#so. long story short… don’t make fun of fictional characters (cats included) on important days >:( | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

obeymematches · 3 years

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Hello! May I request for a matchup?

I am a bisexual, Demigirl ENFP-T personality type.

I'd say I'm somewhat independent but would love to have someone by my side to happily live with, I find trust as something that is very important and due to past reasons it can be difficult to earn my full trust. I try to always be a reasonable and mature person, but I can get irritated at a few things (like LGBTQ+ discrimination, racism or plain asshole stupidity) that can tick off a temper, but usually I'm a person of patience, though if I do get really angry then I'm gonna also end up having a mental breakdown later -. I'm fine with waiting and am usually very forgiving. Religiously I'm an atheist, technically ex-christian due to family reasons. I come from Estonia, so I'm bilingual with English and Estonian but am also learning Russian and German. (Thinking of learning Japanese one day too)

I'm a rather fidgety person, fingers always have to be doing something, I can also have rather terrible memory sometimes with things and can forget.

I have low self confidence and self worth, usually struggle to be optimistic and can be rather emotional, also often an absolute empath when it comes to fictional characters for example.

I can be a workaholic and can be terrible at taking care of myself, I easily lose track of time and can forget to eat at times, also have a fuzzy appetite so sometimes I might not want to eat anything at all. I care alot about other people's well being though, for me appearance doesn't matter, I care for the personality and think everyone is beautiful in their own way. I am a short chubby brunette with a boy haircut and brown eyes, my hair is often thick and poofy and sometimes hell to take care of, due to some health reasons I have an itchy scalp and have to often scratch my head. My fashion depends on just if the clothes are comfortable to wear in the moment, that's it. I wear glasses due to a bit of a negative in my sight.

I sometimes struggle to have a balanced sleep schedule and am often stressed.

I hold a strong love for animals and the nature around us. I especially love cats and reptiles and own a cat and a leopard gecko who I would die for.

Fiction is an important part of my life, the moment I get interested in in some show or franchise you can expect me to become an absolute nerd for it, (good example is Pokemon.) I am the type to analyze characters and really care about everything. Books, shows, movies, theatre, anything goes. I really also love music, 60% of the time you can find me listening to music somewhere, maybe even singing, I multitask alot too. My music taste depends on what connections I make to fictional media, especially that of my own, aka stories and characters I've created. My mind is always going like a 1000km/h with all types of thoughts, my own fictional universe only keeps expanding which I wish to share with the world. My dream is to become a writer one day, which I'm very passionate about, and another thing I really want to do one day is travel the world. I also do some art and animation, but intend to keep it as a hobby on the side.

I'm an ambivert, shy and hesitant around new people especially those of higher authority and importance, but incredibly outgoing with the people I'm familiar and comfortable with, never getting tired from them. Affection starved, expect lots of hugs, not that much into PDA tho. For me first impression matter, on my part, I am quick to think that people hate me or are annoyed with me.

Even with my fuzzy appetite I do like food, especially of strong flavour, I tend to seem to like asian or Italian food alot. I'd say I'm decent and cooking but not very good at baking.

Minimalistic, not very demanding when it comes to anything, it's basically like "Better than nothing." would be the type to live in a rather small house one day. Somewhat organized in my own way, sometimes I can act a little OCD though when something is out of place in a manner that it's just - no.

I can be rather talkative, when getting in a conversation with me expect to talk for hours about all types of things, wherever the conversation goes. Even better when it's over a cup of tea or a long walk somewhere outside.

I usually try to be as polite and kind as possible, though I sometimes struggle, I always try to have hope for the world, despite my incredibly pessimistic mindset.

For a partner, I look for someone I can geniuenly be happy and comfortable with, someone I can be open with and not worry about being lied to. I would be incredibly loyal to them and I'd hope them to be as well, of course, I don't get jealous or worked up if they're hanging out with friends. I want them to also be happy, someone I feel like I could spend the rest of my life with. Someone who'd be okay with traveling and seeing the world with, someone I can just have a moment to relax with, sometimes just talk and listen to eachother. Like stated before the appearance for me doesn't matter, it's the personality- what's inside that does. I shall note, the harmless teasing can get to me. Someone who's a geniuenly good person despite whatever flaws they might have.

I hope this is long enough ^^

Hi my dear patient anon!

guess what time it is!✨

i put a read more because it’s one long post!

OK so as I read through your request I had Levi, Belphie, Beel and Satan on my mind. Though Belphie is out of the picture fast since you have low self-esteem and if anyone then he probably would take advantage of that. Satan too I think. (I know in general he is viewed as an overall good boy but i feel like he might scare someone with low confidence levels when he is at his worst. also he can be manipulative too if there is a situation)

wait- damn- Simeon also exists (also Mammon? though with him and you it’d be a very rough start)

so after some elimination and comparison between dynamics including Simeon, Levi and Beel I decided to match you with Levi but I highly encourage befriending the other two! ✨ Simeon because of the similar interests + excellent cooking and Beel because he is a mom-friend + you’d always have something to eat too if he is your friend!

phew it wasn’t an easy decision but here it is!

Okay so let’s see Levi

Okay first things first I think we need to change your level of confidence my friend. Which means starting off this relationship as friendship - honestly he is on the same page as you regarding this for similar reasons so you two can relate to the other. But once you gain a healthy amount of sense of self-worth + confidence I think this friendship could develop into a very loving and healthy relationship!

Just because he is a demon I don’t think he would use you, lie to you, manipulate you or anything similar to that. I mean you have similar interests and in canon Levi shows just the bare minimum of interest to someone whose lifestyle + likes aren’t similar to his. Also you’re his only friend besides Henry so why would he treat you bad I mean come on!!! he’s not stupid!!

Since your relationship is based on being friends trust will come in time, do not worry! Levi is also picky when it comes to ppl so again as you are in the same boat you understand the other deeply.

I mean Levi can be serious when the situation calls for it but in general you being with him would give you a nice balance with your maturity. He’s not childish but he has different approaches! Meaning he could learn from you but you could also learn from him!

Tbh i highly doubt he would ever tick you off either or purpose or not. He is mostly annoyed by stupid ppl (like Mammon) and normies but since you are also into anime you’re safe!

You having an interest in languages is something he will find fun! if i recall in the devildom there’s only one language? (they speak human for you though) so finding out about human world lore like that through you is going to be fun! also pls learn Japanese with him! (pretty sure he already knows so he could help you practice)

Okay so he can also spiral down due to lack of self-worth + self-love but as his friend you’re not supposed to let that happen!!

well he also tends to forget about himself but on a side note he is very caring about you and your health so he is faster at taking care of you than himself. That’s why you have to look after the other especially at first when both of your self-worth levels are so low.

pls tell him he is beautiful he will be flustered for the rest of the day but it’s worth it trust me

he absolutely finds glasses cute af he just has to look at you and !!!

He’s not big into fashion either, though he would love to cosplay with you so hopefully you are ok with wearing cosplay sometimes!

Also your workaholic tendencies might get to him sometimes? like i’m not saying he is lazy but for sure he could do better. Thanks to your influence he will do better!

the two of you gushing over fictional characters is just so cute;; think about that!!

ok he is your #1 supporter of becoming a writer!! pls let him be your beta reader aaaaa

well both of you are passionate so the emount of encouragement happening in this relationship is to die for

him being a shut-in means he’s not very big on traveling, but if he could go with you he’s quick to change his mind!

he also has trouble balancing a healthy sleep schedule but that just means you two can spend more time together so it’s a win-win situation

pls leave your cat with Satan when you visit Levi’s room because of Henry :( your gecko is more than welcome though!!!

okay he is also affection starved af but he would never initiate to save his life so here you being an ambivert is helpful!! also it leaves you space to tease him which is always fun!

regarding food you have a nice balance going on, he is more of a baker and you are the opposite! though cooking/baking with the other is always fun!! when he notices your lack of eating he will make sure to order/bake delicious food from the human world for you!

well he isn’t the messiest so hopefully your OCd wouldn’t kick in when you spend time in his room. I like to HC that he is actually very clean. If anything is out of place in his room it is because it was meant to be there. Or he was in a hurry.

about long walks outside you’d probably have to nag him a bit but soon he will realize that it’s actually not so bad.

bby is one of the most loyal demons out there so no worries you’re safe!! however he can be jealous easily so it’s nice that you are also loyal! just make sure to clear boundaries before establishing a relationship!

he’s not one to tease you but he is very into you teasing him, so that’s that

overall i don’t think this relationship would have huge conflicts - sure, you have to nag him about going out but he is not going to protest once he learns that it’s actually. fun. to go out sometimes. i’m more concerned about the two of you’s self-worth and confidence levels, but again it’s about what you do for growth and it’s not something that can’t be changed if you want to change it. besides these i think it’s a very healthy relationship and you both can be yourselves!

#obey me #obey me!#obey me swd #obey me levi #obey me leviathan #om! levi #obey me matchup

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wherevermyway · 4 years

Text

step out! do what you want (chapter ten)

pairings: reader/bang chan/han jisung, bang chan/han jisung side pairing: seo changbin/lee minho (referenced) rating: explicit | 18+ warnings (read please!): big fat warning for ambiguous HINTS of suicidal ideation, character deaths, mental instability, post-traumatic stress, profanity, use of firearms, graphic depictions of violence (fist fight, gunfight), blood, lots of smoking this chapter, mentions of sex, mentions of drug use, angst, drug dealer!au/organized crime!au. also, don’t drive this fast on the highway. word count: about 9,300 also on my ao3 here chapter/series navigation

chapter ten: je vois la fin avant le début | i see the end before it starts

recommended tracks: black swan by bts, can’t you see me? by tomorrow x together we go by stray kids, 777 by joji, the end/undead by hollywood undead and zero 9:36, simon says by nct 127, turn back time by wayv, begin by bts, tôt ou tard by eli rose, ew by joji, another day by stray kids. playlist can be found here.

note: I can’t believe this is almost done (thank god). I’m gonna warn you one more time: this story is dark as fuck and, if you thought chapter nine was bad, ten is also bad, and eleven is worse. eleven is going to have really triggering content (very explicitly labelled in several places) in it so please don’t hate me. I’m also turning off taglists for these last two chapters because I’m not comfortable tagging people due to the content.

disclaimer: any reference to persons in this work of fiction are purely coincidental. the characters referenced from Stray Kids are interpretations loosely based on their personalities in the group and do not represent the real people behind the personas. if this, or any of the content included in the warnings above make you uncomfortable, please stop reading now.

side note: for the love of minho’s cats, don’t mix party drugs or drugs with alcohol.

It would seem that, even though you’re back in the real world, returning to reality is proving to be difficult. Since returning to Christopher’s apartment, you’ve had a couple of panic attacks that you felt made both Christopher and Jisung questioned their relationship with you. Most of the time, things were fine, but there were moments and entire days where they treated you like you were a fragile piece of pottery with a big, neon warning label slapped on it that said “Danger! Will shatter if mishandled!” in fat, ugly, blocky, black characters.

After screaming and crying at your therapist for an hour and a half, you decided that you wanted to be alone and would take an alternative route home, sneaking out the back door so that Christopher didn’t see you as he waited out front in his car. You peeked through the glass front doors, seeing his car parked there, right on time. It was hard to make out details from so far away, but it looked like he was staring at his phone, mindlessly scrolling along.

Perfect.

You smiled to yourself as you turned away from the front door. The last time you were here, you recognized a service entrance towards the back of the building that appeared to be unlocked. Timidly, you make your way towards it and jiggle the handle. The door popped open with ease, and you walked through, quickly bolting through the alleyway and make your way towards the Mojeon bridge in Cheonggyecheon.

The walk to the bridge wasn’t very long, so you took the long way, weaving in and out of various backroads and alleyways. You loved taking in the environment of small shopping stalls and the scurrying of busy folk. What you had enjoyed the most was the ambient noises of the city life around you. It was night and day in comparison to the past five or so months had been like, trapped in the hospital, then trapped in Christopher’s apartment, leaving only to go to your thrice-weekly therapy appointments.

It made sense why you felt so lonely. Christopher had been keeping himself busy, constantly coming to bed not long before the sun came up. You knew he wasn’t purposefully avoiding you or Jisung, but something about it didn’t sit well with you, likely because it felt like he was just avoiding handling the loss of Changbin, now stuck with all of the stress of dealing with the family.

Jisung had to have been feeling it, too. Neither of them were going out on collection runs or handling deals; they had left it to Seungmin and Jeongin, as well as just sending jobs back to the hyung-nim. Jisung would occasionally spend a few late nights in the studio with Christopher, and he would always come back to bed more frustrated than he was before he went to go assist his superior.

There was one night a few weeks ago where you went to lay down early, settling into a book that you weren’t really committed to reading, but what the fuck else did you have to do, cramped up in this apartment? All three of you were tense from being cooped up inside, save for your therapy appointments. Jisung and Christopher were arguing about something, their voices travelling through the open studio door, bouncing around the open living room and kitchen, finally making its way in through the bedroom door.

It was impossible to completely make out what they were arguing about, but you really didn’t care at this point. Everything was all about hierarchy and other bureaucratic nonsense that had been completely upended with Changbin’s death. Jisung came angrily padding into the bedroom, a scowl on his face as he grumbled and flopped down on to the bed face-first. He let out a long, drawn out, frustrated groan into the blanket.

“You gonna be okay, Sungie?” You put your book on the nightstand, adjusting your position so that you’re able to run a calming hand through the younger man’s hair. “Sounded like you two were disagreeing about something again.”

Jisung huffs, then rolls over onto his back. “I'm never gonna be cut out to be a leader, am I?” He turns his head slightly to look up at you. “Chan-hyung has a hard enough time, and I never wanted to do this, but now I don’t have a choice.”

You roll your fingers through his hair, lightly scratching at his scalp, and smile at him. “You would be a good leader if you wanted be, but I think this entire situation has been stressful on everyone.”

A scoff leaves Jisung’s lips as he turns to face you full-on. “You’re starting to sound like a therapist.”

“Go figure,” you sarcastically grumble as you roll your eyes.

“You’d be good at it,” Christopher’s voice travels through the doorway, startling both you and Jisung. He walks into the room and worms his way around both of you on the bed. “I’m sorry,” he sighs out, “I’ve been so stressed this week with all of the exchanges of power and sheer amount of work that needs to be done. Jisung,” he sits up on his heels, draping his face over his junior. “I’m sorry if I made it seem like I was mad at you. There’s no excuse for that kind of behaviour and I’m sorry.”

Jisung softly smiles, grabbing Christopher’s face with both of his hands. “You can be a real jerk sometimes,” he croons softly, “but I know you don’t mean it, that you’re not taking it out on me, y’know? It’s been a long, chaotic few months. We’ve all had our moments of panic, and you’re unfairly shouldered with handling the family almost completely by yourself. “

Christopher sighs, turning his head to look at you before he grabs you by the waist and pulls you into an embrace, both of you unceremoniously flopping onto your sides. “How about I ignore all of the stuff with the family tomorrow,” he says, pulling you up against him tightly with one arm, reaching out to Jisung with the other. “We can have a day with just the three of us. Get some bad takeout, watch horrible movies, just kind of have a lazy day around the house?”

“I like that idea,” Jisung excitedly nods, then turns to look at you. “What do you think, bunny?”

You were happy with the idea, but you couldn’t find yourself to share the same level of enthusiasm that Jisung did, like you would in the Before Time, as your therapist coined it. Before, you would have jumped at the thought, with both you and Jisung likely driving Christopher somewhat mad. But now, things were just muted and toned down. Mellowed down, like food you would eat when you had the stomach flu. Everything now just emotionally felt like lukewarm, runny juk, when you were used to explosions of flavour and texture on your emotional palette.

“You okay, baby?” Christopher sits up, turning to look down at you. The expressions on his face and Jisung’s face fall flat with concern and nervousness. “Are you going to that headspace again?”

Suddenly, you come back to your senses. You couldn’t have them worry about you, after all. There was already enough, much more important stuff for them to worry about. Honestly, you were just some woman who got strung along for a wild ride, and now had to deal with something a bit more difficult than a modelling shoot being cancelled. You could handle this.

“I’m fine,” you say with a fake smile plastered on your face. That was one good thing that came naturally to you because of modelling: faking emotions well enough, for a short period of time, faking it so well that anyone would believe you. “I just got distracted with thinking about what we could do.”

Jisung flushes, clearly misinterpreting your intention. “Oh yeah,” he breathes out, “it’s been a while since the three of us…” his voice trails off as he alternates looking at you and Christopher, the blush on his face deepening as he awkwardly shifts around.

The blond-haired man rolls his eyes and scoffs. “Yeah, but,” he sighs, “that’s okay. It’ll happen naturally when we’re ready for it to happen, right?”

Luckily for you that night, the three of you were able to share an intimate moment together for the first time in literal months. It was fine and was fun, albeit muted like everything else lately, nowhere near how chaotic it was at the beginning of your relationship. At least you could get them off of your back for a little while longer.

As you reached the touristy area of Cheonggyecheon (when did you get here?), your phone buzzed twice in your pocket and pulled you from your hazy daydream. Nervously, you pull the phone out of your pocket, giving it a quick glance. Nearly all of the texts on your phone are from Christopher, unsurprisingly. There was nobody else, only Christopher and Jisung. Those were the only people you had now; everyone else either abandoned you, hated you, were outside of Korea, or had died.

16:47 | Running late? Figured you’d be done by now. 16:58 | Where are you? it's been a half hour 17:05 | seriously baby where are you?

His texts start to seem more panicked, his texting habits clearly more frantic.

It’s been over an hour since your appointment ended, and your phone won’t stop buzzing. You jam it back into your hoodie’s pocket and continue to ignore the barrage of calls from Christopher. He clearly got a hold of Jisung, because you’ve also started receiving texts and phone calls from him. A smirk creeps up on your face as you reach the Mojeon bridge. You quietly pace up to the middle of the bridge and poke your head over the railing.

It happens without even thinking. Almost mechanically, you take your phone out of your pocket and drop it down into the stream below you. It was almost ironic, honestly, that this was right above the spot where you got shot during Changbin’s funeral. It was a good area for your phone to die alongside where your sanity did.

You can’t help but cackle at yourself, earning some choice stares from passersby. There was no rhyme or reason to why you were doing this, but it felt good. The rushing water beneath the bridge was oddly calming as you stared at it over the railing. There was always something about the water that helped you feel grounded and calm. With all of this chaos around you, you needed something to stay constant.

As crazy as it sounded, the thought of jumping into the stream and letting it carry you out to the Han river did pass through your brain, but you managed to talk yourself out of it. “No,” you say aloud to yourself, “I couldn’t do that.”

The screeching of tires from the street adjacent to the walkway pulls you out of your thoughts. You turn your head towards the noise and see Christopher jump out of his car, haphazardly parked halfway on the sidewalk. He runs to you, yelling your name a couple of times, a horror-stricken expression on his face.

Your heart is about to explode out of your chest as you see him running at you. Part of your brain is telling you to run, but it would appear that your muscles have forgotten how to operate themselves.

Christopher slams into you, causing you to take a couple of steps back as you narrowly avoid being knocked down on to the concrete. His arms wrap around you so tightly, you’re afraid he’s going to pop your lungs. “Oh my god,” he cries out, “oh my god, where the hell have you been?” He puts a hand on the back of your head, gripping your hair, lifting his head to kiss yours with several small pecks, and you can feel his body twitch as he starts to cry.

“A walk,” you manage to quietly squeak out, “I wanted to go for a walk.”

Christopher pulls back, releasing you from his embrace and taking a step backwards. “A walk?” His bloodshot, glossy eyes open wide, his face red as tears streak down his face, and he shakes his head. “Why didn’t you just tell me? I would have -“

“I’m smothered,” you flatly say, not really able to allow yourself to process any emotions. “You and Jisung both have both been treating me like I’m just going to fall apart if you even look at me.” Christopher stares at you in disbelief as the pedestrians around you pointedly avoid getting close.

“Lover’s quarrel?” A hushed whisper travels on the wind.

“Youth always out here with their petty drama,” another whisper follows.

You and Christopher stand there, staring at each other for a while. He eventually runs his hands through his hair, turning to look down the stream as he wipes the tears off of his face. “A walk,” he whispers, repeating back to himself. “Smothered.” He sighs heavily and turns back to you, his brows furrowed in frustration.

“I thought you had been kidnapped, or that you ended up dead somewhere. Do you not understand that there are people out there that want us to suffer or, god forbid, kill us? You were shot right here the last time we were here, for fuck’s sake.” The tears continue to fall down his face as he puts his hands on his hips. “I don’t want you to feel like this anymore. I don’t know how to help you with that, but,” he pauses, dropping his hands from his hips as he takes a step closer to you, “if I could take away all of your pain, I would do it in an instant, even if I had to take it all on myself.” He pulls you into his chest by your hips and wraps his arms around your waist, a bit more gently this time.

“I can’t do this without you. You, me, Jisung: we’ve all gone through so much shit in the past six months and we need each other.” His phone starts ringing, but both of you deliberately ignore it. “Once we’ve dealt with Minho and Hyunjin, Jisung and I are gonna leave the family. I’ve got some connections in Australia that would make it easy for us to move there. Nobody would know us. We can get out of all of this and leave this behind. How does that sound?”

A hint of a smile creeps up on the corner of your face. “It's a good idea, Christopher, but,” you say, staring at a confused police officer standing over Christopher’s car, “you’re about to get a ticket and you might wanna deal with that first.”

“What?” Christopher gasps, pulling away from your embrace as he grabs your wrist and turns to look at the scene unfolding. “Oh, goddammit,” he whines, pulling you along as he walks towards his car. “C’mon, let’s deal with this and go home.”

The encounter with the police officer is uneventful. Christopher uses his charming charisma to talk his way out of it, even name-dropping some high-level official that he knows. Once the two of you are back in the car, he makes his way to an open parking spot and parks, pulling out his phone. He taps the screen a couple of times, and Jisung’s voice comes through the speakers of the car.

“Did you find her?” Jisung panics over the speaker, sounding as if he was nearly crying. “She isn’t answering my calls or my texts and I’m worried and I haven’t seen anything out here and I -“

“Sungie,” Christopher says, calmly, interrupting Jisung’s panicked word-vomiting, “I’ve got her, it’s okay.”

“I’m so sorry, Sungie,” you say, not really sure if he can even hear you.

“Oh my god, bunny,” he exhales, “are you okay?”

You open your mouth to say something, but Christopher interjects. “She’ll be alright. Go back home, and we can talk about it when we get back. We’ve got some things we all need to discuss.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jisung says with a deep sigh. “I love you, both of you.”

“We love you too,” Christopher smiles as he says it. He presses a button on the steering wheel, hanging up the call, then turns to you. He embraces your hand with one hand and grabs your chin with the other. “Do I need to take you back to the hospital?”

You shake your head.

“Okay, but if that changes,” he pulls you closer to him, and he rests his forehead against yours, “I need you to tell me. I can’t lose you, too. Promise me that you’ll tell me.”

“I promise,” you speak with feigned confidence. Liar.

“Good,” he tilts your head up with his hand, then gently kisses you on the lips. A repetitive chime comes from the centre console of the car, startling both of you, and Christopher rolls his eyes, letting go of your jaw and reaching out to press another button on his steering wheel. “Jisung, I swear, we’re -“

“Hyung,” Felix’s voice comes through the car’s speakers, cutting Christopher off. “Minho-hyung knows where we are. I don’t know if he’s coming here, but he knows where we are and I know he’s found out about Hyunjin and he is beyond furious.”

“Shit.” Christopher’s expression instantaneously sours and his brows furrow. “Did you call the hyung-nim?”

“Yes, hyung. He’s the one that told me. Can’t spare any extra bodies to protect us, though.”

“Alright,” Christopher tightly grabs his face and runs his thumb against his jawline. “You’ve got enough gear there? I’ll pick up Jisung and bring Seungmin and Jeongin with. We’ll be there in a little over three hours.” He lets go of your hand to grasp the gear shift, shifting out of park and into drive, merging his way into traffic.

“I do.”

“Understood. Call me if he shows up before we get there. I know there’s another group connected to the family that’s somewhere in Daegu that can probably help you out, but it’ll be the nuclear option and I don’t want to do it unless we absolutely have to.” Christopher deeply sighs, looking into the rear view mirror for a moment before focusing back on the road. “Hyung-nim’s already mad enough at us as is, but I’m not losing another brother today.”

“Will do,” Felix says with confidence, then cuts the line.

Christopher has a serious look on his face as he focuses on the traffic. He pushes yet another button on the steering wheel and tells the AI of his car to call Jisung. The trilling of the connecting line fills the car and everything feels tense.

“Hey, baby, what’s up?” Jisung’s voice comes through the speakers.

“We’ve got a problem with Felix and Hyunjin,” Christopher says calmly, but clearly concerned. “Minho knows they’re in Daegu and I’m assuming he’s on the way there.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah,” Christopher grits his teeth and exhales with force. “I’m on the way to pick you up. Call Seungmin or Jeongin. Have them both meet us at the apartment, alright?”

“You got it.”

“I don’t want her to come with, but,” you hear Jisung whispering to Christopher in the studio as Jeongin and Seungmin grab a few things from the studio and bring them out to the kitchen counter.

“She ran off, Jisung,” Christopher quietly bites back, “I can��t spare any of us to stay out of this just to watch her. You know that Minho is -“

Jeongin interrupts your eavesdropping as he sits down next to you on the couch. “It’s a nice view, isn’t it?” Part of you is upset that you’re socially obligated to socialize now instead of eavesdropping, but at the same time, you didn’t want to know how much you were inconveniencing Jisung and Christopher.

“Yeah,” you honestly agree, turning your head to look out the window. “I’m not sure how Christopher managed to get a property out here, but it’s impressive.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve chatted with each other.” Jeongin turns to look at you, a slight frown tugging at his lips. “Hyung had mentioned you were having a hard time coming to terms with everything. I know we don’t really know each other well, but you can always reach out to either me or Seungmin if you need to talk to someone different for once.”

“It’s true,” Seungmin perks up from the kitchen, walking into the living room and popping a couple of grapes into his mouth before he sits on the chair opposite from you. “We’re more fun than them, anyways.”

You smile at their words, continuing to stare out at the skyline. How was it that they had gone through all of this and came out seemingly alright? Why was it just you that had difficulties coping with everything? Why did you have problems with every little thing lately, but everyone else was doing so much better than you?

Christopher and Jisung come out of the studio, both of them visibly frustrated, but Jisung at least tried to hide it as he walked into the living room. Christopher grumbles something under his breath, darting off through the kitchen and into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

“Hey,” Jisung awkwardly says as the door slams, closing his eyes tightly and sighing. “Are you all ready to go? We’re running a bit behind, so Chan-hyung is a little frustrated.” You knew that was a lie, that Jisung was just trying to keep the peace.

Seungmin lifts his eyebrows and cocks his head towards Jisung. He smirks, almost like he wants to make some sort of comment, but he shakes his head. “Yeah, I think we’re fine.” He turns to look at both you and Jeongin, then looks back to Jisung. “Hyung gonna be alright, or…?”

Jisung rolls his eyes, waving his hand dismissively in the air. “Yeah, you know how he gets. He’s just,” his eyes subconsciously dart to you, then to the floor as he stumbles over his words, “he’s got a lot to deal with right now. You know?”

Jeongin turns to look at you, gently placing his hand on your knee. “Are you ready?” You take a second to catch your breath, then timidly nod your head and he stands up. “Alright. I think we can get out of here.”

A loud clattering comes from Christopher’s room. The four of you exchange panicked glances with each other, and Jisung takes a step toward the bedroom, stopping as the door flies open. Christopher steps out of the room, now wearing a button up shirt and a thin tie, both in black. You notice he has black gloves on as he adjusts his necktie. There’s also an unlit cigarette in between his teeth, which you knew was a bad sign. He doesn’t bother looking at anyone before he grabs his car keys off of the island in the kitchen and making his way to the front door, slipping on a pair of black loafers. “Grab the shit and let’s go.”

Christopher chain-smokes for nearly the entire way to Daegu. He specifically asked you to sit in the passenger seat next to him, and you believe it’s so he could anxiously hold your hand. For the first forty or so minutes, until you get past Icheon-si, the air is so tense, nobody says anything. The bright LED of the dashboard reflects on Christopher’s face, illuminating the panic he’s trying to suppress as he takes another drag off of his third cigarette.

152km/h. That’s what you see when you turn to look at the big, bold digital letters reflected on the console. It felt much faster than you anticipated, and now you knew why, since the speed limit was 100. “You’re speeding,” you quietly say without thinking.

“Felix needs us,” Christopher says, his voice terse. “I don’t give a fuck about the speed limit. Nobody’s on the road right now.”

“Chan-hyung,” Jisung perks up from the back seat, pulling himself up with your seat to be in between you and Christopher, “you should probably slow down a little, at least. 150 is really fast.”

“Not happening.”

“Hyung,” Seungmin chimes in, “I don’t mean to overstep, but Jisung is right. We’re going to be no help if we -“

“Would all of you shut up?” Christopher shouts, letting go of your hand, flicking the end of his cigarette out of his window as he grabs another one from the open pack and the lighter in the cupholder. The speedometer slowly ticks up to 160 km/h, and the numbers change from blueish-white to yellow. “Nobody else is dying today, not if I can help it. We’ve lost too many people already. One person was enough. Changbin was enough.”

He lifts the cigarette to his mouth and his hands tremble as he flicks the black lighter a couple of times before the flame comes to life. The cigarette smoke always smelled terrible at first, until you got used to it about a minute in, but it wasn’t something you were overly fond of. Maybe once all of this was over, you could convince Christopher to stop smoking for good.

His left hand takes the cigarette from his mouth and he leans his elbow against the door, nervously rubbing his fingertips against his forehead. “Fuck,” he whispers under his breath. There’s another awkward silence as you feel Jisung let go of your seat, relaxing back into his spot. Jeongin whispers something that you can’t quite make out, and Christopher holds down a button on his steering wheel. “Call Lee Felix,” he says as the AI chirps at him.

“Calling, please wait.” the AI responds.

175 km/h. The numbers are now orange.

Christopher grips the steering wheel harder and harder the longer it takes for the call to go through. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he grumbles under his breath, eyes nervously darting between the centre console display and the road. “Fucking pick up, Felix.”

180 km/h.

“Yes, hyung?” Felix’s voice fills the car and you breathe a sigh of relief.

“Thank god, you picked up,” Christopher loosens his grip on the steering wheel just a bit, bringing the cigarette to his mouth and taking a drag from it. “Any word yet?”

“Not yet, hyung.”

“Good,” he exhales, and a cloud of smoke leaves his lips and is violently pulled out of the car through the window. “We’re on the way there, just drove past Icheon-si.”

“Icheon-si? Hyung, that’s…” Felix starts to say with a hint of concern in his voice.

“Don’t worry, I’ve been going a bit over the speed limit,” Christopher scoffs, “as it was kindly brought to my attention. Should be in Daegu in about two hours at this pace. Call me immediately if anything changes, understood?”

“Yes, hyung, but -“

“If you’re about to scold me, I highly advise against it.”

190 km/h.

There’s a momentary pause over the line. “Understood, hyung. My apologies for stepping out of line.” Felix’s voice sounds slightly dejected, but it’s barely noticeable.

“See you soon.” Christopher curtly ends the phone call by pressing the button on the steering wheel again.

200 km/h.

The display is bright red and there is a soft ding that brings Christopher’s attention to the dashboard. “Fucking shit,” he says, and the car slows back down as he moves his foot off the gas pedal. “I’ve never gone that fast before. Holy shit.”

You look at him, reaching a hand over to his hair, brushing it back behind his ear. It had gotten shaggier and curlier over the past few months, his dark roots starting to show more and more obviously as time went on, but it didn’t bother you. In fact, part of you was curious to see what his natural hair colour looked like.

“It’s going to be alright,” you softly whisper, rubbing your thumb against Christopher’s temple. He grabs your hand with his right hand and smiles.

“Thanks, baby,” he doesn’t look at you, but you know he genuinely appreciates the little ways you remind him that you care. He pulls your hand down from his face and gives it a quick kiss before he returns it to your lap, only letting go so he can hold the steering wheel when he ashes his cigarette.

145 km/h. That was tolerable.

It takes maybe an hour and a half to reach the safehouse in Daegu. The building is old, like it had been abandoned a while ago. Siding had started to peel off of the side of the building, making it look dilapidated.

“I recognize that vehicle,” Seungmin says with concern as Christopher parks the car.

“I do, too,” Jisung chimes in, and reaches for his phone. “Nothing. Have you heard from Felix?”

Christopher pulls out his phone, glancing at the screen as he turns the car off. “Shit,” he says, unbuckling his seatbelt and opening his door. “Minho just got here. Let’s go.” The five of you get out of the car, Christopher and Jisung out in front of you, hands on their pistols as Seungmin and Jeongin are on either side of you.

“Stay behind us,” Jeongin whispers as you go up the stairs of the building. “I don’t know if anyone’s told you, but Minho gets violent very quickly. He’s unpredictable; not to mention, he’s got to be exceptionally angry, given the severity of the situation. Both he and Hyunjin are good shots, so try to stay out of the way.”

You approach the top of the stairs, the sounds of shouting coming through the slightly ajar front door. Christopher throws his hand behind him, and everyone stops moving. He cranes his head around the doorframe, then walks in.

“Minho,” he says, as Jisung follows him inside. “You need to step back.” Seungmin and Jeongin follow their superiors inside, and you can’t help but poke your head into the doorway.

“Oh, of course,” Minho turns around at the sound of Christopher’s voice, laughing sarcastically. “Channie has to show up and save the day. What a hero, right? Or is it that maybe you wanted to have a little revenge on Hyunjin for taking away our Changbin?”

The way that Minho spoke made your stomach turn. Something about it made you feel like you were watching a dark psychological thriller film, like you needed to take a shower.

“We decide together,” Christopher calmly says. “Trust me, I understand how angry you are at him, I really do.” Minho takes a couple of steps towards Christopher and his eyes widen, almost like he’s ready to throw a punch at his superior. The three men around Christopher take their pistols and aim them directly at Minho as Christopher tucks his pistol back into its holster and lifts his hands up. “Changbin was my best friend. I’ve known him for almost half my life at this point. Trust me, I get it.”

Christopher turns his head, looking at Hyunjin, who wavers a bit where he stands. “I’d want to make him suffer, too,” he turns back to Minho, “but you know that Changbin wouldn’t want that.”

Minho scoffs, closing his eyes and shaking his head, tilting it down. “Yeah, I know. Changbin was always the level-headed one out of all of us when it came to the family.” He lifts his head back up and a dark expression covers his face. “Changbin isn’t here anymore, though. So, if you and the boys don’t mind,” he turns his head back towards Hyunjin, “I’m gonna get revenge with my fists.” He lifts one of his hands in the air, “Don’t shoot me, though, I’m just gonna beat some sense into him, mano a mano.”

Christopher sighs, turning his head a bit back towards the men behind him, waving his hand dismissively to indicate that the guys should holster their pistols. “Let him,” he simply says, then moves to adjust his necktie. “If it gets bad, we’ll step in.” A part of you didn’t believe that Christopher was being sincere. With how much he cared about Changbin, it was likely he wanted to see Hyunjin suffer, but didn’t want to be the one to deal with it.

“No the fuck you won’t,” Minho snaps as he walks towards Hyunjin. “Pretty boy is mine to deal with.” He grabs the collar of the younger man and shoves him up against the wall. Felix takes a couple of steps around the men, walking over to Christopher and whispering something unintelligible from this far away.

“You know this is your fault,” Hyunjin says with a cocky look on his face. “If you never fell for Changbin after Shanghai, you know we’d be at the top now.”

Minho takes one of his fists and brings it to Hyunjin’s cheek, it slamming against his cheekbone with a thump. “If you hadn’t gotten so goddamn cocky,” he grips the collar of Hyunjin’s shirt again, shoving him into the wall a little firmer, “we wouldn’t have fucked up that deal. The Triads were fucking pissed at you and that’s on you. I wouldn’t have gotten shot if it wasn’t for your shitty fucking bravado.”

Hyunjin scoffs, drawing his head back a bit and colliding it with Minho’s with a heavy thud. Minho lets go of Hyunjin’s collar and grabs his head, moaning out in pain. “Fucking hell,” he grumbles with a slight slur.

“You were such a coward. Still are,” Hyunjin says, grabbing his forehead as he knees Minho in the stomach. “Temporarily left the fucking family because your precious Binnie was so worried about you. You really thought you were just gonna leave, go somewhere and start a happy family?” He scoffs and rolls his eyes. “As if. No one makes it out of here sane or alive.”

Minho growls as he reorients himself upright. He draws his arm back and literally leaps at Hyunjin, his fist colliding against his face again. This time, however, they land on the floor and throw fists back and forth until their faces and knuckles are bloodied. “If you never got involved with that fucking Triad girl,” Minho spits blood down onto Hyunjin’s face in anger, “we would never be here. Changbin would still be alive, the two of us would be out, then you could have had it all. But you went and flew too close to the goddamn sun, you fucking traitor.” Minho pushes himself to his feet and reaches for his pistol.

A chill runs through the air as Hyunjin calmly stands up, drawing his pistol in response. “It’s not my fault,” he says coolly, then turns to glare at you. “If it wasn’t for her,” he nods in your direction, then turns back to Minho, “Changbin wouldn’t have died. All I wanted to do was to give him a little warning shot so Minji and I could get out of there. But, you know your precious Changbin. Always had to be the brave, strong hero.” He squints his eyes and cockily smirks. “You loved that about him and you know that.”

Christopher tenses, sensing the shift in tone, and he grabs his pistol, motioning for you to get back, but it’s clearly too late to intervene.

It happens in an instant, time slowing down like the time that Christopher got shot in front of you. You see Minho’s arms raise up, aiming his pistol at Hyunjin, who responds in kind by aiming his pistol at Minho. However, he’s a bit too slow.

Minho fires his gun once, square into Hyunjin’s shoulder. The younger man shrieks and recoils, but manages to fire a shot into Minho’s stomach before he collides into the ground. The older man falls forward, crashing into the floor like a rag doll. Blood flies everywhere, painting the room and the men in splatters of deep crimson.

Hyunjin weakly coughs a couple of times. “Idiot,” he groggily whispers before his head rolls away from you.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” Minho coughs out, thick blood coming up from his throat. Felix immediately moves towards Minho, but the older man shakes his head once. “Let me fucking die.” The younger man stops in his tracks, nods, then moves to Hyunjin. He pores over the long-haired man, reaching up to his throat, letting out a deep sigh, shaking his head.

Minho lazily rolls onto his back, staring up to the ceiling. “I know you never would have wanted me to get revenge,” he scoffs, more blood coming up and spilling down his cheek, “but you knew me better than that. You were always the, ah,” he coughs a couple of times, “always the wiser one out of the two of us. I might have been older, but you were smarter.” He closes his eyes and lets out a shaky sigh. “I love you so much. You made me so much better. Sorry, baby. Hope you’re there on the other side. Heh. Hope there’s an other…”

A creaky groan comes from Minho, and that’s the last noise he makes. The room falls silent and nobody moves for a while. A few tears fall down your face. Minho may have been flighty and impossible to understand sometimes, but he showed you nothing but compassion and kindness when he first met you.

“Hi, I’m Lee Minho,” the memory of his introduction replays in your head. “Changbin’s probably talked about me by now.” You remember the way he softly smiled as he offered a slight bow to you. The way he looked at Changbin while he was half-drunk and high off of ecstasy, the way he whined at Changbin and pulled him into an embrace when he was half-asleep the next day. “Cuddle me and make it better.” There was no way he was truly a bad person, not by all of his interactions with you. He just loved Changbin and didn’t know how to appropriately act about it at times.

Your knees painfully collided into the ground and you just started sobbing. Sure, Minho had moments where he was absolutely insane, but the memories you had with him physically hurt as they passed through your head.

Daegu. You were in Daegu. You probably weren’t far away from where he and Changbin were for the Colourful Daegu Festival a long time ago. How happy they must have been when they were tripping on acid and listening to music. God, how much they must have loved each other. All of the happy memories they had, only to end in pain and misery and literal fucking death.

“Don’t let Channie intimidate you,” you remember him telling you the day that Christopher came home from the hospital, not long before Changbin brought him home. You were both on the couch, aimlessly talking about life as Jisung took a nap in the bedroom.

“What do you mean?” You had asked, turning to look at Minho.

“He’s a little intense sometimes,” he continued, folding his hands together and bringing them to the back of his head. “but he cares. Once he gets close to someone, he gets protective and it’s endearing. It’s usually just a bit intense at the beginning. I mean, you saw how he got when he found out you and Sungie had been together, but he cares. and just doesn’t know how to show it sometimes.”

You cocked your head to the side and mumbled in agreement.

“I remember when he found out that Changbin and I were dating. Wow,” Minho sighed as he rolled his head up to look at the ceiling. “Man, was he pissed. He yelled and yelled and totally reamed me. ‘First, you get shot for him,’ he said to me, ‘now you’re in love with him? With my best friend?’” Minho smiled at the memory. “That’s how I knew he really cared about Binnie. He wasn’t mad at me, he was just protective of his best friend.”

“Huh,” you mumbled out, then leaned back up against the couch, staring up at the ceiling with Minho.

“He gave me his blessing eventually,” Minho continued, “but he told me that if I ever broke Binnie’s heart, he’d break my kneecaps in two and make sure nobody found me at the bottom of the ocean.”

Your eyes widened and you turned to look at Minho in terror.

Minho tilted his head towards you and smiled. “Real charmer, ain’t he? Very endearing type. He falls fast. Probably loves you already, just doesn’t know how to say it. Be ready for it to come completely out of the blue.”

You run your hands through your hair, rocking back and forth as you sob so hard that your throat started to ache. Someone takes a few steps towards you, then bends down, pulling you into their arms. “It’s okay,” Jisung’s voice whispers in your ear, “it’s gonna be okay, bunny, I promise.”

Liar. Everyone was a fucking liar.

“I’ll take care of this,” Felix quietly says to Christopher as you and Jisung sit on the middle of the staircase. “Don’t worry about it, hyung.”

“You sure?” Christopher flatly questions, his voice devoid of emotion. “I can call the hyung-nim and -“

“Hyung,” Felix presses. “Do you know how many bodies I’ve dealt with over the years? All the time in nursing school? It’s fine. It’s just another part of the job. Besides, the hyung-nim is still pretty miffed at us. Can’t imagine how happy he’s gonna be to hear that two more of us are gone.”

Christopher sighs, and you hear them slap each other on the back. “Thanks, Felix.”

“Not by blood,” Felix starts.

“By the code.” Christopher finishes their pact with a deep sigh. “I want you to come back up to Seoul when you’re, ah,” his breath hitches as he speaks, “when you’re done. Alright?”

“Understood, hyung.” Felix says. “You’re buying the drinks, though.”

Christopher lets out a strained chuckle as he comes down the stairs. “Yeah, yeah.” He slowly approaches you, sitting down on the stairs behind you and Jisung. “I’m sorry you both had to see this. I’m sorry this went so badly so fast.”

“Chan,” Jisung turns his head over his shoulder, looking up to Christopher. “Are you going to be alright driving back to Seoul tonight? There’s the other safehouse, or I can drive down to Busan; it’s only an hour or so from here.”

“No,” Christopher says, probably shaking his head like he did when he pretended he wasn’t bothered by something. “I don’t mind. Just gotta stop somewhere, get an energy drink and another pack of cigarettes and we’ll be fine.”

You lift your head up from your hands, staring off into the horizon as the sun starts to come up. It felt like you had been here for an eternity. A burning, gnawing sensation burned in your stomach as you mentally pictured Minho laying on the floor, blood spilling down his face. A cold sweat broke out over your skin and your body started to tingle everywhere.

Oh, shit.

You were going to be sick. You bolt up to your feet, running down the last couple stairs and prop yourself up against the railing as you spill the contents of your stomach on the pavement, painting the ground in a disgusting shade of green.

“Ah, baby,” Christopher whines, coming up behind you as he rubs his hand on your back, pulling your hair back in a loose fist with his other hand. “It’s gonna be okay, I promise.”

Liar. Everyone was fucking lying again.

Footsteps trail up the staircase, disappearing into the building as you hear Jisung say something to Felix. Your stomach retches again and searing acid comes up and splatters onto the ground, causing you to cough in a panic as it felt like your throat was closing. The cycle repeats itself a couple of times, and by the time you’re almost sure you’re done being sick, Jisung is on the other side of you, rubbing your lower back and handing you a cold bottle of water.

“It’s okay,” he lies, because everyone’s lying. Nothing was going to be fine. Nothing would ever be fine ever again. “When you can, take a drink of this. We can take as much time as you need.”

You snatch the bottle out of his hand with disgust, standing upright and breaking the seal of the bottle, taking a swig of its contents. The pH of stomach acid fluctuated between 1.5 and 3.5, you randomly remember from your university days. Water was neutral at 7. The way the water burned going down your throat made it feel like it was at a pH of 1.

Everything felt like battery acid. The way the stomach acid burned as it came up, the way the water felt as it went down, the way that everyone was lying to you, the way that life seemed to absolutely abhor your guts - literally and metaphorically. Even though you knew that Christopher and Jisung were doing their best at just trying to console you, their hands felt like battery acid burning into your back.

You sighed as you tilted your head up to look at the sky. The sun was coming up, but there was still a deep shade of violet far off in the distance, white spots spattered against the technicolour backdrop. A single red spot in the distance caught your eye. Huh. Wasn’t that supposed to be Mars if you saw a red star?

A red star. A red spot.

Wait a second.

Oh shit.

“Don’t we need to go to a convenience store?” You say, turning to Christopher, trying to sound as calm as possible as you do some mental calculations.

“Yeah, how come?” He responds, tilting his head in confusion.

“I’ll grab the stuff for you. I wanna grab a snack and some things to drink for the ride home.” You lie, a fake smile plastered on your face. “It’ll let you and the guys talk about family stuff for a minute without me, you know? Not like I can run away if you’re right in front of the store, right?”

Christopher’s face falls into a frown and he shakes his head. “I guess that’s fine. Jisung’s going with you, though.”

Shit.

“Chan,” Jisung says with a scoff, “I’ll just wait outside. She’ll be fine.”

Christopher glares at Jisung, then turns away, rolling his hands in the air. “Fine, fine,” he sighs, walking towards the car, “if she runs, you’re going after her.”

Jeongin gets off from the trunk of the car, shoving Seungmin’s shoulder and startling the poor man. Must’ve been nodding off. “C’mon, Seungmin,” he quietly says, “looks like we’re getting ready to go.”

“Is something wrong?” Jisung says as he steps in front of you, calculatedly avoiding your artistic addiction to the pavement. “Something doesn’t seem right.”

“It’s just a lot to process,” it’s a half-truth, really, “figured you guys could use a minute to yourselves and I could use a minute to myself.

“You’re not gonna run, are you?” Jisung sounds concerned as he tilts your chin up to look you in the eyes.

“I’m not, I promise.” For once today, you were telling the entire truth.

Jisung doesn’t really pay attention to you as you wander around inside the convenience store. You grab a couple of snack foods off the shelf, not really thinking or caring about what you grabbed, too busy focusing on the real reason you were there. You walk around the store until you reach the more household-like items. Nervously, you roll your eyes up, checking to see if Jisung was still staring off into space.

Luckily, he still wasn’t paying attention. You eye a box, snatching it off of the shelf, then spin on your heel and grab a few drinks from the cooler behind you. As you walk up to the counter, you ask the clerk for whatever stupid brand of cigarettes that Christopher smoked, trying to hide the box from Jisung’s line of vision.

The clerk eyes you with judgement and shakes her head. She rings up all of the items, saving the box for last, but you grab it from her before she can place it in the bag and you shove it in the pocket of your hoodie. She cocks her head in confusion, then decides it must be too early to really question anything. “₩21,050.” You pull out a few bills from your pocket and slip them to her. She hands you some change then asks, “need the washroom?”

You turn to look at Jisung, who’s staring at you now. “Y-yeah,” you stutter out, “lemme just give this stuff to my boyfriend real quick.”

“First door in the back, to your left. Good luck.” The clerk scoffs, then goes back to her coffee.

You take a couple steps to the door, opening it and passing the bag off to Jisung. “Gonna use the washroom, be back in a second.” He opens his mouth to say something, but follows you into the store.

“I trust you,” he lies, otherwise he wouldn’t be following you, “but you know that Chan would kill me if I didn’t follow you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you tuck one of your hands into your front pocket and open the door. “I get it, just give me a minute.” You slip through the door as Jisung stares at you in confusion.

06:32. You make a mental note of the digital display as you get back into the car and slide your seatbelt on.

“You look a little pale, baby,” Christopher says as he rubs his finger on your face. “I know today has been a lot, but are you alright? You sure you wanna go back to Seoul today?”

“I’m fine,” you lie, swallowing down some of your panic. Subconsciously, your eyes dart to the clock again. “I’m just tired. It’s been a long day. Long month. Long year.”

Jisung sighs from the back seat. “You can say that again.”

Christopher leans in to kiss your cheek, then unwraps the plastic from the pack of cigarettes in his hand. He pulls one out of the package, lifting it to his lips as he rolls down the window. “Everyone ready?”

Nobody really says anything, so Christopher shrugs his shoulders, lighting his cigarette before shifting the car into drive and making his way through the streets of Daegu. He takes in a long drag from his cigarette and lets out a sigh.

06:34.

“What a fucking year,” he says, not really expecting anyone to respond. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do if something else happens to us. I just wanna get out of the family, you know?”

Jeongin chimes in, “Yeah, I think I’m about ready to call it quits, too. Maybe go back to school and get a degree in something. Be a productive member of society instead of whatever this is.”

Seungmin laughs. “I feel you on that. Kkangpae isn’t really a marketable skill on a resume, is it? Imagine how that interview would go. Yeah, I have some good business skills, sir, but you don’t wanna know how I learned them. I can tell you how much a single dose of molly will go for on the street, though. Did I get the job? When do I start?”

The guys laugh, but you offer a polite smirk as your keep your eyes trained on the clock. 06:36. Why was it that when you wanted time to pass faster, it always seemed to go slower? Why was life so paradoxically cruel sometimes?

“Chan-hyung and I are pretty good at music,” Jisung perks up, “maybe we could become some idols or something? I’ve got the face for it.”

Christopher snorts and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, like that would ever happen. I don’t want that kind of life, sounds too busy. Besides,” he looks over at you, then back to the road, “I don’t think they’d take too kindly to the fact that I’m already dating not only one, but two, people. Really wouldn’t like the fact that one of them is another dude.”

06:38.

“Good point,” Jisung says, probably rolling his eyes. “Life is a cruel mistress, isn’t it?”

“I just don’t get it,” Seungmin says, “like, why is it anyone else’s business what people do in the space of their own homes? If it doesn’t hurt anyone, who cares?”

Jeongin scoffs. “You’re just saying that because you don’t want people to find out about your collection of -“

“Shut up!” Seungmin pleads with a whine, cutting off the younger man. “Why the hell do we live with each other again?”

06:40. Good enough.

You tilt your head to the side, pulling out the piece of plastic, pretending you’re looking at a piece of string. Your face falls when you eyes see a bright pink cross staring back at you, as if it were another way for life to slap you in the face.

“You alright?” Jisung’s voice startles you as you jam your hand back into your pocket.

“Y-yeah,” you sputter, “just thinking about how life really is cruel sometimes, you know?”

You were pregnant and you were definitely not okay with the idea of that.

“It’ll be okay, though,” you say as you stare out the window.

Everyone’s fucking lying.

a/n: surprise! i literally cried writing this chapter too. chapter eleven is probably about halfway done as i post this, so hopefully you won’t need to wait too long for it. just a heads up, there will be triggering content in the last chapter, and it will be clearly labelled. the epilogue, step out! see you in the next life will briefly cover part of the ending of chapter eleven if you’re curious but don’t want to read it. thanks for sticking around for this wild ride. can’t wait to see you next chapter.

edit: mano a mano means hand to hand, not man to man btw. just found that out lol.

#tw: suicidal ideation #tw: death #tw: mental instability #tw: mental health #tw: ptsd #tw: firearms #tw: violence #tw: blood #step out do what you want

17 notes · View notes

myulalie · 4 years

Text

On modern comment culture

First off, I’d like to make the distinction between honesty, and being hurtful under the pretense of being honest.

Hate, be it anon or not, is hurting someone’s feelings on purpose.

You can receive hate and be a hater too. It might be easier, even, to go from the hate you receive on your work, and take it out onto someone else’s.

Here is how I picture a hater's mind: “easy to pour some hate into a comment section, you don't see the person and they receive nice comments. They probably won't even notice.”

Sometimes, constructive criticism, even with your best interests at heart, hurts.

We don’t expect it, it’s not what we meant to write, or we just didn’t worry about how our work could be perceived.

It might be a very European vs American perception of criticism, and I aspire to get better, so the choice I made is to receive constructive criticism (concrit for short).

I wish someone would tell me if I’m writing something that doesn’t work, and why it doesn’t. I wish someone would point it out if I misuse a word.

Positive feedback is great and encouraging, actual comments about what someone likes/dislikes and why is helpful.

Not wanting any concrit is the author’s choice and I respect it. This is the reason I only offer concrit to anyone who told me they’re interested.

I wish concrit was still a thing

Modern comment culture is protective of authors, and there is a general agreement that concrit, especially unsolicited, is unnecessary.

I fully support the fact that fanfic authors are writing for free, so they deserve basic respect for their work.

This doesn’t give them the right to be assholes.

You put your work out there, you have a responsibility to at the very least let people know you’re not interested in concrit, and to disable/moderate comments if you don’t want them.

If someone comes to bug you when you explicitly mentioned you’re not interested in concrit then yeah, by all means, tell them to fuck off.

I think it’s important to let haters know their behavior is unacceptable. As they say, the only way to deal with a bully is to punch them in the face (or make them face the consequences of their actions as a general rule).

The author’s reply to hate tells a lot about them, but their reply to concrit also does.

Being polite should be a given.

And it goes both ways!

Readers are offering concrit for free too, they take the time to do so because they genuinely want to help. They enjoy your story enough to want to interact with you.

I’ve had a lot more comments than usual with kinktober, and I’ve built up a new habit of replying the next day before or after posting my daily take on the prompts.

I am aware that the amount of comments I receive is manageable, and some people have to deal with a lot more every day (like, hundreds).

In my experience, replying to short and sweet comments can be challenging because a simple thank you message isn’t personal enough, and you as a writer don’t have much content to actually reply to either.

Longer comments often open up more possibilities to reply, even if it’s just to let the reader know how you felt when reading their comment.

I believe that no matter how shy or busy you are, copying and pasting a little thank you message isn’t that difficult, and doesn’t take that long. You could even leave a note in each new chapter to let your readers know you read their comments and appreciate them.

Acknowledging readers will encourage them to comment your fics more, and potentially to the benefit of other authors too.

Don’t start fights because of concrit

Readers, please know that a simple heart as additional kudos goes a long way. Saying what you liked or just that you're enjoying the story is really encouraging too!

If you’d like to leave concrit, maybe formulate your comment as a question instead of pointing something out, to avoid upsetting the author.

I’m sure you mean well when you leave a comment, and you don’t want to discourage the author if you like what they’re writing!

If the author is open to concrit, they’ll probably reply to your question and ask their own, which leads to a conversation. Better safe than sorry, offer concrit and wait for them to agree, there is no use in getting into a fight with the author.

A better use of your time as a reader would be to read even more, I’m not getting in the way of your fun, or go and offer comments & concrit to someone who is interested in what you have to say.

As a writer, I guess you can always write more, and maybe thank readers for their kind words!

How to establish dialogue with your readers

Disclaimer: I’m still learning, and the amount of comments I receive compared to my free time is manageable. Before you proceed, please note I asked my reader for permission to use their comments as examples.

Myulalie: I would like to make a tumblr post about comments and include yours as an example.

It's to explain why I value them and how I proceed to reply, because I have strong feelings about author/reader relationships ^^

Would you be okay with that? It's totally fine if you're not, I am asking for permission because I don't want to make you uncomfortable.

Also, if you agree and for some reason change your mind once you've read the tumblr post, I'll remove it, no questions asked ^^

Reader: I don’t mind at all, I know a lot of people don’t leave feedback, for a variety of reasons, so any education in how/why is always important. I’m just glad my comments fall in to the good category 😁

Thanks for asking, you have my permission to use any you like.

The context is as follows: The characters went on vacation and asked friends to pet-sit their cats. I then used the characters’ cats as plot devices for the characters to move in together. A cat hid under the sink and refused to leave, which brought forth the “moving in” conversation.

Reader: Alcohol + other person = trautamised cat and an empty drinks cabinet... which I would be making them restock, oh and embarrassed friends... the cat might want to stay but I know the signs of a traumatised let.. sometimes taking a chance on something turns out to be the best thing in your life, so far, until the proposal

This reader is lovely and has been commenting on every chapter of this story, as well as some other stories. We never had any issue whatsoever and even chatted about their cat.

This is what I consider a good relationship, and when I read this comment I was surprised. I did not expect them to interpret the story this way.

The fact is, this reader is “wrong” because it’s not what I meant when I wrote (nothing happened to the cat, the alcohol part of the chapter is not related to the cat’s behavior).

This reader is also right because this IS what I wrote. The cat is hiding for plot purposes, but the plot also includes the pet-sitters getting drunk. I implied them making out, then regretting it later, thus behaving weirdly around each other, which was meant as comic relief.

I have seen replies to similar comments and needless to say people get into fights over such misunderstandings.

Here is my reply:

Myulalie: I would like to make the official statement that nothing bad happened to the cats D:

Ragnor & Jace's shenaningans were meant to hint at drunk making out and nothing more. The worse thing Church had to go through is second hand embarrassment I promise ♥ I can't bring myself to traumatise Church and I'm glad you pointed out that it sorts of look like something was wrong with him ^^ The only thing "wrong" is the plot device I used to have malec move in together haha :')

I appreciate this reader trusting me enough to point this out and letting me know how they feel.

I think it’s important to be aware of how this can be read. A beta would probably have told me how the chapter looked from an external point of view and suggested writing the same idea differently. As things are, I didn’t have a beta-reader for this fic.

Here is the reader’s reply:

Reader: Lol, good to know, although in my experience cats bring it on themselves, nosy little voyeurs that they are....

See how we solved the problem by simply having a conversation? This is why I appreciate concrit and do my best to treat readers well.

edit: upon checking in with the reader to make sure the post sat well with them, they told me they never meant it as criticism and actually found the chapter funny, their comment was written in a sarcastic manner that I totally missed!

There, you have it. I am full of good intentions and I still miss some of the meaning of the comment!

There was a second comment on the following chapter.

I’ll just mention that one of the cats dipped his paws in a can of paint and made a mess on the wall. One of the character makes a pet account on Instagram to post pictures of the cat’s “artwork” with paint.

Reader: I always love a story that ends on a happy ever after, although I do think alec was taking a big chance tying the rings to the cats collars, especially after the paint incident... we won’t go in to what I think of people having Instagram accounts for their pets, although the paining does sound nice...

This was a very cute story and I’m glad that they found their forever person :grin:

If you don’t get it, this reader and me disagree on pet accounts.

The fact is, they are allowed to express themselves, and they did it respectfully. I don’t think this comment is rude, and I don’t think this reader feels “entitled”. Quite the contrary, they’re polite and felt comfortable enough to let me know what they think.

I didn’t argue with them. My reply consisted in politely reminding everyone who might read this story that this is a work of fiction, and that it’s here for both the reader’s and the author’s entertainment.

Myulalie: Well, I definitely don't recommend doing your proposal this way IRL, fortunately stories are a safe space to make crazy proposals for entertainment's sake :')

I'm glad you liked the ending! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me all throughout the story, I really appreciated our chats ♥

edit: I thought we disagreed. We chatted again and they told me they don't have IG so they don't see the point of running 2 accounts, which fair. Because I used to run a pet account for my dog, I felt "attacked" where I absolutely wasn't.

One more example of misinterpretation!

I think the only way forward is together.

Authors deserve respect for their work, it doesn’t exempt them from being polite. Readers might need some sort of education on “comment etiquette”, and should be respected in return.

I want this platform to be a safe space for authors AND for readers.

#pearling down to business #on writing #commenting #comment culture #ao3 #concrit #constructive criticism #fanfiction

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danbensen · 4 years

Link

…or how tracking my life told me I was abusing coffee and social media

So there I was, my nails digging into my palms, my right molars pressed into each other. The air hissed in through my nose as my vision narrowed to a point. It was like hurtling down a roller-coaster. It was was terrifying, and I had no idea why it was happening.

I’d be doing nothing especially ominous – sitting down on the couch, carrying my younger daughter, thinking about bread – and suddenly I’d be gripped by this intense sensation of danger. BREAD! The image of a whole-grain loaf gained the mass of a church bell. DOOM! It rang. Toll the yeasty knell, oh brazen fate, for all men shall one day die. Die, oh, mortal flesh. Die and meet thy baker. (whoo! I am so sorry about that pun. Deep breaths now…)

Tiny drops of steam Ebb and flow before the light With each of my breaths.

It was ridiculous, but of course knowing that it was ridiculous didn’t help. I was like a cat, freaking out for no reason. Or was there no reason? Aren’t I supposed to listen to my body, now that I’m meditating and whatnot? But what exactly was my body supposed to be telling me? Avoid carbs? Run from the couch? Something about my daughter…? Yeah, If I searched hard enough for a reason to be terrified, I’d surely find one. Now there’s a reason for fear.

So I meditated more. I stopped using social media. I took my daughters to the park and watched the sky as it changed from brass to rose and the street lights blinked on. I talked to Pavlina. And I realized that over the course of the past month, I’d gone from drinking two cups of coffee a day to four.

The trees turn black and The sky, indescribable. Look up and it’s changed.

Scheduling is hard. My older daughter’s in first grade now, and school starts at 8:10 in the Center. The younger one’s in kindergarten, which starts at 8:30 in Levski G. At some point, it would be nice if Pavlina and I could go to work, which is back in the Center. If we want to have breakfast and drink our coffee in peace, we need to wake up at 6:15. Three hours later, I’m finally in the office and I’m tired. That scares me because I associate being tired with being sick. Fatigue=death.

I’m supposed to listen to my body, but my body is a stupid animal. It’s not going to say, “you’re drinking too much coffee.” It says “coffee reminds me of being happy!” and “not being productive scares me!” It says “I’m tired! I must have cancer again!” It’s up to me to keep track of what I’m doing, cut out the distractions, and give myself enough mental room to notice the patterns.

Right. So that’s why I’m not doing social media any more. Because part of the reason I was too distracted to notice I was drinking too much coffee was the last newsletter I wrote. I posted it on facebook, which made me want to check facebook for likes and comments. And once I was on facebook, why not see what other people are posting? Oh. Oh. That’s what they’re posting. Oh no.

I debated writing this explanation. Why not just stop using social media? Why talk about it on social media? But my litmus test for whether I should write something is “will this help people?” Maybe this is helpful: social media is distracting and depressing. It fills my head with noise. Maybe you have the same problem and this is the solution.

The sky at seven The color of hope that hurts And the crying swifts

I’ll continue to post my work on my website (including these newsletters) and mirror or link to those posts on Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook. Readers are welcome to like and comment, but I’ll only read those comments once a week (Friday seems like a good day). Comments on my website, PMs, and emails to me will get my attention earlier. I won’t read any content that isn’t sent personally to me or that I didn’t sign up for. Hopefully that means I’ll still get news from people I care about, but not about tragedies that I have no power to solve. That way, I can continue to function from hour to hour.

What do you think? Is this going to work? Can I stay connected without sacrificing my mental health? Let me know in the comments. Or even better, email me.

In other news, I had some good writing stuff happen this month. Interchange has hit its 2/3 mark and, more importantly, its rhythm. I’ve managed to block off a fairly reliable 90-minute chunk of time in the mornings, which I use to meditate and then “speedwrite,” which means writing without thinking about what I’m doing. I generally end up with a single element of a scene, such as the conversation the characters are having, how they feel, what’s going on in the environment, or what actions the characters are taking.

Then I usually have some time after lunch (and my second and final coffee), and I can layer those scene-pieces onto each other and smooth the edges. If I have more time, I do research, which usually involves shooting messages to generous experts. In this way, the inestimable and inspiring Thomas Duffy helped me tie a ribbon around the center of my book, in which a biologist’s subconscious belief that she owns the environment she’s studying leads her to destroy it. As the forest crumbles around her, she blames herself…then makes exactly the wrong decision about what to do next. Yeah! Fiction! Thomas, I’m going to send you roses or cacti or something.

Another new tradition I’ve instituted is spending my Friday mornings not working on Interchange. It’s a little release of pressure, a chance to play and remind myself that writing isn’t just another chore I have to do. The first week, it was a short story. That one turned out so well, I’m going to try to publish it. It’s called “The Sales Event” and it’s about smart phones and general relativity. Do you want to beta-reader it?

I got another couple of “no”s from publishers about The Sultan’s Enchanter, but one of them was that very gratifying “no” that comes at the head of a long list of things I could do to fix the story. Making those fixes will be educational, even if that particular publisher still passes. Wealthgiver is rather like The Sultan’s Enchanter, after all, and the lessons I learn from one will be important for the other. The world needs more books about amoral Balkan people!

Yeah, I’m still working on Wealthgiver’s neo-Thracian language. I even posted a little of it on Tumblr. But don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten my little goats!

Kapt kapēnon ainē kesa / byźai darsai ypo dēsâ. Ēbron, aiźi, byźâs kâ / skalmon, bleptē, bystâs kâ, As tae yper iatśikan / kapâ pe ta ve abbrinkan.

There were at one time / brave goats under heaven. A kid, a nanny, and a billy goat / clever, loyal, and tough, Who would dance up / a hill for to make themselves fat.

Dâ ispilsen opē rinkon strymē / parân ân, śân târâ dymâ. Iśē iserpa źēryntē / źymlē mērē urdēnē. Byźulâs ada pyrân źilmân / dâ bolvarâs pia rhobton saimân.

But a quick-flowing river blocked / the path with an evil guard. There coiled a beast / a great water-dragon. A goat will eat green grains / but a serpent will slurp blood

Peskēnon ērga ēbron do. / Pliskon ērga śân negō. Źymlē zē semân iglytsa. / “Kis ēs tu?” Neston iglâtsa. “Semâs manon ēm ēźo.” / “San ar ēsti? Abadam so!”

First comes the kid. / It splashes with its hooves. The dragon heard this. / “Who are you?” she roared. “This only am I.” / “Is it so? I will eat you up!”

Things are heating up! I’m still not entirely comfortable with the articles and deitics, but I do like that last line. And the orthography is shaping up nicely. I love googly things over letters.

Another potential conlanging project for that other hundred years I plan to live: Western Hellenism. What if the Greeks had conquered Iberia?

And finally, PROTECTOR! This is the comic project I’ve been working on for literally six years. Words by me and Simon Roy, inks by Atryom Trakhanov, colors by Jason Wordie, and lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhadu. What a crazy, fun, glorious process this collaboration was!

Protector is a post-apocalyptic scifi story about a slave who stumbles across “a demon of the Profligate Age,” a military cyborg who’s been in hibernation for the past thousand years. The post-human robots who are terraforming the Earth are not amused, and send in some sweaty future-vikings to put a stop to these shenanigans.

There will be five issues, and issue one comes out in January. If you’re interested, please order a copy, or better yet, tell your local comic or book store to order lots of copies! Give us some numbers that will convince Image to ask for a sequel

And finally, some books and stuff

Daring Greatly by Brené Brown – this book wasn’t as transformative for me as it could have been because I’ve read Brown before and I already agree with her. Shame is bad. Vulnerability is the cure. Bam. What I like about Brown is that she collects good data, lets it prove her wrong, and suggests how the lessons from the data can be usefully applied. It’s not just science, it’s engineering.

Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold – I think this was the third read. What happens when GM humans become obsolete? What happens when an engineer has a spiritual epiphany? It wasn’t quite as much fun as some of Bujold’s other science fiction, but it has a lot of heart.

Spooky Action at a Distance by George Musser – an excellent physics book, examining the concept of space, which lies at the center of the contradictions of relativity and quantum physics. If space didn’t exist, the universe would be chaos, but a lot of experiments only make sense if space _doesn’t_ exist. Great stuff, and it inspired that short story I’m so proud of.

Death by Water by Kerry Greenwood – a refreshing splash of chilly New Zealand sea spray. Phryne pursues a jewel thief and has a little bit of sex, but a lot of good food, drink, and dancing. There’s also a hakka.

Wicked Prey by John Sandford – it was actually a little boring. The police’s side of the story didn’t hold up as well as the criminals’. But this is a relatively early book in the series, which means Sandford is improving.

The Upright Go Pro – it’s a little device that you glue to your upper back so it will buzz at you when you slouch. Immediately after I put it on, I realized I have little tiny tyrannosaurus arms that don’t reach any table or counter-top. It ran out of batteries one day and man did my back hurt that night. So I guess it’s working.

Gravity by Against the Current and Brighter by Patent Pending – Good Interchange music.

Be Kind to Yourself by Andrew Peterson – It makes me feel better.

Song of Durin by Clamavi De Profundis – I haven’t gotten goosebumps from a song in a long time. It’s about dwarves.

The Twits by Roald Dahl – I read it to my older daughter and boy howdy did Roald Dahl know how to write for children. Everything seems utterly ridiculous but it all somehow satisfies. Like eating dirt cake.

Steven Universe – My younger daughter found me rewatching it on my phone and made me cast it on the big TV. Now it’s all “I wanna watch Steeben dabout a Giant Woman. I’m Pearl.” No, younger daughter, you are not Pearl. Pearl is my older daughter. My younger daughter is Amethyst. Nobody is more Amethyst than my younger daughter. (I’m Peridot)

#mystuff #newsletter #simon roy #thomas duffy #Artyom Trakhanov #writing #mental health #science fiction #thracian

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nomadicism · 5 years

Note

Be careful about having high expectations for Gen Lock. The series is created by Rooster Teeth Productions, who tend be to hit and miss. They created great series like Camp Camp, but they also created RWBY, which has a rep for having terrible writing in the later seasons. Characters are unlikable or Mary Sues; the plot is poorly structured and it made a lot of questionable choices. At this point, it could be either or. Only time will tell if it's the next Camp Camp or RWBY.

and

“I would be careful about having high expectations for Gen Lock if I were you. Gen Lock is created by Roaster Teeth Productions, who are also the creators of RWBY. That series went down hill after the 3rd season. Granted some of it had to do with the creator dying, but the writing dipped in quality. After watching the first and second ep, it reminds me a lot of VLD, including the humour. Reviewers said it didn’t dive into character motivation or any of the world building by the 5 ep point.”

Hi Anon, thank you for the Asks!

Given the wording of both of these, I assume they are both from you.

I’m going to try to reign in my salt here, but you happened to hit more than a few buttons with your Ask. Gonna keep this as brief as I can to focus on the core of my answer. I promise I’m not grumpy.

The opening sentence in both of these Asks does not come across well. I can give the benefit of the doubt b/c this is the Internet, but uh…yeah.

RWBY continues to enjoy great popularity and comes up frequently on my dash. I’ve never seen it, it’s definitely not my thing, but it’s still selling to someone, and my VLD mutuals that love it are still talking it up so I’m glad that they have another show to entertain them. I see merch everywhere, it’s got a Japanese dub and a manga adaptation and that’s pretty damn good for a web cartoon that came out of the U.S. Must not be that terrible as whole to merit all of that.

“Mary Sue” is a phrase that means absolutely nothing because everyone overuses it to mean any number of things about competent and powerful female characters, and most of them are incredibly subjective, and rarely ever applied to male characters who meet the same kinds of subjective goal-post shifting criteria.

Perhaps gen:LOCK will simply be the “first gen:LOCK” and not the “next anything.”

I didn’t find the humor in gen:LOCK to be like VLD at all.

Reviewers can eat my asshole.

And on that note:

Not every story benefits from a deep dive, or even a superficial exploration of character motivation or world-building.

Such things are very genre and plot dependent, and the perception of such is subjective.

Some of the greatest short stories, or even long-form novels don’t even bother with much of either if they are not necessary to advance the plot. Not everything needs to be Lord of the Rings or Ulysses.

Who had better “character motivation”, Frodo Baggins from the LotR trilogy or Ripely from Alien? What would “better” even mean for either of those genres? LotR and Alien are worlds apart, and yet, at the end of the day, the protagonists are fighting for survival against an unspeakable horror. The “journey” of their survival differs greatly, and those journeys are the point, the character motivations are really minimal and don’t require a lot of exploration.

Frodo’s character motivation can be summed up as: “save the fucking Shire by destroying a cursed evil ring” and a little bit of “Uncle Bilbo ruined me for the simple Hobbit life with his crazy stories.” While Ripley’s motivation is: “kill the xenomorphs before they kill me and my cat.” That’s it. Don’t even need in-character exposition or a flashback to describe Ripley’s. The genre hands it to you on a blood-soaked silver platter.

I don’t know what those reviewers were watching but the “character motivation” of the main characters that I saw in the pilot episode alone was pretty fucking obvious: HOLD THE LINE in a dystopian world were “freedom” hangs by a thread. They are trying to survive. That’s all it needs to be.

I don’t care why they joined the Vanguard. I have plenty of friends and family within various armed forces and their motivations range from complex to simple, but most of them are a variation on “I want to serve my country and my people.” That’s it, and that’s okay.

Additionally, Julian Chase’s backstory and motivation was made clear in the first 10 minutes through the positioning of him before the wall with his dead father’s memorial flag, and the conversation between the three most important people in his life: mother, sister, and fellow comrade-soldier/girlfriend (Miranda, great symbolism by the way in that name).

That pilot episode is Julian’s “super hero/science fiction origin story”. His Big Damn Hero moment is fueled by his “character motivation” to protect his loved ones, and inspired by the verses from his dead hero father’s favorite song: “Let the Good Times Roll.”

Any hyper-critical reviewer that missed that is full of shit.

And those verses?

“You only live once / But when you’re dead you’re gone / So let the good times roll”

That was clever and poignant foreshadowing, b/c GENRE. It also wasn’t super deep…and it didn’t have to be. It only needed to connect the threads of Julian’s introduction, who he is, something special that he shares with his mother, father, and girlfriend, and what his role will be in the show, and the nature of his being from here on out.

At the bare minimum, someone in the writers’ room is aware (even if only in passing) of the some of the most enduring questions that science-fiction (especially cyberpunk) has asked and navel-gazed over regarding the role of technology in extending human life, and what exactly defines “life” when one has left the meat-space. I’m not expecting gen:LOCK to be an exploration into the ethics and details of transhumanism/post-humanism/singularity philosophies and futurist dreams for humanity. It doesn’t have to be. They’ve already touched on the concepts and anyone who loves that sort of thing will notice.

My expectations for gen:LOCK are that—at worst—it will be as entertaining and to-the-point as the GI Joe cartoon in the 80s. I enjoyed GI Joe (pro-military propaganda aside), it was a regular thing for me to make the effort to watch. I didn’t love it like I did The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, or Robotech, or Voltron DotU, or Silverhawks, or Jem and the Holograms, but it was still fun and entertaining and it still is.

GI Joe didn’t waste time with a full exploration of Cobra Commander’s backstory or his motivations, nor did it do so with most of the Joes. The basics were all that was needed. GI Joe wasn’t about complexity and it didn’t need to be in order to tell an entertaining story while selling toys. Yes, sometimes you’d get some really interesting episodes that added dimension in between the more obvious filler. Shit, it took like 50+ episodes to get to a Destro-focused episode. I certainly wasn’t watching GI Joe for character motivations and world-building. I was watching because nearly every character had an interesting design and they all did unique things, and Cobra Commander was hilarious. I watched to see what they would come up with next.

Did I really need a compelling story behind Zartan, Zandar, and Zarana? Nope. They were fun villains that gave the heroes hell and spoke with shitty Australian accents. In the 80s, the Aussie accent was all the rage for edgy characters (oh Stingray…).

Do people remember anything about Scarlett other than she was the hot redhead?

I loved Scarlett, she was my She-Ra, and one of the main reasons why I watched GI Joe. But only the most hardcore GI Joe fans remember her stats and abilities. She was actually one of the most highly qualified and skilled Joes. From Scarlett’s Wikipedia article:

“Her primary specialty for the team is counter intelligence. Scarlett is additionally skilled in martial arts and acrobatics. She started training at age 9 with her father and three brothers, who were all instructors, and she earned her first black belt at age 15. Scarlett also graduated summa cum laude, and passed her Bar Exams to practice law, before moving into the military. She graduated from Advanced Infantry Training and Ranger School, and received special education in Covert Ops School, Marine Sniper School, Special Air Service School, and Marine Tae Kwon Do Symposium. Although she is as adept with standard weapons as any of her comrades, her weapon of choice is the XK-1 power crossbow, which fires various bolts with specialized functions. Scarlett is also a qualified expert with the M-14, M-16, M1911A1 Auto Pistol, M79 grenade launcher, M-3A1, M-700 Remington sniper rifle, MAC-10, throwing stars, garotte and KA-BAR (Combat Knife)”

Wow. Beautiful and striking appearance. High intelligence. Great martial prowess. Top shelf military training.What a goddamned Mary Sue.

So, if you’re still with me Anon, my point is that if gen:LOCK can be a “good enough” futuristic-cyberpunk-ish version of GI Joe that gives me fun and interesting-but-not-complex characters in command of infantry mechs, configurable jets, and a color coordinated team of save-the-day-big-damn-hero-style mecha who fight against a sinister force that has weaponized nanotech and colossal mechas that look like War of the Worlds meets Eldritch Horrors then I’ll be pretty fucking happy with it. The bar ain’t exactly high here.

#genlock #analysis #genlock spoilers #gen:LOCK #ask me anything #anonymous

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ask-de-writer · 5 years

Text

The next WIP is a LONG one. Here, I am only including the last few chapters, along with a link to the start of DARING DO AND THE COMPASS OF DISCORD.

This story is rated YA, having some violence and death.

DARING DO AND THE COMPASS OF DISCORD

WIP : MLP Fan Fiction : Cover art by Wind the Mama Cat

Daring Do is given a unique quest by a most unusual patron. She must find and recover the ancient Compass of Discord before its misuse can wreck the world of Equestria. Of course it would be easier to do if ANYPONY, even Discord, knew WHERE IT WAS …

DARING DO AND THE COMPASS OF DISCORD starts here.

Chapter 7 Voyage to Kuduspar

The reality was slightly different. As Amber pointed out over a complex game of cards and dice which Morail was winning, “When ships have adventurous voyages, bad things have been happening! We want a nice, quiet voyage.

“We will be making for Kuduspar, on the north coast of the Eland Republic. We are not going all the way to Degrate, on the Forgotten River, in the Zebra Confederation.”

Daring Do discarded. Both Amber and Withers rolled dice. Withers picked up the card and added it to the layout in front of him. Morail promptly laid her entire hand across his layout and, grinning, raked in the chips from the pot!

As Daring Do watched Morail in bemusement, she offered, “The way that you play this would convince anypony that you are a Diamond Dog, for sure. You have to grow up playing this game to be as good as you are, and only Diamond Dogs do that.”

Morail grinned. “<I am a Diamond Dog! I was raised as much by the Ruby Drift as I was on the farm. Only blood separates us. I earned that Drift Supervisor and Mining Explosives Expert certification!>”

Amber grinned too. She dealt the next hand. Dice rolled and cards were laid down, picked up or added to growing layouts in front of each player.

Leaning on the railing and watching sea and sky as the Malachite sliced through the waves was another pastime. Out on the open sea there were few birds but they did occasionally see one.

Pointing with excitement, Morail exclaimed, “Look at the size of the wings on that one! What is it called, Doctor Do?”

Smiling at Morail's excitement, Daring Do replied, “That is called an albatross. Some sailors claim that they never land, except to nest and raise their young. They do dive for fish to eat. Whether they land for anything else, you would need to ask somepony besides me. I have only seen them flying or on the water.”

Morail was almost bouncing with her present freedom. “Amber has released me from studying the ship's operations for the next two days!”

Interested, Daring Do and Withers asked her, “What does she have you studying, Morail? Can you tell us?”

Smiling, she replied, “Some of it, anyway. I have been learning modern fire control systems! These bigger guns and being on a ship make it all really tricky!

“Besides that, she has me studying the theory of modern Mage/Tech ship engines. I really can't tell you much about them. The history of them is fun, though. The Mage/Tech interface and first engines were invented by the Equestrian Rom, of all beings! They used them to power prostheses for their sick or injured Horses so that they could still pull their caravans!”

Withers nodded. “I can easily believe that, Morail. They invented the modern Magic Net too. Rather their foals did, so that they could stay in touch when bands were far apart. Old Marchhare claims that they used it to, and I quote, Plot against their elders, end quote. When their elders found out about it, they used it too, but made sure that the youngsters had a private part of it so that they could still plot and scheme!”

Daring Do chuckled, “That sounds so like the Rom! They say that the young have to get away with things. It builds character.”

The Malachite made her way from the Eastern Sea, south, just past the Equator, into the Stonewall Strait. The land fell away north to the continent of Epona. To the south, the land was the northern coast of the continent of Sorica, home, among other nations, of the Zebra Confederation. Separating the two continents was the Medial Sea, leading on through to the Poniesian Isles and the Great Western Ocean.

The days of the voyage passed without incident until they raised the lighthouse of Kuduspar in the Eland Republic. A swift, lightly armored patrol vessel flying the Zebra Confederation banner tried to intercept them. It had a small 50 mm cannon in a forward turret and fired a warning shot across their bows.

The Zebra ship demanded, “You must divert to the port of Degrate to have all of your cargo and goods evaluated and taxed. Any beings aboard who do not have Zebra Confederation travel documents must pay a fine and have proper documents issued before they can be permitted to travel further!”

Amber returned, “Nils Downitall does not own the Medial Sea! We are going to Kuduspar and you will need to learn to swim if you try to stop us!”

Morail was operating the fire control board. The Malachite's forward turret of 125 mm guns swung to bear on the Zebra ship. Morail was wearing the headpiece and speaking softly through it to the ship's turrets. Each of the three guns of the forward turret shifted their aim a little.

The captain of the Zebra Confederation apparently failed to notice, or he was following a script! He demanded, “Apparently our warning shot was not enough! Prepare to be boarded and all of your cargo seized!”

Amber's paw dropped in a slicing motion! Morail tapped her fire control board. The forward turret's guns blazed with flame and smoke! The ship shuddered under the recoil of the heavy shells blasting out to the opposing vessel!

Almost instantly, the small turret of the Zebra patrol ship erupted! A huge hole from an exploding shell tore apart the forward superstructure, just under the flying bridge! The third shell made a hole in the side of the boat, just below the smokestack! A sudden roaring wash of mixed steam and smoke back out the hole and bursting up out the stack told of the end of the patrol vessel's engines.

Amber sent back by Magic Net, “Apparently, OUR warning shot was enough! You were warned that we are going into Kuduspar. You have only three choices.

“First, you may abandon ship and we will sink the hulk.

“Second, we can tow your vessel into Kuduspar. By staying aboard, you retain a claim to the ship after paying us for the tow.

“Thirdly, you may abandon ship and we will claim the wreck as a prize of combat.

“We will pick up your survivors in either abandonment scenario.”

Sourly, the captain of the damaged Zebra vessel decided, “We will take your tow to Kuduspar. How will you get the tow line to us?”

Amber answered, “We have a pegasus traveling with us as a passenger. She will deliver you a light line to pull over a hawser for the tow.”

Soon Daring Do was bridging the gap between the two vessels trailing a light heaving line to the now wrecked Zebra Patrol boat. She dropped the line across the bows and left the rest to the crew of the boat.

In short order, the convoy of ship and hulk was back underway, headed into Kuduspar.

At the harbor entrance, the Malachite was taken by a harbor pilot and the wreck was taken under tow by a tug.

Chapter 8 Import License

In the harbormaster's office, Daring Do was explaining the ostensible purpose of the expedition and the reason for some of their more “unusual” supplies.

She offered, “You see, Sir, what the Spinel Drift Enclave, near the southern end of the Selene Mountains, has found appears to be ruins of what may be the root civilization for the famous Nil Eya civilization. The news of this possibility has severely upset the Downitall Party. They hold, as a core belief, that it was a ZEBRA civilization that sprang full blown with brilliant writing systems, stone work, and architecture due to the pure genius of the superior Zebra kind.

“If this find bears out, as the true Nil Eya root civilization, it will totally destroy one of the basic claims by which the Downitalls hold power.”

Daring Do made a twisted face as she observed, “For some MYSTERIOUS REASON, they don't like that and do not want us to succeed.

“The Downitalls totally fail to grasp what success is to an Antiquarian. It will not matter whether what we find is the root beginnings of the Nil Eya civilization, a later thing built by survivors of the Nil Eya slave revolt, or something else entirely. The only real gauge of success will be uncovering the truth of an ancient civilization.”

The window pane frames made a fine shadow play with the harbormaster's tall spiraled horns as he gazed out at the Zebra Confederation's shot up patrol boat being maneuvered into a drydock. He gestured out at his nearly empty harbor and replied, “I see. Look what their declaration of the Medial Sea being a Zebra pond has done to our trade. Under the circumstances, I am granting the import license to you directly and noting that it has the formal backing of both the Supreme Matriarch of the Diamond Dog Council of Enclaves and the Joint Crowns of Equestria as well.”

He pushed a small stack of papers across his desk. Daring Do began to fill out and sign where necessary. He took the packet and sorted out sheets which he neatly folded and sealed, returning them to Daring Do.

“Best of fortune on your expedition, Doctor Do. There is a fair amount of Discordian activity in the area that you will be investigating. I hope that they do not cause you too much trouble.”

Dryly, Daring Do replied, “I fear them far less than the Downitalls. That is why we have the special equipment that you have just authorized. We thank you.”

She gathered up her papers and fit everything neatly into her saddle bags and left.

She had barely closed the door than she was confronted by a bulky zebra resplendent in a Downitall Party uniform! He demanded, “I am war trained! I am a big zebra and you are a mere pegasus, so don't get any funny ideas! Just hoof over those papers for a Zebra Confederation stamp on each page! Fifty bits gold for each stamp and any page I don't like gets torn up AFTER I stamp it, so you still owe, got it?”

Daring Do wasted no time on chit-chat! A fast poke at the zebra's nose caused him to shy away sideways! As he was shifting his weight, she kicked the foreleg that was taking his weight, up high, dropping the stripy on his side, like a broken sack of oats! She followed up with a double buck to his exposed gut, driving the wind out of him!

Turning to the door, she informed the harbormaster, “There appears to be some black and white garbage out here. It is obstructing your walkway.”

“I see it, Doctor Do! Thanks! I will make sure that it is taken care of!”

Happily humming the Funeral March for Kings from the ancient Nil Eya civilization, Daring Do went down to the Malachite's dock. The head stevedore examined the papers and ordered his crew, “Begin off loading everything! It has all been cleared! Be careful with those ammo boxes!”

Chapter 9 On The Eland Veldt

The buildings of Kuduspar were far behind. The surrounding farms, managed by the many industrious kinds of antelope that made up the population of the Eland Republic, gave way to semi open veldt with large patches of woodlands.

Morail was watching all in fascination. “I was just getting used to the idea of ponies with one horn! Now there are all of these antelope with TWO horns! This whole area is so different from the veldt across the Selenes, where my Drift is!”

Withers looked up curiously, from the map that he was studying. “Your Drift? Morail, how much of what we have heard is real and how much is Amber taking advantage of this expedition to further her own plans for the Diamond Dogs?”

Morail, continued to look out the window eagerly as she replied, “My spell locked ID as Morail Ruby Drift pretty well nails part of it. I was not really a Veldratten. I was Morail Blum Fauntin and did go down into the Ruby Drift so much that they DID adopt me.

“Sometimes I would spend as much as a week or more down in the Drift. The Diamond Dogs took really good care of my education and taught me. I earned my mining and explosives certifications.

“My family sent me to the Royal University but the Ruby Drift was paying half of my education costs.

“The Downitall Party killed the rest of my surface family and claimed WITH DOCUMENTS TO PROVE IT, that I was killed too. That let them seize the farm for one of their hacks.

“This is where the story gets really funny! You see, I did play tricks on zebras above, about being a Diamond Dog adoptee that did not even know how to speak Zebra. Tried to buy things with Diamond Dog gems and pretended not to know about Confederation Marks!

“The ZC Ambassador called Ruby Drift's Matriarch Topaz and she confirmed that I have been a Diamond Dog since fillyhood and knew Morail Blum Fauntin. She told him about some of “our” tricks. He bought it all.

“Nils Downitall actually had the story checked. Since I did do those tricks, there were lots of good Zebra witnesses to the Zebra orphan raised by the Ruby Drift. Now, that is the official line!”

Daring Do spared a glance from her driving to flash a grin. “So, you did tell Princess Luna the truth, that you already were a Diamond Dog! How old were you when the Drift adopted you?”

Morail snorted cheerfully, “About six! Vater was both proud and mortified at the same time!”

Glancing back, Morail suggested, “Pull off the road in the next patch of trees, Doctor Do. We are being followed by a truck flying Zebra ensigns. We need to set up our special equipment.”

Daring Do simply nodded and began watching the road sides as they entered the shade of the patch of woods. The truck swerved, bounced fiercely and skidded to a stop!

Morail and Withers leaped out and pulled the canvas top clear of the back. Withers, with practiced ease, opened the crates holding parts and began the assembly.

Morail opened another case and began to remove blocks about five centimeters on a side. She was affixing things to them and setting them aside. In moments, she was out near to the road, stabbing a tool into the sod, prying it up, setting a block in the hole and stomping it snug, then repeating the procedure.

Daring Do checked the action of a semiautomatic rifle and loaded in a big curved magazine. She made sure that her throwing and combat knives were ready and that her big Spiderly 13 mm revolver was loose in its holster.

Seeing that Withers was done setting up the MT84 quickfire cannon, she passed him the rifle. Cannon set up, Withers made way for Morail to take the big gun's aiming handles and took cover where he could aim back the way that they had come.

They had only a small wait. The big boxy black and white saloon style car roared almost past their position, screeching to a stop and backing up. The Zebra Confederation flags on little staffs on each front fender fluttered in the breeze. It crossed the roadside ditch at the same place that they had, bumping to a stop as soon as it was clear of the roadway.

Sitting quietly up by the MT84, Morail smiled and pulled out a small device. It looked a bit like a Magic Net mirror.

The car's doors opened and two soldiers in Zebra Confederation Army Uniforms hopped out. They held the door for a portly Zebra in his Downitall Party uniform.

Daring Do pulled a tight smile of recognition. This was the same Zebra that she had walloped flat back there by the harbormaster's office! She also, and very ostentatiously, pulled her big 13 mm Spiderly revolver.

He did stop, as he stared down the unwavering barrel of the big pistol in Daring Do's grip. Arrogantly, he gestured toward her and one of the uniformed Zebras went to one knee, starting to aim his rifle at Daring Do.

From the brush off to one side, there was the crack of a rifle firing! The Zebra fell squalling his pain! He had facial cuts and one fore hoof was bleeding! His rifle lay in two shattered fragments! The other uniformed Zebra sprinted for the roadside ditch!

Morail, grinning ear to ear, barked in Diamond Dog, “Mistake!”

She tapped her mirror like device!

Along the ditch and several places closer, explosions tore craters and scattered sod, tossing the second Zebra to the middle of the road! The exploding mine under the Zebra Confederation car lifted its rear end up almost two meters! The right side rear wheels went flying, to crash into the brush as the car flipped up! It fell heavily onto its left side, the undercarriage starting to burn!

The aghast Downitall Party uniformed Zebra picked himself up from where the blast from Morail's mine under the car had thrown him. He gave a wild look at his fallen soldiers and the wrecked car, now ablaze.

Faced with massively superior firepower, he still tried to assert his “authority!” “Doctor Do! You must give over this expedition! It has been forbidden by Nils Downitall himself!”

Daring Do raised her eyebrows and, incidentally, her big Spiderly revolver. That last, she brought to bear on the second button of the Downitall Party uniform, just over his heart.

“For starters, sirrah, your precious Nils has overreached himself for a second time. This is the Eland Republic, not the Zebra Confederation.

“Additionally, we are not even interested in the origins of the Nil Eya Civilization. We know, from wall paintings and from written evidence that has survived, that the Zebras did play an important part in building it. AS SLAVE LABOR. The genius that guided the labor was not Zebras.

“What we are now going to check out is an apparent temple complex found by workers from the Spinel Drift, here in the Eland Republic.

“You may tell Nils that his minuscule navy has upset the Chineighese Empire with the interruption of free trade from Equestria, Prance, Saddle Arabia, Epona and parts of Sorica.

“Qushi Han Lee, the Pirate Queen, has dispatched a fleet to take care of the matter.”

He started to scoff, “Pirate Queen? Our modern gunboats ...”

From her vantage point behind the MT84, Morail interrupted in her heavily Diamond Dog accented Zebra, “Qushi Han Lee's yards built the Malachite, our delivery packet. You know, the ship that sank your light cruiser Das Capitin and blew the engines out of your patrol ship. She is sending two battle ships, four heavy cruisers, six Hunter Destroyers and a pegasus carrier strike ship.

“They have been ordered to sink your entire navy and destroy every ship yard in the Confederation.”

The official drew himself up and snapped, “They cannot do that! It violates International Law!”

Daring Do, tilted her head and scratched an ear, while suppressing a chuckle. “Really? And your criminal blockade of the Medial Sea does not violate the same laws?”

He snarled, “Not at all!! Nils Downitall has declared the entire Medial Sea to be our waters to regulate as we see fit!”

Morail barked, “Then he can have no recourse to International Law! Setting aside Free Passage in the Medial Sea breaks those same laws!”

She brought the barrel of the MT84 to bear on him too.

Daring Do pointed north. “Kuduspar is only about two to three day's walk that way. I suggest that you gather your fallen zebras and start walking. Since it is illegal for them to carry those guns in the Eland Republic, I would suggest leaving them behind unless you want to spend time in a Republic jail.”

Gathering his uniformed zebras and starting to walk, he shouted back, “You have not heard the last of ONDER OTTARHOOF!”

Chapter 10 A True Discordian

The expanse of the Eland Veldt passed behind Daring Do's party. They entered a range of broken, upheaved strata ruptured by the speckled gray of granite. The road began to twist and double back as they climbed the gray broken rock of the hills. Smaller brush and tall trees began to dominate the area. The road led into a defile that opened out to a small valley with a tiny town.

It was a simple “wide spot in the road” sort of place. There were only seven buildings, including a little store and an Eland Republic Government Station.

In a small cloud of dust, they pulled up in front of the Government Station. Their hooves resounded hollowly on the dry, knotholed boards of the porch as they trooped inside.

The antelope behind the counter looked up at them with interest. Daring Do noted a modern, desk mounted Magic Net mirror in its frame. There were papers stuck onto three standing spikes and some stacked into In and Out baskets.

He looked up and mildly stated, “I am Meridian Courser. May the Path of Chaos bless you all. Are you the famous Doctor Daring Do?”

Daring Do stopped cold. “I am she. Are you really a Discordian?”

He nodded, his long spiraled horns making short arcs as he did so. “I am indeed. Following Discord or Eris, as she often is, is a lawful and proper religious choice here in the Eland Republic.

“I did have a reason for asking your identity, Doctor Do. A number of complaints have been lodged against you by Ondar Ottarhoof, Chief Consul of the Zebra Confederation.”

Daring Do nodded. “I expect so. He seems to think that this is the Zebra Confederation. At least, he acts as though the word of Nils Downitall is law here.

“Have you any means to verify the truth or falsehood of statements?”

The station master smiled as he busied himself doing some unobtrusive things to a document on his desk. “I have, Doctor Do. I have applied a non equine magical truth test to this document. It contains the accusations against you.

“Your replies will appear as shades of color according to the truth of your answers.”

He turned to Morail and offered, “You appear to be a Zebra and might have to answer to the Confederation courts of law for some of the accusations in this case.”

Morail shook her head negatively. “Appearances are deceiving. I am a Diamond Dog.” She held out her spell locked ID for the Station Master to examine. “I will be happy to explain my part in the recent action against Ondar Ottarhoof. That way, it will be a part of your truth tested documentation.”

He returned her ID and observed, “I will want your information as a part of this investigation. It sounds like it will be of interest.”

By the time that Meridian's questions were done, the document of accusations was showing the yellows and oranges of evasions or half truths and the brilliant red of outright lies.

The answers of Daring Do, Withers and Morail showed the clear green of truth. A few of the questions about the origin and reasons for the expedition showed the yellow green of incomplete but true answers.

After Meridian closed his official questioning, he asked, “Doctor Do, are you aware that the followers of Discord are no more monolithic than, say, followers of Celestia or Luna? There are many sects of us. True Discordians of all sects respect life, just as Discord him/her self does.

“We are not so arrogant as to think that we understand the subtleties of his/her Chaos. What we do is observe his/her Chaos and record both its nature and its results. To us, it appears that his/her Chaos is a major driving force for beings of wisdom to develop both in mind and civilization.”

Morail asked him, “What of those Discordians who think that they have found where Eris is creating her Chaos and rush in, often violently, to 'help her spread Chaos'. What of those who killed my friends in the Blum Fauntin farm, over in the Zebra Confederation?”

Meridian leaned back and steepled his split hooves. “Those are actually two questions. First, those who rush in to 'help' Discord, whether violent or not, are not ones that we count as True Discordians. They are so arrogant that they believe that they can grasp and assist the plans of a being more than three thousand years of age, with experience, cleverness and subtlety to match.

“Second, the Blum Fauntin attack, in spite of appearances, was not done by any sort of Discordians. We used to buy a good deal of our supplies from across the mountains, especially from the Blum Fauntins. The killers used automatic weapons, a thing that is anathema to all Discordians. Since the farm was hoofed over to Downitall cronies, I personally suspect the Downitall Party of those murders.”

He shrugged. “I have no real proof of that, however. I wish that I did. Whoever it was blackened the name of all Discordians and that of Eris/Discord itself.”

Daring Do offered, “Meridian, sir, I have spoken with Eris herself and to her trusted assistant, Cyrene. Cye feels as you do, about the Blum Fauntin attack. I do think that she would not mind your sort of worship.”

Meridian smiled and said, “You were blessed indeed. You may go on your way unhindered by the Eland Republic and, according to the documents sent to me, with the blessing of Amber, Supreme Matriarch of the Diamond Dog Council of Enclaves.

“May such Chaos as you encounter further your goals.”

As they drove away, Morail pointed to a lesser used road. “Let's go up there, Doctor Do. That way will take us to the northern most entrance to the Spinel Drift. I will feel far safer, once we are underground.”

They only got a few kilometers up the road. Daring Do stopped the truck. They could hear rifle and light artillery fire up ahead.

Saying only, “Those are my friends that are being attacked,” Morail got out of the cab and went around to the back of the truck. The vehicle rocked some as she climbed up into the bed. Daring Do and Withers nodded to each other and began loading and checking their pistols and rifles.

When Morail tapped on the truck's roof to let them know that the MT84 was ready, they began to advance cautiously up the road. Rounding a bend, they found the way blocked by a Zebra Confederation military half track truck.

Chapter 11 The Battle At Spinel Drift

Daring Do quietly set up a Magic Net call. Meridian's face appeared in the Mirror. “What is it, Doctor Do? I hear what appears to be a military action in the background.”

She nodded. “It is, here, take a look.” She held up the mirror so that Meridian could see the half track that was blocking the road. “As you can see and hear, the Zebra Confederation has illegally entered Eland Republic territory and are attacking the northern entrance to the Diamond Dog's Spinel Drift. It appears to be a small number of attackers.

“We are requesting permission to assist the Spinel Drift.”

She could see the conflict in Meridian's face. “We understand your distaste for the use of automatic weapons, Sir. Still, the Zebras are using them and, as you know already, we possess an MT 84.”

Heavily, he nodded. “This is not Discord's Chaos. If you feel it necessary, you have permission to enter the fray.”

“Thank you, Sir. We appreciate how heavy a decision that was.” She closed the mirror and nodded to Withers.

“This is your area of expertise, Withers. As of now, you are in charge.”

Withers nodded and directed, “First back up until we can't be seen by anypony in the half track. We need to scout their position before we enter the fight. I hear at least two guns that appear to be old MT 81s. Obsolete does not mean harmless!”

While Withers was talking, Daring Do was backing their truck down the road and around the bend, out of sight from the battle ahead of them.

As soon as they were safe, Withers got out, taking his rifle with him. He told Morail, “I need you to stay here with the MT 84 to protect the truck and Doctor Do. I am going to scout the location of enemy. I will be back soon.”

Morail nodded her understanding. Withers quietly went into the roadside brush and seemed to vanish. Watching his professional skill, Daring Do smiled tightly and wished him well.

After a wait that seemed interminable but was really only about ten minutes, Withers came back. Gathering the others to him, Withers took paper and and began to sketch out the Zebra position.

“They have three MT 81s. Two are on these high points, to fire down on the Enclave entrance. The last one is down here. We need to remove or get around the half track to be able to take it out.”

Daring Do asked, “How well guarded is the half track?”

Withers replied, “I saw only the driver. The Zebra leader does not appear to be too well trained. He has all of his forces committed to the attack, except for the half track driver. While I was scouting, his attention was entirely on the action around the entrance.”

Morail pointed to the roadside where the half track was parked and inquired, “From my visits to the Spinel Drift when I was younger, I seem to remember that this is a longish slope. Am I right?”

“It is. What do you have in mind?”

“I will want you and Doctor Do to cover me while I sneak up and plant a pair of remote detonation charges on the half track. Don't shoot unless he spots me.

“Then we will come around the bend. I will open fire on those two high point MT 81s. We should be able to knock out both of the high positions, since we are taking them from behind. Their own half track will shield us from the lower one.”

Morail grinned savagely. “Until I blow those charges. They should flip it onto that slope without much damage to the road. We should be able to mop up the other gun without too much trouble.”

Withers nodded acceptance. “I will take those rocks up to the right. When you two start your move, I will pepper the lower MT 81 to keep them from turning its mount to shoot at you.”

Tense, Daring Do took the wheel of the truck. Morail got two of her explosive blocks and set the detonators into them. She crawled away up the road and around the bend.

It was not much later that she returned the same way. Climbing into the truck bed, behind the MT 84, she rapped the top of the cab to let Daring Do know that she was ready. Withers ghosted off through the brush and climbed into position behind the granite boulders.

With his high sign, Daring Do charged the truck around the bend! She felt recoil make the truck shudder as she heard Morail's three round bursts from the MT 84! A shell from the Zebra Confederation's MT 81 nest on the left exploded in the road!

The driver of the half track had his rifle out and started to shoot at their truck's windshield! Twin fireballs eruped under his vehicle! The blast lifted him from his feet and hurled him aside as his machine lifted up and slammed back down, teetering at the edge of the rocky slope!

Hoping that Morail would have the sense to hang on tight, Daring Do, aimed their truck at the damaged half track! The impact jolted them to a brief stop! The flaming wreck tumbled down, bouncing as it rolled, scattering burning debris.

Steering as best she could while peering through the spiderweb of cracks in her windshield, Daring Do sent their truck careening down the road into the Zebra position!

She was reassured by the recoil shocks and muzzle blasts coming over the cab top. Morail was still busy back there!

There fell a sudden silence! Daring Do hit the brakes, preparing to leap out to Morail's assistance when she made out the frantically waiving white flags from the Zebra positions!

The solid gates of the Spinel Drift yawned wide to release a small horde of Diamond Dogs carrying arms! One group detached themselves from the rest and charged up the road toward the truck!

Daring Do was too shaken to clearly follow Morail's rapid barking of Diamond Dog as she explained the situation.

Chapter 12 The Spinel Drift

Morail leaped down from the back of the truck and embraced one of the armed and armored Diamond Dogs! Daring Do could easily follow her barking now.

“Matriarch Moonstone! It is so good to see you! Did you get Amber's dispatches about this expedition?”

The Matriarch replied, “I did. Besides this little war problem, we have some real trouble in Shaft 73. We were following a pegmatite seam that was loaded with first rate emeralds. It has either petered out or we somehow lost it.

“Could you find the time to take a look? Your skill at following gem drifts is legendary.”

Morail nodded in full understanding of what was important. To Diamond Dogs. She turned to Daring Do and requested, “Can we spare the time to look over this problem for the Matriarch? It will give us a lot of good will with the Drift.”

Daring Do smiled. “I do understand that the Drift has priorities that are different from us on the surface. If it won't hold us up for more than a few days, I can't see how it will be a problem.”

The Matriarch's relief was obvious. Her response was generous. “We will see to the repair of your truck, Doctor Do. We will replace your ammunition and restore your supplies of explosives and detonators too. Anything else that you need to further your expedition's aims, just let us know. If we can do it, we will.”

In spite of the many places that Daring Do had been to, seeing the inside of a Diamond Dog Drift was a new experience for her. It was obvious that Morail was right at home. She was utterly relaxed and barking jokes and light banter with the others around her.

They had hitched Diamond Dogs to pull the truck into the drift. Matriarch Moonstone explained, “Engines like yours can be really noisy inside our tunnels. We will see to it that your truck gets to the proper exit as soon as it is repaired.

“It would be a good idea to get out any personal things that you will need for the next few days. We can easily provide you with food appropriate to zebra and antelope kinds. We do quite a lot of trade with the surface and often entertain trade delegations.”

Daring Do and Withers promptly gathered packs with notes, note taking supplies and clothes. Daring Do had no expectation of needing it but packed along her beloved Spiderly revolver and a box of ammunition. She was mildly surprised to see Matriarch Moonstone nodding with approval.

Morail and the Diamond Dogs were leading the way, deeper into the Spinel Drift. Daring Do was half expecting a place of darkness or torch lighted gloom. It was nothing of the sort.

Clear light shone like the daylight above them, illuminating the whole underground complex. The source was panes like large magic net mirrors. Looking into one showed blue sky and some clouds drifting by.

Fascinated, Daring Do asked Matriarch Moonstone, “Is that really the sky overhead that you are transmitting down here for light?”

She nodded agreeably, “Yes. As soon as we found out about the magic net sending images, we adapted it to lighting. We use it for a lot besides communications. I am sure that Supreme Matriarch Amber would appreciate your not mentioning this in your book on this expedition.”

Daring Do thought that over for only a moment. “I shall run the manuscripts past her to be sure that they remain both accurate and preserve anything that you wish kept secret.”

Matriarch Moonstone paused in deep thought for a bit and offered, “If you wish, you may accompany our party to Shaft 73 and watch Morail at her real work. Depending on how that idiotic business with the Oathbreaker Downitall plays out, some of what you see may have to be kept secret. That will be Supreme Matriarch Amber's call and since you have already agreed to her approval of the manuscript, I can see no reason to keep you from it.”

The party set out deeper into the drift. Everywhere that she looked, Daring Do saw walls and pillars that had been exquisitely finished, the stone's natural colors and forms lovingly enhanced. No compromise with strength had been tolerated. Besides the unexpected light, she was surprised at how quiet so many Diamond Dogs could be.

Soon they passed out of the residential and industrial areas and into tunnels that were rough hewn from the native stone. There was none of the careful decoration of the other areas. Rails laid along the floor allowed carts full of stone to be removed or empty carts to return to the various work faces of the extensive mine.

Matriarch Moonstone stopped, gesturing at an area of shaft wall that had a deep cut into its side. “See, Morail? The whole fine seam of pegmatite just seems to peter out.”

Morail held out a hoof for a mirror that was shining a good beam of light. She put her head into the cut and shined the light around some. She backtracked up the tunnel to where the seam appeared to start out over a meter thick. She wriggled into the starting area of the whitish pegmatite. Using a small one hoofed pick, she dug into the several faces of the stone around her.

Backing out, she put a fairly large broken emerald into the Matriarch's hooves. All smiles, she announced, “No use following the seam further down shaft from where it ended. However, if you dig DOWN along this fault,” she pointed with an educated hoof, “you should encounter the other half of the seam where it was split by the fault. I would guess, about two to three meters should do it. You will be following it back that way.”

She paused and looked around at the collection of diamond dogs before asking, “Would you like me to help with setting charges?”

#DARING DO AND THE COMPASS OF DISCORD #MLP Fan Fiction #Work In Progress #Written by De Writer

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ilovedeadlypremonition · 7 years

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Deadly Premonition director, Hidetaka “Swery” Suehiro, officially announced his upcoming “Debt Repayment Life Simulation RPG (with Cats)” The Good Life at his PAX West Panel this afternoon!

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We already got a short teaser trailer a week or so ago after the”cat was let out of the bag” but now with Swery’s official announcement we have a brand new trailer, tons of concept art, the game’s crowdfund details, and thanks to the official press release a more detailed plot outline.

THE STORY

Based in an RPG-style town filled with fun activities and fascinating people, THE GOOD LIFE offers a thrilling, twisting murder mystery. At first glance, Rainy Woods looks like a normal country town in Northern England comprised of stone houses built in the Middle Ages, nestled in abundant nature and surrounded by forest. Looking deeper, however, Rainy Woods is home to a bizarre and deadly mystery. Throughout the day, the townsfolk work hard, look out for one another, love their families, and enjoy nightly drinks at the local pubs. Each character has a unique personality and lifestyle. Events change depending on the time of day, weather, and season. Even though some may argue that they live in a video game world, the townsfolk of Rainy Woods still worry, suffer, love, hate, and have fun as any real person would. Rainy Woods and its small English aesthetic exudes a unique sense of charm, fully realized when, in the dark of night, its villagers transform into cats.

Players star as Naomi, a photographer straddled with debt who moves from New York City to Rainy Woods. As an étrangère, players feel both alienated yet strangely comfortable as they must make friends, solve mysteries, and become emotionally invested in Naomi’s quest to make a life for herself in the happiest and most bizarre town in the world. To pay off her debt, she sends reports and photographs on villagers and their town as she uncovers its deadly secret.

THE GOOD LIFE is a mystery tale in the vain of Raymond Chandler or Conan Doyle. Players make a tragic discovery in the town’s river—the brutally murdered body of a young girl, her heart pierced by an ancient, medieval sword. Having first arrived in Rainy Woods to uncover the secrets of the happiest town in the world and payoff her debt, Naomi is thrusted into a bizarre mystery, setting her journalist heart ablaze as she sets her sights on revealing the truth behind the young girl’s murder.

THE GAME

Genre: Debt Repayment Life Simulation RPG Platforms: PC + TBD Console(s) Release Date: Q3 2019 Target Developer: White Owls

So we got a murder mystery/life sim, with cute cats, a cast of bizarre characters with their own 24 hours schedules, AND events that will change depending on the time of day, weather and season?

[More details, pictures and my thoughts under the cut!]

The Campaign

If you are as hyped as I am you can help make Swery’s new game a reality by contributing to The Good Life’s Fig campaign. The development team is hoping to raise at least $1.5M USD to bring a digital version game to both PC and consoles. Fans can lend support via traditional reward based backing or by investing in Fig game shares of the game. There’s a number or different tiers and rewards available for The Good Life ranging from simply receiving a digital copy of the game when it is released for $29 to actually becoming a character within the game as a reward for donating a whopping $35K! Though if any rich fans out there are considering the $35k tier please note that there’s a chance you might end up being brutally murdered in the game. (Yikes!)

Looking at all the tiers though I must say I’m a bit disappointed by the lack of any sort of physical rewards being offered. I mean a real signed message card from Swery is a lot more tempting than a digital one… But there seems to be some hope that this may change looking at the responses to some of the early “backstage” backers. It seems Swery and the campaign team are looking into the possibility of including some physical rewards in the future and are even asking for suggestions!

Personally I would love to see a physical copy of the game or an art/guide book myself! Heck a stuffed kitty Naomi or even a sheep would be pretty awesome additions too!

[Update!] A physical award tier has been added and for $269+shipping you can get a package with some cool game swag! Now if you picked another tier don’t worry you can update your pledge and pick choose to add a number of DLC and physical items!

The Idea

Even though Swery’s announcement of a new game so soon after returning from retirement and opening his studio, White Owls, was kind of a surprise (or maybe it was just me?) it turns out Swery’s been developing the idea for The Good Life for quite awhile now.

According to the “SWERY’S Voice” video on The Good Life’s fig campaign page that describes the game’s inspiration, vision, and story the idea behind the game was sparked after Deadly Premonition’s producer (I assume Tomio Kanazawa) was suddenly transferred to London, England while Swery continued work on Deadly Premonition in Osaka, Japan. Swery was sad to be left behind but the long distance communication between the two ended up inspiring the idea of being sent to a rural English town and being unable to leave.

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Swery’s initial idea continued to refine and expand in the back of his mind over the years even while developing, the now sadly incomplete, D4 – Dark Dreams Don’t Die.

Back in 2015 Swery took a brief retirement from game development to focus on recovering from reactive hypoglycemia and during this hiatus he finished the first draft of a murder mystery novel set in a British countryside town from the perspective of a cat.

I've been eager to hear more about his mystery book for while but now with the The Good Life's announcement I'm beginning to think Swery's novel may have inspired the whole investigating a murder mystery while as a cat angle of The Good Life game.

Now this connection between the game and novel it is pure speculation on my part at this point but given that both are revolve around a strange premise of cat investigating a murder in a rural England just seems way too coincidental. Plus the novel's working title of " I Am Not a Cat " really makes me believe that the main character may have been a human at some point which is very similar to Naomi's situation in The Good Life as she only temporarily turns into a cat during the night while living Rainy Woods!

By the way the characters listed on the campaign page are kind of amazing…and here I thought the residents of Greenvale were a bit strange. I like how Swery seems to be continuing the tradition of a single black male among a caucasian population (who is also named the “totally normal cat” btw lol) and an insomniac who works with the dead. I wonder if the “person name Kaysen” that has occurred in Swery’s last three games (Spy Fiction, Deadly Premonition, and D4) will also continue in The Good Life? It is also kind of amusing that the “Handsome Nurse” is known just as “Gay Cat” I’m guessing this means Naomi won’t be able to make any love connections with that bloke?

Game Mechanics

In The Good Life the story mission focuses on three core points: paying off a huge debt, uncovering the town’s secret, and solving a murder of Elizabeth, the lone daughter of the village pastor.

Photography

Since Naomi is a professional photographer from New York it is no surprise that taking photos is a major gameplay mechanic featured in the game. The monetary rewards for Naomi’s daily reports will heavily factor around the quality and rarity of the photos players take during the day.

Capturing the perfect photo may prove to be a little difficult at first. You won’t actually know how any of your photos will turn out until they are developed them back at Naomi’s house and ranked as either a “success” or “failure” and only successful photos will be sent over to the client for rewards. As players progress through the game there will be opportunities to upgrade and even purchase special cameras that will help the players take better pictures.

Part- time Jobs

But taking photos and sending daily reports isn’t the only way Naomi can cut down her debt. The game also allows players to take a number of part time jobs around town including bartending at the local pub, delivering milk, shearing sheep and other rural tasks.

Some of these part time jobs will give the players opportunities to make a fortune but they can also be exhausting and some can even be dangerous so you have to choose your side jobs wisely!

Any money earned in these ventures can be put towards paying off the ever looming unpaid debt or spent on fun things for Naomi.

Customization

The Good Life is a RPG after all so it’s no surprise that as players progress through the game Naomi stats will improve and fun customizations for Naomi in both her human and cat forms can also be acquired. Naomi’s range of daily activity will expand based on her stamina and movement speed so the more points you earn or temporarily acquire via clothing will allow for more photo taking and fun activities during the day.

Life Maintenance and Stamina

…and speaking of stamina just like in Deadly Premonition and D4 it is important to keep Naomi well fed and rested during her stay in Rainy Woods. I’m pretty excited to see all the English dishes that will be available for consumption… There were a few dishes listed over on the campaign page including one of my favorites, Fish and Chips, which I have a feeling Naomi will end up eat a lot of during my own play through unless there happens to be a lot of smoked salmon…

But eating and sleeping isn’t the only thing players need to keep an eye on during Naomi’s stay they also must balance Naomi’s income so while she’s paying back her debt she will still have enough money left over to not only take care of her daily needs, but also have enough for the upkeep of her camera, the development of photos, and her daily shipments of reports back to New York.

The most surprising examples of one of her special expenses that’s listed over on the campaign page is the need to buy sanitary goods for Naomi once a month. It’s a normal expense in my own life but it’s something I’ve never seen mentioned let alone forced on a player to even consider while in control of a female protagonist before. It’s pretty amazing that sort of detail was even included!

I also thought that way alcohol consumption in the game is handled is really interesting as well. Giving Naomi alcohol will provide some high rewards in the short term as it will alleviate both her hunger and her thirst in one shot but if she continues to overindulge in drink throughout her stay she will develop a dependency for it. It’s pretty neat to see the real life consequence of addiction in a video game... I hope Rainy Woods also has a good 12-step program!

Special Events

The Good Life also features several seasonal events that offer special rewards. The game’s campaign didn’t go into a lot of details but in Spring there will be cherry blossom dance festival, there’s a Tea Harvest in Summer, while during the Fall Naomi can harvest nuts and catch fat river fish, and in Winter find minerals and maybe earn a present from Santa Claus(?)

Being a Cat

During the night while Naomi is in cat form players have the opportunity to investigate places you may not have access to while in human form and a chance to get closer to different villagers while they are in their cat forms by bringing them various trash…er I mean “kitty themed” presents…Some items you find while as a cat may even fetch a high price during the day and unlock some more special story events.

A few of the possible treasures a player can find are seen above...Hmm, I wonder if those “suspicious seeds” are anything like the ones you can find in Greenvale…

Graphics

As for graphics The Good Life’s campaign page describe them as being both “Nostalgic and Modern” using low polygon models with simple textures but also making use of CG-esque atmospheric lighting, fog, shadows, and glare elements well.

The game does look rather simple but it still has a very distinct and unique look. I’ve always prefered a great story over great graphics so I don’t mind the game’s simple design in the slightest :) I do think the sheep are really adorable in this art style though!

Atmosphere

If all of the features above hasn’t already peaked your interest maybe the Fig campaign description of The Good Life’s atmosphere will do the trick:

“THE GOOD LIFE has intriguing elements inspired by Twin Peaks. It will also feature the old-timey British traditions seen in classic shows such as Downtown Abbey and Poirot. This is a Swery Game, so expect a healthy dosage of horror, mystery, humor and taboo topics that helped make Deadly Premonition such a cult hit. Our humor will reflect some of the elements from Hot Fuzz and other classic British comedies.”

Man it was already a give-in that I would be excited for The Good Life since I’m such a big fan of Deadly Premonition (and Twin Peaks) but I can also expect some Hot Fuzz style humor too?!

Guys, Hot Fuzz is one of my all-time favorite films ever so this comparison has me even more excited to play the game!

Hmm… Rainy Woods is described as the “Happiest Town in the World” with the “happiest people on the planet” which is pretty similar to the situation of Sandford always winning “Village of the Year” in Hot Fuzz…I wonder does Rainy Woods have an equivalent of the Neighborhood Watch Alliance?

Hey Naomi, if the townsfolk start chanting about things being “all for the greater good” I would make run for it!

The Developers

The Good Life will be the joint effort between three developers: Swery’s studio, White Owls, along with G-rounding and Camouflaj. Swery and his team will provide the creative and artistic direction for the game while G-rounding will manage the production and game creation and Camouflaj will provide both production support and supervision.

I really hope The Good Life’s Fig campaign is successful as it looks like a whole lot of fun. I’m eager to see how the game will come together and “enjoy my best life” in 2019

#deadly premonition #the good life #swery65 the good life #swery65

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niialabellavita · 4 years

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The three Icons I would like to watch during Quarantine.

Morticia Addams

Morticia Addams of course is a fictional character from The Addams family TV and film series. She was created by cartoonist Charlie Addams and was based on his first wife, Barbara Jean Day. Legend.

Morticia is described as a witch who is very slim, has extremely pale skin, and long straight black hair. She commonly wears black to match her shiny hair. According to Wednesday, her disturbed daughter, Morticia applies baking powder to her face instead of actual makeup. She frequently enjoys cutting the buds off of roses, which she discards (keeping only the stems), likes cutting out paper dolls with three heads and making sweaters with three arms, and cooking unusual concoctions for her husband.

In 2009, she was included in Yahoo!'s Top 10 TV Moms from Six Decades of Television and AOL named her one of the 100 Most Memorable Female TV Characters.

I wish I could watch Morticia right now on her perfectly curated self help/camgirl Twitch account. She’d for sure be on Twitch. Her absence of fear but dark passion during this un-settling time would be illuminating. That pinch of morbid humor personally feels even more needed to stay sane. I would also very much like to watch her gardening suggestions, beauty tutorials, at home craft projects, and self made mask ideas.

She adored her husband Gomez, as deeply as he did for her and I would pay extra for some late night sex videos and relationship tips from the both of them. Her loyalty to her family goes beyond sanity and I love her for it. I would also love to watch her feed her personal pet Cleopatra, a fictitious breed of carnivorous plant called an African Strangler, to which she feeds hamburgers and other various meat. Or watch her strumming a Japanese shamisen, of course she was musically inclined duh-She’s perfect.

She seems to have a healthy but freaky sex life and her kids seem like they could survive anything. I’m not a parent but I’m pretty sure she’d have some great suggestions on how to keep your kids alive without them killing you vlogs. Oh Morticia, how can I be as strong as you? What is in your drink? Her overall aloof outlook and dislike for happy social gatherings makes her a role model for us all right now. Stay creepy and freaky out there.

2. Christopher Walken.

Christopher Walken is an American actor, singer, comedian, director, producer, screenwriter, and dancer, who has appeared in more than 100 films and television programs that I’m not going to list. I’ll give you just a few fun facts. He was Born in Astoria, New York. When he was 15, a girlfriend showed him a photo of Elvis Presley which inspired him to change his hairstyle to imitate Presley and he has not changed it since. As a teenager, he worked as a lion tamer in a circus. He attended Hofstra University, but dropped out after one year, having gotten a role in an off Broadway revival alongside Liza Minnelli! Wild!

He initially trained as a dancer at the Washington Dance Studio before moving on to acting. He prefers to be known informally as Chris instead of Christopher. Walken won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Michael Cimino’s 1978 film THE DEER HUNTER. In 1992, Walken appeared in Madonna’s controversial coffee table book SEX and the music video for her hit single, "Bad Girl" (directed by David Fincher) He’s been married forever with no children. The quiet couple have a cat named Bowtie, and their previous cat was named Flapjack. They live in Connecticut.

Lastly, Walken was one of the last people to see actress Natalie Wood alive before her drowning on November 29, 1981, while on a weekend boating trip near Catalina Island.

I would gladly pay for his Patreon account where I assume all proceeds go to helping animals and young artists during this critical time.

Watching him make pancakes for his wife… Talk about his role in Batman Returns....Maybe even a little dancing around his garden would lift my spirits and boredom.

His voice is as soothing as it is funny... it makes me frustrated and giddy with his long pauses yet, I’m waiting on every word. I would like him to read short stories and have his cat awkwardly enter the frame to block the camera. In a time of chaos Christopher or Chris, is my calm. Actually his real name is Ronald.

He makes me feel at ease. The tall striking man I’ve grown up watching in some of my favorite movies usually playing the villain but he’s really our hero. I can’t decide if he’d be in a bathrobe or perfectly groomed and well dressed for his first episode or perhaps it would vary keeping us all more engaged.

I love you Walken.

3._________________________

This next person already makes me feel guilty without even saying his name. BUT, during this time it’s important to try to keep going, keep learning, workout, yada yada yada. Personally sometimes getting up to shower feels excruciating. I’ve lost my will to sing these days too weak to fight back tears that flood once I open my mouth, so I’ve turned to writing. Something... to try. I’m not great at it but whatever it passes the time. I can write about my ideas and fantasies anything to survive. This next channel pick is the survivor of all survivors who’s self tutorials I will never be able to complete but I’ll watch in awe until I die.

Bear Fucking Grylls.

Some Wikipedia shit on him to follow

Edward Michael Grylls better known as Bear Grylls, is a British former SAS serviceman, survival instructor, and honorary Lieutenant- colonel, and, outside his military career, an adventurer, writer, television presenter and businessman. He is widely known for his television series Man vs. Wild. In July 2009, Grylls was appointed the youngest-ever Chief Scout of the United Kingdom and Overseas Territories at age 35, a post he has held for a second term since 2015. I don’t know what any of that means but it seems impressive and that he probably makes his bed every morning no matter what or where his bed is.

His dad is a conservative politician that taught him how to climb, sail and skydive and most likely forced him to earn a second dan black belt in Shotohan Karate. HE speaks three languages.. I can’t keep going…its all too crazy for a normal human to process.

The craziest in my opinion; Father of three in August 2015, Grylls left his young son, Jesse, on Saint Tudwal’s Island along the North Wales coast, as the tide approached, leaving him to be rescued by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. (RNLI) as part of their weekly practice missions. Jesse was unharmed, though the RNLI later criticized him for the stunt, saying its crew "had not appreciated" that a child would be involved! What the fuck? Imagine if he was your dad? But also then I would know how to hopefully do a bunch more shit or survive if the world turns into the walking dead- which lately I think about often.

I’m not even going to list his expeditions cause they will make you feel out of shape and guilty for not figuring out how to follow a simple stupid banana bread recipe online - but they’re very impressive. It’s all just too much. He hiked the Himalayan mountains, you know he’s that guy, but really THAT TOP GUY.

I did watch part of his show where he took Channing Tatum into the wild and made him take his clothes off in freezing water to catch a fish by hand. Loved that.

But here’s why Bear is my pick- Because we are lazy and capable of so much more. Confined or free Bear is mentally and physically dialed in.

I’d want to know his real opinion on what our bodies need to survive, house hold jobs, etc. Youtube would probably be his platform which a bunch of random copy cat accounts that think they are better than Bear. Bear never insults anyone. He believes in us. We can survive if we keep learning and trying. From the master of social distancing and sustainability. His cooking suggestions I’d even try just to avoid another trip to the grocery store to be less wasteful and be more mindful of what I have rather than have not.

Bear Grylls Boot Camp will save your life or at least help you loose a few llbs.

Who else would you like to see have a channel during this time and why?

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samanthasroberts · 6 years

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5 Awesome Game Sequels That Were Screwed Over & Canned

Death, taxes, and AAA video game sequels: the only inevitable things in this world. If we didn’t get a new Call Of Duty or Assassin’s Creed this year, we would take it as an omen of Ragnarok — which is why it’s all the more tragic that some of the best potential sequels ever envisioned will never come to pass. Like …

#5. Fallout Online Got Lost In A Legal Quagmire

Long before Fallout 4 brought the mighty porn industry to its knees, pun remorselessly intended, the Fallout games put a lot more emphasis on the role-playing side of things, giving you a birds-eye view of a game that looks like it could be run with the processing power of an unusually large potato.

Not even an Idaho one — more like a Wisconsin-grown potato.

The early Fallout games were considered some of the finest RPGs ever made. But in 2007, Interplay, its creator, sold the franchise to Bethesda Softworks, the company of 10,000 artists and three voice actors. Part of the deal was that Interplay got to keep the rights to develop an MMO based on Fallout — think World Of Warcraft, but with super mutants instead of orcs.

A huge improvement on the sexiness scale.

This wasn’t just a pipe dream — large chunks of the map had been developed, the guts of the gameplay were functional, scenarios had been written, players had the ability to create and run their own towns, and Interplay had developed a “game-worldwide meta-puzzle,” where the entire player base would have to come together to solve an elaborate mystery that spanned the apocalypse. Basically, you know how all your friends won’t shut up about their Fallout 4 adventures? Fallout Online would have allowed you to have those adventures together, although it also would have vastly increased the likelihood of employers across the country seeing through your fake illness when you inadvertently grouped up with them.

The Stupid Reason It Was Cancelled:

That deal we mentioned? It came with the condition that Interplay had to start getting serious about working on Fallout Online by 2009. All those words we just said up there implied that they had, but Bethesda disagreed and took Interplay to court. Long and complicated story short, Bethesda lost more decisions than the Washington Generals, but eventually managed to settle out of court, giving Interplay 2 million bucks and permission to continue developing their game — as long as they stripped every mention of “Fallout” from it.

Their knock-off Nuka-Cola would have been nothing but raw sewage and carbonated Brahmin blood … So, Pepsi.

Definitely Not Fallout Online was then handed over to another developer who ran a crowdfunding campaign to rustle up even more money, after which they, uh, vanished from the face of the Earth, taking every hope of a Fallout MMO with them (and also the money of all those loyal fans).

Dickheads? Dickheads never change.

#4. A Completed Star Fox 2 Was Canned Because Of The Console Wars

Star Fox, the game that birthed a generation of furries, and Star Fox 64, the game that birthed a generation of frog-hating barrel roll enthusiasts, are both universally regarded as classic Nintendo games that look like the aftermath of a drunken polygon party by today’s standards. But another game was supposed to have come out in-between them, appropriately titled Star Fox 2. And it looked pretty damn good …

Instead of just being a linear series of ship battles, Star Fox 2 would have had you flying around the solar system to contain an invasion force. You had to pick your battles, defend your home planet from missiles, and retreat from fights to dive into others that needed you more, adding strategy and exploration to a game whose only weak point was its on-rails nature. There was also a multiplayer duel option, and the Star Fox team would have expanded to include a tomboy lynx and a fashionable poodle girl. And we think everyone can agree that the male-dominated Star Fox team needed some ladies to balance out the space combat gender gap and help guide some animal-loving players through a very special time in their lives.

Someone’s about to make a Slippy in their pants.

Once you tear your eyes away, you may start wondering why basically everything is known about a game that got the ax. Well, the game was all finished and set to be released in the summer of 1995 until it was abruptly cancelled, which is like watching your mom pull a fresh batch of chocolate-chip cookies out of the oven, only to dump them in the garbage bin and cover them with cat vomit.

The Stupid Reason It Was Cancelled:

Star Fox 2 was all set to be a hit, partially because Nintendo in the ’90s could have slapped their name on a box of venomous centipedes and still sold a million copies. But, the Nintendo 64 was about to come out, and Nintendo wanted a clean break between the Super Nintendo’s two dimensions and the N64’s bold new future of one more than that.

A strategy that never, ever bit them in the ass. Ever.

Also, the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation had just come out, and Nintendo was worried that their newfangled 3D games would make Star Fox 2 look shitty and old-fashioned by comparison, regardless of how fun it was. And so they pulled the plug, losing money and scuttling a couple years of hard work because graphics were more important than gameplay, even in an era when every 3D game you played made you feel like you had cyber-glaucoma.

Rats, in this case, being Nintendo’s accountants.

#3. Fez 2 Became The Casualty Of A Twitter Spat

Indie game Fez, whose tumultuous five-year development earned its own Wikipedia page, was primarily powered by designer Phil Fish, who was quite outspoken about how game design may not always be kitten snuggles and rainbows. But, Fez overcame long odds to sell more than a million copies and become highly regarded as an ingenious platforming puzzle game. A sequel seemed inevitable, and, sure enough, along came a teaser video with suitably epic music …

… and then Fish canned the game a month after announcing it, to the complete shock of everyone who wasn’t named Phil Fish.

The Stupid Reason It Was Cancelled:

When Fish refused to comment on Microsoft’s new Xbox One indie game development policies, obscure gaming journalist Marcus Beer decided that this was an egregious affront against humanity. Beer said Fish was “bitching and moaning” about having to answer media questions. He also called Fish a “fucking asshole,” a “fucking hipster,” and a “tosspot,” which we’re pretty sure is British for something along the lines of “not a great dude.” Fish responded on Twitter in the most mature and responsible way that platform allows: by telling Beer to go kill himself.

Yet another stupid fight started with Beer consumption.

When the dust settled, Fish declared, “I fucking hate this industry,” cancelled the game, announced his exit from game development, and took his ball home.

Leaving disappointed fans to tell him where he could put it.

Fish later clarified that the cancellation of Fez 2 wasn’t “due to any one thing,” implying that Beer’s comments were simply the straw that broke the fish’s back.

… said the boorish fuck.

But, regardless of other contributing factors, it was a stupid Twitter spat that ultimately killed the game. Seriously, social media, is there anything you don’t ruin?

#2. A Mario Volleyball Game Was Cancelled For Violating A Vague Honor Code

Mario is one of the greatest athletes to ever fictionally exist. From golf, tennis, and go-karting to baseball, basketball, and more, he has mastered countless sports, despite looking like his favorite is amateur hot dog eating. So, when Next Level Gamers started working on a Mario volleyball game with the premise of “Hey, Mario hasn’t played volleyball yet,” they must have felt pretty good about their odds of success — especially since they had already made their mark with two Super Mario Strikers games that were praised for combining the tedium of soccer with the physics of Space Jam.

At least it gives Waluigi something to do in between bouts of never doing anything.

Then, they threw in elements of professional wrestling and game shows to make the weirdest hybrid this side of a stoner’s kitchen. Nintendo’s beloved characters were going to spike balls into faces and pile-drive each other into the floors of electrified rings in the insane genre mash-up you never knew you wanted. At best, it would have been a glorious, surreal combination of ideas that monopolized your weekends like so many go-kart races and tennis matches before it. And, at worst, it would have provided fleeting amusement before your inevitable demise, which is all we can really ask of a video game.

It honestly makes about as much sense as actual wrestling, so why not?

The Stupid Reason It Was Cancelled:

Nintendo felt that “certain aspects of [the game’s] premise clashed with the company’s code of honor,” because Nintendo apparently operates under the same principles as the French Foreign Legion. Just what Nintendo meant is vague, but we do know that they were uncomfortable with the level of violence in the game and considered it “dishonorable” to be able to hit characters that were already down. Behold the incredible, stomach-churning combat that Nintendo found unsettling:

What happened to wholesome entertainment, like ripping turtles out of their shells and slowly digesting Goombas alive?

Their objections mostly just raise further questions, considering one of their most successful franchises is all about having their most popular characters mercilessly pummel the absolute shit out of each other. Maybe volleyball is just really unpopular in Japan. Or, maybe the video game industry is terrifyingly arbitrary, and it’s a wonder anything ever gets made at all. Or, maybe both!

#1. Silent Hills Was Cancelled Because Konami Thinks Mobile Gaming Is The Future

Doubly so if they included an alternate skin of his fashion model days.

The hype train gained further steam with the release of P.T., a playable teaser (oooh, we just got that), where you stroll through the same hallway repeatedly and watch your home slowly get more and more horrifying.

Home Alone took a dark turn once Kevin found Buzz’s stash of mushrooms.

There was no combat, almost no dialogue, a simple plot, and little interaction beyond discovering what fucked-up thing was now in your bathroom. And it was still widely considered one of the best horror games of the year. That’s like a movie trailer beating actual movies for the Best Picture Oscar. It was a legitimately terrifying experience and, if the full game was able to match its intensity, it would have been an instant classic.

“Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to devour my flesh and feast on my soul.”

And then it was cancelled, the ability to download P.T. was removed, and developer Konami is now hunting down anyone who still references its existence and sending them to re-education camps. Run! Save yourself, before it’s too late!

The Stupid Reason It Was Cancelled:

Konami thinks traditional games just aren’t worth the effort anymore. This is the Silent Hill game they decided to make instead.

Yes, that’s a Silent Hill-themed slot machine set to music that’s rocking junior high schools across Midwest America. We completely understand if you need a minute for the tears to stop. Konami actually makes more money from their casino games than they do from video games, and they think mobile games represent the only profitable future in the latter department.

Three Pyramid Heads nets you 50,000 points and your grandma’s head on a pike.

OK, so it’s a cold yet rational business decision. Disappointing, but understandable. But, wait a second — Metal Gear Solid V, a game that was anticipated as much as Silent Hills, made more money in its opening weekend than Jurassic World and Avengers: Age Of Ultron. Combined. It’s a massive hit, leaving Konami’s logic inscrutable. Between deciding they don’t like making games anymore, cutting ties with long-time collaborator Kojima, and making Del Toro say that he’ll never work on a video game again, it’s like Konami’s having a midlife crisis where they quit their job, divorce their spouse, alienate their friends, and hit the open road on a brand-new type of motorcycle that runs solely on spite.

Ready to see the kind of shit we got instead? Then check out Seanbaby’s The 20 Worst NES Games Of All-Time and The 6 Worst Games Ever Farted Out By Beloved Franchises.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/5-awesome-game-sequels-that-were-screwed-over-canned-2/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2018/07/25/5-awesome-game-sequels-that-were-screwed-over-canned-2/

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allofbeercom · 6 years

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5 Awesome Game Sequels That Were Screwed Over & Canned

#5. Fallout Online Got Lost In A Legal Quagmire

Not even an Idaho one — more like a Wisconsin-grown potato.

A huge improvement on the sexiness scale.

The Stupid Reason It Was Cancelled:

Their knock-off Nuka-Cola would have been nothing but raw sewage and carbonated Brahmin blood … So, Pepsi.

Dickheads? Dickheads never change.

#4. A Completed Star Fox 2 Was Canned Because Of The Console Wars

Someone’s about to make a Slippy in their pants.

The Stupid Reason It Was Cancelled:

A strategy that never, ever bit them in the ass. Ever.

Rats, in this case, being Nintendo’s accountants.

#3. Fez 2 Became The Casualty Of A Twitter Spat

… and then Fish canned the game a month after announcing it, to the complete shock of everyone who wasn’t named Phil Fish.

The Stupid Reason It Was Cancelled:

Yet another stupid fight started with Beer consumption.

When the dust settled, Fish declared, “I fucking hate this industry,” cancelled the game, announced his exit from game development, and took his ball home.

Leaving disappointed fans to tell him where he could put it.

Fish later clarified that the cancellation of Fez 2 wasn’t “due to any one thing,” implying that Beer’s comments were simply the straw that broke the fish’s back.

… said the boorish fuck.

But, regardless of other contributing factors, it was a stupid Twitter spat that ultimately killed the game. Seriously, social media, is there anything you don’t ruin?

#2. A Mario Volleyball Game Was Cancelled For Violating A Vague Honor Code

At least it gives Waluigi something to do in between bouts of never doing anything.

It honestly makes about as much sense as actual wrestling, so why not?

The Stupid Reason It Was Cancelled:

What happened to wholesome entertainment, like ripping turtles out of their shells and slowly digesting Goombas alive?

#1. Silent Hills Was Cancelled Because Konami Thinks Mobile Gaming Is The Future

Doubly so if they included an alternate skin of his fashion model days.

Home Alone took a dark turn once Kevin found Buzz’s stash of mushrooms.

“Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to devour my flesh and feast on my soul.”

The Stupid Reason It Was Cancelled:

Konami thinks traditional games just aren’t worth the effort anymore. This is the Silent Hill game they decided to make instead.

Three Pyramid Heads nets you 50,000 points and your grandma’s head on a pike.

Ready to see the kind of shit we got instead? Then check out Seanbaby’s The 20 Worst NES Games Of All-Time and The 6 Worst Games Ever Farted Out By Beloved Franchises.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/5-awesome-game-sequels-that-were-screwed-over-canned-2/

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beyondforks · 6 years

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Release Day Review! Dangerously Dark by C.J. Burright, Plus an Interview w/ the Author!

Dangerously Dark (The Dreamcaster Series #3) by C.J. Burright Genre: Adult Fiction (Paranormal Romance) Date Published: November 13, 2017 Publisher: Ravenrock Publishing LLC

Some call him Purgatory’s Missing Prince. Demon Master. Overlord of Shadows. Only one woman may call him hers.

A master of dreams, a failure at life…

After another botched career attempt, Quinn Carmichael escapes to a remote lodge for a weekend recharge, needing respite…especially from the nightmares that haunt even her days. When a wounded, sexy-as-sin stranger faceplants unconscious on her kitchen floor, there’s something disturbingly familiar about him—as in he’s the boy from her childhood dreams. Mr. Dark, Dangerous, and Diabolical may be the key to unlocking the mysteries of her past and future, and Quinn isn’t about to let the opportunity—or him—escape without a fight.

His time is running out…

Known as Purgatory’s Missing Prince, Zaire’s existence has been one of endless pain, torture, and loss. Resigned to his fate, his final goal is simple—rescue his nephew before succumbing to the deadly darkness inside him. But when a fateful misstep brings him face-to-face with the one woman who could have saved him once upon a dream—the one woman he treasures above all else—he battles to keep his distance before he destroys her, too. But he would gladly sell his soul for just one taste.

Love draws them together, destiny will tear them apart

With ruthless enemies closing in, Quinn and Zaire must fight to save each other and those they care for before it’s too late—even if it means they’re doomed to live apart forever.

Dangerously Dark is the third book in the Dreamcaster series by C.J. Burright. This series just gets better and better. This time we see things mostly from the perspectives of Zaire and Quinn, though we do get glimpses from other characters from time to time. These different views really helped to build the situation and what was going on. Zaire has had a horrific life. Granted he has also done a lot of horrific things. Quinn was unique. She has used her dreams to strengthen herself it seems. She is a survivor. So, when Zaire disappeared from her dreams, she learned to fight them herself. I loved her strength. I also love when they showed their vulnerabilities too. Characters like these are what makes fiction believable. I love it. The romantic tension is palpable. You don't know if they're going to rip each other's throats out or rip each other's clothes off. Add in the horror and mystery that always surrounds the world of the V’alkara, and this is completely impossible to stop reading. The whole Dreamcaster Series story line is pretty ingenious. Each book blows me away. I can't get enough.

The ARC of Dangerously Dark by C.J. Burright was kindly provided to me by the author & Bewitching Book Tours for review. The opinions are my own.

Quinn tossed the note on the coffee table and wrapped one hand around the warm ceramic mug, absently petting Wolfgang with the other. Dusk took over beyond the wall of windows, made darker by the blizzard. Falling snow hid the skirting tree line. Wind howled at the house corners and turned treetops into jerking puppets. The perfect meltdown location. No phones, no people, no problem. The lamp flickered and died, leaving her with only the dancing firelight, not that she minded. The power had lasted longer than she expected. Stoked fire, hot cider, and now she had a great excuse to procrastinate reading unhelpful flyers. She sipped her drink and wriggled back on the couch. Wolfgang launched off her lap, kicking papers everywhere and sloshing her drink. “Bad cat!” He scurried into the kitchen, out of sight. A distinct thud followed, which meant Wolfgang was up to no good. “I should’ve sent you off to the Nameless One.” Quinn shoved the remaining flyers aside and nabbed the flashlight from the end table. “You’d make an amazing hat, and there’d be enough fur left to make a stole, the perfect ensemble to compliment her plastic face.” She flicked on the flashlight and shuffled into the kitchen, ignoring how the light made all the shadows twist and scuttle on the walls and ceiling. Broken bones might bother her, but the dark never had. Wolfgang expectantly stood at the back door. He meowed, high and plaintive. Nothing looked out of place. Whatever had made the thud wasn’t in the kitchen. Maybe the wind had blown a loose branch against the house. “What, you’re a snow leopard now? There’s no fancy feline feast waiting out there for you.” Wolfgang rubbed his cheek against the doorframe, circled, and meowed again. Thud. The entire door shook. Quinn jumped. That was no branch. All the horror movies she loved to watch and ridicule flashed to mind, a lot less funny now. Alone in the woods. Killer storm. No electricity. No connection to the outside world. Wolfgang’s purr rumbled, and he slid his face over the jamb again. The noise hadn’t spooked him even a little, and animals always sensed evil. Wolfgang had had no problem detecting it in Molly. She squared her shoulders. No one would be roaming around in a blizzard. An animal had probably knocked the trashcan into the door, and a quick look would ease any worry. At the first glimpse of fur or fang—or red, glowing eyes—she’d go for the door slam. Pushing Wolfgang back with one foot, she cracked open the door. Wind exploded in, ripping the doorknob from her grip and firing snow and ice into her eyes. The door banged into the wall, and the storm’s full force rushed inside. Quinn scrambled for the knob and stopped, frozen by more than the sudden blast of cold. A man filled the entryway from threshold to frame, dark as the nightfall behind him. Steam drifted from his bare head. Frost coated his short, sable hair, and even in the flashlight beam, his complexion held an unhealthy blue-gray hue. One hand was anchored to the doorpost in a white-knuckled grip. The other brandished a wicked as sin knife. She shone the light on his face, and her stomach roller-coastered. Her demon. The one who’d haunted her nightmares years ago and then abruptly bailed, never to return. No matter what face he wore, his death-black, abysmal eyes were unforgettable. Or were her delusions returning with a vengeance? “Get out of my way.” His chest heaved, and he lurched forward, the knife pointed at her. His guttural words erased any suspicion that he might be another hallucination. He was too present, too solid to be anything but real. Merde. He was real.

How long have you been writing? Growing up in the boonies, I had to find ways to entertain myself after I’d read all the books on hand, so I turned to writing my own stories when I was in my teens. I wouldn’t call them good stories and they are best kept in a shoebox in the deepest, darkest recesses of the attic. Those early scratchings should probably be burned to avoid becoming blackmail material. What inspired you to write The Dreamcaster Series? A dream started the whole thing. Appropriate, huh? 😊 I dreamed of Kalila from Wonderfully Wicked, standing in a café with Lydon standing menacingly behind her, and I had to know why he was stalking her. Then I started plotting, and as more characters come out of the shadows, I find I must write their stories too. Did you always plan for it to be a series? Once I started writing Wonderfully Wicked, I knew there was too much in this supernatural world of dreams and nightmares that I wanted to explore to include in a single book. And as I fall in love with the broken characters, I want them all to experience their own HEA. It wouldn’t be fair to leave them all hanging, right? What was the weirdest thing you had to google while doing research? I did Google some angelic language, which was both weird and interesting. I thought about using a bit since Zaire knows how to speak in angel/demon tongue, but I didn’t want readers stumbling over how to pronounce words like oxex and gmicalzo. But I’ll definitely name my next cat zvrza. This series would make some great movies. Would you want to turn your books into movies or TV shows? Ooh, thanks for saying that! I’d choose a long-running TV show like Supernatural – with awesome (and hot) guys, spooky stuff, action, fun times, and romance. Maybe Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki could find a new acting home. 😊 Which of your characters do you relate to most and why? They all have a piece of me stitched into them, but I relate most to Kalila from Wonderfully Wicked and Quinn from Dangerously Dark. Kalila is guarded with people she doesn’t know well or trust (like me), but I’m also an idealist like Quinn. And like both of them, I’m not afraid to fight for what’s important to me when necessary. Ka-pow! What is a secret about you that nobody else knows? I’d be on Dancing with the Stars if I could partner with Val Chmerkovskiy. And dancing (especially in public) sooooo isn’t my thing. What book have you read too many times to count? The Magic Garden by Gene Stratton Porter. It’s antiquated, beautiful and bittersweet, and a rescued treasure from my grandmother’s library. I’m not usually prone to waterworks, but this story gets me. Every time. What is the best piece of writing advice you ever received? Keep writing, keep learning your craft, and never give up! If you could hop into the life of any fictional character, who would it be and why? Claire from Outlander because…Jamie. He’d be worth giving up a couple hundred years of technology. What was one of the most surprising things you learned while creating your books? In researching dreams, it was interesting how some people are so paralyzed by their dreams they can’t move and even have trouble breathing. It’s amazing how the subconscious (or is it some outside force?) can affect the body. What do you like to do when you're not writing? I have a day job which takes up an unfortunate amount of my time, but when I’m not writing or working, I’m reading, working out, or playing Assassin’s Creed surrounded by my adoring cats. It’s a superb life. Are any of the things in your books based on real life experiences or purely all imagination? My stories are a mixture of both—I think it’s impossible not to color my writing with my own life experiences—and as far as who and/or what are based off truth…I’ll never tell! Thanks so much for having me! <3

Thank you for hanging out at my blog & answering all my questions!

Check out my review of the previous books in this AMAZING series!

C.J Burright is a native Oregonian and refuses to leave. A member of Romance Writers of America and the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal special interest chapter, while she has worked for years in a law office, she chooses to avoid writing legal thrillers (for now) and instead invades the world of urban fantasy, paranormal romance, or fantasy. C.J. also has her 4th Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and believes a story isn’t complete without at least one fight scene. Her meager spare time is spent working out, refueling with mochas, gardening, gorging on Assassin’s Creed, and rooting on the Seattle Mariners…always with music. She shares life with her husband, daughter, and a devoted cat herd. To learn more about C.J. Burright and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.

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