#playing remotely has been really tough for all of us. having even one of the players Not There just makes things very hard)

[varjopeura]

.

[redr0sewrites]

Hii!! Can I request Sevika x fem!reader who is rlly clingy, affectionate and wants to ramble and be close to Sevika all the time, but gets embarrassed and shy abt it?? Tyy!! 🩷🫶

🥀A/n: Sevika is literally sooooooo-

🥀Cw: fluff, a bit suggestive but nothing even remotely explicit!

we all know sevika has a tough persona, but when it comes to you, she practically melts

she secretly adores how affectionate you are, but never admits it!!!

when you first met, she's surprised by how genuinely sweet you are and finds herself becoming protective over you

it takes her a while to recognize that she was catching feelings for you, but once she realizes it hits her like a fucking truck

sevika is confident, but she isn't great at communicating her feelings. there is definitely a lot of mutual pining and "idiots to lovers" going down before either of you actually make a move on eachother 😭 all of silco's cronies literally had a betting pool on when you two would get together (ran and silco won 💀)

sevika is definitely the one to make the first move, she doesn't want to lose you and would probably confess rather bluntly. upon seeing you get so flustered, she almost thinks you don't reciprocate, until you shyly tell her you feel the same

once you two are official??? sevika has never been happier. she makes it her life goal to torture you (in the best ways)

teases you mercilessly about how shy and embarrassed you are around her!!! sevika loves intentionally flustering you, especially when others are around. she isn't big on pda, but sometimes she can't help but grab your face and pull you into a deep kiss, only to pull away and admire your shocked and flustered expression

LOOOTSSSS of flirting, even when you two are officially dating. petnames too, she calls you princess, doll, babe, and hon, but her favorite has to be simply using the word my in front of your name

she adores your affection! as previously stated, she is not a big fan of pda, but in private she adores how clingy you are.

sevika is a very cuddly sleeper, i said what i said. she sleeps on her stomach and hugs her pillows, but once she starts sleeping with you, she cuddles you in her sleep instead!

she gives you lots of forehead and hand kisses, she thinks theyre more meaningful

protective!!!! sevika knows you can handle yourself, but she wants you to know that she's always on your side if necessary. would absolutely defend you against anybody and is your biggest supporter. she's literally your ride or die, and is not the type to play devil's advocate whenever it comes to arguments bc she genuinely cares about your opinions

speaking of arguments, they never escalate too much. sevika is stubborn, but she's also reasonable and is pretty good at compromise. i actually think an affectionate partner would be really good for her, i hc that she doesn't have much relationship experience like at all. she grew up in the undercity and there really wasn't much opportunity for romance outside of a sexual setting, so you're like a breath of fresh air. sevika takes her time when adjusting to receiving (and giving) affection, so that may cause a bit of conflict at the start of your relationship, but once you're over those hurdles and when she fully trusts you she is a lot more affectionate

sevika is very touch starved and secretly clingy herself, but you didn't hear it from me :)

when it comes to rambling and infodumping, sevika is SUCH a good listener. she loves listening to you ramble while she works on her metal arm, and will nod along and agree with you whenever necessary. she's also pretty good at advice, although she can be a bit blunt. she's honest and tells it like it is, and is very open with you about her opinions.

loooooveeesss having you close to her so she can keep an eye on you. she wants to make sure you're safe is all, and if you wanted privacy she would totally oblige, but sevika truly loves having you around! if you also work for silco, sometimes she'll accompany you on your missions so that you won't be lonely and also bc she thinks its hot when her "cute litle girlfriend" kills people... omg what who said that!!!

you both are the epitome of "opposites attract", and sevika loves you because of it!

the familiar sound of the fromt door of your apartment unlocking alerts you to Sevika's arrival.

"Sev!" your voice comes out much more excited than you anticipated, but at the moment you couldn't care less. "your back!!!" you run up to your girlfriend, wrapping your arms around her neck and planting a kiss right om her lips. she's so tall you have to stand on tip-toes just to reach her, and your stomach flips as her familiar, booming laugh echoes around you. "i see someone missed me," Sevika chuckles, pulling away to flick you gently on the forehead.

you feel your cheeks heat up, giving her a light smack on the arm before leaning up to kiss her on the cheek again. "oh, fuck you.." you murmur, and Sevika smirks. "i can if you want me to-"

"oh, shut uuup!!" if you haven't already melted into the floor because of how embarrassed you were, you definitely would now. "how was the mission?" your desperate to change the topic, lest you burst aflame from how warm your cheeks feel. "it went smoothly," Sevika replied, sitting down at your guys' kitchen table and kicking her shoes off into a messy pile by the doorway, "but i missed my girl."

you walk over to her and kiss her on the forehead, before she tugs you in by the waistband and pulls you onto her lap. you gasp, giggling as she wraps her arms around your waist. "well, i think you'll be happy to know that your girl missed you too." Sevika hums, wrapping her metal hand around your throat and pulling you into a gentle kiss.

i am unhealthily obsessed with her SHES SOOOOOOOOO AUGHHHH

[medicetwork]

Mercs if they had modern day cellphones!

Heavy:

The screen is too small and his fingers are too big.

The screen also tends to hurt his eyes after a while but he absolutely refuses to turn down the brightness, saying it would make it even harder to see than before

His main favorite functions are video calls with Medic or his family and listening to music.

His life is complete when he discovers E-books

He can’t read them on the screen but he loves being able to clean Sasha while having his favorite book read to him

Medic:

Really doesn’t use it for much else than phone calls and the occasional google search at first

When he discovers mobile games that takes his interest though!

He becomes a candy crush mom.

Oh you have a broken arm? Wellll…You can tough it out, champ. He’s on level 7,229 right now.

He would make all the other men get Life360

Scout:

Total social media zombie(I say as if I am not one)

Surprisingly he’s very popular on apps like Twitter and Tik Tok. People think he’s hilarious!

Unfortunately somewhere along the way he says something less than respectful about something and his account gets banned

Eventually he’s on account number 6 and trying to regrow his following

It never recovers

He finds out about NFT’s

Sniper:

Mainly uses it to watch youtube and play music

His phone is always on silent and Do Not Disturb

He loves those videos where those guys go out into the middle of the woods and just start building a fucking house out of clay and sticks.

He prefers texting to calling, finding it much faster(he just like me fr)

Baffled by just how much porn he has access to now….

But he’s not complaining.

Soldier:

He doesn’t use it because he just keeps breaking his phones.

They’ve been dropped, blown up, set ablaze, dropped in water, eaten by a bread-tumor monster, eaten by Soldier(???) and run over.

Even if they didn’t get destroyed within 3 days he still wouldn’t use it for much else besides setting alarms and sending confusing group texts.

However, with each new phone he has gotten he asks Pyro for stickers and sticker bombs his phone just for fun

Has an American flag wallpaper

Pyro:

Watches a lot of Youtube!

They love art tutorials, cooking tutorials and those videos with the guys that put molten hot metal balls into water and those videos of people crushing things in Hydraulic presses

Their search history is so fucking strange:

“my little pony free episode”

“my little pony movie free”

“how to draw clouds”

“gasoline cheap prices”

They follow Scout’s pages and always send him nice comments and like his videos

Engineer:

Loves listening to music and watching movies on his phone

Eventually learns how to code and make his own apps

This is also how he discovered he could jailbreak his phone and turn it into a universal remote for his sentries

Very slow texter

Uses way more emoji’s than needed

“Hello yall 👋🏻 going to the hardware store today 🔨let me know if yall need anything while im out👋🏻🚶🏼”

His most used app is the settings app

Spy:

Of course all of his phones are burners.

He never uses one for more than one week

Loves pirating movies on it and watching them in bed

He has no contacts. No personal information and keeps his location off at all times

Likes to pretend to be different people and play around with Google and Youtube’s targeted ads and algorithms

One day he’s an 86 year old woman that’s recommended nothing but metal bands and funeral home ads

The next week he’s four years old and getting recommended Mario and Minecraft let’s play videos

He uses twitter

He’s doxxed many people on Twitter

Like Scout he has MANY banned accounts and has also hacked and stolen many accounts

…He hacked one of Scout’s accounts and got it permanently banned

Demoman:

Loves watching Top 10 videos

Also loves having so much ease and access talking to his lads

He video calls his mother often even she just nags him the whole time and keeps accidentally hanging up

Is frequently texting the other team’s Soldier and laughing at what he says back

Uses Discord and Reddit and is in many servers and communities that focus on paranormal activity, urban legends and cryptids

Actually makes his own youtube videos searching for said cryptids

Frequently comments “cringe” under Scout’s posts

[pumpkinsareamazing]

Just for You. *Platonic* Capt. Price x TF141!reader

The holidays on base were usually hard—but this year felt especially hard. No one was able to even request leave due to the upcoming mission and this would be the first year you’ve spent without being remotely close to your family, and it hurt..a lot.

You sat in your barracks looking over the postcard your family sent. You should've been in that picture. It felt nice to know your family was enjoying the holidays but knowing it was without you broke your heart. Before you could think any longer you heard a firm knock on your door. You welcome the person to step inside as you set the postcard down and look at the door as it opens…

It's your captain, Price.

You quickly stand up in attention. "At ease, [Name]." He responds, looking at you "I expect you to be in the common room at 22:00, Please don't be late." He peaks down at the postcard on your bed before leaving your room, softly closing the door behind him, you wait until his boot steps fade down the hallway before sitting back down.

At 21:57 you make your way down to the common room- it is quiet, and you feel the cool breeze shiver up your spine. Once you stand near the door you see a warm- soft glow under the frame. You slowly open the door and the faint sound of "Here comes Santa Clause" plays all around, you follow it until you come across your team sitting on the couch surrounding the poorly decorated tree, and eating Christmas sugar cookies. "Hey! Ya' made it!" Gaz cheers catching the attention of the others, "come on! I saved a seat for you." He finishes his sweet before softly hitting the seat between him and Soap. You take a seat and look around the room.

Old red and green string lights hung from the ceiling-some flickering and most working, a few candles give the dark room a soft glow, and the tree is covered in ornaments, old grenades, and lights. "You like the tree? I think the grenades give it a nice touch." Soap laughs while Ghost gives him a deadpan stare. You laugh "I do, the color blends in really nicely-" you look around, "Where's the captain?" You ask. "He said he'd be back soon, not sure when but he said so." Ghost grumbles out before lifting the bottom half of his mask to take a bite of the cookie. You look in front of you at the coffee table, it has a plate on it with a single cookie on it, "tried saving you another one but a certain Scot ate it." Gaz says in a sarcastic voice while looking at soap. "Can ya' blame me? These things are good!" They start to bicker but you block them out while grabbing the cookie and taking a bite out of it immediately being reminded of home. The warm smiles, the smell of fresh gingerbread, the warm atmosphere, the laughter— the common room door opens and slams shut, you're drawn back into reality and Price is in front of you holding a wrapped box in his hands. "And for you." He says, you take the gift and slowly open it while the rest of the team opens theirs. You gasp. Inside the box was a framed photo of the team. With you in it, and next to it was a small picture of you and Price after you got accepted into his team, you stare at it, recalling the memory.

You step into the captain's temporary office. "You wanted to see me, sir?" You ask, "[name], take a seat." He says, you sit down and feel yourself shrinking at every second his eyes are on you. "You were great out there today." He states "A few tweaks and you could match with Gaz, you know that right?" He asks you. "No sir" you respond. "I want you on my team." He suddenly said. Your eyes widen "You would be a good fit and with your knowledge of the wilderness and strength you could get us out of some tough situation." You look up at him. "Yes or No, soldier?" He asked looking straight through you. "Yes," you say. You suddenly blurt out "Canltakeapicturewithyou?"

He pauses, "Excuse me?" He asks. "Can I take a picture with you?" You slowly ask, he gives you a look almost asking you why "My mom. she likes me to have photos of huge milestones in my life, you don’t have to-" he cuts you off. "We can take a picture."

You smile at the memory, remembering how proud your mom was of you, her huge smile as you show her the picture from your phone. You look back at Price from his seat on the couch. "Happy Holidays, Kid." He says smiling. "Happy Holidays to you too …Price." You smile back.

[bealtesharrisonmacca]

When I’m up against the wall Paul, you’ll find I’m at my best

McLennon

Setting: get back sessions/recording of the Let it be album

Paul McCartney x John Lennon

Word count: 1276

Warnings: smut!, slight swearing, mclennon smut

It’s been a tense couple of days. The group is having a hard time coping with all their feuds. John and Paul are constantly bickering at each other while George and Ringo are left unseen.

Paul seems to be the one attempting to take charge so that they can make their album.

John is pretty frustrated, considering he and Paul haven’t been even remotely close enough lately. Of course with Yoko around all the time it’s not easy getting some time for just the two of them.

Although, Yoko isn’t the only reason they haven’t been engaging in anything special, but Paul sure thinks so.

He’s been growing out his beard recently, and he knows how good he looks. Wearing black turtlenecks and suits to match his "grown up" look. He looks amazing and not only does he know it, he knows that John knows it too.

Paul has caught John eyeing him a few times when he thought he wasn’t looking.

One day John and Paul are just playfully talking about what to do with the album and such. They often have talks like this but this time there is something unspoken between them.

Then suddenly John says “When I’m up against the wall Paul, you’ll find I’m at my best.”

The words hung in the air.

Paul is surprised at Johns remark but he scoffs it off considering they’re not only in front of a lot of people, they are also on camera. But he wanted to push John against the wall right there and then.

John can tell he hit a spark for Paul by saying something so risky yet so innocent for everyone else.

~

Johns comment from earlier stayed with Paul throughout the day.

The idea of having John up against a wall really spoke to him. He felt his pants tighten around his crotch as his bulge grew bigger. He wasn’t visibly turned on but his mind was racing with unholy thoughts.

He was constantly looking over at John when they were playing, attempting to assure himself that John was on the same page he was.

It had been such a long time for them both.

John felt Paul’s eyes on him as he was strumming the guitar. He thought that maybe, Paul wanted him as much as he wanted Paul. He knew he couldn’t resist that sexy beard of his.

Imagining them kissing and Paul’s beard itches against Johns cheeks. Oh how bad John wanted to jump up from his chair and take Paul in his arms and kiss him passionately.

All throughout the rest of the day the pair of them were making eye contact every few seconds. The tension grew larger between them. It used to be an aggravated tension but it was soon turning very seksual.

Paul sat playing the piano while John was packing up his guitar.

George and Ringo and the rest of the crew had left only a few minutes earlier. Yoko was the only one still there.

“That damn Yoko” Paul thought to himself. Maybe he had read too much into the situation. Maybe John was just slow at gathering his things and maybe he was just going to leave with Yoko.

But before Paul could spiral further down that path he heard John tell Yoko to leave because he wanted to go over a few lyrics and ideas with Paul.

Yoko left soon after and then there they were. John and Paul, finally alone.

Paul got up from the piano and began walking towards John, whose back was turned to him. John heard Paul’s footsteps getting closer, and the knot in his stomach tightening with suspense.

Then, John felt Paul’s hands lightly tough his back. Stroking carefully as John turned to face him.

“Care to tell me what that comment you made earlier meant, love?” Paul asked with a smirk across his face. And before John could muster up a response Paul pushed him harshly against the wall behind him. “Because I think you wanted something like this didn’t you eh?”

Paul’s hand travelling up to Johns chin while the other held him in place.

John let out a slight groan as Paul pushed his lips against his. Ramming Johns body even harder into the wall.

The bulge in Paul’s pants pressed into Johns as their kiss grew more passionate. Moans escaping them both as their clothed cocks rubbed against each other.

As foreseen by John, Paul’s beard felt incredibly good to tough and feel.

Their lips parted for a few seconds, giving them time to look into each other eyes and admire the closeness they had.

It didn’t take long before Paul started pulling off Johns shirt. The chilly room making his nipples hard. Paul then went on to remove his own shit and trousers, leaving him in his boxers.

John started unbuckling his belt as Paul watches eagerly. They were both hard as fuck and it showed.

Paul slid a hand to the brim of Johns boxers and pulled them down in a swift motion. Removing his own soon after.

“Let’s see how good you really are against this wall then love, turn around for me yeh”

John turned his back to Paul again, exposing his ass to him. Paul leaned forward and his hand went around Johns neck and into his mouth.

“Suck” Paul exclaimed. “Don’t want yer asshole hurtin too bad now do we?”

And so he did, he sucked Pauls fingers until they were plenty wet with John’s spit.

Paul drew back his hand but stopping right at John lower back. He bent John even further towards a 90 degree angle, but not fully.

Without warning Paul pushed a finger inside him. John let out a loud moan at the sharp pain. Although it quickly turned into pleasure as Paul’s finger moved more rapidly.

He suddenly added another finger and started stretching John out.

John let out moan after moan, the feeling he had been yearning for so long was finally coming to him. He felt Paul getting impatient to fuck him.

“Please Paul, Please fuck me!” John was practically shouting. And before John could muster out anything else Paul slammed into him. His hard cock thrusting deep inside of him.

John’s face was being pushed harshly into the wall and it caused him to shout even louder, but he loved every second of it. They both did.

One of Paul’s hands went to John’s hair tugging roughly, the other went to John dick as he starter jerking him off.

John’s senses were flying and the overstimulation was almost too much to bear.

Paul’s picked up his pace slamming even faster and harder into John now that he had adjusted properly. All the while still jerking off John.

They were letting out loud moans as they both felt their orgasms approaching.

Paul pulled John’s hair ruthlessly as he started coming undone. His cum shooting into John. That was the final straw for John as he came in Paul’s grip.

They were now moaning messes, attempting to gather themselves. John turned to Paul and their lips intertwined once again.

“Yer so fucking good at that Paulie”

“Well you weren’t half bad either John, I reckon we could do this again” Paul smirked.

Paul started getting dress when John grabbed him and pushed him to the wall.

“Next time we’ll se how good you do” John let the words hang as he left the studio, leaving Paul very horny yet again.

~

Hope this was enjoyable, I wrote this when I was half asleep😅

[hisokamywaifu]

Mori Relationship Hcs (sfw and nsfw sections)

I can't explain how feral I am for this man

Warnings: again, probably cursing, there is a nsfw section but it is clearly marked so you can ignore it if you want, he's a sub in the nsfw because I refuse to sub, mori being mori but no actual pedophilia mentioned because he can be how i want him to be in my mind, not proofread becasue im tired, wrote this quickly because I'm feral for him, this is a tough one so sorry if it's a big ooc

~~~

Let me start by saying this man does not have enough fics about him

Like what are people doing???

Anyway

Sugar daddy vibes

He makes sure everyone in the port mafia treats you with the utmost respect, and always buys you the finest of the fine stuff

Will just surprise you with random stuff you don't have any need for like random jewelry and clothes

And if you actually ask for something he'll have someone get it for you immediately

He will be so overjoyed if you get along with Elise

Like if you do something remotely positive towards her he with smother you with affection and just be the happiest guy

And he might modify her personality just a bit to make her as enamored with you as he is (but in a platonic way)

He will go between being the most down bad simp for you and being the most smooth bitch ever

Will casually compliment you or say something to get you flustered

And then a few minutes later will be staring at you with the most lovesick eyes ever and begging you to cuddle him

All of the port mafia at first was so confused why you were with him and why you weren't creeped out, there will be rumors that you're a gold digger and shit

But once they've all met you they'l know you're amazing

Which makes them even more confused about you and Mori

He'll let you randomly sit in on his meetings and be extra smug and commanding in front of you

But as soon as he has a day off or even an hour off he'll want to do everything with you

He loves you so much, and he'll listen to your favorite songs, read your favorite books, watch your favorite shows with you because he's so in love

Such a simp

Very affectionate but sometimes will wait for you to initiate

Ooooooo and if your safety has been threatened by the ADA or The Guild or something he'll get pissed

He'll remain calm but threaten all of the port mafia that if you are not brought back safely heads will roll

And when you're secured safe and sound he will smother you in kisses and not let you leave his side

...may have you sit in his lap when he calls people into his office

Even though he's flirty and a pretty attractive guy he doesn't really get around so he's pretty touch starved

Will cling to you while cuddling

and I mean CLING

He will wrap around you , or wrap you around him (depends on the day) and won't let you get up

While to outsiders it seems like he's the one in command, he will do literally anything you say

Again, not much actual relationship experience but he can be very romantic when he wants to be

Expect occasional candlelit dinners for no reason

Just because he wants you to be happy and he loves you so much is what he says innocently

He'll also do the silliest little impromtu roleplaying that you have to play along with

Like if you're sick or have the slightest injury or pain he'll be your innocent little doctor taking care of you by smothering you with kisses

Except he actually is a doctor

So anything wrong will instantly be cured

With the best care

~NSFW~

warnings: sado/masochism, mori's voice, bondage, role play, dom!reader, top and bottom reader and mori, sub!mori, cumming untouched, degradation, pegging, overstim, edging

heh

on to the good stuff

First off

He knows what his voice does to you

(If you're as into Mori's dub as I am, read my Hisoka hcs)

Anywho, he will use that seductive voice of his to his advantage whenever he wants you

He is the biggest pain slut ever

Slap him, bite him, step on him, he'll beg for it all and more

He is the kinkiest little bastard on the face of this earth, so expect some crazy requests

Tie him up.

Shibari, the tight ropes against his skin, he'll protest he wants to touch you but not being able to move turns him on so much

Since he's the head of the port mafia, he's more than ready to relinquish control to you

Oh and you know how I mentioned role play earlier

Well, not only will he pretend to be your meek little nurse, he'll take it further

He'll ask in his faux meek voice with a hint of playfulness if you require any more of his services once he's done bandaging you up

And you'll catch on quickly

And one thing will lead to another

If you know what I mean 😏

And his voice 😩

Sorry if you couldn't tell i LOVE his voice

Everything he says already sounds like he's moaning so why not actually make him moan

Since he's such a painslut, he loves overstimulation

Just make him cum over and over until he cries and can't cum anymore

It's all he wants in life

And edging

Edge the man

He's a little bastard, he deserves it

He doesn't need any stimulation to cum if you degrade him

Call him a whore and a little bitch, and your fucktoy and he's creaming his pants

He'll bring up pegging even before you do

He's clearly a bottom bitch, and while he does enjoy the thought of impregnating you, there's nothing that turns him on more than you fucking him into the mattress

His nails will be scratching down your back, grasping the sheets, gasping your name~

Oh

OH

pull his hair

That'll have him cumming faster than anything else will

Spank him too

He'll be moaning for more

Since he's such a slut he'd probbaly be down for some exhibitionism in front of some port mafia members but you might have to shoot that idea down before he gets too excited

Because things could go wrong there very quickly

Back to sfw if you guys are still here

All in all, he's down bad for you but knows how to be sexy about it

He'll take care of you and be awesome

AND HIS VOICE

😩

In case I haven't mentioned it before I love his voice

For those of you who watch bsd subbed, I suggest listening to his voice in the dub becasue 😳 it is something

[starrrling]

TASK 001 : THE NEWS.

It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you of our dear Richard's passing.

→ Reece Starling receives her invitation to Richard's funeral.

tw: domestic abuse mention

When the letter arrived, Reece was alone in her apartment—which is to say the apartment that she shared with Jack, who was or had been her boyfriend, at least until half an hour ago, when he hurled the tv remote at her face and left—and she’s holding a wet washcloth up to her bloody nose and thinking nothing other than I should probably leave. 

And as for where she’d actually go, well—she supposed she’d burn that bridge when she got to it. It was New York, so family—meaning those that are entitled to breathe down one’s neck—was everywhere, but how many places could Reece really go to crash without feeling guilty, or judged, or—at best—a little bit too fucking embarassed for the whole thing to seem so funny, right now? There was Alison, with those eyes that Reece could already imagine wordlessly announcing that Alison told Reece so; there was Dante, who could probably crush Jack’s skull with his pinky finger; there was Richard, who Reese swore to never appear to again in this state, as this girl. 

Fuck. She sniffled against the coppery tang of her own blood; her lower lip trembled. King of the Hill was still playing at a low volume from the television. Her bruised eye throbbed, and she wondered fleetingly if she would at least look sort of tough and hot to a stranger. 

And then the courier came with the letter from Mrs. Tristan, addressed in elegant, even cursive to one Reece Starling. Reece had wiped her hands off on her shirt before accepting the envelope, but the pads of her thumbs still left rust-colored stains behind on the paper, precise whirlpools of dark red. Apparently, Reece’s change of address had made it up to the Woodrow House—Alison, she guessed vaguely. See how long that address lasted. 

Reece’s own grim, self-involved thoughts about her impermanent address and how she got herself here kept her too distracted to wonder what the letter was actually for, so the opening line—it is with a heavy heart that I write to you today—hit her like a gut punch; she read those words and the world opened up around her in to something so much wider and worse, beyond all of her own bullshit, back to the bedrock, back to real loss. 

—our dear Richard has passed away. 

And who knew that Dick could die, right? Who knew? Not Reece; she didn’t even know how old he was. The words smudged to a blur beyond her bruised eye and she felt a stream of something hot and wet striping down her face; she wondered if she was crying, crying through her half-closed eye, until she remembered that her nose was bleeding, because Jack had made her nose bleed. 

At a loss, Reece started laughing alone in the quiet while the King of the Hill credits rolled, because, really, what the fuck else could she do? 

At least I know I’ll have a place to stay for the weekend. That thought echoes over Reece's quieter, more persistent internal refrain: I could really use a drink.

[chibrary]

today in chontent: july 30th

source: motorsport.com & twitter series: 2014, karting

In 2014, Jules wrote a series of columns for Motorsport.com following his quest within F1:

"Starting today, Jules Bianchi will guide the readers of JA on F1 on a unique journey of discovery of Formula 1, as seen through the eyes of one of the best young driving talents on the world motorsport scene. Jules has been a driver with the Marussia F1 Team for a year and a half, fulfilling one of his boyhood dreams, to drive at the pinnacle of the sport. He has another dream to fulfill, one with a red tone to it; to drive for the famous Scuderia Ferrari. Since 2009 Jules has been part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and a few weeks ago he was called in to an official test at Silverstone for the Maranello team."

His first article was posted in July 2014, titled "Voyage to the centre of Formula 1":

Jules Bianchi writes: “Realizing your dreams is one of the most beautiful things that can happen to a person and I am happy to have fulfilled the biggest dream, which is to drive in F1. I have been dreaming of it since I was a kid but only when I started racing single seaters did I realize that my hopes could become a reality. If you had told me this would happen, when I was 13 years old, I would not have believed you.

But I’ve done it and I’m half way through my second season in the top category and I want to try to take all of you behind the scenes and show you my life and my journey, to show you what it means to be part of this special world, which seems so remote and unattainable.

Let's start by saying that to race in Formula 1 is something that gives me a lot of excitement: this is the first word that comes to mind. The second is professionalism: if you want to excel you have to be professional in every little detail and that is true for us drivers as much as for all those who work in the various roles. It 's something that I realized immediately; right from the first time I was able to see up close how Ferrari operates. Even at Marussia, although the scale of the operation is certainly different from the Scuderia, the level of professionalism is really high.

Ours is a very tough sport, where if you do not always give 100%, whatever the circumstances, you risk falling behind straight away. This means that you always need the utmost concentration, both when working on the track and when you are free from specific commitments, because you can never back off. This is why ' if I have to choose a third word to associate with Formula 1 I would say tiredness: not only physical - to drive these cars is not exactly a breeze and to do this job you have to work a lot on athletic training, even during the race weekend - but, more important, mental tiredness.

I never get bored by the routine; it 's true that the Grand Prix weekend is a bit like a theatre show, which you repeat in exactly he same format every time, in nineteen different venues. But I don’t mind this repetition at all.

The two-week summer break comes at just the right time. We’ve been on the go, travelling the world, pretty much since the end of January, when I started driving in the winter tests. But now we can kick back a little and try to recharge the batteries for the second half of the season.

In the last few races I could really see our guys in the pit garages beginning to feel fatigued and I too cannot wait to get a rest. I'm not planning anything special, not even to celebrate my 25th birthday on August 3; a few days at home in Geneva with the family and then a little sunshine with friends at the beach somewhere, but not to some far distant place with more time zone changes - I’ve had plenty of that already and more lies in wait for me from late August to late November.

When I have some free time I like to play sports with my friends. I always try to organize a small competition, either karts or playing squash or football: this is what I will be up to before restarting the engines at Spa, where we’ll race in the Belgian Grand Prix.

Of course I have some time now to think about what has happened in this first part of the season because it is not that you can completely clear Formula 1 out of your head, even on vacation.

I'm happy with how things have gone so far: we have made a big step forward compared to last year and you can begin to see the results. The points finish in Monte Carlo, with ninth place was definitely the best moment and it was important to be able to get into Q2 twice (the second part of qualifying for the top 16 cars) in Silverstone and a few days ago at the Hungaroring: it means that we are approaching the core group even though the distance is still quite wide.

The worst day? That’s an easy one - Sunday in Montreal where I was unable to complete even the first lap, boy what a shame ..

Another beautiful moment was the Silverstone test with Ferrari. Putting on those scarlet overalls with the Prancing Horse on the chest is always an unbelievable feeling, as is climbing into the cockpit. I’ve done it before but the emotion is very powerful, very beautiful.

For me Ferrari is like a second family and to drive full time with that Prancing Horse remains my goal, my ultimate dream.

Will I ever get to realize that dream? I don’t know. But given that I have fulfilled my first goal of driving in F1, why not aspire to fulfilling the even bigger dream?

Until next time..

Jules

[thrandilf]

I'm willing to read most shadowpeach fics even if they are pretty ooc (I have a limit of ooc, but it's pretty wide) but fics I can't read are ones where macaque is just now in modern times meeting wukong. Like I'm sorry, but macaque would be a completely different person if he never met wukong. So wildly different that a macaque acting like macaque breaks my suspension of belief, and a macaque acting like he should in that scenario isn't my macaque anymore by any metric (might as well be an OC)

I sat here for a bit wondering how to say that I haven't actually found any Shadowpeach fics I like that I haven't written myself without sounding horridly self absorbed/picky but it's where I'm at

To be clear, I've only been in fandom for a few months and I haven't looked all that hard, I'm sure out of the 8k or so on ao3 there are absolute gems, just haven't found em. I'm open to recs! but I'm in fandom for characterization and specific dynamics which drew me to the characters in the first place, so you've got the biggest lead on me for not being picky/coming off as judgy, anon hahaha

In that circumstance you laid out I'd also wonder who Wukong would even be. He's influenced by his past relationships just as much, even if he isn't as overt about it as Macaque/he's had a wider range of influence since Macaque is more Wukong centered than vice versa, it would still be Different.

Fic of them in early or pre brotherhood would be really interesting! Or in this AU- a Macaque full out reincarnation would be fascinating if LBD hadn't brought him back. Like, that could be interesting, but their history is such a core part, even as obscured as some of it is to us right now, that I'd have a hard time trying to untangle it and make it feel like them. It would still have to be History on Wukong's end for me or too many pieces are gone from the jenga tower yfm

I'm also someone who writes canon compliant or adjacent stuff Most of the time, where I like to extrapolate and kind of take the edges of the picture and expand, like a degree removed from canon/plausible, but not putting people in totally different worlds or altering major canon events. Hell, I don't even make OCs for fics unless my arm is twisted by necessity (my novel length tdp fic has some OCs because I needed more characters for the mains to meet in the world/filling in vacuums left by foreign leaders being killed, said OCs are still as minor as I can make them while being hopefully interesting and serving their purpose)

However, I know that a majority of fandom really loves totally new AUs in other worlds/making OCs (LMK fandom is especially OC heavy which was a surprise to me) and that's its own writing exercise/source of fun, it's just one I've never had a desire to read or write. Canon for me is fun to explore more of canon potential, not to fuel something seemingly unrelated

As I said, I'm picky. I typically don't even read modern AUs for fantasy characters, it just so happens that LMK works so well that I love the futuristic world and get my magic meets technology kicks in canon, otherwise I wouldn't have anything written in remotely modern day within the past few years. LMK got me back into it

So I hear you about characterization/I probably sound like I live a stifled existence but I just thrive by being as close to canon as I can while playing with it, my most fun is different from others on the fan spectrum

And all this isn't to say that I feel like an expert in characterizing Macaque and Wukong- they're tough cases to crack. They're challenging. They both have their facades and levels of jadedness and sincerity. LMK requires flat out studying to really nail anyone I've found, even characters I feel more confident in writing- and that challenge is part of the draw for me too!

[hungerpunch]

heavy sigh 🥀

i haven't had a blood grandmother since 2013, when mine died suddenly during a routine procedure. of course biologically, i have two grandmothers, but i only really had one. i've been excommunicated from the other almost all my life. (she lives to this day. i check the obits monthly. when she kicks the bucket i will celebrate.)

so having known kb's grandma, frances, for 13 years… she sort of became a substitute grandma to me, too.

frances has been a tough cookie all her life. she was raised on a farm in remote northern wisconsin. her parents were immigrants from poland. at 16, she dropped out of school to work, instead. she waited tables and bartended. at 18, she hitch hiked to chicago. she got a job at a polish bakery, where she remained all her working days. she met and married a young polish guy who was an… associate, of some degree, of the mob.

she raised three kids on the south side of chicago. then she raised kb, as both their parents worked full-time at odd hours in factories. her husband died 15 years ago. as far as personality goes, she's quiet but not mild-mannered. she's brusque but not mean. she just is, stalwart and true, shooting straight as an arrow. she won't tell you how she feels but it's not a duplicitous nature; it's just that she's private. she won't be cowed by yelling nor weaseled by niceties. the harder you try to be polite to her, the more she rebuffs it. she would never bother stabbing someone in the back when she could just walk away from their face.

she taught kb how to crack an egg, how to play poker, how to have whiskey, how to make pierogis, and how to bake her signature chocolate cake.

the cake. she made it every year for kb's birthday. eventually, they got it tattooed on their arm with "grandma" in flowing script beneath it. the handwritten recipe is inscribed on a plate that hangs in our kitchen. it's seven layers and requires 16 eggs. it's a demanding physical feat, making that cake, and she's always been a petite woman.

to this day, she intimidates me, even reduced to the tiniest thing in a hospital bed, covered in tubes. her dark eyes are shrewd as ever. her face betrays little emotion, but when she does smile, her gums are still pink and full of health. her silver hair is cut sharp and short as it has been all the time i've known her. when i first met her, i almost couldn't speak. what do you say when you're 18 and you're meeting a woman who faced the devil many times and won every round?

but she didn't try to put me in any place. she shook my hand, kissed my cheek, told me to make a plate in the kitchen. she didn't ask me questions or try to get to know me, but neither did she dismiss or ignore me. i was simply folded in. she taught me how to stuff and press and boil pierogis the same way she taught kb. when i would drive her around to errands, she would hide five dollar bills for gas in places i wouldn't notice until much later. when she played cards with us, she never teased me for not understanding poker.

she sends me birthday cards. she signs them "love, frances." she crocheted several long garlands and then hanging stars to decorate our christmas trees with. i know her house and i know her smell and i know her real smile. i am lucky enough to have heard her really laugh. i know what it looks like when she's really listening. i know when she actually feels touched by something you've done. i know the shape of her shoulders when you hug her. i can see the knobby knuckles of her fingers in my mind.

i've never gotten to say goodbye before. my cousin, my aunt, my grandpa, my grandma, my dad, my friend gabe--they all died suddenly. we went to the hospital last night. i don't know what i expected. i thought if you were facing hospice care until you pass, you would be cloaked in a morphine haze. not lucid. but frances is very cognizant. her vitals are all good. her heart is strong. her eyes, when she looks at you, are clear.

it's not that her body is giving up. it's just that her body is not strong enough to endure the surgery that would save her life.

so how, then? how will this go? is the cold hard truth that we have to starve a woman to a slow death? is there nothing to be done? it feels insane. i want to scream. it would be easier, if she wasn't home mentally. but she is very home. the lights are on. i couldn't say goodbye because it seemed impossible that the end is here. because she still seems so alive. i could only speak to her as if everything is normal.

[tragicendinglover]

Murr's 3rd Anniversary SSR - Translation

Disclaimer: This was done with the help of the machine translation so it will not be too accurate. I apologize that it's not the best - I just wanted to have at least a rough translation somewhere!

Part 1 Murr: I won again.

Akira: Haha. I lost again. Murr is really a skilled gambler.

Murr:  Huh. I was hoping that the Sage might defeat me!

Akira: What? You wanted to lose?

Murr: I've been winning for a long time. I won the last round and the last game against Shylock before that. So, Mr. Sage!

Akira: So that was the deal...? But I'm not a betting person like you two.

Murr: But there is beginner's luck, right? So I thought you might be able to beat me! By the way, why did you come here? To kill time? 

Akira: Yes!! Murr, you gave me the "Omokage Manual" before, didn't you?

Murr: The one where I said you can do whatever you want? I'll do it! I want it back!

Akira: No, no! I heard that if you hold the Omokage Manual up to a landscape and cast a spell on it, it will make the landscape look like a picture. ...... I'd like to leave behind the memories of everyone at the magic building. Of course, I also want to preserve my memories of Murr. So, will you go with me to a place you hold dear?

Murr: Haha, it was an invitation to go out! Well, if that's the case, I just received an invitation from a place that sounds just right.

Part 2

With invitations in hand, we headed for the Heavenly Detached Palace, a place we had visited for celebrations not long after I had become a Sage.

Akira: At that time, Murr had to compete with Antonio to rent this place. Murr lost several times, and it was a close call.

Murr had a tough time with Antonio, who had acquired the good fortune by grace of the fairy Fagolta, who had been resurrected from the effects of the Calamity.

Murr: But I still won! Antonio-sama remembered that and wanted to play a game with me for the first time in a long time.

Akira: But I was a little surprised. Antonio didn't think much of wizards, did he?

Murr: Just a whim. The Heavenly Detached Palace is a place for gamblers in search of excitement! And it was just right, wasn't it? Sparkling and shiny, the scenery of lasting memories!

Akira: Yes, I agree, it's a great place to live and work. Thanks for suggesting this lovely place!

Murr: I remember. Showtime at the salon! Shining pearly petals, the scent of buoyant flowers! And this time, we're going to make it rain from the top of the chandelier. Sounds fun!

Antonio: You are the offspring of the great Murr. You still look like a fool with that face.

With a sigh of exasperation, Antonio, the owner of this remote palace in the sky, appeared. Somehow we managed to avoid the Murr's rain, and we were led into the even smokier casino, where we were greeted by the owner, Mr. Antonio.

Antonio: You understand the rules?

Murr: Of course! Each player draws cards at the same time, and the one with the higher number wins. The first person to win five times is the winner. Simple is the best!

Antonio:Hmm. If you win, I'll give you gold coins and whatever else you want.

Murr: I don't want money.

Antonio:What?

Murr: What I want is the Heavenly Sky Detached Palace for tonight! If I win, can I use it freely?

Antonio: I hear you like it here. All right. So, you're betting on the jewelry, right?

Murr: Of course! My very favorite. Okay, Mr. Sage. Can you shuffle those for me?

Akira: Yes! I'll take care of it.

I folded the cards, cut them well, and put the deck on the table.

Murr:This one.

Murr, showing no sign of hesitation, picks one of the playing cards. Antonio, on the other hand, looked at Murr's face and then pulled out a playing card.

Murr: Here we go. Ready!

Akira: Murr has 1O and Antonio has 6. So that means…

Antonio: Damn it. It's only one win; the winner is the one who wins five times first.

Murr: That's the way it should be. The goddess of victory is capricious. The game is far from over!

Part 3

Murr: Yes, I won again.

Akira: (I knew Murr was a good gambler. I didn't think Mr. Antonio could win one. How dare he.))

A pile of gold coins piled up in front of Murr. But Murr was not interested, and leaned forward with the momentum to crush it to celebrate his victory.

Murr: It's strange. It seems so unnatural for me to keep winning, considering the odds.

Antonio: Tch…

Akira: (You don't have to say it like you do here...! Antonio, you've been losing so much. I'm sure you're not feeling so good.)

I look at Murr and Mr. Antonio alternately, feeling nervous inside.

Antonio: Phew-ha-ha!

Akira: Eh?

Antonio: Even though I'm a mature man, I lost to Murr. As promised, you can use the Heavenly Detached Palace as you like.

Even though he lost the game, Antonio was smiling happily.

Murr: Sage, cheers!

Akira: Cheers! Congratulations, Murr!

While there were many other guests, Murr and I celebrated our victory in secret, just the two of us.

Akira: But then again, strange coincidences do happen, don't they? I can't believe that Murr won in all the games. ......

Murr: Do you really think this is a coincidence, Mr. Sage?

Akira: Eh?

When I looked up from my glass, my eyes met those of Murr, who was smiling a gentlemanly smile.

Akira: (Do these piercing eyes belong to a Murr's soul fragment?) Could it be that something is bothering you?

Murr: I don't know. Is it me or Mr. Antonio? Or is fate playing a trick on us? Master Antonio admired me as a great inventor. So, he didn't want to beat me. I don't want to win because of his admiration for me. 

Akira: Really?

Murr: I'm so excited! Surprised?

Murr breaks into a smile and looks into my eyes as if to check my reaction.

Akira: Is that the usual Murr? I was so surprised to see you acting so different from usual!

Murr: Yes! Surprise!

Akira: But it was a pity. You said you wanted to experience losing a game, and you won again.

Murr: Oh, I think I might have mentioned that!

Akira: (You forgot...)

Murr: More to it! Sage, you have something more important to do. Here we go!

Akira:Oh, we’re going?!

Murr took me in his arms and jumped on the chandelier. Suddenly, I looked down at my feet and saw the guests looking up at Murr and me with wide-open eyes.

Murr: Ta-da! Ready for the Omokage Manual?

Akira: Eh, uh, I'm ready to go, but .... Are you sure? Everyone's surprised to see you here.

Murr: Don't worry! Soon they won't care about us anymore.  《Eanul Rambul》!

When the incantation was recited, Murr's ring emitted a brilliant light. The guests were amazed at the light, which looked like a meteor streaking across the night sky.

Akira: Wow... It's the same as that time.

Murr: Yup! The view from here is the same. But there is one thing that is different.

Akira: Different?

Murr: Now Mr. Wise is right next to me! So today's show will be even more fun!

With these words, the light in the room popped. The grains of light become petals, eventually filling the salon with vivid colors.

Akira: Wow, it's like a dream world... Thanks for the fun show, Murr!

Murr: You're welcome!

A view similar to the one I remember, but slightly different. The book of images was engraved with nostalgic yet new memories.

[sneakyscarab]

my one-a-day streak has been broken, my career is over! orz

not that i was remotely expecting to have kept up that pace for almost the entire series, and Unconnected Marketeers gave me good reason to take it slow and try more runs that usual. but thats spoilers innit :P

nina's thoughts on Touhou 18 - Unconnected Marketeers

if you recall my last post about Wily Beast and Weakest Creature, youll know that i said it felt like touhou games needed to really do something big to stand out this many games deep. well, i think ZUN had the same idea, cause Unconnected Marketeers definitely stands out, with one of the coolest new systems in the series. UM does something really fresh, integrating roguelite elements into the gameplay in a simple but pretty effective way through Ability Cards.

heres the rundown. before you start a run, in addition to choosing your character you also pick an 'ability card' to start with. throughout the stages of UM, enemies drop money tokens instead of the typical blue point items, and at the end of each stage after defeating the boss they open trade with you and offer a selection of Ability Cards to buy with your money: a handful of gaurenteed basic cards (a 1up, a bomb, extra power, etc), the stage boss's signature card, and then 3 random ability cards selected from a pool of about 50 cards. ability cards come in 4 varieties: active cards, equipment cards, passive cards, and item cards. all the categories are pretty self-explanatory by the name, except equipment cards, which are like extra weapon options that are added on top of what you have. once you buy a card for the first time, its permanently unlocked to be selected as a starting card in future runs.

every ability card is based on a character from the series, which is a really cool way of using the huge cast that touhou has (sadly its mostly playable characters and final/extra stage bosses, so no Wriggle card as far as im aware v_v). its really cute seeing how certain characters abilities are translated to card form, like Koishi's card that makes it so enemies dont kill you if you collide with them, or Lily White's card that literally summons her as a micro-boss and gives you a good item if you beat her. i haven't unlocked them all, and i think some of them are unlocked by completing certain things, like a second card for each playable character that only unlocks when you beat the game with them. i might keep playing just to see what other cool cards there are, especially since the cards themselves give a lot more replay value than usual. you even unlock the ability to use 2 starting cards after your first clear.

since the ability cards add so much variety to the gameplay, the player character selection is kept pretty simple to not overcomplicate things. we have Reimu and Marisa as usual, as well as Sanae and Sakuya (im glad they ironed out their differences and are able to coexist now :P). Reimu, Marisa, and Sanae all play exactly as they have the last couple games, but Sakuya actually goes back to her roots and uses a modernized version of her weird B set from PCB, which im glad returned since it was a really cool one. if you need a refresher, thats the one where her throwing knives are angled left or right based on your movement, and focusing locks the angle in place. in addition, now vertical movement also influences the knife pattern, with downward movement increasing spread while upward tightens it. its tough to master, but you feel like a beast when you make it work for you. i got my 1cc with Sanae, but i might keep playing and go for runs with the other characters too.

as for the new characters, if youre familiar with the cast of Unconnected Marketeers you already know who im about to be talking about. thats right, Momoyo Himemushi, baby! lets go! another bug-type youkai so soon after Eternity Larva, and for the first time she's Not a stage 1 boss! she's actually the strongest enemy in the game, lurking at the end of the extra stage to fight only the most powerful players. Momoyo is based on the Oomukade youkai, a massive centipede who lives in the mountains and eats serpents and dragons, with the only weakness that can pierce its exoskeletal armour being human saliva. shes strong as hell and basically the coolest ever, totally not biased at all. shes got her sick minecraft gold pickaxe and shovel to dig up tasty gemstones, and doesnt hesitate to beat the tar out of anyone who tries taking her stuff. shes even got some bonus gender spiciness, using 'ore' for herself instead of most characters 'watashi'. im glad we finally got our justice for bug youkai, with the most badass centipede lady you'll probably ever see.

the final boss Chimata is pretty neat. shes a god of special event marketplaces, so anytime you go to a convention and find some cool stuff in the dealers room you have her to thank. she has a really wild design, with a patchwork rainbow dress with a matching headband, and a white cloak with the cloudy sky on the inside trim, representing a lunar rainbow and the market that takes place under its light. its pretty sick, but probably absolute hell for fanartists lmao.

my third choice of the new characters would be Takane. shes a yamawaro (mountain kappa) with forest-related powers, and like the river kappa theyve become entrepeneurs and inventors in Gensokyo. Takane has some hilarious interactions with the main characters, especially Sakuya who literally is just there to buy cards, where she engages in a boss fight to protect the protags from stealing her ability cards, but after the fight ends and she finds out that youre a paying customer her demeanor completely flips and she starts hyping up her wares lol.

Unconnected Marketeers is really fun! its great to see such a unique and innovative entry for a series thats 18 games in, without overturning the base gameplay loop that the fans are there for (glares at game series being re-invented as an open world walking simulators). interestingly the Ability Cards, while being the main plot instigator, are kept around in the end, so it seems like its set up to be more than just a one-off mechanic. from what ive heard of touhou 19 i dont think they're there, but 19 is also a non-standard touhou for other reasons, so its up in the air. either way, whether the ability cards are a one-time thing or an evolution, theyre great fun and add a lot of interesting variety to the gameplay, and fit in pretty naturally to the gameplay loop touhou already had going for it. take all that good gameplay stuff and add on to that we finally get respect for bug youkai with Momoyo, and UM is up there in the top echelons of touhous. lets go bugs!!!! we win these!!!

[meltingpenguins]

Dead by Daylight is a mean-spirited sociopsychological experiment

YMMV, but this is not entirely tongue-in-cheek.

There's a lot of games that are frustrating and taxing. But games like 'Getting Over It' have the reward of being able to tell the game to go fuck itself whenever one did get to a new, remotely safe area, as short as this satisfaction may last.

Other games have frustrating elements in the form of tedious quests, tough, multi-phase bosses or brain-wrangling puzzles. But for the most part, they all reward you in a way appropriate for the hassle.

Dead By Daylight? Not so much.

What are the 'rewards' that supposedly reflect how well you did?

Bloodpoints (and pips)

Iri Shards

Achievements

However, are these rewards in practice? Answer, of course, is 'No'.

Let's start with achievements:

Achievements come in various flavours throughout the gaming world (in order of satisfaction):

Rewarding skillfull and creative playing

Changing gameplay for a specific outcome, in a way that is NOT hindering the progress

Changing gameplay for a specific outcome, in a way that IS hindering the progress

Playing the game

DbD seems to have only achievements of the lowest two ranks. Even achievements that at first glance look as if they reward skillfull playing often come with a requirement that turns it into slogging, dreary work that's more counterproductive to playing the game than it is making things interesting. Most commonly seems to be the 'in one match' caveat (or similar expressions) that will only add to the frustration due to something that would have been doable often now requires the stars to align.

The other kind of achievements DbD offers boils down to plain grinding.

So here we have a 'reward' that isn't really a reward, but one source of frustration without fitting payoff.

Next point: Iri Shards.

This one is another 'just play the game' reward that yet still comes with a high level of frustration: Various content creators have done the math on how useless shards are, and how massive the grind is if you actually want to use shards to buy outfits or characters.

So, another 'reward' that isn't one.

And now, for the worst offender: BloodPoints and Pips

BP are the only thing in the game that are made out to reflect how well you did. Or do they?

There's constant arguing whether the game is killer or survivor sided. I'd say it's neither. It's scumbag sided.

What is the most surefire way to gain the highest amount of BP and pips? Play scummy as killer. Trying to play skilfull and fair won't give you as high a payoff as slugging, tunneling and camping. Similar on survivor side: you get more points for endangering your fellow teammates and/or throwing them under the bus than for playing well (an example is unhooking under the killers nose, making a run for it, and then immediately coming back to do the same thing with the tunneled teammate)

And the game seems to be designed to have this happen, as if to increase the toll playing it might take on the player.

Be it mechanics already in the game that could very well counter camping etc being handwaved by the devs as not applicable. And no explanation why (e.g. there's several elements that take into account how close someone's to a hook and what they are doing. To the point it even influences the pip calculation. But making it so that if you camp you get a de-buff is impossible somehow)

There's update after update that seems intended to make the game more obnoxious, less fun and less fair for all sides, all while the devs claim that they are only reacting to community feedback.

Leaving the community wonder just what part is meant. Cause even people that stouthearted defend camping etc are baffled.

Therefore, one really has to wonder if Dead By Daylight is nothing but a malicious psychological experiment meant to test for how long pointless, pretentious rewards like bloodpoints will keep someone playing, even if the frustration, anger and tediousness are taking a genuine toll on someone's health.

[enbycrip]

Trying to do more creative stuff in the coming year, so here’s a ten minute pencil sketch of one of my NPCs from my Vampire: the Requiem forum game. It’s been a good couple of years since I’ve done any art of humans, so I’m actually pretty pleased with it, though I’m not quite sure I’ve caught him quite right - a bit too suspicious for a rather sweet man!

It’s not good, but…that’s okay? I’ve not done it for a long time?

The whole thing about AI art has made me think about this a bit more. I feel part of the reason these things become so popular is because we take “art” as something you should only do if you are “good” at it. Like too many other creative pursuits - writing, art, singing, playing music. We treat them as though they are something one can either do or not.

But they’re not gifts from the gods. They’re skills with actual techniques we can learn, and practice - and practice almost invariably improves our output, whether we make an effort to learn formal techniques or not. And whatever the “objective” quality of our output - they’re ways of being *human*. Of communicating our perspectives, ideas, emotions. Of processing our experiences. Of discovering things about ourselves.

I’m not remotely denigrating artists who use digital techniques - I played around with some basic ones at the beginning of the year, and it was tough and enjoyable, very much like other kinds of art! All media of art are valid. I think I personally get a bit more therapeutically from working in more tactile traditional kinds of art, but that’s very much a personal thing for me. I can even absolutely see how AI output could be used creatively as part of a process of making art.

What honestly really pisses me off is how AI is being used. In a world with a decent UBI, so many more people would have time and energy to pursue creativity for what it’s actually for - communication, therapeutic benefits, perspective, personal expression, and even *sheer enjoyment*. Instead everyone is getting constantly pushed to turn hobbies into a “side hustle” because wages are insufficient to live on,

Producing art or craft work in a consumerist world is the opposite of relaxing or therapeutic; it’s incredibly stressful, and mostly involves massively underpaying yourself for the amount of work it takes to create something because people are used to paying for mass-produced items. Lots of disabled folks like myself come under the same stresses, with the additional ones of disableist ideas of “well if you can do embroidery/macrame/sketching/running RPGs why aren’t you doing that for a living instead of scrounging on benefits”? For the exact reason why we can’t do other jobs full-time, habitually; the ability to do something occasionally for people who are not going to sanction us hugely for variations in quality does not mean the ability to do it 40+ hours per week to high professional standards.

Capitalism is such a toxic ideology. It’s killing us. And the biosphere we depend on.

[auniverseforgotten]

VERY WELL 11 20 and 24 >:3

HECK YEAH MORE TIME

11. favorite trial (sun & moon)

So I am actually going to do one for Sun and Moon and one for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, because they do differ!

So for Sun and Moon, I'm gonna go with the Ghostium Z trial/Totem Mimikyu trial! I enjoyed that the trials all had different vibes, but this one was the only one where the entire vibe shift really felt like it Happened. Like don't get me wrong, it's still a Pokemon game, it's not even remotely scary, but the atmosphere DOES shift and you do get to go through a little haunted area. And I mean...Mimikyu, come on. Also the very end with what Acerola says, love that.

For Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, I'm going with the Waterium Z trial/Totem Araquanid trial! This trial differs from Sun and Moon, which is a fight against a Wishiwashi; in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon you are herding Wishiwashi, and right as they start their school form, an Araquanid bursts up from below. It just looks so cool???? Here is someone's video of it, should be timestamped! [video by EsteeMcCrawly on Youtube] And anyone who knows me knows I love Bug types and Water types SO.

Brief runner-ups to the Firium Z and Grassium Z trials. For Firium, the "find the difference" game is fun esp when they toss in the hiker, it's just so silly, and for Grassium, love cooking for Pokemon and super love Lurantis.

20. least favorite pokemon game

Hmmm another tough one. Usually no matter the game I find things I enjoy, and I haven't ever hated any game. My gut instinct is to say the Brilliant Diamond/Sparkling Pearl remakes, but that was because the questionable Field of View blur effect they used actually gave me a headache and made it difficult to play for long. :'D

HOWEVER I think that would be cheating, so I'm gonna go with Pokemon Sword and Shield. Now don't get me wrong, I did still find things to enjoy in these games! And the DLCs are SUPER GOOD [but they shouldn't have been DLC]. However...a lot just wasn't it, honestly. Part of my disappointment was it was the first new big Pokemon game on Switch, and I feel like they could have done SO MUCH MORE. Like the Switch can run BotW but we can't have an open world Pokemon game??? TRUE open world???

That complaint aside, here's the rest. The premise overall was kinda weirdly uncomfy to me? I know it's my own issue, but the whole "hey here's all the challengers let's publicly show every single second of their entire Pokemon journey" is just so unpleasant to me. :'D Like yes there were reporters in gen 3 and it's always implied that people are loosely following the gym challenge, but NOTHING like the "EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE REGION SEES EVERY STEP YOU MAKE" of Galar.

Also I hate the uniforms, sorry not sorry. Like yes, you get to change out of yours, which is great because mandatory uniforms just suck oops. But restricting the gym leaders to always wearing that dumb uniform? Bad take imo. Like yes they make it work with accessories and stuff but cmon. Piers woulda looked so much cooler in full punk getup. Milo in farmer clothes. Avery, from the DLC, yes I do enjoy his design BUT HE'D BE SO MUCH COOLER IN A FULL SUIT.

Dynamaxing is just dumb. Tbf I think that of most new gimmicks. Z-Moves were dumb. Mega forms were dumb. I just don't like them. I'll give them points to some of the gigantamaxes at least being entertaining.

STOP PUTTING CHARIZARD IN EVERYTHING. STOP ACTING LIKE CHARIZARD IS A GIFT TO THIS PLANET. STOP ACTING LIKE CHARIZARD IS THE BEST FIRE TYPE EVER. They make part of Leon's entire personality his Charizard and I HATE it, I hate the Charizard craze that has been going on forever and SWSH got extra hate from me because of it.

Possible spoilers but Rose is such a bad villain. He's not even a good twist villain. He's just a slimy, smarmy capitalist, and that wouldn't be bad if they didn't try to make him like. Have a Altruistic Reason behind almost ending the world??? Like no I do not believe AT ALL that this man would be after energy for Galar for a thousand years in the future (SO DUMB BTW), but if they'd played him more selfish I would have at least accepted it because he comes off as every rich "philanthropist" irl to me. Richer than they need to be and donating just so they can say "oh but I'm a good one" and hoard their wealth and resources.

Also I get it's where games have been going but I hate that what would've once been post-game was instead paid DLC.

I still have so much I could say but I'm gonna stop there. x'D

24. your favorite team of pokemon you’ve ever had

Okay so people who know me know I have. No memory. Brain is swiss cheese. So I can't remember my entire teams for any game. ;-; And I either don't own or have restarted most games so uh oops.

SO INSTEAD I'm gonna list six beloved partner Pokemon. They are not necessarily more or less beloved than others and only one of them is in specific order, this is just the best I can do.

First up, Bloom the Venusaur. Bloom was my starter in Pokemon Leaf Green, and I have traded her up through every. Single. Game. She is a female Venusaur, which little me did not understand the rarity of, but now that I do I love her all the more for it. Bulbasaur is my favorite starter, so it's no surprise how much I love her.

Now that we have First Ever out of the way, these are in no order. So, next up is Iluq the Aurorus. Amaura and Aurorus are some of my favorite fossil Pokemon, if not my top faves. I love the colors, and their call is SO PRETTY. So when I got one, he of course became a staple on my team. He defs had some weaknesses, but I adore him.

Alola was honestly a great generation for me, bringing a lot of new faves, and one led to a beloved on my team, Tatiana the Lurantis. I adore the Fomantis/Lurantis line, so I acquired one ASAP. She was great in battle AND crucial for shiny hunting: she is my false swiper.

Bumble the Ribombee came in the same team as Tatiana, and I adored her so much that when I found Cutiefly pretty late-game in SWSH, I immediately dumped my Boltund [sorry Boltund] for one to remake Bumble once again. Ribbombee is just cute and sweet and my Bumble is the sweetiest. ;w;

There are a lot of Pokemon whose baby form or first form I prefer over their evolution. Pumpkaboo is one, and when I caught one in SWSH I decided that she would stay a baby, but that she would also be on my team through the entire game. Thus, enter Pie the Pumpkaboo. Pie is my precious baby and she has pickup as an ability, so she is a littol thief as well, picking up anything from repels to nuggets. uwu

Pokemon Legends: Arceus introduced a lot of cool regional variants, new evolutions, and Alpha Pokemon. But heck all of that gimme a T A N K. Omelet the Blissey, the T A N K. I acquired her fairly late game, joked with my friend that I was gonna punch Arceus with her, and then fully committed to the joke. She is now level 100 and I still have not finished the game. Strong-style Soft-boiled is hilarious. Doesn't happen in game but I do picture that every time the character I made in the game gets hurt via falling or Pokemon, Omelet pops out unprompted ready to shove an egg.

And a couple runners-up, Cinderfella the shiny Crobat. I'm counting him as a runner-up because I didn't get him until post-game! Caught a shiny Zubat in Alpha Sapphire and loved him until he evolved. Excellent friend.

Bacon the Centiskorch is another. Adore Bug, and she worked really well as a diverse move haver! Her name is Bacon because sizzlipede and centiskorch looked like bacon to me, and then her ability was White Smoke so it was perfect. XD

Ngl every time I have a team I imagine their personalities. So. Bloom would be a motherly type, mothers anything that gets near her, forgets she is no longer a Bulbasaur and thinks she can still be lap sized when she wishes to be. Iluq is a very calm mediator type; he's ancient so he has patience, and he can freeze anyone being a Problem. Tatiana is elegant and graceful, doesn't interact much but isn't cold, but also has killed before and will kill again /j [or am I]. Bumble is SO FRIENDLY AND SWEET, adores everyone.

Pie is an absolute babby, can fight if she has to but Excuse, she is Baby. Naps a lot, while not mentioned here she is definitely carried around by the Dad of the SWSH team [who I remember all of bcus I still have the game lol], Plushie the Bewear. Omelet is very concerned about everyone all the time, throws eggs at people like GET HEALTHY. Cinderfella LOOKS scary but is an absolute sweetheart, definitely a cuddler. And Bacon, Bacon I feel is the delinquent with a heart of gold. Will heck anyone up that looks at anyone she cares about wrong [esp Pie. My whole SWSH team just Pie's family apparently lol].

Oops I talked forever haha. This is so much fun though??? Really loving these, thanks for the ask, feel free to send more if you like. XD

Ask meme: clicky

[black-arcana]

Watch: EVANESCENCE Joined By P.O.D.'s SONNY SANDOVAL For 'Bring Me To Life' Performance At 2024 SONIC TEMPLE Festival

P.O.D. frontman Sonny Sandoval joined EVANESCENCE on stage Thursday (May 16) at the Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival at the Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio to perform the latter band's breakthrough 2003 hit "Bring Me To Life". Video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

In a recent interview with Canada's iHeart Radio, EVANESCENCE singer Amy Lee reflected on "Bring Me To Life", which featured guest vocals from Paul McCoy of 12 STONES. She said: "When we first did the song, I didn't wanna do the rap. That was like a concession kind of a thing with the label, trying to find a place for us. And LINKIN PARK was hot on the radio at the time. That was part of their [the label's] calculation of what was gonna help break a female through. And it was hard for me, actually. I got to write it. I was a part of it, like all of it, Paul was wonderful — still wonderful. But it was something that I like had an internal struggle with. But all these years later, with just — I don't want to use the word 'success', 'cause it's deeper than that, but the life that that song has had and all of these live shows, now that we're at this point now, 20 years later, and playing festivals with so many… It's just really, really, really an amazing gift to have our big song be a duet, because whenever we're out with somebody who's even remotely kind of in the realm of that would fit that voice, we get to have them up on our set. So that's been this really fun guest finale moment a lot. And even if the person isn't like the most famous person — it's cool when that happens — but when it's not, too, it just changes the energy of the song and is this easy, plug-in, really fun… I don't know. I don't know if that's the answer you were looking for, but I've gotten to a point where I'm super grateful that we have that song for that reason. The crowd goes nuts and everybody knows it, so it's super fun to have it be a collab."

Back in February 2022, EVANESCENCE's music video for "Bring Me To Life" surpassed one billion views on YouTube. The Philipp Stölzl-directed clip, which was uploaded to YouTube in December of 2009, was filmed in Romania in January 2003. It features Amy in a night gown and barefoot, in her room, inside a tall building in the city at night. The rest of the band is playing on a higher floor of the building.

The album version of "Bring Me to Life" was included on the soundtrack of superhero film "Daredevil".

In 2021, Amy spoke to Germany's Sonic Seducer about the lyrical inspiration for "Bring Me To Life". The song reached No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was EVANESCENCE's first U.K. No. 1 single.

"I remember what I wrote 'Bring Me To Life' about, because I wrote it about my current husband before we were married," she said. "There was this moment — I was in a tough place and in a bad relationship. And my husband now, Josh, at the time was just a friend and a person that I barely knew; it was maybe the third or fourth time we'd ever met. And we went in to go grab a seat at a restaurant while our friends parked the car. And we sat across from each other, and he looked at me and he just said, 'So, are you happy?' And it took me so off guard, and I just felt like it pierced my heart, because I felt like I had been pretending really well, and it was, like, somebody could see through me. And then that whole first verse came out of it: 'How can you see into my eyes, like open doors.' It really made me feel and recognize the sense of yearning that I had to get to a better place. And it really kind of set me out on a journey. And it's amazing that that became the song, the first song that broke us on to the scene and made everyone hear of us, because it was about something — I don't know — something so personal that I was recognizing in my life."

In March 2021, Lee told Alternative Press that EVANESCENCE's original record label Wind Up threatened not to release the group's debut album, "Fallen", if she and her bandmates didn't add a male voice to lead single "Bring Me To Life" to make it more palatable for radio.

"Fallen" sold 17 million copies and won two Grammys, including "Best Rock Performance" for "Bring Me To Life".

EVANESCENCE's latest album, "The Bitter Truth", arrived in March 2021 via BMG. It was EVANESCENCE's first album of original music in ten years.