#I applaud how well the game establishes this like

[abortpawpatrol]

First playthrough of Disco Elysium:

*fails an 80+% success rate skill roll*

...ok surely just bad luck and won't happen again-

*fails an 80+% success rate skill roll*

haha very funny. ok. this is fine. i found the morale fixing stuff not long ago i'll just hold onto it until if things get dire

*fails an 80+% success rate skill roll*

i have so many quests that i can't even progress, people are mean to me and i can't even succeed at ONE THING??? ...no this is fine. this is fine. i still have the pills or whatever they are.

*fails an 80+% success rate skill roll*

...wait where are my pills I know I picked some up and I DEFINITELY didn't use them-

*fails an 80+% success rate skill roll*

*mental breakdown, game over*

This shit hurts more than therapy ever did actually

[honeylations]

HUH YUNJIN x FEM!READER

Prompt: With Le Sserafim in New York and you coincidentally having a runway show, she makes the time to meet up with you

Warnings/Notes: G!p Yunjin, eventual smut, model reader, golden retriever Yunjin

“So I have a confession to make” Yunjin randomly blurts out during game night in some New York Hotel.

Sakura had just rolled the monopoly dice and took hold of her cat piece. “What is it?”

“You’re gay?” Eunchae sarcastically question, earning an eye roll from the American.

“We’ve established that already, yes, but no that’s not what I was gonna say”

“It better be worth pausing this Monopoly game because I am becoming richer by the second” Chaewon smirked and showed off her buildings in majority of the board.

“So I have a girlfriend” Yunjin breathed out, feeling the weight roll off her shoulders.

The red head doesn’t know why she felt the need to keep it a secret from her girls. It wasn’t like she was scared that they wouldn’t support her, it was more of the fact that she gets nervous about almost anything.

And Eunchae may also be a little of bit of a big mouth.

Once a small detail goes through the maknae’s ear, the whole kpop industry suddenly knows.

“Oh? Congratulations Yunjin!” Kazuha applauded excitedly, even giving her member a quick hug.

“I’m surprised you can even pull” Chaewon teased, feeling a wad of monopoly cash slapped in her face. “Ow!”

“Eat shit. Anyways, she’s super awesome~”

This particular side of Yunjin was an easy way for the members to bully her love struck puppy personality and Yunjin knew she wouldn’t be able to defend herself.

“What’s her name?” Eunchae was the one to ask, already planning on texting Kyujin about the news.

Yunjin fiddled with her fingers and giggled like a school girl. “Park Y/n”

All girls sat up on their knees with eyes wider than saucers. “WHAT???”

“THE MODEL?”

“THAT HOTTIE?”

“Kill yourself Yunjin, there’s no way you’re dating THE PARK Y/N”

Yunjin slapped Chaewon with the monopoly cash again, tired of her teasing. “If you don’t believe me, she’s having a runway show tomorrow night. You can come with if you’d like. She can get us front row seats”

The eyes have gone wider and jaws were dropped.

“FRONT ROW TICKETS TO A RUNWAY SHOW?!?!” Sakura jumped up and about, squealing so high that the windows shook.

“I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll message Y/n and let her know” Yunjin said with a smile.

“It’s a coincidence that you both are in New York right now” The leader hummed and took her turn in rolling the dice.

She did a small fist pump when it landed on a double 6.

“Yeah I know, I’m just as surprised as you are. I’m planning to take her out on a date here soon and even introduce her to my family”

“Awwww our Yunjinie is such a good girlfriend~” Sakura smirked and playfully shook the taller member around.

Kazuha did a small applause. “I can’t wait to see her on the runway!”

The following night of the said Runway Show…

“Yunjin can you sit still?” Chaewon had hissed.

Chaewon could’ve been louder but she’d make a total fool of herself in front of the entire audience as the show was going. Well, not much of a fool as Yunjin right now.

The red head was fussing about in her seat, trying her best to get a clear view of whenever your turn was.

Which was literally in a second.

As you began strutting down with you beautiful model face, Yunjin squealed and started shaking her sign around that read: ‘I LUV Y/N <3’

“Wooohooooo! Go baby! You look so beautiful! Oh wow yayyyyy!~”

The Le Sserafim girls looked at their American member in disbelief. Did she suddenly forget she was an idol too?

“Huh Yunjin just how unprofessional are you gonna get?! Give me that and sit still!!” Chaewon growled, snatching the poster from Yunjin.

“Whatever. My girlfriend’s turn is over anyways” The red head grumbled before pursing her lips and waiting for the rest of the show to finish.

It felt like hours for Yunjin, but within minutes you had your bag over your shoulder and approaching your girlfriend and her group.

“Bebby!~” Yunjin made grabby hands and ran to you like an actual puppy seeing its owner.

Which was not much of a surprise for anyone.

“Must you be so loud whenever I’m on the runway? Be professional next time” You scolded but also melted into your girlfriend’s embrace where her large hands rested on your small waist.

She was squishing her cheek against your head and slowly pulled back with imaginary flat guilty ears. Her boba eyes grew wider and your body melted further. It was hard trying to maintain your nonchalant personality when your girlfriend was this fricking cute.

“I’m sorry bebby. I couldn’t help it. You look so pretty…I mean you always look pretty hehe”

You tried to be annoyed by her unprofessionalism but your smirk ruined it.

And Yunjin’s abrupt peck to your lips. “Mwah! Love you bebby”

“Ugh Yunjin quit being a love sap and introduce us to your girlfriend” You heard Chaewon hiss from afar.

“Right. Bebby, this is Kim Chaewon, our leader. Her temper is as short as her height-OW!”

“Piece of shit” The short blonde gritted her teeth when she slapped the back of Yunjin’s head.

“This is Miyawaki Sakura, the eldest. Then there’s me, your cute adorable girlfriend. And then Nakamura Kazuha, our Samoyed”

“Samoyed?” You repeated in question with a smile.

“Apparently that’s how my personality is” Kazuha shrugged and grinned, letting you slowly see why she got the title.

“Last but not least our baby girl, Hong Eunchae! We spoil her with love”

You softly pinched the youngest’s cheek and smiled at her giggle. “Definitely deserves to be spoilt. It’s a pleasure to finally meet Le Sserafim” you spoke calmly.

“Congrats on your runway event Y/n, you looked beautiful” Kazuha complimented sweetly.

“Thank you Kazuha, I’m glad you liked it. Yunjin told me you’d all be in New York so I thought it would be nice to get you girls a gift” you said with a smile and your manager instantly appeared with 4 bags of designer items that you collaborated with.

“Oh wow these are limited edition! Thank you so much Y/n Unnie!” Eunchae squealed with eyes as bright as the sun.

You would’ve thought she was Yunjin’s sister from how big her smile was. “You’re welcome Eunchae. Enjoy your time in New York”

“I will Unnie, I really will!”

“I’ll be going out with Y/n tonight for our date, I’ve already informed Manager-nim” Yunjin quickly reminded to Chaewon specifically in hopes she wouldn’t go ballistic but the leader hummed and nodded anyways.

“No worries. We’ll get going now. Oh and Yunjin-ah” Chaewon quickly called.

Yunjin’s brow raised in curiosity. “Hm?”

“Don’t stay out too late okay? We got content to film”

Yunjin saluted like a dork. “Ay ay captain!”

“Idiot. Take care and it was lovely meeting you Y/n!”

You waved at the girls but could feel Yunjin’s puppy eyes on you again. “What are you staring at?”

“Just how beautiful my girlfriend is. I love you bebby” she said and kissed your temple.

“Ugh. I love you too. Now where are you taking me tonight hm? You look so handsome” you smirked up at her and adjusted her blue button up long sleeve which was open at the collar.

“It’s a surprise bebby. This night will be memorable”

Well Yunjin wasn’t technically lying when she said memorable. She took you to a beautiful Italian restaurant, then surprising you with a bouquet of roses, and finally taking you on a walk by the beach where the moon shined bright.

Of course it wasn’t gonna just end there.

Because now you found yourself riding your girlfriend’s big cock in your hotel room. Both of your clothes thrown somewhere you’d have to dig through later but right now you were focused on milking your sexy girlfriend and the way she was STILL looking at you with those boba eyes.

“F-Fuck, stop looking at me like that” you moaned.

“Mmm, can’t help it. My girl is just so pretty riding me”

Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as you clawed onto her shoulder harder, feeling the tip of her dick reach deeper into your pussy. “You drive me crazy, baby”

Not needing to say another word, Yunjin quickly admired the hickeys she scattered all over your neck and collarbones, then giving into her cravings of your lips. She made the kiss slow, letting her tongue work around yours and felt the movement of your hips falter.

But your tone got louder, shamelessly moaning into your girlfriend’s mouth that some of your saliva went down your chin.

“Tired, Princess?” She whispered into your mouth.

You nodded at her, being enough of a sign for Yunjin to lift you up and make you lay face first and ass up. You supported your balance by leaning on your elbows and looking back at your girlfriend who rubbed your ass and inserting her fat cock back inside your sopping cunt.

“A-Ah!”

“Always tight for me aren’t you, Y/n? My good girl”

You moaned into the sheets from the use of your name instead of her usual nickname for you. One of the things you loved so much about Yunjin was how different she was during sex. She can be vanilla if she wanted to, but Yunjin thought where the fun was in that?

She loved making you wither under her touch. Hearing you cry for her name and beg for her to please you in all the right ways.

“Mmhm right there baby!” You screamed at the inhumane pace Yunjin was going at, the slapping sounds echoing throughout the room (and probably even outside the entire hotel).

Yunjin towered her body over your back and trailed kisses at your jaw, feeling her smile against your skin. “Your pussy is sucking me in so nice, baby. Gonna fill it up with so much of my cum. You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

You nodded, clearly too tired to properly answer and the abrupt hold on your jaw made your eyes go wide. Yunjin squeezed your mouth open. “Open up and tongue out, darling”

Doing so, the red head spat on your tongue and forcefully closed your mouth before holding your throat. “Swallow.”

She hummed in satisfaction at your obedience, the knot in her stomach growing. “Hmm fuck, gonna cum Princess”

“Yes yes please cum in me, Yunnie” you mumbled with tears.

Yunjin was panting in your ear before releasing an aggressive groan, her hips snapping in a harsh but slower pace as she reached her peak. You felt the warm flood of cum fill your needy pussy to the brim, Yunjin then slowly pulling herself out to watch your creamy pussy leak.

“So hot” you exhaled, using two fingers to scoop the liquid and popping them into your mouth. “So tasty”

Yunjin guided you to lay your body down with your head on her chest, then pulling the covers over your sweaty bodies. She kissed your head and spent a few minutes helping you calm down by rubbing circles on your back. “You okay, bebby?”

“Yeah. We haven’t fucked in so long, I almost passed out”

“I missed you so much, bebby. Sorry we haven’t been going out lately”

You shook your head and placed multiple kisses on your girlfriend’s face. “Don’t apologise, my love. We still call all the time so just hearing your voice brings me satisfaction”

Yunjin smiled at your words. “Did you want to join us tomorrow? We won’t show your face on the cameras. As long as I’m with you, I don’t care about anything else”

“You know I have a photoshoot tomorrow, babe and plus I think your fans will go on a killing spree if they see us together”

Yunjin pouted. “I won’t let them touch you, bebby. I’ll use my magic force field to protect you”

You laughed into her neck and pinched her sides. “You’re such a dork”

“A dork you’re super in love with, am I right?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“Yes. A dork I’m super duper in love with”

[adamwatchesmovies]

Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

It took so long for the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie to materialize that two knockoffs beat it to the finish line: The Banana Splits Movie and Willy’s Wonderland. The thing is, neither of those films was particularly good, so the wait could’ve been worth it. Unfortunately, the long-awaited feature-length adaptation of the video game by Scott Cawthon is yet another heartbreak. In fact, it’s even more of a letdown than the others because this is the film you’ve actually been waiting for, rather than the store-brand substitute.

Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, a once-successful Chuck-E-Cheese-like entertainment center with animatronic mascots who sang, played music and entertained guests, was shut down in the 1980s after several child disappearances. In the present day, Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson) struggles to make ends meet while taking care of his younger sister, Abby (Piper Rubio), and agrees to work as a security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s. Mike is still traumatized from the disappearance of his younger brother many years ago. Every night, he revisits his memories of that fateful day through his dreams, hoping some new detail will emerge and allow him to figure out who took Garrett. On his first night at Freddy Fazbear’s, he has a different dream, making him wonder if the mystery surrounding the abandonned building might help him get some answers.

I should begin this review by telling you that I only have second-hand knowledge of the game. I know what it’s about, I know the characters but I’ve never played. One thing I know is that it’s a horror game whose frights are primarily jump scares. This makes the film’s lack of scares - particularly of jump scares - stunning. If there was one movie that could’ve used long, tense stretches of someone in near darkness wandering through corridors while the audience waits for something to pop up out of nowhere, it was Five Nights at Freddy’s. Instead, we get a plot that frankly, was ill-conceived from the start.

One of the major issues with this film is the storyline with Garrett. When we meet Mike, he’s so mentally unhinged he violently beats a man he thinks is kidnapping a child. You’re supposed to think “Oh no! Poor guy! He's so messed up!". Instead, you begin suspecting the mechanical bear with gears for brains is smarter than him - you’re right. Of all the jobs Mike could’ve gotten, security guard is probably the worst one. See, he insists on going to sleep at the same time, every night. Before he goes to sleep, he stares at a photo of the trees from the park where his brother went missing and listens to the sound of birds. Mike believes that we actually remember everything we see and that if you can’t remember just yet, you can unlock your memories by visiting them through your dreams. You want to feel bad for him because his parents are dead now, leaving him alone to take care of his sister but he’s an irresponsible menace. You don’t sympathize with him at all.

Mike won't win you over even after the film introduces the picture’s villain: his estranged aunt Jane (Mary Stuart Masterson). She wants custody of Abby so she can collect those monthly government child tax checks. You're wondering why she's necessary. Aren't those killer robots the villains? Well, she's included so she can hire a bunch of dumb-dumbs to break into Freddy Fazbear's. It's no surprise that they all get turned into hamburger meat and no, you won’t see anything shocking even then, as the killer mascots go through the trouble to clean up after themselves once the carnage is over. PG-13 horror can work. It doesn't here.

I cannot overstate how baffling the "missing brother" backstory thing is. It's more nonsense than sense, particularly once Mike realizes what happens in his dreams can carry over to real life. It's all building up to a mystery so easy to deduce you'll feel like a galaxy-brained genius. Not only is it obvious; it's clumsy. Loads of exposition is delivered point-blank by police officer Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) and the ending is as convincing as this film is gory, which is to say not at all. At least Matthew Lillard as Mike's career counsellor seems to be having fun.

What's the worst thing about Five Nights at Freddy's? It might be this running gag that comes up a few times and then again during the end credits. I say that because it shows director Emma Tammi - who probably did her best while the executives pushed and bullied the junior director into making this watered-down would-be spook-fest - knows the premise would've been perfect for a horror-comedy. Instead, it's unintentionally funny at best - there's a scene in which one of the killer animatronics takes a cab ride(!!!) - and boring at worst. I'm sure die-hard fans will think it's great but that's only because of the name that's been slapped onto the poster. Five Nights at Freddy's is a colossal, disappointing mess.  (April 6, 2023)

[galaxythedragonshifter]

A bit of a criticism of the FNAF community...

I don't like how a lot of the fans take the story of fnaf too seriously, and expect it to work like a tv show, where they just tell you the lore and anything not in said show is non-canon.

That's never how the story of FNAF worked in the first place. Sure, the games show us bits and pieces, but the community had to figure it out themselves with little help from Scott. A good portion of the lore is ambiguous and/or hinted at, and even smaller details the community came up with aren't even canon to begin with (ex. CC being named Evan).

While I agree with the sentiment that FNAF 6 was a good ending to it, I also empathize with Steel Wool, and I don't agree with the "they should have never continued after FNAF 6, they ruined the franchise" sentiment.

I wouldn't have even found an interest in fnaf had security breach not been made. Security breach is what grabbed my attention. So ofc I will be slightly biased, but I don't think SB deserves the hate it gets. Yes, it's buggy, was barely playable on release, and was unable to do everything Steel Wool wanted due to time constraints, tech limitations, and over ambition. Those criticisms are 100% true.

However, saying that security breach should have never been made, rather than understanding that SB was a learning opportunity for Steel Wool, as well as something that grew the community despite it's quality is questionable. Besides, a lot of the story is established to be there, but unfortunately wasn't able to be implemented due to the aforementioned problems.

Although I, again, absolutely agree Steel Wool shouldn't have rushed the end product due to a release date they absolutely had control over, as well as the community needing to be more patient. I'm not saying the game is a masterpiece or anything; it's not.

I wasn't exactly too aware of the fnaf community before SB released, but after, I heard a lot about how the community was upset about all the setbacks in development (please correct me if I'm wrong). I can see why Steel Wool felt rushed to get SB out asap.

Yes, the story has plot holes and yada yada yada... when has it not???? Why was that ok, but it's not ok now? During the "Scott era", people had no problems with coming up with theories/making their own stories, Headcanons, and working without a straightforward answer to everything. While that absolutely still exists, it feels like the people saying "SB should have never been made" seem to see SB as a tv show more than an installment to a franchise that always made the community work together for answers.

Now you can argue that SB's writing was sub-par compared to the first six games. And I agree. But keep in mind that Steel Wool was assigned to the franchise by Scott, and they absolutely want to give us more fnaf content since Scott can't oversee the whole entire franchise anymore. They really enjoy working with Scott to continue bringing games to the fans.

In addition, Scott absolutely loves playing in his goofy little murder robot story like it's a sandbox, and I believe that was his intention for the fandom too. He's funded several fan projects as well as creating the Fanverse. He's made many variations of the same story (the books, the games, the Silver Eyes trilogy, and the movie). And as a creator, he's absolutely allowed to do that. He had fun with his creations, and I absolutely applaud him for not trying to please the fans every two seconds to desperately keep parts of the fandom that were upset at random things. I truly believe he wants the community to have fun and not to take the story too seriously. (Actually, Steel wool mentioned that they do the same thing during FuhNaff's interview.) They understand that you shouldn't try to make EVERY fan happy.

Speaking of the interview from two months ago (as of writing this), Jason talks a lot about the process behind SB and why they did things a certain way. Ofc, most of the criticisms still apply, but there's a lot of intention behind the other complaints. He also mentions that there's still things in SB that haven't been found, and that they're making everything work similar to Gravity Falls.

Basically they have a ton of little details that don't seem to have answers, but will in later times. Mind you, the new Mimic game was announced today, with one of the frames having 1979, presumably referencing Fall Fest (before Fredbear's Family Diner). This will probably explain the extra details in HW2 with the Daycare Attendant, the outfits the Mimic uses in Ruin, ect.)

And on top of that, no story is 100% perfect. There have been multiple limitations and roadblocks, especially for Steel Wool, that need workarounds. Of course it's not gonna line up 100%. That's where we, as the fandom, come in to theorize and explain.

Imo, ragging on Steel Wool for Security Breach and not killing the series after fnaf pizzeria sim is incredibly harsh and doesn't take into consideration any of the factors involved. It also isn't really all that fair tbh.

Sorry I practically wrote an entire essay lol. This has just been bugging me for a while.

[dandeliicnsarchiived]

51. How do you think the RP/Fandom community has grown or changed since you started?

MUNDAY RP MEME: HOW // ACCEPTING!

When I first started the rpc was very forgiving and brutal at the same time. This was back in like 2013-2015 time frame for me. Back then the trend was really tragic characters, hard to interact with and plotting was more of a thing that was rare and world building was kinda coming into light? I unfortunately made a lot of mistakes trying to follow the trends and trying to popular by making people like my characters.

It seemed at the time the only way you get interactions was if your character was severely traumatized and didn't really have development/overcoming said trauma. If your muse was hurt in the worse way possible then that character was worshipped and you were applauded for it.

My mistake/biggest regret was taking aspects of writers lore that they made for their character specially and applied it to my own. Basically copy and paste and I was rightfully called out for it. Callouts were very big, up to the point of light doxxing, tracking ips and basically warning Fandoms to not interact with you and they didn't give you much more room for apologizes or improvement.

How that's changed? We do our research, we credit the inspirations even if it's something little as locations, traits or other writers that helped you come up with the lore. I love that now, and I've learned from my past mistakes/regrets. I credit everything, from songs, to TV shows, movies and video games. I cover all my basis. As for characters, we no longer torture our characters or make them hard to interact. We establish a real story-telling aspect of beginning, the conflict, the climax and the resolution. We actually want our characters to grow and develop but still acknowledging the shit we put them through.

In addition, we also use our characters to talk about topics that need to be addressed. Writer over at @anomalouss and myself tackle Mental Health and illness. I focus more on the recovery of it, normalizing that it's okay to spiral but you can always crawl your way back up if you have a system that works. While Kat, she focuses on the various mental illness/diagnosed conditions and protrays them in a way that's VERY realistic compared to the water-downed verison that media shows us. She makes it known that certain characters are bad for this,that and the third but also making them intractable that they have their good/amazing days.

Another note is the face claims, proper casting, making sure that the characters background matches the actor/actress to include names. I'll be honest the best example would be @indigodreames . Jem took the time to educate me on an OC/NPC that I had for Victoria's best friend - I gave her a generic Hispanic name, and she educated me that the fc I picked had a different background. She also took up that OC, gave her a cultural accurate name and background that does her justice. In addition to her Asian muses from South Korea, I believe the Philippines and Japan? Jem, please correct me if I'm wrong! The same also applies to you ! @shchvnts reading your lore on the vampires that are native to your characters country was very enlightening ! It actually inspired me to go into my own vampire lore so be on the lookout for that later on today!

Overall, the RPC is constantly evolving, educating and taking accountability for actions. Some like myself learn from young and dumb actions when they first started and others? Well, I hope they catch up with the times and understand you can still have fun, take it seriously but at the end of the day as long as you're not disrespectful, making drama, and ruining the experience for everyone; everything should turn out fine.

[rise-my-angel]

i recently binged hotgw (by recently i mean a little while ago, i've just been a bit too shy to properly drop in) and i just have to tell you how much i love it which is best summarised by this

first i just have to say... the character dynamics!!!!!!!!!

you've put so much care at giving all of the characters the reader knows with such a unique, highly-detailed and multi-faceted relationship and it really shows because not onky is every relationship brilliant but i'm so invested in each and every one.

the earlier chapters are so interesting with the way you've written the broader baratheon dynamics - i would've never even thought to consider a barristan selmy relationship, and the decline of robert's character (not that he ever had much integrity to begin with haha) through her lens is so so interesting - it expertly shows the scope of how one character impacts another. also, the baratheon and targaryen lineage you paralleled with young griff was just ajsjajshxhhaajajajwj

and nothing delightfully pains the cockles of my heart than a dysfunctional father-daughter relationship (deffo not projecting here), you've managed to capture such an interesting mix of regret, anger, distance and love it's just so realistic and lovely (and sad) to read.

i also love how you developed selyse further than the (shit)show ever did and you've made her character development feel so earned.

and speaking of character development...

THEON

<3333333333

i would go into detail how much i love their bond but i would be here all day and this ask would be even longer than it already is

and getting into the two best relationships - robb and jon!!!!!!!!

a lot of fics always diminish the first relationship in order to make the second properly established but my god have you written them both so equally well.

the fact that robb (and all of the other dead starks) gets mentioned and is thought about so often is painful, but like, in a good way (especially compared to the show where rickon was never thought/mentioned again after he died). and i love love love his and the reader's dynamic - it's all so tragic but in a very very good symbolic and narratively satisfying way (even if my heart breaks apart every time).

and jon!!!!!! the way you have them doing constant acts of service unthinkingly gets butterflies in my stomach... and i'm a lesbian haha

i also adore how their relationship doesn't always improve in a linear line, as does her healing process becausw let's be honest... life isn't like that. and you've written her trauma so well and with such honour and dignity while still maintaining a sense of reality i just have to applaud you.

i'm also loving your insertion of the magical side of things into everything which is the thing that always pissed me off about the show - it was never meant to be a game of thrones but rather a song of ice and fire!!!!

and all your foreshadowing is so so so clever!!! i don't get half of it in the moment but whenever i reread (which is a lot) certain things tend to make such sense as the plot progresses and i just makes me so ughfhfjdjsj

and speaking of future events i cannot wait to see what you do with euron (it's already 1000000x better than the show) and the greenseeing i'm so fucking hyped.

and correct me if i'm going crazy... but are we pregnant???? or am i seeing (reading? idk) things?

i just cannot wait to see what happens - the time you upload is normally the exact minute i get off of work and it's one of the highlights of my week getting to read your chapters <333

the reader has been on such a journey from being grave as a coping mechanism (so so cool by the way) to wearing her heart on her sleeve, and with a high battle iq and political tactics, i just love her so much.

so thank you for putting so much effort into the story and for posting it too (it takes a special kind of bravery to participate in the got/asoiaf fandom, which i certainly don't have haha) and i cannot wait to see how it continues <33333

sorry for the rant haha

anither side note: that sassy dig at the stupidiry of the beyond the wall episode never ceases to make me have a little giggle

First of all, I do not deserve such an in depth ask about this story, you are way, way too kind!

I'm glad the characterization agrees with people, one of my biggest things about the series is consistency. How to develop these characters we already know into plots we haven't seen yet but keep them recognizable. It's my biggest worry with every chapter that I have totally missed the mark.

But a lot of these characters did not get their fair treatment, and they have so much potential. It's also just fun trying to think, what changes in this world with a whole other human being? Like how does the dynamic with Ser Barristan effect the story, does it have an impact on events later on? How do I incorporate the reader without making them feel shoved in or feel like I've made them too important and it takes away from the other characters, but also not have them be just set dressing in the background.

Robb will never leave this story, and I am beyond thankful he and the readers relationship worked as well as it did for you all. I adored their marriage and I knew it was going to have a huge long lasting impact and feared how it would go over should people not believe their love.

And boy oh boy I hope you were being honest about the magic stuff because we are about to go in pretty deep with that side of this world that the show never even slightly touched. But I'm super excited about it all, so I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Also, I knew putting that jab in there was so petty but I could not help it, that episode is the bane of my existence.

[single-malt-scotch]

i kno theres a lot of comparison for Good Season between s9 and s7 and i love them both bc they really have entirely different vibes. they cant be the same. i dont think its fair to say why one was better than the other but rather recognize what is different about them and think about the numerous things done and why they worked well, potentially thinking about what would be nice to see going forward.

s7 was interesting bc it isnt unlike s9 in having some kind of central location and then hermits spreading out from there, as well of the numerous 'events' that occurred.

i think a central area is key... not just spawning in the same place together, but spawning there and establishing something there. s9's spawn blossoming in that spot with everyone's small starter homes was lovely because it basically made a small neighborhood. it seemed natural to make a little starter base to prepare and live in before going off to build a potentially bigger base imo. my favorite thing about s9 (kind of s8 simply because of proxy voice) is the excitement and chaos of starting and everyone bumping into each other and poking fun etc and i think spawn is a key part of that! its what i look forward to most for the start of a season.

in terms of events, its something the hermits were very good at in s7 and naturally did in s9 again. events are good. they allow collabs between bigger numbers! i cant even count all the events on each season but i realize i feel there is like... a 'roleplay-ish' event and some kinda game event lol. and strangely we had two events that had to do with controlling a district/server etc (s7 mayor and s9 king). which is just coincidence. but, this kinda back and forth of funny 'lets play pretend" to some degree can be amusing to watch and i dont mind it, but its the way that its played out that matters. s7 mayor was pretty simple and didnt effect other people too hard (it was on a much smaller scale tbh), whilst ren's king arc was incredibly involved!! and that is NOT an insult (i think it was done decently in a way where ppl not involved did not have weird video situations of being confused or left out-- they could ignore it easily).

it is just wild to see the progression of work done between these events these ppl created. honestly no matter the ups and downs of the king arc i cannot applaud ren enough for everything he did, it was insane. this is to say-- i wouldnt doubt a pattern potentially coming through-- playing pretend in a way thats a bit more than just a prank war, and obviously making silly games. games are really The staple of the server and the way people get together to have fun. my only wish would be to not have another mayor/king/etc arc lol. i dont think thatll be an issue.

i think what stands out for both season are the things some hermits make that arent mini games or just a little play pretend, but the long going events that get people involved for a longer period-- s7's button, tag, head games, decked out or the base trade. s9's decked out, tcg, mumbo's new button, ren's quests, etc... and i imagine they will all come up with new things again. s9 at least to me felt like it lacked some of that but its probably more because the ones that did come up lasted a long time inbetween giving hermits more time to work on their builds. but they all came in waves that felt fitting. let a thing happen for a while, it slows down, people spend time more specifically working on their base. rinse repeat. i guess in some ways it felt 'organized' but i can see how it maybe didnt work for some people-- some didnt like watching tcg and when it was the main focus, some people didnt watch. same goes with decked out.

and of course, across both seasons, its always a toss up on how "complete" is feels. and my prespective is less of who completes what, but instead how the season potentially affected their ability to work on their stuff. of course there are all kinds of irl things that affect them too so i cant judge this as if i know everything. s9 felt kind of linear? again, in the sense of how larger scale events were spaced out. and i feel like ppl were given good spans of time to work on their stuff. really, it just seemed like irl things is what slowed some people down towards the end, especially when the pauses between things like tcg and decked out were spent dealing with irl, and then returning because of those events. at least from my perspective, s7 felt a bit more chaotic in terms of this pacing due to the randomness of events and the fact they would often take them away from their bases. i dont actually feel like anyone worked less on their bases in s7 than s9, but the big things that happened were not at all paced the same way as they were in s9 (it sometimes made me feel like they werent making much progress at all even though they were lol).

it is interesting taking a look at these two seasons because i think they had a lot of the same stuff, but both went about it differently. i think these two seasons define the hermits very well-- the kinds of stuff they do, the stuff they enjoy, and what they tend to keep doing. assuming s10 doesnt get some kind s8 treatment i can only see this one going forward just as well as the previous. and i hope as well to see some very interesting new ideas from after the insane massive works like tcg and decked out 2.

[heliianth]

here’s another ask for you: talk abt whatever you want!!!

WAUGH thank u for a new one!!!!! ilysm!!!!!

rambling abt sonic and character foils and the IDW comics below the cut this is aimless enough for me to want it be an opt-in experience LOL

i was gonna talk abt this last night but it was 11 AnyWay. i saw a criticism of the IDW comics on reddit a long time ago and its got me thinking recently. someone said they didn't quite enjoy the way the comic was tackling sonic as a character not because of the inconsistencies in his pre-established beliefs (which are present) per se but because IDW keeps challenging them in ways that don't feel, from what i remember the comment saying, "good-spirited"? i hadnt heard that critique before so it was unique enough to catch my interest but not actually think much until now. but theres a reason for that hold on ok

so. to preface this whole thing. some of the most beloved stories in the series are ones that Do challenge sonic's beliefs. thats the reason why, when the series wants to tackle more mature content, they make foil characters. sa2 which reddit largely considers as having the best story has foil characters everywhere but specifically it spends a lot of energy on it's themes of identity and growth by making sonic and shadow clash not just physically but ideologically. that talk they have after final rush/chase basically spells it out and its framed as shadow hearing sonic out and then dismissing him ("what are you/i'm me/i see, well, i'm gonna beat your ass" <- basically). and then later on sonic's viewpoint is reinforced when shadow (airquotes) dies, but not before sonic himself is visibly impacted in the credits sequence. that whole story right there was, at least thematically, one about sonic having his beliefs challenged. SatBK does this as well, a game which is applauded within the general community as having the most accurate sonic characterization. stories that do adjacent things, like the OVA, s3&k, sa1, where character foils are a prominent part of the theming (though maybe not presented in a way where sonic himself necessarily feels ideologically Challenged), are often very popular as well

the time i saw the criticism was about when the surge saga was coming to an end, but i was new at that point so i really dismissed the whole discussion. sonics allowed to be challenged, thats what happens when you have a static character as a protagonist. but now that ive reread IDW a few times and have identified some of my own issues with the run so far i've been thinking about that reddit comment more often. why is the way IDW challenges sonic so different from the way stories like SatBK or sa2 challenge him? why is one intriguing and the other not "good-spirited?" nowadays i think the issue is less with tone or intent like the wording of the original comment implies, but the conclusion of those stories. all of those previous examples i gave culimate in sonic succeeding, yes bc hes the title character, but moreso bc hes the vehicle through which the themes of the series are delivered. SatBK wasn't going to have merlina win because the story was trying to tell the audience that life is only worth living when its finite. sa2 killed off shadow because it was about how being unable to move on eats someone from the inside out. these are broad overarching themes that are present in the whole series and its generally agreed that sonic at his best is representative of those themes, which is why hes static

but IDW kind of has a messy history with conclusions. or, at least, conclusions that feel like they are trying to Say something in the way i've been talking about. after everything is done and the threat of the week is defeated, it all kind of returns back to a status quo, which im very sure is not the fault of the writers. long-running series are supposed to have a status quo that keeps stuff the same so that new audiences wont be alienated by huge character histories and lore timelines and things to catch up on (The Most Intimidating thing abt like archie for example). its partially why u see almost no fleshed out arcs that span multiple games after 06 (man the word partially is doing some legwork there but if i talked abt why sonic games changed so drastically after the mid 2000's i would be here all fucking day). and there are conversations to be held about that status quo and its place in the games and whether its beneficial or not but imo when talking about IDW, a comic which is supposed to have continuity, it kind of obliterates the potential of having meaningful conclusions and the themes that come along with them. because IDW always approaches "sonic feels ideoloically challenged" and it never goes beyond it. it nudges and hints at criticism of IDW sonic's beliefs, actions, and philosophy, but it doesn't do anything with it. the status quo says sonic can't change that much, which is good when the conclusion of stories have themes that prove he's already got it figured out, and bad when there's a big gaping question mark where a lesson should be. the surge saga i think is the glaring example of this precisely because its so conclusionless (theres also how sonic himself engages with her but thats a convo for another day).

so when that redditor said they thought the surge saga lacked a "good-spiritedness" that stories with a similar concept like SatBK or sa2 had i think they were picking up the vibes of the story being kind of... pointless at least in terms of themes and actual impact on the characters, rather than a lack of earnestness, a tone blunder, or strange intent on the part of the writers

im really curious how the urban warfare saga is resolved now precisely bc this lack of meaningful conclusion problem is so prevalent . depending on how passionate i am i may make a more formal analysis post abt it or something, but probably not considering i read IDW very very casually . which feels like a contradiction after writing all this but . yanno

[musicarenagh]

Curtis Millen: Revving Up the Funk with 'Driver’s Seat' For Curtis Millen, music is not simply performing on a stage, listening to a recorded studio session, or applauding when the lights go out; it is an exhilarating adventure packed with rhythm, energy, and soul that every listener finds themselves immersed in. Born in Belfast, Ireland, Curtis has spent the past couple of years making a name for himself within the European funk and jazz scene and has now relocated to Rotterdam. Drawing upon inspiration from artists such as Prince, Stevie Wonder, and Tom Jones active in different eras, Curtis has blended these influences and come up with a contemporary soul and funk style that is characteristic of him and his fans who appreciate that sound. Now, Curtis Millen is ready to share the stage along with the release of his debut single "Driver's Seat". This one, however, is an assertive, dynamic, and funky pop extravaganza created with the help of an award winning guitarist Niels Onstenk. A traditional rhythm established by icons such as James Brown is successfully synthesized with Vulfpeck type of sound present in this single. "Driver's Seat" serves as a canvas for Curtis' showmanship and raw talent at its best. In this candid interview Curtis speaks about the ups and downs of making ‘Driver’s Seat’, his inspirations and how the tune encapsulates his personality on stage. Curtis details the making of this song explaining why it is the first of many interesting achievements in his growing career in music – from thinking about what the song would be like or what are it’s lyrics. Listen to Driver's Seat https://open.spotify.com/album/34lJ2geysNocwXBMqiulPw?si=efZYFv5-Rw-xnfvCvxqH0A Follow Curtis Millen on Facebook Spotify Soundcloud Youtube Instagram   Congratulations on the release of "Driver's Seat"! Can you tell us what inspired this song and its concept? The inspiration for this song came from a burning desire to create a funk song that encapsulates the high energy style of song that are often seen in my performances. We listened to a lot of Old Skool Funk in James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Chuck Brown and then took a trip into the New Skool Funk game to check out some Vulfpeck and Cory Henry to see how we could find a blend of the two. What was the songwriting process like for "Driver's Seat"? Did the lyrics or the melody come first? After listening to condensed list of treasured songs I was sitting in the studio with my neighbour, Gianni Noten, an expert ion all things funky when out of nowhere, Niels Onstenk, the song's producer came bolting out of the shower still soaked with his towel round him to grab his phone from the studio desk and record a voice note of the idea for the song that just came to him in his shower time epiphany. For context we have a studio in the living room of our apartment. The title "Driver's Seat" suggests themes of control and direction—how does this relate to your personal experiences or the message of the song? Well, it's all about taking control in the bedroom and having your romantic partner reassured that they're in for a good time if you just let me do my thing! Can you walk us through the production process? Who did you collaborate with to bring this single to life? This project was solely a collaboration between Niels Onstenk aka Niké Laos and myself. Occasionally tapping on the shoulders of close friends regarding the mix or the feel and contacting people like artist and DJ Winnie Ama for advice on the vocal performance. Are there any specific sounds, instruments, or influences that helped shape the mood and energy of "Driver's Seat"? The bridge really made it for me! I left the studio to go the the gym with the song only having tis chorus and prechorus at that stage. When I came back Niels played the bridge to me and I lost my mind and the hook came to me in aninstant,"Don't mind the time, Just Enjoy the Ride!" How does "Driver's Seat" fit into the overall story or theme of your music career so far? Does it represent a shift in direction or sound for you?

A huge shift for me personally as it captures how I feel I sound in a live setting when I'm my peak during a funk performance. It's the song to pave a way forward for my sound as an energetic funk and soul singer. The vocal delivery in "Driver's Seat" is powerful—how did you approach capturing the right emotion and energy in the studio? It took a lot of work. Initially the song was in Bb before Niels played it in a friends car and decided it needed to be higher for bigger energy so he transposed it to D and brought the vocals along up with it. Tried it a few times but the pre-chorus was tricky in the new key so I took it to two different vocal coaches, Meg Davis and Jimmy Adelina to work on belting with a fuller sound and in a way that's safe for the vocal cords. The day we did the final vocal take I Had it in my head that I needed to get this nailed. I needed to have it the way I hear it in my head and I didn't leave the mic alone until I did. Not until I had myself convinced of what I was saying and how I was saying it. Is there a particular lyric or moment in the song that holds special significance to you? There's a special part in the middle of the song where I sing along with the horn line but it's masked with a phaser effect on the vocals but when we listened to that back dry in the studio I fell to the floor laughing at the sound of it. That and the car horn in the middle of that part catch me off guard when I hear it back on big speakers. [caption id="attachment_57296" align="alignnone" width="1106"] There's a special part in the middle of the song where I sing along with the horn line but it's masked with a phaser effect on the vocals but when[/caption] What was the most challenging aspect of creating this single, and how did you overcome it? Settling on the mix and the vocal performance. After hammering down the vocal performance it took a lot of back on forth on deciding which sound would be the one that would be released. So after driving around Rotterdam listening to it back and comparing it to the likes of Vulfpeck and PJ Morton we found where to take the sound to and settled on the direction forward,. How have your fans responded to "Driver's Seat" so far? Has there been any feedback that really stood out to you? The best feedback so far has been that it sounds like its been taken directly out of the 70s and for me that's what I envisioned when performing it What message or feeling do you hope listeners walk away with after hearing "Driver's Seat"? Confidence in being the one who can take the lead. It has an uplifting energy and a lot of testosterone and that's something to be shared. How do you balance the storytelling elements with the musical elements when writing a song like "Driver's Seat"? In a similar approach as from one of my biggest inspirations, Michael Jackson, get your point across and make your voice clear and percussive so that it blends in nicely with the music https://open.spotify.com/artist/4NqYCaCGzJS78unXRAb3HS?si=t-7-uUNqSrS0HsX24FP5IA Who or what are some of your biggest influences in music, and did any of them shape the sound of this single? Prince, Tom Jones, James Brown, Vulfpeck, Michael Jackson, Charlie Wilson/The GAP Band, Stevie Wonder and Cory Henry. I can honestly say all of them shaped the sound of this single both musically and vocally Looking ahead, do you have any other projects or releases on the horizon that you're excited about? After this one we're releasing a foot-stomping funk song, 'Break Out the Cutters' which is coming out in October. Release date currently TBC. How does "Driver's Seat" fit into the broader vision of your artistic journey? It's the first step in a narrative where I am truly myself. It's the beginning of a musical journey that starts with me being able to say I'm at peace with myself and this is now visible in my self-expression If you had to sum up "Driver's Seat" in one sentence, how would you describe it? High-octane funk about taking your

lover by the hand and taking them for the ride of their life!

[auseryoumayknow]

*cracks knuckles* time for history class

ok so it all starts with this one little dude who grows up thinking “wow I wanna play this game where you can make whatever you want to” actually when the game came out he was like 18 but oh well

and he plays the game and loves it, and gets excited as it develops, and decides to make little videos of his wonderful creations.

fast forward a couple years and he has this idea. Minecraft has been updated a lot since then. “What if I stick 13 of my friends into a server where the only way to progress is to complete tasks that these guys call watchers assign you. If you fail the tasks before a certain time period or you die you disappear.

at the “end” of the series, they go to the end dimension, and there, Grian dies, and doesn’t make it back to the end. He becomes a watcher. (I’m not sure if this info is accurate because I only watched a lore video, I know he becomes a watcher but I’m not sure bout the whole fail the tasks thing)

and then gri continues making content when his intersona escapes EVO somehow and he joins Hermitcraft in season six. (when I started watching 🥹) (actually I started watching a little beforehand, at his 1.13 update showcase)

Hermitcraft? What is Hermitcraft? Hermitcraft is a server with some players on it, including his bestie Mumbo, who forced grian to play, (that’s a joke but he convinced the admins to let him in) this server is sort of like England. It did used to be an anarchy but now it’s sort of monarchy. They have a ruler (mayor, Hermitcraft is canonically a town) (I think they’re an anarchy now actually) where they have an economy and everything. They sort of do whatever they want, establishing huge bases (show-offs 😡) and making friends and enemies.

and now time for the star of the show,

THE LIFE SERIES

*applauding noises*

it starts with third life, a series where everyone gets only three lives, green, yellow, and red. Green life: you’re safe, collect resources and survive.

yellow life: be careful, one slip up can end it all.

red life: hostile towards everyone. Greens and yellows cannot kill, but red can kill anyone and everyone. They don’t have to team, but they can.

once you loose all of your lives, you’re out of the game. Last person standing wins.

last life is essentially the same thing, but with a random generator telling you how many lives you have, anywhere from 2-6. Gameplay is the same, but with an added twist.

the boogeyman. Assigned randomly, can kill anyone. The target looses a life if killed by the boogeyman, and vice versa. If the boogeyman fails to kill by the end of the session, they loose a life. As the sessions go on, the chances rise for multiple boogeymen.

Double life: the same as third life, with only three lives and no boogeymen, but as you guessed, with a twist. You’re paired with someone random (I don’t think it’s random but hey) and you guys share the lives. If you die, your partner dies. You have to try to work together to win.

I think limited life is next

same as last life, with a boogeyman, except as you already know, with a HUGE twist. you have 24 hours to live. (Scary)

on 24 hours, you’re in green.

on 12 hours, you’re yellow.

on 8 hours, you’re red.

If a boogeyman snatches a kill, they gain an hour, while the killed looses two. If they fail, they loose 8 hours.

and secret life, which now that I think about it has more similarities to EVO

this took me forever to write please appreciate it

you said you wanted to know everything

Ok imagine secret life but grian has to hand deliver all the secrets to everyone like postman.

[chomchomcherrybomb]

An essay

People who support Stella like to use the pro shipper logic, that liking Fiction doesn’t support irl action, and how it doesn’t affect anyone.

However, this simply isn’t the case, and in this essay I’ll explain why, because apparently people can’t comprehend how supporting an abusive toxic woman in fiction and outwardly applauding it is gross.

Pro shippers listen up as well.

In order for this to be as thorough as possible, we need to establish Romanticization vs study, and comedic effect.

Romanticizing something is to “deal with or describe in an idealized or unrealistic fashion; make (something) seem better or more appealing than it really is.” (-Oxford Languages dictionary.) whereas a study or character examination is “1 : analysis or portrayal in literature of the traits of character of an individual. 2a : a brief narrative or sketch devoted primarily to character study.” (-Merriam Webster)

A good example of these two different projections is Bojack Horseman vs 13 reasons why. Both deal with subjects of depression and suicide, along with drugs and numerous sexual themes, but

Bojack horseman is a character study,

13 reasons why is a romanticization.

The reason this is important is because it explains how portrayal affects opinion. This is why we can have horror movies about serial killers doing horrible things, and causing destruction in their wake, and people will be fine.

When people portray horrible shit, like r*pe, torture, murder, espionage etc, they portray it in a very specific fashion. 

When portraying those topics, it’s important to establish why we’re witnessing it, and how it affects the story and how we perceive the rest of the series/movie/book. Most of the time, with subjects like this, it’s established that it’s not a good thing.

Another good example of romanticization versus character study is the joker.

Joker (2019) is a character study, it shows a nuanced take on someone who’s jaded, and mentally ill, and takes it out on society. It portrays The Joker as a dysfunctional and dangerous person, who needs help. The movie focuses very heavily on the mental illness and societal prospects, rather than trying to make them seem appealing. People love this movie (just like I do) because of how it portrays him.

Now, the suicide squad joker is a romanticization. He’s shown as an attractive and sexy psycho, who takes and uses to his advantage. When he kills, it’s seen as cool or it’s played off. People hate this movie because of how romanticized the joker is. 

It’s the same reason why horror movies are still such a huge thing, when they portray murderers, r*pists, or horrible people in general, there’s usually a consensus that the antagonist of the movie is in the wrong. 

People romanticize Stella’s abuse, but hold Stolas to the opposite standard. 

Comedic effect is when people use intense or serious situations and make light of them for hilarity sake.

Helluva boss uses comedic elements in tune with character studies.

—

As for Amber Bird, their support for her is romanticizing her actions. There’s a difference between enjoying the nuance and toxicity of a character for character sake, verses supporting them and excusing their actions. You can like characters that are toxic, that do horrible things, but don’t portray them as a flawless victim or someone whose actions were justified.

For example: Slashers. 

People LOVE slashers from films and games, have fanart and entire thirst blogs dedicated to them, but understand the character is fucking deranged and will/would kill them if they had a chance. They don’t try to justify their murders (atleast seriously). They enjoy the character as a character, but accept the character is not a good person.

Stella supporters don’t do that. And I also think there’s a difference between the extremes.

Murder isn’t held to the same standard due to its extreme nature. Abuse is something that happens everyday to several people, murder is less likely to happen. Hence why people are more angry at her attempt to hit him and her emotional/verbal abuse than her calling a hit on him.

When you support and defend an abuser, you’re setting a precedent that it’s okay, where it isn’t. 

Pro shippers and Stella Stans alike have this problem, where they portray their character or relationship in a positive light, which leads to toxic mindsets and sets a negative precedent.

Enjoy a character but don’t try and make them better than they are.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Pixels (2015)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

Based on the 2010 short of the same name by Patrick Jean, Pixels has some neat visuals… and nothing else to offer. Even video game and arcade enthusiasts won't like it, as the film is more concerned with giving Adam Sandler’s posse pay checks and indulging in nostalgia than utilizing the tools at its disposal to full effect.

As a child, Sam Brenner (Adam Sandler) became a champion of arcade games until he was defeated by his rival Eddie Plant (Peter Dinklage) in the world championship’s final round. Years later, Sam has a chance to make a name for himself when aliens misinterpret old video game footage as a declaration of war and attack our planet with arcade-inspired creations.

Kevin James as the President of the United States. Pixels is a sci-fi comedy but even so, our suspension of disbelief only goes so far! The man just doesn’t fit the role. For the most part, however, everyone else who appears in the film - Adam Sandler as himself, Josh Gad as the conspiracy-theory obsessed nerd who lives in his basement, Michelle Monaghan as a weapons developer who will inevitably fall for Sandler’s character even though they hate each other upon first sight - do fine with their parts. It’s the material they’ve been handed that spells "game over".

There are many unkind words we could use to describe Pixels. “Self-indulgent”, “unfunny”… but I’m going to choose is “lazy”. It’s a movie about arcade games which gets basic things about the games it’s showcasing wrong. Cheat codes for arcade games? Why would those exist when the machines were designed to eat quarters? A Smurfs arcade game? I couldn’t find evidence that one ever existed. Apparently the barrels and fireballs in Donkey Kong move without pattern… even though they do in real life. And that’s just scratching the surface. This film operates without any semblance of logic. In one battle between mankind and the aliens, the players must operate under rules which emulate the game - Pac Man being a good example. In other scenes, like when the heroes play a jumbo-sized version of Centipede, our “team” is allowed hundreds of players. When we get to the final challenge (Donkey Kong), anyone can do whatever they want regardless of whether it’s possible in the game they’re supposedly playing.

This is a significant disappointment from director Chris Columbus, whose career has had its ups and downs but doesn’t typically churn out this type of Happy Maddison slop. Every fifteen minutes, the film seems to be think that someone screaming is the pinnacle of hilarity. Over and over, a lame sex joke gets snuck in there and we get a speech from someone about how the good old days were awesome and how today, well things just aren’t the same. Many aspects of Pixels feel like they’ve been pulled from a time long gone that we'd rather forget. Most notably, the romantic sub plots, who are so awful you’re tempted to give the actresses standing ovations for playing their parts without cringing.

If you’ve seen the 2010 Pixels short, there’s no reason to see this full-length film. Adam Sandler’s usual comedic antics add nothing to the cool voxel look and the visual gags in its 2-minute running time isn't improved by cameos by Serena Williams or Nick Swardson. I suppose Happy Madison fans may find some of it enjoyable but that's just a theory. (May 10, 2019)

[niobe-loreley]

Smells Like Halloween Spirit [tg:m]

Dagger Squad + Reader

Belated Happy Halloween!! Gaaah, I'm so late! Hope you enjoy!

disclaimer: I do not own Top Gun/Top Gun: Maverick, its characters, or plot. I do not own the pictures of the cast. I only own the reader's character/nickname, the fic's banner, and the story of this one-shot.

pictures credit to @fanboygarcia

warnings: the word count. haunted hospital. spooky. reader nickname. platonic reader. slight bobnix. organized ghost hunting. paranormal evidence. comedy if you eat halloween candy while reading.

wordcount: 5k You/Reader = Burton

SUMMARY: you invited the Dagger Squad to hunt for ghosts at an abandoned hospital. They only agreed because you threatened to go there by yourself; plus, you have an awesome paranormal hunting game plan, it’ll be a shame not to test it out. But you know some of them are already regretting their decisions after seeing the spooky building. Especially Fanboy, since he gets to venture alone (lucky him).

20:15

"Do we really have to do this?"

Inquisitive, quivering words from a non-spooky person. You finish putting batteries in your flashlight and look over to them with a wolfish grin. "C'mon, Fanboy, where's your Halloween spirit?" you quip merrily.

"It left when I pulled the shortest straw," he snaps, arms crossed.

“I told you we can switch.” you say.

“Yeah, but they won’t let you.” Fanboy shoots daggers at Rooster and Hangman. He huffs as he playfully bumps you with his hip, “And as if I’ll really let you go in there alone, Burton. No matter how much you like creepy stuff.”

You playfully pinch his cheek. “Oh, you’re so sweet, Micks!” you coo and shove him away, “Now, the game plan!”

Since the teams/pairs have already been established, you begin the briefing of the assigned roles and location, as well as a few reminders.

“Everyone knows and understand their roles and locations?" you inquire.

They give you a scattered response, so you viciously bark at them— "Hey, I asked a question!"

"Yes, ma'am!!!"

"Good.. now, listen well to these reminders."

While everyone keeps their eyes and brains open, Bob jots down your crucial reminders in ghost hunting.

“Always wear your face mask and gloves on. It’s an abandoned hospital, we don’t want any microbes or tetanus now, don’t we?”

“Keep comms on. As much as I want to capture paranormal sounds, it is imperative we contact each other every 5 minutes. But the Getaway Squad will contact us every 12 minutes.”

“Have your baseball bats at the ready at all times. But please be certain before you swing, or else we’ll send each other to the hospital.”

“The Getaway Squad is our foundation. As soon as they call for help, we all go.”

“If any one of the paired teams needs help, inform Maverick or Coyote immediately so they can contact the other squads assigned to them.”

“Got it?" you regard each of them, "Answer me or I'll force you all to go alone in there— yes, even the Getaway Squad."

"Understood, ma'am!!!"

The Investigator squads soon bid their goodbyes to the Getaway duo. Firing up your phone, you begin recording as you excitedly lead them into the hospital. Cautiously stepping through the broken glass doors, you halt at the middle of the lobby and turn to your friends. "Welcome, one and all, to an abandoned hospital!" you exclaim, listening to your voice bounce around the first floor.

Fritz, Halo, Omaha, and Payback choruses a whoop; Rooster, Yale, Harvard, Bob, and Phoenix applauds; Hangman whistles like he's in a soccer game; while Fanboy crosses his arms and grumbles.

"Okay, this is the meetup point." you gesture to the darkness around you, which is briefly illuminated by your headlamp. You then point to a map on wall, directing your phone camera as well. "There are still coherent maps around if your squad gets lost. So, to those in charge of your squad's comms, make sure to always let your location be known during the 5-minute and 12-minute check-ins."

"This is the most organized ghost hunting ever," Phoenix comments, amazed.

You curtsy. "Best be prepared for anything. Plus, no matter how organized it is.. if any of us sees something paranormal, panic will spread like COVID-19."

Everyone regards Fanboy in unison. "Why the hell are you all looking at me?" he yells, frowning.

You laugh. "Even though we might not stay calm in those situations, I would still advise everyone to stay calm. Is that clear?"

"Crystal!!"

"Okay, let's do a short pop quiz to calm our nerves!"

"Pop quizzes irritate me," Fanboy remarks.

"Then stick with that feeling when you're ghost hunting later!" you beam, "Better to be vexed than frightened!— Now, first question.. what's the appearance of the camera person in a squad?"

Bob's hand shoots up. "They're wearing a headlamp, carrying an extra flashlight, and holding the camera all throughout the investigation!"

"Correct!" you give him a thumbs-up, "Second question.. why do we need to separate into teams?"

Halo answers this time. "So that we can explore every nook and cranny while having each other's backs!"

"Nice!— Third, why do we need baseball bats?"

Surprisingly, Hangman is the one to answer next. "To whack the shit out of any ghosts or hobos who threaten our safety."

You and everyone else stare at him in deadpan. He stares back confusedly, saying that he's right.

"In short, for protection." Rooster chimes in.

"Title of your sex tape," Hangman scoffs.

"Thank you, gentlemen." you interject before a royal rumble can start and ruin the paranormal investigation.

The pop quiz continues for another five minutes. You then turn the camera around while the group stands behind you. "We'll be starting our Halloween ghost hunting!" you announce enthusiastically, "Hands in!"

All of you huddle up and place your hands together in the center. "One.. two.. three— GO DAGGERS!"

"Meetup back here in one hour!" you remind, leading your teammates and the other teams to the stairwell.

"Why's it gotta be an hour?" Fanboy cries.

"C'mon, Fanboy, we'll stay with you until the entrance to the East wing." Bob claps him on the shoulder.

"Will you switch with me?"

"No." says Phoenix.

"Aww, worried for your boyfie—" Fanboy croaks in pain after receiving a punch to the gut.

"Say one more thing and we'll take your flashlights."

5th Floor | 21:03

"See you three on the other side!" Fritz waves as he and Halo enter the 4th floor.

"Be careful!" you call and proceed up the staircase.

"So many stairs," Rooster groans.

"How much candy did you eat to still have that energy, Burton?" Hangman asks, huffing and puffing.

You chuckle. "That's between me and my stomach."

Soon, the three of you reach the 5th floor. Hangman offers to push the door open when it only budges two inches. But you tell him it's better for Rooster to help you since Hangman is their safety officer / weapon carrier.

"Shall we start on the rooftop? That way we'll just be exploring the 5th floor for the rest of the hour." you suggest, taking a gander around the blackness.

Rooster shrugs. "Why n—?"

He's cut off by a sudden sound. 

With how quiet the abandoned hospital is, a rattling from somewhere in the floor appears as though it's right next to them. "What the fuck was that?!" Rooster whispers, wildly looking around.

"Backs against each other!" you instruct, and the guys oblige.

"Sounds like it came from there," Hangman tips his flashlight towards the west wing.

"Where? Let's move our circle around so I can get it on camera," you start sidestepping, Rooster and Hangman follows suit.

"It's probably just the wind," says Hangman.

"The wind?" Rooster glances at him incredulously.

"Or a rat," you add, zooming the video to the end of the hall, where the flashlight of both your headlamp and phone barely reaches.

"A rat? I thought you believed in ghosts?" Rooster questions shakily.

"Yeah, I do, but I'm a logical believer." you're now zooming in at doorways, trying to capture anything moving (or peeking). "We have to think realistic when ghost hunting, not just believe that every clink or clank is a ghost, doy!"

Hangman snickers. "Scared, Rooster?"

Rooster scoffs. "You wish, bitch."

You swivel around to face them. "Can you two try that one more time but with a British accent and pretend your flashlights are wands?"

"Or maybe you know a spell to make Bradshaw less scared?" Hangman quips, whirling the baseball bat around.

"Why don't you just kiss him?" you retort.

"I thought you're on my side." Hangman frowns.

"I'd rather side with the ghosts." you sashay away to the map on the wall next to the reception desk. "C'mon, the stairs to the roof are straight across here."

You round the reception desk and enter the main corridor dividing the west and east wing; Rooster and Hangman swiftly strides at each of your sides. There's a low groan that attracts your attention back to the reception desk. Looking over your shoulder, you point the camera and notice the stairwell door is halfway closed— when you and Rooster pushed it all the way open earlier.

4th Floor | 21:08

Coats of blackness are periodically vanquished by Fritz's flickering headlamp. He and Halo have ceased their venture to try and fix the device, they're in a lounge area at the east wing.

"No way Burton didn't put fresh batteries in that," says Halo.

"Then, what? I'm being haunted?" Fritz makes ghostly sounds, snorting.

She frowns. "I'm just saying.. it's unlikely the headlamp is broken or has old batteries."

The pair were walking in every room that's open, looking around for any paranormal signs, Fritz aggressively asking the ghosts to show themselves, before moving to the next room. It was after the ninth room they've been in when his headlamp starts acting up.

Fritz is sitting on a single couch with his phone propped against a vase on the coffee table. While Halo is standing between the table and a sofa as she’d rather not have her back turned to the darkness.

"This should do it," Fritz murmurs, taking the batteries out and putting them back in.

"Ingenious.."

"Thanks," says Fritz.

"What?" Halo blinks at him.

He chuckles. "It's only the two of us, Halo. Don't be embarrassed about complimenting me."

"What the fuck are you going on about?"

"You just said ingenious."

She furrows her brows. "I wasn't saying anything until you said thanks out of the blue."

Fritz and Halo share an astounded look, everything going quieter and darker than it already is, until he doubles over with laughter. "Nice try, angel." he snorts, securing the headlamp shut, he slips it on his head and powers it up. "Vióla!"

“Don’t point it at me,” Halo turns away, eyes squinting until they widen abruptly. She swivels and directs her flashlight to where was looking, “Who’s there?! Seresin, I swear to God..!”

Fritz jumps to his feet. “What? What?!”

Halo gulps. “I thought I saw somebody in that room.. same height as Hangman.” and bobs her chin towards the room adjacent to the lounge. “But it was too shadowy…”

“It’s just your shadow,” Fritz sighs exasperatedly, grabbing his phone.

“How could it be my shadow when I’m right here and there’s no mirror to reflect it over there?!” Halo snaps, pointing from the wall behind her to the room across.

Fritz feels his scalp sweating. “Fair point. But I’m not checking that out— have you watched Wrong Turn? And if there’s some insane, experimented freak as tall as Hangman, I ain’t confronting it.”

Halo rolls her eyes. “Would you rather we still go around the floor not knowing if there’s something in that room or not?”

“Well, I’m certain there’s nothing in that room.”

“You just said that there may be a cannibal in there.”

“And if there was, I ain’t walking into its trap.”

“You fucking— shit! Fritz! There it is! Quick, the camera!”

3rd floor | 21:10

Team 4 / The 3rd Floor Squad are either somewhat enjoying their time or trying to preoccupy their thoughts instead of thinking that something lurks in the dark besides their shadows. 

Payback frequently hits the doorframes of every room they pass with the baseball bat. Sometimes, he’d even pretend to kick down an imaginary door and yell— “FBI” —while pointing the bat into the room as though it’s a gun. Meanwhile, Omaha is narrating everything he’s recording on his phone, down to the last rusted doorknob. He would also turn the camera to him and Payback from time to time, telling any “ghosts” to take a selfie with them before he snaps a photo.

“Have you had any.. paranormal shit happen to you?” Payback inquires, glancing over his shoulder.

“A few when I was young. But they were only told to me by my family, I don’t really remember them.” Omaha shrugs, “So I don’t really believe them. How about you?”

Payback sighs. “None,” and raps the bat on a closed door thrice. “That’s why I’m excited to see some ghosts tonight. Burton sure knows how to make Halloween more fun.”

Omaha nods in agreement. “Burton is the go-to when it comes to spooky stuff.”

“I hope this becomes an annual event for the squad.”

“Fanboy would disagree.”

The pair roars out laughing in unison, slightly drowning a knock, which Omaha somewhat catches. “Hey, what was that?” he stops laughing, pointing his camera to the closed room they passed. “I heard a knock over there.”

“That was me earlier, dude.” Payback says in between laughs.

“No, we were laughing and there was a knock.”

“Ooh~ somebody finally answered my knocks!”

Omaha brusquely shushes him, steps up to the door, and brings up his fist to slowly knock twice. The sound bleeds into the room and echoes around the hallway hauntingly. Payback shakes his head, looks around, and can’t shake the feeling that they’re being watched.

“Hello?” Omaha calls, glancing at Payback.

[“Hey, you guysssss!”]

“Jesus—!” Omaha jumps back like a cat dumped with water.

[“What’s the situation on the 3rd floor? Over.”] Coyote’s normal voice crackles through the transceiver in Payback’s hand.

Omaha snarls. “Fuck you, Machado!” and stomps back to Payback.

Payback snickers, pressing the ‘talk’ button on the device. “Nothing much.. but you just scared the living shit out of Omaha. Over.”

[“Whoops. Sorry, didn’t mean to. Over.”]

“Yeah, you better be sorry!” Omaha snatches the transceiver, “I thought a ghost or some shit responded when I said hello!— Over!”

Coyote laughs. ["Are you mad because you didn't hear a response? Or because you thought you heard one? Over."]

"Neither! Over!"

"Anyway," Payback snatches the transceiver back, "We're at the.. west wing, finishing up on Room 3-A11 to 3-A20 corridor. Over."

["Copy that. Stay frosty. Over and out."]

"It's still 21:14.. what do we do when we sweep the whole floor and still have time left?" Omaha asks, eyeing the closed door sideways.

"Weren't you listening? Burton said to find a place on the floor that we think is the creepiest and attempt contact there," Payback says and pockets the transceiver.

"Oh, right, right.."

"Let's hussle."

When Payback and Omaha are out of earshot, scratches can be heard from behind the closed door of Room 3-A17. Two soft knocks follow, along with a gentle response in the voice of a little boy.

2nd Floor | 21:21

"I can't believe you're still Team Christopher!"

"I can't believe you won't respect my ship!"

"That's because you said Luke doesn't deserve Lorelai!"

"And I still stand by it!"

Harvard shortly lets out an exasperated yell. While roaming around the 2nd floor's east wing, Yale and Harvard have made a silent agreement to chat in order to think about anything else other than walking around a haunted hospital. TV show after TV show they exchange titles and plots, and even comment on a show that they both have watched. 

It's a great bonding experience, if they're being honest. 

However, a difference in opinion regarding Gilmore Girls couples has induced a heated kerfuffle.

Their team has yet to encounter anything paranormal. It’s possible the ghosts were disturbed and decided to move to a different floor. Yale likes to encourage that thought to ignore the occasional chill enveloping the back of his neck. Harvard, on the other hand, thinks there’s a cobweb on his shoulder whenever he feels a little weight on it before brushing it off.

In the back of both men’s minds, a terrifying thought remains: what if the ghosts on this floor decide to bother them since they loudly invaded their premises?

With such an oppressive notion, it’s hard for Harvard and Yale to contemplate that their minds may be playing tricks on them. Or that it’s just them feeling such spectral stirrings.

“There’s no such thing as ghosts,” Yale scoffs out of the blue, puffing his chest out, he takes a gander with his phone. “And I ain’t afraid of no ghosts.”

Harvard heaves a brow. “What are you talking about?”

“Mind over matter, pleb.”

“You’re scum.”

“You’re a joke.”

“Says the jester.”

“You fucking—!”

“....”

Yale cuts himself off, sharing a wide-eyed look with Harvard, he pans the camera around. “Did you fucking hear that?!” he whispers panickedly.

Harvard gulps. “It sounded like it was behind you.”

“Bitch, don’t say that!” Yale shrieks, blanching from head to toe. “Let’s stand back-to-back!” 

They press their backs against each other, eyeing every direction for any threat. Harvard adjusts the angle-head flashlight hooked on his jean pocket and hoists the baseball bat up. Yale tries to hold his phone still and picks up debris from the ground, ready to yeet it at anything that may pop up in their faces.

“Burton, if you’re pranking us, please stop!” Yale laughs shakily.

“She would never.” Harvard shakes his head, “It’s probably either Hangman or Fritz.”

“Show yourselves, pussies!”

“Can you elaborate that it’s our friends who are the pussies and not the ghosts?”

“There’s no such thing as ghosts, okay?!”

“And if there are, my friend over here is insulting our friends not you!”

“Sshhh..”

Harvard glares at Yale over his shoulder. “Don’t shush me, bro!”

“That,” Yale is trembling, “That wasn’t me, bro.”

1st Floor, West Wing | 21:30

“Did you hear that?”

Phoenix turns away from the room she’s inspecting. “Yeah.. probably just the dipshits jumping at their shadows.” she smirks, inclining her head sideways. “I’m surprised you’re cool, calm, and collected.”

“Burton and I actually bond over paranormal things,” says Bob sheepishly.

“Oh, yeah.. you two were watching those top 5 ghosts caught on camera videos a few days ago.”

“Yeah, we were.”

“You know most of those are fake, right?”

“Of course.. but it’s entertaining and creepy, which— as Burton would say— is a fun combination for a good time.”

Phoenix laughs and nods approvingly. “Definitely her ingredients for a nice cup of tea.”

The pair have been meticulously traversing the west wing of the 1st floor, scanning every room from ceiling to wall to floor.  Phoenix is a skeptic to the paranormal, more concerned about real people rather than the apparitions of dead ones. While Bob shows concern for both. People have dubbed him as a scaredy-cat for how “soft” he is for a man, which Phoenix scoffs at and tells them that he can watch the Saw movies while eating spaghetti without his eyes leaving the screen.

He and Burton are extraordinary beings, Phoenix respects the two of them equally in and out of fighter jets. As she pans her phone around the darkness, she can’t help but think she’d be lying if she said this isn’t the best time to spend Halloween. Organizedly hunting for ghosts with friends absolutely captures the spooky season’s essence.

“Hey, Phoenix—”

“Pretty bird…”

She swivels around, scrutinizing the corridor they just walked out of. “What was that? Was that you?” she questions, synapses firing fear to her every nerve at the sudden voice that was neither from her nor her partner. She composes herself with a quiet breath in and out.

“No, it wasn’t me.” Bob shakes his head, taking a gander, he raises the baseball bat.

“Hello?” Phoenix calls out, strong yet wary. “Anyone there?”

There’s no answer.

“Maybe it’s just the wind,” she suggests.

Bob gulps. “It’s possible.”

The pair restarts their gait, moving cautiously now, until they halt outside the morgue. Phoenix peers in, the blackness recedes from the light of her headlamp and phone, and she takes two steps in.

“Careful,” Bob says, entering sideways, he keeps his back to the wall and glances out of the corridor.

“Ugh! Smell that?” Phoenix coughs, “The facemask is not helping at all.”

“Do you think there’s still dead bodies in there?” Bob nods toward the mortuary fridges.

Phoenix jabs him on the shoulder. “Why would you think that, doofus?” she sighs exasperatedly, “But to answer your question, no.. this smell is not of a decomposed body. I know because my sister is a mortician.”

“There's probably a dead animal in here. Let’s go,” Bob gently grabs her elbow, leading her out of the room.

Three steps out, they cease as a humming from inside the morgue freezes their spines.

1st Floor, East Wing | 21:33

“Yeahhh~ I’m gonna take my horse to the old town road. I’m gonna.. riiiide ‘til I can’t no more~”

Fanboy continues to sing as he marches around the pool area. His cautious footfalls ricochet around the empty vicinity, like slow, rhythmic clapping. He shortly tightens his grip on the baseball, relaxing after a deep breath in and out, he adjusts his phone on the breastpocket of his jacket. It’s as though he’s fated to explore the haunted hospital on his own, wearing a jacket with too many pockets enough to attach ten angle-head flashlights (but he only has one on the right breastpocket since he’s already wearing a headlamp).

The east wing of the 1st floor isn’t as noisy as Fanboy. Sure, there’s the occasional gust of late October wind, inducing scraping and rattling noises, and the momentary groan of the old building. Other than those, nothing has bothered him, and he has bothered nothing.

No doors swinging on their own.

No whispers in the wind.

No shadows leaping away from the light.

No—

Footsteps behind him.

Fanboy quickly spins around, ready to swing. “Who’s there?!” he demands when he finds no one. “Hello!?”

[“Fanboy, this is Bob. Do you read me? Over.”]

“Fuck,” he flinches at the transceiver crackling and fishes it out of his jean pocket. “Fanboy here, I read you Bob. Over.”

[“Where are you?” Over.]

“At the pool.. but on my way out since I’ve already circled it.”

[“You didn’t check the locker rooms?”]

“No way I’m going in there, Jose.”

Bob laughs. [“Okay, okay.. we’ve got something mind-blowing, Fanboy. You probably won’t believe this, but we heard someone humming in the morgue. Over.”]

“Are you sure it wasn’t the wind? Over.”

[“No, it definitely wasn’t—”]

[“..Hmmm…”]

Phoenix’s gasp shoots out of the transceiver. [“There it is again!”]

[“Did you hear that, Fanboy? Over.”] Bob asks.

“Guys, please, this was supposed to be a check-in. Not a prank! Over!” Fanboy shouts, hastening his pace to the doors.

[“It’s not a prank. Over.”] says Phoenix.

“Whatever—”

Fanboy freezes from opening the door, and once he hears it again, he slowly turns back to the pool area, where footsteps are echoing from. “H-Hello?” he sputters, trying to illuminate every inch of the premises at once, still he finds no one but himself and the darkness.

Hushed footsteps respond to his call, then soon they become rapid, as though the owner is running. And when the footsteps become louder, Fanboy realizes it’s coming nearer— heading right for him.

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

Parking Lot | 21:36

With nothing else to do, other than contacting the ghost hunters every 12 minutes, and nothing else to discuss.. Coyote invites Maverick to play a mobile game with him.

He offers to the older naval aviator the infamous Two-Player Games. The app consists of a variety of games from sports, board games, and children’s games— but make it all virtual. 

Coyote regrets challenging their most-favorite instructor.. because Maverick has won every round. And he owes him a week’s worth of drinks at the Hard Deck.

They have just finished a game of tag, wherein Maverick has held the crown the longest. “How are you beating me?” Coyote is stupidly, exasperatedly baffled.

Maverick lifts a shoulder. “Apparently, instincts can age like fine wine.. kind of like me.”

“Wow, poetic.” Coyote remarks flatly, but he can’t hold being monotonous for long and shares a laugh with Maverick.

The haunted hospital’s parking lot is pitch black if it weren’t for the cloudless sky that freely lets the moon highlight the darkened parts of the Earth. The getaway squad hasn’t experienced anything paranormal, probably because music is slightly blaring from the car’s radio. They decide to let the car run after the first 12-minute check-in— obviously, for emergency purposes. 

Not because they thought they spotted a black-eyed child wandering behind the treeline.

A trick of the moonlight and probably just a wild animal, as Maverick reassures.

“Team 2, check-in. Over.” Coyote lifts his finger off the button.

[“Team 2, checking in. We’re near the morgue. Over.”]

“Thanks, Bob.” Coyote pauses, “Fanboy, check-in. Over.”

Fanboy screams through the device. [“COYOTE! HELP!”]

The getaway squad exchange looks. “Fanboy, what’s happening?” Coyote asks puzzled, “Are you okay? Over.”

[“SOMETHING’S FUCKING CHASING ME!”]

[“Fanboy, where are you? Phoenix and I will meet up with you. Over.”] Bob chimes in.

[“I don’t know— I don’t fucking know! Shit!”]

“We should help him,” Coyote begins gathering his things.

“Wait, we can’t leave our post.” says Maverick.

“But—”

He claps Coyote on the shoulder. “Let’s move the car right outside the hospital.” and climbs in the driver seat in a flash, “Contact everyone else about the situation.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Damnit, where is he?” Phoenix pants, waving her phone around, which is still recording, to highlight every corridor.

“Follow the screaming?” Bob suggests and glances behind them.

“Contact him—”

“AAAHHHHH!!”

They exchange wide-eyed looks and rush to where the screaming resounds from. Beams from their artificial lights bounce around the hospital’s blackness like a signal of a rave party. The first floor of the hospital is teeming with their urgent footfalls, echoing from one hallway into another.

“Fanboy!” Phoenix hollers, “I swear if this is a prank..!”

She and Bob round a corner, stopping at the sight of Fanboy bolting through the corridor, they sigh in relief.

“Hey, you’re okay—”

“JUST RUN!” Fanboy bursts past them.

“The hell, man?!” Phoenix yells at him.

“What’s that?” Bob narrows his eyes at the corridor, hearing another set of footfalls.

“What’s what?— BOB!” Phoenix explodes when her backseater suddenly carries her onto his shoulder. “What are you doing?!”

“Sorry, I’ll ask for permission later!”

She lightly elbows the back of his head. “That’s not what I meant!”

“Someone was running towards us.” Bob blurts out, evading every debris in the way. “But I couldn’t see it.”

Phoenix looks back to the corner of the corridor— heart dropping at the sight of a shadowed head peeking out. She raises her phone and still sees it through the camera.

“Holy fuck… Bob, go faster.”

Bob obliges, pumping his legs like The Flash, and catches up to Fanboy’s side. Neither of them look back as they hurtle out of the hospital, even Phoenix has kept her eyes down but continues to direct her phone towards their rear.

“What the hell happened?” you ask, strolling out of the hospital with Hangman and Bradley.

“Something was chasing me!” Fanboy cries.

“Something?” you repeat, gesturing for him to continue, you stand at the top of the steps.

“Maybe it was a rat,” Fritz shrugs.

“A rat? After what we just saw?” Halo scoffs.

“You two saw something, too?” Phoenix asks.

“Too?” Fritz begins sweating.

Fanboy glares at him. “Why the hell would I run away from a rat?”

"Alrighty!" you loudly clap your hands five times to silence the growing squabble, "Let's focus on Fanboy for now before we all share our encounters, okay?"

They scatteredly murmur in agreement, you thank them and turn to Fanboy. Just as you're about to interrogate him, you hear a rustle and look over to the entrance. "Heard that?" you ask, pointing your camera to the direction. "It sounded like shoes stepping on glass."

The color on Fanboy's face drains. "Can we get out of here first?" he asks pleadingly.

"I concur," Maverick nods, "I'm getting an unpleasant vibe now that I'm up close to the hospital."

You pout. "But the hospital in the background while we exchange our experiences is brilliant!— Okay, okay, sorry," you quickly say when you sense Fanboy becoming livid, "We can go—"

You stumble forward, but manage to stay in place at the top of the stairs. "Really?" you pull a face at Hangman, "I said we'd go, you don't have to shove me, Seresin."

He looks stupefied. "I didn't. I was actually going to catch you 'cuz I thought you were going to trip down."

"There's a lot of witnesses here.."

"Burton," Phoenix gulps, glancing between you and Hangman. "He didn't touch you."

Your arm moves up on its own. For a second, you think your reflexes have ordered your body to smack Hangman. But that isn't the case.

You let out a yelp while everyone else shouts your name and chases after you. Someone— something unseen is yanking you back to the hospital.

Rooster and Hangman grab hold of you first since they're the closest. Whatever that was pulling you has ceased. "Start the car!" Phoenix yells to Coyote, who snaps out of his stupor and jumps in the driver seat.

Half of the squad clambers in the van while the other half hauls you to follow suit. "Floor it!" Fanboy screams at the top of his lungs, sitting at the rearrest seats, accidentally looking back at the hospital. "I said— FLOOR IT!"

"Wait!" Maverick yells and swiftly does a headcount from the passenger seat, "Everyone's here?"

"Yes!!!" The rest of Dagger Squad yells back.

"So that person by the window near the entrance is not one of us?"

Dagger Squad looks over instinctively. A woman in white is standing by the window, eyes boring straight into each of theirs.

"Of fucking course not— DRIVE!" Fritz shrieks, closing his eyes.

Coyote has practically made the van soar as he drives all of them away from the haunted hospital. No one complains about the first bumpy minutes, everyone is more than glad to have distance between them and the hauntedness.

“OKAY! I DON’T CARE IF YOU HAVE RELIGION OR NOT, AND IF YOU’RE RELIGIOUS OR NOT—" Fanboy bellows, "—WE’RE GOING TO A CHURCH RIGHT FUCKING NOW AND GET BLESSED BY A REVEREND WITH HOLY WATER AND WEAR ROSARIES FOR A WEEK!”

You roar with laughter. “Now, that’s the Halloween spirit!”

A/N: IF THERE'S SOMETHING STRANGE~ IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD~ WHO YOU GONNA CALL?! gosh im so late asdfghjklqwertyuiopzxcvbnm i think this is the first Top Gun fic i posted? altho i actually already made 3 chapters for a Rooster x Reader dagnabbit

[dyinginlava]

Analysing “Let Me Be Your Vassal” (aka that one Dream & Wilbur conversation)

Wherein Cy decides going line by line through a scene from five months ago is a wonderful idea

Alright, let’s go! Recently I went back to watch Wilbur’s ‘Am I The Villain?’ video, since it was the first DSMP video I actually watched and I noticed something that made me actually go and find the vod from October 8th to specifically watch it: the details of Wilburs conversation with Dream where he asks for the TNT. Now, this did happen about five months ago now, but I think it would be good to look at this scene both with further character information we have now, and hopefully to clarify some things that newer fans might not be aware of! There’s also the fact that c!Wilbur is likely returning to the story soon.

I will be using quotes with timestamps to support my analysis, from this video. When [...] is used, it is to indicate an irrelevant tangent or repetition. Also, I feel it is important to note that this analysis is not meant to indicate moral judgement in any way: it is intended as a unbiased look at character actions and motivations.

First, let’s establish the exact situation here. At this point in time, we’re before the festival, and Dream has volunteered to help Pogtopia and has already given Technoblade supplies. He had also written a book to Tommy wherein he stated he didn’t support Schlatt due to his power-hungry ambitions, unlike Wilbur. After being seen as a villain in the last war, he didn’t want to become publicly involved especially through breaking a peace treaty, and instead offered to help from the shadows. He also gave Tommy his crossbow and some armour along with the book. While some may doubt his intentions as stated, I have reason to believe he’s being honest, as will be mentioned later. (Information taken directly from the book Tyrant, given to Tommy by Dream).

On Wilbur’s side, he’d just had his ‘then let’s be the bad guys’ moment after seeing Schlatt announce the festival, talking with Tommy on the way back to Pogtopia.

“We burn the place to the fucking ground!” - Wilbur 1:10:50

He starts making a plan:

“Okay, here’s the plan, right? Dream, Dream is on our side, Dream has TNT, Dream has everything, right? I say, we talk to Dream, and we ask him, very nicely, very kindly, ‘Dream, give us all the TNT you have’” - Wilbur 1:12:20

“The only reason Dream is working with us is because of the fact that we are the enemies of his enemies! That’s it! That’s all that joins... this!” - Wilbur, to Tommy 1:14:30

I feel a need to note here, that anything Wilbur says to Tommy about their allies shouldn’t be taken at face value: at this point his paranoia has begun clouding his view, as he also distrusts Tubbo, and later even doubts Tommy.

“Everyone who’s claiming to be on our side, they’re lying to us! Tubbo? he’s lying to you man! He would drop us at the second he realises that we’re not in the lead anymore!” - Wilbur, to Tommy 1:16:10

He has no proof to back up his claim about Dream, and personally I’m inclined to not believe his claim, seeing as Dream previously had no issue with L’Manberg after the peace treaty.

After some tunnel shenanigans happen, Wilbur asks Dream to talk privately: the conversation starts at 1:31:30

The conversation begins with Wilbur informing Dream about the festival, which he was previously unaware of. Dream laughs at the mention of the festival being a celebration of democracy, but whether this is because of his disdain for Schlatt or a personal dislike of democracy is unclear (question for another time: is c!Dream a monarchist? The SMP is technically ruled by a king after all, but they fulfil more of a neutral peacekeeping role in general. Theocracy???).

Wilbur then asks Dream if he thinks he and Tommy are the bad guys in the situation, and like Tommy, he disagrees. Wilbur proceeds to explain his reasoning, and then asks Dream what he thinks.

“I think that sometimes, a ruler is unfit, and that causes problems” - Dream 1:32:50

Wilbur then starts trying to persuade Dream to help him.

“Dream, I think you have vested interest though, I think that you would enjoy there to be conflict between Manberg and Pogtopia. And you know what, I’m here to facilitate that!” - Wilbur 1:33:00

Dream immediately denies this, and returns to talking about Schlatt.

“I don’t— Jschlatts a little bit more ambitious than you I’d say” - Dream 1:33:20

Note that at this point, Tommy meets up with Wilbur but is not in vc. Ignoring what Dream has just said, Wilbur makes his pitch:

“Dream, Dream, let me be your vassal! Dream, I understand you have a lot of TNT?” - Wilbur 1:33:25

Dream confirms that he has TNT.

“Dream, I want to be your vassal, I want to set this up, I want to rig the city” - Wilbur 1:33:40

This is the first time Wilbur mentions using the TNT to destroy L’Manberg. I also want to point out the use of the term ‘vassal’ here, as while the line itself is very well known, I’ve yet to see someone point out the relevant definition here is ‘a person or country in a subordinate position to another’ which you might notice, isn’t really the case here. Wilbur is asking Dream to supply him with something, there’s nothing subordinate about it. It could be that he’s implying that he’ll owe Dream for the favour, or it could be him seeing it as ‘helping’ Dream by destroying L’Manberg, as we’ve established his paranoia is leading him to see his allies in a negative light.

The two decide to meet at Pogtopia, and Tommy speaks up for the first time in the conversation.

“Dream, Dream don’t give it to him. It’s not right!”- Tommy

“Tommy it’s too... I have to.” - Dream 1:33:50 (overlapping)

‘I have to’ is an interesting line, and I’m assuming he’s referring to the promise he made to assist Pogtopia by supplying them. It does highlight how, at this point in time, Dream still seems hesitant about the plan.

Wilbur then starts talking to Dream but abruptly switches to talking to Tommy instead.

“Dream, I appreciate ... cause you see Tommy, the thing you’re not understanding is Dream only gave you that gear so that you could cause this conflict! You see, this is what it’s all about, Dream doesn’t want us to win! Dream just wants both Pogtopia and Manberg to be weak! [...] and Dream I’m not scolding you on this, it’s smart, you’re smart..” - Wilbur 1:34:00

To clarify my stance on this to people who are newer to the fandom, during Pogtopia, Dream and Tommy were actually on good, even friendly terms. It’s not until Dream joined Manberg that they became enemies again. Personally, I see this as Wilbur trying to make Tommy distrust Dream just as he did with Tubbo, although interpretations may differ. Wilbur complimenting Dream can be seen as trying to get on his good side and/or trying to persuade Dream that he wants to help Wilbur with the TNT.

“I’m here to help you, I’m here to weaken both of us!” - Wilbur 1:34:25

Dream then gets a chance to speak.

“I do want Pogtopia and Manberg to be nothing more, and I want L’Manberg to be... something” - Dream 1:34:40

Tommy asks why he wants L’Manberg back after he fought against them over it before.

“Schlatt is ambitious, and that’s a bad thing. He wants power, he wants land, he wants to expand. You having your own little server [...] that’s fine by me!” - Dream 1:34:55

Here Dream claims that due to Schlatt being power hungry he stands against him, but didn’t have an issue with L’Manberg just existing. I’m inclined to believe this claim, as it matches up with his actions in between the war and the elections. He also claims to have had a change of heart about L’Manberg, which again, seems to line up with his actions.

Wilbur then lets out a very evil sounding laugh, very melodramatic, I applaud cc!Wilbur for it. He then says something that I think is extremely important to this analysis, and part of why I made it in the first place.

“Dream, this has made me ambitious! If I’m taking power again I will be ambitious! Let me blow it up, let me destroy it all!” - Wilbur 1:35:15

Now considering what both Wilbur and Dream have been saying, there a very obvious conclusion you can come too here: Wilbur is claiming that he’d be just as bad as Schlatt if he was back in power, that there would be no getting the old L’Manberg back, that Dream would be better off helping his plan. Now obviously Wilbur isn’t evil— he’s paranoid, angry, and desperate— but this is what he claims to Dream, who’s knows he’s been willing to fight for L’Manberg before and has said he (Dream) wants to avoid fighting L’Manberg again. I know a lot of c!Wilbur fans get annoyed at people saying Wilbur manipulated Dream during Pogtopia, but you can’t deny that this moment specifically is manipulative: he’s specifically lying about his intentions to convince someone to help him. And it works! Dream arrives, and hands over the TNT to Wilbur.

Wilbur heads back to the entrance to Pogtopia, where Tommy holds him at bowpoint before Dream steps in, handing Wilbur a shield. Tommy talks about how they can rebuild L’Manberg rather than destroying it, but Wilbur laughs at it. Dream turns to leave.

“Dream, I will do you proud” - Wilbur 1:36:55

Dream offers to help him if he needs it, and Wilbur warns him about the festival. Dream leaves the game, marking the end of the conversation at 1:37:41.

When heading back into Pogtopia, Wilbur talks to chat about Dream being a ‘good guy’ but also repeating what he said before about Dream just wanting both sides to be weak.

Now that the main analysis is done, I did want to mention a few things that didn’t really fit within the main body for whatever reason: not enough evidence, may be biased etc. For one thing, I definitely noticed a shift in how Wilbur spoke to Dream, from initially just asking him for TNT to almost acting like the TNT was Dream’s idea. This could tie into the manipulation I noted, or it could just be a result of his paranoia causing him to misinterpret what Dream really wants. Or both! As I mentioned before, Wilbur’s narration can’t really be trusted because of this, but what we can do is compare actions and words: if what a person says their motives are lines up with how they act, then they’re probably being honest. There’s also the matter of context— Dream claiming to Eret that he’s always wanted everything to be Dream SMP territory when dethroning them doesn’t make much sense if you compare it to how he acted about L’Manberg after the war, at least until you realise he’s talking to the king of the Dream SMP and trying to play into what he thinks she wants— he even emphasise that them being able to take over after the war between Manberg and Pogtopia is only a possibility.

Anyway, this took a while but was fun to write, and hopefully even if you don’t agree with my personal interpretation of these events, looking at the quotes will hopefully be helpful for coming to your own conclusions! :D

[magicianpanache]

Reading Midnight Sun: Chapter 21

Edward gives Bella a lift home, and Billy Black sees him. Jacob is also there. Of course, Edward, ever a creep, calls him a child.

“Jacob is not that much younger than I am.”

“Oh, I know,” I teased. 

Red flaaaaaaag.

Billy tries to warn Bella, because he thinks Bella doesn’t know Edward’s a vampire, but Bella essentially tells him to piss off, she knows what she’s doing.

(She doesn’t.)

Edward then has a flashback of when they moved to Forks. Carlisle tried to make him comfortable, by calling him first and establishing their good intentions, but Billy is rightly terrified.

Edward goes home to try and convince Rosalie to go to the baseball game.

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

I don’t understand why this is so important to you.

“You are important to me, Rose,” I said simply.

Everyone will have more fun without me. 

I shrugged. She might be right.

You know, with the exception of when Edward says he cares about Rosalie, he never says anything positive about her, and never takes her feelings into account, so I’m not sure if she’s actually important to him. Not to mention, he thinks she might drag everyone's mood down. Dick move, dude.

The Cullens prepare themselves for the game.

Edward goes to pick up Bella, and gets the shovel talk from Charlie. Charlie is very polite and they bond together a little.

Edward wants to pick up Bella and run to the baseball field, but Bella’s scared. Instead of taking her seriously, Edward decides to kiss her until she forgets she was scared.

I love you, blah blah blah…

Why is it that the most important part of the chapter is the different strategies for the baseball game ? I don’t even know how to play baseball.

They play, and Bella applauds Rosalie.

I was surprised to hear that she was ever so slightly… softened. I supposed it wasn’t that remarkable; I knew how much Rosalie craved admiration. 

Shallow blonde moment #11

The baseball game lasts pages, until Alice realizes James and cie changed their path and are coming. What a choc. Who could’ve known.

They arrive and decide to hunt Bella.

Rosalie taking Emmett’s flank; it looked like she had little interest in protecting anyone besides him.

Shallow blonde moment #12

How dare Rosalie do the same thing Edward does.

“I’m sorry, Bella,” I breathed just loud enough for her to hear. The strangers were too close for me to risk speaking at a greater volume. “It was stupid, irresponsible, to expose you like this. I’m so sorry.” 

Yes, Edward. Yes it was.

Conclusion

That’s a lot of flashbacks, but they are at least fairly well integrated in the text. The Cullens are exposed as terrible people. They are billionaires who could live literally wherever they want, from Sweden to Britain to Russia, but they choose to live near people they terrify.

They could easily move one town over.

Also, Edward, will you please leave Rosalie alone ? She just trying to live her life. Why do you care so much about what she does. Let her be.

[skippthecredits]

okay so I've been like weirdly exhausted all day (probably from sleeping on the ground idk) and my phone ran out of battery even though I KNOW I charged that bitch off a full battery pack all night so like. I see this place with a sign out front that says "trick house" and decide y'know what maybe this guy runs a magic shop or w/e so I'm just gonna go on and take a breather for a bit. just chill y'know. maybe find a wall outlet.

anyways it's literally just this dude's house but there's no one in it?? just an empty room?? fine whatever the door was unlocked I'll just make myself at home and if he wants to start problems I'll give him problems you get me like I'm from Celadon I'm not playing games out here

find an outlet, plug my shit up, and just kinda chill at this table. all's good, good vibes. why the fuck do I feel like I'm being watched. I thought maybe I was just going nuts for a sec bc why woukd there be someone watching me in this empty house in the middle of a route but nope that feeling did NOT go away so I was like Okay What The Fuck and started looking around the room just to clear my head

tell me why this WHOLE ASS MAN was HIDING IN A VANITY CLOSET and STARING AT ME THROUGH A PEEPHOLE FOR OVER THIRTY MINUTES

yeah I was about to throw hands like I was back in Silver but then this mf just starts laughing and applauding me for finding him?? apparently he just Does This to people?? introduced himself as Trick Master and told me that if I can solve the maze he's built I can get a prize. then the fucker just fell into a ll trapdoor and I mean I think he lived but also What

so like. I think under any other circumstances I wouldn't have fallen for that horror movie bs but I need money and also this guy is clearly well-established yk like his house is not far off the route I'm sure even the most incompetent mud-eating Jenny on the block would have done Something by now I mean come on he's got a sign and everything

so I bite. I go behind this scroll on the wall and holy SHIT this place is huge. I thought it was just Small House Sized but nope there's a whole ass labyrinth in here the size of a warehouse. I was lost in that MF for like an hour and ofc no signal. I found this kid in there who was in tears and had apparently been lost since the morning. someone had a whole ass campsite set up in there. it was bananas.

so it takes a hot second but eventually I find this scroll with a password on it. write that shit down. find another lost dude and basically get a posse going at this point (read: one very sad six year old and a Unovan tourist who was incredibly weird about me being Kantonian). find the door. realize that if I had found the door first instead of the password I would have had to backtrack in order to escape. live with that fear for a bit then keep on going.

so what, you'd think I'd be done? freed from the house?? got my prize now??

WRONG BOZO MAZE OF MIRRORS TIME

guys. I have no depth perception. why the fuck would you put my ass in the mirror maze. war crime fr fr

anyways shit just got weird from there. it started out as just another maze except hell for the vision impaired, but then it just. there were turnstile walls that connected parts of the maze to each other. small tunnels that led under the maze and resurfaced in places familiar and unfamiliar. how the fuck was all of this in a small house. after a minute I think I just kinda spaced out and somehow figured out the maze without any memory of it. if it wouldn't be the first time I've had to deal with mazes but I mean fuck dude at least I got instructions the first time.

I picked up another lost guy at some point. some contest star type idk. made it out. I got a nugget for my trouble. whatever. I am not going back in that bitch.

according to the contest prep, this is just something this guy has been doing for decades. he makes a massive trick room overnight, runs it from sunrise to sunset, then rips it all down and creates a totally new maze the next day. every day. for years. and this is just Normal apparently, like it was my fault for not knowing about the Trick Master.

I'm legit fucking speechless. you are all insane.

okay just had the WILDEST experience what the fuck Hoenn what kind of Saw nonsense are you on out here