#I also like watching videos of people putting on armor so u get the idea of how they layer their stuff + the thickness of it when it’s all

[cinna-bunnie]

fictional or not, dragon lore is always so interesting.

#I'm watching a DS3 lore video on the nameless king bc i wanted to figure out wtf is the dragonslayer armor's deal #but the greater lore around the dragons is SO fucking good and now I'm thinking about dragons lol #i could watch these dark souls/elden ring lore videos by VaatiVidya all day tbh #i LOVE how deep he goes with it. these worlds and their lore already feel huge but #as someone who's only played the third dark souls it rly makes me appreciate how complex and interconnected it is as a series. #sometimes i wonder if the creators ever watch these vids and think “we didn't mean all that but that's a great idea” #or if they watch it and get super happy like YES that is exactly what our subtle storytelling meant. #either way i have So so much respect for ppl who go and put together these lore videos #going as far as to look at game dumps and early releases/cut content and ALL the dialogue and item descriptions #for any one topic the lore is so scattered about and piecing together any single thing seems like such a massive undertaking. #like lmaooo i can't even follow a single questline without pulling up the wiki #a recent rabbit hole i went down too is how there are different times/realities even just DS3 takes place in? #like how in Untended Graves you see a world without light where darkness rules - and in ringed city when ur fighting those #dragons in the base of that big tree that's supposed to be the original firelink shrine and then the shrine u use is maybe The Past? #the past relative to the other shrine from the world where the flame went out w darkness ruling. #idk how the transition works from being in that one dude's garden in ur world to just walking right into the other one but idc. #just say i got twilight zoned or somethn lol. always. very interesting stuff :^} I'm not smart enough to pick up on anything in the moment #but it's SO fun watching what other people pieced together whose whole thing is that they go thru these games thoroughly. #and in a way it makes me not want to stop playing DS/ER bc there's just so much going on here that's so rewarding?? #like. on TOP of the suuper deep lore the gameplay is also just super fun and u get HELLA weapons and special moves #and the modding scene has made some hella streamline tools that are so good these have been the first games I've ever MADE mods for! #like i can't think of any other games that are like this where I'm really encouraged it make it my own with such a helpful and #engaging community. I'm sure there r other games out there that are similarly engaging with deep lore and streamlined modtools #and mod communities but (⁠〒⁠﹏⁠〒⁠) 1. where?? 2. DS/ER are very beloved to me. #it's funny how little u have to know or do to beat their respective storylines. I've played them both a ton and still know so little. #and when i walk away from these lore vids I'm always like Woah 😵‍💫 yk? anyways.. that's my lil rant :3 back to work now

[swordmaid]

do you have go to refs for armour?

I usually do, especially if I’m designing something new! but if I’m just drawing JB in armor, I’ve drawn them so much I memorised their own design + how the armor is structured lol. But I do have Pinterest boards of the armours I take inspo from!

#i like mixing the armour styles tho since there’s certain aspects (like heraldry) that are present in the canon design #and that’s like 12th-13th century esque but I like the aesthetics of more ‘contemporary’ armors (mostly the shape of it) #so I like mixing the two [: but most of the time I’ll give the more modern design to the character that’s richer or more ‘fashionable’ #since they’ll have the means (or interest) to keep up to date with the lewks vs a more practical/poor person who wears the outdated stuff #since it’s more accessible. that kind of went to a tangent but yes I do LOL #I also like watching videos of people putting on armor so u get the idea of how they layer their stuff + the thickness of it when it’s all #sitting together. all that stuff [:

[flooffybits]

Knight in... Dark Armor?

Idol: Kim Yoohyeon (Dreamcatcher)

Anon: Hello there! Can you do a scenario with Yoohyeon being the clumsy puppy she is and 8th member reader being there to save her all the time? She ends up saving her so much that it becomes a running joke among the group and fans, reader even getting named as Yoo’s knight in shining armor/prince charming/any other name bc i am terrible at them 😅 Thank u!

☕buy me a coffee☕

It was no secret that Yoohyeon and Yubin were close. Most would consider them to be the closest in the group, given they were born in the same year and spent most of their time together.

But everyone also knew how you were always one step behind the pair and looking after the big puppy whenever something happened to her, either consciously or unconsciously coming to her aid and saving her just in the nick of time.

She’s clumsy, as you and Yubin say.

But the difference was, Yubin could never prevent the other woman’s accidents like you do.

“How many times do I have to tell you to watch out?” You sighed when you had successfully grabbed the back of the brunette’s shirt when she tripped over her own feet while trying to carry her bag in one hand and an armful of clothes in the other.

Her face was a few inches away from the ground and she would have surely hurt herself if you hadn’t stopped her fall. But with the way things went, your members ended up getting a laugh with the tallest member’s predicament.

“I think we have to handcuff the two of you together just so we’re sure Yoohyeon doesn’t get into another accident.” Handong teased, causing a pout to form on the said girl’s lips when she finally stood upright and dusted herself off with a blush coating her cheeks as Yubin added, “She won’t mind that. I think Yoohyeon would love being stuck to Y/n for the whole day.”

“Yah! That’s not true and I’m not that clumsy!”

But just as she threw her hands up, she accidentally hit one of your shelves and knocked over one of the books you and Yubin bought, but you were quick enough to catch it before it could reach the ground.

“Y/n unnie has gotten so used to your clumsiness that she basically has a sixth sense.” Gahyeon gestured to you as you placed the book back in its place and made sure all of your things were in places where they wouldn’t fall so easily in the event someone, namely Yoohyeon, bumped into it.

You turn to the giant puppy that was now pouting and whining next to your leader. “Have you seen all the videos of you two online? There’s a compilation of Y/n being your personal bodyguard.” Bora explains as she scrolls through her phone to show the amount of edits fans have made with you two together. Each titled had the same concept: Y/n being Yoohyeon’s savior or Y/n protecting Yoohyeon.

“How do people even have the time to do all of this?” Siyeon mumbled when she looked through the search results and watched one, spotting a fan meeting during your You and I era with Yoohyeon slipping on a handkerchief and you quickly broke from the formation to grab the taller woman and letting her land on you instead of the harsh floor.

Yubin eyes her best friend briefly and shakes her head. “You can deny it all you want, but we all know it’s true.” She teases as you walked over to sit next to Bora at the dining table. “Let her be. Yoohyeon is Yoohyeon and there’s no changing that.”

“Yah! What does that mean?” Said girl demanded while everyone laughed at your antics. “It just means you’re clumsy and you’ll deny it anyway.”

..

“You’re doing this on purpose.”

“I wasn’t the one who picked.”

“Stop bickering. You know that it’s for the best.”

Yoohyeon pouted as Minji cut both of you off and pointed in your direction. “But you always put me and Y/n together! I’m tired of her face.” She whined whilst you playfully roll your eyes as Bora gasped in mock surprise.

“How can you get tired of a face like this?” She asked exaggeratedly while cupping your cheek. “If you don’t want Y/n then you can switch with me.” She stated and the big puppy whined even more. “Why?”

All of you looked at her in confusion by the sudden change. “You just said you didn’t want Y/n unnie.” Yubin pointed out and Yoohyeon shook her head as she wiggled herself between you and the dancer.

“I don’t want Sua unnie getting her. I won’t be able to take her back.” She claimed and Handong shook her head while rubbing her forehead. “I think a change in partner could be a good idea.” She says while your members exchanged looks, the smirk on Bora’s face widening.

Yoohyeon’s eyes widened when she realized her mistake. “No! I take it back!” But her plea fell upon deaf ears as Siyeon clicked her tongue. “I guess if that’s what will make Yoohyeon feel better, we can switch it up.” 

“Since Sua unnie already asked for Y/n unnie, who else is partnering?” Gahyeon inquired and Yoohyeon began to shake your shoulders in protest. “I don’t want to switch! Tell them to stop!” She complained and you chuckle while shrugging your shoulders. “I mean, it was your idea. Take a break from my face.” You tease before Bora was pulling you away.

In the end, you were three people away from the latter with Bora, Gahyeon, and Siyeon standing between you as you greeted all of your fans at the venue. Yoohyeon was left sulking as she watched you and the dancer happily interacting with one another.

Of course, fans were quick to notice and cooed at the sight.

Though when Yoohyeon had to get something from your managers, you kept a watchful eye on her as she passed by you, only to reach out when she nearly tripped on her heels.

It caused Yubin to shake her head while Bora laughed into the mic she was holding. “Ah, even when you’re not next to her, Y/n is rescuing you.” The older woman teased as Yoohyeon’s face turned a light shade of pink as you helped her back on her feet.

“Yoohyeon is always falling for me so I have to catch her.” You said playfully and the blush on her face worsened when she hit your arm. “Yah!” But the crowd only cheered as you sent a wink her way and your members cringed while others laughed as well.

“Yoohyeonnie should start paying Y/n for being her bodyguard.” Siyeon commented and Gahyeon agreed. “What do you all think?” She had asked before turning the microphone towards your InSomnias as they all agreed in unison.

Your laughter rang out before you decided to poke some more fun at the taller woman. “Yoohyeon doesn’t have to pay me. Just love me back and I won’t mind rescuing you.”

“I don’t need rescuing.” Yoohyeon retorted, though her blush refused to leave her face as Minji spoke up. “But you didn’t deny loving her back.” She pointed out. “Of course I love unnie.” Yoohyeon replied confidently before you sent her a heart.

“Yoohyeonnie, I love you!” You tell her and Handong covers her mouth while giggling. “We know you do.” She replied and Bora hit your arm. “Yah! I thought you were mine?” She joked and you raise your hands in defense.

“I can be yours and Yoohyeon’s.” That comment made everyone in the vicinity scream before Yubin patted Yoohyeon’s back. “Honestly, it’s funny because Yoohyeon said she didn’t want to be with Y/n anymore but started complaining as soon as Sua unnie said she would take her place.”

“Stop it, don’t say it!” The big puppy protested while shaking Handong’s arm and Minji just laughed at her members before speaking up. “Okay, I know how to resolve this issue.” She stated before she walked over to you and walked to the end of the line. “I’m taking Y/n away so none of you can fight over her.”

At the end of the event, Yoohyeon managed to get to your side and you found the younger girl clinging to you with a pout prominent on her features. You merely smiled at her and gently patted her arm before kissing her temple in assurance.

After that incident, she never complained about having you close to her because she’d rather have everyone teasing her than to be apart from you for so long again.

#girl group #girl group scenarios #girl group imagines #dreamcatcher #dreamcatcher imagines #dreamcatcher scenarios #yoohyeon #kim yoohyeon #dreamcatcher yoohyeon #yoohyeon dreamcatcher #yoohyeon imagines #yoohyeon scenarios

[foryouthegays]

techno liveblog w timestamps lets go for ‘a new home (dream SMP)’ stream

good laugh times: 00:13:50, 00:14:55, 1:38:45, ik it doesnt look like a lot but like u should watch the stream anyway bc philzas there and his laugh is amazing and they just go so well together

times techno calls phil his friend: 00:6:00 00:37:00, 00:45:17, 0:1:09:30, 01:11:15, 01:26:35, 01:50:05, 2:35:00

FSDJKFAF;LS HE KEPT THE MUTED INTRO IN JHKADFLS (ends at 00:1:25)

i like how, when faced with Leaving Youtube, techno would choose to be an author. i want a book by techno. reblog this if u want a book by techno (with an audiobook by him as well) /hj. 00:1:33

i love how he says ehhhhhh so much lskjhdfas (abt 2 mins in) 

who the FUCK just remembers that the word fortuitous exists wtf 00:5:17

00:7:45 PHILZA TIME PHILZA TIME LETS GO

00:8:55 tommy time :/

0:14:10 rANBOO JUST WALKS IN, LOOKS AROUN ,AND LEA VE SIM CRYING 

i love how much philza laughs at technos jokes bc pretty much everything he says IS a joke he just says it in such a serious voice that p much everyone else is like,,,yeah,,,,yup,,,,and phil just knows when hes joking and his laugh is so good with technos voice. sbi? whos that? i only know philza and technoblade

00:19:30 ghostbur joins! this is my first time hearin ghostbur btw

00:19:40 haha string axe technos so bad at crafting what a fool /j

00:21:07 ghostbur: “Even I remember how to make a fishing rod!” ghostbur u just MURDERED technoblade oh my god im gonna scream hgjdfksla i love ghostbur so much

00:23:55: GHOSTBUR NO!! DON’T DIE YOU’LL BECOME A DOUBLE GHOST!!!! -technoblade 2020

00:24:55 technoblade neva lies -guys he almost did the technoblade neva dies ahh!!!!!

i havent heard anyone talk about this but techno has a dedicated roleplay voice. like listen to him talk to tommy at 00:25:08. his voice gets more even, he uses names a lot more often (seriously, listen to his theseus speech. he says tommy so often, its incredible.), and his voice gets,,,,deeper? not deeper but smoother, in a way, and he repeats what he says for emphasis instead of humor. and his voice is louder, and he seems more assertive. 

00:27:30 philza: where we goin, by the way? techno: to our- to my new home. 

techno cmon let phil live w u wed get so much more content cmonn

00:28:50 the fact that he calls the manhunt theme “dream music” makes me laugh so hard. and then his version of it,,,,,m love he (also he sings it here and at  01:14:20)

00:35:10 why is ranboo so cryptic im-

why does he just casually know the word sentry wh at i hate him 00:39:45

this is the worst sentence (structurally) ive ever heard techno say im gonna cry 00:49:33 ‘im too busy thinkin of new ideas to sleep so i could actually execute them’ and tubbos *oh?* after is just hdsfgkjlka

LKSJDHFJK 00:51:49

00:54:30

techno: thats one of dreams powers, he can just stop the rain

tubbo, quietly: like jesus!

i love them sm dsfhkjla they kept going but i jus gdfhjksa jesus has op

techno @ being the second worst thing to ever happen to those orphans: haha funnie!!

techno @ having fun w religious stuff: i wILL BE CANCELLED NO-

00:58:10 “hey if ur [ghostbur]  a ghost, do instant damage potions heal you now?” “...no,, they hurt me still :(” DSIULZKJHFSLKFJH 

01:04:00 his brother named the cow bob im- aww 

also he has a fanart wall again!!!

01:09:30 “phil, you’re the only friend i have left in this world.” aWWWWW HE GAVE HIM THE COMPASS 

“dont smoke, it’s a joke” -technoblade 01:14:15

ROLEPLAY SPEECH VOICE IS BACK AT 1:16:10 “they pillage my base for everything i’m worth, they use me for the revolution, but oooOOOoo i took a pickaxe with his consent? oOOOooOo i’m a thief!”

holy shit 01:17:15 “you know what, phil? for you, the world, alright? it’s fine.” oH MY GOD HHHHGHG (context, right before they were arguing bc phil took some blocks from his base and techno thought that when he said phil could take anything he meant from the chests)

the COMIDY of that villager coming in and sleeping while techno was readin donos at 01:22:05 RIGHT AFTER phil freaked out abt inturruptin his dono readin im SFDHKJLA:

techno talkin bout the winstreak and how he wont be able to live up to that sort of playin at 01:22:30ish is super important and ill transcribe it tomorrow, but if u can id highly rec watchin it. 

01:24:20 “[readin dono] what’s your favorite movie? uh, the princess bride is pretty good” techno ily that movie rocks also he said it so fast like hes ashamed of it noo

techno says no to canon ranboo son btw! 01:25:30

01:25:55 “i wasnt in that story, therefore it doesnt matter” all of technoblr be like 

01:37:49 is great lemmie transcribe

“how have you still not gotten a second monitor?? holy shit.”

“let me tell you something. and im only telling you this because i know that so many people in the chat are gonna be furious. so i recently realized- i think the second monitor can just be any ol’ monitor, right? you literally just plug it in, and its set up? well i mean you have to turn on some settings, but like, thats it, or something?”

“yeah,,,,, uh techno you fuckin destroyed my chat, by the way, oh my god, [earlier techno told his viewers to twitch prime philza] there has been like 40 primes just flying through”

“yeahhh twitch prime!!! twitch prime philza yeahh!!! so anyways the other day, i like, i looked to my left, and realized that my old monitor has been like, five feet away from where i sit and stream for the last three years?”

“oh my god...”

“so i- i literally do not have to leave my room to set up a second monitor and i havent. and i’m still usin my laptop for this stream.

“is this gonna be one of those situations where you like, you have a thing, you just refuse to do the thing?”

“listen, my desk is-

“yOU STILL HAVENT OPENED UP THE HYPIXEL PACKAGE!!!”

“AHHHH I HAVENT OPENED UP THE HYPIXEL PACKAGE! I HAVENT EVEN OPENED UP MY MCC COIN! DUDE I HAVENT EVEN OPENED UP MY ONE MILLION SUBSCRIBER PLAQUE! ITS STILL THERE RIGHT BEHIND ME! ITs sTILL IN THE BOX! i never made a video on it....”

“bruhhhhh [philza laughs] thats FREE VIEWS what are you doing??”

“ill open it at 8 mil :/.”

“you could LITERALLY make a video of you just like, throwing it off a wall, and then thumbing up, like doing a thumbs up, and then that would be it. 10 seconds. ten seconds. thumb and elbow in shot. [laughs]”

techno is such a disaster i love him

01:34:18 the way techno says “tommy, that statement has NEVER been true” i dont like sayin i simp for block men but GOD sometimes his voice is nicer than usual hhhgn

“man i sure wish tommyinnit was in this stream” -nobody ever (just after previous timestamp)

01:40:15 is fuckin hilarious and im actually crying oh my god techno just says things and says them well with a completely straight face how does he do it

i cannot WAIT until theres a president w the last/first name andy so we can say president andy and think abt technoblade

IM CRIASDNGUSFHD 01:44:38 PHILZA LOOK OUT LOOK OUT PHILZA  LSKJDAFJASD;LKF

i love when techno talks abt his vids. like u can tell he puts a lot of thought into the vids (esp these ones) and like at 01:47:00 he talks abt the “I DIDNT PUT DEAPTH STRIDER ON THOSE BOOTS, FUNDY!” and how its just that creepin realization that you were doomed from the start and how he made the armor, he isnt intimidated by the netherite bc he didnt enchant it all the way and only he knows that,,, and i just,,,hgg he

he reveals that hes writin the next arc at 01:48:00: “oh, speakin of arcs, chat, i’m writing the next arc. so, you know. hope nothin bad happens in two weeks, chat!” IM SO EXCITED like he clearly has his character fleshed out and is SO good at writing and retellin history im so so excited to see where he takes it AHHHH and also taht means he might stream more bc he might make his character more important (keep in mind this is the guy who wrote self insert hypixel fanfics. he has no shame in puttin himself first and i respect him so much for it) 

01:51:20 “they’re tryin to get a second customer but they’re riskin their first” is lowkey a good line

has anyone else noticed that techno says wise a lot? like at 01:55:10 he literally says “wise dragon armor” as a joke but like i think he says wise so much BECAUSE of skyblock like hjkfdsla

01:57:30 techno plea se eat 

ok 1:58:45 is hilarious and all but at the end of his ramble he says “come back, i miss you” and lowkey im crying 

techno needs to stop knowing his audience more than we know ourselves im hsfkjda 02:05:25 “the chat’s spammin ‘eat technoblade, eat!’ like they’re not gonna start, like, theyre not gonna get super sad if i ended the stream right now, like theyre not gonna all cry ‘i miss technoblade *sniffs* why- whyd he leave to eat food, why did he listen to our advice noooo’”

02:14:50 NEW VIDEO POGGGG CARL THE HORSE POGGGGGG  NOT A STREAM HIGHLIGHT POGGGGG

02:17:40 “i could start a potato farm out here to show how much ive changed” techno last time u made a potato farm u started an entire war that lasted a year that does NOT say calm and retired to me lskgdfjagsldj

02:23:00 why does techno just reference greek mythology so much. makin me scared for his arc. 

also he talks abt smp earth a lot in this stream i love it so much

i also just. love?? how much sbi respect tommy like they bully him but when talkin bout him they just have so much respect for how much work he puts into youtube and i just,,,,hgnn they r friends 

02:33:13 sbi streamer house lets go cmon

02:34:15 “i think if i streamed every day i could keep up” on one hand YE S  but on the ohter oh god techno no we have to keep up tho

hearing techno say “violence isnt the answer” is so scary  02:35:40

02:37:30 technosneeze 

hiS BROTHER SENT HIM 46 DISCORD MESSAGES SFKDJLFLKASF 2:49:25 i love his end screen so much hes just sadness,,,,retirement,,,t,echnoblade,,,the government is going to fall on its own due to lack of organization and ideals,,,,,,subscribe,,,,,sadness,,,,,also 2:50:45 is making me laugh so hard its just sad music and technos like??? whys phil in my house drinking milk????? 

overall, fantastic stream, if ya want some chill techno philza content i highly recommend. 

#stream post

[nochiquinn]

campaign 2 episode 125: take my wife, please (no really take the wife)

I have no idea what's going on, I keep getting distracted by whatever's happening with sam

matt getting victimized by facebook memories

oh thank god, I'll take spiderman over [gestures at sam's previous outfit]

they used the forehead thing from that one episode of dr who

well we've had rage looting and rage eating, why not rage talking

mala: yussa: thoughts and prayers

extra-dimensional zipper pouch

I missed the double 20s but n i c e

we get it you watched The Joker

"a lot of people did things to me"

"let me put you on a brief hold"

it's gonna suck when they get in a fight later tonight and roll exclusively 2s

"lucien! think fast!"

the back of the Video 2*C

man-dala

yussa:

I love them having to pretend they don't know exactly who and where allura is and that they're not incredibly stoked about everything happening right now

wait this is how Kima as a guest party member can still happen

"carpet? :D?"

visiting this tower vs visiting trent's tower

travis sat ALL the way up

"we've known a few"

mala: idiots/friends is an entire social category for Allura

did we forget that fjord got branded? are we addressing that?

kima will now be in full plate for the next three days

taliesin's little "I FUCKING knew it"

"and FJORD got one?"

"kima can come too" yes yes yes yes

kima jumps from the next floor in full armor: "HEARD YOU WAS TALKING SHIT"

allura just having the most powerful of flashbacks

YES YES YES YES

all of them desperately fishing for c1 anything

NO LET HER GO

ALLURA LET ME HAVE THIS

YE

does percy still have Manners? can they have Manners?

slayers take!!

they're basically gods

"take all of these items and also my wife"

wait does allura know artagan

allura knows artagan

the SASS

taliesin's face

beau (marisha?): that's kinda hot

staff??? allura????

you know what if I can't get guest party member kima this is the next best thing

this is actually extremely cute

veth: caleb would never admit it liam: excuse u, caleb would admit it FIRST

"it's the other way around" allura shut the fuck up, you made several consecutive strength saves to keep you AND kima from drowning while she was in full armor, I was there, I watched it happen

"he's the strongest among us with everything except his body"

"I can almost assure you it was not the same"

mala: so many nbs in the cobalt soul me: educated people reject gender

justice? justice for beau??

"I met a lot of shitty people, but they also met me"

I don't know why this is making me tear up but it is

(idk if it's on purpose or not but it feels like a loose #metoo analogy) (or if not specifically that then any accusation of abuse or mistreatment)

travis drinking a can of soda with his entire enormous hand wrapped around it to hide the logo

wait was dairon also...?

"the cheese wheel was very evocative"

fuckin beastmaster

now she has cold AND fire resistance, she's unstoppable

FINALLY they're addressing the dagger

SAMUEL

tbf it's narratively appropriate but SAMUEL

my letterman jacket AU: validated

joke's on you I'm into this shit

oh well then

somebody call the cad fam I’m worried now

you fuck up NOW, youtube??

oh no wait it’s just my internet

I’m on my phone now and I hate everything about caleb’s dream

matt how do you make those noises with your FACE

oh sure my internet comes back JUST as the episode ends. make me miss yasha’s whole dream, it’s fine.

“this episode had EVERYTHING”

#critical role #spoilers #crititag #liveblog #reaction post

[jujywrites]

Always Falling Down, part I

This was part of a rarepair gift exchange. mricj and I got matched because sometimes u CAN manifest what u want for urself~~~

This is Rosawatts for sure, but also very poly, very id-ficcy and very long (just under 7k....). with a small part 2 pending because WE BUILT THIS SHIP WE SAIL IT HOWEVER WE WANT oh and a playlist (click plz~)

PS: the plotbunny emerged from "i thought you (loved me)" by livj707. One of my top 10 TTM fics and the rest of them are in there too!

AO3

FF.net

or keep reading

(Part II here)

~~~~~

~We hold on to the good times and the right now and the long nights~

Can you hear when I say "I have never felt this way"? (I can't see you and me and her without each other)

Roxie

You were 8 or 9 when you realized that you responded to people’s emotions in an unusual way. Your mom’s anger made you feel like there was a small fire in your belly, no matter the amount or what the anger was directed at. Her joy when hummingbirds visited the garden you both made to attract them made you feel invincible. When she felt sad, everything looked gray.

So what, you thought. She was your mother; of course you’d be attuned to her mood. The same with the rest of your family. But there was a slight wrinkle in that logic— you sensed the emotions of your friends at school, and that affected you similarly, if with less intensity.

Soon after realizing that, though, came the realization that even friends of friends, even complete strangers, had emotional signals that you picked up without trying. You brought this up with one of your dad’s sisters (one of your favorite family members, were you ever pressed to admit it), because you couldn’t quite stomach having your mom worry about you. You were pretty sure what happened to you wasn’t normal.

Your aunt introduced you to the term empath, said her wife had the same ability that you did. She taught you ways to handle the side effects (as she put it), how to channel and control it, to some extent. Even with this, though, things got more complicated as you grew older. People’s emotions got louder.

The maelstrom this caused in you was nigh unbearable and (luckily?) manifested itself as stereotypical moody teenage behavior, when you weren’t wrestling with the attendant physical ailments. That led you to what’s turned out to be a lifelong interest in astronomy and stargazing. Or more accurately, it increased your at-the-time budding interest exponentially. Others’ emotions couldn’t sink their hooks into you, not when your mind was buried in a book or when you were alone outside on a clear warm night. Stargazing served as meditation, too, and slowly you gained a better grasp on this whole empath thing.

That was how you met Neil. He lived in another school district; somehow both of you claimed a little park in town as a prime stargazing spot. He said his gramps took him gazing every summer, and Neil found he wanted to do it more often than that. You didn’t know much about him besides that and some shows and video games he was into, but that was hardly a deterrent to your talking a blue streak in the rare times when both of you were done watching the sky. You talked about your hobbies, how school went, how your little brother was doing, what music you were obsessing over. You told him everything except your biggest secret, and even though he didn’t always acknowledge it all, you could feel he took it all in. He was the first person who had ever done that.

Then he moved away with hardly a goodbye, and that was that. You remember feeling hurt and sad for longer than a day, maybe a week or two, but time has worn away the memories of how you felt. College, of course, was the next big chapter in your life, when your present-day reputation for being bubbly and carefree developed. That had always been with you; college life simply made you turn it up to eleven, a coping mechanism of sorts in navigating the world as an empath.

Strange how the peace you found back then has led you right back to that feelings maelstrom, into the difficulty of parsing what belongs to you and what doesn’t.

You didn’t see Neil until you got to SigCorp, at which point all the moments he was in your periphery during training slapped you across the face, along with hazy childhood memories.

“You’re Roxie, right?”

And all the years without him collapsed together. Maybe you didn’t see much of each other, but your friendship still easily restarted, helped along by your shared sphere of work.

You’d say he’s your best friend, if you were asked.

Meeting Eva was a different kind of slap.

You could count the number of crushes you had on one hand, your relationships on six fingers. You hadn’t felt love yet.

You fell fast and hard for Eva. Then you got back up, and cut that off quicker than breathing, because no way would someone as cool, collected and straight-laced as her would ever be interested in you. (Plus, you had no idea if she was queer and that’s not something to ask someone you just met.)

And then there was Neil.

The two of them had capital-h History, obvious from the moment you saw them together. If anyone knew how much time you spend thinking about your friends’ relationship, the effort you put into trying to push them together, how much time recently you’ve invested in worry (especially over Eva, but Neil too) you’d get therapist recommendations at the very least—

It’s not just wishful thinking. Your empathy gives you a sixth sense as to which people are meant for each other, and/or are dealing with feelings towards each other (which also gave you a leg up in office gossip). And Neil and Eva fit so well; that’s why they were paired together, why you convinced Rob they should be a team, despite how much you liked working with her. Not that he needed convincing. That’s how obvious their compatibility was. And yes, this was despite their bickering (and Neil’s pranks on his partner).

What drew you to Rob, as a colleague and as a person, and helped you decide to permanently partner with him, is how quiet his emotions are. He’s hardly unfeeling, despite what others (like Neil) might say. No, it’s just that his emotions are blissfully subtle. Sometimes when you feel them flare up it’s like a gift.

His emotions toward you aren’t subtle, not these days. And sometimes you feel terrible for relying on him as much as you do. But that’s another thing.

Eva

The cases that go wrong from the beginning are always easier on you than the ones that go wrong when you’re so close to closing them out. Talking to loved ones afterwards is the common denominator, the same intensity of pain no matter what went wrong when. But you’ve grown used to that pain, used to letting it glance off your skin because this is your job, and perfection is impossible.

You thought you had, anyway. The case you failed barely twenty minutes ago, the one from which you’re walking to the car with Neil now, found a chink in your armor. A stupid rookie-level mistake that both of you believed you’d fixed came back to bite you; you almost didn’t log out of the machine before your client flatlined. You owned up to it, the client’s brother took a swing at Neil and tried at you, and the only reason you’re both out of there alive is the brother’s wife calming him down.

There’s still paperwork to finish. You did the bare minimum before getting the hell away from that place. And Neil has one whopper of a black eye that he’s too bullheaded to do anything about, because he had a spare pair of glasses and that makes everything just fine.

In the car, the practically-visible wall between you and Neil is even more unbearable given the post-case mood, and it makes you feel sick. This is far from the first case you’ve failed, with or without him. Hell, it’s not even the first case involving bodily harm directed at either of you. It still feels like the last straw. But you’re not going to quit, you tell yourself. Someone has to keep fighting.

Neil may have stopped trying, but there’s nothing stopping you from fighting enough for you both.

Robert

For the most part, you’re an analytical person. You’re able to compartmentalize your thoughts from your emotions, and often able to see past others' emotions to what might be eliciting them. And that’s why your work at Sigmund fits you so well, why you chose memory traversal over being a tech, as much as machines in general and Sigmund’s in specific interest you.

Your personality and Roxie’s make you an excellent team. Even though her default mode is happy-go-lucky, you’ve been partners long enough to know that she’s the kind of person who can feel everything, all at once, and weather it. That talent must have always been there, under the surface; it’s probably what drew you to her in the first place.

Being able to compartmentalize, however, only gets you so far. You’re hardly immune to base emotions, yours or others’. You get frustrated when you know something is wrong, someone’s having a problem, and that your clear-headed distance from the situation isn’t helping fix it.

Watts and Rosalene, one of your best teams, one of the best you’ve ever seen since you joined Sigmund, have been backsliding for some time. Their ratio of completed cases to failed ones is still good (and they’ve had some brilliant successes), but their previous case was a failure and the mood leading up to their next one is not promising, to say the least. They’ve had innumerable rough patches, no question, but even you can tell there’s a good bit of the personal getting muddled with the professional in this patch. You’re in the unenviable position of having to monitor them, getting closer to explaining to the higher-ups why they are still viable.

Viable. What a cold word. Makes you clammy to think of it in reference to your colleagues. Your almost-friends. It’s... bothersome, to see them fracturing, or whatever less-ominous thing might be happening.

On top of that, there’s something off about Roxie. A dimming of her natural light. The only other time that’s happened is when her brother got sick; he’d been in dire straits before he recovered, and the recovery had been hard.

You know this because Roxie told you. You seem to be good at listening. If only you weren’t abysmal at asking. Not that Watts— Neil— would divulge anything, and Rosalene— Eva— seems even less likely to.

You’d ask Roxie but with her, you’re terrified of not knowing what to say.

Neil

You could’ve decked that guy. Definitely could have. For once it isn’t braggadocio— the things he said about you and Eva made you see red. He telegraphed really badly too, so you could sidestep him (he was like two feet taller than you and you aren’t a total idiot), but taking a swing at Eva?! Good thing the guy’s wife stepped in or things would’ve gotten even more fucked. Because of you and for you.

Of course, with the adrenaline gone, your mutual antisocial...ness, toward each other (what? You can’t word when you’re tired) rushes in to fill the vacuum. It’s frigid out too, which is great. And your face kind of—

“Ah, fuck me,” you mutter as your piece-of-crap company car decides to break down in the middle of an empty road.

Eva sighs epically. Her breath clouds. “Shit.”

Ha, she legit swore.

Your momentary amusement is bulldozed by the inconvenient need to talk. The second you’re alone alone with her, in lulls before or after cases, in downtime at the office, the words bubble up in your throat, more insistent every time. And every time you try to open your mouth, they disappear. It’s been like this for weeks, ever since The Incident.

She found the not-from-Sigmund company letter. She found the (other) pills. Unlocked door or not, you haven’t forgiven her for the breach of privacy. She hasn’t forgiven you for keeping (those kinds of) secrets from her. And here you are now.

You don’t know how much more you can take.

Eva speaks before you can get your voice working. “I’m calling Roxie.”

“How?” Flipping open your phone, you glare at it. “No reception out here.”

“We passed a payphone on the way here. Shouldn’t be more than a 5 minute walk.”

You just gape at her while she bundles up in her scarf and hood. “It’s minus fifty!”

Her eyes meet yours for half a second. “Don’t exaggerate, Neil. Not tonight.”

And, predictably useless, you watch her get out of the car and start walking, snowflakes shining around her in the dimming headlights.

Roxie

One of the things about being an empath is, it’s easier to tell when someone’s romantically interested in you. (Too bad there’s no one-night-stand-interest sensor.) That feeling has a certain color to it, distinguishing it from friendship or dislike. And it’s the reason why you haven’t dated much. Every time you’ve felt it, it’s been like a flipped switch, a lightning bolt, leaving you unprepared and uncomfortable every time. Sometimes it’s been because you don’t return their feelings, sometimes because you need a few days to adjust to the idea. Even with one of the ones you liked back (a post-college roommate, because you may be an empath but that doesn’t exempt you from so-called clichés), it petered out eventually when you didn’t fit together anymore.

With Rob, it’s different. So subtle you don’t realize right away. And so soft it’s easy to lean into and pretend you don’t quite know how he feels, keep your already intimate friendship separate from that other kind of intimacy.

You like him. Want to like him as more than a friend, the way he likes you. If you could only let go of your ridiculous double crush.

There’s only so much room a heart should have, anyway.

Eva

The incongruity of using payphones hits whenever you have to use one, which thankfully is extremely rare. You’ve learned the hard way to keep a small stash of quarters within easy reach on cases, whether they’re located in the boonies or not. Even with gloves on, your hands are so cold that there’s a lot of fumbling involved in getting them into the machine, more fumbling while you pull up Roxie’s contact info on your phone. Not that you need to; you’ve got it memorized. She’s picked you up more than once.

It hits you square between the eyes this time, so you can’t ignore it: Roxie’s been like emotional glue, from back when you were a greenhorn changing partners every couple of weeks to now. She was the constant for you back then, and then became your tech specialist for a hefty amount of cases until you got paired with Neil. She’s patched things up several times when you wanted to strangle him, by talking you down, or being a mediator, or just listening to you rant. And since tonight is turning into one giant negative thought spiral, you get stuck on how much emotional support you’ve taken from her without giving anything back, alike or different. After this, well, you have to come up with something. A restaurant gift card? Ice cream from that new place down the road from yours? Why is food the only thing you can think of? True, food has meaning, but you sh—

“Hello?”

“Roxie. It’s me. Eva.”

“Hey! What’s up?”

“Hope I didn’t wake you,” you say on automatic. Nope, she’s probably—

“Nah, binging a few Shadow Junction episodes before hitting the hay,” she replies with a giggle.

Over this line, the brief silence is crackly. “I need a favor. Our car died on us…”

“Oh my god wait, you just finished a case!” There’s some scuffling and a small thump; when she speaks again her voice is closer. She must have taken you off speaker. “Where are you? I’ll pick you up ASAP.”

You give her a handful of landmarks, the compass direction. With the dark, the gathering snow, your barely-held-back exhaustion, you're starting to think you might be back in the simulation.

Your hands hurt. At least they still have feeling.

“There’s a storm coming, isn't there? Are you okay?”

“Tired. Cold. But, yeah, okay.”

“Hey, Eva?” Hearing your name wakes you up a little; the weight in Roxie’s tone wakes you up more. “I’ll call a tow for you on the way, but do me a favor and don’t hang up.”

“Sure,” you whisper.

She chatters about the latest plot developments on Shadow Junction for a few minutes; you feel like you're absorbing some of the energy in her voice. Then she says, “I’m getting on the highway now,” and then she says, slightly more subdued, “Do you want to tell me about your case?”

Nope. “It went badly, that’s all.”

More crackly silence. Then: “I know I’m repeating myself, Eva, but… are you okay?”

I’m fine.

I’ll be fine when I’m back home.

I’m used to this. It’s fine.

You say, “I think I’m losing Neil.”

The metal of the phone booth bites into your hand even through the glove. “I… found some things I shouldn’t have.” Roxie can keep secrets, contrary to her reputation. This one shouldn’t be her burden, and so you don’t share what you found. “He’s been conflicted about what we do for a while. I think he might be trying to leave Sigmund. And that’s his prerogative, but I just—”

You trained together, joined Sigmund together, starting planning to join Sigmund together. It’s been an enormous part of both your lives, and now you’ve been a team almost as long as your dream to be a part of this company existed. If Neil walks away, what will you have left?

Roxie. Robert. The McMillans. Eddie, Lisa, Logan. You won’t be alone, and you still have your purpose to guide you. But...

You were so certain you’d see that purpose through with Neil at your side, you don’t see how it would possibly be the same. How you could be the same. Sure puts a dent in your faith that you’re your own person.

You can’t simply ask him to stay. Some small irrational part of your brain thinks bringing up the subject at all will make it come to pass. And those pills. If he does leave, if Sigmund is part of his will too, what if—

You wipe at your wet cheeks and nose. “He’s my partner. I need to fix this, and I don’t— I don’t fucking know how.”

Your voice doesn’t sound nearly as broken as you feel.

Robert

It’s another night of Roxie on your couch, eating takeout from your favorite place and watching a movie together. Neither of you have defined your relationship. You’re fine with that, and you think she is too. And yet...

“Roxanne, I—” You love her, have for a long time now. But you’ve seen how she looks at Eva, and at Neil, and you know she doesn’t have room for you right now, don’t know if she ever will.

You had a chance. You realized your feelings for her well before she fell in love with them (or at least before she began to show signs). The obstacles were too many: she’s half your age, you work together but are sort-of kind-of boss and subordinate. All true. All excuses, too, because you weren’t brave (stupid) enough to take that chance.

But she’s come to you for comfort, and you aren’t an asshole; you won’t deny her that because she has a different measure of your relationship. You love her. You would care for her even without that.

Then she kisses you, and she says, “I’m sorry,” and curls up against you.

Roxie

You’re making a mistake, and you don’t care.

You needed that kiss. It soothed these pangs, this hollowness that’s grown over the past few weeks from whatever is going on between Eva and Neil. And the way Rob’s emotions have started to swirl feels dangerous. Addictive. You want more of that, the power to make his emotions dance with one touch.

It’s getting harder to ignore the voice calling you an awful person.

“I’m sorry,” you mumble into his chest. “I know, in every rule book ever made, that I’m leading you on. But I’m not trying to! I’m so sorry. I…” You swallow, sudden clarity hurting your throat. “I think I want to be with you. But, Neil and Eva…”

Saying their names brings fog back over you, reddened by wine. “I can’t explain it,” you whisper, arms around his shoulders. “I can’t... decide.”

You can’t give Rob what he deserves, what you finally know you want to give him, if you can’t make your mind up.

“We’ll figure it out.”

Despite the uncertainty you can practically taste, it feels like a promise. He holds you tighter, and you let yourself sink into him.

Neil

You’re tired, exhausted, and that makes your brain go all overdramatic, but even with that you’re pretty sure this is the shittiest night of your life. You can’t talk to Eva, and she won’t talk to you, and now you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere trying not to freeze to death, watching her freeze to death while she waits for Roxie to rescue both of you from freezing to death. The least you could do is stand by Eva and suffer with her. Then again, maybe she’d rather turn into an Evasicle in peace right now.

You resent how much this case haunts you. You resent even more your inability to walk away from Sigmund and from Eva. They wouldn’t care, but she (probably) would. Does. You wish that didn’t matter so much to you. It shouldn’t anymore, after what she did. The one time you don’t lock your office door. Like a goddamn house of cards. If she’d told you right after instead of sitting on it for a few days, making you wonder what the hell was wrong with her…

You’re such a hypocrite, with all the secrets you’ve kept and keep.

Everything feels gray. Heavy. Tunnel vision, maybe, from the cold and your lack of sleep. Stepping out into the wind chill would probably help you stay awake at this point, except you’re not so far gone as to actually follow through on that.

Eva’s left the phone booth and is standing in the snow, hood blown off from the wind, and she’s too bullheaded to pull it back up. You stare at her hair streaming out, your eyes grow blurry from snowflakes, and your thoughts drift back to distant nights spent with a talkative girl who shared your love of stars.

Roxie

You’re up late at home, watching the Shadow Junction episodes in your queue, when Eva calls you, voice tinny over a payphone. You can’t sense emotions tangibly without being in person, but her and Neil’s voices have a similar effect on you regardless, by now.

You talk with her until you’re on the road.

Something’s wrong besides their dead car, and Eva reveals the tip of the iceberg. You’re relieved. Your instinct hasn’t yet devolved into paranoia.

“He’s my partner. I need to fix this, and I don’t— I don’t fucking know how.”

The turnoff to where they are is coming up. “I can’t imagine how that must feel,” you say into your head mic. A white (gray?) lie. Her pain is making it hard for you to breathe. “But I’m getting you back to the office, and we’ll go from there. One step at a time. Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

You call the tow place as soon as you end her call. After that, things blur together until your car meets theirs.

The snow hasn’t stuck; it’s the light, fluffy kind that would be nice in another time and place. You can see Eva and Neil hunkered down in their seats.

You can’t get out of your car fast enough.

Eva’s first to get out once you reach them. She hugs you, and, yeah, you could probably die happy now. You’re such a mess.

“Thank god for you, Rox. Seriously.”

You’re such a mess. Neil’s relief nearly makes your knees crumple with its warmth, but there are... layers to it. Those layers and the ever-present knot of worry in your stomach keep you alert. Besides, it’s not (won’t ever be) the time or place to let them know everything you’re feeling. So you smile past your shivers and wave off his comment. “No problem. Of course I’ll bail you guys out of this weather!” Then you force your offer of a ride back out of lungs tightened with the fear that they’ll know what lies behind it. “Brought you some cider. Blankets too. To thaw you out for the paperwork, y’know.”

They accept. Of course they do; they don’t have a choice. If either of them suspect anything they aren’t showing it and dear god you are so overthinking this. “Tow truck should be here any minute, if you don’t mind waiting a bit longer.”

“You have heat in your car. That’s all I care about,” says Neil, and Eva says, “A few minutes more doesn’t matter.”

Then she puts her hand on his elbow as they walk the short way to your car, and all your stupid mushy probably-touch-starved brain can think is, there’s hope.

They settle in the back instead of splitting up over the passenger seat, and dumb hope unfurls further in your chest. You waste no time in unfolding blankets and handing them each a thermos. Eva acknowledges with a grateful smile, and you pretend not to notice how Neil flinches when you drape the blanket over him. You ignore the flashing burn when your hands meet their bodies, ignore how fast your heart is beating.

You have a plan, even though it’s a selfish one.

Eva

Roxie still believes her bright shiny mask is impenetrable, but you know her better than she thinks you do; something is worrying her. A lot. And here she is, practically saving both of your lives, and trying to hide it so you don’t feel any worse—

You’re faced with the sudden urge to kiss her.

She’s been a shoulder to lean on, a friend, a good friend. Why did this feeling burst through now? Did the weight of what you and Neil failed to do, the weight of what you know and what he’s not telling you, crack and cause this shift?

(What would she think if you tried?)

You push the urge away, but feel it beaming through when you take your first sip of cider.

Maybe in another life.

Robert

Roxie’s on the verge of breaking, and you can’t do one thing to help.

She stands by you, thermos in hand, while she waits for Eva and Neil to tie up some legalities and gather what they need. At this hour, the offices are silent to the point of suffocation. Having these three around is reminiscent of oxygen. Even so:

"I was really scared, you know?" she says, smiling, eyes painfully bright. "All I knew was I had to get them. So I did. They’ve been dealing with something tough and I couldn't ask them even though I wanted to and they were nearly hypothermic, Rob!" The noise that comes out of her is a shrill mockery of laughter. "So after they're done here, we're going back to my place. All of us. I don't want them to sleep alone. I'll hogtie Neil if I have to, I swear to god.”

There’s nothing you can say, so you just nod. And then you realize: there is something you can do.

You want Roxie to yourself, of course; most one-sided relationships are likely that selfish. You want her to be happy even more than that. So you excuse yourself to the bathroom, and then double back to the offices and poke through Eva’s ajar door, knocking on the jamb.

They’re both in there, which makes it easier for you. Neil’s already got a file folder stuffed with papers in his arms (which he nearly drops upon seeing you). You also notice the overnight bag next to him, and that Eva’s looking over hers.

(Of course. The weekend’s coming up. You should get your bag too.) That’ll make it easier for Roxie.

You’re also worried about them, so this isn’t only for Roxie’s sake. Eva looks like a shell of herself, and Neil’s posture seems to indicate he’s in pain.

“What’s up, Bob?” Neil plops the file folder into his bag. “We taking too long or something?”

You shake your head. “Take the time you need. I heard from Roxie tonight’s case didn't end well, so I thought I should check in.”

“We’re as all right as we can be,” Eva says, zipping up her bag. “And anyway, we’re done here.”

She stops when you don’t move from the doorway.

“She’s really worried about you two. I don’t know any details, but… go easy on her. She means well even when she’s overbearing.”

You turn and head back to the lobby, feeling overheated.

Neil

Roxie seems like a supernova in the frozen night (and if you weren’t half-frozen you'd be slapping yourself for your dumb metaphorical thoughts), and that light is enough, combined with Eva’s presence, to propel you into Roxie’s car.

You flinch because, somehow, her brief touch feels like it unlocks all your secrets. Ridiculous, because Eva got there first and you really hardly know Roxie.

The paperwork is second nature. You and Eva go to your respective offices; you squint as if that’ll make your handwriting look any less blurry (okay, guess your glasses need cleaning); at the last second you grab your overnight bag, and instead of heading back to the lobby you gravitate to Eva’s office and stand there like a dumbass while she finishes up.

You thump your bag on the floor. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she says without turning around.

You busy yourself with organizing your papers. But every so often you glance at her, and when you see she’s going through her overnight bag the urge to ask if she wants to stay at your place, or if you can stay at hers, is overpowering. Don’t ask, don’t— “Do you—”

There’s a knock, and of all people Rob’s standing there, as if tonight isn’t freaky enough. Still. Saved by the Bobert bell.

What he says, along with the sheer incongruity of his presence, knocks you out of your numbness for a few minutes. “Jeez,” you say once he leaves as fast as he came by, “he’s really got it bad for her, doesn’t he?”

A barely-heard whisper in your mind hisses, You should know.

She’s wearing an indecipherable expression. “I suppose so.”

It all makes slightly more sense when you get back to the lobby. Before you or Eva can open your mouths, Roxie’s talking.

“It’s been a really bad night for you two. I’ve been there, you don’t have to tell me anything, and... I won’t ask. But I’ve got a spare room and a couch at my place and you should take advantage of that for the night. I’ve already convinced Rob, and I won’t bother any of you, a-a-and I really think it’s for the best so, so please…”

As exposed as you’re feeling, you can see the appeal of staying at her place. It’s closer than yours, and yeah, okay, your brain cannot handle the logistics of dropping off and heading home. Besides, it’s pretty uncomfortable how upset she seems (even if it’s just about her sinking ship, har), and if this makes her feel better, well. You don’t know what’s going on, feel like you haven’t for hours, but you’re with people you know and who know you, even though they don’t know everything. There’s something to be said for having friends in the same line of work.

This rift between you and Eva hurts far more than you can admit to yourself, never mind anyone else. And even though Roxanne and Rob have no idea what’s happened, happening, between you two, them being with you feels like a bulwark holding back any further damage.

Maybe they might even help fix what’s broken.

Roxie could, maybesomehowsomeway. She seems like that kind of person, the kind who wants to fix people’s issues and is good at it, though who the hell knows where you got that impression. She’s standing closer, an arm’s length— a fact you only realize when she reaches up and takes off your glasses.

Roxie

You didn’t notice how close you’d gotten to Neil and Eva while you were talking, or that you’d been moving at all, until a shadow near Neil’s eyebrow catches your attention. At that instant, your accidental proximity doesn’t matter. Your heart stops for a split second. “Neil, your eye!”

“What about my—”

You remove his glasses. Eva gasps, like it’s A Bad Thing you just did (and okay, you can’t remember ever seeing his eyes before), and you can even sense Rob standing protectively close behind you. “Holy schnikes, Neil!” His right eye is nearly swollen shut, the bruise radiating nearly to his temple on that side and nearly across his nose on the other. “What happened?”

A tidal wave of guilt from Eva makes the room wobble, but Rob catches you.

“Sorry, more tired than I thought,” you say to their combined are you okays. Your nervous smile lands on Rob, who doesn’t look convinced. Still, he helps you upright silently.

Neil squints at you with his good eye. “What do you mean ‘what happened?’”

How can he not know? “It’s totally black??” You look from Neil to Eva and back, panic surfacing slowly. “It’s barely open??? Doesn’t it hurt?????”

Eva sighs, pulls a hand mirror from her bag, and holds it in front of him.

A pause.

“Huh,” he finally says. “Guess that explains why it’s a little harder to see.”

“Our client’s brother punched him.” Eva rubs at the bridge of her nose.

“He did not—”

“He said he was fine, but I thought he was just shrugging it off. I didn’t know he didn’t know! Don’t you remember your glasses broke?”

“He was huge! I dodged him easy! I…” Neil digs through his pockets indignantly for a few moments, then stops. “I don’t have my spare pair. Which… means that those…”

“Are your spare pair,” you finish gently, handing them back to him. “Neil, I think you might have a concussion.”

“Well, shit,” he says, at the same time Eva says, “That’s what I’m worried about.”

“That settles it.” You step back a couple paces, reluctantly. “You’re definitely coming back with me. I have ice and I have some bruise cream that’s pure magic, I swear.”

Neil huffs. “I already said I would.”

“You only thought it because I didn’t hear you.” You eke out a grin. “I’m not a mind-reader, you know!”

“Okay, well, this is my official yes let’s crash at your pad agreement.”

“Heard and acknowledged!”

Putting her bag over her shoulder, Eva says, “Then let’s go,” and leads the way to the elevators.

She and Neil take the backseat again, leaving Rob to sit in the passenger seat. Now that you’ve executed your plan, you seem to have lost whatever energy you had left.

The silence that falls, though, feels comforting instead of stifling.

~~~

The first step through your front door pulls a deep sigh out of you. Rob, Eva, and Neil’s various flavors of tension decrease slightly.

“I’m just gonna… stop for a minute.” So saying, Neil plops onto the floor in front of your stupid-huge couch.

“Sit wherever you like,” you say as you go to the kitchen for an ice pack.

You’re glad you turned the room into something slightly more presentable, even when you weren’t expecting three people to come by— cleaned up junky desserts from the coffee table, put pillows back, et cetera. You wrap a hand towel around the ice pack and bring it back to Neil, telling him to use light pressure. “I’ll go get the supplies.”

As soon as you flick on your bathroom light and see yourself in the mirror, your throat tightens with the need to cry. A few gasping sobs come out of you but, “Okay okay okay,” you whimper, clutching the sink rim, they’re here, you got them, you’ve made them safe now. “Get it together. Snap the hell out of it. You’ve got a job to do.”

You gather everything you think you need and then go back over it: disposable gloves, the arnica bruise cream, antiseptic wipes, washcloth, cup of warm water, 8-hour painkiller/swelling reducer. Then you splash off and dry your face, finagle all of it into your arms, and get back out there.

Neil’s made it onto your couch, probably because Eva’s sitting there now. She’s on his left. There’s space for you between them.

You’re friends. Colleagues. You’ve all been through highs and lows working at Sigmund, in parallel with each other. They can’t read your mind.

You unload your supplies onto the coffee table and take the seat.

Eva lets out a breath.

“Sorry for grabbing your glasses,” you say to Neil as you put on the gloves.

“Eh. Extenuating circumstances.” He shrugs. Takes them off. “‘Kay, do your worst.”

“I’ll be as careful as I can. First, these.” You hold up the wipe pack. “Your skin’s not broken so it shouldn’t sting, but I’ll make sure any excess is gone anyway. Oh—” You grab the pain pills. “Take these first, actually. I can get you water.”

“I have my own… water,” he mumbles, digging through his bag and retrieving a bottle. “Thanks.”

Once he’s taken the pills, you run the wipe all around the bruise, holding your breath while you dab at his closed eye. “Don’t move.” You wet the washcloth then and apply that, making sure no residue stays to get into his eye. That would suck.

“Okay, move if you need to. Magic cream’s the last thing!” You hold it up with a flourish. “Never had to use it on something this, uh,” you fumble for the word, “extensive, but I promise it’ll help.”

“Who died and made you Florence Nightingale?” he said with a chuckle.

You pause in the middle of daubing cream on your finger. “Who?”

“It’s an old reference. Really old. Like, my gramps knew the history, that’s how old.”

“Early 20th century nurse, I believe,” Rob says in a musing tone. “Founded the profession.”

“You’re almost as old as him, so you don’t count.”

“She opened the first nursing school, too,” says Eva.

“And you’re a nerd so you also don’t count.”

“She sounds pretty cool,” you say quietly; you’re close to Neil’s face again, applying the cream from the outside of the bruise in. “Glad someone’s remembering her, still.”

You don’t even notice the silence fall, you’re concentrating so hard.

Neil holds his breath this time when you put the tiniest amount of cream on and around his eyelids, using the barest pressure to rub it in and still wincing in his place.

You’re very close to him. Your hand tingles. Whatever’s charging the atmosphere is impossible to analyze.

“Um. All done.” You pull your hand away, look away, throw the glove into the little trash can under the table.

“Rox?”

You look back at him and try to breathe evenly.

“Just… thanks. For all this. And…” He leans forward to catch Eva’s gaze. “...sorry I got my head bashed in and forgot about it.”

“We should get that checked out tomorrow.” Her voice is worn, but her eyes are soft.

Your worry changes form in that instant, from low-key constancy in your veins to the choking kind of worry that comes from realizing you love them, are in love with them, your best friends who are in love with each other and either don’t know or can’t admit it. They certainly don’t have the room to accept your feelings.

You’ve known this for long enough; it’s hardly a revelation. But something about tonight has crystallized your feelings, made them impossible to bury. Now you know the origin of the physical ache that’s been dogging you for weeks, to the point of becoming a second skin, and you desperately wish you could do anything to ease Neil and Eva’s pain as much for yourself as for them. You just squeeze Neil’s hand, pretend Eva taking yours doesn’t stop your heart, and stare at Robert who graciously doesn’t stare back.

You nod, because you don’t trust your voice. But then you speak anyway. “We’re a team. Mismatched as we may be. We gotta stick together, you know?”

Looking at them both, you see Eva smile, and even Neil has a tiny flash of one when he says, “The four musketeers, or something?”

“Close enough.” Robert, soft, as he eases onto the couch next to Eva.

“No, exactly. One for all, and…” You swallow, looking at Neil, wishing so hard for Eva’s sake. “And all for one.”

Your hands left Eva’s and Neil’s to settle on the couch minutes ago, but now, almost synchronized, their hands cover yours again.

Every ounce of tension rushes out of you, in spite of the fact that your brain is in red alert mode, your heart’s beating fast enough it hurts, and heat’s flashing through you from head to toe.

Maybe one day you’ll tell Neil and Eva everything you feel. Maybe one day you’ll share your biggest secret with all three of them. But for now, all that matters is that you’re all together, safe for tonight, warm and dry. All that matters is the others’ emotions are blending into a shared, soft calm, that you’re almost, just about, being held by them. All that matters is that you all have each other.

For once in a long while, your mind is quiet.

#JujYwrites #SiqSquare #To the Moon #Finding Paradise #Rosawatts #Winlin #so. much. PINING

[callie-the-snarky-geek-blog]

RvB16 Episode 7 Review: It Just Winked At Me

Last time on Red vs Blue: O’Malley came back bitches. That’s it. That’s all you need to know. No need to go into how Grif is all alone with only a talking lens flare and all the potential angst that writers can dig up from that. Or that Atlus is a dork who obliterated Tucker and Sister into subatomic particles. None of that’s important at all. Only O’Malley matters.

Alright, so this episode has been hyped for awhile. Joe hyped it up. Kyle Taylor (the Machinima director) hyped it up. Even Gus hyped it up. Any of this can mean anything. So as we enter the shortest episode so far (only 7 minutes… I guess Joe couldn’t make the episodes longer unless he’s holding them back for later), what has all the talk been leading up to? Well… I can say it was like nothing I’ve seen before!

Overview

So good news, Tucker and Sister are alive! Yay… yeah I knew that was coming. There is no way that they’d kill a long-time character and a fan favorite character they finally made a main like that. Also it looks like the blast sobered them up. So there’s your lesson kids: if you are drunk off your ass, being blasted by God is how you sober back up! Atlus tries to kill them a couple more times before finally realizing that ‘his’ protection is making that impossible. Also we find out that Kalirama is his sister, which explains her being the Queen of the Cosmic Powers. So goign into some speculating, Kalirama mentioned being the Daughter of Time. My guess has been that the villain is Chronos, the Personification of Time. It can also refer to Cronus, the King of the Titans and father of Zeus. If Joe made Chronos and Cronus the same person who Atlus overthrew and he and Kalirama and his kids trying to keep him locked up… wow and I thought the Church and Grif families were fucked up.

Since Atlus can’t obliterate Tucker and Sister, he goes with the option of ‘let my mindless minions do it’. So he summons up a cyclopes… I am NOT joking. Some may find this too bizarre, but as someone who likes mythical shenanigans I do NOT give a shit! Plus it fits the myth theme since cyclopes’ are part of both Greek and Roman mythology. So the cyclopes obviously isn’t a Halo character, so what did they do? They… put Gus in a costume/a ton of makeup and made him do it. Yes, you read that right. The cyclopes was RvB’s very own Gustavo Sorola. It is also, I believe, RvB’s first implementation of live-action within the show, at least on this level. It’s pretty good! I mean the cyclopes is butt ugly, but I’m pretty sure that was the point… sorry Gus.

So Atlus sicks… Grugh, I think? Screw it, I’m calling him Gus. My blog, my rules. Atlus sicks Gus on the two Blues. They understandably, make a run for it. At least until Sister quips that Tucker could prove how great a fighter she is. Which she meant as sarcasm… but Tucker of course has to decide to be Mr. Macho and face Gus. The result? Both the time gun and the sword get knocked away from him. I should also point out that Gus is about 100X larger than Tucker. So he can easily crush him… yyyyeah… not your best plan Tucker.

Back in the 6th Century (not the 16th like I wrote last week, Past Callie is stupid), Huggins is trying to figure out what to do now that O’Malley has gotten away and both she and Grif are stranded. Grif is currently… I guess looking for mushrooms since he mentions eating them later. Guess since he can’t talk Italian, that’s the only way he can survive, I mean it worked on the moon! Anyways, Huggins contemplates her options. Now because she’s talking fast, it’s hard to make out everything and for whatever reason,t he RT site doesn’t have a subtitle option that I REALLY hope they fix soon. But anyways, Huggins comes u with three potential solutions:

Wait it out and let time move along until she’s back in present day. This is ruled out because it would take far too long. This one is declared a ‘maybe’.

MURDER! Kill Grif and prevent at least one dirty shisno from fucking everything up! This is also ruled out as it goes against Huggins’ code and it’s also forbidden. Oh, but Atlus can obliterate people? I sense abuse of power!

Talk to Grif and convince him to team up so that they can find a way out of the 6th Century. But if she does this, thee penalty is getting tortured int he Underworld for all eternity. But this is the only option that could work, so… ye, she risks it.

Alright, so reasoning! Huggins goes to Grif, who is pretty much refusing to believe anything that is happening. Huggins tries to convince him to help her since otherwise hey’re both gonna die. Grif doesn’t buy any of it, especially when Huggins reveals that the Gods sent her to spy on them. SO he just walks away and Huggins is probably re-considering the murder option now.

Alright, back to the moon! Tucker tries to shoot Gus… and of course fails. Stupid guns! Sister retrieves both the time gun and Tucker’s sword as Tucker himself ducks inside the base. He tries to think of what to do… and sees his old armor set, giving him an idea. Gus reaches in and grabs what looks like Tucker, eating his head. Eww, Gus! That’ll ruin your teeth!  Also is this an Attack on Titans reference? I’m positive that it’s an Attack on Titans reference. But of course it was really the empty armor which Tucker stuffed with grenades. Which go off, distracting Gus and Tucker drives in with the Warthog, driving it straight into hos face. It finally knocks Gus down and Tucker along with him.

So it looks like Tucker wins, right? Haha… yeah… about that. Sister points out that normally when you beat the boss, they come back twice as powerful. You’d think that Tucker, living in a video game, would know this but meh. SO yeah, Gus gets back up and he is not happy. Hey Tucker, tell him that they should go to Vegas! That’ll make him REALLY angry I bet! Tucker runs into the caves and seems safe since Gus’ hand is too big… until Tucker says he needs to do it one finger at a time. And Gus can understand English, so… yeah…

Fortunately before Tucker can get grabbed, Sister channels her inner Xena and attempts to use the sword, jump down form the cliffs, and stab Gus in the head. But Tucker informs her too late that the sword only works for him. SO she gets smacked away and when Tucker exits the cave to help, he gets knocked over to her. Sister points out that cyclopes’ have a fatal weakness, so Tucker goe sin and… attacks Gus’ groin. I… don’t think that’s what she meant Tucker… but it works as Gus finally hits the ground. Well… not the defeat I was expecting, but it was a defeat!

Unfortunately, Atlus decides to sick Gus’ wife on them who is rather peeved that due to this, they can’t do hanky panky and have kids. Having had enough, Tucker and Sister FINALLY do what they should have done before: open a time portal and get the fuck out of there. Where do they end up? Well remember the medieval scene from Episode 1? Well they FINALLY connected it to the main narrative as the two end up on the same tower as medieval Grif and Simmons. And the two get arrested… WELP.

Review

This episode has had a lot of mixed reception so far. I haven’t seen anyone hate it, but many were disappointing. It’s understandable why. After all the hype, it was really just about a dumb joke. A very well shot dumb joke, but a dumb joke. There’s still so little about he plot we know, nothing advanced any further here, the episode was incredibly short, and it’s still unclear what all of this is leading us to. We’re on Episode 7 and no progress has been made. I think so far Joe has the opposite problem he had last year. Last year, he rushed it because he only ha done season. This year he has more than one, but due to it he slowed down. A little too much maybe. This coming off the heels of last week’s O’Malley plot bomb and… yeah I don’t blame people in being disappointed and viewing this as completely pointless.

I didn’t know how to feel during the first viewing… but when watching ti again to write this review, I was laughing so much. I got a LOT more enjoyment out of it. To be fair, I am always like that. I always like stuff on the second watch than the first one since I knwo what’s coming and I can better process it. And watching ti again… I don’t think that this was pointless at ll. There’s no major progression with the plot, and I agree that it’s been long enough. But… I got a lot out of this episode, even form Grif’s brief scene. Not just with plot, but the work on this episode is truly impressive imo.

Before we talk about that, lets do Grif’s scene. It’s only about a minute long and the only machinimated scene. Yeah, 95% of the episode was CGI animated. But Grif’s scene, while brief, was good. I wish we saw a bit mroe follow-up on how he’s doing after O’Malley left him stranded, but him living off mushrooms I can buy. Him also goign into denial over everything I can also buy. So not as much as I was hoping for with him, but good stuff that matches his character.

The scene’s actual importance is mainly setup for what’ll happen later. It also FINALLY gave us some time with Huggins’ since Episode 1. And OMG, I absolutely love her. Her rapid fire dialogue is kind of hard to make out, but her actress did a good job at it. Huggins is cheerful, but serious about her job. She understands the importance of what’s coming, but has to resort to breaking law since she’s in a position where otherwise, everyone is doomed. She’s cute, but also sassy as evident with her response when Grif calls her Tinkerbell (is that gonna be his nickname for her when he warms up to her? I want it to be!) Seriously I am already loving the interactions between Grif and Huggins and I am really excited to see more of it! Now how they’ll get out of the 6th Century IDK, but we’ll just have to wait.

Okay, back to the res tof the episode. As I said, pretty much the entire episode is CGI animated. it’s the first major CGI fight in the season, and it was awesome. Okay it was mostly running, but it was fun to watch. Tucker plowing the Warthog into Gus was freakin’ badass. The voice acting was also on point. I have never laughed harder at Jason Saldana’s performance than I have today and Becca continues to crush it as Sister. Seriously, going all Xena with the ‘alalala!’ war-cry had me dying. An ProZD as Atus… OMG ProZD. He was fantastic in this episode and it added so much to Atlus as a character. Like he is just enjoying the show and is so unimpressed with Tucker and Sister even when they win. His animation where he’s just celebrating watching Gus winning was also so freakin’ fantastic and again, dds to the character. Seriously, I wasn’t sure what to think of Atlus before, but he has already become one of my fav RvB villain ever after this episode alone.

So onto Gus… I have no idea how Joe talked him into this. I mean he’s done worst and IDT anything will be as bad as when he did the Baby Gus RT Short. That short man… anyways! I think Gus did really well! It felt like he was truly interacting with the environment. He didn’t have to do much acting aside form grunting and going around wildly, but it felt like he was playing a monstrous cyclopes. Credit also to Joe and his directing. I don’t knwo what inspired him to do this, but OMG I am so glad he did. I mean it looks weird and it’s ridiculous.., but it’s RvB. It’s always been weird and ridiculous. Plus using live action again sells the effect that the cyclopes is a monster compared to what we’re used to with the machinima. It sold the effect really well. So kudos to Joe and to Gus because shooting this and then editing it in had to be a nightmare.

It’s why I don’t think the episode was at all pointless. I mean we DO have some minor things. We find out that Kalirama is Atlus’ sister, the villain si indeed a locked up time God, get a taste of how powerful the Cosmic Powers forces are, have some characterization for Atlus, setup for Grif and Huggins’ plot, an actual fight scene after so long, and it FINALLY ties in the medieval scene. It’s also huge on a cinematic scale, which is probably why it’s only 7 minutes. I mena Joe and his team had to fully animate the episode, shoot Gus’ scenes where he’s pretty much just interacting with air, combined the footage together, likely do re-shoots if the live action was even slightly off, edit it all together with the machinima, and… yeah. This was likely a huge pain it he ass to do for everyone involved. But I appreciate that they did. Joe is going above and beyond what he has to do. he could just do solely machinima and it would be fine. But he’s trying new things, implementing more CGI, and taking the show to the next level. Is it a hit? That’s for one to decide on their own. I think it worked here, but I don’t think they should regularly implement live action as they did. Special occasions are fine though. But I still appreciate Joe trying things and putting in the effort when he doesn’t have to. He wants to make the show as good as he can, and I can absolutely respect that.

Final Thoughts

Did they hype this one too much? Maybe a little. It was not what I was expecting at all. But I don’t thin that’s a bad thing. Again, I appreciate them going out of their way to do this. Plus the animation, dialogue, and voice acting were really good. Can I understand why people don’t like this episode and are getting weary of the season? Absolutely yes. I do hoe that Joe starts to speed up the plot soon. But I still had a fun time watching the episode, and in the end that’s what matters: having a good time. It was weird and ridiculous and I wouldn’t have it nay other way.

#rvb #rvb16 #rvb reviews #old blog repost

[calliecat93]

RvB16 Episode 7 Review: It Just Winked At Me

Last time on Red vs Blue: O’Malley came back bitches. That’s it. That's all you need to know. No need to go into how Grif is all alone with only a talking lens flare and all the potential angst that writers can dig up from that. Or that Atlus is a dork who obliterated Tucker and Sister into subatomic particles. None of that’s important at all. Only O’Malley matters.

Alright, so this episode has been hyped for awhile. Joe hyped it up. Kyle Taylor (the Machinima director) hyped it up. Even Gus hyped it up. Any of this can mean anything. So as we enter the shortest episode so far (only 7 minutes... I guess Joe couldn't make the episodes longer unless he’s holding them back for later), what has all the talk been leading up to? Well... I can say it was like nothing I’ve seen before!

Overview

So good news, Tucker and Sister are alive! Yay... yeah I knew that was coming. There is no way that they’d kill a long-time character and a fan favorite character they finally made a main like that. Also it looks like the blast sobered them up. So there’s your lesson kids: if you are drunk off your ass, being blasted by God is how you sober back up! Atlus tries to kill them a couple more times before finally realizing that ‘his’ protection is making that impossible. Also we find out that Kalirama is his sister, which explains her being the Queen of the Cosmic Powers. So... I made a post a few days ago about Kalirama’s titles and she mentioned being the Daughter of Time. My guess has been that the villain is Chronos, the Personification of Time. It can also refer to Cronus, the King of the Titans and father of Zeus. If Joe made Chronos and Cronus the same person who Atlus overthrew and he and Kalirama and his kids trying to keep him locked up... wow and I thought the Church and Grif families were fucked up.

Since Atlus can’t obliterate Tucker and Sister, he goes with the option of ‘let my mindless minions do it’. So he summons up a cyclopes... I am NOT joking. Some may find this too bizarre, but as someone who likes mythical shenanigans I do NOT give a shit! Plus it fits the myth theme since cyclopes’ are part of both Greek and Roman mythology. So the cyclopes obviously isn’t a Halo character, so what did they do? They... put Gus in a costume/a ton of makeup and made him do it. Yes, you read that right. The cyclopes was RvB’s very own Gustavo Sorola. It is also, I believe, RvB’s first implementation of live-action within the show, at least on this level. It’s pretty good! I mean the cyclopes is butt ugly, but I’m pretty sure that was the point... sorry Gus.

So Atlus sicks... Grugh, I think? Screw it, I’m calling him Gus. My blog, my rules. Atlus sicks Gus on the two Blues. They understandably, make a run for it. At least until Sister quips that Tucker could prove how great a fighter she is. Which she meant as sarcasm... but Tucker, of course, has to decide to be Mr. Macho and face Gus. The result? Both the time gun and the sword get knocked away from him. I should also point out that Gus is about 100X larger than Tucker. So he can easily crush him... yyyyeah... not your best plan Tucker.

Back in the 6th Century (not the 16th like I wrote last week, Past Callie is stupid), Huggins is trying to figure out what to do now that O’Malley has gotten away and both she and Grif are stranded. Grif is currently... I guess looking for mushrooms since he mentions eating them later. Guess since he can't talk Italian, that’s the only way he can survive, I mean it worked on the moon! Anyways, Huggins contemplates her options. Now because she’s talking fast, it’s hard to make out everything and for whatever reason,t he RT site doesn't have a subtitle option that I REALLY hope they fix soon. But anyways, Huggins comes u with three potential solutions:

Wait it out and let time move along until she’s back in present day. This is ruled out because the Reds and Blues will still be time traveling, evil time God goes free, and the universe dies. This one is declared a ‘maybe’.

MURDER! Kill Grif and prevent at least one dirty shisno from fucking everything up! This is also ruled out as it goes against Huggins’ code and it’s also forbidden. Oh, but Atlus can obliterate people? I sense abuse of power!

Talk to Grif and convince him to team up so that they can find a way out of the 6th Century. But if she does this, thee penalty is getting tortured int he Underworld for all eternity. But this is the only option that could work, so... ye, she risks it.

Alright, so reasoning! Huggins goes to Grif, who is pretty much refusing to believe anything that is happening. Huggins tries to convince him to help her since otherwise they're both gonna die. Grif doesn't buy any of it, especially when Huggins reveals that the Gods sent her to spy on them. SO he just walks away and Huggins is probably re-considering the murder option now.

Alright, back to the moon! Tucker tries to shoot Gus... and of course, fails. Stupid guns! Sister retrieves both the time gun and Tucker’s sword as Tucker himself ducks inside the base. He tries to think of what to do... and sees his old armor set, giving him an idea. Gus reaches in and grabs what looks like Tucker, eating his head. Eww, Gus! That’ll ruin your teeth!  Also is this an Attack on Titans reference? I’m positive that it’s an Attack on Titans reference. But of course, it was really the empty armor which Tucker stuffed with grenades. Which go off, distracting Gus and Tucker drives in with the Warthog, driving it straight into his face. It finally knocks Gus down and Tucker along with him.

So it looks like Tucker wins, right? Haha... yeah... about that. Sister points out that normally when you beat the boss, they come back twice as powerful. You’d think that Tucker, living in a video game, would know this but meh. SO yeah, Gus gets back up and he is not happy. Hey Tucker, tell him that they should go to Vegas! That’ll make him REALLY angry I bet! Tucker runs into the caves and seems safe since Gus’ hand is too big... until Tucker says he needs to do it one finger at a time. And Gus can understand English, so... yeah...

Fortunately, before Tucker can get grabbed, Sister channels her inner Xena and attempts to use the sword, jump down from the cliffs, and stab Gus in the head. But Tucker informs her too late that the sword only works for him. SO she gets smacked away and when Tucker exits the cave to help, he gets knocked over to her. Sister points out that cyclopes’ have a fatal weakness, so Tucker goe sin and... attacks Gus’ groin. I... don’t think that’s what she meant Tucker... but it works as Gus finally hits the ground. Well... not the defeat I was expecting, but it was a defeat! 

Unfortunately, Atlus decides to sick Gus’ wife on them who is rather peeved that due to this, they can't do hanky panky and have kids. Having had enough, Tucker and Sister FINALLY do what they should have done before: open a time portal and get the fuck out of there. Where do they end up? Remember the medieval scene from Episode 1? Well, they FINALLY connected it to the main narrative as the two end up on the same tower as medieval Grif and Simmons. And the two get arrested... WELP.

Review

This episode has had a lot of mixed reception so far. I haven’t seen anyone hate it, but many were disappointing. It’s understandable why. After all the hype, it was really just about a dumb joke. A very well shot dumb joke, but a dumb joke. There’s still so little about the plot we know, nothing advanced any further here, the episode was incredibly short, and it’s still unclear what all of this is leading us to. We’re on Episode 7 and no progress has been made. I think so far Joe has the opposite problem he had last year. Last year, he rushed it because he only has done season. This year he has more than one, but due to it he slowed down. A little too much maybe. This coming off the heels of last week’s O’Malley plot bomb and... yeah I don’t blame people in being disappointed and viewing this as completely pointless.

I didn’t know how to feel during the first viewing... but when watching ti again to write this review, I was laughing so much. I got a LOT more enjoyment out of it. To be fair, I am always like that. I always like stuff on the second watch than the first one since I know what’s coming and I can better process it. And watching ti again... I don’t think that this was pointless at ll. There’s no major progression with the plot, and I agree that it’s been long enough. But... I got a lot out of this episode, even form Grif’s brief scene. Not just with the plot, but the work on this episode is truly impressive imo.

Before we talk about that, let's do Grif’s scene. It’s only about a minute long and the only machinimated scene. Yeah, 95% of the episode was CGI animated. But Grif’s scene, while brief, was good. I wish we saw a bit more follow-up on how he’s doing after O’Malley left him stranded, but him living off mushrooms I can buy. Him also going into denial over everything I can also buy. So not as much as I was hoping for with him, but good stuff that matches his character.

The scene’s actual importance is mainly setup for what’ll happen later. It also FINALLY gave us some time with Huggins’ since Episode 1. And OMG, I absolutely love her. Her rapid-fire dialogue is kind of hard to make out, but her actress did a good job at it. Huggins is cheerful, but serious about her job. She understands the importance of what’s coming but has to resort to breaking law since she’s in a position where otherwise, everyone is doomed. She’s cute, but also sassy as evident with her response when Grif calls her Tinkerbell (is that gonna be his nickname for her when he warms up to her? I want it to be!) Seriously I am already loving the interactions between Grif and Huggins and I am really excited to see more of it! Now how they’ll get out of the 6th Century IDK, but we’ll just have to wait.

Okay, back to the res tof the episode. As I said, pretty much the entire episode is CGI animated. it’s the first major CGI fight in the season, and it was awesome. Okay it was mostly running, but it was fun to watch. Tucker plowing the Warthog into Gus was freakin’ badass. The voice acting was also on point. I have never laughed harder at Jason Saldana’s performance than I have today and Becca continues to crush it as Sister. Seriously, going all Xena with the ‘alalala!’ war-cry had me dying. An ProZD as Atus... OMG ProZD. He was fantastic in this episode and it added so much to Atlus as a character. Like he is just enjoying the show and is so unimpressed with Tucker and Sister even when they win. His animation where he’s just celebrating watching Gus winning was also so freakin’ fantastic and again, dds to the character. Seriously, I wasn’t sure what to think of Atlus before, but he has already become one of my fav RvB villain ever after this episode alone.

So onto Gus... I have no idea how Joe talked him into this. I mean he’s done worst and IDT anything will be as bad as when he did the Baby Gus RT Short. That short man... anyways! I think Gus did really well! It felt like he was truly interacting with the environment. He didn’t have to do much acting aside form grunting and going around wildly, but it felt like he was playing a monstrous cyclops. Credit also to Joe and his directing. I don’t know what inspired him to do this, but OMG I am so glad he did. I mean it looks weird and it’s ridiculous.., but it’s RvB. It’s always been weird and ridiculous. Plus using live action again sells the effect that the cyclops is a monster compared to what we’re used to with the machinima. It sold the effect really well. So kudos to Joe and to Gus because shooting this and then editing it in had to be a nightmare. 

It’s why I don’t think the episode was at all pointless. I mean we DO have some minor things. We find out that Kalirama is Atlus’ sister, the villain is indeed a locked up time God, get a taste of how powerful the Cosmic Powers forces are, have some characterization for Atlus, setup for Grif and Huggins’ plot, an actual fight scene after so long, and it FINALLY ties in the medieval scene. It’s also huge on a cinematic scale, which is probably why it’s only 7 minutes. I mean Joe and his team had to fully animate the episode, shoot Gus’ scenes where he’s pretty much just interacting with air, combined the footage together, likely do re-shoots if the live action was even slightly off, edit it all together with the machinima, and... yeah. This was likely a huge pain in the ass to do for everyone involved. But I appreciate that they did. Joe is going above and beyond what he has to do. he could just do solely machinima and it would be fine. But he’s trying new things, implementing more CGI, and taking the show to the next level. Is it a hit? That's for one to decide on their own. I think it worked here, but I don’t think they should regularly implement live action as they did. Special occasions are fine though. But I still appreciate Joe trying things and putting in the effort when he doesn't have to. He wants to make the show as good as he can, and I can absolutely respect that.

Final Thoughts

Did they hype this one too much? Maybe a little. It was not what I was expecting at all. But I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Again, I appreciate them going out of their way to do this. Plus the animation, dialogue, and voice acting were really good. Can I understand why people don’t like this episode and are getting weary of the season? Absolutely yes. I do hope that Joe starts to speed up the plot soon. But I still had a fun time watching the episode, and in the end, that’s what matters: having a good time. It was weird and ridiculous and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

#rvb #rvb16 #rvb16 spoilers #rvb reviews

[clevername733]

Causality Unblocked Games Cheats

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Cookie Clicker Hacks: In 2013, A French programmer Julien came out with a brilliant browser-based game idea based on flash that got the biggest hit in the gaming industry named “Cookie Clicker.” Well, If you are aware of this, you can skip this part, but if you want to know more about Cookie Clicker, we. Causality tricks hints guides reviews promo codes easter eggs and more for android application. Avoid Causality hack cheats for your own safety, choose our tips and advices confirmed by pro players, testers and users like you. Ask a question or add answers, watch video tutorials & submit own opinion about this game/app. Causality By: Loju Games. This is a complete walkthrough guide with answers and solutions for the iOS, Android and PC game Causality by Loju Games. Feel free to ask for extra help in the comments section. Site with online games in which we added cheats. These games are often called hacked. If they are available from school computers, they also add the word 'unblocked'. All games are free on the site. To add cheats to the games, we first found the necessary parameters and properties of the games, and then modified their code. Of course not, causality game 5 unblocked, probably the sole type of unblocked games brings tragedy ending after all whilst players do not face any dangers but to cause them instead. Repeat your consecutive winning by once again claim all lives on the screen in the shortest time.

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Dec 26 2018 4:53 PM

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sito

Nov 29 2018 10:43 PM

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Nov 3 2018 7:33 PM

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Aug 20 2018 3:16 PM

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cryptid

Jun 13 2018 2:36 PM

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iMush

Apr 11 2018 6:09 PM

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Apr 10 2018 6:55 PM

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Nov 9 2017 9:08 PM

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MidnightWolfgirl

Apr 18 2017 11:49 AM

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karlee1006

Feb 1 2017 9:15 AM

oh yay , you have to click on the thing above the singer before you pass the level.

karlee1006

Feb 1 2017 9:13 AM

first , click on the guy with the broom. then click the guy whos cussing. then click on the green door before it closes. the click on the sleepin guy, and before he turns on the tv, click on the little cup next to the broom guy. and thats all for level 1. i havent passed level 2

qqu

Jan 19 2017 7:13 PM

haha ever one here is a noob even me i guess

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[bun-bun-bum]

Can We Talk? - Chapter 1

A 3 am Klance fanfic. I’m gonna post this on Ao3 but I have to wait to get an account so here it is. Do I know what direction I’m taking this in? Nope. Are my writing skills the best? Nope. But hey hey hey am I still gonna continue this? Nope Maybe!

Chapter 2  | Chapter 3

Lance sends Keith out of all people a video at 4 am, along with 57 messages that get increasingly more and more worrisome. Something is wrong.

“I'm not really sure how to start this,”

Keith smiled. Was Lance ever sure about anything?

“There's just so much I want to say...”

Lance always had too much to say.

“...I hope this doesn't get too long.”

Wait. Keith paused the video and checked the length of it. 30 minutes?! He rolled his eyes and sighed. Typical Lance. Might as well get comfortable, he thought as he reluctantly got up out of bed and tiptoed towards the kitchen to grab a 4-am snack.

He opened the fridge and tried to pick between leftover pie that Shiro had put a sticky note over that said “Mine!” or leftover pizza that Pidge had put a “Touch this and die” note on top of, but his heart was just not into it. All he could think about was the video that Lance had sent him. It wasn't like Lance to be up at 4 am, the guy had to get his so-called “Beauty Sleep”. Plus he was at home, no way would his mom let her little “Lancy Lance” be up after 12. But nonetheless, he had sent him a text in the dead of night that read, “Keith Whatever-Your-Middle-Name-Is Kogane, you better watch this video or so help me God I will fly to Texas and kick your ass”.

Keith had rolled his eyes and laid back into bed to go to sleep but found himself lying awake for 10 minutes, pondering the explanations behind the text. It wasn't like Lance didn't text him often, he did daily to mostly send him pictures of disgusting images and say “Hey it's you” and other immature jokes since he couldn't do them in person. But this time, something was off.

Maybe it was because, for the 10 minutes where Keith lied trying to sleep, Lance spammed him with 57 messages that got increasingly more and more worrisome with each buzz.

It started off the way Lance usually spammed Keith:

Keith

Keith

Keeeeeith

Keef

Beef

Hey

Man

Dude

Buddy

Bro

Pal

Chum

U there?

Don't tell me you’re sleeping

Laaaaaame

Sleep is for the weak

But it started getting...different?

Keith

I know u’re up

U probs pulled an all-nighter again

You can take a break and WATCH THE GODDAMN VIDEO

U r such a dick

Just watch the video it ain't hard

Omg I'm talking like u now

C’mon Keith

Are you mad at me?

And then:

Please

Keith please

Don't ignore me

Please don't ignore me

Are you mad at me?

Please don't be mad.

I’m sorry I'm spamming you.

I just

Need you to watch this video right now

It can't wait until the morning

I need a response Keith

Keith

Please watch the video

I have no idea what I’m doing

It's important

To me anyway

I guess you can live without knowing

But I can't

You’ll probably hate me afterward

I did a bad thing

A really really bad thing

Like

I fucked up man

And

I don't know what to do

I'm crying right now

No joke

Please

Can we talk?

Keith

Help me

And then ended with this final message:

I'm sorry.

Keith immediately knew something was up, Lance never said “please” or “sorry”. Something was very wrong.

He walked back into his room, juggling his plate of pie and pizza along with his phone and glass of almond milk. Balancing them all on his bedside desk, he flopped back into bed, wrapped himself in his blankets, and helped himself to pizza and milk before pressing play.

Lance’s usually cheerful face looked nervous and downcast today.

“So...you’re probably wondering why I sent this video. The reason? I'm dead.”

Keith choked and spat out his milk. No. No no no no no no no. That was more than impossible, how could Lance have been spamming him for the last 10 minutes then? Not possible. Unless that wasn't Lance.

Keith had almost begun putting together the theory that Lance had never even existed when Video-Lance laughed.

“Ah, dude I'm obviously joking.”

Dang.

“The reason I made this video, the real reason is….”

Lance shuffled in his seat awkwardly, the desk lamp shining upon him reflecting the trickles of sweat forming on his forehead. The background of his video was unfamiliar, very different from what Keith was expecting. When Lance was home, whenever he Skyped his friends he always did it in his room, in front of his bed and behind his desk. Keith had memorized the placements of the photographs on his walls of his family and friends, the Paladin armor, and Garrison uniform that he had hanging up on his closet door, and his always open window and turned-on fan to keep his room cool during the hot summers in Cuba.

But the background was different this time. A neatly made bed was behind him, with no familiar photographs to be seen on the walls. From the direction he was filming Keith could see no windows or closet. Perhaps he was in a hotel room on vacation with his family? Keith wouldn't have been surprised, Lance’s family always did something extravagant when he came home. He was lucky.

Keith didn't realize that he had zoned out for a couple of minutes and yelped when he saw Lance rubbing his eyes. Oh no no no no no. Fuck what happened? What did he miss? Was Lance crying? Did something happen? Is he alright? Damn it, he was a bad friend, he couldn't even pay attention for more than 2 minutes. Keith mentally slapped himself and rewind the video to catch up for the time he wasn't listening.

“....because I want to talk. But like, you’re annoying and I don't want you to keep interrupting me but I still want a response in the end so I'm gonna film myself and send it to you rather than Skype or whatever.”

Keith groaned and all his feelings of worry for Lance vanished. Typical.

“...but also, I don't think I could even say this while seeing your face. Even if it's through a screen, I just….I don't know. I just can't. Maybe I'm scared? I don't know I just….don't want you to judge me.”

Keith frowned. He knew they weren't that close but he never thought that Lance would ever think that he’d seriously judge him. They were friends after all. Just barely, but they were friends.

Then again Lance had other friends. Why wasn't he talking to them?

“You’re probably thinking that I should be talking to some of my other friends right?”

Was this guy psychic?

“Well jokes on you because I have no friends.”

Lance stopped himself and rubbed his temple. “Joking again, I need to stop that this is serious. I mean, I could have talked to other people yeah, Hunk’s a great listener, Shiro gives great advice, and Pidge is real about stuff, but I can't bother them at what, 5 in the morning? You’re the only one I'd wake up in the middle of the night or morning or whatever to ask for advice, Samurai.”

Lance gave the camera his iconic little flirty smile and Keith couldn't help but smile as he scoffed. Of course, that's why he woke him up. He didn't have any other options.

“And, I really want your help right now.”

That was new.

Lance took a shaky deep breath, running a hand through his messy hair and rubbing his watery puffy tired eyes. Keith stared at them. Was he….crying before this?

“So I fucked up. Yeah, I know, not surprising, I know I know, hilarious. But seriously. I messed up really really badly, Keith. Where do I even begin….”

Lance held his arms to his chest and lowered his head. He took a shaky breath.

“Keith….I ran away.”

#I haven't wrote fanfiction in years and this seems so weird #I'm a shitty writer but I have the general concept in my head #so why not write it lol #it's not like I have a shit ton of work to do #i have to go do that oh damn #voltron #vld #voltron legendary defender #keith kogane #keith vld #keith voltron #lance mclain #lance voltron #lance vld #klance #fanfic

[shyguycity]

GOTY 2017

Hey y’all, it’s time for my third annual game of the year list. I hope it’s not too boring or longwinded. I also hope you don’t go into this expecting reviews of each game; with very few exceptions this list isn’t going to go into deep dives about individual game mechanics or plot beats, and I also don’t bother explaining highly specific video game terms and genres that the lay person isn’t going to be aware of, which is more down to this seeming too long already rather than apathy on my part. Discussion or questions are very welcome! Anyway, before we get into the actual top 11, here’s a couple games that didn’t quite make the cut that deserve to be talked about, as well as some housekeeping as to why some pretty big games aren’t included elsewhere on the list.

Some friends and I are also looking into doing a podcast later on to talk more in-depth about our lists, as well as maybe some other year end awards-y type things for other categories in games. Anyway, here we go.

Games I haven’t gotten to yet: Ruiner, Pyre, Prey, Yakuza 0, Hollow Knight, Hellblade

Don’t @ me I’m sleeping: Resident Evil 7, Persona 5, Mario + Rabbids, PUBG

Special shout outs that didn’t make it to the actual list but are still good, quite good!:

Snipperclips: Cut It Out Together (Switch) - Absolutely everyone that owns a Switch and has someone to play co-op games with should buy Snipperclips, be it significant other, child, sibling or roommate. It’s a game where you each play as two pieces of paper that have to cut each other into different shapes to solve various puzzles, and it’s even way more fun and goofy than that description makes it sound. If I had been able to put more time into this game it probably would’ve made the actual numbered list.

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (PS4/Xbox One/PC) - Wolfenstein’s story about an alternate 1960s where Germany won World War 2 and occupy America was so absolutely fucking bonkers and fun while at the same time bleakly sad and interesting. It’s a shame the actual game isn’t very fun to play, but this absolutely deserves mentioning somewhere. Get fucked Nazis.

Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4) - Horizon has maybe the most interesting and well told story in any big budget, non-indie game I’ve ever played. It’s also maybe the best looking game I’ve ever seen, especially running in 4k. It’s a shame it released so close to Zelda and Nier, since I feel it’s going to be overlooked in a lot of other GOTY lists, but it’s absolutely worth playing. Also the main character, Alloy, is really fun and tells weird kings to fuck off when they try and hit on her.

Aaaaaaaand here’s the actual list this year:

11. Night in the Woods (PS4/PC) - More games should address mental health. I think the medium is especially suited for not only discussion of the matter, but potentially as a teaching tool as well. It’s especially neat in Night in the Woods because of its slice of life, shitty rustbelt town in fall atmosphere. The main character, Mae, is an unexplained college dropout that returns to her hometown to hang out with friends, and discovers that they’ve all started making progress towards various goals in life while she has largely languished. It’s a very personal and sweet story about reconnecting with your roots and rebuilding connections with loved ones, all while surreal shit is going on in the background and it’s always kind of unclear what Mae is actually suffering from.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that, much like Life is Strange (PS4/Xbox One/PC) before it, what starts off as a very simple and charming slice of life game eventually strays into much bigger, cosmic scale ideas, and it kind of feels out of place. Still, I was never bored or driven to the point of rolling my eyes, and I’ve never played a game with more realistic dialogue between goofy and awkward punk rocker friends. The fact that everyone is an anthropomorphic animal for no reason other than to make it look cuter is a huge boon as well.

10. Shovel Knight: Spectre of Torment (Switch/PS4/Xbox One/Vita/PC/Wii U/3DS/PS3/Xbox 360) - The original Shovel Knight was a very cute, very charming, very ok game. It never blew me away the way it did for other people, despite the fact that it seemed tailor made for me, but it was still pretty dang good. The two expansions, however, have been far more interesting games, and Spectre of Torment in particular is a love letter to the original Mega Man X (SNES), a game which has weirdly never had its formula and feel replicated or expanded upon. Having full freedom to select which order to complete stages, as well as finding hidden doodads within that let you purchase new weapons, really maximizes the replay value. Add to that a completely remixed soundtrack that’s way more fun and melody driven than the original, and you have maybe the best action platformer since Mega Man 9 (Wii/PS3/360).

9. Destiny 2 (PS4/Xbox One/PC) - I think Destiny 2 represents pretty much everything I hate about modern game design - approximately 8,000 unique currencies all with their own uses; different classes and subclasses that in broad strokes don’t feel any different from each other; no real sense of progression aside from seeing a set of numbers arbitrarily rise; needlessly large worlds that aren’t fun to explore; a heavy emphasis on story when the story is complete fucking trash; etc. And yet I still put dozens of hours into the game.

It’s a dumb game and I am a very dumb person. That said, despite the constantly online, shooter focused nature of the video game industry, there really aren’t any other shooters so devoted to cooperative play on a scale larger than team versus modes. I can’t think of a game that’s had more fun co-op in recent memory, and that’s enough to make up for the mediocre pomp and frills surrounding the actual game. Who cares that Destiny is borderline predatory when my friends and I are throwing lightning grenades at shadow emperor space worms?

8. Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS) - At one point in time I’d have considered metroid my favorite game series period, so watching its decline over the past decade has been particularly painful. I wouldn’t say this half remake, half new game is an unmitigated success. But for an outsourced, low budget, sidescrolling entry in 2017, a time in which the indie scene has completely taken over the space metroid used to occupy, Samus Returns is an admirable experiment.

Unlike most, I think making the game more combat focused than any previous metroid is actually a wise move, especially considering the developer pedigree; Mercurysteam, despite any other faults, has proven that they can handle designing engaging combat mechanics. And weirdly, even though the main heroine is a 6 foot tall amazonian space goddess with bird alien power armor and a cannon arm, the series has never had engaging combat encounters before this. The game definitely lacks some of the atmosphere that the series is renowned for, but it’s hard for me to fault the game too much for what it isn’t when what we have is an interesting interpretation of a classic game and a new entry in an amazing series that has been dormant for too long.

7. Sonic Mania (Switch/PS4/Xbox One/PC) - Sonic was never really that good, even the Genesis era games that people hold in such high esteem. I’m actually of the opinion that, prior to Mania, Sonic Colors (Wii) was the best game in the series - the gameplay possibilities added by the wisps felt right at home in a Sonic game, while not feeling like a cheap gimmick. Generally speaking, the original Sonic games feel far too simplistic in terms of the verbs available to you to compete with anything like Mario. And while Mania doesn’t give Sonic any new verbs besides a variation on spin dashing, the level design is so creatively above and beyond anything previously seen in the series that it feels like an entirely different beast. Honestly, chemical plant zone alone has more creativity in its two acts than the entirety of any previous 2D Sonic game, and that’s before it culminates in a freaking Mean Bean Machine battle against Robotnik. I liken Mania the most to Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii) in its ability to capture everything that the previous entries in the series were known for while still being able to modernize its design.

Despite all of that, the best part of Mania is its unflinching devotion to its aesthetic. It truly looks like a long lost Sega Saturn game. And while the soundtrack isn’t quite as slavish to what came before, I don’t think I’ve had a more dumb grin on my face this year than when I heard the calypso style Green Hill zone remix for the first time. Mania is a celebration of all things Sonic the Hedgehog, which means different things to different people. To me, what the game most loudly celebrates is the untapped potential of a tragically mishandled series. Consider this game  the fulfilment of a promise the series originally made nearly 30 years ago.

6. Splatoon 2 (Switch) - If I’m being completely honest, Splatoon 2 is making it this high on the list almost solely for how fun the new four player cooperative mode, Salmon Run, is. You get stranded in various locations to take on hundreds of slimy zombie-esque salmon while terrifying horror movie music plays and you send out unheard pleas to the universe that you were paired up with players that actually know how to use the charger weapon (Splatoon’s equivalent to a sniper rifle that apparently takes more skill to wield than an actual real world sniper rifle based on my dozens of hours playing).

Salmon Run is fucking incredible. The rest of Splatoon 2 is also really quite fun to play. However: Nintendo is still so stubborn or incompetent or both when it comes to online play that any amount of fun you have with friends outside of Salmon Run is usually punctuated with spikes of rage the likes of which I’ve never experienced.

You can join your friends and play turf war (the standard Splatoon battle mode) pretty effortlessly at any point.

That’s good!

Every single match you play assigns you both to random teams, meaning you’re not always actually playing on the same team as the friend you’re attempting to play with. In fact, I swear there’s some kind of algorithm going in that actually assigns you and your friend to opposing teams more often than not.

That’s bad!

There is a mode where you can play with a dedicated team of two or four people, paired up against other groups of two or four.

That’s good!

It’s actually a ranked mode which is where all the professional Splatoon teams that stream on Twitch for hours everyday hang out, so you’re more than likely going to be facing off against a team of people who are so good at the game they make money off of splatting.

That’s bad!

Every few weeks there are big game-wide events called Splat Fests where each person chooses between two options, and then represents their selection and are paired up against players from the opposing team. These can range from pretty basic, such as cats vs dogs or ketchup vs mayonnaise, to the extremely goofy like Spongebob vs Patrick. Also, the music and backdrops of levels completely change during Splat Fests; all the levels are changed to take place at night, and you’re treated to ‘live performances’ of squid pop music. You even get exclusive in-game t-shirts based on the team you picked.

That’s good!

But your ability to play with friends during Splat Fests is even further restricted, limiting you solely to the aforementioned ranked mode. It’s to the point where it almost feels like Nintendo would just prefer you to play by yourself against strangers in some weird joyless, lonely world, which feels entirely counter to the kinds of games the company makes.

………..can I go play Salmon Run now?

I hope that this entry doesn’t come across as too negative, because despite all my personal frustrations with how Nintendo completely mangles their own online modes, the game is an absolute blast to play. And Salmon Run really is good enough to make up for a lot of these shortcomings! I just hope a Splatoon 3 really changes pretty much everything about the interface surrounding the game; we could really have something absolutely amazing if that were to happen, instead of a really fun game that has to be talked about with asterisks.

5. Steamworld Dig 2 (Switch/PS4/Vita/PC) - In a year that brought us the first new Metroid game in the better part of a decade, I never would have expected the best metroidvania style of game in 2017 to be a sequel to a pretty lowkey indie game that seemingly flew under the radar of the vast majority of both the industry and fans. I played the original and enjoyed it for what it was, but I never would have imagined that a sequel would be hanging so high up a game of the year list. And yet, it’s the best one of these in quite a few years, handily beating out recent darlings of the genre Axiom Verge (which was pretty ok) and Ori and the Blind Forest (which was really great). This mostly comes down to the new abilities you get in Steamworld; they’re not trying to subvert your expectations and knowledge of metroidvanias like a lot of recent games. Nope, you’re getting a damn grappling hook and jetpack. But these are the most satisfying and friendly grappling hook and jetpack mechanics in video games in a very long time. The game just has a very friendly vibe in general, from it’s warm, beautiful visuals to its amazing soundtrack. Even its upgrade system is extremely pleasant and forgiving, allowing you to swap out upgrade cogs with no fuss or punishment.

I’m also fully aware that Steamworld doesn’t quite fit into the metroidvania bubble; you’re constantly digging downward as opposed to exploring and re-exploring labyrinthine spaces looking for missile expansions, to the point where it’s almost a sidescrolling dungeon crawler. However, I think calling it a dungeon crawler is doing it a disservice due to certain connotations with that term. All you need to know is that if you’ve already finished Mario and Zelda on your Switch and are wondering what’s next, you can’t do any better than this.

4. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) - It actually hurts my soul that a brand new 3D Mario game isn’t even in my top three games of the year. Especially since it’s a really good Mario game! Most of that is down to just how stacked 2017 has been, but it’s also down to some disappointments I have with Odyssey. Let’s just get it out of the way - there really isn’t a whole lot of high quality platforming in the game. I went in expecting this from the moment the game was announced as a return to the exploratory style of Super Mario 64 (N64), but even adjusted expectations couldn’t assuage my disappointment in those regards after playing the game for a few hours; Mario is so fun to control in Odyssey, and has such a wide array of moves at the player’s disposal, that my soul aches thinking about a hypothetical version of this game with devious platforming on the levels of Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube). Despite all of that, you can dress Mario up as Don Draper and ride a moped as a t-rex chases you down an alley.

So the level design never even begins approaching manic perfection of Super Mario 3D World (Wii U). It’s hard to be too upset about it when you start to realize just how dense with content every single area in Odyssey really is. When you first touch down in each kingdom, you can barely take 10 steps from your ship without stumbling onto a handful of moons. And what the game lacks in regards to its dedicated platforming challenges, it makes up for with the fever dream of creativity that is allowing the player to throw Mario’s cap at dozens of different creatures and possessing them, each with their own unique controls, movement and abilities.

And look. Even though I’m sorta full up on nostalgia for 8 and 16-bit games at this point, I absolutely am ready for nostalgia for Playstation 1 and Nintendo 64 games, which Odyssey is hopefully kicking off here. I was six-years-old when I played Mario 64 for the first time, and as hyperbolic (and maybe sad) as it sounds, I consider clumsily using an analog stick for the first time to try and make Mario climb trees outside of Peach’s castle to be one of the defining moments of my life. Without spoiling anything, there are a couple moments in Odyssey that brought me hurtling back to that time in my life that nothing has been able to previously. It’s absolutely worth buying a Switch for just to experience Odyssey, despite my opening volley of complaints. Just feel free to stop well before you find all 880(!) moons if you want to leave with the best possible impression.

3. Nier: Automata (PS4/PC) - Generally I don’t consider myself a particularly intelligent person, at least in the grand scheme of things. But by and large, talking about games, especially the kind I like, is a pretty straightforward affair (“Kirby pilots a mech in this one!” “This is a dual ghost fairy type that dresses itself up like Pikachu to trick humans into loving it. Oh wow.”). With Nier though, I find myself mostly feeling intellectually incapable of talking about its story and themes in any meaningful way beyond that a game has never made me feel the way this one did. And maybe not being tempted to make a fool out of myself by talking about things above my education level is for the best, because I would consider being spoiled on such an amazing game in some idiot’s end of year list to be a true shame.

Nier might look like typical anime goofiness on the surface, what with blindfolded french maid sexy butt android fighting wind up toys with a katana. But the game is fully self aware of every single trope it uses, including all of the questions it asks about existence and humanity. It goes some places and has some things to say, man. The one message I feel comfortable in talking about that the game espouses: being human essentially means being in a community and taking care of one another. This is exemplified in what was, for me, maybe the most stunning moment I’ve ever experienced in a game, and during the end credits no less.

This has been a very hard year to be a human living on planet earth. And though Nier is unflinchingly bleak, the overall message of hope and positivity beneath the surface was something that I personally needed. There has never been anything else like this game, and though there are certainly better playing games in 2017, I don’t know if anything will emotionally stick with me the way Nier has.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch/Wii U) - Not since I was a teenager with nigh unlimited free time have I been so enraptured with a video game like I was with Breath of the Wild. I put 60+ hours into the game in the first week it was released; it was like Zelda became my second job, only I was being paid in korok seeds and bloodshot eyes. And I say all of that as a person that considers the Zelda series pretty low on my personal Nintendo franchise totem pole!

What Nintendo was able to do with the open world genre, a type of game they’ve never touched before, is nothing short of remarkable. Most ‘open world’ games are open world only in the sense that there’s a lot of empty space to drive around in to get to an arbitrary objective marker, with no mechanics to give players a way to actually have fun in all of that space. Zelda lives and dies by how the world reacts to everything the player (and enemies) are doing. Sure, there’s simple examples like rolling a boulder down a hill to kill an unsuspecting group of enemies. But getting into a battle with enemies shooting fire arrows at you on a grassy plain, having the hill catch fire, and then escaping after realizing that the wildfire has created warm air that can push you on your paraglider up and out of harm’s way is one of the most amazing moments I’ve ever experienced in a game.

There are definitely issues with the game. For a game with so much time spent in menus, you’d think Nintendo could have come up with a far less cumbersome menu navigation method. And I do very much miss having full length Zelda-styled dungeons (though I do think breaking them up into 120 individual puzzles is a very interesting design decision that totally fulfils its intended goals). It’s easy for me to ignore a few rough edges in a game that made me totally forget what it meant to live life away from a TV screen for an entire week, though.

1. Cuphead: Don’t Deal with the Devil (Xbox One/PC) - I hesitate to call many things, in any medium, “perfect”. And when I do, it’s things like Shaun of the Dead. No, Shaun is not high art in the slightest, but I can’t think of any other movie that so deftly delivers on its intent while making it seem effortless. With the way modern video games are developed, my ideal of perfect (besides being as subjective as it can possibly be) seems nigh unattainable; how is a consumer product that’s touched the hands of hundreds, if not thousands, over the course of years of development supposed to sustain a singular, unified vision across the entire experience? Even the two best games of the past few years, Bloodborne (PS4) and Super Mario Maker (Wii U), really fall flat on their faces in certain regards, albeit in completely different ways. Make no mistake: Cuphead is the perfect video game, as well as the best game in maybe the best year for video games ever.

It’s not just the game’s tireless devotion to the “rubber hose” era of animation. Nor is it just how the game’s biggest video game inspirations, Gunstar Heroes (Sega Genesis) and Punch-Out!! (NES) are in and of themselves two perfect action games. The combining of a long dormant style of art with a (mostly) dormant style of games is genius in a way that makes everyone else seem dumb for not thinking of it first. Cuphead feels like something that came from an alternate timeline where polygonal games never became the norm, but art in games continued to grow and evolve, unlike other contemporary retro-styled affairs. Which isn’t meant to disparage games of that ilk, but rather emphasize how Cuphead somehow manages to succeed as a game that owes a lot to works that came before it, while also not relying on direct references to, and nostalgia for, those inspirations. The references and nostalgia are there of course, but aren’t needed for the game’s accomplishments to be appreciated by just about anyone.

Put all of that aside though, and what you have is a really fucking fun game where you get to shoot anthropomorphic waffles with magic finger guns. And it has cooperative play! In fact, the only bad thing that can be said about Cuphead is that the second playable character, Mugman, is relegated to player 2. Maybe ‘perfect’ was a tad hyperbolic.

[moonshroooms]

Guess what I feel like oversharing? It’s Smash Bros stuff

So first of all, the first smash game I ever played was Brawl. Fite me. I didn’t have friends when melee and previous were out. Also I’d never heard of them then. And that’s pretty much it.

 When I first played Brawl and had no idea who most anyone was, aside from like. Pikachu, Mario, Link and whatnot, I played as Pikachu, Ice Climbers, and Pit. Literally most of my ‘mains’ (back before I knew what that was), were people I’d never heard of.

 Brawl Pikachu was, surprisingly, not my annoying character. Pikachu was who I considered my powerhouse. I could Thunder people at the top of the stage like no tomorrow and man it was satisfying. Down smash was my panic button and always kept people off me. Also, I could never get quick attack right. Ever.

Ice Climbers were who I used to be annoying. And when we played Brawl my friend and I weren’t quite srs about anything so we always played with items. And the power you feel. When Nana and Popo both have the fans. And your just endlessly smacking your opponent across the stage. A+ 10/10 would recommend. Though it was still before any of us were any good at the game, I did hear about wobbling back in Brawl, and sadly would never be able to even try it, as I had not the controllers needed to use it. And with Smash 4 I never will! #ripiceclimbers #ialwayslovedyou #neverforgetti

Brawl Pit was. Okay honestly, I mostly played Pit for the Subspace Emissary (which I miss and like everyone else wanted in Smash 4). I’m guessing I got attached to him just because he’s one of the first characters I played following the story line. I didn’t play him much against friend. And after Brawl I’ve never picked him up again. I’m not entirely sure why.

Brawl Toon Link. I only didn’t mention him as a main because I only started playing him a little bit before I got Smash 4. I don’t even remember using his items all that much. Know what I miss? Killing people off the top with Up Special. Why’d they get rid of that. It’s Toon Link. Who he gonna intimidate you can’t weaken my man like that.

 Whoop whoop, now we go to Smash 4, which is bright and colorful and I love it. Also it was around this time me and my friends had a newcomer who was... A bajillion times better at the game than we were. And my title as Smash Queen was threatened. And our new friend was now Usurper Smash King. And me and my partner in crime were like. ‘Yo this can’t stand’. We had a pact. I was Smash Queen and he was Smash Prince. We were unstoppable in teams. But no longer. And so we made the transition. That Smash transition of being Filthy Casuals, to Being filthy Serious Casuals.

And that’s as far as it’s gonna go. Cause let’s be honest, I’m not flippin Nairo. And my God the time and effort you have to put in to memorizing everything about your character and learning the match-up and blah blah super inner workings. I’m only a little bit ‘bout that life. I only care about beating my friends into the dirt, not top-level strangers. So I watch competitive videos and tutorials sometimes, when I’m feeling competitive I practice Advanced Techniques™. I got Perfect Pivoting, though I haven’t really been able to apply it to anything but grabbing (and attempted side smashes, but I usually end up tilting instead >3<). Pikachu’s Up-B ledge canceling is more reliable for me than before, but I still mess up sometimes and have only been able to use it just to get back to the ground without lag. I also can’t do that crazy up-b-up-b-up-b-up-b-up-b-up-b nonsense others can do. Much respect for those psychos. Flippin dweebs. And for Toon Link I pretty much have A-Cancel Tossing (that’s what it’s called, right? I can’t remember), and that’s pretty much it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

After me and my friend became Casually Serious and learned more about the game, not only did we come to realize that we had no idea what we were doing when we played Brawl, but we also realized our Smash Usurper had no idea what he was doing either! :D And Oooo the day that we beat him. The day we finally beat him. Both 1v1 and when we joined teams, was the greatest day of our lives. 

Fricken nerds. XD

But we got our titles back! And still we happily sit at the top as Smash Queen and Smash Prince. I like being a bit more serious about the game honestly. It’s fun because it’s less of just random chance and more about skill, and we have fun playing matches with items on and off. And with us evolving, the rest of our friends start to evolve too, and we get beat more often than we did playing Brawl and that’s A+. I like the competition, I hadn’t realized I could be competitive before Smash. It’s pretty fun. :3

 Anyways, onto my Smash 4 mains! :D

 I actually consider myself having 2 groups of mains. The People I Actually Main, and the People I Enjoy Playing and Kinda Know How They Work But Not Really.

 First up, the Characters I Actually Main

 Pikachu: I liked Pikachu before I was srs about the game and I like him just as much after. He’s quick, annoying, has ranged attacks, and is adorably evil. Have you seen his soulless possessed eyes when he gets the smash ball? Pure terror. I do miss killing off the top with Thunder. I feel like (99.9% sure they did, but don’t care enough to look up what the changes were), they changed the way that hits, as when I went from Brawl to 4 I was absolutely terrible hitting with the cloud. No longer could I tell people ‘yo don’t let me get under u you’ll regret it’ *thunder* ‘wat did I tell u I told u not to do it’. I’m still slightly terrifying with the Thunder, but my hit rate went from a solid 70% to like. 25%. Yes I absolutely calculated that I’m a mathematician. But in exchange I actually hit people with the Thunder from the bottom, when I get all explodey and have .3 seconds of super armor >:D I’m much more accurate with that and it is very much satisfying getting a kill with it. My favorite outfit is his Goggles, and then the Wizard Hat. A++

Toon Link: Toon Link, honestly, is bae. I used to like Pikachu better, but since I’ve learned more about Toon Link I like playing as him so much more. I don’t care much that he’s not high tier it’s just fun playing as him, which thankfully is the basis with everyone I play. Walling people out gives me life. And I’m good at reading my friends enough that it gets menacing, especially when I pull out a bomb. For whatever reason when I start usually I just use boomerang and arrows, and never start pulling bombs until I get into a bad situation. I’ve gotten better and sometimes I pull a bomb first thing (though throwing it first thing is another matter entirely). My favorite thing about Toon Link is that if someone actually manages to catch a bomb, it’s usually by accident, and they don’t use them as much as me so they throw it away. And if they do hit me with it, they squander it and can’t get a hit in afterwards. I’m not much scared of my bombs since I know where I’ll move when I’m hit with them. I can’t tell you how many times I hit myself with it and saving my butt cause ain’t nobody know what to do when I’m flying the other way. Also, bring back Toon Link’s Up-B kill. It’s not so easy anymore. I miss it. So much. At least forward air gives a satisfying thwack. I choose his outfit basically as whatever I happen to be feeling at the time, most often it’s Blue then Green Link. When I’m being dumb or getting annoyed about people trying to partner with me in a 4v4 (or when we partner up on purpose and I decide I’m going to betray you now but I’m not about to give that away on purpose), I become Dark Link, I Have No Friends.

Shulk: Funny thing is, I’ve never played Xenoblade Chronicles. I’ve watched a let’s play of most of it (anyone else like chuggaaconroy’s videos?), but I want to play it myself eventually so I’m holding off watching the end. I’m not particularly attached the game or characters, and honestly Shulk is way different from anyone else I play. Most everyone I’ve played are light, fast characters with some sort of projectile. Literally everyone else I play has a projectile. But I ended up really liking Shulk and the monado arts. With the different arts he has (particularly speed), it’s easy for me to get in even without a projectile. I love the counter, and how long it lasts, and that second counter you get for ‘predicting’ the attack. My only complaint is that every. Single. One. Of Shulk’s moves is slow like no tomorrow. I wish that when you put on speed it changed the frames in which some of his attacks come out, especially since you’re sacrificing so much for what’s basically just a movement boost. But regardless, I love playing as Shulk, and the monado is enough for me to feel like I don’t need to be right in my opponents face all the time. Also, being at 200% in shield is a scary thing, especially when people get desperate for attacks but oops, call me Raven cause I just got a Vision! I really should learn about Art Canceling (I’m pretty sure that’s what it’s called), but eh. Ain’t got no time recently. My favorite outfits of his is either the white Paladin Shulk, the Red and Blue, or the Orange and Pink. Depends on my mood which one I choose.

 And that about does it for Characters That I Actually Main :D Three of them is pretty reasonable, right? Characters I Enjoy Playing and Kinda Know How They Work But Not Really is slightly less reasonable. A whopping four characters. That’s right. One more than my mains. Then again, that makes 7 characters in all. Not really that resonable anymore XD

 To start things off, first and definitely least is Bowser Jr: Bowser Jr. was how I learned having a character that’s not as likely to die at 70% is a beautiful thing. I started playing him when I first got Smash 4, and sorta dropped him along the way. Every once in a while I’ll play as him, but it’s usually when things are just for fun. I’m not so good at getting the hammer from his up-b to hit, but I can clownkart-to-down-air like nobody’s business obvs I am a master at strategical combat. My favorite move and the objectively best move in his arsenal? Down tilt. Pblblblbl. I like the classical Bowser Jr. skin, while my friend likes to play as Wendy.

Next up is Rosalina and Chico. Or Luma: I also played Rosalina back when I first started Smash 4. It was to fill the hole in my heart left behind by the Ice Climbers. It did its job, for a time. But Chico will never be Nana. </3 But Rosalina and Luma are still pretty fun! I got as far as understanding better how they work together, separate, Rosalina by herself and running away screaming. I learned Lunar Landing, which isn’t a very hard technique in and of itself anyways. My friend more often plays as them now, and my best counter to Rosalina is either Shulk or Rosalina XD Thankfully my Rosalina is still better than his so I have that >:D Rosalina, for me, is a character I consider really good at Not Dying. When we play Time battles I have a harder time winning with her, but put me in Stock and I am Queen of the Cosmos. My favorite outfits are her white and black ones. :3

Third is the one, the only, Mewtwoooooo: Mewtwo, oddly enough, I absolutely hated. When we first got the DLC for him I tried him out and agh. The floatiness, his slow attacks, his tendency to die at 70% if you stare at him too hard, down special is impossible to hit, and the fricking smash attacks are like 2 inches away from his face. I hated him. He was awful. And somehow I kept trying to pick him up anyways??? The odd thing is my friend usually likes the floaty characters, but refuses to pick out Mewtwo. Somehow, somewhere, at some point or another, I ended up playing as Mewtwo even though I wasn’t that good. I haven’t even bothered looking for many combos or techniques for him, but he’s fun to play. He’s a glass canon, and the better I get at him the more intimidating he is. I still haven’t been able to hit anyone with confusion. Ever. >_> But his floatiness and that long tail are pretty useful tools once you get the hang of it. And that forward air is killer man. I approve. And I’ve been able to hit with his side smashes a lot more! No luck with down smash yet though. VoV I play Mewtwo quite often, often enough that if I actually bothered learning more about him, I’d probably consider him a main I could switch in an out with Shulk. My favorite skin of his is the Edgelord dark version.

And last, but certainly not least, the character that I literally play just to be annoying is, not Duck Hunt, not Pacman or Pikachu or Bayonetta, but: Charizard! Or specifically my version, Purplezard. The best thing about Charizard is that he encompasses everything I hate. He’s slow. His attacks are slow. He can’t jump high. No projectiles (flamethrower is like. Half a projectile). But for whatever reason despite me being absolute garbage in comparison to playing my other characters, I often win with him. I literally just play as Charizard to be a monster. And he is an absolute Beast. My friend particularly hates if I ever switch to him because he knows full well that I’m not playing seriously, I’m being a big fat troll, I know very little about him as a character, and I win anyways. And if it wasn’t obvious from the name Purplezard, I like his purple skin. A+

 And that about does it for who I like playing in Smash! As a side note and completely unrelated to characters, for anyone who likes playing with items on, I have a tip for you:

Throw shit.

Flame rod? Throw it. Lightsaber? Throw it. Get the fricken Homerun Bat? Throw it. Throw everything. You have no idea how much it throws off people when you get the Homerun Bat and they expect you to go for the gold and you just chuck it at their face instead. And homerun bat does so much damage being thrown too. And by the time they realize it’s not in your hands and they have an opportunity to grab it, you’re probably already running at it and grab the item + hit them with a dash attack first. And who knows if your gonna start using the item like it’s supposed to be? The power is yours.

Also it’s hilarious

#super smash bros #smash 4 #sm4sh #personal #ramble #I always get excited when Toon Link is in a compilation video #I wish more people played as him #he's fun and adorable #and his combos are cool to watch

[foryouthegays]

Forming a secret organization [Dream SMP] liveblog and summary!

Good laugh times: 7:40, 1:18:15, 1:19:25

Protect mr philza minecraft from baby zombies (he really went all out on that bit today): 20:35, 32:40 34:45, 1:16:35

Sellout pog: 30:45, 1:00:50, 1:30:55, 2:01:15

Summary:

Techno started the stream in the Nether. He quickly went back to the overworld and to his house, where he meets up with Phil and Ranboo. He mentions that the house smells like gunpowder, and Phil quickly ushers them outside and they continue their conversation.

Techno nudges Ranboo away from the conversation, and he leaves the call. Phil and Techno watch as Ranboo leaves the house, and then Techno tells Phil his news. He talks about how taking down L’Manburg wasn’t the greatest plan, especially as he’s only one person. He wants to bring other people to their anarchist ways.

Phil agrees to form a secret organization for anarchists, because they can’t fight ten to one.

Techno and Phil go to Ranboos house, asking for a feather, and Ranboo asks if he’s getting kicked out. They say no, and then Ranboo says that he has something that might get him kicked out.

He talks about how he sometimes doesn’t remember what he does, and that he was the person who blew up the community house.

Techno asks why, and Ranboo says he doesn’t know.

Phil and Techno agree that they don’t really care about the community house, and Ranboo continues, saying that he has one of the discs. Phil and Techno agree again that they don’t care about the discs at all.

Techno and Phil leave.

Techno leads Phil to a stronghold, which he calls a ‘structure,’ and they cover it with gravel to hide it. They enter the structure, and they find a library, some useless doors, and keep exploring, finding nothing. Techno is confused, thinking that there had to have been a reason for the stronghold's existence.

While looking at a connected Abandoned Mineshaft, Techno finds an enchanted golden apple.

They go into the lower parts of the stronghold, and they find a prison. Techno mentions that the bread he found earlier tasted around 2,000 years old, which gives us a rough (and joking) estimate of when the stronghold was made.

Phil finds a strange portal, and they talk about how advanced the previous civilization must had been, to be able to make unbreakable blocks. They hear a villager writing, and dig up to a strange room.

It ends up being the igluu where Orphans parents lived, and they start laughing, but then, DreamXD logs in. He breaks the portal, and then leaves. Techno begs dream to put the portal back, because it would’ve added to the lore, and that their characters didn’t know what it was, and were going to use it as a table.

Dream logs in again, and puts one (1) portal frame block down, and then leaves again. Phil tells Dream how to place the blocks incorrectly so they wouldn’t form a portal, and he logs in to place them back.

DreamXD hears Techno joking about going to the end, logs in, and then logs out when Techno says he’s joking. Then, Techno explains the difference between DreamXD and Dream, saying that DreamXD has canonical access to creative mode, and is like God, but Dream is just some homeless teletubby. DreamXD logs in, says ‘they actually are I am the protector,” and logs out.

In chat, Techno asks ‘who was that dram fanboy, how did he get whitelisted,’ and DreamXD logs in again, hits Techno with a sword a few times, and logs out.

Techno and Phil decorate the meeting room a bit, and they start talking about what the association should be called. Techno says that he wants it to be the ‘[blank] Syndicate,’ and before they can agree on anything, Ranboos nametag is spotted, and they agree to kill him if he comes into the meeting room.

Techno puts down a sign with the organization's motto, which is ‘Sic semper tyrannis,’ which means ‘thus always to tyrants.’

He starts writing in the manifesto.

“This syndicate is formed to promote anarchy and fight tyranny in all its forms.

“We shall have no Leader; no member shall be compelled to act if they do not choose to.

“No member shall reveal information about the Syndicate to outsiders.

“Technoblade shall serve as the Recruiter to induce new members into the Syndicate with Approval from a Majority of members.”

Phil and Techno leave the Stronghold, and realize that the Igluu wasn’t actually Orphans parents, but instead a different Igluu that Ranboo had been using for Cartographers. They go back to the house, planning to meet with Ranboo, but on the way, they find a strange tower made of stone. Its hollow, but theres no chests or anything inside. They continue and meet with Ranboo, who has gifts for them. Techno gets a Netherite shovel with Efficiency V, Mending, Silk Touch, and Unbreaking III.

He brings them under his house, and we find he has a ‘comfort room,’ made of netherrack, that has several mob heads on the walls, an extra set of armor, and pets sitting next to the ladder. They talk about the map on the wall, and Techno seems concerned, or a bit scared.

Techno and Phil leave the call, and talk about how extremely strange the room, and Ranboo, was. They recount their adventure, and move the villagers into a more efficient layout. Ranboo joins them after a few minutes, at 1:38:00, and they work on curing the zombie villagers and giving them jobs

Liveblog:

I love when technos computer says he isnt streaming so he just rambles about that before it says he does and then he does the starting the streammm thing. Also if u havent heard the starting the streammmm thing u r missing out it is amazin

Techno pls get a new laptop im gonna cry

HE SAID THREE HE SAID THREE if u dont know, techno says three v nicely

“I havent even shown you the secrets, how would you guys be able to snitch??” SIR????

Oh my god is he using his phone to read chat,,,,,i hate him i hate him so much u haVE 5 MIL SUBS AND CANT EVEN GET A SECOND MONITOR WHYY

Ranboo!!! Philza minecraft!!!!! Hi!!!

5:40 ‘why does it smell like gunpowder?’ Techno there is no smell in minecraft. Lore pog?

6:45 AKDFJGLSA RANBOOS FUNDY IMPRESSION IM

8:45 ‘any second now its gonna be 11 percent updated, and thats like halfway done, if you think about it’ adhd autism solidarity right there lmao

I dont think techno can physically pay attention to lore for more than a minute at a time. He just like, sees a dog and zooms in on it while someones talking and its such a mood. All techno know is get distracted, kill orphans, protect philza minecraft, and anarchy. Love him

10:45 he just got COMPLETELY distracted w his laptop im actually crying form laughter

So uh. 17 mins in. Techno (without saying anything). Kills a zombie that was trying to kill ranboo. Thats. Thats a thing he only does for people he trusts. Uhhh

Technos voice at 21:30,,,,,,hhghn why is he like this why is he randomally doing weird voices

26:35 ‘hacker voice: were in’ HGKDFJSL

Ok but techno making fun of doors is so funny tho. Also he rlly did go all out on the baby zombie bit tdoay im actually crying

Techno when phils being chased by two creepers, a few zombies, and skeletons: i do not see it

Techno when phils being chased by one (1) baby zombie: loOK OUT PHILZA MINECRAFT

42:00 god apple poggggg

45:50 techno sir why do u know what 2,000 year old bread tastes like

Dsmp techno :handshake: minecraft story mode techno

Hating doors

Dsmp techno :handshake: smp earth techno

Living right above a stronghold

48:35 ‘dude, they had all this super advanced technology because they didnt waste time trying to figure out how to make doors’ FSKHGJDAL

50:25 UH?? WHAT IS THAT LMAO

OH ITS ORPHANS PARENTS LMAOOOO

GDFJKHSL DREAM HI

51 MINS IN HGJSKDFJASL DREAM PUT IT BACK IT WAS A GOOD TABLE DREAM

56:25 ‘listen, I’ve read a lot of mythology Phil, and nothing bad has ever happened from angering the gods.’ You SURE about that?

I will actually never get over techno making fun of dream its so funny to me 1:01:10

I am so, so extremely queer for technos planning/schemeing voice like when its kinda quieter and deeper n slower? Hhgnn

Also is latin canon in this universe? Pog

Asmr Technoblade makes a cult :)

Ok ok ok ok SO i know that techno wants to make all the members equal (and i do think that hell try his best to make that possible) but bc hes just,,,so FREAKING powerful both in terms of pvp and resources, i feel like his opinion IS gonna matter more, but also im p sure hes the writer of the arc so like. He has more important opinions anyway so unless he is v obviously controlling the other members of the group, i think this could be a fun collab thing. And i am SO excited to see all yalls analysis for what other people think of him ahhHHH i love analysis.

1:17:10 “whose idea was it to make baby zombies stronger? Why are the babies stronger?? Have you ever fought a baby in real life? I have, and it was trivially easy to defeat, Phil.” TECHNO????

Also i can NOT believe that someone thinks techno doesnt use dark humor,,,,have u WATCHED his videos?????

1:25:05 Like literally RIGHT after he makes a joke abt how ranboos shovel’ll be good for digging graves for his enemies, which was taking soooo long before

Ah yes, technoblade, the 21 yr old child 1:28:40

[theda-rison]

Thursday Night Link Roundup - June 4

Last week I watched this video:

https://youtu.be/2YqFomab60s

I think on… Saturday or Sunday. *checks incoherent google doc rambling from too late at night* and it motivated me to do some serious life planning which I will not elaborate on here, but I feel like it helped me to map out some of the things I want for my life career-wise.

Started reading this in anticipation of writing my Wee Jas thing:

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe.pdf&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwixyv2_-efpAhWJhHIEHQGHCGYQFjAAegQICRAB&usg=AOvVaw3DJNImFRknYcuY9qM1ugIG

It’s one of my favorite translations so far. Sort of bridging that gap between “sounding ancient and as if a skald were telling you the story” and “I can understand this.”

Indigo Gabbro

I didn’t know this existed. It’s funny that I feel like I know about so many rocks and minerals and yet I’m always learning of some new thing I had never seen before.

My sister sent me this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHrCI9eSJGQ&feature=share

And holy shit, the starry night skys? That moment where the night is so bright it looks like day? The thunderstorms? The stars rotating overhead? All of it, gorgeous.

I sent this to her because she had never seen it:

https://youtu.be/zu9kgVA5apo

“Why would you drink and then put armor on??”

I don’t know, my dude.

I watched this

https://youtu.be/IaJNjPHs66M

I used to do shit like this when I was kid (also, make newspapers with the newsletter template in whatever program it was we had and hand them out to the rest of the house as if I were a reporter)

Also this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGXEB25WdyQ&list=PLg8vB4Sy0VZThF39KMfYIrgGO54C_dp-9&index=9&t=0s

Just got me. I really hope he doesn’t get blacklisted or anything, he’s a smart dude with a lot of passion for his craft and wants to see positive change in his industry. I’d be honored to have him start in something I write someday.

Songs of the week:

Funeral - Mykur (feat. Chelsea Wolfe)

https://youtu.be/iIZcIgNi9LI

I'm Too Goth to Function, I guess. How could I not research a goddess of death (even a fictional one) and not be obsessed with this song? I would be a traitor to my people (the goths) if I didn't.

I fell in love with this song the second I heard it. It's just so dark and beautiful and has that feeling like when you're half awake late at night and you turn over in bed and it feels like the world spins around you for a second? Disorienting and beautiful at the same time. It's normally in my rotation and I put it in two playlists (so far): "Darque Chill" (someone please save me from myself), and "Wee Jas."

No One Lives Forever - Oingo Boingo

https://youtu.be/6gyF_5GBMj0

I have no idea how I ended up finding this song. I’m not sure how I’ve somehow never heard it. It's also possible that I heard it and forgot it, because my Oingo Boingo phase was a long time ago. Like all their music, this song is poppy and fun, whist somehow being très goth at the same time. Definitely adding it to the Halloween list.

Killing in the Name Of - Rage Against the Machine

https://youtu.be/bWXazVhlyxQ

The relevance of this song will be apparent to you if you listen to the lyrics. It's sad that it's still relevant today, but it's not like America has gone out of it's way to fix any of its failings. In fact, many of those failings have gotten worse.

I actually didn't listen to an audio version of this song this week; seeing police kill innocent black people and then watching them brutalize protestors has gotten the phrase "some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses" stuck in my head. Next thing I know, my brain was playing the whole thing.

#thursday night link round up #kate cavanaugh #life planning #poetic edda #gabbro #time lapse #cha cha slide in armor #julien solomita #jon boyega #chelsea wolfe #myrkur #oingo boingo #rage against the machine

[johnchiarello]

Sunday sermon

Sunday sermon

[Post below]

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 [TODAY’S POST BEGINS HERE]

 1Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Sunday sermon videos-

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhml8w4bbivtQv-iq

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zvzmlpsa8vj49yq/7-2-17%20Real%20Life-%20C.U.%20verses.mp4?dl=0

https://youtu.be/tuPBUII-jLw 

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/7-2-17-real-life-c-u-verses.zip

https://ccoutreach87.com/7-2-17-real-life-c-u-verses/ 

 ON VIDEO-

.Real Life Church- Church Unlimited

.David and Bathsheba

.The sin

.The scheme

.The judgment

.The other son is born

.The prophets

.Avoid materialism

     PAST POSTS- [Today I spoke on the bible chapters from Real Life church and Church Unlimited- below are my past teachings on those chapters. I also added links to my complete studies on those bible books- and other links that relate to the post- verses below]

http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/1-st-2-nd-samuel-8821-st-samuelintro.html

http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/1st-2nd-samuel-links-updated-3-17.html

http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/james-2015-video-links-included-james-1.html 

https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/

https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/

https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/

https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/ 

SAMUEL 17- David goes down to the battle front and hears Goliath mocking God. The Philistines are confronting Israel and they have their champion giant [almost 10 feet tall! Like the Roman emperor Maximus, he was huge] Goliath. David hears the enemy challenge Israel day after day and he decides to take him on. Saul tells him ‘you can’t do this, you are too young and inexperienced, he is a man of war from his youth’! David insists that he is able, he killed a lion and bear while defending his fathers sheep, why not ‘this uncircumcised rascal’! Saul says ‘fine, hears my armor’. David tries it on and realizes it’s not his style of armor. He goes back to the simplicity of a sling and stone. He goes out to the battle, Goliath can’t believe his eyes ‘did you send me some mammas boy with a stick? I am not some dog that you can tame with a stick’! Oh really? David says ‘sir, not only will I win this thing, but I will remove your stinking pagan head from off that 10 foot frame and feed you and your buddy’s carcasses to the animals’! Old Saul must of been thinking ‘what in the world did we get ourselves into’? Sure enough the battle begins and David runs up to the giant and sinks a stone into his head. He stands over him and severs his head with his own sword. Now the poor Philistines heard the whole conversation and didn’t want to hang around for the rest of David’s mission statement to be fulfilled. They fled! Israel pursues and has a great victory. A few things; David show us the necessity and simplicity of warfare. Jesus taught the disciples that they had what it took to carry out the mission. He warned them not to fall for the wrong headed idea of ‘God has called us to start an organization, and the organization will accomplish this noble task’. After all the years of befriending and working with the homeless and down and out. I realize that many well meaning believers will see the needs of people, but then want to ‘put on Saul’s armor’ to effect change. Try and start another mission ministry, or make others aware of the problem. I have found the biggest need to be that people are simply not willing to actually give their time and substance and get involved. Jesus told the disciples ‘don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this, you are the equipment. No special appeals for funds!’ [Message bible]. We get lost in trying to put on Saul’s armor [lot’s of complicated ministry ideas] when Jesus says ‘just use the stone and sling that I have given you’. The church of Jesus needs to realize that the power to effect society is in the hands of simple followers, truly the meek will inherit the earth.

 2ND SAMUEL 11- David sends Joab and his men out to war. He stays home and takes a walk on his roof and spots Bathsheba. He sends a servant to contact her and he sleeps with her. He finds out she’s pregnant and the gears in his mind start moving. He calls her noble husband, Uriah, from the front lines of battle and pretends he just called him to inquire about the battle. He sends him home, hoping he will sleep with his wife, and then David will be off the hook. Sure enough Uriah is so noble that he refuses to sleep in his house when his men are in the battle. So David gives it a second shot and gets the brother drunk. He sends him home again and Uriah refuses to sleep with Bathsheba. So David calls for Joab, the lead commander of his army, and says ‘put Uriah in the front lines and draw back and let him die’. Something interesting happens. Joab carries out the plan but also allows some of David’s other men to die. Then he sends a messenger to tell David ‘we were at the front lines, close to a wall, and some of our guys were killed’. Joab tells the messenger ‘if David gets mad and says “what were you thinking by getting close to the wall? This is a basic mistake that should have never been made!”’ Joab says if David asks this, then say ‘Uriah is dead too’. It’s possible that Joab stuck it to David here for making him partake in his personal problems. Military men do not like carrying out personal political vendettas. Either way the messenger goes and tells David and David feels he covered up his sin. Of course we will soon find out the cover up didn’t work. Bathsheba does move in with David and they make plans for the coming baby. A few things; David was a great man, he followed God as a man ‘after Gods own heart’. David was also human. Hebrews says ‘every high priest taken from among men must make sacrifice for his own sin as well as the peoples’. I don’t want to excuse sin, but I want you to see that all of us have ‘feet of clay’. Modern ministry has a system where we present the best image of leadership to people. We feel this is part of the role of leaders. The scriptures show you ‘the good, the bad, and the ugly’. We just saw the ugly.

  (931)2ND SAMUEL 15- Absalom sits daily at the city gate and when the people come to the king, Absalom ‘steels their hearts’. He says ‘o, if I were the king I could do such a good job. I am better than the one God appointed’. Avoid trying to gain peoples acceptance by comparing yourself with others. God might use you to be an example in some way, but this is a matter of grace. Paul said he excelled more than the other apostles who were ‘in Christ’ before him, but nevertheless it was Gods grace that caused this to happen. Absalom slowly wins the hearts of the people and stages a takeover. Some men go willingly, others followed ‘out of simplicity’. They were led astray like sheep. Remember, when dealing with followers of groups who have ‘rebelled’ [classic cults] some have been raised innocently with their beliefs. Try and honestly talk to them and treat them courteously. God can give you an open door with them if you see them as people who have value and worth. We see David as a type of Christ in this chapter. He is forsaken by the city of Jerusalem and loses his following. He even ascends the Mount of Olives while weeping! He says ‘If God chooses to forsake me, so be it. But if he brings me back again [resurrection!] and allows me to see the Ark in Jerusalem, then let his will be done’. Jesus said ‘not my will, but thine be done’. The Father, who forsook his Son, did delight in him and ‘brought him back again’ to see ‘the Ark in the city of Jerusalem’. Jesus saw the tabernacle of God [Gods people, the dwelling of God] in ‘the city of God’ [the church is called the city of God that comes down from God out of heaven] and he was restored to his former place of exaltation at the fathers right-hand. David is reaping some stuff here. He makes some plans for a future return to leadership, but recognizes when it’s time to retreat. Now, I realize that God wants us to move forward and ‘take the kingdom by force’. But Jesus also gave us a principle; he said ‘when one king is facing another king. He sends out messengers to check out the opponent. If word comes back that you are really out of your league in this battle, then try and come to terms of peace if possible’. In essence there are times where taking a step back and re-evaluating is a wise thing. David plants a few spies in Jerusalem who will report back to him every now and then. David also finds out who his true friends are. Some follow him instead of Absalom, even though Absalom is the ‘hot ticket item’ at the time. These brothers who stick with you till the end are true friends, but they aren’t always the most encouraging. Thomas [one of Jesus disciples] says at one point ‘Lets go, we might as well follow him all the way to our deaths’. Thanks for the willingness to follow Thomas, but you think you could change the attitude a little! So David is doing the best with what he has, Gods people are surviving, but they are being used as pawns on Absalom’s chess board. Absalom looked good at the start, but he will not finish well.

 (932)2ND SAMUEL 16- As David flees Jerusalem, Ziba, the servant that was under Mephibosheth joins with him. David asks ‘what are you doing here? You should be home with your master’. Ziba says ‘as soon as Mephibosheth heard about the take over, he said “I will stay in Israel and become the new king, God will restore to me Saul’s throne”’. Now David believes it and says ‘I now put you in charge of all the household of your former master, it belongs to you’. Later on Mephibosheth will deny all of this. Its possible Ziba made this up for his own benefit. Leaders, be careful of advice from people with a personal agenda. They often make themselves look better than others. Now as David flees another enemy comes out and curses and throws stones at him along the way. This guy says ‘look at you now, you rebelled against the old king [Saul] and now you are receiving the just reward’. Now David responds with a Christ like attitude and says ‘let the guy curse me, I will not retaliate. Maybe God will look on this persecution and reward me’. One of David’s men wanted to ‘take his head off’. Gee, David has all types in his leadership circle! Did this guy who was cursing David misread the whole situation? Yes, but don’t forget we are reading this story from the real perspective, some people living at the time of David and Saul saw this new king [David] as a threat to the old ways. It’s only a few days after the 2008 presidential election. Barack Obama won. Though there were many reasons for and against him, now that he won we ALL need to pray for him. But some of the supporters of McCain sincerely saw this ‘new kind of person’ as a rebellious threat to the ‘old order’. Sincere people who saw things from a different angle. So David’s accuser sees the story from a wrong lens. David was being judged by God, but not because he toppled the old order of King Saul. Back at Jerusalem Absalom listens to the advice of Ahithophel and sleeps with his fathers concubines. The advice was that when all Israel heard about it, they would realize that this rebellion was a real rebellion and the people would unite under his illegal rule. Scripture says Ahithophels counsel was like ‘hearing from God’ in those days. Leaders, be open to the counsel that is coming forth from particular streams at certain times. It is not only important for believers to ‘learn the bible’, but also to be able to discern the signs of the times. Specific things God is saying and doing in our day. If you were living in the 16th century the issue of the reformation was vital for every one who was a believer. Whether you were Catholic or Protestant, you needed to be up on the issues. Erasmus, the great Catholic scholar and humanist [not ‘secular humanist’] wrote insightful criticisms against his own church, yet remained within her fold. So matter what Christian tradition you align yourself with, you need to be aware of the seasons and purposes of God for your generation. In Absalom’s day, Ahithophel was the go to man.

 (934)2ND SAMUEL 17- Absalom is strengthening his position as the new king. Ahithophel, his chief counselor, advises to strike while the irons hot. He tells Absalom ‘let me gather a 12 thousand man army and quickly pursue David. I will come upon him and his men while they are tired and fearful, then I will kill David only and bring the people back to you’. Now, this advice was the best, but Absalom asks for the advice of Hushai also. He was the secret spy that was really on David’s side. He advises Absalom to wait and gather all the people and mount a broad attack. God put it in the heart of Absalom to believe the bad advice [bad for Absalom, good for David!]. So Ahithophel sees that his counsel is rejected, he goes and hangs himself! Once again we see the ‘sword of David’s enemies enter into their own heart’. Remember what we said earlier about this? So Hushai sends word to David about the plan and David responds accordingly. Leaders, understand the strategy of our mortal enemy [satan]. He wants to target you when you and your people are weary and tired. He wants to take you down more than any other thing. The bible teaches ‘smite the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered’. Now this is a Messianic prophecy with a lot of meaning, but one of the points is the lead ‘point man’ is usually the main target of the opposing side. How can we mitigate this factor? Practice plural leadership as much as possible. The new testament churches were not ‘run by a Pastor’ in the way we do it today. So adjust your leadership paradigm and bring it more into alignment with scripture. Also, spread ‘the wealth around’ [a recent key issue with the newly elected president, Barack Obama]. If you can get the wisdom and truth that God has communicated to you into the hands of many others, then you have accomplished a lot. Paul told Timothy ‘the things that you have learned and been assured of, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also’. This is true apostolic ministry. David will survive this rebellion against his kingdom, but if Absalom listened to the best counsel David would have been finished for sure.

 (935)2ND SAMUEL 18- David and his men regroup and mount a counter attack against Absalom. They divide into 3 groups and go for it. David tells his men ‘take it easy on Absalom’. Why? Understand that David is seeing the prophetic judgment upon his family that was a result of his own sin. I wonder how many times David saw the fulfillment of this former word [the sword will never depart from your house] thru the seeming insignificant acts of Absalom along the way. David felt guilt over this whole rebellion mounted by his son. Now the battle rages and David and his men kill around 20 thousand troops of Absalom. Word gets back to Joab that Absalom got his hair caught in some tree and is hanging in the tree. Joab says ‘why didn’t you kill him!’ the messenger says ‘God forbid that I should kill the king’s son! I heard the strict orders from the king for no one to take his life’. My King James Version says Joab responded with ‘I may not tarry thus with thee’ in today’s terms ‘I can’t waste time listening to your reasoning’. Joab goes and kills the king’s son. When I read thru this chapter earlier this morning I saw 2 possible things here. First, Joab and his history with David are one of Joab being a ‘bloody man’. He killed Abner against the king’s wishes, and now Absalom. Why in the world did David not remove Joab from this position earlier? One reason, Joab knew how to war. The boy was capable; he knew how to get the job done. In ministry [or business] loyalty is important; people need to be able to carry out the decisions of leadership. But loyalty in and of itself doesn’t cut it, you need skills and abilities as well. You say ‘that’s not fair’ well if you don’t have the skills go get them for heavens sake! Proverbs says knowledge is in the street corners calling out to the simple and saying ‘come, receive of my learning’. The resources are there, laziness prevents people from accessing them effectively. Now Joab also acted responsibly to some degree. He realized that Absalom would be a permanent threat to David’s rule, he killed him and saved many. Right after his death Joab blows the trumpet and the battle is called off. 2 Messengers run to bring the word to David. Ephesians says ‘blessed are the feet of those who bring the gospel’ Gospel simply means ‘good news’. In the New Testament this good news was the reality of Jesus death, burial and resurrection [1st Corinthians 15] but in the Old Testament it was simply the news from ‘the runner’. You could tell from the way the runner was running whether the news was good or bad. How? Say if your wife took a lotto ticket that said ‘you one a million dollars’ and said ‘I am going to ask the store clerk if it’s real’. As you are waiting in the parking lot you see her coming out of the store. Do you think you would be able to tell if the news was good or bad by watching the way she approaches the car? So this was what the king looked for as the messengers came running. If they bore good news their feet had this special pep to them. News gets back to David and he is broken over the death of his son ‘O Absalom, my son Absalom. Would God I had died in your place’ I always stop and meditate this verse every time I read it thru my yearly reading thru the bible. This contains the heart of the Father in redemption. A few more things; in this chapter it said that Absalom raised up a monument/pillar after ‘his own name’. Because he didn’t have any sons to carry on his legacy, he left ‘a thing’ that would honor his name after he died. Absalom didn’t simply have a rebellion issue against his father, he really wanted to build for himself a legacy. His motivations were self serving. Jesus warns the leaders of his movement not to approach ‘church and ministry’ with the same ‘gentile’ [worldly] concepts of leadership. The world often succeeds thru the motivation of greed and lust and power. It’s very easy to fall into the Absalom mindset and take it out on Gods people when the ‘pillar’ [the thing of ministry] doesn’t ‘go up right’. Many well meaning sincere men have been side tracked into seeking fame and acceptance by seeing ministry thru the lens of ‘I want to leave some institution that will bear witness to my name after I am gone’. Ministry, according to Jesus, does not operate along these lines. In Absalom’s obsession to become famous in the eyes of men, he went down a path that did leave a memorial to his name for generations to come. We just read it.

 VERSES- [These are the verses I taught or quoted on Today’s post- Sunday sermon- Other videos below]]

Galatians 6:7

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Ephesians 6:12

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

1 John 2:16

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of theFather, but is of the world.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

James 1:14

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

James 4:7

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Jeremiah 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Jeremiah 1:6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

Jeremiah 1:7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

Jeremiah 1:8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 1:9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

Jeremiah 1:10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

Psalm 37:4

Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

  1Samuel 17:1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.

1Samuel 17:2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.

1Samuel 17:3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.

1Samuel 17:4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

1Samuel 17:5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.

1Samuel 17:6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.

1Samuel 17:7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.

1Samuel 17:8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.

1Samuel 17:9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.

1Samuel 17:10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.

1Samuel 17:11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.

1Samuel 17:12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.

1Samuel 17:13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

1Samuel 17:14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.

1Samuel 17:15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

1Samuel 17:16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.

1Samuel 17:17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp of thy brethren;

1Samuel 17:18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.

1Samuel 17:19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

1Samuel 17:20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.

1Samuel 17:21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.

1Samuel 17:22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.

1Samuel 17:23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.

1Samuel 17:24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.

1Samuel 17:25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.

1Samuel 17:26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

1Samuel 17:27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.

1Samuel 17:28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

1Samuel 17:29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

1Samuel 17:30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.

1Samuel 17:31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.

1Samuel 17:32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

1Samuel 17:33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

1Samuel 17:34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:

1Samuel 17:35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

1Samuel 17:36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

1Samuel 17:37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.

1Samuel 17:38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.

1Samuel 17:39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.

1Samuel 17:40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

1Samuel 17:41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.

1Samuel 17:42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.

1Samuel 17:43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

1Samuel 17:44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.

1Samuel 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

1Samuel 17:46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

1Samuel 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands.

1Samuel 17:48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

1Samuel 17:49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

1Samuel 17:50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

1Samuel 17:51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

1Samuel 17:52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.

1Samuel 17:53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.

1Samuel 17:54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.

1Samuel 17:55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.

1Samuel 17:56 And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is.

1Samuel 17:57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

1Samuel 17:58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.

 2Samuel 11:1 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

2Samuel 11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

2Samuel 11:3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

2Samuel 11:4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.

2Samuel 11:5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

12Samuel 11:6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.

2Samuel 11:7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.

2Samuel 11:8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.

2Samuel 11:9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.

2Samuel 11:10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?

2Samuel 11:11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

2Samuel 11:12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.

2Samuel 11:13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.

2Samuel 11:14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

2Samuel 11:15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.

2Samuel 11:16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.

2Samuel 11:17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

2Samuel 11:18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;

2Samuel 11:19 And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,

2Samuel 11:20 And if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?

2Samuel 11:21 Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

2Samuel 11:22 So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for.

2Samuel 11:23 And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.

2Samuel 11:24 And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

2Samuel 11:25 Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.

2Samuel 11:26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.

2Samuel 11:27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

Other videos- [these are the videos I post nightly to my various sites- Links to all my sites below]

Samson  https://youtu.be/REpHTqa4YeM

5-7-20 CCPD Chief Mike Markle  https://youtu.be/cAnhrOBAIEU

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjTRrM65lFKSvKrmA

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10207141367490761/

Acts 24  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhA64Y7bm7McaV39S

New Jersey  https://youtu.be/M24ZIioBtW8

Bringing in the sheaves  https://flic.kr/p/2iKfQcm

3-8-20 Sunday sermon  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjQ_wT2-FfRxvVAPZ

10-2-16 Sunday sermon  https://www.dropbox.com/s/3aevgyh0vlwvthc/10-2-16%20Church%20Unlimited-%20Mass.mp4?dl=0

Revelation  https://dai.ly/x7mf0x7

Mark 2  https://www.dropbox.com/s/fjkan8ktsr8ed3x/3-1-17%20Mark%202%20%5BNorth%20Bergen%5D.mp4?dl=0

Acts 12  https://youtu.be/KlChffgvRUk

Acts 27  https://www.dropbox.com/s/10wlzhq0r34fl06/10-31-17%20Acts%2027.mp4?dl=0

Homeless friends  https://youtu.be/x32nDfblDpQ

Mark 4  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgW3XTqVzIMRFIUb0

Samuel 29-30  https://vk.com/video533663718_456239713

Talk  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMilfMujgeURML0FCj

4-16-17 Sunday sermon  https://www.dropbox.com/s/synraurg0yshfr2/4-16-17%20Easter.mp4?dl=0

Mark 11  https://www.bitchute.com/video/P2n2cw6vqI96/

Message  https://youtu.be/JKAw96naqKQ

In the image of God  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhBFVXHG9OK0z5iar

Homeless friends  https://youtu.be/e5YGh4cb4DU

Crow  https://flic.kr/p/2iGXdaY

3-8-20 Sunday sermon  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjQ_wT2-FfRxvVAPZ

2-5-17 Sunday sermon  https://www.dropbox.com/s/144c9nxxzet62xk/2-5-17%20Christianity-%20Philosophy.mp4?dl=0

Acts 19  https://dai.ly/x7mf0x9

More than 1 everything?  https://www.dropbox.com/s/7zqz88z255agu2u/2-9-16%20More%20than%201%20everything.mp4?dl=0

5-3-20 Teaching  https://youtu.be/oYMGpNgg6b4

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10207124445347718/

Eyes like fire  https://youtu.be/4IPSyU1oiYc

Samuel 23-24  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhBD4Rhq1Lmd_ZZ0i

Homeless friends  https://youtu.be/ejmqcckr5Mg

Kings 19  https://www.dropbox.com/s/yz6mfxwptwilpcy/2-8-18%20Kings%2018.mp4?dl=0

Colossians 1  https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_HwGQvl8we/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Teaching  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjHO6R5VzDOF0R6Ys

10-16-16 Sunday sermon  https://www.dropbox.com/s/ftpsf0x1efya2s9/10-16-16%20cccf-%201st%20Jn..mp4?dl=0

Homeless friend  https://www.bitchute.com/video/j6HMdfUaKczy/

Acts 8  https://youtu.be/LNUN77mE05M

10-28-18 Sunday sermon  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhAmiIi_CNnIIiGKw

Homeless friend  https://youtu.be/7lL5N6jU17w

7 eyes  https://youtu.be/NLI7cAmYvXQ

Acts 26  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhANHyf1eoDE942_f

Homeless friends  https://youtu.be/VlWORy0SkEg

Romans 1-3  https://www.dropbox.com/s/nubk60eh5h1n1fi/2-3-15%20Romans%201-3.mp4?dl=0

John 15  https://dai.ly/x7majv6

2nd Samuel 19 [NYC]  https://flic.kr/p/2iFoVVP

Teaching  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjG38vudQlnroeG-g

9-4-16 Sunday sermon  https://www.dropbox.com/s/0s917ziir37jz6u/9-4-16%20Talking%20Church%20%5BReal%20Life%20outline%5D.mp4?dl=0

1 day at a time  https://youtu.be/gac9xzcX2V0

Fear and trembling  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhAA6lExnCZupW6NG

1-1-17 Sunday sermon  https://www.dropbox.com/s/akkowwr43zfeig3/1-1-17%202nd%20Samuel%206-7%20%5BC.U.%5D.mp4?dl=0

GW bridge [NYC]  https://youtu.be/70CVdZxFIMg

This generation  https://ok.ru/video/1592245422647

11-24-19 Sunday sermon  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjFRR9F1ncTZrDe7-

2nd Samuel 24- new Jersey  https://www.dropbox.com/s/rh3fynei6y2p0x8/2-28-17%20Hackensack%20%5B2nd%20Sam.%2024%5D.mp4?dl=0

Apologetics  https://www.bitchute.com/video/REMPuOP4G3KY/

https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87

https://ccoutreach87.com/colossians-links/

 https://mastodon.social/web/timelines/home

https://mastodon.social/web/timelines/home

https://youtu.be/subhfIWFFmc 3-24-18 Update https://youtu.be/AqBFTWzU71U 3-24-18 Update 2 https://youtu.be/vr6_4dfFps8 3-24-18 Update 3 Acts 4 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgQ9ujRqvaEoEoSn7 3-25-18 caller times false report on judge Guy Williams trial https://youtu.be/Cv9IOLycHUE 2-4-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgRDXJSgwCV4uxqDs 3-26-18 Wind n Water https://youtu.be/g__htCUY-Es Trump Tower- 5th ave- New York City https://youtu.be/EdRqesZ-IKA 3-27-18 Update- church in the wilderness https://youtu.be/jfIiLxKoxsk Christianity- Philosophy https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgRGF7dZ2KS_846aE

 12-10-18 Teaching- Furman and the bird https://youtu.be/KpkjRiBHtpg

12-13-18 Update https://youtu.be/8g4r6vF_jBw

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205115302800410/

see it to believe it https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205115480644856/

https://youtu.be/7Pjp8893jI8

Another 1 https://ln.sync.com/dl/09c115fb0/5j24sxyn-acqyxda9-yzj6urpr-b42y27u4

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/pcb.10205115575007215/10205115536366249/?type=3&__tn__=HH-R&eid=ARBRhuYHwinzWoZiBQCWOQ4nGZpUCwJo7Y0iiFmttiTF9NyuGLD19eBQJ1nsb0Oy_JEGOKhMYv5ubSxo

 12-8-18 A talk between the Father and the Son [parable] https://youtu.be/Kn9MTgC1QOg

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205097588277558/

Does God exist? https://mega.nz/#!iW523QZZ!68TdkeTUXGSl1NPjA4Gudlmg_uwvueJqnEnzh3TxAkQ

The lake [North Bergen- N.J.- view of NYC skyline] https://bit.tube/play?hash=QmXXSDPbRhiLbf9JXTucUePEHtqhSefcrj3yKyBux63cCe&channel=160276

Isaiah 61 https://www.dropbox.com/s/ltjx14b5vtttril/3-4-17%20Isaiah%2061.mp4?dl=0

Kings 17 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMdDGvaPNxP9Hgz3E

The unknown God https://youtu.be/wZeEPrdyZ20

Samuel 19 https://www.bitchute.com/video/nufsajIHfW17/

Acts 3 Alamodome- San Antonio https://mega.nz/#!ebRl1IYI!Vl28NVWsFbNwu2Cqq7UkkIGX_sZP9G278UWp6c5a5m8

Acts 1 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMddxUWpVS9RrGHjM

At the doors https://youtu.be/GI8PSYPjCW8

1-14-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMeMlCArzzEG7ZgL0

2nd Samuel 21 NYC view- North Bergen- N.J. https://bit.tube/play?hash=QmXSABcWgJpnruxjchJ2y8EbD8atTfctVGrMVPNRqqJLmk&channel=160276

Hook up the truck! https://youtu.be/8Yiwx4r3LjE

Plymouth Rock https://flic.kr/p/ES9TYY

Christian- Muslim dialogue https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMeb-Izqhz78bdVGI

Mark 3 https://www.dropbox.com/s/9ml9cechvsvcpk2/3-3-17%20Mark%203.mp4?dl=0

Wal Mart and creation https://youtu.be/PTMTrQDpeus

Galatians 5 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMejbeju1g4BLexRc

Bus to NYC https://bit.tube/play?hash=QmdDXYtysG89dqXuLx7XizFyTrLwZkBbWfJZfiZoyigDBd&channel=160276

7-22-18 Sunday sermon https://dai.ly/x6yeybx

Furman and Bill https://ln.sync.com/dl/5022ea000/sicjnmri-mvzq6gyp-rga7k23w-hefectmp

Sunday sermon https://ccoutreach87.com/2018/12/09/sunday-sermon-35/

 2nd Samuel 23 https://ccoutreach87.com/2018/12/13/2nd-samuel-23/

   MY SITES [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- Thanks]

Web sites-

www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com  [Main site]

https://ccoutreach87.com/

https://medium.com/@johnchiarello

https://johnchiarello.webs.com/  

http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ [France]

https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/

http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200

http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/

https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/

http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite

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http://ccoutreach87.strikingly.com/

https://ccoutreach87.webs.com/

 Social Media sites-

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks  

https://vk.com/id533663718  [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.]

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https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87

https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public [Japan]

https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/

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[williamsjoan]

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Sakurai Discusses How the Game’s Development Went, New Characters, Esports

In late December, Famitsu published on its online site a very lengthy interview with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Director Masahiro Sakurai. In it, Sakurai went back over the game’s development, detailing when it exactly started and how much knowledge of the Switch’s hardware they had at the time. He also shared comments on many topics, from how did they choose the new characters, to his stance towards Esports and how did that affect the game. Here’s a summary with the most interesting bits and quotes.

The interview started by going back to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s full reveal during E3 2018. Sakurai, being at the E3 venue, would hear the cheers of the audience watching the Nintendo Direct, along with the cheers of Nintendo staff themselves. Barely any knew about the details of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate part of the direct, to avoid “Everyone is here!” being leaked at all costs.

Now that the game is completed and out, Sakurai was asked about its development in detail, and what kind of troubles they encountered compared to past games, seeing Ultimate is the biggest Super Smash Bros game yet. Surprisingly, the team didn’t have that much of a rough time:

Actually, making Super Smash Bros Ultimate wasn’t particularly harder than making the previous Super Smash Bros games. We always put in our all in our games, so this time didn’t feel any different. We gave everything we’ve got like usual.

Development on the game started around February 2016, right after they had finished the DLCs adding Corrin and Bayonetta in Super Smash Bros for 3DS and Wii U. In a sense, Sakurai started making Ultimate in his head while working on these DLCs. He stressed out that this isn’t some kind of amazing achievement: the development team was much smaller when working on the DLCs, going from over a hundred people to only a dozen. As such, supervising this small team while working on Ultimate wasn’t difficult.

Sakurai, at the time, knew about the Switch’s specifications and how the console was supposed to turn out. But knowing these hardware details didn’t really influence them much. At first, they were a bit worried about the portable mode’s capabilities, but these doubts were quickly swept away:

The early documents for Nintendo Switch said the console will be able to switch between being a portable console and a stationary home console. We saw very early in development how amazing portable mode looks, so we realized there would be no problem even if multiple persons played on portable mode together. We’re really thankful about that, because if the Switch’s portable mode had too different specifications from docked mode, we would have needed to make two sets for some of the game’s assets. For example, a specific interface for docked mode, and one for portable mode.

In this regard, Sakurai detailed how, when working on Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS, they had to create many things twice, one for each version, which tired them out. For the 3DS version, they had to do a lot of adjustments like reducing the number of polygons or changing some of the colors used. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also includes features they wanted to put in Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS, but couldn’t because of the game being on two different consoles. One of those features is how when characters are ejected in Ultimate, they start by flying at very high speed, but then suddenly decelerate. This also makes it so the moment where you can’t control your character is a bit shorter, and Sakurai thinks it’s better this way. The 3DS’s screen being too small, they couldn’t do that there or players would have trouble seeing their characters. Sakurai said this is also why the ejection clouds are more emphasized in Ultimate, and why they added the radar:

We put in the radar for this reason, but also to rat out players who like hiding at the edges of stages (laughs).

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is also faster-paced than the previous game:

On 3DS, the screen was smaller and so we made the game a bit slower on purpose. For Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, we increased the tempo a bit to make things more fun. Increased speed makes it a bit harder to properly adjust online battles, like adjusting lag, but we prioritized this to make local multiplayer more enjoyable.

Sakurai also added how back when making Super Smash Brow. Brawl for Wii, they took into account the fact that many Wii players were playing videos games for the first time. As such, they thought the game shouldn’t feel like it’s too fast and confusing to keep up with, hence why it feels slower than other Super Smash Bros. games. But in the end, it’s not like they thought “we need to make Ultimate faster”, rather, it became faster for various reasons: considering what would be best to make the game as fun as possible, and considering the Switch’s current user base, as they did with the Wii.

After that, the interview switched towards Spirits and how they decided which characters to include. Basically, Sakurai asked the team in charge of Spirits Mode to make proposals on who to add and to limit themselves to a certain amount of characters for each series. Long-running series with many characters had a higher limit. They tried to put in as many different characters as possible to try and please even those who like relatively unknown or unpopular characters. Some Spirits were also added because one of the playable characters has a connection with them or their series.

For spirits with an evolved form, they prioritized characters who have transformations, like boss characters, and those who appear in multiple games but with different appearances. These were the easiest characters to pick as they’re usually the most iconic ones, appearing multiple times in their series.

Next, Sakurai spoke about the new characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In particular, he explained why he initially told everyone to not expect many new characters, even though they ended up adding a lot:

Because when you already have over 60 characters, adding a few doesn’t feel like the total count changed much. If you don’t count echoes characters, we didn’t add that many. And If I didn’t say that back then, everyone’s expectations would have been way too high to satisfy.

Sakurai then detailed each new character and how they made them.

Inklings are the one they had the most trouble with. Mostly because including them meant they had to make it so any stage and any character can get ink on them. They also had to think on what kind of effect the ink would have, and whether to include the ink reserve mechanic or not. In the end they tried to make Inklings into support type characters that are strong in team battles.

Ridley was made to be as scary and menacing as possible, as he’s supposed to be a more serious villain than other Nintendo villains like Bowser and King K. Rool. That’s also why they made his introduction trailer so serious.

Simon and Richter were pretty easy to make. They focused on making them into long-range fighters, thanks to their whips and the items they throw. They can hit opponents from very far away, but as a handicap, the whip is hard to master and you need a lot of practice to aim correctly. As for why they added Castlevania characters, they were quite popular during the votes they did for the previous game, and they wanted to add characters from a series which is popular worldwide, through many generations. They didn’t have many choices left when it comes to IPs which fit these criteria. Problem is, all Castlevania games have different protagonists, and Alucard was the most popular character. They put in Simon and Richter to please as many people as possible, and since most would be happy as long as a Belmont shows up.

King K. Rool was designed as a heavyweight fighter based on counters who can also fly. That seemed a bit too simple so they added his stomach armor mechanic too.

As for Isabelle, they made her by customizing Animal Crossing’s Villager, changing a lot of their characteristics. So she’s not an Echo Character. Her shape is totally different as well. They also tried to make her as cute as possible. Everything from her idle animation to her walking animation is cute.

Incineroar was chosen because while there’s already a lot of characters who use wrestler-like moves, there was no actual wrestler character in the game. Incineroar’s also the only character they weren’t planning to add from the start. They did plan to add one pokemon from Pokémon Sun and Moon, so they kept one slot open, but didn’t decide on which pokemon until later.

As for Piranha Plant, Sakurai knows some people are upset about it, asking why they’re adding someone who’s not even a protagonist, but that’s exactly why they decided to do it. They want to get non-protagonists in the spotlight as well. The way it plays is very unique too and requires players to aim very carefully.

The interview then switched toward Adventure Mode: World of Light.

Sakurai and the development team got the initial idea behind World of Light story after remembering what they did near the end of Super Smash Bros Brawl’s Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary. Specifically, the part when all the characters are lost. Instead of doing that in the end, they decided to start with all characters disappearing, and make the story go from there. In the introduction movie, who gets a line and what do they say, was carefully decided as well. Marth’s the one with the most experience when it comes to strategies and commanding an army, hence why he ‘s the one saying “if each one of us takes out 10 of them, it’ll be fine”. Meanwhile, Zelda’s line indicates they’ve been fighting a lot already before this final standoff, and how they can’t back off anymore.

The interviewer specifically asked about Captain Falcon getting hit just before getting on his machine, and how funny that was, to which Sakurai answered:

If you think about it, we don’t know if F-Zero machines actually work outside of F-Zero circuits. The machines have the “G Diffuser System” installed on them, and can run thanks to the anti-gravity-like particles spread from the circuits’ guard rails. So even if he did got into his vehicle, maybe it wouldn’t have worked. But he probably did come to the battlefiled riding it, and in Super Smash Bros. Brawl there’s a part where you see it flying otuside of a circuit, so we don’t really know (laughs).

Lastly, the interview shifted towards Super Smash Bros Ultimate‘s online mode and the game’s position in Esports.

Sakurai believes that when it comes to online battles, games shouldn’t count each player’s win and loss counts. At most, only the number of wins should be recorded. The Smash Tag system present in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is an extension of that thinking, quickly showing you who you fought against and what kind of player they were. Sakurai said it’s also in order to avoid people getting depressed when seeing their high loss count and avoiding playing online because of it:

I didn’t want people to get depressed after doing ten online matches and only winning one. Needless to say, you can easily calculate yourself your loss count by checking the numbers of battles you did and your win count, but we wanted to hide the loss count as much as possible, to avoid players getting discouraged.

Sakurai also shared some words on Esports:

It’s an honor that the Super Smash Bros. series has its place in Esports, and I think what makes it unique is the fact that it’s a big Esport game whose Esport aspect isn’t its only appealing aspect. We tried to satisfy as much people as possible with Super Smash Bros Ultimate. You can customize matches to fit the preferences of people into Esports, but beginners can have fun as well. There’s no limit on how to play Super Smash Bros. and to reflect this we polished every aspect of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, instead of only focusing on the Esports aspect.

Sakurai also revealed that he barely participated in the balancing process of each character in Ultimate:

I did work on making the basis for the characters’s motions and attacks, but I barely did anything regarding things like each attack’s strength or their number of frames. That was handled by the monitoring team and the characters’s development team. Handling all of this myself for over 70 characters would be impossible (wry laugh).

Wrapping up the interview, the journalist from Famitsu asked Sakurai if the Super Smash Bros series can be considered his lifelong work, and an estimate on when the next game could come out :

I don’t know what the future holds, so I can’t say anything concrete on what will happen from now, but if Nintendo commissions me for another Super Smash Bros game, I’ll probably accept and consider the project my highest priority. But that doesn’t mean a new game will come out soon. I think it’s fine even if there isn’t another one in the next ten years (laughs). Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was made because the Switch was coming out, and we were asked to make the new Super Smash Bros it needed. Maybe the next game will be for the next hardware. Maybe I won’t be working on it. I don’t know. Plus, making the next game  will be a big challenge, as “Everyone is here!” was a miracle that probably won’t happen twice. I can’t thank enough all the people who let us use their characters.

Sakurai recently appeared in a video interview for the inclusion of Persona 5‘s Joker in the game.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is out now exclusively on Nintendo Switch. You can read our review, and grab a copy on Amazon if you haven’t yet.

The post Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Sakurai Discusses How the Game’s Development Went, New Characters, Esports by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.

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