#BUT NOW ITS LIKE WAAAAAIT I ACTUALLY LIKE PHYSICS...

[oflgtfol]

sometimes its like should i even minor in CS bc 1. its so hard to get into the program at my school and 2. i dont even particularly care abt like, the actual theory of it, i just find programming fun and it’ll be useful for my career in astrophysics, but thats just the ACT of programming, i dont care rlly abt the actual theory of it........

and the more i think abt it the more i do kinda wanna at least minor in physics.......... lowkey wanna double major as well like Every Other Astro Major but idk lol, at the very least i’d like to minor in physics.. but there’s literally no fuckin way i can minor in BOTH physics and CS..........

[belliesandburps]

Followup with MGS4 Peace Walker and 5?

History has a funny way of repeating itself. :P

This one's actually gonna be long, so I'll cap it here to spare those uninterested in non-kink posts the burden of having to scroll past this fanboy rant. 'XD

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

3. It's Okay

Soooooo...not a controversial opinion to say that I don't think MGS4 is GREAT. I adored it when it first game out, and I still enjoy replaying it from time to time. But good lord, so many of the interviews shed light on a LOT of this games problems.

Some backstory is required. Hideo Kojima was done with MGS by this point. He planned to move on and leave the series to the younger generation. But then, there was a lot of internal conflict and struggle to determine what MGS4 should be after Fukushima quit (AND was rumored to have been murdered by the Yakuza...how that rumor started...and became a SERIOUS rumor that millions believe, I do not know...). So Kojima came back, course corrected, and the end result was kind of a giant mess.

I'm not talking story because, there's just way too much to unpack. But as a game, MGS4 can't decide what sort of video game it wants to be. It had a brilliant idea that had never been done before with its Battlefield Stealth, which were the best parts of the game. And then they get dropped two acts in, and what gets replaced in their stead is not nearly as fun.

The game had substantially less boss fights than its predecessor, and a lot of them were mechanically simplistic or just didn't let you get creative with how you fought them. And we later learned there were a lot more bosses planned, more gameplay sequences planned, and an entire other PMC group that got canned in favor of the Scarabs so Shadow Moses could be guarded by machines instead.

There's a lot about MGS4 that I love. I think the first two acts are amazing, ESPECIALLY Act 2. I think the mechanics are great. REX vs RAY is criminally fun. The sheer buffet of insane weapons gives the game a good amount of replay value. And the graphics still hold up to this day!

But what I finally realized is that the game juggles way too many ideas and doesn't give any idea the time they deserve to flourish. Battlefield Stealth could've CARRIED MGS4. But it gets dumped before we can get our moneys worth. A disguise sequence could've been really creative, having to juggle different identities with OctoMask every time one identity is burned. But it's only used once and wasted because it's only used for a terrible tailing mission that doesn't let you actually explore the European City. And too many of the action set pieces are kind of bland except the bosses and piloting Metal Gear.

MGS4 should've been MGS4. Not MGS's "Best Hits."

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

1. LOVED it!

I know this is unpopular to say, but I'll say it. Peace Walker is one of the best Metal Gear games ever made. I adored almost everything about it. The gameplay improves on MGS4 in most ways because it doesn't juggle a billion ideas all at once. It's MGS4 stripped down to stealth action from start to finish, and that's all I wanted. The level design is great. The insane volume of guns changes the entire feel of combat in later post-campaign gameplay. The mission select options mean you can jump into all the parts of the game you enjoy the most. There's TONS of bonus missions that are really inventive and fun to replay. And the story is one of the best in the series. It's straight forward, very tight, characterized well, and is the best iteration of Big Boss to date.

Peace Walker's also the FUNNIEST MGS game by Kojima as well. There's so much more personality and levity to everything, to the point where Big Boss often feels like an MCU character. That might sound bad, but it's really not. That corniness fits MGS PERFECTLY, and I'd argue is tonally spot on for this series. MGS doesn't need to be dark, gory or explicit. It's a silly series that's about giant robots, corny bad ass super agents with an anti-nuke message.

The only downsides to Peace Walker are the QTE's and the boss fights. This was a feature that only ever appeared in this game and for good reason...it was fucking terrible. So basically, you had cutscenes that forced you to do various QTE's or else get dinged on your ratings at the end, even if you played perfectly. Fairly minimal, but then, you get to Strangelove's torture. And this is the single most rage-inducing part of any MGS game ever made. It's an insanely physically painful button mashing sequence that will leave your fingers raw and your PS3 triangle buttons jamming. And the ONLY way you can replay one of the best missions in the game (the prison escape where you have no items) is by redoing that sequence over and over. And the boss fights? While inventive, they're all just grindy bullet sponges with no personality, no stealth tactics, and no room for creativity the way you can get creative with every other MGS game's bosses. This was the biggest disappointment for me because the stealth and combat mechanics of PW are great and would've been SO good against human enemies like what Portable Ops had. Instead, every boss is a mini-Metal Gear all voiced by the VOCALOID AI from the mid 2000's, and each one takes forever to destroy. It sucks because PW had a TON of bosses, but only a few of them are any fun, and that's only if you have weapons that are strong enough that they don't take ages to destroy.

But asides from the bosses, the REST of the game is so damn good that I don't even care because that's just one element to a much larger, grander game. Which is even more impressive when you consider PW was originally on the PSP before the PS3 port. And this game has more content and replay value to it than most games I've played since.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

1. LOVED it!

Hooooooookay...so, I've rambled about my storybook romance with MGSV for YEARS now. (Just ask @twistedtummies2, he's been subjected to my fanboying of this game more than anyone in existence XD) But there's a reason I regard this game as one of my all time favorites and the best MGS game to date.

It's REALLY freakin' fun.

Kojima had been re-energized by the time he got to MGSV. He'd been working on the game around the time he finished Peace Walker in 2010. He KNEW it was his final MGS game and wanted to do something completely different...

...He wanted to make a game where the central focus was on...waaaaait for it...the gameplay...

MGSV was designed to be, what he described, as a toybox. You have these missions that all take place in structurally unique outposts like any level in MGS. And the missions are designed with the structure needed so that they all feel different, but all remain so open ended that you can play them countless different ways.

MGSV's game model is everything GTA SHOULD'VE been. It fully embraces the open world freedom and incorporates that into the missions flawlessly. And it plays in such a way that stealth and combat both feel like they were the primary point. In MGS, combat is usually a last resort. But with MGSV, you can fly into an outpost blasting away on your helicopters mini-gun, shoot up the bad guys, rescue your target, throw them back into the chopper and fly away while "The Final Countdown" blares on your choppers loud speakers.

Every method of gameplay is valid and the controls, the enemy AI responsiveness, it's all, bar none, the best I've experienced in ANY video game. Sneaking around feels tight and tense and combat makes you feel like Jack Bauer on adrenaline. (I mean, he IS the voice of Venom Snake)

And I really like the story for the most part too. Its weaknesses are really glaring. Namely, the "Fun" of MGS is completely devoid in the story (which is really odd since it's FRONT AND CENTER in-game). Venom Snake only has maybe six minutes of dialogue in the entirety of this 30+ hour long game. And the way Skull Face gets completely undercut right at the home stretch is something I have NOT stopped bitching about for almost six years, and my friends can personally attest to that.

That and the ending feels too abrupt.

We know that Kojima got fired by Konami's VP and said VP scorched the entire production company after that and made a series of dickheaded decisions that pissed off a LOT of fans, burning much of the good will Konami IP fans had towards the company. But that had nothing to do with MGSV's abruptness. That was the plan from the start because only Kojima would think to end the entire series on a plot twist like that.

And I think the issue isn't the twist at all. In fact, I LOVE the twist. The issue is that the game should've continued beyond it so Venom Snake could cope with the truth and realize how badly he'd been screwed. I think even people who hated the twist could've been won over if there was a little more to the games epilogue than Episode 46.

Also, the games boss fights were a tad underwhelming. Not the fights themselves, I LOVED all five of the games bosses.

Oh? There were twelve?

No. I meant what I said. Because so many of the games bosses are rematches against the same bosses. All MGSV has is the Skulls, Quiet, Eli, The Man on Fire, and Metal Gear. They're great bosses that do everything the best MGS bosses always did; give you tons of options, incorporate combat AND stealth, have varied attacks AND even have multiple methods to sneak around the boss and avoid the fight completely. But for a game as long as MGS, you need more variety. And frankly, the bosses NEED more personality. Skull Face should've had more XOF assassins acting as the bosses in the game along with the ones we have. Elite assassins like Quiet, with their own powers and specialized weaponry so the fights feel completely different from the ones we have. And oh yeah, SKULL FACE HIMSELF SHOULD'VE HAD A GOD-FUCKING-DAMN BOSS FIGHT!!!!

Buuuuuuut those issues don't even matter if for all the games issues, I still replay it frequently when it's almost six years old.

So yeah! There's the massive rant you totally didn't ask for! :D

[shsl-shipper-gamer-fangirl]

Prompt: Naegi and Nanami swapping hoodies. That’s all I have to say. Go nuts. @rpbattleman

A/N Well they do have the same height and I do have an unhealthy obsession with hoodies so why not? In hindsight, I don’t know what happened. The characters wrote this themselves.

Hoodie Swap - Naegi and Nanami ft the rest of the cast

Wearing a hoodie was so much like second skin that they didn’t notice that they were wearing different hoodies.

Naegi wouldn’t even have noticed it and he probably would have gone home wearing it if his classmates hadn’t helpfully pointed it out.

“Halt! Naegi, how many times must we go over this? A hoodie is not welcome in a school environment. You are in clear violation of the school’s dress code.” Ishimaru was quick to reprimand him as soon as he entered the classroom.

“Huh? But isn’t it okay when it’s functional? It’s been getting colder lately so I thought the extra layer could help.” Naegi explained his reasons.

“I must admit that it is actually allowed to wear jackets provided that they aren’t needlessly distracting.” Ishimaru corrected himself and then pointed in accusation. “However! Yours is unconventionally designed! And quite honestly, I am distracted enough!”

“What do you mean? I thought it was plain enough.” Naegi replied with a lost expression.

“Can’t say I agree with your tastes for plain.” Mondo said from behind him as he reached out and pulled Naegi’s hood over him. “Cat ears eh? And here I figured you were more of a dog person.”

“What are you talking about?” Naegi asked, now more confused than before.

“I think it’s cute.” Maizono shared with a smile. “It’s unexpected but that’s what makes him look even cuter!”

“Master Naegi, if you would kindly listen to my request…” Yamada popped up beside him and positioned Naegi’s hand so that it was closed like a fist and raised beside his face. “Like nya.” He instructed as he demonstrated the action.

“Nya?” Naegi pawed uncertain as he tilted his head in confusion which only added to his catlike performance.

“Hold that pose!” Enoshima expertly slid in front of him and raised her phone to take pictures. “Okay now do that again with voice so I can get this on video.” She smiled widely behind her phone as she laughed. “Upupu… This is priceless! But I am willing to negotiate a price to any potential buyer.”

“Wait, is there something weird on my hoodie?” Naegi asked again as he slowly began to piece what was off with his garment.

“Well it’s not like there’s something wrong with the hoodie itself.” Fujisaki timidly answered. “It’s just that it’s… different from what you would usually wear.”

“Or is this something like your secret hobby?” Kuwata interjected with a smirk. “Because if it was, it’s cool, man. We won’t judge.”

Okay now that last remark convinced him that he was definitely wearing the wrong hoodie. He filtered his memories for any embarrassing hoodies he owned that he may have worn by accident. None seemed to strike him that would stand out. Last time he checked, he didn’t own any with cat ears unless… His eyes immediately went towards his sleeves and upon the familiar color, he confirmed just whose hoodie he was wearing.

“I’m wearing someone else’s hoodie…” He mumbled his revelation.

“Oh my, you’re quite the bold type to wear your girlfriend’s clothes.” Celes commented with a giggle. “Although it’s quite unconventional considering it’s usually the girl who wears the guy’s clothes afterwards.”

“W-What?!” Naegi could only spluter at her insinuation. “It’s n-not like that! In the first place, she isn’t even my girlfriend!”

“Back the fuck up. How did our resident herbivore land a girl before I could? I mean, I’m way cooler than him!” Kuwata took offense to the new information.

“With that kind of attitude, it’s no wonder.” Maizono commented offhandedly.

“So this is the source of today’s commotion? How absolutely trivial. I suppose this is the gossip that you commoner enjoy.” Togami scoffed from his seat. “Very well, consider this an honor. I shall allow you to indulge us in such to pass time.”

“Oh! Oh! I definitely want to hear this one!” Asahina all but squealed in excitement. “Yeah, tell us more about your girlfriend!”

Naegi blushed at that comment. “She’s not my girlfriend!” He denied.

“Hmm? Is that so?” Kirigiri intervened and although her face was the picture of calmness, there was a certain sharpness inflected in her tone, an underlying threat. “The evidence suggests others. Please, explain that by all means.”

“I didn’t mean to. It was an accident, okay!” He blurted out words without much thought in his panic.

“Naegi, that’s not nice to say about your girlfriend.” Asahina frowned in disappointment.

“Whether intentional or not, one must be prepare to take full responsibility of one’s actions.” Sakura reprimanded him as well.

“No, that’s not it. You guys are misunderstanding.” Naegi raised his hands in an appeal. “I was hanging out with a friend who happens to be a girl but isn’t my girlfriend and then I may have accidentally picked up her hoodie instead of mine.”

“Then w-why are you so d-defensive about it, huh?” Fukawa accused with a disgusted expression. “Just because you have a g-girlfriend now you’re g-gloating her already.”

“So you have a girlfriend now…” Ikusaba quietly sulked at one corner.

“Did you not hear what I just said? This is all just a misunderstanding.” He insisted, practically pleaded at this point.

“Chill, Naegichi. I believe in you!” Hagakure gave him a thumbs up in support.

“Hagakure…” Naegi smiled gratefully towards his friend. “At least someone’s on my side.”

“There’s no way you could get a girlfriend so aliens must have abducted your hoodie and replaced it with theirs which is filled with all sorts of probing stuff.” Hagakure added from way at the back of the room.

Whatever hope he had been filled with was instantly shattered.

“Ah, I should’ve known. It’s Hagakure. Why did I even expect?” Naegi sighed as he sank his face into his hands, defeated.

And as they hounded him with questions and camera phones, he took comfort at the fact that at least the hoodie was comfortable and warm just like how it reminded him of its original owner.

Nanami wouldn’t even have noticed it and she probably would have gone home wearing it if her classmates hadn’t helpfully pointed it out.

“Hi, Nanami. Welcome back.” Koizumi greeted her as soon as she returned. “Hey, that’s a new color on you.”

“Yeah, what’s with the outfit change?” Saionji asked offhandedly but quickly narrowed her eyes as she felt something unusual about Nanami’s choice in clothing. “Hey, is it just me or is that color disgustingly familiar?”

“Huh, what are the odds of that?” Komaeda said from behind as he just entered the classroom too. He smiled at her. “Now it looks like we’re matching.”

Nanami stare at Komaeda’s hoodie and then back to her own sleeves which she was slightly surprised to find them as dark green like his. She could already piece what had happened given the owner’s luck but it hardly fazed her. She could always ask for her hoodie after classes or tomorrow so she had nothing to worry about. Oddly enough, it fitted her quite well so she had no qualms wearing this in the meantime.

It was strange to wear green instead of her usual brown or blue one but it was just a bit funny since it complimented Komaeda’s own hoodie. “I guess we do match.” She smiled lightly.

There was a peaceful lull in the room… until all hell broke loose.

“Wait! Wait! Waaaaait!” Souda yelled and ran towards them with tears in his eyes. “You guys are wearing matching clothes like what couples do? Someone please tell me this is a joke before I faint.”

“What dark sorcery is this indeed? To have enraptured a divine being without alerting my zodiac generals, truly only a fiend could accomplish such a feat!” Tanaka bellowed with his usual dramatic flair. “Tell me, mortal of unfortunate chance, what are your nefarious intentions with the holy one?”

“In my country, couples wear matching crowns. I now see that this is Japan’s equivalent.” Sonia said with practically sparkling eyes. “I will take note of hoodies when I return to inform my people of such cultural highlights.”

“Let’s not jump into conclusions just yet. We haven’t even asked them if they’re actually an item now.” Koizumi did her best at crowd control and when she was closer to the two, she whispered lowly, “Please feel free to deny all accusations.”

“Yeah! As if Big sis Nanami would ever date trash like Komaeda!” Saionji vehemently shouted “I mean just look at him! She could definitely do better than this hope fanatic!”

“Well you’re not wrong. I am just lowly trash undeserving of love especially from someone with hope as bright as Nanami’s.” Komaeda agreed with a cheerful laugh.

Nanami huffed at his self-deprecating comments. “Komaeda, you should value yourself more. Whether or not I’d want to date you shouldn’t be a standard for your worth.” She then smiled softly at him. “Remember, you are always worth it.”

“What’s with that moment? Surely it was charged with love!” Hanamura jumped at them. “Now tell me, what sorts of love have you two already engaged in? The more physical, the more details I’ll be needing.”

“I suggest you refrain your tongue from spouting any more.” Pekoyama intervened with her bamboo sword right at his throat. “It would do you good to hold back a bit more and respect their privacy on the matter.”

“Oi! Don’t think you can get away with harrassing them. It’s their choice if they want to share anything. So don’t go doing anything that I would need to silence you for, got it?” Kuzuryuu threatened Hanamura but it was all in good will. He then turned to the two still in the hot seat. “You two better start confessing if anything’s going on or else the rest of these guys are going to go off with crazy ideas.”

“An unexpected ship has sailed! Ibuki calls dibs on being the captain! And as captain, I will see to it that this ship reaches the shores!” Ibuki hollered as she strummed on her guitar. “Alright! Let’s sail this ship away!”

“A rarepair, huh. Well it’s not unheard of.” Ryotwo thoughtfully commented. “It’s just a bit suspicious that there weren’t enough flags triggered and there’s suddenly a development.”

“Ack! A critical hit!” Ibuki dramatically clutched her hand over her chest as if she was shot right there. “Not even an hour in and someone’s already attacking my ship! The sea is merciless as ever!”

“Attack? So there’s a fight, yeah?” Owari’s ears perked at the mere mention of the word. “Let me at them! I’ll be sure to fight and win for ya.”

“If it’s a fight you want then I won’t hold back either.” Nidai crackled with energy. “Looks like I have no choice but to do damage control again.”

For the two people who were the center of attention, they took it more calmly than most would.

“Ahaha, everyone’s full of hope like always. Truly, what a wonderful class this is.” Komaeda’s grin reached his ears.

“I’m glad that everyone’s having fun over this.” Nanami seconded with a smile of her own.

And as they hounded her with questions and camera phones, she took comfort at the fact that at least the hoodie was comfortable and warm just like how it reminded her of its original owner.

[ao3gingerswag]

AGGHHHGFGGHHHHHYGGGHHFFFHH

okay so now that's out of the way HOLY SHIT THAT WAS SO FUCKING G O O D. THIS SHIT - 'Once upon a time, there was a boy who spent his life being hunted by a monster. Once upon a time, that boy was finally caught.' IS SO FUCKING GOOD HOLY SHIT??? I get now why u said you got caught up in your head trying to make it good bc that deffo reminded me of a kyos chapter. AND IT WAS AMAZING!! ALL YOUR WRITING IS AMAZING!! YOU ARE AMAZING!! YOU ASTOUND ME!! YOU'RE THE BEST!! THE TORTURE MADE ME SQUEAM!! BUT IN A GOOD WAY BC YOURE WRITING IS AMAZING!! I KNOW I SAY THIS EVERYTIME BUT I CANT WAIT FOR THE REUNIONNNN WE'RE SO CLOSE BBY!!

also poor sam/dean/cas yadda yadda etc etc we know the drill by now but lord I cannot wait for these boys to have some godamn c o m f o r t.

ahhh thank u so much!!! im so glad!!! omg i really felt like i was going insane with this chapter, so many false starts....ill probably post them here as deleted scenes later. but ugh tbh I was really just struggling to get all this info out in a way that made sense and also raise the tension about alastair. like...Dean has already been thru so much. Why are we supposed to care now about this and feel like he's in more danger here than he was at John's? like yeah i wrote a line or two earlier about how scared dean was of him, but like WHY? and how can i made the audience feel that fear? ya know? so i felt like i needed to get all this info out about what he's done to dean and how he both physically and psychologically tortured him, before we actually get to the confrontation, so the reader understands why cas is so petrified and feels that tension themself...but i couldnt just do a POV shift to sam or dean to get this info out, bc we need CAS to know that info so he has to be TOLD....and then i wrote a "once upon a time" draft that i also totally scrapped bc it was TOO graphic and im trying to raise the stakes not write torture porn....fygdvcbdhb!!!!

and THEN i also wanted to actually GET to the confrontation, i felt like everyone was gonna kill me if it was just yet another build up chapter w/o even the start of the confrontation...and i ALSO wanted to have sam help cas out even tho he's grumpy about it and see this peek into his softer side....IT WAS HARD IS MY POINT. hopefully everyone is properly terrified and i can just write a straightforward "this is what happened in this order from one person's normal POV" chapter next.

I also cant wait for them to get some comfort oh my god ;~; i am torturing myself writing this!!! its why i keep writing the indulgent flashforwards!! but ;~; i planned this story out from the beginning i know where im going with it and im waaaaaiting for that pay off!! i have this SCENE!! this scene in my mind that i cant wait to get to!!!! its gonna hurt SO GOOD there's gonna be such a huge amount of RELIEF such a huge release of tension!!!!!!! but i gotta GET to it first, both plot wise and emotionally. i gotta build that tension and these relationships before it can all come together!! but it is haaard im so impatient!!