#literal-antique-trash

[twinvictim]

I think one of my favorite video game locations is the despicable Alice In Wonderland themed fast food joint in SH shattered memories. it's so goddamn awful in there I love it, I also like that the roof is just close enough to the roof of the brothel next door that you can just jump it. I also like that this place and a brothel are right next to the high-school

[sparkle-fiend]

Steve loves Valentine’s Day.

It’s a holiday celebrating love and romance; the whole point is to shower someone with affection (and hopefully get laid at the end of the night). What’s not to like about that?

With girls, Valentine’s was easy. Big box of chocolates, a dozen red roses, dinner at a fancy restaurant (and maybe a little jewelry or something - depending on how much he likes her). A sweet card, for sure.

Now that he’s dating Eddie, Valentine’s Day presents more of a… challenge. 

“Ugh, what am I gonna do Rob? We walked through the greeting card aisle at Melvald’s and he pretended to puke. He doesn’t want flowers or chocolate or anything.”

He knows he’s whining. He’s slumped dramatically in the single office chair in the Family Video breakroom, spinning slowly (like a pathetic little rotisserie chicken, according to Robin). He’s probably got about five more minutes before Robin snaps.

“Why do you have to do anything? You know Valentine’s Day isn’t even a real holiday – it’s just an excuse to get people to spend money on crap they don’t need…”

“Oh my god, stop! You sound just like Eddie. Valentine's isn't about spending money, it's about... showing people that you love them. Making them feel happy and appreciated and special. It’s about celebrating love.”

Robin tilts her head and her face goes a little soft, the way it does when he says something she wasn't expecting (but in a good way, not like when he says something so dumb that her body collapses and she says he's obliterated her will to live). 

"That’s actually surprisingly sweet Steve. Okay….” she sighs and looks up at the ceiling as she thinks. “Maybe... you could try making something? He liked those cookies you baked for movie night." 

“Those cookies were terrible.” Practically inedible. Eddie was the only person that ate more than one. (Which was either a true declaration of love in and of itself, or proof that Eddie will eat literally anything when he's stoned.) 

"I don't know, Eddie is pretty easy to please. You could give him like... a cool rock, and he would probably love it." 

Steve sits upright so fast he nearly overturns the chair. "Robin, you're a genius!!" 

She blinks at him. "Clearly. But also, why exactly?" 

Eddie is like a crow. He's forever picking up little odds and ends - cool rocks, stickers, shiny bits of paper. At Christmas, he collected the bows off of everyone's presents. Sometimes, he incorporates the stuff he finds into little props and models for his D&D games, but other times he just keeps it. He's got a whole drawer devoted to his little 'hoard', as he calls it. 

Steve explains all this to Robin, who just shakes her head in bemusement. "He is so weird," she says fondly. 

"Yeah," Steve agrees. He would have recoiled from that oddity in high school - would have been worried what other people would think. Scared they would judge him for associating with someone like that. 

He doesn’t give a shit, these days. He sees the way Eddie lights up with happiness at the smallest things, so full of excitement and passion, and it just makes him smile. He feels grateful that he gets to bask in that reflected joy, like a flower soaking up the sun.

Valentines is two weeks away, which gives Steve plenty of time to collect a bounty of little treasures. He hits the pawn shop, the thrift store - he even drives out to the weird antique shop about an hour out of town, which looks like a normal house on the outside and is crammed to the rafters with knick-knacks and bric-a-brac when you walk inside. 

He also trawls the quarry, the lake, and the woods behind his house. It's tough, because usually Eddie's little treasures just look like trash to Steve. He's not a very creative person himself, but he tries hard to see the world the way his boyfriend would. 

If that means Steve finds himself debating for over half an hour on which rock is more appealing, well – it will all be worth it in the end.

———

Steve stays over at Eddie's, the night before Valentines. (At this point, he spends more time at the Munson's house than he does at his own.) 

He wakes up early, slipping out of bed with slow, careful movements. As usual, Eddie rolls over with a faint grumble, bundling himself into a burrito of blankets to compensate for the void of warmth left by Steve's absence. 

He moves down the hall, avoiding each creaky board like it's a booby trap in the Temple of Doom, until he reaches the kitchen - which is where Steve breaks routine. He sneaks out the back door and races across the driveway in his boxers, hopping and cursing as the frigid gravel stings his bare feet. 

His carefully cultivated stash of gifts is in the glove compartment of the BMW. He already has a plan for which one will be first, so he grabs it and closes the door (slowly, slowly - the sound of Steve moving around the house is familiar, but a car door slamming in the driveway at this time of morning would wake Eddie for sure). 

The first gift is a blue jay feather he found in the woods, perfect and clean with vivid blue and black stripes. He tucks it carefully under the edge of the ash tray that sits on the porch railing, before slipping back inside to start breakfast.

Thirty minutes later Eddie appears, drawn by the warm smell of coffee and the sound of bacon popping in the pan. 

He drapes himself over Steve's back and murmurs, "G'mornin," sleepily into the shell of his ear, the way he does every morning after Steve spends the night. This time, Steve balances his spatula on the edge of the pan and turns so that he can wrap his arms around his boyfriend’s waist. 

He presses a cheerful kiss to the corner of Eddie's mouth and says, "Happy Valentine’s Day." 

Eddie groans dramatically and throws his head back, the rest of his bodyweight following. If Steve didn't have a firm grip around his waist, he would have toppled over backward; the move turns into an awkward backbend instead. 

"Stevie please, it's too early for that crap. Wait until I've had my coffee at least." 

Steve grins. He releases his hold just long enough for Eddie to yelp and scrabble for balance before catching him and pulling him close again. 

"Jesus Christ," Eddie gasps. 

"Careful," Steve says with a smug grin, laughing when Eddie shoves him in the chest and pulls away.

They eat breakfast together, and then Steve follows Eddie outside for his morning cigarette. 

"Holy shit, look at this!" Eddie turns to Steve with the blue jay feather pinched between his fingers, grinning with delight. He hasn't brushed his hair yet and he's got a smear of bacon grease on his cheek, but he's so beautiful in that moment - so full of joy it shines out of him, like a lighthouse.

Just because he found a feather. Steve smiles back, helplessly besotted. "Pretty cool." 

Eddie twirls the feather between his fingers before tucking it behind his ear. “That’s a sign that today is gonna be a good day.”

Steve presses his mouth to the edge of his coffee cup to hide his expression. “Yeah, I think so too.”

———

Eddie rolls into the Family Video parking lot around 2 in the afternoon to visit before his band practice. He strolls inside and leans against the counter, plonking a silver wrapped Hershey kiss down in front of Steve. 

“Kiss for a kiss?” he says, with a smarmy grin. Steve rolls his eyes, but he checks to make sure they’re alone in the store before swooping forward for a quick peck on the lips.

“I got you something too,” he says.

“Oh?” Eddie raises one eyebrow, managing to look both curious and skeptical. “Please tell me it’s not a cheesy greeting card.”

Steve flips him the bird before reaching into his pocket. He pulls the keychain out and lets it dangle from one finger in front of Eddie’s face.

His boyfriend’s immediate reaction is to wrinkle his nose in disgust. The keychain is a garish red plastic heart, definitely the antithesis of Eddie’s usual metalhead vibe.

But it’s also sparkly. 

Steve’s lips curl into a satisfied smirk as Eddie takes the keychain from him, reluctantly admiring the way light sparks off the flakes of holographic glitter embedded in the plastic. The cheap little thing shimmers like a ruby in the afternoon sun.

“Some kid dropped it. They never came back, so it’s yours if you want it.” (That’s technically true, although Steve has been holding on to it for nearly a month now, waiting for today.)

“Oh, well then.” Eddie stuffs the keychain into his pocket. “Finders keepers, losers weepers!” He sticks his tongue out, eyes wide and exaggerated – then leans across the counter and licks Steve’s nose.

“Gross!” Steve sputters with laughter. He scrubs at his face and looks up just in time to see Eddie wave jauntily on his way out the door, a second Hershey kiss left sitting on the counter in his wake.

———

After Steve's shift is over, he runs home for a quick shower and a change of clothes before meeting Eddie at the diner. 

He did his best to talk his boyfriend into going on a proper date, but the most he could get Eddie to agree to was milkshakes and a movie (my choice Stevie, not some lame romance).

Steve walks into the diner and spots Eddie at the back booth. He saunters over and sets the third present onto the sticky Formica table with a click. It's a small golden gear, nearly paper-thin. 

"Check it out. Found this in the parking lot." 

(That's a lie. Steve carefully picked apart a broken old watch from the thrift shop in order to extract a handful of the little gears.)

"Hey, cool! I bet I could use this in the model I'm working on." Eddie pulls the pack of cigarettes out of his coat pocket and drops the gear inside for safe keeping. 

"What's the model for?" Steve asks.

Eddie launches into an animated explanation of the character he's creating for a new Hellfire campaign - a sun-worshiping priest that intends to trick the party into becoming a ritual sacrifice. 

"... and that gear thing would look pretty good on the top of his staff." 

Steve doesn't understand much of what Eddie's saying, but he loves the way his boyfriend talks with his whole body, moving his hands and shoulders and head along with the words. He rests his chin in his hand and lets Eddie ramble until the milkshakes arrive, smiling like a dope the whole time.

Eddie has no concept of time, so Steve is in charge of making sure they finish their milkshakes and leave the diner in time to make it to the movie. As Eddie slides into the passenger seat of the BMW, he says, “Hey – you think we have enough time to stop by the Circle K?”

Steve turns in his seat as he reverses out of the parking lot. "What do you need at the Circle K?" 

"Snacks! You can't go to a movie without provisions Stevie! And don't say we can buy some at the concessions stand, because the prices they charge are ridiculous."

“Well if we stop now, we’ll be late – but I’ve got some Milk Duds and trail mix…” Steve doesn’t realize what’s happening until it’s too late. Eddie pops open the glove compartment in his search for snacks, revealing Steve’s little stash of gifts. 

Eddie frowns in confusion. “What the hell?” He rifles through the pile as Steve groans.

“Shit. You weren’t supposed to see those yet.”

“What is all this?” Eddie picks up a ring, turning it over in his hands. It's a bulky silver biker ring, like the ones Eddie wears every day - only this one is shaped like a bat with tiny ruby eyes. Steve is particularly proud of that one, discovered in a box of assorted rings at the pawn shop.

Steve gnaws at his lip and runs a hand through his hair, ruining all his careful styling. "I know you hate Valentines, but I wanted to do something. Just… to show you how much I love you. So instead of the cards and flowers and stuff, I tried to find little things you might actually like. For your, you know… your 'dragon hoard' or whatever you call it."

"So the keychain and the gear..."

"And the feather."

Eddie's eyebrow twitches. He stares at the contents of the glove compartment; at the water smoothed stone from the lake and the multicolored twist of ribbon, the vivid green marble and the tiny mother of pearl locket. He looks down at the ring still clutched in his hand, and blinks rapidly. 

Steve glances nervously between Eddie and the road, hands tight on the steering wheel. He's disappointed that the surprise has been ruined, but more concerned about Eddie's reaction. He'd expected the other boy to laugh or tease him, not this... whatever this is. 

Finally, Eddie clears his throat roughly and speaks. "Actually, can we just head back to my place? I've got something I wanna show you, and I don't think I can wait through the movie." 

“Uh… sure.”

Steve's brain is buzzing as he takes a left instead of a right at the intersection. He's worked himself into a bit of a panic by the time they pull into the Munson's driveway. "Eddie, I..." 

Eddie interrupts him, practically throwing himself across the center console as he drags Steve into a fierce kiss. By the time Eddie lets him go, Steve is panting. "Wha...?" 

"Wait here," Eddie says with a wild grin. He presses Steve back into the seat for emphasis. "Don't move." 

He takes the steps up the porch two at a time and fumbles with his key to get inside as Steve watches in a daze. He has no idea what's going on. 

After a few minutes, Eddie returns to the door. He's pulled on a t-shirt with a faux tuxedo printed on the front, and he's standing straight backed in the doorway with a towel over his arm, like some kind of maître d’. He waves grandly toward Steve, beckoning him toward the house. 

Steve snorts with laughter as he climbs out of the BMW. “What are you doing?” 

"This way sir," Eddie replies in a terrible attempt at a posh English accent. Steve shakes his head, thoroughly bewildered and increasingly amused. 

He walks past Eddie through the doorway and freezes in surprise.

The living room has been transformed. Eddie set up the gaming table in the middle of the room – set with a crisp white tablecloth, the Munson’s best dishes, and a vase full of red roses sitting in the center of the table, flanked by two candles. More candles twinkle softly from the coffee table, the end tables - even on top of the tv. 

"Eddie..." Steve whispers in awe. "What is this?" 

"Well, ah... I kind of jumped the gun a little. It’s supposed to be a candlelight dinner. If we'd gone to the movie, Wayne would have had time to get all the food set up. But it won’t take long, I already cooked everything. Just gotta heat it up."

Steve’s vision goes watery, smearing the candlelight into one big blur as tears fill his eyes. He blinks hard to clear them. “I thought you hated all this stuff.”

Eddie shrugs and rubs the back of his neck nervously. “Well, yeah I do. But you love it. So I wanted to surprise you.”

Steve grips his boyfriend by the front of his ridiculous t-shirt and pulls him into a bone-cracking hug, before pulling back just far enough to kiss the breath from him. 

In a pause between kisses, Steve rests his forehead against Eddie’s and laughs a little breathlessly. “What made you change your mind about the movie?”

Eddie bites his lips, already swollen from kisses. Steve can’t tear his eyes away.

“I don’t know. When I saw all that stuff you collected for me…” he clears his throat, staring at Steve with wide dark eyes. “I’m… I know I’m weird. I’ve known that my whole life. I never thought I would find anyone that would tolerate me, let alone… celebrate me like that.”

He kisses Steve again, sweet and soft. “I couldn’t sit and wait for two hours after that. I had to get you home and show you how much I love you.”

“I love you too.” Steve smiles against Eddie’s mouth. “You know… I’m not really hungry yet.”

“Oh yeah?”

Steve trails his hands down Eddie’s chest, hooking his fingers into the belt loops of his jeans and tugging. “Mm-hmm. I think we need to work up an appetite first.”

Eddie laughs in delight. “Sounds like a good idea. You know how much I like dessert before dinner.”

A happy Valentine’s Day indeed.

[antiquatedplumbobs]

URL Song Game

Thank you for the tag @vermutandherring this is such a fun idea!!

antiquated plumbobs: an eclectic assortment of hoarded memories and experiences, people and emotions, akin to a dragon sitting upon its pile of treasure, but it's more one man's trash kind of vibes and oh we're in the woods

A - all the way by shane smith & the saints

N - nightswimming by rem

T - take me home country roads by john denver

I - i am california by john craigie

Q - question...? by taylor swift

U - use somebody by kings of leon

A - all eyes on me by bo burnham

T - the view between villages by noah kahan

E - evelyn by gregory alan isakov

D - dancing on my own by vitamin string quartet

P - punchline by ed sheeran

L - leiser by lea

U - u r my everything by leslie odom jr

M - miss atomic bomb by the killers

B - broken by lovelytheband

O - ophelia by the lumineers

B - by and by by caamp

S - sunday by joy oladokun

This was delightful but also crazy hard (q almost defeated me thank god for taylor) i am not really a song girly, i save things that make my brain feel nice and that's about the only criteria, so I'm going to tag some of the song girlies (and others) in my life, can't wait to see what you do with it darlings

@aheathen-conceivably @surely-sims @thebramblewood @elderberries-and-honey @applesaucesims @stargazingsims and literally anyone else who wants to do this!!

[actualbird]

have you noticed that time’s antiques has a CRAZY amount of ceiling lights? and whenever luke is there every light is on? his electricity bill must be absolutely crazy. not to mention he has a literal DARTBOARD in his detective office. this has led me to realise that not only is his taste in clothing questionable but his interior design skills are also bizarre

omfg yes YES luke's interior design tastes are BIZARRE and hes a WEIRDO (affectionate)

i now feel possessed to screencap everything in his building that i am either baffled by or want to point out because i found it cool. buckle up, i (as always) have a lot to say

so let's go on a tour of luke's home

FIRST FLOOR: THE ONE FREE OF MOST SIN BY VIRTUE OF BEING AN ANTIQUE SHOP

a lot of my confusion here can be waived since it's an antique shop and those are meant to be crowded and kitschy and maximalist, thats their whole Thing and i love that. like, the lights, which uve already commented on, there are SO MANY but theyre charming to me here because it fits, this disparate chaos but still emanating warmth

tho that being said ive noted down some bits that do still pique my interest

EXHIBIT A: antique cash register. given its placement on the counter/main table, i assume it's used for actual business and not an item for sale. of course, it could just be for display, but im jarred because it's right next to the High Tech Touch Screen. do people in stellis even pay with cash anymore? they seem to be hugely digital even in currency. it'd be funny if this thing WERE used for actual business and it's filled with all of luke's loose change and coins that he has trouble getting rid of so he instead foists them off to unwitting customers

EXHIBIT B: my only real complaint for this portion because how can any customer get to those drawers, theyre BLOCKED BY OTHER STUFF

EXHIBIT C: alright antique TV but i cant tell if it's just showing a random VHS tape or if it's doubling as luke's CCTV camera display. cuz it kinda looks like CCTV display of a road. which, honestly, is pretty cool!! it's a fun marriage between old tech and new. this is something im less confused by and more just something i wanted to point out cuz it delighted me to think about

SECOND FLOOR: NOT NECESSARILY CONFUSING BUT GOD IT IS SO MESSY IN HERE LUKE LET ME IN HERE I NEED TO CLEAN THIS ROOM

EXHIBIT A: certificates!! this is cool, i wish we could see them clearer. i guess these could be luke's PI certification though maybe one of them could also be his master's degree? which would be odd to have displayed in a detective agency given his degree is in bioengineering but itd be funny to match vyn who has his Two Doctorates on display in his office HAHA

EXHIBIT B: luke, please tidy up

EXHIBIT C: door with 221 B on it which i think is super cute. hes such a nerd hes just got that blatant sherlock reference in his literal detective agency office, so everyone who walks in will know that he is not only a detective, but also a fanboy. im not sure if this door is what leads to his third floor home but itd be SO LOVELY if yes!!

EXHIBIT D: luke, please tidy up

EXHIBIT E: peanut's bird perch!!!! this is endearing to me because it looks like such a....such a Gym Flavored Bird Perch kjhJHVSDFH LIKE it's made of metal and chains and not at all like most bird perches u'd find that are usually a wooden or more natural design. this is a bird perch for birds that work out. maybe luke made this for peanut himself to get peanut to exercise. peanut is offended by this. peanut perches on it regardless

EXHIBIT F: luke, please tidy up and god if u keep missing throwing trash into the trash can just moVE THE TRASH CAN CLOSER TO UR DESK

EXHIBIT G: luke, please tidy up

EXHIBIT H: luke, please tidy up

EXHIBIT I: luke, please tidy up

EXHIBIT J: luke, please tidy up

EXHIBIT K: dartboard!!! which u mentioned. i like that it's here in the detective agency office floor because i get to imagine luke stumped on a case and then playing some darts to help himself refocus <3

THIRD FLOOR: LUKE PEARCE, I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS

EXHIBIT A AND EXHIBIT B: okay my question here was gonna be "hoop lights?? tiny ladder????" but i answer it myself in a post wayyy wayyyyyy back where i talk abt how i think these interesting furnitures are there for Peanut Pearce Enrichment. it simply makes no sense if i dont assume this, but that aside, it's endlessly endearing to me to think that luke has fashioned a bunch of his living space to give joy to his emotional support birdson. imagine peanut hopping up that tiny ladder! or flying thru one hoop light and perching on another! avian paradise :D

EXHIBIT C: luke's palette bedframe....god this thing drives me nuts. it's not BAD but what gets me about is that it seems like such a stub-ur-toe hazard, a bruise-ur-lower-shin hazard, and a tripping-over-this-corner-that-sticks-out-and-is-on-the-path-of-foot-traffic-otw-to-the-kitchen hazard. the clumsy will be HARMED!!!!! LUKE, WHY WONT U GET A PROPER BEDFRAME!!! OR AT LEAST FIX THIS BEDFRAME TO BE THE EXACT SIZE OF UR BED SO IT ISNT THAT MUCH OF AN INJURY MAGNET JKAFVAJHFVA im on my knees....

EXHIBIT D: why on earth does he have a whole cupboard filled JUST with camera lenses. wait brb //asks a friend who is has a professional photographer dad............ok nvm hes off the hook for this one, apparently this is normal for photographers. im simply diagnosing luke with dedicated nerdery once again then. i love him dearly.

EXHIBIT E: HE WAS A GAMER BOI, SHE SAID SEE YA L8ER BOI!!!!! man peep all them games!!!! and his consoles next to them!!! i hope luke plays matches against other ppl and that hes Fucking Terrifying to other players. i know we've seen him game with mc and hes mostly adorable, but when hes gaming against non-mc individuals......i hope luke pearce is accidentally going Raven Mode against some random 13 year olds in apex legends or something. just because itd be so damn funny.

EXHIBIT WE'RE SAVING THIS FOR LAST: this is the most baffling to me among all the things in this whole building. it's a....trash can? but Not. it's a large trash can shaped container used for containing things, which, okay, that could work. but luke is using it to contain MAGAZINES????? AND ROLLED UP PAPERS?? im speechless. that is simply the most non-intuitive container to go for when thinking "hm, where should i put these objects made of paper, a material famously known for their flatness" aND HIS CHOICE OF CONTAINER IS A CYLINDER ?¿¿?¿??¿????LUKE!!!!!.

luke is a strange little guy. hes also the epitome of cluttercore. im obsessed with everything about him.

[yellowhollyhock]

Donny is used to literally digging through the trash to find what he needs. So working with April is going to be an adjustment.

I mean on one hand, he'll never be wasteful, and that saves money and that's great. However

I just think a lot about April, who lost everything when she met the turtles, tried running her dad's old antique shop for a while, and now finally is starting something she believes in and feels proud of and wants to share with her friends. She wants him to have an office and a computer and the raw materials he needs.

But after more than 18 years Donny is going to take some time to get his brain off 'save that for a time of need' mode. Just imagine all the times she walks in to find him replacing a broken part with one he found in the actual dump, took home to clean etc.

She tries to explain that the time it takes him to find parts and make repairs is costing him, even if it's not directly money, when it should be costing the company. She begs him to at least turn in receipts (he laughs hard, she won't live that down for a bit).

Also, later when the company is successful, Donny running into the same thing with his brothers (he's always had something of a provider role in the family and now that he can he wants to get them nicer things; it's harder than he anticipated to talk them into letting him) April is patiently having her ear talked off about it and just kinda pursing her lips

Irma would not purse her lips though. Any hint of this she heard she'd be leaning over her secretary desk like "Oh is that so, Mr. Reuse Styrofoam Coffee Cups while your Okayest Boss mug sits on your desk collecting dust? Do your brothers have a difficult time accepting help? Why, I never would've guessed! Next thing you'll be telling me they're all turtles named after Renaissance artists."

[sang8262]

JP rambles: default outfit and character design edition

cause i asked about his character design and now I'M thinking about it, also im procrastinating so i have thoughts here goes

mostly about his default outfit, with a tiny bit about outfit 2 at the end. I already know this is going to be a needlessly long post lmao

TL;DR - JP is inspired by playing cards, bartitsu, and vampires/bats. he's a poker faced gentleman through n through

~~also minor spoiler warning for World Tour things, such as having JP as a Master and getting to max level skills/ bond with him~~

This is a safe space and I will be HONEST: I didn't like his default look a lot at first, but I've since warmed up to it!! I still use his outfit 2 (color 10) online tho. I speed ran World Tour for that, I have suffered, and I WILL enjoy it.

Anyway, it was once I realized he has thematic ties to playing cards that really made his default design make sense to me. First, some proof that he takes inspiration from playing cards to begin with.

Once you get Master Skill level in World Tour mode, everyone gets a little cutscene movie featuring their skills, archetypes/ titles, and ends with a quote commemorating your achievements as their student.

JP's starts off like this, with a bunch of playing cards with his name on them falling down the screen:

(also, btw, where we get more of that bat imagery, but i'll get back to that later)

This is what made it click for me and made it really obvious why his name is stylized the way it is, using the font it uses. His name reads the same way right side up as it is upside down, and looks very much like how the values are printed on these cards.

Then, the video includes several 'titles' for each character. Some of these get used in other promotional material too, but JP's are as follows:

King of No Country

High-Rolling Pretender

Gentlemanly Tyrant

In which, again, the poker/ gambling references show up with the phrase "high-rolling", or "king" of no country.

And final proof, is that each Master in World Tour can be given gifts that they will react to in unique ways, and also receive extra bond points for. Sometimes they're things the character likes, or really hates: it's just what gets an interesting reaction out of them.

JP (unfortunately) only has one such gift item he has special dialogue for: antique playing cards.

Although his reaction to them are... less than positive (he literally calls them 'trash'), he also points out how old cards can't be used to play actual games, as it is against the rules.

Within the game's universe, it shows that he cares, or at least knows enough about cards to even have these notable responses to them. Considering it outside the game, the devs specifically decided to make his special World Tour gift a set of Antique Playing Cards, instead of any other item. They wanted to make this connection between him and cards for a reason.

So to me, I think this is a lot of evidence that shows a clear and intentional relationship between JP's character design and playing cards.

In retrospect, I honestly think he does look like the face cards quite a bit lmao. The white hair and beard + mustache, the cravat, the colors too (really strong orange/ red, paired with gold and that bit of marble on his cane), and the cane paralleling a scepter/ sword.

Speaking of, more about the cane: the devs had an interview answering fan questions, and at one point they explain the inspiration for JP. I'll link the video here with the timestamp for this question:

https://youtu.be/ORw3_BK7o70?t=146

But basically they say they wanted to have a character use a cane, and cites bartitsu/ Sherlock Holmes as well. So, even if they worked backwards from 'cane', all the way to 'gentlemanly tyrant who likes chess puzzles and launders money through fighting game tournaments', I think they made it work well with the playing cards aesthetic too!

Finally, I'll go back to the bat imagery that I think is pretty interesting.

Parts of his design subtly incorporate bats, such as his brooch on the default costume:

And more directly in his alt costume 2, seen on his buttons and coat pattern:

And I have to imagine the brooch on his default outfit is somewhat invoking of a bat (with wings and large ears) because of his WT skill Mastery video having a giant BAT in the middle of the screen. I also thought it might be in reference to the Shadaloo organization symbol, which is a skull with wings.

Then even further from the comics, Kalima-- his assistant while organizing the fighting tournament in Nayshall-- warns Luke that JP is like a "vampire who will suck this country dry". The vampire analogy just works so beautifully with how he works as a criminal, not to mention the other aesthetic associations with it.

All in all, I really REALLY love JP's personality and whole modus operandi as a character and villain so greatly in his design. I definitely also feel that his outfit 2 isn't nearly as symbolism laden as his default one, but I am a sucker for formal wear and suits, so I am just, in love. Plus the subtler nods to his bat/vampire-ness is there, if only very minimally.

Edit: noticing this as I literally posted this AH. But also on the playing cards from his WT skill video, it has two different faces, it has both the Jack (or possibly King...) and the Joker:

It continues to add to his duality/ hidden true nature/ deceiver type character so much, it's perfect. And of course, with his name, or pseudonyms starting with "J". So either Jack or Joker works perfectly. I mean literally, he isn't the king of any country... but he'll still bring it to ruin all the same.

Edit #2: omg i keep remembering things i meant to add thank you adhd very cool

BUT, in the original Japanese version of the Mastery skill video, his titles are SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT. As is the Korean translation, which is a more direct translation of the Japanese one than the English is.

'So "King of No Country" was originally also: "No-Life King of a Ruined Country"

And turns out, doing some good ol' googling, that 'no-life king' has some established meanings to it:

Basically, it's related to other media including vampires, undead, monsters, so I'm guessing 'no-life' is closer in meaning to 'immortal', having no natural lifespan rather.

So yeah, even more references to vampirism for ya

but aNYWAY,, Thanks for reading my silly observations!!

I think I got pretty much everything but if there's anything I didn't mention or something to add please please do, I love reading replies and the tags (this site's so much better for this kinda stuff lmao)

[dionysus-is-my-dude]

Bedroom and Altar Cleaned!

not only did i clean the floor of my room, i also cleaned up all the DUST on my shelves and antiques, AND I cleaned and organized my altar. I'll take a picture when the candles are all lit 'cause I'm gonna do a little full moon ritual tonight.

The reason I really got in the mood to clean, especially my altar, is that, last night, I once again had an experience with Hecate. I was going through my e-shrines on my pinterest account, and I finished with Hecate, and when I then settled down for bed, I heard whispers. I couldn't make them out, they sounded like they were in a different language. And again, I got the image in my mind of Hecate sitting on my bed and watching over me. I wrote a little prayer in my new prayer book. I wasn't able to sleep for a long time, I think because Hecate wanted me to get to work on cleaning my altar, but I was exhausted.

Thankfully, I was able to sleep, though I did sleep IN until about noon. However, once I had my cereal for breakfast and did some planning for a full moon ritual, I got right to work cleaning. I literally just finished before I started writing this post. I had to get rid of a whole bunch of trash, remove things on shelves to dust everything and organize all my books and little things for my room. WOW, that took FOREVER. Vacuuming took WAY less time than cleaning up all the dust and organizing all the books. I wish I'd taken before-and-after pics for y'all, but it honestly doesn't look THAT different. Things are just...not on the floor anymore, really. And the dust is all gone. Even my altar doesn't look much different. I just cleaned everything, added an altar cloth, and reorganized my supplies and sacred objects. I put my bottles of blessed moon water, my amethyst prayer beads, and my witch's knot necklace on the window in my bathroom where they'll get recharged by the full moon.

For my full moon ritual tonight, I'm gonna start by having dinner and taking a cleansing shower. Then I'll create my sacred space and call forth Hecate, since she's been trying to communicate with me. I'll just be doing some dowsing with my pendulum, as well as a tarot reading, and then meditate for a little while. I've got the space in front of my altar cleared so now I can sit on my floor cushion and relax.

Anyway, hope y'all have a great night!

[lone-nyctophile]

It’s always one man’s trash is another’s treasure but do you not want to hear of an antique teapot rimmed with a beautiful silver paint that an old lady once had but was thrown out apon her demise? And then a shard broke, and a crow took it back to her nest for her babies to admire? That then fell to the ground when the babies left and a deer came across and examined it for a small moment before moving on, but a hunter fails to notice the shard and steps on it at just the wrong angle and it goes through their shoe and the deer makes it away safely. Trash isn’t treasure. There’s simply very little categories of items that could truly be called trash.

I don't have words to describe what I am really feeling about this perspective because it is so very relatable... Its just plain beauty. We give our own definitions to certain things which are unique and cannot be truly understood by another being because that thing has made us feel in a special way which again cannot be described through any means.

As for me, an old and worn out book which has nothing written in it is the most beautiful thing to ever exist due to this personal reason but in 'reality' its just a useless piece of junk which should be thrown out.....anon you literally just described how I feel...thank you, thank you so very much

[silverbladexyz]

hellooo congratulations on 100 followers!! I would like to request a matchup

name: Benni

mbti: enfp

pronouns: she/her

hobbies: writing and reading stories, drawing (mostly random poses) and gossiping

I get along with most people, except ignorant people who think they are superior.

Interesting fact: I have a lot of energy spikes and anxiety. I love old stuff too.

I know about all the novels, don't worry

Hii Benni my fellow Stormbringer fan! Tysm, and I hope you like your matchup ^-^

The images do not belong to me. They belong to their original owners.

Calculating...

Your parent figure is... ICEMAN!!!

-He’s a pretty chill dad actually; the chillest out of all the Flags

-You’re also one of the few ones to see his good-natured side. When he’s not killing or being professional for his work, he’ll just chill around with you and have a few conversations with you

-Iceman doesn’t really have a lot of spare time, but he would be totally down to try out some of your hobbies! He’ll go out to libraries and book stores to get some books to read with you, and even read to you if you wanted him to. I headcanon he has a deep but smooth voice that’s perfect for putting you to sleep

-He would like to read your stories, and when you tell him that you thought it was bad, he didn’t understand. Literally was like ‘why would you call a good piece of writing trash?’. Does give you feedback for your writing and what he would recommend to do to improve it

-Draw him!!! Iceman would be a bit confused on why you would suddenly sit beside him while sketching on a piece of paper, but when he sees the end product he is pretty impressed. Definitely hangs it up on his bedroom wall, along with your other drawings

-Gossiping? Fill him in on all the juicy tea girl!!! Iceman is the type to lay back and not intervene into other people’s business, but he would like listening to you talk because he is 100% a listener. Please keep him up to date with the dramas that’s happening, because Lippmann is getting tired of filling him in on the Port Mafia gossip lol

-I feel like Iceman would find your energy spikes refreshing, because he is quite taciturn most of the time. Think of it like an ‘introvert-extrovert’ vibe. However, if you were to have an energy spike when you are trying to sleep, he would be perfectly happy to brew you some chamomile tea, and read a few stories to help you fall asleep. Damn Iceman you should be my sleep therapist

-He would teach you self-defence if you asked him to. He wouldn’t teach you how to kill people, but Iceman would inform you on what each hit could do and it’s severity to the human body. Since he works in the Mafia, he doesn’t want any enemies coming after you, even though he probably is capable of killing them

-Speaking of enemies, Iceman would kill anyone who hurt you. No questions asked. Don’t bother talking him out of it, because if anybody hurt someone he cared for, they’re already dead to him

-Anxiety is an emotion that Iceman has not felt for a long time, but he will try to calm you down if you were feeling very anxious. He would listen to you talk, make you tea and even hug you if you wanted him to. He’s the best at calming you down, and he would never be tired of comforting you too

-Old stuff? Iceman loves listening to his old records, and he definitely likes old things too. Takes you out shopping at old antique shops, and would definitely keep some stuff that reminds him of you

-Takes you to visit the Flags sometimes, and they all love you. Albatross would sometimes laugh at how you and Iceman were so different personality wise, but still had the strongest bond with each other. Pianoman talks to you about art, Doc just chills around with you, Chuuya looks after you like a brother figure, while Lippmann gossips with you (he has a LOT of tea to spill). It secretly warms Iceman’s heart to see you getting along with the Flags

@yuugen-benni

[jigszaw]

going antiquing and going outside is literally so fucking addicting. like yessss i love old shit that isn't thoughtlessly mass produced that is wooden or ceramic that's not completely plastic and flimsy i'm soooo tired of plastic. everything is fucking plastic. im tired of roads everywhere i'm tired of flattening forests and beautiful natural spaces sometimes in the industrial and brutal concrete spaces i feel like i can't breathe and sometimes when i get a glimpse of the river or i see the ocean i finally just see a vast body of water with no buildings, too volatile or difficult for mass industrial infringement i feel okay, i feel calm, they haven't completely stolen the ocean yet, there are pipes somewhere down deep for the oil and there is trash but we haven't dried up all the water yet we can still have shores of gentle lapping waves maybe somehow everything can be okay

[hoochieblues]

15 Questions

tagged by @highwayphantoms tysm <3 idk if i have 15 mutuals who wanna do tag games rn, sooo YOU. YES YOU. you're jumped in if you want to be :)

Are you named after anyone?

I picked my own. :) It's inspired by trees and - if you translate it - also works as a stripper name. Just in case!

When was the last time you cried?

A month or so maybe? I did get a lil misty watching foster dog run around like a normal canine last week, especially when he put weight on his wonky leg. He's had a lot of PT and it's paying off!

Do you have kids?

Nope.

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Me? Perish the thought. /s

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Probably always kindness, whether it's online or in person.

What's your eye color?

blue/gray I guess?

Scary movies or happy endings?

Why not both? I like both, but I'll rarely turn down a horror movie. I'm still evangelising about Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977) to anyone who'll listen, bc the world's a better place when you can watch weird artsy indie trash with friends.

Any special talents?

ummm… I'm going to say weighing ingredients accurately without measuring, but that may more likely be practise and recklessness rather than talent.

Where were you born?

Within the same 30 miles that half my dreadful fambly have lived for literally 500 years, but we left before I was 18 months old and didn't go back for over a decade and then I escaped again. The next time I move will be #26, so it's fair to say I've bounced around.

What are your hobbies?

In no particular order, reading, writing, movies, knitting/crochet/fiber thingies, growing stuff, fixing stuff, animal rescue/welfare stuff, painting/sketching, music (listening/playing… poorly), photography (mostly analog; I love my shitty Soviet cameras and Polaroids), hiking when I can. Poking around thrift/antique stores/museums in places I haven't been. If I collect anything per se, it's recipes and myths/folklore.

Have you any pets?

No permanent residents rn, but two foster dogs, one short term (hopefully; she just needs to complete leash training and get a little clearer on the difference between Inside and Outside, otherwise she's a sweetheart) and one long term project dog. In his defence, he came to me semi-feral and had been through a particularly brutal kill shelter. He has a lot of scarring both internal and external. Took 6 months+ to touch him, and now he'll walk on a slip lead for me (sometimes) and (gasp!) voluntarily snuggle and ask for pets. If he can get over yelling at and/or trying to defensively herd anyone who isn't me, he's got a shot at a new home, at which point I will ugly cry but be so, so happy for him.

…I like talking about my fosters. Rehab project tax (Chance):

What sports do you play/have played?

I preferred weights n stuff when I was younger bc I detested team sports, but tennis, badminton, swimming etc are fun. I used to ride whenever I could with the fleeting ambition to one day do point to point and dressage, but a) equestrian shit is a time-consuming and expensive hobby (even if you know ppl with horses) and b) I had an argument with a fence post and broke bits of myself, and by the time that all healed up I'd developed unrelated chronic fatigue. Mostly I hang out with horses on the ground now, but I'd get back into it if I could.

How tall are you?

Five eight, billed height. Probably a bit less, idk. I stoop and I don't do all the pilates for my back that I should.

Favorite subject in school?

I was a horrible, horrible theater kid. Not even in the three a.m. Denny's way (I can't sing). The black turtleneck and Brecht way. Yes, I am still ashamed.

Dream job?

I'm very fortunate, so more or less what I do, but with less freelancing to stop up the gaps and more writing things I'm proud of in genres I love. I'm trying to move more towards that at the moment. Oh, and a lot less proofreading. Grammer iz hurd.

[creek-cryptid-deluxe]

Well guys The Spawn has officially turned shit up to 11 & has apparently lost her damn mind. Brace yourself because however bad you think this is going to be, dear readers, it is so very much worse.

My dad grabbed me after work yesterday so I could pick up more of my stuff from his place. My friend who lives next-door to him came over to hang & have her twin sons grab 2 pieces of furniture that I was giving her. We were in the living room talking about L's kids when I hear The Spawn in the dining room say to her bf, "I hear her talking fucking shit in there."

I popped around the corner so I could see her & said, "Actually I'm talking about the people I live with because despite your personal beliefs not everything is about you."

She pulled the sarcastic "yeah ok whatever." And I said "Ok, let's talk about not touching other people's stuff without asking. I live with a 4 yr old who can grasp that concept, yet when I arrived here today my expensive antique tea cups and drip candles were in jack-o-lanterns outside." She started going off about how I needed to talk to her bf because he did that but that of course I love him so I'm just going to yell at her. I explained that #1 I wasn't yelling & #2 I was speaking to both of them because he was standing right there and they BOTH use my stuff & trash my living room. She started screaming "fuck you" at me over and over, at which point I said "You asked Grandpa why I won't talk to you? Here it is. You are abusive & it was making me physically sick."

She screamed "Oh you wanna see abuse? I'll show you fucking abuse!" & ran over to get an inch from my face. Having been in abusive relationships before, I instinctively put my hands behind my back so no accusations could be made but didn't move or flinch. Then she screamed "Yeah that's what I thought you fucking bitch."

As she walked away, I calmly stated that while I had intended to be kind & leave some of my stuff behind, that was no longer happening since she wants to continue to be entitled and abusive, so they need to prepare because I own pretty much everything downstairs. She LOST IT. She ran over screaming about how she was going to beat my ass & "catch a domestic". She tore off my favorite necklace, tore at my shirt, and when her bf pulled her off me her hands were around my throat while she screamed "I'll fucking kill you, you bitch!" As he pulled her away she was still screaming about me 'abandoning my 18 yr old' at which point I calmly reminded her that I didn't kick her out, she still lives rent free, I can't abandon an adult, and everything that has happened is a direct consequence of her treatment of me.

She then continued to scream that she was going to beat my ass until she was literally pulled out of the house & shoved into her car by her bf.

For my part, I kept my hands behind my back & remained calm. My friend was in shock, as was my dad, because generally if people are around she behaves so that she can maintain the "my mom is an abusive monster" narrative. My friend immediately told me to let her know when I'm bringing a truck to get my stuff & she and her twins will help me & L get it all into boxes and into the truck.

I'm honestly heartbroken. I was able to maintain composure because I've experienced that sort of turn on a dime, accept no responsibility behavior before... from her sperm donor whose rights I had removed the moment she was born. And obviously I'm now deeply worried about my stuff that is still there because she's spiteful and cruel. So I'm trying to figure out how to move everything asap.

I'm so tired and so sad. I came home and just cried for like 2 hrs.

[saevus-brutalis]

WIP WEDNESDAY TAG — tagged by @katsigian 🤠✌️— to post something you’ve been working

A loud thud cut through the quietness and stillness of the North Oak mansion. Lights were off, not a living soul in sight. Mess and trash - same as always – untouched, undisturbed. They almost looked like decorations, intentionally placed. Every piece of litter and turned-over furniture – a dada ready-made art, new realism masterpiece.

There’s an echo of heavy footsteps on the lower floor, accompanied by a series of long, tired sighs, rustling of polyester and leather, clinking of metal, crunching of velcro. A concert of sorts, an abstract symphony - ephemeral art. Yet the man behind it – anything but an artist.

First, he shrugged off his heavy, plated bulletproof jacket. Next came off his ballistic vest, its various pockets half-empty, half-filled with unused ammunition clips. And just like that – 30 pounds were lifted off his shoulder. He rolled them, joints popping back in place sounding like antique door hinges that hadn't been oiled for ages. He tried to stretch, relieve a bit of tension, get rid of the soreness stabbing invisible daggers into his body; only popped his neck in the process, but the muscles on his back remained rock-hard.

From the front door, he made his way over to the main area with couches, throw pillows, and blankets strewn around as if the owner of the villa tried to make a nest for themselves – a safe spot.

He somberly noted the crumpled up used tissues, the box itself empty, and turned over. He counted in his head the number of bottles and dirty glasses laying on top of the glass coffee table, trying to estimate how many liters were flushed down the owner's throat this day.

"Musicians..." he muttered to himself, almost angry sounding, not at the homeowner, but himself.

[an-albino-pinetree]

Never done one of these before! Thanks @ghostwearingablanket! c:

Favorite time of year: Spring! I’m a spring child, March 21st baybee

Comfort food: Potato chips- and meat sticks, like chimney sticks or landjaegers, are my two guilty things- but aside from that, I am always down for any kind of seafood, or a nice Rueben sandwich c:

Do you collect stuff: I collect everything sdjgh- rocks, marbles, and pompoms, we’re comfort things when I was tiny- but I also collect animal bones, antlers, feathers, moss, old horror movies, weird stuff I find in thrift stores and antique shops, and literal trash

Favorite drink: Tea c: but in terms of alcohol, hot saki/rice wine or warm cider

Favorite song: hoo boy-

I can’t choose-

I like a lot of alternative/folky stuff. The kind of shit you hear as the background jam of camping commercials. “Tell Me What You Want From Me” by Good Old War, is very good- So is “Meet Me in The Woods” by Lord Huron.

I like bands like Mumford & Sons, Jared & The Mill, WILD, Tors, BANNERS

But some songs that are just kinda comfort tunes because my mom has loved them since I was little, are: “Love You Till The End” by the Pogues, “The Way I Tend to Be” by Frank Turner, and “More Time” by NeedToBreathe

Favorite fic right now: Ah- Aha,,,Decadence, by FDQ on Ao3- it’s very good and spicy ,,

I guess I really like talking, sorry

Thanks again! I’ll tag some cool folks I know, but none should feel obligated to do the thing c:

@luminary-rainchii @kingofmeatballs @rustychips

[kusogamesss]

Wrath of the Lich King

Frisson rendered concrete.

The impending release of Wrath of the Lich King Classic has sent a prevailing wind of ennui through my being. A little over a year ago I deleted my Battle.net account. Activision Blizzard's handling of the Blitzchung situation, the news breaking of their abuses towards employees, the disaster that was Warcraft III Reforged, the patronising announcement of Diablo Immortal, Heroes of the Storm entering maintenance mode, the unmitigated mess that was Battle for Azeroth, the notion of an Overwatch 2, the ballooning of the WoW cash shop, the insistence on annual subscriptions, the time gating of content, the borrowed power systems, the lore trash fire of Shadowlands, and the ostentatious claim of Eternity's End being the 'Final Chapter' of a supposed Warcraft 3 saga, in an attempt to combat Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker's Hydaelyn and Zodiark saga all broke the proverbial camel's back. This was not a spontaneous act. This was a deliberate decision on my part to fundamentally erase the record of my participation in a game I spent over half my life with. I've permanently denied myself the possibility of returning to something I loved with my entire being. Wrath of the Lich King Classic theoretically extends a hand from the beyond to welcome me home, but despite what Blizzard might propose, I can never go back. No one can ever go back.

It is this memory of Arthas that I choose to keep in my heart.

Others learned of the unlivability of a reborn nostalgia with World of Warcraft Classic and Burning Crusade Classic, but that original game and its expansion were before my time. They were antiquated in comparison to Wrath of the Lich King. Wrath of the Lich King was a direct continuation of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, rather than just a tale within that realm. This wasn't some hodgepodge of rote item collection to counter minor threats, or the battling of foes so literally alien as to be largely irrelevant to me and my character. This was a considered effort to contend with the horrors of the past, an opportunity to feel like an active participant in an era-defining event.

Wait… I remember you… in the mountains.

The issue of reviving these past experiences is that their original forms were borne into a more naive time. Old School Runescape demonstrated before World of Warcraft Classic the ills of older MMO design in a hyper-online world. Whereas our playing of Runescape in 2007 was informed by rumours and assumptions of what was and could be possible, 2007scape exists in a world where every iota of information is readily documented. 2013 and 2022 are not the time of Zezima, of Unregistered HyperCam 2, of proto-Machinimas, of frag videos, of fishing for lobbies in Catherby for hours, of playing the game for the fun of itself rather than to 'succeed'. What Old School Runescape taught us a decade ago was that, as Sid Meier put it, "Many players cannot help approaching a game as an optimization puzzle. Given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game." I am not so oblivious as to claim people had not already done this in Runescape, but without the omnipresence of YouTube open-mouth thumbnails and Reddit megathreads, your average player probably wasn't min-maxing then as they would now. Old School Runescape is perhaps the most perfect representation of efficiency being the game itself, like Factorio if it were a fantasy MMORPG. It has become an antisocial MMO experience, because socialising is itself inefficient. And yet, World of Warcraft Classic came out only to suffer the exact same problems.

A hero, that's what you once were.

The core issue with recuscitating the original World of Warcraft experience is, I think, one of iteration rather than of inversion. Players clamored for a return to 2007 Runescape because the game had fundamentally changed in no small part because of Summoning and the Evolution of Combat update. It was no longer the point and click, set and forget MMO of yesteryear, but an involved, cooldown based, hotbar experience. World of Warcraft on the other hand has always been basically the same game, improving (mostly) with each patch and expansion, iterating on that foundation. To be sure, the WoW of 2019 was radically different from its 15 years gone forebear, but it wasn't a completely different package sold as something else. Reduced to its base elements, both versions of the game are the same. A different flavour of chocolate, but chocolate all the same. What made the 'Classic' experience so great when remembered was that WoW was novel for so many. The notion of a massive world you could explore with others, all interconnected with no loading screens (outside of instances/teleporting), with forty player raids, with an air of discoverability was specific to the time period. Thottbot existed, but not everyone needed (or felt they needed) to use it, and its data was primarily anecdotal rather than informed by hard statistics. With fifteen years of info at our fingertips, the Classic experience quite literally can't be reproduced, just as the Runescape of 2007 remains firmly in historic memory.

This is the hour of their ascension. This is the hour of your dark rebirth…

With the fun optimised out of World of Warcraft, and without substantive novel content outside of forty player raiding and untouched questing, the playerbase rather quickly turned apathetic towards Classic. It did not, and could not, live up to that memory, and it left Blizzard in a tricky position. Without updates, Classic had little to keep players invested. With Old School Runescape style updates, it would not be the World of Warcraft of yore. The solution, it seems, was to have a divergent path. World of Warcraft Classic would persist, with players having the option to continue to Burning Crusade Classic. This is well and good on the surface, but it was soured by the Digital Deluxe edition's inclusion of a character boost, in-game cosmetic items, and a new mount. Even ignoring the addition of items which didn't exist in the original release, the character boost alone betrayed the supposed ethos of the Classic experience. As a means of preventing players from missing out on that initial rush of the expansion's release, a boost isn't intrinsically a bad thing, but it being locked behind a paywall made the playing field uneven. This was no longer about reliving bygone days, this was about a fear of missing out, this was a chance to rush to the destination, rather than revel in the journey itself.

I will treasure it always - a moment of time that will be lost forever.

The same thing is going to occur with Wrath of the Lich King Classic. I was only 11 when I started playing WoW. Ulduar had just been added to the game. I couldn't have cared less about optimisation. I made numerous characters and ambled around aimlessly. I played comically poorly. I drew my characters on looseleaf. I was so excited and enthralled by this world which stretched before me. Eventually settling on a Tauren Hunter, every moment of the game was precious. As a child, it was a formative experience. I can still remember struggling with the quest Mazzranache, entering the Barrens for the first time, seeing gold sellers float auspiciously in Orgrimmar, killing dinosaurs in Un'Goro Crater, wondering where all the quests were in Silithus. Outlands never grabbed me quite the same way perhaps because of its contrast with Azeroth itself, with its inhabitants whose problems were literally a world away. When I reached the prerequisite level, I created a Death Knight. The random name generator bestowed upon me a moniker I still use to this day, Chuulimta. The starting zone genuinely shook me, at once appealing to my prepubescent desire to commit virtual atrocities while making it crystal clear that these horrors exacerbated the problems of the realm. I was hindering the world I wished to save. And when I eventually stepped on the zeppelin bound for the Howling Fjord, and gazed upon those verdant cliffs, I was agog at the quiet beauty of it all.

For you, I would give my life a thousand times.

I was actively helping an effort to rid the world of an unspeakable terror. And yet, I was also able to find moments of levity and calm. It's almost laughable in retrospect, to think I was having an appreciable effect on anything in this virtual landscape at the peak of WoW's popularity, but it felt and feels real after all this time. Even imagining the nyckelharpa of the Grizzly Hills theme, or those claustrophobic peaks in The Storm Peaks, or the amber grasses of Borean Tundra, or the bustle of Dalaran, those recollections rend my heart in twain. This frigid land clinging to life in the face of decay was home. At a time of change for me and my family, Northerend was my constant.

Do with it as you please, but do not forget those that assisted you in this monumental feat.

At a time of friendlessness, Wrath of the Lich King afforded me social opportunities, however fragmentary, that kept me moving forward. Names flitter away from my grasp, their recollection an impossibility by now. The familiar faces when I would fish, those smile-inducing comrades who would greet me when I logged in, those scant few who would run content with me for no gain outside of the pleasure of the act itself. They will never return to me, nor I to them. And that atmosphere will not for anyone. The compartmentalising of social gaming into Discord servers and group chats forbids that earnest connection with the unfamiliar other outright. Just as in Old School Runescape, the game might be massively multiplayer, but it has become more solitary than ever.

Leave me. I have much to ponder.

I didn't kill the Lich King until much later, around Mists of Pandaria. I had seen so much of Icecrown Citadel, completing every fight up to the Lich King, but its mechanics were beyond me until I vastly outleveled, and outgeared it. Even with a statistical advantage, I wasn't able to do it alone. I brought along a friend who had just been getting into WoW. For him it was the first time starting ICC, for me it was the first time bringing the tale of Arthas to a close. When Arthas was felled and that iconic cutscene played, I was moved to tears. I had closed the loop on such an important part of my life. From then on, I would and could only have the memory, for there was naught left for me to find.

Alas… you give me a greater gift than you know.

Each expansion of World of Warcraft sees the outgoing content largely deprecated and abandoned. This only compounds, making it all the less likely you will encounter someone in an old expansion as time shambles on. Like revisiting your childhood home, this makes going back to see what once was gut wrenching. It was such a simple time, one of joy. It was an experience that can never be relived, by me or by anyone.

At last, I am able to lay my eyes upon you again.

Shortly before I logged out of World of Warcraft for what would, unbeknownst to me, be the last time, I flew across Northrend, descending into Wintergrasp to take in one of my favourite pieces of music. Crested on a snowy mound, an unfamiliar face landed beside me silently, and offered to me one word.

"Hey."

That was, and always will be, enough.

[richardsphere]

Leverage Redemption Log: The One Mans Trash Job

Episode starts with a man and woman fishing trash out of a river, the news called back saying that while the story did fine they dont want to cover it anymore. Cuts to two men in a car, blowing up the two peoples shrimping-boat. --- Hammond runs a trash-shipping business. (i mean that btw, i think he's literally shipping trash, there is no way that one or two containers falling of a regular shipping vessel creates this widely varied and intensely damaged floating mass). Which means the follow-up is: Why is he doing that? Its not to save money. Thats not worth blowing up a boat for. Now I remember stories about how, for various reasons, some of the first things organised crime syndicates try to get their hands on when settling into a city is its waste disposal network. (easy way to get rid of a couple of bodies or a bunch of evidence, and because your company is paid by local government, you can openly associate with crooked councilmen and have them bribe you by just increasing your budget while looking legal and above-board to casual observers) Basically: I think he's with the mob in some capacity. He's got a boat, im gonna say smuggler (he dumps the trash to make space for whatever he's smuggling) --- Back at the theatre: Im right about my first assumption (hes a waste transporter, focussed on plastic.) He's a ghost on the internet though, no facebook no nothing.

So accordint to Breanna he's taking trash, shipping it to asia, dumping half along the way, then spending money to bribe local government to dump it. At that point, why isnt he just saving the money and dumping it all at sea? Why waste the money on gas and bribes. So im 90% certain that he does make the full trip, and its what he takes back that is making him the most money (smuggler, probably drugs)

He has a storage facility that is suspiciously over-insured. (you dont insure drugs, he might be smuggling art instead)

Sophie concludes along similar lines as I do. --- Back at the docks, Parker and Elliot are on evidence-gathering. There's an auction happening, and yes those are antique art-objects he's smuggling back to the US.

Breanna is disapointed that they're going after this low-level trashdumper instead of the companies that are killing the planet. Im going to be clear here: if sophie's talks about how all we can do is little babysteps is meant to foreshadow a "regular civilians should use less plastic" thing, im gonna get pissed.

--- Complication: He has forged Provenance documentation.

Sophie just recognised an item (mahjong tiles) . And i dont mean in the "she can tell when its a Kadinski" sense, but in the "I remember these, i have a personal history with this object" sense.

Hammond's personal authenticator --- Sophie and Authenticator begin code-speaking. They have a past, there is tension but he's not gonna bust her just yet. (Name is Arthur Wilde) "you were in mesopotamia 2 years ago"= He's heard of Sophie doing something in Iran/Iraq "spent my time digging out a burmese temple"=I was trying to escape prison (tone of voice=I blame sophie) after that i lose the track but in summary: Sophie's fucked this guy over at some point. "its not what it looks like, well except for conning your boss that is exactly what it looks like." Ah yeah, he was in prison because of her. Sophie is gonna try to talk him round to their side.

Sophie takes out the earpiece. --- What do you mean "steal a printer", Sure its a special filament rather then regular PLA but its just a 3d printer. If you're telling me Hardison and Breanna dont already have a functional 3d printer im gonna be angry. But apparently we stole the printer off-screen and are already at the auction with the fake ivory tiles.

Arthur is in. (giving him the big score is Sophie's attempt at redemption for getting him thrown in prison)

Harry plays the buyer, Gives the perfect excuse for a long-distance boat-trip on which such an object may just take a dip in the sea. --- Tracking the tiles, signal broke off. Sophie is gonna have to confess her past sins.

Oh we're digging into the Duchess of Hanover lore here. This is definitly setting up a plot-arc for the season... Wait there was a duke, she fell in love with the mark... is there a kid? No way that there isnt a complication where she has a kid right? (it would let her foil both Nate's relation with Sam and Harry's relationship with Becky) --- Time for the con: Get him to lead you to the tiles. (you stole from a terrorist my dude)

I like the professionalism on our mark, mid stand-off, turnign to "Athena" about wether she's willing to occupy his imminent vacancy.

Elliot and the Mark are talking business (blackmail, "pay me or i call my boss" type of deal). McSweeten gets re-mentioned. (he's still doing nice for himself)

Mark has decided that he's gonna use the stolen tiles to pay off Harry to get the terrorist he represents to kill Elliot for him. The tiles are in motion, (and im thinking that Parker followed him to them so we know where the vault is)

--- Mark returns to his home to find the official spokesman for Terrorism Incorporated sitting in his chair.

Harry has the tiles (both the fake and the real.) which means that from now on, if we ever see the "real" tiles again, assume those are fake as well. (if we can 3d print the missing tiles, no reason not to print some fakes of the real ones for a switch)

Harry has turned on Sophie (or at least thats what the mark thinks. He's still with her, this is a staged death-scene) --- Ah, get him to think he just compromised an international terrorist. Yeah this guy is gonna rat himself right into witness protection.

Elliot mentioned McSweetens name specificly to get him to go to the higherup (can we expect an OG Actor Cameo?)

Harry takes a dive to sell the Chechen as being a small fish compared to someone. And if the Chechen is a small-fry, that means our Mark would be plankton.

We havent seen Parker in a while, also that gun was in the guys office while Harry was there waiting for him. Those are blanks --- Ah right, Harry had access to his laptop for like, an entire FBI Agent Elliot-scene. Theres a lot more you can do there then just swap some bullets.

"dont even try to call for help" before stealing his phone from an ocean away... Style. --- Scene cuts to our heroes fishing trash out of the river. New boat, money for a cleaning operation. Unfortunately no cameo from McSweeten. Arthur doesnt believe Sophie's improved herself, and leaves with a foreshadowing "i know im not the only one you betrayed back then" to say, Yup we're getting a season-long arc about the Duchess Con.