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riding-the-sunset-bird · 1 day

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hi!! i know this depends a lot on personal taste but i thought i'd ask you because you know the game so well, which dlc do you think is the most worth it?

(note: this anon clarified in another ask that they meant all DLCs but were most interested in the Cove Step DLCs; thank you!)

Hi!

First off, gonna give you massive credit here because I think this is a super fascinating ask, so much so that I want to do a bit of a deep dive!

(skip to the end for the summarized/basic stuff)

Personal Preference

I'll begin by saying that if you just ask me this question outright and it comes down wholly to my opinion and my opinion only, then I'd say that Baxter's DLC was the most worth it to me. The actual reasons for it are a bit too extensive - I'll leave it at me simply adoring Baxter and what his DLC contributes to the story's narrative - but that would be my answer.

However, I'd really like to go into something that I find more objective. We'll do this by splitting that idea of "worth it" into different categories and going from there, because it could mean so many different things depending on player preference.

Story Relevance

This just boils down to what DLC adds the most to Our Life's story, which I'm defining as "moments/scenes that would feel natural in the base game" as opposed to a DLC that comes off like extra content but not necessary content.

For this one, I'm going to award the points to the Step 3 DLC, mostly for Reflection, Late Shift, and Serendipity. All three of these moments provide something for what already existed in the base game, to the point where I almost think it's odd for them to be DLC content.

Reflection gives both backstory to Cove's scar (something that had been talked about before but not fully explained) and closure on Cove's conflict with his parents over their divorce. It also shows character development for Cove as he moves past all of that.

Serendipity follows up on Liz meeting Shiloh in the Step 3 intro. Even if the player doesn't care about Shiloh, I think it makes sense for Liz to go searching for him even if you didn't have the DLC, and then the DLC just lets you actually see what comes from it (that's not how it works in-game but I'm just making a point).

Late Shift follows up on what the MC's job is if they chose to have one, as well as showing Cove at his job. It expands the initial choice of "job"/"no job" during the intro into an actual moment, which gives it more meaning. I'd consider it an equivalent to Charity in that way (which is impacted by whether or not the MC volunteers at ORCA).

So yeah, Step 3's DLC, no contest.

Consistency

This is what I'd imagine to be the DLC that is the most "all-around" of the DLCs; maybe not too high of highs, but not too low of lows either, just an all-around solid product.

I'm giving this one to the Step 1 DLC. While it's the shortest of the DLCs, I think the content is consistency good throughout all moments. All feature the MC just doing assorted kid things and satisfy MCs who might be Indifferent to Cove early on (all except two allow the MC to mostly ignore Cove if they'd prefer to spend time with others), whereas the Step 2 and 3 DLC can be more mixed.

For example, Reflection - while solid and emotional if you're invested in Cove's backstory - is a lot of talking and not a lot of doing, Happiness is hilariously short if you're Indifferent to Cove, and Serendipity is probably a total skip for players who aren't interested in Shiloh. For the Step 2 DLC, Soiree tends to be a standout moment that overshadows the rest and other moments are largely out of the MC's control (Escapade if the MC isn't having fun, which has little impact, and Summerwork if the MC isn't the type that would lead to the drama in said moment).

But the Step 1 DLC is the one I feel would be most consistently enjoyable throughout the whole thing, at least when keeping in mind the limitations that would naturally be placed on the MC given that they're a child. I always enjoy playing each fairly equally.

Fun Factor

This just comes down to the highest highs - the DLC that provides the most fun - and I'd say that the Step 2 DLC does that.

Mall allows you to spend roughly equal amounts of time with Derek, Lee, and Cove (both a different experience from the base game and gives the MC a new location to mess around in).

Birthday lets you engage in various games and meet with Miranda (which could be something fun for the player, either meeting Miranda early if they haven't played the full game yet or seeing younger Miranda if they have). Plus, that this is the moment where the MC can retaliate against Jeremy (dooting Jeremy into silence is one of my personal biggest non-Cove non-Baxter highlights of the game) which gives the moment worth all on its own.

Soiree being a big win whether you want to bring Cove or not and giving the MC multiple different ways to experience it (including having a dance with Baxter, regardless of whether they go down his route or not). This allows MCs who might not be Indifferent to Cove but still don't want to bring him for whatever reason the full freedom to do so (unlike Happiness), which allows for more replayability.

I've expressed points about Summerwork and Escapade already, but even disregarding the potential fun of those, I think the highs of the others outweigh the lows, which I don't think the Step 3 DLC would do with the ones I've gone on about. The Step 1 DLC is overall more consistently good and I think a player is more likely to enjoy all of the steps, but I think the Step 2 DLC is more fun.

Other Matters

These are a few details I don't want to get too much into but still wished to address. The Step 3 DLC, content-wise, is unquestionably the largest out of all of the Step DLCs (provided that you play all of the moments in each), even though all Step DLCs are the same price. Likewise, the Step 2 DLC is larger than the Step 1 DLC.

Goes without saying that quantity does not equal quality and, while not pointing to any specific target, I want to add that I don't think it's acceptable for things like CGs to not be up to par with the ones in the base game when you're paying for the DLC while not paying for the base game.

Additionally, I think it's strange for the moments that feature the alternative guys to be locked away (Mall and Summerwork for Derek, then Late Shift and Boating for Baxter; Derek won't even join the player at their house if the MC is Indifferent to Cove and Terri/Liz will jump into Cove's place in Late Shift/Boating respectively rather than the MC potentially getting Baxter). This can make Derek's proposal in particular at the end of Step 2 confusing to base game players because they will have only seen Derek in the intro and ending, thus making his crush come out of nowhere.

It doesn't change the quality of the DLCs themselves, but I just wanted to point out that both Derek and Baxter kind of have an extra price tacked onto their DLCs because most players would probably want to see more of them before buying those.

And yes, it does indeed give the Step 2 DLC a few points towards the story relevance category because Derek's proposal is there no matter what, but I thought the Step 3 DLC still outweighed it.

Just wanted to get all that out of the way.

Addressing the Cove Wedding DLC

I sometimes call this the "Wedding Planning DLC" because that's what you'll spend a large chunk of time doing. That's not a criticism if you like that, just stating an observation.

Unlike most DLCs where I can weigh the various moments' pros and cons, the Wedding DLC is just one long "moment" where you plan your wedding with Cove, have the wedding with Cove, and then have the reception.

Also, Baxter is the wedding planner, so if you hate him then prepare to hold your breath before diving into it.

I think it does well for what it's trying to do (it's a little sad that there's no CG but there are so many mini-CGs that I get it), so it really is just a matter of whether you want it or not.

The Step DLCs are $4 each and the Wedding DLC is $3, so do I think that the Wedding DLC is worth 75% of any of the Step DLCs?

Not really (I eventually got tired of the planning part to the point where Baxter giving dance lessons became the most exciting thing that happened, as it felt like there was some development going on, lol), but I can see why it'd be worth it for other people. I recommend it if people are just very dedicated to planning a wedding in addition to seeing the wedding and reception.

Derek's Story DLC and Baxter's Story DLC

These two are another case where it very heavily leans on personal preference. I've already said that I like Baxter's DLC the best, but I might as well talk about Derek's too.

My feelings on his DLC are... complicated. Basically, it's the Derek and His Family DLC and I think that's great, but when it comes to plots centered around families, my attention tends to drift (this includes the moment titled Family in Step 2, by the way). Found family holds my interest a bit more though, one example being a potential plotpoint you can go down in Derek's DLC where you consider Mr. Holden a father to you.

While I do enjoy the personalities amongst Derek's family (barring Nicolas until Step 4), I think it might end up being a problem for some because the story stops being about you and starts being about Derek due to the amount of characters exclusive to his DLC all connecting back to him and not you. You take a backseat to the plot and Derek's issues in Step 4 actually end up being resolved without you during an argument/conversation with his brothers.

Which is good if you just want to kick back, watch the plot unfold, and listen to Derek talk about his problems, especially as his major issue takes place between Step 3 and 4 so the player doesn't witness it. Me personally, I had a lot of my agency taken away during key moments, such as Siblings where I didn't think going to see Elizabeth was a good idea, nor Boardwalk where I missed out on seeing Jorge (who is my favorite Suarez) and Elizabeth's relationship develop because the game has you go with Derek, nor the ending of Step 4 where I wouldn't have just run off with Derek due to wanting to spend more time with the family.

Another awkward little detail is that Derek will crush on the player and try to get them into a marriage proposal regardless of the player's own feelings, which can lead to some awkward moments (like Nicolas wanting to see the player in a swimsuit "because that's what Derek wants").

Baxter's DLC is the opposite because his family is only mentioned occasionally and not even seen on-screen. You largely spend one-on-one time with him and characters tend to focus on the player rather than Baxter (and when they do focus on Baxter, it's often as an extension of the player's connection with him).

It's very high drama/angst for a typical Our Life story, which can naturally turn people away who prefer the slice of life nature of most moments. It's a very different feel from the rest of the game and not just because the player is spending time with someone who isn't Cove. Cove is set up as the character that the player is with for all steps and in-betweens, inevitably meaning that Derek and Baxter won't stick around after their step until their Step 4; it's just that one of them makes far bigger drama about it than the other.

The DLC also lets you meet Miranda's brother and you get a psuedo Wedding DLC mashed into Baxter's Step 4 where you're part of the wedding planning process without being one of the people the wedding is for. Miranda gets a mini-plot for herself involving her relationship with Terry in addition to already getting one of Baxter's moments centered around giving her a birthday party.

On the downside, the interest system in Our Life does not function towards going down in interest (doesn't function well in general with how Baxter's DLC works, really), so going into Baxter's Step 4 with the idea of never forgiving him or not at least becoming friends again won't work. The game assumes by the act of choosing Baxter's Step 4 that the player wants to eventually hear Baxter out and becomes friends/lovers again, otherwise they'd be doing Cove's Step 4 instead; it's just something to keep in mind.

Speaking of Cove, while Baxter's DLC gives a little more focus towards Miranda and Terri/Terry, Derek's DLC has a moment where Cove shares equal screen time with him, so you could consider both DLCs to give extra focus to separate groups of people (Cove+Mr. Holden or Miranda+Terri/Terry).

Basically, both DLCs are entirely different and I can't really give them a category because they're so different compared to the base game, so I'll give some bullet points later of who I think would enjoy the DLC rather that putting them in a box.

The only other thing left to say is that, while Derek's DLC pairs with the Step 2 DLC and Baxter's DLC pairs with the Step 3 DLC for getting that little bit of extra time with the respective character, story-wise I think the Step 2 DLC is also good for Baxter's DLC because of Birthday and Soiree.

Recap

Overall, I do believe that every DLC has its own value and anyone could think differently on which is the best to them. I felt like it'd be too cheap to just claim which one is the best, especially since I like the more controversial Baxter DLC (the Step 2 DLC is my favorite Step DLC, for the record).

So to summarize:

Step 1 DLC (for Consistency)

most consistently likable and good all around

if one moment stands out from the others, it's not by much

the "safest" choice of the DLCs, which could be seen as either a good or bad thing

Step 2 DLC (for Fun Factor)

highest highs of the Step DLCs

allows for multiple assorted character interactions

Soiree being a strong moment to lean into the MC's independence

meeting younger Miranda in Birthday and finally retaliating against Jeremy

solid addition in combination with owning the Derek DLC or Baxter DLC as an extra bit of fun

but can have a feeling of the MC being "taken along for the ride" in some moments or doing things that might not seem like something that'd happen to them

Step 3 DLC (for Story Relevance)

includes the most content that adds to the MC's/Cove's story in a meaningful way

serves as an extension of a few happenings in the Step 3 intro

heavy on emotion

works in combination with the Baxter DLC to give the player extra time with him

feels the most natural amongst the base game moments

but can be a mixed bag depending on the MC's feelings on Cove and other characters like Shiloh, potentially leaving at least one moment as a total skip

The Cove Wedding DLC is good for people who:

like the idea of planning their wedding the way people spend hours doing character customization in games

can enjoy or tolerate/put up with Baxter as the wedding planner

are cool with a low conflict/casual plot (as nothing goes wrong during the process)

are fine with having no Cove CGs, only mini CGs

The Derek's Story DLC is good for people who:

like plots centering heavily around family

enjoy young children acting like young children

want extra time with Cove and/or Mr. Holden, as well as Elizabeth (who features in two separate moments and also Step 4)

prefer sitting back on some level and watching the plot happen around them instead of directly from them

don't mind being reminded every now and then that Derek is crushing on the MC if playing a friendship-only route

And the Baxter's Story DLC is good for those who:

prefer one-on-one time with characters

want a change of scenery from the usual Our Life plotlines and a heavier dose of drama than the usual

are seeking more time/development for Miranda and Terri/Terry, as well as their relationship

like the potential option of having a fling with Baxter in their story (whether that ends with the MC romancing Baxter in the end, someone else, or no one at all)

wish to be involved in a wedding with a conflict attached, as well as the MC not being part of the couple having the wedding

Hope this answers your question!

#((Sorry for the wait on this one! Definitely ended up being much longer than I thought.))#type: ask #type: opinion #((I might be a little mean about Derek's DLC but hopefully I was more objective at the end.))

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a-tale-never-told · 5 months

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//Apologies for this massive delay, since I was celebrating New Year's in Europe, (Western and Northern Europe to be specific), but thank you!^^ I greatly appreciate these comments, guys, and I'm sharing the same sentiment as you all, that it might be an enjoyable New Year's.

//Frankly, I wasn't expecting to receive any asks, considering that I've created a post earlier, detailing my thoughts on 2023 as a whole and expressing my thanks beforehand, but I'm delighted to see these comments nonetheless since it's actually the first time receiving these types of asks for me^^

//Originally, I wanted to continue the previous post for Christmas as I initially wrote down more extensive comments that I wanted to reveal and share with the entirety of you. However, I'd had to officially scrap it, since I was about to disembark and leave for the Uber, which offered an explanation as to why it ended so abruptly, as that's not what I had in mind, regarding my New Year's post. If I'd had more preparedness and better timing, I would've undoubtedly written more to show my gratitude towards you all.

//Fortunately, I've managed to regain some inspiration and energy from my experiences in Europe, as well as experimenting with numerous ideas for broadening out my options in terms of character writing, especially when it comes to writing realistic dialogue for the characters and how they're supposed to behave, so I'm really excited to share with you all what I have in the works^^

//More importantly, I look back on my earlier posts and came to a realization that I haven't been talking much about Danaganronpa content and media on my blog since it's so microscopic when you revisit the earlier moments of it, and it's quite embarrassing when you managed to neglect the major piece of media that everyone followed this blog for, aside from the historical lore.

//So that's why I wanna start reviewing and analyzing Danganronpa content from this ask onwards, critiquing and assessing the qualities of the Danganronpa franchise, discussing the central themes and topics of every piece of lore, specifically Fanganronpa content, and how the variety of each Fanganronpa's subject matter, interesting themes, creative and colorful cast of characters, and the majority of its storylines serves as a gateway to introduce an entirely new generation of Danganronpa enthusiasts who've probably never heard of Danganronpa before, as well as doing separate analyses of Danaganronpa characters, outlining my reasons as to why they're so enjoyable to watch

//Nevertheless, this doesn't mean I'm going to neglect the historical themes of the blog, because that's a central part of the blog. Yet, I want to extensively focus more on the historical aspects of this blog, discussing past events, stating the facts about what happened, and how the aftereffects of these pivotal moments in history created the path that we're currently living in. I'm recently getting invested in an alternate history, a subgenre that's honestly fascinating in the amount of diverse timelines people have made over the years.

//Hopefully, I can master this dynamic of integrating my passion for History as a genre, with my adoration and love for Danganronpa content, and be able to strike a balance between the two topics. Suffice it to say, there's going to be changes in what topics I'm shifting my focus on.

//Still, I hope you enjoyed this response. Apologies for getting sidetracked, but I really do value all of the support you guys give me, and I can't express how overjoyed I am to receive this, since I wasn't even expecting it. I wish you all a Happy New Year, and a fantastic 2024!^^

#mod talks #a tale never told #ghostshadow k r #hypergaming999

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mask131 · 10 months

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I hadn’t planned for this post, I’m just throwing this right now.

I used to regularly look at channels that covered creepy Internet incidents, weird ARGs, bizarre Youtube videos, the debunking of horror rumors, etc etc... I used ot but I don’t anymore - not because my passion for these videos has stopped, but because so many of those I followed shifted their content to “true crime” and talking about actual murders and suicide cases, and stuff that have nothing to do with either 1- fictional horror or 2- the Internet.

If I want to see “true crime” content, I won’t look at a random Youtube video, I will look for more professional media. And while it is these people’s decisions to run their channels how they want and to go with whatever has the more views on the Internet (we know thanks to the success of some talked about TV series that true crime always attracts more audience), it isn’t why I make this post today.

I make this post to share a very sudden, very new, very fresh unease that just formed itself over this lack of interest I talked about above. One of the channels I regularly followed was ScareTheater, and while I am still following the channel, I have been looking less and less at his videos because, as I said, they are not the type of content I originally followed him for, or they are things already covered enough and much better by the news or experts or actual investigators.

And he just dropped a video today about a disturbing and frightening footage recording some of the last moments and dialogues of divers that got trapped into a pipe and died there. Real-life stuff, a quite recent thing. And upon starting the video it suddenly hit me that this video was just voyeurism. A bad form of voyeurism.

I am not talking about or criticizing the man behind the ScareTheater channel, who seems to be a very decent and kind fellow. But I am talking about the direction his channel (and other similar channels) have been taking, and the shock I had just now. Because... it is a real-life case, as I said before, and the footage from these real life deaths, which is quite disturbing in itself, is not something that went viral or was massively spread over the Internet (at least to my knowledge). It was sought and researched for the making of this video over a pretty popular channel.

I know and I understand that talking about these incidents is needed, and that by sharing the stories of disasters and tragic death we can learn very useful information. I am myself a “fan” (if the word can be used for this) of a channel covering mass disaster and accident-caused deaths, “Fascinating Horror”. But the video of ScareTheater did not felt like a documentary recording the incident - because it was centered around the “horrifying found footage” of the last moments of these people that died stuck in a pipe. The title is about the found footage, the video opens with “Let’s discuss the found footage”, it all relies on us hearing the last words, and seeing the footage... It is about the footage, not the incident, and as a result this made me realize how ScareTheater had fallen (probably unconsciously since it seems to have just been a slow shift many channels that try to cover “true crime” topics fall into) into one of the big flaws of covering actual deaths and recent accident cases. A bad case of sensationalism, by highlighting a very gruesome and disturbing fact (last recorded words, videos of the cause of a death), and playing on the voyeurism of the audience so that the video would be shared and liked.

It isn’t like when he covered last videos or last photos of persons before they went missing - because in these cases, talking about it might help find back the person or understand what happened. And it isn’t like talking about something that happened a very long time ago, so that the case is closed or most people directly impacted/involved by the case are out of the picture. It is still very fresh, and these last moments are incredibly private and horrifying, and to see this shared online massively and used as the subject of a video, when it is still so fresh... it feels perverse. But not that ScareTheater seems to have done it on purpose - but this video clearly works in a way that it will appeal and attract the perversity of the worst voyeurists. This is a bit more than just a morbid curiosity, this feels almost indecent.

Because again - we are not talking of something that was purposefully posted on the Internet by someone part of it. When it comes to disturbing and horrifying footage actually sent on the Internet purposefully, it is important to talk about and analyze it and explain it, because it is already there and people are being exposed to it. But with this... it is something brought onto the Internet, brought onto the platform for people to see...

Honestly I don’t know, I can’t put my words in place. Yesterday I watched a video of disturbing footage found on the Internet - you might have seen the one, with a man filming as his house was being hit by a tornado, and the “man at the door” video of a dangerous criminal coming at the door of the one he wanted to turn into his next victim... And these didn’t felt like voyeurism. It was videos posted on the Internet, it was treated as content to be contextualized and analyzed, it was explained, it was informative of dangers... But tonight I see ScareTheater’s video about the last moments of those stuck divers, before they die, and I am hit with the knowledge that “This video is voyeurism. The bad type of voyeurism bad true crime-info channels or bad criminal magazines use, to form an audience by building on the perverse curiosity to glimpse into the last breath of a dying man or to see what the mutilated and torn up body of a murdered woman looks like, or to assist to the suicide of a desperate person that was in need of help”.

If it was just about the incident itself, about the media coverage, the way the rescue was handled, the reason these divers died, if it was just a video about the accident I probably wouldn’t have felt that - but it was about the found footage, and the last moments, and the last recorded words, as these poor people were stuck in a pipe certain of their death... I don’t know. Or rather I know that saying this invites to a lot of comparison, evaluation and re-evaluation of a lot of other content on Youtube, and opens a whole debate to “Where is the line? Where should Youtubers stop exploring disturbing footage, and what should one post on the Internet when discussing about it?”. It is not an easy debate, and it is precisely because it is such a complex issue that I am left with this “I don’t know feeling”.

But the thing that I am certain of, and that frightens me, is that I had probably grew a bit desensitized and complacent towards the voyeurism of those “death-covering” and “true crime” channels, about the general morbid voyeurism and view-collecting sensationalism of channels that are well-meaning even though in the facts they seem to do things more badly as time goes on... And this video shook me and woke something up in me, and made me go “Wait, that’s voyeurism, that’s not a good way to share this video, and the people who will watch this video probably will do it badly”. I mean, I just looked at the comments and most people just go “I feel bad for those people.” It is a sentence that comes up again and again “I feel bad for them”, “feel bad for them”, “this makes me feel so bad”.

Commenter on Youtube - seeing the last moments, the last recorded words and actions, the last of the life of people who just die isn’t supposed to make you “feel bad”. It is supposed to make you feel deeply disturbed and shocked. It isn’t about it being “uncomfortable”. It is another human being trapped into their death! It is horrfying and sickening and terrifying! One says “I feel bad this guy” when someone’s is the subject of something like a public humiliation, or falls prey for a scam, or has a nasty allergy - it isn’t supposed to be something you say upon watching the LAST OF SOMEONE LIFE! I am not particularly religious, but if there is something sacred in this life and that should be treated with respect, it is certainly the last moments, the last words and the last breath of a living being! It isn’t just some Youtube video you look at and say “Aww, feel sad for me, :( “. NO!

Anyway... I will certainly unsuscribe from ScareTheater, and my dislike of the current state of Youtube will go ever growing - and my suspicions and cynicism towards humanity will blossom a bit more. But I just wanted to share that because honestly I have no one else to share that with, and I want to have it recorded somewhere.

I am not a prude, and if this content is indeed present on the Internet I do think peope should explain it, and talk about it, and contextualize it, and warn people about it. But I am also a man who is for decency, and it is something people on the Internet clearly seem to have forgotten the existence of sometimes. I am sorry this all falls on ScareTheater’s video because clearly he isn’t himself a voyeurist, a perverted or an indecent person, but his video was clearly badly made if it managed to re-open my eyes about the morbid vulture-nature of Youtube.

#i don't even know how to tag this #youtube #true crime youtube #indecent youtube #i don't know

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smokeybrandreviews · 1 year

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The Fall of the House of Mouse

The perceived fall of "Disney" is absolutely fascinating to me. A lot of the discourse around this seems to be "Go woke, go broke" and that The Mouse House needs to step away from all of the "woke agenda politics" in order to recoup their former glory. They point to things like She-Hulk, Lightyear, and Strange Worlds as proof of this folly. Those films failed because it's the M-SHE-U or because the gay but really? I feel like that bigot cope. Adding diversity into your content doesn't inherently make it unprofitable. Bad stories does.

Street Fighter has been diverse as f*ck for years. As the years have progressed, it's gotten even more diverse. The first Street Fighter had a black boxer in it and a myriad of other fighters from around the world. SFII followed suit with another boon of diversity, including another black character, a green Brazilian, a dark skinned Indian, and a myriad of Asian representation. This trend continued until now and, with Street Fighter 6, we have one of the most ethnically diverse casts in the history of gaming. Another great example is the wild success of the first Black Panther movie. That sh*t made a billion dollars and appealed to the entire spectrum of race, even though the film, itself, was a love story for Blackness. Wakanda Forever! You can definitely be woke as f*ck with your content, if the content is good. That's the problem Disney is having: They're making terrible sh*t. The Woke stuff is a calculated attempt to stay relevant in a world of shifting norms. Homosexuality is more than accepted in the majority of household, much to the chagrin of all the Right Wing talking heads. There are a plethora of famous, transphobic, celebrities with massive audiences who pretty regularly get called on the carpet about their views. There was enough rancor a few years back with "Oscar's so White", that the entire film industry made a concerted effort to install more diversity in their films going forward. All of this happened in the last ten to twenty years because of us Millennials. We started this woke trend and it's definitely carried over to the Zoomers. Our younger siblings,, nieces, and nephews, are running with that same "Black Air Force" energy we had when the Virus started targeting us as their primary demo, and it's only going to get worse. The Alphas are next and they're OUR kids. They take even less discriminatory sh*t than the Zoomers so ho is actually combining about this Woke content? A very, very, small contingent of society who is seeing their cultural market share drying up.

The "Woke Cope" goes both ways. Black Adam was championed by these very loud minority of people, as how to execute diversity without being offensive. Guess what? It flopped. All these anti-SJW types had the perfect opportunity to put their money where their mouth was, support a film with a decent amount of diversity and a sprinkling of toothless political commentary, and it failed. Why? Wasn't all the brown people in it. Wasn't the anti-imperialism message. Wasn't the female co-lead or the "ginger erasure" of Tornado. No, it was because the very people touting that Black Adam is how you make a "Woke" film, refused to support it. That's the problem here: The content is bad. Black Adam is an uninspired mess of derivative narrative tropes. It did nothing new with the Capeflick genre en route to a wildly disappointing box office. All of the Disney failures this year everyone points to, are generally bad productions. She-Hulk was terrible on the page, long before it made it to film and so were the two Animation offerings. Stat Wars is failing not because of identity politics, but because the crone in charge has a vendetta against the franchise she was trusted to Shepard. Marcel is stumbling not because of all the brown and vaginaed legacy characters being introduced, but because their introductions such ass. I can't stand Ms. Marvel in the comic. I found her push to be wildly pandering and the character, herself, rather unlikable. Md. Marvel in the MCU is f*cking fantastic. I love Iman Vellani! She is perfect casting and really gives life to that role. The show, itself, is kind of wonky but is easily some of the best MCU TV content to date so why is it so hated? Ms. Marvel isn't woke. The show isn't poorly written. Kamala isn't a Mary sue. Why is this show hated? Probably because it's brown as f*ck which is the entire problem with the Disney collapse: Too much diversity and not enough whitewash.

Cats love to say Disney is failing because they replace straight white male leads with queen brown transpeople, or whatever. The argument these cats put toward why The Mouse House is spiraling, effectively boils down to "people want to see more white male Superheroes/traditional white families/white male leads, like the "good old days." That's fine. I get that. Middle America loves Disney. Those values carried Disney for decades. The thing is, those values and that lifestyle is dying. It's not some grand, Leftist, conspiracy, it's the fact that the internet exists and the world has gotten incredibly small. Cultures across the globe can intermingle and information can be exchanged with the push of a button. I have friends that I've known for two decades, that live in Finland, Japan, Ukraine, and Canada. You're crazy if you think our interactions haven't effected my perception of the world, that I wouldn't pass that knowledge on to my kids. The world isn't just their hamlet anymore and those very toxic nuclear family values are all falling away as the younger generations get older and older. Disney is smart in appealing to this new look early. That Woke content is about to be the only content in the next decade or so. They just haven't figured out how to execute that content without offending the dying demographic who kept them alive for so long and these cats are mad upset at the perceived betrayal. Disney is "failing" because they made a calculated move to cater toward the future, not lander to the past. That's it. Die mad about it.

#Disney

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smokeybrand · 1 year

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The Fall of the House of Mouse

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helliontherapscallion · 3 years

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pspspsp can I just request an immortal reader who's life is just dull/sad as hell since they've seen their loved ones leave or die in front of them so many times

but when they meet SBI or anyone, their life just suddenly brightens up? (Platonic and it can be any type of fic!)

(A/N): I got waaaayy too carried away with this. Star god reader my beloved (also, I’d imagine that your cloak looks like this guy’s but on the inside with the outsides being any color of your choice (credit goes to original artist))

If you want more god!reader content with the dream smp, @wooloo-inc has a really good series about a male!nature god!reader (aka, the god of dilf collection)

In the beginning when DreamXD created you (which if you think about it, that makes him your father, but I digress) from stardust and meteorite shards, you were a ball of fun loving sunshine (well, starshine?)

You loved watching over all of humankind, admiring their determination and bonds with other humans (both romantic and platonic)

Your older brother, the god of the moon, told you about how they viewed you and you were amazed

“Oberon?” You ran up to your older brother and tugged on his cloak making him hum in question, not looking up from his parchment scroll. “What- what do the humans think of me?”

He scoffed and glanced at you with his lily white irises, “why are you on about them again? They are lowly creatures compared to us, filled with greed and misfortune.”

“They worship us and that’s how you speak of them?”

“(Y/n) believe me, you have not seen the brutality they are capable of. War, famine, greed, plague, genocide, it’s all something you have not witnessed before. You have only seen the good in those things.”

“But Oberon, I wanna-” he lightly smacked the side of your head, “use proper English. We are gods and you will behave as such.”

You huffed, “I want to know about how they view us! I do not care about the bad things they have done! Plleeeaaassseeeeeee Beri?” You willed the stars that constantly gleamed in your eyes to shine brighter as you fluttered your eyelashes at him. He may seem like he hated everyone and everything (especially his siblings), but he had a soft spot for his youngest sibling. He just stared at you for a bit before he sighed and shifted in the massive throne so that you could hop up onto his lap. With a wave of a slender pale hand, he conjured up various images of humans with stardust gazing at the stars and the moon with carefree swipes of his hand.

“They view us as… poetic of sorts. They compare us to romance,” an image of two human males kissing then gazing into the stars laying down on a cliff came into view, “fortune tellers,” an image of the Aquarius and the Capricorn constellations popped up making you squeal in happiness. He chucked and changed the picture to a mother and son standing over a grave looking up in amazement at a shooting star, “and most importantly, as a sign of hope.

“They see us as complementary, the moon and the stars cannot be as beautiful without the other. We hold the power of the night and everything it touches, (y/n). This is our kingdom, do not forget that,” the image changed to the moon surrounded by stars and swirling blues and purples of nebulas.

You looked at the images with awe, absorbing every word that fell from his mouth. “Beri?” He once again hummed, his deep baritone voice sending vibrations along your back. “Will we be together forever?”

His lanky arms wrapped around your much smaller frame, “for all of eternity. The moon is nothing without the night sky and all of the stars it holds.”

Centuries passed and your fascination with humans only grew from there

When you eventually asked if you could meet a human Oberon reacted angrily and forbade you from speaking of humans again in your shared palace, worried for your safety

When he caught you attempting to sneak out, he locked you in your room for months on end

Humans wondered why the stars hardly appeared in the night sky anymore, forming the theory that they had somehow angered you

They prayed to you more and more, begging and groveling for forgiveness

They left more offerings at shrines

You heard their every word, feeling your heartbreak with sorrow and guilt for your lovely humans

You snuck out of the palace that night determined to make it up to the humans

You quietly snuck past the main room where you and Oberon used to sit on your thrones together and control the night. The large doors were cracked open showing your older brother watching the night with boredom. As you passed, his voice startled you, “I just cannot stop you can I?”

He appeared in the doorframe looking at you emotionlessly, his eyes glinting with hidden pain. “Do you realize how cruel of a place that world is? How cruel humans are?”

“I do not care, brother! They are in anguish because they think I am angry with them! Because you locked me in here!”

“I have told you time and time again, they are ruthless creatures. Humans are constantly clashing with their own kind for the slightest bit of power, they’re greedy creatures! Have you forgotten what happened to Arachnia?”

A shiver went down your spine at the mention of your fellow deity. She wanted to be with humans but they stripped her of her grace and virtuosity, torturing her when the moon would rise. That is the reason spiders attack humans in the night when the moon and stars show themselves and are dormant in the daytime. However, that did not deter you.

“I have not forgotten what happened to Arachnia, her tale fills me with grief. But not all humans are like that! They are compassionate, loving, and sweet creatures deep down, each and every single one of them!”

“They were not showing compassion or love when they tore Arachnia limb from limb! When they languish in riches while millions die around them! What part of that is compassionate?”

“Sure they do bad things sometimes, but have you forgotten the love they hold for each other? The determination and hope shining from within them when they pray to us? Have you forgotten that?”

“THEIR ACTIONS ARE NOT JUSTIFIED IN ANY WAY!”

“AND OURS ARE? YOU ARE BLIND, OBERON. HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THE CRUELTY THE GODS HAVE SUBJECTED HUMANS TO? WHEN OUR FATHER TOOK YEARS AWAY FROM THEIR LIFESPANS SOLELY BECAUSE THEY STOPPED WORSHIPPING HIM AS OFTEN AS THEY USED TO? WHAT PART OF THAT IS JUSTIFIED?”

He just stared at you with angry irises and his chest heaving before he ran a hand through his long ivory hair and turned around, the flowing white cape flowing wildly behind him with unseen air. He walked back into the observation room and back to his throne. Without a second glance to you, he worked on the transition of power between the sun and moon. You could imagine your sister Aelia grinning brightly as she rose the sun for the day.

“You are to never return here if you step foot out that door. You will still have control of your duties of the night. However you will never return. Do not come back groveling for forgiveness when I have given you constant warnings of their cruelty. If I see your face show up here, I will make sure father smites you down. Now get out of my sight.”

You huffed and whipped around to the front entrance, the stars that constantly twinkled and the nebulas that constantly swirled in the inside of your cloak illuminating the white floors below you as you ran. You left the palace without a second thought, leaving your old life behind in favor of spending it with the humans.

When you came crashing to the Earth in a shooting star, you were amazed by the beauty of it up close and in person

It was everything you expected and then some

You heard the humans cheering and thanking you in their prayers when the stars returned brighter than usual

You being completely enamoured by all of the humans, even if they recognized you or not you loved them all unconditionally

You set up a little cottage in the tundra where you could see the night sky clearly with the occasional aurora borealis

From the roof, you controlled the stars

The tales of you defecting from the heavens was a popular one, and you became somewhat of a symbol of the hope that humanity should hold for themselves and compassion

Occasionally sending shooting stars over humans you knew were stargazing

You have met many lovers, friends, and even your own adopted kids over the next millenia, all of them accepting your immortality and everlasting duties

But it’s all the same in the end: they come, they leave, and they die

With each death of your loved ones, you could feel your will to keep going dissipate

The stars grew dimmer gradually in the night sky

The humans gradually stopped worshipping you as you disappeared from the night skies

You became a distant memory for elders to tell children

Disappearing from the face of the Earth for a few centuries when you could not take the constant deaths any longer

Nobody knew where your cabin laid so you were undisturbed for centuries on end, left to your grief

That was until a knock sounded at your door

The knock startled you out of the comfort of your bed. Reluctantly, you left the warmth of the multitude of blankets and donned your cloak to hide your unkempt appearance. When you passed the mirror hanging in the hallway, you could see that your face was shrouded by darkness with the exception of a single glint where your eyes were caused by the lone star that was a constant reminder of your position. Before you fell into a deep depression, the stars would illuminate your entire face if you put your hood up.

You opened the front door without a care in the world. If the beings on the other side were humans that would take you away and torture you, you didn’t care. You’re long past the point of caring for your own well being.

On the other side was a man of average height and long shaggy blond hair pulled into a slick ponytail. He was dressed entirely in green with a green and white striped bucket hat placed on his head. Past you would’ve been cooing at the object, but now you dully looked at the man in front of you. You glanced behind him and your eyes widened at the huge black wings sprouting from his back. You know who he was the second your eye caught the black feathers; he was the Angel of Death.

“Hello, Angel of Death.”

He tried to peer into your shrouded features, only seeing two pinpricks of light where your eyes should be. He gave you a friendly smile, brushing off the snow that gathered on his shoulders. “(Y/n), the God of the Stars and the Night Sky. Giver of compassion to the human race, it’s an honor to meet you.”

“Why are you here? Last time I checked, my last lover died centuries ago.”

“Yes, my condolences. They were lovely when I guided their soul to the afterlife.”

“You still have not answered my question, Angel of Death. Why are you here?” You grit out the last sentence through a clenched jaw. He has no right to talk about them when he assisted in taking them away from you. Him and your cousin, the Goddess of Death Kristin. They took everybody you loved away from you. You knew that their deaths were unavoidable since they were human and you were immortal, but you still couldn’t help but resent them.

“The Goddess of Death sent me. The God of the Moon and the Goddess of the Sun sent her a request to send me to check on you.”

You stared at him for a few moments before you saw him shivering slightly and sighed. You always had a soft spot for humans, even if the being in front of you was not a human in the slightest. He reminded you of an old friend. You stepped aside and gestured lazily inside the house, “come in.”

He started to visit more and more over the next century

He eventually befriended you about half a century into the visits

It was extremely difficult to do because of how guarded you were, but he managed to break you out of your shell

You realizing how kind he was and how much he cared for you

You quickly came to the realization that he was immortal as well after reading up on the Angel of Death

After another fifty years, he became your best friend

You both opened up and comforted each other about everybody you both lost over the years

When he adopted Technoblade and then Wilbur not long after Techno, you were extremely hesitant to get close to them

Even going as far as telling Philza that you thought that it was an extremely bad idea

Mortals always end up leaving in the end anyways, it’s best to avoid the endless cycle of hurt that came with having mortals around

You told him about your own adopted children that have died over the years

You refuse to meet them, cutting off all communication with Philza for a year or two

Eventually meeting his three adopted kids when you reluctantly accept a dinner invitation one day

You attempted to appear cold and uncaring, but your love for humans (especially baby humans) shone through when an infant Tommy started to play with your cape

It seemed that the stars and the moving nebulas within the fabric entranced him

From then on whenever you visited Philza, you always held Tommy until he was too old for you to do so

Becoming very attached to the blond with your strong innate parental instincts

You introduce Techno to mythology, sharing stories of your personal interactions with certain gods and entities throughout the years

You teach Techno how to cope with the voices as you constantly hear multiple prayers to you from humans at the same time

You arrange a meeting for Wilbur with the Goddess of Music when he asks you about her

Arranging for her to start giving him lessons in exchange of a favor that will be cashed at a later date

You help raise all three of them, often taking them off Philza’s hands for a night or two

Their favorite activity with you is watching you raise the stars and turn the sky dark

They always loved to watch you move the stars and summon shooting stars for them

The stars gradually returned to your eyes and a constant ecstatic smile slowly became synonymous with your face again

Humans started to worship you again when the stars in the sky became brighter

You became your old self again after centuries of feeling lost

To repay them for everything they’ve done for you, you decided to rearrange the stars for one night

One night of having a different star pattern couldn’t hurt

Sure, it’d make a few theories pop up among the humans, but those are fun to overhear sometimes

The young boys and Philza behind you watched in awe as your eyes started to glow brightly and you slowly moved your hands gracefully raising the stars with the moon, your cloak starting to flow with nonexistent winds. They’ve seen you raise the stars thousands of times, but it never ceases to amaze them. It was just so… entrancing.

You broke into a slight sweat and started to move the stars from their original positions in the sky. Shaking slightly, you pushed back against the strain and slight pain that it brought you. You’ve never done this before, so you really didn’t know what you were expecting. You felt someone put a hand on your shoulder.

“What’re you doin, mate?”

“Uh Dad?”

“Not now Techno. Mate, are you alright?”

“Dad, look up. They’re rearranging the stars,” Wilbur breathed out.

You could hear Philza gasp slightly as he watched star after star move until they locked into place. There in the twinkling night sky was each of their names gleaming brightly in small lettering. When you were done, you fell into a kneel onto the ground and rubbed at your aching head panting lightly.

You could hear the boys around you panic slightly as you regained your breath. As you heard them approach you you looked up at them and smiled, the stars gleaming brightly in your irises. “Do you like it?”

“Y-yes but gods, (y/n) are you alright?”

“I am fine, but stars, I have never done that before. Are you four ready for stargazing?”

“That was so pog, (y/n)! How’d you do that?”

“I hold the power of the stars and the night sky in my hands. My brother once told me that the night is our kingdom.” You laid down onto the grass and took off your cloak to cover up a shivering Tommy and Wilbur next to you. You sighed as you thought about your siblings; you wondered how they were doing.

“I will gladly move the stars themselves for you four. You are my family.” There was a stretched out moment of comfortable silence as you five watched shooting stars blaze by. Eventually, you saw an aurora borealis materialize above you. Furrowing your brow, you looked at it in question. They don’t appear this time of year, so why-

“Aelia,” you breathed out as you watched the greens flow above you. She must’ve sent a gust of solar wind your way.

“Isn’t Aelia the Goddess of the Sun?” Wilbur asked you.

“Yes, she is my oldest sister. She must have redirected the solar winds over here.”

“Damn, what’s with the gods changing everything tonight? You guys need to fuckin chill.”

“Tommy!” Philza scolded and was about to continue before he heard you start to laugh. They’ve only heard you genuinely laugh only a couple of times, so the sound that left your mouth immediately brightened the mood.

“Yes Tommy, I suppose we do need to ‘fucking chill’.”

“You swore! Fuckin pog,” Tommy cheered to himself as the others looked at you in slight shock at your words. If you’re being completely honest in all of the years you spent alive (which is since basically the beginning of time), you’ve never sworn once. You were raised differently than that. When you realized that the others were staring at you, you smirked at them. The stars twinkling and giving your eyes even more of a mischievous glint, “what? Have you never heard a god swear before?”

General taglist (comment if you want to be added):

@crybabyjabby @izzybobizzy13 @goldenstarofthunderclan @bunnyz-pxstel @averytiredfanfictionwriter @dcml04 @sparkling-gayyyy @bbigbbrainn @thaticecreambish @kiinokochii @satansphatass @bxkubitch @bxmentchildxx @roxy3457 @montygator17 @feverish-dove @the-fictionwriters-hairdo @jichuuchaeng @404rynnotfound @luluwinchester @laura--444 @the-cult-classic-bitch @youngstarfishdinosaur

#sbi x reader #sleepy bois x reader #sleepy bois inc x reader #philza x reader #technoblade x reader #wilbur soot x reader #tommyinnit x reader #god reader #requests #hellion's requests #1k special #hellion's 1k special #tw: death #tw: depression #tw: grief #tw: swearing

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xbellaxcarolinax · 4 years

Text

Heartbreaker- Part 2

Pairing: Modern Ivar x Female character/ reader (She)

Word Count: 5573

Warnings: Sexual content, language and angst.

Beautiful mood board by the amazing @peterquillzsblog Thank you again 💙

So clearly, I have no self control. I got a little carried away. This was only meant to be a one-shot and here I am posting a second part 😅 @youbloodymadgenius, I hope you don’t mind 💙 Thank you for all the wonderful feedback from the first part, it inspired me to write this second part.

Part 1

...

“Here we have the famous Oseberg Ship. It was discovered by a farmer in Vestfold over a hundred years ago in 1904,” Her heels click against the hardwood floor, coming to an abrupt halt right by the ancient Viking ship, “It is known as the most beautiful Viking tomb to be discovered.” She watches the tourists surround the vessel, all sporting wide eyes as they take in the sight of the giant ship.

She goes on to explain the history of the ship, the noblewomen that were buried within and the various items unearthed in the vessel. She never grew tired of watching tourist faces twist in fascination as she educates them on the Viking Age and of the narrative that most didn’t know about besides knowing that the Norse were fearsome warriors. They were much more complex than that. The last half hour was spent exploring the rest of the exhibition and alerting the small crowd of the donations that would kindly be accepted for the preservation of the vessel.

Leading the small group back towards the entrance of the museum, she waves them off, thanking them for their time and wishing them a good day. That was only her first tour of the day. 2 more to go. Smoothing down her nicely fitted black pencil skirt, she goes behind the ticket counter, greeting the 2 cashiers, Anders and Christina, before checking the roster posted by the register for the next tour.

“I’d like to purchase a ticket for the tour at 2.” Immediately her head snaps up to look towards the familiar voice, her jaw clenching as soon as she sees those familiar blue eyes. Fuck. Her hand grips Christina’s shoulder tightly, causing the cashier to look up at her before she could hand him his ticket and change.

“What?” Christina questions, shifting away from her touch before smiling prettily at Ivar, “Enjoy the tour, sir.”

“Thank you.” He smiles back charmingly, the same kind of smile that had her hooked at that stupid party. His eyes shift to hers immediately, cocking his head as he purses his lips, trying to elicit a reaction from her. The reaction would have been to slap him, but she’d rather keep her job. Adjusting the collar of her white pinstriped button down, she turns away, muttering something to the cashiers before going straight toward the museum cafe. She ignores Ivar completely, her nude heels clicking desperately against the floor as she tries to get away from him as quickly as possible. He wouldn’t be able to catch up with her with his crutch. He must have been in pain that day to be going out with it. And who cares? Fuck him.

She gets herself a bottle of water, tapping her foot impatiently as the cashier takes his sweet ass time getting her change. She should have given him her card. Before she could slink away, Ivar gets a firm grip on her wrist, his large hand pushing her bracelets up against her skin uncomfortably.

“Wait,” He says smoothly, turning her gently to face him. She bites her lip, finally bringing her eyes to meet his. She couldn’t read him at that moment, but really, could she ever? Ivar was like a fucking android when he wanted to be. “You blocked me. I’ve been trying to reach you for days now.” She scoffs, removing herself from his grip and folding her arms over her chest.

“I’ve been unavailable.” She says with a shrug, giving him the best glare she could muster. It had been a little over a week since the incident and she had done well to stay out of his way, not that it was difficult to do so in the first place. They lived about 15 minutes away from each other, but it was still far enough that she wouldn’t really run into him, and Ivar drove everywhere which was the upside of her walking and taking public transit. Thankfully, they worked completely different jobs. What a nightmare that would have been if they didn’t. Of course, he knew where she worked. The museum wasn’t far from his office and he sometimes picked her up after work when he had the chance. She supposed that was the downside.

Ivar gives her a once over, admiring how her pencil skirt hugged her gentle curves and how her legs seemed endless in those pricey heels. He remembered how happy she had been when she bought them for herself. He insisted on purchasing them for her, what was a measly 2000 krones? That wasn’t easy on the salary of a museum tour guide, but she refused of course, and he kinda liked her all the more for it. But that was in the past.

“You’ve been ignoring me.” He corrects, leaning heavily on his crutch, masking his discomfort as well as he could, but he couldn’t fool her. He licks his lips, raising a brow as if insisting she give him a decent answer. Who was he to insist upon anything?

“I have nothing to say to you, Ivar.”

“Come on, really? Nothing? I doubt it,” He snorts with a shake of his head, “Did you at least like the flowers? I stayed up all night finding the right florist that had your favorite flowers and that could deliver them early on such short notice. I had to pull some strings. It wasn't easy, you know.” What, did he want her to fall to her knees and kiss those expensive ass beige Chelsea boots that went well with his navy blue fitted suit? Fuck, she needed to stop.

“Oh yes, I loved them so much that I had to throw them out. They were too pretty. The little card was the best part. Thank you so much for that, asshole.” He trailed after her when she pushed past him, rushing out of the cafe. 5 minutes left till the tour started.

“Wait, slow down,” He calls out to her as he maneuvers himself through the crowd of people, finally catching up to her quick steps, “What did you want me to say? I warned you-”

“Yes, yes, not to fall in love with you, got it,” She dismisses his comment, “And I’m trying to accept that, so why aren’t you?” Ivar clears his throat, shoving a hand into the pocket of his tight dress pants.

“I want you to come back.” She snorts at his audacity, and he frowns, abruptly coming to a stop in front of her. He looks deeply into her eyes, her lashes nice and thick from her coat of mascara. He moves his eyes down to her lips, set in a snarl. That’s not the reaction he wanted, but at least she wore a pretty shade of lipstick.

“You must be out of your mind. Go back where? Your bed?” She whispers harshly over to him, “You’ve made a decision and so did I. Go do what you do best and leave me out of it.”

“But we were doing so great,” He whines, and she found it hard to believe she was talking to a grown ass man, “And I miss you.” He missed her body, not her.

“Fuck you.” She spits, fighting the urge to pour her entire bottle of water over him. Wouldn’t it be a sight to see him looking like a drowned rat.

“That’s what I’d like for you to do, yes. Preferably with you on top.” He smirks, loving how her face burned in both embarrassment and anger. He absolutely loved when she got flustered. It was cute. She quickly looks around hoping no one has witnessed their little exchange.

“This is a professional setting Ivar, so please do me a favor and respect my job,” She looks down at her watch, “I don’t have time for your bullshit. The tour is about to start. I gotta go.” She could already see the small group lining up, waiting to be led into the exhibit.

“Luckily, I’ll be joining you.”

“You hate museums.”

“Please, I’m totally interested in…” He pulls out the ticket, squinting his eyes at the description typed in the finest of print, “...The Gokstad ship.” He didn’t even know what tour ticket he fucking purchased.

“Oh god.” She groans, rushing over to the group to greet them. Ivar smiles, following right behind her.

God, her ass looked great in that skirt.

…

“The Gokstad ship was built at the height of the Viking period,” She begins, trying her very best to ignore Ivar’s piercing gaze. She was used to having eyes on her whenever she did her public speaking, but Ivar’s eyes were different. He wanted to devour her. “It was extremely versatile, but mostly used for raids and voyages.” The group of tourists, consisting of families with young children, began their picture taking of the massive ship.

“If you look up toward the stern posts, notice the absence of the notorious dragon heads. Although most of the wood has rotted away, archeologists believe there were never dragon heads fitted in the first place. This ship is quite fearsome without them, don’t you think?” The group erupted in murmurs as they turned their eyes up toward the very top of the ship.

The only person who lacked interest was Ivar. He smirks at her, leaning against the arched entryway while the rest of the group roamed around the perimeter of the ship, unaware of the silent battle between the handsome crutch man and the pretty tour guide. The fucker was making her nervous, her hands beginning to sweat as she fumbled with her fingers behind her back. When she shifts her eyes back to his she gulps. Slowly, he drags his tongue over his lower lip, coating the plump muscle in a shine before he bites down gently, wiggling his brows in suggestion.

Fuck him.

After what seemed like hours, the Gokstad tour finally ended and once again she brought the group back towards the entrance of the museum, suggesting they visit the cafe for a quick meal before bidding them a good day.

“I forgot how smart you are,” Ivar pulls up right behind her, his breath close enough to form gooseflesh on the nape of her neck, “My little bookworm, hmm?

“I’m nothing to you,” She whirls around, looking up at him with sad eyes and the same frown she’s been wearing for most of the tour, “Have a good day, asshole.”

…

Norwegian weather never seemed to agree with her. It was pouring outside and she didn't bring an umbrella. There wasn't even rain in the forecast till tomorrow. She runs down the steps of the museum, careful not to slip in her damn heels. The sidewalks were already slippery, and she had to mind her steps to avoid falling on her ass.

A familiar expensive car pulls up right beside her. This fucker waited an extra 2 hours for her to finish work, just to pull up in his car? "Let me give you a ride." Ivar lowers the window of the passenger seat, tapping on the gas pedal lightly to match the extremely slow pace she had in those heels.

“I’m fine.” She bites out, awkwardly maneuvering her trench coat over her head in a pathetic attempt to shield herself from the rain. It wasn’t too bad, she told herself, and the train station wasn’t that far.

“Seriously? You’re soaked and you’re gonna get sick. Stop being stubborn.” He scoffs, craning his neck to get a better look at her.

“Ivar, you're holding up traffic, just go.” The cars behind him began to honk their horns at Ivar’s turtle-like pace, but all he did was roll down his window and flip everyone off.

“Which is exactly why you should get in. Come on, it’s the least I can do.” He flashes her that charming smile, and all she could really do in that moment was to stare at his pearly white teeth and his perfect lips.

“Fine.” She grumbles, opening the door as soon as she heard him unlock it, quickly shuffling inside. She sits on her trench so as to not wet the fancy leather interior of the sleek black car. That was way too nice of her.

“That wasn’t so bad now, was it?”

“Just shut the fuck up and drive.” Ivar chuckles at her irritation, unaware of the potty mouth she had, but he liked that. He does as told, hitting the gas and taking off down the street.

The drive to her flat was mostly silent with the exception of the radio playing softly in the background. She makes sure to look out the window, staring at the most mundane details of a tiled roof, or counting how many people she could spot walking down the street. That was the only way she could successfully ignore Ivar without getting trapped by his gaze. After 25 minutes he pulls up in front of her building, and she doesn’t hesitate to hop out the car, slamming the door with more force than necessary.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” He rolls down the window, calling out to her retreating figure.

“Fuck no.” She yells back, not bothering to look back at him.

An elevator ride to the 3rd floor and a quick conversation with her neighbor, and she was entering her cozy flat in no time. After tossing her keys in the ceramic dish, she removes her heels, setting them to dry by the coat rack where she hung her trench and purse. She removes the tie holding her hair up in a ponytail, quickly ruffling her fingers through the knots to no avail. After switching on her fairy lights, she immediately goes to pull out a bottle of Pinot Noir from the cupboard, wasting no time in pouring herself a glass and gulping it down in almost one go. There wasn’t enough wine in the world to muddle her thoughts away from Ivar. Her heart was beginning to ache again.

The loud obnoxious knock on her door had her sighing dramatically as she already knew who was behind it. All she wanted to do was shower, maybe watch a show, eat takeout, and go to bed. It could’ve been so simple if it weren’t for Ivar.

“No one’s home.” She calls out, leaning her back against the door with the glass of red wine in her hand. She sips it lazily, hearing Ivar’s frustrated grumbling from the other side.

“Can I please come in?” His tone was boardline pleading, and she let out the most unbecoming snort before turning around and flinging the door open.

“What do you want?” She questions.

“A ‘thank you’ maybe?” He was leaning heavily against his crutch now, all that standing, walking and driving catching up to him. His nice clothes were damp from the rain and a few strands of hair escaped his almost neat bun, plastered down on his prominent forehead.

“Thanks. Goodnight.” Before she could slam the door in his face he shoots a hand out, stopping the door from closing any further.

“Please.” Was all he said, and if she wasn’t mistaken, there was something akin to sadness swimming in those big eyes of his. Fuck. She steps to the side, opening the door wide enough for him to slip in before slamming the door shut. He stands there awkwardly as she moves back to her kitchen counter, pouring herself another glass before going on her phone in search of a playlist.

“Well?” He finally questions, removing his dressy boots and placing them right beside her heels.

“Well?” She questions back, brows raised.

“Aren’t you going to offer me a glass?”

“Here’s the wine,” She pushes the bottle forward, “I’m sure you remember where the glasses are.” She hears Ivar grunt in displeasure as she flopped down on the sofa, not caring that her clothes were soaked and most likely seeping through the material of the sofa. She should probably invest in some leather ones. After a minute Ivar plops down beside her, setting aside his crutch with one hand while gripping his wine glass in the other.

Once again, there was silence between them as her playlist filtered throughout the living room from her hidden wireless speakers. She always did have a love for classical music, Ivar realized. It was something to calm her nerves, like the star projector in her room. He does a quick scan of the living room. He hadn’t been inside her flat in a while, but nothing really changed. Maybe she added a couple of new plants to her collection but that was it. He wasn’t sneezing yet, which was a good sign. That meant no candles were lit. And that fucking cat hasn’t shown up to hiss at him, another good sign.

“You want some takeout?” She asks him in a bored tone, the kind of tone she used when she wasn’t particularly keen being in someone’s presence, mostly towards those she disliked. It was always the one she used when around a specific set of Ivar’s friends, or even his brother, Sigurd. She bends forward, picking up the stack of takeout menus that were neatly placed in a pile on the small wooden coffee table, filtering through them until she pulled out a menu that caught her eye. “Mexican?”

“Mexican is fine.” He agrees, taking another sip of the bitter wine as he raked his eyes over her form for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Her cheeks were dusted in pink and her hair was a wet mess. Her white button down was soaked, giving him a great view of the white bra underneath the thin cotton fabric.

“Stop fucking staring,” She mutters, “You’re not entitled to that anymore.”

“You’re right.” He clears his throat, bringing his attention to the TV that never seemed to be in use. He stared at his reflection off the black screen, wondering just what the fuck he was doing there. It was all spontaneous, you see. He’d woken up that morning with dozens of messages from his brothers and another dozen missed calls from Freydis. But none of them were from the person he wanted.

After his lunch break he decided to take the rest of the day off, much to Ubbe’s annoyance. He left his older brother’s office while hearing him shout out something along the lines of him being a lousy paralegal. Instead of doing his actual job, which was to draw up contracts for Ubbe’s clients, he decided to pay the fucking Viking Ship Museum a visit. He decided to pay her a visit. He didn’t give a flying fuck about those Viking ships, and he had little to no interest in his ancestors and their artifacts, but there was no denying that she looked amazing while talking about it.

While she orders over the phone, her cat decides to hop on the coffee table, baring his teeth and hissing at him immediately.

“Benji, come on,” Ivar groans, lolling his head to the side to eye the angry calico, “I send you your favorite treats and this is how you repay me?” Benji hisses at him again, standing on his little legs to appear more intimidating, but all he did was look like a fat spotted meatball. She tosses a throw pillow at him, successfully hitting the cat in the face and he immediately bolts off the coffee table and into her room.

“Your cat hates me.” Ivar complains, watching her set her phone down before getting up to pour herself another glass of wine.

“That makes two of us.” Was her snarky reply, her lower lip resting over the rim of the glass. Her eyes held a glint of danger, like she’d chuck the glass at him at any given moment. Thankfully she wasn't crazy like that. Instead she rolls her eyes at him, taking a sip of her drink as she leaned against the counter.

“You hate me?” He asked softly, his brows curving up in a worrisome look. He had absolutely no business looking the way he did. It was borderline adorable and she hated her thoughts for even thinking to describe him that way.

“Maybe hate is a strong word,” She says, swirling the dark liquid around the glass, “Dislike. I dislike you, Ivar Ragnarsson.” He frowns, turning away from her searing eyes for a moment, grunting when he stood with the help of his crutch. Fucking legs. Today was not the day. He walks over to her small kitchen, stepping closer to her until he gets in her face, arms caging her in as his hands gripped at the edges of the counter. His nose was mere inches away from hers, his blue gaze so penetrating she thought she could melt right into his arms. No. This was bad.

“What a shame,” He whispers, tilting his head down until his brow touched hers. He could hear her intake a sharp breath, her fingers gripping the wine glass tightly in the small space between them as her eyes fluttered closed. She looked so beautiful like this, cheeks flushed and lips parted as if begging for a kiss, and he had the biggest desire to do just that. He tilts his head, his nose tracing alongside hers, his lips so close to molding perfectly over her own. The knock on her door had him releasing a breath of pure frustration, groaning at the interruption. She blinks up at him, her eyes glazed in that lustful way he was familiar with. God, he missed that.

Shaking her head as if to clear her mind, she pushes Ivar away with little grace, hearing him stumble a bit as she made for the door. This was bad. Very bad. Searching the pocket of her trench coat, she pulls out her wallet, fishing for a few bills before pulling the door open, grabbing the bag of food from the delivery boy and handing him the money.

“I could have paid, you know.” Ivar says as soon as she slams the door closed, watching her drop the food onto the coffee table and rummaging inside.

“Paying for food isn’t going to change anything. Flowers aren't going to change anything.” She says, sitting on the sofa with a taco in hand. Ivar bites the inside of his cheek, sitting beside her and grabbing a taco of his own. She turns on the TV, putting on some random documentary about the Sami people as she takes another messy bite of her taco. Had she always looked this good while eating? He didn’t notice before, but he sure as fuck did now.

After a few minutes of silence, she gets up, packing away the trash and moving back to the counter to pour herself the remainder of the wine. She only drank like this when she was anxious, meaning, Ivar was making her anxious. He didn’t know how to feel about that. Hurt maybe? No, women never hurt him, not since that incident with Margrethe. He was the one doing the hurting now. So what made this any different?

Again, he gets to his feet with the help of his crutch, walking over to her and caging her in again, this time with her back pressed up against his torso. He lowers his chin to her shoulder, feeling her tense up at his actions. She smelled of her usual perfume. Chanel? He couldn’t remember, but the scent was amazing and had a desire raging within him. She pushes him back just enough to turn around within his arms, tilting her head up at him in a type of defiance that made him want to ravage her.

“It seems like that blonde hasn’t been fulfilling your needs. What was her name again? Freydis?” She knew what she was doing when she fluttered those lashes, worrying her lip between her teeth. She was teasing him, he knew. He didn’t want her to mention Freydis. He didn’t want to be thinking of that bimbo, not when he’s been craving her like madman for the past week and a half and finally, she was right in front of him just waiting to be tasted.

“She could never do what you can.” He mutters, inching his face closer to hers, his lips hovering over hers as they did before. He tries to steal a kiss, but she turns away from him, his lips landing on her cheekbone. Ivar groans, annoyed, pulling back to reveal his utter displeasure. He was desperate to kiss her, to feel her lips on his where they rightfully belonged.

“What a shame.” She shrugs, bringing her glass to her lips and taking another slow sip of her wine. She knew she was driving him crazy. He wanted her, she could see it in his eyes, in the way his body yearned for hers, how his hands gripped tightly at the edge of the counter, his knuckles white. He was like a wanton whore, silently begging for release.

“She could never do what you can.” He repeats again with a sigh.

“And what’s that, hmm?” She inches closer, her face so close to his as she questions him, “What is it that I can do? Because from the look of it, you seemed quite happy with her under your sheets.” She didn’t mean to say those words that angrily, but they came out rushed and heavy, the rage bubbling up within her. Ivar takes note of the vexation in her eyes, shifting his gaze back down to her lips. Fuck it.

He surges forward, crashing his lips to hers, molding them just like he wanted to. She takes a breath of surprise, hesitating to return the passion he was giving her until finally, she gives in, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down towards her. She moans, delighting him greatly, and it was enough to grip her backside in his big hands, lifting her up onto the counter.

“Fuck, I’ve missed this,” He mutters over her lips, pulling out her dress shirt from her skirt, desperate to feel the soft skin beneath, “I’ve missed you.” She doesn't bother to reply, continuing to kiss him while she pushes his lapel jacket from his shoulders. She tosses it to the floor, moving to untuck his white dress shirt. “Did you miss me, kitten? I think you did.”

“Shut the fuck up and kiss me, asshole.” She growls, working on unbuckling his belt. Ivar grins as a new wave of arousal hits him, slapping her hands away in order to rip her shirt open. The buttons flew everywhere, clinking over the counter and onto the floor, and wherever else they happened to fall, he didn’t really care. “Ivar! Benji might eat one of those!”

“Fuck it. I’ll buy you a new cat.” He says, pulling down her damp bra to release her breasts, her nipples immediately hardening as the air hit her skin. He wastes no time in latching on to a nub, swirling his tongue over her heated flesh. She squeals, her fingers weaving their way through the roots of his hair and giving a harsh tug, his neat bun tumbling down into a messy ponytail.

“Shit.” She groans, tilting her head back as Ivar nipped and sucked, worshiping her skin until finally dragging his tongue toward the valley of her breasts and up towards her neck. Just the way she liked it.

Ivar makes a noise of approval, grunting at the tight grip she had on his shoulders. He peppered kisses up her neck and over her face, being as gentle with her as he possibly could. Usually Ivar opted towards the rougher side of sex, with heated touches and sloppy kisses, but not that night. He wanted to give her soothing touches and tender kisses, anything he could do to please her. Anything to get her back to him.

He pushes a lock of her hair behind her ear, moving his hand to cup the side of her face while the other holds onto the edge of the counter. She was breathing heavily, uncertainty swimming in her eyes as she looked up at him with a growing desire.

“Bedroom?” He whispers. She sighs, biting her lip. This was very bad. Bad, bad, bad. She nods her head weakly.

“Bedroom.”

…

Ivar didn’t notice when she had turned on her projector, but he was staring up at it now, watching the stars twinkle brightly against her ceiling. He laid with an arm behind his head, his skin still damp from recent physical activities. It was amazing, like fireworks shooting off in his head and it was exactly what he needed. It was exactly what he’d been missing, the touch of her skin, her little moans and whimpers, her nails scratching down his back. He was sure his back was riddled with angry red lines, and he knew it would sting once he showered, but he enjoyed it, so it didn’t bother him much.

He turns to look at her when he feels the bed shift, watching her naked form move in the darkness to light those damn scented candles around her room. He smiles, eyeing the little dimples on her lower back that became more pronounced when she leaned over her nightstand. The scent of roses filled the room, reminding him of the garden back in his family’s summer home. His nose pricked with the familiar sensation of a sneeze, and he immediately wrinkles his nose to keep it at bay.

She settles back on the bed, bringing the quilt patterned sheets she favored over herself. She faces him, but doesn’t look at him, choosing instead to follow the geometric shapes of a mandala printed on the linen. Ivar reaches out to touch her cheek, his finger tracing down her skin in gentle swipes. She looked so beautiful. The starlight from the ceiling and the flickering candles danced over her skin, draping her in a glow that made her look ethereal.

Any other time before last week, she would have enjoyed such touches. Okay, maybe she was enjoying them a little too much in that moment, but this was probably the last time she’d let herself fall into his sly little trap, right? Feeling his toned chest under her palms felt amazing, and his skin still had the lingering scent of his body wash. He was always meticulous in the products he used for himself, which meant he never used one of those 3 in 1 body washes that are a typical man’s holy grail. His skin always had a fresh smell, like cucumbers, and his hair had that pleasant coconut scent from the shampoo she introduced to him.

“You’re amazing.” Ivar whispers, bringing her out of her thoughts. His eyes flutter with the signs of sleep, his day ending in complete satisfaction. She was almost sad to be bursting his bubble, but if it were the other way around he wouldn’t be sad to burst hers. She clears her throat, preparing her next words carefully.

“Ivar?”

“Hm?”

“You can leave now.” Whatever drowsiness he felt had disappeared almost immediately, eyes now wide enough to bulge from his sockets. She wanted to laugh, but felt it would ruin the moment, and he wouldn’t take her seriously if she broke out in laughter, so she kept her serious face on.

“You don’t want me to sleepover?” He asked, dumbfounded, sitting up to lean on his elbows, gazing down at her.

“What for? You hate it here.” She says, waving her hand around to make her point. Ivar frowns, not really understanding her. She used to beg for him to stay, and she eventually stopped asking him after a while, but he was so sure that having him there and him deciding to spend the night would make her happy, so why was she not happy?

“I don’t.” He answers.

“Liar.”

“I’m not lying,” He pouts, “I just prefer my place.”

“I’m not stopping you from going, Ivar.” She says flatly. His expression was comedic, mouth slightly agape and eyes blinking stupidly. The sheets pool around his waist as he sits up, staring down at his hands. His ego had just taken a beating.

“Are you serious?”

“Very.” Ivar’s face twists in utter confusion. How could she deny him? She wanted him. She loved him...didn’t she?

“But…”

“What’s the matter?” She moves closer to him, “Are you upset?” She taunts, her naked chest in full view for him to admire, but before he could, she grabs his jaw tightly, holding it in place to lock eyes with him. His blue irises were intense and mesmerizing, and was one of the reasons why she fell for him so hard. Ivar was beautiful, but his heart was ugly, and he needed to be put in his place. “Did you want me to still be in love with you despite the many times you’ve warned me not to?” Ivar remains silent, searching her eyes for something more than the words she’s uttered. There was nothing there.

She loosens her grip on his jaw, pushing him away from her. His face falls, utterly dejected. The corners of his mouth twitch as he stares at her, noting the little smirk that played on her lips.

“Get the fuck out of my flat, Ivar.”

...

@a-daydreamers-day @heavenly1927 @didiintheblog @inforapound @a-mess-of-fandoms @leilabeaux @shannygoatgruff @syrenak

#ivar #ivar imagine #ivarfanfiction #vikings #vikings ivar #alex hogh andersen #ivar the boneless #ivar x reader #ivar smut

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zillyeh · 3 years

Text

Storm Season (1/???)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Word count: 1749

Content warning: N/A

Synopsis: Voss comes back from the fleet and makes a new friend. :)

Google Doc

The docks of Delhon rarely saw fleet ships returning, but when they did it was so often for bad reasons. After all, returning soldiers tended to… shy away from reuniting with their lovely home city. For whatever reason.

Voschi watched the docks from a few streets up, the ship that just dumped him and a few others back to Alternia buzzing with trolls ready for liftoff. Cigarettes had been the first thing he’d gotten once his land legs were back, and this uphill corner store had the best vantage point. It was… bittersweet, to say the least. Not being allowed back. Ever. The nuisance he’d made of himself was apparently too much to keep around after his mysterious, doubly fatal accident. Not enough to leave him dead, though. He’d miss his position, the degree of respect he was owed. And maybe Vassal. A little.

Yet the freedom of being bound to pavement once more was… exhilarating. The rude, aggressive sounds of the upper city, the loud argument about something happening a few streets over… There was something beautiful about Delhon’s crust. Homey. Comforting. But perhaps that was the cigarettes- cheap lung rippers that he’d missed more than anyone he’d ever known here. It probably wasn’t good for him in the long run, especially considering his semi-recent recovery from some major head trauma, but it felt good now.

Right now, this was all that mattered, loitering outside this corner store with his bag slung over his shoulder. Worrying about the rest of his life wouldn’t do him any good, and yet... Did he still have a hive, even? He hadn’t been gone that long, but still… Considering the circumstances of his, er, discharge, he hadn’t exactly been set up with anything substantial.

“Spare a light?” Came a voice, shaking him out of his thoughts. It took a moment for him to realize that was addressed to him, and another to fully take in who it belonged to. His heart jumped, setting off his pulse in ways he hadn’t felt in a good long while.

A young-but-still-older-than-him anon. Clearly jade though, judging by the fangs. He had gorgeous, long curly hair, with a bit of chin… scruff felt too… low class for him, but that’s what it was. He was far too well put together for this part of town. Too… buttoned up and tucked in and shiny. Voschi’s mouth was almost too dry to answer him.

“You’re too pretty too be smoking.” He replied, more hoarse than usual. The troll laughed, his fangs shifting with his lips in an absolutely fascinating way.

“No would suffice, sweetheart.” He said, an amused smile perking up the corners of his mouth. “Suppose I’ll go have to buy another lighter, then…”

“Wait- no, here-” Voschi fumbled in his jacket pocket, thoroughly caught off guard by sweetheart. “Sorry, I just- here it is.” The troll held out his cigarette for Voschi, who struggled to remember how lighters worked for far too long not to notice. This guy was weirdly patient, at least.

“Thank you, baby.” He said daintily, with a flutter of his eyes. “What brings you to-”

The sudden, loud rip of the fleet transfer ships engine stopped the whole street as it took off from the water. Voss winced hard as it rattled his damaged head. Definitely wasn’t going to be missing that one any time soon.

“My, that answers that question.” Grumbled Voss’ smoking buddy, unfurling his massive ears from under his hands. He took his cigarette out of his mouth and blew out an annoyed cloud of smoke.

“Worse on the inside.” Voss snorted. “Believe me.”

“Going to have to.” The anon sighed, eyeing the ship’s ascent back to its mother, just barely visible in the thick atmosphere over Delhon. “Never had the luxury myself.”

“Quite the luxury.” Voschi said with a roll of his eyes. “They really roll out the pink carpet when they toss you back out, big ol’ thing. Lucky I could drag myself outta the adoring public when I did.”

“Oof, bitter are we?”

“Little bit.” Voschi eyed this stranger. The heel of his shoes made him just taller than him, and they were nice. Sexy. Expensive, as sexy often was. The stance was… relaxed, subtly intimidating, all too familiar. “Surprised you never been up though. You got an air about you, mister.”

“An air, sweetheart?” He asked, quirking a thick eyebrow.

“Authoritative type. You definitely been bossin’ people around for a hot minute.”

“Oh, have I?” The way he watched Voschi was careful, curious, perhaps a bit excited somewhere in there too. “I'd like to hear your theories.” Voschi scratched the scar on his chin and hummed.

“Lemme see… Not fleet, less you’re lying to me for some reason, in the wrong part of town to be the overlord of some office building even though you sure look like you could be. You could be a cop. Or a caverns overseer.”

“Caverns?” He interjected before Voss could pitch another guess. Voschi shrugged.

“C’mon man, it’ll take a lot more than a couple of grey contacts to hide the scent of jade. Fangs I coulda given you- if they were stationary. Plus jadebloods are always prettier, in my experience.”

The “anon” put his hands on his hips and clicked his tongue, looking somewhere between annoyed and impressed. Of course Voss was right, because rarely was he wrong. A sense of pride- smugness really- he hadn’t felt in a while bubbled up inside him.

“Fascinating. They let you go?”

“Gets annoying after a while, apparently.” He said nonchalantly as he could with a crooked smirk crawling up the side of his lips. “Got a smart ass mouth on me.”

“Oh I can see that, detective.” Mr. Totally Not Jade hummed, almost to himself. “Looks like someone tried to fix that too, huh?” Voss laughed and ran his tongue across that scar, the one marring his lip to the edge of his chin.

“This?” He asked, with a grin. “Yeah, got this one mouthing off to a cop down here a while ago. Mighta deserved it, but still wasn’t very nice.”

“Poor mouthy baby.” He tutted. “Well I do hope that mouth of yours doesn’t get you into any more trouble back planetside, sweetheart. Hate to see you all ripped up Mr…”

“Horjan. No, you can call me Voschi, Voss. Whatever.”

“Oh that’s pretty. Voschi.” The way he said Voss’ name made him shiver. Nearly blush, even. Maybe that was the weather, though.

“Uh, thanks, Mr…”

“Aarika.” Mr. Aarika said, extending a hand. “Mr. Aarika works fine.”

“Uh huh.” Voss said, shaking that hand and… not exactly confirming his blood color theory. Freezing hands like that meant one of two things, and he didn’t like Mr. Aarika for a fish. Though you could definitely fit fins in those ears of his...

“Rainbowdrinker?”

“Gracious you’re observant, Voschi.” Aarika said, daring to boop him on the nose. “Perhaps too much for your own good.”

“Had my hands on a couple of you before.” Voschi shrugged, feeling his heart beat just a bit faster. “Cadavers too, ‘bout the same temperature. Drinkers are warmer though. Slightly.”

“I can see how this could be annoying now.”

Voss laughed harder than he ought to at that. Mr. Aarika didn’t seem too awfully annoyed, but his smile was… less now.

“Sorry, been a while since I got a chance to flex the old mind.” Voss stretched his beanie down over his forehead a bit more, as much as his horns would allow. He could feel that new… feature of his starting to peek out. It was both ugly and didn't react well to the winter Delhon air.

“Oh it’s fine, sweetheart.” Aarika said with a wave of his hand. “I suppose you’re going to go use your powers of deduction for good now that you're back, hm?”

“Nah.”

“No? Then what on Alternia are you going to use that big brain of yours for?”

“Dunno what’s up with me after I leave this street corner.” Voss shrugged. “Kind been avoiding thinking about it, honestly.” Mr. Aarika tapped his chin, something of a pout pursing his pretty lips.

“Well that’s rather concerning to hear, honey.” He said, snubbing the butt of his cigarette out on the wall. “Back to Alternia and no place to go doesn’t sound exactly ideal. Especially in this city.”

“Mmh,” Voss hummed. “Don’t I know it.” He half wondered if that was revealing too much. Temporarily homeless and no plans felt far too… victim-y, especially now considering the circumstances of Mr. Aarika’s… diet. Alleged diet? There did seem to be some genuine concern furrowing his brow- or close to it. Hard to read that far into his honesty this early.

Aarika checked his expensive looking watch- diamonds? That felt far above a cop’s paygrade- and sighed.

“Well look, Voschi, I’ve got to go but I do hope you figure something out.” His fangs poked up when he bit his lip, seemingly unsure about reaching into his jacket pocket as he did so. Voss watched him curiously as he produced a… card?

“I like you.” He said, twirling the shiny gold thing between his fingers. “If you find yourself too out of luck you can call me, sweetheart. I’m sure we could figure something out.”

“Bit sudden, Mr. Aarika.” Voss said, quirking an eyebrow but taking the card regardless. It was thick and pale yellow with shiny gold accents. It kind of reminded Voss of a marble column. The text on the front said “Aarika” in fancy gold script, along with a couple different methods of contact. The back had a logo that he swore he’d seen before, but couldn’t quite place.

“Oh feel free to rip that up if my eagerness makes you uncomfortable, darling.” He said with a wave of his hand. “I just can't stand to see a handsome young man down and out.”

“Don’t think I’ll go quite that far.” Voss slipped the card into the pocket with his thin wallet. “Uh, thanks, though. ‘Preciate the offer Mr. Aarika. I’ll see what I can do for myself first.”

“Of course.” He said with a nod. “I do hope I’ll see you around regardless, Voschi. Ciao.”

“Uh, yeah bye.” Voss watched him leave, deeply fascinated by what the hell just happened. At least now he was certain about one thing. He was going to have to call Mr. Aarika at least once, just to hear him say his name again.

#Zilly drabbles #*never finishes twkoff*#Voschi tag #Voschi Horjan #Smiles tag #Mr. Smiles #Storm Season

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novantinuum · 5 years

Text

Hollowed Moon (Ch. 1-3)

Fandom: Steven Universe

Rating: T (for sensitive content in later chapters)

Words: 1.5K~

Summary: Stevonnie doesn't crash the Star Skipper onto that jungle moon. Instead, they crash on a craggy fragment of rock suspended thousands of miles away from its associated colony, long forgotten.

On that lonely hunk of rock is a domed garden.

And standing in that garden, just as lifeless seeming as the rest of it, is a pink Gem.

Okaay, so this is the beginning of a little series of drabbles I’ve been posting on AO3 over the last two weeks. It’s an AU that diverges from just after Lars of the Stars. I have seven chapters posted already on AO3. Link to that will be posted in the reblogs, for anyone interested.

Ch. 1

The force of the impact nearly vibrates through their bones as the Star Skipper hits the surface, throwing them against the cockpit’s control panel at such speed that they barely have enough time to put up a bubble. Thankfully, ‘enough’ is all the time they need. In but a millisecond the world tints pink. Following momentum, their neck snaps forward, causing their head to smash against the solid barrier. Stevonnie yelps, vision going temporarily woozy. It takes a while for them to fully recover, with the wrecked remains of the ship spinning like a top from their perspective as they slowly lift a quivering hand to their forehead to check for wounds. They groan, nearly every square inch of their body aching something terrible, but there’s nothing. No blood, no easily distinguishable breaks, nada. Lucky them! Score, Stevonnie one, busted, broken spaceship zip.

It must be your healing powers keeping us in one piece, ‘cause that was one really violent crash.

Well, also my bubble is pretty strong!

“Hah, well... we’re lucky even a bubble got me outta this scrape,” they murmur out loud, and let out a shaky breath as they attempt to ground themself. Taking a cursory glance around, they notice that the cockpit’s window has shattered, leaving the ship open to the vacuum of space. At least, they’re assuming it is. Whatever hunk of rock it is they’ve crashed on, it doesn’t appear to have an atmosphere. “Oh boy, guess I gotta keep this thing up for a while,” they say with a nervous laugh. They press their cheek against the bubble’s rim, peering at the cracked display screen. “Now, I wonder if any of this tech is salvageable...”

Stevonnie shifts in the seat. Without any iota of warning the ship’s engines explode, launching their protective bubble hundreds of feet closer to the very stars they’re lost amongst.

Oh, what a day it’s been.

Ch. 2

This shard of planetoid isn’t particularly large, but it has just enough mass that its gravity pulls Stevonnie’s wildly spinning bubble back to the surface. Their heart pounds as the bubble collides hard upon the craggy surface, bouncing a few times before finally coming to a rest. They gasp for breath, pulling themself to their knees.

“Aughh, my everything hurts.”

Slowly but surely they rise to their feet, their knees still shaking. All around them, the remains of the Star Skipper (may she rest in pieces) are now barely distinguishable, nothing left but melted twists of scrap metal. Even if there was any possibility of fixing up the communication array earlier, it’s a moot point by now.

Steven, how are we gonna-?!

“Oh, no, no no no no!” they cry out, gripping at their hair. “Oh, this is bad. This is so, so bad. How is Lars gonna be able to find us now?”

They adjust the straps of the backpack around their shoulders and begin pacing as they continue to talk to themself, walking back and forth across the dust and rock within the bubble like a hamster in a ball.

“Okay, Stevonnie, calm down,” they say, hugging their arms around their chest. “We’re fine. I’m fine! Let’s just work this out bit by bit. So. We’re stuck on some weird asteroid, or something. We have no ship. No means of communication. We’re safe in this bubble... for now. But... I honestly don’t know how long I can keep this up. I don’t usually use it longer than a few minutes at a time.”

What about when we first met?

“That’s different, though,” they stress, plopping down to sit crisscrossed. “That time he didn’t summon it voluntarily. And that time, we weren’t stuck in the vacuum of space! Although... Okay. Okay, we were stuck under the ocean, fair point. And I guess there’s that time Steven was marooned with Eyeball. But still. It’s only been a few minutes and I’m already... so... so tired.”

Stevonnie’s breathing grows shallower, each puff of air coming in staccato gasps in their exhaustion. They grit their teeth, hand clenching against the rose quartz gem at their midsection. Over time they’ve come to realize that maintaining any one of Steven’s shields or abilities for a long period of time is super taxing to them, more so than it is for the young half-Gem himself. Makes one wonder if that’s because they’re a 75% human hybrid, because of the nature of being a fusion, or because they simply haven’t trained enough together.

They moan, frustrated at this whole dumb scenario, desperately wondering if there’s anything they could’ve done differently to avoid it all together. Lars and his friends will find them soon once they follow their trail and do a flyby, hopefully, but there’s still so many variables to consider here. They quickly hop back onto their feet inside the bubble.

Stevonnie squints, for a moment thinking they can see dimmed starlight glinting off of a domed surface in the far distance. Perhaps there’s some Gem technology hidden away here that could prove useful. For now, all they can do is explore and wait.

Ch. 3

The dome encapsulates a gigantic garden. At least, what they can only guess was once a garden. All the plants have long since shriveled up into husks of their former glory, much like the hollowed-out moon hanging high above. There’s a single service doorway on the dome’s exterior, a feature Stevonnie is exceedingly lucky to have found before finally fading to exhaustion with their bubbling ability. Now freely wandering around the dome's interior, they approach a massive platform towards its center. Eyes glittering, they brush their hand against some eroded etchings in the old stone. They’re sure it used to be quite a sight to behold in its heyday, this whole complex. Such a shame time had to carry this place to eternal rest. What used to go on here, they wonder? What kinds of Gems would use this space? Did they all leave when the colony above was... fully drained of its resources?

Their nose crinkles just thinking about it.

Hey, they muse suddenly. Up at the top... I think that’s a warp pad.

Are you sure?

Pretty positive.

“Couldn’t hurt to look,” they mutter softly, climbing up the stairs. Their legs are still burning from the long walk they set upon to reach the dome in the first place.

When they reach the top they kneel in front of the warp, and place a palm flat upon it. They close their eyes, focusing their mind on the tangled web of warp stream signatures old users have left behind, almost like a fossilized travel record. Except it’s energy based. Well, kinda. They’re sure it’s far more complicated than that, but to be fair Steven wasn’t paying full attention to Pearl the day she was teaching him how to do this. His loss, Stevonnie thinks with a snort. They think all this Gem history stuff is pretty fascinating.

The web comes into focus in their mind’s eye, one particularly bright thread stretching further across the stars than any warp pad they’ve ever seen before can.

“Galaxy warp,” they breathe in giddy realization. “This is an actual, working galaxy warp! But- no!” they cry, grinding their hands into fists. “That means we can’t use it, because Earth doesn’t have an operationa—“

“Pink, is that finally you??” a high pitched voice cries in joy from the distance.

They whirl around in a flash, scanning the interior of the (perhaps not so?) extinct garden. The complex is massive, but it’s not long before they locate the origin of this new voice, trapped amongst the browned and hardened brambles.

Standing midway between the raised galaxy warp platform and the stagnant fountain at the center of the dome is a short pink Gem.

From this distance, they’d have to guess she’s maybe half their height, perhaps a little taller. Her gemstone is on her chest, a heart shaped type they don’t recognize. The Gem’s hair is pulled up into messy little buns, twisted to look like hearts themselves. She stands with her arms open wide, baggy eyes alight with anticipation as she waits for their response.

Mouth agape, Stevonnie skitters down the steps of the platform as fast as they can. Who is this Gem? Why is she alone in a withered garden, in the middle of deep space? And why are her feet literally bound by roots?? How long has she been standing here?

“Oh! Oh, hello! I, uh- I don’t think I’m who you’re looking for, sorry,” they say with an apologetic smile. “I’m Stevonnie. If you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing here all on your own?”

“I’m playing a game,” the small Gem replies simply, clasping her gloved hands together.

“A... game?”

“With my best friend, yes!” she enthuses. “She’ll come back any day now, I can just feel it.”

Her voice sounds chipper enough, but perhaps as a result of Connie’s lonely childhood and the walls a person learns to erect in those situations, Stevonnie can intimately sense the cracks in her facade. They may not yet understand the full scoop, but they can tell she's desperately trying to convince herself of her own cover story.

What on Earth happened to this Gem, here in this forgotten garden?

#su #su fanfic #steven universe #stevonnie #spinel #su fanfiction #hollowed moon #my writing stuff

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kkatiebrown · 4 years

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Reading Response 9/8/20

As someone very interested in pursuing management/representation in the entertainment industry as a career I was fascinated by the Scooter Braun article.

The first aspect that I found interesting from the article is the idea of “selling out”. While Braun is discussing Justin Bieber's massive audience and influence he states “I don’t think you’re selling out by allowing the masses to love your art”. However, shortly after this Universal’s C.E.O. says of Braun, “the company likes hits, the fans like hits, and that’s what he’s there to do—make hits. We’re not in the art business”. Once music, or even content in general, goes mainstream and is being listened to or seen by the masses there seems to be a shift in opinion, the creator is no longer an artist but a sell out. Why is this? Why do we deem art less valuable (or no longer even see it as art) when it is enjoyed by a mass audience? It seems quite ironic as one would think the goal for most artists would be to have as many people as possible view and enjoy their work. But once artists reach success of a certain magnitude they seem to lose a certain type of respect from a portion of their audience. How does one go mainstream but not “sell out”?

Secondly, I find it very interesting that Braun “cultivates his own celebrity”. Braun works to promote his own name not just his clients and it seems as though this tactic has contributed greatly to his success. But it made me curious if there is a downside to this approach. Of course, if your name becomes well known (in a positive way) in the industry you are likely to attract good clients who want to benefit from being represented by an important name. However, is this ever a turn off to some clients? Would clients be worried that perhaps Braun is ultimately more concerned about his own brand rather than theirs?

Lastly, I found the discussion of Biebers reach across social media very powerful. It is stated that “the reach of a Bieber dispatch across networks like Facebook and Twitter would cost ten million dollars to replicate through conventional advertising methods”. This statement justified to me a belief I have that celebrity promotion is one of the most powerful marketing tools.

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thetravelerwrites · 6 years

Text

Varik (Part 2)

Rating: Teen Relationship: Male Orc Reader x Female Human Additional Tags: Exophilia, Orc, Orc Boyfriend Content Warnings: Hospitals, Blood, Epilepsy, Post-Traumatic Epilepsy (PTE), Seizures, Fire, Arson, Limited Mobility of the Hands, Language Words: 4859

More from Varik and his lady friend. I gave her a name in this one. The third and final chapter I think will be from her perspective. Until then, enjoy! Please leave feedback!

The Traveler's Masterlist

She ended up needing to stay for almost a week. She’d had a few more grand-mal seizures in the first few days that had the doctors concerned, but she started to even out after day four. The bruises on her neck and arm were fading well enough. The ones on her face were still dark but they weren’t quite so… juicy looking, and they were starting to go green and yellow around the edges, which was a good sign.

You came up every day at lunch and after work, sitting with her, sharing your meals and talking. She asked about your family and all your little sisters, of which there were quite a few, fascinated by the Orcish customs and traditions. She expressed a desire to meet them one day. Gods willing, that would happen eventually.

You asked her what city life was like, and was surprised to learn that a lot of Orcs were business types rather than manual laborers. Perhaps it was the curse of small town life, but the Orcs you knew in town only ever worked as labor, security, or military. She mentioned that one of the women she translated for in the accounting firms was, in fact, an Orcish matriarch of an entire legion of business-oriented children and grandchildren, and you found it weirdly encouraging.

While eating dinner with her on Thursday, the door to her room opened to reveal a sharply dressed woman carrying a briefcase. She looked mostly human, but the greyish tinge of her skin and sharpness of her features made you think she might be at least part goblin.

“Hey Elena,” She said, sweeping by you to hug the woman in the bed.

“Hey Karen,” Elena replied. “Got good news for me?”

“Boy, do I ever,” Karen said, but stopped when she saw you. “Who’s this?”

“This is my friend, Varik,” Elena said, gesturing at you and smiling.

“Ohhh,” Karen purred with a sly grin. “So this is the cute orc guy you never stop talking about.”

“How ‘bout you shut your noise-hole, Karen,” Elena said loudly, putting a hard edge on the K in Karen’s name. You chuckled softly and Elena glared at you.

Karen smirked but changed the subject. “Well, bad news first: he got the mistrial.”

“What!” Elena exclaimed. “What the hell, Karen? I thought you said you had good news.”

“I do,” She said, handing Elena a document. “The judge made the determination that the jury couldn’t possibly be non-biased after witnessing the attack, but I’ve been in chambers with the judge and Russel’s lawyer going back and forth for days. The law is clear. We were at recess when the attack happened, meaning…”

Elena’s eyes lit up. “We don’t have to file separately. It’s admissible in this case.”

“You’re damn straight it is,” Karen said. “His lawyer kept arguing emotional distress, but he’s a fucking moron of he thinks he can call that provocation, considering you were literally giving a witness account across the room from him and you had no way to defend yourself. He’s finally dug himself a grave he can’t get out of.”

Elena lay back in the bed and closed her eyes, breathing a sigh of relief. “We got him.”

“We got him,” Karen agreed.

“So what does this mean?” You asked.

“Well, it means we have to wait for the next trial to begin. There’s motions to be filed, a jury to be selected, affidavits to be signed. But we’re finally taking this bastard down.” She looked down at Elena sympathetically. “Sorry, dear. It looks like your going to be stuck in town for another month at least.”

Elena looked down at her lap in thought, and a shy side smiled tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“That’s okay,” she said, looking up at you. “I don’t mind.” You smiled back widely.

“Mhm,” Karen said, looking between you and Elena with a knowing smirk. “I bet not. How much longer they keeping you in here for?”

“As far as I know, ‘til Saturday.”

“Mkay,” Karen said, making a note of it in her phone. “Well, call me when you get out and we’ll go over our plan of attack, okay? And for gods’ sake, call Stucker, will you? He’s been up my ass trying to get a hold of you.”

Elena sighed. “Yeah, my phone died and I couldn’t get back to the apartment for my charger. I’ll call him.”

Karen bid farewell and left.

You frowned. “I’d have gotten your charger for you.”

Elena smiled, using the back of her hand to touch your arm. “You already do so much for me.”

You snorted. “Bringing you lunch and dinner so you don’t have to eat the garbage they serve patients here isn’t doing things for you. I’d be insane to leave you to the hospital cooks’ mercy. You can rely me if you need a hand, you know, don’t be afraid to ask. I’m here if you need me.”

“I appreciate it,” She said with a sweet grin.

“Who’s Stucker? Old boyfriend?”

She laughed out loud at that one. “God no! He’s over three times my age. He’s a pediatric surgeon specializing in burns; he was my doctor until I turned eighteen. He can’t treat me anymore, but we’ve kept in touch. He’s a good friend.”

“Sounds like a good doctor, if he made such a big impression on you.”

“He was. He is,” She said fondly. “He used to bring me cupcakes every time he visited. He made the nurses so mad.” She laughed again, and you laughed with her.

“When he found out that my family was gone,” She said, her face growing somber. “He made it a point to make sure I was taken care of. He couldn’t directly care for me beyond a medical capacity, but he made sure I had books and school work and things to keep me occupied. He even testified at the first trial, when I couldn’t leave the hospital to testify myself. He did as much as he was able to ensure I could still grow, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally, too. I’m the person I am today because of him.”

“Well, as a person who deeply admires who you are, I think I’d like to shake this man’s hand,” You said.

She smiled at the thought. “Maybe one day you will.”

The day she was released, you drove her home in your truck. It was so tall that if you hadn’t lifted her to put her in it, she’d have had to jump. She was actually perfectly capable of driving, but she had left her car in the city.

Her apartment was small and bare, which wasn’t that odd, considering she hadn’t expected to stay in town for long. There was a couch and a T.V., a desk with a laptop, a kitchen table with two chairs, and that was pretty much it. You assumed there was a bed in the bedroom, but the door was closed and you didn’t go in there to check.

You didn’t notice any major modifications to anything that would make them easier to use. She apparently had found ways to do most things that didn’t require massive adjustments to be made.

“Do you mind if I make a call to Dr. Stucker really fast? Then we can eat.”

“No, not at all, go ahead.”

She took the phone out of her pocket, opened her contacts and pressed a button with the top knuckle of her index finger. The phone had a strap on it so that she could affix it to the inside of her wrist, since her fingers didn’t open wide enough to allow her to hold it the normal way. While she talked, you set a place for the both of you at the table and began sorting the take-out you had picked up for lunch.

“Hey, Will,” She said. “Yeah, I’m okay. I just got home. I’m doing okay, I’m back on my regular meds and the swelling is gone. No, I just need rest. Yeah. Yeah, they want me to take it as easy as possible for the next week or so, but after that I’ll see if I can come up for a visit. It’s been a while. How’s Teresa? That’s good. Okay. Yeah, I just wanted to check in and tell you what’s going on. Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? Okay. Bye, Will.”

“Good call?” You asked as you sit down. You wondered a little about the fact that she just happened to have a chair built strongly enough to hold an Orc.

“Yep,” She said, picking up her fork. “I told him about you, you know.”

“You did?” You said, surprised. “Why?”

“He likes to know what’s going on in my life, if I’ve made friends, if I’m happy.”

“Are you happy?”

“I’m working on it,” She said with a smile.

After lunch, she said, “Thanks for bringing me home and treating me. I don’t want to keep you if you have somewhere else to be.”

“Where else would I have to be?” You asked. “It’s the weekend. I’m usually at home in my sweats eating cereal over the sink. I’d much rather be here.”

She snorted. “Well, I’ve got some new movies on my streaming service. Want to stay and watch a movie with me?”

“Does that mean cuddles and snacks?” You asked.

“Would it be a party if it didn’t?”

You grinned. “I’m in, dude.”

You both moved to the couch and she cuddled into your side, a sweet warmth against your body. You took the blanket on the back of the couch and laid it over her, putting your arm around her shoulder. She looked up the long range of your chest and smiled sleepily at you before picking a movie and snugging in.

You finished the movie, and then another. Halfway through the third, she fell asleep. You watched her for a few minutes as she slept, feeling a gentle smile crease your face. You felt a peace in your body that released all the tension that had built up from your week; all the stares, all the comments, all the frustration of it just poured out of your body as you watched that little fireball at rest.

After a time, you shifted carefully and picked her up, taking her to her room. You were surprised to see that her twin-sized mattresses had been laid out on the floor and had no headboard or footboard. Kneeling next to the bed with her on your knee, you pulled the covers back and set her down, taking off her shoes, replacing the blankets, and smoothing her hair out of her face. On the short night table at the head the bed, there was a seizure monitoring device attached to a motion sensitive pad under the sheets. Quietly, you turned it on.

Going back out to the living room, you wondered if you should just leave her to rest, but that felt abrupt and impolite. You could leave a note, you supposed, but at the same time, you really didn’t want to leave her alone. She was still recovering and the potential for another seizure was high.

So, instead, you thought you might make her dinner. You were a decent cook, although you only cooked for yourself anymore. You looked over her fridge and pantry, which was admittedly pretty sparse, but that wasn’t surprising. Cooking was hand-heavy work, and even though she managed to do most things very well, you thought maybe cooking was just one of those things outside the barrier of possibility for her.

She did have chicken, marinara, cheese, pasta, and some green vegetables, though, so it looked like Chicken Parmesan was on the menu for this evening.

She woke up two hours later with her alarm going off. You had just drained the pasta and set it aside while the chicken baked. You turned and saw her standing in the doorway of the kitchen with a shocked look on her face.

“You’re still here,” She said.

“Yep,” You replied rightly. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

“You made dinner?” She asked, smiling and sniffing the air.

“Chicken parm and pasta with stovetop-grilled green vegetables,” You said. “Sound good?”

“That sounds amazing, thank you,” She said, pulling a plastic cup out of the cabinet with both hands and a straw from a drawer. “But you don’t have to do all this, Varik.”

“Remember what I said about spoiling you?” You said, laying your cheek on the top of her head. You could feel her giggle. “Why is your bed on the ground?”

“Safer,” She replied simply. “If I have a seizure in my sleep and fall out of bed, it’s better if I don’t have a long way to fall.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” You said. “What about a bed with rails?”

“I have quite enough of hospital beds when I’m in the hospital, thank you,” She replied, putting a pill in her mouth and sipping the water. She flung her head back and swallowed hard.

“Do you want me to cut the meat for you?” You asked.

“If you cut my meat, I will stab you with a steak fork,” She said dryly.

“Message received,” You said, laughing.

After dinner, you couldn’t put off going home any longer but you were still hesitant to leave.

“You’ll call me if something happens, won’t you?” You asked as you put a foot out the door, halfway in the hall and halfway in the apartment.

“I promise I will,” She assured you. “The monitor in my room is set up to call an ambulance if I have more than two consecutive episodes, as well as send a text to a preset list of people. I can add your number to the list.”

You nodded in acceptance. “And if you need anything, you’ll call then, too?”

“Yes, Varik, I will,” She replied, laughing gently. “I’ve been doing this a long time now. I know what to do. You don’t have to fuss over me so much.”

“I know, but I can’t help it. I’m a fusser.”

She smiled. “It is nice having someone to worry for me. I’m used to doing all the worrying myself.”

“Well, not anymore.”

The way she looked up at you, all soft and sweet, made you step back into the apartment and take her face into your hands, careful not to put too much pressure on the left side. You lowered your head and kissed her lips. You’d been dying to do this for weeks. You were pleased to feel her arms wrapping around your waist, gripping you tight. The kiss was long, but she kept it light, as if unsure how far to take it. You yourself were reluctant to deepen it and risk hurting her. She was still healing, after all.

You broke apart, and she looked up at you with the widest smile you had yet to see on her face, bright and happy. You felt your expression might be mirroring hers. With a last quick peck on the lips, you departed.

The new trial started less than a month later. As promised, you went with her when it was time for her to testify. As you entered the courtroom you caught sight of the son of a bitch who hurt her and murdered her family: a shortish, smug-looking human with brown hair named Jacob Russel. You growled. He looked around at the sound and paled when he saw you. However, when he noticed Elena standing next to you, he grinned at you, baring his teeth and snapping his jaws at Elena.

In Orcish culture, this was considered a direct threat to an Orc and those in his care. It set you on edge and engulfed your body with a cold fire. You felt your foot raise involuntarily to start toward him, your hands balled into fists.

Elena put her hands around your wrist, turning you to face her and away from Russel.

“It’s okay,” She said, drawing herself up in a dignified way, her face neutral. “Don’t let him get to you. It’s what he wants.”

“I want to snap his fucking neck,” You said in a harsh whisper.

“I want to let you,” She replied. “But I’d much rather he were in prison and not you.”

You took a deep, calming breath, looking back up at the sick human man with a snarl. She reached up and pet your cheek with the back of her hand, redirecting your attention back to her. She held your face between her damaged palms, your skin tingling under her touch.

“He’s just a man,” She said softly. “He’s not worth the energy it takes to hate him.”

You had to smile at that. Taking her hands in your own, you said, “How many therapists had to say that to you before you believed it?”

She smiled. “I’m still working on the believing part.”

“All rise,” The bailiff bellowed. You and Elena went to find your seats behind the prosecution’s table. Karen turned to look at the both of you encouragingly before facing the judge’s bench. “The Honorable Judge Rita Short presiding.”

“Be seated,” The judge said as she took her own seat. “Has the jury been sworn in?”

“Yes, your Honor,” The bailiff said. You looked at the jury, mostly human, but there was a Tiefling, a Goblin, and what appeared to be a half-Fae there as well. You were surprised at the Tiefling there; they generally did whatever it took not to get involved in the affairs of others. Well, maybe they couldn’t get out of jury duty.

“Very good,” The judge said, looking down at her papers. “Let’s get started.”

Karen stood and gave an opening statement that she had apparently given almost a dozen times, modified slightly with each recital. The defense did the same. Then it was time for witness testimony.

She stood up, her back straight as a rail, and she passed the defendant’s table without missing a step. She didn’t look at Russel once, instead keeping her eyes on Karen. You could tell when she was feeling uncomfortable because her eyes would drift to yours for a split second before she continued. You gave her a grim nod, and she returned a small half-smile.

“How extensive were your injuries?” Karen asked.

“Very,” Elena responded. “It caused the epilepsy I now live with and severely limited my ability to use my hands.”

“I’d like to present for the jury’s consideration exhibit E-7. Elena, if you would?”

Elena stood from the witness stand and walked to the jury's box, presenting her hands for their examination. She encouraged them to touch as well as look, and although most of them were shy of touching her, a few reached out and gently moved her hands this way and that, frowning in horror. When they were done, Elena climbed back onto the witness stand and sat down.

“Is there any possibility that the mobility in your hands could be improved or the epilepsy could be cured?” Karen asked.

“No, none whatsoever,” Elena replied. “The damage is permanent.”

“I see,” Karen said. “No further questions, but I reserve the right to recall this witness again in the future.”

“Noted,” The judge said, penciling something down. “Does the defense have any questions for the witness?”

“Yes, your honor,” Russel’s lawyer said, standing. You saw Elena roll her eyes lightly as the defense approached the witness stand.

“Miss Halvorsdottr,” The defense attorney began. “You seem pretty confident that my client was the perpetrator, yet in all your accounts, it appears you never actually saw him a single time during any of the events that took place. Is that true?”

“I saw him attack me,” Elena said sharply. “It was pretty hard to miss.”

“Yes or no, Miss Halvorsdottr,” The lawyer said.

“In that case, yes, I did; he assaulted me.”

“But you never saw him light the fire. And you didn’t see him in the hospital.”

“No,” Elena said. “But plenty of other people certainly saw him with the bottle full of gasoline.”

“I’m not asking what other people saw, I’m asking what you saw. And you didn’t see him, did you?”

“No.”

“You didn’t see him set the fire?”

“No.”

“You didn’t see him in your house?”

“No.”

“You didn’t see him in the hospital at all?”

“How many times are you going to ask the same questions?”

“Yes or no, please.”

Elena sighed. “No.”

“So everything you just told us, about my client being responsible, is just hearsay, correct? Someone told you it was true so you believed it? I mean, it’s not your fault, you were just a child.”

“I may have been a child, but I wasn’t stupid.”

“I’m not insinuating you were, Miss Halvorsdottr. Just misinformed, perhaps.”

“How misinformed am I if he felt the need to attack me in open court?”

“Yes, I’d like an answer to that question myself,” Judge Short said, knitting her fingers together and looking at the defense with a dry expression.

He cleared his throat. “No further questions, your Honor.”

“The witness may step down,” Judge Short said, nodding at the bailiffs. They escorted Elena back to the gallery, their hands on their weapons. The defense attorney gripped Russel’s arm, whether in warning or to restrain him, or both, you weren’t sure.

“You were amazing up there,” You whispered to Elena as she sat down.

“Lots of practice,” She replied, winking.

Next, they called up a juror who had witness the attack on Elena during the previous trial and showed pictures of the aftermath, including Elena's injuries. Then the coroner who had done the autopsies on Elena’s family and other families that had been murdered took the stand. There were pictures, which Elena looked at with a stony face, her jaw set. She was passed the point where any part of the trial bothered her anymore. You’re sure she’s seen all this a dozen times.

Finally, at around four, the judge called an end of the day recess, to be reconvened the following morning. Elena didn’t need to be there after giving her testimony unless she was recalled by Karen. Otherwise, she’s only need to return for the verdict.

Relieved it was over for now, Elena happily accepted a ride back home with you.

“How are you doing?” You asked when you got into her apartment? “How’s your stress level?”

“Better now that I’m home,” She said. “The hardest part for me is done. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the other expert witnesses to finish with their testimony and then let the jury deliberate. As long as he doesn’t do anything to cause a mistrial again, that is.”

You put your hands on her shoulders, feeling the muscles knotted underneath. “You still seem a bit tense,” You said in a low, seductive voice. “Maybe I can help you with that.” You heard her breathe a soft laugh through her nose.

You and Elena had yet to be intimate, mostly because of her injuries, but you also thought she might be holding back for some reason. You hadn’t asked why, hoping that it would just happened naturally when she was feeling ready for it. She was going through enough right now without you hounding her for sex.

She seemed receptive now. As you kneaded the flesh of her neck and shoulders gently, she let her head fall back against your chest, leaving the soft skin of her throat exposed. You lowered your head to it and kissed it softly, and she sighed shakily, biting her lip.

She spun and reached up for you. As you bent down, she placed her arms around your neck and pulled you close. Your lips connected, your tongue flicking over her lips until she opened them and let you probe around inside. She giggled as your hands roamed her body, gliding down over her back to squeeze her bottom. She squealed a little and her body arched, pressing her breasts against your chest, the clothes in between them rubbing against your skin. You felt the heat in your body flare and pulled your hands back to tug at her shirt, your breathing coming faster. Hers was just as uneven.

And then her phone rang.

You groaned. “Let it ring.”

She giggled against your lips. “It could be important.”

You grunted unhappily, but let her go, hands trailing across her belly as she moved to grab her phone.

“I’ll make it quick,” She said, a frisky sparkle in her eyes. Grinning widely, she reached for her phone and pressed the answer button.

“Hey, Karen, is this important? I’m in the middle of…” Elena trailed off and furrowed her brow. “Slow down, Karen, what are you talking about? What? No, say that again, but slowly, I can’t understand you.”

Karen repeated what she said in a slow, deliberate voice, and Elena went white as a sheet and stopped breathing.

“Honey, what?” You asked. “What is it? What happened?”

She sat heavily at the table, ending the call and putting the phone down. She let her head fall and began to hyperventilate, gulping in air desperately.

“Elena, what happened?”

She looked up, her eyes seeing through you. “He’s gone,” She said in a strained whisper.

“What? Who?”

“Russel,” She said, tears pouring from her cheeks as she tried to breathe through her panic. “He’s gone. He's escaped.” She grabbed you and held on for dear life. “He’s coming for me.”

Since my work is no longer searchable, please do me a favor and reblog this story if you enjoyed it. Help me reach a wider audience! To help me continue creating, please consider buying me a Kofi, becoming a Patron, or donating directly to my PayPal!

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The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

#Orc #Orc Boyfriend #Monster Lover #Orc Lover #Interspecies Romance #My Writing #My OCs #Varik #Exophilia #Willowridge

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Fast Travel In Mafia 3

Below is a list of characters found in Mafia III. 1 Mafia III 1.1 Major Characters 1.2 Minor Characters 2 Factions 3 Mentioned 4 Faster, Baby! 5 Sign of the Times 6 Stones Unturned. (.-) 4 out 5 stars. TLDR Top notch driving, yet no fast travel system which can be annoying. Drags on towards the end. Shouldn't mandatory side quests be considered mainline story quests. America wasn't/isn't great for everybody so have a blast giving it to some of your contemporaries crappy ancestors, or them directly.

Can You Fast Travel In Mafia 3

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Is There Fast Travel In Mafia 3

Here are some mods fór Mafia 3.Car Customizations.No Back View Match / Speedometer.Minimal Hud.Ragdoll.Automobile Controls.Naughty Doggie HDR Light In Tonemapping.Switch Period Of Time.Manual Law enforcement Searchlight and Sirén.ToggIe Hud.M2M3 - Máfia 2 Major Menu SongMafia 3: Contemporary Cars (mod),Modern cars can become discovered in the games documents, I merely modded them in to end up being capable to drive them. They had been clearly certainly not meant to be interacted with and likely utilized for recording cutscenes. Bugged textures, mainly no noises, barely any harm versions and no functioning doors. Pointless but fascinating to discover.' Originally submitted by:Is quite unhappy to notice that the Mafia 3 group has better tips than the designers and can be for free!Doesn't this apply to basically all games these times and not just Mafia 3?

For Mafia III on the PlayStation 4, a GameFAQs message board topic titled 'This game needs fast travel!'

Most games nowadays have a huge community producing mods either increasing or enhancing the games.Developers, I'michael quite certain, have got a lot of concepts of what they would like to place into the sport, but since this costs a great deal of cash, ultimately, some concepts possess to become remaining out.And everybody have different tips of what they would like in a game, so designers might have one idea, and some neighborhood member another. And I think it't excellent to find that games today are open plenty of for mods. Initially posted simply by:Is very unfortunate to notice that the Mafia 3 group has much better tips than the designers and is for free!Doesn'capital t this apply to fundamentally all video games these times and not simply Mafia 3? Most games nowadays possess a large community producing mods either extending or improving the video games.Designers, I'meters quite specific, have got a lot of ideas of what they want to put into the sport, but since this expenses a lot of money, eventually, some concepts have to be still left out.And everybody have got different ideas of what they want in a game, so designers might have one concept, and some neighborhood associate another.

Today I'll be showing you how to fly in Mafia 3 using this Mafia 3 mod for the PC called Noclip. Noclip allows.

The world isn't so large that it needs fast travel. I understand in games like skyrim where the world is large and horse is fastest way of travel, but in mafia where the fastest cars can go over 100 mph, it's just not needed. Also, it's not like you have to slow down near the cops, just don't hit anyone near cops.

And I believe it'beds excellent to notice that video games today are open more than enough for mods.This video game Is various since it does not have a lot of functions that everybody believed that would become in the game. Originally posted simply by:Doésn't this apply tó essentially all video games these days and not really simply Mafia 3? Many games nowadays have got a massive community making mods either increasing or improving the games.Developers, I'meters quite specific, have got a great deal of concepts of what they would like to place into the video game, but since this costs a lot of cash, ultimately, some tips have got to become left out.And everybody have different suggestions of what they wish in a video game, so developers might possess one concept, and some area associate another. Install amiga os 3 5 winuae torrent pirate bay. And I believe it's i9000 great to observe that video games today are open good enough for mods.This sport Is various since it lacks a lot of functions that everybody thought that would become in the video game.' Leave out me from thát please, I'meters not missing any features.Anyhow, the absence of features must end up being applied to all video games where people create mods, which will not make Mafia 3 any different. And ultimately the programmers are usually the types that made the choice of what features they desired to place in the sport. The absence of some function could become as simple as the programmers didn'testosterone levels need to include that function in the video game, Probably didn't match the eyesight the had for the video game. Video thumbnail maker for mac.

I performed Mafia 2 (and 1 for that matter), therefore still, make sure you wear't speak for me by saying everyone.Look up any game on youtube ánd you will find movies of glitches and bugs. 80+ hrs and I rán into one motorboat being stuck inside the drinking water which can be the just game busting glitch I got, so for me, l can't say I got the amount of problems as you will find in a youtube video.The game for me can be not anymore repitive than many other video games. The greatest problem with these open up world games is definitely that it consists of a great deal of generating back again and on, but you can say the same with games like GTA or Just Trigger.The only AI issues I've seen, is arbitrary people strolling out on the road in front of you, just to cease in the middle of the street, rather of shifting apart from your vehicle. Originally posted by:I performed Mafia 2 (and 1 for that matter), so still, make sure you wear't talk for me by saying everyone.Appear up any game on youtube ánd you will discover video clips of glitches and pests. 80+ hours and I rán into one fishing boat being trapped inside the water which is usually the only game busting glitch I got, so for me, l can't state I experienced the amount of problems as you will discover in a youtube video.The game for me is not anymore repitive than many other games. How can anyone state this is definitely as repeated as any additional game?

Take GTA V for example, those missions were fun for the many component. JC3 will be repetitive yes !, but at Ieast it's fun, it's nót repetitive in thát scale as Máfia III is: drivé a long wáy, kill a féw dudes, drive á long way báck x 100. The devs were too lazy to actually include a fast travel choice in this gamé:D Like á cab actually. That wouldn'testosterone levels take much period.And the basic functions that shuold be in this game are missing. It't not about having more functions just, it's i9000 about carrying on with the series fundamental factors that have been presently there since starting.

You can't really take miracle for example away from The Elder Scrolls collection and state:'hey, we're doing something fresh, mods/upcoming up-dates will add that back in for you men!' Mafia as a gaming series places up a several goals (as every series of video games does), this video game failed many of them. After the initial awesome take action, this game is just dull revenge story, full of copy-paste tasks, and i can'capital t even modify my t-shirt before the dIc comes:DI purchased the collectors edition, and i repent it, that has been 130 euros tossed to them. And i got a game that's Iike gta III. Simply a slightly better images.

Originally submitted by dancefly:here are some mods fór Mafia 3.Car Customizations.No Rear View Looking glass / Speedometer.Minimal Hud.Ragdoll.Automobile Controls.Mischievous Doggie HDR Lighting D Tonemapping.Transformation Time Of Day.Manual Law enforcement Searchlight and Sirén.ToggIe Hud.M2M3 - Máfia 2 Main Menu SongMafia 3: Contemporary Cars (mod),Modern vehicles can end up being discovered in the games data files, I merely modded them in to be capable to drive them. They had been clearly certainly not meant to be interacted with and most likely utilized for recording cutscenes.

Bugged textures, mainly no noises, hardly any damage models and no functioning doors. Useless but interesting to see.' ' How to set up mafia 3 scripthook? All i would like is to end up being able to make use of the 'Cash script mod' ánd the 'all weapons script mod', help me please.

Welcome toMAFIA III is certainly the most recent installing of the MAFIA collection. This Subreddit provides a place to trade about the advancement, information and media. Launch Day ReviewslGNMetacritic (PC), Critic: 55Metacritic (PS4/Xbox), Critic: 60SteamGamespot,Note: Chart may become out of day as testimonials come away.Please read through the rules and take pleasure in your keep!1. Respect other customers and their views. Racism and insults will not really end up being tolerated.2. Format the title of any write-up containing potential spoilers like this illustration.

Be certain not to place the spoiler in the name!Instance of a good Title:'SPOILER I simply learned something insane about Lincoln!' Moreover tag the post as 'NSFW' and select the 'Spoiler'-Sparkle. Failure to tag spoilers correctly will effect in a bar.Use this to hide spoilers in the remarks:If you fórmat the spoilers Iike this:Spoiler: (#t 'Lincoln is certainly a shape moving lizard')The text message in the brackets will just be visible if you shift your mouse cursór over it:SpoiIer:3. Submitted content material must end up being directly associated to the MAFIA franchise.4. No memes/rage comics or identical low high quality posts. Maintain conversations in their particular mega-threads.5. Blog/YouTube spam, or junk e-mail in general is not allowed and will be removed.6.

No posting/requesting unlawful download hyperlinks, splits, or some other repacks. Conversation is alright, links are not really.7. Follow the general!Take note that all of the over is subject to moderator acumen and may become become a huge hit by messaging us.We try to make the moderation óf this Subreddit ás clear and democratic as feasible, so feel free of charge to send out a message if you possess any recommendations or feedback.We will not eliminate unpopular remarks. This is usually a place for discussion after all. Right here and right now there you will study a evaluation complaining that the game doesn'testosterone levels have got fast travel.

Fast Travel In Mafia 3 Release

This is a fairly lazy critique imo. Not really just in the literal sense.I can know that sometimes people really have got a really busy life-style and they want to reduce down on period consuming duties in-game, and just jump between the great bits. But for a game like this l can't find why I would want to do that.The cars (and the music) are usually outstanding. New Bordeaux is usually fun to discover. Every region has a different feel.

And most importantly, it doesn't take you hours to generate from one end to the othér,merely 5 to 10 minutes. Unless you really feel appreciated to abide by every traffic regulation or you're scared to phase on the gasoline and float into the sides. I wear't thoughts the lack of fast Travel either, but I think they do a shitty thing with those various goals.

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I put on't get why everyone of those vehicles and Moonshine vehicles wants to become in the Bayou. I get why the vessels are presently there, apparent, but they could've spread those vehicles and vehicles even more around the chart. How does this relatie?

Well, sometimes when trying to maximize a racket profits I just think like fuck, ain'capital t gonna drive all the way to the base of the map for a ridiculous truck transport to generate more kickback so I can purchase more weaponry. Those several times I do believe about fast Vacation, not hoping it, but it could'vé produced inspired me even more.

Each design has special traits that create generating it a unique encounter. This indicates not really all vehicles are fit for all reasons, therefore you'll want to change cars usually, based on the landscape and the job at hands. The best models are pretty uncommon, and knowing where to find them will conserve you a great deal of time. In this guide, we're heading to show you the greatest car locations in Mafia 3.Mafia 3 Best CarStealing vehicles will be one of the fundamental activities in the sport. You'll do it all the period.

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On the downside, it attracts unwanted attention. This means you'll often wreck a vehicle obtaining rid of the wanted position you obtained by robbing it in the initial place. Messy company. If this can be a problem for you, you might want to make investments in Burke's perk that enables for stealthy car-jackings.Aside from heading fast and having tight control over your vehicle, there are usually other reasons to appear for the greatest car. Some of them are usually achievements like the following:.

-While traveling, performed a 50-meter jump and arrived on your wheels. -Made a 180 degree convert at high velocity without hitting anything. New Bordéaux Drifter -While traveling, drifted for at least 5 secondsYou gained't become capable to unlock these with yóur run-of-thé-mill station truck. You'll need a correct muscle car, something with even more power than you know how to make use of. Something like thé Samson Drifter ór Potomac GT.

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Thése are among the greatest vehicles in the video game, along with spórtscars like the Dé'Leo Capulet ór the Samson Duké.ImageNameLocationSpeedAccelerationDe'Leo CapuIetFrisco FieldsVery fastGoodSamson DukéFrisco FieldsVery fastGreatPotomac GTBarcIay MillsVery fastGreatThe greatest method to get these can be by dangling out in Frisco Fields. That's the expensive part of city, therefore that's where the flashiest cars usually spawn. There'beds furthermore a quaint little shed in the Bayóu where a solitary parked car spawns. If it's i9000 not really one of the types you'd including, you can simply eliminate yourself and anothér one will spáwn.

The Mafia series has seen multiple hiatuses between games, with eight years between the first two and six between the second and third. It has now been four years since the third entry, but 2K Games is set to remake the first game as part of a new release known as Mafia Trilogy. While that version is not out for a few more months, they recently released the remastered Mafia II along with including the already existing Mafia III that is now known in the collection as Mafia III: Definitive Edition.

When Mafia III was originally released, there was certainly some controversy about the change in setting. While the prior two games had the traditional Italian mafia akin to Scarface and The Sopranos, Mafia III was taking a different route by having an African American protagonist that is not part of the traditional mob seen in the first few games. https://loadnfc639.tumblr.com/post/655844989264412672/yanmar-portable-diesel-generator-manual. Instead, Lincoln Clay is a soldier that has just returned back to the fictional New Bordeaux that is based on New Orleans from Vietnam and agrees to help some family and friends with the Haitian mob that have come knocking. Soon after he tries to work out a debt to the Italian mafia that his surrogate father has accrued. This ends up going very poorly and leaves Lincoln wanting revenge against mob boss Sal Marcano and his mafia family. This leads Lincoln to having to gather a unique crew of different partners to help take them down, which is the central focus for most of the game.

Can You Fast Travel In Mafia 3

The story is largely carried by the incredibly captivating Lincoln Clay and the other characters around him, with a solid story surrounding them. Mafia III: Definitive Edition was not afraid to tackle much more intense and dark themes than in the past, which still holds up well now four years later from the original release. While it is definitely a different style than the first couple games, the story is very much worth experiencing here and may be the best of the trilogy in that area.

Where Mafia III suffers most though is the very unoriginal game structure as you play through Lincoln’s story in a once again large sandbox open world experience. The original city of New Bordeaux this time around is larger than both of the first two games combined, but that kind of is a hindrance in some ways as you’re consistently having to drive across the map for new missions. New Bordeaux itself is split up into nine different districts across nine chapters, each of which have a story mission that is split up for you to complete. The repetitive nature of these missions though is where the game really struggles.

Within each district, you have to take over both of the rackets that are found in that location. Once you have successfully done this, a third mission within the chapter will open where you have to take out the person in charge of that district. There is a little more to do in the later chapters, but the biggest problem is that the structure is especially tedious and will have you growing tired of everything in no time. This feels like a course correction from the emptier world found in the previous games, though they may have gone a bit too far in the other direction.

On the plus side, Mafia III does introduce side missions this time around, a major flaw of the previous game. While not available right away, you’ll eventually get access to side missions that branch off from the main story. These include things such as helping out the underbosses by completing tasks for them to gain favor. While they aren’t that most involved overall, they are better than having nothing extra to do like in Mafia II.

The gameplay itself is really nothing to write home about either, albeit a little more refined here. One of the somewhat frustrating elements of the previous game was that you had to press A to leave cover every time, but now you can move much more freely when trying to move between cover or be stealthy. You have the option to adjust aim assist to the level you prefer, which can make the game a bit too easy. There are plenty of guns to choose from here though, with the ability to set them to a wheel and choose between them.

Compared to its predecessors, Mafia III has a major edge in the visuals department. The recent Mafia II: Definitive Edition was definitely more polished visually, but there is still no real comparison between it and Mafia III. Mafia III: Definitive Edition looks great all around, with the character models and environments looking much more realistic. The performance on Xbox One was pretty solid most of the time, with some slowdown here and there when too much was happening on screen. Thankfully, the character movement in general felt much more natural than in the prior games.

While Mafia III: Definitive Edition is literally supposed to be the same game with a new name and all DLC included, somehow Hangar 13 completely messed up one aspect of this game in the included update. Mafia III was given Xbox One X and PS4 Pro support after the release of the game, which added HDR and 4K support to the game to make it look even better. In what is a baffling mistake, somehow this latest update has completely removed this support, now giving you no way to use 4K on consoles. This is something that absolutely has to be patched in, but there is no way it should have ever happened in the first place, especially when this was a free “upgrade” for those that already owned the game.

Mafia as a series has always had a great soundtrack to match the time period, but Mafia III takes this to another level entirely. With the game being set in the late ’60s, the music was ripe for the picking from the era and Hangar 13 did not disappoint. These include songs from artists such as The Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Johnny Cash, as the game offers over 100 different songs in total. The stellar soundtrack will constantly have you taking longer routes in your vehicle just to finish an entire song, which at least somewhat helps the fact that the game lacks fast travel.

Mafia III: Definitive Edition somehow managed to improve in one way by including all of the prior DLC, while also taking multiple steps backwards by somehow removing support for Xbox One X, even as a mistake. The story of Lincoln Clay is still enthralling and handles some very dark themes quite well, but the lifeless open world structure found in Mafia III: Definitive Edition really hinders what could have been the best game in the trilogy.

The Verdict

While not anywhere near as glitch ridden as the Mafia II remaster, Mafia III: Definitive Edition adds nothing more than the previously released DLC along with the very strange removal of Xbox One X support that was added to the original release after launch. Lincoln Clay’s story is still well worth experiencing a first time, but there is no real reason to venture back to New Bordeaux with this latest release as part of the Mafia Trilogy.

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Can You Fast Travel In Mafia 3

Mafia III: Definitive Edition

Available On: Xbox One, PS4, PC

Published By: 2K Games

Developed By: Hangar 13

Genre: Action-adventure

US Release Date: May 19, 2020

Reviewed On: Xbox One

Quote: 'While not anywhere near as glitch ridden as the Mafia II remaster, Mafia III: Definitive Edition adds nothing more than the previously released DLC along with the very strange removal of Xbox One X support that was added to the original release after launch. Lincoln Clay's story is well worth experiencing a first time, but there is no real reason to venture back to New Bordeaux with this latest release as part of the Mafia Trilogy.'

Cheapest Way To Visit Europe

Is There Fast Travel In Mafia 3

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kitsoa · 6 years

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Lyric Comic Q&A

So it turns out when you work on a project for half a year, you get a lot of Thoughts and want to express them whether people are actually curious or not. Without further ado, your un-requested Birdmen Lyric Comic Q&A

(Warning: I’m long winded)

*Why a Lyric Comic?

Dude, lyric comics are cool. I’ve always been fascinated by the beautiful, multifaceted artistic experience they provide, because of my love for music and art. Furthermore, I am often plagued by cinematic trapped in my head, spurred by the movement and lyrics of my favorite songs. Since I have no means or experience in the animation category (which would free these phantoms from my head) the lyric comic was a godsend of a medium for this inspired idea of mine. Kiki-kit of the Gravity Falls fandom and Tides-miraculous’ lyric comic in the Miraculous Ladybug are my main inspirations, I’ve adored their sense of motion and emotional savviness. It’s quite the powerful medium.

It’s also a good medium for me personally. I am a ‘looper’ with my music, allowing me to listen to something over and over without tiring. This is useful in the drafting stages! I loved the challenge (though I definitely didn’t anticipate it’d take this long).

*Why this song?

“Out of Mind” was one of those songs that spoke to me, in an overly cathartic, heart-yearning-- almost funnily sardonic ways. Birdmen being on the brain, I started to easily see how much the singers voice reflected that bombastic frustration our Eishi is so known for. The Pre-Chorus “Are you kidding me?” speaks to me the most, reminding me of his cry of frustration during his first blackout, screaming against his fate as he fell from the sky (this exact image did not make the final cut in the end, but I certainly vied for it until other themes overtook it-- let’s face it, there are many screaming Eishi’s to choose from).

This period of time between Takayama’s disappearance and the inevitable reunion is super intriguing to me. Eishi’s in the role of the heartbroken singer, hopelessly betrayed and unable to get over the good thing they had.

*Breakdown the story:

The progression goes like this:

Eishi’s loneliness consumes the first verse, Takayama’s empty seat, Eishi standing alone… all the while peppered with Takayama’s broken promise, which culminates with Eishi’s defiant Death Tweet. The Refrain then serves as these hallmark moments that define them. This is what they had. Every rescue, every proclamation or venomous defying of fate-- it’s what made them. And you’d have to be out of your mind to think that these moments could be forgotten.

Verse 2 is all about that shift in Eishi to follow him. Wistful memories drive Eishi as he chooses to leave and depart from everything he knows, just to get him back. Meanwhile, that opinion of Takayama is still weighed down by that grating irritation (like hell he’s in touch reality, how could he do this?) culminating to his call for him in the Himalayas. The Refrain fires again with the same point as the last but this time I tried to go for a more fervent angle, some of the scenes actually focus on Takayama’s feelings for Eishi and ultimately the pull they have towards each other.

The Bridge is where things get desperate. The moments in the manga where Eishi is in physical pain because of the Whiteout shake me so much. It reminds me of a straight up panic attack. I let this crescendo with the music, making the black void swallow the chaos in a quick snap. Building to the final chorus.

The whiteout is special because Eishi both yearns after this figment emotionally (his friendship with Takayama) and intellectually (what the hell is it and what does it mean?). It represents his unique position in the realm of the story being able to see it, but it ultimately captures the almost divine force behind the relationship of Eishi and Takayama. The outro then brings us back to Eishi failed call at the Himalaya’s, the whiteout ripping him up and forcing Takayama to save him. All the while calling back to that first interaction between them. A mysterious moment that obviously held more weight than any world shaking rescue. And I cap it off with a warmer depiction of their reunion.

*Are you shipping in this comic?

Despite the romantic song, my affections for the pairing, and any other subtext I’ve provided, I went in with the project with a platonic angle. Like I’m not lying. I’m on the ace spectrum or whatever so I kind of interpret every strong bond in the same realm. So that means, if you think it’s a romantic interpretation-- then you’re right. If you think it’s not, you’re also right. Love comes in many forms. Have fun kids.

*What was your process?

Storyboarding

Listen over and over and figure out where to phrase the panels. I then divided the lyrics up accordingly in a draft and reviewed the pacing over and over again. Does it flow? How many words would comfortably fit with each panel?

Determined the thematic arc. At this point I already had a few anchoring moments so I wrote a description of the panel in the draft. I went with the formula of Verses= move the ideas, Refrain= emotional accents, and the Bridge is like… the climax with an epilogue of an outro. This was tricky step. I debated a lot of ideas and some lyrics didn’t feel like a good fit until I really sat on it for a while.

Fill in the draft. This is where I sketch the general shape of panels. This is also where I look at the gestalt of the thing and make sure the composition is easy on the eyes. I tried to make it dynamic and zig-zaggy so as not to be boring. This is the step where one gets really excited about the project. Cause it’s no longer trapped in your head.

Sketching

Gathered references. Surfed the web, made some myself.

Made time to sketch, I did a lot of them at my summer job, made sure to draw about 2 or 3 a day. I had the time then because it was before I took on my day job. I was very surprised to find that I rarely went back to edit a picture or dispose of a draft. I went through with the mantra that I was going to finish the picture no matter what.

Stayed disciplined with said time. I would not let myself take a break from drawing because half the success came from the fact that I was on a roll.

When I finished them I then went through the process of scanning them (my scanner broke between the first 20 panels so RIP)

Coloring Stage

...Good lord. This is where I probably went the most wrong. Make sure you have a good process in place before starting out this stage. I was not one to digital art much as of late so my familiarity with my program was lackluster (and it also is literally the worst program in the world), and my laptop couldn’t handle more than 10 panels. So hurray for a very desperate fix. I did everything from my brothers computer, in his room. Sometimes at terrible hours because that's the only time I’m home.

Color planning. I rushed this process but I pulled up the textures and color pallets and reference images from internet searches and stock piled them. While planning I approximated the overall ‘tone’ of each pane; (is it a dark shade, a light shade, blue, or red in hue…) and then I adjusted that so the colors didn’t repeat or blend unless the panels where connected in the same scene. There was a lot of problem solving in the actual coloring so some of this was not as smooth and I paid for it later.

Sketch Editing. I was able to go back in, move around things and edit certain aspects of the sketch without compromising the entire work. This was a life saver.

Actually coloring. Because I color sketches it’s actually a painstaking process where I can’t use a wand or a fill. I’m not familiar with certain masking and coloring methods that would have sped the process up and I wanted to be consistent. This would take 3 to 5 hours a panel which I would do in small bursts.

Type-setting

Deciding font. I was hunting around for a good font for ages until I just decided… to use my own handwriting. This meant that I had to makes sure my tablet pressure specs were up to date and I had to practice my style. It’s not perfect but its cool.

Apply font to panel. There were moments when I literally said ‘screw it’ and left my handwriting a little more sloppy than standard.

Consultation. I worked with my graphic designer friend on improving the placement of text and the color choices. This was an interesting step she is a saint.

Finalize

Every single panel is extremely large. I had to resize each one. Before this I had many tests in the drafts to see how certain sizes would load or format.

*Will you make another?

Probably. Like, there is nothing more satisfying than getting something stuck in your head out of it. I have a lot of tunes I am fond of but barely any qualify for lyric comics (need to have a good pace, easy to latch on musical phrases, thematic content that works etc.) The fandom is important too. Now that I think about it I have storyboards for an old DCMK ‘lyric comic’ idea to Imogen Heap’s “A-ha” (it was like some hidden dark side!au shit I still come back to it). I can’t let my interest wan or it straight up dies. Birdmen is a really unique series for me because its held on for a remarkable amount of time and strongly at that.

Fun Facts:

I colored a total 77 panels, 11 of which were scraped versions of the core 66 because perfectionist tendencies.

It took me 3 months to sketch all the panels out, sometimes drawing 3 a day. I would often cradle my sleeping kitten while I drew.

Panel 54-- the final chorus, whiteout splash page-- took three days to draw. At first it was two pages taped together, then it was three. I had my friend mend the images together into a massive pic for me to color, then break it apart for blog distribution. The full version is used in her video edit of the lyric comic.

I didn’t use pressure sensitivity on my tablet until I got to the last chunk. RIP

It usually took me over a day to do one picture.

I do not have a computer in my room that utilizes the art program I need. I literally did every panel after #10 in my brothers room. Sometimes hella late at night too. Props to my generous brother, he tells me he likes the company.

I took a few notable breaks. All of Inktober was used on the art challenge. The weeks leading up to Birdmen Week. And at least half of the Christmas season was spent on coloring hiatus.

I like adding a ring around the pupils of the seraph eyes. This is not canon, but an error that I really liked. You can see it as a sort of glow.

I am having my friend edit the panels into a video for your convenience. I have no idea how long it will take but I’m tired.

#lyric comic project

9 notes · View notes

davidrsmithlove · 5 years

Text

Leading Marketers Share Their Favorite Takeaway from Content Marketing World 2019

Once again, Magnificent Marketing had the pleasure of attending one of the top marketing conferences around, Content Marketing World 2019. This year was packed with information on content strategy, the role of AI in marketing, the rise of voice marketing, and SO much more. If you’re looking for a recap of the conference, check out what these top marketing influencers said was their best takeaways of Content Marketing World 2019.

Ahava Leibtag

President | Aha Media Group

Nothing is more important than your audience and you need to let them lead you. While data, automation, analytics, buyer journeys, content, social media and tech critical, the MOST important thing to maintain a laser-like focus on is your audience.

Andy Crestodina

CMO | Orbit Media

If you can publish an original statistic that busts a myth, you’ll win a lot of search and social traction. It’s a type of content that can get the attention of journalists and actually make a little news. This tip is from Michele Linn on the Survey Monkey panel about original research. Super smart!

Adele Revella

To Persuade Buyers, Validate their Perceptions | Buyer Persona Institute

Tamsen Webster’s keynote was my favorite presentation among so many great talks at this year’s conference. She made the most powerful case for marketers to understand and validate their buyers’ wants, needs and beliefs. I say it every year, but it was fascinating to hear Tamsen note that this is not a new concern but a function of the human condition … that we all want to feel, as she said, “smart, capable, and good”. She even started her talk with a quote from 16th-century philosopher Blaise Pascal! Tamsen’s presentation was a powerful call to action for marketers to stop “educating” buyers about their problems and start listening to them!

Michael Brenner

Speaker, Author, CEO | Marketing Insider Group

We’re nearly 10 years in on the modern content marketing journey and the biggest challenge is still creating, delivering, and getting buy-in for the content marketing business case. Marketers need to learn how to convince their boss, their peers in marketing, sales and the entire business on why content marketing is the future of marketing and the best way to show marketing ROI.

Peter Loibl

Head of Sales | Content Marketing Institute

Content Marketing World 2019 reinforced a basic but integral premise: consistency leads to success, which leads to corporate buy-in. I was endeared to run into so many content marketers and demand gen marketers using content to fuel their audience connectivity and lead generation efforts, but the biggest smile on my face was a result of hearing of increased C-suite commitment to content marketing teams based on the positive results stemming from documented, consistent content marketing strategies and practices in lieu of fragmented, quick, gated lead-gen wins.

Tim Hayden

President & Managing Partner | Brain+Trust Partners

Few companies are prepared for the oncoming wave of data privacy laws, starting with Nevada in October 2019, and the California Consumer Privacy Act going into effect January 2020. Ironically, to comply with these new regulations, brands will require the same data governance needed to leverage machine-learning and marketing automation to deliver meaningful content experiences.

Andrea Fryrear

Agile Marketing Coach & Trainer; Co-founder | AgileSherpas

The newest skill that marketers need to add to our already lengthy resumes is internal marketing. It’s not enough to have a great idea; you’ve got to be able to amass support from others in your organization to give it life and longevity. We need to help people understand our content programs — what’s going on, how’s it’s working, what to expect, and, most importantly, what’s in it for them. If we don’t, we risk losing budget, buy-in, and belief in what we’re doing.

Christoph Trappe

Chief Content Officer | AC Business Media

The power of machines! Whether AI or machine learning, marketers must make use of these new technologies to free up time for other things machines can’t do and do drive results.

Stacy Adams

Head of Marketing | Vyond

Storytelling is having a moment, especially visual storytelling. I think this is happening for a variety of reasons. First, stories bring an authentic, human condition context to content. Storytelling is one of the foundations of person-to-person communication, and it’s natural in today’s tumultuous social and political environment for people to gravitate towards something warm and familiar. We feel even more affinity to a brand when we can relate to them through similar experiences, and stories facilitate that. Second, our consumer tastes for instant gratification in entertainment are bleeding over into our professional lives. I heard a lot of “Netflix” mentions at CM World, and marketers are definitely paying attention to how stories told through this type of media continue to engage and enthrall audiences. Employing the same tactics that encourage binge-watching can definitely move the needle for content marketers. We binge because we want to find out what happens next – it’s a natural human instinct to finish the story. Incorporating storytelling tropes like cliffhangers, character development, and hero’s journey, can and should be used in a business video. Just because your consumer is a business buyer, doesn’t mean you have to ignore what makes entertaining content successful.

Bernie Borges

CMO | Vengreso

Marketers are focused on understanding the customer journey and producing content to engage the customer throughout their journey. Marketers are paying special attention to equipping their sales team with content that addresses the interests of the customer throughout their journey from awareness, buying, implementation and adoption. Marketers are realizing that content is not one size fits all. Additionally, the same content produced and distributed by marketers for the marketplace is not necessarily what the sales team needs. Marketers are getting serious about integrating their sales team into the content distribution process. But, according to CSO Insights, only 32% of companies have a content strategy for their sales team. Marketers who want to harness the reach-potential and win-rate-improvement-potential of their sales team must begin by developing a content strategy for sales enablement.

Jay Acunzo

Founder | Marketing Showrunners

Marketers are realizing their new mandate. It’s no longer enough to grab attention. The best in the world are focused on holding it. This has led to a rise of serialized content — shows. More and more brands are launching podcasts and video series in order to hold attention. This ranged from massive global brands partnering with international media outlets, to small businesses piloting a new original from a conference room. From standalone podcasts to entire networks of series, we’re watching the rise of the branded original series online. It’s time we all embraced: Great marketing isn’t about who arrives. It’s about who stays.

Brody Dorland

Co-Founder | DivvyHQ

I appreciated the warning from multiple speakers regarding social media being “doomed”. Even if it takes years for such a scenario to play out, I feel it’s so important for companies to shift or narrow their focus to building their own audiences and owning their methods of marketing/content publishing, distribution and promotion. Those who have already made this a priority not only have a head start, but will see dividends grow as audiences decide to reduce time spent on unstable social networks that may lose favor overnight.

Pamela Muldoon

Sr. Consultant & Content Strategist | The Pedowitz Group

I loved Joe Pulizzi’s 7 Laws of Content Marketing keynote session this year at Content Marketing World 2019. One of the seven laws that really resonated for me and I believe in 100% was The Marketing Pushover Law, where he challenged content marketers to say NO to tactics are not within the content strategy. It’s time marketing owned marketing again and a documented content strategy that aligns to the business objectives will provide the necessary leverage marketing teams need to say NO to tactics outside of the plan.

Zontee Hou

Consultant & Speaker | Convince & Convert

Yes, the fundamentals of creating good content are still vital. But as the industry matures, content marketing practitioners are more focused now than ever before on getting the most out of their analytics: measuring, learning, and benchmarking. While most understand that vanity metrics don’t do their brands any good, based on my conversations and the sessions at CMWorld, they also haven’t implemented more effective metrics. As we move into 2020, the industry as a whole will reckon with how to be more effective and driven with metrics.

Gini Dietrich

Founder & Author | Spin Sucks

A good 10 years into this industry, things are continuing to evolve. Some things have stayed the same, and some things have changed. The biggest takeaway is to stay the course, keep up on the trends, follow what the experts have to say, and trust in your expertise, your talent, and your gut when it comes to your own business and your content marketing plan.

Stephanie Stahl

General Manager | Content Marketing Institute

Consumers, customers, and prospects don’t necessarily need more content. They need content that is meaningful, actionable, fun, amazing …not excessive and mediocre. Content marketers need to know the meaning behind their work and they know what is meaningful to their audiences (and internal stakeholders). When you dive deeper into meaning, a stronger bond between the audience and your content (or your brand) is more likely to form. And that’s the key to successful content marketing programs.

Anna Hrach

Strategist | Convince & Convert

The only way to be really successful in the very near future is to understand your audiences incredibly well. Talk to them. Survey them. Gather all the available insights and data you have about them. Use it all to understand their customer journey, wants and needs, and everything from general content creation to ABM and more will be easier and far more effective.

Priscilla McKinney

CEO & Momma Bird | Little Bird Marketing

Writing ANYTHING, whether short or long format should not be undertaken before significant work is done to develop an ideal client persona. While companies may feel like they are “doing” marketing, they are in fact accomplishing nothing when the intended audience is not the primary focus. We need to know, really KNOW what keeps our ideal buyer up at on Sunday and what gets them going on Monday morning! Creating content with these emerging and persisting issues in mind help us see our content as HELPFUL and this will stop us from shouting at our audience, but instead serving them. In the end, great marketing can be done when this mindset shift has taken place and we’re writing for the betterment of someone else’s moment. Sometimes that’s all you get and if you build rapport in that moment you just might earn a chance to be heard and considered. Oh, and your ideal client persona changes over time, so this is not a one-time exercise but a commitment to a mindset and process.

Ann Handley

Chief Content Officer | MarketingProfs

Do less and obsess.

Also, every conference should have a Meet and Greet fundraiser with the very best doggos that ever were.

Douglas Kessler

Co-Founder | Velocity

A big theme this year was all around the challenges of getting great work approved by stakeholders. This feels like this is the issue of the moment: Switched-on marketers have figured out what good looks like for them—but they’re being blocked by senior executives working from the old-school playbook. About a year ago, we wrote a piece about overcoming this challenge called A Stakeholder Through the Heart. Bot today, it feels like it’s on more and more people’s minds. We can only do great work if we bring people along with us. The work of aligning stakeholders isn’t a big, fat obstacle to doing your job… it IS your job.

Ian Cleary

Founder | RazorSocial

My top takeaway from CMW was from Jay Baer’s session on how to conquer the new frontier of voice content, Alexa and smart speakers. It really got me thinking about getting involved in building voice applications for these devices. I read a recent research report where it predicted that 50% of all search queries across the internet will be voice-based. Is this like a whole new world of SEO? Remember the early days of Google when it was easy to rank for articles? As Jay pointed out it is still early for these type of applications but the early adopters could certainly steel an advantage to the later comers. It’s time to get serious with voice search. If you don’t, your competitors will!

Julia McCoy

CEO | Express Writers

CMWorld ’19 was so good, it’s hard to pick one takeaway! I would have to say my one favorite takeaway if narrowed down, would have to be Joe Pulizzi’s 5th law from his MKTG 2030 keynote, covering the 7 Laws of Content Marketing. Law #5 was the law of the content one-night stand. “How do you marry your customer,” Joe said, “versus leaving them feeling like they’ve had a one-night stand? Leave notes. Give loving, valuable content — long before the sale is attempted.” Joe called content campaigns the devil, told all 4,000 of us to stop doing them, and have a goal of getting married instead of a one-night fling. Ongoing content experiences are key, not one-time campaigns. The point Joe drove home holds true for so many success patterns I see in content, from success among the hundreds of content projects we take on monthly for clients at Express Writers, to our own eight-year run of marketing done completely through valuable, reader-targeted strategic blog posts that rank well in organic SEO, on our Write Blog. Content success today is all about “getting married” and providing real value to your audience — not a quick push for a sale, or a one-night stand content encounter.

Jonathan Kranz

Principal | Kranz Communications

I have less of a takeaway and more of an observation: as content marketing has grown, two things have happened. One, “content marketing” is becoming its own distinct profession, a subset of marketing with its own universe of rules and practices. Two, we have been slow to acknowledge a deep undercurrent of exploitation in our industry, especially of content creators. It sickens me to see the number of so-called “innovative” products and services whose fundamental business models are predicated on paying writers, designers, developers, and artists PENNIES on the dollar for their creative efforts. If we’re going to fulfill the potential of the first observation — a trend toward professionalism — then we’re simultaneously obligated to address and offer redress on the second trend, exploitation. If we don’t, we’re just pimps, not professionals.

David Reimherr

Founder | Magnificent Marketing

My top take-away from CM World is to do less. And I don’t mean to try any less, just to stop, think, and do more impactful content pieces. We all know it’s gotten very crowded out there so it’s almost a waste of time to produce any content that will not move the needle. If you have a choice to put out so-so weekly pieces vs. one bang-up monthly piece, opt for the monthly. But before you do anything, you must do your proper research so you know your audiences’ wants/needs/desires/pains as well as know what you would like for them to do next. So my advice for everyone today is to take a breath and a step back, and then start to deliver to your audience content that truly is helpful, inspirational or provides them with a bit of joy or laughter.

Get a Free Consultation

0 notes

magnificentmktg · 5 years

Text

Leading Marketers Share Their Favorite Takeaway from Content Marketing World 2019

Ahava Leibtag

President | Aha Media Group

Andy Crestodina

CMO | Orbit Media

If you can publish an original statistic that busts a myth, you'll win a lot of search and social traction. It's a type of content that can get the attention of journalists and actually make a little news. This tip is from Michele Linn on the Survey Monkey panel about original research. Super smart!

Adele Revella

To Persuade Buyers, Validate their Perceptions | Buyer Persona Institute

Tamsen Webster's keynote was my favorite presentation among so many great talks at this year's conference. She made the most powerful case for marketers to understand and validate their buyers' wants, needs and beliefs. I say it every year, but it was fascinating to hear Tamsen note that this is not a new concern but a function of the human condition ... that we all want to feel, as she said, "smart, capable, and good". She even started her talk with a quote from 16th-century philosopher Blaise Pascal! Tamsen's presentation was a powerful call to action for marketers to stop "educating" buyers about their problems and start listening to them!

Michael Brenner

Speaker, Author, CEO | Marketing Insider Group

We're nearly 10 years in on the modern content marketing journey and the biggest challenge is still creating, delivering, and getting buy-in for the content marketing business case. Marketers need to learn how to convince their boss, their peers in marketing, sales and the entire business on why content marketing is the future of marketing and the best way to show marketing ROI.

Peter Loibl

Head of Sales | Content Marketing Institute

Tim Hayden

President & Managing Partner | Brain+Trust Partners

Andrea Fryrear

Agile Marketing Coach & Trainer; Co-founder | AgileSherpas

The newest skill that marketers need to add to our already lengthy resumes is internal marketing. It's not enough to have a great idea; you've got to be able to amass support from others in your organization to give it life and longevity. We need to help people understand our content programs -- what's going on, how's it's working, what to expect, and, most importantly, what's in it for them. If we don't, we risk losing budget, buy-in, and belief in what we're doing.

Christoph Trappe

Chief Content Officer | AC Business Media

The power of machines! Whether AI or machine learning, marketers must make use of these new technologies to free up time for other things machines can't do and do drive results.

Stacy Adams

Head of Marketing | Vyond

Storytelling is having a moment, especially visual storytelling. I think this is happening for a variety of reasons. First, stories bring an authentic, human condition context to content. Storytelling is one of the foundations of person-to-person communication, and it's natural in today's tumultuous social and political environment for people to gravitate towards something warm and familiar. We feel even more affinity to a brand when we can relate to them through similar experiences, and stories facilitate that. Second, our consumer tastes for instant gratification in entertainment are bleeding over into our professional lives. I heard a lot of "Netflix" mentions at CM World, and marketers are definitely paying attention to how stories told through this type of media continue to engage and enthrall audiences. Employing the same tactics that encourage binge-watching can definitely move the needle for content marketers. We binge because we want to find out what happens next - it’s a natural human instinct to finish the story. Incorporating storytelling tropes like cliffhangers, character development, and hero's journey, can and should be used in a business video. Just because your consumer is a business buyer, doesn’t mean you have to ignore what makes entertaining content successful.

Bernie Borges

CMO | Vengreso

Jay Acunzo

Founder | Marketing Showrunners

Marketers are realizing their new mandate. It's no longer enough to grab attention. The best in the world are focused on holding it. This has led to a rise of serialized content -- shows. More and more brands are launching podcasts and video series in order to hold attention. This ranged from massive global brands partnering with international media outlets, to small businesses piloting a new original from a conference room. From standalone podcasts to entire networks of series, we're watching the rise of the branded original series online. It's time we all embraced: Great marketing isn't about who arrives. It's about who stays.

Brody Dorland

Co-Founder | DivvyHQ

I appreciated the warning from multiple speakers regarding social media being "doomed". Even if it takes years for such a scenario to play out, I feel it's so important for companies to shift or narrow their focus to building their own audiences and owning their methods of marketing/content publishing, distribution and promotion. Those who have already made this a priority not only have a head start, but will see dividends grow as audiences decide to reduce time spent on unstable social networks that may lose favor overnight.

Pamela Muldoon

Sr. Consultant & Content Strategist | The Pedowitz Group

I loved Joe Pulizzi's 7 Laws of Content Marketing keynote session this year at Content Marketing World 2019. One of the seven laws that really resonated for me and I believe in 100% was The Marketing Pushover Law, where he challenged content marketers to say NO to tactics are not within the content strategy. It's time marketing owned marketing again and a documented content strategy that aligns to the business objectives will provide the necessary leverage marketing teams need to say NO to tactics outside of the plan.

Zontee Hou

Consultant & Speaker | Convince & Convert

Yes, the fundamentals of creating good content are still vital. But as the industry matures, content marketing practitioners are more focused now than ever before on getting the most out of their analytics: measuring, learning, and benchmarking. While most understand that vanity metrics don't do their brands any good, based on my conversations and the sessions at CMWorld, they also haven't implemented more effective metrics. As we move into 2020, the industry as a whole will reckon with how to be more effective and driven with metrics.

Gini Dietrich

Founder & Author | Spin Sucks

Stephanie Stahl

General Manager | Content Marketing Institute

Anna Hrach

Strategist | Convince & Convert

Priscilla McKinney

CEO & Momma Bird | Little Bird Marketing

Writing ANYTHING, whether short or long format should not be undertaken before significant work is done to develop an ideal client persona. While companies may feel like they are "doing" marketing, they are in fact accomplishing nothing when the intended audience is not the primary focus. We need to know, really KNOW what keeps our ideal buyer up at on Sunday and what gets them going on Monday morning! Creating content with these emerging and persisting issues in mind help us see our content as HELPFUL and this will stop us from shouting at our audience, but instead serving them. In the end, great marketing can be done when this mindset shift has taken place and we're writing for the betterment of someone else's moment. Sometimes that's all you get and if you build rapport in that moment you just might earn a chance to be heard and considered. Oh, and your ideal client persona changes over time, so this is not a one-time exercise but a commitment to a mindset and process.

Ann Handley

Chief Content Officer | MarketingProfs

Do less and obsess.

Also, every conference should have a Meet and Greet fundraiser with the very best doggos that ever were.

Douglas Kessler

Co-Founder | Velocity

A big theme this year was all around the challenges of getting great work approved by stakeholders. This feels like this is the issue of the moment: Switched-on marketers have figured out what good looks like for them—but they're being blocked by senior executives working from the old-school playbook. About a year ago, we wrote a piece about overcoming this challenge called A Stakeholder Through the Heart. Bot today, it feels like it's on more and more people's minds. We can only do great work if we bring people along with us. The work of aligning stakeholders isn't a big, fat obstacle to doing your job... it IS your job.

Ian Cleary

Founder | RazorSocial

Julia McCoy

CEO | Express Writers

Jonathan Kranz

Principal | Kranz Communications

I have less of a takeaway and more of an observation: as content marketing has grown, two things have happened. One, "content marketing" is becoming its own distinct profession, a subset of marketing with its own universe of rules and practices. Two, we have been slow to acknowledge a deep undercurrent of exploitation in our industry, especially of content creators. It sickens me to see the number of so-called "innovative" products and services whose fundamental business models are predicated on paying writers, designers, developers, and artists PENNIES on the dollar for their creative efforts. If we're going to fulfill the potential of the first observation -- a trend toward professionalism -- then we're simultaneously obligated to address and offer redress on the second trend, exploitation. If we don't, we're just pimps, not professionals.

David Reimherr

Founder | Magnificent Marketing

My top take-away from CM World is to do less. And I don't mean to try any less, just to stop, think, and do more impactful content pieces. We all know it's gotten very crowded out there so it's almost a waste of time to produce any content that will not move the needle. If you have a choice to put out so-so weekly pieces vs. one bang-up monthly piece, opt for the monthly. But before you do anything, you must do your proper research so you know your audiences' wants/needs/desires/pains as well as know what you would like for them to do next. So my advice for everyone today is to take a breath and a step back, and then start to deliver to your audience content that truly is helpful, inspirational or provides them with a bit of joy or laughter.

Get a Free Consultation

0 notes

thetalesfromthedarktower-blog · 5 years

Text

Toto-Huxley’s Vacation

Toto - Huxley strolled down 2nd avenue. Nine days, he thought to himself. It felt like the last four had simply flitted past him, like feathers on a breeze. He’d passed through at the Dixie pig, but soon bored of the vampires and their crude drinking games and lust for disorder. Their disregard for anything Hume was always a point of contention and, as was always the case, after enough drinks the conversations soon twisted towards a debate on the finer details of the culture. Toto had in this instance kept his thoughts to himself, avoiding the type 1’s and 2’s but there was only so much you could overhear before you let your big mouth go. The smoke, the drinking, the roasting flesh. Time to go he’d thought as he’d stumbled out into the early morning dazzle of New York sunlight.

It was 7.30am, but second avenue was getting busy with morning commuters making their way towards or away from Grand Central. A women in what Toto assumed was a beige ‘powersuit’ bumped into him. The height of Hume fashion he noted. Their eyes met as she went to apologies, her hand outstretched ready to grasp his arm. She froze, then recoiled, whipping her hand back to her side. The corners of her mouth quivered as she stared into Toto’s eyes. Finally, she wrestled her gaze away from his, and with a quick shake of the head she was gone back into the bustling crowd. Humans, he thought to himself. So unobservant.

At a distance, his mask was convincing enough, but on closer inspection, the shifting joins around the nape of the neck and the oozing spot on the forehead soon gave the game away. Not that it mattered, not really. Toto-Huxley considered himself in many regards an amateur anthropologist and had frequently observed that the majority of humans, when faced with the inexplicable horrors of reality, his reality, they chose to deny them with impressive feats of cognitive dissonance.

The wound/There was no wound. The smell/What smell

On arrival, He’d made a visit to a tailor and was sporting what he believed to be very fetching green and purple checked suite, pink shirt and daffodil yellow tie. His blood red brogues squeaked as he made his way down the sidewalk. What do, what to do?

The thought of a girl had crossed his mind. He’d played before, what was it? Three, four years ago? Somewhere out west. He’d found the experience exhilarating and fascinating in equal measure, but the clean up...Not something to overlook. He’d felt...remorse giving her naked body that final shove with his boot, watching her roll, slowly at first, then gathering speed as her arms and breasts flailed, her legs flashing open to reveal the gaping bloody hole where only a gentle slit should exist...then splash, into the drainage ditch. He’d stood for who knows how long, watching her float face down in that muddy water.

45th and Second and the sidewalk was really bustling now. He allowed his mind to wander back to Algul Siento, wandered what was happening. Break time? Tv? He’d grown a particular fondness for what humans called television, particularly a show called ‘Columbo’. He liked seeing the murder first, then watching the detective outsmart the crook. He could even do a half decent impression, ‘just one last thing’ he’d quip to the breakers before leaving the main hall. He knew they pretended to laugh, the smile not touching their eyes but he thought the likeness was uncanny.

Time was hard, what with the slippage now. Some days you’d sit in the main hall and watch the sun scream across the crimson sky through those massive windows, on others it felt like it barely moved. The thunder would roll in for what felt like days on end, but not a drop of rain. Here though, time was regimented, working. He liked that, the sense of order it gave, the predictability. Back home, not so much. The breakers were harder to predict, the shifts either longer or shorter than requested.

He waited for the stop light to turn, then made his way across the street, heading North. Halfway down the block, something caught his eye, and instinctively he found himself hugging closer to small shopfronts, ducking under awnings to keep himself partially hidden. A man, perhaps late twenties and a small boy, maybe nine or ten had caught his attention. He wasn’t sure why, but something screamed ‘wrong’ about them. There was a starkness to them, they seemed to sing with vibrancy and colour when everything else around them was drab and muted, like someone had dialled them all the way up to 11.

He pretended to examine a ripe melon from a small fruit and veg stall, but kept his attention on the man and boy. They seemed excited, ecstatic even, a conversion being raced out between them. The clothes, they seemed to fit this earth, but...the small bag the boy was carrying, and the hide leather belt on the man. Suddenly, Toto realised he himself was being watched, but not by the Boy or Man, they seemed oblivious to anything else around them. Two small bright golden eyes peered out of nape of the bag slung around the boys shoulder, and they were intently fixed on him. The boy turned in his direction, muttered something into the bag then directed his attention back to the man. The Golden eyes remained fixed on Toto. Other Humes squeezed past them, veered round them, even walking in the road to avoid them but didn't seem to give them a second glance. Toto put the melon down and was reaching for the grapefruits when the stall owner, a chubby balding man wearing a dirty white vest with cheap gold medallion saddled his way over.

‘Help ya’? he muttered, a cigarette poking out of the corner of his mouth.

‘I’m fine’ said Toto, fixing the man a stern gaze.

“Best grapefruit in New York, won’t find better’ he quipped.

“I’m sure it is’

The stall owner stood expectantly waiting for a reply, then when none came waddled back into the dark recesses of his shop, hitching his pants as he went. Toto swung round, only to see the Man and Boy gone.

‘Ah Fuck’ he muttered.

He strode out into the sidewalk, grapefruit in hand, looking south, then north. He was tall, and had a decent view most of the way north down second avenue...There, just a glimpse.

Toto- Huxley took off in slow pursuit, pushing his way through the increasingly dense crowds that now occupied the sidewalk and dropping the grapefruit to roll lazily into the gutter. Far ahead, he caught a glimpse of the man, then he was swallowed by the crowd again.

Towards the end of the block, the crowd thinned and Toto found himself at a gentle walk, occasionally catching a glimpse of the Man or Boy. They were no more than 50 yards ahead when, reaching the junction they turned and made their way west down 46th street. Toto broke into a light jog, meaning to make up the ground whilst hidden by the large hoarding on the corner. As he reached the corner he slowed again to a walk, and as casually as he could muster turned the corner and made his way west down 46th.

He suddenly stopped. He couldn’t see the Man or Boy. He looked back towards the crossing...nothing. He could hear voices...singing. See the turtle he suddenly thought, then shook his head briskly. Something was amiss here. He slowly walked back towards the corner, then stopped halfway. The light seemed to be different here. He held his hand up and examined it. The light danced off his fingers, like it was no longer light, but water, thick, with substance and weight. He looked down at his brogues, which were normally a deep blood red now seemed to be alight with a vibrancy he’d never witnessed before, a searing screaming red.

He looked around carefully, his gaze darting this way and that. Everything seemed so... there. A passing women gave him a question glance, and he watched in fascination as she seemed to glide down towards the corner, her feet seemingly never truly touching the sidewalk, a small smile playing on her lips.

They feel it too he thought, but not like I do.

He spun round and the chorus ramped up a notch, a hundred voices climbing. Suddenly he had a crazed impulse, and knew he had to scale the hoarding fence. He took two paces, jumped, grabbed the top of the boards with both hands and pulled himself up, his feet scrambling for purchase against the aged wooden boards. His jacket tore at the armpit as he heaved himself up, and then finally over.

A vacant lot.

He sat on his haunches, catching his breath. The hustle and bustle of the street, just feet away behind the hoarding was gone. The light felt thick, and once again he raised his hand and seemingly ran his fingers through it. He watched as it danced and wrapped around his fingers, shimmering, then falling away. The chorus swelled, the voices now a thousand strong.

He got to his feet and started forward over the broken rubble strewn ground. Here and there, clumps of long grass has taken hold, breaking up the concrete of a long forgotten foundations. He felt it before he saw it, a deep humming that started in his chest, then spread up his body, rattling his teeth and tickling his ears.

A single rose stood on a small mound, blazing deep red through the long yellowed grass.

Looking on it, his legs suddenly felt heavy, a weariness beyond anything he’d felt before. He took a few staggered uneasy steps towards it, his arms out ready to break his fall, then fell to his hands and knees, intending to crawl. The chorus was now deafening, the voices rising in a never ending crescendo that he feared would never cease. It'll drive me mad if I look at the centre he thought, and with growing alarm realised that was exactly what he intended to do.

The sunlight crashed down upon him, thick and heavy, as he slowly shuffled over the broken glass and scattered cans. He just needed to see, to understand. Everything he needed, everything anyone needed lay at the centre of that rose. All things lay there. Ka is wheel. He KNEW.

As he neared he broke into an uncontrollable sobbing fit, his eyes streaming and nose running. He felt his mind slipping, falling away as he dragged himself closer, the chorus crashing over him in endless waves.

Just a glance/ i’ll die

I’ll be quick/You’ll never leave

He shuffled nearer and his nose exploded blood, soaking his shirt and jacket lapels. He slumped forward, gathered himself and managed to balance, then reached a single hand out. Blinded by tears, he knew if only he could touch it, to feel the velvet petal against his skin, to smell the scent it left upon him he would be alright. As his pale damp hand grew close to the velvet petals his bladder let go, splashing hot urine down his trousers and pooling around his knees.

In that moment he cried for everything. For the Beam breakers, prisoned back in Algul Siento, for the girl he’d pushed, ruined and forgotten into a drainage ditch somewhere out west, for the small boy, his mind scrambled beyond repair, calling in his broken voice for a father long dead. For his subservient existence, for his fear and greed.

He touched the petal. Maturin.

Calvin Tower wasn't a strong man, but once he put his full weight (which was considerable) into the swing, the spade nearly cleaved Toto - Huxleys head clean in half.

He slumped forward, facedown, his mask folding back to reveal a slither of the form beneath.

‘Is he dead?’ Gasped Deepneau.

‘He...that ain’t no he’ said Tower.

He swayed on his feet, ready to faint but urging himself to remain upright. Propping himself up with the bloody spade, he found a handkerchief in his back pocket and dabbed at his brow.

‘You think he was going to pick it?’

‘Who knows. Seemed that way.’ Tower carried on blotting his brow. ‘We best start digging before someone else wanders in here, then we’d be really fucked.’

‘I like it in here.’ Said Deepneau. Tower chuckled.

‘Me too, now cmon’

The two friends took it in turns to dig Toto-Huxley a shallow grave as the voices sang in there shrill chorus and the light ebbed and swayed around them. They left no marker.

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