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rosapexa · 1 year

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Welcome to my blog!

Hi!

I'm Rosa. I'm in my late 30s, married and and a Virtual Photographer.

Here i share only my Cyberpunk 2077 (Edit May 29th 2023: And Jurassic World Evolution 2 atm because i love Dinosaurs!) VP and everything what is on my mind about my OCs. And i have quite a few.

Some of them have whole personalities and background stories, other's are lucky, that they got a name. I simply enjoy creating and taking pictures of them.

And i love shipping my OCs, because they deserve love.

Sometimes i post (mild) NSFT stuff. So if you're underage or don't want to see things like this, please don't follow me.

I reblog everything that i find interesting, which means for reblogs mostly but not only Cyberpunk 2077 stuff.

Anyway let me introduce you to my OCs:

Tags: Rosa's OCs: Vala ; Character Inspiration: Vala

Ship: Vala and River ; Ship Inspiration: Vala and River

Tags: Rosa's OCs: Lexa ; Character Inspiration: Lexa ; Lexa's Story ; Rosa's OCs: Lexa (but she's V this time)

Ship: Lexa and Johnny ; Ship Inspiration: Lexa and Johnny ; Lexa and Johnny 2.0

Tags: Rosa's OCs: Scarlet

Ship: Scarlet and Dum Dum

Tags: Rosa's OCs: Ivy

Ship: Ivy and Placide

Other Tags: OC Ask Game ; Ship Questions ; Rosa's Dinosaurs ; Rosa makes Mods

More OCs will follow over time...

Some background infos about my babies below:

Vala:

Vala is the only one of my OCs who is actually V. Cyberpunk's story is her story, allthough i changed some things. The most important change is probably that Vala and Johnny both survived Mikoshi. They managed to get him out of her body and into his own again. Also they both raided along with Rogue, Crispin Weyland and Maelstrom the Arasaka tower. Rogue survived thanks to Lexa.

Despite the fact, that the Relic was succesfully removed, Vala has some health issues left which will get worse over the years. On some days, she can't even get out of bed. Vala hast to take medication and constantly adjust her Cyberware for the rest of her life and allthough she has quite some years left, she will eventually die because of it. But she made her peace with that fact.

She is a Netrunner/ Techie and besides knowing how to use a gun, she has basically no fighting skills and relies completely on her Quickhack skills. Vala avoids killing people and only does it in self defence as a last resort. She broke that rule only twice though and both times Johnny was already in her head.

She is quite shy, a total nerd, a little goofy but basically nice to everyone. Vala is an excellent judge of character and learned to listen to her gut feeling, allthough she never judges someone by the very first impression. She collects plushies and has tons of them at her apartment. Vala loves flowers. She can't get enough of them. Sunflowers, roses and tulips are her favorites. She's the worst coffee addict.

Since 2077 she is in a relationship with River Ward and they are married since 2082.

But soon after Mikoshi she broke up with him for about three months. Not because she didn't love him anymore, but she though he deserved someone better. Someone healthy and someone who also wants children someday. He tried to fight for her but she rejected him over and over again until he couldn't anymore.

After three months and a lot of harsh words from Panam and Johnny (suprising, i know) she took all her courage, threw her remaining pride away and begged him for forgiveness. He was hurt and they didn't just continue but started everything over by slowly dating again.

And they fell completely in love with each other again.

He is the third man she has ever been with and he is also the last one. She considers River her soulmate by choice. And he is the first man, where she feels she can truly be herself. They can be completely idiots together and constantly laugh about the most random stuff. Allthough River wanted to have a family, he always knew Vala doesn't. And he is totally ok with that fact now, because he chose her over everythig else.

River also actively enables her plushie addiction.

Vala is a cat mom to Nibbles and of course loves him dearly and Nibbles completely rules the household. She is one of those cat moms who will tell you everything about her cat and show you tons of phhotos, if you want or not. Besides River, the most important people in her life are still Johnny and Panam Palmer, who she considers her sister.

Before Vala lived in Night City she was part of the Bakker Clan and she loved the Nomad life. Her parents died both in an accident in 2074, which hit her hard, cause she had a loving and close relationship with them. But she didn't feel completely alone at least, thanks to her Nomad family. Leaving them was one of the toughest decision for her, but she didn't feel she had a choice, when they merged with Snake Nation. Vala was lucky she met Jackie. Not only did she find her best friend but she probably wouldn't know how to get along in Night City. His death almost broke her completely.

Vala joined later the Aldecaldos and finally had a family again. Her heart belongs absolutely to the Nomad life but she also fell in love with that terrible place Night City. She just can't live there permantly, so Vala splits her time between living in Night City together with River and with the Aldecaldos in the Badlands, where River joins her as much as possible.

Vala is 38 years old in 2083.

Lexa:

Lexa (Alexandra Miranda Shaw back then) was born and raised into Militech. Her family is well know and accepted in the Militech corpo world. She has an older brother as well as an older sister.

From an early age she was trained as an assassin and was exceptional at what she did. And she also loved it. She always loved fighting and killing. Alex saw her body always as a weapon and wanted it to be the best and most efficient weapon.

She always felt a certain fascination towards Maelstrom. She admired how they didn't care about what's supposed to be possible and what not. How they always pushed their bodies over the limits. And she felt drawn to the raw brutality and cruelty. In her free time she eventually started to spend time at the Totentanz

Alex also always had a problem with authority. She was rebellious and if her father, Joseph Shaw, wasn't a hight ranking Militech employee she probably would have been kicked out a long time ago.

And when her defiance and joy in killing and cruelty became too much of a problem Militech got rid of her.

After getting kicked out of Militech, she immediately joined Maelstrom thanks to Royce who brought her into the gang. Alexandra was gone and Lexa was born. Very few people still know her old name today and they know better than to use it.

She became Maesltrom's Ghost. She's hunting and taking out the gang's enemies. Actually she almost does the same things she did at Militech. Only completely free and unhinged now. No one tells her how to handle things and her brutality and cruelty is not something bad anymore but absolutey desired and even among Maelstrom admired.

When Royce took over Maelstrom she supported him 100% allthough she made sure, Brick was kept alive. Along with Dum Dum she became Royce's right hand.

Lexa and Maelstrom joined Vala, Johnny, Rogue and Crispin Weyland at raiding the Arasaka tower, because Lexa felt Vala deserved help, after she fought along with Dum Dum against Militech at All Foods. But more importantly a war against Arasaka sounded kinda fun.

Lexa is most of the time a very calm person, which is very dangerous, cause you never know, when you crossed a line with her. Most people consider her cold and feel uncomfortable in her presence. She doesn't let many people close to her and almost no one out of Maelstrom, cause she only trust them. Shortly after joining Maelstrom she adopted a stray cat... Actually he adopted her and she named him Salem. She loves him dearly and spoils him rotten.

In 2079 Lexa and Johnny Silverhand started a relationship. They knew each other since Mikoshi and already spent time hunting down corpos, but it took them and especially Lexa quite a while to admit their feelings. Johnny is also Lexa's first relationship. Before him she never wanted or needed one and only had casual acquaintances to satisfy her physical needs. Lexa and Johnny are deeply and truly in love and within their realtionship are the softest people, which she never thought would be possible for her. But they are also both extremely stubborn, which can result in screaming and throwing things after each other.

In 2083 Lexa is 36 years old.

Scarlet:

Originally was Scarlet a rogue AI behind the Blackwall, but she escaped from there during the events of Mikoshi. While finally free and roaming the net she met a young and inexperienced Maelstrom Netrunner, called Violet. The AI was kinda fascinated and decided to take over Violet's body.

It didn't really go as planned and insted of taking over her body she merged with Violet into the personality, which is Scarlet today.

Because of this she is very unstable and unpredictable. She is capable of emotions but struggles a lot and doesn't often understand them. This frustrates her and often results in violent outbursts.

She stayed with Maelstrom, because she couldn't fit somewhere else. Scarlet is an absolute brutal and insane Netrunner.

She has a very unhealthy obsession with fire. She is incredibly fascinated of fire and what it does to human flesh.

Since 2080 Dum Dum and her are a couple. Dum Dum loves her sincerely but Scarlet is actually not sure, if she truly understand the concept of love, which he knows.

But she cares about Dum Dum, feels most comfortable around him and misses him a lot, when he's not with her. He's the only one, she would never harm, even when she has one of her outbursts. Dum Dum is also the only one, who can calm her down, which he mostly doesn't, because he loves the sight of his raging girlfriend.

In 2083 Scarlet is 30 years old. That's at least her physical age.

Ivy:

Like most members of the Voodoo Boys Ivy is a talented Netrunner. She also works often outside of Pacifica as a Merc and is very capable of defending herself. Because of that she is not as hostile towards outsiders as most of her community. Allthough she still prefers to be among her people and doesn't let outsiders too close to her.

Since 2076 Ivy is in a realtionship with Placide and they got married in 2080. In comparison to Placide Ivy can be a little sunshine, so she makes often fun of him being way too grumpy. He would never admit it, but he loves that little teasing. Also because of Ivy he sees some things more relaxed and isn't always as serious as he used to be. On the other hand Ivy acts a little less thoughtless thanks to Placide.

Ivy is 33 years old in 2083.

#Cyberpunk 2077 #Rosa's OCs: Vala #Rosa's OCs: Lexa #Rosa's OCs: Scarlet #Rosa's OCs: Ivy #Old Pinned Post

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arbitrarygreay · 3 years

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I watched all of Killjoys with @mimeparadox! - This being my third time through seasons 1 and 2, I probably enjoyed Dutch-D'avin the most I ever have, really seeing what the show was trying to convey with that relationship. That said, I still do not like the show's attempt to make them do insipid romantic fluff at the end of S4 and S5. They still work best as comrades. - There is no best season of the show. S2=S3=S4 > S1 > S5. S2 is the best the show does with its class conflicts, having discarded the Pretty People Dramz of S1. S3 is the most coherent in its character themes, everything lensed through the tragedy of Dutch and Aneela. S4 does the most payoff for all of the relationships in the show.

- Oh, poor S5. This is the first time I've rewatched it, and I did still have a good time. Basically, S5's weaknesses all have to do with it being the final season. The Prison arc is actually quite fun...so long as it has nothing to do with The Lady. In general, the show is not as good as when it remembers that they have to tie things up and finish off this alien invasion storyline. They're great at the serialized character/relationship elements, less good at the serialized plot parts. - The Prison arc shows that Lovretta could definitely be the showrunner for a classic spy competence porn show a la Nikita. - The Lady is still great as Khlyen's third failure as The Worst Dad to Murderous Teenage Daughter. The reason I love her as a garbage fave, whereas Angel's Connor is a (hah) narrative killjoy, is that The Lady's behavior does not cause the other characters to betray themselves. For the most part, The Lady incites the others to do more competence porn, whereas Connor just incited tedious interpersonal Dramz (with maybe the exception of the return of murderous Fred). - mimeparadox and I have discovered across watching multiple shows that the best character archetype is an ultra-competent slightly neurotic uptight character getting blindsided by their Feelings (bonus points if said Feelings are romantic). We have named this archetype Paris, named after Paris Gellar from Gilmore Girls. The Paris is such a powerful type, especially as a Big Bad, that Killjoys does it twice in a row, with Aneela and The Lady. - Intriguingly, I finally saw what the show was trying to do with a series-long arc for Johnny. - In S1, the seeds are planted for the fact that Johnny wants to do more than survive, he wants to have a stronger emotional anchor than just being with Dutch (he is Dutch's gravity, but the reverse isn't true). In S1, this manifests in his being intrigued by Scarback spirituality. In S2, this manifests in his becoming more invested in Westerley's class politics (with Pawter) than Dutch's more self-centered investigation of the Hullen. And in S5, he decides that being a rootless Killjoy isn't viable in the long term. He doesn't want the warrant to be all. - Of course, the execution gets muddled, because Johnny on the mission Fun Train is entirely too compelling, as are his dynamics with everyone else on the team. Note how S3 and S4 aren't mentioned above, as in those seasons, with the exception of the Hackmod Arc, Johnny is focused on Dutch's war with Aneela and The Lady. The fact that there's no issue with the character dropping his series arc for two seasons shows that this arc isn't really critical to his character at all. - And that's exactly the conclusion that the show itself comes to, with the Oneyer absence tossed aside in the end for a "one for the road" of indefinite length. - Part of this, though, is not a betrayal of the series arc because at the end of the series, Johnny is not still simply a Killjoy, for whom the warrant is all. He's a new Level Six, and so has a purpose to genuinely care about (which also happens to enable his pursuing the other missions he wants on the side, like The Factory). - I got a better sense for Dutch's series long arc, too, which was really interesting, because she is never actually a hero in her own motivation. She is basically selfishly motivated from beginning to end, but just slightly growing the circle of who she considers under her protection. Dutch's driving motivation at the beginning of the series is to flee anything that might impinge on her personal freedom. Then, she decides to fight back instead of flee, which means that she seeks having just enough power to do so. S4 is about how she balks at the responsibility that comes with it, which we discover is rooted in how she's having an identity crisis about her biological family. In S5, she comes to a more stable place in her identity and how much responsibility she's willing to take on to defend her home, but grapples with some of the remaining things impinging on her emotional freedom (the loss of the certainty of Johnny, and then cycle of Khlyen's abuse). - Which is to say, it's pretty cool that we get to have a science fiction where where the central protagonist gets to be basically a shameless charismatic hedonist. She's all but said that she's basically outsourced her morality to the rest of her team. This is a rare character complexity for any genre show protagonist, much less a lady. And it makes the writing extra impressive for setting up the plot and world so that such a protagonist gets guided into doing heroic actions entirely on following a selfish priority through the incentive gradients. - This is all really only possible because Turin is a good boss, though. If she had a RAC supervisor who played power politics with her, she'd be toast (and probably quit the RAC to fly away in a heartbeat). Of course, that Turin is a good boss is meant to illustrate how the RAC is a an outfit that takes in misfits, people who are loathe to (and already failed to) play traditional social politics as opposed to mere sportsmanship competition (thing-oriented people over person-oriented people). They have to be the kind of people who could ever believe that the Warrant is all in the first place. - Killjoys never truly grapples with its politics. I stand by my previous stance that this is a good thing, because the very core build of its protagonists prevents that. This show, ah, kind of embraces ACAB as a good thing, nothing of which to mention how Delle Seyah and Aneela becoming allies therefore results in a "yasss genocidal girlboss aristocracy slay" conclusion? ("Colonialism is good if they appoint an emotionally invested immigrant warlord as governor") - Killjoys' broader wonky politics doesn't bother me, because FUN TRAIN! DO NOT STOP THE FUN TRAIN!! Seriously, there were definitely plot holes in this show that never went away, and I did not really care because almost every given moment of the show was delightful. The lore of how Hullen/The Green worked was laughably inconsistent, and I did not really care because the lore was whatever it was at the moment to enable storylines that were really fun. In fact, joking about the inconsistency of the lore therefore became its own pleasure, because it still did not detract from my enjoyment of canon. Altered Carbon shows how the prestige version of Killjoys would have been no fun at all. Down with Prestige TV. Which isn't to say that I've changed my mind on character vs. world-building as source for plots! I remain dedicated to my apathy to Wynonna Earp, which is a show which nominally builds its world/plot to service character, but leaves me cold. What Killjoys has, in contrast, is a rock solid world-building foundation, and then we watch the fireworks of character reacting to the setting and each other, with characters themselves serving as expressions of world-building. This is why Killjoys' writing is weakest when it has to plot for the sake up wrapping up plot and character threads, instead of plot as per how character interactions with the world organically develop. The way this doesn't contradict with the above is that Killjoys firmly declares what parts of the world-building are really important, which is the setup of institutions that determines the power-dynamics between any two given characters. Plot elements that aren't about that can be wishy-washy without therefore making the characters look incompetent. (With the exception of "stick a knife in the necks of all of the Hullen already!" because that's a very tangible action anyone can do, as opposed a squishy genre detail.)

#killjoys #killjoys syfy #syfy killjoys #category: tv #category: craft

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heartofsnark · 3 years

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Rent-Free (Johnny Silverhand/OC Female V)

Notes; IVE BEEN ENABLED AGAIN!!!!!! AHHHHH BLAME @rosyibby, but uh, yeah basically given how much we talk about Johnny living rent free in V’s head, it made me think of paying rent through other means...*cue the cheesy porn music* Additionally, this does technically go along with my previous Johnny Silverhand fic, but like they’re not so intertwined that you won’t get it. It’s porn, you’ll catch on. Thanks for all the love on my previous nasty Johnny porn.

Word Count: 2334

Warnings: Oral, Cunnilingus, Unprotected Sex (hologram fucking has perks), Vaginal Sex, Kissing, Johnny being gross, Dirty Talk, I’m lowkey still insecure on writing dirty talk, so hopefully this isn’t bad, also yeah game still isn’t out so he’s prob ooc to some degree

Hot water rushes from the shower head, relaxing Aidan’s aching muscles. Silence around her as she works shampoo into her hair, a welcomed moment of peace in her life, something that’s been so absent since this mess has begun. It’s late, around four in the morning, she just finished a smuggling run with Jackie. Things went south as they often do, her entire body aches from the shootout, but they got out alive and that’s all that matters.

She works and lather soap into her skin, feeling the roughness of scars gathered contrasting against the soft give of her body. Aidan squeezes her own breast, feeling the heat and tingle of pleasure from her own groping fingers. She starts to move her other hand further down between her thighs, wanting to take advantage of the moment of calm.

“You pent up again?”

“God damn it!” She yells out when Johnny’s voice rings through her head, nearly slipping in her own shower. And he laughs at her as he always does, she quickly finishes washing, before stepping out.

Johnny is leaning against the bathroom wall, arms crossed in front of him as he watched Aidan walk past, no shame in the way his dark brown eyes drag across her naked frame. Weeks have passed since their little…interaction when she tried to find a hookup. The encounter wasn’t brought up again, Aidan refusing to acknowledge it.

And she still doesn’t acknowledge it, the weird sexual tension that’s been created between her and the ghost in her head.

“Don’t rush on my account,” Johnny says as she quickly dries off and throws on an overside shirt along with a pair of shorts. She’ll just get to sleep as soon as possible, ignore the dampening heat in her core.

“You’re the actual worst, you know that?” She grumbles as she leaves the bathroom, making a beeline for her bedroom. Hopefully, none of Johnny’s memories or brain weirdness will come through her dreams, she needs some peace.

“Yeah, yeah, you’ve told me a billion times, well, that is when you weren’t screaming my name or thinking about riding my-“

“Shut the fuck up!” She yells out, her neighbors must think she’s crazy, but she can’t help but scream at him as she flops back on her bed.

Aidan can feel his gaze on her, looking up to see Johnny standing at the foot of her bed, looking down at her. The position reminds her of that night, him watching her getting fucked, the heat in her core rises again. There’s a lazy calmness in the way he looks her over , no hurry or fervor, just taking her in. His eyes hovering around the plush of her thighs, moving up to where her shirt has ridden up, revealing an expanse of her soft stomach.

“Seriously,” she starts to speak again, hoping her words can cool the heat gathering between her thighs, “you’re like the worlds shittiest roommate.”

“Am I?”

“Yes, you really fucking are. You have no boundaries, you do nothing but annoy me, I can’t rid of you, hell, at least a roommate might pay rent.”

“Oh, you need me to pay rent? Sure, just let me get my wallet,” Johnny says, reaching into his pocket just to pull out his middle finger.

“Cute.” She rolls her eyes, of course he’s going to be a shit about it.

“Cute enough for you to throw your panties at.”

“Shut up! Just shut up!”

He lets out a low chuckle, resonating deep in his chest, the sound stoke the flames in her center just that much more. Why is he so fucking attractive? Then she feels it, a hand grabbing at her shin, the rough callouses of his right hand.

“You really want me to start contributing something?” There’s a teasing tone to his voice.

“I mean, I know you can’t, but you could at least stop irritating me.”

“Eh, don’t think I can, but I can think of something I can do that might make you a little less tense,” he says, hand skimming further up her leg.

“Seriously, offering sex in place of rent, you watch that much porn?”

“C’mon, Samurai, we’re way past the point of you pretending you don’t wanna fuck me, don’t you think?”

And he’s probably right.

“I’m definitely right.”

“You know reading my mind is not attractive, right?”

“Yet, you still find me attractive, funny how that works.”

“Fine, fine,” she covers her face with her arm, cheeks burning red, “I wanna fuck you, happy?”

“I mean, wasn’t exactly a secret, but it’s nice hearing you admit it.”

“Shut up and touch me.”

And then he’s over her, knees on her mattress on either side of her hips, hands grabbing the bottom of her shirt. He’s quick and rough as he yanks it off over her head, throwing it across the room. She barely has a moment to take in the cool air from her chest being exposed before he’s groping and touching her, the contrast between the smooth cold metal of his left hand and the warm calloused fingers on his right makes her whimper, arching her back to meet his touch. The feeling of his thumbs rubbing over her nipples draws another gasp from her throat and then the heat of his mouth connects to her chest.

“Fuck,” she curses as he works harsh kisses down her body, his touch is hungry and passionate, but most importantly of all completely unpredictable.

There’s no patterns to where he kisses; whether it’s her collarbones, the plush of her breasts, her ribs, or her stomach. No way for Aidan to know if it’ll be the press of his lips, the laving of his tongue, or the bite of his teeth. The only constant is the scratch of his beard, rubbing her tender skin raw under his touch. She tries to wrap her fingers in his hair, to wrap the dark strands around her fingers but he moves too quickly, and she only gets a brief touch of them.

A sharp nip just above the waistband of her shorts is her only warning before he’s yanking them off of her. Rough fingers run through her slit, just a fleeting touch as Johnny gathers her slick on his fingers.

“You’re soaked.”

“Shut up.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be keeping my mouth busy,” he tells her before sucking his fingers into his mouth, licking her wet from his own skin.

Then he’s practically bending her in half, pressing her thighs back to her chest, the force lifting her hips and ass off the bed. The position completely opens her up to him, no way to hide her cunt from his view. Before she can squirm or get embarrassed, his mouth is on her. His tongue licking through her folds, lapping up every drop of slick. He eats her out like he’s desperate for it, like he needs to drink up every gush of wet to survive, licking deep inside of her. His tongue finding every spot that will make her wetter.

His beard rubs the lips of her sex raw, but she can’t find it in her to mind the edge of pain, when his tongue runs up to her clit. No true pattern, no way to predict how long he’ll go between sucking harshly on the bundle of the nerves to licking around it; back and forth between too much and not enough. The heat inside of her is reaching a boiling point, nearly crashing over the precipice of pleasure, but he pulls back before she can meet her end every time. She buries her fingers in his hair, finally feeling the softness of the locks, but she despite her pressing she can’t control his pace.

And he stops.

She whines at the loss of pleasure as he pulls away from her. Slick coats his lips and chin, shining in the moonlight that drifts into her bedroom. His looks are grossly unfair for someone who’s both dead and technically in his eighties. Oh god, she’s fucking an eighty something year old digital ghost-

He presses his lips to her and she can’t help gasp, tasting herself on his tongue. Johnny presses down on her body, so his body weight presses her thighs down against her chest, erection grinding into her pussy and her ankles practically on his shoulders. Her slick on his chin presses wetly against her, as his tongue pushes deeply into her mouth. She meets his lips and the passion of it, trying to taste Johnny through her own wet, taking in where he tastes like cigarettes.

“Stop thinking,” he tells her as he pulls away, realizing the lip lock was to stop her train of thoughts about all the reasons this is wrong.

“I really wish I could, sorry, but I mean…can you honestly say this isn’t fuckin’ weird?”

“Who gives a shit?”

“Wow, that fixed all my anxiety, thank you for you endless wealth of wisdom.” Aidan rolls her eyes.

“So, the goal is now to fuck you hard enough your brain shuts off, got it.”

“I wi-” she pauses when she feels his cock pressing against her thigh, smearing pre-cum on her skin, “when did you get naked?”

“I’m a hologram, I can just do that.”

“Wha-so when you only had your dick out last time, that was purely for effect?” Aidan is grinning and already on the verge of laughing at the idea of Johnny being that committed to pretending he has to undo his pants.

“I mean, kinda…”

And she bursts out laughing, it’s just too silly and ridiculous, he’s so fucking dramatic. How could one man be so dramatic? What the fuck? Her stomach hurts with the force of her laughter.

“Don’t laugh at me when I’m trying to fuck you.”

She tries to stifle her laughter , biting her lip as she looks up at Johnny, he’s smiling. Not a smirk or some smug expression, just a soft little smile, as he looks down at her. The anxiety and tension that has started to creep back up have mostly subsided, humor settling her nerves.

He grinds his cock down against her slick cunt, reminding her of what they’ve been building up too.

“This is like…safe, right?”

“Don’t worry, can’t knock you up or anything. I’ll just fuck you like I’m trying to.”

Her face flushes red at his words and then he thrust his hips, sliding into her. She screams out his name, between the position and her own slick, he hits deep inside of her, no resistance as her body takes him in. He doesn’t tease or hold back, his entire length pressing into her, filling her completely.

“Fuck, I knew you’d be tight, but god damn, feel like I’m break you open.”

“Ah, uhhh, don’t say weird shit.”

Johnny’s thrusts are punishing and harsh, brutal in the snap of his hips and she wishes she could hear the wet slap of their bodies connecting over and over again.

“What, don’t wanna hear about how your cunt is choking my dick.”

“Mnnnn….” All she can respond with is a whine.

“Don’t wanna hear about how I’m gonna fill you up, how I’m gonna make you leak my cum.”

“Johnny…”

He’s pounding into her, each thrust and stroke of his cock inside of her building up the heat inside of her, tightening the tension in her core. The head of his dick hits deeply, harshly fucking against the sensitive spot deep inside of her. Slick keeps her able to take it all, despite the roughness and the size of him, each slam of him into her making more gush out. She can feel her own wet dripping down her the curve of her ass.

“Gonna rearrange your fuckin’ guts, make sure you fit me and no one else.” His voice is tight with a slight growl, movements speeding up.

And while a part of her knows it’s dramatic, just bedroom talk if his dick was in her organs, they’d have some issues. But, she swears he’s doing exactly that. Carving out his place inside of her, a place only meant for him, so deep inside of her she can feel it in her throat. Stroking the embers of a fire that only he can turn into an inferno.

When that inferno of pleasure builds too high, the tension within her snaps, the bubble burst, and she’s crying out incomprehensibly as she cums on his cock. Everything whites out, mind empty as her body is overridden with pleasure, cunt clenching around him and body squirming as he keeps fucking her through her orgasm.

“Holy fuck, you’re gonna milk me dry, fuck!”

And he cums inside of her, hot and warm, flooding her with it. Heavy thick spurts of white coating her insides until it’s too much for her body to hold in, dripping out where the two connect. Her body is still twitching and squirming as she works through her aftershocks, once she’s a little more in touch with reality, she wonders whether his cum on her sheets will need cleaning.

He pulls out of her and even more of it spills out, Aidan whimpers between the loss of him inside of her and the mess on her thighs. Johnny rolls over to lay next to her, it still astounds her just how real he feels, his body heat next to her own.

She wants to lay on him, she realizes, a desire to lay her head on his chest. Aidan isn’t seriously considering cuddling with him, is she losing her mind?

“Just ask for what you want, dumbass.”

He wraps an arm around her sweaty shoulder and tugs her in against him, her cheeks reddening as she hides her face in his chest. There’s a lot she could mull over, a lot to think about, but with her eyelids growing heavier…it’s best to leave it alone for the night, to take Johnny’s advice for once and stop thinking so much.

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #johnny silverhand

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yourkimjaejin · 2 years

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Moxy and Juno's Relationship in Small Moments

(If any photo showed Juno and Moxy's relationship, Its this one!)

Best Friends Since Day 1

Moxy was isolated from all the other female trainees because of her talents. There was one girl who was the leader that caused all the rumors and scared the other female trainees into not talking to her.

The same girl tried to convince Juno to do the same throwing everything they could at her before lunch came.

At lunch, Moxy was eating alone until someone sat down in front of her. She looked up and saw the new girl, sitting there, eating without a care in the world. Moxy took a glance and saw the other females trainee’s staring and pointing. The leader of the sheep glaring at Moxy, pissed at Juno

“You do know that if you don’t go over there right now, there’s no going back. They’ll never talk to you again.�� Juno took a glance behind and smirked at the other girls faces.

“You know what they’re saying about you?” “Yeah?” “Well to me, nobody spreads that much shit about someone unless its true or they’re jealous. I like to surround myself with similarly talented people and they,” Juno points behind her, “Ain’t it.”

Moxy smiled at the younger women before sticking her hand out, “I’m Thea.” Juno takes the offered hand, “And I’m Amaya.”

Shop Till You Drop

You can’t send Moxy and Juno to the mall alone. They just enable each other to buy more and more until they spend $1000 each with remorse.

The first time they went to the mall, the only thing Juno needed was some new jeans. Juno left with three new pairs of jeans, five new crop tops and two new pairs of shoes. We won’t get into Moxy’s haul

Only a couple NCT members have experienced what its like going to the mall with Moxy and Juno. When asked if they would go again, they all refuse

This a another time Taeyong has had to step in to reign the two best friends in

“It was only one pair of shoes Yongie-oppa!” whined Juno. The two girls were dragged to the exit of the mall by their wrists.

“Yeah, one pair of shoes that would lead to three more. You both can't come to the mall unsupervised ever again!” Taeyong lead the girls to the car where one of the groups managers waited.

“But all the older members don’t like going with us.” Moxy explained, buckling her seatbelt as their manager took off.

“They’ll get over it.”

Partners In Crime

All of AG's managers worst fear is Juno and Moxy on Vlive together. Their filters always lower when they are in a room together with the fans watching.

Juno and Moxy get in trouble for their mouths regularly. Like I said filters don’t exist between them. Many fan videos are compilations of the two girls cursing on camera, behind the scene and on vlive.

They both frequently forget to switch between English and Korean for the fans.

During the Breakthrough era, Juno and Moxy spoiled the ENTIRE MUSIC VIDEO. Like even specific scenes and shot the girls had all done. A manager stormed in, frantically waving their hands in a effort to stop

“Oh the managers want us to stop.” Moxy tried to look remorseful.....but she failed

Taeyong and Johnny tried to get their mouths in check by making a swear jar, didn’t work.

As famous video of Juno and Moxy poking fun behind Taeyong back as he gave a thank you speech

At this point, The oldest members of NCT try to keep the two separated on camera as much as possibly

Somehow, they tried to put hair dye in Jungwoo’s shampoo but it ended up in Mark’s shampoo instead. The result: Mark walked around with purple hair for three days until it all washed out

There may or may not be a video on Juno phone of Johnny running into a sheet of plastic wrap around his door. Haechan and Moxy’s hysterical laughter following the man’s spill to the floor

Binge Watchers

Juno and Moxy will constantly ignore their responsibilities when it comes to bingeing a show on ANY streaming platform. Its like the outside world doesn't exist when it comes to finishing a years worth of television in a week

During a rare time where 127 and AG were on break at the same time, Moxy and Juno order an illegal amount of junk food and hunkered down in Moxy's room to binge watch all three seasons of Cobra Kai and all the Karate Kid movies.

The members got no responses from the two girls for four days. Hannah and Aurora only saw them when they came out of the room to pick up more food.

Taeyong had enough after three days of no contact with the two members. He stormed over to the AG dorm and forced the two girls take a walk outside to stretch their legs and rest their eyes.

"THAT'S IT!! You two, Outside, NOW. Take a walk."

"BUT!"

"THAT IS NON NEGOTIABLE!!! GO!"

From then on, Taeyong made it a rule that the two had to have a mandatory walk outside every day they plan to binge watch anything

#NCT AG #NCT AG.Moxy #NCT AG.Juno #NCT AG.Info #NCT AG.Facts #nct female addition #nct female member #nct female subunit #nct female oc #nct female unit #kpop addition #kpop!au #kpop!addition #kpop!oc #kpop!fakegroup

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thecorteztwins · 4 years

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(Just a basic superhero vs supervillain brawl here between Force of Nature and the ladies of the Winter Guard, with a little twist at the end! No deep character stuff, but tagging @sammysdewysensitiveeyes because Pyro and Avalanche are in it!) Russia had the largest amount of forests of any country on Earth, even more so than the famous Amazon rainforest, boasting 55% of the world's conifers and 11% of the Earth’s biomass. And yet, the logging industry, especially the illegal side, was so rampant and unrestrained that deforestation was threatening even this arboreal giant. It was for this reason that Force of Nature was sent to attack the headquarters of one the largest logging companies in the nation, and one with the most illegal activity under its belt. It was the first mission for their new recruits---two mutants, Pyro and Avalanche of the Brotherhood, representing the elements of fire and earth. Though their origins were in the very political Brotherhood, they had the right mercenary attitude for the squad. They also got on well with the two pre-existing members. Well, no, they got on well with Aqueduct, not so much Aireo. But Aqueduct assured them that no one really got on with Aireo, and that he was just glad to have a couple of “normal guys” like himself on the team at last. “It’s not that I didn’t LIKE Theary and Terraformer,” he hd said, “But you couldn’t really have a beer with ‘em attitude-wise, you know? And I literally CAN’T with Aireo, poor guy’d die of alchohol poisoning after one glass. He’s got a real weak system, Inhuman, y’know.” They knew. It was getting him to SHUT UP about it that was the issue, Pyro had found. The skinny beanpole---for once Pyro got to call someone else that!---really got under both their skins, his and Dom’s, with his superior species bullshit. Though St. John kinda had to admit there was an irony to it, given how he’d and Dom had used to run in the Brotherhood, which preached the same thing, just with regards to a different species. And it was kind of novel how Aireo looked down on them for BEING human, rather than NOT being human like most people. Pyro would give the wind-master one thing, he didn’t discriminate against mutants, just ALL humans in general. There was a fairness in it he could respect---if it wasn’t so damn IRRITATING! That aside though, it turned out they worked well together in the field---Skybreak stayed aloft where he could be hit accidentally by Avalanche’s seismic waves, and his winds helped fan Pyro’s flames from above. Speaking of Pyro’s flames, Aqueduct could put them out if they got out of hand---a much quicker way to do it than relying on Pyro to calm them, something he always had trouble with---and he could also make mud for Dom to send his shockwaves through, which made for some interesting effects you couldn’t get with just dirt and stone. It was really just plain FUN, in Pyro’s opinion, to watch some fucker DROWN in it. Right now though, a few logging employees were drowning in the wood chips that had been knocked over by Avalanche’s avalanches...the ones that Pyro wasn’t lighting up, anyway. “Talk about burning through your profits eh?” St. John yelled to his team over the din as workers and officials scattered. One brave soul tried to spray a fire extinguisher at him, Dom’s shockwave knocked him off his feet while a breeze from Skybreaker sent foam back in the poor sod’s face, just before a wave from Aqueduct washed him away clear to other side of the room. “Come on mate, your life’s not worth whatever crap they’re paying you”, Pyro called over to the guy, though he knew the Russians likely didn’t understand him. “Yeah, nobody try to be a hero here”, added Aqueduct.

“Oh, but I think I will,” said a woman’s voice from behind him the water-wielder. It came from within the swirling black portal that had opened at his back, and poor Aqueduct turned his head just in time to get the side of his face punched by a white-gloved fist emerging from the portal, followed by a black-haired woman attached to it, wearing a red costume with a white-pointed white star emblazoned on the chest. Another black-haired woman stepped out with her, this one in a barely-there purple getup with thigh-high boots, and a younger blonde between them in a black costume with a yellow diamond star and a bejeweled headband. Pyro didn’t recognize them but he knew what they were-- “Supes!” Dom yelled. “Correct,” said the blonde in Russian-accented English, “We are the Winter Guard, defenders of Mother Russia and all her people---and we give you ONE chance to stand down and surrender!” “One chance is all I need to boil up some Russian hotpot!” Pyro proclaimed, turning his flames their way...only to have them harmlessly swallowed up by the Darkforce portal that Darkstar, the blonde, summoned to intercept them. “Wha---that’s cheating!” St. John exclaimed. “Then let’s even the score, Johnny,” growled Dom, sending a quake out from his hands towards the women...only for it to turn out THAT--- “They all can fly?!” he exclaimed. That REALLY was not fair! “They may ride the air,” scoffed Skybreaker from above, “But---can they command it?!” With that, the Inhuman hurled contained hurricanes intended to grab the women, knock them around, even break their bones inside it---or worse, hopefully. Darkstar teleported away, but the others, Starlight and Fantasma, were caught by the tornadoes. Skybreaker started to laugh, but his triumph was short-lived---a Darkforce portal appeared behind him, and he was pulled in by Darkstar, then spat out into the tornado himself, right next to Fantasma. The sorceress seized the opportunity, and seized Skybreaker himself, grabbing him and manipulating his bio-field to render him unconscious. Thus, the tornado stopped, and he dropped to the ground before Starlight or Darkstar could grab him, which Fantasma did not even try. blonde, Darkstar, ported away “Aireo!” Aqueduct yelled, “Hey, he’s got delicate bones!” “Your concern for your comrade is admirable,” Starlight commended “But you should worry about yourself,” added Fantasma “Get the ‘porter,” Pyro commanded to Aqueduct and Avalanche, having learned from what he just saw, “She’s the real threat, herd her to me and I’ll toast her!” “You like playing with fire, hmm?” Starlight had overheard, “How about nuclear fire?” And with that, Pyro found himself surrounded by flames that emanated from her body. Normally that was something he would have no fear of, quite the reverse, but this fire felt...wrong. He shrank from it reflexively, as he would something alien and dangerous. “My radiation is not something I wish to inflict on anyone---especially not one with infractions so minor as yours---but threaten the life of my teammate, and you can consider your own to be forfeit!” “Ulp,” Pyro replied, “Got it.” With Skybreaker down and Pyro caged, that left Aqueduct and Avalanche, and Pyro didn’t have much hope for them. Great guys, but not great thinkers, those two. He didn’t expect this fight to last much longer, and he was right. The last thing he remembered was one of Darkstar’s portals surrounding him, and then everything was black and cold... ...and woke up into just more darkness and coldness. “John? John!” Dom was leaning over him, his square face contorted in concern. “Ahhh...” Pyro sat up, rubbing the back of his head, “Feels like I got the world’s worst hangover...” “We all did,” said Aqueduct, “Everybody except Aireo.” “I was passed out already before that witch passed us through our portal,” Aireo said venomously. Pyro didn’t need to ask where they were. He could tell already. A prison cell. A bad one too. No beds or benches attached to the walls, no toilet, no bars, just three walls and a solid steel door. It was very, very cramped in here too, with minimal light coming only from the tiny window in the door. And he didn’t like the crusty brown rim around the drain in the center of the floor. Pyro also knew that power-dampeners must be installed, or these three would have already busted loose with him in tow. This...did not look good. Pyro had HEARD what the Russians did to mutants, even the ones who WEREN’T foreigner criminals... “Johnny, get down!” Dom yelled, and pulled Pyro away from something. Pyro turned and saw that behind him, one of the Darkforce portals was forming. “What do you want?!” he demanded of Darkstar and Starlight, who were visible within it, though not emerging due to the cell being so small. “For you to come with us,” said Starlight. “We love our country, make no mistake,” explained Darkstar, “But the present government’s treatment of the super-powered who do not serve it is inhumane.” “Even for villains,” Starlight added. “Where’s Stripperella?” Pyro asked, noting that what had been a trio was now a duo. “Fantasma...has a harder time understanding the nuances of these things,” Starlight said, “She follows the law, and believes it is good. And it is. And you broke it. You should be punished, as the law demands. But not like THIS.” “What’s...this?” Aqueduct asked. He was apparently not as well-read as Pyro about how Russia did things. “You do not know what is in store for you?” “Er...no?” Dom said. He was also not exactly on the up and up in this department. The women exchanged looks. “Better that way,” said Starlight, “Come on---enough talk.” “We’ve just shut down the power nullifiers,” said Darkstar, “Quickly, make a mess so it looks like you escaped on your own---we’ll help make sure you get through the facility, you just leave a ‘trail’ as you go.” They did exactly that, their elemental powers wreaking havoc through the facility, while Darkstar’s portals enabled them to evade being seen or caught. The portals were bad enough though; Pyro realized now why he’d felt so terrible after going through one, why he’d passed out. It was staggering to go through them, even for a second, and all four of Force of Nature quickly protested their use, preferring to take their chances being seen. “It is the Darkforce,” Darkstar explained apologetically, “To me, it is friendly, harmless---but when others travel through it, the effects are...unpleasant. It is helpful for quickly subduing foes, as I did you before, but it makes it less than ideal for transporting friends, especially those unused to it.” “Even I’m still getting used to it,” admitted the sturdy-looking Starlight, who appeared to Pyro no worse for the wear despite the multiple small trips....while he felt like he was going to drop again, and the others looked about the same. Finally, they reached the end, a wall that Starlight instructed them to burst through, which Avalanche did with ease. They walked for awhile, Pyro burning a path through the snow---the ladies had considerately brought him a lighter---til they had left enough of a trail, then Darkstar took them all for one last ‘port, in the opposite direction, to the outskirts of Moscow, where they could find a way to contact their employers and get a flight scheduled. “From here, you must make your own way home,” said Starlight. “And never return, “Darkstar warned, “Or else you may not find us so merciful next time!” Actually they would be---but they didn’t want to risk these dumb-asses knowing that and coming back.

#fic #writing #force of nature #the winter guard

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jnonymous7 · 4 years

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Resources for Keeping Current on Emerging Technology

Today, I’m going to discuss a few things to keep ourselves up-to-date to emerging technology. Some of the technologies we probably have heard of are augmented or virtual reality, AI, biometrics, nanotechnology, 3D printing, Drones, Robots and more.

So what are the pros/cons of having these technologies in the hand of the masses? Let’s start by talking about the pros of AR/VR and its capability of enabling simulations for humans to use and practice to learn or refresh a real-world skill/talent. I currently own an Oculus Rift and VR-ready PC capable of running certain games that are compatible with my PC’s spec. I’d say, the cons of owning an AR/VR is it can be nearly as distracting as social media where you might find yourself using it over and over every couple minutes or hours. So try not to get hooked!

AI is becoming smarter and smarter. I mean look at Google, Alexa, Siri and all of these AI technologies that can be accessed using stored data or with the help of the internet or cloud. The cons are probably when AI becomes so smart that they no longer need our command to make a decision. What would happen to humanity then? This could mean that Robots/Drones/any other machines that seems to have a mind of its own could take away our jobs/businesses and dominate the world in every way possible.

Moving along, biometrics pros are more secured bank vaults, phones or any other places/technology that may require a retina, face or fingerprint scan. The cons of having these technologies are if somebody has the intention of kidnapping you then the worst way it could go is they could attempt to cut your finger, somehow get your eye ball out or even cut your head.

On the other hand, nanotechnology pros are probably the fact that we will be able to cure any diseases in either humans or our environment that can’t be seen with the naked eye. The cons will probably be if these nanotechnology somehow turn its back against us then we’ll be in big trouble.

Lastly, manufacturing companies may become the thing of the past as 3D Printing becomes more and more affordable in our generation. The pros of having 3D Printing machines is being able to create anything we want for either personal/professional purpose. The cons will be nation wide job loss due to the fact that anyone with a 3D Printing machine can pretty much start their own manufacturing company of whatever a 3D Printing machine can print (cars, body parts, homes, packaging materials, toys, and more. . . )

References

Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emerging_technologies

Alison DeNisco Rayome. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/top-10-emerging-technologies-of-2019/

Johnny Wood. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/07/these-are-the-top-10-emerging-technologies-of-2019/

David Weldon. https://www.information-management.com/slideshow/12-top-emerging-technologies-that-will-impact-organizations

Tech Planet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxRIdL2CDBk

#biometrics #3d printing #nanotechnology #AI #Drones #Robots #extended reality #virtual reality #mixed reality #augmented reality

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sebeth · 5 years

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Fantastic Four #1 - 3

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

Summary: The origin of the Team. The Four battle the Mole Man, Skrulls, and the Miracle Man.

Debuts:

· The Fantastic Four

· Reed Richards

· Ben Grimm

· Susan Storm

· Johnny Storm

· Mole Man

· Monster Island

· Skrulls

· Miracle Man

Best Cover: Issue #1. The cover is iconic with the four battling a monster while in civilian clothes. It’s been paid homage to numerous times over the decades.

Points of Interest:

· Susan’s role is limited to love interest, hostage, older sister, and domestic caretaker. Sue’s big highlight in the first three issues is tripping a Skrull.

· Men’s infatuation with Sue begin in these issues – both Reed and Ben vie for her attention.

· It’s easy to understand while the Four didn’t bother with secret identities. It’s not possible for Ben and Sue and Johnny are completely unsubtle while using their powers in public.

· Johnny: “There’s only one thing in the world that interests me more than cars!” Is it girls? Nope, its his powers. But girls are a definite third place.

· One of Susan’s biggest regrets is shown in the first issue: first she goads Ben into flying the shuttle by calling him a coward and later she refers to him as a “thing” after he transforms into his rocky self.

· Reed is an arrogant, insensitive ass. He brushes off Ben’s legitimate concerns over the cosmic shielding, he names himself “Mister Fantastic”, he acts as if Ben is overreacting over his transformed appearance: “Ben, I’m so sick and tired of your insults…of your complaining! I didn’t purposely cause our flight to fail!”, and comments that there is no place for a creature like the Mole Man “in our world” when a much more horribly-disfigured Ben is standing right next to him!

· Ben is full of rage and bitterness. And its completely justified considering the horrific trauma he suffered. Ben was right in questioning the strength of the shields and suffered the worst of the team because of the shield’s weakness.

· The Mole Man may be one of the first sympathetic villains in comics as opposed to the straight- out evil villains found in most books.

· I’m surprised Ben didn’t burst out laughing at the Mole Man’s “woe is me” attitude. Honestly, the Mole Man is short, pudgy, and has a huge nose. There are worse fates – ask Ben!

· Karl Kessel’s Human Torch series has the Four’s flight take place during the summer at the end of Johnny’s sophomore year of high school. Johnny would have been 16 years-old when he became the Human Torch. I’ve always put Susan as seven to 10 years older than Johnny. And I think there is an approximately 5-year gap between Susan and Reed. Per my headcannon, I have Johnny at 16 years old, Susan at 26 years old, and Reed and Ben in the 31 years old range at the time of the flight.

· Ben is the most powerful person in the Marvel Universe at this point. Thor and the Hulk haven’t been created yet and Namor won’t make his modern appearance for a few more issues. Sue isn’t the badass she will become and Johnny’s control/stamina is questionable.

· It’s hard to believe the Skrulls became a galactic threat based on their first appearance. The Skrulls were defeated because of television!

· Reed’s punishment of the Skrulls is rather harsh! And a perfect example of Reed not considering the long-term consequences of his actions. Did he expect the Skrull-cows to be left alone? Cows are traditionally used as a source of milk or meat. Something bad was bound to happen either way. Did Reed ever meet the Skrull Kill Krew? Is he aware those Skrulls were killed and butchered and later caused the death or transformation of multiple humans?

· Sue continues to be insensitive towards Ben. After shoving a full-face mask/helmet on him, she comments: “Here, Thing, this even makes you look glamourous!” Harsh, Sue, harsh!

· We’re three for three when it comes to flashbacks to the rocket ship flight. Do we really need to be reminded that many times? The teams only been around for three issues!

· Johnny begins the long-standing tradition of a Fantastic Four member saying “Screw this! I’m out of here!” by quitting in the third issue.

· Reed worries “It’s not him I’m worried about…it’s mankind! For what will we do…what can we do, if…if he should turn against us?!!” Calm down, Reed. Johnny’s having a teenage hissy not plotting world domination.

· So, the Miracle Man – skilled hypnotist or possessing actual powers? Time to consult the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: “The Miracle Man possessed superhuman hypnotic powers which enabled him to influence the minds of large masses of people simultaneously. Apparently, he could telepathically plant his hypnotic illusions in the minds of his victims, for they would ‘see’ the illusions without being told what to see. The Miracle Man’s hypnotic powers even worked over television, since people watching the movie premiere on television ‘saw’ the monster model come to life as he had intended the spectators would. The Miracle Man could not use his hypnotic powers without making eye contact with his victims either in person or over the television; hence he could not use his hypnotic powers if he was blinded. The source of the Miracle Man’s hypnotic powers is unknown; possibly he was a mutant.”

· The Handbook doesn’t give a definite answer to my question. If the Miracle Man’s monster was an illusion, I would think he would craft it to be invulnerable or at least fire-proof. The Handbook explains the Miracle Man would later learn to manipulate matter and energy from the Cheemuzwa elders and gained the Darksoul of Daimon Hellstrom! The Miracle Man, real name unknown, would end his life as one of the many victims of Scourge.

· I have to give Marvel credit – they have an easy out origin for any character. Can’t be bothered to come up with a backstory for an individual’s powers – “He’s a mutant!”

· The Miracle Man is my favorite villain of the first three issues. His over-the-top egotistical bravado had me giggling throughout the issue.

#Fantastic Four #Reed Richards #Susan Storm #Susan Richards #Johnny Storm #Ben Grimm #Mole Man #Skrulls #Miracle Man #Monster Island #Human Torch #Thing #Mister Fantastic #Invisible Girl

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Cyberpunk 2077 Review

https://ift.tt/3mI17m9

A preface: Cyberpunk 2077 has had one hell of a rocky release, and it’s almost impossible to play the game while also ignoring the controversy surrounding its disastrous console launch, among other points of contention. That being said, in my time with the game—which I reviewed on PC—I remained focused on assessing the game that was in front of me, period.

Cyberpunk 2077 is without a doubt a mixed bag, though its strengths ultimately outweigh its weaknesses. The game blew my hair back with its immersiveness, art and sound design, staggering scope, and production value (at least on PC). But its shortcomings are just as notable, although never catastrophic or deal-breaking. Gameplay has blemishes all over, the writing is tonally inconsistent, and bugs do mar the experience to a certain extent. This is far from a perfect game in its current state. But in spite of all this, part of me fell in love with the game for its ambition, boldness, and eye-popping presentation.

The story is set in the year 2077 in Night City, a Central California metropolis run by megacorporations, populated by millions of cybernetically-enhanced denizens, and poisoned to the core by deep-seeded corruption and crime. You play as V, a small-time crook who by seedy happenstance befriends another gun-waving lughead named Jackie. Together they take on a big-time heist that goes tragically wrong and results, impossibly, with the personality construct of a decades-deceased rockstar/terrorist named Johnny Silverhand (Keanu Reeves) implanted in V’s brain, chopping his remaining life expectancy down to a sliver. V and Johnny must work together to split their respective consciousnesses and take down the Arasaka corporation, whose borderline-demonic tech brought forth their doomed coexistence.

From this point on, you’re free to explore the city and get into all kinds of trouble. There are a multitude of slimy sleazeballs to meet, complete jobs for, and get into shootouts with, as well as all of the other side tasks you’d expect from an urban open world. You can buy/steal cars and motorbikes and use them to compete in street races, stumble upon police shootouts and join in on the action, or steal copious amounts of money and paraphernalia from warring street gangs. There’s A LOT to see and do in this game—the question is, is any of it fun?

The answer is complicated. In short, my answer is “mostly.” I find Cyberpunk 2077’s gameplay to be problematic at worst and, at best, reasonably fun. If the game didn’t look and sound so good, I don’t think I would have enjoyed the gameplay almost at all. I have yet to tire of playing Cyberpunk 2077, but I think that’s a testament to how much I love the audio-visual presentation and the characters, not the gameplay itself.

Before diving into the gnarled, twisted matter of gameplay, let’s get this out of the way: this game world is one of the greatest I’ve ever seen. Several studios have delivered amazing looking game worlds this year, but Night City is a serious design achievement that the folks at CDPR should be very, very proud of.

Looking up at the looming, almost monumental buildings that shape Night City’s skyline is breathtaking, but it’s what you see when your eyes come back down to street level that impressed me most. Trash bags piled up two stories high, plugging up alleyways with graffiti of cybernetic freaks scrawled across deteriorating walls. The environments are insanely detailed, but they tell a story, too: look up and you see big money, squeaky clean windows, and technological ambition; look down and you see a sea of sufferers, psychologically and physically wounded citizens bled dry in the name of corporate conquest. From a purely cosmetic perspective, the game looks phenomenal, but it’s the artistic intention behind the designs that really makes the visuals sing.

As far as technical prowess is concerned, the game is spectacular provided you have the right machine to run it. Texture quality is insanely high, the environments are absurdly detailed, and the game’s lighting, especially with ray tracing enabled, is incredibly realistic. The atmosphere in this game is as thick as I’ve ever seen, and combined with the game’s pulsating, evocative, synth-based score, it creates a mood that few other titles can rival. Simply taking a walk around Night City and soaking in the sights was my favorite thing to do.

The character models are another high point–from the detail of the models themselves, to the way they move, to the top-notch facial animation, every weirdo you meet in Night City is unique and expressive. An interesting thing I noticed was that during some cutscenes that I found to be banal from a narrative point of view were still captivating to a certain extent simply because the character animation and voice acting were so well done. Some of the writing is a little odd, particularly when characters who are meant to be thugs and grifters speak in an unusually formal tone, but overall, the voice actors and animators do enough to make the dialogue-driven moments engaging.

What I fear won’t be discussed enough about this game is its sound design, which is just as excellent as the graphics. Cyberpunk 2077 embeds you in its world better than any game I’ve played this year, and that sense of immersion can be largely attributed to the finely-tuned symphony of sounds that is constantly being streamed into your ears. From the squeaking of leather couches when you sit in them, to the muffled thuds you hear when you drive over speed bumps, to the way crowds sound in enclosed spaces versus outdoor spaces, the level of detail and care that went into immersing the player is incredible. The three-dimensional sound design actually makes the visuals appear more vivid and tactile than they actually are.

As for the gameplay, I found Cyberpunk 2077’s combat in particular to be clunky and a tad slow. It isn’t broken or imbalanced, but it isn’t snappy enough and there isn’t that x-factor that you find in most great shooters that keeps you obsessively coming back for more. To put it another way, The Witcher 3’s combat was so compelling and entertaining that I happily played that game for over 400 hours largely because of the combat. Cyberpunk 2077’s combat is absolutely not what pulled me through the game for the 60+ hours I played it, and there are many reasons why.

Release Date: Dec. 10, 2020 Platforms: PC (reviewed), PS5, XSX/S, PS4, XBO, Stadia Developer CD Projekt Red Publisher: CD Projekt Genre: Action RPG

Combat is of the typical first-person shooter variety, with both shooting and melee combat supported. There are a slew of weapons to acquire and upgrade via the game’s crafting system, and the weapons all look and sound pretty sweet but are somewhat forgettable, which is a shame for a game boasting such a breadth of artillery. The “iconic” weapons, which you earn at different points throughout the campaign, stand out the most and come with useful perks. But none feel exciting to wield are pack the punch of Doom’s BFG or Half Life’s gravity gun. I did however enjoy the smart targeting feature you can access through a combination of smart weapons and a handy body mod, which allows your bullets to find their target no matter what direction you aim and can save your ass if you’re cornered and hurting behind cover.

Then there are the other two pillars of combat: hacking and stealth. Hacking allows you to wreak havoc on enemy tech to sabotage or distract them long enough to give you an opening to pounce guns-a-blazing. You can frazzle a baddie’s optics while you sneak up behind them, take control of all security cameras on a given network, or turn on a flood light to manipulate enemy movements. The possibilities are innumerable, and it all sounds great on paper.

But in practice the hacking system just isn’t all that fun to use. I was amused for a time, as I got increasingly more creative with how I used my scanner to tag enemies and objects and sabotage them from afar. But after a while this system became tedious because it slows down the action to an absolute crawl, and the tactical aspects of combat just aren’t polished or engaging enough to make up for the pause. In the later hours of my playthrough, I found myself almost always resorting to in-your-face combat because, well, it solved problems more quickly.

Stealth feels even shoddier than hacking, unfortunately. In most missions, there’s a big emphasis on taking your targets out quietly, but for me sneaking around almost always led to bouts of frustrated groans and eye-rolls. For one, enemies’ lines of sight are really difficult to gauge—some will spot you from seemingly a football field away, while others won’t notice you cross a walkway mere feet in front of them. On top of this, the window of opportunity you have to grapple enemies from behind is finicky—I’d be standing right behind a guy ready to grab him when suddenly the “grab” prompt would disappear inexplicably, when neither of us had moved an inch. I’d move in closer to try again and he’d turn around and…you know the rest.

I believe that if the stealth and hacking were more polished and refined, or even de-emphasized to a certain degree, it would free up the shooting to feel a lot more kinetic and exciting. As is, the combat grows old over time, which is a real shame when you think of The Witcher 3’s combat system, which is incredible and only gets sweeter as you play.

Games

Cyberpunk 2077: Every Romance Option in the Game

By Matthew Byrd

Games

Cyberpunk 2077: The Best Cyberware Upgrades

By Matthew Byrd

There is a whole litany of gripes I have with Cyberpunk 2077’s gameplay. The driving—be it on four wheels or two—feels slippery and unwieldy. The menus are an eyesore. Melee combat is atrocious. The “braindances”–investigative crime-reconstruction mini-games–are headache-inducing…I could go on. But there were other aspects of gameplay that I did enjoy, like the streamlined stash mechanic, the flexible crafting system, the number and variety of missions available at any given time, and most of all, the well thought out RPG elements.

The character progression system didn’t immediately strike me as anything special, but the more I played the game and explored the five skill trees (Reflexes, Technical Ability, Body, Cool, Intelligence), I found that the omission of a traditional class system actually makes character progression more fluid and encourages experimentation as opposed to nudging (or shoving) you down a particular path of mastery. Although I didn’t always enjoy enemy encounters, I did feel like the different perks I acquired helped me succeed in combat in ways that were easily measurable. For example, the “Vanishing Point” perk, which increases your evasion stat for seven seconds after you dodge if you’re dual wielding a pistol and revolver, totally changed the way I approached enemies. I quit stealthing for quite a while because darting around with my pistols blaring turned out to be super effective for me.

Generally, I did enjoy Cyberpunk 2077’s story and the fact that it’s more character-based than plot-based. The relationships between the characters take precedence over the machinations of the narrative, and I appreciate that. As in most RPGs, you meet characters and complete various tasks and quests for them, but with Cyberpunk 2077, I felt that the characterizations were so strong that I was actually more compelled to find out how the relationships between V and his supporting characters progressed than I was to collect precious loot at the end of missions.

I found all of the game’s characters to be memorable, which comes as no surprise considering the character work CDPR has done in the past. Rogue nomad Panam can be both compassionate and vicious; the dutiful Goro Takemura is almost comically stoic and serious; Jackie’s tight relationship with his family and friends permeates the game in a poetic way. And Reeves does a fine job as Johnny Silverhand, though his style of voice acting took a bit of getting used to for me, particularly when compared to the rest of the cast.

The nice thing about V’s relationships is that the more you explore the city and the more characters you meet, the more possibilities open up to you in the campaign’s final act. There are a multitude of endings that you can reach, but these outcomes are largely dictated by the people you’ve met and how close you are to them.

What irks me about the game’s last act is how it plays out leading up to the ending. After playing for hours and hours in the beautiful game world that is Night City, I was expecting to be treated to even more imaginative environments and enemy encounters at the game’s conclusion. Without spoiling anything, the final enemy encounters and environments are almost laughably unimaginative and generic, and that was a big letdown.

I indeed experienced bugs during my time with Cyberpunk 2077, but far less than I’ve seen for other platforms online. A couple of crashes and a slew of visual glitches definitely cropped up for me, but they didn’t color my experience nearly as much as the game’s positive traits did, particularly in the visual department. The bugs that bothered me most were the ones that affected the narrative, like when dialogue options would be missing or when characters’ voices would drop out inexplicably. But overall I had a relatively smooth experience that was no more buggy than your typical open world game.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

My relationship to Cyberpunk 2077 is a fraught one. I have so many issues with this game that I couldn’t possibly fit them all into this review. And I have just as many positive things to say. The grandeur of the project is both what I love and hate about it. I do wish CDPR had tightened its focus and worked out some of the game’s more glaring issues before rushing Cyberpunk 2077 out for a holiday release. But at the same time, I deeply respect the scope of the studio’s vision. This is a game with a strong sense of identity, and that’s something that you can’t say about a lot of AAA open-world games these days.

Cyberpunk 2077 is problematic, but ultimately I’m a fan of it in spite of its flaws. And I think in time its flaws will be ironed out and my fandom will only grow.

The post Cyberpunk 2077 Review appeared first on Den of Geek.

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fenweak · 7 years

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Below the cut are 91 fics that feature Jonny and Patrick as creatures that lurk and prey (and snuggle) in the night. From wolfverses to fluffy animal transformations to love/sex magic. I've had such a great time re-reading all of these, as this pairing has been graced by so many amazing authors. Happy reading and happy Halloween!

★ are personal faves

Demons

a dainty dish to set before the king by mockturtletale ★ - demon!Kaner

But then the clocks strike midnight - clocks plural - and that’s weird as fuck, because the year is 2013 and Jonathan Toews doesn’t own any clocks that make that noise. He doesn’t own any clocks that make noise period.

Crossroad Blues by activevirtues- demon!Kaner

In which the demon Patrick Kane gives Jonathan Toews everything he's ever wanted.

Feathers by MJBadger - demon!Kaner, angel!Jonny

Not that Patrick has been snagging many souls or causing much in the way of mischief, lately. He supposes he should go out at some point and play a bit of catch-up. He assumes Jonny's been hanging out on park benches and saving jackasses left and right.

In which Jonny is an angel, and Patrick is a lazy demon.

Sweet and Tender Hooligan (or the post-apocalyptic au) by jezziejay - demon!Kaner

In which Kaner is a daemon of chaos, and Jonny is just trying to hold onto his city. Dystopian universe. Dark. Dark characterisation. A little TW, a litte GoT, and a little Patrick Ness.

Together Burning Bright - demon!Jonny

Four times Jonny tried to eat Patrick's soul, and the one time he couldn't.

The Creek by mullsandmutts - demon!Kaner, angel!Jonny

Jonathan is a literal angel. Patrick is a literal demon (but with a sweet and kind heart -- it's complicated, okay?). They meet where their worlds are divided and existence might never be the same

Going West - not gonna spoil it but i love it

Jonathan finds the boy along the outskirts of a town market, chained to a post. There's a bronze armband clasped tightly on his forearm, winding around it like a snake, and he stares sullenly at the ground, heedless of Jonathan's gaze, while his toe traces patterns in the dust.

"I want him," Jonathan says to the vendor, pointing.

That's a lie.

Constant as a Northern Star - demon-hunter!Jonny, Pat is his safekeeper

The term "preux" was first used in the scripture that would become known as the Treaty of Avignon [signed in 1156, copies of the original - which was destroyed in the Siege of Harfleur in 1418 - are stored in Prague and Trondheim], marking not only the beginning of the working relationship between vampires and preux but also the use of a term to distinguish the preux from ordinary hunters.

(Or: Jonathan is a good fighter (it doesn't get more AU than this), Patrick waits for him,hates it and is a BAMF no matter the circumstances. Sharpy knows everything but doesn'tbetray anyone's secrets. He's a vampire, he has morals.)

Soulless by ice_hot_13 - demon!Jonny

Jonny used to have a soul.

Vampires

where the wild things are series by liketheroad - twilight AU

Seeing Johnny skate, Patrick realizes two things at the same time. One, Johnny is an incredibly gifted, terrifying hockey player, and two, Patrick is completely and irredeemably gay for him. Also, he’s definitely a vampire, but whatever, Patrick doesn’t really give a shit about that part. (Twilight AU)

Provenance by fourfreedoms ★ - vampire!Jonny | sorta sequel here

“I uh, didn’t think it would be done so fast,” Patrick said when he arrived. Jonathan stared at him. “Done? You insult me. A good suit, at a lackluster slapdash minimum, needs three-fittings. You’ll be in here for four, I assure you.”

true blood chatfic by doctor_denmark - vampire!Jonny | not fic but still cute

So, sometimes hockey blogs say that Jonathan Toews's playoff fail-beard makes him look like a "victorian era vampire" (repeatedly), and when this happens, I start telling myself about the True Blood au, where Toews is the first vampire to play in the NHL, and Patrick Kane is the deeply closeted hockey player who falls in love with him. Then horrible enablers let me chat-fic at them for hours, and I end up with about 8,000 words, which is 9 times more than i managed on my thesis today.

I'm putting it here, because the world needs to witness my folly.

nature of the immortal being by Mayhem10 - vampire!Kaner

“Wait,” interrupts Jonathan, finally registering Patrick’s rant. “What exactly are you allergic to?”

Patrick waves dismissively. “You know, the usual.”

(In which Patrick is the worst vampire ever and Jonathan grows his own garlic.)

Sealed With A Kiss - (butt)vampire!Kaner

Five minutes after Coach Q explains to his new team that Patrick is indeed a supernatural creature of the night, he’s hustled into the corridor by his cute as hell new captain.

“An ass-eating vampire?” Jonathan asks.

“It’s not like I had a choice,” Patrick says, defensively.

bloodlust - vampire!Kaner

One Time Patrick Kane Didn’t Drink From Jonathan Toews and Five Times He Did (also known as Vampire Kaner)

so say, what are you waiting for? by nuuclears - vamp!Jonny

“But are you even into this?” Patrick asks, biting his lip at how vulnerable it comes out.

Jonny straightens up fully and stares at him, hands full of gatorade bottles forgotten at his sides. “Kaner, it’s blood,” Jonny tells him incredulously, and ok, a valid point, Patrick does have some idea of how vampires get about blood, but still. It’s not like they’re just drinking from everyone either.

“And,” Jonny says, and blows out a harsh breath of air that he doesn’t even need. “And it’s you,” he admits, like it costs him something.

vampire!kaner AU by allthebros

He comes back to himself with Jonny’s blood in his mouth.

Werewolves

All Practise and No Play by james - were!Kaner

Sometimes Tazer thinks it's like herding puppies. Actually, no, he thinks that all the time.

by the throat by liketheroad

The one where they're werewolves growing up in Manitoba.

Catalyst - were!Jonny

Full moon’s coming.

It’s about a week out, but even if they didn’t all keep a careful calendar of it, Patrick would know it just by looking at Johnny. Patrick’s known a few werewolves before, some distant family, and Johnny’s got all the hypervigilant aggression he’s used to seeing from them, but what they direct at others—bristling when people get too close, snapping when they’re provoked, showing teeth—Johnny turns inward.

fight or run, you're just getting older (podfic available by AshesandGhost) - were!Kaner

Contrary to popular belief, weres don't actually need alphas. Patrick never had one, since he's the only person in his family with the gene, and his parents didn't push him into finding one. Alphas make their betas better; they keep them calm and level, they support them, they guide them. Without an alpha, betas are perfectly fine. They're just better with one.

Instincts (podfic available by exmanhater)

They don’t talk about what happens during the moon; and they don’t talk about how Patrick drives over sometimes to curl up on the couch and put his head in Johnny’s lap, jittery all over until he gets the anchoring weight of Johnny’s hand on the back of his neck; and they don’t talk about how Johnny calls him some nights and says, “Come over,” and Patrick does, because Johnny’s head is pounding with the need to get Patrick where he can see him, breathe in the scent of him, know he’s there and well. If they don’t talk about it they can just keep having whatever they need from each other; and that’s what they’ll do, because Johnny is Patrick’s alpha and Patrick needs him to be that for him.

For Johnny, it’s always been more.

I've Got A Feeling (I Hope You're Feeling It Too) by aohatsu - highschool werewolves AU!

When Patrick met Jonny for the first time, it was because they'd both just been picked for the same hockey team. When Patrick netted his first goal during practice, Jonny skated over to give him a congratulatory hug and, well, it's not like he didn't sometimes shift on accident, when he was excited or happy, but it hadn't happened at practice in ages.

Not Passive but Aggressive by reserve

Patrick Kane is a shitty werewolf; Jonathan Toews loves him anyway.

sun sweet berries of the earth series by gasmsinc - were!jonny, forest spirit!kaner

There is a spirit living in Patrick State Park.

“Listen,” says Jonny. “I didn’t mean to step on your crown.”

The spirit’s bottom lip wobbles.

What If The Storm Ends ★

Here’s how it goes: Pat was out at a club, got bitten by a wolf—wtf?—got yelled at by Abby Sharp, woke up naked on her kitchen table, spent the day hiding in an IHOP, played the most aggressive game of hockey in his career and got mob-bossed off the ice by Sidney Crosby who, for the record, was surprisingly terrifying.

That was Tuesday.

wolf like me by gasmsinc ★ - were!Jonny

When Patrick had imagined his eighteenth birth year celebrations, he hadn’t imagined them taking place in a fortress a thousand miles away from home, surrounded by a people who were only his by marriage, while sitting next to a husband he barely knew.

He had imagined celebrating in Paelford Castle, right there in the great hall where his family had held every celebration, surrounded by the servants and nobles he had known his entire life, his parents and sisters on either side of him. He hadn’t imagined celebrating his eighteenth birth year on his wedding day, either.

Wolfverse by linsky - were!Patrick

Patrick has two goals for himself when he comes to Chicago: Win the Stanley Cup. And don’t let anyone find out he’s a wolf.

Ghost

Transcendence by ice_hot_13 - ghost!Jonny

Jonny shows up at midnight to play at the rink, and Patrick doesn't know who he is, what he's doing, or how the hell he even gets into the building, but Patrick still can't stay away.

If You Like It, Then You Should've Put A Ring On It - stepquietly

Tazer haunts Patrick through his TV and keeps threatening to kill him. And Kaner makes jokes about how Tazer lives at the bottom of a well and still uses a VCR. (The Ring AU crack!fic)

feel your heart beating as clearly as my own - ghost!Jonny

[He still doesn't get enough sleep most nights, and even though Jonny's there, he's notreally there, and he spends a lot of time sitting on the couch staring out the window,Jonny's hand clenched around his, like he's not sure what else to do.]

Jonny dies. Then he starts bothering Patrick.

the ghost & mr. kane - ghost!Jonny

"Uh," he starts. "You--if you're robbing me, you're not doing a great job of it."

"I'm not--I live here!"

"No you don't," says Patrick, dumb. "I live here."

"Yeah, I'm--I'm--I do too."

It snaps together for Patrick, suddenly--the guy's weird muttonchops, his suit, the way he disappeared and reappeared. "You're my ghost?" he asks. Just for confirmation, you know.

"Yes," his ghost says, glowering and still rusty-voiced.

as the ominous others

defrost, debauch, destroy by psocoptera (podfic by exmanhater) ★ - ???

Beneath the ice, dread things lie dreaming. Or listening to One Direction, whatever.

thy hair soft-lifed by the winnowng wind by forochel ★ - leprechaun!Kaner

He made sure to lay out two saucers, one of spiked milk and one of pure whisky, that night; it was the closest to an apology he could think of.

Anatomy of a Hybrid series by maccabird_23 (abandoned WIP) - magical hybrid AU

Professional sports were chock-full of wolf and dragon hybrids; littered with adept humans but lean on the fairer hybrid. Most elves stayed to the more delicate athletics. Ballet and figure skating being the few sports they excelled at. Elves definitely didn’t play hockey. + Pat was many things but dumb wasn’t one of them. He knew how his teammates looked at him when he got worked up or even worst, turned on. He felt it deep in his gut and couldn’t control as the excitement, anger or arousal blossomed on his skin. Sparks of red and blue taking off from the tips of his pointy ears when he was happy. Deep reds gathering like coal along his scales when he was upset. His lips turning blistering silver before settling on frostbite red whenever he looked at Jonny.

bare those teeth to me please, man-eater - selkie!Jonny

the one where johnny is a selkie, and patrick is the fisherman's son who loves him.

1988 selkie AU by allthebros - selkie!Jonny

They never give their skin willingly, his grandpa told him. You gotta either steal it and hide it away where they can’t find it, cause, believe it, first chance they got, they’re gone–doesn’t matter if they love you or if they have kids, they love and want the sea more. Or you gotta let them have their skin and let them go once the tryst is over. They don’t stay land-locked by choice, though they can still be happy and love like we do.

Patrick’s grandpa was a wise man, which is why it takes him more than a moment to understand what Jonathan is saying. “Take it, Patrick,” he repeats, his seal-skin all folded up between his strong hands. “I wanna stay.”

But You're So Magnetic by forochel - veela!Kaner

Kaner comes into his veela heritage on his 24th birthday. Shenanigans and surprise feelings ensue.

call it magic by thundersquall ★ - faerie!Patrick

“It’s the faerie blood in me,” Patrick explains.

Jonny is just not equipped to deal with this shit.

OR, on March 17, Patrick turns into a faerie.

(Can't Help) Faun'in in Love by Miss_Psychotic - faun!Kaner

When Jonathan is 12, he meets a boy named Kaner.

Crest and Break by hatrickane - mer!Kaner

Kaner’s life in the deep is more than fulfilling - even despite his fascination with the fisherman who floats on the surface. He knows he has to keep his obsession a secret from the other Merfolk - but no banishment, magic, or legend is going keep him from getting closer to those kind eyes.

Friend Like Me by hatrickane ★ - genie!Jonny

It wasn’t as beautiful as most oil lamps, Patrick surmised. It was a little stained, the ceramic chipped in places, but a meticulously crafted leaf sat nestled at the open mouth and Kaner dragged his fingertips over it.

It was warm, and he wanted it. Even without knowing what was inside.

First Frost by SimoneClouseau ★ - faerie (unseelie!Jonny)

When he makes it to the party they ask him where he disappeared to an hour ago and Patrick stares back at them.

“What do you mean an hour?” he says. “It’s been ten minutes.”

Sharpy starts laughing. “Fine, don’t tell us.”

Patrick thinks maybe, just maybe, he’s going insane.

Patrick ends up somewhere he shouldn't be, and Jonathan is forced to claim him to save his life.

I want to meet the kind of folks I've never met by pistol_red - mer!Jonny

In which Johnny is tangled in a net and Patrick is the merman who saves him.

kiss the boy by gasmsinc - mer!kaner

The fish’s head is submerged completely under water. The only thing sticking out is the curve of its back, but Jonny can finally see why it’s stuck: there’s a fishing net hooked on a part of the rock.

It’s then that the fish decides to move again. Its tail thrashes back and forth wildly, and in its panic the fish bangs its broken fin right into the rock. A series of air bubbles pop up to Jonny’s right, but he doesn’t have time to acknowledge how weird that is, because three seconds after the bubbles, a boy’s head pops out of the water.

Jonny yells.

My Heart's in the Sea - Samantha_Holmes - mer!Jonny

When a mermaid named Jonathan saves a prince named Patrick from drowning, little did they know that their lives would be intertwined forever.

Animal Transformations

After Forever After by hockeyhawk ★ - angry frog!Jonny

One moment there was a captain. Next moment there was a frog. Someone has to step up, apparently it's Kaner.

The Hedgehog Can Never Be Buggered At All by forochel - hedgehog kaner

It’s a little known fact that the Kane family are in possession of a genetic quirk — an x-linked recessive gene — that basically boils down to this: Kaner turns into a hedgehog one day and gets stuck.

An Experiment In Hedgehog Physics by exmanhater - hedgehog!Kaner

Hedgehog!Kaner has the best ideas.

Hedgehog!Kaner series by altri_uccelli ★ - hedgehog!Kaner

Uhhhh, hedgehog Kaner in Switzerland.

Jon brings him up to his neck, cuddling him against the skin of his throat. He’s always done that, way back before everything. Even though it prickles, even though it gives him a light rash sometimes, he just likes Kaner there.

“Been awhile,” he whispers again.

+ A collection of ficlets and tagfic in the hedgehog!Kaner 'verse.

Better Off With You by tictactoews - hedgehog!Jonny

Tazer has always seemed prickly on the outside, but he takes it to a whole new level when he turns into an actual hedgehog and becomes dependent on Patrick's care.

Changing on the Fly by mermaid - pitbull!Kaner

"Where's Kaner?" Jonny asks. "Where did this pit bull come from?" Duncs chews on his lip. "Uh, see, there's actually only one answer to both those questions."

Still muzzy with sleep, Jonny blinks at the guys. "So, like – Kaner got me a dog? And sent you two here to deliver it?"

"No," Sharpy says. "No, Kaner is the dog."

Duck Tales - duck!Jonny

“I think he needs floaties.”

Patrick resists the strong urge he gets to slam his head against the wall. “Kaner. He’s aduck; I don’t think they make floaties for them. What kind of duck can’t swim?”

“The kind that are magically transformed hockey players?” Kaner suggests and damn it, hehas a point.

Gone to the Dogs - puppy!Jonny

Jonathan Toews turns into a puppy. Then some other stuff happens.

Hooked on a Feeling (podfic available by exmanhater) - pug!Jonny

The one where Patrick is not exactly Bella Swan and Jonathan is definitely not Sparkly Whatshisname.

OR, THE WERE-PUG AU.

Into Each Life Some Rain Will Fall Like Cat Piss on Your Shoes by james - cat!Kaner

Johnny is waiting for Patrick to get home from Switzerland. What he gets is a surprise.

Slip the Jesses, My Love by flitterflutterfly - literally a hawk!Jonny

Jonny’s gets turned into a hawk and the only one he lets hold him is Patrick

The Cat Crept In by Celly1995 - kitten!kaner

Jonny's not entirely sure why he needed to get back to Chicago so urgently, because he *definitely* doesn't want to admit to himself that he's missing Patrick. But it's just as well he did come home, because Patrick's... not himself.

the skies are not cloudy - buffalo!Jonny

In which Jonathan Toews can turn into a buffalo, and Patrick Kane is the idiot in love with him.

Through the Looking Glass - puppy!Jonny, kitten!Kaner

The fic where Tazer becomes a puppy and Kaner turns into a kitten, but Sharpy still doesn't see any difference in how they behave.

To push a frozen rope - kitten!Kaner

It's just another day in the Blackhawks locker room when Patrick Kane decides to turn into a puppy.

you come around and the armor falls by altri_uccelli - puppy!Jonny

Patrick's in bed when he hears it, and at first it sounds like a peep that a phone might make, but then it happens again, elongated like a whine. His only theory is that it's a mouse, caught somewhere, and if Jonny's going to make a nuisance of himself by staying when he's not invited, he can damn well take care of this.

Bonus: IGAL 'verse by svmadelyn has an amazing tumblr tag that has ficlets and tag!fics with puppy!Tazer and doggo kids. Warning cuteness overload

Love & Sex & Magic

#1 Crush - sex magic

Patrick shows up at his and Jonny's hotel room under the influence of sex magic. 5000 words of porn ensues.

caring is creepy by liketheroad ★ - truth magic

When he gets out of the shower Johnny stares at him like Kaner’s the best thing he’s ever seen, which weirds Kaner out even more than the rest of this situation, because what, not even Johnny’s eyes can lie, now? This is some fucked up shit. Fucking Canucks fans, seriously.

In which Tazer is truth whammied by a Canucks fan and it turns out he has a lot of feelings. Mostly about Kaner. But also about bacon.

Changing the Rules of the Game by Herwhereabouts - magic powers

Tazer has a concussion and is desperate to get better, while Kaner has healing powers he is unaware he possesses. Much drama ensues.

still into you by altri_uccelli - gender transformation

It's not even 12 hours after Jonny discovers he's a girl that he's sprawled on an itchy sofa, biting on his fist and being eaten out by Patrick Kane. He can't believe that a day exists in which having oral sex with Kaner, his oldest friend on the team and frequently a pain in his ass, is not the weirdest thing to happen.

A Handy Guide To Making You Feel Good by fourfreedoms and joyfulseeker - gender transformation

When it had first happened, body melting into this new form right there in front of all the guys, he’d demanded an answer from Jonny. “Did you see this coming?” A five first times fic.

+ “Um…” Patrick says, staring at the water beading down over the curve of one breast and along his taut stomach.

“What?” Jonny asks, furrowing his brows.

Patrick finally gets the chance to lend a helping hand.

Hanging on a Moment of Truth - sex magic

As it turns out, the weird sex magic is the least of Kaner's problems.

i mingle with divinity by mockturtletale - lucky sex magic

“Hey,” Patrick says, putting his hand on Jonny’s thigh, feeling giving, “It’s totally us. You and me, we’re golden when our boners touch. It’s just what happens after that’s unnatural or whatever.”

roving eye ravenous by toomanyhometowns ★ - possession

He opened his mouth to start talking and blinked.

So Deep in My Heart (That You're Really a Part of Me) by kiwoa - bodyswap

"No way," Jonny says, and he slowly turns his - Kaner's - head from side to side, watching the muscles in his face and neck shift. He licks his lips; it tastes wrong. His left wrist feels too stiff and his legs and stomach look too skinny and his hair still itches, damnit. Jonny scratches the back of his neck with nails that are too long and uncomfortably ragged.

"Okay," he says slowly. "Okay, this is not good."

Symptomatic by snapple_jax - sex magic

“What, like it’s hard?” Jonny parrots along with Elle Woods. He side-eyes Patrick, fully prepared for the gleeful chirp about how he knew Jonny loved this movie all along.

Only Pat’s turned an alarming shade of red before scurrying to the bathroom, blanket trailing behind since he couldn’t untangle himself fast enough.

the gift of obedience - obedience magic

Patrick will be fine without Jonny. Really. All he has to do is track down Lucinda and get her to break the spell. He doesn’t even have to liberate an oppressed magical species or find true love along the way.

The Hug Offensive by ingenius - magic powers

When he's five, Patrick figures out that he has a super power. He thinks it's awesome.

under your skin by hazel - bodyswap

Patrick goes to bed that night in Tazer’s guest room. It’s not the first time he’s slept there, but it’s the first time he’s tried to sleep in Tazer’s body. His legs want to kick out weirdly into the corners of the bed, and his head can’t find a comfortable position on the pillow. He drops off eventually anyway, worn from the current of rage he’s been carrying around all day and the constant slow rhythm of Tazer’s heartbeat, drumming in his chest like a cage.

yours and/or mine by demotu - bodyswap

Jonny shows Patrick how it works. And by "it", I mean his dick. Jonny's, but temporarily Patrick's.

love is a contact sport by hazel and mermaid ★ - soul bond

"And the tragic reality of Patrick's life is that even though they broke up over a year ago, he and Johnny still play beautiful hockey together."

A high school AU, featuring dream-fish, bad movie dates, and a little bit of magic.

glory days by liketheroad - soul bond

He never expected his destiny to involve anything but hockey, never thought it would show up in flip flops, but when Patrick smiles at him across the locker room, quick and surprised, Johnny lets his priorities shift and change without a hint of reluctance or regret.

22 by aohatsu ★- soulmate

There’s no other explanation. His soulmate must have turned twenty-two yesterday.

more magical Realism and fantasy

say it with flowers by hazel ★

GOOD WORK, YOUNG HAWK, the oak tree outside his building booms once the season’s over, and Patrick smiles sleepily in its direction.

He's never been sure how the trees of Chicago know about hockey—trees hear a lot, but it's not like he's ever stopped in a public park to ask one about it.

The Purity Myth by downjune ★

Patrick Kane is a unicorn—the ferocious, foul-mouthed, man-hating kind.

these are the fables on my street by Fahye ★

Patrick makes a fucking superhuman effort, sweeps up the mess of his emotions, and stashes his incipient freakout about all of this somewhere in the back of his mind where he can have it later. When Jonny's back in the driver's seat, and Patrick's had a chance to bring up the whole blowjobs-and-beach-walks issue. Focused on the win, that's Patrick Kane.

Custos by hatrickane

The legend goes as this: The Sorcerer of Mount Custos, the guardian, serves as the protector of the farmfolk.

Patrick thinks it's bullshit.

I have as much soul as you (and full as much heart) by Mayhem10

Jonathan Toews was born with only half a heart. He didn't know that the other half existed, let alone that it was held by some irritating American named Patrick Kane.

A Magical Realism AU

May your past be the sound by elareine

After that, Jonny set some rules for himself.

1. No using his power for himself. That just looked like a slippery slope to him. Helping others was fine, though. 2. Consequently, no manipulating the outcome of a game, no matter how badly he wished to change the way he’d played. That would be unfair and undermine any victories. 3. No relationships with teammates. Not related to the time travel thing, but important enough to include in this list. Just because he could turn back time didn’t mean he had to create any more opportunities for a giant clusterfuck than necessary.

(Five times Jonny travelled back in time, one time he couldn't, and one time he chose not to.)

Like a Leaf That's Caught In the Tide by Frosting50

For more than 200 years the Toews men have been blamed for everything that’s ever gone wrong in the town of Pumpkin Hollow. Or the Practical Magic AU no one asked for.

bring it if you really want it by staraflur

It starts like this:

Well, okay, Patrick has no idea how it actually starts. But as pertains to him (in other words, the important part), it goes a little something like so: America, being a nation composed in large part of a melting pot of immigrants who may or may not have taken over land already owned by others using less-than-savory means, doesn’t have much of a magical national identity. Much less a magical continental identity. There’s no grand heritage going back thousands of years. Magical families home-schooled all their kids until, like, the 1800’s, and tough for the muggle-born, apparently. Hopefully you got noticed by someone who knew what to do with you before you got burned at the stake. Since you probably can’t control your powers, sport.

forget met (not) by hippietoews

“You're remembering him, aren't you?" Pat asks. Jon hums quietly.

After the battle with Pitch, Jon never talked about his memories. He didn't share anything about his previous life with the other Guardians. He knows that they have memories of their own previous lives, but they seem so unattached to them now.

Who they are now is what matters.

Long Way Home by tictactoews

Jonathan Toews is a young heir to the Winnipeg castle and estate, but this comfortable and sheltered life is not what he really wants. When circumstances force him to join a group of Grey Wardens - warriors dedicated to defend the world against monstrous enemies - Jonathan finds a new life and new friends, including two runaways from the neighboring country of Orlais, an old friend who's now back in his life, and a rogue elf who will come to mean more to Jonathan than he ever expected anyone could.

Dragon Age AU. No prior knowledge of the game necessary to read this story.Spoilers (if any) for Origins and Awakening.No spoilers for Inquisition.

the times i spent with you

"Pat plays Quidditch because not playing feels like dying. It's just that simple." Quidditch AU

through the mirrored maze

Jonathan's relationship with his daemon is different from anyone else's.

together again for the very first time by draftingletters

Like, seriously, this is the great fucking irony of Kaner’s life. You’d think it’d be pretty awesome, having powers of prophecy and all that, but all the dreams that end up coming true are so hideously fucking boring. It’s the perfectly natural normal dreams his brain spits out that are fucked up. The kind where he plays for the Ducks, or is a professional florist, or a neon green elephant. Or banging Tazer.

the walls kept tumbling down (in the city that we loved) series by altri_uccelli

“Patrick wonders idly what Toews' daemon is; something like a python, maybe, or a bird of prey. It would just figure if it were a hawk, Patrick thinks in disgust; he's already starting to hate Toews a little so he tries to dial it back. Then he notices a big cat—some kind of, like, mountain lion—sitting well apart from the other daemons. It's watching the ice intently, and if Patrick had anyone to bet with, he knows where he'd put his money.”

+ fighting dragon remix ★ by altri_uccelli

A month ago, Jon thinks: a month ago he hadn't even heard of daemons, hadn't yet had his life turned upside down by a talking otter and a boy with dimples and the smoothest skin he'd ever touched and secrets held close behind long-lashed blue eyes.

world enough and time

The effect is instantaneous: Jonathan jerks forwards, gasping, and over the white-noise screaming his eyes are wide and frightened and fiercely alive. In that instant Patrick thinks, clear as a bell, god, he’s gorgeous. Fuck. (A Pushing Daisies AU.)

For fic inquires. Rec me a fic? Happy reading!

#patrick kane #kaner #jonathan toews #1988 #kane/toews #fic rec

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aiweirdness · 7 years

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The neural network will name your next band

An important part of starting a new band is choosing an appropriate name. It is crucial that the name be unique, or you could risk at best confusion, and at worst an expensive lawsuit.

The neural network is here to help.

Prof. Mark Riedl of Georgia Tech, who recently provided the world a dataset of all the stories with plot summaries on Wikipedia, (enabling this post on neural net story names) now used his Wikipedia-extraction skills to produce a list of all the bands with listed discographies - about 84,000 in all.

I gave the list to the Char-rnn neural network framework, and it was soon producing unique band names for a variety of genres. Below are examples of its output at various temperature (i.e. creativity) settings.

Temperature 1.1

This is about as high as the creativity setting can go before most of the band names are unpronounceable jumbles. These are some fine band names, highly suitable for whatever the heck their genres are supposed to be.

Spice Green Robinson Gloome Schronnana Boofpas The Freights Nighty Daggers The Loveburners of Internal Watch Foxettes Ratimot Secret singer band The Dougloco The Theps Choconard Leach Rhoudemsquat Terrerssky? Flemz Mighty Chipping Baker Bop Gray (band)

Temperature 1.0

With the creativity turned down a bit, the band names are still weird, but a bit more plausible. Their genres can sometimes be identified.

For example, I think these are probably traditional Irish bands?

The Durks of Audun Green Sherry of Shinking Feavan The Shurping Laudst

And these might work as metal bands:

Rabidass (band) Killerlet (musician) Brokin's Killer Flish Lipe Supervillin Girl Dead

These are perhaps a bit less scrutable.

Dr Overhard The Arce (band) The Tree Misters Reilling Ef (rapper) Flim Brothers Ching Mage Nan Edwards (folk singer) Nittle Bizzy The Dinlakoposseps Skins of Space Michael Porker The Lost singers The Nutlet Band The Rogue Orchestra The Fuman.A.I.((band) Vervoly Brown (urtist) Boohalloid (group) The Ballening Birds Lice Stepley

Temperature 0.9

With the creativity turned down a notch further, the band names become even more plausible. You could probably convince me that these exist.

No Andrew Newson Fuzion (band) The Wurfywinders Clay Fights Berry Stitcher Something Rothers The Awl The Thingsons Switch's Rich Lug Pond Billy The Hums (band) Northern Prince (Indian band) Staff Killer

Temperature 0.6

Turn the creativity down another notch, and we start to edge toward the neural network’s idea of the most quintessential band names. Note that they’re still pretty weird.

Dub Arts Sheet Rose Heart Coil Elliot Horse Big Love The Mothers (band) The Time Stars Hulls of Girls Sucken (band) Electric Sing Show The Pans Symphony No. 3 (Dinish band) Hell Staple (band) Peter Parker Bad Head The Out Cookers Flower Shankar The Hat Coles

Temperature 0.3

Now at a creativity setting of only 0.3, almost all the band names are variations on “The [Noun]”.

The Shines The Deaths The Dance (band) The Livers (band) The Stone Choir The Shake Man (band)

Another strange thing happens, which is that the proportion of sharks goes way, way up. Apparently the neural network thinks that if you’re going to name a band, you can’t go wrong with sharks.

Johnny Shark The Shark Charles Shark Rander The Shark (band) Nicole Shark Shark Gordon Shark Taylor (musician) The Shark Singers Tony Shark

Temperature 0.01

And now we come to the lowest temperature setting, where the neural network’s output consists of the most-quintessential band name, repeated over and over. Throughout most of the training process, this name was “The Stars” and occasionally “The Brothers”, but there was one generation where the neural network repeatedly insisted that there was nothing… nothing more fundamental to music than the banjo-playing skills of:

Steve Martin (musician) Steve Martin (musician) Steve Martin (musician) Steve Martin (musician) Steve Martin (musician) Steve Martin (musician) Steve Martin (musician) Steve Martin (musician)

#neural networks #char-rnn #band names #sharks #steve martin

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eclecticmooncake · 6 years

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Jordan's (and my) personality

MEDIATOR PERSONALITY (INFP, -A/-T)

Mediator personalities are true idealists, always looking for the hint of good in even the worst of people and events, searching for ways to make things better. While they may be perceived as calm, reserved, or even shy, Mediators have an inner flame and passion that can truly shine. Comprising just 4% of the population, the risk of feeling misunderstood is unfortunately high for the Mediator personality type – but when they find like-minded people to spend their time with, the harmony they feel will be a fountain of joy and inspiration.

Being a part of the Diplomat Role group, Mediators are guided by their principles, rather than by logic (Analysts), excitement (Explorers), or practicality (Sentinels). When deciding how to move forward, they will look to honor, beauty, morality and virtue – Mediators are led by the purity of their intent, not rewards and punishments. People who share the Mediator personality type are proud of this quality, and rightly so, but not everyone understands the drive behind these feelings, and it can lead to isolation.

All that is gold does not glitter; not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither; deep roots are not reached by the frost.

J. R. R. Tolkien

We Know What We Are, but Know Not What We May Be

At their best, these qualities enable Mediators to communicate deeply with others, easily speaking in metaphors and parables, and understanding and creating symbols to share their ideas. Fantasy worlds in particular fascinate Mediators, more than any other personality type. The strength of their visionary communication style lends itself well to creative works, and it comes as no surprise that many famous Mediators are poets, writers and actors. Understanding themselves and their place in the world is important to Mediators, and they explore these ideas by projecting themselves into their work.

Mediators have a talent for self-expression, revealing their beauty and their secrets through metaphors and fictional characters.

Mediators’ ability with language doesn’t stop with their native tongue, either – as with most people who share the Diplomat personality types, they are considered gifted when it comes to learning a second (or third!) language. Their gift for communication also lends itself well to Mediators’ desire for harmony, a recurring theme with Diplomats, and helps them to move forward as they find their calling.

Listen to Many People, but Talk to Few

Unlike their Extraverted cousins though, Mediators will focus their attention on just a few people, a single worthy cause – spread too thinly, they’ll run out of energy, and even become dejected and overwhelmed by all the bad in the world that they can’t fix. This is a sad sight for Mediators’ friends, who will come to depend on their rosy outlook.

If they are not careful, Mediators can lose themselves in their quest for good and neglect the day-to-day upkeep that life demands. Mediators often drift into deep thought, enjoying contemplating the hypothetical and the philosophical more than any other personality type. Left unchecked, Mediators may start to lose touch, withdrawing into “hermit mode”, and it can take a great deal of energy from their friends or partner to bring them back to the real world.

Luckily, like the flowers in spring, Mediator’s affection, creativity, altruism and idealism will always come back, rewarding them and those they love perhaps not with logic and utility, but with a world view that inspires compassion, kindness and beauty wherever they go.

Mediators You May Know

William Shakespeare

J.R.R. Tolkien

Björk

Johnny Depp

Julia Roberts

Lisa Kudrow

Tom Hiddleston

Alicia Keys

Frodo Baggins- The Lord of the Rings

Anne- Anne of Green Gables

Fox Mulder- X-Files

Amélie Poulain- Amélie

Arwen- The Lord of the Rings

Sybil Branson- Downton Abbey

Lance Sweets- Bones

Konstantin Levin- Anna Karenina

#it's me #like wow #and jordan #her too #one in the same #oc rp

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ramialkarmi · 6 years

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Fender is filling the biggest gap in its product lineup with a new range of effects pedals

Fender does some of the most iconic guitars and amps in the world, but the California-based company has never been big in effects pedals.

Effects are an important market now for modern players.

Fender has rolled out a lineup of six pedals that were carefully designed and feature several innovations.

I got to try them out and was initially impressed.

The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is perhaps the best-known guitar brand in the world. At some point or another, musicians will encounter its iconic electric guitars and amplifiers and fans will hear those Telecasters and Stratocasters played through Hot Rod Deluxes and Princeton Reverbs in rock, jazz, country, funk, blues, and R&B.

Much of that classic Fender gear has been around for decades, ever since Leo Fender invented the modern solid-body electric guitar in 1950. The amps are the gold standard of the old-school, all-tube approach, a technology that goes back over a century. As the decades have come and gone, however, the conspicuously missing product for Fender has been effects pedals.

The absence has either been glaring or understandable, depending on your point of view. Jimi Hendrix wielded a Stratocaster but piped his sounds through effects pedals (a wah unit and a fuzzed-out distortion box) that didn't come from Fender.

That pattern — legendary musicians, legendary Fender guitars and amps, somebody else's pedals — has continued right up the present. It's common for a player, professional or amateur, to have an all-Fender rig, right down to his or her picks and straps, but a pedalboard crammed with effects from a wide range of manufacturing, some major-league and some exotic or boutique.

Fender has at times entered the pedal game, but never with as much enthusiasm as, say, Boss, whose numerous pedals can occupy all the real estate on a guitarist's board. That's now officially changing as Fender is rolling out a new lineup of pedals, intended to ensure that if a guitarist wants to go all-Fender, they can. (And even if they play a Gibson Les Paul through a Marshall amp, they can drop a little bit of Fender into that classic relationship.)

The missing link

"We offer high-quality versatile guitars, the essence of what Leo Fender invented," Fender CEO Andy Mooney told me. "And high-quality tube amps. What's been missing is everything else in between."

They aren't missing anymore. Fender is coming in heavy, with six new pedals. Mooney explained that four are must-haves — delay, reverb, overdrive, and distortion — while two are unexpected, a compressor unit and a buffer.

I got to dive into the entire lineup at a media event that Fender held in February (I'll get to a proper review later). I'm basically a (not very good) guitar-amp player, with only one pedal, a footswitch that allows me to alternate clean and "dirty" tones, using the amp itself as my equalizer and effects rig (it's a digital Marshall, 50 watts, with some built-in effects). But fooling around with pedals, as any player will tell you, is a lot of fun. It's an addictive and affordable way to shake up your sound.

Solid, innovative pedals, designed to be uniquely Fender

The Fender pedals are, for starters, rock solid — they stomp with a surefooted click. The design is colorful, yet minimalist, with the main nod to Fender aesthetics being a jeweled LED that lights up when the pedal is engaged. Each pedal is crafted from anodized aluminum, in colors that are bright yet not obnoxious. The names are cool but not technical, nor are they beset with the at-times NSFW double entendres that characterize some famous, hipster pedals.

Knobs are LED-backlit so you can see settings in the dark, and for players who favor batteries over a separate power source, Fender developed a quick-change magnetically latched nine-volt door (and applied for a patent on it!).

The Pugilist distortion box and the Santa Ana overdrive were my favorites, predictably, enabling a little or a lot of each effect, with ample room to maneuver in between. The Mirror Image delay was also impressive, and the Marine Layer reverb helped to match what I charitably consider to be my "tone," a mix of moderate distortion, light delay, and a touch of reverb.

Mooney — a self-confessed pedal geek whose favorite guitarist is Johnny Marr — knows that coming back to this category after a few weak efforts in the past (the best-known probably being the Fender Blender fuzz box of the 1970s) is a risk. But it's worth it. The success of players such as Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, demonstrates that while simple, pedal-free, straight-ahead playing is fine for purists, many younger musicians like to carefully sculpt their sounds, while others treat the guitar like a six-stringed synthesizer.

Fender already has the traditionalists in its camp. Give me a Telecaster and a Pro Junior amp and I'll be pretty happy. But Mooney's goal is to grow Fender's business without betraying the loyalists. Pedals are a good opportunity because, as Mooney told me, they aren't a massive investment. For $100, a player can renew their relationship with their instrument. When Mooney became CEO of Fender in 2015, he realized that the company had a pedal problem.

A risk for Fender — but worth it

But he also noted that the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that "every single product that a company introduces is a deposit or withdrawal from the bank of brand equity." (Mooney saw Jobs in action firsthand when he was at Disney and Jobs was running Pixar.)

"I didn't feel that pedals were represented," he said, pointing out that longtime Fender user Edge of U2 had never put a Fender pedal in his rig (obviously, there weren't that many to choose from).

But Mooney didn't want to do Fender pedals simply to do pedals.

"We wanted to treat the category as seriously as guitars," he said.

Luckily, in Fender designer and resident mad-scientist Stan Cotey, Mooney had a guy who had been brainstorming pedals all on his own (Cotey, a 12-year Fender veteran and lifelong guitarist, developed a signature amp for no less a demanding talent than Eric Clapton).

"The pedals space is really crowded, with great companies doing great work," Cotey said. "So a pedal has to have a reason to live."

Cotey had been working on pedals as a sort of hobby, creating boxes and sharing them with fellow musicians for feedback. When he later heard that Fender was looking to move into the category, he talked to the executive team and developed a plan.

"We thought of it as a line," he said. "We didn't want to make it Fender's version of this or that."

Two pedals especially for gigging musicians

People at Fender are in many cases serious musicians themselves, and because the company's equipment is so widely used by the top acts in the industry, the pedal effort benefitted from a wealth of experience. Cotey had clear ideas about what the company should do with the meat-and-potatoes pedals to make them both stand out and be uniquely useful. But he also knew why it made sense to include The Bends compressor and the Level Set buffer in the first half-dozen pedals.

Both pedals are aimed at a performance-setting. The compressor flattens tone and curtails volume fluctuations, while the buffer makes it easier to switch guitars without having to reset an entire board. They're workhorse pedals that can sit at the front of a signal chain, and they're both small, so they don't take up much pedalboard real estate.

None of Fender's new pedals are nutty or extreme. The idea was to provide players with very high-quality effects, leaving the more extreme sounds to the boutique market. In this sense, Fender will be looking to compete with Boss and MXR, rather than some of the loonier pedals that have established cult followings. The pricing reflects that: $99-$199.

"We want to earn our stripes," Mooney said. Not that Fender won't be making considerable use of artists who are associated with the brand.

He said that signature pedals could be coming. Fender will also send out full boards to players to sample, both for evaluation and for word-of-mouth buzz.

"We're going to rise or fall by the people who use these pedals," he said. "But we are really into this category."

SEE ALSO: I spent a few months using Fender's online guitar-learning tool — and I was surprised by how much I learned

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The best and worst things about the Tesla Model 3

#Tech Insider #Arab #Entrepreneurship #sillicon alley insider

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sebeth · 5 years

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Fantastic Four #7 - 9

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

A Brief Summary: The Master of Planet X, The Puppet Master, and FF: The Movie!

Debuts:

· Kurrgo, Master of Planet X

· The Puppet Master

· Alicia Masters

Favorite Cover: #7’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” poster

Important Points:

· Kurgo, a short, bald alien with a wrinkled, over-sized head spies on the Fantastic Four: “In every way we of Planet X are the Earthlings’ superiors! We are a far older race, a far wiser one! Our science is a thousand years more advanced than theirs! So, what a pity it is that they will survive, while we will perish when that runaway asteroid collides with our luckless planet!”

· If Kurgo, the Master of Planet X, is aware of the incoming asteroid, shouldn’t he have had better things to do for the “last three weeks” than spy on the Fantastic Four? Maybe use their society’s advanced science to destroy the asteroid or set up an evacuation of the planet?

· My evacuation idea is shot down: “Oh, Kurrgo, my Lord! If only we had enough space ships to enable us to flee our planet before the holocaust!”

· “Fool! You know we have only two space ships on Planet X! But one of those ships is even now blazing towards Earth…towards the only four creatures in all the universe who might find a way to save us!”

· How exactly does Kurgo think the Four will save him? We have a non-force field projecting Sue and a Johnny who doesn’t have the control and stamina of his adult self. Is Ben expected to smash the asteroid to bits? I know Reed will end up being the solution but Kurgo admits to spying on the team for the past month – mentally recap the last six issues – would you trust Reed with the fate of your planet?

· We switch to the Baxter Building. Reed wants the team to attend a dinner in their honor in Washington. He’s met with a severe lack of enthusiasm.

· Johnny: “Aw, who needs it, Reed? I’m not even hungry! Heck, we’re no speech-makers! Imagine what would happen if I have try to say something clever! I’d probably get all tense and nervous, and the next thing we know, it would be just my luck to burst into flame!”

· A shy Johnny? Much different from his later appearances where he loves the spotlight!

· Reed brushes aside Johnny’s concerns: “That’s foolish and you know it, Torch!”

· I don’t know, Reed, you should take it seriously if a man who burst into flames expresses concerns over his control of his abilities.

· Ben: “Bah! It’s just a waste of time! I ain’t going! Can ya imagine how I’d look in front of all those Congressmen at a big state dinner? They’d think I was nutty if I kept all bundled up, but I’d scare ‘em to death if I took my hat and coat off! And then, what if those wise-guy photographers try to take pictures of me? You know my temper! In a couple of seconds, I’d start tearin’ the joint apart! And I’m just the guy to do it, too! No, siree! I don’t want any part of that fancy pants dinner!” Ah, early Marvel, when Ben was the angriest hero in the universe – pre-revived Namor, the Hulk, and Wolverine, of course.

· Sue: “Such short notice! I haven’t got a thing to wear! Oh, Reed, I’m afraid to go. I’m not used to meeting all those important people! I’m liable to get so flustered that before I know it, I might vanish in front of their eyes! If that ever happened, I’d simply die of embarrassment!”

· Did Sue attend college? Or did she not have the option as she was raising Johnny at the time?

· Reed brushes aside his teammates’ concerns: “All right, I’ve heard all your silly little excuses, and now I’m sure you feel better, now that you’ve said them! So, let’s start getting ready now, and let’s this all this nonsense! You know we can’t refuse a request from Congress!”

· Uh, it’s a dinner, Reed, not a congressional investigation, you are allowed to say “no, thank you!”

· Reed is such an ass in this scene. He brushed off Johnny’s legitimate concerns about his control of his powers, Ben’s PTSD and desire not to be gawked at, and Sue’s social insecurity. Is he that desperate to have his ego stroked by politicians?

· The Johnny-Ben prank war begins. Ben adjusts the water temperature while Johnny showers. Ben oddly chooses to increase the temperature. I would’ve thought Ben would have decreased the temperature – Johnny’s a “Human Torch” – heat’s not an effective weapon against him.

· Ben again vocalizes his displeasure about the dinner: “I just wanted to start a little ruckus so I wouldn’t have to go to that blamed dinner!”

· Reed: “Thing, stop feeling sorry for yourself! How do you think I feel! I’m in the middle of a new rocket fuel experiment which is almost reaching fruition, and I’ve got to interrupt it also!” World’s smallest violin, Reed, world’s smallest violin.

· Reed: “C’mon, Thing, cheer up! You might even enjoy the dinner!”

· Ben: “Sure – sure! I just love to have people gaping at me and laughing behind my back!” Who doesn’t? Someone needs to sign Reed up for sensitivity training.

· Reed: “I suppose these nerve-wracking ceremonies are the price we must pay for fame!” No, Ben’s transformation and disfigurement is the price that was paid for fame!

· Kurgo’s robot arrives in Washington and activates a “hostility ray”. The congressman turns on the Four in mid-speech: “It’s time the public awoke to the fact that the Four of you are the worst menaces ever to threaten this land!”

· “Down with the Fantastic Four! Drive them out of this country!” “Call the police! The militia! Get the Fantastic Four!”

· Johnny clears the way. The militia realize “We can’t tackle him without asbestos suits!” Do not get the asbestos suits!

· The Four escape and return to the Baxter Building. The robot arrives: “Heed my words, puny Earthlings! I have travelled many light years to find you – and to bring you a message from Kurgo, master of Planet X!”

· The robot announces that the whole planet has turned against the Four but, hey, my home planet will offer you asylum. Reed’s response boils down to “Makes sense, let’s do it.”

· Sue, Ben, and Johnny need to revolt and elect a new leader for the group – Reed’s plans suck.

· The Four travel to Planet X. Kurgo combines the “Welcome” and the “We’re all going to die” speeches.

· Ben: “I knew we shouldn’t come! But nobody’d listen to me!” Let’s make it official – Ben should be the leader of the Four.

· Johnny and Ben battle the robot – Johnny goes super-nova for the first time.

· Reed’s solution is to shrink the entire population, have them board the ship, travel to another planet. They will return to their original size upon leaving the ship. Should Henry Pym sue for gimmick infringement?

· Sue questions Reed over the effectiveness of the “enlarging gas” capsule that will return Kurrgo’s people to their original size upon reaching their new destination. Reed’s response: “There was no reducing gas, Sue! It was just an empty projectile! I only told them about it so they could consent to my plan! But once they reach their new world, it won’t matter! They’ll all be the same size, and in this vast universe of ours, one’s size is only relative, anyway!”

· This is the second time within seven issues where Reed has shown no respect or consideration for an alien species’ right to their own physical appearance and refused to consider the long-term consequences of his actions. Kurrgo’s people are going to land who knows where – it may not be safe or feasible to be the size of a bug in their new home.

· Ben attempts to enter Reed’s lab but is stopped by Sue and Johnny. “Please, Ben, trust me! Don’t enter Reed’s lab!”

· “Bah! How come you only call me ‘Ben” when you want something? All the rest of the time I’m just the Thing to all of you!” Ben’s not wrong on that – In previous issues the rest of the Four only refer to him as “Thing”.

· Ben moves Sue out of the way “because I got a feelin’ things are gonna get rough around here! Okay now! I’m gonna teach you and that walkin’ rubber-band not to try to keep secrets from me!”

· Johnny pleads with Ben: “Thing, wait! You don’t understand!”

· “I understand plenty! I’m thru bein’ a patsy for you two grand-standers! You’re real buddy-buddy with me when you need my muscle – but whenever something important comes along, I ain’t good enough to be told about it!” Ben makes another good point. Ben was an astronaut, an occupation that requires an advanced education – they shouldn’t talk down to him.

· Reed refuses to explain why Ben isn’t allowed in the building causing Ben to storm out.

· An invisible Sue pleads with Ben to re-enter the building, the group needs him. Ben refuses: “Sure! That’s why you treat me like Dracula’s brother! Sorry, lady! I ain’t buying!”

· Several men approach Ben to harass him for talking to himself: “How about introducin’ us to the lady you were talkin’ to?” “Yeah! What was she? A gremlin, or one of the good fairies? Haw Haw!”

· Sue promptly kicks one of the men in the behind: “I’ll bet you’ve never been kicked by a gremlin before, wise guy!” I love feisty Sue!

· The Four’s argument is interrupted by a man attempting suicide by jumping off a bridge.

· We see a bald man inside a home with a replica of the bridge and the climbing man: “Go my helpless puppet! Jump as your real-life prototype will also jump at the same instant. You, a nameless nobody, will be my first test of power!”

· The bald man pushes the figure off the bridge only to suffer burns to his finger.

· Johnny has arrived at the bridge and prevented the man from falling his death.

· The bald man exclaims: “Only one living creature could have done this! It means the Human Torch will be the Puppet Master’s next victim!”

· A young woman enters the room: “Father! I heard you cry out! What is wrong?”

· “Nothing, Alicia! It is of no concern of yours! I have work to do! Return to your room! And I have told you never to call me ‘father’! I am only your step-father! Do you understand?”

· What an ass! The Puppet Master is rather psychotic in his first appearance – willing to casually murder a nameless stranger and needlessly cruel to Alicia.

· The Puppet Master’s “power” is terrifying – even more so than the Purple Man. Killgrave has to be within a certain radius of his victim to gain control of the individual’s mind. The Puppet Master simply sculpts a figure and – bam – instant control!

· The Puppet Master reveals the source of his power – radioactive clay!

· The Puppet Master carves a figure of Ben and places it in a replica of the house causing Ben to head towards him. An invisible Sue follows him. A blind Alicia realizes Sue is in the house when she hears her breathing – and her heartbeat? Really? Is Alicia secretly Daredevil?

· The Puppet Master captures Sue. It’s the eighth issue and Sue has been a hostage in four of them.

· The Puppet Master notes that Sue “looks remarkably like you Alicia”. I don’t see it. If anything, Alicia bears a resemblance to the not-yet-created Crystal.

· The Puppet Master dresses Alicia up in a Fantastic Four uniform and wig. He orders her to accompany Ben to “play a harmless little prank for me!”

· Alicia touches Ben’s face and notes “This man – his face feels strong and powerful! And yet, I can sense a gentleness to him – there is something tragic – something sensitive!” Nice summary of Ben’s character. But not one comment on the not normal texture of Ben’s face.

· The Puppet Master orders the duo to return to the Baxter Building. Alicia states “This is all so strange! I do not understand! But I must do as I am told!” Alicia was clearly not one of the liberated women of the 1960s.

· Ben attacks Johnny and Reed upon entering the Baxter Building. Reed tricks Ben into destroying a container that holds an experimental liquid. The liquid transforms Ben back into his human form. Reed reveals that the liquid is the reason he didn’t want Ben in the lab: “I didn’t want you to know about it, in case it failed! You’ve had so many disappointments I didn’t want you to suffer another one until I was sure!”

· Reed’s heart was in the right place but it’s incredibly arrogant and condescending to not inform a patient about their course of treatment. He’s essentially treating Ben like a lab rat. Ben would have to brace for disappointment either way as potential success wouldn’t be known until Ben tried the formula.

· A blind, and very confused, Alicia pleads: “Where am I? Who are you?”

· Reed, mega-genius, notes: “That girl! She isn’t Sue!” Seriously, Reed, it took you this long to notice? I can think of one more butt-kicking Sue needs to deliver!

· Ben assures Alicia: “Don’t worry, kid! You’re safe and sound! We’re all your friends!”

· “You’re voice! You are the strong, kindly one! But – you seem different now!”

· Ben transforms back into the Thing.

· Alicia continues: “No, wait! I was mistaken! It is you – it is the same wonderful man!”

· Ben laments to himself: “She likes he better as the Thing!” I wouldn’t say Alicia prefers Ben as the Thing – I’d say it was more that Alicia – a blind woman in an unfamiliar situation – found comfort in a familiar presence.

· The Puppet Master causes a riot/breakout at a state prison. The men head to the prison to contain the situation.

· Johnny rescues the warden while Ben insists “I’m gonna grab me a little bit of the action, pal! Like wow!” When did Ben become a valley girl?

· “Sufferin’ snakes!” The inmates are terrified of Ben’s rampage especially when he plays “fastball special” with said inmates.

· The Puppet Master reuinites with Alicia. He informs Alicia of his upcoming plans as the “Ruler of all the world!” Alicia and the Puppet Master struggle for control of the “Ruler of the world” figure. Alicia trips which causes the Puppet Master to fall out a window and plummet to his presumed death.

· Nice introduction of the Puppet Master – a surprisingly scary villain who thankfully isn’t as depraved as the Purple Man. If the Puppet Master hadn’t allowed his ego to take over, he could have become a true “puppet master” – pulling the strings of a huge criminal empire.

· #9 is the first “clunker” of an issue. The Four go bankrupt and have their fortunes restored by Namor: Movie Producer!

· Namor, chilling undersea, watches a television newscaster announce: “The world-famous Fantastic Four are bankrupt! They have announced plans to dissolve their partnership and sell all their possessions in order to pay their debts!”

· I now understand why Sue eventually takes control of the groups’ finances – Reed didn’t even last a year before he went bankrupt!

· Writers often use the “FF go bankrupt” storyline – it’s rather silly since Reed can invent something that will cure their money woes in five seconds. Who wouldn’t want a Reed-designed smart phone? However, at this point in the group’s history, potential investors would be worried – it was less than a year ago that Reed’s mistake caused his friends’ extreme transformations.

· The Four are dealing with bill collectors back in New York City. Johnny, Ben, and Sue offer their abilities as a way to raise money.

· Reed refuses: “I appreciate your support, but it’s not that simple! I’m not going to let you rent yourselves out to a freak show – and the only other way to cash in on our supernatural powers is thru crime – which would be unthinkable!” Or the alleged mega-genius could invent something and turn a profit?

· Ben stumbles across the dissection of the Pogo plane: “Leggo of my plane, you crumbs! I oughtta pulverize ya for that!” Yeah, you don’t touch a pilot’s plane!

· Reed assures Ben that they’re “getting a good price” for the plane. Ben counters “No price is good enough for all the work we put into designin’ that ship!” Poor Ben is very upset over the loss of the plane!

· Ben rips on Reed: “Some rotten manager you were, rubber-man! You made a fortune by selling patents on all your inventions – enough dough to keep us going for years – but you hadda be a big shot and invest it all in stocks! You lunkhead!” Reed’s genius clearly doesn’t extend to financial management.

· Ben decides – once again – to quit the group. A cab refuses to stop for Ben so he impales the vehicle on a street pole. I’m not sure how this didn’t result in Ben being sent to jail.

· Reed receives an offer from S.M. Studios: One million dollars cash if the team star in a movie.

· Ben reunites with the team and they head to Hollywood. The team is broke so they have to hitch-hike across the country. In full costume.

· The group arrives at S.M. Studios only to discover the producer is the Sub-Mariner!

· How did Namor keep his purchase of a movie studio a secret? It wasn’t that long ago Namor was terrorizing New York City and threatening the surface world with dire vengeance. The authorities should have been swarming the place as soon as Namor assumed ownership.

· Sue’s still has a serious case of Namor-lust: “He’s so masterful – so confident!”

· The men film the movie while Namor romances Sue.

· Namor fills his movie with legitimate threats to attack the men – Cyclops, poison spears immune to flames, etc. Namor battles the Thing. Ben loses when he transforms back into human form mid-fight.

· Namor returns to Sue, announces he’s triumphed over the men, and proposes marriage. Sue’s not impressed and attempts to flee. However, Namor has “the powers of all the creatures who live beneath the sea!” and uses the “power of the electric eel” and the “radar sense of the cave fish from the lowest depths of the sea” to capture Sue.

· Namor announces “Your struggles are useless! I like a woman with spirit! Only such a female can be a fitting mate for the monarch of the sea!” Namor, I love you, but you’re delving into very creepy territory.

· The boys arrive and are ready to trounce Namor. Sue prevents a brawl by stating both parties must “honor the contract”. Namor pays the FF the million dollars and returns to the sea.

· Not a great issue and not a good portrayal of Namor. Only highlights were Ben’s despair over the loss of the Pogo plane, Ben’s excitement over being a “white knight” and a fun Ben-Namor brawl.

#Fantastic Four #Namor #Puppet Master #Alicia Masters #Kurrgo #Planet X #Ben Grimm #Reed Richards #Susan Storm #Johnny Storm #Sub-Mariner #Human Torch #Mister Fantastic #Thing

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