#FREELANCERS DESERVE TO DIE!

[stimpry]

heres a self indulgent post, but its a colin kinsona :]

[skittikyu]

"Sounds between 170-200 dB are so intense that they can cause lethal issues like pulmonary embolisms, pulmonary contusions, or even burst lungs. As for exploding heads, you can expect that from sounds above 240 dB. However, such high intensity sounds are very rare."

(tadc carnival AU belongs to @/sm-baby !)

[laz-262]

drawing them means i get to draw out my favourite scene

[mlentertainment]

maybe i would give a shit abt coppy if he had the energy of the computer from dhmis

[pizza-feverdream]

Moots once again hark

@mackthecheese

[righteous-r0de0]

thinking about freelancer and gavin and avior and starlight and sam and darlin because it’s so unfair that all of them fought so hard to find the love they have with each other and none of them are going to get the time they deserve.

one day freelancer is going to be in a hospital bed, cupping gavin’s face, calling him their darling boy, telling him that everything’s going to be okay, pretending that they aren’t crying themselves. the rest of their friends are spread across the globe. the only one they wanted to see before they left was gavin. they’re going to die and there’s not a thing gavin can do about it.

one day, avior is going to be sitting in a cemetery on a hot summer day, until the sun sets, casting long shadows across the grass. he’s going to talk to starlight’s grave like they can hear him. he’s going to complain about frivolous things, tell them about his life without them. then he’ll grow quiet just as the sun dips below the horizon and confess that none of it actually bothers him. the only thing he can’t stand is not hearing their responses, or being able to hold their hand while he talks.

one day, sam is going to have a very good day. he’s going to visit the pack, laugh and joke with his aging friends. he’s going to eat an entire tub of butter pecan ice cream and not feel guilty about it. he’s going to spend comfortable, long hours having introspective talks with vincent. he’ll call alexis and tell her everything he never had the guts to say. then, somewhere around four am he’ll put his favorite flannel on, make himself a pot of coffee and climb to the roof and talk to the remaining stars like they’re his mate. he’ll wait for the sunrise, hoping that for a few brief seconds he’ll feel the warmth and not the burn.

[heckoffmate]

An unexplored dynamic really, Warren just kind of let "Freelancers deserve to die" slide

[aimedis]

redacted characters as things in my journal 🎀

relatively big tw - there's like vague to explicit mentions of su!cid3 and heavily implied mental self-esteem struggles in this one (i'm alright at the moment, promise) so if that's triggering to you, don't read. this is kinda heavy and maybe disturbing to read to some people i think.

i decided to do this because i though it was kinda fun and cool to like analyse my stuff and the characters a little bit. sorry if this offends anyone ig? idk 😭 i'll be back with the more lighthearted stuff in a couple days okay let's go ->

darlin: "my feelings aren't in my control most of the time. i don't know why i feel this way."

angel before they broke up with micheal: "i think is funny (but i also feel bad) that he's always talking about "getting married" and "forever" when i have a break up letter sitting in my notes."

freelancer: lyrics to "making the bed - olivia rodirgo"

darlin: "i don't wanna talk about him anymore."

damien: "i just want my mom. and i wish i could go up to her just bawling my fucking eyes out like i'm five-years-old without feeling like a fucking failure but i can't... i've survived long enough and i can do it some more."

darlin before sam: "and a part of me will always miss what once was or could have been. but i know they will never be long term, permanent, or reality. i wasn't created to have a happy ending... but i'm okay with this. it makes it easier to slip away and disappear."

cutie: i don't know what so say really. i just feel empty and alone often. i feel out of place. i feel like everything i do is humiliating or straight up wrong. i don't know what's wrong with me."

gavin: "try as i might, i still feel like i am not in my body. living vicariously... through myself?"

baabe: "i should know. my dad didn't want me enough to stay."

lasko: "man what a fucking baby. stop crying over shit that hasn't even happened."

damien before huxley: "i wish i was dead. do you think if [mom] knew she'd wish that too?" (knew that he was gay)

lovely: lyrics to "strangers - ethel cain"

darlin: "i hope it's not my fault when it's all over. i want one thing to not be my fault. but it probably will be."

angel: "why am i crying. again. over and over and over again. it's all i ever do. cry about this or cry about that."

milo post-inversion: "this hurts a lot more than i thought. the thought of feeling like this forever? it sucks."

freelancer: "fucking kill me. i can't breathe."

sam: "is it wrong to think i don't deserve this or that it's not my fault?"

lasko: "it feels like i'm always apologizing."

david: "it really hurts when i need to talk to [him] so bad but i can't."

huxley post-inversion/xavier's death: "is it just always going to feel like this? holy shit this hurts."

damien: "i'm sorry, mom, i'm sorry."

vincent: "the real me? i don't know who that is anymore."

angel: "one more or one less, nobody's worried. my tummy hurts."

darlin before sam: "i don't plan on feeling like this again. i don't plan on "being in love" ever again. as if i know what that feels like... it makes me feel like shit all the time."

cutie: "after this, i'll go back to being alone. like god intended."

asset: "it's kind of sad how i don't even feel like a person sometimes."

lovely: "every so often it hurts so much i think it's gonna rip me apart from the inside."

asher post-inversion: "and it's like, sometimes it straight up feels like i'm gonna die in that moment."

sweetheart: "my greatest sin to men was being a child."

damien: lyrics to "forwards beckon rebound - adrianne lenker"

[iridescentis]

Ride The Cyclone Sims 4 Legacy Challenge! 🎢💚

Welcome to the RTC Legacy challenge! This idea was created by me and @nischabrainrot a while ago and I think it deserves to be shown to the world! So here it is! :D

You have to be this tall to ride the cyclone (rules):

No cheats, beyond the usual (CAS, build, etc - no money cheats!)

You may alter any generation if you don’t have the pack(s) required and find base game alternatives to goals, but any rules you are capable of doing are compulsory. 

All generations must reach level 5 singing, to honour the Saint Cassian choir

Google Doc is here and the generations are listed below!

Generation 1: Noel Gruber Alone on the streets, you've gotta do what it takes to survive. Scavenge, homewreck, take money from rich old men, you do what you have to. You always wanted bad love, but maybe that's not all there is to life?

Aspiration: Serial Romantic

Traits: Romantic, Creative, Bookworm

Career: N/A

Requires: City Living

Rules

Start with 0 simoleons in a small unfurnished apartment (or an empty lot if you prefer)

You cannot be employed, you may make money however you see fit except from a job, options include: finding and selling collectibles, writing books, theft, marrying for money, homewrecking old married men and taking their money, and so on.

You cannot find a “soulmate” or healthy, long-term relationship until you have completed the serial romantic aspiration. If you never complete it, you must die alone.

If you don’t complete the aspiration, you can only have one child, to be your heir (either via science baby or a one-night stand if your sim/the sim you hook up with can get pregnant).

If you do complete the aspiration, fall in love and marry your soulmate, and have as many kids as you want. 

Generation 2: Misha Bachynskyi Growing up, you either rotted away in a dingy apartment with your parent, hopping between old dudes’ mansions for quick cash, or flourished in a loving family, your parent the strongest, and most morally questionable person you know. Regardless, your upbringing was weird. Maybe it was the instability, or your parent’s shady background, but a strong, rageful passion within you craves to run away, leave your hometown behind and start something new, a path towards stardom, your name on billboards. Secretly though, there’s a part of you that dreams of falling in love along the way.

Aspiration: Soulmate

Traits: Hot-headed, Materialistic, Romantic

Career: Freelance Musician (Music Production) -Youtuber - Streamer

Requires: Get Famous and High School Years + Get to Work/Dine Out

Rules:

If you grew up in a house, have your bedroom be in the basement.

As a teen, cause trouble at school: pranking, arguments, fights etc. Fight all bullies you see at high school, any time you see bullying at school, beat up the bully.

[Requires Lovestruck or a mod] Find a partner on a dating app.

Join a high school extracurricular activity and befriend at least one of your teammates.

Either: break up with your partner and become high school sweethearts with one of your teammates, or meet and exchange promise rings with the partner you met online. Whichever you choose, you must stay with them forever.

Max the media production skill + 1 performance skill of your choice (Singing Lvl 5 is already compulsory, but you can max that as your added skill, or choose something else like Dancing or Acting)

[Requires Parenthood, optional] Age up to YA with the Argumentative trait (low conflict resolution)

Once you are a young adult, move out of your family home and start your full time career. It is up to you whether you want to live solely off music production, or also become a youtuber/streamer as well, but you can’t join a normal career.

Marry your long-term partner and have 3+ kids, with a significant age gap between them (for example, a new baby towards the very end of adulthood)

[Requires Get to Work/Dine Out] Have your spouse open a cafe/bakery as soon as you get married, and run the shop with your kids.

Generation 3: Constance Blackwood You love your family, more than anything. Living in a big family home with your parents, who are still passionately in love and always have been, and your siblings, who you spent most of your free time growing up playing with and taking care of. You’re your family’s superstar, friend to all, nicest person in town, and one day you’ll take over the family business. But is that really all there is to life?

Aspiration: Big Happy Family

Traits: Good, Foodie, Family Oriented

Career: Running the family business!

Requires: Get to Work/Dine Out

Rules:

Have maxed relationships with all family members.

Max the social skill as a child

Maintain 5+ friendships outside family at all times

[Optional, requires Get Famous/Seasons] Join either Scouts or Drama club as a child and stay until you’re a young adult

Befriend a sim (as a child/teen) with one of the following traits: Self-Assured, Perfectionist, Self-Absorbed, Overachiever or High Maintenance. This sim will be your best friend.

As a teen, run the cafe/bakery after school and on weekends, and bake something every day

Go to every prom [Bonus: always go to prom as friends with your best friend, regardless of potential love interests]

[Requires Parenthood] Age up to YA with the Mediator trait (high conflict resolution)

If your best friend ages up to YA with a positive trait, stay best friends and/or date them. If your best friend ages up to YA with a negative trait, argue and end the friendship.

Max the cooking and baking skills

You must accept any and all invitations to festivals, no matter what, to honour the fall fair

Get married to your chosen partner quickly, ASAP. Move them into your family home as soon as you do - your family wouldn’t want you to move out!

When you age up to Adult, have a midlife crisis and start a new career. If your game gives you a midlife crisis on its own, follow every single request, no exceptions. 

Have one child, or have your youngest be the heir. 

Generation 4: Ricky Potts Your family love you, they do, but with so many people in one house, all the chaos of your multi-generational household, you fade into the background. So, alone with your boundless imagination, you dream and dream and dream, never quite understood by your peers, until you meet the right ones. All you know? Aliens are really hot.

Aspiration: Nerd Brain

Traits: Creative, Geek, Loyal

Career: Scientist

Requires: Get to Work and Cats & Dogs

Rules:

Max mental and creative skills as a child

Read every Sci-Fi book and watch movies daily

Have a pen-pal

[Requires Parenthood] Age up to YA with the Compassionate trait (high empathy)

[Requires City Living] Win the Ultimate Gaming Test and/or the Hackathon at Geekcon

Max the video gaming skill

Complete your aspiration, and switch to Friend of the Animals

Travel to sixam and meet aliens. Romance and marry one of the aliens, moving with them into a new home.

[Optional, requires Strangerville: Complete the Strangerville story and live there with your family]

Have 2+ kids with your spouse

Any space you have in your household, fill with cats. If you have your sim, your spouse, and 2 kids, you must have 4 cats. Your household must always be at 8 sims (the maximum), with as many cats as you can fit.

Generation 5: Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg Of all the people to be born into such an unconventional, unapologetically weird family, you wish it wasn’t you. You don’t hate your family, that would be extreme, but sometimes you find yourself as the white sheep of the family, the odd one out, the only normal one. Naturally, you harbour some resentment as a result. That’s not the only problem. No matter how much you convince yourself you’re the normal one, you have a secret that nobody outside of your family knows. How are you supposed to become the prime minister if everyone knows you’re an alien?!

Aspiration: Academic

Traits: Perfectionist, Ambitious, Snob

Career: Politician

Requires: City Living and Discover University [ + Get to Work]

Rules:

Have a strained relationship with family members (below 50 relationship points).

Get straight A grades all throughout education. Graduate early if possible

Either join an extracurricular activity, side hustle or part time job

Attempt to make friends, but use critical and condescending interactions with them, making attempts strained.

Keep your alien identity a secret as much as possible and anyone who finds out, becomes your enemy, however you see fit.

[Requires Parenthood] Age up to YA with the Responsible trait (high responsibility). 

Go to university and earn a History degree, this will advance you into your politics career

Mend poor relationships of the past - apologise to and befriend old friends, resolve enemies, reconnect with family, and try to be a better person.

Max the politics career, becoming National Leader AKA the president

Either marry an old friend you reunited with, a coworker, or remain single, but regardless of your relationship status, have two children.

Generation 6: Penny Lamb/Jane Doe

Raised by the president, with Alien DNA and a wild family history, it’s impossible for you to be invisible, even if you wanted to be. For the most part, you kept your head down, tried to avoid trouble and stayed in your lane, only causing a little trouble here and there with your sibling. That was until, through a friend of yours, you found the greatest sim to ever walk the earth, the most talented and admirable celebrity of your dreams, who you would do anything to meet and express your love for. Hang on a second, what rebrand?!

Aspiration: [Teen: Drama Llama] Country Caretaker/Friend of the Animals

Traits: Clumsy, Socially Awkward, Erratic

Career: Farmer

Requires: Get Famous, Cottage Living, My First Pet Stuff

Rules:

Become best friends with your sibling.

Complete your teen aspiration

Befriend a classmate as a child/teen. They, and your sibling, are your only friends. 

Early in your teens, find a celebrity to obsess over. During your mid teens, drastically change this celebrity [in CAS, go into their household and just change them up however you want] then HATE them. Attempt to attack and fight this celebrity.

Drop out of highschool out of embarrassment, and move out with your sibling and friend out of town, to an empty plot.

Start a farm on your new plot and become a full time farmer, still as a teen.

Buy a rat, and name him Virgil. As soon as Virgil dies, so do you, in any way you can. Suggestions: Buy a telescope and use it until you get hit by a meteor, grow a cowplant and let it eat you, or be killed by a Killer Rabbit/Chicken

Bonus, for fun, rename the Grim Reaper Karnak.

[churchstopsurgeryscars]

Texas deserves to be held softly. She deserves to be gentle and weak and vulnerable. She deserves to be in the arms of the man she wants so badly to love. It's not fair that she doesn't get to be soft because she came into a world that was too violent and cruel. All Texas knew and all she could be was a killing machine. Because if she was anything else she'd fall apart all over again. The Director wanted a version of Allison that could never die on him. However when you put someone into a life of constant violence and deceit and death, you're bound to have casualties. He was so desperate to have the perfect replacement that he forgot the most important thing: Texas is only human. And humans aren't meant to live a life like this. They are meant to be soft and sweet and silly- to be touched and held gently. When The Director forced Texas to be nothing but clenched fists and gritted teeth, he doomed her. Texas is not a failure, Project Freelancer failed her. Instead of protecting her and holding her dear, Leonard had to prove he could make a better version of his true love. That's not what love is. That's never been what love is. Even Epsilon, the version of Church who could truly understand what she was going through as a fellow AI, failed her by his lofty expectations. Instead of letting her rest like she so richly deserved, he brought her back to life. Texas was done, she was tired, but Church, just like his predecessor, couldn't let it lay. She never wanted this. How can you call her a failure when all she's done is try to live in a life nobody can be expected to survive? Texas deserved so much better than what the men in her life gave her.

[jaydexbg]

Aite, Jay's thoughts on Restoration now that the emotional dust has settled.

My non-spoiler thoughts are... it's okay, a love letter to the series? No. A love letter to fans? For the most part.

No shade to RT, Burnie or anyone who worked on this, they did what they could, and had time for. This is going to be loooooong as its my full summary of the movie as a long-time fan, RvB is my special hyperfixation/interest. Spoilers below the cut.

Alright, to start. I personally will believe that s14-17 are cannon, and that Restoration is a simulation/Jax movie/AU/Alternate ending./what have you. I believe this for many reasons, but let's get the Big 3 out of the way first.

1. Sarge's death. I understand it's inclusion, and I understand that with the anvil and steel boot of WB it was hard to produce something of immense quality. Sarge had been a consistent key player and many of us expected this.

But his death was... wrong. It didn't feel impactful, he didn't die a Sarge death. While the reasoning was good (saving Caboose) the execution and runtime made it feel sloppy and just a plot driver(barely). He deserved a much more heroic send-off, and this comes from a avid Red Team supporter, so this should have impacted me. If Sarge had a proper heros death (and the movie had more time), set in a similar vein as Church (or even like he would have died to Meta in s8) then I think I would have had a lot more feelings, and I think it would have also allowed me to accept it much easier, I'm not insanely upset at Sarge dying(however I still would prefer them all to be happy), im upset at how it was handled.

2. Doc's death. Alright, this one peeves me a bit. I LOVE the idea at play, I personally even think it works with Wash given their history in S8, it is a really good reveal. But this also means Doc, an integral character who's been there since Season 2. Doc, who had been the most mistreated and abused character--and JUST got over being overshadowed by O'Malley in universe(S17)... died off screen. And that alone makes me not want to take this as cannon.

It was a moment of "WHAT??-wait." I like Doc, I like all the characters of RvB, but Doc dying off screen after the battle is not it. The Matt Hullum double kill is arguably funny, but I won't stand for Doc dying like this. Sorry.

And 3. The one that bit me the most, hold your sighs/tears; Grimmons. I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that Grif would leave Simmons, or that Simmons wouldn't go with him. These two characters have been joint at the hip since episode one, they have been through EVERYTHING together. There is a LOT of subtext behind these two, Grimmons barely felt like a fan ship, if they revealed the two were married the entire time I wouldn't have batted an eye.

I don't like their ending. They should have either both went to earth, or both stayed in Blood Gulch. I understand Grif's entire thing was hating the military, but he loved his friends, he cared so much (saving Sarge MULTIPLE times despite Sarge still always bullying him, agreeing to go with Sarge and Caboose to fight the Meta even though he didn't have to, him throughout all of the Chorus Trilogy, and this is just the stuff that is cannon no matter what.), and I don't believe him simply being dismissed would have him leave, he stopped being apart of a proper military when Project Freelancer shut down, and while he was apart of Chorus they'd clearly been demoted/let go since they were ranked down to Privates in Restoration. (I also believe S15 handled the idea of them being moved after S13's ending far better)

And while I don't mind Simmons coming into his own as a leader, he dosent... have a team? They abandoned Lopez, Sarge is dead, Donut is an Admiral (likely for the UNSC), and Grif left. The Blues only have Caboose and Tucker. Carolina and Wash are likely going to go back to the hospital to let Wash heal (which is another thing). So its just Simmons, Caboose and Tucker alone in Blood Gulch? Doing... what exactly? Fighting? This is not a good ending for any of them and it barely makes sense. Id honestly have preferred a "where are they now" segment to this ending.

With those out of the way, lets go over a small lighting round of stuff i didn't like;

Wash felt like he was just there to tell us Doc died, and to get Carolina to the final fight. If you removed him entirely and just said "Carolina has been tracking Meta" nothing would change.

Carolina's inclusion felt like someone threw a cyan bolder into the script, her entrance being a homage to Maine's entrance in S10 was cool but she appeared out of nowhere.

I refuse to believe that after all of this none of them would be checking in on Wash, that man has been the glue of the Reds and Blues since he joined the team and I REFUSE to believe they would just dump him at an institution, however this is especially insane for Carolina. She would be with him every second.

Tucker was INSANELY underused, his moments of breaking through Sigma's control were good, but Tucker felt like he wasn't important. He should be, he should have been the main character of the story, he is the main character of Red vs Blue to me (after Church).

The way Lopez and Sheila were just abandoned is disrespectful. Its in character, and the whole gag but for a final season I dont want a gag like that in a finale. I wanted to see Lopez at that campfire scene imagining him not talking but enjoying the reminiscing. That would have been so sweet and nice. This also applies to Sheila.

The lack of Donut outside of a mention of him being an Admiral and the silly memory of him from Simmons is outrageous. He is a main character, we established this in S17 and retcon or not, he earned that development and it should have remained.

Grif was was insanely angry in the beginning, I imagine this more as Geoff because his performance throughout was probably the best of the movie. He's taken RTs closure hard and I completely understand him being upset, so this is barely a complaint.

Alright... with the negative out of the way, lets talk positive! i wish I could say my positives outweighed the negatives, but unfortunately that isn't the case, however I do have two big standouts.

1. The campfire scene. This, this scene alone is what adds a chunk to the positive section of my feelings. It was the scene that really gut punched me, the moment I heard Ed Robertson's voice I crumpled into tears (I am a HUGE Barenaked Ladies fan). The pure bittersweetness of watching these characters who have been through so much together finally taking a serious moment to reminisce is all I ever wanted from RvB. I wished with all my heart that Tucker, Church, Sarge, Donut, Doc, Lopez, and Sheila could share in it, who knows maybe Sarge and Docs ghosts popped by to listen. But, this is to me, what I wanted.

2. Agent Texas. This was good, this was REALLY good. The bait and swap to have Caboose bringing Tex back and not Church was good, and especially nice development from Caboose despite how rushed it feels. The kicker of this though? this Tex was not the same Tex as before. That reveal that this Tex was not based on the Directors memories of Allison's failure, but instead based on the Reds and Blues memories of her beating their asses is ACTUALLY insane, and a genius twist. And her getting her black armour plus the playing of Round One/Bullfight got me more hype then I was ever expecting to get from Restoration. I also believe that Tex finally being remembered properly and being able to move on with Church was heartwarming and very much deserved.

My negatives far outweigh the positives, but the positives are so good, and with it being the finale of 21 years worth of content I cant in the right mind say I dislike Restoration. I don't like it as the ending to Red vs Blue, call me bias (my favourite season is 15) but the trade off of development for the characters between Restoration and Shisno is just not worth it for me. Say what you will about the Shisno Trilogy but you cannot ignore that it gave us the much needed development for many characters, Grif and Donut standing out the most. While the "god"-plot is far fetched and out there, and I've heard that Tucker was character regressed in s16 (which I do not believe and will die on that hill but thats a topic for another day), or the inclusion of the Blues and Reds putting a wrench in some lore I still don't think it was all bad enough to warrant a retcon entirely. Who knows, maybe this was all planned from the start, or it was just because of WB. But this ending is not satisfying to me. I won't say its a bad ending, if I didn't like Shisno so much and never bothered to watch it I'm sure as a direct continuation from S13 I would have a much more positive look on it.

I also do believe that Burnie wrote it in such a way that you can decide for yourself if S14-17(and 18 if you enjoyed it) or Restoration is the cannon ending and to that I respect it.

So in short, my review of the final piece of official Red vs Blue content, is that its okay. A lot felt OOC, and plot was rushed and messy, things felt like they were all predetermined and not driven by the characters as is RvB's biggest strength. It was far too short and even still I generally don't like retcons. But for what it is, and the positive moments it brings I still think its good. Not cannon to me, but I will definitely be taking points from it into my personal cannon post-s17 (Admiral Donut my beloved, you would be so cool if you actually showed up).

[malcolmschmitz]

So a while ago, @neil-gaiman talked about freelancing (I think it was specifically in a comics context?) and said this:

“You get work however you get work, but people keep working in a freelance world (and more and more of today's world is freelance), because their work is good, because they are easy to get along with and because they deliver the work on time. And you don’t even need all three! Two out of three is fine. People will tolerate how unpleasant you are if your work is good and you deliver it on time. People will forgive the lateness of your work if it is good and they like you. And you don’t have to be as good as everyone else if you’re on time and it’s always a pleasure to hear from you.”

And I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and if you turn it around a little bit- you can also use this as a worker's rights framework for freelancers.

A good client will consistently give you grace on at least one of these things, and will occasionally give you grace on all of them if necessary. A good client will be understanding if you're late occasionally, or if you've had an off day and your work isn't quite up to par, or if you've got A Hill To Die On that isn't immediately palatable.

If you prove yourself over time, a good client will make allowances for you when you're consistently late, consistently grouchy, or consistently putting out B-grade work. As long as you've proven that you can give them two of Neil's three work necessities, a good client will be able to adjust their expectations of what you can and can't do, and will make it very clear to you up front when they can't adjust those expectations (because sometimes, business reasons mean they can't afford to let you be late/sloppy/prickly).

A client that won't budge on any of these expectations, ever, is not a great client. A client that never lets you give them anything but your Very Best work, badgers you about deadlines while you're having a Life Emergency, or demands that you always roll over when they say boo? Not a great client. Sometimes you have to take a client like this for survival reasons, because everyone has to eat. But you should not bust your hump working for a client like this, because they're not giving you the grace you deserve.

A client that tells you they are giving you grace on these things when they're clearly not, or a client that sets you up to fail on any one of these things? Say, a client that makes you do 10-15 rounds of terrible revisions while they waffle, or a client that sets you impossible deadlines, or a client that lets one person bully everyone else and expects everyone to make nice? Bad client. Danger, Will Robinson. Get out while you still can.

So yeah, the point is, a freelance relationship (and any other kind of work relationship! but Neil was talking about freelancers) is a two-way street. There are expectations you have to follow, but there are also expectations you can set.

If you know you struggle with skill, niceness, or punctuality, you can find freelance clients that let you play to your strengths-- and you should expect every client to, occasionally, give you grace with any of those things.

(Also Mr. Gaiman, I doubt you're reading this, but if you are, thank you so much for writing that-- as an unmedicated-ADHD teenager who's always planned to go into a creative field, it took so much pressure off of me when I was younger.)

[bullet-prooflove]

Killing Me Softly Part Two: A Stay of Execution - Alexander 'Tig' Trager x Reader

Tagging: @mortal--soul @yourwinchesterbros @buddinglinguist @spookyboogyuniverse @nessamc @ritasantosworld @bl4ckt00thgr1n @anime-weeb-4-life @redpoodlern @ravencrow83 @nu1freakshow @oureternalbond @the-wandering-lunatic @lexondeck @keyweegirlie @theplacewhereallthedemonsgo

Killing Me Softly Series:

Part One: Livid - You and Tig are at an impasse

You don’t call him, and he doesn’t call you. Tig figures this is the way it dies. Not with a bang like he expected but with a silence so oppressive it strangles the life out of the only healthy relationship he’s ever known.

There’s no leeway from either side. As much as he doesn’t want to, he understands your point of view.

Luann had given you back your sanity after what Omar Ghanezi had done to you. She was the one that had found you, scrubbing your skin raw in one of the shower stalls at Cara Cara. You’d been freelancing for the three Ghanezi brothers because Cara Cara was just getting it’s footing, and Luann couldn’t give you enough hours to pay the rent. She was the one that patched you up in the aftermath, tending to the physical wounds and the ones that scarred your fucking soul because you couldn’t just forget shit like that. She had been the one to talk you down, when you had a 22. Calibre pressed to your temple because Omar Ghanezi had come at you again and this time it had ended with three bullets in his chest and one in his head. She’d been the one to give you an alibi, to help you bury his body on the outskirts of Charming.

Luann Delaney, the woman who had given you back your life, who’d lost her own in a fucking ditch at the edge of the road with her head caved in and her skirt hiked up because Georgie Caruso didn’t want the competition.

Tig didn’t like it any more than you did. She was an ally to the club, a partner in Cara Cara and Ottos’s old lady. She deserved better than this, but his hands were tied on the matter and until Clay gave the order, there was nothing he could do.

Now that Tig isn’t seeing you, he has a lot more free time on his hands and he throws himself into making all of the minuscule adjustments to his bike, that he’s been putting off. It’s exhausting and it’s time consuming, but it feels good to work with his hands, to focus on something that doesn’t make his heart feel like it’s shattering into a million pieces.

There’s always been something about the way you enter the room that alters the air space, Tig doesn’t know what it is but it usually makes him feel just a little lighter, puts a bounce in his step. When he glances over his shoulder and sees you standing there in the doorway of his garage, he feels something inside of him die because he knows that this is the end and despite everything, he’s not prepared for it. He turns his attention back to the bike, but his hearts not in it anymore, his fingers fumble on the spanner and his focus wavers.

The scent of your perfume floods him, that soothing lavender with the soft citrus undertone, it flushes through his system, igniting all of his nerve endings because his mind might know what’s happening, but his body is already responding to you the way it always does. He startles when he feels you wrap your arms around his waist, the weight of your cheek in between his shoulder blades and the softness of your curves hugging him.  

He sets down the wrench, his oil-stained palms coming to rest over yours, his fingers settling within the grooves of your knuckles. He doesn’t want to turn around because he’s too terrified of breaking the spell, of snapping the fragile connection that seems to be wavering in between the two of you.

“When Luann died it was one of the worst days of my life.” You tell him, your voice muffled by the fabric of his overalls. “It felt like someone had taken a hammer to my world and smashed all of those pieces that I worked so hard trying to put back together again.”

Tig knows, he was there that night that Unser came to tell you. He’d held you as you fell apart, tears staining his kutte as he cradled you close. He’d felt each and every one of those violent sobs as they wracked your body.

“I wasn’t thinking the other night.” You confess, closing your eyes and exhaling deeply. “I heard he was back in the country, and it was like I was back there again in that moment and all of that rage…” You trailed off, searching for the words but finding them inadequate. “I know I don’t need to explain it to you.”

“No.” he says finally, inclining his head in your direction. “You don’t.”

“You didn’t deserve the shit I gave you. I know you were protecting me, from jail, from the club, from Clay…” The weight of it hangs in the air between the two of you, because in that time apart you realised Tig doesn’t want to stop you completing your goal, he just wants you to do it safety.

“His time is coming.” Tig promises as he turns to face you. His hands cup your face, his calloused thumbs ghosting over the blush of your cheeks. He smells like motor oil and eucalyptus, a combination that somehow draws you in. “It’s a stay of execution, not a pardon.”

“I know.” You tell him, the edges of your mouth twitching up into a cryptic grin. “And I have some ideas on how to make his life as miserable as possible in the meantime.”

This is what he loves about you, the balance of darkness and the light, the fact that they co-exist in the same space, one complimenting the other. You’re resilient and clever, always thinking outside of the box. Tig knows you’ve found a way around the conundrum that you’ve been facing, something that doesn’t result in you ending up dead or behind bars.

“My beautiful feral girl.” He smiles, lips brushing over the corner of your mouth as he whispers against your skin. “Come inside and tell me all about it.”

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Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[rubykgrant]

I'm TRYING to re-think the order of some of the events in my RVB story-line, so it flows a little better as an actual plot (to be fair, the actual series would often leave the end of a season sort of up in the air, and come back with a non sequitur after a lot of time passes, so. shame on me for trying so hard, I guess). I have a lot more little details involved (I'll ramble about those below), but these are the BIG PICTURE aspects that everything else is framed around

The Interviews involve the Reds, Blues, former Freelancers, Doc, Locus, and a few friends from Chorus talking about what they've been through (with some flash-backs thrown in, showing what they aren't all telling). During the Vacations, Donut goes on a big spa-spree, the Grif sibs go back to Hawaii (without a big fuss, Kai may like the attention, but Grif doesn't want people bothering him about being the Famous Orange Soldier), Simmons tries to track down his family (he can't find them), Sarge goes back to sulk in Blood Gulch alone, Wash goes looking for the Triplets, Doc spends some time with Dr Grey and thinks about trying for a medical degree again, Lopez is allowed to just be by himself (and he's honestly kinda bored), Caboose goes back to the Moon, Tucker searches for Junior, Carolina attempts to dig up info about how deep Charon/Project Freelancer really got into all the crime BS, Locus tries to turn himself into the authorities on Chorus (being all "I deserve to die" about it) but Kimball gives him a "life sentence" of community service. Everybody misses each other, and are drawn back together like a bunch of planets caught in the same gravitational pull

-Sarge is contacted by a UNSC group that wants to give soldiers who were Sim Troopers and members of the Flag Zealots "new training", and he doesn't hesitate. He has fun with it for a while, and this is where he meets Poppy... she is how he finds out a lot of the people here were given the option "join this training program or face prison time", which really isn't much of an option at all. He thinks about how the Red VS Blue war was a lie, he thinks about Project Freelancer manipulating the agents, he thinks about Wash having a villain moment to avoid being locked-up, he thinks about Locus believing soldiers are supposed to kill without ever asking questions... and Papa Warcrimes decides he actually hates the military (it's a sign of the apocalypse!). Meanwhile, Carolina has finally gotten some leads about Charon, and she meets Junonia, who helps her find out more regarding the past and what Hargrove is still up to. Gene has also been around, trying to be a solo villain, but he's BARELY a one-man Team Rocket. Finally, the insidious purpose for all this new training is exposed, and Red Team (with their new member, Poppy) gets to have the spot-light when they fight the villain

-Everybody finally goes back to Earth together, and this time, a big celebration is held for their return. They spend most of their time out of armor on Earth, so the general public leaves them alone. Some fun shenanigans with everybody finding ways to amuse themselves (Sarge doesn't like going outside, the sky is too BLUE). Now that she knows where they are (thanks to the welcoming celebration), Tex finally catches up with everybody, revealing that when Epsilon Deconstructed, the information from his memories transferred back to the original Beta unit, reviving her. The Director had this whole plan for eventually bringing Allison back with a synthetic human body made from her DNA sample, but he could never make it "perfect" (Tex isn't an identical clone, more like a genetic "sibling" to Allison). She isn't the only one who found them; the parents Simmons went looking for finally show up (now that their son is a famous space hero). He's more than happy to get their attention, and they have him join their work at a bio-tech company (everybody else immediately recognizes the parents as a-holes, and the business as shady, but try telling Simmons that). Tex was initially hesitant to reveal the other AI Fragments were also revived, what with some left-over sore feelings regarding Sigma and Omega (Wash is ironically more willing to forgive them for everything; he wishes he had been able to do that BEFORE, instead of fighting against them as the Meta, and the whole spiral from there). Carolina talks through emotions with Sigma, and Omega compliments both Doc and O'malley for finding their back-bone. Everybody else is happy to get to know the Fragments better. Some Drama happens with the Reds, but Simmons finally sees his parents don't really care about him, and they all figure out that the bio-tech company has the original Alpha Unit hidden away. They rescue Church, who has the chance to be in his own synthetic body based on the Directors DNA (again, not identical, just similar)

-Everybody gets to CATCH THEIR BREATH, Caboose and Tucker have Church back, Church and Tex get to do people things, hooray! A distress call out there in space tricks Tucker into thinking Junior is in trouble, so he heads out to find his kid (most of the others join him, but a few stay behind because of recovering injures, etc). This turns out to be a trick, Hargrove and Temple are both being jerks. The rest of the gang arrives for a rescue, and Church has each of the Fragments assist his friends for the escape; for Hargrove, this was his attempt to test out a "new version" of scanning a mind to make his own AI (his tech is wonky, and will definitely kill people it scans). For Temple, he's under the impression that if he helps, he can have his own mind scanned, thus giving him a "recreation" of Biff from his memories. Hargrove REALLY wants people who have interacted with the AI Fragments as experiments, since he thinks there is important data to be found from minds like that. Temple just wants to kill the main group because he hates their guts, and it isn't FAIR, why do they get their dead friend back? Also, everybody finds the AI file for Sheila! When things settle down, Grif and Simmons talk, and at last they are on the same freaking page

-After the rescue, Hargove escapes again, and the group hears a distress call from Chorus. Some old problems are going on again, so they swing by to help out. Hargrove has one last-ditch effort to get what he wants in terms of AI experiments... Felix didn't just come back wrong, he came back WORSE. Well, everybody has the chance to work through some unresolved negative emotions aimed at him (Kimball, Locus, Tucker- everybody gets a stab in!). Felix wants to use his sword again, but it recognizes him as "dead". He tries to use a temple that "revives echoes" for key holders, but this just gives him a ghost of Doyle ("It was mine before it was yours"). The Echo also brings back other AI like Santa, who have been programmed to make certain events happen... while everybody tries to deal with Felix AND finally catch Hargrove for good, the Echo creates a whole third problem. At last, a group of aliens arrive, alerted by the Echo, and in the group is- Junior!

-Some happy family reunion time for Tucker and his boy. Junior explains what he's been doing for so long; he wasn't trying to avoid his father, but there are dangerous groups out there trying to kill him, and he's been hiding while also trying to save others. The strange "prophecy" about him, as well as things involving a "Great Destroyer" is indeed true (Gary admits he kind of just made up what it was about, but it really WAS real!) have become more urgent. Somebody who wants to take over and wipe-out anybody who opposes them has been targeting Junior. There are also many other half human/aliens like him, an attempt to create as many potential "prophecy children" as possible, but all were rejected by their human parents and only seen as tools by the other aliens (except for Junior, who is actually loved by his dad... even though they haven't been able to spend much time together). Another temple out in space supposedly has the power to give "continuous life", and the villain intends to use that to win. Tucker and the others try to protect Junior, but the temple doesn't work the way they all think...

-Back on Earth again, life seems to give them all a break... but unusual things begin happening. It eventually becomes clear that there are "new AI gods" toying with them (some are just playful, a few are genuinely malicious). This involves somewhat amusing, if a little annoying, shenanigans (like Wash getting turned into a cat, and a tiny 7-year-old Sarge showing up), but also very dangerous situations. Alternate time-lines and realities collide, some arguably "worst-case scenarios"

-It finally becomes necessary to confront the cause of all this. The group gets pulled into a pocket dimension where a lot of realities intersect. One AI god demands people fight for their amusement, and the winner will get to return to the "reality they want". The group really just wants weird paradox stuff to STOP. Church, Tex, and the Fragments figure out a way to keep everybody from dying, even the enemies they have to fight, until they have the chance to take on the one trying to control everything. Just when it seems like that issue is solved... Donut throws up. Weird, cosmic throw-up, like if the big-bang was a liquid. Being the one who has been traveling through time and reality the most, he's kind of absorbed a LOT of cosmic energy, and he can't control it. A big monster-transformation happens, but everybody figures out how to fix it so they can save Donut. Are we done? Are we DONE now???

-Yes. Everybody has the chance to live their lives, whatever that means for each of them. They get to be happy. Sometimes, bad things still happen, it can be difficult and unpleasant to live- but they still LIVE. Eventually, they pass on too (and that also means different things for some of them). When all is said and done, they're mostly glad they all got to be here~

[anexistingexistence]

Saw someone do something like this somewhere, no idea where the post went otherwise I would have linked it but whatever-

Assigning Redacted characters Mindless Self Indulgence songs (From someone who is very normal about that band) in no particular order and with the occasional quote from the song:

Gavin: Tight. [I didn't have a say in the matter, he picked it himself-]

Damien: Witness. [Me assigning him this song is a positive thing, I promise.]

Huxley: On It. [The Imperium is strong with this one...]

Kody: Get It Up. [ :) ]

Lasko: Revenge. [We all know this man just wants to bash some heads in and is doing his best not to.]

The Shaw pack in general: Ass Backwards. [Listen to the song, it's a vibe.]

Vincent: Molly. [Because Vincent was a good girl and he knew the reasons why-]

Sam: Bed Of Roses. [He deserves his little emo song, let him have it.]

Alexis: Evening Wear. [Originally planned on only doing voiced characters, but "It's not fair to be compared to you" is a line that just fit too well.]

William(/Vega): 1989. [*insert old man joke here]

Elliott: What Do They Know. ["Mess me up beyond all recognition. For what it's worth, I'd do it again" - because this man will sacrifice himself and everything for Sunshine with no regrets and we love him for that.]

Blake: Pay For It. ["I don't want you to hate me. I want you to wanna hate me. I don't want you to date me, I want you to wanna date me" - his constant internal struggle with his feelings for Bestie summed up very nicely.]

Regulus: 3 S'. [Doesn't fit 100% but the sentiment is there.]

Avior: Due. [I could quote a line from the song here, but I'd end up just putting most of the lyrics here. So. "Die, my darling" is the one I will go with.]

Guy: Bitches. ["This is how it should be done" indeed.]

Aaron: Mastermind. [No, I will not elaborate.]

Honorable listener mention:

Freelancer: Sex for Homework. [In homage to their humble beginnings.]

[numbersandcodes]

🖥️ " Freelancers deserve to die! "🖥️