#which ALMOST makes me feel less ridiculous about it being almost 1500 words

[intheseautumnhands]

Sorting The Last 5 Years

Hello I’m back with yet more tiny fandom sorting because I have Thoughts and also, Feelings. Let’s talk about The Last 5 Years, which has ranked consistently among my favorite all-time musicals for so very, very long, and has such great characters for dissecting.

First some brief housekeeping: This is based specifically off the script for the stage show, and the cast recording version by Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Rene Scott in 2002. I have not been lucky enough to see this live. I also promise no consistency with the movie because I just... nope, sorry, don’t like it. I think I remember things being consistent enough that this’d probably be good for both, but I’m not gonna try to include movie-based thoughts.

Second: I am not purposefully getting into the great “who was at fault” debate but I think my thoughts on them as characters makes it clear that I think both of them have flaws, and that while Jamie crossed a lot more lines at the end, neither of them are blameless for the relationship’s issues. SHC is always kinda YMMV, but even moreso than usually, if you’re really biased towards one side or the other, we probably read these characters very differently. Which is cool and I’d love to hear other opinions! But I will not be surprised if we disagree somewhere along the line.

I’m going to do this slightly different than usual -- since we’ve only got two characters to talk about, and I want to discuss how their houses bounce off each other, I’m going to go by house instead of discussing by character. In addition, I’m going to go Secondary first, because I have a lot I want to say about their Primaries.

Secondaries

In his second song of the show, Jamie tells us exactly how he approaches life: 

But I say no, no, whatever I do I barrel on through, and I don’t complain No matter what I try, I’m flying full speed ahead.... Things might get bumpy, but Some people analyze every details Some people stall when they can’t see the trail Some people freeze out of fear that they’ll fail But I keep rolling on

If I had to pull out one singular moment to crystallize how he approaches things, that’d be it. Jamie doesn’t bother to stop and consider or change his approach. He sees what he wants, and he goes for it, and he’s lucky enough that that works out really, really well for him. And even when it’s a response to hardship, that’s still his approach. Just look at I Could Never Rescue You: so we could fight, or we could wait, or I could go. He decides there’s nothing else worth trying, calls someone else to help him leave, and goes.

Even when it’s not the best idea right now, when tempering what he has to say might help him get what he wants (If I Didn’t Believe In You) he doesn’t do it.  Jamie charges, he’s stubborn, he’s set on what he wants -- he’s a pretty intense Lion, in other words.

Cathy tries to go after what she wants, too, but she ends up with several more obstacles in her way. While a lot of that is luck of the draw, she’s also a little more hesitant overall. Look at her running internal monologue throughout Climbing Uphill, second-guessing every decision (why’d I pick these shoes, why’d I pick this song, why’d I pick this career).  In The Schmuel Song Jamie alludes to the same hesitance: maybe it’s just that you’re afraid to go out onto a limb(-o-vitch), maybe your heart’s completely swayed but your head can’t follow through.

She comes off as having that preparedness of a foundational Secondary -- I don’t see any hints of the breathless charge and certainty of a Lion, or the adaptability of a Snake. I honestly think either Bird or Badger would be suitable for her, and could easily be played into in either direction depending on small acting choices.

Absent of other interpretations, I’m going to lean Bird, off that line from Jamie above and some of the little nuances of Sherie’s performances. There’s a lot of frustration that this all isn’t coming more easily that, while it probably has a lot to do with how easily things have come to Jamie, also leans me away from Badger a little bit; but she’s clearly not unwilling to put in the work, and I could absolutely see that interpretation working just as well.

Primaries

Interestingly, Cathy is outright stated as having the traditional Snake-y trait: don’t you think that now’s a good time to be the ambitious freak you are? That’s not why I’m going to say that Cathy’s a Snake Primary, and Jamie’s clearly got ambitions too, but it does make me smile a little.

Loyalist Cathy’s earliest (timeline-wise) songs are so full of Snake wrap-myself-up-in-my-favorite-person sentiments and lines. Goodbye until tomorrow, goodbye until the rest of my life, and I have been waiting, I have been waiting for you. You don’t have to change a thing, just stay with me. I want you and you and nothing but you, miles and piles of you. I don’t mean to put on any pressure, but I know when a thing is right. Once Jamie’s in her life, that’s it, he’s a priority. It is heartbreaking to go back over this show and realize how much more of what Cathy says is directly about Jamie than the other way around.

Even later on, after we get the first tiny signs of tension, it’s still there. In The Next Ten Minutes: I don’t know why people run, I don’t know why things fall through, I don’t know how anybody survives in this life without someone like you. I could protect and preserve, I could say no and good bye -- but why, Jamie, why? In Summer in Ohio: I found my guiding light, I tell the stars each night, look at me, look at him -- son of a bitch, I guess I’m doing something right.

It’s not even the first time she’s done this. In I Can Do Better Than That, she talks about a previous relationship in the same terms: I gave up my life for the better part of a year. When Cathy gets serious about someone, she makes them her priority,

And that’s what she gets, until that’s all she has, and she lashes out with the exact same thing she wanted at the beginning: you and you, and nothing but you, miles and piles of you. And I don’t think it’s because she didn’t actually want it. It’s because she thought it would be less one-sided.

Because idealist Jamie does put her high in his priorities, but he doesn’t put her first in the same, fixated way. Jamie’s instinctual and set-on-his-decisions Lion Primary chafes against Cathy’s expectation that he’ll put her above what he wants, fed into by that charging, bold instinct from his Secondary.

Which is not to say that Cathy isn’t important to Jamie. But the downfall in their relationship is that what that looks like is so different between the two of them, and they never figure out how to meet middle ground. They’re both unreliable, biased narrators in this story, and neither of them see what the other needs.

A while back, I talked about how different Primaries love. Jamie and Cathy could be case studies in what I said there, and especially in how that love can go bad.

Lion Jamie sees that they both have big dreams, and encourages Cathy to push her way forward on her dreams: Shouldn’t I want the world to see the brilliant girl who inspired me?... Stop temping, and go and be happy! He uses the thing that is most important to him -- his writing -- to encourage her, show her that he sees her hesitance and he believes in her. And when they’re having problems, he puts the blame on how her dreams are going first: Is it just that you’re disappointed to be touring again for the summer? Did you think this would all be much easier than it’s turned out to be?

And that’s where we get, I think, one of the biggest highlights of how they misunderstand each other: If I’m cheering on your side, Cathy, why can’t you support mine? Cathy feels unsupported, Cathy feels like everything has become all about Jamie -- but Jamie feels the same way. The kind of support they need is different, and neither of them see it.

(Even at the height of their love story, the one moment they’re at the same page, The Next Ten Minutes, it says so much to me that Jamie keeps getting these lines about a bigger picture that he and Cathy are just part of: there are so many dreams I need to see with you -- not dreams about them, dreams they can see come true together. I will never change the world, until, I do.)

And Jamie withdraws, and takes her more and more for granted, and steamrolls over her both accidentally -- A Part of That, and Cathy’s fierce declaration of I will not be the girl who gets asked how it feels to be trotting along at the genius’ heels getting disproven in front of her eyes -- and then purposefully, when he decides it’s time to stop trying.

Meanwhile, Snake Cathy sees that as the betrayal. She puts him first, makes him the priority, and when she doesn’t get that in return, she sees it as everything being about Jamie instead of the balance being equal. Fed into by her own ambitions going unfulfilled despite her own best efforts, she clings tighter, until he feels suffocated by it: all that I ask for is one little corner, one private room at the back of my heart, tell her I found one, she sends out battalions to claim it and blow it apart.

Until Jamie leaves, and Cathy is left bitter by it: Jamie is probably feeling just fine. Jamie decides it’s his right to decide. Run away, like it’s simple, like it’s right. Because to her steady, solid foundational Secondary and person-focused Snake, Jamie’s impulsive choice and quick action is cowardice at best, proof he doesn’t care as much at worst.

In summary:

Cathy Hiatt is a Snake Primary/foundational Secondary, either works with the text, but based on OCR, likely Bird.

Jamie Wellerstein is a Double Lion.

And Cathy’s person-first version of support VS Jamie’s dreams-first version of support, and their lack of understanding what each other is trying to provide and needs to recieve, is the entire crux of why their relationship fails, with some help from their uneven amounts of luck in their dream careers.

[just-a-tiny-ghost]

The "tip of the hair” thing from anime characters.

We all know these characters who have funny hair color ranging from bright pink to sparkling white, passing by mysterious purple. It’s almost an unspoken rule not to ponder too much on the color of characters’ hair, because it’s so cool!

Here are some theories/possibilities on the reasons behind the tip of the hair!

(Please do not take any of these seriously)

Warnings: please do not take this seriously, fight scene, 5 scenarios within the theories, last scenario being just plain mean… (~4k words)

Characters: Kita Shinsuke, Kocho Shinobu, Yushiro, Tokito Muichiro, Yashiro Nene, Ishigami Senku, Akugatawa Ryuunosuke, Zenin Naoya

1st part: It’s naturally like this. “The ‘natural’ hair color”

It’s just like childhood blond people.

The people who are born blond, live through their childhood being blond and then, treason. Their roots start to darken, spreading the brown over the blond and they are no longer Primrose but Katniss. And it’s difficult, you know, to explain that they are blond because they are going through a strange phase where they no longer know the color of their own hair (*sniff*, just kidding).

So, it’s just like this, the roots are brown but often the tip of the hair is of a lighter color (blond, even ginger in certain places). You take this, and you reverse it, making so that the roots are lighter, and tips are darker.

Example: Kita Shinsuke, Haikyuu

Here you have baby Shinsuke, with the same natural hair color as when older.

(psst, imagine also if during summer his hair darkened more, just like people have them more blond).

It’s a new kind of molecule. (Part 1)

There was a mutation, the melanin mutated help! Other than the eumelanin (dark/brown) and the pheomelanin (red/yellow), another one appeared giving people crazy (cool) hair color! What’s more is that this one actually moves.

Example : Kocho Shinobu, Demon Slayer

Notice first, this beautiful purple. What do we also notice? The ratio and the defined line, just as if all hair should go from black to purple at the same exact point.

This is NOT a coincidence; this molecule can travel. I will explain that; so, we notice that younger Shinobu’s hair are shorter than when she is 18/19. However, as her hair grow longer there is more purple that is appearing? Shouldn’t there be lesser purple? No and we can thank this new, heroic molecule.

New systems developed inside the follicle, and they can sense, perceive the ratio of the colors. As the hair grow longer, more of this molecule will be created and sent to the extremity of the hair, allowing Shinobu to always have the same black/purple ratio on all the affected hairs, which explain the clear line as they are roughly the same length.

It’s a new kind of follicle. (Part 2)

And a lazy one at that! While working efficiently at the beginning, it soon becomes so lazy that it thought about just letting the regular black/brown/ginger/blond color instead of continuing working hard to color the hair a beautiful shade.

Example: Tokito Muichiro, Demon Slayer

(In his case, the follicle just forgot)

The Marie-Antoinette syndrome

The Marie-Antoinette syndrome is when someone hair suddenly turn white due to an intense stress.

The name came from folklore about the hair of Queen Marie-Antoinette of France (1755-1793), who during the night before her execution by guillotine, had her hair turn white in her cell due to stress.

The Marie-Antoinette syndrome could have had another name as Thomas More in 1535 also had his hair suddenly whitening the night before his execution, there were several cases of the syndrome throughout history, but no research suggests that we can lose hair color overnight. Yet, stress do cause hair to whiten, not overnight, but progressively.

Example: (well, might as well go with the same manga) Yushiro, Demon Slayer

I’m actually pretty sure this is due to stress as before meeting Tamayo he was sick and he may have had a time where all his hair were black, but the stress just came back when he realized how much he loves Tamayo and how many potential rivals he could have (lol). (assuming his hair continue to grow, but we know it’s not *sigh*)

So, this was all for now for the “natural” hair color part. Now, just imagine them just after they cut their hair.

You tilt your head sideways, examining Shinsuke’s hair while sipping your juice from under the shadow of the peach tree.

The sun was scorching, obliging him to wear his hat while gardening but not preventing you from taking sneak glances at his new hairstyle —diligently cut by his grandmother— the missing black color at the tip of his hair still slightly disturbing you.

When you saw him that day, your accustomed-to-seeing-him brain went into a frenzied panic assuming a non-existing threat from the sudden change in the pattern of his hair. You, without having a choice, followed behind this archaic brain of yours, metamorphosing into a stuttering, eyes-avoiding mess when your heart won the fight with your brain and decided that this would fluster you.

The day was spent in his bedroom, playing with his hair sometimes brushing them in the opposite direction, their straightness prickling your palm sometimes just rolling a strand between your fingers, eyes prying for even the tiniest spot of black leading you to conclude that they had all been cut off.

Your view of your boyfriend is suddenly blocked… by the face of said boyfriend. The blank stare on him was too much, as it was all he saw whenever he turned around to check on his resting girlfriend, leading him to come nearer.

“Hey, are you feeling all right?” He approaches his hand to you head, brushing your baby hair out of your face. “Even with a hat and sunscreen, maybe the sun was too strong? We can go inside and rest if you want to.”

You pull him to sit next to you, taking his hat off by the process and raising your head to scan the sky through the branches and leaves protecting you both.

“Nah, I’m okay,” you reach behind you and dive your hand in the cooler, grabbing a cool bottle of water, “you should drink a little though and we have to go back soon granny is going to worry, and I don’t want her to come outside to search for us in this kind of weather.”

You battle a little bit and screw off the cap to hand the bottle to him, which he takes and grace your fingers with a kiss right after.

“I am still not used to not seeing the black tips in your hair. Sorry I was staring,” you apologize.

He laughs it off, internally relieved that you were not mad or rehearsing a prank forged with the twins in your head.

He still had some influence on them and intimidating them was not a problem. He also could retaliate without an ounce of guilt.

But while he could scold you —it is fun to see you being apologetic and trying to be forgiven, your pranks were rather mild too—he could never be mad too long, as your pranks were just, well kind. If the twins are not involved.

“I can understand. Look at me as much as you want, I’m here for this as well after all.” He stands up and pulls you up after closing and putting the strap of the cooler on his shoulder.

“Let’s go home.” And you follow him, carefully placing both of your hat to protect you from the sunrays.

“Wait a little bit and you will see; the roots will grow black at first and it will soon be as usual.”

“Really?!”

Three days later, his hair was green, courtesy of the twins giving you ideas.

2nd part: It is not natural.

Well, we could just say, it’s the power of something that made it like this bla bla bla (well, I mean it’s the author who chooses).

But nah, it’s no fun if we do not make theories! Because the world is… *whisper* conspiracy. Let’s forget the wig too for now.

Well, let’s start with something basic: it’s simply dyed.

Maybe the characters just thought it was cool to have them dyes like that and this could work for a lot of them, even in the less recent times as people started to dye their hair even 1500 BC. 300 BC prostitutes in the Roman Empire already dyed their hair blond too, using ashes of burned plants or nuts and in 2014 artificial-looking hair color became a trend! (https://www.byrdie.com/hair-color-history)

Exemple : Yashiro Nene, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun

Nene-chan obviously is a hopelessly romantic teenager, and I am sure that she wants to follow trends just like she wants a boyfriend for the sake of, well, having a relationship at the beginning of the story.

So, pretty sure that with Aoi’s influence (she has the real power… help) they decided to dye the tip of her hair green in middle school.

(psst, PS: Aoi also tried to dye one strand green but her hairs were too dark, we can only distinguish the color when focusing)

(re psst: Akane directly noticed it).

Okay, a little funnier now. It’s because of an experimental failure, so a new kind of chemicals.

Example: Ishigami Senku, Dr Stone

So, we know that he is a science nerd. And we know that he experiments a lot. Let’s just imagine mini-Senku, seeing his father and wondering why the hell does he resemble a radish? 

Then, mini-Senku trying to synthesize a greenish hair dye (because he wants to look like a leek), but failing, not because it doesn’t take the color, but because it stays.

Do you know what’s even funnier? He failed it when he was young, like ridiculously young (he is in first grade here, so 6/7 years old and already a fan).

So just imagine 5/6 years old Senku, just having his hair up and green one day and he understands that they will always be like this.

It’s due to their power <3

Maybe kind of a side-effect of their power, we could think of Todoroki (Shoto) whose fire side have red hair and white in the ice side, so simply a cool consequence of cool powers.

Example: Akugatawa Ryuunosuke, Bungo Stray Dogs

Okay, so this is cannon, I’ve decided so. We all know he was poor, but like slums poor so he could just not afford to buy hair dye also there is no point in doing so.

BUT! During one of his fight, it happened. Rashomon ate the melanin at the tip of his hair. And since then, he decided it was cool and will keep it like this forever.

Scenarios! (･ω<)☆

“A-are you sure it’s like that?”

“Of course, it is, just trust me Nene-chan~”

They were clearly messing things up. The shower curtain laid there, ripped off its place, soppy and stained green at some places.

The sink, crowded with various face products, hair accessories, nail polish and a myriad of different-colored eyeshadows from just as much different pallets. Clothes lingered on the floor, creating little mountains of fabric and you were wise enough to avoid stepping on one in fear of being stabbed by a lost hairpin.

In the middle—rather the left corner—of this mess stood your two friends, the stool having been knocked off by a panicked Nene made you worry about her tripping on it. Facing her was a smiling Aoi hands stuck on too-big plastic gloves and a bottle of hair dye in her hands.

“I thought I told you both to wait for me,” you sighed. “Here Aoi-chan, gimme the bottle and the gloves. Nene-chan, catch this.”

You threw your package to her, which she missed, and the cloth unfolded revealing the cape you borrowed from your father’ barber shop. You hanged the curtain up again and went back to the now wearing the cape Nene— you just named teepee-Nene.

You slipped on the gloves and verified the mixture they prepared. Deeming it good and usable, you began to separate the strands of Nene’s hair, clipping some up and untangling some burdensome ones.

Then, as she already applied the protecting product, you began to spread the dye on her tips, visualizing the lovely ombré she wanted.

From the corner of your eyes, you noticed Aoi growing bored by each new stroke of brush.

“Do you want have a dyed strand too? Though it could not take well because of the color and the washing you just did,” you offered.

“Yes!” she eagerly accepted, immediately pointing at a random point on her head. “Plus, we can trust you at one hundred percent!”

“Of course,” you chuckled, “I am used to do this.”

“You did most of your colors by yourself, yeah?” Nene asked.

“Yup,” you confirmed. “But my parents were okay with it, were almost encouraging me to do so, bleh. Contrary to some middle-schoolers I know.”

You yelped, escaping from Aoi’s traitor finger that just poked your side. Nene grinned, “Well, as miss high-school first year helped us, you are an accomplice. Don’t think you can escape being punished with us, (Y/n).”

Shaking your head, you went back to her, lightly pinching her arm through the cape and focusing on your task with the girls’ chatting serving as your background noise.

_____________________

“We should dye your hair too, (Y/n)!” The girls’ eyes sparkled.

“No do so kids.” You discarded the dye bottle in your hand. “The dye doesn’t work anymore, should have requested this sooner.” Ignoring their complains, you walked out of the bathroom, walking to the kitchen for some snacks.

It was an ordinary day at the Ishigami household. Byakuya had checked his list, little shoes at the entrance, check. Clean living room and table, check. A walking Senku-sized mop, check. Groceries for dinner, check.

Byakuya turned around, checking again. Ah, he forgot the yogurts. Would it be weird to go back to the convenience store? They could skip yogurts for once, it wasn’t essential. What was important, however…

“Senku!! What happened to your head?!” He dashed to his son, grabbing his shoulders. “Did you get hurt? Wait you didn’t actually dive into a suspicious liquid right?” He paused. Then thought. He stared at him. “No, even if you want to test something you can’t just bath in it.”

Senku stared right back at him. And bonked his head.

“No I didn’t, I’m not stupid,” he reassured his father. “It’s hair dye,” he pointed out.

“Aah, I see…” He patted his hair before standing up. And tossed the child on his shoulder while ordering, “We are going to wash it away, immediately.”

_____________________

It wasn’t right. It didn’t go away.

“Why is it still stuck?!”

“I don’t know!! But stop, I’m going bald!! Help! He is trying to age a child! Human experiment!”

“I’m not, it doesn’t want t-oh, it’s disappearing.” Indeed, the water was now tinted a green color after streaming through Senku’s hair.

Byakuya sighed in relief. “Luckily it’s going away,” he started, “though it’s seems the tips already took the color in.”

Head down, Senku wrung out his hair and broke in a smile while confirming by himself Byakuya’s affirmation. “Yeah, I started by dyeing them first. Wanted to look like you.”

Byakuya froze. ‘He wanted to look like me?’ He glanced at his reflection. ‘I do have two hair colors.’ He grabbed a towel and spoke, “But you know, it’s not good to dye your hair this young. Come here, I’m gonna dry them.”

The child’s hairs were still thin, but the long strands would thicken later with no doubts. Byakuya was wary of his own strength too, as a child’s head remained fragile looking, Senku was still five after all. But this wouldn’t prevent him to mess with it a little bit.

Taking the hairdryer and a hair comb, he disentangled some knots here and there, added hair wax at each strand he lifted up until they were all up and with a radish-like form except from a tiny seaweed at the front.

“Tada! Here is my masterpiece. Keep it will you?” He ran away. “I’m going to the convenience store; I forgot the yogurts!” he shouted. “Tidy the bathroom up for now, thanks!"

_____________________

“What they didn’t know though,” the narrator started, “is that the chemicals would keep him looking like that, proudly wearing the same hairstyle 3,700 years later, a unique hairstyle, a relic from the modern era they knew.”

Akugatawa was in a dire situation. A kind of situation he had been in plenty of times but could be the last one he lived through just like all the other ones.

The enemy was strong, not physically exceptional, but having grown enough muscles to defeat three or four kids like Akugatawa attacking him together.

It wouldn’t be a problem, for he was blessed with Rashomon, if only the man he was fighting wasn’t an ability user as well.

The worst, being that he didn’t underestimate him nor was he stupid as he cleverly used all the aspects of his ability, taking each openings Akugatawa dropped by inadvertence, creating numerous opportunities from them and further damaging the child’s body each time.

Akugatawa was certain now, that his enemy couldn’t be taken lightly and though it was pointless to ponder on this now, as he didn’t know if he would survive this fight, he was concerned on why someone this strong would be going after him.

The answer to his questioning could be a threat to his relative safety, as well as his sister’s and the other children’s.

He dodged, the outline of the shadow almost piercing through his head, its razor-sharp edges flaunting death in front of his eyes.

After many failures, he finally began to uncover the trick to resist the unknown ability. The man had been sending his shadow after him for some gruesome minutes now and Akugatawa recognized some patterns, his body learned to dodge and bend to escape even one blow.

But his knowledge stopped there, he couldn’t pinpoint how to stop the enemy, how the ability worked.

All kind of ability had some king of mechanism, he learned. His depended on his clothing as the beast was formed from it. If put naked in front of an enemy, he would be dead meat; separated from any kind of fabric he was just as vulnerable as he was as a newborn.

Yet, even when having Rashomon by his side he was struggling against the stronger, the more experienced ability user.

While the origin of the enemy’s weapon was his obviously shadow, he had no ideas how to make it disappear nor did he know how to stop the connection between the user and his shadow.

He blocked an attack—at least Rashomon could touch it—and the beast’s fangs tore through the black foggy blade making a bee line to the enemy’s neck.

From under him, the man defended himself. This action cost him his life as Akugatawa found his long-awaited solution.

Another attack, not from the ground—he learned that when closer to him, the enemy could raise his shadow as he wanted—but from above him.

He lifted his head; the tip dangerously close to him.

It allowed Rashomon to successfully break the crystal hidden underneath the layers of shadow, the blade shattering apart the moment the crystal was damaged.

Now that he found out the way to get rid of him, Akugatawa could unleash his beast and let it freely destroy the destabilized enemy in front of him.

_____________________

The enemy was gone and Akugatawa staggered to his home, the distance being longer than what he recalled. Having reached the entrance, he collapsed on the ground after seeing his sister quietly waiting for his return.

He woke up some hours later, the night had installed itself in the sky.

Something was strange however, as his sister was staring at him, eyes sparkling. He wondered why until she pointed at a strand of her hair that was framing her face and taking it, pushing him to mirror her actions with his own.

Indeed, where the black melanin was supposed to be, was now hairs devoid of color and white like an old man’s. His gaze trailed up to find out only the tip lost its color, the pattern where the colors met looking like sharp teeth.

“Big brother,” Gin started, “could you do the same for me? I want white tips too! And you must do the same at the other side, it would be prettier if it symmetrical.”

Did his sister just ask him to chomp her with Rashomon?

Bonus: Zenin Naoya <3<3<3, new technique

Hang him head down.

First, you lure him into the garden, being a submissive, obedient and sweet wife, you want your dear husband who is finally at home to relax and you have prepared a surprise for him <3

So, you lead him to the garden, where you prepared a magnificent, grandiose gallows!

Not understanding the reason why it’s here but being arrogant enough for at least a hundred men; he asks his silly wife why something so grotesque was in the garden she adored to take care of

You smile sweetly and lean in to kiss him (him allowing you to do so of course, you couldn’t do this if he was not spoiling you but he was really good with you), wrapping your arms around his neck

Then, you let go of his neck, watching him slowly fall back.

“Oh, dear!” You chuckle after hearing the loud bang his head produced after kissing the ground

You grab the collar of his cloth with one hand, the other one patting the back of his head, fingers finally grazing the little bump, consequence of his fall.

You slam it. (´꒳`)♡

Then you drag him behind you, playing a little bit among the moist grass and zigzagging to admire the pretty flowers you took care of during all the times you had an affair with boredom behind your husband’s back.

1st step. You tightly tie the rope around Naoya’s feet, slipping his sandals in his trouser for him to be able to find them later, how thoughtful you are

2nd step. You get the basin you already prepared and then, you pour the hair dye inside of it

3rd step. You use your delicate arms to lift him up, pulling on the rope with the mechanism you prepared, only do this now or he could die from having too much blood going to his head. Again, you are a model for all wives with your thoughtfulness.

4th step. Let the tip of his hair soak in the hair dye and you can even use it to decorate your husband’s clothes ( ´ ▽ ` )

5th step. Let him dry here, he will take the dye in and have beautiful hair tips. When he wakes up, he won’t be calling the servants because of his pride but then take a little time to come off the gallows. And then, he will be so thankful towards his wife he might want to kill you without ever divorcing! (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄)

But you leave the garden before he wakes up, you want to surprise him.

You take your luggage, join the man/woman (dear boredom) you are actually having an affair with and get out of the house. You want him to fully experience his marriage after all, you will offer him the experience of being cucked.( ◡‿◡ *)

[desiree-harding-fic]

Broken Engagement Au (Chapter 1???)

“I’m not going to write another long fic while I already have a WIP,” I say through gritted teeth. “I’m not going to do it it’s a stupid decision and I’m not going to do it.”

So @fandomsnstuff is to blame for this and I can say that because she’s an incorrigible enabler, but here’s 1500 words of broken engagement because I can’t get over it.

CREDIT: Taako’s last name has been shamelessly stolen from Bureau of Badass by Chemicallywrit and miceenscene on Ao3, and @bureauofbadass on tumblr. Because it’s been my modern au name for Taako ever since I read that fic the first time, which, if you haven’t read it, drop everything and I’ll see you in a few days. Now that’s some writing.

Check the #broken engagement au tag on my blog for more snippets!

————————

“Angus?” Taako says mildly from behind his desk.

“Hmm??” The kid hums from where he’s hanging upside down off Taako’s ratty classroom couch in the corner. His glasses are half falling off his face, but he’s got a book held up a few inches from his nose anyway. The thing is, the book is right-side up.

“Whatcha doin’ there, kiddo?” Taako asks, marking through another sentence on the paper in front of him with a frown.

“Well, sir,” Angus starts in that tone that always makes Taako bite down on a grin, “I read them too fast right side up. I think my comprehension is suffering because the words go by too fast.”

“Bullshit,” Taako says, ignoring Angus’s language, sir! “Your comprehension is fine and you know it. You’re just a show-off nerd,” he teases.

“Says the one who had a powerpoint about LGBT influences in 16th Century literature ready last week for the eventuality that someone in your class called Mercutio ‘kinda gay,’”

“Hey, that was a good lesson –” Taako starts in, but the kid sits up abruptly on the couch, putting the book down and picking up his phone. Taako can hear another buzz of a message coming in as the kid is scrolling through it.

“My dad’s here, sir,” he says, “he’s on his way to the room now.”

“About time.” Taako puts the essay back in the section folder, slips it into his bag to grade when he gets home. The grading is endless. One of his least favorite parts of the job. Who needs grades anyway? All his kids are smart. Seems dumb to hold them all to the same arbitrary standard.

“I’m sorry for keeping you, sir,” Angus says, and he’s moved over to the desk he threw his backpack down on when he came into the room almost an hour ago. He looks a little unsure, and Taako curses himself silently in his head.

“It’s ok, kid,” he says, trying to make sure he sounds like he means it so Angus won’t feel bad, “I told you, it ain’t no thing for me to stay after a bit to talk to your old man.”

Angus is… a special case. Taako’s never had anything like him in a class before. Kid’s only just turned 12 years old and he’s already starting high school. A real whiz-kid, but it’s a tough world out there, high school being full of teenagers of all shapes, sizes, and personalities, for a literal kid –

Hence Taako.

He’s been teaching at Neverwinter Academy for almost four years now, grateful every second of the time that anyone deigned to give him a job (and thank the gods for Principal Davenport), much less at a premier private school where he’s largely allowed to make his own curriculum with only a few guidelines. It’s a good job. Taako likes it. It’s stable and it’s safe and no one’s going to die from Taako’s lecturing and he actually kind of has a knack with the kids, weirdly enough.

Hence Angus and Taako.

Neverwinter Secondary Academy has a mentorship program. Kids who seem to struggle a bit academically get paired with a faculty adviser to help see them through. Well Angus is anything but struggling – he’s gotten straight As on every assignment Taako’s given thus far – but all the same, Taako was contacted at the beginning of the year about the kid. He was placed right in the program anyway, not for academic reasons for once, but for social.

You have a knack for getting close to the students, Davenport’s email had read. While I see no reason why Angus shouldn’t succeed at NSA, he might have some difficulty adjusting socially. His parent originally contacted us about the idea, and I have to say I agree that giving Angus an extra support figure can only be beneficial.

Taako had agreed, of course; how could he say no? And meeting Angus had really cinched it. Kid’s only been in Taako’s class a little over a month, but he’s already maybe one of Taako’s favorite students, like, ever. Not that Taako plays favorites. He likes all his students just the same, thank you very much.

(Angus is definitely his favorite.)

It didn’t help that the kid’s a goofball smartass nerd, either, which is the exact archetype that makes up like… 98% of Taako’s family and close friends. It doesn’t help that he’s got a single parent keeping everything together at home based on the school records and the email chain back and forth. It doesn’t help that his dad, who he mentions about as often to Taako as people talk about like… the weather, seems like a really genuine guy who’s trying really hard based on the email chain they’ve had going. Angus’s dad set up the parent/teacher conference, even, to check in on how things are going, one-on-one with Angus’s adviser. It’s almost disgustingly practical and good and loving and it seems like everything in this kid’s entire life has been engineered to make Taako fuckin’ love him.

It’s really not fair. He teaches like 90 students. He’s not supposed to have favorites.

And yet.

There’s a knock on Taako’s door and they both look up, Angus smiling immediately, which definitely isn’t cute, Taako, Christ, and Taako gets up from his desk and smooths his shirt out. He dressed normal today and everything. He knows the kids like his… eccentric style, but parents? Parents are always a different game. And knowing he was about to meet Angus’s dad today gave him pause that morning. Still. The soft blue button down and slacks are a touch rumpled from a day’s work. He could look better.

He gets up and goes to the door, Angus trailing along behind.

*****

Neverwinter Secondary Academy could be a maze for all Kravitz’s skill navigating his way to Angus’s classroom, which is of course the farthest from the front office that any in this place could be, surely, and he’s already late after being kept at work, and he’s sure that Angus’s teacher is at the very least unimpressed with him and more likely annoyed, which is just what he needed -

He finally finds his way, sees the sign reading T. Peynirci, and he takes a moment to smooth out the wrinkles in his jacket from the day (which of course does no good because it never does), before he raises his hand and knocks on Mr. Peynirci’s door.

And Taako opens it.

“Ah,” Taako says, and then nothing else, his hand hovering in midair where it was clearly extended for a handshake -

“Dad!” Angus says, “this is my adviser and English teacher, Mr. Peynirci,” and there’s a little bit of a sneer in it that Kravitz doesn’t know the context for, “Taako, this is my dad.” And it’s exactly how an introduction should go, all crossed t’s and dotted i’s -

And Kravitz’s brain is on high alert, emergency sirens blaring.

And his first thought, infuriatingly, is how good Taako looks, now, still, after all this time. Which is ridiculous because Kravitz can hardly recognize him (he’s wearing glasses, for Christ’s sake) and also because he hasn’t seen Taako in over twelve years and he’s supposed to be past those thoughts by now -

The second thought is who on Earth entrusted Taako with the care and keeping (and the education) of a bunch of impressionable teenagers, much less his son’s mental, emotional, and social well-being -

The third thought is that Angus is right there and Kravitz has been staring blankly at Taako for what is likely about to become a second too long -

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Peynirci,” he says, reaching out and shaking Taako’s hand, though he doesn’t want to touch him, does he? (He does, he does so much.) Nice to meet you, he says, and he shakes Taako’s hand, and he can feel his grip, too tight, can see, perfectly, the moment Taako’s eyes go from shocked and awed to empty, except for a spark, just a spark of malice, right there. He regrets everything.

“Likewise, Mr. McDonald,” Taako says, releasing Kravitz’s hand, and Kravitz nearly winces from it. Because it was one thing, wasn’t it, to make the decision to pretend that Taako was a stranger, but it’s another to be on the receiving end of it, to see Taako introducing himself as though he’s going to trip over Kravitz’s very name, as though he’s never had to say it out loud before this moment. As though Taako didn’t spend years falling asleep and waking up beside Kravitz, didn’t spend years going out and pressing himself against Kravitz in dim bars, tipsy and warm. As though he didn’t spend a year wearing a ring Kravitz selected for him, and sized to fit just so. As though he didn’t almost take that name and make it his own.

“Let’s sit down, shall we?” Taako says, and he smiles without any of his teeth.

[elysiumwaits]

If you are still taking the fake dating requests: sterek 8? Love your writing

So this actually sprouted two ideas, one of which wound up being 1500 words and the other being a long multi-chaptered one that I started as well but didn’t want to work on today. 

The prompt was: “someone assumed we’re dating but I didn’t realize that’s what they meant until it was too late and I had committed us to a couples’ retreat weekend.”

This is the 1500 words one, which is full of ‘didn’t know they were dating’ and ‘Scott McCall is a sneaky bastard who knows what he’s doing and how to play Stiles like a fiddle’. 

Someone Should Have Told Us

Rated: Teen

(AO3 Link)

Stiles has one major weakness these days. It’s gotten him into a lot of sticky situations, and will probably be the cause of his inevitably gruesome supernatural death one of these days. Right now, this weakness is holding a printed itinerary and talking excitedly about bonding and Allison, and just generally looking very, very happy. 

A weekend at the beach doesn’t sound bad at all, to be honest, even if it means he has to watch Scott and Allison make eyes at each other at this weird mindfulness-alternative-health kind of resort. And, hell, maybe four days of yoga and peaceful breathing will be good for Stiles’ stress levels. Besides, the whole thing is paid for, they’re just looking to fill the ticket, after all, and Stiles has never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

So, like a fool, Stiles says, “Sure,” and then follows it up with, “Sounds like fun,” and “Can’t wait, looking forward to it already.”

Which is when Scott throws the whole conversation from this dimension into what clearly must be a conversation from an alternate universe by saying, “Great! So you and Derek will have a suite in the same villa as me and Allison, but the only thing communal will be the kitchen. There’s this really cool thing about working out past issues with an intuitive and-”

Wait, hold on, back up. Stiles blinks as his brain catches up. “Derek? What… Derek?”

Scott gives him a strange look, like Stiles is just not getting with the program here. “Uh, of course, dude, it’s a couples retreat,” he says, like that’s supposed to mean something to Stiles, like somehow he’s supposed to connect the dots between ‘couples retreat’ and ‘sharing a suite with Derek Hale.’ When Stiles is quiet for just a split second too long, Scott keeps going. “I know you guys haven’t gone public with your relationship yet, which was totally understandable when you were still in high school, but you’re twenty now, Stiles. You don’t have to hide it from us anymore, we already know.”

Scott is patting Stiles’ shoulder and giving him that understanding, sympathetic face. Stiles has no fucking clue what’s happening here, but his brain is desperately trying to make sense of how this has apparently gone horribly awry.

“I’m not…” he manages to get out, but doesn’t actually finish because he can’t even wrap his head around the words ‘in a relationship with Derek Hale,’ let alone his mouth.

“Stiles.” Scott sounds almost disappointed. “We know. The whole pack knows, and we approve. You guys are just better together and always have been. It’s okay.” His phone chimes in his pocket, and Stiles attempts to get a handle on his fucking life while Scott reads a text. “Oh, I gotta head to the clinic. But, listen, we leave tomorrow afternoon to check in around six, so make sure you and Derek are packed and ready by then. It’s gonna be great!” 

“We’ll… we’ll drive separately,” Stiles says faintly, and automatically takes the itinerary that Scott hands him.

“Good idea, you guys can talk about what you want out of the weekend privately then.” Scott pats Stiles’ shoulder one more time before he leaves Stiles to slump back against the door of his Jeep and look around the residential street in the hopes that someone will appear out of thin air and injure him so he doesn’t have to do… well, any of this.

Scott McCall is definitely going to be the cause of his inevitably gruesome supernatural death. Stiles’ days are officially numbered, because Derek is going to murder him. 

-

Derek doesn’t kill him, but instead descends into the same spiral of confusion that Stiles had. Stiles has the express pleasure of watching as Derek’s brain shuts down for an entire ten seconds and then tries to reboot again, like an overheated computer on its last legs. Stiles can relate.

“They think we’re dating,” is what Derek finally says. “The whole pack thinks we’re dating?”

“I honestly think they’ve got the idea that it’s significantly more serious and committed than just dating.” Stiles waves the itinerary around. “I mean… there’s workshops like ‘Sanity in Relationships’ and ‘Releasing the Past through Rewriting Your Love Story.’ This is, like, intense and geared toward couples with long-term plans.”

“We don’t have long-term plans.” Derek sits down on the couch and rubs his forehead in that way he does when he’s starting to get stressed out. “Because we’re not in a relationship.” He looks up then, sharply and alarmed. “Are we?”

“We’re not,” Stiles says quickly. “We just spend a lot of time together.”

“Because we get along.” Derek nods, slow. “We go out to eat a lot.”

“That’s because your kitchen is understocked, and I can’t eat like that with my dad. You always pay.” There’s a dawning horror happening in Stiles’ head. “You never let me pay. They don’t even ask if we want to split the check at the diner anymore.”

“Because I have money and you don’t! It just makes sense.” Derek doesn’t look any less alarmed, though. “You cuddle me on movie nights.”

“You’re warm! I have shitty circulation! You let me!”

“You smell sad when I don’t.”

There’s a beat. Derek is staring at Stiles like he’s just seeing him for the first time, and Stiles completely understands that feeling.

“You keep junk food in your cabinets for me.”

“Your window’s always unlocked, still. I never have to wonder if it will be unlocked, because I just know.”

Stiles sits down on the coffee table in front of Derek, staring at the werewolf. “You listen to my music even though you hate it.”

“I like the way it makes you happy.” Derek sounds distant, unfocused, even though he’s looking at Stiles. “You were here on the anniversary of the fire. You stayed the whole night.”

Stiles nods, slowly. “You fixed my Jeep last time. I didn’t even ask you to, I just told you it needed work and you… did it.”

“You invited me to weekly dinners with your dad.”

“You actually show up for weekly dinners with my dad.” The itinerary in Stiles’ hand crinkles a little in his grip. “The pack thinks we’re in a relationship. I… I think my dad thinks we’re in a relationship. Derek, are we... are we in a relationship?”

Derek is quiet for a long moment, but he doesn’t look away from Stiles. “I don’t trust anyone else in this world the way I trust you,” he finally says, and Stiles’ breath catches a little. “I know, without a doubt, that you are the one person in existence who always has my back.” He looks a little lost, to be honest, like he’s just realizing all of this. “You never judge me, you never ask me for something I can’t give you.”

Something clicks into place in Stiles’ mind. “You’re the first person I think to call when shit hits the fan. Not because you’re badass and scary and you have the whole teeth and muscles thing going on, but because I know that if I call, you’ll come.” They’re close - Stiles on the coffee table and Derek on the couch, their knees practically touching. Stiles swallows, and finally breaks the intense eye contact. “Sometimes,” he says with all of his courage in his throat, “you do something badass or heroic or smash through a wall or punch someone who wants to kill us, and I get this really intense urge to kiss you.”

“It’s really hot when you show how smart you actually are.” When Stiles looks up, Derek still hasn’t looked away. “Like, everyone knows you’re smart, but when you do that thing where you fit all the pieces together and figure everything out… I don’t know, it just makes me want to throw you against the wall and-” Derek cuts himself off, going bright red. 

Stiles crumples the couples retreat itinerary in his hand. “I mean, at this point, it probably wouldn’t change much,” he says, and a little bit of hope unfurls in his chest. “Like, we’re not in a relationship or dating or whatever but…”

Derek finishes for him. “Maybe we should be.”

There’s another couple seconds of silence before Stiles shifts just enough to remember the itinerary still in his hand, the couples retreat that started this whole thing. “We, uh. I told Scott we’d drive separately but it’s still, like, four days so we’ll need to pack if we’re actually going to do this ridiculous thing.”

“Do you think if we just stayed in the suite the whole time they’d kick us out?” Derek asks, and takes the itinerary to examine it. “Because ‘Becoming One with the Vortex of Your Partner’s Soul’ doesn’t sound nearly as good as four days of making out with you on a beach does.”

And really, at that point, Stiles can’t be blamed for anything he does. Long story short, they aren’t packed in time, they show up to the retreat two hours late, and they never go to a single workshop. Scott isn’t disappointed in the slightest, apparently, instead looking strangely smug, like maybe he knows something Stiles doesn’t or like one of his plans actually worked.

In any case, Stiles is entirely too distracted to care.

[ankkalinna]

Friendship, Family, and That Weird Friend of Uncle Scrooge’s We’re Not Supposed to Really Talk About

Word Count: 1500

Pairing: Flinty/Scrooge

Rating: totally SFW

When Donald looked back, he wondered if he should have figured something out sooner. Maybe it had been going on for years before that day? He had no idea and couldn't really just ask.

And it only became more obvious later, even if no one still actually talked about it. At some point you could definitely guess. Make some assumptions. But the first time Donald had definitely realized something was up was at his 35th birthday on Grandma's farm when Scrooge brought a friend with him.

Donald scanned the room full of people. At this stage of the party everyone had moved into their little groups, the kids especially. Daisy was chatting with Grandma Duck, Fethry was explaining something to Gladstone-

It seemed like everyone had agreed to just ignore Flintheart Glomgold who was sitting in a corner in the most uncomfortable-looking chair in the room, glumly eating strawberry cake. In fact Donald was fairly sure he hadn't said a word to anyone after the nod and 'hello' he had given to stunned Donald after walking in after Scrooge. Scrooge himself had seemingly completely ignored his existence, and was at the moment filling his plate with cupcakes at the table.

Donald walked up to him.

”Uncle Scrooge?”

Scrooge looked up. ”Hm?”

”So, um... Why.”

Scrooge turned back towards the table. ”Why what?”

”Why is Glomgold here?”

Scrooge stuffed his bill full of cupcakes and shrugged.

Determined to not let him off the hook so easily Donald stood there while he chewed. Just as he swallowed and was about to walk away to get more cupcakes, Donald asked again.

”Is this some kind of a... Business... thing..?”

Granted he had no idea how that'd explain the fact Glomgold had been apparently invited to his birthday party. But it was as likely a guess as any really.

”Grandma has really outdone herself this time, these blueberry cakes are wonderful.”

”Thanks. I made those,” Donald said. ”Also they're chocolate.”

”Same thing really, now if you excuse me-”

Donald let him wander off. Something was definitely up! He had expected Scrooge to tell him he could invite whoever he wanted. Or to at least try to make up an excuse, instead of... nothing.

Donald glanced at the corner where Glomgold had sat down. He had apparently been eating that piece of cake for at least half an hour, mostly pushing the last tiny piece around with his spoon.

Donald took a plate of cupcakes and walked across the room.

He ignored the angry glare effortlessly.

”Good evening. Would you want some?”

Free food seemed to be tempting enough and he reached to take two.

”Yes,” after some hesitation he added: ”thank you.”

”Chocolate cupcakes. Got the recipe from my Grandma, she used to make these when I was a kid.”

”Hm.”

Donald stood there, determined to find out something. And it was up to him to be a good host wasn't it?

”If you're standing here waiting for a gift, the one Scrooge gave you was from both of us.”

”Oh, so instead of the usual six supermarket donuts past their sell-by date Uncle Scrooge got me three this year? The three rutabaga-creme ones were from you.”

”Did you want something? Donald, was it?”

Donald stared at him. Glomgold knew full well who he was. Was he trying to pretend he didn't remember all those times they had met? Although presumably bringing up the times he had pointed a gun at him might have had brought the mood down a little...

Donald gave him his biggest smile. Well if he was planning to pretend they were strangers, fine. ”Yes, Donald Duck. I think you know my uncle? Scrooge McDuck.”

”Erm, yes. I believe we've met.” Glomgold looked around, looking nervous for a fraction of a second before glaring at Donald again.

”Nice party,” he mumbled before stuffing his bill with cupcakes.

Donald wasn't sure if anyone had asked Scrooge about it later. After the party Scrooge, Glomgold and Donald had all gotten in Donald's car and he had driven them first to Glomgold's Duckburg office and then after dropping Glomgold off, taken Scrooge to the Money Bin. The trip had been silent, but at least sort of familiar, even if 'an awkward trip together after Glomgold tried to get us killed for the whole adventure' wasn't quite the same as 'an awkward trip together after Glomgold had been grumpily eating cake in a corner very pointedly not socializing for the whole party'.

Donald wasn't sure if it was an improvement.

But now Donald started paying attention to the two. And he did notice a change in their interaction.

It had become far colder.

Donald was used to having to drag the two apart, and listen to them throw childish insults at each other, but now whenever they happened to meet Glomgold at an auction or a similar event, his interaction with Scrooge was far more distant. Less heated. Outright polite.

Which in itself was enough to make Donald uneasy. But it was none of his business and this was better anyway. He had always been mostly embarrassed by their scuffles.

But sometimes there was something else. Something Donald couldn't quite put his finger on...

He probably had on some level suspected. But it wasn't until that day that Donald was certain.

He had been summoned by nightly wailing once again, and hurried to Scrooge's bin. It had been a while actually. Donald had almost gotten used to getting a good night's uncleless sleep. He opened the door to the bedroom. And almost collided with Glomgold.

Glomgold in a nightgown.

”Um,” was all Donald could say.

”He's fine!” Glomgold said, almost defensively.

”I AM NOT!” came from the bed.

Glomgold glared at Donald. ”Why are you here?”

Donald stumbled, confused at the implication it was him who was out of place here. ”I just... Came to see if Uncle Scrooge was okay-”

”Of course he is okay! He is just being a whiny baby!” Flinty pulled his jacket over his nightgown.

”Lies!” Scrooge yelled. ”Donald, I just got word, I lost my feather duster monopoly!”

”I see.” Donald eyed the bedroom. It had been a while since he had been there but there were signs everywhere that it had been shared by two people for a while now. Donald stared at the two pillows on Scrooge's bed. Maybe he was still asleep?

”Did I complain when you outbid me in the auction for the Duckinn hotel chain?” Glomgold asked while pulling his spats on.

”Yes!” Scrooge threw a pillow at him. ”Yes you did! You heartless wanna-be tycoon!”

Glomgold caught the pillow. ”Not this much! But did I expect anything better from a has-been beggar? No!”

With a slam of the door he was gone.

Donald stood middle of the room. ”So, um... F-featherdusters?”

Of course, again, no one mentioned the incident afterwards. Probably for the best. Donald wondered if everyone knew. Little by little it was almost starting to feel like an open secret, even if no one really made any uncomfortable assumptions about the exact nature of their relationship.

Donald certainly didn't.

But Flintheart kept showing up at family gatherings, and everyone just collectively made the decision to refer to him as 'Uncle Scrooge's friend' and leave it at that.

And both of them were getting on in years anyway so it was just to be expected they'd be less and less active and go on treasure hunts less and less and clash over things far more rarely...

It was fine. It really was.

And yet Donald was bothered by it.

He watched the two sit together at the Huey's Dewey's and Louie's High-school graduation ceremony. They were talking about something, Donald couldn't quite hear what. And that bothered him too. Why Glomgold of all people? Well, presumably they were a good match....At least they were both equally impossible. Miserly. Ridiculous. But Flintheart was still not someone Donald would have ever guessed Scrooge would... like.

Donald admitted to himself, he hadn't seen it coming. And even once he had he hadn't done anything about it. Not that he should have done anything. Probably. But still! Uncle Scrooge could have done better, surely?

He watched his uncle eplain something to Flintheart with a smile on his face.

He should have done more, Donald decided. But maybe he was just feeling a bit left out. Which was ridiculous. Obviously. Scrooge was an adult. Him feeling the same way about this as when his nephews had started to date was ridiculous!

And it wasn't like he had tried to separate them (even if the thought had occurred to him).

But he hadn't been exactly helpful either (not that he would have known what to do anyway).

With some guilt Donald realized he hadn't exactly invited Flintheart here. No one ever did, he just showed up with Scrooge.

Maybe next time he should.

[kinetic-elaboration]

March 23: Modern AU Murphy

For @jasprjordamn​ who asked in January for a short fic in which “murphy is a grumpy receptionist for a fashion magazine who has to guide all the models (well bellamy at least) who keep getting lost.” I know that was ages ago. But I don’t really know what I’m doing here so...this is just how it’s played out I guess!

Modern AU, ~1500 words

*

The office building that houses Arkadia Monthly is a labyrinth, the most poorly designed building on the East Coast, hands all the way down. Most people unlucky enough to maneuver its halls, looking for editorial offices or conference rooms or, especially, the in-house photo studio, which is tucked away in a back corner that some long-term staff refer to as Purgatory but might be better referred to as Hell, probably feel at some point or another like they are being punished for the sins of a past life.

Or, as in Murphy's case, for the sins of this life.

Murphy privately refers to himself as the Gatekeeper to the Labyrinth, because it sounds better than 'receptionist' or 'secretary.' Although any of those titles is better than intermittent-con-man-who-would-be-facing-jail-time-right-now-but-for-the-intervention-of-his-uncle-the-editor-of-a-small-but-influential-fashion-magazine. Which is a bit of a mouthful. 

Most of his day-to-day tasks, like answering phones and routing mail and even sending out the occasional faux-cheery email, aren't so bad, overall. (Actually, the faux-cheery emails are that bad, but at least no one can see how much eye-rolling he does while typing them.) What really gets him is having to explain, over and over, the ridiculous structure of this building, which would be better off razed to the ground, in his opinion. This happens several times a month, whenever a photo shoot is schedule and a new group of models shows up, all of them with the mistaken belief that they're entering a building that makes sense. 

"Nope, not even a little bit," he tries to explain to a tough and sharply angry woman who has stomped up to his desk. She's already passed him by a half-dozen times, looking for an elevator or a set of stairs that will bring her where she needs to be. She should have just asked earlier, he thinks, instead of letting all this rage build up. But she seems the stubborn type. So instead of greeting him, when she finally caved and approached, she just spat out, "Is there any logic to this place at all?"

Weirdly, it wasn't hard to keep up his smile in response. 

Easier, actually, than most of the times he has to put on a smile.

"Is this your first time visiting Arkadia Monthly?" he asks. He's supposed to ask this every single time, and even though this woman interests him more than most of the models—she's gorgeous and new, so she's almost certainly a model—the words still come out with a clenched-teeth finish.

"And last, hopefully," she answers. "I said I'd do this thing—" She cuts herself off, rolling her eyes at herself. "The money's good."

"We all have our reasons for the stupid things we do," he quips, before he can stop himself. This is his place of employment after all—and if he knows what's good for him, he won't fuck it up. For a moment, he's sure the woman is going to reach right over the desk, grab him by the shirtfront and ask who he's calling stupid, just because she seems both strong and easily annoyed. But instead she tips back her head and laughs. Her ponytail swings behind her.

"Yeah. Fair enough." She glances behind him, like she's looking for the hidden map or key that he must be squirreling away, then back to his face. "So are you going to show me the way or what?"

He does, and he's even surprisingly nice about it this time, perhaps as some sort of apology.

Less so with the two stoners who show up the next week, since, even though they're (probably) not actually high when they walk into the building, they just seem like the sort of people who should be messed with. He gives them the most circuitous route he can think of, one that will get them where they want to be but only if they can actually follow it, and expects to see them again soon.

They don't show up again until the end of the day, though, and they're smiling and laughing as they round the corner into the lobby. "This is one ridiculous building," he hears one of them say, and is so stunned that he briefly waves back when they say goodbye to him. They came in from the right, he realizes, which means they must have found the shortcut on their own.

He'd thought that was the strangest sight he'd ever see in this alternative-probation-from-hell, until the day the Abominable Snowman walks in. Or Abominable Snow Nerd, as Murphy initially thought. He gets it: Arkadia is cold in the winter and it's snowing and windy and miserable. This morning, he walked in with his fists stuck deep in his pockets and his chin tucked down toward his collar himself. But this person (not even gender is readily apparent when the figure first appears) looks ready to scale Mount Everest, bundled up in a puffy oversized jacket, long scarf wrapped around its neck, knit hat down past its brow—the only part of the stranger's face that shows is a pair of glasses and a nose, and a hint of tangled dark curls.

Once inside, the figure slides into the corner by the leather couch and overlarge potted plant and starts to undo its many layers. Murphy watches, fascinated despite himself. First the scarf is unfurled, then the hat taken off and dusted of snow. The Snow Nerd is a guy, apparently, and when he loses the jacket, Murphy understands what he's doing here. He's today's model sacrifice. And he should be. Murphy sees plenty of models pass by whose physical attractiveness he understands in only the most academic sense—the aforementioned stoners, a bossy blonde woman who argued with him for ten minutes, apparently just for the fun of it. It's rare for him to see anyone walk in who makes him think, yeah, this person should be...selling clothes, or whatever. But this guy, even with those glasses that he has to push back up his nose with his index finger, fits the bill. It's a pleasant revelation. Makes the day more interesting.

The guy flings his coat and scarf over his arm and approaches the desk, much as Murphy was expecting he would. The more brash arrivals just wander off on their own, and he doesn't make their acquaintance until later, after they've wandered into a near death-trap or two and circled back. Not the new guy, though. He walks up, skips over most of the pleasantries and all of the small talk, and asks if Murphy can tell him where the studio is—"since I've heard it can be hard to find." 

His voice is another surprise, a minor twist in an otherwise exceptionally dull morning. It's low and rough, and doesn't pair at all with the glasses. They say 'I can't keep this slight pair of spectacles from falling down my nose,' while his voice, even when making a request, has the timber of command baked right in. He sounds like he should be giving orders.

Murphy is startled for a half-second, then his face settles down again into a low-slung smirk. "You might want to grab a pen," he warns.

The guy just shoots him a skeptical look, and Murphy huffs out a disinterested sigh—okay, up to you—and begins: "You want to go off to the right, there, down to the end of the hall, turn left—sharp left—up a flight of stairs. It looks like an emergency exit; it's not. At the top of the stairs, turn left, another left, another right, down two floors and—"

"You're making this up."

Murphy looks up. The guy is staring at him, accusatory and just slightly bewildered. He has not, in fact, been writing any of the directions down. Good luck to him then.

Murphy waits an extra beat, then deadpans, "I can send you the long way if you want."

Apparently, the new guy has to think about that one, if he believes it’s a joke or not. He narrows his eyes. But after a long pause, during which Murphy doesn’t blink or back down, he caves. He plucks out a pen from the wire cylinder of Bics on Murphy's desk, accepts the stack of post-it notes Murphy hands him, and raises his eyebrows high. Go ahead then.

"You might want to write small," Murphy warns. 

The new guy shoots him a look that doesn't actually include an eye roll, but might as well, mixed in with the sort of end-of-the-rope angry exasperation that usually precedes a punch to the jaw. Not that he would actually punch a receptionist in a fancy office building. Probably. And not that Murphy would be very upset if he did because, frankly, with a mouth like his, he's encountered worse.

"Just some friendly advice," he adds.

"Just explain it again," the guy answers.

And Murphy shrugs, and does.

[frenchy-and-the-sea]

So here’s a thing. Back when @villnis was sending me prompts from this meme, they sent so many that they literally got blocked from sending more. So a few of said prompts got sent over Discord, including this one, which involves @phoenix-failing‘s incredibly Cavvery and Val with the prompt of ‘pinky promise’.

Now I’ve never written Cav before, and I only know so much, but I hope she ended up okay here! I was afraid that if I didn’t post this, I’d get caught up in the nitty gritty and it would NEVER get done. so here’s hoping it came out okay!

1500 words this time, set in a made up scenario that we have not and probably will never actually have to deal with in the campaign.

Cavvery had raged against this plan.

Splitting the group was suicide enough to her mind, but these idiots had decided to cement themselves in Death’s good graces by separating her and Bren. And they must have been rubbing off on him too, because he had the nerve to agree.

Yes, they would move quieter as two smaller groups. Yes, they had done their best to split their strengths evenly across both. Yes, Bren would be traveling with the half that had plate armor and a shield and a willingness to take the big hits.

No, she still did not have to like it.

She had made everyone very aware of this fact too, with a daggered silence that had quashed even Ianry’s chatter, and a glare that should have rightly set the whole camp on fire. Only Bren seemed immune to it, trying every so often to make conversation, failing when she cut him off in a few short, angry words.

He never stopped trying though, so Cavvery turned immediately from her rummaging when she heard boots crunching closer, fire and daggers all ready.

“I don’t want to hear - ”

She broke off when she found herself staring up not at Bren, but at two yellow eyes glinting in the dark.

“Don’t worry, I’ll only be a minute,” Val said, with a faint and lopsided little smile. Cavvery frowned, but didn’t object as she turned away. Val could talk if she wanted. It wouldn’t change a damn thing.

The tiefling apparently took her silence to mean as much, because after a moment, she carefully picked her way over to where Cavvery had returned to hunching over her pack. She could feel Val’s eyes watching as its contents were stowed - potions and poultices, bandages, alchemical solutions, a few vials of the tincture to keep their less flattering sides at bay.

“I know you’re worried about him,” she said at last. Cavvery made very sure to make the stutter of her hands look like she just missed a pocket. She still didn’t look up.

“Hell,” Val went on, with a short, humorless laugh. “I feel like I haven’t stopped worrying since we met you two at Kay’s party. I can only imagine what you’ve been dealing with all these years.”

A round of the same mirthless humor Val had used pressed suddenly at the back of Cavvery’s throat, escaping as a sarcastic huff.

“Well, at least you’re honest about the fact that you don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, the nonchalance in her voice undercut by a tincture glass clattering into the bag with what was admittedly more force than necessary. Overhead, she heard a noise that might have been a sigh if Val’s teeth hadn’t been clenched so tightly.

“Glad to hear you agree that I’m honest enough,” she said after a moment of terse silence. Her voice still sounded a little thin, but remained flat and even as pond water. “So you’ll believe me now when I tell you that I’m gonna make sure nothing happens to him, yeah?”

Cavvery snorted, a short huff of air through her nose, and finally looked up. She could feel the ice-fire burning behind her eyes as she did, and Val, for all her height and strength and the scars under her plate, took a full step back at the force there.

“Are you absolutely sure you’re qualified to make that promise?” she asked. If Val’s voice was pond-water still, Cavvery’s was unnaturally so, and dark as midnight. She usually loathed the idea that Kay’s lessons stuck to her even when she stopped playing puppet, but they had their uses from time to time.

Like threatening anyone who so much as chanced her brother’s safety.

Val didn’t recoil this time though, didn’t frown or snap or lash out; instead, her grim look softened, and she sagged under her armor with a sigh.

“Lass,” she said with a weary smile, “If something happens to anyone here, I can tell you it won’t be while I’m alive.”

The frigid heat that Cavvery felt glowing behind her eyes suddenly sputtered, then fizzled out completely. Val seemed remarkably comfortable with the phrase, with the implication that she would fall for the sake of someone else. Resigned, her mind provided helpfully, and she felt her stomach twist in a way she didn’t care to think about for any particular length of time.

Something must have shown on her face though, because Val suddenly shifted with an uncomfortable cough, and seemed intent on getting away from the subject. She nodded back towards the fire at the center of camp.

“I’ll do what I can to take care of your brother,” she went on, softer again, “But you’ve gotta be able to promise me the same.”

Her eyes darted pointedly sideways, and Cavvery followed the look over to where Amon was sitting, bent over a map with Sarula, carefully marking paces off one by one.

“Amon?” She turned back to Val, genuine surprise coloring her expression. “You two are…?”

“Not by blood, no,” the tiefling replied, the corners of her mouth tugging up in a faint, knowing smile. “Not that I can figure anyway. But he’s family all the same. They all are.”

Then she fell silent, her eyes turned to flint by the edges of her smile dropping suddenly away. She didn’t have the practice, the training, the hollow emptiness burned onto her soul to quite pull off the cold heat as Cavvery had, but with the fire throwing shadows up along her horns and her yellow eyes narrowed to slits in the dark, Val got pretty damn close.

“I can’t lose another family, Cav,” she said, her voice thin and very quiet, “not a third time, understand?”

A shudder rolled involuntarily down her spine, and Cavvery quietly cursed the natural inclinations of tieflings. She straightened her shoulders to quell the shivering and forced herself to look directly up into Val’s grim stare.

“Sounds like we’ve both got our work cut out for us, then,” she said after a moment, trying at a thin smirk. It felt strange and lopsided, but the attempt must have been noted; Val’s expression softened again and she coaxed up the beginnings of a smile. Hers, at least, held steady.

“You more than me, admittedly. But if you promise to make sure Amon doesn’t do anything stupid, I’ll keep my shield up for Bren,” she said, holding out a hand. Cavvery reached up to take it, then pulled away again, puzzled. Val hadn’t offered her a full hand; just the smallest finger, hooked like she expected to grab something. She turned her narrow look to the tiefling overhead, whose smile widened as she reached down - whole handed this time - and pulled Cavvery to her feet.

“Never seen that before?” she asked. The little tinge of smug amusement in her voice made Cavvery frown, but Val didn’t seem to notice. “Street kids used to do it in the cities I grew up in. To them, it was as good as swearing on blood, or on the life of your mum. Difference being that I’ve seen people break both those promises before, and never saw one of those kids so much as joke about it when little fingers were involved.”

“And you're just as serious,” Cavvery said slowly as understanding dawned. Val grinned and offered her finger again.

“Can't think of a better way to show that than with the only vow I never saw broken.”

Cavvery looked down, staring fixedly at the hand held out in front of her. A part of her - the noble, rational part, the one that had been groomed so carefully all of these long years - told her that she should scoff at this. Swearing allegiance over a children’s vow was ridiculous at best, insulting at worst. Her brother’s life was worth more than some street rat’s game, after all. If it wasn’t going to be blood or gold, her word should be enough, would have to be enough -

She felt her finger slip in beside Val’s almost before she recognized what she was doing, with a deliriously giddy skip of her heart that politely explained that her rational side that it might fuck off entirely.

Across from her, Val’s grin glowed in earnest. She shook once, a firm pump of their joined hands, and then broke the grip to clap a hand onto Cavvery’s shoulder.

“Now,” she said with grand flourish towards the fire. “Your brother has been moping for the past hour, and I’ve got coin that says you’ll snap him out if it in ten minutes or less, if you’d like to help a girl win back some of her hard earned gold.”

The grin that had been threatening finally broke out across Cavvery’s face, and she shrugged Val’s hand from her shoulder as she strode towards the fire pit.

“Fine,” she said, with a dramatic sigh, “But I’ll be taking half.”

[thewitchandthebeasthimself]

The Witch and The Beast Himself: Chapter 16

On my way to the store, the walk I took in the cool, relaxing evening made me take interest in everything going on around me. I really noticed the people passing by on the sidewalk, the cars going in the opposite direction that i was facing, and giant screens on the colorful, tall buildings covering the news. It's so weird how this place is vastly different than what I'm used to in Salem, but I've somehow already gotten used to it. 

Is that what Anri meant when she said being here would begin to feel normal?

Once I made it to the store, I shopped around for things that I needed to get for the apartment such as paper towels, toilet paper, laundry detergent, etc. I thought about calling Erika and the others for a ride back, but I decided against it since I was only going to be getting one bag of groceries, plus I could take advantage of the exercise.

Something felt strange about this trip; it's almost as if someone is watching me? All through the shop, I stood in place for a second to see if I could sense any familiar energies, but once I thought I could feel one, the sensation vanished.

At the checkout lane, I put everything I needed in front of the cashier before feeling the obscure energy near me again.

Wha-- who is that? I thought as the impalpable energy fluctuated in and out of my senses. I looked in both directions to see if the energy would move closer to me or further.  It’s definitely not the energy of a spirit. It feels… oddly familiar? What is it?

“Excuse me?” The cashier brought my attention back to her, who had finished scanning my groceries quicker than expected. “That’ll be 1500 yen.”

I turned back to her, embarrassed that I let my senses get the better of me in the moment.

“Okay,” I dug my wallet out of my purse and paid the amount by cash. She stuffed my receipt in a brown paper bag along with my groceries, lifted up the groceries from the bottom and handed the whole bag to me, which i took from her the same way. She nodded and thanked me for shopping there, to which I nodded back and walked out of the store.

Upon leaving the store, I turned left and walked down the street to my apartment. The energy became more vibrant as I walked down the street, still mysterious as ever. I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk holding my bag of groceries in both hands to see what the owner of this energy would do. As the energy came closer, it finally occurred to me that the owner of this energy was Manami. I can only assume that her energy is different this time because her intentions with me are different, and the only way to get my attention would be to stop me directly. I turned around to find her walking up to me, her hands gripping the straps of the pink backpack that was over her shoulders.

“Oh hey Manami, what are you doing here?” I asked, greeting her with a small smile.

She smiled back, despite her energy telling me that this smile was for show. “I was actually looking for you! Would you mind to come with me for a second? I want to talk to you.”

“Umm, how about I just give you my number?” I asked, politely dismissing her proposal to follow her. I saw no reason to trust her guidance. “I just bought groceries and I need to get them home.”

“I can see that, but it’ll only take a second.” She said rather cheerfully, keeping the act up.

I sighed, briefly pinching the bridge of my nose and mentally preparing myself for whatever this dangerous girl had in store for me, “Okay fine, but I need to go soon.”

“Don't worry, I promise I'll make it quick, just follow me.” She said as she turned around and walked the opposite direction. I followed behind her, adjusting my grip on my groceries. This was clearly a bad idea, but I did have unanswered questions that needed to be addressed. As I crossed the street with her, I sensed that she was leading me to the alleyway that stretched far off into the other side. I sensed the familiar sinister energy of… Blood Diamonds?

Could she really be working for Izaya? It was hard to say for sure, considering the hateful feelings she had towards him, but I really wanted to give her the benefit of a doubt.

“What is your obsession with alleyways?” I asked as we crossed the street.  

“None really,” she replied, slowly losing her sincerity on the surface. “It's where I like to talk business.”

“I don't have any business with you.” I said.

Oh yes you do, her resentment towards me was so strong that I was able to hear this crystal clear, unspoken thought as if it were my own. I continued to brace myself for whatever was coming.

Once we reached the alley, she fell behind me to check if anyone was coming. I quickly spun around as I felt the sudden intention of killing me cross her mind. The energy I associated Blood Diamond members became stronger as I walked further into the alley. Once she turned around, she waved her hand high over her head past me, as if she were signaling to someone behind me. Sure enough, the energy appeared the turn hostile as it swooped in behind me; I quickly perceived that whoever she was signaling to was waiting in the shadows to grab me. I took a deep breath in, and imagined myself in a small, strong bubble that could only cover me. On the exhale, I let my bag of groceries drop to the ground I allowed this image to manifest around me, the energies that approached me crashing into it. I turned to the left to find four men wearing red shirts, groaning as scrambled to their feet.

She really works for him! I thought as I stared in shock at the men behind me. I turned my attention back to Manami, who stared at me with a confused expression, but managed to keep her composure.

“No wonder he suddenly likes you so much,” she scoffed. “You're some kind of 'super-natural'. He hates them, but he sure loves destroying their lives.”

“That doesn’t matter right now,” I spat, strengthening the bubble around me. “If we’re gonna talk, I will be talking from this bubble until all of you leave. So what was it that you wanted to talk about? Business?” I asked, referring to her mention earlier.

She sighed, accepting the fact whatever laid before her was reality and what she had planned for me would now be ineffective. She waved her hand above her head again to signal to her group of Blood Diamonds, as if to shoo them off. As they walked past us and out of the entrance, some of them gave me suspicious looks as they walked past, their blended thoughts mixing into my own consciousness. I ignored them as I listened to her speak again, " I just wanted to know what kind of work you were doing for Izaya Orihara and why.”

“I’m not working for that psychopath and I never will,” I said. “I thought it was you working for him? Don’t you have some of his gang with you?”

“I still do,” she admitted. “But he screwed Rio and I out of luck, so I decided to stick to my original plan to exploit him for who he really is.”

“And who is he exactly?”

“I'm sure you have an idea, since he stabbed you,” she held her hand out to gesture my stab mark for proof. “Izaya is a psychotic, ruthless killer. He's very indirect with his methods, but with the right, sultry words, he has the capability to push people into certain things, such as the idea that killing themselves would make this world a better place. Rio and I were victims of that. A lot has happened since, such as dating Rio and agreeing to work with him to seek that he finally ate his own words. But he hasn't and he took over a project that belongs to me. So at this point, I want to bring him into the light and reveal to Tokyo that he is responsible for the suicide of twelve girls, who had taken their own lives because of his influence.”

“Twelve?!” I repeated, putting my hands over my mouth in horror. I pictured him in my mind, remembering the last few moments of his actions towards me. “Shit, I… I had no idea it was that bad. I suspected that he was a killer.”

“Well now you know, and you're gonna help me with this.” she said. She crossed her arms and added a stern tone in her voice  “I noticed that he was weirdly fascinated with you so I decided to find you myself, but you exposed yourself to us instead that day.”

“Both of your energies were strongly connected to him.” I said. "It was strange."

“And now you know why. Now that that I've filled you in, would you be willing to help us out?”

“What's in it for me?”

"I'm a lot less itching to murder you for spying on us.”

“That's ridiculous," I replied, taking her idea of their relationship as being too obsessive.

“Think of it this way,” she said. “You spied on us while we were spending time together, and we already have to put up with enough of his crap. You can make up for that by helping us out.”

Didn't she just want to kill me for following her? I thought. What made her change her mind? Was it because I showed off some of my power?

“Okay, fine,” I said. “I'll do it. But we should make a truce, or something. I don't wanna feel paranoid when you're around.”

“As long as you stay out of my private life, you'll have nothing to worry about.”

“Okay, then it's a deal.” I said, releasing the bubble around me.

“Making deals with the witch now, Manami?” an abrupt, familiar voice chimed in from behind her. She turned around, prompting me to look past her to see who it was.

It had been a couple of days since I seen him last; I watched in silence as the man who tried to kill me swung around from the side of the building to rest his elbow on Manami’s shoulder. Cunning as ever, he glared at me with the same malicious smile, as if he'd just dropped in on something he didn't want to miss. His strong energy that is exclusive to him seemed to pulse through the whole alley as he made his appearance, causing me to wince and instantly relive the day he almost took my life.

Manami smacked his arm away, making him laugh and spin in a circle. “You know you were supposed to look for a chance to destroy her, right? But instead you rummaged through my files for her information.”

“Fuck off,” Manami growled, drawing her tiny flick blade and slowly stepping back towards me.

Izaya laughed maniacally, with a small sense of playfulness. “What a shame. Once again, I’ve taken you under my wing and this is how you repay me? By stealing important information from me, then arranging a plan with the witch against me? It's like I don't even know you anymore! What did our mutual friendship mean nothing to you?"

“Don't talk to me like that, creep! Nothing I've done to you could even COMPARE to the pain you've put me through since I've met you!" She yelled, standing on her tip toes to be at his level of vision. "First you try to kill me, then you take something of mine that I built from the ground up?! Well I have news for you. I know what you've done, and I've finally got you figured out. You're much worse than I thought. You're a killer, and I am going to prove it. You will be sentenced to something much worse than death, and I'm gonna be there for the day that I get to see you rot like the scumbag you are. I will make you regret EVER crossing paths with me!”

I turned to Izaya, who laughed again, “You need to let that anger go. Do you know how belligerent you sound right now? Even if that were true, and even with the information you stole, you'll never be able to prove it.” he leaned in closer to her face and tilted her chin up with his forefinger, his face still plastered with that malicious smile. She lowered the knife in her hand, letting it dangle at her side as he inched closer to her face.  Nearly whispering, he said, “In fact, you're still as weak to me as the day you tried to kill me in the hospital. You are, and will always be, inferior to me.”

He took his finger off of her chin and backed away, grunting in approval and crossing his arms as if to admire his handiwork. She hung her head, with a shook, terrified expression on her face. I could sense that not only did she feel humiliated by him, but she felt defeated by his words. And he was enjoying it.

I took a deep breath in, imagining the anger I personally felt towards him, allowing flaming, hot fire to energetically manifest inside me. On the exhale, I formed a fireball in one hand, and began walking towards him. I stopped a few inches from him to keep my distance.

He turned his attention to me, taking note of my motives.

“You've already tried that magic trick on me and it didn't work out for you.” he said, noticing the fireball in my hand. As ready as I was to throw my fireball at him, I decided that I didn't want to make anymore of a scene than what was already happening. I stopped, letting the fire go out.

He let out a small chuckle, saying, “I knew you didn't have it in you. Well I'm done here, don't even think about returning to my office later, Manami. Au revoir. ” he said as he turned on one heel and walked away, leaving her with her head hung. She let the blade fall out of her hand and clink on the ground as she dropped to her knees and buried hed face into her hands.

My anger vanished as I looked at her, thinking of anything I could possibly do to help out. I understood how she felt all too well.

“Hey…” I started, beginning to put a hand on her shoulder.

“Don't.” she said, looking up at me. I stopped, then let my hand fall to the side.

“He'll pay for all of this some way or another." she said. "And I don't know how the hell you did all of that, but I know that i still need you on my side. So are you really willing to help me or not?”

“I told you I would.” I said, not giving it a second thought. Although i had more questions for her, I felt like I fully understood the circumstances of our new acquaintance  and that our motives are now in synergy.

“Great, I'll be in touch.” she said, picking up her blade off the ground. She stood up, put the blade in her pocket and pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket. She handed it to me, then shoved her hands in the pocket of her hoodie, turning and walking out of the entrance of the alley. I unfolded the piece of paper then took my phone out of my pocket to save her number. Finally, I looked up as I thought back to something…

I’ll be in touch? How could she do that if she didn’t take my number, but gave me hers instead? Oh wait… she was working for Izaya… Jeez, what have I gotten myself into this time? I'll still do it but if this “business” is going to work, she's going to have to stay true to her word. 

Picking up my bag of groceries, I walked out of the alleyway to my apartment, thinking about my interaction with Manami and Izaya, relieved that nobody was harmed. I was also relieved that it went so well despite the circumstances, but I'm now working with someone that I still have suspicions of. I guess the only thing I can do in this position is work cooperatively with her and hope for the best.

[everyonethinksmynameiskayla]

Coding data and binge eating clementines

I’ve been meaning to sit down and write another post for a while now but since my head is no longer preventing me from having a coherent thought (I do still get occasional headaches), I’ve been working on coding my interview data and by the time I’ve done that all day I just want to lie down and not use my brain. Coding is so exhausting - it requires such intense concentration. I had to jump through all these absurd hoops to get the software for it too, I had to download VirtualBox to run Windows 10 on my MacBook in order to run the coding software, QDA Miner, and getting Windows 10 for free or really downloading anything is a huge challenge with crappy internet. So that took almost a week. But now I’m in the groove, so to speak. I’ve got giant pieces of paper hanging in my apartment so I can work out my ideas etc. and I’ve got all of my transcripts back from Oumoul as of this morning. 

^ My giant paper  

Starting next week I’ll be in Thies (about 1.5 hours east of Dakar) for almost two weeks for a training that Tostan is doing on their human-rights based non-formal education approach to community empowerment. I didn’t know about it until last week but they’re letting me slip in at the last second for a fraction of the price that the other representatives from other African development NGOs are paying for room/board/training (I think that’s basically who’s going to be there, but we’ll see) since they’re my sponsoring organization and my research, which the training will be useful for, is going to be helpful for them.

Last weekend Brittany’s friend from the US, Teresa, was here visiting so we went to spend a night in Simal in Sine Saloum, a region on the coast of both the ocean and the river about three hours south of Dakar. I think I’ve probably already talked about this, but to get anywhere outside of Dakar you have to take a “sept-place” the ridiculous old, worn-out circa-1980′s Renault station wagons which hold 7 people, hence the name “sept-place” which means “seven places”. To get a sept-place you have to go to the garage baux maraichers, which 3 years ago when I was here was the apex of chaos in the universe but has since gotten a bit cleaner and more organized. So we found a guy going to Fatik, which is past Sine Saloum but we were just going to get off early. We had to wait a little while since no one else was there for Fatik yet but that actually worked out okay because we got the three best seats (the passenger seat and the two window seats in the middle, you have to be a contortionist to sit comfortably in the way back). It took forever, as per usual, to get out of Dakar and Rufisque, the next city which at this point is being swallowed up by Dakar, because there was an insane accident that seemed to involve a giant truck flipping over into a ditch so a crane had come and pulled it out and so we sat in completely stand still traffic (engine off and driver nowhere to be found) for at least an hour. So by the time we got out of the sept-place in Tataguine (which I enjoy because when you say it with a Senegalese accent it sounds like Tataouine) it was dark. After much negociation and confusion we found a guy who had a car and who claimed to have a vague idea of where Simal, the coastal village where we were going to stay, was. However once we got closer to the village it became clear that he in fact had no idea where he was going, and we proceeded to drive around in the sand for approximately an hour, asking random people who clearly did not know where the campement was either for directions, at one point a little boy even got in the car to try to help but he kept changing his mind about which way the driver should turn so that was useless. The driver kept calling the lady from the campement, which was likely also useless since the only descriptor of where we were at any given moment was “near some sand and a fence and some donkeys”. But eventually we made it and boy, was it worth it, we sat at a table right on the water and had tabouleh and chicken and then the next morning had an assortment of jams with tappalappa (the village bread that I like) and coffee that wasn’t instant. Then we had a ride on a pirog that came with the room, so for about two hours a very nice man steered us down the river and through the marches on a very large pirog (there are pictures of that on the photo blog). He explained how the women would wade out and plant what looked like tiny mangroves in the marsh in these perfect rows, and showed us the shrimp nets that were tied to long bamboo poles propped up in the trees, which you have to come collect in the middle of the night. Then I had a headache so I hung out in the restaurant area while Brittany and Teresa kayaked, which was fine because it was serene and beautiful and I was happy to sit and do nothing for a while. 

As we were discussing how we should get home and when we should leave, this young French woman came up and said she couldn’t help but overhear and explained that she and her husband were about to drive back to Dakar in about ten minutes, did we want a ride? We obviously wanted a ride. Her husband was Senegalese but they met in France and they turned out to be the absolute coolest people ever. We all chatted the whole three hours back and he let me borrow a book about microlending in Bangladesh and Brittany promised to show the woman, Sophie, around the art scene in Dakar (since she’s an artist and they had just moved here when they got married in January - she had some incredible stories about the marriage rituals Souleman’s mom had guided her through). 

^ Where we stayed, Campement Simal

Other than that little jaunt to Sine Saloum (and I would say another day trip to Ile des Madelines, but I’ve been there so many times it doesn’t really count anymore, although this time I did ride in the trunk on the way there), life is fairly normal (by Dakar standards).

^ In the trunk on the way to the island, at the top of the cliff once there

I go home for lunch a couple of times a week and over to Moussa’s for attaya every couple of days. During the day I mostly code and work and read either at home or at a café. My new friend who works in the monitoring and evaluation department of Tostan invited me to come use the extra space in their office to work but I have’t gotten around to doing that yet because it’s not super close to where I live. Every Thursday Brittany I go to “Marché Jeudi” (Thursday Market) which is a labyrinthine collection of people selling giant piles of clothes and various other random things that pops up around the corner from my apartment every Thursday and you have to really dig (literally) but everything is about 200-300 francs and we’ve had some amazing finds. Like last week I got an Eddie Bauer button down and a top from Zara (for less than 50 cents a piece!!). Right next to Marché Jeudi is the “beignet lady” and I go to her fairly often and bring beignets (which are fried balls of sweet dough) to Moussa’s to go with the attaya. She’s legendary and always surrounded by a huge crowd waiting, but it’s a very modest set-up, just a woman sitting on a stool on a particularly narrow street surrounded by a giant vat of boiling oil, buckets of dough, and a big bowl where she deposits the beignets when they’re done so her daughter can wrap them in Swedish newspapers (my bread I get from the boutique next door also is wrapped in Swedish newspaper…I don’t understand where it’s all coming from…maybe Sweden…but why???) and bag ‘em.

I go every now and then to Marché HLM also, which is the fabric market in the HLM neighborhood, which is like the projects but for Dakar. I love Marché HLM for a couple of reasons. The fabric is so vibrant and beautiful so I enjoy being surrounded by it (it’s also only about $1 for a yard) but I also like that it’s one of the only spaces in Dakar that feels ruled by women. Most of the sellers and shoppers are women, and even if they’re men they aren’t crazy aggressive like they are at markets like Sandaga where they gets lots of tourists so when they see a Toubab they descend and won’t leave you alone until you buy something. At HLM I’m pretty much always guaranteed to be the only Toubab and it’s also just quieter in general even though it’s absolutely massive and ten times as labyrinthine as Marché Jeudi. There are tiny little corridors lined with fabric stalls and you can only pass through one person deep. It’s also my favorite place to practice my Wolof, because everyone there is super game to speak Wolof to me instead of French and because of the repetition of buying and selling and each stall owner asking me the same questions over and over I learn the words better and it’s easier to repurpose them later.  

^ Some of the fabric I’ve gotten at HLM that hasn’t become clothes

I’ve really gotten to know the bus and informal public transportation systems (car rapides, kolandos) even better and only take cabs if it’s too late at night for buses. It’s great because I know the city so well now and taking public transport everywhere makes me feel more connected to Dakar and my fellow Dakarois (most ex-pats just take cabs all the time, since relative to the West it’s cheap, but relative to the buses here it’s astronomically expensive). It can be frustrating as public transport can be anywhere else; waiting forever, insanely crowded buses (like the kind of crowded where you don’t need to hold on to anything because you can’t move at all anyway), people accidentally stepping on you or elbowing you in the head etc. But now that I’ve gotten used to it I can never justify a cab to myself. 100 francs (16 cents) versus 1500 francs ($2.50) for the same distance…not a hard choice. That might seem petty but it’s all relative, I don’t convert currencies unless I’m making a big purchase when I’m living abroad.

One instance where I do convert and allow myself to splurge a bit (by Dakar standards at least) is this new restaurant about 10 minutes from my apartment called Mawa’s Taste of America, which is owned by a Senegalese woman who lived in the US for decades and makes absolutely incredible American breakfast food. I’ve also been obsessed with clementines (about $1.20/kilo…I eat A LOT of them) but the season is ending soon and I’m so bummed. Speaking of food, Brittany and I also recently tried some sort of weird cake called the Dakaroise from the bakery near my apartment and it was not only twice the size of our faces but one of the strangest things I’ve ever eaten. It was fairly dry yellow cake with layers of filling that was what I can only assume pure butter whipped with some sugar in it. It was like if I was making cookies and stopped after the first two ingredients and then used that to fill the cake.

^ Brittany’s head for scale 

Also here’s the most adorable picture ever of me having a tender moment with my baby cat who fell asleep with his paw on my face (not at all my cat, but I like it more than Brittany and it’s her families’):

[notallthosewho-wanderarelost]

Finally watched the first episode of Loki and it was AMAZING. It’s just the first episode but about a third into it it was already getting into the meta questions of “does Loki’s story belong to Loki” and “Loki is supposed to be the villain of other heroes’ stories,” and Loki not having any of that because he refuses to fit into a box is quintessential Loki right there!!! This show GETS IT. Amazing, wonderful, fantastic; I want to go reread Agent of Asgard right this minute. Tom Hiddleston has an executive producer credit on this show and I can tell. (He gave the crew a multi-hour-long lecture on Loki continuity with a whiteboard and everything and I think that’s awesome.)

Literally my only gripe is the DB Cooper scene because aside from the whole scene just being absurd (to quote Loki), Loki says he did it “because he was young,” but it was in 1971! That’s 50 years ago.

Thor is canonically 1500 years old (might be an estimate imo, but those are his own words from Infinity War) and we know for a fact Loki is a smidge over 1000 from the Thor prologue and then Odin’s story of adopting him from the same movie. Fifty years ago for Loki is probably something like 3 weeks ago for a human being. Maybe even less!

However, he does follow it up by saying he only did it because he lost a bet to Thor, which makes a lot more sense, and it’s clearly a sequence that’s meant to be ridiculous anyway, so I’m going to just ignore the timeline issue. And given that that scene is in so many of the trailers I wonder if someone insisted on putting it in the show for trailer footage.

Random thoughts on the episode:

I’m pretty sure I called the villain of the piece in abstract speculation way before the show started, but I just want it on record that as I was watching the show, literally the first whiff we got of a villain, the scene of Mobius investigating and asking the kid who did it and the kid pointing to a picture of the devil that had very prominent horns, I immediately went, “the bad guy is an evil Loki isn’t it.” It only makes sense, because Loki’s greatest enemy has always been himself (from both a narrative perspective and from a “who has Loki gone up against in comics” perspective), but still. I’m kinda proud of myself for that immediate reaction.

In fairness, it should also go on record that the Mephisto theory memeing from WandaVision clearly got to me, because my second thought was “or it’s Mephisto.” 😂 Admittedly, based on that picture of the devil the kid pointed to, the thought wasn’t completely out of nowhere!

Speaking of villains, the Time Keepers seem MASSIVELY shady to me. Three beings deciding the fates of everyone across possibly infinite universes isn’t right. I hope this show does what Legends of Tomorrow did with the Time Masters and has them go away somehow. Would love to see Loki taking them down as the finale. Actually, now that I said it I wonder if that’s where the show is heading...

The Miss Minutes commercial that gave the background of the TVA reminded me very much of Secret Wars only a step to the left. Plot twist, the Time Keepers are actually Doctor Doom! Jk. (Now I’m thinking about that time Doom froze Loki in time and turned him into a sculpture...)

The TVA looks like a giant subway station filled with the most red tape-y police ever and I hate it. I’m pretty sure Loki does too. I’m pretty sure both of those things are on purpose, major props to whoever came up with that aesthetic. It’s basically the exact opposite of Asgard and an excellent counterpoint to anywhere Loki’s likely to have ever been.

The giant heads behind the judge (the Time Keepers I assume?) look VERY Kirby-esque and also very familiar, but I can’t figure out if they look familiar because of the Kirby style or because I’ve actually seen them in a comic. Will have to poke around and see if I can dig anything up. (My first thought is Celestials? My second is those gods the Asgardians worship whom Loki encounters in the final AoA issue. Though a quick google tells me the latter is majorly wrong. It’s been a hot minute since I read AoA.)

Mobius saying there’s no magic where the TVA is made me sad. The idea of there absolutely being magic in the universe and a place being completely without it makes me sad.

The Soul Stone being in that drawer hurt me. Sure Marvel, just rub in how pointless Gamora and Natasha’s deaths were some more, why don’t you.

I just had an epiphany- MOBIUS IS LIKE THE TVA’S VERSION OF PHIL COULSON. No I will not elaborate currently; it just feels true!

I miss Coulson. :( And his team. I know there’s all that corporate infighting between Marvel Studios and TV but the show I am by far the most salty about them refusing to acknowledge is Agents of SHIELD. Feige can say whatever he wants but I refuse to stop referring to any of the shows as MCU. He can pry them from my cold dead hands.

Getting off-topic so final thought is that all the multiverse theories about a single correct timeline (and especially all the stuff about Steve and his going back to the past 🙄) seem premature. We’re one episode into the show and the whole idea of one “correct” timeline/universe with benevolent Time Keepers watching over it seems extremely counterproductive to both actual good things- free will is important!- and to everything Loki’s story was ever likely to be about. Because Loki’s story is very much one of him asserting his free will and choice over the boxes everyone and everything else try to put him in.

...I lied, last one now: Speaking of the multiverse- I caught that Multiverse of Madness almost-namedrop in the Miss Minutes short, and I would love it if we got a surprise Loki team up in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Give me a Stephen/Wanda/Loki team up, Marvel! And a real one this time, not one where Loki and Wanda are actually demonic hallucinations. So close but yet so far, Damnation event. So close.

[azanycollectormilkshakeworl-blog]

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I'm looking into starting a new small business owned by myself and a partner. What are some less expensive business insurance companies out there?

I need to find and inexpensive health insurance can anyone help?

My husband has a rare blood disorder and is on Medicare through Social security and we don't have alot of money but because of his illness it cost alot for suppliment insurance. Does anyone know how we can get some extra insurance that won't kill us we already lost our home because we spent so much on insurance and most places won't even cover this. Please only serious reply.

Tip cheap car insurance iowa city

Tip cheap car insurance iowa city

Does state farm have good life insurance?

Does state farm have good life insurance?

Why is full coverage insurance so expensive for a 22 year old?

My boyfriend is looking for a new insurance agent agent but so far everyone who is has contacted is super expensive. He has a pretty new car with a starter/alarm/sub systems etc. so he needs full coverage. His parents won't let him get under their insurance for the time being so he's having a hard time finding a reasonable rate. My parents are considering letting him get under their insurance..is that a good idea?

Car accident claim to insurance company?

a car rear-ended me one night. after i made a claim to his insurance company, his insurance company said that they will deny my claim because that guy was also rear-ended and he was dragged into my car. i did not see any car rear-ending the car behind me. when i told that insurance company that your customer might be lying to you, and i asked them if they are going to go for his words. then that insurance company told me that, wouldn't your insurance company do that for you. what should i do in this case? any help is appreciated. thanks""

Can you drive any car with the COOP's fully comp insurance?

if i have fully comp with the COOP does this mean i can drive other cars who drivers are fully comp too. I have had a look all it could find was this, http://www.co-operativeinsurance.co.uk/cfscombi/pdf/Car_Insurance_Policy_Document_Part_A.pdf PAGE 14, 1 (iii)""

I need car insurance.?

!9 years old with a DWAI. Car needs collision. where do I get car insurance.

""What insurance company insures the redskins, or fedex field ?

is there an official insurance sponsor for the redskins

""My 18-year-old brother is addicted to meth. He wants to quit, but can't afford rehab, no insurance.?""

He is not interested in NA or any faith-based program. Are there any proven state-funded programs or at least semi-affordable programs? He lives in Cali. He dropped out of high school and has little motivation to do anything, despite being smart and good-looking. My parents basically let him do whatever he wants, and I don't trust them to change or be able to help. He wants to learn to discipline himself and get a job, etc. but first he needs to kick the drugs.""

Will it raise my insurance?

this was my first speeding ticket. i was going 42 in a 25 mph zone. i live in oklahoma and i have state farm. will it goto my insurance?

Where can I find affordable health insurance for me and my self employed husband?

For just me and him we pay $927 a month! He has no medical conditions. I take 3 medications for depression and anxiety, but its been a lifelong thing, and I require not psychiatrist or anything , like that, just the meds from my family doctor to keep my chemicals level. Can we get assistance, or is there special help for the self employed? I'm 35 and he is 40.""

""My car was towed, I still owe payments, No insurance...Now what?

Okay...so first things first.... My car was towed without insurance. I do still make monthly payments. I was in a wreck 2days ago :/ and my car finally died today (Radiator gave out) ...show more

Do I need car insurance with a drivers permit?

I'm 15, just got my permit, do I need car insurance? If so, then why did my parents have to sign for responsibility? Wouldn't that just put it on their insurance?""

Why do comparision websites have cheaper prices than if you go to the insurer direct?

On some comparison websites like http://www.quotezone.co.uk/dial-direct.htm the prices are cheaper than if you go straight to the insurance company. Why is this?

Will my auto insurance rates go up if I broke someone else's left mirror?

Nothing big, my car hit and cracked only the mirror on someone else's left mirror car. But the thing is I don't have full insurance coverage, only the basic.""

""How many low information posters truly believe Obamacare's $5,0000 deductibles constitute affordable insurance?""

How can you say you have insurance when you have to pay $5,000 before it kicks in every year? A study by HealthPocket Inc. in December found that the average individual deductible for Obamacares bronze plan was $5,081 a year42 percent higher than the average deductible of $3,589 for an individually purchased plan. The deductibles on the low-cost plans are the real scandal here. The administration will surely trot out a long line of cancer patients and people with other terrible medical problems who got treatment in 2014 with coverage they werent able to buy in 2013, but there are going to be far more working poor and middle class people who still have to scrape together a decent premium after the subsidies, pay it faithfully, then get sick and go to the doctor, only to find out their policy doesnt cover anything until theyve paid a $5,000 deductible. I predict a LOT of dissatisfied lower income premium payers.""

Teen car insurance in Las Vegas?

I'm going to be 18 in January, and I'm moving out and going to be having to pay my insurance on my own and just wanted an estimate of how much my car insurance will be. I don't have my license yet (because I currently live in the Bahamas) but I'm getting it the second I go back to Las Vegas. How much do you think my insurance will be? I'm just going to have a simple little car, nothing big. But what's the best insurance to use, for one, and two how much will it be a month? And do you get student discounts or anything like that? Any information will help... thanks""

Window tints ticket insurance rates?

does a nonmoving window tint ticket , affect my insurance rates if i pay if off and keep the tints on, here my problem i am under my parents insurance plan and my dad would not let me keep my tints if i keep getting pulled over for them. i have alot of money and i just want to keep paying for the tickets. money is not the problem, i just want to know if i pay the tickets off will it show on my insurance or anywhere else?""

Health Insurance/Student emergency card help!?

I'm currently filling out a Student Emergency Information Card and I'm stuck on the Health Insurance portion... For the portion, it only says Insurance #, I have HealthNet but I don't know whether to write the group number or the subscriber number.. I'm kind of sure it's the subscriber one, but I need some assurance. Also, it asks for Medi-Cal straight after that with Yes/No.. How do I know if it's medi-cal or not?""

Does living on an unpaved road affect car or home insurance rates?

I'm doing some research and I can't find out if living on unpaved roads affect car or home insurance rates. Please help me :)

Whe will liberals admit the affordable health care act has made health care and health insurance?

More expensive already?

Cheapest car insurance for you a young driver?

What are the cheapest cars for a young driver to insure? I'm 17 and looking at buying soon so any help would be great!

Affordable Health insurance in CA ?

I'm looking to buy health insurance in CA. my income is 10,000$ a year and because i only work part time. i applied for Medical few months ago through welfare office, but my case worker was really mean he was asking for a lot of documents in order to approve my application and every time i go to the welfare office they make me wait for 4 hours.so i decided to look for health insurance through Obama care website but i found that planes that cost 100$ and below doesn't cover even 30% of the medical expenses. any ideas about getting affordable health insurance in CA with good coverage ??? Thank you""

How much are you paying for car insurance a month?

?

If men have to pay more for car insurance then why aren't women paying more for health insurance?

You can use the same exact argument they use against men to increase their car insurance. http://www.jfponline.com/purls/Pages.asp?AID=2450 From the departments of Family and Community Medicine (K.D.B., E.J.C.) and Internal Medicine (J.A.R.) University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Sacramento; and the Division of Statistics (R.A.) and the Department of Economics (L.J.H.), University of California, Davis, Davis. Reprint requests should be addressed to Klea D. Bertakis, MD, MPH, Department of Family and Community Medicine, 4860 Y Street, Suite 2300, Sacramento, CA 95817. E-mail: kdbertakis@ucdavis.edu. BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that women use more health care services than men. We used important independent variables, such as patient sociodemographics and health status, to investigate gender differences in the use and costs of these services. METHODS: New adult patients (N = 509) were randomly assigned to primary care physicians at a university medical center. Their use of health care services and associated charges were monitored for 1 year of care. Self-reported health status was measured using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36). We controlled for health status, sociodemographic information, and primary care physician specialty in the statistical analyses. RESULTS: Women had significantly lower self-reported health status and lower mean education and income than men. Women had a significantly higher mean number of visits to their primary care clinic and diagnostic services than men. Mean charges for primary care, specialty care, emergency treatment, diagnostic services, and annual total charges were all significantly higher for women than men; however, there were no differences for mean hospitalizations or hospital charges. After controlling for health status, sociodemographics, and clinic assignment, women still had higher medical charges for all categories of charges except hospitalizations. CONCLUSIONS: Women have higher medical care service utilization and higher associated charges than men. Although the appropriateness of these differences was not determined, these findings have implications for health care.""

How to get car insurance as a self dependent college student in CA?

I need to look for cheap car insurance asap, I am a resident of Callifornia, I will get my drivers licence the 20th of this month and I need the car insurance before the 24th. I figure I have exactly one day and a half to do it so I can finish my car registration before the 24th , when the past registration is due, please help me !""

How much would an urgent care visit cost with out insurance for strep throat?

I live in California, and I have strep throat. I know that OTC don't work to cure this so I need to go to urgent care. I'm most likely going to go to Kaiser...help please!""

Tip cheap car insurance iowa city

Tip cheap car insurance iowa city

I'm 18 and i'm looking for my first car i want a land rover 110 station wagon what is the cheapest deal?

i want to buy a new one with the cheapest insurance and tax how much would it be

Will my provisional insurance go up after i pass my test?

evening folks, i have my test booked for 3 weeks away, i have been shopping around for car insurance and if i enter that i have a full license then my cheapest quote is over 2000, whereas if i put that i have a provisional then it drops to 1400.. question: if i take out insurance in my name on a provisional will the price go up after i inform them that ive passed?? all answers and opinions welcomed thanks ;)""

What's the most expensive comprehensive car insurance ever in the U.K.?

What's the most expensive comprehensive car insurance ever in the U.K.?

""APPROXIMATELY, how high would insurance be on a 16 year old male driver with a manual Evo X as a first car?""

I just turned 16 and i am about to get my license.I just want an estimate like 200-300 or 300-400 or 400-500, etc. My brother is 18 and currently has an Evo and is paying ~ 500 a month for his insurance but has a terrible driving record. Totaled his car and another persons (completely his fault) speeding tickets, unsafe turn ticket. and a bunch of parking tickets. And please dont give me an answer like youre gonna kill urself or evo is too fast for a first car and too hard to learn stick in an evo because the past 8 months i have been driving my brothers STICK Evo quite alot and have absolutely no problem driving it.""

Used 2006 mustang v6 insurance for teens?

how much do you think insurance will be for a teen ages 16-17. (estimate) will it be cheap or expensive because it is used. and what if it is under the parent's plan? thank you

What is the best and most affordable car insurance company in New York?

Particularly NYC?

How much would insurance cost for a 2007 Mustang GT?

I know I can't get a definite number, but I'd like to know just if it'd be a lot or a little. It's a 2007 Mustang GT 5 speed 6 cylinder.""

Car insurance question.?

I'm working on transferring my current car insurance to Geico and am filling out the electronic form to get a quote. My car is brand new, and I have had it for like eight months. I don't know much car insurance; in the electronic form, what coverage do I pick for full insurance instead of liability? Thanks.""

Is it bad not to have health insurance?

Is it bad not to have health insurance?

Mom discovers $9 car insurance trick. What kind of scam is this ?

Mom discovers $9 car insurance trick. Auto insurers are scared you will learn this too.

How much would insurance cost for a mini moto?

How much would insurance cost for a mini moto?

I need cheap insurance thats reliable?

In San Diego

How much will insurance cost on a ktm 125 duke at 17 per year?

or month or what ever just need ideas on how much it will cost

""If you have your learner's permit, do you need car insurance?""

If you have your learner's permit, do you need car insurance?""

Rental car insurance?

I just sold my car (02/04) and am trying to rent a car until I buy the new car (02/05-02/15). What happens to the auto insurance that I had with the car that I just sold (I paid the coverage until 02/16). Was it automatically terminated when I sold my car? Since my policy covers the insurance for the rental car too, if it will continue until 02/16, I dont have to pay for additional rental insurance at a rental shop (I believe I paid around $13 per day before). Also, does debit cards (from local banks) also usually cover the insurance for the rental car too (I know most of credit cards do that).""

""Would any car insurance(allstate,geico) insure an international student who doesn't have a PA licence?

I have my country licence and an international driving permit. I would like to buy a car in Pennsylvania as I am staying for about a year in this country. I would like to know will car insurance companies insure me?

Wich is is best life insurance ?

wich is is best life insurance ? MY AGE IS 32

Is my pregnancy covered under my mother's insurance?

I just got married this past year and just found out that I am pregnant. My husband and I are freaking out because I am still under my mother's insurance. I am only 24 and supposed to be covered until I am 26. I am also a student. So question is: Is my pregnancy covered under my mother's insurance? If I am covered then for how long? till the baby gets here? Is the baby covered? If I am not covered then how can I get covered?

What is an insurance premium?

Is the insurance premium what you pay monthly for your insurance?

Car Insurance Question?

I am 17, have my license with no restrictions and I live with my parents who have 5 registered and insured cars. By law am I required to have insurance since I am a minor with a non restricted license? My parents will let me drive with them uninsured but How is it different if I drive alone? Insurance stopped covering me 6 months ago when I had to drive with them on my permit, and my mom never put me on the policy. I am also the only junior in my school who can drive but doesn't because my parents are hiding me. Do I by law need insurance because I have a license as a minor and have registered and insured cars in my household?""

How much does it cost to insure this car?

Im 17 years old and im planning on buying a car soon and the car i want is a 2002 Acura RSX, but i heard it expensive to insure? I havent been in any accidents no tickets. Iv had my license for more than year. And I live in the state of IL. My dad is planning on putting my name in his insurance as well and i just want to know how much it would cost to insure this car? We have state farm. Oh yeah another question since we are talking about insurnace do they give you an option to pay every month or every six months?""

Is car insurance more expensive on newer models?

Im comparing car insurance quotes online. I havent yet got the car im insuring but Im looking at different 206 models. I know there are many factors when it comes to the quote, but does a newer model cost more to insure because this is what I seem to be finding: 2004 models- my insurance is around 470, yet when I checked the same model but a 2005 reg it was nearly 300 pounds more.""

How much would a Jeep Wrangler cost to insure compared to a Honda Civic?

How much would a 1990-1995 Jeep Wrangler cost to insure compared to a 2004 Honda Civic? It would only be liability insurance, and I live in South Jersey.""

Which is the best insurance which i need to take for my parents who visiting USA?

My parents are coming to US and need to take a medical and dental insurance for them. please advise

Teenage car insurance?

i have a question i'm planning to get a car soon and im 17. Most likly im getting a new car i don't know the exact car yet. I wana know with my age and a new car how much do you think my insurance average will be. The car is gonna be financed under my dads name so im gonna have to get full coverage insurance so i wanted to get an idea on how much it would be for me.

Tip cheap car insurance iowa city

Tip cheap car insurance iowa city

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/should-car-insurance-made-mandatory-noah-coleman/"

[samuelthorpfutureworks-blog]

1500-word Reflective Design Blog Post

References and Research

For our game we chose a sci-fi spaceship setting so the first step for the project was to find references and inspiration that could give us a strong idea as to what we wanted to create, luckily there is a plethora of sci-fi material available to draw from so we had a lot to choose from, due to the enclosed spaceship space and horror aesthetic to the game, the most obvious choice to start with was the Alien series, both the game and the movies.

This was a great help in establishing the tone and style I was going to use when it came to modelling the environment, in Alien the ships have this grimey yet practical feel to them that lends an element of believability to them, large sections of the ship use dark colours and dim lighting, everything has a rough metallic feel to it yet doesn't seem dilapidated, where most of the ship feels grimey, the living spaces such as the kitchen and dining area and the cryo sleep room instead are often more cleaner and brighter and seems more livable, this was definitely a feeling I wanted to mimic in the various rooms and locations found within our game.

Tacoma was another sci-fi property we looked into, a game with a rather simple yet effective art style, this game was a big source of inspiration in terms of how to approach the models and textures themselves, given the narrow time limit we had for the projects deadline we felt striving for such a simple yet effective art style would be the best way to ensure the desired results for the game.

While we looked at many other sources of inspiration, I feel these two were the most influential on my work.

Models

The assets look best in game with full lighting and metalics and roughness applied however this can make it hard to see all aspects of the model so the images are of the maya versions.

Walls V1

This was the first variant of wall and first model set that I made for the game, the idea being to create a wall set that can be placed together in any order to facilitate the larger environments that we wished to have in our game, having the walls be pushed out was to give that sense of artificial breathing room, that if you were to design a real ship you would try to make it seem less claustrophobic by making it seem like there was more space than there actually is.

Walls V2

With the second wall set I went for a more industrial feel as that was one of the core aspects we wanted to create with the ships aesthetic, it's a lot more hard edged than the first variant and with a lot more of a rustic and worn texture, though I tried to avoid making it seem completely dilapidated.

Walls V3

These walls are used almost exclusively in the more livable area of the ship such as the bed room and locker room, my thinking behind this was that the areas that people inhabit in their personal time tends to be more taken care of and less worn down and dirty, simerly inspired by the living quarters in the Alien series which as mentioned above are brighter, cleaner and more livable.

Walls V4

The fourth set of walls came about when building the higher ceilinged second floor, the other wall types didn't look great when stacked simply looking repetitive and boring when overused in such high quantity so i decided to create a wall that could be flipped and stacked onto itself to alleviate that repetitive look while also providing a wall type that could be repurposed in the lower ceilings of the third floor.

Door

The door is pretty simple and none too complex, i simply tried to replicate that style of door often seen in typical sci-fi, though i feel its shape gives it a more alien feel than the usual angular style more commonly see however.

Tables

The first table i made with simple practicality in mind, four legs and the top but found this didn't fit in all areas of the game so i created a second variant with a more built in base that gives a more sci-fi feel and fit the more industrial areas of the game as well as providing some visual variety.

Desk

For the desk I wanted to make something that at one point may have looked fancy but through prolonged use shows more wear and tear, i gave the desk a more sleek design but with the texture just adding little bits of dirt to it and scratching around the edges to suggest its been used for a while.

Oxygen Purifier

For the purifier I wanted to make a big bulky machine to make it easier to spot, I added the text on the screen so players could identify that this is their goal as hinted at by the terminals.

Generator

Because the generator is located in the most industrial section of the ship I decided to make these the most rustic object, I didn't make them too big as the player is required to navigate through them.

Floor

For the floor panels I decided to add some colour to them because of their location in the crew section of the ship to break up the more bleaker colours found in the rest of the ship.

For the hallway floor i build indents and lines into it and added piping in the middle and added bloody footprints to suggest something sinister.

Counters

The counters are often topped by terminals or interesting objects so I decided to add an emissive bar to catch the players attention and draw them towards the interesting objects, i added the trays on top to provide a bit a variety so it didn't look samey.

Locker Door

I went through a few iterations of the locker trying some more complex looks but decided a simpler look with some angular indentations to give it a sci-fi feel was the best course, it would of also been easier for TK to get working as opposed to my other lockers that had more complex door openings.

Lift

For the lift I originally made a smaller and more personal lift with sleeker design, however after seeing the placements and what Johnny had in mind and the more cargo use I made it bigger and made the doors bulkier to give them a more mechanical feel.

AI Core

When it came to making the AI core i wanted it to be more visually striking than the other assets on the ship, I gave it a wiry cage like feeling with the core itself I made it bright blue with a glossiness to it to make it stand out, I added the rings which TK said he could make spin to further draw attention so players knew this was their initial goal.

AI structure

Similarly as the core, the actual structure itself I wanted to be eye catching so I made it big and imposing with a pointy edged design, the windows are to give a clear look at the rest of the level as well as have the AI core be visible from the outside.

Fence

For the fence and ramp i actually used a bench as a reference when modelling it as i didnt want it to just look like a normal fence, I added a greenish step to highlight it among the ship.

Vents

I didn't want to do just a straight box or tube for the vents as I felt that would be uninteresting to look at while climbing through them and wouldn't feel very sci-fi so i made sure to add plenty of indents, as well as a gaps so players could see out.

Ladder

I took inspiration from the ladder in Alien Isolation while making this as I felt the curved steps just looked more interesting and sci-fi.

What went well and what didn't?

I’d overall say I’m pleased with the outcome, I find there's a good variety in the models that for the most part capture what we set out to create in the beginning, there is enough detail in most of the models and they’re visually interesting to look at too, texture wise I find it a bit more mixed, where some textures I feel came out exactly as I wanted others didn’t quite work as well as I intended, regardless though it helped me better understand Substance Painter, a tool I was largely unfamiliar with until now and I don't think there are any textures that are glaringly bad in my opinion.

Another aspect I feel worked well was the modular design that I used for creating most of the models, allowing us to create bigger and more varied environments without increasing the workload to a ridiculous amount and impacting the look of the ship negatively, however I did make a few mistakes with this as it is my first time creating modular assets for an environment, I failed to use exact measurements for some of the different pieces, (E.g the door frames are a different length than the walls) which brought up issues when fitting the level together.

But in summary I am predominantly pleased with much of the outcome and look forward to using the skills I learned on this in future projects.