Lyrical Lemonade's latest album, but he's clearly a big Griselda fan. He has Westside Gunn on his latest album, Summer's Mine, and he's also featured on an Alchemist project as well. Even with those influences, however, his music has stayed predominantly in the trap soundscape, so he sounds right at home with Hit-Boy's production, and he holds his own next to Benny and fucking Jadakiss. Jadakiss's voice sounds like it's steeped in gravel, but it makes his bars more menacing as he snags the third verse of the track. I honestly still don't know how much I love this track, but I do enjoy it nonetheless.

How To Rap - This beat came straight out of Roc-A-Fellas vault. I love the throwback, and this synth sample is super sick. This bass kind of hits like a whoopee cushion though, I know FL has to have better sounds then that. There's also a very faint cowbell sound you can hear, and it's kind of bugging me out, but it's still a nice beat. If anything, Jadakiss should've probably hopped on this joint, and even at 2:42, it still feels like a short track. Benny is still bringing his A-game though, and it makes for another good track coming to the finish line of this album's tracklist.

Griselda Express (w/Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine & Rick Hyde) - To air out a personal grievance I have with this track: Where is Conductor Williams? You got a track named "Griselda Express", you have Benny talking about "the Griselda train not stopping" (which happens like 16 times in the outro), and it's not produced by the dude whose entire shtick is being a Conductor?! No, I don't care if he's not actually a conductor, you're telling me we could've had these 4 on this immaculate shit?!

Anyways,

Solid track, even if it isn't the classic Griselda Big 3 (sorry Mach-Hommy) cypher you're used to on their albums. Benny, Rick, and Conway all do their thing while Gunn takes the hook (WHY I SHOOT LIKE THAT x24), which they've done in the past on Benny's projects. Personally, Rick Hyde doesn't do much for me, and I'd be okay with cutting his verse so you could make Gunn's hook slightly more tolerable. I understand putting your people on though (even if How To Rap is right there), so he's alright with me. It isn't my favorite Alchemist track, but if you're producing for a cypher, it's best for the beat not to be too busy, so I get it.

Big Tymers (w/Peezy) - Alright, this is going to be the main talking point of this album, I fear. Griselda fans, please proceed with caution, because that is Benny the Butcher using autotune on this hook. I honestly don't mind it, personally, but I'm also not sure if it actually enhances the hook either. I guess he's trying to compensate for not having the range of Mach-Hommy or the charisma of Westside Gunn, but even with auto tune, it's a super low energy hook that's almost hard to hear. Still, it's a decent track, and it definitely showcases Benny's ability to flow on trap beats (not that it was ever in question) (I know it's not an actual trap beat but it's so SICK). I had no fucking clue who Peezy was before this, but he does well enough, I think. Maybe this shouldn't have been the closer track, but I also don't know where else you put this on the tracklist.

Overall Thoughts

This was the only GIF I could find here with Benny in it, but why does Jay-Z look so perturbed? Did he forget his laundry? Is this when he found out Beyoncé knew he cheated?! That's a clean suit though, no lie.

I don't know what Benny's looking for in his career at the moment, whether it be going mainstream or simply making music he wants to make easier now that he's with Def Jam. If it's going mainstream, I think he could have definitely done a few things differently (I'm sure this dude has J. Cole on speed dial), but if he's just dropping music? Fuck it, let him do his autotune hooks. I think this was a solid project that's going to put a lot of eyes on Griselda moving forward, just as Gunn's AND THEN YOU PRAY FOR ME is currently doing. As long as these dudes make music, that's all I want. I would've loved to see Rome Streetz on this project as well, especially after learning that he's built like this:

HELLO??? WHAT IS THIS??? Get this dude on the runway immediately!!

In all seriousness though, this is a very good project for me, even if there's a few misses and not many truly "great" moments. The one song that I think will really be talked about in high regard for Benny is TMVTL, but otherwise, these all range from decent to great for most Griselda fans. For those not familiar with Griselda, however, this serves as a good base to find out what you like in Benny the Butcher. He showcases a lot of different things, and delivers (for the most part) on varying his performances and highlighting specific things about him. Maybe you enjoyed Back Again, which could lead you to Burden of Proof. If you liked Buffalo Kitchen Club, I would highly suggest Tana Talk 4. Even with more curated cuts like TMVTL, Tana Talk 3 will satisfy your tastes. If this was Benny's end goal, then mission accomplished.

You have to fix the fucking hair though dude, for real.

This is Y.O.D, signing out

#blog #hip hop #everybody cant go #benny the butcher #lil wayne #kyle banks #snoop dogg #stove god cooks #armani caesar #babyface ray #jadakiss #westside gunn #conway the machine #rick hyde #peezy #def jam #griselda #black soprano family

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sothischickshe · 1 year

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Thank you 😘😘

4. How much do you trust the reader?

Oof well the reader im most concerned by atm (cos ~theoretically stumbling through a draft😓) is me, and I'm not sure I trust that bitch at all 😅😅

This concept [particularly re ~comprehending the story/aspects] is a bit of a tricky balancing act I think, bc if you as the writer have sat with something for a long time espec while editing/rewriting/tinkering it can be really hard to get a sense of what does come through clearly, espec in a first/single read. And with serialised fiction like multi part fic which isn't published at a fast regular clip, it's impossible to know how much a reader might recall about what's happened already (maybe fic chapters need a 'previously on' segment?!).

Plus and maybe especially as a lover of ambiguity, it can be really hard to know if the sense/s you've tried to convey as an author have come across coherently. I think that's just something you have to accept if that's a style you prefer, and you can figure out how to develop certain aspects/skills better to help; if you want to be surer of things coming across relatively clearly you may have to explicate pretty explicitly and/or repeat more.

But I suppose this is why writing primarily for oneself is important -- if it works for you, then maybe by definition it works for this idealised reader 🤪 both in terms of quality but also of joy, eg if you include easter eggs which make you cackle, maybe they'll brighten someone else's day too!!

further, if you wanna trust the reader, you've gotta create a scenario where they can trust the writer, SuReLy? For example, if you as writer HAVEN'T nailed down what's happening with characters on and off the page or how truthful they're being (in convos but also ~pov) that tends to show; trust of hypothetical ppl probs needs to be earned too.

Ofc whomsoever 'the reader' is is gonna be varied! Can you trust that any reader is going to pick up on your context clues? Obviously not! But I do think writing towards an idealised good faith audience concept can be encouraging.

I suppose it also depends on what you're hoping to trust the reader to do tho! if you can identify, maybe you can ~aid:

Eg: to read your story? Well OK, maybe you can promote it better. To read your story alllll the way to the end? Well OK, maybe you need to focus on making it continually engaging; cut some chaff; have an endpoint in mind. Trust the reader to respond/feed back to the story? Well you can at least request that if it's important to you, and specifying what areas you particularly seek it for will likely help. Trust the reader to interrogate the story? Well, I think certain styles probably encourage this. Trust the reader to reread the story? Well, you better make it engaging then!! Etc etc

Ultimately, I've had ppl comment on my stories in a way which implies they've misunderstood what I was trying to convey, maybe that means I've left it too vague, or that they were bringing their own assumptions and/or didn't read carefully. Does that mean I should trust no readers/completely change how I write? I don't think so, espec when I've also had other ppl engage with the ambiguity in a positive way, or try to crack a secret of the story open, or take the time to try to understand references they weren't familiar with at first glance, or ref things implied-but-not-stated as if they were on the page. It DOES mean though I can consider that it may be worth clarifying or repeating important points if I want them to def be understood by more readers, and that there's some areas where it's probs worth being more specific (eg did I think the setting was obvious cos I could imagine it clearly but maybe that didn't translate and someone could get it totally wrong?). Also how you approach this for different kinds of stories can be v different! Eg a 1500 word short story can easily be v ambiguous & fun for a reader to play with interpreting vs a 200k one probs needs more clarity to not alienate the audience -- if you're referencing line 1 on line one million without any mention of that topic in btwn, I'm not sure you can expect ppl to remember what you're on about!

So I suppose it's about deciding what reader/s you wanna be able to trust -- just you? Just an idealised perf reader type? Or more broadly, and if so how wide? Can you make it work on multiple levels?? And overall yea, I don't think you can be asking an audience to trust you without making it abundantly clear you're trustable at storytelling!

Writing meme: ashamed edition!

#Ty this was fun! 😊😊😊#I think i just need to remove my head and shake it a few times😅#Writing #On writing #Life advice #On reading #Did I actually answer the q? 😅 I trust the reader: middling amount ig

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geographerdose · 2 years

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Bojack Horseman Rising Sign and Placements, Pt. 1:

🦝 Aqua rising with Aries Moon+Sun in 3H, Saturn in Libra in 9H, Venus in Virgo 8H, Jupiter in Capricorn, Mars+Mercury in Taurus 4H

⬆️⬆️⬆️ROUGH DRAFT/ESTIMATE⬆️⬆️⬆️

🗞bc I will likely need to update houses as I talk about it (Virgo mercury with Aries influence —> it comes out fast or not at all)

🛺I’ve stopped lying to myself that I will “get back” to editing it

🦥 Had this thought (Jupiter x2) as I was watching S1E4: Diane’s ex/Buzzfeed author is yelling at her how she’s a Zoe, to stop convincing herself otherwise and to wake up & realize how how miserable she actually is.

🥞Then Mr. PB chimes in: “I like that guy!” 😀dude just insulted him hardcore & he’s just clueless af, lmao (ignorance is bliss🎪)

🗣“I envy him, he’s so stupid he doesn’t realize how miserable he should be”

🐴 BJ says in the pilot, my point:

🍌Jupiter demonstrated in two ways:

1. Bojack: likely has a compromised Jupiter in some way: a square/opposition with Mars or Saturn, &/or Jupiter in Capricorn, Virgo or Gemini.

2. Mr. Peanut butter: Jupiter in a day chart in Cancer, Pisces or Sagittarius without any oppositions/squares to Mars or Saturn. He’s well-liked and socially smart so maybe it falls in his 10H so cancer then Leo in 11h then 12h Virgo so then 1h Libra haha yes he is such a Libra rising

🎧Jupiter 4- Sharon Van Etten🎧

🏀They both demand attention in different ways. Bojack in a more negative but authentic way, Mr. PB in a more positive but ignorant kind of way —> glib.

⚾️Which one is happier? Well… do you want to be happy, or do you want to be right? Do you want to know the truth, or do you want to be comfortable?

🎋Bojack is okay with being kinda rude (Aries) and Mr. PB is more like a Libra& wanting to play nice/Taurus energy with a dash of sweet Pisces sun 😆 that astro combo gives me the golden retriever vibe 🐶

🐏Aries moon 3H —>🌛has its joy here. plays a part in him being well-liked as well. If he is an Aries sun, then I would say this would make it a night chart and then sun is exalted in Aries and moon would be if the sect in favor and this would play out well for him in the area of communication and thought (mercury). He is very witty, intelligent and funny in a dark/dry way. 💕

🧽I think he has an opposition to his Aries Moon in the 3H by Saturn Libra in the 9H. Libra is exalted in Saturn, which is good. I see him having Saturn-like influence on his moon, particularly because of his upbringing. His mother was abusive and extremely neglectful. And he kind of makes Todd depend on him so that he feels needed and wanted, plus he doesn’t want to be alone. That’s a Saturn-Moon/Cap-Moon thing. Or Aqua moon.

🎽also in a night chart, Saturn is the most difficult planet and it’s affecting his moon, which represents the mom.

🦃BJ is so reactive, though, just has to be an Aries moon. These people are chaotic af but if they have enough air, you won’t even notice because they’re witty, intelligent and charismatic. They’re just so much fun, even if (esp. if) you know it’s bad lol.

❓Is he an Aries sun? Do they ever show? I didn’t necessarily listen for it the 10+ times I’ve watched Seasons 1-3 but I def would have remembered a date.

🐓Mars influence with Mercury for sure! Probably degree of 1, 23 or 25.

#astro observations #astro notes #Bojack #horseman #bojack horseman #mr peanut butter #rising sign #fictional characters

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781jl · 2 years

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So hear me out. The only thread of hopefulness I cling to is that Eddie will be back in season 5. I mostly believe it won't happen because why would the duffer brothers do something we all want?? But then like 35% of me is CONVINCED it's going to happen because there's so much of a trail for it. Here's my dilemma. As much as I want Eddie for season 5, this cinnamon roll of a man will be bad as Kas. Like, killing people for Vecna bad. Maybe torturing Max (who's def stuck with Vecna bc eleven couldn't find her). Dustin will confront him and cry to him at some point in the season to "please Eddie, remember me" and Kas!Eddie might have to die or sacrifice himself again. I don't see a good ending for him there. He's such a soft boy, he would be torn up if he was aware of the things he'll do as Kas 😭😭

Edited to add: now the upside down has come to Hawkins, so the townspeople should start to realize some of the stuff is pretty supernatural and I'm sure many of them will believe it's demonic. If there is Kas!Eddie and he's seen by anyone in town there will be no convincing anyone that he hasnt been behind all the murders they think he did in season 4. Also Wayne seeing him as Kas?????? This is very problematic brb sobbinggggg

#eddie munson #joseph quinn #stranger things volume 2 #kas!eddie

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manonamora-if · 2 years

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UX anon here - thank you for your response! I didn't realize the lack of resources in the community tbh. Would it be helpful if there was a master post of basic mobile UX principles to follow? Or would it be more helpful to gather a bunch of pre-existing twine templates and iterate them to be more in line with said principles? Or both?

Hi again Anon! :D

Yeah... it's kind of a common feeling. You [general you] don't know how much knowledge/resource/time/etc you need to invest until you actually make the thing you are enjoying. I've done the same when watching movies/series, believing I could write better dialogue... lol the audacity of my brain honestly...

I did make a Twine resource list some weeks back, with all I knew/could find, but I don't think there are any resource focused on mobile only. Though I do think most templates have some sort of mobile formatting/scaling in mind (even if not perfect). So this is definitely a niche to fill!

When it comes to the nitty-gritty of things, I can't really tell you which path to take (I am just one creator in the sea of many). You could send a poll to other authors, see their input.

I would advise against, though, reiterate pre-existing twine templates without the explicit consent of the creator (it might go without saying, but just in case). They might even prefer editing their templates with those advice instead of seeing their "updated" templates available out there (that's def the case for me).

But I do think the idea of a Master Post of Basic Principles with clear instructions (and images of what is good/not good!) would definitely be helpful. It leaves you open to go in more details about other principles in the future (if you want to do so, obviously you shouldn't feel pressured).

Last bit of advice, maybe check out Twine and how the different formats have built their visuals. It probably help you understand the limitations creators face when editing their UI. Theoretically, you could do anything on Twine, especially with SugarCube/Chapbook/Snowman (Harlowe is... wonky). But there are some class that have different rules depending on them being built through CSS or JavaScript.

EDIT: IF YOU POST SOMETHING LIKE THAT ON TUMBLR, TAG ME SO I CAN SHARE IT!!!

I'm also going on a bit more rambling, because I've realised I've had more feelings about the topic. PS: not directed at anyone in particular, just letting some steam out.

This is also my personal opinion, but I don't think (non-physical) IF was ever intended to be on mobile in the first place (ahem parsers/point-and-click...). When IF became a thing, there were no mobile (so that question was moot anyway). You just had a computer (maybe) that would run a program. I feels like it's been more of an evolution towards mobile use, as smaller/touch screens became the more prevalent device for entertainment (in general, not just IF). You have apps like CoG or HostedGames or those Story ones (they kind of look like VNs) that are very popular (and are incidentally fit for mobile...). And now we expect this of everyone that start with IF.***

While IF programs/format do allow for mobile support (to different degree), I do think we have to remind ourselves from time to time that IF creators still often create as a hobby, with often limited knowledge and resources. The fact that we sometimes/often uphold some IF to standard as high as actual game companies (who have headcounts and resources and knowledge to make things better) is just mind boggling to me (the number of asks/comments I get about my UI not looking professional because of a few mistakes...). Even trying to go through actual big company website is sometimes dreadful on mobile. Unileveeeeer *raise fist to the sky*...

Resources to make things more accessible (especially program/format specific) should be available to people, but we should leave some leeway to people who can't implement things or just don't want to. It might suck, but yeah... Think of it as computer exclusive projects (like you'd have with consoles :P ).

***Little side note, but we had a similar-ish discussion on the forum about Twine games during the IF Comp. It wasn't about mobile accessibility but the game being unstyled, and how many expected Twine entries to have some sort of styling and not just use the base UI, while the expectation was not as present (or not at all) for other programs. It is very interesting to go through.

#ask box #mobile #accessibility

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inkofamethyst · 8 months

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October 23, 2023

In terms of my cohort, I definitely do feel younger than them. Less experienced. That really manifested, for me, when the ones in my evodevo class were sharing their ideas for the final project. Their ideas just seemed so much more mature (robust, specific, identifying resources relevant to them and finding ways to relate this project pretty closely to their interests) compared to mine. And it's like, I don't know.. I mean I know I'm not supposed to be comparing myself to other people when I can help it. But I don't know how much of their.. intellectual/research maturity(?) comes from having years more than me to devote to research on a basically full-time basis before starting this program. And I don't know how to go about trying to catch up without burning out? I don't even know if that's the right way to think about this, I don't know if it's even a problem at all. I don't know what my advisor thinks and a large enough part of me is too afraid to ask.

I feel like I'm a ways out of my depth.

[a week later]

I don't feel too much different, but my advisor being the prof kind of helps. Like, he has some ideas for people/resources I can look into for data.

Finished my braids. They're a bit boneless ha. My parting technique needs work, the front and back are def unbalanced density-wise (I only used four bundles out of the eight I ordered). But that's okay just in case I'm not feeling the color and want to take them out quickly. I didn't really even try to "tuck" so my roots definitely show through, especially in the bigger sections at the back. I mean, no one would ever think I was a natural ginger anyway and that wasn't the goal. Ultimately, I think the color is cute, and having so much left means I should be able to do another set some day, or maybe I can use this color for accents around the bangs/temples with my typical black. I'll give it a week to decide how I really feel about it. Pretty sure I'm going for minitwists next, though. Maybe twice. Just to give my hair some time to breathe.

Read through my SOP to my current uni last night to prep for tomorrow's talk and boy I sure did sound confident. Like, the words are certainly mine, but the tone is so unlike me. I fear the woman who wrote that (...in an afternoon, no less).

Anyway I got some good feedback from my advisor on my talk today. Implementing it now. It's a lot of little stylistic notes. I'm worried that I'm going to go over time. We'll see. It's not for a grade in the typical sense, but I'd argue that this is just as if not more important than any "grade" I'm getting in my other classes. Coursework is a semester-long endeavor. Several intense weeks. I'm going to be in this department for years. Gotta make a good first impression.

[edit, a few hours later: spent wayyy too long trying to perfect this presentation when the best thing i can do for myself rn is go to bed]

Today I'm thankful that listening to vgm doesn't hurt as much anymore.

(vgm is entrenched into my personal brand at this point so I've got some catching up to do if I want to keep my steak of 6(?) years straight of having a vgm composer as my top artist, and Vincent Diamante deserves it by now tbh. unfortunately listening to the skyrim ambience while watching a 12-hour landscape walk on youtube isn't counting for anything)

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nathank77 · 3 months

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3/23/24

4:08 p.m Updated and Edited

Today I woke up at 3:40 p.m. I took only a chunky half at the start of my night. I took it at 5:25 a.m and my eyes got so heavy by 6:25 I skipped using mouth wash. I time when i use it. You should brush and let the fluoride set in for 30 minutes and then use mouth wash. That's something I learned from chrest whitening strips.

Anyways, I woke up at 10:40 a.m with a full bladder. I tried like hell to ignore it. However it got to the point that I knew I was sabotaging myself. So I got up and peed. I laid back down. My stomach hurt... and I couldn't fall back to sleep for 15 minutes. I didn't have any mental pictures. Mental pictures that randomly pop are how I know I'm falling asleep I know that sounds weird, but they randomly pop and it's all kinds of things. And once they are in motion I know I'm about to get put down.

I try not to make the mental images as I can make an elephant right now squirt water out of his trunk. I try to have them happen naturally and randomly cause when I make them it doesn't seem to work in terms of passing back out. I also try to think of my last dream or other dreams I had and I remember vividly as that helps a little.When I lay there with my eyes closed I just listen to American dad or whatever.

So after 15 minutes I decided to pop a Benadryl. Just 1 Benadryl... they are at every store in America almost and you may have a cap of how many bottles you can buy a day at say Walmart. You can't buy like thousands at one place... I think anyways. But if you needed thousands, you could go to Walmart, cvs, walgreens, target, stop and shop and buy like 200-300 pills. So I figured to make sure I got more than 4 hours of sleep, it was worth it.

I didn't touch the hydroxyzine. It's not a controlled substance but it's a prescription and I'd like to stock up and only touch it when I really need it.

I'm disappointed that I couldn't ignore needing to pee. I'm even more disappointed that I have/had to resort to more drugs to fall back asleep...

If i had woken up at like 12-2 I would have not take the Benadryl... even if I hadn't gotten my 7 hours as it will knock me out longer and I'm trying to make sure my half doses stay effective...

Today marks 3 days on the half doses knocking me out without any other drugs... I HATE that I had to take the Benadryl 4 hours later.. but it's whatever I got to sleep. I especially had to today cause I was supposed to be going to my dad's house for Lori's Birthday..

When I woke up at 1040 skye was like trying to chase me down and I was like I can't talk, I kept my eyes closed as I walked down the hallway and as I peeded. I try very hard to not lose the ability to fall back to sleep... either way she said dad needs us to be there by 430 and no later...I said okay..

And by the time I woke up it was 340 and Skye was already on her way... I assumed skye was being a bitch cause maybe she wanted to leave earlier, later tonight or something but come to find out some of our family would be there and they didn't want to wait around... it def makes me feel better about skye.. not so much dad. Just schedule it at 5 or 5:30...

I told him my circadian rhythm is fucked up and getting my 7 hours is critical to my recovery and just my ability to function... and beyond that I told them I was on benzos not sedative hypnotics and that's why I can't fix my circadian rhythm or take the drug at a normal person sleeping time. Either way I'm not going now. I'm upset but I guess I get to stay in the house for 2 days and not do much of anything. My body needs it...

Anyways I had a series of dreams but one of them was very distinct... I was in prison working in the prison and we had to go to this underground part with lots of hallways and it went on for miles, we had to dig out the hallways or something but we were exposed to toxic gas and had to wear these face mask breathing things... I barely wore mine, I often was standing near the two guys I was with and I realized I didn't have my mask on and I would put it back on but nonetheless not too long after it wasn't on anymore...

I remember going deeper and deeper with these 2 other guys... as we dug it out and revealed many long hallways... I believe we were using night vision...

The weird part about it is, we traveled from our prison to the underground one on a roller coaster... there have been a lot of roller coasters in my dreams recently.. a lot a lot.... I assume it is symbolic of being stuck on this ride of psychosis and having no choice but to finish it until it ends. I dreamt about meeting a girl at this mall/college who liked me and we hit it off two nights ago... and we had to take a roller coaster in our college/mall to get to a certain floor and I got off at an earlier stop cause I was scared and didn't want to go the whole way..

Either way back to the important dream, we road in on a roller coaster and I remember the deeper we got in that prison as we found our way back I was like where I am when I looked at the roller coaster and the guys were like this is how we got down here....

Also I noticed that despite the fact that we came down with an entire crew, me and the 2 other guys were the only people working....

Another key factor was the prison lied and told us we were clearing it out for paranormal investigators.. when I was alone with the two other boys I said I don't think this is haunted and one of them, "no duh" and the other said, "the prison system is over crowded, people are actually going to have to live here and we could be forced to be enprisoned underground once they fix the toxic air quality issue."

When we went back to the roller coaster once again I was confused as to where we were and they said the entrance. Everyone was sitting at table benches in what was like a lunch room. other than us 3. There were prob 20 people sitting there. There was a woman above us in what looked like a baseball field but it was the only part of the prison that showed grass and had natural light.. the only window per say. Like an above sky light.

And I guess we all started talking about how we might end up living in the underground prison... and the woman above screamed this out in terror, "when I'm down there, I forget my name!" The dream ended there.

I know why I dreamed it, I know why she was the end of it... it was about the psych ward again... being trapped. Losing your personhood there. You know I walked around shirtless exposing my trans identity the entire time I was at the psych ward cause they couldn't take my scars away from me. I felt like I was a number and no longer a person.

If somehow they got me to stay at an institution long term, I would have turned into a zombie and forgotten my name.

I mentioned I dream often of roller coasters.. I always get off the ride and I'm okay, whether I get off them early or when I'm supposed to... I really think it's symbolic of being stuck on this ride of psychosis... in the other dream I had there were like multiple floors to get to mine in this mall/college and I got off at the first stop cause I was scared...in this prison dream there were only two stops one at the bottom and one at the top and we were being forced to be down there..

Also I guess I'll go back over ptsd:

1) I have flashbacks constantly. Everyday.

2) I have insomnia but obv psychosis triggered it without my weed... but nonetheless I have found ways to make living/sleeping with this auditory hallucination more copable... its it is easier and actually possible to sleep with drugs but I can't sleep without them, and TV at a certain volume. Etc.. I do have sleep disturbances. I wake myself up talking now..... legit saying full sentences... I wake up frequently. I can't stay asleep for more than 3 or 4 hours... when i used to stay asleep for like 5-8 hours straight sometimes 10... I've been falling asleep quickly recently that's why I want to kick myself for taking Benadryl... but it's whatever. I got 8 hours and feel great. And I didn't take it at the same time... hopefully it doesn't fuck anything up. Also I could pee back in the day and pass right back out...

Either way i have sleep disturbances.

3) lastly repeated dreams of the event. I may not qualify for really having ptsd... but the symptom list grows. The reoccurring dreams of me sliding down that hill with water with the Marijuana plant at top which is clearly symbolic of weed being why I'm at rock bottom. As well as psych ward dreams. Roller coasters to locations where I lose control. I'm never scared. However I always know I'm stuck. And can't get out.. the prison was a psych ward. Even though it wasn't.

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visionmarred-archive · 5 years

Note

maybe ‘basorexia’ or ‘whelve’ for sky and atton? 🤔

So I tried to mix them both together? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’m not super satisfied with the result and I’d like to go back and revise in the future, tbh, but for the moment, this is what I’ve got. Thanks for the prompt Dani!

“Hi there, flyboy. Not joining in the party either?”

Atton looked up from the pazaak card he had been idly twirling in his fingers to see Sky standing in front of him. He knew that their illustrious leader had been mingling nearby, but he hadn’t expected her to come look for him, at least not anytime soon.

Sky, Mical, and Mandalore had returned from meeting Master Kavar on Onderon earlier that day, where after the motley gang of misfits had been banned from the planet until further notice and Mandalore had invited himself into their group. But before they left for Korriban, he had insisted on a Mandalorian-style party - a gesture of goodwill, and over escaped Onderon alive.

“Who says I’m not partying? I got all the festivities I need right here.” He replied, using the pazaak card to gesture towards a flask sitting next to him.

She snorted, and Atton was ready to make a quip on how unladylike the sound was when she spoke again. “Your party sounds more appealing right now, if you don’t mind the company…?”

Though initially a little surprised, Atton maintained a cool and indifferent facade as he shrugged. “Go for it, I’m not gonna stop you.”

Smiling gratefully at him, Sky shrugged off her bolero jacket and lay it on the ground next to him before sitting down on top of it. “That poor thing’s gonna get covered in grass stains now, you know.” Atton tsked.

“Better my jacket than my rear.” She replied cheerfully, startling a chuckle from Atton as his thoughts shifted to much more fun ways to get grass stains there…

“Whatever you say, Princess.”

The two sat in companionable silence for a moment, reminding him of their time spent together in the cockpit. Sometimes, during those long hyperspace drives, the two would talk about almost anything and everything that came to mind, playing pazaak and chatting the hours away. And sometimes, they didn’t say anything at all; Atton would be flying the ship or playing his mental pazaak game, and Sky would be reclining in the co-pilot’s chair with her boots on the console. Either way, it was time spent with the beautiful Exile, and he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Krif, he was getting sappy over her again. Switch the face of the +1/-1 card, the totals are 5-13. No telling when the old witch would try peeking where she didn’t belong again, and if somehow she didn’t already know how he felt about Sky then he didn’t want to give her the opportunity to find out. But he wasn’t that big a fool, Her Royal Crypticness probably already did know and had filed away at least twenty different ways to use it against him.

“So… why join the Atton Rand party of fun for one?” He asked, hoping to distract himself from his own thoughts. Sky had been gazing up at the stars and turned her look towards him at the question. “I mean, isn’t schmoozing your thing?

She opened her mouth as if to say something, and then closed it. Sky had been wearing that smile of hers again, the one that Atton had come to recognize meant that she was hiding how she was feeling. He wasn’t about to say it to her, but he noticed that she wore different types of smiles, hiding behind them about as much as he did his own conflicting emotions. And there was a subtle difference between her genuine ones and the ones she gave to kriffing near everybody she spoke to.

“I guess… I guess I wanted to hide away for a little bit.” Sky admitted, brushing a strand of hair behind her ears as she looked down at the ground. Atton was surprised at the next question, yet at the same time he wasn’t. “Does… does this feel weird to you, too? Being here, I mean?”

“On this planet, or at this party?” He asked, though he figured he already knew the answer, and he was right.

“Both.” She shrugged. “I fought here in the wars, years ago. I watched the Mandalorians cut down soldiers with no mercy, and I wanted to be merciful at first, like the Jedi I was supposed to be.” She looked away from him and back at the forest, lost in her own memories. “But then… everything changed. I changed. And here we are, over ten years later, sharing food and drink with the same people that I killed back then. It’s… it’s strange.”

Atton nodded sympathetically, reaching for the flask and taking a swig of the juma juice inside. “I get it.” He replied, about to put the stopper back on when he decided to offer her some instead. She nodded gratefully and accepted the flask from him, her fingers brushing over his own; he felt stupidly giddy over that slight interaction.

Sky handed him back the flask, and he noticed that it felt quite a bit lighter than when he had handed it to her. “Krif, Sargas, I forgot how much you can drink. Next time I’m charging you.”

“Sorry!” She hid a laugh behind her hand, a newfound flush on her cheeks from the alcohol. “But… you did offer.”

“Yeah, well, that’ll teach me to offer to an alcoholic like you.” But he grinned at her, setting the flask down between the two of them.

“After everything I’ve seen here on this moon, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what I’m going to be in ten years’ time. I’m surprised I’m not one now, to be honest.” Sky said it cheerfully enough, but her eyes were serious, and she was wearing that fake smile of hers again. This place is getting to her more than I thought.

“You, an alcoholic? Nah. I was just running my big mouth. I’m the alcoholic here, if anything.” Atton said, hoping to make her feel better with some bad humor. She was going to say something when he added, “You’re better than that, Sargas. That’s not you.”

“Am I?” She asked, and the mask fell. She looked exhausted in every sense of the word, a contrast to the lively noises of Mandalorians dancing and drinking some ways away. He knew they were the same age, but in that moment, she looked ten years older than she was. “I… I’m sorry Atton, I shouldn’t have come over here and started burdening you like that. That was unthoughtful, and I - I’ll leave you to it, shall I?”

Sky got up to leave, and without thinking, Atton grabbed her hand. “Woah, hey, slow down a second. You don’t have to go.” He squeezed her fingers gently, hoping to provide her some comfort. She looked nervous, but nodded and sat down next to him again anyway.

“It’s just - well, I didn’t mean to ruin your good time or anything.” She said, ready to apologize again.

“My good time?” He snorted, rolling his eyes. “Firstly Sargas, in case you didn’t notice, I was sitting here drinking by myself until you walked along. And secondly, you’ve gotta stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“What you just did. Apologizing for opening up and being human. You don’t have to bottle yourself up like that, you know. You can just… be yourself. You don’t have to bury it away.” He realized he was still holding her hand - she hadn’t pulled away from him. If you start sweating because you’re holding a cute girl’s hand, go check the mirror and make sure you’re not still twelve years old, idiot.

She half-smiled at that. “I could say the same for you about burying yourself away, you know.” Slowly, cautiously, Sky twined her fingers through his own, and he squeezed her hand again.

“Do as I say, and not as I do?” Atton offered, getting a low chuckle. “Besides, you didn’t even really say that much, you know. If you’re gonna apologize for opening up, make it over something good. Make it something really raunchy.”

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed at that, shaking her head and closing her eyes. “I’ll keep your suggestion in mind.”

“Perfect.” Atton thought about kissing her - gently, on the forehead. Sky would smile that genuine smile of hers, and they could just… sit together. Be together. Feel better than either of them had felt in years.

Instead of that, he said, “I get it, though, what you were saying before about hiding away. Being here is weird for me, too.” He wanted to tell her more - about how he watched the best friend he enlisted with die during their first battle, and the mere fact that he was at some party thrown by Mandalorians felt like a slap to Kane’s face. Or about how he enlisted hoping to do some good, maybe like she did, and instead ended up with shrapnel scars and rage at anything and everything.

Maybe she understood already, without the need for words. He hoped that was the case, because trying to untangle parts of himself and present them to her for her judgement felt full near impossible. He felt like he understood her pretty well, and hoped that she knew where he was coming from too.

“Here’s to us, then. Sitting by ourselves while everyone else is having fun at a party.” Sky said. She let go of his hand, and he wanted to protest when she scooted herself over and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I - yeah.” Atton replied, deciding krif it to caution and leaning his head against hers. “Wanna go get invited to another party so we can brood in their corner too?”

She laughed, reaching for his hand again. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

#sierra's asks #sierra writes #ghostlygal #OTP: Thought You Were a Dream #''i can handle constructive criticism'' i say while sobbing #seriously tho i need to improve badly #so i should def come back and edit at some point #OC: Skysargas

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