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#i guess ai is filling that niche now
myrfing · 10 months
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i cant even just commission random artists for Drawing I Want it always has to be specific artist with their specific style and specific sensitivities. this is the problem i open skeb fp & I’m like no…no….backing away. none of these
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bamjammy · 4 months
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Hey guys
I know I kinda soft returned with the launch of the WOY reanimated but I just wanna say I am officially coming back to tumblr and it’s honestly probably gonna become my main social media seeing where things go
I loved this site but for a while I pretty much used it strictly for the tntduo community and, well… I think we can all guess why I don’t really want to associate with that anymore.
With everything that’s happened I just can’t even think about the characters positively anymore, it just makes me depressed, like most things do nowadays.
I’m still hoping to find a new fandom/ship to fill that void. I thought I kinda had it with SVS but i should’ve known that such a large but still niche community would eventually betray me.
So I guess for now I’m gonna focus more on my smaller hyperfixations, WOY, Deltarune, Ok KO, things I love and am dedicated to but hasn’t reached the level of obsession that I’m used to having in my life. And maybe I’ll get there eventually.
Also gonna post my art here more, sometimes for archival purposes sometimes just to get it out there.
The main reason for this is because of the AI bs that Meta is pulling over Instagram. I just can’t stand it, and if my work is gonna get stolen no matter what I do I at least don’t wanna be around to see it. And I hate putting those filters over my art. So yeah, I’m probably leaving instagram semi-permanently after tomorrow. I mean, I’ll post big updates and project announcements on there and stuff, but I just don’t really wanna use it anymore.
I wanna get back into fandom and community and having a good time talking about the things I love, instead of feeling like I’m constantly walking on eggshells just to please everyone.
Sorry for the kinda vent-y nature of this post, but the point is, if you like cartoons (especially cartoons from the early 2010s) follow this page. And please don’t bring up anything DSMP or tntduo related on this page ever again. I’m straight gonna block you so yeah.
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rosieuv · 7 months
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I'm not worried about AI replacing me as an artist, or me as an animator, or a music producer, or a voice actor, or a coder, or a writer as AI can't replicate human creativity, only recycle what was already created. And I come up with a lot of random ideas out of the blue so to combat AI all I need is to just crank my individuality to 11 and be so unpredictable that nobody could believe some stupid algorithm could have made it.
In the future, AI content will be the norm and human created art will just be a category on netflix that has it's niche. I'm just preparing myself to fill that gap in the market for 7 years time. It's sad but hey, this is just life now. I'll still be making stuff regardless as it's a hobby of mine and it's fun. My brain won't just suddenly stop creating stuff just 'cause AI can rip me off now (which craiyon can't as i guess i'm not that well known to be used to train machines). I can see the benefits of AI, but it never gives me what I want so there's no point. It only benefits the uncreative people who just have a general idea and not a blueprint, and they should use their talents elsewhere instead of trying to fuck over the artists and render them "talentless".
But yeah, AI can go suck a dick or something as it's screwing over a bunch of people (not too mention deep fakes which would make it hell for anybody who's a celebrity or a politician). Whoever designed these tools must have been from mars because they obviously don't know how humans work and how they love to screw over others to benefit themselves. Like guys, did you not watch "The Terminator" and "The Matrix"? You know real dystopias aren't cool and don't make for a good story, right? Why the hell are you following every sci-fi film created in the late 20th century like your a fundamentalist and these films are the bible.
Why can't we just have AI as friends that help us achieve our greatest?
Oh wait, I know:
Money!
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newgames22 · 1 year
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Atlas Fallen: A Windy Odyssey of Limited Charm
Amidst the bustling year filled with awe-inspiring releases, including Atlas Fallen which attempts to carve its niche with a name that's somewhat reminiscent of AI-generated titles, hardly captivates. Nevertheless, nestled within the second half of the gaming calendar, this AA endeavor evokes nostalgia for the PS2 era, offering a different yet valuable experience - making it a great addition to your list when looking to buy PS5 games. A tutorial introduces a surreal world where a blue Avatar-esque protagonist leaps between sandy outcroppings, setting the tone for an enigmatic journey. Customization, though somewhat constrained, augments the experience.
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As the curtain rises, the character, dubbed "Unnamed," aspires to galvanize downtrodden laborers against their oppressors, amid a sandstorm-stricken caravan. The unfolding narrative takes us through confrontations, a stolen object, and the daunting prospect of survival. Amidst the wind-whipped desert, a persistent voice beckons, embodied by a chatty gauntlet. A tussle with wraith-like creatures ensues, leading to the reclamation of the pilfered item, only to have it snatched anew by Morrath, the camp's leader. Retrieving the gauntlet through sand-surfing and a precipitous descent sets the stage for the true adventure. The narrative's initial blandness gives way to a more compelling second half, where intrigue gradually builds. Despite the potential, characters exhibit mere cardboard-like personalities, particularly the Unnamed protagonist who remains a blank canvas. Their interactions lack emotional depth, save for climactic revelations that stir suppressed feelings. Regrettably, the inclusion of talking clothing and accessories proves an ill-conceived trope. The story's potential allure falters amidst these disappointments, grappling to fully engage players.
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Atlas Fallen: Embracing Fun and Adventure in a Quirky Action RPG World
Now, let me keep it real with you. Not every game needs to blow your mind, right? Sometimes, it's okay for a game to just be plain fun without trying to change the whole gaming universe. And you know what? While enjoying the gaming experience, you might even find yourself thinking, "Hey, I should buy PS5 games to add to my collection!" That's where Atlas Fallen comes in – a super cool third-person action RPG that's all about teaming up and taking down bad guys. But hey, I won't lie, sometimes it trips over its shoelaces a bit. But guess what? That's part of the ride, and I'm cool with it.
Picture this: you're diving into a world where a Sun god called Thelos is pulling all the strings, making humans mine this super important thing called Essence. You're not just anyone – you're an Unnamed, basically the underdog of the world. You stumble upon this ancient thing called the Gauntlet, which gives you these amazing sand powers. Plus, there's this rad spirit buddy named Nyaal who's got your back, like the trusty sidekick you've always wanted. You're teaming up with a crew called the Knights of Bastengar to take down Thelos and his partner in crime, the Queen. Yeah, it's gonna get wild! Atlas is like this epic sandbox, a mix of desolation and hidden stories just waiting for you to uncover. It's not like a super duper open-world, but there's enough space to let your inner explorer run wild. And guess what? It looks pretty darn good, with options for how it looks – kinda like when you can pick different Instagram filters, but for your game. 📸
I gotta be real upfront here – the first hour might make you raise an eyebrow or two, but trust me, push through. I had a moment where I was like, "Did they trick me with all those cool trailers?" But nope, there's more to it, and I'm here to make sure you don't miss out on the good stuff. Let's talk about the nitty-gritty, though. Like, yeah, there are a few hiccups along the way. NPCs sometimes forget their lines, the game stutters like someone telling a scary story, and there's this one time a big baddie crashed my chat session. 😂 But hold up, don't let that scare you off. It's like when you're hanging with your buddies and someone spills a drink – annoying, but it won't ruin the party. Oh, and here's the scoop – the characters' voices are a bit like a world tour. My character went from sounding like they're straight outta America to suddenly being all British. It's like they've got a secret twin or something! Honestly, it's a bit weird, but I bet most of us won't even notice. So, if you're down for an epic ride where you team up, rock those sand powers, and show Thelos who's boss, give Atlas Fallen a shot. Just remember, the first hour might be a bit like the opening act of a concert, but trust me, the headliner is worth it. Keep gaming, legends!
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Atlas Fallen: Riding the Sand Waves of Victory
Exhilarating Open-World Adventure
Atlas Fallen isn't just a game, it's a wild ride through a stunning open world covered in surfable dunes. Imagine carving your path, riding the sand waves like a boss, and exploring every nook and cranny of a beautifully designed world.
Challenging Enemies, Epic Battles
Prepare for heart-pounding action as you face off against challenging enemies. The developers behind Atlas Fallen have a track record of delivering intense combat experiences, and they've brought that expertise to the table. Engage in epic battles that will put your skills to the test and keep you on the edge of your seat.
From Zero to Hero Storyline
Ever dreamed of going from being an everyday nobody to a legendary hero? In Atlas Fallen, you get to live out that fantasy. Start as a lower-class citizen known as an "Unnamed," and witness the transformation as you find a magical gauntlet that bonds with you, granting you the power to challenge an evil god and change the world's destiny.
Next-Gen Gaming Bliss
Leave the last generation behind and embrace the power of current-gen hardware. Atlas Fallen pushes the boundaries of what's possible in gaming, delivering a visually stunning experience that will make your jaw drop. It's not just a game; it's a showcase of what the latest technology can achieve.
Unveil the Story of Struggle and Hope
Step into a world torn apart by an evil god's oppressive reign, where hope seems distant and inequality rules. As you embark on your journey, you'll uncover the layers of a gripping narrative that'll keep you hooked from start to finish. The momentum of Atlas Fallen's storytelling grips you from the very first battle and never let's go.
So, there you have it - Atlas Fallen is the adventure you've been waiting for. Get ready to ride the sand, face incredible challenges, and rewrite the fate of a world desperate for a hero. It's time to level up your gaming experience with Atlas Fallen and show the world what a true hero is made of!
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dohadoha2020 · 1 year
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medicinemane · 2 years
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Ok, here’s my thought on AI generated art
I think it’s good for mass produced stuff that’s not really worth an actual artist’s time, so stuff like the “Cthulhu playing basketball” prompts are the perfect use for it
I think it’s good as a way to get a reference image for an artist to draw off of
I think it’s a good way to do something like make backgrounds quickly (though this one starts to be more ethically grey to me cause you’re starting to use other artists work)
I don’t think it’s a good way to make actual art for a lot of reasons. For one thing, you can’t communicate with it. You can’t tell it exactly what you want in the way you can with an actual artist you’re commissioning
Also once it gets to the point where you’re actually making something that looks like real art instead of hamfisted, now we have to bring up the fact that the AI was trained on the work of other artists and so it’s really starting to be an issue
Basically in places where AI art is being used to make stuff where it’s gonna take a lot of labor on the part of an artist for something not really worth all that effort and where a computer can throw something together that’s good enough in a couple seconds
I guess it’s kind of like storebought cake vs a cake made by a professional... unfortunately it may end up the same way where instead of filling a niche of cheap junk it ends up pushing a lot of skilled people out... I sure hope not
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leviiattacks · 3 years
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Boxer Levi & Coach Reader
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author note :: i lost the ask for this, but this is not good at all. quite literally the worst thing i have ever written /srs anyways,,,,, anon said they wanted me to post it no matter what so i hope you do enjoy whatever this is,,, the pacing is non-existent and it has not been edited 👍🏼
requests are always open :-) i promise i am usually better than this,, anyway i may just use this as a rough outline for a fic 🤔
word count :: 5.4k....... yeah......
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you and levi become acquainted with each other in university. it’s all very cliche if you do say so yourself. he steps in playing the role of good samaritan heroically saving your wallet and wordlessly he hands it to you even after running for the thief. the man doesn’t do as much as pant in exhaustion.
his stamina is…never mind that, his reflexes are out of this world
he expects a thank you because anyone else would expect at least a token of gratitude shown via words but the sentence you want to ask only ends up trapping itself in your throat
it comes to the point where he nods understanding maybe you have a sore throat or just don’t want to thank him at all
eyes flicking to his hands you immediately lunge forward taking your chance.
almost immediately you feel regret for holding onto the wrist of a complete and utter stranger without permission
“your stamina it’s great!” the man turns to you, he isn’t smiling but he’s definitely intrigued by the sudden change in behavior
and that’s where it all begins
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levi’s horrible at getting to know strangers, even worse at forming bonds and connections. maybe that’s why he doesn’t warm up to the idea of having to deal with new people and new settings all at once
“i hope you’ve met your coach this is aman-” introductions are cut short by levi stubbornly interjecting in the middle of your sentence 
“i have, but is she you?”
pursing your lips an awkward chuckle leaves your mouth, you look around uncomfortably wondering what he means.
“well, no?”
“then i won’t box.”
?????
you don’t even know what to say??? here you were thinking maybe he would be a little more cooperative than this.
his index finger points right at you and he takes a step forwards. his shoes come into contact with yours and you find yourself holding your breath apprehensively.
“i won’t box unless it’s you in charge.”
that is when you and levi formally meet for the first time. you are but an inexperienced coach and he, an inexperienced boxer.
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“i’m getting drinks you want anything?”
“oh no don’t worry i’m good!!” you smile at levi and he nods his head venturing off to buy himself a bottle of sparkling water
levi has had you coaching him for a few years now
really he doesn’t think he’s ever felt more than respect for you. respect for the way you stay back late with him to train, respect for the schedules you make him and he’s most definitely respectful of your boxing knowledge
sure out of the two of you he’s more physically capable but it doesn’t change the fact that he becomes frustrated when he’s told he has to spend a day without you.
it’s not like you think that levi cares or anything, nothing sappy like that.
he just probably hates, no, despises having to listen to anyone else’s instructions. he finds that they somehow sound demeaning or less sincere.
every instruction you give him has a reason behind it. you don’t beat around the bush and he’s stated before that he enjoys that he knows he’s developing his skill set and progressing when he’s with you.
the olympus ring - one of the largest boxing competitions known to man is approaching soon and if levi manages to place in the top two his career is set to sky rocket in no time at all
that thought makes you feel unusually nervous
worry gnaws at your mind and you wonder about whether or not he’ll replace you after the competition concludes. after all who wants a coach with little fighting experience? all you really know is from your family. your brother and father had been professional boxers years prior.
you have no doubt at all that levi will place number one that’s for sure but you really hope he doesn’t find a replacement for you.
you’ve never had much faith in your coaching and to be left behind in the dust hurts you a tiny bit but you never bring it up because you know what? levi progressing in his career will make him happy :-)
levi’s happiness over yours and it’s not good to be selfish you suppose >:(
“y/n.” he’s waving a hand in front of your face, you’re uncharacteristically quiet today and he’s caught on
“you awake?” he asks again.
upon receiving no response levi’s now waving his hand with more tenacity
“wake. up.” he flicks at your forehead and you stir a little finally coming to your senses once you see him leaning up above you.
he looks taller than normal from this angle and your cheeks blaze, he has a habit of walking around shirtless whilst training and doesn’t realise the effect it has on you
“i- yeah good totally good. just thinking.”
“thinking about?” levi kneels to the floor looking you in the eyes and your mind falters wondering when it was he began to sit so close to you. it feels like it was just yesterday when the two of you used to eat lunch separately out of embarrassment.
the silence stretches for a second too long and his eyes narrow suspiciously leaving you to think on your feet
“i well, you have a press conference soon and i have to think of transportation and-”
“coach. i can deal with that.”
you’re a little stunned when he says that because he’s never tried to take away from your responsibilities in the past. is this a hint that he no longer wants you around?
“but it’s my job?” you reply back feeling threatened
“but you’re always doing it. i can figure it out this once.”
without even hearing the rest of what you have to say he stalks back towards his punching bag leaving your chest empty
he’s definitely thinking of replacing you is what you think
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really this should not be getting you worked up.
you’ve known levi for years, you should have faith in the fact he trusts you but you find yourself indulging in self doubt more often than you intend to
guilt fills you as you scroll through the multiple job listings in front of you but you have a justification. this is your lifeline, you can’t afford to lose your source of income and it’s best to be prepared
however there’s no real amount of preparation that can get you used to the prospect of not seeing levi every day
he’s sort of just made a space for himself in your daily routine
chewing at your bottom lip you can’t get through one job listing without thinking about him and you shut your laptop down thinking tomorrow will be a better day and you’ll check back in then
why does levi even matter?? he’ll officially be an ass when he dumps you of your position?? who cares about him???
but that doesn’t stop you from caring and now you’re hunched over your closed laptop trying to understand what it is that’s making you feel this way
maybe it’s the whole attachment you have with him??
he is the very first person you’ve ever coached that’s true
he’s made you proud and allowed for your name to get out there in the boxing world
maybe that’s what’s holding you back from looking into other jobs
but that reason doesn’t make much sense
you should still be frustrated with him.
AND
you most definitely should not care about how he’s doing OR worry about who’ll patch him up when he ends up stupidly injuring himself during practice (he does that a lot)
“why do i care so much for him?” you type into google thinking there’s no person on this earth that can help you with this predicament now
honestly at this point asking AI is probably going to have to be your only reliable option
tapping on one of the first links you hope to find your answer
“what happened? yeah, you had sex?” pops onto your screen and you tap off as quick as possible.
no. you did not have sex. oh god, you haven’t even touched levi much. the most you’ve done is lace your fingers with his and offer him a hug
are you meant to have… had sex???
is it wrong for you to feel that way withou-
okay enough. this has got nothing to do with sex and your feelings are still valid. maybe you are right and you’re attached to him that’s it!!! right?
scrolling further down you nearly give up until you reach another link titled “the science of caring for those who don’t care for you.”
rolling your eyes you still hesitantly tap praying you find some sort of answer
and an answer is what you find that’s for sure
staring you right in the face in bold letters
1. you feel responsible for that person
not really, he’s very independent.
2. the person is a family member
absolutely not
3. you could be romantically attracted to the person in question
…….
romantically interested?? no. that’s wrong. not true. incorrect. not right. just not real. you are not romantically attracted to levi
,,,or are you?
that does explain why he makes you feel jittery, it explains why you shivered the one time he engulfed you in a hug at his first championship
it also explains why you feel burning jealousy when a celebrity shoves their number into your hands asking you to pass it onto levi. they don’t even look at you like you’re a human being. you’re just a messenger pigeon
they’re worlds away from you. you forever stuck in your tracksuit and them - those beautiful models in skintight dresses and heels to match are stuck in a world where everything they want is handed to them. that includes men
you know it’s not their fault and you’d kill to be like them too but you guess the whole sweaty tracksuits and boxing daily has just become your niche
nonetheless levi is a man. a popular man.
and he sure as hell has no romantic interest in his clumsy, uncoordinated coach
sighing you huddle yourself into a ball choosing not to think about it anymore
but you know you’ve already come to your conclusion
you like levi ackerman more than a coach should
and it’s taken you years to take notice of it
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when you became a coach you never really thought people would talk about you much
you were clearly very wrong about that. you and levi are both hot topics on discussion forums and boxing panels. luckily for you levi finds no entertainment in such forms of boxing and so never glances at them
he’s completely unaware of all the online comments. to be honest you’re happy he’s oblivious to it all. he doesn’t deserve to deal with spiteful, mean spirited jabs
you’re less like levi and find yourself aimlessly scrolling through news articles and boxing q&a pages. it’s interesting to see what people have to say on social media
but these days all the searches for your name are filled with “replaced soon?” and “not good enough to coach ackerman?”
the headlines are cruel jokes but again you’re willing to handle taking the brunt of the press’ force instead of levi. yes, even if it hurts you.
“what you reading?” levi peers over your shoulder and you nearly throw your phone away to the other side of the room but instead you choose to grip at it tightly and shove it into your chest
you grin hiding the screen away. “something private.”
levi doesn’t look like he believes you, he wants to ask if you’re okay and if you need anything because frankly you do look slightly distraught but he decides against interrogating you
“oh okay. i’ll be back. you want anything from starbucks?” he asks.
at that moment you wish he asked you if you wanted to talk about what had been bothering you
but you know even if he did ask you’d deny his help
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the olympus ring’s official press conference is one in which many rivalries will be established
levi has always had an issue with zeke jaeger one of the top contenders in his division.
it’s a long story......
one which includes the purposeful injury of a mutual friend in order to sabotage his career
you remember it all, the way you had to physically hold levi back from pouncing at the man. it had been one of the most difficult things you had to do
erwin was your friend too and you wanted him to receive justice. part of you wanted to let go and allow for levi to attack zeke with his all but you chose to be levi’s coach before you were erwin’s friends
if he wasn’t going to make good decisions for himself you would do it for him
if you had let him go through with that rash choice he could have risked suspension and suspension could completely halt some careers. suspension almost always led to shorter longevity and motivation
and so that’s why you always shift to levi’s side when he walks past zeke. there’s no way you’re taking a chance. knowing levi he could lose his cool and completely pummel him with an upper cut
so that’s what you’re doing right now. trying to edge levi to the other side of the hall but he does no such thing.
“coach, do you have to be so cautious with zeke?” he finally asks with a bland look on his face
you wince a little when he doesn’t use your name and it looks like he notices the reaction. he makes no commentary on it
“this is my job. let me do it properly.” you explain nudging him to the side so your path doesn’t coincide with zeke’s
levi looks at you poking a tongue in his cheek clearly not amused nor happy
“i’ll do what i want.” and with that said and done he walks on ahead. you take note of the fact that despite saying he’ll do what he wants he does in fact comply with your instructions and walks in the opposite direction and into a nearby convenience store
sighing you rummage through your backpack trying to find your meds
your head has been pounding since you’ve arrived and you hope to fit in at least one nap
looking up to survey the area the street is clear and there is no sight of zeke. you feel at ease at that discovery, not only does he cause you discomfort but he’s a general displeasure to interact with
his tuft of dirty blonde hair irks you to no end and you’re up for no conversation with the man who who ended erwin’s career
he’s the last person you want to ever initiate small talk with.
but fate is a weird thing is it not? because as soon as you’re sure you’ve escaped the clutches of zeke jaeger you hear a chuckle behind you
“well if it isn’t levi’s side piece?”
a hand lands on your shoulder but you shake it away immediately
jaw clenching you try to ignore zeke as best you can but he continues to taunt you
“imagine if levi got an actual coach and not a whore to fuck in the gym?”
turning to face him you see him midway through shrugging his shoulders
believe it or not there had been a time where you and zeke were good friends. a time where he hadn’t let fame get to his head.
so for him to refer to you like that does make your heart sting a little
“cat got your tong-”
and there it is
the long overdue punch
it hits him right in the jaw without warning and you’re tripping trying to stop levi - who might you add has shown up from NOWHERE.
you thought he was shopping?????
“you know if i needed to swing at him i could have?!?” you whisper shout at him completely infuriated that he’s possibly thrown away his chance of competing
“you weren’t going to though.” he says plainly and you can’t deny it.
you don’t have it in you to swing at zeke.
levi doesn’t choose to inflict more pain on his opponent and instead kneels beside him leaning by his ear
you don’t know what he whispers - you’re completely out of ear shot but it’s not even thirty seconds later till levi rises and saunters away seeming content
shooting zeke an apologetic look for the over the top beating you’re surprised to see him look...regretful?
whatever levi said you wonder what it was
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it’s been a solid fifteen minutes of you walking behind levi
his back is all you’ve seen so you have no idea about his mood and it’s not that you’re intimidated or anything but peering in just to look at his face is a little odd so you choose to stay a suitable distance away
“y/n.” he says finally when he reaches his hotel room.
fishing through your backpack for his keys you’re surprised when he holds your wrist to stop you
“listen to me.” he sounds calm but slightly on edge
“has zeke always said those things?”
twiddling your thumbs you awkwardly laugh
“well no, we used to be friends. remember how i told you ages ago? he was so cool back then and yeah i miss that zeke :-) but i don’t know what’s up with him.”
you’ve never really told anyone about how you feel about zeke’s hostility so you’re getting KINDA emotional right now thinking about the friend you miss
“i mean to ask, since you started coaching me has he always said that?”
“it was a bit before that but yeah. it’s no big deal at all. people change, zeke changed. i can’t do anything about it.”
moving to find his room keys again you don’t expect for him to hold his grasp
looking up at him there’s a look of simmering anger on his face
“why did you never tell me he said that about you?”
running a hand through your hair you’re only getting anxious having to deal with this in the middle of a hotel hallway
“levi. everyone says that about me. me and you are always together, all sorts of stupid rumours spread.”
“so why do you have to deal with all the malicious comments?? it’s unfa-”
“levi, the world has never been fair.”
handing him his keys he looks between you and them. he’s deciding if he wants to continue with his questioning
ultimately he decides he’s heard enough
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a few hours have passed since the incident. neither you or levi have had the courage to come out of your separate rooms to discuss anything
you know you’re going to have to break the quiet and go through his possible press conference questions with him. even if you don’t want to this is your job after all.
so that’s how you end up sitting cross legged on his bed in your pyjamas. levi’s still in the shower so you’ve welcomed your self in. it’s common practice between the two of you to do so
after the one time he walked in on you naked…there’s practically nothing to hide from each other
scribbling a few ideas down onto your notepad you’re curious of what the press have in store for him this time
“yes exactly my thoughts” the sound of levi’s voice is coming from the bathroom, you suppose he’s had to take a business call and think nothing of it
“y/n?” he scoffs and you assume at first he’s calling out for you but then things take a turn for the worst
“sometimes i think about not having y/n coach me that’s all… there’s nothing wrong with that?”
oh.
so your suspicions were correct.
glancing down at the interview questions in your lap you jot down a note at the bottom
hey couldn’t stay for long but try to review the press conference questions on your own if you have the time! :-) much lov good luck, y/n !!!!
and then you retreat.
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you don’t know if you make it up but you swear you hear knocking at your door during the night. you aren’t too sure but whatever it is disturbs your sleep.
stretching outside of your room the next morning you’re drowsy and beyond exhausted. you don’t even notice levi come outside.
one of his knuckles is rubbing at his bloodshot eyes. has he not slept well?
“i tried to wake you up but i guess you were asleep?” his statement comes out as a question. you’re not used to levi exhibiting much emotion at all and right now he seems unusually inquisitive.
“i was sleeping.” not even sparing him a second of your time you give him a rehearsed smile and walk off towards the hotel cafe
you can’t find the energy to even look at him
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the hall is lined up with barricades to prevent possible assault or injury and you’re behind the stage with levi
the two of you have yet to say another word to each other since this morning. levi’s buttoning his shirt up and you’re looking around for his necktie. the least he can do after yesterday’s confrontation with zeke is to look presentable
“tie?” he asks over his shoulder
throwing it at him you hear a grunt of annoyance. he must have disliked that.
“can you help me with my cuff links?”
breathing out of your nose you feel anxious. you’ll have to get really close to him to do that.
but again you have to.
you take them from his hands and stand in front of him. you don’t really know how to go about this, what way is there for you to appropriately position yourself?
he’s sat on a backstage bench and checks the time on his phone “we’ve only got a few minutes left.” he’s clearly requesting that you hurry this up but you can’t seem to do it you’re completely frozen in place
“y/n, what’s wrong?” he asks
“nothing.”
he doesn’t have to know you know
“something’s wrong.”
“we’re in a hurry it doesn’t matter.” yanking him by his right sleeve you slot one of the cuff links through the slits in his shirt.
levi silently observes you fiddling with his sleeves, you can feel his stare burn into you. even as you’re moving onto the opposite side you can see from the corner of your eye that he hasn’t stopped staring
“was it something i said to you?” he asks again
a silence drags between the both of you and you debate on whether or not you’d like to enlighten levi with the information you obtained yesterday night
“more like something you didn’t say.” you finally respond.
thrusting his arm back at him his hand lands onto his lap and he opens his mouth to respond only to be cut off by an announcer
“THIS YEARS OLYMPUS RING CONTESTANTS MAY ENTER.”
crowds can be heard cheering outside but levi still hasn’t ripped his eyes off of you
“go on, maybe you’ll find a new coach after the press conference.” your bitter smile tells him all he has to know and his face visibly drops realizing what has happened
“i–”
“mr ackerman to the stage. i repeat mr ackerman to the stage!!”
he’s torn between staying behind and explaining himself or leaving to head towards one of the most important press conferences of his life
his teeth tug at his bottom lip as he looks between you and the entrance to the stage
“go levi.”
and he does.
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levi’s sat on one of many chairs on the panel, he gulps taking a sip of water to calm his nerves. he’s not even nervous about the press conference, that can wait. he doesn’t know how much you’ve heard and how much you’ve misinterpreted what he’s said
he finds it weird at first that he’s even worried because you and him have a professional relationship
but then he has to stop himself from smacking the back of his own head. he knows that much isn’t true, hell if it was a strictly professional relationship he wouldn’t be walking around shirtless to get your attention
he wouldn’t lace his fingers with yours when he was nervous either 
he wouldn’t let you tend to his injuries and scold him if this was about being professional, he doesn’t tolerate being scolded by anyone but if it’s you he’ll take it
when it’s you scolding him for fucking up one of his fists it feels okay, it feels right. he feels warm inside knowing that you have to care for him if you get that angry 
he sighs feeling exasperated waiting for the last person to join the panel and get this question and answers segment over and done with
zeke makes his obnoxiously late appearance but levi doesn’t have it in him to roll his eyes. evidently he’s still stuck on you and thinking about apologizing as soon as this is finished
zeke sits right next to levi and some members of the crowd whisper amongst themselves
“have they made up?”
“think there’s gonna be another brawl??”
“i hope not they’re both my favourites…”
one of the reporters right in front of the stage but behind the barricades is the first to speak
“as we all know there has been an unmistakable sense of tension between two of the most promising contenders this year. mr ackerman and mr yaeger. would you like to put the rumours at rest?”
the question makes levi clench his jaw, zeke rolls his hands into two fists feeling just as frustrated. this is boxing not a reality tv show who cares what the terms of their long broken friendship are?
zeke nudges levi’s knee with his and levi returns the movement.
for now they’ll call a truce. it seems that both he and zeke have more pressing matters to attend to
“me and levi are bros. i’m frankly upset such a rumour started in the first place!” the crowd is mumbling again and the reporter himself is stunned by the unexpected response
“i admit that a fight which some may have saw yesterday was my fault. i had made some inappropriate comments towards his coach to get at him. it was a malicious move on my part and i hope people don’t think him and i are mortal enemies because of this bump in the road.”
zeke is so well spoken when he wants to be that levi feels self conscious sitting there having said nothing.
“mr ackerman? would you like to comment or?”
levi’s eyes light up, this is an opportunity to have you hear him. he doesn’t have to wait to explain when he can throw hints right now. you may be giving him the silent treatment but you wouldn’t miss this press conference for the world
sitting up in his chair and clearing his throat levi looks directly into one of the cameras pointed at him. he’s sure you’ll be able to see him from backstage.
“me and zeke have no other disputes apart from that i assure you. i simply value my coach greatly and so i acted rashly yesterday.”
the reporter nods along feeling pleased with the answer.
a few more questions are thrown around to the other contestants, levi sits there bored out of his mind until at the last minute before everything is just about to wrap up he’s asked a question once again
“regarding your coach, have you thought of a replacement if you win the championship?”
levi presses his lips together not understanding the question
“why would i replace my current coach?” where on earth has this question even come from??
“rumours have been flying around regarding lack of experience and the fact you’re outgrowing each other now. it’s all over boxing discussion forums.”
your hands are embarrassingly shoved into your pockets as people pass behind you backstage offering you pitiful looks. maybe wearing your bright pink team ackerman tracksuit wasn’t the best choice because everyone can hear what’s going on up front
levi’s memory flashes back to the number of times you hid your phone behind your back and awkwardly chuckled saying nothing was bothering you. he understands what you were hiding now
his mouth twists into a scowl, he knows you’re a few meters away listening to all of this and hearing it coming out of a stranger’s mouth is probably upsetting you
“i plan to stick with my coach till the day i die.”
you sit up not believing what you heard, it entirely contradicts what you heard last night
some journalists are jotting down notes, members of the audience are leaning forward listening intently
“well, why is that?” the reporter presses on
levi twirls a pen around in his hands staring off into the crowd.
“i don’t think anyone else could tolerate me.
you bite back a laugh because you know that’s true :-)
“they’re a person who saw potential in me when no one else did.”
he chuckles to himself.  “your stamina it’s great!” his witty imitation of you is rather accurate
“that was the first thing coach ever said to me.” he pauses allowing himself to reminisce.
“but i did want to drop my coach the other day.” he admits.
hearing him confess to it should make you mad, you should be pissed off right now but you can’t manage to feel that way at all
“i said it because i wanted them to relax. i never really understood the magnitude of the criticism they were receiving until recently.”
levi’s staring directly at the camera and his eyes pierce into yours, it’s as if he’s actually looking right at you
“i’d be lost without them, so i want to say to the one person rooting for me backstage, thank you for everything you do for me :-)”
you’re covering your face with your hands feeling the blush creep up your cheeks now. GOD what is he doing??? you may as well be the same colour as your tracksuit, you’ve never heard him be this sentimental in his entire life
“so no, i won’t be replacing my coach any time soon. if anything i should worry about my coach replacing me.”
levi ackerman...
he’s a HUGE idiot if he thinks you’ve ever thought of seriously replacing him
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levi presses his arms against your sides when you’re both alone and in the solitude of his hotel room.
“i’m sorry for thinking you wanted to fire me.“ you mumble it into his chest feeling much too embarrassed to look up at him and say it
“also i may as well say this now but i have a fat, massive, huge crush on you “
after that you awkwardly laugh to yourself. you both kinda stare at each other and you’re meant to regret telling him how you feel right now but you don’t. having that weight lifted off your shoulders feels amazing.
"you don’t have to like me back or anything and i know you don’t like me back obviously you probably like that one actress- what was her name?? the one with the long black hair she gave you her number at a fundraiser dinner. you’d both look cute together, have i said that??”
levi gives you a blank look
“i threw her number away.”
you’re open mouthed feeling completely shocked, she’s gorgeous??
“HUH?? HELLO WHY? LEVI ACKERMAN, HAVE YOU EVEN SEEN HER??”
“i have but is she you?”
the all too familiar words from years ago ring in your ears 
nostalgia hits the both of you in waves and levi takes you in for another hug. your heart hammers in your chest and with your face pressed against him once again you can feel the irregular beat of his heart too. 
that is when you and levi formally meet for the second time. this time you are but an experienced coach and he, an experienced boxer.
:-)
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murasaki-murasame · 4 years
Text
On the one hand, we’re getting Ilia in the next banner as part of a prize showcase that’d be worth summoning on just for the extra rewards alone, but on the OTHER hand, I didn’t manage to get Gala Zena from any of the free summons, and then the worms in my brain went brrr and I think we all know what happened next :)
Also now that I’ve had time to experience the 2.0 update for a week or so, I’ve got a lot of thoughts on that to talk about too
First of all, I got absolutely no 5-stars of any kind from my free summons on the gala banner we got before the Zena banner, so that sucked, lol. I was genuinely tempted to at least go for a pity-break, but I decided against it, since that banner in general was so unappealing to me.
Then for the Zena banner I at least managed to sit back and see how the free summons went, and I got Meene and Midgard Zero off of them, which was nice. But of course that meant that I didn’t get Gala Zena, and I just couldn’t hold myself back from chasing her, lol.
Thankfully I managed to get her after an extra 70-ish summons, so I didn’t have to spend THAT much to get her, but I almost immediately got a dupe Meene from my ticket summons so that kinda hurt, lmao. I also got a dupe Andromeda [who’s now at 3UB], and I think those are the only 5-stars that I’ve gotten from these last two banners. The 5-star dragon ticket from the log-in bonus gave me a dupe Gilgamesh [who’s at 1UB now], though.
In general my summons were a bit more barren than I’d like, but I can’t really complain since most of them were free summons, and I managed to clear out the whole Zena banner, lol.
If I remember right, I had about 270 summons before this, and now I’m at around 200. We’ve still got some anniversary related wyrmite coming in the near future, though, on top of the free summons, so I might still be able to spark on the mid-month gala remix banner if I want to. But I’d probably only do that if Gala Alex is featured and I don’t get her from my free summons. She’s now the only gala unit I’m missing, so she’s a pretty high-priority spark target.
Which is also a big part of why I’m not really that interested in summoning on the Ilia banner, and by extension why I decided to go ahead and chase Zena now. I mean, that was still a dumb decision since if I ended up needing to spark her, that would have drained my entire stash, but still, lol. Ilia’s non-limited, and she seems to be the only new unit on the next banner, so if anything I’d mainly just be summoning for the extra rewards. Also I don’t really have any high-priority dream summon candidates anymore, since I got I-Nefaria and S-Mikoto a little while ago, and I got Meene from this banner, so I could just dream summon Ilia later on anyway.
But mainly I’m just kinda salty about how she’s basically a direct improvement over the new Joe alt, lol. I was hoping she’d at least be flame or wind or something, or even have a different mode type, but she’s literally just Joe but better, which is lame, since I really like Joe, and even if I got Ilia I dunno if I’d want to replace him on my light team. So that on it’s own kinda deflated a lot of the hype I had about Ilia.
Anyway, at this point my main priorities are to be able to get Gala Alex whenever she’s available again, and to hopefully get any new gala dragons when they come out. I’d also really like to go into the New Years banner with a spark saved up, just in case. Even though that’d probably require skipping Christmas. So we’ll just see how that pans out, lol.
All that aside, the 2.0 update has been out for a while now, and boy has that sure changed how the game feels, lmao. I think it’s an almost entirely good update, but there’s a lot of awkward growing pains going on as we have to adjust to all these new and changed systems.
I know that the new wyrmprint system gives us more flexbility than the old one, and that it at least gives a reason to want to use a lot of the 4-star prints, but I really hope they implement some sort of preset option soon, because having to keep setting up 4-5 wyrmprints on every single character is really awful. I’m also not a huge fan of how expensive it is to get extra copies of prints, but I get the logic behind it, and thankfully event prints are extremely cheap to get extra copies of. Which at least means that new players can pretty easily get four copies of Plunder Pals before eventually getting specialized skill damage prints, but I feel kinda bad for anyone who didn’t get all the Megaman event prints, since they cover basically every single important wyrmprint ability, lol. 
Also it’s kinda awkward how the change to having every print just give one ability means that a lot of prints got indirectly nerfed, like Fires of Hate and Resounding Rendition, or Chocolatiers now just being 50% skill prep. Not to mention how so many prints are almost identical, down to the fact that even the affinity bonuses for a lot of similar prints aren’t even different either. So that’s kinda weird. But ultimately I do think this was a good change for the game. I’m also thinking now that one type of new endgame progression they might add eventually is 6-star wyrmprints, since it seems really noteworthy to me that the new wyrmprint UI is a 2x3 grid with only five slots taken up, and the other just being empty space. So they might introduce 6-star wyrmprints to fill in that extra slot later to add even more flexibility to the system.
Then there’s all the changes they made to the weapon system, which I think are gonna take a fair while for me to feel truly familiar with. There’s a whole lot to take in, and even though I think it’s more streamlined and easy to understand at the end of the day, it’s such a huge change from what i was used to that it just feels kinda overwhelming and strange. But I think the only part of it that genuinely feels bad is how it’s now WAY more expensive to fully unbind Agito weapons than it was before, since you have to now buy all of the last four unbind levels, like with HDT weapons, instead of it just being a one-time upgrade cost that gives you an automatically MUB tier 2 weapon if you had a MUB tier 1 weapon. So that really sucks, and I think it really screws over anyone who was holding off on upgrading their flame and shadow Agito weapons until this update hit, since now it’s extremely expensive compared to before. But apparently it’s an intentional design choice and not just an oversight, so I guess we’ll just have to deal with it. I'm also kinda annoyed at myself for dismantling all my 5t3s before this update hit, since now they’re actually worth getting for the weapon bonus system, but that’s not as big of a deal.
And on that note, I know lots of people don’t like how expensive the weapon bonus system is, but I’m just viewing it as a super long-term, end-game grind that intentionally gives relatively minor stat upgrades that nothing in the game is actually balanced around. It’s basically just an extension of the weapon dojo system for people who want to have something to keep grinding for once they hit the end-game.
I do really like how they condensed all the niche void weapons into just one weapon per element/type combo, though, and how their unique weapon abilities are now passively applied to all similar weapons once you unlock them. It gives you a reason to care about getting them, and grinding void battles in general, without forcing you to use super weak weapons if you need their unique ability. I dunno how much I’ll actually grind Void Agni after this, but it feels really nice to just have the scorching air res ability on my Agito/HDT weapons, lol. It’s also really nice that they let you do the same thing with the HDT Bane abilities, since that makes it way easier to grind them, and this update gives us a whole lot of reasons to want to get back into grinding HDTs again.
HDTs are just way easier now than they used to be, which is great. I think Cygames has accepted that they just weren’t very fun or well-designed as endgame co-op raid type content, and that people just want to be able to farm them solo for their drops. And this whole update makes it way easier to do that. On top of the earlier change to nerfing their opening blasts and reducing the damage that AI characters take, it feels like they only slightly raised their stats to compensate for the huge balance patch update, which makes them feel way easier to beat than they used to be. And they also reworked the fights a bit so that they actually have purple indicators for [most] of their attacks, and some mechanics like HBH’s volcanoes now actually work properly in solo, so that’s neat.
The introduction of solo versions of endgame fights is really nice. I think at this point it means that you can go through the entire game’s progression system without touching co-op [outside of events, I guess], which is nice, since I know it’s always been off-putting to a lot of people that co-op is basically mandatory for endgame content.
We also now have PVP [kind of], which is something I never expected, and I ALSO never expected that it’d actually be . . . really fun and well-balanced? It’s genuinely shocking to me that they actually managed to pull off PVP properly in this type of game, lol. This has always felt like the most anti-PVP gacha game out there, if that makes sense, so I never thought PVP would work, but the whole battle royale set-up actually works really well. Mainly because everyone works off of the same blank slate, and your account progress outside of the battle royale mode has absolutely no impact on how strong you are in PVP. It’s more of a skill-based thing, where you’d have an edge over newer players just because you’re more familiar with how to move around in the game and do stuff. There’s also the fact that there’s barely any difference in the points you get between first and last place, so you don’t feel like you’re missing out on much if you keep losing. And most of the stuff you spend points on are just cosmetic skins for the character you play as, but there’s also some genuinely good rewards like sunstones and testaments that you can fairly easily get even if you just grind for it by dying as fast as possible every round. I really hope they keep the rewards the same for each season, since having a fairly consistent supply of 2 sunstones and 4 of each testament every five weeks or so would be really good.
The whole balance patch also happened, and that ended up being a lot more of a big deal than I thought it might be. Even though they only tweaked everyone’s damage mods and not any of their abilities or anything, basically all of the buffs feel like what you’d expect from a mana spiral. A pretty huge amount of characters got their damage mods doubled or even tripled, and then there’s cases like Gala Euden who effectively had both of his skill’s damage mods quadrupled, lol. I was wondering if they might use this as a chance to effectively give mana spirals to old gala units without actually giving them mana spirals, and that’s basically how this went. On top of Gala Euden now being even stronger than before, Gala Mym got basically all of her damage mods doubled, along with a new strength buff on her S1. Gala Sarisse also got her S2 improved so that it always gives a team strength buff instead of alternating effects. And Gala Ranzal got what seems to be a really big improvement to his damage in general, along with his gauges now being easier to fill, so now I think he might at least be on the same level as Leif, if not stronger, which he really deserved.
They even buffed a lot of the weaker shadow units, which I wasn’t expecting, but I’m glad about it. Obviously Norwin was one of the first units whose changes I looked into, and I’m glad that he’s better than he used to be, but it’s kinda awkward to me that he has poison punisher effects on his skills now, when they didn’t change the fact that he has a blind punisher ability, and another ability based around inflicting blind. I think he still needs a proper spiral to fully morph him into actually being about poison, but he’s a lot better than he was before. They also buffed S-Norwin’s S2 for some reason, even though he was really good before this update, lol.
Vice also now has the honor of being the first unit to get straight up nerfed in the game’s history, but even with the nerf, I think he’s still one of the strongest 3-stars in the whole game, and he’s still worth investing in as a low-budget DPS option. I also actually like the fact that he inflicts poison on his S1 now, since it makes him a more consistent source of poison, but it also means he’ll be constantly afflicting poison, which might not always be good. I think it’s a good balance change, though. At the very least I’m able to easily solo eHJP in like one and a half minutes while still using him as my main DPS unit, while also having everyone equipped with gold fafnirs. So he definitely still does his job just fine.
Anyway, we’ve also got the whole second anniversary event going on, and it sure is a doozy. I think I liked Fractured Futures more, but this is still a good event in it’s own way. It’s not as intense or depressing, but I like the focus on lore and world-building, and it’s also just really refreshing to get an entire event where Zethia’s the protagonist for once.
A lot of what the event’s gone over has felt sort of predictable, but it’s still nice to get all this stuff explicitly spelled out, and it also means we get to see Ilia as a socially inept punk biker with a giant rifle, so that alone makes the entire event worth it, lmao. I figured we were gonna get something like this from all the increasing glimpses at how ancient civilization used to be technologically advanced, but seeing it play out like this is still really fun.
It’s also interesting to get the origin story for Morsayati. It’s not quite as interesting as I would have hoped, since it turns out that the Other is just Mordecai’s disembodied hatred, but still. Mordecai’s a surprisingly adorable character, and for a free unit he also feels surprisingly strong, which is nice. Although it does suck that he just straight up outclasses Hanabusa, lol.
One of the more surprising things about this event is that we’re also getting new world-building about the fairy kingdom, which seems to be setting up for how they teased at the main story moving over there soon. It’s pretty clear that sometime after chapter 18 they’re going to release Notte as a playable character [either as a welfare unit or as a gala unit], and I think Meene is kinda like the template for how they’ll handle Notte as a playable character.
We also now know that we’re getting a free character from chapter 16, and like most people I think it’s probably going to be Leonidas as a flame gun unit going by the preview from the digest, but it’s possible that he’ll be the next gala adventurer instead. I also think they might do something with Chelle soon, since I think they teased her showing up in chapter 17, and we also know that she’s apparently the one who introduced manacasters to the world.
The latest This Month post also talked about how we’re getting a new Halloween event for the middle of the month, which is kinda surprising. I think we’re still getting a Halloween event at the end of the month, so I wonder how this upcoming one will go. My current guess is that, since they didn’t say anything about the banner that’ll be run along with it, they’ll just be rerunning the old Halloween banner for it, and the event itself will just be based around the second year Halloween units, since they didn’t get their own event last year. At least that way we’d get two new Halloween events without having to deal with the stress of getting two differently entirely new Halloween banners in one month. I’m also hoping that they make the old Halloween units non-limited like they did with the Valentines ones.
They’re also apparently going another rerun of Accursed Archives [plus the Akasha event], which is kinda surprising, since I thought they’d just add it to the compendium. But at least this means we’ll get an extra set of rewards once they add it to the compendium later, lol.
We didn’t hear anything about a new Halloween event/banner at the end of the month, but we’re probably getting one, and unless Gala Alex gets featured before it, that’ll probably be what I save my next spark for. I’m not sure exactly how they’ll work it now, but I’m hoping that they’ll bundle the new Halloween units into a gala banner that also introduces a new gala dragon, since that’s also something I want to get, so it’d be nice to knock out two birds with one stone.
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lisatelramor · 6 years
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Not Left To Stand Alone Ch 30
Saguru woke to someone clearing their throat pointedly. It took a moment to open his eyes, but he’d already placed the sigh that followed as belonging to Haibara Ai.
“Amusing as it is to see two grown men passed out on each other,” she said, arms crossed and bordering on impatience, “I need to do a checkup and I only have twenty minutes before I have to be somewhere else.” She was dressed nicely in a blouse and skirt instead of a lab coat thrown over whatever comfortable clothing she happened to be wearing at the time. The usual medical kit hung from one hand.
Against Saguru’s neck, Kuroba groaned. Saguru’s face heated when Kuroba burrowed closer to Saguru’s side, clinging like a sloth. “Nooooo,” Kuroba mumbled. “It’s too early and I barely got any sleep.”
“Tough,” Haibara said. She set the medical kit on the free chair and rolled up her sleeves.
“Rude,” Kuroba grumbled. He sat up. The loss of his warmth left Saguru’s right side noticeably colder.
“Call it karma,” Haibara said.
Saguru slid off the bed to give them space. The books he’d brought were stacked neatly on the bedside table. He should let the Kudos know he was there. He’d rather stay with Kuroba.
“How much longer do I have until I can go home, Doc?” Kuroba asked as he opened his yukata so Haibara could check the abrasions along his shoulder and side. “I can walk a bit, make it to the bathroom and back, no infections; a hospital would send me home by now.”
“No, a hospital would be running tests wondering if you were human by now,” Haibara said. She checked bandages, noticeably less than last time Saguru saw them changed. The wounds under them were completely scabbed over, looking less like raw meat and more like burns that had had a month to heal. “You have to be careful stretching these,” she said. “Scabs and new skin don’t have the elasticity of healthy skin. You’re going to tear something and end up bleeding all over and risking infection with a bunch of tiny tears.”
Kuroba rolled his eyes when she wasn’t looking. “I’ve been injured before.”
“Not this badly.” She went over each injured spot, cleaned it, put ointment and re-bandaged. She reached Kuroba’s hip and Saguru glanced away. “The hardest bit is going to be keeping the leg brace from rubbing the more you try to walk,” she said. “And the bullet wound on your leg. It tore a lot of muscle fibers. Even after it heals, you’re probably going to have twinges for a long time.”
“That’s how bullet wounds go. How’s my leg?”
“I don’t have the equipment to check on your tendons,” Haibara said. “You need to see a professional for that.”
“Fair enough.” Kuroba sighed. “But can I go home? Don’t get me wrong, the hospitality here is wonderful, but I’d hate to abuse it any longer than I have to.”
Haibara hummed. “Can you? Physically you could go home, but is your home watched?”
“Hakuba?” Kuroba asked.
Saguru looked away from Haibara carefully probing the tendons around Kuroba’s knee and calf. “I didn’t notice anyone watching in the last few days, but with yesterday, perhaps waiting a bit longer is best.  If you intended to go to your mother’s home for a while, you would have to ask her.”
“Damn,” Kuroba sighed.
“Quit whining,” Haibara said. “Hakuba-san, you should talk to Kudo. This morning’s press is going insane as apparently there was a massive online info dump that makes the Wikileaks look tame in comparison.” She tilted her head, eying Saguru unnervingly. “And you were in the news again. Someone got a picture of you leaving the police line yesterday.”
“Lovely.” There’d be speculation about why he was there, questions on if he was on the case against Kid, or perhaps questions about what he had to do with the internal police investigations once that came out. They wouldn’t be able to hide the internal investigations thanks to Kuroba Chikage dumping her files online. “In that case, Kuroba, the area is likely watched by reporters if not our irritating shadows.”
“Guess it doesn’t matter if I’m stuck here a bit longer then. Water my plant for me?”
Haibara raised an eyebrow.
“Will do,” Saguru said. “I’ll go see Kudo now...”
“See you later,” Kuroba said, cheerful enough for the moment. “Oh, and Hakuba?”
“Mm?”
“Happy birthday. Forgot to say it last night.”
Saguru blinked, calculated the date. August twenty-ninth. And two days before school started back up.
“You forgot it was your birthday, didn’t you,” Kuroba said, laughing at him.
“Shut up, Kuroba.” Saguru rubbed his forehead, his eyes still ached, not enough sleep. “I haven’t finished my lesson plans for next semester.” There had been so much happening and so many things to occupy his time... Mum was going to want to see him too, and then there was the reports he had to write up for Aoko, and checking up on Millard, and... Damn, there weren’t enough hours in a day.
“Good luck,” Kuroba said.
“Thanks.”
***
“Saguru, I came to surprise you at your apartment this morning, but you weren’t there.”
“Apologies, Mum. I’ve been a bit busy.”
“Enough that you’re not sleeping?” Mum asked, concern echoing down the line.
“I stayed elsewhere,” Saguru assured her. She didn’t need to know that he’d only slept a little bit.
“Ah,” Mum said. “You’re with Kuroba.”
“And several detectives working on this crime organization case.”
“But you came for Kuroba,” she said, amused now.
Saguru rolled his eyes. He wouldn’t win with this; she knew him too well. “Yes, Mum, I spent the night because of Kuroba. I...haven’t been sleeping very well since the last heist,” he admitted. “I sleep better knowing he’s nearby.”
“Ah.” All teasing left her voice. “I’m glad you can stay then. Wherever that is.”
“I’m not telling you. You can wait until I’m done here to pester me about my birthday.”
“You used to love your birthday when you were little,” Mum said.
“And I got older.” There wasn’t much fun in birthdays after you reached the point where you could just buy yourself anything that caught your fancy. Mel had liked them though. He’d always insisted on celebrating Saguru’s birthday together, usually in some way that left Saguru exasperated and amused by the end of it. Last year he’d been too deep in grief to notice the day passing. Waking up next to Kuroba was a decent way to start it this year.
Mum hummed, disagreeing with his reasoning. She still enjoyed birthdays too, perhaps because it gave her an excuse to drag people into socializing. She let the topic go for the moment though. “It’s sad news with the leaks on the internet. It’s all the news is covering this morning. I thought your father was going to choke on his tea when they brought the topic up.”
“It’s good news, actually,” Saguru said. “It makes cover up harder with it so public. Some people will be going to ground, but this gives the chance to break down their infrastructure in places of power and make it harder to ever reach the scale it’s at ever again. And it’s international information too. That gives police across the world information to fight back.”
“I think it was the global bit that had your father choking,” Mum said. “I think he was picturing a bit smaller scale that you were dealing with.”
“To be honest, I wasn’t aware of quite how large this was until I started reading some of the files that ended up being released online.” There was knowing that a group was multifaceted and incorporated into niches around the world and there was knowing. No wonder Kuroba felt so powerless.
“Mm, well, now that you’ve woken the beast, don’t go relaxing. I don’t want to wake up to find your name on the telly on who’s been a latest victim.”
“I know.” This was only the beginning. The victory of last night felt smaller and the weight of all that still had to be done was crushing when out that way. They had to take their victories when they could in whatever form they came or they would go mad. “I’ll find time to come over later in the day,” he promised.
“I’ll hold you to it,” Mum said.
***
There was a surprising lack of reporters outside the school. There had been two staked out near Saguru’s family home, and a whole groups lingering at police stations, and even a few koen, trying to get opinions on the police investigations. The last few days had been chaotic from the fallout. Saguru had gotten phone calls from London, calls from work, calls from Aoko, his father’s old connections, Kudo’s connections, and even people Saguru hadn’t known even had his number. He hadn’t been sure what he was going into when he returned to work after summer holiday. When he’d left, he had just been outed and was being pressured into attending a Kid heist. It felt like a lifetime ago and he’d forgotten to be worried about how it could affect him in the long term.
Compared to outing a criminal organization and nearly getting shot a handful of days ago, facing coworkers and a classroom of teenagers wasn’t very scary at all.
The students went silent as he entered the room, all eyes on him. Saguru caught four students sidling back to their desks from where they’d grouped around Takumi. Takumi looked like he was considering the window as a potential escape route. He set his teaching materials on the front table and stood as casual as he could pull off, like nothing had changed.
“Welcome back. Hopefully you all had a pleasant break—I won’t ask if you’ve managed to complete your summer homework. Yet.” There were a couple sheepish faces in the mix, but most were still alert and fixated, an underlying tension filling the room. “Yoshida-san will take roll call, and then we can go over upcoming events.” Saguru doubted they’d actually get around to talking about any class events. The narrow focus meant that the moment he allowed them to, they’d be asking questions, and a few were already fidgeting in the way that said they wouldn’t even wait that long.
He was right as before Yoshida could get to the front of the room to go call off names, Fujiwara in the back of the room raised a hand.
“Sensei! Are the rumors that Kaitou Kid is dead true?”
“Any matters regarding Kaitou Kid are not related to school,” Saguru said, “and as such won’t be discussed. But as police have stated, as of now there is no conclusive evidence that Kid is alive or dead.”
“But you were there right?”
“I was.” Saguru pinned the girl who spoke with a firm stare. “I also was not deeply involved with the heist prevention efforts; camera watching is not a good venue to catch the subtleties of Kid’s actions.” None of it lies. Fujiwara lowered her hand sheepishly. “Now if we could—”
“Are you going to stay our teacher if you’re involved with the police investigation?” Hikawa in the front left asked, not even bothering to raise his hand.
“I have no intention of leaving my position at the moment,” Saguru said. “And at the moment I am here as your homeroom teacher, not as a detective. Yoshida-san, roll call, please.” That seemed to do the trick for the moment. Saguru met Takumi’s eyes for a second and saw gratitude and relief. It was going to be a stressful day for both of them. Even so, as roll call finished and Saguru straightened his work notes to discuss upcoming events, he was glad to be back. He had missed detective work more than he’d thought, but returning to teaching after the stress of the past few weeks was like stepping back into a bit of normalcy. He could do with a bit of normalcy.
***
“So I still have a job,” Saguru said to Kate during lunch break. They’d missed each other this morning and Saguru had had to go to the office for the first part of his break to be told that he was under watch but allowed to continue working for the moment. It was about as much as he could hope for really. Kate gave him a wide smile. So had some of the other teachers; there were more staff who were sympathetic than he’d expected.
“You do! I’m glad.” She leaned on the back of her chair, twisted around to talk to him, looking as intense as some of his students had that day with questions bubbling up in her. “We weren’t sure you know?” She lowered her voice. “I heard that a police officer wrote to the school board about your moral character but don’t tell anyone that.”
A police officer, hmm? That had to be Aoko. Saguru owed her then.
“It looks like you had a pretty exciting break though,” Kate said. “I watched the news. Between that Kid heist and then the internal investigations with the police, and that net leak—you are involved with that, right? I kind of figured when they mentioned the Kid investigations and help from outside sources, what with all the,” she waved a hand, “things going on.”
“Exciting is one way to put it.” Exhausting would be more accurate. “I don’t believe that I’m going to be able to go back to peacefully minding my own business.”
“Do you want to?” Kate asked. She looked him up and down. “You look tired, but honestly you’re more...focused than I’ve seen all year.”
“I feel more like me,” Saguru said after a moment. He couldn’t help but touch the pocket with his pin in it, and the pocket watch nestled below it. “I think I’m done feeling sad. I’m not sure I’ll ever reach the point of not feeling sad when I think about what I lost but...”
“Not wallowing in depression?” Kate said. “Good. That’s good.” She clapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll have to come out to another get together. Gotta be more social if you want people in your corner.”
“I’ll try.” He paused. “Do you think people will be in my corner?”
“Of course,” Kate said immediately. “You haven’t made any enemies at least, and despite the board being full of traditionalists, most of the staff is more liberal. I know it’s probably really uncomfortable to have your life story out in the open, but it’s a sympathetic one, and you’re an alumni. There’s long time staff advocating for you.” Erika. It had to be since she was one of the only teachers still here from back when Saguru was a student. He glanced across the room and managed to catch her looking in his direction at the same time. He gave her a grateful smile. “You’ll get through this,” Kate said. “It doesn’t hurt to come out for drinks again sometime though.”
“Thank you,” Saguru said.
Kate waved his thanks away. “We’re friends, right?”
“Right.”
Everything and nothing had changed, Saguru reflected as Kate turned back to her desk. The same students in his classes with the same ones to keep an eye on. The same coworkers, who as a whole didn’t seem to view him differently. The same hastily made lunch of leftovers on his desk and a pile of papers to grade. A whole criminal organization unearthed into the light. It was too simple, going too smoothly. Even counting Takumi’s jump into the trap, it was still too smooth.
He wanted to feel content at the progress made, but all that he had at the moment was a feeling in his stomach reminiscent of missing a step on the stairs, the moment of open air before the jarring return to solid ground.
A student arrived, probably to plead again for an extension on their summer homework.
Whatever the feeling was, it wasn’t going anywhere. He had plenty to do until the other shoe dropped.
***
“Grading?” Kuroba asked, in the kitchen of the Kudo manor instead of his guest room. They were alone for the moment, Ran and the children gone to bed and Kudo off working overtime as he had every day since they sprung the trap. He would be doing so for quite a while more by the look of things.
“Mm.” Saguru crossed out incorrect conjugations and nitpicked poorly written sentences with red pen.
“You don’t have to come all the time now that you’re working again,” Kuroba said. “I know it’s a lot further to get to the school from here than our apartment building.”
“It’s fine, Kuroba. I’m here because I want to be.” He’d stay the night again today, and perhaps the next day, and return home a few days after that, rotating in attempt to not overstay his welcome though it was probably long past that point. “Besides, it is nice to have the company.”
“Can’t argue there.” Kuroba sighed. “It’s lonelier with the girls back at school, though they still want me to read them bedtime stories so that’s fun at least.”
Saguru smiled, diagramming the proper grammatical structure of the current paper he was grading. “I think they’ve all but adopted you as another uncle.”
“No arguments there,” Kuroba said. “I like kids. It’s been too long since Takumi was that age.”
Though ruminating on the Kudo girls brought up other thoughts... “Do you visit Koizumi-san’s daughters?”
“Mm. Not so much. I’ve met them a few times.” Kuroba spun a tea mug around and around in a circle. His dexterity was improving by the day, enough that when he got bored with that and began twirling his teaspoon, it danced between his hands almost as seamlessly as he used to manage. “I haven’t had the chance to interact with them like Kudo’s kids. Kinda don’t think Akako wants me to. They’re her kids at the end of the day, not mine even if they’re mine biologically.”
“I see.” Not unexpected. A bit sad though. “And Aoko doesn’t know about that.”
“No. Don’t know if I’ll ever tell her. I’ll tell Takumi sometime though. Uh. When he’s not mad at me still.”
“Why not get it all aired out at once and all his anger out of the way?” Saguru said lightly. Kuroba snorted. “Does Aoko know about Kudo-san?”
Kuroba’s hands stilled for a moment and he breathed out slowly. “Was it obvious?” he asked, resigned.
“No.” Kuroba and Ran had been nothing but polite to each other. There was always the fact that both Kudos had taken Kaito in that hinted at deeper attachment, but if it wasn’t for Midori’s resemblance to Kuroba and Kuroba’s greater comfort with her over Haibara in his personal space, he’d never have guessed. “You’ve both been fairly neutral toward each other. It was an educated guess.”
Kuroba sighed again. “I guess him letting me stay was a dead giveaway, huh?”
It was Saguru’s turn to freeze, hand clenched tight around his pen. He set it down slowly. “Actually, I meant Kudo Ran.”
“Oh.”
“Both of them?”
Kuroba flushed, unable to meet his eyes.  “It was... I was in a bad place at the time and. Look, I don’t do things like that usually.”
“I didn’t think you did,” Saguru said. He knew it had to be an odd situation or things wouldn’t be...whatever they were with the Kudos. But what he couldn’t get his head around was, “You’re attracted to men?”
Kuroba stared and laughed, once, incredulous. “You really didn’t—yeah, Hakuba. Yes, I’m attracted to men and women. It’s more of a person thing than a...y’know, never mind.” He started fiddling with the mug again, spinning it so it juddered against the table noisily. “How did you figure it out? If it wasn’t Kudo?”
Midori was the Kudo’s secret to tell, and yet... “I guessed,” he said after a moment. “Between their comfort and familiarity toward you and letting you stay, it seemed like an obvious conclusion that something more was between you at some point. Between your implicit trust in their codes of honor and their ease with having you in their home... Your comfort with physical proximity...” Saguru picked his pen back up and finished the sentence he’d been writing. “You, however, just proved that guess correct.”
“You guessed,” Kuroba said flatly. “I guess at least I don’t have to worry too much that I had some obvious tell. It’s not even like that anymore; it was really just a...a thing that happened once... Hell, I had a whole conversation with them with Aoko in the room and even if we’ve been divorced for years, don’t think for a moment that she wouldn’t flip out if she realized I’d slept with a married couple.”
Saguru winced. Mops were a thing of the past. It was far more likely that something would get broken. “I wouldn’t have guessed at all if I didn’t know you so well.” Granted Aoko knew him just as well. It explained so much though. Why Kuroba could trust Kudo and both Kudo’s ease at having an injured Kid in their care, Kuroba’s defense of Kudo the one time Saguru brought him up, and that Kuroba had sent Kudo a birthday message. Kuroba wasn’t someone who could be casual with intimacy. “Outside of your trust, there wasn’t any specific behavior that led me to notice.”
“I really don’t normally...” Kuroba waved a hand. The mug juddered to a stop.
“I’m not judging you. I’m the last person who would judge for a non-normative...arrangement.” Relationship? Could the word be applied here?
Kuroba frowned at the wood grain tabletop, rubbing the healing side of his face absently. “I was in a bad place. I lost Jii and then there was everything with Aoko and reworking Takumi’s visitations and they were attractive and...it was nice to not think for a while.” He sighed. “The not thinking bit didn’t last very long and—”
Saguru caught his hand, pulling it away from his face. Kuroba frowned, caught between embarrassment and irritation. “It’s okay,” Saguru said.
“It isn’t. I’m not really good with no strings sex it turns out.”
“You’d hardly be the only one.” And probably not the only one from the encounter to feel that way.
Kuroba dropped his gaze to where their hands were still linked. He didn’t try to snatch his hand back, so Saguru didn’t either. “Nothing really changed after. I’m a thief, he’s a detective, she’s a detective’s wife…”
“Had you hoped something would change?”
“I don’t know what I was thinking back then.” Kuroba shrugged, winced a bit at the motion and Saguru only noticed because he was looking for micro-expressions. “I wasn’t thinking really.”
“You were grieving.”
“It doesn’t really make it an excuse. I was familiar enough with grief by then to know that I probably would always be grieving at least a little.”
There wasn’t really anything comforting to say to that. Saguru was in that position of grief himself even if he was beginning to crawl out from the hole of depression grief had left him in. He gently squeezed Kuroba’s hand once more.  “For what it’s worth, they seem to hold you in high regard despite their objections to your night job.”
“Well.” Kuroba sighed. “Seventeen years is a long time to know someone.”
“It is.”
Kuroba cleared his throat and pulled his hand free. “But then you’d know that,” he said with false levity. “You came back and fit into things easy enough.”
“Mm.” If he fit, it was through Kuroba’s efforts, not his own. It was tempting to reach for Kuroba’s hand again, but without a reason to, Saguru couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“…I haven’t been with many people since the divorce,” Kuroba said after a moment. “It’s never felt right. Not when I’m still Kid and not when all the reasons Aoko left are still between us.”
“Are you still Kid now that you found Pandora?” Saguru asked.
Kuroba hummed, neutral. “Do you think,” he asked, “I could escape jail if I testified? Against the organization?”
“Reparations?”
“Something like that.” He stared past Saguru at some grim vision only he could see. “Kid can’t die until his legend does. I could vanish Kid forever, but that leaves the police at loose ends for their evidence. Could say it was an anonymous source, but in the end, it had more weight with Kid behind it, doesn’t it? Kid pulls back the curtain one final time and reveals the insect swarm behind it.” He blinked and focused on Saguru again. “So I don’t think I’m quite done with Kid after all.” He smiled, but it was only a curve of lips, no heart in it at all. “I’ve spent so long thinking I’d never retire that I don’t know what I’ll do if I do retire.”
“Live,” Saguru said. “Live and do anything you want.”
“Anything I want, huh?” Kuroba’s smile gained a bit of warmth. He sat back, stretched as much as his body let him without protesting. “Mmmmh!” His back popped audibly. “Hell if I know then. I’ve been Kid longer than I haven’t. What will I fill the time with?”
“Somehow I think you’ll manage to keep busy.” Kuroba managed to keep himself occupied even in a sickbed; he’d find some new hobby or something easily if given the chance.
“True. Maybe I’ll do informal shows again,” Kuroba mused. “Keep that bit of Oyaji’s legacy alive instead of Kid. At the park. No stages involved.”
Saguru would like to see that. See Kuroba put on a show that wasn’t fueled by desperation or to cover up something else. A show just for the joy and challenge of it for the sake of mystifying those who watched it.
“Will you stick around to see it?” Kuroba asked.
Saguru looked into bright blue eyes and their directness staring back, no judgment. Kuroba’s hand was still so close on the table if Saguru were to just reach out and take it. Kuroba liked men. Saguru looked away too quickly, too telling as he couldn’t control a light blush. “I plan to be,” he said to his stack of grading.
“Good,” Kuroba said. His voice was warm. Intimate, Saguru’s brain offered and he shoved the thought away. Kuroba’s hand caught the corner of his eye and he looked up to see it palm up in front of him. “So, got any more of those pens? I’ll help you finish that before you’re up all night.”
“I can do my own work,” Saguru said.
Kuroba smiled. Fond. The crinkle around his eyes and the slant of his smile were soft and Saguru was hopeless. “I know you can. I could use the practice regaining dexterity though. Practicing your stupidly neat handwriting should do the trick.”
“My handwriting isn’t stupid,” Saguru said. He was already reaching for his bag and another pen though. “Haibara isn’t going to get angry with me if I let you do this is she?”
“I’m cleared for reading and writing and pretty much anything that doesn’t involve a ton of bending, lifting, or moving around.” Kuroba clicked the pen and twirled it—clumsily; it slid to the edge of his grip before he regained control. “Grading some high school English papers isn’t even hard.”
It was getting late and Saguru did want these done tonight and to have time to catch up on sleep. Kuroba certainly could have answered the homework easily enough so Saguru could trust him to grade it... He slid a quarter of the pile across the table.
Kuroba eyes the difference between them, then clicked his tongue before turning to his task.
“It’s my job,” Saguru muttered. Kuroba ignored him, testing out the pen on a napkin, re-familiarizing himself with Saguru’s handwriting. The grading seemed to slide by, helped along by Kuroba’s presence. He started humming at some point, voice shifting pitch depending on the song and its original singer. Saguru didn’t know most of the songs, but it was nice. Sipping tea and marking up papers in the bubble of Kuroba’s spell. It was nearing midnight when he finished the last one. Kuroba finished a bit before him, humming gone soft and mellow, closer to a lullaby than the catchier tunes he’d been humming earlier. The borrowed pen spun lazily in his hand as he watched Saguru. Saguru couldn’t say how long he’d been watching, found he didn’t mind either.
“Thank you,” Saguru said, hand out for the papers Kuroba had graded. Across them was a passable copy of his handwriting, growing better as the stack went on no doubt.
“Any time,” Kuroba said. He handed off the papers, saving the pen for last. That, he placed directly into Saguru’s palm, fingers brushing for a tangible moment against Saguru’s skin. Saguru forced his breathing to remain steady.
“We should. It’s time for bed,” he said, like he was fifteen again and tripping over his tongue in front of his first crush. Kuroba likes men. He blinked hard, shoving that thought down and away and for a time when he didn’t have Kuroba in front of him. “You need any help?”
Kuroba waved him off. “I have a crutch and a brace and too much energy,” Kuroba said, levering himself up on said crutch. The bruising had finally faded enough to use it without aggravating it and his ribs were healed enough for it not to hurt too badly. “I’m fine.”
“Of course.” Kuroba had to have his independence. Still, Saguru moved at his pace down the hallway to their guest rooms. “Goodnight, Hakuba.”
“Goodnight.” Saguru stared at Kuroba’s closed door a beat too long. This was ridiculous. Nothing had changed. Yet when he closed his eyes to sleep, the words echoed through him again and again. Kuroba likes men.
***
His phone was buzzing, buzzing, buzzing by his head, but Saguru just wanted to turn over and ignore it. It could be Aoko. It could be Kudo. It could be his mother or Millard or Takumi or Kuroba or any number of other people calling at...uh, three twenty-four in the morning. He scowled at the red numbers of his alarm clock blinking mockingly across the room. The phone stopped buzzing. The room went dark again. Saguru relaxed. Whoever it was could leave a message and— The phone began buzzing again. He groaned. His thin sheet bunched at the foot of his futon as Saguru rolled to grab his cellphone. It was probably Aoko, probably another body found or the person they captured had died or...or it was Hiroto.
The English letters above the green phone icon gave no insight to why Hiroto would call him in the middle of the night after a month of mutual avoidance. It was curiosity that made him pick up in the end, alongside a feeling of dread; nothing good ever came out of middle of the night phone calls.
“Saguru?” Hiroto said the second the phone call connected. “Oh thank goodness, you picked up.” There was an edge of panic to his voice, and he didn’t raise it past a rough whisper. “Saguru—I mean Hakuba-san—I mean,” he took a sharp breath, and that edge of panic sounded a lot closer to the edge of hyperventilation.
“Breathe,” Saguru said, cutting through the jumbled mess of Hiroto’s words. “What’s wrong?”
“Sorry. Sorry for. For calling, I wasn���t sure. What to do.” Another inhale, less ragged. “I’m at work. I think I found something that I shouldn’t have. Files. I was reorganizing my boss’s files because I noticed they were a mess yesterday. There were. Locked folders, but I have the passwords for everything and. I recognized a name? From the info dump that was on the news? And some emails? I’m not supposed to touch that but I did and now I wish I didn’t because they’ll probably know and this is why I should have just kept my head down and done my job and not tried to do more than average.”
“Hiroto.” The rapid breathing on the other end was his only response, but the babbling rush of words had stopped. “Where are you?”
“We do business contracting not—!” The words burst out through the phone speaker, the loudest so far. Hiroto breathed a bit more then answered the question, “The staff bathroom. I had a phone conference call tonight, but I was the only one today so I stayed late while everyone else left. It’s my first solo project since the promotion and...” he trailed off. “I’m pretty sure I’m alone. My boss has had oversea meetings this week and I’ve been taking care of some of his work here.”
“Are you in any danger?” Obviously Hiroto felt like it or he wouldn’t be hiding in a bathroom to call Saguru, but it would help to have a bit more of a perspective.
“I don’t know? Would they know if the files were touched? Would they come find who did it? Am I being watched and I don’t know it?” He was moving back toward panic again and that wasn’t going to help anyone.
“Hiroto, give me an address and I’ll be there.”
“Really?” Hiroto sounded so small and doubtful that Saguru felt a bit bad for ignoring his apologies as long as he had. The guilt didn’t change that he hadn’t been mentally equipped to handle it at the time though.
“Really.”  He memorized the address Hiroto told him. “Eighth floor?”
“Eighth floor,” Hiroto confirmed.
“I’ll be there soon, just keep calm in the meantime.”
Saguru left Hiroto to calm himself in the bathroom and tapped out a message to Aoko and Kudo. If this had to do with the organization, then they would need to know. And I might need backup, he thought grimly.
He dragged a hand down his face. He had work in the morning. He had work and the trains were no longer running, so he’d have to take a cab, and there went another night of sleep. He got up to get a pair of goddamn pants.
Ok, so there is literally only one time Saguru refers to Ran out loud, and initially I had it as 'Ran-san' but deeper thought to the matter, he'd be super formal unless otherwise indicated he could be casual and so I changed it to 'Kudo-san' (and the only reason I have his thoughts be 'Ran' is because otherwise it would get very confusing very fast who Saguru was thinking about. Shinichi is 'Kudo' first in Saguru's mind, and Ran would have been 'Mouri' except she married, and yeah... >_> ) Point being, there was a single word edit a month or so ago, so if you remember reading differently, that would be why. And that's how this scene worked out. It was one that I had in mind pretty early on in this and ended up writing twice because of it. Original version no longer fit by the time I got to that part in the story. (because I have a habit of writing out of order when I get stuck) For those of you who saw Kaito/Shinichi/Ran in the past revelation coming, Yay! You picked up on the hints! I tried to not make it literally come from out of nowhere, but I honestly don't know how successful it was because there's 'subtle' and then there's 'you'd need to be in the author's brain to notice this detail' ^_^;; For those who didn't see it coming, uh, surprise???? :D But it's in the past.
That aside, now most of the excuses Saguru's brain has been supplying just got thrown out the window. He's not straight hon, take that into perspective. ^___^
Surprise, Hiroto returns! To be honest, I was surprised writing this, trying to figure out where to go when Hiroto ambushed my brain with a polite smile and a "We're not done yet"
(And holy crap guys, we're so close to the end now. o_o  Thanks so much for following along with this and making my day with your comments. This has really been a great experience working on this fic because of it. Just 4 chapters (aaaand a few extras. and a prequel >_>) to go!)
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allenmendezsr · 4 years
Text
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whnvr · 4 years
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Brain Drain
Ah yes, here we go. The very first Brain Drain. According to Julia Cameron I have to fill up roughly three pages or 1500 words in order to meet my daily requirement. I suppose I will simply just start typing, in fact, I refuse to even look at the screen - instead opting to gaze intently down at my keyboard. I have to say this feels a little unnatural. How many words is that? Ah, 74. Oh dear.
It should be said I'm still unsure as to the format I want this to take. The Artist's Way suggestion is as a stream of consciousness, which is what I'm doing now, but I am also considering doing a sort of blend between that method with academic writing. Ie: doing blocks of the Brain Drain at different times of day alongside my usual work and then taking the time to cite, reference, format, and edit my ideas. It's slightly counter to the original purpose of the Morning Pages but I may actually get more benefit from it this way as it will allow me to understand and explore my ideas in greater detail. Plus, what are these things for if not to be innovated upon?
The Morning Pages, or 'Brain Drain', are typically supposed to be done in a solid block before any other of the days' work. Instead, I may ensure the three pages/1500 words are done and published before I go to bed. However, I don't mind doing a stream of consciousness today just to get the ball rolling.
I guess the point of the Brain Drain is to get all of my cluttered thoughts out of my head and get in touch with the 'me' that is decidedly more creative, and absolutely less critical. I suppose taking the pulse or 'measure' of my day would be a good place to start? Today I feel a little listless. I still feel as though I have a lot that I need to do to get this journal up and running, and that this is halting me from moving on to anything else.
I'm essentially starting this journal because I've been doing so many things in the last couple of weeks that it has become impossible to keep track of it all, generating this sort of anxiety of a future wherein I'll have to look back on everything I've done for some university project but the steps of how I got there will be lost. Now that I have a format in which to record my work I feel the pressure to go back and document everything that I've been doing.
Should I do that, or should I just press forward and allow my work to naturally sort itself out as I'm doing it? I'm leaning toward the latter.
It's decided then, I will continue onward as though my imaginary journal audience has been listening in the entire time.
Next steps then. I suppose I should focus my energies on learning Unreal Engine from the ground up. I want to become proficient in that program in order to move my art-style and experiences into a realtime format that can then be explored and made via the burgeoning medium of virtual reality. I need some 'case study' examples of the work that I want to produce and learning Unreal as an artistic tool is my current obstacle to doing this. In which case, I will need to locate a good, artist's-oriented course on the subject.
I suppose I have three general concepts I'm pursuing at the moment. The first is this journalling documentation system that will eventually become an app, the second is an AI-driven 'personal butler' life management system that I've drafted up as a companion app for 'journlr', and the third is the creation of a new workflow for myself for VR worldbuilding. The first two were born out of me needing those exact services for my work but being unable to find any out there (so why not just make them myself! hah). I plan on going into detail on them another time. The third is my immediate focus and something I will go into more detail here.
Workflow is important. I am a very 'systems & procedure' oriented artist. The work itself, final output, tweaking, and set-dressing are far less important to me than how I set up my work environment in the first place. For music, I have created an environment, pipeline, toolset, and framework to work within that are my asset libraries, procedural sound generation/processing tools, procedural AI writing & editing tools, and arrangement techniques. These create an initial working bed for me to then operate within as a songwriter, producer, artist, and sound engineer.
However, I don't yet have such workflows for visual art. The good news is that I do have one in mind.
Video games, though decidedly an art form, are only recently starting to seem less strange within the academic 'art world'. For me, they are exceedingly important. I am not particularly a 'gamer' and I prefer to spend my time playing in creativity, however, being a child of the early 2000s video games can't help but form an intrinsic part of my life and artistic DNA. For my younger self, this was truest of 'Sandbox Games'.
Animesh Jha, MA Video Game Development & Visual Effects at Simon Fraser university defines a Sandbox Game as: "an unrestricted or exploration-based environment in which the player gets to create his version of fun", of which the popular block-building game 'Minecraft' is probably the most titular example. He also goes on to refer to it by the term "Emergent Gameplay" which is the notion of content discovered by the users that weren't explicitly planned or determined by the system's creators. (1)
The idea and potential of Emergent Gameplay as an art medium excites me. It is my inner child-creative's dream that all my creative practices eventually resemble 'emergent gameplay'. What could be more fun? The work for me then as an artist is in setting up these creative systems. In essence, I'm looking to build a virtual playground or 'sandbox' for myself that I can then create works within.
In order to talk about my plans for this methodology, I must first talk about one of the pieces of software that most inspired it, as well as one of the artists who have used it to its fullest potential. The little-publicized, niche, but much-loved, literal-definition-of-a sandbox game 'Garry's Mod' and one of it's most prominent creatives: Michael 'Vioxtar' Efraim.
Garry's Mod (or GMod for short) is a game produced by developer Garry Newman as a third-party modification for Valve's Source game engine in 2004 published by Valve themselves. The game functions on the premise of the ability to essentially spawn game assets (characters, props, settings, buildings, and miscellaneous) from Valve's revolutionary, narrative-driven game Half-Life (a game I will be talking more about at some point as it represents a singular, life-changing source of inspiration for me in terms of art direction & word building) and being able to manipulate those objects in a physics-driven, 3D environment. (2)
What the players were to then do with it was up to them. Michael Efraim is one such player, working with hundreds to thousands of Half-Life 2 game assets in order to build complex and expressive 3D imagery in an art practice he calls 'scenebuilding' with a pointed focus on the meta worldbuilding of stories that take place within his own art program. (3)
"Over time I began gravitating towards building my own universe within the realm of Garry’s Mod: a reimagination of the Garry’s Mod Sandbox gamemode. I started asking myself questions: 'What would it be like if there was a world out there populated by players with working Physguns, Gravguns, and Toolguns, and the ability to spawn whatever they pleased?'" - Michael Efraim on worldbuilding. (3)
Another concept I have gravitated towards recently is kitbashing, the act of taking pre-existing modelbuilding kits and combining them into something new, a classic example of which was the use of kitbashing to do essentially all of the prop, architecture, and vehicle designs within the original Star Wars trilogy. (4)
In lieu of this, for my own virtual playground, I'm eventually looking to put together an asset library of props, characters, buildings, furnishings, flora, fauna, and procedural texturing systems for Unreal Engine alongside a virtual reality toolset that will allow me to play around with these components and create my artwork from within the virtual space, creating not just art but a brand new art framework that encourages art as an emergent gameplay environment.
For the time being however, I will be focusing on learning the base toolset, developing a traditional non-vr workflow, and building out a tentative asset library with the aim of recreating the piece 'Out of Map Bounds' by Michael Efraim as my first test, benchmark, and case-study for this approach.
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^ Out of Bounds, by Michael Efraim Eventually, it is my hope that I will be able to use these frameworks as a basis for incorporating my own 'whnvr' abstract, constructivist art style into these worlds along with my music, and then to be able to create everything from directly within virtual reality.
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heathyearnings101 · 4 years
Text
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The same niche but another town variation, SEnuke TNG is perfect for such niches as you can target your keywords with laser point precision.
This time we were moving not just the sub-page but also the home page!
At the start of the campaign the sub-page was ranking 8 while the home was ranking 9, initially ran 1 small campaign and use the new ‘Duplicate’ feature of SEnuke TNG to make the same campaign run again 1 week later, before the first had even finished.
We got the classic ‘dance’ just the same as the previous example but this time took some action with a small campaign using only the very best SEnuke sites and instantly powered our way back to positions 2 & 3.
The most interesting thing though is how the two pages switched places, now the home page was out ranking the sub-page.
This shows that the domain as a whole has become more niche orientated, you can be sure that along with this ranking the home page is now ranking of a whole host of longtail keywords that it was not before!
Here we took things slow and just ran a simple 2 Tier template over a week, and then sat bank and watched the rankings grow.
You will see there was no dance this time, so we will let that one sit for a while and then promote it some more to grab that №1 spot!
Remember this is just one keyword, with SEnuke TNG you can target hundreds or even thousands of keywords at once. Creating an avalanche of traffic for your sites!
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Get Instant Access
Crowdsearcher Campaigns
Clicks & CTR — here you can see the sites had effectively no clicks (blue line), and thus no CTR, we then ran CrowdSearch module and Webmaster tools itself reported the clicks back to us. You can see the CTR rate is almost 100%, which is extremely high. These clicks come from X00,000’s of residential IPs around the world to simulate real users.
Website Rank — Taken over a longer period of time we can see how the sites rank increased. With CrowdSearch it is typical to see no results for some period of time and then jump up the ranks out of nowhere. This is clearly seem in the first example, where there was little to talk about for quite some time and then a sudden jump.
In the second case the site was not even in the top 100, and ended up hovering around the position 20 mark. A sensible thing here would be to run an SEnuke Wizard campaign to boost the site up.
Clicks, CTR & Rank — Here we see your typical 1000 searches a month keyword, which is requiring just a couple of clicks a day average to jump up the ranks.
The CTR in this campaign may appear to be low, but there is a solid reason for this. CTR amounts shown also of course takes in to account genuine searches, so if we are putting in 5 clicks a day but there are also 20 natural clicks then we have:
(5/25)*100= 20% daily of the clicks.
You could throw more clicks at it, but it’s just not needed and you are better off using them on other sites.
As you move up the ranks you will start to get more of these natural clicks, and once at the top you can in theory turn off the CrowdSearch because being in the top spot you should be getting the clicks anyway!
This process can be seen at around 2/3 the way along in the picture. Despite us sending approximately the same number of clicks each day our total clicks jumps.
Why?
Simply because our rank has increased so we are getting more natural clicks, we then turned down the CrowdSearch tool so you see the click drop down as we are now getting only the natural clicks, but the rankings remain!
You can then move your attention on to your next keyword, rank domination has never been easier!
When You Purchase SEnuke TNG Pro Today You Also Receive Two Valuable Bonuses To Help You Rank Even Faster!
Instant Access click Here: For the bonus
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New Elite Specs: My Thoughts
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Another weekend, another demo! There’s no new lore to overanalyze, unfortunately, but we did get access to the new Elite Specializations. And I, naturally, spent the whole weekend fooling around with them. 
Now, as someone who traditionally sucks at PvP... this was a tough time for me. I spent the past three days being repeatedly punched, stabbed, shot, burned, kicked, and... whatever it is Mirages do. But I suffered bravely through all of it, for you, my dear followers. So that I might bring you my firsthand thoughts on the new specs. 
I’m not exactly an expert on these things (I’m more of a lore guy), but I did throw a lot of time into the demo, and spent at least a couple hours on every class. If you were indisposed this weekend, you might find these hot takes useful. Without further ado... 
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Do you enjoy being delightfully confused? Wondrously confounded? Kicking someone’s ass without having any idea how you pulled it off? Then good news, friend -- The Weaver is the class for you!
With the attunement system, Elementalists like myself have always had a ridiculous number of skills. Now, with the addition of a sword and the ability to mix and match different elements, Arenanet’s added about two dozen more. Want a crazy amount of damage? Use Fire and Air skills at the same time! Want to be a nigh-unkillable tank instead? Mix Earth and Water, baby! This is the Elementalist on steroids, with even more versatility than the base class.
I only played for a few hours, and didn’t even scratch the surface of what the Weaver can do. I leaned hard into the “nigh-unkillable tank” option, and the end result is a class that just Will. Not. Die. And I’m not even playing it properly -- I’m just throwing out random spells and hoping I don’t get crushed. In the hands of someone that actually knows how to play PvP, this thing will be a holy terror. 
Of all the new specs, this is the one I’m most excited to play in the open world. The possibilities are endless, and I really, really love my new sword. 
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The Deadeye, it turns out, wasn’t nearly as OP as everyone said it would be. While the idea of a Thief getting a long-range sniper rifle might be pretty scary on paper, remember that it’s only effective when it’s used at long range. The rifle’s best abilities require you to be immobile. Once the enemy closes the ground and you’re forced to move, you sacrifice all that raw damage and become just another glass-cannon Thief.
That doesn’t mean the Deadeye’s not dangerous, though -- not if you’re thinking a few steps ahead. After experimenting a bit, I realized that the Deadeye excels at hit and run tactics. Seek out a 1v1 between evenly-matched players and shoot the enemy in the back. Capture an unguarded point and lay in wait for the first unsuspecting victim that tries to reclaim it. Bring someone down with the burst damage and run like hell... leaving a Needle Trap behind for your victim’s overeager teammates.
All the mobility of a Thief, now with an absurdly long-range weapon. Deadeyes aren’t invincible (especially once you start to plan around them), but it’s a lethal combination once you figure out some clever ways to exploit these advantages. More importantly, though, it’s fun. Of all the Specs they released, this one might just be my favorite. 
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So... if the Deadeye isn’t the most OP thing since sliced bread, the question remains: “What is?” To answer that query, please put your hands together for the bane of my existence this past weekend... The Holosmith.
The Holosmith is, to put it simply, a living can of Red Bull that’s been chugging twelve-packs of Sunny D. Fight one head-on, and you’ll be locked into a neverending chain of pulls and knockbacks, being kicked helplessly from one end of the arena to another while receiving absurb amounts of damage. Now, this is supposed to have drawbacks -- if a Holosmith goes on like this for too long, they’ll get overloaded and eventually start doing damage to themselves. But trust me, you’ll be dead long before that becomes a problem for them.
It takes a while to figure out this class, because like all things Engineer, it’s pretty complicated. But once you do, you’ll be nigh unstoppable. Most encounters will be over quickly thanks to the front-loaded burst damage, but if the battle drags on, Holosmiths bring plenty of survivability to the table. Utility skills like Spectrum Shield and Hardlight Arena make Holosmiths hard to take out in an even fight. 
Enjoy it while you can, guys, because as awesome as the Holosmith is, it’ll be nerfed into the ground within a matter of weeks. 
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The Scourge was... I’m honestly not sure what I think, actually. Necromancers got a lot of cool toys to play with this expansion -- not just a torch, but an entirely new set of skills that replaces the old Life Force bar. Now you channel Life Force to summon Shades, stationary ghosts that damage enemies and shield allies.
On one hand, their ability to support and sustain their team allows the Scourge to dominate a teamfight. A good Scourge can give their allies the survivability they need to turn the tide in the team’s favor. Problem is, they’re pretty useless outside that one specific niche. 
Scourges can be pretty intimidating, sure. Nobody wants to enter the Scourge’s AoE Funhouse of Doom... until they realize that Scourges still rely mainly on conditions to deal damage, and the new batch of Specs is filled with condition cleansing. Then you start getting dunked on by an entire team of Spellbreakers. Worst part? Because you can’t use your Life Force as a secondary health bar, those Spellbreakers will tear through you like paper. 
I feel like Scourge is something I’d have more fun toying with in PvE. Like the Druid before it, the Scourge is designed to fit into a support role, and those don’t have much of a place in structured PvP. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
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Quick: what’s the coolest thing you can do with a shortbow? If your answer was “Fire a hail of burning arrows through tiny portals that strike your foes at various angles”, you are not only correct, but also a fan of The Renegade. 
The new Revenant Spec is very exciting for lore nerds such as myself. Channeling of the spirit of Kalla Scorchrazor, legendary charr war hero, you gain Kalla’s incredible sharpshooting abilities... and the ability to summon members of her warband when you’re in a jam. Unsurprisingly, it’s pretty difficult to master, and I certainly didn’t come anywhere close while I was playing. But I did run into some decent Renegades during the demo, and they were able to deal a lot of damage, very quickly. 
This is another one of those Specs I can’t wait to try out in PvE. I couldn’t do much with it in the arena, but in a less stressful environment, I feel like it’ll be incredible. 
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I hope you brought a good book, because The Firebrand is about to get literate on your asses. Remember that Tome mechanic the Guardians had way back at launch? Well, it’s back, and just as awesome as you remembered. Massive AoE heals and conditions can be pumped out in the blink of an eye. 
Like the Scourge, Firebrands are excellent in teamfights, putting pressure on the entire enemy team while supporting their own. But unlike the Scourge, the Firebrand still retains the tools that have served it well in PvP before -- namely, its uncanny ability to tank anything you throw at it. Even when they’re caught in a bad situation, a well-built Firebrand can survive, and that’ll make them a common sight in this game mode. 
Personally, I can’t wait to use the Firebrand in World vs World. In the midst of a massive zerg, it can probably do some absurd things.
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For reasons I’ve never really understood, some Ranger players really, really want a Spec that lets them play without a pet. While I don’t get the logic -- aren’t pets the main draw of the Ranger? -- Arenanet, apparently, does, and they’ve listened to your feedback. Now, with the addition of The Soubeast,  Rangers don’t just play without their pets -- you merge with them, Voltron-style.
Indeed, Arenanet has taken animal cruelty to the next level, as you eat your beloved sidekick to absorb their power. This’ll definitely be a welcome addition in PvP, where pets are constantly running headfirst into massive AoE attacks and getting knocked quickly out of the fight. 
Like the Weaver, I didn’t really know what I’m doing while I was playing the Soubeast, so I can’t really say anything about its place in the meta or stuff like that. But I do know that my enemies kept breaking under my dagger-waving onslaught, so I figure I must be doing something right. 
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The Mirage is the Mesmer in its purest form. They don’t do fair fights -- they overcome their obstacles by tricking, confounding and generally irritating the hell out of them until they give up and leave. Mirages are masters of this. Their new powers help them blend in with their clones, hiding in plain sight while they beat on their enemies. Do you want to bring her down with burst damage? Choose wisely, then, because there’s a one-in-four chance that you’ll unload your best abilities on the wrong target altogether. 
Even though Mesmer is the class I’m least familiar with, I had a surprising amount of success with the Mirage. I think it has to do with me taking the clone gimmick as far as I possibly could. I didn’t just summon clones -- I tried to mimic their behavior, too. AIs in this game are pretty simplistic, and it’s pretty easy to figure out which Mirage is the real one when only three of them are following the simplistic movement and attack patterns. To really blend in, you’ve got to commit to the role and act as much like a clone as possible. Otherwise, you’ll be identified almost immediately, and Mirages don’t survive for very long under direct fire. 
Even so, the sheer amount of AoE can make things very difficult for you. With all the Firebrands and Holosmiths running around, clones will die almost as fast as you can summon them... which, as you might imagine, makes blending in with them pretty difficult. Once it gets buffed a little, though, I think PvPers will appreciate its unique fighting style.
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It’s no secret that in the past couple seasons of PvP, condition damage has ruled the meta. But now, ladies and gentlemen, burst damage has returned, and it is through The Spellbreaker that it has reclaimed its rightful throne. 
Spellbreakers, on paper, are simple: they hate magic. All magic. And they’re all about purging magic from allies and enemies -- buffs and debuffs alike. The days of stacking a bunch of Might on yourself and running roughshod over your enemies are over. Under the watchful eye of the Spellbreaker, they’ll make sure both sides are fighting with nothing but their raw stats, as nature intended. 
This Spec is an odd little duckling, because on its own, it’s not really overpowered in and of itself. It is, however, uncannily good at countering builds that are. Spellbreakers are the only class I saw regularly standing up to Holosmiths, stunning them to take away their momentum or stripping away boons they rely on to survive in a prolonged fight. And as for the aforementioned condition builds? Shut down before they could even get rolling. 
However the meta might develop in Path of Fire, I’m dead certain Spellbreakers will be a key component. They’re set to be the superpredators of the meta ecosystem, keeping all the traditionally overpowered builds in check to maintain a level of balance. If you’re a big PvPer, you may want to invest in this guy. 
So... those are my thoughts. What did you guys think about the new batch of Elite Specs? I’m interesting in hearing from the rest of you guys, especially if, unlike me, you actually know something about this buildcraft stuff. As usual, feel free to send me asks or reblog with your own opinions. 
Whatever you think, I hope you enjoyed the demo as much as I did. <3
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martechguide · 5 years
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WHY DIGITAL MARKETING IS IMPORTANT IN 2020
New Post has been published on https://martechguide.com/why-digital-marketing-is-important-in-2020/
WHY DIGITAL MARKETING IS IMPORTANT IN 2020
By now, you no doubt understand that digital marketing, in its various forms, should be a key part of any modern business approach. I mean, you probably wouldn’t be on this site right now if you didn’t.
Digital marketing is going to change drastically in 2020. And sadly, you aren’t going to like a lot of the changes.
And no, I don’t mean change from a competition standpoint. You already know that each year marketing gets more expensive and more competitive. That’s just a given.
Just look at the graph above: that’s Google’s annual revenue. As you can see, during the last recession, Google made more and more money. They didn’t even have a down year.
One of the big reasons we are seeing digital marketing change so much is because of the adoption of new technologies. But also because the web is getting saturated… there are 1,805,260,010 websites on the web.
Here are 7 of the most important reason why digital marketing is important in 2020.
1. Omnichannel Marketing
“Omnichannel” is a term that gets thrown around a lot. But it’s not just a buzzword. The best way to understand omnichannel is to compare it to the term “multichannel.”
In a multichannel marketing strategy, you set up various marketing touchpoints that reinforce each other to ease a customer through their buying journey. For example, you may use social media as a channel to attract visitors to your website and email as a channel to nurture leads.
Omnichannel is similar. But it’s more universal.
The combining form, “Omni,” means “all,” “of all things,” or “in all ways or places.” Simply put, an omnichannel marketing strategy means you create marketing touchpoints that work together on every available channel. At the very least, you create consistent touchpoints on all the channels your customers use.
Most businesses use social media, search, and email as marketing channels. Although social media is still the top digital marketing channel according to 81% of marketers according to a survey by Clutch, customers (especially consumers) aren’t just engaging with brands by commenting on Facebook posts.
Some channels you should investigate are:
Ephemeral video (such as Facebook and Instagram stories)
Podcasts
Smartphone apps
Live broadcasts
Live chat
SMS
PR and press releases
Offline ads (they’re making a comeback)
Direct mail (it’s also making a comeback)
Offline events
Chatbots and virtual assistants
All these channels can reinforce your existing marketing strategy – what you might call “traditional” digital marketing, at this point.
Omnichannel is particularly important for consumer-facing businesses. That’s because 70% of consumers use three channels or more to research a purchase. An omnichannel strategy is your company’s best way to build a one-of-a-kind customer. Omnichannel isn’t just important for generating new business. It’s a necessary strategy for building a positive customer experience that increases your customer retention rates.
2. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is considered the cutting edge of technology by many. But in a few years, it may be as standard as smartphones are today.
Divorced from all the implications of popular science fiction movies, AI is a computer or robot that can gather facts about a situation through sensors or through human input. It can then use this information to solve problems or perform tasks.
More specifically, AI is a computer system that can perform a task that normally requires human intelligence. This is also the primary reason people fear AI.
AI has numerous potential applications in marketing. But in 2019, you’ll mostly see AI deployed for content marketing, customer service, and advertising.
Before you start worrying, know that AI isn’t currently positioned to make every content marketer’s job obsolete. AI is mostly used today to identify trends, drum up data, and do competitor research.
AI is particularly good at creating data-heavy news briefs about business and sports, for example. These articles may not have the same panache as human-written ones (yet), but they save news organizations vast amounts of time and money to get the word out.
In the future, AI will likely originate much of the content on the internet. But inbound content, which relies on personality and authenticity, is not its strong suit. AI may generate some initial reporting, but it’ll be up to a human to make the content relatable.
3. Chatbots
Chatbots are showing up everywhere, from business websites to mobile apps and social media newsfeeds. They can serve a variety of purposes, but most often they are used to answer simple questions or help a user accomplish a simple task.
Some of the most advanced chatbots are deployed by enterprise companies as virtual assistants or even digital concierges.
But new uses for chatbots are emerging all the time, including:
Lead qualification
Shopping assistance
Website browsing guidance
Knowledgebase research
Talent recruiting
Self-service
Accessibility
Chatbots are even available for small businesses. There are plenty of third-party conversational AI platforms businesses can leverage to greet visitors, answer their questions, and move them further towards a purchase.
4. Programmatic Advertising
Managing ads is a full-time job. But with so many new channels to reach customers through, not even a full-time advertising team has enough hours in the day to keep up. That’s why more and more companies are trying to let AI take it over.
Programmatic advertising is a process that uses AI to buy and place advertisements based on targeting algorithms. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s already widely used. By 2020, over 86% of all digital display ads will be purchased through automated channels. The key differentiator between programmatic and traditional advertising is that programmatic can occur in real-time. This puts more power in the hands of the advertiser. Programmatic advertising relies on a combination of automation, big data, and technical expertise. You still need human capital to do it, which not every business has.
In its current form, it’s a better option for brands with mass-market appeal than those with niche appeal. Nonetheless, with programmatic ads taking over digital display advertising, it’s a trend to keep tabs on.
5. Personalization
If you’ve ever created a buyer persona, you’re already familiar with personalization.
90% of the U.S. population found personalized marketing content very or somewhat appealing in 2017, with only 4% saying it was not very or not at all appealing. According to Forbes, 44% of consumers say they are likely to buy from a company again after a personalized shopping experience.
Marketing personalization has numerous benefits:
Better customer experiences
Increased brand loyalty
More revenue
Cross-channel selling opportunities
Brand consistency
But personalization is taking on a whole new meaning thanks to marketing automation and other technologies. For example, email personalization will soon go far beyond simply auto-filling a recipient’s first name in the subject line.
Contacts will be segmented automatically based on new parameters, like search history and off-site activity. Emails will be sent based on a customer’s data profile, not simply because of time zones and rough guesses about email open rates at certain times of the day.
All in all, personalization will be the #1 tool for conversion rate optimization across every marketing channel. Expect to see more of the following:
Personalized product recommendations
Personalized social media messages
Targeted and triggered emails
Personalized video messages
Advanced email personalization
Automated contact segmentation
Personalized digital advertising
Web content personalization
Those businesses that prioritize creating an individualized experience for their customers will reap the rewards.
6. Video Marketing
Video marketing has been an important tactic for big brands for years. But the video is changing.
By 2021, the video will make up more than 85% of all consumer internet traffic in the U.S. Most of the videos people will be watching won’t be uploaded by brands or businesses – they’ll be uploaded by individuals.
One of the biggest hang-ups many businesses have with video marketing is the production aspect. They want their videos to look professional – like they were produced by Hollywood directors.
But anyone can harness the benefits of video by using simple recording tools. Most people aren’t looking for dazzling special effects on YouTube. They just want good content that’s entertaining, informative, and story-drive
Not only does HubSpot introduce its new video series, “Brilliant,” the company tells the story of an entrepreneur who overcame significant challenges and built a business through persistence and determination. The video contains some excellent production elements, but it’s the story that drives it.
These are the types of videos that garner attention and go viral. Instead of selling software, HubSpot has found a way to build a community around its brand. And that type of brand recognition is priceless.
Marketers can use video for several strategies, even for advertising. Here are some types of marketing videos any business can make in 2019:
How-to videos
Product walkthroughs
Influencer interviews
Customer testimonials
Behind the scenes videos (such as employee and brand stories)
Company culture videos
Event videos
Webinars
Of course, one of the easiest ways to do video marketing is to use a webcam. More and more brands are posting interviews, call-outs, and general questions to social media using video.
This type of humanized marketing isn’t just more likely to get shares, likes, and comments. It can also do wonders for a brand’s image and help businesses establish themselves as influencers in their market.
7. Next-Generation SEO
In July of 2018, Google rolled out its “PageSpeed” update. This is just one in a long line of search algorithm updates that have kept digital marketers on their toes.
For example, Google now understands user intent better than ever before. Its algorithms can input the user’s context, such as the user’s location, search history, and other information, into the search equation.
Conclusion
2020 will be about better customer experience with personalization, automation, and AI-powered technology, so to stay ahead of the curve and increase conversions in the coming year, you’ll need to get better at producing custom, conversational content – particularly audio and video content – to share with your better-targeted audience.
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un-enfant-immature · 6 years
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Skyrim mod drama gets ugly with allegations of stolen code and misappropriated donations
The people who volunteer their time modifying and updating old games are among the most generous of developers. So when drama erupts there’s not just irritation and testy emails but a sense of a community being betrayed or taken advantage of. A recent conflict over work on the perennially renewed classic Skyrim may seem small but for those involved, it’s a huge upset.
I don’t mean to make a bigger deal out of this niche issue than it is; I feel though that sometimes it’s important to elevate things not because they are highly important in and of themselves, but because they represent a class of small injustices or conflicts that are rife on the modern web.
The example today comes from the Skyrim modding community, which creates all kinds of improvements for the classic fantasy adventure, from new items and better maps to complete overhauls. It’s one of the most active out there, as Bethesda not only is highly tolerant of modders but tends to ship games, if we’re honest, in pretty poor shape. Modders have taken to filling in the gaps left by Bethesda and making the original game far better than how it shipped.
One of the more useful of these mods, for developers but indirectly for players, is the Skyrim Script Extender, or SKSE. It basically allows for more complex behaviors for objects, locations, and NPCs. How do you have a character seek shelter from the rain if there’s no weather-based behaviors in their original AI? That sort of thing (though that’s an invented example). SKSE goes back a long way and the creators provide much of the code for others to use under a free license, while declining donations themselves.
Another project is Skyrim Together (ST), a small team which since 2013 has (among others) been working on adding multiplayer functionality to the game — their Patreon account, in contrast, is pulling in more than $30,000 a month. The main dev there allegedly independently distributed a modified version of SKSE several years ago against the terms of the license, and was henceforth specifically banned from using SKSE code in the future.
Guess what SKSE’s lead found in a bit of code inspection the other day?
Yes, unfortunately, it seems that SKSE code is in the ST app, not only in violation of the license as far as not giving credit, but in that the dev himself has been barred from using it, and furthermore that — although there is some debate here — the ST team is essentially charging for access to a “closed beta.” Some say that it’s just a donation they ask for, but requiring a donation is really indistinguishable from charging for something.
A response from the devs downplayed the issue; they say it’s just a bit of old junk in the codebase:
There might be some leftover code from them in there that was overlooked when we removed it, it isn’t as simple as just deleting a folder, mainly our fault because we rushed some parts of the code. Anyway we are going to make sure to remove what might have slipped through the cracks for the next patch.
Instead of SKSE, one developer said, they had substituted other code, for instance from the project libSkyrim. But as others quickly pointed out, libSkyrim is based on SKSE and there’s no way they could be ignorant of that fact. So the assertion that they weren’t using the forbidden code doesn’t really hold water. Not only that, but ST doesn’t even credit libSkyrim at all, a standard practice when you reuse code.
This wouldn’t really be as big of a problem if ST was not only making quite a bit of scratch off their project via donations, but required donations for access to the code. That arguably makes it a commercial project, putting it even farther outside the bounds of code reuse.
Now, taking the hard work of open and semi-open source developers and using it in other projects is encouraged — in fact, it’s kind of the point. But it’s meant to be a collaboration, and the rules are there to make sure credit goes where it’s due.
I don’t think the ST people are villains; they’re working on something many players are interesting in using — and paying for, if the Patreon is any indication. That’s great, and it’s what the mod community is all about. But the other side of the community, as in any group of developers, is respectful and mutual acknowledgement.
Honesty is important here because it’s not always possible to audit someone else’s code. And honesty is also important because users want to be able to trust developers for a variety of reasons — not least of which that they are donating to a project working in good faith. That trust was shaken here.
As I said at the beginning, I don’t mean to make this a huge deal. No one is getting rich (though even split ten ways, $33,000 a month is nothing to sniff at), and no one is getting hurt. But I imagine there’s hardly an open source project out there that hasn’t had to police others’ use of their code or live in fear of someone cashing in on something they’ve donated their time to for years.
Here’s hoping this particular tempest in a teapot resolves happily, but don’t forget there’s a lot more teapots where this one came from.
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We Find the Best Key Words to Rank Your Site with Cheap SEO Package Plans
This section will take you through the keyword selection process. Especially, we'll go into detail about locating keywords to rank for in a highly competitive market.
Searching for our Affordable SEO Packages Plans plus services where it is possible to rank your website on the first page of google. In addition, we provide a trial service before you begin.
What are Long Tail key words?
They differ from normal keywords in their own length and specificity.
A normal keyword might be"graphic designer" Based on where you are, the expense of an AdWord for this specific term might be pretty hefty. Ranking organically for this term could be an uphill struggle.
The strategy we will get into will finally position one to rank large organically for that brief, aggressive keyword.
However, it begins with ranking for long tail keywords first.
A long tail keyword isn't any very long phrase or question someone would type into Google that could lead to a product or service.
Here are some examples for long-tail keywords stemming from the Normal key word"graphic designer":
?"how can I select a graphic designer"
?"exactly what does a graphic designer do"
?"how much do graphic designers bill"
?"finding a good graphic designer"
?"graphic designer logo illustrations"
As you may see, long tail keywords consist of whole, or partial, phrases or questions regarding the businesses or services you would like to attract customers for.
In our age of advertising, paying for advertisements that say,"Hey, I am the best bankruptcy attorney in New York. Hire me! Look how good I am! I went to Harvard," doesn't cut it anymore.
Google Answer Box
One of the most prosperous features Google has started using in search results is called the Google Answer Box or Rich Snippets. The majority of the queries that trigger a response box reply follow a"how" or"what" sentence structure, which produces a long-tail key word.
The idea behind the idea is to offer a user with a fast and accurate answer to a question without them having to read an entire article. And it's working beautifully for Google, as click-through rates have grown more than 30 percent when results appear in the response box.
Here are a few examples of the response box in actions:
Most people's search questions are becoming longer and more specific, which is why it's critical to implement a long tail keyword plan.
Voice Hunt
Why are search queries becoming more and more specific?
Voice hunt, the principal offender, is on the rise. It is estimated that 40% of adults run at least one voice search every day.
If people perform a voice hunt, they have a tendency to utilize more natural language, leading to longer queries. (thus the significance of long-tail keywords, yet again.)
They're being replaced by"how to clarify butter" and"how to produce a garden bed." This trend is directing how Google's AI and machine learning technologies ranks search results.
It is aimed toward helping users locate more contextualized searches rather than exact keyword matches.
In an unsaturated market, it's easy to position for easy keywords like"paintball field Tampa," which was the first site I ever ranked on top of Google's first page. There are only a couple of paintball fields in Tampa, so getting on the initial page was comparatively straightforward.
Provided that you had a site, you're guaranteed to rank on the first two pages of Google.  Adhering to this keyword research process I will teach you in this section will prop your site at the very top section of Google in no time.
In a highly competitive market like"bankruptcy lawyer New York," you would use this same precise keyword research procedure, except it is going to require more creativity in the choice of your keywords.
For highly competitive niches, you will implement a very long tail keyword selection strategy. Let us jump in and find out why you need to adhere to the extended tail keyword research strategy:
People are turning to the internet to answer as many questions as possible before they even think about hiring an expert. This applies to many merchandise and services purchases.
Once individuals have spat out the information they seek, then they will begin searching for somebody to hire or some thing to buy.
If you rank on the first page of Google for each possible question they have about bankruptcy in New York, who do you think they will want to hire or buy from:
The guy/gal with a $300 AdWord space near the top of the first page of Google that says"Look at me!  I am a bankruptcy lawyer! Hire me now!"
Or the guy/gal that gave them a great deal of free valuable content that answered each and every question they introduced?
Additionally, once you start ranking for a lot of long tail keywords for your organization, as a byproduct, you may automatically start ranking for the short, competitive search phrases, like"bankruptcy lawyer" and"graphic designer" if you follow these steps.
The best part about ranking organically in Google is the fact that it is free.
Another interesting fact is people that typically scour the internet for replies before hiring or buying something are inclined to be higher quality customers that will be loyal to you - provided that the service or product is high quality.
Make sure that you are good at what you're doing.
The greatest, biggest collection of posts that answer every possible question about your service or product can't outweigh a barrage of negative Google, Facebook, Yelp, and Social Media ratings for not delivering as promised.
This book will go ahead and assume you are great at what you are doing and care for your customers. Onward!
How to Locate Long Tail Keywords:
Step 1: You need to make a list of all questions or phrases that come to mind that have to do with your company or service.
I strongly advise you to use Google Sheets, which resembles a cloud version of Excel, to make your own idea storm.
Step 2: In a separate browser tab or window, open a Google search window. Place your cursor in the search bar and start typing any and all questions pertinent to your business that come into mind.
Watch carefully as Google automatically tries to pre-fill the search bar with a prediction of what you're typing.
Everything Google is trying to pre-fill and forecast while you kind are frequently searched long tail keywords you want to document on your idea storm.
Step 3: Once you find a relevant question or phrase, type it out in the column and row at the Google Sheet. List each separate question or phrase at its own row under the first column like so:
Keyword Search Term
What kind of bankruptcy should file
What Type of bankruptcies are there
Pro Tip: Type as slowly as you can, character-by-character, which means you don't overlook some of the precious search terms Google is serving for you on a silver platter.
Step 4: With the called search query shown previously, click the top query first. Then, scroll to the bottom of the initial page.  You will find another valuable gift from Google that looks like that:
Guess what these are?  Yes. Yes, they are, in actuality, more often searched long tail keywords to grow your Keyword Idea Storm.
Step 5: Add them ALL to a Keyword Idea Storm.
Step 6: Go back into the next called search term from the very first step,"what kind of bankruptcy are there," and search for this phrase in Google.
Then, scroll down to the bottom of the first page and add those golden nuggets to your Keyword Idea Storm:
Don't forget to enter all the search phrases you find in the bottom of the first page of Google to the primary search bar to discover more common search phrases in the bottom.
Keep typing in thoughts for queries and phrases relevant to your business in the main Google search bar and on the lookout for predictively-filled search terms.
Step 8: Just when you thought it was finished, there's one more place you can discover specific words related to the key word for your post. These kinds of words are known as LSI keywords.
LSI stands for"Latent Semantic Indexing" keywords, which is just a fancy term for keywords associated with a specific topic. So instead of keyword matching, Google is more interested in subject matching.
An LSI key word for your video game Halo would be Xbox. Even though the words are totally distinct, Halo is a video game that is played on the Xbox video game console, as well as computers. That means you can see the contextual connection between them.
LSI keywords should be utilised in context with your subject matter.  The importance of using LSI keywords is growing more prudent as the inherent artificial intelligence continues to consider search queries in a contextual way, versus specific phrase matching.
To quickly find LSI key words for your articles, use this handy tool from LSI Graph to run a question: https://lsigraph.com/
From the end of the Keyword Idea Storm procedure, you ought to have a high number of lengthy tail keyword search phrases to operate with.
Depending upon your niche or market, you will have 10-20 gems, or up of 50+. Get creative and try to consider your services or products in multiple dimensions from several angles.
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