#Payday 2 spoilers

[commence-screaming]

Hiii I meant to finish this for valentines but too bad I guess hahaa hehehe dedicated to Violinist from the Panic Room server—hello! I liked your animation so here’s Bain tucking Dallas in :)

————

The night is quiet, a contrast from how the Safehouse is in the morning. There’s barely a single moment of silence with how Jimmy goes around with the sole purpose of messing with people. It’s like he’s allergic to being calm—whenever he isn’t blackout drunk, that is.

Dallas doesn’t hate him, but it’s hard to take a nap in the annex where all of their bedrooms are. (Sangres is usually enough to distract the guy… usually.)

The Crew Chief works late into the night, his eyelids drooping with exhaustion, his legs becoming numb from sitting in a chair all day.

Just five more minutes, Dallas thinks to himself again and again, resisting the temptation to take a nap. This work isn’t gonna do itself.

There’s a point where he decides to rest his eyes, blacking out on his desk with no sense of how much time has passed. He softly snores, mind melting away into sludge. It’s cold over here. His back hurts, but he can’t find the energy to get up.

Nathan stays like that for a while until he registers the faint sound of a door creaking open. Someone—with just as much insomnia to rival his own—walks in, steady footsteps coming toward him, though Dallas doesn’t move. His eyes are open just a crack, not quite asleep but not quite awake, either.

It’s Bain—Dallas can tell by his build. The navigator stands there, thinking about what he should do next. Dallas finds his indecisiveness different from how Bain normally presents himself, quirking a lip up at how cute that is. His guide is out of sight for a few moments, stooping down to slide an arm under Dallas’ knees, the other one supporting his neck and back.

Nathan watches as his Watcher gently cradles him against his broad chest, soft yet carrying a hidden strength. He can almost fall asleep against him, but the Crew Chief wants to be awake for this. Bain hasn’t noticed that he’s pretending to be unconscious just as an excuse to spend time with him.

It’s a bittersweet feeling when the leader manages to open the door to his Caporegime’s bedroom, making sure to strip the sheets off the bed before laying him onto the mattress. Bain tucks Nathan in so that he doesn’t freeze tonight, patting down the blankets.

The navigator looks nervous, glancing toward each possible entrance into the house, and Dallas is curious as to what he’ll do next. Bain breathes a sigh of relief, seemingly hyping himself up before leaning down to brush his lips against his Crew Chief’s forehead. It feels like freedom, smells like seafoam. He stands there for a moment, halfway embracing him, reluctant to leave.

When Bain metaphorically tears his feet off the ground to walk away from Dallas, he finally decides to bite the bullet as he shuffles over to the door to close it. Moonlight filters in through the half-open blinds, illuminating Bain’s features and giving him an ethereal appearance. Dallas can almost imagine a halo around his head as he tries his best to make sure the mattress doesn’t squeak when he slips underneath the covers right next to him. Nathan is grateful for the darkness—his Watcher would’ve seen his smile. He’s awesome when he pretends to be unfazed, but adorable when he drops the act.

Dallas feels his navigator’s gaze on him for long enough that he takes the chance to lazily shift towards him. The mastermind leans into Bain’s form, his warmth surrounding him, flowing through him like a gentle breeze. Hands grasp his shoulders, quickly accepting the circumstances, pulling him in close enough to where Dallas can smell his cologne. The blanket is soft, but Bain’s touch is softer as he wraps his arms around Nathan, almost protectively.

The rise and fall of his Watcher’s chest is a comfort to him, and he can’t resist reciprocating his hug with a sigh. Bain hardly even flinches, to his credit. It feels like this can last forever, this loving touch, the time they’re spending together.

It’s not enough.

It’ll never be enough.

When Nathan wakes up in the morning, there is a sense of happiness in his heart. The cologne is still faintly there, almost comforting him through the absence of warmth. Once, it was like being splashed with cold water. Now, it’s a tug on something that has long ceased to exist. It’s as if it were real.

The clock reads 3 AM, staring at it unblinkingly before turning back around.

He sighs.

He must have fallen asleep while going through Bain’s things.

His navigator was like a gentle breeze, there for a moment. One moment, and he is left with this, only this. He is left with shambles of what could’ve been.

Nathan closes his eyes.

When he’s finally unconscious, the dream doesn’t come back to him.

[howdidiendupshippingthispoll]

so imma be real, i knew we were gonna get demolished the moment i saw we were up against a shrek character, but nonetheless i don't think i could live with myself if i didn't put up something resembling a fight (posting my two(2) marushi memes and hoping people laugh)

(to the people who have gone this long without knowing because you aren't on weeb twitter i guess, this is goro akechi, the kid in the second pic who doesn't particularly like maruki on account of a plan of maruki's involving mass brainwashing, and is also shido's secret child with a vendetta against him for abandoning akechi's mother and also being a shit human in general. needless to say, in the timeline where this somehow happens, he drives himself to madness trying to cockblock this disaster waiting to happen and failing miserably)

Lmao, I love the memes xD you saw the propaganda! Go and vote for MaruShi!

[paygang-lore-professor]

Possible MAJOR PAYDAY 2 and 3 spoilers under the cut

This video came out and I was stoked! Here’s some screenshots of the Reddit post:

Sooo is speaking through literal dimensions just a normal thing that Bain can do? I asked op what they thought of my theory:

There they are!

My post got deleted within the hour, by the way. Deleted! What would make them do that so quickly if it wasn’t canon??

The OG 4 is the missing Fourth King :)

you guys thought I was insane but just wait five years 🏃💨

[milkchuggs]

They introduced psychic Russian gangsters to the universe alongside a new playable character named "Cocaine Jimmy", a clone of a guy named Jimmy who loves cocaine

man how the fuck are they going to explain payday 3 with how payday 2 ended.

do y'all even know how payday 2 ended??? the fact that you're all reincarnated ancient babylonian trickster gods and the virus from left 4 dead kills bain in an underground mayan ritual alter while you fight ancient alien shadow people and giancarlo esposito yells at you and then after you kill the shadow aliens bain does a time reset but also gets reincarnated as the president of the united states of america??? and all of this ancient mayan alien conspiracy was uncovered by john wick, jacket of hotline miami, and some british guy?????

how do you come back from that??????

[pyonicpyro]

Not again.

[heister-shmeister]

I’m shitting myself ha ha ha give me give me my bro boys stop it star bro on boys give me my blonde boys Starbreeze please please help me please help me I’m gonna throw up

[pd3thoughts]

Irreplaceable

Or, Chains thinks about Houston.

(Hi @neomineom ! I was your secret Santa! Sorry for taking years, it wasn’t canon compliant so I scrapped it and restarted. Among other real life things. it was totally my fault! I hope that I got your boys right and did them justice 👀)

written for @paydaysecretsanta

// canon compliant fluff with a bit of angst :)

Chains remembers Houston from before they both were in the PAYDAY gang. It was back in the early 2000s, when Houston would unlock the back door every morning so that they wouldn’t bother any customers while talking. The younger man didn’t really speak all that much, but Chains hadn’t minded. He’d met much worse, and the glint in Houston’s eye hinted to his amusement.

Houston was stoic from the beginning, forced to grow up in a household that had no place for a kid. Chains could put two and two together just by the way he mentioned his brother, those glimpses into complex feelings caused by years of neglect. He “had no chill,” as Joy used to say. It might’ve looked like that, but she didn’t know how he was back then.

The Ghost was almost completely silent, immediately getting down to business. He made no time for small talk, finding every conversation meaningless if it didn’t have a point. Chains admired the way that Houston was serious about his work, but it wouldn’t have killed the guy to loosen up a little. Chains had—for lack of a better term—annoyed Houston into relaxing every so often. When the younger man would roll his eyes, the veteran counted that as a victory.

At first, Houston was visibly irritated by Chains’ antics, having half a mind to kick him out of the range. Chains’ disrupted his usual quiet, but Houston began to grow used to it. He didn’t know when it happened, but he had started to expect his presence.

Chains started off by looking at the merchandise, then moved on to talking about other weapons and what Houston used to clean them out. The Armorer, knowing full well how to do it by himself, watched the younger man dismantle a desert eagle with deft fingers.

…When Bain chose Houston as a stand-in for Hoxton, Chains had agreed to it. He had seen Houston’s potential in how he applied himself and in the way he handled his weapons. (It was a mistake. He didn’t regret working with Houston, but Chains never meant to hurt Hoxton. He had always seen the two as separate people despite their similarities.)

Chains would keep it on the lighter side, but he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. Houston wouldn’t judge him for any of it, sometimes agreeing with what he said. Likewise, Houston had no qualms with asking him for advice.

———

Asking people for help was weak… but with Chains, Houston felt different. This was just two friends talking to each other.

It didn’t stop him from feeling a bit dumb for asking Chains for ideas about what sort of Christmas present to get Dallas. It’s not like he could stroll up to the guy and go “so is there anything you need other than me forgiving you for every time you weren’t there when I needed you?”

…Because that would be distasteful. Probably.

But it could definitely throw a wrench into their operations. With a heavy heart, Houston goes back to the drawing board.

“Would he… actually want anything?” Houston asks his partner in crime. He can’t really keep his eyes on the other man, pretending to work on something. The Ghost tightens screws on a spare ECM, but not enough to strip the thread.

“Heheh, yeah. The guy doesn’t go around screaming his love for Breaking Bad… except when he does,” Chains replies lightheartedly, knowing the Crew Chief’s love for old men getting punched in the face. (They never miss a chance to tease Dallas for being a decade older than the rest of them.)

Houston doesn’t think that Dallas does meth. It wouldn’t be professional. If he did, Bain would fire him… on second thought, maybe he wouldn’t. But Dallas’ level of methness is beside the point.

“He wouldn’t like that,” he says with a slight grumble. Houston could get him something related to the retirement home show, but Dallas would be too embarrassed to actually do anything with it. Houston doesn’t blame him. He’s gonna act like he does, anyway.

“…Well, he likes money,” the Armorer shrugs, “but you should be the one to decide, you know? Can’t do it for you. But I’m sure he wouldn’t mind either way.”

The Ghost can tell that Chains is listening to what he’s saying, and he appreciates the sentiment. No, he’s always appreciated the way that Nicholas understood him. The younger heister turns to nod at his friend and is greeted with a smile, as always.

(Houston ended up getting Dallas a pair of ugly Christmas sweater socks with tacky dollar designs emblazoned across them. Dallas acted polite about the gift as if he didn’t like it, but Houston noticed that his brother wore those stupid fuzzy socks with each subsequent holiday.)

———

Chains sometimes tells stories about how him and Houston used to work in the same room—something that the latter never rarely did by choice. People would take his stuff without asking or get things dirty without cleaning up afterwards and it irked him to no end. Chains was someone who respected Houston’s boundaries, and there’s the fact that they’d known each other for over a decade… that’s gotta count for something, right?

Eventually, the Armorer taught Wolf how to behave himself around Houston as well, slowly helping his friend branch out. Houston learned how to trust a select few, settling both Wolf and Chains into his close circle of friends. Still, the older heister was different to him than the rest. He had bad experiences with Dallas, and Wolf was sometimes unpredictable. They were each unique in their own ways.

Houston was uptight, rigidity mellowed out with time. He knew his own boundaries, pushed them and even went to open a bar in Mexico with the crew’s support. Sure, Chains had shown him the way, but how much he changed was all on him. Chains helped Houston get a foot in the door, allowing him to meet new people. To see new things. To be independent again—apart from both Hoxton and his brother. Just because the gang was apart hadn’t meant that they cut all contact—they met every now and then just for the sake of spending time together.

Chains had sent letters to the former heister between his shoots, talking like they did back in the old days. He would light up whenever he found a reply in his mailbox, putting it elsewhere for safekeeping. Houston never completely chilled out, but he built his own life over there, at his own place! Chains was proud of the younger man. Houston updated his friend on the things that were happening… until he couldn’t.

Chains wasn’t able to save anything from his house when he was attacked.

Which is why when Dallas looks out the window for someone who will never arrive, Chains can put a hand on his shoulder. That’s why he doesn’t have to say a single word. He’s able to show the Crew Chief that he understands. Hoxton is his own person, and Houston never could’ve replaced him. He didn’t have to. Hoxton can’t replace him, either.

The two of them wait for an impossibility until after the sun sets.

[elizabeths-dumbassery]

Could somebody make a compilation of the Grim-Birdie's from Sonic Prime s3 charging but with the Cloaker sfx playing instead of the normal scream they did?

Thanks

[aedisveneris]

HIGHWAY TO LOVE | pick a card landmarks on your journey to love

this work is done for the love of tarot + is intended only for those open to it. It is in no way intended to be professional advice. please consume this, + all general online readings, responsibly. 

whenever you’re ready your message is under the cut…

MARKERS Oracle of the Roses

Thanks for being here!

PILE 1

You might not have a clear picture of where you’re headed, but you’re properly motivated to embark on the road to love. Be warned: any desire to reach a victory you can show off to others stands directly in the way of that victory. 

Your journey to Love, the healing you seek, and the blessings this work will create must be first and foremost for you. Forget about proving anything to anyone. Prioritize proving your worth to yourself and to Love. 

To get a clearer picture of your roadmap to Love head over to the full reading ✨ 

PILE 2

The feelings at the root of that grief you’ve gotten used to aren’t as raw as before. Meaning you’ve processed enough to be ready to move into new emotional cycles, but your mind is having trouble registering that.

Like a habit, your mind returns faithfully to the thoughts and memories you’ve been processing and grieving. No shame in that, the mind has a notorious love for habit. 

But how do you shake it? What practices can be implemented to help your mind catch up to your heart? Find these answers and more over at the full reading  💖 (spoiler alert: by engaging with the other parts of your life that have nothing to do with this passing grief)

PILE 3

There’s a success in your life you’re struggling with. Whether internal or external, this success Is proof of your hard work and skills. But it still feels uncomfortable to you. 

Relieve yourself of the fear that your discomfort in this blessing is because you don’t deserve it. You don’t “deserve” your paycheck on payday, you goddamn earned it. Instead try on the idea that maybe you don’t know how to engage with this type of success because you’ve never known it. 

Basically you’re approaching new things as the old you and that incompatibility is creating a blockage on your road to Love, among other things.

Catch all the details over at the full reading 🧚🏼‍♂️

[thessalian]

Thess vs Filking

I've been being a weirdo on Reddit again. (No, not the usual kind of weirdo-on-Reddit; my kind of weirdo.)

I'll tag this for spoilers just in case because it does touch on plot, but ... it's Silent Hill 2; I think most of us know how it goes by now. Bit of ambient sound in the jail (OG and remake) is hoofbeats. Presumably it's a callback to a time when they hanged people by sitting them on a horse with the noose around their necks and got the horse to ride out from under them. Even knowing it's coming, it's freaky, especially when you're on edge for basically every little sound because you're listening so hard for the first crackle of the creature-detection radio. Anyway, someone on Reddit couldn't quite identify the sound, so they asked on Reddit. Someone responded, "A horse, of course". And yeah, apparently they were referencing the Mr Ed theme. Which is where my head went, because while I'm not that old, I had a lot of times when I was younger and my mother was away and I couldn't sleep so I watched Nick at Nite until late. Which is how I know the Mr Ed theme - more the tune than the lyrics. And ... well ... you know how my brain goes sometimes. So I replied to the "A horse, of course" comment with...

A horse is a horse, of course of course And that's what you hear when you feel remorse For choosing pillow-based divorce And are chased by Pyramid Head!

...Yeah, there were a lot of younglings who Did Not Get It, a few upvotes, and a, "Take my upvote, Wilbur".

I mean, I am the person who did the Prince Ali riff for Alistair in DA: Origins, and the entirety of the Mage playthrough of DA:O to the tune of The Wizard of Oz. I'm going to pull some stupid shit with filking if at all possible. Don't even get me started on my attempts to restrain myself from filking the D&D campaign I'm running to the tune of "We Didn't Start The Fire".

...Look, "We're ride or die with frosting" scans for "We didn't start the fire", and I CANNOT UNHEAR IT.

Yeah, okay, I have to go and pick up some bits and pieces because PAYDAY YAY.

[mysterycharacterflowers]

Congratulations to the Snapdragons 2 who made it to the next round!

The identity of the Blue Rose 1 is...

Bain from PAYDAY 2!

Blue rose 1 VS Snapdragons 2

First, let's talk about the Blue Rose 1

Meaning and why this flower was chosen: Blue is his favorite color, and blue represents something mysterious and unobtainable. He is a person who is shrouded in darkness, who lets nobody see him until it’s too late. I picked the rose because he is the type to say his feelings, but to never meet the ones he loves in person Description: He’s a hermit, paranoid. Love is unattainable to him only because of his personality, he can see it but he can’t touch it. This person has everything. All the canonical skills in the media where he’s from, the ones that he taught to the protagonists. He is constantly giving them positive reinforcement. He has beaten up mercenaries with his bare hands. He is smart and kind and calm. The main characters care about what happens to him. …But good endings don’t exist for him because he won’t reach out. He won’t open up, and that’s why I picked the blue rose. It holds a double meaning, that he is forever out of reach and that he prevented his own happiness. He is doomed by both the narrative and himself. He is fated to be lonely.

Check his post here

Now, let's talk about the Snapdragons 2

Meaning and why this flower was chosen: Snapdragons represent endurance, resilience, strength and courage to persevere through difficult times, and the enduring memory of the deceased. This character gets stuck in a deadly dimension and becomes leader of a group of people there, protecting them in a dying world. His family believes him dead, except for his wife, who refuses to give up on him. Also, dragons are associated with fire and he has fire powers. Description: Abandoned the organization of evil monster hunters he was raised in, and made a deal with an evil magical entity to save his life. He got stuck in a deadly dimension and became the leader of a group of other victims of the entity, protecting them and helping them survive the hostile environment. Once his wife found them, he was able to help all of his people leave the dimension.

Check his post here

[what-yadoking-likes]

Payday fandom: Derek Steele

Everyone: Derek Steele

Payday 3:

[manekinoodle]

i'm actually pretty happy with the pd3 heister reveals. spoilers for now given it's hot fresh news, so read below the cut for my full thoughts.

joy and pearl make a lot of sense from a developer standpoint as picks for launch. obvs they want to pick heisters that aren't super iconic (yet) to give them time and space to grow. and it's great to see a new heister so we know this isn't payday 2.5 in terms of cast. and we have four guys, so having two girls balances out the choices well especially for newbies to the game. i do admit i was hoping for houston, but i saw at least one of the female heisters returning from miles away. here's hoping we see our old mains in some shape or form.

let's start with pearl. she brings an air of class(?) that hasn't been covered by the existing pd3 crew which gives more variety to the characters that people can play. i love her outfit and face (very chic) but not sold on the mask. pearl's chic-ness contrasts her from pretty much all of the payday 2 female heisters as well. obvs i want my favs back, but pearl is going to be a solid addition and i hope that she's going to be well fleshed out in the game.

joy was initially unexpected but makes more sense as i'm thinking about it. consider that she got done super dirty in pd2 given her late introduction and her lack of relevance in the plot asides from her connection with locke. city of gold campaign fleshed her out surprisingly well, but it was too late for the majority of players to start giving a shit about her. and the point lines were... controversial. but i'm glad to see in this game she seems like she's grown up (and her va is returning, yay job security and continuity). her outfit is amazing, her face is... well. controversial (but i think she'll be alright on release). i hope that she can endear herself to fans now that she finally has room to do so. i am rooting for you cringe gamer girl (affectionate).

(also, possible revenge plot from her given locke is mia afawk.... looking forward to it)

[heister-shmeister]

boys in blue spoilers

absolutely senseless jacket yapping its worthless

so jackets a copycat apparently. is he copying a random other russian killing guy, or is he copying the real jacket.

did san francisco get nuked in payday 2. miami didnt because they went to miami in the heist.

what if the og jacket had the yellow jacket

is this anything

what the fuck

[pd3thoughts]

If Rust comes back then things are gonna get awkward real fast

The gang looking back and forth between them: 😅

[commence-screaming]

I’ve been wondering how Kings are able to order their Watchers around if Watchers really are as powerful as they say

Watchers are technically mentioned in the Book of Enoch, which is sort of(?) an addition to the Bible??? And yknow, the Bible has a bunch of stories where names are super important. (The green flu was supposedly made by the Aztec god of death 😫 NOTHING is impossible ok)

I am reminded of this Egyptian myth.

Soooo maybe the Watchers are controlled by their Kings because they have true names :)