#ub-assessed watches

[thesmallmeggles]

WIP Wednesday rolls around once again

This time we got an intro scene, plus a rewritten part of what I shared prior.

Forgot to mention in my last WIP Post that this fic does depict a character experiencing burnout and/or depression. Just as a heads up.

Research and Development's Thursday afternoon check-in meeting was well underway, only Zanzo had yet to arrive. Had this been his first absence, Macaron could let it slide. His index finger, seemingly of its own accord, rubbed the spine of the work journal clipped to his belt. He would have to seek him out afterwards, wouldn't he?

"Eyeballing his chair won't make him appear, sir," O5-KAR said, accented in trademark brogue. "It's best to keep on with business."

"Right." Macaron (does something). "How close are we to implementing the new BRU-T4L AI?"

"We finished another round of testing in Chamber Two," a PGR-0101 piped up. #11133 according to their worker identification badge. "But as you remember from the video I linked, things aren't going well."

Macaron knew. Four PGR-0101 units supervised a BRU-T4L, a seven foot monstrosity with spinning blades attached to its hands, as it pruned a potted hedge. For reasons currently under investigation, a CUT-WAN fresh out of repair bounded into the testing chamber. The BRU-T4L paused its labor, scrutinizing the robotic dog. Everyone watched in horror as the BRU-T4L reached down and… cradled the CUT-WAN in its long, rubbery arms. Attempts to retrieve the CUT-WAN from the otherwise aggressive BRU-T4L's hold resulted in snarling and severed mechanical limbs. Staff had to wait until the BRU-T4L ended its rumbling punctuated cuddle session on its own.

"I reviewed the code afterwards," #11133 said. "Someone edited it right before we installed it. The perpetrator added a series of commands related to a 'baby rocking mode'." Their statement ended with an air of disbelief. "To make things weirder, these same commands originated from the earliest iteration of the BRU-T4L's code."

Macaron thought for a moment. "Could Zanzo have added it?"

#11133 began. "Zanzo's an engineer-"

"And a disorganized one at that," O5-KAR interjected.

"So he often left the programming to us robots.  The last time he added a special feature to a product was to make it explode."

…

"Is Zanzo in his office?" Macaron asked #11133 as they were leaving.

"Probably. I don't think he's left since clocking in this morning."

...

Macaron knocked once before opening the office door. True to the SCR-UB's assessment, the area was a disaster zone. Notes and diagrams littered the floor, increasing in amount closer to Zanzo's desk. Out of curiosity, Macaron picked one up to read, only to find it marred by red ink scribbles and the scrawled comment: "AWFUL!!! Needs More PUNCH". 

Zanzo sat behind his desk, face planted on its surface. Most of his natural black hair had grown back in, leaving green tips. Its current style partly obscured the polymer port covers where his neural wires plugged in. (Zanzo didn't wear them now, as his current status blocked him from work pipeline access.) Macaron thought Zanzo was asleep until he raised his head. He pushed back from the desk, face frozen in a blank stare. Dark circles ringed his eyes and stubble covered his cheeks.

"Zanzo?" Macaron reached over to tap him on the shoulder. Zanzo caught the movement, nearly launching himself off his chair with a gasp. He scrambled to up the volume on his aural implants - silver disks located where organic ears would be.

“Mister Macaron! Are you here to tell me how good of a worker drone I’m being?” Zanzo smiled broadly, though it didn’t reach his eyes. Without waiting for a response, he clapped his hands together. "Since you've graced me with your presence, I can show you, uh, show you the current model. One minute." Zanzo focused his attention on the computer, flipping through multiple tabs with dizzying speed.

Macaron rested a hand near Zanzo's forearm, and the latter froze. "You can email it to me afterwards." He pulled up a nearby stool and perched on it. "Zanzo, is everything alright?"

Zanzo chuckled. "I'm not dying anytime soon. You'll have to tolerate me a little bit longer."

"That's not what I-" Macaron cleared his throat. "You've skipped three staff meetings in a row."

"We're just doing the same thing we've done all month. Checking in is redundant. It's not like there won't be a summary log tomorrow."

Time for Macaron to play his trump card. "Then I suppose the fact we've moved on to renovating the BRU-T4L is of no interest to you."

"Perhaps." Zanzo stroked his goatee in a more absent minded way as he looked off to the side. Not the reaction Macaron hoped for.

"It's like one of your, er, babies. Shouldn't you be more worried about what'll happen to it?"

Zanzo paused to side-eye Macaron. "You've never consulted me about modifying my other creations before. What's changed?"

“I wanted to ask you about a specific feature the BRU-T4L has," Macaron said after a long pause.

A brief spark lit up in Zanzo's eyes as he straightened his posture. In that moment, Macaron glimpsed the engineering intern who'd pestered him with robot design concepts all those years ago. "By all means, ask away."

  "Why does it have a 'baby rocking' feature? It stands out compared to everything else."

"Why not?" Zanzo waved dismissively. "So maybe a self indulgent thought slipped through the pipeline during my drafting. And maybe, I neglected to remove the resulting feature. It doesn't carry as much weight as you think it does."

"You like being rocked?" The image of Zanzo cradled by the BRU-T4L in a similar manner to that CUT-WAN popped into Macaron's mind. Odd and, as Chai would say, mildly cursed.

Zanzo's jaw dropped. "I- not necessarily."

"Would something like that help you destress?"

"I ALREADY SAID-" Zanzo's outburst cut off and he sank down into his chair, rubbing his face. He let out a sigh. "Don't patronize me for this. Please."

Since when did Zanzo ever say "please"? "Zanzo," Macaron began. "I promise I'm not making fun of you. My priority right now is finding a way to support you."

"To answer your previous question, rocking is one of my stims. I rarely do so at work because…" Macaron nodded to encourage Zanzo finishing his sentence. Except he let it hang.

A long silence passed between them. Macaron broke it. "I'm thinking maybe that feature could be incorporated into a robot which doesn't have saw-blade hands. While we may be focused on renovating our current product line, that doesn't mean we can't plan for the future. This could be an opportunity to create something beneficial."

The corner of Zanzo's mouth twitched. "It's not exciting, though. Are you sure anyone would invest in it?"

"SCR-UBs clean. CAR-11Es, er, carry stuff," Macaron explained. "What they do is simple, but necessary. Most of the time, that's all anyone needs."

#wip wednesday #fanfic #hi-fi rush #hfr #hi fi rush macaron #hfr macaron #hi fi rush zanzo #hfr zanzo #post canon #headcanons #i made the funny character sad #for plot reasons

[ub-sessed]

"Do it well or I will cut your prefect cock off, as it is a useless appendage if you cannot use it to bring joy."

Peter does have some charming qualities.

#ub-assessed watches #the great #and you sir are no peter the great

[kallikrein]

i just saw it on the links, benkei said to inupi that he's not AS SWEET AS WAKASA 👀😂🥵 so im having my delusional thoughts rn thinking that waka is a very sweet person 🥰 not just w inupi but w y/n too 👁️👄👁️💅 of course bc we're privelege ✨ hshshs maybe that's the reason why i didn't simp so hard w seishu, he was meant to be my child lmao jk jk let's share 👯 and thankyou sm for the head canons omg im sleeping with another scenarios of wakasa being the sweetest and the coolest man walking on earth 🐆🐆

AAAA I DIDN’T NOTICE THAT. I WAS TOO FOCUSED ON HIS SIDE PROFILE !!! I’M LIKE WHO THE HECK ARE THIS GUY’S PARENTS ??? COS I’M GONNA INTRODUCE MYSELF AS THEIR FUTURE DAUGHTER-IN-LAW 😫😂 /hj

i think benkei’s actually sweeter than wakasa tho. he just got the vibes, ygwim? maybe waka simply have a soft spot for inupi, that’s why he’s being lenient with him 👀 BUT STILL NOT A GOOD REASON TO PICK A FIGHT WITH HIM. or maybe it is? maybe he doesn’t wanna see inupi getting beat up by others so it’s his subtle way of protecting him ??? AND BENKEI JUST HAD TO PUNCH INUPI IN THE FACE TO REMIND WAKA MIKEY’S WATCHING THEM AND ASSESSING THEIR LOYALTY. HMMMMM I’M ONTO SOMETHING HERE 🤔

WAKA AND Y/N !!!! actually had this thought with mochi about waka being a knight and y/n is a royalty… still our best idea up to this day bahhahaha. i’ll probably write it as soon as i can LMFAOAOOA (another waka brainrot, good lord….)

yeah!! omg you got that right, nonnie. the reason why inupi isn’t a love at first sight bcos duh, have you seen his stepdads 😭 OLDER MEN ARE WINNING IN THIS MANGA >>>>>>>>

also, yes pls. let’s share. we are in this together, nonnie. thru thick and thin. pain and pleasure (??????). til death do us part with imaushi wakasa, the white leopard of the 90s, the battle of three deities’ idaten, the bi-colored hair guy who wears god awful sandals, the ube queso man and the father to our future imaginary kids!!!!!!!

#[ 💌 ] — from anon #I CANT STOP SCREAMING #also imagine if he sleeps on his stomach #and he stretches his arm to you and pulls you close like your his pillow #AND HE JUST— #HE JUST SIGHS #LIKE HE’S SO COMFORTABLE #THAT HE LETS HIS GUARD DOWN WITH YOU #AND THE FACT THAT HE’S SLEEPING SHIRTLESS #FUVKDKHSHSHSHSJSJD #I CANT NONNIE #I CANT FUNCTION WITH THIS MAN EXISITING AROUND

[bearlytolerant]

Fandom: The Wayhaven Chronicles

Pairing: pre-relationship Dinah x Adam x Nate

Rating: G

part 1, part 2

plant parley

Today 7:01A.M

Yes. I agree.

🤔?

I got your note. Truce?

Oh. Good. And yes.

You could’ve just left another note.

…

Adam erases his next phrase and considers what to say. He’s never been good with this sort of thing. Conversing outside of necessity or Unit Bravo for that matter. Especially not with a human.

Not that I’m complaining about texting.

This is nice too.

It’s efficient.

True.

Are you busy now?

Define busy.

You want to grab a ☕️?

I don’t drink coffee.

Ok. See you later then.

He doesn’t respond, sliding the phone back into his pocket.

“Who are you texting this early?” Farah is perched on the edge of the desk, knees drawn into her chest, her focus on him rather than the window.

“The detective. She’ll be here soon.”

He doesn’t miss Farah’s smirk or the way Nate glances at him, the wordless questioning in his gaze.

“I’m going to grab a tea from Haley’s. Any of you need anything?” Nate asks.

Adam doesn’t miss him sliding his own phone into his pocket. He wonders if Dinah made him the same offer. Maybe he should’ve gone just to make sure she stayed safe. He lets the thought go. Nate will be there. He nods his head no, like the others, turning back to the file in front of him as Nate disappears.

“Morning y’all!”

“Morning!” Farah greets. She unfolds herself from the desk and slides into a seat at the round table they stuffed into the detective’s office.

Adam snaps to attention. Eyes meeting Dinah’s through the furling steam pouring out of a cup that looks brewed from home.

“Where’s Nate?” She asks. It’s directed at all of them but she remains fixated on him.

“Went to get some tea.”

“Bummer. Should’ve gone to Haley’s like I originally intended.” She sets her cup down, shrugging out of her wool coat and tossing it over her chair. She plops down and plucks off her mittens.

“You save money brewing at home.”

Farah giggles and Dinah’s eyes slowly squint as if assessing his quick response. Adam’s the first to break eye contact. She’s more perceptive than he originally gave her credit for and he doesn’t want to be perceived.

“Well, I’m gonna start some of my paperwork then. In about an hour, I’m planning to patrol a bit. Maybe stop somewhere for lunch.”

Nate waltzes through the door then, draping his scarf on the coat rack. Adam doesn’t miss the smiling exchange between him and Dinah or the way she does a wiggling finger wave.

“I’ll go with you,” Nate says.

“That was quick,” Dinah says.

“What was?” He sets his tea on her desk then shrugs out of his coat.

“Your trip to Haley’s. They said you’d just left when I got here.”

Adam catches Nate’s eye as he hangs his coat on the same hook as his scarf.

“It was more like ten minutes before you arrived,”Adam says.

“Oh. Still. Must be nice to have such long legs.”

Nate curls his fingers around his cup of tea. “It does have its benefits.” He makes his way to the table too.

“I don’t need you to come with me by the way. It’s more of an excuse for me to stretch my legs,” Dinah says. “I’m not the biggest fan of sitting in my office all day.”

“Well if you change your mind, let me know.”

Nate swivels to throw her an enchanting smile then turns back. Adam lets out a puff of breath as Nate begins discussing the case. Occasionally, Adam steals glances at Dinah as she works. Half of her pink curls fall over her right shoulder as she tilts her head, scrawling script with her left hand, her silver painted nails glimmering in the wash of light. His eyes move across her face, watching the way her brow furrows as she concentrates, chewing her gum and popping bubbles. What once annoyed him has become–what is it exactly–endearing?

His pen snaps and the ink spills down his palm.

“Excuse me,” he says before attracting unwanted attention. Surely Farah or Nate would comment if they saw. So he slips away to the restroom to wash up. Dries his hands and returns to the office. Eventually Dinah leaves. Then Adam directs team UB to split up and patrol around town again, see if they can sniff out Murphy. They all make their separate ways, Adam being the last to leave. As he shoves his hands into his coat pockets, he brushes against something. He pulls out blank stationary with small watercolor plants in the corners. Attached is a sticky note.

Thought you could use some stationary. I like your notes.

-Dinah

Adam tucks it away in his pocket, a smile on his face and warmth in his cheeks.

#the wayhaven chronicles #twc #Adam du mortain #detective Dinah Kingston #Nate Sewell #Farah Hauville #agent m #tho not specifically mentioned but she’s there #plant parley #bear writes

[bex-la-get]

This Unpredictable World (Adam x f!Detective)

Book: The Wayhaven Chronicles

Pairing: Adam du Mortain x Alma Cunningham

Word count: 2808

Summary: “We’ve spent so long trying to protect her from our world, that we never once thought about protecting her from her own.” Adam grapples with the dangers of the human world when Alma is in an accident.

Author’s Note: So, I threw my back out last week (always warm up before working out kids; it’s not worth the injury) and I thought “Ooh, how would UB react if the detective was injured?” And this was supposed to be fluffy, I swear... but then it wasn’t and here we are. Sorry? 😅

TW: Car accident, drunk driving, mentions of blood and injury.

Laughter. That was the sound he missed most. 

Alma’s laugh had always been infectious. From the moment he met her, her laughter had drawn him in like a moth to a flame. He had resisted it, at first; fighting the urge to say things that might have elicited that laughter from her. But as time went on, he began to give in. He began to relish the sound of her laugh. The one that made her throw her head back and close her eyes as she reveled in the thing bringing her joy. The one that made his heart skip a beat every time he heard it. 

Now, he’d give anything to hear it again. To see that bright smile of hers and watch as her face lit up; to hear her laugh that always reminded him of windchimes echoing throughout the sky. All he wanted was to hear that laugh, to see her smile. If he could just have that, then he knew everything would be okay...

Instead, Adam was stuck staring at the walls of the facility common room, desperately waiting to hear something, anything. The lack of answers was slowly killing him. He needed to know she’d make it out of this. That she was going to live. 

Alma had been in a car accident; a bad one. She had been hit by a drunk driver causing her to skid off the road and crash into some nearby trees. She’d sustained some serious head trauma, several broken ribs, and internal bleeding in her lower abdomen. She had lost consciousness almost immediately but not before quickly calling her mother stating she was in trouble.

The Agency had moved fast; faster than normal emergency services would have been able to. One word from Agent Cunningham and several medical units were on their way to the crash site, Rebecca hot on their tail. Unit Bravo, having walked into the chaos that was surrounding the facility, barely had any idea of what was going on until Nate heard someone mention Alma’s name in the same sentence as “car crash.” 

Adam’s world had come to a standstill at the news, his heart pounding so hard, he thought it might burst. When he met Nate’s eyes, his old friend nodded once and the four vampires piled into the car, following the medical units to where Alma was. “We don’t know how bad it is, Adam,” Nate had said, attempting to soothe Adam’s nerves. “She could be completely fine for all we know.”

Adam had nodded, but he wasn’t convinced.

When they had arrived at the crash site, his stomach dropped. Alma’s car was crushed in on several sides, smoke emitting from the hood. He couldn’t see her but he could hear the medics attempting to talk to her as they wriggled the door open. He didn’t hear her respond to them.

With a grunt, the medics opened the battered car door and Adam had watched in horror as Alma’s body slumped, nearly falling out of the vehicle. The medics converged over her blocking his view and he moved to get closer. He had to see her up close, he had to know she was okay.

A hand on his shoulder had stopped him and he turned to find Mason looking at him, a look of distress on his face. “Adam, don’t; her blood’s too strong. I can smell it all the way over here.”

Adam looked back at Alma, now being moved onto a gurney, and realized how bloodied she was. He could smell her now too; the smell of her mutated blood reaching him even as he stood yards away. He turned around and took a few steps farther away in an attempt to get away from the overwhelming scent of her. He needed to keep a clear head and, as much as it pained him, the farther away he was from her at the moment, the easier that would be.

The sound of footsteps gained their attention and they turned to find Agent Cunningham walking towards them, her face sullen and pale. “Agent Cunningham,” Nate had said, “we came as soon as we heard. Is Alma going to be alright?”

Rebecca gave them a sad smile. “Thank you for coming; to answer your question, I don’t know. They’re going to rush her back to the facility and assess her injuries there. She might need surgery. I don’t know much beyond that right now.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Felix asked, his usual cheery demeanor replaced with worry.

Rebecca shook her head. “Thank you, but no. Unfortunately, all we can do right now is wait.”

And wait they would. After Alma had been rushed to the facility and the intoxicated driver taken into custody-- their injuries far less severe and life-threatening-- Unit Bravo returned to the facility, the air around them heavy as they waited for an update on their detective. Some time after their return, Agent Cunningham entered the room notifying the vampires that, as of right now, Alma would not need surgery, much to everyone’s relief. But she wasn’t out of the woods yet. “The doctors are keeping her under close monitoring for the next twenty-four hours; they think the internal bleeding will stop on its own but if it doesn’t, they’re going to take her into emergency surgery. Same with her head injury.”

“When is she expected to wake up?” Adam asked.

Rebecca shrugged, the gesture taking more effort than normal. “I don’t know; she’s currently under a lot of medication. She could be out for a few hours or a day.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a ragged breath. “I’m sorry, I wish I had more information.” It was unclear if she was speaking to Unit Bravo or herself.

Nate stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You have nothing to apologize for; we understand how difficult this must be for you.”

She looked at Nate sadly and nodded. “Thank you.” Her phone chirruped and she moved to exit, muttering a small “Excuse me,” as she left. Unit Bravo looked at each other, the same looks on all of their faces. Worry. Distress. Anxious.

Adam was the first to break away from the group, moving to a nearby sofa and dropping onto it heavily. He pulled a small photo-- the one he and Alma had taken when undercover at the carnival-- from his pocket and stared at it, his fingers running over the image of her. It had just been for show, he had told himself at the time; but the way she stared at him in this photo told him otherwise. It had never been for show for her. 

And, if he was honest, it had never been for show for him either.

“Are you alright?” a familiar voice asked from next to him. He hadn’t even noticed Nate had sat down with him.

Adam closed his eyes and folded the photo closed. “No.”

Nate rested a hand on his shoulder and Adam looked at him. “We have to believe she’s going to be okay, Adam. Entertaining any alternative isn’t going to help anyone.”

Adam dropped his shoulders. “I know.”

“But?”

Adam reopened the photo and looked down at it sadly. “We’ve spent so long trying to protect her from our world,” he began, “that we never once thought about protecting her from her own.”

“No one could have predicted this, Adam,” Nate reasoned. “Try as we might, we can’t protect her from everything.”

“It’s our job to protect her from everything,” Adam argued. “I-- we should have been there, with her. We could have--”

Nate tightened his hold on Adam’s shoulder. “It was an accident, Adam. A preventable one, yes, but an accident nonetheless. We’re not seers; we can’t predict what’s going to happen every time we walk out the front door. You can’t beat yourself up over that.” Adam sighed and said nothing but Nate knew he had heard him. He squeezed his shoulder once more then stood up. “She’s in the best care possible; and she’s strong. She’ll pull through.”

As Nate walked away, Adam returned his attention to the small photo, once again tracing Alma’s image. “She’ll pull through,” he repeated, in a whisper. “She has to.”

------------------------

Twenty-four hours passed slowly. And with very little update.

Rebecca had been allowed into the room around the eight-hour mark and Unit Bravo had been allowed in a few hours later. If Adam had thought seeing the detective would ease his nerves, he had been wrong. Her blood had been long cleaned off and any open wounds had been cleaned and stitched but she still looked so small. So fragile.

Alma laid unconscious on the hospital bed, her arms and face covered with bruises and scratches. There was an IV attached to one arm while the heart monitor beeped consistently in the corner; not that it was necessary. Adam had been listening for her heartbeat ever since they had returned to the facility. He was reassured that it remained as steady and strong as always. Still, the current sight of her made his heart ache. 

He watched the rise and fall of her chest, her breathing steady, then looked over her face, eyes relaxed in sleep. He hoped she was having a good dream; she had mentioned once that she still had nightmares of Murphy. The idea that that monster still haunts her made Adam’s fists clench; he hoped, above all else, that she wasn’t dreaming of him at this time. May she never dream of him ever again.

As the hours ticked on, Unit Bravo began to retire to their rooms, after reassurances from the doctors that Alma wasn’t likely to wake until tomorrow. Even Rebecca eventually retired, emotionally drained from the day. Eventually, the only person to remain in the room was Adam.

When he was alone, Adam moved from his place in the corner to a nearby chair. He dragged it over until it was right next to Alma’s bedside and took a seat. For a long moment, he sat in silence, listening to the sound of Alma’s heartbeat and the quiet sounds of her breathing. Then, he reached for her hand and took it in both of his, his fingers resting on the pulse point on her wrist. It was one thing to hear it, but upon feeling her heartbeat, his shoulders dropped from their tense position and he released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“Come back, Alma,” he said, quietly. He was positive she couldn’t hear him but he still felt the need to say something. Anything, really. He just… needed to talk to her. “Come back to me. Please.” He clasped her hand in his and he placed a soft kiss to her knuckles. “We need you. I need you. Please.”

The night passed slowly, the hours feeling more like days. With the exception of the occasional check-up from Elidor, Adam remained Alma’s only visitor for the entirety of the night, his hand never leaving hers. He would occasionally talk to her, sharing mindless thoughts with her, ranging from a book he had recently read to Felix’s recent antics with Mason’s laundry. He had hoped that by talking to her, she might be able to hear him and know he was there. That he would always be there.

It was nearing sunrise now; the early hours were quiet and undisturbed. Adam’s hand still held Alma’s tightly as he watched her heart monitor, her heartbeat still strong and steady as it always was. A small smile on his lips, he became so focused on the monitor that he almost missed Alma’s hand tightening around his. Almost.

He looked down at their clasped hands before looking to her face to find her hazel eyes fluttering open. He sucked in a breath as her eyes adjusted to the bright lights of the hospital room before locking with his. “Adam?”

He released a sound that was a mix between a laugh and a sob and used his free hand to brush some stray strands of hair behind her ear. “Good morning.”

She leaned into his touch. “What happened?” she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

He frowned. “You were in an accident. You were--” he hesitated to speak his next words-- “you were hit by an intoxicated driver.”

Alma released a breath. “Shit. Are-- are they okay?”

There she went again, worrying about others before herself. Adam fought the urge to shake his head at her kindness; she was too good with people sometimes. “They do not deserve your concern; as far as I care, they’ve been arrested and incarcerated. That is all that matters.”

Alma frowned in disagreement but didn’t argue the point further. Instead, she tightened her grip on his hand. “Where’s everyone else? Mum?”

“They retired for the evening last night. I should alert them that you’re awake.” He began to slide his hand from hers as he shifted out of the chair but she held on tightly.

“Don’t go,” she whispered. “I-- I don’t really wanna be alone.”

His eyes met hers and a small smile settled onto his lips before sinking back into the chair. Instead, he pulled out his phone, sent off a quick text to the rest of Unit Bravo and Agent Cunningham, then returned his attention to Alma. She was studying his face, a thoughtful look on her face.

“What is it?” he asked.

Tentatively, she reached with her free hand and cupped his cheek. He leaned into her touch almost on instinct. “You look tired. Did you sleep?”

He chuckled dryly. “No. I don’t need to sleep, remember?”

“Adam--” she began, the sound of disapproval in her voice.

He shook his head. “I’m alright, Detective,” he told her, quietly. “I-- I didn’t want to miss an update on your condition. I--we were worried about you.”

She brushed her thumb across his cheek. “Thank you for staying.”

He closed his eyes and relished in the feel of her hand on his cheek. He covered her hand with his free one, as if holding it there. “I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost you, Alma,” he said, softly. It was so quiet Alma almost missed it; but she was grateful she hadn’t.

“I’m here now,” she reassured. “And I’m safe. That’s the important thing.”

He nodded. “That it is.” 

“Tu omnia,” she whispered.

He smiled. Then, acting off of instinct rather than logic, he removed his cheek from her hand only to turn his face and place a soft kiss on the inside of her wrist, right above her pulse point. Her pulse sped up at his gesture and he placed one more kiss higher up on her palm. “Tu omnia,” he repeated.

Just then, he could hear the sound of several sets of feet rushing their way towards the hospital room and he stood up from the chair, giving Alma’s fingers one last squeeze, then moved away to the corner of the room. Alma gazed at him confused but understanding soon flickered across her features when the door opened and her mother appeared.

“Alma!” Rebecca practically ran to her daughter’s bedside, pulling her into a tight hug as the rest of Unit Bravo trailed in after her. Alma returned her mother’s hug before looking to the rest of Unit Bravo and smiling. Within seconds, Felix and Nate had her wrapped in a bear hug, Mason standing nearby with his signature smirk, making Alma laugh in response. 

Adam’s heart skipped a beat. There was that laugh again; the one he had missed so much, the one he had craved to hear when she had been unconscious. Hearing it now was like hearing a beautiful piece of music for the first time after being unable to hear anything; his shoulders released their usual tension and he smiled softly.

“So, no one’s bothered to tell me what happened to my car,” Alma said, looking at her mother.

Rebecca grimaced. “Uh--”

“Your car’s totaled,” Mason interjected. “But on the plus side, the forest now has a nice shiny fender element to it.”

“Mason!” Nate reprimanded.

Alma shook her head, smiling. “I should’ve known.”

“You can use one of the Agency’s vehicles while we find you a replacement,” Rebecca offered.

“Preferably something that doesn’t look like it’ll break upon getting into it,” Mason muttered.

Nate groaned. “Mason!” 

Alma laughed again, making Adam’s heart swell at the sound. There were still some loose ends that needed tying up: Alma would still need time to fully recover and the intoxicated driver would need to be taken care of at some point. But for now, she was smiling and laughing and safe. For now, that was all that mattered.

Tag List: @sanguineverefae @little-flowers-on-heaven @mia143 @takemyopenheart​ @jamespotterthefirst

#bexwritesstuff #the wayhaven chronicles #twc fic #adam du mortain #a du mortain #adam x detective #adam x alma #alma cunningham #f!detective #twc mc

[coldshrugs]

thank you for this blessed template, @possumsunshine. this was so fun and cute, i couldn't resist after seeing it on my dash 💗

pulled a couple of answers from oc asks i've done recently because oof this got long.

QUICK READ OF YOUR DETECTIVE

Name: alma greene

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: bisexual

Love interest: mason

Best friend: felix but also nate

Main skill: science/tech

Secondary skill: people/psychology

Main personality trait: tied for impulsive and sarcastic

Secondary personality trait: stubborn

Why did they join the Wayhaven PD?: she’s not a detective, but science skills

Relationship with Rebecca: very close, even with absences, but waning

Relationship with Bobby: college friend, currently hates him

Verda or Tina?: both

Murphy bite?: wrist

Murphy’s fate?: at large, babyyy

Rescue LI or Rescue Sanja?: sanja

GENERAL

Name: alma eloise greene

Nickname: sweetheart/space girl by mason; sweetie by rebecca

Birthday: june 12th

Age: 29

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: bisexual (demiromantic??)

Hair color: dark brown

Eye color: dark brown, nearly black

Height: 5’1”

Piercings: ears, former nostril piercings

Tattoos: a small snail on her right arm, super cartoony spaceship and tractor beam over the words “i want to believe” on the back of her left calf

Clothing Style: “modern” i guess, according to the game. tbh i usually describe it as “too old to be an e-girl but too cute to care.” bleached denim, dark plaid, graphic crop tops, black vans or converse, thigh-high tights, etc etc

Apartment Style: cozy. did she find it on the side of the road or goodwill or an estate sale? if not, it’s probably not in her apartment.

STATS

Personality:

Charming | Intimidating

Impulsive | Cautious

Sarcastic | Genuine

Friendly | Stoic

Easygoing | Stubborn

Traits:

Heart | Mind

Optimist | Pessimist

Team Player | Independent

Skills:

Main Skill: science/tech

Second Skill: people/psychology

By the Book | Bend the Rules

KEY DECISIONS

Reason for joining the Wayhaven PD: alma is wayhaven’s only forensic analyst because i refuse to let my black oc be a cop

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ in-game, she’s 100% there for her scientific prowess.

Murphy bite: Wrist | Neck | None

Murphy’s Fate: Captured | Escaped

Rescued: Love Interest | Sanja

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP

Love Interest: mason

Why them?: on a meta level: oh no he’s hot

but alma’s reasoning is that he’s very upfront about what he wants in the beginning and she’s never been pursued in such a way. It’s a bit of a rush and an ego boost for her at first. but mason’s loyalty very quickly becomes the steadiness alma’s been missing for most of her life and she latches on to that. she’s not had someone so dependable around in… well, ever. and her physical attraction becomes emotional VERY quickly.

Bold, shy, or mixed?: shy until they sleep together, then a mix of bold and genuine afterward.

What were their first impressions of each other?:

alma on mason: thought he was super attractive but that was quickly pushed aside by “holy shit, this guy’s an ass.” she thinks he’s an uncooperative jerk that only cares about himself for quite a while, honestly. she asks him along for things she wants to do alone precisely because she thinks he’ll be the most likely to just stay out of her way. she’s surprised by his attitudes and opinions, and her incorrect assumptions about them, during those times.

mason on alma: would never, ever, ever admit that his first thought upon meeting Alma was simply “cute.” he quickly found parts of her to assess individually. those first few days were mostly spent appraising her physical attributes and watching her back when she needed it. mason did find her funny right away, but he wasn’t willing to trust someone new, regardless of that person being their handler’s daughter or not.

What do they find attractive about each other, mentally or physically?:

alma on mason: his eyes, freckles, and every single version of his smile. his decisiveness, differentially, and willingness to stab as a warning.

mason on alma: her hair tbh, there’s just… a lot of it. her hips, her eyelashes. He also likes her adaptability, sense of humor, and the warmth she gives with no expectation of reciprocation.

What do they do to spend time together?: lots of stargazing, lots of watching tv very quietly and making fun of the storylines they don’t understand until they get bored and make out instead, walking around the quieter parts of wayhaven or taking late-night drives.

What is their favorite memory together?: i like to think mason finds the carnival photo of them after the place has been sacked and gives it to alma sometime later. both the taking of the photo and the giving of it are very fond memories for both of them.

What are their love languages?: touch, quality time.

How do they handle being apart from one another?: badly. mason absolutely hates it after a time. if alma’s out of town, he’s in her apartment with the excuse of feeding her cat, but it’s 100% just to sleep in her bed and be around all the things that make her, her. alma does a little better. she’s used to having folks sort of come and go and come again, but she gets almost hyper-insecure?? it’s nothing she’d admit openly, but she’s second-guessing herself in totally unrelated aspects of her life until they’re reunited.

Do they argue? How do they handle arguments and disagreements? How do they make up?: they don’t necessarily argue, but they disagree with the intent to problem solve. alma is pretty flexible and as long as she can understand why someone might feel the way they feel, she’s willing to hear them out or go along with their plan. if an argument does get out of hand, they need space from it for a while. they each have places to retreat for those times, and they wait for the “hey” text to come through to know it’s time to talk about it.

What does their future look like?: alma becomes a vampire two years into their relationship. they move into a quiet, old house on the edge of town until the whole team moves elsewhere. mason has to get used to having a cat because october has several years left in him. they don’t get married, but they’re inseparable.

Anything else you’d like to share: in the time before alma turns, mason learns to perfect making grilled cheese because it’s what alma craves when she’s not feeling well. He makes the grilled cheese then he immediately showers to get the smell off him but he makes it regardless.

BEST FRIEND RELATIONSHIP

Best friend: depending on the playthrough it swaps between felix and nate, but felix feels more in character

Why them?: alma loves felix’s sense of adventure and nosiness. Most of all she loves that he won’t judge her for pulling the same shit every now and then.

What were their first impressions of each other?: alma was super thrown off by that hand kiss. “who the fuck is this mischief-maker?” while nate was very kind and warm, felix (surprisingly) was the UB teammate that really humanized the rest of the team for alma. he’s fun and genuine and wants everyone else to be happy together. felix was incredibly interested to learn more about alma, as a human, as his boss’s daughter, and then as a friend when she readily accepted the supernatural and, by extension, him as a vampire. The fact that she’s easily flustered or surprised really works in his favor because he lives for being the most shocking person in the room.

What do they do to spend time together?: they share music, they dance, and they text A LOT. lots of memes, lots of “what does [x] mean?” “oh nice” “[proceeds to use the thing they just learned incorrectly]”. they also compare and share hair products.

Anything else you’d like to share: they each have a tamagotchi named after the other (baby felix and baby alma) and they compete to see who can keep theirs alive the longest. everyone loses.

OTHER RELATIONSHIPS (Feel free to go in-depth!)

Relationship with Rebecca: oof okay. alma seeks rebecca’s approval and depends on her for a sense of safety and “stability.” in some ways, she wants to be exactly like her mom: strong, independent, unbothered, worldly. but a lot of that shatters the longer alma works professionally with rebecca and with the revelations surrounding rook. alma sees how much rebecca uses her as a crutch, projects her perceived failures onto alma’s life, and over-shelters her.

Relationship with Rook: alma doesn’t remember him and tries not to think of him often or fondly or at all BUT she has so many of his things. his flannels, his detective badge, his ancient comic book collection (which is the only reason she has her own). she has his eyes and his impulsive streak, his care for people of all varieties. she IS rook’s daughter and she ignores that fact so it doesn’t hurt her.

Relationship with Bobby: they used to be very close, slightly flirty friends but there’s no way in hell alma can trust him now. (i originally had bobby as alma’s ex but it was all getting a little too Bella Swan for me. like bobby, douglas, the werewolves, falk, and mason like????? it was a bit much so bobby’s just an old ex-friend)

Relationship with Verda: alma fucking loves verda. that’s her mentor, that’s her dad friend. she feels a sense of Pride and Accomplishment when she can make verda laugh or impress him in the lab, or both. alma’s fond of spending evenings over his place with eric and the kids, making dinner, or just hanging out.

Relationship with Tina: tina was alma’s first friend as a kid. they lost touch in high school because tina was bubbly and cute and popular, while alma was… not. but the summer before they left for college they ran into each other at a house party and since that reconnection, they’ve been thick as thieves. it was like nothing had changed. tina is a light in alma’s life, and alma lets tina lean into the stranger parts of herself without judgment.

Relationship with the Mayor: thinks he’s a creep and a bad parent.

Relationship with Capt. Sung: appreciates how he prioritizes the town and its people, but thinks he could loosen up a bit.

Relationship with Haley: haley is a couple of years older than alma but they’ve known each other forever. alma admires haley’s work ethic and cheery attitude.

Relationship with Elidor: oh man, alma is absolutely stunned by elidor. he’s beautiful, kind, and knowledgeable. in those early days, elidor is responsible for quite a bit of her supernatural education. alma grills him while he nurses her back to health. her curiosity is refreshing to him.

Relationship with Tapeesa/Vieno: alma thinks vieno is cute and funny, says hi when she sees them around, but they’re not best friends or anything. she can’t shake the thought that they’re basically a fae version of danny devito.

Relationship with Unit Alpha: absolutely smitten with lesedi. she’s never seen a more beautiful woman. tamiko ends up being a pretty good friend. the twins are on her social periphery but alma’s not close with them.

Relationship with the Maa-alused: alma sincerely wants to help them adjust to life in this world and takes that goal very seriously. at the same time she really really wishes falk hadn’t developed this weird attachment to her.

Do they have any other important relationships, past or present? (Relatives, friends, etc.?): YES. i’ve thrown another oc in wayhaven for the express purpose of being The Detective. His name is javi. alma met him in college and they were fast friends. alma convinced him to try out wayhaven after graduation. They lived together for a while and now they, along with tina, can often be seen in the corner booth of chen’s pub.

she was also very close with her maternal grandmother before she died. she was raised by her while rebecca was absent, but i need to develop this more.

her cat, october, whom she’s had for five years. he’s a sweet, mostly black tortie that can hardly meow. alma adopted him as an adult when she got her own place.

PERSONAL BIO

Describe their personality: alma is so open and ready to accept new possibilities. she’s the sort of person that embraces what scares her, finds beauty in it, and loves it intensely. she’s sharp and resourceful. i wouldn’t exactly describe her as hard-working, but she’s knowledgeable about her field and tries to be helpful when she has a goal in mind.

she’s quite tactile. touchy with other people. likes to use her hands for work or hobbies. she doesn’t really mind being alone for long stretches of time but would prefer not to be. she wants others to want to be around her.

she’s also terrible at being honest about her trauma. everything is fine, she’s fine, she doesn’t need to talk about this :) :) :) she will handle the breakdown when it happens and not one second before. also, with quick wit comes uncontrollable sarcasm and it does not always hit well.

Strengths: the only person in unit bravo that knows how to use google

Weaknesses: squishy

Where in the world is their Wayhaven?: super torn here because wayhaven feels inland to me, but i think i’ve finally settled on the north carolina coast but not like the outer banks area. If not there, then maybe virginia, closer to the chesapeake bay.

What is their personal history?: alma is born to rook and rebecca in wayhaven. spends her childhood being raised mostly by her grandmother, idolizes rebecca. academic success comes easily for her; a heavy interest in science leads to a scholarship at a university just far away enough to feel like she’s Leaving The Nest. alma dates a bit in college but she’s the type to end up becoming friends with everyone she sleeps with and romance is difficult for her to cultivate. when she does date, the relationships are short-lived. she returns to wayhaven after school and puts her degree to work in wayhaven’s police department. she wishes she’d applied for a position in the city but craves the comfort (and tbh, the low stakes) of home.

If they weren’t a detective, what would their dream job be?: she’s a forensic analyst and honestly?? it’s a pretty dreamy job for her. she loves being a scientist, loves helping people, and isn’t easily grossed out.

Anything else you’d like to share: has tried to stay overnight in an ikea. did not succeed.

RANDOM FACTS

Zodiac sign: gemini

Hobbies: reading peer-reviewed journals, watching terrible sci-fi, collecting comic books and mugs, thrift shopping

Likes: good hair days, denim jackets, vanilla candles, halloween, unflavored lipbalm, driving at night, that warm “surrounded by love” feeling, snails, fuzzy socks

Dislikes: the lights while driving at night, winter, dry skin, minimalist decor, smudged glasses, being overwhelmed with choices

Drink of choice: white wine usually, white russians if she’s out at chen’s, or shots of jaeger if she’s feeling trashy

Starbucks order: grande flat white with 3 pumps of toffee nut syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon

Favorite food: a simple, fresh spaghetti pomodoro OR lemon meringue pie

Favorite color: golden mustard yellow

Favorite music: she loves just about everything and it’s heavily dependant on her mood. (this is actually really difficult to think about without feeling like i'm giving her my exact taste in music but here's a little playlist that fits her vibe)

Favorite genre (and favorite movie/book/etc): science fiction or psychological thrillers, but her favorite movie is oliver and company.

Favorite season: fall

Anything else you’d like to share: has a stupid amount of blankets stashed around her apartment. she really does not like being cold.

#alma greene #twc #i uhhh i spent a very long time on this and i'm still like #who is this person #but it's fine it's fine #i can rest

[slashhinginghasher]

Closet Space - Jesse Cromeans x Marena Polunochnaya

Self-indulgent college AU? Self-indulgent college AU.

College senior Jesse Cromeans makes out with a hot international student at a frat party.

-

Jesse Cromeans and Caitlin Spann didn’t often go to frat parties anymore. The connections they’d gathered over the course of four years of business internships were enough to gain them access to real parties, not the desperate orgies of cheap sex and cheaper beer their peers engaged in. The Incident in their junior year also left Jesse reluctant to show his newly scarred face more than absolutely necessary. (Watching CEOs do lines of coke off of strippers’ tits in the hopes of getting a few business cards by the end of the night was necessary. Beer pong was not.) He’d made lots of excuses in that regard, and Spann was good enough not to call him out on it. But winter term was over, they’d both received their early acceptances from the Stanford School of Business, and tonight they felt like celebrating on somebody else’s dime.

They still made sure to choose one of the more monied fraternities. They did have standards, after all.

Old money or not, the inside of the frat house was still chaos. There was a massive, professionally decorated Christmas tree in the living room, which would be largely stripped of its ornaments and tinsel by drunk college kids come morning. Many of the girls had their tits out despite the winter chill, lots of skimpy, crushed velvet dresses and coquettish faux fur trim. Jesse was bombarded with greetings as soon as they walked through the door, and he fielded them with quickly waning patience as Spann drifted off to go do Spann things. He’d achieved a somewhat legendary status on campus after turning a first year stock market exercise into millions of real dollars. Spann had been his partner on that project, but she was perfectly content to take her cut of the money and leave the credit to him. She preferred to work in the background, claiming she got more done when she didn’t have to deal with the interpersonal bullshit politics that Jesse navigated so well.

He eventually wound up in the kitchen, where a steady stream of party-goers helped themselves to overpriced snacks (who put out charcuterie boards at a frat party, honestly?) and mixed half-assed cocktails that were 10% mixer at best. A couple groped at each other next to the pantry, and a short girl with dark, wild hair and an intense expression surveyed the stream of human traffic over the rim of a red solo cup. Jesse poured himself another whiskey and leaned against the island next to her.

PLANNING A MURDER?

The girl jumped slightly at the sound of his phone’s electronic voice, then glanced at him with startlingly blue eyes. She scoffed and took a swig of what looked like water or straight vodka.

“Just contemplating, not planning.” Her voice was lower than Jesse expected from someone her size, with a thick Eastern European accent. His lips twitched with a smile. He did always like them sharp, and a good chase was just what he needed tonight.

YOU DON’T SEEM TO BE ENJOYING YOURSELF.

“I’m not.”

THEN WHY COME?

“I’m fucking poor, and there’s free food.” As if to make a point, she turned around and started rummaging through the fridge like she owned the place. Jesse found himself at a loss for words, a laugh stuck halfway between his chest and his throat.

IF YOU’RE THAT POOR HOW DO YOU AFFORD THIS PLACE?

Jesse and Spann would graduate debt-free thanks to their stock market exploits, but the tuition at their university was… hefty, to say the least. He imagined it would be even worse for an international student.

“They gave me a lot of money because I am very sad orphan girl. And I am also devastatingly sexy,” she said, emerging from the fridge and shoving half a slice of pizza into her mouth in one bite. She flashed him a peace sign that somehow managed to be blisteringly sarcastic and sauntered away with her prize.

She was wearing a heavy plaid skirt that hit mid-calf, her black top looked like it had been run through a woodchipper and reassembled with safety pins, and she was eating stolen pizza straight out of the box.

Jesse wholly agreed with her self-assessment. The sexy part, at least.

***

He was still thinking about her an hour later when Spann sidled up on her platform stilettos, her balance impeccable despite her obvious intoxication.

“There’s a group of loudmouths gathering ‘round the pool table in the basement,” she murmured, resting her head against his shoulder. “You in a betting mood?”

“A hunting mood,” he signed.

“Ooooh.” She waggled her eyebrows dramatically. “Got your sights set on anyone?”

“I might.”

Most people thought Spann and Jesse were an item just because they lived together and spent almost every public moment attached at the hip. Which were pretty good reasons, when one thought about it. But Spann was largely a commitment girl, and Jesse was decidedly not. Spann didn’t want to be a metaphorical notch on a bedpost; Jesse didn’t want to be tied down. They’d made out once as an experiment at the end of their freshman year, then hashed out the boundaries of their relationship in a five-minute conversation that they’d followed ever since.

Jesse had no idea why other people had to make relationships so damn complicated.

Before Spann could convince Jesse to come watch her annihilate some frat boys at pool, the fraternity president approached them. He was a douchebag of the highest order - the type of guy who insisted on being addressed by his last name because his first name was Edwin or Briggsley or some other rich prick idiocy - and Jesse and Spann both hated him, but his obscenely wealthy father would be a useful business contact in the future, so they forced themselves to be cordial.

“Some of the girls are organizing a game of Truth or Dare in the den. You feeling bold, Caitlin?” he asked with a cocky grin. He was also the sort of douchebag who addressed all women by their first name, including his professors and women like Spann who could break his spine over their knee.

“No, thank you,” Spann said, cold and sweet as ice cream. “I finished high school years ago.” He laughed, the insult and the rejection rolling harmlessly off his shiny money veneer, and turned to Jesse.

“How about you, Cromeans?” Jesse was on the verge of saying no when he saw a mane of black hair being led, somewhat reluctantly, towards the small crowd gathering in the den. He shrugged with practiced nonchalance and held up his phone.

SURE, WHY THE FUCK NOT?

“Atta boy!” President Edwin Briggsley Douchebag III clapped him on the shoulder, and Jesse had to force himself not to break the twat’s hand. The other boy left to continue his rounds, recruiting anything with a pair of tits for his little game. Spann - god damn her fucking eagle eyes - had tracked Jesse’s gaze and was now grinning deviously.

“I heard she has sessions with Malloy every other week,” she whispered in his ear, referring to one of the lead staff at the university’s mental health clinic. “Condition of her enrollment.”

Now that was interesting.

“Happy hunting,” she cackled, elbowing him playfully in the ribs. “I’m off to make some rich boys cry.”

***

People were so dreadfully predictable, Jesse thought. Nearly ten people in and not a hint of creativity to be found. People who chose Truth were asked to recount their sexual history or most embarrassing moments; those who picked Dare were promptly relieved of articles of clothing. The object of his momentary obsession appeared to be having similar thoughts as she watched the proceedings with heavy-lidded boredom. The crowd booed as one of the boys dared a girl to kiss him and she threw herself at him with great enthusiasm.

“That’s not a real dare, you’re her fucking boyfriend!” someone protested. The girl stuck her tongue out at them, then shoved it back in her boyfriend’s mouth. There were more jeers and whistles and a few calls for them to get a room. One of the boys tried to get back everyone’s attention.

“Alright, alright, whatever, next victim!” He pointed at Jesse’s girl and trailed off, apparently realizing he didn’t know her name.

“Mareeeennnnaaaaa!” cooed the girl who’d roped her in to the game, dragging the vowels out in a drunken sing-song.

“Marena!” the boy announced. Marena quirked a brow, apparently unimpressed with his pronunciation. “Truth or dare!”

“Dare,” she said with zero hesitation. The boy honest to god rubbed his hands together and grinned like he was about to say something genius.

“Twenty minutes in heaven.” Not that genius, then. He grabbed the closest empty beer bottle and held it up with two fingers. “Spin the bottle and whoever it lands on gets locked in a closet with you for twenty minutes.”

Like hell was Jesse going to let one of these dumb fucks get her alone for even one minute.

“I thought it was normally seven minutes.”

“Are you backing out?” Marena flipped him off as an answer and snatched the bottle from him, sending it spinning with an elegant flick of her fingers.

She had a few whitish scars on her hand and wrist, barely visible in the low light.

Jesse tensed as the bottle slowed, frantically thinking up reasons to start a fight with whoever it landed on. But his efforts were unnecessary, because the universe and physics were on his side that night. The crowd erupted into a clamor of hoots and hollers like someone had just won the lottery. None of them had really expected Jesse to participate; he had connections and status and thus was too cool to be anything more than a silent watcher. President Douchebag ushered the pair to the nearest closet - a walk-in (fortunately for Jesse’s long limbs) that had been converted to a coat room for the night - leering at Jesse like they were good buddies who’d discuss the relative merits of European pussy over drinks later. Jesse ignored him and, ever the gentleman, gestured Marena in before him with a little half bow. Her head barely reached his chest as she passed him wordlessly; she was only a little taller than Spann and she was wearing flats. The door was shut and they were plunged into darkness, the sounds of the party muffled by the thick wood.

A few seconds of quiet stillness passed before Marena turned on her phone (which was at least three models out of date), using the light from the (cracked) screen as a flashlight. She looked ghostly in the faint, bluish light, the shadows deepened in the hollows of her eye sockets. Jesse leaned back against the door and folded his arms as she started a slow circuit of the tiny room, observing the winter jackets twisted haphazardly on every available hanger and piled in the corners on the floor. He would have loved to immediately start making use of his twenty minutes, but there was something animal and twitchy about the way she moved that made him think that any sudden moves would be met with teeth. She did not look at him, or at the way his posture and shirt emphasized the size of his biceps, which he didn’t like, and he really didn’t like the tension creeping into her slender shoulders. When he touched her arm to get her attention, she jolted as though shot.

YOU GOOD?

The amount of time she spent mulling over the question was a clear enough “no”, but she still answered anyway.

“The last time I was locked in a closet was… unpleasant.”

UNPLEASANT IN WHAT WAY?

Thoughts of high school boys with beer breath and over-insistent hands were filling him with a slow rage.

“In a ‘listening to someone be violently murdered outside the door’ way.”

Well, damn. Okay.

WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SOMETHING?

“You ask a lot of questions,” Marena snapped.

I CAN DISTRACT YOU ANOTHER WAY IF YOU LIKE.

She resumed her pacing, chewing her lip, but she looked more contemplative than tense. Jesse was acutely aware of the ticking clock.

“When did you lose your voice?”

I NEVER HAD ONE.

“What happened to your face?”

NOW WHO’S ASKING TOO MANY QUESTIONS?

“Answer it and you can distract me however you want.”

He didn’t need a business degree to know that he was being offered a fantastic fucking deal.

I PICKED A FIGHT WITH THE WRONG PERSON.

Jesse barely waited for the electronic voice to finish the last syllable before tossing his phone to the floor and charging her. He burrowed both hands into that black mass of hair and crushed his lips to hers like a starving man. Her skin was cool, but he felt her hands like brands through his shirt when she placed them against his chest for balance. He tightened his grip on her hair, hard enough to pull slightly on her scalp, and let one hand wander lower, fingertips catching on safety pins and ripped fabric as he made his way down to the modest curve of her ass. In turn, her touch moved upwards, exploring the muscles of his chest and shoulders, sliding up his neck until her thumbs rested firmly over his jugular. It was a bold move, dominant, and he wanted - needed - to get closer to her, to press her body against his in a way their height difference would not currently allow.

Marena wrapped her legs around him with no coaxing when he picked her up by the waist, walking forwards until her back pressed flat against the door. She was so light, like a little hollow-boned bird, and if he’d had a little more blood in his brain he’d be worried about crushing her. As it was, his blood was rapidly migrating south and the only thing he was concerned about was the taste of her as he nibbled on her full lower lip. He nipped at her, hard enough to sting, then soothed the hurt with his tongue, and was surprised when her tongue darted forward to meet his. He rolled his hips into hers, slow and deep, as he explored her mouth, wishing there was less clothing in the way. His cock was pressed painfully against his zipper, but he made no move to free it; he was not going to fuck her for the first time under a time constraint.

Finally, he broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers as they both panted for air. Jesse shoved a hand up Marena’s shirt, closing over her small breast and rubbing his thumb against the hardening nub of her nipple through her bra. Her head rolled back against the door with a soft thunk, granting him access to the soft skin of her throat. He latched onto her pulse point, sucking hard enough to leave a mark, and Marena purred. The sound shot straight to his groin, and he had a sudden, intense desire to bite down until the salty warmth of her blood filled his mouth and dripped down his chin.

He wrenched back. Jesse was no stranger to violent impulses - had even followed through on quite a few of them - but he didn’t want to ruin the evening by murdering this girl in a closet. Undeterred, Marena grabbed his head with both hands and attacked his mouth with hers. She kissed him ferociously, voraciously, a clash of teeth and tongue, and when she bit his lip hard enough to make him bleed, he almost came on the spot. His hands were all over her, needing to feel every inch of her body but barely registering the ridges of scar tissue they encountered. She slid her hands into his back pockets and pulled him in until his pelvis was flush against hers. He leaned in with his full weight, and the only thing in the world that existed was the heavy grind of his hips against hers and the hot, wet dance of their mouths.

He was so close to saying fuck it, ripping her clothes off and going to town right there on the closet floor, when someone pounded on the door.

“Knock knock, Cromeans! Put your dick away!” Jesse snarled, already planning a way to slaughter the little asshole who’d interrupted the best not-fuck of his life. The sensation of Marena’s body sliding against his as she settled on her feet sent another lightning bolt of pleasure down his spine. There was a shuffle of fabric as Marena picked up her phone and tried to put herself back in order. Jesse didn’t bother; he knew they both looked a damn mess and he didn’t give a single fuck. In fact, the only thing he cared about at the moment was getting her into his bed so he could finish what he’d started.

“Thanks for the distraction,” Marena murmured, opening the door to a chorus of cheers and wolf whistles. She rolled her eyes and started shouldering her way through the crowd. She didn’t look back, which stung a little, and Jesse gave a sarcastic little salute to the crowd to avoid looking like a lovelorn asshole before retreating to the basement.

***

He didn’t realize until much later in the evening that she’d stolen his fucking wallet.

#we're ALL thinking about that t-shirt pic let's be fully honest here #jesse cromeans #chromeskull #laid to rest #marena polunochnaya #my writing #messy #slasher oc

[utterlyinevitable]

hey i know you fell asleep but thank you for the bed time story 🥺🥺🥺

always here to send you fever dream fics on wa 💕 i know it’s not the m fluff you wanted but i did say TBC 👀

transcript under the cut ❤

Post-Bakery Bedtime Story

Mason gets back to the warehouse still dazed and confused as to why the bit at the bakery affected him so much. He doesn’t know why but his feet take him to the library instead of to his room. Nate is sat on his favorite chair by the large window with a tome, Felix is lying on the floor tossing a ball up and down.

“Ah you’re back. The detective make it to work okay?” Felix said with a wink that fell flat when he looked at his friends sullen face. 

Mason shrugged “assume so” 

Nate perked up at the uncertainty in his voice. “Assume so? What do you mean? Did something happen?” 

“I don’t fucking know” m said with such terrifying venom. 

Felix pulled a face and stealthily bolted out of the room. He was not going to stick around for hurricane Mason. Nah ah ah

Nate closed his book and studied the now pacing vampire. Masons hands shoved deep in his pockets and not a cigarette in sight. Not even the faint smell of tobacco that’s synonymous with him tainted his scent and the air. Nate knows it’s because of the detective he stopped smoking. Whether Mason realizes it or not.

“What did you say?” Nate asked knowingly. He wasn’t fully sure Mason said something to upset the detective but 100 years together and his ironclad intuition give him the lead.

“The truth”

“Which is?” 

“It’s not my fault that vile cupcake was sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong” 

“Mason.” Nate all but scolded, speaking volumes with his tone and causing Mason to stop pacing for a moment.

“I think I fucked up” he muttered. All his thoughts culminating to this conclusion.

Nate said nothing. Just waiting for Mason to elaborated on his revelation.

“Lia stomped away. I think she was upset...” But nothing came. Nate watched as Mason’s brows knitted further together and his frown cemented among his freckled features. Whatever happened took it’s toll. 

So Nate asked, “Did you apologize?” 

“Why would I? I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true” 

“If shes upset, you apologize. That’s the right thing to do” 

“Well I damn well didn’t get the chance! She ran right to the station”

“What did you say” Nate basically growled. 

“That all we’re doing is sleeping together. The only ‘seeing’” - he did air quotes with his fingers - “happening is of one another naked”

“Mason...”

He gave Nate a scowl at the sad and patronizing use of his given name.

Time passed silently as the two collected their thoughts. Mason still unsure why he cares so much and Nate afraid for both of them.

Nate breaks the tension. “Is that all that’s going on?”  

“Why would-“ Mason begins to retort, a natural reaction to challenge him. He takes a breath and a pause and then sighs “I hope so.”

Nate nods slowly as he mulls the confession over. He knows exactly why the closed off vampire feels this way and battles whether to break the news to Mason or not. 

Instead he chooses a gentler approach; 

“You care about her. As do we all.”

And then Nate leaves Mason to his own devices

***

That evening Nate volunteered to check up on the detective instead of just simply patrolling, unseen. 

“Oh. Hey” she gave a half hearted smile when he enters her office 

“I’m here to escort you home, if you’ll have me” 

“Thanks. Just need a few more minutes to finish this” 

“Of course.” Nate takes his seat at the table in the corner like usual and gazes around the room trying to assess Mason’s emotional damage. The beat of her heart isn’t consistent with anger. But her demeanor implies somethings amiss

On the walk home he asks “How was your day?”

“Fine” 

“Anything eventful happen?” 

“No. Thankfully.” She takes a pause and kicks a rock. “Actually...” 

Nate perks up, thinking how lucky it is that she’s the one to bring it up and be able to talk about masons mishap. Nate did spend most of the afternoon batting around the implications of the situation on the team, and then the implications of his intervention. 

But then she says, “Verda knows.” 

Nates brows furrowed. Lia notices.  

“About you guys,” she clarifies. Before Nate can respond she quickly adds “his partner eric came by. He’s a supernatural too apparently.” She huffs in disbelief. “and he wants me to convince verda everything’s okay so he can tell him”

NaTe doesn’t really know what to say. The agency needs to know of course. But he also knew Eric is supernatural after their encounter at the carnival - he got the sense. 

Nate wasn’t prepared to have this kind of conversation this evening. 

“How do you feel about that?” he simply asked. 

“I’m glad he knows. That I’ll have somebody to talk to about all this weirdness. But what if he doesn’t come around? What happens if Eric can’t ever tell him, you know? What kind of relationship is that to keep such a big part of your life from the one you love?”

They talk more about this and soon enough they’re at her apartment

And Nate decides to do something out of character. He decides to confront her with his preferred knowledge; “Were you crying earlier?”

She’s taken aback. It’d been hours and she put on a ton of concealer. Damn vampire senses. 

“It doesn’t matter.” There was a fragile finality to her words.  

“Your feelings matter. WhAtever it is”

“It’s stupid.” She shook her head to reaffirm. “My heart got away from me for a moment. It won’t happen again” 

Nate WISHES he could play Cupid. All they needed was a push in the right direction. But they needed to figure this out on their own.

“For what it’s worth, in all my years, listening to your heart is the greatest strength” 

Nate didn’t miss the near inaudible scoff that escaped her

 * * *

So she doesn’t see ub for 4ish days. They’re around. They patrol frequently but no ones come around to say hi and she’s thankful. More time to focus of wtf her heart is trying to tell her and how to deal with verda

She ends up going to the warehouse to pick up Nate. They’ve been texting about the verda situation. Dressed up and ready for the dinner she saunters through the halls and finds him waiting for her in the living room. 

“Damn Lia! You look stunning!” Felix chimes as he takes a look at her in her black dress and matching suede thigh high boots and make up. Very different from the smart dressed detective he sees daily. 

“Thanks” she blushes. She turns to Nate “you ready?” 

“Let me grab my coat” he exits to his room

“Is this a date?” Felix asks innocently enough 

“More like an intervention. Nates good with people and will be able to help verda understand” 

“Makes sense” he agrees. Then nudges her with his elbow “Mason would be the worst option huh” 

“Probably” 

Luckily Nate is back before Felix could read more into the situation and her noncommittal tone. 

“Ready!” He calls and smiles after making sure everything is in order. 

Just as lia is about to meet him in the hallway she nearly collides with Mason entering the room. 

“Hey,” she mumbles politely as she sidesteps him

Mason doesn’t say anything too shocked by her close presence. 

She thinks she hears him grunt and tries to hide her eye roll

As Nate and Lia make their way out of the warehouse mason watches her every movement. Every step. Every sway of her hips and brush of her air in the wind she creates. 

“Feel like groveling yet?” Felix whispers besides him pulling Mason out of the trance. 

“Fuck off”

Masons chest tightens. And he realizes he misses her. Not just her body and her touch but her presence. Her companionship.

Shit

He needs to apologize.

Later that evening, more like in the dead of night, Masons on the roof after patrolling a little earlier than normal but he needed the reprieve at the time. Needed the solitude and distraction patrolling provided. 

Now he’s tuned into nature and so at ease

Until he hears an irregular sound coming from floors below

Not irregular, not really. Not foreign, no. But a familiar thumping

No it couldn’t be.

He’s imagining things

He lights up another cigarette to make it go away

But it persists. It’s still there when he’s done

So he goes downstairs to get a beer to numb the pain. But he takes the route past the room that’s been empty nearly every single night since they moved in.

and it’s there

The steady, calm drum of her heartbeat

And he doesn’t need that beer anymore

He goes into his room two doors down and rests his eyes and body to the sound of her

* * *

The next morning she’s in the smaller, functional kitchen at the table eating an omelet she made along with some coffee. She has a full day of combat training and needs the calories.

Mason waited until he was sure she was relaxed and not distracted to enter. Tbh he’s never been in this room before. No need when human food smells worse than garbage.

He plops himself on the edge of the table opposite her. She doesn’t look up from what she’s reading on her phone. He doesn’t say anything either.

Eventually she takes in a very long very deep breath shuts her eyes puts her phone and fork down exhales and looks at him. Masking her features as best she can in close Proximity

Her left eyebrow raises, silently questioning

He doesn’t know what to say

He didn’t think this far ahead

She has his mind in complete disarray. Everything on his mind in his thoughts is her her her

But she won’t crack first. He can see that. He can feel how cold she is

“Look -“ is all he manages to choke out before she interrupts

“Save it.”

His mouth slams shut at the indifferent hostility

She continues, “what you said was out of line and frankly embarrassing.” 

He gives a tilt of his head in agreement. 

“I don’t need the entire town knowing my business.”

Instinct told him to make a sex joke, but he knew better than to break out the comfortable banter right now. Had enough awareness to see they weren’t back on good terms -- were they ever? 

Lia continued, “I also shouldnt have stormed out. So sorry for overreacting.”

Eventually she allowed for Mason to speak more than one word, “sorry For saying it”

She gave a tight smile. Forced and lacking all the things he’s come to look forward in that toothy grin of hers. 

She pushed her chair out and stood. Mason followed, standing three steps from her. He waited for the hug that she was bound to give him. She must be just as touch starved as he is he hopes.

But instead she picks up her dishes and puts them in the washer and walks out.

-TBC-

_____________

A/N: if you’re not ayla and you’re reading this, thank you for making it this far. and sorry it’s shit. this is just a thing i wrote over whatsapp at midnight because my friend asked for a fluffy m fic 😅

#twc fic #agent m #mason x mc #the wayhaven chronicles #twc #withbeautyandrage #asked

[ducktracy]

162. porky and gabby (1937)

release date: may 15th, 1937

series: looney tunes

director: ub iwerks

starring: mel blanc (porky, gabby, truck driver)

a new name in the director’s guild for the first time in 9 months! feels longer, doesn’t it? ub iwerks, as in flip the frog creator and co-creator of mickey mouse iwerks, landed a very short term gig at warner bros. his warner bros gig was essentially a freelance gig as he floated around studios. he got some work to do, and leon schlesinger was able to meet his cartoon quota. he only directed 2 cartoons until one day he just up and left, leaving his unit to bob clampett. after jack king left the studio in 1936, iwerks came. bob clampett, who had been promised a position by schlesinger for quite some time, wasn’t too happy that this new guy was stepping in and taking a directorial position after HE had been promised a position for quite some time, so schlesinger appointed him to help iwerks out and to get that looney feel in the cartoons. clampett took chuck jones, bobe cannon, and manager ray katz with him. thus, when iwerks left, clampett inherited the unit. essentially, he, chuck, and bobe acted like co-directors on the iwerks films, refining them to give the films a more warner bros feel. clampett’s first entry, porky’s badtime story, was started by iwerks before he left the studio. this newly formed unit became known as the ray katz unit, separate from the leon schlesinger unit.

with a new director comes a new “star” (or not): gabby goat. gabby was warner bros’ response to donald duck. a temperamental, brash, angry sidekick to balance out the good-natured, happy go lucky, though slightly bland porky, whose personality was still up in the air. bob clampett credits cal howard for the creation of gabby, who would actually voice him in gabby’s final appearance, get rich quick porky. gabby himself only starred in three cartoons, never making it out of 1937. however, storyboards for clampett’s porky’s party (1938) DO show gabby (and petunia) starring alongside porky in the short. gabby really interests me as a character. he was so rude that his brash personality was considerably toned down by his last entry. he paved the way for daffy as a sidekick—in fact, clampett would remake porky‘s badtime story in 1944 with tick tock tuckered, daffy usurping gabby’s role in the cartoon. while gabby (and iwerks)’s stint was short, he was actually revived in the second season of wabbit/new looney tunes in 2018, voiced by bob bergen! he’s an interesting case who i like a lot, even though he doesn’t have much to show for himself.

the synopsis speaks for itself: porky and gabby are headed for a peaceful camping trip, but a variety of mishaps threaten any ounce of their enjoyment.

iris in with porky and gabby (literally) trucking their way through the rolling country side, their car brimming with camping essentials and more. a jolly motif of “gee, but you’re swell” scores quite a majority of the cartoon, and the opening scene is no exception. gabby doesn’t seem to share the same appreciation porky does for the outdoors, haughtily slumped over in his seat as porky asks “sure a swell day to go camping, isn’t it, gabby?” 

before gabby can respond, their jalopy hits a rock, which catapults all of their camping supplies up into the air. thankfully--because why else?--the supplies piles back up neatly in the trunk, recovering from the bump. that is, except for one. a frying pan smacks gabby right on the head and gives him a shiner, much to porky’s amusement. gabby, full of malice, growls “YEAH!” in porky’s face.

just then, the two get stuck behind a moving van. we hear excessive honking as their jalopy zigzags back and forth, attempting to squeeze past, but the van is too big for the small country road they’re on. gabby is the perpetrator behind the horn, doing a fleischer-esque shiver take in anger as he honks on the horn and hurls insults. “hey you! get that big crate off the road! move over, we ain’t got all day! what’s the matter with you, you deaf!? you can hear that, can’t ya!?” while gabby engages in his hotheaded rant, porky, behind the wheel, is able to pull up next to the van, where gabby now yells at the bewildered truck driver in person. “get over, ya big sheep!” 

as gabby threatens to “bounce one up [his] chin”, the truck driver pulls on a lever, attached to a hand shaped paddle. the paddle smacks gabby right in the face, causing him to spin around and dangle helplessly from the outstretched paddle as porky drives on ahead, clueless. reused from porky’s romance and from the radio show community sing, the truck driver tells gabby not to get excited. gabby retaliates in a flurry of sped up anger (the voice clip reused from porky’s romance) “EXCITED?? WHO’S EXCITED!? I’M NOT EXCITED!!!”

conveniently, the paddle dumps gabby right in a mud puddle, sparking another angry outburst, now spewing insults and mud alike. porky, still driving on his merry way, overhears gabby’s rampage and screeches to a halt, now driving in reverse. the animation in this scene and the next one is nice and rubbery, very elastic and stretchy. ub’s cartoons are hardly the most entertaining, but i do love how rubbery and tactile his animation is. a jolly underscore “gee, but you’re swell” triumphantly scores porky’s demise as he too is smacked by the passing paddle on the moving van. he’s then tossed out of the driver’s seat and splayed onto the hood of the car.

while gabby continues his muddy ranting and raving, the car conveniently runs right over gabby, halting just above him. porky looks around, befuddled, stuttering “hey, gabby! where are you?” mel’s deliveries as gabby are more than amusing as gabby growls back “where am i! where am i? now ain’t that a smart question! i’m under the car, you big fathead!” porky, unscathed by the remarks, climbs back into the driver’s seat and tells gabby he’ll pull up. he does so, running over gabby’s head in the process. more scathing remarks from gabby, with some particularly fluid and lovely animation as he jumps up and down in the mud puddle.

transition to the two back in their car, inching their way up a very steep incline. there’s some lovely synchronization between the animation and music as the car trucks its way up, the water in the engine spurting with each push up, all in time with the music. this collaboration is furthered as the score slows down, now as fatigued as the car trying to truck its way up. very clever indeed. just as they finally reach the top, the engine dies.

porky suggests pushing, much to gabby’s chagrin, making his distaste known by slamming the door as he begrudgingly exits the car. more rubbery animation as porky pulls at the bumper from the front, gabby pushing from the back, griping about how he wishes he’d stay home. “i don’t like camping, anyway!” porky manages to pull the bumper off the car entirely, just in time for gabby to get a running head start and ram into the back of the car, causing the car to topple over porky and barrel down the hill.

quite an interesting switch in angles as the duo run down the hill to catch the car, the decline turning into an incline once more, with the car slowing considerably and beginning its journey up the hill. now, porky and gabby run AWAY from the car, not towards it, as the car slides back down the hill, seeing as it can’t accelerate or decelerate on its own. predictable, yet fun to watch as porky and gabby engage in a game of cat and mouse with the car, the car ultimately barreling into them, sending the two twirling up into the air and landing neatly back in their respective seats. cartoon physics to the rescue!

a bit confusing as the car suddenly gains life again, trucking uphill, exhaust coming out of the pipe, but so be it. porky and gabby FINALLY reach their destination, the score now a rendition of “speaking of the weather” (which is the title of a frank tashlin merrie melody as well!) but, as we all know, this is only half the battle. porky triumphantly declares “well, here we are! i’ll put up the tent. you unload the car.” judging by the way porky moves and how gabby squints at him in contempt afterwards, i’d wage this as bob clampett’s animation. gabby retorts “yeah, i get all the hard work!” he struggles to untie the endless luggage piled up on the car. instead, he pulls the weight of the entire car on top of him, luggage spilling out on the ground as the car does a few barrel rolls, landing neatly right side up. gabby pokes his head out of the luggage pile, giving the audience an angry trademark Gabby Wink/Grimace. 

elsewhere, while porky’s setting up the tent, a pesky bee comes to assess the situation. i wonder if bees in cartoons are an ub iwerks thing, or just a coincidence--in porky’s badtime story, which was started by ub, there’s a scene where porky tries to swat a bee away with a pillow, hitting gabby in the process. this could have been a clampett gag, but it wasn’t included in the tick tock tuckered remake, so who’s to say. some more interesting rubbery animation combined with a shiver take as porky angrily attempts to swat the bee away, getting stung in the ass in the process. the tent collapses, pinning porky and the bee together under the same tarp. the animation is just lovely to watch as the bee swoops around in circles, the tarp leaving a trail behind. very rubbery and malleable.

gabby begrudgingly prepares the furniture when he hears porky. “gabby! gabby! get a sly fwatter--a-a--a fly swatter!” gabby mutters to himself, scouting out a fly swatter, when he hits gold. a shovel. three times as big and three times as effective! gabby’s gleeful, slightly twisted grin as he charges towards the tent wielding the shovel is priceless. he’s a little too eager to bash some sense into that bee. 

porky’s still being stung to pieces when gabby arrives. this is probably one of the funniest moments in an ub cartoon at WB, the timing is just too good: gabby hesitates, watching porky writhe around in agony under the tarp, before bashing porky’s head in. porky (rightfully) cries “OW!” and we hear silence. no movement. even better is when gabby carefully picks up the tarp and looks inside, making sure his pal is still breathing. instead, the pesky bee flies out from the tarp and stings gabby right on the nose.

more wonderfully fluid animation and speed lines as gabby now chases the bee with the shovel, cursing all along the way. ub’s flip the frog cartoons didn’t shy away from cursing (lots of “damn!”s), so i wonder if he ever thought about giving gabby a proper sailor mouth. seems likely. the bee lands on the exhaust pipe of their car, and when gabby hits the pipe with his trusty shovel, the force is enough to knock out the engine of the car, popping out of the grill.

more bob clampett animation as porky recovers, struggling to tie the tent’s rope to a stake in the ground. now, porky asks for a piece of rope, much to gabby’s chagrin. “rope... rope... i ain’t got any rope! guy’s always wantin’ something. why don’t he get his own rope? ah, here’s a piece!” sure enough, a spare piece of rope slithers out from the pile of junk by the car. treg brown’s use of a donkey braying as gabby pulls on the rope is a great touch. 

unfortunately, we see that the rope is attached to the outboard motor. gabby gives a hearty tug, and the rope is freed from the motor, which activates it. the motor flies into the air, threatening to guillotine anyone who comes in contact with the blades. gabby is knocked into a hole the motor dug into the ground, peering out of it for safety (in a very similar manner to porky poking his head out of a hole in porky’s last stand). speaking of porky, he dives into his tent for safety as the motor cuts the tarp away into pieces. 

the animation in this sequence is lovely, accented by carl stalling’s favorite “black coffee”. gabby resorts to shooting at the motor with a rifle. cartoon physics--the knockback from the rifle sends gabby flying, landing on a car horn, which catapults him forward. he shoots, he bounces, he shoots, he bounces, and so forth. one excessive shot sends him flying onto a spare mattress, the spring catapulting him into the air. gabby shoots himself down, but it’s no use. the spring gets caught on a tree branch. the motor threatens to graze gabby as he yells at porky for help (”i’m caught on a limb!”). rather, the motor runs into him, sending gabby twirling around the branch and hurtling towards the ground, the spring coming loose. it’s difficult to put into words, but it’s a lovely scene with some lovely animation. 

porky, who has now miraculously found some rope, fashions a lasso and corrals the motor. “i got it! i got it!” but, as always, there’s a catch. a loop ties around porky’s legs, the motor dragging porky along in the wild goose chase. gabby scales up between two, lanky trees for safety, the motor cutting the bottoms off and making makeshift stilts. more beautiful animation as gabby struggles to stay put. eventually, the rope attached to the motor ties the two trees together, the rope loosening from porky’s legs and sending both him and gabby toppling to the ground. 

befuddled, both investigate the eerie silence--no motor in sight. that is until the familiar sound of whirring grows louder from off screen. in a panic, the two bump into each other as they scramble to escape, both flopping to the ground just in tiem for the motor to rocket over their heads. 

all hopes of a camping trip are out the window as the two scramble into their car. the engine, which had been catapulted out the front, is now pulled inside as the two speed away, hoping to outrun the deathtrap. i LOVE the detail of porky paddling at the air as they drive away, as if his meager attempts to paddle would speed the car up even more from the motor that flies threateningly close behind them. 

meanwhile, they encounter an old friend: the moving van that gabby had harassed from before. once more does gabby berate the innocent driver (”HEY! MOVE OUTTA THE WAY, WE’RE COMIN’ THROUGH!”) as we get an interesting angle of the motor heading straight towards the audience. 

porky and gabby duck, ready to meet their demise when the motor crashes into their car, pushing the car forcefully into the moving van. a cloud of smoke as the crash ensues. the truck driver has a tire dangling from his next, much to gabby’s delight. gabby bursts into a fit of hysterical, bleating laughter, nudging a dazed porky so he can get a good look. the van driver pulls on his trusty lever, and the hand shaped paddle from before gives gabby a well deserved smack. iris out as both the van driver and even porky beam at gabby’s humiliation.

what an interesting cartoon, to say the least! there’s a lot of layers to it, while simultaneously, there aren’t at all. to put it bluntly, at surface level, this isn’t a very good cartoon. a few plotholes (like porky randomly finding a rope after he needed one, the car miraculously working again after it had died, etc--but these are mainly cases of cartoon logic, don’t take these too seriously. these are observations rather than critiques), and the plot itself is very bare-bones. this is moreso a series of mishaps rather than a cartoon with a concrete storyline.

yet, with that said, i still enjoy it. the animation is the best part of the cartoon. i’m a very detail oriented person, and not a big picture person, which serves me well and detrimentally at the same time. so, i absolutely love how fluid, bouncy, and fun the animation is in this cartoon. that’s certainly an incentive to watch it. carl stalling’s music score, as always, compliments the cartoon quite nicely. and furthermore, this cartoon has some historical significance to it. not very much, but it’s there: it’s gabby’s first cartoon. that serves as another incentive to watch--gabby isn’t too exciting of a character, but he’s so fascinating to me that i can’t help but like him. he’s like a hidden secret. porky’s first sidekick, unless you count beans, but porky was moreso beans’ sidekick rather than beans being porky’s sidekick. gabby’s pretty obscure, but someone from the simpsons was a big enough classic cartoon fan to know who he was--they make a reference to him as “disgruntled goat”. this could be a coincidence, sure, but i’m definitely thinking this is a reference, especially considering another episode referenced friz freleng’s pigs is pigs from earlier in 1937. 

in all, this isn’t a great cartoon, and you probably COULD go without watching it and be fine, but i say watch it. there’s some wonderful animation and it has some interesting history, such as ub iwerks’ first cartoon at WB and gabby’s first cartoon. check it out for yourself and see what you think!

link!

#lt #porky and gabby #reviews #looney tunes #iwerks #long post

[lighthouseofthewanderess]

Shirkers

Yesterday night, I watched a Netflix Original Documentary called Shirkers, set in Singapore. It was a story about enthusiastic teens filming a movie in the early days when there were only reels and cans of film. Their director, ‘a man of untraceable age and origin’, absconded thereafter with the tape and they <spoiler alert> never heard about the footage until he died. As I went to sleep after it, I mulled about what I had seen. The way a 2-hour piece left me registering just a few shots -- the close-ups of mosquitoes taped onto notebooks, the cigarettes that every woman smoked, and Catcher in the Rye. The movie’s overarching theme was that in the world there were the shakers and the movers, and then there were shirkers. The ones who got up and ran away, broke free and did whatever they wanted to do. Zero responsibility. Here’s a new word for myself, I thought as the concepts was unraveled. I was a wanderess, a Benjamin Button, and now I was a shirker in my own sense.

My teenage years were a breeze for my mom. It was almost as though she braced herself for it but I never got in to any trouble. I was being a responsible adult like I had always been. The more I grew up, the more that word started to feel heavy on my shoulders. Choke me and mock me. So what did I do when I couldn’t keep it calm around me anymore? I ran away and avoided it. This was the mind state with which I moved to Pune. Unleash the freedom, let me taste what everyone’s going gaga about I thought as I got off the bus with my mom in tow on a rainy, gloomy day. I was left with some staff of the college first as we didn’t have any vacancy at PGs. It was both a good thing and a bad thing. Bad part was my mom paid a bomb for them to just let me occupy some space. The good part was that I dived into a new world and tried to take it all in. The red-eared turtles that had super soft necks. The Sundays spent watching them wax each other. The smell of tadka in the air as they all rushed in the morning to work. Every day I learned something new. And I processed it with all too much time in my life. I lazed around, spoke to the turtles, took them on a walk and sometimes I just sat in a bakery nearby and watched the people. In the rain, they all looked like huge ants scattering about.

When college started, I still had a lot of time. There was always one movie project in production, mostly with one of the seniors. I hung around them and helped wherever I could. We sneaked into parks were permission was denied, and shot in the blind spots where there were no cameras. And when we wrapped up and left, everyone looked like this was the only way to do it. We asked them nicely, but they denied. What else to do? Don’t worry so much about it. I on the other hand, was filled with euphoria that I got away with some trouble. So it was possible -- to do whatever you wanted and not fall prey to the normalcy with which others struggled. It was as though a very limited world, with rules set in stone, all vanished to leave a blank canvas. The real question was how was I going to fill it in and make it mine? Around this same time came the thought that changed me as a person. It divided my space and time into two halves -- the goody-two shoes girl who listened to everyone, had a plan for everything and always stayed two steps ahead of the rest, and the new procrastinator who went against her one-member family, stumbling and learning, but all the while loving and growing. I believed, in many ways, what Shirkers was trying to say: “In order to move forwards, you have to move backwards.” I had to unlearn the things that I thought were right so that I can look at the world with an objective eye. I had to let go of trying to earn praises from people so that I can find myself and give this new me to the world. And for Benjamin Buttons, this is a very hard thing to do. I started experimenting again, but this time not with hobbies or food. I was trying to stay true to myself and act in a way I wanted to be perceived instead of what others wanted to see me as. I forced myself to take breaks, slow down and try not to hold everything other. When I started doing that, things crumbled to ashes. I watched some ambitions burn down, some expectations lurking in the corner, waiting to be picked up and met. I felt I had made a wrong decision to be a Shirker and run away from my responsibilities. But once I had my pile of ashes, it was easy for me to be reborn. With everything shed, I could now choose a new identity. When I visited Bangalore every few months, my friends had started seeing the change. Some even stopped talking to me because they felt I had strayed too far. My mom was annoyed I wasn’t keeping my room clean. That I was up all night and sleeping in late. And me? I was beaming inside-out. This is the new me; and I’m a Phoenix. When I am bored of myself, I will burn every trace of my identity down and build myself up again. How cool yet powerful was that possibility? I could do it at will and don any hat I want. And to mark this rebellious phase and make it absolutely clear that I care only about myself, I went and got a tattoo on the back of my neck. It was a Phoenix.

There was a pack of wolves that I ran with in Pune. Prerna’s family, the Mahtanis Each one of them -- her, her sister, and her mother -- were all shirkers. They had some basic responsibilities in place but other than that they had their own version of UBE going on. From painting backdrops for birthday parties to choreographing sangeets at weddings, the two sisters did it all. And that energy, for me, was infectious. It was what I thrived on, no matter how less we slept or how unproductive an off day seemed. I left my flatmates behind and started living with them. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, Archana would take out the car and we’ll just ride off into the dark. Buy ice cream (buy some meds as well), and head back. The house saw us play board games, do havans, party till morning, as well as work our assess off. This is life I told myself, but like always I would be wrong.

I got bored of that routine too. I wanted more than dhoklas for breakfast, and long rides from college to home. More importantly, I needed a change of scene. It’s time to burn down this chapter of my life. So I made the move back to Bangalore. Since I had freelanced a bit in Pune, I got into an ad agency and slowly worked on what adults do. A career. As I stepped back into goals and dreams I found myself sorely disappointed. I had it in my head that come what may, I will publish a book when I turn19. This later turned to 21. What was I doing when I was 21? That’s right, editing my film with a horrible hangover. Then I sifted through all my years in Pune -- it felt like I had done absolutely nothing in life while others were carefully building themselves for the world! The lesson was learnt; shirkers cannot be shirkers forever. For me to splurge and do what I wanted, I need a career that will get me the means too. And if I wanted to grow super fast, I needed to work super hard and forget the fun a little. Goodbye scrapbooking. Goodbye long nights nursing a bottle. Goodbye Shirker.

4 years into that change, the familiar and unsettling feeling crept in again. I knew I had to unwind a bit more, air out my mind a bit more, and simply let go of the world for a while. Bitterness had set in and was festering in my work. I couldn’t love what I did for a living, and because of that I didn’t love myself too. Walking in to work, I would just stop on the first flight of stairs and breakdown. Then it turned into waking up and breaking down. The idea of not being happy and yet confining to something I decided to do was tearing me in two. What was I doing with my goddamn life? My health was too messed up -- internal hemorrhaging, abnormally high thyroid, eye infections and a slew mental illnesses. I knew what the problem was, but I was afraid to risk what I had going on for me at work.The Shirker in me wanted to forget it all and disappear. And that’s exactly what I did.

I took a 2-week break and traveled alone; it worked like magic. I went back to running up some stairs to catch the sunrise on top of a lighthouse. I stood rooted in the storm and snuck in to the warmth of my room, drenched and satisfied. I stuck my tongue out and tasted morning air as I waited for my coffee. But most of all, I felt lighter. I used my phone only to take pictures, which I would compile into an Insta story at the end of the day. For the larger part, I would carry my faithful doodle knapsack which contained: a book, a notebook, my Instax, a water bottle, some money all rolled up and hidden. When I came back home, I came back with the idea that I didn’t have to choose between a Shirker and a shaker. And folks, is how I ended up writing this book. I asked Shivangi what she’s up to and she introduced NaNoWriMo to me. A whole month to dish out whatever you want to write from your heart. Why not, I thought. I shall take three steps back with my ‘must-publish-before-21’ dream so that I can propel myself forward with greater speed. Hello forever shirker.

#nanowrimo #nano 2018 #nano writing #life story #life stories #writing #loveforwriting #writing challenge #writedaily #writers #shirkers

[researchkraft19]

Silicon Carbide Fibre Market 2020 Manufacturers Analysis and Insights to 2027

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Aerospace

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ContiniousLong Fibre

ChoppedShort Fibre

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[dailykhaleej]

For airways, only question is how soon will passengers return to the skies

Will want for summer time journey deliver again the passengers? Europe’s airways are betting that lure of the solar will do the needful. Picture Credit score: AP

London: European airways are set to resume flying this month, simply in time to haul plucky vacationers prepared to don a face masks to escape for the sunshine of Spain or Greece.

The usually busy summer time season has the potential to deliver aid to the worst-hit area in an trade that is been slammed by the international coronavirus pandemic. But pulling the fleet out of mothballs as nation lockdowns loosen additionally has its dangers.

“As soon as you get your aircraft up in the air again you have 100 per cent of your cost back,” Rickard Gustafson, CEO of Scandinavian service SAS AB, mentioned final week. “It’s going to take time before you have all of the passengers back.”

Quick-haul choice

Schedules introduced up to now replicate a gulf in demand between the faster-recovering home and regional commerce, and long-haul companies closely reliant on enterprise passengers – a market that might stay in the doldrums for years. Whereas there is not any clear view on simply how shortly would-be vacationers will shrug off COVID-19 associated issues, low-cost carriers are taking a bullish view on folks’s willingness to fly.

EasyJet goals to restart on June 15, with Ryanair Holdings Plc following a number of weeks later and focusing on half its ordinary site visitors by the third quarter. Wizz Air Holdings Plc, Europe’s third-largest discounter, expects to restore as a lot as 60 per cent of regular capability throughout summer time, growing to 80 per cent over the winter off-season, mentioned CEO Jozsef Varadi.

“We think there’s substantially more demand out there than we’ll be able to serve,” Varadi mentioned. “It’s not a reluctance to get on board a plane that will hold us back but continuing restrictions on travel.”

For full-service carriers which are targeted on sectors the place clients are sluggish to return, it is smart to maintain jets idle whilst lockdowns ease, in accordance to SAS CEO Gustafson. The Stockholm-based airline will deploy only 20 of its 163 plane by mid-June because it ramps up “very, very carefully”.

Hold them on the floor

Air France-KLM likewise expects to maintain 80  of capability mothballed throughout the June-August interval that marks the conventional summer time season. Trans-Atlantic specialist Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. will serve only 5 routes earlier than August.

With airways successfully guessing at demand ranges, their plans ought to be seen as “initial ambitions rather than hard forecasts,” mentioned UBS analyst Jarrod Fortress. He estimates general summer time site visitors will be lower than 50 per centof the ordinary degree in Europe. That tallies with ticket income figures from knowledge supplier Skytra suggesting third-quarter receipts will be down shut to 60 per cent in most European nations.

Carriers face a selected dilemma as a result of the summer time season can contribute all of their earnings even in a superb yr. That is elevated the temptation to construct up flights now in a big gamble that cooped-up north Europeans are craving time on Mediterranean seashores.

In doing so that they’re betting that individuals will not be delay by the prospect of sitting cheek-by-jowl with 150 others after months of social distancing, and that the sharpest financial slowdown in years will not immediate them to keep house and cling on to their money.

International demand is slowly starting to revive, led by a restoration in home site visitors in the Asia-Pacific area, particularly China, the place COVID-19 originated and has now largely abated.

In Europe and the US, traders are beginning to wager on an identical restoration. The Stoxx Europe 600 Journey & Leisure Index is up 15 per cent in the previous month, whereas the S&P 500 Airways Index has surged some 46 per cent.

British Airways’ mother or father firm has acquired state assist, as has Lufthansa and different European carriers. However extra assist could be wanted. Picture Credit score: DailyKhaleej Archive

No successful them again shortly

Nonetheless, the outlook stays cloudy. Air passenger demand will be “severely depressed in 2021,” Moody’s Traders Service mentioned in a June four report. It expects international air site visitors measured by revenue-passenger-kilometers to decline by 65-75 per cent this yr, and 35-55 per cent subsequent yr, from 2019 ranges.

Europe has been hit particularly exhausting as a result of particular person nations took unilateral motion in closing down borders, shortly wiping out even shorter flights. That contrasts with the US, the place the illness arrived later and round a 3rd of home companies have been maintained.

Groundings bottomed out worldwide on April 21 and companies have since elevated by 30 per cent, in accordance to the Worldwide Air Transport Affiliation, although they’re down virtually 75 per cent from January ranges. Internet searches for air journey have surpassed these relating to the coronavirus, indicating a shift in the public temper, Brian Pearce, the commerce group’s chief economist, mentioned.

Low-cost carriers are best-placed to profit in Europe since demand for leisure flights and journeys to go to family and friends will rebound a lot sooner than company gross sales, in accordance to Alexandre De Juniac, IATA’s CEO.

Till COVID-19 is contained, the illness will restrict prospects for a comeback. Job cuts focused by airways and aerospace firms in Europe and the Center East since the outbreak started have topped 100,000, based mostly on a Bloomberg tally. In the UK, a self-quarantine regime for arriving passengers is due to be launched beginning Monday, slowing any rebound.

A protracted watch for company travellers

Enterprise journey could drop 20 per cent till a vaccine is developed as giant commerce conferences are placed on maintain, mentioned Daniel Roeska, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. “It will take five years until we again see 2019 demand levels,” he said. “This is a lot greater than something now we have seen in the previous.”

For the weaker carriers, a scarcity of economic muscle might also inhibit their ramp-up plans. Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, for instance, competes in the similar low-cost sector as Ryanair however is planning to deliver again a smaller fleet after self-imposed “hibernation’.’ Lengthy-haul and European short-haul operations exterior of Norway will be grounded till subsequent yr.

A few of the largest gamers in the area have question marks hanging over their heads.

Fraport AG, which runs Frankfurt airport, sees general site visitors taking greater than three years to return to 2019 ranges. It is the predominant base for Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe’s largest airline, which plans to lower its fleet by 100 plane and says 200 extra could stay grounded till 2022 because it faucets 10 billion euros in state funds.

Lufthansa mentioned Thursday it will gear up to cowl 90 per cent of its short- and medium-haul locations by September, and 70 per cent of longer runs. Whereas the German service hasn’t specified frequencies, there is a threat that airways ramping up will tip the summer time market into oversupply.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has predicted a worth struggle as carriers bolstered by bailouts chase too few passengers.

Most weak to developments on the medical entrance could also be the Gulf carriers, that are locked into the hardest nook of the aviation market – long-distance and enterprise journey – ferrying folks round the world through hubs with only small native populations.

Tim Clark, president of Dubai-based Emirates, the world’s largest long-haul airline, has mentioned the total jetliner orderbook is below assessment and that future deployment of the A380 superjumbo at the coronary heart of its fleet could hinge on prospects for a vaccine changing into out there.

In the optimistic, or left-hand state of affairs, “you’re ramping up operations very rapidly”, if not getting again to 100 per cent by summer time 2021, Clark mentioned.

“If you hear in the next few months that a vaccine will not be found, then the right hand will kick in and that will affect not just Emirates but everybody else.”

from WordPress https://ift.tt/3dDYNsP via IFTTT

[preciousmetals0]

Amber’s Macro Monday — What Tesla’s Trajectory Means for the EV Market

Amber’s Macro Monday — What Tesla’s Trajectory Means for the EV Market:

I’ll never forget my first ride in the Tesla Model 3.

It took my brain a few seconds to process the jaw-dropping experience.

I knew in that moment that Tesla would be a powerhouse company that would completely disrupt the automotive market.

And it’s clear to me now that I was not alone.

Tesla’s new numbers are in … and the results will not disappoint.

In my Fab 5 charts this month, I’ll show you why new innovations in Tesla, battery-storage tech and clean energy are laying the foundation for a Fourth Industrial Revolution.

[embedded content]

Watch above to see the top economic charts for:

The exciting new Tesla innovations that are pushing up sales and leaving other luxury cars in the dust. (1:34-3:28)

Clean energy initiatives that are creating a new renewable energy boom that is disrupting the fossil fuel industry’s hold on global power. (3:29-5:02)

A new survey that reveals what the world’s wealthiest investors have to say about their expectations for the stock market in 2020. (5:03-5:58)

Macro Monday January 27, 2020

This edition of Macro Monday will be an America 2.0 focused special edition.

As you may know, Paul Mampilly and Bold Profits mega trends will spur the new renaissance and 4th industrial revolution of America 2.0, these mega trends are:

Industrial internet of things

Precision medicine

Millennials

Blockchain

Robotics

Artificial intelligence

Autonomous/electric vehicles

New energy technology

In this week’s update, we’re going to focus on autonomous/electric vehicles, new energy technology and then conclude with 2 compelling market sentiment trends.

E.V. Sales

I’ll never forget my first ride as a passenger in the Tesla Model 3.  It took my brain a few seconds to process what I was seeing and experiencing and then my jaw dropped.

I’m a long-time car enthusiast a.k.a gearhead, so I’ve seen my share of cars and test drives, but the inside of the model 3 is unlike any car I had seen before with no instrument gauge panel in front of the steering column, but instead a large 15-inch touch screen display command center to control the vehicle.

And then we hopped on the interstate and the driver accelerated effortlessly and soundlessly and put the car on autopilot and I was blown away.

Well, apparently, I’m not alone in this admiration.

According to inside EVs and as this chart shows, the Tesla Model 3 is proving its popularity.

Tesla Model 3 Sales are Blowing Away Rivals in the Luxury Sedan Segment.

After its introduction in 2017 Model 3 yearly sales have been on an upward trajectory catapulting past sedan competitors like the BMW 3 series, Audi A4 and Mercedes c-class.  I have a question, if you own or have driven or ridden in a tesla model 3, S, or X please let me know your experience!

You can share it in the comments section below.

So far, I’ve test-driven all 3 and my favorite was the Tesla Model S P100D in ludicrous mode when I accelerated the vehicle from 0-60 in about 2.4 seconds.

It was super-fast and shocking.

Just like the passengers’ reactions seen in this YT video from Forrest’s Auto Reviews.

All I can say it was a heart-pounding, Wow moment.

Per Bloomberg “New Jersey just became the 10th state to introduce an incentive for the purchase of an EVs, which, once implemented, will be the highest offered in the U.S. The new policy in New Jersey is only available to consumers purchasing EVs priced under $55,000. The 10 states in this chart accounted for over 65% of EV sales in the first half of 2019, according to BloombergNEF.”  [1]

This 2 part chart shows how Global new investment in clean energy reached $363.3 billion in 2019, the second-highest on record, bringing the total for the decade to $3.3 trillion, according to BloombergNEF’s investment trends report.

About 75% of the total went to the wind ($138B) and solar($131B).

On the heels of these booming stats there’s a New Energy Alert: Per Bloomberg, Solar and wind power installations are forecast to “Shatter U.S. Records in 2020.”

Per the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Both new energy sources are “forecast to smash…records in 2020. Wind installations are booming…while a new CA mandate requiring panels on most new homes is helping solar.”

According to the recent UBS Global Wealth Management Survey, the world’s wealthiest investors are nearly unanimously optimistic where the stock market is concerned for 2020.

The survey – which asks 4,800 wealthy individuals from around the world with a net worth of at least $1 million or $250,000 in yearly revenue, and at least one employee other than themselves – gauges their investors’ forward-looking sentiment.

A chart-topping 94% of surveyed wealthy investors around the world anticipate positive returns this year.

This is a turnaround from the October survey where more than 50% of respondents expected a significant market sell-off by the end of 2020.

Per the UBS press release, Paula Polito, Divisional Vice Chairman, UBS Global Wealth Management, says: “Virtually all investors reported positive portfolio returns in 2019, with continued high expectations for 2020.”

And per Bloomberg’s assessment about a quarter of survey respondents’ assets were in “cash, slightly lower than the previous report.”

More money is flowing into equities in the new year, with data from EPFR Global and Bank of America Corp. showing about $20.5 billion of inflows into stock funds.

That’s partially reversing last year’s outflows, which reached about $167 billion, as many market participants remained cautious and turned to bonds or cash despite the equity market rally.”

In all, Bloomberg also notes that the rather low stake in stocks foretells more room for gains according to strategists at Goldman Sachs.

Financial Advisor and Bloomberg bets on disruption are swelling thematic funds.

Thematic funds are stock mutual funds that invest in stocks tied to themes and both news outlets are reporting that more money than ever is pouring into thematic funds that aim to predict future trends.

Per Bloomberg “as of the 2020s get underway, investors hunting for tomorrow’s winners based on today’s emerging trends command more cash than ever. Thematic funds doubled their assets in three years to reach $175.2B at the end of Dec., according to data from Morningstar Inc. Already there are signs that growth will continue this decade: Lazard Asset Management just started a new fund riding themes like digitization, environmental threats, societal anxieties and more.”

We urge our subscribers to learn more about our take on America 2.0 and the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Before I sign off, if you like what you see here, please subscribe to the Paul Mampilly YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter (@MampillyGuru  and @ALancasterGuru).

And have you ever taken a Tesla joyride? Tell us all about it at [email protected].

Until next time,

Amber Lancaster

Director of Investment Research, Banyan Hill Publishing

Sources:

[1] Bloomberg – Press Release Clean Energy

[goldira01]

I’ll never forget my first ride in the Tesla Model 3.

It took my brain a few seconds to process the jaw-dropping experience.

I knew in that moment that Tesla would be a powerhouse company that would completely disrupt the automotive market.

And it’s clear to me now that I was not alone.

Tesla’s new numbers are in … and the results will not disappoint.

In my Fab 5 charts this month, I’ll show you why new innovations in Tesla, battery-storage tech and clean energy are laying the foundation for a Fourth Industrial Revolution.

[embedded content]

Watch above to see the top economic charts for:

The exciting new Tesla innovations that are pushing up sales and leaving other luxury cars in the dust. (1:34-3:28)

Clean energy initiatives that are creating a new renewable energy boom that is disrupting the fossil fuel industry’s hold on global power. (3:29-5:02)

A new survey that reveals what the world’s wealthiest investors have to say about their expectations for the stock market in 2020. (5:03-5:58)

Macro Monday January 27, 2020

This edition of Macro Monday will be an America 2.0 focused special edition.

As you may know, Paul Mampilly and Bold Profits mega trends will spur the new renaissance and 4th industrial revolution of America 2.0, these mega trends are:

Industrial internet of things

Precision medicine

Millennials

Blockchain

Robotics

Artificial intelligence

Autonomous/electric vehicles

New energy technology

In this week’s update, we’re going to focus on autonomous/electric vehicles, new energy technology and then conclude with 2 compelling market sentiment trends.

E.V. Sales

I’ll never forget my first ride as a passenger in the Tesla Model 3.  It took my brain a few seconds to process what I was seeing and experiencing and then my jaw dropped.

I’m a long-time car enthusiast a.k.a gearhead, so I’ve seen my share of cars and test drives, but the inside of the model 3 is unlike any car I had seen before with no instrument gauge panel in front of the steering column, but instead a large 15-inch touch screen display command center to control the vehicle.

And then we hopped on the interstate and the driver accelerated effortlessly and soundlessly and put the car on autopilot and I was blown away.

Well, apparently, I’m not alone in this admiration.

According to inside EVs and as this chart shows, the Tesla Model 3 is proving its popularity.

Tesla Model 3 Sales are Blowing Away Rivals in the Luxury Sedan Segment.

After its introduction in 2017 Model 3 yearly sales have been on an upward trajectory catapulting past sedan competitors like the BMW 3 series, Audi A4 and Mercedes c-class.  I have a question, if you own or have driven or ridden in a tesla model 3, S, or X please let me know your experience!

You can share it in the comments section below.

So far, I’ve test-driven all 3 and my favorite was the Tesla Model S P100D in ludicrous mode when I accelerated the vehicle from 0-60 in about 2.4 seconds.

It was super-fast and shocking.

Just like the passengers’ reactions seen in this YT video from Forrest’s Auto Reviews.

All I can say it was a heart-pounding, Wow moment.

Per Bloomberg “New Jersey just became the 10th state to introduce an incentive for the purchase of an EVs, which, once implemented, will be the highest offered in the U.S. The new policy in New Jersey is only available to consumers purchasing EVs priced under $55,000. The 10 states in this chart accounted for over 65% of EV sales in the first half of 2019, according to BloombergNEF.”  [1]

This 2 part chart shows how Global new investment in clean energy reached $363.3 billion in 2019, the second-highest on record, bringing the total for the decade to $3.3 trillion, according to BloombergNEF’s investment trends report.

About 75% of the total went to the wind ($138B) and solar($131B).

On the heels of these booming stats there’s a New Energy Alert: Per Bloomberg, Solar and wind power installations are forecast to “Shatter U.S. Records in 2020.”

Per the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Both new energy sources are “forecast to smash…records in 2020. Wind installations are booming…while a new CA mandate requiring panels on most new homes is helping solar.”

According to the recent UBS Global Wealth Management Survey, the world’s wealthiest investors are nearly unanimously optimistic where the stock market is concerned for 2020.

The survey – which asks 4,800 wealthy individuals from around the world with a net worth of at least $1 million or $250,000 in yearly revenue, and at least one employee other than themselves – gauges their investors’ forward-looking sentiment.

A chart-topping 94% of surveyed wealthy investors around the world anticipate positive returns this year.

This is a turnaround from the October survey where more than 50% of respondents expected a significant market sell-off by the end of 2020.

Per the UBS press release, Paula Polito, Divisional Vice Chairman, UBS Global Wealth Management, says: “Virtually all investors reported positive portfolio returns in 2019, with continued high expectations for 2020.”

And per Bloomberg’s assessment about a quarter of survey respondents’ assets were in “cash, slightly lower than the previous report.”

More money is flowing into equities in the new year, with data from EPFR Global and Bank of America Corp. showing about $20.5 billion of inflows into stock funds.

That’s partially reversing last year’s outflows, which reached about $167 billion, as many market participants remained cautious and turned to bonds or cash despite the equity market rally.”

In all, Bloomberg also notes that the rather low stake in stocks foretells more room for gains according to strategists at Goldman Sachs.

Financial Advisor and Bloomberg bets on disruption are swelling thematic funds.

Thematic funds are stock mutual funds that invest in stocks tied to themes and both news outlets are reporting that more money than ever is pouring into thematic funds that aim to predict future trends.

Per Bloomberg “as of the 2020s get underway, investors hunting for tomorrow’s winners based on today’s emerging trends command more cash than ever. Thematic funds doubled their assets in three years to reach $175.2B at the end of Dec., according to data from Morningstar Inc. Already there are signs that growth will continue this decade: Lazard Asset Management just started a new fund riding themes like digitization, environmental threats, societal anxieties and more.”

We urge our subscribers to learn more about our take on America 2.0 and the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Before I sign off, if you like what you see here, please subscribe to the Paul Mampilly YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter (@MampillyGuru  and @ALancasterGuru).

And have you ever taken a Tesla joyride? Tell us all about it at [email protected].

Until next time,

Amber Lancaster

Director of Investment Research, Banyan Hill Publishing

Sources:

[1] Bloomberg – Press Release Clean Energy

#Timor Invest

[pathfindersemail]

sarianna? for the pros and cons ask meme

Bless your heart for this ask.

Pros:

She is very malambing/lovey dovey and will smother you with hugs and kisses

On your first date she will smother you with ube ice cream

She is the type of person who, if you give her a mix tape or a list of your favorite movies, she will go home and listen to all that music/watch all those movies to show you how much she thinks about you

She is the best shot on the Initiative, and you can bet anyone who messes with you will get one right between the eyes

Is very patient and perceptive. Like if you’re mad or moody, she’ll know you’re mad/moody and will assess how to best deal with it. Some days she’ll understand you need space; other days she knows you probably need a shoulder to lean on

is a sucker for puppies

Cons:

A little too honest; if you an express an ambition she thinks is unrealistic for you, she will put it for you in no uncertain terms

she is a bit clingy, and she is the type to make a big deal out of an imagined slight

She is also easily manipulated into doing something she probably would normally disagree with, but her emotions can get the best of her

She tends to project certain standards on people closest to her, and this tendency can often get in the way of honest and open-minded communication

She is high-maintenance; like bring her to a cheap restaurant and she WILL verbalize how she feels about that

In fights, she tends to kinda sideline other people’s points in favor of making hers more prominent. Put differently, she has a hard time empathizing with “irrational” or perhaps unconventional lifestyles (cough ahem Reyes), and she finds it difficult to understand why people would, say, continue to do less than savory things

Thanks for the ask!

[coldshrugs]

Ooooooh, 3-5 for Alma and Mason? :D

!!! thank you!!! <3

3. Are they open about their relationship? How do they feel about public displays of affection?

Oh definitely, on both counts.

Even before they’re together together, neither of them mind a bit of PDA, though Alma’s a bit shyer about it. She’s not that into, say, making out in front of the rest of UB for the hell of it but they can’t help but drape themselves over each other at any given opportunity. There’s a lot of absent touching, nuzzling, or hair stroking while sitting next to (or on) each other at meetings, arms around each other while walking, that sort of thing. 

4. First impression of each other? Was it love at first sight?

It was most definitely not love at first sight. Attraction at first sight, sure, but it took a few days for them to find things to respect about each other. Even then, they annoyed the hell out of each other (and still do, on occasion). I answered something similar a while ago so I’ll paste that in!

Alma on Mason: Thought he was super attractive but that was quickly pushed aside by “holy shit, this guy’s an ass.” She thinks he’s an uncooperative jerk that only cares about himself for quite a while, honestly. She asks him along for things she wants to do alone precisely because she thinks he’ll be the most likely to just stay out of her way. She’s surprised by his attitudes and opinions, and her incorrect assumptions about them, during those times.

Mason on Alma: Would never, ever, ever admit that his first thought upon meeting Alma was simply “cute.” He quickly found parts of her to assess individually. Those first few days were mostly spent appraising her physical attributes and watching her back when she needed it. Mason did find her funny right away, but he wasn’t willing to trust someone new, regardless of that person being their Handler’s daughter or not.

5. Nicknames? Pet names? Any in-jokes?

Of course, we’ve got the canonical sweetheart/sunshine. I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot lately and I think after enduring enough shitty sci-fi at her behest, he starts to call her ‘space girl’ but that’s rare. He’s gotta be feeling really fucking mushy.

Alma jokingly says “I hate you” a lot and Mason responds with “liar” or something else that’ll get her riled up. Anything to get that playful glare going tbh.

[ship questions]

#asks #ejunkiet #alma/mason #my brain is just filled with dumb lil almason stuff and nothing else