#probably the perfect price for this game tbh

[fallout-lou-begas]

turns out batman: arkham asylum (2009) is the absolute perfect 7/10 metroidvania with a really cool and distinctly exaggerated creepy asylum environment to explore, and a genuinely endearing overload of late-2000s video game design cliches (audio tapes, walk-and-talk cutscenes integrated into the gameplay, characters bark repetitive voice lines if you do things other than the objective, following glowing trails of stuff). it holds up!

and then there's the goons. the endless horde of large and stupid and large meatheaded goons who say shit like "i ain't afraid a da bat..." and "da jokah's gonna rule dis city!". they have yet to be surpassed, they without a doubt remain the high water mark for bad guys to beat up in video games and a landmark achievement for goons in general

#the GOTY edition is also like $5 on steam right now #probably the perfect price for this game tbh #the worst flaws are the boss fights suck and detective vision isn't very fun to have on all the time #and the combat is pretty mindless unless you're playing on Hard in which case it's HARD. #and yeah the whole creepy asylum full of tortured incurable patients and one-dimensional prisoner thugs is obviously not great ideologicall #but like. it's a batman game. you're gonna get loons and goons. #batman #arkham asylum #louposting

[goldensunset]

my fistfight with nintendo has been an uphill battle for years but today they’ve won another victory over me

#i’m. finally gonna buy skyward sword hd bc my wii is breaking down. #but i am NOT buying it at full price!!! i am finding the best discount i can online that doesn’t make me want to die!!! #used is fine. so be it. as long as it’s in perfect condition #you sick horrible people you. you’ve finally beat me i need it. here i thought i was doing fine for myself w the wii version but. #i already paid $25 for the wii version used three years ago but now our wii… #so like. listen. sshd is a good and valuable investment #but i am reeeeeaaaally not feeling paying $60 for it #even $50 is like. nah c’mon man i don’t want to do that… #i don’t need it quite that badly #it just feels like robbery for me to have to pay (again!) for a game from 2011 even if this is a remaster #the question is how low is too low. am i willing to take the risk w/ a pre owned? #probably tbh. but the second question is is that gonna come from someone halfway across the country. room for error there #and shipping costs. #ugh #idk what to do #peach rambles

[euovennia]

widow | CH. II

pairing: soap x fem!reader

a/n: i decided to change up the bar scene at the end of the game because this is my story and i'll do as i please. regardless, the boys are finally here, woo!!! there'll be more interactions between them all next chapter (that's probably gonna be the majority of it tbh) but please enjoy this semi-awkward meeting for now <3

friendly reminder that this work is written with a fem!reader in mind, but with no specified features

PROLOGUE, CH. I, CH. III, CH. IV

Four Years Later

It had been just a few short hours after Ghost had saved Soap from what would have otherwise been a certain death by the hands of Hassan Zyani. The past few weeks were nothing short of grueling but as Ghost, Soap, and Gaz all made their way through the bustling streets of Chicago to meet Price and Laswell at a local dive bar, they couldn’t help but want to give themselves a little pat on the back for a job well done. As well as it could have gone at least, there was still the issue of Grave’s death and Shepherd's betrayal on Los Vaqueros and the 141. Perhaps that would be their next mission.

Finally approaching the dingy bar, the three men began filing inside the bar as they each made a beeline over to Price and Laswell who seemed to be having a rather serious conversation if the looks on their faces were anything to go by. Upon seeing the team approach however, Price simply gave them a small nod before taking a swig of this drink. The boys take their seats before each ordering a drink of their choice. With everyone now settled in, Laswell decides to speak.

“You boys did your job and you did it well. Congratulations,” She raises her glass and the four men follow in succession, a sense of pride and accomplishment lingering in the air. The group sits in silence for a few moments before Gaz breaks it.

“So what now?”

“We find Shepherd,” Price announces firmly.

Laswell sighs, “That’s not what we agreed on.”

Price looks at her out of the corner of his eye, “We never agreed on anything, Laswell.”

“We’ve got bigger issues than just finding Shepherd.”

“I reckon that’s the reason you’ve got other teams then,” He lamely states as he takes another sip of his drink.

“Trust me, this is something you’ll want to be involved in,” She says before reaching inside her jacket pocket and pulling out a photo. She plants it face down on the bar counter before sliding it over to Price.

He stares at the photo for a few seconds before taking the photo in his hands and flipping it over. He sucks in a sharp breath upon seeing the familiar dark-haired man. Lips pressed into a thin line, he passes the photo over to Gaz. He studies the photo for a few moments before his eyes flicker up to Price's tense frame. Not wanting to ask quite yet, he hands it over to Soap who tilts his head in confusion upon holding it in his hands. Finally, he gives it to Ghost who merely diverts his attention back over to Laswell and Price after staring down the photo for a few seconds.

This time it’s Soap who speaks up, “Who’s that?”

Price lets out a sigh as his grip on the glass in front of him gets tighter.

“Ivan Volkov.”

“What's he done,” Gaz questions.

“We’ll get into that later. Right now, I need you four to head back to the safe house.”

Ghost speaks up, “What are you gonna do?”

“I have a contact completing a mission out in France at the moment to get the last bit of info we need to go after Volkov. I’ll be awaiting their call.”

“What if they don't get it?” Soap chimes in.

Price finishes off the rest of his drink.

“I’ve got a feeling that won’t be an issue.”

Paris, France

A woman watches as the man lifelessly falls back onto the ground, a bullet firmly nestled into his forehead as a steady stream of blood begins to ooze out of the wound.

“Hah…And they said I couldn't be a sniper,” A familiar German accent rings out through her comms.

A small smile comes across her face as she focuses her attention back on the laptop screen in front of her.

“You did well, König. Perfect shot as always my dear friend,”

“Just living out my dreams,” He pauses for a moment, “Do you think I would've made a good sniper?”

“You are a good sniper.”

“But they said I was too tall and couldn't sit still,”

“Doesn’t change the fact you have yet to miss a shot while you’re with me,” She responds as she attaches a small black hard drive into the side of the computer, leaning back and watching as various files upload to the drive.

“Why do you have Laswell request me for these missions?”

“So you can live out your dream.”

She pays no mind to the small ‘thank you’ that flows through her comms.

After all the files have been copied onto the drive, she quickly detaches it and stores it in the small tactical sling bag she’d brought with her.

“I’ve got the intel, I’ll meet you down at the entrance.”

“Copy that.”

The woman promptly pushes herself up from the raggedy desk chair and makes her way over to the grey metal door before pushing it open and walking out the small office. She steps over the lifeless bodies of the various guards she’d taken out prior to making her way into the office. She had quickly come to find that it was quite easy to get through the dead man’s so-called security detail but she knew she couldn’t take all the credit. König was rather handy with that sniper of his after all.

Finally approaching the exit door, she pushed her way through it to reveal the sight of König mindlessly kicking pebbles around with his feet.

“Having fun?”

“Just wanted to make sure you got out safe.”

“Well I’m here,” She motions over to the car sitting a few feet away from them, “Go start it up. I’ll be there in a moment, I have to make a quick call.”

He simply nods before walking away. The woman pulls out a small burner phone from the side pocket of her bag and flips it open before typing in a number she knew all too well by now. She waits patiently for a few moments before she hears Laswell’s voice ring out through the phone.

“Shadow?”

“Target has been eliminated and I have the hard drive. K and I are gonna start making our way back to the safe house then we’ll be on our way to transport at dawn.”

“Actually there’s been a change of plans.”

The woman tilts her head, “What kind of changes?”

“You’ll still make your way to the safe house but you won’t be spending the night there. Instead, I want you to go four klicks north. You should end up in an open field. A short plane will come down and get you.”

“I take it we’re not going back to Germany?”

”Affirmative. You’ll be flown into Chicago and dropped at base. From there, you’ll be escorted directly to me.”

“What about König?”

“I’m going to reach out to KorTac and let them know he’s ready for transport once you two arrive at base. He should be reunited with them late tomorrow afternoon.”

“Alright. See you then I suppose.” “See you.”

The woman flips the phone closed before walking over to the car and sliding in the driver’s seat upon seeing the passenger side occupied by König.

“Didn’t feel like driving?”

He shakes his head.

“The seat doesn’t extend back far enough…It hurts my knees.”

She gives him a small nod as she begins driving.

“You should have more leg room in the plane.”

“Plane?”

“Yeah. We’re heading to Chicago.”

“Scheiße.”

“I like this one.”

“Yeah? What do you like about it?”

König goes quiet for a moment before speaking once more.

“It’s not too loud and it’s not too quiet. It’s simple.”

The woman mulls over his words for a short while before nodding her head.

“Yeah…It is rather simple isn’t it? Just a man playing the piano.”

“Just a man playing the piano,” König parrots back.

They sit in silence for a few moments before he speaks up once more.

“What song is this again? I know you told me, but I think I blacked out for a bit.”

“Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 by Frédéric Chopin.”

“What do you know about him?”

“He was a Polish composer born in 1810 known primarily for his solo piano pieces. He published his first composition at the age of seven and began performing when he was eight. Even so, he didn’t make his official debut until 1829. People were enthralled by him and so his fame only grew with time. He eventually passed away at the age of thirty-nine on October 30, 1849. His official cause of death isn’t known, but some theorize it was pulmonary tuberculosis.”

König lets out a hum of acknowledgement.

“How do you always know so much about these people?”

Her mind drifts off for a few moments, memories of ballet shoes and leotards flashing in and out of her mind before she eventually shakes her head and lets out a small sigh.

“I like to read about them when I can’t sleep.”

A lie, but he doesn’t know that.

“Hmm…Maybe I should give it a shot.”

She opens her mouth to respond, but is cut off by the co-pilot shouting over to them through the opening of the cockpit door.

“We’ve touched down, we’ll be parked shortly!”

She and König spare each other a glance before he’s taking out the earbud she lent him as she quickly wraps the cord over her 7th gen. iPod Nano. Despite the black music player being rather dated, she had found an odd comfort in downloading songs off the internet and storing them onto the small device. It was simple and she’d come to like simple.

True to their word, the plane eventually comes to a complete stop as the pair slung their tactical backpacks on their shoulder with König sporting a hefty duffel hand in his right hand that was filled with various weapons he’d brought with him for the mission. They both stand up from their seats with König having to duck his head due to his massive frame as she goes over and slides the plane door open before beginning her descent down the stairs of the plane with König following right behind her.

Her eyes scan over the layout before eventually landing on Price who was currently walking toward the pair who were now standing still on the tarmac. He eventually comes to a stop in front of the pair as he gives a nod of acknowledgement to König who returns an awkward wave.

Bless him.

Price then turns to Shadow as he offers her a small smile.

“Good to see you again, kid.”

“Likewise, but what exactly are you doing here?”

She watches with increased interest as his smile appears to falter just slightly before speaking, “We’ll get to that in a bit. You’ve still got the phone on you?”

She nods as she places a hand over the small bag, “In here.”

He gives her an approving nod before turning to König, “KorTac won’t be here until late this evening. Something about inclement weather. You can do as you please until then.”

König gives him a firm nod before leaning down to Shadow as he gives her arm a small squeeze, “See you next mission then.”

She returns the small gesture before he stands up straight once more and stalks off toward what she assumes is a quiet place for him to sit back and decompress, she knows missions take a lot out of him.

She turns her attention back to Price who is now holding out two granola bars to her.

“It’s not much, but I figure you haven’t eaten in a good while.”

She takes the small snack from him.

“Thanks.”

“Come on, Laswell’s got some water in her office. You wash those down there,” He states as he begins walking forward with her following beside him.

She rips open the first bar and begins munching on it before speaking, “Am I gonna get any context on what’s happening here or do I have to go in blind?”

Price purses his lips, “I think this is something you should work out with Laswell.”

“Is she finally kicking me to the curb?”

“What? No. Where’d you even get that idea from?”

She takes another bite of her granola bar, “Sooner or later she’ll realize she doesn’t need me anymore and toss me to the side. It happens all the time.”

Price gives her shoulder a firm nudge with his arm as he speaks, “You know I don’t like when you talk about yourself like that.”

She shrugs, “Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

The older man releases an exasperated sigh, “You’re a lot darker than I originally thought.”

If only you knew.

She takes one last bite of her first granola bar before tearing open the packaging of the second one as they both approach a door. Price leans forward and pulls the door open and allows her to walk in before taking the lead once more as they weave through the hallways of the building. They eventually come to a stop outside an unmarked door and Price looks down at her.

“Do me a favor and try to hear Laswell out before you make any decisions, okay?”

She narrows her eyes at his words before he pushes the door open and walks inside. Taking a bite of her bar, she follows behind him before coming to a stop by his side as her chewing comes to a halt as she sees Laswell sitting at a circle shaped desk with multiple manila folders sat in front of her. She gulps down her bite of granola as she looks up at Price with a questioning gaze to which he merely gives her a pat on the shoulder before taking a seat beside Laswell. Her eyes dart over to Laswell who simply gestures to the empty seat sitting directly in front of them. Sucking in a small breath, she reluctantly walks over and pulls out the chair before sitting down in it.

She swallows, “What’s this all about?”

Laswell is the one to speak, “The drive. You have it with you, right?”

Upon seeing her outstretched hand, the woman unzips the main compartment of her small bag and grabs the drive before sliding it across the table over to Laswell who picks it up.

“Excellent. Once I get my team to look through this, we should be ready to go ahead.”

“Go ahead on what exactly?”

Laswell looks up at her, “The past four years of your life have been solely dedicated to finding any bit of information you could get me on Volkov and his current whereabouts,” She holds up the drive in her hand, “This will offer us the last piece of the puzzle. We can finally go after him and take him out.”

The woman points a finger at Price.

“Then what’s he here for?”

“His team is going to help you.”

The woman’s hand falls onto the table as her gaze hardens.

“No.”

Laswell sighs, “You don’t have a choice. If I decide I want Price’s team on this mission with you then they’re going on the mission with you, no exceptions.”

“But there’s no need for them to be here. Every piece of information you have on the Red Room is because of me. I don’t like working with teams and you know that.”

“Then what about all the times you’ve worked with König?”

“König is a single person, not a group of four. There’s a difference. Teams only offer more opportunities to fail.” “But they can also offer more opportunities to succeed. Why are you against them anyway? You haven’t even seen them.”

“I don’t want to see them.”

“Well I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t care. Either you work with this team or I pull you from this mission entirely.”

Shadow scoffs, “You can’t do that.” “I have every right to do so and you know it.”

The pair fall into a loud silence before Laswell lets out a soft sigh.

“I know you can do this by yourself, there’s not a single doubt in my mind about that…But I don’t want you to do this by yourself.”

Shadow looks up at her.

“Why not?”

“Because out of every mission you’ve gone on, this is the most dangerous. Ivan Volkov is a dangerous man and the last thing I need is you out there on the field trying to take him out by yourself. I–”

She pauses as she spares a glance to Price out the corner of her eye.

“–We care too much about you to let you do that to yourself.”

Shadow has to refrain from rolling her eyes. “Then send König out there with me, I don’t care! Just don’t stick me with a random team who I know nothing about.”

Laswell shakes her head, “Various members of KorTac will be sent out on missions of their own within the next few days, König is one of them.”

“So that’s it then? Either you stick me in a group with a bunch of random people or I don’t get to go after Volkov at all?”

Laswell nods.

Shadow lets out a humorless laugh, “No offense Las, but you’re a real piece of work.”

Her lips tick up in a small smile, “You’re starting to sound like my wife.”

Shadow goes quiet for a minute before sighing, “You’re not gonna let up on this, are you?”

“Not this time.”

The younger woman seems to bounce a few ideas around her head for a bit before giving a reluctant nod.

“Fine, but if they suck I’m shooting them first chance I get.”

Price offers her a smile, “I’ll hand you the gun.”

“Good. Now that we’re all in agreement, you’re free to go for now. I’ll have my team look through the hard drive to extract any useful information we come across. We’ll meet here again tomorrow at fifteen-hundred hours to go over everything. Does that sound alright?”

“None of this sounds alright, but I’ll be a good little soldier and say yes.”

“Mercenary,” Price corrects.

This time she doesn’t hold back her eye roll.

“Same difference.”

After the short meeting she had with Price and Laswell, Shadow had managed to snag an empty shower long enough for her to scrub away all the dirt and bits of blood that had dried and hardened to her skin. She’d changed out of her kevlar bodysuit and instead opted for some simple leggings and a hoodie with a plain tank top tucked underneath. She didn’t bother switching out her black boots for anything else, they were clean and comfortable enough for her so she didn’t see the need to. Once completely clean and changed, she mindlessly wandered around base for a just over an hour before eventually finding König tucked away in an old conference room as he let old reruns of ‘Modern Family’ play out on a small tv screen just a few feet away from chair he sat in. Not quite wanting to leave him alone, she decided to keep him company.

Seeing as they originally touched down just after twelve pm, that had been more than a few hours ago, considering the sky was now gradually turning into a mix of yellows, oranges, and reds. Not that it felt like it had been that long. She enjoyed spending time with König, whether it be on missions or sitting in an old dusty conference room having hushed conversations where he freely talked her ear off. She didn’t mind though. Despite his sometimes manic and hyper demeanor on the field, she’d come to find he had great difficulty trying to connect with others on a more casual and friendly level, but she and König had spent so much down time together on their missions together that the bond they had formed rather quickly. She was grateful for it.

As much as she enjoyed the time she spent with König, there eventually came a time where one of them would have to depart from the other and this time, it was him. After having received word that his transportation back to KorTac would be landing in ten minutes, he decided it was best to start heading back to the tarmac.

He’d given her a firm hug that was made only slightly awkward due to his massive frame, but she enjoyed it all the same.

“I’ll see you around, Shadow.”

“Until next time, K.”

With König now departed from base, she had taken it upon herself to wander around aimlessly before eventually settling down on a table outside near a building that she could only assume was a training area if the workout gear people wore while filing in and out was anything to go by. She quietly watched everyone from a distance as the soft notes of Debussy’s ‘Claire de Lune’ spilled through the small speakers of her earbuds.

She sat with her legs crossed on the chair and hands clasped in her lap as she watched one soldier narrowly avoid running into a metal pole after being so caught up in whatever app is currently lighting up their phone screen. Her eyes began to drift over to the entrance, but stopped when her ears picked up on the quiet string of footsteps that were growing closer and closer. She whipped her head around, body tense and glare ready, but quickly fell back into her previous semi-relaxed state as she saw Price approaching her with a sandwich and a bottle of water in his hands. She untucked her right leg from its crossed position and used it to push out the spare chair that sat a few feet from hers. She let her leg dangle off the chair she occupied as Price took a seat in the chair and slid the sandwich and water over to her.

“Didn’t see you in the mess hall for dinner, thought you might be hungry.” She gives him a nod of appreciation and removes her earbud before reaching forward, unwrapping the sandwich, and taking a bite. They sit in a comfortable silence as she finishes off the rest of her sandwich and washes it down with the water. She balls up the wrapper and shoves it in the pocket of her hoodie to throw away later. Price looks at her.

“Where have you been all day?”

“Holed up in an old conference room with König. We just watched some TV and talked before he had to go. He left a couple hours ago.”

Price nods as he continues, “How’d you two meet?”

“I met him three years ago when I was doing a mission of my own for Laswell. Apparently he’d been stationed in the same area. I almost shot him until I saw the KorTac emblem on his uniform. He just took that as an opportunity to start throwing punches and yell at me in German,” She responds, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she replays the memory.

“Bloody hell,” He runs a hand over the side of his face in an exasperated motion, “How’d you get yourself outta that?”

“I started yelling back at him in German.”

Price huffs out a laugh, “Sounds about right. I assume you two get on well now though, right?”

She nods, “Yeah, he’s a good guy. Real talented with a sniper too believe it or not.”

“I have a hard time believing a bloke as big as him takes the time to steady up on a sniper rather than ram into everything like a bull.”

She shrugs, “Hasn’t missed a shot so far.”

Price nods as if absorbing the information. He remains quiet for a few moments before speaking up again.

“So…If you can warm up to a man twice your size, surely you can warm up to the idea of working with my team, right?”

She lets out a huff as she looks over to Price.

“No offense, but I want nothing to do with your team.”

“Oh come on, kid. They’re not that bad! A bit on the cheeky side some of them, but they mean well,” He defended.

“Anyone who can work with you long enough to look past that god awful thing on your head shouldn’t be trusted.”

Price’s hands go to touch the edges of his boonie hat.

“It’s a good hat!”

“It’s a disgrace is what it is.”

He huffs out a breath of air as he returns his hands to rest on the table in front of them.

“Unnecessary disrespect to my hat aside, I mean it when I say they’re good people. I’ve fought alongside them and I can firmly say I’d trust any one of those muppets with my life. You’ve just gotta give ‘em a chance.”

She sighs as she fiddles with the crumpled up wrapper in the pocket of her hoodie, “Must’ve put a spell on you if you’re willing to stick your neck out like this for them,” She mumbles.

“No spells, just quality work done by quality men.”

She doesn’t respond.

Price’s lips falter into a frown before he decides to make one last effort.

“Look, I know you’ve gotten used to workin’ alone these past few years save for König and I understand that, but you’ve gotta see where Laswell and I are coming from here. You’ve made yourself one of our most useful assets, not just as an employee, but as a person.” He stops to think about his next words for a few moments before continuing.

“Look, ever since you told us about that emblem you managed to snag off one of those Red Room assassins, the three of us have spent a lot of time together. I’m not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way Laswell and I–” He let out a sigh, trying not to fumble his next words. “–We started to care about you. Probably more than we should’ve,” He pauses, “We just want you to be safe, and we feel the only way to do that this time around is to pair you up with a team. My team. It’s not a punishment or us doubting your abilities, we just wanna keep an eye on you. That’s all it is.”

The woman remains quiet for a while before looking up at Price, a small smile tugging at the edge of her lips.

“I knew you two liked me more than you let on.”

Price rolls his eyes as he leans forward and gives her shoulder a nudge before settling back into a more serious expression.

“Just tell me you’ll at least try to work with them, even if you end up hating all of us by the end of it.”

She lets out a sigh, “I’ll try.”

He smiles at her, “Good, because I’m not sure what I would’ve told Laswell if you said no.”

They share a small laugh and Price stays with her for a while longer before eventually leaving to get some rest, but not before making her promise him that she would also leave to get some rest soon. She refrains herself from rolling her eyes and offers the most disarming smile she could muster before agreeing. While he was able to detect the steady wave of slight annoyance radiating off her, he decided not to pry any further. She was an adult after all and so, he left as he wandered back in the direction of his room.

She watched as the silhouette of the man who had practically saved her from the life she lived before got smaller and smaller the more he walked into the darkness of the night. She tried telling herself it was just to make sure no one snuck up on him despite being within the relatively safe confines of the base, but she knew better. The pit of guilt that had been festering inside of her ever since she did nothing to stop the steam of lies that fell from her lips four years ago seemed to make itself stronger than ever. It was eating her alive.

Shadow takes in a deep breath as she slowly makes her way toward the two before stopping beside Laswell. She stares at the buckle sat in Laswell’s hand before bringing up her right hand and placing her own object on the bed.

Laswell’s chest tightens as she places the metal buckle in her hand beside the one Shadow just brought.

“They’re the same,” Price remarks.

Laswell looks at Shadow, “How do you have that?”

Shadow keeps her eyes concentrated on the tri-colored hourglass emblem that had been burned into her mind for her entire life. A deep pit growing in her stomach, she looks up at the attentive pair.

“It’s the Red Room symbol.”

Price and Laswell spared each other a hesitant glance before turning back to the woman who seemed to be in some sort of trance as her eyes remained glued to the buckle she’d placed on the bed just a few moments ago.

Laswell decided to speak.

“How do you know it’s their symbol?”

Despite feeling herself tense up at the question, Shadow knew she brought this on herself. The moment she set the emblem on the bed, she practically backed herself into a corner and there was nothing she could do about it.

Well, there were a couple things she could do about it.

On one hand she could come clean about her past and potentially get the chance to aid Laswell in her mission to put an end to the Red Room, but there was also the chance she’d get killed, maybe something even worse than death. Neither Price or Laswell knew the full extent of all the things she’d done in her life and she wasn’t too keen on them finding out, much less telling them herself. Who knows what they could do with such information?

On the other hand, she could just try and leg it out of there in hopes of avoiding any further questions. She didn’t completely hate the idea, but she knew it wasn’t worth the trouble that’d come along with doing such a thing.

Having eliminated both of those ideas in the few moments she took to think about them, she knew she had to think of something quick. Nothing that could get her deemed as an immediate threat and imprisoned, but nothing that would raise too many alarms.

She almost cursed herself for revealing the emblem that had been burned into every aspect of her life.

Almost.

She looked up at Laswell, a small sigh falling from her lips as she quickly tried to sort out the story in her head.

“I’m not who you think I am.”

Laswell tilted her head.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m not part of the Red Room.”

Laswell narrowed her eyes as she pointed to the emblem.

“Then why do you have that and how do you know it belongs to them?”

She took a few seconds to sort out the last few bits of her fabricated story before beginning to speak.

“I kill people for a living–”

“We know,” Price bluntly states, seemingly not bothered by his rude interruption.

The woman fights back the urge to jab her fist into his injured side and instead opts for a pointed look in his direction before continuing.

“–But I don’t work for the Red Room.”

Laswell’s look of suspicion morphs into one of confusion.

“What? But I was so sure–”

This time it’s Shadow interrupting.

“Just because I don’t work for them doesn’t mean I don’t know of them.”

Laswell’s gaze hardens, “Elaborate.”

“Look, the whole purpose of the Red Room is to produce assassins who can execute any and all targets without getting themselves caught. While the targets can be virtually anyone, it goes without saying that a lot of them are political figures.”Price speaks, “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Different people have different political agendas. What may benefit one person may be detrimental to the next. So while one person may hire an assassin to get rid of someone, another person may hire another assassin to ensure the safety of the original target by going after anyone set to kill them. Kind of like a bodyguard.”

“Is this your way of telling us you were employed as one of these bodyguards?”

“Not exactly. I never took work based on politics, I took it based on the paycheck. Whatever the highest bidder wanted, they’d get.”

“And how does this tie in with the Red Room?”

Shadow points over to the emblem, “I managed to snag that off one of Volkov’s girls while trying to protect my target. I hadn’t seen it before so instead of killing her, I knocked her out and took her back with me. I managed to get a few details I think you may be interested in before I eventually had to get rid of her.”

Laswell straightened out her posture as she looked at Shadow with great interest, “What details?”

Time to strike.

“Details you won’t get until you can promise me a few things.”

Laswell scoffs, “You do realize you just admitted you’re an assassin, right? You’re in no position to be making demands of any kind.”

“Normally you’d be correct, but seeing as how you won’t be able to connect me to any crime as little as shoplifting I think your hands are a bit tied at the moment.”

“And how can you be so sure of that?”

Shadow’s gaze settled back on the hourglass shaped emblem that represented all the pain and suffering she’d inflicted on the world.

She hated it.

She hated herself.

She looked back at Laswell, willing herself to be more brave than she felt.

“A part of me always knew there’d be a time where I wanted to get out. I didn’t want anything to hold me back when I got the chance, so I always made sure things were perfect, that no one could ever prove anything.”

Laswell nods before speaking once more, “And why is it you think I can give you an out?”

“You want the Red Room gone and at this point I think I’m your best bet. You lay off me and I’ll help you take it out.”

Shadow watched with bated breath as Laswell and Price exchanged each other looks of apprehension and hesitation. She could only hope she played her part well enough.

After more than a few moments of them staring each other down, Laswell turned back to Shadow with a particular glint in her eye she hadn’t quite seen before.

“Tell me what you have in mind.”

The woman was ripped away from her thoughts by the loud laughter of a man. She whipped her head to the direction it originated from and was met with the backs of two men hunched over what she assumed was a phone. Letting out a small sigh, she grabbed her iPod and water bottle before deciding to stalk off in the direction of the barracks in hopes of finding an empty room she could claim for the night.

The woman tapped her fingers on the glossy surface of the desk she sat at with Price and Laswell the day before as the lively notes of ‘The Blue Danube’ composed by Johann Strauss plays through her earbuds. She’s gotten to the conference room fifteen minutes early and seeing as she now had nothing better to do than wait, she pulled out her trusty iPod and tapped shuffle on her classical playlist. Despite classical being most of what she listened to, she did have a few other playlists containing various other genres such as pop, jazz, hip hop, and rock. She was simply raised listening to classical so that’s what she often favored despite more than a few pieces having been tainted due to the unpleasant memories she’d come to associate them with. Even so, she still managed to enjoy every song she listened to.

As the last few notes of the composition died out in the left earbud currently lodged in her ear, her eyes shot up to the sound of the creaky door to conference room opened to reveal a tall man clad in an all black outfit paired with a skull print balaclava with black warpaint swiped around his eyes. He paused as he caught sight of the woman already sitting at the rounded table while she simply stared him down with a blank expression. He gave a quick glance to the room number printed on the door and upon confirming he was in the right place, he slowly stepped in and closed the door behind him before taking a seat across from the woman. Once settled down he returned her blank stare with one of his own, almost willing her to say something.

But she didn’t.

She simply looked back down at the small black music player in her hand as she scrolled through her list of songs. After a few more moments of silence, she looked up to see the man idly tapping away on his phone.

The two of them settled into a rather tense silence filled with unanswered questions, one that was only broken by the sound of the door creaking open yet again to reveal another tall man who sported a grey cap that had a Union Flag patch sewn into the front of it. Her eyes roamed over his lean frame that was clad in a long sleeved grey shirt paired with khaki cargo pants and black shoes. It faintly reminded her of an old photo Price had shown her of himself. She watched as he grabbed a seat that was one over from the man who arrived just a few minutes prior. After all three of them exchanged silent glances, they directed their attention to their own devices.

Just a few minutes had passed before the door opened once again, this time revealing Price who had a small stack of manila folders in his hands whereas Laswell carried a laptop. Upon seeing their superiors enter the conference room, the three strangers quickly tucked their electronics into their pockets as Price spoke.

“Glad to see you lot are getting on well with each other,” He remarked, sarcasm practically dripping from his voice.

The three of them avoided making eye contact with each other causing him to shake his head in mild amusement as he handed them each a folder of their own. Upon getting to the empty chair, he spoke.

“Where’s Soap?”

Soap?

Suddenly, the door practically bursts open and a prominent Scottish accent breaks through the room.

“Sorry I’m late, got caught up at the mess hall!”

The woman’s gaze turned to face the direction of the door once more as her eyes landed on a muscular man with a mohawk.

“Settle down Soap. Just take a seat,” Price spoke as he tossed a folder to where the unoccupied seat was. Her eyes followed the man as he quickly walked over to the empty chair and nabbed himself the seat. His eyes settled on the folder in his hands before looking up and facing the woman. Expecting him to redirect his gaze like the other two, she maintained eye contact but was surprised when he offered her a wide smile. She tried to reign in the look of confusion she was sure was apparent on her face before breaking eye contact and opting to stare down at the folder, effectively missing the way the man’s face fell at her actions. Her attention, however, was quickly redirected once Laswell began to speak.

“Task Force 141, meet Shadow. Shadow, meet Task Force 141.”

TAGLIST: (if i missed anyone or it didn't tag you properly, please let me know!)

@deadpoolsluvrr @simonsbluee @scaredknight @swissy23 @niawritesbs @ethanhawkelovers-blog @watermaylon-writes @ravenhood2792 @shoxji @griimreaperr @galacticstxrdust @cptmaverick-marvel @comedinewithmeyeh @fluffysteampunkd @callmenoiselul @isissakibbs-blog @urfavsunkissedleo @decaffeinatedmom01 @23victoria @silveroak-art @untoldshortsofthefandoms @deadbranch @ella-error505 @water-hemlock18 @abbiesxox @queen-of--roses @kiriki45 @desxr-fx @emrzennn

#call of duty #call of duty modern warfare 2 #cod mw2 #cod #mw2 #mw2 2022 #cod mw2 imagine #cod mw2 fanfic #captain price #john price #simon ghost riley #ghost #kyle gaz garrick #gaz #kate laswell #soap #john mactavish #john soap mactavish #soap x reader #task force 141 #tagging posts is my form of hell <3 #thanks for reading byeeee #:)

[24hlevi]

Hi there I was wondering if you can make Denji and Aki with a short and feisty male s/o also I'm new here and I love your chainsaw man fics so yeah that's all and i hope you are doing alright.

the fact im getting csm reqs again since the anime is coming out makes me so happy the fandom was literally dead

also thank you so much and i hope you enjoy this 🫶

— 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐢 & 𝐀𝐤𝐢 𝐖/ 𝐀 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 & 𝐅𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐞!𝐒/𝐨

Hayakawa Aki & Denji (Chainsaw Man) X Male!Reader [Separate]

𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚 𝐀𝐤𝐢 -

• so aki's height is 6'3 so basically everyone is shorter than him, he doesn't really care about height honestly

• but the fact that someone short had so much feistiness and aggression like you made him chuckle

• he's the one calming you down always, dragging you away from getting into a fight with a cop, or from braking an arcade system when playing video games with denji

• aki is the malewife of the hayakawa family, and that includes making sure you don't get hurt or end up killing someone accidentally

• he totally rests his arm on your head if it's that big of a height difference especially if it annoys you cause he's an ass like that

• if you like food the easiest way for him to calm you down is him saying he'll get you food if you calm down, and it works, sure he ends up wasting money, but he doesn't mind because it's for you

• tbh aki is probably still very timid about looking affectionate with you in public, for the times it were and being devil hunters he didn't want to risk anything but if it came down to it he would grab ahold of your hand and rub his thumb across your knuckles to try and help without being too physical

• since you're smaller than him, it's easy for aki to just pick you up and take you somewhere else if you're getting annoyed fast or if you two are on a mission sometimes he'll just pick you up and run so he knows you're safe with him

• aki doesn't really cuddle, but he will always have at least one arm around you to feel if you leave or move, usually laying on his back or side facing you

• in private he is much more of a tease like if you can't reach something he'll hold it above your head for a few seconds until he gives in and hands it to you or when it's christmas time hold a mistletoe above you both

𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐢 -

• denji is just shocked he was able to score with someone, especially a dude, seeing as he was so accustomed to liking women, he was at a loss when you came around

• he's not very tall like aki, so he takes every advantage he can with you being shorter, but at a price

• for example, if you ask him to reach something on the top shelf, denji will do it, but in return for a kiss or some sort of affection, you're lucky he's cute

• denji would most likely encourage you to fight people tbh 💀 if someone is being an asshole he's all like "fuck them up!!" and doesn't help at all and is cheering for you the whole time cause he knows you'll win

• offers piggyback rides because he likes carrying you around on his back even if you say no he's somehow doing it

• when cuddling denji just wraps his whole body around you, the height difference is almost perfect so his chin rests on top of your head

• denji doesn't care about being affectionate in public, mostly because he doesn't know and/or understand what homophobia is and just thinks people hate you both for being devil hunters...poor boy

• but yeah he'll do anything affectionate in public like hugging you from behind and resting his chin on your head with a bright smile, intertwining his fingers with yours and swaying your hands back and forth obnoxiously, pestering kisses all over your face

• and if you ever get feisty with it he just laughs and continues doing it cause he knows you secretly like it even if you show it otherwise

• denji does the weirdest things to help you calm down and not fight someone, like randomly picking you up and running away, yelling that there's a devil so it turns to chaos, or when in extreme dire situations, he'll exclaim that he's horny

#chainsaw man #csm #chainsaw man x reader #csm x reader #chainsaw man hcs #chainsaw man headcanons #csm hcs #csm headcanons #hayakawa aki #aki hayakawa x reader #aki x reader #aki hcs #aki headcanons #aki imagine #aki scenarios #denji x reader #denji #denji hcs #denji headcanons #denji scenarios #denji imagine #request

[phoenixwatchesmovies]

2023 Favorites

I'm kinda glad I was keeping track of what I watched, in retrospect, because looking back over my posts this year, I realized I forgot about a lot of stuff. XD After looking over the recaps and excluding rewatches, here's my top ten New Stuff I Watched for 2023:

10. Cabinet Of Curiosities

Bizarre nightmares unfold in eight tales of terror in a visually stunning, spine-tingling horror collection curated by Guillermo del Toro.

If GDT is your guy, give this a watch. Creature features, cursed objects, aliens, you name it. 8/8 tentacled eldritch abominations.

9. Wolf Creek

Three backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.

Holy shit, this was intense. And as I said initially, so mean. If you're into Texas Chainsaw Massacre, try this. I'm into franchise bingo, so I'm going to look into the sequels and TV series. 3/3 heads on a stick.

8. Requiem For A Dream

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep.

I get the feeling this is one of those that hurts so much more on rewatching, so there's that to look forward to. I've also rarely seen movies that do so much harmonizing between the music and the visuals, and it was so satisfying. 4/4 refrigerator jump scares.

7. Evil Dead Rise

A twisted tale of two estranged sisters whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.

This was probably the most fun I had with a horror movie all year, TBH. Horror exploring family dynamics will always be a fave, and this brought plenty of fresh stuff to the franchise while also holding onto the core traits. 5/5 Staffenies.

6. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.

This was the most fun I had watching a movie all year, period. If you know nothing about DND, it's a good fantasy movie. If you're a DND nerd, the game mechanics are baked into it. If you're a fan of found families, guess what! 6/6 stealth checks.

5. Cowboy Bebop

A ragtag crew of bounty hunters chases down the galaxy's most dangerous criminals. They'll save the world--for the right price.

I got exactly what I wanted out of this, so haters be damned. The anime is a masterpiece and a classic, but if you're not in the mood for the existentialism and other heavier themes, here ya go. 3/3 shower-bath-showers.

4. The Black Phone

After being abducted by a child killer and locked in a soundproof basement, a 13-year-old boy starts receiving calls on a disconnected phone from the killer's previous victims.

Near perfect, as far as I'm concerned. The older I get, the more kids-in-danger as a concept fucks with me, making this the most stressful movie I watched this year (though It Chapter One gave it a run for its money, and I still think they would make a great double feature). 5/5 black balloons.

3. Evil Dead (2013)

Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods.

It's gnarly. It's badass. I almost puked. I had THE BEST time. The story works as an effective allegory, the effects are gruesomely awesome, and the finale is metal af. Plain and simple. 70,000/70,000 gallons of fake blood.

2. The Crow

A man brutally murdered comes back to life as an undead avenger of his and his fiancée's murder.

Beautiful, sad, aesthetic for days, hella good soundtrack. *chef kiss* I still haven't seen The Batman, but they seem visually similar, so if you like that, you'll probably like this. For more in-depth thoughts, read my post. 1/1 epic rooftop guitar solos.

1. The Fall Of The House Of Usher

To secure their fortune (and future) two ruthless siblings build a family dynasty that begins to crumble when their heirs mysteriously die, one by one.

Not just a new favorite Mike Flanagan. A new favorite in general, and my number one for the year. I just screamed about this one last month, and I don't have anything more to add. I've seen Succession comparisons, and while I have no idea how accurate that is, there's my "if you like that, here's this." Holy crap. 7/7 deadly sins personified.

Happy New Year! 🥂

#yearly round up #watch a thon 2023 #tfothou #the crow 1994 #evil dead 2013 #the black phone #cowboy bebop netflix #dnd honor among thieves #evil dead rise #requiem for a dream #wolf creek #guillermo del toro's cabinet of curiosities

[lurksunderthebed]

Ngl your meta makes me wonder if the writers for the reboot still consider the backstory given to Ghost in the comics canon. To my understanding they were canon for the earlier games. At the very least it shines a new light on a lot of Ghost's interactions if so

This is definitely a good question. And that's actually up for interpretation. As far as we see there's nothing to suggest that they're still using 09 ghost backstory from the comics in the reboot.

All we get from reboot ghost backstory is that there was a betrayal that happened to Ghost that burned him so hard we see him visibly shy away from being teammates. Plus the addition of another skull mask ex teammate.

The game does take away a lot of character depth from the original games so it's debatable. Though tbh, I'm leaning towards a blended/probably different backstory for reboot ghost.

Reboot did different things with the characterisation of Price, Soap and Gaz. It stands to reason that Ghost would also follow suit as well.

Price for example isn't nearly as jaded/hardline "I'll do what I have to win aka unleash nuclear missiles in 09". OG Price's stint in russian prison definitely broke something in him that we don't see in reboot Price.

Gaz actually has a character, is presumably younger than before, and looks very different from the OG.

Soap's role in the game takes the place of Roach and we see him as an impulsive fiery 'young' sergeant Vs the grizzled captain we see in 09 with an apparent perfection streak/journal writing/drawing. (Now they could be referencing younger Soap from the OG modern warfare for reboot Soap, but that Soap didn't have a character back then that we could see, he was the player character insert in that game).

All of it points to the writers probably intending to do something else with Ghost's backstory. Keep Ghost being betrayed (thus hesitant to trust) but have it be a different incident than 09 most likely.

Again, this is certainly open for interpretation. And on a personal note, I'd rather have something a bit different than rehashing the same stories over again. Imo it makes it more interesting to keep it somewhat open so as to keep the mystery open.

It's more entertaining to think up all manner of backstory for reboot Ghost because a lot of things could apply for him.

But again that's just my two cents here 😂

Everyone is free to headcanon reboot Ghost's backstory whichever way they want.

#ask #ghostsoap

[ivyial]

RIGHT SO

after my previous reblog, i feel compelled to write a "short" post (love letter) about (to) this game

so for those of you who haven't played it, or never even heard of it, professor layton vs phoenix wright: ace attorney is a crossover game between the two franchises (you'll have guessed it from the title) and it is PAINFULLY underrated :,) (i also hear that it is now hard to get physical copies of this game at a decent price so i'm glad i kept mine)

essentially used to be my favourite game of all time before it got dethroned by the resident evil 4 remake (but i will forever remember it fondly). i remember my parents gifted it to me for easter back in 2014 (so i was around 12 back then) and i don't think they realised how much this would change me. like this is one of the reasons why i started thinking about studying law later LMAOO.

essentially layton and phoenix both end up helping this young girl, espella (i played it in french back then and her name is aria so their english names are a struggle for me) who is being hunted by witches and then put on trial in london for the assault of a ship's crew member. then the wildest thing happens and they get sucked into a book and are sent back to medieval times. yes it sounds insane. but in this small town called labyrinthia, witches are real, and so are witch trials (DOESN'T IT SOUND COOL AS FUCK??).

they've all forgotten who they are, though. phoenix doesn't remember being an attorney and layton doesn't remember anything either. they find espella again, and she's put on trial AGAIN, for witchcraft this time. the game alternates between the usual layton riddles and ace attorney's investigation/trial phases. the odds are high this time around, because those found guilty of witchcraft are shoved into a metal cage and plunged into a pit of fire. they're not messing around.

of course, it wouldn't be layton or ace attorney without a massive plot twist at the end. i'd argue this one is probably the most insane out of all layton games (it's even a bit far fetched tbh, but just saying, you do not see it coming) (okay it's even full of plot holes and i haven't revisited the ending in years but if i did, i think it would be detrimental to my mental health).

the art style is amazing - i'm in love with the later ace attorney art styles, starting from dual destinies and this game, and particularly the latest great ace attorney chronicles. here are a few of my favourite character designs from the game:

but overall, one of the best things about the game has to be the soundtrack. it is the perfect mix of both franchises' music and it is a CRIME that neither level 5 nor capcom have released this on spotify (capcom i know you have all other AA soundtracks on this app. add this one. i am begging you). if you've never played an ace attorney game before, then you do not know the sheer adrenaline of phoenix shouting OBJECTION and the music speeding up. here's one of my favourite tracks:

tell me this doesn't make you immediately want to confess to 47 crimes you haven't committed.

it's kind of the perfect crossover game if you're into the genre, it's perfectly balanced between riddles and trials. the stakes are also a lot higher and there's actual executions. maybe i shouldn't have played this at the age of 12 actually - at some point (spoilers ahead), maya is wrongly executed and the scene will forever haunt me for some reason:

(go to 18:06 if the youtube timestamp doesn't work) i chose the french version of the cutscene because it's the one i played back then and i find that the french dub is a lot more compelling than the english one (somehow? the french haven't produced a good dub in decades so). also maya's screams are downright heartbreaking and the scene was traumatising asf when i was a kid

ANYWAY. please play this game, it's so much fun. for the AA enthusiasts, there's an edgeworth cameo at the very end. i very much fear that this game will be forgotten eventually, but it warms my heart to see that there are still people talking about it on the internet.

#it is THE game of my childhood #professor layton #phoenix wright ace attorney #professor layton vs phoenix wright: ace attorney #professor layton vs phoenix wright ace attorney #phoenix wright #hershel layton #luke triton #maya fey #Youtube #plvpw

[wri0thesley]

we've had dottore kidnapping dilucs lover. now what about pantalone vs. ayato. tbh i dont know what extremes would the regrator go,, but im pretty sure alot of money would be involved. lots of political meetings with threats disguised with polite words. the fatuus is so entitled as to expect he could just buy darling from ayato, he just needs to name his price. After all, such beauty is worth every penny right? And yes we know ayato is very fucked up too but him and his loyalty and obedience kink. He could not possibly part with such a dedicated darling subject. i may be thinking w my puspus today but nat lsjdkdk i just wanna be stuck between the two men who would coddle me to death what can i say

oh . . . whilst we do know that him and yelan have had Something Going On in the past, such a public disagreement with a face of inazuma like the yashiro commission would present an extremely interesting conundrum.

oh, oh . . . and pantalone offering to buy them? asking ayato with a small smile on his perfectly polite face about what mora, what jewels, what . . . imports . . . might persuade him to part with such a lovely treasure, when said lovely treasure is probably perched on his lap or by his side? pantalone is no man to undress someone pretty with his eyes (he's far more refined than that, thank you very much) - but there's a slowness to the kiss on their hand, the murmurs of how lovely they look, a simmering kind of heat beneath the surface that tells both ayato and darling exactly how he feels about them.

oof. suddenly things get difficult for any snezhnayan imports in inazuma (and for an island nation, this is of course harder; it's far harder to smuggle things in for the snezhnayan locals who live there or for the rich people who have grown used to having snezhnayan fishes or weapons at their disposal). letters are written, all poisoned darts covered in silken words. pantalone visits more and more often and ayato cannot resist showing his hand, just a little; dressing you in more revealing outfits, having you greet pantalone and take him to his room at the estate (with thoma trailing behind), dangling you like a particularly fine treat. he has no intention of letting you go - you're perfect for him. so dedicated and sweet and lovely, so loyal to everything he asks of you, so docile and obedient whether it be in the corridors of the estate or on your knees beneath his desk or even tangled up in his silken sheets--

but for pantalone - a man who clawed himself up, who has known poverty, who sometimes fears still he is playing dress-up to the real nobility he interacts with . . . oh, he won't take ayato's little games and ploys of showing you off well at all.

#nat.txt #i too am thinking with my Sexy Parts oh no #not sfw text #yandere for ts #genshin impact posting

[imminent-danger-came]

i loved ur lmk fandomification rant, now i'm curious- who's your favorite (non-monkey!) lmk character (and any insights you want to share with the class? :eyes:)

Mei, Lady Bone Demon, and probably Azure!

But I could go on a long rant about any character in the show tbh, they're all my favorite character with the 3 I listed and MK being my "favorite favorites" (except maybe Jin and Yin, sorry guys. I do like their place as a sense of normalcy for MK, acting as the "monster of the week" antagonists in 4x01).

Little miss "I would watch my sword break 1000 times so long as I used it to protect the ones I care about" is my girly. Watched her best friend die in the A Hero is Born (AHIB) special and held onto that as a grudge all the way until 3x10. She just wants to see everyone make it out alive, but I doubt she's ready to pay the price required for that. No one in this show is. Mei watched Peng run away in 4x14 and wanted to kill that bird with her bear hands. She took everything Subodhi said to her in 4x09 so personally, like Subodhi probably knew she would, which allowed her to build off of MK's plan so they had a chance at succeeding. She's at her god damn limit. Her episodes (1x03, 3x02, & 4x05) are some of my favorites. She drives a motor cycle, she wears lipstick, she's a gamer, she wields a kick-ass sword, she's a dragon. In 3x12 she's willing to sacrifice Wukong for the sake of the world and more specifically MK. "Don't you realize you're hurting the people who care about you the most?" She's "fakin' it until she's makin' it". Literally what more could you ask for in a character.

Then you have LBD, who fights for a perfect world supposedly for mortal souls yet discards people the moment they no longer have a use to her. Ultimately I think she uses destiny as a crutch, as her way to cope with all of the suffering in the world. "I won't let you take my Destiny from me". You wonder how much it was about perfection and how much it was about her ability to change anything in the world she watched play the same tragedy over and over again. For the first 3 seasons she seems to be acting on destiny itself, she's the narrative our protagonists are running from. Then Embrace Your Destiny comes around, and you realize she was just as doomed by the narrative as anyone else. Doomed to a world of pain, unable to fix anything. The "to pain" scene is one of my favorite scenes, just in general. "Do you really still think the universe wants anything, from any of us?" "Don't you?" LBD and MK's foil is so fucking good. A delightful antagonist who they justify but don't victimize. Killed Spider Queen on screen. What more can I say.

Now Azure. Sweet Sweet Azure. The tragedy of Unckie Lion. Sincerely wanted to make the world a better place and was willing to sacrifice anything for it, just like LBD. I think about his scene with the Jade Emperor at least once a week. "How is it you come to stand before me today Azure, was there a point where you questioned it, or where you too oblivious in your own delusion to realize you were a mere piece in somebody else's game." Fucking insane. His abandonment issues are off the charts. He was gay for Wukong. He thought he could fix the world, and instead barely left it unbroken. He died with the power he couldn't use to change anything. He let himself become a pawn (continuing LMK's habit of manipulating royalty) thinking he could somehow avoid his fate. But the only way to win was to stop playing, and at every opportunity he had to stop he kept pushing. Moving forward. Just like LBD he was coping with the suffering of the world in his own way. It didn't work. Does it ever? Maybe MK will figure it out, maybe he'll leave the world better than he found it, but it's looking bleak. The 3 way foil between LBD, MK, and Azure haunts me.

And then maybe you realize every character in this show is just trying to cope with the world in their own way, and you stare at a wall for 3 hours about it.

Overall I think this image encapsulates it best:

#I am very much a tragedy enjoyer #I miss Azure SO MUCH and yet his arc was so good. There wasn't any other way it could end. #Me looking at LBD and Azure and MK parallels knowing MK is in some deep shit: *break dances* #And then Mei has had some negative character progression of her own over there #Do we think she's okay I'm half expecting a Mei breakdown next season. To pair nicely with MK's #Sandy has death vibes too ''you're too nice for your own good'' like there is not a single character I'm not worried about. #Everyone puts themselves on the line for each other but how many times can you do that without dying. You feel me. #Yes maybe I *am* expecting lmk s5 to be a tragedy! What of it! #My monkey lego tragedy fate vs freewill show #It's for me #Look I've loved tdp since I was like 15. Harrow is one of my favorite characters. There was no other way this was gonna go #I like themes and I like motifs and I like parallels and I like throwing all of those at my beloved characters #I can not help it it's the pattern recognition #Thinking about it 5 layers too deep #asks #lmk #lego monkie kid #monkie kid #lmk Mei #lmk LBD #lmk Lady Bone Demon #lmk Azure Lion #lmk analysis

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 9/27/22

pretty bad fatigue week! fewer in depth breakdowns of media, more naps

listening Faster Gun by Little Big Town, found through chase @pasta-pardner 's incredible bounty-hunters-to-lovers playlist. this is. hm. what is this. bluesier than is currently fashionable country? not meant as a dunk on the song, which i have had on loop for days, there's a very early twenty teens quality about the mix. what the fuck do i mean by that? fuck if i know!

honorary shoutout to the line "Put another bullet in the chamber with your smile" bc that's gotta be like twenty fic titles. if not i have a new mission.

-

reading pinging off a lotta stuff, which is not the fault of any of the works and more that i am unable to settle and concentrate on any one singular thing for longer than about four minutes.

luckily, i have read this article, which details the practice of sending your local boutique owner a bunch of links to the shit you want and then she places the shein order for you and you go pick it up at the store.

this is absolutely fucking fascinating to me. it is not detailed very well how/why/if they handle the infamously gnarly returns process as well? i also wish the article went into more depth about Why this is so successful, other than "uhhhhh online sales in Mexico are low for uhhhhhh...cash? reasons? haveyouthoughtaboutinvestinginalastmiledeliverycompany"

Both Sandon and the Précomas’ boutiques offer the same prices that users might find on the official app. The way they make a profit is by making the most out of the gamified discount system Shein offers its online customers. “The more items you buy on Shein, the better discounts you get and the more points you earn to exchange for other discounts,” Guarneros said.

we do gotta hand it to them and i do fully support these women leveraging their network of friends from previous pyramid schemes like avon and tupperware in order to make bank by gaming the fuck out of predatory gamified discount systems

-

watching the unbearable weight of massive talent (2022, dir Gormican)

now, is this movie sucking itself off a lot? yes, almost constantly. however, i had fun watching it. i feel like nick cage The Guy is probably pretty chill and has a good sense of humor in order to agree to do this movie

i like pedro pascal The Guy very much and as an actor (one of the rare actors where i'm like "that's a hot guy! also, i'm extremely horny for him!" as opposed to a lot of actors that i do think are pretty [daniel craig, etc] but don't necessarily want to fuck) anyway it feels like pascal had a ton of fun making this. are we slowly returning to the tight ninety-minute movie???? i would have watched ninety minutes of cage and pascal riffing off each other. the plot in this thing was superfluous tbh

-

playing fallow week

-

making stock! i have two batches actually bc i inherited a bunch of stock fixins from the good roommate, who properly roasted the bones and saved the skin and everything so the first batch is really gorgeous and dark and glittering with fat. i skimmed some of the fat off but not all, bc the stuff i make never requires perfect crystal clear broth and i like fat. i did do the cheesecloth straining thing tho.

also feat. a whole bunch of my landlady's herbs (which have not had a very good time this summer) and an entire four-year-old bottle of bay leaves. can't hurt yanno. plus a parmesan rind from the aforementioned roommate. all items pictured here before transformation into stock

the second batch is still on the stove as i write this, with somewhat fewer herbs and no bay leaf, but smells just as good. tastes slightly less good so i think roasting the cleaned bones or whatever the fuck she did to them really does make a difference, bc i fully just plopped a chicken carcass in the freezer after i finished getting most of the meat off it and gave it no more effort than that. HATE having to do more work to get a better quality final product!!!

#tuesday again #tuesday again no problem #Youtube

[threadsun]

Freaking. HELL MAN!!! Okay. OKAY! Literally got me acting like a fool pacing the around the entire house because I literally CAN’T EVEN! Neighbors probably think I’m lookin crazy with all these wild gestures, freaking messing up food sounding like Hein the old wheezy dog from Howl’s Moving Castle, had me shout out a curse in disbelief, literally was just about to walk into the microwave door. Alright, I had to stop writing for a moment because I wound up having a seasoning packet explode on me because I was not functioning right. Why am I telling you that? You can’t tell when I start or stop writing but I DON’T KNOW! In any case, note to self: do not try to do things before reading your messages. AND I STILL HAVEN’T GONE PAST THE BLUE TEXT! Listen, I’m a very animated person because of how much I’ve performed in musical theatre so like, freaking looked like I was doing a whole cabaret show up in here. That went WAY harder than I expected it to be and apparently there are some things I didn’t know I wanted until you said it. So um, yeah, thanks for that! 🥵 Okay so MAYBE I did underestimate you JUST a tiny bit and didn’t think you could get me to react more than before, but each time you’ve been proving me wrong and this one just takes the cake! LISTEN, I’M TRYING to be strong and tough here, but pulling out stunts like that MAKE IT SO HARD 😂 But I’m not giving in yet! NOPE! NOT HAPPENING! NO SIR! I am STRONG! I am CAPABLE of not submitting. Tbh, I don’t even know how to respond back to what you said because every time I look at it, I let out a flustered laugh and my eyes shift away instinctively (*coughandwhatyousaidisalltruesoCOUGHCOUGHCOUGH*) So nope! Totally don’t want to be or go through ALL of those things! No way! 👀

NOICE! Glad to hear I’ve got a chance! 😊 But I’ve gotta respect your professionalism though, it definitely builds self confidence in yourself and your products/services! I used to have the issue of selling myself short and giving away services like readings for free because I didn’t think it was worth anything, plus I wanted to help others. Because I did that though, I ran myself ragged and wound up having to stop. By putting limits like a price or a time limit, it shows that what you have is valuable and takes up your own personal time to do to provide them goods. People wind up respecting you more and you can still take care of yourself. Even though I feel like I didn’t learn much in college, it’s in moments like these that I just go “Okay, maybe I DID learn alittle bit.” Lol!

But yeah, DEFINITELY too bold for Ian. He’s the perfect example of needing to learn to love yourself first before you love another. If he only found himself more deserving of love and took the brave step of cutting ties with toxic people in his life like his mom, maybe he would’ve found more confidence in the type of relationship that he and M/C shared. I’m sure that his route will be all about healing his traumas and self-worth. I’m about to buy all these guys blanket warmers and just bundle them up while watching Disney movies.

AW HELL YESSSSS! Freaking LIVE for stuff like that man! Just having your brain go blank every time he uses a trigger phrase and a dopey smile lands on your face. My brain keeps going ultra subby mode thinking about all the ways this could go. BRRRRRR. Phantom of the Opera creates hypnosis kinks? No wayyyy! Mirror scene where Christine gets hypnotized and her makeup turns all sultry the whole next scene with a dreamy expression? Gerald Butler? PSSH! No one finds THAT incredibly hot, no! 👀 And then SDJ is loosely BASED off of said Broadway show/book/movie? Ain’t no way someone’s who’s dream was to play Christine Daae since Nursery school and would involve her entire life on getting that role would EVER love a game like this! Oh, and Jack’s supposed to be the Phantom? The sexiest guy in the movie but also the most freaking deranged? BOI. POTO was my yandere gateway, I swear 😂

Anyways! Fireman AU! But yeah, it’s so weird how one moment sunshine is just talking normally, but the next they’re drooling all over themselves and- wait did they just moan out Jack’s name? They’re begging to be pounded into oblivion? Well, the firehouse can’t let down their favorite pet, can they? So they’ll be more than happy to oblige! “Sunshine, if you keep drooling like that, you’re going to make everyone believe you can’t live another day without my love filling you up~! Don’t you know how dangerous that is sunspot? You don’t even know how much I’d love to make you mine in front of everyone, but that’s okay! Puppies like you are GREAT learners, so I’m sure you’ll figure it out in no time!” M/C is just a blushing, incoherent puddle at that point between the triggers and the copious amounts of touching. NOM NOM NOM, I could eat hypnokink ALL DAY EVERY DAY!!! OOO! I can’t even imagine the types of punishments they’d receive!

YA GOT THIS!!! But I’ll get my tombstone ready. RIP me when it does come out 😂 YUS! Like Jasmine or white orchid or something for Ian. I honestly don’t think that Alan would have any type of super woodsy smell on him, he’d be just straight CAMPFIRE with some kind of grass mixed in. Literally just laid down on the ground and that’s his scent 😂

OO OO OO! Sounding like a monkey over here lol, but that sounds like FUN! I’m curious at how far I’d be able to go since I love the heat normally (ice cubes feel SOOOO freaking good)! But that massage oil sounds aMAZING too! GOD, I love kinks! There’s so much fun things you can do and just that rush of dopamine. UGH! Love it! There’s a sex shop downtown where I’m at that has a floor dedicated to kinky items and I felt like a kid at a candy store lol. Sadly, I’ve never got to do much since my last relationship was long distance for years until we moved in together for a bit and had no privacy so we didn’t get to do much. Plus my drive is fiendishly high while his was a lot lower so we didn’t match up well in that aspect, but it’s okay! But I remember talking a lot about what I would get the moment I had the chance! (*coughgotropesbutnevergottousethemcough*) In any case, you got me curious, what’s the sensations with electricity? I know for me, I’m scared of being shocked by static electricity during the winter so I’ve never considered it, but I’m sucker for trying new things soooo 😗

Oh thank goodness!!! I got scared for a moment there! Anxiety and people pleasing tendencies got my heart racing like a mad man lol! I gotcha though and I’m glad you’re having as much fun as I am~😉 Also tell Moon that I’m eating up that whole discussion over on their blog! I normally pop on over because I love their writing too, but I saw how they’re discussing how certain parts of the fandom were acting ridiculous between the audio and Nick’s design and I was just like “YES! GO OFF!” 👏 😂 D’Awwww! \(//∇//)\ I got da SMOOCHES! Thank you Sun for trusting me to speak up and reassuring me that it’s all good 🩵 But noooooo, I’m not too neeeeeedy~! I’m a STRONG woman and I ain’t kneeling down to any dom! 😜

-🎃

It's cute, how easily flustered you get from just a few words~ And to think, you thought you knew what you were getting into? But as I said, you just need to meet a proper dom who knows you better than you know yourself. Who'll open your eyes to all those filthy little kinks you've been pretending not to notice. Someone who can tell that you want to be a helpless princess reduced to nothing more than a desperate whore, so eager for the approval of her dom that she'll accept any punishment and thank them for it.

Exactly, Ian needs to learn to love himself and also learn to trust mc to tell him how they feel. He's just got a whole boatload of trauma to work through and unlearn, and I hope his route is us getting to help him with that, because he deserves it!!

God yeah Phantom is sooooooo good for hypnokink~ Everything about Music of the Night is just 😘👌 perfect! Jack would definitely be the one to hypnotise you into becoming the perfect pet for the whole fire station crew. He'd scramble your brain so much, you'd truly believe you were a dog with no purpose other than to please them. He'd have you getting desperate and horny the moment you heard his voice. Hypnokink Jack is divine!!

Oooh Jasmine is a nice one for Ian!! Alan definitely smells like he took a nap in the grass next to a campfire. Man's just smoky and grassy and definitely hasn't showered in weeks.

Kinks are so fun!!! My first few introductions to kink were... not ideal. But when I got back into it at 18, it was with friends that I trusted and properly organised community events and stuff which was much better!! And now I've been in it for years and have dedicated my career to it :3c I feel very lucky that I get to do that tbh, it's not the most lucrative thing but it's fun and fulfilling!!

As for electricity, hmmmm... depends on what you're using and the voltage. A tens unit, for example, is kinda just tingly and buzzy because the pads are directly on your skin. Though if you turn it up enough, it'll also make your muscles tense/twitchy which can be fun if you're safe about it. A violet wand, on the other hand, doesn't actually touch the skin and instead creates sparks between the wand and your skin. So that feels a little more like a sharp, stinging pain. Almost like the world's tiniest, thinnest whip. It can also leave a tingly feeling afterwards if it's a higher voltage. But yeah, really depends on the type of electricity. A shock collar sometimes makes your blood feel like it's fizzing/bubbly and it's definitely a much harder (and less safe) form of estim. But violet wands, which is what most people think of when they think of electricity play, are mostly just delightfully sharp pain~

Don't worry, I'm very direct! I don't vaguepost, and if I did then I'd be like "this IS a vaguepost" in the tags lmao I'm not good at subtlety. Rest assured, though, I'm having plenty of fun~ And Moon said they're glad people have been taking it well!! We both feel strongly about the way people have been treating Sauce and the team, so it's good to know it really is just a vocal minority who are entitled bullies. Of course smooches!! Smooches for a strong, capable woman who just so happens to want to be forced onto her knees and used~

#sunshine #asks #🎃 anon

[appreciatingtokrev]

that's really nice to heard that you guys managed to turn it around then! hopefully, your friendship will last for many years to come 🙂 i recently had to cut off a friend for 8 years because she went too far since she let bad experiences define her too much and i couldn't do it anymore 😭 it did made me realise that friendship or any general relationship does take work but it won't happen if the other party doesn't listen 😅 i'm a mac user and it's not available for IOS users expect for the iPhones but you can get GI on an iPad but most don't know this. Mac aren't really great for games anymore, you can't download any from steam now. that does make sense and maybe the company just abandoned it since they don't see a need switch version considering the success.

I've heard that the gacha concept is bad for ppl with gambling issues though like some ppl do impulse buy on there a lot. i've gave into playing honaki star because i wanted to be there from the start. which one do you prefer? i like honkai star more, how about you?

you are right, i got a bit lost there and we don't have the high school system on my end so i have to look up fms 😅 are you still in high school then (?) where i live, ppl your age are at university or they're retaking the previous year to get into uni.

i read the manga a while back so i've looked it up and you're correct. that is a good point, koko does seem more likely to change compare to inupi. that's true since even mitusya was still a member in bad toman and mikey disappeared and kisaki's influence. i wonder that cause koko to change that much in the bonten timeline though? because he definitely knew what he was doing then by signing up to it willingly.

it is a bit hard and long 😅 which version of venti do you want to cosplay? that is a shame but more interesting characters will appear where you might want to cosplay them instead and like you said, you could always start now.

tbh, anime merchandise is pretty expensive so if you could order it, it would be a little bit hard to find reasonable prices 😭 there are limited edition perfumes of TR that cost at least 100+ for just ONE, i was talking to someone and she will buy at least more than one but i was like wait, what if you don't like the scent? and then she said i'll just add it to my anime collection then and i went 💀 i would never do that, would you? making his earring must been cool though, does it jingle then? you're almost there then! wouldn't a wig be uncomfortable though? and hot to wear in the summer ? my cousin said the same thing about the hotness and you guys are exactly one month apart from each other, she's 16th of March lol. i'm not telling anyone that i'm cosplaying 😂 i'm just going to wear it as an outfit every once in a while and i'm not buying a wig.

i'm not a makima fan either, i just like her outfit lol. the fanart of her are cool though considering how terrifying/dark they are. why don't you like her? it really was and luckily i managed to get the last one for my size otherwise i've would given up 😭 thanks, it's not perfect, there is a split at the back (at the bottom) but closet i was going to get so i'm happy.

ty!! yeah i hope so too :] oh no,, i’m sorry for you ajdjfkh losing friends you’ve had for so long is very hard but if you believe it’s better that way i’m glad you did it & i hope it doesn’t take too much of a toll on you. a few years ago me and my best friend of 8 years grew apart and well... i was pretty sad about it tbh but i mean that’s life.

hm interesting, didn’t know abt any of the technical genshin stuff bc for my laptops it’s always worked without a problem

i hate to admit it but i’ve spent money on genshin too, though it was a one-time thing and i was still financially stable afterwards (otherwise i wouldn’t have done it). but yeah, it’s definitely a problem for gambling addicts.

ohh personally i prefer genshin, probably bc it’s what got me into gaming on pc and i’ve been playing it for so long lol but i prefer honkai star rail over honkai impact for sure. i do prefer the gi/hi fight mechanics but those in hsr are very fun too and i like that they did something different for once!

yeah i mean it’s not really a highschool here either... i would explain the school system in switzerland to you but it’s a little complicated so ajfjfjhsk tbf i’m a bit older than most people in my class tho it’s not too unusual for someone my age to be where i am bc the fms & gymnasium often have people repeating a bunch of times or similar things. most people actually graduate highschool at abt 18 to 20 where i live, in my specific type of class even half a year later so 19 to 21. and i’ll graduate at 22 so yeah lol. then i’ll probably go to university

i guess koko is just more prone to crime than e.g. inupi or mitsuya? i think it has to do with his trauma relating money because he knew that getting into bonten would secure him good business (if he works well ofc, but he knows he does lol) plus the other people who ended up joining bonten wanted him to be there too so that gives him an easier time making a decision.

i’d love to cospaly just his normal outfit, the one he wears in-game! my hair’s been growing out since and i never dyed it but i actually got pretty much the same haircut as him last summer lol. now idk what i wanna do with my hair and i hate going to the hair dresser so i haven’t cut it since ajdjfkhsk.

yeah, merch is so expensive 😭 i ended up finding a store in the city where my school is at that sells some animanga merch, including tokrev (and gi) stuff, so i now have a tiny takemichi figurine and a little plushie mitsuya keychain hehe, and both weren’t too expensive. i’ve also been planning on crocheting some little tokrev dolls inspired by a silly fic i read lol but my motivation has been so low 😭 ah yeah i’ve seen a bunch of tokrev perfumes too... i mean. if she likes spending money on stuff and has enough money to do it... her choice i guess

it does jingle!! i haven’t worn it yet tho bc i don’t mind the sound but i’m pretty sure the public doesn’t lmao so i might make another that looks the same but doesn’t make any noises so i can wear it.

mhh honestly i don’t think i will care abt wearing a wig too much, it’s not for too long and while i hate tge heat i can tolerate it quite easily so. and i think it will be plenty of fun (and struggle) to style it haha

oh lol, i see i’m collecting people with birthdays similar to mine one way or another lol. that actually makes a lot of sense! her outfit very much is perfect to just wear casually so. omg i love makima fanart, especially when people incorporate a lot of symbolism and/or horror elements. she’s just so pleasing to look at in a way ajdkfjsjh. she gave me bad vibes from the start and well i dislike her for her actions, which should be pretty popular lol. any reason in particular that you dislike her? omg pretty much the same thing happened to me with my valhalla jacket jacket, i’d checked out every store in town and was SO close to giving up when i found one slightly too big (it makes my shoulders look weirdly broad but i have some ideas on shortening the sleeves to fix it) and it looked okay so i bought it.

#☆—`ask #anon: z

[littlechameleonguy]

Using the good days preparing for the bad ones

This applies to both physical and mental health and are things I (try to) do to get through my bad days because honestly on these days there is only little I can do.

Part 1: Food and Hydration

The most important thing I can do to prepare for bad days is to have food at home. I'm not going to buy groceries when I'm sick or depressed so it has to be at my place or I wouldn't eat at all. (That's the law. It's really not my fault.) It doesn't have to be healthy food tbh it just has to be there and quick to prepare. If I have the energy to chop some veggies and make a bow - great but I probably won't. Usually even getting up to my fridge will be a challenge so I'm glad if the food is pretty much ready. So having supplies is a blessing. Quick frozen meals to heat up are perfect. Even frozen pizza or mozzarella sticks are fine. It's still better than no food at all. Even protein shakes are better than no food.

Snacks are great too. Having nuts, fruits, protein bars and other stuff around is so helpful. I don't even know I'm eating but my body will get some energy. I always have snacks stored at both my home and my work place so I always have something. (Chips and chocolate are fine too don't let anyone tell you otherwise.)

For drinking water it's pretty much the same thing. I wouldn't have the energy to get some so it has to be around. I personally drink water from the tab but this applies either way. Big containers help a lot. If I have a big glass I don't have to refill it that often and I will drink more. I also have a lot (a lot a lot) of water bottles and to go cubs. Therefore there is always one around when I need it. I have some at home, at work, in my car, in my most used bags. (Remember to clean them from time to time though. Another thing to do on the good days but that's a whole other point.)

If drinking water is hard there are alternatives. Drinking tea is also fine or putting some fruits in the water to mix it up helps too. There are also these air up bottles around that seemed to help. I personally don't need those but heard they help a lot. But honestly same as with the food: anything is better than nothing. So if the drink is the sugary lemonade so be it. We can make up for it another day. Today we just want to survive.

Careful though with the caffeine intake. Mine was really bad a couple of years ago and my body is still paying the price. I still drink coffee. I can't live without coffee but I'm more careful now. after two cups or later in the evening I change to decaf coffee. (It's really not that bad just find the right ones.) Also when I'm already anxious I try to cut caffeine altogether. I don't really drink energy drink but here applies very much the same...

Drinking alcohol on bad days for me personally is always a bad idea as well. So I try not to do that at all. Here applies the opposite of from the things above. If it's not around it's a lot less likely I might drink it. So my alcohol supplies at home are very limited...

Lastly, (and honestly that helps the most even though it's the hardest) talk. This will apply to more than just the food stuff but I really want to list it here because it is a game changer. I've talked to the people around me about my eating and drinking water issues on good days so now they can help me on the bad ones. Roommates are the best at this by far. If they know you're not able to buy or prepare food yourself they can help and honestly most do. Pretty much the same happens with coworkers. Some of my coworkers know that I'm really bad at staying hydrated and eat when I'm stressed so they get me stuff too when they buy themselves food and ask me if I want another tea as well. I'm not working there for long so it's not a trust thing and I haven't exactly explained my issues but almost everyone knows that staying hydrated is hard. Also it sometimes results in people asking you out to lunch or coffee and that is really nice if my health isn't too bad for this.

#mental health #physical health #self care #personal

[scarletwix]

1, 13, and 14 for the yet another writing ask

What if we pretended I didn't lose this ask game after spending several days trying to pull my head out of Longfic land for the last question ^.^;

Answers for this ask game, if anyone else wants to send me stuff :)

anyway check me out, finishing this at nearly midnight instead of sleeping before a big conference I'm helping host tomorrow because I'm an adult, but I'm an adult who makes the *best* decisions (/s)

Which of your fics would you keep the basic plot of but rewrite completely?

Oh dang, this one's rough. I just went back through my AO3 to find some ideas and,,, how did I used to write so much? Mo what happened to me circa 2017? Oh wait that's when TLRH started taking over my frontal cortex and also I moved to Idaho for Uni

My answer would probably have to be "The Price of Perfection" or,,, and I can't believe I'm saying this "Wish you were Here" I slapped WYWH up there unbeta'd and even though it did motivate me to keep going on the rest of TLRH, part of me still wishes I had waited. though tbh I only really regret it because of how much I want to do it better this time. And PoP is nearly finished (like 2 chapters left) and I definitely know I could do the concept more justice if I wanted to. but that's just. so much.

13. Rate your worldbuilding skills from 1 to 10.

Oooof Okay. maybe a 6/10? I've been learning a lot lately and practicing to try and broaden my horizons. Jim is excellent at worldbuilding and has been helping me learn what to do, so I'm bumping my score up from what I would have said it was a while back to a flashy barely passing grade.

14. Write and share the first sentence of a new fic. Just that.

It was moments like this that Remy could see the family resemblance.

#do you have any idea... how long I agonized over that last question. Mo. Mo. I have *so many fics* bouncing around in my head. #the one I went with is a gamquick anxf thing that wrote itself in my head at 4 am while I drove to work #and then got knocked out of my head when I beaned myself at the factory. #ask game #also this is entirely /j /pos I had so much fun with this

[mermaidsirennikita]

Fuck. They worked so hard to get HBO MAX to be the next big thing, a true contender to stand out from all others and this penny pincher is going to burn it all down?

Other companies are going to see this. They might be worried because a failure can reflect badly on everyone else. But maybe they will reach out to everyone who's getting screwed over, even copy and perfect what the mission was.

I wonder who will do it first. My money is on Disney. Netflix if they feel desperate enough to risk it.

If peacock does though, then we'll definitely know it's game over.

Seeee, y'all trash the 'cock, but it's actually doing kinda well lol. They started out with that free ad tier, which tbh??? Kinda is a great way to lure people into paying for the ad tier with more content, because it's so fucking cheap. Whereas Netflix started without ads, is getting progressively more expensive while pissing people off, and will be introducing a tier with ads, and Disney+ has introduced an adless platform and now you'll have to downgrade to save money and watch ads. As much as I don't love ads, I think setting realistic expectations and going from there is smarter in the long term.

Plus, they've actually been investing in interesting content that has kinda gone under the radar, but suggests that they have good taste and can expand as the big guys fuck up. Girls 5Eva is fucking hilarious and well-received critically, The Resort has been a really interesting mystery I see people getting drawn into in a sleeper hit sense (again, critically well-received), Dr. Death suffered from an excess of Alec Baldwin but was otherwise good and timely, and opened up the opportunity for an anthology which they're taking... They have The Best Man: The Final Chapters coming, which is going to satisfy a fandom that has been waiting for a conclusion for years (and has proven that they're willing to come back in droves and pay to see the content a decade later). I think the 'cock could ultimately end up winning big. They're just slow and steady wins the raise, which tbh??? May be good, if the issue with Netflix is that they went too big too fast.

And while, who knows, prices will probably go up, Peacock starts out so cheap that you can still set it and forget it. I upgraded from the free tier to watch the Olympics. Then I just didn't notice it (the way I'd notice things like Hulu and Netflix) and they actually started doing things I liked. There's some logic to that.

Disney and Netflix seem most likely to go in for the carcass of HBO Max, because Disney is big and a fucking machine, and Netflix is desperate for good press. However, Prime has the Amazon money and Hulu has actually been doing pretty well for itself, though it's not very flashy. Apple also has a lot of money, though I find their programming largely dull with some exceptions (Loot). The thing is that as good creators feel betrayed or unsure about WB, everyone else should court them hard.

We'll see!

[rackartyg]

i’ve been waiting for my new 3080 pc build since november (’cause they won’t send the order until they have all the parts and, you know) and!! it’ll probably arrive by next week!!

#only thing that'll get me excited about my birthday tbh #it'll turn up at my parents' house since WHEN I ORDERED IT 20 YEARS AGO #i was still living there #so it would be cool if they could bring it down with them when they come here for my birthda #y #now i'll have to start saving up for that 32" 1440p monitor i wanted i guess #she speaks #a tentative entry into girl gamerhood #excite!!! #i can probably still sell my old rig as well it's not that dated #honestly i don't even need to upgrade i just Want To #my old buddy would be perfect for a kid just starting out with their first dedicated gaming pc tbh #i can probably hawk it to some clueless dad on swedish ebay #for a decent price #excite excite exciiiiite!!!!!!