#... but you know what all this'll still do? cause people to look up and go 'hey this is so cool-- i want to know the inspiration'.

[iniziare]

Consider Yelan's facial expression to be my own in reaction to opinions shared on both X and Tumblr, and I guess I'm in the minority of the 'loud ones', but I'm pretty excited for Natlan since that trailer, actually. The previous teasers left me a little 'eh', but this definitely got my hopes back up, and I'm back in the right spirits for it (and ready to catch some Pokémon.)

Now I wouldn't be me if I didn't touch on the salt that I've seen scattered across the dash, so here I go. Listen, I read people's objections and I see what you're all aiming at, but in that light want to note that it's often incredibly easy to point fingers (arguably too much so) at others while being, quite honestly, hopefully rather aware that many of our own countries, cultures, and its populations across the board (and no, I'm not excluding anyone here) would likely be just as easily guilty as MHY is with these things. And no, I'm not blindly defending them, but I also won't point fingers at only one without pointing them everywhere else as well, including those you might think would 'never do such things', because I'm absolutely certain that they would. /continues on in the tags.

[vulpixisananimal]

Carrion!Sif AU, Chapter 2

ACT 2, The Smell

(You wake up.)

(. . . What.)

(You, you were checking for traps in the hallway and couldn't see, smell, feel anything until the very last second and then-)

"Siffrin!"

(It was Mirabelle. She walked up you you just like last time and just like then just started, taking to you!)

"Good morning! Or, w-" >>> "-but not too long!"

(You stared at Mirabelle as she walked off. The scent of that soap she used even stronger than last time. She, she said the same thing, same exact thing?!? But, but wait you- How- how did-)

(Did you-)

(DID YOU JUST DIE?!?!?!)

(You did!! You must have!! You just walked into that hall and said everything was fine and you died!!! You didn't see anything!! Smell anything!! AND YOU STILL DIED?!?!)

(You're USELESS!!! It's your JOB to find traps and you DIED!!! You didn't even get a glimpse of the King and you just got squished flat!!! STUPID, STUPID STUPID!!!)

(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

(Okay you're over it now.)

(You sit up, dizzy. And now absolutly starving. Your stomach growls. Stars, why are you so hungry again??? Ugh, and now you're gonna have to wait untill tonight, again! You grip the grass beneath you, taking a breath, once, twice, and three times. You're ok, Sifrin. You're ok. You're back here, and now you can do better this time.)

[You got the "Memory of Looping!" You'll always remember this.]

(. . . What was that voice?)

(You stand up, looking around. You could smell the birds, the people, everything around you. Come on, Siffrin. You'll be okay.)

[. . . You should come to the Favor Tree when you have a second, Stardust~]

(You shudder, Stardust?)

>>>

". . ."

(A. . . A star?)

(You had gone straight to the favor tree to see just, what just happened. And, there was a star sitting there, a star person.)

". . . My! Struck speachless at the sight of me, aren't you~?" (The star put a hand to their mouth like they were laughing at you.) "You're so cute, Stardust~"

(Stardust?!?) "U-uhm--"

"Aww, Siffrin. Look at you, all lost and confused~"

(?!?!?!?) "How, how do you know my-"

"Why wouldn't I know, you're Sif! Siffrin! No middle name, no last name~" (The star leaned back against the favor tree.) "Now I know you must be quite overwhelmed, with this being your first loop and all~"

"My. . . ." (You shake your head, this was all a lot to take in, and. . .)

"Oh where are my manners! Take a seat, Stardust, there's plent of room~"

(You look between the star and the root of the tree. Who, who was this?!? You couldn't tell, they smelled of, sugar. Strongly of sugar, and nothing, and a bit of something that smelled a bit familiar.)

(. . . . . . You decide to sit down.)

". . . . . ."

". . . . . . . . . So! You're stuck in a time loop!"

>>>

"Phew, Bonbon! That was DE-LI-CIOUS!!"

(Deja Vu.)

(So, you're in a time loop. Loop was, here, and helping you out. But, that was okay! Great, actually! That means that you could be useful! And that makes it okay, doesn't it? You could get used to this, used to dying. Something about it, it felt familiar, and that felt, comforting? Why should it feel comforting?)

(. . .What were you thinking about again?)

(Anyway! You ate up your food even faster than last time. You felt famished! Even more so than before! But you had to pace yourself at least a little. Right? Don't cause a scene.)

(This'll be fine!)

>>>

(It was right there.)

(It was right BLINDING THERE!!!)

(Right in front of your stupid! Blinding face!! A little hidden switch in the side of a pillar! How!! How could you miss it!!! Stupid, stupid stupid stupid!!!!!)

(You breathe in, and out. Fine, you flip the switch.)

(CRACK!)

(THUD!!!)

(. . . . . There's a pause, a large rock fell a few feet back.)

". . . . Let's go, everyone."

"W-wow! Not even phased! Huh!" (Isa says, falling in step as you lead everyone along. They were scared, worried, you could smell it, it's fine, though, nothing bad can happen now.)

>>>

"Why the need for an armory and weapons in the first place?" (Asks Odile)

(It was a small room, a few spears on a rock, a sword on the wall. The others were talking as you looked around. The smell of sugar only got stronger.)

(You weren't paying too much attention to the conversation, once they were done, you moved on. What else was around the room? There was a big steel thing with a stone on it, and a big brick, thing- O-OH, you take a big step back.)

"You're alright, Sif!" (Isabeau says, reassuringly.) "I don't think anyone will be using this forge aaaaany time soon."

"It's not even hot!! Dummy!!" (Bonnie walks over to the forge and kicks it.) ". . . Ow."

"Be nice, Bonnie." (Odile adds, giving you a look of sympathy.) "You can't exactly controll these things."

"Too true! Let's get going, then!" (Isa finishes, you nod, leaving the room. Fast.)

>>>

"Do you guys, smell that?"

(You had to ask. You had to because it was getting unbearably strong! The SUGAR! The sweetness!! It honestly was driving you a little mad and stepping through the halls only made it worse!! You knew, it was LEADING somewhere!)

"Smell. . . What?"

"I don't smell anything."

"Hmmmm, maybe?"

"Is it the sugar?"

(You turn to Bonnie.) "Sugar?"

"Yeah, sugar!" (They sniff the air.) "It's been around since we got in here. Super sugary."

(Huh.) "Guess I'm not crazy then."

"Hehe, I wouldn't say that!"

(You all laugh, and move on. Right, sugar, that was fine. Just a bit of sweetness. You all walk on, through the hall, to the door at the end. The smell got stronger, why here? Was it a food storage room? Well, you were about to find out anyway. You open the door and walk inside.)

(You gag and stumble to a knee, the smell was WAY. WAY TOO STRONG. Your eye was watering, it was unbearable. You felt Isa kneel down to your side.)

"S-sif! Are you alright?!?" (He asks, worried.)

"S-so strong-" (You choke out.)

"C-careful! There's-" (Mira starts, you look up, there was a weird sadness in the room you didn't even see! You could barely see anything, anyway. It noticed you all, and charged.)

"Gems, Siffrin, get up!" (Odile takes a combatitve stance.)

"R-right-" (You stumble to your feet, gripping your dagger, battle time, just, don't, don't think about the smell, don't, get, distracted--)

-----

(Obligaroey @traumaboyexo <3)

[zippidi-dooda]

"We can have breakfast at eight and bed at eight. Normally I tale my showers right before breakfast, so we can push it to nine that way you can wash up too ...."

Rollo drawled on about the schedule he had down in his notepad, jotting down adjustments he thought would be best to accommodate for you.

You sat on the couch, pillow on your lap, watching him with a taught smile on your lips.

He wore a cream colored tunic and pressed trousers, a red and purple sash wrapped around his waist. He had long ago gotten ready for the day, hair fluffy and downy soft. The first round of chores for the house had already been completed before you had a chance to wake up and food was being prepared as you spoke.

You always knew he was an oriented person, but till now, you had never seen to what extent. Already you could tell this "arrangement" was going to be a tad overwhelming.

"Rollo, we really don't need to worry about small details like that."

He looked up at you.

"Well I understand the meal schedule will have to be flexible since you'll be getting cravings at random times. But the rest I think should be easy to stick to."

"It's not that." You put the pillow to the side, going over to lean against the counter. "It's just I don't think a tight schedule will work for me."

"Oh, nonsense. It won't happen the first few days, but you'll get into the flow of it in due time. This'll be good for you, trust me."

"Rollo."

He hummed, turning to tend to the stove.

"We really don't need a schedule."

"'Don't need a ...?'" He faced you, brow furrowed as if you had said the most ridiculous thing in the world. "Y/N, a schedule is necessary so as to not fall into temptation again. We can avoid more trouble this way."

Slowly, you frowned, placing a hand over your stomach. "Are you saying I caused you trouble?"

"That's not-"

"You know, it wasn't just me who went out to the pier every night. You had a hand in this too."

"Y/N, I-I'm not ... I know how we got here. I just think ... that planning it would have been more ideal."

Your brow curled.

"This came unexpectedly and we can't fix it. But we can, and should, make adjustments so we aren't burned by the fortuitous again. That's the only point I'm trying to make."

You glared at his turned back, chest feeling tight.

"Do you regret doing all of that with me?"

"That is not what I said."

"Well it sure as hell sounds like it." You murmured leaving him in the kitchen, stowing over his words.

"Y/N ...," he called, exasperated.

He looked between you and the meal on the stove, sucking in a breath before deciding to finish the food first.

His eyes were a stormy gray, lingering on the circular tan on his finger that had been left behind after years of having a ring shielding it from the sun's rays.

The same ring had been placed upon your hand not even a week ago and he could still feel the ghost of it on his finger.

He hadn't had quite enough to buy you an actual engagement ring yet, so you wore the ruby jewel even now.

It's absence on him meant the definity of the situation.

You and him had shared those passionate moments under the cover of night. He hadn't wasted those days agonizing over having given in to his desires. You were going to be here now. The two of you were now going to do this the traditional way. He was going to be a father. He was going to be your husband. You were going to be his.

His wife.

Eyes closed, he let out a sigh, and tucked his handkerchief to his lips.

Usually he always led things, arranged, planned, ordered them. And people were expected to, and would, follow his decisions no questions asked.

From the start, you weren't the type to mindlessly go along with him. But it had never caused any major problems for you two.

It was only now he could foresee this being an issue.

And he wasn't entirely sure how he'd be able to handle it.

But in hopes to attain that picturesque life, he conceded that perhaps he could stand to leave some slack between his reins.

Finished cooking, he turned off the stove, grabbed a tray, plated the food nicely, poured some café au lait, and headed towards the room you were staying in.

You were curled up on the bed, back facing the door, ire thick in the air.

His foot tapped the doorframe in a knock, announcing his entry.

He sat at the corner of the bed, mattress dipping under you, and placed the tray on the bedside table.

"You know, breakfast is an essential meal for your day."

"..."

"I hope you don't mind what I prepared. It's what I eat everyday." He took a sip from his cup.

"..."

"Y/N, I ... don't regret how we got here. And I apologize if that's how you heard it. We can discuss routine another time if you'd like."

You looked at him from over your shoulder.

"The officiant says he'll be there at midnight. If you are still agreeable to my proposal by then, I'd be most relieved. But if not, tell me so I can save him the trouble of waiting in the dark."

You fully turned over, head resting between your arms.

"Of course I want to go through with this. It's just you're very ... detailed. You thrive with repetition. I want to align our schedules, really, but I'll go mad if I do the same thing at the same time every single day. And the way you're saying things makes it seem like you wished things were different. It's upsetting."

He stared into his cup for a moment, carefully trying to pick his next words.

"I am greatful for this ... opportunity. You and I pair wonderfully." He looked at you with a smile, "I'm only trying to protect you is all."

You took one of his hands in yours, him angling his face away from you.

"I appreciate it. But I really will be fine Rollo." He hid a frown. "I haven't experienced any big changes yet anyway, we don't need to fuss too soon."

You sat up, leaning forward to press a kiss to his cheek.

"So, tell me what exactly it is you made here."

***

That night ended up being the best in your entire life.

The marriage had been swift, no room for invites or even tears.

Both of you had dressed up in your nicest clothes, Rollo in a suit freshly steamed and pressed, you in a simple white dressed.

You met up with the officiant down by the same river your journey first began, moon sparkling beautifully against the water's surface.

Very little was spoken beyond the usual vows and pronouncement, but you were in a daze.

Your heart fluttered blithely as Rollo held your hands. His eyes locked onto yours as he stated his vows, voice calm and steady as if he had nary a worry in the world. But his hands were clammy, holding yours tightly, and he was unable to hide the deep rouge coating his face behind the delicate violet fabric he so loved.

And your breath stilled as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours, sealing in your shared promise, bonding you together till the day the other was was no more.

You returned home that day, glowing smile impossible to wipe of your face, pulling him in for kiss after kiss, christening the house under your unity of love, and truly believing that two of you could get through any issue that may be thrown your way for the first time

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[hurricanes-club-of-angels]

Grian and Skizz both being angels.

I saw posts about Angel Skizz and I was reminded about stuff I thought of before. So watchers right gang? What a weird thing. Did you know there's a group of actual angels in Scripture called that?

So the Books of Enoch, there were a class of Angels called "The Watchers" and they made sure humans behaved, but then they all fell from heaven for various things sleeping with Human women and making giants, teaching humans things they shouldn't know, etc. This was apart of the Jewish faith and Christian faith a while ago, and is still considered "canon" in some branches of the faiths. This is just background. There's a lot more to this, as there often is with religious texts but for the purpose of hermitcraft headcanons, you just need to know that there is religious text talking about a group of angels known as The Watchers.

Let's play with this idea.

That makes Grian, an angel. Which is something I don't think anyone has ever described Grian as before given the problems he likes to cause, but it would make sense. Grian being an angel, in this class of Angels who fell from Heaven for giving information to Humans they weren't supposed to have. It even works with the "He was never meant to be there, he was only ever meant to watch". Watchers weren't meant to interact with humans, just watch over them.

Grian would fit so perfectly into this disgraced Angel, who didn't do all that much wrong, just wanted to share information with others. Technically fallen and disgraced, but never acting as such. Assured in himself and in his friends and family he has found and forged.

Then Skizzleman comes along. Grian sets up 3rd life to have a change of pace from Hermitcraft, and lets his friends invite people. Grian invites old friends of his. and Impulse invites Skizzleman. Grian at first can't figure out what it is about Skizz that feels so damn familiar. Maybe it's the similar humor to Impulse, but that's not quite right. Grian doesn't manage to figure it out fully, but Skizz could tell Grian had questions.

All of Last Life the two keep looking at each other, wondering what it is the other knows, if the other is hiding something. Neither got an answer. So Skizz doesn't do double life. He knew they needed pairs and he would've been an odd number anyways, plus maybe this'll help him figure out what Grian's confused about if he has time to think. Then Limited Life starts and Skizz is being his wholesome self, and giving affirmations to everyone.

and it finally clicks for Grian. Skizz is an angel. Grian had no clue an Angel could just be out and about like that, he was a disgraced Angel, a fallen angel in some ways, but Skizz didn't seem to be a fallen angel. A pure angel. Grian is even more confused with Skizz being friends with Impulse, a demon. After Limited Life, Grian finally confronts Skizz about it, and the two talk in depth.

Finally, someone there who gets it the two talk for hours about Angels. About Grian's class as Watchers, and about how maybe the disgraced group of angels are rising to power as near gods, Skizz talks about how he's able to be an Angel just out and about, and how he met Impulse. They go through Secret Life, knowing about the other and feeling content in that.

Then Impulse brings up adding Skizz to Hermitcraft, and Grian agrees so quickly, because having another Angel on the server would be so much fun.

I just love the idea of Grian and Skizz having had this deep connection of angelicness to them, leading to them being such close and amazing friends it's just. UGH. I love Angels.

[muse-matrix]

So... It's been a while since I last logged in here. Longer still since I properly did... much of anything here, outside of a few scattered posts. Part of me had been kinda dreading coming back here but looking at when my activity really dramatically dropped off, I think I understand what happened.

So, way back in february of last year, I was bouncing between a lot of things. I was running around doing a bunch of stuff to try and secure a new job, and I did manage that- A big component of my not being here was just me adjusting to having to work again, after being unemployed for almost an entire year. It was tough to get the right structure going, but I managed it. And despite starting college just a couple weeks ago, I've mostly managed that too so far, I think.

But that isn't... the main reason why. Probably. I think.

You see, what else happened in february, was that I got booted from a community I'd been a part of for years. It encompassed my involvement in a card game I loved, as well as the FF14 free company I'd been part of at the time. Someone who was, at one time, a good friend of mine misinterpreted something, and was so incensed by it, they took some things I said out of context and absolutely slandered me to the mod team of that community. (Yes, it actually is as bad as it sounds. I checked.) As a result, I was privately labeled some pretty nasty things, and shunted from their discord server without so much as a word. None of them would speak to me, none of them would even give me a chance to tell my side of things.

Obviously, that stung. A lot.

It had me pretty dejected about a lot of stuff, for a really long time. Probably why I mostly got off of here- I retreated to a different blog where there was less pressure (self-imposed) and more freedom for me to just, kinda, do whatever I wanted without fear or worry. I needed space and freedom to move myself around how I wanted for a while. And then that led to me feeling bad about not coming back here, which made me put off coming back here even longer... You see where this goes.

But at this point, it's been a year and a half. I'm pretty much over that fiasco, I haven't spoken to any of those people since, and they've evidently been content to leave it alone too, given I haven't had any mobs of angry pitchfork-wielding card game players coming after me.

And recently, Kako came back! She's RPing again and that's fun to see. I know a lot of you I've still been in contact with regardless, her included, so most of you probably are already aware of a lot of this stuff, but writing all this out is part of my process, so bear with it. The important thing is, after a lot of time and thinking about things, and seeing friends return to RPing and watching things happen from afar... God, do I want to get back into it with you all.

I very likely still won't be super active, but I'm going to at least try to be consistent. This is supposed to be my main, after all. I'll probably take the next week or so to clean up the muse list, cut a bunch of stuff, get a bit more focused and the like. Not that I'll actually stop playing any given muse- I'm wont to flip-flop between characters I enjoy, and I'm loathe to let fun interactions pass me by just because a character 'isn't on my muse list', but I ought to give myself a bit of structure, at least.

So... I'll try to be here every day, at least. Even if it's just to check in. This'll be a fresh start for me, I'd say, not that any of my old lore or whatever is getting abandoned. It's just... It's been a long time. It'll take some easing back into things for me, so I'm not even going to worry about whatever asks have been left to rot in my inbox, stuff like that.

Given it's been such a long time, some of you may... have blogs that I'm not currently following, cause I've missed them or what have you. So uh, if that's the case, please shoot me a message so I can correct that.

[presleyheart]

https://open.spotify.com/track/19IEpm6mKchqoetomtig3e?si=1d405a3e2f294f95 -- song correlation "Daddy's here.." !! Pairing 70s!Austin!Elvis and Gender Neutral!Reader !! SUMMARY ---- The reader joins Elvis during one of his rehearsals at the International Hotel. The loud noise hurts the reader's ears, and they involuntarily go nonverbal. Elvis, having no clue they were little, stops the rehearsal early once he realizes reader has gone backstage to avoid the noise. Realizing almost too late, he has to rush to comfort the now regressed reader. TW ---- Light swearing, mentions of anxiety, panic attack??

Genre: Agere Fluff ☁

You had been having that fuzzy feeling in your mind the entirety of the day. Each minute felt suffocating to you. You needed to be big for Elvis. You were worried being little would ruin everything about his plans.

You had been doing so much travelling.

Too much travelling.

Everything was whirring around your head at such a fast pace. This is how it's felt since the 68 comeback. It's been 2 years since and Elvis was still at lightning pace.

He's been extra busy recently and you have been miserable without having a chance to be little. He hasn't really picked up on it due to him being stressed, and you'd hate to stress him out more. ----

-------------

---- You walked onto the stage as you watched Elvis holding his microphone. The light was bouncing off of his tan skin beautifully. He looked perfect from head to toe.

You watched in awe, he smiled as soon as he saw you.

"There's my baby.. c'mere" He said, the smile and gleam in his eyes from seeing you never leaving.

"You only saw me minutes ago?" You said, giggling towards his affection. Maybe this'll distract your inner true motives? Or so you thought.

He pulled you into his strong arms. He hugged you close, as he pressed a kiss against your head "I would be with you all the time if I could." He muttered.

You felt so small with him in this moment, but you couldn't slip. You reluctantly pulled away from his warm hold. Even though you desired to be comforted in the time being, you couldn't risk slipping.

"I know, go have fun, okay?" You said, flashing a small forced smile and squeezing his hand.

"Anything for you.." He responded once more. He went on his merry way with his friends.

If only he knew what was brewing inside of your head.

----

-------------

----

You sat down on stage off to the side, not minding everything as you rested your head against the cool wall.

"I uh, I wanna try something new... a'ight Glen?" Elvis muttered into the mic. He wandered around til' he met with his friend on the piano, in which he gracefully moved his hand around to imitate the rhythm he wanted. "You're gonna take the intro here"

As soon as Elvis began moving his hand and made a bunch of 'bum' and 'duh' sounds, the piano riff started. He immediately got into it.

You found yourself biting your bottom lip softly. Getting antsy as the song started. Already, the piano was loud.

Each instrument one after the other, which almost caused a sensory overload from the sound. You felt a pang in your heart. This was too much.

First the piano, then the drums, then the bass-

"Bring that bass up, Jerry... keep playin'." Elvis stated at one of his many band members. This knocked you away from trying to space out and avoid the noise. You were squirming in your spot. The room suddenly felt tighter.

Everyone was laughing and playing, everyone was enjoying this but you. Elvis seemed so happy. You couldn't ruin that.

All the people were having so much fun. Whooping, clapping, laughing. Elvis made his way around the room, now at the backup singers.

He finally began singing.

"That's all right," "That's all right!" "That's all right," "That's all right!"

It all just got louder and louder. You felt your heart rate speed up and tears were coming to your eyes. You held your head a moment.

"Boys?" "That's all right!" "With me?" "Anyway you do!"

Luckily it was during the instrumental. You crawled behind the curtains and got up. You were rushing backstage.

Your heart was pounding, your breath was fast, you found your way into a dressing room and sat down. Praying for your anxiety to fade away.

Normally you loved Elvis in concert. Right now, you couldn't bear to see him. You were too stressed out. Everything felt so overwhelming and your emotions were out of play.

'Elvis doesn't need this right now.' You convinced yourself. You could still hear the music, you were rocking in place. Every word anyone said felt like a dagger to your mind.

"Flames man.. flames are comin' offa that guitar..."

Right as Elvis was going into the brass section, he turned to give you a smile, but you weren't there. He looked nervous, immediately.

"Now boys, hang on." Elvis said. You heard the music stop. You sighed in relief. You couldn't speak. He called out your name, over and over.

Whoops of "Y/N".. Elvis was lightning speed as he made his way backstage. "Little one?" He called out, in distress. You held your knees to your chest as you heard his footsteps approaching the door to the dressing room you were in.

Elvis came in, practically breaking the door down.

"Aw, shit, babe- what's..." His heart drops. He immediately goes into daddy mode.

"Oh my.. my poor little one." He could see the tears and hyperventilating from you. Elvis went around the couch in seconds and held you in a tight embrace. All you could do was cuddle into him. "I am so sorry, little.. Daddy's here now."

The only word you can mutter out is..

"Scared.."

If Elvis' heart didn't break any moments before, it surely did now. He felt so guilty for not noticing.

"My sunshine shouldn't have to feel scared.. this ain't ever gonna happen again.. Daddy promises." He held you closely and sighed.

"You're too little to have to feel such big worries.. oh my baby.." His voice broke. He felt his heart shatter even worse as you clung to him and sobbed. He cradled you in the back of the head. He sighed.

Eventually your breathing calmed down and you practically fell asleep hugging Elvis. You were finally getting Daddy's attention.

----

-------------

----

"What the hell is takin' so long, E-?" Elvis' friend spat out, in the doorway 15 minutes later after this.

"Shh. I suggest you shut your pie-hole. I got company. Now get." Elvis responded, with a look that could kill. He felt bad for not being there, he was only now happy you were content. He would strangle his friend if they ruined it.

Elvis turned his gaze back to you and planted kisses on your head.

You were his baby. All he truly needed.

Daddy's here now... and that's all that matters.

[jack-kellys]

okay my second attempt was 'retail au' and 'hitman/assassin au' which isnt much better than my first attempt but. i want to see a newsie kill an exploitative manager - @pigeonwit

im doing this one cause the other one is cool but This Is Big-Brained.

"While the terms "hitman" and "assassin" are often used interchangeably, the difference lies in the motivation behind the killing. Hitmen are motivated by money, while assassins are motivated by politics or ideology."

David's accepted what he does, by now. Mostly he's accepted that it does indeed pay, but the other benefits are far greater- he only takes the jobs he wants to now, his family stays safe, and he's travelled all over the world. He's never had to stick around if he doesn't want to, and he's never seen a reason to.

This hit's a lower rate, sure, but it's for a good cause. David's good at taking down bosses of any kind, criminal or not, and he figures... an abusive retail boss is something close to criminal. He worked retail as a young teen, and all he remembers is the genuine hell of it all.

Ten minutes before closing, David slips inside the store unseen, pulling out his phone to glance over the reference image one final time. Stalking quietly through the rows of hangers and millennial fashions, he spies his target. He lays low.

The sweep through the store before lock-up is mediocre at best, and David quite easily evades employees' gazes as they do a final look through the store. He's ducked down between a few racks, his own gaze raising every once and while to keep eyes on the target-

-of, whom, has disappeared.

David frowns to himself, watching the few other employees head out so their boss can lock up... but as the minutes pass by, it's clear to David that he'll hopefully get to do the hit without hassle in a back room. Eyes sweeping, he stands and creeps out of hiding, hand gripped tight on his gun. It's clear he's alone in the main area, though, so he makes his way toward the back.

David comes upon an 'employees only' door, and gently rests his hand on the doorknob. His eyebrows shoot up- he's able to push it down. It's unlocked. David's lips press together as he enters with wary care, knees bent.

A strangled noise pricks his ears, and his head swivels as he tries to see the source.

He doesn't need to for long- the flash of a phone camera illuminates the room, and in the brief flash of light David can see his target lying on the floor, throat slit, blood laced like decoration along someone's hands. David pulls his gun.

"Don't-! Do that," a voice says, likely the murder-photographer. The person sighs. "You ain't look like a cop, man, put the gun away and this'll be easier. I got no issue with you."

"Name, or I shoot," David says cooly.

"Shoot how? You ain't even know where the light switch is."

"I have enough bullets in here to spray the wall you're right by. You're bound to take a few."

The voice huffs a laugh. "It's ah, Jack. Happy?"

Not David's client's name. He narrows his eyes, still firmly positioned to shoot if need be.

"Not happy, I guess," 'Jack' mutters. "You should be, I mean. Pretty sure I did your job for ya."

"How would you know about that?" David snaps. "I could easily be here for you."

"Not with that silencer," Jack snorts. "Nah, you're... If I had to guess. This's a hit, ain't it. You're getting paid."

David's eyes widen, though not at Jack's accurate guess. If there was no pay, and David could be secure and keep his family safe any other way, no way in hell would he be killing people for a living.

"You're not?" he can't help and blurt.

The lights go on, blinding David for a moment. He steps back, gun still trained on where Jack is. In the split second his gaze clears, there's another fucking person in the room, and Jack is wearing a red bandana on the lower half of his face and a tan cowboy hat on his head. David stares. Recognizing him from late-night news reports.

"You're the New York assassin," he whispers, half to himself. Jack looks up, eyes and skin dark as the room had been moments ago. His eyes roll.

"Vigilante," the man uselessly corrects. "And no, I ain't get paid off. Crutchie here didn't pay a cent."

The man who'd turned the lights on, who'd (correctly) stiffened and stayed quiet, gives a small wave, grip tight around the crutch under his arm.

"My boss was gonna fire me for needing to go to a doctor's appointment I'd scheduled weeks ago," Crutchie says, shrugging. "He's called me some pretty bad shit behind my back, too."

Fair enough- oddly fair enough. How is this guy not David's client?

"Crutchie- you shouldn't be- be...here."

"Man," Jack says, and David can tell he's grinning by the way his eyes crinkle, "this is a fuckin' party, ain't it."

A goddamn fourth person speeds into the room, eyes huge.

"Racetrack, I presume," David says. His client. The new man nods slowly, but turns to Crutchie.

"You should not be here," Race says again. "You need to get out-"

"Did you hire this guy? For me?" Crutchie says.

Race glances over to David, before looking back to Crutchie. "Well, yeah, I mean, Wiesel's been treating you like fucking shit. I couldn't just- not do anything, anymore."

"I couldn't either, obviously," Crutchie says, glancing at Jack, "but, um.. that's... kind of sweet of you."

David's neutral expression drops for a brief second as he resists the urge to turn the gun on himself. What the fuck is going on right now.

He instead raises his gun toward the pair of employees.

"Get out. Throw out the shoes you're wearing," David demands calmly. "And pay me within twelve hours. I have your address."

Race's eyes widen again, and he flashes a panicked smile as he nods, forcing Crutchie out of the room as well. Jack remains, arms crossed and head tilted.

"That was real sweet, actually," Jack hums. "If only you beat me to it, then your client woulda actually got to say he killed someone for his boyfriend." And he narrows his eyes at David in away that makes him flush with anger. He raises his gun again.

"You're right, I didn't kill him. You did," David says. "And I can have you in police custody in minutes."

"Oh, but that's no fun," Jack replies, raising an eyebrow. "Look, I did a good thing here. Just as you were about to. All I happened to do was beat a trained hitter as his own damn game, damn."

Jack laughs, shaking his head. "God I'm gettin' good."

Good at what, David wants to scoff. Killing? Killing is easy. It's simple- primal. All this 'Jack' is doing is giving in.

"I'd like to see you try that against five armed security guards, but yes, sure. Getting good," David mutters, turning around. He has to get out of here to save his own skin, anyway, which is a priority over determining Jack's fate.

"You'd like to see me try?" Jack says behind him. Closer now. David reaches behind him, grip closing around Jack's forearm and tugging the assassin close enough for his gun to rest under his jaw.

"If I let you live, yeah," David nods.

"You're one to talk," Jack drawls, and David glances down to see Jack has a blade right by David's thigh. His gaze finds the other's again. Jack's is bright, hungry. David can see his pulse, rapid on his neck. "And if you'd like to 'see me' try, you could at least unmask me."

David frowns, but can't resist the temptation- especially with the barrel of his gun still poking into the other man. Carefully, he lowers Jack's bandana to reveal a wide nose, a dark birthmark, and soft lips.

He's smiling. Of course.

"You're telling me you'd shoot this pretty face off?" Jack murmurs.

"Maybe," is David's strong reply. Jack nods, eyes flicking across David's face. Observing him, perhaps.

"I'll put my faith in a maybe," Jack says, and before David can even think to squeeze the trigger, the vigilante's lips are on his own.

David can barely comprehend what's happening, besides Jack's warm touch, the glint in the man's eye, and the anchor to reality that brushes against his thigh every other second. David's gun hasn't left Jack's throat, either. An odd kind of mutually assured destruction, somehow at the back of David's mind.

Jack's kiss is.. forbidden, in a way he hasn't experienced in far too long. David's life is a river run by rules, codes, consequences, and so far he's safely steered himself through, going with the flow. But this is a sudden waterfall, and unforeseen drop, and David can't control this part of the river. Not really, not besides how he falls down it.

But Jack goes in for another kiss, and David falls the hell down it, returning it, quick breaths mingling and brain turning off as he lets himself take the easy road. Gives in, letting this primal desire take hold of him for the moment. Jack seems to want it more, at least, so if they are free falling down the roaring water, David'll let Jack hit the hard waves first.

Slowly, David pulls back, looking down at the other, doing his best not to smirk to himself. The blade is missing from by his thigh, and after a moment, David removes his gun.

"You have a safe house nearby?" David inquires. Jack's gaze his awestruck- he must be surprised to still be alive, let alone kissed back. He nods, putting his bandana up before taking David's hand, sprinting out of the store.

[cyrusclouds]

dsaf headcanons!!,!

i know literally nobody asked and no one cares, but i'm going to be putting my dayshift at freddy's headcanons here for the soul. this'll definitely get edited fairly frequently sooo!! anywayz here we go :3 (angst warning for some of these??)

jack has frequent sleep paralysis!! the kicker to this is that he THINKS he has a sleep paralysis demon, but really, dave just breaks into his house through his bedroom window every night and stares at him while he's asleep. he refuses to break character whenever he wakes up because "maybe he won't see me" (he definitely sees you, dave)

while henry was alive, dave picked up the habit of shutting up and shutting down whenever henry got too annoyed. problem with that is that jack playfully presents as annoyed all the time to mess around, and dave takes it very seriously, so they get into a bad cycle of jack acting annoyed and dave shutting down for no reason *constantly* (dysfunctional doomed yaoi core!!!)

henry is a tea drinker, not a coffee drinker. he specifically drinks black tea without any add-ins (basically the same as drinking straight black coffee for my coffee drinkers out there) (also dave eats the fucking tea leaves when henry is done with the bags)

harry still gets war flashbacks fairly frequently and is set off decently easily. when this does happen, rebecca is literally always there to comfort him and stays with him until he's calm again (straight couple goals)

whenever henry was seeping into jack's mind (legacy jack core), dave could very distinctly tell. one of the worst instances of this would have been a time where jack slipped up and called dave 'william', which would have caused a very quick panic that confused the *shit* out of jack (homeboy does not know what he did)

!!!NOT MY HEADCANON!!!! belongs to orcatstra :]!!! but dave and jack totally got drunk as shit in vegas one time and got married. no if's and's or but's, it happened, canon, i was the fly on directdogman's wall when he made dsaf.

jack reminds dave a lot of henry (unfortunately), which has caused dave to be very easily set off by things that henry used to do or say to him if jack does or says something similar. jack has no idea why every single time it happens, but he always comforts him until he calms down anyways :)

henry has a habit of spinning things like pens and pencils in his fingers while he writes, but sometimes this expands to wrenches and actual tools while he's working on his creations. yes i think henry is strong as a bitch, how else is he carrying those literal hunks of metal

I THINK HENRY PROBABLY HAS OTHER LOST TAPES OUT THERE RAAHHHH they're just probably less lore important LMFAO

henry would be the type to hate basically every animal, but he would (begrudgingly) feed stray cats from time to time if nobody was around (god forbid he ever look weak in front of people)

henry had a god awful sleep schedule. he would stay up until around 2-3am every morning at the least working on his creations, sometimes taking it as far as full days if he was focused enough. it was very concerning to dave (who does not sleep), and he would loom outside of his office a lot listening in case he fell asleep. it wasn't terribly common, but sometimes he would, in which case dave would break in and move him to the little chair he had in there

henry was definitely the kind of guy to straight up call people an idiot or dumbass, and then go on a long ramble about exactly what they were wrong about and how wrong they were. expanding on this headcanon, i think henry would have been a major rambler about things he was passionate about, especially towards dave (since that's like the only person he was around in his later life)

henry was never the kind to take breaks. no matter what, he always kept working. but, he did allow himself one once because his physical health was severely deteriorating, and he spent most of the day reading anyways LMFAO, just in a more comfortable environment. he would have loved reading, dead convinced.

[dmercer91]

ebug's sister, dm91

should i continue with this au during the off season?? summer content / hc's? lmk in my imbox or send me some hc requests!

taglist, @whenmypartysover

part one / part two /part three / part four / part five / part six / part seven / part eight / part nine

blakefriarr_

liked by _quinnhughes, jamie.drysdale and 7,238 others

blakefriarr_: facetime woes cause regular season is almost over and i'm being very brave about it (i told three of them to find a summer sport and get real good at it real fast)

roll call!

trevor just picked up the phone like that. no more questions will be answered at this time.

i called luke and he was like this'll cheer you up and then every sophomore on that hockey team made a series of unfortunate faces. he looks like he bites.

i called quinn and he was very good at advice but he also happens to have this weird sixth sense where he knows when i'm about to take a ft photo and he moves out of frame :( however, petey came in clutch and got me that lovely photo

i knew jack and nico would be together cause why wouldn't they be at this point and jack got me a very nice photo of nico being very smiley. they both proceeded to tell me that they can't just join the mlb so i can watch them play sports. was not a fan.

adam just knows me so well. he saw that i was sad and he was like look at this 👹 and then proceeded to show me his older brother knocked right out fully aware that this would be posted publicly. everyone get you a rookie (u can't take mine)

dawson also cheered me up but this is not the platform for that kind of media

view 659 comments..

jj.friar31: this is not the platform for that kind of media??????? there was media made???????? why do you continue to say these things where i unfortunately have to subject my eyeballs to reading them

→ nicohischier: i agree with jj what does that even mean y/n

→ blakefriarr_: let's just say the playoff beard will take some getting used to

→ nicohischier: oh good god okay

luca.fantilli: i thought we were friends

→ blakefriarr_: we are! this is what comes with that <3 learn to deal

_quinnhughes: not sure how i feel about petey having stole your number from my phone

→ blakefriarr_: really? i’m feeling great about it

→ blakefriarr_: also you’re very uncharacteristically early to my comments what’s going on

→ _quinnhughes: i can’t have just been on the app when you posted?

→ blakefriarr_: obviously not or i wouldn’t have asked

markestapa: i do not bite

→ blakefriarr_: you can’t prove that

→ markestapa: what if i just didn’t bite you

→ blakefriarr_: just so you could bite other people when i’m not around???? i don’t think so

nicohischier: you’re still mad i won’t try and get signed to the mlb!?

→ blakefriarr_: i thought you loved me, neeks.

→ nicohischier: sorry honey i have a family to spend time with and baseball is not really my strongest suit

→blakefriarr_: all i’m hearing is excuses

dawson1417: always a lovely surprise waiting for me when i click read more on your caption

→ blakefriarr_: you brought this upon yourself this is literally how we met

→ dawson1417: i figured it would calm down after i asked you out

→ blakefriarr_: you figured wrong

dawson1417: do you per say trust jj alone in the apartment during the off season

→ blakefriarr_: dawson.

→ dawson1417: i'm just making conversation

→ blakefriarr_: ... dawson

→ dawson1417: blake?

→ jj.friar31: don't pretend like you haven't had your two weeks notice written up since he asked you to come up to canada for a few days

→ blakefriarr_: now is not the time to be snitching james

→ dawson1417: thank you for the encouragement jj i will now bother her endlessly until she agrees

→ jj.friar31: you're doing me a favour man have you met her

→ blakefriarr_: i'm sorry i couldn't hear you over my car, my boyfriend and my id badge to get into the family lounge at the rock

trevorzegras: would you rather me have not picked up

→ blakefriarr_: if you ever send me to voicemail i'm taking jamie hostage

→ trevorzegras: that's what i thought (take his guitar with him)

→ blakefriarr_: (no)

ryangraves27: my picture didn't make it in /th

→ blakefriarr_: /th???!?!?!?!?!??!??!?!? / THREAT?!?!?!?!? WHY ARE YOU THREATENING ME GRAVY

→ ryangraves27: you said i should use tone indicators /nm

→ blakefriarr_: why would you even be mad at me to BEGIN with

→ ryangraves27: idk /a

→ blakefriarr_: awh

_eliaspettersson: i'm stealing you from quinn

→ _quinnhughes: no you are not

→ blakefriarr_: @/_eliaspettersson hide in his suitcase when he comes down to jersey you can have jj's room

→ jj.friar31: no he cannot

→ blakefriarr_: 🍃

→ jj.friar31: he's welcome any time

→ _eliaspettersson: did you just threaten him

→ blakefriarr_: yeah :)

load more comments..

[coconox]

certified delulu post about nocti

a.n. this'll be a compilation of thoughts from my initial reactions to sands of wrath to his voicelines to literally everything about him. THIS WILL HEAVILY BE A NOCTI X SKK!READER KIND OF THING because i'm all in for a lil self insert to feed my delulu visions. also as a heads up i did read the story using google translate so if i quote anything it's basically what google translate told me but i edited it to make some grammatical sense. and yes there will be spoilers

a lot of context will be left out so if you don't wanna be confused by names check out this lore doc that gives a summary of er-5 or pgr lore in general, this post just talks about er-5 lol

EXHIBIT A: TRIGUN AU

have you seen trigun (ESPECIALLY trimax) cause if you have this makes so much more sense

noctis is vash and nigel is knives

both are brothers and have almost opposite ideologies

i did think of wolfwood and livio as another option but nigel does fit a bit closer to resembling knives

VASHWOOD (where nocti is vash and skk is ww (or the other way round, honestly either still works)

nocti: but you must promise me that you won’t die before i come back! no…. you’re not allowed to die even after i come back! i will definitely find a way to save you!

skk: of course, partner…..

this had me in TEARS I WAS NOT READY

nocti fist bumping you just made me think of this scene with vash and meryl

HE ALSO CALLS YOU PARTNER AS HE FIST BUMPS YOU the way i had this realization so late into writing all this

sands of wrath setting literally looks like a place you’d find in no man’s land

nocti’s voiceline telling you to smile more, similar to ww telling vash to smile more (and i mean their genuine smile, not the fake one they use in front of people)

EXHIBIT B: NOCTI AND SKK ARE MARRIED

they are married and own a bar together hear me out—

you two enter a town in which neither of you are welcome because you’re both from babylonia, the mayor decides to put you two in a hotel room till the harvest festival is over

you two are in separate beds, but neither of you can sleep, so you two do what any pair of roommates would do—

—have a 6 hr "light conversation" :D

first actual convo with nocti, you both take turns to ask questions about why they’re here, what’s going on, etc

nocti asks why you trust him so easily, you respond with “it’s intuition” which is a response nocti seemed to like

you also state how you hope he returns to cerberus and fall asleep. nocti in a way states he also wishes to go back to cerberus and sleeps as well

at some point nocti leaves the hotel room to find demont, who is the reason you two ended up working together in the first place, but there was an attack by hetero creatures and nocti swiftly got rid of them

after talking to the mayor, max, about wanting to be just a resident in town, he takes you to a bar, in which that’s where you find nocti

ya know he could’ve talked about ANYTHING and his drunk ass decided to talk about HOW HE PROTECTED YOU??? COINCIDENCE??? I THINK NOT

you find nocti and he offers his hand out to you to dance with him, you reluctantly agreed and you two end up break dancing together

this was him proposing to you i’m just sayin—

the night passes and you two begin living your lives as residents of new oakley

when he first calls you partner, it was originally solely because temporarily they’re no longer considered members of babylonia, and so to fit in with the whole wild west type style, nocti refers to you as “partner” and you agree to do the same to him

first time it’s used outside your interaction with him was when nocti has small talk with vann

vann: you’ll only obey orders from that commandant, right? these are the rules of the sky garden

nocti: i don’t listen to anyone’s orders, but if it’s a request from my partner, that’s a different matter

NOCTI WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT LIKE WE’RE ROMANTICALLY PARTNERS?????

this isn’t the first time he does something like that he’s very consistent about it

truly a devoted man

also “MY partner” ????? he also pretty much refers to you as his partner throughout the whole story i got whiplashed when we were back to being called skk in his affection story

after you and nocti find demont there’s a small good cop bad cop scene (which i found hilarious), but at the end demont couldn’t reveal much vital information due to dying from poison

nocti realizes this poison is something only nigel can control, and stormed out into the center of town in a fit of rage trying to find nigel

calming him down and telling him to retreat to not make a big scene was practically impossible, that is till you shout “trust me— partner!!” and nocti finally calms down and retreats

HELLO??? CALLING HIS NAME HE DIDN'T BAT AN EYE BUT BEING CALLED PARTNER MADE HIM ACTUALLY LISTEN??

i'm absolutely speechless

you two cook up a plan to find out what’s really going on +bonus hand holding at the end

your part was to just do your job as a bartender while nocti handles the investigating, and eventually nigel shows up

nigel asks what’s the difference between a human and a construct, you respond in a way a bartender would explain it, but nigel wants an answer from you as a commandant rather than a bartender

he ends up poisoning you and leaves, nocti arrives a little while later after discovering what the plan is for this town in the next few days

i remembered that before we split up i told him not to be reckless, but in the end i was the one that was careless and ended up in this miserable condition. i no longer had the strength to stand, so i could only slide down to the edge of the bar. at the beginning, i said big words that would make nocti return to cerberus in an honored manner… i didn’t expect to be the one to make him sad for his companions

skk: i'm sorry…. nocti….

nocti: HEY! don’t say such depressing things to me so quickly

nocti then enters a panicked state of not knowing what to do cause skk is poisoned and there's no known cure for it

nocti gritted his teeth. he didn't even know how to give first aid. he regretted not learning more about first aid from vera before

GOT ME SOBBING, EMOTIONALLY DAMAGED, SHATTERED INTO PIECES

you tell nocti to go help the mayor cause if the mayor dies the town will fall

nocti is in pure disbelief that at a time like this you're more worried about someone else and he refused to leave you here

after some reassuring nocti goes ahead and takes care of what's going on in town and immediately after checks if you’re still ok

he hears a painful scream in his communication device and he SPRINTS back to where you are and finds both vera and 21 there attempting to take care of you

21 comments on how nocti is a lot more powerful ITS BECAUSE HIS LOVER IS DYING RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM AND HE WANTS TO SAVE THEM BUT DOESN'T KNOW HOW

there’s an encounter with the purifying force, wanting nocti dead since they believe he’s the cause of their aircraft crashing

you tell them that it isn’t his fault and after essentially a stare down between the purifying force and cerberus, the purifying force leaves you all alone since they trust you (thank the overlords for you working with them before and gaining a good work relationship)

you, cerberus, max, and vann think of a plan on what to do next now that you all know where nigel might be located

nocti will go and fight nigel alone since it’s the reason he even came here in the first place while the rest defend the town

you establish a m.i.n.d. connection with nocti, which in turn gives him the poison as well since you’re basically almost a walking corpse at this point

the fact that nocti, with NO hesitation, established a connection with you makes it LOUD AND CLEAR that he will stick with you no matter what even if it leads to his death

cue another hand holding scene, and nocti leaves

vera and 21 get very VERY concerned over your health, yet you’re still adamant about keeping the connection with nocti

21: they want to keep a deep m.i.n.d connection w nocti

vera: DO YOU WANT TO DIE?! if you're deeply connected, your consciousness will be completely bound to him…. if he dies, you also die

skk: he… needs….. me…..

this is LITERALLY a moment where one cares more about their partner THAN THEIR OWN WELL-BEING ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

transitioning over to nocti’s side, he finally confronts nigel

nigel mentions that in order to cure the commandant he needs to be killed, but just HEARING that name come out of his mouth made nocti more full of rage than he’s ever had

this part alone SCREAMED nocti being like "you do NOT have the right to say my partner's name after what you did to them, i am no longer doing this for myself, i'm doing this FOR THEM"

so anyways nocti gets his ass beat 💀💀, nigel lecturing him that he’s still confused and is only driven by anger

the cutscene if you wanna watch it

"commandant… you must be disappointed with me…. damn it… are you mad at me? haha.. me too…. leave everything to me from now on. let’s make that bastard taste our true wrath, partner..."

“i can’t die here yet…. my partner is still waiting for me to come back.”

similar to 21's comment earlier, nigel notices how nocti's steps aren't noisy and chaotic anymore, but steady, firm, and powerful now BECAUSE HIS PARTNER IS ROOTING FOR HIM TO WIN AND HE NEEDED THAT BOOST OF ENCOURAGEMENT... THAT'S WHY YOU WERE SO ADAMANT WITH KEEPING A M.I.N.D. CONNECTION WITH NOCTI

this whole fight scene had me SCREAMING

“my partner and i will use all our strength… to beat you to pieces”

if you still haven’t gotten it DO YOU SEE IT NOW??? HIS MAN IS FULLY DRIVEN TO HIS FULL POTENTIAL BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU AND WANTS TO.. NO... NEEDS TO COME BACK TO YOU

nocti wins and nigel essentially retreats but with a new found respect for his brother

but before he retreats he asks nocti the same question he asked you: what’s the difference between humans and constructs

he gives his own answer and guesses yours (since he was rather confident enough with knowing a lot on how you think) and it boils down to them having the same answer but different font

the place nocti and nigel were fighting in collapses, forcing nocti to leave and never see nigel again

you and nocti are back in the hotel room recovering, and a few locals come in to beg nocti to stay and not go back to babylonia

“but i made a promise with my partner, i want to return to cerberus in a dignified manner…”

after more silly banter everyone leaves you and nocti alone to rest, but neither of you can sleep

nocti brings up the question nigel asked him, and you gave him your actual answer, which is pretty close to what he guessed

nocti: haha… just as i thought, i know you better

skk: but maybe i know you better. for example, what you look like when you’re drunk

nocti: WHAT?! DID I DO ANYTHING WEIRD WHEN I WAS DRUNK???

skk: forget it, stop talking, i’m sleepy

nocti: HEY!! TELL ME NOW!!!!

he’s a literal blushing mess after you told him you saw him drunk

your honor this is literally a newly wed couple

gotta of course mention his affection story so read here for a summary of that as well

the way he ONLY uses the best quality and probably most expensive ingredients to make your food

nocti giving a damn about this whole pancake thing only because YOU care

LIKE HE'S PUTTING HIS PREFERENCES ASIDE TO MAKE YOU HAPPY

MORE HAND HOLDINGGG this time in the form of you helping him mold the pancake shape +bonus nocti blushing

both literally wanting to do the whole working at a bar thing together again in the future that is like PEAK ENDGAME for their marriage

+bonus boss being supportive and naming the new drink and dish that was made after you and nocti

the whole affection story just very clearly and vividly plays out nocti and skk working together flawlessly at the bar like their chemistry was SO GOOD !!!!

very sorry for any grammar errors i'm very hyperfixated on him rn and i needed to scream about it somewhere

anyways thank you for coming to my ted talk i will now think of nocti in a wedding dress /hj

[wendynerdwrites]

Pretty cringe on Bioware's part

Okay, so I do not work for Bioware, don't have connections, and what I'm writing is based only on some background and experience in social media and online marketing. I HAVE NO INSIDER KNOWLEDGE AND CLAIM NONE.

But... It VERY MUCH LOOKS TO ME that this new name change is a plot to try and circumvent SEO on the new Dragon Age release being about how delayed the game is and all the layoffs and the severance lawsuits and shit.

And yeah, maybe this'll seem obvious to some of you, but I kind of just want to word vomit: (and this is a further musing on a TWITTER thread I made earlier. Sorry I just have to get this manic-episode cynicism out)

Why else at the supposed 11th hour would you change the game title to one that is just, so bad for so many reasons?

(It should be obvious that I'm editorializing here, but I like to cover my ass more these days)

So yeah, reasons why I think this name change is so bad and nonsensical it could only be made for desperate reasons:

Okay, so because I like to overthink stupid shit like video game name changes and have become quite Dragon Age fixated over the years, I was going over this bullshit too much.

Like, I tried to explain things to myself because sometimes I want a break from feeling cynical even with shit like this.

So I read this and mulled it over:

"BioWare general manager Gary McKay explains that while Solas is “still very much a part of the story of Dragon Age: The Veilguard,” the team wanted a title that reflected a “really deep and compelling group of companions.” --- Kat Bailey for Gameinfomer.com

Okay, fine, well, the last game is called "Dragon Age: Inquisition" and not "Dragon Age: Corypheus" or "Dragon Age: Elder One." And you know, stuff like "Leliana's Song" focuses on, you know, Leliana."

But you what, me? That doesn't hold up.

For one thing, Leliana's Song is a DLC. No one is going to mistake a main series Dragon Age release as being not about an ensemble cast of characters and just being about Solas because of a naming convention in the DLC. Especially given how common that can be in RPG's anyway.

First thing you often learn about Dragon Age as a series is that it's story focused RPG with strong cast of supporting characters and a lot of lore. Granted, that may not be the case for EVERYONE depending on when they or how they got acquainted for the series; but that's how it's commonly characterized.

In one game, Solas was given far more significance plot and character wise than Corypheus had in two.

Corypheus has good points. He's got a backstory that is couched comfortably by the lore and significant to the story. He's got motivation - he's pissed about there not being Gods and Tevinter falling, so he's trying to become a God now to restore the world he wants. He's got one of the most FUCKING BALLER VILLAIN REVEALS:

He also works very well thematically. He's a good symbol of corruption and the results of hubris and tyranny when Thedas is being torn apart by it's various authorities and their abuses of power. Civil War in Orlais. Templars have broken from the Chantry, the mages from the Templars, and they're all at war. From the first game we know that this is what is left of the peace and safety won by your Warden and their people. And we know a few reasons why. In Dragon Age II, we know how that happened and SO MANY MORE reasons why. THERE'S CORRUPTION IN THE WARDENS AND WTF IS EVEN HAPPENING IN WEISSHAUPT??? OR THE DEEP ROADS??? We add in an Orlesian Civil War and also, boom! Whoops! THE GUY WHO CAUSED ALL THOSE BLIGHTS WE'VE DIED IN IS BACK AND HE WANTS TO RIP THE SKY APART! OOH LOOK HE JUST DID!

He's the anthropomorphic personification of all of that.

But, uh, even with fabulous voice acting, Corypheus is not much of a character in his own right. He is more of a device for both plot and theme than, like, a person. As far as more humanizing antagonists, we get that from Samson, Calpernia, and Alexius than Corypheus.

Corypheus wants to restore Tevinter to the Empire he wishes to be God of. He's pissed at there being no Gods. So now he wants to rule over everything (while also destroying it.) "THIS CORRUPT WORLD NEEDS TO BE MADE ANEW BLAH BLAH BLAH I'M AN RPG BIG BAD"

And that's fine with me. Never had a problem with Corypheus turning into Darkspawn Skeletor.

Corypheus is a dick who wants to be God. But he works as a device to save the world from and lead to lore revelations and shit.

I don't know if Corypheus ever had anyone he cared about. I don't know what he like(d?) to eat. He has no goals that don't serve glorifying himself and being a tyrant. I don't know if he hates Thedas as anything other than standing in the way of the Tevinter he can be god-emperor of. I don't know what he really thinks of anything in the world of Thedas other than "inferior, kill it." He doesn't have complex motivations or thoughts on the world we're playing in. We don't know if any of his thoughts or perceptions have changed over the course of the thousands of years he's lived. If there's anything he enjoys. We don't know what kind of personalities he's drawn to. What he actually enjoyed about the world he came from.

We get all of that shit and more from Solas. Even if you don't like him, don't play with him much, he has a distinct personality. And his significance to the lore of the world actually reveals a lot more than Corypheus's. Solas CREATED THE FUCKING VEIL. ALSO THE ELVEN LEGENDS ARE ALL FUCKED UP. FLEMETH IS ACTUALLY HIS ANCIENT DIVINE PLATONIC DOMMY MOMMY FROM BACK IN THE DAY WHEN THEY WERE BOTH LITERAL GODS! DID WE MENTION HE CREATED THE VEIL?! BECAUSE THE DALISH ARE FUCKING WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING! AND TEVINTER DIDN'T DESTROY ARLATHAN! AND WE'RE ALSO GOING TO LEARN SOME SHIT ABOUT THE FORGOTTEN ONES! ALSO DID WE MENTION HOW THE VEIL CAME TO BE????

All this through this Elven God of Bad Decisions:

Also, yes, Solas has got major thematic importance but I feel like that's a whole other rant and this is getting too long.

Point is: Solas is, flat out, more significant to the world all of these characters inhabit than Corypy-tits. The literal fabric of their plain of existence is woven by him. The entire way magic has worked and been handled, (something that is extremely significant character-wise for at least a third of this game's cast) is because of him and his history. There was a century between the fourth and fifth Blights. And, you know, the veil he created played a part in their origins.

Even putting aside that legacy characters like Varric, Cullen, and Leliana all have personal history. Solas is why Circles exist/ed. Those Magisters who started the Blight did so by fucking with his creation. He is why elves age and live as a diaspora.

And that's just what we know him to be responsible for. What about those hints about the Forgotten Ones? Exactly how did his rebellion work? What is his plan for the other Evanuris and will it work? [(No.)] What will that reveal about what the others are/were capable of? And what exactly happened between them and the Titans?

Look, I'd go on, but I don't want to go on too much longer like the Solas girlie I totally am. Point is: Solas's backstory alone has had significant ramifications for everyone in Thedas. And the ways he's affected their lives varies between races, generations, magical ability, etc. And that's through creation of the Veil alone.

And we know a shit ton about who Solas is as a person.

You don't need to be a Solas pro, Solas-anti, neutral, or Solas-mancer for this to be true.

So yeah, I would say he's "very much a part of the story." But also, in a way that informs and contributes to the characterization of the ensemble cast.

Inquisition's antagonist was no Fen'Harel. And you're not going to subtract from your ensemble, but rather enhance them (if you care at all about writing them well) by having a focus on him.

Now, I totally think the idea that the final big antagonist will be the Evanuris or someone else lurking behind the veil has merit. But Solas will ultimately be that catalyst.

"Okay, but maybe Bioware doesn't see it that way. Maybe they saw some social media complaints about too much Solas focus and did a hasty rebrand."

Well, for one, that complaint has been around for years now. And it's valid. The problem isn't a lot of Solas, it's that we got so little else. The promotion is bad, not the character or their role in the story. But if that's really it, why now? Why are they only changing the name now?

Now, okay, but Inquisition was still called Inquisition.... This game is about the Veil Guard. It's called Veil Guard.

Cool, but once again, then why hold onto Dreadwolf for so long? Why focus so much on Solas? Why haven't we gotten any glimpses of companions?

And, um, if this is really what you want, shouldn't the title be... better?

Inquisition is a good, solid, and communicative title. While the Inquisition of Thedas is not exactly the Spanish One, there is enough association there to give a general idea. Origins had a group of dumbass misfit fugitives drawn together to save the world. II was similar except they were mercs who get drawn into shit against their will and unwittingly. Inquisition: okay, so this time they'll probably be more of an official, religious-quasi military organization. It'll probably be controversial.

You can be a complete noob to Dragon Age and figure that out.

Veil Guard sounds like something last minute they got from Game of Thrones at the last minute. Okay, the Kingsguard are cool. They guard the king. We're stopping the veil from being torn down, so Veil Guard.

Here's the thing: none of the main ASOIAF series is called The Kingsguard, and you don't need to know anything about A Song of Ice and Fire to get it. Everyone knows what the fuck a king is and why he should be guarded. So even if there is a book called "The King's Guard" we'll get it. It's a book about fuckers guarding a king.

This game is about fuckers guarding... a veil....? The veil?

If you're up on your Dragon Age lore and are really into it, yes, you know what that means. If you're a noob or a casual who hasn't given much thought to Dragon Age in, say, a decade, uhh...:

Noobs: "The game is about fuckers guarding... a veil...? The veil???? Is it some sort of artifact, like it has Jesus's face on it? Or if they mean veil between worlds like some Lovecraft shit, is the new Dragon Age a horror game? Are people trying to travel to different worlds and we're trying to stop them? "

Casuals: "Or wait, is this about that dream world thing? That demon place that spits out demons? Didn't we just get done fixing that in the last game??? Wow, real original. Bioware Magic! "

It also just sounds uncool. Inquisition is an imposing title. Dreadwolf is an imposing title. The Veil Guard sounds like a sartorial maintenance product.

You want people to focus on your ensemble cast? SHOW IT! Because as long as all the promo keeps giving us new Solas anyways, it's just weak sauce.

Nah, this has panic move all over it.

Now, I'm trying to spin this optimistically in that I think this means we may actually get the game within this decade. Because I refuse to believe a) "Veil Guard" is the best they got out of a proper round of workshopping and b) That if this was truly about trying to avoid focussing on Solas too much, they'd announce this without a bunch of promo for the rest of the cast to accompanying it.

Bioware: "We wanted people to know the story is just all about solas, but more about our ensemble cast! We wanted this enough to change the name this late in the game!"

Everyone: "ALRIGHT! SHOW US THIS ENSEMBLE!!!"

Bioware:

Nah bitch, that's not what this is about. Bioware needs this to be a hit, and they need a hit soon. But they don't want their long-awaited blockbuster release to be mired in bad press. They don't want the general audience googling their new massive title only to find articles and reddit threads about layoffs, labor disputes, Mary Kirby's departure, the massive delays, the contract non-renewals happening in the midst of severance lawsuits.

BioWare wants to get their title out finally and they want to bury all the bad shit that's been plaguing this project. All the stories about the labor disputes, layoffs, firings, and lawsuits have mentioned the "Dreadwolf" team.

And quite frankly, it's just shitty. It looks bad. It's desperate.

[rupeenotruby]

Of Courses I Have Horses -Reflection

Ok this is mostly for me but if you have any feedback for the comic I'll leave my anons on for a few days and you can pop it over there!

Anyways proceed with caution, this'll probably be long. Also I'm probably going to be pretty critical of myself here but please don't worry or feel the need to defend me from myself. I actually love critique and if I really do hate what I've made I won't even be able to look at it.

Stats:

Expected Time: Three Weeks (Don't clown on me I have ambitions)

Actual Time Spent: Ten Weeks

Expected Length: 9 Parts (73 Panels)

Actual Length: 9 Parts (72 Panels + one big panel) and one bonus drawing.

Pros/the good:

FINISHED IT!!!!! :D I did it. I did it. I'm the best you know how it is!!! I've always been scared of bigger projects like these because of how intimidating they can get but I did it! I got to the end! And about 83.56% of the panels had an environmental background (not all unique but hey whaddyagonnado).

People liked it!! (unless everybody is lying to me *-* jk jk too many people for that to be true). Sure you shouldn't measure your success on other's opinions but it is nice to know that I'm not alone in my enjoyment of my work.

Updated it pretty regularly! Good to know if I ever want to make a real webtoon.

Horses Researched ✅ I probably have some blind spots having not actually interacted with horses all that much but eh. It is fanfic in the end.

Cons/the bad:

I don't like posting while writing/drawing. Too much pressure even if the pressure was kinda good to motivate me and it was technically imagined anyways.

Colors are ugly. I'm not sure why I chose that color of sky but hmmm.

Backgrounds are present but uninspired and bland. The colors contribute to this but also the fact that I didn't draw the backgrounds before I drew the people most of the time. I also was just referencing images from botw (if you couldn't guess) and this lead them to be flat and like they were not existing where the characters were existing sometimes.

Too wordy in some places. Despite the fact that I chose to do four panel chunks to practice brevity I ended up being too verbose in some situations. One of these was Legend's episode. I felt like people wouldn't get the joke so I over explained it in the dialogue but even then I still don't think people got it got it. This is usually fine but when you over correct and still end up failing it is bad because you end up failing both ends (so to speak). Also the words were not always that good or polished.

Characters were off model frequently. The horses were the worst part as their head shapes would change frequently. This is most likely a result of my lack of experience drawing horses (why I decided to go with a series where I would have to draw a bunch of horses no one will know).

Characters were also ooc (probably) Wild was a little too happy/silly, Four was a little too irrational, Legend was mean mean instead of more accidently mean, and I think the others were fine. They just didn't really get to showcase their personalities all that much.

Lessons for next time:

MAKE A REF SHEET!!! I had to go back and forth between old pages to get the colors and it was such a hassle. Made me not want to color which is bad because I already don't like coloring all that much.

Crank up the threshold on the bucket tool when coloring. Leads to more being colored in and less white bits to fill in later

Write it all out before!! Especially if short like this. Makes it easier.

Put the words before sketching dummy!!! Saves many headaches.

Speaking of which, maybe set the background to be grey so you get less headaches (maybe, unconfirmed if this was the cause of headaches).

Draw (sketch) the background before drawing the characters.

Add clouds to the sky.

Do wrist exercises! Real ones!

Conclusion:

Good experience all around. Many things learned about myself and my creative process. Still not a horse girl but maybe one day.

Anyways this is probably the last you will see of "Of Courses I Have Horses." On to bigger and brighter things!

[coolcattime]

Now I'm starting to see actual teaser trailers for it (and it comes out in like a week), I've started to look at all the trailers for the Until Dawn remaster. And general ramble for a long ass time about my thoughts.

Spoilers below the cut for the game because well, it's a remaster and I'm comparing to the original.

It looks like there is at least one new scene with Beth (Features Trailer shows her outside putting trash out and interacting with a deer), maybe this'll be a new introduction to the Don't Move minigame? But it's definitely new.

Characters now jog rather than walk slightly faster when holding the go faster button (comparsion trailer), this is good though I will miss the unintended comedy of the characters only slightly hustling towards their screaming friends.

Josh and Chris have moved in the Prologue (Comparsion Trailer), as they're no longer passed out by the bar. I think they might be on the sofas in the background now - though I that's just a guess from how that's area is lit up now rather than being dark and I believe inaccessible in the original. Maybe Chris is awake and in on the prank on Hannah now as in the original script of the game? Or maybe the ktichen scene being compared is earlier and linked with the new Beth deer scene?

Again, another new scene with Beth (Comparsion Trailer) with her at a shack being pressumably torched by Flamethrower Man. I don't remember anything like this in the original Prologue, and the shack itself isn't something I recognise either. So possibly the chase after Hannah in the Prologue will have more options.

Gameplay trailer confirms that drunk Josh is on the sofas in the background, carried there by Hannah and Beth (that's what I get for watching these backwards). Given that Beth is wearing her coat and Hannah is wearing a jumper rather than her blouse I'd say this is after the new deer scene before the original's game prologue begins. No sign of Chris though, so maybe he has been put into the prank scene. Obviously they might just move him second but there doesn't seem to be room for another person in the area.

Edit: I've been told in the comment that Chris can be seen on a second sofa in a different trailer so he's definitely still passed out drunk.

I can't tell what this is in the gameplay trailer. It's intercut with Mike shooting a sanatorium door open and I think it's still Mike but I can't tell who the guy is. Maybe a screwcrow jumpstare set up by Josh in the abandoned hotel? Or possibly a model replacement since they do seem to be trying to keep the twist secret in all these trailers.

An article on the Play Station blog confirms that all the totem locations have moved and that there is a new set called "Hunger". And also that there will be an option for either the original "Don't Move" challenge or a "Stay Calm" challenge (pressumably as people playing on PC might not have a controller with a gyro like a play station controller).

The new totems interest me, as well as the placement changes because, and I'm just saying this as someone who is hyperfixated over the Supermassive games, the future predicting collectables are never very good. Like of the thirty totems in the original Until Dawn, I would argue that only six of them really give aid (these are Guidance 2, 3, 4, & 6 and Fortune 2, & 4). While most show only the outcome rather than what leads to it and frankly Guidance 5 can hinder because giving the flare gun to Matt only helps if it doesn't fire. I know it's so you can avoid his possible death, but he fires it if he agreed with Emily about the fire tower, meaning the people most likely to help Emily and need the gun as him later won't have it in the first place.

The trend of the future predicting images showing the result rather than the cause kinda continues throughout all Supermassive games so I'm not sure how excited I am for a new branch though it does at least feel promising that new scenes will be added.

I am curious to see where all the totems are moved to, since pressumably the Death totems will still need to be collected by the same characters.

I doubt it, but I have half a hope that they have replaced some of the death/loss totems with different ones. At the very least I'd like one of the three different lodge fire totems replaced, especially as two of them are Mike's.

I am still hopefully for new scenes that we haven't seen yet. Most of the footage is such related to the first half of the game or just anything that hides the supernatural element of the story and, given how I'm sure it's easier to add scenes to the end rather than the beginning, I wouldn't be suprised in a majority of the new scenes are towards the latter half of the game.

The article that I got the info about above said that they have intentionally restructed the Prologue to both explore the Washingtons as a family and to add context to the prank. I think this is honestly so good because, well, Beth was always barely a character and I never really liked Hannah - I felt bad for her don't get me wrong, but the prank hinged on her wanting to sleep with someone else's boyfriend. It always made me see her as kind of a crappy friend and while she didn't deserve to die, I didn't feel as bad as I was probably meant to for her. Adding additional content to make her and Beth like people I am definitely looking forward to.

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

RoR Parallel: Disha vs Kyoshi's convos (spoilers)

Ok....this has been bothering me.... since like....the leaks and previews were happening. Cause I feel like this is a parallel.

Disha's Convo:

Kyoshi's Convo:

I found it interesting that both question him, playing Devil's Advocate to him in a sense.

It feels less like Kyoshi is like "I found killing to be more humane than imprisoning people" and more that she's just.......testing his logic.

Of course they don't go as into detail as Disha's conversation. (Kyo why you so tight lipped? ;w;)

This might be because Kyoshi's conversation feels more like..... She's trying to comfort Roku. Try to set his mind at ease about how he killed someone. As well as assure him that he is a good fit as the Avatar (the whole "look within comment later" because mfer keeps doubting himself).

Both conversations revolve around his duties as the Avatar. Disha's trying to get him to shed the one nation mindset. Kyoshi about his self doubt. (Ironically in Kyoshi's convo, he is in a conflicting mindset of two nations, wanting to reject the Fire Nation side of "yeah you had to kill" vs the Air Nomad way of "no you should find a different alternative. Which reminds me a lot of her, how she was trapped between two mindsets. Something she doesn't want to do vs what she wants to do. Her Earth Kingdom and Air Nomad heritages conflicting within her. Her morals from Rangi and Lao Ge conflicting within her).

I dunno I found it REALLY INTERSTING but.... I'm also not sure how deep I should read into it. (All in all I found Roku's change over the novels a bit too sudden and rocky and just not handled well. This combined with Disha trying to be like "Kyoshi I guess looked within and that's why she chose to die" BS......esp considering we had two novels of Kyoshi yapping non stop when it came to analyzing herself and her actions. So while I think the novel wants to be like "she's imparting words of a mistake she failed to make"....I just don't buy the mistake cause it's not well written, so instead I see it more as "Kyoshi sees what Roku needs to hear" because it makes more sense and lines up more with her comforting him in that scene).

Sorry for the side rant, it's just hard reconciling the canon of this book with both Kyoshi novels and what we know of her char in ATLA/LoK.

Side, still related, take: (gonna be honest, looping back to Kyoshi's convo and the prison thing. I'm surprise they didn't bring up "rehabilitation," I feel like that's something Kyoshi would've tried to do esp since she's aware of the concept in a way when she comments on how "She could see Jinpa trying to convince Kirima/Wong into leaving the daofei lifestyle, they probs would steal his bison." I dunno, maybe this'll be something that we see in the next novel. I def think Kyoshi would've tried rehabilitation, esp since she saw how Te changed. If she didn't, it'd feel weird ngl.

And I feel like she was questioning Roku here so that he could make the connection himself. But he....just gives up with a "I dunno" TT0TT)

[aydaptic]

Sorry if you've already answered this before but I'm new to the fandom and I found your account through your web-comic and I was wondering what is it about Gavin that you like so much? Why is he one of your favourite characters in dbh? (I've noticed that he isn't much of a fan-favourite in this fandom 😔)

This'll be a long post, but you asked (...and I'll happily answer!) I'll add some descriptions for context. At the top of my head, I can think of 21 reasons why I like his canon equivalent.

1. He's charismatic

Gav gives off an energy that makes it easy to hang onto his every word. I can quote all his lines by heart and I like listening to Neil Newbon (in this specific role) talk. I remember some of Kamski's lines as well -- also mo-capped/voice acted by Newbon -- but Kamski doesn't have nearly as much charisma as Gav does.

2. He's expressive

Ppl who 'talk with their hands' are more charismatic. Gav is all over the place in the break room if you stick around. Hand gestures capture people's attention as they emphasize what is being said.

3. He doesn't think androids are alive (...so in his eyes, the way he treats them isn't wrong)

"Could always try roughin' it up a little. After all... it's not human." - Gavin Reed, The Interrogation

That means he wouldn't rough up a human suspect. This alone justifies his unpleasant attitude towards androids. Hank -- who treated Connor way worse than Gav ever did -- changed his mind. Nothing says Gav can't do the same.

If Alexa suddenly said she was alive, the vast majority wouldn't take it seriously (if any at all.)

4. He's sarcastic

"Congratulations on last night, very impressive." - Gavin Reed, Waiting For Hank...

5. He has dark humor

6. He looks down on people that pay for s*x

Quote above. You don't call someone a "pervert" if you agree with their actions. The Eden Club, in particular, is immoral AF... bc those androids don't have a choice. Gav doesn't care about them being androids, but he still looks down on the guy who paid money to get laid, and I applaud Gav for that. Especially when said guy also had a wife and kids.

7. He has valid concerns about androids taking jobs

Anyone who says differently is either in denial, uninformed, or never had a job they were scared to get fired from. There's already been an uproar about ChatGPT and that's nothing compared to how advanced Detroit: Become Human androids are. The unemployment rate in this game is 37% -- higher than it was during the Great Depression and C*VID -- and androids are the main cause.

I've seen a lot of ppl ask this question:

Q: Why not just buy an android and have them do your job for you, then? You get the money anyway bc it's your android!

A: Bc, believe it or not, the vast majority of men want to work. This is a strange concept to grasp for a lot of ppl. I admire Gav for being one of those men who wants to do it themselves. Letting someone else do your job is taking the easy way out.

8. He's a hard worker

Gallery: "...Ruthlessly ambitious, Reed will do anything to advance his career, even if it means treading on other peoples’ toes."

9. He's ambitious

See the quote above.

10. He doesn't sleep well

This isn't just a headcanon. He has literal bags under his eyes. Just knowing he doesn't sleep well already has me asking, "why?" It's interesting.

11. He puts his feet on the table

After Connor interacts with him in the break room, Gav will go to his desk and do this. I'll go into detail about why this contributes to my liking his character in the very last point.

12. He calls Hank out on his alcoholism

As much as most of us love Hank, he's not in a good space mentally. Showing up drunk/hungover to work should not be tolerated. It not only puts coworkers, but also civilians, at risk. Hank should be in therapy instead of working at the DPD until he gets his life sorted out.

13. He calls Fowler out for giving Hank special treatment

"You won't get away with it this time." - Gavin Reed, The Interrogation (after Hank pulls a literal gun on a human coworker AKA Gav)

So Gav has brought it up to Fowler before and is about to do it again. Ties into the point above. What Hank does -- like assaulting a literal FBI agent -- shouldn't be tolerated.

14. He's a control freak

I gravitate towards ppl and characters who take charge. Those who like being in control and know what they're doing. I'm a control freak myself, but I'd prefer to let someone else take the reins as long as I agree with their methods. I like it when ppl know what they want and act on it. Gav does both.

15. He's protective of his coworkers

I was unsure whether or not to add this as I guess it can be seen as a subjective theory and not an objective fact.

Gav only ever steps in with the gun in The Interrogation when Con uses aggressive force on Chris Miller by tearing him away from the deviant. Con did this after disobeying Gav 3 times. So yeah. Gav is justified for stepping in. Hank, on the other hand, isn't justified for pulling a gun on a human coworker. I see this scene as Gav protecting Chris from Con who is showing signs of deviancy.

16. He can't wink

Endearing.

17. He pouts a lot

Again, endearing.

18. He swears like a sneezing kitten

Same as the two points above.

19. He doesn't like Connor

I don't like Con, either. Yeah. We exist. Personality types like Con's "let's be friends" attitude and constant positivity pisses me off. Before anyone comments that the player decides Con's personality... no. Only to an extent. There are several instances where the player has no say whatsoever. Some of Con's pre-determined responses annoy me.

20. He has great fashion

Big fan of leather jackets.

21. I like him bc I'm a narcissist at times

He's essentially the male equivalent of me to the T. I'm only an asshole internally, though. We love (or hate) characters we relate to. I relate to every single point except 17 and 18 on this list.

There you go :)

His OOC fanon equivalent has a huge fanbase -- especially on Twitter/X and Tumblr turning him into a blushing teenage girl -- but it seems like I'm the only person who can't stand that OOC portrayal of him. That said, I adore his canon equivalent in all his asshole glory.

[navree]

This whole thing is frightening. Do you possibly have any words of wisdom?

If you're not Donald Trump you're gonna live to see tomorrow, so there's that (he'll live too, it was literally just the ear, unfortunately for my belief in karma, he is fine).

In all seriousness, I'm not an election forecaster or statistician in any capacity so I can't say how this'll Affect The Election but in my view, it's not gonna be much. The sympathy vote is not really a thing anymore, it hasn't been a thing since Dubya so I'm not concerned about that. I don't think it's gonna move actual undecideds one way or another, and people who are already committed to one party aren't going to be swayed in a new direction either because polarization is simply too entrenched in political parties these days. And he can't do much "look how I'm ailing" shit because his ear got grazed and that is literally it. Not to mention the election is five months away, which in politics is the equivalent to like ten million years. Remember when Joe Biden had that bad debate performance that sent everyone into a tailspin for no reason? That was two weeks ago, but it feels like a decade, because news cycles, especially in politics, go really fast. Last month we were literally still talking about the impact of the college protests on the election. Yeah I bet you already forgot about those, didn't you?

The only thing that really concerns me is that his base is already violent and whacked out of their minds, and they'll use this, and any hysteria he and his allies drum up about it because they're incapable of not doing so, to promote more violence against people they perceive as enemies. And we know they're already capable, because one of them literally tried to beat Paul Pelosi to death with a hammer (another point in the 'sympathy vote doesn't exist' column because did that man trying to break into Nancy Pelosi's home to kidnap and torture her before trying to kill her husband when she wasn't around sway anyone to be more in favor of Democrats/less in favor of Republicans? no, it didn't), so I wouldn't be shocked if some idiot tried something in retaliation. Which is cause for concern, yes, because it is always important to remember that Republicans as a whole are violent and bloodthirsty and do not see their opponents as people (and that is just another example of why both parties are NOT in fact the same, tankies), but use that to galvanize you into working as hard as you can to get Dems in office and support Democratic policies and platforms and officials.

Ultimately anon, I am not someone who catastrophizes, and I also know that I can only control me and you can only control you. So just remember to focus on what you can do and how you react to things. And if you need to log off, log off. Keep your peace, and ultimately, I think just remember that this all seems new and exciting and insane because it's fresh and happening now, but we also felt the same about that time he got COVID. That became old hat fast, and odds are this will too.