#BLAST Bash 2024

[adriaticpulse]

BLAST ulazi u mobilni esport s BLAST Bash događajem

Organizator esport turnira BLAST napravio je svoj prvi korak u mobilni esport scenu najavljujući BLAST Bash, online događaj koji će obuhvatiti tri igre mobilnog developera Supercell: Clash of Clans, Clash Royale i Brawl Stars. U sklopu BLAST Bash događaja, održat će se tri različita natjecanja sljedećeg mjeseca. To su BLAST Brawl 2024 (10. i 11. listopada), BLAST Royale 2024 (12. i 13.…

[berryyuni]

home. my home - nrk

✿ nothing beats your late night confessions with your boyfriend.

pairing - bf!riki x gn!reader genre - est. relationship, fluff wc - 615 warnings - kissing, affection, VERY soft

tiana's note 🎀 - this was written for my lovebug @j4keluver <3 tysm for requesting this :') this was a blast to write and i hope i did you justice <33

౨ৎ reblogs and feedback are greatly appreciated !! <3 ✧˖° ... (library)

you were pulled out of your light slumber by the sudden feeling of an arm snaking around your waist followed by a soft kiss on your shoulder. you don’t even remember falling asleep. all that you were able to recall was that you were scrolling through tiktok, waiting for your boyfriend to come home from work - nothing new. but apparently you weren’t able to win the battle against sleepiness this time. 

you rolled over on your other side and was met with ni-ki’s soft yet tired gaze. “hey beautiful” he said, moving his hand up to stroke the top of your head. your heart instantly melted at his touch.

“hey ki,” you said in a sleep tone, “when did you get home?”

“not too long ago,” he yawned, “i saw that you were asleep and didn’t want to wake you so i just quickly showered,” he paused, “i’ve seen you asleep so many times but i will never get over how cute you look when you are”

“don’t even,” you scoffed, “i probably look all gross, drooling all over the place” you rolled back onto your back, putting your arm over your eyes.

ni-ki moves down your arm, “don’t say that, you always look cute” he laughed and pulled you closer to him - lowkey forcing you to roll back over to face him. 

once you do, he pinches your cheek causing your face to scrunch up. “what’s up with you tonight?”

“i just missed you… a lot more than usual for some reason” he answered, seeming somewhat bashful.

“ki” you pouted, “we could’ve called when you were on break” you brought your hand up to his cheek, gently caressing it with your knuckles. he leaned into your touch then moved his head over to press a kiss against your hand. 

“my phone died,” he groaned, “so it made it ten times worse”

“of course it did,” you laughed, “no wonder”

“at least i’m home with you now,” he breathed out, pulling you into his chest allowing you to snuggle against it. “you’re my home” he murmured.

you doubted your ears for a moment. did you hear what you thought you just heard? “what’d you say?” you asked softly, leaning your head up to meet his eyes.

“hm?’ he smiled, massaging the back of your head.

“what was the last part you said, ki?” 

“that you’re my home.” he said - as if it was nothing.

you went silent for a moment to process his words. it caught you off guard - not in the bad way. you knew ni-ki loved you. you really do. he made sure it was known every moment you had together. but for him to say that you were home to him, of course you needed a moment to let it sink in. you mustn’t have noticed that your eyes welled up with tears because ni-ki nuzzles his nose against yours - something he would usually do to comfort you and make you smile, which he claims is effective but to you it only made you want to cry even more. 

“i am?” your voice cracked.

“you are y/n, you’re who i always want to come home to. you make me feel complete.”

without needing to say anything else, you pull him into a kiss to which he happily returns. after you pull away from each other, you wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him into your chest. “i love you so much ki”

“i love you more y/n. believe me.” he replies sleepily. 

a few moments pass only to be met with silence as the two of you fall asleep in each other’s arms, feeling at home. your forever home.

©berryyuni 2024. all work is written by me. do not copy, translate or repost

[beardedmrbean]

After a report implied many voters of color in swing states are souring on President Biden, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, sparked outrage for implying they are only doing so because they are uninformed and blinded by their feelings.

CNN's "State of the Union" host Dana Bash spoke to a panel on her show about a recent report from The New York Times, "Trump Leads in 5 Critical States as Voters Blast Biden, Times/Siena Poll Finds." The report included polling that claimed, "Black voters — long a bulwark for Democrats and for Mr. Biden — are now registering 22 percent support in these states for Mr. Trump, a level unseen in presidential politics for a Republican in modern times."

Bash addressed Crockett and read an excerpt from the report, "In a remarkable sign of a gradual racial realignment between the two parties, the more diverse the swing state, the farther Mr. Biden was behind, and he led only in the Whitest of the six."

"It’s really scary for me," Crockett replied, before going on to explain why she thinks this shift appears to be happening.

"Here’s the deal, perception is reality, and so when you look at the data that was provided in this poll, it talks about how people feel… it is all about how you feel in that moment," she said. "While the facts may not align with their feelings, their feelings are dictating their reality and their reality is that they feel better or they felt better when Trump was in office."

Crockett added that Democrats have been "trying to push back" against this, even as "some very popular African American artists out here saying things like ‘Oh I got checks when Trump was in office. I want those checks again,’ not understanding that really came from Congress."

"So we have got a couple of things, the perception issue and then we also have an issue as it relates to civics in this country and people not understanding exactly how any of this works," she concluded.

As footage of Crockett’s statement shot across the internet, commentators condemned her rhetoric on social media.

"’Voters are too stupid and they don't understand their betters’ is probably not a great campaign message for Democrats," The Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway wrote.

"The utter disdain these elitist lawmakers have for their own constituents is really mind-blowing," commentator Joe Concha wrote.

"Where did she get such a sense of superiority?" journalist Miranda Devine wrote.

"Pre Obama the Democrat’s stock response to dropping numbers in a demographic was, ‘we’ll go and listen, and try hard to earn that support,’" columnist David Marcus wrote. "Today it is, ‘they are wrong, and somewhat ignorant, we’ll show them why we are smart and right.’"

"Imagine being this dismissive of your voters? Democrats seem to think the people who they need to elect them are all stupid and incapable of understanding what’s actually happening," radio personality Mike Opelka wrote.

"Oh really," Fox News host Lawrence Jones III wrote.

Many commentators, especially Black conservatives, scorched Crockett for appearing to underestimate Black voters' ability to grasp politics.

"In other words, according to Democrat @RepJasmine Crockett, Blacks are too stupid to understand how much better they are under Biden," conservative commentator and former 2024 presidential hopeful Larry Elder wrote. "Not too bigoted! If Trump said this, Democrats would be drawing up another article of impeachment."

"Once again telling the Black community that we are not intelligent enough to see what’s going on and understand it," former Republican congressional nominee Jeffrey A. Dove wrote. 

"Democrats: Blacks are too emotional to think clearly. Smart pitch," HotAir associate editor David Strom wrote sarcastically.

[midnightedengaming]

Anime North 2024 Blog

Day 2

It rained. A lot.

But even so, I had such an incredible time!

The original plan for today was to wear my Bleach cosplay, walk around the convention, maybe go to a panel, and then hit up the Bleach photoshoot at 5pm.

But since I was staying so close to the convention, I decided to wear BOTH my cosplays that day! That way, I could go to the Zelda photoshoot at 12pm as well.

The weather had slightly different plans.

It was a light rain when we left the hotel. Luckily, I remembered to bring an umbrella to Toronto so I could keep my makeup from being washed off. Little did I know that, when it came time for the photoshoot, the light rain would become a torrential downpour.

There were still quite a few of us who showed up to the Zelda photoshoot, and luckily, we were able to hide beneath a few trees from the rain and get a few photos in! It was such a wonderful time despite the rain. There was a raffle, there were four people dressed up from the Yiga Clan who brought bananas with them, and overall everyone looked absolutely stunning in their cosplays!

My dress got soaked but fortunately, my phone and merchandise did not! I am so glad I had my umbrella!

I met up with my friends back at the hotel. We got all dolled up and went to lunch! Then I missed a panel I thought I might like to go to, but it was alright because I'd already gotten to enjoy a panel with similar vibes from the day before, so it wasn't devastating or anything (and I really enjoyed my lunch too, haha)!

Then I got dressed in my Bleach cosplay and headed back to the convention!

This is the only gripe I had about the entire weekend. I had to get my weapon checked, and in order to do so, I had to walk SO FAR! Weapons check was not in the area it previously had been. Instead, they moved it to a completely different building (and it was on the far end of that building, too)! I'm glad I left well over an hour before the photoshoot was scheduled to begin, because it took me that long to find Weapon's Check and then walk back to where I started in order to get to the photoshoot.

The photoshoot, however, was an absolute BLAST! It was so much fun to see all the Bleach cosplayers! And I was also just so happy to be surrounded by people who shared a passion for the same anime I did. Also it was hilarious whenever the organizer called up a group of people (Quincy, Hollow, etc) and all the Ichigo cosplayers went "so us too, right?"

I had so much fun!

It's also really cool to see all the photos from the shoot pop up online!

There's only two issues: 1, I wish someone had reminded me to pull my mask down because I think I kept it up 80% of the time (oooops). And 2, I keep finding pieces of myself but nothing complete (so far! Lmao)

I think this is HILARIOUS, by the way. No hard feelings at all! My friends have called me Exodia. So we've got the head and the left arm, now I just need to find the other pieces! LOL

Anyway, after that was the Shonen Jump photoshoot!

And that was also amazing! It's so nice to have all the fans of different shows come together and cheer each other on instead of bashing each other's shows (looking at you, Twitter). I also saw that the One Piece photoshoot was moved to this later time because they got rained out, so I'm happy that it was sunny by 5pm so that they could get a chance to shine!

Overall, another very fun day! I did some shopping and met some wonderful people.

[instruth]

A SILENT PRAYER

Prayer needs no words

A symphony of soft bliss

Melodious wind of swords

Kind touch of a bashful kiss

Softer than a carefree whisper

Quietly, an invading mist of dawn

Away, from a dark night's whimper

Up! Hopping off like a new born fawn

Sweet chiming from the distant bell

The captivating sound of ten violins

A summon to heaven from hell

Strum of harps, of mandarins

The cello plucks a lowly knell

A blast of trumpet therein

A prayer that all be well

silent prayer weaves

a colorful tapestry

for a peace divine

©Johnny J P Lee

18 July 2024

HAIBUN:

(Gogyoshiren Poem + Haiku 5-7-5)

Photos Credit: Aseelalattar

[faelune-home]

FFXIVWrite 2024 #28: Deleterious

(A/n: Magic role quest finale! This prompt works really well for chronic hero type wols, and mine kinda is like that. But in a way, it also works for Alisaie, always trying to better herself and take on the WoL's burdens. she pushes herself just as hard so the WoL doesn't have to. So they can both be pretty bad about it aha.

but yay, I said I wanted to finish a role quest during the month and I did! There's always room to add more details and cover more plot points and bridge the gap between chapters more with edits, but that's for later. And I still have a few days left so let's see if I can get one more role quest written for before the end.

Word count: 1963)

“We are in agreement with our strategy then?” Aymeric asked the group, standing waiting atop the stairs of the main hall within the Vault. The windows rattled with the blizzard that continued to rage outside. Even with her continued frustration that the city still seemed beset by this storm during her time there, Alisaie couldn’t help also feeling a touch nervous at how the battle would ensue in the middle of it.

“You and I will hold the beasts attentions while Lady Fhara and Lady Alisaie bear their all against it,” Artoirel recited, casting a glance at the ladies, “Although Lady Alisaie has assured us she can manage with the curative magicks as well, I am willing to provide additional healing if need be.”

She nodded at his assessment.

“I won’t deny I had much to learn to bring my white magicks up to par in my training, but I’ll do my best.”

Beside her, Fhara shuffled nervously, fidgeting with the rings in their holsters.

“We have all our bases covered then,” Aymeric said, though it sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself first. He steeled his shoulders and stood tall, fully in command.

“Let’s move then!”

~~

With the raging snow storms to blanket the uppermost towers of the Vault, Alisaie almost had to wonder if their target would even find them. They were putting a lot of faith in Aymeric’s plan that Profane Fafnir would be summoned forth by a remnant of the former Archbishop.

The man in question stood unyielding despite the storm, crozier in hand, waiting for a response. Everyone simply stood back, forced to wait as well.

Ears open for any sound other than the roar of the wind, waiting for a shifting shape in amongst the flurry.

A particularly strong gust blew through the upper plaza, and with the frost on the smooth floors, Alisaie found herself blown off her feet and slipping into Fhara’s side.

Ever the stalwart ally, Fhara was ready to catch her, keeping her steady and helping her stay on her feet.

Alisaie didn’t have time to respond, in thanks or even to reassert herself, when Aymeric’s voice shouted over the din.

“It approaches! Make ready!”

She could barely see anything, just white all around. But she heard something. Something familiar.

A roar like a dragon, but layered with aching howls and inhuman wailing over the thundering wind.

Then even beats like wings flapping.

Even before Alisaie had her weapon fully unsheathed, she could already feel the energies of Fhara’s aether connecting with her, ready to provide support.

As she always did.

“With me!” came Artoirel’s call, breaking through the din as he charged forth and taking hold of the beast’s attention with a bash of his shield right as it made to land, howling and turning to him.

“At its flank, Ali!” Fhara called, already jumping through the snow fall with grace, unencumbered by the cold, barely minding the slush underfoot. Alisaie took up her own position at the opposite side, unleashing thunder upon the curled tendril hide.

The follow up fire blast felt especially potent unleashed from her focus staff, already seeing the effects of Fhara’s support in battle. Twas only a shame the heat couldn’t linger a moment long, but she had no time to worry about that as the dragon began to take to the air once more.

“Is it fleeing?” she asked, worried that they’d have to take chase and potentially lead to a more populated area.

“Nay, our ruse has angered it enough that it will continue the fight,” Artoirel responded, gesturing for them to keep an eye on the skies once more as he added, “Keep watch, this storm gives it an advantage to attack.”

An obvious fact that didn’t need to be stated, but they turned their eyes to the sky, waiting for any aberration against the snowy gloom. It was a long wait, fearing that the beast had indeed fled, until suddenly-

“Incoming on my left, move!” Aymeric shouted, and with only a moment to spare before the onslaught of frost laded breath began to coat the floor, Alisaie and Fhara raced to get out of the way.

Alisaie almost slipped, struggling to gain purchase, until she felt herself being propelled forward the final way to safety, hearing a hiss of pain behind her. She didn’t even have to know what had happened, immediately turning and preparing a Vercure for Fhara, who was wincing as she hovered a hand over her other arm, covered in an extra layer of frost.

Always the hero. 

Alisaie had to bite back the sharp comment she wanted to make, especially as the dragon landed once more, its layered howling roar echoing against the cobbles as it reignited the attack against Artoirel, its tail lashing out toward Aymeric.

Fhara was already racing back into the fight, pink aether tinged jumps propelling her forward and giving strength to her chakrum throws.

Alisaie huffed, casting another Vercure for Aymeric’s blow from the spiny tail, then leaping forth with her own aether, sword embedding into the beast’s thick behind.

The battle raged, Profane Fafnir’s breath scorching them with ice at every turn, fired into the air to descend upon them, forcing them to spread out lest they catch each other in the assault.

Its wings beat furiously, joining with the stormy winds to try and throw them off their feet and over the edge into the clouds far below.

It let out another screeching howl, piercing through the air such that they all flinched at the sound. Barely above the din, Artoirel could be heard cursing, “Fury, what was that?”

One of Fhara’s chakrams flew over the beast and hit it sharp at the back of its head, causing it to spin around and suddenly snap directly at her. She dodged out of the way, but was immediately winded once more as another piercing howl was unleashed directly in her face. Its massive flank hid the men from view, but Alisaie had no doubt they were trying to regain its attention, to turn it away from them both.

But she still had to do something, and without thinking, threw herself forward, slashing into its exposed neck.

Its piercing scream cut off sharply, however it wasted no time flinging its heavy head into Alisaie’s side, throwing her back and against the floor like she was just a nuisance fly.

She heard Fhara call her name, worried, ears ringing from the blow such that if it weren’t for Fhara’s hands already on her, trying to help Alisaie back up to her feet, she’d think they were malms apart.

Always minding her.

Underneath the white noise and the wind, she heard Aymeric call for aid as more blasphemous monsters crawled over the sides of the tower and into their arena.

“It must’ve summoned them forth! Take care!” Artoirel yelled.

She couldn’t be the weak link. She could already see Fhara taking up a protective spot in front of her.

“Take it easy Alisaie, I can handle them,” Fhara said, already going through the steps that then pushed back on the approaching tide with a final stomp. The endless chattering sounds surrounding them showed no end to the horde.

“The beast is also preparing to attack! We’ll be overwhelmed!” That was Aymeric behind them, and indeed when Alisaie chanced a glance, she could see Profane Fafnir flying above them, energy gathering in its gaping maw.

“I can hold against the blast,” Artoirel stated, already taking up stance in the centre of the ring.

“What of the others?” said Aymeric, even as he took cover behind his companion, Fhara and Alisaie backing up to join him.

“I’ll-” No!

“I’ll handle that,” Alisaie stated, immediately cutting Fhara off, “I’ll have them in one blow!” She turned her back to Artoirel and was already gathering as much power as she could muster into her focus, stretching her aether to cover the area.

Black and White magic building in tandem, ready to rain down like meteors upon her targets. Building and building-

She could feel a final surge of protective energy, layering over the top of Artoirel’s aether. If his were like protective wings encasing them, this familiar magic was like a warm embrace.

Always trying to do what she could. This much Alisaie couldn’t fault her on, as much as it tired her out that she always had to do something.

In the same moment Fafnir’s mighty breath sprung forth, bitter frost nipping at their skin and armour even through the protective layers of several shields, Alisaie unleashed her own attack.

The arena was bathed in white light, almost bathing the battle in silence as the panicked chittering faded with their enemies’ demise. Once the light faded, it was only the four of them, and Fafnir, landing once more and approaching with heavy footsteps.

Alisaie, tried not to collapse from the exertion, using her sword embedded into the ground to keep herself standing. A similar warmth to the pink aether tinged shield washed over her, healing her aches and giving her a momentary burst of vigour.

Fhara was watching over her as she got to her feet again. Always reliable.

Alisaie gave a nod, confirmation enough that she was ready to keep going, and all four jumped back into the fray, surrounding their beast and continuing the fight.

This time, as a fresh gust of wind blew over them, it was Profane fafnir that stumbled, finally tiring in the fight. And with that stumble came an opening.

“Now!”

Aymeric didn’t even need the order, as Alisaie and Fhara lept in tandem.

Fhara’s chakram throw slicing through skin, and Alisaie using the opening to pierce right through.

Profane Fafnir’s head flew back, letting out another one of those layered echoing wails into the sky. Its weakened cry faded, even as it tried to let out another.

And another.

But each cry just saw it go limper and limper.

Until it finally collapsed. Lingering a moment longer than most other blasphemies, long enough that it could stare Aymeric direct in the eye. Whatever silent exchange they may have shared, or whatever Aymeric could glean from its expression, they didn’t know.

For it then vanished into black smoke.

And finally, the snow seemed to stop. The skies cleared, and the sunset appeared through the grey gloom to greet them, painting the city orange.

“It is done,” Artoirel said, sheathing his weapon.

Done. Of course it wasn’t actually done. Alisaie still had work to do. Fhara still had work to do. But they’d succeeded in this much. Ishgard could see some peace for a bit longer, and hopefully the Scions could ensure that peace could continue.

She turned back to Fhara, and already her heart panged to see how exhausted the woman was. Equal parts concern and frustration building in her chest, threatening to burst forth. Always putting herself at risk for others, always taking on every burden. And she knew that Fhara would be off to see to another blasphemy, and she wouldn’t get any rest, despite needing it more than anyone else.

And of course, Fhara could argue much the same about Alisaie, trying to do so much for everyone else, and especially for her. She was no doubt a wreck as well for the stunt she pulled with that magic blast.

But then Fhara smiled back at her. Always so positive.

“You did good. I’m proud of you,” she purred, tail whipping behind her. And Alisaie had to bite back every frustration she had. Now wasn’t the time for that. 

“I tried my best,” was all she could respond with, trying to match that same smile.

They had time yet. They had to hope they would always have time.

[the-faramir]

Extinction Curse Session 2024/09/18 (Part 3)

Instantaneously, the party appeared near the base of the siege tower within the xulgath encampment. Looking around to get their bearings, the heroes saw a bonfire...surrounded by enemies! Three xulgath hardscales and one xilvirek exclaimed in surprise at the sudden appearance of adventurers.

"I shall attempt to blind them," The Redeemer called out as he cast Sunburst on the enemies.

Seemingly unaffected, one of the xulgaths moved up to Midori to attack with his warhammer. The first swing missed, and Midori retorted, "Ha! Missed me, sucker!" She easily dodged the second swing. "Today's not your day, is it, Stinky?" The third, however, connected with a solid blow. "GAHHH! Gods damn it! That really hurt!" Zookdar attempted a retributive strike on the armored xulgath, who simply blocked the flickmace with his tower shield.

Lysander moved up to get closer to the enemy forces and cast Rip the Spirit on all of them, to little effect. "Why do I even bother wasting my spell slots?" he lamented as he dodged swings from two of the xulgaths' warhammers. "At least you're not doing much better," he spat at his foes. Meanwhile, Zookdar bashed one of the hardscales with a mighty blow from his flickmace.

Midori stepped in to flank the xulgath opposite Zookdar, then sang:

🎶🎶🎶 Buddy you're a boy make a big noise Playin' in the street gonna be a big man some day You got mud on your face You big disgrace Kickin' your can all over the place 🎶🎶🎶

She followed up with a strike from her rapier, giving the blade a twist for good measure and causing the xulgath to spurt blood.

The xilvirek moved up to Lysander to hit him and attempted to grab him. Fizzarolli moved to a vantage point, went into overdrive, and released a Megavolt attack, while The Redeemer assisted with an Electric Arc.

One xulgath pounded Zookdar with her warhammer. Lysander cast Soothe on Midori, then blasted Zookdar's opponent with his hex blaster gun. Another xulgath attacked Nefarsia, hitting once but missing on the second swing. Zookdar reacted with a retributive strike against the first xulgath, hitting hard and knocking her to the ground, permitting Fizzarolli and Lysander to attack her as well. Zookdar struck her with his flickmace, sweeping into the other nearby xulgath. Midori sang a verse:

🎶🎶🎶 Singin' We will we will rock you We will we will rock you 🎶🎶🎶

With a deft strike of her rapier, she finished off the xulgath woman, shouting, "Yeah, that's right! Take it all, bitch!"

The xilvirek attacked Lysander with three good hits. Fizzarolli unleashed a megavolt attack on all of the enemies, then directed Nefarsia to strike. She took out the xulgath hardscale and moved on to hit the xilvirek.

(We Will Rock You lyrics © EMI Beechwood Music o/b/o Queen Music Ltd.)

[fallinginreversefanblog]

Falling In Reverse live at KIA FORUM, Los Angeles/CA, 9/26/2024 ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Falling In Reverse played the last show of their Popular MonsTOUR II in Los Angeles/CA, at Kia Forum, on Sep 26th, 2024. This venue is legendary for Ronnie Radke: even playing it as a co-headliner with A7X was a moment of celebration, now as an absolute headliner it was a blast! 18K people were there losing their shit on the best rock/own genre band in the world ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Via Ronnie's, Marc's and Christian's IG account

There is a ton of pictures and videos on the socials. This below was the first, emotionally more dense bc Saraya and FIR members and those very close to Ronnie posted it. You can sense the vibes there. It must have been a divine 1h 20m playing for this army of fans.

Via Saraya's and Marc's IG stories

Ronnie himself posted this pic below. It speaks for itself. He was incredibly energetic, a literal bomb explosion all evening.

Via Ronnie's IG account

These were the first quality videos from the show, there are so much more since, you can access all on my YouTube channel.

Some amazing photos of Ronnie. His face speaks about with the determination "all or nothing" converted to pure energy and placed in the show.

Via Instagram

"Zombified". SICK performance!!!

Fans were assuming Ronnie will prepare some special surprise for this tour-ending evening, not to mention for the imposing venue. We weren't wrong: in the interlude video before the encore, when he usually left the stage to the dressing rooms where Willard was receiving him with a gun, lol, he suddenly bumped into Corey Feldman, dropping a marvellous guitar solo in an empty room. [For those not knowing, CF went famous lately w his live guitar solos and unlike many in the rock scene attacking him w faking and posing, Ronnie was honestly admiring him from the first moment.]

Via Ronnie's IG account

Besides the Corey Feldman scene and the honest friendship Ronnie established with him, I have to mention Willard's own shine dressed like the dead Superman from his grave lol (since Ronnie was bashing Gavin Newsom in the interlude, I assume Willard was supposed to be the removed homeless) demanding Ronnie back on stage to finish the show.

It was an immense show, definitely something to remember. Ronnie shared the crowd selfie too, ofc Corey Feldman was also invited. He shared a total crew picture as well, I love seeing all the people in his lovely team. What a show!! What a tour!!! A big footstep printed into the history of rock and metal, unrepeatable and evergreen.

Via Ronnie's IG account

Here I share the interlude including Corey Feldman and Willard. The video quality is pretty bad, but the sound is okay, you can hear the essence of it.

[scary-movies-on-netflix]

LONGLEGS (2024)

REMINDER: MY REVIEWS CONTAIN SPOILERS.  Also a spoiler, this was disappointing.  Almost meh. 

Basically, “Longlegs” is just some dude named Cobble, played ostentatiously by Nicholas Cage (caked in pale makeup, with numerous facial prosthetics).  Cobble worships Satan, and to serve Satan he makes dolls of little girls.  He has them delivered to the girls near their birthdays (which always take place on the 14th day of the month).  The Satan doll compels the father to kill the rest of the family and then to commit suicide.  Longlegs leaves behind notes in a type of cipher.  That’s it. 

The movie is placed in 1995 (I think).  “Lee Harker” is a new “SPECIAL AGENT” for the FBI, much like FBI trainee Clarice Starling in “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991).  Stuff happens, and Lee is tested for psychic abilities, so maybe she has some special skills, but after a few scenes we’ll drop that thread so it barely matters.  Anywho, her FBI boss, Carter, places her on the Longlegs case.  She goes home, and Longlegs is there!  He places a note on her desk, basically a key to his cipher, and she is then able to decipher his remaining notes.  This leads to a farmhouse where they find a doll, and also to the survivor of an earlier attack, who is Kiernan Shipka!  (We last saw her in "The Blackcoat's Daughter" (2015).)

Eventually, Carter digs into Lee’s past, and he informs her that on her ninth birthday her mother called in a police report about an intruder, who might have been Longlegs!  Lee visits her mother, who denies knowing anything but also makes some ominous statements.  Lee looks through some old Polaroids in her room, and there is Longlegs!  In a picture!  With the picture, Longlegs is captured really quickly, like the next day, it seems.  Under interrogation, he talks about knowing Lee.  Carter is satisfied that the crime is solved (even if he’s not sure how Longlegs managed to convince the dads to kill their families), but Lee is convinced that he must have had an accomplice.  She goes to talk to Nicholas Cage, I mean, Longlegs, and we have to suffer through an interminable scene of gross overacting.  He finally says something about Lee’s mother and then proceeds to bash his head into the table, killing himself.

Lee and another FBI  agent go to collect Lee’s mom, who is named Ruth.  Lee enters the home, but Ruth is not there!  Ruth is outside, with a shotgun!  She blasts the other FBI agent.  Lee chases her to a yard, where Ruth is pointing the shotgun at a doll of young Lee.  She shoots the doll, a black cloud floats away from Lee’s head, and Mom narrates how Longlegs came to their house for Lee’s ninth birthday.  In exchange for Lee’s safety, Ruth agreed to help Longlegs by dressing up as a nun to deliver the Satan dolls to various houses.  She was the accomplice!  All Ruth had to do was stay and watch and then take the dolls away when everyone was dead.

Lee wakes up from her memory.  She gets a weird phone call, that she is missing the birthday party of Carter’s daughter (whom she met earlier in the movie).  Lee rushes to Carter’s house, but Ruth is already there, with a doll of the little girl!  Carter is acting weird.  He takes his wife into the kitchen and kills her.  Lee does absolutely nothing to stop him. He’s coming back out to kill his daughter, but Lee finally shoots him.  Then Ruth’s mother is going to kill the girl, because she is now a Satanist, but Lee shoots her too.  Lee tries to shoot the doll, but she is out of bullets.  She says something about leaving and that’s the end.

So, if you follow this genre (horror) you’ve no doubt seen the multiple trailers, which provided scant details about the story but teased us with plenty of cool, intriguing images.  Our problem is that the movie barely filled in the rest of the plot!  The movie has pretensions, perhaps, to be the next “The Silence of Lambs,” but it fails on so many levels.  It lacks any verisimilitude as a “horror crime procedural,” like "Seven" (1995) or any of the "True Detective" seasons.  The acting is dull and lifeless.  Yes, I understand the Lee is supposed to be withdrawn and introverted, but even so, she’s just a blank cutout of a character.  As for Nicholas Cage, I have a running hypothesis that he ruins movies he’s in, and “Longlegs” does nothing to disprove my hypothesis.  (See, "Color Out of Space" (2019).) He speaks in a sing-song voice, he bellows and yells, he lowers his voice to sound menacing.  There are a few goods lines.  He talks about “Mr. Downstairs,” (who sounded intriguing, but was nothing in the end!*).  He says, “Hail, Satan!” like the cultists from “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968).  From a certain point of view, this is a bravura performance, but I still hate it! There are certainly moments of creepiness, but as a movie serial killer, he's hard to take seriously.

Overall, this was ok.  I won’t say it’s meh, as there are plenty of successful images and instances of genuine unease.  The plot picks up and drops threads too easily, nothing is filled out to satisfaction.  There’s no central set piece.  Nothing will linger in the memory for long, which is the worst fate for a movie.

*Except, he's the Devil!

[hearteyesmcgarrett]

WIP Year in Review

Number of WIPs Begun this Year: 45 (including finished ones) that are actually more than just ideas or notes. Add like 4 that exist only in note format

Number of WIPs Finished this Year: 44! I dont post things unless im done with them lmao (I WROTE 44 FICS THIS YEAR???? HOLY SHIT)

Longest-Running WIP: again, i dont post things unless ive finished them so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ if we count series though, i'm (theoretically) going to write more stargate kinkmeme fills, and that series is 8 works deep and was started back in July. I wanna write more anxious danny stuff too but that series was started years ago (I did add to it this year tho!)

Newest WIP: unnamed nick/monroe grimm fic inspired by a work i like. will theoretically be finished and posted eventually

Most Worked on WIP: I guess we'd have to go back to the kinkmeme series bc I finally finished whumptober earlier this month

Favorite WIP: honestly the kinkmeme has been a blast but im excited to add more to my anxious danny series. mcdanno will always have a special place in my heart

Favorite Completed Work: oh man this is tough!!! If i had to choose, I'd probably say You're the reason I dont want the world to end. it was written for the SGA server birthday bash, follows mcshep over the course of the series, and is the longest oneshot ive ever written. its different than my other works and was fun to do

WIP You're Most Excited to Finish: okay i havent even technically started it, but damn do i wanna create my Thunder Road mcshep series!!!

WIP You're Not Sure You'll Finish: will i ever write the SGA hockey AU???? your guess is as good as mine

WIP Resolution for 2024: write and finish the goddamn thunder road series. now that I'm done with whumptober maybe ill actually have the time and energy to write it.

I just wanna say a massive thank you to @spurious for tagging me in these every week even though i almost never actually participated lmao. joining the gaggle of sga writers on here has genuinely changed my life! i love you all dearly and you aggressively snapped me out of a 2.5 year writing drought. Ive had an absolute blast writing this year and i still cant believe i get to chat with folks whose work I ADORE <3 i can't wait to see what 2024 brings all of us and our ao3 accounts

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Opinion: Trump meets with NATO allies: Political Cartoons

* * * *

Trump claims he told NATO ally he would welcome Russian attack.

What happened.

At a rally over the weekend, Trump recounted the following conversation with a leader of a NATO ally:

One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, ‘Well, sir, if we don’t pay, and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’

You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent? No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them [Russia] to do whatever the hell they want.

Why it matters.

It matters for three reasons, at least.

First, The story is a fabrication. Trump is a liar (as we know). No president of a “big country” posed the question to Trump, “Well, sir, if we don’t pay . . . .” If Trump had been asked such a question and given the response he recounted during a NATO meeting, we would have heard about it long before a campaign rally in South Carolina in 2024. (Moreover, NATO countries don’t “pay” anyone for membership in NATO. Trump thinks NATO has dues like a country club. It doesn’t. Instead, each member nation agrees to spend a certain percentage of its budget on its own military.)

Second, even though the story is not true as recounted, it is a signal to Putin that Trump's commitment to NATO is illusory. Trump's submissive posture regarding Russia threatens international security—and endangers the lives of Americans who will respond to a Russian attack on NATO.

Indeed, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg made that point, saying,

Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk. I expect that regardless of who wins the presidential election, the US will remain a strong and committed NATO ally.

Third, the statement is a reminder of Trump's wild unpredictability when making public comments. He is a reckless madman. He is unfit to be president.

The reaction.

Trump's imaginary (but reckless) story was rightly condemned by most major media. The NYTimes led with three front-page stories about the Trump's statement.

Favoring Foes Over Friends, Trump Threatens to Upend International Order.

An Outburst by Trump on NATO May Push Europe to Go It Alone

Trump draws fire for his comments on NATO and Russia

The Washington Post led with a top-of-page headline, “Trump’s NATO-bashing comments rile allies, rekindle European fears.”

The Wall Street Journal included a below-the-fold front page headline,��NATO Leader Blasts Trump’s Suggestion He Would Encourage Russian Invasion of U.S. Allies.

But, as expected, leading Republicans excused Trump's reckless statement. Senator Marco Rubio said,

He doesn’t talk like a traditional politician, and we’ve already been through this. You would think people would’ve figured it out by now.

The excuse that “he doesn’t talk like a politician” doesn’t change how our NATO allies feel about Trump's invitation to Putin to invade NATO countries. They would rightly make strategic decisions based on what Trump says without discounting his statement by his unpredictability.

More to the point, Trump doesn’t “talk” like an adult. He speaks like a petulant child with no emotional control. He is unfit to be president.

Speaking of Trump talking like a petulant child, read on!

MORE>>

[angevon]

Games I beat 2024 - 2

Back at it again at Krispy Kreme Monster Sanctuary. I replayed on steam for the achievements.

I decided on a "Beast" only team. When it worked, it worked well! So we have, from left to right (I'll put a Read More since I'm just gonna ramble on about M.S. mechanics for a long time 😂):

Sycophantom as healer. It unfortunately doesn't have the party Mass Restore for debuff mitigation, but it does have single-target Restore and the paired healing bonus skill that also heals the lowest HP monster whenever it uses a heal. So it's kiiinda like a party heal? Unfortunately for the main team, Sycophantom was the only monster with Cleanse, a way to remove buffs from enemies, so I often had to choose whether to use its turn on healing or try to attack an enemy to remove their buffs so the DPS can actually get a hit in. Also, its Psychokinesis buff buffs magic attacks, not physical which doesn't help Minitaur. When not attacking, Sycophantom also puts stacks of Blind on enemies which helps when combined with the agility buff from Psychokinesis.

Minitaur as the main DPS. I stacked so much critical chance and critical damage on this bad boy. Its Ultimate was Boulder Toss, which can and would one-shot annoying assholes like Aazerach and Sutsune in the Legendary Keeper teams. It also has Counter which counters every attack on him whether it lands or not (thanks, Agility and blind from Sycophantom!). There were times the last monster on the enemy team was already almost dead by the time I started attacking it from all the counters haha. Also, Minitaur's party buff adds Regeneration which is great, helped Sycophantom keep up with the heals and lack of party debuff removal.

Spectral Lion as the 2nd main DPS (who needs support when you can have 2 DPS? 😂). This thing was mean too! Jewel Blast is my favorite earth attack (next to Boulder Toss anyway). Critical Mass and Critical Boon means everyone in the party was fully buffed within a few turns (unless the enemy could remove them... the WORST). Overall Lion is a solid starter and its damage was pretty great too. It also gets Age stacks which means as long as you can keep it alive, it gets stronger and stronger. I think its downside is its kinda low Mana Regen so the Chill debuff hurt it a lot.

And now for the backup team:

4. Caraglow as healer. I can honestly say I did not like Caraglow. I prefer monsters with at least one elemental attack. Caraglow has 0. Worked all right as a backup healer but that's it. In fact, when it came to the Legendary Keeper battles, I replaced it with Targoat (which isn't even a healer)

5. Dodo as... Dodo. Stack a bunch of HP bonuses on it and it can work as a healer. It wasn't particularly strong as an attacker but it has the passive ability to remove a stack of debuffs at the start of your turn which was probably the main use it had. I think I've used Dodo as a backup before on my bird team but I've played so much I honestly can't remember 😅

6. Aurumtail as support. Who doesn't love this derpy dinosaur! I've heard this one can dish out some major DPS with shield bash but honestly its weakness to physical meant it usually died pretty fast whenever it was out. So I never got to see that. Maybe it would pair well with another Shielder. It does have relatively strong attack and worked well when I needed a wind attacker.

Honorable mentions:

I started with Catzerker instead of Minitaur, but found it too fragile. I also started with Yowie but couldn't find a role for it. Mogwai was on the team for a bit too, but it overlapped with Yowie. Then I had too many monsters with similar weaknesses and this became a liability in the Magma Chamber keeper battle, and that's when I restructured the team to become what I've listed above.

I did temporarily replace Minitaur and/or Spectral Lion for Brutus when I was trying to 5-star some of the harder bosses. Vodinoy, Ascendant, and Diavola in particular gave the team lots of trouble. So I buffed the heck out of the Brutus and went for the cheap 1 or 2 -hit KOs from its charge ups.

And as mentioned before, Targoat was, well, the GOAT for the Legendary Keeper battles. Its a wonderful supporter and tanky! Once it earns enough charge stacks from defending, it's something to reckon with. I'll have to use it in a main team sometime.

I know Sutsune instead of Sycophantom would've paired extremely well with Minituar (mainly for Bleed Out). But I've already mained Sutsune before and wanted to give something else a chance. That's also why I didn't use Akhlut, which is also a Beast type.

And that's it for this playthrough! I'm sure it'll show up on the "games I beat" list again though, ahaha. There's still a handful of monsters I haven't used, after all. And, someone is working on an archipelago.gg mod for it. It'll absolutely be my go-to game when that happens!

[cryptoto]

WATCH: Tim Seifert blasts a monstrous 102-metre six off Marcus Stoinis in the BBL 2024-25

The Big Bash League (BBL) 2024-25 struggle between Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades he saw a strange moment of energy hit like Tim Seifert wrote his name in the main events of the season. In the 8th over, facing the experienced Marcus StoinisSeifert launched an incredible 102-meter six-pointer that sent shockwaves through the stadium. 102m 6 giant Tim Seifert lights up the Melbourne…

[hamsdd]

WATCH: Tim Seifert blasts a monstrous 102-metre six off Marcus Stoinis in the BBL 2024-25

The Big Bash League (BBL) 2024-25 struggle between Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades he saw a strange moment of energy hit like Tim Seifert wrote his name in the main events of the season. In the 8th over, facing the experienced Marcus StoinisSeifert launched an incredible 102-meter six-pointer that sent shockwaves through the stadium. 102m 6 giant Tim Seifert lights up the Melbourne…

[lufffystuuf]

WATCH: Tim Seifert blasts a monstrous 102-metre six off Marcus Stoinis in the BBL 2024-25

The Big Bash League (BBL) 2024-25 struggle between Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades he saw a strange moment of energy hit like Tim Seifert wrote his name in the main events of the season. In the 8th over, facing the experienced Marcus StoinisSeifert launched an incredible 102-meter six-pointer that sent shockwaves through the stadium. 102m 6 giant Tim Seifert lights up the Melbourne…

[maximuswolf]

What do adults play these days?

What do adults play these days? Hello, I'm 25 years old. I've been playing games for most of my life and i used to absolutely love it. FPS, openworld survival, you name it. I've never been into singleplayer, i always play with at least a friend so that's a requirement. I feel like every new game these days is so hyped with so many promises and then it just feels unfinished when i get to play it. And my friends agree. The new COD is alright, nothing special. Recently finished satisfactory which was actually a blast albeit a brain workout. But every time we get on to play something we end up sitting around for half an hour wondering what the hell to play, only to purchase a game and feel bored out of our minds and refunding it. Is this just part of growing up? that things get more boring? Or is anybody else feeling like newer games just suck in general. (To be clear im not bashing on anyone who enjoy todays games, as long as you and your friends are happy, enjoy!)Please give me some recommendations if you have any :) Submitted December 21, 2024 at 01:34PM by LucasJonsson https://ift.tt/deEBL6a via /r/gaming