#he-man and the masters of the universe 2021

[sheegons]

OKAY SO WHO ASKED FOR A POST THAT DETAILS DAMIANS CONNECTIONS TO MAGIC?.. nobody? oh okay.

(be forewarned, this is long)

now after ignoring batman 666, let's see what we have.

ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN (2015)

now, in robin: son of batman #1 It's confirmed that after his death in batman incorporated, damian went to hell. Hell is usually connected with the more magical side of the dc universe, but that's not it.

The entirety of the comic delves into damians connections to more mystical things. mythical swords and magical ancient towers, weird extinct bat-dragons, magical cults that want to destroy the whole world, etc etc.

this is easily regarded as one of damians best comics and having peak damian characterisation, so obviously Damian being magically inclined can easily work well with his character.

Now, after a barrel load of compliments, let's get to the extremely negative side of things.

TEEN TITANS (2016)

Damian's cloned brother has magic and that sentence is about as much as i care for this book. Moving on.

BATMAN (2016)

Again, dog shit damian characterisation, but here we go. Damian here actually shows an ability to use a binding spell and has a wand, making some sort of deal with a random demon, but a far cry from damian apparently selling his soul in batman 666. Moving on finally out of rebirth because that was a bad time for Damian's character.

ROBIN (2021)

Now we go back to the good. Apparently from the maternal part of damians family, magic is more commonplace. ra's even having a whole spell book to his name. Robin 2021 kinda toys with the ghul family and the lazarus pits magical and devilish side which isn't new... but it's new to involve damian!

In the final parts of this story, Damian's heart specifically is used as a plot device, lord deathman even dubbing it as "the bloodstream of the demon" and ruh (ra's' mother) uses it as a power source to fuel demon summonings, which started the Lazarus rain event.

TEEN TITANS DARK (Unreleased)

Back in early 2023 (i think) dc teased a sort of "teen titans dark" with damian, black alice and monkey prince. The "dark" moniker referencing Justice league dark, a magic team made up of magic users that solve magical bullshit. It's a good book, recommended read, i just thought I'd add this to the pile.

Detective comics/Knight terrors

Now, including these two together because they're about the same topic: Dreams.

damian is confirmed to have some sort of control over dreams and sleep, defeating demons that show up in his sleep, yet never actually disappear when he wakes up. He also has an ability to stay awake after a massive worldwide phenomenon causes everyone, even the dream masters that taught damian, to sleep and experience night terrors.

Dreams are, again, connected to the magical side of the dc universe. Now I'm not going to pretend like i actually read sandman to you, i can't lie on ramadan, so let's all give me a pass here for my lack of understanding of all that.

Batman and robin (2023)

In this, damian mentions a bit of off screen monster hunting with Frankenstein and lays a trap that lights someone on fire. I used to think this was some sort of hex but this artwork is extremely unclear, but since Frankenstein is mentioned and from my knowledge dc's Frankenstein is magic let's pretend this is some sort.

As an extra note: this guy definitely died. There's no way about it, he got lit on fire with nobody helping him. He's gone. Damian just killed a man.

Extra Extra notes:

talia using magic!

now, i haven't included these examples in the "the ghuls have magic" segment because uh...

(batman: the doom that came to Gotham/dc bombshells)

yeah...

Not only are these interpretations of talia EXTREMELY orientalist but also just generally out of character and could've been done with any randomly introduced characters.

For the unknowing white american people in the crowd: arabs actually don't only dress in revealing "belly dancer" outfits and lanterns. i know, shocking, we actually wear normal clothes.

And just to add again, there's a lot of stories that include ra's having magic, but I'm not the biggest ra's head (lol) so i didn't read them all, i implore u to do your own research because I'm not doing it.

this about wraps it up. thank you to the magic damian believers may we all win someday.

[mydaddywiki]

Dick Cheney

Physique: Average Build Height: 5'8" (1.72 m)

Richard Bruce Cheney (born January 30, 1941) is an American retired politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. Often cited as the most powerful vice president in American history, Cheney previously served as White House Chief of Staff for President Gerald Ford, the U.S. representative for Wyoming's at-large congressional district from 1979 to 1989, and as the 17th United States secretary of defense in the administration of President George H. W. Bush. He is the oldest living former U.S. vice president, following the death of Walter Mondale in 2021.

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Cheney grew up there and in Casper, Wyoming. He attended Yale University before earning a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in political science from the University of Wyoming. He began his political career as an intern for Congressman William A. Steiger, eventually working his way into the White House during the Nixon and Ford administrations.

Cheney ended his vice presidential tenure as a deeply unpopular figure in American politics with an approval rating of 13 percent. Being called names like Darth Cheney and the Prince of Darkness, Cheney was widely considered, by supporters and detractors alike, to be the biggest swing dick of a vice president in the history of America. Figuratively and literally. What? We’ve all seen the bulge pics. And with my thing for bad guys, I’d probably end up with two shots to the face, one being birdshots.

Anyway, he’s married for over 60 years to Lynne and together two daughters, Elizabeth ("Liz") and Mary Cheney, and seven grandchildren. And with his support of his gay daughter, Mary. Maybe… maybe I have a shot with him. Probably not, but with that being said, I’m still going have people tell me what a evil man he is (like I don’t know) and or what a bad guy I am for wanting to fuck him. YES… I can feel your hate. Star Wars reference… get it.

[ashley-kins]

If I were to make the next Zelda game, what would I change?

Bring back underwater traversal and real Water Temples.

If you were to think about any iconic Zelda item that isn't a weapon, you'd most likely think about the hook/clawshot. I like that we can climb, but I miss the claw/hookshot. Personally, I'd have the Skyward Sword climbing mechanics where you can climb a little bit but not much, but make it so that the hook/clawshot can go on any surface. Even better is a double claw/hookshot so you can swing around like Spider-Man

Linkle. That's right, from the original Hyrule Warriors spin-off game. It would be cool if we got to choose to play as Link or Linkle at the beginning of the game. Make it so that Link can't get into Gerudo Town without a disguise like in Breath of the Wild, but also make it so Linkle can't get into Goron City without a disguise, that way it's even and there's no major advantage.

If Linkle can't be an option, I'd have Link be a different race than Hylian. Tears of the Kingdom already teased us with this concept with the Ancient Hero. Before TotK, the closest we got was Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask Link who thought he was a Kokiri but found out that he was in fact Hylian and also had ghost masks to shapeshift into other races. (Or you could also add Linkle as this race too. But I think that's a bit much)

20 hearts OR harder enemies. With BotW, Link had 30 hearts. In literally every other Zelda game he had 20. With 30 hearts, it was a decent change in normal mode, but in Master Mode, it made it essential. Enemies did more damage and evolved from their normal mode counterparts. In TotK, Link has 40 hearts and no Master Mode. The enemies do basically the same damage as in BotW's normal mode and sometimes even far less with the decayed-unfused weapons. So I would make the series go back to 20 hearts or have Master Mode as the default difficulty.

A new fast travel system. Look, shrines were a good idea. Especially for a fast travel system, but if we're getting rid of the 10-20 extra hearts how I would do it, we need something else. For this, let's turn to Skyrim for just a second. The fast travel system there is broken because every cave, tower, dungeon, etc. is a fast travel point, but let's look at the towns/cities and important landmarks: they're fast travel points once we discover them. So let's turn those things into fast travel points in this hypothetical Zelda game. Now, what about the less significant parts of the map? Well, a few train stations around the map with a train. I mean, trains are in the Zelda universe. Spirit Tracks literally is about that, so it wouldn't be a big deal. I had this idea back in 2021, and now even fucking Fortnite has a train around a map with a few train stations in random spots.

This one will make a bit more sense if you read my "If I were to make a Zelda game, what would I keep?" post. Heart Pieces/Stamina pieces. You could go the normal route with 4 pieces makes a full thing or go Twilight Princess style with 5 pieces makes a full thing. These would probably be given as quest rewards in quests that are Side Adventures rather than Main Quests or Side Quests. Side quests would give you rupees or a rare item and Main Quests will give you more story progression.

Bring back the "one-and-done" races like the Kokiri, Twili, Minish, Zonai, Lokomo, etc.

[guerillas-of-history]

The Guest

يا ضيفنا لو زرتنا لوجدتنا

نحن الضيوف وأنت رب المنزل

"O our guest, if you were to visit us, you would find

That we are the guests, and you are the master of the house."

Mohammad Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (Abu Khaled), or most commonly known as Mohammed Deif — The Guest: A man who led the resistance from the shadows, his name chanted by millions, though little was known about him. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was the shadow of the resistance, dedicating his life to the fight for freedom. And the people knew that.

Born in Gaza in 1965, Deif studied science at the Islamic University of Gaza. During his time there, he was active in religious, student, and humanitarian work—along with a passion for theater. In 1989, the occupation forces arrested him, detaining him without trial for 16 months on charges of working with Hamas’ military wing.

His release coincided with the rise of the Qassam Brigades, which had begun executing operations deep within the zionist entity. Deif moved to the West Bank alongside several Qassam leaders from Gaza, overseeing the formation of a West Bank branch. He rose to prominence after the assassination of Imad Aqel in 1993, and oversaw several successful operations against the occupation, including the capture of zionist soldier Nachshon Wachsman in 1994.

In the year 2000, he was arrested once again by the Palestinian Authority but managed to escape detention following the outbreak of the Second Intifada. This marked a significant turning point in the development of Hamas' military capabilities.

Mohammed Deif was appointed as the commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades in 2002. Upon taking leadership, he established a military training and development academy, later revealed after the occupation’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005.

Deif is credited with numerous strategic successes for Al-Qassam, most notably in the field of missile development. Under his command, the Qassam Brigades transformed their arsenal—from primitive rockets with a few kilometers' range to missiles capable of reaching every occupied Palestinian city, from the far south to the north.

Mohammed Deif rarely appeared on media, the last being on the morning of October 7, 2023, when he announced Al-Aqsa Flood. He survived seven assassination attempts by the occupation, in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2014, and twice in 2021. He suffered burns, lost an eye, and, according to occupation claims, lost a leg and sustained arm injuries in another.

In 2014, another attempt on his life killed his wife, Widad Mustafa Harb Deif, and children including a his three-year-old daughter and his seven-month-old son, Ali. Yet, Deif remained committed to resistance.

Despite never revealing his face to the public, Deif became one of the most beloved and respected figures in the resistance. People from different countries and backgrounds pledged allegiance to him, for what he represented.

"Put the sword before the sword—we are the people of Mohammed Deif!"

He was nicknamed “the guest” because for decades, he slept in a different house every night, avoiding detection and assassination. The occupation threatened to kill him. The people answered: "Our homes are yours."

Mohammed Deif was the resistance as it is: from the people, for the people.

Glory to Mohammed Deif, the shadow of the resistance who remains for as long as its light keeps shining.

Abu Khaled, the guest, master of every home and every heart.

[peppertaemint]

Let's talk about Taemin and Key of SHINee wearing the Scottish fashion house Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, an openly queer unisex brand. There’s a lot of talk about whether idols know who they are wearing and, when relevant, do they understand the meaning of what they are wearing. We know there are clear examples of artists not understanding what they’re wearing. Indeed, 23-year-old, non-English-speaking Taemin admitted in 2021 that he had no idea the fly of his pants read “Open Here” during View era. Yet, a lot has changed this 2015/16. Taemin’s English is quite proficient. And what about Key, who has studied English since he was a child? I think we can consider understanding the words and understanding the context or broader meaning behind words or, as the case may be, symbols, which can be universal.

Taemin in the Advice album photobook, 2021.

The Charles Jeffrey Loverboy brand is no ordinary brand. It’s a spunky, fun and edgy unisex brand with genuine British flavour. From London Fashion Week's write up:

"Looking back to look forward, the collections re-render historical references as intrinsically modern while paying respect to an ancestral line-up of costumiers, performance artists and queer icons. Jeffrey’s nightlife-influenced thirst for experimentation, and belief in the validity of mistakes, result in a colourful tension between control and chaos.

"LOVERBOY’s roots are fixed in London’s queer nightlife scene, having been born in 2014 as both a fashion label and a cult club night. The LOVERBOY parties, first staged while Jeffrey was studying for his Masters in fashion design at Central St Martins in London, were attended by the city’s up-and-coming artists, performers, musicians, drag queens and poets, many of whom became Jeffrey’s future muses and creative collaborators."

Live performance of Advice, 2021.

The tartan in these looks is known as the loverboy tartan. In the current collection, they have an “odorable” loverboy tartan raincoat with giant floppy bunny ears. I’m too lazy to link it, but do look it up and peruse the punk-meets-whimsy items on the website.

Taemin’s stylist for Advice was Kim Wook. You can read an interview with Kim Wook in translation here. Wook talks about he and Taemin wanting to do something impactful before Taemin entered the military, and they settled on working with silhouettes that are usually seen on female dancers. I could do a whole post on Taemin’s styling for Advice (maybe I will!), but to connect things back to the brand at hand, the flamboyantly unisex Loverboy brand seems to be at home with the goal of Advice’s styling. Advice was Taemin’s way of saying “I will go my own way and trust myself over others,” and I don’t think the androgynous or even gender-fluid looks he presented are a coincidence; Wook’s interview shows that it isn’t. These looks feel like a push forward for Taemin, and he’s been clear in saying Advice was a breakaway from his past. Act I and Act II were leading to this moment.

Taemin has been wearing Charles Jeffery Loverboy upon in return in 2023. I think the most significant choice is the non-binary shirt he wore a fan meeting during Hard era. The t-shirt is a jab at conservatives’ obsession with the love lives and indeed, bathroom usage, of LGBT+, saying, “They’re happy and satisfied. Are you?” There is a also a good-sized, unmistakable non-binary symbol on the shirt. I hadn’t seen this symbol before but it was still easy for me to comprehend. As an artist who is increasingly wearing gender-fluid outfits, it is likely a conscious choice to wear a shirt that supports non-binary rights.

Now, we can’t forget fashion-forward, English king Key in all of this. Key has always had a love and fascination with fashion; we saw in One Fine Day his interaction with a local London fashion brands. He’s a man who knows his fashion houses, so it seems unlikely he wouldn’t know about the Loverboy brand or its ethos as a unisex brand.

Key primarily wore Charles Jeffrey Loverboy accessories for his Gasoline promotions in 2022. The adorable hat with ears is statement wrapped in cuteness, that speaks to the camp motif present in both Key’s body of work and the Loverboy label’s. It’s cute, but not too cute. It’s loud but soft, and the Loverboy stamp is there for all to see. I think that Key embodies what LSF wrote about the Lovery label as “a colourful tension between control and chaos.” Key is never afraid to experiment, and he can go from creating iconic androgynous silhouettes reminiscent of ancient gods and Beyoncé to the retro-camp shown below that almost looks like it could be at home in a Ghostbusters film. Almost.

There are contexts where, like the above, it is more than reasonable to assume that the artists understand what they are wearing and that the choices made are conscious and in some cases made with the goal of the comeback in mind. And there are situations where it’s possible or even confirmed by the artist that they didn’t know what they were wearing or what it meant. I think it can become an obsession for some to want the styling to be conveying a secret code. With the case of Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, there’s no code and it’s not secret. It’s simply known and recognised by those who know, which is enough.

[gayguybln]

22 year old bisexual Massimo is living as a slave since three years. He's owned by his personal trainer Martin and Martin's husband Andreas. Massimo met Martin as he was in search for a personal trainer after he turned 18 and wanted to shape his body.

He couldn't afford to pay the training so he offered Martin sexual services after Martin had told him that he's living in an open gay relationship. Martin accepted that offer if he'd serve Andreas, too. Over the time of a few months Massimo became their toy boy. It seemed to be a strange group: The 18 year old Massimo who stopped having sex with girls as Martin and Andreas took over his life. He enjoyed it. Martin was 40 year old man at that time and very well trained. He was a physiotherapist but moved on and made his money as personal trainer and hypnotherapist. Andreas was 24 at this time and worked in a PR company. He knew Massimo for some time as Andreas's younger sister was the first big love of Massimo. She broke his heart with Massimo's best friend.

One month before Massimo's 19th birthday the couple married and they chose him as one of their best men. Before the marriage they offered Massimo to move into their house to do house sitting while they were on their honeymoon. Massimo accepted. Their condition was that Massimo has to wear a chastity device over that time. He reluctantly accepted. And that he won't bring a woman into their house while they encouraged him to sleep with other guys. With the chastity device it wouldn't be clever to pick up a woman, Massimo thought. They even told him that a friend has interest in fucking him but he could choose if he want fucked or not. They had already given the guy Massimo's number. Massimo accepted after he realised that the guy was well trained.

After the honeymoon Martin and Andreas started to finish off Massimo's independence. Massimo had got a deep trust into them. They offered him to be their slave in his free time while they pay his time at university. He had to cede control over his daily life to them, including gym routine and nutrition. He could live for free with them and didn't have to pay for food and so on. On his 19th birthday he signed a slave contract for one year.

In this year Martin and Andreas made Massimo's dependency deeper and deeper - not only his economic dependency but his mental dependency too. And then the hardest plan for connecting him to them started without him knowing. They let him made a full laser depilation of his crotch area - one thing he always wanted as he hated the hair always. On his 20th birthday he signed his new - now permanent - slave contract.

It was based on his one year contract but included an article about distribution of Massimo's income when he's earning money. The money is split between a pension fund for Massimo, an monthly allowance for Massimo and a sum for the couple to cover their expenses for Massimo.

Another new article was about body modification. It was Massimo's idea and this was totally in the couple's plan. Massimo ceded the right to do body modifications too Martin and Andreas. They included in his contract that he has to undergo a vasectomy within the first two weeks after he signed the contract. Massimo wasn't keen to get children and signed the contract. Three days later he had an appointment at a doctor and it was the guy he serviced sexually while his owner's honeymoon. He never realised that he paid off for his own vasectomy with sex.

Two weeks later Massimo and his owners went to a tattoo parlour. Massimo got that day his first two tattoos. On the back of his neck: "La mia vita è servizio" (My life is service.) and just over his dick in his smooth pubic area: "Vasectomy - 23 Nov 2021 as sign for his submission to his two masters Andreas and Martin".

As Massimo read the fresh ink over his dick it was the first time he had regrets. But Martin was manipulative enough to take away all regrets from Massimo.

Martin and Andreas decided to develop Massimo's tattoos. They started with the legs and are now on the back. As Martin as a big fan of mythology his "half" of Massimo's body shows stories from greek mythology. Andreas's half is mostly blackout with a few geometrical elements. So his entire left leg is black as his left arm will be later. Massimo will change - without a way back. He's wearing his chastity device 24/7 and had jerked off the last time at the doctor for a sample to check wether his vasectomy worked or not. The size of the device was decreased over the time and now Massimo has only a tiny nub. Since that day Massimo's dick was only touched by Martin and Andreas with latex gloves and he hadn't felt human skin on his dick.

[proftree]

im watching the last episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2021-2022) and i have zero context for what is going on etc and now theyre on fire because they have the Power (of Friendship). and theyre going to stop a celestial god

[arttrampbelle]

Snake man/Naga au shang tsung

Ok ok hear me out

snake man shang tsung. Or naga shang tsung. Whichever one you prefer to use.

Ok listen. This is a fun au idea.

And no this isn't about mk1 2023 shang tsung! Picture any other shang tsung. Plz. Even. Chin hans shang tsung from the mk 2021 movie for all i care. (Tho i pictured tagawa's shang but thats just me)

But anyways.

Snake man shang.

Cw:none really. I guess au shang tsung? Snakes?

🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍

Imagine.

Shang tsung as a snake man

His eyes are of a gold and green. The pupils almost look like they have galaxies in them,secrets of the unknown. Hidden knowledge of the universe and the magics of the veil and void. Flashed gold when angered and threatened. And in darkness.

And scales of viridian dark greens fading into an iridescent metallic lime green. Golden flecks throughout the scales.

Claws are black painted with golden tips.

Hair is a deep black ink. The deepest black and long tresses neatly kempt. Adorned with the finest hair ornaments. Some were "trophies" of the souls he took and the warriors he devoured.

His fangs while intimidating,only produced venom when nessicary. Tounge is long, serpentine,when he speaks his s's hiss and his R's growl. You can feel the primal sounds.

His upper half was of a handsome man. In his mid to late 40s. That of far eastern decent. Nose distinctly hooked and that of serpentine. Smile is soothingly sinister. As if he is knowing before one speaks. A golden tan to his skin reflects that of a man who loves sunning. Sleeping on his island domains beach and shore is his favorite pastime. Nicely muscled and very active.

His voice is of honey. Rich,deep,thick. Sweet words of lulling. Only to extrap you in his coils. And by then...it is all but too late. He has you.

The master of his den,keeps it spotless. Takes very good care of it. Adorns it with only the finest treasures,jewels,silks,and decor. His island home is absolutely beautiful. All are welcome. But few ever want to leave....or....*laugh* could leave. Books upon books scattered about his lair tells of an intellectual man. Various tinkering of devices also states of a man who is engineering. Alchemy and science. Magic and practicality. This is a man of absolute brilliance. Deadly and terrifyingly intelligent.

To look upon this man. Is to look at the devil face to face. How you face said devil. Tells more about you traveler. Than the serpentine you gaze upon.

Some run,some hide,some act in righteous fury,some cry in fear. And some...just some...look upon him.

And feel free. Alive. And even fall into a deep love and compassion.

These are the people you should be wary of.

For they do not fear death nor hell.

And they find comfort,in his deathly coils.

Shang tsung,lord of souls. High mage of magic. Emperor of the grey isle. Master of death itself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh boy this was so much fun to write! Lemme know if you guys want more!

💖💖💖

[mydaddywiki]

Jim Justice

Physique: Heavyset Build Height: 6’ 7" (2.01 m)

James Conley Justice II (born April 27, 1951-) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the 36th governor of West Virginia since 2017. Justice was once a billionaire, but his net worth had declined to $513.3 million as of 2021. He inherited a coal mining business from his father and built a business empire with 94 companies, including the Greenbrier, a luxury resort in White Sulphur Springs.

Justice is a well-liked and wealthy coal magnate who is one big fucking bear of a man. No other way to describe him. Hell… he compared himself to a grizzly bear. A 6-foot-7, 400+ pound millionaire grizzly bear. I’ll admit, I’m a little intimidated by the sheer size of him. But once I leave my goo on him, that’ll pass.

A lifelong West Virginian, he attended Raleigh County public schools and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1969, and attended Greenbrier Military Academy as a post-graduate. Governor Justice went on to Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, and was captain of the golf team for two years before earning his undergraduate degree and a Masters in Business Administration.

Justice married his high school sweetheart, having two adult children and spend time spoiling four grandchildren. In addition, they have three dogs: two Boston Terriers, and their famous Babydog, an English Bulldog. Plus, he coach girls' basketball. Not the most handsomest guy, but I'd love to fuck around with him for a weekend. And for some reason with his dog, Babydog watching.

[panoralis]

⋆⠀⠀RAISE OUR GLASSES.⠀⠀ ┉ ⠀⠀ DECEMBER 2021

“⠀⠀ AND IN THE END, even saints can admit her fault was staring through the wrong shade of lenses. ⠀⠀”

STARRING.   hwang haein .. bang chan .. mention of kalaya cherinsuk and hwang gyuri

CW(S).   arguments, possible toxic mindset (particularly when it comes to work and personal relationships), initial refusal to accept accountability, swearing, emotional injuries

MONA SAYS.   welcome to the mini trilogy i unofficially title ‘the happiest girls’ !! i’ve had this planned for a while now then ended up writing this at like.. google docs said 1:08 a.m. slides that out of the way let’s just go with early. also yes, the formats are inspired inspired by fiixion’s ocs and moirtre ♡

UNKNOWN, 10:03 P.M: can you meet me here? UNKNOWN, 10:03 P.M: haein, i don’t want us to dissolve so easily UNKNOWN, 10:03 P.M: please give me this chance

haein swears she blocked his number. but in this universe, she doesn’t have the power to enforce the same command on his manager. it’s not a surprise anymore—he’s clearly mastered the art of finding loopholes.

without the bustling students weaving between the machineries of the arcade, or kids accidentally knocking people’s legs during their endeavor to get on the little rides, it doesn’t take long for haein to find him. he’s so predictable; silently leaning against the wall beside the photo booth. 

..seven, eight, nine.

it takes the anxious man seven flashes of his lockscreen, eight deep breaths, and nine flicks across the space before his gaze finally catches her. knowing him too well, haein can see the specks of relief that shimmer upon his cocoa-tinted irises. was he truly so worried that she wouldn’t show up like he desperately expected?

funny.

“you came..” the words barely squeeze past bang chan’s lips. his impulsive thoughts kick in; strongly tempting him to hug her. “you’re here-”

“-to officially put an end to this.”

haein can’t remember the last time she let her professional persona bleed into her personal life. clearly, neither does the male idol, for the hope in his face is ruthlessly erased. he can strain his muscles as much as he wants—the corners of his lips won’t reach his dimples. 

just this once, she’ll let him grasp her arm and lead her to the vacant space between the photo booth and row of motorcycle racer stimulators. while she wants to nip the bud and return home already, the last thing anyone needs is a scandal.

“no, haein- please..” he begins to plead again. “i know you understand me when i say that i was trying to protect everyone.”

hitting back with a scoff, the noirette retorts, “you call concealing the truth from inka—someone who looked up to you, trusted you—protecting her? spare me the bullshit, chan. you had so many chances to be honest with her. and yet, even when you got caught, you still spun the narrative on her; ‘made her feel like she was too young to face it.”

and there his hand goes—fixing the edges of his beanie despite it not being a distraction in the first place. haein has experienced enough fights with him to spot the tell-tale signs: a shadow covers the warm gleam in his eyes, his attention is abruptly averted to things surrounding him, and he bites his tongue to refrain from saying something he will regret-

“why are you even on her side? i’m your boyfriend, aren’t i? you should be assuring me that i did what was best for the group.”

(oh? oh, sounds like the eve of new year is already trickling into.. certain people’s personas.)

“no chan, you’re a hypocrite.” haein states without hesitation. “look at us, we began dating even though you still have that dating ban in place. what makes us different from inka’s situation, huh?”

stunned, the once candid male doesn’t have any words to spill. but his girlfriend still has plenty.

“i may not know inka as well as gyuri does, but what i do know is that you didn’t have the right to meddle with her personal affairs. you kept acting like she’s this fragile doll that in the end, you were the one who shattered her into fine fragments.” 

her sharp words cut so deep, the strings of frustration that tried to move bang chan are cut seamlessly. no longer is his common sense eclipsed by undeserved self-assurances, yet everyone knows the importance of timing. 

so haein forces him to reap the consequences by watching her walk away—from him, his recklessness, and their previously sturdy relationship. 

sure, she’ll listen to him call her name, sprinkle some ‘don't go’ too. she’ll feel the hurt he blends with desperation while trying to get her back. and she’ll look back once to notice the tremors in his hands as he tries to reach out for her.

but the young woman had just finished dressing the cuts littered across her skin. they’re not very pretty.. then again, witnessing the man you love shatter the foundation of your story so easily isn’t either. still, if he ever gathers the audacity to ask her again, she’d let him know her preference.

she wants to draw stars around her scars, not layer them some more.

FANBASE  :  @stealanity @lost-leopard-beanie @fairiepoems & send an ask or dm if you'd like to be added !

[tilbageidanmark]

MOVIES I WATCHED THIS WEEK # 220:

2 X SODERBERGH + 2 WITH YOUNG NEW STAR CALLINA LIANG:

🍿 I loved Steven Soderbergh's tight, new Haunted House thriller, PRESENCE very much, and I'm surprised that this feeling is not universally shared. The smooth style in which he spins the tale, his Mise-en-scène, and the mastery of his camera work made watching it so enjoyable. The whole experimental movie is told from the POV of the Poltergeist spirit! It's also very small: The cast has only a few people, only one location, and is over in less than 90 minutes. The actor who played the father was naturally believable. 9/10.

2 new movies in 2 months! Now I can't wait for his 'Black Bag'.

🍿 Callina Liang's first film BAD GENIUS was apparently a faithful Canadian shot-by-shot copy of a Thai film with the same name. It's a teen heist thriller in a school setting. She plays a super-smart student here who gets dragged into a massive exam cheating scam, because she's poor, and living with her poor, caring father Benedict Wong. She's a typical "Chinese Girl Student", brilliant, hard-working, determined, focused. Had Steven Soderbergh directed this, it might have been terrific. But the novice directer who did it had missed on all the fine tunes that could have made it so. 2/10.

🍿 I watched Soderbergh's too stressful UNSANE with Claire Foy by accident, not realizing that it is a story of "Twisted Psychological Horror". I don't care that Soderbergh shot the whole movie on an iPhone, or that the Dylan guy from 'Severance' had a role as a freaky nurse. A woman traumatized by a psychotic stalker, involuntary admission to a mental hospital, PTSD, violence and abuse - This is exactly not the type of film experience I like to have. 1/10.

🍿

"REMAKE, REMIX, RIP-OFF: About Copy Culture & Turkish Pop Cinema", a fascinating niche documentary about a topic I knew little about.

"Today I learnt" that Turkey in the 1960s and 1970s was one of the biggest producers of film in the world. In order to keep up with the demand, screenwriters and directors at Yeşilçam were copying, stealing and hacking scripts and remaking bizarre versions of movies from all over the world without any regard to copyright law. Movies were so popular, they had screenings for 4,000 people at a time. And they shamelessly copied 'Everything': Tarzan, The good the bad and the ugly, Turkish Star wars, Some like it hot, Rocky, Stallone's "Ramo", Laurel and Hardy, The Exorcist, Wizard of Oz... It didn't matter how cheap, insane and ridiculous it looked, they pirated it and it sold. And they all played the Godfather score.

The trailer. 8/10.

🍿

"Cherry wood-smoked oysters - with honey. Who Knew? Rich people keep all the god shit to themselves."

THE PERFECT COUPLE, my 9th project from Susanne Bier, and my second favorite drama by her about privilege and family dynamics. Like her masterful 'After the wedding', this 6-part mini-series also starts with a lavish wedding of a very rich - "Buy-a-Monkey-Rich" - couple. A delightful murder-mystery and soapy romance where everybody fucks everybody, and laid-back patriarch Liev Schreiber tokes his way through with an endless supply of hand-rolled joints and top-shelf booze. Highly bingeable - I watched it all in one 6-hour sitting, and enjoyed every minutes of it. 8/10. [*Female Director*]

🍿

2 BY FRENCH DOCUMENTARIAN LAURENT BOUZEREAU:

🍿 Laurent Bouzereau directed 343 movies(!), many of which are documentaries of the 'The Making Of' type. MUSIC BY JOHN WILLIAMS is his latest (and highest rated). [From the Trailer Above] it looks like it might be the usual hagiographic bio-pic trash, but because of its subject matter, it can't. Similar to the 2021 Ennio Morricone biography, it's a touching, inspiring and joyful trip down memory lane. A wholesome story about the wholesome man who was nominated for 54 Oscars, "one of the biggest pop stars ever".

Maybe I will even decide to watch Star Wars because of it! Well deserved 💯 score on Rotten Tomatoes. Best film of the week!

🍿 THE MAKING OF SCARFACE (1998) was an example of how terrible can such Behind-the-scenes products be, full of PR platitudes. 1/1

🍿

LOVE AT SEA, the French'est film you can imagine, and my first by Guy Gilles. A fruitless long-distance love affair between a secretary in Paris and a sailor stationed in the seaside town of Brest. She waits for him to return to her, but he drifts away.

Why is this film not more known? The most mythical, romanticized vision of 1965 France, told in black & white and color, mixing New Wave style and tourist brochures into a sweet, sad nostalgia tour. It has two short cameos by Jean-Claude Brialy and by Jean-Pierre Léaud.

🍿

3 FIRST TIME WATCHES:

🍿 "Groom to land at wedding in Autogyro..."

I don't understand how I managed to not see Capra's IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT until now. But now that I've seen it: This must have been the original template so many Rom-Coms have been copying ever since.

Also: Eating raw carrots were unknown then?

🍿 "Greetings, my friends! We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives..."

PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, considered to be one of the worst movies of all time, and my first by the infamous Ed Wood.

"So bad it's good" type of a low-budget cult film without any regard to "professional" standards of performance, but no better or more terrible than the other kitschy B-movies I've seen. It follows the principle of "Tell - Don't show" to the extreme. It was only interesting from a historical perspective. 2/10.

🍿 I have also never before seen the original 6-min. long original trailer for PSYCHO, in which Hitchcock gleefully describes the locations of what's to happen! “The picture you MUST see from the beginning… or not at all!” Also, 25 of Hitchcock's trailers are available on Internet Archive.

🍿

Now that the second season of "One of a kind" SEVERANCE is completed, I decided to binge-watch both seasons. Here is what I wrote in 2022 about the first creepy season:

Apple’s new, much-lauded and compelling series Severance, a speculative sci-fi mystery box, where weird conspiracies stay purposefully unexplained. Dystopian exploration of office life with sinister sense of Scientology-related cultist oppression (added no doubt by the Tom Cruise-lookalike main actor). With John Turturro, Christopher Walken, and Patricia Arquette, and a terrific final episode. It was very bingeable, but I doubt I’ll join them for the second season next year. 5/10.

Surprise!! As impressive and ground-breaking television as it was, watching the first season again was like seeing it for the first time! Maybe I'm an Innie too (or possibly just getting senile!), but I couldn't remember any of the details that I saw just 3 years ago. It literally left no lasting impression on me!!

"He put the Dick in Contradiction."

I don't need to be a contrarian here, but I now spent a total of 30 hours watching both seasons, plus reading a bunch of articles too, and I have the right to feel anything I want. First of all, this ominous science fiction fantasy about a corporate Scientology cult was not for me. There were appealing elements: The streamlined aesthetics, the modernistic art design, the haunting theme song, the odd world building and slow-burn tempo that got faster with each new episode... But for all its surface vision, it was filled with pretentious weirdness for weirdness sake; All the endless twists of baby goats and watermelon heads, "the old ether factory" and theremin playing in the snow, eventually became pretentious and tedious. At 6 hours it might have been superb, but all in all they overstayed their welcome for me. I have no doubt that in 3 years I will have to watch the whole thing again if I'll want to remember what actually happened here. 5/10 again.

🍿

2 RE-WATCHES:

🍿 "The whole point of cake is to shut people up"

So I "had to" watch DYLAN MORAN'S OFF THE HOOK (2015) from last month again! ♻️. Funny despair and impressionistic physicality.

🍿 "Not today, Sauce pot"

Somebody online mentioned comfort rom-com PALM SPRINGS, and in order to fill up my empty life, I immediately watched it again, because why not? The difference between 15 and 20 times means nothing... ♻️

Like I did with two of my other obsessions (A Simple favor and Margin call), I paid attention this time to the symmetrical timing of the plot's pinch points. In 'Palm Springs', they break on the 15 minute marks:

At exactly 15 min - Sarah gets sucked in.

At exactly 30 min - Roy got sucked in.

At 45 min / Midpoint - They see the dinosaurs and sleep together.

At exactly 1 hour: Roy & Nyles hook up and Sarah decides to get out.

At 1:15 - Sarah calls Roy, gets ready to leave and say goodbye to Nana. Perfection! EMPHATIC PERIOD.

More: 1. Nyles' opening seduction speech! 2. Not a big role, but this was J.K. Simmons's best.

🍿

SHANGHAI STRANGERS (2012), directed by actress Joan Chen. A soft, hesitant art film about a chance meeting and a secret never disclosed. There were too many snippets of other stories in this shallow love story that didn't belong together: The SARS epidemic, Jewish refugees from 1941 Vienna, gentrification in Shanghai, a Dvořák opera, infidelity... it was literally all over the place. 2/10. [*Female Director*]

🍿

THE SHORTS:

🍿 Dave Fleischer's SWING YOU SINNERS! (1930): The punishment for stealing a chicken is a surrealistic nightmare of ghosts.

🍿 "…The easy way will save your soul only; the difficult way will save your soul and few others. So this is your choice: salvation by yourself, or salvation, together, with others…" SONG OF AVIGNON (2000), my first by Jonas Mekas.

🍿 ALIVE IN JOBURG (2005), Neill Blomkamp's proof-of-concept for his 'District 9', about the arrival of an alien spaceship over Johannesburg.

🍿 By the same people who later made 'The Wolf House': LUCÍA (Chile, 2007): A little girl whispers the story, probably in the dark, under cover of her blankets, about last summer when she fell in love with Luis, the werewolf. Extremely creepy.

Later on they also made LUIS (2008), where the stalking werewolf whispers his side of the story, which is even more frightening, because he's prone to a bout of uncontrollable anger and desperation.

🍿 A BOY AND HIS ATOM, the world smallest stop-motion film. Made by IBM scientists in 2013, it was created by moving individual molecules, magnified 100 million times.

🍿 THE INTERVIEW (2019) is a two-hander with a young system analyst and Rory Kinnear (The pig-fucking British prime minister from "The National Anthem"). The position is at a very "unorthodox" firm, and the interview quickly becomes "unorthodox" too. Very powerful, but without an ending.

🍿

(ALL MY FILM REVIEWS - HERE).

[rohanabb]

ell-hs on tumblr / © stills / unknown textbook (post) / sir gawain and the green knight, tr. simon armitage

YOU ARE ORGANIC / PLUM-HEARTED / OYSTER-THROATED

> root access granted

SKELETON / DOSSIER (ATTACHED) / PINTEREST / PLOTS

> task directory: arrival. introduction. first impressions.

BASICS.

𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄. Rohan Ibrahim Abbasi, PhD 𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒. Ro 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌. Riz Ahmed

𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓���𝐑𝐄𝐒. medium height, lean build; cropped hair; short, trimmed beard; casual posture, typically leaning against counters, walls, or doorways with arms crossed; kind eyes. 𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐒 / 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒. none.

𝐀𝐆𝐄 / 𝐃.𝐎.𝐁. 38 / 30 Sept. 1985 𝐙𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐂. Libra

𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍. Mississauga, ON, Canada 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘. • Muhammad Erhan Abbasi. Father, b. 1949 • Mariyam Abbasi. Mother, b. 1953 • Samaya Hijazi. Sister, b. 1981. Married, two children (17f, 12m). • Naima Abbasi Ito . Sister, b. 1982. Married, three children. (11f, 5m, 5f) • Hanif Muhammad Abbasi. Brother, b. 1987. Married, one child (2m).

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 / 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐒. trans man / he & him 𝐒𝐄𝐗𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘. bisexual 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒. single, formerly engaged

𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐒. charismatic, focused, creative, enthusiastic, tenacious 𝐍𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐒. stubborn, arrogant, dismissive, self-righteous, overzealous 𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐒. nail & cuticle biting; interrupting; leaving personal projects unfinished; double texting 𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐁𝐈𝐄𝐒. long distance running; a moderator on r/askbiology and frequent contributor to r/askscience; occasional tutoring high school students & undergrads

𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐒 (𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄). none.

THE FOUNDATION.

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐅𝐅 𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄. Staff Researcher

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍(𝐒). • May 2018 – Dec 2018. Research Assistant at Site-17, Talbot Lab • Jan 2018 – Apr 2020. Postdoctoral Researcher at Site-17, Talbot Lab • Apr 2020 – Nov 2021. Postdoctoral Researcher at Site-17, Keir Research Group

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓. (November 2021 – Present) Site-169 Anomalous Entity Engagement Division, Schaffer Research Group. Investigating class-B amnestic-facilitated disruption of the hive mind. Tested on colonies with lineages from samples of SCP-1166, SCP-4589, and SCP-171. Experiment ended in failure, requiring fumigation of lab vivariums.

𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐒 / 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐒

academic. BSc in Biochemistry with a minor in Physiology (following a drop from the pre-med track) from McGill, MSc in Pharmacology from McGill, PhD in Neuroscience from University of Toronto extracurricular. tbd

EXTRAS.

𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐘.

Dr. Rohan Abbasi first came to the Foundation’s attention shortly following the defense and subsequent publication of his master’s thesis, entitled “Correlation between the potency of hallucinogens in the mouse head-twitch response assay and their behavioral and subjective effects in other species.” (Neuropharmacology 2014). An auspicious start for someone who was, of his own admission, little more than a glorified lab grunt prior to the manuscript’s completion. The Foundation’s growing interest in Dr. Abbasi swiftly followed with his continuing doctoral research into the treatment of complex-PTSD and psychopathies with medical-grade psychedelics and hallucinogens.  Records indicate this culmination of Dr. Abbasi’s academic focus to be some combination of chance — with a Research Assistantship in Professor Szymanski’s research group at the University of Toronto open, and Rohan Abbasi in need of additional funding — and a longer trend of interest in and unorthodox approaches to pharmacology and medicine. It was with this in mind that a small but robustly funded lab at site-17 solicited a freshly minted Dr. Abbasi to interview for an opening postdoctoral research position within the group.  In the seven years since his tenure at the Foundation began, Dr. Rohan Abbasi’s reputation and portfolio tell vastly different stories of the same man. Colleagues and close personal acquaintances of Dr. Abbasi consistently praise the discipline, energy, and creativity he brings to research settings. Indeed, much of Dr. Abbasi’s early career at the Foundation is categorized by a nearly unending stream of proposals submitted, findings published, journal clubs established, and special interest committees formed. It became, however, the concern of his hiring supervisor that such enthusiasm and, frankly, naivete would outstrip the professional demands of this particular role. Following agreement from all parties, Dr. Abbasi’s fellowship continued under the supervision of the Keir group.  Thus, a pattern began to emerge. Dr. Abbasi filled his new position with what former colleagues would now consider characteristic effusiveness and vigor. Rohan himself jumped between several projects, submitting additional proposals for each with or without final approval from his new supervisor, nearly all of which were, unsurprisingly, summarily rejected. This had seemingly little effect on Dr. Abbasi’s commitment to proposing outlandish, unorthodox, unrealistic, and in more than a few cases downright insulting avenues of research or applications of novel (often as-yet-unreplicated) findings.   Neither Dr. Abbasi nor his new team were under any illusions, then, on the circumstances and stakes surrounding the assumption of his third post, now in the Anomalous Entity Engagement Division. Indeed, it seems he has finally understood the precarious situation he has continuously engaged in, and has pivoted to bolstering his professional reputation alongside his personal. It’s with this mutual agreement that Dr. Abbasi has been encouraged to continue his work on class B amnestics.

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒. dm for skeleton-specific details.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 / 𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐒. tbd.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒. Palamades Sextus ( The Locked Tomb ); The Biologist ( Annihilation ); Cosima Niehaus ( Orphan Black ); Dr. Allison Cameron ( House ); Rose Franklin ( The Themis Files ); Hank McCoy/Beast ( X-Men ); definitely others

𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒. tbd.

[e3khatena]

What're your top 4 favourite games of all time?

I actually pretty recently went through my Top 25 on Twitter but that's mostly a contextless image with no words to it, so I do wanna spend a little more time to highlight my four favorite games (1024 words):

4. Earthbound (SNES, 1995)

Earthbound is a truly superb JRPG, with a kitsch and a camp to it that feels simultaneously cheesily-dated and timeless to boot, with a charisma and world that's ripe for exploration, from a guy who is a master craftsman of compelling stories. This is by far my favorite game to actually play in the SNES' library.

3. Hypnospace Outlaw (PC/XBO/PS4/Switch, 2019)

Back-to-back 90s-flavored games with phenomenal storytelling, Hypnospace Outlaw is a game about playing the moderator of an alternate timeline's niche corner of the Internet. Users on Hypnospace create webpages with their mind so they can hang out and be productive while asleep, and the characters are deeply nuanced with tons of personal details and secrets in tow. It's fun to be an enforcer and track down cases, but it's just as fun to go down the rabbit hole and follow links, and your curious nature is handily rewarded with shortcuts, hacks to be a better enforcer, fun Angelfire/Geocities webpages with MIDIs or ripped MP3s for backing music, and an utterly stellar story of corporate mismanagement, cover-ups, and an attempt to pin this universe's Y2k bug on an innocent kid that makes up the game's final act, a retrospective as you work to archive Hypnospace for modern audiences and tie up any loose ends. Jay Tholen's world is eclectic, surreal, and so oppressively 90s that you *will* listen to their fake Linkin Park on its own long after you play this.

2. Hot Dogs, Horseshoes, & Hand Grenades (PCVR, 2016-)

Rust LTD's range simulator/physics sandbox stands out as one of the defining games in PCVR spaces. Being the brainchild of developer Anton Hand and having been in incredibly active development for eight years, H3VR's dedication to the craft of firearm simulation is matched with a quirky, lighthearted sense of humor that extends into the enemies; sosigs bleed mustard* and say cheesy one-liners or compliment the player before exploding into meat, and Anton's strict adherence to not including real-world human enemies or gore extends to the lore explanation of the seemingly endless number of enemies being a giant meat grinder and casing stuffer that brings units to life. This has pissed off *tons* of fans of other VR FPSes, but I've been long enamored with Anton's realization that what people want from gore (satisfying particles and deformation, cathartic violence) can be done super cheaply and in an approachable manner for all-ages while still maintaining a very strong network of AI pathing and handling systems.

Even if you aren't fighting the enemies, the game's core simulations are still fun to engage with, with lovingly rendered guns that let you see their specific oddities, effectively digitally preserving over 500 firearms, both real and fictional (including a handful of pop cultural pieces like the guns from Robocop, Blade Runner, and Team Fortress 2 in an official collab with Valve) and their inner workings while giving you an expansive sandbox for building scenarios, be they IPSC-style accuracy trials or a simple bed of targets to plink at. Anton still updates this game weekly, working on things like night vision goggles/scopes, thermal cameras, and a Hitman-inspired ImSim mode. Despite this, Anton still does not see the game as a 1.0 finished build, and has plans to continue updating the game for a long while to come.

Cruelty Squad (PC, 2021)

There is no other game like Cruelty Squad, man. Its roots lie in underground artist Ville Kallio, a Finnish creator of the strange, surreal, and visceral. So much of Kallio's art centered around video games and they way they depict and discuss violence, and he took his work to its logical conclusion with an Immersive Sim unlike any other. The visuals are garish, the music is shoddy, the maps are nonsensical with a bizarre fetishization of ad-soaked dystopia, and does a great job of putting you into the headspace of the depressed former Death Squad member Empty Fuck, who finds himself becoming a gig economy worker settling petty corporate disputes for his former boss with the aid of a slew of lethal, stupid weaponry.

For your trouble, you're paid out a pittance, so most of your income has to come from side hustles. Gibbing enemies lets you harvest their organs, which is fantastic for you as modern medicine has made death a thing of the past, stitching cadavers back to life and saddling them with medical debt. If you're not fishing or playing the incredibly volatile stock market that experiences a short squeeze that reaches MOASS levels, you're organ harvesting, which also nets you an opportunity to steal a fallen foe's weapons after you scoop up his liver and kidneys, as you can only get new guns by carrying them out with you on a successful hit. The game takes you to cultist lairs, cushy offices with armed guards, a bombed out nightclub in Helsinki created in the aftermath of a chemical weapons attack to blockbust the district, and straight up to Cruelty Squad HQ to confront the balance of life and death in the world.

Cruelty Squad is truly so beautiful in its unabashed ugliness. The NPCs complain about their life and financial woes while their bosses gamble the extracted value of their labor on buying new yachts, advertisements for the game's brands are everywhere, and though the wealthy bourgeois are free to flaunt their wealth and perversion, the common prole finds themselves in a constant loop of being caught in the crossfire of mass shootings and waking up an instant later with discharge paperwork and a hospital bill. Kallio has made a truly chaotic, bitter, visceral world mirroring our own frustrations with the modern technology and finance sectors, and displays an incredible understanding of game design through all of the design decisions clearly meant to draw the most ire and frustration. It's not an easy game to enjoy, Cruelty Squad. It's difficult with an unfair difficulty curve and some decently bad levels, but my GOD its marriage of Deus Ex and Hitman ImSim sensibilities and a passionate disdain for late-stage Capitalism make it an easy choice for my favorite game of all time.

[s10127470]

My Fanfics' Ideal Art-Styles

Recently, I've been feeling that I need to start using my Tumblr more to promote and share stuff about my fanfics (which admittedly I already do, but probably not to the extent that I should).

Essentially to help give you guys an idea on what to expect for each one.

And even share some important info that readers should know when going into the fic.

And to start this new phase of my Tumblr, I've decided to make a post going over something that I think is really cool.

I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that whenever we read, we always imagine what we're reading would look like right before our eyes.

And today, I wanted to share what the art-styles of my fics would be like if they were visualized.

Maximum Marvel: DeputyRustArt

This one pretty much a no-brainer.

Given that the series was based off the AU of the same name created DeputyRust himself.

Plus, his style just screams "Maximum".

X-Men: The Next Mutation: Jeff Matsuda

Jeff Matsuda is a legend in the field of character designing.

Best known for his sharp and angular style.

You'll best know him for his work with Marvel, Dark Horse Comics, and Awesome Comics.

And more notably, as the character designer for Jackie Chan Adventures, The Batman, TMNT (2007), and the 2021 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe reboot.

I believe his style would fit this fic like a glove, especially with how action-heavy it is.

Also, it would be funny to think about since Jeff was a prominent penciler/illustrator for the X-Men titles during the mid-to-late 90s.

Nicktoons Mysteries: Izbubbles

Yeah, I finally decided on what to do for my Nicktoons fanfic.

It's gonna be a mystery/comedy-horror series, which will be premiere next month.

But anyway, Izbubbles would be the person I want to do the art-style for this series.

As you see, their art-style was able to translate the Nicktoons into one, unified style, while still keeping traces of each of their respective original art-styles.

And given that my series is gonna be set in Nicktropolis, a city where the Nicktoons all co-exist with each other, it would make sense that they would look like they would exist in the same world.

Spider-Man: Family Values: Clyde Tanksley

As you can see here, this style is a little more....out there when compared to the other artists I choose.

The best way I could describe the style is that it feels like an animated adult sitcom made back in the 90s.

Ya know, back when adult animation was actually experimental and creative and didn't give us....

This.

And in all honesty, I really dig this style and feel like it would find this fic perfectly.

I mean, it is essentially a family sitcom, except with a superhero twist.

And best part about this style, he basically made everyone here (the men and the women)....

Anyway, that's all I have for now.

Let me know what you guys think about my choices in art-styles.