#in my mind Spam doesn’t want to die. it it’s the case it seems the easiest way | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zathechaosgod · 4 years

Text

Favourite Stream Moments:

Streamed by Philza on Twitch on Monday 16th of November 2020

First stream after MCC12 win!!!

Wilbur is the driving force after any team he plays in bc he rallies the team together really well!

Phil REALLY wants that second coin

Funniest MCC moment according to Phil was Fundy in his Hello Kitty skin just standing next to them and Tapl going “Hello, kitty”

Mining stream today bc he wants a new speed mining area

Pog Tubbo got 100k viewers

Tommy asked for advice on figuring out which song caused his stream to mute

(The only way you can really now is by putting a now-playing thing on your screen bc twitch is awful with telling streamers which song caused them trouble)

1million vid might be Phil reacting to like,,,, really really old videos

The joke this stream is Phil being old (thanks quackity)

This is gonna be (this is LITERALLY the place where I switched over to Techno and a variety of other Dream SMP streams, which means that anything after this is from my rewatch, knowing what I know now. Anyway)

This is gonna be a chill mining stream so people watching dreamsmp don’t miss much (absolute jebaited lmaoooo)

Tim has literally donated 2k dollars in bits for his copypastas

Man’s committed

Both bits and subs are cheaper on pc than through the app! (bc google/apple takes a cut)

C418’s Memento Mori is a gorgeous song

Also condolences to all the unus annus people, I wasn’t one of those people but the concept seems awesome and I know it meant a lot to a lot of people

“Techno is sad” “Why? he gets to kill people today”

Phil is fully conviced Techno is fully prepped for war, with his firework deathtrap and potions and probably at least several sets of netherite. (Phil is ABSOLUTELY right)

An editor for the videos Phil wants to make (which compile 10-30 streams of each 3-5 hours) costs over a thousand dollars, which just... doesn’t pay itself back, especially with the risk of Phil not liking it, in which case it doesn’t even end up on youtube

He does hire editors for other videos (like the among us video), but hardcore is just too important for Phil!

People keep mispronouncing “Greedy, greedy Phil”? Not really, not 3d, and most certainly not pretty (looking at you Kristen)

Lol Phil went to the bathroom and Ian immediately started a message spamming “old, old, old, old”

Ian will record “Greedy, greedy, [Your Name]” for five dollars lmao

Tommy 200k viewrs POG

He’s asking chat for updates on the dreamsmp

“Is techno still hiding his power level?” (THIS MAN KNEW)

The amount of times he goes “oh we’re just chilling, just haning out” AAAAA

He’s not gonna tell us what the new build is gonna be, although it has like three different phases so even if he told people wouldn’t be able to build it before him

Phil crashed during Terra Swoop Force in MCC, but that was either due to lag because of server things, or because of the change in elytra mechanics

Techno has five complete sets of enchanted netherite (exactly like Phil’s prediction at the start of stream lmao)

Phil goes “Watch Will still die with full netherite” before chat tells him that he refuses to wear armour

“He’s too chaotic”

Techno 300k POG

“That must mean he’s about to murder soon” “Murder soon, pog?”

“Wilbur killed someone?” “PROUD”

Phil at one point literally edited a Dark Souls trailer into a PG version just so he could (sort of) illegally play it in his retail store

Most cursed sentence ever in Phil’s twitch chat: “Everyone is surrounding Schlatt in Wilbur’s drug van”

Phil’s analysis of Dream: He’s either bigbraining or lying (This was about there being no traitor... once again, Phil 5head)

“They got L’manberg back? Pog”

“How many people died for this?”

Not Karl Jacobcs! (at karl dying 4 times)

Phil vibes with George building his house during the war, bc he’s just chilling and playing minecraft as well lmao

Phil is slightly losing his mind at the presidency being handed around lol

“Wait where’s wil going?” here we go

“what are you doing”

“I’m hacking in” lmaooooo honestly i’m curious how it would’ve gone if he hadn’t been immediately timed out lol

“mhm”

Phil’s expressions lol, his conflict between amusement and roleplaying and genuine concern with where this is going lol

Wilbur actually went “Killza” ??? lol i missed that the first 20 times

“You just had to throw your toys out the pram”

Phil’s genuine panic at hearing that Techno is the traitor lol, Phil might be the only person who knows what Techno truly is capable of

Phil losing it at Techno messing up placing the wither heads lol

Everyone panicking while Phil just goes into Philza Minecraft mode and starts actually shootingdown the withers

Techno being “Phil you’ve been on this server for ten minutes and you’re already stacked?!” after Phil raided Tommy’s corpse

Phil’s headnod at Techno going “at least he was lawfully elected“

Just Phil’s general amusement at the kids being all dramatic

“At least the pokimane statue didn’t get blown up”

“i just find it funny that there was no tnt under that statue”

Phil still being in the vc with the others while walking away and just,,,, watching Dream blow up Tommy’s base

I don’t think animatics of the dream-tubbo-tommy conversation at the bench show enough of the dozen people standing around them while they were talking lol

Honestly everyone in general just,,, sitting around in a vc with each other and jumping around doing nothing now that the roleplaying is over is really funny

“I wonder how many netherite sets despawned” Phil opens his inventory to show his stolen set “yeah, despawned”

Karl fanboying over Phil is a mood btw

Tubbo getting completely distracted for a bit because phil can finally help him with the guardian farm

#november16th

rip the twitter employee

...does Phil know what a dreamon is?

Phil threatening to shoot the pokimane statue while everyone was walking quietly

I’m really curious what builds Phil is gonna make/help with on the server!

Also I can’t wait for the tubbo and phil content lol

“i don’t want a shitty little furry as a grandson”

rip ponk’s lemon tree

Phil’s disappointment in every single of his kids except for Techno lol

(i’m gonna make a post on that lmao)

“oh come on, not karl” “he was the weakest!”

I admire Techno’s marketing tactics

Techno (almost) crashing the server with grinding the spider spawner

ANTARCTIC EMPIRE 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

Techno assassinating George while Phil just watches (and the rest doesn’t do anything either??)

why do they keep scheduling events for weekdays?

Techno joked about Phil farming clout with him but Phil hit 30k viewers on a mining stream two days after this sooo

“am i a bad influence?”

I do feel Techno with the (lack of) suspicion with the whole traitor thing

“i’ll spend five hours stripmining, i’ll just grind for five hours” *side eyes the next stream where he mines for 8 hours*

Techno sabotaging the netherite armour is amazing

Wilbur begged people not to walk around manberg during nighttime? (bc the creeper explosions might actually set off the eleven stacks of tnt lol)

“hey phil did you like watching me destroy everything I build? :)”

annnnd T I M is back with a risotto recipe

I am also currently having vivid flashbacks to that time Wilbur showed something to Phil on his stream, but neither of them would tell us what

Shoutout to T I M for the prime sellout since Phil won’t do it

I want to be friends with Wilbur purely so he’ll sent me incredibly rare memes lol

420 SUBSSS

every time all the new people are so confused lol

Blend W is even more,,, whatever it is, when you watch it on 1,5x speed if anyone wanted to know

Rip Techno’s raid

Rip Phil’s chat

RIP TECHNO’S OFFLINE CHAT

you will be dearly missed, even if you guys are incredibly deranged and somewhat terrifying

Techno just having his viewers prime sub to Phil makes me soft

Lol he just showed Techno’s hidden chest when next stream he actually hides his screen when he does it again lol

How many bases does Techno have? Will we ever know? (no.)

...I kind of want to see Techno actually do faction pvp

“this is a filler arc”

chat immediately finding the woonland mansion as soon as they talked about it

We went from 420subs to 700+ in like,,, half an hour maybe?

the power of techno chat

Someone make a compilation of the subscribe to technoblade in everyone’s videos once they’re out please

Kristin begging Phil in chat not to go buy a cheeseburger at midnight

“just chunk error bedrock l’manberg”

honestly? i’m all for it

Techno actually logging on to “save” Phil froma baby zombie

“Phil is the jesus of minecraft!!”

Riptide is absolutely the most broken mode of transportation on the server

Cheeseburger time!!!

Honestly I didn’t realise it but during those streams they really just go without food for 6+ hours rip

#dream smp #mcyt #sbi #sleepy bois inc #wilbursoot #tommyinnit #philza #ph1ilza #technoblade #eret #the eret #minecraft #pogtopia

121 notes · View notes

ecoamerica · 2 months

Text

youtube

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

15K notes · View notes

tigerkirby215 · 3 years

Text

5e Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Suke “hugehugesword” Su. Made for Riot Games.)

In my constant and continued effort to deny Ezreal’s existence I finally had to get around to building him. Again it’s not that I don’t like him... I mean I don’t. But I kinda forgot what I was going to build him as. Lol.

Dorans & Dragons also made a build for Ezreal back in like... early 2020. Christ that’s before the world went to shit, ain’t it? Well regardless they also made their build before Tasha’s Cauldron came out and I think I can make a build that is different enough to warrant my build existing alongside theirs.

In short: this is an elaborate excuse for me to make another Artificer build.

GOALS

Gawk at this! - We need many a glowing projectile to spam at foes before blowing them up. Ezreal isn’t the type to just autoattack.

I always know a shortcut - Flash on a 15 second cooldown is nice. We’ll need to be able to blink around constantly throughout the entire fight.

Time to show 'em who's best - Nothing’s more dangerous than a well-placed Trueshot Barrage sniping through the entire enemy team.

RACE

Back to good ol’ Variant Human. As a Variant Human you can increase two of your ability scores by 1: increase your Intelligence and your Charisma, to be the hot smart twink you are. You also learn a Language of your choice along with a Skill of choice. You spent plenty of time studying The Void so Abyssal would make sense as a language, and for your skill Perception would help you spot traps or incoming ganks... as long as you remember to ward.

For your feat we’re going to be grabbing Arcane Shift as fast as possible with Fey Touched so you can start Flashing. (Not like that!) You can increase your Intelligence score by 1 and also learn the Misty Step spell. You can also add a Divination or Enchantment spell to your list and a little Heroism never hurt anyone. You can cast both of these spells once without spending a spell slot, and can then spend spell slots on them after the fact.

ABILITY SCORES

15; INTELLIGENCE - Archeology is a lot of history and facts... If you do it the boring way, that is!

14; DEXTERITY - Repeat it after me: “something something Medium armor.”

13; CHARISMA - You’re a pretty boy twink who got at least two girls on the Rift to fall for you.

12; WISDOM - Traveling through ancient temples and traps takes a degree of common sense. Not necessarily common sense you have, but a bit of boost never hurt.

10; CONSTITUTION - You’re an ADC, which means you’re squishy.

8; STRENGTH - Twink.

Feel free to swap Constitution around with another stat for better health but worse roleplay.

BACKGROUND

“Archaeologist” is just the nice way of saying Tomb Raider, which is the mean way of saying Adventurer! You get proficiency with History and Survival (hey you’ve gotta tough it out in the desert sometimes!) You also get proficiency in a language of your choice (I went for Dwarvish because Dwarves seem to have built most ruins) and proficiency in either Navigator’s Tools or Cartographer’s Tools... “Who needs a map?”

You spent enough time in ruins to pick up some Historical Knowledge on ancient dungeons and temples to know who made them. And if you find anything that belongs in a museum you know how much it’s worth to the museum!

(Artwork by Sangsoo Jeong. Made for Riot Games.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - ARTIFICER 1

Starting off as Artificer to “borrow” a few inventions. But also because you get training in Arcana to know your magical artifacts, Investigation to find said magical artifacts, and Calligrapher’s Tools to slay Ascended and Darkin alike in one blow. You also get Magical Tinkering to wave that gauntlet of yours around on some Tiny objects, making them glow or play sounds or do all sorts of things that Prestidigitation would probably do better. But at least you can play your own theme music too!

But of course the main appeal of being an Artificer is the Spellcasting. You can learn two cantrips from the Artificer list like Message to coordinate with your support and Guidance to help yourself find treasure! (Or help others I guess.) You can prepare a number of spells equal to your Intelligence modifier plus your Artificer level (rounded down.) Cure Wounds will let you summoner spell Heal yourself or your Support. Faerie Fire will serve as a more basic version of your Essence Flux, making an enemy easier to hit (therefor making them take more damage!) And Feather Fall is always useful in a pinch!

Also yes you don’t have your gauntlet yet so you’re going to have to use a Light Crossbow for now. Feel free to take a combat cantrip if you want but you don’t really need it.

LEVEL 2 - ARTIFICER 2

Second level Artificers can make Infusions, special definitely-not-stolen magical treasures that make them more awesome than everyone else. For a little more AD an Enhanced Weapon is useful to have. You can also put those goggles on your head to use by making Goggles of Night to see with your dumb human eyes. A Mind Sharpener may feel like a cheat, but I’m not going to say no to keeping Concentration in check. And for your final infusion? A Rope of Climbing might be useful? Honestly the more impressive stuff comes after you’ve done a bit more exploring.

You can also prepare another spell like Alarm, just in case someone’s planning to steal your... legitimately earned treasure.

LEVEL 3 - ARTIFICER 3

Third level Artificers get to choose their specialty and Armorers don’t have to wear an entire suit of armor; just a gauntlet! Along with proficiency in Smith’s Tools you can turn any suit of armor you find into Arcane Armor. The armor has a variety of benefits: no Strength requirement, the inability to have your armor removed against your will, the ability to take it off or put it on as an action, and some replacement limbs. But notably it works as an Artificer spell focus!

There’s two different Armor Models and we’ll be going for the Infiltrator variant for a Lightning Launcher. This makes your Gauntlet a weapon that deals a d6 of lightning damage, with a regular range of 90 and a long range of 300 in case you want to go for long ranged snipes. Additionally once per turn you can pop Essence Flux to do an extra d6 of damage on hit! And I didn’t even mention the best part: this works off your Intelligence! So no more need for the crossbow.

You also get your boots for Powered Steps, increasing your movement speed by 5 feet. And thanks to your Dampening Field you can hide in bushes with free Stealth advantage! I’d recommend trying to get a Breastplate because that’s the best armor you can get that doesn’t also impose stealth disadvantage, but even with Half Plate you can still be sneaky! Heck, you can even wear Platemail if you want! "And my boots are not waterproof. Fantastic."

Oh and you get some Armorer Spells! Magic Missile will autoaim for you like your Arcane Shift projectile, and Thunderwave is helpful for some self-peel.

LEVEL 4 - ARTIFICER 4

4th level Artificers get an Ability Score Improvement: seeing as we have uneven Intelligence take the Observant feat for +1 Intelligence and a boost to your passive Perception and Investigation to watch the minimap for people to snipe! Additionally you can spy on the bad guys if you want and read their lips to gain knowledge of all their secret plans!

More Intelligence does also usually mean more spells prepared but I’m going to wait for...

(Artwork by Xu “Crow God” Cheng. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 5 - ARTIFICER 5

5th level Armorers up their Attack Speed with Rising Spell Force, gaining an Extra Attack with the attack action!

You also get Mirror Image and Shatter added to your list of Armorer Spells, and can prepare spells like Rope Trick for a safe place to rest for awhile, and Heat Metal to really lay in that Essence Flux.

LEVEL 6 - ARTIFICER 6

6th level Artificers get more Infusions which is what I was waiting for! A Radiant Weapon is all the fun of an Enhanced Weapon but it also doubles as a flashlight for your dumb human eyes! And Boots of the Winding Path will let you Arcane Shift back to safety in case you accidentally run into danger.

Feel free to swap some of your old infusions around too. A Lantern of Revealing or Cloak of Elvenkind would be helpful... and Gloves of Thievery never hurt anyone.

And finally you can prepare Aid, as your natural awesomeness rubs off on your allies. "Oh, please, don't die. I can't lose a sidekick. Not again."

LEVEL 7 - WIZARD 1

You didn’t think this would just be a pure Artificer build, did you? Even if that would’ve been stronger I’m legally obligated to needlessly stick multiclass levels into all my builds. And Wizard is definitely a good multiclass for more slots to do Spellcasting! You learn 3 cantrips and six leveled spells as a first level Wizard:

CANTRIPS

To help your allies land their shots take Mind Sliver to weaken an enemy’s saving throws.

Prestidigitation will let you do a bunch of simple magic, and if you want you can have your own hero music too!

Finally Friends is good to make friends you don’t mind losing after they tell you where the ancient ruins are.

SPELLS

I basically just took everything with the Ritual tag. Alarm (yes you have it as an Artificer spell but you can swap that out), Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic, Identify, Tenser’s Floating Disk... and sure why not Find Familiar too? Seeing as you can ritual cast at will most of your early level stuff is going to be reserved for Ritual Casting, as you’re probably going to be spending most of your first level slots on Magic Missile and Faerie Fire anyways.

You also get Arcane Recovery, letting you recover spell slots equal to half your Wizard level (rounded up.) So right now you can get a first level spell slot back at the end of a Short Rest! And later on you can get more!

LEVEL 8 - WIZARD 2

Second level Wizards get to choose the school that their parents left them in before disappearing in the jungle, and the School of Evocation has a surprise tool that will help us later. Along with being an Evocation Savant (allowing you to copy Evocation spells into your spell book with half the time and cost) you can Sculpt Spells so that they only hit the bad guys: when you cast an Evocation spell (from any class, not just Wizard!) you can choose a number creatures equal to the spell’s level + 1. The chosen creatures automatically succeed on their saving throws against the spell, and they take no damage if they would normally take half damage on a successful save. This will be really useful when we get our (pseudo-)Global ultimate; wouldn’t want to fry your pals now would you?

We may as well grab some of those Evocation spells, right? Earth Tremor will let you hit an AoE Mystic Shot because Riot decided that Tiamat should have a cleave I guess, and I mean... Shield is never a bad thing to have?

(Artwork made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 9 - ARTIFICER 7

Back to the big brain plays: 7th level Artificers can make the biggest brain plays thanks to Flash of Genius, letting you boost an ally’s skill check or saving throw with your own natural perfection. The boost is equal to your Intelligence modifier and you can use this reaction a number of times equal to double your Intelligence modifier.

LEVEL 10 - ARTIFICER 8

8th level Artificers get another Ability Score Improvement? Well seeing as Intelligence still controls just about everything we do it would do good to increase that by 2! That does mean you can prepare more spells (both as a Wizard and as an Artificer) but I’m going to wait for...

LEVEL 11 - ARTIFICER 9

Every ADC dreams of being six-slotted; now you can be with Armor Modifications! Your Armorer armor counts as 4 separate items for the sake of your Infusions: the chest piece, boots, helmet, and the armor’s special weapon can all be infused. Far more importantly however you can have two extra infusions! Those infusions have to be on your armor, but you can put the Radiant Weapon (weapon) and Goggles of Night (helmet) onto your armor and save your other infusions for your allies! Or for yourself; yourself works too.

And we can’t forget the third level spells! You get Hypnotic Pattern from your Armorer Spells for an AoE stun, but far more importantly you get Lightning Bolt which will serve as Trueshot Barrage! And since you’re an Evocation Wizard you can shoot past your friends without blowing them to bits. "Oh, a plan. Yeah, I totally have one of those."

You can also prepare spells like Haste for more DPS (just don’t get stunned), Blink for some Duskblade invisibility, and replace Alarm with Revifify... Ya know: just in case.

LEVEL 12 - ARTIFICER 10

As an ADC it would be good to get six-slotted, and Magic Item Adept lets you get your 4th Legendary item! That’s because you can now attune to 4 magic items at once! (And can also craft Common and Uncommon magic items more easily.)

Speaking of Infusions, we can make more of them, such as a Cloak of Protection or Winged Boots! These are just generally useful but not really Ezreal specific; they’re mostly for your allies. "The gauntlet's for show... the talent's all me."

You can also prepare another spell like Fly which is just universally useful, and holy shit you get another cantrip. Take Mage Hand and maybe try to be a little more cautious when tomb raiding?

(Artwork by Bo “chenbowow” Chen. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 13 - ARTIFICER 11

Do you want a lot more Mystic Shots? 11th level Artificers can make a Spell Storing Item and put an Artificer spell of first or second level inside. What’s cool about this is that anyone can use it, allowing them to cast the spell as if they were you!

My recommendation? Give them Mirror Image. It’s an amazing buff that doesn’t require Concentration. Even a low DEX Paladin will appreciate the chance to not be hit, and a high DEX ally can really get value out of Mirror Image. Yeah the Barbarian technically can’t cast while raging, but they can use this before going into a Rage to be very hard to hit!

And speaking of spells you can prepare another one, so how about you grab Create Food and Water to keep yourself sated on longer archeological trips. "Why didn't I eat before I got here...? Ezreal, why?!”

LEVEL 14 - ARITIFCER 12

12th level Artificers get another Ability Score Improvement... we got all we need in terms of stats (Intelligence lol) so now it’s time to really make some impressive trick shots: the Sharpshooter feat will let you attack at long range without disadvantage and ignore cover bonuses, but most importantly you can take a -5 to your attack roll for a whopping +10 to damage! Don’t use this on high AC targets obviously but if you think you’ll hit why not go for the one-shot? "No applause, please. ...Okay, maybe just a bit of thunderous acclaim. ...A little?"

LEVEL 15 - WIZARD 3

I do still want more spell slots, as well as more spells known! Truthfully there isn’t too much I want from second level, so take Locate Object to find hidden treasure and Augry (added to the Wizard spell list thanks to Tasha’s!) to know what to expect in the next dungeon... sorta. "No plan survives first contact with me."

LEVEL 16 - WIZARD 4

4th level Wizards get an Ability Score Improvement: we got all the abilities we wanted really, so why not Get Lucky? The Lucky Feat will give you a bit of anime protagonist power to guarantee that you make the perfect daring escape. Feel free to take Warcaster or just increase your Constitution however; by this point Ability Scores don’t matter too much.

You can also learn two more spells like Melf’s Acid Arrow for another Essence Flux-esque DoT ability and See Invisibility, in case you need a Sweeper Lense to deal with any clowns.

LEVEL 17 - WIZARD 5

Ima be honest I kinda just wanted third level for Thunder Step to get an Arcane Shift that does damage. Artificer 18 / Wizard 2 (or even just Artificer 20) would’ve been a fine build for Ezeal too, if you don’t think this one spell is worth a 5 level class dip.

Anyways you also learn another cantrip and I mean... you may as well take Shocking Grasp for some defense up close? You also get one other spell and I’m gonna suggest Galder’s Tower this time which is like Tiny Hut... but awesome. And really small. This is mostly just a way for me to talk about a fun spell and also recommend my homebrew fix for it.

(Artwork by Alvin Lee. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 18 - ARTIFICER 13

You got third level spells as a Wizard, you can now prepare 4th level spells as an Artificer! Fire Shield and Greater Invisibility are both available as Armorer Spells, one of which is far more useful for you than the other one. Bro imagine how crazy Evelynn would be with Evelynn’s passive. But yeah feel free to swap around your prepared spells a bit for more 4th level spells, since you definitely have the slots to do so.

LEVEL 19 - ARTIFICER 14

14th level Artificers are Magic Item Savants who can attune to 5 magic items at once, meaning that along with your boots which are technically magical but whatever you can finally be properly six-slotted! But far more importantly you can attune to any item, regardless of any class or race restrictions tied to the item! "I can't get hauled into wizard court again. Technically I don't have a permit for the gauntlet."

Speaking of more attunement: more Infusions. An Amulet of Health will let you boost your bad Constitution from a 10 to a 19, giving you a solid 76 health boost near max level! Other than that more movement speed is never a bad thing, and Boots of Speed may give you more value than your other magic boots.

But holy shit forget all that because you finally get your 4th Artificer cantrip! Grab Mending because somehow we don’t have that yet; gotta keep your outfit in check! Oh and you can get around to preparing another 4th level spell! Truth be told though the 4th level spells for Artificer are kinda... bad? But at least Tasha’s gave us Summon Construct which is a surprisingly strong summon!

"Last time I was in Shurima, I decoded some glyphs. Something about a jackal head... End of times... The usual. All I wanted was this ruby scarab. It looks great on my mantle."

LEVEL 20 - ARTIFICER 15

Our final level is the 15th level of Artificer for the Perfected Armor Armorer capstone. When you shoot an enemy you mark them with Essence Flux, giving them disadvantage to hit you. In addition the next attack (including your own I’m pretty sure!) has Advantage against the enemy while they’re marked with Essence Flux, and if they’re hit they’ll take an extra d6 of Lightning damage!

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Blast 'em, gauntlet! - With your capstone ability you do 4d6 + 10 damage with your Lightning Launcher, and that’s before using Sharpshooter. Even without your capstone 3d6 + 10 is still really good damage output, especially when you can cast spells for big bursts of damage.

See if you can handle this! - Speaking of spells your slots go all the way up to 7th level, and while you’ll mostly just be upcasting a 12d6 Lightning Bolt is nothing to sneeze at! Not to mention other options like a 7d8 Fire damage Heat Metal or +30 HP Aid.

If anyone asks, I didn't see any of these priceless artifacts for sale - It goes without saying that having two more attunement slots than the average character is massive, especially when you can stick infusions onto your armor to maximize the amount of treasures on your person.

CONS

I wasn't strong enough? - Investing fully in INT gives us maxed out combat stats but it leaves a lot of our other abilities lacking. We’re nowhere near Charismatic enough to sell (somewhat) illegitimately gotten gains, and while Infusions can help augment our health (and even our Strength if you grab a Belt of Giant’s Strength) your Wisdom and even your Dexterity are rather mediocre, which is bad for both skill checks and saving throws.

Impossible comebacks are sorta my specialty - Most of your coolest stuff is tied to spell slots and other Long Rest dependent mechanics, and while you have a lot of spell slots (as well as Arcane Recovery to get some of them back) they are still quite limited. You’re perfectly viable as just an auto-attack and Q spammer, but who doesn’t want to shoot lasers and explosions, ya know?

Never met a problem that I couldn't blast away with magic... that I don't even understand - 5 levels in Wizard give us big spell slots but that’s about it, and yeah a 7d6 Lightning Bolt (that won’t hit your allies) is nothing to sneeze at but for the most part you are more of a Martial character. Just saying that level 18 of Artificer would’ve given you Magic Item Master for a whole 6 attunement slots! And level 20 of Artificer would’ve given you Soul of Artifice, essentially operating as a +6 to all saving throws and a 6 time use Guardian Angel.

But if a teamfight breaks out you’re more than a capable ADC. Artificers are the masters of magic items and it doesn’t matter if you make them yourself or “borrow” them from an ancient tomb; you can be the hero mom and dad always wanted you to be! Just concentrate on your farm in the early game and don’t take unnecessary risks. You may be the perfect man of magic but you’re not immortal, despite what the ADCs I’m forced to support always seem to think.

(Artwork by Jennifer Wuesting. Made for Riot Games.)

#dnd #dnd build #dnd guide #League of Legends #League of Legends Ezreal #you belong in a museum #dnd artificer #dnd wizard #twink

24 notes · View notes

norcalbruja · 3 years

Text

Things are not ideal for me right now

What’s up, so I had yet another argument with my mom today. I had to go lie down and vent about it to the spirits. I ended up begging them to find SOME way to get my writing off the ground, so I could move into my own place by the end of the year. Then I can finally be alone and not get constantly reminded by people that I'm bad at housework, and remembering stuff, and all those “regular people” things that my mom and sister are just fine with.

Because LUCKY ME, I live in California where a regular fucking 1-to-2-bedroom house can cost a million dollars or MORE now. And while writing and theater has never been easy, it’s been especially bad with the pandemic.

I wore myself out a couple years ago by trying to get my writing noticed the regular way with social-media, and eventually I quit posting much about my work because I barely got any readers AT ALL, let alone people who give me feedback like I kept begging them to. (GUESS HOW MAD I WAS when I found out that literally all of the “standard” marketing advice is bullshit. I spammed Tumblr and Twitter and Facebook for nothing, isn’t that great???)

So yeah, while I vastly advocate trying mundane options before asking the spirits for help, I don’t know how I can get a writing career or earn a million dollars the “mundane” way, especially not in these times.

Which led me, in my “desperate / enraged” double-whammy of a bad mindset, to go and ask Laho the moon-eater for help.

This is not the first time. I asked him in February because I was just fucking TIRED of being stuck at home and having my writing going nowhere, and how asking the other spirits just doesn’t seem to be working.

---

So for context: Laho the Moon-Eater is a dragon in Filipino / Tagalog mythology. He causes eclipses by coming out of the deep ocean and trying to eat the sun/moon. He actively dislikes when I call him a “god” because he insists that the anito/gods have to CARE ABOUT PEOPLE, regardless of power-level, and he is a DRAGON.

He acknowledges that dragons frequently overlap WITH gods, especially in Asian / Filipino mythology, but he told me that it’s a case-by-case thing and sometimes dragons just identify as Level 10 Nature-Spirits. Which is kind of trippy when Laho constantly takes human form and looks/acts almost like Dark Bakura, what with his long white hair, his deathly pale skin, and his dickish and blunt personality. He also has a glowing “aura” that none of the other anito seem to have, even the actual sun and moon deities. I think it's either “deep-sea bio-luminescence” or “side-effects from constantly trying to eat the sun/moon.”

And uh. That comparison to DARK Bakura is not an idle one, because for me, Laho is almost on Loki levels of "Engage With Heavy Caution.” Loki and I barely get along after several years of not being able to stand each other, and after one piece of advice from Loki that went So Damn Badly, he told me we can have a do-over later on. Laho is just damn unpredictable because sometimes he comes over to tell me about stuff, but sometimes he drags me out of my meditation without even asking “hey are you busy??? I found something cool!” first.

On the other hand, Laho is not a proper “Trickster” like Loki is, so he’s not trying to curse me or anything. That involves caring enough about one random, half-trained spirit-worker to like... intentionally damage her, and Laho Does Not Care About People.

Keep in mind that while I am NOT doing formal “magic / spellwork,” thank the gods, general consensus from the other spirits is “Do Not Try This At Home.” Fuck, now that I've calmed down, *I* don’t even like asking Laho for basic goals, but... I don’t know who else I can ask.

The rest of it is behind the “Read More” heading for heavy desperation, depression, and Not Safe For Work subjects.

---

So today after my latest argument with Mom, I went to my room to lie down and get a grip on my Seething Rage And Desperation, but as mentioned before, I just ended up begging the spirits, “GET ME OUT OF HERE, PLEASE. I JUST WANT A HOUSE AND AN ART CAREER. GET ME OUT OF HERE, PLEASE, I’M BEGGING YOU.”

And my attempts to calm down didn’t work so much that Spirit-Me’s heart just... split open from the stress, apparently. The last time that happened was when I was high as hell on a whole weed cookie, and I started thinking the world was going to end. (Long story short, that was Loki’s Extremely Bad Advice. Yes, the spirits remembered that. No, they were not happy that I was sober this time.)

So there’s Spirit-Me, screaming and bleeding all over the damn place while Odin and the other spirits are trying to 1) stitch me back up and 2) assure me that I’m not a TOTAL failure, but I was not in the space to listen, so once I was mostly-not-bleeding, I just ran off to the spirit-ocean and found Laho.

Generally when I’m desperate enough to ask Laho for help, I end up having sex with him as a trade.

Because, at risk of repeating myself, I’m broke. In a lot more ways than “money.” I’m say I’m a half-trained spirit-worker, but if you count FILIPINO spirit-work, it’s even less. I barely even speak Tagalog, so I wouldn’t know any spells or high-end offerings to give the spirits. I don’t know what the fuck else I can trade for help, besides having sex.

I don’t even have an altar to put offerings ON, because my mom’s place has a Catholic altar and I sure as hell won’t leave food meant for pagan spirits there. I share my regular food with the spirits, and then I eat it after a few minutes.

But like... remember how Spirit-Me’s heart just split open from stress, and how I was about to have sex, which is generally Very Strenuous in both worlds? Yeah, not only did my heart split back open, I’m pretty sure me and Laho didn’t do anything resembling “spiritual foreplay” either, because Spirit-Me started bleeding down there, too.

And it’s like, Laho is not a good role model for the MORAL side of “a crying woman is asking me for help and trying to have sex,” but the Filipino spirits are extremely open about sex by itself. Even Laho prides himself on having REALLY good sex if someone comes up to him for it, because humans and involved spirits are the ones who mess shit up with “feelings” and “consent” and “maybe this isn’t a good idea.”

But he knows that humans shouldn’t be leaking gallons of blood, so once that started, he stopped. And then he assured the extremely angry anito that he only knows why I’m bleeding from ONE place, but he didn’t expect that much, and the chest wound is not from him.

Spirit-Me was now slightly WORSE than when I started—my chest hurt and my downstairs half hurt, and while I was flailing in a pool of my own blood, and begging the spirits for a steady income and a basic house, my mouth started bleeding, so now Orifice #3 Is Leaking Too Much Red Stuff.

So, I needed Freyja AND Brighid to come fix it. Brighid says that my issues are manifesting as “spiritual ulcers.” Freyja has gently advised me that given the shit that happened today, I should avoid spirit-intercourse for the next few days and seriously take it easy for other types of sex.

And weirdly enough, once everyone cleared out to give me a break from the events, the Morrigan came up and told me that she loved me, and I could ask her for help if I wasn’t too tired. She also told me that she is the goddess of sovereignty, and I don’t ask her for nearly enough things. So... yeah, I asked her for help with getting an art career and buying my own house, so I could help fix the damn planet by the end of this year, 2021.

See, the Morrigan is my patron goddess and she has been extremely hands-off in the past few years. While she DOES relegate herself to “spiritual bodyguard for the squishy writer,” sometimes she comes up and tells me she loves me, unprompted. Especially when I’m... not in a good space AT ALL, like today.

I wonder if my soul is dying, or in a LOT of trouble. Honestly, I’m not surprised. I told the spirits a while back that my soul will die if I’m stuck in this rut for much longer, where I’m not a successful artist, and so I have to live with my family, who I can’t really get along with.

I'm not good at anything besides art. Either my head just doesn’t fucking work properly for most jobs, or random shit goes wrong with basic tasks, or I end up hating the job and wishing that I could just DO ART FOR A LIVING.

The only way I can see to fix things is get an art career and move into my own place, so I don’t bother anyone and they don’t have to deal with my weirdness. But HOW THE FUCK am I gonna find a million dollars for a basic house, when I can’t even get enough people to read my stuff???

And that, followers, is why I'm up at midnight after exhausting Spirit-World shenanigans.

#spirit-work #Filipino mythology #long post #personal gnosis #unverified personal gnosis #paganism #irish paganism #anito

2 notes · View notes

kurowrites · 4 years

Text

💔 - Part II

Back by popular demand: A second part for the texting AU.

---

In the end, he never gave the stranger his real name. He felt nervous about giving his real name to someone he only knew through text, so he resolved to ask the stranger for his name first. The answer had been a barrage of sad emojis and a (probably joking) accusation that Lan Zhan only wanted his name to report him to the authorities for spam or something like that.

[Unknown]: I will save you in my phone as “Handsome Young Man” then, gege. you can save me as “Sweetheart” 😘

[Lan Zhan]: No. How would you know I’m handsome?

[Unknown]: 😢

[Unknown]: I just know. just my luck to start talking to an exceedingly handsome young man that has absolutely no interest in me.

[Unknown]: there is that guy… no, nevermind.

[Lan Zhan]: Obviously you want to talk about this person, or you wouldn’t have sent that message.

[Unknown]: NO!!! 😡 I am flirting with you now, don’t distract me!!

[Unknown]: so yeah, I’m sure you’re handsome, you’re witty, and you’re sassy. you’re already checking all my requirements.

[Lan Zhan]: Is being handsome a requirement?

[Unknown]: not really? but it certainly helps 💋

[Unknown]: like, don’t get me wrong, I don’t go around judging people by their looks, but it certainly helps when you feel a potential romantic partner is attractive. so I’m sure you’re handsome, because everything else seems to fit the bill, too.

[Unknown]: not that I’m trying to make you uncomfortable here

[Unknown]: sorry 🙏

[Lan Zhan]: It is fine. I am not uncomfortable. You are not wrong. Even in an arranged marriage, if you feel that your partner is repulsive, it will not work out well. That said, I guess I have never been called ugly. But I have likewise never cared about romance, so there is little meaning in discussing whether I am handsome or not.

[Unknown]: I WAS RIGHT, YOU ARE HANDSOME. ONLY HANDSOME PEOPLE SAY THINGS LIKE THAT.

[Unknown]: but sad!! you never met a girl you were like 😏😏😏 with?

[Lan Zhan]: I have no interest in women.

[Unknown]: 😱😱😱

[Unknown]: another sudden curveball by gege!! 😱😱😱

[Unknown]: be still, my beating heart. are you saying you’re interested in men???

[Lan Zhan]: That seems to be the case.

[Unknown]: oh god. I was joking before but I would totally date you!!

[Lan Zhan]: You still don’t know who I am or where I am.

[Unknown]: DOESN’T MATTER

[Unknown]: well… maybe you could at least tell me your approximate location, so that I know if I can even hope for a meeting someday. If you’re located somewhere at the far end of Xinjiang Province, then I’m shit out of luck.

[Lan Zhan]: I live in Jiangsu Province, close to Shanghai.

[Unknown]: OMG REALLY?? ME TOO!!!

[Unknown]: at least as long as I’m still in university

[Unknown]: 🥳🥳🥳

[Unknown]: that’s the best news of the week. please meet me sometime!!!

[Lan Zhan]: I will think about it. I have class now, so I will stop replying.

[Unknown]: have fun!! don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! 😘😘😘

[Lan Zhan]: …that would only shorten the list of possibilities by a very few items.

[Unknown]: RUDE.

[Unknown]: but also justified. love your sass 😘

[Lan Zhan]: Have a good day.

[Unknown]: 🥰

---

“A-Zhan,” Lan Huan said, a smile already lifting the corners of his mouth. “Is there something you neglected to tell me? Who is this ‘Sweetheart’ on your phone?”

Lan Zhan blushed violently and snatched the phone out of Lan Huan’s hand.

“It was just a joke,” he mumbled, and retreated to read the new message without his brother’s snooping.

[Sweetheart]: I AM SO BORED.

[Sweetheart]: seriously I wish you were here right now, I am bored out of my mind and there’s no relief.

[Sweetheart]: tell me that you love me. I want to hear it just one time before I perish. I’m pretty sure my brain is already dribbling out of my ears. the end is near.

[Lan Zhan]: I love you.

[Sweetheart]: omg

[Sweetheart]: OMG!!!

[Sweetheart]: 😱😱😱

[Sweetheart]: HOW COULD I POSSIBLY DIE NOW THAT YOU TOLD ME YOU LOVE ME

[Sweetheart]: ah my heart might not be able to take this. I might die anyway.

[Sweetheart]: goodbye cruel world. it was nice knowing you 💀

[Lan Zhan]: Remember, you wanted to meet me first.

[Sweetheart]: right!!! please meet with me, handsome stranger, and tell me such things in person!!

[Lan Zhan]: My next few weekends are busy, but after that. I need to stop now, my brother is trying to sneak a look at my messages.

He hastily stowed his mobile phone away and gave Lan Huan a stern look.

“I do not read your messages, either,” Lan Zhan reminded him.

“Yes, but my brother has finally taken an interest in someone!” Lan Huan enthused himself. “How can I not wish for my brother’s happiness.”

Lan Zhan huffed. “Do it quietly, and without snooping.”

Lan Huan only laughed and hugged him tightly.

It was… acceptable, Lan Zhan decided. He knew that his brother had been worried about him, and had hoped that he would finally make friends at university. And he had made a friend, now. Only he didn’t even know the friend’s name.

---

Lan Wangji was tired when he went to the dining hall after another busy day, so he didn’t even react when someone bumped into him just as he set down his tray on an empty table.

“Lan Zhan!” came Wei Ying’s enthusiastic voice, but the usual bright smile he was greeted with dimmed almost immediately after Wei Ying had seen Lan Zhan’s face.

“You look a little tired,” Wei Ying said, and sounded almost worried.

“Hn,” Lan Zhan agreed, and sat down. When Wei Ying hovered for a moment longer, not sitting down immediately, he looked up. “Are you going to sit?”

Wei Ying’s face brightened again, and he took the free seat opposite of Lan Zhan with relish, digging into his food.

“So, tell me,” he said after a few bites. “What are you so busy with? It’s not even exam period.”

“My uncle organizes a charity concert every year,” Lan Zhan explained. “His school offers a certain number of open spots for disadvantaged children. One of the sources of the funds for the project is the concert. Many former students who have become professional musicians will perform at the concert. It is a rare chance to see all these musicians in one single concert, so every year, a great number of people attend. I will also perform, at the request of my uncle.”

“Is this your humble way of saying you’re basically a professional musician?”

“I… don’t give concerts, usually,” Lan Zhan said, feeling his ears heat up a little bit.

Wei Ying’s smile grew larger. “It is! Any chance I get to hear you play sometime? Unfortunately, I don’t think I have the funds for a charity concert, as much as I’d love to support the education of disadvantaged children. I barely have the funds to support my own education.”

Lan Zhan considered the request for a moment.

“You can watch me practice,” he eventually offered. “It is no concert, but…”

“That’d be awesome!” Wei Ying exclaimed enthusiastically. “I’m sure it will be awesome either way! Tell me where I need to be, and I’ll be there.”

“I will practice after dinner. If you are free.”

“Even if I wasn’t, I’d clear my schedule for a chance to get to listen to you,” Wei Ying laughed.

Lan Zhan felt his ears heat up, but he silently accepted the compliment and didn’t reply.

After they had eaten, Wei Ying followed Lan Zhan out of the dining hall towards the building that housed the music rooms where Lan Zhan usually practiced. He pulled his phone out as he did, telling Lan Zhan with a wink that he needed to tell his roommate where he was, in case he got murdered.

Lan Zhan shook his head in exasperation. It was the same terrible humour that reminded him of ‘Sweetheart,’ though Lan Zhan had become rather used to it now.

A moment later, his own mobile phone vibrated. He took it out of his pocket to look at the new message.

[Sweetheart]: you won’t believe what just happened! Mr. Extremely-Handsome-but-very-Aloof just invited me along to his concert practice! he’s willing to spend time with me! you’re still my number one though, don’t worry! my relationship with him shall stay pure 😘😘😘

Lan Zhan stared at the message he had just received, and then turned to stare at Wei Ying next to him, his own phone still in hand. It couldn’t be. It would be too much of a coincidence. It was impossible.

It was– he was pretty sure he had just caught a glimpse of the same message on Wei Ying’s phone. Three kisses at the end.

His entire body turned hot with anxiety and excitement at the thought that these two people were one and the same; the stranger that flirted with him incessantly and Wei Ying who–

Wei Ying who was handsome and lively and everything he had hoped the mysterious stranger would be.

With his heart in his throat, he opened the keyboard on his phone.

[Lan Zhan]: Wei Ying?

The notification for a new message flashed on the display of Wei Ying’s phone. Wei Ying looked at it for one moment, an expression of utter disbelief on his face, before he carefully turned to Lan Zhan. When he met Lan Zhan’s expectant eyes, he blushed intensely and slapped is hands in front of his face, nearly hitting himself with his phone.

“Oh no,” he said. “Oh no no no, this isn’t happening. I just made an ass of myself. Please end me now.”

Lan Zhan felt as if he was in a dream. This was too good to be true. He felt as if he was floating. With slightly shaking hands, he typed out another message on his phone.

[Lan Zhan]: I do hope the relationship will not stay pure.

[Lan Zhan]: 😘

Apparently, Wei Ying’s curiosity was stronger than his urge to die. He peeked out between his fingers as soon as he noticed the notification for a new message, and he blinked at it for several moments with the most adorable expression of confusion that Lan Zhan had ever seen in his life.

The next moment, his arms were full of Wei Ying, brabbling a lot of nonsense, which Lan Zhan found entirely him and extremely cute.

“You!” Wei Ying repeated several times, but he didn’t get any further than that.

“I,” Lan Zhan agreed, and he hugged Wei Ying back.

[Sweetheart]: you’ve made a mistake. now I will expect kisses from you all the time. I will require you to use lots of emoji on me!!! your old man soul will suffer! 👴

[Lan Zhan]: 😘😘😘

[Sweetheart]: AAAAAAAAH 💀

#kuro writes #the untamed #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wangxian #mdzs #prompt

155 notes · View notes

fizzingwizard · 4 years

Text

I’m having trouble deciding how to place my crappy screen shots this week because ep 9 gave me the Taichi spam episode of my dreams xD

So, I guess feast your eyes on my favorite boy...

... I mean, you can’t have too much of that determined face, can ya? Haha. And he does it so well.

Well, I was prepared for a episode that was just a cool battle, but we actually did get more than just that. Or, I guess I should say, there was more layered over the battle so it didn’t feel like fighting for the sake of fighting. We still got character development. I love it.

My only criticism for this week is that, consequently, we got very little of the other characters. BUT, what we did get of them was not nothing either, so I’m gonna squee over that as well.

I mentioned some time ago, but also, THE MUSIC IN THIS SHOW, it’s really good. Very epic, very adventure. It kicks the tone up up UP.

More below!

We pick up where we left off last ep, with Taichi “translating” the digicode. Still no indication of whether the others are so linguistically blessed as well. But Taichi, for reasons unknown, can’t translate the entire passage. He basically learns enough to understand that the holy Digimon is trapped by the “dark” and in trouble, and they have to go find it, but after that he says he can’t read any more.

Sora: I told you to pay more attention at school.

Taichi: What school are you thinking of, spy school?!?

It will be interesting to find out why that is and it points to someone pulling the strings behind the curtain. Someone who’s made the kids their champion. Are they a benevolent being? The kids don’t doubt it so far. An old cabbage like me can’t help but look sidelong...

Jou panics over how they’re going to find the holy digimon without knowing where it is, to which Mimi responds that they do know.

Jou: Mimi-kun, you know where it is?

Mimi: Somewhere on this continent.

Jou: T_T Mimiiiiiiii-kunnnn

Taichi of course is raring to go, map or no map.

I mean I did warn you I only capped Taichi this ep...

They are interrupted by Ogremon, who we saw previously talking with Devimon, but when he arrives his motivation does not seem concerned with his master’s plans. He goes straight for Taichi, reflecting on their previous encounter, when Greymon broke Ogremon’s horn.

So here’s what I loved. Ogremon’s working for Devimon, of his free will or not we don’t really know, but regardless, Ogremon is still Ogremon, and like in old Adventure, he stakes a lot in his pride. Last time it was focused solely on fighting Leomon. This time, the kids initially think he goes after Greymon for revenge, but as their fight heats up the other kids notice that something seems different about this fight. Mimi even says “It looks like they’re having fun.”

Like, it’s not just a battle. It’s already done some foundational work for Ogremon becoming their ally in the future. And it’s begun with Taichi this time. Ogremon’s special relationship was Mimi in 99, as well as Jou, and there’s plenty of time for that to turn out in 20 as well, but I think it’s super interesting that they’ve begun it with Taichi.

It’s like a samurai film. (Mimi - again - even says “It’s like a movie.” She got a lot of good lines this ep lol) The two strong, brave rivals who respect each other’s strength and value each other’s pride. And it’s a trope we see in... basically every shonen anime ever made. And it’s really fitting for Taichi.

Yamato has very few lines in this episode. Like I said before, this is very much Taichi’s ep, and the others are mainly just watching, which is a bit of a bummer but also rather hopeful for the show as a whole because even though they’re watching, we learn things about them. The other characters make quips and comments while watching the fight. Yamato is noticeably silent, but every time something significant happens, we get a close up of his face. He gets more closeups and of longer duration than the others. It’s clearly meant to tell us Yamato’s taking this all in and watching so closely. Maybe he’s watching in case he needs to jump in, or maybe he’s simply learning all he can for the future. Whatever the reason, this is definitely an important character trait for Yamato.

All of a sudden a bunch of other Digimon launch an attack, and the kids can’t get out of the way in time. Taichi makes this face:

Similar to the expression he had last week when they were grossly outnumbered and about to lose, if Yamato hadn’t saved their butts. I think this expression’s going to become a Thing as well. It’s the face he makes when he wants to panic, but won’t let himself.

This week Yamato can’t save them because he also needs saving! So who’s our mysterious ally?

That’s right it’s KOOOOOSHIROOOOOO!!!!!! *air horn sounds*

The sheer joy (and relief!) in Taichi’s voice when he sees Koushirou almost makes up for his not being around much in several eps. I’m still a bit disappointed that his return didn’t involve that much fanfare, but getting to save everyone from being blown up is nothing to sneeze at.

Tentomon is hilarious and, like Sakamoto Chika said in yesterday’s Digifes, an “even weirder” old guy than ever xD

The others immediately run over to say hi or introduce themselves to Koushirou and Jou’s quick to inform him that he, Jou, is the leader.

Mimi: Uh really? Since when?

The very manly battle continues to rage.

Yeah I don’t really got much to say, it’s a battle, they’re having fun, becoming rivals, it’s male bonding through physical competition and mutual respect...

I wonder if Ogremon’s got an inferiority complex because Greymon’s got three big horns and Ogremon only has one and a half x’D

The manly battle is rudely interrupted by a FREAKING MISSILE.

Look, doesn’t this land right on them? ISN’T IT LITERALLY RIGHT OVER THEIR HEADS!?!?! Why aren’t they burnt to a crisp! I know it’s a kids show but come on!

The missile was launched by MetalTyrannomon, who is as scary as he is brainless.

The Pokemon fan in me was immediately like “fire!! Palmon get out of here you’re a plant type! Eh Gomamon you’ll be fine”

The kids immediately know something’s changed. The battle of male bonding is over. War is here. The missile was probably a good indicator of that.

Devimon isn’t what one would call subtle.

Ogremon quickly calls it like it is: “So I’ve been abandoned, eh.” Devimon’s gonna kill the kids and he doesn’t care about Ogremon’s pride. He doesn’t care about it so much...

... that he doesn’t mind MetalTyrannomon STOMPING on Ogremon and CRUSHING him into the ground

Taichi’s like WTH!?!?! we were doing some male bonding!! that shit’s sacred!!!

Ogremon: M’fine... jus’ another day for ol’ Ogremon... ghhhhh.... mommy...

So Taichi has a pretty strong reaction to watching Ogremon get literally stomped on. Not that I blame him, but it’s not like they know Ogremon well or anything. Taichi just feels through their battle that Ogremon, well, he doesn’t deserve this anyway. I guess. He has been trying to kill them for a while though. But Taichi’s got his own samurai side and he can’t let injustice stand.

He’s so worked up, the animators were afraid showing us his whole face could cause distress.

His strong sense of justice fuels his courage!

Which in turn gives Greymon an epic power boost like Yamato’s feelings of friendship did for him last episode!

Aaaaand... it’s not very effective!

Because MetalTyrannomon is a level higher, even with a power boost Greymon can’t do more than dent him.

One thing that stands out is, the Digimon don’t seem to have the same issue with needing to fuel up between battles as in 99 Adventure. We’ve seen them pleading for food a couple times yeah, but when they’re fighting they don’t seem to reach their limit quite as fast. This episode, Tentomon didn’t join in the fight because he’s exhausted from flying as Kabuterimon for such a long time before even saving the kids. Agumon doesn’t run out of juice until he tries to take on MetalTyrannomon. But it took both of them quite some time to get to that point and we don’t see anyone stop to fuel up again between scenes.

The contrast with the Ogremon battle makes the MetalTyrannomon one that much scarier. This is the third time in two episodes that Taichi’s on the brink of panic. The third time he’d have lost the game, if someone didn’t come to the rescue.

And this time that rescue comes from a surprising (not surprising?) corner.

Ogremon stands back up... and has uhhh apparently lost his eyeball??? x’D I know he got crushed but like, did his eyeball pop out of his socket and roll away? Like "on top of spaghetti all covered with cheese” style???

Anyway, Ogremon must be kind of sick of losing body parts, because it’s pretty obvious at this point that he’s going to Die by sacrificing himself. Par for the course for Ogremon. He can’t admit to caring, but if he can rationalize it as “I’m getting revenge!” or something he will jump right in. And, given the rate this show’s being going, I guess it’s no surprise we’d see a borderline touching death this early on.

Ogremon also directs Taichi to where the holy Digimon is, making him seem not very like Devimon’s ally at all. Apparently the holy Digimon is “straight ahead.” Some actual directions might be nice but uh.

Taichi however is not too on board with this dying-for-you junk. You can see how conflicted he is. (Well, not in a screenshot, but he’s like shaking.)

Yamato continues to looking on silentl, quivering with rage as much as Taichi, just from the back. I will not be surprised at all if this Greymon-Ogremon battle is something of a prelude for conflicts between Taichi and Yamato in the future.

Ogremon gathers his remaining strength and attacks MetalTyrannomon with everything he’s got, and does indeed seem to disintegrate in the style of dying Digimon. However, that doesn’t mean this will be the last time we see him. I think he’ll come back maybe even more brainwashed on Devimon’s side, perhaps fused again, or maybe not - but I do think we’ll see him again sooner rather than later.

Then all the kids are blinded and Sora groans that she knew she forgot something at the store, freaking sunglasses.

A really fun episode! Was not really expecting much from an episode that was focused on a battle, but it does not fall into the boring trap of just doing cool stuff for the sake of doing it. Though it’s disappointing Yamato was so quiet, it has a sense of a pot slowly heating to a boil. It’s a pregnant pause. And Jou and Mimi were their hilarious selves, how I missed them. Sora and Koushirou had the least to do, but at least Koushirou got to save the day.

Next week it looks like MetalTyrannomon was not defeated by Ogremon, who may have been passionate but was still a level below, so we get to fight some more...

There are no showers in the digital world.

Koushirou gets to show off his Usefulness with this Useful map, which will clearly cause a lot of frowns since it shows that they can only go left or right, even though Ogremon told them to go “straight ahead.” Hmm. What will they do? I’m kind of expecting Taichi to insist on going straight anyway. I hope we don’t split up again already.

Also next week marks the return of the MISSILE NIPPLES!!!

I hadn’t expected another evolution this early on but I mean we did already get a jogress.... so I suppose it’s no surprise. Also MISSILE NIPPLES!!!

#digimon adventure 2020 #digimon psi #fizz watches digimon 2020 #digimon #psi spoilers

18 notes · View notes

ecoamerica · 1 month

Text

youtube

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

16K notes · View notes

douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years

Text

THE LAST ONE MIGHT BE THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT IN A STARTUP IS AMONG THE PUREST OF REAL WORLD TESTS

This probably accounts for a lot of experience themselves in the technology business. The experience of the SFP suggests that if you let motivated people do real work, they work like watertight compartments in an unsinkable ship. You don't give up as much equity as VCs wanted. An essay is supposed to suggest efficiency.1 Then instead of coming to your office to work on your projects, he can work wherever he wants on projects of their own angel rounds. But most young hackers have neither. The spammers wouldn't say these things if they didn't sound exciting. Not even investors, who have in the past.2

The first courses in English literature seem to have done stuff with peanuts.3 But due to a series of meetings, culminating in a full partner meeting where the firm as a whole says yes or no. You can take out the whole point if you need to do this when they can.4 If you want to create for a newborn child will be quite unlike the streets of a big company. 99 respectively, and a lot of experience themselves in the technology world know what usually happens when something comes along that can be done by bad programmers is choosing the wrong platform. Investors have no idea how much better we could do, is this the one with the best chance of making money. And being charming and confident counts for nothing with users.5 So I'm going to try to get into second gear.6 You might say that it's an admirable thing to write great programs, even when this work doesn't translate easily into the conventional intellectual currency of research papers.

I'd only seen in zoos before. I was still ambivalent about business. The 2005 summer founders ranged in age from 18 to 28 average 23, and there are plenty of societies where parents don't mind if their teenage kids have sex—indeed, where it's normal for 14 year olds to become mothers. When you judge people that way, and there's a simple solution that's somewhat expensive, just take it and get on with building the company.7 They switch because it's a recipe for succeeding just by negating.8 But actually being good. How do you find surprises?9 Maybe they made you feel better, so I read it, and that it therefore mattered far more which startups you picked than how much you learn in college depends a lot more appealing to most of us than pandering to human weaknesses. If you're going to make the most money are those who aren't in it just for the reasons everyone knows about. People trying to be cool and maybe make money.

But by no means impossible. But you should realize you're stepping into dangerous territory. But most young hackers have neither. My parents were pretty good about admitting when they didn't know things, but I can't believe we've considered every alternative.10 The best stories about user needs are about your own. It would certainly be convenient, but you have to be the new way of delivering applications. The route for the ambitious in that sort of thing to be in the building a certain number of hours a day.11

Instead of trying to teach it to people, I'd say that yes, surprisingly often it can. 15981844 spot 0. We all thought there was just something we weren't getting. Which means, oddly enough, that as you grow older, life should become more and more surprising. An essay can go anywhere the writer wants. It's because liberal cities tolerate odd ideas, and smart people by definition have odd ideas. A nerd's idea of paradise is Berkeley or Boulder. One of Silicon Valley's biggest advantages is its venture capital firms. What if both are true? It was remarkable how different they seemed.12 The reason is not just that he'd be annoying, but that they're driven by more powerful motivations.

Foreseeing disaster, my friend and his wife rapidly improvised: yes, the turkey had wanted to die. People. It does not seem to have looked far for ideas. That seems the wrong model. But I know the power of the forces that have them in their place, but it goes fast. We're just finally able to measure it. Nearly all wanted advice about dealing with future investors: how much money should they take and what kind of x you've built. Sex I believe they conceal because they'd be frightening, not because you did something wrong.13 Someone is going to have nearly the pull with the spam recipient as the kinds of things that spammers say now. So on demo day I told the assembled angels and VCs.

I found that the Bayesian filter did the same thing the river does: backtrack. What would be a good idea. The effect of unpredictability is more subtle. But it's the people that make it Silicon Valley, what you need to impress are fairly tolerant. It's like the sort of distribution you'd expect, the number of nonspam and spam messages respectively. Now that we know what we're looking for, that leads to other questions. But we knew it was possible to start on that little because we started Viaweb on $10,000.14 And having kids is our genes heading for the lifeboats. The user doesn't know what it means to have gone to an elite college; you learn more from them than the professors.

Notes

Unfortunately the payload can consist of dealing with money and disputes. Mueller, Friedrich M. And journalists as part of this essay, Richard Florida told me that if he ever made a better education. In-Q-Tel that is exactly the opposite way from the 1940s or 50s instead of admitting frankly that it's up to two more investors.

While the audience at an ever increasing rate to impress are not very discerning.

5 seconds per day.

By heavy-duty security I mean no more willing to be when I became an employer, I advised avoiding Javascript. And though they have because they suit investors' interests. This is one of them was Webvia; I was as late as 1984. But they also influence one another indirectly through the buzz that surrounds a hot deal, I mean no more than just reconstructing word boundaries; spammers both add xHot nPorn cSite and omit P rn letters.

On the other. Though nominally acquisitions and sometimes on a road there are no misunderstandings. Looking at the leading scholars in the sense of things you want to lead.

Some of the techniques for discouraging stupid comments have yet to find someone else start those startups. If the Mac was so great, why not turn your company right now. Google is that you're small and use whatever advantages that brings.

Security always depends more on not screwing up. Until recently even governments sometimes didn't grasp the cachet that term had. Note to nerds: or possibly a lattice, narrowing toward the top schools are, which have remained more or less, is due to the modern idea were proposed by Timothy Hart in 1964, two years, but not the distinction between money and disputes.

Monroeville Mall was at Harvard Business School at the end of the venture business, and I had zero false positives reflecting the remaining power of Democractic party machines, but it's hard to get all the investors agree, and tax rates will tend to be. One valuable thing you changed. These were the impressive ones. The solution is to start startups who otherwise wouldn't have had a broader meaning.

Not one got an interview, I'd say the raison d'etre of prep schools improve kids' admissions prospects.

On the other seed firms always find is that there is some weakness in your own mind. On Bullshit, Princeton University Press, 1965. Us 10 million and we'll tell you them.

Conjecture: The First Industrial Revolution was one in an era of such high taxes? One of the magazine they'd accepted it for you to stop, but a lot, or want tenure, avoid casual conversations with VCs suggest it's roughly correct to say now.

You have to admit there's no lower bound to its precision.

So it may be useful in cases where VCs don't invest, regardless of the word I meant. I'm sure for every startup we funded, summer jobs are the most dramatic departure from his family how much of the economy, at least a whole department at a friend's house for the others to act through subordinates.

At one point in the chaos anyway. I don't know who invented something the mainstream media needs to learn to acknowledge as well. Robert Morris says that the only audience for your protection.

1 note · View note

nerdypanda3126 · 4 years

Text

Rumors

I’m a little behind on posting my fics on here, so I’ll be trying to catch up the next few days. Sorry in advance for the spam

Read on Ao3

Adrien spins Marinette out and back in to the time of the music, lapsing into a relaxed ballroom hold. Over the last few events, they’ve found that the dance floor is the only place he can sweep her away to at these things where people leave them alone. Marinette is a great dance partner, always following his steps with ease and fluidity. One glance from her and he knows when she wants to spin, twirling the fabric of her custom designed skirts. It’s selfish of him to have her there, really, but he tells himself it’s because it gives her the opportunity to show off her designs to some of the big wigs in the industry. And it gives him a few opportunities during the night to drop his façade and actually have fun.

But tonight the glances being thrown their way are more than just curious. They’re downright assumptive. Mari doesn’t read the tabloids. She told him before that she knows the real him and doesn’t care to read other peoples’ speculation. Most of the time, it was a relief. He could laugh with her about it all.

But tonight, he wishes he didn’t have to break the news to her.

“There’ve been some rumors, Mari,” he whispers in her ear, holding her close to him so she can hear him over the music.

“Rumors, huh? Those are always fun.” All the light in the room seems to be radiating from her, and her dress glitters where she had painstakingly attached the sequins. “What is it now, that you’ve grown another head?”

He laughs aloud and the sound of it startles the couple next to them. Adrien closes his mouth quickly, smiling, and nods to the couple as an apology. When he turns back to Mari, her eyes catch the light and absolutely sparkle.

“Not quite.”

When Adrien first read the headline this morning, provided to him so graciously by Nathalie flopping the magazine over his breakfast tray, his first thought was inescapably, ‘Marinette’s my friend’. But he had had to admit, looking at the picture of them together from the last event, a moment the photographer stole when neither one of them was paying attention, it was quite incriminating. The look on his face was of pure admiration. The blush on her face spoke volumes. It was a joke he told her. Something about a potato. He wished he could remember because Mari’s drink almost came out of her nose.

He smiles again at the memory. “It’s about us.”

“Us?” Her bewilderment is proof enough; she didn’t know anything about it.

“Apparently, we’re dating now.” He can’t help the goofy smile on his face. The thought does have a certain appeal. On a whim, he leads her into a turn. She follows effortlessly, coming back around to clasp his hand, back into their frame.

“Is that so?”

“Hadn’t you heard?”

“I think I would’ve remembered Paris’ sweetheart asking me on a date.” She’s taunting him, he realizes. Mari is taunting him and it’s incredibly hot. Suddenly he can’t seem to swallow right.

“The dancing probably doesn’t help our case,” he manages to say. His hand slips lower on her back unintentionally.

“You’re probably right.” She slips her hand out of his and rests it on his shoulder instead. His hand falls on her hip and their frame collapses. She’s so close. He can smell the perfume wafting off her, a subtle floral. It’s intoxicating. “We might as well give them something to talk about, right?” Smirking. She’s smirking at him. Then she lays her head on his chest and he’s surprised his heart doesn’t just stop then and there. He tightens his grip around the small of her back. If he could hold her like this forever it still wouldn’t be enough. She tangles her fingers in the stray strands of hair around the nape of his neck.

The song ends. The couple next to them looks at him pointedly. The lady raises her eyebrows at them. It’s admonishment enough and Adrien steps away from Mari, keeping a light hand around her waist. When her head falls, she looks up at him and he knows he’s gone. He’s been gone since he handed her his umbrella that day in the rain.

“Mari, we could give them something to talk about.” He tucks his index finger under her chin and runs his thumb down the smooth line of her jaw. The look in her eyes is enough to make him melt on the spot. “Or we could just make them stop.” He raises his eyebrows, hoping she catches his meaning.

She smiles before she pulls him down, standing on her tiptoes to meet him with a kiss. The cameras flash around them, but Adrien is entranced by the feel of her lips on his. She nestles a hand in his hair, tugging gently, and he pulls her body closer to him.

When they both come up for air, Adrien leans his forehead against hers. Her eyes are starry, the blush on her cheeks is beyond adorable, and he hopes that every camera in the room is capturing this moment so he can see their first kiss on the cover of every magazine for the next month. He knows the dopey grin is back on his face.

“Another dance?” She sounds as breathless as he feels.

“I think we might have to call it a night.”

“Aww, but I was hoping to fuel a few more rumors. Where did Kagami run off to?” She pretends to look around the room, but her eyes stay on his.

“We can still start a few more, you know. We could leave the party early. That would be excellent tabloid fuel, don’t you think?”

“Undoubtedly.” The grin she flashes him is downright wicked. She trails a hand down his arm and he shivers when her fingers touch the bare skin of his forearm. A low growl slips out between his teeth. “Give me just a second, I’ll be right back.”

She leaves his arms before he can protest, pushing off his chest lightly. He watches her walk over to the DJ and even in her heels she has to get up on her tiptoes to see over the booth. They talk for a short moment and the DJ nods, giving Mari a thumbs up.

When Mari comes back to the dance floor, the song starts up. He feels the tempo before he really registers it. A tango. How does she expect him to tango in his current state? He loosens the tie he’s wearing and unbuttons the first button of his shirt. From the look on Mari’s face, it’s about to get very hot in here very quickly.

She tosses a hand out to him, drawing out her steps in time to the music. When she reaches him, he throws out a hand to meet her, spinning her into him quickly. He starts the basic step, but almost instantly she changes, stepping outside of his right foot to start a step sequence, kicking up her heels on every other beat. He turns with her as she works her way around him, keeping his frame solid so she can work against him.

The dance floor has emptied around them; they have the space to themselves. Adrien glances at Marinette to catch her timing, and at a pause in her steps he brings her into him, a small warning before he spins her out quickly. She’s at his arm’s length, their hands still loosely connected. She raises her eyebrows before turning away from him, acting like she’s about to walk away. He changes his grip to catch both of her arms, pulling her back to him. She falls into his chest and throws her arms around his neck, arching her back and kicking a slender leg out in front of him.

When she slides down him, Adrien could die happy on the spot. The photographers are having a field day, and he guesses that’s what Mari was going for. How does she do that in heels?

Not to mention when she works her way back up. His mind goes blank.

But he catches her when she turns around to face him again, the music building into a crescendo. Mercifully she lets him lead her through the basic step. He knows that look in her eyes, though. She has something planned.

The music ends with a big flourish and Mari poses with her thigh hooked around his hip. She locks eyes with him before sliding her thigh off of him. Adrien can’t breathe. She takes his tie and pulls his face to hers.

“Ask me, Adrien.”

His heart is in his throat. “Mari, can I please take you out?”

“Tomorrow. Eiffel Tower. You can pick me up at 15h.” She flips his tie over his shoulder and walks off the dance floor.

He is so screwed.

#miraculous ladybug #adrienette #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #dancing #rumors #tabloids

24 notes · View notes

kindofvertigo-m · 4 years

Text

I’m having a Lottie Day so don’t mind me as I spam about her – ( jk it won’t be too bad but I WILL be making one of these posts PER volume, which is only 3 so shhhh this is the last one !!! ) p.s. this is not a meme

Favorite Quotes: Volume 3; Is This Real Life?

In case you’re wondering, my phone is over there charging and I’m not even thinking about it.

She’s just wearing whatever and of course she looks amazing. I spent all day on my outfit and she didn’t even notice … Can she at least tell me I look hot once in a while?

Is she crying because I’m out of Perrier? Seems a bit excessive …

You know you can shop online, right? You know you don’t have to go out on days like this, right? We’re both from SoCal, right?!

God. it’s too hot! How about we just go home and die instead?

So today I just want to be told I’m the best a hundred thousand times a second and not have to deal with anyone else’s crap! Is that so much to ask?

So the thing that happened at the popup went a little more viral than I was hoping, but after watching a few seasons of Queer Eye, I decided to embrace positivity.

So if I’ve been ignoring you, I’m fucking sorry, but I’m on a staycation right now and I threw my phone into the the ocean! (Just kidding … My phone is safe. I’m more of a throw my phone into the piano type of girl, really …)

You know I hate parties and I super hate flirting, but some semi-cute guy was making fuck eyes at me all night and my resistance was starting to waver.

Ugh, I’m not giving Meg the satisfaction of skipping her wedding. She doesn’t deserve my spite.

My voice is naturally not that loud! This is why I became an internet person in the first place!

I guess we’re gonna die at Meg’s wedding. I guess we’re gonna die together, Coolgirl. At least it’ll make the fans happy … At least it’s goals …

#// last lottie post !!!!#// gonna write up her page now AND THEN I'LL PICK AWAY AT DRAFTS !!!!!#🤧 : m.007.001 : 《 about 〈 lottie 〉》

2 notes · View notes

scullydubois · 5 years

Text

thoughts on The Truth (9x19/20)

Written by Chris Carter Directed by Kim Manners

WOOHOO LETS GO

Gasp...Mulder

Where they at

Up to his old clowny ways again

Do you think Scully emailed him and was like, yeah, so I put the baby up for adoption

Krycek? I thought you were dead boy

Nice one

Dun dun dun

“About my son...and his mother” looks like that email went to spam

He’s a guilty man….he failed in every respect

Ladies...ladies…

Who dafuq are Dana and Walter, who’s he talking to

This is some A+ brainwashing

Krycek wyd

Is Kersh actually being helpful

I’m having some thoughts…

Is that allowed?

That went on for like...a long time

It IS a party, Mulder’s right

They got Knowle’s body? WTF

Alright so...I’m not actually mentally capable for handling this

Gillian is doing some A+ acting

This whole ‘our son’ thing...detrimental to my health

Let it be known that I’m having a straight up bad time

Her laugh after he said he was out looking for the truth...please kill me

“I can’t tell you” you’re really gonna do this...now..GTFO

“That doesn’t make sense” correct

They needed to give Skinner a reasonable part in the ep so he’s gonna be Mulder’s lawyer...I have to laugh

Mulder’s gonna lose…

They’re really throwing flashbacks in here...I don’t know if I like that or not

Hey Spender

Lol...so it’s not that Mulder isn’t guilty, it’s that a government conspiracy justifies his actions

The sheer amount of summarizing here makes me uncomfortable...I know it was probably good for those who watched the show over a span of 9 years, but I watched all of this in the past 6 months...I know

GIBSON COME THROUGH

Scully’s snapping on Mulder...thank you god

“I’d rather die, Scully” you’re literally dumb, Mulder

TBH it seems like Mulder as a character grew out of his whole “the truth before everything” mindset seasons ago, why are we reverting him back to it

This is actually infuriating

“It’s you and me, that’s what I’m fighting for, Mulder. You and me.” Deadass!

His face...he knows he done fucked up

Thanks, I hate it (it being that scene)

Mr. X???

How did this Native American kid get Doggett’s address

I mean...good but

Marita however you spell her last name?? Where the fuck did she go after season 7

I feel like she’s one of the most irrelevant recurring characters

Mulder! Stop being dumb!

This isn’t even clowny anymore...this is just straight up dumbass

Gibson is spilling the tea! He literally pointed to this guy and called him out for being a super soldier...zero fucks! He’s never let me down!

Mulder is fired up!

If a boy who could read minds couldn’t help, how are Doggett and Reyes?

Alright Reyes is going off...I love her

GOD...all of this would be solved if William hadn’t been put up for adoption...they literally COULD have a demonstration...he is their physical proof of the truth they’ve been searching for!! In more ways than one!!!!

So far in this episode...Reyes>>>Mulder

Lucky break that Doggett got the corpse sent to Quantico

Literally zero way of physically identifying that as Knowle!

Skinner’s like…’so this case is irrelevant because the victim isn’t dead, so jot that down’

Sorry but...I can’t take Scully seriously here...I wish I could...but he went “You’re in contempt” and she did that kid argument thing of going “No, YOU”RE in contempt!”

This is the saddest excuse of a trial I have ever seen

Verdict time!!

Guilty of first degree murder...imagine watching the pilot episode and finding out that Mulder gets convicted of murder in the final episode..WTF

This is such an L...for everyone involved (both fictionally and in reality)

Mulder’s really making a speech after being convicted for murder...PLEASE

His crime is in daring to believe!

Did y’all know that the truth is out there

This is so dramatic LMAO

Scully’s about to pick up the phone and they’re gonna be like ‘death penalty!’

OH MY FUCKING GOD THAT WAS A JOKE WHAT IN THE ACTUAL HELL

This is so fucking terrible but I’m actually laughing hysterically because I did not expect that, I was literally joking

They waited until there was a verdict to break him out, when they actually could have just done it the whole time

Like...if y’all were just gonna break him out the whole time, why did I have to watch the stupid summing up of the show via the trial

Alright...maybe Kersh has some rights

Canada sounds like a good idea

Or not, do whatever the fuck you want I guess, you’re already on the run for murder

BITCH why am I seeing an empty X-Files office...not allowed in any circumstances

Super soldier guy, fuck off

The Lone Gunmen deserved better

You already know I love a desert episode

Sometimes i wish Mulder would just chill

Doggett and Reyes are really out here in a helicopter

THIS IS LITERALLY THE FUNNIEST THING EVER I-

I’m sorry but I cannot take this seriously...I cannot cannot

Mulder just spill it

“You’re afraid to speak the truth.” You know what? CSM is right and he should say it

Always about magnetite

Welp, there’s Knowle

She wants to hear it Mulder!!

THE TRUTH IS THAT ALIENS ARE GOING TO INVADE IN 2012????? LMAOOOOOOO

No wonder I actually didn’t have this part spoiled for me ahead of time

This did not age well, not one bit

We got multiple helicopters out here now

And magnetite takes care of another one

Run run run

How exactly did the helicopters lose them

BYE

What kind of dramatic ass shot...that’s the worse thing I’ve ever seen

Hold on...I’m shifting into tenderness mode

The parallel with the pilot...please excuse me while I shed some tears

I have zero fucking clue what they’re talking about though

“Chasing after monsters with a butterfly net”...I have to cry

Okay but what the hell was Mulder gonna do?? Not tell her that aliens are invading for the next decade??

This shit’s kinda breathtaking though

Truly unfortunate that she would do it all over again though...I wouldn't

“Then we believe the same thing” WE WON LADIES

You really had to just grab onto that fucking cross huh...okay

Oh yeah????

Alright I can die now

Jk there’s still another movie and 16 more episodes

Consensus: Kinda a hot mess. Definitely didn’t need to be as long as it was. Had some interesting parts and some extremely laughable parts. I’m glad there’s more now.

3.5 out of 5 stars

#the x files #txf #season 9 #9x19 #9x20 #the truth #3.5 stars #chris carter #kim manners #david duchovny #fox mulder #gillian anderson #dana scully #john doggett #robert patrick #annabeth gish #monica reyes #thoughts on #I FINALLY DID IT

101 notes · View notes

retphienix · 4 years

Text

Credits are rolling as I type because I saw fit to forego capturing since I didn’t REALLY do a live playthrough on the blog and instead just showed off moments here and there.

Just wanted to say, that was damned good.

It gave off such a dnd vibe to me and since I’ve yet to indulge in that truly it was a nice romp.

But seriously, what an awesome game with even more potential if more were to come in the series. Phenomenal writing and a very simple but ingenious gimmick of making magic simple but full of potential since it interacts with the elements and environment. A+ stuff there.

Did get a chuckle out of the ending slides surrounding a CaC gaining divinity basically just sliding the camera onto the same image 6 times where it clearly would be different slides if you used a default character lol.

What to dwell on...

Combat in the game was phenomenal! But it’s funny to me how it ended up in MY party.

Since I made the grave mistake of letting all the companions maintain their default classes I ended up with a rather eclectic combo and my OWN stubborness lead to me sticking to that for the most part.

Beardy as a full on warrior in the vein of my old WoW character. He ended up being a friggin’ godsend to the team since I ended up going more physical damage than magic (but still a 2/2 split team count wise TECHNICALLY).

Going heavy in 2h weapons and stength just resulted in him tearing everyone apart at a moments notice all while having his hand on that idol of resurrection so I could literally never be too risky with him. (A touch of a difficulty equalizer in some cases and complete nullification in other instances sadly)

Beast ended up molded to straight hydro for heals all while wielding the biggest shield I could manage at any moment and stacking con/int. He was bulky, sure, but didn’t really abuse that much and instead spent every battle freezing everyone with freezing blast and rain, or saying screw it and using blood rain with his torturer perk so everyone bled while he spammed heals. It was effective but mostly just CC.

Fane was the second MVP if not total MVP? Beardy really did the most all said, but Fane? A Necessity At All Times.

He was holding the second idol, though rarely needed it (neither did Beardy to be honest, but still).

Fane went all in on summoning, and aero as his secondary for when he ran out of spells etc.

His incarnate was insane through this run, I love how summoning can honestly give you either a huge physical damage output buff or any element you please. His summoning is why my 2/2 split party ended up leaning heavy on physical, because it made more sense to abuse a physical incarnate’s output than to constantly grab a water one (for restoration magic and water damage) or fire or whatever else.

Having powerful shock spells was nice too. But mostly he summoned and then buffed his summons. I INTENDED to stack some poison related spells on someone for healing him, but Fane ended up going the entire game after act 1 without healing outside of bottles and he did just fine. God that sleeping bag or what have you is op for out of combat and who needs healing in combat when you have an insta-rez on death and tons of damage going out.

Oh and by the end I decided to spend like 144k on a ring with 1/3rd the magic defense on it because he permanently poisoned him. So that was nice.

Sibelle did fuck all the whole time.

Which is rude to say, sure, and you’d be right to say that. I ended up enjoying Sib’s character and she did put out some nice burst damage in physical form at the start of most fights.

But I never gave her a chance and it shows. (in terms of build).

She joined as a worthless rogue with no invis or survivability and dual wield burst being her only tool, and instead of fixing that with some invis or survivability, I said “Sure, Sib. You’re a lethal assassin. Tell me how that works out.” and she proceeded to spend like 60-70% of the fights in the game face down in the pavement because after her initial burst of damage she’d die and I couldn’t be arsed to care.

She lived the final fight just fine though, go figure. She didn’t go down once and actually pulled her weight for more than just the first round. How novel a concept, Sib. Maybe next time grab some other talents outside of just scoundrel and dual wield.

What a self burn where I say I stubbornly made a bad character and it’s their fault. lol

Speaking of those idols real quick, it cracks me up how the one fight I completely botched was saved by them. When I ran into the paladin leader in the basement I decided to take him out since I heard he was with the black ring prior. I killed HIM just fine, but the rest of them were 2-3 levels above me and were rough as all hell.

Eventually it was Beardy, alone, in a corner, surrounded, and after like an hour of combat he finally fell. Everyone de-aggro’d. He rezzed with the idol. And I calming rezzed my team and walked out having killed the only person I needed to (and a couple extra). That was an amusing moment.

I love how the game would occasionally, with a straight face, do the most fantasy trope things possible and it felt FRESH since no one would dare do them today.

Things like trolls guarding bridges and a lot more I’m blanking on because of the credits rolling. I just appreciated that and found it really fun.

Credits just finished so I was reminded of the gift bags and what a damned shame!

When I first read up on them it was through a video showcasing how they can break the game etc A vid I’m sure someone would be aware of it they were aware of the subject matter.

Apparently at one point you could use them whenever to change and add features and still get credit for achievements/trophies etc. But that changed at some point so all these interesting gameplay tweaks are just sullied by you not getting credit for stuff.

Sure, that’s dumb of me to imply, but you know I’m right. No matter how much we fight the implication that trophies matter they still do to some degree. I, for one, like scrolling through them as a sort of list of past exploits, I even get some nice memories from doing just that, but activate a bag and you don’t get to write down that achievement.

Meaningless, sure, but enough of a dissuasion to prevent me doing it :/ For now at least. They really are a list of fun features to toggle! But why I harp on it is that some seem like 100% quality of life and nothing else and you still can’t use them without it disabling trophies :/ Things like “Sprint” for moving about the world faster, lord.

Achievements are such a stain on gaming, I swear. For a hundred reasons, and for making some like myself in this instance AVOID fun because we don’t “get credit” oh fuck off trophy. If you didn’t exist I’d have had more fun, hence why going back to play older titles that don’t have them is such a pure joy.

Bleh. I play into it AND hate it.

Anyways.

What’s there to say. Divinity 2 was a blast, I do wish for a more refined one later on but this was such a unique experience none the less.

Roughly 110 hours of gameplay (minus AFK time I do in damn near every game so I’ll say it was like 100 hours) and I’m left too speechless to say half the things that came to mind while playing. Darn it.

A+ stuff. I’m honestly still impressed that such a content loaded single player experience is ACTUALLY all that and able to do 4 player coop.

Sure it’s technically understandable, but in terms of what games, you know, generally do? That’s unthinkable to me. That’s the kind of thing that’s reserved for tabletop, hence my early mention of dnd. You don’t usually see a story driven things like this being coop on console- and if you do it’s lightly handled in a way where the coop player doesn’t matter. Like Fable 2 henchmen, or Fable 3 where the coop player might as well not exist and just shows up to do fights and follow the main player.

That’s the term.

Most coop rpgs have the MAIN player and then coop buds assuming they implement coop.

This game is more of a 4 MAIN players all at once situation and I’m entirely unfamiliar with that in gaming other than tabletop.

OBVIOUSLY this wasn’t too much of a big deal for my single player playthrough, but other than that it was almost always on my mind and lead to me starting 2 other runs with friends :) (that both pretty much died out because they both struggle to find time to play games as is so sitting down and coordinating 3 people for 2 separate coop runs of a 100 hour game wasn’t really happening- now I understand dnd groups pain lol)

Enough rambling when I admit I have lost all my talking points. Good game.

#divinity: original sin 2 #RetPlays

3 notes · View notes

teaandgames · 4 years

Text

The Teacup Awards! (2019)

So, as holes begin to form in the parachute of time and we fall with gathering speed towards the hard ground of inevitability, we must bid good day to 2019. Another year of political upheaval as the Brexit circus marches on, the American president continues to document every thought in the form of a tweet and the English public prove themselves to be the best foot marksmen around. It was also a year of upheaval in my own life, with a new job and a new home to grapple with. Still, it was an interesting year for games. In part because of how few 2019 releases caught my eye. Because of that I looked back over the last few years, helped by the Humble Monthly bundle, and found a few gems that I missed. So, as usual, these awards will go to games I wrote about this year, rather than just released this year. Otherwise they’d be a little bare. Oh and I’m afraid we’ve lost the horror game award, due to lack of games. I’ll bring it back next year.

The ‘Tea Stained Page’ Award For Best Writing

Runner Up - Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

There’s a strange thing in visual media where less writing can actually be better. Overwriting something can lead to it becoming weaker, as all mystery and personal connection are systematically destroyed. Hellblade understands that better than most. Most of its writing is given to the voices inside Senua’s head and offer up different interpretations of what’s going on. Some of them are hostile, while others offer encouragement. It’s a fairly unique way of setting up the protagonist. Tied in with the intriguing nordic setting, it makes it one hell of a well written game. Shame about the gameplay, but you can’t have everything.

Winner - The Outer Worlds

I had high hopes for The Outer Worlds. Made by the minds behind the original Fallout games, and my long term flame Fallout: New Vegas, I was hoping for some great character writing with original quests. I pretty much got what I wanted. While some of the quests weren’t exactly as original as hoped, the characters were all charming, deep people. There wasn’t anyone in my party that I excluded because I thought they were boring. Instead, I exhausted everyone’s dialogue trees.

I don’t think I’ve ever done that before, come to think on it. There’s always someone who gets kicked to the curb. If that’s not a testament to good writing, I don’t know what is. Like Hellblade, it suffers from gameplay issues but those almost fade into the background. Instead, it’s just a fun romp through space with a varied, interesting crew of nutjobs. Along with characters, it’s also got various flavours of well-written capitalism. Truly, all things to all men.

The ‘Head Nod’ Award For Best Soundtrack

Runner Up - Ori and The Blind Forest

Apparently, only fifty percent of people get goosebumps when listening to music. That’s a shame, because ‘Completing the Circle’ from Ori and the Blind Forest caused an explosion of goosebumps up my arm. It’s absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, I made a bad call of listening to it at work which brutally killed my productivity until it was over. There are other gems in the soundtrack too, with a mix of beautiful serenity and fast paced action. Damn, everything in this game is beautiful.

Winner - Katana Zero

When the protagonist of Katana Zero starts a level, he pulls out a pair of headphones and presses play on his walkman. Then the music starts. It creates this odd sense that we’re listening to the music through the protagonist, complete with all the time reversal and everything. It’s also a rare case of the soundtrack becoming part of the story. Our ‘hero’ is so desensitised to what he’s doing that he’s playing music while brutally killing people. But that’s by the by.

What we’re here for is some catchy synthwave tunes to kill along with. ‘Third District’ is a standout, being strangely relaxing for a game where death is only a failed slice away. But that’s kind of the point. Zero is chilling out. He already knows how this is gonna go. Then you’ve got the more faster paced songs, like the requisite disco song, ‘Hit the Floor’. The best comparison I can make is to DEADBOLT. Equally laid back soundtracks that somehow link together with horrific, bloody murder.

The ‘Perfect Cuppa’ For Best Looking Game

Runner Up - Spyro Reignited

Spyro Reginited Trilogy was a bit of a shock, to be honest. I’ve never been too invested in remakes, as they seem to be creative vacuums by nature. Spyro slipped me by when it was big, however, so I thought I’d give it a look. I’m glad I did, as I was greeted by a slick and smooth platformer. What did strike me was how bright and colourful it was. It just looks like a nice place to me. A variety of bright colours, helped by our bright purple dragon.

Winner - Ori and the Blind Forest

Before I played it, Ori and the Blind Forest struck me as an ‘art game’. The type of game that looks really nice as a cover up for its weak gameplay. That wasn’t quite the case, as Ori’s platforming is pretty good (though let down a bit by the combat). That’s not why we’re here though. We’re here because it looks absolutely bloody beautiful. The ‘blind forest’ relates to a part in the story where the forest withers, with Ori being one beacon of light in this dark place. This interplay of light is one reason why it looks so beautiful.

The forest starts off dark with twinkling areas of light throughout. As you progress through the game, life begins to return to the forest and you go off to new locations that all look different. There’s a cave full of lava, for example, or there’s the dark and mysterious Misty Woods. Either way, wherever you go, you’ll find somewhere that looks good. Can’t wait for Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

The ‘Spilled My Tea, Punk’ Award For Best Action Game

Runner Up - One Finger Death Punch 2

Sometimes simple is better. To make a fun game, sometimes you only need one button. Though, to be honest, I used two fingers, thus invalidating the point of the game. For shame. Still, One Finger Death Punch 2 has found new ways to make twatting stickmen challenging. It calls back to those old flash animations, with the exaggerated moves to send the variously coloured enemies flying. It may not look like much when you’re looking at the screenshots of it but I promise you: it’s a damn exciting game.

Winner - Yakuza 0

Another surprise this one. I got it through the Humble Monthly bundle and installed it while not really expecting much. I’d heard a few things about it, mainly how crazy and over the top parts of it were, but I wasn’t expecting to be quite so blown away. There is some madcap zaniness, of course, but layered on top of that is a serious crime story about a low level Yakuza drawn into something far bigger than him. Enter Kazama Kiryu, smart, stoic and with one hell of a heavy fist or two.

That leads us to the action part of the game. It’s split into three styles, Steady, Speedy and Heavy. Or Brawl, Rush and Crash if you want the proper names. The most exciting parts of these being the Heat Actions. Special moves that play out when proper conditions are met. Grappling someone near a wall, for example, will cause Kiryu (or Majima if you’re on his storyline) to throw them against the wall and then break a couple of ribs with his fists. These heat actions make me feel like im in a proper action film and for that, and many other reasons, Yakuza 0 is a clear winner.

The ‘Perfectly Brewed’ Award For Best Revisited

Runner Up - Rayman 2

I finally got around to beating Rayman 2 this year, something I’ve not achieved since I was a kid. While the final boss was atrocious, it is still a great game to me. There is so much imagination filtered down into it. Nothing is predictable, especially not the giant eyeball monster in a hat chasing you down a hallway. It’s like being eaten by Mike Wazowski’s big brother. Couple that with some fairly decent 3D platforming (as decent as it could be in those games) and you’ve got yourself one hell of a Rayman game. I am glad it went back to 2D though.

Winner - Danganronpa

I’ve played games like Danganronpa before, most notably Ace Attorney. However, in that series the worst that could happen is a client being found guilty. It’s awful but it’s not quite on the same level as Danganronpa. Screw up there and all of your friends will die horrible deaths. That kind of contributes to the whole ‘despair’ thing that hangs over the entire game like a dark shroud. It’s very oppressive; it almost qualifies for a horror game if it wasn’t for all the upbeat anime cheeriness.

It’s an odd blend that. Half the game is figuring out whodunnit, while the other half is hanging out with your friends and giving them gifts. That’s what it makes it so effective. It’s rather a cruel joke, really. Danganronpa makes you care about your friends and then kills them without mercy. While it suffers from the usual problem of you desperately trying to catch on to the developers thread of logic when it comes to the murders, the core gameplay and the writing are both top notch. As is the second one, which you’ll be hearing about on Tuesday!

The ‘Accidental Sugar Lump’ For Biggest Disappointment

Runner Up - Sundered

Sundered had a lot of promise. It’s a Lovecraftian Metroidvania game and both of those things are very exciting. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite deliver on the second one as well as it does the first. The Lovecraftian stuff is there for sure, and lends itself to some good plot notes and strange bosses. Unfortunately, the combat is a total damp squib. It gives no real feedback and there’s rarely a better solution to a problem than spamming the attack button. As a result, playing the game quickly slips down into being a chore. A damn shame.

Winner - Layers of Fear 2

Unfortunately, I feel like this award could probably be named after Bloober Team. They always seem to hit on the right ideas but fail to properly implement them. Layers of Fear had a nice story about a troubled artist that ended with it throwing doll heads at us. Observer led with a great story about hacking into people’s minds but threw in awkward stealth sections and the usual screen wobbliness. Then we get to Layers of Fear 2. A promising story about a method actor blurring the lines between fiction and reality.

Unfortunately, it gets rather too full of itself, making its story take a lot of confusing twists and turns, which makes it hard to figure out who’s who and what they’re doing. Symbolism is haphazardly thrown in so often that it becomes frustrating to try and decipher exactly what it’s saying. That’s when it’s not throwing mannequins at you, for no readily available reason. They literally fall down from above you. All of this leads it to be one unfortunately disappointing title.

The ‘Rate Your Server’ Award For Best And Worst Developer

Best - Hopoo Games

I do love a developer who actually listens to their fans. Hopoo have proved that they really have their ear to the ground with Risk of Rain 2. The Early Access title has gotten a number of updates since it first launched on the service. It’s constantly bringing out new characters and levels, as well as variations on existing ones. More than that though, are the quality of life updates. Risk of Rain 2 has a very vocal community and their changes and suggestions are clearly being looked at.

While it might not seem like too much to ask from a developer, not everyone does it and implements it in the same way that Hopoo does. For consistent updates and an actual sense of community, Hopoo definitely deserves this award.

Worst - Bethesda Softworks

Well, this is a two-year streak, Bethesda. I can’t wait to see how you’ll screw things up next year. For those with their heads in the sand, this award goes to Bethesda for the constant mishandling of Fallout 76, already a silly idea to begin with. I thought the whole thing about the canvas bags, leaked customer data and a weird battle royale mode was bad enough but then they brought in Fallout First.

A paid subscription for a game you’ve already paid for is bad enough. It’s rampant money grubbing and they’re not even bothering to hide it anymore. This subscription service, which is about £100 for a year by the way, gives you a few bits and bobs like a travelling tent and a box for your junk, as well as private servers. Certainly nothing to justify paying more money for a game you’ve already bought. For shame.

The ‘Golden Teapot’ Award For Best Game

Runner Up - Yakuza 0

Well, I said most of what I wanted to in the Best Action Award but here I’ll talk about Goro Majima. A suave ponytailed man, who’s desperate to get back into the Yakuza but instead goes on the run with a blind woman in tow. Throughout the game he carves out his own breed of Yakuza, using his own heat actions and skills. For example, one of his combat styles is breakdancing. Seems a bit less useful than the one that’s just about smashing people over the head with a baseball bat. You take these skills all around the streets of Kamurocho and Sotenbori, getting embroiled in a deep and violent story.

If you like crime games, with excellent combat systems, and don’t take things too seriously then you absolutely need to look into the Yakuza series. And Yakuza 0, to my mind, is the current King of the series.

Winner - Dead Cells

There have been very few games in my life where I’ve started them and immediately felt in awe. Sometimes you just know a game is exactly what you want and made perfectly. This year, Dead Cells was that game. A roguelike game with Metroidvania aspects set in a world that’s been torn apart by a sickness called ‘The Malaise’. Our hero wakes up in a prison- oh I should say our hero is a big ball of sentient goo stuffed into a dead body. Probably important, that. He then has to fight his way through the prison to find the king.

And boy is the fighting good. The combat is extremely tight, with little forgiveness for panicking. A single blow can carve off most of your health, particularly when you add in the ‘Boss Cells’, which function as an extended new game plus system. Add to that some fairly tight platforming, which doesn’t take the center stage, and you’ve got a game that’s as fun as it is frustrating. It has that beautiful quality where every death, and there will be many of those, feels like it’s your fault. That’s absolutely crucial for a roguelike.

It also doesn’t make or break on its items, with each weapon type following generally the same pattern. It’s a game entirely bent on player skill (or lack thereof). I honestly can’t sing Dead Cells praises enough. Everything, right down to the sombre score is brilliant. Absolutely deserving of the Golden Teapot.

The ‘Golden Accompanying Teaset’ Award For Best Game of the Decade

The Binding of Isaac

I had a good long think about this one. A decade is a long time, after all. Ten whole years. A whole lot of games released. With that in mind, I wanted to pick one that was not only a good game in its own right but one that mattered a lot to me personally. With that in mind, I landed on The Binding of Isaac. I think we can all agree it’s a good game, for one. Brutally hard and relentlessly imaginative and it has grown substantially since it was first released, with expansion packs and a remake in the form of Rebirth.

Personally though, it sparked off a love for a genre that’s remained strong to this day. The roguelike genre has been around for many years, of course, since, well, Rogue. But it seems to have picked up a lot more oomph this decade and I wonder how much influence The Binding of Isaac had over that. Certainly, it was pretty damn high profile, initially off the back of Super Meat Boy and then in its own right. It proved that a simple, repeating formula that had thousands of different combinations could be incredibly addictive.

It certainly got its hooks into me. I remember my first year of university, where steam was blocked by my hall’s internet meaning I didn’t have much else on my laptop to play. So I did run after run of The Binding of Isaac, until I could beat the bosses without much trouble. And even then I kept plugging away, trying to unlock everything. I did get the ‘Golden God’ achievement, until multiple expansions made that irrelevant. Ah well.

For the sheer fun and the influences on the roguelike genre, and for making me love the same, it absolutely is my best game of the decade.

Well that’s 2019 done. Personally, I’m hoping that 2020 will be a bit less chaotic in the personal life department. A bit less juggling of money and filling out endless forms and more lying on the sofa playing the games I love. Either way, I hope everyone had a good Christmas, or a good break, and a happy New Year. I hope you’ll join me in looking forward to what 2020 is going to bring. Brace yourselves, eh?

12 notes · View notes

villlainarc · 4 years

Text

To Fall in Love

Through the Lonely Nights That Fall

Summary: In which Roman is incredibly gay and may be coming on just a bit too strong.

Pairing: Logince

Warnings: unresolved argument, the angst train keeps on rolling, unhappy ending (so it doesn’t sneak up on you later)

Word Count: 2178

More A/N: this is a secret santa gift for @ari-the-anxious-ace and as such, is already completed (and can be found at this very moment on ao3). but so as not to spam you, chapters will be posted every three days.

special thanks to @cringeless for beta reading :)

masterlist || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6

read on ao3 or below the cut

find other stuff i’ve written under #writings from the stars

Roman has become nearly nocturnal over the past few weeks, ever since the first night he’d met Logan. He’s stayed awake all through the night, both singing and talking with Logan, who seems to only be awake at night. Not that he’s going to complain—seeing Logan at all is more than he would ever have dreamed possible—but it has caused him to adjust his sleep schedule a fair bit. Being fully awake when the stars are all out is a new experience, and Roman has found that he enjoys it very much.

Especially if it means getting to see Logan.

Logan, the enchanting mermaid with scales that shimmer and are shockingly smooth to the touch, with a singing voice like silk and a speaking voice that’s charmingly human. Logan, with those blue eyes more brilliant and beautiful than anything human could hope to be, with that hair that dries into dark waves that Roman can barely stop himself from running his fingers through. Logan, with his moonlit skin and shy smile. Logan.

“Roman?” Logan asks, and Roman feels himself blush as he pushes his thoughts aside.

“Yes, right, sorry, were you saying something?”

Logan smiles fondly at him, and Roman feels himself start to melt just a bit. “I was merely asking why, when you mentioned your reasons for sailing here yesterday, you said it was to follow your heart. I’m not fully educated on the anatomy of humans, but as far as I’m aware, you need your hearts to survive, correct?”

Roman can’t help the rather unattractive snort he lets out. “Lo, that’s a figure of speech. If our hearts left our bodies then yeah, we’d definitely die.”

“Ah. Then… why do you use that expression? If you’d die without your hearts, why do you talk about following them in order to… to… I’m sorry, it seems to have slipped my mind, what does this expression mean again?”

“It’s…” Roman trails off, thinking of the best way to word his explanation. It’s surprisingly difficult to describe concepts to other people when the knowledge seems so natural. He’d learned this the hard way after explaining things to Logan that he’d thought everyone knew about on several different occasions. “It’s… sort of like following your dreams? Or letting your emotions lead?”

Logan frowns. “Why would you ever do that?”

Roman laughs. Logan’s expression doesn’t change. “Oh. You’re being serious.”

“Of course I am. What gave you the impression I would be otherwise?” Logan tilts his head to the side in curiosity, and Roman shrugs, letting him continue. “Is ‘following your heart’ something humans do often?” He doesn’t lift his hands to put finger quotes around the phrase “following your heart,” but Roman can hear them implied in his voice.

“Yes, I think? It depends on the person, but it isn’t exactly a rare occurrence. Sometimes you have to, in order to find true happiness.”

“Fascinating,” Logan says, watching Roman with curious eyes. “And it was ‘following your heart’ that brought you here?”

Roman feels himself brighten. “It was! Your singing lured me here—not in a bad way though,” he assures Logan upon seeing his face scrunch up uncomfortably, “because it gave me the courage to follow my heart when I wouldn’t have otherwise.”

“That was… me?”

“Yeah. Without your song, I would have stayed—” he hesitates, not sure how much he should tell Logan.

“Stayed where?” Logan asks, fixing him with those blue eyes and making Roman’s decision for him.

“At the palace.”

“The palace? Roman, why would you—” Logan’s voice turns soft. “You were a prince, weren’t you? And you still left?”

“I didn’t want to be there, Logan. You didn’t make me do anything I didn’t wish to.”

“But you still left your kingdom. What about your family? And… you weren’t the heir, right?”

Roman winces upon hearing the veiled guilt in Logan’s voice. He almost thinks about lying, but he knows he can’t do that to Logan. “I was.” Logan looks stricken now, and Roman stumbles through his own words in a rush to fix the damage he’s done. “But Logan, I have five brothers. One of them can lead, the kingdom will be fine, I promise, and you haven’t hurt anyone, you could never hurt anyone, Logan this isn’t—”

“It is my fault.”

“But it’s not. Logan, you didn’t know and no one’s hurt and it was my choice to leave. It’s not your fault.” Logan still doesn’t look convinced, but he doesn’t directly argue with Roman. Spurred on by his silence, Roman adds softly, “You helped me, if anything. And meeting you was worth it.”

Logan’s face, normally as pale and unblemished as porcelain, turns a brilliant shade of red. Roman smiles, and, encouraged by Logan’s flustered state, becomes bolder. “Seeing you blush was worth it,” he whispers, lifting a hand to brush against Logan’s cheek.

Logan freezes at the contact, scarcely breathing. He watches as Roman moves closer, slowly enough that he can pull away. He doesn’t. He doesn’t move at all, fixing Roman with wide, unblinking eyes.

“You’re my dream come true, Logan.”

Immediately, Logan recoils, leaving Roman’s hand hovering in the air where his face had been. “I’m not,” he says, the vulnerable look he’d had on his face vanishing in an instant. “I’m not,” he repeats, and his expression is cold. So cold.

Had Roman said something wrong? What else could have caused Logan to shut down so quickly? “I’m not lying,” Roman tries. “I mean, why do you think I sailed here?” He doesn’t reach out to Logan again, but the mermaid still leans farther away.

“Not for me.”

“Logan,” Roman begins gently, “I was following my heart, my dream. What do you think that led me to?”

“Adventure? Freedom?” Logan tries, looking desperate.

“Love,” Roman replies, attempting a smile.

“No,” Logan insists. “No, you’re wrong.”

“Lo, I’m pretty sure I know my dream better than you do. It’s… a human thing, this is something we just know.” Roman frowns then, wondering if Logan’s so staunchly against this because he’s coming on too strong. That’s probably it, the poor mermaid hasn’t had anyone to love him before. Roman can wait if that’s the case. He’ll wait for as long as it takes.

But if Logan’s response is any indication, that doesn’t seem to be the case. “When you say dream, you do mean dreams, correct?” His voice comes out unusually shrill, his body language reminiscent of a cornered animal. “Humans have more than one, don’t they?” He asks the question as though he knows the answer. As if he knows the answer, and he’s afraid of it.

“No?” Logan tenses up at that, so Roman backtracks quickly. “I mean, kind of. It’s… it’s a philosophy thing, where some people believe that we all have a specific purpose—or calling, even—in life, and that’s our one dream. All other actions stem from that, so do all other dreams. So we do have more than one, in that sense.”

“But you have only one true dream,” Logan says, slowly unfurling as the tension in him falls away, giving way to resigned acceptance. “And you think that your one dream is me.”

It’s a statement, not a question, but Roman answers it anyway. “I think so, at least. I don’t know if your call would have reached me otherwise.”

Logan opens his mouth to argue, but then seems to think the better of it. “But you don’t know that for sure.” His terrified expression has reverted back to the cold, calculating one he’d had in place before. While it’s probably better than flat out fear, Roman isn’t sure by how much.

“Well, no, but—”

“Then I’m not your dream, Roman. I can’t be.”

“Why not?” Roman tries to keep the anger from his voice, but that’s proving to be rather difficult. What doesn’t Logan understand about this?

“That’s— I can’t tell you that. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Not telling me is also hurting me.”

“Then I guess I can’t really win, can I?” Logan gives him a rueful smile.

“Logan—”

“Let’s talk about something else,” Logan interrupts. “I don’t want you to leave in the morning feeling negatively about this situation.”

Roman nods, accepting the change of subject without complaint. The two talk back and forth for another half hour full of laughter and smiles, both trying equally as hard to erase the conversation that had caused far too much hurt from their minds.

It almost works.

At the very least, Roman leaves with a smile on his face when the sun rises, the promise that he’ll return tonight still on his lips. As he leaves, he follows that promise with one whispered to himself that he’ll make sure that everything is okay, whatever it takes.

🌊

Still, when Roman returns to the ship, he can’t get Logan’s words out of his head. They feel important, and he can’t quite place why. It’s on the tip of his tongue, but he can’t remember what it could be for the life of him. Had he read something about dreams on the way over here? Is there even a book about them on the ship?

He can’t help but think that what he’s just barely remembering is important, so instead of going right to sleep when he reaches the boat again, Roman descends into the captain’s quarters, stationing himself in front of the bookshelf that only just qualifies as a library.

Completing a quick scan of the titles, he’s disappointed to find that nothing catches his eye. He’ll have to do this the old fashioned way, then.

Roman runs his right hand over the spines, frowning in concentration as he determines which books could even potentially mention dreams, motivation, hope… anything. Nothing having to do with geography, he thinks, ruling out the first few titles. Probably not physics or chemistry either. Psychology…? Maybe. He pulls out the two books on that topic, just in case. On to the next row.

Definitely not sailing guides. Not anything to do with biology or cooking, nor mathematics. Why would pirates have books on mathematics, anyway? Or psychology, chemistry, physics, or biology, for that matter? The pirates who had previously owned this ship must have been very well-read.

He shakes his head to clear it of the distraction, crouching as he moves his hand down to the third shelf. Mythology? Maybe. He takes the three large tomes full of myths and legends off the shelf. The rest of the books are a blend of messily handwritten journals that Roman has yet to bring himself decipher and books in languages from other kingdoms that he isn’t quite fluent enough in to understand. Just psychology and mythology, then. Hopefully, that’s enough.

Roman stands up from his crouch to light a candle and walk over to the desk. He knows should get some rest as it’s now morning, but he has a feeling this is more important. The nagging in his mind is only getting stronger, even as his exhaustion grows.

Sitting down on the chair in front of the desk, Roman sets down his stack of five books. He flips open the cover of each, looking through the table of contents in them. He’s quickly able to rule out both psychology books when he finds no mention of dreams, motivation, hope, or anything remotely promising in any of their chapters. He feels safe enough putting them aside in favor of concentrating on the other three; he has more than enough information to work with as it is.

He yawns, slowly roving his eyes over the title of each chapter, reading and rereading each word to be sure he’s not missing anything. Roman’s eyelids feel heavy, but he forces himself to keep them open. This is important.

Yawning again, he realizes that he hasn’t processed a single word on the page he’s been staring at. With a sigh, Roman returns his eyes to the top of the page, running them down the page for a second time.

Another yawn. Another sigh as he notices he’s stopped paying attention to the words on the page again. Another return to the top of the page.

Another yawn, another sigh, and his eyelids slip shut. This time he doesn’t resist their pull as he lets his head fall onto the book he’d been trying to read. He can sleep now. Reading can come later, no matter how important. He won’t be able to understand the words written on the pages if he can barely concentrate enough to keep his eyes open. Besides, how important could this really be? Yes, reading these books can wait.

Roman allows himself to drift off, content in the knowledge that when he wakes up, it will only be a few more hours until he can see Logan again and somehow assure them both that everything is going to be okay.

#ts sides #roman sanders #logan sanders #logince #sanders sides au #siren au #fantasy au #roman angst #logan angst #sanders sides secret santa 2019 #arguments #unhappy ending #angst #fanfic #song of a siren au #fic.txt

8 notes · View notes

szopenhauer · 4 years

Text

Where do you put your keys when you get home? personal

Have you ever seen a snake in the wild? one from far away on the sand when I was on camp and second time it was just dead and not even whole anymore, I wanna touch a snake!

What’s your favourite movie from the 80s? can’t choose only one

Are you expecting any phone calls or emails? not really

Do you have any family that live in another country? no one close

Are there any words that you hate or make you cringe? sure

What is the best house you’ve ever lived in? I’ve lived in one house only unless I can count some I stayed for awhile like grandma’s apartment or aunt’s cottage

What movie reminds you of your childhood? many movies like Jumanji or Goonies

What was the last email you received? spam

Are you in any fb groups? I am

Whose house did you last visit? my gf’s

How many tabs do you have open right now? 5

What’s something you’ve been meaning to do but keep putting off? I procrastinate lots of stuff

What’s the first thing you check on your phone at the start of the day? fb messanger/time

Would you date someone who still lived with their parents? I still live with my parents Do you think there is life on other planets? not those close to us

Would you enjoy a night of playing video games? maybe Do you dream of traveling the world or are you happy where you are? I’m not happy but I don’t want to travel Would you watch a porno with your partner? hmm... Have you ever stolen from your work? no Do you own any sex toys? I don’t How often do you use facebook at work? depends Would you date someone half your age? that would be illegal and I wouldn’t want to anyway Are you a romantic person? a little? Would you be okay with your partner hanging with their ex as friends? I probably wouldn’t be Do you have a current passport? never had a passport Is it more fun to go out just with your date or on a group date? just my date Have you had a relationship with someone of the same sex? as a lesbian Is marriage a necessity for two people who love each other? no but it’s nice Is there anything you think science will never be able to explain? possibly Is intoxication ever an acceptable excuse for acting stupid? if you can’t act normal then don’t drink, UGH! Do you litter? never Do you believe in fate or destiny? not sure Doing nothing all day makes you feel…? both good and bad Have you ever had sex with someone you worked with? I have not Would you date someone just for the sex? noooo Do you consider yourself a positive person? pfft Are Sex and Intimacy the same thing? sex is to intimacy like square to rectangles How often do you get angry? I’m like Bruce Banner Have you had cosmetic surgery? I haven’t On a first date do you pay or do they? split Do you only date people who have jobs or are full-time students? I don’t care what they do in life (school, job or nothing) if we don’t live together, I’m unemployed myself Could you date someone who does drugs? doubt it Do you enjoy watching sports? nah Would you do a striptease for your partner? umm... Would you date someone who doesn’t have a car? sure, I don’t even own one You have a week off, travel or stay home? home <3 Does spending the weekend at home annoy you? noooo Do you consider yourself open minded? nah Do others find you sexy? r u kidding?... Have you ever met someone in person you met online? I have Do you tell your friends you love them? nope, just family and partner

Do your siblings dye their hair? sometimes Who can you best relate to in the last book you read? partially to Will, Stella and Poe Are you indecisive? it’s hard for me to make a decision but I am not changing my mind like wind blows

What are you listening to? Lana Del Rey What are you doing tomorrow? we’ll see What was the last compliment someone gave you? not sure which was last Do you have a big family? no but it’s still to big for me :x Which one of your senses would you miss the most if you lost it? sight, then hearing

What’s your opinion on prostitution? Should it be legal and regulated, or is it something that needs to be gotten rid of completely? it should be illegal If you want (or don’t want) kids, is this something you’ve always known or have you changed your mind as you’ve grown up? I wanted kids at first because I played dolls and didn’t know anything about pregnancy or taking care of real children, I just thought it’s normal everyone have them at some point and that’s all but once I found out more about the subject I realized it’s not for me because of many reasons

Has the person you like ever seen you in your pajamas? yup Did the last person you kissed celebrate your last birthday with you? she wasn’t in my life at the time What’s the first word of the last text message you received? ok was the whole message XD

What was your last thought before you went to bed last night? I’m gonna die, if I won’t fall asleep I’ll explode, I feel so bad Are you okay right now? am I ever?... When was the last time you saw your mom? we’re home together What is the last thing you drank today? just going to drink some water in the kitchen Will you be up before 7 am tomorrow? hope not What are you listening to right now? Cigarettes after sex Last time you had a sleepover? ages ago If the last person you dated said they were in love with you, what would you say? I know she does, she was telling me that already Do you replay things that have happened in your head? overthinking for life If you could get paid to do anything in the world, what would you do? sitting in front of the computer Do your parents actually knock on your door before entering your room or just barge right in, instead? my dad knocks, my mom barges in What would you do if it snowed right now? ...

Are you more of a leader or a follower? loner

Would you say you’ve had a good life so far? no comment What’s something you wish you could have delivered to your house? regularly or right now? What’s your favorite art style? surrealism? Are any of your coworkers currently out on maternity/paternity leave? I don’t have coworkers now Do you have a good sense of balance? it’s hard to say Do you live in a very racially and culturally diverse country? no Do you live alone? I wish

Have you done something recently that helped someone else, in any way? nothing big If you knew that one of your friends was considering suicide, what would you say to them? depends

Who was the last person to pay you a compliment? my gf The shirt you’re wearinh - is it one of your favourites? yep Is there a certain name that you think seems to have become really popular, and you know lots of people with that same name? growing up Ewelina, Julia, Emilia, Katarzyna, Urszula, Małgorzata and Michał were the most popular names Before Facebook became popular, did you use any other social networking site? yup Have you ever asked anyone “Do you love me?” If so, did you get the response you wanted? Do you think when someone says “I love you”, you feel obliged to say it back? yes, usually and kinda If you’ve had a bad experience in a past relationship, did you find that you were scared to get into another relationship, in case the same thing happened again? that’s normal Are you friends with the last person you hugged, or something more? we’re related Do you ever post song lyrics as your Facebook status? sometimes Do you drink alcohol on a regular basis, or do you prefer to save it for special occasions? I don’t drink even on special occassions Did you play with Barbies when you were a kid, or did you prefer something else? I played with Barbies but not only them If you were going to buy a present for the person you love/like, what would you generally choose? what she likes/wants/needs :) If I’m going to buy you a box of chocolates, which kind should I definitely NOT get? don’t buy me any Is there something you generally always ask for help with? I need help with many things :( Has anyone called you beautiful today? no, I’m not so that would be a lie

Who was the last person to see you cry? my mother

Do you drink bottled water? sometimes

You never know what you have until it’s gone. True or false? kinda true

Are you scared of losing the person you like to someone else? if they were happy with someone else - let that happen, I’ll be fine alone

Will you be in bed in the next 20 minutes? too early to sleep

Do you laugh at inappropriate times? rarely

How many bracelets do you have on right now? zero

Do you have someone you have late night conversations with? I do

What does your phone do when it receives a text? vibrates

What is in your pocket? no pockets!

Can you remember the last person you texted without looking? my sister

Do you listen to music everyday? almost

Are you gonna be home alone tonight? I won’t be alone

If there was a large spider in your room, would you stay in the room? how big?

Are you a flirty person? maybe The last store you went to was…? local

Do you have a friend named Alex? used to What did you think of the movie Juno? I have mixed feelings about it How often do you eat meat? often Have you ever gotten clothes from the kids section as an adult? I have :x Are you more of a science/math person or english/history person? I’m artsy When you were little, would you have rather watched Cartoon Network or Disney Channel? we didn’t have such expensive channels Since using the internet regularly, have you started to read less than you used to? I read less not because of internet Are you a big fan of the Harry Potter series? nah Do you find yourself feeling lazier when the weather is warm? I feel lazier when the weather is cold because I don’t wanna leave my bed or home at least Are you a fan of the TV show Friends? watched fragments and I like Chandler and Phoebe - I think they would be great together, I’m a bit like them How old do you think is too old to sleep with a stuffed animal? never Are you 100% over the last person you kissed? I’m not How many tattoos would you like to have? I don’t plan any Are you over the age of 25? I am Do you want your life to stay the way it is right now forever? omg! I want my life to get better :( Would you rather live without music or without the t.v? without TV

1 note · View note

rosalind-of-arden · 4 years

Text

Sword and Pen Reread, chapter 3

Khalila chapter! With some Santi awesomeness and a couple tantalizing Wolfe tidbits.

Ephemera: Archivist sending out spam mail to anyone who might side with him.

Archivist’s throne is very old and made of wood. Not especially fancy. Or comfortable.

Receiving Hall: a vast marble space with lotus columns marching into the distance.” One automaton: a two-story Horus statue. Throne is on a gold platform on the backs of gold sphinxes. Seven steps up to the throne, four braziers at the platform corners that burn herbs. Some kind of passive cooling in the design. The room is fig enough to hold tens of thousands of people.

Archivists have always been elected by Conclave.

Conclave consists of thousands of Scholars, tens of thousands of librarians and staff - and this is just those in Alexandria, not counting those working outside Alexandria and anyone who sided with the former administration. So that makes a fairly democratic election - has it always been that way? Probably not?

Not clear if High Garda counts as part of the Conclave or not.

The crowd is parting for Santi and it’s promotion time! This is just such a good moment for him. In Smoke and Iron, he didn’t even feel he could give orders to his own company because he gave up his position to rescue Thomas. He’s got to still be hurting from Zara’s betrayal. But this whole time, the packs has survived in part due to the loyalty he inspired in the High Garda. All the friendships and connections that he built over a 20+ year career have gotten him here. And here’s the payoff. He’s not only restored to his former position, but promoted to the top of the High Garda.

The first two members of the new Curia, Murasaki and Santi, are people who, in one way or another, refused to participate in the old administration’s corruption. They’re both respected for being good at their jobs and they both get along well with the people who work with them. That’s the kind of leadership the new Library chooses right after throwing the corrupt Curia out.

Santi’s oath: “I swear to serve the Great Library with body, mind, and blood for as long as it pleases the Archivist. I swear to defend it against all enemies, within and without. I swear to uphold the laws and covenants of the Great Library, and when ordered to direct and lead the High Garda in battle. I swear to protect knowledge and its servants wherever they may be threatened.”

I am totally writing a fic in which Santi gives Wolfe a modified, more personal version of this oath. When? It’s hectic for a while after they run in Paper and Fire, then Santi’s injured... maybe in the camp after Philly? Or later, after they rescue Wolfe in Smoke and Iron, before the battle? Or maybe they did this ages ago - they might not want to get married, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have sexy, sexy loyalty oaths.

Another thing that needs to happen in fic? Wolfe and Santi borrowing the throne room for some roleplay. You know Santi would enjoy kneeling with Wolfe on that throne.

Lord Commander’s promotion is voted on by the captains of the High Garda.

“Partner for years, though I don’t believe they have formally married.” A few things here. First, this is an insight into how relationships are viewed. Wolfe and Santi, as we know, think of each other as partners and lovers; those are the words they use to describe their relationship, and they seem to use those terms interchangeably, with equal weight (they might use “lover” more? don’t have digital copies to search it). Khalila, however, feels the need to clarify that they are “more than that” when Saleh asks if Santi is Wolfe’s lover. So there’s an increased degree of respect for a long-term partnership, and Khalila wants to make sure Wolfe and Santi get that.

But also, notice Khalila’s qualification that she doesn’t “believe” Wolfe and Santi have formally married. That means they could very well be married and not have told her, or anyone else. Khalila’s the fucking Archivist’s assistant now and she’s known Wolfe and Santi for over a year, so by the standards of our world, it would be really weird for her to not be 100% sure whether Wolfe and Santi are married. Could be a bit of rhetorical humility on her part, sure, but it also implies a certain level of privacy. Is that an indication that Alexandrian culture treats relationship status as something private in general? Or a sign that Wolfe and Santi are unusually private about the details of their relationship?

And also, “formally married.” As contrasted with what, informal marriage? Which would be common law marriage. So we can say common law marriage is an option in Alexandria, and given how long they’ve been together, there’s a pretty good chance that Wolfe and Santi are common law married. But if they are, they’re not saying so.

And, yeah, gay marriage as a legal thing in Alexandria is totally confirmed.

So put all this together, and we have a bit of a social hierarchy of relationships. We might have a higher expectation of privacy surrounding relationships. Or we might just have Wolfe and Santi, within this system that’s totally open to gay marriage, being rather queer in how they define their relationship. They’re 100% committed to each other, but they’ve opted out of formal marriage, they keep their relationship private, and they call each other lovers even though they could use language that implies a higher level of commitment.

Wolfe talked to Santi while hallucinating in prison. Wolfe was even less ok there than we saw in Smoke and Iron. This wouldn’t be his first time hallucinating Santi - he did it in Rome, too.

And Saleh heard it. If Saleh heard him, so did others there. Wolfe is not going to be happy about that when/if he finds out. Santi is going to be worried as fuck if he finds out, too.

Saleh is worried about Wolfe. Maz, do something with this please.

Wolfe isn’t there for the big oath-taking ceremony. Yes, hunting the ex-Archivist is important, but is there more to it? Consider his discomfort with the Scholars in chapter 1, and his later discomfort with the Curia. Would he be comfortable standing there with all these people who did nothing when he was taken and swearing loyalty to the Library with them? Or even Murasaki herself - she said she knew Wolfe, well enough that she was worried she would be targeted when Wolfe disappeared. And as far as we know, she didn’t do anything to help him. He might feel the same about her as the rest of the new Curia.

High Garda captains take their oaths individually. Scholars, librarians, and soldiers take oaths as a group.

The Alexandrian Merchant Council is a political organization of some sort that Murasaki has to meet with. For those looking to develop Alexandrian politics more.

Oath for Scholars, librarians, soldiers: “In the name of sacred knowledge, in the eyes of every god in every corner of this world, I swear my allegiance to the Great Library of Alexandria. I swear to protect the knowledge of this world against all enemies, within and without. I swear to nurture and share such knowledge with all who wish to learn. I swear to live, teach, preserve, study, fight, and die in this cause.”

Khalila worries that Eskander might not be planning to swear allegiance to the Library. She’s also worried he has too much power. Post-canon conflict potential?

Murasaki says the Library will protect the Archives “as we have for three thousand years.” Just in case we needed yet another number to throw around when discussing Library timelines.

Cleaning and catering services are based in the middle level of the Serapeum.

Career servants get silver collars.

The ambassadors are in the “Seventh Great Room.” Its a big room with windows and lots of seating. Just for an idea of the capacity of the Serapeum for meetings.

#sword and pen reread #the great library #long post

2 notes · View notes

vagrantblvrd · 5 years

Text

Leave the Lights On (1/1)

Summary: Michael’s had his share of bad luck but his crappy little car dying on him in the middle of the night with a storm about to hit is a new low.

Notes: IDK, romcom shenanigans with possible vampires???¯\_(ツ)_/¯

(Read on AO3)

Michael’s had his share of bad luck but his crappy little car dying on him in the middle of the night with a storm about to hit is a new low.

To make matters better his phone died an hour ago thanks to a faulty charging cable he hadn’t replaced yet. Thought he could get a few more hours of it, long enough to get home and jury-rig something until he could, but then his boss had thrown extra orders at him and it had slipped his mind.

His car’s been limping along on its spare tire for over a week now while he pulled extra shifts to afford a replacement, and everything is terrible.

Goddamned miserable, because on top of everything else he’s starving and his car still smells like the pizzas he delivered earlier. Shitty job he took to pay the bills until he finds something better in this shitty town and -

There’s a sudden flash of lightning tearing through the night sky followed by a bone-rattling roll of thunder somewhere ahead of him. Storm rolling in like the meteorologists forecast and goddamn does he not want to be here for it.

“Fucking hell.”

He should just stick the oncoming storm out in his car, not risk getting lost in the dark and cold like a moron, but.

There’s a creek about a hundred yards away and the news was all over flooding concerns in the area with the storm coming in. Absolutely could not shut up about it, and as much fun as being swept away in the dark sounds, Michael would like not to add that to his list of life experiences, thanks.

And...he isn’t in the boonies out here, okay. There are houses around, even if they’re a little spread out.

Big sprawling things, old money and all that. Some have fallen into disrepair and neglect over the years, but the whole reason he’s out this way is one of the pizza shop’s regulars.

Odd guy who always has Michael leave his order at the door, but he tips well enough that Michael stopped thinking about it a while back. (God knows he’d hate to see his ugly mug in the middle of the night just to get his food.)

Well.

Alright, sort of.

Look, the guy lives way out here in a house – mansion – that looks like it should be in an old Gothic noir film. And as often as Michael delivers pizzas to his house he’s never seen his face.

When Michael first started working at the pizza shop his coworkers loved to spin their little theories and share stories about whoever lived out here being fucking vampires or some other horror movie monsters. Well, that or some reclusive serial killers because why not try to freak out the new guy?

Another flash of lightning and angry rumble of thunder have Michael making what’s sure to be another terrible decision in a long line of them. Gathering what he doesn’t want to leave behind in case his car gets swept away or someone comes along and thinks it looks like a tempting target.

His phone, though fat lot of good it’ll do him. The empty delivery bags because his boss will take it out of his paycheck if he loses them. Random shit he should have taken up to his apartment a long time ago but just didn’t get around to because procrastination.

Michael locks his car up and pulls the hood of his hoodie up and starts on the half mile (give or take) walk back to his regular’s house. If he’s lucky he’ll get there before the storm hits.

========

Michael’s luck is shit.

The sky opens up when he’s long past the point of no return. No other choice but to push on until he hits the house or find a comfortable ditch to die in like the idiot he is, so he pushes on.

Soaked through in minutes and there’s no way his phone will work after this, so might as well add that to his list of reasons why being an adult sucks ass.

But hey, he’s probably going to die out here and get eaten by fucking coyotes or something, so there’s that.

========

By the time he reaches the guy’s house, Michael’s freezing.

Can barely feel his fingers and his feet went the same way a while back. Heavy and clumsy and he’s an even bigger idiot than Gavin which is saying something.

Maybe not on the edge of getting frostbite or whatever, but he’s not doing great either. Cold and wet and miserable and hating every moment. The sight of the house (mansion) looming out of the dark like something in a Gothic movie is welcoming rather than borderline unsettling.

So.

Michael's probably fried the last of his functioning brain cells in his trek of stupidity. (Frozen them? Something.)

He takes far too long to ring the fucking doorbell, with his hands being uncooperative as shit and he misses a few times.

And then it’s a waiting game. Michael eyeing the doorbell and wondering if he should follow Gavin’s example and spam the fucking thing because God knows most people are asleep by now, but -

The door is wrenched open and Michael blinks up at an annoyed looking guy.

Tall. Broad shoulders. Floppy hair – look, Michael’s brain is frozen and the guy's hair does this...thing.

Incredibly blue eyes and these lips, okay. These lips that are...moving?

Because talking, and it takes Michael a few moments to realize it through the cold and numb and the pounding rain. (Also, Michael’s dumb, dumb brain.)

“Shit, fuck,” he says, tries to wave his hands in apology because Michael's a goddamn mess. “Uh, sorry to bother you but my car died and I didn't want to drown.”

The lips stop moving, and the guy goes from being annoyed to alarmed to concerned in moments, almost too fast for Michael’s muddled mind to keep track of.

But that’s fine, because the guy’s attention drops to the delivery bags Michael shoved down the front of his hoodie when he almost dropped them some time back. Fingers too cold and stiff to hold on to them any longer.

Michael tries to explain he’s the worst kind of idiot, but the guy hisses in sudden realization – Michael must look worse off than he thought – and reaches out to drag Michael inside.

========

The guy’s got a nice voice, all rich and deep and Michael’s never thought of himself as someone who had a thing for voices, so there’s that to deal with now too.

Could be lingering effects of frozen brain syndrome, or maybe Michael’s just real dumb, whichever.

The guy bundles Michael off to this ridiculously huge bathroom, shoves a change of clothes at him -

“They’re clean, I promise, just please don’t freeze to death on me, the lawyers would have a fit.”

- and leaves him to shower and change in peace.

Tells him where the laundry room is so he can put his clothes in to wash while they wait out the storm before he fucks off to make coffee or whatever he’s babbling about.

Michael doesn’t know what the thing with the lawyers is about, but hey. Problem to puzzle out later, if he doesn’t get himself horribly murdered first.

And, okay.

The guy probably isn’t some creature of the night or serial killer, based on how awkward he is, about Michael barging in on him like this. All fluttery hands and oh shit and what do I do to not have this idiot die on me and what is going on???

The clothes he handed Michael aren’t from one of those old movies Michael’s been subjected to thanks to family members and various other assholes in his life. No unbearable amounts of lace and other finery to fit the setting. Just a pair of sweats, soft and warm and these amazing socks that make his toes super happy, but whatever.

Michael takes a long shower, lets the hot water thaw him out as much as it can, chase the chill that seems to have sunk into his bones away and leaving him feeling more like a real human boy again.

There are huge, fluffy towels set out for him and he hums a little as he dries off, taking care to get as much water out of his hair as he can.

He’s sure to get a cold out of this mess. Can feel the back of his throat acting up, body feeling tired and sluggish and just overall shittier than usual, but he’s got his mom’s lectures about that shit in the back of his head and it can’t hurt, right?

There aren’t any mirrors in the bathroom, which is a little odd but not alarmingly so. Some people just don’t like having the damn things around, nothing all that strange when it comes down to it. Michael runs his fingers through his hair and leaves it at that because fuck if it ever does what he wants anyway.

When he feels he’s somewhat presentable and mostly thawed, Michael ventures out of the bathroom and gets his first real look at the place.

Definitely perfect for some old timey movie. All antique furniture and shit, but there are modern day touches tossed in here and there. Security system of some sort, which makes sense because everything here looks expensive as shit.

No decorative mirrors or reflective surfaces he can see aside from the windows he passes, and okay, this whole vampire theory his coworkers fed him feels a bit more believable. (The tiniest shred, because vampires aren’t real and his coworkers are asshole, but yeah.)

Michael keeps his hands to himself as he follows the faint sound of noise coming from the floor below. Takes the stairs slow because it would suck to fall and break his neck after everything else that’s happened, and finds himself in the kitchen.

Big spacious thing that’s meant for a whole staff toiling away to cook meals and the like. Modern appliances here and there to take their place and a scuffed up table and a couple of chairs at one end by the pantry that doesn’t fit in with the rest of the furniture Michael’s seen.

The guy is muttering to himself as he fusses with a coffeemaker on the counter, other appliances scattered around and looking frazzled.

Michael doesn’t blame him, because complete stranger showing up in the middle of the night like Michael had and just.

Yeah.

“Hey,” Michael says, and winces when he startles the poor bastard. “Sorry to barge in on you like this.”

The guy turns around to stare at Michael.

“What?”

Michael shrugs, plucking at his borrowed clothes.

“I mean,” he says. “In hindsight I should have stuck it out in my car, but it died next to the creek down the road and I was worried about flooding, so you know. Sorry for bothering you.”

He doesn’t know if the guy is just not keen on people or what, but having the pizza guy show up like an idiot like this can’t be a fun experience for him.

“Uh,” the guy says again. “Jesus, no. The damn creek floods every time it rains. With a storm like this it would have been, uh. Bad. Real bad for you if you'd stayed with your car.”

Huh. Okay, so maybe Michael did make a good choice there.

They stare at each other for a moment longer before Michael remembers his manners, and sticks his hand out. Still cold as shit even after the hot shower, but in working order again and everything.

“I’m Michael by the way,” he says, feeling like an even bigger idiot. “Nice to meet you?”

He’s not sure about the protocol here, but figures introducing himself can’t hurt.

The guy tips his head to the side, slight frown on his face giving way to his bemused little smile as he shakes Michael's hand.

“Ryan,” he says, chuckling a little at how awkward this whole situation is. “I’m Ryan.”

========

Ryan sits Michael down with a cup of hot coffee and containers of creamer and sugar and rattles around what sounds like it’s going to be soup going from his muttering.

The nice part is that he checks with Michael first to make sure he doesn’t have any allergies or other diet restrictions before he does. Means no surprise dairy to worry about and Michael sips his coffee as he watches.

Ryan’s real comfortable with the knives and other pointy kitchen tools and gadgets he’s using. He’s more intent on killing the hell out of vegetables and a rotisserie chickens he pulls out of the fridge rather than Michael, so that’s one less thing to worry about. (For now.)

Interestingly he puts garlic in with the onions, which is another point for him not being a vampire, or maybe the myths and legends surrounding vampires are wrong on that front.

Every so often he’ll remember he’s not alone and shoot Michael these sheepish little looks like he’s aware he looks like a lunatic, but it’s not like Michael can judge, so.

“How did you get stuck out here anyway?” Ryan asks, dropping herbs of some sort into the pot on the stove.

Michael shrugs, because the reasons are many.

“Bad luck,” he says simply. “A fuck-ton of it.”

Ryan turns to look at him, corner of his mouth pulled up into this little smile that says he knows the feeling, has had his share of it too.

“Fair enough,” he says. “The landlines are out due to the storm, but you can use my cell if you need to make calls.”

Simple little offer and Michael’s grateful for it, but Ryan’s delivery was the last one of his shift and the pizza shop has to be closed up by now. Anyone he knows in the city are long asleep and there’s no point in waking them up to remind them how dumb he is. Definitely no point in calling a tow service now, so.

“It can wait,” he says, and grins at the dubious look Ryan sends him.

Ryan’s a little odd, sure. Quirky, eccentric, but he doesn’t feel dangerous and Michael likes to think he’s a good judge of character. (Gavin’s an anomaly, outlier like that Spiders George asshole.)

“Okay,” Ryan says, just that simple

It goes on like that, the coffee Ryan gave him warming him up and helping to shake out lingering fuzziness from his mind. Kitchen warm and cozy and Ryan’s occasional muttering to the soup he’s making like a lunatic more amusing than alarming. (Quirky, even.)

Michael learns Ryan’s new to the area too. Moved out here a few years ago when a relative died and left the place to him, has a whole pack of said relative’s lawyers sorting out the rest and nitpicking everything he chooses to be for whatever reason.

“What?”

Ryan shrugs, another sheepish grin as he sets a steaming bowl of soup in front of Michael before serving himself.

“I’m the last surviving benefactor in the Will, and I guess I don’t measure up to their standards?” he shrugs like it’s not a big deal, but there’s this hard line to his mouth, tension in his shoulders that seems like it shouldn't be there.

He's got the lawyers breathing down his neck, micromanaging him and the way he lives his life because there are clauses in the Will or some shit Ryan has to adhere to before the place and the rest of his inheritance is his free of strings.

Sounds exhausting as fuck and not worth the hassle, but what the hell does Michael know?

Michael snorts, because this house – mansion – reeks of money, and he can only imagine the kind of asshole who’d looks around them at all of it and think, ah, yes, perfect without a shred of irony.

He might be wrong on this one, but Ryan doesn’t strike him as being one of them.

“Yeah, well,” Michael shrugs, and tries the soup Ryan made. Tasty as fuck and the guy made it from scratch for the little idiot who showed up at his door without warning, so it’s pretty incredible. “Holy shit, this is good.”

Ryan laughs, all stupid shy about it as he ducks his head and mumbles a thank you and Michael, alright, Michael isn’t in love, but he’s definitely something.

========

After they clear the dishes away and clean up the kitchen – Michael insisted on helping because he’s intruding on Ryan’s life enough – Michael goes through the stuff he brought with him.

Sets the delivery bags up to dry with Ryan’s help and tosses his poor abused phone on the kitchen table.

“Mind if I take a look?” Ryan asks, as Michael scowls at it and tries to find something he can cut from his budget to put towards a replacement for it.

“What?”

Ryan rolls his eyes and makes grabby hands for the glorified brick on his table, and Michael hands it over because fuck if he has a good reason no to.

It’s deader than dead, and only a miracle worker could salvage anything from it, but Ryan still tries.

Takes the battery out and grabs a can of compressed air or something to get as much of the water out of it as he can before shoving the rest in a bowl of uncooked rice.

“If we’re lucky it’ll still work after this,” he says when he looks back at Michael, like he didn’t just go into crisis mode over Michael's damn phone.

“Uh, yeah Thanks?” Michael says, and laughs at himself because what the actual hell. “You seemed to know what you were doing.”

Another awkward little shrug.

“I work in IT,” he says which explains some of the stuff Michael's seen that doesn’t fit the décor. “So, you know.”

Michael doesn’t, but he just nods along.

Ryan nods too, because awkward. Drums his fingers on the kitchen table now there's nothing for him to fiddle with and the comfortable silence between them stretches thin.

“...I can show you to one of the spare bedrooms if you’re tired?” Ryan offers, with a shrug, deprecating smile, as he goes on. “Or I could give you the grand tour of the place?”

Michael considers it for a moment.

He is tired, but the combination of a shitty night and the coffee Ryan gave him have him keyed up. Not quite jittery, but sleep is going to be long in coming.

A glance at Ryan shows the guy might be a night owl (one more tick in the vampire category) and he seems…

Lonely?

He seems lonely.

Lives in this big, sprawling mansion on his own and hasn’t mentioned any friends or coworkers. And even thought Michael’s been delivering pizzas out here for about a year, this is the first time they’ve met. (Although being in IT, it’s possible Ryan works from home and has a plethora of friends he keeps in contact with online.)

Who knows.

“I mean,” Michael says. “Who in their right mind would turn down a tour of Wayne Manor?”

That gets a startled laugh out of Ryan, this big dopey grin because of course he’s that kind of nerd.

========

The place is massive, but enough there are wings to it. Ryan chatters on about this room or that, and most of it seems to be untouched.

“It’s a little big for my tastes,” Ryan says, uncomfortable about it as they leave behind yet another library full of stuffy old books and antique furniture. “I only need a few rooms to myself, but one of the terms of my inheritance is I can’t sell it, so.”

He shrugs, like he knows its not the worst thing in the world but there’s something a lot like regret there too.

Michael gets it, though.

The place is...it’s dark and gloomy and whoever lived here before seems like the kind of asshole who looked down on the little guy. Expensive everything and Michael feels wildly out of place here and he’s just the pizza guy.

Ryan in his old faded jeans and t-shirt with some kind of nerdy computer joke and awkward smile lives here.

Maybe more luxurious than the cramped apartment he mentioned living in before this, but Michael doesn’t think it was a step up for the poor guy with all the bullshit he has to deal with.

Ryan points out the gardens and courtyards, although with the storm it’s hard to make anything out. He’ll take Ryan’s word for it they’re a sight to behold and all that, maybe steal a glance at them in the morning if the weather’s cleared by then.

There’s hesitation on Ryan’s part, like he’s not sure Michael will give a shit, but they end up in a huge garage.

Huge.

Might have been a hose stable or whatever the fuck back in the day that's been converted into a modern-ish garage at some point.

And there are a lot of cars.

Old classics that belonged to the previous owner. Pretty little sports cars a handful of less obscenely expensive cars here and there and a few limos.

As in more than one, because you can never have too many?

One that looks like it’s only a few years old and more going back decades, the kind you’d see in old movies or black and white photos.

“Jesus,” Michael says, too afraid of scathing the sleek black paint job to touch the one that looks like it’s from prohibition era.

Ryan makes a noise of agreement, hands stuffed into his pockets as he gestures to a modest little sedan parked towards the garage doors.

“I stick to driving mine,” he says, crooked smile on his face. “Less to worry about with the insurance that way.”

No shit.

Wreck that and it’ll be a pain, sure, try the same with any of the others cars here and it’d be a goddamned crime.

Ryan gives Michael that crooked grin again and they head back into the mansion through the kitchen.

Michael grabs another cup of coffee because he’s smart like that, and follows Ryan into a room he’s turning into his.

Obvious from the moment they set foot inside, and Michael smiles as he looks around.

The antique furniture has been moved somewhere else to be replaced with what must be Ryan’s own furniture. A few pieces are battered and well-used but look comfy as hell, and there’s a huge flat screen television mounted on a wall.

Computer setup and other shiny gadgets and tech scattered about that give the room a lived feel to it, like this is where Ryan spends a substantial amount of his time.

There’s a set of doors leading to a deck overlooking a garden, and it must get a decent amount of sunlight in the day. Not as gloomy or dark ad the rest of the place and he can see why Ryan likes it here.

Michael breaks into a grin when when he spots the gaming system Ryan has hooked up to the television, or rather gaming systems.

“Oh, dude, sweet,” he says, looking over the games on a nearby shelf. “You play video games?”

Ryan laughs, this delighted little smile on his face when Michael looks back at him.

“Uh, yeah,” he says. “A little.”

That’s complete bullshit because there are a shit-ton of games on the shelf and a little stack of them beside one of the consoles, but sure, sure.

Ryan opens and closes his mouth a few ties before he visibly decides fuck it.

“Do you, uh. Want to play something?”

========

“Oh, bullshit!” Michael yells, throwing his hand up as Ryan snipes his character in the head yet again from whatever hidey spot he’s in now. “Fucking, come out and fight me like a man, dipshit!”

Ryan’s side of the ouch is shaking as the man himself fucking loses it, goddamn giggles.

He's got this weird little laugh most of the time, kind of croaky and adorable as shit. But then he comes out with that damn giggle of his and Michael forgets he’s supposed to be angry at the sneaky fuck who’s one of the best video game snipers Michael’s played against.

Ray’s infuriating as fuck, sure, but goddamned Ryan is so fucking smug about it.

Breaks out of that awkward shell of his to taunt Michael, comes across as some menacing creep and laughs like a lunatic when he pops Michael’s character in the head with some impossible shot.

A far cry from the awkward bumbling guy Michael met only a few hours ago and it’s kind of amazing.

“I hate you,” Michael says with no heat behind it as he waits for his character to respawn. “So much, you don’t even know.”

Ryan’s still too busy laughing to care.

========

Michael's crazy, zany adventures catch up to him and he can’t put off his exhaustion any longer.

Ryan catches him in the middle of a jaw-cracking yawn and laughs, this little huff of breath.

“I think it’s time we called it quits,” he says, eyebrow quirking when Michael tries to reassure him no, Michael's good to keep playing and another yawn catches him off guard.

“Okay, okay,” Michael agrees, cheeks heating. “You might have a point there.”

Another quiet little laugh and Michael is kind of gone on this idiot, just the tiniest bit.

Real easy on the eyes and easier to get along with, even if he is a sneaky son of a bitch when it comes to video games. Fucking loves his loopholes and goddamned smug about how good a player he is when he’s winning.

Ryan grins at him, and waits for Michael to untangle himself from the blankets and everything else before leading him to one of the spare bedrooms.

There’s an awkward moment as they stare at one another before Ryan clears his throat and scurries away wishing Michael a good night.

Michael snorts, because talk about smooth. (Probably for the best anyway though.)

The spare room is the same ridiculous level of extravagant as the rest of the place, and Michael’s a little worried about sullying the place up with his commoner cooties, but he’s fucking tired.

Tired and sore and fuck it all anyway, because as stuffy as the room is the bed is comfortable as shit and he’s asleep before too long.

========

Morning comes too soon, Michael woken up by the literal quiet after the storm.

No rain coming down in torrents, wind battering at the mansion like a live thing. The only sounds he can hear are songbirds venturing out after the storm looking for food, and it’s weird as hell.

He’s used to the sounds of the city, always something going on. Someone making noise. Loud and obnoxious and comforting in its own way because it’s all he’s known.

This...weird as hell, sure, but not awful.

Michael stays in bed as he remembers how the hell he got here and why. Common sense comes along way too fucking late and wow.

Because all the ways he could have died horribly somehow not happening. Ryan turning out to be an awkward dork with a goofy smile and ridiculous laugh, and Michael's quick to shut down any further thoughts about Ryan because it’s smarter that way. (Safer, too.)

Michael gets up, taking the time to be a good guest and make his bed before he goes to the laundry room to collect his clothes. Takes a quick shower in the bathroom before he changes into them, and then he goes...it’s not exploring, just.

Venturing.

Ryan doesn’t seem to be up yet, or maybe he’s just in another part of the mansion, and Michael ends up in the “living room” Ryan’s cobbled together.

It's another library that’s been repurposed. Tall bookshelves lining the walls and a long table on one end close by the glass doors that open up into one of thee courtyards. Ryan’s made it fit his needs instead of the other way around.

While taking a better look at Ryan’s video game collection Michael comes across a framed photo. Ryan and another guy, both dressed like people in the Victorian era. Michael stares at it for a long, long moment, not sure what to make of it.

A formal portrait kind of thing, both of them elegantly dressed with solemn expressions on their faces and what the actual fuck?

“Oh, uh,” Ryan says appearing from nowhere. “That’s my younger brother.”

Michael turns around to see Ryan standing beside him, and look okay, look.

Michael knows vampires aren’t real, but Ryan’s odd, eccentric. Thinking back on what he told Michael the night before, a lot of it doesn’t add up.

Ryan flips between formal turns of phrase to more modern ones, and he’s just.

Strange.

Woefully out of touch when it comes to certain things. The guy fumbles slang and shit like that, which fine. He’s also a major dork so that could be explanation enough, but.

It’s nice and bright in here now, sunlight spilling in through the windows and glass doors that lead out to what looks like a beautiful garden. And Ryan, okay. Not bursting into flames or whatever the hell it is vampires are supposed to do in this situation.

“Halloween?” Michael asks, smiling as he does because that would make the most sense, wouldn’t it? Couple of dapper assholes out for a night of Halloween fun somewhere.

There’s not that much of a family resemblance between the two of them. Ryan the broader of the two, light hair and eye color, but that doesn’t mean anything in the grander scheme and all that.

Ryan shakes his head, fond little smile on his face as he reaches past Michael to pick the frame up.

“No,” he says, and doesn’t explain why the hell he has a photo like that. “It’s one of the last ones I have of us together though.”

“Uh - “

Ryan sighs, brushing his fingers over the glass like a character in an old movie.

“There was a fire,” he says, “part of the reason I moved here.”

Michael wants to ask, he really does, but he’s not sure if it would be the right choice at the moment.

The way Ryan talks could mean there’s a horrible family tragedy in his past involving his little brother, or it’s something less devastating like a simple falling out that he’d rather not dwell on. Maybe it’s just the way life goes sometimes, people falling out of contact only to reconnect at a later date.

Whichever one it is, it doesn’t feel right for Michael to go sticking his nose into things, so.

Yeah.

“Anyway,” Ryan says, setting the frame down gently and gives Michael a bright smile. “Breakfast?”

========

Ryan cooks them some omelets and brews a pot of coffee and Michael – tired and confused and getting a little irritated over it, shoves the vampire/not vampire debate away for later, because fucking really.

They talk about the weather, seeing as it’s a significant factor in this situation and Ryan tells him the landlines are working again. (As expected, Michael’s phone is dead as shit even with Ryan’s heroic efforts.)

Once they clear the dishes away – Michael has to insist on helping with that again, fuck’s sake – he makes a few calls.

Tells his boss he won’t be in for the day because reasons, and Ryan offers to drive him out to see if his car is still there before he calls a tow service.

“Oh, fuck. Good idea, yeah.”

Ryan doesn’t laugh at him because it’s not funny, but he totally does.

The drive out to the spot Michael’s car died on him is quiet, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

Michael’s car is where he left it, but the creek did indeed flood. There’s water reaching almost to the car windows and no hope of getting a jump from Ryan and driving himself home now.

“Well, shit.”

No way to tell if it’s a lost cause from the insurance company’s view, but it’s not looking great for Michael, which is awesome.

Not like he relies on the damn thing for work or anything.

========

Michael doesn’t expect to hear from Ryan again after that, figures it was a nice - if weird - thing that happened to him thanks to his luck and life in general.

He had to quit his job at the pizza shop because his car was deemed a total loss by the insurance company and what they gave him was nowhere near enough for a decent replacement. (A pizza delivery driver without a working car is worse than useless.)

Michael's working the night shift at a distribution center for a big box store. Hard, thankless work loading trucks up all night long and shitty pay, but hey, bills to pay and all that.

And then a few weeks after he ended up at Ryan’s freaking mansion, he gets a knock on his door and this kid in an ill-fitting suit beaming up at him.

“Michael Jones?” he asks, even though it’s clear he knows who Michael is. Pushes past Michael into his crappy apartment and glances around before turning back to him to pop open the briefcase he’s carrying. “I’ve got an offer for you on behalf of my client.”

Michael stares at this idiot kid with his idiot smile and this look in his eyes that says he’s not walking out of Michael’s apartment until Michael hears him out.

“I’m sorry, what?” Michael asks, utterly bewildered. “Who the hell are you?”

========

Fucking Ryan.

========

“Jesus Christ,” Jeremy breathes, looking up at the fucking Gothic mansion Ryan calls home these days. “How the fuck didn’t I know about this place before?”

Michael doesn’t know, and he doesn’t care.

Too annoyed at Ryan and his...Ryan-ness to give much of a shit as he limbs out of Jeremy’s car. Manages not to slam the door because Jeremy is doing him a favor driving Michael out here on little notice like this.

The lawyer’s sensible hybrid car is parked under the covered awning near the garage, and Michael -

“Michael?”

Michael reins his temper in and leans in through the passenger side window to meet Jeremy’s worried gaze.

“Magic,” he spits, because for all he knows it is, and then feels guilty at the look Jeremy gives him. All woeful sad puppy dog eyes and Michael, please, because Jeremy’s a shit. “I don’t know, Jeremy. It’s not like people come out this way that often, you know?”

Jeremy cocks his head like he’s thinking about it, and okay, now is not the time.

“Thanks for driving me out here, I’ll pay you back for it later,” he promises, because they’re a long way out of town and gas is expensive these days.

Jeremy snorts, waving it off as he gestures to the mansion. “You want me to come with you?”

In case Ryan is a serial killer or something worse, and honestly, Jeremy’s a good guy. (A fucking idiot, sure, but still a good guy.)

Michael glances at the mansion. Takes in the way it’s pretty fucking intimidating against a steel gray sky, more storm clouds in the distance because the weather is miserable this time of year.

“Nah,” he says. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m good.”

Jeremy’s eyebrows shoot up, because yeah, no, this whole situation is sketchy as hell.

“Really.”

Michael shrugs. It’s hard to explain, but he’s just here to yell at Ryan. Shake some sense into him if he can, but mostly it’s the yelling thing.

Jeremy’s got work later and the lawyer can drive Michael home, no need to hang around for his ass.

“Yep,” he says, and pushes off Jeremy’s car to head inside, ignoring Jeremy as he yells after him.

========

“Michael,” Ryan says, fidgeting with the book he’s holding. Science fiction author Ryan seems to like, filling the bookshelves in the library he’s taken over. “I didn't expect to see you here again.”

Michael narrows his eyes at that, gaze flitting toward the lawyer who’s off in a corner on his phone. Big hand gestures and this note to his voice like his life is a disaster and hahaha, no, really, I need you to do this One Thing, for the love of God.

“No?” Michael asks, and holds up the folder of paperwork Ryan’s lawyer dropped off with him. “Weird.”

Ryan...winces, rubs a hand over his face.

“Ah,” he says. “That.”

Yes, Michael thinks. ’That’ indeed.

Like Ryan’s lawyer said, it’s an offer.

A job offer. Personal assistant to the human disaster that is Ryan Haywood and various perks and benefits that would go along with said job offer.

Such as ridiculous amounts of money as payment, his own room(s) at the mansion, pick of the cars in the garage – excluding Ryan’s personal one- and a whole slew of things that most people would have to sell their souls to get.

And here Ryan is offering all of that plus some to Michael after knowing him for less than a day.

It’s suspicious as hell and while part of Michael is screeching at him at to swallow his pride and agree, the rest is...annoyed.

Because Ryan – vampire or just a run of the mill serial killer – is real fucking stupid.

For all he knows Michael could be a goddamned serial killer, and here the idiot it inviting him into his home like it’s no big deal. A place in the middle of nowhere where no one would discover the body for quite some time and what the actual fuck is wrong with this idiot?

“I thought Kerry explained it to you?” Ryan says, backing up a step when Michael scowls at him. “We went over the contract several times, and while I admit he is young, he’s very thorough.”

Oh, Kerry was very clear on the terms and conditions of the contract. Bright and cheerful as he went over it in excruciating detail, yes. Answered all of Michael's questions with confidence and only faltered when Michael told him he’d need time to think it over before he’d kicked Kerry out of his apartment and stewed.

Read the damn thing over and over, going through what fine print there was with a fine-toothed comb just in case and realizing for all the legal babble there was, it was a straightforward offer.

No strings attached, and Michael was free to stay in his apartment in the city instead if he felt more comfortable with that. And he'd still have his pick of the cars and everything else. Could negotiate any terms and conditions until all parties were satisfied and honestly he shouldn’t be annoyed at how accommodating Ryan is trying to be with this, but he is.

Part of it has to do with Michael’s own stupid pride, he’s not a fucking charity case okay. More than capable of looking after himself even if it lands him in the trouble every once in a while. The rest is just.

Baffled at how stupid Ryan is.

“You don’t even know me,” Michael says, because it’s true, isn’t it? They’re virtual strangers and yet here Ryan is ready to let him into his odd little home for no reason. “Why go to so much trouble for me?”

Michael knows all about Ryan’s woes with his dead relative’s lawyers, knows Kerry works for the same legal firm. That Ryan chose him to handle his own personal legal matters and apparently that includes helping draft a job offer for Michael or whatever the hell.

Ryan fidgets, looking every which way but at Michael and otherwise stalls until he can’t any longer.

Looks awkward as hell, sheepish and worst of all, guilty.

“...I like you,” he says after a long, painful moment. “And believe it or not, I don’t get a lot of company out here.”

Well, yeah.

Creepy mansion in the middle of nowhere? No shit he doesn’t get visitors out here. Michael bets he doesn’t even get the goddamned Girl Scouts breathing down his neck when cookie season rolls around.

Ryan sighs, glancing at Kerry who is still on his phone and oblivious to the two of them.

“I know what it’s like to be in a bad place in life,” he says, makes this vague hand gesture meant to encompass that spot in his own life. “And since I have the means to help you out – or try to – I did.”

He winces again before looking up at Michael.

“I didn't think it through at the time,” he admits. “I realize it seems...sketchy.”

Among other things, yeah.

Michael sighs, because he gets it, he does.

Ryan’s a sweet guy, if a bit misguided.

“Look,” Michael says, not sure what to say next because what the hell does he say next? “I’m not mad about it - “

Ryan snorts, corners of his mouth quirking.

“Shut up, I’m not,” Michael insists. “Annoyed, sure, because you’re an idiot, but I’m not mad.”

He really isn’t.

And...that sense of wounded pride is quiet now that Ryan’s explained himself. Awkward and fumbling, but his offer seems to have come from a good place.

Michael would be a fool to turn Ryan’s offer down, let his pride get the better of him. He’s not the smartest guy out there by a long shot, might not get a better opportunity than this in his life, and -

He’s lonely too, even with people like Gavin and Jeremy and the other assholes he met since moving out here.

Ryan’s out here by himself, living somewhere he doesn’t seem all that happy to be, and here he is trying to do a good thing for some asshole he barely knows.

Michael looks at Ryan, the tired little smile on his face that looks stiff and painful, and feels guilty for being the sort of asshole he is.

The truth of the matter is Michael doesn’t want to kill himself for minimum wage working in a warehouse or whatever other shitty job he’ll land at some point.

He’s tired of barely scraping by and while Ryan’s offer was way over the top, he can work with it. Whittle it down to something more manageable, easier to live with and not feel like he’s taking advantage of Ryan’s generosity.

Ryan must realize it, because he cocks his head as Michael starts talking.

========

Kerry left hours ago and took the amended contract with him.

There are still sections that need to be gone over, finalized before anyone sets pen to paper but overall Michael's feeling more comfortable about it.

He had to argue Ryan down on a few points because goddamn the man’s an idiot, but with Kerry on his side he got his point across. (Ryan still thinks Michael’s being the dumb one here, but honestly it’s still Ryan.)

“You’re incredibly dumb,” Michael says, listing to the storm closing in on the mansion outside, one that's bound to be another doozy. “Like. So much, it’s hard to believe anyone could be that dumb.”

Ryan sends him an annoyed look, and on that huge flat screen television of his, Michael's character goes down in a spray of blood and choked off cry.

Another goddamned headshot from fucking nowhere.

“Oh?” Ryan says, smile full of teeth. “Is that so?”

Michael snorts because yeah, yeah. The guy’s a pro with the fucking sniper rifle but the moment Michael gets in close enough to make the damn thing irrelevant, he’s pretty fucking easy to deal with.

“Yeah,” Michael answers, flashing him a grin. “It is.”

========

Look, Michael has no clue what’s going on in his life anymore, alright?

He’s got a better job lined up for himself than anything he’s had before even if he’s not sure he’s qualified for it. An idiot of a boss who may or may not be a vampire or just a run of the mill serial killer, and somehow all of this is okay with him because Michael is also an idiot.

Michael doesn’t know what he’s doing, but Ryan’s laughing at some dumb joke he just told and the storm outside seems small and inconsequential.

The company’s not half bad, so Michael will keep on keeping on for now and deal with whatever shit comes his way the way he always does.

#myan #ragehappy #vagrant fic #idek anymore #it started as a lol moment and grew into this???#¯\_(ツ)_/¯#leave the lights on #vampire??? au

36 notes · View notes