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kingluffy5 · 3 months

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Psychic Kids and Otherworldly Monsters Pt. 1 (Stranger Things OCs)

Several children and teenagers try to experience the best their adolescence in the 1980s but mysterious events follow causing them to deal with a ton of bullshit.

November 6th, 1983

— — —

No One P.O.V.

In the laboratory alarms were going off and the dim lights were flashing, a man in a lab coat burst through the door panicked by whatever it was that he saw in there he rushed to the elevator and pressed the button so many times that it’s a shock that he didn’t break it. When the doors finally opened he ran in and once again quickly pressed the close door button. He looked out into the hallway in fear, fear that whatever he saw was in there, fear that he wouldn’t escape it. When hungry snarling sounds came from above he slowly looked up before screaming as he was dragged up by whatever it was that was in the elevator.

— — —

Oliver Reed’s P.O.V.

“Something’s coming, something hungry for blood. A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness. It is almost here.” Mike Wheeler narrated. He’s the DM for our current D&D campaign, so he had to narrate what is going on to us as we play and determine how our actions affect what is going, he also played every character other than ours so it’s always funny when he has to play a girl. I played as a chaotic good barbarian half orc who uses a war hammer and a double bladed axe named Warrok the Accused, because he was once accused of a crime he didn’t commit and was banished from his home.

“What is it.” Will Byers asked

“What if it’s the Demogorgon, oh Jesus, we’re so screwed if it’s the Demogorgon.” Dustin Henderson worried.

“Oh, please don’t be a Demogorgon.” I crossed my fingers.

“It’s not the Demogorgon.” Lucas Sinclair comforted.

“An army of troglodytes charges into the room.” Mike revealed.

“Troglodytes?” Dustin laughed at the weaker monsters than the one he expected.

“Told ya.” Lucas taunted making both him and Dustin laugh.

“Wait a minute, do you here that? That sound, boom, boom, boom, BOOM! That didn’t come from a troglodyte no that came from something else. The Demogorgon.” Mike slammed the Demogorgon miniature down onto the board. We all complained, as Dustin so eloquently put it ‘We’re in deep shit’. “Will, you’re action?”

“I don’t know.” Will replied.

“Fireball him.” Lucas said.

“But I have to roll a thirteen or higher.” Will reminded him.

“Too risky, cast a protection spell.” Dustin suggested.

“Don’t be a pussy fireball him.” Lucas argued.

“I don’t care what you do but just do something.” I told him.

“Cast protection.” Dustin insisted.

“The Demogorgon is tired of your silly human bickering, it stomps towards you, boom!” Mike narrated.

We all ended up yelling at each other, Mike yelled the Demogorgon footsteps, Dustin and Lucas shouted what they thought that Will should do, I yelled at him to make up his own mind.

“Fireball.” Will chose as tossed the dice, but the dice ended up rolling off the table.

“Where is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it a thirteen?”

“I don’t know.”

We all searched through the basement trying to find the dice to see whether or not Will’s fireball hit. Eventually Mike’s mom opened the door to the basement and told Mike that we all needed to go home, he tried to tell her we’re only in the middle of the campaign and that ending now would ruin the flow. We found the dice but it was only a seven but Lucas said that since Mike didn’t see it it didn’t count. Dustin asked if any of us wanted to have the last of the pizza but we all said no. We got to our bikes and started leaving, I live closest to Mike so I didn’t have to ride long and said goodnight to everyone. I made it home, parked my bike in the garage and went inside. My dad, Anthony Reed, sat on the recliner watching TV, he works as a deputy at the police department.

“Hey Oli, how was uh the game you guys uh play where you roll the dice and you make your own characters?” He greets me.

“It went well, we had to cut it short though because Mrs. Wheeler said we had to.” I reply.

“Oh, that sucks, I’m sure you’ll be able to finish it next weekend though.”

“Yeah, I guess. Where are Sarah and Sasha?” I ask.

“They should be back soon, they went over to the Sinclair’s house.”

— — —

Judith Byers’ P.O.V.

We all sat in Ava’s room, me, Sarah Reed, Sasha Reed, and Ava Sinclair. Ava passes me the joint and I take a long drag of it before blowing out the smoke and giggling. We all sat on her floor listening to heavy metal.

“We should totally do this someday.” I giggled.

“What, make music?” Sarah asks.

“Yeah, we should all start a band.” Ava agrees.

“Yeah, yeah, give me that.” Sasha demands. I oblige and give her the dope.

“It’s amazing how you’re a twin and we’re twins and we’re in the same friend group.” Sarah points out. We’re all pretty clearly stoned.

“Hey, we twins gotta look out for each other.” I say. “If only Jonathan would start hanging out with more people, he’s always either alone or with me and Will.”

“All right, back to this band, what music would we play?” Ava asks, clearly entranced by the idea of all of us in a band.

“Easy, rock.” Sasha says.

We all agree while each taking another hit of weed.

“AVA SINCLAIR, YOU BETTER NOT BE DOING POT WITH THOSE FRIENDS OF YOURS!!!” Mrs. Sinclair shouts up to us from downstairs, now you see I am not usually afraid of most things, I could watch any horror movie, I can go on any roller coaster, but any time that I have to look Mrs. Sinclair in the eye when she’s angry and I immediately break.

“Shit, shit, shit.” I say panicked immediately throwing the joint out of Ava’s window.

“What are you doing?” Sarah and Sasha ask at the same time.

“I don’t know.” I answer.

“OF COURSE WE’RE NOT MOM!” Ava shouts back, man that girl has a pair of lungs on her.

“What are we going to do?” I ask.

“Here’s what you’re going to do, we’re going to go downstairs, you’ll let me do the talking, just whatever you do get out of the front door.” Ava explained calmly and cooly. She could lead us to rob a bank, she’d be the leader, I’d be the safe cracker, Sasha would be the muscle, and Sarah would be the one who makes sure that none of the people in the bank gets smart and tries to be a hero. I thought about us robbing a bank way too much.

We all head down stares where Lucas and Erica, Ava’s younger brother and sister, are sitting on the couch. “Hey nerd, Erica.” Ava greets her younger siblings, her nickname for Lucas causes Erica and the rest of us to laugh.

“Ava, what did you guys do up there?” Lucas asks in an insinuating tone, shit does he know.

“We listened to music and talked about boys, what do you even think would’ve happened?” Ava replies.

“You got high.” He says nonchalantly.

“Well you girls have a safe trip home.” Mrs. Sinclair says to us as a goodbye.

“Thanks Mrs. Sinclair.” I thank. Ava glares at me from straying from the plan. “I mean, nothing.”

Mrs. Sinclair gives me a weird look before turning back to watching TV with her kids.

We all get outside. “So any of you need a ride home?” Ava asks.

“No we’ll give Judith a ride.” Sarah says.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow Ava.” I bid her farewell.

Sarah and Sasha also say goodbye before we all get into the car that they share, the 1970 Chevrolet Camaro. They dropped me off at home. It looks like I’m the only one home right now, I guess Will stayed over at the Wheelers’ house, Jonathan’s probably working, mom too. Well guess I should go to bed. I wonder why the dog’s barking though, that’s going to be annoying while I go to sleep.

— — —

The next day.

Judith Byers P.O.V.

I’m woken up by my alarm clock. I get up and put on a pair of jeans and a graphic t-shirt with the band Iron Maiden on it, I then put on my grey trench coat and the hiking boots that I wear whenever I’m not hiking. I step outside and see my mom, Joyce, looking for her keys and my brother, Jonathan, making breakfast.

“Okay sweetie I will see you tonight.” She says to Jonathan.

“Yeah I’ll see you tonight.” He replies.

“Good morning sweetie.” She greets me and kisses me on my cheek.

“Oh where’s Will?” She asks.

“Oh I didn’t get him up yet, he’s probably still sleeping.” Jonathan answers.

“Jonathan, Judith, you guys have to make sure he’s up.”

“Mom I’m making breakfast.”

“I was sleeping.” My excuse is a lot worse, but hey, it’s true.

“I told you this a thousand times. Will, honey, come on, it’s time to get up.” She tells him going to Will’s room. After a few seconds she comes back. “He came home last night right?”

“He’s not in his room?” Jonathan asks.

“Did he come home or not?”

“I don’t know.” He says.

“You don’t know?” She asks getting annoyed.

“No, I was home late, I was working.”

“You’re working?”

“Yeah, Eric asked if I could cover, I said yeah, I just thought we could use the extra cash.”

“Jonathan we talked about this, you can’t take shifts when I’m working.” She sighs.

“Mom it’s not a big deal, he was at the Wheeler’s all day, I’m sure he just stayed over.” I defend my brother.

Mom goes over to the phone to call Mrs. Wheeler to see if Will is over there. If he’s not then he probably went to the Henderson’s.

“Hi Karen, it’s Joyce, hi. Is that Will I heard back there? Will didn’t spend the night? Uh, you know I think he just left early for school. Thank you so much. Bye.

Well shit, he’s not at the Wheeler’s, but like mom said, he’s just probably at school. Right?

— — —

Oliver Reed P.O.V.

I finish biking over to school and I meet Mike, Dustin and Lucas by the entrance.

“That’s weird, I don’t see him.” Mike says, referencing Will who’ mom says wasn’t there when they all woke up this morning.

“I’m telling you, his mom’s right. Probably just went to class early again.” Lucas reassures him.

“Yeah, he’s always paranoid Gursky’s gonna give him another pop quiz.” Dustin laughs.

“Step right up ladies and gentlemen. Step right up and get your tickets for the freak show. Who do you think would make more money in a freak show, midnight, frog face, toothless, or the autistic kid.” Some asshole bullies come up to us, okay so I have high functioning autism, it’s only Asperger’s.

“I’d go with toothless.” The other one says mocking Dustin’s lisp.

“I told you a million times, my teeth are coming in. It’s called cleidocranial dysplasia.” Dustin tells them.

“I told you a million times.” He says, again mocking Dustin.

“Do the arm thing.” The first one orders referencing Dustin’s condition involving his bones. I don’t really understand it. “Do it, freak!”

Dustin makes his bones crack making the bullies grossed out, they leave but not before shoving us a little.

“Assholes.” Lucas complains.

“I think it’s kind of cool, it’s like you have superpowers or something. Like Mr. Fantastic.” Mike comforts him.

“Yeah only I can’t fight evil with it.”

— — —

Sarah Reed’s P.O.V.

I walk through the halls with Nancy Wheeler and Barb Holland, some of our other friends, Nancy is also the older sister of Oliver’s friend Mike.

“So did he call?” Barb asks, referring to Nancy’s new boyfriend, Steve Harrington.

“I told you, it’s not like that. Okay, I mean, yes, he likes me, but not like that. We just made out a couple times.” Nancy answers, like making out is not an indication of liking someone.

“We just made out a couple times.” Ava says mockingly, now joining us by our lockers.

“Nance, seriously, you’re gonna be so cool now it’s ridiculous.” Barb tells her.

“No, I’m not.” She insists.

“Remember us while you’re off hanging out with the popular kids.” I joke

“Yeah you better still hang out with us, that’s all we’re saying.” Barb says. Sasha and Judith walk up now joining us, Judith actually looks a little panicked, I wonder if she’s all right.”

“If you become friends with Tommy H. or Carol-” Sasha says before being interrupted by Nancy.

“Oh, that’s gross. Okay, I’m telling you guys it was a one time, two time thing.” She says making us all laugh a little. She then pulls out a note from Steve saying to meet him in the bathroom.

“You were saying.” Barb quipped. Nancy then ran off to go find Steve, presumably to make out with him, again.

“Hey Judith I my mom told me about your brother, that he wasn’t home when you guys got up this morning, is he alright?” Ava asks Judith.

Wait, what? Will wasn’t home, is that what she’s worried about? I wonder where he went.

“Uh, we think he just went to class early, he does that sometimes.” Judith says playing it off, but we can all tell that she’s worried.

“Hey, if you need anything, we’re here for you.” Barb comforts her. We all nod along and pat her on the shoulder. Before leaving to go to class.

— — —

Anthony Reed’s P.O.V.

I’m sitting at my desk at the station, the chief, Jim Hopper, finally shows up from work, clearly having had a little too much to drink last night.

“Good of you to finally show.” Flo, the receptionist greets him.

“Oh, morning Flo, good morning everybody.” He says.

“Hey chief.”

“Damn, you look like hell chief.”

“Morning chief.” We all greet him.

“Oh really? Well I looked better than your wife when I left her this morning.” He says to one of the other deputies.

“While you were drinking or sleeping or whatever it is you deemed so necessary on Monday morning Phil Larson called, said some kids are stealing the gnomes out of his garden again.” Flo tells him.

“Oh those garden gnomes again. Well I’ll tell you what, I’m gonna get right on that.” He replies sarcastically.

“On a more pressing matter, Joyce Byers can’t find her son this morning.”

“Okay, I’m gonna get on that. Just give me a minute.”

“Joyce is very upset.”

“Well, Flo, we’ve discussed this, mornings are for coffee and contemplation.”

“Chief, she’s already in your-”

“Coffee and contemplation, Flo.” He insists, not realizing that Joyce is already in the office.

Hopper starts to file out the reports required while suggesting the Will is just playing hooky. I’ve met the kid and I doubt that he would do that and Joyce insists that he wouldn’t. Hopper kept a cool head during the conversation while Joyce worried. He asked about her ex husband saying that most of the time that a missing kid is with a parent or relative. She begged him to find her son before leaving. Before she left I let her know that Will’s a good boy, so I’ll make sure that Hopper takes this case seriously.

— — —

Oliver Reed’s P.O.V.

The bell rang in our science class letting most of the other kids out to leave while Mr. Clarke was still talking. “Remember, finish chapter 12 and answer 12.3 on the difference between experiment and other forms of science investigation. This will be no the test, which will cover chapters 10 through 12. It will be multiple choice with an essay section.” He dies off around the end since everybody already left by that point, everyone except for us.

“So, did it come?” Mike asks him.

“Sorry boys, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but… it came.” He fakes us out as we rush into the AV club room to see the new radio that he got for the club, which consists of Me, Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin.

“Yes!” We all say seeing it.

“The Heathkit ham shack. Ain’t she a beaut.” Mr. Clarke says.

“I bet you could talk to New York on this thing.” Dusting says excitedly.

“Think bigger.” Mr. Clarke hints.

“California?” Lucas asks.

“Bigger.”

“Australia?” I ask, to which he nods.

“When Will sees this he’s totally gonna blow his shit.” Lucas exclaims.

“Lucas.” Mr. Clarke reprimands, he might be a cool teacher but he still keeps us from breaking any rules.

“Sorry.”

We tune the radio before Mike starts speaking into the microphone. “Hello, this is Mike Wheeler, president of Hawkins Middle AV Club.” He says in a fake Australian accent.

“Hello, this is Dustin, and this is the secretary and treasurer of Hawkins Middle AV Club.” He greets also in a accent. “Do you eat kangaroos for breakfast?”

“Hi, this is Oliver, vice president of the Hawkins Middle AV Club. If you do eat kangaroos for breakfast then when do you eat koalas?” I ask as we all start laughing.

We hear a knock on the door and the principal walks in followed by the chief, Jim Hopper, two of his deputies and my dad. “Sorry to interrupt, but, uh, may I borrow Micheal, Lucas, Dustin, and Oliver?”

We’re lead to the principal office where we’re asked about how Will get’s home. We all start talking over one another trying to explain the road that he takes, Mirkwood, which isn’t really the name of the road but we call it that because the name is from the Hobbit.

“Okay, okay, okay, one at a time, all right? You.” The Chief says pointing to Mike. “You said he takes what?”

“Mirkwood.”

“Mirkwood?”

“Yeah.

“Have you ever heard of Mirkwood?” He asks one of the deputies.

“I have not. That sounds made up to me.”

“No, it’s form the Lord of the Rings.” Lucas explains.

“Well, the Hobbit.” Dustin corrects.

“It doesn’t matter.” Lucas says annoyed.

“He asked.”

“He asked.” Lucas mocks.

“Hey, hey hey, what’d I just say? One at a damn time.” Hopper says sternly, stopping Lucas and Dustin from bickering. “You.” He says to Mike.

“Mirkwood, it’s a real road it’s just the name that’s made up. It’s where Cornwallis and Kerley meet.”

“Yeah all right, I think I know that.”

“We can show you if you want.”

“I said that I know it.”

“We can help you look.” We all insist and agree.

“No.” Hopper which makes all of us argue with him. “No. After school you are all to go home. Immediately. That means no biking around looking for your friend, no investigating, no nonsense, this isn’t some Lord of the Rings book.”

“The Hobbit.” Dustin corrects making Hopper look at him angrily.

“Shut up.” Lucas hits him making them fight.

“Do I make myself clear?” He asks stepping up in front of us. “Do I make myself…clear.?”

“Yes sir.” We all say.”

— — —

Judith Byers’ P.O.V.

Me, Jonathan, and mom are out in the woods around our house and Will’s personal fort, Castle Byers, to look for him shouting out his name.

“WILL!” We all shout out for him.

“WHERE ARE YOU!” Mom yells.

“WILL, COME BACK!” I shouted out for him, cupping my hands around my mouth to project my voice out farther.

— — —

Anthony Reed’s P.O.V.

Me, Deputy Powell, Deputy Callahan, and Hopper are out on ‘Mirkwood’ looking for Will.

“Come on kid!”

“Will Byers!”

“Come on out Will!” We all shout for him.

“Hey, I got something.” Hopper yells back to us from further up the road. We all run up to him and see a bike on a little bit off the side of the road, down a small hill.

“That his bike?” Callahan asks.

“Yeah, he must have crashed.” I answer, recognizing the bike from the times it was parked in my driveway.

“You think that he got hurt in the fall?” Callahan again asks.

“Not so hurt he couldn’t walk away. Bike like this is like a Cadillac to these kids, he would’ve walked it home.” Hopper responds before picking the bike back up and we get back to the cars.

— — —

Judith Byers’ P.O.V.

We got back home and mom tried calling our dad, Lonnie, again. This time someone picked up but it’s actually his new girlfriend, Cynthia, who’s probably only been able to legally drink since a week ago. The stupid bitch hangs up before she can explain why she needs to talk to Lonnie.

“Bitch!” Mom yells.

Jonathan, who’s making missing posters for Will, goes to comfort her, saying that we have to stay calm. She calls again getting the answering machine asking for him to answer. Before slamming the phone back down, shouting damn it.

“Mom, Judith.” Jonathan calls to us.

“What?”

“Cops.” He answers as we rush outside seeing the cop cars pull up.

We see Chief Hopper step out with Will’s bike, being followed by some of his deputies, including Anthony Reed, the father of Sasha, Sarah, and Will’s friend Oliver, he’s a really nice guy.

He tells us about where he found the bike.

“It was just lying there?” Mom asks, knowing how important that bike is to Will. “Did it have any blood on it?

“No.” The Chief answers.

“If you found the bike out there why are you here?” Jonathan asks.

“Well, he had a key to the house, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So, maybe he came home.”

“What, you think I didn’t check my own house?” Mom gets angry with him.

“I’m not saying that. Has this always been here?” He asks referring to a dent in the wall.

“What? I don’t know. Probably, I mean, I have three kids, look at this place.” She answers.

“I’ve never seen it before.” I point out.

“You sure?” He asks me, he then opens the door and it is perfectly in line with the dent.

We then hear our dog, Chester, barking at the shed outback so we go outside to check on him.

“Hey, what’s up with this guy?” Hopper asks, crouching down to pet Chester.

“Nothing, he’s probably just hungry, come on.” Mom says leading the dog away.

Hopper then looks at the shed he was barking at. “What do you guys keep in there?” He asks.

“Uh mostly gardening supplies, uh, Lonnie had some guns in there that he didn’t take with him when he left.” I answer.

He goes inside and I follow him. He picks up an open case of rifle bullets checking them. “Did you guys go hunting recently.”

“No, it was mostly Lonnie taking Jonathan and Will out hunting, never bothered to get any licenses of course. He said I shouldn’t go because it isn’t a girl’s place to go hunting, he made Will go even though he didn’t want to.”

“You really don’t like your old man don’t you?”

“He’s an asshole.”

Hopper chuckles a little bit at that. He then walks over to the where the rifle should’ve been. Suddenly the lights go out.

“That’s weird.” I say.

Then there’s a weird sound, a squelching sound. We all over to look at where it’s coming from. Then the lights come back on.

“Hey.” Callahan calls out to us.

“Jesus.” Hopper says annoyed.

“What, are you guys deaf?” We’ve been calling for you. “What’s going on.” Hopper then walks out of the shed with me and Callahan following him. “Hello, are you okay Chief?”

“Listen, I want you to call Flo. I want to get a search party together, all the volunteers she can muster, bring flashlights too.”

“Hey you think we got a problem here?”

We then go back in the house. Whatever it was that happened in the shed, it made Hopper start taking this like a big case. But I don’t think that a search party’s going to help find Will.

— — —

Anthony Reed’s P.O.V.

It’s night now and we’re all in the search party in the woods around the Byers’ house. Everyone’s shouting for Will. I’m close by the Chief and the boys’ science teacher.

“He’s a good student.” Mr. Clarke says to Hopper.

“What?”

“Will. He’s a good student. Great one, actually. I don’t think we met, Mr. Clarke, teacher, Hawkins Middle, earth and biology.” Mr. Clarke introduces himself to the Chief.

“I always had a distaste for science.”

“Well, maybe you had a bad teacher.”

“Yeah, Ms. Ratliff was a piece of work.”

“Ratliff? You bet. She’s still kicking around believe it or not.”

“Oh, I believe it, mummies never die, so they tell me. Sarah, my daughter, galaxies, the universe, whatnot, she always understood that stuff. I always figured there was enough going on down here, I never needed to look elsewhere.”

“Your daughter, what grade is she in? Maybe I’ll get her in my class.”

“No, she, uh, she lives with her mom in the city. Thanks for coming out, Teach, we really appreciate it.” Hopper says before walking farther off.

“She died a few years back.” I tell him.

“I’m sorry?”

“His kid.”

I then walk forward with Hopper. He’s a good man, he didn’t deserve what happened to him and his family. He’s who I would consider my best friend.

— — —

Oliver Reed’s P.O.V.

“Lucas, Oliver, do you guys copy. It’s Mike.” Mike said over our radio.

“Hey, it’s Lucas.” Lucas answers.

“I know it’s you, and say over when your done talking, over.”

“I’m done, over.” Lucas says annoyed.

“I’m here too, over.” I respond.

“I’m worried about Will, over.” Mike says.

“Yeah, this is crazy, over.” Lucas replies.

“Same. Out of all of us, I think he’d handle being lost out in the woods the worst, other than Dustin. Over.” I tell them.

“I was thinking. Will could’ve cast protection last night, but he cast fireball. Over.” Mike points out.

“What’s your point? Over.” Lucas asks.

“My point is, he could’ve played it safe but he didn’t. He put himself in danger to help the party. Over.”

“Meet me in ten. Over and out.” Lucas says turning off his radio, Mike does the same, and then so do I.

I go and grab my bike and I sneak out of my house.

— — —

Ava Sinclair’s P.O.V.

I sit in my room listening to some music and strumming on my electric guitar. Mom hates it. I stare out my window for a second and I see my brother taking out his bike even though the Sheriff said to stay inside. We make eye contact and he looks like a deer in headlights. I shake my head.

“Dumbass.” I comment. I turn back to my guitar and play some more music.

— — —

Oliver Reed’s P.O.V.

No one sees me as I ride over to meet the rest of the guys. We then bike down to Mirkwood and where the search party started. Thunder starts and I feel a bit of rain on my face.

“Hey you guys, I think maybe we should go back.” Dustin suggests.

“No.” Mike insists. “We’re not going back, just stay close, come on.”

“Just stay on channel six and don’t do anything stupid.” I tell him.

The thunder rumbles again before Dustin runs after us.

— — —

Judith Byers’ P.O.V.

Me, mom, and Jonathan are sitting on the couch.

“Jonathan, wow. You took these?” Mom says proudly looking through some of the pictures of Will that he took over the past few years. He always had a knack for photography. “These are great. Wow they really are. I know I haven’t been there for you guys. I’ve been working so hard, and I just feel so bad, I barely know what’s going on with you. All right? I’m sorry about that.” She says tearing up a little. It is true, after Lonnie left mom had to pick up a lot of extra slack, me and Jonathan helped when we could, him mostly, but it was always her that got food on the table and made sure that rain never leaked through the roof.

Jonathan starts crying.

“Hey, what is it? What is it? Honey.”

“Nothing”

“Tell me. Tell me. Come on, you can tell me.”

“I should’ve been there for him.” And with that I started crying too, maybe if I was home, instead of getting high with my friends, I could’ve helped him, or at least seen something that would’ve been useful.

“No, on no, you can’t do that to yourself, it is not your fault. He is close, I know it, I feel it in my heart. You two just have to trust me on this all right.” She tries to comfort us.

“Okay.” I choke out.

She picks up a picture of Will. “Look at this one. Look at this one. I mean that’s it right.” She says making us laugh a little. “That’s it. That’s the one.”

“Yeah, that’s the one.” I agree.

The phone starts ringing startling all of us. Mom runs to the phone. “Hello? Hello? Lonnie? Hopper? Who is this? Will? Will?!”

Me and Jonathan rush over to the phone. “That’s Will?” I ask, panicked, concerned, I can’t even tell what I’m feeling right now. I just want to find Will.

“Mom, it’s Will?” Jonathan asks as mom starts breaking down crying.

“What have you done to my boy?” What the hell.

“What? What?” Jonathan starts panicking.

“Give me back my son!” Mom shouts through the phone.

Then, all of a sudden, electricity began to run through the phone shocking mom making her drop the phone.

“Hello? Hello, who is this.” Jonathan asks picking up the fried phone.

“Mom, who was it?” I ask while she starts crying.

“Look at me mom, was it Will?” Jonathan asks.

“Yes!” She sobs.

“What was it? What did he say.”

“He just breathed. He just breathed.”

“And was someone else there?”

We all then descend into crying as mom repeatedly says that it was Will, and that she heard his breathing. We’re all hugging each other.

— — —

Oliver Reed’s P.O.V.

We spend a while looking maybe half an hour or so. The rain starts coming down more and more, it’s pouring now. We’re all in our rain coats shouting for Will.

“I’ve got your X-Men 174.” Dustin yells out. Shit that’s a good issue. “Guys, I really think we should turn back.”

“You wanna be a baby, then go home already.” Lucas tells him.

“I’m just being realistic, Lucas.”

“No you’re just being a big sissy.”

“Did you ever think Will went missing because he ran into something bad? And we’re going to the exact same spot where he was last seen. And we have no weapons or anything?” Dustin asks.

“Dustin, shut up.” I tell him.

“I’m just saying does that seem smart to you.”

“No, he’s right, Dustin, shut up, shut up. Did you guys hear that?” Mike asks.

We then hear rustling so we turn around and shine our flashlights at the sound. We see nothing. Then more rustling so we turn back forward. And there’s a girl, standing there, in a Benny’s Burger’s shirt, with a buzz cut, staring right back at us.

A/N: All right Pt. 1 is done of what will likely be a long series. I’m excited to see how the events are affected by the new characters. We didn’t get to see a lot of Ava, Sasha, and Sarah, so I’m hoping that I get to show them more throughout the series, I’m definitely planning on having them involved in the endgame of the first season. I’m enjoying rewatching season one, the fall setting of the first two settings was honestly such a vibe. If you enjoyed this then check out my series that I did for Wednesday, it’s a little different from this one because it’s a character x reader, but I think that it’s fun to read. Pt. 2 will hopefully be out soon. So far Judith and Oliver are my favorite characters. See you in Pt. 2.

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choco-bloop · 2 years

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CW for Blood, Violence and (kinda) Temporary Character Death

The first thing that came to False’s mind when she was told the rift was open was that she could return back to Hermitcraft.

Back home.

And not locked up in her own twin’s lab.

And so there she was, with all the other rulers (excluding Pixlriffs, Jimmy, Oli and Fwhip), standing on the stone bridge that was lined by their shops; all waiting for the call of the horn to fly in and stop the hermits.

The sound of Fwhip’s horn echoed in the area. Everyone there took off quickly in a flash of fireworks and smoke.

False paused for a moment, should she just blow everyone up and assume the identity of “Hermit False”?

Or should she have a bit more fun toying around with her own twin as revenge?

“False? Are you coming? Everyone else is probably already at the rift,” Gem’s voice cut her out of her thoughts.

She paused for a few moments. Thinking about what would be the best response to it without raising any suspicions. “Don’t worry about me, I just need to do some final checks on my items,”

Gem gave her an unconvinced glance before flying off towards Fort Riff-less.

False clutched her head, more memories of her time being stuck in a lab under her own base returning.

‘She’s going to pay for everything.’

Gem was beginning to wonder if she should have stayed with Empires False for longer.

She assumed that the Hermits would be easily able to break through the defences and enter the rift; but another look at her communicator said that no one so far had gotten past.

Which wasn’t good as she had been expecting a fast escape before Empires False snapped and tried to chase down… well the other False.

Gem looked at the mess of the bridge, hermits and rulers scrambling back and forth trying to stop the other group; it would be impossible to safely bring False to safety without either of them getting hurt in the process.

She remembered the conversation she had with False a while after she had tagged Oli. Where False had explained to her that she and the False from “Cogsmead” were not the same False.

And that Hermit False had erased Empires False’s memories in a moment of desperation, which was why she seemed so lost.

And that if Empires False were to ever regain certain parts of her memories, Hermit False would be in danger.

Basically the main takeaway from that conversation was that the two Falses should never meet under any circumstances.

Gem had a feeling that Empires False had those specific parts of her memories recently - it would explain why there was a sudden chain of deaths for the hermits with no explanation and no link to the game of tag going on.

Of course there were some hermits who did not die during that period of time but it was more likely because either 1) they weren’t with the initial group of hermits or 2) attacking them would cause major upset from other rulers

The sounds of distant fireworks going off snapped Gem out of her thoughts - Empires False was closing in. She spread her wings, diving down towards False, who had still yet to realise what was going to happen.

A force shoved her to one side - sending her flying into the nearby hill.

A few voices called out to her, not before being quickly drowned out by an even bigger commotion. Despite her blurry vision, Gem still knew what had gone down

Empires False had arrived.

False had been on edge since she saw some of the rulers guarding the rift, trying to prevent the hermits from entering. The longer they dwelled in Empires, the higher the chance that she and her would bump into each other.

And given her returning memories, that would not end well for False herself.

So far, everything seemed alright - it was just Pixl, Oli, Jimmy and Fwhip. None of the other rulers.

And then Fwhip blew his horn and the rulers all came flying in, causing the bridge to become one huge mess.

Despite the mess, the only two rulers who had yet to appear were Gem and her.

False hoped that either Gem was keeping her twin occupied or that she was just not notified by the other rulers that they were planning to stop the hermits.

She pulled her bowstring, letting an arrow fly and hit Shelby before bringing up her shield to block a shot from Fwhip.

With both hands on her sword, False leapt up, preparing to slam it down on Katherine.

She could barely register others’ exclamations before she felt a sword in her stomach.

False coughed out a mouthful of blood as the sword was quickly removed, causing her to fall down towards the river. She tossed her sword to her left hand, using her right to grab onto the bridge.

A boot stomped down onto her right hand, causing her to let out another shout of pain.

“Look what we have here,” she taunted, crouching down to look at her. “I finally found you,” her lips contorted into a cruel smirk.

The last time False had seen that smirk was moments before she destroyed the lab; which had almost killed her and revealed their identities as twins to the entire server.

That also meant that she had to find a way out of her current situation quickly before she got killed and everyone would get their memories of the incident wiped.

She could let herself drop, giving herself an opportunity to use her elytra and fly just a bit away from the bridge. But False didn’t know how much her stab wound would affect her flight - for all she knew she could end up crashing straight into fort riff-less. Or she would be able to easily catch up with her and finish her off.

Or False could attack her to get her off her right hand, giving herself the chance to hop back onto the bridge. And at least then she might have a semblance of a fighting chance.

Of course False was going to take her chances with the second option. Making sure she wasn’t looking, she put away her sword before taking out one of her arrows. With her hand close to the tip, she lifted her left hand up and plunged the arrow into her foot. She grimaced internally - she did not want to do this to her own twin.

She stumbled back from the pain, giving False the chance to swing herself onto the bridge. She put a hand over her wound, watching the blood quickly stain her glove; she was on a race against time to kill her before she gave out to her injury.

False gave a look to the hermits who still hadn’t crossed the rift, trying to tell them, “Get to the rift. Now.” Thankfully they seemed to understand her quick message and ran behind her - now swarming Fort Riff-less in one last ditch effort.

“Oh you bastard,” she spat, standing up from her earlier injury. False took out her sword, preparing herself for one last fight to stop her. She looked at the rift - most of the Hermits had gone through, with the rulers following after either in curiosity or fear of what would happen should they stay.

False sighed. She didn’t want to hurt her own twin. They had spent so long pretending to just be “FalseSymmetry”. Not as twins. Just as a single player on the Hermitcraft server.

But she couldn’t let what her own twin did to the other hermits slide. False knew that she messed up when she forgot to remind Xisuma not to chase after her - resulting in him forgetting everything he was told.

False raised her shield to block a swing from her twin. Between the two of them, she indeed was the better fighter. But her twin’s face read only one thing - bloodlust.

Her desire to kill her seemed to be the only thing keeping her twin going. False knew that in any other circumstances her twin would’ve moved away to create some distance between the two of them.

Another slash on her chest sent blood splattering all over the bridge and False stumbling backwards. She ducked down to avoid a slash aimed at her neck before returning the attack with a slash that left a similar gash along her twin’s chest.

“Deciding to be selfless today huh? You’re not scared of what could happen?” Her twin taunted, slowly backing up towards the rift.

“Stop stalling. I know you want to go back into Hermitcraft,” False spat as she drew her bowstring again, landing an arrow into her shoulder. She ran past her twin, blocking her path to the Rift. “But I’m not going to let you go through,”

She sure hoped that the rift would close on its own. Otherwise she would have to do it herself.

Her twin didn’t verbally reply, only smirking in response. False stood there waiting, her vision beginning to blur from the blood loss - but she couldn’t rest, she couldn’t risk all the hermits again.

Her twin readied her sword, False did the same.

This was going to be her last chance.

Her twin swung first, barely missing her eye and instead leaving a bloody streak along her cheek. Using the opening from her swing, False plunged her sword into her twin’s chest, watching blood splatter all over both of them.

“I’m sorry.” False wasn’t the emotional type; but having to kill her own sister with her bare hands was something she never wanted to do.

False removed the sword, about to walk away when something smashed into her head, causing her vision to blur significantly. She looked down at her twin’s hand, only shards of glass remaining in it.

‘Shit… the amnesia potions…’ the world began to spin for False, her grip on her sword loosening.

With her last few breaths before she had to respawn, False watched her twin collapse to the ground from her wounds.

Then she fell and began to forget

#falsesymmetry #hermitcraft false #empires smp false #hermitcraft x empires #fanfic #mcyt fanfic #canon divergence #basically a what-if E!False was also there at fort Riff-less #I started this before the twin lore reveal so some parts might seem a bit off #the girls are fighting #might do a sequel about what happens afterwards #ft. our very lovely celestial god Gem

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tiredassmage · 1 year

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What gifts do they Love? Like? What would they say when you gave them a gift?

Oooohh, let's talk about smuggy!comp au for this one. Tyr's preferences don't change a lot when I plug him into the Smuggler crew, but his life as Oliver is definitely a different path, so we've got some different preferences!

Weapons remain a sound bet with Oli for your highest influence gains with Technology and Military Gear sort of jostling for that last spot in favorites - or maybe they share, who are we to make a man choose, right? xD

I think my only other alteration from Tyr's levels is I'd swap Republic Memorabilia and Maintenance goods to put Maintenance in Likes and Republic items in Loves. You'll also get a higher bonus on Courting items if you follow his romance. ;) [He'd just melt for swapping small items with his Captain.]

And you'll probably just about always kind of surprise him with it. Your higher influence items probably trigger something like, "You don't have to... Thanks, Captain." / "This is... great! Where'd you get this?"

I don't make the rules but I do, but... picking up Oli on your crew is basically adopting a touch-starved Lab puppy from the shelter. He wants to make the most of working with you. He appreciates you thinking of him! Even if you give him something he's not particularly interested in, the worst you'd be given is a mild "You're the boss." / "I suppose I might find some use for this, if you're sure."

#answered #swtor ocs #swtor ocs as companions #vs: king and lionheart [smuggler!tyr]#companion asks

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antimony-medusa · 2 years

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I swear Oli Orionsound’s streams sound like they were designed in a lab to be intolerable to me, but for baffling and unknown reasons my brain is like “okay sure, this guy who uses an air horn and laugh tracks and crowd noise? A-okay for background noise!”

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recapcrew · 2 years

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Week 28 Transcript

Video

Intro

Extra extra, read all about it! Welcome to the Empire’s Recap, and today we will be going over the chaos and drama of our (somewhat) respected rulers!

This week so few people have uploaded, one might think there's been an apocalypse! But that was more last season’s vibe; perhaps we’ll have something funnier than the end of the world this time. Welcome to the New Year with Empires!

Pix

Even during the holidays, the grind never stops.

Pixlriffs has spent time on the Hermitcraft server gifting VintageBeef a proper nether tunnel for his card game factory - what better for the man making giant pixel art cards of everyone than pixel art of his own face?

At the Empires village - still on Hermitcraft - Pix has also been finishing up Santa's workshop, complete with a randomly flooded closet and an armor stand assembly line. It's the perfect place to put his new Zedvancement trophy as well, since he doesn't really have a house to put it in around here. He's been too busy speedrunning other advancements of the non-Zed kind; 27 of them in a three-hour stream!

[PIX] …only now-- Scar! I'm trying to do a bit to camera right now!

[NARRATOR] Speaking of festive, several of the Hermits and Emperors meet up around a holiday bonfire to swap stories and impressions and whatever bad idea Oli has next. Grian stops by, confused that they didn't get the memo. What memo?

[GRIAN] The bl—The-- The portal is just one block wide!

[NARRATOR] Uh oh. Time to leave.

The Emperors head back through the portal, one by one by one. As lovely as Hermitcraft is, it isn't home.

Pixlriffs is the last to go, and his goodbye is a little more familiar; they might not be seeing him again, but he'll be seeing them.

[CUB] See ya Pix!

[GRIAN] It's the joke that keeps on giving.

[PIX] I’ll see you next week!

[NARRATOR] Interdimensional journalist historians, am I right?

Finally back on Empires, Pix meets up with Oli, which is incredibly convenient - Pix is his secret santa! His gift is more of a responsibility: any time Oli needs rockets, Pix will provide them. How he gets the gunpowder without his own farm will be the second part of the gift: chaos.

Sausage

Meanwhile, crossing through the Rift once more leaves Sausage stranded in limbo. Thankfully, his girl Bubbles gets him out, and dumps him in the nexus village. He ponders his newfound memories, and promises Bubbles not to tell anybody.

He checks the Rift to make sure it doesn't link back to Hermitcraft, and immediately turns around and robs the Tower. It is perfectly ethical.

Feeling bad for Grumbot, he takes his target block, and places it in the L.O.R.E building. It's his last time, so he changes back into his regular outfit.

He gets to work on a lab to house his new son, Sunny, a robot designed to communicate through dimensions. After putting him on charge on a definitely-not-a-shrine, he sends a message though to Pearl on the Hermitcraft side.

Family bonding time begins when Sausage brings Hermes, Bubbles and Athena to meet Sunny, who's wheeled himself outside. A message from Pearl comes in while he's away, but it sounds like she is doing pretty good.

Scott

Chromia is looking quite different to how Scott left it, and it’s all down to one llama-human - Owen.

Owen is apparently back to human form and has taken over Chromia as Mayor while Scott’s been away.

He’s claimed Pearl’s house for his own and the other llamas have followed suit, apparently claiming the other buildings including Scott’s house. The mayor is a strict ruler if you’re not a llama, boarding up the villagers into their houses and drags Scott into forceful service as the Chromia Wheat Farmer - quite a bit of a demotion there.

[SCOTT] …else have you?

[OWEN] Not yet!

[SCOTT] Yet?

[OWEN] Yeah, oh look at this rapscallion! He has to stay in here ever since the charges.

[NARRATOR] Owen tries to kick him out, before Scott convinces him to follow him through the nether portal to Hermitopia where they have loads of sugar - Owen is not impressed, until Scott turns the sugarcane into sugar. Seems llamas haven’t figured out doors OR crafting recipes.

[OWEN] …power?

[SCOTT] Sure, yep, that’s it.

[OWEN] Some people, like, make the laws, some people are literal gods, and you… make sugar!

[NARRATOR] During the exploration, Owen gets caught on fire but denies it ever happened, and claims to have built the llama statue on the Greatbridge.

Night comes and with it comes a thunderstorm, and Owen is consistently scared of the loud thunder happening - the sky is angry, and Owen is a menace.

Scott tries to convince Owen to let him stay, and Owen makes him drink spit in the tavern and replant the wheat fields before he agrees to any changes in the newly-renamed “llama land”.

The demands are “more wheat, more sugar, no doors” which probably isn’t the weirdest thing a “Mayor” could’ve asked for but it’s certainly up there.

Eventually, Owen agrees to put Scott back in charge and go exploring like a proper adventurer, giving back the sheriff hat after a rousing speech.

Once Owen has left, Scott starts putting Chromia back to rights, and Owen… well…

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

[OWEN] O- Uh. Hey, can you help me with this? Hey! Can—Can you guys help me with this? Can you help me with this?

[OWEN, SOUNDING ECHO-Y] Can you help me with this!

Outro

And with that, join us next week for more chaos and shenanigans! Thank you for watching, liking, and subscribing, and thanks to everyone helping with the project, check them all out below!

#empires recap #empires season 2 recap #transcript

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chrancecriber · 2 years

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Radio NET Bulgaria (December 09, 2022)

23:56 CAROL ALBERT - Angels Watching over Me 23:52 SERGEY CHIPENKO - All For You 23:47 ZOLBERT - Pacific Coast Highway 23:45 JOYCE COOLING - Snow Is Falling 23:40 OLI SILK - Every Single Way (feat. Holly Petrie) 23:37 THE SAX PACK - The Sax Pack 23:33 NAI SOUNDS - Can't Deal 23:29 JUSTIN YOUNG - The Christmas Song 23:26 TONY SAUNDERS - Push 23:21 BLAIR BRYANT - Spend the Night 23:17 KIM SCOTT - Block Party 23:13 MARION MEADOWS - What Child Is This 23:08 PAUL BROWN - More or Les Paul 23:03 EUGE GROOVE - Push It Forward 23:00 BOBBY WELLS - My Sweet Butterfly 22:56 DJ GROOVE - So Late 22:51 MAX MILLION - Do You Believe (Original Mix) 22:47 ANN GRACE - Moon In Love 22:42 MICHAEL ANGELO, MELISSA LORETTA - Hearts Unspoken (Christopher Breeze Chillout Mix) 22:34 LAB OF MUSIC - Angel Vibes (Original Mix) 22:30 VELVET DREAMER - Your Game My Love (Five Seasons Remix) 22:26 LIULA - Sweet Dreams 22:22 FLORITO - Saigon Morning 22:16 THE THRILLSEEKERS - Synaesthesia (Solarsoul Chilled Remix) 22:09 PROJECT BLUE SUN - Naked 22:04 DEEP MOTIONS - Memories 21:58 DASH BERLIN - Till The Sky Falls Down (Monokini Beach Mix) 21:55 BENYA, PENNY NIXON - Serendipity (After Meridian & Dave Costa Remix) 21:50 CHRISTIAN BURNS, MARCO V - Frozen Heart (Acoustic Version) 21:45 ADELE - Lovesong 21:40 CECILE BREDIE - Dreamland 21:38 INNA - Hot (Chill Out Remix) 21:33 ROGER SANCHEZ - Another Chance (Afterlife Mix) 21:30 JOHN DAHLBACK - Walking With Shadows (Acoustic Version) 21:26 CHAMBRE 7 - Rising To The Top (Original Mix) 21:21 DANITY KANE - Stay With Me (Van Immortal Remix) 21:17 ANDY MOOR, SUE McLAREN - Trespass (Masoud Chill Out Mix) 21:12 JOHN O'CALLAGHAN, AUDREY GALLAGHER - Big Sky (Acoustic Mix) 21:09 DEEJAY HOUSE PROJECT - Komodo (Stefy Martinez Lounge Mix) 21:04 JEROME ISMA-AE - Underwater Love 21:00 ANDY MOOR, HYSTERIA! - Leave Your World Behind (Album Mix) 20:56 KRAAK & SMAAK - Stumble (feat. Parcels) 20:52 DUBDIVER - Desert Land (Eternal Calling Mix) 20:49 FILO, PERI, FISHER - Closer Now (Chillout Mix) 20:43 GUENTER HAAS - Alone But Never Lonely 20:39 ALAN MORRIS, ENZO, JESS MORGAN - Tapestry Of Us (Piano Acoustic Mix) 20:35 IGOR PUMPHONIA - Air (Original Mix) 20:31 BLANK & JONES, ELLES - Mind Of The Wonderful (Acoustic Version) 20:27 ATB - I Was Wrong To Let You Go (Lounge Version) 20:23 LEO ROJAS - Farewell 20:19 JEAN HONEYMOON - Bang Bang (Lazy Hammock Chillout Remix) 20:15 HEAVN - Bright Lights 20:11 WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS - Psychasthenia 20:07 351 LAKE SHORE DRIVE - Rising Stars 20:04 C.CIL - Sunset 19:56 TORNIKE - Night Steps (Original Mix) 19:51 JAMES BRIGHT, HELEN WALFORD - Time 19:47 CARDINAL ZEN - Warmth 19:43 SUE MCLAREN - Haunted (Zetandel Chill Out Remix) 19:37 AK47, TRACY DIAMONDS - It's No Good 19:33 TOUCH & GO - Straight To...Number One (Dreamcatcher Mix) 19:29 YANNI - Can't Wait 19:25 SMOOTH STAB, AELYN - These Words Between Us (Incognet Chill Out Version) 19:21 FRAINBREEZE, ELLIE LAWSON - I Pray (Chill Out Mix) 19:15 BRIAN CULBERTSON - The Look 19:10 MIGUEL LARA - Oblivion 19:05 FUNKAGENDA - Breakwater (Violet Oversoul Mix) 19:02 YIRUMA, RUVIN - River Flows In You 18:57 HEIKO - Miles Away 18:53 SUSANA - A Million Memories (Acoustic Rework) 18:50 MAXIGROOVE - Alone (Wellski) 18:44 FEINT - Clockwork Hearts (Fetch Remix) 18:39 MARTINIQUE LE SOUFFLEUR - El Guapo 18:34 MARC PUIG, MARIA COLLADO - To Forget Me 18:27 KITARO - Matsuri 18:22 REUNITED - Sing It Back Shazz (Man Chill Mix) 18:17 MEDINA - You & I (DJ Petroff Remix) 18:13 OXYGENE - The Ocean (Goldtripp Remix) 18:09 JIMMY ROQSTA, THALYA HILL - Endless Summer Dance (El Gambrero Remix) 18:04 MO'JARDO - Sonador 18:00 EVANESCENCE - My Immortal (Acoustic Version) 17:56 SUNLOUNGER - In & Out (Chill Version) 17:52 IDENLINE - At Sunset (Original Mix) 17:49 MARIUS NEDELCU, RED HEAD - Rain (Acoustic Version) 17:44 BLUE STAHLI - Corner (Ad Astra Remix) 17:39 SHERRIE LEA - No Ordinary Love (Arnold T Chill Mix) 17:34 ABOVE & BEYOND, OCEANLAB - I Am What I Am (Original Mix) 17:27 351 LAKE SHORE DRIVE - Soiree Rouge (feat. Blueberry) 17:22 MARIE THERESE - Gin And Tonic (Pier-o Bossa Chill Mix) 17:19 JOHN DAHLBACK - Shivers (Acoustic Version) 17:14 LUSTRAL - Raven (Album Mix) 17:09 D-PULSE - Velocity Of Love (Original) 17:03 LOREEN - Euphoria (Cool Bill Seaside Mix) 17:00 NURKO, AUTREY - So Far Gone 16:56 KIM SCOTT - SHINE! (feat. Blake Aaron) 16:50 MAURIZIO GRONDONA GROUP - Looking At The Sea 16:46 OLI SILK - Slinky Malinki 16:42 RONNY SMITH - O Come All Ye Faithful 16:37 WAYMAN TISDALE - It's a Good Day (feat. Jeff Lorber and Tom Braxton) 16:33 JIM ADKINS - A Reason to Smile 16:30 JAMES BOWMAN III - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 16:26 GARY MEEK - Midnight Sky 16:22 DANIEL DOMENGE - Back to the Past 16:16 PEET PROJECT - Pink Spirit 16:13 DANIEL D. - This Christmas 16:09 CHAZZY GREEN - At My Place 16:04 BOB BALDWIN - Every Breath Is A Gift 16:00 NILS - Saturday Night 15:55 BLAIR BRYANT - Catamaran 15:51 SAM RUCKER - Redemption 15:47 TONY SAUNDERS - Forever Yours 15:44 SHARMOND SMITH - Joy To the World 15:39 PIECES OF A DREAM - In the Moment 15:35 AL DEGREGORIS - Sunnyside 15:32 SHAKATAK - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 15:27 DREAMING IN COLOUR - Back in the Day (feat. Michael Scherer) 15:23 EUGE GROOVE - Vinyl 15:17 LUKAS LEUTHOLD - His Love For You 15:13 PAUL EERHART - Making Room 15:08 GREGG KARUKAS - Silent Promise 15:04 JOHN NOVELLO - Love Affair 15:00 JAREZ - This Time Around (feat. Ragan Whiteside) 14:55 JEFF RYAN - Edge of Tomorrow 14:51 KIM WATERS - On The Streets 14:47 AL GOMEZ - Who's Right, Who's Wrong 14:42 PETER WHITE - Costa Rica 14:39 SYLVIA BENNETT - Winter Wonderland 14:35 MARION MEADOWS - Dreamin 14:32 PETER HEROLD - Praise The Lord 14:28 JODY MAYFIELD - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 14:24 VINCENT INGALA - Wish I Was There 14:20 BK JACKSON - Believe That 14:16 KIM SCOTT - Best Part 14:11 DAVE KOZ - The Christmas 14:07 STEVE OLIVER - She's Got The Way 14:03 PHIL DENNY - Urban Troubadour 14:00 FREDDIE FOX - Just 4 U 13:54 JEFFERY SMITH - Summers Melody 13:50 PATRICK BRADLEY - Shoreline (feat. Eric Marienthal) 13:46 ZOLBERT - Find the Light 13:42 BRIAN BROMBERG - Celebrate Me Home 13:38 POP'N BOSSA - When I Was Your Man 13:34 PEET PROJECT - Anything for You 13:31 CHRISTMAS CAROLS - E' Nate Il Redentore (Piva Piva) 13:25 BOB BALDWIN - Everybody Loves the Sunshine My Life 13:21 PAUL TUVMAN - Something 13:18 PAUL BROWN - French Connection 13:12 SHIN GIWON CHRISTMAS CAROL COLLECTION - The First Noel 13:08 SIMPLY RED - So Not Over You 13:04 PAT BELLIVEAU - Lakeview Drive 13:00 NELSON RANGELL - Send One Your Love 12:56 VINCENT INGALA - Free To Groove 12:51 JAZZ FUNK SOUL - Room W Vu 12:47 BOBBY WELLS - Oooh Baby 12:43 DIRK K - California 12:40 NATHAN WOODWARD - Sleigh Ride 12:35 PIECES OF A DREAM - For Real 12:31 GREGG KARUKAS - Chasing The Wind 12:27 COOL SPRING JAZZ QUARTET - Angels We Have Heard On High 12:24 DANNY LERMAN - No Words 12:20 GARY HONOR - Southern Exposure 12:16 PAUL HARDCASTLE - Coastline Crusader 12:12 BEN TANKARD - O Little Town Of Bethlehem 12:08 RON NING - Grasshopper 12:03 PETER WHITE - Song For Robin 12:00 RICK HABANA - Aqua 11:56 FOSTINA DIXON - Good Vibes 11:52 JONATHAN FRITZEN - Magical (feat. Boney James) 11:47 CHIELI MINUCCI - Big Sky Country 11:44 DREW DAVIDSEN - God Rest Ye 11:40 ROCCO VENTRELLA - Come Morning 11:35 BLAKE AARON - Riviera Nights 11:30 STEVE OLIVER - Deck The Halls 11:26 JACKIEM JOYNER - Share My Tears 11:22 OLI SILK - Ahead of the Weather 11:17 FRANK MCCOMB - Just Ride (For George Duke) 11:13 DAVE KOZ - Winter Wonderland 11:09 JAREZ - Mr. Sexy Saxy 11:04 VINCENT IOIA - All Day Music 11:00 MARK ETHEREDGE - Groove City (feat. Greg Vail) 10:56 CHILLAXING JAZZ KOLLEKTION - Send My Love 10:52 CHRIS GODBER - Without You 10:48 ANDREW NEU - Take It Home 10:45 CHRISTMAS CAROLS - Il Valzer Delle Candele 10:40 NILS - Red Wine & Sunsets 10:36 BRENDAN ROTHWELL - Tell Me 10:32 BRADLEY LEIGHTON - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 10:28 RICHARD ELLIOT - Snapshot 10:23 JODY MAYFIELD - Groove Park 10:18 LOUIE FITZGERALD - Watery Eyes 10:13 DR. SAXLOVE - Away In A Manger 10:09 CAROL ALBERT - Fly Away Butterfly (Reprise) 10:04 BRAD ALEXANDER - Morning Serenade 10:00 RICK BRAUN - Missing in Venice 09:55 JOYCE COOLING - Third Wish 09:52 BEN TANKARD - Thicker Than Water (Reality TV Mix) 09:48 JAKOB MAGNUSSON - Caption This 09:44 APPLETON - Christmas Song 09:40 NAJEE - Better 09:36 KEN NAVARRO - My Beautiful Girls 09:32 SHAKATAK - Happy Christmas To Ya! 09:27 PETER WHITE - For The Love Of You 09:23 JAMHUNTERS - Eurabian Fantasy 09:18 EUGE GROOVE - Homie Grown 09:14 SMOOTH SOUL HOLIDAY - Hark the Herald Angels SingSleighride Medley 09:10 ALEXANDER ZONJIC - Hipster 09:07 VINCENT INGALA - Somewhere In Time 09:00 KIRK WHALUM - Afterthought 08:56 PHIL DENNY - Around the Block 08:52 STEVE OLIVER - Barcelo 08:48 KIM SCOTT - Something Better 08:44 PAUL HARDCASTLE - Amber Skies 08:39 BRIAN BROMBERG - Feliz Navidad 08:35 GARY PALMER - Land of the Sun 08:32 EVAN CARYDAKIS - Movin On 08:29 JACK JEZZRO - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas 08:25 PEET PROJECT - 24 Hours 08:21 NICK COLIONNE - Morning Call 08:17 VINCENT IOIA - First Time (feat. Ricky Peterson & Gerey Johnson) 08:13 DAVE KOZ - Little Drummer Boy 08:08 BOB COATE - Super Smooth 08:04 JUSTIN KLUNK - Make It Real 08:00 ROB TARDIK - Get Up 07:56 DR. DAVE, THE HOUSECALL BAND - Almost Trinidad (Revisited Version) 07:51 JUSTIN KLUNK - Thunder 07:47 ROBERTO RESTUCCIA - 1985 07:44 TONY CRADDOCK JR. - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 07:39 RAINFOREST BAND - Just Before Sunrise 07:35 PHIL DENNY - Flutter 07:29 KIM WATERS - Christmas Time Is Here 07:24 NORMAN BROWN - Just Between Us 07:20 JIM ADKINS - Answered Prayers 07:16 JOYCE COOLING - Almost Home 07:12 MARCUS ANDERSON - Oh Christmas Tree 07:08 DANIEL DOMENGE - Latin Flavours 07:04 SPONTANEOUS GROOVIN' COMBUSTION - Soul Stirrer 07:00 NILS - Shine Your Light On Me 06:55 496 WEST - Boo'd Up 06:51 PETER WHITE - Deja Vu 06:47 ED CALLE - Where the Rainbow Ends 06:43 JESSY J - The Rhythm Method (feat. Paul Brown) 06:38 SHAKATAK - Merry Christmas In Summer 06:34 JEFF KASHIWA - Every Now and Then 06:30 BRETTINA - Bop Baiye 06:27 VINCENT INGALA - My Favorite Things 06:23 PAUL BROWN - Blues for Jeff 06:19 ELAN TROTMAN - Millie's Song (feat. Althea Rene & Nathan Mitchell) 06:15 DEE LUCAS - Hot Ice (feat. Gino Rosaria) 06:12 SMOOTH SOUL HOLIDAY - We Three Funky Kings 06:08 JONATHAN FRITZEN - Fingers On Fire 06:02 ROBERT HARRIS - Midnight Rendezvous Live 06:00 STEVE RAYBINE - Maui Blue 05:56 JEFF GOLKIN & FOREVER LOVE - We Have Love Tonight 05:51 MICHAEL ROSS - Hot in Brazil 05:48 DARREN MOTAMEDY - I'll Give You What You Want 05:43 DR. SAXLOVE - White Christmas 05:39 PAUL TAYLOR - Epic Dream 05:36 JACKIEM JOYNER - Stay With Me Tonight 05:30 MARK MAXWELL - Let It Snow 05:25 THE SMOOTH JAZZ ALLEY - EBF 05:20 THE SAX PACK - A Little Bit Closer 05:17 AL DEGREGORIS - South Shore 05:12 DAVE KOZ - Silent Night 05:08 MARCIA MIGET - Praise Him (Instrumental) 05:04 KIRK WHALUM - Big Ol' Shoes 05:00 PHILLIP DOC MARTIN - Her Touch 04:55 KIM SCOTT - Rite of Passage 04:51 RICK HABANA - Excursion 04:47 KIM WATERS - Walking On Air 04:43 ART FOUR SALE - Merry Merry Christmas 04:38 NELSON RANGELL - Mean Business 04:34 PATRICK YANDALL - Whats Cookin 04:29 KAYLA WATERS - O Come, O Come Emmanuel 04:25 NILS - Shake It 04:20 JAREZ - How I Feel 04:16 PHIL DENNY, NATE NARASIM - Push 04:13 SHIN GIWON CHRISTMAS CAROL COLLECTION - Winter Wonderland 04:08 PAUL BROWN - Moment by Moment 04:04 SKINNY HIGHTOWER - Bittersweet 04:00 ADAM HAWLEY - East Lake 03:56 CHRIS STANDRING - No Two Ways About It 03:51 BRETTINA - Low 03:47 RICK BRAUN - Brazz Street 03:42 MICHAEL LINGTON - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 03:37 J. WHITE - A New Jazz Swagger 03:33 ART RUPRECHT - Glorious Day 03:30 HERB ALPERT - Let It Snow - Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer 03:26 BONEY JAMES - On The Path 03:22 RICK HABANA - Paradise 03:18 JOY RIDE - What's Up 03:13 MARION MEADOWS - Little Shepherd Boy 03:09 DAVID BENOIT - Rejoyce 03:04 UNDER THE LAKE - Old Friends, New Grooves 03:00 MARK ETHEREDGE - Untethered (feat. Steve Oliver) 02:56 KENNY PORE - Siempre del Corazon 02:53 DANCING FANTASY - Bon Voyage 02:48 EVERETTE HARP - Old School 02:44 RANDY SCOTT - Mellow Flow 02:40 MARK MAXWELL - O Christmas Tree 02:36 ATTILA ZAVODI - River Waves 02:32 JEANETTE HARRIS - 2nd Nature 02:28 CHRISTMAS CAROLS - Happy Christmas 02:23 JAMES SAXSMO GATES - Together We Can Make It (feat. Freddie Fox) 02:19 LOWELL HOPPER - See the Light 02:15 SHAWN RAIFORD - In the Moment 02:11 DAVE KOZ - Eight Candles 02:07 PIECES OF A DREAM - Watch Your Step 02:04 LEBRON - Spotlight 02:00 OLI SILK - Chill or Be Chilled 01:56 GEREY JOHNSON - Silk Dress 01:51 NAJEE - Bella Vista 01:47 SHELEA - Don't Wanna Wait 'til Christmas 01:43 NILS - So Get on Up 01:39 PETER WHITE - What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) 01:36 GREGG KARUKAS - Passion Dance 01:32 ART MORRIS - Silent Night 01:27 BOB BALDWIN - Stand Tall 01:23 ERIC MARIENTHAL - 21 Ocean Front 01:18 RAY OBIEDO - A Thousand Reasons 01:14 BEN TANKARD - A Guitar for Christmas 01:09 CINDY BRADLEY - Exhale 01:05 PATRICK YANDALL - It's Our Time 01:00 ACOUSTIC ALCHEMY - Same Road, Same Reason 00:56 AL DEGREGORIS - Time Sensitive 00:51 TONY CRADDOCK JR. - O Little Town of Bethlehem 00:47 RICK HABANA - Poolside (feat. Blake Aaron) 00:43 BLAIR BRYANT - Kiss of Life 00:39 BE'NE MUSIC - Im Yours 00:33 BRIAN BROMBERG - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year 00:29 UNDER THE LAKE - Around The Block 00:25 RICHARD ELLIOT - Panamera 00:19 JOHN NOVELLO - Ivory Soul 00:14 MICHAEL LINGTON - Silver Bells 00:09 JOY RIDE - The First Time 00:05 VINCENT INGALA - Could This Be Real 00:00 DANIEL CHIA - In the Moment (feat. Paul Brown)

#Radio NET Bulgaria #Smooth Jazz #Chillout #Lounge #Downtempo #Ambient #Trance #2022 #December 2022

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lou-is-lurking · 3 years

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Unpopular opinion, but I believe not reinstating Kamila's suspension is the right call under these circumstances.

I'm not surprised by the decision, I kind of expected it. Because the timing of this made things infinitely more complicated than many people seem to realize.

I get that people have had emotional reactions to this entire mess - because Kamila is just a kid, But also because for many of us this comes after years of having to helplessly watch Eteri do what she does and being rewarded for her abusive system over and over again.

But these emotional reactions have lead to some rather irrational takes and uninformed expectations, and many people acted like this was a clear-cut situation, a no-brainer, when it really isn't. The media oversimplifying the case didn't help either.

So many people kept yelling BuT ShE's A cHiLd, asking for compassion for Kamila – but the same people are calling for her to have her right to have this resolved properly revoked? Protecting the rights of this underage athlete is also important for the integrity of this sport, no?

I'm particularly baffled by how many (former) athletes criticize the decision. Shouldn't they be aware that if someone's A sample comes back positive, they can demand to have the B sample analyzed to potentially clear their name? Doesn't sound like that happened yet.

And if I'm not mistaken, usually an athlete even has the right to be present when that B sample is unsealed? Considering the tight time frame and assuming that sample is still sitting in that lab in Sweden, that's a logistic nightmare.

Under these circumstances there was just no time to resolve all of this in time before the Women's competition. Are people really demanding Kamila be stripped of her legal right to go through the proper process of trying to clear her name?

The timing of this was really, really fucking bad. Yes, it FINALLY brought the world's attention to Eteri and her camp of rampant abuse. But unfortunately it also created an impossible situation that could not be resolved without a shit storm, no matter the decision.

Had this come out just a bit sooner, things could have been resolved in time. Kamila would've been able to go through the proper process, without all this media attention and public interest, since her name would not have been published because of her status as Protected Person.

No matter how likely or unlikely it is that the B sample comes back negative – it IS possible, and why would Kamila be denied the same right as any other athlete? If they suspend her now and later her name is cleared – that would be a disaster and also hurt the sport's integrity.

If they allow her to compete and it is later confirmed she was doped, they have at least put everything in place to erase her name and placement from the competition.

Still a fucking mess, but imo the fairer solution considering the circumstances.

Don't get me wrong, even if I think this is the better call, it's still a shit show and a nightmare and I'd rather there would have been a way to resolve this properly without making this sport, the Olys, and basically everyone involved look bad. But alas.

One thing I'm hoping for is that the attention on Eteri and her abusive methods will cause change, but if I'm honest, I'm afraid that the ISU won't do jack shit about anything once the big media attention goes away after the Olympics.

Time will tell, I guess.

(cross-posted from Twitter)

#kamila valieva #beijing 2022 #roc doping scandal #figure skating #olympics 2022 #sorry I just had to get this off my chest #I've seen too many irrational takes that don't take into account the complexity of this entire fucking mess #it's such a shit show

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sexycraisinthanos · 4 years

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I’m gonna infodump about my favorite movie

Rise of the Guardians

It’ll be under the readmore, but TL;DR: Watch Rise of the Guardians and read the books

Rise of the Guardians is a 2012 animated film released by Dreamworks. The story is childhood figures (Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and Jack Frost) trying to defend the children of earth against Pitch Black, (The Boogeyman)

It’s based on a book series called Guardians of Childhood, written by William Joyce. Who, if you don’t know, writes children’s book. Guardians of Childhood is more of a “Young Adult” series compared to his other Guardians books (The Man in the Moon, Sandman: The Story of Sanderson Mansnoozie, and Jack Frost are all part of the series, but they are picture books.)

He’s also written other books you may be familiar with.

The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs and A Day with Wilbur Robinson

Sound familiar?

Maybe you’d recognize them as their movie counterparts, Epic (animated by Blue Sky Studios) and Meet the Robinsons (animated of course by Disney)

Also Rolie Polie Olie, which was a favorite Disney Jr cartoon growing up for me, and was also a book series.

I could honestly go on and on about William Joyce, his work was a part of my childhood a LOT (even credited for working on some of my favorite films like Buddy, Robots, Toy Story, and A Bug’s Life) and that’s probably why I love ROTG so much.

I read all of the Guardians books and own all of them save for Jack Frost and The Art of Rise of the Guardians and the books are not cheap, but what books are? I have HARD COVER BITCHES. Half of them were gifts and I also own the ROTG DVD.

The art in the books (all drawn by William Joyce himself) is really good (this is my favorite art from the books)

And the animation in the movie, as expected from Dreamworks, is beautiful.

You get to see all their unique homes and they’re such varying types of environments. Of course, you have the North Pole, where it’s chaotic and wonderful. Just look at this concept art

And then you have the Tooth Palace, where the Tooth Fairy does her work

It’s very obvious that there are some Indian inspirations in the design because Tooth herself is actually Middle-Eastern (in the books it’s explained in depth more and one of my complaints about the movie is that they whitewashed her even though her concept art in the ending credits shows her with brown skin)

The Warren, where the Easter Bunny paints his eggs

Which is something you never really think about because people only focus on the North pole so seeing so much thought put into it is really nice

We never see where Sandy works/lives (in the MOVIE. But the GAME on the other hand lets you explore EVERYONE’S homes and that’s a whole nother story)

We DO however see Pitch’s lair and

it’s rightfully spooky. When you actually see the scene play out in the lair, you get all confused and don’t know which way is which and it always unsettles me which is GOOD because that’s what it’s SUPPOSED to do

What’s really unique about ROTG is that there’s a source material (and as of now there are eight books (five novels, three picture books) and the series isn’t DONE yet) and instead of turning the books into a movie even though the plot is literally RIGHT THERE, they took the source material and turned it into a prologue. The movie takes place about 300 years after the books do and since the books are supposedly still ongoing, and William Joyce was CONTINUING to write the series while the movie was in production. (Three books have come out since the movie came out.)

I love how challenging that must have been for William to try to include stuff from his previous books in the movie AND to try and link the movie to his newer books despite some continuity errors (also worth noting that he has written a book about Santa and his wife, but Mrs. Claus is YET to be seen or even mentioned in the movie) but I appreciate the effort he put into it and I can’t wait to see what else he’ll come up with.

The characters look a BIT different from their book counterparts

Jack is voiced by Chris Pine and his voice is WAY TOO DEEP and the creators can’t agree on an age for him (book age is 14, but he can age himself up and down to a certain point and some producers said they imagined him 17 or 18) and (imo) I think Jack’s design was pretty lazy (a blue jacket with brown pants) compared to everyone else’s. I mean you have North, who is

BIG

His design is based more on the worldly Father Christmas than the Saint Nick/Santa that we know.

When he’s not in the Pole he’s wearing his big red fur coat and a cossack hat

Because he’s Russian

I’m pretty sure he canonically was raised by bears but that may have just been me imagining it. His book appearance is way different because when we meet him, he’s not Santa yet. So he’s still young

Of course, as the books go on, he looks like Santa

Bunny has the most drastic character change from his book design, as depicted by this fanart (which i couldn’t find a credit for that wasn’t pinterest so if anyone knows please tell me)

And there’s a CANONICAL reason why he looks so different (two actually)

Once they put Hugh Jackman in the role, they wanted a more dry Australian ranger-type design for him, and then the robes got in the way because of how he was moving, even when they changed him to just a lab coat, so they decided to forgo clothes altogether

Fun fact about Bunny. He’s a Pooka, a shapeshifting folklore creature that can turn into either a rabbit, goat, cat, dog, or horse. (or even a human with animal like features) Which actually gives a lot of people the headcanon that Pitch uses the souls of all Bunny’s dead people (yep he’s a sole survivor) as Nightmares

But he’s a different kind of Pooka. He’s an alien technically. And this breed of Pooka CANNOT eat chocolate because it does things to their body. Like giving him six arms. Or making his ears into helicopter propellers.

This is relevant because he uses chocolate in battle multiple times. So the canonical explanation for why Bunny looks so different is that he ate too much chocolate and it permanently changed his body.

Which I love. I could go on about him but all the characters are interesting

Tooth has probably the second most confusing design

She’s based off a hummingbird with dragonfly wings, which aesthetically makes so much sense, but in the books she has regular feather wings. I also don’t like how weird her proportions are. Her feet are tiny nubs, her head is too big for her body (her body is actually pretty nicely designed it’s just every other part of it that bothers me) and I already mentioned the whitewashing

PITCH on the other hand had the biggest glow down compared to the books

He’s just wearing a black robe and, apparently, he doesn’t even have sleeves, which you can’t even really tell because it’s just all smudgy and shit

I mean I guess that’s the point, that he looks like he’s clothed in shadow, but it’s frustrating to look at especially compared to his book design where he’s wearing a FABULOUS coat

Meanwhile Sandy has the PERFECT character design

He’s just ROUND and wears a bathrobe made of sand. Like it’s not even that different from his book design (his hair has more frills than the book version) because it’s such a perfect design and I love how he’s animated. You can’t see it that well because the gif quality, but the sand also sparkles and it just makes it so fun to watch on screen

The movie itself has its share of flaws. (the movie likes to pick and choose the rules it wants to follow about its universe, a huge plothole, and some cheaply constructed arguments between characters that really just make me annoyed because I don’t want to see the easter bunny making a child cry I want to see him get into a fist fight with Santa it’s like you don’t even KNOW your demographic) But I love it and there’s SO MUCH I could talk about. There are characters in the books that weren’t in the movie and there were characters in the movie that weren’t in the books (because they weren’t born yet but IRRELEVANT)

It was a HUGE flop despite critics praising it. Like 8,000 people lost their jobs over it that’s how big a flop it was. But it’s such a dear movie to me and it’s clear that William Joyce holds this series close to his heart (dedicating it and the movie to his late daughter) which makes sense because it’s based on stories he told her when she was young and I’m so honored that he chose to share these stories with us. I just love the series and I should do a re-read at some point

#long post #SUPER long post #i spent like four hours writing this

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highhopeslowrolls · 4 years

Note

please tell me that phil is voicing those background characters (BECAUSE HE IS DOING AN AMAZING JOB)

Credit for them goes to Olie. I was only voicing Nagar in this one.

That’s not strictly true, but at somepoint we’re going to post a break down of our sound effects work, where we’ll discuss Phil’s voice work in the background of the episodes that are out now.

Otherwise, the background VO in Chapter 2 is Olie (see the marketplace in Imereloth) me and Amy (goons laughing in the lab) and a mix of stuff we’ve got on tape from previous recordings. Either way Phil is great!

#behind the scenes #Malark Dundragon #HHAsk

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lilac-den · 4 years

Text

My Guardian Stalker

Wynn [M!MC] x M!Dionysus

Warning: Contains a bit of drugging, yandere-personality and a bit of a dark ending?

A/N: I would have posted it up yesterday but got caught with a massive headache and fever - sorry if there are some of you waiting for this! Enjoy!

There’s been something off lately.

There’s been a notable increase of tourists disappearing, some of which I have had the pleasure of greeting in the library or café.

It doesn’t help that Oli has been going offline a lot more – something about loose fuses or glitches. I had offered to crack open his system, see what’s up, but Oli simply brushes that off, telling me that I should be more worried about my lack of personal care due to my attempts of performing all-night research on this…‘Red Lens Murderer’.

Oli doesn’t leave me much room to protest either, considering he went offline in an attempt to rest longer just a couple hours ago.

“Wynner!”

The cheery tone catches me off guard, up to where I yelp from a sudden body colliding behind me. But while the voice is distorted, I can recognize the owner from the delightful tone and the all-too-familiar nickname.

“Dio!” I exclaim and turn my head to see the familiar rabbit mask, the visor on it staring back at me.

“In a flash!” The charm in his voice is light and open. In his gloved hands are a shot glass and a bottle of some alcoholic beverage. My eyes widen.

“Is that whiskey?”

“Only the best one!” Dionysus pipes, “I figured you’d like a little drink.”

As he answers, he’s already pouring me a cup. I let out a laugh.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this is a way for you to get me to bed.”

A light scoff escapes Dio. “Please, if I want to do that, I would have pulled out something more sensible. At least you listen to reason.”

I roll my eyes at that, smiling before turning back to the folder I had extracted from one of the cameras down the alleyway of where the latest victim was taken away.

Dio peeks in from my shoulder. “So, what’s keeping you up this time?”

I increase the distance between us, mainly to stop this sensation in the depths of my chest. It’s only been a few months, but I still can’t get the hang of this…constant factor of his presence in my vicinity, especially this close. “I’m looking up on the disappearing tourists.”

“Ah,” Dionysus nods, “you’re talking about the Red Lens Murderer, aren’t you?”

I groan. “They should have picked a better name than that.”

“It’s pretty fitting, considering his M.O. Covering the camera lens in the blood of the victims.” A note of disgust occurs in their tone. “Pretty gruesome, if you ask me.

“Thank God you brought in whiskey then,” I mutter, already pouring myself a shot before downing it. The liquid burns, but fuck do I need it real bad.

“When was the last time you slept, Wynn?”

“I’m doing alright, Dio.” I make an attempt to smile at him. But I can feel a judgemental stare.

“Wynn-”

“Oh shoot!” I stand up, feigning a voice of shock; when Dio’s voice turn parental, it’s going to be a near tyrannic lecture. “I forgot some files are in need of my attention.”

“Wynn!”

I resist the urge to laugh; I can picture an almost pouty expression on his face. But I wasn’t entirely wrong; the files on my other desk aren’t something to discredit.

Maybe it’ll give me insight on what in the world is going on with this murderer…and why their most recent attacks are with the tourists I have a brief conversation with.

Fuck, I need another shot.

Dionysus watches Wynn carefully, from the way the latter frowns at the files to pinching the bridge of his nose with his tanned hand, the dim light of the lab glistening down on his freckles. Pouring another glass, Wynn is already downing his second shot of whiskey. A smile forms underneath his mask.

Standing by the chair, front facing Wynn’s back, Dionysus creeps a gloved hand over to one of the pictures on the desk, silently shifting some of the pictures away until his eyes gleam at one photo, hidden among the pictures the librarian have deemed important.

One picture showed the thick, red stain to obscure the vision of the alley. But there was a small part that dripped off, revealing a glimpse of what was happening behind the crimson liquid. A tourist was being dragged; their shirt tugged by a dark orange-gloved hand.

It’s not hard for Dionysus to sneak it into the hidden pocket of his coat, what with Wynn entirely focused on the documents lying before him.

Dionysus had to admit, he wasn’t the sort to commit such misdeeds. What Wynn doesn’t know is the fact that the Red Lens Murderer is now caught and serving their sentence. At this point, it is simply their title being put onto the blame of the latest kidnappings.

Which, funny enough, are committed by Dionysus himself. It was a little hard, getting their blood to coat the camera lens and shut them up from screaming to high heavens. And yes, Dionysus isn’t one to commit such heinous, hedonistic acts.

But the tourists Dionysus kidnapped and hidden away shouldn’t have approached his beloved with such impure thoughts.

No…they shouldn’t have. It was only fair he hid them away, since murder was beneath him. No matter how much they begged for death after what he did to them.

A yawn catches his attention and Dionysus turns to Wynn, slipping his hand out of the pocket that keeps the link between him and the crime. He walks to Wynn, wrapping his arm around the lean-bodied male. “You sound exhausted, Wynn,” he mentions gently, “maybe it’s time you hit the hay.”

“Noh…” Wynn blinks tiredly, his light green irises wet in sleepy tears. As if drawn by the warmth, the shorter male leans his head into Dionysus’s shoulder.

The simple action sets a warmth the taller male craves for. He strokes the messy blonde hair, shushing in a soft, cooing tone.

“Sleep, Wynn,” his voice pleasantly says, “you can’t find new clues with a drowsy mind.”

“Mn…Buh…” Wynn tries to protest but a yawn simply escapes him. Dionysus lets one of Wynn’s arms rest around his shoulders, carrying him as one would carry their drunk buddy after a night’s out.

“No buts, Wynn.” Dionysus chides in an almost parental tone. “After all,” a smile curls in his lips and he whispers towards the sleeping Wynn, “It’s a waste of good sleeping drugs if you don’t.”

He watches the blond turn his head, confusion swimming in those bright green eyes. Those round, beautiful orbs, drowsy in the effects of the sleeping drug, start to show glimmer of realization.

And just as quickly as the glimmer appears, Wynn’s eyes close shut, and his head slumps back, passing out in Dionysus’s arms.

The rabbit’s contorted voice hums a tune, upbeat and cheery. But in the darkness of the lab, skimming his fingers along the edge of his librarian’s face…

The tune is simply halted by the giggle of joyful insanity.

#silverking #commission #DionysusCommission #M!Dionysus

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engineering · 5 years

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How Reblogs Work

The reblog is a beautiful thing unique to Tumblr -- often imitated, but never successfully reproduced elsewhere. The reblog puts someone else's post on your own Tumblr blog, acting as a kind of signal boost, and also giving you the ability to add your own comment to it, which your followers and anyone looking at the post's notes will see. Reblogs can also be reblogged themselves, creating awesome evolving reblog trails that are the source of so many memes we love. But what is a reblog trail versus a reblog tree, and how does it all work under the hood?

A "reblog tree" starts at the original post (we call it the "root post" internally at Tumblr) and extends outwards to each of its reblogs, and then each reblog of those reblogs, forming a tree-like structure with branches of "reblog trails". As an example, you can imagine @staff making a post, and then someone reblogging it, and then others reblogging those reblogs. I can even come through and reblog one of the reblogs:

A "reblog trail" is one of those branches, starting at the original post and extending one at a time down to another post. In the reblog trail, there may actually be some reblogs that added their own content and some that didn't -- reblogs that added content are visible in the trail, while the intermediate ones that didn't may not be visible.

You'll notice that the reblog trail you're viewing somewhere (like on your dashboard) doesn't show all of this reblog tree -- only part of it. If you open up the notes on any wildly popular post, you'll probably see lots of reblogs in there that you aren't seeing in your current view of the post's reblog trail. The above diagram shows the whole reblog tree (which you don't see) and the current reblog trail you're actually viewing (in orange). If you want to visualize a post's entire reblog tree, the reblog graphs Tumblr Labs experiment shows off these reblog trees and trails as kind of big floppy organisms. They're a useful visualization of how content percolates around Tumblr via reblogs. You can turn on the experiment and see it on web only right now, but here's an example:

The tiny orange dot is the post we're viewing, and the green line is a reblog trail showing how the post got reblogged along many blogs. And there are tons of other branches/trails from the original post, making dozens of different reblog trails. This is a much larger, more realistic example than my simplified diagrams above. You can imagine that my diagram above is just the start of one of these huge reblog trees, after more and more people have reblogged parts of the existing tree.

Storing Reblog Trail Information

The way we actually store the information about a reblog and its trail has changed significantly over the last year. For all posts made before this year, all of a post's content was stored as a combination of HTML and properties specific on our Post data model. A specific reblog also stored all of the contents of its entire reblog trail (but not the whole reblog tree). If you have ever built a theme on Tumblr or otherwise dug around the code on a reblog, you'll be familiar with this classic blockquote structure:

<a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://maria.tumblr.com/post/5678">maria</a>: <blockquote> <a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://cyle.tumblr.com/post/1234">cyle</a>: <blockquote>  look at my awesome original content </blockquote>  well, it's just okay original content </blockquote>  jeez. thanks a lot.

This HTML represents a (fake) old text post. The original post is the blockquote most deeply nested in the HTML: "look at my awesome original content" and it was created by cyle. There's a reference to the original post's URL in the anchor tag above its blockquote tag. Moving out one level to the next blockquote is a reblog of that original post, made by maria, which itself adds some of its own commentary to the reblog trail. Moving out furthest, to the bottom of the HTML, is the latest reblog content being added in the post we're viewing. With this structure, we have everything we need to show the post and its reblog trail without having to load those posts in between the original and this reblog.

If this looks and sounds confusing, that's because it is quite complex. We're right there with you, but the reasons behind using this structure were sound at the time. In a normal, traditional relational database, you'd expect something like the reblog trail to be represented as a series of references: a reblog post references its parent post, root post, and any intermediate posts, and we'd load those posts' contents at runtime with a JOIN query or something very normalized and relational like that, making sure we don't copy any data around, only reference it.

However, the major drawback of that traditional approach, especially at Tumblr's scale, is that loading a reblog could go from just one query to several queries, depending on how many posts are in the reblog trail. Some of the reblog trails on Tumblr are thousands of posts long. Having to load a thousand other posts to load one reblog would be devastating. Instead, by actually copying the reblog trail content every time a reblog is made, we keep the number of queries needed constant: just one per post! A dashboard of 20 reblogs loads those 20 posts, not a variable amount based on how many reblogs are in each post's trail. This is still an oversimplification of what Tumblr is really doing under the hood, but this core strategy is real.

Broken Reblog Trails

There is another obvious problem with the above blockquote/HTML strategy, one that you may have not realized you were seeing but you've probably experienced it before. If the only reference we have in the reblog trail above is a trail post's permalink URL, what happens if that blog changes its name? Tumblr does not go through all posts and update that name in every copy of every reblog that blog has ever been involved in. Instead, it gracefully fails, and you may see a default avatar there as a placeholder. We literally don't have any other choice, since no other useful information is stored with the old post content.

At worst, someone else takes the name of a blog used in the trail. Imagine if, in the above example, oli changed his blog name to british-oli and someone else snagged the name oli afterwards. Thankfully in that case, the post URL still does not work, as the post ID is tied to the old oli blog. The end result is that it looks like there's a "broken" item in the reblog trail, usually manifesting as the blog looking deactivated or otherwise not accessible. This isn't great.

As a part of the rollout of the Neue Post Format (NPF), we changed how we store the reblog trail on each post. For fully NPF reblog trails, we actually do store an immutable reference to each blog and post in the trail, instead of just the unreliable post URL. This allows us to have a much lower failure rate when someone changes their blog name or otherwise becomes unavailable. We keep the same beneficial strategy of usually having all the information we need so we don't need to load any of those posts along the trail, but the option to load the individual post or blog is there if we absolutely need it, especially in cases like if one of those blogs is somebody you're blocking.

If you've played around with reblog trails in NPF, you'll see the result of this change. The reblog trail is no longer a messy nested blockquote chain, but instead a friendly and easy to parse JSON array, always starting with the original post and working down the trail. This includes a special case when an item in the trail is broken in a way we can't recover from, which happens sometimes with very old posts.

The same reblog trail and new content as seen above, but in the Neue Post Format:

{ "trail": [ { "post": { "id": "1234", }, "blog": { "name": "cyle" }, "content": [ { "type": "text", "text": "look at my awesome original content" } ], "layout": [] }, { "post": { "id": "3456", }, "blog": { "name": "maria" }, "content": [ { "type": "text", "text": "well, it's just okay original content" } ], "layout": [] } ], "content": [ { "type": "text", "text": "jeez. thanks a lot." } ] }

Got questions?

If you've ever wondered how something works on Tumblr behind the scenes, feel free to send us an ask!

- @cyle

#engineering #how tumblr works #reblogs #npf

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justaghostingon · 4 years

Text

Pygmalion

Read on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25962064

Once there was a man, who could not find love among the women he knew, so he decided to make his own.

“Oli, come with me. I’ve got a new project for you.” Gyrus’ smile was stilted as he beckoned Oli down the corridor. Oli followed, a bounce in his step as anticipation welled up inside him. The projects Gyrus had him help with were always interesting, even if they didn’t always work.

They entered the lab, and Oli froze. A woman hung suspended from the wires and machines. Her ethereal blue hair glowed in the dim light of the machine. It fell perfectly around her asymmetrical face, one half covered in soft skin, the other open and gapping to reveal a skull made of metal. She was barely more than a torso and upper arms, metal and wiring sticking out like some half finished machine, waiting for a mechanic to bring it back to life.

“Oli, meet Maria,” Gyrus said as Oli approached the remains of the woman. “She’s a robot from the last realm that I thought we could fix up and try and use on missions.”

He babbled on, talking about the advantages that a nie indestructible robot could have, but Oli wasn’t listening. Carefully he brought his hands up to encompass the woman’s face. Her single eyelid fluttered open, as delicate as the real one her long ago designer had tried to copy, and looked Oli in the eye.

“Hello Maria,” Oli whispered, for only a whisper seemed appropriate in this fragile moment.

“Hello.” She smiled, and Oli felt the whirl of machinery beneath his fingers humming like a pulse. The left side of her face was soft and warm against his skin, the right cool and smooth as steel, but Oli knew as he cradled her in that moment that all of her was undeniably human.

Many days and many nights did he labor over her, sculpting the perfect woman out of stone. And when he finished, he named her Galatea, for the white of her marble skin.

Fixing Maria was the hardest thing Oli had ever done. Her body was more complex than any project he’d ever worked on, and Oli found a new respect for the physicians who tended to the human body, their task was truly daunting if it was anything like the one of metal he and Gyrus labored over.

Every twist of wires, every slight calibration, every metal frame, all required the most delicate touch, lest they damage her beyond repair. She was magnificent though, a true masterpiece. As they inched their way along her body, rebuilding her from the ground up, Oli couldn’t help but wonder if the gods knew him in such intimate detail or if they did not care for the long labor his mother had needed to bring him to life.

Through it all Maria kept up her spirits, laughing and joking about the fine mess she had been reduced to. Oli admired her bravery, because even though she tried to grit her teeth, he knew their every motion caused her pain. She couldn’t hide it from him, even if she wanted to. Oli could see inside her every corner, and he knew when she bit her lip like that the reconnected wire beneath his fingers had burned her.

Gyrus seemed to notice too, and it made him sad, shoulders hanging with the weight of the world. But Maria did not like to see him so morose, and so would laugh or joke to try and lift his spirits.

“How’s your boyfriend?” she asked after a particularly hard operation. Oli blinked, confused. As far as he knew, Gyrus had no interest in anyone, to the great disappointment of many. But to his shock, Gyrus didn’t laugh it off like he usually did. Instead a cherry red blush crept across his face, until even his ears burned a brilliant red.

Oli started, but Maria laughed, throwing her head back in an echoing howl. Gyrus’ ears turned, if it were possible, even redder. “He is not my boyfriend,” he hissed, shooting Oli an alarmed look. Maria laughed again.

“Right, right,” she said, amusement obvious in her voice. “You just hold hands, have sleepovers, spend every waking moment you can together, and talk constantly about him when you can’t. Completely platonic, my bad.”

Up until today Oli hadn’t been certain Gyrus could have those types of feelings, but when Maria put it like that it seemed obvious. There was only one person who Gyrus spent so much time with, one name he slipped into nearly every conversation.

“Are you, talking about Kodya?” he asked, feeling slightly light headed. Gyrus’ eyes widened in alarm.

“There is n-nothing between me and Kodya!” Gyrus shook his head, waving his hands in the air in denial. But Oli noticed the red did not fade.

“Uh, yeah,” Maria rolled her eyes, “because someone’s to cowardly to confess.” Gyrus hid his face in his hands. Oli felt a bit bad for him.

“I’m sure Kodya wouldn’t say no,” he offered, because everyone knew Kodya was in love with Gyrus, and because Oli knew all too well the way insecurity could whisper and ruin someone’s will to ask.

“Really?” Gyrus peaked between his fingers at Oli who tried to smile encouragingly. Maria tried to help, but her clear amusement had the opposite effect. “Gahhh,” Gyrus buried his head back in his hands as he stood up. “I’m going to get more metal!” He squeaked, running from the door before Oli could remind him that he could create anything and they had plenty of ingredients.

“Looks like it's just you and me now,” Maria chuckled, and as Oli turned to her, he realized that they had never been alone before.

The man would talk to his Galatea as if she were a real person.

The silence stretched out far too long as Oli struggled to come up with a topic of conversation. Maria raised an eyebrow, and Oli felt his stomach drop. “Come on, I don’t bite,” she said, and Oli looked down.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered but Maria shook her head, loose hair flopping against skin and metal alike.

“No, no! Don’t apologize! Ask me something! Go ahead, I know you want to!” She smiled at him, and for the first time, Oli wondered if she paid as much attention to them as they did to her. The revelation was disconcerting, but there was something he had been dying to ask.

He cleared his throat nervously and went for it. “What’s it like being a robot?” he said and then flinched at his own daring.

“Yeah I figured that would be the first thing you’d ask.” Maria’s voice caused him to look up. “First thing everyone does,” she added, sounding rueful. Oli clenched the front of his robe, feeling horrible.

“If I had to put it into words, I’d say it's a lot like being human most of the time,” Maria tried to shrug, but the wires holding her steady didn’t let her. She gave a half wince, and Oli stepped forward, hand instinctively raised to stop her.

Maria smiled, a small, sad smile that didn’t fit her usual chipper personality. “There is one difference though. I can survive with a whole lot less than a human can.” Oli’s brow furrowed in puzzlement. Was she talking about food?

Maria saw his confusion and elaborated. “Like blood,” she said. “You need blood to survive. But I don’t. It keeps me warm, but if I were to lose it, I’d still function.”

“That’s horrible,” Oli murmured, trying to imagine living life devoid of warmth, and feeling nothing but cold and hollow.

“Yeah it kind of is,” Maria replied, and Oli snapped his hands over his mouth, realizing how insensitive his words had been. Maria’s gaze softened. “Thanks,” she said. Oli lowered his hands, confused. “Not a lot of people notice that. But hey,-” she shot him a wide smile, more in line with her usual personality, “if I were half as squishy as you, I wouldn’t be here now would I?”

That was true, Oli felt a bit of guilt leave his shoulders. But still. “Maria?” he asked, and the woman turned her blue eyes on him. “What’s your favorite food?”

Maria blinked at him, and Oli felt his lips twitch into a smile.

He would make meals and present a portion to her cold body.

Oli hurried to the lab, a small bag in one hand and a plastic cup in the other. Gyrus wouldn’t be there right now. Oli had asked Kodya to ensure that he stayed that way, citing his worry over Gyrus overworking to ensure Kodya would not let him within ten feet of it. Oli felt a little guilty about using Kodya against Gyrus like that but he shrugged it off. He was going to do this, and he didn’t want Gyrus to stop him.

“Maria!” he called as he pushed his way into the lab. “I brought the food!” He held the little bundle aloft.

“Oh yeah! Bring in the goods!” Maria yelled, face split into a wide grin as her eyes never left the bundle in Oli’s hands. She sucked in a deep breath through her half finished nose as Oli came closer and licked her lips. “Oh man I can smell it, my mouth is watering already.”

“Just a minute,” Oli cautioned as he opened the bundle to reveal the strange wrapped bread and meat sandwich and the slices of deep fried potatoes Maria had painstakingly instructed him how to make. Maria gave a little whimper, and Oli smiled.

Oli took the sandwich first, lifting it with one hand to her face, while the other held the cup up to the bottom of her torso, to the little tube that led directly to her throat. Maria bit into the sandwich eagerly, sharp teeth nearly missing Oli’s fingers. He yelped a bit, but Maria didn’t seem to notice, to wrapped up in chewing to pay attention to Oli.

“Oh man,” she swallowed, and Oli held the cup close to the tube as the mashed up food slipped out. “It has been so long since I ate a burger.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Oli smiled. “I hope it tasted like it's supposed to.”

“Like it's supposed to?” Maria echoed, shooting him an incredulous stare. “It tasted fantastic! Oli you’ve got to be the best chef in the world!” She beamed at him, bits of sauce still stuck to her cheeks, and Oli felt like he was on top of the world.

“Now a fry,” Maria demanded, and Oli obligingly brought one up for her to bite. She took from his fingers, holding it in her mouth by the end, before gulping it down. “Mmmmm,” she groaned as she swallowed, licking the edges of her mouth. “That’s good.”

Oli blushed from the compliment as the remains of the fry slipped into the cup. “If you like it so much, I could always bring you more.”

“It would have to be soon,” Maria frowned. “You and Gyrus are gonna hook up my esophagus soon, and then the only way out will be through my stomach and the intestines.”

“Then I’ll just have to get a bigger cup,” Oli shrugged. He was a mechanic, he could figure something out. But Maria had looked so happy, and he wasn’t going to deny her something that made her feel more human.

“Alright!” Maria cheered, “Now I’ll take another bite of that burger baby! I’m feeling hungry tonight!”

And he would dress her in the finest clothes he could buy.

From then on, Oli would visit Maria whenever he could get away, bringing her food or just keeping her company. He found she was a wonderful companion, whose brash personality and boundless optimism always managed to put life in perspective. Oli couldn’t wait until the project was completed, so he could introduce her to everyone else. He was certain a warm personality like hers would get along with everyone.

He wouldn’t have to wait for much longer though, as he and Gyrus were almost finished. There were just a few final touch ups, and they would be able to take her to meet everyone. Every day Oli was able to remove one of the wires tying her to the machine, and everyday she looked more and more human.

Oli was just unwiring one of the no longer necessary wires, Gyrus left after being radioed by Don for some sort of emergency meeting, when he noticed a shiver run across Maria’s skin.

“You’re cold!” he said, hand hovering over the spot, unsure what to do. Maria gave him a slight smile.

“Yeah well. After you guys added my blood I’ve been able to notice how breezy it can get in here.” She gave a half shrug. “But it's fine. I can handle it.”

“No, no.” Oli shook his head, looking around the room. His eyes landed on a sheet in the corner where it still covered some old inventions in an attempt protect them from dust. He grabbed it and brought it back to Maria. “If you’re cold, we can fix that.”

Maria stared at the sheet with slight apprehension. “I don’t know if that’s going to work, since my arms are all spread out thanks to these wires. the air will just get underneath, not to mention my legs.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” Oli smiled, and began to twist the fabric in his hands. Every child in all of Hellas knew how to make a tunic. He carefully wrapped it around her body, mindful of the parts still attached to the wires, and fastened them at her shoulders with rubber bands. For the final touch, he took off his own belt, and slipped it around her waist, tying it so that it would hang down in the fashion his mother had so enjoyed.

“There,” he said, stepping back to admire his handy work, “now you look like a proper Hellenes lady.”

“Wow!” Maria looked down at herself, twisting a leg to brush against the white fabric, causing it to ripple. “I’m not normally a girl that looks good in white, but this is something else Oli!”

“I’m glad you like it,” Oli smiled. “When your final repairs are done, we can get you proper clothes, a whole wardrobe if you want it!”

Maria bit her lip, her exuberant excitement dimming as she was reminded of her immediate future. “When the repairs are done, yeah.”

“Hey,” Oli placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. “Everyone’s going to love you ok? You don’t have anything to worry about.”

Maria smiled at him, warm and kind as the sun. “Yeah,” she said, but Oli got the feeling she didn’t quite agree. No matter. Come tomorrow, she would see it for herself. “Oli?” she added, and for the first time Oli heard a bit of hesitance in her voice.

“Yes?” he smiled.

“Thank you,” she said, blue eyes boring into his. “For everything.”

“Of course,” Oli said. Feeling like something important was being said, but not quite sure what. “What are friends for?”

But no matter what he did, she did not move, speak, or eat. She had no consciousness of what he had done for her. She could not love him, and so he despaired.

Oli knew something was wrong the moment he stepped into the lab. The room was darker because the dim light of the machine had been fully switched off. To the side Gyrus sat, shoulders slumped, when he should have been excited at the project’s near completion. Worst of all, Maria was missing from the center of the room, and in her place was a blackened husk of metal and junk.

Oli felt his heart stop. He took one shaking step towards the pile in the center of the room before collapsing on his knees in front of it. Gyrus started talking in that gentle way of his, about how there had been an accident, an electrical surge that had accidentally fried Maria, and how he was shutting down the project. But Oli wasn’t listening.

He brushed a trembling hand against the dark metal. A part of him expected to feel the electric hum beneath his fingertips. But there was nothing but cold, empty steel. A drop of water landed beside his hand, then another, and Oli gave into his tears as great, ugly sobs racked his body.

Gyrus came to sit beside him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Oli allowed him to lead him to the bench and rub soothing circles in his back. “There was nothing you could have done Oli,” he said softly.

His words only served to heighten Oli’s despair. “Poor Maria,” he sobbed into his hands as his mind began to torture him with possibilities, “Maybe it was a flaw in my design!”

“Of course not,” Gyrus moved to grip his shoulder. “If you need to blame someone, blame me. But don’t blame yourself. You did everything you could for Maria.”

Oli wished with all his heart he could believe him.

One day the man brought his pleas to the gods, begging them to bring the woman he loved to life. Aphrodite heard him, and moved by his tale, she waved a hand and brought the statue to life.

Oli hurried down the corridor, head spinning. Nephthys was missing, Don was too, and his wheelchair was alone in the infirmary under a pile of rubble. The others were saying Gyrus was to blame, but Oli wasn’t so certain.

He remembered the last thing Nephthys had told him, about how the seven boss swords had been replaced, and how she needed to check on Kodya before getting to the bottom of it all. Now she was gone, and the last place she had been clearly contained signs of a struggle. Awfully convenient that the last person who had known something was amiss happened to die at the hands of madman, even when said madman was monitored so constantly there was no way he could access to the swords to make the switch.

No, something else was going on here, and he was the only one who knew. Which also meant he would be the attacker’s next target. He gulped, and prayed to every god he could think of that his friend would return.

The least he could do he supposed, was fix the infirmary wall. Maybe if he preserved the evidence he could look through for clues. Or at least have somewhere to hide. He stopped in front of it.

The act itself was easy enough, there were plenty of parts lying around in the rubble. In all honesty it took him maybe a minute. There. He turned to walk away, only to hear a vaguely familiar voice coming from behind him.

“... Who could have fixed it already?” the voice cried, sounding frustrated.

“I-I did!” Oli stuttered as he turned, afraid of the danger this strangely familiar voice could offer.

“Huh?” the voice said, and Oli flinched, but raised his eyes to meet the strangers. Her blue hair was swept up in a messy ponytail, her clothes were red and black in a foreign style Oli had never seen before, and she had a white stick of something in her mouth that reminded Oli vaguely of a fry. But there was no mistaking her face, the face Oli had labored painstakingly to fix.

“Maria?!” He exclaimed, hardly believing his own eyes.

“Oli!” she cried, expression brightening with a painfully familiar smile.

A sound came from behind her and her eyes widened, a note of fear in them as her companions glanced backwards. Oli wasted no time. He thrust a hand on the wall and forced the solid rock to give way, allowing her and her companions to flee inside. Then he stepped in himself, closing the wall behind him.

He knew he should turn the intruders over, but he didn’t care. Something was horribly wrong in the Room of Swords, enough so that he would take his chances.

Besides, he thought as he could hear the sounds of confusion coming from the other side. He had lost Maria once. He would not lose her again.

Gatalea threw her arms around the man and embraced him for the first time, and the man, Pgymalion, finally found joy.

#room of swords #room of swords fanfic #ros Oli #ros maria #gyrus #kodya #ros 127 #written in a frenzy

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leonidas-banana-phone · 4 years

Text

A New Batch of Shinies

Spooks, Ven and Sage travel to Kamino to gather the rest of Sage’s squad.

Words: 2996

No warnings for this one :)

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

She tugs on the stiff uniform as she runs across the wet landing platform, the cold air whips around them. A Kaminoan waits just inside the door of the facility, their hands clasped gently in front of them. They're graceful in a terrifyingly cold way. She bows, "You must be Lieutenant Cerez. Welcome to our facility."

"Thank you, ma'am. Glad to be here." Spooks put on her best officer smile. Ven and Sage grumble into their comms. She tries her best to shake them off, it can't be easy coming back here after all this time. She's heard what happens to clones when they're sent back to Kamino, decommissioning, or reconditioning, there are even rumors of them being killed, horrible, terrible things.

The Kaminoan looks over at her clone escort, Sage and Ven, as well as the rest of Sage's squad, Oli, Worm, Clocks, and Enlo. They wanted to be front and center when they met the rest of their squad. She almost sneers at them, it puts her on edge. "Let's get started, shall we? I'll give you a tour of our facility while your men meet the new squad."

"Of course, ma'am, lead the way." She takes the offered position as she walks next to her.

She looks over to see Ven and Sage being led away by two troopers, their armor decorated in black and white.

"I feel this squad will be satisfactory for what your division needs." The Kaminoan tells her. The lieutenant just nods along. "What exactly does your division do, Lieutenant?"

"Reconnaissance," Axta replies bluntly.

The Kaminoan hums in what she hopes is an approving tone. They walk through a set of blast doors and her breath all but wheezes out of her, the room is basked in a soothing blue glow, medical officers wander around with datapads peering into the cribs and tanks. "This is where we decant the clones." The Kaminoan leans down and gently picks up the baby.

Axta stands frozen, staring at a baby in a tank. She's read the mechanics on the gestation of babies without an actual womb but to see it is something else completely. It's so sterile and cold.

The Kaminoan offers her the child, who is bundled up in a white blanket when she is called by one of the officers. She gently takes the bundle and cradles it close to her chest. Axta didn't have a mothering bone in her body, she was awkward, stiff, her movements jerky and unsure. The baby has brown eyes and brown skin, just like the rest of the clones. He reaches out for a strand of her hair that has fallen from its pinned spot. "No, no, no. You can't have that." She lets him grab onto her finger instead, his skin contrasts hers, the light in the room makes her skin almost glow.

An alarm goes off on one of the nearby monitors and a clone medic rushes towards her, his own bundle in his arms, "Hold him for me?" He hands the baby off to her with a single-minded focus. She situates the second baby in her arms and he coos at her.

She bounces both boys, "I can do this. It's just a baby." She murmurs to them.

"Hey LT! Where did the longnecks drag you off to?" Sage's voice comes from her wrist comm.

She tries her best to raise it to her face, one of the boys tries to grab at the flashing light, "Not exactly sure, she disappeared after handing me a baby. And then a medic handed me another one."

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

Sage leans over to Ven, "They took her to the decanting lab." He tries to keep the grin out of his voice.

Ven rolled his eyes, "Of course they did," He pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Oh thank the gods, someone took them, I'm going to come find you." Her voice cuts through the comm.

Ven grabs Sage's arm, "I'm coming to get you, stay where you are."

"Uh, yeah. Sure." She sounds like she isn't paying attention to what he's actually saying.

Ven sighs, "She's going to kill me way before this war does." He turns to Sage and his squad, "I'll be back in a bit." He turns on his heel and moves down the hall.

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

She wanders through the white halls, clones look her over but don't stop her as she tries to take everything in. She turns down another hallway, this one with significantly less foot traffic, she breaks out of her haze when she hears hushed giggling and whispers. "Shh, we have to be quiet."

She pads silently to the dark alcove where the noise is coming from.

"What if Commander Blitz finds us? We'll be in so much trouble!" Another voice says.

"You're just embarrassed cause you got us lost!"

When she peeks around the corner she sees three cadets arguing in the shadows. One of them looks at her, "Oh no." His brown eyes are wide.

"Are you guys lost?" She asks.

One of them steps forward, clearing his throat and standing straight, "No sir, we're not." He tells her.

"I heard you whispering, Small Fry. You should work on that." She tells him.

He deflates, his shoulders slumping, "She knows." He groans.

"That's alright, I'm lost too. We can be lost together. I won't let you guys get in trouble." She crouches so that she's eye level with them, "I've got an ARC trooper looking for me right now."

One of the other two pushes his brother to the side, he has blonde hair, "An ARC trooper?!" He asks excitedly.

"ARC-4753. We call him Lieutenant Ven." She tells him.

The third cadet stays silent, his arms crossed over his chest as he stares at the ground, he fiddles nervously with his shirt, worrying the fabric between his fingers, when he meets her eye she can see a scar on his cheek, "I got us lost, sir." He looks so serious for someone so young, they couldn't have been more than six, which means they would only be three standard years old.

"What's your names?" She asks softly.

The excitable one speaks first, almost bouncing on his feet, "I'm five-two!"

"CT-4567, sir." The serious one tells her.

She waits for the third one's name, "That's Shy. He's the only in our squad with a name so far," Five-Two tells her.

Shy looks up at her for a brief moment before his eyes are back to looking at his boots. "Alright," She stands and points to Five-Two, "Five-Two, Forty-seven sixty-seven," She points to the next cadet, and then she points to Shy, "And Shy. I think I can remember that. I'm Spooks, let's go find us an ARC trooper, shall we?"

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

When Ven turns the corner he finally spots her, her pink hair standing out in the vast amount of white. When the troopers blocking his line of sight finally moves he sees that a cadet is clinging to her back and another one is holding her hand, a third circles around her babbling on and on. She smiles and nods along.

Ven stops in his tracks, the sight makes his heart flutter. She's treating his younger brothers like they're actual people, not just future cannon fodder, she treats them like they actually matter.

The cadet on her back whispers something in her ear and her laugh rings out in the cold hall, it's a sound that takes his breath away, he blinks, reigning himself back in before he continues down the hall, "Lieutenant!" He calls out.

She whips towards him almost throwing the cadet off, he clutches her neck tighter. She looks down at the cadet still clutching her hand and says something to him with a small smile, pointing to Ven. The boy's eyes go wide, the one on her back slides to the floor and straightens his fatigues, the others fix their posture.

"I thought I told you to stay where you were." Ven crosses his arms over his chest plate, leveling a glare at Cerez.

"These cadets decided to show me around instead." She smiles.

"And are these three cadets happen to be the same ones that Commander Blitz reported missing and unaccounted for?" Ven looks down at one of them, he has blonde hair, a harmless mutation.

She shrugs, "They aren't exactly missing, they didn't leave the facility." She's one of the ones that know the regs just enough to find loopholes in them.

His glare intensifies.

"They were misplaced, not lost." She shies away a bit.

He motions over a clone dressed in black and white, "I think these are your missing cadets. Luckily, they asked Spooks for help."

"Oh good. We were getting worried, I'll get them back to where they need to be." The clone places a gloved hand on the shoulders of the two boys who step forward, the third still clutches at Cerez's hand.

She crouches down in front of him, "It's alright. This trooper will take you back to the rest of your squad. No reason to be scared." She explains, laying a hand on his shoulder and giving him a soft smile.

The cadet's eyes flit between her and the trooper before he steps in line with his brothers. She gives the trooper a nod before he leads the three away.

"Can we go get the new squad now?" Ven's voice is harsher than he wanted it to be.

She looks down at her boots, "My apologies, Lieutenant. Won't happen again." A piece of her hair falls onto her forehead, he wants to brush it aside but he restrains himself, his fingertips itching.

He sighs, "We're behind schedule, lets get moving."

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

Pep stands rigid, watching the controlled chaos of the hangar from under the safety of his visor. He's supposed to be excited about this, getting his assignment shouldn't make him feel this unsure. He takes a quick glance at Card, he's standing tall with his shoulders pulled back, his posture loose and easy.

He runs through what he knows about his assignment: 694th Reconnaissance Battalion, his platoon is led by ARC-4753 and an officer, Lt. Axta Cerez, he sounds like a decent guy. His squad leader is CT-4644.

"Get out of your head, Pep." Smidge cuts through the nervous ramblings of his mind, "Just relax. Everything will be fine."

Pep squeezes his eyes shut and takes a deep breath, willing away the nerves. They're lucky, their squad wasn't split up, the platoon needed five more men, it's easier to send a training squad than it is to shuffle around troopers already out in the field.

A gasp comes from Smidge's vocoder, "Is that them?" He asks nodding towards the group of men in battered armor. An ARC trooper and an officer lead the group. The ARC's face is set in a stern expression, a scar cuts across his left cheek. He can't take his eyes off of the officer, her skin is a mix of grey and a light purple, her hair a pink that can only compare to the pictures of contraband candy they were shown, it curls and twists, pinned back. What surprises him most is the scarring across her eyes and the bridge of her nose, the cybernetics seems to look past his visor into his own mismatched eyes.

When the ARC steps in front of them, the squad snaps to attention. "I am ARC-4753, or as you will address me, Lt. Ven. This is Lt. Cerez." She takes a step back and a trooper steps forward, his hair is longer, unkempt with a green stripe, a small tattoo of a plant decorates his right temple, "This is CT-4644. Sargent Sage. He is your squad leader." Sage is trying to keep the smile off his lips but is failing miserably. He's clearly excited to have new recruits.

The woman steps up beside him, "Welcome to the 694th. We're glad to have you." Her smile is meant to comfort them but with her eyes, it just looks eerie, she looks almost like a ghost. "At ease."

Pep relaxes minutely. The four men behind Lt. Cerez move forward, one of them slings an arm around her shoulders, she smiles up at him, "What do you think, LT?" His hair is cut into a mohawk and a crooked grin covers his face.

"I think they'll do just fine." She says.

"We're needed back at Triple Zero, we should get moving." The ARC says coldly.

She nods, "Of course, lead the way."

Pep looks to Card and then to Flap and Flutter, none of them have taken off their helmets yet, not wanting to leave the safety of their visors quite yet. Compared to the seven of them they look like chumps, their armor spotless and buffed while the other plates are painted a lighter green the paint covering scratches and dings sustained in battle, with the scars on their skin to match. They're real soldiers.

Card bumps him with his shoulder when he walks by, "I said out of your head." He grumbles.

"Yeah, sorry." Pep looks at his boots before he follows.

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

They're quiet in the gunship, Oli and Enlo argue about the best way to calibrate the gyro-stabilizers on a JT-12 jetpack when one of them finally speaks up, "Why not calibrate during test flights? The user can calibrate it to their exact needs and specifications. It's unorthodox and can be a bit dangerous but it's more accurate."

Worm steps forward, "Not bad, kid. What's your name?"

"CT-7938, sir." The trooper replies.

"Your name, not your designation, Rookie." Sage buts in.

"Oh, uh. Flap, sir." The trooper reaches up to pull off his helmet. Axta finds herself staring, holding her breath. She shouldn't be nervous, she has a rough idea of what he looks like, she's in a gunship full of clones. She's excited to see what is different about him, what his personality has done to his facial structure, what his eyes look like and what color his hair is.

When he finally breaks the seal on his helmet the first thing she sees is a white stripe in his hair, it's small, just a patch with the regulation cut but it's definitely there.

Enlo grins, "You gotta spot there, kid."

Flap reaches up and tugs at the tuft, "It's just a mutation, Flutter has the same one." Flutter silently takes off his helmet as well, a small smile on his face as he too pulls at the white tuft.

Oli laughs, "You two twins?"

"We were grown in the same growth jar. It happens sometimes." Flutter is soft-spoken, everything about him has a soft quality, his eyes, his smile.

"What's your number?" Clocks speaks up.

"CT-7939," Flutter responds.

"Heh, cute." Oli giggles. "Flap and Flutter."

Worm elbows Oli, "Don't be mean. Do we need a reminder of how you got your name?"

Oli's face goes serious, "You wouldn't dare." His voice drops an octave.

Axta's eyes go wide.

Worm smirks, "Olee-oop."

Oli launches himself at Worm, "You bastard!"

Ven rolls his eyes, "Sage, control your idiots before they break something."

"Ey! Come on, not in front of the shinies!" Sage separates them.

"So why are we headed to Coruscant instead of out in the field? The rest of the battalion there? Ct-8721 by the way, you can call me Card." The trooper has a half-smile on his face, his stance easy and relaxed.

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

Pep notices a change in the group right away, the troopers drop their eyes to the floor and they draw closer to each other. Lieutenant Cerez has a neutral face when she steps forward, "The 694th Recon Batallion consists of one platoon at the moment. A surprise attack on their base took almost everyone out. Lt. Ven's platoon was on a scouting mission, Sage's squad was the closest so they ran back to help, he lost five men." Her tone is grim.

"There were no survivors?" Smidge asks.

She shakes her head, "No, there weren't any, that includes both The General and her padawan."

"Wait, so who's in charge then?" Flap asks.

"Spooks and I have been handling everything." Lt. Ven says.

"Will those men be replaced at all?" Card asks.

"At the moment, no. For now, we run specialized missions. Hopefully, we will have one soon to get you out into the field. For now we wait until we're needed." Lt. Cerez explains.

Pep finds himself nodding along with her words. They were made to adapt to anything so this shouldn't hard to adjust to. The woman smiles at him, the same haunting smile as before. "What's your name, trooper?" She asks.

Pep reaches up to pop the seals on his helmet, Card nudges him, "He's a little shy." He laughs.

He removes his helmet, "CT-8417, ma'am. Um, Pep."

She smiles, "I look forward to working with you, Pep."

"Last two, come on. We're almost back to the cruiser." Sage is glaring at Oli still.

Card speaks up first, "8721, sir. They call me Card."

Smidge adjusts the medpack on his back, "CT-7996. Squad medic. Smidge." Smidge's introduction is clinical and to the point.

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

A feeling of warmth sluggishly worms its way to her, she barely feels anything anymore after years of neglecting her Force training, after giving up that life, but every now and again she gets a wave of what those around her are feeling. Sometimes it's overwhelming happiness, joy, belonging, love, hope. Other times its profound sadness, grief and loss, anxiety, and fear. She's glad that her men have found a way to start healing after what happened.

She knows it will take a while for them to come to terms with the loss of everything they had known but at least this is a start.

#694th battalion #clone trooper oc #star wars oc #star wars tcw #star wars #clone trooper #oc battalion #clone cadets are so cute

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nyarisu · 4 years

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‘96 Bizzare Festival liveblogging?

Ok let’s do this (is it even called liveblogging if I just post it all at once I want one single clean post I like writing things in a doc beforehand and preferabbly without too many spelling mistakes my hands stopped cooperating a year or so ago). I tryed liveblogging only once before (Paris) but somewhere in the middle I started paying more attention to the live and less to the writing? XD

Rammstein

Paul with sunglases looks badass

I kind of forgot how cool this song is?

Asdfghjkl Till’s duck face after the first „Rammstein” was like „we’re cool and we know it” (I find myself doing some of his faces while listening to certain songs, this is one of them)

Everyone wears glasses but Schneider, you’re breaking the combo (Flake has glasses cause he blind so it counts)

Still... what is with RZK and that wierd skirt?

Lol Paul trying to be serious

Like really what can be more cool than a man on fire? They really nailed it with that effect (though I preffer the other coat)

Yes, of course, Richard’s leg

Schneider’s pants were Reise Reise inspired. Trully a man ahead of his time

Ugh Schneider’s posture is so bad I don’t even care if that’s correct for drumming or not someone not staying with their back straight is one pet peeve of mine

Der Meister~

„and the crowd goes cRAZY!!”

(do people really want to hear me fangirl over Till now that he’s removed his glasses? ’96 is not ’98 but he’s still damn hot)

Nice gestures tho

Yes this is a really nice and energetic song

And of course Till has to ruin something poor micstand and Paul running out of the way XD

DON’T HIT YOUR HEAD YOU DUMB BABY

Oh~ now I noticed his... tank top? Whatever he’s wearing has the sides held by strings or something hmmmm some scissors could come in handy rn ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Lauft lauft LAUFT L A U F T

„euch zerbrechen~”

I like when Schneider does this thing when he’s using only his legs but he’s hitting the air with his arms on rhythm

What is under that thing Reesh? XD

He ran away

Weisses Fleish

Everytime I hear the intro I can’t but think of that gif/tags

Really weird angle for Schneider?

Even low res you can see the Kruspe Tiddies XD

THE BOOTS! I love the sparkling boots so much too bad they didn’t film his entry he probably jumped from a speaker or rolled or something

I love how Till’s so expresive with his hands you can see he’s feeling the song

Naww Paul and Reesh going in a circle<3 two circles

And then of course, Flake’s spazzing dance (wierd cyptid vibes)

The till hammer doesn’t have nowdays the same energy it used to have (understandably so)

Oli looks so cool. Also baby

Ache zu Ache

I love the till hammer during „Auf dem Kreuze lieg' ich jetzt” why didn’t the film that (ok but Flake was dramtic enough during that to excuse it XD)

And everyone’s favourite part<3 „Ich komm wieder” and mine especially „In zehn Tagen” which usually has Till counting on his fingers to ten and that’s cute

Where did he disappear? Oh there he is

The whole little play/act before the last chorus was cute

„Ich komm wieeeeedeeeeeer”

Seeman

*doll on stage* that’s Seeman right? („it’s a titties out kind of song” XD)

Oli’s intro is always so nice<3

Poor doll

I’m curious what was the general reaction when they heard Till’s melodic voice on Seeman (tho I guess they’d already knew so the shock wasn’t probably that big)

Yes Till I know you have nice muscles you don’t need to rub that in my face

*tries not to comment on the Kruspe Tiddies again*

Is it just me or Till’s general size is a little smaller that let’s say even LAB?

(god I hate the crotch thing on those pants)

The way he mimics with „kalt” breaks my heart a little bit

DRSG

The intro<3

Flake is spazzing again XD and Paul and Oli cool as always~ The whole live seemed a lot more serious than what we’re used to

This song has such a uinque energy about it

What are Paul and Richard giggling about? Anyway, cute

Flake and Schneider have totall opposite energies

Of course something HAD to blew up

It’s funny when he goes into till hammer only to stop after 2.5 seconds XD

Is so wierd to hear this song live without that pause in the middle I just expect some sort of dramatic break XD

„hinterheeeeeeerrrrrrrRRRR”

Laichzeit

AND NOW MY BABY

The intro! The keyboards! The fucking lyrics!

A real handbanger and one of the few songs that make me stand and actually want to dance

It’s cute how he gestures on „au dem boden” like he’s actually trying to convince you they fell on the ground

Till your slut is showing again XD

„AUGEN”

And that shot of people dancing! I’m not saying that’s one of the reasons this live recording (of the song) is one of my favourites but it probably is (this, and the clearly 90’s... well, everything XD)

DON’T rip your hair out. Bitch.

„laichzeeeeeit. es ist laich.zeit”

Wow Paul and Schneider have such energy you’re filled with it just by watching them but I’m still going to sleep after this

Honestly the best way to listen to this song is either with your eyes closed or dancing like mad (preferably while high? Will have to test that sometime)

Also the lyrics! They are the best thing to exist I want to know exactly what the fuck went through Till’s head when he wrote this (do I really want tho?) and what the general R+ reaction was

I love the keyboards on this song so much

„uberall fischmilch” lol ok :))

Those fire alarms are fantastic because they are so loud here but I think you can barely hear them on the album version?

The last verse sounds so good it’s so melodic compared to the rest of the song and also in general. Till’s voice conveys the sadness so well here

And that little dance<3

I like when someone goes to play their instrument beside the drummer like „I’m here bby you’re not alone”

I went to watch Laichzeit again because *chef fingers kiss*

(@theelliottsmiths did I do it right? XD)

#rammbois #liveblogging #ok but now I want to relisten to Laichzeit properly this time where the fucK ARE MY HEADPHONES??#nvm I found them #can you tell I really love using brackets?#Rena's R+ ramblings

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