#its been with me since the start of the journey. my favourite add-on...

[aria0fgold]

I thiiink I processed a bit of my thoughts bout OFF but like, my mind was blown so there isn't much in it. One thing bout it though is that I really love the music in this game, like I be jamming to the battle music it sound so cool and catchy and it's actually stuck in my head. I also love the puzzles in the game, it's not too hard and it's also so nice to do! (I say that but I brute forced at least 2 puzzles. The puzzles right before Zone 1 and Zone 2's bosses... Trial and error even though the key to the puzzle was Right in the area but lazy in I don't wanna go back to look).

Also I love how, even if the game doesn't seem like much, it was hella enjoyable for me, must be cuz of the music. Like, I'd walk around so much finding a bunch of stuff and then battles happen with some banger music and it honestly felt like I just played that game for like a hour even though it was way more than that. Like, I really really enjoyed it.

For the story of the game... I have no idea what story is supposed to be there. But throughout it, whenever the Batter purifies a zone I start doubting if it's the right thing cuz everything looks so... lifeless... Like yeah sure, the spectres are also pretty bad and killing the poor Elsens, also doesn't help how Dedan makes the poor guys so stressed too but I was thinking if there was at least another way than just purifying everything but I'm stuck with the Batter. By the end the Judge saying that I'm the puppeteer but honestly I felt like more of the puppet for some reason.

I'm stuck with the Batter my guy, I won't proceed at all unless I do things that aligns with the Batter's mission. And in either endings, it's all bad in a way that, what's done is done. Choosing the Judge doesn't reverse anything, the world is completely lifeless and "purified," so in the end it's better to just keep being with the Batter and finish what we started. Which is pretty cool cuz I kept wondering Why was the game called OFF and then seeing the Batter ending and I'm like: OOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH (it was the first thing that blew my mind).

Like, I feel like this game's story got A Lot of stuff for me to know (Time to read through what everyone's theories are. I'm not really good with those so I always enjoy reading everyone else's). Like, the thing that I kiiinda get is that there's a lonely child who doesn't like his dad and prefers his mom but the mom doesn't even visit him much. He made 3 friends which he turned into guardians of the zones, and a mom regarded as the Queen. And then there's Batter which I feel like was based off of Boxxer in that comic that the kid was given to by his dad. And like, gestures vaguely, yeah, it's neat :D (my train of thought broke I don't remember what I was going with that).

#ariaplays #ariaplays: OFF #wai do i still use those tags for the final thoughts posts or no????? welp im using em in this post now #like this game is hella good its like reaaaally good but i cant say How good cuz im speechless #like i actually really like how the characters know theres a player #but at the same time it feels like that part is crucial in knowing the full story #also zacharie constantly breaking the fourth wall. like thanks dude. glad to be reminded that im playing a video game #but also thats crazy to be reminded im playing a video game through a video game character #also so funny how i went to the wiki and saw mention of a character called Sugar but i never got to meet her #which im kinda glad cuz ion wanna make zacharie sad cuz the batter killed her. im no completionist thank goodness #also like thats another thing. the batter decides when and where i can flee from a fight. which is fair. a common mechanic but #really makes it seem like hes more in control of everything than i am despite literally controlling his body #oh and the designs in this game are sooo horrifying yet soo cool #the most distressed ive been is during the bird boss fight cuz can you PLEASE let go of valerie's body alrdy hes dead #yet hes still hanging onto the birds head please shake his body off and let him rest #seeing and hearing the judge meowing loudly in the rooftop after that boss fight for his brother like maaaaannnn... pain... #anyway id like to say that i literally get attached to anything easily and i very much so like the add-on alpha. its my buddy now. #its been with me since the start of the journey. my favourite add-on...

[elusive-writer]

Hello!!

I was wondering if you could write some head canons or a one shot about a non-binary reader x Kakyoin who always dances to the music on the radio? Its one of my favorite things to do when I’m playing 70’s-80’s music and I go unnecessarily hard lmao, if possible could you add the other crusaders but platonically?? Like maybe they are all in the car driving and then a song the reader likes comes on the radio and then they just start hitting the boogie in the passenger seat? I apologize if its kinda weirdly specific lol

Ah!! Hi there!

This is the first request I’ve gotten so I was super pumped to write this! And please don’t apologise! The more detail the better, gives me a better idea of what to write 🥰

This is my first time writing for a non-binary reader so I hope I did ok! Any and all feedback is majorly appreciated.

And since I couldn’t decide between head canons and a one shot, you get both lol

(I was also listening to a favourite 80s song of mine while writing this, so I hope it’s ok that it makes a little cameo in the one shot 😅)

I had a lot of fun writing this, so I hope you enjoy!

𝘒𝘢𝘬𝘺𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘹 𝘕𝘉! 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘰

(feat. the other crusaders)

Word Count : 1.3k

Head Canons :

Kakyoin absolutely LOVES when your favourite tunes come on, almost as much as you do.

Because it means he gets to see you boogie to your heart’s content.

You might think it’s because he finds it funny, but it’s far from it.

Every time you dance to the radio he’s just mesmerised, he loves the energy you give into every move.

Since Kakyoin was quite reserved as a child, he never had moments where he could just jam out with someone.

So when you gesture for him to join you, he knows he’d be a fool not to.

The other crusaders see the goofy smile on his face every time the two of you dance together.

So they subtly (not so subtly) ensure that you guys just so happen to be partnered up when you stay in hotels.

They come to regret this when your dancing sessions carry late into the night.

Every now and then Jotaro will get sick of it so you’ll hear a muffled “Shut up!” from the next room.

You and Kakyoin giggle quietly as you turn down the radio.

They don’t mind too much though, the nature of this journey is bleak at times so the liveliness you and Kakyoin bring is a welcome breath of fresh air.

Polnareff and Joseph even join you two for a chance to boogie occasionally.

One Shot :

Mr Joestar’s snoring is the only sound that fills the air as you drive along the deserted road. You get an earful of it since you’re sitting in the middle of him and Polnareff, with the latter driving.

You wanted to sit next to Kakyoin but this seating arrangement was the only way all 6 of you would be able to fit in the car. He sat directly behind you, between Jotaro and Avdol.

You’ve been driving for hours with no breaks, there’s not much to do in the car so you start to grow restless.

[YOU] - “Ughhh, I’m so bored!!”

You groan as you plonk your head on the dashboard.

[POLNAREFF] - “Hey hey watch it!”

Polnareff yanks you back into an upright position.

[POLNAREFF] - “You’re gonna give yourself a concussion.”

[YOU] - “Maybe that would be a blessing in disguise. It’d be more interesting than this.”

You rotate in your seat, leaning on your knees to look into the back seat. Jotaro is leaning back with his hat over his face and Avdol is just looking out the window. You look at Kakyoin and he has his eyes closed, he must be sleeping as well. He looks so peaceful, and although you wanna let him rest… you also really wanna talk to him.

[YOU] - “C’mon…”

You wave your hands in front of you like you're trying to cast some kinda voodoo spell.

[YOU] - “Wake up.”

And to no one’s surprise your incantation fails. You sigh.

[AVDOL] - “Why don’t you try the radio?”

You turn your attention towards the fortune teller.

[AVDOL] - “Maybe we can get a signal out here.”

You immediately perk up at the idea and nod. Turning back around you start fiddling with controls. There’s only static but you don't stop trying. You’re about to throw in the towel but then you hear the radio crackle to life.

♪ ♪ ♫ ♪

Your face lights up when you recognise the melody.

[YOU] - “No fucking way!”

[JOTARO] - “Good grief could you be any louder?”

You turn your head and Jotaro is now sitting up, you shoot him an apologetic smile.

[KAKYOIN] - “Can you blame them? This one is one of their favourites.”

♪ Shake it up is all that we know ♪

You immediately spin back around onto your knees and meet Kakyoin’s gaze.

[YOU] - “Hey you’re awake!”

[KAKYOIN] - “I’ve actually been awake for a while.”

♪ Using the bodies up as we go ♪

You start moving your shoulders to the rhythm.

[JOTARO] - “Good grief here we go again.”

♪ I’m waking up to fantasy ♪

Kakyoin laughs when you start using an imaginary microphone to mouth the lyrics. You hold a hand out to him, still getting your groove on.

[YOU] - “C’mon I know you wanna join me.”

♪ Broken ice still melts in the sun ♪

How can he refuse when you’re looking at him like that? Kakyoin grabs your hand and proceeds to go HAM with you. It’s like y’all are at your own personal concert. Your fingers are intertwined as you both seemingly escape into the music.

[JOTARO] - “Great, now there’s two of them.”

Avdol chuckles at the display in front of them.

[AVDOL] - “This is good, a little spirit is never a bad thing-”

[YOU] - “YOU’RE OUT OF TOUCH.”

You hold the ‘microphone’ to Kakyoin.

[KAKYOIN] - “I’M OUT OF TIME.”

[YOU + KAKYOIN] - “BUT I’M OUT OF MY HEAD WHEN YOU’RE NOT AROUND!”

Jotaro just shakes his head while Avdol’s laughter fills the space in between you and Kakyoin’s singing (screaming)

It goes on like this for a while, the radio cycles through the songs, and you and Kakyoin give an oscar worthy performance to every single one of them. Polnareff turns up the radio so you can really give it your all, Avdol joins in for some of the songs, and you even manage to get a tiny smirk from Jotaro.

It’s cut short when the radio stops while you’re in the middle of a song.

[YOU] - “Hey driver, what happened to the music?”

You hear a bit of fidgeting before he answers.

[POLNAREFF] - “Looks like we lost the signal.”

The disappointment is evident on your faces.

[KAKYOIN] - “You’re kidding.”

[POLNAREFF] - “Nope, unfortunately I’m not.”

You groan and plop your head on the headrest.

[YOU] - “Man…”

Kakyoin feels bad seeing you so downcast. His eyes fall on your hand that he still has in his grasp, thinking of how to improve your mood. And then an idea hits him.

[KAKYOIN] - “Hey Polnareff, you and Mr Joestar got this car second hand yeah?”

Polnareff looks at him through the rearview mirror.

[POLNAREFF] - “Yeah that’s right.”

He squeezes your hand gently to get your attention. You look up at him.

[KAKYOIN] - “Why don’t you check the glove compartment? Maybe the owner left some discs in there.”

Your eyes widen and you shoot up (almost hitting your head on the roof). His heart melts at the sight of your radiant smile.

[YOU] - “Kakyoin you beautiful genius!”

You grab the sides of his face and give him a peck on the lips. Jotaro and Avdol stifle their laughter as Kakyoin proceeds to malfunction when you turn around to search the compartment.

Opening it up there’s a small pile of discs there, you immediately pick them up and examine them.

[YOU] - “Score!”

You hold up one of the discs to show to Kakyoin.

[YOU] - “They have Wham! in here!”

[JOSEPH] - “What did you just say?”

Looking to the side you see that the old man’s awake, he looks a little startled.

[POLNAREFF] - “You’re finally awake Mr Joestar! I'm surprised you didn’t wake up sooner, we had the music pretty loud.”

Kakyoin leans forward in his seat.

[KAKYOIN] - “Are you ok Mr Joestar?”

You hold up the disc to him.

[YOU] - “Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of Wham! before.”

[JOSEPH] - “You can’t be serious.”

[AVDOL] - “I’m pretty sure they are Mr Joestar, Wham! is very popular.”

[JOTARO] - “Good grief old man, is your age catching up with you?”

The haunted look doesn’t leave Mr Joestar’s face as you look over the other discs with Kakyoin.

[KAKYOIN] - “What was that one you were showing me the other day… oh yeah! Do they have AC/DC?”

[YOU] - “Mhm! Oooo, they even have Santana.”

Your eyes light up when they land on a particular CD.

[YOU] - “Oh. My. God! Let’s put on Cars!“

[JOSEPH] - “HERMIT PURPLE!”

The discs are suddenly snatched out of your hands with purple vines and flung out the open window. You gawk at Mr Joestar as your only form of entertainment disappears into the dust. Kakyoin does his best to console you for the remainder of the drive.

#✩ stardust crusaders ✩ #stardust crusaders x reader #jjba x reader #jojo’s bizarre adventure x reader #jojo x reader #kakyoin x reader #noriaki kakyoin x reader #⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

[alexjcrowley]

Watched The Extra Man (2010) and was pretty disappointed, not going to lie. I'm more sad than bitter about it. Let me explain.

When the movie started, I thought I was in for a treat. I genuinely thought this would have been a movie ahead of its time talking self expression and gender identity, it would have been one of those things I can tell people "it was far ahead". But, for me, it didn't do.

Let's start by talking about exploring gender identity/self expression. Now, I have just one problem with this point: I wanted more.

The premise of the movie is that it's a story about this guy, Louis Ives, who has an internal conflict with his gender identity, we could say. It felt to me like at some point, while writing the script, the screenwriters got way more interested in the character of Henry Harrison and derailed the movie. The scene with Louis at the bar was great, I loved that scene so much, I wish there could have been more scenes like that! The movie went in a very different direction than what I thought also in regard of Louis's personal journey, to the point I'd be inclined to say at the end of the movie things got more confused than when they started. I am not an expert on gender identity, I couldn't comment and that's why I won't comment on the way they represented Louis's internal conflict, what I can say is that I would have preferred much more time dedicated specifically to that subject and less to...I am sorry, but unlikable side characters.

Let's discuss the side characters, at least the main ones.

Mary is at best a poor stereotype of an animal activist and your classic "pretty girl will make the loser do stuff for her while she hangs out with the cool boyfriend". She is incredibly unlikable and this unlikability brings nothing to the plot. She is just horrible to Louis and this doesn't make Louis grow or anything, she is just there to do and say what everyone who has ever watched 5 romcoms can easily predict. She turns decent 10 minutes before the movie ends, it doesn't count.

Gershon Gruer, I have just one question: did we really need him? I guess he was a comic relief, but he didn't make me laugh, so. I preferred him when he just cycled. And he had the play in the end? Felt lazy.

Lois and Meredith were fine, actually. I liked Meredith a lot, and I liked her monologue about her childhood, but since you only ever seen her in that 10 minutes of the movie, it felt out of place. Like when someone who's drunk tells you their entire life because they're drunk, even if you don't know them. Good to know, Meredith, but what is this thing about your past meant to add to the plot?

Vivian was also fine. Very basic, but not bad.

I wished I could have seen more of Miss Hart.

And now, let's come to the real beast: Henry Harrison. The point is, I know what they were trying to do with Henry Harrison. It's an archetype I personally love. From Count Oliver straight out of the Alan Ford comic books to Monsieur Gustave in Grand Budapest Hotel, the impoverished aristocrat is one of my favourite type of characters (don't @me for "Gustave wasn't an aristocrat!", the concept of this kind of character is someone who tries to keep alive/uphold an old faded lifestyle they cannot afford in the name of an ideal, Zero at the end of the movie says something like Gustave had always been a part of an era already faded long time before). Fanny Button from BBC Ghosts is also a good example of this archetype.

Usually, this character is inherently funny, something about being overly formal and quaint and old fashioned. They make for great side characters. But Henry Harrison, this guy, he is unbearable. I mean it. I am sorry if some of you love him, you won't like what I have to say and you may prefer keep scrolling, but I need to talk about this guy. Yes, the fallen nobleman is usually a funny character and they can easily get on other characters' nerves, but they shouldn't get on the audience's ones. His entire comedic persona comes from being racist, homophobic, sexist and frankly a bit disgusting a lot of the times, also an absolute asshole. And as much as "having outdated beliefs" (let's put it very kindly like that) is a staple trait of the fallen nobleman, he is just irritating! The whole joke is that he is a terrible person. I can find him peculiar in the first 10 minutes he is on screen, then he just becomes a nuisance.

And that's the second problem with him: his screen time. This guy eats up an unbelievable part of screentime. At some point you forget it's a movie about Louis's conflict with wanting to dress up as a woman and it just becomes a movie about how poor Louis has to put up with this other guy. And you know what, since the title is "The Extra Man" maybe I am the dumb once, after all Henry, not Louis, is the extra man, I shouldn't be so surprised so much of this movie is about him. But he truly is a character hard to stand.

I am not one of these people who can't get interested in a story if the characters are "evil", if they're morally corrupted. Hell, Hannibal and Succession fan here, so. But the point is, in a show/book/movie/whatever where the main guy sucks, you need to give the audience a reason to care about him. Not even to like him, but at least to care. I don't give a fuck if Henry dies the most painful death ever. The guy I care about is Louis, who fades like a shadow in comparison to Henry.

"You don't understand, it's the Gatsby-Nick Carraway metaphor" no, no, I do. The point is in The Great Gatsby is fine becausr Nick doesn't really have any interesting situation going on for him (on the contrary, Louis has this complex relationship with his gender identity) and Gatsby not only is not an ass but he's also an interesting character. You want to know what happens to him, you want to unravel his mystery. I just wanted to hit Henry in the head. "His heart was broken" is a very lazy mystery to deserve an hour and 15 minutes of waiting to be discovered. Again, like Mary, he turns decent in last 10 minutes of the movie, and now, I am no screenwriter, but I honestly don't feel like calling that character growth. Henry Harrison feels to me like a bad copy of a boring copy of the fallen nobleman archetype. He could have been written so much better.

So basically I have beef with how they wrote characters and the way they divided up screen time. The acting is not bad at all, the movie is not badly directed, but I can't say it was memorable. Same for the cinematography.

The Extra Man looks to me, in most part, a movie that it's there, extra in the sense that it's not needed. It's a movie. It's not the worst movie. But, especially because it had an interesting premise, it comes out as excruciatingly mediocre and bland.

And I am you don't even know how sorry about it. I wanted this movie to be good. I really like cinema, I have watched movies that are considered to be slower and more boring than what The Extra Man is supposed to be, but I had a hard time finishing it. Not even my love for Paul Dano could save this movie. And I liked Louis as a character, I was invested in his story.

I am writing this knowing NOTHING about how this movie was received at the time and how it's considered today. If some of you disagree with me, because maybe Tumblr and Danonation have decided this is actually a masterpiece, please, don't kill me/insult me. If someone liked this movie I am genuinely curious to know why, I'd love to hear other people's opinion.

#the extra man #louis ives #paul dano #danonation

[eurovision-del]

19. The Netherlands – Burning Daylight

I’ve been on a bit of a journey with this one. It’s probably my biggest grower of the year – I wrote it off when it was released, but now I think it’s a very good song. The muted piano works to create this intimate sound and the melody is beautiful in its simplicity. I love a descending line, so I really like the tune on the chorus. The outro is my favourite part though, that’s where it all comes together and makes me fall in love with it – the music swells and gets all intense there, the voices harmonise for the first time which sounds great in the studio cut, and it really gets to me. The whole message of burnout and struggling to keep going is one that I find painfully relatable, but the outro brings some hope with the idea that you can grow past it and say goodbye to that old life.

However, I have a couple of reservations. Firstly, I don’t think this needed to be a duet. Aside from a couple of random interjections which serve more as backing vocals than anything else, Mia doesn’t come in until the second verse – in fact, the first couple of times I heard this I was surprised when she started singing, Dion had been singing for so long I’d forgotten this was a duet at all! Splitting the lyrics between two voices adds nothing to the message, and they barely harmonise, singing the chorus in unison, only having an extended harmonised section in the outro, which could have been achieved with just backing vocals, since they’re already used there anyway! Their vocal timbres are also quite different, with Dion’s being much rougher than Mia’s – in my initial notes on this one I wondered how they’d blend live – the answer is unfortunately they don’t. Even if they’re just pre-parties, the two performances they gave were both filled with tuning issues and were generally awkward, and dampened a lot of my enjoyment for this song. Maybe they’ll find a spark of chemistry in rehearsals, but I expect this will be a song I much prefer in the studio cut rather than live.

#eurovision #esc2023 #2023 ranking #I think this is the highest I've ever ranked a song that was still a personal non-qualifier #there's still ten songs from semi 1 to come! #netherlands

[prophecytoad]

The Beginning

Hi reader! Thanks for stopping by! This is the first post of my fortnightly blog. I plan for this blog to be a center for my game development journey, as well as for my perspectives on game design principles, problems, and frustrations. I hope that you will find the material in this blog to be enlightening!

Before we get into any of the good stuff, allow me to first introduce myself!

My name is Dan, but online I go by ProphecyToad. I named myself after my love for amphibians and my need to always plan ahead. As of writing this, I am a 28 year old, third year university student studying a Bachelor of Games and Interactive Environments, majoring in Game Design and minoring in Software Development.

Why do I play games?

Video games to me have always been a display of the beautiful minds of so many people, that have come together to create something that people can invest themselves into in their own unique ways.

I personally play video games for two main reasons: Emotional investment, and mechanical skill display. I love a game that is well written and has themes that can get me invested in the world and characters, but I love a game even more if it has a great deal of well-designed mechanical skill expression.

My history playing games

I’ve been playing video games since my earliest memory on the Windows 98 operating system, with classic games such as “Putt Putt saves the zoo”, “Tyrian 2000”, and “Doom”. Over the years since, I’ve played many different games, sometimes forgetting to do anything else for days at a time (oops).

I was introduced to competitive games as a teenager with the likes of Halo 3 and Guitar hero, and became absorbed by the idea of skill expression in video games. This interest carried me to other games such as Magic: The Gathering, League of Legends, and Rainbow Six Siege.

My Favourite Games

My top 3 favourite games + 1 nostalgia game as of writing this post

Monster Hunter World

This game at its core is simple: go on a mission -> kill/capture a monster -> make equipment from monster parts. The concept is extremely simple to understand, but is done VERY well; largely due to the exceptional combat and creature design. The game is built entirely around allowing the player to demonstrate their skill with incredibly well-paced combat.

Photo retrieved from https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/01/25/monster-hunter-world-review

Resident Evil: Biohazard

The only game in the last decade that I immediately replayed after finishing it, and intentionally unlocked all the achievements for; this game is a masterwork of its design. The levels, puzzles, and story of this game had me invested from start to finish. The game doesn’t try to be more complex than it needs to be, and instead makes use of the sparce systems and mechanics to add to the ambience of the game.

Photo retrieved from https://www.ign.com/games/resident-evil-7-biohazard

Halo

Now, I’m not going to get involved in the debate of which is the objective “best” Halo, but Halo has always been a highlight point for me whenever a new one released. Futuristic powersuit fantasy? Check. Shooting cool, but bad aliens? Check. Saving the universe? Check. What’s not to love?

Photo retrieved from https://www.ign.com/articles/halo-infinite-release-date-preorder

Nostalgia

Digimon World

The first game that I played that made me think, “I can’t wait to get back from school to play this!”. Digimon World combined my love for digital creatures and my love for adventuring into a neat little package with its own unique sense of style.

Retrieved from https://www.ign.com/games/digimon-world

 Check out this cool frog that I did a poster for in primary school: The Turtle Frog!

Photo retrieved from https://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/frogwatch/frogs/turtle-frog

#gamedev #unity3d #design #game design #video games #games

[djkimseo]

FIRST BOLLYWOOD DJ FROM HYDERABAD AT HYLIFE BREWING PUB (JUBILEE HILLS)

Roots in Kerala, Brought up in Chennai and ruling the hearts of Hyderabad with his Bollywood Music, DJ Kim aka Kim Thomas is one of the most refined Artists In Hyderabad who has truly mastered the art of DJing just within a span of three Decades. If Kim met in the daytime, would come across as just like any other 9-5 Corporate IT person, being in I.T is also one of his passions as an Information Security Professional, however, you will be gobsmacked to know where he truly belongs – On the console spinning the best of Bollywood music and entrancing crowd to sway and swing. His passion for music not only has earned him the title of” Best Bollywood DJ in Hyderabad “but also made him the favourite DJ of party holes in the city.

Kim started his career as a DJ in 2012, on the Journey from just like any other struggling artist to becoming one of the most sought DJs in Hyderabad he quotes” It has never been a smooth ride, there was so much disapproval, but what kept me going is my passion for music”. He played at almost all the popular nightclubs and party places in Hyderabad, like Heart Cup, 10 Downing Street, Vapour and Kismet, and many more. Most Recently DJ Kim was hired by one of the popular party places of Hyderabad “Hylife Brewing Company” Located at Jubilee Hills.  Kim is the first Bollywood Artist to be blazing the floor of Hylife with his stunning mixes of Bollywood classics and retro that his fans have come to love and know him for.

Hylife is known for its unique choice of international Artists Spinning EDM, Deep Tech, House, and Trance, it’s always buzzing with party freaks even on weekdays. This place truly lives up to its mark and looks no less than an art piece and not to forget hanging the vehicle in the center is just the cherry on the top.  Hylife being the best has chosen the Best Bollywood DJ in the city. The combo of the lovely place and the lively DJ results in one hell of a party at Hylife every Wednesday.

Partygoers at Hylife not only love this pleasant change but thoroughly enjoy the wow factor which Kim adds to the night.  Kim’s secret sauce is that he understands his audience and his ability to blend Sounds, Emotions, and Music; he is truly a definition of being able to think on his feet. Both a true DJ and People’s favourite, Kim’s Popularity echoes all over the city, and respected as one of the Best Bollywood DJs in the city, which explains why he is the first Bollywood DJ  to be chosen to play at Hylife.

Let’s hear what Hylife Management has to say about Kim’s work at Hylife:

Bobby: Operational Director (Hylife) :

Kim just owns the dance floor and he knows how to alter the playlist according to the audience, he had some innovative ideas on the table at our first meet that we loved and had never seen before from other artists who could cater more than what they can deliver. He truly is charming both on the floor and off the floor. He takes cues from the crowd and engages them subtly. I would highly recommend Kim any day for a Desi Club Night.

Karthik: General Manager (Hylife) :

Kim is the first Bollywood Artist from Hyderabad we had at Hylife, there is a reason why he is the first one, he is good at what he does and never disappoints us. He also brings in a lot of ideas for improvement, takes feedback, and works on them spontaneously for the success factor of the business. Kim is one of those artists who is very Professional, hardworking, and humble at the same time. Our Wednesdays have been so exciting ever since he has associated with us. He is so easy to work with and understands our requirements and always delivers more than expected.

As Cliche as it sounds “If Music is your Drug, well Kim is your Drug Dealer”. And there is never too much to indulge yourself.

Even if you are a person with two left feet worry not, Kim knows how to connect with his audience and shake their feet. Being blessed with the art of music he has a special gift for reading and keeping his crowd entertained, to witness the Best Bollywood DJ in Hyderabad city at his work being the awesome as he is, Hop in at Hylife every Wednesday and party till you drop. Follow his page for all the updates (www.facebook.com/djkimthomas)

#DJ Artists in Hyderabad #DJs in Hyderabad #First Bollywood DJ #Hylife Brewing Company #Hylife Brewing Pub #Kim Thomas #Night Club Parties in Hyderabad #Professional DJ Services in Hyderabad

[fivehundredsporks]

Part 2 of my Anime/Manga Ranking!!

The Blorbos

This second tier are for my favourites that don't quite cross the line to be my absolute favourites! (there is a pretty big gap between those) also I've covered a lot of the Manga in this one with their anime counterparts in the first one so I'll just skip those!

Black Lagoon (Anime + Manga)

Now, it's been many years since I have watched/read Black Lagoon, but it's always stuck with me because of how overthetop it is, we have Nun's with Gun's, The Soviet Military, Killer Children and a Maid Assassin (also iirc Nazi's at some point??) Besides that it's quite a dark show with a lot of action, I don't think it's going to be for everyone though still I'd recommend it!

Boy Meets Maria (Anime + Manga)

Again, another LGBTQ+ Manga that features great representation for Trans/Nonbinary people! It does a really good job showing what it's like experiencing gender dysphoria as a teenager, It's an amazing piece of representation that I'd highly recommend people check out!

Avatar The Last Airbender (Anime)

Just go watch this, seriously. It's got such an amazing story with an amazing cast of characters. Absolutely love the "corruption" or degradation we see with Azula, the "redemption" arc we see with Zuko and also Katara becoming an absolute powerhouse with Waterbending, seeing these characters go through these journeys is so rewarding, highly recommend watching!

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Anime + Manga)

Now I wouldn't say that I'm the biggest JoJo fan out there, the main reason it's actually on this list is because of the 2 parts that I absolutely love! That being Stardust Crusaders and Stone Ocean. Both featuring my favourite settings, stands and characters so far out of the series! (Jolyne is my fav JoJo btw, her theme is so fucking good!!!)

Burn The Witch (Anime + Manga)

So far we've only got the one volume of Burn The Witch, but already it's great! Set in the same universe as Bleach but taking place in a completely different location, with different characters and powers. It really fleshes the world out more while also making it feel connected in some ways, also it adds dragons to the universe?? automatic fav. can't wait to see more come out from this!!!!!

Blue Exorcist (Anime + Manga)

Again, another series that needs the Brotherhood treatment!!! the manga is still ongoing!!! we need to restart the series!!!!! (ik its getting a new season soon but we need to reboot her!!) Absolutely love Blue Exorcist, one of the first anime's I ever watched besides Bleach! very nostalgic for me and Rin is my son, I am still Yukio's number one hater, if he has no haters, then I'm dead.

Demon Slayer (Anime + Manga)

Got into Demon Slayer around the time the second season started premiering! I saw a bunch of people reacting to it on YouTube/TikTok and thought I'd be into it, turns out I was! I really loved the style and animations ofc, but again, the characters are what stood out to me the most (with Shinobu being my fav, and her fight with Doma being my favourite fight) also just the humanisation of the demons, showing that they themselves are also victims.

#bitalosposting #bitalos anime/manga ranking #another tier done! #didn't take half as long lol #i hope these are coherent? #ik its weird on the tier I have some manga and their anime adapations in different tiers #but only talking about them on one #i just thought that'd be easier #since im not diving into the differences of the adaptations #anime #manga #anime and manga #tier list #also im not really sure how to tag these? so really its just up to god for people to find these lmao #also i'll probably just do the last 2 tiers together since that'll be easier

[neowitcher]

3 Favourite Books and Films | Winter 2023 Releases

Some seasons, there’s just not enough media intriguing me, so here are three instead of the usual five favourites that released sometime this past winter.

1. For Her Consideration by Amy Spalding ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Since a crushing breakup three years ago, Nina Rice has written romance, friends, her dreams of scriptwriting for TV, and even L.A. proper out of her life. Instead, she’s safely out in the suburbs in her aunt’s condo working her talent agency job from home, managing celebrity email accounts, and certain that’s plenty of writing—and plot—for her life. But a surprise meeting called by Ari Fox, a young actress on everyone’s radar, stirs up all kinds of feelings Nina thought she’d deleted for good… (Storygraph)

Never hurts to start the year off right with a full package enjoyable sapphic romance. Drenched in queer culture, film business and plus-sized representation, Amy Spalding brings a sweet story with interesting, fun, and very relatable, leads and side characters. Never stressing you out with over-the-top drama, it is the perfect romance to binge if you’d like to feel something, with just the slightest bit of spice to add to that. Full review can be found here.

2. Babylon (2022) dir. Damien Chazelle ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 

A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, tracing the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood. (Letterboxd)

With the mixed reviews this had been getting, I had almost decided not to watch it, what with it being three hours long and all. Maybe if I’d remembered this is by the director of Whiplash (2016), I would have known not to be concerned. Despite the story being a bit all over, I was intrigued and the soundtrack had me more excited than I’d been in a while. It left me absolutely speechless by the end and the long watch was absolutely worth it! Incredible acting performances, especially by Diego Calva. Just wow, what a ride!

3. Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (2022) dir. Joel Crawford ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for adventure has taken its toll: He has burned through eight of his nine lives, leaving him with only one life left. Puss sets out on an epic journey to find the mythical Last Wish and restore his nine lives. (Letterboxd)

Finally, moving away from Hollywood territory, there’s the childhood nostalgia mixed with incredible animation. Puss in Boots used to be one of my favourite characters and seeing him back on screen after all these years made me really happy. The story flew by and I was really captivated by the action sequences and the creative animation styles. Some shots actually managed to haunt me a little, which was a pleasant surprise. It was the perfect Sunday afternoon family watch!

#reviewblr #bookblr #filmblr #movieblr #movies #movie #film #films #book #books #wrap-up #seasonal wrap-up #seasonal wrapup #for her consideration #amy spalding #babylon #damien chazelle #puss in boots #puss in boots: the last wish #joel crawford #diego calva #lgbtq+ #sapphic #lgbtq+ literature

[avaliveradio]

Mr. Muzix’s RnB Soul Single ‘BRANDY’

Mr. Muzix’s RnB Soul Single ‘BRANDY’

One of the most popular forms of music in the world, R&B is a genre that has constantly evolved since its inception. From doo-wop to motown to hip-hop, this style has taken many turns over the years but one thing remains constant: it’s got soul.

R&B music is a type of music that started in the early 1950s, then became popular in the 1960s. R&B stands for Rhythm & Blues, which was also popularized in the 1960s as a way to describe music that has soulful lyrics, a strong emphasis on percussion and electric instruments and continuous rhythm sections. The genre is said to have been inspired by musicians from different regions around the United States who were influenced by artists like Ray Charles and James Brown.

Indie artists who embrace R&B in their style typically combine it with other genres. For example, many indie artists have been influenced by the sound of R&B but also add their own twist to it.

A great example of an Indie artist who use R&B as part of their style is a young and influential songwriter, musician named Mr. Muzix. Muzix was born and raised in Lithonia, GA. He prides himself on consistently evolving and being original with every project.

The young artist has a unique style that is easy to listen to and catchy. His music can be described as a fusion of R&B, pop, soul. He blends the genres together seamlessly while still maintaining his own identity. Mr. Muzix has been inspired by many artists over the years such as Prince, James Brown, Rick James but stands out as an original to me with lots of warmth and presence.

Mr. Muzix's newest release, "BRANDY", was written in a time of new beginnings in his life.  According to the songwriter,

"The song was actually written about a friend I went to school with; though I'm sure she'll never find out who she is.  Beyond the concept of the track, it, like all others of mine, was written, recorded, produced, and engineered all in-house by myself. -- It also includes my favourite guitar solo thus far, of all my material."

The song starts out slowly evolving into a smooth creamy lyric.The artist shows off his incredible range of talent with backup vocals and instruments all done in house. The sound is easy to listen to pulling to a romantic declaration of love theme. It's a sweet song with interesting presentation that I feel has room for evolution. I'm looking forward to hearing more from this artist as he journeyed forward.

Music Review by Jacqueline Jax 

Muzix:

‘Muzix’ has been noted to some as an “unstoppable musical force”. With his deep pocketing rhythms and infectious bass lines, his sound has been considered different and addictive.

Currently, he is preparing for his biggest single yet, “BRANDY”, and is also preparing to independently tour the South-Eastern region of the U.S. to perform top songs from his most recent musical projects.

With the mindset of liberating others through song, he reminds us all that music can be a form of a new beginning as he states “I’ve learned to fly free...”. Video link: https://youtu.be/hwe1Uelqhgo Social Links & Website: https://www.instagram.com/mr_muzix/

https://www.facebook.com/muzix.muzix.35/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1hHCqNfhjWfafZJz-loQKg?view_as=subscriber

https://twitter.com/mrmuzix13

https://www.tiktok.com/@mr_muzix?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

#R&B

[startselectscreen]

My Game of the Year 2022

10. Old World

From the developers of Civilization 4, comes this one which compassess how addictive and fun that game was and multiply the number of hours spent playing this game. It meets Civilization with Crusader Kings with its heritage tree, having some political aspect to it.

9. Pokemon Scarlet/Violet

Another Pokemon game that I’m interested in, its a shame that the framerate chugs throughout the game, performance wise but man I still love Pokemon. I do find it weird that the mount that they give us looks like a bike with a Pokemon living in it and Pokemon centers are like sizable kiosks that contain a center, a shop where you can buy items and ™ shop where you acquire crafting items from defeated Pokemon and League Points . Anyways, the UI like Archeus is clean and simple and the open world aspect is atmospheric. I do love that you can do gyms at any order since it scales with your level. Titan hunting and raid bases from Team Star is fine, each to its own right. These two new features at the start feels frustrating due to its difficulty with Titans and Raid bosses having life bars and with titans you live to defeat them twice, granted later on it's pretty easy to defeat them.  The terastablize feature is like from Sword which can use to empower your Pokemon but you can only use it once and it recharges when you go to the Pokecenter. 

8. Tunic

Tunic manages to exceed my expectations, the exploration and music does a great job to immerse yourself into this game. Even if there’s not much of a story, it just compels the player on its other aspects of enjoying this game. It may be an insult or compliment to compare this to Zelda or any Souls game but the spirit of this game is really Zelda-like and Tunic was once called “Zelda like a Fox” before the game came out. To that end, this game is a wonderful and enjoyable experience to had by all

7. WoW Wrath of the Lich King Classic

This expansion of a well-loved MMO is considered my favourite, it basically continues where we left off in Warcraft 3 and its expansion, The Frozen Throne and focuses on the Lich King and your journey to Northrend. The leveling can take awhile to cap but the quests and the scenarios as you progress with leveling is interesting and while you still get that same old pop culture reference that Blizzard’s been keen on doing, it is still enjoyable to the very least.

6. Pokemon Legends Arceus

Arceus is still an enjoyable game withstanding its core frustrations, the game is like a open world Safari Zone from its base games but no movement restrictions required. It’s fun trying to catch more Pokemon to achieve more research tasks and getting more stars that your Pokemon will obey you at any level. Being a standalone game, it feels like a breath of fresh air to just catch Pokemons like its slogan.

5. Persona 5 Royal (PC/XBS/X)

This port of a game that came out a few years ago is now on recent consoles is very fun indeed. You play as a character nicknamed Joker, part of the Phantom Thieves which is a group of students who steal hearts or change their ways by staging grand heists and taking their most prized treasures. As a JRPG, much like its previous game is fun, tons of Social Links/Confidants to Max out that will help level your Personas with its interesting parde of characters that you’ll get to love and enjoy.  The palaces where you infiltrate are kinda difficult with a lot of backtracking through simple puzzles tends to be annoying but its satisfying in its own right.

4. God of War Ragnarok

I wasn’t sure to add this on my list since I didn’t complete this game but the hours spent playing this warrant it. It just amazes me how fun this action game really is. I mean, sure there aren't many subtle changes since the previous game but it is still enjoyable with Kratos just hurting a bunch of his enemies. Just beating the living shit out of mythical creatures and Gods is so satisfying when played right.

3. Sifu

Sifu is basically a love-letter to movies featuring martial arts, it’s not intended on its accuracy on what it portrays, it's a kung-fu game that a French studio, Slowmo had made. The story starts as a simple revenge tale, your “sifu” (master) gets killed before your eyes and you get revenge by finding those who killed him. The certain vibe of this game feels cool through the techno beats of the club to the first stage and the museum level where it becomes that scene from “OldBoy”. It is a fun yet challenging beat-them-up that makes you think twice before playing. The combat is difficult and what keeps the momentum coming is how you learn from each mistake, everytime you either age up to giving up and doing it all over again. It sure is a love letter to kung -fu movies but disappointing is the voice acting not being authentic. It was also criticized by its Chinese aesthetic as some complained about its accuracy but it doesn’t seem intended to be it. Each level is unique in its own way and it just gives a vibrant and rich experience. 

2. Weird West

Coming from the makers of Dishonored, raised my eyebrow, as a top-down Wild West fantasy shooter. It was tempting at first to dismiss the game, it felt terrible and the controls and the camera felt flimsy at best but as I continued on playing it, I had a blast. This game is very underrated, few had played this game and talked about it but there’s alot to talk about with this game.

1. Triangle Strategy

Triangle Strategy plays out like a traditional tactics game, it lays out like a grid-based RPG that familiarizes a mix of tactical strategy and role playing aspects into a pretty aesthetic. To call this similar to Final Fantasy Tactics is a disservice to how unique a tactics game this is. To that end, it is nice to play another one of these games and plus its replayability entices you into playing it even after you have beaten the game which is 50 hours long. Fans of the genre should seriously get this game, whether you like Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem or any tactics game similar to this, the game mixes a grid, tactical base strategy with great roleplaying aspects provided to its fullest extent. Artdink really outdid themselves with this game, it is just incredible. Withstanding the visual graphics, it is recommended to everyone who is looking for a tactics game or any game at all that contains role-playing elements to it. Plus the game is basically Game of Thrones in a tactical, JRPG.

[manonblaqkbeak]

Worth It

Hello, I’m back for Day 3, a secret relationship. I’m so happy that you guys liked the first prompt, despite the angst lol. This one here isn’t angsty at all, there’s my usual favoured fluff involved, with some Serious Conversations.

Anyway, enjoy!! :)

1.9k words

cw: none

Aelin's mind was buzzing, torn between happiness and nervousness. That was all she could feel ever since the pregnancy test revealed the positive sign over an hour ago and she had just been staring at it since then, wearing nothing but her underwear and one of her favourite hoodies that she had stolen from Rowan long ago.

She and Rowan had talked about children, but had decided that it would be best to have them once things weren't so...complicated. When Aelin would get another job, because all over Rifthold, secretary positions were being offered, but no positions in Rowan's level were being offered.

Because Rowan was her boss, and she was his secretary. And at Havilliard Accounting Firm, office relationships were off the table. If anyone was found out to be in a relationship, it was straight to the HR office for a scolding and a firing; and that the was the absolute last thing that either of them wanted, and since Rowan was her superior, she feared of what would happen to him. Their relationship was equal, there was no manipulation from either side, both of them wanted the relationship and so they decided to be in one.

So Rowan and Aelin dated in secret, keeping their romantic and personal lives out of their professional lives. Which was hard at times, considering that they lived together, and sometimes it was hard to keep a straight face when an unresolved argument was hovering above them, so they had to repeat to themselves about professionalism and boundaries until it was time to go home and fix what problem they were facing at that time.

Aelin hated it, and so did Rowan. It made them feel dirty, like there was something wrong between them, when that was the furthest thing from the truth. When Aelin had first started on the job, she didn't think that she would be with Rowan—honestly, she thought that he was a bit of a bastard, but she got to know him, and found that they had many things in common, and slowly, so slowly, Aelin started to see Rowan in a different light, and when she looked back at that time, she came to the realisation that Rowan had felt the same, that the look he held in his eyes for her were the same as back then.

And once that shared attraction made its appearance, they had fought their feelings for so long, up until a year and a half ago when they had ran into each other at the State Museum on the weekend, had lunch together at the museum cafe and things just went from there.

They made it work, despite the secrecy of it all. Only a few of their friends knew and they promised to keep it to themselves. Absolutely none of the few Whitethorn cousins that worked in the same building knew, as they were complete busybodies and would tell everyone, not at all caring about the circumstances.

None of Aelin's work friends knew either. All they knew was that she was single and not looking for a relationship, that she was focusing on herself before she made any commitments; Rowan had told his work friends something similar.

At first, the secrecy of it all was exciting, like something straight out of the romance novels she adored, but a year and a half later, when they talked about marriage and Aelin had even told him the type of engagement ring she would like, it was becoming tiresome. Aelin just wanted the whole world to know of her love with Rowan, but so far, that was not to be.

Sighing, she wondered back to the now. She supposed she could say that it was the result of a one night stand, but it felt cruel to reduce Rowan to nothing as if was a stranger she fell into bed with and was nothing but a quick fuck after one too many drinks.

Besides, once she had the baby, it would be obvious who the father was. Silver hair and green eyes were dominate in the Whitethorn family, and the chances of her having a silver-haired, green-eyed child was high—it wouldn't take more than two seconds to figure out who the father was, especially if the child inherited Rowan's tanned skin and straight nose.

If the child inherited Aelin's fair skin, her ocean blue eyes, and button nose, however, it might be easier to come up with some story about how someone in Aelin's family had silver hair.

But Aelin didn't want to lie. Didn't want to pass off their child as someone else's.

According to the test, she was seven weeks along, and she was all ready exhausted.

The jingle of keys had Aelin's head snapping up from her seat in the living room, the pregnancy test heavy in her hand.

It was time to tell him. She had to leave work two hours into the day when she was overcome with nausea, and he had kept it professional when he wished her well, but she spotted in the concern in his eyes as he silently asked her if she was okay. Later on, he had texted her, asking if she needed anything from the shops, but she didn't.

Aelin told him she was fine, but now...now she was nervous. Not at all because of Rowan's reaction, but just because of their damned circumstances.

She had never hated the secrecy more until now.

But Aelin made herself smile as he made his way over to her, kissing her on the forehead and asking if she was okay again, once more asking her if she needed him to get her anything. Taking a deep breath, and telling herself that everything would be okay, she clutched the stick in her hand and told him to sit down. He did, his brows furrowed as he looked at her.

Wordlessly, Aelin handed over the test. Rowan took it from her outstretched hand, his eyes wide as he glanced at her, to the test, and then back to her.

“You're pregnant?” he asked, his voice a breathless rush.

Aelin could only nod.

“Fireheart, that's...” he trailed off, Aelin's heart near bursting out of her chest as she waited for his next words, she knew that they'd be positive, but still. Rowan smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing Aelin had ever witnessed. “This is amazing.”

“It is?” The words fell out of her mouth of their own accord. Clearly, she wasn't listening to herself.

Rowan sensed her unease and took her hands in his own, kissing her knuckles as he did. “I know that we've talked about having children later on, but I couldn't be more happy.”

Nodding, Aelin took a deep breath. She was excited too, despite everything. Which was why she said, without a hint of doubt, “I'll hand in my two week notice once I pass the first trimester.”

“Fireheart, I can't ask you to do that,” Rowan said, clutching her hand. “I'll ask for a transfer, and you can stay until you go on maternity leave, and if you still want to quit afterwards and look for work elsewhere, then I'll help you, but you've worked too hard to quit now.”

“Everyone thinks I'm single, Rowan, and I don't want to come up with a horrid about one night stands. We're all ready lying, and I don't want to add more to the pile.”

“The transfer—” Rowan started, but Aelin cut him off.

“You'll just be in a different building, but the company policies will still stand. I know what you're thinking, that in the future I'll resent you and that I'll blame you for making me quit, but I won't. I'm sick of lying, and I know you are too—it's been a year and a half of lies, and with this child are we going to extend that lie for another eighteen years? What if the child is a carbon copy of you? Then all the lies will blow up in our faces. I know you don't think it is, but this is the best option.” Part of her did want to stay, to utilise her maternity leave, but Rowan could be fussy, especially when she wasn't feeling well and if Rowan started fussing over his pregnant secretary then the questions would start flying.

Rowan sighed and was quiet for a long while. “I'm sorry,” he said eventually, “about the lying. I wish it didn't have to be like this. I wish that you didn't think you had to quit, but I understand why.” Again, he hated the whole expandable aspect of it all—but annoyingly, it made more financial sense for Rowan to stay and for Aelin to leave.

Rowan really did hate it, but Aelin had clearly made up her mind, and would not change her mind, she was stubborn.

“I know, but Rowan, I don't regret being with you, not for a moment. I just want to start this journey on a more joyful road. I love you, to whatever end.”

Rowan smiled softly at her, his worries easing away just a little bit at their words—their promise to each other. “To whatever end. We'll figure it out.”

“We will.” Deciding that she wanted to be wrapped in his arms, Aelin snuggled against him, breathing in his pine and snow scent, she was close to drifting off, when Rowan cleared his throat. Glancing up at him, he had a smile on his face, and an unreadable look in his eyes. “What?”

“I suppose now would be a horrible time to propose?”

Sitting back in a blink of an eye, Aelin crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him. “Rowan Whitethorn, if you propose to me while I'm wearing this shitty old hoodie, I swear to the gods, I will singe off your eyebrows right now.”

“So that's a no?” He asked, his lips twitching, eyes swimming with barely concealed mirth at her. Her own lips wanted to rise in a smile, but she slammed it down.

“It's a no for now. I want to be wearing a nice dress, eating good food—but not in a crowd, you know I hate crowd proposals—with a pretty view—”

“I thought that I was the pretty view?” Rowan interrupted, laughing at the glare Aelin sent his way.

“And I forgot the rest of what I was going to say, but I am not being proposed to on a sofa.”

“Okay, no sofa proposals, I can remember that.”

“Good,” Aelin muttered and returned to his arms. They spoke of their future, of their baby and a list of potential names.

X X X X X X

Rowan proposed six months later at the beach, three months to the day that she had quit, with work being none the wiser, until recently, and they got off scott-free since Aelin was no longer employed there. The sky was a beautiful canvas of pink and peach, the only sounds the crashing of the waves, with no people around.

The ring was the exact one she had picked out long ago—a sparkly emerald with size of her fingernail on a gold band.

And it was exactly as she wished it, her in a nice sundress, with good food and ever-growing pretty views.

Having a secret relationship for a year and a half was exhausting, but well worth it in the end.

#rowaelin #rowaelinmonth #fluff #my work

[triptuckers]

Two Homes (part 3/7) - Nikolai Lantsov

Request: nope Pairing:  Nikolai Lantsov x reader Summary:  you’ve successfully escaped the ball room, but you run into someone you had been trying to avoid when you’re in the gardens Warnings: lil angst, mentions of gunshots and blood Word count:  2K A/N: hehe he is here !! finally lol enjoy reading! PREVIOUS PART | NEXT PART TAG LIST (two homes and/or all grishaverse fics): @godsofwriting @im-constantly-fangirling  @ayushmitadutta @mrs-brekker15 @dancingwith-sunflowers @thegirlwiththeimpala @parker-natasha @story-scribbler @romanoffstarkovs @daliareads @meiitanoia @itsnotquimey (if your name is in bold it means I couldn’t tag you) add yourself to my tag lists here 

You can faintly hear the music in the ball room. But the closer you get to the gardens, the more you have to concentrate to be able to hear the music. You can’t help but to smile to yourself. You made it out of the ball room. 

All you had to do was wait until the ball was over and you would be on your way back to Ketterdam. Your father would probably be furious at you. But it was about time he learned he couldn’t continue to control your life.

As you’re walking through the gardens, the many different flowers take your breath away. You didn’t have a ball room like the one you just left in Ketterdam. You also certainly didn’t have a garden like this. 

You walk the paths, amazed by the plants around you. You had never seen something like this before. If King Nikolai would have invited you to this garden instead of a ball, you might have seriously considered accepting his invitation.

Time passes as you admire the extraordinary flowers surrounding you. The palace has long since vanished from your eyesight, and the sun is almost gone. You can see some stars in the sky already. 

Even though you didn’t want to come here, even though you spent the entire journey getting here wishing for Ketterdam, you couldn’t deny you’d be upset if you had missed out on the beautiful gardens. 

You wonder if the ball has already ended, and want to make your way back to the palace, when you see a silhouette in the distance. Did someone else escape the ball to go to the gardens? Or worse; did someone follow you when you leapt from the balcony?

Though you’re in the gardens near a palace and not in the streets of Ketterdam, you’re still on edge by a stranger’s presence. You stop walking and listen closely to their movements, ready to strike should they attack you. 

You watch from a distance as they walk closer. Hands behind their back, slowly walking through the garden. You notice the way their shoulders slump a little. Tired of the dancing maybe? Or trying to deceive you?

When they walk closer, and the last bit of sunshine falls on their face, you see blonde hair and a pair of hazel eyes.

A look of surprise finds its way onto his face when he spots you. 

‘Well, hello.’ he says, sounding genuinely surprised to see another person in the gardens. ‘I believe we haven’t met?’ 

You shake your head. ‘No, we haven’t.’ you say.

He looks up and down your dress, sending goosebumps along your bare arms. You couldn’t deny he was indeed as handsome as described in the stories. 

‘I’d say you fled the ball.’ he says. ‘I’m Nikolai, I don’t think you were introduced before the ball started.’

You notice how he introduces himself as Nikolai, and not as the king. 

‘I didn’t flee.’ you say. ‘And no, I wasn’t introduced.’ 

‘Oh, that wasn’t a question.’ says Nikolai. ‘Merely a statement. I’d remember a dress and a face like that.’ 

Your lips slightly part in surprise. ‘Do you flirt with every woman you meet tonight?’ you ask.

‘Do you flee from every ball you attend?’ he says without missing a beat, making you chuckle.

‘This is the first ball I’ve ever been to.’ you admit. 

‘Apparently it’s not a very good one, given that you left before it even started.’ he says.

‘It’s not about wether or not it’s a good ball.’ you say. ‘I just didn’t want to be in Ravka.’

‘But you are here.’ he points out.

‘Because my father basically dragged me here.’ you say, crossing your arms. 

‘Your father, is he a Kerch merchant? There was one who didn’t introduce his daughter because she wasn’t there. So, that would mean you’re Y/F/N /Y/L/N, right?’ says Nikolai.

‘You’re good.’ you say.

‘I’m good at a number of things.’ he says with a wink. 

‘Clearly.’ you say. 

Nikolai smiles and holds out his arm to you. ‘Do you want to go for a walk?’ he says.

You look at him extending his arm to you, smile on his lips and a twinkling in his eyes. You were dying to know why he had left the ball as well, and you actually didn’t mind the company. It made you curious and eager to find out if the stories you had heard about him are true.

So you nod with a smile, and lay a hand on his arm.

‘I’ll take you to my favorite spot in the gardens.’ he says, steering the two of you onto one of the paths.

‘Can I ask you a question?’ you say.

‘Of course.’ says Nikolai.

‘Why did you leave the ball?’ you say.

Nikolai looks at you and smiles. ‘Because even though I’m an excellent dancer, I also need breaks.’ he says. ‘I needed some fresh air.’

‘Are you really good at dancing or are you trying to impress me?’ you say.

‘Take your pick.’ he says.

For someone who didn’t want to be here and who had no intention of meeting the king, you found yourself starting to like him. He’s easy to talk to, and seems genuinely interested in you. And he’s not offended to find you in the gardens instead of the ball room.

‘Was it your idea to throw this ball to pick a bride?’ you say as you walk past a plant with particularly large orange flowers.

Nikolai sighs softly. ‘No.’ he says. ‘It was a decision made by Zoya and Genya, two of my triumvirate.’ 

‘Because they wanted you to marry?’ you say.

‘Because they wanted me to form an alliance and because I couldn’t establish one through politics, they thought I should try getting one through marriage.’ he says. 

You look at him, trying to read his face. ‘But you don’t want that.’ you say.

Nikolai looks at you and raises an eyebrow. ‘I personally don’t want to marry someone I don’t know for the sake of an alliance. But it’s what’s best for Ravka. And I like to put Ravka’s needs first.’ he says.

‘Spoken like a true king.’ you say. 

‘Well, I try to be a good one.’ he says as the two of you sit down on a bench.

‘From the stories I heard, you are.’ you say.

‘Really?’ says Nikolai. ‘Fancy telling me one of them?’

You laugh and shake your head. ‘I’m sure you’ve already heard them.’ you say.

‘What would it take for you to tell me one of those stories?’ says Nikolai.

You shrug. ‘A ticket to Ketterdam?’ you say.

He frowns. ‘You really want to go back that badly?’ he says.

‘No offence, but yes. I’ve been wanting to go back ever since the ship sailed away. Don’t take it personal, but I never had any intention of going to Os Alta in the first place.’ you say.

‘I understand.’ he says.

You look at him, confused. ‘You do?’

‘What, you think people haven’t made decisions for me my entire life?’ he says. ‘I know what it’s like not being able to make your own choices. I do appreciate you actually coming, though. You’re the first person I've talked to tonight who doesn’t throw themselves at me before I can even say hello.’ 

You laugh at his words. ‘Sorry for not throwing myself at you. Though I’m sure you’re used to it by now.’ you say.

Nikolai laughs as well. ‘Don’t apologise, it’s refreshing.’ he says.  

The two of you are silent as you look at the plants that surround you. It’s rather peaceful, being away from the buzzing ball room and just sitting on a bench to have a conversation.

‘Why is this your favourite part or the gardens?’ you ask him after a while.

In response, Nikolai points to a bush of bright yellow flowers. ‘Those are my favourites.’ he says. ‘Native to Novyi Zem, but Grisha can make sure they can grow here as well. They bloom for very short periods of time, mostly it’s just one week during summer. That’s why the Zemeni call them Summer’s Week. They’ve always been my favourite flowers. I always visit this spot during each summer, to see them bloom.’ he explains.

‘They’re beautiful.’ you say. ‘Such a shame we don’t have gardens like this in Ketterdam. I would have loved to spend more time here.’

‘I’d invite you to stay, but that would mean I'd have to propose and you made it very clear you want to go back to Ketterdam.’ says Nikolai. 

He gets up and walks over to the bush with the yellow flowers. You watch as he carefully picks one and walks back to you. He smiles as he hands it to you.

‘You can have one.’ he says. ‘If it still looks good when you get to Ketterdam, you can dry it, keep it between the pages of a book or something.’ he says.

You smile as you take the flower from him. ‘Thank you.’ you say. 

Nikolai looks back in the direction of the palace, though you can’t see it from here. 

‘I should go back.’ he says. ‘They’re probably wondering where I am, and I’d rather not have Zoya organise a search party.’

‘She’d do that?’ you say.

‘You have no idea what she’s capable of.’ says Nikolai, offering you his arm once more. You accept it and rise to your feet. 

As you start to walk back to the palace, Nikolai looks at you and smiles when he catches your eye.

‘This has been nice.’ he says.

‘The gardens?’ you say.

‘I can visit the gardens any time I like. No, talking with you. You allow me to be Nikolai. Everyone in that ball room only thinks of me as a king. They only think of themselves as future queens.’ he says.

‘But they are potential queens.’ you say. Nikolai looks at you and you remember his words. ‘Right.’ you say. ‘For Ravka.’

You see the palace appear in the distance, and by the looks of it the ball is still in full swing. You sigh softly, not looking forward to reuniting with your father and having him yell at you.

‘Well, here we are.’ says Nikolai, stopping in front of the palace. He motions to your left. ‘The doors are that way.’ he says. ‘And even though there are no gardens over there, we do have a lake which is also very nice.’ he says while motioning to your right.

You let go of his arm and frown. ‘You don’t want me to return to the ball?’ you say.

Nikolai merely shrugs. ‘Why would I? You don’t want to go there, and I’m not your king so technically, you don’t have to do anything I say.’ he says.

‘You really are an extraordinary king.’ you say, making him smile. ‘I see why your people love you so much.’ 

‘Hearing anyone say that means a lot to me.’ says Nikolai. He moves to stand in front of you. ‘Are you sure I can’t convince you to come and have one dance with me?’ he says.

You smile. ‘I think I’ll check out the lake.’ you say.

‘Alright then.’ says Nikolai, walking away toward the doors. ‘But watch out for the sea monster, though.’ he adds.

Your eyes widen. ‘You have a sea monster in your lake?’ you say.

But you never found out the answer. Before Nikolai can say anything, you hear a sound you know all tho well. How could you not recognise it after living in Ketterdam for years? 

Gunshots. Two of them. 

You watch as Nikolai falls to the floor, blood soaking his shoulder and stomach.

A/N: If you want to request something, make sure to read my house rules Here’s the list of characters I write for. Everything that I have written can be found on my masterlist. Please don’t repost my work, as I spend much time and effort on it!! Thank you for reading! Much love, Marit

#he is here !!! #nikolai lantsov #shadow and bone #grishaverse #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov fanfiction #nikolai lantsov fanfic #nikolai lantsov fanfics #nikolai lantsov fic #nikolai lantsov fics #shadow and bone fanfiction #shadow and bone fanfic #shadow and bone fanfics #shadow and bone fic #shadow and bone fics #two homes series

[myhoneststudyblr]

I often get asked for tips on various aspects of creating a studyblr and then how to grow it! It can be really daunting before you start if you don’t know how to go about it or what to post - I remember really wanting to create one for months before I actually built up the courage to make one.

This post is hopefully going to make this easier for you and give you the tips you need to get the best out of your blog!

Disclaimer: this is quite long! i wanted to make it as detailed as possible and it kinda got away from me XD

What is a studyblr?

study + tumblr = studyblr

A studyblr is a tumblr blog that posts anything associated with studying.

These blogs are part of the ‘studyblr community’, which is an online community of students who share their love for studying, stationery and their current lessons and study tips.

Why should you create a studyblr?

There are honestly so many reasons why i think that studyblrs are an amazing thing and why i can’t see myself leaving this community any time soon! here are some of my personal experiences:

1. i want to study! i have always been a very conscientious student and i have always worked very hard but i’m going to be completely honest with you and say that a lot of the time, particularly as i’ve been getting older, it has been a real struggle to get the motivation to do work. since i’ve started my studyblr, i’ve noticed a real increase in my desire to work because i want to have new things to post and talk about. it acts as a sort of outside external motivator!

2. my studying has got more interesting! when i say this, i don't mean the content. i’ve learnt so many new techniques and ways to organise my work that each set of notes that i do is different and i don’t feel like i’m doing the same thing every day!

3. my notes and handwriting have got neater! if you follow me, you might have seen a post from me a while back where i talked about my insecurity about my handwriting because i was *always* the person with the messy handwriting™. unfortunately, i am a perfectionist and i really wanted to have neat handwriting and notes. so my studyblr - because i wanted my posts to look good - made me spend more time focusing on the appearance of my notes and forcing me to slow down (this had been my main problem). now i can see a huge difference and i’ve reached a place where, even though my handwriting will never be the perfect font-like handwriting, it is noticeably neater and more consistent and i now love my pretty and unique handwriting

4. incredible advice about everything studying related! no matter where you are from, or what you study, it is possible to find advice about something that is relevant to you! people in studyblr are going through or have gone through everything you have and they give incredible advice on some many different things, from college applications and how to study a certain subject, to book recommendations and notetaking tips. but there are also plenty of tips on lifestyle and self-care, which are invaluable. even if you can’t find a post that helps you, you can always send someone an ask or a message and they’ll always try to help you out!

5. my mental health has got better and the community has helped me through so tough times! being a student today is hard and keeping your mental health in a good place can seem even harder. but i personally have found the studyblr community really helpful with this because i don’t feel so i alone. i know that there are so many mutuals and blogs that i follow that are going through similar things and i know i could always reach out to them for anything. i’ve also become less hard on myself and give myself significantly less impossible goals since i started studyblr

6. you will meet some incredible people. this was something that i wasn’t really expecting because when i started my blog i thought i would get 100 followers *max*. instead, i have been completely embraced by the community and have had some amazing conversations with people i know genuinely consider to be my friends. it is so easy to meet like-minded people who just want to support each other!

these are just the most important benefits that I've experienced with my own studyblr journey and there are so many more!!!

The 5 Basic First Steps

1. create a blog

if you are seeing this post i assume that you already have a blog! maybe you don't but luckily for you its very easy to create one. the main think you need to think about is whether you want to create a primary or secondary blog! you can find the differences between these here!

2. choose a URL/blog name

your username can be pretty much anything and can be a good way to show your personality, your likes or dislikes, or your goal for your studyblr! you can get really creative with your username and though most are, it doesn't have to be study/studyblr related.

here’s are some ideas that you could use when coming up with a username:

Your name or nickname

Favourite subject or your degree

Your dream job

Role models or fictional characters

Stationery

Brand names

Study utilities

Your favourite study snacks

COFFEE (this is very popular with many studyblrs... i wonder why?)

Your favourite animal

Basically, it can be anything! and don’t worry, if you decide later that you don’t like the name or you come up with soemthing better, you can always change it

3. choose a theme

this can seem like a very daunting task if you are completely new to tumblr but don’t worry! there are plenty of options and you can play around with this until you get what you want!

mobile theme: this is usually just changing the colours to fit with what you like and the mood of your blog

desktop theme: this is where it gets interesting! your desktop blog usually looks much more unique compared to mobile and you can add various different pages and really get it to look professional. there are so many different incredible themes that you can find that are free to use and can be customised slightly to fit your blog (there are also paid themes). you can also make your own theme (but i know nothing about this so i can’t really offer advice for that!)

4. find an avatar/icon

i personally think icons are really important because they can often be how people begin to recognise your blog when they see it on their dashboard and it can be a glimpse into what people expect

you can just use a normal picture for this: for example of your notes or something that relates to your URL or blog (eg a coffee cup)

however, you can also make your own from scratch! you can create your own icon using applications like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Canva or Word/Pages. i personally used canva to make my icon (as well as all my banners for posts) and it is really easy to use and best of all is free! there are also people who have made icons for you to use (as long as you give credit) or will make them for you (sometimes for a small fee)

5. find some studyblrs to follow

this is probably the easiest step! if you know about studyblr, you probably already know a few blogs! just go through their blogs and see who they reblog or you can search through the #studyblr tag. i am also always happy to give recommendations of my favourites blogs (of which there are too many to count) or can try to recommend blogs that i know who study the same thing as you/are at the same level of study or are from the same country

Introduction Posts

i am a big believer in studyblr introduction posts! i think they are the best way to meet people when you are just starting and are the way that you get people to notice and interact with your blog.

what should you put in a studyblr introduction post?

your name or a nickname so people know what to call you

your pronouns

where you are from

your age

what you study

what level of study are you at (high school, uni etc.)

your hobbies and passions

why you made your studyblrs

what your goals are

tag some of your studyblr inspirations! (this is quite important because they will probably reblog the post and more people can discover your blog

these are just some suggestions and you don't have to include all of them if you are comfortable with sharing certain things!

if you want some examples of these posts, have a look through the #studyblr introduction tag! on my blog you can find that here!

What to Post

the beauty of studyblr is that you can pretty much post whatever you want and you will find a place in the community!

i love reblogging posts that come on my dashboard that i love or stuff from my mutuals! however, it is also really important to post your own original content because this allows people to get to know you and is probably the best way to grow your blog!

here are some ideas for what to post:

pictures of your notes

pictures of your current book

pictures of your annotations

pictures of your desk/study space

pictures of your food/ study snack

pictures of your drink/coffee

pictures of your favourite cafe

pictures of nature

pictures of your handwriting

text posts about something funny that happened in school/class/uni/your life

text posts about what is going on in your life

text posts about what is on your mind

texts posts where you share your journey completing a particular goal

text posts where you share your plan for the day

study guides

advice posts

self-care and lifestyle tips

essentially, it is whatever you want and whatever works for you!

When to Post

you should post whenever works for you! i know for a lot of people (myself included) most of the time you do not have time to post every day because that is a big commitment and that is absolutely ok!

when i first started, i thought that i had to post every day and it was a lot fo pressure! it was basically impossible to keep up because not only was it taking up a decent amount of my evening editing and posting my notes but also i didn't actually have enough material available to post! a studyblr should never get in the way of your schoolwork so try to fit it around this! post when you have time!

if you do want to have a more consistent posting schedule, there is a feature that allows you to schedule posts! so, say you have a bunch of free time on the weekend, you could schedule all the posts for the week ahead of time!

i would also recommend building up a queue for reblogs because this means that you again have some consistency in posts and you have new stuff quite regularly! (i personally always have a huge queue)

How to Grow Your Studyblr

the main thing i want to stay is that you should not be too worried about how many followers you have or how many notes your posts get because it really is unpredictable! i’ve had posts that have got crazy amounts of notes and i literally expected them to get hardly any and vice versa! i have no idea how the tumblr algorithm works so you just have to try and post for yourself!

that said, i know that it is really nice to have people interact and appreciate your posts so here are 3 quick tips:

use popular studyblr tags. these include #studyblr, #notes, #studyspo. you could also tag the stationery that you used, what subject it is and what level you at are (eg #high school or #uni)

tag other studyblrs. many studyblrs track certain tags and if you want them to see what you've posted and they will often reblog your post! i personally track the tag #myhoneststudyblr. you can find a post i made a while ago with some studyblr’s and their tags here! (note: this may be slightly out of date)

try and have a relatively consistent ‘look’ to your posts. you don’t have to follow a specific aesthetic but having some consistency in your posts can help people recognise your stuff. i personally keep my pictures of my notes very clutter-free (often just the notes and the pen i used) and bright. however, you can definitely switch things up if you want!

How to Get Involved in the Community

There are so many different ways that you can do this! Here are some of the best ways in my opinion!

send asks and messages to people!

i highly recommend sending asks to people, for example, if they reblog an ask game post or even just asking for some advice because they will start to recognise you as someone who is engaged with their blog and you could also learn something new about one of your favourite studyblrs!

messages are also a great, slightly more personal, way to interact with people. it can be as simple as messaging people to tell them you love their blog, or again asking them for some advice. if they do a post about a test or exam that they have coming up, you could even message them good luck or ask how it went. i have had some amazing conversations with people through messages and it is a great way to meet new people

just a reminder: always be respectful and polite in messages and asks to ensure that the community remains positive

reblog posts with a comment on their posts!

(or just add a comment, although this could be confusing if your studyblr is a side blog so just be warned)

this is a really nice way to let people know you’ve seen their post and it is always nice to give feedback. a comment can be as simple as: i love your handwriting! or good luck in that test! but that simple message reaching out it so nice to get! also, reblogging is really helpful to blogs because it means more people see the post

join a challenge!

ok, so i’ve had this blog for about a year and a half now and i had a pretty decent amount of followers (which i seriously do not understand XD) but i never got the same amount of interaction and involvement in the studyblr community until i created my #2020 quarantine challenge (click here if you wanna find out about this). i would get reblogs and likes on posts but i don’t think that i used to get nearly as much interaction with my posts with people leaving comments and stuff. furthermore, although i had blogs where we were technically mutuals, i didn’t really have mutuals like i do know where we actively keep in touch and check out each other’s posts all the time and stuff and that is honestly the nicest thing

challenges mean that you are most likely posting every day (or at the very least pretty regularly if you cannot manage every day) and this is good because you post lots of new content for people to discover. another great thing is that there is usually a tag that you can search for and scroll through and find others who are doing the challenge alongside you. the person who created the challenge also probably checks the tag out every few days and reblogs the posts

for these reasons, i cannot highlight how amazing challenges are for interaction and getting involved in the community!

The Golden Rule of Studyblr

🚨 ALWAYS BE POLITE AND FRIENDLY 🚨

probably my favourite thing about the studyblr community - and i know many others share this opinion - is that is such a friendly and welcoming place. it of course has its problems but this is a place whose ultimate aim is to support each other through our studying journeys! we are all here because we wanted to find likeminded people who we can make friends with and share our lives! therefore it is really important that we always try and lift each other up because you never know what someone is going through

Summary

there are lots of benefits to starting a studyblr so you definitely should!

it’s good to make your blog look nice and clean!

studyblr introductions are very important to start your blog off!

post what you like when you like!

tagging can be a great way to grow your blog!

don't focus too much on the number of notes you get or how many followers you have!

send asks and messaging, reblogging and commenting on other people’s posts and joining challenges are all great ways to get involved in the community!

we are all here to support one another so always be polite and friendly!

Other Resources

From Me

here is an answer to an ask i received about starting a studyblr (here is another one)

here is an answer to an ask i received about editing photos

From others

A Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Studyblr by @eintsein​

12 Step Guide to Starting and Running a Studyblr by @emmastudies​

How to Start a Studyblr by @caffeineandcoding​

Advice for New Studyblrs by @studyquill​

Starting a Studygram by @studyrellablr​ (many of the tips are the same for studyblr)

I hope this was helpful to any new studyblrs and even existing ones! As always i am always happy to answer asks and messages about and give any advice! If anyone else has any tips or tricks, please add them below!!!

#studyblr #how to start a studyblr #studyblr community #ref #my post #my advice #me #sophie speaks #my notes #advice #new studyblr #tips #heypat #heyreva #heyharri #adelinestudiess #heyfox #problematicprocrastinator #studyvan #eintsein #einstetic #studyspo #sonderstudy #heyemmie #heycazz #intellectys #elleandhermione #studylustre #philologystudies #looksierra

[patchies]

Shadows

Pairing: Dream x Reader x ???

Summary: An apocalyptic world where creatures of the night roam all around it. Searching for living beings to satisfy their hunger. Vicious creatures they are. It’s said that one person called upon their wrath in revenge. You awake in this place with another human being at your side. No memories whatsoever of the life you’ve had prior to coming here. In search of a way out, and your memories, you stumble upon multiple people with many personalities. Some can’t wait to meet you. If you take it the friendly or hostile way is up to you, but worry not… Nothing can hurt you. Or can it, now?

Warnings: nothing too serious

Word Count: 2.9+k

Author's Note: Another chapter, yay! Hope you enjoy, guys! I'm sending you all love. Each and every one of you matters!

Wattpad link: here

story masterlist - main masterlist

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Chapter 5: Uneasiness

As it turned out, you bumped into Nick as you were heading back towards your home. He was quick to pull out his weapon, but you recognised him immediately and called at him. You saw him look at his main hand that was holding the hatchet and upon following his sight, you rapidly retracted your hand from his and looked away. In awkwardness, you missed the confusion etched on his face.

You both apologised instantly, both in different reasons, and he stashed the armament back into its strap and ruffled your hair. Something you had done to Tubbo not so long ago, but you suppose you deserved it.

On your way home, you had talked about your ventures. Nick gloating about his glory and how he's been more productive than you were, claiming how getting a friend instead of proper gear is lame. You knew he was teasing you, but you caught a slight bit of hesitation and envy shine through. Though, you shrugged it off for the time being.

Nick gifted you a bayonet with a white string tied around the handle and a bandana of your favourite colour as you were standing before your home. You gave him a quick hug before putting the knife into your bag and tying the cloth article around your head. He whistled as you now wore one, too.

For the rest of the day, you stored away your findings with tales of your journeys. Mostly Nick's, since you had to be honest and say he did a great job at scouting the east side of the town. Though, you told him some details about Tubbo and your time with the boy, dodging certain parts as you felt it wasn't your thing to reveal to him.

You were a little scared to tell him about their settlement the bee boy mentioned to you, but Nick seemed to know exactly what you were talking about. He had seen it from one of the taller apartments and showed you an impromptu map that he drew quickly.

To your surprise, the portrayal was decently drawn and his handwriting was legible, though he still suggested he's willing to show you the place. What didn't miss him was the chance to announce how he'll turn it into a date where you'll lie under the stars with a wink to add to the spice.

You punched his arm while he laughed it off, slouching his hit arm across your shoulder and pulling you close. This time, you jab at his ribs and he lets you go voluntarily, still laughing. It didn't even seem like you had done something to him, so you stuck your tongue at him and rushed up the stairs to sort out your own things.

A feeling like something is going to go terrible wrong sits in the pit of your stomach as you rummage through the chest.

• • •

The night comes quicker than you expect, and a not-so-stray feeling of anxiety begins to flow through your veins accompanied by your pacing as the sun slowly falls beyond your view.

The first two knocks executed on the door go unnoticed by you. It's the third one that stops you in your tracks and you go open the door for Nick, resuming your pacing once he's inside. He notices your jittery movement straight away and quirks an eyebrow at you, “You okay there?”

“Do I look like I'm okay?” You mutter to yourself, but he hears it nonetheless, “Who would be at the thought of some dangerous creatures lurking in the town at night?”

Nick sighs and slowly saunters to your side, gently resting his hands on your upper arms and makes you face him, “You weren't scared yesterday, what has changed?”

“I don't know,” you shrug, “maybe the bad feeling in my stomach that has persevered since we came home?”

“Okay, okay, smartass,” Nick's retort is light-hearted, only meant to get a smile out of you, “We are both spooked, but c'mon… What's this scowl doing on your face, pretty?”

Before you can react quickly, or protest, he flicks the skin in-between your eyebrows and tugs your lips into a smile. You grasp his wrists with your hands to lower his down and a small smile does make its way onto your face. There's no denying that he makes this hell of a place better, but there's a tight feeling in your chest at the thought of what lies in this world. You don't know if you'll ever get used to this and you seriously hope you don't even need to do that. This is a nightmare come true on its own, why would anyone want this to be real?

Your eyes shift around the room and you step away from Sap, letting his wrists fall free in the process. The lights are turned off in case there really is someone else and they might notice the lit-up house from afar. You aren't going to give people the chance of figuring out where your base is, if there are more groups alive than you realize. Even if it's people similar to Tubbo. There might be some help to find in his group, but you aren't willing to familiarise with them. Nick is the only person that you truly trust as of right now and you believe that it could be okay like this for the time being. You'll survive this. Through thick and thin, hopefully.

“We'll get through this,” he raises three of his fingers while holding his pinkie with his thumb, straightening his back. His face changes to a stern look, but silliness dances in his brown orbs, “Scout's honour.”

He expects the roll of your eyes, but the small laugh that escapes you makes his heart swell with an unknown feeling. He doesn't pay it much attention, just silently watches as you sit down on the bed against the headboard. Nick joins you in a while and gazes at you as you rest your head on his shoulder, “I honestly don't know what to expect at all and I'm worried, Sap. It's so hard to rest when my stomach is churning like I'm going to vomit.”

You feel his arm snake behind your neck and his nimble fingers soon start working their magic on your scalp, “We'll be fine, okay? There's nothing that would separate you and me. I won't leave you.”

Just then, a whistling noise echoes throughout the neighbourhood. An eerie melody that travels across the quiet street. Visible confusion is etched onto your face as you exchange looks with Nick.

The tune starts to raise its volume and it puts you, along with your companion, on guard. You wonder who is out there and what they're trying to achieve. You aren't one to test your luck, so despite your heart telling you to check the situation, you stay rooted to your spot. You were hoping the feeling wasn't going to be true, but here you are; hearing the whistles of someone unknown.

“Hey, hey,” Sap takes your hand in his, rubbing the back of it with his thumb. He leans into your view, trying to hypnotise your eyes to look into his. When he doesn't succeed, he shuffles in front of you and waits until your focus is solely on him. He gives you a soft smile, “I'm here with you. Nothing is going happen to us, I promise, and knowing you, you'd sass your way out of the situation.”

“Nick,” you start, “We've known each other for hardly three days.”

“So, what? It might be true, but your sass is immeasurable at times and you've hit me so much I lost count a long time ago,” he laughs quietly, then his laugh slowly transforms into a smirk. A teasing realisation present on his face, “You're literally hitting on me, baby.”

You groan, “I pity the person who will be with you, seriously, and don't you dare call me baby again.”

“You're with me,” he wiggles his eyebrows at you, squeezing your hand playfully, “and about the 'baby' part… By seeing your reaction, I'd say I'm going to use it more often.”

Nick isn't ready for the switch of your personality as you decide to smile at him sweetly, lifting one of his hands close to your face, watching him intently. He visibly gulps and you have to push back a laugh to maintain your innocent façade. You put his hand on your cheek and lean into his palm. You stay in that position for a few seconds before rapidly moving your head and attempting to bite his finger. Your attempt is unsuccessful as he quickly retracts his hand and clutches it to his chest protectively, giving you a shocked look.

“Did I render you speechless, baby?”

The pet-name rolls of your tongue with ease. It seems so natural coming from you and his heart clearly betrays him when he feels its pace quicken. He quickly recovers, though, acting like what's just happened actually didn't, “I mean, my tactic at distracting you worked, so who's the winner here?”

“Certainly not you.”

The mood drops when you finally register the quietness, looking around you for any signs that could tell you what's happening. No whistling is heard, and you contemplate checking the windows to gather some sort of information regarding the stillness on the street. Nick gives an affirmative nod towards the boarded-up windows and gets off the bed with you. He follows your footsteps in silence, hovering over your shoulder as you get nearer.

A bolt whizzes through the air and before you can say anything, it strikes one of the planks in front of you. You flinch back into Sap's chest, guard rising, “Go take something so you could defend yourself, too, please.”

He gives you a side glance, inspecting your features, but you've put on a neutral blockage, “Will you be fine?”

The shrug you give him doesn't lower his worry and he analyses you one more time. He walks off in search of anything sharp and usable after you signal your certainty. As he leaves, you eye the bayonet strapped to your thigh. The metal weapon giving you at least some sort of reassurance.

Pure silence follows and you hold your breath in as you glance through the gaps in the barricade. Someone is definitely too close to your preference, yet you can't see anyone outside. They're hostile, that's without doubt. The bolt that clearly sticks out of the wood is an obvious proof of the hostility.

The moon's glow then reveals a person standing in its light, illuminating their figure.

They have a pig mask on with small tusks protruding from the side and a hood over their head with thick white fur adorning the sides of it. Raspberry pink, clearly chopped, shoulder-length hair visibly poking out and the wind ruffling it a bit. A shiny golden crown, which adorns gems of multiple colours, rests atop. You can't phantom how it's holding on the hood. Their crimson red cape with golden clasps and rubies attached to it flows in the wind and the crossbow's metal parts are shining. There's a satchel of bolts attached to the side of their thigh as they balance on the roof across from you.

“Who are you ogling at?”

The whisper against your ear makes you swat at his chest, shushing him immediately. He feigns being hurt, but raises his arms to swat at you back. It's when the figure proceeds to speak do you stop and a realisation comes to you that it is in fact a male, “Dream, I warned you to not come here. Ever. Wasn't the last time enough for you?”

Your interest peaks at the mention of a past encounter the supposedly two people had, wondering how that one had gone. From his words, it doesn't sound like it went very greatly and completely not in favour of Dream's side. What moved him into trying to take over the land again if he knew he had lost the last fight?

Nick watches your investment in the conversation rise, so he just crosses his arms. The hatchet at his hip ready to be taken out in case something was to happen. Though, he settles for watching you for now.

“I don't care, Techno. I own these lands. It's only fair that you will surrender and hand it over.”

“Don't make us fight you, pig.”

Another voice; another male one. This time it's slightly higher pitched than the other two, an obvious British accent to its overall sound.

Just from a few spoken sentences, you can tell both sides are ready to fight. What you aren't sure of, is if they'll really start fighting here or leave to sort it out elsewhere. You're praying it's the latter. Although your hopes aren't high when you continue listening in on their conversation.

“And I don't care, because you're stepping foot into my territory,” Techno, or whatever they called him, continues, “I shot a warning shot to gain your attention, but I will make sure to be precise this time and aim for your vulnerable body parts. Especially you and not a wooden plank. You damn well know I hold poison bolts and the two of you surely recognise my capabilities with a crossbow. You get struck with one, just one, poison arrow and you can go back to your village to get it taken care of.”

Territory? What's he talking about– wait… Don't tell me he's protecting us…?

You can't see the others, but you get a feeling Techno is more important than them. For whatever reason that is, you aren't able to steer your eyes away from his figure. A sense of déjà vu flowing through your body as you marvel at the man. You believe you've seen this man before. Even if once in your life, but your foggy memory blocks any of this information from you.

Unexpectedly he turns his head towards the window you're looking out of and locks eyes with you. Maroon eyes that sparkle with mischief meeting yours. He cocks an eyebrow at you, as if challenging you. Unable to see it, nor perceive it as a challenge, you deliver no reply. You're more than curious by the exchange, but it doesn't seem to faze him in the slightest. Even though he noticed you, he doesn't do anything about you. Merely directs his gaze back to the people below him. Which strikes you as weird since you were guessing he'd do something. Literally anything. Yet, you're glad for his act of kindness. If it can be interpreted as such.

You completely miss the way Nick looks at you. The gears in his head turning at the strange stare off you two had. Do they know the guy? He doesn't like the look of the Techno guy at all and the ping of jealousy seems to agree with him as well. He knows it well, yet he just rests his hand on your shoulder.

“We have armour and there's two of us. You can't fight us both and win.”

“I wouldn't be so sure of your words,” the reply is overly confident, “I've fought many and still came out with no scratches. You're belittling my knowledge of fighting and tactical thinking.”

After Techno finishes his sentence, arrows and bolts go flying through the air.

The very first one coming from him as another warning shot. This time not aimed at your house, but at the ground. Another two come from the ground level but miss him by a few feet. Terribly aimed shots, if you have to say (not like you could do better, but you're just a spectator in this situation). They don't seem to be that good at aiming at the pink-haired man, rather missing him. To your bewilderment, he never flinches or tries to dodge. Basically, a still target for both of the shooters.

Not that his aim is any better, but you hear one of the guys wince multiple times as if the bolt scraped him. The distance is also something to take into consideration.

The final shot before the shooting halts is taken by Techno, who decides to truly aim at one of them and you can hear a high-pitched scream echo throughout the whole street.

This can't be good.

You start hearing the inhuman screeches from everywhere and Shadows start flying from the end of the street. You gasp in horror because this isn't what you were expecting. You didn't expect them to attract a whole bunch of the creatures and possibly doom you all.

“George! You idiot! You were supposed to dodge, not walk straight into his range!” Dream yells at the whining guy, “You've attracted Shadows now. Good job.”

“Look what you've–”

The rest of the words are tuned out by the screeches of the monsters. Nick squats down to the floor, tugging you along with him. He doesn't let you say a word as you sit next to each other, holding a finger to his mouth when he sees you ready to tell him something.

While you rest your heads against one another, both of you come to terms that sound attracts them very easily as you hear them bang against trash cans and dumpsters, chasing their intruders. You wait until you hear no more screeching, slowly rising to your feet and looking through the gaps once more to check for any signs of the creatures.

When you find none, you send Nick to his own bedroom, insisting you'll be fine. He gives you three chances to back down from your statement, but you persist through. As he has no reason not to trust you, he slowly retreats to his room with a promise that if you need anything, just to wake him up.

#technoblade #dream #sapnap #apocalypse au #reader insert #mcyt x reader #mcyt #techno #dream team #dream x reader #dreamwastaken #l'manburg #shadows #??? x reader

[djkimseo]

FIRST BOLLYWOOD DJ FROM HYDERABAD AT HYLIFE BREWING PUB (JUBILEE HILLS)

Roots in Kerala, Brought up in Chennai and ruling the hearts of Hyderabad with his Bollywood Music, DJ Kim aka Kim Thomas is one of the most refined Artists In Hyderabad who has truly mastered the art of DJing just within a span of three Decades. If Kim met in the daytime, would come across as just like any other 9-5 Corporate IT person, being in I.T is also one of his passions as an Information Security Professional, however, you will be gobsmacked to know where he truly belongs – On the console spinning the best of Bollywood music and entrancing crowd to sway and swing. His passion for music not only has earned him the title of” Best Bollywood DJ in Hyderabad “but also made him the favourite DJ of party holes in the city.

Kim started his career as a DJ in 2012, on the Journey from just like any other struggling artist to becoming one of the most sought DJs in Hyderabad he quotes” It has never been a smooth ride, there was so much disapproval, but what kept me going is my passion for music”. He played at almost all the popular nightclubs and party places in Hyderabad, like Heart Cup, 10 Downing Street, Vapour and Kismet, and many more. Most Recently DJ Kim was hired by one of the popular party places of Hyderabad “Hylife Brewing Company” Located at Jubilee Hills.  Kim is the first Bollywood Artist to be blazing the floor of Hylife with his stunning mixes of Bollywood classics and retro that his fans have come to love and know him for.

Hylife is known for its unique choice of international Artists Spinning EDM, Deep Tech, House, and Trance, it’s always buzzing with party freaks even on weekdays. This place truly lives up to its mark and looks no less than an art piece and not to forget hanging the vehicle in the center is just the cherry on the top.  Hylife being the best has chosen the Best Bollywood DJ in the city. The combo of the lovely place and the lively DJ results in one hell of a party at Hylife every Wednesday.

Partygoers at Hylife not only love this pleasant change but thoroughly enjoy the wow factor which Kim adds to the night.  Kim’s secret sauce is that he understands his audience and his ability to blend Sounds, Emotions, and Music; he is truly a definition of being able to think on his feet. Both a true DJ and People’s favourite, Kim’s Popularity echoes all over the city, and respected as one of the Best Bollywood DJs in the city, which explains why he is the first Bollywood DJ  to be chosen to play at Hylife.

Let’s hear what Hylife Management has to say about Kim’s work at Hylife:

Bobby: Operational Director (Hylife) :

Kim just owns the dance floor and he knows how to alter the playlist according to the audience, he had some innovative ideas on the table at our first meet that we loved and had never seen before from other artists who could cater more than what they can deliver. He truly is charming both on the floor and off the floor. He takes cues from the crowd and engages them subtly. I would highly recommend Kim any day for a Desi Club Night.

Karthik: General Manager (Hylife) :

Kim is the first Bollywood Artist from Hyderabad we had at Hylife, there is a reason why he is the first one, he is good at what he does and never disappoints us. He also brings in a lot of ideas for improvement, takes feedback, and works on them spontaneously for the success factor of the business. Kim is one of those artists who is very Professional, hardworking, and humble at the same time. Our Wednesdays have been so exciting ever since he has associated with us. He is so easy to work with and understands our requirements and always delivers more than expected.

As Cliche as it sounds “If Music is your Drug, well Kim is your Drug Dealer”. And there is never too much to indulge yourself.

Even if you are a person with two left feet worry not, Kim knows how to connect with his audience and shake their feet. Being blessed with the art of music he has a special gift for reading and keeping his crowd entertained, to witness the Best Bollywood DJ in Hyderabad city at his work being the awesome as he is, Hop in at Hylife every Wednesday and party till you drop. Follow his page for all the updates (www.facebook.com/djkimthomas)

#DJ Artists in Hyderabad #DJs in Hyderabad #First Bollywood DJ #Hylife Brewing Company #Hylife Brewing Pub #Kim Thomas #Night Club Parties in Hyderabad #Professional DJ Services in Hyderabad

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #510

Top Ten Halo Games

Can you really do a Top Ten of Halo games? Really? Well, yes, I think you can. There have been, to my knowledge, six mainline “Master Chief Saga” games; two spin-offs; two Halo Wars RTS games; and two top-down twin-stick shooters. Maybe I’m missing something even! But that adds up to More Than Ten, so away we go.

Anyway, Halo. It’s in the news a lot at the moment. There’s a new one out! And it’s good! It’s very good! Halo has been one of the biggest games for the last twenty years, and probably on balance remains my favourite FPS series. It seems as though tastes have shifted a lot since the first one came out – first in favour of serious, gritty, semi-realistic military shooters, and then in favour of large Fortnite-style Battle Royale games. Halo has always remained refreshingly old-school in its basically jump-about-and-shoot gameplay, and that’s the sort of thing I like; fast-moving fire-from-the-hip kinds of games, where tactics are made up moment-to-moment rather than planned out in advance.

All that being said, it’s wise to remember that when the first game came out twenty years ago, it was a revolution, tearing up the FPS rulebook. Gone were deep inventories of multiple weapons; gone were genre staples such as health percentages and armour collectibles. The combination of only having two weapons plus a rechargeable energy shield changed the dynamic of gameplay just as much as the open outdoor levels and vehicular combat. I imagine some of these decisions were at least in part informed by its status as a console shooter; and it’s as a console shooter that its legacy is assured. Back when console FPS games were mostly looked down upon (Rare’s twin landmarks of GoldenEyeand Perfect Dark notwithstanding), Halo gave us a console title that looked and acted like a PC game. And once we got onto Halo 2, with its Xbox Live functionality, we had online multiplayer just like a PC game too.

The series has been a mainstay for me, one of my favourite ongoing game franchises. I just love the crazy fast-paced combat mixed with the tactics of the enemy, who behave relatively intelligently. I love the fact that it’s silly; bunny-hopping around landscapes, batting away jeeps, firing little pink darts at people. I really like it’s insane, convoluted story, that I barely understand; playing each game for me is like watching non-concurrent episodes of Deep Space Nine several years apart. I also feel that in a gaming landscape dominated by intense, gritty, violent games aimed at adults, here’s an accessible sci-fi franchise that, despite a militaristic setting, is tonally closer to The Last Jedithan LA Confidential.

So, with no further ado, and to celebrate the release of Halo Infinite, let’s set off on our own Great Journey, and chart my favourite games in the franchise.

Halo 3 (2007): the dynamic, emergent combat pioneered in the first game reaches its apex, with some truly spectacular set-pieces, and vehicular battles that feel truly open-world. The chunky, explosive combat is at its best, but it’s combined with a tone and storyline that just feels suitably epic. Has that “final part of a trilogy” feel that you get from The Return of the King; all bets are off, and I wasn’t even certain going in that the Master Chief would make it out alive.

Halo Infinite (2021): maybe it’s too early to judge (I’ve not completed it), but the transition to a “true” open world has done wonders. Seemingly random encounters carry the weight of a Halo 3skirmish, the sheer vastness and verticality of the Zeta Halo calling to mind Breath of the Wild, and in the Grappleshot, you’ve got a mode of traversal just as cool as any of Link’s horses. Plus the multiplayer is a back-to-basics fine-tuning of everything Halo does really well, making it a sheer delight (dodgy progression system notwithstanding)

Halo: Combat Evolved (2001): the game that sold me an Xbox! Just a sheer joy to play, right from the start, and back then it was revolutionary. Phenomenal graphics combined with fast, reactive gameplay in lush outdoor settings, it did everything we’d wanted from games for years, but which felt impossible. Packed with iconic, era-defining moments, it also boasts a twist so huge that its existence has kind of become a defining landmark in the franchise, as the game suddenly shifts gear from being Quake to being Resident Evil. One of the most important games of all time, right here. Everything Microsoft has done in the gaming space for twenty years is built on it.

Halo 3: ODST (2009): the first game to shift focus away from the Master Chief, this was a change of pace for the franchise, with a slightly grittier, earthier tone, as your souped-up Spec Ops soldier makes their way through encounters in a ravaged, occupied city, traversing larger urban hub-style levels. Boasted a starry cast (hi, Nathan Fillion!) and debuted the series now-iconic Firefight horde mode.

Halo 2 (2004): coming along like a superhero sequel, this was a bigger, bolder Halo, taking the fight to Earth. Boasted gameplay tweaks (dual wielding weapons! Exploding vehicles!), it had a punchy, propulsive campaign, famous for its early-doors twist that saw the Master Chief share screen time with his supposed enemy, the Covenant Arbiter (a revelation that was spoiled for me by a review in Empire magazine, of all places). This is where – depending on your point of view – the overall arc of Halo’s plot either became thorny and interesting or just batshit crazy, with our two heroes at one point expositioned to by a giant talking weed.

Halo: Reach (2010): often cited as a high-water mark by fans, this was Bungie’s swansong with the franchise, their last game before jumping off the good ship Microsoft and handing the Halo reins to 343 Industries. Personally, despite the improved graphics, presence of a familial squad of Spartans throughout, and the ability to craft your own bespoke character for the first time, I just wasn’t as invested here as with the mainline Master Chief saga. Does everything right, and has a suitably melancholy story, but kinda feels a bit like a redundant and unnecessary prequel.

Halo 4 (2012): the first game under stewardship of 343, this sees long-discussed ancient race the Forerunners take to the stage as, really, the main set of antagonists, with their own enemies and weapons to add to the human/Covenant arsenal. I found the storyline interesting, as Chief’s longtime AI companion (love interest?) Cortana is either dying or losing her mind entirely. Never quite hung together for me the way other prior Halos did, but it’s still a very good, very enjoyable game feels resolutely Halo-y.

Halo 5: Guardians (2015): once again splitting protagonist duties between the Chief and new character Locke, this is totally fine, with reliably fun Halo gameplay, and some chunky, hefty weapons leading to some chunky, hefty fights. But the decision to bisect the narrative feels like a failed attempt to add drama; we know the MC ain’t bad, and for me the Chief’s whole arc was way more interesting. Despite my not loving it as much as other titles, it’s still unfairly lambasted in some quarters; I’d say everyFPS Halo title is a four-star experience at least. This one has the mostbaffling plot since 2, though. I genuinely don’t remember what it really ended up being about.

Halo Wars 2 (2017): so we move on to another genre at last! Yes, Halo is at its core an FPS franchise, but their segue into real time strategy is not without its successes. It’s hard to delineate the two games, but I think things were just a bit slicker second time around, and the Brute-lead Banished forces offered a reassuringly nasty threat, casting a shadow of grim foreboding over the whole game.

Halo Wars (2009): there’s a hair’s breadth between the two games for me, but I feel the gameplay of part 2 to just be a bit slicker and more user-friendly. But this first one is still great, proving that the Halotemplate works in an RTS, and proving that an RTS can be made to fit a console.

#top ten #games #gaming #halo #xbox #microsoft #halo infinite