#also tiny hacker being rude. love them

[pac1fythehunger]

the system shock remake was really really good

[frosthidden]

CHARACTER SHEET.

𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒 .

full name.   alice caroline haley nicknames / aliases. al, allie, goldil0x (hacking alias/username) height.  5'4" age.   24+ zodiac.  capricorn spoken languages.   fluent in english, some french and spanish

𝐏𝐇𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒 .

hair colour.   naturally light blond, dyed brown while attending god u eye colour.   blue, white when using her powers skin tone.   white as hell, doesn't tan body type.  slender, small boobs small ass dominant hand.   right handed, but not useless with her left hand posture.   it's okay, she's a hacker so she spends a lot of time at the computer and it does show scars.   a lot, none that are particularly noteworthy tattoos.   a lot! she has a patchwork of tattoos on her arms and torso. she has a romeo and juliet quote on her thigh, a lit match on her v line, and a cherry on her ass birthmarks.   none that she knows about most noticeable features.   her big blue eyes, her tattoos and her hair

𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃 .

place of birth.   brooklyn, new york siblings.  violet haley (older sister) parents.   carrie & john haley

𝐀𝐃𝐔𝐋𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 .

occupation.  general counsel for Frei-Libertas, a security company that provides security service that's almost .. working under the shadow hence he never truly talks about his company exactly.

current residence(s).   her van, her apartment (post s2 but not after s3) close friends.    frenchie, cheri, kimiko, hughie (butcher and mm are more distant but they're definitely friends) relationship status.   single in her main verse, she's had plenty of situationships and friends with benefits. (in my head there's somethin spicy between her, frenchie, cheri and kimiko but i don't bring that into threads unless i know it's okay) driver’s license.  hell yeah! not only did she at one point have one with her legal name on it she has tons with fake names on them too! criminal record.   she's got a few arrests for minor things under her belt, but she's been on the run since she was 18 and avoiding cops is a big part of that. vices.   drug use (mostly weed, a little bit of coke, some "party drugs"), sex, tattoos, drinking, smoking

𝐒𝐄𝐗 & 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 .

sexual orientation.   bisexual with no lean preferred sexual role.   she's a switch, it really depends on the person libido.    above average generally, high when she's unmedicated turn-ons.   when a partner is a little rough with her, when they're a little rude, when they tease her, when she teases them turn-offs.   when a partner is too controlling, pushing her boundaries (she already has so few so if you're pushing em you're just a dick), being made to seem small as flirtation love language.   physical touch and quality time relationship tendencies.    when she's with someone she's very protective of what they have, she doesn't want them getting hurt because of what she does. when they don't know what she does for work, she keeps it as far away from people as possible. when they do, it's easier. she does have a tendency to keep people at arm's length when she cares about them enough to think she loves them. she doesn't know how to love people like that.

𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐎𝐔𝐒 .

hobbies to pass time.   playing video games, listening to music, playing the keyboard (she has a teeny tiny desk keyboard), playing guitar once she has room for them, modifying/upcycling her own clothing mental illnesses.    bipolar 2, generalized anxiety disorder, ptsd self-confidence level. confident as hell, but it's also a front to keep her from getting hurt

tagged by: no one i stole it tagging: VIEWERS LIKE YOU!

[nosleeppotions]

Fallout: Duskwood

Mal's kids

(Mal had met Mac first, under... less than ideal circumstances as his traveling companion at the time had gone feral a few days prior and broken free from the rope keeping him from wandering off... said feral had tried to attack the little girl, forcing Mal to act fast and well...

She didn't have parents or anywhere else to go so they stuck together since then. It would be Mac who finds Mave about a year or so later.)

Mac, a sarcastic woman with good intentions. She's got a big heart but in Mercenary work you learn to have a quick temper toward strangers and an even quicker trigger finger if necessary.

She also doesn't really like new people because of the low tolerance of Ghouls in most places, something that forced her to figure a lot of things out on her own because Mal couldn't go with her in some stores or even some towns. That being said, she didn't have nearly as many problems when it came to talking to Jake... probably because both don't have the best social skills, leading them to figuring out social situations together... as well as bugging Mal about it. ("This person says I'm rude." "Did you try greeting them back?" "... maybe that is the problem... I'll look into it." "Cool, I punched a guy." "Why?")

Mave, as Mal would put it, is the more difficult child. Mac had kind of just disappeared and reappeared with this tiny, dirty, younger child. Approaching Mal with the confident statement of: "I found him, so he's mine. That's how being a parent works." And has been and arguing point since then. ("Mac, you're at best three or four years older than him and he calls me dad, you're NOT his mom." "I'm his mom! I found him! And you're our dad because you found us." "For the love of- That's NOT how it works-")

If there's trouble and Mave isn't in your immediate line of sight it's completely fair to assume he's involved with said trouble.

Mave is currently on his own little adventure to see if he wants to live life on his own terms (like an older child that had been under Mal's care for a short while) or if he preferred traveling with Mal and Mac. If he doesn't contact them within a year, both will immediately drop everything to go look for him.

While Mal and Mac are dealing with a hacker, Vault Dwellers and a missing person... Mave is ALSO dealing with a hacker, a missing person and a bunch of weird strangers.

Mave is just as sarcastic as Mac but a little more willing to wait things out.

Fun fact: Mave's hat was a gift from Mal.

[el-gilliath]

the way you make me feel part 2

Well it took me a while, but here it finally is. @lambourngb I hope you enjoy part two <3 And before you ask, yes I did indeed give you a happy ending. With a bit of a redemption arc, and a tiny bit of pointing out Isobel’s white privilege. Because I can.

Part 1

“Flint switched the bomb?”

“Yeah,” Alex replies. “Helena switched it to the Manes DNA bomb, and then Flint switched it back. But it was a third bomb, one that makes it seem like Michael was dead. It made his heart beat so slow that there was no way for me to know he wasn’t dead, and it’ll keep it like that for 24 hours.”

“But after that?”

“If I don’t find him, he wakes up and they kill him. After experimentation, pain, and suffering, probably.”

“Thank you, I don’t need the details,” Isobel replies. She’s worried, the way they all are. “I just need to know how you’re going to find him.”

Alex steals a glance at Maria. She looks back at him, giving him an encouraging smile. “We’ve been soulmates since we were 17. We might not always be good, or even great. But our bond is strong, has been since it formed. With your help, I can find him.”

“So what do you need me to do?”

“Influence the bond. Make it stronger so that I can feel him again.”

“I can do it too, if you need it,” Maria says. Alex smiles at her. She deserves an explanation, deserves to hear it from him why he hid it from her, even when she was dating Michael. And he will give her one, just not now. He loves that she knows that and that she’s willing and capable to put it aside, even if he knows she’s hurt.

“Keep that bracelet on for now grand-niece, I’ve got this.” Isobel smirks. “Besides, I know Michael’s brain and you don’t.”

He knows Isobel doesn’t quite believe him, probably because Michael didn’t tell her either. But they didn't tell anyone. Knowing Isobel, she’ll suck it up until the worst possible moment and then she’ll lay into them in any way she wants. He’s kinda looking forward to it. Even though he knows they’re gonna have to make it up to everyone.

“You okay to start?” he asks Isobel, walking over to a booth and sitting down. He knows he has a slight limp, can feel Kyle and Max eying his leg as he walks but he doesn’t really care. “We don’t have a lot of time.”

“I’m ready when you are, Princess.” He gives Isobel a look, watches her flinch as much as Isobel Evans can flinch. “Sorry, that was rude.”

“If anyone’s the princess here, you are.”

“Excuse me, I’m a queen,” Isobel says with a sniff.

“Yeah well, so am I.”

Maria snorts. “I thought you were a king?”

“I can be both.”

“Hell yeah y-“

“Okay, have you forgotten about Michael already?!” Max interjects loudly, throwing his hands up like a kid having a tantrum. Alex is really happy he’s not on the other side of the icy glare Isobel, Maria, and Liz throw his way. By the full body flinch, neither is Max.

“Thank you for your delightful comments, brother dear,” Isobel says, dry as the deserts of Bahrain as she joins Alex in the booth. “It’s almost like we needed or wanted your opinion.”

“Is-“

“No. We haven’t forgotten him. You should know better than to ask.” Isobel shoots him another glare before she turns back to Alex. “You ready to start?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. You?”

“No need to worry about me. I do this for a living.”

Alex huffs. He’ll never admit it because he knows it will go to her head but he does admire the easy confidence Isobel has. “Take us away Queen Isobel.”

They’re in what he assumes is the mindscape before he can blink. He looks around in shock, as does Isobel.

“I did not expect you to let me in that easy.”

“Probably because I want you in here,” he replies. He’s not shocked that he’s telling the truth, he knows he can’t lie in here. “I can’t feel him, I know I need your help.”

“Good. If you prefer it to look different than the Pony just think of a place and it’ll take us there,” she says and the visual changes from the Pony to the shed before he can think about it too much. “Is this…”

“The shed where my dad crushed Michael’s hand? Yeah,” he sighs. “He ruined my safe space out in the real world that night. And yet in my head, that night with Michael is still the happiest I’ve ever been. Our bond started right here, you know.”

“That night?”

“Yeah. It started when we kissed in the museum, grew when we were here. My dad cemented it with his hammer.”

Isobel nods. “Your bond locked with the shared trauma.”

“That it did.” Alex looks around. “I can still feel it in here. Always could. I just feel close to him here, even in the real world when I’m close to the shed. Like our bond has a physical connection to it. Worst and best day of my life.”

“Why did you never claim it? It’s cemented and clearly in space,” Isobel asks. Her eyes are curious, full of wonder. It’s quite sweet to see.

“Couldn’t. Between the Air Force, distance, our own issues, Caulfield, and… Maria. We would’ve burned ourselves out trying to keep it healthy. So Michael ended it. A few times, actually,” Alex replies. “It was for the best. We needed a new start.”

“How did you feel about my brother and Maria?”

“Pain. But he was happy for a little while, so I lived with it.” He sighs. “I love both of them, Isobel. Nothing changes that.”

“You’re a stronger man than I would ever be, Alex Manes. I don’t think I could watch my soulmate with someone else.”

“Luckily for you, you don’t have to. According to my research, Charlie is single and ready to mingle.” Isobel’s eyes widen in shock, and Alex can’t help but smile. “I feel like I should apologize in case you didn’t know.”

“I did. I knew the first time I met Jenna that someone close to her was my soulmate, meeting Charlie when she first came to town just solidified it. I’m just not used to someone being as observant as me though I’m not surprised, you are a hacker after all,” Isobel says, smiling in return. “We’re going to be the most antagonistic of friends one day, you and I.”

“That we will be. I guess we have to be.”

“We do if you’re going to be with Michael. I’m possessive when it comes to my brothers, I don’t see that changing.”

“Neither do I, but I need to find him, first,” Alex says. The bond has been subtly reaching all through their talk, Isobel’s mindscape helping it search in a way it hasn’t before. He can’t really feel Michael, but the remnant of the bond is all around him, spreading out slowly but surely as he talks about him. As his mind brings him back and remembers ten years of hurt, sure. But also of quiet moments, of loving and tender touches, of hungry mouths and bruising fingers. “Did you know? About him and me?”

“He did tell me, eventually. I called his closet flimsy after everything with Noah.” She grimaces at the obvious disapproval in his eyes. “Yeah I know. To my defense I had just figured out that my husband of years had been using my body and raping my mind.”

“Still doesn’t explain how you could turn around and do it to Rosa.”

“It doesn’t. And I don’t have an excuse. Call it white privilege if you want, it’s fucked up regardless. But I apologized, she cursed me out and tried to punch me. We’re good. I still have issues I obviously need to work on, but I am working on it.” Isobel sighs. “One day I’ll be free of him, and all of it. But that day is not today, or tomorrow.”

“Good for you,” Alex says, completely sincere.

“And how will your own tour of apologies and explanations go?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t decided if anyone is owed either, right now. I think Michael and I need to decide that together, after we actually talk.”

“Guess you gotta bring my brother back then,” Isobel answers. “Or I’ll never get my explanation.”

Alex can’t help it, he laughs out loud at her audacity. “You’re something, Isobel.”

“I’m aware,” she says with a wink. He just shakes his head and opens his mouth to reply, instead he inhales sharply as something in his stomach yanks. Their surroundings change around them, morphing from the shed, to the Pony, to the Airstream, to Alex’s house. It stops there for a moment until it morphs again. Roswell High, the UFO Museum, Crashdown, the Junkyard. Every place that’s meant something to them, regardless of the situation, regardless of the love or heartbreak. He feels himself getting nauseous as the images and surroundings spin, Isobel gripping his hand tight and yelling for him to hold on as she presumably concentrates on what is making his head spin. Alex squeezes his eyes shut to stave off the nausea for a second.

They pop open a second later as he sees Michael in his mind.

The images and their surroundings settle suddenly, focusing on the field base just outside the ruins of Caulfield, the green tents surrounded by military jeeps and research trucks. He sees Michael clearly in his mind, laying on a table in one of the tents, surrounded by medical equipment and military personnel. He looks completely still. He has no cuts or bruises on him and his skin isn’t actually blue. Even the blood has been wiped away. He looks like he’s sleeping peacefully. Alex fears it won’t last.

“Is that where I think it is?”

“Caulfield. He’s in Caulfield,” Alex answers.

The world sharpens around them as the mindscape falls away and the actual Pony comes back, Liz, Maria, and Kyle hovering nervously around them, Rosa, Max, and Jenna standing in the background as if not to be in the way, even as their worry is evident.

“You back with us?” Kyle asks, walking in close and examining both of them with his eyes. “You were in there for a while.”

“Michael’s in Caulfield, Deep Sky or whatever their name has built a small base right outside of the ruins there,” Alex answers, ignoring Kyle and getting to his feet as Kyle protests. “We need someone who can get us in.”

“No need, we already have someone,” Jenna answers. “Charlie’s a part of them, or used to be. She can get us in.”

Alex sneaks a look at Isobel at the mention of Charlie but her face betrays nothing. Only her eyes sparkle with curiosity.

“Then you better call your sister, we need to leave now. Before it’s too late.”

-----

An hour later they’re on the road, Charlie driving one car with Jenna, Kyle and Alex with her. Max, Isobel, Liz, Maria and Rosa following in another. Alex is having the worst time sitting still in the passenger seat after he was denied driving the car. He knows Kyle was right, his knee is not up to driving for two hours after all the running he did earlier but it still pisses him off. He can feel the bond slipping in and out of his brain, like Michael is alive, there and constant one second, dead, gone and broken in the other. It swoops him into the last feelings of intense love he felt from Michael, he hears the repeat of ‘I love you’ clear as day. It pushes him out with the abrupt feelings of gone.

He hears Kyle trying to talk to him, hears Jenna and Charlie discuss something of a battle plan. But he can’t follow, his hyperfocus lasered onto Michael and the brief glimpses of him. It’s weird, how he’s seeing him from the outside instead of through his eyes the way he usually does. But with the strengthening that Isobel did he figures that’s the reason. Any other reason isn’t something he’s willing to think about.

He stays in his head for the entire ride, sliding in and out of the bond, sending Michael good feelings whenever he feels the bond respond on the other end. It’s rare, rare in a way that it was during the ten years they were more or less parted and not in the way it’s been for the last few days. Like something is there that he’s been missing. Something that he’s supposed to know well. A truly important part. It reminds him that he never wants the bond to be that closed again.

“Alex.” He refocuses as he hears his name sharply spoken by Charlie. “We’re gonna be there in 30 minutes. You ready?”

“Yes. Can you get us in?”

“I’ll try.” Charlie gives him a wry smile. “You might need to use your last name too.”

He nods, much too used to throwing the Manes name around. “I will. I’ll use Flint’s name too if needed.”

“Good.”

He fades out again, not really listening as Jenna, Kyle and Charlie discuss something. He hearsDeep Sky being mentioned but he doesn’t care right now, he’ll worry about them later. He’ll worry about them when he starts worrying about his dad, who’s back in the hospital after the pistol whipping Alex gave him. Hopefully he’ll stay there for a long time so he doesn’t have to deal with him any time soon. But knowing his luck that won’t happen.

Regardless of what happens, Michael is his priority now. The way he should have been a long time ago. They’ve grown and worked on being friends this past year, something they’ve needed to become a better them. Maybe he wished Maria wasn’t part of that, but at the same time he understands. Michael couldn’t be good for him, with all the shit between them. At least he got to be good for someone else.

“We’re here,” Charlie says, stopping the car not far from the ruins of Caulfield. Alex focuses on the fence and military green base tents instead of the ruins, so he doesn’t have to think about what happened there. He knows it would devastate Michael if he knew he was here, so close to the remains of his mother and her prison. “Jenna, you and Kyle stay with the car. We’ll call you if we need you.”

“The rest of them?”

Charlie gives him a look as they get out and walk towards the gate. “Wow, you really were out of it. Parked about half an hour back, they shouldn’t be too close.”

“Jenna and Kyle?”

“Both read in, Jenna because she’s my sister, Kyle because he’s a Valenti and part of Shepherd.” Charlie gives him a reassuring look, and he’s thankful he’s not alone. “They’ll be fine. And so will we.”

He nods. He does believe her, but this close it’s taking most of his concentration not to get lost in the fluctuations of the bond. It flits in and out of existence in his brain and it’s making it hard to focus.

Afterwards he can’t tell you how they got into the makeshift compound of Deep Sky. He can’t tell you that Charlie used her connections as a former member, he can’t tell you that he put emphasis on the Captain Alex Manes, he can’t tell you that a call to Flint was the last piece of the puzzle.

The only thing he can tell you is how the visual of Michael’s body on a cold metal table almost made him puke. How the vision he had when in the mindscape with Isobel was Michael looking healthy and like he was asleep, it’s not the one he sees on that table. Michael looks cold, blue, like a sunken in version of the healthy man he supposedly was.

He can tell you how it hurt when he tried to breathe. How he had a physical pain in the pit of his stomach, a psychological pain in the back of his mind, tearing through him as he looked at the body on that table. How that body was no longer Michael, even though it looked like him.

He can tell you how it devastated him.

But standing beside the man he loves, the only thing he can do is cry. Silent, deep tears that run down his face as he hears Charlie talk to the commanding officer behind him. He doesn’t know what she’s saying, or what she’s doing.

He knows now why the bond is flitting in and out.

-----

An hour later they’re back in the car. Charlie is driving, Jenna is in the passenger seat, Kyle is in the back seat. And Alex… Alex is safe in the warm embrace of Michael’s arms as they drive back towards Roswell.

He meets Charlie’s eyes in the mirror. For now it’ll stay a secret between them, what happened in that compound.

-----

A day later Alex finds himself walking out of his house just as Flint parks in front of it and gets out of his truck. Both of them are apprehensive, but all the same determined. Like Manes men are.

“He was dead, wasn’t he?”

Flint walks towards him, an apologetic smile on his face. “Yeah.”

“Then how the hell is he alive, Flint? You sent me after him even knowing he was dead. Why?”

“You remember Uncle Tripp?” Flint huffs at the look Alex sends him. “He did the same thing once. The scientists at Caulfield killed an alien and he brought her back. Just laid his hands on her, cried, and suddenly she was alive again. Turns out they were soulmates. I figured if it worked for him, it would work for you.”

Something inside Alex tells him that he knows exactly who that alien was but for now he just smiles, a small smile, unsure yet happy. “Thank you, Flint. He’s alive because of you.”

“Yeah well. I might not be the best at it, but you are my brother, Alex. After kidnapping you I guess I owed you that much.”

Alex can’t help it, he laughs out loud and drags Flint into a hug. “You’re an asshole.”

“I love you too, Alex,” Flint replies, hugging him back. Alex tilts his head even closer as Flint does the same, both of them having no doubts that the other means it. Their relationship might not always be the best, both of them being who they are, but they’ll always be brothers.

“I’m going to take them down, Flint. I have too much at stake not to,” he whispers in Flint’s ear before he pulls away, looking back towards his house where Michael is resting peacefully.

“I’ll do whatever you need me to,” Flint replies. “Dad can’t hold anything against me anymore. And Clay’s been against this whole thing for years.”

“Greg is in too. I guess the Manes men are going to war.”

Flint grins, his grin and Alex’s matching both in intensity and in the joy of fucking something up. The way they learnt not only from Jesse Manes, but from their mom as well.

“Hoorah.”

They part after that, quick goodbyes before Flint gets in his truck and drives away, Alex walking back into the house and into his bedroom, laying down beside Michael. They still have so much to talk about, so much to figure out. But for now the bond soars as Alex gathers Michael close, the intensity of both their love and adoration wrapping around them like a blanket.

It’s warm, safe. It’s just enough.

Authors note: No, Michael wasn’t really dead in the beginning. But you kept talking about me killing them all the time, so he became dead for you.

[vagrantblvrd]

That one Freewood FAHC AU where Gavin is in this sickeningly happy relationship with this guy he (literally) ran into at the store or wherever, okay.

Sweet dork of an idiot who has this job that takes him out of the city for business reasons every so often. Something to do with computers or whatever that should be insanely boring?

But Gavin is also into computers for his line of work and so they’re like, idk, mutually boring in that regard.

Gavin has a job in the city somewhere, comes home complaining of the idiots he has to help day in and day out.

And Ryan, okay.

Same problem?

Just lets Gavin plop his feet in his lap and bitch and complain, all soft and understanding and totally not laughing at his suffering? (And vice versa other days.)

But really, okay, really.

Gavin is a hacker/GB for the Fakes and while a lot of his job really is boring? There are also those times when there’s shooting and running and things going boom. (And oh, hasn’t he gotten better at lying about shit when he gets hurt and has to come up with an excuse Ryan will believe? He wasn’t too shabby before, but this whole ~sekrit identity bullshit is taking things to another level.)

Plus, all the worry about what Ryan would do if he ever found out, because Gavin really does love the big idiot and it would break his heart if he was horrified at who Gavin really is. (Also lovely bits of angst where he almost wish he would find out, run as far away from Gavin and Los Santos as he can because then he’d be safer, but Gavin’s too selfish to do anything about it.)

And then!

The crew gets in trouble and Jack mentions this pair of mercenaries that have been in town for the last year or so. Supposed former special ops or some such that have never come in direct opposition with the Fakes in all the time they’ve been around.

Said to be highly skilled and competent and maybe they should bring them on board until things are resolved?

So then the Battle Buddies are working with the Fakes and it’s a bit terrifying, isn’t it.

Rimmy Tim clearly has some screws loose - the color scheme alone - and the Vagabond?

Bloody terrifying.

Tall, dark, and menacing, and the fact that he doesn’t talk much (at all?) is deeply unnerving to Gavin on a level he can’t quite explain.

Something just off about the man that makes it exceedingly awkward to be around him, and not all of it’s to do with his purported reputation

At any rate, circumstances end up that Gavin and the Vagabond get paired up together on jobs more often than not.

Michael and Rimmy Tim off wreaking havoc and the Vagabond making sure no one gets one up on Gavin while he’s doing hacking things on site or ~stealth is called for. (A meeting or two where the Golden Boy’s way with words is required and all that.)

Gavin gets used to the Vagabond and his odd silences, realizes the man communicates mostly with sign language and takes it upon himself to learn it as well. (Half-convinced the first few bits of it he and Rimmy Tim taught him were swears and other obscene things, which to be fair most of them were, just.  Seems rude, doesn’t it, not to learn it if the Vagabond’s going to be part of the crew when things are over? And he will, Gavin knows, him and Rimmy Tim the way all the others ended up joining, so there’s that.)

Shrugs at the odd looks it gets him at home when Ryan catches Gavin watching videos and tutorials and the like about sign language.

“New co-worker,” he says, and leaves it at that.

And then something happens where Gavin is just.

Oh dear, when he realizes Ryan is the Vagabond?

Some tiny little thing that makes all the jumbled up bits in his head regarding the ~mystery of the Vagabond suddenly make sense? (Unconscious habits on Ryan’s part that bled into the Vagabond and vice versa and Gavin’s brain picking at it all in the background the whole while.)

Has this moment where he just mulls the whole thing over for the longest time.

Wonders if it’s just some little game of Ryan’s, playing with a “civilian” and all that, which ouch, but dismisses that as too much for Ryan.

...Assuming Ryan is Ryan and not an act the Vagabond puts on, but he’ll worry over that later. First a bit of ~investigation on Gavin’s part. All nice and subtle in which he tries to find the differences between Ryan and Vagabond and isn’t that surprised to find there isn’t much of one when it comes down to it.

Sure, the Vagabond is this terrifying bastard, but that’s (mostly) when they’re off on a job and all that. When he needs to live up to that reputation of his, let their (his) enemies know he’s a fore to reckoned with and so on.

When the crew’s got downtime or are just being idiots he’s very much Ryan, isn’t he. Big old dork with a dark sense of humor and softer than you’d think.

And Ryan – there are bits of the Vagabond in him too – and everything he says, does, can’t possibly be an act. Gavin well aware he could horribly wrong about it since there are some real bastards out there who’d play that sort of game for a laugh, but he likes to think Ryan wouldn’t. (And if he would, well. Future problem with all the heartbreak that would go with it.)

So Gavin, okay.

He knows Ryan is the Vagabond is Ryan, and it’s abundantly clear Ryan has no damn clue about that.

Wonders, a little, how long Ryan knew about Gavin and his own little revelations before Geoff brought the Battle Buddies into the crew and oh, okay, they’re sure as hell going to have to have a Talk at some point because he’s absolutely certain Ryan must have had the same thoughts Gavin did and ouch, but until then?

Might as well have some fun with it, right?

Starts flirting with the Vagabond, subtle things at first. Compliments and looks and slowly ramps it up until Michael takes him aside and is like your funeral, but also Ryan???

Gavin laughing himself sick as he swears Michael to secrecy – no need to because Michael, but also this is just so soap opera drama he can’t not – and tells him everything.

Michael staring at Gavin for the longest time before he sighs, all, Jesus Christ, why is everyone he knows so goddamned stupid? And then proceeds to help Gavin fuck with the Vagabond/Ryan in any way he can.

Because look, Ryan knows Michael too, okay.

Thinks he works at the same company as Gavin and so on and so forth, so poor Ryan is getting this shit from Michael now as well.

The Vagabond gets the shovel talk from Michael while they’re on a job. All nice and casual and break his heart and Michael will bury him, don’t think he won’t, asshole. Michael doesn’t give a shit how scary the Vagabond thinks he is, Gavin is his boi and no one breaks his heart like that and lives. (Michael is totally on board with this soap opera drama shit.)

The others are a bit concerned about Gavin and Ryan’s relationship too and Gavin fields it all with reassurances that things have never been better at home and the like, and it’s nothing to worry about, really. (Which not as reassuring as Gavin would think? And also is Gavin aiming to bring the Vagabond into his relationship with Ryan? What is even going on there?)

Gavin almost dies from trying not to laugh when Jeremy corners him, asks his intentions towards the Vagabond. Knows he’s got to be secretly worried about the whole civilian!Ryan angle and is just.

“I know what I’m doing,” which, yes, okay.

The Vagabond getting twitchy around him even though Gavin hasn’t done anything inappropriate – not like he’s propositioned the man. Just. ~Gently flirted with him. (Doesn’t want to make him too uncomfortable after all, just tease him a bit.)

And on the home front things are totally the same, save for the fact that Gavin maybe leads Ryan into comments and such that give away things someone like the Vagabond would have knowledge of. (Tries not to laugh when Ryan comes up with a hasty explanation as to why he knows so much about weapons  and/or other Vagabond-ish things. Video games and the like.)

And then something happens, someone grabbing GB Gavin as leverage against the crew or – worse, because Gavin’s always been so careful about it – they find out about civilian!Ryan.

Grab him, and everyone in the crew Deeply Worried except for Gavin, Michael, and especially Jeremy?

Insist Gavin meet with them alone – it’s a trap, because of course it is – but they come up with a plan wherein they pretend to go along with the baddies demands right?

Gavin going ~alone to some leaky warehouse where Ryan’s tied to a chair, roughed up a bit and looking suitably cowed but Gavin knows the look in his eyes. (A determined Ryan and a determined Vagabond are equally terrifying, even if their end goals are different. He’s nearly gotten himself free by the time Gavin got there and it’s a good bet he could have handled this on his own with enough time.)

And Gavin, okay.

Plays the part of scumbag criminal stringing the poor, clueless civilian along for shits and giggles. Fun while it lasted and all, right? Puts the baddies off-balance because everything they’d seen for themselves said Gavin was stupid enough to fall in love with this civilian, caught feelings for him and everything. Would do just about anything to keep him safe and so on and so forth.

Keeps the baddies attention on him while Ryan works his way free of the ropes, waiting, waiting, waiting while Gavin distracts them and then – some little cue of Gavin’s or perfect opening – he acts.

Rears up and takes out the idiot meant to standing guard over him, and Gavin whips out that golden gun of his and deals with the other thug next to the head baddie. Both of them dealing with the other threats inside with them while sounds outside the warehouse say the others are dealing with the rest of the baddies patrolling and whatnot.

Stop just short of killing the head baddie, leave him to Geoff and the others and then it’s back to the penthouse and Gavin and Ryan and all the secrets between them. (Everyone knows now, of course, and oh the looks Gavin gets.)

They go down to the shooting range or up to the roof, nice evening breeze and lovely view and this hollow feeling in Gavin’s chest because Ryan’s eyeing Gavin, this coolness to his gaze that hurts to see and Gavin -

This little game he’s been playing doesn’t quite seem so funny anymore.

“Did you know,” Gavin says, so very quiet, “that I thought someone sent you to kill me?”

It had been a thought, way back when he first realized Ryan was the Vagabond was Ryan.

Convoluted plan aimed to hurt, because Gavin’s got a soft heart under it all and he’s more than made the kind of enemies who’d love to break it right down the middle before he died.

“But then I thought,” Gavin goes on, “I thought that’s a bit overkill, isn’t it?”

For most people, yes.

Ryan just watches him, still and unmoving. Hardly seems to be breathing.

So Gavin rambles on, as he’s wont to do.

Explains himself best he can in that roundabout way he has. Knows – hopes – Ryan will understand the meaning to it all the way he always seemed to before.

Has this little fear that’s grown more and more the longer Ryan stays silent, but then -

“Jeremy wanted me to tell you after we met,” Ryan says, rueful note to it and still some caution to the look in his eyes as glances at Gavin. “Said someone as smart as you are would have figured it out. That  it would be better if you found out from me instead of on the news.”

Because Los Santos and the alarming tendency for things to go wrong.

Chance the Vagabond might be unmasked on television and civilian!Gavin learning about his double life that way.

Gavin hums, can take a guess as to why Ryan never told him. (The same reasons Gavin never told civilian!Ryan, really.)

“We make quite the pair, don’t we?” Gavin muses, hopes Ryan still knows how madly, deeply in love he is after everything. Maybe even more now that he won’t have to lie to keep him safe, or whatever it was he thought he was doing.

Ryan snorts, because that’s putting it lightly.

“Michael knew, didn’t he.”

Because shovel talk, and the way he was totally enjoying the whole damn mess.

And Gavin, okay.

“Er, yes.”

There’s a whole Talk in which they are both idiots in love who worried about getting the other one caught up in the ~criminal life and then, you, know. Realizing they already were and oh, the shenanigans after that.

And then, of course the rest of the crew get in on things when they realize Gavin and Ryan are going to be just fine. Give them both shit for being the kind of idiots they are and all that, and Geoff stops worrying about having to deal with all the fucking drama between Gavin and the Vagabond and Ryan and the like.

Gavin and Ryan decide to keep on keeping on with their civilian lives because why not at this point, really. (And also, it’s hilarious to fuck with whatever baddie grabs civilian!Gavin or civilian!Ryan, because they’re kind of assholes.)

Also, also, the Vagabond talks more now that he’s not hiding his sekrit identity and he and Gavin make for one hell of a team. (They did before, but now? Oh man.)

Everything’s all hunky dory with Gavin and Ryan and the crew, except for one little thing.

When and how do they do an intervention for Jeremy with this whole Rimmy Tim business? Because really, no one – no one – is buying the story that they’re two separate people, okay.

Not even the tabloids.

[extrology]

Get to Know Chanyeol

Light Astrology Analysis

Chanyeol has a bowl chart with all planets located towards his interactions with others

Very Outgoing person

Is lacking inside, may have a lot of  internal struggles

Saturn is his Dominant planet but it gets almost completely negated by his tightest aspect (in other posts about that) and the 2nd most dominant planet - Jupiter

Jupiter also makes him optimistic, able to see the bigger picture

Jupiter dominants are usually tall, “extra” and lucky

As Capricorn dominant always has the internal conflict between public exposure with their great need for privacy

LOVES talking about the subjects of interest (mysterious, weird, taboo things, music, animu and whatever else he likes)

loves company of intelligent, well read and fun people

Jupiter dominants tend to be a bit lazy and all over the place

with Mars Cancer he tends to play the victim in arguments

self-pitying himself

always thinking “why me?” inside

very emotional about conflicts,

takes them very poorly

long recovery period, hold grudges

usually is very sensitive about close friends'/family matters

internal anxieties

most conflicts tend to come from the past

wants security (in money, relationships, job... )

can’t deal being ignored

also doesn’t usually tell others what he wants and expects others to simply know what he wants

Scorpio mind is definitely scary, especially in the 8th house (the dark house of secrets, sex, death) and plus that tight Pluto conjunction (planet of extremes and darkness)

his Pluto hides his geniusness from everybody

so you’ll see his actual brain VERY rarely

heretic, born strategist

he notices every tiny detail

loves playing detective in his mind (and he’s Hella good at it)

such a sharp mind, fearless about going where others fear to thread

literally human surveillance camera

but not so interested in school or the traditional concept of “intelligent”

tends to romanticize death, destruction and law breaking (gangs, crime, sinful mind overall)

often has weird, “dark” thoughts about sex

can we just talk about his dirty lyrics. Even with that hardcore censorship he manages to write dirty songs

seeks the Truth and he WILL find it

masks, lies and illusions don’t work on him

a born detective A Concept: Intelligence Agent/Hacker Chanyeol

don’t try to win an argument with him

also he’s not very tactful

stubborn, will hang onto a subject until satisfied

will do all he can to avoid an uninteresting subject

can be manipulative and very secretly controlling

likes to possess the ones he cares about (he feels it’s a way to protect them)

will be tempted to use his mind for evilish goals

I can see him loving monster concept

SO this boy’s got Sagittarius sun (ego, character) and it’s made even stronger with Jupiter dominant 

he wishes to be respected and heard more than anything

but doesn’t care about what other people want

such an optimistic free spirit

loves independence and adventures

don’t suffocate him if you want a good relationship with him

faithful, if all needs met but his restlessness would probably create distance (both physically and mentally)

lucky in many aspects of life

needs constant action

wants to learn everything he can (especially with that sharp mind) (no wonder he knows how to play so many instruments)

loves to travel and to make friends while he’s at it (am I the only one being reminded of all those insta posts with different people every time)

his acceptance of everybody and optimism simply draw people in

although easy going as a fire sign has a quick and fierce temper

while usually accepting and positive

if you manage to make this boy angry

run.

absolutely doesn’t sugar coat anything or tell white lies

honest, sometimes a little too honest

might come off as rude and insensitive because of it

sagittariuses usually swear a lot

likes people who join him in athletic as well as intellectual activities

an excellent organizer and usually successful at any project he takes on

lives for himself

but if you can keep up and follow along he’ll show you an exciting and cheerful side of life ~ 

With Cap Moon emotional matters is just not his strong suit

actually frightened by his emotions and is not sure how do deal with them

needs to feel useful and productive

his own worst critic and can be really hard on himself

painfully aware of his weaknesses and tries very hard to compensate for them

wants to be respected in others eyes

finds it difficult to relate to people who have different values

witty and self-focused

wants to have realistic goals

loyal friend but awful at texting back

he doesn’t shit talk unless that person in REALLY REALLY shit

most cap moons are weebs or furries (if they say they’re not - they’re lying)

likes to get their way

pretty down to earth, knows his goals, looks at them realistically

he’s funnier than you

deal with it

hides sensitivity with jokes

hates dealing with emotions

but there’s always a point where they just pile up and explode (esp if includes close friends/ family Mars Cancer)

Bonus

venus cap makes him a very traditional boyfriend

neptune cap makes his dreams very realistic

the two aspects above explain why Chanyeol idealized Jongin from the very first days.

he’s attracted to both of these signs

as his ideal lover from dreams and fantasies (neptune) is capricorn and Jongin is Capricorn king if I’ve ever seen one

with Jupiter(abundance) quintile (talent) Mars (sex, manliness) this guy is DEFFINETLY packing down there and is especially talented in bed

I give you my word (btw, quintiles are actuary rare to have in a table, so to have one in this aspect... oh boy)

if it ends up wrong, I promise I’ll quit astrology

[Masterlist]

[seekingluckynumberseven]

Day 5 : I’m Watching You... Every 2.35 Seconds

Author Note: This contains a chat and a phone call. Trying to keep them in a format as close to the game as possible with Tumblr’s lovely editors. Also, all chats with Seven need more memes.

Kali tossed her handheld console to the side and flopped back on the couch with a heavy sigh. Even romancing 2d pretty boys was getting boring. Sorry, Nat-chan. Not even his beautiful voice could lure her back. She stared up at the ceiling. If someone would have told the girl from just a few months ago who was frantically trying to juggle her thesis and Juno’s crazy demands that she’d be bored, that girl would have died laughing. Her brain just couldn’t come up with things to keep it occupied. V may have given them a date for the party, but other than emailing the growing list of ... eclectic... guests, there wasn’t much to actually do.

Everyone was worried about her safety with the new hack. Seven, especially. No matter how much she tried to reassure him, all he could do was beat up on himself. So she was staying put for his sake. Not her’s. Yoosung and Jaehee had both expressed amazement at how calm she was. It was a hacker, no one was pointing a gun and pulling the trigger. Her fingers ran over the soft cloth covering the pock mark on her thigh. She knew what that was like, how the pain of a bullet piercing flesh felt. This was nothing. “Freaking out never helps in situations like this. I can’t do anything and I trust Seven.” The redhead had seemed flattered 

The apartment was to tiny for her to work out, especially with the gift her uncle had slipped into her backpack with the wink that always promised chaos. Seven kept reassuring her that there were no cameras in the apartment, but still. The rest of the security system was an unknown and she couldn’t risk the power signature of the weapon being picked up. That and with her luck recently, she’d likely trip and end up slicing the couch in half or something.

A chime on her phone drew her attention. The memelord had emerged. Kali found a smile growing on her face for the first time that day.

<707 has entered the chatroom>

707: alkgj;aelj

JAEHEE: Seven, hello.

707: @tlj3oj3$

707: ;3piu9jqt’ae’of

707: (Utp9iotjkj

KALI: 8h;aw4ietej

707: 9e;itj3;jf

JAEHEE: Please stop there ^^

707: dlkjg

707: eoipk

JAEHEE:

707: ..

707: .

707: ok

JAEHEE: Have you found anything about the hacker?

707:

707: Not yet…

707: I have so much work for the agency…!!

707: can’t focus…

707: Sorry KALI T_T

KALI: 

KALI: Cheer up!

707: T_T

707: 

707: I’ll work harder

707: just for you, Kali!

JAEHEE: Nothing’s wrong with Kali for now then?

707: Nope.

707: I checked the CCTV

707: and nothing strange happening!!

707: I’ve been looking at it

707: every 2.35 seconds

707: just in case something happens.

JAEHEE: 2.35 seconds?

707: Ya.

707: But just looking at the screen

707: makes me so frustrated…

KALI: I knew it! I felt as if you were looking at me every 2.35 seconds!!!

707: We even locked our eyes once, right?!

707: You seemed to be going to the convenience store earlier.

KALI: I was! Food resupply time.

JAEHEE: ….Isn’t it a bit strange to communicate through CCTV?

707:

707: I want to go and protect her myself!

707: Can’t believe there’s nothing I can do…!!!

KALI: It’d be so great if you could come! Pretty lonely here

JAEHEE: Unfortunately, Seven says he’s busy… What can you do.

707: Ya…

707: I can’t give you a body guard… and I can’t go…

707: So…

707: I’d like to make a body guard robot for you…

707: But I guess that would take a long time. T_T

JAEHEE: you could simply finish your work for the agency and catch the hacker.

707: Body guard robot…

JAEHEE: Or, go there yourself to protect her…

707: Maybe you’d like that…

JAEHEE: ;;;

KALI: I, for one, welcome our robot overlords

707: Ooh!

707: Me too!

707: All hail, B.B. Rodríguez!

JAEHEE: I see you two have managed to find another thing you both have in common;

707: Because we’re the awesomest!

JAEHEE: Are you listening to me?

707: To be honest, I was planning on creating a small watch dog just to test it out,

JAEHEE: You are not listening to me.

707: I’m not confident enough to send it to ur place.

707: 

KALI: Ermahgerd~! SO KEWT~!!

707: really!?

707: I’m glad you like it lololol

JAEHEE: It is cute.

707: Ms. Vanderwood did tell me to just work

707: if I have the time for that….

JAEHEE: I completely agree with that…

JAEHEE: But it does seem to have turned out nicely. It’s very cute.

707: +_+

707: Right? It’s so cute!

707: So lovely~

707: So adorable~

JAEHEE: Yes… You could almost sell it.

707: It spits fire from its mouth. Do you think the government will approve? ^^

KALI: Growlithe has come to life! 

707:

707: OMG YOU LIKE POKEMON TOO?!

707: So perfect...

JAEHEE: …No, I doubt you’d be able to sell it.

JAEHEE: You might actually go to jail for creating such a hazardous product. ^^

707: ;;;

707: But still, isn’t it pretty?

707: I thought

707: it would be perfect for Kali

707: while making it.

707: Since both of them are cute…!

KALI:

707: Haha.

707: You caught my cute side!

707: I feel like my great secret has been revealed;;;

JAEHEE: Okay…;;;

JAEHEE: Well;

JAEHEE: I’m jealous that you’re the only one who knows how Kali looks like.

707: Haha…

707: B

707: U

707: T…

707: Even if I make things like this,

707: it won’t help Kali….

707:

JAEHEE: Yup.

KALI: It does help! Growlithe, use flamethrower! 

KALI:

707: it also might explode because of the gas tank T_T

KALI: Explosions be no bueno.

707: I should create a cute version that doesn’t spit out fire lolol

JAEHEE: Why don’t you simply work if you have the time?;;.

707: Yeah…

707: I should just work…

707: Why did I do that??

JAEHEE: Because sometimes you simply cannot work.

707: ...

KALI: Sounds like you need to clear that noggin. Go take a walk or something.

JAEHEE: I agree.

JAEHEE: People do say that you should take your time the more anxious you are.

707: The more anxious you are… smell your time.

JAEHEE: It’s take your time.

707: okie dokie

707: I’m gonna clear my head a bit

707: and come back.

KALI: I’ll be waiting for you! Cheer up!

KALI: 

707: Yup!

707: I’ll be keeping an eye on you even while I’m taking a break

707: so don’t worry!

JAEHEE: …Is that really taking a break though?

707: It is.

707: See u later!

JAEHEE: Good bye.

<707 has left the chatroom>

JAEHEE: But…

JAEHEE: How did he manage to create that robot in just a few hours? ;;

JAEHEE: No one can deny that Seven is a genius.

KALI: Hacking and engineering genius. Amazeballs! 

JAEHEE: I think if he really puts his mind to it… he’ll create the body guard robot in a couple of days…;;

JAEHEE: Besides, he made it just for you, Kali….

JAEHEE: He is being very kind.

JAEHEE: Luciel may seem quite ridiculous

JAEHEE: because he likes to joke around all the time

JAEHEE: but sometimes even I get surprised at what a genius he is.

JAEHEE: Oh.

JAEHEE: I’d like to talk more…

JAEHEE: but Mr. Han’s meeting will end soon.

JAEHEE: I must go.

JAEHEE: Anyways… Please take care of yourself, Kali.

KALI: Hurry and go! I hope he doesn’t mention anything related to cats!

JAEHEE:

JAEHEE: You understand how I feel.

JAEHEE: Thank you.

JAEHEE: Good bye.

<Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom>

Kali opened the picture of the “Growlithe” robot and stared up at it in utter disbelief. Who the hell was this man? Not even her uncle who built things that went into space could put a robot together that quickly. And one that could be used as a weapon? Shit. The Seekers needed someone like him badly. She needed someone like him badly. No one had ever made her smile and laugh quite as much and with a brain like that, Seven could probably stop the demon in its tracks. And he was super cute. Ugh... why was she thinking about that? People like her didn’t deserve cute, smart, funny guys nor deserve to be loved. It wasn’t like they’d even met yet. Already she was beginning to suspect that the face in the chatroom was a mask. Probably a lot like her own. But what was it hiding? As if her train of though was a summoning spell, the phone started vibrating; Seven’s picture filling the screen. The sudden call was startling and Kali bobbled the phone in her suddenly clumsy hands. Ninja reflexes a total fail as the heavy piece of technology smashed its screen against her nose.

K: “Fuck... Hello?”

S: “Oh! Potty mouth!”

K:“I dropped the phone on my face.”

S: “You... dropped...” *hysterical laughter*

K: “Not funny. That shit hurts.”

S: “Sorry.. sorry. You ok?”

K: “My pride is mortally wounded.”

S: “Oh do I need to kiss it better?”

K: “Please.”

S: *sharp intake of breathe* “Oh... hahaha. Don’t tease me. My heart can’t take it. Anyways, what did you want to talk about?”

K: “Umm... you called me and rudely knocked my phone out of my hands.” 

S: “Oh so now it’s my fault your hands can’t hold a phone?”

K: “I’ll have you know I’m good with my hands.”

S: “Phew. Is it getting hot in here? ...Hey Kali, I’m really sorry about the hacker. I promise I’ve reinforced the security system and am hunting him down.”

K: “Do I need to come over there and spank you until you understand?” 

S: *unintelligible muttered words* 

K: “What did you say, Seven?”

S: “Ahhh... nothing, nothing. I’m going to take your advice and have a date with my babies. If anything happens...”

K: “I know I know, send you a meme.”

S: “A call, Kali. A call.”

K: “Call? You can use phones to call people?” *laughter* “Drive safe, Seven.”

S: “Laterz.”

Seven ran his hand through his hair, staring at the dark screen of his phone. Had “yes, please” really came out of his mouth at her spanking joke? Thank God, Jesus, and Buddha she hadn’t heard. This woman was different than any other he’d met in his entire life. A mixture of kindness and sarcasm with just a hint of dirty that was all too intriguing. Someone who appreciated his jokes and gave back as good as she got. Nothing in her dossier had prepared him for this. Kali was beginning to get under his skin and that was dangerous.

Groaning, his attention turned back to the screens that lit up the bunker. Better get back to work before Vandy starting waving around the taser again. His babies would have to wait. Too many people were relying on him. She was relying on him, trusting him, and he was terrified what would happen if he failed her.

[dirkgentlyandfriends]

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency Character Bios from BBC America’s Website

DIRK GENTLY | SAMUEL BARNETT Funny, eloquent, rude and a tiny bit presumptuous, Dirk Gently has strange psychic abilities that enable him to sense tangential connections. He’s turned these abilities into his new profession: that of a “holistic detective,” a term that reflects his belief in the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. However, his abilities have condemned him to a lonely life devoid of human connection. A man with an interesting sense of style and a brusque manner that quickly annoys, Dirk exists on the assumption that everyone around him will instantly recognize his authority… even though said authority doesn’t exist, and pretty much no one ever acknowledges it, ever.

TODD BROTZMAN | ELIJAH WOOD A frustrated loser and fallen punk rock front man, Todd’s life is a dead end. But when he stumbles into a bizarre murder scene, everything drastically changes. A random encounter with the eccentric detective, Dirk Gently, draws him into a web against his will. As Todd reluctantly joins Dirk, he quickly discovers he’s just flat out better at detecting and pretty much everything else than Dirk. He always attempts to solve matters with the fewest steps possible. But despite being a compassionate, smarter-than-average man with biting wit, Todd often finds himself at a moral crossroads. His bad habits of lying and stealing have dire consequences that he won’t be able to avoid forever. He’s not a bad person… he’s just not a good person, but he’ll get there. Maybe. Hopefully?

AMANDA BROTZMAN | HANNAH MARKS Amanda always wanted to be in a band like her brother Todd. Her spunky, smart, wild and impulsive personality defines who she is… or at least who she was. Sidelined by Pararibulitis — a hereditary disease that turns everything around her into a potentially agonizing physical hazard — she’s remained isolated, leaning on her brother for support. She’s deeply connected to her brother but a number of issues in their relationship are slowly being triggered, and Amanda will find herself drawn towards the dark forces converging on Todd’s life.

FARAH BLACK | JADE ESHETE A neurotic, bad-ass security officer to a millionaire, Farah has brooding, nervous energy and an easy snarl that’s triggered at the slightest provocation. A tactical prodigy, Farah is a dominant figure who is also a bit odd… much more than she’s prepared to accept. She subconsciously talks to herself and if provoked, unleashes a biting deadpan sarcasm. After her boss is killed and his daughter kidnapped, Farah is determined to solve the case alongside Dirk and Todd without the help of police. She makes every attempt to keep the group safe, even if she herself isn’t so sure she’s capable of doing so.

BARTINE “BART” CURLISH | FIONA DOURIF Bart is a terrifying, homicidal, deranged, fearless, and nearly invincible self-identified “holistic assassin.” Like Dirk, she is a causality psychic. Bart doesn’t determine who she kills or when and how she kills them. It’s all instinctual. Drawn towards people who kill or endanger others, she feels a second nature urge to eliminate them, which she can do with very little effort. She’s rough, rude, kind of gross and an upsetting person, but there’s a complex sweetness to her. Bart is comfortable with who she is and unlike Dirk, she’s found peace with her power.

KEN | MPHO KOAHO A nerdy, friendly-faced tech trapped in increasingly difficult and bloody circumstances, Ken’s side job as a hacker lands him face-to-face with some odious characters, including Bart, a self-identified holistic assassin.

GORDON RIMMER Rimmer (Aaron Douglas) is an enigmatic loser with an impressive series of horrible secrets. A high ranking member of a cult called Men of the Machine, Rimmer is by nature, a perpetually scrambling, unreliable, egomaniacal agent of the Brotherhood’s intent. Rimmer loves giving orders and whenever possible, remind his fellow brothers of his seniority within the cult.

THE ROWDY 3 The Rowdy 3 — all four of them — composed of the aloof Martin, the manic Vogel, the ever-stoic Gripps and the deranged Cross, are vampires. Not the night walking bloodsucking kind, but rather something much stranger… if that’s possible. They feed on emotion and the electrical energy of the human mind, which they extract in blasts of crackling electricity. Ex-test subjects, the Rowdy 3 have tried to make a life for themselves out in the real world, forever hunting Dirk Gently; deliberately entering his life in moments where it will cause him the most emotional terror.

ESTEVEZ AND ZIMMERFIELD Estevez (Neil Brown Jr.) and Zimmerfield (Richard Schiff) are missing person’s detectives operating increasingly off book as they follow the trail of a complex and mystifying case. As bizarre events continue to converge around one person, they find themselves more and more flummoxed by the investigation.

COLONEL SCOTT RIGGINS AND SERGEANT HUGO FRIEDKIN Beleaguered CIA head of a defunct secret bureau investigating the paranormal called Black Wing, Riggins (Miguel Sandoval) used to be a bright-eyed West Point grad. A born optimist with a cheery demeanor, Riggins is a true believer: Aliens? Yes. Psychics? Yes. Demons? Magic? Past lives? Yes, yes and yes. He’s hoping to rebuild Black Wing but gets stuck with Friedkin (Dustin Milligan), an unpredictable, wildly ambitious and dangerous moron. Though he supports Colonel Riggins in his quest to peacefully achieve his goal, his boneheaded nature may derail the Colonel’s plans altogether.

[recentanimenews]

Donyatsu is a Sweet, Unexpected Surprise

Donuts. Donuts never change.

The irrelevant and strange post-apocalyptic world of Yusuke Kozaki’s Donyatsu, a silly slice-of-life series about pastry-inspired critters, is a welcomed and eccentric break from reality. Adapted into a 12-episode original net animation series (ONA) by studio Gathering from Kozaki’s manga in 2013, Donyatsu provides a seemingly standard post-apocalyptic setting with a sweet slice-of-life twist. It dares ask the question—can the end of the world be funny? Can it be about cats and delicious treats while the world burns?

Kozaki’s work has mostly been seen in anime and video game character design—most notably in the Fire Emblem and Pokémon franchises, BBK/BRNK, and Speed Grapher. After debuting in Young Gangan in 2011, the Donyatsu manga soon garnered a cult following for its unique combination of post-apocalyptic story with slice-of-life comedy. I first discovered the series back in 2015 and considered it something of a “hidden gem” at the time through the short net anime. However, I quickly realized that these handful of episodes provided just a glimpse of what the full and bizarre Donyatsu world had to offer. The main appeal of Donyatsu is that it obviously has no large overarching plot—in fact, most of its characters struggle to achieve more than sleeping and eating. Compared to other post-apocalyptic series, the worst of the final blow has already landed and there’s no going back. It's a surprisingly laid-back, empty world.

Donyatsu and Bagel making friends 

  Black Comedy With Sugar On Top

Our hero, Donyatsu, wakes up one day to realize he is now an adorable chocolate donut-shaped cat. Has he been transformed for a human? It’s not clear. The Shibuya streets might be empty, but in lieu of humans are a handful of new friends: Bagel, a basic but stern brown bagel cat; Rollnya, a sweet (you guessed it) roll-themed cat; Baum Cougar, the baumkuchen cat who is also a genius internet hacker; and Kumacaron, the pink macaron bear who loves the in-world "Dragon Fall" manga. There’s also a military squadron of mice who may or may not actually be a threat. Is anyone here terrified by what appears to be a nameless catastrophy? Or civilization as we know it coming to a halt? No, Donyatsu and pals are too busy playing shiritori with a giant space robot instead. Even Baum Cougar, the most prepared of the kitties, is a jab at stereotypical “preppers” and nerds who spend too much time meticulously planning out end-of-world survival scenarios. Will he be their savior in the end times? Well, no. In fact, he’s sort of a creep. They’re all jerks.

Ironically, despite being friends, Donyatsu and pals all kinda hate each other. Unlike other laid-back slice-of-life series, these characters truly have no choice but to involuntarily put up with each other. Donyatsu is bullied by the others in almost every episode. At first it’s a bit odd, since these characters don’t typically seem like the kind to be mean or spiteful. In the end, it’s Donyatsu himself who ends up being the butt of jokes, who personally admits that maybe he isn’t quite as funny or smart as the others. At first I thought, “well, that’s a little sad,” but over time I came to love it—especially after reading the manga, where Kozaki’s sick and silly sense of humor truly shines. Donyatsu is meant to make you feel good, but maybe at these cute animals' expense.

Rudeness without reason is the point. Despite it being the end of the world, despite being adorable pastry animals, Donyatsu and his friends are still all undeniably, selfishly human. Think of house cats. You think they care when they knock over your priceless, priceless treasures? Hell no. Don’t let the cute demeanor fool you. They are cruel, cruel folks.

The mice stab Donyatsu with a fork. Ouch.

When I first showed Donyatsu to a friend five years ago, they said it reminded them of the cartoon Adventure Time—which has been confirmed by its creator Pendleton Ward to also be set in a post-apocalyptic world. When I thought of how strange and illogical those characters acted, I realized I knew why Donyatsu appealed so much to me. What makes Donyatsu’s cutesy, over-the-top post-apocalyptic setting so appealing despite the dreary background story? It might be the humor of cognitive dissonance, that situations like devastated cities and the destruction of human civilization aren’t inherently meant to be “funny” unless you’re very jaded. While the Donyatsu anime itself doesn't fully explore these themes compared to the source material, the understanding that these wacky adventures all take places after a catastrophic, humanity-ending event adds an extra layer to an already strange concept. Cats can’t think that far ahead until there’s a yummy snack at the other end. But us viewers? Their situation really is hard to stomach.

One Donyatsu skit involves Kumacaron reading manga out loud while Donyatsu and Bagel are cooped up in Baum Cougar’s safehouse. Familiarity soon breeds contempt, and in this case just enough contempt for Bagel to smack Kumacaron silly after reading all the over-the-top shounen manga dialogue. In the original manga, the group goes to a supermarket in search of canned goods, but quickly devolves into toilet humor and a strategic joke about karinto cookies (look them up). There's no dramatic build-up or sense of urgency to seek out real survival. It's not that Donyatsu and friends don't care—they're lucky enough to not know they should care. They get fed up with each other, bully and harass, all normally high-stakes, dramatic moments when looking at your last handful of post-apocalyptic survivors, but here it’s just good old-fashioned slapstick.

Donyatsu and Bagel

A returning group of characters, the mice, meanwhile, are framed as villains. The joke is, of course, they’re tiny mice with military helmets with forks as their weapons. At first, they seem like they might pose a challenge to Donyatsu, but surprisingly (and albeit with some body horror-esque realizations about how donut cat physiology works���) Donyatsu’s flesh heals itself. You literally can’t eat donut cats. It turns out they are maaaybe immortal. In a perfect world, Donyatsu could let the mice eat him and then just regenerate over a few days—but that’s missing the point entirely. Donyatsu and friends aren’t that preoccupied with “survival” and “consuming” like the mice, so the thought likely has never crossed their mind. They just wanna hang out. In volume two of the manga, Bagel wonders how long they have until they all run out of food and starve to death. It’s a briefly sobering moment that acknowledges these characters might have an actual life expectancy. Everyone is deathly quiet, wondering when they might die. And then it’s immediately back to jokes. There are no hard answers. Can they really live forever? What happens if they eat other donut cats? Who knows.

Sweet Slice-of-Apocalyptic-Life 

Under the unthreatening frosted and chocolate-dipped exterior is a perfectly blended appreciation for black comedy. Donyatsu is a love-letter to the special kind of dark, but not too dark humor that comes from when you mix idiosyncratic characters with a surreal take on the typical post-apocalyptic setting. This isn’t a story about surviving the end times—it’s about passing the time and making the most out of what should be scary because you're bored, hungry, and stuck in a room with someone narrating an entire shonen manga back-to-front with sound-effects.

It’s no secret that post-apocalyptic stories have been a solid trend in anime and manga for decades. However, there’s now been a recent trend of shows catering toward unlikely fans of the slice-of-life genre. Shows such as Sound of the Sky, Humanity Has Declined—and even Kemono Friends—have all played with the concept of slow, easy-going life amidst the end of the world. In some cases, the fall of humanity is more obvious, especially when your characters are, well, actually human and not adorable sentient food-animals. This "cutesy apocalypse" is an unexpected offshoot of what is universally recognized as a depressing and tense genre full of peril and high-stakes stories. They’re optimistic at the end of the day, and so is Donyatsu. 

The over-exaggerated pastels and puns of a surreal setting after the end is appealing, if not a good set-up for an ironic punchline. Donyatsu��doesn’t use its post-apocalyptic setting as a “gotcha” or shocking twist, but rather embraces it as its entire backbone to ask whether or not people would still get in arguments about fighting game tactics and snacks (the answer: yes). As short and sweet as it is, Donyatsu is an unexpected source of comfort, and a reassurance that weirdness always wins out in the end. If you want a fun escape with tons of cute animals doing sometimes not-so-cute-and-pleasant things, it’s undeniably worth your time.

  Have you explored the post-apocalyptic landscape of Donyatsu? Let us know your favorite light-hearted shows with dark backstories in the comments—you might be surprised how many there are! 

    ------

Blake P. is a writer who loves his cat. He likes old mecha anime, computer games, books, and black coffee. His twitter is @_dispossessed. His bylines include Fanbyte, VRV, Unwinnable, and more.

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[rhysthehighlord]

Review: Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer

4 Stars for Cinder, Kai, Thorne and Cress

You can also read this review on my goodreads.

You shouldn't read this review, if you haven't read Cress yet.

 "I'm going to make it a law that the correct way to address your sovereign is by giving a high five."

After the amazingness of 'Cress' this book was kinda a letdown. It was way too long and even tho so much happens in this book, it felt as if nothing at all happened. It almost felt like a chore reading this book. I was expecting some major conflict/showdown happening in this book, but instead I only got many but short conflicts, that didn't make me excited at all. Especially because they got repetitive after a while. There was always some person who used their power to turn people against their friends or themselves. The conflicts almost all ended in our protagonists having to start more or less at the beginning again. The 'big' showdown near the end of the book was sadly anticlimatic and I really didn't enjoy it.

I understand that the plans of the Rampion crew couldn't just be done in a few days and that obstacles are bound to happen, but the book stretched on too long and had too many repetitions. And sadly there weren't many surprises, the book was pretty predictable.

Overall the book was still a decent ending to this series. Tho if it wasn't for my love for the characters I would have been bored out of my mind.

It's kinda obvious that this book is a 'Snow White' retelling. I liked it how Marissa inserted the different amd typical elements of the original story into this one. Levana is for example 100% Winter's evil and jealous stepmother, who doesn't like her because of her beauty.

I loved it to see Cinder's character development troughout this series. She started off as a girl hating parts of herself and now she's a brave and confident young woman accepting all parts of herself and being determined to take back her throne. It would have been better tho if she didn't do some pretty stupid things. Without her ernormous luck Cinder would have been dead a long time ago.

Kai was a delight to read about. I loved it that he always wants to help and that the people in need come before anything else. He definitively got braver and more daring, telling the people around him what he really thought in that sarcastic way of him. Also he so damn selfless.

Kai and Cinder are still the perfect couple for me in this book. They fit so well together and everything they do is lovely and wonderful.

Cress sadly didn't had that much character development. She is still the same sweet girl, who is in love with Thorne and has amazing hacker skills. I love her for who she is, but it would have been nice to see her actually doing something else. She does get a bit braver tho and I'm glad about it.

Thorne is also the same old sarcastic and over-confident idiot, who I loved despite all his flaws. But I can forgive Marissa for not giving him anything to do that made me excited. He did get to be a hero, but it sadly failed to make me feel anything.

Cress and Thorne were still super cute together.

Scarlet and Wolf were unfortunately my least favorite characters of the Rampion crew in this book again. I still like them of course, but it didn't really interest me what happened to them and tbh none of their storylines were exciting to me.

It was interesting to see Winter's storyline. I was torn between admiring her for her strength and screaming at her to just use her powers again. I thought she was strong because she saw that manipulating people with her powers wasn't right and decided to never use them again. And when the consequences in form of hallucinations came she faced them all and never once faltered. It would have been so easy for her to just use one little glamour just to make the hallucinations go away or at least lessen, but she never did it. I wouldn't have been as strong as her. And while I totally admire her for it and I understand that she had a very legit reason, since she knows firsthand how bad manipulations can be, I didn't understand why she couldn't just use some harmless manipulations, like making a person just feel a tiny bit better, if they had a bad day or changing her hair color just for fun.

It was cool that Marissa created a dark skinned character who was suffering from hallucinations because she has a mental illness, even tho it wasn't an illness that exists in real life. I can't say if it was a good or accurate representation of similar mental illnesses, since I don't suffer from one, but it was refreshing to see it being represented in a YA book. Not sure if it was good tho, that everyone including herself, called her 'crazy'. She showed tho that under all the'craziness' she was a very lovely and intelligent girl. But sometimes her 'crazy' ramblings confused me.

Jacin is still 'Mr. Iceblock' for me. The only times he was nice/showed any emotion was when it was about Winter. He is too emotionally detached and rational for me to truly like him, but his nicknames were gold.

Jacin and Winter were cute. Normally I'm totally into rather rude characters falling for literal sunshines and only showing their feelings for them, but sadly I didn't enjoy it in this case. It was nice however to see someone supporting Winter in everything she does.

Iko was amazing. She was funny and brave and she always knew how to look good. The most human and adorable android ever.

Levana was definitively a scary and powerful antagonist. I just wanted her to die already. While reading Fairest

I did pity her a bit, since she had a very horrible life, but by the end of that story and especially in this book all my pity was gone.

I honestly thought that Sybil was already cruel and sardonic, but Aimery was even worse. At least he got what he deserved.

Tbh I wasn't expecting to see Adri and Pearl ever again. I guess it was good that Marissa didn't want any loose ends, but their parts were way too long imo.

The ending of the book was what really saved it. It was perfect. Otherwise I might have given this book just 3.5 Stars.

You guys should totally check out Stars Above which is the short story collection to this series. The last story was my favorite.

Overall I liked the ending to this series and I'm very glas that I picked up this series.