#test subject ( promo )

[tulippanes]

𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓!

osamu m. x fem! reader

❁┊ SYNOPSIS

Onigiri Miya, the most popular onigiri shop that's known for its delicious palate and the variety that comes with it. It was the talk of the town... Until it wasn't. Because a brand new onigiri place has just rolled up and it just had to be located right next to his. And of course the food, as reluctant as he is to admit, is absolutely delectable. Sparks of rivalry fly in the air between these two restaurant owners as they both aim to be the best of the best, but maybe a teaspoon of love can simmer its way through.

⁀ ✦ WARNINGS

language, suggestive jokes, kms/kys jokes, WHOLE BUNCHA FLUFF, humor (hopefully), no angst just silliness, uhh sexual tension probably uhh, mentions of drinking, drunk confessions, slight miscommunication and pettiness, DENIAL.

⁀ ✦ DYNAMICS

Blended SMAU, rivals to lovers, lighthearted, comedy, romance, "I hate you so much it makes me wanna make out with you" type of thing

𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 ➭ coming soon!

𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 ➭ open!

⊹ PROFILES

we bring world peace (food) || test subjects || BIG BACKS🤐

⊹ NOTES

(🍙) means there's a written portion!

⊹ PLAYLIST

here!

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐔

𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗿 – a slice of competition coming right up!

i. customers? never heard of 'em!

ii. onigiri miya 2.0?

iii. better luck next time, 'samu!

iv. she's not hot... maybe a little.

v. not-so formal introduction (🍙)

vi. game on.

vii. a new dish? (🍙)

viii. back to number one.. for now.

ix. Oh! KO! (🍙)

x. Grocery Shopping: The Fight for the Vegetable (🍙)

tba...

𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 – the slightest taste of feelings...

not ready yet!

𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘁 – our love as sweet as treats

not ready yet!

𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄

THE FINALE – The crave of you.

a/n — temptation was too big I had to post this LMAOO 100 lessons chapter (shameless self promo) will be out later this week pinkie swear I've been sick since friday so I've been out of it anyway osamu smau woo this will be slightly writing heavy and more organized than 100 lessons

[r3leee]

you asked, you shall receive !

HEY QUEENS!! i am SO sorry for getting this out so late, your girl was going through it 😭😭 (two concerts, two tests, socratic seminar prep, and finding out i’m bi all in one week). anyway, thanks for waiting, here you go <333

pairing: dom!billie eilish x sub!fem!reader

summary: your girlfriend, billie’s, been doing promo work all day for her business trip. naturally, when she gets back, she wants a piece of you, and though you can offer that to her, you have to be quiet…

warnings: RPF!! don’t like, don’t read, established relationship, no direct smut but like a little if you squint (i’m not sure if i’m ready to sail that ship yet), hickeys, exhibitionism kink if you squint, implied-girly/femme!reader

word count: 716 (IT'S SHORT IKKKK I'M SORRY)

listen to: needy by ariana grande

IF YOU COULD use one word to describe your girlfriend, one of the last things in your mind would be clingy. handsy? yes. possessive? yes. dominant? oh, ya. but clingy? no, not really.

she only ever got like that when she was away from you for a while or really, really horny; today’s case was the latter.

you two were currently in paris for a bit of promo. you both were very happy you were able to be on this trip, since you were usually subjected to staying at home.

the past few days were relatively normal: getting settled in and a photoshoot. but today was more intense.

today, m had multiple photoshoots and an interview. she had to wake up early for them, so by the time you were up, she was gone. instead of heading straight for the studio, you decided to treat yourself a bit.

that morning, you ate at a small café and went shopping at the local stores. you got lots of things: jewelry, makeup, accessories, and of course, clothes.

while in a certain store, you found this gorgeous dress. it was sleeveless and shiny in your favorite color, fit with a bow in the back.

you immediately bought it and changed into it before going to visit your girlfriend.

she was on her break when you walked in, hands riddled with bags galore. when she heard the door open, she looked up, a stern expression on her face, but it immediately softened when she saw you. “hi, sweet girl,” she immediately beamed.

you walked over to her, placing a light kiss to her cheek before she cupped your face and kissed you in the lips. “hi,” you replied softly. she smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear before you sat on the velvety couch.

“where were you?” you quickly set your bags down, going on about the morning you had. but, she couldn’t help her eyes constantly drifting down to your dress. the way it fit on you, slightly raising up on your thighs was enamoring and she couldn't tear her gaze away.

later, billie was doing a photoshoot as you sat behind the camera and watched. she was stunning with her ocean-blue eyes and long black hair. you weren't aware of it, because, at some point, you had some emails to reply to, but when she wasn't being photographed, she was staring at you. so much so that at some point, the director had to tell her to focus.

that's how you ended up here: in your girlfriend's lap, a hand over your mouth.

“shh…gotta stay quiet, baby, right?” she nodded towards the bathroom.

for this specific trip, like most, you booked a connected room for you two and finneas. but, upon arrival, the staff had informed you there was some kind of plumbing issue in finneas' bathroom, and that the shower there was shut off.

of course, it was unrealistic to make him not shower the whole trip, so right now, he was borrowing yours. you were just wondering why he had to be borrowing it right now

you nodded as she whispered, “good."

at this point, she'd been on you for what, 10 minutes now? you weren't sure how she still had room to keep sucking and marking at your neck, almost similar to a mosquito drawing blood. red and purple hickeys cascaded all over your neck to the point it was almost painful, but you didn't ever tell her to stop. not once. she was too precious for you to tell her no.

every time you heard a noise coming from the bathroom, you turned your head, worried you'd get caught. but, never more than two seconds later, a hand on your jaw would turn you back. "it's fine, baby," billie would whisper. "we're gonna be careful, not get caught," she'd reassure you before attacking your neck again. all you could do was whine.

that was until you heard the door creak open. "fuck." immediately, billie threw a stray blanket over you as she went on her phone. you just stared up at the ceiling.

finneas walked back to his room without a second glance. and as soon as the door shut, your girlfriend took the blanket off you. "come here. we're good now."

[alicenpai]

hi! ive been a big fan of your work for a while now, and i was just wondering if you have any tips or anything for selling merch online? :>

hi anon! so you want to be a con artist huh 👁👁 ...

^ a real con artist..

i’m not sure if you wanted online specific tips or general merch tips, but i compiled a bit of both! (also not sure if you're a beginner to art in general, there's a difference between a more experienced artist doing merch for the first time + beginner artists trying merch for the first time bc the risks involved are different)

i wrote more on the subject but i cut some out because it seemed too long.. and i tend to ramble ^__T it's hard to answer questions like these because they're so generalized, but if you had any more specific questions feel free to send another ask!

^ random image for visual interest

general tips for beginners(?)

merch can be fun, and it is! but in the end always remind yourself you're running a business, and it's real money you're going to be spending. it's good to take risks (on things like, new product types if you think your art is ready for it, or less popular series/more experimental designs, etc.) as you learn a lot from them, but always think over financial decisions carefully at the same time.

what helped me grow a lot as both a merch artist (and as a general artist) over 10 years is - a lot of reflection. and i mean a LOT of it. in terms of art in general i don't personally do a lot of studies (which is probably my downfall and i need to get back to it) but i think im pretty observant and introspective which helps me improve a lot. i often write my silly little blog posts on tumblr, I'll write notes on my phone if i have a train of thought i need to get down quickly.

i also often discuss merch things with friends and it really helps to get varying perspectives. (though i admit i should really share wips more, i used to but not as much anymore. blame the working life haha, not as many people have time to discuss non-work art anymore ;_;). all of these things keep me on my toes and weigh my strengths and weaknesses. if anyone is interested i could write more on the specific topics i reflect on after every con/shop opening.

stick to the tried and true 5-10 copies per design for beginners! this range sounds too little, but don't forget the big picture as well... you'll likely also have multiple different designs, across different product types.

e.g. 5 copies x 4 characters/designs, and let's say you do this for every product type (e.g. postcards, stickers, charms), 5 x 4 x 3 = 60 individual pieces of merch. that's a pretty solid number for a first timer!

i also personally print 5-10 copies of designs im doing for a test print run, or for characters that don't seem particularly popular.

15 is the average amount for me for a short run product (1 con season)

i certainly reprint often + go higher sometimes if i dont mind the product being in my catalogue for years.

15 is not too many in case the design is unpopular and doesn't sell, and it's also not too little that it won't be enough sales to break even.

promo images & taking photos (online specific)

i'm not a professional photographer and these photos might be absolute ass to some people. i will accept that, and honestly id agree with you. this is just my advice for straightforward, simple photos.

good quality and clear photos are best. it's great fun to use props in photos, and they can certainly turn your photos from plain to impressive. but it's easy to get carried away with props and fancy scrapbook paper imo, and i prefer to let the artwork speak for itself. honestly keeping it simple can be the best option sometimes. i used to take a lot more photos back in 2022 when i had less new products, but nowadays i find that i have too many products to take photos of, so i prefer to just keep my photos simple with a white piece of paper as my backdrop. i just. shrimply cannot be bothered taking out all of the props anymore...

above: the backdrop in this photo is bad, it's distracting and takes away from the artwork. (fe charms from 2016)

this are photos taken on a sunny day.

if you don't have a good phone camera (mine is ~5 years old), ive found that taking photos on a sunny day, either inside or outside, work great for me, as it shows off the natural colour of your product best. i either take it to the garden or i like to find a patch of sunlight filtering through the window. be wary of glare or too much light reflecting on your merch in photos though, because it can be distracting and take away from visibility on the product. but i can understand if a bit of glare ends up on one's finalized merch photos.

this is an example of utilizing light at a certain angle to show off the holographic film on this charm.

sunny photo vs cloudy photo.

taking photos inside on a cloudy day during daylight hours is also a popular option, especially if you live in an area where there isn't much direct sunlight/cloudy season, but for me personally i find cloudy day photos come out a bit dull and do take a bit of colour correcting. all of my cloudy day photos are tweaked and i find the colours to be a bit off from the original products, but that's just how it is with taking photos i guess.

because i don't have a great phone camera, my personal alternative is to make graphics! i just think of it as a collage to use fun textures and PNGs! im obviously not a professional, and these probably look very bad in a professional's eye. but i think it's fun. i like to incorporate the aesthetic or visual style of the series into the graphic if i do make em. ^_^

store platform

each one has their pros and cons. many store platforms have trial periods/free plans for people to try out.

bigcartel is what i use and i'm familiar with, and i would honestly recommend it. (i'm too lazy to move or try another platform right now...) for big store openings ill pay for a month or two of the basic $15 plan. ill use the free gold plan on bigcartel if im only planning to open my store for a limited time and don't want to commit to a full monthly plan.

storenvy: i've used storenvy from about 2014-16. i moved from storenvy for issues such as charging customers fees for purchasing from storenvy's marketplace page (and not from your actual personalized storefront) and urging me to use stripe even though it wasn't supported in canada at that time. im not sure if theyve fixed these issues but they were pervasive issues at the time that honestly forced me to quit. it also has a kind of outdated UI (e.g. can't zoom into pics on mobile?).

i think storenvy is a very easy to use platform for beginners because it's very basic! but i wouldn't recommend it if you have a great number of products, or if you're looking for more advanced features.

tictail isn't available anymore, i couldn't recommend it for that reason. i used it from around 2016-18.

i don't have any experience on shopify or etsy. shopify i heard is great because of all of the neat features you can implement, which you can use to really make your store yours. etsy has a huge marketplace which helps discoverability, but i have also heard there are many fees, so a lot of artists unfortunately make their prices a bit higher on etsy.

ecwid is also one that i've heard pop up. some also host shops on weebly or squarespace.

shipping

if you don't already have a kitchen scale, it's a good idea to get one if you think you'll be using it a lot to weigh packages! a postage scale is probably better. i just have a kitchen scale because it's cheap. as long as the measurements are precise (don't use a bathroom scale with a dial like me when i started out lmao).

thermal labels are also a good investment if you think youll need em!! i actually don't personally use them, because i have way too much hand-me-down stacks of paper in my home, so i don't see the need to make an extra investment. the downside to printing shipping labels on paper is taking the time to cut and stick them on packages.

i'm from canada (surprising the amount of people who think im from the US T__T) so these tips will be canadian specific, but you can hopefully get the gist.

when i was starting out, i used canada post (usps is the american equivalent) to send out store orders. however shipping labels from your govt post office can be pricey. which is why it's a good option to join their small business program if they have one, where you'll receive discounts on shipping labels. i don't use canada post shipping anymore, but i will use them for countries that my shipping agent doesn't ship to.

also take advantage of their free shipping tuesdays for domestic packages in october!! i believe you can receive 2 free labels per tuesday, up to 4 or 5 tuesdays for the entire month = 8-10 free labels in october.

next step is shipping agents!! if you live close to a chitchats or stallion express facility, they're great, and they usually provide tracking on shipping by default. in my opinion, tracking on orders is a MUST, so customers can have peace of mind! (minus like sticker-only shipping because that could be sent with postage stamps)

they also do home pickup if you have a bunch of packages in bulk/can't get to a facility. i believe americans have pirate ship.

you print and stick on your shipping labels at home, then you just travel to the shipping facility and throw your packages in the right bins (e.g. domestic, US, international). that's it! easy as pie!

i personally use chitchats because that is closer to me. i had heard stallion provides better rates for international shipping, which i'll have to look at at a later date.

most of my orders come from the US and canada. (funnily enough it is unfortunately cheaper to send packages from canada to USA, than it is for me to send packages within canada.) international orders are a bit of a pain, and you will need to know tariff codes for your product types (e.g. prints have a diff code than buttons) while writing the customs form. people in some countries will get taxed on all imported packages (e.g. packages marked as "sold goods" and not "gifts"). an alternative to this is to use etsy, so that customers can pre-pay for the tariffs before the order is processed. this is something i'll also look into for the future.

posting

wow now you're now done organizing your shop and promo images and you're ready to post! a good strategy is to post across multiple platforms to see what sticks. it takes effort and time but it can have a solid turnout! (i forget sometimes, don't be like me)

i don't know if this is true, but a lot of keywords words such as "shop", "store", "link" and etc. are apparently suppressed on social media (particularly twitter). don't take my word for it however.

shop posts don't generally do as well as regular art posts for most artists. but disregarding censored words for a second, it can also be attributed to psychological reasons, generally people don't like to be advertised to. (e.g. tumblr doesn't have an algorithm and shop posts usually dont do as well here either. tumblr users are just not receptive to clicking on links apparently).

personally, writing alternate terms like "sh0p" just isn't for me, but no shade though, bc i do understand workarounds are hard and everyone needs to make a living somehow. ill instead use words like, "leftovers are in" or "new items are up!" something more vague, but with the accompaniment of merch images, will still be clear to people that it's a shop update.

sharing your shop promo posts in artist alley discord servers also help a lot, especially if you don't know too many artists when starting out. they're a great resource and community full of passionate individuals who will boost your art. if you're not familiar with them, you can find some public ones on google or maybe even artist communities on reddit. a big one is Artist Alley Network International.

if there are some topics you think i've missed, feel free to send em over to my inbox!! ill also think more about this in the coming days and edit this post as i see fit 🫡

[jamiesfootball]

Moe stared face to face with the one-eyed rat and contemplated the unfairness of a society wherein your existence relied on caveats.

Sure it’s a rat, but this one’s nice.

Sure it’s a rat, but this one lives indoors all the time and never interferes with anyone else.

Sure it’s a rat, but have you ever considered it has rat friends who really love it?

Keeping it indoors must really help with overpopulation.

No one wanted rats, not really.

Sure, the rights of rats had never been more boldly understood. They were pets like any other, and the people who had them cared for them the same way you would any other pets. But there was a difference between a pet rat, one that lived in a family, and a non-domesticated rat, one that roamed the streets without any intention of settling down.

The metaphor may have gotten away from him.

That was fine.

This rat technically had both its eyes, but the right one was milked over. The presence of functional without any of the appearance. A portion of the world obscured, extra effort needed to make sense of it.

Moe stared face to face with the one-eyed rat and wondered if any of its little rat friends ever conflated something missing with something wrong.

The lads were talking about the Bantr promo ads.

Or they had been, but now the lads were talking about girls.

Used to be that if the topic of girls came up, Moe could rely on Colin to shift the subject, always interrupting the flow of conversation to ask if someone had a comb or some socks or a can of Lynx he could borrow.

After years of being a professional footballer, he should really have basic hygiene dialed in by now, but that was Colin for you.

Also used to be that if it weren’t Colin, Jamie would inevitably derail the conversation. Moe wasn’t sure if it was missing socialisation cues or problems with learning socialisation in general, but Jamie had missed the usual lessons that girls were a topic ‘men’ should enjoy discussing, and were therefore worth discussing for all of the some time until Moe wanted to put his head through a wall.

Used to be that you couldn’t pay Jamie to stay on topic. 

One second it was girls, then it was the girls on Lust Conquers All, then it was lads on Lust Conquers All, then it was breakfast-themed alcoholic beverages, then breakfast cereals, then some new snack he’d seen when he was getting petrol and had anyone else tried it yet, then it was what kind of fabrics everyone preferred in their cars, then he was off on whether or not he should get tested for allergies because after he’d switched to a new detergent, his sheets were making him itchy.

That had been the time Moe insisted on helping him test for bed bugs. Jamie had taken him up on his answer because as insensible as he could be, he took hygiene seriously, and also because Isaac had threatened to kick him out of the dressing room forever if it turned out Jamie was infected with tiny creepy crawlies.

As soon as they arrived at Jamie’s house, Big Ben – a fat orange cat with a grumpy face and a Gucci collar – came up to say hello, yowling in their faces until Jamie bent down to give him ear scratches.

Both cat and owner followed Moe room to room. Moe diligently laid down the test strips while Big Ben twined around his legs. Jamie talked his ear off about Jurgen Klopp’s Gegenpress tactics and whether it was a strategy Ted might be open to trying.

(He even pronounced all the words correctly; he must really be serious.)

That was the other thing he’d noticed lately – it used to be that no conversation left around Jamie could go long without returning to football. When they’d signed Zava, Isaac had actually called a team-minus-Jamie meeting to discuss how best to prevent Jamie from cornering the legend himself with aggressively pointed questions about obscure matches no one remembered.

To Moe’s knowledge, that hadn’t happened yet. Without being asked, Jamie respected Zava’s space far more than he respected anyone else’s, and he hadn’t gone on a proper football rant in a while.

Now it spewed out of him like a dam unleashed.

Equally demanding of attention was Big Ben, who threw himself at Moe’s feet with his paws curled up in front of his chest in a false act of supplication that Moe wasn’t going to fall for. 

When Moe stepped around him, the cat repeated the gesture, adding a plaintive mewl for good measure. After his third attempt at gaining Moe’s attention, Jamie scooped the cat up – an impressive feat, considering it was the size of a small blimp.

Jamie cooed at the gargantuan ball of hair, “Cut that out. He’s trying to help us out, King.”

The cat purred in contentment, already satisfied.

That was the difference between cats and rats. The cat could have what it wanted, because its needs were understood.

A big acceptable tomcat; a man amongst men.

A man, full stop.

In the end, Jamie didn’t have bedbugs. Just delicate skin and bad taste in overpriced household products.

After educating Jamie on how the phosphates found in laundry detergent had devastated oceanic ecosystems around the globe, Jamie and his cat solemnly promised to look up Moe’s recommendations. Both wore matching, befuddled expressions and a sort of distracted interest, as if Moe was a creature that, once gone, would cease to be more than a novelty. A one-time interruption in a life that would spin rather much the same once he was gone as it had before he arrived.

Or he’d let the metaphor get away from him again.

That was fine.

Moe went home.

Remy had a cage for when Moe was away. The first thing he did whenever he returned was open the door to his rat’s home. Together they roamed the flat, clueless in communication but free to do whatever they wanted.

What Remy wanted to do the most was curl up on Moe’s shoulder, making a nest between him and the couch cushions while he dozed into a peaceful rat nap.

Moe might not matter to the world, but Remy mattered to Moe.

With Remy for company, Moe had everything he wanted.

No one’s making the rat participate.

In no way was Bantr a worse option as a sponsor than Cerithium Oil. Not in a million years. The damage Cerithium Oil had done to the planet would stretch on forever – there would never again be people in the world not affected by their disregard.

But at least Cerithium Oil had never given a damn whether Moe Bumbercatch was ‘single.’

He hadn’t wanted to be a part of the new Bantr promo in the first place, but group advertising didn’t work on an opt-in basis. Everyone at the club did their bit knowing that somewhere down the line someone else would do the same for them. The team relied on each other that way. For every Sam Obisanya and Dani Rojas and Jamie Tartt who racked in money for the children at the annual gala, there were a dozen smaller PR stunts that could be handled by one of the any-players.

Moe didn’t mind being one of the any-players. What he minded was the arbitrary nature by which his participation had been decided. He disliked the sensation of being ‘singled’ out.

Moe put up with dozens of small slights every day.

Like the ‘mens’ label on the toilets by the dressing room, even though they were the only team that used this part of the stadium and therefore had no reason for the specificity. The culturally acceptable amount of sexual innuendos surrounding men’s fitness whenever it came time to do interviews. Team movie night, which purported to be about emotional release but usually revolved around rom-coms or media geared towards children (many of which also featured romance.) Most days these weren’t more than a prick against the skin, a bristle of discomfort that lingered more in memory than in lasting hurt.

Richmond was a good club, with a disproportionate amount of good people and a host of benefits to make up for it. 

One of said benefits of Richmond: the talk around the dressing rooms tended to be more palatable than what he’d dealt with in past dressing rooms.

How unfortunate that past performance was not an indicator of future results.

Zoreaux held up his hands to fend off the jeering. “All I’m saying is that when this shirt comes off? There’s no need for words. I let my body do the talking.”

He invited booing, really. Only Dani approved, nodding sagely as if this was great advice (which made a certain amount of sense; Moe couldn’t imagine any advice would make Dani less successful at winning people over.)

Once towels had been thrown and collected, the attention turned to the next victim in line.

Isaac elbowed Colin. “How about you? What’s your pitch for getting a woman to stick out a date after she’s taken a spin in your car?”

Colin took the good-natured jab with a corner kick smile. “Keep it simple. Go for drinks, catch a film, and if the movie sucks, I’ll pay for your Uber home.”

This was treated to a round of chuckles and a few outcries of ‘lame!’

Personally, Moe appreciated his teammate’s brand of dry self-deprecation. Colin gave off the sense that he was someone who knew himself well enough to make a joke of it—a quality Moe certainly couldn’t say he’d cultivated.

Hard to cultivate in sand when you were meant to have soil.

“Hey Jamie, what about you?” Colin asked, making a grabby motion towards the Lynx cupboard. “Did you think of something to say for the ads? Or are you just going to take your shirt off?”

A can of Lynx was tossed across the room with little regard to aim. Colin fumbled the catch. 

Languid with his knees pulled up on the bench, Jamie’s smirk did nothing to dissuade Moe’s notion that he was a large, acceptable feline in his natural habitat. That said, his answer came surprisingly devoid of the self-congratulatory manner with which they were all accustomed.

“Date’s not about me, is it?” he said simply. “I’m not doing it for me. I’m just there to show her a good time.”

Some thoughtful hums and considering ‘good points’ went up around the room. Personally Moe thought that sounded lonely. His own experiences in dating were limited, but he was pretty sure that fun was the point.

Hence why he’d stopped doing it.

As if sensing his dissatisfaction, Jamie narrowed in on him. “Moe, how about you? What wisdom are you bringing to the women of Bantr?”

Sometimes, he had to remind himself that he was used to slights.

Moe shrugged into his jacket. “Haven’t decided.”

Some of the joking demeanour slid off Jamie’s shoulders. His uneven eyebrows puckered together, the slit on the right making the effect of his expression more severe.  “What d’you mean you haven’t decided? We film tomorrow.”

“Means I haven’t decided on anything I want to say to help our corporate overlords squeeze more money out of our increasingly impoverished society.”

“Ah, we can help you figure something out!” Dani offered. He seemed excited by the prospect. “What do you like to do on dates?”

A tingling sensation spread into his hands. “I don’t like dates.”

Colin tried to share a smile with him. “Too capitalist for you, boyo?”

“Who the fuck doesn’t like dates?” asked Zoreaux, perplexed and usually kind and now-

Moe sidestepped the scrutiny. “It doesn’t matter, because we’re not looking for real dates. We’re just selling the idea that we could be looking for dates. It’s an illusion.”

“He’s right,” Colin added. Heads swivelled his way. “It’s not real. If one of us was seeing someone, this wouldn’t even be considered cheating. It’s just doing a job.”

Moe raised an eyebrow; Colin was hardly someone he’d describe as cynical, but that response was practically dripping with- with-

With something he couldn’t place. He’d come back to it later.

“Is that the problem then?” Goodman asked, throwing an arm around Moe’s shoulders. He sounded positively chuffed. “Finally found someone and you don’t want to share?”

“No.”

“Ooh, I think we hit a nerve,” O’Brien chortled.

Moe pushed Goodman’s arm away. “Sure did.”

Once again, Jamie’s confusion was a mirror image of his cluelessness kitty cat’s when Moe refused to follow the script. “Hey, man, we were just messing around.”

He reminded himself that the slights didn’t matter, because it wasn’t like he’d told anyone that he was being slighted.

He also reminded himself that the rat can do whatever it wants.

Because Moe didn’t want to make an exception of himself. He didn’t want an exceptional place, a place he carried around with him where people would edit their words in his presence and continue unfiltered the moment he left. He wanted a life free of caveats. A normal life, in a normal place. He wanted the place he was already in to not have been de facto claimed by the majority. He didn’t want to speak up only to defend himself against accusations that he was spoiling their fun; he just wanted somewhere where his inclusion could be felt without the stinging sensation that he was being patronised – that the world had built around him a pocket, instead of letting him choose to crawl inside.

He wanted to be more than a rat in a pocket.

The rat wanted a home too.

He fled the dressing room.

Call that rat behaviour.

The way Moe figured it, he’d developed an aura of mystery enough that his exit would either be seen with a classy amount of intrigue or with a neon sign glaring on his back. There was no in-between.

“Moe, wait up!”

The approaching canter of Jamie indicated that the answer lay towards the option cast in a garish light.

Jamie slowed to an awkward stop. “Hey, man.”

Some hits happened so often he hardly noticed anymore; today wasn’t one of those days.

“Sorry if we were prying too much. Didn’t mean anything by it you know,” Jamie explained, in a tone so sharpened with sincerity and glass that it pierced Moe sharply between his ribs.

He liked Jamie, really. He loved everybody on the team. It was the world he didn’t like, and hardly their fault that the world extended beyond what their eyes could see.

“Yeah, I get that,” he sighed. His hands still felt tingly, and he pinched his nose. “Just not up for it today, alright?” Or any day.

Jamie bobbed his head in agreement – only to stop suddenly, his head tilting as he studied Moe. With growing wariness, Moe watched his hands slip under the front of his shirt, twisting the fabric around his fist. It was a motion Moe had caught himself mirroring a few times, usually when he needed a little extra oomph to push through some discomfort.

Anxiety creeped into his chest.

With entirely too much focus, Jamie spoke carefully, “I’m just saying, it’s none of our business if you’re seeing a girl. Or anyone.”

He added the last bit in a hushed voice.

The missile missed its target by miles. Nevertheless, Moe felt dizzy from how close it’d come to contact.

“No,” he answered. Because what?

The confused tomcat expression returned to Jamie’s face. Without giving Moe a second to catch up, he changed topics completely.

“You know those two girls Dani was seeing?”

Moe nodded, feeling very much like a trap was being laid before him.

Jamie bounced on his toes, full of nervous energy as his eyes flitted around. “And you know he’s still seeing them, yeah? Like, the three of them are still together.”

Moe did not know that. Why just that morning, Dani had leaned up against Zoreaux, phone in hand, bemoaning how much more successfully his friend’s Bantr profile attracted matches (an opinion that only belonged to Dani.)

Jamie shrugged. “Just saying, we already got an extra non-single guy signed up. Seems fair then that one of the single guys should get to sit this one out.”

If he was dizzy before, now he found himself fighting back a wave of nausea. For someone swatting through the dark, Jamie had gotten remarkably close at hitting the heart of the matter.

Heart cowering in his throat, he let the tail of the truth slip loose:

“Not single.”

For once, Jamie didn’t press. He went unusually still, and he blinked slowly at Moe like-

The fuck, was he intentionally copying his cat?

Moe sighed. His own hands fisted into the front of his shirt, where they could tremble instead of his voice. “Single implies the existence of a double. Or a triple. Or any further number of consenting adults, I presume.” He shrugged. “Point is I don’t see myself like that.”

It was the closest he’d ever come to wriggling into the light.

“Oh,” Jamie said, an odd hint of wonder slipping under his tone.

Moe looked at him.

Really looked.

Beneath Jamie’s shocked expression, something understanding crawled beneath the floorboards.

The rat stared back at the cat, confused at how the trap had snapped on them both.

The cat stared back, perhaps not even realising they were stuck in a trap.

Perhaps in looking for a mirror, he’d ignored any signs of familiarity.

Moe found himself saying, “You know that time we all went to that pet sanctuary? When Isaac got Bun-Bun?”

“When Sam got tricked into getting two snakes?”

Moe nodded. “I went back later and adopted a rat.”

Jamie perked up, tossing contemplation and personal space aside in favour of crowding up close like he intended to twine himself around Moe’s legs. “Can I see it?”

Moe retreated. “I don’t have it on me?”

“No shit.” Jamie rolled his eyes. “But you got pictures, don’t you?”

He said it with the self-assurance of someone who believed that taking thousands of photos of your pets every day was normal activity.

Moe shrugged and took out his phone. He did take a lot of pictures.

Heart in hand, he showed Jamie his phone. “This is Remy.”

In a remarkable display of restraint, Jamie lasted about five adorable rat photos before whipping out pictures of his cat.

One by one, the team filed out of the dressing room while Jamie sat next to him on a bench in the hallway, the two of them swiping through their favourite pictures. Jamie kept insisting he make Remy his own Insta so that he could show him off to the world.

Cat behaviour.

Isaac gave them an approving nod as he passed. Colin watched curiously but didn’t say anything. Goodman and O’Brien attempted some apologetic sign language, the success of which somehow captured the meaning, ‘Sorry for our impudence and thoughtlessness. Next team dinner, first round’s on us, yeah?’

That’s how you won rats over: you offered them cheese. You placated them with drinks. You won them over by dangling something they wanted in front of them, and then when they crawled out of hiding, you picked them up and held them to the light.

Jamie blew out a breath and flicked off his phone. “Alright. I better get going, or this one’s going to scratch my eyes out for dinner being late. How bout you and this ad then? If you want, I can tell them you couldn’t make it.”

Moe tested the light. “Depends on what kind of excuse you’re going to give.”

“Nothing, I suppose.” Jamie shrugged like it was that simple. “Unless you want me to?”

“Not really,” Moe confessed. “But they’ll probably ask anyway. Like it’s their business.”

“It is a business, mate,” Jamie pointed out – for a second time that day, one of Moe’s teammates demonstrating an uncharacteristic amount of cynicism. “How about….”

He chewed on his lip, feline attention turned to a rodent’s problem.

“…How about I tell ‘em you had a rat emergency?”

“A what?”

“It’ll confuse them, won’t it? ‘Cause no one knows what it means. Sounds exotic and shit. Could mean anything from ‘my rat’s escaped’ to ‘my rat’s got off it’s leash and into the petunias and it won’t come out’ to ‘my rat’s got a sexy photoshoot coming up and I need to knit him a tiny outfit.’” 

Sounded like a good life, the version Jamie made up in his head.

Then again, Moe had never had the opportunity to break out his size 14 knitting needles.

Jamie waited for his answer with all the eager impatience of a cat with its paws curled up against its chest. Attention-seeking behaviour. False supplication.

Something that had needs easier to understand, yet every bit as trapped in a cage.

Moe supposed you drew cats out the same way you would any creature. You offered them care, respect, affection when they needed it – space when they wanted it. You offered them freedom.

Maybe you offered to sit in the trap next to them, because it was unfair to make them do it alone.

The metaphor may have gotten away from him.

It really was fine.

“Might show up anyways. It’s for the team, isn’t it?” Moe decided. He nudged Jamie in the side. “Besides, this way if I change my mind halfway through, I can lie and say I need your help with the rat emergency.”

Never one to stay on topic, Jamie turned to Moe with bright eyes and asked, “Have you ever thought of dressing him up?”

“What? Remy?”

“Yeah! Saw this picture online the other day of a little rat dressed up for the tropics. It had sunglasses and a tiki cup, and it was chowing down on a peanut that barely fit in its hands. I’m telling you, you’ve never seen a rat so happy.”

Moe should not have expected better from someone who dressed his cat in Gucci.

But he didn’t hate the thought.

The rat was not alone.

[kiwibirdlafayette]

"what, or who exists in the darkness of the cave below the iron mine?"

little theory post/story behind this paintin i did! If ya haven't seen it yet feel free to look first and drop a cheeky rb i'd a appreciate it a ton <3

I'm convinced mumbo is doing a Lore (tm) with his magic mountain row and I'm also a really big fan of the planets/realms that make up the seasons having a pre-existing history to them (along the same lines as like Doc uncovering the prophecies in mural form in the Perimeter last season)

It kinda starts with Big Ron. I'm a really big enjoyer of the fan theory that Big Ron owns the predecessor/perhaps original Grumbot (that features in the promo for the merch store) The guy Mumbo plays in that ad spot to me isn't cMumbo himself, but is Ron, someone's who's lived on the mountain prior to the arrival of the hermits in-universe. I'm gonna come back to this

Then there's the lab. The poster Mumbo designed and showed at around 5:00 in this video was another sort of thing that spurred the idea around Jimmy, specifically the parts about human trials, preservation and the bit at the end about "soon we will be living forever." The emphasis he puts on the build about the lab spilling toxic waste onto the farmland below already tells me that these dudes are into some shady business practice, like vibes alone. I doubt they're following any sort of scientific moral code.

Then Jimmy. I'm still sort of waffling about on how he exists in the history of this universe but ultimately, him and Lizzie were both already here, maybe deities, maybe just well respected people (side note: I have a concept about Lizzie being goddess who raised Magic Mountain from the sea, hence why she's revered in the city where Joel lives but that's a whole nother post I'm not near knowledgeable enough to elaborate on just yet). Seablings? Seablings. Most important part is that Jimmy lived on Magic Mountain Row or somewhere on/in the mountain, canary already somewhat apart of him

Back to Big Ron. Like, for a guy who- focuses so much on outdated tech I find it super interesting that he has artificial intelligence, which. ok either he worked for the lab or invented proto-grumbot himself, and maybe shared that tech with the lab people. (next side note: I've seen the namemc spoilers from this morning I'm gonna assume that's lab guy Mumbo has made a skin for but for the sake of its not existent in videos yet I won't be commenting on it ok i digress back to Jimmy)

Let's say the these shady scientists are at a standstill in their process. They've got the archival tech down, but this immortality thing is hard to crack. So what do they turn to? Probably the magical being living in the town. Under the cover of night, the canary is captured. He's forced into some test tubes, feathers plucked, experimented on for who knows how long and they break him. But they get closer, and the end justifies the means. There could be others as well, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if others get looped into the mix

And then, at some point the authorities find out and these experiments are condemned. The Lab is condemned and the scientists are ordered to release the test subjects, and most of them are, but not Jimmy. He's too important. They need him kept somewhere safe to come back to. Working with Ron, and proto-Grumbot, they trap him inside a soul lantern, and in a "say anything and you're dead" kind of deal with the Boulder Bros (maybe the owners of the iron and gold mines) Jimmy's immortal soul is bound to be stuck forever in the iron mine, silenced from singing for his sister's help.

Years later, cMumbo arrives. I like playin around with the idea of it being like a Stardew-esque thing where Mumbo is either returning to a town and Ron is related to him somehow, and while living at that little house at the top, is working for Ron and running errands for the other shops, including stocking the iron shops at the mines that the shopping district developed around. But Ron gives him one clear instruction- stay in the light. Don't go past the stationary minecart at the edge of the darkness.

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

Mumbo for all that he is, heeds Ron's warning for the longest time. But like anyone curiosity starts to get the better of him. He can never tell if he's hearing things, but once in a while between the sounds of conveyor belts, and iron drills he starts to hear whispering. A faint whistle coming from the darkness beckoning him closer, to peek into what lies beyond. Talking to Jill and Bob at the oddities shop, he's able to sneak and convince a little story out of them, and after some hesitation sell him a magic soul torch, with the warning not to let anyone else see it.

On a restock run, he takes it with him secretly. And once his job is done, he makes his way deeper into the mine until he happens upon a soul lantern- a slight blue glow coming from within- sitting on a stone pedestal. Everything is telling him to turn back, that this is an awful idea. But, stupid ideas have always been his thing, and he opens the lantern, and lights it with the torch from Jill.

Pants.

The fire inside spurs to life in a roar, and he panics, dropping the soul torch at his feet, still burning a bright cyan. As he turns to run out, the canary song he hears bits of rings with a power he's never heard before and a flurry of yellow feathers fills the cavern. He makes it back into the light, frantically picking up the shulkers and stumbles into the mine elevator. He slams at the buttons as the bird calls reverb and howls through the mine, now more desperate than ever to get out. No amount of force on the carriage work, as every component of the mine machinery has hissed to a halt, acting as if possessed by something that doesn't want him to escape.

Something that needs him to understand what he's just released.

As he begins to falter dropping his head to his chest, the canary song fades into the already eerie silence, and soon all Mumbo can hear is the weight of his breathing, and the sound of his heart pounding through his ribcage. Biting at his thoughts, he shakily uses his free hand to shuffle himself back around to face the mine entrance.

The door of the lantern at the front creaks open, releasing a small bit of smoke out towards the minecart. From the darkness, a wisp of blue smoke pierces through the veil to meet the other trail of smoke. Mumbo sees a faint golden glow appear, only to realize its wings. As they come more into view, Mumbo's redstone stained eyes are met by deep brown ones that reflect the gold of their wings as a face appears in the shadows, followed by the rest of them, dressed in tattered and coal dust stained clothes. He holds out the soul lantern in his calloused right hand. The fear in the person's eyes look him down almost as if he recognizes him.

Mumbo doesn't dare speak.

And neither does the canary.

[rachell-redacted]

Day 9. The Multiverse.

So... the perpetual testing initiative promo tells us that Earth 5912228339 is dominated by fish. Sharks are fish. Aperture have been researching sharks according to GLaDOS. Conclusion: this shark is a good test subject!

[wishfuldivine]

Alright. This is for you @gaystappen!

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick is a character from the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise.

He's a Sergeant and part of the Task Force 141 along with Captain Price, Ghost, and Soap. He's either the youngest or nearly same age as Soap, who happens to be another Sergeant. Quite frankly, it hasn't been established with accuracy.

Kyle Garrick enlisted in the British Army in 2008,  serving in the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, spending four years participating in test flights, jump competition and marksmanship before passing selection for Her Majesty's elite Special Air Service (SAS), where he is currently serving as a Sergeant for his sixth year. Tasked to Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. Garrick has spent the better part of his career hunting terrorist fighters. Kyle earned the U.S. Marine Corps Gold Parachute Wings at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina whilst on an exchange attachment and routinely cross-loads on operations with the SAS' American counterparts, the Navy SEALs. Required to undergo resistance to interrogation (RTI) testing, Kyle was the only candidate in his class to escape the facility and evade capture. Routinely subjected to physically and mentally uncomfortable scenarios, Kyle prides himself on high tolerance and tactical awareness. "Everyone talks about the physical aspect of being in the SAS but my job is mostly mental. Give me a guy who's got his mindset right over a guy who's twice as fit any day of the week."

Sergeant Garrick was awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal and the General Service Medal for both covert and overt counter-terrorism operations in the Middle East, disrupting opium supply lines and poppy production, a major source of terrorist financing. Kyle's last Middle Eastern tour was cut short due to an ever-changing political climate and a growing intolerance for full-throated unconventional warfare. Fading support for western backed guerrilla movements as well as growing regional tension complicated matters in the field, as men like Kyle are asked to do an imperfect job, perfectly well, without exception, no matter the cost.

With expertise in prime target elimination, demolitions, weapons tactics, covert surveillance and VIP protection, Kyle currently serves on the SAS domestic counter-terror program, executing homefield missions with metropolitan police forces on European soil. Challenging duty, due to civilian and collateral damage issues, Kyle seeks the opportunity to serve abroad again, and make a real difference combating the threat of terror. (Had to copy and paste it for you to get a glance at his early days)

Therefore, he's a complete BADASS. The only problem when it comes to him is that, the majority of the COD fandom leave him out of stuff. It can go as far as fanart, fanfics, edits, and more. Basically, he's ridiculed for simply being POC. Even the official Call of Duty company by the name Activision often leave him out of things. Such as promos, skins on the game, etcetera.

His character development within the franchise is by far my favorite. He went from scared, insecure, doubtful, to determined, level-headed, and voice of reason.

Though, he can be such a damn brat. There's parts of the campaign in MW2 where he is a smartass and witty while speaking to Captain Price and Kate Laswell, the Station Chief and close friend of Price. Don't let his hard persona fool you. He'll be the first to join Soap in any mischief.

But overall, this is my baby. I can say so much more but that's what is on top of my head. He's my best boy. My baby girl. My precious pretty boy. My muse. He's so gorgeous. And beautiful. He belongs to the other 3, though. XD

Sorry if it's very long!

[nextstopwonderland]

Hi!!! Can I request 21 “Staring into each others eyes” with Bryan/Yuta, please? 🥺✨✨

Anything for you, Lexie 😘 (Bryan/Yuta my beloved)

Oh look it’s another take on The Red Rocks Date by yours truly.

I’ll show you a place (713 words)

Yuta didn’t really meditate much before meeting Bryan. Claudio would tell him how Bryan taught him years ago, and how it really can help.

Mox has no interest in meditating and Regal, when he was around, thought Yuta’s time would be better suited on the mat.

But Bryan would just look at him, with an expression he couldn’t quite read, and say, “When you’re ready, let me know.”

It felt a little like a test, but Yuta wasn’t sure for what.

Lots of things feel like that with Bryan, and Yuta craves to be passing each and every one. He’s felt reignited by Bryan’s recommitment to them. Has heard Bryan say he loves him, multiple times now.

(Has wanted to know exactly what that love entails.)

And so when Bryan tells him he’s going hiking Yuta jumps at the chance to go. He gets one on one time with Bryan, but it’s never truly private. This feels like it could be a turning point.

It’s everything he hoped, Bryan talking quietly, seeing him so in his element — focused on nature but also focused on Yuta. Asking him questions, wanting to listen.

It’s after Yuta films him for the Okada promo — something he feels so honored to have been able to do — that he gathers up the courage.

“Teach me? How to meditate?”

Bryan smiles at him like Yuta just bestowed the best Christmas present.

They sit a little ways off the path, in one of the few shaded areas. There’s no one around them right now, only the sound of a crow in the distance.

“I’ll walk you through a basic meditation practice. You comfortable?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Find your posture. Rest your palms on your thighs, face up or down, whatever’s comfortable.”

Yuta does so, face up.

“Now close your eyes, and just listen to my voice.”

Yuta doesn’t mean to shiver, but he can’t help it. Bryan’s voice is so soothing, washing over him like a gentle breeze.

He follows the guidance: find a memory, an image, hold onto it, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Focus only on the place in your memory, let it fill you up, ground you. Breathe in for four, hold for four, out for six.

It only lasts about five minutes before Bryan pulls him back, tells him to lock the memory away, tells him to come back slowly, open his eyes.

He isn’t prepared for Bryan to be looking right at him as he does, and realizes Bryan must have been watching him this whole time.

It’s like he falls right back into that place he was in, looking at Bryan. Unsurprising since he’d been the subject of his focus.

He’d chosen the first time he ever saw Bryan walk into the AEW locker room, the moment when he’d dragged a hand through his hair, looked over at Yuta and smiled at him, warm and bright.

“Love at first sight,” Kris had said later that night. Yuta had snorted in reply, saying “I’ve seen him for years now, have the DVDs to prove it.”

“Not the same.”

And maybe she was right, because he hasn’t stopped looking at Bryan since. Has wanted his attention, focus, smiles, slaps, whatever he could get.

And now they’re looking into one another’s eyes, all alone amongst the Red Rocks and Yuta wants — he wants.

“What made you finally ask?” Is the first thing Bryan says.

Yuta shrugs, never breaking their gaze. “Just wanted to know. To be… closer.” He flushes as soon as he says it, awkward and fumbling.

Bryan quirks an eyebrow. “To your inner self?”

Yuta bites his lip, and shakes his head. “To — you.”

Bryan’s smile is a slow, revelatory thing, starting out as surprise and then turning softer.

He reaches out a hand, the two of them sitting crossed legged only a few inches apart. Yuta grabs it, letting out a breath as Bryan squeezes his palm.

“I’m glad,” Bryan says, pulling Yuta closer to him, their eyes still searching one another’s. “That you asked.”

Yuta only closes his eyes when Bryan’s lips meet his own, like a firework going off inside him.

He breathes out and kisses back.

He thinks maybe this’ll be a new memory for his next meditation.

[rewinded-time]

I think it would be an interesting AU of Trapsmith Kevin if he was one of Batman's early years, maybe from the Silver Age, villain, but was one of his less harmful ones. Like a less lethal Riddler with him main fascination being using Batman as a test subject for the effectiveness of his traps, let's say Bruce and Kevin also know each other out of their masks by means if Kevin being Bruce's favorite barista. Like Alex is to Tim, maybe Kevin ends up as Alex's manager at the Cafe in the future or just becomes the outright owner.

Ahh Kevin being a silver age villain is a super fun idea to think about!! Kevin's got a lot of ideas for traps and just can't help testing them out! He does orders for people who live in the more crime heavy parts of Gotham at a low discount, so he pretty much uses Batman as a soundboard on how to make his traps better. It's also free promo cause who wouldn't want a trap that took the dark knight so and so time to get out of!!??!? He's got some great reviews guys!!! I almost want to say that Kevin took over an antique shop next to Alex's cafe, he loves fixing up old toys and music boxes in his spare time! He does however have a deal with any of the homeless kids that if they give him any scraps they find, he'll pay for it! It ends up going back to the community again in some form of trap he builds anyways! Bruce probably drops by the shop to look at some of the items in there when he goes to pick up a coffee next door!! Bruce will sometimes buy an antique to take home and show off to whichever kid is in the manor during that particular time. During Christmas time Kevin does a donation event in the shop to give to the local shelters!! Bruce will always show up and donate some sort of amount and Kevin's grateful, but tells the man to write a check instead of carrying around that type of cash on him after the 3rd time. Alex does do part time work with Kevin at his shop! He doesn't have to work crazy hours at the cafe because of it (Kevin fr nearly threw hands with the owner after seeing Alex's crazy hours) and has a nice place to do his college homework!!

[andguesswhat]

The shield that you own - 3

*

The premiere in London didn't go that smoothly. Jack could see that Tim wasn't really happy with his outfit, the trousers apparently weren't comfortable, Tim kept his sunglasses on for a long time, which indicated that he had already taken drugs with Haider in the hotel room, and they all had to wait ages for Zendaya to be dressed in her costume... It was already a long evening before it had even started.

Jack let his gaze wander over the crowds as they waited. A glimpse of the first time he was hired by Tim's team slipped into his memory and he had to smile.

It had been the premiere of “Beautiful Boy”, also here in London, and Tim had jumped uncontrollably from one bulk of fans to another and back again, so randomly that Jack, who had to do the jumping with him, had the feeling that Tim was only doing this to test or annoy him. Jack soon found out that yes, Tim didn’t mind teasing him but his jumpy behavior was more due to his constant need to please everyone and not disappoint anyone; he wanted to be loved by every single person on this planet and beyond that didn't know how to say no. After all, Jack apparently hadn't done too bad a job, they booked him again afterwards.

Over the years, the crowds of fans got bigger and bigger. And even though Jack only saw Tim at promo tours, he could watch how the boy became a star, climbing up the pedestal stair by stair with a big proud grin, stepping further and further into the sky. Jack saw him shine and grow. But Jack also saw him become more and more isolated.

Slowly but surely, the "Hollywood" system took hold. More and more powerful people were tugging at him, talking to him, persuading him for selfish reasons while being surrounded by all this tempting money. In the end it was no wonder you lost your sense of reality and responsibility in this enclosed world. Things were no longer questioned as long as they served the career, and no one told you the truth about anything anymore to make sure you continued to strive for more fame. If Jack was honest to himself, he had to fall in line, even if his reasons weren’t the same. But he didn't judge Tim for getting deep down in Hollywood nor did he confront him with difficult subjects. He didn't ask him uncomfortable questions like why he did or didn't do certain things that Jack himself saw differently or didn't understand. Instead, he made him feel safe, he did everything he could to make him feel good.

For him, this was part of his job. But the boundaries had long since become blurred. With everything they had being going through, with everything they had shared and done by now, weren't they something like friends? And if yes, shouldn't he give Tim every now and then a piece of his mind? But he didn't. He wasn't sure if he did it out of fear of losing his job or out of fear of losing Tim. But whatever the reason, he just didn't. So once again, here in London, he didn't tell Tim what he really thought about Haider. He certainly wasn't looking forward to the reunion with Haider, even if he didn't let on, and he already knew roughly how the evening would go. They would all be cooler than cool, they would all consume a lot of alcohol and no less drugs and they would all have an incredible amount of fun, which, according to Haider, you could only have if you consumed a lot of alcohol and no less drugs. Haider was a creative and interesting person, Jack wouldn't deny that, and he could guess why Tim found him inspiring and was only too happy to be his muse. But this "it's only a real party if you're really high" thing was not only stupid, Jack honestly thought it was kind of outdated, too.

But Tim went along with it. He went along with it because he couldn't say no, he went along with it because he never missed an opportunity to get on brilliantly with anyone who was or could be useful to him and – if you asked Jack – he went along with it because he felt guilty that he wasn't sleeping with Haider, who had shown more than once that he was not averse to the idea. The fact that Tim seemed to be able to say no at least in this matter was the only consolation to Jack.

After the premiere a whole bunch of people went to a club, including Tom with Zendaya and Kaia with Austin and of course Haider as their unsolicited leader.

There had been evenings when Tim had managed to persuade Jack to join in the dancing, but tonight Tim was already far too much in his own tunnel and Jack too annoyed by Haider, so he decided to stand on the edge of the dance floor and just watch. He watched Tim laughing, dancing and vibing with all his friends and yet Jack had the feeling that Tim somehow was alone. Maybe it was the alcohol and the drugs, but the feeling of a contrived joy made Jack’s heart sigh with sadness.

He knew it was silly to blame everything on Haider, Tim was a grown man, but when Haider held a drink under his nose and growled "Come on, Jackie boy. Don't be so stiff. A drink won't do you any harm. You're a big boy, aren't you?", Jack declined politely and made another line on his imaginary blackboard under "don't like him".

Once back at the hotel, Haider tried to convince Tim to party some more in his room and as Tim, quite high and grinning dully, took more than a second to answer, whether because of his condition or because he didn't want to, Jack quickly stepped in for him. "I would say rather not. I think he's pretty tired." Haider gave him a patronizing look, eyebrows high. "Can't he speak for himself?" "I'm tired," Tim luckily consented right then, sparing Jack a reaction to Haider's stupid remark. "The youth of today! Look at you! How old are you? And look at me!” Haider pointed to himself before shaking his head in exaggerated disbelief. “How sad that young people can't stand anything anymore.” Luckily Tim didn't say anything in response, just kept smiling tiredly, and Haider finally had to give in.

When he hugged Tim with his whole body to say good night, Jack tensed up, even more so, when Haider gave Tim a wet kiss on the mouth, while slapping Tim's buttocks. All in good fun, of course. Haider’s dirty laugh made Jack sick to his stomach. Jack had seen scenes like this before, he always found them offensive, he always instinctively wanted to intervene, but yes, of course, they were such good friends and it was all just fun. Jack was annoyed as hell. In the elevator, Tim didn't say a thing, seemingly lost in thought and contemplation, but Jack could see that the dull good mood seemed to be slowly fading and a feeling of dissatisfaction spread. When they reached Tim’s door, Jack asked concerned, "Everything okay?" Tim gave a less than convincing "Yeah, sure," and added an indecisive "Do you want to come in?"

Tim’s voice was already alarmingly dismissive but Jack accepted the invitation anyway, or perhaps because of it. He wasn’t sure what would happen and needed to make sure everything was alright.

When they were in the room the first thing Tim did was to take off the inconvenient pants. Impatiently and carelessly he slipped them off his legs, while grumbling to himself: "Fucking pants!", then got rid of his top until he was standing there in nothing but socks, underpants and a way too expensive Cartier necklace. With a mixture of defiance and dissatisfied forlornness he looked at Jack and spread his arms. "Wanna suck my cock?"

Jack bit his lower lip to remain calm before he quietly responded, "I'd better go."

Tim feigned disappointment, muttering half provocatively, half deliberately offending, "Armie would know what to do.... what I need." That had hit.

A dagger thrust into Jack's chest.

The crudeness of it however and his accumulated irritation, made Jack – surprised at himself – hit back with sarcasm. "Should I check with Austin? Maybe he's a better substitute." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he immediately regretted them. Even though Tim had hurt him and the day had been exhausting, it gave him no reason to react like this. He looked down at the floor, taking a deep breath to collect himself again, before he apologized. "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that." When he looked up again, bracing himself for further displeasure thrown at him, he was surprised to see tears in Timmy's eyes, and the shield he had just raised was already crumbling again. Tim’s brow furrowed, his lips narrowed, his eyes full of pent-up sadness, he looked like one big heap of misery. "I missed him today. I missed him so much. Tom was there for Z, Kaia for Austin... I want that too." A simple understandable wish.

To have his partner by his side.

It broke Jack's heart and at the same time, it turned the dagger in Jack's chest mercilessly. Once again the bitter realization that he wasn't the one. Yes, they had no commitments, nothing was promised, he was just his bodyguard and they occasionally fucked. By the look on Tim’s face he seemed to realize what he had said and what it meant to Jack. "No, no, I didn’t mean..." he softly tried to take it back somehow, but apparently he could also see in Jack's face that he couldn't. Defeated, Tim slid to the floor in front of the bed and buried his sobbing face in his hands. "I'm such a fucking mess... I'm so sorry... I don't know what I'm doing..." Yes, Tim was a mess. A mess made by Hollywood. Jack had seen Tim cry before, but never this much and as weird as it must look for many, it made his problems less important. His instinctive need to help was pathetic but indestructible.

He squatted down next to Tim in front of the bed and put his arm around him. Tim immediately and gratefully took the invitation, clung to him, clawing his hands desperately into Jack's shirt, burying his face in Jack’s neck, and Jack was doing what he always did, giving him closeness and comfort.

For a while they just sat there like this, Tim’s tears wetting Jack’s shirt. "You know that I didn't sleep with Austin, right?" Tim mumbled eventually against his neck. “There was nothing. I just made that up.” Jack sighed. What a mess. But did it even make a difference? He didn't know.

He held Tim’s slender body, felt the soft warm skin under his hands, smelled his scent, listened to the still heavy breathing from all the crying. There were a thousand reasons not to sleep with Tim at that moment. But for Jack, one reason to do it was enough. Slowly and carefully, he picked Tim up and laid him on the bed and began spoiling him and his shaking body with kisses.

It wasn't as if there weren't any scars in this relationship, and today a new one had been added. In the back of his mind, Jack knew that he should stand up for himself and Tim didn't deserve his unconditional love, but unfortunately, at the moment he just didn't care.

Slowly the unrest turned into calm. Tim grabbed Jack's hair, played with it, looked at him mindfully, watched every move as Jack’s mouth and hands wandered over his body, and they kissed on the lips like they rarely did.

Jack loved that for Tim sex always was an outlet for feelings, a description of his innermost state and today, sex for both of them was a way to redemption.

When the quiet tenderness finally turned to desire and Jack entered Tim, their bodies undulated in waves of lust and craving until Tim's body arched beneath him to the extreme, his head thrown back he moaned deep and liberating as he came. For one last time Jack buried himself into Tim's body with a heavy thrust and poured himself in Tim, a similar deep, redeeming feeling rushing through his veins. There weren't the right words for what they were, but maybe sometimes you just didn't need to look for them. * The next day they had no commitments, it was a day off, and Jack had booked a flight to visit his family in Cornwall. Part of his brain was so romantic that he would have liked Tim to fly with him and he was sure Tim would have been only too happy to agree – he was way too curious with things like that and always keen to recruit new fans for himself –, but the sensible part of Jack's brain vehemently advised him against it and that was for the best. A little distance after last night would certainly do him good. So he went alone, let his mother cook for him from morning till night and let Sarah tell him all the bad things she had read about the quirks of Hollywood stars.

As he lay in his old crib in the evening looking at his cell phone, Tim had sent him a link to a song. Jack clicked on the link and listened to the lyrics.

Please be my shield against all that′s blue Love me and lead and I'll carry through Keep me from danger, don′t leave me too soon Forgive me for all that I am Shadows they whisper, stare at my soul Misled are those who march all alone Keep me from strangers without good intent Forgive me for all that I am You are my fire when I can't see You're the one watching over me You are my fire, yeah You are my fire, on you I lean Promise you, won′t give up on me You are my fire

*

[thespianinthebackcorner]

Genshin artbook volume 1 pics!!!

i know I'm like a week late on this post but I had exams. Anyhoo here we gooo

It came in a box :)

And the back and front covers of the actual book's dust jacket.

This is under the dust jacket.

They're not like rip-out-of-the-book-and-stick-on-wall posters, just pullouts, but they're soooo pretty. I apologise for shit camera work

There's a section for characters, for artwork created for the game's releases and trailers, and stuff like event art and birthdays. Goes up to Kazuha if y'all are wondering. Just the highlights from here cause 1. Posting the whole book probably infringes on some kind of law and 2. It's got so much in it actually. It's like 2cm thick

Man and his son

They didn't put the siblings on the same page

Okay this kinda makes up for it. Putting two people who just low-key hate each other on the same page is hilarious

Putting the Iconic Liyue Lesbians on the same page but not the Iconic Liyue Gays. Dang.

They put outfits in there too!

beta test art :D

There are so many iconic pieces. And then they get into the version art too!

subject two in 1.2 is real. Y'all have no idea how excited I was when I realised the fault was real

I have never seen these pieces before but apparently they were 1.2 and 1.3 visuals

Promo pieces too! God I need Keqing's outfit like right now. Like on me. Help

They then give us art/screenshots from the character teasers!!!

Sweetheart ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I've hit the image limit so I'll have to reblog there's actually so much more I'm only like halfway through

[destinyc1020]

Long story short (I didn't follow everything so anons correct me if I miss something) :

People started noticing all the cast was ignoring Justin Baldoni existence : not taking any pics with him at photo call and premieres, not praising him, not speaking about working with him (even when directly asked), not even one joint interviews, and they ALL unfollowed him

Justin said that he didn't want to direct to sequel if it had to happens. But unlike the rest of the cast, he actually praised Blake in interviews.

The public opinion started to take sides. On one hand you have Blake, who has been criticized for the way she promoted the film, never mentioning the serious subject matter (DV), acting like it's a fun girly movie, telling girls to go with their friends wearing "florals" (kinda mimicking the Barbie theme dressing, but it sounds out of touch for a movie like this). At the same time she is promoting her hair care line and all the promo around her and her image. People also started calling her out for other stuff she did (got married on a plantation, being rude in interviews, not knowing how to answer questions about DV even though she should be prepared for that). On the other hand, Justin has been more vocal about DV and more mindful with his words, giving more heartfelt answers and not shying away from the seriousness of the topic. He apparently has a podcast where he showed in the past that he seemed (I haven't listen to it myself) to fight toxic masculinity narratives, so people usually applaud him for that

"Insiders" started to got to the press. Apparently it started to go downhill in post production, they disagreed on the editing and Blake asked (forced?) the editing team of Deadpool to edit this film, which ended up being a version that was less liked than the og according to test audiences. Justin was visibly mad about Blake(+Ryan) heavy involvement

TMZ just released an article saying that Blake was also upset because Justin asked her weight and she took it as "fat shaming", but he only did that because he had severe back issues that he was recovering from during filming, and there was a scene where he's supposed to lift her in the air so he wanted to know to physically prepare himself. According to the source, he kissed her for too long during one scene, making her uncomfortable

Justin is keeping to himself and didn't comment on anything, BUT he hired a PR crisis publicist, the one who was hired by Jonny Depp during the trial (which is not a good look when you know Jonny was trying to soften his image after being seeing as an abuser).

I had NO idea all of this was going on! 🤣😆 I just don't follow Blake like that. I like her as an actress though. No comment on her and Ryan's plantain wedding.... 😑 (I STILL to this day don't know what possessed them to do that. She's not even from the South, and he's not even American!!! 🥴)

Oooo giiiiirrrrrl you're bringing in the TEA!!! 😲🫢

Anyway....

This is some crazy tea girl.

Re: Justin....

He's hot as idk what chiiiiilllle.... 🔥 🥵 All throughout the movie I kept thinking to myself: "Good lawwwd.... call the DOCTOR!" 🤣 He is handsome.... and his body was body-iiiing in that movie chiiiiilllle lol!!! Rofl 🤣

*Ahem* With that said, I don't ever think it's right for anyone (especially a MAN) to ask a woman how much she weighs. I don't care if he just had back surgery lol 😆 It's just tacky, and comes off as kinda rude and personal imo. Women are judged by their weight (and age) so much, especially in this country, and it's kind of a turn off when a man asks this imo.

That's almost tantamount to a woman asking a man his dick size. How would a man feel if a woman asked him on a date... "Sooo... how big is your package? I just wanna know, just in case one day we ever....ya know... 😏...I just want to make sure it would be comfortable for me..."

Like, what on earth? 🥴That's so out of pocket lol. 😅

Anyway, if I were him, I would just refrain from asking women those questions from here on out. If he wanted to know if he could pick her up, all he had to do was just try? 🤷🏾‍♀️

Plus, Blake is not a "big woman" at all, and the guy is like 6'2, so he's no small man at all. I do believe, even with back issues, he could have been just fine with picking her up. Or, how about, just write that pick up out of the script? Geez lol 😅

Anyway... with that said...I don't usually see Blake in interviews, so I'm not sure how she usually comes across? 🤷🏾‍♀️ I can't speak to that.

I did see one clip of Justin talking about the DV side of things briefly, and I did appreciate that. 😊

Re: Blake

With Blake, maybe she was told to tone down the DV aspect of the film somewhat so that ppl wouldn't be turned off from seeing it? 🤷🏾‍♀️

Or, maybe she was afraid of saying smthg offensive and in turn, making ppl not want to see it?

This is all about money and having your film sell after all. Let's not forget! 😅

Even though the film is so much more than just about DV, I do think that she should have said smthg about women (and men!) who find themselves in these types of toxic relationships.

Anyway, thnx for the tea Anon...I had no clue this was all going on.

[twopoppies]

Admitting that B was pregnant, forgetting about the fertility clinic, Billie Jean and the rest… I'd almost be willing to believe that Louis suddenly had some sort of fatherhood epiphany in 2021… If his promos had not been so exaggerated in both directions. For Walls, not a word about the child. The non-subject. And Elk elk el, my savior, my rock… A few months later, LT2 and exit Elk (forgotten by everyone, including pseudo interviewers), only to revolve around my child, my child, my child, my child. Ridiculous. And completely incredible. Then, the documentary was the apotheosis and I will never be convinced that it was not made to sit the kid in the landscape (without DNA test).

Absolutely agree.

[dykeeyes]

The Toon Division Promo 2.0 (A Script/Casual-Lit OC Roleplay)

The Toon Division is an oc roleplay based around the story of an experiment held in the 2010s, by scientists testing the possibility of a new type of energy. This energy, Light, is the driving force of the new species created by these scientists, Toons. A species made notable by being, well, living cartoons, who stretch the rules of reality and live by their own rules. Of course, some Toons were particularly.. unsuitable for the cause, and were put into containment.

After 10 years of runtime, one subject breaches containment, endangering a few scientists and using a new, opposing energy, simply called Void. While the scientists successfully locked down the Toon dimension, preventing any subjects from coming out into the real world, the Toons still live.

..And the subject still lurks, waiting for any unlucky Toons who wander into the subject's portions of the dimension. With recent bursts of Toons popping into existence, it's caused activity to start up in the Void as well.

There's no need to make a character beforehand to join, but if you're interested, please fill out this form (different from the last one)! It's mostly just a "get to know me" thing. We hope to see some new faces there ^^ https://forms.gle/h8SeFMboW3Q951E1A

[graendoll]

i agree that s7 was all over the place with pacing but considering the first three and last three episodes were bobby (and athena by extension) focused, and rightly so as angela and peter are far and away their most bankable stars, i don't think it's fair to say it was all about bi!buck and buddie.

could they have done more with buck's arc? absolutely! but i think in this particular case, they were testing the waters to see how the general audience took to buck's realization. for lack of a better term, they kept his relationship with tommy as palatable for the GA as possible without over-sanitizing it. i don't agree that they made it all about sex but i do think they didn't make the time to show buck and tommy getting to know each other as much as they could have. knowing that scripts were being written and tinkered with right up until the end, i also think they were prepared to pivot away from buck x tommy if the overall reaction by the GA was poor, which thankfully, it was not. but it's also not the buck x tommy show; there's a large main cast that also needed screen time, which again, i think was a challenge with a shorter season.

the only thing i have to say about a focus on buddie is that it was the fandom and so-called internet 'journalists' looking for clicks that were making it about buddie, not the showrunner, writers or actors. the former couldn't stop frothing at the mouth about it, and the latter barely talked about it (unless asked by said 'journalists').

anyway, i hope s8 is better, with more time for fleshed out stories for all the characters. i know they wanted to start off the new season on a new network with a bang in the form of a lengthy cruise ship disaster arc, but i sorely missed the weekly, run of the mill rescues and firefighting, tbh. hopefully we'll get back to that in s8 too.

Hey nonni. Thanks for the ask!

I agree that 911 isn't the Bi!Buck show (even if hes one of my faves 😊)! It absolutely is an ensemble, and you're correct to point that out.

My perspective of the promo/PR for this season was that it was heavily skewed towards Buck's story from the network on purpose, more so than Bobby and Athena, but perhaps that's because of my fandom goggles. I dont see a lot of promo outside of what falls into my lap randomly scrolling the internet. So it felt unbalanced and like the PR machine was using bi!Buck as buzz and pushing it super hard above and beyond the other storylines (Bobby/Athena, Hen/Maya, even the Madney wedding).

Obviously this is subjective!

Regarding the Buck/Tommy stuff - I hear your point about testing the waters and making sure it was palatable to the GA. And again, it not being the Buck/Tommy show (which for the record...would not watch, but I digress).

However - the show did a huge disservice to EVERYONE by biting off more than they could chew this season. Buck came out as bisexual, Bobby relived his trauma as both a child and an ex-addict, Athena was dealing with her son coming back (like did that even happen? Was that this season?), Maddie and Chimney got married (and for some reason he had to have a brain disease??! Like why??), Hen and Karen lost Maya, and Eddie spiraled HARD and ultimately lost Chris.

That is SO MUCH to tackle in what is ultimately only about 380 minutes of story time! Add to that an open ended, seat of the pants writing approach and frankly they set themselves up for disaster.

Anyway, I too want s8 to return to run of the mill rescues and firefighting, and give our characters room to breathe and grow in a way that makes the show watchable again.

[wanderingaroundwithmysoul]

Mun is 20+. No minors.

I'm non-selective. I'm down to RP with anyone, so don't be afraid to drop into my inbox/tag me in stuff! My style can sometimes lean a bit towards the lengthier side, but I don't expect anyone to try and match that.

I don't RP outside of the Resident Evil universe. I'm up for anything within it, though! I enjoy the games, the comics, the novels, etc. alongside the Anderson flicks.

I'm OC & AU friendly. I love to hear about 'em, too, so please share with me!

I multiship, so I'm open to pairing the Rains with various characters. Lemme know if you're interested in shipping.

I like having multiple threads. If you want to start a new thread with me while we already have another going, feel free!

I don't have any exclusives. If you see me already RPing with somebody who has the same muse as you, that doesn't mean that I'm not interested in interacting with you.

You'll find blood, gore, & violence here, so be warned. It appears both in my writing and occasionally in my icons or reblogs.

I don't write smut. My ace ass simply can't <3

Although I also write for the Rain clones, I always default to the OG Rain when replying to asks/tags. So if you'd like to interact with Good or Bad Rain, please specify!

There might be times when I'm slow at replying. I promise I'm not ignoring you. I've just got other stuff going on too, y'know? And on that note, I don't expect fast replies from anyone. Take your time!

Also on @crashandswirl (multi-muse) & @roleplay-evil (starters).

If you have any questions or anything, feel free to ask!

Starter memes || Starter calls || Interest tracker || Tags || Promo

Rain comes from the 2002 film, Resident Evil. Alongside it and various headcanons, my interpretation of her is loosely based on the novelization, Resident Evil: Genesis. (I do have a lot of problems with that book and how she was written in it, though). The clones come from Resident Evil: Retribution and take loose elements from the novelization of the same name.

Name: Rain Melendez Ocampo [extended info sheet/verses here]

Eyes: Dark brown. However, I do occasionally make them partially light blue after infection.

Hair: Dark brown

Pronouns: She/her

Age: Dependent on verse.

In the movieverse, twenty-three at the time of the Hive Incident in 2002.

Also in the movieverse, her late twenties to early thirties in Extinction through to The Final Chapter, which ends in 2012.

In the game verse, her early twenties during the time of the Raccoon City Incident in 1998.

Height: 5'4"/163 cm

Sexual/Romantic orientation: Homosexual/homoromantic

Occupation:

Former LAPD police officer.

Paramilitary commando for the Umbrella Corporation. U.S.S. (Umbrella Security Service).

After Apocalypse, working to screw over her last employer and aid survivors.

In the gamverse, after Raccoon City, a BSAA soldier.

Personality: Rain is tough, intimidating, prideful, and full of tenacity. But beneath that rough exterior is a caring person looking to do good and help others. If sacrificing/putting herself at risk means saving someone, Rain isn't likely to hesitate.

She's fiercely loyal and protective toward friends, none of whom are safe from her ribbing or attempts to rough around.

Often, Rain comes off as crude and/or blunt since she isn't very careful with her words. If she has an opinion, she probably won't refrain from telling you. Vulnerability, however, isn't something that comes easily to her. She tends to simply close herself off with an "I'm fine."

You might find that she has a slight temper... Perhaps more than slight. Most call it hair-trigger. Her anger usually comes and goes in quick bursts.

Rain was heavily infected by the T-virus and received a dose of the antivirus when it should've been far too late. She should've died. Instead, she woke up sometime later in an empty hospital, having been put under quarantine and subject to various tests. She left, unsure of what exactly happened to her.

Some other stuff:

She looks pissed off most of the time, but that's just her resting face.

If she's especially prideful about anything, it's her marksmanship. For the most part, it isn't misplaced, either. She's a damn good shot.

On the topic of guns, Rain is pretty knowledgeable about them in general. Firearms are a huge interest of hers.

When she worked at Umbrella, she was a part of a unit known as Sanitation led by Commander James "One" Shade. Other teammates included Chad Kaplan, Olga Danilova, Alfonso Warner, Vance Drew, and J.D. Salinas. All of these people died right before the outbreak in Raccoon City.

J.D. was Rain's best friend. She partially blames herself for his death

When she was a part of Sanitation, she'd use a Heckler & Koch MP5K and a Springfield Armory M1911A1, which are guns she's still rather fond of.

She was born in New Jersey and lived there until the age of thirteen. That was when her family moved to California, where she stayed until receiving a job offer from Umbrella.

Her family consisted of a father, an older brother, and a dog.

She speaks Spanish as a second language.

Name: Rain Melendez - AKA "Bad Rain"

Eyes: Dark brown. There's a faint red haze when her retinal implants are in use.

Hair: Dark brown

Pronouns: She/her

Age: Dependent on the verse.

In the Anderson flicks, in her early twenties during Retribution, which takes place in 2012.

In the game universe, she'd realistically be alive sometime between the Raccoon City Incident in 1998 and Umbrella's end in 2003, during which she'd be in her early to mid-twenties. She could survive past that, though.

Height: 5'4"/163 cm

Sexual/Romantic orientation: Homosexual/homoromantic

Occupation: Security operative for the Umbrella Corporation. U.S.S. (Umbrella Security Service).

Personality: Rain is programmed to be ruthless, tough, and intimidating. She's cold, blunt, and matter-of-fact, typically to the point of heartlessness. Her care for others is incredibly minimal, and most of her loyalty lies where it was programmed to be.

When she's given orders, Rain follows them without question or hesitation. Vulnerability and weakness are something she very scarcely allows herself to show.

She's stubborn, being somebody who fights until her absolute last breath. There's also a fair amount of cockiness in her.

While not impossible to form a bond with her, it certainly isn't easy. If her programming breaks, she becomes much more like the Rain she was cloned from, but still far less selfless.

Rain is a clone manufactured by the Umbrella Corporation. She was created to protect one of their testing facilities. More specifically, Umbrella Prime, which is located underwater in Kamchatka, Russia.

Some other stuff:

Following the destruction of Umbrella Prime, she was presumed to have been eaten alive by a horde of Las Plagas Undead (basically T-virus zombies with the intelligence to handle firearms/drive vehicles) after plunging into the depths of the Arctic Ocean. This could be changed in threads, though.

Following a self-injection of the Las Plagas parasite, Rain gains superhuman strength, accelerated healing, and far higher pain tolerance. This happens right after the destruction of Umbrella Prime, so it wouldn't apply to anything taking place before that... Or where it doesn't happen.

Also after that incident, she started experiencing a deep-seated unease around deep bodies of water. Not something she'll admit to.

Rain has retinal implants that allow her to quickly identify people and bioweapons in Umbrella's database via facial scan. They also feed her direct orders from her AI superior, the Red Queen.

While Rain knows that Umbrella manufactures clones, she doesn't realize she is one.

Her weapons of choice are a Colt M4A1 (with an underbarrel M203 grenade launcher attached) and a SIG P226R.

She also speaks Spanish as a second language.

Name: Rain Ocampo - AKA "Good Rain"

Eyes: Dark brown

Hair: Dark brown

Pronouns: She/her

Age: Dependent on the verse.

In the Anderson flicks, in her early twenties during Retribution, which takes place in 2012.

In the game universe, she'd realistically be alive sometime between the Raccoon City Incident in 1998 and Umbrella's end in 2003, during which she would be in her early to mid-twenties. She could survive past that, though.

Height: 5'4"/163 cm

Sexual/Romantic orientation: Homosexual/homoromantic

Occupation: (Programmed to believe she is an) environmental activist.

Personality: First and foremost, Rain is good-natured. She's always looking to do the right thing, help others, and stand up for what she believes in.

Although she prefers non-violence as a solution to problems, when it comes down to the wire, Rain will do what it takes to help somebody in danger. There's definitely a protective side to her. She's a quick learner and brave.

Most people would probably describe her as an ever so slightly awkward, quirky character. Often, she's somebody who will speak without thinking her words through.

Rain is a clone manufactured by the Umbrella Corporation. She was created as a civilian to be placed into a test simulation to demonstrate the capabilities of Umbrella's bioweapons. However, rather than dying like she was meant to, she survived the simulation.

Some other stuff:

Rain died in Retribution after getting knocked clean off an elevator platform by an Uber Licker, which is essentially a licker the size of a tank. She snapped her neck upon impact with a wall. However, that could be changed in threads.

She's a vegetarian. She doesn't enjoy the taste of meat products, nor the idea of eating animals.

Unlike either of her counterparts, her full first name is Larraine, which she does not enjoy being called.

Rain is entirely unskilled with guns. She's not particularly fond of them, either. Two of her programmed memories include campaigning for gun control and marching against the NRA.

She enjoys particularly outdoorsy physical activities such as hiking, biking, and climbing.

She also speaks Spanish as a second language... As well as ASL as a third.

Rain has three dogs. Two pit bulls and a Rottweiler.

Outside of her dogs, her family truly never existed, but she believes that she grew up with three brothers and a mother in the suburbs of Raccoon City.