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raging-violets · 9 months

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Meet Cute // KendallxRiley // Big Time Rush

A/N: So I realized that I’ve written Riley in two different ways the last few years; the angst driven one with her parents dead and the other lighthearted driven one when her parents are alive. But unless you pay attention to the things I write in different fandoms, you wouldn’t really see how they’re the same character but there are fundemental things about her personality that are different with and without the influence of her parents. So, I decided to write two quick scenes to show y’all!

The first version is where her parents are dead, the second is where they’re alive. This is set around Big Time Audition.

Tag List: @partiallypearl @witchofinterest @mystic-scripture @darknightfrombeyond @arrthurpendragon

Version 1

Kendall pushed open the door to the costume closet with light trepidation. Was there going to be more leather all over the place? Or was it going to be an explosion of red, white, and blue with tassels? Either way, he hoped Gustavo got the message that the boys weren’t going to be easily controlled. Then again, Griffin’s assistants—Obdul and Jessica—seemed to be as crazy as Griffin were and thought they were good ideas. (Though he figured, being around Griffin in any capacity of time was enough to drive anyone insane).

“Hello?” He called.

“You’re late!”

The voice came from behind a set of racks that sat in the middle of the floor. Kendall walked over and peered around it, finding a girl teenage girl his age sitting on the floor with a pencil in her mouth an da clipboard on her lap. She looked up at him, eyelashes fluttering behind the long black hair with red streaks that hung straight around her shoulders and back.

“Raleigh?” He asked.

She pulled the pencil from her mouth and said flatly, “It’s Riley. And you’re late.”

“Sorry.” He held out his hand to help her up, brought it back to his side when she stood on her own. “I just…”

“I would be too if I had to wear what you lot did when Griffin was in here,” she continued as if he hadn’t spoken. Once on her feet, she set her clipboard aside and shook his hand. She tilted her head, turning his hand aside. “You play guitar?”

It took a second for him to recognize the change in subject. “Yeah, how could you tell?”

“Callouses,” she replied plainly. “It’s all over your hands, mate.” She slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, shifted her weight as she cocked her hip. Looked him up and down, the hint of a smirk coming to her face. “Plus, I reckon you don’t seem the type to be in a boy band.”

“Is that a good or a bad thing?”

“I’m trying to figure that out,” she replied honestly. “Also, you’re pretty brave for wanting to work with Gustavo Rocque. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he can be a little…”

“Unhinged?”

“I was going to say ‘completely mental’ but that works, yeah?”

“That…probably does work better. It’s really accurate.” Kendall nodded. “And, how many times do you get the chance to try to make music with some of your best friends?” Her eyebrows rose. “Opportunities like this come once in a lifetime,” he said, answering her question. “How could I pass it up?”

“Don’t you have a background in hockey?” Riley folded her arms, studying him. He looked at her curiously. “You have to do your research on anyone you’re going to work with,” she said as explanation. “Hockey, huh?”

“Hockey’s my life,” Kendall said. “I grew up playing it. I can’t imagine not being on the ice…it’s like home to me.” He suddenly felt a pang in his chest, of anxiety. Had he made the right decision? To give everything up and go all the way to California to try and see if they could be a music group? A success? But he also couldn’t sit back and have his best friend be berated and told that he had ‘no talent’ when James had all the talent in the world and then some. “But there’s always time for it. There’s always an off-season.”

“Sounds like me and surfing,” Riley said after a second with a light nod. “I never planned on being in a band, I just want to be in the water.”

“Right!” Kendall’s anxiety washed away with her words. Finally, someone who understood. “The feeling of the stick in your hands, the reverberation of the slapshot you just took, the rush of getting that slapshot into the top corner of the net as it slides by the goalie? Facing off against the line of defenders while you try to make a breakaway for the last goal of the game. Washing out all blood—and sometimes mucus—stains from your jersey but not washing out the memories.”

“Whatever you say, Hockey-Head,” Riley quipped after a second of silence. “You’re lucky you’re cute or else I’m sure that would turn off a lot of people, yeah?” She looked at him suspiciously. “You do have all your teeth, right?”

“Yes, I have all my teeth,” Kendall said with a roll of his eyes. He pursed his lips and made a show of tapping his two front teeth with his fingertips. Then started to smile and play a beat with the tapping from his fingertips. “Hey, maybe Griffin would be happy with something like that?”

Riley sighed, placing a hand on her hip. The other rested on the arm of the couch, supporting her weight. “Something tells me you’re going to be very annoying,” Despite her words, she had a small smile on her face.

Kendall smiled back.

Version 2

Kendall hesitantly stepped into the costume closet. He pressed his hand against the door and pressed it open, expecting to see even more red, white, and blue apparel all over the place. Either that or the massive amounts of leather he and his friends had been forced to squeeze into. His legs still had the rash that even his mom’s best lotions couldn’t cure.

The idea of being dressed in any of those outfits again was enough to have Kendall turn tail and run. But James would never forgive him, especially not after Griffin decided to take a chance on them and sign them after three days of hard work. Logan would’ve ranted at him the statistics of the time, blood, sweat, and tears they would have wasted. And Carlos…he wouldn’t have cared much; everything was an adventure to him.

But he’d never backed away from a challenge and he wanted to prove Gustavo and Griffin wrong. Still, he found himself trembling as he entered the costume closet for the fifth time in the last few days. He found a teenage girl about his age scribbling on a clipboard.

“Raleigh?” he asked, using the name Gustavo had given them.

She lifted her head, brushing her black hair from her blue eyes. A strand of dyed red fell back into her face, and she tucked it behind her ears along with her low pigtails. “Actually, it’s Riley.”

“Oh.” Kendall blinked, suddenly at a loss for words. Partially from embarrassment at having gotten her name wrong—though he should’ve known that Gustavo wouldn’t have gotten anyone’s names right considering he and his friends had almost immediately been reduced to ‘dogs’—and partially because he was stunned from her smile. Was that an accent? “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not,” she replied with ease.

Kendall felt his cheeks burn as he smiled. “I’m Kendall.”

“I know who you are.” She stuck out her hand with a warm smile. He took it, eyebrows widening when he felt the firmness of her handshake. Then they lowered in confusion when she turned his hand over and ran her fingers from his palm to his fingertips. She lifted her head, blue eyes widening in excitement. “You play the guitar?”

“Yeah.” He brought his hand back, momentarily surprised. “How could you tell?”

“A bloke like you doesn’t seem like they’d be in a boyband, yeah?” She lazily waved her hand, moving back through the costume closet to grab a rack of clothes he assumed were for him. Judging by the flannels and skate shoes he saw sitting on it. “Doesn’t really seem like your thing.”

Kendall watched her as she moved, silently wondering if that was a good or a bad thing. Being in a boyband wasn’t his thing, they were going to be a singing group. There was a difference. Still, he found himself smiling at her comment.

Noticing the silence, Riley chuckled quietly and said, “The callouses on your fingers are a dead giveaway, mate.” She rested her arms on the top of the rack and gently rocked back and forth. “So, what made you agree to work with Gustavo? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he can be a little…”

“Unhinged?”

“I was going to say ‘crazy’ but…” she shrugged. “Your word is correct.”

Kendall laughed. “Opportunities like this come once in a lifetime,” he said, answering her question. “How could I pass it up?”

“Easily, considering you were slated to become a big hockey star.” She smiled gently when his eyes narrowed. They’d only just met; how could she have possibly known that? “One thing to learn about the industry, everyone is in everyone’s business and it’s only a matter of time until it reaches the public. Whatever you don’t want people to know…I hope you’ve got it under wraps.” She brushed her hair back from her face. “For me it’s only a matter of seconds until something I try to hide gets to my managers. Then again, my mum and dad are my managers.” She paused. “Hockey, huh?”

“Hockey is my dream,” Kendall admitted. He suddenly felt a pang in his chest, of anxiety. Had he made the right decision? To give everything up and go all the way to California to try and see if they could be a music group? A success? But he also couldn’t sit back and have his best friend be berated and told that he had ‘no talent’ when James had all the talent in the world and then some. “I want to play center for the Wild.” He shrugged. “Or the Maple Leafs.”

“Dreaming big.”

“Yeah. But I couldn’t take this opportunity away from James. He’s my best bud, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. There’s always time for hockey, there’s always an off-season.”

“Whatever you say, Hockey-Head,” Riley quipped. She pushed herself away from the rack of clothes and smiled demurely. “I think Gustavo and Griffin may regret hiring with you lot. But, you plan on sticking around, yeah?”

“As far as this takes us.”

She folded her arms. “Ace!” Her eyes dipped over him and for a moment, he felt like he was being X-Rayed. Her smirk-smile widened. “I think this’ll be fun.”

Kendall found himself smiling back.

#big time rush #big time rush oc #btr #kendall knight #oc: riley jackson #kiley #otp: kiley #otp: knight light #otp: hockey head and surfer babe #by: riley #drabble

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el-michoacano · 1 year

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fallen on deaf ears

This turned out way longer than I expected, but I'm rather proud of how it turned out! This was fun! I might have to write other scenes this way! It was good practice, if nothing else! Lol

Tagging @lady-telford, @sword-day, @slainmanca, and @fuzzthebuzz, who expressed interest in the idea 🖤

READ ON AO3

Wait, Nacho told himself. Just wait. Oh, but the waiting was killing him as much as it was killing Hector.

Nacho had hoped the old man would keel over before the meeting with Fring and chatting with Don Juan. He'd hoped it would happen before Hector made it to the upholstery shop. He'd hoped it would happen before Hector had ever been introduced to Manuel.

God hadn't heard him, or simply didn't care, and just as Nacho was ready to pull the trigger, in came Arturo and Carlos, their headlights bathing the parking lot in a brief golden glow.

He would have done it, Nacho told himself as he tucked his gun away. He would have tailed Hector inside and blown him away if they hadn't shown up. He would have given the old man exactly what he deserved. He had to believe that.

"Good," Arturo said as he approached, tossing aside the cigarette he had been smoking on the way over. Carlos followed silently behind him, his gaze dark and shifty. "You got my message."

Nacho nodded halfheartedly. "Yeah," he said, and hoped the frustration didn't show in his voice. He had half a mind to mow them both down, too, if it meant getting to Hector, but was it worth the risk?

Arturo gave him a long look, like he was appraising him, before he asked, "You strapped?"

Nacho nodded again, grateful for the darkness. His attention shifted to the open doorway of the warehouse when Hector came striding out.

He was a dead man walking, and yet his moved like he still owned the world. He barely even hand a hand in the cartel anymore, if Bolsa's news of the transport route was any indication. Maybe he'd just drop dead now and they could all go home. But of course it wasn't that easy. He said, "They're coming."

Nacho bit down on a sigh as he, Arturo, and Carlos fell into position beside the Don. Nacho hated how natural it felt to be here, to be standing in the dark beside Hector Salamanca, feet spread and hands clasped as they waited for Bolsa to arrive.

It didn't take long, the lot lighting up again as he parked, making deer in the headlights of the four of them. When he climbed out of the driver's seat, he wasn't alone.

The tension in the air felt like heat, felt like the oppressive humidity that rolled in with a storm, and Nacho did his best not to breathe it in, lest it corrupt him and turn the steel inside him to rust.

From the passenger's seat came Gustavo Fring, and suddenly the tension wasn't heat. It was electricity, jumping from person to person, raising hackles as it went. It lingered heaviest on Hector, dancing around his shoulders like a king's mantle.

Fring and Bolsa approached in tandem, and Bolsa, smiling, said, "Don Hector." If looks could kill, Hector's glare would have struck him dead. Instead, unflappable, Bolsa said, "Don Eladio wanted me to speak with you face to face so there's no misunderstanding. From now on, there will be only one route over the border for our product. The chicken trucks. And that is final."Nacho glanced from him to Hector, unsurprised to see the naked fury on the old man's face. "But you must understand this is for efficiency only. There's no disrespect to you or your family."

Though the news was delivered gently, Hector seemed to take no comfort from it. He hardly seemed to have heard Bolsa at all. Instead of a reply, he pointed a shaking finger at Fring and hissed, "What's he doing here?"

Fring was entirely unmoved.

"The boss wants you to settle this," Bolsa said, as if it were really that simple.

Hector said, "I settle it right now, okay?"

Nacho's hands, clasped respectfully before him, clenched.

Bolsa sensed trouble, too, and he sighed. "You have to work together," he said, speaking with his hands, too. "It's what the boss wants."

"The boss," Hector snarled, "can suck me."

Though Nacho felt his breath catch in his throat, Bolsa replied, only slightly rattled, "I'd watch what I say if I were you."

"Who you think you are?" Hector spat back. "You should be kissing my ass right now!"

Carlos and Arturo exchanged a look, and Nacho bit down on the inside of his cheek, but they all kept silent. Maybe, Nacho thought, this was it. His heart sped up a bit.

"Me and my family," Hector was saying, "we built this whole business."

"We all did," Bolsa replied, "together."

Nacho could barely look at him; His gaze was glued to Hector.

"No, no!" Hector shouted. His voice was trembling. Don't hope, Nacho told himself. It'll happen when it happens. Just wait. "Salamanca did! Salamanca money! Salamanca blood!"

Bolsa seemed to catch on then, saying softly, "You have to calm down."

"That hacienda!" Hector continued, gesticulating wildly, "I paid for it! And you treat us like dogs!"

"Hector," Bolsa said, steel coming into his voice again, "this isn't personal."

"It is!" Hector screamed, shaking with rage, and Nacho shared a quick look with Arturo. This was getting out of hand, the look said. "It is personal!" The last word was more a choking sound than a word, and Hector staggered forward. No one stepped up to help him. Fring looked entirely unsurprised. Bolsa looked surprised enough for both of them, yet he made no move to reach for his fellow Don. Hector struggled to grab the pill bottle from his jacket, struggled harder to get it open, and his hands were shaking when he tipped a few pills into his mouth.

Nacho watched, unmoving, trying to keep his face a schooled mask of concern when the bottle slipped from Hector's grip, pills spilling onto the ground at Nacho's feet.

And then Hector was slipping, too, first to his knees, then flat on his face in the dirt. That, Nacho couldn't help but think, was where he belonged.

At last, though, the spell was broken, and it was Fring who stepped forward, dropping to his knees beside the old Don and rolling him onto his back. He pointed a finger at Arturo and Carlos, saying, just a hint of anxiety creeping into his voice, "Call 911. Stash the guns. You should not be here when they arrive."

Arturo was the one to place the call, and Carlos followed him as they strode away back to their cars.

Was Hector breathing? Nacho couldn't tell. He hoped he wasn't, but the chest compressions Fring was doing was likely to change that. What could he do but watch? Nacho bit down on his anger, kneeling to collect the bottle and scattered pills, never taking his eyes off Fring.

Don't fuck this up, Nacho prayed, but no one was listening. God didn't listen, and neither did Hector Salamanca. The old man was still breathing.

#i really need to give gus a fic of his own but i have no idea what to write for him #nacho varga #hector salamanca #gus fring #better call saul #bcs #arturo colon #my bcs

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adarlingwrites · 3 years

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Absolution

Summary:

noun: formal release from guilt, obligation, or punishment

The Capital Wasteland lauded the Lone Wanderer as a hero, a Messiah, a savior who’s willing to give her life for the Good Fight. Beyond the legends, the propaganda, and the mythification that surrounded her legacy, there is only one person who knew her bare soul. She gave him his absolution, and now he will fight for hers.

XXII

January 5, 2278.

Percy tosses aside her wrench and huffs, putting her hands on her waist and admiring her work. “Looks like you’re finally ready,” she says to the motorbike that she has been tinkering with for weeks.

“Now let’s see if you work.”

My partner hums as she leads the cruiser through Megaton’s gate, ignoring gawkers and onlookers. We wear our helmets, which Percy picked up from Moira this afternoon.

She sits on the motorbike seat, exclaims a triumphant “Yes!” when the engine roars to life… and screams when the damn thing went careening around in circles.

I caught her before she could crash, and the bike fell to its side as she got off of it, legs shaking.

“Dammit,” she curses, clinging on to me, breathing hard. “Maybe I’m not cut out for this.”

“If it’s too dangerous to use, we can still travel on foot, but it may delay our plans,” I tell her, steadying her to her feet.

“Delaying is not an option we have the luxury to choose now,” Percy sighs, pulling the bike back into position.

“Then I suggest that you navigate with your PipBoy. I’ll drive.”

My partner looks at me curiously. “You know how to ride a bike?”

“Yes. I am proficient in driving pre-war vehicles.”

Percy clears her throat. “Was that a part of your training?”

I run my ruined hands through the driver’s seat’s worn leather, and get on.

“Yes.”

I start the engine, and Percy gets on the passenger seat behind me.

“Now, hold on tight.”

She did as I said, wrapping her arms around my waist, and letting out a surprised scream when we zipped away from the gate.

As we sprinted past jet-addled raiders and freaked-out mole rats, Percy was whooping and laughing, her body warm against by back despite the winter air blowing.

“Holy shit! This is fun!” Percy yells, and I feel her heart pounding through her chest.

I’m glad she’s behind me, or she would’ve seen the smile I had when she held me tighter and leaned on me.

I could get used to this.

As we rode our way to our destination, my mind wandered back to the conversation we had with Doc Church earlier today.

Percy got inside the clinic first, and I followed suit, looming over Church, who was sitting on his desk, looking over a medical clipboard.

“Unless you’re dying I- Oh. It’s you.”

“Doc Church. Do you have any patients with you today?”

“None. I’m not sure how that is any of your concern, though.”

“Charon, guard the door,” Percy instructed me, and Church was about to get up when Percy pressed on his shoulder, forcing him to sit. I lean against the metal and watch the two intently.

“We know about Paradise Falls.”

All the color from the doctor’s face drains.

“You’re training to be a doctor too, am I right? The oath requires me to offer my services to whoever is in need. Slavers included. Even so, I’ve put that all behind me when I opened this clinic in Megaton. Please, don’t hurt me,” Church blurts out, defensive.

“I understand your intention to follow the oath. Don’t worry, we’re not planning to hurt you. In fact, we need your help.”

“Aside from offering my services as a doctor, I have nothing else to offer. I’m sorry.”

My partner turns to me, and nods.

I come forward, cracking my knuckles in a show of intimidation. The old man shrank in his seat even further.

“I know you remember me,” I tell him, and he gulps. “And I know you remember the people you worked for.”

“We need information about Paradise Falls. Names, a layout of the location, and anything that could help us take down the slaver operations there,” Percy continues.

Church’s eyes widen, and he gives us an incredulous look. “Even if I give you the information you need, you can’t take down Paradise Falls, kid. Those slavers have contacts everywhere. You’ll have a target on your back for the rest of your lives.”

Percy shakes her head. She drags a chair and sits in front of the doctor.

“I’ve gotten used to looking over my shoulder and sleeping with one eye open, doc. That doesn’t concern me anymore. What concerns me is there are innocent kids who were snatched from their home by bastards who think that people are a commodity to be sold. I know you think that’s fucked. Why else would you pack up and leave? This is your chance to make things right.”

“Make things right? Kid...”

I felt the urge to speak up. I look at Percy, asking for silent permission, and she seems to understand, taking a step back and allowing me to take the helm.

“Percy is right. Why else would you leave that life behind and start a clinic here, where people needed your help the most? You feel guilty,” I tell him.

He was as still as a stone.

“You still think about the horrible things you saw in Paradise. You regret being instrumental in keeping those slavers healthy and alive as they hunted down more people to sell as slaves. This is an opportunity to let go of that guilt. You don’t get that chance every day. Don’t waste it.”

“What, do you have psych training now too?” he asks me, mockingly, disbelievingly.

“No,” I tell him. “It’s an observation, from a ghoul who’s in the same boat.”

Tense silence fills the room. Finally, Church relents, taking a pencil from his desk drawer.

“I’ll look for a piece of paper.”

I let out a breath that I was holding. Percy sighs in relief too.

“Thank you,” she says to the doctor.

The old man sketches the layout of Paradise Falls on a yellowed piece of paper, and tells us all he knows about Paradise Falls before his departure.

As he went on, my memories of the place started becoming clearer, but I have no desire to dwell on them.

When we got back to the house, Percy looped her arm around mine. Percy looks at me with those eyes again, filled with trust, devotion, and now… admiration.

“I’m proud of you, big guy.”

I stroked her hair and went on with our preparations.

My mind snapped back to the present as we reached Tenpenny Tower, and I parked the bike as Percy rings the intercom. Taking off my helmet, I look up at the tower, which sticks out like a sore thumb in the Wasteland. The people who lived inside were obsessed with the finer days from before the war. Worse, Tenpenny was a landgrabber, their chief of security, Gustavo, was a gung-ho bigoted bastard, and their doctor made assumptions about ghouls without even looking at one up close.

They reminded me of the people I used to serve, the ones responsible for my indoctrination.

Percy hated them so much.

However, we need all the ammunition we can find, and Gustavo trades them.

“Huh, no one’s answering,” Percy mumbles. She touches the gate lightly, and gasps when it opens on its own.

“Did you think something happened?” she asks me, and I retrieve my shotgun, loading it with bullets.

“I thought you hated those people.”

“Yeah, but, after helping the Warrington station ghouls get in I thought I’d give them a chance to change their mind about ghouls…”

Percy trails off as her eyes scan the courtyard. There were no more human residents present, only the ghouls she helped get in the tower.

“Don’t tell me...”

Gasping, Percy pushes the gate and rushes inside, pushing the heavy double doors open. She runs up to a ghoulette, the one called Bessie Lynn.

“Bessie, where’s the rest of the residents?”

The ghoulette squirms in place, nervous. “Oh, I don’t know where they are. But everything is fine! Roy said not to worry about the other residents.”

I could tell she was lying, and Percy could too, so she moves on, running past the timid woman. Michael Masters, another one of the Warrington ghouls, sits in the lobby.

“Michael!” Percy exclaims. “Where are all the humans?”

The ghoul laughs. “Roy took out the trash. You better steer clear of the basement storage room. I’m glad I lost my sense of smell.”

“He did fucking what?”

Percy brushes past Masters, footsteps heavy as she stomps her way to the basement. As she opened the door, her hands flew to her nose at the stench of rotting bodies.

Most of the corpses were unrecognizable. They were brutalized. The only one I could recognize was the old man’s. Herbert Dashwood. That one was the only human resident who didn’t insult me when we first visited this place.

His face was bloated and decaying. I looked away.

Percy retches, eyes wet and shiny with tears, and I grab her, pulling her out of the room and slamming the door shut behind us.

She was shaking. I pressed her against my chest as she trembled and sobbed.

Then, I heard a mocking laugh. I looked up, and the leader of the Warrington ghouls was strolling towards us. Roy Phillips.

“Hey kid. Thanks again for helping us get in.”

Wiping her tears away, Percy faces him. She wore that expression she had when she talked to Ahzrukhal, when she confronted Wally Mack, and when those Talon mercs ambushed us.

That look on this angel’s face is one of the few things in this world that frightens me.

“Nice pile of bodies in the storage room, Roy,” Percy spits, shoulders tense. “You’re proud of yourself, aren’t you?”

“Assholes had it coming,” Phillips spat back. “But I don’t answer to you, or any other smoothskin. In fact, you’d best piss off before you join them.”

Muscle memory kicking in, I shield Percy with my body at the bastard’s threat. He looks at me, disgusted.

“What the hell are you even doing, defending this smoothskin? You should be with your fellow ghouls.”

“Charon, this is hopeless. Let’s get out of here,” Percy tells me, touching my arm.

“You get out of here,” Phillips interrupts. “I’m not done talking to him yet.”

The asshole turns to me, looking at me from head to toe.

“Not man enough to ditch this little girl and stick with us? How much is she paying you for you to betray your own kind?”

Phillips gave me a hard shove when I didn’t give him an answer.

“Huh. ‘Not man enough?’ Wow, sounds like someone is projecting his insecurities about his masculinity,” Percy interrupts, hand flying to the spot on my chest where the other ghoul shoved me. Phillips’ eyes flick to my partner’s hand, and he gives us a mocking smirk.

“Oh, I get it now. This kid gives you a taste of smoothskin pussy and now you’d tail her ass around like that stupid dog of hers? You’re her fucking gigolo?”

“God, you’re disgusting. How could someone as nice as Bessie stay with someone as horrible as you?”

“Keep your mouth shut, smoothskin bitch.”

Percy grabs him by the collar, knocks him off-balance with her footwork, and slams him against the wall, like she did with Wally Mack.

“No! You listen, you piece of shit! I helped you get into this fucking tower in hopes of a non-violent solution to everyone’s problems. I guess that was a fucking mistake, huh? I’m not going to shed tears for Gustavo and the other bigots who wanted you dead. But Dashwood? Does it make you feel like a bigger man, killing a senile retiree? You killed the only person in the tower who viewed you as people, too.”

“That asshole was gloating about having a ghoul manservant. I’d fucking do it again. Of course you’d defend him. You have one too, you two-faced bitch.”

Percy falters, but then slams Phillips against the wall again, his head hitting it with a dull thud.

“Charon is not my manservant. He is my friend. You don’t know a single fucking thing about us. Forget it. You can rot in this tower for all I care.” She lets him go. Then, she turns to me.

“Charon, let’s get-”

As Percy turns around, Phillips lunges for her neck, but I move her out of the way and grab the other ghoul’s arm, twisting it and shoving him to the ground.

“Traitor,” Phillips spits at me. “Goddamn smoothskin titsucker! You’ll pay for that!”

“Percy is my contract holder,” I start, towering over him. “And my friend. I don’t care what she is. I am loyal to her.”

“Is that it? That’s all you ever want to be? You’re fucking hopeless, kid. She’ll use you and throw you away once she’s done with you.”

The mere suggestion of Percy abandoning me coming from his mouth made me want to shut him up.

“Big guy, don’t listen to him. C’mon, let’s just go.”

“Once she finds a human who can protect and fuck her better, you best bet she’ll put you down like the dog you are.”

He should shut up.

Shut up. Shut the hell up!

I’ll fucking shut him up!

“Charon, enough! Stop! I order you to stop!”

Small hands were pulling me away, and Percy’s orders went in my ears as sharp barks.

Conditioning kicking in, I freeze. I look down, and my hands are bloody.

I smeared Roy Phillips to the ground.

Fuck.

Around us the other ghouls, his followers, were too shocked to even fire their weapons. Lynn runs over, looks at me, then her boyfriend’s brains on the ground, and lets out a frightened wail.

Percy grabs my arm and pulls me towards the entrance. “Charon, we need to get out of here!”

Behind us, they were firing their guns like crazy. One of the bullets grazed my thigh, but I kept going, the pain numbed by holding Percy’s hand.

We rode our way out of there.

It’s getting dark and unsafe to drive.

Making camp on the side of the road, Percy treats the bullet graze on my thigh in silence. Then, she stares into the fire, eyes glazed over.

“Charon, what have I done?”

I scoot closer to her, and she begins to cry.

“You couldn’t have predicted that Phillips would turn against his word.”

“No. I trusted him and now people died because of me.”

Doing my best to soothe her, I stroke her hair. “Can I make a suggestion?”

She nods.

“You shouldn’t blame yourself for things you have no control over, angel.”

Percy sniffles, and looks up to me.

“You know, I hate it when people call me that. I’m just a kid who’s also imperfect and makes mistakes… not some Wasteland Avenger, and definitely not an Angel.”

“I can stop, if that’s what you wish of me, Percy.”

“If it’s you? It’s fine. Consider it my thanks for allowing me to call you ‘big guy’.”

Pulling her closer, I chuckled.

Percy kisses my cheek, yawns, and settles in my arms.

I smile.

#lone wanderer #female lone wanderer #charon #fallout charon #charon fallout #fallout 3 charon #charon fallout 3 #oc: percy zhou #charon x lone wanderer #tenpenny tower #fanfic: absolution #series: through river acheron #fallout 3 #fallout #fallout fanfic #writers on tumblr

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gundamgamer · 4 years

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The Last of Us Part II: "There Was This Sequel... Wasn't As Good."

After seven years of what felt like forever, The Last of Us Part II has finally arrived on PS4. And…well, after the leaks were released in late April of this year, it has left the fanbase, and the Gaming Community polarizing, to say the least. Some cancelled their pre-orders, others gave the game the benefit of the doubt, and see for themselves, and then there were those who had no choice because they were getting paid to play and review the game…Only to have mixed feelings of the story. But what do I personally think of the game, overall? Well, after playing through it for a week, and processing the entirety of the main story, I don’t think it’s “the WORST thing ever”…But it’s definitely not masterpiece worthy. Let’s begin with the simple, NON-SPOILER aspects of the game:

GAMEPLAY:

At first, I thought there was a lot of changes made with the gameplay, since the first game. I wouldn’t say the Combat Mechanics, in TLOU1 were perfect by any means. But, for a 2013 game, they were pretty solid. Though there are times where things can get glitchy and finicky, the controls felt fine…In THIS entry, however, it just feels the same. There’s little to no changes with the controls and, at times, they felt stiff to the point where I would freeze in the middle of picking items up or performing a “T pose” while getting shot at by nearby enemies (Yes, this actually happened to me during my playthrough). Granted, I do like that they gave players the Aim Assist feature, seen in the Uncharted games, which can SOMETIMES make combat a little easier, but that’s not saying much when you’re trying to aim at enemies that have the advantage. And I do feel like the jumping action was pointless, since all you had to do was run off an edge and hope to God you made it to the other side of wherever you were jumping to. Since most of the actions require you to press the Triangle (△) button, this action felt needless. The weaponry has somewhat improved, since the last game, with some familiar returns (such as the Flamethrower and Shotgun) and newer weapons (Semi-Auto Rifle, Hunting Pistol and Crossbow), the variety, on how you choose to kill your enemies, is literally at your fingertips. Finally, there’s a neat guitar mechanic where you use the pad on your DUALSHOCK 4 controller to strum the chords and play tunes on a guitar. A small but neat feature. GAMEPLAY: 3.5

VISUALS & MUSIC:

There’s no doubt the Visuals have vastly improved since the first game; from the far horizons of Jackson to the deep overgrown forests in the Seattle area, the environments and locations look phenomenal…For the most part. Some areas, however, look so bland that they all look the same just for the purpose of Gameplay. Now, I know that sounds absurd, but hear me out: Using the same environment, for the purpose of Gameplay Mechanics is FINE. However, you need to use a different variety of location designs and settings. Otherwise, the gameplay will feel repetitive at best, and lazy at worst. But I digress. Overall, the Visuals are gorgeous to look at, especially in different season settings. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Last of Us game without the Music. Composer Gustavo Santaolalla returns to give the game life with his score, which (and I know it’s gonna sound crazy) isn’t as memorable as the first game, but is still remarkable to say the least. I also do like that they made him a character, in the game.

VISUALS: 4

MUSIC: 4

AND NOW, WE COME TO THE MEAT OF THIS REVIEW: THE SPOILERS! SO, IF YOU HAVE YET TO PLAY THE GAME, I SUGGEST YOU STOP READING, FROM HERE ON OUT…YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.

I’d also like to point out that NO, I have absolutely NO PROBLEM with LGBT+ representation in any form of media (Gaming, TV, Film etc), as there is a character, Lev, who’s LGBT+, and that is FINE. But…it’s the story that needs to get a beating in all of this. Let’s begin:

So, let’s talk about the Story, because I have a feeling that a good number of us will agree with me when I say…IT’S ABSOLUTE DOGSHIT!! …I really have no idea where to begin.

This game’s writing is all over the place, and it’s backwards at best and atrocious at worst. Everything from feeling sympathy for the main antagonist, Abby; because it’s revealed that Joel murdered her dad while he was about to operate on Ellie at the climax of the first game (as if we were suppose to know that), to PLAYING AS ABBY FOR A GOOD TEN PLUS HOURS, A CHARACTER THAT HAD SHITTY DEVELOPMENT TO THE POINT THAT NO ONE GIVES A FLYING FUCK ABOUT HER OR ANYONE ELSE AROUND HER! Not to mention that, between Ellie and Abby, you play through flashbacks in flashbacks. This is not creative writing, this is fan fiction bullshit, and it fails FAST. Seriously, I wanted Abby’s playthrough to be done because I did not give a shit about her and wanted to go back to playing as Ellie. Can’t also forget how little to no point these characters serve in the story, from Abby’s side or Ellie’s, they all range from forgettable to needless, in the end. Aside from Dina and her ex-boyfriend, Jesse (yea, he’s pretty forgettable too, but at least he gets shot later on, by Abby), these characters serve little to no purpose to the story besides Story Progression that COULD’VE been done better. But nothing, AND I DO MEAN NOTHING, can compare to the atrocity that is the ending of this game:

Ellie finds out where Abby is heading, months after the what happened in Seattle. I’ll also mention that, for a bit you’re playing as Abby again, however it’s…somewhat forgivable as it’s only for a short period of time. Afterwards, you’re playing as Ellie throughout the Climax of the game. You come across a group of Rattlers who hunt down and take prisoner to lost travelers, when you [as Ellie] learn where Abby is kept prisoner. Once you find her, and her friend Lev (who TL;DR, identifies as a boy, but was born a girl, and his mother wanted to marry a guy but he refused so her mother went nuts and he killed her…yay?), she follows them to some nearby boats. But Ellie isn’t done with Abby yet. As the two fight it out, Ellie finally has her in the water and makes her drown. But then, for a LITERAL SECOND, she has a flashback of Joel sitting on his porch with his guitar…and feels guilt…So much so, that she lets Abby, the one person who she; wanted revenge on, set out on a mission that killed multiple people, even someone who nobody really gave a shit about (Jesse), risks just about everything to get to this point…And for what? A moral epiphany…Oh god…Ellie then returns home for Dina and their child JJ, only to find that they’re not home. She learns that they both left Ellie, for Dina could not take the chance of losing her. And so, with her ring and pinky finger, on her left hand, bitten off by Abby, she tries to play guitar and has yet another flashback with Joel. This seems to be the last time they encounter each other before he gets axed. It, for the most part, is a nice little moment between the two, as they discuss some issues that need to be resolved. But mostly that Ellie wants to forgive Joel because he lied to her about what happened in the hospital. Afterwards, she sets out on what could be an unforeseeable future…

As you can see, the story isn’t necessarily the greatest…In fact, it doesn’t even come close to the first game’s story (which by the way, won Best Storytelling and GAME OF THE YEAR. Yea, let that sink in). The reason why the first game was so successful is because it focused on the development and bond between Joel and Ellie. How they grew as characters and learned to endure and survive in a chaotic, post-apocalyptic world setting. And we, the fans, WANTED to see that again in this game. But instead, got bamboozled by false advertising. Oh yea, that scene in the trailer where Joel pulls Ellie back and asks “You think I’d let you do this on your own?” NEVER. FUCKING. HAPPENS!! Instead, it’s Jesse in that position. Seriously? WHO THE FUCK CARES ABOUT THIS GUY?! NOBODY, THAT’S WHO!! We don’t care about any of these characters. We just wanna see the ones we cared about grow and learn more from each other. We actually wanted to see if anything changed from these two, over the years. The closest we get to ANY of that, in this game, are the flashbacks with them; from the museum setting (which makes some not-so-subtle nods to Jurassic Park and its sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park), to the only good scene in this ENTIRE game, in my opinion: Ellie heading out to the hospital, from the first game, finding out Joel lied but having Joel confess and tell the truth…That was such a powerful scene, and the acting from both Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson was superb. It shows the emotion between the two, from guilt to betrayal, how both Ellie and Joel lost so many people within their lives, only to go their separate ways after a crucial and impactful reveal…But none of that matters to Neil Druckmann and the crew at Naughty Dog. They just wanted to push ideas that nobody really cares about, especially for a game that’s set in a post-apocalyptic setting. We play games to escape reality and venture into worlds that could NEVER be real for the sake of entertainment and fantastic storytelling. These types of media are slowly fading away, and being replaced by writers who really don’t even give little to no shit about constructive writing, internal consistency, and above all else, THE FANS!! (even if they claim to do so…Looking at YOU, Rian Johnson)

In the midst of it all, the reason I didn’t cancel my pre-order was that I was one of the few that gave this game the benefit of the doubt. Despite only vaguely knowing what those leaks had and how they could’ve affected me, I still played it through beginning to end…Only to be disappointed by an entry I – and MILLIONS more -- had waited seven years for, only for Druckmann to say “You see this? THIS ISN’T WHAT YOU WANTED! THIS IS MY STORY!! AND IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT, YOU’RE A BIGOT!!”…However, to be fair, I’ll say this: don’t take my word for it. Maybe there CAN be something to your liking, in this game. Maybe there’s a little something for everyone…just don’t expect me to play through – scratch that – suffer through this mediocre attempt of a sequel ever again. There are ways this game COULD’VE been as fantastic – if not, MORE – than its predecessor. I might have to do that in another essay, sometime. Til then, this the last of my playthrough of this gigantic disappointment.

STORY: 1.5

CHARACTERS: 2.5

THE LAST OF US PART II: 3.5/10

#the last of us part II review #the last of us part II #the last of us part 2 #the last of us #naughty dog #playstation #PlayStation 4 #PS4 #gaming #gamer #gamers #gaming review #gamer review #game review #game reviews #gamer reviews #gaming reviews

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kaptainandy · 4 years

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My Complete In-depth TLOU 2 Thoughts:

Yeah I know, y’all have already read through countless reviews and thoughts, but I gotta get my thoughts out there. So, continue under the cut for some somewhat coherent, essay-ish style ramblings. There will be a TL;DR at the end because this is going to be long. (Spoilers ahead).

Okay so my overall perception of this game is that it’s average and I’m slightly disappointed. I’m going to start with the things I really liked and enjoyed before I get into what I didn’t like.

The visuals and gameplay were solid and enjoyable with small improvements upon the first game’s already fun and interesting, gameplay. The NPCs felt less like they were following a track in terms of their movements and felt more natural. The dialogue between enemies felt more varied than the first game, and the addition of giving everyone a name made me feel more immersed and the reaction from other characters to their fallen friends felt more believable. I feel that overall, the development of gameplay from the first to the second game felt “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” and I think it worked out because it’s one of the aspects I liked about the first game. The addition of craftable silencers, varied stealth takedowns, ability to go prone, tall grass to hide in, cars to hide under, larger infected (bloaters and shamblers) now being able to destroy weak walls, etc. were fun editions that helped the combat feel less repetitive. And lastly, the areas of combat that included both human enemies and infected, (and later WLF soldiers vs Seraphite soldiers) was really cool and felt more realistic for the world of the Last of Us. It was something I think the first game lacked and it was really interesting to choose who to take down first and let the enemies fight each other.

The level design was also great. I felt it gave the player a lot of options of how they wanted to traverse the area to takedown enemies and look for supplies. Everything felt huge and worth exploring. The player was rewarded appropriately for checking every nook and cranny, and the addition of going prone to fit under small spaces or breaking glass to get into locked buildings was a lot of fun. The first day in Seattle as Ellie was especially enjoyable as you got to explore the city and mark things on your map while engaging in dialogue with Dina. Every building held something new and acted as an opportunity for Dina and Ellie to banter.

The art direction was incredible and I don’t think I’ve seen a more stunning looking game. It felt like a lot of time and care went into the design of each item and every corner of every environment. My favorite environments were definitely the homesteads of the major characters/factions (Jackson, the stadium transformed into a village by the WLF, the Seraphite island, etc.) because it told the player more about what everyday life is like for these characters and how they’re similar and different. Also, the weather, time of day, lighting, and use of space (or lack there of) added tension and changed the tone in scenes and levels appropriately. I felt engaged in each moment. I think the best use of visuals and atmosphere to set tone and really immerse the player was in the lower level of the hospital during the Abby playthrough. It was claustrophobic, damp, dark, ominous, and it always felt like danger and despair were right around the corner. And the massive clicker cluster fight in the small hospital corner was one of my favorite parts in the entire game. What would have felt like a silly and dumb concept if encountered elsewhere, was actually legitimately terrifying and really cool due to the tone set from the scene. Seeing the effects of a ground zero site for infection 25 years later was really cool to see.

The music? A masterpiece. We have to stan Gustavo Santaolalla. What more can I say? He did a great job. If nothing else, give the soundtrack a listen.

The acting was incredible, as to be expected. The emotional moments were really sold and carried by the actors and the music together. Ashley Johnson, Troy Baker, Shannon Woodward, and Laura Bailey I expected to be phenomenal and they were, but I’d like to give a shoutout to the newcomers and more minor actors as well. I felt no one had a bad performance, or even an average one. Every performance felt genuine and made me more connected to the characters.

As for new characters, I felt Yara and Lev were the ones I felt the most for and were the best written. The inclusion of Lev being trans was really cool to see as a trans person, and I felt it was executed well within the story. Lev being exiled from the Seraphites for questioning their ways and attempting to transition while Yara fought to remain by his side and protect him, made them both interesting and likable characters. They had depth to their characters. Despite coming from an environment that seemed ruthless and unforgiving they both acted as voice of reasons and wanted to help others, which was their strength and their weakness in the end, adding to their complexity.

The story had it’s moments. I found myself being impacted more during light and happy moments more so than the traumatic and sad ones. I felt a lot of time was put into showing the love and care between Ellie and Dina, and I found myself smiling like a goober when they were being goofy or together or cuddling. This also ties into the LGBTQ representation, which I personally thought was well done as I briefly touched on with Lev. I understand and respect those who felt there was too much trauma forced upon the LGBTQ characters, and I agree with that when it comes to Ellie because the whole game was essentially torturing her. I’ll at least give Naughty Dog credit for avoiding the “bury your gays” trope when they very easily could’ve done that given the constant death in the world of the Last of Us. Treatment aside, as a gay trans man, the overall presentation of these characters I felt was realistic, respectful, and gave me hope for future LGBTQ representation in triple A titles. I know this is literally doing the bare minimum but we gotta start somewhere.

Now, as for things I disliked about the game, there was a lot and I felt the weight of things I disliked outweighed those that I like since the overall experience depended on them more heavily.

I’ll start with the small things that irked me, that could be somewhat excused and are more a personal preference. For starters, I felt the game was too long. After awhile it got repetitive and having nearly the entire game take place in one city (as opposed to the first game that took place across the country), the scenery got old pretty quickly. I feel like a lot of the traveling could have been cut. For example, instead of showing a cut scene where characters say “we have to get to x” and having to basically travel the entire way, it would’ve worked better had it cut to them being at or close to their destination, thus cutting back on repetitive combat. It didn’t feel super rewarding and it only sometimes resulted in something added to the story. In the end, I felt it should be exempt for a similar reason you don’t need to show a character’s entire traveling in a movie, it’s just unnecessary.

Another minor detail that bothered me was the shamblers. Not as a concept, because I thought they were really fun new enemies and added something to combat, but the fact that they felt thrown in with no explanation. Where did they come from? Are they only in the northeast of the US? What caused them? It’s mentioned briefly by one character (I forget who) that it could be a result of excessive rain, but it was just a guess and not further elaborated on.

The fact that events and characters of the first game that were influential to Ellie and Joel’s character seemed to be inappropriately forgotten about. I understand the game is meant to be enjoyed by people who haven’t played the first game as well as fans of the first one, but it could still be done in a way to cater to both audiences. It would also help people who didn’t play the first one learn and connect more to Ellie and Joel. Why was there no Riley-related dialogue for Ellie upon seeing “The Turning” arcade machine? Hell, Riley was never mentioned at all. Same with Tess. Bill was briefly mentioned, but not by name. Ellie’s mom still remained a mystery, and I don’t recall her being mentioned. Henry and Sam? Also never mentioned. Upon seeing Sam’s robot toy in Ellie’s room (which I thought was a nice touch) I would’ve thought he might’ve been brought up in discussion with Dina about past friends. I get that it could be implied Ellie has discussed her past with Dina and others before the events of the game took place, but you have an audience to think about. Essentially you have to think that if the audience didn’t see it or hear about it, it didn’t happen. I feel the omission of past characters and events was a disservice to the first game and was really disappointing.

This relates to something else I disliked: It felt like too much time was spent on characters solo traveling and being in combat and not enough on story and relationship building. I felt the time spent traveling alone as Ellie or Abby was far greater than traveling with a companion. The dialogue and interactions between Ellie and Joel in the first game was crucial to the story and relationship, and when the characters were apart, it made the player that more eager for them to be reunited. They were only ever apart when one was missing/injured or they were unintentionally separated and it made sense to the story. In terms of missed opportunity, I especially thought Jesse’s character was mishandled and wasted. Just as the player was really beginning to know his past and connect with him, he dies a seemingly (in my opinion) stupid death. Not only that, but there’s almost no mention of him or his death after it happens, and Ellie and Dina seem relatively unaffected. I felt like Dina’s character also could’ve been fleshed out better. She was one of my favorite characters, but the things we knew about her didn’t seem to impact the story or her character that much, especially the loss she’s suffered. Her thoughts about her sister’s death and Jesse’s death are barely touched on, and I just felt like I was left wanting more.

Jesse and Dina could’ve definitely been handled better, but at least I cared about them. I didn’t have those feelings towards anyone in Abby’s story (except Yara and Lev). This relates to the bigger problem with the timeline of events and the and the order they were shown in the game, but I’ll touch on this in a bit. Before beginning to know these characters, the only thing you know is that they were involved in killing Joel, and happy about doing so. Now the challenge was to get the player to like them, which the writers failed abysmally. I couldn’t even remember half of their names when they were brought back up. The most influential of Abby’s friends, aside from Owen, seems to be Manny and the only things we get to know about him is that he’s horny, likes to get drunk, and - much like the writers - tries to force other characters to like each other (i.e. Mel and Abby). He only exists to establish Mel and Abby’s relationship and to save and help Abby when they encounter Tommy trying to snipe them. Mel and Abby (who I will touch on extensively in her own paragraph because yikes) both seemed like miserable people to be around and their relationship seemed catty and to simply revolve around Owen. I’m kinda sick of having women characters’ relationships revolve around the fact that one of them used to date the guy that the other is now currently dating. It’s stupid and I couldn’t give less of a fuck if that’s the biggest roadblock in their relationship. Also Mel calling Abby a piece of shit seemed unwarranted based on what we knew. Like we knew Mel was against the brutality of Joel’s death, but the way she spoke to and of Abby seemed like there was something else that the writers forgot to tell/show the audience. Abby never did anything personal to Mel (that Mel knew of) yet Mel decides to hate her guts and be unreasonable? Nora was kind of okay and seemed like an actual decent person (aside from wanting Joel dead and them making that shitty comment to Ellie) in her relationship with Abby. She was willing to risk getting in trouble to help Abby, but we weren’t given enough time with her to make me give a shit, especially after what she said to Ellie. Owen had potential to be likable; he was charming, funny, a bit of a fuckboy, but nonetheless was optimistic and hopeful. But for some reason the writers decided to throw out any ounce of care we had for him by having him cheat on Mel with Abby in a shitty sex scene.

Now for my thoughts on Abby. My thoughts about her also relate to my thoughts on the order of events, and a few other aspects I haven’t mentioned yet, so forgive me if my thoughts are a bit all over the place. I really really tried to sympathize and like Abby, but holy shit they fucked up every possible opportunity to create some sort of likability. For starters, it boggles my mind that they had her commit the atrocity that was Joel’s death as basically the introduction to her character. Not only that, but just mere minutes beforehand Joel had saved her life and shown her nothing but kindness and she goes on to torture him and continue to do so while his surrogate daughter begs and screams for her to stop. She shows no guilt both in the moment or afterwards. It doesn’t eat her up inside at all. Every time Joel is brought up by Abby and her friends, she wastes no time expressing how elated she is that she not only killed him, but did so in such a gruesome way. You really expect fans to even WANT to like this character after she tortures and kills the only other character (besides Ellie) that fans LOVED. And I’m not upset that Joel died, because I expected he would and there were a million ways it could’ve been done appropriately to both the story and fans. But the way he died and how early he died at the hands of essentially some nobody really rubbed me the wrong way, they essentially threw him away without any honor to the experience we had with him in the first game. So, that’s our introduction to Abby and her friends. Again, the writers had the challenge of trying to make us like her, but it felt like they didn’t even try. Every attempt to make her likable fell flat either due to an action that happened right before or after. Abby’s only expression of sorrow is after the death of her father and Owen. Manny’s death is never mentioned after it happens and she seems to act like it never really happened. There is no remorse when she kills Jesse and Tommy, or anyone for that matter. She and (seemingly most of the WLF) condone and even get off on torturing Seraphites (they’re terrible people but if you’re trying to make me like a character, I don’t think you should have them condone the torturing of anyone). Abby is quick to kill Dina even after learning she’s pregnant, to which she comments, “good” and only stops because Lev is an actual decent human being and gets her to stop. And the writers have the gall to try and compare her to Ellie; trying to be like, “see she and Ellie aren’t so different uwu.” Meanwhile, Ellie is crying each time she hits Nora; she just wants Abby, she didn’t want to have to torture Nora like that. Ellie is traumatized after finding out that Mel is pregnant after killing her. Ellie is constantly shown to be grappling with the consequences and feelings of her actions. She experiences guilt and shame while Abby is shown time and time again to not regret her wrongdoings. The writers really tried to push us to like Abby by having her care for Yara and Lev, but I felt she did it out of selfishness and needing to feel good about herself not because she truly cared for these kids.

Going back to Joel’s death, the gruesomeness wasn’t even warranted based on Abby’s reasoning. Abby’s dad didn’t get murdered in front of her and he was killed because he stood in Joel’s way, holding a scalpel to Ellie. Jerry’s death was quick and painless too. And I know people will be like, “but Abby was also mad because now there’s no cure because of what Joel did!!!” However, she had no problem wanting to kill, or leave Ellie alone despite knowing she was immune. Abby was never on a quest to capture Ellie or talk her into finding the Fireflies with her (which would have made for an interesting storyline actually), she wanted her dead too. Joel’s death was the most tasteless death of a beloved character I think I’ve ever experienced.

Also the order of events was really detrimental to the story and especially Abby’s character. The way that flashbacks were thrown in throughout the story after Joel’s death fell flat and made Joel’s death feel even worse. The Joel and Ellie flashbacks were honestly the highlight of the game because we got to spend time with the only 2 fleshed out and likable characters. Had they been placed at the beginning of the game and also showed more of their relationship after Joel tells Ellie the truth about the Fireflies, I would’ve felt his death would have been more okay (still shitty, but slightly better than what they gave us) because it would feel more unexpected and it would hit better emotionally after these moments we had with Ellie and Joel. Hell, the majority of the game should have been as it was advertised (which is another issue I’m gonna touch on shortly): the rocky relationship between Joel and Ellie after Ellie learns the truth and the two of them going on a revenge quest together, as Joel tried to earn Ellie’s forgiveness. The events presented in the order in the game also made it impossible for anyone to try to like Abby. We learn she commits the biggest atrocity and we know all her friends are going to end up dead, so there’s no emotional impact when we see how they die because we’ve known the whole time they were gonna be killed by Ellie. Both Abby’s character and the story they were trying to tell could’ve have been really great and interesting but it was just so poorly executed.

The story itself seemed so amateur as well. It just boiled down to “revenge and violence are bad uwu” while giving the player no choice but to engage in said violence. They tried to create a gray area between good and evil like they did in the first game, especially with Abby’s story but they ended up doing the opposite. Also the weak use of animals and pregnancy to create emotional impact is just so easy. They couldn’t think of any other way to make us connect to the characters except “hey look they love this animal” or “this is someone who is going to have a baby under these rough circumstances” and it’s just sloppy writing especially because they use both tactics MORE THAN ONCE.

The intersecting stories, themes of “what really is good/evil,” redemption of a thought to be unlikable character, and the death of a beloved character would have been so interesting and emotionally impactful if done right, but it felt like Naughty Dog chose every terrible option and outcome, resulting in the wet fart that we got. It felt sloppy with no honoring of the previous game or characters. We all cared, but apparently the writer’s didn’t. The ending with Ellie essentially being left with what she feared most, being alone, would’ve been way more appropriate had anything prior warranted this consequence. Not only is she alone, but Ellie loses the ability to play guitar, a way in which she remembered and felt connected to Joel. Like she goes through hell, and 99% of her actions are justified, yet she gets punished.

Lastly, I want to touch on the false advertising for the game. Normally, I wouldn’t be upset because movie trailers do it all the time where there will be subtle differences or added scenes that don’t occur in the movie, but this was a whole other level of fuckery. I get trying to mislead people to think something is going to happen only to steer them in a different direction, in fact I think this is really cool and fun when done well. However, this was straight up lying and essentially selling an entirely different game. Not only were these lies perpetuated in trailers and ads, but even in events such as E3. Neil Druckmann constantly harped on the idea that the game was going to be about Ellie and Joel having a falling out after Ellie learns the truth and how they navigate their relationship through their next adventure together. Yet the game was never about that, instead it was just a story about drawing shitty parallels between a beloved character and a new character who was destined to be unlikable from the start.

In the end, I think it’s still worth playing because I’ve seen so many mixed reviews floating around so I feel it’s best to make your own opinion. And if nothing else, it’s a fun experience if you’re just looking at a fun game to play if you don’t really care too much about the series or characters as a whole. Will I return to this game? Not anytime soon likely. But just being the fan that I am of the series I think I’ll try to get most of the achievements eventually, and to experiment with photomode because the visuals are so good. Even with how much of a disservice this game is to the series, I don’t think it ruins it for me. It just makes me love and appreciate the first game even more and I think they could bounce back from this, but they’d need to put in a shit ton of work to earn their core audience back.

TL;DR: As an addition to the Last of Us as a series, the game is a huge disappointment and disservice, but as a standalone game it’s slightly above average. The gameplay, music, and visuals slap but the story, characters, and relationship building (or lack thereof) suck. Naughty Dog lied in a highly scummy way to fans via advertisements and trailers. Fuck Abby. Stan Lev and Yara.

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airoasis · 5 years

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The first 20 hours -- how to learn anything | Josh Kaufman | TEDxCSU

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The first 20 hours -- how to learn anything | Josh Kaufman | TEDxCSU

Translator: Gustavo Rocha Reviewer: Marssi Draw hi each person. Two 12 months ago, my life converted endlessly. My wife Kelsey and that i welcomed our daughter Lela into the world. Now, becoming a dad or mum is an strong expertise. Your whole world alterations over night. And your entire priorities alternate right away. So rapid that it makes it fairly difficult to procedure generally. Now, you additionally must learn a large quantity about being a mother or father like, for instance, how one can costume your baby. (Laughter) This used to be new to me. This is an specific outfit, I idea this was once a just right notion. And even Lela knows that it can be now not a good notion.(Laughter) So there is so much to study and so much craziness all at once. And so as to add to the craziness, Kelsey and that i both work from home, we’re entrepreneurs, we run our own firms. So, Kelsey develops courses online for yoga teachers. I’m an creator. And so, i am working from house, Kelsey’s working from home. Now we have an youngster and we’re looking to ensure that the whole thing gets executed that wishes carried out. And existence is particularly, particularly busy. And a few weeks into this mighty expertise, when the sleep deprivation quite kicked in, like round week eight, I had this suggestion, and it was once the same suggestion that mothers and fathers across the a while, internationally, everybody has had this notion, which is: i’m not ever going to have free time ever again. (Laughter) anyone said it is actual. It is not exactly true, but it feels fairly, particularly authentic in that moment. And this was particularly disconcerning to me, on the grounds that one of the matters that I revel in more than whatever else is learning new things. Getting concerned with some thing and diving in and fiddling around and finding out via trial and mistake. And finally fitting beautiful excellent at anything.And without this free time, I did not understand how I was ever going to do this ever once more. And so, i am a significant geek, I want to maintain finding out matters, I wish to maintain developing. And so what I’ve made up our minds to do was, go to the library, and go to the bookshop, and look at what study says about how we learn and how we learn speedily. And that i read a bunch of books, I learn a bunch of websites. And tried to reply this question, how long does it take to accumulate a brand new ability? You understand what I located? 10,000 hours! Anybody ever heard this? It takes 10,000 hours. If you want to learn whatever new, if you wish to be just right at it, it will take 10,000 hours to get there. And i read this in ebook after guide, in internet site after internet site. And my intellectual expertise of studying all of this stuff was once like: No!! I should not have time! I would not have 10,000 hours.I am by no means going to be able to be trained some thing new. Ever again. (Laughter) however that is now not actual. So, 10,000 hours, just to give you a hard order of magnitude, 10,000 hours is a full-time job for five years. That is a long time. And we have now all had the experience of learning some thing new, and it failed to take us at any place virtually that amount of time, proper? So, what’s up? There’s anything kinda funky occurring right here. What the study says and what we assume, and have experiences, they do not fit up. And what I located, this is the wrinkle: the ten,000 hour rule came out of stories of trained-level efficiency. There is a professor at Florida State university, his name is okay. Anders Ericsson. He’s the originator of the 10,00 hour rule. And where that came from is, he studied legitimate athletes, world classification musicians, chess grand masters.All of this extremely aggressive men and women in ultra-excessive performing fields. And he tried to figure out how long does it take to get to the highest of these kinds of fields. And what he discovered is, the more deliberate apply, the extra time that those individuals spend practicing the elements of some thing it is that they do, the more time you spend, the simpler you get. And the people at the tippy prime of their fields put in round 10,000 hours of observe.Now, we have been speakme in regards to the recreation of cellphone a little bit bit previous. This is what occurred: an writer by using the name of Malcolm Gladwell wrote a guide in 2007 referred to as "Outliers: The Story of Success", and the imperative piece of that booklet was the 10,000 hour rule. Observe rather a lot, follow well, and you’ll do totally good, you’ll reach the highest of your field. So, the message, what Dr. Ericsson was once virtually saying is, it takes 10,000 hours to get on the high of an ultra competitive subject in an extraordinarily slender field, that is what that means. But here’s what occurred: ever considering that Outliers came out, immediately came out, reached the top of satisfactory seller lists, stayed there for three stable months. Suddenly the 10,000 hour rule was all over the place. And a society-huge recreation of mobile began to be played. So this message, it takes 10,000 hours to reach the top of an ultra competitive field, grew to become, it takes 10,000 hours to become an educated at something, which grew to become, it takes 10,000 hours to end up good at something, which grew to become, it takes 10,000 hours to be taught whatever.But that final assertion, it takes 10,000 hours to learn anything, isn’t real. It is not actual. So, what the research genuinely says — I spent numerous time here on the CSU library within the cognitive psychology stacks ‘motive i am a geek. And while you absolutely look at the experiences of ability acquisition, you see again and again a graph like this. Now, researchers, whether or not they are studying a motor skill, some thing you do bodily or a mental talent, they wish to gain knowledge of matters that they can time. ‘motive that you can quantify that, right? So, they are going to provide study participants somewhat project, whatever that requires bodily association, or some thing that requires learning slightly mental trick, and they will time how lengthy a participant takes to entire the ability. And here’s what this graph says, when you start — so when researchers gave participants a venture, it took them a really very long time, ‘rationale it was once new they usually have been horrible.With slightly little bit of follow, they get better and higher and better. And that early part of practice is really, relatively efficient. People get excellent at matters with just a little bit of observe. Now, what’s fascinating to note is that, for potential that we need to be taught for ourselves, we do not care a lot about time, right? We simply care about how just right we are, whatever excellent happens to intend. So if we relabel performance time to how just right you are, the graph flips, and you get his famous and broadly recognized, that is the learning curve. And the story of the training curve is whilst you , you are grossly incompetent and you understand it, proper? (Laughter) With a bit bit of apply, you get quite just right, quite speedy. So that early stage of growth is really speedy. After which at a specified factor you attain a plateau, and the following video games emerge as so much tougher to get, they take more time to get. Now, my query is, i need that, correct? How long does it take from opening whatever and being grossly incompetent and figuring out it to being moderately just right? In with a bit of luck, as short a interval of time as feasible.So, how long does that take? Here is what my study says: 20 hours. That’s it. Which you could go from figuring out nothing about any talent that you could believe of. Want to learn a language? Wish to be trained how to attract? Need to learn find out how to juggle flaming chainsaws? (Laughter) for those who put 20 hours of centered deliberate follow into that thing, you will be astounded. Astounded at how good you are. 20 hours is manageable, that’s about 45 minutes a day for approximately a month. Even skipping a couple days, here and there. 20 hours isn’t that rough to build up. Now, there may be a system to doing this. Due to the fact that it’s no longer like which you can just fiddling round for approximately 20 hours and count on these significant enhancements.There may be a method to follow intelligently. There may be a option to practice effectively, so as to ensure that you just invest these 20 hours in essentially the most strong approach that you very likely can. And this is the approach, it applies to anything: the primary is to deconstruct the talent. Come to a decision precisely what you need to be able to do when you are done, after which seem into the ability and break it down into smaller pieces.Most of the matters that we believe of as competencies are absolutely huge bundles of capabilities that require all varieties of specific matters. The extra you could wreck aside the ability, the extra you are able to make a decision, what are the components of this skill that may without a doubt support me get to what i want? After which you could apply these first. And if you follow the principal matters first, you can be able to beef up your performance in the slightest degree period of time viable. The second is, learn ample to self proper. So, get three to 5 assets about what it’s you’re looking to gain knowledge of. Could be ebook, might be DVDs, might be guides, might be anything. However don’t use these with the intention to procrastinate on practice. I know I do this, proper? Get like 20 books about the matter, like, "i’m going to start studying the best way to application a pc after I whole these 20 books". No. That’s procrastination. What you want to do is gain knowledge of simply adequate that you can genuinely practice and self right or self edit as you follow.So the training becomes a method of getting better at noticing when you are making a mistake after which doing something just a little extraordinary. The 1/3 is to dispose of barriers to practice. Distractions, tv, internet. All of these matters that get in the way of you simply sitting down and doing the work. And the more you’re equipped to make use of just a bit little bit of willpower to cast off the distractions which can be preserving you from practising, the more doubtless you might be to actually sit down down and follow, proper? And the fourth is to practice for at least 20 hours.Now, most potential have what I name a frustration barrier. You understand, the grossly-incompetent- and-figuring out-it section? That’s quite, really irritating. We don’t like to consider stupid. And feeling silly is a barrier to us truely sitting down and doing the work. So, through pre-committing to working towards whatever it’s that you want to do for at least 20 hours, you’ll be ready to beat that preliminary frustration barrier and stick to the follow long adequate to virtually reap the rewards. That is it! It is not rocket science. 4 quite simple steps that you need to use to be trained anything. Now, that is easy to talk about in thought, nevertheless it’s extra enjoyable to speak about in observe. So one of the things that I’ve desired to be trained how one can do for a long time is play the ukulele. Has someone seen Jake Shimabukuro’s TEDTalk the place he performs the ukulele and makes it sound like — he’s like a ukulele god. It can be potent. I noticed it, I was like, "that’s so cool!" it’s this sort of neat instrument. I might relatively wish to be taught learn how to play.And so I determined that to test this conception I desired to position 20 hours into working towards ukulele and notice the place it got. And so the first thing about playing the ukulele is, with the intention to practice, you must have one, correct? So, I obtained an ukulele and — My beautiful assistant? (Laughter) thank you sir. I suppose i want the chord here. It’s no longer just an ukulele, it can be an electric ukulele. (Laughter) Yeah. So, the primary couple hours are similar to the primary couple hours of something.You have got to get the instruments that you are making use of to practice. You must ensure they’re on hand. My ukulele did not include strings connected. I had to figure out the best way to put these on. Like, that is sort of fundamental, proper? And studying the way to tune, learning how you can ensure that all the matters that ought to be carried out with a view to working towards get accomplished, correct? Now, one of the vital matters once I used to be able to sincerely training was I seemed in on-line databases and songbooks for easy methods to play songs.They usually say, k, ukuleles, which you can play more than one string at a time, so you could play chords, that is cool, you are accompanying yourself, yay you. (Laughter) And when I started watching at songs, I had an ukulele chord publication that had like 1000s of chords. Looking at this and "Wow, that’s intimidating". However when you look at the exact songs, you see the identical chords time and again, correct? Because it seems, playing the ukulele is type of like doing anything, there may be a very small set of matters that are particularly principal and techniques that you can use always. And in most songs you’ll use four, possibly 5 chords, and that’s it, that’s the song. You do not have to know hundreds, as long as you already know the 4 or the 5.So, whilst I used to be doing my research, I determined a uncommon little medley of pop songs via a band referred to as Axis of great. (Whistles) — a person is aware of it. — And what Axis of exceptional says is that you would be able to learn, or that you could play more often than not any pop song of the past five a long time, if you understand four chords, and people chords are G, D, Em and C. 4 chords pump out each pop track ever, right? So I idea, that is cool! I wish to play each pop music ever. (Laughter) So, that was the first music I made up our minds to gain knowledge of, and that i want to absolutely share it with you. In a position? (Applause) very well. (tune) (Singing) just a small town girl, residing in a lonely world, she took the midnight instruct going anyplace. I heard that you settled down, (Laughter) that you found a girl, that you are married now. Every night time in my desires (Laughter) I see you, I believe you, that is how i do know you go on. (Laughter) I is not going to hesitate no more, no more. It are not able to wait, i am yours.’purpose you have been amazing, we did robust things. If I might, then i’d, i would go anywhere you are going to — are you able to suppose the love tonight. (Laughter) I can not reside with or without you. After I to find myself — once I to find myself in occasions of predicament, mother Mary comes to me, sometimes I feel like I do not need companion. No girl, no cry. Yeah mama, this certainly is a dream. I come from a land down beneath. (Laughter) as soon as a jolly swagman camped by means of a billabong. Good day, I just met you, and this is loopy, (Laughter) however this is my quantity, so name me whats up attractive woman, op, op, op, op, oppan gangnam kind. (Laughter) it’s time to say goodbye. Closing time, each new opening comes from every other opening’s finish. (Singing and music ends) (Applause) thank you, thanks. I really like that tune. (Laughter) And i have a secret to share with you. So, by means of playing that music for you, I simply hit my twentieth hour of working towards the ukulele.(Applause) thank you. And so it is strong, frequently whatever that you could think of, what do you need to do. The predominant barrier to be trained whatever new is just not intellectual, it can be no longer the method of you learning a bunch of little recommendations or tips or things. The primary barrier’s emotional. We’re scared. Feeling silly doesn’t suppose excellent, within the starting of studying some thing new you suppose particularly stupid. So the essential barrier’s now not mental, it’s emotional. However put 20 hours into anything. It doesn’t matter. What do you want to be trained? Do you need to learn a language? Wish to be taught learn how to prepare dinner? Want to be taught how to draw? What turns you on? What lights you up? Exit and try this thing. It only takes 20 hours.Have fun. (Applause) .

#Colorado State University #education #english #Entertainment #learning #lifestyle #music #Parents #psychology #TED #ted talk #ted talks #TED X #tedx #tedx talk #tedx talks #TEDxCSU #United States (Country)#USA

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batterymonster2021 · 5 years

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The first 20 hours -- how to learn anything | Josh Kaufman | TEDxCSU

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/the-first-20-hours-how-to-learn-anything-josh-kaufman-tedxcsu-2/

The first 20 hours -- how to learn anything | Josh Kaufman | TEDxCSU

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khalilhumam · 4 years

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“Sad:” The US Is Backing a US Citizen to Head the Inter-American Development Bank

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/sad-the-us-is-backing-a-us-citizen-to-head-the-inter-american-development-bank/

“Sad:” The US Is Backing a US Citizen to Head the Inter-American Development Bank

The US nomination of an American, Mauricio Claver-Carone, to head the Inter-American Development Bank is a shock. As my CGD colleagues explain here, since its founding, the presidency of the IDB has gone to a citizen of a Latin American country, and the executive vice-president to an American. For the US to back an American candidate as president disrupts an arrangement that has been fundamental to the bank’s effectiveness as a development institution investing in better lives and livelihoods in its borrowing member countries. The arrangement has ensured a strong sense of ownership and trust in the institution on the part of its borrowers (a comparative advantage relative to the World Bank) and a shared sense of responsibility for the bank’s performance with the United States, it largest creditor country, in turn reassuring the global capital market on which the bank’s own borrowing depends. Claver-Carone has apparently already secured the support of Brazil, Colombia, and other Latin countries, presumably with promises of patronage at the bank (Brazil is allegedly promised the position of executive vice-president) and US financial and political support (that Colombia needs as it struggles with millions of Venezuelan refugees). That brings him close to the 51 percent of the weighted votes (including the US 30 percent) to be elected; he would also need a simple majority of the 28 member countries of the region, including Canada, the US, and all the borrowers. He could well win the prize before the scheduled vote in September. Independent of the effect on the IDB’s effectiveness as a trusted institution with independent technical credibility, and aside from Claver-Carone’s personal qualities—“controversial” (The Economist), “polarizing, ineffective” (Senator Leahy of Vermont), “ideologically driven” (see Latin American experts and diplomats here)—the possibility of his election is, to use a word President Trump likes, “sad” in a broader sense. Here’s why. First, the nomination of an American constitutes another assault on the multilateral system, as distinguished former presidents of Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia made clear in a statement last week. Ironically, it is an example of the the fading hegemonic power of the United States, a country with an administration tempted by short-term political gains at home to violate the rules, norms, and traditions of the liberal global order it created. It is those rules and norms that tempered its sheer brute power, much if not all of the time during the last 70 years. An American at the helm of the Inter-American Development Bank is a sign not of American strength but of America losing its mojo in a newly perilous world. Second, the possible election of an American to head the IDB exposes the failure of collective action among Latin American governments, rooted in the renewal of populist and nationalist governments not only in Venezuela but now in Brazil, Ecuador, and some US-dependent Central American countries. Collective action is hard with the region’s failure to manage more than minimal economic growth; the region’s political and social cohesion has long been disadvantaged by longstanding, searing inequities that particularly affect Black and indigenous peoples. Only Chile and Costa Rica, the “whitest” countries in the region, have managed to build a relatively resilient middle class. And even in Chile, slow growth and longstanding high inequality have generated a worrying populist backlash. Third, his nomination is a reminder of the deep flaws in the selection process for the leadership not just of the IDB but of the IMF, the World Bank, and the other three large regional multilateral banks (African, Asian, and European). The heads of all these are chosen via a process that fails a minimum test of being transparent, open, and competitive, and is instead part of a system in which power, patronage, and other spoils too often reign—as various high-level commissions have concluded over many years. At the IMF and World Bank, the process has sometimes failed to produce even minimally adequate candidates subject to minimally adequate due diligence—as the early departures from office of Wolfowitz at the World Bank and Strauss-Kahn at the IMF suggest. In the case of the World Bank, the White House has full discretion, so open competition even among the best possible American candidates is rare. At the IDB, with a tradition of a borrower candidate becoming president, there has been at least the possibility of healthy competition among alternative borrowing country candidates—though as in the United States, even then the best possible candidates may be of the wrong political affiliation in their own country at the right time. Fourth, it’s “sad” to see that Cuba still upends reason in the US approach to national security and foreign policy. For decades, the US has blocked the entry of Cuba into the IMF, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Even China is admitted into the international community, suggesting Cuba’s exclusion is about US politics, not about ideology. Finally, it’s “sad” to imagine the IDB burdened with a controversial lame duck at its helm within months, should Biden win in November. A major capital increase at the IDB makes sense, as it did in 2010 at the time of the global financial crisis, with region’s cash-strapped countries facing the ongoing COVID health emergency and a long COVID-induced recession. But Democrats in Congress would hesitate to support an increase at a bank whose leadership does not see climate, green growth, support for social programs, and progressive tax, pension and other reforms as development priorities. Should Trump win again, China, the region’s key trade partner, will surely prefer to channel any financial support to the region not through the IDB, but directly, at long-run higher interest rates to the IDB’s members. There are other candidates, including former President of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla, and Gustavo Beliz, a minister in Argentina’s current government. And there is the alternative (The Economist’s suggestion) of the current president, Luis Alberto Moreno, delaying his departure for several months, until after the US election. At the least that would allow other candidates to make their case within the region. In this situation, time is on the side of healthy competition, and healthy competition on the side of a stronger future IDB. Nancy Birdsall (disclosure: former Executive Vice President of the Inter-American Development Bank, 1993-1998, appointed under the problematic selection process decried above.)

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kidsviral-blog · 6 years

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35 Iconic TV Cartoon Characters That You Might Not Know Are Voiced By The Same Actor

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35 Iconic TV Cartoon Characters That You Might Not Know Are Voiced By The Same Actor

Mind = blown.

1. Doug‘s Doug Funnie and The Ren & Stimpy Show‘s Ren and Stimpy

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Mark Davis / Getty Images

Voiced by: Billy West (although he only voiced Doug during the show’s run on Nickelodeon from 1991–94).

Fun fact: West is also best known for being the voice of Fry on Futurama.

2. Disney’s House of Mouse‘s Minnie Mouse and The Simpsons‘ Martin Prince

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Valerie Macon / Getty Images

Voiced by: Russi Taylor.

Fun facts: Taylor has voiced Minnie Mouse since 1988 (she is only the fourth person to do so). She has also provided the voice of such memorable characters like Gonzo on Muppet Babies, and Webby Vanderquack, Huey Duck, Dewey Duck, and Louie Duck on DuckTales, as well providing the voices of Üter, Sherri, and Terri on The Simpsons.

3. Tiny Toon Adventures‘ Buster Bunny and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters‘ Ickis

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Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images

Voiced by: Charlie Adler (although he only voiced Buster Bunny for the show’s first two seasons).

Fun facts: Adler, who began his voice-over career in 1984, has also voiced characters on ’80s classics Jem and G.I. Joe, as Eric Raymond and Low-Light, respectively, as well as providing additional voices for characters on ’90s cartoons such as Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Rocko’s Modern Life, Eek! the Cat, and Darkwing Duck.

4. The Simpsons‘ Bart Simpson and Kim Possible‘s Rufus

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Voiced by: Nancy Cartwright.

Fun fact: Cartwright also voiced spoiled-brat Pistol Pete on Goof Troop.

5. Muppet Babies‘ Animal and Bobby’s World‘s Bobby

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Michael Loccisano / Getty Images

Voiced by: Howie Mandel.

Fun fact: Aside from Animal, Mandel also voiced Skeeter and Bunsen on Muppet Babies from 1984–85.

6. Goof Troop‘s Pete and Darkwing Duck‘s Drake Mallard/ Darkwing Duck

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Paul A. Hebert / Getty Images

Voiced by: Jim Cummings.

Fun fact: Cummings also voiced characters on five other Disney Afternoon shows: DuckTales, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Quack Pack, TaleSpin, and Bonkers.

7. Rocko’s Modern Life‘s Heffer Wolfe and SpongeBob SquarePants‘ SpongeBob

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Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

Voiced by: Tom Kenny.

Fun fact: Kenny got the role of SpongeBob after meeting Steve Hillenburg — who would go on to create the show — while both were working together on Rocko’s Modern Life.

8. Futurama‘s Bender and Kim Possible‘s Dr. Drakken

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Voiced by: John DiMaggio.

Fun fact: DiMaggio is probably best known today as the voice of Jake the dog on Adventure Time.

9. Chip â€˜n Dale Rescue Rangers‘ Gadget Hackwrench and The Simpsons‘ Agnes Skinner

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Michael Tullberg / Getty Images

Voiced by: Tress MacNeille.

Fun facts: Along with Agnes, MacNeille also does the voices of Simpsons recurring characters Cookie Kwan, Brandine Spuckler, Dolph, Lindsey Naegle, Bernice Hibbert, and the Crazy Cat Lady.

Other characters MacNeille has voiced include Dot Warner on Animaniacs, Babs Bunny on Tiny Toons, and Charlotte Pickles on Rugrats.

10. SpongeBob SquarePants‘ Mr. Krabs and Superman: The Animated Series‘ Lex Luther

Nickelodeon

Warner Bros.

Valerie Macon / Getty Images

Voiced by: Clancy Brown.

Fun fact: Brown has lent his voice to various comic book–based animated series, including Justice League, The Spectacular Spider-Man, The Batman, and Wolverine and the X-Men.

11. The Smurfs‘ Papa Smurf and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!‘s Scooby-Doo

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Ron Galella / Getty Images

Voiced by: Don Messick.

Fun facts: Aside from originating the voice of Papa Smurf and Scooby-Doo, Messick also provided the voice of Bamm-Bamm Rubble on The Flintstones, Boo-Boo Bear on The Yogi Bear Show, and Hamilton J. Pig on Tiny Toons.

12. Rugrats‘ Tommy Pickles and The Powerpuff Girls‘ Buttercup

Nickelodeon

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Angela Weiss / Getty Images

Voiced by: E.G. Daily.

Fun fact: Daily took over the role of Babe in Babe: Pig in the City, from her Rugrats’ co-star, the late Christine Cavanaugh (who voiced Chuckie), who was the voice of Babe in the first film.

13. The Real Ghostbusters‘ Egon Spengler and Animaniacs‘ the Brain

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Mark Davis / Getty Images

Voiced by: Maurice LaMarche.

Fun fact: LaMarche went on to voice Kif Kroker on Futurama.

14. Animaniacs‘ Pinky and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles‘ Raphael

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Ben Gabbe / Getty Images

Voiced by: Rob Paulsen.

Fun fact: Paulson also voiced Yakko Warner and Dr. Otto Scratchansniff on Animaniacs.

15. Darkwing Duck‘s Megavolt / Elmo Sputterspark and The Simpsons‘ Homer Simpson

disney.wikia.com

20th Century Fox

Michael Buckner / Getty Images

Voiced by: Dan Castellaneta.

Fun facts: Castellaneta might be synonymously known as the voice of Homer Simpson, but, in reality, he has actually had a rather extensive voice-over career. He has voiced characters such as Arnold’s Grandpa Phil on Hey Arnold!, Earthworm Jim on Earthworm Jim, and the Genie in Aladdin (the TV series).

16. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!‘s Fred Jones and Transformers‘ Megatron

Warner Bros.

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Gustavo Caballero / Getty Images

Voiced by: Frank Welker.

Fun fact: Welker was the original voice for the character of Fred and, since 1969, has continued to play him in almost every animated adaptation and reboot of the series.

17. The Flintstones‘ Barney Rubble and Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats‘ Heathcliff

Warner Bros.

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Phil Rudge/ Hulton Archive

Voiced by: Mel Blanc.

Fun fact: Known as “The Man of 1,000 Voices,” Blanc was literally the voice of almost every single classic cartoon character, including Daffy Duck, Woody Woodpecker, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat, Yosemite Sam, and of course, Bugs Bunny, whom he continued to voice up until his death in 1989.

Read more: http://www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/35-iconic-tv-cartoon-characters-that-you-might-not-know-are

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