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bratshaws · 1 year

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through the hourglass 140. brb x oc

a/n: * siiiigh * okay so, hrm, tumblr has been really shit to me and as you guys know, haha, im not doing well. So...maybe I'll take a break - I do have therapy tomorrow so maybe I'll feel better, who knows - all I want is for this hellsite to stop because I'm tired and I want to share my fics(reblogs and comments are super encouraged <3)

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: none uwu

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

/100/101/102/103/104/105/106/107/108/109/110/111/112/113/114/115/116/117/118/119/120/121/122/123/124/125/126/127/128/129/130/131/132/133/134/135/136/137/138/139

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! )

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @novastories @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2

@emilybradshaw @j-6o @louisahale @leobabbyyy @kulicny @winter-run @ktjmac @graciereads @bigpoppajes @taytaylala12

@caitsymichelle13 @becks-things @caatheeriinee07 @dhwanishah09 @jesfreedark @katiemcrae @lilmonstrjedi @hobiismyhopeu @teacupsandtopgun @insominac23 @gh0stsgoodgirl @mygyn @chavivaelisheva

She shouldn’t be surprised the place Rooster came with his mother was a small mom and pop shop hidden in her middle of the city. She loved how cozy it looked even from the outside, with the dark colors and the wooden beams - one of them had a little bear engraved on it, almost as if it was climbing up to the roof. Beatrice walked close to Rooster while she held Nicole to her chest, covering their daughter with part of her open jacket even if Nikki was bundled up as warm as possible.

She was having fun just by hanging close to her mother, her cheeks rosy red and eyes squinted because of the cold weather, but she was just happy to be around. “Thanks,Roos.” Beatrice whispers when her husband keeps the door open for her, smirking and winking in her direction as she walked past him towards the warm interior. The bell jingled as the door closed with Rooster shrugging off his jacket and telling her to hand Nicole over so he could remove hers.

“This is a lovely place.” she says, looking up at the ceiling and placing the coat on the hanger by the door, “It’s so…familiar.”

“It does remind a little bit of the cabin,huh?”

It did, albeit it was smaller than the cabin was, very warm and it smelled great. Beatrice couldn’t help but grin at the several pictures on the walls: a beautiful gradient from black and white to color, showing the generation of owners that passed through this establishment, “It does.” she turns to Rooster, stretching her arms to pick Nicole, “Where are we going to sit?”

He looks around for a few seconds, then does a double take at the corner, smirking, “There.” he speed walks towards it, but he’s not so fast that Beatrice can’t keep up with him, in fact he’s holding out his hand for her to take it and the three of them could get to the booth that faced the large windows. Beatrice couldn’t help the smile on her face, it reminded her of their very first date - at Trooper’s - a few years back. “You can sit down,I’ll get Nikki’s booster seat.”

“Okay.” she says once she settles, her husband leaving her alone to talk to the lady on the counter. She watches as the woman’s face widens in recognition, her hands coming up to cup her cheeks in surprise before she walks around the counter to give Bradley a hug. She hears the lady calling a male name and an elder gentleman walks out from a little room with the word ‘Office’ above the walls.

Both of them hug Rooster, then spend a few minutes talking to him. She,however, stills a bit - like a deer in the headlights - when Rooster gestures towards her and Nikki. His mouth forms the words ‘my wife’ and he grins, brightly, like the sun when he says so, his cheeks flushing ever so slightly.

Another round of surprised gasps and congratulatory comments were thrown his way, even if she couldn’t get all of it. He leans closer to the couple, once again pointing to his girls on the booth and the man nods with a face that clearly says ‘as if there was any doubt!’ before he walks away.

The lady pats Rooster’s shoulder and then turns him around, shushing him back to their seat. He comes back laughing like a little boy, his cheeks still flushed, “They are going to bring a booster seat,” he says, not sitting down in front of Beatrice and propping his hands on her hips, creating a Rooster shaped shield from anyone who walked into the restaurant, “And the menus.”

“They didn’t have to! We could’ve got it from the car.”

“Yeah,I tried telling them but they said with the snow they didn’t want neither of us walking outside.”

Beatrice smiled softly “They seem to know you.”

“Hah, yeah, they are the same people from when I was a kid.” he says, ‘They were…really happy to see me and even happier when I told them I got married.”

“They appeared as such.” she says, “You looked so flushed it was adorable.”

He pursed his lips with a shy little ‘hm’ escaping his throat, almost as if he wanted to laugh but couldn’t yet, like a little boy who was just told how handsome he was. That boyish charm that made her knees weak only made her feel like flying, “Yeah, well.” he digs his hands in his pockets, smiling more when the male owner walks out of the room with a booster seat - brand new too - already speeding up to meet them mid way.

Introductions were made, this man’s name was Jim and his wife’s name was Cheryl, they owned this place ever since Rooster was ‘smaller than the palm of his hand’ mentioning that Carole and Nick used to come here when they were dating. Beatrice thought it was so sweet how they remembered them and how this spot became a beacon for Goose and Carole’s relationship and, of course, Rooster’s childhood.

The man was so kind to them, he was curious about Beatrice because ‘her accent was not from ‘round there’ and she told him she was from San Diego. The look he gave Rooster, followed by the subtle jab on the pilot’s ribs - and the not so subtle wink- made her blink in confusion. And then he turned to Nicole, who immediately grinned at him, ‘ha!’ she was starting to connect sounds to words, it was adorable seeing her trying to speak the best way that she could.

After Rooster set the booster seat down and Beatrice placed Nicole in it, her husband finally sat in front of her with a gentle sigh. He kept his eyes on his watch for a second, pressing the button on the sides to light up the visor, “We are just in time for lunch, nice, and we- what?” she was grinning at him, making him laugh confusedly, “What?”

“What was that about?”

“What was what about?”

“When he asked about where I was from,” she said, “He looked at you funny and he elbowed your rib as if he knew something I didn’t…soo,what do I not know about you?”

Rooster looked shocked, and amused, at the same time, only sputtering a quiet laugh before he crossed his arms, leaning back against the seat, ‘It was just a joke my mom liked to toss about.” she arched her brows waiting for him to continue, “...she used to say that my girl was going to be as warm as the sun from San Diego.” he smirks, folding his arms over the table so he could lean a bit closer to her.

Her cheeks immediately reddened and her lower lip slipped between her teeth as she chewed the soft flesh when his voice went down an octave, a deep purr that sent shivers down her body, “...really?”

“I could also say that the girl I was going to be with is also as hot as San Diego.” he smirks, “Because, well, you are aren’t you?”

“Roos.”

“And you know, I thought about it for a long time but then it escaped my mind…in fact I was only reminded of this now,when he mentioned it.” he says softly, “You are pretty much like that, Bea. Warm and beautiful…and you look amazing in a bikini.” she blushes harder, covering her face with her hands as Rooster returns to his previous relaxed position, smirking at his wife’s adorable embarrassment.

When Cheryl comes over with the menus, she gives the two a sweet look, almost proud of what she was seeing then walks back, “...well,” Beatrice clears her throat, checking what they could order while Nicole busied herself with the teething ring they brought along, “What…what should we order?”

“Hmmmm…” he taps his chin, holding the laminated paper up with his eyes narrowing just enough, “They have a great bbq here, so I might get that.”

“Oh, I think I’ll get it too then.”

“You sure?” he asks, “It’s a lot of food, gorgeous.”

Beatrice blinks, then looks down at the menu again, “W-Well, I…I want to try…we can take some back if I can’t handle it,right?”

“Of course.” he smirks, setting the menus aside as they waited, “And we can get some apple puree for Nikki…ooohh and some apple pie later. I’d love some apple pie.”

“You sure it’ll fit?’

“Oh I’ll make it fit.” he smiles, winking at her, “Why do you think I didn’t have breakfast?”

That’s true, he only had black coffee that morning…maybe she should’ve skipped as well. Beatrice,however, smiles at his expression…he’s relaxed, he’s so happy and it was like he went back ten years with how bright his expression is.He always mentioned that he wouldn’t live in Virginia again, but it was hard to ignore how elated he always looked whenever they came over to visit.

After ordering their food, and Nikki’s, Beatrice tried to not appear too shocked when that huge tray appeared in front of them. She widened her eyes, there were ribs,mac ‘n cheese, cornbread and so many other things that Beatrice didn’t even know what it was anymore, only that it smelled so good, “...o-oh wow.”

“I told you it was a lot.” he says, already licking his thumb and forefinger once he grabbed the ribs - shaking it and making the meat fall off the bone- ‘You don’t have to eat it all.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to.” she laughs nervously, choosing to open Nicole’s plastic cup where the apple puree was, their daughter clearly interested since she stopped chewing her teething ring to pay attention on what her mother was doing, little mouth parted open in wonder as the thin film that kept the cup closed was peeled off and Beatrice crumpled it into a ball, “Are you sure you can eat it all?”

“Hell yeah,I didn’t had this in years.” he smirks, taking a bite of everything and smiling with his eyes closed, almost as if he stepped into paradise the second those flavors invaded his mouth, “Fuck this is so good.”

Nicole giggles at her father’s antics, but opens her mouth to receive the apple puree at the same time, her mother just smiles at the scene and keeps her eyes on both of her favorite people in this whole wide world. Rooster is having a blast, Nicole is clearly enjoying herself but there’s more than that…it’s the fact that they were all here, in Virginia, in a place that was literally part of Rooster’s story and his parents as well.

She didn’t know why she was emotional.

Well, she did know why, it was also because of the twins but…it was so special. She hadn’t met Carole nor Goose, but she felt that Rooster was making her meet them through his eyes and…it was so sweet the way he was doing it. The first time they came they spent only a short weekend there, now they had a whole week and she couldn’t help but wonder what else he had in store for them.

Bradley looks up from his food towards her, “Baby,” his face turns serious immediately, “What’s the matter?”

“Huh?”

“You are tearing up.”

“Oh,” she quickly wipes her eyes and sniffles,laughing nervously, “Sorry, the hormones are getting to me.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” she smiles after wiping Nicole’s lips with the adorable bib they gave to them - it had a tiny black bear on it - “I’m just happy to see you happy.”

Rooster’s mouth slowly turned into a smile, his cheeks darkening slightly - a hue of reddish orange on those high cheekbones of his - and his eyes shining even more, not with tears but just…pure bliss.

“I’m just happy we are here.” she whispers, “I…I had no idea that you had a whole past with this place, Roos…it’s really nice,it really is.And the fact we are here as well, with Nikki…it’s special,it really is.” and she didn’t want to elaborate on that because she was already emotional, she didn’t need to cry more, ‘I just feel…honored? I guess that’s the word, that you brought us here.”

Bradley chews his food for a while longer, then smirks at her, holding his face on his closed fist, ‘There’s nothing like that. Baby, you are my girl.” another blush, darker this time, “And Nikki is our baby girl, I want you to enjoy a few things I did too. And if I’m able, then I’ll bring you along.”

“Well, it’s still special.”

“It is because you are here.” he adds softly, “Of course I have memories with my mom and very few with my dad…but when I bring you two- well four - along it’s because I think it’s time we…make our own memories.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears, “Roos…that’s so cute.”

“I’m just bein’ honest. What I want this week is for us to have the best time of our lives, with Nikki and the dogs…and us of course.It’ll be an amazing New Year because we’ll be together for the…second time to enjoy it? Not being deployed helps a lot.”

Beatrice’s smile gets soft again and she tucks a few hairs behind her ear, “...you think you’ll get deployed when we get back, don’t you?”

“It’s very possible.” he mutters, “I hope it’s not too long, I’d want to see the twins but…I don’t know.”

A hard silence takes over after he says that, Beatrice knows that he didn’t want to think more about it, so she cuts the convo to something else, “Are there any other places you’d like ot tell me?” she finally takes a bite of her own tray, widening her eyes and covering her mouth with a hand, ‘...oh wow this is so good,Roos.”

“Ain’t it? I thought you’d like it.” he is so proud when he says that, tapping the back of his fork against his plate and thinking about it, holding his head up still, “...there are some, I really want you to see my old school, my old high school.”

“Why? You mentioned it before.”

He pauses, the constant tapping of the fork against his plate adding to the now comforting quietness that surrounded them - the gentle voice of Etta James echoed on the speakers around the restaurant - “I can’t say my high school life was good. It was doable, it was good to handle, but I really liked the structure itself. We had a lot of trees. A lot of them, there was one right before the gymnasium, it was huge and you could climb on it and hide there during lunch if you wanted.”

“Did you and your friends do that?”

“Sometimes. My coach was always very vocal about me training. He used to say I had chicken legs and- don’t you start.” she is trying to cover her laughter, proceeding to do so by chewing some cornbread and offering him a shrug, “...and that I had to fatten them up. Which was a lie, my legs were fine back then, not so different from now. Plus I was really good, he knew I could skip a few days…” he pauses and a horrified look appears on his face, “Oh God I think he had a crush on my mom.”

“What?”

‘Oh no,oh God that’s–that explains so much.” he groans, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips then inhaling deeply once he placed his palms against his face, “Ew, eugh,fuck…anyway, let’s focus back on what we should think about and not the sudden traumatizing memory that resurfaced, please.” he drops his hands to the table, holding out his fingers, “There’s also…the bar I used to go during college, uhhh, the park where I’d go with my dog - we can take the dogs and Nikki there if it’s not too cold.”

Beatrice smiles, a lot because of his previous reaction but mainly because of his suggestions, “Yeah,we can do that, no worries.” as long as they had a good time, there was nothing wrong with that “Oh!Can I see UVA?”

“You want to?”

“Yeah,I’ve only seen pictures online and I saw your graduation pic,” he looked so handsome, his mustache was already as thick then but longer and so was his hair, he looked like a surfer guy from the 70’s, “And it was so nice…please?”

His eyes softened, “When you ask like that, how can I say no?”

“Aaa!”

“And so does Nikki,” Beatrice smiles at their daughter who’s just slapping her little hands on the seat, there’s apple puree all over her face even if Beatrice cleaned her seconds before, “She wants to see where daddy got his education.” Nicole babbles more, as if agreeing and Beatrice just laughs at their daughter’s antics, “I just want to know more about you.”

“Well, you do know about me.”

“Yes,but there’s some stuff I only found out now…like how everyone thought you’d end up with a California girl.” she blushes with a sweet grin, one that makes his own heart jump in his chest, “I need to know all your secrets.”

“It’s not a secret, I just forgot.”

“Same thing.”

He huffs a laugh, then clicks his tongue, “Alright, alright…but only,’ he points his fork at her, “Because you are cute and I’m head over heels for you.”

#bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x oc #top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw x female reader #bradley bradshaw x named reader #tgm oc #tgm fic #tgm fanfiction

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image-junkie · 9 months

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Jeffrey Gibson, Raven, 2016 Acrylic on canvas 108 x 84 in. Seen at Marcus Straus Gallery booth, Untitled Art Fair, Miami 2023

#contemporary art #abstract art #native american artist #jeffrey gibson #acrylic painting

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mikestoklassa · 8 days

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My time at the Zak Bagans Haunted Museum

This ghost hunting episode has compelled me to share my own experience with Zakary Bagary's Spooky Emporium, mostly because I've only shared this story orally and also because I want to flex that I've been somewhere Mike Stoklasa has been. Mayhaps it will inspire one of you to write a Fanfic (gentle persuasion). But truly this is mostly a diaristic blog post for me so that my memory of the Zak Bagan's Haunted Museum never truly slips from my grasp. Facts may not be totally accurate because this is months later and I have a shit memory. Anyways read more if u even care

THE BEGINNING

So my boyfriend and I went to Vegas this past year so that I could see my beloved Vegas Golden Knights <3 Of course that couldn't occupy the whole weekend, and my boyfriend and I aren't gamblers, so we had to find other things to pass the time. When we realized that Zak Bagans' Haunted Museum (which I will refer to as ZBHM) was in Vegas, we had to go. To be honest, by boyfriend and I have only seen a few episodes of Ghost Adventures, but we love spooky stuff and people whose reputations proceed them, so we knew we had to go.

We were staying on the strip, and ZBHM is located more in their downtown, so we had to Uber there. NGL I was expecting some spooky old Victorian house painted in all black, but truly it is just a pretty historic home in a residential neighborhood.

To my shock as a North-easterner, the check in for the museum is outside. So we're greeted by a lovely person who asks if we have tickets. We said we didn't and they told me the wait can be anywhere between 15 minutes and 3 hours, as we'd essentially be hoping that someone who bought tickets didn't show up to their tour. We didn't feel like waiting in the Vegas heat, so said we'd come back. Out of nowhere a man who looked like Guy Fieri if he shaved his head came up to the desk and said we were making the right choice, and to come back tomorrow with tickets. The workers were really nice and let us peruse the gift shop before we left.

My BF and I ended up going to the Mob Museum which was in the neighborhood. It sucked. Don't go.

THE RETURN

That night we purchased tickets for after lunch the next day. They were a whopping $54 dollars each, meaning two tickets was already over $100. There was something called an "RIP Access" ticket, but all I saw was we got to go to a basement and got a shirt and I thought that was dumb as shit so we didn't get it.

So we return the next day and have to wait outside for the next group to enter the house. Most importantly, we're asked to sign wavers stating we WILL not sue Zak if a ghost follows us home. I'd never hold Zak to that, so I gladly signed. Once we're informed we can head inside, I assume the tour is starting but no, we're being led to a lobby with a ticket booth. I thought that was weird, because we already had tickets, but I figured they had to give us badges so they knew we were on the tour. There were pictures of people who had come to ZBHM before, including One Direction's very own Liam Payne. No photography was allowed on the tour, so this is the only photographic proof I went.

So in this lobby, we're basically lined up to a ticket booth where I think we're getting badges. But no, when you get up to the booth, a lovely worker asks if you would like to give Zak Bagans additional money to do the "RIP Access", which includes extra experiences and rooms, as well as free T-shirt at the end. I still think that's dumb as shit, so I say no. But then my BF and I realize we are the ONLY people on the tour who don't have RIP Access, and we don't want to have to stand like dumb dicks outside of certain rooms while everyone else got to go inside, so we let peer pressure get to us. We upgraded for an additional $32 each, meaning now instead of giving Zak Bagan's $108 dollar, we gave him $172. Truly a low point.

THE SPOOKY TOUR BEGINS

So once Zak swindles you out of your money, you're guided out of the lobby, through a yard, and into the museum proper. The first room is truly, deeply, honest, the most censory overload I have ever experienced in my life. Every breath you take will contain 0% oxygen and 100% smoke machine gas. The first room was just an oddities room, filled with haunted items and general cool things that Zak has found along the way. There were human skulls on an old church pew, and as a museum worker myself, I so desperately needed to see the provenance of those. I'm still waiting, Zak. Anyways, our tour guide then proceeds to uncover a machine which is an old Zoltar machine, but instead of a Zoltar animitronic, it's a Zak Bagan animitronic. Then, after each person on this ten person tour gave Zak Bagans $86 dollars each ($860 total), the tour guide asks if anyone would like to "spare a dollar" for the Zak Zoltar machine so Zak may give our tour a fortune. I thought everyone on the tour would feel just as indignant about this as me, but no, people were desperately reaching for their wallets so that they may be the person who blessed our tour with a fortune. I can't remember exacts, but it has something to do with bewaring stairs. Spoiler alert: the fortune did not come back up.

THE GROSS

So from the main room, we enter a haunted doll closet, our first RIP access experience! It was a hall filled with old dolls. I think old dolls are cute not creepy, so this was a pretty lame experience for me. Next we entered a room that looked like a chapel, and we are for the first time greeted to Zak's lovely presence. Zak in a voice over begins to tell us the story of Anneliese Michel, the German woman who underwent a bunch of exorcisms. Now I am very much like Jay, in the sense that ghosts are most interesting to me when they're presented as amorphous fields of energy. I do not care for demon stories, especially when it's obvious that the "demonic person" is just severely mentally ill. So needless to say, I was not about this room. After the voice over, Zak invites RIP ticket holders to the spooky crawlspace tunnel below a mantle holding a chalice the Michel family owned? Idfk. I was NOT crawling through some damn tunnel with someone I don't know's ass in my face, so I declined and walked in the hallway with our tour guide to the next room. My BF went through and said the scariest thing was the idea of the person in front of you farting.

I won't lie, it's about here where my memory gets murky, so I apologize if this is out of order. ("But isn't this just the second room you went in??" Girl idk!!) What I remember next was entering a room with a large bed in it. In the room we are greeted to another voice over from Zak explaining that this bed came from Love Ranch. Zak spends a long time explaining that this is the bed that NBA player Lamar Odom OD'ed and almost died on, and that the Love Ranch owner Dennis Hof died on. I was like "Okay I guess that's a little creepy and sad but is it haunted?" And then Zak on the voice over was like "Oh by the way here's a picture of Hof on the bed with a creepy face in the back that may be a ghost" and then we were PROMPTLY ushered out of the room.

Next we're taken into a room that looks like a medical office. We're told the drawings on the wall and the items in the room belong to Jack Kevorkian, who was a doctor and proponent of euthanasia. The Zak Voice Over spent a lot of time explaining how people would faint in this room after feeling very emotionally overwhelmed. I was like okay....it's the Vegas heat, we've been standing for awhile now, every square inch of this place is nothing buy fog machine smoke, and now we're talking about euthanasia...yeah that'd probably make me pass out. Anyways we go into a room which has Kevorkian's van where the euthanasias were performed. To me, this stuff isn't spooky like at all? IDK I don't know a lot about Kevorkian but from what Zak said he just sounded like a doctor who wanted to give people a chance to go with grace.

So with all of that leaving a bad taste in my mouth, we were taken to a room full of serial killer memorabilia. Personally, I don't like the idea of serial killer's being tortured souls who must stay on this mortal coil as ghosts, but I guess it was better than Zak exploiting the deaths of their victims so whatever. It was a little cool to see the artifacts in the room but honestly now as an adult who understand serial killers aren't complex and fascinating psychos and mostly just guys who hate women, I didn't really feel compelled by this room. There also weren't really any ghost stories in this room. I think Zak just wanted to flex he had a John Wayne Gacy painting.

We were then taken to a room that looked with a barn with a big cauldron in the center. I IMMEDIATELY clocked it as an Ed Gein room. The Zak Voice Over once again comes on to explain a little bit about Ed Gein and how the cauldron in the room is the one Gein used to drain the blood of victims. Again, I'm not into this stuff, but was snapped back into it when Zak explained that on a paranormal investigation of the museum, two English witches were performing a seance in this room and one became possessed by Gein and tried to attack the other. I was so onbroard. Zak please if you're reading this pay those English witches whatever they want to explore your museum more.

THE UPTICK...

So the English witches had me so unbelievably hype and the next point in the tour was so fun. We're taken to this carnival themed room where a man introduces himself and then promptly sticks a drill bit up his nose. He then swallowed a sword and explained he'd been working there for awhile. I asked him how you learn you're good at something like that, and he actually explained the process by which he trains. It was genuinely interesting. Next to him was a caravan which apparently was haunted by a little girl, so the group was split in two to investigate. My group was second, so we had a moment to talk to this guy and ask questions. I am of course annoying so I asked how often Zak is bringing objects to the museum, how he decides where to place them, where does he get them from,etc. I think the guys wanted us to ask if Zak was like cool and nice lol but he played along and answered as best he could. Anyways we went in the caravan next and nothing happened.

...TO THE STEEP DROP

After we departed from nice carnival man, we were made to walk in a hallways with scary clown animatronics, only some of them were real people. I don't hate clowns, but I do not like haunted attractions with real people, so I spent the whole time just staring at the ground. I couldn't tell you what anything looked like.

Then we were in a normal hallway with two doors. Our tour guide informed us that we'd be going to the left, which was the "torture room". I had my fill of human suffering, so I asked if I could wait in the next room. My tour guide was kind enough to let me do so. My BF went in and informed me it was a serial killer who prayed on male sex workers and they had the bed he would torture them on. I did not mind missing it.

The room I waited in was next, and you guessed it, we were greeted to the Zak Voice Over. Zak explained we were in the antechamber for the Dybbuk Box. I was hype, because this is something I definitely know Zak for. All was well until the Zak voice over started explaining to terrifying night Zak had with the Dybbuk Box while investigating with his "friend, Post Malone." Something in me just snapped, I started crying laughing. I thought it was so fucking funny. But you need to understand, everyone else on my tour was SO into this stuff. I didn't want to be the asshole yucking everyone's yum, so I turned to the corner. I then noticed our tour guide looking at me and realized he was assessing if I was crying or not. Not wanting to be used as a story of "a woman who started having an emotional breakdown right outside of the Dybbuk Box room", I pulled it together. We finally entered to see.....the Dybbuk Box behind four giant wooden walls. Apparently Zak had a vision of someone stealing the Box, so he added the walls for good measure. I was whelmed.

After this, my memory gets REALLY murky. I know we went to the basement where the previous owner claims her dad would perform satanic rituals on her. Very sad, but Zak made a point to note that she stopped texting him eventually. Take a hint Zak.

I remember a spooky doll named Peggy, who we were told NOT to disrespect as she was SUPER MEGA HAUNTED. Even Zak apparently wouldn’t go in alone. We entered, and Peggy was just a doll from the 70s with a page boy haircut and a prairie dress. There was a spirit box in the room and we were told we could commune with Peggy. NO ONE spoke for the longest time so eventually I said “…I like your haircut Peggy!” No one laughed and Peggy did not respond.

The most exploitative room undoubtedly, was the celebrity haunted memorabilia room. Inside were such respectful object such as Brandon Lee’s coat from The Crow, which he died in, Paul Walker’s sunglasses, which he died in, Truman Capote’s summer clothes, which he died in, and for some reason, Patrick Swayze’s tooth. Nestled in the corner was an object which I was immediately drawn to, and which I paid the most attention to throughout our time in this room. It was Sharon Tate’s wedding dress. I don’t exactly know how this object was supposed to be haunted, as she didn’t die in it, but my God did I want to deck Zak Bagan’s in his fucking face because something like this genuinely belongs in a real museum and not Zak Bagans’ Misery Porn Tour of Horror.

I also remember being taken to a nautical themed room which had some Titanic objects, but was mostly a Natalie Wood room, as it had items from the boat she was on when she died. Voice Over Zak explained that he was doing a separate paranormal investigation and placed some objects in the room. At the same time, the captain of the ship Natalie died on texted Zak saying, practically verbatim, “OMG!!! All my books just flew off the shelves. It’s Natalie, I know it.” All I could think was, “For the love of God, let this poor woman rest.”

THE END

At this point, the tour was just throwing everything at the wall and seeing what stuck. We went into a room with a rocking chair that supposedly possessed a child. I asked our tour guide what happened to the kid and he was like “Oh the demon left him and he’s fine now.” Oh, good! We went into another room with artifacts from an occultist with a specialization in EVPs. I LOVED this. Again, I love the idea of ghosts being energy who can speak through radio waves. What I didn’t like is Zak being like “Oh by the way, listening to EVPs infected her with demons and she went crazy and wasted away.” I’m sorry, what is it with Zak and demons???

Lastly, of course, was the house from Zak’s wonderful documentary. You’re led a dark room where Zak explains the portal to Hell resided in the basement of a home in…Gary, Indiana. The the walls lifted and from behind a fence you could see some dirt from the basement with a pentagram in it. I’m sorry, how did they transport that? Everyone has to understand they redrew/drew that pentagram in there, right? Anyways, super anticlimactic way to end our tour.

Then of course, exit through the gift shop. I was offered a shirt for buying the RIP access ticket. I declined. My boyfriend did get one, though. Still trying to convince him to do a Mike and Jay Halloween costume with me.

TLDR, the ZBHM had none of the fun campiness of Zak’s personality and was full of human suffering and very little ghosts. I cannot stress enough, though, how awesome all of the employees there are. I truly, TRULY hope that a good portion of the ~$860 Zak is getting form each tour is going to them, because they sell you on it.

Anyways Mike what if we kissed in the Creepy Demonic Crawlspace of the Zak Bagans’ Haunted Museum 😳

#i was drunk and angry and stupid and blogging #THIS IS SO LONG BE WARNED #for me and me only

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sims4t2bb · 2 years

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weekly update

Hi, hello, hello! We hope you're all having a stunning Sunday, and that you enjoy your week ahead 🖤

All of this week's updates can be found behind the cut, as always — onwards and upwards!

— Base Game

Corporate Chic Countertop, VAULT Modular Counter, Dollop O’ Light, and In the Raw Industrial Table Lamp conversions by @jinxxsims have been added.

Double Vision and Fenestral Maneuvers in the Dark conversions by @lordcrumps have been added.

— Expansion Packs

Get to Work

The Beamer and Interrogation Illumination conversions by @jinxxsims have been added.

Get Together

The Wub Tub Electromagic DJ Booth conversion by @jinxxsims has been added.

City Living

The Upright Window conversion by @lordcrumps has been added.

Cats & Dogs

Cozy Warmth Maker and East Egg Elite Fireplace conversions by Ladysimplayer8 have been added.

Snowy Escape

Debug hood deco Gondola Station Lower & Upper and Gondola Pole conversions by @lordcrumps have been added.

Cottage Living

Whittler’s Pride Kitchen Counter conversion by @jinxxsims has been added.

Henford Henge Stone Double Window, Henford Stone Halo Window, Henford Stone Square Trim Window, Inspirational Window, and Small Henford Stone Square Trim Window conversions by @lordcrumps have been added.

Growing Together

Haughty Herringbone Fireplace conversion by @jinxxsims has been added.

— Game Packs

Outdoor Retreat

All the images have been updated.

The page menu has been updated.

The coding has been cleaned up and standardised.

Some items were recategorised.

Journey to Batuu

The Forgotten Saucer conversion by @jinxxsims has been added.

My Wedding Stories

The Longing Window conversion by @lordcrumps and @tvickiesims has been added.

— Stuff Packs

Paranormal

Séance Chair, Séance Table, Push Your Luck End Table, Spirit Appeasing Hallway Table, Amuse-Bouche Cowplant Terrarium, Botanical Arrangement No. 108, Book of Silhouettes, Lady Ravendancer's Crystal Ball, Oh, The Suspense! Suspended Lights, and The Veil Beaded Curtain conversions by Ladysimplayer8 have been added.

#weekly update

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cabaretkel · 11 months

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Broadway Theatres

There are currently 41 operating Broadway theatres, & I have been lucky enough to visit most of them. In descending order by most visited, here is a list of all the productions I’ve seen & the year I attended for each theatre.

Belasco Theatre: Hedwig & the Angry Inch (2014) / Hedwig & the Angry Inch (2015) / Hedwig & the Angry Inch (2015) / Farinelli & the King (2018) / Network (2019)

Neil Simon Theatre: Jesus Christ Superstar (2012) / Big Fish (2013) / All the Way (2014) / Angels in America Part 1 (2018) / Angels in America Part 2 (2018)

Richard Rodgers Theatre: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2013) / Romeo & Juliet (2013) / If/Then (2014) / Hamilton (2016) / Hamilton (2018)

Studio 54: The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2013) / Cabaret (2014) / Cabaret (2015) / The Lifespan of a Fact (2019) / Pictures From Home (2023)

Longacre Theatre: First Date (2013) / Of Mice & Men (2014) / Allegiance (2016) / The Prom (2019) / Leopoldstadt (2023)

Brooks Atkinson Theatre / Lena Horne Theatre: Peter & the Starcatcher (2013) / Spring Awakening (2016) / Spring Awakening (2016) / Waitress (2017) / SIX (2023)

Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre: It’s Only a Play (2015) / The Color Purple (2016) / The Ferryman (2018) / Company (2020) / Parade (2023)

Circle in the Square Theatre: Godspell (2012) / Fun Home (2016) / In Transit (2017) / Once on this Island (2018)

Booth Theatre: The Glass Menagerie (2013) / The Elephant Man (2015) / American Son (2019) / Kimberly Akimbo (2023)

Music Box Theatre: Pippin (2013) / The Heidi Chronicles (2015) / Dear Evan Hansen (2017) / Purlie Victorious (2023)

Broadhurst Theatre: The Front Page (2017) / Anastasia (2018) / Jagged Little Pill (2020) / A Beautiful Noise (2023)

Imperial Theatre: Les Miserables (2014) / Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 (2017) / Carousel (2018) / Bad Cinderella (2023)

Broadway Theatre: Cinderella (2014) / Fiddler on the Roof (2016) / West Side Story (2020) / Here Lies Love (2023)

Ethel Barrymore Theatre: The Bands Visit (2018) / The Inheritance Part 1 (2020) / The Inheritance Part 2 (2020) / Harmony (2023)

Al Hirschfeld Theatre: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (2011) / Kinky Boots (2013) / Moulin Rouge (2020)

Nederlander Theatre: Newsies (2014) / Honeymoon in Vegas (2015) / Pretty Woman (2019)

St. James Theatre: Bullets Over Broadway (2014) / Something Rotten! (2016) / Frozen (2018)

Shubert Theatre: Hello Dolly (2018) / To Kill a Mockingbird (2019) / Some Like it Hot (2023)

Winter Garden Theatre: School of Rock (2016) / Beetlejuice (2020) / Back to the Future (2023)

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre: The Addams Family (2011) / Finding Neverland (2016) / Tina - The Tina Turner Musical (2020)

Lyceum Theatre: The Realistic Jones (2014) / A View From the Bridge (2016)

Marquis Theatre: Wonderland (2011) / Evita (2012)

American Airlines Theatre: Violet (2014) / On the Twentieth Century (2016)

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre: Casa Valentina (2014) / Constellations (2015)

Palace Theatre: Annie (2013) / Sunset Boulevard (2017)

Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre: The Bridges of Madison County (2014) / Come From Away (2018)

August Wilson Theatre: Mean Girls (2019) / Funny Girl (2023)

Stephen Sondheim Theatre: Anything Goes (2012) / & Juliet (2023)

Cort Theatre / James Earl Jones Theatre: The Cripple of Inishmaan (2014) / Gutenberg! The Musical (2023)

Hudson Theatre: Toured the theatre (2019) / Merrily We Roll Along (2023)

Eugene O'Neill Theatre: The Book of Mormon (2012)

Minskoff Theatre: Easter Bonnet Competition (2014)

Majestic Theatre: The Phantom of the Opera (2016)

New Amsterdam Theatre: Aladdin (2014)

Walter Kerr Theatre: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder (2016)

Hayes Theatre: Lobby Hero (2018)

Gershwin Theatre: Wicked (2020)

John Golden Theatre: The Shark is Broken (2023)

Ambassador Theatre: Chicago (2023)

Lyric Theatre: N/A

Vivian Beaumont Theatre: N/A

Shows seen multiple times: Hedwig & the Angry Inch (3), Cabaret (2), Hamilton (2) & Spring Awakening (2).

108 shows, 1 event & 1 tour

#broadway #musical theatre #musicals #theater #theatre

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rsdesignsravit · 4 months

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Hey I found my (hair) twin at the Deerfield (IL) art fair today!

Still time to swing by and check out the dozens of artists and vendors on display!

I'm in booth 108! Hope to see you (until 5pm)!

#beadedjewelry #beadwork #jewelrydesigner #beadedbracelets #beadedearrings #beadednecklace #art fair #illinois

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xxfanfiction-emo-trinityxx · 2 years

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Killjoys Never Die 8/15 - Venom

Chapter Summary: Party remembers a BLI outpost and a dangerous plan is made. (eventual) Pairing: Fun Ghoul x fem!Reader Chapter Word Count: 2 108 Series Warnings: mentions of drugs; poor mental health; suicidal tendencies; insecurities; throwing up; jealousy; slavery (?); experiments on living humans; mentions of eating disorder; graphic descriptions of: violence, injuries, torture, death

Previous Chapter | Series Masterlist

Recap: Fun and Jet found Party and brought him back to the Diner. But since then Fun refuses to talk to you and is constantly mad at Party, who slowly but surely seems to spiral into at the knowledge that BLI is keeping Kobra to torture him.

Party had been back with you for almost three weeks, when one morning you left your room, again without having slept next to Fun, and found Party sitting at a table, mulling over a map.

“Morning,” you greeted carefully, fully expecting Party to immediately launch into one of his rants which you had gotten all too familiar with over the past two weeks, since Jet had had that nightmare.

Instead Party lifted his head, and waved you over.

“Look at that,” he asked, pointing to the map of the reconstructed routes. “Notice something?”

He had pointed to an area outside Battery City, Zone 2. It was pretty close to the city already, the DRAC presence there a lot higher than out here in Zone 6. You scanned over the familiar map, tracing along the edges that marked hills and lines that were roads.

“Focus on the routes you drew,” Party encouraged.

It took you a few seconds, and blinking at the map a few times, but then you knew what he was pointing out. Almost all of the routes crossed in one point, or rather a very close area.

“What are you thinking,” you asked, sitting down in the booth opposite him.

“I remembered something,” he explained. “There is a BLI outpost here. They have a small petrol station, and tons of documents. I don’t know why they keep it out there, but there is data, about the city, about the Zones, about DRACs and Zombies and lots of other stuff.”

“Information about the city,” you asked, making Party nod.

“Canal and sewer systems, entries into the city, blueprints of buildings even.”

“Why would they keep it out there?”

Party had already said he did not know, but the question raised a red flag. It seemed too simple. It might be a trap.

“I don’t know. Maybe they’re scared this stuff’ll get stolen if they keep it within the city walls. And don’t think the Killjoys will advance as far as Zone 2?”

You bit your cheek. “You think they have information that might help us break out Kobra?”

Party nodded.

“And you want to steal it.”

Again he nodded.

Thinking hard, you pulled the map closer to take a look. It was risky, not only because of the proximity to Battery City, but also because of the density of patrols. This close to the city there were not only DRACs, but also SCARECROWS, and those were even less fun to be around.

Then again, the knowledge that Kobra was still in Battery City, probably getting tortured as you were calmly studying this map… it killed you inside. How did it have to feel for Party? And it was the first proper plan he had come up with so far, definitely better than his suggestion to find Destroya, and let a gigantic robot break Kobra out of BLI.

So you would need to organise a mission to this outpost, steal whatever information they had that could be useful to your cause, and then, using this information you could make a detailed plan on how to get Kobra out of Battery City. One with actual routes, and not just ‘then we run down corridors, and hope to find him behind one of the doors’.

“Let’s do it.”

Your agreement sparked a light in Party’s eyes you had not seen in years, and he seemed more like himself afterwards.

Once Jet and Fun were awake you shared the news with them, and together you began making a plan how to get to the outpost. The route to get there was determined by avoiding DRAC routes and mountains. Getting to Zone 2 and back would take almost a whole day, considering you had to be careful to stay unnoticed, so it would be best to leave in the early morning.

Quickly it was agreed that it would be an unnecessary risk to go all together. Four bikes threw up more dust than two or even just one. This meant you had to decide who should go.

Party volunteered, but was shot down immediately by the rest of you. He was the one who remembered the most about BLI. If the mission to the outpost should fail, he was the one who had to do the planning by himself. Then Fun volunteered, but only under the condition to go alone. Jet and Party seemed okay with it, even though Jet offered his help, but you disagreed. Fun needed backup, you insisted, so either Jet or you would come along.

The discussion whether Fun should be accompanied by a second person poured more gas into the fire of his slumbering rage, and in the end he was shouting at you, making you the active target of his aggression for the first time since Party was back.

“I don’t need you to pretend to look after me,” he shouted, making your heart beat faster, anxiously. “I need your protection as little as you claim to need mine!”

Well, you kinda brought that one upon yourself, you had to admit.

“It’s got nothing to do with protection,” you disagreed.

By now you were standing in the middle of the Diner, facing each other, while Jet and Party sat at the side, anxiously watching your screaming match.

“No, it doesn’t! You just want to belittle me!”

“That’s-”

“It’s okay, come on! Just admit you think I’m completely useless! I know you want to! It wouldn’t be a loss if I fail on this mission, but you just feel too guilty to admit that to yourself, so you pretend like you care!”

“What the hell, Ghoul?” His words sent daggers to your heart. Pretend like you cared? What by Destroya was wrong with him? How could he believe you did not care about him?

“Oh, so I’m Ghoul now? Okay, I see how this is. Why don’t you just send me of to what we all know is more or less a suicide mission-”

“You volunteered, and I wanted to come along-”

“-so you and Party-” he stabbed his finger into the other man’s direction, making him flinch, “-can cuddle around and be lovey-dovey all day long without me getting in your way!”

In disbelief you stared at him.

“What are you even talking-”

“The decision was made, alright? I’m going, on my own. I can’t stand being in this fucking Diner a day longer. Every minute away from you is a minute I can actually breathe for once.”

Words like daggers? No, more like a mincer with acid and molotov cocktail, all in one.

“You don’t mean that,” you breathed, hoping to be able to keep the tears back for now. “You don’t really mean that.”

“Don’t I?”

“Okay, you know what?” His last words had deflated your anger, left you as lonely and weak as you had not been in years. Your legs were shaking, your hands, your voice... “Go. Go on that mission, but be careful. That’s all I’m asking, alright?”

“As if you cared,” Fun rolled his eyes.

“I do care,” you answered quietly. You were sick of shouting, sick of being mad at him for not talking to you, sick of missing the way things had been for a few blissful weeks, when you had fallen asleep curled into his side. “I do care. About you.”

For a long moment he looked at you, his chest heaving with heavy breaths from having shouted at you before.

“No. No, you don’t,” he eventually pressed out, before he turned and stormed off to his room, leaving you frozen in place.

Venom. His words were like venom, spreading slowly from your heart through your veins, freezing you from the inside out. Cold. Painful. Numbing you to any other sensation.

At some point Party and Jet seemed to have gotten up, because the next time you finally managed to look around, they were standing behind the counter of the Diner, searching for things Fun might need on his mission. He was due to leave in the early hours of the coming morning, you overheard as you sat down on a booth, dully watching your friends work. Jet packed a first aid kit, water and food, Party several folders for papers, and many little electronic devices for data transfer.

By the time they were done, the sun already sunk behind the hills. Fun had not come out of his room since he had disappeared in it, and you heard Party mentioning to Jet that he wanted to go to bed early to be ready for what the next day might bring.

Eventually, after having convinced you to eat at least a few bites of PowerPup, the other two also went to bed, leaving you alone. It was not like they had not tried convincing you to go to sleep, but you had resisted their efforts. You needed to stay awake, needed to tell Fun good bye. Somehow him leaving for this mission felt like you were sitting in a car that headed straight towards an abys.

Doom lingered over the Diner, so heavy in the air that you could almost taste it. You had lost Fun before, and then thought you had lost him a second time, when he and Jet had headed out to search for Party. And maybe you had really lost him that day. After all, he had refused to share one friendly word with you since.

But you needed to talk to him, before you maybe lost him for a third – for a final – time. What did you want to say? You were not sure. That you had loved him all these years, still did? Perhaps. That you had barely slept without him by your side? Most likely. That you missed him, his warmth, his jokes, the soft look in his eyes, the infinite safety you found in his arms? Absolutely.

You mulled the thoughts over in your head, again and again, until you were dizzy, until the Diner with its few orange lights was nothing but twisting shapes and dots of light before your tired eyes.

And eventually your head sunk to the top of the table.

You did not wake up when the door to Fun’s room opened, and he slipped out, or when he grabbed the bag Party and Jet had prepared for him, or when he walked up to you, watching you sleep. For almost five minutes he stood beside you.

You had tried waiting up for him. Why? Had you wanted to talk to him? He doubted you had done it in order to continue screaming at him. But now you were asleep. A part of him wanted to wake you up, wanted to wrap you in his arms, and apologize for all the weeks in which he had treated you worse than he ever could have imagined himself treating someone, but if he woke you up now, he knew he would never find the strength to leave.

So he just reached his hand out, intending to brush his fingers over your hair, but then he stopped himself. Not out of fear of waking you. No, he denied himself the sensation of feeling you. He would explain everything when he came back. He would explain why he had insisted on leaving you behind when they had headed out to look for Party, and how jealous he had gotten when he had seen you clinging to his best friend that same evening. He had always known your heart secretly belonged to Party, but there had been this irrational hope that the weeks you had spent together, sleeping side by side to keep each other’s nightmares at bay, confessing to weaknesses and fears, had brought you closer together.

But maybe he should have said something, about how he really felt for you. Maybe it would have made a difference.

Or maybe you would have cast him aside for Party either way, the way you had done now. Maybe nothing would ever have made a difference.

He pulled his hand back, without having brushed over your hair, and quietly left the Diner. You did not wake up when the door closed behind him, nor did you wake up when he pushed his bike out of the shed, and all the way up the hill before starting the motor. You did not even wake up when the sun rose, or when Party came out of his room, stretching and yawning.

You only woke up when the sun was high in the sky, Fun already several Zones away from you, and the feeling of dread in your stomach had turned heavy as lead.

Next Chapter - Face All the Pain

Taglist:

@alexstyx @jayloverthe3rd @robinruns @lookalivefrosty @butterflycore @omgsuperstarg @fivelegance @deadlovers @casmustdiee @moisheee @layla2-49 @thewordworrier @prty-poisxn @cmtryghoul @ren-ni @heartsfromdoll

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dwuerch-blog · 2 years

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Stealth Superpowers

I’m sure you’ve heard about the petite woman who was able to lift the car off a child who was pinned under it. The people who have done that accomplished an almost unthinkable feat of strength. I read this in Psychology Today: The human body can unleash some amazing RESERVES that deadens “temporary” pain. So, in a time when stealth reserves are needed, it’s possible to become super-powered. I…

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heynikkiyousofine · 2 years

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Happy Birthday @blairex!

Thank you for all the late night conversations about so many great stories here. I hope you have the best day ever. Here's an InuKag one shot of your favorite trope: fake dating. 💕

Bar Rescue

Summary: Kagome can’t help but save the hanyou in distress when a group of women just don’t leave him alone.

Sitting atop her barstool, Kagome enjoyed the burning warmth as her drink slid down her throat. Closing her eyes, she listened to the voices around her, wincing at the squeals and shrieks coming from the bridal party celebrating a few booths from her. She had the roughest day at work, many of her male coworkers giving her a hard time, as usual.

Running one of the most successful law firms in the district, she often found herself surrounded by testosterone on a daily basis, leading her to stop in at her favorite bar on Friday nights. Another scream had her grimacing, looking up to the bartender, a short red headed fox demon, she gestured for him to come over.

Continue Reading on AO3

tag list below the cut:

@blairex ; @mamabearcat ; @enchantedink-ag ; @splendentgoddess ; @mandirox89 ; @sailorlolo ; @mustardyellowsunshine ; @hny-moroha ; @knittingknots ; @yukinon-writes ; @clearwillow ; @keichanz ; @serial-doubters-club ; @malditamigs ; @zelink-inukag ; @shinidamachu ; @bonny2323 ; @banksdelivers ; @that-one-nerdy-gal ; @sarahk21 ; @dchelyst ; @anisaanisa ; @lavendertwilight89 ; @otaku-108 ; @sailorbabydoll92 ; @inukagbot ; @queerkagome ; @bluehawaiicat ; @chit-a-to ; @liz8080 ; @lightmidnight

#inuyasha #kagome #inukag #InuYasha Kagome #inuyasha x kagome #InuKago #fluff #inukag fluff #funny #fake dating #happy birthday blairex #one shot #fake relationship

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camera-worker · 9 months

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Vocal Booth video monitor, subModern Audio, 2023

#10-108-02

Set up a short range transmitter to send the studio closed circuit video feed to this sweet portable I picked up at the flea market.

#television #medium format #bronica #closed circuit #video #portrait #recording studio #submodern audio

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youllallriseintheink · 1 year

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Accretion, chapter 3

Accretion is a story that follows the rise and fall of Galactic Boss Cyrus and the fate of Team Galactic and the lives of those affected by it after its reformation under Saturn. It will be about 8 chapters in length. I hope you all enjoy this.

Saturn walked through the dorm halls, clutching his abra, Betty, like a ragdoll as the Pokémon levitated his luggage behind him. Maybe choosing to stay in men’s dorms hadn’t been a good idea. Not that he was exactly comfortable living with a stranger of any gender given how shy he was, but since he hadn’t transitioned at all or even used a non-feminine his name on any of the paperwork, this was starting to feel like a mistake. He got to the room with his number- 108- took a deep breath, and slowly opened the door.

Saturn’s roommate, a young man with sharp eyes and frosty blue hair, was already there, bags unpacked and nose in a book. If the stranger had noticed that someone had come in, he didn’t show it.

Saturn signed for Betty put his bags down in front of his bed. They dropped loudly, prompting Saturn to cringe as the stranger peered up at him.

“Hey. My name is Venus,” Saturn managed.

The other man put down his book and looked him over, dull-eyed and surely thinking that ‘Venus’ was a strange name for someone in the men’s dorms. “I don’t want to call you that,” the man said.

“…What?”

“That name makes you uncomfortable. Give me one that won’t make you uncomfortable.” The man waited a moment as Saturn attempted to gather himself and respond. “Or, I could call you nothing at all. It seems that neither of us are enthused about sharing space. Perhaps we’d prefer to ignore eachother entirely.” The man’s tone wasn’t annoyed- he sounded like he was just stating dry facts.

“No, it’s not that, I just- well, I don’t quite have a name picked out. I mean, I’m not out to my parents, so…”

“You don’t need to tell them the truth. Tell them you don’t want to be named ‘Venus’ because Venus is a lousy planet. The less you care about others, the more ability you will have to live as you see fit.”

“Um. Okay.” Saturn turned away, opened up his suitcase, and set to unpacking. Once the initial agitation wore off, Saturn wondered where on earth this man got so much nerve and where he could find some of it. He might as well try to find out. It wasn’t like they were off to a great start as roommates, so what did he have to lose?

“Some of my friends call me Saturn,” Saturn explained, “It started as a placeholder, but I’m getting used to it. What’s your name?”

“Cyrus.”

“Cool. I’m going to take a look at the bar across the street from campus. Do you want to join me?”

“Sure,” Cyrus answered, with some hesitation.

Saturn would give Canalave one thing- their university knew how to throw a welcome week. Unfortunately, since it was nearly five, most of the booths for campus clubs and other features were currently being packed up for the day. It might have been interesting to check them out together since he didn’t have anyone else to go with.

“So, what are you here for?” Saturn asked as they passed through the various stands.

“My scholarships are in engineering, so that will be the majority of my classes,” Cyrus explained, not sounding especially excited. “You?”

“Well, uh. I don’t know. I mean, my goal up until a month ago was basically just to distract myself until I die. But my family scrapped together the cash to send me here, so I’m vaguely obligated to do something. Pretty sure they’re mostly just hoping this’ll keep me out of prison, though.”

“Prison?”

Saturn held up the floral-printed purse he’d snatched from a booth while its owner’s back was turned. He took 3000 poké from it, then snapped his fingers. On cue, Betty teleported it back.

“I... see,” Cyrus said, looking at Saturn with more alertness than before.

“Yeah. Betty here has been my partner in crime for, well, a long time,” Saturn explained, rubbing the Pokémon between the ears as it floated beside him. “So, you don’t seem that interested in engineering. What do want to do with your life?”

Cyrus looked forward as they walked, his face serious. “It’s not that I’m uninterested in engineering. It’s that millions upon millions of people are born, suffer, and die and the world remains incomplete no matter how many of them attempt to change it for the better. Something has to radically change and it won’t be through technology alone. My goal is to figure out how to change it.”

“Oh. Wow. You sound like a real visionary.”

“I suppose so. But you’re the one who’s actually taken risks. You must have some interesting stories about your criminal exploits.”

Saturn laughed. “That makes it sound like I robbed a bank. But yeah, I have stories.”

It was a short walk to the bar. Unsurprisingly, given the number of students that had arrived that day, the bar was packed despite it barely being evening. The music blared and several dozen people attempted to yell over it and each other. Why humans willingly put themselves in locations like this, let alone managed to do something as nuanced as socialize in them, was beyond Cyrus. But he could manage this. He needed to learn more about people to decide how to change the world, and Saturn was a good start, given his willingness to spend time with him.

They were seated. Saturn asked questions Cyrus could barely make out. Cyrus gave short answers. It was better not to attempt anything more complicated than that while most of his cognitive resources were focused on filtering out the noise.

“Want to have them move us to the patio so it’s quieter?” Saturn asked after a few minutes of conversation, his tone leaving no question that he’d noticed Cyrus’ discomfort.

“If you’d prefer it,” Cyrus replied, taking care to sound indifferent, as though that would save face.

Wonderful. Now Saturn would think he was strange and inadequate and want nothing to do with him. He’d lost the respect of a compliant human being because a bar was loud.

And yet, Saturn hadn’t rushed to leave that night. In fact, after they got going, they’d talked for hours. And strangely enough, the next day Saturn invited him out to look at the booths for various clubs. And Cyrus agreed to it.

Saturn dragged him to the first meetings of various clubs so he’d have a sturdy wall of confidence to cling to if things got awkward. They played video games together. They stayed up late exchanging jokes and stories on nights they couldn’t sleep. They discussed each other’s classes to the point where Saturn majored in engineering because he’d found Cyrus’ rambles on the subject so interesting. And Saturn was good at it. Saturn transitioned. He gained confidence. He gained other friends. And yet for some reason he chose to spend time with Cyrus. Every time Cyrus was sure he’d acted a bit too strange, been a bit too much or too weak, or that Saturn would leave him for better options, Saturn didn’t lose interest in him. It was baffling but pleasant.

---

“Thanks for agreeing to look over this, especially on such short notice,” Saturn said, logging into the library computer. It was a bit past 1 am and finals were still a few weeks away, so they were the only ones there.

“It’s fine,” Cyrus answered. “This is about what I’d be doing at this hour anyhow.” It was true. While Saturn being up at this hour was rare and usually meant he was upset, Cyrus frequently spent the early morning hours researching whatever his current interest was.

“Right.” Saturn opened up his presentation on the Celestica people. “Alright. Here it is. I made sure to follow the syllabus, but it’s on a pretty complicated subject, so I thought I’d make sure. It’s on the evidence for and against whether the Celestica people actually met with Arceus and received blessings from him.”

“That is a complicated subject,” Cyrus said, looking over the first few slides. “They did seem like God’s chosen for a while- long-lived and able to thrive in a land others struggled in. People use the fact that they were wiped out as counter-evidence, but personally, I think that Arceus left them because it didn’t want to be near the Diamond and Pearl clans. People tend to forget that, while He may have created the universe, He is ultimately just a Pokémon with His own desires.”

Cyrus continued looking through the slides. It was flawless, not that he expected any less of Saturn. At some point in the past few years, Saturn had stopped stealing and started taking his schoolwork seriously, and the effort showed.

“It looks as though you’ve gone above and beyond on this. There is nothing to worry about.”

“Okay. Sorry, I just... kind of wanted this presentation to impress someone.”

That got more of Cyrus’ attention than he would have liked. “There’s no need to worry about that. It’s a first-year class. Most people in it won’t know a fantastic presentation from a mediocre one. Who is it?”

“Oh, believe me, he’d be able to tell. And it’s just... someone. A crush from some of my classes. He’s way smarter than me, and I guess I wanted to show him that I could get really knowledgeable about something too, or teach him something, or... y’know, it sounds stupid now that I say it out loud. Let’s go back to our room.”

And so they did. Neither of them wanted to go to bed yet, so they ended up sitting on Saturn’s bed and talking, Betty curled up against Cyrus’ chest.

“Want to hear a story?” Cyrus asked.

“Sure,” Saturn said, stroking Betty as she purred.

“When I was seventeen, my family tried to pair me off with a girl from another prestigious family,” Cyrus started. There was no need to give context. Saturn knew that Cyrus’ mom had chased after the acceptance of his wealthy relatives and eventually gotten it. He hadn’t spoken of the abuse of course, just the context needed for stories. “I was a few months away from escaping to the other side of Sinnoh and cutting all ties with them, so she wasn’t in my plans. They had her over for dinner so we could meet. I did the bare minimum expected of me. But then they left us alone in the living room. She had ideas of what we should do together, so to increase her chances of a shotgun wedding. If the fact they’d left us wine was any indication, my family had similar ideas.”

Saturn smirked. He had a good idea of where this was going. “So... how did you protect your virginity?”

“I ‘accidentally’ drenched her dress in red wine and told her she’d best go home and put it in the wash before the stains set in. But that isn’t the end of it. She made a show of removing all her clothing, handed it to me, and told me that she’d be ready for me when I came back. When I came back from putting her dress in the wash, I brought her a towel to cover up with. I still remember the look on her face. There were several, actually. One right after the other.” In imitation of her, Cyrus contorted his face into shock and then anger and then defeat.

"Oh my God. What did she say after that? Must have been a real interesting evening for you.”

“Very little. And it wasn’t. I had my pokétch to keep me entertained, but it grew repetitive after the first hour and I couldn’t focus while she was making repeated attempts at conversation.”

“That poor girl. Well, I guess it’s what she gets for not taking no for an answer.”

Cyrus smiled. “Yes, well, I don’t blame her. Humans are in a constant struggle to fill these voids inside of us. It’s natural that we hurt each other- or attempt to, in this case- in the process. You know, Arceus could change that with a figurative snap of His fingers. I wonder why He doesn’t.”

“Free will, probably?

“If we lived in a world where everyone was constantly intoxicated, would it be a violation of free will to make us sober? Or would it increase our free will, allow us to make clear-headed decisions?”

“That’s a good point. Actually, I think I get what you’re saying.” Saturn opened his arms and let Betty float into his gentle embrace. “I used to be able to talk to Betty telepathically. Just Betty, no one else yet. Everyone thought I was going to be a psychic gym leader. But the more pressure people put on me, the more static there was, until I couldn’t hear her anymore. My psychic abilities were gone and they never came back. I had a mediocre Pokémon journey, I started having feelings about my body, I started stealing because why not at that point, and yeah… I just kept getting further from the person I’m supposed to be. It would be nice if someone could just take away all the static, you know?” Saturn was shaking a little. Betty clung to his chest to keep him calm.

“You understand,” Cyrus stated. He’d tried to explain his philosophy to others- people he considered intelligent, or simply whoever would listen. They’d called his ideas things like “ridiculous,” or “depressing” and one had even suggested he get his head checked. None had ever truly considered them before. Cyrus got up and started pacing. “Excellent. I have a lot to explain to you. You see, the human spirit is-”

Saturn’s sad eyes met Cyrus’, and it suddenly occurred to Cyrus that this was not the time. He sat back down next to him. “Ahem. I think that clearing up the… ‘static’ would change less about you than you think. Further, if we could complete the spirits of others, they would be able to see that as well.” Cyrus paused, looking at Saturn’s face to gauge if he’d said enough. “I like the person you’ve become.”

“Thanks,” Saturn replied. “Want to play some video games?”

Cyrus moved to speak, but Saturn cut him off “Don’t lecture me on staying up. You’re staying up. I know you don’t sleep until you crash.”

“That is correct,” Cyrus admitted.

Saturn started up a fighting game and they began playing together. As per usual, Saturn came in quickly with a volley of attacks that Cyrus was nearly helpless to.

“Could I tell you about my philosophy now?” Cyrus asked.

“Yeah. It sounds interesting,” Saturn replied, only half-focused as he performed a combo move worthy of tournaments.

Cyrus sat forward, intensely focused on wording this the best he could. “The human spirit is incomplete. People live in pursuit of love, acceptance, and a general sense of wellbeing. We hurt each other for it, and that makes our victims hungrier for it, and for power and revenge. There are many factors to this, but for now that’s the best way I can summarize it. The only way to break the cycle is to learn to live without love and happiness, and to learn not to be hurt by the cruelty of others.”

“So... basically learn to be satisfied no matter what?”

“Something like that.” If Cyrus told Saturn that he thought complete emotionlessness was ideal, he’d probably react the same way everyone else had. Cyrus grit his teeth at the thought and mashed buttons furiously. Saturn struggled to keep up. “The problem is that no one wants to learn. They prefer their lives of wanting, pain, and tearing each other apart for relief. Increasingly, it seems as though only the Gods could cleanse this world!” Cyrus dealt Saturn a finishing blow. He realized then that he’d lost his cool, said things that were too close to what he’d told others.

Thankfully, Saturn didn’t seem to be reacting too strongly to it as he set up the next round. Perhaps he thought Cyrus had just gotten heated over the game. “Huh. That makes sense. A lot of bad comes from being greedy and hurting people for what we don’t have. You know, that reminds me. There’s a legend that we learned about in class that a member of the Galaxy Team took control of Dialga and Palkia once.”

The round began. More attacks. Cyrus allowed his character to be pummeled. This myth sounded interesting.

“I don’t believe it,” Saturn continued, “I think if it had happened, we would have known, you know? Something would have changed. If you did that, you could literally change anything.”

“...That legend... do you think there would be information on it in the library?”

“Well, yeah, presumably.”

Cyrus put down the controller and got up. “I have some research to do,” he explained as he left.

The next day, Cyrus found himself wandering into the lecture hall for Saturn’s Sinnoh myths and history class. There were enough people in the lecture hall that he wasn’t noticed. He couldn’t have told you why he’d come. The presentations were amateurish. Cyrus could be learning far more had he gone to the library.

It wasn’t as though he cared that Saturn had a romantic interest. Saturn had proven to be a loyal friend, and even if he wasn’t, Cyrus had lived without friends before and could do it again. Sure, Saturn made his life more pleasant, and sure, Cyrus felt and acted more human around him than he would have liked, but it wasn’t as though he needed him. And if anything, it was good that Saturn had someone to fulfill a role he couldn’t. Cyrus was above lust. Men, women, they could be pleasant to look at, but it was no different to him than paintings or flowers or Pokémon or any other source of beauty. He’d never experienced the kind of disgusting emotions that would lead a man to betray his family or worse. Not that anyone he’d seen presenting seemed particularly suitable for Saturn, either.

Finally, it was Saturn’s turn to present. Saturn spotted Cyrus in the audience. He smiled at him, and Cyrus’ stomach flipped.

Oh, no… this… this won’t do.

Not with what he had planned. Not with what he must do.

Finals came and passed. Cyrus and Saturn spent a lovely winter break together. Cyrus was remarkably close-mouthed about what classes he would take next semester, but otherwise everything seemed normal. And then, three days into the next semester, Saturn came to their room and all of Cyrus’ things were gone. He couldn’t get ahold of Cyrus by phone, either. He didn’t hear from Cyrus again until mid-May, after Saturn’s final semester was completed.

It was the middle of the day when Saturn received the phone call from that familiar number. He picked up the phone.

“Cyrus?”

“Saturn. Are your classes finished?” Cyrus asked, his tone business-like.

“Um… yeah? It’s great to hear from you.”

“Good. Would you like a job at my energy company?”

“Your what? How did you…?”

“That can be answered in time. I’m willing to pay you as though you have ten years of experience. We’re located in Eterna. If you’d like, you could stay with me until you find other arrangements.”

Saturn stayed silent for a while. This was all very strange. It was also a deal that no fresh-from-school professional would refuse, assuming there wasn’t a catch. And he did want to see Cyrus again.

“I’ll take it,” Saturn said. Hopefully he’d feel better about this once he reached Eterna.

#pokemon #galactic boss cyrus #commander saturn #abra #my fanfiction #accretion #gingashipping #cyrus x saturn

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