#demo excel class

[nanamineedstherapy]

Calendar, Conflicts & Corporate Cowards

Summary: Gangs of Wasseypur x Shark Tank but everyone has rabies. Mainly Slice of life, but aggressive. Previous Chapter - [Tumblr/Ao3]

On Monday, Nanami had been sitting at his desk since 8:59 AM. Not a minute early. Not a second late.

He was wearing the same blue Tom Ford shirt you’d seen on him three times this week.

"Nanami," you said, deadpan, sipping coffee. "Why do you dress like you’re about to attend your own cremation?"

He didn’t even blink. "It's linen. Breathable. Delhi heat is not a joke."

"Neither is that outfit."

He pulled out a file. Printed. Labelled. Tabbed with pastel markers like some demon from the Shiksha Valley coaching centre.

“This is the vendor compliance checklist. I colour-coded the payment cycles by quarter.”

You stared.

“Nanami, why are you like this? Just... email me like a normal person. I don’t need your UPSC notes.”

He adjusted his glasses. “I find it inefficient to rely solely on digital mediums. Also, I made a backup in case your laptop crashes again. You tend to throw it.”

“I throw it because of you.”

At 12:03 PM sharp, he cleared his throat.

“I’ve scheduled lunch for 12:30. I’ll order two thalis.”

Your jaw clenched. “Did you just send me a Google Calendar invite for fucking lunch?”

He nodded.

“Nanami,” you said slowly, “are you secretly a 45-year-old LIC agent with two kids in DPS RK Puram?”

“I find routine helpful.”

“I find you unhelpful.”

The worst part? He was always right. Always quietly fixing things in the background. You once called him a virgin during a product demo because he fact-checked you in front of the investor. He didn’t even flinch. Just said:

“You’re misrepresenting metrics. Also, we should cut sugar in the coffee blend by 3%—feedback from test groups.”

He was never dramatic. Never incompetent.

Which made yelling at him so much more frustrating.

You couldn’t call him an idiot like you did Gojo. Couldn’t call him a freak like Suguru. Couldn’t even threaten him like Sukuna. Because Nanami just took it. Like a pensioner in a queue. Stoic. Logical. Unshakable.

You stormed into his office one day and said, “Nanami. If I get one more analytics deck with your ‘key insights’ and your little bullet points and your Times New Roman font, I will genuinely unalive myself on your ergonomic keyboard.”

He looked up calmly. “I use Calibri.”

You wanted to slap him with your MacBook.

And the worst part?

When the others messed up—which they always did—Nanami was the one fixing it. Cleaning up Gojo’s botched pitches. Handling Sukuna’s police complaints. Redoing Suguru’s lazy-ass research. Supporting Ino’s dumb baby steps.

He even made Toji stop vaping inside the supply closet.

You hated him for it.

Because it meant you couldn’t fire him. Couldn’t kill him. Couldn’t even threaten him.

You needed him.

Which was somehow even more annoying.

One time, after you’d just finished yelling at Gojo for putting his OnlyFans link in the team bio (as a “joke”), Nanami handed you a steel tiffin.

"I packed poha. You skipped breakfast."

You stared at him.

“You’re the most annoying man I’ve ever met.”

He nodded. “I get that a lot.”

---

A/N: You don’t hate Nanami because he’s incompetent. You hate him because he’s the one person you can’t fire, fix, or fluster. He’s the middle-class Excel demon with a conscience and meal-prep schedule. He makes your startup run—and makes your blood boil.

Next Chapter Interns, Idiots, & Ino’s Existential Crisis - [Tumblr/Ao3]

All Works Masterlist

[magici-if]

Attention, viewers. The following program contains content suitable for mature audiences aged 16 and above. Viewer discretion is advised.

[DEMO COMING SOON][FAQ] [RO ASKS MASTERPOST]

MAGICI: WORLDSTAR INTRO POST

A flyer falls at your feet.

Ever wanted to become the best mage in the world? Ever wanted to become famous while at it?

Well, according to this flyer, by applying for this magic academy-turned-talent show, you can.

A chance to develop your magic affinities, get a free higher education from a renowned academy, meet people from all over the world, win the grand prize of 300 000 kubos , AND become mindblowingly famous?

Sign-me-up.

Friends, mentors, rivals, lovers? In the end, the top only has space for one.

Will you be the one standing there?

But more importantly, what will you do to get there?

Find the answers to these questions and more in the third season of:

Magici: Worldstar - Where dreams become Magic.

A ✧ Spellbound ✧ Entertainment© Production

APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED. CATCH US ON CHANNEL 4!

In a world where magic is alive and widespread, you're one of the few lucky ones who can say they have actual powers instead of the weak energy most people possess. That's because you've had your Awakening, the extraordinary event in which that fragile energy becomes magic.

Unfortunately, Magic Academies are expensive and hard to get into, so you've never had the resources to truly hone your powers.

That changes when you find out that one of the most famous and respected magic academies in the world, Magici Academy, is letting anyone* apply.

How? By joining the famous magic talent show, Magici: Worldstar, you get a free education at the Academy. The catch? Every week, you risk being eliminated**, effectively shattering the dream of a lifetime.

Will you excel, or will you be eliminated, perhaps by the viewers or because you weren't on par with your fellow contestants?

*(See full requirements at MagiciWorldstar.com)

**Continued enrolment subject to Academy approval.

KEEP READING FOR FEATURES AND ROS.

Fully design your MC: pick your magic affinity, tv persona, gender identity, pronouns, sexuality, name, fashion style, personal goals, body mods, and many more!

Pick who gets eliminated by answering to polls!

Romance one of 6 ROs, or pursue casual flings

Will you focus on honing your magic, getting your grades up, winning the talent show, or simply charming the viewers?

Will you learn to control your powers, or succumb in this new and stressful environment?

Affect how the viewers, teachers, teammates, judges, and fellow students perceive you.

Affect how well your team does in the talent show, as well as the relationships between your teammates

Possibly win a talent show and get crazy rich and famous

Become the viewers' sweetheart... or a pain in the ass ^^

Play matchmaker with your class-/teammates ❤︎

❤︎ Romantic Options:

[RO appearances here] (not a rickroll this time I swear)

Martin: He comes from a long lineage of strong mages. Always the family's black sheep, he seeks to make his family proud and finally show them he's worthy of his last name. A gentle but intimidating giant, he doesn't want to get too close to his fellow contestants, can you break down his walls?

Tropes: Stoic, Slow-Burn, Forced Proximity, Roommates, Afraid to Commit, Idiots in Love

Demetra: This one is a mystery. Your brother's best friend, whom you've seen walking around your home since you were a teenager; however, she never made an effort to get to know you. When you see her at the Academy, you realise you know nothing about who she is. She says her only motivation to be on the show is knowledge, but will you show her she can find something other than that?

Tropes: Rivals to Lovers, Brother's Best Friend, Idiots in Love, Everyone Can See It

Evander: Evander is a gifted individual with a big talent for magic, but he's lazy. The definition of "He's smart but he doesn't apply himself", he could care less about being in the academy. Their family has managed to force convince them to be on the show, the fame and money a big incentive. What they secretly hope is that he'll come home as a new person and grow up. You won't fix them, but you can sure seduce them. ;)

Tropes: First Love, Fish Out of Water, Oblivious to Love, Pining

Harley: A social butterfly, it seems somehow she's already friends with everyone at the Academy. Growing up around musicians made her love for music grow, as well as awaken her powers. She joined the show to make important connections and to get her name out there both as a talented musician and a powerful mage. Will you be just another friend for her or will you become her muse? 𝄞

Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Soft Love, Roommates, Idiots In love, Mutual Pining

Echo: Echo is extremely shy and often lost in her own thoughts. Her unique powers make her an intimidating rival and a strong teammate. However, she joined the show for a specific reason: she seeks to learn more about her unusual affinities. Other than that she hasn't really been interested in getting to know anyone. Maybe you'll be the exception and get to know the real Echo. ❤︎

Tropes: Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Idiots In Love, Strangers to Lovers, Hesitant, Crush on MC

Dominic: He is one of the judges at Magici: Worldstar, as well as a professor at the Academy. He is just another judge, and you're just another contestant. Nothing to see here. :)

Tropes: Forbidden Love, Fell In Love with The Wrong Person, Lovers in Denial

possible flings 👀 Other contestants:

Bleon: They already have a reputation as a prankster around the Academy, having competed in Magici: Worldstar's first season. Loved by the student body, hated by the professors, but you'll be sure to like this menace.

Bruno: A shy but friendly presence in your team, he looks forward to getting to know you. After a quick conversation, you already know he aspires to become a respected landscape engineer by perfecting his ability to build and shape landscapes.

Brynn: She aspires to become a Nature Guardian, and to preserve harmony between humans and nature. It is slightly interesting then, that she seems to dislike you the moment she sets her eyes on you.

Chianti: He holds a little secret. Well, not anymore, 'cause I'm about to tell you. He's just had his Awakening, a mere few months before his admission to the show. Will you help him develop his affinities or turn the other way, until he gets eliminated?

Nora: After losing her father to a magic-related incident, she understands that even the strongest healers can't save themselves. She dreams of becoming a mage healer, but also a Guardian, thanks to her rare affinity combination.

Rahim: A disciplined and focused mage, no one in his family has had an Awakening. He hopes he'll be able to get far in the show or to at least stay long enough to develop his powers.

[DEMO COMING SOON... STAY TUNED]

ATTENTION VIEWERS: THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ABOVE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS THE PROJECT "MAGICI: WORLDSTAR" IS A WORK IN PROGRESS.

✧ Magici: Worldstar is a contemporary fantasy romantic drama IF, a first part to the Magici series.✧ Reblogs/asks are crazy appreciated !!

[paranoidginger]

Random headcanons for the TF2 mercs!!

Scout: ADHD hardcore, should probably be medicated for it, but isn't. This man cannot stand still for anything, he is always tapping his feet or fiddling with something. He definitely bites his nails, especially his thumbs. Repressed bisexual who is accidentally homophobic because he thinks he isn't supposed to like guys, and thinks everyone chooses to like the opposite gender. He's a surprisingly good artist, and he has dyslexia. That mixed with dropping out of highschool made him somewhat illiterate, spelling is hard, and so is reading any big words.

Soldier: Jack of all trades, he has had every job possible, but if he weren't in love with going to war, he'd probably settle on properly running a raccoon sanctuary. He is the reason why Medic had to invent a cure for rabies. Definitely thinks that being a lesbian just means that you like women, regardless of gender, he refers to himself as a Lesbian after learning that Pauling Identifies as one.

Pyro: Probably not even a human, uses any and all pronouns. They're really smart, despite acting childish, and are the one who built their flamethrowers. Probably collects stickers. Would definitely watch MLP and drag the other mercs into watching it with them, Pinkie Pie is definitely their favorite of the mane six. They draw a lot, and are pretty good at it whenever they want to be, they just prefer drawing silly things. Their room probably smells like burnt plastic and gasoline.

Demo: Only goes sober whenever shit gets super, super serious, like one of the other mercenaries that he cares about gets hurt. He's got a really strong caretaking instinct that gets drowned out by drunken recklessness. He's a total lover, and definitely the type of guy to kiss the homies goodnight. It takes a LOT to actually get him drunk drunk, like, I'm talking ungodly levels of alcohol that would probably kill the average person. He's Spy's drinking buddy, and probably knows the most about Spy's background from listening to his drunken ramblings about regrets and how he wishes he was a better father. Demo probably knows a lot about most of the other mercs, just because he's a good listener and a vault whenever it comes to sensitive information. He's also really fucking smart. Probably pansexual tbh, just based on vibes.

Heavy: He gets nervous whenever he has to help out any of the more 'delicate' mercenaries. He knows he's ridiculously strong, and he has excellent control of himself, but he can't help but feel like he's handling glass whenever he's helping out any of his injured teammates, especially when it comes to Scout or Spy. He's super fucking protective of all of his team though, and would absolutely crack skulls if anything happened to any of them. He is the only person other than Medic who is allowed to touch Archimedes. Probably bisexual with a preference towards men.

Engie: He's usually pretty polite, but can be one of the most brutal out of any of the classes. He's definitely autistic with a special interest in machines. He probably wants to capture one of the mvm robots just to run tests and see if they're sentient. Low-key god complex, like, moreso than medic, he's just super humble about it. He definitely talks to all of his machines. He's 100% a trans man, I can see him as being demisexual.

Sniper: Definitely autistic, he's probably got a shitload of random animal information. Total arachnophobe, but only towards small spiders. Hand him a tarantula and he's fine, but show him a stick covered in baby spiders and he's going to probably kick it as far away from himself as possible and run away. He adores lizards of all kinds, and probably used to lay on the ground watching them all the time as a kid. This man can't use a kitchen for shit, but he manages to make anything he cooks over a fire absolutely delicious, he probably refuses to share though. Probably Asexual. Has a shitty taxidermy rat in his camper that he's unnecessarily proud of, and he probably collects bones. Super into oddities and weird little knick knacks, and he still has all of his baby teeth that he keeps in a little jar on a shelf. Can't run for shit, but could walk for hours if need be. Likes doing arts and crafts, he knits in his free time, and almost always has a sewing kit with him.

Medic: Knows a little about every different medical field, he just sort of studied up on whatever piqued his interest. DOES have a PhD in medical science, he just lost his license to legally practice in a hospital or doctor's office. Gay, probably a trans man. Has definitely experimented on himself before, giving himself different deadly diseases and whatnot just to challenge himself to make a cure before he dies. Also autistic. Spoils the fuck out of his birds, and would probably Frankenstein together a human body for Archimedes if he could figure out how.

Spy: Bisexual genderfluid icon. Usually only gets caught because he's being way too much of a cocky showoff. Definitely wears eyeliner and says that it 'helps him see better' when it's bright out, even though it's 100% just a fashion statement. Has a collection of antique cigar boxes and lighters.

[scalene-4]

for somebody that didn’t really use a cellphone until age 12 and didn’t own an iphone until senior year of high school, i’ve certainly made up for lost time. unless i make a conscious effort to face reality on its own terms for the first 10min of being alive on a given day, i usually roll over and grab this stupid thing to look at what other people are up to on instagram or scroll twitter and bear witness to the terminal polarization of society itself play out in real time.

i have to admit, if it were anyone other than elon musk (a nasty petulant man child of a person who seems to have obsessively dedicated his energy and platform to making life miserable for people like myself after his famous pop star ex left him for a trans woman) who had done it, i would genuinely think that buying twitter and changing its name to “X” was a hilarious and ascended move. like anything else elon does, it comes off as the bloated and out of touch result of never being told “no” in your life.

having unfiltered access to social media fundamentally altered me as a person in a really weird and kafka-esque manner. before senior year i was shy and watched the social dynamics of people in my class play out from the sidelines, disappearing into worlds of my own creation with my siblings and close friends once the school bell rang. i was a quiet kid and felt like nobody liked me or saw me, so why would i want to engage socially with the greater Point Loma High School Bubble once i wasn’t physically forced to? of course, these feelings were largely cope as like any other human being i just wanted to feel part of it all and i hadn’t yet realized that channeling this feeling of alienation into art was my greatest superpower. i saw the feeling as a personal failing of sorts, empirical evidence that i didn’t belong because something in me was broken and fundamentally unlikeable. secretly, i wanted really badly to be seen as popular and regarded by my peers, something i probably have never fully reckoned with as my adult life has largely been defined by the pursuit of becoming a famous musician. the roots of that go further back though and that will be a post on here for another time — at this point i’m an angsty 17-year-old completely cut off from the various social dealings of my classmates once school is out and i’m home with my guitar or a pen and paper or a lump of clay.

that all changed once i got an iphone 4S in the fall of my senior year. i immediately downloaded instagram and twitter and snapchat, wasting no breath in making up for lost time. i found that many of my classmates were quick to follow me back and engage with me on those sites, and i quickly became addicted to twitter in particular. the refreshing of the interface and pace of conversation and the way all of our adolescent drama played out for all to see in real time was basically kerosene for synapses yet to be fried on various psychoactive substances. i started making new friends at school from twitter, popular and attractive friends. i didn’t notice it at the time, but my previously regimented and passionate pursuit of excellence in songwriting and my instrument began to fade into the background as i was going to more parties and snapchatting girls and generally becoming a bit more full of myself with each passing day.

i like to joke that if i’d found tumblr at that age and had used soundcloud for discovery instead of just posting half baked acoustic demos to impress my classmates, i probably would have realized i was trans a lot earlier than i did. i tell myself that things play out the way they’re supposed to.

as time went on and the people from my phone began to see who i was in real life, i think whatever charm i was somehow able to conjure initially faded as i grew ever more confident in behaving like the exact kind of person i hated. i got too drunk at every party, i acted snide towards friends of mine i deemed to somehow be lower than me on my imaginary social ladder, i checked twitter every 45 seconds and i treated anybody foolish enough to date me like a disposable accessory. and the thing is, i wasn’t even really popular by any means. i think people kind of just put up with me because i was around.

i can’t blame my phone for this shift because it was simply the catalyst for igniting teenage insecurity into an unstoppable inferno of cringe behavior and self-centeredness. the nature of a tool depends entirely on the hands making use of it, and unfortunately those hands happened to also belong to a tool. thankfully about a week into college i fell in with a wonderful group of friends who immediately put me in my place and to this day we’re all still pretty close. they saw the lonely girl behind the toolish exterior and something about her was worth loving, even if she said dumb shit sometimes.

like i said just now, i don’t blame technology in principle for amplifying the worst parts of human psychology and behavior. i think those traits are things we need to reckon with in an existential sense, and we’ll always be inventing new things that enable our worst selves. however, i think right now in particular that dynamic is functioning at its most sinister in terms of our greater society.

we have just elected a convicted felon slash rapist slash racist slash wannabe dictator, someone who by any objective account had a messy and disastrous first attempt at the presidency and has wasted no time in round 2 sowing fear and hatred and platforming bigotry. so many people agree this man and his underlings should be taken down, but thanks to social media being the forum for these conversations most if not all attempts at collectivizing and strategizing seem to devolve into a mushy goo. no one can agree on who’s leftist enough or what constitutes bulletproof moral standing — my own community can’t even agree on who’s trans enough. no one wants to say it but i feel like all of this is largely due to the way these platforms incentivize negative engagement, and shrink our scope by addicting us to instant gratification. it’s a far quicker serotonin boost to dunk on some teenager with therian lesbian (it/she) in bio than to dismantle oppressive institutions over time collectively. we’re all hooked on feeling like we’re right and more importantly, like someone else is wrong.

i love the one meme where the left is arguing about whether or not a dog is allowed to play basketball or not, while a dog runs around the court dunking on all of them.

rich people will always have access to healthcare and abortion and be free to express their sexuality however they’d like (just look at how grindr activity spikes at any given RNC event), their decadent lifestyle directly subsidized by us peasants and our phone addictions. i think it is absolutely fucking insane that so many of us regularly acknowledge and joke about the fact that we’re being watched and our activities online are recorded and farmed and sold to advertisers. our going back and forth on x dot com about which pronouns are real actively and materially makes money for these people. our attention spans are so short that they can just keep introducing new events to milk our stupidity for capital and widen the gap as the world around us literally burns to death.

i think the whole luigi thing was a psyop sometimes.

think about it: wouldn’t it be in the ruling class’ best interest to knock off a mid tier ceo in a time of growing social unrest and awareness of the evils of that class? tiktok made it impossible to ignore the genocide israel has been committing on palestine for the better half of a century. even if we don’t always use them responsibly, we have open forums from which to commiserate and collectively realize that life doesn’t have to be this unfair. if i were a billionaire oligarch and could afford to do any insidious thing i wanted, my billionaire oligarch friends and i would absolutely sacrifice a lower tier one of our own in a staged event to placate the masses. when brian thompson was executed like a dog in the street we all pretended that it was this massive instant of social awakening and class consciousness, but really what happened is it gave us all means to sit on our laurels and pat ourselves on the back because Someone Else Had Done It For Us. notice there wasn’t a copycat killer! nothing happened! there was a highly publicized chase (the evidence every step of the way looking extremely convenient and staged) and then it turned out they found a guy and he was hot, and once he was imprisoned that was kind of the end of it. CEOs continue to leech off of us and destroy the planet with no fear of retribution, while the rest of us go online and tell ourselves good job.

tools are what we make of them. i think in this crucial time we’re experiencing, this rapid fall to fascism that is ALREADY TAKING PLACE, we either need to learn how to use the tools we have responsibly and intentionally, or perhaps make use of new or different ones. i feel every day like true class consciousness and organized uprising is within our grasp, yet we keep shooting ourselves in the foot while they laugh. i hope with all of my heart that the next brian thompson (would be awesome if it was elon) faces justice at the hands of the people, truly. no frills or discourse or fancam edits, just cold lead karma and an awkward gmod ragdoll pose on the ground.

regardless, it’s about to keep getting uglier and while i reserve no love for these disgusting rich pigs i’m trying to have a greater sense of patience and empathy for everyone else and even for myself. no one’s looking out for us anymore and it’s clear they never were; now that us faggots and trannies have lost our value as a photo op the democrats aren’t coming to save us. i have faith in and love for the people around me and hold a firm belief that we will have each others’ back once the chips are down.

i also wonder how much of my data has been sold in the time it took to type all this.

[felassan]

New BioWare Blog post: "Journal 14 - New Trial with EA Play"

Try out Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s new demo

Rest of post under cut due to length.

"Hey everyone, A timed trial of Dragon Age: The Veilguard releases on all platforms today for anyone with an EA Play* subscription! We’re excited to share this opportunity to experience the game with more people this holiday season. If you’ve been looking for a demo to try out the game before you buy, now is your chance, especially while the game is on sale. It’s the perfect time to grab TIME’s #1 Game of 2024.   Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the newest installation in the beloved fantasy RPG Dragon Age franchise. You play as Rook, a customizable character, on a journey with your mentor, Varric, and his team to stop elven gods from destroying the world.  The timed trial concludes after five hours of play. You’ll start right at the beginning with the opportunity to create your Rook and fight alongside series-favorite Varris Tethras through a chaotic moment in Minrathous, a city which has been long-spoken about in Dragon Age but never seen until now. Your team is trying to stop Solas’ tumultuous ritual, which threatens to flood the world in demons and cause massive devastation. Along the way, you’ll meet a few of Rook’s companions who will open up a wealth of new combat options as you progress through the trial. If you don’t spend too long in our in-depth Character Creator, you may get as far as recruiting the Veil Jumper Bellara, our elven artifact expert, along your journey.  If you’re a Character Creator aficionado like many of us but don’t want that to cut into your five hour trial, we recommend you check out the stand alone Character Creator we released on Dragon Age Day to make your Rook first**. You can take your time to perfect your Rook, as there is no time limit for the stand alone Character Creator. We’ve ensured that you can import your customized Rook from there into the timed trial. When creating your Rook, there will be an “import” button to use any pre-created Rooks from the same device/console."

"Before you begin, we have multiple blogs and guides to help so you can maximize your time within the trial, covering some overall tips, progression, combat, and our accessibility options. We have three classes - Mage, Rogue, and Warrior - to choose from, and lots of options to make sure you can play the game your way, from difficulty level to our skill tree that you can respec at any time in case you want to try out new techniques. Start by picking the class that resonates with you most and have fun exploring all they have to offer. Here are a few resources we recommend reading through ahead of getting started: - Overview & Tips - Progression Guide - Combat Spotlight - Accessibility Spotlight"

"We’ve also worked with some excellent content creators within our community to make class and build guides! For those of you getting into the trial, we hope you enjoy the latest chapter in the Dragon Age series and experience what critics are calling “a high fantasy romp fueled by fast, fluid combat” (EMPIRE) and “one of the year’s best” (Rolling Stone) in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Make sure your platform account is linked to your EA Play account in order to access the trial! We have loved seeing the community’s reaction to Dragon Age: The Veilguard and sharing this adventure with all of you. We still have another planned patch for early 2025 - so stay tuned and have a great rest of the year.  Talk soon. (Dareth shiral!)             — The Dragon Age Team"

**Conditions, limitations and exclusions apply. See https://tos.ea.com/legalapp/eaplay/us/en/pc/ for details. **Conditions & restrictions apply. See ea.com/legal for details.

[source]

[phoenix-downer]

FFVII Rebirth Demo Impressions

I played the demo several nights ago and loved it! This post is about my thoughts/impressions as I was playing.

(Quick note: My shipping preferences are Cloud/Tifa and Zack/Aerith, so that is going to influence my perspective and what I write about. There will also be spoilers for the OG game and Crisis Core throughout).

One of the first things I noticed as I was playing through was the graphics. The graphics look fantastic. I can tell the game being on the PS5 is making a big difference. The jump in quality from Remake to Rebirth is really noticeable.

It's so weird seeing Cloud act like Zack. Like I KNOW it's Zack and it's creeping me out a;lksdjfdfj because it's just...so not Cloud. They knocked the "this is wrong" vibes out of the park by using Zack's mannerisms and gestures with Cloud's model slapped on top, and it's giving this uncanny valley feeling to everything "Cloud" does. Cody Christian even sounds more like Zack's VA (Caleb Pierce). The attention to detail with all that is excellent. The updated graphics give them a lot to work with in terms of showing the wonkiness with Cloud's memories.

There was also a clever shot in the truck of "Cloud" asking the real Cloud if he's okay, and you see a hint of Cloud's blond hair peeking through the helmet.

I liked the dramatic/heroic version of Sephiroth's theme that played. And when Zack gets hurt by one of the monsters, I think it was Cloud who made sure he's okay, which was a sweet touch. Also, the screen is tinted with green, which is a cool way to show the effects of the Mako poisoning on Cloud.

Another thing I noticed: Cloud's eyes look SUPER green, more so than in Remake. Don't know if it's the upgrade to the PS5 or if they wanted to show the Mako poisoning progressing, but I thought it was a cool detail.

Okay it's like Cloud swapped he and Zack in his memories directly at one point soon after they arrive in Nibelheim. I swear this is 100% what Zack would've said to Cloud about Aerith, but instead it's one of the "security officers" saying it to "Cloud": "So, any friends here you wanna see? Maybe a girlfriend? Speaking of which, I bet you're dying to hear about mine. Am I right?"

Lmao Sephiroth still has groupies, this is giving Crisis Core fanclub vibes and I'm all here for it. I'm glad the game still has those silly moments and that continuity with past games. It makes the tragedy I know will unfold later on that much more poignant.

Speaking of which, it's depressing seeing all the townspeople in Nibelheim knowing they're going to die. Just walking around talking to them, Nibelheim really feels like a lived-in place that Cloud has so many personal connections to.

An NPC asked Cloud if he's seen his mother yet, another one recognized me, and another couple of people noticed me and asked if I'm looking for Tifa. They Know™️

Also, it's really interesting seeing Cloud craft the welcome home he WISHES he had gotten. He wanted to come back to Nibelheim as a hero everyone praised, but the reality was much different. So seeing that contrast is a really good insight into Cloud's psyche and what he wants (praise, recognition, approval, etc.)

Oh found some cats, I'm glad there's another area dedicated to just cats ;aldjf; (complete with photographic evidence):

Awwwwww there was a sweet reference to Tifa leading the exercise classes for Nibelheim from Traces of Two Pasts, and she asks Cloud in the modern day if he was able to keep up with the class (she wasn't teaching this particular one, but I love that bit of continuity).

Tifa you can tell is nostalgic for Nibelheim hearing Cloud's recounting of what happened too, the voice acting and dialogue for this part is all really well-done.

The option to see Cloud's mom was really well-done. Cloud never went back to see her in reality, of course, which means his memory glitches out like crazy during this part: he "hears" his mother talking to him about a conversation that happened at an earlier time, like his brain is desperately trying to create something that never happened and is latching onto the nearest fragments it can find. I like how they translated this scene from the OG game, it gave off eerie vibes.

HE DID THE LIL SHRUG AND NOD LIKE HE DOES IN THE OG GAME if you try to enter his mom's house again after the "memory" is over. Also, it's like his mind is trying to protect itself from delving too deeply into a false memory so glitchy (and maybe he feels a deep level of guilt at not actually going to see her as well), and so you can't go back into his house, just like in the OG game.

You can have Cloud go up the water tower too, and he looks towards Tifa's window THE ANGST OF IT ALL a;lskdfj. I love those little moments of Pining™️

Tifa's like wait you went to my place?? Oh Cloud...you were such an awkward weirdo...

"Our reasons, huh? I bet most of them had to do with you." Barret shading Cloud for why he and Tifa didn't hang out more ;alkdjf again I love the humor in these moments.

Awwww Fluffy got mentioned! Nice to hear her brought up again.

"You went into my room?" I'm dead. Tifa sounds so indignant and rightfully so. It's weirdo behavior Cloud ;laskdfj

"You went through my stuff?!" Not off to a great start buddy, but I had him pick that option because I figured he ought to be honest. Tifa and Aerith both call him an asshole if you admit to doing it too, which made me laugh. And naturally my mind is wondering how this will impact the iconic date later on. Did I just piss both Aerith and Tifa off and lose affection points with both girls? Probably lol (and honestly, Cloud deserved it for that stunt).

Tifa's lil moogle plushie on her bed is adorable. I love the touches like that that make the environment feel more lived in.

Awwww I found Tifa's theme to play on the piano hehe. I love that that's the first piano piece you can find in the game. Just one of my favorite FFVII songs because it fits Tifa so perfectly and has this bittersweet sense of longing as well as this beautiful tenderness to it.

Also, I got a kick out of the piano minigame. The first time I wasn't great at it and got a C. I struggled to do both "hands" at the same time. I did it two more times after that, and it starts to sound really nice when you have a streak of a bunch of correct notes in a row. Like Cloud's going to town on the piano with extra flourishes. If you miss notes again though the metronome comes back on lol like "you still need to practice and get the rhythm down."

The second two times I got an A (I'll have to keep practicing to get a star and see what happens), and the gang praised Cloud, which I thought was cool.

Found more Sephiroth groupies and ran into Zangan in the inn. It was really sweet hearing Zangan praise Tifa so highly. Also, "Cloud" saying, "yeah right" when Zangan says "Tifa will go far" is another good clue Cloud isn't himself. Tifa was offended and Aerith was offended on her behalf. I love how Aerith keeps backing Tifa up on stuff, it's really nice to see more of their friendship.

The photographer dude is back and I love him. And he even says the same thing he said to Zack in Crisis Core about how he can't waste his film on Zack because he doesn't know who he is ;alskdfj. What's a guy got to do to get a little respect?

"You look so different" lol yes I do random villager because I'm not me, and then there are some nice creepy foreshadowing moments from her kids. The girl says, "Gonna beat those monsters?" and the boy says, "Gonna be 'em?"

The irony of the mayor saying he'd brag about Sephiroth visiting Nibelheim till the day he dies:

I still really love Brian Lockhart's design. He's like if the 70s met cowboy fashion, and it just works somehow. And this carries over from the OG game, but his concerns about Tifa's safety are well-founded given what happened when she and Cloud were kids and sets up future reveals in the remake trilogy nicely.

Also, Tifa is so small next to Sephiroth. I love her sass in this part of the story, and this time around there's some country twang banjo version of her theme and I love it. Also Sephiroth shaded the camera guy al;sdkfj;dskf but "Cloud" talked him into it and thus the iconic photo came into being. Again those moments of humor will never not be funny. And I loved how Tifa was being such a good guide and giving info about the area as they started to ascend the mountain.

Also, when you finally get to the title screen, it cracked me up how Nomura is listed first, before Hamaguchi. Probably a seniority/respect thing, but Nomura is the creative director and Hamaguchi is the director.

Also, the version of the main theme that plays as you go up Mt. Nibel is awesome, and once again I had to get a screenshot because this area is just so beautiful:

Tifa wanting to travel is a sweet touch, though Sephiroth is practical and points out that he travels on business trips and not for fun. Of course "Cloud" points out that you do learn stuff on these trips. It's a nice contrast between Tifa's naive optimism, Sephiroth's jaded world-weary outlook, and Zack's positivity tempered by experience.

Also, Sephiroth's hair is very swishy. I thought that needed a note as I was playing this. Props to the artists, animators, etc. who rendered it.

I chuckled at Tifa racing up the mountain and teasing "Cloud" and Sephiroth about whether or not they can keep up. Just shows a fun, playful side to her personality and also shows how eager she is to prove herself. And then she dropkicked a monster to protect "Cloud" and then teased him about it alks;jfdsf. She's so much snarkier with Zack than she is with Cloud, and it's an interesting contrast.

The real Cloud of course is in the background, protecting Tifa from danger. Even in his rewritten version of history, the real him is lurking in his subconscious protecting her because she's that important to him. She thanked him so sweetly when he did too.

I made a note about seeing the bridge that collapsed with Cloud and Tifa on it when they were kids, man all the little details like this and the foreshadowing is just A+.

Tifa has Trauma™️ from falling off a bridge before, hmmm, wonder what that's from, and she's still like hey I'm the guide I'll lead us a;ldkfj when "Cloud" offers to go first lol.

Still holds true years later but wooooow Nibelheim sucks at constructing good bridges lol. It was a wholesome moment where "Cloud"/Zack grabbed Cloud and kept him from drowning though, and Sephiroth was able to grab Tifa (which is ironic considering how he tries to kill her not much later, and it's sad because it really shows he was a good guy). Of course the other security officer probably drowned rip, poor guy.

YAY SEPHIROTH'S IN MY PARTY FINALLY

"For your performance review" lol I like Sephiroth's sass and how he teases "Cloud" like this.

I just obliterate everything playing as Sephiroth ;alsdkfj and truly love playing as him. And him slamming his own dad will never not be funny, I mean Hojo just really sucks.

At this point I started focusing more on playing the game since there were more monsters to fight etc., but I still got some nice screenshots and had a few more thoughts.

The Mako spring just looks incredible, so I had to include a photo:

The scenery by the ocean was gorgeous too, I can't wait to go to Costa del Sol:

The real Cloud helping Tifa get to safety from the monster and "Cloud"/Zack and Sephiroth being bros is top-tier content. Also Sephiroth looks like a model in pretty much every shot he's in:

Oh the dramatic irony of Tifa not knowing it's Cloud and him refusing to talk and her being sassy and telling him, "You better keep me safe" and then of course he does. The music is creepy now that we're about to enter the reactor lol, of course it is.

"Would it kill this guy to say something" he would die from embarrassment and shame, yes:

"The company really needs to be more transparent" that's the understatement of the year "Cloud" ;lakfj;asdf

Cool use of JENOVA'S theme. I always enjoy hearing that theme and how otherworldy but also very 90s it sounds.

Zangan's comment here is gold, I love the bee in his bonnet bit:

The Shinra basement stuff was genuinely creepy l;kasjdf like I know what happens and I was still freaked out! The atmosphere was just really well done.

"I should go. Mother is waiting." There it is, the iconic meme line a;ldal;skdjf;lsdjf it just kills me, Sephiroth is such a psycho.

Loved seeing Zangan helping people get out of the town and telling "Cloud" to get in there and help, but of course the situation is still incredibly dire by the time "Cloud" gets there.

This shot in front of the water tower was gorgeous and really haunting, especially when the water tower collapsed. Just the symbolism with that, the loss of Cloud and Tifa's special place and how not long after this, he feels like he failed her and failed to keep his promise:

Main Scenario: Check on Mom. Oh Cloud...

And then you see the real Cloud collapsed in front of his house and calling for his mom, this is so depressing:

This is where the more realistic graphics really serve the story well, because it makes this moment that much more of a gut punch, especially when he hears his mother begging him to live. The last few moments before her soul returns to the planet perhaps, trying to save her son from danger one last time.

And now that "Cloud" is hurt, he looks busted up even in the menu. I thought that was a cool detail to include.

It's like Cloud's memories are trying to right themselves because he winds up on the ground like where he was supposed to be. When Sephiroth murdered the man who tried to help him and then went on his creepy murder spree of several other villagers culminating with the mayor, that was all really well done too. Horrifying because there's nothing Cloud can do to stop the senseless murder of people he's known all his life, and it really shows how cold and ruthless Sephiroth has become.

This moment was good too with the memories seeming glitchy again:

And then of course I must end this on The Iconic Scene™️ a;lsdkfja;kdslf complete with psycho smirk:

Needless to say, I very much enjoyed this demo and am looking forward to the Juno one! And the full game, February 29 can't come fast enough.

[nekoooooo-p]

Demo: Yandere Hatsune Miku Headcanons

art by: yanderous on Tumblr

------------×------------

CW: internet stalking; (a little) gaslighting

------------×------------

This is a demo, which may become a full-fledged large text, written and with a plot. Keyword MAY-..it all depends on you guys, you just have to ask me!

This is just an attempt to distract from the Phosphophyllite headcanons, since there is text there for five seconds of free fast scrolling down... and that's not all...That's why I'm stupidly tired of this and I desperately need a distraction HAHAHA

BTW, VERY FUN FACT.

Based (mostly) on real events :)

Enjoy!

------------×------------

× You don't know each other.

× Do you know why?

× Because she's just a robot.

× Vocal synthesizer without identity.

× All that is known about her is known from fans and her design.

× Empty.

× ...

× She is loved.

× She's popular.

× And you also see her on community pages, like drawings, listen to music, and perhaps try to do something creative yourself.

× Of course, you didn't know just Miku.

× You knew other Vocaloids too. Rin, Len, Luka, Meiko, Gumi, Flower, Fukase - there were a lot of them, you didn’t know them all, but you heard about many.

× You began to notice that many people had a favorite. And you also decided to choose your favorite Vocaloid.

× The simplest and quite normal choice was Miku.

× But you decided to take someone else as your favorite, because loving Miku is banal.

× The choice has been made.

× . . .

× It doesn’t matter who you chose, but you dreamed about them

.

.

.

× You dreamed of them fighting with Miku.

× In an old school building, two people were strangling each other. Two vocal synthesizers. ×

× It seems that the thin fingers of the long-haired girl with ponytails were squeezing someone else’s throat an order of magnitude stro

.

.

.

.

.

× You woke up.

.

.

.

× The dream was strange, but in the end it was just a dream - you struggled with yourself for a long time, trying to choose one of the two - and you didn’t choose Miku. That's why you dreamed about some bullshit.

×

× ...

× Overall, no big deal.

------------×------------

× It is vital for you to finish the project, but instead you are interested in reading some article on the Internet.

× You read the article with curiosity and look at the comments.

× People share opinions there - nothing unusual....

.

.

.

× ...Until you suddenly see Miku in the book cover photo.

× You stare at this in surprise - the article was not about Vocaloids at all, just like the comment itself with the photo.

× You take a screenshot with a laugh, close the article and finally remember about the project. Haha, it was funny, Miku reminded you of your studies.

× You jokingly thank the non-existent character out loud and take out your notebooks.

.

.

.

× As it turned out, you had something to thank Miku for - you were called in during class and asked to answer with almost no preparation.

× Of course, such coincidences make you even a little scared - but only if they are repeated often. So it was just really funny now.

× You told your friends about this coincidence, you laughed together and celebrated the excellent completion of the project.

.

.

.

× It's funny, but one day you again came across a funny coincidence - the author of your favorite fanfic not from the Vocaloid fandom suddenly added Miku to the plot as a reference and a side character.

.

.

.

× Oh , how small the world is!

.

.

.

× The dream repeated itself.

.

.

.

× You began to have trouble sleeping - your dreams became strange and distorted. Once you even dreamed of some outright nonsense with Miku figurines.

× You were in your own room, scrolling through the marketplace. And saw strange, unfinished figures there.

× M i k u. ×

× At one point, one of the figures independently adds itself to the basket and you laugh. For some reason.

× Suddenly the second figure does the same.

× . . .

× Then the third. Then the fourth.

× This caused bewilderment, laughter and showed only the absurdity of a strange situation.

× And then you suddenly looked at the floor behind the phone... and saw there a whole bunch of scary, unfinished, broken, mangled toys and Hatsune Miku figurines.

× You back away - and the figures keep growing and growing in geometric progression.

× You are afraid that now they will fill the entire room, and you will suffocate in this huge pile of plastic - but as soon as your back hits an obstacle, you wake up.

.

.

.

× And what was that?

.

.

.

× Nothing changes in your life - everything is quite as usual, the same communication, the same activities, the same living space, the same environment. Everything is calm and as usual.

× You don't pay attention to the little things.

× You see Miku a lot of places - on other people’s badges, notepads, many people ask if you know her, ask you to tell her, you see her periodically in advertisements...And this is provided that Miku and Vocaloids, in principle, were not so popular in your circle!

× Sekai must have made Vocaloids more famous and that's why you started bumping into Miku so often.

×

× ..but why Miku?

× After all, during all the time you saw something definitely related to Sekai only a couple of times, while Miku in her various manifestations almost always. You even bothered to meet a cosplayer who wanted to cosplay as Miku.

× You communicated actively for some time, but then something went wrong and you quarreled.

.

.

.

× ...By the way, when you almost stopped communicating, you later found out that he refused to cosplay Miku for some reason.

× An interesting coincidence.

× Somehow there are a ton of them, don’t you think?

.

.

.

× One day you saw a badge with Miku on the bag of one person, with whom you later had to get to know each other better due to certain circumstances. You talked for a couple of hours out of necessity and you complimented their badge.

"What are you talking about? I've never had a badge with Hatsune Miku..."

× The confused face of your interlocutor unsettled you.

× But...but you saw!

.

.

.

× what the heck?

× And this happened several times. You even thought that you had problems with vision or memory...

.

.

.

× The frequency of appearances of the Vocaloid girl in your life reached the point of absurdity. After all, in addition to appearing in your feed and advertising, she was also in your real life - acquaintances, conversations, badges, other merch, unusual projects of classmates and even in fucking magazines.

× You bumped into her absolutely everywhere.

× And then at some point you decided to download Vocaloid.

× You found your favorite producer who used your favorite vocaloid, you listened to the music of this producer, and finally you wanted to make covers or songs yourself.

× You were looking for a pirated version because you didn’t have money, although you were ashamed, in a sense, to download a pirated version.

× The voice bank you found in the public domain was... Miku's voice bank!

× In general, you weren’t against it - you liked Miku, but she was somewhere in second or third place on the list of favorites.

× When you started making covers using her bank, a question arose - why do many people say that Miku is difficult for a beginner? You were great at tuning her voice. And people liked your covers.

×

× ...

× ....by the way, it’s strange that you no longer come across Miku anywhere other than your feed.

<----------×--------->

End of demo.

<---------×---------->

[gingerylangylang1979]

Male identity: Carmy and Richie

I’m finding that a certain demographic of fans have a much harder time relating to Carmy but very much relate to Richie. Granted, a lot of this has to do with what fandom platform you observe. I actually kind of hate The Bear subreddit but continue to browse it periodically because it’s super interesting to hear what “the others” are talking about. I rarely engage anymore because it’s mostly nonsense and a totally different vibe than Tumblr. The contingent is definitely very anti-Carmy x Sydney and seems to hate Sydney. I’ve also noticed that while there is a lot of love for Carmy there is even more love for Richie. I’m very intrigued by this perspective. 

This season Richie was definitely a standout. I think Ebon is an amazing actor and am glad he is finally getting nominated for his role. I thought he got robbed with the non-Emmy nominations. But even before S2 I noticed that Richie was the most favored character among the Reddit demo and perhaps a big part of the general audience. That’s fine, people can favor who they like. I know that doesn’t represent everyone but I do think that speaks for what I consider general audience and makes sense considering how society still views manhood despite social progress. This season even a lot of the reviews were kind of meh about Carmy. I get it, I initially was writing him off too, was pissed, and thought he had the worst arc. Then once thoughts settled he went back to being my hero. Deeply flawed, but I just relate to him so much and he’s fascinating to watch. I’m a woman, so maybe that helps my empathy. I also don’t think The Bear would work with Richie as the lead as some have suggested. 

The thing is Carmy is a more difficult character because he has multiple layers of trauma, his work is so specialized and niche, he is a sensitive soul, he’s artistic, and he doesn’t fit the mold of the working class male models he was surrounded by. Your typical man can’t relate to him. And most likely your typical conservative leaning woman can’t either. At the Christmas party he was appalled at how the other guys were talking about Claire. And this is a woman he had a crush on and is present day attracted to. He could have easily been superficial and macho and laughed at the jokes as expected. He didn’t let Richie get away with calling Syd sweetheart. Richie says he’s “woke”. He employs a woman in a leadership role. He’s built different. 

He is struggling in many ways that are hidden and he also lashes out. The hidden ways and the lashing out are interpreted as whiny and annoying by people that can’t relate. He’s been cited as not growing but people can’t acknowledge that his healing won’t be linear. But how can it be when his trauma was collected in overlapping seasons for most of his life? The pain didn’t develop in a linear path. He had a stutter when he was young. There are hints that there is a learning issue of some sort (I’m not going to try and diagnose). He was always the “different” one in the family. The other guys call him “weird”. His father was absent. His mom has mental health issues and is an alcoholic. He witnessed the traumatic incident at Christmas and I’m sure it wasn’t the only such incident. His brother was an addict that pushed him away, then killed himself. He went into a chaotic, highly demanding field that required him to isolate to excel. He is shy and has trouble forming close bonds. He had a mentally abusive boss. He was always super competitive. He comes back to own The Beef and it’s problem after problem. How are people expecting him to be “fun” and have an easy comeback like Richie? 

Richie has issues, too. Stagnant in mid-life, spent years devoted to an addict, failed marriage, feeling disillusioned and displaced, also an absent father. But when we meet Richie he’s not as wounded as Carmy. Carmy is literally sleep cooking, almost starting fires, dissociating, having panic attacks. Richie is sad but it mostly manifests as him being kind of nasty and grumpy. He’s like a sour old man with dated and offensive jokes. His behavior is dismissed because he’s grieving. Which yes, he deserves a pass. But why does he deserve a bigger pass than Carmy who is dealing with so much more or Sydney who seemed to bear the biggest brunt of his outrage and was also struggling? Carmy is literally on the verge of a breakdown and has the weight of trying to keep the staff, the business, and himself afloat. Despite all this Richie gets a lot of indulgences for his bad behavior that Carmy isn’t. 

Richie is easier for a lot of people to digest because he’s funny, he’s the working class representative, he’s tall (yes people have height bias, especially with men). Carmy is viewed as the pompous prodigal son that’s trying to ruin Richie’s delicate ecosystem by gentrifying and kicking out “the working man”. There are people posting in disgust that he dare change The Beef despite it being a hell hole money pit. 

It’s just so interesting that in reality we are dealing with an unprecedented numbers of men who report extreme loneliness, depression, hopelessness. Richie and Carmy both fit that profile. Yet, a man like Richie is broadly understood and accepted and a man like Carmy isn’t. It goes back IMO to the continual coding of masculine/good vs feminine/bad. Richie is the stereotypical red blooded American male. He wants the stripper’s panties. He has a gun. He needs to be alpha. He views anything outside the norm as a threat. He wants to preserve tradition at all costs. Carmy is his foil. Carmy is viewed as feminine. 

I see it even on Tumblr with the persistent identification of Carmy as somehow feminine. Like he can’t be soft and traumatized and just be a man. So what does that say when even people who would probably consider themselves progressive still classify a man in feminine terms if he isn’t a MAN? We accept all types of gender identities but still struggle with a man not fitting the correct paradigm. Society still has issues accepting that men can be vulnerable and struggling without being feminized. People also make assumptions about Carmy’s gender identity and sexuality based on his trauma. Like, of course he has to be XYZ because well, look at him, he’s sad an pathetic. What does that say about men’s sexuality and identity? Are only queer men accepted as sad? Carmy could be a queer character, cool, representation matters. But I just find the semi-automatic equation of queerness with an atypical male to be odd and a bit regressive. 

Edited to add on above: I hope what I’m saying doesn’t get interpreted as dismissing queer people who identify with Carmy. I get it, I support it. What I’m speaking to is the insistence that canon Carmy is queer because of his interests, aesthetic, and mental health as if that is the only identity option. Granted, he could be bi. I also think some people are insistent on this, just as they are on Syd not being into men, as a way to negate the possibility of them being romantic. Again, I’m saying some people. Also, proximity and shared struggle doesn’t equal identity. This makes me think of once when a white gay male bestie claimed we are the same because I’m a black women. I had to kindly correct. We share the same haters, we are both marginalized, but he will never know my experience just like I will never know his. We can bond on the commonalities but we aren’t exactly the same. IMO, it would be a disservice to both of us to claim different.

I’m really rambling, but just thought I would share my thoughts and open a conversation about this. 

[sirenum]

From X

Kiiva looked over at Alastor for a moment her eye looking down to the claw clicking on her shoulder, however she remained calm and kept herself standing straight a small exhale slowly came from her as she closed her eyes and chuckled softly

" I do know of your reputation yes. but I do not take that into account for the action of selling my soul. I am doing it because you are not one whom I deem disgusting. you actually have something called class . even if it is a façade and act... I am almost positive you would act better than some of the others"

Kiiva's eye would narrow a little as she looked at the laughing shadow ... she didn't know what she was setting herself up for and yet that did not scare her as she tilted her head to the side and gave a sharp-toothed smile

"Besides a soul that has been sacrificed to a unloving GOD? . I can offer you my unwavering loyalty.... I can offer you someone who will follow your wishes upon the drop of a hat and a dime.... one who can also hunt delicious meals... or "

She would pause as her head went to the side more causing the dark hair to fall ever so slightly to the side as she moved her arm up and shrugged a little

"Someone who will not be scared if you wish to take a bite out of them. though this is not a pun. I have had my flesh feasted on before it does not cause any fear and from what I was told is... I taste rather good."

The demoness would shrug a little as she moved her arm back down as she continued to look at Alastor, she had a lot she could offer but then the question arose for her..

"WHAT is it that you personally crave. I am quiet capable at hand to hand combat.. though I excel greatly with a knife as well... and clearly my teeth.... so what would YOU like from this deal @alteregozowie ... besides a potential hunting buddy? "

[villainintern]

Hi! I just read your demo and I'm already in love with it! 💜 I'd like to ask if our MC has a "tragic backstory" (something like classmates bullying them for appearance, or mom didn't appreciate their drawings, idk) or they chose the villainous path just for shit and giggles?

Anyway, thank you for your story! Good luck🥰

Thx for checking it out!! :P

The MC's "tragic backstory" really just boils down to what their powers are. A genoid MC faces a lot of prejudice- they don't really have parents, they were cloned in a lab, people don't see them as fully human. Many genoids have shorter lifespans or are reproductively inviable. It's not easy for them to integrate into normal society, and most settings they'd always be second class, but as a villain they can succeed and even excel.

The cyborg MC is driven more by sheer ambition. I'll get more into this in-story, but they're just willing to do anything to secure the kind of life they want for themselves. Even if it means chopping off a limb.

[bingusmode]

Trial by Fire

Pyro x Female Reader

AN: your class is called “Assist” in this

“Have you guys every noticed how creepy Pyro is?”

Scout drew another card as Spy took a drag from his cigarette, barely casting Scout a glance.

“The unstable psychopath that we’ve been colleagues with for years? Yes Scout, we’ve noticed. How observant you are”

Demoman barked out a laugh, throwing his head back. Nearly tipping out of his chair, Engineer being the one to stabilize him.

It was a calm night at base, a rarity in their profession. While Scout, Spy, Solider, Demo, and Engineer played cards. Medic and Heavy were lingering behind them, discussing the differences between Russian and German literature. Sniper was settled in a cracked, leather chair, hat over his eyes to catch the sleep he often didn’t get.

“Go Fish!” Solider slammed an Ace on the table.

“Solider, we’re playing Texas hold ‘em, not Go Fish,”

Engineer handed Solider back his card, him being the only one at the table to had enough patience for the merc at the moment.

“Go to hell Spy, that’s not what I meant,” Scout snapped out, trying to lean over and see what hand Demo had.

“Then pray tell, what do you mean?” Spy glanced at Scout, smoke billowing from his mouth.

“I mean, every time Assist is around, so is Pyro. He followers her like a lost puppy”

Spy paused, shifting his eyes to the far corner of the room.

Assist wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. Just playing on her game boy, while Pyro loomed behind her, watching her play.

Spy narrowed his gaze before looking back at the hand he had, Shifting his card around.

Engineer drew another card, clearing his throat to speak.

“Now that you mention it, it’s pretty rare that I’ve seen Assist alone…”

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about! He hasn’t left her alone since she got to base”

“What? You suggesting he’s got feelings or something?” Engineer quickly slapped a hand over Demos mouth, glancing up to make sure Pyro didn’t hear.

“Keep your voice down, the last thing I wanna do is piss him off…”

Thankfully Pyros attention was still focused on game Assist was playing.

Spy sets down his cards, a royal flush.

“So what if he does or doesn’t have feelings? Frankly I would like to know less about our firebug colleague”

Engineer, Demo, and Scout reluctantly fold. Solider slams down another card.

“Go Fish! Final offer!”

Engineer pulls Solider back again, getting him out of Spy’s face.

“I agree with Spy, no need getting in his business”

“I disagree”

Engineer jumps at Medics sudden appearance behind him

“I apologize my friend, but I think it’s rather interesting…why don’t we test Scouts theory”

Demo stands up abruptly, grabbing his bottle of hooch

“I’m out, enjoy killing yourselves”

While Spy counts his winnings, he turns his attention towards Medic.

“And how would you go about such an experiment?”

Medic grins, pushing up his glasses

“Well…”

Trial 1:

“A check up?”

Assist looked confused, she had just gotten hers at the beginning of the year. Behind her, Pyro tilted his head

“Yes yes, just the standard checkup. Blood work, psychical, making sure your bones are in the right place”

“Why wouldn’t my bones be in the right place-“

“That’s why you need a check up,”

Assist looked wary, but knew it’s probably best to trust the good doctor

“Okay, I guess if it’s necessary…”

“Excellent! It will be quick, no worry”

Medic rushed her into the medical bay, Pyro tailing behind her.

“Ah ah, I’m sorry Pyro, you must stay out here. Doctor - Patient privacy, you understand.”

Pyro stared blankly at him before taking a seat in the waiting room.

Hands clasped and eyes ahead.

“She’ll be back out in a bit”

Medic smiled before going into the medical bay himself.

3 hours, Assist had been here for 3 hours while Medic checked to see If any of her bones were missing.

“Doc, I’m not trying to doubt your expertise but-“

“Almost done! These X Rays can be hard to read”

In reality, he was keeping an eye on the timer. Hours had passed and it was time to see if his theory had been right.

“Done! All good, no bones are missing”

Assist hops off the patient table, making her way to the doors with Medic behind her.

“Didn’t know it would take so long”

“Bone medicine isn’t an exact science, it takes time and effort”

Medic opens the door for her and just as he thought, there sat Pyro. Sitting in the exact position he started in.

Pyro jumped up once he saw Assist, having a complete change in demeanor.

“Mmmp! Mhmm Mphm Mhm”

“Doc says I’m all good, but I’m starving”

Medic watched as the two walked off, Pyro talking animatedly with his hands.

Very interesting indeed.

Trial 2:

Assist sprinted through Two Fort, hands filled with metal to give to Engineer. She glanced behind her to the Blue Scout that was tailing behind her.

She gritted her teeth and pushed herself harder. While she was sneakier than Scout, she definitely wasn’t faster. His footsteps got louder behind her and she felt him grab her scalp and yank her down to the floor.

“Fuck!”

Assist hit the floor hard, the metal she was carrying clanging down around her.

“Sorry doll, if it’s any consolation, I won’t bash in your pretty face”

“It’s not you dick!”

Assist hissed between her teeth, preparing herself for the uncomfortable feeling that came with respawning.

Cloaked with a butterfly knife raised was the Red Spy, ready to attack.

He stopped once he saw a flash of red and felt the warmth of flame thrower.

The Blue Scout screamed and crumpled to the floor, twitching as the flames consumed him.

Pyro stood unmoving and unwavering until the Scouts body was nothing but ash.

“Mmm Hhpmm?”

“My head hurts…”

Spy watched as Pyro helped Assist to her feet, gathering up some of the metal she dropped while he did so.

“Hmmm Hphmm”

“But I need to get these to Engineer-“

“Mphm!”

“Medic is probably busy-“

Pyro put his hand on the small of Assists back and gently pushes her forward, holding the metal she collected for her.

Before they leave the room, Pyro turns and looks right at the spot where Spy stood.

It felt as if Pyro was looking right at him.

Spy ignored the shiver that went down his spine as the pair left, making a mental note to avoid the arsonist for the day.

Trial 3:

Another successful job meant another long ride back in the van. Night had fallen and Engineer was plucking at his guitar strings as everyone unloaded. He tried not to look at Pyro and Assist, the former sleeping on her friends shoulder.

Everyone but them two knew about this “experiment” and Engineer wanted nothing part of it. He preferred to stay out of trouble and not charred.

The van came to a gentle stop once they were back at base, Heavy making sure to make the least amount of noise possible to not wake up Assist.

Engineer watched as everyone left the van in a drowsy state, all expect for Pyro and Assist. Pyro looked motionless, Engineer couldn’t gauge if he was asleep or awake.

Either way, he couldn’t just leave them in the van.

Cautiously, Engineer approached, moving to gently touch Assists shoulder to wake her up.

A gloved hand caught his wrist before he could do so.

Engineer looked into the black void that was Pyros mask.

He swallowed before gathering his nerve to speak.

“She can’t sleep here tonight Pyro, you know that,”

Pyro just stared back at him

“She’ll be sore tomorrow when she wakes up…”

After a few silent moments, Pyro let go of his wrist and gently shook Assist awake.

“Mmm? Back already?”

She stood on two shaky legs, stretching out, Pyro following suit. Assist bid Engineer Goodnight as Pyro helped her out of the van, guiding her in her half asleep state.

Engineer was left in the van, alone with his suspicions and the night critters

Interlude:

“In conclusion, he is not a sociopath like I thought, but something else entirely. His feelings towards Assist prove it”

Medic cheerily declared, hands clasped behind his back,”

Spy twirled around a cigarette, leaning back in his chair

“And what do we do with this information?”

“I’ll tell you what we’ll do,”

Scout piped up, putting both hands on the table. His face sporting a smile that went ear to ear

“We’re gonna tease the hell of him”

“Lad, do you really think that’s a good idea?”

Demo took a swig of his drink

“He’ll make s’mores over your corpse”

“The bastard has a crush, and I’m not supposed to tease him? What is this? Summer camp?”

Spy flicks ash in Scouts direction

“Whatever you do boy, leave us out of it. I have a feeling Pyro is onto us”

Scout laughs

“No way, I’m not missing this golden opportunity”

Spy flicks his lighter closed

“I look forward to speaking at your funeral”

Trial 4:

A hand slammed itself on the table, almost spilling Assists drink. Pyro being the one to steady it.

Assist let out a sign before glancing up, not please to have their dinner interrupted

“Can I help you Scout?”

“You. Me. Dinner tomorrow”

All action in the cafeteria stopped as all the attention turned on them.

Engineer covered both of Solider and Demo man’s mouths. Medic leaned forward on his elbows, curious to see how this would turn out. Heavy said a quick prayer for Scout while Spy huffed, rolling his eyes.

“I’m sorry?”

“You know we’ve got something between us, so let’s make it official,”

Scout leaned in closer while Assist leaned back to maintain distance.

Everyone wasn’t watching Scout, but Pyro to see his reaction.

Nothing, so far it was nothing, Pyro sat still and stared at Scout, his expression unreadable.

“…no, I’m good Scout, but thanks? I guess?”

A collective sigh of relief swept through the Cafeteria, no murder would be committed today.

Scout shrugged and backed away

“Hey babe, it’s your loss”

Never once did Pyros gaze leave Scout, like he was hunting him.

Medic looked disappointed if anything

“I’m surprised Pyro didn’t do anything, I was hoping for more conclusive results”

Spy passed a cigarette to Medic, then his lighter

“Be grateful we don’t have to mop blood off the floors”

End of Experiment:

Thwip Click

Thwip Click

Scout turned in his sleep, the unknown sound starting to drag him away from his unconscious state

Thwip Click

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, glancing at the clock reading 3:00 am.

Scout grumbled and went to go back to sleep but the light in the corner of his room made his blood run cold.

Thwip Click

Pyro was flicking his lighter on and off, staring right ahead at Scout. Repeatedly making the flame spark and extinguish.

“Heyyy Pyro, watcha, watcha doin buddy?”

Thwip

This time, the lighter stayed on as Pyro stood to his full height

“I didn’t mean anything by it, I was just teasing you know?” Scout started to sweat, realizing now that his actions do have consequences.

Pyro took one step closer

“I won’t do it again okay? I promise I’ll leave her alone, just please don’t hurt me”

Scout begged, and Pyro stopped in his tracks.

Click

The lighter went out, leaving Scout in the dark. He searched blindly for something to defend himself with, but before he could. The door opened and Pyro left, leaving Scout unharmed physically but not mentally.

At least now he knew better than to mess with what belonged to Pyro.

[noidahometutor]

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[asklotarasarrin]

Lessons from Adepticon

//An out-of-character musing about the weekend.

So while sitting the the airport waiting for our return flight, I had some time to muse on the course of the weekend.

It's been a lot of fun! We did have a good time; I really enjoyed meeting some online friends, dressing up, and playing games. It was also a learning experience, as every con is a little different and every venue has its quirks. It's very much a competition and playing convention, with an array of hobbying layered over it, so going without the intent to compete or play does curb a significant amount of the actual events.

It's definitely not a costume convention. There were probably about two dozen full on costumes for a convention with eight thousand visitors. Apparently in previous years there have been costume competitions, but its been awhile(last documented thing I could find was for 2018). In talking to the staff about it, there was some (semi-joking?) suggestion that I should volunteer to staff next year and run it myself. Then another veteran staffer said she'd look into running it. I got her email with the offer of supporting that venture. So maybe. lol.

We did also meet the staff for NOVA Opens costume contest with three encouragement to make the trip down. So we might have to add that to the list.

As one of only a handful of costumed persons(and maybe a touch of arrogance, definitely one of the best), I was WELL received for the most part. Lots of enthusiasm, lots of squeals, and lots of pictures. I will definitely do that again. We did have some costume mishaps (my Jedi&lotara boots will need total replacing)and I will probably do some upgrades/additions for the future.

It was also not a ribbon convention, so almost everyone I gave a ribbon to needed explanation for what it was/how it worked. But maybe with the power of repetition and exposure, we can change that lol. I did really enjoy handing them out because there was also an air of wonder and enthusiasm about it.

Hobby seminars! We really enjoyed our resin class and our freehand class. We also learned the hard way that there was a BIG difference between a "demo" hobby seminar and a "hands on" hobby seminar. I admittedly didn’t notice the difference(since they're both hobby seminars) until we discovered we'd paid 40$+ a head for what amounted to an in-person version of a youtube video. Not a mistake I will make twice. In the future I expect we'll only take classes for things we dont think we could somewhat easily learn via youtube or would otherwise not benefit from a teacher hanging over our shoulder for guidance. We'll also likely watch a youtube video or two of teachers ahead of time- some people, while very talented/experienced, are just not great teachers.

My brother will likely bring a mobile hobby painting set up next year, as there was some down time to paint. I’m not totally sold on the idea but we shall see lol. We did end up picking up a number of models and such, so I am glad we had some extra bag space.

All in all, an excellent experience. We will likely return next year, a little more prepared and ready to battle. :)

[dutiful-wildcraft]

Pack Kortac - Demon! Swagger Lore

Tags: monster au, blood, gore, flesh eating, he's a monster he eats people, soulmate elements.

-The birth of Roland “Swagger” Kominksi was not a traditional one. His mother’s were witches, young and powerful, who longed deeply for a child they simply could not create. They tried runes and tinctures, nights of passion under the pale full moon, and yet conceiving one of their own blood was simply not meant to be.  And so it was through careful ritual that they instead summoned a babe.  A hellacious bouncing baby boy. Sweet Roland.

-Magic users and demons are intrinsically linked. For every witch there is a Chosen demon. Bonding with your chosen is said to curate a great power for both parties involved. However, summoning is not a reliable process. Just because you summoned a demon, it did not mean it was your demon.

-Chaos would ensue, witches summoning guard dogs in the form of hellish beasts in order to build their power. It would backfire. Lacking bonds, demons are insatiable, feasting on the blood, bone and power of the creatures around them.  The more magical, the more filling. It quickly became outlawed amongst the covens to use such tactics, less they become wiped out completely.

-Swaggers mother’s were no exception. They had decidedly left their former lives in order to live one they longed for. It was sheer luck they summoned a more manageable youngster, and they spoiled Roland rotten, wanting nothing more than to see their little one happy and thriving. Even if it meant slaughtering the locals or grave robbing to keep their little boy fed. 

-And it’d worked. He was loved and sated. Able to attend school with the other children. That is until suspicion began to fly regarding their village’s disappearances. They would start again, moving to France and maintain movement to avoid problems.

-Swagger never quite fit, if not for his off accent, then for his peculiarities, which earned him ridicule in the classroom. But he excelled academically and athletically. It wasn’t until a fellow student had an unfortunate accident in chemistry class that Swagger would be pulled from school. The poor student’s face had been melted clean off. The chemicals they were using should not have been nearly as dangerous. And no one would notice that that student was a particular repeat offender in harassing Swagger.   

-When Swaggers Chosen was born into the world his hunger doubled. It became increasingly apparent that he couldn’t sustain a life in the French countryside, regardless of his mother’s support. It occurred to them that they wouldn’t be safe for much longer either. A career in warfare seemed appropriate for both his skills and dietary needs. Here, Swagger would flourish.

-Swagger is an incredibly competent soldier. Having absorbed everything he could get. Medic, demo, distance or close combat. You name it, he can do it. And he is an arrogant shit about it.

-Very playful on the field, chatty on the comms. However he can and will take over a situation, where he leads with care and efficiency.  The only reason he hasn't pursued a higher position is because he knows it will take away from his time in the field. He could give a fuck less for the paperwork involved. 

-Anything is a weapon in Swagger’s hands. Steel chairs, power tools, briefcase, pool ball, piano, wave runner, toilet, toilet water. That one incident with the zamboni.  Has been known to use his own rifle as a fucking warhammer when ammo is gone.

-Appears to be everywhere and nowhere. Seemingly popping up out of nowhere to help out any of his fellow teammates where he absolutely showboats. 

-Regularly rubs his skills in on the field. “You need me, don’t pretend” he purrs in his french lilt. 

-Annoys the absolute piss out of Nikto and König, frankly corvid behavior. Pokes at them just enough to get a snap before taking off with a chuckle. 

-Nosey. Not gossipy, no. Nosey He has the dirt on everyone, simply because he likes having the information. Will totally feign ignorance about some hot gossip, even though he found out about it days ago from someone else. 

-Is generally liked by the team, he can be conceited, but most have come to tolerate it. Actually gets along with Declan. He’s besties with Stilleto.

-World’s biggest sore loser. Can't play board games for this reason. Not since he got into a fist fight with Declan over Uno. Will accuse everyone of cheating. 

-Can't sit normally, likes to perch in high places. Absolutely kicks his legs like a toddler.

-Has freckles.

-Being a demon, Swagger is equipped with a “true” form he can shift into at will. Some of these elements peak through when he is particularly compromised or starving. Eyes that resemble that of a bearded vulture. He remains hidden under his mask and layers.

-Swagger’s mask became a necessity. The farther he falls, the harder it is to control himself. Noxious fumes and acidic fluid spills from his mouth in the heat of it all. The mask is to keep the fumes in rather than out.  These fumes can range from mild sedatives, psychedelics, or poisons.

-As stated above Swagger’s diet primarily consists of flesh and bone. He can eat processed animal meats or long dead corpses if he absolutely has to. But there is an emotional element to his feeding. Something about the residual emotion buried in the bones of a fresh kill is more filling. The more magical the better. Has been seen snacking on teeth like fucking m&ms.

-Has been found more than once painting himself in blood. For scent camouflage he claims. He’s certainly not obsessed with it aha.

-Has been confident since the day his mother’s told him stories of Chosen pairs. He always knew he would find his. He would just need to be patient. When the time came, he would devour them. Rightfully take back control of himself. That is until he meets her…..

[ot-hoe-me]

Taking my second stab at Pokemon Reborn after having played the current Pokemon Desolation demo and I can't help but wonder...Luna - is she a Dreamer like Shiv, Nova, Aurora and Deso MC?? (And Lilith)

I mean, her trainer class is "Dark Dreamer" Luna and the void she rescues Reborn MC from looks an awful lot like the dream pathways in Desolation. Plus her comments on how she belongs there/how it's 'her' world (paraphrasing) to MC, Radomus, and Serra.

Just something I'm thinking about. Excellent future foreshadowing in any case.

Also, imagine she makes a cameo in a future version of Desolation to help out MC? I'm honestly not expecting it, but how cool would that be??

[rowanvankessel]

— spotted in the streets of brooklyn, it’s ROWAN VAN KESSEL. they have lived in the city for HER WHOLE LIFE, working as a MUSICIAN/MODEL. the 28 year old will probably be seen around WILLIAMSBURG a lot, seeing as that’s where they live. people say they can be a bit COCKY and SUPERFICIAL, but friends know them to be LOYAL and SMART. you know for sure you’ve found them when you’ve come across SMUDGED DARK EYELINER, TEXTS LEFT ON READ, AND ERRATIC EMOTIONS ,  . welcome to brooklyn, it’s been waiting for you! — 

It's the TL;DR for now but i'm going to flesh it out when i don't have a migraine!

anxiety tw, depression tw, drug use tw

Adopted at birth, Rowan had always been a bit of a loose cannon. In that she just liked to have fun. Her report cards were never bad per se but she was certainly one of the kids who ‘heavily contributed’ in class, even when she didn’t know the answer. She just had a lot of opinions and since her parents were always there to listen at home she would carry that behaviour over to whatever setting she was in. However it aided her in being a good time to be around - and not surprising that she wanted to go into a profession that required showmanship.

She was in the choir, drama club, ballet classes, anything that allowed her to be creative was something that fed Rowan’s soul - and when she was ten years old she declared that she was going to become a world famous singer. As you do. Her parents being the supportive people they were encouraged their daughter to explore her creativity, after all she wasn’t the best at academics and it allowed her to channel all her fizzing energy that just increased the older she got. Except the career she craved hasn’t ever really taken off and the energy she was trying to channel started swinging wildly in two different directions. Throwing her into huge highs but also incredible lows. Therapy was tried in an attempt to battle it but she always hated it more than anything else, trying to make excuses as much as she could to not have to go each week. And as soon as she was old enough to drink (well not quite old enough technically) she would use partying as a way to avoid the din going on in her head, drowning it out. Recently she'd made better steps in her music, but modelling was still the place she'd had the most success...even if she kind of hated it.

Her lack of forward thrust with her music career didn’t stop her from writing songs and releasing a few demos but it didn’t gain any traction, and her feelings of inadequacy got worse as she watched the people around her excel. The girl was beautiful, stunning even with a great sense of style and arguably wonderful personality but it wasn’t enough, she felt like she was falling behind all those around her. Even her love life never really felt like it was up to par, she yearned for true love as a romantic lover of Disney films, but just with everything else, seemed to fall short every single time.

Only four months ago she announced that she was moving out of her parents house, needing a space of her own, even if daddy was still paying the rent (old habits die hard). And Rowan is putting on a face of being fine. That everything is going well. Her music tells a different story though as her issues with anxiety and especially depression are increasing, the intrusive thoughts getting louder and the need to drown them out driving her to ‘self medication’ in the form of reckless behaviour. She’d always been a party girl who needed her dad or brother to come bail her out of her messes, but it was getting worse by the week these days. If you’re looking for someone to go out with then Rowan is your girl - just don’t expect to know where the night will end. The girl tends to make her daddy sad with her choices.

One thing that does surprise people when they discover it is how much she loves fine art, and how deep her knowledge of it goes. Wandering around museums something that she finds incredibly calming, and reading books on the Italian masters a weird fixation for a while in her teen years there is no discussion on art that Rowan can’t hold her own in. Even if she might look on the face of it like someone who’d know more about fashion or make up (not that she doesn’t know her fair share!). If you catch her on a good day, Rowan is bubbly, witty, and a good time to be around. Just be aware than good days don’t happen all the time and she can come snappy, cutting, and judgmental without warning.

Wanted connection ideas:

Exs / people she dated /slept with

Adoptive Parents

First boyfriend

High school enemy

High school friends

Family friends

Partying friends

Her dealer / bad influences

People she is a bad influence on

Unrequited crush (could go either way)

Anything at all really!! I'm open!