#i still love the games so much but mann

[zekkopunks]

“go to hell” is basic “I hope your most cherished interest starts getting hate because the fandom has a bad reputation” its scary, its possible, it’s happening to me right now

[oblique-lane]

Sniper tf2 mentality

Today I will be talking about Sniper's personality because I often see people portraying him DRASTICALLY different abd I wanted to understand what's going on and why all of the interpretations are correct (in my opinion)

Let's name the most prominent thesises:

Sniper is shy and introverted.

Sniper is unhinged and bloodlusty and is annoyed by people.

Why do i think that these aren't exactly contradictory?

I think at this point it's safe to assume Sniper is autistic (I mean lol this is easier to prove than to disprove). As an autistic person myself, I can see why he could be perceived like that.

Sniper doesn't talk to people and mostly observes them and the situation. Very in tune with his profession. That, however, might be perceived as being shy or very introverted or both. People love talking and expect others to share information, yet Sniper never says half of the things he's thinking about.

But let me tell you, it's NOT because he's shy. If he was shy, it would show in his body language as being stiff and rigid. He's not. His body is pretty relaxed and takes enough space. Still crosses his arms, but in a "don't bother me" way, not a "please don't judge me" way.

He's just disinterested.

I relate to it a lot in real life! People at my job think I'm too shy to talk to them, but no, I just DON'T WANT TO. I'm not scared of any if you, there's just nothing to talk about. I don't know your business, you don't know mine, our interests don't collide. If I talked to you about my interests you wouldn't listen anyway. Small talk? Ew, are y kidding me?

However, I like to listen. I'm an extrovert personally (unexpected huh) so I love being around people, but it doesn't mean I have to takk to them. I'll just sponge the information they are babbling about so I know my community better. When I meet new group of people where everyone knows eachother but me, I'm not going to feel awkward, it's perfectly fine to observe.

Sniper seems to fit into this kind of behaviour too. So he's not shy in a social anxiety sense".

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE BLOODLUST!!

Yeah you all know his in-game voicelines. You feel either horny or assaulted after he rolls these sadistic words on his tongue. Yes I said sadistic, are you gonna argue?

"We professionals don't give speeches we just take a shot" he says in the comics. OH YEAH? IS THAT WHY YOU HAVE THE MOST FUCKING VOICELINES OF ALL OF THEM??

Have you ever noticed how much attention he puts into saying how 'professional' he is? Like, yeah no shit, they all kinda are. But why, unlike other mercs, he insists on calling himself a professional with standards and morals, detached from emotions and feelings, so much???

There's literally no reason to be ashamed of being a killer and to admit that you enjoy killing people, you were hired to Mann Co. for that specifically!!!

My assumption: it's a personal disgust towards himself and his anger issues. I've said it before already and I will again.

His so called 'shadow side' that he suppresses so much. It loves to cause people pain, it loves releasing the inner anger, it is being feral and impulsive in nature. Sniper cannot let himself be like that for whatever reason. He's already built a clear picture of what he is in his head and he doesn't want to destroy that.

The only time he allows himself to be a monster is in the battle because it comes naturally. However, when it's not a situation of adrenaline rush, when people want to talk about his persona face to face, he starts to defend himself and bury his face under the lies he believes in.

And THIS is anxiety. To be scared to be truly perceived. Not like many people tried, but I assume he wouldn't like it.

Bro really thinks he doesn't have feelings lmaoooo imagine being so emotionally immature the only way to process your emotions is to shot a human dead.

So, is Sniper anxious? Yes. Is this social anxiety? No, he's not shy. Is he an unhinged murderer? Yes. Does he identify as one? No. It's really a little bit more complicated than the two thesises from the beginning.

He's a person. Obviously not mentally healthy. High dimensional. Can be potentially broken or healed in terms of a good character study.

I might be very wrong though and most of the assumptions are simply guessing by grasping the patterns, but usually when I analyze someone like thus, it turns out mostly right. But correct me if you feel like it.

[pacific-coast-hockey]

Georgi Romanov: A Brief Introduction*

*bc there is not a lot of information about him in English.

Good evening to the greater Sharkudablr community, it has come to my attention on the eve of Georgi Romanov's Possible First NHL Regular Season Start that not all of you know about Georgi Romanov or appreciate him appropriately. This is insane to me as someone who spends approximately 40% of my waking hours thinking about Georgi, but then I realized that as a person with a blog, I can just say stuff to fix that.

This is Georgi Romanov:

He's not exploding you with his brain, he's actually exploding his teammates with his brain, you're just standing there.

This is also Georgi Romanov:

Goaltender Interference with the Barracuda is when Your Goaltender Interferes With You Beating The Shit Out Of Kole Lind 😌

This is ALSO Georgi Romanov:

At beginning of the season, sadly he got a haircut so he looks less like the kind of beautiful Eastern Orthodox saint you'd find in a stained glass window who was like the patron saint of taking poppers at Ultra Europe. Who said that.

Georgi Romanov is so important to me. He was a frequent flyer on the Wichita Express this season which makes it all the more joyful that he made a) to the NHL, and b) saved...uh...a couple of...shots against Edmonton. Fuck Edmonton all my homies hate Edmonton. Anyway, the Cuda signed him this summer thinking they were getting a lil buddy for Beck Warm (in the ECHL) and then he proceeded to kick ass at the AHL level and matched or outplayed Chrona and Mäkiniemi every step of the way and then Jmac way overplayed him and he did amazing anyway. Then I got to experience Jmac and GMJW putting him on the Wichita Midnight Rider bc the Sharks had uh really been banking on Chrona and Mäkiniemi for their goalie prospect pipeline and were NOT expecting some 23 year old kid who had played ONE single KHL game to actually be very very very very good, but like Jmac is incapable of spreading starts evenly between all three goalies, so Georgi had to be removed from the premises.

But he is very very very very good. Even though he suffered severe Strauss Mann-ification, he has risen to the challenge again and again! When Chrona got called up to the Sharks and then Mäkiniemi went down with mono, he basically got called up full-time to be the third goalie in the Cuda and he has been killing it ever since.

Here is an interview SJHN did with him at the beginning of the season, by the only man I trust on this bitch of earth, Nikita Sokolov. It's a good article, here are some fun tidbits:

Had to learn to tie a tie when he came to North America because in his Russian team (TIER 2 RUSSIAN LEAGUE!!) he just wore tracksuits

Stayed in Knyzhov's house for a month before signing a lease, which doesn't help the "Nikolai Knyzhov is the eldest daughter of the Barracuda" allegations but is so so funny to me too

The mattress company never delivered his mattress and he didn't speak enough English to resolve this, so he had to get his teammates and agent to help him out. I love thinking about Nikita Okhotiuk arguing with a mattress company. I think I would just give him a free mattress at that point.

Bought a car here with a loan to build credit bc him and his wife "need to think about the future. We want to be here for a long time.” 🥺🥺🥺

Here are some facts about Georgi from k 18minutemajor, when I asked if they had any fun facts:

Romanizes his name as Romanoff on instagram

It appears his nickname is Gosha!

Cuda fans all love him very much 😭

They also did amazing art of the greatest hits of Situations Happening To Georgi which I cannot overstate has crossed this man from give Georgi a knife to give Georgi several hand grenades. Please look at it and appreciate it and click on the links bc Georgi has suffered so much and still he remains so beautiful and so deadly.

Here are some facts about Georgi that you may only know if you attend games regularly or watch games on AHLtv:

He habitually bangs his stick on the ice when he gets pissed at his team. Or possibly encouraging them but usually it's when defense is falling apart and shots are like 45 to 30 Firebirds/Cuda, he starts slamming his stick against the ice like...a warning...a reminder...he's coming for ALL your motherfuckers.

Cuda stick the back up goalies in the tunnel and MOST of our goalies are so normal and just sit a couple feet back from the glass and hang out. NOT Georgi. Georgi has Emi the athletic trainer drag his chair right up to the glass and then he crosses his arms on the lip of the board and then he rests his head on his gloves and watches the game with his face pressed against the glass.

When we were rocking a line up with Nikita Okhotiuk for a few brief beautiful weeks, I very much watched Georgi on at least one occasion go up to Okhotiuk during a stoppage and take his water bottle from his hands. MY water bottle. And Nikita just let him.

Often the Cuda lose at home. Often the Cuda are trying to get the fuck off the ice as fast as possible. OFTEN Georgi will do a little one man salute of the arena with his stick while the rest of the team is streaming off the ice. Guys I think he really likes us :(

Cuda Goalie vibes this year were INSANE like I do not even know how to explain what was going on there without going full Pepe Silva BUT by the end of the year, things seem to have um. Well. I once watched Mäkiniemi (with mono!!) run -- run!!! -- down the stairs from the scratches box to go stand by Chrona in the tunnel to watch Georgi face a shoot out and when they lost, both of them waited for him to get off the ice. Guys I think they really like each other :(

Signed for one more year which I guess you could look up on CapFriendly, but EYE didn't know that until this week and I spent no joke like the entire season barfing with anxiety that we don't bring him back. But NO. Provided GMMG doesn't give me a 15th or 16th reason, we have ONE MORE YEAR OF GEORGI 🥳🥳 and will maybe (probably) be rocking a Chrona/Romanov tandem. Which is so beautiful to me as an Employee Appreciator.

Also here's some photos of Chrona and Georgi hugging:

It's the way Goosh was waiting for a hug and gave up for me lol

In conclusion: Georgi Romanov is so important and Sharkudablr needs to love him So Much. Thank you for listening 😌

[henghost]

Twig Liveblog for Arc 11

"too real" of an arc, as plague stories have taken on a special kind of resonance post covid. the plague itself, however, was very interesting. the imagery of red flowers bursting forth from people dying in agony was beautiful, as well as thematically congruent with the rest of twig: there is a potent sort of echo with the stories of the jamies, life flowing from death, ecstasy from torture. it's the circle of life, man....

the bulk of the plot, though, is taken up not by the plague but by running away from the mercenaries, which felt quite wormlike. the line between superweapon and superhero is thin. dog and catcher my beloved! the meeting between them in the bakery where they just start chomping on sandwiches was like the diner scene in michael mann's heat with deniro and pacino, just a few kings at the top of their games, separated only by the razor-thin barrier of the "law." man telling them that gordon had died, gordon who was one of the few people who had made the effort to understand dog--heartbreaking. i hope they end up okay, dog and catcher. a truer bond is hard to find in this story--they deserve to retire and love each other for the rest of time.

the like cynical camaraderie between experiments is really the crux of the matter. what is needed, in my view, is some pan-experimental solidarity. why don't the experiments, the largest, most powerful players on the field, simply eat all the other factions?

i already did a post on sy/jamie but that is the other major component of the arc. they love each other so much 😭 the tragedy of inhabiting sy's best friend's body, the feeling of betrayal, the love despite it all oh my god. tearjerking fr!!!

then the long duncan interlude had several incredible moments. he is really hateable lol but still pretty entertaining. the most grating aspect of his perspective is the way he clearly does not view the lambs as human. ashton et al are just another few dangerous experiments he has to tolerate to advance his career. also, it frames his lust for helen in quite a sleazy light. the detail about how he had to watch helen undress and popped a boner with ibbot watching and ibbot had to be like "😐 unacceptable, please leave" had me fucking dying lmao. i think it also explains lillian's rage (more intense than the other lambs') at him for betraying the lambs: the parallel between duncan/helen and lillian/sy is an uncomfortable one. i think it indicates that lillian feels a lot of guilt and insecurity about her position in society and her position vis a vis the lambs. when lillian and mary see sy again it might just be the most awkward moment of all time. i can't wait.

[almdragonrend]

I found another old conversation I had, here it is, but I warn you, it's long...

! Yes another reaction! Im really happy we getting more of it!

But please remember OG Katarina's Good deed's not only the Bad ones

And please PLEASE for the Love of Akatosh don't trie to justify Katarina's Exile as if it was anything but in act of complete and crulety!

I have nothing more to say and hope to read more soon

StrangerWager on Chapter 1Sat 01 Oct 2022 02:00PM CEST

As a person who haven't read much of the manga nor the Light Novels, and only with prior knowledge from the anime, I have zero clue of what was OG Katarina's deeds that were not bad. I would appreciate it if I were to be enlightened with some of these facts I do not know about.

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Sat 01 Oct 2022 02:24PM CEST

Okay thank you for asking ^_^ i'd love tell you !

First of when Katarina was younger Baron sherry came to house Claes to force Anne in to a Forced Marriage that played out In OG Fl

The same way it did in they Anime,what you may not know is that the Mann he tried to marry her of to was already above 60 years! And known for committing Domestic Violence on his previous Wifes,So little OG Katarina stood up to protect her lowly Maid who is nothing more than a Commoner point from a grown ass scary looking Adult,

She also never bullyd Sophia despite the rest of Sociar Nobility Children doing it

She even told her own grown clique to leave Sophia alone as she was the little sister of her fiances best friend

Which is more than Geordo ever did for the Ascards,

She encouraged Sianna Nelson daughter of the lowest ranked Noble family in all of Sociar after seeing her hard work

And Sianna became Katarina's best friend despite being just one single step about a Commoner in her status

Which shows that even OG Katarina cared more about a persons personality than status when choosing friends

She only gets on trial in the routes were Maria tries it with either Katarina's Fiance or adopted Brother or both

And that with the Alan was just a miss translation when the Harem route was meant

Ps:I hope this was helpfull,please tell me ^_^

Last Edited Sat 01 Oct 2022 02:27PM CEST

StrangerWager on Chapter 1Sat 01 Oct 2022 02:37PM CEST

You have my deepest gratitude. Thank you for the new found knowledge that shall be used for this work.

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Sat 01 Oct 2022 02:43PM CEST

Im the one who should thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain ^-^

But there is also something else...

It's just a rumor so i didn't include it in my explanation,

Do you wanna hear it ?

StrangerWager on Chapter 1Sat 01 Oct 2022 02:44PM CEST

By all means go ahead, I'll fact check it along the way.

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Sat 01 Oct 2022 02:57PM CEST

Thank you ^_^!

Well there actually two rumours

First of,apparently no matter which route you choose Maria's actuall first crush was Katarina even in the FL time line

Second the more obvious Katarina only behaved the way she did in the Game because of Raphael/Sirius dark magic

Please let me know what you think or know about that ^_^!

Thank you ^_^!

Well there actually two rumours

First of,apparently no matter which route you choose Maria's actuall first crush was Katarina even in the FL time line

Second the more obvious Katarina only behaved the way she did in the Game because of Raphael/Sirius dark magic

Please let me know what you think or know about that ^_^!

StrangerWager on Chapter 1Sat 01 Oct 2022 03:29PM CEST

Well, that certainly is something, I'll still see if whether or not this may be used or not.

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Sat 01 Oct 2022 03:32PM CEST

Thank you ^_^!

Im already hiped for the next chapter ^_^!

R (Guest) on Chapter 1Sun 02 Oct 2022 12:57PM CEST

Hold it... the dark magic thing makes too much sense.

Since OG Katarina's exagerated actions towards OG Maria were out of character for her if what you said is true.

It would also explain why an trained swordsman like OG Geordo would Kill OG Katarina instead of disarming her despite being (probably) skilled enough for it...

OG Keith magic going crazy is more easily believable.

So...everything bad that happened with OG Katarina can be traced back to Sirius (well...traced to the mage whispering in his ear but still).

I already have great sympathy for both OG Katarina and OG Maria.

if both rumours are true that scaled even higher...

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Sun 02 Oct 2022 02:46PM CEST

Yea i used to hate OG Maria,ans she certainly is a coward but...

After hearing about it i most say it turned the whole thing in an even greater tragedy...

Can you imagen your first love being killed for being mean to you...?

Also Katarina only tries to kill OG Maria in the Bad ending

Meaning she is already sentenced to Exile = death for a spoiled Duke Daughter

Meaning even Dark Magic can only bring Katarina to kill Maria if Maria has already become the catalyst for her own demise not before....

R (Guest) on Chapter 1Sun 02 Oct 2022 03:50PM CEST

I think dark magic was involved from the beginning.

OG Katarina being mad at OG Maria in Geordo's route makes sense ( and it's completly fair), but it makes little sense in the Keith's route.

OG Katarina disliked OG Keith and OG Maria wasn't the first woman he courted, so it still is out of character for her.

And the Exile ending has Keith/Geordo print all over it, because they both disliked OG Katarina and i have a hard time beliving OG Maria resented Katarina's treatment.

Also i would not go as far as to call OG Maria a coward, after her magic manifested she had no positive human interaction at all...

The people of her village avoided because of her magic, her supposed existence because of an affair or both.

Her father left and her mother couldn't even look at her in the eye.

So she had a combo of critically low self esteem and affection starved.

Also the only routes that OG Maria was in the wrong in my opinion are Geordo and Alan (since both are betrothed to another)

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Sun 02 Oct 2022 06:28PM CEST

That is really worth a tought,

Bout if the s the One she "actually loves" is Katarina is truth?

Id asks alot of questions

Like maybe she got only on with Keith/Geordo because of their connection to Katarina?

Also Maria is suposed to "see" dark magic

Something is of here....

R (Guest) on Chapter 1Sun 02 Oct 2022 10:42PM CEST

Since the choice is player based we can only speculate.

About the 'see dark magic thing', Fortune lover is a video game and Raphael/Sirius is an hidden capture target.

I don't know how the route is unlocked, but if it's supposed to be hidden maybe OG Maria needed to unlock a certan skill level or achieve something that allowed her to see dark magic.

If it was that obvious it would be a pretty on the nose hidden route for a video game.

My theory is that OG Maria 'persuit' of the capture targets was more on her need to have an good human connection (aka out of loneliness and desperation).

So i assume the hidden route would apear when she achieved enough self confidence/resolve to do so.

I don't see the OG Maria that would hide behind a capture target as having that conviction.

The Isekai Maria on the other hand confronted Sirius alone by her own will power (Bakarina's kindess gave her the confidence boost) and that Maria is the one that we are sure can see dark magic.

Because of that i belive that OG Maria needed to make the other capture targets lives and selves better without losing to her loneliness, then she would be able to truly help Raphael. (but that is just my theory)

R (Guest) on Chapter 1Sun 02 Oct 2022 11:08PM CEST

Also, since we are sharing theories.

Three things that always made me scratch my head:

- All routes have a single rival (except Katarina that apears in two)

- All routes rivals share their element with the capture target (except Katarina[earth] in Geordo[fire] route)

- In 'Verge of destruction' another rival apears and is interested in Geordo and acts like what one would expect from a villainess (Noelia[fire])

I have a theory for that (again i treat Fortune Lover as a video game)

I think in the test/beta version of the game Katarina is the rival in Keith's route and Noelia is the rival in Geordo's route.

But since Katarina would be the sister rival it would overlap in base concept with Sophia and Nicol, and the somewhat similar stage presence of Villain Katarina and Villain Noelia would create another redundancy,

so i assume the developers scrapped Noelia as an character and transfered some of her dialogue to Katarina.

Noelia doesn't apear in the Base isekai because Bakarina apeared before the game started, but she apears in the Verge of destruction because the game already started and Bakarina's apearance glitched the game back to the Beta because it needed someone in the Villain role.

Just a theory

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Sun 02 Oct 2022 11:31PM CEST

Might be

But That stitl dosen't explain the "Katarina = first love"part

Also i highly doubt That anyone but Katarina can give Maria the necessary confidence

Than again its sometimes suggested That someone Isekaid from Sociar to Katarina's RL

And their maid FL....

BUT Please Explain What do you Think about the Katarina part?

R (Guest) on Chapter 1Mon 03 Oct 2022 02:06AM CEST

That is a difficult question, but i will do my best.

Warning it will be a long comment...

Lets start with a simple but complicated question: what makes people fall in love?

- Do they treat you different form everyone else?

- Do you admire something about them?

- Do you just enjoy their company more then usual?

- Do you share a connection with them?

- Do they complete you in a significant whay?

With those questions in mind:

- OG katarina kinda fits on the first, others where moved by envy, self importance or self steem issues , Katarina might have seen OG Maria as a threat to her future, so she was the first to take her seriously and more than just a cute face with undeserved magic.

- That is easy to answer, OG Katarina AND Bakarina are so unapologetic themselves that someone like Maria that works hard to be accepted can admire they carring their hearts on their sleeve.

- That is a hard NO, i fear.

- They have the contrast connetion, Katarina is a proud high rank noble, but has weak magic and worse academics, Maria is a shy humble commoner, but has a rare and powerful magic and excells academically, in short they don't fit exacly in their expected envioment.

- Again OG Katarina and Bakarina have the confidance that Maria lacks, they are proud of themselves despite many believing that outside of their title there is very little to be proud of, Maria has a lot of skills and despite having them she still does't fell that is enough.

Or Maria would fall in love for no reason a all, love is weird.

That wall of text tries to explain why OG Maria would fall for OG Katarina.

But now as to why OG Katarina was the first:

All capture targets didn't take OG Maria seriously, they were dismissive ( Geordo[the see everything grey 'perfect' prince], Nicol[way to focused on his sister], Alan[self steem issues]) or saw her as another petty face (Keith[the flirty playboy]), OG katarina took her seriously, BAD seriously but still.

Because they took longer to open up to OG Maria, any points that require them showing their stories delayed the love route, BUT OG Katarina basically roars what she is about with little regard for anything.

On the begining the "enjoy company" part is on the negative for everyone (including OG katarina) so no point for anyone

Again BOTH OG Katarina and Bakarina are open books, aka easier to understand and relate than the others.

Put all that with OG Maria's unhealty lack of human affection...it's possible.

TL,DR: i belive that is possible that OG Katarina would be OG Maria first crush, not a very healty one but still.

Does that answer the question in a decent way?

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Mon 03 Oct 2022 10:14AM CEST

Yes it dose answer it,

But,if we assume just for moment That it is a fact rather than theory

How exactly would That make you feel emotionally?

And how do you thing OG Maria was feeling about it after everything was sad and done ?

R (Guest) on Chapter 1Mon 03 Oct 2022 09:09PM CEST

Hmm...

There are two Capture targets (Geordo and Keith) and two Endings (Exile and Death)

I will answer both questions depending on the combinations.

-Exile(General)

Disapointed in OG Maria, she doesn't look like the kind of person that would want OG Katarina exiled(or even resent her for that matter), but probably let it go because either she was convinced by her current lover or didn't want to risk put her current situation at risk, but i really belive she will feel guilty(specially in Geordo's route) and really worried for Katarina.

Very Worried/sad for OG Katarina, she got her life ruined and now has to survive in a place she doen't know, since she is a spoiled noble that cant end well. As a bonus, if there was dark magic, it wasn't even her fault at all.

-Exile(Keith)

Angry at OG Keith, while he had fair reasons to hate OG Katarina, saying he went overboard is an undestatment, since he actually had worse before the Claes took him in. And OG Katarina probaly treated him bad because she saw him as proof of her father's infidelity and causing indirect pain to her mother( both undestandable since she was 8 and i belive her mother encoraged her to it).

IF dark magic gave him a push then i feel kinda bad for him too.

-Exile(Geordo)

JUMP OFF A CLIFF, OG Geordo is implied to have little to no care to anyone until OG Maria apeared, aka he used OG Katarina as a tool and i belive that her exile in this case was more to break the engagement without a hit on his reputation and not because of her treatment of OG Maria(because again i dont think Maria would want this).

Even if there was dark magic, he was using and manipulating OG Katarina before any interaction with Sirius, so i repeat...JUMP OFF A CLIFF.

-Death(general)

Feel really bad for OG Maria, she was alone for most of her life, found a first love in OG Katarina that despised her (fairly in Geordo's route), saw said first love DIE RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER by the hands of her present love after the former tried to KILL HER, so she will blame HERSELF for Katarina's death, and now her present lover goes in a self imposed exile leaving her totally ALONE AGAIN.

(put that girl on suicide watch, therapy of both geez)

As a bonus (since the murderer left) she will have to endure the repercutions of the nobility alone.

Do i even need to explain OG Katarina...poor girl watched her life being ruined little by little, tried to kill the reason her life was ruined(in her eyes) and said murder atempt wasn't really her choice (dark magic) and then DIED FOR IT. Hope she finds peace...

Death(Keith)

Conflicted between furious and sad for OG Keith, if my memory serves right OG Katarina was killed because he lost control (maybe had dark magic involved) when trying to protect OG Maria.

Dude was tortured in his original home, got a new one where the mother and the older sister didn't treat him well and now he killed his sister and he didn't even mean it. Now he leaves the only one that actually treated him well out of guilt (kinda a dick move on Keith's part but still)

Death(Geordo)

do i even need to go in detail...

Be honest Geordo, you wanted Katarina gone, just not like that because it would reflect bad on you, are you leaving out of guilt or because you are fleeing the consequences.

As a bonus you are leaving Maria behind to deal with the repercution of YOUR actions.

Forget the cliff...JUMP ON A VOLCANO

I guess my opinion in OG Geordo is showing...

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Mon 03 Oct 2022 09:25PM CEST

That is a very good analysis

And that was what I love,it sounds exactly how I think they would feel,

And yea poor OG Katarina

She really is a good girl at the core

Couldn't blame OG Maria for falling for the Girl

If OG Maria ever becomes so powerful in light Magic that she could see all 3 timeliness from her own Birth to 100 after in one moment, how would she feel about it than ?

R (Guest) on Chapter 1Mon 03 Oct 2022 09:38PM CEST

What do you mean?

OG Maria when?

Before the academy, before the endings or after the endings?

What do you mean?

OG Maria when?

Before the academy, before the endings or after the endings?

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Mon 03 Oct 2022 09:44PM CEST

Both,

I really liked to here you thoughts about how she'd feel looking both forward and backward

As i like to talk about such things,

R (Guest) on Chapter 1Mon 03 Oct 2022 10:28PM CEST

What the hell...i will do them all ( i think there are 4 timelines)

Before the academy

- Maria would be horrified to see what would happen because of her. But also would know both Keith and Katarina need her help.

She maybe would try to at least clear the air about Keith being Katarina's half brother, then Katarina could apologise, and Maria would try to protect Katarina from Geordo (poor girl needs it) i don't know if katarina would listen to her. I don't see this Maria going for Geordo, she maybe would try her luck with Keith, Katarina or both.

One detail Maria lacks confidence to do it, but she both cares about them and feels like she owes it to them to do her best, and Maria is a hard worker.

Before the endings(Keith's route)

- This time she would try her hardest to convince Keith to leave Katarina alone, or at least not insist on the exile. And would still try to save Katarina from Geordo. I don't see her relationship with Keith being afected in a meanfull way, but i am not sure if she will try to become friends with Katarina, both because she knows Katarina deslikes her now and because she feels like she does't deserve to become katarina's friend.

Before the ending(Geordo's route)

- Again would try to save Katarina, but this time i dont think she herself would feel save around someone like Geordo, even if he does care about her, not sure if the relationship would end but she would be weary of him at least, maybe even try to hold him back on his more malicous tactics to protect others from him.

After the ending(Keith's route - Exile)

- She would try to convince Keith to help her find Katarina or go herself, to at least see if she is ok and if not would assist her even if Katarina refused. Maria would be sad if Keith didn't try to help his sister, but she would understand (and would help Katarina alone)

After the ending (Geordo's route - Exile)

- Again would try to find Katarina, Geordo hardly would help and more so to apease Maria. This has a high chance to put a strain in their relationship. Since this Maria now knows that Geordo didn't gave Katarina the respect she deserved, and now sees a side of the prince she doesn't like.

After the ending (Keith's route - Death)

- Maria would be in a bad place,with extreme guilt and alone, but she would try to find Keith because she knows he is also in a bad place and she feels like she owes to at least stop him from doing something stupid, someone died because of her, she won't let another.

After the ending (Geordo's route - Death)

- By far the worst case for Maria's mental health, Katarina died because of her, and all because she fell for a man that didn't really deserve it.

This Maria has little to fight for now for and needs urgent therapy.

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Tue 04 Oct 2022 10:33PM CEST

Good analysis 👍

But I would have liked it more if you had gone more in to how Maria would have feeld about her possible relationship with Katarina in the other timeliness

And yes BURN IN HELL OG Geordo YOU DESPICABLE DISAPPOINTMENT OF A HUMAN BEING AND WASTED MATRIAL OF THE FLAME OF LIFE!!!!!!!

And yes I clearly can se that Maria would try to rescue Katarina and Winn her over no matter the cost...

R (Guest) on Chapter 1Thu 06 Oct 2022 12:18AM CEST

Oh...my bad, i assumed you meant the game timelines.

Assuming the other timeline was the isekai one.

General

Maria would be confused with some key differences between Bakarina and OG Katarina.

Before the academy and before the Exile endings.

She would try harder to save/befriend OG Katarina because she now knows a more friendly and kind person is in there (since i belive OG Katarina and Bakarina ARE the same person just raised differently and in different envioments)

Still would help OG Keith and maybe score both.

OG Geordo will get some help from her in this case, because now she knows a the is a version of Geordo that can be better person.(Still don't think she would end up with him though)

The biggest impacts (emotionaly wise) would be in the death's endings.

OG Maria would feel even worse than in my other analysis.

In Keith's route - i am not sure if she would try to help OG Keith in his exile here because now she knows she took all the wrong choices and maybe she is now too terrified to make things even worse.

In Geordo's route - This somehow is worse than the previous one. Because now she knows:

1 - OG Katarina was an extremely kind person inside and had things been different would be an amazing friend or maybe more (and died because of her bad choices).

2 - OG Geordo HAD a possibility of becoming a better person and he got worse (again her choices didn't help there)

3 - The rest of the Isekai harem could have become good friends and companions to her (not in this continuity)

In short, knowing what could have been (and won't because of her) would break what is left of OG Maria spirit.

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Thu 06 Oct 2022 03:23AM CEST

Oh ! I should have been more clear on that one !

With the 3 time lines i meant Fortun Lover,Verge of doom, sorry

And i agree her soul and generally Personality are the same,

She just hasn't 17 extra years of maturity

And how could the death ending even happen if she has this knowledge before the start

Or even before Katarina's trial Hamefur Maria loves Bakarina

It isn't very clear in verge of doom but in both setting's Maria is definitely happier with Katarina around

Than in all good endings of FL,

So i refuse to believe she would be willing to damned the Woman who is the only one she ever truly loved in all possible timeliness

As the happy ending's in FL don't make her seem all that happy....

But what do you think....?

R (Guest) on Chapter 1Thu 06 Oct 2022 04:34AM CEST

I don't discont the death ending because there is a dark mage lurking in the corner.(maria isn't aware of them)

And yes, she is happier with Katarina around indeed.

I think the exile is more of fault of OG Keith ( verge of doom Keith shows his deslike of her, and if dark magic was involved then it would take much)

The Exile in OG Geordo's route had the prince's print all over it, even without dark magic, heck in verge of doom the first think that comes to his mind when Katarina 'changed' is "I can still use her"(...Fk you Geordo...)

The Verge of doom characters the same as the Game counterpart until Bakarina changed them.

As for the endings i don't think "happy" is the right word for OG Maria.

She went from being bullied and alone to finally have a person that cares for her (up from zero) and said person is most likely protecting her from the bullies.

Her life overall improved, BUT only 1 person cares for her so she still lonely and the Katarina issue makes her sad.

So less 'happy' and more 'content' in my opinion.

Its like if someone survived with only water and bread their whole life and now has milk and buttered bread, its and improvement and their are 'content' (but still less than ideal)

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Thu 06 Oct 2022 08:25AM CEST

I get what you mean

But I'm still pretty sure she woul go after Katarina

After learning so much,

And I said she saw everything about all 3 time lines at once

Meaning she has to be aware of Sirius

Because he's clearly shown atleast in Hamefura

Also I'm pretty sure she'd avoid Geordo after knowing what kind a guy he is

Am I wrong?

R (Guest) on Chapter 1Thu 06 Oct 2022 08:42AM CEST

Oh, i though she only saw her perspective of the events.

Not sure about the avoid Geordo part, there is a good chance of that or she could try help him become better(she will not date him though)

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Thu 06 Oct 2022 11:02AM CEST

No I mean she's seeing all the events from outside

She does not get to see their thougt but everything else

And yea,who would want to date that Bastard?

I make a revelation now

I'm a Big Marikata fun so I'm a bit biased

Sorry I should have mentioned that before....

But I really want to hear which kind of Action you think Maria would take,....

I mean I'm pretty sure knowing everything she would be dead set on the Katarina Route, but what do you think....?

R (Guest) on Chapter 1Thu 06 Oct 2022 05:50PM CEST

I can't judge, Maria is my favorite pair with Katarina too.

I also believe she would go for Katarina given the chance.

Now i must also confess my bias.

Maria and Keith is my second favorite pair for Maria (katarina is the first).

So she scoring both is a victory triangle for me.(i also enjoy Keith and Kata)

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Thu 06 Oct 2022 07:18PM CEST

Would you consider a triple Marriage?

Maria,Katarina,Keith ?

I confess i actually dislike Keith a lot

Given what i already told i think you can gues why ?

Given Keith is desperate for love to such a point

And he think's of Maria as the only one who can save him and that he has so many rivals

If she in the middle of it all declared privately that she be willing to choose over all other's but under one condition

He's most likely to accept any condition even if that condition is to make his scorned adoptive Sister a part of the deal.....

That also had the effect that Katarina would still be under the Protection of house Claes

Which would make Geordo unable to harm her in the same way he did with the trial

Something else are now constantly having a discussion in Stranger Wager's comment section

So the least we could do is ask her if she want to take part in or if she even is okay with it,

Do you agree?

R (Guest) on Chapter 1Thu 06 Oct 2022 11:36PM CEST

I would

I didn't notice to be frank, you mentioned Keith directly in one comment prior to this...

Yes he is affection starved as well, and according to Bakarina:

"When he grew up he became quite the playboy in order to bury his loneliness and when he entered the academy, he met the heroine. The heroine healed his lonely heart and became the first person Keith ever truly loved..."

Hamefura Chapter 2

It's not like Keith believed that Maria would save him, it's more like she saved him and them he fell for her.

But i agree that he would accept Katarina in that cenário for three reasons:

1 - Maria saved him so it would be hypocrite of him to not let her save Katarina.

2 - If the misundestanding is cleared and Katarina apologised, he is capable of giving her a chance (verge of destruction shows that).

3 - That would make Maria happy, and maybe that is enough.

I agree with the last part too (this is the longest dicussion i participated in that didn't involve the autor lmao)

AlmDragonrend on Chapter 1Fri 07 Oct 2022 12:36PM CEST

I just informed the Author

I'm happy we can go with that

Assuming Maria successful used her knowledge to get Geordos engagement with Katarina broken and get engaged to both Claes siblings how do you see it go from there?

[dinoburger]

AH GOD OK - I was just thinking again about how like, sometimes folks seem to take Zepheniah as the ultimate Bad Guy in my work when he's mostly a product of a deeply exploitative system, but all of them sort of embody capitalism in more ways than just the obvious.

The Mann family continuously consumes itself in the efforts towards absolute power, that not even death can quell the malignancy of the legacies they leave makes a clear point.

Capitalism isn't half the sophisticated social system it makes itself out to be, it is an angry, beastly, power-hungry thing. It degrades and destroys itself in the effort to continuously churn out more capital, as the foundations that hold it aloft grow weaker.

Even the smartest of their number, Gray, has a malignant, unquenchable hunger for power that seems nigh bestial. Over the generations and eras the Manns and, in my opinion, the Hales have only gotten worse, more hungry, more destructive and self destructive.

All for power, or even the abstract idea of it - fighting over gravel. No matter how he got there, Gray is in essence still playing the same game that his brothers are, no matter how much he tries to put himself above it.

I think I have touched on how I like that the Mann twins put into perspective how pointless the premise of TF2 is and the parody of corporation that only a fun, silly game like TF2 could pull off (not so much a gritty, serious one that wants you to take your cause to heart)

No matter how intense a fight may be or a struggle is between RED and BLU, when Redmond and Blutarch actually appear it's like a curtain is pulled back. All this... for these guys? These bumbling idiots? Pure poetry.

Very much how the pursuit of capital is never about any of the things it says it is. Not improving our world, not quality, not innovation, not anything. All it does is create violence and cruelty.

Anyway. Ah, I love them. HAHAHA

[a-scary-lack-of-common-sense]

HELLO TF2 COMMUNITY :D

Do you like fanmade TF2 AUs? Do you like mysteries? Do you like deep DEEP lore? Are you good at solving riddles?

If your answer is yes to all of those, then yay!! And buckle up.

We're going to play a little game. When you click on the link right above the :readmore: all the way down there, you will find yourself at a blank webpage that looks a bit like this:

This webpage will ask you for a specific password for you to enter. If you get the password correct, you will be granted access to the [TOP SECRET]-CLASSIFIED MANN FILES. If you get the password wrong, you will not be granted access to the files.

The password is a four digit number. I will be giving you a riddle to help you find out what this password could be. You might need to use a bit of google for this one:

A little girl with the last name Won goes to an arcade in Korea.

At the arcade, she wins a pinball game.

That was yesterday.

But the pinball machine was cheap, old and rusty.

So all she got was a single coin from it. It was the lowest currency one could get in Korea.

What did the little girl win yesterday?

I know this looks hard, but I promise, you do not have to be Korean to know the answer to this. All you need to know is that, currency in Korea is won (원). I can't give you more information since it may spoil the game, but if you are not sure about anything, you can easily search it up and it'll pop up first thing

If you really find yourself struggling with the answer, I suggest you try reading the riddle out loud ;)

You will be given 24 hours to find the password and get it correct before I reveal the answer for everyone. The timer starts the moment this post is published onto my blog.

There are only 3 rules you should know:

1. If you find the password before everyone else, please don't make it public!! Don't post about it, or tell everyone else. You can tell your friend if they ask for it, sure, but don't ruin the fun for those who still want to try and solve the password!

2. You can not ask for more clues, sorry, but that tiny riddle was the most thinking my brain could take for the week, and I can't make more mysterious clues and riddle :(

3. If the 24 hour timer goes off and the majority of you still haven't managed to find the password, don’t worry, you can always ask for more time. If I get more than 5 non-anon asks in my inbox asking for more time, I will extend the timer.

Anyways, best of lucks finding the password, and have fun :)

[TOP SECRET] CLASSIFIED MANN FILES- PROJECT DOPPELGANGER

(EDIT: hello all! So it seems that the links on this post are causing some problems for a lot of you guys, and the whole password part seems to work just fine but for some reason if won't show the files properly once you guessed it. So if you managed to get the password right but the webpage you were redirected to only shows you blank pages, please pop me a quick message through either inbox or DM so I can get you set right up with a shared google doc file which actually works. Thank you so much for your patience and so sorry for the inconvenience and this technical error kind of ruining the whole vibe :'(

P.S. if you can, the link works a bunch times better when on PC!)

Now that all that jazz is out of the way, here are all of my rambles!

A brief summary for those who are new:

This post is part of a big lore-drop for an AU of mine called Job Switcheroo Mercs, which is basically an AU where all the TF2 mercs have their jobs and classes switched around. If you want to learn more about the AU, you can go check out my #job switcheroo tag on my blog. You might need it for the context.

For those who already know the basic gist of the AU, but just forgot the what the heck this AU is even about, here's a little reminder.

Of course, big hugs and kisses to all my lovely Job Switcheroo AU fans out there. We were a pretty niche group but you guys gave me so much love and support all throughout it and I appreciate it so so so much. THANK YOU <3

[mxboxlocks]

yes im vagueing about a moot i love seeing different interpretations of red/blu mercs dawg. ugnngiggug. /gen gen gen

clone teams? diff people just uncannily similar looking? I LOVE IT ALL!! ITS ALL SO GOOD!!!!

if u want to see my personal ramblings pls click clasck

are you still here. ok good.

HUAGHAGHUUAHGGHHBGG!!!!!!!

so as for the canon of the game/comics its clear theres different sets of teams. i promise this is relevant

Team Echelon. Team Citadel. Team Vanguard. and of course, Team Fortress.

on team fortress, there's 9 other unnamed mercenaries that we don't know the identities of. and according to the update/mvm comics (plus the mvm trailers) the 9 mercenaries we DO know are scattered across RED and BLU. they are not all on the same team like they are in the mainline comics or in shorts like expiration date.

well. why is that

sure you could say "eh for things like mvm its more narratively compelling if both BLU and RED team up to fight the robots, since canonically Blutarch and Redmond, their bosses, are dead. wtf would they fight for" and yknow for a moment i would agree with you but let me get autistic for a sec

look at the language cheavy uses here in this panel

"All she had left was you rejects."

that's not just bully talk or anything, this is intentional. even with the way Saxton Hale treats Team Fortress reflects this

Bidwell's Big Plan, page 04

and even here in the main comics:

A Cold Day in Hell, page 03

they're rejects. quite literally. they get bottom of the barrel weapons, uniforms, food, even for Mann Co..

i'm of the personal belief that the 9 unnamed mercenaries and the teufort 9 are constantly being either exchanged in the unnamed cases, or transferred across team RED and BLU appropriately. autobalanced. some mercenaries have been on certain teams longer than others, like BLU Soldier and RED Demoman YEAH THAT'S RIGHT THIS ROLLS RIGHT BACK TO WAR UPDATE BABY FUCK YOU YOU CANT ESCAPE IT

but the reason i say this is because before the events of the animated shorts (excluding meet the team) or the mainline comics, i have a headcanon the teufort 9 were giving the nameless mercs too much trouble for what they were worth, so they just shoved them all together on the same team, hoping they would just kind of fight it out like pathetic rabid dogs.

what ended up happening was these losers formed the strongest found-family bonds in the history of the universe.

demo and soldier in the mainline comics are still clearly very tense with one another after the events of WAR!, even though they're on the same team (or lack thereof rather). WAR! is still very much canon past the update comics. this is my excuse for changing team colors on their ship and calling it the same people constantly

ANYWAYS yeah. tldr: the mercs are autobalanced a lot and i think there's canonical evidence to prove it . this and clone teams are very near and dear to my heart

[northwest-cryptid]

oh mann. squeaking of music. you got any artists with slow relaxy type music you like? and what's your favorite instrument? and what are your top 3 video game ost's? ...three questions at once, the terrible tripler... but as a beast who loves music, i am always ravenous for music opinions...

Not gonna lie this is kind of a hard ask not only because it's a lot to answer about a topic I tend not to talk about much but because I don't really know artists so much as I know songs, and to top it all off I don't really do "top" stuff, or "favorite" stuff; it's hard for me to pick or rank a lot of the things I like, I use the term "one of my favorite" or "among the best of" when I talk about things I really like because more often than not I'd say that about ANYTHING I really like, I don't really have a favorite artist or a top OST or anything.

Most of my music consumption is random, I'll listen to playlists on youtube or soundcloud or bandcamp and such. A lot of the time an artist is less of a concern to me because majority of my experience has been that they have one song I really like, followed by about 12 more in the album that are kinda just okay but lack the style that I enjoyed so much.

That being said I'll do my best to answer since I do enjoy getting asks and you actually took the time to send me this so I will respect that by taking the time to answer it :D

Let's start with the chill relaxing stuff!

As far as Artists go if you don't mind some more kinda weird tones in your relaxing music I think Monster Rally is a great artist.

A few core examples of their vibe can be heard in Lovely You:

as well as one I really enjoy, Color Sky:

They have a very unique sound in my opinion and I have a lot of interest in this kind of music since it hits a weird spot for me somewhere between acoustic jam session and weird vaporwave-y daydream music.

Almost all their music is between 1 and 2 minutes and contains these short loops and layered instrumentals with occasional lyrical influences. It's pretty fun and keeps my ADHD at bay with no song being too long.

For something a little more pop-ish I also enjoy TV Girl though I don't know if their music counts entirely as "Relaxed" since it can be a little faster. I've listened to them for years, a lot of their music reminds me a lot of my time in an indie band. They play a lot of the "soft punk sad boy" type music I'd see a lot in the indie scene. I often find myself singing or humming along to these whenever I'm cleaning the house or cooking dinner.

A few tracks I like a lot are Birds Don't Sing:

Lovers Rock:

and The Blonde:

Though to be honest I like a good bit of TV Girl's music so I'm trying to not list entire albums here lol. I try not to get hipster about it because for whatever reason it became oddly popular as of the last couple of years and I heard someone refer to it as "weirdcore" once and nearly died on the spot. I don't even dislike Weirdcore I just have a lot of thoughts on the idea of what the hell a genre is at this point.

Important note I am also 100% the sort of person who chills out and relaxes to Happy Hardcore and Eurobeat. So please consider the fact that my idea of relaxed varies wildly from like lounge jazz to club hardcore depending on the day. (There's literally a song that came out 7 years ago called Chillcore and it summarizes my thoughts on the subject perfectly I'd have been 21 when that song came out and I still occasionally hear it and go "yea" to this day.)

As far as favorite instrument goes I'm very partial to drums, drums of any kind. I think they're overlooked so much but then I'm bias because I'm a drummer so like of course I love drums. Any song that makes good use of drums is okay in my book. I will never forget how hard I cringed when the Bassist in my band once said "Bass is more important than Drums any day of the week, I mean literally who has ever heard of a drum solo?" I just sat there like "dude why are we even in the same band if you don't value my contribution" though she was something else in terms of like... superiority complexes. Regardless!

I may not have a top 3 Video Game OSTs since there's so many good ones out there and so many good options depending on your mood, but I will list a ton of good ones depending on the kind of mood you're in.

To keep with the theme of chill tunes let's start with a banger and one of my favorite game OSTs as to also kind of answer top 3.

VA-11 Hall-A has an amazing OST and I'm going to do the really basic bitch thing of saying you gotta listen to Every Day Is Night:

I used to listen to this a lot whenever I worked my night shift, it gave the title a very literal meaning to me. The synth jazz was the perfect companion for long nights on the job when I needed to chill out and vibe for a bit.

Keeping in line with the relaxed but perhaps a bit more anxiety inducing; I've spoken about it a lot, you know it; you love it, it's Lobotomy Corporation's very own No Warning:

Lob Corps whole OST has some absolutely beautiful tracks, everything from techy synths and chimes to entirely orchestral sweeping performances. I have a soft spot for this game and it's OST, as well as the OST of Library of Ruina, it's sequel, for which I'd like to highlight Malkuth's Battle Theme:

Specifically the third tier emotion level of this song, never before have I heard "battle jazz" done so well, not only is it classy; but it KICKS ASS. There's so much I could say about this game and it's OST in terms of themes and such but I digress, for now we'll move on because I got a lot to go through.

Next up we're looking at a more fantastical setting with Mabinogi's OST, which has a ton of genuinely amazing music, but one I want to highlight is the major main theme of the game which will always give me chills and make me cry a bit from nostalgia. More specifically the version performed by the FILMharmonic Orchestra:

This song means more to me than I can properly explain, there's so much emotion behind it for me as someone who has played this game for half my life, who met my partner through this game; and who's life has no joke been absolutely changed by this game. The OST has always been a part of my life, we even play music from this game while decorating the house for various seasons. The entire OST is so varied and expansive and there's almost always something to fit my mood.

However when I'm looking for something more upbeat, and I need to get my blood pumping I turn to a bit more action oriented music, which is where games like ULTRAKILL absolutely fit the bill. I cannot warn you enough this song is the musical equivalent of shoving shrapnel in your ears, and I mean that in the most admirable way possible.

Heavy techno and metal vibes, you got electric guitar that's basically fighting the synth lead for the spotlight despite the two working in perfect harmony to encapsulate this absolutely disgusting rhythm.

However sometimes I want to be upbeat without the sensory overload which is when I turn to Xenoblade (takes place on Earth) to fill the niche. I've been really vibing to the jazzy upbeat nature of XC3's OST lately, and the game has been pretty fun too :D

Now see this is why I dislike answering all this in one ask, I can only post 10 videos per post. So now I just gotta link things like this:

Xenoblade 3 OST - Brilliant Wings AKA This Jazz Band Is Fighting For Their Life

I'll cut this short since Tumblr is an ass and won't let me keep posting videos, but I cannot stress enough that when it comes to music with me there are no "top 3" OSTs, or favorites. Music is a mood setter, it's a tone; it's a vibe. I gotta listen to the right music at the right time, if I'm not feeling up for it then I won't like it.

To me there's so much out there I love, and to limit myself to a top 3 is hard because it depends entirely on the day. If I'm going through a chill phase then I'm going to favor tracks with more relaxed and chilled out influences, if I've been mowing down hoards of demons in ULTRAKILL for the last 5 days straight you better believe I'm not listening to anything other than like DOOM OST and extremely thrashy techno.

I hope this answer is satisfactory regardless!

[desidov]

a small challenge presented to me and now unto you: when you get this ask you have to answer with 5 of your favorite songs and then send this ask to 10 people or your favorite followers :)

this was SO hard lmao. thanks for the ask!!

Pistols & Paces - Shayfer James i love shayfer's music because he walks the line between grim melancholy and ever-resilient hope, his songs both larger than life epics and deeply personal reflections. this one in particular always reminds me of my first dnd campaign which lives forever in my heart.

Pollyanna - MOTHER (Carlos Eiene, FamilyJules, Adriana Figueroa & Sab Irene) i love the mother series very much and i've been listening to adriana in particular since i was little baby des. this song is contagiously joyful, and the arrangement brings so much more to an already great piece.

Steady, Steady - The Crane Wives the rhythm like a galloping horse, interspersed with the soft determination of the chorus—it tells the story of leaving behind the expectations of marriage not for lack of love, but for spirit that refuses to be bounded. also it just hits different as a gay transmasc

Falcon in the Dive - The Scarlet Pimpernel (Terrance Mann) i love broadway villains, i love the french revolution. this musical is an adaptation of one of the worst novels i've ever read, and i love and hate it so much. this song i just love though. my man's YELLIN, the composition and the singing are both so GOOD, YEAH

Descole's Theme - Professor Layton last specter is perhaps my favorite game of all time, and descole my favorite villain. his song is perfect for him, triumphant and eerie and beautiful and SO over the top. plus the moment you first hear it, when this shadowy figure you've gotten hints of throughout the game finally appears, and yet you're still only just able to pull together an understanding of who he is from scant clues... chefs kiss

[ramonag-if]

idk if it’s intended or not but i was super invested in my mc’s emotional journey (grieving the death of their father, wishing they’d find their mom again) and mann reacting to that family reveal, i just- i wished ahlf was still alive, like it would have been better if he was there for my mc

but alas

P/S: loved the demo so much!!!

I mean, it was intended or the game wouldn't be that fun to play 😅😋 That said, it's really gratifying to know so many people were able to feel strongly about the latest chapter so I'm so happy you enjoyed it!

[shesthespinstersimmer]

Tagged by the illustrious @cinamun (thanks friend!)

🎼Getting to know yooooooouu 🎶

1. What’s your favorite sims death?

I can tell this is gonna be a tough list already. Lol. I don’t have a favorite sim death as I have a very hard time with letting go of my sims.  I guess the only time I’m less affected is in THE DEEP DOWN, where victims were collateral damage. Still, I had control over that. Random Sim deaths? Traumatized.

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

Absolutely both. Maxis mix all the way.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? 

This is an interesting question. Usually, no. But if the character tends to be fit by nature, and I come back and they’ve gained weight, I’ll cheat for story continuity. However, in gameplay mode, I’ll just have them work out.  If they are not into fitness, I just let it go and see where it leads. 

4. Do you use move objects?

Without a doubt

5. Favorite mod?

 Tossup between Basemental and Wicked. Because, reasons.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got?

Whatever the first one was. I just got the first one when it came out. 

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing?

Alive.

8.  Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? 

Jude Mann from WEIRD & WONDERFUL. (Secretly in love with Drucilla Bathory from THE DEEP DOWN, but I realize she’s toxic ☠️)

9. Have you made a simself?

No - I think I’d take it too personally.

10. What traits do you give yourself?

Loner, adhd, bookworm, creative, music lover

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color?

Before I started using cc, it was always the teal or the light gray swatches (the black swatch was never dark or consistent enough)

12. Favorite EA hair?

The snowy escape buzzcut - I give it to sooo many men & townies lol

13. Favorite life stage?

Young adult

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? 

I secretly wish I was a builder, but the process stresses me out too much.  I like to decorate when I don’t have the mental bandwidth for writing (I find it calming).  Gameplay is fine, but the curveballs, get to me sometimes. 

15. Are you a CC creator?

As I am currently struggling to recolor something right now (and gave up), I’m going to go with no. #sendhelp

16. Do you have any Simblr friends/ a sim squad?

My mutuals, NSFT discord, and the readers that keep me going 🖤

17. What’s your favorite game?

The Sims 4 is the only thing I play right now; I have the Sims 3, but only half of it on digital. So even though I loved it, I haven’t bothered  to fix it.

18. Do you have any sims merch?

No, but I wouldn’t be opposed.

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims?

No, but I kick the idea round from time to time.

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing?

I’ve always loved playing with fashion and fantastical looks / characters, but as my storytelling has grown, I am enjoying making more “everyday” sims. My latest obsession is middle aged and elder sims.

I started off very alpha, but the sound of my laptop weeping softly in the distance made me reevaluate.

21. What’s your Origin ID

Pleading the 5th on that one (it’s a mess)

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator?

Also pleading the 5th (Not sure who’s problematic and who’s not right now 😬)

23. How long have you had a Simblr?

At least five years, probably longer. I had another Simblr a while back and then started over when I got serious about posting my story. I had one for years and didn’t even post anything; I just read stories and looked at cc (I didn’t even use it then).

24. How do you edit your pictures? 

Gshade, Studio and Procreate

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? 

That’s a tough one. I’ve always loved city living, but if I’m being honest, I do love the world of Tartosa, even though we all know the gameplay is tragic. I’m loving growing together though.

26. What expansion/games/staff pack do you want next? 

I try not to think about it; sad that every new pack elicits such anxiety. New packs = week of playing my vanilla save, then another week of rebuilding my main save, then finally seeing if the pack is even worth it. Okay, rant over.

Whew! I feel laid bare.

Anyone else wanna share? Tag, you’re it!

[techmomma]

see all these comics? the mainline comics? the ones fans been frothing over for a decade? Gray was the Big Bad Guy (minus Helen working in the background) until almost the end of #5, Old Wounds

He's the entire reason the Mann vs Machine mode exists.

for a large portion of tf2's history, in-game and in real life, Gray had nuuuuuthing outside of the comics. a lot of players probably still have no idea who he is.

Up until this summer update, Gray has not had any lines himself, not even an in-game model. even his brothers got models and lines! even their DAD got a model and in-game lines, even if it was a bedsheet ghost with a tophat.

we've seen his lair and signs like Gray Gravel Co., but other than that, the ONLY other whisper of him is like one line Zepheniah says, in the halloween update, where he's like "You did it, son...." to Blutarch or Redmond when you push the other's corpse into hell, followed by "But I still like Gray better........"

so still no canonical in-game model but hey, at least we got 3 minutes of voice lines for the horrible little goblin finally!

the saxton hale mode is basically saxton vs. all of the mercs and is hilarious, best mode to be added in years--I say, as someone who does not play tf2

As for the seal?

it's literally just a seal that bounces in an out of bounds area into the ocean on a new map they added and it's the greatest thing ever fucking added to tf2 i love you so much seal

[transgender-scout]

Hi Arrow. Do you recommend trying TF2? I like the funny guys but I have no FPS experience

Em. I am gripping you by the face. I have not been thinking about anything besides TF2 for the past two months. I absolutely recommend it.

I’m also not really big into FPSs, but I really enjoy the gameplay for it. There’s a fairly outdated tutorial you can play where it walks you through how to play a few of the classes that I found helpful to get a feel for the game, but there’s also offline training with bots that you can play to get a little more practice with each class until you feel comfortable enough to play online (if you even want to).

There’s also a lot of custom maps that people make just to be silly on (the Mario kart and McDonald’s maps come to mind lol). I’m personally a big fan of Mann vs Machine, where you and five others just fight waves of robots.

The game isn’t super great at walking you through things, so you would probably need to either have someone play with you to explain things or do some quick research on it, like reading the wikis or watching some videos about it. It’s pretty easy to pick up once you get it tho!

Also, TF2 has had a huge problem with bots in the past few years, so to be able to communicate through chat, voice commands, or voice chat, you have to spend at least $5 on the game. I just bought some silly cosmetics from the community shop, but you can also buy taunts and other weapons if you want.

There’s a ton to explore in the game and I learn something new every time I play tbh!!!

But!!! If you want to enjoy the silly guys without playing the game!!!! There’s comics!!!!!!!!!!!

There’s a lot of smaller comics that were released to introduce new updates which is really fun, but then there’s the main comic series that focuses on a big overarching plot that’s sooooo funny and silly and heartbreaking <333

It also (imo) helps establish some of the characters in really interesting way. Like they’re all fucked up little clown dudes, but the comics give a bit of insight for some of them. A couple of the characters get brushed over a bit because there’s nine of them and you can only do so much, but it still did a damn good job of getting me attached to them all.

The only problem is…it’s not finished. The second to last comic was published in 2017 and the last one has been “coming soon!” since then. :( I’d still recommended it tho bc the comics are really good! The art is gorgeous and everyone is sooooo silly.

AND if you don’t want to do THAT! Theres the Meet the Team videos that Valve made to introduce each of the mercs, plus a few other videos for updates and other things. I LOVE these. I watch em all the time lol. My personal favs are Spy, Pyro, and Medic but it doesn’t take long to watch them all.

AND THEN There’s a whole wide internet of SFMs (SourceFilm Maker) on YouTube!! A lot of them are super silly YouTube poop-like videos that are rawrXDomgLOL random. This isn’t super my thing so I don’t have any recs unfortunately.

But there was an SFM recently released called Emesis Blue that is driving me to the brink. It’s a full length psychological horror/thriller movie that’s like TF2 but real fucked up. It’s been living in my brain for a solid week. It lowkey kinda gave me nightmares so you may check out the Does the Dog Die page for it if you’re sensitive to horror, or skip it all together.

Also kind of a blanket trigger warning for all media listed is blood, guns, violence, and bodies exploding into cartoon meat chunks. Fun stuff lol.

So there’s a lot of ways to enjoy the fun mess that is TF2. Let me know if you get into it bc hooooly shit I love this funny hat game so much.

[blubushie]

i’m gonna make you do homework about it. prime numbers for the ship ask game. for your fav ship

Curse you for making me look up what prime numbers are. The only maths I can do are drop and windage. I'm doing these for Jesse and Mundy because I just love talking about them so much.

2: Do they have a dynamic trope? (enemies to lovers, sunshine x grumpy, etc?)

They're formerly enemies to lovers, but by the time their relationship kicks off they're enemies by TF Industries rules only. Matches have been suspended since the whole incident with Gray Mann and haven't resumed due to lack of Australium, so they're more like mild enemies to reluctant friends to best mates to lovers. Also massive "sunshine vs grumpy" energy. Mundy can be a ray of sunshine and a lot of fun to be around when he's in a good mood but sunshine is not his default state, whereas for Jesse it is (or at least that's the front she puts on).

3: Who cooks? Who cleans up? Who’s banned from the kitchen?

They both cook but Mundy is definitely the better cook. Jesse can make brekkie (which he adores) but that's about it when it comes to her cooking ability, and she still has him flip the eggs and pancakes. Meanwhile Mundy can cook brekkie, lunch, dinner, and bake desserts. Jesse typically cleans up since Mundy does the cooking, but the general rule is that whoever doesn't cook has to do the cleanup.

5: Who does what chores?

Most chores are shared equally but again, Mundy does most of the cooking. Mundy also does all the weapons cleaning (mainly because his rifle is his baby and he doesn't trust anyone, not even Jesse, to do it). Jesse's biggest chore is getting Mundy to take better care of himself and ingest things besides beer and jerky.

7: Who is the more romantic one?

Definitely Mundy. Jesse tries but her idea of romance is more spur-of-the-moment actions without much thought put into them. Mundy is very analytical and has a tendency to dwell on things which leads to him planning out actions for days and sometimes weeks in advance. This is also a source of anxiety since he tends to formulate backup plans for backup plans and the worst possible scenario is something happening that he hadn't formulated a plan for.

11: What’s a song that describes their relationship? Or, what’s the song that they’ve deemed “their” song?

I can't give an exact answer as to why because it'd be spoilers for later in the story, but the answer is Pretty Blue Eyes by Steve Lawrence. Or, alternatively, Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond, since that's the first song Mundy sings to her.

13: What’s their opinions on PDA?

Jesse doesn't mind at all and is a mite guilty of this. Mundy prefers to keep things private. This only applies if people are around, however. Mundy is perfectly happy having a pash on a beach as long as there's no one at the beach. If people are around he's typically very reserved unless he's been drinking. It also largely depends on where they are the moment. Mundy isn't nearly as open with Jesse in Teufort than he would be in Farmington or outside New Mexico. The closer they are to Mann Canyon, the more reserved he becomes. This is for the safety of both parties.

17: What does a relaxing night in look like for them?

For Jesse it would just be lounging in the nook with Mundy or watching him cook or play his guitar. For Mundy it wouldn't be a night in at all, it'd be sitting around a campfire listening to the crickets or laying on top of Matilda with Jesse in his arms and watching the stars with her. Bonus points for active meteor showers. Stargazing is something they can meet in the middle on.

19: How do they silently/subtly express their love for each other?

For Jesse it's drawing. She holds her sketchbook close to her heart, so her way of showing affection is by letting someone see her drawings. For Mundy it's touch. It's not secret he's touch-starved, and it takes him a while to work up the nerve for even light touches. A hand on her shoulder or back, a brush of his fingers against the back of her hand, being the first one to kiss the other in the morning, these are all his way of showering her how much he cares without explicitly stating it.

On a subtle but not silent way of expressing it, it's any time Mundy explains something to her or asks her to come look at something so they can share in it together. Every "Oi, sheila! Take a butcher's at this snake!" is his way of sharing his passions with her, and nothing makes him happier than her asking "What kinda snake is that?" and allowing him to talk about it.

23: Do they like pick up lines?

Not in a serious sense, more in a "'I put the laid in Adelaide' and Jesse being unable to help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it" kind of way. Jesse has used pickup lines but never expects them to actually work, she just relies more on her charm. Mundy only uses them to get Jesse to smile and/or laugh.

29: What is something they can never agree on? How do they meet in the middle?

I can't say much on this because of spoilers for later in the fic, but primarily it's openness within their relationship. Outside of sex Mundy is generally the same guy she's known for the past half year. He doesn't suddenly change and become more affectionate once they agree to be an item. Despite their agreement that they're actually dating and not just friends with benefits, that's exactly how it feels at times. She's aware of how he is and doesn't want to push things out of fear of scaring him off. Similarly Mundy feels the same way but he's also trying to come to terms with his own feelings toward her as it's entirely new territory for him. The one thing they can't seem to meet eye-to-eye on is a mutual issue for them: being afraid of admitting their feelings out of fear of rejection.

[navysealt4t]

18, 26 & 29 for writing ask game (it's albatross btw)

:DD yooo hihi!!!

hmmm. usually i find a post on tumblr and go “:00 omg that’s amazing i love that i need to write that” LMAO. or like for riptide specifically if just be listening to an episode and go “yknow what this scene could make? an AMAZING fanfic idea :)” also of course reading other fanfiction

usually when i don’t have any inspiration for anything, i go searching through old ideas/wips or i try writing some stuff in my journal!! for some reason when i write on paper it gets my brain flowing faster :) i’ll write like a full page on paper then move to google docs lol

oooo this is a good one…. music is usually my first choice lol. like i’m writing in gillions pov rn so before i start writing, i listen to a few songs on my playlist for him. always gets the angst going 💪

other times, i’ll read some fanfic in their pov or i’ll just listen to a riptide episode lol. ALSO WRITING GILLION IS SO HARD WHYYY I CAN NEVER GET HIS VOICE DOWN….

ough. man this….. 2 different snips came to me but ima do my fav >:) it’s from my fnc cuddle fic lol

Chip had the slightest guess that Gillion would tear the Undersea and Oversea apart to save him. That is, only if he were stupid enough to land himself in more trouble than he could handle. And yeah, Chip will give him that, he is a bastard.

On bad days, it scared Chip, how devoted Gill was. But on days like these where he couldn't tear his eyes away from Gillion nor imagine a life without him, he wouldn’t hesitate to do the exact same thing. He'd do it a thousand times over.

like MAN. ok.

so this was my first time EVER writing chip and gillion (i was on like… episode 40 or something LMAO) and mann i just loved them <333 i don’t really know how to describe this snip lmao

i wanted to like. highlight that chip & gillion have bad days where things seem like too much. their so young and in love and that is NOT always a good mix. gillion has a strong loyalty to those he cares about and would do just about anything to protect them. also um. i did not know about what the prophecy said at this time so the line “tear the Oversea and Undersea apart” was a little on the nose huh??

but. idk what i’m saying really i wanted to show that their still in that young live phase where they bounce between “everything is beautiful i love you” and “this is too much what are we even doing”

not to mention chip DEFINITELY has quite a few self worth issues so. gill’s loyalty to him scares him because he believes he doesn’t deserve it :( just man. they are such a pair i love them <3333

also sorry this took so long to answer i had to take a test in the middle of writing this LMAO