#Deus' bodyguard???

[skzoombie]

“Honey, honey, I could be your bodyguard (hey)”

Wagner estava sentado na cadeira de madeira na diagonal com um lado mais para frente da sacada do apartamento, ele soprava a fumaça da verdinha em direção a rua enquanto observava de longe as noticias que passavam na televisão.

O maxilar do homem começou a endurecer assistindo uma das reportagens do momento, ele sugou com força a seda e soltou um riso irônico.

- Fascistas de merda! - soltou em um tom alto.

Em meio ao xingamento e costume cotidiano de sentar na sacada, s/n observava os detalhes físicos do namorado mais velho, quase marido, mesmo que ele negasse o casamento pois não queria prender ambos em um estereótipo.

Os músculos dos braços saltavam, ao passo que ele apertava um dos braços da cadeira com efeito da raiva e indignação. Wagner alcançou o controle remoto que estava em uma bidê próximo e desligou a televisão.

- Posso fumar um pouco? - s/n questionou quando o silêncio se fez na sala.

Ele virou a rosto na direção do sofá e sorriu para a pessoa deitada, levantou uma das mãos e chamou com o dedos para vir perto. S/n caminhou meio sonolenta e parou com o corpo em frente ao homem sentado, ele bateu nas próprias pernas, sinalizando para que sentasse.

- Puxa devagarinho, tá? - ele orientou virando o baseado na direção da mulher.

Wagner riu baixo quando ela sugou os dedos dele junto com a maconha, um fio de saliva saiu junto e ela sugou mais uma vez para quebrar.

- Você vai comigo amanhã? - ele perguntou fechando os olhos quando sentiu soltando na fumaça no seu rosto.

- Óbvio - respondeu sem pensar muito.

Ele sorriu levando uma das mãos para as pernas nuas do pijama curto da namorada, acariciou a região e apertou forte duas vezes. A mão subiu pelas costas dela até chegar na nuca, wagner apertou e enfiou os dedos entre os fios dos cabelos longos.

- Ainda tem uns arranhões no seu pescoço - comentou observando e chegando com o rosto mais perto do pescoço.

-Não mais do que ela - respondeu fechando os olhos quando sentiu um arrepio com a proximidade da respiração no pescoço.

Ele riu com a fala e concordou com o movimento de cabeça, deu a última tragada, apagou a bituca no braço da cadeira e colocou dentro de uma garrafa de plástico que estava próxima.

- Tenta não começar briga amanhã.

- É só elas não ficarem se jogando pra cima de você - rebateu sentindo a maconha bater fraco.

- Se depender de você, as pessoas não podem nem se aproximar - respondeu revirando os olhos.

S/n concordou sorrindo, aproximou o rosto do homem e deixou um selinho na boca dele, foi descendo o beijo do maxilar até o pescoço e sugou forte para deixar marcas.

- Todos esses anos tentando conquistar você para uma menina de dezoito anos roubar meu lugar? - wagner puxou o cabelo de s/n fazendo a cabeça ir para trás.

- E eu não gastei meses comendo você em banheiro público de passeata política, pra te deixar da noite para o dia - provocou beijando entre os seios dela.

- Você nunca nem conseguiria me deixar - respondeu observando sério o namorado - ou você realmente acha que conseguiria viver sem mim?

Questionou provocativa e fazendo homem olhar para ela com ironia, wagner sabia que não viveria sem a mulher, cada pequena atitude dela envolvia o bem estar dele. Sexo matinal para ele acordar melhor, café da manhã pronto na mesa para não precisar gastar tempo pensando em comida, carro sempre com tanque cheio porque ele tinha preguiça de ir no posto, casa organiza, erva e seda sempre abastecida para ele fumar quando precisasse aliviar a ansiedade.

- Hoje de manhã não encontrei os biscoitos de chocolate que gosto, você não parece tão eficaz quanto se acha - ele rebateu provocando a mulher com algo simples que percebeu pela manhã quando acordou.

- Pena ser tão desatento, recomendaria olhar dentro da mochila que leva sua comida para o trabalho - ela comentou não desviando os olhos - Você gosta de comer essas bolachas no intervalo, não é?

Ele abriu um sorriso cínico, levou as duas mãos no pescoço da mulher e puxou o rosto dela com força para iniciar um beijo. Os lábios mexiam com rapidez, saliva se acumulava nos cantos da boca, umedecia toda a região do buço e queixo com o beijo.

- Quem é você sem eu? - cortou o beijo e perguntou para ele tentando puxar o ar que faltava.

- Ninguém - ele disse o que ela gostaria de escutar e tentou puxar novamente para um beijo mas foi negado.

- Me veja como um guarda costa, que cuida e protege você - finalizou sorrindo e levantou do colo do namorado - Vou preparar a banheira para você tomar seu banho antes de dormir.

#wagner moura

[torakubi]

deus ex oc (info and art under the cut) i made his textures in like a day and loaded him into a test level for funsies

NAME: JUDAH BISHOP AGE: 36 OCCUPATION: FEMA Secretary, Walton Simon's bodyguard. Augmented in his hearing and reflexes, leading to augments on his temple, arms and near his ears. Utterly devoted to Simons, think of a guard dog trained to growl at anyone that comes near his owner. Greatly dislikes Bob Page but will try and get along with him for his boss' sake.

#deus ex #dx1 #deus ex oc #judah bishop

[jtl-fics]

I love this lil scene about riko telling the suit man off and ichirou being ,, ah a moriyama does not follow others" but really riko just lil scared touch aversive, not trusting of some random older bigger guy touching his shoulder as always - i'm just here to muse but ichirou having hard time realising how broken his brother is, taking all this standoffish behaviour and aggression as sign of confidence and pride - it's all just defensive mechanism you know the way you portray ichi makes me sad because he is cold calculated and he knows how to see benefit or lack of in certain actions and relationships so without active support of deus ex machine neil riko would yet again be under pressure to be worthy of ichis affection or even just acknowledgement i think he does not even bother considering more than this as possibility i know what i like but considering the way you build his character do you think he would be able to give riko unconditional attention and time to heal or would he see it as waste of time and weakness woudl neil have to force him to it

Math Nerd AU

So right now in the moment of the suit fitting and the pending lunch Ichirou is really meeting Riko for the first time. He's evaluating him, trying to figure out if he is worth investing in. He has a very good first impression of him, standing up to Tetsuji the way he did. Still, a first impression can be wrong and Ichirou wants to know what he stands to gain and what he stands to lose with Riko as an investment of his time.

That isn't to say that there is no hope for them to reach a point where Ichirou looks at Riko and sees his little brother. Ichirou has people that he is close with in this universe (His bodyguards and right hand men that he's had and been close with since he went away to boarding school & Neil who's lack of propriety and usefulness had Ichirou giving a shit before he meant to) but Ichirou has a hard time expressing that his affection for them is affection and not just that they're useful.

It's just that useful is on the path for affection for Ichirou since he won't let himself feel that about people who aren't useful. Neil's insistence that Riko would be of use is what brought him here, Riko's unscripted resistance to Tetsuji is what got Riko in the car, and there are future events that may build towards Ichirou and Riko developing a true affectionate bond with one another but I don't think it'll ever be entirely unconditional.

If only because Ichirou would never tolerate a threat to the empire he sees as his to inherit.

#Math Nerd AU #AFTG #AFTG AU #Riko Moriyama #Ichirou Moriyama #The Moriyamas

[cchr11]

a couple of deus ex ocs that are more of background characters.

in a nutshell:

'Wu' (25, name unknown) was a Red Arrow assassin and one of Yuen Kong's personal bodyguards. He was notable for barely employing weapons for combat and killings, making full use of his mechanical limbs, fast dexterity and silent approaches. Naturally curious and pretty bold, he strikes an unlikely friendship with Paul Denton back in his Hong Kong days, teaching him self-defense for mech-augs. He believed Paul to be smart enough to adapt and make use of them as a nanu-aug. He goes missing along Yuen Kong during the stealing of the Dragon's Tooth. Kong, however, was later found death in the canals while Wu remains missing since.

'Lucy' (21, Lucia Fuentes) was a mechanical-augmented spy and mercenary hired by Tracer Tong to be one of his many eyes, ears and hands in the outside world. Specialized in the use of cloaking technology, she is Hong Kong's equivalent of New York's Filben and, despite her serious appareance, she's quite extraverted, cheery and a bit cheeky. Lucy was ordered by Tong to briefly aid JC Denton in some missions with information and artillery if necessary. She mostly moved in the shadows and provided extra info as JC was more than capable on his own aquiring data and taking care of hostiles. She was later sent by Tong to help a weakened Paul Denton arrive safely to the Luminous Path compound once he set foot in Hong Kong. Shortly before JC left to New York, Lucy was unfortunate enough to cross paths with Gunther Hermann and perished in combat.

#deus ex #dx1 #oc

[imninahchan]

tenho que hablar sobre cowboy carter por motivos de as a girl from roça eu quero. cof cof ahammm

ameriican requiem é o que você escuta quando você chega no céu slk, aquelas vozes no começo MEU DEUS eu tive até que dar play de novo porque queria aproveitar mais.

blackbiird é adorável, gostei mais na voz dela. muito icônico da parte dela colocar um cover dessa. EU AMO QUE ELA TEM SIGNIFICADO CONCEITO.

16 carriages me fez chorar em todas as vezes que ouvi desde que lançou, eu tô saindo pra faculdade de manhã e os olhos tão cheios, é uma das minhas preferidas de todas as dela.

protector soa tão reconfortante, literalmente assim fiquei

my rose e smoke hour fecham muito bem pra texas hold 'em começar, é de uma satisfação. e sem palavras pra essa última, é um sabor. adoro. tenho vontade de dançar com um botina no chão de terra da roça.

bodyguard é uma vibezinha, o solinho de guitarra me conquistou.

a dolly falando da becky with the good hair em dolly p foi absolute cinema *insira aqui uma foto do scorsese* o cover de jolene ganhou um gosto maior, ainda mais com os versos adicionados.

daughter me pegou de um jeito que eu não esperava, seja pela letra (também sou igualzinha o meu pai bey🤧) ou aquela parte meio ópera.

na primeira nota de spaghettii eu já arrepiei E MEU DEUS QUANDO A BATIDA DE FUNK VEIO EU NÃO AGUENTEI A EMOÇÃO uma musicona lacruda dessas

alliigator tears tem umas palminhas contando o ritmo no fundo que me fez quase acender um cigarro (não fumo

a interlude smoke hour ii bem uma vibe quebrando a quarta parede eu amei

já dizia just for fun time heals everything aleluia

as vozes dela e da miley funcionaram bem aos meus ouvidos em ii most wanted.

levii's jeans icônica naquele verso do deixar vc ser meu jeans pra abraçar a minha bunda, é sobre isso lobas. a voz do post malone me surpreendeu, não sou de ouvir as músicas dele então fiquei uai é o post malone mesmo??? um doce essa, já tô vendo que vou colocar na minha playlist de músicas pra ler enquanto escrevo.

flamenco preencheu bem o rombo que levii's jeans deixou, um doce também.

a interlude com a linda martell me deixou animada e quando veio a primeira nota de ya ya EU ARREPIEI só pelo título quando vazou eu já sbaia que ia ser um hino pq música que chama ya ya (à lá exo) não decepciona. o sample de these boots are made for walkin foi muito bem utilizado. A VOZ ROUCA DELA MEU DEUS EU VO GRITA

NOOOOOSSA A TRANSIÇÃO PRA OH LOUISIANA

🦅🪕🎚🎸 desert eagle

riiverdance soa muito diferente do que eu esperava. eu jurando que ia ser algo beeeem country raiz sem batida, mas o instrumental “moderno” ficou bem encaixado, agradou meus ouvidos.

ii hands ii heaven continua bem a batidinha, a ponte pra mim é a melhor parte da canção.

tyrant já começa grandona e só melhoras con o passar dos 4 minutos.

já imaginava que sweet honey buckin' ia ser boa só pelo título, e não decepciona.

amem fecha tão bem quanto ameriican requiem abre, a mesma energia (os versos em reprise), me fez sentir muita satisfação, a sensação de tudo amarradinho, coeso e coerente, embora com as mudanças experimentais de ritmo ao decorrer do projeto. não tem como, é a maior que temos hoje, antes dela só o michael.

#[🌷] nina cotidiano e memes #amo cowboys yeehawwww uepaaaaa segura pião #cowboy carter #beyonce #beyoncé

[saraiisstanky]

Okay some of this is old and some is recent

Triplets Halloween drawing (old from like a year or so ago for a book I attempting to write)

Old Fantasy character concepts (Mel and Sol and two concept doodles of one of my ocs divorced parents)

A drawing I did for my dads work

Helluva boss ocs I made based off a random generator (some tik tok video thing where I blindly chose aspects of the ocs)

This is Deus, bodyguard for a mafia boss in the greed ring. And his boyfriend who is an imp indebted to the boss

I’m not used to drawing furries or imps in Helluva’s style but I tried for the sake of doing something new🤷‍♀️

#art #doodles #oc art #oc #concept art #art spam #helluva fanart #helluva boss #imp oc #hellhound oc #Melora Yadira #Solice Yadira

[psychodelic-insomnomaniac]

um, hi! I just finished reading your fic "Deus Ex Machina" and I really really liked it! I feel like the characterization was spot-on and you did a really good job introducing your oc villains to the story without them feeling out of place in the world of JJBA. Even though Enrico was only around for like two chapters you managed to make him interesting and threatening for the short time he appeared, which I think is the mark of a really great writer if they can make even one-off characters interesting. I'm really interested in finding out what the rest of the oc villains will do in the story but I do have one question about them if it's not to spoilery - is this particular group of villains like the "old guard" of Passione? like in their 50s or older? cause if they are then that's a really good dichotomy between Giorno's team and theirs in that they're also opposed philosophically to each other in terms of wanting things to change (younger) versus wanting things to stay the same (older). idk, i might be reading too much into this but if you intended that then that's really cool!

Hi! I'm so happy to hear you liked it,,, it genuinely means a lot to me.

As for the Gambling Squad, they've got a mixed make up. Three of the members *are* closer to the Bucci Squad's ages (Enrico mentally refers to them as "the kids"). They're all adults, but young adults, which makes them kids by comparison.

The other four members are older. Enrico is (was) the oldest at 66, and Cattivo is second in line at 57.

Without spoiling too much, I can list the ages as follows:

Enrico Bernardi (deceased)- 66

Cattivo Strega- 56

Alcina Bugiardo- 32

Belladonna Caro- 33

???- 22

???- 20 (this is a guess, they refuse to give an actual number)

Ovvio Fortuna- 19

The Gambling Squad was, in many ways, meant to be something of a foil to the Bucci Squad. The Bucci Gang are protectors, bodyguards, and the oldest among them is 21. They're very much just a bunch of kids pretending to know what they're doing, loyal mostly out of fear and in these positions because they don't feel they have another choice, one way or the other.

The Gambling Squad, however, is a bit different. Sure, some of them are there because they felt they had nowhere else to go, but most of them *chose* this, one way or another. Loyalty comes from respect, from convenience, from love, from many places, but none really from fear.

If you're interested, I would be *happy* to go more into any of the characters (without spoiling too much hopefully, lol) and detail a little more about their motivations, their personalities, etc. I've gotten kind of attached to my cannon fodder lmao, and would love to talk about them.

Thank you again, so much

#dem #deus ex machina #la squadra di gioco d'azzardo

[shortpplfedup]

This show is only nominally a BL, what it really is is a gangster/bodyguard lakorn that just happens to have a gay romance as one part of the plot, and when I rotate the lens to watch it with an eye toward the drama in addition to the romance, a lot of the choices feel less odd and more deliberate. There's a pattern that's unfolding here, two playbooks of tropes that are playing out in counterpoint. I've only been considering one and confused by the other, when they need to be read together to make sense. Now do I think Jojo entirely has a handle on what he's trying to do here? Not quite. I think he's gotten a bit wrapped up in the tribute he's trying to do to 90s gangster lakorns to the point that he's gotten a bit lost in the weeds on the emotional beats of the story. It's starting to feel less homage and more pastiche. Did Jojo intend to make something that would line up on the shelf with those lakorns he watched as a teen, or did he want to tell a story about two boys falling in love that evoked the same vibe, but existed stylistically in the now? I can't tell from what he's put on screen, and I think that's why I'm a little frustrated with this show.

Because for three parts of this episode, nothing felt like it was working for me, and then Palm got in that bath and started drinking and crying, and then Palm kept drinking and danced with Neung and cried and kissed him and held him and Neung understood everything and just did whatever Palm wanted. And that, that got me. That's what I came here for, that's what I thought Jojo wanted to show us: two boys falling in love, stuck in an impossible situation, and trying to do what's best for each other, trying to keep each other alive. But that's only one part of the story.

I feel very strongly about meeting a story where it is and judging it on how well it does what it's trying to do, not on what I want it to do, so I'm really struggling with this one despite enjoying elements of it. In Ben and Chopper specifically, I think I might have hit my limit on going with it this week. Using them for plot mechanics to move the story forward does make sense for a side couple, but Chimon and Perth are so good and the characters are so richly and deeply drawn that I wanted differently. I'm not sure I like Ben finding out what's happening by happenstance and threatening Chopper to rat out his dad rather than that happening as a character moment for Chopper as his guilt/worry consume him. It feels a bit deus ex machina for things to unfold like this, for his dilemma to become externalised and for Ben to be the one who externalised it.

Neung's decision to leave on the other hand feels like a turning point that came entirely from him. Because we've seen him lose and lose and lose, as one by one the people who he loves and who love him put their bodies between him and his enemies. He's traumatised. He's enraged. And he needs to take control of his life because if he doesn't, he can't protect anybody he loves from the wolves at the door. Mam's death was the last straw, because it means NOBODY in his life is safe with him burying his head in the sand and pretending he can have whatever life he wants. Mam was as far away from Bangkok and the hell of his life as a person could be, but she's dead because she loved him and wanted to protect him. In his mind, she's dead because of him. So he comforts Palm in a way that only he could, because who else could possibly understand watching your parent die right in front of you, what that does to you? Who else could do for Palm in that moment the exact thing he needed? But he already knows he has to leave him, now, because he can't let anybody else die for him, especially not Palm. Neung won't let anybody else put their body between him and his enemies, enough is enough. It's time for him to fight his own battles, to accept the legacy he has never wanted.

Stray Bullets

Pond in part 4/4 tapped into something in that bath scene and that dance scene that's deeper than I've ever seen him go before. It's the best acting I've ever seen from him.

The plot is setting up Neung and Chopper as allies in bringing Kit down I think, and I like the idea of the angst that could come from that because I think Neung will want revenge and Chopper will beg for mercy for his father.

Death odds for Thanya just went up because Neung does have to think he's alone for where I think this is going to work. I think she'll wake up first and give him a last push and a goodbye.

I don't think Ben and Chopper will be together in this story, maybe a hopeful ending for them rather than a happy ending.

The sun bracelet and the story it represents is what Palm thinks is his and Neung's fate, and god I love Palm so much because despite everything, despite his entire life he's still an optimist, still an innocent, he still believes love can conquer all.

Cowherd and weaver girl is what Neung thinks is his and Palm's fate, but I think he has counted out Palm's devotion. He has his own choices to make, and just like Neung he won't let anybody make those choices for him anymore. I think in the end, that will be how they finally become equals.

#never let me go #never let me go the series #junior mafia #bl meta series

[maiteo]

maia omg….what are your faves from the album🤠🤭❤️

ooooh meu deus….where do I begin mamas…

like I loved the whole thing….no surprises there. it was an entire moment!! it’s hard for me to pick faves bc just like with renaissance and every other album I go thru phases with each song ahdjsks

but! atm im loving american requiem, protector, bodyguard, spaghetti, just for fun, ii most wanted, YA YA!!!, RIIVERDANCE!!!, and TYRANT OFCCC🗣️

#answered #I love MUSIC n ARTISTRY n EXPERIENCES. and guess what we got. yeah yup! #me throwing away my jersey heritage and finally embracing georgia after 10+ years ahsbsnsna BEY-HAWWWWW🗣️ #me n thee loml are about to hop on a flight best believe we WILL be enjoying it again n making notes n all that yup! beijos! #c was like spaghetti was for the Italians AGSHSJSK #and lastly when it comes to act iii (not to rush things)….baby I want ROCK N ROLL!

[skzoombie]

Cowboy Carter

BODYGUARD

-> Wagner Moura percebe o amor cego de sua namorada nas pequenas atitudes, ela seria capaz de tudo?

JOLENE

-> Quando aquela vagabunda tenta novamente fazer movimentos para cima de Swann Arlaud, você decide tomar uma atitude drástica para mostrar a quem ele pertence.

DAUGHTER

-> Manter a santidade estava sendo um dos seus maiores desafios, Enzo Vogrincic não deixaria de ser professor na escola de freiras, e você teria que rever seus votos com Deus.

LEVII'S JEANS

-> Você sabia os estereótipos e comentários que faziam quando descobriam que estava namorando alguém três vezes mais velho. Mas ele não é qualquer homem, ele é a porra do Alexandre Nero e sabia como lidar com isso tudo.

II Hands II Heaven (em breve)

-> Todos os anos você viajava nas férias para alguma parte do país, mas tudo pode se tornar inesquecível quando se encontra um amor de verão. Chay Suede amaria cada dia mais a decisão de ter se mudado para o Rio de Janeiro na época certa.

#skzoombiespecial

[shadowsshowdown]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Shadow’s Showdown 63

The Friendly Soul.

Berlin 2017.

The roof of the Lemon-Lime collapsed, hitting the ground with momentum. This was accompanied by the sound of breaking glass, the ringing of the metal structure and the crunch of crumbling concrete. Damien refused to let Evie stand in front of the ruins of the club. More than questioning, he was afraid that someone might find them so he led her into one of the side alleys. Pulling out his phone, he dialled the number of his private bodyguard and walked away from the girl.

"Did you caught him?" asked Damien, assured Evie can't hear their conversation. "Of course." "We're in the next alley." "Do you think she'll buy it?" "She'll buy anything. She's stupid and naive."

A quarter of an hour later, a rumbling and loud, long screams could be heard from the depths of the alley. The street lamp shook under the impact. Immediately afterwards, a man collapsed at Evie's feet. He might have been just over twenty years old. The brown-haired guy looked quite ordinary, wearing jeans, a thick wool sweater and a jacket.

"That's him," growled the bodyguard and kicked the man who was now lying on his back.

The man cringed and shrieked.

"Did he confess?" asked Damien when the young man stopped screaming. "Of course he did."

Blood was pouring from the stranger's nose and a cut eyebrow arch. He also had a black eye and, judging by his face contorted with a grimace of pain and his arm wrapped around his torso, probably one or more broken ribs. Evie opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth with her hand, paralysed with horror.

"Here is our arsonist," Damien announced. "Now he will suffer the consequences of his deed!"  

The kick aimed at his abdomen was so strong that the man cringed in pain, and a wet spot blossomed on his pants.  

"See? He peed himself out of fear. He's about to shit himself next," the bodyguard reacted and kicked the young man in the back. "Damien, tell him to stop!" squealed the girl.

Damien had so far watched dispassionately as his bodyguard bullied his victim. However, he had to maintain at least some semblance of not being so cruel after all. Evie had to trust him for his plan to work without problems. The man nodded and the subordinate reluctantly stopped further beating and kicking. The victim was already barely alive anyway. His face was so swollen that he was almost unidentifiable.

"You're right.” Damien turned his head towards the girl. “You're the one who should punish him," he said, snatching the gun from the bodyguard's holster, pressing it into her hand and unlocking it.

Evie didn't want to tighten her fingers on the cool grip, but Damien forced her to do so. She felt the rough surface under four fingers, and the fifth index finger touched the trigger. The weapon was heavy, it seemed to her that it weighed a ton.

“Hold it with both hands,” ordered with a sharp tone. “Yes like this.” "Damien, please stop, we've already scared him enough!" she screamed after realising he was not joking. "For the fuck’s sake! He burned Lemon-Lime! Because of him, Joe is dead, and you want to take pity on him?!" "I can't kill him! Besides, that's what the police are for!" "You can," he convinced her, assisting in holding the gun putting the barrel to the kneeling man's forehead and squeezing the trigger.

The girl closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. She did not want to see his wide-open eyes begging for mercy. She breathed hurriedly and her whole body trembled. The roar of gunfire spread through the alley, drowned out by sirens and general noise. No one reacted. The head exploded like a watermelon, splattering blood, brain fragments and bones. The body slid inertly to the ground. Damien didn't wait for Evie to say or do anything. The bodyguard handed him a handkerchief soaked in sleeping remedy, with which Kratos covered the girl's mouth. Once her body was numb, he threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and together with the bodyguard disappeared into the depths of the alley where a black off-road car with tinted windows stood parked.

Despite his detailed plan, Damien could not have foreseen that the entire incident was being watched by an unwanted observer.

Detroit. Connor's apartment.

The man continued looking at his socks. The left one was invariably gayer than the right. He had said far too much, but Laura left him no choice. The hope remained alive in him that there would not be too many questions and suspicions, that everything would remain as before, and that they would continue to be friends because, in fact, in this shitty world, Laura had become someone very close to him. So close that it pained him to keep every secret he had from her.

"Thank you for telling me about this. At least you're the only one being honest with me."

Connor bit his lower lip so hard that he felt the sweet-metallic taste of blood in his mouth. Honesty was far from his mind. Lack of choice forced him into it. The only thing he had for her was a lie, followed by another and another. The man looked at Laura and forced as sincere a smile as possible in response.

"But why didn't you tell me about it earlier?"

He expected questions, but he didn't have ready answers to them. He had to come up with something plausible in a split second. The best way was to play on emotions, to show remorse. That always works.

"Because I knew Damien was looking for you, and I have the evidence from that day. If he used you to get it, I wouldn't forgive myself." "Since you have something that can be used against him, you should have used it long ago!" "Don't shout," he said calmly. His gaze moved from the socks to the wall. "Damien is too cunning and has extensive connections. This is not as simple as ordinary cases. You have to act with caution." "You're right, I'm sorry," she replied quietly, crumpling the quilt in her hands. "I had already forgotten how dangerous he is." "Don't think about it now, you need to gain strength. I'm sure Pritchard misses you," he joked.

Laura laughed, wrapping her hands around her belly. She clenched her teeth in pain and closed her eyes. "Unfortunately, I can't laugh yet."

Connor made sure she didn't lack anything. He changed her dressings, made sure she took her medicine as prescribed, cooked and took care of the cat. He helped her once she started getting out of bed. Laura saw this as an attempt to suppress guilt, to soothe her conscience, but she quickly got rid of the thought. Although her physical condition was improving day by day, her psyche resembled a post-war field, strewn with corpses and soaked in blood. Connor, as much as he wanted to, could not help her. He was busy preparing dinner when he heard the sound of a chair being pushed back and a protracted gasp brought on by fatigue.

"You were supposed to be in bed. You're still weakened," he said with displeasure, stirring the chicken in the pan.

The meat sizzled when he added a bit of broth, a cloud of steam raised almost under the grey cabinets hanging on the wall. He shook the pan and added the chopped vegetables.

"I need your help,” Laura stated with a firm tone. “You can see the state I'm in, and it's not the fault of the wounds. I have thought about this for a long time and I think that only talking to Rupert can help me." "I can call him, maybe he will agree to come," he suggested. "No. I have to go to his place, only there I can open up. The atmosphere of his house is...magical if you understand what I mean." "Of course I understand. There are places spreading auras we can't explain. However, that doesn't change the fact the journey is risky. Your wounds still haven't healed, and you have difficulty walking..." "That's why I need to see Rupert," she interrupted him, and the tone of her voice was still firm.

Connor set the pan aside and turned toward the table looking at Laura intently and thoughtfully. Her green eyes looked at him almost pleadingly, they were unnaturally large and sparkling. He knew that if he refused her now, everything they had built so far would collapse like a house of cards. It was a form of unintentional emotional blackmail. Another possibility Connor didn't even allow into his mind.

"Fine, I agree but we'll go there in my car. Only then I will be calmer." "Thank you," she replied.

The man noticed that her face brightened and for a moment he even saw a smile. Maybe this idea isn't quite so bad after all.

Laura returned to the room, lay down on the bed and reached for the phone. She hesitated for a long time before dialling Rupert's number, withdrawing her finger from the green handset showing on the phone screen. Finally, she made up her mind and touched the icon. After a few beeps, she decided that probably no one would answer the phone. The woman sighed with resignation wanting to end the call but heard Demelza's invariably polite voice, which always made her feel better. Unfortunately, Rupert was not at home at the time, but she assured Laura that he would want to meet with her. Laura already wanted to say goodbye and end the conversation, but the woman stopped her at the last moment. For a while she only heard a quiet conversation in which she could not distinguish the words, only Rupert's voice saying with full conviction "But of course I will, even today," she heard clearly and felt the fear completely disappear. She made an appointment for the next day and hardly managed to stop the conversation because Demelza kept saying how happy she was to see her. Laura was also looking forward to tomorrow when she would return to Rupert's secluded and elegant office, where she felt safe.

Connor brought her the dinner he had just finished and handed the woman one of the plates. Surprisingly, he was beginning to get used to the combination of food and bed. All those overwhelming scenarios about the types of stains on the bedding and how they were formed disappeared from his mind as if they never existed. Laura convinced him to sit next to her, rest his back against the pillow and just enjoy the moment.

"Connor?" the woman tried focusing his attention. "Co-nn-or?" she repeated, poking him lightly in the side with her elbow. "What's the matter? Are you feeling bad?" he asked, jerking his whole body restlessly.

By the skin of his teeth, the remains of the chicken would have landed on the bed sheets.

"I'm fine, but you've been in another dimension," she muttered, finishing eating. "What were you thinking about?" "About nothing in particular," he answered evasively and put his plate down on the nightstand. "If you don't want to explain, just say it straight out. I'm not a child."

The man sighed and once again began to observe his socks. The less grey one was starting to wear through.

"I can't remember the last time I felt free," he said. "What do you mean free? You are all the time unless I don't know something," the woman furrowed her brow.

Connor shook his head. "Ever since I agreed to participate in the program and became an aug I never really felt free, much less human."

"Joe also tried hiding who he was. He often wore gloves and rarely walked around in t-shirts. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you." "Personally, I did not expect such hatred. I was told all the time that I would be special, but the world at the time was not ready to accept enhanced people. When I first showed up at the police station, everyone looked at me like I was a freak. My partner Hank Anderson expressed his dislike for me by making biting comments or refusing to use my help. It took us a long time to establish a friendlier relationship. At least his dog, Sumo liked me right away." Connor's laugh was forced. "Gavin Reed, on the other hand, never accepted me. He wanted me to brew him coffee because clanks are only good for that. He always questioned my observations and conclusions even if I was right. He thought the machine could not be reliable. He took all the credit away from me and attributed it to himself." "And what about your superiors?!" Laura raised her voice and jerked her body nervously. She immediately hissed in pain. "Be careful," the man muttered. "Show the dressings," he ordered, wanting to lift up her shirt. "I'm fine, really," she tried to reassure him but to no avail. "Well, okay," she said, letting the air out loudly through her nose.

Connor inspected the stitches carefully, letting his enhanced synthetic eyes reach deeper under the skin. Although his medical knowledge was rather rudimentary, in this particular case he was given precise guidelines on what to look out for and what should concern him.

"Fortunately, everything is fine," he said. "After all, I said I'm fine. So what do your superiors say about it?" she insisted. "I see you won't give up," he sighed. "The truth is hardly anyone wanted to cooperate with the augs. The police got a lot of funding in exchange for taking me in, but the fact that I'm not human was carefully hidden from the public. Everything I did or said went through Gavin's mouth. Hank, though he had no sympathy for me, at least had the remnants of dignity not to participate in this circus." "But he also didn't stand up for you," Laura interjected. "I can't blame him for that. Hank knew that corruption in the police has deep roots and long thorns so it's better to pretend you don't care or that you're too stupid and don't focus attention on yourself." "All in all, you're right. Hank alone wouldn't change anything and would only make things worse. It's better to wait and gather evidence."

Connor nodded slowly. "Unfortunately, I didn't have time to do that. I was careless, so they decided to get rid of me. They fired me within a week on the pretext of reducing vacancies, so I started acting on my own. Hank helped me as much as possible without drawing attention. Unfortunately, soon all the leads were gone cold except one, leading to you."

"And now you're probably cursing the day you met me because I'm a walking factory of problems." "You know I actually like it?" he muttered quietly, then yawned. "I'll keep that in mind."

Dale fell asleep, not even knowing when it happened. Just like that, in his clothes, next to Laura. According to his rules, this was something reprehensible. But rules are there to be changed, bent or even broken.

We've made a choice, go fight against your fate! Pain will come with the blade Pain will wake up the despondent crowd In this dormant world somehow Unsheathe a sword not to kill Unsheathe a sword to rend those clouds above the ground Wake up, it's time to gather now

All  chapters can be found: [AO3], [dA], [Wattpad] and [Tumblr]

#Deus Ex #DXHR #Deus Ex Human Revolution #Adam Jensen #Shadowfanfic #crunchy-shadow #Shadow's Showdown #Nifriel #I never asked for this #Fanfiction #Evie Dormer OC #Joe Mando OC #Cyberpunk #Writers on tumblr

[ellanainthetardis]

The Spare by Miranda Dubner My rating: 4 of 5 stars 4.5 I thought the book would be focused on the romance between the prince and the bodyguard but this is very much an ensemble book. All the characters are so fleshed out they felt real and you get attached very fast, however because there are so many of them, around the middle of the book it started to feel a little too much, like all the subplots couldn't be wrapped up in a satisfying way. And I'm sorry to say to me it was the case. I liked how realistic it all was at first but then toward the end it takes a turn for the fairy-taily deus ex machina ending that was a little too easy given the serious tone of the rest of the book. This being said I quite enjoyed it. My favorite part really was the set of characters. View all my reviews

#i read stuff #book reviews

[deafeningstrawberrymilkshake]

Tom and Jerry - The Bodyguard

Eu como bom telespectador de desenhos animados que sempre fui (apesar que isso já incomodou muita gente da minha família que eu sei), muitos desenhos que assisti eu já imitei na minha vida cotidiana, o que fazia muito crianças (da família ou não) que conviviam (ou tentavam conviver) comigo e até os adultos (inclusive alguns da família) pensarem que ou eu não fui muito bem instruído pelos meus Pais, ou eu não batia bem da cabeça e depois podiam pensar que eu seria um retardado mental quando crescesse!

Mas apesar disso, alguns dos tantos desenhos que eu assisti eu também assimilava às coisas da minha vida cotidiana até quando já fui mais crescido. 

Na minha adolescência por exemplo, esse desenho acima, do Tom & Jerry, me faz lembrar muito uma fase que vivenciei várias vezes no primeiro semestre do ano de 1990: a de quando o meu saudoso primo Marcelo (In Memorian) tinha, aos 20 anos de idade, aprendido a assobiar com os dedos na boca! 

Até hoje lembro muito bem dessa fase, e quando o Marcelo fazia isso, ele fazia e não parava mais! 

E falando bem a verdade, o Marcelo assobiava tanto, mas tanto, que às vezes ele esquecia dos “Ins” que ele fazia falando pra dentro, e de quando ele vivia imitando o Barbosa (da TV PIRATA) igual como nos tempos em que ele morou conosco por quase 1 ano (pra ser mais exato, ele morou comigo e a minha família por 11 meses, entre Março de 1989 e Fevereiro de 1990).

E foi por isso que citei que eu assimilava cenas de desenhos que já assisti à minha vida cotidiana, né?

Pois falando bem a verdade, no primeiro semestre do ano de 1990, pouco antes de eu fazer 17 anos de idade em Maio (e também pouquinho antes de eu ingressar a vida musical), teve uma fase que esse desenho passava no SBT, se não me engano, toda semana, ou quase todo dia! 

E toda vez que eu via as cenas do Jerry assobiando com os dedos na boca justamente nesse desenho, toda vez que eu via as cenas, claro, vinha à mente o Marcelo que aos 20 anos de idade, ou seja, com 20 p/21 anos em 1990, ele tinha aprendido a assobiar com os dedos na boca, e quando ele fazia isso, ele não parava! 

Outro detalhe foi que, no finalzinho do ano seguinte (1991), eu também aprendi a assobiar assim, e assobio até hoje desse jeito, com os dedos na boca!

Mas infelizmente eu tinha aprendido a assobiar desse jeito quando o Marcelo, 9 meses antes, tinha partido para o plano de Jesus em virtude de um acidente de carro no interior de São Paulo. 

Que Deus o tenha. 

O primo tinha muito chão pela frente e, claro, se ele ainda estivesse vivo, nós íamos ficar assobiando adoidado nos momentos de descontração e alegria junto com a família e os amigos também! 

Pois é verdade. 

Toda vez que lembro desse desenho, lembro exatamente do Marcelo e sua fase de quando ele aprendeu a assobiar bem do jeito que o Jerry assobia no desenho acima.

Life goes on, hermanitos! 

#youtube

[archer3-13]

You're a HxH fan? Cool. My question to you: do you think Kurapika will die in the current succession war/dark continent arc? I've seen YouTubers who say it's likely given the succession war + the Phantom Troupe are on board too + Hisoka is after the Phantom Troupe and we don't know who is gonna make it out alive anymore. But I would be really angry if Togashi killed off Kurapika while using Deus ex machina Alluka/Nanika to save Gon from dying. It would seem a bit hypocritical IMO. Your thoughts?

I've heard it stated by togashi somewhere that, in terms of original plans he had in mind, kurapika and the phantom troupe were all going to die in whatever end game he had in mind for them. I will also note however that machi was apparently supposed to die when hisoka resurrected himself with bungie gum, but togashi changed his mind because he, probably rightfully, assumed whatever played out next would be more interesting with an alive machi.

That is all to say, if mangaka exist on a spectrum of improvisational and planning then id say togashi fits comfortably on the middle. dude famously only intended hiei to be a one off d level villain in yuyuhakusho but changed his mind in response to feedback. if ya didnt know that though youd probably have never guessed it, as id say its frankly impossible to imagine a yuyuhakusho that didn't include hiei, because togashi worked him in so well.

which brings me to kurapika. i think theres undoubtly going to be some sort of reckoning for kurapika coming out of all of this, the groundwork was laid down well before the succession war even began and continues to be laid down now [emperor time and its double edged poisoned sword etc]. if not death then kurapikas going to come incredibly close to it/be crippled by his own abilities in some way, would thus be my honest answer to that. it ultimately depends on where togashi feels the story would be best sent towards.

however, as to give ya somethin to chew on, i have seen some theorizing on the possibility that even if kurapika dies, it might not be necessarily the end of his inclusion in the story as an active participant. as the theory noted, togashi has been especially more active in playing with the idea of 'nen after death/nen grudges' in this arc then in previous ones. the spirit beasts play around with conventions on nen for instance, a lot of the kakin siblings who know nen have abilities related to death. camilla can literally ressurect herself with her lucky nen cat, military dude whos name i forget acquires his loyal followers abilitties after they die, the ninth prince seems to be figuring out some sort of ability's that lets him launch his own followers souls as projectiles and replace a targets soul/possesses them, the king of kakin is collecting the fallen princes bodies for some sort of ritual related to nen, that one group of lady bodyguard with suicide nen abilities, nen and death is very important in the succession war. so, theoretically we could see a scenario where kurapika dies but is ressurected or otherwise lives on because of some sort of nen related thing, especially given his ongoing grudge and beef with the spiders.

but its just a theory ive heard.

#hxh #hunter x hunter #kurapika

[srabaskerville]

Kinnporsche rewatch episode 4 (yeah, I am very late)

- Porsche "did I kissed someone yesterday? Nice" vs Kinn "Derik, meu Deus, e agora?"

- Vegas "I don't care about Macau, sometimes I want to hit him too haha" LIER!!!

- "I do it all the time" jfdjtdhkff the kinda of conversation for a máfia show

- Big is so beautiful and I love him

- Kim is a little bitch (affectionate)

- Okay, I would be hella suspect of Chay too - first you start to suspect this new bodyguard, after a kid come to you knowing to many little things about you and asking you to be his tutor, and so you discover that the kid is brother of the bodyguard???

- how do you know it Mr Vegas? Kinn really need to start to think where Vegas get his information

- Jessica honey, you showed up for 3 second and stole my heart

[piinkiheartz]

Don't even ask why Gear king looks weird-

#Sound the horn #balan wonderworld #cookie run kingdom #balan wonderworld costumes #cookie run #sunwalker #sun walker #Gear king #gear prince #pure vanilla cookie #pure vanilla #dark cacao #dark choco #dark cacao cookie #dark choco cookie #should i make Happy horn as Hollyberry cookie? #Since her gacha ost is #But again does it mean Metal will be Royal berry? And Deus will be Prince(ss) cookie? Super skater will be Jungle berry??? Plus who will be #Deus' bodyguard??? #Piinki Heartz' blog #Piinki's art