#raj pattern

[ill-kidnap-all-the-stars]

Ty Lee

[ image description: a digital drawing of Ty Lee from Avatar: the Last Airbender in my style. She is a light-skinned woman with grey eyes facing the viewer. She is wearing a pink skirt under a gold shirt and red raj pattern jacket, which is embroidered with gold lilies and jasmine. She is holding a white lily in her hands and has a crown of jasmine flowers in her hair. She is standing in front of a brown Fire Nation symbol ]

prints ✨ commissions

Aaaaand the final one in this atla throw back, Ty Lee! One of my favourite characters, who I wanted to be as a child, and an absolute delight to draw. The influences and inspiration are under the cut and, for the last time, I remind you that they originally came from Instagram slides I made so they're missing lots of details and nuance:

A Bit of Background:

The Fire Nation is visually and geographically inspired by volcanic islands such as Iceland, Hawaii and Polynesian islands, while the culture of the Fire Nation is primarily inspired by East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as sun-worshipping cultures (such as the Ancient Egyptians and Mesoamericans). For example:

the Confucian concept of ‘filial piety’ (孝顺 or ‘xiao shun’) is central to the Fire Nation too;

the agni kai is a form of honour duel commonly seen in warrior societies of South Asia, and literally translates as ‘Duel of Fire’ or ‘Fire Quarrel’;

the Fire Nation propaganda justifying the war is reminiscent of the Japanese Empire during the Second World War;

the architecture draws on that of Ancient Egypt, different Chinese dynasties, and historic Southeast Asian kingdoms;

the food typically resembles the Sichuan food, particularly in the spiciness and quantities of meat.

Fire Nation Clothing:

The clothing of the Fire Nation draws from many East and Southeast Asian clothing. For example, the armour the military wears has influences from traditional Thai armour, the shoulder pieces the Royal Family wears come from Burmese court wear, the school uniforms are inspired by traditional Thai clothing, and the Royal Family's top knot appear to come from Qin Dynasty China.

The Royal Court are often seen wearing changshan, a traditional clothing of the Han Chinese, although that is not the only influence. For example, Azula's skirt comes from the wraparound trousers worn in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, while Ty Lee and Toph's jewellery comes from the Thai mongkut.

My Design:

Ty Lee's design shows Thai influences, most prominently in the jewellery she wears while performing at the circus. So, I looked at traditional Thai clothing and eventually settled on the raj pattern (ราชปะแตน). Although the raj pattern is traditionally a men's garment, I decided to bend it a little, as I think Ty Lee would really enjoy putting a feminine touch on men's clothing. So, I combined it with the poqun (破裙), a gored Chinese skirt (you can't tell me Ty Lee wouldn't love twirling in a big skirt).

I embellished Ty Lee's clothing with embroidery of lilies and jasmine. I'm Chinese culture, lilies symbolise love, joy, fortune and purity, while jasmine symbolises love and beauty. I think these qualities nicely sum up Ty Lee.

[soni-dragon]

love the new total drama. have some horses

inspired by @weezerfan123’s pony designs for them!

[jeemoluniverse]

In Memory of Professor K N Raj: A personal tribute

Prof. K,N, Raj was an enigma and most students at CDS were afraid of him. The difficult decision was to choose a supervisor for the MPhil dissertation. Prof. Raj had least number of MPhil and PhD students who successfully completed. I was one of them!

I joined Center for Development Studies (CDS), Trivandrum, as an MPhil student in September 1979. We were a small batch following the every illustrious senior batch who later turned ‘Maharathis’ in the fields of academics, journalism and policy making. It took some time before the professors at CDS started taking us seriously. In the meantime we enjoyed ourselves and the company of our…

[ask-zenpool]

New York Kitchen Inspiration for a sizable transitional eat-in kitchen remodel with porcelain tile and raised panel cabinets, black cabinets, stainless steel appliances, an island, an undermount sink, solid surface countertops, a gray backsplash, and a ceramic backsplash.

[whencyclopedia]

Taxila

When it comes to ancient history, Pakistan contains its fair share of treasures, one of the prominent of these being the ancient metropolis of Taxila. It is a city of the Gandharan civilization, sometimes known as one of its capitals, whose history can be traced from early microlithic communities at the Khanpur caves up to almost 1000 CE. Taxila was a hub of Buddhism, a centre of learning, an urban metropolis and a meeting point of various cultures, namely the Achaemenids, Greeks, Mauryans, Scythians, Parthians, Kushans, Huns and eventually the Muslims.

Although it was lost to time for nearly 1000 years following its decline, the metropolis and its multitude of treasures came to light in the late 1800s CE under Alexander Cunningham who was an antiquarian for the British Raj and more prominently under John Marshall, the first director of the Archaeological Survey of India in the early 1900s CE, a time when archaeology worldwide had became a much more disciplined field and new discoveries were coming to light from all over the world. Along with discovering the Indus Valley civilization, Marshall also did major work in Taxila which bring to light this ancient and mysterious culture.

Location

The Taxila archaeological site is located in the province of Punjab, Pakistan, about 30 km north of the Capital Territory of Islamabad. It lies off the famous and historical Grand Trunk Road. The modern archaeological region of Taxila is composed of 18 sites of significant cultural value which were inducted as a whole into the UNESCO world heritage umbrella in 1980 CE.

The region is of particular interest when one looks at its ancient role as being a waypoint for the movement of caravans and even today it still holds the same function as in the 6th century BCE. This continuing function of the site as a waypoint tells us about the urban pattern of ancient Taxila (being more or less unchanged since antiquity) and how that affects development and the spread of crafts, settlements and markets as well as an institutional framework which develops as a result of the need to manage the surrounding population.

Although the region fell out of favor with the increase in sea trade in later times, the preceding centuries of occupation meant that a massive amount of archaeological data still remains in the region which has been slowly and gradually unearthed from the British era down to the present day.

Continue reading...

[zealouscanonindeer]

You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need.

Book : Kali flame of samsara

Pairing: Ram Doobay x Devi Sharma

Warning: none

Rating: Teen

Flowers embroidered the high walls of the Doobay estate, clinging and spiralling down the pillars, gently swaying with the silent breeze as they hung in patterns from the arches. Delicious aromas invaded the senses the moment you walked though the stately double doors of the main entrance. The whole place was alive and buzzing with activity. the reason for this? Raj Doobay's upcoming wedding to Amrita Rai.

Yes, while the occasion wasn't the most joyous for certain parties all in all there were no real consequences,save the personal ones of this particular arrangement.

As the carriage halted,Devi hauled herself out , her body aching from the travel but she wouldn't miss it for the world. Amrita had, at one point been her closest, dearest friend, and although such was not the case anymore, she still cared about her and often times felt sorrow at her situation.

In that , it seemed Amrita had grown up faster than Devi. while devi still lingered onto notions of love and marriage coexisting , Amrita had long ago compartmentalised them, realising that what she wanted came at the price , a price she was willing to pay.

While their recent encounter had thrown both women off balance , it seemed devi had been once again reminded of the harsh reality. And now, this set up served to rub salt to a wound that in her estimation would never heal. She gathered her deep blue saree, pushing away the threatening emotions as she crossed the threshold. She was instantly hit by the social atmosphere. She was still taking it all in when a small body collided against her. She looked down to see Aditya Thakur staring up at her.

In recent times, he had accompanied Erit all the more often and back when Kairas was still managing the affairs of the sharma family, all the younger heirs would spend time together with nothing particular to do during the meetings.

"Where have you been? I don't see you at meetings anymore?" He questioned.

How could she explain this to him? She herself couldn't comprehend her own reality, much less put it across to a eight year old.

She rolled her eyes, putting on a silly expression and tickled the boy while saying " Uh.. Boring stuff keeps me away from all the fun you're having. "

The boy giggled, pulling her hand to lead her to a game of cards he was currently playing. As they neared the seating area, she saw his entertainer was none other than the younger Doobay.

Ram locked eyes with her, neither one ready to look away and end the moment. His attention was pulled away as Aditya made himself comfortable on Ram's lap.

"I'm on Ram's team this time. Devi, he always wins. " He informed her.

"Oh really? Let me see how he wins this time around. "

"Please take a seat Miss Sharma, let me serve you your defeat. " He teased as he began handing out the cards.

Both stared intently at their draw, eyeing each other, hoping the other would give something away. As the game progressed, Devi began realising she was on the losing side, not one to back away she came up with a better way to win.

She looked at Ram, fluttering her eyelashes before mouthing something to him. He arched his brow, smirking. Discarding his Trump cards in the next few rounds, he let assured victory pass him by.

"Looks like Miss Sharma has been paying more attention to cards than her business affairs. What exactly does Kamal mentor you for? "

"Behave yourself or people might back away from their promises."

"Not when they want it more than me. "

Devi glared at him with his self assured smirk as he consoled the Thakur heir who was dismayed at Ram's loss.

"You know, how about some other game? I heard saraswati is really bad at chaturanga. You'll most definitely win. " Devi suggested.

As the young boy scurried off to find her, both welcomed each other's company. Ram slowly got up, holding out his hand for her which she readily accepted as he led her away. Once they reached a secluded spot, he turned to face her.

"Tell me. "

"What? "

He only gazed at her knowingly before her carefully constructed walls broke away and she shuddered from the emotions.

"It's only that this whole wedding has been making me feel like this" She trailed off not knowing how to explain it to him, that she was wavering from what they both already knew. It was becoming increasingly hard to accept reality. " Unsteady. " She finished.

Ram nodded. "It's making you question things.... About us. "

"Yes and no. If anything it makes me want this more but suddenly hope grows in my heart.. I.. I'm scared. Ram, I can't help but wonder how this is going to end. "

"Badly."

"Don't say that. " She knew him to speak the truth but for just this once she wished he would lie to her, tell her it was possible that they could exist beyond the shadows. But Ram Doobay would never be one to do that, she recognized that.

He walked over to her as she sat in the window, kneeling down and resting both his hands on her knees.

"Devi, I will do everything in my power to make sure this does not end..."

Her heart hammered so rapidly against her chest. Had he just confessed to her the possibility of a future, did he wish for what she ached too?

She got up suddenly, pulling him up with her. Her insecurities and the anxiety in her heart subdued. While she still couldn't fathom either of them belonging to someone else, for now it seemed enough.

She cleared her throat, wrapping her arms around his neck before adding in sotto voce.

"Enough of all that now. I believe I made a promise I must keep. "

"Oh you must. "

Their lips met, his warm arms enveloping her as she pushed into him, wanting to be closer than ever. She continued her affections as her lips attached to his neck, moving up towards the angle of his jaw. He gave her an appreciative groan as she smirked in pride at eliciting these sounds from him.

Finally breaking away, they gathered themselves and made their respective timely exits to make sure no one noticed their absence.

From her balcony, Amrita Rai stared in disbelief at her childhood friend and the man keeping her company. She realised now why Devi seemed so in anguish to hold marriage apart from love. She had after all been done the kindness of receiving requited love. After months of stoicism, Amrita, in her solitude, felt tears roll down her cheeks.

She laughed in mirth at the goddess's will. Devi and her both ached desperately for what the other had but somehow,even in their pitiful state, they both had received exactly what they needed.

*******

I want to start a taglist so if anyone is interested pls let me know☺

[murfpersonalblog]

Thanks for tagging me @little-desi-historian! ❤️

YES, all of this takes me back to something I wanted to touch a lot more on in my original post when it comes to the historical male image, Percy, Lestat, and Matadors; because it truly does link back to how AMC is playing with dandyism and society's expectations about effeminate men.

Dandyism is a form of resistance culture. As I've said before, Lestat flouts gender norms because HE CAN do whatever he wants & get away with it. His androgyny's on a different level: effeminate or masculine, he's still a vampire, a SUPERnatural creature elevated beyond the bounds of social mores that determine what men & women could or SHOULD act/dress like. MANY people across social media have pointed to Lestat's limp wrists, long blonde "Barbie" hair and ESPECIALLY him dressing in drag in Ep7 as proof that he's the "wife/mother/woman/femme fatale" in Lousta's relationship, and THEN claim its either gender essentialism or homophobic/racist to say Louis is CANONICALLY female-coded one in BOTH the books and show (as AR said so). But no, Lestat in drag was a power move, because he doesn't care what anyone thinks/says/does--he'll just eat them. Mockingly eating the baby in a dress was a deliberate bastardization of motherhood/womanhood. Louis is called every homophobic name in the book by those expecting the black man to just take being insulted, but MARQUIS de Lioncourt DEMANDS being crowned KING of Mardi Gras, Krewe of Raj, & he'll show you exactly what he thinks about your silly homophobic hypocritical human society: You're just "the MEAT," let them eat KING Cake--you're his FOOD. Eff y'all, I'm dressed to KILL you, & laugh doing it.

Lestat's behavior is not only derived from the time period he was born & raised in (the Rococo era of so-called "effeminate" high class dandies--a la Percy Blakeney, etc). Lestat is the embodiment of PRIVILEGE: a powerful rich white male vampire, who leans into being foreign/French White to excuse anything he does that people find strange/off/unnatural/dangerous--all the red flags. 🚩🚩🚩

And red flags brings me directly back to matadors/toreros.

@toscrollperchancetomeme

😂 TYSM! Sam Reid dropped so many juicy deets; I couldn't resist! There's so much depth to the Matador outfit, beyond the gendered aspect of bullfighting that I discussed before. Let's go back to what Sam said about Lestat, and delve deeper into matadors:

The most iconic apparel worn by toreros ("bullfighters") / matador de toros ("killer of bulls") in Spanish bullfighting is the Traje de Luces, the "Suit of Lights." The colors are usually bright & vivid, as part of the showmanship & pizzazz. Darker palettes are less common, as shiny sequins (the luces/lights) became part of the standard fit.

However, Lestat's all-black Matador outfit from what Sam called the "villain sequence" in Ep5 seems to be loosely following the style of a different but very closely related outfit, the Traje Campero "Rural/Countryside Suit" aka Traje Corto ("Short Suit").

(These costumes are typically worn during ceremonial parades and a very specific festival I'll get back to in a moment, cuz it's important.) Unlike the Suit of Light's sequins & silk, the Rural Suit is made of suede, leather, or velvet, in dark muted colors. The pants can be light or dark, striped & patterned, with or without chaps (also found in gentleman's uniforms of military officers and cowboys).

The trajes originated from "the flamboyant costumes of the 18th-century dandies and showmen involved in bullfighting, which later became exclusive to the bullfighting ritual." (Wikipedia)

The ancestor of both trajes (luces/campero) is traditional 17th-19th century Andalusian clothing (Andalusia being the home of Spanish bullfighting), closely associated with a very particular type of masculine dandyism. (The campero/corto is also the costume worn by Andalusian male flamenco dancers.)

"Before the 17th century the profession of bullfighting did not exist as such, and the fighters did not wear luxurious & shiny trajes de luces, but instead normal clothes of the time according to the social class to which the bullfighter belonged. The first bullfighter trajes de toreros appeared in the 17th century, when professional bullfighters from Navarre & Andalusia wore characteristic garments with their gangs to participate in performances and thus differentiate themselves from other bullfighter bands." (translated/truncated from Spanish website)

In the mid-1700s, Francisco Romero revolutionized professional bullfighting by establishing the first matadors who fought on foot, heroically fighting the bull face to face with swords & the muleta (iconic red flag) in a dance-like performance, dressed in a suede/velvet coleto (jacket), a precursor to the traje campero. Romero (from a carpenter family) wanted to show off & stand out from the nobility, and changed the game entirely, through a form of social resistance-turned-innovation.

"At that time, bullfighting on horseback was more important, which was considered a sport and not a show. Bullfighting on foot was not yet widely recognized." (translated from Spanish website)

Bull-killing on horseback was practiced by Spanish noblemen, attended by lower class assistants on foot. Romero was the first to make on-foot matadors the stars of what was increasingly becoming a dandified show/performance/dance. Matador Joaquin "Costillares" Rodríguez introduced even more showmanship, competing against Francisco Romero's grandson Pedro Romero (famously painted by Goya--bottom right).

For his matches, Costillares (middle) dressed in flashy silks, threaded in shiny silver braiding; the precursor to modern traje de luces. Like Francisco Romero (left), Costillares wanted to show off & stand out; and revolutionized the male image of the bullfighter through clothes.

In 18th-19th century Andalusian Spain there were 2 types of dandy: the French-imported upperclass petimetre (effeminate dandy), and the indigenous working class majo (masculine/macho dandy).

Noyes, Dorothy. “La Maja Vestida: Dress as Resistance to Enlightenment in Late-18th-Century Madrid.” The Journal of American Folklore 111, no. 440 (1998): 197–217. https://www.jstor.org/stable/541941

The majo, like many dandies, became the peak of Andalusian fashion, across all social classes; and torero/matador outfits weren't the only ones to take cues from them:

18th-19th century majos "distinguished themselves by their elaborate outfits and sense of style in dress and manners, as well as by their cheeky behavior. The majos outfits were exaggerations of traditional Spanish dress. The style stood in strong contrast to the French styles affected by many of the Spanish elite under the influence of the Enlightenment. Majos were known to pick fights with those they saw as afrancesados ("Frenchified" – fops)." (Wikipedia)

The majos' flamboyant/cheeky/saucy/exaggerated behavior was aggressively masculine; a lower/working class resistance to social mores imposed on them by (foreign) elites, whom they saw as more feminine, and FOUGHT against, to reaffirm their masculinity. These dandies were violent, brazen non-conformists; as beautiful & stylish as they were dangerous. And matadors/toreros knew that the bullfight was the perfect arena to exemplify the spirit of the majos through the dandified performance art/sport of killing bulls--a universal cultural symbol of masculine prowess & strength. Spanish bullfighting used to belong solely to the aristocratic equestrian sphere. Lowly pages/assistants like Francisco Romero (dressed in the precursor to the Rural/Countryside Suit), were the first to buck the system by killing bulls on foot--he likely didn't own a horse. The Romeros were from a carpenter family. Costillares was the son of a butcher. But through bullfighting they gained social status and became icons of masculinity--and dandies.

Lestat--the nouveau riche son of a poor country marquis--insists on being all the beautiful things he is without apology: masculine & effeminate alike. But like I said, it was no coincidence that Carol likened Lestat's Ep5 villain outfit with matadors--he's fighting Louis for dominance in their household, and reaffirming his place at the top of their very gendered social hierarchy, as a warning to BOTH "the housewife" AND "the prodigal daughter" he feels are threatening his authority as their Maker, so he defeats them BOTH.

Carol Cutshall initially designed Lestat's matador pants as pajamas--loungewear. (Lestat's CASUAL & comfortable in his ability to KILL--matador means "Killer" in Spanish--and remember what I said about Louis & Claudia being put on the same parallel level in Ep5, when Claudia's attacked by "Killer" aka Bruce.) Sam said Carol made several versions of the pants; and yup, they're foreshadowed in Ep5 when Lestat first starts arguing about Louis' depression, then they pop up again in Ep7 during the Murder Plot--two instances @dwreader brilliantly linked Lestat (& Stanley Kowalski) wearing wifebeaters. (Listen, Carol, I just wanna talk.... 😅🔫)

And here's my last points about Lestat's matador outfit. First there's the irony of Lestat (who grew up poor in rural France) wearing the something very similar to the matador/torero's Rural Suit, traje campero (aka Short Suit (traje corto)). But what's more interesting is that that type of Short/Rural Suit is usually only worn during special festivals called the Tienta ("trials"), not the regular corrida ("bullfights").

These Tienta are trials for young and immature bulls to be tested in the ring, to see if they're fit for breeding/fighting. 🤯 FLEDGLINGS. And who's Lestat's young bull? "Built-like-a-bird" Claudia. Who's the immature bull? The "biggest rat eater of them all," the under-developed "botched" vampire Louis. During these trials, veteran matadors can show off their skills; and novice bullfighters are shown the ropes and prove themselves. Like I said: the matador wins again.

God, even the way Lestat dragged Louis' bloody body out of the courtyard by the jaw/neck resembles the way the defeated bull--bled out & stabbed in the neck--is dragged by the neck out of the ring.

And remember what I said about Lestat and FOOD. Cuz what happens to the bulls after the matadors kill them? They're sent to the slaughterhouse to be butchered for FOOD. People EAT the bulls.

So yeah, my whole point in this post and my first one is not to sleep on guys like Lestat, Percy--or even other famous dandies like Valmont from Dangerous Liasions/Cruel Intentions (mentioned by both @little-desi-historian and @dwreader)--just because they're effeminate--especially when they're emulating mannerisms from a time period where the model of what made a fashionable gentlemen/good breeding/elite society did NOT match modern expectations about gender. People are getting distracted by Lestat's yaasified manner, not what the show itself is signalling through the relationships he has with others.

This show is deliberately painting Lestat as a villain through Louis' & Claudia's perspectives, as they were the ones who suffered under his Reign of Terror. The symbolism behind the matador-inspired costume used in Ep5 reflected gendered social hierarchies embedded within bullfighting culture (in Spain, women only started being allowed to fight in the 19th-20th centuries). Dressed in clothes resembling that of a matador, Lestat beating & defeating Louis mirrored the defeat of the emasculated bull, and the reification of the victor's masculine prowess at the top of the foodchain.

[nailamoonsi]

Main site link.

Tapas link.

Webtoons link.

First. Previous. Next.

OKAY...! Seven pages worth of an update (in webtoon format). So far this comic has 15-ish pages, whoa. While I wanted to be able to jump into Layla + Alia + Khaleel + Leo's ocean arc next, this will be the last comic update until the Kickstarter for the special edition epic science fantasy novel and light novels launch! If anyone wants to read a preview of the light novel, here's the link on the main comic site. There's also an updated character bio on the main site with the Main 6 of Blue Horizon, if anyone wants early extra info on these characters. I've grown up reading webcomics and always wanted to have that character bio that mildly spoils people about characters very early, haha.

Transcript (alt text) under the cut:

Antonio's thoughts:

Layla and Raj…

They're supposed to be seers. Raj has silver eyes. Layla has a singular silver.

"Listen, it was just about the least risky path. Alejandro moved too quickly; if we'd intervened…. Well, I can obviously confirm the best path. Please believe in Raj, Tono," said Layla.

[Antonio's haggard yet softer-looking than the previous page.]

[There's an array of pairs. Diego is trying to comfort Antonio's golden identical twin Fernando, sweating a bit while blushing and awkwardly crooning (implied). They're indoors sitting on a windowsill seat, and Fernando is wearing only an teal lungi with violet diamond patterns at the bottom while Diego wears a plaid shirt and gray jeans. It says Diego is a "precious Red peer." Fraternal silver twin Raj is crying while glowing violet-eyed William is trying to comfort him, holding onto his arm while blushing heavily. Leo seems to want to assure Khaleel he has his back, smiling very softly, while Khaleel is blushing heavily. Leo has his curly hair tied back and Khaleel has dreads. Leo is Spectral Viridian (spring green color) while Khaleel is Red.]

The Gold comprehend the past. They will continue LEADING in discovering all data involving the ULTRA-ANCIENT EARTH. Some 70,000 to 100,000 years ago, we humans became SPACE-BORN. We traveled ACROSS THE ENTIRETY OF THE GALAXY.

Something we can no longer do. It was taken from us. There is practically incomprehensible trouble in the depths of space.

We can only travel just above the stratosphere, practically.

They say the Gold will lead us to the future while comprehending our pasts… Alongside the Silver. The seers who have dreamt for a very long time.

The Violet survive. The Verdant sense our planet's nature. The Aquamarine comprehend…

[Alejandro laying on the bed.]

Death.

And the Red…

[Antonio in front of Alejandro's bed. His eyes not shown.]

The Red are now the worthless of society. Since my parents' youth.

The Red comprehend people. They comprehend emotion.

[Antonio with a conflicted expression.]

They comprehend hatred

And they comprehend love.

[Antonio flops down on the bed on his side. Alejandro opens his eyes.] ["They comprehend love" is by Alejandro.]

[Alejandro turns to Antonio.]

"I'm sorry--"

"Don't."

[Gentle-looking close up on Alejandro [turned].]

"I wasn't trying to get killed. I thought I'd be able to surpass it. Of course Raj would instead…. He's growing powerful. As everyone has expected."

[Next panel. Close up on Antonio's sad face.]

[Next panel. He closes his eyes and looks bothered with his eyebrows drawn cartoonishly and his mouth basically a |< .]

"You're still as WONDERFUL at sweet talk as ever. Keep praising Raj after he pulled that stunt!! Was he really even paying attention? Anyway, I'm the one who healed you--"

[Alejandro smiling softly, blushing.]

"I'm sorry. I really should talk you up. I felt like shit and like I was dying at first, but…"

[Close up to Antonio. He's blushing. Alejandro's still visible.]

[Alejandro's extremely gentle-looking. He has a soft blush on his face.]

"Near the end of it, your healing power really did surpass most people's I've ever dealt with. You're always going on about how amazing your healing is…

But at the end, I felt AMAZING."

[Antonio's close-up. He's blushing deeply too, appearing a bit anxious.]

"You really don't have to make things up. When would you able to feel that level of comfort after a healing? Without a true BEAU."

((It's impossible…for men like us. They'd never deem our alchemical powers COMPATIBLE.))

[Alejandro takes Antonio's hand. It's very prominent. Antonio's expression goes still and extremely shocked, eyes very wide. An immense blush overtakes his face.]

"!!"

As Antonio continues not to compute, mouth dropped open, Alejandro says confidently, "What happened to being 'more powerful a healer than a majority of the world?' You should just take the praise, idiot. I guess no one's told you before--I mean, your brothers and cousins are used to you--but you're obviously more capable than you realize."

[Antonio and Alejandro are chibi-fied. Antonio is still blushing heavily and Alejandro is a bit happy.]

"Why would you take my hand over that?"

[Antonio and Alejandro chibi-fied. Antonio is sweating bullets. Alejandro looks very happy.]

"We're friends, aren't we? I'm really happy you saved my life."

((This time around! He's gotten so mad before.)) Antonio thinks, stunned.

"I know we wouldn't do this sort of thing among friends in our CITAATLCO. Raj told me it was fine in THE LOTUS ISLES though. It's fine in PATHRA, isn't it? He was imagining holding someone's hand, but he closed himself off so I couldn't tell who's."

"That's--

((Did my brother mess with him? That's so rare of Raj, though…))

[There's a map of a crescent moon-shaped Citaatlco Isle, which stands in for Mexico, a lotus-shaped Lotus Isles, which stands in for South Asia, and Pathra at the edge of the main section of the Lotus Isles, as a stand in for Bengal + Bangladesh. The Shrouded Seas surround these many isles. A few cities of note--Citaatlco City and Estrellada City in Citaatlco and Jowar City in Pathra are noted.]

[Chibi Raj with his usual ( ರ n ರ ) expression.]

"You're mixing up THE LOTUS ISLES with THE ULTRA-ANCIENT INDIA again!! Were you sitting around reading a history book around him? You get so focused on books.

[Alejandro is chibi-ish again. He looks surprised with a "!"]

((*He was.))

"The Lotus Isles and Citaatlco are similar, you know! They're both really close to each other, aren't they? I mean, in the North we're not as prudish as white Southerners, but…"

[The thus-far surprised Alejandro's eyes slide to the side and he's blushing. He looks very vulnerable, but has a sweet smile again.]

"We are friends though, aren't we, Antonio…?"

[Antonio's looking at him and immensely blushing with noticeable exasperation and a pout.]

[Even chibi Antonio looks exasperated and Alejandro is sweating over his volume but looks happy with ^^" eyes.]

"I guess!"

Antonio takes his hand away. He instead turns to look at Antonio with his hands under his face.

"Oceans, you make me so tired, Ale… I'm the one who wants to fall asleep."

"It took you a lot of energy to heal me. You could go--"

"Zzz."

[Alejandro is surprised as a chibi, too.]

"Are you joking, Tono?"

[Antonio with crinkled brows.]

"Shut up… I wanna… g'…t' sleep…"

"Okay. [quiet smaller font] Alia told me to rest… She says no one will bother me in my room for a while.

"I mean you did, but I was hopi--I expected that."

[Alejandro closes his eyes.]

[Suddenly they are chibi and blissfully sleeping. Alejandro is smiling.)

[ … ]

[Alejandro wakes up to Antonio's face against his chest. Antonio is still sleeping.]

[Alejandro blushes, looking to the side with a frustrated look and like he wants to stay but also run away.]

((What do I do…?)) Alejandro thinks. [It's only a fluffy thought bubble, no art.]

~ FIN The Monstrous Psyche (Antonio's Folly) AND Falling Asleep at the Beloved's Side. ~

[black-suns-rim]

Perseverance

Wow, been a while since I've made a short story. Anyway, this one is about Big Papa seeking out help and pulling through.

The days were going by too fast. They blurred together, and they were getting hard to keep track of. Days merged into weeks, and weeks were hard to distinguish between months. But he still kept going despite being so tired. Big Papa was updating his inventory after the week he spent in one of the merchant stalls.

He was a bit slower than usual. He would've already been done by now if he weren't so sluggish. He would usually have some help, but he allowed for his crew to have some time off from their duties since they had been working hard all week. After cataloging everything, he sat down on the cold metal floor, leaning his back up against one of the metal shelves that came out from the wall.

He looked at the ceiling and sighed. His mandibles slowly moved as he thought about what he wanted to do next. But he didn't want to do anything, though he knew he should do something. He didn't like to sit around when he knew he could get stuff done... he huffed as he got up from the floor. He headed out from the storage room and made his way to the cockpit of his ship, sitting down in the pilot's seat. He pulled up a holo screen on his wrist gauntlet, checking to make sure all of his crew members were on the ship. Once he was sure they were all on board, he prepared the ship for departure from the planet. He had an idea of where he wanted to go, and he acted out of a desperate impulse.

The ship was a smooth sailer, and at times, the crew never noticed when it landed or took off from planets or stations. It was also a silent flyer. It made very little noise. Inside and out. Though it did eminate a soft, low, soothing hum from the inside.

Once Big Papa had his course set, he let the ship fly on autopilot. He leaned back in the seat and rested his eyes. The next thing he knew, one of his crew members was waking him up. He slowly opened his eyes to see Rajneesh, the crew's moral support and event planner.

He was holding a large plate of food in his hands and saying something, but Big Papa was too groggy to catch what he was saying. The next thing he knew, Raj placed the plate of food in Papa's lap. Before he could thank him, Rajneesh walked off with a spring in his step, cheerful almost. Papa looked down at the plate full of food. He stared at it, somewhat dredding it. He couldn't remember how long its been when he actually had an appetite and wanted to eat. He stared at it for a while before he forced himself to eat at least something on the plate, even if it wasn't much. He ate all that he could without feeling disgusted and then checked to see how long it had been that he had been asleep for. "4 hours?" He thought to himself, "Long nap..." He moved the plate from his lap and stood up, stretching all his muscles.

He looked at how much longer it would be to arrive at the desired location he had placed into the computer, only to see it would take 3 more hours. He couldn't think of what to do during that time besides showering, so he did. There was only one showering room on the ship and it was shared, though Big Papa did split it up into 2 sections since his crew explained to him that human men and women often showered separately from each other, unless they were a couple. He did find that strange in the beginning, but after learning more about their culture over the years of working with them, it made some sense to him.

He felt so tired, even after that long nap. He didn't want to stand. He didn't feel like standing in the shower, so he sat as the water pelted his back and head. He watched the water run down his body, mesmerized by the way it trailed down him in ever-changing patterns. He didn't realize how long he had been sitting on the shower floor until he heard his name being called by another crew member. He turned his head to see Ehud, the security officer.

"Are you alright? You've been so still for a while, Pops." Ehud had a towel wrapped around his waste and wet hair clung to his face. Big Papa stood up and turned off the water, ignoring the question. He grabbed a towel from one of the cabinets nearby and dried himself off. Ehud was still a little concerned.

"Pops," He walked over to him as he was drying off, "Is there something wrong? You know you can talk about anything with us."

Papa was growing a bit agitated, "Nothing wrong." He spoke in English. Ehud knew he was lying, but he didn't want to push him, so he nodded and let him be. Big Papa went to his personal room once he was done drying off. He didn't feel like getting dressed at that moment, so he laid in his bed. He fell asleep once more. He woke up a couple hours later to the sound of his gauntlet beeping. He got up from his bed and rubbed his face as he grabbed his gauntlet in a groggy state.

He pressed a couple of buttons, letting a holo screen pop up. His ship had arrived to the planet he had set course to, and it was now in orbit. Papa sighed as he placed his gauntlet onto his left arm and got dressed. He left his personal room, heading to the pilot seat to prepare the ship for entering the atmosphere of the planet manually. He usually didn't like autopilot to land the ship unless he couldn't see well enough to do it himself.

The landing went smooth, and he was able to touch down close enough to the destination he wanted. It was currently night on the side of the planet he landed on, which lined up with the crew's sleep schedule. Though, it was probably a couple of hours off. Papa took with him a heavy fur cloak and a couple of other things before leaving the ship, making sure it was secure before heading off. He didn't want any unwanted gusts entering his ship while his crew was asleep. Many animals lurked around this place during the night.

About an hour of walking later, he arrived at the Nomad Clan's mother ship. Granted, it was small for a clan mother ship, but the clan was also small though growing steadily. He walked up to one of the entry doors and held his gauntlet to a sensor, which unlocked the door, making him able to enter. He wasn't a part of the clan, but he was a trusted ally who was granted all-time entry access into the mother ship when needed or wanted. He made sure to step lightly since most occupants of the mother ship were asleep at this time, but knowing the yautja he wanted to visit, he wouldn't be asleep like the rest.

He entered a neatly organized and well lit room with various scientific instruments. In a corner of the room, a yautja was sitting at a raised desk, looking into a microscope. Papa knocked on the metal door frame to get this yautja's attention. The yautja looked up to see the brown toned yautja standing in the doorway.

"Well, if it isn't 'Big Papa.' I wasn't expecting you to be here. Especially at this time." Furious Scalpel left his desk and grabbed two bottles of c'ntlip, "come in, friend." He pulled out two chairs as Papa entered the room. Scalpel handed a bottle to him as they sat down.

"What brings you here so unexpectedly?" Scalpel popped open his bottle while Papa just held onto his for now.

"I just... felt like I needed to talk to someone." He looked down at his bottle and rubbed his fingers on the cold glass.

"What do you need to talk about?" Scalpel could tell something was bother him. Something was off.

"I... don't know... just something. Anything."

Scalpel sat back into his chair, thinking for a little bit. "How's your trade been going? Got any more unique items?" Scalpel drank from his bottle.

"It's been good... I've been getting lots of business at almost every stand I pitch." Papa placed his bottle off to the side, "I have acquired a couple of items you might take interest in."

"Nice. And do tell me about these items. I would love to hear what you have obtained."

"A couple of... substances that may or may not harber potentionally dangerous bacteria and or other lethal compounds." Usually, he would be excited to tell Scalpel of what he's gotten that he might take interest in, but his spark wasn't there as he spoke.

"Very tempting. I might just buy those off of you. I don't know how you find these things, but you always end up surprising me with them." Scalpel took another sip from his bottle.

"You can take a look at them in the morning if you wish." He was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. He wanted to sleep again, but he knew he shouldn't since he's been sleeping so much lately. Scalpel took notice of Big Papa's physical state. He felt concerned.

"Yeah, that would be nice. I have been collecting a bunch of different bacteria samples lately. It would fit in perfect with my semi-lethal collection." He attempted to be a bit humorous, but he failed to amuse Papa.

"Tell me, what's really going on? It's not like you to come here without a heads up. You haven't touched your c'ntlip at all, and you haven't taken your cloak off."

Papa was silent as he looked at the ground, spacing out. Scalpel sighed before scooting his chair closer to him, "Hey, I'm concerned for you. You staying silent won't help." He placed his drink down and leaned forward, looking Papa in the eyes.

In response, he placed his elbows on his knees and put his face into his palms, "I... I am just having a hard time... I don't feel passionate about anything anymore. I'm always so tired but I've been sleeping so much... everything is going so good for me and my crew, but I feel nothing for it." He started getting choked up, so Papa grabbed his c'ntlip bottle, opened it, and began to down it as if he were dying of thirst. He didn't want to cry in front of Scalpel. He didn't want to be embarrassed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Scalpel took the bottle away from Big Papa, "Drowning out your feelings with this won't help you. I know, trust me." He placed the bottle off to the side, "you need to get through this in a healthy way." Scalpel stood up from his seat and made Big Papa stand up too, "why don't we go for a walk?"

Papa nodded and followed Scalpel out of the clan ship. There wasn't any destination in mind. There was only the intention of getting Papa to relax. They walked in silence for what seemed like an hour before Scalpel decided to speak.

"How long has this been going on? The tiredness and such?"

Papa sighed, "Too long... hmm... a couple of months, maybe? I don't know. I've stopped keeping track of time..."

"Have you been doing anything to help get you out of feeling this way?"

"I did try a couple of things. But they didn't work much."

The both of them stopped walking once they reached a large lake. They sat on an old fallen tree that had a good view of the lake.

"Have you tired medicine? I could whip up a remedy for you." Scalpel suggested.

"I'd rather not take medicine... something is causing me to feel this way. I'd rather find out what it is and fix it than take something that suppresses what needs to be fixed."

"Fair enough... I'm afraid I can't help you with that since, you know, psychology isn't my strong suit."

"It's alright... being able to talk with you, though, it helps me, even if it feels like you can't help me." Papa leaned forward, crossing his arms and resting them on his legs, looking down at the ground. He felt like he was going to cry, but he choked back the tears again.

Scalpel could tell Big Papa was trying not to cry in front of him. Feeling bad for him, he hesitantly placed a hand on Papa's shoulder. He hated any kind of physical contact, but he knew his friend relished it. But for him, he felt like he needed that comfort. Papa covered his face in embarrassment as those choked back tears began to pour out from his face.

The gentle comforting pats that came from Scalpel were surprising to him, but he didn't swat away his hand. Scalpel felt a little awkward watching and listening to Papa cry since he had never done so before right in front of him. He also felt sympathy for him, knowing as these were tears that had been held back for so long. He could feel the pain in Big Papa's sobbing.

After a while, he calmed down. He whipped the tears off from his face, and Scalpel removed his hand from Papa's shoulder. He kept his eyes on the ground, feeling very embarrassed. The both of them didn't know what to say, so they kept silent. Listening to the sounds of the forest, Papa and Scalpel found a sort of peace in it. No words needed to be spoken in this moment, and they were fine with that.

Papa was starting to doze off again, so he slowly stood up and took off his giant fur cloak. Leaving it on the fallen tree they had been using as a seat, he walked to the lake's fresh water. Bending down, he cupped his hands and slashed the water against his face, waking him up in a freshening way as well as washing away his dried tears. The water was so cold and crisp that it was addicting to splash against his hot face a couple of times before going back to sit down again, followed by more silence.

It was merely broken by a simple and quiet "thank you."

Big Papa spoke meekly but sincerely. Scalpel nodded, "Anytime." He didn't feel as awkward now. The both of them got up and headed back to the clan ship. Big Papa felt a bit better, and Scalpel could tell.

"So, do we need to go find a subject to torture now? I know a place that has been a hideout for all types of crooks and criminals."

Papa let out a chuckle, "How about you show me your deadly virus collection cause I know you have one."

"Me, having illegal viruses? How dare you say something like that about me?" Scalpel remarked with heavy sarcasm. They both looked at each other and laughed.

Once they got back to the clan ship, they chatted about various. Some of their interests, philosophy, and possible crimes they could get away with. All hypothetical. The rest of the time was spent in silence. A peaceful and relaxing silence. It didn't take too long for Big Papa to drift to sleep in one of Scalpel's seats. Scalpel, on the other hand, continued his work until he heard the first of the clan members beginning their morning. That's when he knew it was time for him to be overcome by sleep.

[megalizardon4736]

Raj Rasoya Makeover 💓

Hair -

Jorvick Hair v2 by JohnnySims

Impact Eyebrows by TwistedCat

The Captain Facial Hair by Igor Sims

Body Hair Luumia V5+ Redux by Javi Trulove

Eyes -

Adore Eyes Default Eyes by simcelebrity00

3D Lashes Version2 Skin Detail version by Kijiko

Skin Details -

Body Mask 19 Overlay by sims3melancholic

Strudel Face Overlay by lamatisse

Nose Mask Skin Detail by RemusSirion (TSR)

Moomoo Blush by squeamishsims

Defined Hands 1 by Sims4Nexus

Arm Simlish Tattoo by aithsims4

Clothes -

Forget Me Not Necklace V1 by thatonegreenleaf

Regret It T-Shirt 2.0 by xiuminuwu

Chris Pants by Serenity

Checkerboard Sneakers 01 Male by Jius-sims

Body Silk Robe Addons PATTERNS by nucrests

Psyduck Slippers by redheadsims-cc

Sunset Equinox Glasses by greenllamas

Floaties v2 by AdrienPastel

Unify Denim Shorts Tied Shirt V2 by nucrests

TSM Monk Sandals All Ages by Simverses

Sweet Boy Jumper Top by marsmerizingsims

@squea @sims3melancholic @lamatisse @remussirion @igorstory

@sims4nexus @aithsims4 @javitrulovesims @johnnysimmer

@kijiko-sims @simcelebrity00 @twisted-cat @xiuminuwu

@redheadsims-cc @nucrests @serenity-cc @jius-sims @simverses

@greenllamas @its-adrienpastel @thatonegreenleaf

[vexing-imogen]

every darkness has to end in morning light

Elsie wakes with a start to a roll of thunder and flashes of lightning that illuminate the dark room. She has to take a moment to shake off the disorientation that comes from sleeping in an unfamiliar bed. Raj is a grounding presence behind her, one arm slung across her middle and his breath warm on her neck, and it helps to calm her racing heart, allows her to reel back her anxiety.

They're in a rented room in Seasway, taking a week long vacation that Raj had insisted on when she couldn't honestly tell him the last time she'd slept for more than an hour or two at a time. (Her research was important, but she had to begrudgingly admit that he was right that her lack of proper sleep would only result in mistakes that would eventually come back to bite her.) His playful teasing about finally taking the opportunity to teach her how to swim was countered by a looming storm that brought rough waters and a sharp drop in temperature. The most they've done so far is taking one short walk along the beach, and then hiding away to take advantage of the privacy of their room.

The clock on the mantle is reading just past three-thirty. She should roll over and try to go back to sleep. That would be the smart thing to do. It's what Raj would want her to do. But there is something about the way the lightning reflects off of the waves that captivates her. It draws her out of bed and to the window where she can look out at the Glass Sea and the storm that rages over it. She doesn't know how long she stands there, her breath fogging the glass as the lightning dances across the water in hypnotic patterns.

There is a tug from deep in her gut, a sudden urge to leave the room, the desire to walk down to the beach and into the sea only held at bay by her sense of self preservation. She can't swim, and the water is far too dangerous even if she could. In that moment of clarity, something from even deeper within, something primal, rears its head and she takes a few steps back from the window, feeling oddly defiant as she does so. The answering boom of thunder is so loud that it rattles the windows, and she hears something clatter off the vanity behind her.

She misses the creak of the bed and Rajan's footsteps across the floor, and so she nearly screams when his arms wrap around her from behind.

"Elsie." He places a kiss just behind her ear as she once again tries to slow the frantic beating of her heart. "My darling." Another kiss, this one to her jaw. "Light of my life." One more kiss, where her neck meets her shoulder. "It's barely five in the morning, what are you doing up?"

She has to glance at the clock, because surely she can't have been standing at the window for over an hour. Her anxiety spikes when she confirms that, yes, it is a few minutes past five.

"The storm woke me," she says, trying to keep her voice steady. "I couldn't fall back asleep." She almost doesn't say anything more, but the part of her that craves the reassurance that her fears are unfounded wins out. "And there was something strange about the storm. Like once I started watching it, I couldn't look away."

He hums. "I can see what you mean," he says. "It is oddly beautiful."

"It felt...wrong?" she says with a shake of her head. "Dangerous? I don't know."

He sucks in a breath, and she feels his arms tighten around her. "Dangerous how?"

"It felt like it was trying to draw me in," she says, feeling her face flush with embarrassment. "Like if the glass wasn't there, I would have walked right into the sea. I don't know. It's stupid."

Raj presses a kiss to her temple. "Stop that," he scolds gently. "You have better instincts than you realize. There's definitely something unnatural about it." He's quiet for a long moment, seemingly content to hold her. "We can go back to the city if you'd like," he offers. "Later today, once we've gotten some more sleep."

"Raj, no," she says, half turning in his embrace. "I don't want to cut our trip short because I'm being paranoid." She sighs. "And, honestly, I think I'd feel less safe trying to travel in this weather."

"Alright. If you're sure?" She nods. He sighs. "But if we see anyone wearing a diamond pin on their lapel, we're leaving immediately."

She smiles. "Is that the secret organization that you refuse to join?"

"Candela, yes," he says. "And wherever they are is exactly where we don't want to be."

Raj manages to coax her back to bed, though it feels wrong to turn her back to the storm. He puts himself between her and the window, and she settles in with her head on his chest. There's a soothing hum that accompanies his heartbeat, a low drone that somehow drowns out the noise of the storm and lulls Elsie back to sleep.

They wake in the morning to a cloudless sunny sky, calm waters, and everyone in town pretending that the previous night's storm never existed.

[gallonwghost]

Starting to realize Terry can do something really fucked up with Millie if we get a season 3:

So far (I think) we had two medical evacuated contestants just from season 1 (Wayne and Raj) and I don't remember any medical evaluations back in season 2 thankfully

Millie is often associated with the number 3 (ex: final 3 s1, 3rd eliminated season 2)

If we get a season 3 and juding by Millie's patterns she either:

Wins that season since it's the third season and stuff

Gets ranked the same place from the previous ones

Just, doesn't show up (which I hope doesn't happen because she's my fav)

Or the worst one, she's the third contestant that would end up getting medically evacuated in the reboot cast

I MIGHT be REALLY delusional rn or smart (high chance first tho)

[portfoliodocumentationandpitch]

Portfolio, Documentation and Pitch (Aryan Raj Adhikari)

Stylized Works #4

From DreamWorks Animation, Dog Man is a gloriously chaotic, heartwarming adaptation of Dav Pilkey's best-selling graphic novel series. It tells the story of a half-dog, half-human police officer that is stitched together to defend his city from criminal activities.

Figure 1 (Dog Man, (Iasimone, 2025))

Dog Man protects its 2D comic book roots, translating them into a high-end handmade 3D style. It's not a slick, polished world but intentionally textured, whimsical and child-like that echoes the original drawings by Dav Pilkey.

The world looks almost crafted by hand and mimics the paper cardboard-ish feel and the crayon scribbly effect rather than polished metals or plastics. It is a very stunning hybrid between CG precision and the imperfection of a child's imagination.

Figure 2 (Stylization of Dog Man, (Virgona, 2025))

The PBR materials are carefully tweaked to emulate the physical textures like papery roughness, fuzziness and the fabric weave patterns. The shaders feature intentional noise, like brush strokes and grain to break up otherwise clean surfaces. Edges are softly outlined but not in a harsh cel-shaded way. The forms are intentionally bulky and "imprecise" that resemble the way a child might draw a car, a house or a person.

Figure 3 (Level design in Dog Man, (Kojder, 2025))

The streets, houses, schools and the police stations are built like themed stage sets. The backgrounds are often deliberately flat or repetitive, reinforcing the "drawn" and "crafted" look of the universe. Some of the minor props like open books, messy pencil pots and funny signs are a constant reminder that you are inside a child's dream world. Many scenes are framed as a form of a tabletop dioramas with slightly unrealistic physics and simple layouts that favor quick visual reads.

Figure 4 (Lighting in Dog Man, (Ysabel, 2025))

The soft diffused lighting dominates the overall mood of the movie and harsh shadows are avoided, making it approachable and friendly. The color schemes stick closely to bright primary and pastel colors, that reflect crayon-box nostalgia.

In an era where hyperrealism often dominates, DreamWorks dares to embrace the messy, heartfelt aesthetic of a child's imagination and in doing so, crafts something far more original.

REFERENCES

Iasimone, A., 2025. Billboard. [Online] Available at: https://www.billboard.com/lists/dog-man-movie-2025-grammys-watch-family-activities-this-week/ [Accessed 27 April 2025].

Virgona, A., 2025. Collider. [Online] Available at: https://collider.com/dog-man-cast-characters/ [Accessed 27 April 2025].

Kojder, R., 2025. Flickering Myth. [Online] Available at: https://www.flickeringmyth.com/movie-review-dog-man-2025/ [Accessed 27 April 2025].

Ysabel, J., 2025. Dog Man 13 2025. [Online] Available at: https://marcihjkkorney.pages.dev/chbnfjq-dog-man-13-2025-photos-ywohztg/ [Accessed 27 April 2025].

[hughjidiot]

Total Drama Level Up: Chapter Five Sneak Peak

ETA on chapter five of Total Drama Level Up will be sometime next week. So here's a sneak peak for anyone interested.

On the other side of the warehouse, the seven Turtles rode off: Nichelle and Caleb to the south, Julia and Raj to the center, and the remaining three into the north. The low rumbling of wheels and tires on cement echoed as Zee, MK and Lauren looked around, carefully scanning the skatepark set pieces for any glowing lights and finding none.

“We should probably further split up if we want to cover more ground,” Lauren said after a few seconds.

“Good call, but let’s not go far,” Zee said, nodding in one direction. “I’ll check over that-a way.”

He angled his body to turn, pushing himself along the ground to give him more speed as he rounded a free-standing wooden wall.

“I’ll check this way,” MK said, steering her bike towards a cluster of smooth metal picnic tables. As she rode off, out of the corner of her eye she saw Lauren gliding along next to her. “Hey, you got any idea where they hid those t-shirt canons?”

Lauren shook her head. “’Fraid not. They must’ve placed those while I was messing with the equipment.”

“Damn. Ah well.” MK kept pedaling towards the picnic tables. She noticed that Lauren was still rolling in the same direction with her. “Thought we were splitting up. Did you uh, need something?”

Lauren hummed and shrugged. “We’re partners now, right? This the part where we get to know each other, or…?”

“You expecting us to braid each other’s hair while we gossip about boys, or some crap like that?” MK asked flatly. She shook her head. “We may be in an alliance, but don’t think that makes us friends. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t do the whole ‘buddy’ business.”

“Oh?” Lauren kept smiling as she quirked an eyebrow. “You seem to get along just fine with Julia.”

MK snorted. “That’s ‘cause she’s cool, unlike the rest of you losers.”

“Heh, it was fun watching the last seasons back and seeing her mess with everyone,” Lauren admitted.

By now the girls reached the picnic tables, spaced randomly apart and sitting at different angles. The girls rode between them, watching to see if any were glowing.

“So question, from one girl to another,” Lauren said, “what’s the deal with you and Julia anyways?”

Now it was MK’s turn to look at her quizzically. “Deal? We’re friends, what else is there to know? We make a sick team and ran the island for most of season two.”

“And you’ve been hanging out in person after season two,” Lauren stated.

“You haven’t been stalking us again, have you?” MK asked right away, giving her a slightly-disturbed look.

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Oh relax, I’m talking about your Let’s Plays and livestreams. Heard through the fandom grapevine about your gaming channel and checked out your horror playthroughs. Loved your Sweet Home VII series by the way, very nice work.”

~~~

“Check me out @mkplays,” MK said in the confessional closest. “What? If Chase, Emma and Julia can shamelessly promote themselves then so can I, dammit.”

~~~

“Oh.” MK blinked in pleasant surprise. “Well thanks. Yeah, turned out me and Jules both lived in the greater Toronto area so we… started hanging out. There some law of reality TV against contestants keeping in touch?”

“Not at all, I know for a fact a bunch of us do. But from what I’ve seen on social media at least, only a few go out of their way to meet up in person, not counting the Hockey Bros of course. Bowie and Raj, Caleb and Priya, Ripper and Axel, you and Julia…” Lauren trailed off and shrugged again. “Just an interesting pattern I noticed, that’s all.”

With that Lauren finally veered away from MK, rolling off. MK brought her bike to a stop, a perplexed look on her face.

“… the hell she talking about? Pattern?” MK muttered. She ran through the list of names in her head. “I mean those other three are just-”

Her eyebrows shot up as realization struck like a speeding freight train. She narrowed her eyes at the back of Lauren’s head.

Lauren gave a brief glance over her shoulder, her smile morphing into a smirk for a fraction of a second.

[rajendraxsingh]

RAJ SINGH ; THE INTRODUCTION

FULL NAME: RAJENDRA LEON SINGH NICKNAME(S): RAJ AGE:��35 YEARS OLD (NOVEMBER 19, 1989) RESIDENTIAL AREA: BEACH FRONT OCCUPATION: MATH & SCIENCE TEACHER AT BRIAR RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL LENGTH OF TIME IN BRIAR RIDGE: HIS ENTIRE LIFE OUTSIDE OF 18 - 25 YEARS OLD

HEADCANONS:

HE IS CALM AND RESERVED BUT CAN BE A BIT OF AN EXPLORER DESPITE THAT. HE FINDS EXCITEMENT IN DISCOVERY AND ADVENETURE THAT ALLOWS HIM TO GROW, LEARN OR SOLVE A PROBLEM

WHILE HE IS AN ENGINEER AT HEART, HE HAS AN UNEXPECTED ARTISTIC STREAK. HE HAS A NOTEBOOK WHERE HE SKETCHES DESIGNS AND DOODLES PATTERNS. THEY ARE FAR FROM MASTERPIECES BUT THEY OFFER HIM A CREATIVE OUTLET

RAJ DID NOT SEEK LEADERSHIP ROLES IN HIS YOUNGER YEARS, BUT HE FOUND THAT HE IS AN EFFECTIVE LEADER. HE TOOK ON LEADERSHIP ROLES IN COLLEGE AND PREFERS TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE

HE IS FRIENDLY WITH EVERYONE BUT HIS TRUE FRIENDS ARE FEW BUT VERY CLOSE. HE VALUES QUALITY OVER QUANTITY IN HIS RELATIONSHIPS AND HAS A SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE HE CAN RELY ON. HE'S A FIERCELY LOYAL FRIEND.

HE IS PRONE TO OVERTHINKING AND WILL OFTEN REHASH CONVERSATIONS, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF HE COULD HAVE HANDLED THINGS DIFFERENTLY

HE HAS A SOFT SPOT FOR SIMPLIER THINGS IN LIFE, WHETHER IT IS CLASSIC LITERATURE, VINTAGE TOOLS OR OLD-FASHIONED VALUES

HIS ROLE AS A PROTECTIVE OLDER BROTHER HAS ALWAYS SHAPED WHO HE IS. HE GOES OUT OF HIS WAY TO MAKE SURE OTHERS ARE OKAY, NOT JUST IN HIS FAMILY

TO DEAL WITH STRESS, RAJ HAS FOUND COMFORT IN ROUTINE AND PREDICTABILITY

FULL BIOGRAPHY

STATISTICS & FACTS & CONNECTIONS

THREAD TRACKER

[youremyheaven]

Hi! You mentioned "unkempt Saturn" initially and i thought of Woody Harrelson immediately lol and then you also wrote about it towards the end 😂 well the jokes on me coz I tend to be the embodiment of this trope when specifically when I'm low... Idk I noticed that pattern with myself a lot.

About the whole Nicola Tesla issue I also felt that his ethnicity had a lot to do with Edison getting ahead. I still remember as a kid how Edison's childhood sob story was part of a lesson plan and we all were supposed to go "wow! He accomplished this after all that he went through as a child". But he's just every other "White inventor" coz obviously all us non-Whites are stupid people who can't figure out basic stuff. 😤

I'm sorry to all the white folks here I don't mean to target every one of you but as an Indian it sucks how we were conditioned to make us feel like our culture was primitive and senseless. The Bengal Famine is one thing that happened (actually reccurently, there were multiple famines). There were so many things that have gone unaccounted so yeah I'm glad you wrote about Churchill (Father of Europe it seems 😒)

im glad you could relate 🥺but wish you didn't have to

yeah Tesla had it rough, he was an immigrant and was basically robbed in daylight by Edison 😡🤬😠

I swear to god??? even Indian education is sooo sympathetic about British Raj??? "it sucks they looted and plundered us for 200yrs but at least they gave us trains<33" type of attitude or some shit,,, i wish they had left us tf alone. India was never meant to be one unified country. They did so because it was easier for them for administrative purposes. They took thousands of princely states and imposed their white man rulership over them and then basically left everybody to fend for themselves. It was like if all of Europe were one country,, so many disparate cultures and geographies all brought together.