#fixed-screen shoot-em-up

[arcadebroke]

Frontier Force

[ctrlchar]

Could you do jake’s reaction to you getting nipple piercing please? x (can be whatever you want <3)

jakexgf getting nipples pierced

a/n:thank you for the request! I decided to add a little smut at the end as well 🤭

jake had been out and about with his friends leaving you in the house to your own devices. that being said an idea popped up into your head.

you’d always wanted to get your nipples pierced,knowing how good jake looked with his. that being said you text jake asking him when he’ll be home to which he replied

jakey<3:i should be getting back within the next hour or so what’s up?

you:oh nothing just wondering😊

jakey<3:right….🤨

jakey<3:i’ll see u when i get home babe

after your exchange you go into your closet finding a tight fitting shirt that shows your nipples poking through the thin fabric.

you change into some of jake’s sweatpants before you get into your car and drive to the nearest piercing shop.

you drive about five minutes until you reach your destination. you get out the car grabbing your purse before entering the shop

you walked up the the piercer at the front desk telling her you wanted to get both of your nipples pierced.

after you had paid you laid down on the table as she stuck the needle through your perky nipple and then through the other.

the pain wasn’t as bad as you had expected,the piercer then put on a silver barbell before getting up and walking towards the front desk where you paid and tipped her.

you grabbed your belongings before heading out to your car to show jake your freshly pierced nipples

hoping he wasn’t around his friends,you sent him a photo of you in your almost skin tight shirt,two barbells seen through the material

you could almost hear the shock through the screen as jake texts you back in an instant

you: *one attachment*

jakey<3:are you shitting me rn

jakey<3:did a guy do it?

jakey<3:i’ll beat his ass

jakey<3:send me another one

you:no baby it was a girl

you: same one i’ve went to for all my piercings

you:and give me one minute i’ll send you another

you laugh at his reaction through the screen,his attitude going from pissed to wanting you to send him another photo

you pull out of the parking lot and into an empty one. you carefully pull up your shirt,trying to not irritate the fresh piercing

you take a photo of your bare breasts and send them to jake

seconds later your phone buzzes and it shows jake calling you.

you quickly pick up the phone and put him on speaker before setting the phone down on the dash

you can hear other cars in the background therefore assuming he’s already in his car headed back home

“i’m so hard right now” he says making you giggle at his bluntness

“are you headed home?” you question as you fix your shirt back over your tits. judging by the acceleration of the gas you tell him “that’s not you’re car is it? you sound like one of those assholes who rev their engine up all the time ” you joke eliciting a chuckle from jake

“what can i say babe,it’s not my fault your tits look that good over the phone,can’t even imagine now good they’ll look in person” he says his hand on the wheel the other attempting to fix the tent in his jeans by adjusting his pants

you pull out the empty driveway deciding to head home yourself so you don’t make jake wait too long “yeah well remember you cant touch them yet we have to wait for them to heal” to which he groans “i know i know, I get it…i can still fuck em’ though right?” he pleas as he turns onto his street

“hmm” you say pretending to think as you drive “i’ll consider it”

jake lets out a fake sigh before informing you he’s almost home,with you doing the same. you tell him bye and that you’ll see him in a minute.

you pull into the driveway,your car right behind his. you park the car grabbing your stuff before heading into the house to be greeted by jake sitting on the couch the large erection still in his pants despite him trying to hide it

he shoots up from the couch,begging you like a child “lemme see lemme see” he begs staring at the metal through the fabric

“geez jake nice to see you too” you say lifting up your shirt “yeah yeah yeah” he mumbles completely enthralled with your breasts. he begins to grope them avoiding your nipple not wanting to cause you any discomfort

“fuck” he mumbles under his breath “these are gonna be the hardest couple months of my life”

“can i fuck em’ please” he begs his voice needier then before.

“fine” you say “can we at least get to the bed first?” to which he nods eagerly,grabbing your hand and guiding you to your bedroom.

he laid you on the bed as he quickly made use of his hands by taking off his jeans,leaving him in his shirt and boxers. he got onto your lap before taking his hard cock out of his boxers.

you held your tits closer together as he slid right in between them. you made sure you could see the piercing in between your fingers. which was evident to jake as he kept alternating his eyes from the piercing to you back to the piercing

“your so hot mama” he moans out as he fucks in between your tits. he places on of his hands on the back of your head for support as he continues his movements

you see the tip of his cock disappearing between them with each thrust of his hips,especially now,his thrusts getting sloppier as he feels close

“gonna cum” he groans out as he begins to slightly grip your hair eliciting a soft moan from you. you could practically feel his cock twitching from between your tits

and just like that he came,all over your chest right above your tits,some of it going in between them as he fucked himself through his orgasm which was the absolute hottest thing to him.

he then pulled himself up and back into his boxers. he gathered up some of his cum onto his finger before putting it up to your mouth to which you open. you begin to lick a stripe up his fingers,slowly sucking on them in the process.

he slides off your sweatpants,which were actually his, and with his free hand he takes his other out of your mouth and slowly slides it into you

“gonna make you feel good now okay baby?”

[maiiuelle]

˚❀˚

the pogues take mario kart very seriously.

big john bought john b a wii when he was 10, and he and jj have been mastering the art of drifting and aiming shells since. spending at least part of the weekend stuck to the chateau’s small tv screen became mandatory. oftentimes, the crew would use a quick game to handle debates or disagreements.

“i’m tellin’ you. this plan is fool proof.” jj licks the inside of his lip, fixing his hat on his head for emphasis as he stares down a visibly unimpressed john b. “you don’t think goin’ in there—guns a-blazing—is gonna surprise ‘em?”

“i think they have plenty of guns to a-blaze at us, jj.” pope deadpans, pinching the bridge of his nose as he leans back on the porch bench. jj’s resolve doesn’t falter, he only shakes his head, looking between the other two boys.

“yeah—but that’s the thing—we’re faster, dude. i mean, you saw me at the beach, i was like—bow bow, bowbowbow..”

kiara bumps your arm, drawing you out of a daydream. you turn toward her, then follow her eyes to your blabbering boyfriend. “are you hearing this?”

you didn’t have to be listening to know his plan is absurd, but you shrug anyway. “i dunno, maybe he has a point.”

“sure..”

“y’know what, jj? i think we should settle this like men.” john b crosses his arms over his chest. “on the track.”

“guys—“ kiara starts, but jj cuts her off, pointing a confident finger at john b.

“you’re on.”

next thing you know, you’re sat on the couch inside, jj sitting beside you with a white knuckle grip on the wii controller steering wheel. he’s leaned forward, elbows on his knees in the most intense focus you’ve ever seen him in. they’re split screened, jj on the left and john b on the right, perfectly mirroring where they’re sitting on the couch. the ever so reliable john b chooses classic mario, and jj sticks to his routine choice, yoshi.

everyone’s eyes are glued to the tv screen, kiara leaning on the side of the couch, biting her nails anxiously, sarah sitting on the floor between john b’s legs, and pope sprawled across the leather armchair.

the boys are on their third lap, and it’s clear the competition is getting heated just looking at them. the first two laps were filled with shit talking and all around bad sportsmanship, but now they’re silent. neck and neck, they crash through the final round of item boxes, and the air stills as their respective power-ups shuffle.

“c’mon, c’mon.. big money..” jj mutters biting his lip. you’re enthralled, one hand resting supportively on his shoulder. with john b just a few paces in front of him, jj’s first power up loads as a red shell, and he immediately shoots it at john b. it hits him dead on, a cinematic slow-mo of mario’s go-kart sputtering to an explosive stop capturing the chaos of the room perfectly. jj springs to his feet, yoshi flying past john b’s defeated mario and through the finish line like a bullet.

“john b!” kiara shouts, hands flying to her forehead in utter shock as she watches jj cross the finish line in first. john b opens his arms in confusion, looking between everyone innocently. “what? he’s getting good! i mean—what d’you want me to do?”

“man, you threw that.” pope complains, hands wiping down his face as he grapples with the reality that is jj’s elaborate plan. john b can only brush them off, which is easy with jj shouting over all of them.

he’s already hooting and hollering. “yeah! yeaaah, that’s right, baby. don’t start sum you can’t finish.” he throws the controller down on the couch, coming back over to where you’re sitting and grabbing your hands, pulling you up to stand beside him. you can’t help but laugh, his elation infectious. he pulls you to his side like a trophy, pointing at john b in satisfaction. “s’why you don’t challenge papa j to a race, ‘les you wanna get owned.”

“i can count on one hand how many times you’ve won.”

“whatever, man, this time actually counts.” his hands roam down your side, gliding his fingers down the exposed skin below your crop top and he burrows his finger tips under the waistband of your shorts. “looks like today, papa’s in charge.”

“great.”

˚❀˚

[maggotstrench]

im sick of looking at this! take it off my hands

over two thousand words

uh content

enoch headvoice is negative 99 percent of the time and he has low self esteem, so be advised.

calling yourself a pervert negatively.

hiccups obviously.

scary bald animal.

mild horror movie descriptions.

Edit: fixed some mistakes because my editing was weird the first time.

It was friday evening and Enoch had his big chunky headset on. He was in the middle of dilapidating the inside of a half assembled bathroom when his phone lit up and his music dipped in volume for a second. He frowned, setting his paintbrush down. When the lock screen read [hey ! It's Cailean from…] he tossed it onto the bed immediately, fuck! he hadn't given Cailean his number, nor had he seen the other man around since they got trapped. He pinched the bridge of his nose, nobody had ever gone out of their way to find his number before. Enoch’s stomach ached as he got out of his chair to retrieve his phone. 

[Unknown number: Hey ! It's Cailean from the university. One of your friends/coworkers ??? Both ?? said you wanted my number? That You need something installed?] 

He sprinted to the other side of the house where Vic’s room was and thumped the door “Did you Tell Cailean i wanted his phone number?” he questioned aggressively to the garishly decorated wood.

“Desperate for a mounting?” Vic brushed past him as he squawked indignantly. “If you don't want his number then don't text him but” she leaned forward to poke his chest, “I know you and you won't make a move. Even if you want something, you also wont hang our tv on the wall. If you don't ask him over, i will” 

“Don't you?” Vic said as they opened it, hair falling haphazardly over their eyes, “we needed the TV mounted right? Two birds with one phone” they leaned lazily against their doorframe as Enoch scoffed.

“You're almost unbelievable” he rubbed his temples “I didn't want his number and you've made me look desperate.”

“make a move!? Youre fucking insane. I'm dying alone on purpose- hang on. He has your number too???”

“He's new in town? This town? Why move to this place?? This place is terrible, to leave Scotland and end up here…” Enoch mused, easily distracted. 

“He's Had my number Nox, he's a friendly guy obviously, and chatty too.  He wanted to know the best places to eat in town”  she showed him her phone.

“I don't know Nox, maybe that's something you could ask when you text him back huh?” she poked him in the chest again to move him out of their way, “Don't wanna leave him on read when he went out of his way to text you huh” Vic grabbed a bag of chips off the kitchen counter and slipped back Into their room. 

Left to his own devices Enoch swallowed thickly. They were right, he had to text back. Sooner rather than later if he didn't wanna seem rude. Or more accurately if he didn't want Cailean to know he was rude. His stomach felt like a brick as he opened the messages saving Cailean's contact just in case.

[caileanfromwork: i do have two of em, ye shoot me your address and ill hang up your tv and all. Not a problem, do i have to bring me own tools or you got some?]

[yeah sorry, we’ve been looking for someone to put our tv on the wall because we watch it on the floor. You just seem handy]

fuck that was kind of embarrassing to admit, Enoch himself was usually watching on his laptop. The typing bubble popped up and Enoch felt someone butter churning his insides.

[do we look like we have tools. I have tweezers and the odd dollhouse hammer.]

[Caileanfromwork: i didn wanna assume lol, ive got a shite load of em ill bring in.]

After a fair amount of back and forth Enoch gave him the address of their unit and he agreed to be over on his next day off. Around a day later which was nice as it lessened the amount of time Enoch had to agonize and clean neurotically. The man had his normal toolbox but was in casual clothes, A loose orange shirt and overalls. He smiled brightly when vic opened the door, peeking around the shared space as they let him in. enoch futzed with the end of his sweatshirt, it was a nicer one thank god. 

“I didn't know you two lived together” Cailean said, he waved over at Enoch, “are you dating or-”

“Eugh! no man. I only date women and Enoch only dates men, We're both just broke as hell” Vic lead him to the middle of the room where earlier they and Enoch had untangled the tv from its nest of wiring. 

“Right sorry uhm where do you want it? up there?” Cal gestured vaguely at their wall. 

“Uh the.. middle? I guess? Fuck should we get some chalk and line it up?” Vic looked over to Enoch who also hadnt given it much thought. He'd had other stuff on his mind.

“Is there an average place  people hang their tv? You're a handyman right, you know stuff like that?” 

Cailean looked up at them, setting his tools down next to the workload.

“Ah i wouldn't know, i don't have a tv on my wall, i'm also a maintenance man. For bigger buildings. Like how I'm your maintenance man, I just know my way around tools so I figured I could help.” he tilted his head back at the wall. “How ‘bout we put it up and if it's bad i'll move it round? yeah?”

After an hour or so of leveling and drilling they had a pretty decent hang for the television, Cailean wiped some sweat from his hair and paused.

“That's uh, one of the things from the thing” he answered, it was his after all. 

“What's this  up there?” He asked, pointing up at a model on one of the shelves they kept in the living room. Enoch looked at it for a second.

Cailean frowned “You taking the piss now? You don't remember?” 

“No no it's-its-its uhh.. it's a scifi horror movie. The name is just ‘The Thing’” he waved his hands to emphasize how much he wasn't taking the piss.

“Oh aye? I've never heard of that” he looked back at the figurines before getting back to plugging in all the newly loosened wires and plugs. Enoch rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. 

“You know i- We have to test to see if we like the tv mount uh spot and i mean if you've never seen ‘The Thing’ before you could… watch it with us, if you want” whatever possessed him to try and keep this man around was concerning, he felt sick again. Cailean on the other hand seemed to light up.

“Really? I don't get to watch movies a lot that sounds Good! Yeah!” Cal was smiling at him with a lock of black and bleached hair between his fingers. He opened his mouth again but instead of words he hiccuped loudly, hand covering his mouth to muzzle the next one.

“Sor-hlk!- Sorry fuck” he was actually doing a decent job at volume control, stifling down to almost a croak. Which Enoch shouldn't have even noted down in his mental notes anyways. 

“You hiccuping during’ the thing’ might make this 8th rewatch bearable” Vic said from the kitchen where they turned to fill a glass with water. He turned his attention to her instead. 

“Every rewatch is great you Tart and you have to judge the tv spot.” he scoffed, locking his focus on finishing setting up the TV and turning it on as Vic brushed past him to give Cailean the cup. 

“Must suck getting hiccups all the time. like every time I see you you're fucken hiccuping,” she said casually as if she wasn't pushing knives into his dick. 

Cailean shrugged, taking a pull from the glass offered. 

“I unno -hUlk- ugh I mean I g–get water all the time, I d-mk- don't even have -hiklp- have to ask” the overalls hid a lot of the body movement that was probably happening, though Enoch wasn't looking he was just imagining it in his pervert mind palace. “Doesn't -holk- work though, I ju-hmk- just like water” he drained it and handed it back. “I also get p- huh? Ah! AHHH! WHA-hICk- IS THAT!?-HUCK-” 

Cailean was pointing down at the floor where Enoch's little bald freak of a cat had decided to come out and sit. 

“That's mr bean. She's my cat.” Enoch watched her fondly as she stretched on the carpet. Nice to focus on something that wasn't an attractive man getting tossed around by even more attractive hiccups in their living room.

“Ah-aye? -Hmp-ugh she loo-HIC-s sickly i don't wanna hurt her” he was pressed up against the wall hiccupping helplessly as this 8 pound pink beast was holding him hostage, patiently waiting to get picked up and cuddled. The nausea from earlier was back and Enoch went to pick up his animal, he noticed how sweaty his hands had gotten in the past 5 minutes. 

“W–where's her -hup- h-hair???” Cailean picked up his foot as she moved towards him “oh -Hmk- Oh! oh!”

“If you can't even handle mister beans i don't know if the Thing is for you Cal” Vic chuckled as the man nervously danced around the animal.

“She's perfectly healthy, she just wants your attention” he put her gently on his shoulder where the feline promptly relaxed over his neck. “She's just a breed that has no hair normally. They Are a luxury breed but mr. Beans is a rescue so she wasn't quite expensive. She's also extra cuddly because without fur, hairless cats are reliant on their humans to keep them safe, which is why she's so friendly. Not that i doubt any cat on the street would probably vie for your attention i-” 

The emergency shut-down for rambling finally kicked on as he looked up to both Vic and Cailean looking at him, Vic’s eyes glazed over but Cal looked interested. 

“We should watch the movie now.” he set his cat down and went through his movie programming, fuck way to info dump about your weird cat to a guy whos only here because hes being nice and he is so fucking nice and hot and hiccupping in your house! Enoch wanted to peel his skin off. When he finally got the movie ready he turned to see vic in his fucking chair and Cailean on the floor in front of their miniscule excuse of a sofa. 

“Sit on the couch.” Enoch said. His roommate shot him a look “uh i mean” he thought for a minute “make yourself comfortable. Guests don't have to sit on the floor” 

“Yeah room enough for two on that thang especially if one of the two is skinny bones jones over here” Vic gestured to him as he sat down on the couch, working to leave a large enough gap for the other man. 

When Cailean sat down next to him, Enoch felt the couch dip a little, he held onto the arm to keep from leaning right into the other’s side.  

"right. Now everyone is comfy." Enoch tucked his legs into his chest as he started the movie. He could feel Cailean's muffled hiccups through the back of the couch. ‘holy shit those are fucking intense’ 

At some point in the movie where Enoch was actually able to focus on it and not the movements to his side, Cailean got startled or disturbed, Enoch did not know, by some of the on screen viscera and leaned in a bit accidentally setting his hand on top of where Enoch had left his. It was like someone had encased him in cement, he held still and if Cailean noticed he didn't pick his hand up. Enoch moved his eyes to make contact with Vic, they’d not really been watching the movie but had certainly been watching the situation she'd made. She made a big deal of stretching and getting up out of the chair.

“God damn, that's enough fucken Thing for me boys” they cracked their neck, “goodnight Cailean thanks for coming over. Tv looks awesome thanks for putting it up” 

“not a p—problem, Tha-hmk-s for having me” Cailean picked up his hand to wave and Enoch felt the lingering heat over his knuckles. He waited a second as his roommate left, Cailean put his hand back down in his own lap. Enoch looked through the TV. 

It was just Him and Cailean now. There was just the movie and Cailean's hiccups which were lessening but not leaving. Enoch was fighting mentally between a mix of general lust and the hot shame of missing Cal's hand over his. 'You know better than that. '

By the time the movie was over Enoch felt like he'd run a marathon. 

“So what did you think?” Enoch just had to get through this last bit and he wouldn't have to think about Cailean unless he saw the other at work. Cailean buckled one of his overall straps back up where he'd clipped it off sometime tonight. He looked at Enoch and smiled. 

“Very -hmp- scary. N—Not scary like the way things -h’gmp- buh things usually get in movies for me.” he paused for a second, Enoch didnt watch his neck suck in, “I like  the dog in the hm’uck- beginning and uh the sc–scary version of the dog later uh -h’yolp- made of blood..” he chuckled.

“That dog, his name is Jed, is widely regarded as the best animal actor of all time” Enoch said before he could stop. “Most dog-actors you have to gently tie their tail down with a fishing line because they won't stop wagging it, you can actually see that in Cujo, but this dog was just so good at pretending to be menacing she didn't need it…” Before he knew it he was rambling on about practicals and dog acting careers and movies they hadn't watched with other practicals he liked. When he finally stopped he looked back at the other man.

Cailean had his face propped on his hands, cheeks squished in between his palms. He was listening too genuinely, at least he put forth the effort to appear to be, it made Enoch feel that thing he was pretending was nausea. “Anyways thanks for coming over.” fuck. Thankfully he talked long enough that cailean didn't have hiccups anymore.

“Thanks for showing me your movie. I'd love to watch those other ones you mentioned” Cailean smiled at him, picking his toolbox from 100 years ago up off enoch's carpet, not before gingerly letting the cat rub her hairless cheek over his finger. 

“I'll see you at work then huh? You can tell me more about horror movies, yeah?” Cailean was looking at him with his big brown eyes. Enoch swallowed and nodded dumbly.

“Uh of course, good-goodnight Cailean” he watched the other man let himself out because he himself was glued to the sofa. Enoch slid down to the carpet and laid on the floor for a while.

He felt the pressure of four little feet walk up his thighs and settle on his chest as Mr beans took the opportunity to cuddle.

“Mr i'm going insane.” she didn't respond aside from leaning forward to lick the end of his nose. He laid there, he didn't think he'd be able to sleep for a while. 

[papagabu]

Alright so I began writing the next chapter of Tails' Lament cause I felt like getting back to that particular fic, and I decided to start off with Sage's perspective because of plans I have for the Team Dark focused section I mentioned a while ago after posting chapter 2, but since this is my first time ever writing Orbot and Cubot (and sorta my first time writing Sage she was in Chapter 1 a little but she gets a bigger role here) I wanna know what you all think.

This is just the first draft, literally all I just wrote today off the top of my head so this is all very liable to change.

The metal corridors of Eggman’s base were silent, bathed in the pale glow of inactive monitors and flickering security feeds. Unattended data streamed across the screens in looping cycles, forgotten by the one who once commanded it. The automated systems continued their hum, locked in standby, oblivious to the absence of their creator.

The main doors to the control room slid open with a mechanical hiss. Sage drifted inside, her expression distant, eyes fixed on the floor as if trying to piece together something intangible. Her usual precision seemed dulled by the weight of recent events.

Her silence was broken by a familiar, cheery voice.

“Heya, Sage! How’d the Boss’ fight with Sonic go?” Cubot asked, clear excitement in his tone, oblivious to the tension in the room. Orbot hovered close behind him, watching with cautious curiosity.

Sage lifted her gaze slowly, the glow of her digital eyes dimmer than usual. “Sonic and his friends continue to surpass our expectations. Despite all our data and simulations, they defeated Father and me again.”

Cubot faltered for a moment, but he quickly forced his cheeriness back. “Aww, well... we’ll get 'em next time, I guess.” Cubot said, turning around to resume typing at a computer.

Orbot tilted slightly forward, his voice lower and more pointed. “And where is the Doctor now, Sage?”

Sage’s expression flickered, something between sorrow and uncertainty, before she turned away. “He isn’t coming back this time.” She answered, her voice quiet but clear.

“WHAT?!” Cubot exclaimed, surprised by the revelation, immediately turning away from the computer to rejoin the conversation.

Orbot remained silent allowing Sage to explain further.

“Father let his anger get the better of him, he had a momentary lapse in his judgement, he continued a losing battle against Sonic and his friends, even after my warnings of G.U.N.’s approach.” Sage explained.

“Then what happened?” Cubot interrupted. “Shush! Let her finish.” Orbot scolded.

“Father was beaten, and when G.U.N. arrived, they took him into custody. Through my own interceptions of their radio channels it seems as though they’ve taken him to their top holding facility in Central City” Sage finished, clutching her hand over her chest.

“You mean, the boss is gone… for good?” Orbot asked. “Yippee! No more work for us robots! Time to par-...tay…” Cubot began to celebrate, but his voice trailed off when he noticed the cold glare Sage had begun shooting him. “Er… I mean… sorry Sage… about… your father… and all…” Cubot said, backing away awkwardly.

“I assume you’re thinking of a plan to free him?” Orbot asked Sage politely.

“Naturally, I’d like you two to go bring Metal Sonic online, while I run a few simulations to form the necessary plans.” Sage responded as she moved toward one of the terminals.

“Oh…Do we really have to be the ones to wake him?” Cubot complained, earning him another cold stern glance from Sage. “err… I mean right on it, temporary new boss!” Cubot said before quickly leaving the room Orbot following behind him.

The two robots exited the control room, the heavy doors sliding shut behind them with a quiet thud. “You think Metal’s gonna be in a good mood when we wake him up?” Cubot asked nervously.

“I highly doubt it,” Orbot replied dryly, arms crossed behind his back as he hovered forward. “You know he was never really the cheerful type to begin with, and given the current circumstances... I suggest we proceed cautiously.”

They passed through the now empty corridors, the whole base now feeling a little emptier without Eggman. Eventually, they reached the secured vault door that housed Metal Sonic’s charging chamber. Cubot hovered over to the door controls, but hesitated, holding his hand just above the button.

“You sure this is a good idea?” he asked.

“Unfortunately, as of Eggman’s new protocols in the event of his absence we are to follow the direct orders of Sage,” Orbot said. “So we’ll wake him, carefully, and let Sage do the explaining when he gets to the control room.”

Cubot nodded his head and nervously pressed the button, With a hiss of steam and a pulse of red light, the door began to open. Revealing Metal Sonic, suspended in a glowing green tube currently offline.

[sojournerstales]

WF1999: Something Nice For The Kid

Hello, here is a small drabble about my Drifter doing something nice for my Operator.

You ever have a thought or idea get stuck in your teeth? There's something I'd been chewing on for a while, I thought about it while standing on dust-blasted rock receiving marching orders from the Lotus, and then again prompted by something Salem - Eleanor - said to me over the KIM.

I am sat cross-legged in the living quarters of the Orbiter.

It's strange to be back here. I feel just as out of place now as I did before, only I think I look the part too. In space without the spacesuit, just skinny jeans and a stretched, loose-threaded tank-top.

Ordis hovers over my shoulder, "Energy conversion is functioning within expected parameters. Your --BUSTED OLD JUNK-- antique collection should receive power now."

Which roughly translates to the Kinemantic At Home Game System and Game Monitor combo should actually work now, hooked up to a power cell and adaptor that I'm sure Amir would love to get his hands on.

The screen lights the room up. My face in pale glory, a shadow cast for myself and Ordis across the wall.

"Oh no!" Ordis declares, "This image quality will not do, and the evacuation order has been given. I do not think we will have time to fix this." He hovers close, fixated on the logo slowly bouncing between each of the four corners on-screen.

"Nah," I tell him, "That's what it's meant to look like."

"I see. I will adjust further expectations to align with this information."

"Just go tell the kid I'm here, will ya?" Just in case she didn't spot my own craft on the way.

Ordis complies. It gives me half a minute to get everything else in order. Plug the console's controllers in. Shove the boxes into one corner. Empty the bag of everything else I brought with me. I wait then for the familiar hiss of the doors behind me.

"One of these days I might shoot that thing out of the sky," My own voice, minus an untold amount of years as a storybook survivalist. The kid. The younger version of myself. Dressed like she belongs - transference suit sleek and pink-accented. Her name, like mine, is Sloane. "Grineer landing craft hovering outside my Orbiter."

"Leave Potato alone. I like her." I push up to my feet and approach and I don't quite hug her. I stop halfway and just awkwardly reach out and squeeze her shoulder. "You been good?"

"Asking if I've behaved?" She gives my hand and then me a look.

"No. I'm asking if you're good. In the head. And stuff."

Sloane wrinkles her nose. I can't help but intuit what she's thinking. I'm the one making this awkward and she is going to step past that by asking, "What's all this stuff?"

"Presents." The stuff is much easier to talk about. I throw an arm out to gesture at the assembled, aforementioned stuff. The monitor, the console, a neatly folded stack of clothes, packets of various candies.

"For me?" She sounds suspicious of it.

"Yuh-huh." I return to not-quite my original place, leaving room for Sloane to sit nearby. She can take the living quarter's booth couch, on I'm the floor. "Just sit down and enjoy it, I'm being nice."

That look again. Sustained as she joins me. Narrowed when she looks at the screen.

"You deserve nice, okay? What'd Lotus have you blowing up today?"

"Espionage, actually. Hit a Corpus Supercruiser. A lead on Solar--"

"Yeah, anyways, this is food with no nutritional value and... Canned drink that's actively bad for you." I slide over the half-height table Gumi-Bytes and Nu! Cola.

"... Great."

"Trust me, you'll love 'em."

Sloane seems dubious and I don't blame her. Cetus treats don't skew sweet and Ordis is not exactly an artist with food synthesis.

"So what's with the screen? It broken?"

"No, that's how it's meant to look," I say - exasperated - for the second time today. "It's for games. You put a disc in and play 'em with this thing. I was gonna bring one way bigger, but Amir told me that this one is way more convenient. You don't have to give them quarters. Money."

"Okay. Cool." A pause, she remembers her manners in about the same time it takes for me to do the same, "Thanks. So what about the clothes?"

"Quincy and Eleanor. I thought you'd get a kick out of these..." A jeans and jacket combo, it looks like something the Vent Kids would wear only with less greebles. "From Quincy. Then from Eleanor..."

Sloane holds up one of the tops. It's shiny with soft buttons and smooth fabric. "Ceremonial wear?"

"What?" I laugh, "No, dingus. Pyjamas."

"What's pyjamas?"

"Oh my- Right, yeah. You sleep in them. Sleep-sleep. They're comfy."

"You know, I'm not the weird one here." She gets all defensive on me (I think it's a good sign she's hugging the pyjamas to her chest when she does), "You jumped from one messed up loop to another and neither are like the real world."

"Oh, come on. So I teased. I know you like this stuff anyway, stop fighting it."

"You don't just know that! We're not identical." Voice raised.

"We're the same person!" Mine matches.

"We DIVERGED!" And Sloane turns whingy and leans towards me and is pulling a face while she does it. So I put my palm over her head and shove her away.

She shoves me back.

I raise an eyebrow.

We both think - would we have been like this with a sibling? We never found out. We're a pair of only-children figuring out how this works now that we are not alone.

And we know that one of us has done a very nice thing.

And one of us doesn't always know how to accept very nice things.

We look at each other, both lit by the drifting logo on the clunky monitor before us. After a few more seconds I break the silence, "Aoi put together a mixtape for you." I slide over a CD in a paper envelope.

"That's a disk."

"Yeah, I said that too. She said they still call them mixtapes, apparently mix-CDs never stuck."

"Neat."

"Thought so. I think you'll like it... But you'll have to tell me what you think."

[hazbinsponsoredbyvee]

My brain would not shut the fuck up for 2 seconds, so to satisfy it, have a compilation of out of context questions and shitty takes:

1. So I sold my soul to Alastor for jambalaya (would've done it for free frfr), what do i call you now? Sir? Boss? Daddy? AHEM, what do your souls even do? Will I just join the hotel? Cuz I'm fine with that.

2. Can Angel shoot webs out of his ass? (I don't know where the fuck this came from)

3. Husk, do you blink slowly at the people you trust and love? Cuz cats do that.

4. Charlie do you bleat like a goat?

5. Does Alastor taste like venison? Experience rut? Also, can you make different calls besides squeaks and bleats? Do your horns get stuck on shit? Ever broke Vox's screen with a 'love tap'? Also did you know there's a ship with you and your mom? That shit is vile

6. Do y'all know Lilith is just in heaven, drinking a slushie on the beach while y'all are out here suffering?

7. Luci what's your opinion on the other sins? (All of em)

8. Vox what your best 'Alastor got drunk and cuddly story?' Also did you ever convinced him to wear a dress? (I'm not talking about the bets, talking about you actually managing to convince him yourself, no strings attached, to wear a dress.) Is your dick a cable? Do you eat batteries? And are you aware of how creative your simps are? (ESPECIALLY ON PINTEREST ISTG PEOPLE ARE NOT WELL)

9. Vaggie, did you ever watch Encanto and notice that Mirabel sounds like you? Also, you're Spanish, right? (Yay, like me, matchy), what's your fave dish?

10. Val what was the fucking point of trying to drug Vox? Like? Even if it worked, Alastor would've fucked you up so hard your dick would come out of your mouth. Did you just think he'd be mad at Vox for getting fucking raped? Idiot.

11. Husk, did you ever perform in front of a crowd? Because if I'd have your voice, I'd never shut up.

12. Niffty, have you heard of Vox's employee, Baxter? He's like Sir. Pentios but a way better bad boy, about your height, and a mad scientist. Bet he could make experiments on your bugs and find new ways to kill em or sum.

13. Velvette, my fucking queen, on my knees for you, ugh, it's your voice or your personality, idk what, but I want it. Give it. I love u queen. What's your fave dress you ever made?

14. If Vox would be a princess, he'd be a greedy princess. I scouted the internet for anything, and after being reminded that El Dorado exists, I think the best I found is Chel. She's smart and greedy, and wants more gold. That's the best i found. Or just fuck it and you're Ariel but a shark. Now I have to draw that.

15. Angel did you discover you were gay back when you were alive or in hell? Also, how was it Italy? I plan on visiting and maybe going to a concert at it, cause the language sounds so fucking pretty and idk how to describe it, just beauty.

16. So, Alastor, is Niffty in a contract with you afterall, or did she just exist in your house one day and you just adopted her? Also, Charlie can now technically call you dad, cause your her mom's boyfriend, so maybe stepdad? Second dad?

17. Charlie girl, you did it! You fixed your mommy issues with your dad, your new mom, and your mom's boyfriend.

18. Hazbing hotel should be renamed issues hotel, cuz we got Daddy issues (Angel, Alastor, Husk I think?), Mommy issues (Charlie ((she kinda solved them)), Pentios maybe), parent issues (Husk ig, Vox, maybe velvette? Cuz if she was just 19 ((young kween, we stan u girl)), I imagine her parents sucked ((boo, tomato tomato))), uh, just straight up issues (Luci, Vaggie, I recon Val had a shitty life) and a shitton of trauma.

19. Alastor did you wear cattle shoes back when you were alive? Also, how is New Orleans? I think it looks really pretty and has a beautiful beautiful culture. Maybe if I have money, I'll visit! See where my fave serial killer murderer came from. Also, is French hard to learn? I'd like to give it a shot. Last thing: drop that lash care girllll, why do men have such pretty lashes? Scratch that, why are men like you so pretty?

20. Be gay, do crime, eat boys up, idk, peace ✌️

—a very sleep deprived bird anon

1. So I sold my soul to Alastor for jambalaya (would've done it for free frfr), what do i call you now? Sir? Boss? Daddy? AHEM, what do your souls even do? Will I just join the hotel? Cuz I'm fine with that.

"Boss will do just fine. And you can do as you please - I'm not like some, who require their souls to tirelessly work for them. I'll call on you if I have need."

2. Can Angel shoot webs out of his ass? (I don't know where the fuck this came from)

"Uh, no."

3. Husk, do you blink slowly at the people you trust and love? Cuz cats do that.

"Not that I'm aware of."

4. Charlie do you bleat like a goat?

"Um, no, I'm... not a goat."

5. Does Alastor taste like venison? Experience rut? Also, can you make different calls besides squeaks and bleats? Do your horns get stuck on shit? Ever broke Vox's screen with a 'love tap'? Also did you know there's a ship with you and your mom? That shit is vile

"I suppose my flavor profile might bear some similarities to venison, but I imagine I do taste rather different. I don't experience rut, I can make different sounds, and no, my horns do not get stuck - I can shrink them easily. I have broken Vox's screen while fighting and when he's attempted to wake me up, but I wouldn't qualify either as a 'love tap'. And I do wish you hadn't shared that."

6. Do y'all know Lilith is just in heaven, drinking a slushie on the beach while y'all are out here suffering?

"Yeah, you're not the first person to share that. But Charlie doesn't know, and I'm keeping it that way until I get more answers. It would crush her."

7. Luci what's your opinion on the other sins? (All of em)

"They're like family, and like most families, I get along with some more than others. Ozzie is definitely who I'm closest to, Bee's always fun, Levy's cool, Bel's great, Satan and I butt heads sometimes, and Mammon... can admittedly get on my nerves."

8. Vox what your best 'Alastor got drunk and cuddly story?' Also did you ever convinced him to wear a dress? (I'm not talking about the bets, talking about you actually managing to convince him yourself, no strings attached, to wear a dress.) Is your dick a cable? Do you eat batteries? And are you aware of how creative your simps are? (ESPECIALLY ON PINTEREST ISTG PEOPLE ARE NOT WELL)

"I'm not telling you a whole story when you asked so fucking much. No, I haven't gotten him in a dress outside of the bet. Do you have any idea how much he hates deviating from his look? And no, my dick is not a cable, and I don't eat batteries. But yes, of course my simps are very creative. Right, Mel?"

9. Vaggie, did you ever watch Encanto and notice that Mirabel sounds like you? Also, you're Spanish, right? (Yay, like me, matchy), what's your fave dish?

"I haven't noticed that, and um... as I've mentioned before, I don't really have any memories before joining Adam's army. I used to think I was Heavenborn, but I get these flashes, and... I think I might be from Central America? I don't know. I do love tamales, I know that."

10. Val what was the fucking point of trying to drug Vox? Like? Even if it worked, Alastor would've fucked you up so hard your dick would come out of your mouth. Did you just think he'd be mad at Vox for getting fucking raped? Idiot.

"They weren't even together yet. Alastor wouldn't have even known anything happened, if you idiotas hadn't gotten involved. Voxxy just would have chosen to stay with me, and their little budding romance would have fizzled out as it should have."

11. Husk, did you ever perform in front of a crowd? Because if I'd have your voice, I'd never shut up.

"I mean, I used to be a stage magician, so... yeah."

12. Niffty, have you heard of Vox's employee, Baxter? He's like Sir. Pentios but a way better bad boy, about your height, and a mad scientist. Bet he could make experiments on your bugs and find new ways to kill em or sum.

"Ooooh, Vox, I want to meet Baxter!"

13. Velvette, my fucking queen, on my knees for you, ugh, it's your voice or your personality, idk what, but I want it. Give it. I love u queen. What's your fave dress you ever made?

"Everything I make is the best - how the fuck can I pick one favorite?"

14. If Vox would be a princess, he'd be a greedy princess. I scouted the internet for anything, and after being reminded that El Dorado exists, I think the best I found is Chel. She's smart and greedy, and wants more gold. That's the best i found. Or just fuck it and you're Ariel but a shark. Now I have to draw that.

"Haven't seen it, so I'll take your word for it."

15. Angel did you discover you were gay back when you were alive or in hell? Also, how was it Italy? I plan on visiting and maybe going to a concert at it, cause the language sounds so fucking pretty and idk how to describe it, just beauty.

"When I was alive, and uh... yeah, my family's Italian, but I'm from New York. Lived there my whole life. Neva' been to Italy."

16. So, Alastor, is Niffty in a contract with you afterall, or did she just exist in your house one day and you just adopted her? Also, Charlie can now technically call you dad, cause your her mom's boyfriend, so maybe stepdad? Second dad?

"Niffty is my friend - of course I don't own her soul! And I was already a father-figure to Charlie, but I never seriously meant that she should call me dad."

17. Charlie girl, you did it! You fixed your mommy issues with your dad, your new mom, and your mom's boyfriend.

"Uh... I don't think that's how that works..."

18. Hazbing hotel should be renamed issues hotel, cuz we got Daddy issues (Angel, Alastor, Husk I think?), Mommy issues (Charlie ((she kinda solved them)), Pentios maybe), parent issues (Husk ig, Vox, maybe velvette? Cuz if she was just 19 ((young kween, we stan u girl)), I imagine her parents sucked ((boo, tomato tomato))), uh, just straight up issues (Luci, Vaggie, I recon Val had a shitty life) and a shitton of trauma.

"Fuck off, my dad was awesome."

"And for the last time, I don't have 'daddy issues'. My mother did just fine on her own."

19. Alastor did you wear cattle shoes back when you were alive? Also, how is New Orleans? I think it looks really pretty and has a beautiful beautiful culture. Maybe if I have money, I'll visit! See where my fave serial killer murderer came from. Also, is French hard to learn? I'd like to give it a shot. Last thing: drop that lash care girllll, why do men have such pretty lashes? Scratch that, why are men like you so pretty?

"I did, and New Orleans is indeed beautiful. I strongly recommend a visit! And I must admit, I don't speak fluent French. I can speak some Creole French that I picked up throughout my life. It was never something I studied, though. As for your last question, I'm afraid I don't quite know how to answer that."

Note from Mel: Please only send one or two asks at a time. This was a bit overwhelming, and it makes tagging complicated.

[nocnocnal]

Sprites, Ideas, and a change of plans.

Also, I going to hold off on making full games, I'm to test things in Godot and experiment, I've learned how to make player character, I also learned how to make first person and third person, I also learned a little bit about making basic ai enemies and states for them (Wondering, idle and fleeing), I learned a bit about shaders, I learned how to make basic menus, I learned a bit about making weapons like that sword sprite, doing a attack and doing damage to the slime enemy, I made a basic health system for the enemy slime, and it makes the slime disappear when the health is at 0. Still a bit confused on what do from here, I'm basically in tutorial and chatgpt hell when comes to learning this program, but I will make my own autistic learning guide for Godot because, I'm still confused about a 90% of stuff on Godot, I know mostly all of the nodes but I still don't understand what the code does, like I understand some of the code because Godot's code is easy to read but I don't know how to compile it together, so it works.

This game is going to be a 2.5D Game. I want make this game like cult of the lamb and Great God Grove, Like make game being in 3d but with 2d sprites (A mix of pixel and hand drawn art). This world is fantasy. Shoot em up or Hack and Slash, Procedurally-Generated/ Randomly Generated. Attacking using tarot cards with different attacks and spells. I also want to have Hylic's designs ideas.

What am I going to learn next:

Code How to spawn monsters on a specific place

fix bugs with attacking.

fix bugs with enemy.

update and add stuff to enemy ai.

fix and update sprites.

try to add shaders to make the game look cool.

Add item collection.

Add textures on walls and floors.

Make health bars show up on screen.

Make procedural generation.

Game Design Color Pal:

[iantimony]

duesday

listening: idk, stuff on my phone on shuffle. some more coral bones youthemism i guess. friends at the table sangfielle, episode 3; i might not actually relisten to the rest of the arcs i already did and just skim the transcripts.

no children (ska remix) by sad snack: im back in my ska era. really funny song to have an upbeat ska tone.

the mountain goats deserters fan album: have not listened to the whole album yet but god, what a cool and unique thing that i don't think could really exist for most other bands. Five Fucking Hours

reading: Polynesian Tattooing Tools, linked from Fairhaven comic

why gen z is obsessed with point-and-shoot digital cameras: it's funny because a few months ago i was considering getting a cheap point-and-shoot to fuck around with. looks like i am not the only one who was thinkin about it.

i'm working my way through le guin's 'the left hand of darkness'! i bounced off it the first time i tried reading it a few years ago but last year i read a le guin short story anthology that had some stories set on karhide and i think that gave me a good enough primer on the world/her writing style to get it to stick this time. i'm enjoying it! it's a good book!

watching: mina le - booktok & the hotgirlification of reading: some good background video for crochet etc. bernadette banner - hand sewing regency stays should be quick...right?: oughhhhh so pretty. bernadette banner - this regency court gown is probably my favorite project ever: i won't lie i got a little misty-eyed at the artisans getting to sign their names on the robe.

rewatched the gay and wondrous life of caleb gallo. i forgot how good it is, it really holds up and is still funny

also, continued doctor who watch/rewatch. i'm ngl i think the way rory and amy were shoved off screen was...really stupid. "he can't go back to that specific year in ny :(" ok, before amy gets zapped back you just go "yo go to new jersey in a few days" and go pick them up. really silly imo

playing: fallow. did buy miserichord, omori, and slay the princess in the steam summer sale. i have signalis, voyager 19, and a short hike in my cart as we speak. more games that i haven't played to feed the steam library let's goooo

making: crocheted some granny squares.

pattern for the yellow one is this lantana square...if anyone has any interesting looking granny square patterns that would be good in one solid color send em my way!

thinking of getting this pattern too.

i realized this past week that my urge to Make has been very stale and derivative the past few years, if that makes sense. like i don't feel Creative, i see something and mimic it - i do paintings based on photos i took, i follow knitting patterns, i come across something ceramic and decide to make one of my own, i find reference images to copy. but no actual, like, Inventing on my own end. i think that's why i haven't done a lot of fanart or fanfiction as well, just no ideas. i know that's just part of the cycle of creativity and i'm just in a "hunter-gatherer" period of amassing skills and references but idk. i'm tired of it. i want to create more meaningful things but i have no actual ideas, the well feels dry, and i'm not sure how to fix that.

eating: fallow

misc: stares at my mom and brother doing politics doomerism re: supereme court ruling in the family group chat. looks away. chants 'nothing ever happens' to myself like a mantra.

[rabbitinashell]

Title: Whatever tf you want it to be

Han Lue was leaning casually against the counter, popping chips into his mouth, while Brian O'Connor was tinkering with yet another engine part, deep in concentration. You? Well, you were somewhere between trying to blend into the furniture and coming up with the next world-shattering joke to distract from how out of place you felt.

“Oh sure, Brian, that’s definitely how you fix it. Just turn that thingy-majig and hope it doesn’t explode,” you muttered, arms crossed as you rocked on the balls of your feet. "Totally how professionals work."

Brian raised an eyebrow, shooting you a grin. "Thingy-majig, huh? Didn’t know you were an expert now."

"Absolutely," you replied, deadpan. "Got my PhD in Made-Up Car Parts and Pretending to Know What I’m Doing. It’s a prestigious field, really.”

Han chuckled from his spot, crunching another chip, clearly enjoying the banter. “I don’t know, Bri, sounds like she could take over your job with that kind of knowledge.”

“Right?” you said, turning to Han, “I’m basically a genius. Next stop, rocket science. Or, you know, maybe I’ll just start my own taco truck. I’m versatile like that.”

Han nodded with mock seriousness, but there was something in his eyes—something soft, like he was genuinely enjoying your rapid-fire nonsense. And that look? That was dangerous. Like, heart-pounding, world-spinning dangerous.

“I’d buy tacos from you,” Han said casually, throwing out the comment like it was no big deal.

You blinked, eyes widening, and suddenly your mouth was dry. Compliments? That’s new territory. Your heart skipped a beat, and just like that, the sarcastic comeback that was on the tip of your tongue evaporated.

“I—uh…” you stammered, fingers fidgeting nervously with the hem of your shirt. “Yeah? I mean, cool. Tacos. Great. Who doesn’t love tacos, right?”

Real smooth.

Brian glanced up, clearly noticing the shift in your usual banter. “She’s quiet. That’s new. What happened to all the smart comments?”

“Shut up, O’Connor,” you mumbled, turning away and pretending to inspect the nearest engine like it was the most fascinating thing in the room.

Han exchanged a look with Brian, amused but curious. “She gets like this when you compliment her,” Han said softly, his voice gentle. “Not used to it, huh?”

You laughed nervously, your fingers still twisting your shirt. “What, me? Nah. I’m totally fine. It’s just—you know… verbal niceties… it’s like someone handing you a live grenade and telling you it’s a birthday cake. You don’t really know what to do with it.”

Brian tilted his head, leaning back against the hood of the car, watching you with an easy grin. “You seriously don’t get compliments? I find that hard to believe.”

You shrugged, trying to play it off, but the vulnerability seeped through. “What can I say? I’ve got the charm of a highly-caffeinated squirrel and the looks of someone who spends too much time behind a computer screen. People don’t exactly line up to hand out gold stars for that.”

Han frowned slightly, walking over to you. His laid-back attitude didn’t change, but his eyes softened. “Well, they should. If you ask me, they’re missing out.”

And there it was again. That look. You could deflect a thousand compliments if they were jokes, but this? Han looking at you like he genuinely meant it, like he saw something worth praising? Yeah, that short-circuited your brain real fast.

Brian smirked, clearly sensing how flustered you were getting. “Better get used to it, or else we’re just gonna keep throwing ‘em at you until you learn how to take it.”

You swallowed, trying to shake off the warmth creeping up your neck. “Oh sure, no big deal. Just, you know, casually making my heart explode. Totally normal. Let’s just add that to the list of things that could kill me.”

Han chuckled, shaking his head. “You’ll be fine. Besides, we like you just the way you are—even if you’re a little, uh, squirrel-like.”

You huffed, crossing your arms but feeling the smile tugging at your lips. “Squirrel-like. Great. Add that to my résumé of amazing traits.”

Brian laughed, giving you a playful nudge. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure everyone knows how terrifyingly awesome you are.”

Your face turned redder, but you couldn’t help but grin at the two of them. They had this way of making you feel like you belonged, even when you didn’t know how to handle their easy compliments.

“Well,” you said, trying to recover some semblance of your usual sarcasm, “just so you know, this doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you when I beat you both at Mario Kart later.”

Han raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “Oh? Is that a challenge?”

“Oh, it’s more than a challenge,” you shot back, the familiar confidence starting to creep back in. “It’s a promise. And when I win, you two can shower me with more compliments. I’ll even try not to die of shock.”

Brian chuckled, shaking his head. “Deal.”

And with that, you had the upper hand again—even if your heart was still racing from the way Han looked at you like you were worth all the compliments in the world.

[tallulahowens]

♥ your first question: what is your aspiration in life?

i. pretty hurts - beyonce // ii. southern belle- scotty mccreery // iii. all she wants to do is dance - don heneley // iv. one in a million remix - bosson // v. new class - selena gomez, drew seeley // vi. cowboy cassanova - carrie underwood // vii. church bells- carrie underwood // viii. better man - little big town // ix. i hope you dance - lee ann womack // x. woman's world - little mix // xi. beneath your beautiful - emeli sandé and labrinth // xii. sweetest sin - jessica simpson // xiii.  little me - little mix xiv. kiss - prince // xv. blue jeans - jessie james decker // xvi. i feel pretty / unpretty - glee cast

[LISTEN]

"Oh, my aspiration in life would be to be happy" ♥

same deal as with E, below are my rambles xD beware

i. pretty hurts - beyonce mama said, "you're a pretty girl" what's in your head, it doesn't matter brush your hair, fix your teeth what you wear is all that matters

this song to me is all about the pressures to attain physical perfection, something tallulah has had to deal with her entire life being a pageant girl. her mother, desperate to provide for the family, always taught tallulah to use her looks and her charm to her advantage no matter what. and sometimes it wasn't enough.

ii. southern belle- scotty mccreery somewhere down south there's a swingin' screen door sundressed beauty on a hot front porch knocking one back baby, oh my Lord, have mercy

you can take the girl out of texas but you can't take the texas out of the girl. no matter where she lives or what pageants she was entered in, tallulah is a southern gal at heart. its apart of her no amount of make-up and tulle can erase. she loves to ride horses, get her hands dirty, and girl can shoot her whiskey and her pool like champ, not to mention she's also a fierce mama bear.

iii. all she wants to do is dance - don heneley never mind the heat comin' off the street, she wants to party, she wants to get down, all she wants to do is, all she wants to do is dance

this a nod to teenage tallulah. even being a pageant girl, tallulah always had a wild spirit what couldn't quite be tamed completely. she loved to go out on the town and dance her little heart out whenever she got the chance. i like to think that wildflower of girl still exists in tallulah somewhere.

iv. one in a million remix - bosson you're one in a million, you're once in a lifetime you made me discover one of the stars above us

why, yes this is in fact the song the contestants in miss congeniality dance to to open the show. so this song is dedicated to tallulah's pageant life, her miss america win, and honestly the more fun side of it all. i like to think tallulah did actually enjoy many aspects of competing like participating in the choreographed dances similar to one from the movie. she also got to show off on her horse during the talent portions, and the girl does love wearing a gorgeous gown.

v. new class - selena gomez, drew seeley you're the new classic, you're the new PYT stands for paid, young and trying everything, just to touch your dreams, you look so classic, fantastic

tallulah was never really your average beauty queen. she started out as the dime store contestant dressed in her mother’s repurposed hand-me-downs and bedazzled riding boots. it was something the judges couldn’t get enough of and i like to think in a small way she helped paved the way for girls to celebrate their differences in pageantry, hence the new classic.

vi. cowboy cassanova - carrie underwood he's the devil in disguise, a snake with blue eyes, and he only comes out at night gives you feelings that you don't wanna fight, you better run for your life

ooof this one goes out to mr. james calloway, texas oil tycoon and the man who swept the newly minted miss america right out of her cowgirl boots. i picture the first day tallulah met him going something like this song. he was posted up against the record machine in some dive bar they shouldn’t have been in. naturally, she blew him off at first, but he was persistent and those eyes. damn girl couldn't get enough of it.

vii. church bells- carrie underwood jenny was hosting Junior League parties and having dinner at the country club, everyone thought they were ken and barbie but ken was always getting way too drunk

more carrie because she is tallulah's absolute favorite singer and she literally IS a carrie underwood song. it took a lot of restraint to only narrow it down to two but ANYWAY this song was the inspiration for tallulah, and i pretty much took bits and pieces from the song to shape her character. it also comments on how things in tallulah's marriage started out picture perfect and then slowly crumbled.

viii. better man - little big town sometimes, in the middle of the night, I can feel you again but I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man

in tallulah's eyes this one is about grief because at the end of day she really did love james, and it kills her to think that she could love someone with demons like his. even after he passed, she still catches herself wishing he was still around and is reminded of the times when things in their marriage were magic.

ix. i hope you dance - lee ann womack Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance, and when you get the choice to sit it out or dance. I hope you dance…

this song is dedicated to tallulah's daughter, miranda. they had been through a lot in the last 3 years and tallulah tries her best to raise her best she can. even though she has some trouble letting go and watching her babygirl grow up, her wish for miranda is to get out there in the world, embrace life, take chances, and of course dance.

x. woman's world - little mix every day she tells her daughter "baby, you're not just a pretty face" she says "you gotta work much harder"

sucker for some parallels, so tallulah's mother always told her that she was just a pretty face, and now that tallulah is a mom she wants miranda to know that her daughter is more than just a pretty face. and of course that she can be whoever she wants to be in this world which i also think is something tallulah is trying to work through too. and finally, tallulah also does a lot of volunteer work with junior league and mentoring pageant girls, so i imagine its a message she makes sure they know, too.

xi. beneath your beautiful - emeli sandé and labrinth you've built your wall so high that no one could climb it but I'm gonna try, would you let me see beneath your beautiful?

tallulah has been pretty closed off romantically since her husband's death and has been throwing herself into her work and her charities and her daughter. it has been three years and miranda is almost a teenager so i like to think she is ready to start dipping her toes into the dating pool again and let people see beneath her beautiful.

xii. sweetest sin - jessica simpson your fingertips on my fingertips your skin upon my skin would be the sweetest sin

the day tallulah does actually let someone, and they are intimate, this is the song that's playing in the background. that's all. it's the sweetest sin and i cry.

xiii.  little me - little mix I'd tell her to speak up, tell her to shout out, talk a bit louder, be a bit prouder, tell her she's beautiful, wonderful, everything she doesn't see

if tallulah could go back in time and tell her younger self a couple things she would tell her to stand up for self more and that she is more than just her pretty face. i think these are things she still tries to remind herself.

xiv. kiss - prince you don't have to be rich to be my girl, you don't have to be cool to rule my world, ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible with, I just want your extra time and your kiss

tallulah's absolute favorite movie is pretty woman, and she loves the scene where julia roberts is singing to prince in the bathtub. catch her doing work around the house jamming out to this bop, probably scrounges up an old walkman for the occasion too because sometimes she's extra like that.

xv. blue jeans - jessie james decker i step in my blue jeans homewreck in my blue jeans, i got it from my momma so im blessed in my, I sing in my blue jeans, bling in my blue jeans when I hit the country club I get in free with my

tallulah might be a former beauty queen and love to get all dressed up in gowns and tiaras, but girl sure can rock a pair of blue jeans like no other. her collection of denim and cowgirl boots rivals no one. i like to imagine when she's feeling herself this is one of the songs she's blasting, and miranda is groaning somewhere in the background.

xvi. i feel pretty / unpretty - glee cast you can buy all the makeup that MAC can make but if you can't look inside you find out who am I, too be in a position to make me feel so damn unpretty, i feel pretty, oh so pretty i feel pretty and witty and bright

one final nod to beauty to beauty standards because i like that it's a bookend with "pretty hurts." tallulah has come a long way from the pageant days, but there are still times now where she feels pretty and other times where she feels unpretty.

you are the real hero if you got through all that xoxo

[txmefxll]

“Hello?! Is anyone down here?”

Electric torture wasn't new to him, but the devices strewn about this ragged old building were, it had all started with that damn arcade machine. Nerve and the others had managed to score ownership of one of the arcade places, intent on turning it into a proper entertainment district and to bring smiles and joy not just to those that would now finally visit Satellite after the bridge had been completed, the two cities reunited. But not? Actual jobs, not scavenging for scraps and being able to pursue their own hopes and dreams. He had been all too eager to help in terms of mechanic work, and that came with fixing up an old Arcade game that looked really outdated, it had taken work but eventually it started up. And he found himself drawn to it, a tug to play it, like his inner child wanted to experience the fun that could be had with the games. He'd reasoned with himself that it would be fine to do so, to test and make sure it would work. The screen was fuzzy, and there were some lines of static running down it, but otherwise, it was making noise and the picture was visible. The title was pixelated with various aesthetics plastered amongst it in bright colorful text and below it were bold letters. A shoot-em-up puzzle adventure in perfect text, fully displayed in native language. Thus he'd played it, until time blurred in between the lines and he found himself still working on it come morning. Content that it worked, he'd set out to finishing with messing with the wires. The rest was blank. Yet he recalls leaving his house, the front door still unlocked, everything left behind and simply walking, walking further and further until a car had pulled up. The next thing he remembered was waking up. Here. There were prongs that jutted out of the floor and clamping around his body like a tight cage, catching him between them like he was a fly caught in a web. People clad in white robes had moved in, all while a voice spoke through a speaker. Addressing him. He could hardly make out what they were saying, something about the Arcadia Movement, how shortsighted Divine was. The prick against his arm has him thrashing, the syringe's needle piercing into his flesh. Gasping for breath as he felt the invasive warmth crawl through alive and dead nerves, making his arms feel heavy and his legs shake under him. When the prongs finally released him, he couldn't stand, crumpling to the floor, limp and useless. Into the awaiting grasps of scientists that manhandle him and strap him down to a table, metallic cuffs that lock his body in place. Then with it came the electric surge, the wires strapped to his body and the device strapped to his head. The world blurs, saliva bubbles in his mouth as his teeth grit together.

Alarms are going off, the bond tugs at him, trying to find him, the crimson dragon can't sense him, despite him being right there, he's right there and he could grasp at it's brilliant red threads if he wasn't so heavy, so dead weight against the table. Chaos erupts as the scientists are silent, the screens still flashing out of the corner of his mind as he squeezes his eyes shut, his mind clouded, it feels like he's suffocating, there's too much going on all at once to keep track. A voice that rings out from screens that display 'intruder alert' and with it are other figures, multiple of them, they came for him, they're looking for him. Yet all he can send through the bond is one fleeting sensation, a chill up the spine, the realization of danger, terrible terrible danger. Then he's gone, smothered under lock and key again as the sensations grow intense and his vision blurs as long ruined halls of the hospital carry the sounds of footsteps. Psychic duelists, a new leader, a new watch, a new goal, a new mission. The horrors that stain this place, put aside by Divine and left for another to slowly crawl up the ranks with even more vicious plans. It would be only fitting that the Arcadia Movement would rise. With better management. With better control.

RUN AWAY

[clarklovescarole]

May 1940: Poison Oak Attacks!

May 4, 1940 - Times The Picture Paper 

Clark Gable telephones his Carole from the set of “Boom Town.” 

“Keep lunch late for me, honey. I’m on my way.” 

Someone recently asked Miss Lombard whether she had found it difficult to adapt herself to her present quiet country life. Carole, before her marriage to Gable, was one of the gayer girls around town and famous for her screwball parties. 

“But I never really liked that sort of thing,” she says now. “There was just nothing else to do!”

May 5, 1940 - Hartford Courant 

Good egg recipes, send ‘em to Gable 

Clark Gable is anxious to know just how many ways there are to fix eggs. He needs to know, with the hens on the Gable-Lombard ranch laying an average of 100 eggs a day. 

When the actor decided to “Rancher” Gable in private life, he thought only of the relaxation of ranch life – but, since the success of his alfalfa crop, grape harvest, and now his record-laying hands, he is beginning to realize it might someday “equal a screen career as a calling.” 

“But what do you have with eggs after you have fried, boiled, scrambled and ever eaten them raw,” queries Gable, who is showering his coworkers on “Boom Town” with gifts of ranch laid eggs. 

However, wife Carole Lombard is solving the problem by having the extra eggs sent to local charity organizations.

May 7, 1940 - Times The Picture Paper 

When that over-anxious extra punched Clark Gable’s lip and split it for a scene in “Boom Town,” wife Carole Lombard gloated, “Swell, now we can have a vacation together.” 

They have to “shoot” around Clark for a week at least until his lip is healed. Lucky the extra did not smash Mr. Gable’s teeth at the same time!

May 8, 1940 - Los Angeles Evening Citizen News 

Mr. and Mrs. Clark Gable took a group of their friends to the Hollywood Baseball Park one evening to watch the game between the Hollywood Stars and the Los Angeles Angels. Mrs. Gable - Carole Lombard - was dressed tailored fashion all in black with an enormous black straw cartwheel hat that drooped, nearly hiding her face from the fans.

May 12, 1940 - Detroit Free Press 

After many vicissitudes, including her marriage to William Powell (which was an example of two too clever persons getting together), and his two previous marriages, Carole Lombard and Clark Gable are giving evidence of a great and unusual companionship. 

It is a romance which pleases everybody. Gable as the husband of Scarlett in “Gone with the Wind” got fed up with her tantrums. Apparently with Carole Lombard, he experiences nothing but unalloyed happiness and contentment. 

On March 29, they celebrated their first anniversary. Miss Lombard spent the day on the set of MGM’s “Boom Town” with Gable, who was at no pains to hide his pleasure at her thoughtfulness. 

Pranks were played on each other, but both of them were pretty impressed when they received 500 telegrams, notes and letters from the fans who remembered their anniversary. They live on a ranch, ride, fish, hunt, and do interior decorating. They like the same people, enjoy the same things. If this marriage goes on the rocks, I’m leaving Hollywood for Pago Pago. 

May 13, 1940 - Evening Vanguard 

Signs of the season: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard practicing fly casting on the front lawn.

May 16, 1940 - Wilkes-Barre Times Leader 

Carole Lombard and Clark Gable concur on golfing togs that look as fresh as an early California morning, and that make them a definite twosome more ways than one. Clark doesn’t feel that he is any less man for wearing a deep moss green sweater jacket with huge pockets, topping dark gray slacks that matches Carole‘s dark gray slacks and moss green sweater jacket. 

The only noticeable difference in two outfits is that Carole‘s jacket was tightly zippered to fit, and she wore dark green golfing moccasins, while Clark’s jacket swung loosely and he matched shoes with trousers. This striking couple enhance many a green of a Sunday morning.

May 16, 1940 – The Missouri Cash Book 

Clark Gable and his wife Carole Lombard have undergone considerable difficulty in curtailing the devil grass which has been growing from cracks in the driveway back to the garage. So the Gables called in experts to kill the grass. The men applied grass poison freely. 

The turkeys, usually satisfied with grain and other tidbits, descended upon the treated grass, and before this was discovered, 25 of the Gables’ finest turkeys had turned up their heels for good.

May 17, 1940 - The Coast Star 

Paper wedding anniversary

Hollywood’s most famous married couple celebrate the completion of their first married life, their paper anniversary. It’s Carole Lombard and Clark Gable, and because Clark is working daily in “Boom Town,” the two had to have their anniversary luncheon in Gable’s dressing room at the studios.

May 17, 1940 - Salt Lake Telegram 

Jinx follows Carole as Ivy attacks 

The hospital jinx continues to follow film star Carole Lombard with her new picture due to start Monday. The actress now is in the Good Samaritan hospital undergoing treatments for a bad case of poison ivy, which covered her face arms and one leg. 

The attack is annoying but creates no serious problem as did Carole’s appendicitis operation, which held up operations on her last picture. 

According to the star, she expects to be recovered in time to face the cameras on schedule. 

“But you ought to see me now,” she said Thursday. “I look like I’m wearing clown makeup.” 

Carole said she hasn’t been exposed directly to the infection, but apparently caught it from pollen in the air. She has had several other bad attacks. The actress went into the hospital Tuesday. Since that time, Clark Gable has been living there to keep her company. This in spite of the fact that he is busy in the picture, “Boom Town.” 

Carole’s own new film will team her with Charles Laughton in a screen version of Sidney Howard’s play, “They Knew What They Wanted.” The movie title will be “The Other Man.”

May 21, 1940 - Evening Star 

Carole Lombard is suffering from poison oak. She recovered only recently from ptomaine poisoning, and before that was laid up with the flu. The resistance of movie actresses to illness is practically nil because they have to keep so thin for their careers.

May 22, 1940 – Chattanooga Daily Times 

And talking about babies: Clark Gable on the “Boom Town” set was reading aloud a telegram from Carole. “Sally’s just had her children,” signed “Ma.” 

Sally is the favorite hen on Mr. and Mrs. Gable’s ranch.

May 23, 1940 - The Van Nuys News 

Reader reports an amusing incident which occurred recently at the home of a Ventura minister who telephoned his wife that he had just performed a wedding ceremony and was inviting the newlyweds to the house for tea and that the party included Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. 

When they arrived at the house and were coming up the steps, the housewife flung open the front door, bowed low with a sweeping gesture, and announced in no uncertain terms that she was Mary Pickford. 

Then she went to a state of utter confusion and nearly collapsed when she gazed into the smiling faces of the two famous stars who had acted as attendees for the bride and groom, and stood there beside them on the minister’s porch.

May 25, 1940 – The News Herald

Carole Lombard in bed with poison oak attack 

Carole Lombard, wife of Clark Gable, wasn’t seeing visitors today. She was in bed from a brush with poison oak. She thought she was cured several days ago and informed RKO studio that she was ready to begin rehearsals on a new picture with Charles Laughton. She called the studio yesterday and said that the rash had reappeared.

May 27, 1940 – The Punxsutawney Spirit 

Says it’s no fun being ex-wife of Clark Gable 

Being the former wife of Clark Gable, screen idol, is a “tough load to carry,” complained Miss Josephine Dillon, Hollywood dramatic coach. 

“That’s because everyone considers me something of a curiosity,“ she explained. Miss Dillon - she prefers to be known as Josephine Dillon, although her maiden name was not restored during her divorce action - stopped off in St. Louis on her way to Christian College School for Girls at Columbia, Missouri to initiate courses and such things as radio work, dramatics, television, and charm. 

Being known as Gable’s former wife is no fun, Miss Dillon asserted. 

“Women are the worst offenders. They ask me such preposterous questions as to what he eats and whether he is really the great lover off the screen as well as he is on it. It is all very trying.” 

“All I would like to say about Clark is this: ‘He is a fine person and a regular fellow. He loves simple things and is happiest with his dogs, his books, his hunting, and of course Carole, who is quite right on her own account.’” 

Carole is Carole Lombard, Clark’s present wife. 

“In the years we were together from 1923 until 1931, I taught Clark the fundamentals of acting, and today, I believe he is an excellent actor - much better than he is given credit for being. But Hollywood demands nothing of Clark except that he be his masculine self.”

May 30, 1940 - Chicago Tribune

At Lakeside, Clark Gable boosting to Carole Lombard that he shot an 87 and Carole, beaming…

May 31, 1940 - Times The Picture Paper 

Gable-Lombard divorce rumors appears somewhat exaggerated 

By Sheila Graham 

Just because Carole Lombard and Clark Gable had a quarrel in the Brown Derby is no reason to believe the Hollywood rumor that their marriage is on the rocks. Good heavens! If all couples got a divorce after the first spat, who would still be married? Carole and Clark are genuinely in love with each other. I shall be much surprised if a few cross words lead to anything more serious.

[retrogamingloft]

Galaxian is a seminal arcade game developed and released by Namco (now Bandai Namco) in 1979. It was one of the most influential early shoot 'em up games and is considered a spiritual successor to Space Invaders while introducing several important innovations to the genre.

The game features the player controlling a spaceship at the bottom of the screen, defending against alien attackers called "Galaxians." Unlike Space Invaders, where enemies moved in a fixed pattern, Galaxian introduced enemies that would break formation and dive-bomb the player's ship, creating a more dynamic and challenging gameplay experience. This dive-bombing mechanic was revolutionary at the time and would influence countless shoot 'em ups that followed.

Galaxian was also notable for its technical innovations. It was one of the first games to use RGB color graphics and employ a scrolling starfield background, adding visual depth that was lacking in earlier games. The cabinet featured vibrant artwork that helped it stand out in arcades. The game's success led to numerous ports on home consoles and computers, including the Atari 2600, NES, and many others. Its most famous sequel, Galaga (1981), became even more popular than the original and is often considered one of the greatest arcade games of all time.

Galaxian established many conventions of the shoot 'em up genre, such as enemy attack patterns, and boss fights. The flagship enemy (the "Galaxian Commander") introduced the concept of special high-value targets in shooting games.

The game was designed by Kazunori Sawano, who would go on to create many other classic Namco titles. Galaxian was Namco's first major arcade hit in North America and helped establish the company as a significant player in the global video game industry.

Over the decades, Galaxian has appeared in numerous compilation packages and remakes, keeping it accessible to new generations of players. Its influence can be seen in countless space shooters that followed, cementing its place in video game history as one of the foundational titles of the arcade era.

In this video I'm checking out Galaxian on MS-DOS which, despite being an Atarisoft port, is probably the most uninspired take on the game I've ever seen. The graphics are just plain awful, but the worst part is the terrible framerate issues - it literally slows down to a crawl at times. Weirdly enough, this doesn't happen when the screen is packed with enemies, but only after you've cleared most of them out, making it super frustrating to take down those last few alien ships.

[nitrosodiumaltcontroller]

Researching Arcade Games

Arcade games are, of course, games that work on arcade machines. Because of the variety of different machines, many have irregular/nonstandard controller systems, so they will be good to research for my own inspiration.

Game 1 - Centipede

Centipede is a 1981 shooter, where you control a little creature and must shoot a centipede as it slowly comes down the screen at you. The centipede is comprised of multiple sections, and if you shoot the middle, it splits apart and then you have two centipedes coming at you. When a segment is destroyed, it turns into mushrooms which must be destroyed to give you a clear shot. There are other insects which must also be dealt with while you fight the centipede, including spiders which move in all directions. The unique aspect is that the player is controlled by a trackball, giving them omnidirectional movement and more velocity acceleration than a joystick would allow for. I like this idea, and have tried similar projects where the player is controlled by the mouse rather than a keyboard. I'm not sure how it would translate to an 'alternative controller' though.

Game 2 - Tempest

This game is a geometric shoot-em-up, where you play as a spacecraft firing down a tunnel. It is rendered using the QuadraScan vector system that Atari was using at the time, creating a sense of 3D space. The main controller system is a spinning knob that can move the spacecraft onto the different sides of the tunnel, in a system somewhat akin to Run 3. The use of a knob instead of bumpers, buttons or a joystick once again makes use of velocity acceleration - you can move the knob a little and only move a single face around the tunnel, or move a lot for larger adjustments, all in the same amount of time. This fixes a frequent complaint when it comes to accessibility - people with motor skill problems cannot spam-click buttons - and makes a frantic game experience easier to control.

Game 3 - Star Wars (1983)

This is another wireframe-rendered arcade game. In this one, you play as Luke Skywalker during the trench run sequence from the movie, where you must destroy the Death Star. The aim is to survive for as long as possible, while you shoot down TIE fighters. The unique controller system this time is a yoke controller, the W-shaped sort of steering wheel used in aircraft. With it, you can control the pitch, roll and yaw of the X-wing in the game, providing a realistic spaceflight experience (at least, realistic to the logic of the films). I imagine it would be somewhat accessible, but I have always found that flight sims like this can easily cause motion sickness, but that is not something that a more generic controller input would remedy.

Game 4 - Half Life 2: Survivor

This is a lesser-known arcade port of Half Life 2, only distributed in Japan. Instead of a linear unbroken first person narrative, each major setpiece of the original Half Life 2 is made its own level, with tutorial pop-ups and cutscenes instead of the scripted sequences the game would usually have to convey information. Interestingly, the game has some cut content in it that the base game does not, such as the Combine Assassin enemy and Sniper Rifle weapon. The most interesting aspect, however, is the Taito Type-X+ machine that the game runs on. It has one joystick for moving, and one for looking and shooting, which somewhat replicates the functions served by the keyboard and mouse in PC games. However, there are also two floor pedals, which are respectively used for jumping and crouching. This is an interesting concept, and various game reviewers at the time praised it for getting the player to use their whole body to play, and not just their hands. This, however, does cause an accessibility problem, as if someone does not have movement of their legs for whatever reason, they cannot work the pedals, and thus cannot jump or crouch. This could be remedied by two extra buttons somewhere on the 'upper' control panel of the machine, but is otherwise an interesting experiment that did not catch on.

Conclusion

In terms of alternative controllers, arcade games have many different versions, that are mostly based on the type of game it is running. Driving games will have steering wheel setups, flight simulators will have yokes or flight sticks, but it is the more experimental controllers such as the use of rotating knobs or trackballs that I find interesting. The reason is that they provide a new method for a pre-existing input - for example, instead of using a joystick to go up and down, a knob can be turned. This sort of thought process, along with the hardware used, may be what I try and replicate if I make a video game for this project.

[rviner]

Tammie doesn't know what's got Mr. Blondey grinning so much to himself and she doesn't care to ask, but it irks her until she hears the drawl in his words. Immediately, she knows the kind of man she's dealing with, especially when he returns with a smug quip. "Really? Have to take ya word for it 'cause I can't see 'em, you're squintin' like you got an eyelash in 'em." she murmurs, disgruntled as she fixes her attention on the slow and lagging computer screen. It doesn't move to him, despite his comment bringing out a quick huff of a laugh. "I don't remember tellin' you or askin' you to do nothin'." which means her apparent status as the bossy twin is up for debate.

Tammie's finger taps over the mouse with frustrated clicks, watching the little spinny thingy go around and around just to open up a damn spreadsheet. Which means she has no choice but to glance up when Mr. Eyelash steps to the desk. How close he leans in makes her nose wrinkle, Tammie quick to wave him away with an air of authority. "Uh, can you stand behind the line, please?" she asks haughtily, despite there being no line etched in the floor. "I'm dealin' with sensitive information." she adds, suddenly so dutiful to follow rules and regulations.

But, he is right. She would need to print off a job application form, her eyes darting to the slow loading screen and back again. "Well, you're gonna have to wait." Tammie shrugs, sitting back in her seat and studying him for a beat. "Now, don't take this the wrong way but you don't look like you ever worked on a ranch before. Looks more like you'd be the folks we gotta shoot off our land, if I'm bein' honest."

★・・・・・・★

It wasn't really new to Ryan, to be sent off on an errand out of nowhere. His latest one was a ranch out of the city, and even hearing the words "ranch" and "California" in the same sentence made him want to laugh. What do it farm? Awards? This where the Oscar's grow for harvestin'? They pull those golden fuckers outta the ground by the heads? No one else laughed when he said it, but Ryan is still chuckling about it even from the drive over. Obviously, he isn't at Sunset Ride for any other reason than Renegade suspicion. Try and get a job there, they're hiring, see what's going on. Well, Ryan knows he's not the most promising work candidate thanks to his rap sheet, but orders are orders.

When he arrives, a disinterested brunette tells him to sit in the office, wait for someone to get to him. So, he does that too. Sitting on an uncomfortable bench, rubbing his hands together as he eyes the decor. Deer antlers, deer heads, a few boars, a nice rifle sitting up behind the desk. Almost feels like home in the sticks, but not quite. California feels like a Sunday, and it always will. His attention moves to the door when the same brunette from earlier walks in, but in different clothes and the idea of a costume change makes him stifle more laughter. Until she starts talking, or rather, arguing with herself for words he didn't even say. And the revelation dawns on him quickly.

"Damn, didn't know I could say so much with just my eyes. But, I been told they're kinda...Iuno the word. Expressive, or whatever." Ryan quips, shooting her a wide grin, also finding amusement in the thick Texan accent that he's heard since arriving. "You're the bossy twin, huh?" he gestures to her, moving from his seat so he can wander to the desk. He doesn't mean to but Ryan invades places as if he owns them, a casualness to his movements as if he belongs somewhere. He leans his hands against the front desk, practically peering over the top to see what she's doing. "Someone said somethin' about a job, so I was tryna apply." he tells her, meeting her gaze with another grin. "Is that...gonna annoy ya? Feels like it is. Probably got paper work you gotta print off now, right?" Ryan clicks his tongue, still grinning. "M'sorry. But hey, look at it this way, it can't be no workin' ranch if you don't work."