A.Journal

Checks

811 checks

Medium

Trying to not lose count of all the cool stuff he doesn't have.

Easy

He catches his reflection in the blade's gloss varnish and sees a great beast, fangs bared.

Easy

No recognition at all.

Easy

Yeah, they have no idea.

Medium

She has no idea what you meant, but is too immersed to care.

Easy

No irony. Only the truth.

Easy

His fingers twitch, pulling a phantom trigger.

Easy

Largely unfazed, too infatuated with coming face-to-face with a real gun.

Medium

Hard, abrupt words.

Easy

Unfortunately, the displeasure in her voice catches up with your little fantasy, and slams it all away.

Easy

Ice-water sobering from the inside out.

Easy

Instant, though mistaken, recognition. The character is prepared for you.

Formidable

One for fear, two for guilt, three for determination.

Easy

Look at the cosmonauts' expressions: pride, determination, joy. These aren't commemorative; they predate the disaster.

Formidable

Absent intensity. It's impossible to tell how much he even understands.

Legendary

Tracing the shapes his mouth makes, you manage to make out the words 'I was', 'people', and 'land'.

Medium

That smirk. Like he's somehow gotten one over on fate.

Challenging

His face twitches on the razorblade between perverse delight and terror.

Easy

No translation needed, and not the slightest hint of irony. Yes.

Easy

That was a growl, not an attempt to speak. He would be making the same noise if he could talk.

Challenging

The soundless words are clear on his lips: 'I was held in one'.

Formidable

Read the story from Loud João's own lips.

Medium

Caught out. Fair play.

Medium

Toying with them like a cat with its prey. Now he breaks off another leg and watches the thing limp.

Easy

Eyes widen. The other men regard him like some kind of God.

Easy

You realise after a moment that he isn't just doing his usual thing -- he's demonstrating.

Medium

Subtle and leering -- for the first time you see his true smile.

Challenging

Cowed, shrunken, SLAVA ages ten years as the feeling of betrayal sinks in.

Medium

He's experiencing what men like him fear most: Humiliation at the hands of a woman.

Formidable

A snarl flickers beyond the veil of the smile.

Medium

Meanwhile his companions begin to squirm.

Easy

Clocked you instantly, even though your accent has been diluted in the decade-plus since you left.

Medium

Neither is he. It's in the accent -- vowels musicalised, R's straining not to trill.

Formidable

No satisfaction registers on his features. He wants more.

Medium

Asked as if the question scared him.

Medium

Give him some space, he's getting somewhere.

Challenging

As he's talking, his whole posture changes -- a lightness across his features.

Challenging

His full-force gaze reminds you of meeting the sharks in Mircea Aquarium eye-to-eye. Empty yet full, processing alien thoughts.

Easy

For a moment, hope flashes in his eyes. The possibility that, maybe, maybe, this is still the kind of place that diplomats frequent.

Medium

The son, prematurely aged. The father, embalmed in ageless maturity.

Easy

A little sadness alights on his face for the briefest moment.

Medium

The broom does not gaze back.

Easy

Too quick on the denial. That's a big, flashing 'yes.'

Easy

You're dealing with a 'Get Off My Property' type here. Problem is, his property is communal.

Medium

Unhappy to be stuck down here, on the street, when there is action elsewhere.

Medium

Gun. Gun. Knife and gun.

Medium

Look, when in doubt, it's always safe to assume the answer is yes.

Easy

They wear their clothes like the very mannequins they were sewn on.

Challenging

Something about this rejection feels more than just embarrassing. It feels dangerous.

Easy

He couldn't care less about your opinion.