#Mote Evolver

[gigidagia]

Planetary Assault Systems - In From The Night (Adam Beyer & Wehbba Remix) (2022)

[itsoundsfuture]

Speedy & Steve - Speedy & Steve [Mote-Evolver, MOTE065]

Our Saturday selection: Speedy & Steve – Speedy & Steve [Mote-Evolver, MOTE065] Speedy J and Steve Rachmad join forces as Speedy & Steve for a four-track techno EP on Luke Slater’s Mote-Evolver this February. Dutch artists Speedy J and Steve Rachmad have long been defining the techno underground with seminal tunes on a range of influential labels. For their new release, the duo jammed in Speedy’s…

[wierdartistmarcell]

Mane six redesigns.

Decided to try out making the races of ponies in equestria a lot more visually different.

Earthponies are stockier, shorter, yet hardier limbs for more manual labour. Built for physical strenght. This is shown the best in Applejack, whose even wearing reinforcing leg braces for bucking. Her mane and tail are also tied up to keep out of the way. Pinkie Pie is slightly less muscular, as she stopped working on the family farm ages ago, so they would go away with time.

Pegasi are slimmer, lighter, which makes them more aerodynamic. They are covered in fur-like feathers rather than actual fur, which is most noticable in their ears. I also love how they've done wings in g5, so reflected that in these designs with mote individual and larger wings, and with hoof-feathers in stead of actual feathering. Rainbow Dash accentuates this in her short mane and tail, whilst Fluttershy shows her tendancy to stay earthbound in her long mane and tail. And her shyness in hiding behind her wings

The Unicorns are very much based on old school depictions, giving them long, slim tails, long feathering, and a much more prominent horn. Their hooves are split, to give them two more flexible digits, lile that of deer, as since they have magic, they have not needed to evolve as much as the other pony species. They are also much taller which, in a way reflects our own world with Rarity, and how models are very often very tall and slim. Which is why high fashion in equestria comes from the Unicorns. Twilight also wears a satchel with her journal.

These redesigns were also deliberately made wothout reference. I only got refrences when colouring, to colourpick from the original six.

[cephalonserotonin]

Devstream 180 Notes

This is a long one, folks.

brought to you by creative lead Rebb Executive Producer Dick Wolf

New dojo contest to kick off a transition to cross-save dojo world… see forum post

Pride Campaign 2024

is active now until the end of June! a new glyph, display, and wings in lovely rainbows!

Jade Shadows update coming June 18!

features a new cinematic quest: Jade Shadows. It picks up after The New War (so it's got TNW as a prerequisite) where the storyline of the Stalker left off. Rebb and the crew request that folks not spoil the quest for others after playing it. Use spoiler tags if possible! Quest runtime ~ 25 min There's a teaser for the story quest, featuring the Stalker hanging upside down like a bat:

New Warframe: Jade!

Pablo describes her as a support frame. Her passive is two aura mod slots which is kind of crazy ngl

Her kit briefly summarized:

1: throws a little mote with an AOE effect of healing for allies and increasing damage taken to enemies

2: cycle through various squad buffs. The UI art for these is really gorgeous

3: a debuff: enemies in her sight are slowed and lose armor. You also revive any dead allies in your vision.

4: floating and a zappy exalted weapon. It's kind of like Hildryn's four but basically better in every way because you can actually set off large amounts of damage and fly higher and faster. The exalted weapon has synergy with her 1 and 2.

As Pablo mentioned, Jade's abilities provide a lot of combo potential, good for any "min maxers" in the audience.

Jade's three signature weapons: the Cantare throwing knives, the Harmony scythe, and the Evensong bow (a variant on the Dread).

The Ascension game mode: "what if Warframe but up?"

Non-endless There's a giant elevator you have to feed with energy. The team's video crashed so Rebb gave what I'd call an excited 12 year old's description of the game mode instead which I loved:

There's this giant elevator that needs energy to go up. So you have to keep feeding it ionic charges so you rise out of the depths. And as you're feeding, the Corpus are there! *excitable machine gun noises* And then you're like, oh god! And then you have to, like, jump around-- but if you fall out of the elevator, you better hope you're good at parkour, and that you can read the level to get back up! and back up! and back up! And then: you have to make it to the top. But that's not all. Once you get to the top of the elevator, you gotta escape. You gotta make a run for it before the Corpus hold you back! Aahhh! Aah! Ah! …and that's Ascension. :)

Once we finally watch the video preview of the game mode later I think it looks fun. The level looks really neat; I love the graphics of the inside of the elevator. There's a new Jade Light eximus enemy here but I can't really tell any details about it quite yet.

ORDIS IN LARUNDA RELAY!

He's hosting the clan operation Belly of the Beast (featuring above Ascension game mode). In his shop is the Asteria ephemera, which evolves with community participation. Also some arcanes… and a beautiful skin for the Hate.

"If you're a hater, this is for you." Hilariously the arcanes are capped at 42 each because apparently in Gargoyle's Cry certain players went crazy burning themselves out to stock up on arcanes, and the team is trying to prevent that (and players blaming them for their own bad choices, as always). Two full sets each is more than enough, frankly.

Status Rework!

Blast now does a secondary detonation, or if hitting 10 blast procs, creates an AOE explosion. This is exactly what I have been wanting for ages so I, personally, am thrilled.

Magnetic now scales with overguard and shields the same way, and also does a secondary punch of damage (and an electric proc!) once the shield is broken.

Cold should freeze enemies more often now… and came with a free Frost rework! Now Frost's abilities give proper cold procs, thus freezing enemies, which is now standardized across his abilities. His 1 has been buffed and his 3 snowglobe has been modified (to allow shooting from in to out but not out to in). He has a new passive: his armor scales with the number of cold procs enemies have (like the defensive version of Ember).

There's a lot of testing going on right now on the interaction between ragdolling and freezing enemies.

There's a change to damage vulnerability mechanics which I didn't quite follow; seems to be mostly a simplification of the system.

Armor damage attenuation scaling, as mentioned in the last devstream, now has a cap, meaning corrosive procs should be more effective.

Yareli Deluxe

...looks like eldritch coral?

Next round of TennoGen

…finally comes with a Lavos skin, which is plague doctor themed.

Some augments (Protea's is probably OP), decrees (list shown below is incomplete), and arcanes

UI improvements!

In the upgrade screen: duplicate mod config button, indicator for substats, increased mod polarity

Augment list viewer in the abilities screen

Community customization table where you can copy others' fashions. Great news for gamers too unoriginal to make their own fashions, I guess. Coming at first for just Excalibur, Mag, Volt, and Jade.

Quick Access (fast travel wheel) for more areas like the dormizone.

UI autoscaling with resolution (to prevent tiny UI bars for people with huge resolutions), also coming with ability to scale the UI back down.

"Donut numbers" for damage view that do not cover the enemy you are shooting (old way can still be switched back to, called "cloud.")

Awakening quest has a lil fashion preview now!

Loadout hot swaps conveniently directly from the starchart!

QOL!

Cap on adversaries (liches and sisters) at 150. For the sake of database health. The programmer in me is mildly concerned that there was no limit before this.

Semi auto becoming full auto (see last devstream for more detailed description).

Automatic selection of last relic during endless relic cracks.

Streamlining necramech acquisition.

Unifying melee finishers and mercy kills (both with mechanics and appearance).

The return of Heirloom skins: starting with community art this time

First major change (from last year's disastrous heirloom launch) is the heirloom collections will now be released one warframe at a time.

Ember Heirloom is also a purchased fanartist concept!

Two paths to acquire it: a temporary paid path (for money, comes with some plat) and a plat path that will be available until next heirloom launch (and you can purchase the cosmetics individually!)

This is much better than last year's Heirloom launch, which, as aforementioned, caused a lot of community strife.

molten booty

And finally, the TennoCon 2024 schedule:

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The size and age of the Cosmos are beyond ordinary human understanding. Lost somewhere between immensity and eternity is our tiny planetary home. In a cosmic perspective, most human concerns seem insignificant, even petty. And yet our species is young and curious and brave and shows much promise. In the last few millennia we have made the most astonishing and unexpected discoveries about the Cosmos and our place within it, explorations that are exhilarating to consider. They remind us that humans have evolved to wonder, that understanding is a joy, that knowledge is prerequisite to survival. I believe our future depends powerfully on how well we understand this Cosmos in which we float like a mote of dust in the morning sky.

[Carl Sagan -- as mentioned in Cosmos (1980)]

[pelleas-at-castle-nox]

Ancient Forest/Leather

It was common knowledge that the woods of the Demesne were holy ground, and nobody, not the Denizens, and certainly not an outsider like you, were welcome in them. It was also fairly common knowledge that it was an old superstition, grounded in fear of a particularly powerful dragon who had long since stopped patrolling these woods. You didn't know which story to believe, and maybe it was some self destructive urge that saw you wandering in past the treeline, but you were here now.

The beauty of the forest was unlike anything you'd seen in your home world, never before seen plants, strangely evolved animals, and of course, the delicious fruits that you discovered every step of the way. You'd purchased a field guide and it hadn't steered you wrong so far. You even showed self restraint, avoiding the ones marked as poisonous even if you dreamed that maybe something tantalizing would lie in the poisons of this place, and yet you knew whatever magical effect they would have on you, it would be notably less fun to experience if no one ever came to look for you, which no one would.

You'd been exploring all day and your clothes and hands were sticky from the ripe fruit you'd been devouring. While you'd thought far enough to prepare for the hike, you certainly didn't plan for an overripe peach looking thing to splatter you with deliciously sticky juice. Try as you might to kick yourself clean, it just wasn't working, and the guidebook did say it was dangerous to go around emanating certain scents for fear of predators, and not the fun kind either.

You suddenly froze in your tracks when you came upon a clearing, with a beautiful spring that glowed mysteriously. You'd seen plenty of other things reminiscent of video games in your time here, so throwing caution to the wind, you went with the first instinct such a specific sight brought you, a healing spring! The way little motes of light danced around it like fairies only reinforced the idea as you shrugged off your pack. Whatever kind of spring it was, it probably wouldn't help to soak your entire inventory too. You looked down with a blush at the way your light armor conformed around your middle, having grown stuffed from your epicurian taste testing session. You decided it's probably best to leave the clothes behind too, and hand wash the juice stains out once you're no longer an insect attractant yourself.

Stripped down like this, you check the coast once more to ensure nobody's around, and slowly dip your toes into the tranquil water. In an instant, all the aches and pains your feet had accrued from carrying you around the forest all day melted away. This confirmed your theory, there wasn't any other explanation. You began to walk further towards the center, though to your surprise the decline of the shore was quite steep. You'd scarcely taken five steps before the water was up to your thighs, and a few more steps saw the water rising up to your pleasantly stuffed abdomen.

When the water began to soothe your overburdened belly, you felt a burning hunger take the place of satiated fullness. It was a surprisingly intense emotion, one that wasn't unpleasant, but was certainly filling you with desires. The previous experience had left you wanting more of course, but the desire to plunge deeper was nothing compared to the roaring inferno of desire that your hunger was becoming. Still, you'd come in here with a mission, and your will was strong enough that a bit of existential hunger wasn't going to stop you from fully submerging.

Rather than continuing deep enough to submerge, you decided you were. content to just splash yourself and head back to the shore for a snack. You cupped your hands and drew a deep draught to your lips, drinking it down without a second thought as the excess water spilled over your form. The juice washed away remarkably easy, but that drink certainly didn't seem to fix whatever hunger was burning inside you. Cautiously you took a few more sips, your throat clearing of any dryness. It felt wonderful, all of it was pleasurable beyond your understanding, except for that hunger. You cautiously turned around, and began to carry yourself out of the water, only to find your legs having a hard time responding. This only prompted you to struggle harder as you began to lift your feet and stomp them back down heavily. You didn't know what was surprising you more, the fact that as your thighs left the water, they were puffed out to Titanic proportions, or the fact that you were no longer alone.

Approaching from the distance was an astonishingly tall and fat dragon with scales as dark as the night. It plodded along silently, the forest seeming to know to not quake under its massive footsteps. From your angle, you gauged that it was roughly 8 feet tall, even if it was exactly 8 feet tall. Its odd eyes were piercing you, and suddenly you felt even more silly to be standing in this spring naked with newly acquired thunder thighs. You wanted to flee, but indecision gripped your mind. You couldn't go back into the water, not with your new knowledge, and yet the only way forward was past this blubber ball of scales. It didn't matter that it outsized you by several factors, the fact of the matter was it looked to be in complete control.

You took a few more steps forward, the bloated nature of your lower legs more obvious as you were forced into an exaggerated waddle. For a brief moment, you entertained the idea of just running past it, even with your current condition, the dragon was exceedingly fat, its belly hanging down to kiss the forest floor even with its unnervingly perfect posture. Such hopes that this butterball was docile and incapable of catching prey were squashed when it took an interest in your pack. You hoped to take advantage of that, run past while it was distracted trying to bend over far enough to pick your items up, but all it did was reach a fat paw out and the pack rose up to meet it, ferried along on a vine that sprouted from the ground.

The dragon looked over the contents with a bored expression, throwing your things out behind it before settling on some of your rations, which it devoured without a second thought. It began to waddle closer, and you figured if nothing else, you should get out of the water. You trudged further, your fattening feet unable to clear the water's surface, water dripping off your glistening fat rump, your belly puffed out to slap on those bloated thighs. Just when you were about to clear the water, the dragon met you at the shoreline, its piercing gaze not leaving your eyes.

"You look silly.

You should not have drank the water.

You belong to me now."

Rising up into the air on a stump that rose to lift up the fat dragon's enormous ass, it planted its feet directly into your face, the only thing remotely thin left on you. You got to enjoy the oddly sensual and delicate touch for a moment, before you fell backwards into the water. The spring seemed to react, unwilling to let its prey go twice as you began to fatten all over, the water having its way with you completely. Larger and rounder you swelled, more equal now that you were submerged, but all your top half could do was play catch-up with your ballooning bottom half.

Your adventure seems like it wouldn't continue after this, you fell victim to the Lord of the forest. Perhaps it would roll you back to the nearby village when it was done with you, perhaps it would keep you as a plaything, all you knew was that for now, you were insatiably hungry, and the water you were gulping down wasn't satisfying that hunger.

[m3rricat]

You Do Not Have To Be Good - Ch. 10

Story summary: Four months after the defeat of the Netherbrain, Astarion finds himself stuck in the mire of his past and all the anger and despair that comes with it. While wrestling with her traveling-companion-turned-lover’s misery, Cat makes an impulsive decision that sets off their first falling-out. This post-game short story is told alongside the full in-game story of the evolving relationship between Cat (the not-a-bard) and Astarion (needs no introduction) which varies from canon. Told from both POVs.

Chapter Masterlist

Chapter 10: A stab wound, and more discussions over late-night laundry.

Pairing: Astarion x female Tav

Chapter Content Warnings: gore

Word Count: 3465

Read on AO3

A/N: We're finally at the finish!

__

Cat sits on their makeshift bed in the dark, waiting.

She stares at the boarded-up window across from her as she crosses and uncrosses her ankles, slumped in her shift. The window’s current state had been at her insistence a few days after she and Astarion first arrived. There had only been some heavy curtains covering it, initially. It had made her nervous that the only thing shielding the one she loved from the sun was a couple layers of fabric. She did not know why her mind suddenly couldn't let go of this—they had slept the day away in far more rickety accommodations on the road. But, on the morning of the third day, she had still been driven to distraction, so she went out to get some scrap wood herself, begged some nails and a hammer off Jaheira, and just barely remembered to get her permission before damaging the window that still very much belonged to their host.

Astarion had already woken up from his morning reverie by then. Had looked at Cat utterly confused when she marched into the room with everything she had gathered. She hadn’t told him what she was doing or why before she began to line up the boards over the curtains and started pounding away. Living on the ocean had meant that Cat had learned to be handy out of necessity to repair the things the wind and salt and damp ate away at. She had hammered each nail in with a few sure strokes. When Astarion finally puzzled out why she was doing this, he had laughed, but when he saw her grave face, he had stopped. Had mumbled thanks for her concern.

It didn’t stop her preoccupation with it. She still had dreams of the ceiling itself collapsing, of her coming home from errands to find him a pile of dust in their bed. She didn’t tell him that. He had enough to worry about, and she had clearly already bewildered him plenty with the window.

At the heart of it, under all the annoyance and strain and exhaustion, Cat was so afraid of losing him, one way or another.

But she is torn in two right now as she flings herself back on the rumpled bed to stare at the ceiling instead. She dreads his coming home just as much as she longs to hear him quietly coming in the door.

She hadn’t tried to stay up tonight, initially. Had tossed and turned in a tangle of sheets before she gave up, letting her mind roil and fret. She wonders what Astarion she will be getting when he arrives; they had never quite had such a falling-out before. He had been briefly annoyed with her plenty, but not like this. He might come home brusque and still angry, or chatty like nothing had ever happened, or one of the many possibilities in between. Cat feels prematurely tired toward all of them. Because no matter what, she can’t conceive of any version of him that can get out of his rut. Get them out of their worn-out roles: him, the one suffering, and her, the one trying to pull him out if it.

Cat hadn’t considered the possibility that the Astarion who arrived would be yelling hoarsely for help, a dying boy in his arms.

Before she can wonder at Astarion calling urgently from the front door, Cat is on her bare feet, dread forgotten, conjuring a mote of light, rushing out to the stairs and pattering down them to the main hall.

The boy draped in Astarion's arms looks like death: horribly pale, too much blood soaking his ratty shirt, and terribly still. Astarion babbles something about trying to give him the one healing potion he brought, but it had barely helped staunch the slow-killing wound in his stomach. Without a word Cat dashes back up the stairs to grab the healing spell amulet she had kept nagging Astarion to bring along with him. By the time she gets back downstairs, Jaheira is already with them, spreading an old blanket on a couch nearby, and Astarion is laying the boy down on it with notable gentleness, face blank with fear. Jaheira lifts up the boy’s shirt, stiff with blood. Her face flinches at the sight she uncovers—a stab wound, deep and nasty.

Cat puts on the amulet and pushes in next to Astarion, by the boy’s stomach, and Jaheira joins her huddled over it.

“This is the only wound,” Astarion says quietly. Cat notices that he’s looking at the boys face and his hand is hovering next to it, like he doesn’t quite know what to do with it. “And, the knife—it was filthy. Covered in rust.”

Jaheira nods smartly. “Get a restoration scroll—the chest, in my office.”

Astarion stands frozen for a moment before the words register as being directed toward him. Then he is gone in a blink to fetch it.

Cat and Jaheira set to work under the glow of Jaheira’s light spell, invoking the most powerful healing spells each can manage. The boy is awake, but he is delirious with the blood loss. Cat notices tears on his cheeks. On impulse she reaches for his hand, squeezes it. “You’re all right,” she murmurs. “Just breathe.” His fingers flutter in her grip.

Astarion appears back by Cat’s side so silently it almost makes her jump. He goes to unroll the scroll, but Jaheira reaches over, snapping her fingers for it. Astarion hands it over shakily, and Jaheira sets about invoking restoration to restore the boy’s blood and hopefully stave off any infection. Cat continues with her healing spell through the amulet, humming to herself to keep her magic focused with snatches of melodies she’s known since before she can remember.

Her eyes are still locked on the wound to monitor it, but Cat is profoundly aware of Astarion squatting beside her, his arm brushing hers as she holds her glowing hands over the gash. He is all sharp-angled tension; he looks at the boy in front of him, but Cat can practically feel his mind whirring, his jaw clenching as he ruminates feverishly over whatever happened to lead to this scene.

It is long minutes while the boy’s bleeding stills, while the tears in his organs knit, and finally when the wound on his stomach starts to close. His color soon begins to come back as his blood replenishes itself under Jaheira’s restoration spell.

The boy jerks as he comes around, and his head turns this way and that until he sees Astarion beside him. “Sir…” he mutters feverishly. “M'sorry…”

“Quiet,” Astarion says, sounding exhausted. “You need to rest.” He doesn’t touch the boy, but his voice is soft, with no reproach in it, despite how scared he clearly was.

The boy says nothing. He just swallows, and then his eyes start to flutter shut as the adrenaline leaves him, as his body tries to drag him into sleep to continue the healing process. Jaheira checks him over, running her hands over his stomach, feeling for any heat or tenderness, any signs that something is still wrong.

Astarion sighs. Finally looks at Cat. He goes ahead and answers the obvious question. “He—he got me information on the bounty. But the man found him, and did this.”

“What’s his name?” Jaheira asks, eyes still on their patient.

“Uh—Lem,” says Astarion distractedly. “Just a—a kid from the street.”

Jaheira finishes her check. Sits back on her heels, signaling that all was well.

“You two,” she says suddenly, low but sharp. “Go on. I’ll watch him. But—Astarion. I would appreciate in the future that you keep any yelling matches out of my house. The young ones were rather startled.”

Astarion blinks. His expression is unreadable. Cat worries for a moment that he’s about to divert any embarrassment he feels with sarcasm, but to her relief he just nods. “My apologies. It—shouldn’t have happened. And, it won’t again.”

Jaheira nods back. “Good. And you two lovebirds—get all the hard words out now. Do it, before you go to bed. It’s the best way.”

Cat and Astarion both stare at their host for a moment. Cat’s face is carefully blank. Astarion, on the other hand, unleashes the sarcasm he had wisely foregone prior. “Is that an order, o High Harper?”

Jaheira quirks an unimpressed brow. “Just some sage advice from your resident old hag.”

“Come on,” Cat says, suddenly feeling the lack of sleep, and the resulting lack of her patience for Astarion’s quippy back-and-forths. “Let’s get you out of this.” She turns, placing a light hand on his arm, and Astarion lets himself be led away.

Cat eyes his clothes. His cloak and trousers are fine, but that padded doublet—it’s hard to see on the black wool, and in the dim illumination of the orbs of magical light Jaheira had hastily conjured, but if nothing else, she can smell the blood that saturates it. “We should soak that in cold water, before it sets in too deeply.”

Astarion absently looks down at his gore-covered self. “Oh… yes, probably.”

They head for the door to the rear yard. As they reach it, Cat suddenly remembers—she veers off toward Jaheira’s study where she had unceremoniously dumped her bucket and lye soap. Astarion looks at her questioningly when she walks back with the items. She says, simply, “Already did some laundry tonight.”

He looks confused for a second, then comprehension dawns quickly as he puts it together. But Cat is already shouldering through the yard door before he can say a word.

The rain has stopped, the clouds are starting to clear. The moon is low on the horizon at this late hour. Cat’s feet crush the wet grass as she walks toward the pump in the middle of this odd-angled little yard enclosed by high walls. She conjures another mote of light to follow her, illuminating the space. Random items litter it—an archery target, a half-broken spinning wheel, and wooden toys of all kinds. Cat manages to steps on one with her bare foot, a soldier half-sunk in the dirt. She jerk her leg up, swearing softly.

“Are you all right?” Astarion’s voice from somewhere behind her is pointedly soft. Cat still hadn’t pinned down how she felt toward him tonight, but his tone now pricks her. There is an apology in it that sets her teeth on edge.

“Yeah, just stepped on something,” She replies shortly, continuing to march over. There is an overturned wooden basin on the flagstones on which the pump sits. Cat tips it upright and starts to work the pump, putting her whole body into moving the lever up and down. Soon enough, water starts to spit out of it.

She knows Astarion could do this much more efficiently. But she wants to move, wants to push against some resistance. Wants to feel the honest ache in her arms.

When Cat fills the basin halfway with ice-cold water, she turns and finds that Astarion has stripped off down to his bare torso. The blood had soaked clear through his thick doublet and onto his undershirt.

Cat closes her mouth as she takes the clothes from him, forcing her eyes not to flicker over his perfect skin. Not now; not with this knot of barbed feelings in her throat. “I’ll do this,” she says as she dumps the clothes in the basin. “Go rest. You must be tired.”

Astarion sighs. Then he marches smartly around the tub and stands directly across from Cat, where she can’t avoid him. She looks up. He’s upset. “You need to let me talk, Cat—”

“Don’t—you don’t need to say sorry,” she says over him, almost angrily. “I brought the memories back here; I set you off. It’s not like you wanted that to happen.”

Astarion looks at her in surprise for a moment before his face grows stern. “Please don’t tell me what to say. I’ll apologize to you because I want to. Because you didn’t deserve what I said—"

“Neither of us deserve… this!” Cat practically shouts, making a wild gesture. “But here we are. Fucking… sinking into misery until it swallows us. And I have no idea what to do. It’s just always sorry, sorry, sorry, now, from both of us. Here, I’ll add another—sorry for this insane display.”

Cat breathes heavy, staring bleakly at Astarion. Shame curls in her stomach. But, to her surprise, he smiles weakly back at her. “You’re not insane. You’re right. Save for the odd day, we have been going round and round. Well, I have. And you’ve been dragged along. I couldn’t blame you, if… if you wanted to be done with it.”

Cat’s breath catches in her throat. Those last words of his are like a punch to the gut. But then she berates herself inwardly. Why was she so surprised he said that, after what she had just said? Ranting hatefully like she did.

But as she stares at him, a small part of her mind starts to whisper: beyond the initial crushing fear of loneliness… would she rather go her own way? Get out of this loop and leave him to it, to sort out himself?

She looks into his face, her mind racing at this sudden, terrifying thought. But she forces herself to stand at the precipice. To consider it. She loves him. That she would always love him is beyond dispute. But she had learned from a young age, from seeing it time and again, that love was not always enough for happiness between two people, even if they wanted it desperately.

Where was her dread coming from, under all her love? What was eating at her about the two of them? Her first thought was, of course, Astarion’s current struggles with his memories encroaching on him. But it wasn’t that, not really. She could have hope he would get that poison out. No, it was more personal to her: a loss of herself in the entity that was ‘them.’ The reducing of herself to a role of tireless helper that he could always rely on when he was preoccupied with his own torments. The resentment that built in her when she felt he was not looking at her with love for her, but rather just a need for what she did for him.

“Do you remember what Cazador said, during the ritual? About me being a, a master of your misery. That’s haunted me, ever since,” Cat blurts suddenly. “The idea that you’re… drawn to me because you can’t help it. That it’s not about liking me for me, but for whatever I represent, to you. The one that knows you best. The one who is home, because you just don’t know anything else. Is there… is there any truth to that?”

Astarion blanches slightly at the mention of his old master, but it is the weight of her question that lands the blow. “Do I—do I only want to be with you, because of what you offer?” he chokes out. His face is tinged with devastation. “Do you think… after how I was treated for so long, used like a tool—I wouldn’t do that to you. Not in any sort of way.”

Cat’s face softens sadly. “I know you wouldn’t try to. But, I need to know. Why stay with me? When I’m like this, when I'm saying these horrible things. I was the first, but—there’s a whole world of people out there you haven’t been able to meet.”

Astarion’s gaze warms incrementally as he looks at her across the basin, bloody clothes long forgotten. He talks haltingly, but he does not stop; trips over his words like if he did stop he would burst. “Cat, I’m here with you because I love… that little frown on your face, when you’re thinking. How your eyes light up when you’re excited. How you can’t do anything by halves, not to save your life.” The laugh in his voice grips her heart. “I love your wicked sense of humor. Your stubbornness. And… I love the parts of you you never show anyone else. I’m in awe of them. Of you.” He looks down, smiling wanly. “I admit, I… do love how you love me. I never thought anyone would feel that for me, and it makes me feel lucky. But, as to your worries—I’m not some babe, new to the world. I may be new to freedom, to—to being able to choose relationships, but. I’ve gotten to know people well. I had to. I’m not staying with you because you’re convenient, Cat. I am choosing you. Very much on purpose.”  

Astarion is looking at her so achingly Cat can barely meet his eyes. It takes her breath away, this love from him she has not felt so strongly in a what feels like a long time. Maybe not since that night on his grave, when she felt so completely one with him, merged with him like she wanted more than anything.

But that oneness was a passing fantasy. The truth was, they were like their awkward shoved-together bed upstairs—makeshift. Not two destined souls. Not made for each other. Two strangers who found each other through strange circumstance, who jostled against each other awkwardly in their desire, their own separate hurts getting in the way of what they so dearly wanted. But—the love was there. She knew that now.

“This will be work,” says Cat quietly. “Us, that is. Honeymoon’s over.”

Astarion nods, his smile fading to an earnest expression. “And I want to do it. I… want to make this work.”

A stray thought elicits a sudden smile from Cat. Astarion looks at her questioningly. “I, uh, just had the sudden urge to shake on it,” she says.

He snorts, smiling. Walks around the basin. Pulls her to him casually with one arm and kisses her forehead. “I did lie, when I said I didn’t like the strange things that come out of your mouth,” he murmurs.

“I know. You’re actually a terrible liar,” Cat says, kissing his cheek. “Now come on, if we want to save your poor doublet.”

Both of them squat down by the basin. Astarion starts to dunk and then ring out the woolen doublet while Cat works on his undershirt.

“What happened with that boy, exactly?” Cat asks as they work.

“Well, ah,” Astarion starts. “I had the man cornered in the sewers. But he had Lem tied up. He… stabbed him. Got away when I had to stop and get him out of there.”

“I didn’t realize he got away.” She pauses and looks sideways at Astarion. “How… how did he know you wouldn’t just leave Lem behind?”

Astarion shrugs, not meeting her gaze. “Lucky guess, I suppose,” he mutters, conspicuously concentrating on squeezing more bloody water from the doublet.

A smile tugs at the corner of Cat’s mouth. “This boy—you barely know him. You had only… paid him for some information?”

“Mhm.” Astarion pointedly still does not look up.

Cat grins. She would have had a hard time believing it if you told her way back when that Astarion would ever deign to expand the circle of who he cared for beyond their little band of misfits. “And you… saved him. At the cost of your bounty you had already chased all over the city. Not to mention, your first thinking meal in a while.”

“Yes, yes, something like that,” Astarion says singsong, rolling his eyes.

Cat leans over and wordlessly kisses his cheek.

“… Do keep this between us, darling. I can’t have people knowing I’ve gone soft,” Astarion mutters, but his tone is light.

Cat smiles at him. “I’m proud of you, you know.”

Astarion looks at her sidelong. Looks away. A smile tugs at his lips despite himself. “Yes, well. Heroics aren’t bad, now and then. I learned that much with our motley crew.”

Cat leans into him. Rests her head on his shoulder as she wrings out his shirt. “I mean it,” she says.

She can feel Astarion tense, like he’s about to say something, but a moment later he releases his breath instead. He stops working on the doublet, dropping it into the water. Cat does the same with the shirt as he gently wends an arm around her, pulling her with him as he sits back on the flagstones. He tucks her head under his chin as she pulls him closer languidly. The peaceful night settles around them. In the odd little yard beside the half-done laundry, Cat and Astarion sit entwined, fitting together just right.

A/N: Thank you very very much for reading!

[respectthepetty]

TW for a bad man who does bad shit and possible spoilers

This is Midnight Motel's Sun

Sun is, well, he is... I'll let Mote explain

Basically, Sun is a bad man

Like a really bad man

But sometimes he smiles

And it makes him even worse

Because he seems to really enjoy being a bad man

I'm sure he's going to die before all of this is over

But, and this is a big but (Sir Mix-a-Lot style big but), what if we fixed him?

Wild thought, I know, but he was trying to protect Kat, which turned toxic and evolved into possession because he was terrified she would leave him like everyone else has. His mother was also physically and emotionally abusive to him, so he doesn't trust women and must use them first before they use him. He is bad NOW, but with some therapy, water, and a good hug, he could be better.

Or, we could do that?

Fucking him does seem more manageable based on his likely upcoming death

But IF he doesn't die in the finale, I have a bottle of Topo Chico and two warm arms waiting for him.

And then we could find a couple's therapist.

[aranarumei]

does anyone else have like. specific Images. for the relationships in sasamiya. like certain sorts of aesthetics or imagery they like to tie to them. like for me it’s:

sasaki & miyano: like dust motes in the corner of the library—glitter against shadow. something very quiet, a little secretive, but comforting. if I’m trying to write them I try to focus the imagery on smaller things—the chatter of birdsong or crickets, the feel of a page against your fingers, the sound of a mechanical pencil tapping on wood. if there’s excitement in comes in the form of what it feels like to light sparklers on the sidewalk—a little underwhelming, a little magic. admittedly I don’t write much surrounding them so I haven’t quite narrowed down exactly how I go about writing them.

hirano & kagiura: the sun it’s the sun. that one’s so obvious it barely needs to be said. but I like to look at forces of nature… really grand things. bolts of lightning flashing from the sky. gravity. a hurricane. I just feel like its got to be something really strong. the movement of the tides, the pull of the moon… something you can’t run away from.

hanzawa & tashiro: this is the one I probably have the most specific ideas about. hanzawa ties together water and tashiro is spring green. so with hanzawa you get a very slippery sort of feeling… the kind of thing that’s hard to hold onto. the feeling of moving through dream and reality in the same breath. every once in a while I like to describe him like he’s a ghost, because I think some days he feels halfway to the grave, so that shows in how he’s mild-mannered without much presence or feeling showing, cold hands, delicate movements… tashiro is like new blooms. something that’s budding and evolving in front of the eyes—bright and pleasing to look at. he’s like the earth as a point of stability, but he’s quick, too, like a dart. conversations between the two run both mellow and sharp—kind of like ping pong… it’s a sport that doesn’t look intense unless you’re in it. my fun quirk with these two is that if I am being careful enough, I like to throw in this sense of like… industry? like. metallics and steel and concrete. man made structures. to me that’s what completes the whole thing… I want this sense of deeply modern isolation.

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group D Round 3: #D8 vs #D2

#D8: Singer idol android goes back in time to save humanity

#D2: Prophecy girlie, hyper cellphone, and gamer cat get silly

Details and poll under the cut!

#D8: Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song

Summary:

When highly evolved AIs set out to eradicate mankind, the carnage that ensues fills the air with the stench of fresh blood and burning bodies. In a desperate bid to prevent the calamity from ever occurring, a scientist bets everything on a remnant from the past.

Turning the clock back a hundred years, AIs are already an integral part of human society, programmed with specific missions meant to be carried out for their entire course of operation. Vivy, the first ever autonomous AI, is a songstress tasked with spreading happiness through her voice. In a theme park where she hardly ever gets a proper audience, she strives to pour her heart out into her performances, bound to repeat it day after day—that is, until an advanced AI from the future appears before her and enlists her help in stopping a devastating war a hundred years in the making. With no time to process the revelation that flips her world upside down, Vivy is catapulted into a century-long journey to avert the violent history yet to come.

Propaganda:

Most first think that this anime is an idol show. I promise you, it is NOT. Quite far from it. Vivy is regrettably underrated despite having great animation—just watch the fight scenes. It has the best of songs that will get stuck in your head for a long time. Character growth for characters - you will adore them. It even won some recognition from anime awards, yet no one talks about it. You have to watch it at least once and appreciate how this anime is made with love as it talks about experiences that make us human. You will be surprised how well the storytelling is.

Trigger Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Cruelty/Violence/Gore, Suicide

#D2: God Troubles Me (Hanhua Riji)

Summary:

Su Moting, the daughter of a god and a monster, is the supposed Chosen One set to fix the balance of the universe, but unfortunately, she’s just barely living as it is. Only just told of her great fate, Su Moting couldn’t care less as she juggles her social life, work, and her new duties (which she doesn’t take seriously). Alongside Moting are Star Tianji and Star Dikui, a god and a monster out to help our protagonist with her grand mission. They, too, are also struggling to figure out life on Earth, as Tianji is an immortal who doubles as the god of Su Moting’s personal cellphone and Dikui is a cat monster immortal more concerned with lazing about. Somehow, they make things work as the best worst roommates of all time.

Propaganda:

Four-season donghua (Chinese anime) that’s so recent and seeped in American pop-culture that I needed to do a double take when a literal cockroach said “Run, Forrest, run,” in English with a heavy Chinese accent. There’s a cat who plays video games (he’s very good at it), a phone who’s the worst kind of hype man, a sentient air conditioner, a guy who can shapeshift into any vehicle, off-brand Super-Man but jerky, a high-ranking god that collects anime figures, and the mega ultra cool protagonist who is a normal human girl fresh out of college and always low on money. It’s great

Trigger Warnings: Animal Cruelty or Death, Child Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Flashing Lights, Racism, Self-Harm, Suicide.

All the TW’s above are done for comedic effect, but they come in fast and hard with the humor. Better safe than sorry! The biggest things I remember are one or two “blink and you’ll miss it” racist jokes, characters joking about killing themselves out of embarrassment (no one goes through with it), and there’s a LOT of self-harm via stupid decisions. Stupid things like tying a loose tooth to the back end of a sports car sort of stupid. The protagonists have 3 brain cells collectively.

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

[itsoundsfuture]

Planetary Assault Systems - In From The Night (Reworks and Edits) [Mote-Evolver, MOTE064]

Planetary Assault Systems – In From The Night (Reworks and Edits) [Mote-Evolver, MOTE064]

Our Sunday selection: Planetary Assault Systems – In From The Night (Reworks and Edits) [Mote-Evolver, MOTE064] Planetary Assault Systems revisits ‘In From The Night’ with P.A.S edits and a remix from Adam Beyer & Wehbba Planetary Assault Systems is one of UK techno veteran Luke Slater’s most enduring aliases, a project focused on forward-thinking techno with maximum cerebral impact. ‘In From The…

[igazikutya]

Grand Traxelektor 2023/2 – „Move!"

Minden vallásban nagy szerepe van a várakozásnak, és ti, mint gyakorló traxeletoristák minden évben 12 hónapon át követhetitek, halljátok-látjátok, ahogyan gyarapszik a szelekt, hogy aztán év végén, a traxelektori szentháromság szuperszelekcióján áthaladva meghallgathassátok a mind/move/sense kompilációkat. Áldott legyen a teljesség! Xelektbe! Randomba! Krosszfédbe!

Grand Traxelektor 2023/1 – „Move!” - Spotify Playlist Link

[82/89, 8h 9m / 8h 59m, 92,1%] A táncos válogatás majdnem 9 órás, 89 felvételt tartalmaz, az online verzió ennél csak kevéssel rövidebb (8% a veszteség).

Grand Traxelektor 2023/1 – „Move!” - Full Playlist

Abstract Division - A Surreal Odyssey (Fixeer Remix)[Midnight Ensemble - The Remixes - Part 1, Dynamic Reflection] Abstract Division - Perception Is Reality (DJ Nobu Remix)[Midnight Ensemble - The Remixes - Part 1, Dynamic Reflection] Adam Pits - Gadget Crew [Gadget Crew, Constant Sound] Al Wootton - Vitus [Vitus, Optimo Music] Alessandro Adriani - Kybernetes [VA - Limitation, Pi Electronics] Amor Satyr - Quer Dancar?[Transfer, Seilscheibenpfeiler Schallplatten Berlin] Amor Satyr - Rebola [Transfer, Seilscheibenpfeiler Schallplatten Berlin] Ancient Methods - Seers Turned To Voyeurs [The Third Siren, Persephonic Sirens] Anoesis - Cat Vision [Memory On Memory, Paper-Cuts] Anoesis - Track Thirty 7 [Stasislogue, Cyphon] Anthony Linell - Sky Crash Over Me [Sheltering Skies, Northern Electronics] Benedikt Frey - Crank [Fastlane, ESP Institute] Benedikt Frey - Fast Lane [Fastlane, ESP Institute] Broken English Club - Ersatz (Club Edit)[The Artificial Animal Edits, Death & Leisure] Cleveland - Pryd BK [Lola Ran, Kalahari Oyster Cult] Clouds - Corestyle [Clubmatter, Perc Trax] Dawl - Soundwave Disorder [Soundwave Disorder, Acid Boom] Detroits Filthiest - Face Your Fate [100 Percent Authenticity Guaranteed, Casa Voyager] Developer - No Traitors[Hexmode, Modularz] Developer - Volver [Hexmode, Modularz] Djedjotronic - Frozen [Smog on the Dancefloor, Italo Moderni] Djedjotronic feat. REIN - Smog on the Dancefloor [Smog on the Dancefloor, Italo Moderni] Domenico Crisci & Retina.it - Across The Glitch [Diorama, Semantica]

Exium - Cronus [Regressions EP, Void +1] Exium - Unknown Form [Regressions EP, Void +1] Giant Swan - Abacuses [Fantasy Food, KECK] Hiroaki Iizuka - Recall [Recall, Arts Collective] Hoshina Anniversary - Dareka no Rettoukan wo Nomikomu [HakkyouShisou, Constellation Tatsu]Humanoid - Si-rak [Sweet Acid Sound, De_tuned] Humanoid - Sweet Acid Sound [Sweet Acid Sound, De_tuned] interferenc - Orphaneum [pH4R, Self-Released] interferenc - re-fuffl [pH4R, Self-Released] Jerome Hill - The Warning [Crude Appraisal, Super Rhythm Trax] Judgitzu - Sator Arepo [Sator Arepo, Nyege Nyege Tapes] Judgitzu - Vitalimetre [Sator Arepo, Nyege Nyege Tapes]Karenn - Feeling Horizontal [Everything Is Curly, VOAM] Kike Pravda - High Voltage [High Voltage, Mord] Kike Pravda - Protone [Dimensional EP, Senoid]

Laurent Garnier feat. Alan Watts - Tales from The Real World [33 Tours Et Puis S’en Vont, COD3 QR] Legowelt - Dimensionless Moog SP [The MidiVerb Chalice, Axumisia] Legowelt - From a Dusty MonoPoly [The MidiVerb Chalice, Axumisia]Lisene - Square One [Square One, Craigie Knowes] Lew E - Touched [Touched / Teardrop, Basic Spirit] Luke Slater & Dubfire - The Dissent [The Dissent, Mote-Evolver] Magna Pia - Gudanna [QUT, Counterchange] Martyn X Om Unit - Dragonfly [AJ^6, 3024] Matrixxman - Airlock [Dust World, Self-Released] Meemo Comma - Cloudscape [Loverboy, Planet Mu] Na Nich - Inlamint [Black Soil, Delsin] Na Nich - Subway [Black Soil, Delsin] Nørbak - Lux [Passo Lento, Hayes] Oblako Maranta - Analog Garbage [Trance Beckenbauer, Thisbe] Orbital feat. Dina Ipavic - Day One [Optical Delusion, London] Orlando Voorn - Outerworld [Outerworld, TRUST] Orphx - Gateway [The Way Through All Things, Sonic Groove] Orphx - Hungry Ghosts (Revenant)[Revenant, Self-Released] Orphx - In The Presence [The Way Through All Things, Sonic Groove] Orphx - Man Of Sorrows [The Way Through All Things, Sonic Groove] Orphx - Vanishing Point (Erasure)[Revenant, Self-Released]

Paleman - Bite [Veiled, Sublunar] Peverelist - Pulse III [Pulse EP, Livity] Piezo - Cyclic Wavez [Cyclic Wavez EP, Nervous Horizon] Pris - Angel [Phantom, Resin] Pugilist - Circuit Breaker [Negative Space, Of Paradise] Rhys Fulber - Stare at the Sun (Orphx Remix)[Brutal Nature Redux, FR] Rødhåd - Newspeak (2023 Edit)[Revisited, WSNWG Back To Zero] Rødhåd & Vril - Target Line (Vril Remix 2023)[Revisited, WSNWG Back To Zero] Rrose - A Row of Cylinders [Tulip Space, Eaux] RVSHES - DSR_MTS VI [Mantis 12, Delsin] Sam KDC - Dominion [VA - Limitation, Pi Electronics] Sam KDC - Indra's Net [Omnia, Samurai Music] Scuba - Nowot [Hardcore Heaven, Hotflush] Si Begg - Energy [Energie Electrique, Central Processing Unit] Silicon Scally - Wave Dynamics [Mr Machine Part 2, Cultivated Electronics] Siu Mata - Ur [Amasia, Nervous Horizon] Suokas - Hoarfrost [Unreleased III, Laes] Surgeon - Masks & Archetypes [Crash Recoil, Tresor] Tefnect - Failure Teaches Success [Better Late Than Never, Meditation] Terence Fixmer - State of Disorder [State of Disorder, Planete Rouge] Totek - Closer [ttk. 1, Darker Than Wax] Tzusing - Gait [绿帽 Green Hat, PAN] Tzusing - ��忍狠 (Filial Endure Ruthless)[绿帽 Green Hat, PAN] Umwelt - Mind War Acid [VA - Ravexistence, Rave Or Die] Univac - MagnetFunk [MagnetFunk, 30D ExoPlanets] Univac - Sample This [MagnetFunk, 30D ExoPlanets] Viels - Eracly [Distorted Reality, Dynamic Reflection] Viels - Lives Circle [Distorted Reality, Dynamic Reflection] Yaleesa Hall - Fourth Cullen [Cullen, Will & Ink] Yaleesa Hall - Newman [Newman, Will & Ink]

[acornered]

Hey, which OC of yours would be most likely to stargaze?

I think Adele would find the most comfort in looking to the stars. For 800 years she's watched life on earth be in constant flux-- empires rise and fall, languages evolve beyond recognition, technology advances past comprehension-- all of it happening too fast for her to really get a grasp on it. But the stars. The stars were there at the beginning of her life-- their patterns of movement across the sky always predictable, the constellations they form immutable, their light and beauty and grandeur a balm to a being that can only exist in darkness. These distant shapes, these pinprick motes of light, reaching out to her across the universe-- they too endure on a scale of time that no human could understand. It's less lonely, somehow. When the acquisition of wealth becomes meaningless, when human bonds are too fleeting and painful to stomach, when every book has been read, every language has been learned...what does a vampire have left to do but to turn her head to the night sky, and find solace in her oldest friends?

[sweetretribution]

The memory fragment flickers erratically, as if pulsing to a heavy rhythm. No indication as to who it belongs to- just another glowing mote, same as any other one. For any who lay their hand upon its surface, the memory it contains begins to flow...

-------------------

Your boots stumble across the pavement when you touch down, barely managing to keep your face from being the next part to do so. Far from your most graceful landing, but it wasn't your most graceful descent either. At least you're left feeling more confident than ever in your combat ability- just how many huntsmen or huntresses out there had to fight Grimm while floating down through the air, their only weapon being the VERY thing controlling their descent? Sure, your clothes got a bit tattered in the process, but a lesser fighter would've been swallowed up whole.

The flames of nearby property destruction do little to keep you from shivering in the cold night air. Your Aura is running low after fending off monsters while falling thousands of feet from the sky. The rush of wind was definitely a lot more DEAFENING than the fleeting sounds of chaos about you- destroyed storefronts, burning buildings, people screaming off in the distance. Such wonderful mayhem abounds. Oh, that reminds you! From your pocket, you swiftly retrieve your scroll and start to text HIM.

[Landed safely. You kick Little Red's ass yet?]

With the message sent, you close up Hush and idly walk about. What kinds of stores were nearby? The thrill of escaping death definitely has you itching for a lift. Sure, total evacuation of the stores makes it too easy, but you deserve this. Treat yourself! Maybe grab something for your partner too. He'll definitely be happy to have a reward for finally beating that NAIVE LITTLE GIRL. A new hat wouldn't go amiss, far as you're concerned. It's been some years since his last one was crumpled in the wake of that fateful night, and sooner or later that bowler hat was gonna get ratty. You sure couldn't see yourself wearing it, at least.

...Alright, what is keeping him? He's normally pretty good about responding promptly. Maybe Little Red had more fight in her than you assumed. Either way, you sent another text his way, just to check up.

[? Roman?]

It's as though your thumb hitting the Send button triggers some detonator, as an EAR-SPLITTING explosion rips through the air, jerking your attention upward. A massive airship had crash landed, the bright burst of flames overcoming both its form and that of the buildings it had demolished in its descent. And as you stare at the ever-evolving wreckage in bewilderment, a pit starts to form in your stomach, dread rolling over you like waves on the shore.

That was the ship. THE ship. Was he still on it...?

You glance back down to your scroll.

MESSAGE FAILED TO SEND.

Oh no.

You can't remember a single time you've sprinted so fast, even wearing shoes more practical for running. All noises, all sights f a d e around you, pure desperation driving you onward. Your heartbeat POUNDS upon your eardrums the same frenzied, percussive rhythm your feet are carrying you to. The ragged panting that surfaces is perhaps the LOUDEST sound your wordless mouth has ever made. Your chest starts to clench in weariness from overwork. You don't care. You need to get to him, you NEED him to be okay...!

Then you stop. Something in the road makes you force your legs to stillness, about a hundred feet from ground zero.

Fingers trembling, you lean down and pick it up. It's the hat. His hat. The very same you'd just been thinking about him replacing a few minutes ago. It was important to him, more so than almost anything. He would never leave it behind if he could help it.

He would never leave you behind if he could help it.

A few staggered steps forward are all you manage to get before your legs buckle beneath you, leaving you on your knees. You know what you'll find if you try looking. What builds within...you're not sure. You feel like it's an emotion welling up, but...no. No, it's that pit in your stomach again. It's growing wider, filling your body, leaving NOTHING behind. Heart, soul, mind- all are swallowed by inky darkness. Utter numbness has become the only thing that fills you.

Roman Torchwick is gone. Dead. Your friend. Your partner. Your home. There's nobody for you to return to. There's nothing for you now. You have nothing.

You ARE nothing.

A scream leaps from your lips. You've known better than to try and talk for over a decade now, much less scream, but your body can do nothing else. It's a raspy, PATHETIC sound, hardly above a stage whisper. Your throat tears itself RAW, blood welling up in your airway. Still you scream. It doesn't hurt. How could it hurt? What more was there to feel now?

It's only then that the alpha Beowolf bears down on you, a jagged claw swiping to rip you asunder.

Only to meet the opened canopy of Hush, easily holding the strike at bay. You pay its confused growl no mind, nor the HOWL of pain as the hidden blade extends right through its palm. A dead, cold glare meets the luminescent red eyes, one of which disappears behind the hand, as what length of your blade that is not stuck in the Beo's paw is brutally driven through its face. Its death rattle falls on deaf ears before its body crumbles to that black, drifting residue. Your weapon is swiftly stored once again, before you turn to look at the hat in your free hand.

The emotions that had begun to fill your heart in the moments of your slaying the Grimm continue to build. You're not empty anymore. This is what you are. Tears cut a path through the soot on your cheeks, and as you put his hat on, those crying eyes burn with a more intense resolve than ever. To bring it all DOWN. To feel that rush of killing again. To get REVENGE.

And for a brief moment, Little Red comes to mind. She was the last one he fought, the one who'd gotten you separated.

Then another. The one who approached Roman in the first place. The one who pulled him into this whole twisted game, discarding him like a PAWN when the time came. The one who was TRULY to blame.

It has to be her. You'll make her pay for dragging his life into this world-damning war. Ruby will suffer some day, certainly, but first...first comes justice for what you've lost.

CINDER FALL WILL DIE BY YOUR HAND.

[dragonbleps]

I think the sheer file size of ARK: Survival Evolved should be illegal actually

can i get a crumb of compression, Wildcard? A mote of optimization please

[postersdecinema]

Café e Cigarros

EUA,JP, I, 2003

Jim Jarmusch

6/10

.

Só um Coffee Break

Coffee and Cigaretttes é um daqueles projetos que parece ter tudo para dar certo mas que, no final, deixa um inevitável amargo de boca.

Começou por ser uma série de curtas metragens, iniciadas em 1986, as quais foram compiladas, juntamente com mais algumas filmadas expressamente para o efeito, e deu uma longa metragem em 2003.

A ideia é aliciante, pois o café e o cigarro são símbolos de uma civilização e podem funcionar como pretexto para as mais interessantes conversas e reuniões. O problema é que, de facto, não funcionam dessa forma no filme. Limitam-se a ser pequenos episódios onde celebridades, belissimamente filmadas a preto e branco, há que reconhecê-lo, trocam conversas de circunstância, sem grande nexo ou interesse. Há uma ou outra que fica na memória (o nonsense de Benigni e Steven Wright, a primeira curta, filmada.em 1986 e que serviu de mote ao projeto, o humor subtil da dupla Iggy Pop e Tom Waits, a dupla personalidade de Cate Blanchett ou a ironia da dupla Steve Coogan e Alfred Molina) mas mesmo estes quadros que melhor funcionam, sabem a pouco.

Esteticamente evoluídos, são quase um coffee break na vida daquelas personalidades, sem nada de especialmente interessante para dizer umas às outras. Falta manifestamente conteúdo.

.

Just a Coffee Break

Coffee and Cigarettes is one of those projects that seems to have everything to work out but that, in the end, leaves an inevitable bitter taste in the mouth.

It began as a series of short films, started in 1986, which were compiled, along with a few more filmed expressly for this purpose, and became a feature film in 2003.

The idea is enticing, as coffee and cigarettes are symbols of a civilization and can serve as a pretext for the most interesting conversations and meetings. The problem is that, in fact, it doesn't work that way in the movie. It's limited to small episodes where celebrities, beautifully filmed in black and white, I must recognize, exchange small talk, without much connection or interest. There are a few that stick in your memory (the nonsense of Benigni and Steven Wright, the first short film, filmed in 1986 and which served as the motto for the project, the subtle humor of the duo Iggy Pop and Tom Waits, the dual personality of Cate Blanchett or the irony of the duo Steve Coogan and Alfred Molina) but even these episodes that work best taste little.

Aesthetically evolved, they are almost a coffee break in the lives of those personalities, with nothing particularly interesting to say to each other. Clearly lacking content.