#d day the final d1

[shapinginvisible]

Agust D - D DAY the final in Seoul D1

[namchyoon]

he's so beautiful 🤍 (for @jimimn 🤍) cr. jung-koook

[skyfallslayer]

A Careful Whisper || Chapter 1

-AQP D1: Eric x Fem!Reader-

Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist

🔇Chapter Summary: You knew that this day was going to be full of risk and danger, but you didn’t think you’d be stumbling through New York with a hole in your side. All you needed to do was wait for the signal and everything should be okay. Everything… well… from the sound of it, you might be too late anyway.

🔇Pairings: Eric x Fem!Reader

🔇Rating: Mature

🔇Word Count: 3,077

🔇Date: 7/11/24

🔇Warnings: Reader Has Military Training; Reader Has a Potty Mouth; Death/Murdering; Talks of How to Unalive People; Reader Might Have Done This a lot In This Chapter; Gun Use; Assault; Fighting; Mention of Blood and Open Wound. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

(And let me know if I missed anything)

🔇A/N: Hot damn! It's finally here. A bit of trial and error here for this one. I hate when I have an idea of what I want and then you either A) have trouble writing it out, or B) start write it until a new and better idea forms and changes everything. Lol. Anyway, it's short, but enjoy!

The day was June 18th, 2020. How did you know this? Well… this was the day you were looking forward to. It was the day you were supposed to change everything, to make sure the inevitable doom didn’t destroy lives. But of course–

Your life went to shit. It always found a way to go to shit. The day had turned sour before you even could blink. And now–

You’re stumbling through the Big Apple with a huge wound on your side.

This whole situation was supposed to be easy, a quick pop in on your ally, a quick exchange that was supposed to be easy – not traumatizing and changing your plans immensely. You’re already feeling dazed and confused as you run out of your colleague’s apartment, a death grip on the laptop he left behind. You’re sure you can hear your attackers moving around and trying to find you.

No. They can’t find you. Not when you had something that could literally save billions of lives worldwide. They can’t stop you. They shouldn’t stop you. You don’t understand why they didn’t want this info to be public. Sure, maybe questions will be thrown around about them, but–

As you turned and were about to bolt down the stairs, you saw one of the men a few feet behind with his silencer trained on you. You duck and nearly throw yourself down the stairs as the casing jams itself into the wall. You pretty much just took as big of a step you could without falling to cut some of your run time down — while you listen to the echoes of the three footsteps above. As soon as your feet touched the floor on the last level you were out of the building in less than a second, blending into the everyday busy streets. 

You and your colleagues agreed to meet at the apartment for that very reason in case someone unwanted came along and wanted to end the party. Yet to be honest, you thought you guys would be out of the blue, safe in a busy city that could have a hundred witnesses at a time. But you were wrong, and now you’re struggling to get through the crowds without passing out. 

You heard the laptop, the ones that could fold in half like a tablet, beep and you glance down. An error message popped up on the screen making your curse.

Fuck. No. You nearly stumbled into a passerby-er upon reading it.

“Sorry.” You said, looking frantically around. The smell of freshly grilled hot dogs hits your nose, your stomach rumbling from the lack of eating for several days, but you push it aside and hide beside the food truck. “Shit, shit, shit.”

You start furiously tapping the screen, typing any code you could muster to get the error to disappear. “Come on, you piece of shit. Work.” You kept typing and typing, the screen beeping and returning to normal. You smile. “...Yes.”

“Hey!”

Your eyes snap up and you see one of the men storming towards you, bitterness on his rough features. With all your strength, and your deepest apologies, you grab and shoved the civilian next to you at the attacker before bolting. You duck through the crowd, occasionally looking back. Your heart was in your throat, dark spots danced through your vision, and your head was pounding.

Come on! Will this stupid thing finish uploading already?! You yelp in surprise as someone’s hand latched around your wrist, pulling you to a stop.

“Hey, Baby.” The man said, grinning, and started pulling on you – there was also a lie resting on his very punch-able lips. “Why did you leave in such a hurry? We didn’t even finish our meal.”

You groan at the pressure, and how he starts tugging into an alleyway. You look around again, realizing how ‘normal’ this must look in a city like New York. He starts reaching for the laptop, and you shift your body away from his reach; Upon doing so, he starts applying more force, ready to snap your bone if necessary. You hissed through your teeth, trying to find some kind of an opening. 

“Come on, Lieutenant.” He urges, a deranged look in his discolored eye. “Comply.”

“Comply, my ass.” You spat, before headbutting him in the nose, temporarily stunning him.

You dodged the punch and the attempt to put you in a choke hold; You even managed to grab his own wrist and put him in some type of submission. When you finally see your opening, you push him gently forward while grabbing his gun off his belt, and proceed to shoot him once in the back of the kneecap. He falls flat with a cry, and your gaze looks out of the alleyway, checking to see if anyone heard or saw that (Shocker, nobody notices a thing in this city). You then made your way out of it when your coast was clear.

“L-Lieutenant!” He choked, trying to reach out for you. “You don’t know what you’re doing! Lieutenant!”

You ran back into the crowd, the silencer tucked underneath your jacket. You needed to get out of the city, but how? You look around, you see a taxi, an electric scooter, a subway sign.

A subway sign!

That’s perfect. You made your way down the stairs to the underground system, pulling your jacket closer to conceal the weapon – your ever oozing wound. You knew the subway lines pretty well, it was just the matter of getting on one that’ll take you far, or at least get on one that was already pulling into the station when you get there (You can’t really afford to wait around for one too long). 

But of course, your luck continues to be shitty as you hop over one of the turnstiles. You immediately feel the worker’s hand on your shoulder and you cuss mentally.

“Subway pass or ticket?” 

You bite the inside of your cheek before flashing up a smile. “I’m so sorry, I completely forgot.” You reply, trying to look and sound really genuine. “I-I lost track of time and I’m running late for work, completely forgetting my wallet.”

The woman’s face softens a smidge, but she doesn’t budge. “I’m sorry about that, but you still need a ticket or pass to get on.”

You sigh, sadly. “Can’t you let this slide once, please?” I mean, people jump these things all the time. Come on, Lady.

“I’m sorry–” She continues, and your eyes catch the two remaining men coming down the stairs. “But it’s policy. Or otherwise–”

“Hey!” You perk up with a giant grin. “What a coincidence!” You start pointing as they suddenly spot you. “That’s my boyfriend over there coming with his brother. Maybe he can pay for my ticket.”

“That’s your– HEY!!”

You’re already flying down another set of stairs when she shouts after you, and your attackers pick up the speed. The platforms were crowded, but that can only give you so much cover, especially since your ride wasn’t here yet. 

“Fuck…” You mumbled, and stole a peek from your laptop. The uploading sequence was almost complete, but god damn it! It was slow as hell. “For Christ’s sake.”

“Y/N!” One of your attackers yelled out, as he and his partner came down the steps as calm as cucumbers. “Sweetheart! Where you at?”

“Shit…” You know what they’re doing. They’re going to try to out you in public. Make people feel bad and accidentally out you. And it seemed to be working as you can faintly hear them describing you to someone what you look like.

You start hanging your head low and slouch your body. Alright, what can I do? If I get on the subway they might not be able to do anything with the amount of people… but what if they don’t care? This is New York. They could just shoot me blank in the head and scare civilians enough to blend into the crowd at the next stop.

You gnawed on the tip of your thumb. But what if I get on the subway and there’s hardly anyone? I’ll definitely be a dead man for sure so…

You heard someone mention what you’re wearing and took a peak, watching as a random civilian nodded at your attacker before gesturing your way. Jeez, thanks, man. 

What do you do? What do you do? What do you do? What do you do?!

You heard the intercom chime and announced the subway was pulling up from your right; So that’ll give you less than a minute for arrival time, and probably around the same time to load everyone up. That’s enough time for what you’re thinking about do–

You saw the men start stalking closer and you said a little prayer. This has got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. 

That’s when you took a risk and jumped onto the tracks, heading to the left tunnel and booked it. You heard people shouting, and your attackers screaming your name and telling you not to do this. You wanted to roll your eyes at the thought of what “backstory” they came up with to try to woo people over – probably told everyone you were his wife who forgot to take her meds this morning and is storming NYC in a crazy state. – Sounds like a story two out of three people would believe.

Despite your very vague idea where you were going, your plan was to run to the next platform, crawl out, get above ground and take a taxi out of the city. Or maybe, in the mince of panic you’re about to ensure, you can possibly sprint to your apartment in Central, get some stuff before you’ll have to go off the grid for betraying your country. Heck, the more you think about that, the more that’s probably compromised too. 

But first things first. Get this thing–

The wind was knocked out of you as soon as you tackled from behind. The laptop gets slammed onto the tracks by your weight before slipping out. The guy uses his size as an advantage to hold you down with his legs, and begins applying pressure to your neck with his hands. You make a gasping sound for air as your own try prying him away. Meanwhile, his partner picks up the device to examine it.

“How’s it coming?” The guy holding you down, asks.

“It’s at 96 percent.” His reply made you wheeze. You were so close. So close to finishing what you started. 

“96 percent?” His eyebrows shoot up before looking relatively cocky again. “Man, Lieutenant, I got to say you were one of our best hackers, so I guess I’m not surprised it’s almost complete in… hmm. How long have we been chasing you since Captain Reeds’ apartment?” His gaze catches his partners. “What’s your guess? 8 minutes? 10?”

“I’d say 10.”

“Yeah? Ten’s a good number.” He grins, creepily. “You did quite the number on Michael back in the alleyway. Didn’t think you–”

You managed to slip out your gun and press it under his chin, igniting the trigger. His body falls and you push it off you with a gasp of fresh air. Maybe you really should try to hide away in Hawaii before the world went to–

The other guy heaved you up from behind, an arm around your waist, a hand over your mouth. You start kicking the air and frantically wiggling your body. Your attacker was much taller than you, bulkier too – it was hard enough for you to try to use your gun on him ‘cause he was restricting your arm movement.

“Lieutenant, come on. Just listen.” He pressures, as you send him a nasty look before sinking your teeth into his palm. “Ow!” He removes his bleeding palm to wrap his arm around your head and press it against his shoulder. “Lieutenant–”

“Let me go!” You snarled, wiggling some more. “For fuck’s sake! You know I’m just trying to help!” Can’t these dummies see any kind of sense of what you’re doing? You’re not the bad guy here!

His moments slightly faltered. Slightly. But he still didn’t give in to your reasoning. “Sorry, Lieutenant.”

He starts shifting his stance, placing his hands in the position to snap your neck as you start pleading with him. Maybe… lady luck is going to be the one to pity you this time. ‘Cause now, lights were in your view and the rail line was shaking below you.

Like a deer in some headlights, your attacker froze at the sight. He mumbled something and his grip loosened enough for you to elbow him in the chin. You dodged his efforts to grab you again, swooping down to snag the laptop and run – the damn subway hot on your tail. The tunnel was coming up to a split, and you noticed which direction it was going in and headed for the clear side. But…

You had to deal with the other issue first. You still had the silencer you stole, not sure how much ammunition you had left, and part of you wants to risk it all and try to wing it. So when you whipped around to see he was a few steps behind you, you had to wait for the perfect moment to get him off guard. However, in that very moment, something was nagging you. What if there weren’t just three guys? What if there was more waiting for you somewhere around the city? Then what? Your hand-to-hand combat could only get you so far. 

You don’t know what you’re thinking, you almost felt guilty for taking out the man in this form of fashion; Yet when he got to be about an arm’s length away…

You plant a kick square in his chest and sent him into the passing subway car. Then…

You nearly collapse.

You let out a mixture of a sigh and a groan, your hand subconsciously touching your side. You felt like it was bleeding more now, but your adrenaline was so high and your body was a big ball of sweat, you could hardly tell. But you need to get it checked out soon, especially when the dark spots return to your (Y/E/C) orbs. 

Wonder if I do have time to go home? You lick your chap lips, thinking just as the device beeped. You pull it up into your view, the words illuminating your face making you smile like you won a prize.

You did it. 

You actually did it. You managed to get the words of the invasion out to every newsroom, radio station and any big social media platforms out there worldwide. 

You did it. You could almost cry, but you laughed with joy instead.  Andrea, Jose, Matt, Winston. We did it. You guys’ plan actually worked. Took a bit, but it all came together in the end. Now I really have to go off the grid.

But maybe you could help a few souls along the way, point them in the right direction, tell them what they have to do when the invaders come. You know as soon as the news station gets wind of it it’s going to be all over people’s phones and TVs. And when it comes to a place like NYC, you know despite the warning you sent of ‘Not Panicking’, there’s going to be panic. Maybe it’ll be a blessing in disguise for you, a crowd running wild in the streets maybe will give you enough coverage to run and hide.

It’s almost too good to be true. You managed to pull yourself up onto the platform at the next station, surely getting one or two looks, but whatever. You didn’t care. You could care less as you unplugged the USB from the laptop and tucking it away before discarding the device in a trash can. I’m going to head back home, address my wound, get new clothes and take anything that can help me along the way. I just hope nobody’s waiting in my living room for me.

You took the last step up and out from being underground, stopping at the top with a smile still on your face. Sucks that I’ll never get to– What?

It was like time itself had frozen, and you wonder if your dizzy head is causing this, but you suddenly saw that everyone in the city had stopped. Stopped. Stop their walking, their phone calls, their cars, their bikes – stop everything to…

Look up.

You felt the immediate fear and dread in your gut as you dared to see yourself. You swallow and stare into the bright blue sky. That’s when you saw the very thing you swore to stop – The thing came in the form of what people would think would be meteors, coming down so slowly in great balls of fire… great balls of death.

Your eyes widened as you took a step back in disbelief, nearly tripping down the stairs (You steady yourself on the railing). Everyone was so… quiet while watching. Even the birds didn’t chirp, even the dogs seemed too scared to even breathe. You were too, no doubt. 

No.

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no–

You had time. You had time. You were supposed to have time before they got here. Time to prepare everything and everyone. It wasn’t supposed to be this early, they– they–

You mentally slapped yourself. Pull yourself together, Y/N!

You knew what to do. You had training. You prepared yourself for this moment when it came. 

“They’re not meteorites!!” You screamed, getting most attention (Even though your throat burned and ached after being choked, you still had to try). “You need to move away! Hide! And stay quiet! These things are attracted to–”

You didn’t even get to finish your warning when one came crashing down just a few feet in front of you.

The impact was strong, strong enough to throw you and a few people backwards like you weighed nothing. You flew back down the stairs,

.

.

.

And that was the last thing you recall before hitting your head and blacking out.

(TBC)

A/N: Sorry it was a bit short. Consider it a teaser.

-Taglist Is Open-

@idontreallyexistyet @pantheracatluv1105 @tjohn63 @temptressofthetarrot @sunmoonstars666

[acaplaya-musings]

Geoff Castellucci 2024 Recap

Hello fam and welcome to my 2024 recap post for what Geoff has been up to on his solo channel this year! (This will be followed up with a VoicePlay 2024 recap in a day or two, don't you worry). This year was my first full year of being "fully down the rabbithole", and I started this sideblog back in late January, so basically this is just a "quick" (hah!) summary of stuff that I've more or less already covered on this blog, because it's just a bit of fun!

Right, before we get to the full-length stuff, I gotta of course give a shout-out to the shorts! Geoff uploaded seven shorts this year: Texas Hold 'Em, Trust In Me, I'm On Fire, The Rainbow Connection, Rawhide, Friends On The Other Side, and Loch Ness Monster. I would love to be able to pick a favourite or two, but I can't! Trust In Me and Rainbow Connection have both gone onto my "Last Resort Sleep Playlist" (a collection of Geoff narrations and music tracks), Texas Hold Em is a vibe, Rawhide is a catchy banger, Loch Ness Monster is fun, Friends On The Other Side is *brilliant*, and I'm On Fire is nice too!

But now that's out of the way, onto the main part of the post, where I get to revisit every single song from this year! :D

Wicked Game - released February 9th

On my personal Discord server, early in February, I was like "y'know it's entirely possible that Geoff's first song of 2024 could kinda sorta be a song for Valentine's Day?" and well, it kinda went in the exact opposite direction! But hey I'm calling that a Nat 10 for the album art alone. Geoff continued the trend of having his first release of the year be one involving a piano, and this kinda had bits and pieces of his previous piano covers to it as well! The initial "grizzly bear singing a lullaby" (not my phrasing) vocal tone/timbre, like in Till Then, the utterly haunting soundscape kinda similar to Sound Of Silence, and the visual vibe of High And Dry (I actually did a mini two-picture comparison between High And Dry and Wicked Game which you can go find HERE). But also like High And Dry was the way Geoff went higher with every chorus bit, but then brought it all back down at the end! And you can go find my initial thoughts post I made about it HERE

Favourite music moment: When he goes highest on the final chorus and does that vocal run thing on "No IIIIIIIII..."

Favourite visual moment: The brief cut to black followed immediately by a front close shot of Geoff. Either that or just the way the video holds on Geoff sitting at the piano in silence for a few moments right at the end - very impactful!

Unshaken - released March 9th

And Now For Something Completely Different To What Came Before! Y'know when the video premiere showed up on YouTube and I saw in the video description that Geoff said about "the perfect opportunity to bring the riders back", I was like "Lol could you imagine if this video was kinda sorta a "prequel" to Ghost Riders In The Sky? Like with Jeff, Goff, Jeoph, and Daryl being regular human cowboys before they became ghost riders/ghost cowboys? Haha just kidding unless?" AND THEN GUESS WHAT! (Still sad that I didn't find any reactors who made that connection in their videos tbh). I also made a photo compilation thing comparing each of the "Riders" in this to how they look as "Ghost Riders" in Ghost Riders In The Sky! (link to post)

This quickly became my favourite Geoff release of 2024 for a while, and at the very least I'd still say it's my favourite video of his of the year (and only one of two 2024 videos that I did Voiceplay-adjacent Visuals for, which you can find HERE). Also Jeoph has no business looking that good in that handlebar moustache, like it gives me a crisis! That's not the kind of look that I'm usually attracted to! The moustache isn't even real! Why do you look so good like that?!!?

Favourite music moment: the eardrum-shaking D1 sub and the awesome G4 chest/mixed note, alongside the absolutely insane amount of G1s!!

Favourite visual moment: Of course I love that final silhouette shot of Goff, Daryl, Jeoph, and Jeff, but I also gotta give a shoutout to something that's not part of this video: there's no gramophone logo at the end! Which I choose to believe was a subtle nod to the fact that "regular Geoff" isn't in this one! It's just the clones!

You Don't Mess Around With Jim - released May 10th

This is actually the only full-length video of 2024 to feature Geoff being fully sleeveless! (This includes VoicePlay videos, but not counting the Minis and stuff). Quite a difference to the amount of sleeveless-ness(?) we got last year, but honestly, when you have five Geoffs in black tank tops staring down the camera and looking like that, well I think we absolutely still certainly got our fill! (One of the commenters said that this video was "like if the guys from Sixteen Tons grew up and got scarier" and they're kinda not wrong!)

Apparently there are a few people who think that certain reactors are "too over the top" or "must be faking it" but they clearly haven't met me because like I didn't even get to the first line of this song before I had to pause and rewind! The immediate start with the stomps and the claps and the humming had me being like "waitwaitwait I wasn't ready hang on a minute!" and genuinely the moment of "you don't - into the wind" with what sounded like glass shattering almost gave me half a heart attack the first time! Definitely a catchy tune, though!

Favourite music moment: I quite enjoyed the part sung by "Slim" (always nice to hear Geoff singing in a bit of upper register!) but also I of course have to also give love to the bit of scatting at the end! Is there anything he can't do?

Favourite visual moment: When Geoff hits that E1 subharmonic at the end and the other "Geoffs" either side of him start stomping and clapping again while "Lead Geoff" stands relatively motionless. It just works!

Big Iron - released July 12th

This one is definitely a bit special to me. Not only is it Geoff's 30th full-length song cover on his channel, but also it's the first full cover I got early access to since joining Geoff's Patreon, and to top it all off, it's another with original lyrics in it! I was looking up the lyrics after I had watched Geoff's cover, and I was like "wait, this doesn't have a chorus? But Geoff's definitely had a chorus, right?" and then I rewatched Geoff's video on my laptop while having the original lyrics up on my phone and was like "yeah hang on a minute!" (He didn't even confirm it for us Patrons! Just left it for us to figure out before the public premiere!)

Usually I'm partial to interesting visual/video stuff, but the song arrangement of this alone was so dang good that I was like "dang does this overtake Unshaken as my favourite Geoff release of the year?" Ultimately I determined that Unshaken was my favourite video, and Big Iron was my favourite song. (Also I found it amusing/interesting how the narrative of this song actually had a fair bit of similarities to Geoff's previous cover of YDMAWJ, and so I made a comparison post thing, which you can find HERE)

Favourite music moment: I love the way he turned one of the verses into a sort of bridge section (the "wasn't long before the story was relayed to Texas Red..." bit up to the "twenty-one would be the ranger with a big iron on his hip" line), but I really love the line "riding hell for leather, midnight to the dawn...", both because it's a very cool Geoff Original lyric, and also because of the harmonised vocal run thing on the word 'dawn'!

Favourite visual moment: Not a lot of "action" to pick out of this one, but I will give kudos to the attention to detail of Lead Geoff having just his watch on his left wrist and then a thin leather bracelet thing on the right wrist, while the Clones are wearing both of those things on their left wrists, while having additional different leather bracelet things on their right wrists! Just a nice little touch of differentiation!

Imagine - released August 9th

Y'know in late July I literally made a post being like "man I love it when Geoff plays the piano!" and I half-joked about making a photo compilation of all the times he's played piano in videos (and a couple of y'all were like "yes do it") and then like only a few days later he posted a teaser image for his next video, featuring him playing piano!!!

I know there are people with Strong Feelings about this song (as Geoff said in his video description), whether positive or negative, but personally I'm more or less neutral on the original, so I was certainly going in open-minded to this, and man Geoff never disappoints! This definitely left me with a massive smile on my face, and if you wanna see the initial thoughts I had about the song/video, you can find them HERE!

Favourite music moment: the sudden switch to layered vocals and a "higher energy" performance was amazing, and there was some fantastic belting in this, too!

Favourite visual moment: when Geoff sings "imagine all the people, sharing all the world, you...", I love the hand/arm lifting motion he does on the word "you", like he's really getting into it and connecting with the performance! Oh and also on the final "and the world will be as one" at the end of the video, right at the start of that line there's a brief moment where he actually looks directly at the camera (or at least seems to), and honestly I feel like it adds just that little extra bit of impact.

Song Of Durin - released September 22nd

Talk about a song that I really didn't expect to love so dang much!

Like okay, of course I knew I would enjoy the song/video - it's Geoff, after all, but like I'm not a Tolkien fan! (Not that I dislike the Middle Earth stuff, I just haven't read any of the books or seen any of the films). And this one doesn't necessarily have any one particular "thing" that I can point to and be like "yes that's the reason I love this", it's just really good as whole, and somehow it managed to sink its claws into me and kept pulling me back to it again and agin!

When I did my initial thoughts/commentary post for this (LINK), I was like "I'm not sure if this beats I See Fire for me or whether it's just equal", but I did finally decide that this one does, in fact, beat I See Fire for me! (Though all the "dwarf songs" are great in their own ways of course.) But whether it beats Big Iron? Honestly I haven't even bothered comparing them. But this has become a comfort/relaxation song for me and I love it. (And apparently so do a lot of other folk, as it became Geoff's first cover of 2024 to hit a million views! Let's go!)

(Also here's a link to a comparison post for Fili, Kili, Bofur, and Thorin across the 3 Geoff videos they've been in, and here's another link to the Voiceplay-Adjacent Visuals I did for this video!)

Favourite music moment: When Bofur sings "but still the sunken stars appear, in dark and windless Mirrormere" in that high voice like dang that's so pretty! (But also I kinda just wanna say "all of it")

Favourite visual moment: The decision to have Fili, Thorin, Kili, and Bofur be ghosts/spectres/spirits was quite clever from a narrative perspective, as they lived many many years before Gimli (lead singer here), with The Hobbit being a prequel to The Lord Of The Rings and all. And Eli always does a fantastic job with lighting design, whether for VoicePlay or whether he's helping Geoff, but man I definitely loved all the lighting choices here!

Carol Of The Bells - released December 6th

I had a few ideas/hopes/predictions about what Geoff might do for his Christmas video this year, but I never would have even considered putting this song on my predictions list! Just like often with Geoff (and VoicePlay), it's a cover I didn't know I needed in my life until I got it! Goddang!

This is basically the spiritual successor to Geoff's cover of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and I LOVE IT! If you missed my recent thoughts/commentary about the cover, you can find that HERE, but basically from that first piano note I was intrigued, and then from that "merry ChristMAAAAAA..." my jaw dropped and basically stayed dropped the whole way through.

Favourite music moment: I mean like that 14-second subharmonic thing with the distortion and the backing vocals like hello? And apparently it's not even a single held note, but a movement going G1-Eb1-F1-D1? Dang! And then very quickly afterwards we get the most gorgeous "throw cares awayyyy" tenor line, like come on my dude!

Favourite visual moment: Can't go wrong with a bit of a camera shake effect for ground-quaking low notes! But also I love how that final bell sound right at the end is perfectly timed to the appearance of the gramophone logo! Chefs kiss!

And that's my summary done for Geoff's channel! My VoicePlay 2024 recap will be coming the day after tomorrow, and it's going to be an even longer post than this! (Y'know, since they ended up with 11 full-length releases this year compared to Geoff's 7). See y'all soon!

[chronotsr]

No. 4 - D1, Descent into the Depths of the Earth (August 1978)

Author(s): Gary Gygax Artist(s): David C. Sutherland III (Cover), David A. Trampier Level range: Average of 10, preferrably party size 7+ players Theme: Underground exploration Major re-releases: D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth, GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders

Wait, really? This adventure has never gotten an official adaptation after 1e? That feels really weird. Granted Queen of Spiders in particular would absolutely work with 2e, but, wow. Is there a reason for that?

Ahh, 1e cover art. Looks like hot fucking garbage in the best way. Well, at least it's not a trace? You may be aware that early DND had a bit of an art theft problem (mostly stealing off of comic covers), but I don't actually have a list of all the known cases -- finding art credits at all is enough hassle as is without tracking down which paintings are also stolen. The usual suspect is "Greg Bell" and if you want to look this up the word you need to google is "Swipes", not traces. Just, be aware that's a thing going forward.

We start off on a weak footing: a light retcon. The ending of G3 didn't really imply that the drow had an escape route to the underdark in the Hall, at least not going off the map, but the text of D1 does. It didn't really even have a reason to pursue any drow into the, well it's not called the Underdark yet. In fact, it's going to be a hot minute til then, it'll receive that name in '86 from a not particularly liked supplement that got pumped out during the TSR Money Issues era. So for now, it's just The Depths. G1-3 were highly enclosed dungeons, D1 is a wilderness hexcrawl situation. Which is kinda strange, since like the G series, the D series was a tournament module. The answer to this conundrum, is that it isn't a conundrum, because only D2-D3 were used at GenCon XI, as well as an alternate Q1 that never was. Shame! The Lolth egg raid sounds cool.

A big hexcrawl, in fact! It's almost weird to me that D1 is the middle of a sequence at such a high level, rather than the beginning of a sequence at a low level, simply because there's so much stuff? Hexcrawls aren't my jam (admittedly I've only played in one ever, but I have Forever GM syndrome very hard so maybe one day that'll be fixed…) so it's hard to not see something this huge and go "wow this must be totally overwhelming to run". But we will press on dauntlessly!

We get some guidance on how to run this, including to really sell the "spooky cave" vibes. Gary is one again strangely invested in the importance of caving itself, but here it feels a bit more appropriate than it did in G2. Happily, shockingly, excellently: there IS a way to secure the Drow's favor from the word jump! Wiping out the Mind Flayer camp will have a, not 100% but extremely high chance of the drow FINALLY leaving you alone. Yay! And included in the module are some bonus cave battlemaps in case you need to random encounter in a cave. Also yay! Actually, in general in this introductory section Gary is generally sending out good game design vibes, going to great trouble to mention "if they're being careful, don't fuck them over" and "just straight up tell them you can't teleport very far down here" and "make sure you tidy up this framework into a real adventure". All very good signs!

The artwork is, broadly, much cooler than it has been up to this point. Which is good, because we're getting a whole lot of random tables here. They do a nice thing in this section, where they give 'purposes' to a lot of the random encounters, not full-on spark tables but at least knowing that the ghouls serve the drow is a very handy "why are they here?" to know.

The adventure lightly, reasonably, railroads you into your first encounter -- a checkpoint. It's a pretty rote fight, there are two factions but they can't really be posed against one another in any obvious way. The sub boss has a faerie fire grenade, and the big boss has a cloak that lets you turn into a lurker to fly away in a pinch. It's lightly teased that they worship Lolth here. But otherwise it's mostly just "welcome to the underdark motherfucker!"

There's a brief illithid encounter, which is likewise rote. Chop em' up and move on.

Finally, you have your dungeon-dungeon, which is a trog warren. It's mostly just Some Drow and Some Trogs, and it almost feels obligatory? It's got that "bunch of random caves" vibe that I do not like in dungeons. B1 and 2 will both end up doing this. But among the funny things is:

The first appearance of a death lance (drains d4 levels) on some bad motherufcker drow fighter lady

The medal you can negotiate from the drow can also just be looted

A lich is just, kind of taking a nap. the cheeky little fucker has put a magic mouth on basically everything everywhere, so you're flooded with magic aura if you think you're going to see shit coming. He's got some really neat shit, like a portable hole, but unfortunately his non-magic valuables are extremely cursed. Figures.

Sometimes I forget that ghouls and ghasts are sentient and intelligent, since I have had it so trained in my mind that ghouls are essentially smart zombies rather than people in any meaningful sense, but not so in ADND land! These ghouls are trying to ditch the drow they serve, which, understandable.

Thing I only learned now: ADND had many, many sphinxes. Andro (big tough and good), crio (smaller, dumber), gyno (smaller, a little meaner, classical sphinx behaviors including riddles), and hieraco (evil, vicious, and animalbrained). Ours here is the hieracosphinx, which is a pet of some drow lady.

Hopefully we can agree that old timey bugbears were silly little guys. I don't buy that they're evil, they're too silly! And yawn the usual lady monster / child monster dilemma is here, how droll. Your party picked a side 30 sessions ago and now it's just procedural.

Apparently the dark elves and trogdolytes practice mutual aid with one another, though Gary specifies it's coercive so not like that put your flag down. I do think it'd be pretty funny to reveal that the trogs are Actually Really Good and have a lot to teach others about societal organization. There's not really much to say about it as-written, it's just more of that mothers/child dilemma tripe.

At the end, an actually cute little trick that I cannot fathom the party ever working out without the Drow Merchant just straight telling them: There is a room with a magical pool in it. The pool is surrounded by a ton of small gem, which if removed, magically reduce any nearby gems in size and value. But, if you toss gems into the pool, they increase in size and value. Neat! Infinite money machine!

The adventure ends with the unveiling of a new monster-people: the Jermlaine, which are basically just mean little guys who sneak around and cause trouble. Not really a threat, just extremely annoying. Your guys will wanna chop them up for being assholes, but really they're just like the most petty guy at your job. It's a weird addition, but not unwelcome. On the whole, D1 is some lovely and mildly ambitious connective tissue bridging the D series together, and I'm actually kind of fond of it now. Maybe my players will visit The Depths soon…

The adventure ends on an illustration of ya bois taking care of some trolls and shit. Thanks Dave!

[johnkatsmc5]

Quincy Conserve " Listen To The Band" 1970 + "Epitaph (Quincy Conserve 1967-71)" 1972 +  "Tasteful" 1973 +  "The Quincy Conserve" 1975 + "The Singles Collection" 2014 Compilation New Zealand Prog Jazz Rock

full spotify

https://open.spotify.com/album/2wZBWSIVwrgaaGN6vyRHNF

https://open.spotify.com/album/234bMNJLzYeMNvrprNn2LR

https://open.spotify.com/album/67FJOMTc9c8rAuUhrwxNVa

https://open.spotify.com/album/09RtSgxphKhaEAy6tIFpFH

Quincy Conserve " Listen To The Band" 1970

From 1970, this is the rare debut album from Wellington's Quincy Conserve, featuring their brass/rock sound at it's best. Vocals and arrangements by Malcolm Hayman are augmented by some superb musicians including the multi-talented Bruno Lawrence...~ Credits Bass Guitar, Guitar, Organ, Backing Vocals – Dave Orams Drums – Bruno Lawrence Guitar, Trumpet, Backing Vocals – Kevin Furey Lead Vocals, Guitar – Malcolm Hayman Organ, Backing Vocals, Piano, Alto Horn – Rufus Rehu Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Backing Vocals – Dennis Mason Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Flute, Trumpet, Arranged By [Brass, Woodwind] – Johnny McCormack* Tracklist A1 Introduction - Faith Written-By – Quincy Conserve A2 Somebody Stole My Thunder Lead Vocals – Dennis Mason Written-By – Fame* A3 Ride The Rain Written-By – Lawrence* A4 Sugar Man Written-By – Bob Darin* A5 I Feel Good Written-By – J. Brown* A6 Frustration Written-By – Quincy Conserve B1 Does Anybody Really Know What The Time Is Written-By – R. Lamm* B2 Everybody Has Their Way Lead Vocals – Dennis Mason Written-By – Lawrence* B3 Baby I Couldn't See Lead Vocals – Dave Orams Written-By – Macleod-Macaulay B4 What Is The World Coming To Lead Vocals – Dennis Mason Written-By – Dennis Mason B5 Finale (Encouragement) Written-By – Quincy Conserve

Quincy Conserve "Epitaph (Quincy Conserve 1967-71)" 1972

Credits Bass, Vocals – Dave Orams Cover, Design, Artwork By – January Productions Drums – Richard Burgess* Engineer – Peter Hitchcock Guitar, Vocals – Malcom Hayman Organ, Electric Piano, Piano – Rufus Rehu Producer – Peter Dawkins Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Vocals – Dennis Mason Tenor Saxophone, Flute – John McCormick (13) Trumpet, Horn [Tenor Horn] – Barry Brown-Sharpe Tracklist A1 Aire Of Good Feeling Written-By – Peterik* A2 Peeling Paint Written-By – D. Orams* A3 My Michellechan Written-By – McCormick* A4 That Same Feeling Written By – Simonds A5 Going Back To The Garden Written-By – D. Mason* B1 Someone To Find Written-By – R. Burgess* B2 Mystery Lady Written-By – C. Simpson* B3 All Right In The City Written-By – Dunn*, McCashen* B4 Here I Am Baby Written-By – Robinson* B5 Common Man Written-By – Malcolm Hayman

Quincy Conserve "Tasteful" 1973

Credits Bass [Fender Bass] – Graeme Thompson Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals [Vocal Backing] – Tom Swainson Electric Piano, Organ [Hammond Organ], Piano – Rufus Rehu Engineer, Remix – Peter Hitchcock Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals [Vocal Backing] – Kevin Furey Producer – Alan Galbraith Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Percussion – John McCormick (13) Trumpet, Congas – Barry Brown-Sharpe Vocals – Graeme Thompson (tracks: A1, B1) Vocals, Percussion – Malcolm Hayman Tracklist A1 Volcano Written-By – J.R.Robertson* 2:35 A2 Move On Up Written-By – C.Mayfield* 4:00 A3 First Written-By – D.Pomeranz* 3:15 A4 Keep On Pushing (Revised Version) Written-By – D.Smelko*, M.Geraci*, J.Corrao* 3:11 A5 Live Today Written By – G.Foster 4:00 A6 Keep On Playing That Rock And Roll Written-By – Winter*, La Croix* 3:46 B1 My Brother Jake Written-By – Fraser*, Rodgers* 2:52 B2 Lulu Belle Written-By – Gary Coleman 3:03 B3 I Saw The Light Written-By – Todd Rundgren 2:58 B4 Lazy Kind Of Day Written-By – Smelko*, Sopuch*, Rastus 3:25 B5 Ain't Seen Nothing Yet Written-By – D.Troiano*, R.Kenner* 2:50 B6 Slut Written-By – Todd Rundgren 4:15 Extra Tasteful C1 All Right In The City Written-By – Dunn*, McCashen* 2:42 C2 Ride The Rain Written-By – Bruno Lawrence 2:56 D1 Aire Of Good Feeling Written-By – Jim Peterik 4:17

Quincy Conserve "The Quincy Conserve" 1975

Credits Art Direction – Sylvie Gelin* Bass – Murray Loveridge Drums – Bill Brown (2) Electric Guitar – Paul Clayton (3) Electric Piano, Organ – Peter A. Blake* Engineer – Frank Douglas (tracks: A1), Phil Yule (tracks: A2 to B4) Producer – Terence O'Neill-Joyce Trombone – Rodger Fox Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Flute – Geoff Culverwell Vocals – Malcolm Hayman Tracklist A1 Cecilia Written-By – Geoff Culverwell A2 Person To Person Written-By – Gorrie*, AWB*, Stuart* A3 What Are We Doing Here Written-By – Peter Blake A4 Rockin' Chair Written-By – Lighthouse (2), Ralph Cole, Skip Prokop A5 Gisbourne Swimming Pool Song Written-By – Paul Clayton (3) A6 Havana Strut Written-By – E. Deodato* B2 Leigh's Hymn Written-By – Rodger Fox B3 Fault Line Written-By – Paul Clayton (3) B4 Funky Stuff Written-By – Cool & The Gang* B5 (K) Road Blues Written-By – Quincy Conserve

Quincy Conserve "The Singles Collection" 2014 Compilation

Tracklist I'm So Proud I've Been Loving You Baby   Hallelujah Here's To The Next Time Lovin' Look Soul Thing   Ride The Rain I Feel Good Everybody Has Their Way   Frustration   Aire Of Good Feeling Don't Arrange Me   Alright In The City   Somebody Stole My Thunder Going Back To The Garden My Michellechan Somebody, Somewhere, Help Me Tango Boo Gonk   Roundhouse You Can't Take Your Love Rock N Roll Travellin' Show -- Warehouse   Keep On Pushing Lady Listen Slut Keep On Playing That Rock And Roll   Line-up Malcolm Hayman: lead guitar, vocals, arrangements Kevin Furey: guitar, trumpet, vocals Ria Kerekere: vocals Dave Orams: bass guitar, vocals Graeme Thompson: bass guitar, vocals Frits Stigter: bass guitar Rufus Rehu: keyboards Johnny McCormick: saxophone, flute Dennis Mason: saxophone, vocals Barry Brown-Sharpe: trumpet, tenor horn Raice McLeod: drums Earl Anderson: drums Brian Beauchamp: drums Bruno Lawrence: drums Richard Burgess: drums Tom Swainson: drums Mike Conway: drums Billy Brown: drums Paul Clayton: guitar, vocals Harry Leki: guitar Murray Loveridge: bass guitar Peter Blake: keyboards Rodger Fox: trombone Geoff Culverwell: trumpet Peter Cross: trumpet

Quincy Conserve ‎"The Very Best Of... " 2001 CD compilation New Zealand Prog Jazz Rock

https://johnkatsmc5.blogspot.com/2016/11/quincy-conserve-epitaph-quincy-conserve.html

Quincy Conserve " Listen To The Band" 1970 + "Epitaph (Quincy Conserve 1967-71)" 1972 +  "Tasteful" 1973 +  "The Quincy Conserve" 1975 + "The Singles Collection" 2014 Compilation New Zealand Prog Jazz Rock

https://johnkatsmc5.blogspot.com/2025/01/quincy-conserve-listen-to-band-1970.html?view=magazine

https://johnkatsmc5.tumblr.com/post/771855948352552960/quincy-conserve-listen-to-the-band-1970

[a-driftamongopenstars]

i don't know if anyone asked this to you but if anyone did, feel free to ignore this ask. i love your fanfics of guardian x crow, and i was wondering how was it like when you played d1 (if you did) for the first time and going from uldren to crow in d2? did you like or hated uldren back then? when uldren was resurrected as crow, how did that make you feel? how did the final shape affected you during your years of playing d1 and d2? (i do remember seeing a post about you playing d1, but i could be wrong). how did the ending make you feel? there's a lot that i love about d2 but the fact that uldren was our enemy and became our best friend/lover (depends on the player's perspective) is the only form of enemies to friends/lovers that i actually would love to read more (i hate that trope... but...). i hope you enjoy a nice winter's break!

Omg anon thank you for asking me questions on all my favourite things to talk about lol!

1. Uldren

So I am a relative late-comer to the game, I joined during Shadowkeep (Season of Undying), so Forsaken has already left a massive imprint on the game and the community. However, I knew exactly nothing about the game and its lore but meeting Uldren though that DLC was one of the major factors to dragging me deep into the game.

I LOVED him. What scraps I could gather about his character were so incredibly compelling to me. I felt so sorry for him. It was a "he did all that but free him" situation.

Then I found out the general sentiment was very opposite lol. It bothered me a bit but eventually I succumbed to Uldren/Crow propaganda completely.

When I learnt about Crow, I was genuinely so excited. I love redemption arcs, this one was built up so well. I wanted to meet this Crow, to show him this new world, to help him find his footing in it. It worked out incredibly. I think Uldren was going towards this destiny (hehe) for a very long time. Much like his sister, I think his future was written in the stars, even though we say that paracausality means we choose our own fate. Something to think on later.

2. D1.

I only finally got to play D1 a couple of years ago and I'm actually still working my way towards the Rise of Iron dlc (running strikes in a very empty game is Hard). It felt amazing to finally dive into the older Awoken lore and the lore of the Black Garden and actually meeting Uldren after seeing the videos of that meeting countless times. It does make me wonder if I'd have liked him as much if I met him in D1 first and then went to D2. TBH I think I would have.

I do love the rival/enemies to friends (to lovers) pipeline Bungie's got going there, I think it really worked out. It took so many years and it was paced so well, I enjoyed reaching the conclusion!

3. The Final Shape.

Probably the best part of this year ngl. Having played Destiny non-stop for around 5 years now endeared me to this game. I wanted to see the conclusion, and I was so worried they'd flop it. They did not, oh my god they did not. I cannot express how much of a VICTORY this was, how good that expansion felt. I'm so glad Bungie devs put their entire self into it (though sad, seeing how it was paid off to them.......), because this saga needed a strong satisfying resolution. I sobbed when it was over and it felt so cathartic. I went through awful times while playing Destiny, this game was and is my massive crutch. Seeing my Guardian go through hell and rising from the ashes was so good. Ough.

Also thank you anon!! I appreciate the kind words and the questions :D I love talking about this, Destiny means a whole world to me, I'm grateful every day that it became a part of my life. I met such amazing people through it, my creativity has risen to much, my skills in writing too. I hope you also enjoy a lovely winter time (or summer, if you are on the other side of the globe :D)

Ask me literally anything

[babyarmybabbles]

Run ARMY! (Teaser Part) a2 d1

[Caution: These are not full fics, or even full parts of fics for some, these are part of my writing progress archive!]

Concept: Reader won the opportunity to film a spin off of Run BTS! celebrating the boys return from enlistment, called Run ARMY!, over the course of seven days.

Word Count: 446

Notes: Writing from a video POV and a second person POV at the same time was a super unique and fun challenge lol. Might bring back this sort of format later in the fic too. It'd be really fun, I think. Maybe add a comment section for reactions? That'd be cool.

Took Inspirations from Run ARMY! series on Tik Tok by _yamanika_ and Guess The Bias! by HelloMyAlien7 on Ao3

Warnings: None that I know of?

Masterlist Link <3 | Next Part Link :D

The video opens on you sitting in a chair in the middle of a plain white room, your face blurred for now. Subtitles appear next to you, asking you a question.

You’re about to spend Seven days filming with BTS, how are you feeling?

“I’m super nervous, honestly!” You laugh, voice just a bit distorted. “I’ve never filmed anything before, and meeting BTS on top of that? It’s all very scary.”

The footage cuts to show the BTS members lined up in an underground parking garage, fidgeting and chatting excitedly next to a group of 3 SUVs. Another cut shows a 4th SUV arriving. The vehicle comes to a stop just a bit away from the other SUVs and the door slides open. The video cuts back to the white room before whoever’s inside can be seen.

Have you ever seen them live before?

“I’ve never had the chance, no. Getting tickets is a competitive sport I’m not equipped for.”

What are you most looking forward to this week?

“Is it bad if I don’t say meeting the members?” You ask sheepishly, hand coming up to rub your neck, “I’m most looking forward to the time off work, I think. It’s been a long while since I’ve had a vacation, and even longer since I’ve goofed off with a group. I’m extremely excited to meet them, don’t get me wrong, but I’m even more excited to play games and be silly with them.”

A series of clips takes over the screen, showing you and the members playing games and being loud, your face still blurred. [Fill in with scenes as you write them]

Is there anything you’d like to say to the rest of ARMY?

“First, I’m so grateful for this amazing opportunity, this is way beyond my wildest dreams, honestly. I never thought I would be able to attend a concert, never mind meet them!” You lean back and make a large gesture with your hands, trying to express how crazy you found the whole thing. “Being here, I feel like a representative of ARMY as a whole, so I’ll shoulder the love of ARMY and convey it to the members as best I can.” You nod decisively as you speak and shoot a quick finger heart at the camera, “I’ll do my best!”

The video ends with the intro to Run BTS!, showing quick shots of all the members. Once all the members are shown there’s a final slide showing your silhouette littered with question marks and labeling you ARMY. The final title card, rather than showing the normal “Run BTS!” graphic, shows “Run ARMY!” laid over your silhouette instead of the BTS logo.

[otakween]

Digimon 02: D1 Tamers - Final Thoughts

Woohoo! I beat the Ryo trilogy :D -pops a party popper-

I didn't feel the need to make this multiple posts because this game is verrry similar to the last one (Tag Tamers). The main difference is that it's in glorious color! They also added a couple new features for better or for worse.

This game was fun and addicting just like the other two. There was just a little more grinding than I would hope for. The entire game took me 3 weeks to get through because of that. (Still not too shabby). Full thoughts below the cut.

Notes:

-The plot of this one felt kind of weird and forced. Firstly, I immediately got kind of confused about the chronology because the last game ended with Ken becoming the Digimon Emperor yet he's back to normal in this one. I guess either he hasn't progressed too much yet (it's only been a few days) or this is his IRL façade since we don't see him in the digi world. Anyways, the main plot is that Ryo has to fight in a tournament and if he wins said tournament then he'll become a soldier for the ~Harmonious Ones~ against Moon Millennium. I'm honestly not sure why the digi-Gods were included in this. They added nothing.

-Speaking of the Harmonious Ones, they ask you to pick one at the beginning of the game. I picked Qinglongmon because he was the only one I recognized lol. I'm not sure what the point of this choice was other than the fact that he shows up and says a couple things towards the end.

-Ken gets reduced to a guy-in-the-chair, but a very useful guy in the chair! I found the d-terminal way more handy this time around when it came to figuring out digivolution. Ken tells you exactly how many JP (Jogress points) you need to reach the next level. Honestly, it was a relief not having to tag team in this one too, that was kind of an annoying gimmick.

-Although jogress was still annoying in this game, they thankfully added an item that allows you to add +5 JPs to your digimon which made it so much easier to get some megas on my team. Also, digivolution and skills just felt more intuitive and happened faster this time around which is appreciated.

-I think they realized how OP stun was and nerfed it a bit. It's still a good feeling to win by stunning all the enemy digimon, but stun misses like 60% of the time, so you just waste your turn a lot of the time.

-Playing this right after Tag Tamers was pretty magical because I went from black and white to color (a Wizard of Oz moment). Although the inside of the dungeons were still very repetitive, the outsides were beautiful! (Showcasing some of my faves above).

-One stupid addition that made me mad was the D1 Tournament. This is a Digimon World-style AI vs. AI tournament where you just stare at the screen and hope your digimon win. It was just a slog to get through and I just wanted to get back to the dungeons. I really can't see the appeal in that sort of "gameplay." In fact, I fast forwarded or got up for a snack whenever it got to that part.

-Another lame part about this game is that you can't buy multiple items at once anymore! You could do it in Tag Tamers so why did they go backwards!? You seriously have to buy one item at a time. How dumb.

-I'm pretty proud of my final team: Metal Greymon, King Etemon, and AeroVeedramon. Metal Greymon had poison and curse, King Etemon had stun and AeroVeedramon had the best all-enemies attack. I could of gotten AeroVeedramon to mega as well, but I realized I didn't need to to win and it would have taken another few hours.

-There was a bit more variety in the dungeons compared to Tag Tamers. They all looked the same, but a lot of them had a gimmick. Some of them had puzzles or various ways you were supposed to interact with the bosses to progress. I'm glad they mixed things up a bit since the last game was really straightforward.

-Pretty hilarious that this game ends all ominously by being like "~And then we never saw Ryo again~" but then you hit the new game plus and Gennai's like "Ah, if it isn't Ryo!" Like, clearly the new game plus bit isn't part of the canon storyline, but it still made me chuckle.

-Apparently the only thing to do in new game plus is just continue raising digimon which...no thanks.

-I've heard that this acts as a prequel to Digimon Tamers which is so exciting! I'm glad that I'm doing things in the proper order. One more game (kinda-sorta?) and then I finally get to move on from Adventure 01/02 ;w;

[that-soccer-guru]

HELLO THE 3 STRAGGLERS THAT ARE PROBABLY SEEING MY POSTS STILL, I HAVE MISSED THOU!

Happy world cup month, it is time for the biggest stage of the game and time for be to drop my obnoxious predictions that no one asked for but I'm gonna give anyways!

Here are my group predictions and notes

GROUP A:

I think Norway is gonna make a comeback and come in at #2 behind local New Zealand. The Swiss are great if they can rise to the occasion, and the Philippines has a great young core. They'll give us some very fun games going forward.

A1: New Zealand, A2: Norway.

GROUP B:

Honestly I think this is one of the TIGHTEST groups of this cup. With a fight down to the end I think it'll come down to goals and Fairplay. Depending on the result of Day 1 Canada vs Nigeria my picks are switching depending on the light with which I look at the table. SO.

B1: Australia (2W, 1D), B2: Nigeria (2D, 1W, Goal difference leaving Canada behind by ONE goal in a total group heartbreaker)

Group C:

Despite the big players refusing to play I think Spain has it in the tank for a great cup. If the Ticas can show some discipline they might surprise, but they're up against the TITANS of discipline so.

C1: Spain, C2: Japan

Group D:

Euro winners have one hell of a team. No notes for them today, second place is what is up for grabs. Haiti is always a dark horse pick but I think mettle and the money for great player health and conditioning will draw this one out so.

D1: England, D2: Denmark.

Group E:

One hell of a group here. Without Viv Midema the Netherlands is missing that finishing punch, but if they can bank on winning their other 2 games and forcing a draw or a one goal win with the US, they can go for first. Portugal is good but they have a lot of youth to adjust to the big stage. Vietnam has a delightful proposal and they play some very fun futbol, but they had the unfortunate luck of drawing 2 titans of the women's game.

E1: USA, E2: Netherlands

Group F:

The elderly stateswomen meet the bright eyed newcomers. Brazil is the titan of South America but they've proven to be way too rigid in their team selection. France is shaking off the cobwebs of a shit coach to see how far they can take it this time. Jamaica and Panama have everything to prove to show that 1. they belong here and 2. their federations NEED to stand in this fight with them. Despite the great teams I think this group is gonna be one of those low scoring ones where teams are making adjustments on the fly and we might get a surprise or two from some games.

F1: France, F2: Brazil (but just narrowly edging out Jamaica)

Group G:

Youth and a desire to prove that it's not only their men's team that know what's up. Argentina is pulling one hell of a legacy behind them, Italy is building a beautiful squad, South Africa comes up from fighting a war of speed and strength, Sweden has a chip on their shoulder. One hell of a group!

G1: Italy, G2: Argentina

Group H:

QUE VIVA COLOMBIA HP! An aging titan in Germany with some key injuries, a very disciplined squad that has been testing some amazing set plays and learning how to play through the lines in South Korea (but that tire out quickly), a fast and tough team that plays a fun midfield game with a solid defense in Morocco. And finally, a team composed of the women who paved the way for the youngsters, the maximum scorer in a Colombia jersey, a midfield filled with aggression and experience, a promising defense all led by the most promising young international that already took one team to a world cup final, Colombia promises a LOT to her fans. If Abadia can get his head out of his ass and learn how to make changes before exhaustion takes hold, this team can take it far!

H1: Germany, H2: Colombia

It's an amazing time to be a woso fan!

[shapinginvisible]

Agust D - D Day the final in Seoul D1

[pestelpinkcloud]

On my bday I'll buy this vegan protein powder and it'll make my weight loss easier

Plus I'm doing a VERY INTENSE and VERY HARD plan (at least for me). I'm sick of being fat, ugly, stinky, chubby, no jawline, no thigh gap... So I am doing 100 day long plan to lose 15kg and FINALLY BE AT MY UGW! I'm so excited and I haven't even done d-1. Well yesterday was d1 but today I failed (ate out of boredom 😀) so 2023.02.23 is day 1. I'll post how 1st month will go (from 02.23-03.31) each month I'm ganna lose 5kg

[notyetfamousposts]

Okay.

For the sake of being Anonymous I’m going to name the two men in this story, D1 and D2 and the woman D3. The woman is an HR representative. D1 & D2 are lawyers.

I started working at a law firm in Hartford around February of 2023. I was warned they don’t always “play by the rules” and “there’s money in it for being discreet” as a young woman paralegal I didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t understand what was going to happen.

In March 2023, the harassment began, my wedding photos with my wife were thrown away, my lunch unless I kept it with me, was constantly thrown in the trash, my blue light glasses were broken and on the last day of March I sent out a report to HR about “a hostile work environment”. I was told by D3 that this was a “hazing exercise” and “they’d grow bored with me eventually.”

They didn’t. Once D1 & D2 knew I made a report, it got much worse. One day in the beginning of April I left my desk to use the bathroom. I came back and trash from the kitchen had been dumped on my desktop, my computer and in my purse. I went to D3 immediately. I was told to take the rest of the day off, “that they would get to the bottom of this and to report back to her the next day”. I never understood what that would mean.

The next day I came in was the worst day of my entire life. D3 assured me “they wanted to keep an eye on me” and had my parking assignment moved to the spot directly next to D1 and D2s respective cars so I could be “looked after.” That day, both D1 and D2 invited me out to lunch. They wanted to apologize and “clear the air” over the “hazing issue” they blamed on another paralegal. I didn’t go to lunch.

When I politely refused after the third time D2 informed me “I would eventually take them up on their offer.” I went to the fridge where I was keeping my left overs and they were all over the counter, in the sink and garbage disposal. D3 came in and informed me “to clean up my mess.” I did and vowed I was going to look for another job that night.

At 5, I clocked out of my computer, and went to get into an elevator from the 11th floor. D1 followed me in and pushed the door closed. At the 8th floor D2 came into the elevator and hit the emergency stop button, so the elevator stopped on the floor. I don’t remember and I don’t want to know what or how I got where I did. But I escaped onto the 6th floor with them in pursuit. I screamed for help and ran through the parking garage into the children’s medical center, to the top and called Jenn. Jenn was the last person I called and she was the first on my history.

Jenn took me to the ER. I received a tetanus shot, I had a needle lodged in my foot from running barefoot in Hartford. When my wife showed up they informed me they were going to be taking my clothing including my shoes as they were evidence. I was then given a rape kit, and the morning after pill.

The police were called and it was all a blur. Everything from that time is a blur.

My period was late. I had a D&C.

I will never have children. Ever. This is what I want to say to you.

This isn’t about you.

This is about me.

Finally finding me.

I was raped because I was pretty. I was raped because it was convenient. I was raped because I’m a lesbian.

I’m recovering.

I’m me.

Someday.

[kemakoshume]

every time we touch (bokuto x chubby fem!reader as god-siblings) ˖⁺ ☁⋆ ୭ 🕊.⋆｡ [𝙽𝚂𝙵𝚆 𝙼𝙳𝙽𝙸 🔞]

warnings: god-sibling/stepcest cw. it’s definitely written more like god-siblings than step-siblings, meaning your parents (moms) are besties and raised you like siblings [where i’m from being a godparent means that if anything happened to your parents and your family couldn’t take you, the godparents adopt you, basically]. corruption kink, a little dub-con just bc reader is inexperienced & bokuto is older (idc how you old you are he's ~3 years older than you lol), oral (both ways), first time, virgin!reader, fem!reader. everyone's of age.

a/n; so uh… here’s this. this has been on my mind for like a day and a half and i realized i have way too much fluff on my page for my liking lmao. if dc isn’t your thing but you still want to follow me for my other content then pls block the first [kk.] hashtag, i totally understand. if you choose to read anyway after reading the warnings, don’t come complaining in my ask box because i will be an asshole back at you. fair warning. welcome to dark content from me (´• ω •`) ♡ hope you enjoy!

The first time he touched you, you panicked.

It was a kiss. During a moment of calm, after he'd hugged you goodbye and held you in his arms, it happened. He lowered his lips down to yours in one brisk movement and for a moment, you let him. You let your lips relax, and his tongue slide against yours, before you processed what was happening and pulled away. This was… wrong. He was your brother. And at that moment, as if the universe wanted to rail home that point to you, your parents came bounding into the room, excitedly saying their own goodbyes and scooping each of you into hugs of their own. You got into the car and went home with your mother without saying another word.

Things had been strange after that.

Your brain refused to shut up for weeks. Rationalizing, questioning, fantasizing. Sure, you weren’t raised together but you’d known each other since birth. You’d spent your entire childhoods introducing each other as "siblings" to your friends and being treated as such by your families. So, why did he want to touch you the way boyfriends should? You were younger, mature but still a bit awkward, and you had plenty to learn. You were just beginning to blossom and fill out your body, finally coming into your own. Albeit later than most people, starting that journey of maturity and self-discovery in college instead of high school like your peers, but still.

He was attractive, you've always known that even if you would never have admitted it. He'd always been tall and muscular since he'd began working out and playing sports back in his school days, but now, as an adult, he'd grown into a man no woman could reasonably resist. He was funny and sweet and loved to love other people. Still, him liking you in any way that was more than familial felt off. Even if you weren't chosen family, you weren't the kind of girl a guy like him would go for. He was the star athlete type, you were an academic. He had a six-pack, and you were... round. So, you panicked, and you left, and you overthought it.

Until he touched you the second time.

You'd never texted very much, and that hadn't changed since the kiss. He was an athlete on a D1 team, while you had plenty of schoolwork and club events going to keep yourself busy as well. He had his own life and you, yours. So, you chose not to think about it. Moving on and living your life day-to-day, pushing the kiss that should've never happened out of your mind. You barely saw each other anyway, so it didn't matter. You might as well have imagined it.

*ding*

bkt: hey baby sis :D mom said you can come with us to my last game of the season if you wanna. it's a far drive but everyone's coming. we'll come get you and take you home on the ride back. say yes :) i miss your cute lil face

Okay, you could do that. Maybe he'd forgotten about the kiss? Maybe he'd found himself a new cheerleader girlfriend or dance team captain FWB or something and moved on from it. Going to support him would be good, you could get back to normal.

bkt: if you come, it'll be cold. bring gloves. and chapstick. i'll try to keep you warm the best that i can

Ah, nope. Of course he hadn't. You might not have had the most experience in the world, but you heard the suggestive tone even through text.

Apparently your parents had spoken about it already and your mom had said yes on your behalf. The weeks left before the game winded down quickly, and the weekend had arrived before you knew it.

Seeing him for the first time in the better part of a year was... electric. He'd gotten even bigger somehow, filling out the larger-sized uniform he'd grown into. His hair was in a more relaxed style though it was still the same beautiful black and white shade. His cheeks were kissed red from the cold of the oncoming winter season, and his huge smile extended up to his eyes as soon as he saw you.

"[y/n]!" he yelled, running off of the field to where you stood on the sidelines at the end of the game, a smile plastered on your face too after his team's game-winning goal.

He scooped you up into a hug, innocent enough to the onlookers around you but different for you. He squeezed you tighter around your waist with his large hands, the small movement seemingly nothing to anyone else but it meant plenty to you. He'd done the same before he kissed you.

Your families were oblivious, taking photos and laughing about how cute the two of you were. He found you cute alright, but in a way that would give your parents a heart attack if they knew.

The ride home from his game had been as long as he'd said it would be. You'd clambered for the farthest seats in the back of the truck you traveled in, cozying up to each other for warmth. Your god-mom threw the two of you a blanket and cranked on the heat, turning away to look at the road, listening to music in the front with your god-father.

It didn't take long before he was running his fingers along the length of your plush tummy. Squeezing you gently and rearranging your clothes. The second time he touched you, he rubbed your clit under the blankets while you both pretended to sleep. It just… it felt right that time. The energy was good after the game, the tension was palpable in air around you as he’d looked at you in your cute little dress and stockings, and you felt so hot with need. You wanted him, to be touched by him so badly, much more than you’d ever admit out loud.

He was so much more experienced. His touch was practiced and precise against your little button and between your folds. The little whispers in your ear about how beautiful you were and how sexy you were every time he saw you made you desperate. Desperate and delirious with need for him. You came so hard, bitting onto your bottom lip so fiercely that you feared it would bleed. In true Bokuto fashion, he (obnoxiously) faked sneezed to cover your whimpers, just in case the radio shielding your sounds wasn't loud enough. You giggled as you came down from your high, relaxing into his arms.

He cooed in your ear softly about how good you were and how pretty you looked cumming all over his fingers.

You went home that night trying not to let the wobbliness in your legs show, silently hoping you'd see him again sooner rather than later. Shame swirled in your gut amongst the butterflies that came when you thought about his hands for too long. He had so many things to teach you, so many ways to make you feel good. Titles be damned, you wanted him. You knew he wanted you too. How bad could something that felt so good be?

The third time did come sooner than the last, and you were grateful. Excited, even. Your mother invited him to stay for the weekend even though she worked, and you took advantage of every moment.

"Has anyone ever gone down on you before baby girl?" he asked one night, hovering above you on the couch while some movie illuminated the dark living room you were sat in, "I wanna make you feel good. Need you to know that I was the first one to make you feel good like this."

And you let him.

You let him be your first for a lot of things over the course of those nights. The first to suck your clit until you came, swears dancing on your tongue around his name. The first to enter your mouth, letting him use it until he was cumming all over your face for the first time since you didn't know how to swallow, yet. The first to fuck you open and soothe you through the ache of his cock filling you up. He was gentle, and kind, like always. Making sure his baby sister was nice and fucked out, having the best possible first time. You'd never forget how he'd cried into your neck, so drugged on bliss at how wet and tight your pussy was for him. How you cried for your big brother to make you feel good, to use you however he wanted.

The moments you could steal together from then on were always fun. All of your stolen kisses felt sweet. The way he'd grab your ass, or pull down your shirt just for a second so he could suck on one of your tout nipples, or run his hand through your folds underneath your dresses when you'd come over without panties on. It was all you could ask for and more. The secret was sexy. He was sexy, and you'd always treasure him and thank god for making him your brother.

[lovedlovingly]

went back to league for the first time in forever, had multiple friend requests 😅 i feel so bad for ppl waiting to play w/ me in ranked when I'm just... spamming bot games whenever I'm on rn simple and easy no brain needed games 💗

but this one D1 player had added me and i was like??? we can't even ranked - way out of my league - so what's up? turns out he wanted a yuumi main to test out tristana with 😭 but literally best day because i was doing laundry and didn't wanna prio league so i took a few bot games w/ the person i enjoy the game w/ most and he was sooo happy i was finally online again 🥰 and then once laundry was done and dinner i jumped into flex w/ this new person and we clicked INSTANTLY! i could tell i was rusty - took me like 2 sec to react to first engage but then i had it :3c and i couldn't remember to fucking switch to sweeper all of first game lmao. but we dominated and he was like "MIMI OH MY GODDD WHAT WAS THAT??!!!!!" and i was just :D hiii i play the afk champ super aggressive and not afk at all. it's so cute that there's literally ppl fighting about my time in league 😭 #ActuallyGoodAt5DChess

i do like the game but only w/ good ppl. once i start taking it too seriously i need to touch grass :3c

[sundayswiththeilluminati]

Gjallarhorn

“If there is beauty in destruction, why not also in its delivery?” --Feisel Crux

Type: Rocket Launcher

Slot: Kinetic | Energy | Heavy

Element: Arc | Solar | Void

Perk: Wolfpack Rounds - Rounds fired from this weapon split into tracking cluster missiles upon detonation.

Trait: Pack Hunter - Gain increased handling and reload speed when standing near allies. Firing this weapon also grants Wolfpack Rounds to nearby allies wielding non-Exotic Rocket Launchers.

Masterworked Trait: More Wolves - Increases magazine size. Final blows with Wolfpack Rounds spawn a faster, more powerful missile at the target's location.

Ornaments: GJNKR, Hraesveglur, Gjallarfoam

Origin & Description:

Give me a G!

Give me a J!

Give me a YELLHORN!

What's that spell?

PARTY TIME.

Talk to any D1 vet long enough and the name Gjallarhorn (pronounced like "gallon") - or "Gjally," or "G-horn" - will come up, often with a fond sigh. Gjallarhorn is one of the most cherished weapons in the Destiny franchise and Bungie announced its return in their 30th anniversary celebration with due pomp and circumstance. And who can blame the Destiny community for falling in love with a rocket launcher whose explosions are filled with smaller, angrier explosions? It doesn't hurt that Gjallarhorn was built to be an exquisite object. Its elegant chassis of ivory, gold, and polished wood gleams with sculpted ornamentation of wolves and wings. From the braided leather foregrip to the delicate reliefs of leaves and vines, no detail of Gjallarhorn is too small to be made beautiful. When fired its Wolfpack rounds explode on impact into a symphony of swarming cluster missiles that lift an entire arena's worth of enemies into the air with the sheer force of their detonation. There's a reason its Rise of Iron acquisition quest was named Beauty in Destruction.

Both in- and out-of-game designers intended Gjallarhorn to be a statement piece, a trophy, a weapon that marked out its bearer as a warrior of skill and achievement. Weapon designer Mark Van Haitsma, maker of so many fine Destiny exotics that I had to add extra words in here, famously added one sculpted wolf per day he worked on the Gjallarhorn; as a result it possesses the highest WPG - that's "wolves per gun"* - of any Destiny weapon. Art lead Tom Doyle described G-horn as "Hulk Hogan's belt in weaponized form," and Mark drew inspiration from the parade armor of knights and gladiators. In-universe Gjallarhorn was forged by Feizel Crux of the Crux/Lomar foundry, makers of fine rocket launchers. Crux used the armor of Guardians fallen at the Battle of Twilight Gap to build a weapon meant to be wielded by the survivors of said battle, a functional memorial to those who were lost. Its very existence celebrates the City's victory.

* Sixteen!

Gjallarhorn's long and storied history - which may rightly be termed "epic" as its namesake, the horn Heimdall will sound to call the gods to Ragnarok, appears in the Norse Edda - begins before the launch of Destiny itself. It was featured in August 2013 in one of Bungie's pre-game hype series of "Destiny Drawing Board" posts previewing game weapons that spoke to Destiny's worldbuilding and aesthetic, and a Titan wielded one in the game's live-action trailer. The weapon itself then launched with Destiny 1, but most players could be forgiven for thinking otherwise, because it was near-impossible to come by for most of Year 1. The very low drop rate of exotics combined with a long string of bad luck that had Xûr stock it the second week after launch and then NEVER AGAIN until just before Year 2 kept it out of most Guardians' vaults. When the Nine finally coughed up the goods, anyone interested in high-level content swarmed to buy it since it had by then become de facto necessary for raiding. New players were effectively locked out of endgame activities till they could get one. LFG raids would include the line "Ghorn reqd" and kick players who didn't bring it for boss damage phases, and it dominated the DPS meta much as Whisper did in 2018. Many raid encounters simply weren't interesting anymore - stack 6 Gjallarhorns and nothing could stand against you.

So when Bungie announced that Gjallarhorn was finally returning in D2 as part of the 30th Anniversary event in 2021, many vets turned to wondering what tuning they must have done to keep G-horn from gating off raids to new players. Since Gjallarhorn was specifically part of the 30th Anniversary pack, a paid DLC, the situation could be even worse this time - new players would have to shell out for this specific piece of content. We needn't have worried. Bungie dodged the problem in an elegant way: D2 Gjallarhorn retains the famous Wolfpack Rounds but adds the brilliant trait Pack Hunter*, which turns the Gjallarhorn problem neatly on its head. When one player fires Gjallarhorn, Pack Hunter causes nearby allies carrying non-Exotic rocket launchers to also get Wolfpack Rounds. That one trait changes Gjallarhorn from a barrier to entry for high-level content into one of the best choices for teaching new Guardians to raid, since it's relatively easy for even a new player to acquire a solid Legendary-tier rocket launcher. One experienced Guardian firing a Gjallarhorn in the middle of a pack of new players lets everyone then fire off their own rocket launchers with the same high-damage cluster missiles. Instead of stacking three or six Gjallarhorns for damage it actually becomes more useful in combos, adding Wolfpack Rounds to rocket launchers with other useful perks like Vorpal Weapon or Chain Reaction.

* Whose icon is literally Three Wolf Moon.

Part of the reason Gjallarhorn isn't causing problems anymore might be because they Nerfed it straight out of the box: they're building a Nerf Gjallarhorn. No, seriously. It's amazing. The Nerf blaster is a full-scale G-horn replica more than four feet long, with all the detailing of the original recast in molded plastic, and somehow it has Wolfpack Rounds. Nerf actually developed a new kind of Nerf ammo, the Mega shell, just for their version of Gjallarhorn; you fire the shell and the shell then fires three more darts. Yeah. There was actual innovation put into this piece. It even reloads the same way as the in-game weapon. It's stunning and hilarious and I can't wait to spend way too much money on it.

For your in-game dress-up needs, since Gjally returned as part of Bungie's 30th Anniversary celebration, it came with the ornament GJNKR to make it look like OG Halo's SPNKR rocket launcher. Xûr also brought along the ornament Hraesveglur which changes the wolves to eagles and redoes the detailing appropriately, adding eagle talons grasping the front of the barrel and curling winds replacing leaves and vines. It's almost an aeronautical look, resembling early bare-metal aircraft like the famous DC-3 in both color and aesthetic.

The masterwork trait More Wolves adds, well, more metaphorical wolves (because Three Wolf Moon can only be improved by More Wolves) by putting two rounds in the tube (two rounds!!) and oh yeah even more explosions because now the explosions created by the first explosion can also generate their own, third, explosion. Explosions filled with explosions filled with explosions! The Destiny playerbase tends to get grouchy, especially when anything changes, and it's been asking for Gjallarhorn back pretty much since D2 launched. Now that I've played with it, I get it. It's a marvelous weapon. Some people say that when you dress well, you feel good; for a Guardian, when you bring a stylish weapon, you feel on top of the world. I worked overtime grinding vendor rank to get to the Hraesveglur ornament purely for the look. When you fire Gjallarhorn, you feel like you're making a statement, and anyone nearby had better listen up. And for once even the crotchety old players seem happy with this particular addition: Gjallarhorn's back, it's not causing problems in the meta, and it's just as big, shiny, and wolf-y as before.

Destiny 2 Compendium Armarum Exoticarum

[ Ace of Spades | Ager's Scepter | Anarchy | Arbalest | Bad Juju | Bastion | Black Talon | Borealis | Cerberus+1 | The Chaperone | Cloudstrike | Coldheart | Collective Obligation | The Colony | Crimson | Cryosthesia 77K | DARCI | Dead Man's Tale | Deathbringer | Dead Messenger | Devil's Ruin | Divinity | Duality | Edge of Action/Concurrence/Intent | Eriana’s Vow | Eyes of Tomorrow | Fighting Lion | The Fourth Horseman | Forerunner | Gjallarhorn | Grand Overture | Graviton Lance | Hard Light | Hawkmoon | Heartshadow | Heir Apparent | The Huckleberry | Izanagi’s Burden | The Jade Rabbit | Jötunn | The Lament | The Last Word | Legend of Acrius | Leviathan’s Breath | Lord of Wolves | Lorentz Driver | Lumina | Malfeasance | Merciless | MIDA Multi-Tool | Le Monarque | Monte Carlo | No Time to Explain | One Thousand Voices | Osteo Striga | Outbreak Perfected | Parasite | Polaris Lance | Prometheus Lens | The Prospector | Queenbreaker | Rat King | Riskrunner | Ruinous Effigy | Salvation's Grip | Skyburner’s Oath | Sleeper Simulant | Sturm | Sunshot | SUROS Regime | Sweet Business | Symmetry | Tarrabah | Telesto | Thorn | Thunderlord | Ticuu's Divination | Tommy's Matchbook | Tractor Cannon | Traveler's Chosen | Trespasser | Trinity Ghoul | Truth | Two-Tailed Fox | Vex Mythoclast | Vigilance Wing | The Wardcliff Coil | Wavesplitter | Whisper of the Worm | Wish-Ender | Witherhoard | Worldline Zero | Xenophage ]