#when i need to get my data looking presentable before 10 am

[destinationtoast]

I stumbled upon this... Thing by what looks like an actual journalism outfit, or at least their infographics wing. Thoughts?

https://pudding.cool/2024/10/fanfic/

Sighhhhh. Thanks for sharing this link (and then waiting three months for a reply, lol). I happened to have seen this one near to when it came out, but I am always glad to have people share such things with me!

So I have complicated, but partly "ARGH," thoughts about this article. And I ranted about it in some detail in Slack when I first read it. I initially didn't reply to this ask because I was trying to go back through the logs to find some of my specific past complaints, but they were lost to the mists of the Slack paywall. But here is my main complaint, roughly approximating the way that I probably ranted in Slack, for your enjoyment/excess punctuation needs:

There's so much data visualization here! And ship artwork, and interactivity, and more -- so much time clearly went into this!! But it's over-extrapolating!! from one data set!! of the top ships on onLY ONE FANDOM PLATFORM!!!! About which they gave no caveats or historical context when extrapolating to "what fans ship and why"!!!!!! When a bunch of fans have written about what fans ship and why, and in some cases gathered data about how platforms differ, and some other fandom journalists have cited that work!!!!!!! Why did these folks not do more research first before diving into all that data visualization, especially if they're journalists???????? ARGH.

But also...

At the same time, this is it's so close to just being really cool! There is some nifty analysis in here, including about things like canonicity and changes over time! I want more of this kind of deep dive out there, and more analysis, and more visualization! And there are some cool links to both scholarly and journalistic writing about fandom, in addition to citing/making use of Lulu's demographically detailed AO3 ship stats. So it's an interesting meaty read, if you keep in mind the limitations.

@olderthannetfic and I co-presented at GeekGirlCon 2019 about differences among some popular fandom platforms (among other things). Here is one of the most relevant graphs for caveating the Pudding article about shipping and "what fandom ships":

Franzi has also gathered a bunch of other data on differences between AO3 and FFN, and her earlier work on platform differences inspired some of my cross-platform comparisons about shipping, genres, languages. (@olderthannetfic please chime in with other relevant links if you want to, especially if you have more recent data!)

One of the things the Pudding shared that I found interesting was their comparison between the most common tags in M/M, F/M, and F/F:

[x] Nice to see more than just the top 10 tags, and interesting to see them categorized. I have gathered some related data about common AO3 tags in each of these categories, but I have to finish writing that up and sharing it. (That's one of my WIP resolutions for this year.) But I did share some data about the differences in the relative amount of use of smutty and kinky tags on AO3 between the three shipping categories:

(A commenter recently reminded me of one of my conclusions: "Everyone has butts, but only pairs of dudes seem very likely to touch or lick or fuck them." XD )

I find it interesting that F/M fic is most likely to tag Rough Sex and D/s! But of course, tagging behavior is not the same as what's being written about. And this is just AO3 data, and sometimes relatively low numbers of it, so definitely not representative of fandom at large. :)

(...this all this reminds me how much I want to get back to this work and look more at other differences between the shipping categories!)

ANYWAY. That was possibly a longer answer than you wanted, and several months later than you were probably expecting. XD But I appreciate you sharing the link and asking!

[fangirlonfilm]

“mom said i’m only allowed to go if my siblings can tag along”: are the New Jersey Devils’ and the Vancouver Canucks scoreboards connected by the force of brotherly love?

it goes without saying that this is for FUN, i don’t know how to properly handle data but i tried my best and that’s enough for now and for me. english is not my first language so mistakes are due to be seen, you are welcome to correct me or ask me anything if doubts are presented. 

hi. so first things first, let me introduce myself. i’m cassie, 23, a hardcore fangirl for 10+ years now and new to the hockey world (got into it late october). i’m a devils fan first and foremost, but i do occasionally watch some canucks and habs games (and that’s on me being in love with cole caufield and quinn hughes, because even though i love the game (#LGD), i also loOoOove the players <3). 

i actually wrote three huge paragraphs explaining how i had this idea but i sound bsc so long story short let’s just say that it’s something that i’ve been noticing since late november: 

whenever the devils and the canucks have games on the same day (or night, whatever you call it), they end up having the same outcome (as in W or L) more often than not. fast forward to mid january/2025, this analysis idea came to me in a dream. or, more specifically, that one moment before you go to bed where you start making up fake scenarios in your head but they get progressively worse and unhinged cause you’re tired af and on the brink of hallucinating. so here i am trying to find out if there’s a ‘bro code’ type of trend behind the nhl.

out of their 26 shared game days, eighteen ended with the same result for both teams. they also won and lost an equal number of games: 9 each. coincidence? maybe. entertaining? absolutely. not safe to say that there’s a 69-ish% chance that they’re connected by the force of family in some way.

out of those games:

five were away for both of them - AA;

five were home for both of them - HH;

four were away (njd) and home (van) - AH;

four were home (njd) and away (van) - HA.

pretty consistent i’d say.

on the AA games we had:

oct. 17: NJD x OTT (3-1) & VAN x FLA (3-1)

nov. 23: NJD x WSH (3-2) & VAN x OTT (4-3)

nov. 29: NJD x DET (5-4) & VAN x BUF (4-3 OTW)

dec. 12: NJD x CBJ (4-2 L) & VAN x VGK (3-1 L)

dec. 31: NJD x ANA (3-2 L) & VAN x CGY (3-1 L)

but when it starts to sound like “this our place, we make the rules”, it looks a little like this (HH):

dec. 6: NJD x SEA (3-2) & VAN x CBJ (5-2)

dec. 8: NJD x COL (4-0 L) & VAN x TBL (4-2 L)

dec. 10: NJD x TOR (2-1 OTL) & VAN x STL (4-3 OTL)

dec. 12: NJD x LAK (3-1) & VAN x FLA (4-0)

dec. 23: NJD x NYR (5-0) & VAN x SJS (4-3)

and when your siblings get to travel around the US and Canada, but you’re stuck in Vancouver (AH):

oct. 15: NJD x CAR (4-2) & VAN x TBL (4-1)

nov. 12: NJD x FLA (4-1) & VAN x CGY (3-1)

dec. 28: NJD x CAR (5-2 L) & VAN x SEA (5-4 OTL)

jan. 16: NJD x TOR (4-3 OTL) & VAN x LAK (5-1 L)

but the world moves on and now you’re the one on a plane (HA):

nov. 7:  NJD x MTL (5-3) & VAN x LAK (4-2)

nov. 27:  NJD x STL (3-0 L) & VAN x PIT (5-4 L)

jan. 11: NJD x TBL (3-2 OTW) & VAN x TOR (3-0)

jan. 14:  NJD x FLA (2-1 SO/L) & VAN x WPG (6-1 L)

that being said, when they are both away, their final results are pretty similar. in almost all of the games listed they had the same results or goal difference.

in HH, both teams scored 17 goals each throughout 5 games (3.4 GPG) in december only. happy hanukkah and merry christmas, i guess! also they lost in OT (dec. 10) to teams that are in the same conference as them, irrelevant, but i do feel the need to point it out. if you wanna know my opinion, jack ‘we are addicted to screen time’ hughes might probably be texting the bros gc “how do we feel about a double L tonight for our family?”. they might as well share one brain cell between the three of them

in AH the stats are the same, 17 goals each. when one of them had a OTL and other an L, the former team’s final scoreboard had a 2+ goals difference. and i just realized that dec 28 was a terrible day for both teams (for njd, it was that game where timo got a major penalty against necas and when van blew the 4-1 lead they had till literally the 5 min before the final whistle). YOLO i guess

literally have nothing to analyse on the NJ!home x VAN!away games besides the fact that they need to get their things together and play like professional athletes once again (opsies)

that all being said, you can’t tell me that those three aren’t a little bit sus. they aren’t triplets, but there might be some telepathic, sixth sense type of thing going on. #connected4lyfe #swag.

are there any other teams in the league that have been going through this or something similar in this season? i get too busy and overwhelmed keeping tabs on the devils (and occasionally van and habs) that i don’t really notice all the other 29 teams. or maybe i’m going insane. if so, let me know cause i’d love to dive into it, who knows what other strange parallels we might uncover till mid april?.

again, this literally means nothing, but i, personally, think it's lowkey funny (like giggling and kicking my feet as I write this) that both teams mirror each other’s results. and that's on hughes your daddy !!

xo,

[gstdaisuki]

Part 2: A Discovery with Paul Hutchinson

In the middle of asking some questions via email, Paul discovered the source files for several modules that we had both assumed were lost. This was quite an exciting moment, so I wanted to share it separately.

the previous interview was formatted to remove the interleaved blocks of quoted text. this is presented in a more raw format, as I think that shows the discovery process better.

from anosci, Mar 11, 2024, 7:01PM

I had some more music questions.

The first two X-Men games had 33 and 45 RPM options for all of the music. Do you remember how that made it into the game? Because after hearing your tales of pirate radio and record shop digging, I feel pretty confident that this speed-select design was your idea!

Also, you previously shared the Amiga modules from X-Men 3, before the conversion to Game Gear data. I believe that X-Men 3 was your final Game Gear game. Was the "Amiga -> MIDI data" technique a new process, or did you do that for every preceding Game Gear game?

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 11, 2024, 8:51PM

Yes, the 33/45 rpm option was my idea. :) Ed liked it. He keeps saying we should do a game together again, "before we die". And he said it should have a retro flavour, and have weird dance music in it. Maybe one day we will do that, I am up for it. (I am considering doing a Pico-8 title at some point here.)

Hmm. I don't think X-Men 3 was the only Amiga to MIDI data music I did. However, I don't remember when the cross-over was. I would have to go back and check over everything. I'll have a quick look and let you know if I actually find out, eh.

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 11, 2024, 9:12PM

Ok, so I checked the ASM files. X-Men 1-3 all have music derived from Amiga MOD files. There is text denoting the MOD title, and names of the samples which were used in the MOD. If you are interested in more on that I can dig a bit more, and get you those names. They are samples from records I had at the time (Art Of Noise, Linx, etc.). Obviously, the Game Gear instruments were not the same sound.

from anosci, Mar 11, 2024, 10:12PM

I'm curious, at least! I'd love to hear the original MODs but I assume you were only able to find X-Men 3

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 12, 2024, 9:04AM

Music! …

Ok, this is getting interesting. I see "babybeat" in the list of MODs used in X-Men 1. I found a playlist on YT with 10 tracks. In the menu of the game there are 8 tracks to preview. Track 10 on the playlist is 08 on the menu. Given the heartbeat type sound I hear, that is the most likely candidate for "babybeat". Obviously, since there are 10 tracks in the playlist, and there are 10 references to MOD in the code, all of the tunes in the code were used in the game. Now I am not certain about the connection of this particular tune to "Midnight (Live)" by Orbital. It could be that it is another track that I posted, because I posted quite a few. Hmm. It's what my memory says, but I could be wrong? In any case, it means that "babybeat" as a MOD was transferred from Amiga to PC. There is a chance I have it on the CD from 1999. I just need to find that, again. The MODs do sound quite different from the GG tunes, because it is samples vs sound-chip noises. I just tried to make something that sounded good enough when converted to GG format. There are no samples, for one thing, and the tempo is different. I had made some tunes on my Amiga, and then decided to present them as potential tracks for X-Men 1, and they were accepted (for subsequent X-Men titles I made tracks specifically, as denoted by the titles of the MODs). Normally, Sega would have a musician compose tracks for a game (in MIDI).

In-browser play of X-Men https://archive.org/details/gg_X-Men_1993_Sega Key 1 to start, arrow keys to navigate, and left-CTRL to play tune

Silence = 00

X-Men playlist, 10 tracks, (at 45 RPM?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUmRxFtMhfI&list=PLw5ZGhvK7sSLqfx4HdldmkLPdFpM3pqFY Track 1 = 01 Track 4 = 02 Track 6 = 03 Track 5 = 04 Track 7 = 05 Track 3 = 06 Track 2 = 07 Track 10 = 08

So, Track 8 and Track 9 (in the playlist) are not playable via the GG menu. Hmm. Title Screen and Ending Theme. Maybe we left off the Ending Theme because it was supposed to be a reward for finishing? Unless you just get it anyway, at Game Over (I do not recall). The Title Screen theme is just there. Oh, well.

In X-Men 1 … ;MOD Title is: renaissancegg Samples = adamski2.raw ;chahihat.raw ;ahh.raw ;drum7 ;19hat ;tr909snare ;bassdeep.raw ;minor4 ;MOD Title is: babybeat Samples = shaker ;animate-bass ;aon-bongo1.raw ;GGbdrum.raw ;AoN-drm3.raw ;moog2 ;drumwack.raw ;SoSbass1.raw ;SoSstring2.raw ;SRdrm2.raw ;CHAhihat.raw ;MOD Title is: outgg Samples = drum7 ;BHbass1.raw ;BHbass2.raw ;cymbal-crash ;chahihat.raw ;crash.raw ;jb-hhmed.raw ;hypnobass.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;BHacid2.raw ;BHacid3.raw ;out_there.raw ;MOD Title is: itchgg Samples = linxvox.raw ;AoN-perc1.raw ;AoN-drm5.raw ;AoN-drm3.raw ;dancer-vox.raw ;dancer-synth1.raw ;scratch.raw ;KRAYScratch.raw ;cymbalong.raw ;hihat1 ;organ.raw ;drumanvil.raw ;MOD Title is: fishgg Samples = Freq5.raw ;crash.raw ;DT4AAdrum2.raw ;DT4AAdrum.raw ;Freq1.raw ;SBpiano2.raw ;cymbalong.raw ;model500-cymop.raw ;futuresnare2 ;wavehi.raw ;N-JOImindflux.raw ;MOD Title is: trouzgg Samples = DT4AAdrum.raw ;hihat1 ;DT4AAbass2.raw ;2U-4.raw ;hihatop1 ;DT4AA6.raw ;zoo7.raw ;where'smytrousers.raw ;zoo8.raw ;ere.raw ;yaseenem.raw ;theretheyare.raw ;MOD Title is: joygg Samples = N-JOImf1.raw ;N-JOI-5.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;N-JOI-2.raw ;JBdrum2.raw ;N-JOIrz1.raw ;N-JOIrz2.raw ;N-JOIrz3.raw ;jb-hhmed.raw ;MOD Title is: ramgg Samples = N-JOIph1.raw ;aon-drm5.raw ;model500-cymop.raw ;model500-cymcl.raw ;model500-clap.raw ;drumwack.raw ;2U-6.raw ;hold ;hold (offset tone) ;MOD Title is: turbogg Samples = beep1.raw ;beep2.raw ;beep3.raw ;beep4.raw ;gunshot ;2U-3.raw ;chahihat3.raw ;spliffclap2 ;snare ;stick.raw ;zoo1.raw ;2U-2.raw ;DT4AA6.raw ;MOD Title is: xravegg Samples = EBputv.raw ;JBhitme.raw ;shamen-guitar1.raw ;shamen-guitar2.raw ;SoSbass2.raw ;s&pcots.raw ;mtxpling.raw ;orch.hit ;bassdrum16 ;bassdrum7 ;breaksnareclap ;closehihat ;cymbal-crash ;tap.raw

Naming of samples … Adamski, CHA = Crown Heights Affair, AoN = Art Of Noise, BH = Bassheads, JB = James Brown, Linx (David Grant), KRAYScratch is a sample from "The Krays" film ("Stop all that scratchin', you're making me bloody itch!", "Where's my trousers?" is another sample from same, I think), N-Joi, Model 500, Shamen, SoS = S.O.S. Band, zoo = "Zoo Rave" compilation CD, 2U = 2Unlimited, DT4AA = "Don't Techno For An Answer" compilation CD

Bassheads - Is There Anybody Out There Adamski - NRG Model 500 - Sound Of Stereo

In X-Men 2 … ;MOD Title is: level1b Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;MOD Title is: level1 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;aon-vox6.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;MOD Title is: level2 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level3 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level4 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level5 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level6 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level7 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level8 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level9 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level10 Samples = bassdrum28 ;animate-bass ;koto ;closedhi ;hihat-2ud2 ;snare25

In X-Men 3 … ;MOD Title is: x3l1 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;BHbass2.raw ;amaski1.raw ;eurostring.raw ;MOD Title is: x3l2 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;BHbass2.raw ;amaski1.raw ;eurostring.raw ;MOD Title is: x3l3 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;polysynth ;strings6 ;tubestring ;tricky.raw ;MOD Title is: x3l4 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;shamen-keys.raw ;tttt-bass1.raw ;goodpling ;inner ;funbass ;MOD Title is: x3l5 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;animate-bass ;sequencer ;pizza2 ;N-JOIph1.raw ;tricky.raw ;MOD Title is: x3l6 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;bassguitar.funk ;digdug ;exbells ;reflex ;MOD Title is: x3l7 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;polysynth ;strings6 ;bell11 ;digdug ;growl2 ;MOD Title is: x3l8 Samples = 909.ophi ;drum7 ;comadrum ;cymbal1 ;comasynth1 ;comasynth2 ;ex800bass ;hitbass ;MOD Title is: x3l9 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;dang ;dbassic.raw ;dbassic2.raw ;d-50.res1 ;d-50.res2 ;d-50.res3 ;d-50.res4 ;d-50.res5 ;junob3 ;sequencer ;synth1 ;MOD Title is: x3l10 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;koto07 ;bass37 ;Sample10_04 ;perco ;hitbass ;licks ;MOD Title is: x3l11 Samples = hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;strings3majfl ;sinecz ;shamus ;pling ;tinewave ;synbrass

Probably more info than was necessary, eh. But I learned something! :D

from anosci, Mar 12, 2024, 4:57PM

this is interesting!

First of all, it's rare that game music has titles! They're not quite matched up with the order of the songs in the sound test, but that's still neat to know.

plus it confirms my interpretation that these were rave / dance inspired tunes!

I could believe that 08 in the sound test menu is "babybeat". It has a pretty soft melody, befitting of the title and theme, I think.

This also paints an interesting picture. Tell me if this lines up with your memories:

You had to write the music for Spiderman vs The Kingpin, so you hunkered down and used whatever tools you had.

Then when you learned you had to do the music for X-Men as well, you wanted something easier to work with, 

so you proposed converting the MODs you'd already written.

...and then you stuck with that process for the next two games

>  Unless you just get it anyway, at Game Over (I do not recall).

I checked, and you get the the (presumed?) "babybeat" track at Game Over

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 12, 2024, 8:41PM

Yes, that's about it, as best as I can remember. I got pretty used to ProTracker.

Yes, at Game Over.

I listened to both tracks to try and compare. It's difficult, because the tempo is very different, the waveforms are very different, and the instruments are totally different. I really need to find that disc, because if I can hear my original MOD it will help clarify if my memory is correct.

from anosci, Mar 13, 2024, 12:31PM

I suppose the obvious follow-up question would be: do you remember how you wrote the tunes for Spiderman vs. The Kingpin?

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 13, 2024, 3:07PM

Joergen Bech wrote the sound subroutines, we worked together at Inner Prise (I think he is Swedish). I am pretty sure that the music was just composed using those subroutines. As in, just typing it all up, into the assembler file. It was a bit laborious to say the least. There are no other tools to write the music. I looked at the code, and there is no mention of anything other than the code itself. Less than ideal, eh. But then, I am the type of programmer that will convert a C64 loading screen to an Amstrad loading screen, by typing in all the numbers defining each pixel (and getting it right). I did that for Druid (or Druid II, I forget which). Just brute forced it. I got Firebird to provide a print out of all the numbers for the C64 screen, and I converted them myself, and typed in the Amstrad equivalent. I think I got 250 quid for that, it was not fun, but maybe worth the cash, eh.

For Chakan, there was a composer who provided MIDI files. I wrote a conversion program to convert the MIDI into the format that the sound subroutines could use. Much easier, and I did not have to come up with the music myself.

Then for X-Men I added a MOD to MIDI converter, I think. Then ran that through the MIDI to sound subroutine format.

I am looking through the code some more ...

Breaking news ... I just found a bunch of MOD files inside the Sega > TC > Prog folder. OMG! Stand by for those ... (BabyBeat!)

from anosci, Mar 13, 2024, 6:17PM

Typing music straight into an ASM file was shockingly common back then, so I believe it.

> I just found a bunch of MOD files inside the Sega > TC > Prog folder.

!!!!

excitedly but patiently waiting to hear these!

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 13, 2024, 7:43PM

Hallelujah! :D

Okay, we have the original pre-conversion MOD files for X-Men 1 & 2. They are not the original MOD files. These have been modified to fit the conversion process, in order to get a decent sounding composition on the Game Gear. I have removed some samples from being played, even though they are probably still included in the sample set. I have substituted some samples for others, in order to get a better result. However, you do get a decent idea of how it all worked. This might be as close as we can get, but I will keep looking, eh. I also included some MODs that were in the same folder, but are not mine. A couple from the "Jesus On E's" Amiga demo, as well as the "Coma" demo. Figured you might find them interesting too. I might have borrowed samples from those MODs to make my own.

I have to say I was quite emotional when I saw those MODs in the Turbo-C++ folder. Never expected them to be there this whole time. Hearing "Babybeat" again after all these years. Man. Thanks for getting me to look into all this, I would not have known they were there otherwise. Cheers! :)

3 attachments:

Xmen-Extras.7z

Xmen2MODs.7z

XmenMODs.7z

from anosci, Mar 13, 2024, 9:52PM

I cross-referenced the songs with the titles as they appear in smspower.com (here and here)

X-Men baby    -> Mandripoor fishgg  -> Brood Cave itchgg  -> The Savage Land joygg   -> Boss outgg   -> Morlock Tunnel ramgg   -> Game Over renaiss -> The Hellfire Club trouzgg -> Avalon turbogg -> Ending xravegg -> Title

X-Men 2 level1 -> Arctic level1b-> The Danger Room level2 -> The Hellfire Club level3 -> Genosha level4 -> Avalon level5 -> Egyptian Base Part 1 level6 -> Egyptian Base Part 2 level7 -> Stryfe's Moon Base level8 -> Boss level9 -> Ending level10-> Title

critically speaking, I think most of these start with a solid idea that then gets a bit buried. but it's an amazing piece of context. a lot of the rave timbre was lost in the gamegear conversion. it's amazing to hear it put back, so to speak!

I can see why you fondly remembered babybeat. I think that might be your strongest tune here. that and "OUTGG" (or at least, those two are my favorites)

I love seeing that you got something cool out of my barrage of questions and curiosity, too :)

digging around some more... "JOYGG" is an odd one: the pitch bends didn't transfer to the Game Gear. though I'm not sure my own playback is accurate... there's a lot of out-of-key samples that sound fine after the Game Gear conversion. Strange.

comparing babybeat to orbital's "Midnight (Live)"... the two have a similar push-pull rhythm rhythm in the bass, but I wouldn't call them the same. 

though I could easily imagine the similarities causing a fan of one song to raise their eyebrow at the other. 

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 14, 2024, 8:26AM

Cool.

Yeah, the "missing link" MODs do not sound as good as either the originals, or the final GG version.

Oh, and I actually wrote a Pro-Tracker to GG format conversion program (DOS), no in-between conversion. I think there was, at some point, a dual set up, but I decided to make it simpler. The dual set up would have been a legacy from when I had to write a MIDI to GG format, for Chakan. I only have the final set of tools in my Turbo-C++ directory, none of the tools I used previously.

I agree with your assessment of the tune similarity. I think at some point I got it into my head they were more similar, and then that just became what I remembered. I am getting older too, so that is a factor. I am only human after all.

from anosci, Mar 14, 2024, 7:02PM

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, right? ;)

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 14, 2024, 8:39PM

Well, I am kind of big on telling the truth, tbh. I do acknowledge that I can (and do) get things wrong though. I remember when I was a kid, I swore that the words on a TV advert were "It's full of peppery goodness", when in fact, it was "It's full of Cadbury goodness" (the ad was for Cadbury's Finger of Fudge). I really believed that was what it said, and it did not matter what everyone else said it was. I was honest about my position, I was just completely and totally wrong. :D

[thebutterflyeffectarchives]

Listening to this song ready to start telling a story, as humans do, about my life. I had just finished cheesy eggs in a tortilla and sat there in my dimly lit living room and savored each bite. In "Thinking Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman, he had said there was a study where they found that french women find more satisfaction from their food than American women because they aren't multi-tasking while eating. So, in french style, I suppose, I sat there and thought about the particles of my eggs. I closed my eyes and tasted. While I chewed, I looked around at my plants, books, and the skeleton named jinkies whom always makes me happy. The whole act was yummier so I suppose there may be some truth to that with the one trial I have attempted on myself... hardly good data but there I go.

Earlier, I climbed my heart out. There is this pink 12- that I am so close to finishing. I am so passionate about it and I constantly steal looks in between climbs l...I love having a project again. I'm making progress and am already able to climb up and down 8s and 9s. Soon, maybe, I can climb down 10s and 11s like I used to. I've been climbing like a monkey, swinging from side to side while listening to R&B which has been my genre of choice to climb to as of late. I saw Atlanta after my climb and we spent over an hour discussing intelligence, civilization, language, and power structures. It was a delight. I love breaking down subjects with humans. It is rare that I get to do so, though, I will say the Universe has sent me more souls to ponder life's deepest treasures lately. When I have opened myself to what god/universe/creator has in store for me, I have found so many gifts.

I started this new biography called "We Will Be Jaguars" by Nemonte Nenquimo. She was part of the Waorani tribe found in the Amazonian areas in Ecuador and so far, from what I understand in the book, she documents her experiences growing up in the jungle and being introduced to Christian missionaries who brought sickness to her people. I don't really like to read full synopsis of books just like I don't like to read climbs before I climb them. I like to not assume how it will end - sort of with everything in life perhaps. Hearing of this women's experiences is fascinating. She mentions places I've been to and it was neat to imagine the different animal life and her ancestors walking the same paths, maybe, that I did. When I went to Ecuador, I swam in tucked away pools in the Amazon forest near the small city of Coca. I spent alot of time alone in the jungle and with kids talking in Spanish about what their life was like. I remember this one child in particular named Charlie. He reminds me now of Ezra and was so intelligent. He would walk with me and explain different parts of his culture to me. Years later, hearing this woman's experiences is fascinating. She was talking about how she went to this missionary lady named Rachel who would give the girls dresses who would go to church. She wouldn't give you a dress if you didn't go. Before she received a dress, she said she would walk around naked in then jungle in her favorite pair of red underwear. She talked about how her baby brother would feed the monkey near them and how she told him not do so because the monkey needed to learn to feed herself.. and because she liked watching the way the monkey would pull apart insects- I found that last part very wonderful. Why? It's very human and honest.

I'm still reading through my Zen book and scribbling notes on all the pages like this one:

I was thinking this morning, staring out at the dusty white mountains and watching another season change into itself how odd it is that so many years have gone by. I swear it was just 2020 seconds ago and we all wondered if maybe the world was ending.

I've been struggling with aspects of my past and present that I still feel too sore to write about. Some days are better than others but I'm still in a state of shock. I am am allowing myself to feel the feels. I cannot be ashamed of that. I must show up honestly. I won't feel good living otherwise.

Otherwise, I am joyful. This baby inside of me kicks. What a strange thing it is to grow a human!

Off to fart around, literally, and play piano maybe or write a poem.

[extremelyblackandwhite]

pairing: dad!bucky barnes x au pair!reader

warnings: age gap (reader is 10 years younger than bucky), smut (18+, dni if under 18)

summary: bucky and y/n discuss sadie’s future.

masterlist

She couldn’t believe some asshole had spilled coffee all over her dress and hadn’t even apologised. What was she supposed to do now? She had an interview to attend with someone whose secretary had made him sound like someone who made the dad from Sound of Music seem like the most relaxed man to ever walk the Earth. Yet, here she was about to walk into an interview to be an au pair with coffee stains all over her only interview-appropriate dress. She really needed this job, her tenancy was running out on her home and every single home in New York seemed to be occupied and she was quickly running out of money. If she didn’t get this job, she would be sleeping in the university library, eating whatever free samples she could find in student fairs. 

She mentally prayed to whatever gods roamed the skies, hell, the universe - wherever God was - for this man not to notice her stained dress, although the moment she opened the door and the man’s eyes immediately went to the dark spot on her white dress, she knew her prayers went unanswered. 

       - Hi, I’m Y/N. - she extended her hand towards his, attempting to block the stain as if he hadn’t seen it already. The man, Sergeant Barnes, was taken aback by the motion, looking at her hand as if she had offered him an offensive comment rather than her hand. - Your secretary said you’d be expecting me.

He cleared his throat, not really saying or doing anything other than pointing to the chair in front of what she guessed was his desk. She looked down at her shoes like a petulant child, feeling like she wasn’t getting the job. They always say to make the best impression - something she was sure she had now failed. 

      - You’re studying at NYU ... - he started.

      - Columbia. - she corrected him. - I’m in grad school and I promise I usually don’t look like this. I was trying to get some coffee and this guy spilled his all over me. Blotting didn’t seem to work ...

      - I didn’t ask any of that, Miss Y/N. 

      - I know but if you were to call NYU and ask if I go there they wouldn’t know anything about me. I’m really involved in student life at Columbia, I am part of the school paper, I was top of my undergraduate class and I shadowed Dr. Hill’s during early childhood psychology research last year. I also babysat for most of my teenage years. 

      - I didn’t ask any of that but glad to know you’re a very good student. 

      - Your secretary said you’d also be interested in someone who could tutor your daughter later on and I tutored in high school and my sister only knows maths because I drilled it into her. - she chuckled, nervously but he remained still, looking at her with the best poker face he could muster. - Look, I know you already don’t like me because I have coffee all over myself but you have a 2 year old, right? You must know the feeling of someone throwing stuff at you, maybe not coffee but ink or cereal. 

     - My daughter threw her whole orange juice in my face. Twice.

     - Oh ...

     - She’s going through a phase. Terrible twos. 

PRESENT DAY

     - I told you so. - Y/N spoke from the living room as Bucky attempted to take the remaining spaghetti noodles from his hair. - You gave her the plate before the knife and fork. That’s just an invitation for her eating with your hands and beginning a food fight. 

     - Says the au pair who is currently not doing any au pair work. - he grabbed a clean tea towel, trying to soak up as much tomato sauce from his hair as he could before hopping on a shower. - What are you doing?

    - Have you forgotten I have a PhD to finish possibly in the next 2 years? Data wrangling. 

    - You know, I have data analysts ...

    - I know. - she interrupted him. - Details of your utter incompetence at coding languages do not interest me. 

    - In my defense, when I was your ...

    - You’re 10 years older than me. - she interrupted him once more, her glasses slightly sliding off the bridge of her nose. - Data science is relatively new but not that new. Go shower before you start growing tomatoes on your head. 

Bucky merely chuckled at the idea before taking to the shower. Soon Sadie would turn three and hopefully she would stop throwing every single item of food at him when cutlery wasn’t in place - though Y/N thought it was more likely she would continue to do so until she no longer found it funny. Bucky chose to be more positive, besides, he didn’t like thinking about the future. In two years he’d have to find someone to fill her shoes and he didn’t think it was possible to find someone as good as she was. 

On the other hand, Y/N seldom found herself with time to wonder about what life would look like after Sadie. She wanted to continue on working in academia and some of her tutors had suggested she become a junior lecturer at the university, however she preferred not do dwell on the future, specially when she still had to defend her thesis. She also didn’t want to think of not being able to see Sadie. She had become attached to her, she was proud of her achievements and to think she would just become a murky memory in the 2 year old’s brain made her heart hurt. 

    - You want something to eat? - Bucky returned from the bathroom, dressed in the loungewear which she did not dwell looking at due to the fact it made her an unhinged woman. 

    - We just had dinner. 

    - We’re grown ups. Don’t you want some ice cream? - he joked. - C’mon, I’ve hide some from Sadie. 

    - I have to finish this data analysis tonight, James. If I don’t, I might as well quit and become Columbia’s biggest disappointment. 

     - You think you will become Columbia’s biggest disappointment when Casey Affleck went there?

     - At least he finished his degree. - she looked up from her laptop. - I’m gonna have to move in with my parents. 

    - You can live with me and Sadie. I’d much rather you have the girl talks with her. 

    - Oh so I get to live here and have to have all the complicated talks with Sadie? 

    - Okay. I’ll have birds and the bees, you get puberty, bras, periods, boys, actually scratch that, no boys until she’s 35.

    - 35?

    - You’re right. 85. Actually, make sure she waits until I’m dead. 

    - Won’t be too long. - she joked. - Now stop distracting me. I have work to do and as far as I know you’ve only hired me to babysit Sadie and not you. 

Bucky sat next to her, his eyes wandering to what she was doing before wandering back. He considered himself a smart man, business savy, but Y/N was smart smart. The kind of smart women who could probably take his business from under him and he wouldn’t even notice.  

   - You’re getting Sadie tomorrow? I know you have work at Columbia in the morning so I’m dropping her off but I can’t pick her up. 

   - Yeah, it’s on the calendar. - she pointed to the fridge on the kitchen with a pinned up calendar. - Stop talking, you’re distracting me.

   - You know ... I can have my data team give you a hand. - she finally looked up from her laptop. - I’m sure one of the managers would be thrilled to get on my good side. 

   - I can do it myself. - she replied, returning back to look at her laptop as if he had offended her. 

    - I know, but you don’t have to. 

She gave him a split second look, a world of words and feelings in the bright eyes which he was used to seeing everyday, before going back to her laptop. Bucky sighed, not knowing how else to continue the conversation without further upsetting her. 

    - If you’re too busy at Columbia, we can discuss how many free days you get a week. 

    - I’m fine, Sergeant Barnes. 

    - I can take Sadie to the office for one of the weekdays and then you can do your work by yourself. 

    - I can handle my work, Sergeant Barnes. It’s fine. 

    - You look stressed, Y/N. I won’t take any of your pay if that’s what you’re worried about. C’mon, Y/N, you’re not gonna do any good work if you’re stressed. Please. 

She sighed, closing her laptop and stared at him. If she wasn’t staring at him as if he was the most unimpressive man alive, he would’ve high fived himself. Yet, the look on her face and the tears which were starting to pool in her eyes were sufficient to have him immediately forget any single sense of funniness about the situation. 

   - I am trying. - she sighed, hoping he hadn’t noticed the tears welling up, yet even the sigh came in interrupted breathes. - I really am trying and I can do it myself. 

    - Just because you can doesn’t mean you have to. I want to help you.

    - You hired me to help you not the other way around. - she shut her eyes, trying to somehow store the idea of her thesis away. - I’m just tired and overreacting. 

     - You can talk to me. - he moved his chair closer to hers. 

     - I just told you I’m tired and overreacting. It’s nothing special. - she rested her forehead on her hand. - Doing a PhD is hard work. 

     - I wouldn’t know. Didn’t do one. 

     - Maybe you should. You could become Dr. Sergeant Barnes. 

     - Too many achievements. - he joked. - I hope your academic vein rubs off on Sadie. I think she’s a pretty smart kid. 

     - She is but currently I think that she wants to be a ballerina. Although, last week she wanted to be an astronaut. 

      - No can do. No astronauting, I would miss her too much. 

      - What did you want to be when you were younger? - she questioned, a loving look gracing her features.

      - I wanted to be a super hero then I wanted to be an accountant. 

      - An accountant? - she chuckled. - No way. What kid wants to be an accountant?

     - My uncle was an accountant and I thought he was the coolest. What about you? Wait, let me guess. 

     - Go on. - she crossed her arms. 

     - A princess? 

     - Ugh, stereotypical much?

     - President Barbie? 

     - You’re joking but my parents bought me President Barbie when I was a kid, and Doctor Barbie as well. I didn’t like President Barbie’s outfit as much so I stuck to science. 

     - Always wanted to be a psychologist?

     - I am not a psychologist, Barnes. I am a scientist.

     - A psychologist scientist.

     - Stop. - she chuckled. - I’m sure Sadie will be fine. She takes after you.

     - She actually takes after her mother sometimes. - he shrugged. - Anna was really smart, bit feisty. Sadie reminds me of her sometimes. 

     - You never told me Sadie’s mum’s name. I thought her name would be something like Jessica or Melanie. 

     - Do you base your name assumptions on romcom villains?

     - Anna sounds like such a tame name. Not like someone who would just leave her child on her father’s doorstep. 

     - She never really wanted a kid. I don’t blame her too much either, she was really bright when we were together, anyway. I do hope that’s all that Sadie takes from her. 

     - She looks like you. - Y/N added. - Except for the reddish blonde hair, I’m guessing that’s Anna?

     - Actually, that’s from my mother. My mum’s grandmother had red hair, that’s why she’s spoiled rotten. 

     - You’re gonna do fine, Bucky. - she held his hand. - You’re a good dad and she’s gonna turn out just fine. 

     - You’re gonna do fine too, Y/N. I am looking forward to calling you Dr. Y/N. 

     - Dr. Y/N and Sergeant Barnes.

    - Dr. Y/N and Sergeant Barnes. - he bit the inside of his lip before smiling at her. - What a team.

    - Even though you hated me when you first met me. 

    - Whatever you say, Y/N. Whatever you say.

[tessa-liam]

Smoke and Mirrors

Smoke and Mirrors 

The Royal Romance Finale AU 

Series premise: Hidden in the shadows, poised to challenge the status quo are enemies of the state. Loyalties and honesty of family, and of friends, will be tested. ‘Keep your friends close, your enemies closer’. 

Main Pairing: Liam Rys x F!MC Riley Brooks-Rys, OTP ‘LiRi’ 

Secondary Pairings: Leo Rys x Amalas, (past, Olivia Nevrakis x Amalas) 

Drake Walker x F!OC Delaney Leigh 

All characters belong to Pixelberry, except Delaney Leigh 

Rating: M *Warnings: brief description of firearms, sexual innuendo. 

Category: Alternate Universe/on-going series/angst/fluff 

Words: 1811, Read: 8 minutes 

Chapter 1: Old Habits Die Hard 

Chapter Summary: The joys of family are celebrated; the exhilaration of new relationships is explored. The sorrows of fading love and betrayal. 

Music Inspiration: Bad Habits by Ed Sheeren. 

AN1: My submission for @choicesflashfics Week #14 Prompt #3, “You promised you wouldn’t do this anymore.” 

King’s Royal Chambers, Cordonian Palace 

January 2nd 

Crown Princess Eleanor was sitting at the breakfast table, gazing at the blue skies of a beautiful January morning in the Capital. Patiently waiting for her nanny to escort her to her lesson, she looked up as her father bent down to kiss her cheek. 

“Good morning, my princess,” King Liam smiled. 

Ellie giggled, “daddy, that tickles!” 

“Are you excited for your lessons today?” 

“Yes, daddy...but?” Liam frowned, instantly concerned. 

“Mommy says that her favorite part of school was recess. Will I get recess too?” 

“Well...umm...mommy went to a different type of school.” 

He knew that the different childhood that he had as a child as compared to his wife would present unique questions. Liam was grateful that his queen was nearby for the assist. 

“Yes, sweetheart, I went to school in America.” Riley joined the conversation, walking over to the table carrying a mug of coffee for her husband. 

Sitting beside Ellie, with one leg tucked underneath, Riley continued. 

“In America, the children learn their lessons in a group...like a big playdate. To give the teacher a break, they would take the children outside to play in-between lessons. That is called ‘recess’.” 

“I like playdates, mommy. Will I get to go to school there like you?” 

“Well, how about we plan a trip to visit there instead? Ellie, ask your tutor today to show you where America is on a map so that we can plan a visit.” 

“OK, mommy, I am so excited!” After kissing her parents good-bye, Ellie got up to join her nanny to be escorted to her class. 

Once alone, Riley sat back on her chair and smiled, “Are you ready for today?” 

Liam and Riley were meeting with the Royal obstetrician, Dr. Ramirez for Riley's 10-week prenatal check-up. 

Liam could not stop the wide grin from forming. Smiling, “Oh yes!” 

Chuckling, Riley stood up, grasping his hand, “Let’s go Mr. Rys.” 

*** 

Royal Guard Palace Security Offices 

Along with his team, Bastien Lykel was reviewing drone security footage taken the evening of the New Year’s Gala at the palace. 

They watched as a figure moving along the exterior gate of the side entrance of the palace grounds was apprehended by gate guards. 

“This is the woman that is currently being held for trespass?” Bastien asks his lieutenant.  

“Yes, sir. In her possession we found a SIG Sauer P226 handgun, a TASER X26P and an iPhone, which has been analyzed.” 

“I need a copy of the data results from that phone as soon as possible.” 

“Sir, another copy?”  

“Yes, as soon as possible. Is that a problem lieutenant?” 

Bastien needed to be prepared with all the details about this woman before his meeting with King Liam this afternoon. 

*** 

Dr. Ramirez’s office 

Liam’s POV  

As Riley and I enter the doctor’s office, my mind goes back in time, to when we were first here, all those years ago. I was so happy...no, way beyond happy, ecstatic! 

...and then, BOOM!  

During Riley’s consultation about her first pregnancy, the doctor revealed, previously unbeknownst to me, that she had treated my mother in a pregnancy. A pregnancy that I had no knowledge of; I had discovered my mother’s secret. A secret she took to her grave. 

I made a mental note to follow up with this mystery with Interpol. Since the royal guard at that time did not investigate thoroughly, there was a possibility that evidence was not fully disclosed. Obviously, my father did not deem it necessary to inform me. When returning to the palace later that day, I started the enquiry into the murder of my mother.  

So many questions left unanswered, still, to this day. But, enough of that. Now is not the time.  

“Liam? Earth to Liam?” Riley squeezed my hand in concern. Coming back to the present, I apologized for zoning out. 

Riley cupped my cheek, “where did you go just now?” 

Before, I could reply, Dr Ramirez entered the office with a nurse, both bowing to Riley and me. 

“It is a great honor to once again be entrusted with your care and pregnancy.” 

As they prepared Riley for her scan, I watched in reverence of my wife. She looked so happy, so content, and was taking everything in stride. 

The memory of seeing Ellie on that monitor that first time flooded my thoughts. Then hearing her heartbeat; taking my breath away. 

Watching the monitor today, I held Riley’s hand as the doctor moved the doppler wand over her abdomen. When the baby appeared, my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest. Just like the first time, I was in awe of our little creation. Looking down at Riley, she was in tears as she looked up at me. 

...and then, we both heard the heartbeats. 

Both of us turned to the screen. 

“Well, this explains a few things,” the doctor grinned.  

...and then as the doctor moved the wand to the other side of her bump, my jaw dropped. 

“...and this baby is the twin of another baby right next to it, here. 

Congratulations, your babies are perfect fraternal twins.” 

Through her tears, Riley was trying her best to speak. 

“L.. L.. L....Liam!!! Oh, my goodness!!! 

As for me, I could not stop smiling. 

*** 

Royal Council Meeting 

Olivia sat scowling watching Leo enter the boardroom with Drake. 

“Well, well, well.... Look who decided to do some work around here. Where is your girlfriend? Is she tired of you already?” 

“Olivia, can we get through this meeting without you making a fool of yourself.” Drake wasn’t even in the room for a minute before Olivia started her attack. 

“You promised you wouldn’t do this anymore.” Drake replied to Olivia. “I thought we had an agreement.” 

“You are mad at me, Livvie, not Drake.” Leo calmly stated 

Olivia was about to respond, but Rashad called the meeting to an order. 

“Good morning council. Let's start by welcoming Hana Lee and Leo Rys to our team,” Rashad begins.  

Hana returned to Cordonia at Riley’s suggestion to be an arts and culture advisor and Leo was personally asked by Liam to be his proxy whenever he could not attend a meeting. Leo was charged to periodically be present in support of the crown.  

“We need to discuss a security concern that occurred and came to light over the holidays. King Liam has arranged Interpol agents to oversee the investigation.” 

“Interpol, to oversee the Royal guard?” Olivia questioned with a raised eyebrow at Bastien. 

Leo knew better not to react to that question, taking a long sip of his coffee. He almost could not stop his gasp when he saw the picture Amalas sent on his phone.

*** 

Delaney Leigh’s townhouse  

Dance like no-one is watching. This is Delaney’s mantra today. 

Breathing in the fragrant scent of the long stemmed roses sitting in a vase on her kitchen counter, her mind goes back to last night.  

Delaney was waiting for Drake to come over for a home cooked dinner. Making baby back ribs, Caesar salad and slow roasted baked potatoes, she wanted everything to be perfect for her new love. Checking her reflection one more time, she heard the knock on her front door. 

Just before turning the doorknob, Delaney took a breath, the butterflies going wild. Opening the door to see a smiling Drake holding a bouquet of red roses. 

“There she is, hello Laney!”  

“Drake, hello!” 

Feeling weak in the knees, Delaney grasped the door frame and moved forward to place a hand on his arm. 

“These are so beautiful.” Reaching up to place a tender kiss on his lips, she groaned when Drake deepened the kiss. 

Sighing, Delaney re-read the message that Drake had just sent.  

'Hey babe, I need to stay late at the palace tonight, but I have all day booked off tomorrow for you and me.' 💞😘TTYL

Sliding her phone into her pocket, she poured herself a glass of wine, moved to the sofa and picked up her tablet to continue reading her book on kindle. 

*** 

Arriving back at the palace, Liam and Riley went directly to their private wing and upon reaching the ornate double doors of their chambers, Liam turned to his courtier instructing him for the afternoon. 

Once inside, Riley made lunch arrangements and then moved into her walk in closet to get changed. 

Slipping off her shoes first, she let her dress fall to the floor and went to select some loungewear in her closet. Liam was adamant that she would cut down her time spent on her queen duties, now that she was pregnant. So, for the rest of the day, she could relax in comfortable attire at home. 

She found Liam stretched out on their bed when she went back to the bedroom.  

Grinning, Riley approached the bed, shaking her head at her husband. Liam decided to get comfortable as well and decided on wearing just his boxers. 

Liam chuckled at his wife’s expression as she moved closer to him. 

“Come here, my queen.” Holding up his arms, he wrapped them around Riley snuggly as she sunk down into his embrace. 

“Are you skipping your duties this afternoon, your majesty,” Teasing her husband by running her hands over his chest. 

“Keep touching me like that, love. I won’t go anywhere, I promise.” Cupping her cheek, Liam kissed her deeply, gently pushing her onto her back. 

Moving his other hand down her body, he stopped moving down once he felt her baby bump. 

“Our babies!” The look of adoration he gave her took Riley’s breath away. 

“I love you Riley, so much.” 

Riley wrapped her arms around his neck, “I love you, too. 

Her lips trembled as she started to cry, feeling overwhelmed over her new reality and her husband’s devotion. 

***

Down in the holding cells of the palace, a jail cell door is found left open by Interpol.

***

@txemrn @bebepac @ao719 @peonierose @phoenixrising0308 @queenmiarys @703cowbarn @mom2000aggie @malblk21 @queenrileyrose @indiana-jr @winkyluxhumanoid @rubiwalker @harleybeaumont @kingliam2019 @marietrinmimi @imashybish @angelasscribbles @isha26 @sfb123 @cordonianredruby @hopelessromanticmonie @tinkie1973 @belencha77 @honey358luv @jared2612 @urfaveaesthetic101 @xpandass420x @kyra75 @late-to-the-fandom @sammiiieeevaaans @lsvdw-blog @blueaster-blog1 @imjusthereforliam @dcbbw @lovingchoices14 @queen-arabella-of-cordonia @miss-america-erica @princess-geek @karahalloway @cathx91 @walkerdrakewalker @squid-princess-teach-swallow @thesvnsins @surrenderronnie1 @busywoman @twinkleallnight

Please let me know if you want to be added or removed. 🌹

[zanrelle]

Adrift 14

ROTTMNT Fanfic

Summary:

 Leonardo isn’t rescued from the Krang Prison Dimension by his brothers, forced to flee from his cellmate in the void. The greatest ninja warrior of all time has to learn how to adapt to his new home, traversing low gravity, discovering the usefulness of spaceship corpses from worlds far beyond his own, and finding ways to survive such a harsh abandoned world.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

AO3 Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: There's Purple Everywhere

Word Count: 4.3k

 When he woke up that morning, Casey wasn’t entirely surprised to find himself alone in Splinter’s bedroom. Raph and Mikey had left at some point and the aforementioned fatherly rat was nowhere to be seen either. He allowed himself a yawn and a stretch as he sat up, regretting not accepting Mikey on his offer of borrowing his or Leo’s spare PJs for the night before they went to bed.

 He felt a bit stiff, but it wasn’t anything he wasn’t already used to back home, pausing as that thought crossed his mind. It was just a little ironic to think of a place like that as home compared to where he was now, even if it had many similarities with the present company. He sighed as he hopped off of the weird bumpy mattress Splinter called his bed as he dismissed the idea entirely, thinking about anything related to his original dimension just exhausted him, he would rather avoid it altogether for right now.

 Casey purposefully waltzed out of Splinter’s bedroom without putting on his extra gear, having left it on the floor from last night. There wasn’t any reason for him to wear it in the lair, he would only need it if they left for another mission.

 Speaking of doing things outside of the lair, Casey needed to find the others to see what the plan was for today, they had mostly been hanging around the lair as of late, other than the trip he had taken with Donnie yesterday. Raphael had mentioned Donnie probably needing them to go for a scrap run at some point to get him some more supplies for whatever he might be making to rescue Leo. Now that he thought about it, Raph had been muttering about Donnie all night, maybe he and Mikey went to go check on him this morning.

 Casey walked out into the common space of the lair, passing through the projector room and down the steps to where the train cars started. He assumed Donnie would be in his lab, that was one thing that didn’t change with time, and he was proved correct as he jogged the rest of the way when he heard voices echoing off the walls as he got closer.

 “I don’t have time, I put it to the side to work on later. This takes priority. I’m only one turtle Raph, I’d clone myself but that would take time away from this too.” He heard Donnie’s voice first, pushing the ajar door open wider so he could step fully inside. All three of the turtles were there, Donnie was crouched on Raph’s shoulders as the snapper was leaning against a weird giant metal pod thing and Mikey was handing tools to the four mechanical arms coming out of Dee’s battle shell. Raph offered him a wave when he noticed him, which he tentatively returned as he walked further inside the room.

 “But Dee, you said you might be able to strengthen the radio from our end, if you can do that, wouldn’t we be able to hear Leo?” Raphael asked, grunting as Donnie shifted to put a foot on his head to reach around to a new angle on the pod’s roof.

 “I did not guarantee that, but, Leo cannot respond to us through the radio and I am also developing a theory he can’t hear us as well as we thought. I was asking him questions last night, and the data I gathered proved my theory correct. I noticed an inconsistency and started asking him random questions.” He turned and lifted his goggles to look at his older brother.

 “Did you know Leo is no longer a turtle and never has been? I asked him and he said no.” He informed them with a straight face before putting his goggles back on and turning back to his work. Mikey giggled while Raph made a face. Casey went to sit next to Michelangelo as he listened to the conversation, the box turtle gave him an affectionate shoulder bump before returning to attending to Donnie’s robot arms.

 “I mean, isn’t there a chance he is telling the truth?” Raph tried to poke around with Don’s logic, a dangerous game for anyone.

 “Indignant scoff. I highly doubt it, dear brother. From what my comatose lab partner has told me, the Krang looked like that before during and after entering the prison dimension, I doubt Leo was affected by it or anything else there.” He started to weld again, startling Raph as the sparks spewed everywhere around him from above.

 “Donnie!” Raph tried to protest, doing his best not to move to offset his younger brother’s balance. Donnie noticed his protest but continued to weld anyway. Casey and Mikey shared a short giggle.

 “But, wouldn’t it be easier to make sure Leo is okay if he could answer back? Maybe he could help us get him home from his side.” Casey prompted the purple turtle. Donnie glanced his way as he let his head quirk to the side at the question. He hadn’t thought about it from that angle before, it wasn’t like Leo didn’t have access to materials to build something similar to Donnie, tools were limited, but if they truly had open communication he could simply tell Leo what to do to solve that problem. There was the entire half of the Technodrome obliterated on his side of the dimension, that was a decent amount of materials to workshop into… something.

 He doubted he would run into the attention span problem with Leonardo in this predicament, he had no choice but to listen to his twin for once when he info dumped. But, there was still his concern about time. Maybe he could afford to fix their communicative link for the time being, if he had Leo working on something from the other side, things might go faster and turn this puzzle into an easier one to solve.

 Before he could even begin to concede and pause working on the Leo-Pod, his lab door was thrown open with enough force to create a crater in the concrete wall. Donnie was startled, comically falling off of his brother only to be grabbed and held by an equally caught-off-guard Raph. Everyone looked to the door in surprise, but it faded when they saw their older sister.

 April was proudly standing in the doorway, a cunning smirk on her face as her eyes zeroed in on Casey. The apocalyptic teen had a small sliver of fear run up his spine about what that look meant.

 “I am here to kidnap our newest bro! He is coming with me and Cass to volunteer with city cleanup whether he likes it or not!” April strutted further into the laboratory, playfully ignoring the turtles as she stopped to dramatically raise a neatly folded pile of clothes she had in her hand out towards Casey. The apocalyptic teen raised a brow as he stood and made his way down from the platform he and Mikey had been sitting on to accept her offering of new clothes. It was simple, just an old white tank top and some dark grey sweatpants.

 He gave it a skeptical look, it wasn’t like he had never seen normal clothes before, but he certainly wasn’t used to the idea of walking around on the surface without his typical attire. He especially didn’t want to let go of anything he had left of his Donatello either, he treasured all the Genius Built™ clothes Don had given him over the years.

 But, maybe he should learn to loosen his grip on everything from the… Past? He looked up at April’s eager smile, it was a look that was meant to encourage him, he was sure. She was just trying to help him out, probably planning to show him the world without the Krang’s rule, maybe help him meet some people.

 He returned her smile as he considered what to do with his stuff in the meantime. He turned to look at the others.

 “Can I leave my gear in the lab for… safekeeping?” Casey asked hesitantly to Donnie who was still seated in Raph’s arms. That seemed to shake everyone from their initial shock, Donnie clamoring to get out of his big bro’s hold and righting himself as he nodded, his eyes going wide as excitement filled them.

 “Of course! I could even make some improvements while you’re away if you’d like! I could clean them up, throw in some scented detergent, free of charge.” He seemed a little too eager to be granted access to Casey’s gear as he practically skipped over, but he supposed it was really for the chance to see if his apocalyptic timeline self had done anything he hadn’t thought of or made yet. Either way, whatever he could gain from caring for Casey’s worn armor would probably go over his head, and he was only a little eager to downsize capacity.

 “It's settled then! I’ll be waiting for you in the kitchen. Mikey, I want a few snacks for the road, if you don’t mind!” April teased the youngest in the room as she moonwalked back out into the lair, the orange ninja’s eyes practically sparkled as he bounced out after her.

 “I am going to blow Casey’s mind with my sandwich skills!” He cheered as he disappeared after her. Casey chuckled as he went in the opposite direction to follow after Donnie who guided him to a room to change.

-----------

 It had been a few hours since Casey and April had rendezvoused with Cassandra outside of the sewers and made their way to one of the relief camps the New York citizens had set up along the streets. It was a massive effort, it surprised Casey how fast everyday people who hadn’t seen the worst of the Krang invasion were capable of setting up tents and stalls to freely hand out food and clothing provisions. It was only a little concerning to him when they saw men with guns every few blocks, but April had assured him they must’ve just been police or military guys who were sent to help maintain peace, like keep people from stealing and fighting over supplies and such.

 It wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar thing for Casey to see, but it didn’t feel right not to be able to recognize the “peacekeepers” like he normally did back in his timeline. It just made him glad that he won the argument about whether or not he should bring his hockey stick along, but after a few solid points from his end, everyone caved and let him take it with him to the surface. Casey might’ve been ready to downsize his gear, but he wasn’t ready to stop carrying his weapon around, you never knew where the Krang or the infected could still be lurking.

 Cassandra had been actively volunteering that day, they had visited her at a stand where they were giving shoes away to those who needed them, but April had explained she mostly wanted to get Casey some clothes while there was a chance without spending a whole lot of cash. It was also a tactic to get him to see more of the modern and less apocalyptically rocked New York.

 Casey appreciated the gesture, it was something he had been curious and overwhelmed with since he first got to this timeline, but he couldn’t help but be a bit disinterested. It was hard to think about meeting people when he wanted to be back at the lair and helping the brothers get Leonardo back. But, he supposed when the time came for him to help or fill in a role, they would ask for him to come back.

 It was hard to leave the lair in all honesty, he was used to the whole “no man left behind” in most circumstances from the resistance, walking out of the lair felt like he was giving up on saving Leo. He fought those thoughts back though as he forced an awkward smile as April presented a black T-shirt with a band logo on it, she was gushing about things he didn’t understand but accepted the shirt anyway.

 “I’ll have to play some of their songs for you when we get back, Donnie has some nice speakers that we can drag out to use. I’m sure he won’t notice them missing while working in his lab.” She giggled with a little too much evil glee before turning back around to find more shirts for Casey. He glanced away from her as she dutifully dug through the massive pile of donated clothes to take another look around. So far, other than the Hamato family and April and his own mother, Casey hasn’t seen anyone else he recognized from his version of this world.

 It made his heart sink as his eyes mindlessly scanned the crowd. He watched mothers and their children digging through clothes, groups of young boys carrying jugs of water in each hand as they left the market, and even some people with bandages on their heads and arms. That was one of the few things that did look familiar.

 Until he saw a head of lavender hair shimmying through the crowd. If he didn’t recognize the hair, he did recognize the jacket. Casey’s eyes went wide as he nearly dropped all of the clothes April had piled into his hands. It was Kendra!

 Casey remembered Kendra, and the stories about her brother and friend who ran a group named “The Purple Dragons”  before the apocalypse, before Kendra (from his timeline) had taken the title herself. The version of her that he knew was THE Purple Dragon. She was a high-time rival of Donnie and a passive-aggressive fighter in the resistance.

 It was easy to say that one got along with her, but she did her part and earned respect as she worked alongside Donatello regarding his tech and the advancements needed for their survival. She voiced her opinion loudly about it being a bias that Donatello was in charge of all their tech, that everything went by his design, his blueprints, but no one had the energy to care about her protest. Casey’s Donnie had done his best to keep the ships, bases, and other tech-cored utilities minimalistic to create as much as possible, no one wanted to shift the balance of resources just because someone else wanted to be in charge.

 And Master Leonardo’s word was as close as they got to law, no one wanted to create a mini democracy in the apocalypse, they wanted their orders because they wanted to survive, and they had too much faith in Leonardo to consider changing every method that came under scrutiny.

 They weren’t perfect, but neither was their world, and the world was all that mattered.

 Regardless, Casey went through a revelation as his memories of his timeline’s Kendra ran through his mind, a light bulb going off in his head. Maybe a collaboration between the purple turtle and the purple dragon was necessary once again.

 “Command- I mean- April, I’ll be back in a second.” Casey only gave her a second to react before handing back the pile of clothes she had given him, jogging over to the long-time rival of Donatello. She seemed to be on her phone, but he noticed her eyeballing anyone who came near her as she stood by a stall. What was she doing here? He didn’t see her carrying any clothes or food.

 “Kendra!” Casey called out without thinking, making the girl’s eyes go wide as her sharp gaze snapped right onto him. He saw the familiar hostility there, and for some reason it almost made him relax before he realized his mistake. Kendra doesn’t know who he is.

 He got closer and her sharp gaze turned to a disgusted glare.

 “Do I know you? Are you a fanboy?” She used a tone that made it sound like she was accusing him as she looked him up and down, but Casey wasn’t bothered by it. When you’ve known someone as stand-offish as her for a few years, you tend to learn how to disregard the bite in their words.

 “Sorry, we haven’t met, but I know you. I wanted to ask for-” He was interrupted as he felt a hand grab him on the shoulder and violently pull him back a few steps. He looked over his shoulder to see a very sour-faced April.

 “What are you doing?!” She whisper-screamed from behind him. Kendra raised a brow as she took another glance at her phone, but it seemed to falter at whatever she was reading. Casey noticed.

 “This is Kendra, THE Purple Dragon. She could help Donnie with the pod.” Casey explained in a whisper for Kendra not to overhear with a way too cheerful smile on his face for April’s liking. April mimicked Kendra’s brow raise from a few moments ago, full of skepticism and some disbelief. She glanced at Kendra and then back to Casey.

 “Oh, yeah? Kendra? The girl I have known since elementary school, the one who would trick an old lady into letting her help her cross the road and rob her blind before she got to the other end of the crosswalk? Yeah, let's ask her for help and bring her into the lair and Dee’s lab where she will totally swear not to break or steal any of his stuff.” April deadpanned at Casey as he nodded. Kendra cleared her throat, rolling her eyes as they both looked at her.

 “Look, do you need something fanboy or can I go back to ignoring you?” Kendra asked with clear annoyance in her voice, not even looking at them anymore as her eyes were trained on the glowing screen of her phone, typing away to whoever she was texting. Casey had an idea of who she was talking to, and who she was talking about. He wanted to gain her trust to get her to help the turtles get Leo back, it would also take a lot of strain off of Donnie if he had another computer wiz helping him.

 He had to convince her to help without sabotaging them, he already knew everyone’s extensive history with the turtles, Leo liked to hold grudges even if he didn’t let it affect his role as the leader of the resistance, but no reformed villain went without their history logged in case of betrayal. This was a massive opportunity, Casey was used to the idea of building allies, even if the histories were stark, they needed Kendra to get Leo back. But how would he convince someone as skeptical and selfish as her to be willing to help without any strings attached?

 Casey decided he would have to tell her the truth, it was probably more complicated than any lie he could fabricate, but if he used his knowledge of what happened to the other dragons, maybe it would be enough to convince her, at least this once. April was going to hang him out to dry though if this didn’t work.

 “So, uh, this is going to be hard to believe, but I am from the fu-” April slapped a hand on his mouth as he started to pour it all out into the open, her eyes going wide and crazy as she stared at him.

 “Are you insane?” Was what her expression told him clear as day. Casey gave her a pleading look and she gave up, letting go of his face.

 “I have to convince her to help, I have to tell her the truth,” Casey explained, “It’s the only way to get her on our side, at least for a couple of days.” He tried to convince April, who was still giving him a wide-eyed I-Can’t-Believe-You’re-Doing-This look.

Kendra wasn’t paying attention, still typing away on her phone as Casey went to try again, but he noticed how worried her expression became with her eyebrows coming together as she frowned, biting her lip.

 “It’s your brother, isn’t it?” Casey asked, once again, without thinking. Kendra’s eyes went wide before they grew fierce again.

 “Wow. A real fanboy. You know he isn’t my real brother, right?” Kendra snapped a little too harshly, Casey recognized the hurt in her voice. It was rare for her to ever bring up the other members of the purple dragons in his timeline, they hadn’t made it long during the Krang invasion. Casey remembered the few times she talked about them, alongside those who talked about the ones they lost and missed, he remembered how lonely she had been without them.

 She might’ve been course and rude and kept everyone at arm-length, but she had a family in that group, and they were gone after the invasion. Casey felt a little bad about it, but he had to take advantage of knowing what happened to them.

 “It doesn’t matter. You’re worried about him, right? Is he okay? Did he get hurt?” Casey asked as gently as he could, Kendra was a ticking time bomb of anger most of the time, but he hoped she was less volatile at a younger age. She eyed him with suspicion, lowering her phone just a fraction as she finally gave him her attention.

 “Do you know something I don’t, fanboy?” Kendra asked him with that same accusing tone, hiding her phone in her jacket pocket as if he had learned it from there.

 “I know that you’re worried about your brother and your friend.” Casey ignored the implication of him not being her blood brother, but he had to find a way to connect her and Donnie’s struggles, if he could get her to empathize (which might be impossible) he could convince her to put down her guard and help Donatello with his project to save Leo. Kendra wasn’t leaning into it yet though, crossing her arms and popping out her hip.

 “Do you know me or something? What do you want?” He might as well get to the point.

 “Do you know Don-” April once again scrambled her way into the conversation to interrupt Casey.

 “Othello! You remember my good pal, Von Ryan, right?” April was sweating as she blurted Donnie’s moniker out, not quite sure why covering up his real name really mattered in the long run, but she didn’t want Casey spilling Dee’s real name without his permission, especially to Kendra of all people. Casey was downright confused by that, he had never heard that name before, but he decided to roll with it.

 Kendra’s aura completely shifted to irritation as he could’ve sworn her eye twitched.

 “Of course, how could I forget?” She said it with enough venom in her voice to take down an elephant. Casey felt more nervous from that and the wickedly innocent grin on her face, but he had to keep pushing.

 “Yeah- uh- Othello is a close friend of mine and he needs your help.” Casey started to explain. Kendra laughed, grabbing her stomach as she stagged back from them.

 “Oh-OH! No! No way he has you guys coming to beg me for help! Oh, I need to record that, can you get him to say that himself? That he needs my help?” She laughed again, causing a few passersby to glance at them curiously. Casey had an awkward smile as he waited for her to stop, but she didn’t.

 “You-HA! Do you really think I would help Othello Von Ryan? That loser!” She giggled maniacally at the thought. April rolled her eyes as she took charge.

 “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Kendra. Look, this is serious. You know how your brother is messed up or whatever, Othello is going through the same thing.” April explained in a deadpan voice, and Casey was eternally grateful for it. If anyone was able to coax something out of Kendra, future or present, it was Commander O’Neil.

 Kendra seemed to sober up after that, her laughter dying quickly as surprise crossed her expression for a few seconds before reverting back to her stand-offish glare.

 “Oh. And why would he need me?” Kendra asked, seemingly without her own permission for the words to come out as she looked sheepish about asking, her curiosity about her biggest tech-making rival supposedly needing her help taking over. April sighed dramatically.

 “Look, it's a lot to explain, the Krang came and basically took his brother- my brother too, by the way- and we can’t… Find him. Othello could use more help making his… device to find him.” April admitted, trying not to get too specific, the time would come to tell her the truth about the scale on which they can’t “find” Leo, but that wouldn’t happen if they don’t convince her first. Kendra seemed to consider it for a moment, eyeing April before looking at Casey.

 “And what do I gain from this?” Kendra asked, which April saw coming.

 “How about Othello helps you with something in return?” April offered, which she knew would definitely cause a fight between her and Donnie, but if Casey’s idea worked and everything went smoothly, this was worth the headache of anything Kendra could do. Kendra seemed interested, but still somewhat unconvinced. Casey sighed.

 “Kendra, look, we lost someone in our family. We want to get him back. We’re worried about him, we don’t know where he is or if he is safe. We just want him back home with us.” Casey was practically pleading now, and it seemed his puppy-dog demeanor was working on her, just a little. Kendra’s eyes softened a bit as she looked away, frowning. He felt like she wanted to say something, but she held back.

 “Fine. But I’m not working for free. Von Ryan better compensate me for my time like you said he would.” Kendra’s harsh glare returned as she set her terms. Casey and April both nodded.

 “I’ll text you when we’ll meet up for it.” April decided to end the interaction there, dragging Casey by his arm before he could get them into more trouble with Donatello.

[xiaomoxu]

Lucien - Standstill Date

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!! ⚠️

A date from CN server which hasn’t been released on EN server yet.

This date came up with 7 chapter of prologue. All combine in one post~

Translations under the cuts~

🦋PROLOGUE🦋 Part 1 - Road to creation

After picking up my phone and ordering overtime meals, I clicked on some industry news.

"The authoritative director of the film and television industry cooperated with a production company for the first time, and the project received S+ level investment..."

"The big names in the industry have teamed up with the MC Company, and the next popular work is scheduled! Hot discussion in the circle: Are you optimistic about the cooperation between Luo Dao and MC Company this time?"

MC: "I always feel that the exclusive MC Company has grown too fast, and we can see its true strength by handling this big case..."

MC: That's right, we are just trying to take this opportunity to make a big splash.

I looked back at the brightly lit office area. It's late at night, but the colleagues involved in this project are still working enthusiastically.

As soon as the project was negotiated, it has already received much attention, let alone the final presentation. For such an important cooperation, we must hand in perfect answers.

So I strictly arranged the daily work schedule and decided to proceed according to the plan without distraction.

Even if Lucien came to "tempt" me, I wouldn't be shaken, there's no distractions!

I secretly clenched a fist and was about to put down my phone to continue working hard when a phone rang suddenly .

Seeing the name flashing on the screen, I was amazed and cleared my throat before picking it up.

MC: What is Professor Lucien's instructions?

Lucien: With such a serious tone, are you in a meeting?

MC: No, it's just that there is still some work that hasn't been done, and it is necessary to maintain a good working condition.

Lucien: Sorry, it seems that my call came at the wrong time.

MC: Pftㅡ No need to apologize, I was joking.

MC: But now you can't urge me to get off work, I have to insist that today's things be done today.

Lucien: Well, I support the persistence of big producers.

Lucien: However, I want to say another thing.

MC: Hm?

Lucien: I have arrived home, and I will continue to do some data analysis tonight, and I won't go to bed too early.

Lucien: So, remember to call me when you decide to get off work, I'll come to pick you up.

MC: But isn't that will interrupt your works? Just wait for me at home!

Lucien: If you don't agree, I always think about your situation, which really interrupts my thoughts.

Lucien: Although you are very busy now, I also want to participate in your plan.

Lucien: Will the big producer give me this opportunity?

The phone was a little hot, and the low noise of Lucien seemed to become warm, tickling my heart.

Almost subconsciously, I agreed to his words and continued.

MC: Then I'm sorry to Professor Lucien. It's about 10 o'clock, and I will contact you again when I finished my works.

Lucien: Okay, then I won't bother you.

Lucien: I wish the big producer all the best tonight, and remember... don’t get distracted.

There was a smile in the voice in my ear, and I subconsciously raised my voice.

MC: I, I won't! Then I will continue to work, bye!

As if running away, I hung up the phone. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my heart beating after being dismantled.

In fact, I don't want to let him pick me up, but I am worried that I will surrender in advance because I am looking forward to seeing him...

Lucien flashed through my mind, with eyebrows crooked, I shook my head vigorously, and reopened the unfinished document.

MC: MC, No distraction!

Part 2 - The beginning of the challenge

I returned to the office with a stack of documents, and as soon as I opened the door, I saw a familiar figure sitting on the sofa.

MC: Lucien? Why are you coming over?

Lucien: Taking advantage of the lunch break to invite you to lunch together, it shouldn't be considered a violation of the rules.

Maybe it's because I've been so busy lately that I forget to eat. Lucien helps me order takeaways on time every day, but it's the first time he has come here in person like this.

He took the documents in my arms, took out a lunch box from the thermos bag and handed it to me.

Lucien: Did the morning meeting go well?

MC: Don't mention it, there are a lot of problems uncovered in less than twenty minutes...

MC: I thought we were already fully prepared, but Luo Dao thought of more than us.

Lucien: It seems that the big producer is going to climb a higher mountain.

Lucien: Are all these materials for you to learn next?

MC: Mmhm, I want to get familiar with the work process of the new team as soon as possible.

MC: There are many team members in this project, all of whom are experienced seniors. I also want to keep up with everyone as soon as possible.

Lucien handed me a pair of chopsticks, supported his chin and watched me eat.

Lucien: Don't be too anxious, you have already got this opportunity, it means that the next task is also within your ability.

Lucien: At least during your lunch break, let's concentrate on rest first.

I nodded, put a big mouthful of rice in my mouth, and let out a contented sigh.

MC: Sure enough, there's nothing more comforting than a warm lunch!

Lucien: Is it just the lunch?

I caught a glimpse of his expressions knowingly asking, and I filled him with a spoonful of food.

MC: Of course, there is the most caring Professor Lucien in the world! Unexpectedly, you will come to dine with me specially.

I smiled and looked at Lucien. He puffed his cheeks and chewed hard for a while before he swallowed the spoonful I fed.

Lucien: Before, you always came to the institute to give me a warm meal. In caring for people, I still need to learn more from the teacher MC.

Lucien: So I will be here with you until afternoon, for today.

MC: Then I will accept Professor Lucien’s offer without hesitation.

I moved to a position next to Lucien, and he naturally opened his arms to embrace me.

Before the work in the afternoon starts, just lean on his side for a while.

Part 3 - Camera and Stage supervision

The tense scheduling adjustment made the afternoon time pass quickly, and there was no outdoor scene in the studio.

It was not until I received the moon photographed by Lucien that I realized that the sky was already dark.

The perspective in the photo seems to be the balcony at home. Is this a disguised reminder to leave work?

The on-site director was performing the final lighting adjustment. I raised my phone, took a photo of the stage lighting and sent it to Lucien

MC: "I only have an electronic moon, TuT, or the moon I saw at home is relatively round."

Lucien: "Then I will bring this moon to pick you up, how about it?"

MC: ? What does it mean...

There was a call from the live director not far away. I quickly replied "OK" and ran to my colleagues.

When I came out of the studio, the coolness of the late night quickly covered my skin.

The moon had risen to the top of the head, and the clear dim light reflected a figure waiting on the side of the road.

I bid farewell to my colleagues and ran to Lucien quickly. The moonlight fell on him and reflected in his eyes, as if it was really brought by him.

I looked around him carefully, Lucien's eyebrows curled up, letting me watch.

Lucien: What are you looking at?

MC: It’s just "Appreciation of the Moon".

MC: Staring at the camera and various lights for a whole day today, I was a little bit visually tired.

MC: Thanks to you for bringing the "moon" here, I feel better now.

Lucien stretched out his hand and rubbed the top of my head, then leaned down to touch my forehead.

Lucien: Me too.

Lucien: The big producer has not left me much time lately. I have to remember the way you are now.

Lucien: In this way, I will be able to see you when I watch the moon in the future

The heat from his breath fell on my cheeks and I closed my eyes subconsciously.

The moonlight tonight is extraordinarily beautiful.

Part 4 - Program Content Control

The atmosphere in the conference room is a bit unusually heavy, and everyone lowered their heads to sketch on the paper.

I scanned the document surrounded by comments again, and sighed with some headaches.

Although a lot of details have been emphasized during the previous meeting and discussion, when it was presented in the specific program design, there were still endless problems.

This situation is actually expected, but because of the tight time, I may have a harder tone when "picking faults" for everyone.

I looked around secretly, and everyone in the room bowed their heads to avoid my sight. I had to get up with my mobile phone and left the conference room temporarily.

-Then click on Lucien's dialog box and describe the situation to him.

MC: Everyone looks so nervous... can this really inspire a new ideas?

Lucien: Changing attitudes and emphasizing principles occasionally will make people immediately pay attention to the immediate matter.

Lucien: And I think everyone is just getting used to your kind treatment, and suddenly they are a little uncomfortable.

MC: Okay, then I'll wait a little longer outside.

MC: But Lucien, I'm a little curious, have you ever treated colleagues and students in a similar way?

Lucien: If you are talking about scientific research, it’s very few.

Lucien: They all seem to be a little afraid of me, even if I don't say anything, they will take the initiative to check themselves.

I recalled how Pete frowned at the paper, and couldn't help but curl my mouth.

MC: This is a good thing! Professor Lucien is very demanding and is also responsible to everyone.

MC: It seems that the patient guidance I received from Professor Lucien is an exceptional exception.

Lucien: After all, you have always done well, and you are also the most special student to me.

Lucien: With our tacit understanding, I believe that your program proposal this time will have a good result.

Lucien's chat just came over, and a colleague's voice called me not far away.

I immediately cleaned up my expression, and pretended to be serious. As I walked to the meeting room, I quickly replied a line to Lucien.

MC: Thanks to Professor Lucien's auspicious words, your students are now going to be a teacher!

Part 5 - Support from the bottom of my heart

As soon as I came out of the studio and walked into the annex, I heard a quarrel in the large conference room not far away.

Willow opened the door and seemed to be looking for a place to call. After seeing me, she ran over.

Willow: Boss, it's chaos now.

Willow: The stage art group had a meeting all night yesterday to adjust the stage art presentation, but the lighting and props were not considered it.

Willow: Now the lights in the second half have to be re-adjusted, and there are several large props that need to be redone.

Willow: Director Luo will bring the actors over tomorrow, and everyone quarreled as they were anxious.

MC: This matter really needs to be resolved as soon as possible, but the good news is that Director Luo will not be able to come tomorrow.

Willow: Why?

MC: There are newcomers in his out-of-town shooting team, and many important pictures are not in focus. Today, he rushed back to the field to reshoot.

Willow: ....That's too bad boss, but this kind of thing is actually good news.

Willow and I looked at each other bitterly and smiled, and walked towards the noisy conference room together.

In a blink of an eye, I was busy until late at night, and I caught the special ringtone belonging to Lucien in the noisy workshop.

I turned on the speakerphone and shouted into the phone.

MC: Lucien! You don't have to pick me up today!

Lucien: What's the matter, why are you so noisy over there?

MC: Because we are sawing wood!

MC: It’s too late to buy new props! I have to stay up late and change it myself!

The other end of the phone seemed to be quiet for a while, I think Lucien had never heard of such an unbelievable situation...

Lucien: Have you contacted the place of accommodation?

MC: Don't worry, we have already found it!

Lucien: Okay, then you pay attention to your safety.

Lucien: And... MC.

MC: Hm?

Lucien: If you want to talk to me, you can leave a message at any time.

Lucien: I hope you know that besides those audience, there is an audience that belongs to you alone, okay?

Amidst the chaotic roar of the machine, Lucien's gentle voice was a little fuzzy.

But even so, the inextricable pressure accumulated in the bottom of my heart was supported in an instant.

After hanging up, I cheered myself up again.

So many days and nights of hard work, and the determination that has always been determined must not be wasted.

Part 6 - When the lights are on

Finally came the day of the rehearsal. There were no spectators in the audience, but everyone's personal belongings were scattered.

Because of this, it is especially obvious when someone is seated.

I stood by the sound and light console behind the auditorium, trying to ignore the familiar figure in the front row, holding the walkie-talkie in command.

MC: B1, when you wait, remember to collect five wheats and put them on the actors in the next show as soon as possible.

Kiki: B1 copy.

When the music sounded, I stared at the situation on the stage, and caught a glimpse of Lucien in the auditorium also turning his head along with the change of the actor's position.

MC: Now play the music again, press the curtain call, exit, and go through the process of harvesting wheat.

He was originally invited to come to our program rehearsal, but when the time was delayed, he had to witness the rush of preparations for the rehearsal.

However, I found that Lucien did not feel irritated by this, instead he sat upright all the time, seeming to "appreciate" deeply.

But after all, he was the guest I invited, and it was not suitable to leave him alone. I used the intercom to call my colleague Xiao Chen, who has no task, to sit with him.

I continued to run around the field, and after a while, there was a vague voice of dialogue on the intercom.

Lucien: Xiao Chen, what was the door she just mentioned?

Xiao Chen: If you look at the big screen behind the stage, it can actually be opened. That is the gate.

Lucien: Are the props that are being pushed up now modified by the team themselves?

Xiao Chen: Yes, Professor Lucien, you know this?

Lucien: Well, I heard about it.

With some amusement, I listened to the intermittent conversation in the earphones, took a shortcut to the side path of the auditorium, and jumped down with a "boom".

Lucien: Is it okay for her to jump like this?

Xiao Chen: We all love to walk on this kind of path because the stairs go around far.

Xiao Chen: Sometimes you will step directly down between the chairs in the auditorium. Don't worry.

MC: .....

There were only ten minutes left until the rehearsal started. I didn't have time to interrupt, but apparently many colleagues had noticed this conversation, and they laughed secretly when they saw me.

When I was about to walk into the guide studio, Xiao Chen seemed to finally realize that he had forgotten to turn off the intercom, and his panicked voice suddenly came out of the headphones.

Xiao Chen: I'm sorry, boss! I seemed to forget to turn off the intercom just now...

MC: Fortunately, today is a dress rehearsal. If it is officially recorded, audiences all over the country will probably know you.

I stared at the two people in the audience from a distance, but saw Lucien smiling and taking the walkie-talkie from Xiao Chen.

Lucien: Sorry, I have been looking forward to today too much, maybe I am a little excited.

Lucien: Seeing the enthusiasm of the producer, today's rehearsal will be very exciting.

MC: Of course, our goal today is to surprise Professor Lucien.

I gestured to the on-site director, raising the walkie-talkie, and walking forward to the guide studio.

MC: The rehearsal countdown counts down to one minute, and each unit prepares-

Part 7 - Light behind the scene

After spinning around in the studio for a week, the indoor recording finally looked good, and the rehearsal went smoothly.

It happened to be the weekend, Lucien came to pick me up as agreed, and I took the opportunity to take him around the shed.

MC: This is the director room, which is my second office.

MC: This is the prop room, we were here last time when saw the wood.

Lucien: It seems that if you want to be an excellent producer, you need eighteen martial arts skills.

MC: In fact, I just give the colleague who is in charge of the props... but I always feel uneasy if I don't do anything.

As I said, I brought Lucien to the backstage.

Only a few beams of lights on the stage were left in the entire venue, from here you can see the front stage and the auditorium.

MC: Every time I stand here, I feel a little nervous.

MC: I don’t know if there will be any problems in the next step, I don’t know how the audience will react...

MC: But the time for hesitation is limited, so we still have to get the actors on stage as soon as possible.

I made a "please" motion to Lucien, he stepped forward, suddenly took my hand, and took me onto the stage together.

MC: Lucien?

Lucien: This seems to be the first time to stand on stage with you.

Lucien: Maybe you have to hide behind the scene when shooting, but in my heart, you are the real protagonist.

Lucien: Because of your hard work, this stage has become brilliant.

Lucien: You have created all of this, and you must be able to grasp it well. So don't be afraid.

He squeezed his fingers lightly, like a small activation switch, which quickly swelled my frustrated heart.

It turns out that people behind the scenes can also shine and have the right to be seen.

I took his hand back, walked under the beam of light on the stage, and turned to face the auditorium.

MC: Originally, the edge of this stage was a little bit behind now, and the position of this beam of light was also a bit off.

MC: The place where I stood before was smashed into a hole by props, which shocked everyone...

I smiled and raised my head to look at Lucien, meeting his equally smiling gaze.

MC: ...I have also thought about it countless times here, if in the end I did a good job, what would you say to me.

Lucien: You are now facing a famous director in the industry, is my evaluation still so important?

MC: Of course, your evaluation is always the most important.

Lucien: Okay, I will take a good look at your results.

Lucien: From now on, you can officially look forward to this answer

---

🦋 DATE 🦋

The light and shadow outside the train window kept flashing across my face. I sat on the subway in a daze, looking at the changing but repetitive scenery outside the window, without any emotion.

A recent cooperation project I was responsible for was completed with an exceptionally authoritative director in the industry, and many people in the industry are paying close attention to it.

This cooperation has not only obtained S+ level investment, but also shouldered the expectations and goals of many people. Therefore, it is a project that must be successful and absolutely perfect.

My colleagues in the company and I have been working overtime during this period of time.

Because of the responsibility, I am almost at the company, filming set and studio, three-point line on the set, and I completely lost my time.

feel that I haven't had a good night's sleep for many, many days, and I feel lighthearted.

The sun outside the window is shining, the summer breeze is gentle, and people stop by in the beautiful scenery from time to time, admiring the beauty of daily life.

But I was sitting there, and in my mind was the flow chart, the pictures I was going to shoot next, and everything about work.

Looking at the scenery in my vision, I just feel very tired.

When the subway arrived, the door opened, and people went up and down. I stared at the subway door dumbly and closed my eyes wearily.

If Lucien appeared at this time, it would be very dramatic.

My brain turned a little slow, I couldn't help thinking and then slowly opened my eyes.

Maybe I was too tired. Looking at the door that was about to close, Lucien really seemed to be walking on the subway.

He is wearing a khaki trench coat and holding a notebook.

He doesn't seem to care how many people are in the train, he glances at it casually, leaning in an undisturbed corner, and is about to open his notebookㅡ

It collided with my eyes.

At that moment, the lips that have always been pressed tightly may slowly rise, and the eyes may also be stained with faint surprises and smiles.

He took off his glasses, walked up to me with a smile, and greeted me.

Lucien: What a coincidence.

The gentle voice rang in my ears, and I blinked slowly, enjoying the escape of the nervousness at this moment.

Lucien: What's wrong? You don't seem to be very happy to see me.

The light and shadow outside the window kept on, Lucien pulled the handle, blocking the dazzling light in front of me, and the long shadow enveloped me.

Like a gentle and warm embrace.

Lucien leaned down, and those familiar faces slowly approached, becoming more and more real, making me a little dazed.

Until his hand slowly touched my face, the real and soft touch surprised me and stood up straight.

MC: Lu- Lucien?

It turned out that it was not my imagination just now. Lucien really got on the train at that stop and appeared in front of me.

Lucien: MC, are you okay?

I looked at Lucien in front of me in surprise and shook my head vigorously.

Although he would go to see me at the shooting scene from time to time, meeting him by chance made me feel a little dazed.

MC: Lucien, Why are you here….

Lucien: I am going to get some documents.

Lucien: It seems that we are very destined.

He smiled at me, and when he said that, I just lowered my head dully.

Lucien: MC, are you okay?

Lucien asked again.

I tried very hard to squeeze a smile, but I found that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't control the expression well.

Lucien looked at me for a long time and seemed to notice that my condition was very poor.

At this time, the subway announced that the station was about to arrive. I barely cheered up and patted my face.

MC: Lucien, I'm get off at the next the station!

MC: Wait for me.. wait for me to finish all this works, after that let's go wherever we want.

I grinned reluctantly at him, and was about to turn around and get out of the train. Who knows Lucien's hand stretched out suddenly, and I was held in his arms.

MC: ......?!

In my somewhat confused gaze, Lucien lowered his head, but the strength in his hand did not weaken by half.

Lucien: I feel like I’ve been missed you for too long.

Lucien: Since it is better to hit the sun if you want to go somewhere for a walk, let’s do it today.

MC: .... Eh?

Lucien: Although I was going to the research institute, there was nothing urgent.

MC: No... Not today, there are still many things on the scene that I need to follow up and check...

Lucien: This is indeed the case.

Lucien: But a lot of trivial matters, do you really have to?

Lucien: You are much more tired than I thought.

Lucien: If I guessed right, you must have followed up a lot of things again.

His somewhat low but unexpectedly serious voice fell on my ears, and I couldn't help taking a deep breath.

My mind is full of situations where I run around like a headless fly, reluctantly letting myself take care of everything.

Lucien: Besides, I don’t think you can make accurate decisions and judgments based on the state of your load.

Lucien's final words were particularly direct, like a precise sharp blade poking into my chest, making me a little bit irritated but speechless.

Lucien: So, are you going to walk with me today?

His final tone suddenly eased, and he stared at me quietly.

When the subway arrived, the door was slowly opened. I realized that there was almost no strength at my waist. As long as I broke free, I could leave and walk off the subway--

Lucien waited silently.

I stood still and didn't move.

Until the “Ding Dong” warning sound of the subway door closed, the train started to move again.

At that moment, I was relieved.

In addition to the guilt of "fleeing from work", I felt that I temporarily escaped from the suffocating space, and I was able to breathe

Maybe, I have always wanted someone to show up to make me stop.

Then Lucien magically appeared in front of me like this.

The subway moved forward one more stop slowly, and none of us spoke.

Quietly, I picked up the phone to open the work group, and sent a message that I was unwell and asked for a day off.

Group chats popped up one after another for me to take a good rest, and all the on-site replies will continue to follow up.

At this moment, my heart is surprisingly calm.

I raised my head to look at Lucien, his eyes seemed to have been waiting there for a long time.

MC: Where are we going?

Lucien: Don't know yet.

Lucien: But this is not important.

Lucien: 83 or 47, choose one of these two numbers.

MC: .... Hm?

Looking at his smiling eyes, I thought about it.

MC: I choose 83.

Lucien smiled and took me out of the train after sitting for a while.

I was stunned, doubting this move.

Lucien: These random numbers have no actual meaning.

Lucien: What I want is to decide which stop we get off at the next stop according to the numerical order you choose.

Lucien: Then pass the end of the number to determine the exit point.

He led me slowly forward, according to what he said, the moment when I walked out of the subway No. 3 exit, the sunlight was a bit dazzling, it's very warm.

Lucien: Everyone will have an established judgment about their choice, but many things are actually not that complicated.

Lucien: Even if you can’t guess the ending, it’s fun, isn’t it?

He and I put my fingers together and walked on an unknown street, looking at the endless wide road, the end seemed to penetrate into the clouds in the distance.

The whole world seemed to open up in an instant, and the soft clouds seemed to be a sweet kiss from midsummer.

I held Lucien's hand and walked forward slowly, taking a deep breath.

It seems that I haven't experienced this kind of situation for a long time.

We walk aimlessly, as if walking is our only purpose at the moment.

In fact, I was always thinking about the shooting scene in my heart. While uneasy, one side felt that such evasion and laziness had been long gone.

The world is huge, and all I can feel at this moment is the sunshine, the autumn breeze, and Lucien around me.

MC: Lucien, what did you want to do at the institute by taking that subway?

Lucien: Go to see the progress of a research team in the suburbs and see if there are any wrong directions that need to be pointed out.

Lucien: Then I went back to the research institute and continued to advance the research content in my hands.

He spoke very lightly, tapped on the phone interface, and put the phone in his pocket.

MC: Lucien, you're not worried?

Lucien: Worry about what?

MC: Worried about whether there will be problems in the research team? Are there any wrong operations, inattentive judgments or decisions.

MC: There may be shortcomings that are about to succeed but suddenly appear, and there are also various failures.

These stressful scenes have visited my dreams countless times. I am anxious and can only choose to tighten my nerves and minimize my mistakes.

Lucien: The people in the group are personally selected by me.

Lucien: What is their ability, what level they can achieve, and when they will deliver what kind of results, I know very well.

Lucien: I don't need to confirm it all the time.

Autumn wind raising his clothes slightly, Lucien looked straight ahead, but he seemed to see a lot of things that I couldn't see clearly at this time.

Lucien: Moreover, this is not just my research.

Lucien: It belongs to many people.

MC: How come?!

MC: You can provide the correct ideas and guidance to the research to avoid them from making detours, and then...

Lucien: Will I definitely make the right judgment?

MC: .....

I looked at Lucien stupidly, he just gently raised the corners of his mouth and stretched out his hand to pin my wind-blown hair behind my ears.

Lucien: I'm just an ordinary member of exploring the world.

Lucien: For this world and many people in the world, we are far less important than we thought.

Lucien spoke lightly, but fell on my heart very hard.

An unknown bus stop appeared in front of him.

There was no one waiting there, but it seemed a bit lonely on such a spacious road.

Lucien took me to sit in the bench waiting for the bus. People and vehicles came and went. There was no help or prompt on my mobile phone screen.

MC: Lucien, I have done too much, is it wrong?

Lucien: I think it has nothing to do with right or wrong.

His other hand is also touching our holding hands.

Lucien: You just need to distinguish clearly, those things that you always hold tightly, it's up to youㅡ

Lucien: Or you are reluctant to let go.

I blinked slowly, and the whole world was extremely silent, except for the sound of the wind.

Lucien: People always need to do something to bring recognition and value to themselves.

Lucien: But without me, research will continue.

Lucien: And without you, the rehearsal would go on, wouldn't it?

I stared at the orderly docking and replies in the work group, feeling that I was embarrassed by what he said.

MC: But I am a producer, and I am responsible for the content of my program.

Lucien: If one person can accomplish something, there is no need for teamwork.

MC: ....

His words are clean and somewhat indifferent, as if torn apart to find the core of the whole problem.

Lucien: Being responsible is not to bear everything.

Lucien: Everyone has something to do.

Lucien: Don't take away the responsibilities of others, and don't work hard for others and shine for others.

He raised my unconsciously lowered head, gently stroked my frowning eyebrows with gentle fingertips, and gently smoothed it again and again.

There are many things hidden in those gentle eyes, there is pride, distress, and some helplessness.

Lucien: You have what you have to do.

Lucien: if you look at everything, sometimes you won't see anything.

He looked away from my face and looked in front of us.

Lucien: MC, what can you see now?

I followed his gaze and looked forward.

The bright and long warm sun, strangers coming and going, soft white clouds floating in the blue sky, and a double-decker bus slowly approaching at the end of the road.

MC: I saw sunlight, white clouds, passers-by, and there is a double-decker bus.

I looked a little surprised, and some emotions slipped straight out of my mouth.

MC: It turns out that there are double-decker buses in Loveland City

Lucien: Do you know where this bus will go?

I shook my head at him, and Lucien smiled lightly in my dazed expression.

Lucien: I do not know either.

Lucien: But I am willing to go with you to get this answer.

He held my hand and stood up.

The bus stopped steadily in front of us, and the door slowly opened.

The scenery on the bus changed constantly. We were sitting on the upper floor of the bus, and the sun was shining on us, as if everything in front of us was slowing down.

MC: Lucien, the line of this bus seems to be very long.

Although I said this, at this moment, I was inexplicably relaxed.

I looked at the densely packed route map pasted in the bus, and at the end station was the name of the road that I had never heard of.

This is a journey that I don't know the end of. It doesn't matter to get the material, and it doesn't matter whether it will be of any better help to my program recording.

For me, the end point is only a curious thing about the unknown, but under this curiosity, I have no pressure on whether it is good or bad.

At this moment when I always have great expectations for the results of my efforts, it seems to be a kind of respite.

Lucien: It's very long.

MC: You said, what if we get to some strange and unfamiliar place?

Lucien: Then think of a solution there.

Lucien: After all I am still there, two people will always think of a way.

Lucien: And occasionally such "fleeing" is not bad, what do you think?

He smiled and asked me to lean on his shoulder, as if he didn't mind the unknown distance.

In the gentle sunshine, the world is extremely wide.

We really seemed to be like Lucien said, and escaped briefly from a suffocating glass cover.

Don't care about the end, and don't care about the result.

Feeling drowsy, I slowly closed my eyes.

I knew I was going to fall asleep.

In the dimness, I felt as if I was walking barefoot on a vast grassland, and the air was full of mud.

The wind lifted the hem of my skirt, and I could see the distant horizon when I lifted my eyes.

Only when I turned around, I found myself sitting on the subway I had taken.

Everyone looked down at the screen of the phone, walked in a hurry, and even their breathing rate increased unconsciously.

The subway stopped, and the moment the door opened, Lucien walked up.

He was still wearing that khaki trench coat and holding a notebook in his hand.

It's just that he didn't notice me, or in other words, his eyes just faintly swept across me, but didn't stop.

He leaned against the door, opened his notebook, and looked out the window from time to time.

He didn't smile at me, didn't take off his glasses, didn't walk over, didn't ask me "how is it"—

Did not point out that my current state is wrong.

I couldn't help taking a breath of cold air, and numbly felt my body stand up uncontrollably, passing by Lucien's figure...

Then at the stop where I should get off, I walked down.

Sink in a thick black ink.

I opened my eyes abruptly, panting, and Lucien's worried face was in front of me.

MC: I... am I fell asleep?

Lucien: Well, you seem to be too tired.

Lucien: Was it a nightmare just now?

I looked at Lucien a little at a loss, not knowing how to explain to him the dream that was somewhat outrageous.

If it weren't for Lucien, I would still insist on it.

Persevere until a certain time, the day when one part of the whole world suddenly breaks down.

MC: I just dreamed... because I worked too hard and you ignored me.

I smiled at him, the light and shadow fell vividly and truly in his eyes, and the temperature under the palms passed through my fingertips, reminding that it was just an unprovoked nightmare.

Lucien: That's just a dream.

His hands stroked the top of my head again and again, which was extremely reassuring.

Many things are very small, but they are magnified in the moment.

I stared at Lucien and suddenly saw the stadium where our program was recorded through the glass window behind him.

As if perceiving my sudden stiff gaze, Lucien followed my gaze and looked sideways, then turned his head to look at me.

At this moment of us, no one spoke.

The bus stopped slowly at the bus stop and started again.

Looking at the stadium going away, I couldn't help but laugh.

MC: After staying at the shooting site for so long before, I didn't even know that there was a double-decker bus nearby.

Lucien: After all, the world that people can see is very small.

Lucien: Whether it is attention or emotion, there is a certain amount of quantification.

Lucien: Some things take up more space in your heart, and you will have less space for other things.

Lucien: For example, the affection that MC puts on me has decreased a lot recently.

Although he said that, there was no annoyance in his eyes.

I knew he was only making fun of me, but I felt a little apologetic to him.

MC: Maybe sometimes I really can't balance work and life well.

MC: The more you want to get a good result, you will always over-invest.

MC: Will be anxious and worried, and will leave people around me in the cold.

MC: Lucien, learning balance is really difficult.

Lucien: Indeed.

His head leaned lightly on top of mine, and we were snuggled together, there was no gap.

Lucien: After all, there are many times when I will be like you now, but then you came to hold my hand.

Lucien: And I will hold you.

Lucien: Although for many people, we are not as important as we thought.

Lucien: But I believe that for each other, our existence is more important than the other side thinks.

His words were light, but they fell on my heart very firmly.

MC: Then, will you always point out my problems objectively and rationally like this?

Lucien: As the closest person around you, sometimes it really can't be done.

MC: What to do then?

I raised my head and looked straight into his eyes.

Lucien: But besides being the closest person around you, I'm still your friend.

The surging spot of light fell on our side, gentle and quiet.

Lucien: If I can't say anything as a close person, I will tell you as a friend.

Lucien: Then, we went together to find the most balanced point.

MC: Will we find it?

Lucien: Maybe it will, maybe it's the way we've been searching all our lives.

Lucien: But not seeing the end is not necessarily confusing, right?

MC: You're right.

I nodded sincerely at him. Something that has always been frustrated in my heart seemed to suddenly become clear at this moment.

Not seeing the end is not necessarily confusing, I will not be alone on the way to the end.

It is also full of infinite possibilities.

Lucien: It’s so boring to only run towards a given result.

The moment the bus left the tunnel, the light rushed behind Lucien like a waterfall, and the distant horizon stretched towards the sparkling end.

In the bus, an announcement was announced that it was about to arrive at the terminal.

I saw the sea.

---END---

Notes from me: I’m back with Lucien’s date. This date pretty comforting. Sometimes we feel too burdened because of works, study, and many more activities. And it’s okay to take a break some times until we feel better. Hope you guys also enjoy this date as I do, and don’t forget to take care of your health ^^ taking 3 meals a day is also important!!

[pkmnprideflags]

smash or pass: pokémon professor edition

providing you with the content markiplier is too afraid to give

Under a read more cuz this'll be long

Professor Samuel Oak (Red & Blue)

pass. i'm sorry he seems nice but he's not doing anything for me in a smash sense. would love to discuss pokémon with him tho

Dr. Mason (TCG for GameBoy Color)

it might have been a smash if not for the fact that he seems to permanently have a pokémon card stuck on his head. either he's too stupid to remove it or he's a weirdo. pass either way

Professor Elm (Gold & Silver)

he's so close to being a smash. he has the kindness, the wits, the disheveled dad energy. but something about him only triggers platonic switches in my brain. so i'm sorry, kind sir, but it's going to be a pass.

Professor Philena Ivy (anime)

pass. I understand the appeal but i would need to know what the fuck she did to traumatize brock before i could say yes

Professor Birch (Ruby & Sapphire)

you know. he's not my usual type. but something about his chaotic dork nature is appealing to me. smash

Professor Krane (Pokémon XD)

smash. i know nothing about pokémon xd but this fucker right here is ADORABLE

Professor P (Pokémon Trozei)

...if he weren't a chibi, maybe. but pass

Professor Rowan (Diamond & Pearl)

this is the first one i'm genuinely struggling with. i like his aesthetic and personality, but it's something about his face. so it's ultimately gonna be a pass but i absolutely get it

Professor Hastings (Pokémon Ranger)

like rowan, something about this guy's face is offputting to me. but somehow, it's a smash. idk he's a tad more dapper than rowan. maybe it's the cane. maybe it's the color palette.

Professor Yanase Berlitz (Pokémon Adventures)

another character i'm not super familiar with. i've read some of Adventures, but only the random disparate volumes that my public library had, which did not include the Diamond & Pearl chapters for some reason. because i know nothing about her, this is aesthetics only with no knowledge of her personality. in which case...it's a smash. she cute

Professor Aurea Juniper (Black & White)

...eh. i like her vibe and personality, but something appearance-wise isn't clicking. pass

Professor Cedric Juniper (Black & White)

snazzy dresser, but his beard is unnaturally round, pass

Dr. Fennel (Black & White)

some of her art like the one above is really cute but in other drawings she looks like one of those danganronpa girls who is secretly a perverted murderer. so pass

Professor Holly (TCG Online)

pass, she looks like she's about to tell my mom that i'm a smart kid, really, i am, but i just need to apply myself more

Professor Augustine Sycamore (X & Y)

S M A S H. The hardest smash in existence. I got Pokémon X as a Christmas present when I was like 14 and this man Awakened things in me

Professor Tetra (Pokémon Picross)

insufficient data because she has no official art and her sprites are chibi pixels. i can neither smash nor pass

Professor Kukui (Sun & Moon)

smash. he's self-confident. he's smart. he's loving to his wife. my only complaint is that his shoes are ugly, otherwise he's a solid 10

Professor Burnet (technically originally from Dream Radar but that game wasn't popular so shut up)

smash. absolute queen. she and kukui are the ultimate power couple change my mind

Professor Samson Oak (Sun & Moon)

closer than his cousin, but still a pass

Mohn (Sun & Moon)

i'm gonna say pass but only because i would want to have a date with him first. i need more info to decide if i want to go all the way to smash town

Professor Willow (Pokémon Go)

smash. originally i wasn't into him but then it was revealed that he's canonically shy and prefers to spend time alone in nature and he instantly became 700 times hotter. i dont make the rules of thirst, i just am tossed around by them haphazardly

Professor Magnolia (Sword & Shield)

pass, not my type. bonus points for the corviknight cane tho

Sonia (Sword & Shield)

pass. i get the sense that most people like her character, but honestly? not that into her. (however please note that i am only like 3 gyms into pkmn shield because i got it for christmas but have been focusing most of my playing onto my crystal catch-em-all so i haven't had time to get very far in it)

Professor Cerise (anime)

smash, i haven't watched journeys but he's fuckin adorable

Professor Bellis (Pokémon Masters EX)

pass. would be a smash if not for the hair. (also not relevant but fun fact i ship her with sycamore)

Professor Amaranth (anime)

my initial reactions are mixed. he's a little older than I usually go for, but i like his face. so smash i guess

Professor Mirror (New Pokémon Snap)

also on the fence here. his hair is weird but otherwise he's a certified hottie. a cautious smash

Professor Phorus (Pokémon Unite)

i really like her dress but she looks depressed. pass

Professor Laventon (Pokémon Legends: Arceus)

Originally I thought this was gonna be a pass but then i saw this concept art of him without his hat and it became a smash. once again, i don't make or even understand the rules that my brain operates under

Professor Sada (Scarlet)

for some reason my gut instinct is to be on the fence, but ultimately i'll go smash because of just how cool her outfit is

Professor Turo (Violet)

[i have hit the post image limit so you'll have to either imagine or google the rest]

smash, he's the futuristic gigachad we all need in these trying times

Friede (anime)

smaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaash

Professor Neroli (Pokémon Sleep)

SMASH HE'S SO HUGGABLE AND PLEASANT LOOKING

[itsagrimm]

Imperial!Tech 3

Summary: Tech's chip activated instead of Crosshairs so Tech is now an imperial commander tasked to serve the Empire at any cost. But is he willing to do so? And are you, dear Y/N as member of the experimental Elite Squad, willing to follow any order your commander Tech gives?

CN: self-harm, talk of death murder and war crimes, stalker behaviour, soldier life in a fascist state, power imbalance, overreaching behaviour, structural violence, sexually predatory behaviour and the likes, sensual overload, insomnia, references of drug abuse, depression and mental health issues, trauma

Imperial!tech X they*them Y/N reader, afab

Thanks a lot to @eyecandyeoz for your insight, feedback and thoughts. Check out their lovely blog!

I am sorry it took me so long. next part will be faster. I already started writing it.

And feel free to criticise especially concerning my use of CN and if the reader perspective is inclusive for you.

2800 words

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4

Tech collapsed into the chair as soon as Y/N had left the room. He was tired, so tired. He leaned back and put on his glasses. Him taking off his visual aids around Y/N was a degree of trust Tech rarely allowed. He was nearly blind without his glasses and the Kaminoans had considered terminating him for that. Tech was sure Y/N did not even know how much he had surrendered himself to Y/N and their touch. Their oh so soft touch. The memory of it was still fresh on his skin. It raced through is mind which for once was craving to match his body with the need to slow down and take a rest.

But it didn’t.

Y/N was pleasant to be around. Their touch was careful and considered. Only his brothers used to treat him like his. – His brothers, the former clone force 99, had left him behind after they refused to comply with order 66. Due to their divergence the inhibitor chip had not worked while he, Tech, had tried to kill the Jedi. – He had tried to kill a child. – The effect of the inhibitor chip was decreasing. His wound received on Bracca had an 84,743 % chance of damaging the inhibitor chip. But he should investigate further and get the chip out to stop any possible interference with his superior thought process. - Y/N was not aware of the inhibitor chips. He felt the need to tell them. Why? – The Havoc Marauder had not been mentioned on the imperial comm chatter for a while. – Echo was likely to take care of the ship now. – He should get some sustenance. He felt hunger. – Y/N – The Empire expected a degree of loyalty, uniformity, and compliance he was unsure he could deliver for long considering his diverging mind. – what would Hunter do? – the kaminoan proverb “yn’ja tha vaí m°O” was untranslatable into Basic but could be understood in Sit Bisti as “it needs tö be döne för the betterment öf äll”- The Empire was unlikely to grant him the freedom to find his brothers or in fact any freedom. – The canteen might serve Tiingilar tonight – He was a child slave destined to die in approximately 34,6 standard yearly rotations from old age if not sooner. – maybe the canteen will serve uj’alayi too. – Does Y/N speak Mando’an? He should enquire. – Of course, there will be no uj’alayi today. The Kaminoans did not allow sweet foods. – Y/N – How did the atmospheric controls work that ensured breathable air even for the highest floors of coruscanti buildings? - He knew why his brothers left him behind, but why did it feel so painful. – The empire was likely to kill him if he out served his usefulness for them. - He had tried to kill a child. He had killed several children on Onderon. How could he live with that? How could-

Tech forced his thoughts to stop by digging his fingers into his bloody scar.

The sharp pain felt soothing.

“Let’s consider making a list of the most pressing tasks for now.”

He starred at the ceiling.

“The Empire. It is the closest threat to my demise, but it can be my salvation if I am useful. Am I willing and capable to do that?”

His head started spinning again just at the thought of killing another child for the Empire. And yet serving the Empire gave him purpose he wasn’t sure he could muster on his own.

“Where are my brothers? How are they? How do I feel about them?”

Another unpleasant wave of thoughts and feelings washed over Tech before he continued.

“What is with the inhibitor chip inside my head?”

He nodded to himself. That was a rational and containable problem with fixed variables and clear answers. He felt comfortable with that question, pushing aside all the things he might have done due to being under the chips influence.

Only one question was left now.

“Why do I enjoy Y/N presence?”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ryloth had a warm and dusty climate during daytime. Y/N felt sweat dripping under the dark armour. The elite squad, including a new ES-03, was ordered to stand close by to Admiral Rampart, the highest imperial officer on Ryloth. And so, they had spent the last rotations following the Admiral around, doing tedious security work and presenting themselves like the Admirals favourite guard dogs to a public very much disliking their military presence. For once, even commander Tech looked annoyed about their not spec-ops appropriate services.

Today they were on the outlook. The Admiral wanted them scanning a large crowd for troublemakers and resistance fighters during a public announcement. Y/N couldn’t blame them. The Twi’lek of Ryloth had spent years fighting for their independence and spilled an ocean of blood on the dusty planet’s surface only to face an Empire now. Half a life ago Y/N would have hated themselves for being a soldier in service of a suppressing ruler. But now it was paid work.

“ES-01?”, Commander Tech brought Y/N back from their thoughts

“I am in position before the crowd.”

“ES-02?”

“Yes sir, I am on the building as you ordered.”

“ES-03?”

“Any nonimperial transmissions are being blocked now.”

“ES-04?”

“The war hawk is ready for take-off in case we need it.”

“Good. Do you register any noteworthy activity?

Y/N gazed through the crowd. They were mostly Twi’lek, waiting to hear from their leaders. All of them were in civilian clothing, none came with visible weapons.

“I can’t spot anything, sir.”

Tech said nothing. But Y/N could hear him type something.

“Analysing previous rebel fighter behaviour and strategies in similar situations they are likely to appear at these coordinates within the crowd today. I am sending you a list for you to especially pay attention to, ONCE.”, he finally said using the moniker the elite squad had given Y/N.

“Yes sir.”

Y/N looked at their holopad and started checking the coordinates commander Tech had calculated. At entry four they spotted their targets.

“Commander. I have a visual about 40 meters from my position, 10 o’clock. There are two fighters. Twi’lek. One female and one male passing. Shade of blue and orange.”

A moment everyone was silent.

“Confirmed.”, ES-02 stated.

Another moment passed.

“Observe them for now. Stay alert.”, Tech ordered before ending the transmission.

High above the Twi’lek senator started to talk. Y/N could not remember his name and paid little attention to his words. Unlike the Twi’lek.

“They are not happy.”, ES-02 stated flatly.

“Yeah thanks, I would not have noticed without you.”

“Always a pleasure to help out, ONCE.”

ES-02 was right. The crowd was angry. The imperial presence, the empty words of some disaffected politician, the fresh memories of the clone war. It was no surprise that the Twi’lek called out for their resistance leaders to speak.

“We want Syndulla! We want Syndulla!”, the crowd chanted.

A different voice from above started speaking. The crowd calmed down, not entirely happy but at least not a raging mob.

“At least we will not have to gun them down, now.”, ES-02 mumbled with a bitter voice.

“Would you really do that, two?”

“You know what they say, good soldiers follow orders, ONCE. And I intend to be one. Especially when I’m getting paid for it.”

XXXXXXXXXXX

Rampart was an asshole. He was a smug little administrator, willing to lie, back-stab and sacrifice whatever needed to achieve his goals. Rampart was the perfect general to handle a loaded situation like the one on Ryloth. And he was no fool.

Y/N hat noticed that he had kept both commander Tech and Howzer, the commanding clone trooper in charge of the regular clone troopers on Ryloth, close. A strategic move. Spec-ops commandos like the elite squad and regular commandos were in constant competition and mistrust to each other. Should one commander not deliver or even consider treason the other would interfere. And Rampart would always end up on the winning side of their clone infighting.

Y/N could here their arguing inside the office.

Commander Tech had ordered for Y/N to wait outside the office for new orders.

More arguing from the office was audible until finally Ramparts voice cut their bickering short.

The door opened and Howzer left. His expression was that of a practised reserved solider hiding his worries.

The door opened again, and commander Tech stepped outside of Ramparts office.

He looked tense.

Instead of a greeting or an order he just started walking. They followed him.

“Clone force 99 is here. But we are kept on a short leash. As always.”, Tech stated, “It is implausible to not use the best tools possible when confronted with a problem. Howzers troopers will not be able to beat them if necessary. Just like they won’t be able or unwilling to beat the Twi’lek should the need arise.”

Since Kamino the commander had started to share more of his thoughts with Y/N. All they had left to do was to listen and ask the right questions.

“Sir, you think Howzer will commit subordination?”

“There is a possibility of him and his men disagreeing with the new imperial leadership and it’s methods. Howzers unit has fought alongside the Twi’leks the past years. Bounds forged in the trenches can be stronger than loyalty to an administrator from Coruscant. But I require further data to assess the likelihood of treason.”

“What about clone force 99?”

“Their abilities and erratic strategies will be a challenge should we … no, should I have to face them.”

“So, we did not get the order to hunt them down?”

“No. Not yet.”

“And yet you already imply them as of importance.”

“It would be a grave strategic mistake to dismiss their presence.”

“So, what is the elite squad going to do about them? What are your orders, sir?”

Tech paused and adjusted his glasses.

“We are going to do nothing.”

“Sir!?”

“Don’t.” There was a warning in his voice. A signal to Y/N not to cross a line, invisible yet perceptible. He was after all a commander and Y/N just a soldier.

“I am sorry. I overstepped. You are in charge.”

He turned, stepped away and looked at Y/N. His eyes scrutinized them like a scientist inspecting a rare specimen of remarkable value.

They shivered.

His gaze was intriguing. It was painful to feel on display like that. And yet it was nearly intimate to be studied by Tech. Unsure if he would finally hit Y/N for their countless discretions or if he just contemplated their objections.

Finally, Tech nodded appeased and continued his walking without any further talk.

“What do you want us to do now, sir?”

Tech stopped.

“What do I want you to do now?”, Tech repeated as if the question had a different meaning to him than it had to Y/N.

He took out his holopad only to put it away again. He cleared his throat.

“I need you to stay alert. The situation is complicated. For now, get some sleep. The chances are below 4,65 % that there will be a significant development within the next two hours. After that I except the elite squad to be combat ready.”

“Yes sir.”

XXXXXXXXX

The Refresher room was empty. Most clones avoided the elite squad, and all the other members of their unit were taking a nap before the night shift which left Y/N to have the large washroom for themselves.

They signed.

Taking a shower and having some alone time to think and feel before finally taking a rest was what they needed.

Y/N started to strip out of the armour.

First, they took of the helmet, then the vambraces and shin guards before getting the shoulder pieces and lifting the heavy breast armour off before finally getting out of the abdomen armour. The black katarn fell to the floor, making loud echoing noises.

Y/N didn’t care. No one was to correct them on their improper handling of equipment here.

And as much as the armour was a useful necessity, it was a heavy burden in more than one way.

Their blacks followed and soon Y/N was standing under the refresher, naked and alone.

The water was hot and painful.

It was a welcome distraction to all the feelings of … well what exactly?

Y/N felt tears running down their face.

No, no, no. It’s just the refresher.

An uptight sob escaped Y/Ns throat. It was all so different from what they imagined. They had entered imperial service for the payment during a desperate time. And ended up witnessing murder after murder, committing murder.

Today they could have become accomplices to killing a crowd of innocent Twi’leks. And Y/N knew that they would have complied with the order to open fire on the civilians if given. How could they not? Surrounded by troopers like them, ordered around by heartless and calculating commanders.

Would Tech give a killing order like this?

Was he that heartless?

He had done so before.

He had killed so many times before their eyes and yet a piece of Y/N refused to see him as a murderer. In fact, they felt shameful about feeling and thinking about Tech – about their commanding officer – at all.

Y/N stopped fighting the tears and cried out loud.

Nobody would know about this.

Nobody would know about their doubt and vulnerability.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As always sleep had been an unwilling friend to visit Tech. With a sigh he gave up and got up from the cot. As always, his mind was racing. He had tried the breathing techniques Crosshair taught him after a particular long stretch of insomnia, but it didn’t work.

And Tech wasn’t in the mood to experiment with the vast collection of sedatives to force his body to sleep right before possibly facing his brothers and definitely meeting admiral Rampart soon.

Work it was then.

His holopad listed only unchallenging administrative tasks.

The new Shuttle was in top shape.

His weapons were cleaned.

Tech had nothing to keep is overthinking brain in check.

Kriff, his life really was miserable. A never-ending effort to bringing his spiralling mind some peace.

A notification came in.

What a blessing.

Tech looked at the holopad again. It was just a reminder to check on his subordinates, to listen in on their private talks and vital signs.

The order from Imperial Command was an uncomfortable task but it was the best he had to do right now. And listing in on some snoring was better than listening to the elite squads talk like last time. At least it felt less overreaching.

He started with ES-04 and workout down from there. Four was in deep slumber, nothing of interest to note. ES-03 was still new and his sleep was restless, a few murmurs about his home planet and family escaped his lips. ES-02 was dreaming. His heartrate was accelerated. Tech turned his observation of, not interested in the rutting sounds of ES-02.

ES-01 was left. ONCE. Y/N. The thought of peeping into their private life was not only uncomfortable, but it also felt violent to strip Y/N of their peace and privacy.

And yet, Y/N was the only one Tech WANTED to know more about. He felt his desire to learn more about Y/N like a physical need, an addicting obsession Tech knew he needed to be careful with not to indulge.

Was their slumber peaceful and sweet?

Did they have dreams about home?

Or did they fight their nightmares in sleep just like they did awake?

He swallowed.

He was just following an order.

He will do nothing more.

He was just a good soldier.

Y/N wasn’t asleep. Their bucket was off and there were no vital signs coming of them. But the acoustic signal was working.

Y/N was somewhere with a lot of echoes and running water.

Tech felt himself blushing and getting hot.

They were in the shower.

It felt so right to listen in on Y/N. Tech felt bad about it.

The thought of water running down their bare and naked body made Techs mind slow like nothing ever before. The pleasure of a calm mind made him groan.

He hesitated. This was not okay. He shouldn’t listen. He shouldn’t imagine a subordinate like that. He hated that he had to. He hated that the Empire gave him order to do so. But more than that he hated himself for following that order so willingly.

He reached for the off button on his holopad.

A sob.

Was that Y/N? Were they crying?

Tech’s mind went from zero into overdrive. He needed to know who or whatever made you feel like crying. He would find out. And he would remove whatever it was from your life.

Part 4

[redrobin-detective]

Delayed Mourning

Going Angst Day 5: Death

_________________________________________

It was 3pm when there was a knock on Maddie Fenton’s door. She huffed and set down the meal she’d been working on. Of course the one day she had time to pre-plan a nice meal from her family was the day she’d get interrupted. 

“Yes? May I help you?” Maddie asked, opening the door. She had expected a salesman. Possibly even a neighbor coming to complain, again, about the noise or the smells that came from Fentonworks. Instead she found a small woman who couldn’t have been much taller than 5 ft with dark brown hair tied up in a tight bun. She was wearing a sharp white shirt and suit jacket with a matching white skirt.

“Mrs. Fenton, hello,” the woman gave a polite little head nod. “I’m from the the Government Institute of Interdimensional Warfare though I hear the locals like to call us the Guys in White.” She said with a knowing smiling, “of course, as you know, it’s not only the guys who are interested in ghosts. May I come in?”

“Oh yes, hello,” Maddie blinked, opening the door to let the agent in. The petite woman stepped inside, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor. Her small frame, her oversized glasses and soft nature seemed so at odds with the meatheads Maddie usually found in the GIW. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Perhaps,” the agent demurred. “It’s more there was something I wanted to inform you of. If you’re not too busy, may we sit down and talk? Your husband and children are not home.” Maddie thought that last statement was a bit odd, framed as a statement of fact rather than an inquiry but moved on. 

“Yes, Jack’s out of town visiting a relative and my kids won’t be back for a little while,” Maddie said. “Let me just finish putting this roast together, I’m almost done. Can I get you anything? Water? Tea?”

“No, thank you,” The woman said quietly. “And please, continue while you’re doing. Let me give you a little bit of background.” The agent adjusted her large glasses with her tiny hands. “Let me introduce myself, you may call me Agent S. I work primarily out of Washington for the Institute but sometimes I am deployed on site for... special cases. And, as I’m sure you’re aware, your town is very special.”

“Now, as you may have noticed, I am not particularly built like the normal Institute agents you have probably come across. That is because I do not work in the field but behind the scene in Investigations. My job is study the history and happenings of hauntings and spectral entities.”

“Oh that sounds fascinating,” Maddie beamed as she finished with her final preps and put the roast in the over. She looked over her shoulder at Agent S while she washed her hands. “Jack and I dabble a bit in history and folklore but we’re more versed in the hard sciences of ghosts.”

“Yes, I’ve read some of your papers, you and your husband truly are the frontrunners in the field,” Agent S nodded. Maddie preened at the praise and sat down, delighted to have a sophisticated conversation with someone in her field who she wasn’t married to. If more of those GIW agents were like Agent S then Maddie would get along a lot better with them. “So, Maddie, may I call you Maddie? What date and time did your portal start working?”

“It was August 28th,” Maddie said proudly. “It didn’t work at first when we first plugged it in. I’m afraid I don’t have an exact time it started up as we weren’t here. Jack was convinced one of the electrical conduction pieces wasn’t fully connected and was preventing ectoplasmic distribution. We ended up driving 4 hours to Springfield and back for some specialty parts only to find the portal working when we returned.”

“I can help you there,” Agent S said with a soft smile reaching into her white briefcase and pulling out several thick folders. She laid them out gently on the table and Maddie was unnerved by some of the information: schematics of Fentonworks, past and present financial records, transcripts of public statements. Her shoulders tensed when she saw Jazz and Danny’s names on some of the files. “Toll camera captured your vehicle on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway at exactly 1:26pm on August 28th. We can confirm you and your husband’s vehicle traveled to Springfield and back via video feeds and credit card statements at 10:45pm that same day and were therefore out of the city all day.”

Maddie suddenly felt very trapped by the woman’s sharp grey eyes as she plucked a piece of paper and pressed it towards Maddie. 

“At 3:18pm, the majority of the residential power in town went out for a period of 2 and a half hours. The cause was determined to be from a massive power surge that blew out the transformer. You may recall being blamed for this outage given your history with previous outages but the news that you were out of town settled that argument. However, I was not convinced.” She pulled out another piece of paper and Maddie bristled to see it was a Casper High attendance sheet.

“Your daughter, Jasmine was at her final summer cram session which ran from 2pm until 5pm. I spoke to her tutors and she never left the whole time and, in fact, stayed late to help a fellow student work through her study materials. But what about your son?” Agent S asked with with a curious smile but her eyes belied the fact that she had her own answers. 

“How dare you spy on my family, on my children,” Maddie hissed, crumpling one of the papers in her fist. “Get out of my house, I will sue the pants off of your organization for this invasion of privacy! Get out!”

“Now Maddie, don’t you want to know how your son started up your Portal?” Agent S asked coyly, that drew Maddie up short. Danny? No, he couldn’t have possibly. He had no interest in their work, in fact, now that she thought about it, Danny had been sick that day. Agent S pulled out a set of blueprints for the Fenton Portal. Some small component inside the Portal was circled.

“You left at approximately 1pm and your daughter presumably left not long after. Phone records indicate Daniel called both Tucker Foley and Samantha Manson. Your neighbor, Mrs. Benson, saw them coming into your house not long after but before the 3pm power outage which I was able to triangulate did in fact originate from your home.” Agent S tapped the circled part of the inner portal mechanisms. “Now did you happen to push the on button in the Portal before plugging it in?”

“On button?” Maddie asked with a dry mouth, overwhelmed by the amount of information being thrown her way. All she could think about was how Danny hadn’t seemed sick when they’d left that afternoon but had looked awful when they returned. Would he have really gone downstairs and messed with the Portal? Had he gotten hurt? Been contaminated down there? Images of Vlad’s sickly visage after his accident flowed through her head. She should have paid more attention but she’d been so excited about the Portal working...

“It’s right here in the blueprints you submitted to the patent office, buried under dozens of other hardware bits. Its small, such a little thing compared to all the moving parts required to open up a dimensional portal. Daniel was a bright boy, his middle school records prove it. A bright mind, friends to impress, no parents around to chastise him... I think you can see where I’m going with this.”

“No, no,” Maddie said, burying her hands in her hair. “No, I’m not. You’re saying -what? - that my teenage son turned on the Portal when we were gone? No, my Danny wouldn’t lie to me about that... Why wouldn’t he say anything?”

“I don’t blame him for not mentioned in because, if my hunch is correct, he was inside the Portal when it turned on, killing him instantly,” Agent S said with a carefully neutral face. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I’m afraid this haunting has gone on long enough.”

“My child is alive!” Maddie screeched, standing up in her chair. “Danny is alive and healthy and he is not a ghost!”

“I will admit the evidence of how he died is circumstantial but the fact that Danny Fenton is deceased is not.” Maddie fell back into her chair as he legs gave out underneath her. 

She watched the agent put paper after paper in front of her and detailed all sorts of data about her son that Maddie, who lived in the same house as him, had missed. Unusually high ectosignatures picked up by GIW (and their own) detectors, Danny being spotted in some form before most ghost attacks, faked signatures of hers getting him out of nurses’ visits. Maddie barely felt alive herself as she stared at a red light camera photo of her baby sitting atop a light post late, late at night. His eyes were a toxic green color.

“I know this must be distressing as a mother but your child never left that basement, never attended high school and will never achieve his dream of working for NASA.” Agent S said with carefully measured sympathy as she gathered up her papers and put them back in her case. “But you are a brilliant scientist, unlike your husband, you should be able to look past your emotions and see that your child is gone and the ghost he left behind is dangerous.”

“My husband?” Maddie asked blankly, running a finger down Danny’s unnatural photograph.

“I approached Jack two days ago, mistakenly believing he would be the most understanding of you both. He refused to believe the evidence and was, in fact, going to warn your son’s ghost that we planned on taking him. He is safe but he presently being held at one of our facilities until the capture is complete.” Maddie should feel outraged at her husband’s kidnapping but all she could think about was the fact that her son was dead, dead, dead, killed by her own invention over a year ago and she never noticed. How could she not have noticed?

“Daniel’s ghost is extraordinary, not only able to pass as human so accurately for so long but immensely powerful. We need to make sure he doesn’t harm anyone else. Think of his friends who are probably being forced to aid him and keep his death quiet. Think of your husband, your daughter, living in the same house as a dangerous ghost.” Agent S dropped some of her professionalism and plucked the photo of Danny out of Maddie’s hands and replaced it with her own tiny hand. 

“I know this is impossible thing to ask but I must do it anyway, will you help me capture what remains of Danny? There is a chance with his charade exposed, he will be able to move on and so will you. You have been wronged, Maddie. You have been denied the right to process and grieve your child by his own ghost. But a delayed mourning is better than none. Danny’s death is a tragedy but please don’t let it become someone else’s.”

“Maybe he’s not-” Maddie’s breath hitched, “he’s never shown any signs of aggression. Jasmine spoke of benevolent spirits... maybe-” Agent S sighed roughly and retracted her hand to grab another photo from her case. Maddie was surprised when she held up a picture of Phantom. 

“Ignore the glow,” Agent S instructed. “Change his white hair to black, his green eyes to blue. Think of how often Phantom is spotted in your neighborhood, around Casper High. Remember how he always has his hands on your technology,” the agent frowned. “Think of how he grins when he sees you, like he knows something you don’t. Like it all just a big joke you’re not a part of.” Maddie felt like she’d been slapped.

“Your son is dead,” Agent S said more forcefully, throwing the picture of Phantom next to the spooky one of Danny. “And his ghost has taken his place, taunting you, stealing energy from your family, from the portal that killed him. Phantom’s power is increasing too rapidly and soon we won’t be able to contain him. It’s why I was brought in to identify his haunt so that he could be stopped before anyone else died.”

“I will state this plainly, I am giving you the chance to participate in putting your child to rest but you are not required for this operation. If you refuse, you will be confined with your husband until Phantom is taken down. Do not let this monster with your son’s face trick you any more. So I ask again, Maddie Fenton, will you help us stop Phantom from making a mockery of your son’s memory?”

XxX

“Mom! Jazz! I’m home!” Danny announced, kicking off his shoes and grabbing a paper out of his backpack as he walked into the kitchen with a grin. “And I have a present! Jazz’s tutoring paid off, look at this A I got on my history test! Well A- but a solid A-!” 

“Oh... that’s great,” Mom muttered quietly. She was sitting at the kitchen table, not cooking or tinkering with some gadget. Just sitting there quietly, twiddling her thumbs and not looking at him.

“Is everyone okay?” Danny asked, dropping his bag on the floor and walking over to his mother. “I saw Jazz at school but is Dad okay?”

“No, everything is not okay,” she said turning and looking at him with tear-filled eyes. “Someone died, someone I love dearly and I’m not ready to let them go,” she sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “But they've been gone for a long time, even if I’m just hearing about it now. I’m upset but it’s better to know and be grieve than to go on in ignorance, living a lie.”

Danny was about to ask who had died when something was jammed into his neck and he was shocked within an inch of his half life. His body spasmed to escape but his mother was gripping his arm to hold him in place. He transformed unconsciously but that only made it worse. He fell to the floor, ectoplasm leaking off his form as he could barely hold himself together.

“Mom,” he croaked, reaching for her despite everything. She stomped on his hand which was practically goo from such a vicious, destabilizing ectoplasmic shock.

“Don’t you ever call me that,” she hissed through angry tears. “I didn’t want to believe it but the proof is right in front of me you horrible, selfish ghost.” She kicked him in the side and half of him ended up on her boot. “How dare you, how dare you impersonate my son! How dare you string me along all this time, make me look like a fool who had to told that her own child was dead! I bet you just laughed and laughed at our stupid, human ignorance of what your were!”

“‘lease,” he begged through the ectoplasm in his mouth. “I’m still your....”

“My son is dead and he has been for a while,” Mom said, throwing the ecto-taser away from her. Danny vaguely heard the door being kicked in and in his rapidly diminishing vision, he saw black boots and white suits. “With you gone, I can finally come to terms with it and not be tormented by an inadequate replacement.” She turned her back to him. “Get that filth out of my house, I never want to see it again.”

“Of course,” a quiet feminine voice said as his goopy arms were restrained with ghost proof cuffs. “I know this is hard, Maddie but you made the right choice for your family and Danny’s memory. Jack will returned to you within the hour. I spoke to my superiors, for your cooperation, the Institute will take care of declaring Danny dead as well as covering costs for your boy to be laid to rest, the first step in moving on.”

“No, the first step will be removing that duplicitous monster from my home. It’s stolen enough of my baby’s life. Now please leave, I have - I have a funeral to plan.”

[somecunttookmyurl]

sorry if there was another part of this post/those tags that i didn’t see but… i don’t think that doctor was trying to say that doctors know more about drugs than pharmacists do?

i’m an md also, i graduated from medical school a few years ago. and that person is right. we do learn about pharmacology and drug mechanisms and interactions in medical school. at my school (which was broken up into long blocks by body system), this was all integrated into everything else we were learning, meaning it was on every test. and it’s continued to be on every test i’ve taken since graduating. the point isn’t that we know more or even nearly as much as pharmacists about pharmacology, but that we know enough that someone who completely ignores the concept of drug interactions or the idea that different patients may metabolize certain drugs differently is a bad doctor. and i’m sorry that you’ve run across so many of them

the thing about medicine is that there is so much to know about human anatomy and physiology and disease that it’s basically impossible for any one person to know it all. medical school lays the groundwork, but there’s a reason we specialize, and spend 3-7 years in additional training in our particular field. it’s important to know what you don’t know (which is a lot, no matter what kind of doctor you are or how long you’ve been practicing). that means consulting with pharmacists when prescribing a new med or changing a dose whenever possible, just like you’d consult, say, a nephrologist when treating a patient with kidney disease. but when there isn’t a good pharmacist available, it means looking up that information yourself. i may not remember every single drug that interacts with warfarin, for example, off the top of my head, but i sure as hell know that it’s a long list and i better check everything else a patient is taking before prescribing it

anyway, good pharmacists are an incredible resource and i wish we had more of them at my hospital. and if you can’t admit that there are things you don’t know, medicine is not the field for you

yeah i've had like. no joke. 2 good doctors in 31 years. and one of them i don't even get to see again it was a one-off. but i am surgically attached to my GP until one of us dies and by god i hope i go first.

(incidentally those 2 doctors are the only ones i've ever met who even knew that differing drug metabolism on different pathways was even a thing like at all. my old psych straight up said "never heard of that, don't think that's true" even when i was presenting him with literal medical journals to the contrary like okay buddy good talk let's never do this again. i wish so much this was an uncommon experience bc i for one am tired of giving the TED talk)

readmore bc this got long

the fact you guys don't learn stuff to the same depth as pharmacists was really like my entire point. i mean, sure, you have some knowledge on it but normally pretty limited to within whatever field you practice. you've only got a limited number of brain cells. if you did have all that knowledge then pharmacy wouldn't exist as a separate degree in the first place.

so a doc coming onto that like "oh we do know side effects and get tested on interactions" is uh. i mean do you? a little, sure, but there's a limit to that knowledge by design. it's really the pharmacists who know, you know? they're the experts on it, and it kinda struck me as "i did a bit of training on this so i know everything" which is an attitude i encounter.... a lot with doctors, sadly. along with the assumption a patient can never know anything about their condition/have any input or ideas of any value/that there may be gaps in their own knowledge.

[also along with complete lack of intellectual curiosity which always baffled me like "welp, don't know what that is goodbye forever" do you not... want to know? not even a little bit? god why are you even here. if all you wanted to do was flowcharts and tick boxes there are plenty of careers in the data entry field. not quite sure why you went to medical school my man]

you sound like a good doctor. hold onto that. sadly you're more the exeption than the norm, as pretty much anybody with a chronic illness or unusal presentation/response can attest. also women, and POC.

if you've got it in you to keep at it without having a nervous breakdown (rather have you in the field than out of it babes) absolutely chew out any other doctor you catch acting like a Supreme Unquestionable Being Who Can Never Be Wrong though.

honestly? i think, genuinely, most do start out like you (you said you only graduated a few years ago right? so you're still new really) and... at some point along the way they become fucking insufferable.

i don't know if it's burnout bc it's a stressful job, or if having power over the health & wellbeing over other people eventually goes to your head, or you get stuck in "what i learned 20 years ago is still unquestionable" or "i've been doing this for years pfff i don't need to check things anymore" complacency or what but there is for sure SOMETHING that changes in a whole lotta doctors. hold on to how you practice now. be one of the few who STAY like that 10, 20, 30 years from now. please. stay curious, stay cautious, stay sharp.

i don't hate doctors (i say it jokingly, true, but don't take it personally) but i have absolutely met enough of them that don't listen, or check, or investigate that i heavily side-eye a new one until they demonstrate otherwise. you're listening to me and working with me and checking things? cool! i'm still gonna double-check anyway because even good doctors make mistakes,

but a good good doctor doesn't take offence at that anyway. i mean. it's my health you're in charge of here. remaining alive and not hospitalised is generally preferable.

hey, maybe it's a bit harsh to judge from a couple tags but coming onto a post saying that pharmacists are the real drug nerds here and doctors have limited knowledge about that (with a heavy dose of complacency a lot of the time, tbqh) so please make sure stuff is checked with "we do know about interactions we get tested on it" sent up a HUGE "i can't admit when there are gaps in my knowledge and can't handle being questioned" red flag.

[wiifactsplus]

Note: This post is adding on to a Supper Mario Broth blog tweet. Feel free to visit the attached link to view it.

Supper Mario Broth On the My Nintendo website, the user's Mii will be engaged in a random activity on the top of the page. One of them is painting; clicking the Mii will reveal one of 8 paintings that appear with varying rarities, 5 of which are related to the Mario series.

This is not where the Mario references end in the "Mii Stage", as the My Nintendo website calls it internally. (Since I could not find this section of the My Nintendo website referring to it by any specific name elsewhere, this is what I will be calling it from now on.) There are many more to be found in the activities acted out by the Miis. Of course, it seems many qualities of My Nintendo are based off the Mario universe - the logo is shaped like Mario's hat, the platinum points have a Super Mushroom on them, and the gold points have a Super Star on them. However, the references go deeper than that.

But first, you’ll need a Mii. If you do not have a Mii in your Mii Studio, this sign will be sitting in the middle of the Mii Stage, bouncing up and down occasionally. Clicking on it takes you to my.nintendo.com/mii, which redirects to studio.mii.nintendo.com, the Mii Studio. This event is called “Mii unset”.

Here’s the full sprite, extracted from the (US English) site data:

And now, from the original tweet that sparked this post, here are all eight paintings extracted from the website data, thus being the highest quality versions of them.

Additionally, a behavior in this activity that was not mentioned by Supper Mario Broth (due to it not pertaining to any Mario reference in particular) is that while the Mii is painting, they will stop and think every three to four seconds. And once they are clicked on and present their painting, they'll assume a proud pose.

And here are the sprites extracted from the site:

As mentioned, the "easel" activity is not the only one to contain references to the Mario universe. The next one is the most interesting, known as "game". This activity has the user Mii playing a video game on one of three randomly chosen systems (technically four, as I'll explain in a moment): a NES, a SNES, or a Nintendo Switch. The game they're playing is randomly chosen depending on the system. Clicking the Mii will turn off the game, and the Mii will turn around furious until you click again to turn it back on, where the Mii will resume playing. The possible games on the NES are Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, and Ice Climbers.

The games on SNES are Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and Super Mario Kart.

The Nintendo Switch only has one game, Splatoon 2, and unlike the other games, the image on the screen isn't a regular in-game screenshot, but a promotional screenshot for the game.

Unfortunately, due to how the files work for this event, I can not be sure there isn't some extremely rare game I simply haven't come across yet. However, I can say that I spent a good few hours refreshing the page and didn't come across any more, so I believe it's safe to say there aren't any.

Now, 7 games may seem like an odd number, but in fact, there are 10. Take a look at the extracted sprites here.

Notice how you can see all the available systems here - the NES, SNES, Switch, and one more: the Famicom. The images that appear on the Famicom's screen are exactly the same as the NES ones, but are still stored as separate images, bringing the total to a round 10. If you live outside of Japan, you will likely never encounter the Famicom sprites. They only appear when you're logging in from Japan, and the NES ones will then also not show up any longer. However, I am based in the US, and couldn't get these sprites to load. This isn't the first time Nintendo has done this NES/Famicom location-based swap, either. It's happened many times before, even in Wii Music with the NES horn instrument. Instead, an anonymous user was able to help collect screenshots of the Famicom using CPU Mii Abby.

Next is the balloon activity. Here, the user Mii will be tied to three balloons, and flailing in a panic.

Clicking them once will pop the blue balloon, clicking them a second time will pop the red balloon, and clicking a third time will pop the yellow balloon, and the Mii will fall. Once it lands, it will strike a landing pose.

However, on a rare occasion, the yellow balloon will be replaced with a Boo enemy.

The first two balloons will function normally, but clicking on the Boo will instead make it fade and float away instead of pop.

Another rare event can happen once per day. Similar to the Boo, the yellow balloon will be replaced with a platinum point balloon, along with a thought bubble containing a platinum coin, and popping it will reward the user some platinum points.

However, whenever they land, they will instead strike a different pose, and hold a platinum coin.

The stage will then fade to white and the user will be rewarded with 10 platinum points. Here’s the extracted sprites:

Next, we have the fishing activity. Sometimes when this is encountered, the user Mii will have a thought bubble with a platinum point inside.

Though most of the time, the Mii will not have the thought bubble.

Every now and then, the user Mii will make a surprised face. If the user clicks the Mii during this time, then they will catch something.

If the user clicks the Mii any other time, the Mii will attempt to catch something anyways, but will pull up with nothing. Clicking again will make the Mii put their line back in the water.

If the Mii catches something with a thought bubble over their head, they will catch 10 Platinum Points.

Failing to nab a successful catch with the thought bubble over their head will not result in any penalty.

Any other time, a randomly selected object from these four will be caught instead. The first object is a boot.

The rest of the objects are Mario-related, starting with the Cheep Cheep enemy.

The next is the Blooper enemy.

And the last is Mario's cap.

Here's a dump of all of the sprites.

And last for Mario references, the "plant" activity. This one contains the rarest event of them all, along with a Pikmin reference. The most common event for this activity is a basic looking plant.

You can click on the user Mii to water the plant as many times as you'd like, but nothing will happen. The plant will just bounce in a small animation.

Here are all of the normal plant's sprites in its animations.

A rarer event can occur in this activity where instead of a basic-looking plant, a red Pikmin head will appear instead.

Like the plant, you can water the Pikmin as many times as you'd like. However, whenever you water it, it will peek its head out for a bit, also spraying some dirt particles.

Here are all of the Pikmin's sprites in its animations.

And lastly, the rarest event I've seen in the Mii Stage.

This plant may appear empty, but once you water it...

...a vine from Super Mario Bros. will sprout out from the pot, and won't stop until it's off the top of the screen.

Here is the image used for the vine.

And here is a dump of all of the other sprites in this activity.

But we've made it this far. Why stop at the activities with Mario references and just talk about all of the Mii Stage activities? There's only three left, so let's get through them!

In this activity, your Mii will appear holding either a red or black 3DS. Clicking them will cause them to disappear in a puff of smoke, and teleport somewhere else on the Stage. This is seemingly all it does.

There's this one where your Mii will appear on a ladder wiping down the gold points jar with a cloth.

Normally, your Mii will appear behind the jar, but sometimes will appear in front of the jar instead.

This activity doesn't seem to do anything, as attempting to click on your Mii will simply bring up the gold points menu as if your Mii wasn't there.

And lastly, the first activity many will see that appears weekly. The user Mii will run from the left and right sides of the screen, chasing a rolling platinum coin.

Clicking it will reward you with your weekly sign-in bonus of 30 platinum points, and the user Mii will dance in place, holding a platinum coin.

Here is a dump of all the sprites for the weekly activity, mostly consisting of Mii (female, lime green) animation poses:

And to close this lengthy post out, here are the loading sprites for the Mii Stage...

...And my recreation in .gif form.

Thank you for reading.

[twstgameplay]

In Defense of Defense Tests

For those of you that are wondering “Why is it that my score seems to vary wildly whenever I try a defense test? What exactly do I need to score high?” I present a not-so-light analysis based on the Water Defense test that ran from 16 Jan 2021 - 31 Jan 2021.

This will get end up bit long winded, so I will keep most of it under the cut. I don’t say for certain if this is 100% correct, as this is only based on one sample size of tests. To summarize what I will detail below, what seems to be the key to getting an SSS from our repeated trials is: 

Last until Turn 5 (ending on first attack is recommended), 

Take ~30k in damage (unless ending on second attack, ~32k),

Have ~60% of health remaining (unless ending on second attack, ~55%).

Minimize taking Neutral/Weak damage as much as possible

Over the course of the two weeks that Water Defense was accessible in game, we attempted the test 125 times (of which 10 were SSS, 98 were SS, and 17 were S) and screen recorded each one. I watched each battle and collected the data points I believed would be a significant factor in determining the Score:

Remaining HP

Total HP(Initial HP + Heals)

Enemy Total HP

Total Damage Dealt

Total Enemy Damage Dealt

Number of [Neutral] Attacks

Number of Enemy [Neutral] Attacks

Second Turn 5 Attack (Y/N)

Most of these factors are obvious, as this is a Defense Test, and as the other mods and I have stated before, it’s imperative to last until Turn 5 with enough health leftover. What I am looking for in this analysis is something more specific.

Let’s look at four examples that I’ve sorted in Remaining HP order:

This was the highest score captured that did a total damage of 82220 against the enemy, and took 25097 points of damage. The Remaining HP was approximately 65% of the Total HP

This attempt had the second highest Remaining HP value, but because it ended on Turn 4, the score dropped as expected. It did 74872 damage against the enemy, and took 24194 points of damage. The Remaining HP was approximately 66% of the Total HP

Out of the three SSS scores here, this was the lowest SSS score, with approximately 62% of the Total HP leftover. This test caused 86117 in damage and took 26820 points of damage.

Finally, this attempt was the only one of these four that ended on the final attack of turn 5. That explains the dip in the Remaining HP, only retaining approximately 58% of the Total HP. It did more damage than the first example above, but less damage than the third example (85612). It also received the highest enemy damage (29802)

These help show the variability of the results.

Why point these out? Doesn’t it make sense that the more you last, the higher your remaining HP, the better your score?

Yes, but lets delve deeper－

In the Basic Tests, in general all you need is:

Overkill on Turn 3 or Turn 4

At least three duos

At least 80% in the battle gauge

I plan to find what the thresholds we need for a score of SSS on Defense Tests. Before I start throwing this into my statistical software, this is what I believed was needed by simply eyeballing the dataset:

Last until Turn 5

At most 30k in damage from enemy

At least 60% of health remaining

First things first, I imported the data into my statistical program and looked at distributions.

Sexy~

The distributions themselves don’t really give me the information I want, however. It just lets me take a look at what kind of distribution I might be working with. The Total Score and the Percent Health Left do tend to barely look like normal distributions, so that is a start.

Next, I created a model based on the factors that I’ve collected, with the Total Score as my response variable, the thing we’re looking for. I won’t go too far into statistical jargon, but using a stepwise model, I was able to remove a few of the factors that weren’t significant. Namely the Enemy Total HP and Number of [Neutral] Attacks. I had already discounted these two before I even ran the model, so I was pleased to see that my software thought the same.

The model of significant factors I ended up with were:

Total Damage Dealt

Total Enemy Damage Dealt

Number of Enemy [Neutral] Attacks

Second Turn 5 Attack (Y/N)

And a calculated column of the % of Health Remaining

I’m a visual person, so I made another chart based on these factors:

(Total Damage Dealt was the least significant of all the other factors, so I opted to look at it with the Total Enemy Damage. Number of Enemy [Neutral] Attacks will also be covered below.)

Just by the pretty colors and shapes alone, you can see that scores that reached 20k or above tended to be on the first attack of Turn 5, take less than 30k damage, and over 60% health remaining.

Hey, I’d say my eyeballing was good!!

Within this batch of attempts, only three of our SSS scores didn’t follow this pattern. Two of them ended on the second attack of Turn 5. The third one is a battle that mimicked the results of many of the other SSS tests before it, but took in about 3k more damage than the rest.

Doesn’t that mess with your prediction?

N-no! Don’t call me out like that! (>3<)/

The two that ended on the second attack still was within the margin of error for my prediction, taking no more than 32k in damage, and having approximately 57% of health left.

One other aspect to keep in mind, although it sounds obvious is minimize taking weak/neutral damage. This was not something I was looking at originally, but I found that there was a difference in score when we took 1 Neutral attack vs 2 or 3 Neutral attacks. (We took no Weak damage)

That third attempt that skewed my prediction finished the battle with approximately 59% of its Health remaining. Oo, so close. But based on the other attempts with similar Health, Damage Taken, etc, it should not have gotten a score of SSS. Yet it did. Why?

Because unlike the other battles that ended in a similar position, that battle only took one neutral attack from the enemy, instead of two or three. Out of the 10 SSS scores, 7 of them completed taking only one neutral attack, while 3 took two.

Based on this quick analysis, both visual inspection and effect screening, I have the hypothesis I presented at the beginning. Statisticians don’t like to deal in absolutes, so this will always be just a theory.

I hope this was at least interesting, I know it was a lot of numbers. I tried to avoid jargon and simplify most things, but there’s just so many interesting points to find when you’re going through so many of these battles!

As with all games, there is a bit of RNG that plays into it that I may have missed. Does it matter that Malleus buffed twice in one battle, but only once in another? Maybe. Do I want to go back through 125 battles to determine that? Absolutely not.

I’d close with saying that although I laid out what is most likely required, this does not mean that it’s not possible to get the SSS score in other ways. Finishing on the 4th turn with more HP remaining is quite possible. But in order to spread out and hone in on a more accurate threshold, there would need to be more occurrences of 4th turn SSS, and we were unable to do that during the Water Defense Test.

Perhaps next time! I look forward to updating my assumptions when I collect data from the All Defense Test~

-🐬

[platypus-mcslothman]

‘Well, at least we’re not America’ is a common phrase said by most people when political/racism issues or crises occur in UK. A phrase I am coming to discover is telling of how well the propaganda machines in our country work. The UK is wayyy more dysfunctional than America and allow me to detail but the surface level of known issues in our political sphere.

1. U.K. media ecosystem is… corrupt. Seriously, the older I get the more realise how not too dissimilar our media is to North Korea’s, except our media doesn’t work for the state primarily and will turn on it if it benefits them. You can look at how our media recently attacked Boris Johnson and then started pushing out puff pieces when he won a landslide in our local election for perfect proof

We’ve had phone hacking scandals, invasions of privacy, been accused of Nazi like language by the UN, have a state owned media outlet with political leaders heading it, anti-vaccine and now anti-lockdown narratives being pushed forward, think tanks owned by prominent right wing politicians and advisors being treated as unbiased think tanks, and more.

Our media landscape is predominately owned by 5 people. Rupert Murdoch (owner of Fox News) being one of the most prominent and also the closest to government.

The media in the UK is basically an attack dog for politics. It’s often been said no government will ever get into power without Rupert Murdoch on side.

It gets significantly worse when you begin to discover many prominent journalists are friends, god parents, spouses, and family members to our political elite. Heck, Boris Johnson (our Prime Minister) was originally a journalist for the spectator and telegraph (and an appalling one at that).

2. our police are well… corrupt. They’ve been involved in murdering civilians, brutally killing protestors and lying about killing them, feeding lies to the press about officers being hurt by protestors, assaulting journalists, and are involved in numerous conspiracies, and coincidentally were the only public service that didn’t receive defunding during and after thatcher’s era.

The most recent conspiracy involves the media too. A private detective called Daniel Morgan was suspect to have been murdered by two police officers with axes, who were originally investigating the crime, after he started investigating corruption in the police force. This case happened in the 90s and is now resurging after renewed interest. Strangely enough, the case Morgan was investigating later became known as the Phone Hacking scandal in the early 2000s.

Essentially the phone hacking scandal was the reveal that newspapers were hacking phones, wiretapping houses, and paying or blackmailing police officers to give them information about criminal cases. During this scandal it was also revealed newspapers were hiring PIs. More specifically the firm that Morgan worked for and even more specifically the suspected murderers who were fired from the police forces and were hired by Morgan’s old PI firm. You couldn’t make this up.

3. this is gonna be a running theme, but our politicians… corrupt. In a slew of scandals over decades, our politicians have been revealed to spend their work expenses on personal expenses (one politician bought a draw bridge for their manor, and many used them to buy second homes in London before selling them off at a profit during a housing crises), they accept other ‘jobs’ for private businesses (essentially a politician is payed thousands for a couple hours in an ‘advisory’ position), they’ve used tax havens (David Cameron, one of our prior PMs, is the most prominent example), they’ve lobbied after leaving their post (essentially they’re paid a lot of money to push for legislation changes that will profit a company which is quite easy to do when you have political connections, yet again David Cameron is a prominent example), and in the most recent disgusting display I present to you: the ‘my little crony’ model. A model that visually shows you the corruption in our pandemic expenditure.

https://www.sophie-e-hill.com/post/my-little-crony/

During the pandemic, our government bypassed competition laws to directly award contracts for PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), and test and trace. 25% of these contracts at minimum have since been deemed as questionable. They were awarded to businesses owned by politicians, politician’s family members, neighbours, friends, and political donors. Dyson was even revealed to have directly messaged Boris Johnson to change how taxes work so he could provide profitable ventilators when we were desperately short (which is worse when you consider Dyson didn’t deliver a single ventilator despite these changes). That’s not even an isolated story. There is a backlog of stories of strange and not suited businesses not providing PPE, not providing useable PPE, and being payed to make PPE at inflated costs. We’ve had sweet wrapper makers, jewellers, pubs, and a finance company that was only set up weeks before the contract being given these essential jobs in making and delivering PPE. The amount of money spent on these contracts is not yet fully known because documentation hasn’t been published fully, which is unlawful according to our Supreme Court’s findings.

In the pandemic we spent 37 billion on our test and trace app. The app was a failure and still is. It doesn’t contact people, a lot of data was lost because they were using an outdated Excel program to store data (which it didn’t store because Excel is not designed for that amount of data and severely outdated), and a lot people haven’t downloaded it because of trust issues caused by poor communication and initially designing the app to store data in a centralised location instead of in a means where the data can’t be accessed at a later date (as almost every other country did for trust reasons).

Now, 37 billion pounds is a very abstract number. Many don’t fully understand how much money that really is. Well, it could nationalise our entire electric grid in the UK. It’s 10% of the amount needed to end world hunger. It could end our housing crisis in the UK. and it was spent on an app that doesn’t work! Not to mention, the leader of test and trace is now being rumoured to be appointed the head of our national health service…

Heck, our PM was paid by one of his political donors to refurbish his temporary flat in Number 10 (our version of the White House). He spent £200,000 whilst he claimed our entire country didn’t have enough money to feed poor children during the pandemic. And even after he lost two fights with a footballer over the issue (yes, you heard that right), our government contracted a private company that provided inadequate amounts of weekly food. Below isn’t even the worst example.

(Note this a contrast between the amount you could actually buy with money allocated by the government and the amount given by the private companies hired by the government. They took may as well have literally have took candy from a baby.)

Summary: the U.K. is worse than the US exactly because the people of our nation and kingdom don’t see the ridiculousness and corruption that takes place daily and historically.

We’ve had governments spying on trade unions and activists, we’ve had kids being brutalised by police officers because they attended or were thought to have attended a protest, we have a bill that now is trying to ban protest, we have a media ecosystem so disgustingly inadequate they don’t hold government to account, and we have politicians who claim they could live off minuscule amounts provided by the state to the poor and disabled whilst gourging on state paid meals at fancy restaurants where they spend more than that minuscule amount in a couple hours.

There’s so much wrong with my nation and kingdom, I honestly don’t have enough words nor the ability to accurately articulate how disgustingly corrupt it is. We are not the United Kingdom, we are the Corrupt Kingdom. I could go on and fucking on about how unjust, untruthful, and immoral my nation is. I don’t like that, but I also am not going to be patriotic about a nation that kills the poor and disabled by not providing support, allowing a virus to ravage our society by not putting the needs many before the needs of the few, and who claims we can’t spend money on society whilst spending lucrative amounts on idiotic selfish things.

Further reading/references:

(this is my blog, I haven’t posted here in a while)

[littlespaceporgs]

i have a need for more soft plo my dear 💕 how abt “i wanted to say ‘i love you’ for the first time without stuttering, but that failed” with everyone’s fave kel dor? also i love you to the moon and back and am super proud of you

A/N: Yeah that’s right, I’m back mostly fully now and yes I am writing the requests I have! JJ - I hope you like this! I LOVE U TOO! It’s funny to start off with and then goes angsty and then goes super fluffy and is an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. I was aiming for a little 500 word blurb... it stands at 1.7ish i think 💀

So if you haven’t been reading my Clone Wars Reacts series, you probably aren’t aware that I am a massive simp for Plo Koon (and others characters 🤦‍♀️)and if this is you deciding to read them here’s the link to my masterlist, which has all the parts posted already.   

Glimpse

Word Count: 1.7k Pairing: Plo Koon x Jedi!Reader Summary: Anakin running late, an awful sense of foreboding, and one thing that you were yet to say, mixed with a glimpse of a future you couldn’t have. What could possibly go wrong?

Tags for my loves: @peacelandbread @clonewarslover55 @libradusk @catsnkooks @mcu-padawan

The reasons why you agreed to go on a mission on Skywalker seemed to escape you at the moment. His plans, though working occasionally, had the reputation of heavy damage and being absurdly reckless. You did however, enjoy working with Ahsoka, though she could be just as bull-headed as Anakin on occasion. Maybe it was for her sake that you joined the mission?

The plan had originally been for you to lead a small troop of men in quietly, retrieve the data you needed, and then Skywalker would swoop in and distract them so that you could escape. The entry went well, and collecting the data happened without a hitch, but you were spotted on the way out and Skywalker was late. Again. And to make things worse, your comms stopped working a very long time ago.

“If you concentrated on getting out instead of what you’re thinking, we might just survive.”

Ah, that’s why you came on this blasted trip.

“Well maybe if you focused on this, instead of your sarcasm, we may live past the next 10 minutes, Plo.”

You’d known the Kel-dor for many years, almost as long as you’d been a Jedi, but the feelings you had for him were only a few years old, and started shortly after you began going on regular missions with him. He always had put the wellbeing of others ahead of his own, which was frustrating to no end, but endearing all the same. He knew that you had a way of overthinking every situation and very quickly becoming a ‘stress head’, so he always simplified the instructions and looked for the tell-tale signs of you steadily becoming unstuck. Always waiting for the clones to get on board an escape pod, making sure there were enough supplies, somehow always having all the answers and a witty response. It was the little things at any rate.

Like now for example, as you both knelt behind a box, trying to catch your breath, and he was trying to use humour as a way of distracting you from the very real possibility of dying by the hands of a droid.

You stretched up from your crouch and turned to look over the box. Oh shit, there’s an entire battalion of droids just a few meters – oh, and that one’s pointing- oh.

With a sharp tug, Plo pulled you back down, the blaster bolt whizzing past where your eyes had been only half a second ago. Despite not being able to see his eyes and mouth, he still gave you an exasperated expression.

“Be more-”

“I was fine! I saw it coming and I was going to move!” The Kel-dor ran a hand across his forehead, although, at this point he should be used to this type of behaviour from you.

Despite the joking and poking fun, your stomach was sinking further by the minute. As you just realised, if you stepped out, you would surely be shot instantly. A vast majority of the clone troopers had long since been torn apart. Swallowing, you closed your eyes, and leaned back resting your head on the box. There is no way either of you are going to surrender and get captured, but you both were aware of the fact that you likely weren’t making it out of this either.

Your shoulder was burning, and your ribs and abdomen ached, and there was a blaster burn on your leg. Another hand wrapped around your own, and squeezed it tight. Trying to stop shaking, you spoke.

“I – we’re not getting out of this one…” You turned your head and opened your eyes, finding his face. His eyes were turned down at the edges, and his shoulders were slumped the smallest bit. “Are we?”

Plo turned and took a similar position to you, not letting go of your hand.

“We must not think like-”

“Be realistic we-”

“It’s going to be-”

“Don’t- don’t you dare say it’ll be fine-”

“Skywalker-”

“isn’t coming! Or- or if he is, he’ll be too late!” you couldn’t stop your voice from shaking now, stuttering more with every word that came out.  Plo’s head hung and you could see the weight of your words hanging on him.

“At um – at least we’ll go out as we are, teasing the s-shit out of each other, you old man.” He let a laugh drift out of the mask.

“Don’t call me old, youngling.” You laughed back, smirking all the while. If you’re going to die here – if technically you wouldn’t be jedi – your heart raced at the thought. The code was – well if you’re dead you can’t very well follow the code, now can you?

“I- I um I love you.” As soon as it was out, you felt lighter and heavier all at once. His back straightened so fast the back of his head nearly whacked the crate. When he finally turned to you, his brows were sitting much further up on his face than what they had been before, so you traced every corner on his face with your eyes, just in case. His hand squeezed yours tighter.

“I- well I wanted to say it without stuttering, and preferably when we weren’t a few minutes from death, but well- I guess there’s really no time like the present?” He still hadn’t moved, frozen and staring at you. Oh, no. You waved your free hand in front of his face, trying to break his stupor.

“Plo? Are you-”

“I love you too.”

You couldn’t help but smile, your hand moving to his face instead, moving your thumb across his cheekbone. Idly, you noticed that he hadn’t let go of your other hand yet. His hand moved the hair from your face, smudging the ash and dirt also. With a hand on the back of your head, he gently pulled so your foreheads pressed together. Your eyes slid shut, and you concentrated on the feeling of warmth and light that this brought. If this was the last thing you remembered before death, then you would die happily. For now, you savoured the few seconds you had sitting there. You sighed, and opened your eyes.

“I – just-”

“I know.” You pulled away, and despite the happiness of a few seconds before, a sense of foreboding sat heavily in your chest. You swallowed harder, and moved to grab your lightsaber. You grasped it tight, and ignited the glowing blade. Next to you, you heard his blade reveal itself. Your muscles in your legs tensed, and you braced your shoulders. One more time. When you turned to him, he was still looking at you, with a sad expression that rivalled your own. You shuffled so you were instead in a crouch, ready to fight. Might as well go out swinging.

You took a deep breath and steeled your nerves. For a second before you stood, you couldn’t hear anything. When you thought back and remembered it, there was the sound of droid’s legs and chatter, of occasional blaster fire of those who were left, and your lightsaber humming in your ear. At the time, there was nothing. You just kept staring at Plo, hoping that somehow, you’d get more of this, more than 5 seconds.

Faster than a blink, you got a glimpse of a future that could have been. Cold nights on Coruscant, wrapped up in blankets, watching the night sky past by. Daybreak, curled up in each other’s arms, feeling the glow of sun come in. On missions with small troops of trusted clones, being able to be open with your relationship. Sneaking around before council meetings, trying to savour what moments you could before missions. Feeling like young padawan’s again, running around quietly. Visions of you leaving the order, years from now, quoting being unable to stick to the code, Plo following shortly after. Of you building a home, your stomach steadily growing outwards.

And just like that it was over, and you were stuck with a reality of death.

Your throat burned and your vision blurred. Now.

And then Plo’s hand desperately grabbing yours and pulling you down again, a shrill beeping coming from his wrist. Your heart pulsed in your ears and you looked to the sky. Of course.

“Sorry, we were busy dealing with Ventress! How are you holding up?” A scathing laugh burst out of your throat. The droids were falling back, away from your position at the sight of the sheer number of Republic soldiers. You laid back on the dirt, feeling the sun on your skin, soaking up whatever light you could. It was only now that you felt the weight lift, where the light feeling of relief took its place. Plo begun to answer Anakin. You cut him off with a venomous tone.

“We’re a-”

“We’re alive, you’re late, and I am going to kill you, Skywalker.” There was an audible sigh that sounded suspiciously amused from Plo as he made to stand.

“I wasn’t that la-”

“Don’t even finish that sentence.”

Plo’s hand reached down and hovered near your face, though you ignored it and shot up on your own, winding your arms around his neck. He softly grunted as you laughed and the realisations began to sink in. Maker, we nearly died. We were very nearly dead. You nearly had to watch the man you fell in love with die.

Whilst your mind rambled, he pulled apart, and was still brushing the hair from your forehead again. You hadn’t noticed, but he was taking in every freckle, wrinkle and scar you had, like you had been doing to him not too long ago.

You nearly died. Plo nearly died. You almost didn’t get to say – oh, no. You told him. You thought you were going to die and you told him. But now you’re not going to die. And he said it back.

He said your name and whisked you from the spiral. His leathery forehead leant down and pressed against yours.

“I love you.”

Maker, he said it again. You grinned, and pulled him closer. You wanted to say it one thousand times at the top of your lungs, and suddenly the glimpse didn’t seem as far out of reach as it had a few minutes ago.

“I love you too.”