#because you get them on your second run no matter what difficulty you're on

[dragon-in-spirit]

Well, after bouncing off it hard during the first third of the game a couple times, I finally beat Tales of Zestiria. Not my favorite in the series by any means, but despite the lack of depth to the storytelling and characters, and the weirdly stilted and archaic-but-not dialogue style of half the cast, I actually enjoyed it. The equipment skill system is interesting in theory but terrible in implementation, but once I got the hang of it it wasn't too awful. Gonna run through the bonus dungeon and then finish setting up for a new game+, then see how I feel about a second playthrough or if I'll switch to a different game.

[monettsuki]

La Signora headcannons

Mainly fluff and a bit of angst if you squint proceed

GN reader

Also if anyone wanna request I'll take those

Song reccomendation because it fits her Pierrot Play - No.D

Rosalyne is a person of elegance and a sophisticated flair - which is why she would heavily indulge into buying dresses or suits depending on her lover's taste and have them dressed in the finest clothes of Teyvat - all she asks in return is undying love and loyalty to her

After Rostams death I don't think she would've ever thought of ever getting a relationship again - worse after she became the Crimson witch - under her confident facade there is a part of her that questions how could anyone find something that they could like - even love - in her . So sometimes she might get clingy without any explanation because she thinks you're going to realize how awful she actually is (or rather how she actually sees herself) and ultimately decide to leave her

Usually if she's clingy she will come to hug you from behind - she usually has her hands really cold due to her crimson witch powers being greatly dimished - so if you feel cold hands resting on your stomach and a head on your shoulder you will know who it is - she will probably use this tactic to make you jump a bit if the two of you are in Shezhnaya and the bonfire is making the room hot enough

She likes to do things for you but you doing things for her? Absolutely not - though is that a blush when you want to do something heartfelt for her? - she'll cherish anything you do for her no matter whatever it is and she will pay you back tenfold (saying no will not do it this woman is STUBBORN)

If the two of you are cuddling she will be hugging you at all times - is like a cat - you can't escape her grip no matter what and archons forbid you move to get some water in the middle of the night - in the next 3 seconds she's behind you, cold arms slithering around you and a sleepy Rosalyne telling you to come back to bed and if you refuse she's dragging you herself

Whenever she's exhausted she will want to put her head in your lap to sleep -especially if you have squishy thighs she will adore to just use them as a pillow and you running your fingers through her hair while she falls asleep (you will be stuck there until she wakes up)

She will definitely want to have fatuis guarding you if you are a civilian but if you can defend yourself she will be worried of you dying in a mission or while fighting (Rostam trauma) so whenever the two of you are on separate missions she will want to keep in touch with you

She would want to keep your relationship secret for a very long time due to the fact that she wouldn't really want people to know about it - mostly due to her fear of you being targeted and killed in some way - she is after all a Harbringer and a lot of people would give their soul to the devil himself to have one to maneuver like a puppet so she definitely takes that into consideration (especially if you can't fight or have any difficulty with doing so)

If the two of you are alone she will definitely want to just kiss you all over your face just so she can see the lipstick marks on your face and she will just smile while smothering your face with kisses (also as a thank you for loving her and anything you do for her)

She really loves to read books in her free time and if you want she will even read to you especially if the speed at which the two of you read is different - maybe you'll even fall asleep listening to her voice and she definitely likes to hum whenever she's trying to fall asleep so you also have that

She will do your makeup if you ask her nicely - she won't mind it at all but actually absolutely adore doing so - the two of you just spending time together in silence is something that she will love to do and cherish as her schedule is mainly filled with work (will bring you gifts from her far away trips even if the main goal there was a gnosis rather than slacking off)

Perfume and jewellery are definitely her things so if you ever have any problems with that just come to her and she will help you find the best accesory for your outfit or perfume for a change of pace (if you have a favourite perfume she will even associate that one with you after a while and it will mostly turn into ''its you'' whenever she feels the smell of it - its like a memento you're actually there with her)

Anyway goodbye for now ❤❤

[sol-consort]

Not over how Javik can read your emotions by a simple touch. How useful would it be if you're someone who didn't express themselves often? Maybe you don't even understand your own emotions half the time or recognition them, yet Javik can easily tell each wave going through you apart from its sisters.

Your tearless sadness, your joy with a lack of smiles, your unbotheted but secretly bothered expression. Any difficulty you might face when it comes to both traverse the bottomless oceans of your emotions, but also attempt to make something comprehensible out of them for others around you whilst battling the waves not to drown.

Because something we all come to terms with is accepting disappointment in love, that our loved ones simply can't read our mind, they can't know what we're feeling or thinking if we don't activity communicate it.

So we lower our standards, accept that mishaps and miscommunication will happen, become content with the imperfections of love.

Each one of us must have realised it at some point, that no matter how much you explained yourself to someone you care about, at times, they simply will not get it. It's one of the things in life you learn to get used to, a part of human nature to grow into.

Javik completely defies that law. He breaks out of the mould. Not only can he read your brain, but your emotions too! He senses your body, your flesh, your blood running through your veins and your heart beating so quietly in the middle of the chaos of chemistry and cell division happening around it. Holding so many secrets inside, so many untold things you simply can't choke out, so many unfulfilled dreams and desires.

Not only does he see them, but he feels them as well. For once, someone is truly understanding you, understanding how it feels, how intense it can get. No one but yourself in this life can share your own experience. No matter how hard anyone tries, it's simply impossible to fully understand someone else.

Yet he does it. With a simple touch at that, too. He feels your soul, connects to it for a second in time, and views the real you, vulnerable and bare from all masks you put around your loved ones, not to make them worry.

He is you for a second as he processes each single overwhelming emotion you've felt for so many years.

No wonder he constantly wants to touch people. It explains why he's the way he is, why his words are harsh, why his face is expressionless. He never had to fake it, he never had to communicate his feelings through all these unreliable ways. Protheons could simply press a finger against one another and get to peak inside each other's hearts.

Our clumsy ways just pale in comparison, we are primitive indeed.

How can we even compete with that? It takes a lot of effort to have the beginning of a beginning for a crack code to someone else's emotions, and they can achieve it in literal seconds. Something that would've taken us years of close bonds, time, and great attention to come close to.

He probably feels it too, the guilt and shame hiding in your bones from not being enough for his needs. How lonely he must be, constantly misunderstood by those around him who are stubborn in their old ways.

Is that why he doesn't like machines? can he not read them like organics, so he assumes they don't have a soul? Is he scared that his so called perfected method of communication, might also be just as flawed as the rest of ours?

Javik wouldn't acknowledge your fears with more than a single phrase about you not needing to concern yourself if you're not enough, he chose you so don't question his decision.

But oh you'll never know what goes in inside him, you will never feel the erupting affection at the fact you loved him so much you felt guilty for not being able to give him back what he has given you. You won't even be able to suspect how much his heart is fluttering in response for your worries about him, for your great care for him.

It's as equally sad as it is endearing, stuck in a cage of his own making for being simply too evolved.

Imagine if you went back in time to an era before humans learned to talk with words, and you had to adapt to everyone else's ways of using vague gestures and occasional grunts. Primitive, too much room for error, could not come close to how much talking expresses your feelings and thoughts with such precision.

That's what it must be like for him. But at least you're there, and he can tell your heart is true, your love is pure. And that makes it, just a little bit less lonely.

His world is a little bit less dim with you around, the only caveman who's paid attention to the words he's been using.

[zoeykallus]

Hi again! Thanks for taking time out to read this. I have two requests so feel free to do both or either. First one is a little odd. Falling in love but with 99 as a virgin? Does not need to be sexual. Second is washing your bad batcher in a bath after they had a rough day and really taking care of them? (Maybe lots of sweet kisses for tech without his goggles or working out cramps in crosshairs hands from holding his rifle all day?)

Aloha! I did a take on your first idea in a way before, here. Not sure if this is what you had in mind. And as for your second idea, I really like it :)) The boys can certainly use some relaxation.

The Bad Batch x Reader HCs - Everyone Needs Someone Who Cares

Fluff/'Slightly' Suggestive

___________

Hunter

He sighs in relief, tired and relaxed at the same time, as he leans back in the hot bathwater you've poured for him. Hunter has had a hard day, his muscles and headache. You've taken extra care to make the bath additive as odorless as possible to relieve his senses a little.

You invited him to your apartment, where you have a real bathroom and a real tub, something Hunter rarely gets to see unless he's visiting. He has his eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the water, the quiet.

Your gaze travels along his wonderful, toned body, over and over, looking at him like this, you can hardly believe he's real.

You hear his smoky voice gently, teasingly ask, "What are you looking at so closely?"

As you look up into his face, startled, his eyelids are half-closed, and a small smirk is on his lips.

"I'm just looking at this incredibly handsome man lying there in my bathtub," you say with heated cheeks and a shy smile.

Hunter laughs softly.

Your hands move to the back of his neck and gently caress it, then your fingers move into his hair. You take some shampoo and massage it into his hair. You take your time, massaging his scalp.

Hunter's eyelids flutter, he sighs softly, pleasurably, he's putty in your hands. You're not in a hurry, not at all, you take your time pampering him a little. When you finally wash his hair, grab a sponge and continue with his shoulders, he finally opens his eyes and says smokily, "Take off your clothes and come in here."

Echo

Actually, he has gotten used to the prostheses, at least mentally, but his body still has its difficulties with them. Incorrect posture and weight shifting often result in every remaining muscle in his body aching in the evening when Echo comes to rest.

Of course, you know about it, you can see it in his posture and furrowed brow. He doesn't complain, he doesn't talk about it, but you know it anyway.

One evening, you run him a hot bath, but Echo looks rather critical.

"I'd have to take off my prostheses for a proper bath with bath additives, soap residue can damage my joints. I don't know if I'm ready for you to see me like this," he says quietly, a little unsure.

"Echo, I love you just the way you are, with or without prosthetics doesn't matter to me, I knew about it from the beginning and it never bothered me."

He takes a deep breath and sits down on the edge of the tub, he looks at you hesitantly and asks you very softly, "Will you help me?"

You nod and say softly, "Of course."

Together you remove his prosthetics, legs and arm, then you carefully help him into the tub. Echo's pulse races, he pays close attention to your face, every reaction, the fear that you will now see him with different eyes, almost chokes him in the first moment.

But you smile at him, happy, loving. He blinks, then he smiles too.

"The water is perfect," he says softly, "The warmth will relax my muscles."

"Good, that's what it's meant for"

As Echo really relaxes for the first time in a long time, you gently wash his body. With a sponge, you stroke his skin as he surrenders to your tender care.

Wrecker

He is a big, muscle-heavy guy. Wrecker regularly has back and neck pain because wherever he goes, his surroundings are rarely adapted to his size, and in general, thanks to his enormous strength, he often exaggerates when lifting things. Of course, occasional aches and strains are bound to happen.

One evening you have massage oil and preheated towels ready when Wrecker comes to visit you in your apartment. He looks at the prepared utensils and asks with a smile, "What do you have planned for me today?"

"You'll see," you reply with a smirk, "Jump in the shower and join me in the bedroom."

While Wrecker is showering in your bathroom and you can hear him happily, singing loudly, you have covered the bed with an extra sheet to protect your mattress from the massage oil.

As Wrecker comes out of the bathroom, clad only in a towel around his hips, you can't help but admire him, his height, his broad stature, but more importantly, the loving, broad smile on his lips as he looks at you.

He flings himself springily onto the bed, almost throwing you off balance.

"So? What are you up to?" he asks with a sweet smirk.

You ask him to lie down on his stomach and Wrecker complies, stretching with pleasure and waiting. As you spread the warmed massage oil on your hands and start massaging his shoulders and back, he moans with pleasure.

"Mmmh, Mesh'la, that's a wonderful idea".

Massaging Wrecker is pretty hard work, his muscles are so massive and firm that you have to use a lot of force to massage them effectively. But it's worth the effort to give your beloved giant some relaxation. He is always so affectionate and considerate with you, he has thoroughly earned your care.

Tech

He rarely admits that he is tired, but some days it is still obvious. Tech solves at least a dozen problems of various natures every day and is usually up longer than his brothers.

On one of those days, already late in the evening, you're asleep on the sofa when he comes into your apartment.

"Sorry, I know I'm late," Tech says, smiling tiredly at you as you wake up and sit up, "I didn't mean to wake you."

You stretch, gently kissing his cheek and carefully reaching for his goggles. Tech leans back on the sofa, you can tell he feels leaden and tired. You move closer to him and gently pull off his goggles. Wearing his goggles for hours has left deep marks. His hair is a bit tousled. He blinks tiredly and rubs his eyes.

"But now I can hardly see you," he says wearily and wants to take the goggles from your hand, but you put them down out of his reach for the moment.

Tech blinks and feels for you, half blind.

"Where did you put them?"

You say gently but firmly, "Forget your visual aid for a moment."

"I- okay"

You lean closer to him, gently caressing his temples and kissing the marks of the goggles around his eyes. You hear him sigh softly, his shoulders slowly sink down as he relaxes and his eyes close.

One of his arms wraps around your middle as you lean so close to him. He enjoys your gentle touch with small soft sighs.

"You are so good to me, Cyare".

"My poor darling," you purr to him.

You continue to gently massage his temples, covering his face with soft kisses. Of course you notice that he is slowly drifting away, he is terribly tired. But that's okay, he has definitely earned some rest.

You can hear him whisper softly, "I love you", just before he falls asleep.

Carefully, you tuck him in and snuggle up by his side.

"I love you too"

Crosshair

He had been lying in wait all day with his rifle, and in the end he had not fired a single shot. He had lain in the dirt on the hill for nothing. Crosshair's shoulders are stiff and his hands ache.

He sits at your dinner table in the evening, rubbing his palms and fingers with a furrowed brow, letting his shoulders roll over and over.

You've just eaten, and you've cleared the table when you see him sitting there like that.

"Are you okay?" you ask cautiously.

"Sure."

You put your hands on your hips and look at him silently.

"What?" he asks reluctantly.

"The truth please"

He rolls his eyes but finally answers, "Muscle tension in my hands and shoulders, that happens a lot when you lay in wait all day with a rifle"

You lead him into your living room and ask him to sit in the large armchair. With a critical eye, he does as he is told, and he watches what you do. When you put a heating blanket around his shoulders, he looks at you questioningly.

"It's not cold"

"The heat relaxes your shoulder muscles."

You sit down on the armrest of the chair and taking one of his deft hands, start massaging it. Crosshair blinks, at first not sure how to react, but finally he leans back with a sigh.

"That's not bad at all," he admits, closing his eyes.

As you massage his other hand and kiss the tips of his wonderful, long fingers, he opens his eyes and shifts a little restlessly in his chair.

"Kitten, this is no longer relaxing but arousing".

You look at him and ask, "Does that bother you?"

His reply is a cheeky little smirk.

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

@darkangel4121

@ttzamara

@arctrooper69

@padawancat97

@agenteliix

@allsystemsblue

@palliateclaws

@either-madness-or-brilliance

@ortizshinkaroff

@andy-solo1

@hunterssecretrecipe

@heyitsaloy

@greaser-wolf

@extrahotpixels

@hated-by-me

@hunterxcrosshair

@malicemercy

@bebopsworld

[9800sblog]

Hi Jes! I've just been catching up on your blog and really enjoy it. Not sure if this is something you'd be willing to do but if so could we get a reading on what Lewis Hamilton is like as a boyfriend/in a relationship? thank you <3 <3

lewis hamilton tarot reading

as a boyfriend

do I have his energy permission to do and share this reading? 10 of cups, 6 of wands

5 of pentacles - "us against the world" vibes, no matter what's happening, as long as you're together he is ok and he'll make sure his person is happy too. he makes time for his partner no matter how busy his life is, he'd rater miss out on important events and opportunities than miss out on quality time with his partner. can make anything/anywhere feel special. may not show off his partners, may prefer to keep it more low-key - prefers romantic getaways than a date in a famous restaurant, for example.

6 of cups - he's like a kid and he makes them feel young too, specially by being very silly and jokey. gifts is an obvious love language of most wealthy men, but he gives little thoughtful ones, like the person's favorite flowers or something they loved as a kid, an experience, something they mentioned once and forgot about. would plant an entire garden if they said they liked flowers. would give up on his job and run away to the mountains if the person asked. exchange of funny anecdotes and childhood stories, may imitate romances, definitely corny and nerdy.

4 of pentacles reversed - "what's mine is yours" "my world is your world and your world is my world". again, would give up EVERYTHING if the person asked, doesn't care about spending if it's with the right person. may not be very into physical touch or uses material things to suppress the lack of his physical presence since he's a busy man. may have difficulty putting a ring on it tho, although he definitely dates with that in mind.

king of cups reversed - specially clingy and emotional with his person, may cry a lot and be very very corny, always asking for reassurance. feels very intensely, wants to be their husband the second they get together, definitely daydreams about them often and gets distracted at work by it. a very ken type of guy, only has a good day if barbie is in it. struggles to show his emotions because they are very deep, may act cold and shallow if they're not close enough yet. tests the waters a lot, very hesitant.

ace of cups - wants to marry immediately, wants to make them feel like they've never felt before. thinks everything is a new beginning, romanticizes a lot, may wear rose colored glasses. very sexually inclined, very intense and emotional sex. looks for a soulmate type of feeling, someone to bring him a new sense of life and purpose. he may hold back a lot and then act impulsively.

[pepirfecin]

A rant about Shadow’s trauma

I am sick of hearing about Maria. Okay okay, bold statement and I'm being dramatic for the sake of being dramatic, but let me explain.

 No matter how you portray Shadow, Maria will most likely be mentioned, since it’s an important part of his character, motivations etc. I think we should pay more attention to the circumstances of his grief though; the real tragedy isn’t the loss itself, it runs deeper than that (I'm not saying anything new here). Let me break it down, the way I see it.

1.) Identity loss: When someone close to you dies a part of yourself dies with them. With your parents’ death you cease to be someone’s child forever. In Shadows case it’s even more extreme: not only did he loose Maria, he also lost his purpose by failing to do the one thing he was made to do. Imagine, your entire life stripped away from you in a matter of seconds, leaving you with absolutely no point to even exist. With his now non-existent purpose and identity as a whole he became a blank slate for someone else's revenge, a vessel powered by sorrow. Most likely only Maria saw her as a person on the ARK, so what is he with that one singular column gone? A weapon, a tool of destruction, the Ultimate Lifeforms made to destroy the planet. 

2.) Closure: When your abuser(s) die it’s a strange feeling. The person/people who made you miserable are finally gone, but what’s left is just emptiness. They made you the way you are, and now they’re gone, but you're still the same. He didn’t get revenge on any of those people. The fantasy of standing up against them verbally or physically (taking out years of abuse is now unreachable. So is the fantasy of it ever getting better. Now you can’t hope that someday they’ll do better. They now never will. Shadow’s left without any kind of closure in relation to his trauma he received on the ARK.

3.) Time to process: Presumably he was around 15-17 like the rest of the Sonic cast at the time of the incident. Almost immediately after seeing the most important person in his life die, he was put into stasis for 50 years. In both SA2 and ShtH 05 he woke up in a completely unfamiliar world with turbid memories, grief still fresh and pervasive. In the midst of world ending level threats constantly looming overhead in almost all games I don’t think he sat down with a psychologist and ever processed what happened. (If you age him up or make any kind of AU where he has time to deal with all this then let him process his trauma. Time heals all wounds pls let the guy leave some of his baggage behind.)

4.) Help: Childhood emotional neglect and other shit make it impossible for him to even reach out for help. Learned behaviour that emotions are not okay (to feel or show), difficulty connecting with peers, hard time asking for help, lashing out instead ect etc.

+This is why I think SA2 was a good, complete arc for him. He came to the planet with revenge and destruction in mind, a weapon that Gerald forged motivated by the immense sense of anguish. He died finally getting closure: He fulfilled his real purpose, his identity restored in some way. I like to think that he died peacefully partly because he knew his promise to Maria would continue to be fulfilled by Sonic. In the English version during the Final Hazard fight he even gave up the title he so desperately clings to in other games ‘The Ultimate Lifeform’. Unlike in other games here he doesn’t need that title and identity, it is no longer the only piece of himself that he has left, so he “offers” it for the person who he sees fit as an extension of his legacy. ("Sonic, I think I've discovered what the Ultimate Life Form is, it might be you!")

Okay all this ended up being a whole lot less cohesive than I intended and I just want to say I have more thoughts on this but I'm stupid dummy dumb dumb and can’t put it into words. (Analysing media is all fun and games until I have to explain then suddenly brain go mush.) This post is a pretty personal analysis, most of it isn’t factual in any way, I just want to provoke thoughts in others about this subject, since I often see his grief be reduced to “Maria is dead Shadow is big sad about it :(” which is fine, but there’s so much to explore. 

If you have any opinions on this, contradictory or other don’t be shy talk. I want. to hear everything. 

[ageless-aislynn]

I still can't launch Mass Effect: Andromeda without my computer going

💀No thanks💀

but at least the MCC can still launch and play (most of the time 👀). So I've been working on some solo achievements that I didn't think I would be able to get, namely the par scores. I went through and tried some of my favorite levels of Halo 2, 3, and Reach (sorry, 4, there is no level of you that I enjoy playing to that degree 🤷‍♀️ and I already have the ones on CE and ODST that I wanted to try for) and was actually able to get them! 🥳🥳🥳

And then. I realized I had 5 of the 9 levels of Reach, by FAR the most par scores than on any other game. And so I decided to try for "We'll Be Back" Beat the par score on every Halo: Reach level.

If you've ever tried this, well, either you're going

or you're just a much better player than I am, lol. Par score means you have to beat the par time but on a higher difficulty with tougher enemies and you can't just run by everybody, you've got to take 'em out to get the points.

"The Pillar of Autumn" was one that I'd struggled to get the par time on before (and that was on Easy so... 👀) but I got the par score on the second try. 🥳 That was a total shock!

I thought I'd get stalled on "Long Night of Solace" but I've gotten much better at the sabre section and blasted my way to victory after a few tries. (It was actually the fight on the Covvie ship after that that kept delaying me until the par time ran out and then your points begin frickin' to roll backwards to practically 0, ARGH.)

But then: "Exodus" and "The Package."

If those two levels just brought fear to your heart, then yeah, you've tried this achievement before.

ZOH MAH GUH. These levels are sooooo long *that's what she said joke goes here* 😜 and require stupidly high amounts of points: "Exodus" 20 minutes par time, 30,000 par score, "The Package" 20 minutes par time, 65,000 par score.

I didn't even get remotely close to par time or score my first dozen attempts at both of these levels. I tried different combinations of Normal + a bunch of skulls to raise the difficulty and Heroic + fewer skulls. I finally went with Heroic + fewer for "Exodus" annnnd after many, many times jetpacking my way to absolute failure trying to do the mid-level fight skip, I would make it to the last battle and my score would drain out because I went past the par time.

😑

That was legit my expression.

But then, I kept working at it, got better at doing the skip. Figured out how to jetpack up the building to do another skip (there's a trick to briefly stopping your jetpack halfway up, then starting again that will - eventually after much trial and error, falling to your death and cursing like a sailor 🤬😇😉 - let you get up to a higher place than you technically can in one jetpack burst). Then it was a matter of optimizing that final fight section where you have to activate two switches, then a final third. I died SO MANY TIMES trying to get to that last switch. Then I discovered you can jetpack up the outside of the room, go through the window, try not to get ABSOLUTELY OBLITERATED by the Hammer Chieftain Brute waiting for you, and hit the switch! I finally made the par score, woo-hoo!!!

And that left "The Package" and its monstrous 65,000 par score.

Playing on Normal with almost all of the skulls, despite seeing Youtube guides of other people managing it easily, just didn't work for me. I couldn't get nearly enough points. So I finally had to go with Heroic and almost all of the skulls on. That was painful but better than trying Legendary with no skulls and then I'd get my face melted off in the first section with the two turrets, the sniper Jackal with the focus rifle, the two fuel-rod Grunts and the 2 Grunts in the Ghosts. MY ABSOLUTE WORD, FRENS. My face got melted off SO MUCH. 😑

I learned speedrunning tricks I'd only heard of before and never thought to even try. I figured out how to run up the frickin' center support columns and do weird curving crouch jumps to 2 platforms just to avoid fighting a ginormous bunch of Jackals. I did the bounce trick where you sprint onto a sculpture, bounce up to a higher point on it, then jump for the window, crash through it and get to the Halsey's lab firefight without having to fight the camo Elites and that one Really Annoying General Elite™ with the concussion rifle.

(GAHHHHHHH, that dude blasted me SO MANY TIMES. And if throws a plasma grenade in your general direction? GOODBYE. HE DOES NOT MISS.)

You lose the points from those fights but if you're struggling for par time and you're already at about 50k points or so going into the firefight section, it was worth it.

I can't record but here are the 2 tricks at 3:46 and 4:36 (I had to jump to the higher level of the sculpture and crash through the window more to the left, I couldn't do it in one jump like Vodred does but I still could eventually make it about 3 out of 4 times, depending on if a camo Elite spawned standing RIGHT IN MY PATH. 😑)

I finally made it through to the Halsey's lab section at under 10 minutes. The following firefight is almost impossible to speed through at less than 10 minutes on its own because you have to wait for each wave of enemies to come in before you can clear them.

(I saw the world record holder do some amazing speedrun tricks to destroy the Phantoms as they come in to bring the enemies but, yeah, it was taking so long to try to learn that, I finally figured it was faster just to figure out how to fight them more efficiently.)

I did learn to reliably hijack a Banshee in mid-air thanks to my cool new jetpacking skills learned on "Exodus," at least. 😉

And then I got shot out of the sky SO MANY TIMES by those dang Jackals and Grunts and their overcharged plasma pistols. MY WORD. I worked a few different strategies, changing the Banshee for the Wraith and finishing the level like that or choosing to destroy the Wraith for the points and stay more maneuverable in the Banshee. I honestly thought the second strat was going to be the one that worked for me but MY STARS THOSE OVERCHARGED PLASMA PISTOLS ARRRGH.

I would get an enormous amount of points - once over 120k! - only to watch it drain to 16k because I couldn't finish the level even close to the par time. I was so sad on that one, frens, I can't even. 😭😭😭

But then, last night, I decided to try one last run before I went off to try to become a slightly more productive member of society. 😜 And I fought my little heart out, doing a combo of speedrun tricks and stand-and-fight to get points. And I out of the corner of my eye, I saw the timer at 19 minutes and change and the last wave was just dropping. 😱 I had over 110k points at this time but would start losing them quickly once we reached 20 minutes.

I was in the Wraith, which is powerful but moves slooooowly, down at the bottom of the map to take out the first of the last 3 Phantoms. I mortar bombed the other Wraith just as it was dropped off. I sped as fast as my Wraith could go - approximately the speed of molasses sliiiiiding down a hill in the sunlight 😑 - back up the map. I mortar bombed THE HECK out of everybody in the middle, trying desperately to be not only fast but to catch them grouped together for the multi-kill bonus points I knew I was going to need to inflate my score as high as possible against the going over par time penalty.

I see the timer hit 20, then 21. I stop looking and decide just to finish the fight™ (Master Chief John-117 😇😉) and see how close I could get.

I hear Dr. Halsey say, "Well done, Spartans. I'm opening the laboratory door," which is your cue to go and push the button (why the rest of Noble Team, who are STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO THE BUTTON can't do that on their own, I DUNNO). I have an Elite dancing around my mortar bombs as I'm Wraithing my way slooooowly towards the door. I glance down and see I have 90K POINTS LEFT, ZOMG. I do this stupid panic jump out of the Wraith without killing the Elite.

He starts shooting me. I JETPACK INTO THE SKY for some reason because I apparently forgot I have the jetpack on and not the sprint, lol.

He's still shooting at me. My shields are lighting up. I'm awkwardly jetpacking straight at Carter, mentally begging my beloved Noble One TO SAVE ME.

I land behind him and he provided accidental cover for me, actually getting shot by the Elite in my place.

Carter, my beloved.

ANYWAY, I'm doing this SUPER AWKWARD jetpack bursting hop thing towards that dang button because I again have forgotten I DON'T HAVE SPRINT RIGHT NOW, GEEZ. I hear the enemy Wraith on the platform behind me launch a mortar bomb and know that it CAN HIT ME WHERE I'M AT.

Ask me how I know. 😑

But this time, my awkward jetpacking meant I got to the button before the mortar got there and YES YES YES!

🥳

Annnnd here are the other par scores I got since I started trying for them last month. (And yes, when I can't sleep, I play Halo. 👀 Don't be an insomniac if you can help it, frens. 😴😉)

So, now I feel like I've accomplished something pretty special, even more than just getting the Legendary achievements because... Wait.

I wonder...? 🤔🤔🤔 I mean, Reach on Legendary is no party. *points up to that part where I mentioned getting my face melted* This would be a Legendary speedrun but I've learned a LOT of speedrunning tricks and there are a lot of really good guides out there...

Hm, maybe not. 😑😂

If you read all of this, thank you. I just mainly wanted to share my happiness at having gotten that achievement and since I couldn't include fun GIFs or video clips of it, I had to just be wordy. 🤷‍♀️

Have a cookie, from my heart to yours.

Now with 2000% more screencaps!

[wonderfuldeath]

.o| It's a small world : XXII |o.

Warnings : Violence, injury, graphic depictions, sex

Please, consider supporting me on Ko-Fi ! ♥

His head was spinning, his eyes struggling to open as he tried to work out what was happening. Taehyung tried to move his hands, but the pain of the bonds made him moan softly, as he turned his head right, then left, to see where the hell he'd ended up. It was strange, his mouth pasty, his wrists aching, his head like a brick. The acrid taste on his lips made him slowly panic, his condition proving to him that he had consumed something illicit, which he would never have taken in his normal state, and Taehyung replayed the sequence of events in his head. He was at the festivals, Jimin was giving the best performance of all time, Jungkook had moved away for a second, a blink of an eye, before he felt something stick in his throat. Panic overcomes him, as he is now fully conscious, locked behind this thick glass cage, his eyes getting used to the strange darkness with difficulty. His heart sinks, painfully in his temples, as he searches for something he recognizes, to find out where he is, but he doesn't recognize anything.

“- Awake at last. Excuse this little… inconvenience, but it had to be done if I was to have a chance to interview you.

- You are… Damarro.

- I see my prestige precedes me. But I'll take you, call me Heisukei.”

He recognizes the man from the party, from his vacation at the chalet, the place is white, like a laboratory, somewhere underground. There was no resonance when neither of them spoke, and Taehyung took a breath before looking at him again. Heisukei was taller than Jungkook, or a normal Korean, which told him he must certainly be American, or European. He couldn't see him well in the half-light, hidden behind the large tubes. Taehyung wasn't sure he wanted to understand what was inside. He didn't even really want to be here, to be perfectly frank.

“- What do you want from me?

- Me? Not much. I have nothing against prestigious doctors like you. I even find you fascinating, a real waste when it comes to your decision to stop practicing altogether.

- I only stopped working for you.

- Exactly what I say, a waste.”

A thud startled him, as he saw a shadow pass by, two military-looking men forcibly dragging the hospital director away, under Taehyung's curious and questioning gaze, he was lost, not understanding what was happening, or where it was all going to lead him. Heisukei had this kind of terrifying smile, as he let the men shove the old man into a capsule.

“- Let me show you my work, Mr. Kim, so we can understand each other better, and have an adult conversation.”

With a wave of his hand, he tells the two men to start work, and they both move to one side of the tube, each grabbing one of the levers, before lowering it in perfect synchronization. A howl of pain passes the man, before a propeller noise is heard and Taehyung cries out, a mixture of pure horror and terror, trying to free himself to potentially help the man in his pain. The shredding noise finally stopped, as did the screams, before the large tubes, hitherto invisible because transparent, filled with the red liquid. The man had been transformed into an amont of flesh, leaving only his nectar. Horrified, Taehyung watched the scene as if in slow motion. The door opens, and all that's left inside are bits of bone, which Taehyung looks at Heisukei, trying to understand why he'd let him discover something so macabre.

“- Now that we're on the same wavelength, we're going to have a very interesting conversation about my companion.

- I have no idea what you're talking about.

- Come on, don't play that game, Doctor. Your life's at stake, you know?”

-x-

No matter how loud the music, Jungkook can't quite get into it. For the fifteenth time, he puts his phone to his ear, listening to the long beeps, before finally hearing the unpleasant voice of the answering machine. A long shiver of terror runs down his spine, and he tries again, looking around, trying to find a sound resembling a ringtone, but the place is too noisy, so he hears nothing but background music. An animated growl passes his frustrated lips, as Jungkook looks around again for a face he knows, before quickly approaching Min Yoongi's minty head.

“- Have you seen Taehyung?

- Nope. Not since just now. Why not?

- He's not answering his phone.

- Maybe he can't hear it?”

Yoongi looks at him, realizing that he clearly doesn't want to hear something like that, and pulls out his phone, trying to reach Jungkook's lover as well. Direct messaging, so he calls Jimin, looking for a less noisy corner to have a better conversation than with the bass noises. Several intonations are heard, before they hang up on him, and his eyebrows furrow, he tries again, but this time, nothing. No dial tone, just the answering machine directly, Jungkook can understand when Yoongi turns paler than average, that something's wrong.

“- What?

- Something's wrong .”

The realization of this information makes Jungkook pinch his lower lip as an expletive passes his lips, he grabs his phone with more fury, dialing the emergency number of their illegal little group, barking out his orders, as Hoseok comes in a little panicked, understanding that the three of them have the same problem without needing to really talk.

“No mercy. I don't want to hear it, the first one who finds him gets a good shot.”

-x-

The heavy silence buzzes in his ears, as Jimin takes the bucket of icy water over the fresh burns of torture, a grinding of teeth passes his lips, he can no longer really speak, nor answer, he barely straightens his eyes when his hair is pulled back, making him scrape the cold, soaked ground. The man in front of him glares at him as he punches him again, this time in the stomach, causing him to regurgitate the alcohol he'd consumed earlier in the evening.

“- Disgusting.

- Speak for yourself. You type like a little girl.

- Tch. Aren't you going to answer me? Your buddy spilled the beans a long time ago.

- Then why are you hitting me?”

The man loses patience with Jimin's attitude, and takes another blow, making him stagger. If he wasn't tied up with his wrists in the air, like a common animal, he'd already be rolling on the ground. But he could only take a few steps to the side, his head spinning as he tried to stay awake, watching his tormentor circle him like a predator. Jimin had woken up an hour before, in this icy room, and ever since, this creep had been giving him a hard time. Yet he remained sure of himself, making no comment on the man's questions, unwilling to answer any of the obviously stupid man's interrogations, because he would never hand over his friend, even if he had to die to do so. His eyes were cloudy, and he coughed up a little blood. He wasn't a doctor, but it was never a good sign to have something like that pass your lips. Jimin can't hold his head up.

“- You could be smart, and answer me, your death would be quicker you know?

- My death? Yours won't be so sweet.

- He'll never find you. Suga will never know about this.

- You're an idiot. He's probably circling the city already.”

The very idea of Yoongi looking for him makes him smile, even if he had to die, then he'd accept it, he wouldn't die without really loving, and remaining himself. He closed his eyes, terribly tired, as he could feel the man in front of him moving, his last thought before falling completely into a coma being that Suga must have been worried about him, and that he must have looked adorable. The bang of the gunshot being the last thing he can hear, not completely sure whether he's totally alive or not.

The pain in his head seems to have subsided as he finally regains consciousness, the bin of the machine to which he was attached by the drip, his eyes rolling to understand what's happening, as he can feel the arms around his aching body, and the doctor's voice, which he recognizes as Taehyung asking the patient to let some air.

“- Where am I… And Elyzabeth?

- Don't worry, everything's fine. Everything's taken care of.

- Settled?

- Heisukei is no more.”

Nodding, he tries to situate himself in time as he moves a little, to be more comfortable in bed. He was at Yoongi's home, he could recognize the familiar smell of the blankets against his back, before turning his head slowly and seeing what was around him, Taehyung was straight, he had a few bruises too, but he seemed to be doing fine, Yoongi looked like he was about to cry, while Jungkook was on the phone behind them. Elyzabeth wasn't there, so he looked for her a little before Taehyung spoke again.

“- She's gone to get some fresh water, relax now. Patients get better when they're relaxed.

- What happened…? Heisukei..? And the rest?”

Yoongi spoke up, they'd gone through all Heisukei's businesses, one by one, before finding where they'd brought them, taking down everything in their path. They'd arrived just in time for Jimin, his tormentor about to finish him off with a bullet, but Yoongi had been quicker. Jimin nodded again, still feeling the weight of fatigue. Closing his eyes gently as Taehyung embraced Jungkook, telling everyone to let him sleep. They were safe, all of them, and that was the best news of the day for him.

[justiceforskywarp]

How to do easy hard mode -- dead cells

OKAY SO. ANYONE WHO'S BEEN FOLLOWING ME FOR MORE THAN LIKE 12 SECONDS WILL KNOW I JUST BEAT DEAD CELLS ON 5BSC TWICE AND GOT THE TRUE ENDING. and im sure it feels unattainable for a lot of fans, especially casual ans. tbh i did have to sweat to get the prior boss cells. however i would like to assuage everyone's worries about 5bsc--if you use what i call "easy hard mode", 5bsc is not only doable, but easier than your previous cells in difficulty. the reason for this is simple: aspects. you can use aspects without punishment in 5bsc, and lets face it--what casual player is going for flawless on every boss at 5bsc? there's one aspect that stands above all others as being the most useful, and that is: Toxin Lover.

easy hard mode works because it allows you to recover hp as you lose it without using your flask. your flask is pretty much used only to reduce malaise OR if you have an absolute emergency and need it. as im sure most of you know, there are two aspects that restore your health: toxin lover and blood drinker. toxin lover, however, is far superior for one reason:

you recover HP if you stand in a toxic cloud, regardless of how it spawned or if you deal damage. blood drinker requires you to constantly attack, but toxin lover allows you passive recovery at all time as long as you have a toxic cloud up. so, here's the strategy:

acquire a fast weapon. i recommend sadist's stiletto, balanced blade, impaler, or the crown jewel that makes this build the most op possible, queen's rapier. queen's rapier is best due to the massive hit output you can get from it.

whatever weapon you get, upgrade it to spawn a toxic cloud with each hit. this attribute is essential, or you can't get this to work.

acquire an amulet that lets you spawn a toxic cloud when you take damage or dodge.

and finally, make your secondary weapon either a shield (i find this is essential against the bosses when they move fast at max malaise) or frost blast. seriously, these as a secondary weapon will save your ass.

and from there, you're free to do what you want. the more poison clouds you spawn, the better. you will heal constantly, and as long as you dont mess up massively, you'll find that its EXTREMELY hard to kill you with this build. you just heal WAY too much, and no matter how many enemies spawn, each of them turns into free health.

bosses are where this build will struggle a bit. to do my runs, i went concierge, scarecrow, hand, and true final boss. i would not recommend facing bosses that you know will take a very long time, because your malaise will max and you will suffer. fuck you conjuctivius.

but anyways, the best weapon for this build is undoubtedly queen's rapier. the amount of hits you get off in seconds spawns so many clouds that you will constantly have healing. and one last thing--for this build, i recommend the mutations combo, no mercy, and melee. combined with queen's rapier, your enemies often will not have an opening to hit you because of how fast you strike while also slowing them down. i literally went through the entire run with the first weapon i got (queen's rapier) and still managed to beat the final boss (though admittedly, the weapon the hand drops is essential here! put your shield in your backpack and carry it with you, it will help you a LOT in the final fight)

and with that, you've accessed easy hard mode! dont expect to sweep because youve got this build, if you fuck up the game WILL punish you, and this does not guarantee every boss will go smoothly. it just makes resources management infinitely easier, eliminates the need to use your flask, and allows you to mistakes without resetting. you'll still need to know how to play, deal with enemies, and of course, fight and dodge bosses.

good luck, fellow dead cells fans! you too can acquire the true ending and get your well earned drip with this build! and remember, its not cheating if the game allows it!

[kwaggysshardmindemporium]

Album! Okay so today was Oar by Alexander 'Skip' Spence. I'm sorry Skip but this is bad. The BEST songs on it are like the definition of "the lower end of okay." And those are the first few songs. After that, it sounds like the artist is getting progressively more bored of making music. I legitimately feel like my time was wasted listening to this. I would say listen if you need a nap, but I've had TWO albums recently that would do that for you that DIDN'T suck completely and totally. (Those would be Ys and The Hour of Bewildebeast, to clarify.) If it wasn't obvious, 1/5. Not the worst thing I've been made to suffer through, but definitely the worst thing I've had in a while.

And you know what? I don't love being this negative. So let's talk about something I LIKE that I've been wanting to post about but never get around to it. Let's talk about my *favorite* band. My favorite song. The song I'm listening to right now to wash the taste out of my mouth. Big long gush plus some song links about something I love very much below the break.

So, my favorite band is The Amazing Devil. You know Jaskier from the Netflix Witcher series? Yeah, he's the lead singer of a band, too. This one. It's great. They write some of the most poignant music you'll hear in your fucking life. The genre I've seen it described as is "gothic folk" and it's very good. Their most popular song according to Spotify at 11.5 million plays, and the first song I ever heard from them myself, is the title track of their second album: "The Horror and the Wild." It's a great song. Here ya go:

That whole album is great, but fair warning if you or a loved one close to you have severe mental health struggles, the opening track "The Rockrose and the Thistle" is about that in a very raw way and might be a tough listen. Similarly, if you've had experiences with abuse, "The Unwanted Animal" towards the middle might be triggering. I personally check both boxes here even if I don't really talk about the latter, and it's probably the only song on there I have real difficulty listening to.

The *best* song on that album in my opinion, is "Farewell Wanderlust," their second-most popular song. Have a link:

I listened to this, got to this song, and knew instantly that this was my new favorite band.

And y'all? This isn't their best song, nor their best album.

Their best album IMO is Ruin, their most recent album. The album goes a little harder on the drums and faster on the guitar, and the subject matter is generally less grim. So it absolutely *soars.* The songs are fucking powerful. The other song I hear a lot of people say they know from this band is on this album because it's... I guess I'd call it a minor viral hit? It's called "Drinking Song for the Socially Anxious" and while it's a good song that title is a LIE. It's a story song about two nerdy and socially stunted people finding solace in each other's presence at a party. It's very sweet but very much not a drinking song.

Another great track on this album that I love a lot is "Blossoms," a song about a very nasty messy breakup.

And let's stop dancing around it. My favorite song from this band, and by extension my favorite song PERIOD and it's not very close, is "The Old Witch Sleep and the Good Man Grace." It's a song about overcoming your demons and if not becoming the person you want to be at least becoming someone who isn't weighed down by the shit the world has shoveled on them. Strap in, it's fucking long.

They do have another album, Love Run. It's their first album. I've listened to it, and it's... fine. Nowhere near as good as the later two, really only bother if you decide you like this band and want the complete experience. You won't be wasting your time but if you're like me you just won't like it as much. I'm not gonna spam links to songs off it because there's not much on there that does it for me.

Don't really have a closer here. Hope a mutual or two actually reads this and gives the band a listen. And even if you don't, if you're seeing this I appreciate you reading it.

[fayerieetale]

Apparently some tag question has been going around, and I thought these have been illegal already. AND nobody tagged me for it, so Imma tag myself cause I'm too lazy to study right now and I'm being a Leo.

1. What would the happiest and best version of yourself look like?

If I'm lying on my side with someone feeding me grapes, and at the flick of my fingers, people do what I please or what's on my mind.

2. What message/advice would you give to your past self?

NEVER WASTE YOUR TIME ON SOMEONE OR SOMETHING NOT WORTH IT-YOU WILL GET OVER THEM.

3. What is your happy place and why?

Church. HAHA, can't even lie to myself.

Last day of exams. I come home. Take a shower. Open the AC. Close the curtains and lights. And take a sleep for hours. Feeling all the exhaustion run out through my body.

4. Have you ever been in a toxic relationship? How did you get out of it? Any advice?

Yup. In all kinds of relationships. The thing is I don't get out, because I like it manipulative and toxic, well, at least, they do.

5. If money didn't matter (if you earned enough money from it) what job would you want to have and why?

Trauma surgeon. Period.

6. Do you have your happiest memory? If you don't mind sharing please tell us about it.

This is rather sad, but my happiest memory was just an expectation. It was supposed to happen last January. But it didn't. And that makes me extremely lonely.

7. Do you have your saddest memory? If you don't mind sharing please tell us about it.

Wow! that escalated rapidly. I think I have more sad memories than happy ones. And the thing is they're of the same level. But I'll choose two since I tagged myself and this is my page.

First: is that when my mother thought I cannot do med school since my sister is having difficulty in law school, which means if she's already having difficult time in doctorate school, what more if I do it.

Second: when someone who mattered to me said, not just on one but multiple occasions: "whenever i see a pretty pretty pretty girl on my social media, i wonder if you were even pretty"; don't get me wrong, these things didn't bother or bother me now, but during those times, I let myself to be vulnerable.

8. What is the movie/book/tv show that made you think a lot or made you change something about yourself?

Nietzsche book just to sound pretentious. Even the spelling is intimidating.

9. If you ever were to write a book what would it be about?

My autobiography. We need to epitomize me.

10. Do you have a strange habit?

Nope. Too perfect.

11. Have you ever met a person that drastically changed your life?

Yeah. We no longer talk.

12. How would you describe yourself in 5 words ?

I will never be enough.

13. What is your idea of a perfect day?

Waking up late in bed with the AC on, and the blanket just keeping me warm. Looking at the back of someone while he quietly makes breakfast for lunch, with sunlight hitting right through the gap of the curtains. Watching movies or reading a book after lunch, sleeping and snuggling, then going out for dinner and walking around Calle Crisologo. I'm easy to please provided that all of his attention, and eyes are on me. And well, if he carries me as I flick my fingers as if on cue.

14. Do you have any embarrassing stories from your life?

I am not romanticizing embarrassment. Just get the book. Refer to #9.

15. What is the strangest thing you've done or seen ?

I plead the 5th.

16. What is your gender identity? Do you think you do a lot of stereotypical things that are assigned to your gender?

I do exaggerated stereotypical things to mock the society. But in general, I couldn't care less.

17. If you could bring one character from a book to life, who would it be and why?

The wolf guy from Twilight. He seems hot. Hopefully he doesn't smell like a dog. (Refer to number 16)

18. Do you have a person in your life that makes you feel special or a person that you feel like you're soulmates with?

You mean personS?

19. What has been the hardest thing you had to deal with? Do you have any advice on how to deal with a similar situation?

Family stuff. Never limit yourself just because they don't believe in you. You do you.

20. What are you currently waiting for?

a. Getting married (refer to number 16)

b. Scholarship allowance

[thatmcgwords]

“No one starts out knowing how one plus one equals two. One thing highly successful people do is dream big, start small no matter the lack of resources, and then keep improving over time.”

A great mark of success is that you never stop learning. ~ Duncan Clark

“So, what makes Alibaba stand out this much? Three things, which Jack Ma calls the iron triangle: ecommerce, logistics, and finance.”

“Nothing makes e–commerce more reliable than a quick and efficient delivery system. Alibaba knows this well.”

You may start losing customers when people know your business doesn't handle their online transactions with utmost priority. ~ Duncan Clark

Alibaba operates on six value systems called the Six Vein Spirit Sword. They are: customer first, teamwork, embrace change, integrity, passion, and commitment. ~ Duncan Clark

“If you're the founder or executive of a company, it will be difficult to separate your personality from the company's culture. You will always shape and influence the work culture your employees will find themselves in because you're the major decision maker. As such, it's necessary to be a person of character. Be inspiring, exciting, positive, and motivating.”

“When you venture into a business that is not very common, you will have difficulty making progress. This is because people can seldom tell the value of your product or service. If you find yourself in such a situation, the only way out is to invest massively in awareness campaigns.”

“The first thing to learn from Jack Ma about dreams is you can never go beyond them. If you dream small, you will indefinitely put in small effort and that will lead to small achievements. But big dreams will inspire you to break limits.”

“The second lesson is to start where you are, with the experience and resources that you've got.”

“The third lesson is similar to the second: do not copy your competitors because you don't know the whole story. Find what works for you and stick to it.”

Patience and good strategies are two important factors that will take you far in business. ~ Duncan Clark

“We can learn a couple of things from Jack Ma's strategy. The first is the element of surprise. Jack Ma started the plan for Taobao, his consumer ecommerce business, underground”

“The second lesson from Jack Ma about beating a strong competitor is doing things differently. No one will patronize your new business when they don't see how it is different from the existing brand that they love and trust. Two things that made Taobao different from eBay are pricing and communication. EBay charged merchants some amount for product listing, whereas Taobao made it free for anyone to put up their product or service on the site.”

You should learn from your competitor but never copy. Copy and you die. ~ Jack Ma

“It takes persistence and grit to found and run a successful company. You will encounter challenges along the way, no doubt, but commitment to your initial dream is what will keep you going during tough times.

Most entrepreneurs start their business without a well documented business vision. This is a risky thing to do. Challenges and difficult times are bound to come in business, it's easy to give in when you don't have a written vision for your business. The vision you pen down before starting the business is one of the things you will rely on for motivation when the going gets tough.

In business, you're almost certain to have competitors. There are two ways to deal with them. First is to use the element of surprise. The second is developing a solid business strategy that includes meeting essential customer needs that your competitors are neglecting.”

“Try this

If you've started a business or plan on doing so, there's one important exercise to carry out. Write down your vision for that business. Make it as detailed as it can be. Next, place it somewhere you can see it regularly. This will help keep you motivated”

https://headway.onelink.me/9USK?pid=app_referral&af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.get-headway.com%2Fbook%2F&c=highlight&af_siteid=highlights

[void-botanist]

7, 22 & 37 for Cady :3

Thanks Red, these were really fun to think about. I'm gonna do this out of order to put the cut lower in the post.

22. What does your character like in other people? He likes people who don't take themselves too seriously. They don't have to be jokesters, but they gotta be a little loose. He had trouble getting along with Rodney at first because he read Rodney as a self-serious asshole. He's incredibly weak to tattoos and piercings and will immediately try to make friends with anyone who crests his very low "cool" threshold with those (read: Tristan and Declan). He also likes people who are passionate about something so he can egg them on, and people who can make unexpected connections in their casual jokes that catch him by surprise.

37. Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status? He cares a little bit about his status as Cool Guy and also Captain but honor matters way more to him. If he acts honorably and people perceive him that way then obviously he's a Cool Guy and someone people want to keep doing business with. He loves playful insults but won't tolerate people actually talking shit (well, maybe unless it's true). Occasionally he does run into trouble where defending his honor or someone else's costs him a customer or an opportunity or lands him in a "sir this is a Wendy's" moment but he mostly just shrugs it off. (But there has to be at least one "this is a Wendy's" moment that he looks back on with embarrassment even if he still thinks he was right.)

7. Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares? I'm pretty early in the planning stages for this story, but I have a tendency to forget about dreams and nightmares so this was interesting to dig into. Before his disappearance, Cady rarely had nightmares, and they were in response to weird experiences or spooky media. Now they're much more common and they do have a central recurring theme: that in the emptiness of space, no one can hear you scream.

There are two general forms of the nightmare. The first is a sort of abstract one, the kind you also have in normal dreams where you're on a boat but it's also your dad's Wal-Mart. Here, the store is meant to be the planet he's stuck on. There's some kind of monster somewhere in it, and he's been around the store a thousand times but there are no doors, and he's not even certain that there's anyone else inside, because they seem to disappear if he looks away too long. He ends up on the PA system, trying to page for someone, anyone, using his calm captain voice, while he can feel the unseen, perhaps unknowable monster getting closer. The dream ends shortly before it reaches him, as the absolute certainty he is going to die settles in.

This second one is a bit more graphic, so mild warning for claustrophobia, suffocation/difficulty breathing, and, uh, impending death.

The second builds on his real experience sitting in an ejected racer seat, which is its own little short-term life-support capsule. Sometimes he's on the surface of the planet, sometimes out in space, but its distress signal keeps droning out with no response. He knows that someone's supposed to save him, but they're just not coming. They're not picking up his signal. Maybe it's blocked by the landscape and there's not enough of an atmosphere for it to reflect off of. Maybe their equipment is just not listening. But the tone goes on and on and the capsule, which is literally only a bit larger than the seat itself, starts to seem smaller and smaller, like it might crush him before anyone arrives. It inevitably starts to crack at the seams. The smallest gap between the pieces is enough to let the air out. The low oxygen warning lights come on. He's breathing evil, thin atmosphere, an unrealistic but insidious green that feels like it's infecting his lungs with every breath, or trying and failing to breathe vacuum. Now his lungs feel smaller and smaller until there's no space for air—there's no air—and he knows with leaden certainty that this wasn't how things were supposed to go, but it's too late now.

Then he wakes up and wishes like hell he remembered in the dream how it was going to end so maybe it would be less horrifying.

[noirsword]

Occupational Hazards

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You don't unusually like to work with poison. It isn't your tool of choice for a number of reasons, all of them incredibly reasonable reasons. You aren't even going to acknowledge that saying about women and poison or diamonds and girls and their best friends. Your name is Diamonds Droog and you think it'd be ridiculous if those sayings correlated with your job tonight at all. 

He's running for mayor. 

He's getting popular. 

If he got into office, there was a very real chance that the press would have an opportunity to get involved in the city's management situation. The Mayor was a great guy. A blockhead, maybe, but he let things run exactly like they were supposed to. He didn't make the city look good to the rest of the county, but anyone outside the city didn't matter. One look at the city and the folks behind the scenes were doing great. The city's management was fine. The press, however, would be very interested in the matter. They wouldn't think the boss was doing so great. 

That's one of the reasons you don't like poison. The press like it. The press love  nothing more than a poisoning. That's not even scraping the surface of the issue. He was young. Running for mayor. Charismatic. Really, it felt like he had good intentions. 

That's another reason you don't like poison. You don't care to know your "clients" personally. Not even a little bit. You funny care to hear about their dreams or wives or kids or cars or dayjobs or hobbies or friends or anything like the man on the other side of the bar had been telling you about this whole time while you nodded along politely. 

You pretended to listen. You always did. It's part of bartending, really. You spend all night listening to strangers prattling on. They give you a fascinating glimpse into their lives that you hadn't wanted to see. You step in, you pretend it's incredible and you've never seen anything like it, and hope you never have to look into it again. This time, you would step into his world and it would come crashing down around him. 

It solved three of the greatest issues with poisoning you had. First was the difficulty of delivery and second was how simple it could be to fuck that delivery up. You didn't have to find an opportunity to assure that he would drink from the right glass, because you got to watch him drink it as soon as it was out of your hands.

Third was the problem of deniability. He would be the only member of his party to die tonight. He'd been to several bars. Newspapers had no reason to look into the Bettor Bar as having dealt the drink responsible for the death of the aspiring mayoral candidate. Jokes would be jokes, suspicion would be unfounded. 

This would almost be your ideal poisoning, if you cared for poisonings with to have such a thing. The catch? This guy didn't shut the fuck up. 

You didn't entertain questions about your job. You're sure that if you did, people would ask you things like whether or not you thought about the family or if you felt bad or what you'd do if you got caught. They might ask you if you thought you'd ever get caught, too. The long and short of it really was that it didn't matter. The family didn't matter. The wives and kids didn't matter. Your conscience or potential lack thereof didn't matter. Getting caught didn't even matter.  

The only thing that mattered, and matters, to you in a moment like this, even hearing these personal details that you couldn't give a shit less about, was getting the job done. 

You watch him walk out of the bar and wish him a good night. He's happy. You're happy that he's had a good night. You'll clean up the bar and have a cigarette before you go home. 

Day after tomorrow, you're sure, you'll read the headline. Mayoral candidate poisoned during his night on the town. It would sensationalize the dangers of the night life in a city like this one. Maybe it wouldn't. Maybe it would highlight the political aspect. It'd prattle on about how sad it was to lose such a magnificent young man at such a young age. You wouldn't even necessarily disagree with the sentiment. Really and truly, he seemed like he had the best intentions before he knocked back his drink. It might talk about what a great job he would've done. A photo of those bright eyes, smiling eyes, on the cover of the newspaper. 

Will you think about his family? Sure. You'd spare them the thought. 

Would you feel bad? No. This was necessary to your survival. Your entire operation hinged on this man's end. It's a shame you had to cross paths like this. Maybe you'd cross paths under clearer skies in the next life. 

What would you do if you got caught? It didn't matter. You weren't getting caught. And even if got did, it wouldn't matter. it wouldn't hold up. There wasn't any evidence. 

Next week, you'd see the photos of his funeral. You'd feel a little worse about that. You'd think about the family and feel that way and you'd be glad that you weren't anyone else in any other operation at this moment in time. In those photos, maybe you'd bask in your safety. You wouldn't be safe the minute you put the paper down, of course, but maybe you'd feel like there was something safer about you than him. Something about the spotlight. 

It didn't matter. 

You look back into the bar when you lock the door. You light up a cigarette all lazy-like and leaned back against the dark window of the bar. It was a good night. The profits were good. The tips were good. The clientele was good. The hit on that guy went good. 

There's something about this time of night. The bars, all closed. Empty. It's eerie. The city sleeps into the early morning, there's nothing unusual about it. The cool wind makes the hair of your arms stand on end. It makes goosebumps climb under your skin. Still, silent, empty. Beautiful. Somehow, it makes your cigarette burn faster. 

You're crushing the butt of your cigarette into the sandy sidewalk when the silence is finally broken by sirens shrieking. You linger long enough to watch them pass you by. It's an ambulance, headed south. Wordlessly, you wish him luck and you spare the family the thought you'd promised them. 

You might've been wrong about all of that. You wouldn't see it in the newspaper day after tomorrow. You'd see it tomorrow. 

[onniexxxz]

"God's Plan"

"Everyone has a clock, wait for your perfect time"

Have you come to the point where you ask yourself if there is still time that the weather will be in your favor? Have you ever asked yourself when fate will favor you?Well those are just some of my questions in life that keep running through my mind. I am Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie! When I was young I had an aspiration to rise and our life progressed so I dreamed of becoming a lawyer but I don't know why it seems like Mr. Destiny found his way to stop me. My own family, financial status, and toxic environment made me realize that that job is not meant for me and so I changed my mind. As I grew up I realized that as you grow up your dreams change because your abilities are considered skills wise and financial wise and so I made a lot of plans on my own. And I ask myself, Why did one of them not succeed?''It was with difficulty and various problems that I applied as a Caterer, the first time I tried my job I noticed that my boss treated me differently, he fed everyone and I was the only one who didn't, when it was over everyone called me he said to me "eat we're done, when you're done eat well and wash the dishes" I was like a dog eating the leftovers of my coworkers so I asked myself is this really when a worker. My second time at work (as a Caterer) we started at 8am and we finished at 1pm someone gave us a tip for all of us caterers but I was not given, and when I was paid I was surprised that I was the only one paid 650 while everything is 1000, since then I have not come back no matter what they chat with me.

When I finished Junior High School I continued my studies. While I was studying I sold perfume and jackets, I offered them from housing to Parian I just walked because I regretted the fare. Sometimes I was afraid to cross the bridge because I've been ripped off once. There is one incident that I can't accept, that is when my mother was caught by the police, it affected me a lot, like I just wanted to stop and work so that I could somehow help us, I also stopped selling perfume and jackets, almost saying goodbye I told my teacher that I was going to stop.

My teacher encouraged me not to stop because it was a waste of time. I remembered that I promised myself that I would not stop because this has happened to me before. I cried and cried because of what happened in my life, I was still smiling at many people, (yes, by the way, I used to go to church, it just stopped because of the pandemic) until my teacher introduced me to a school administrator, a lot changed because of the thought I know that my relationship with the Lord is not broken, there are people who will use him to get closer, trust and deepen my faith. He used some people to get me up again, I read this from the Bible, the book of Romans 8:18 "The pain that you're feeling right now, is can't compare to the joy that's coming" I held it and the opportunities that came in my life were terrible, I almost cried to the Lord, I was so happy because even though it was my situation in life I can get up again.

Now I'm continuing my studies, the course is 1st Year College Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management. I know it's not easy, there is no easy course and I promise myself that I will be able to graduate. My reason for wanting to graduate is because I have not graduated from the brothers, now not, it's for myself, for my future, and above all so that I can also help other people like I continue to help.There are events in our lives and sometimes they happen again and again because we can't get/apply the lesson there.Don't ask for what you want, ask the Lord, "Lord, what do you want to give me?"Don't ask the Lord what you want to have in your life, ask what his plan is because God's Plan will never fail.

[zaharya]

Hi!

I've read your post on the science of ADHD and was wondering if you could help me? (Feel free to say no!)

I'm trying to find articles on that symptom where you're unable to do anything even when you want to. Tumblr seems to refer to it as Executive Dysfunction, but since that term is very broad I have been unable to find anything specifically on the above symptom. Do you have any tips? Do you have any idea whether it has a more defined "name"?

Again, don't feel any pressure to answer!

Kind regards,

Hello!

Well, I can try to help 😅

Ah, yes. I'm afraid that executive dysfunction is in fact the official scientific / medical term for this, and there isn't a more defined name for this – at least not an official medical or scientific one. But I see how that might be a bit frustrating when looking for resources to deal with a specific issue or situation.

Just to clarify, what kinds of "articles" are you looking for? Scientific articles, or popular media articles / lay literature?

What you could try to look for are specific presentations of ex. dys., specific ways in which it manifests; there are a number of lay terms that describe more specific aspects of it. For example some people talk about "decision paralysis", or "ADHD waiting mode" – obviously neither of those are official terms, but it may help you find more resources on them, especially in popular/non-scientific media.

If you're going for scientific literature itself (which I personally do recommend), consider looking for executive function instead. Executive function is a fundamental cognitive ability and plays a role in many many things, and thus has a lot of research to back it up. Try searching it in connection to ADHD, and that should lead you to some beginning at least.

Now, you say that you couldn't find anything for "that specific symptom" – a lot of the time, it is a matter of recognising how the same concept leads to different outcomes. So even if you don't find articles that describe your exact situation, the concept discussed in the article might still be helpful to understand your specific symptoms. Furthermore, while it is true that this "inability to do the thing" is often based in executive dysfunction, there are also motivational aspects that have to be considered in ADHD. By motivational aspects I do not mean that you do not want to do the thing, or that you are not trying enough to do the thing. Rather, the motivational circuits in ADHD brains are different from those in neurotypical brains, which can thus lead to some difficulties.

I am guessing part of what you are looking for are ways to deal with this kind of issue. In my experience, understanding it helps to work around most symptoms to a certain degree already, so I do thing that learning about the mechanisms of it is beneficial in any case. Still, there are hacks that help with ADHD paralysis – I'll list a few and how they might help. [All of these are based on urgency, novelty, or personal importance, which are generally the factors that determine how well ADHD vibes with a task or activity.]

The three second rule; sounds stupid, but try it out! If you're trying to start doing something that requires you to move (e.g. take a shower, make food, do the dishes – whatever) and you find yourself stuck on the couch/at your desk/in bed/on the floor, take a deep breath, count down from three, and when you reach 0 you have to move. It can be any movement, but since you're not giving your brain a lot of time to think, the easiest movement is usually to get up – which gets you started at the very least. Try to ride that momentum.

Pomodoros; time your tasks for mini-deadline pressure. Pick a thing to do, e.g. you want to draw because you like drawing, then set a timer to around 20-30 minutes (at least that's the norm, but hey you can also do 16 and a-half minutes!). Start the timer, and while it runs you focus only on the previously specified task. When it's done, take a break of 5-10 minutes (again, you do you), then the next timer starts. I use this a lot for studying and writing, because it creates little focus windows that are easier to handle.

Increase or decrease stimulation; music, fidgets, anything that vibes for you. Maybe the hurdle is that you're simply over- or understimulated – play around with your activity-environment to see if it makes a difference!

Body doubling; personal favourite, simply hang out with your friends! The presence of another being/person often helps to stay on task, and it can be energising (at least to extraverts like me)

External incentives or accountability; aka threats and bribes 😏 my favourite variant of this is a concept I introduced on several of my Discord servers – Drabbles for Dopamine, where people literally bribe each other with little drabbles so they do the thing. But this works with anything! Tell your friend that you want to be out of bed in 30 minutes and ask them to check in on you; the pressure of having someone else know often already is enough. If the "threat" of them checking is not enough, add a "bribe" to it, for example a picture of their pet – whatever is at hand and motivates you.

There is more of course, but those are the few that come to mind off the top of my head. Feel free to message me if you have questions about any of them.

Besides that, here are a few links that might be of interest:

Popular / non-scientific sources (sorted by how useful I think they'll be for you)

What is executive function and why do we need it? – How to ADHD (video)

ADHD and Motivation – How to ADHD (video)

Motivation | How to ADHD (YT playlist)

Executive Dysfunction & ADHD - when you can't 'do the thing' (article)

What is executive function? (ADDitude mag article)

Scientific articles / research (no particular order!)

Validity of the executive function theory of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analytic review

Executive functions and adaptive functioning in young adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Are There Executive Dysfunction Subtypes Within ADHD?

Disturbance of the emotion and motivation in the adhd: a dopaminergic dysfunction

Executive dysfunction in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: cognitive and neuroimaging findings